121. The Year I Was Broken Open: Leadership Lessons from Identity, Grief, Audacity, Rejection and Becoming

In this raw and deeply human episode, Dina pulls back the curtain on a year that didn’t just challenge her - it remade her. The Year I Was Broken Open isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a reckoning. A truth-telling. A look at the kind of leadership growth that doesn’t happen in conference rooms or coaching certifications, but in the messy, intimate corners of real life.Dina shares how this year cracked the foundation she’d been standing on and forced her into the deepest evolution of her leadership yet. From the quiet unraveling of an identity that no longer fit… to the grief she had avoided for years suddenly taking a seat at the edge of her bed… to the uncomfortable, liberating practice of audacity… to rebuilding presence and confidence one unglamorous moment at a time… and navigating rejection so constant it felt like an uninvited roommate — this episode is a masterclass in becoming.But it wasn’t all breaking.There was building too.Dina opens up about the unexpected wins that emerged right alongside the chaos: delivering her first speaking engagement with The Leadhership Network, landing strategic planning and coaching contracts with partners aligned with her mission, sitting on NBC4 Washington for a live interview, watching her docuseries The Ripple Effect gain real momentum, finally beginning the book she’s meant to write, launching her second IMAGINE Retreat in Tulum, and coaching women 1:1 through their own transformations.This episode unpacks the leadership lessons forged through every twist:why identity loss is often the first sign of expansionhow grief clarifies what (and who) is alignedwhy audacity becomes necessary when waiting to be chosen stops serving youhow presence shifts when you stop abandoning yourself mid-momentwhy confidence is built in the quiet, unsexy decisionsand how rejection - the uncomfortable, persistent kind - becomes the most faithful mentor of allIf you’ve felt undone this year… if you’ve been navigating transitions you didn’t ask for… if you’ve found yourself shedding old identities, questioning your worth, confronting your truth, or rebuilding piece by piece - this episode will land in your chest.It’s a reminder that leadership isn’t who you are when things go right.Leadership is who you become when everything feels like it’s falling apart - and you choose to rise anyway.This is the episode for the woman who knows she’s changing, even if the world hasn’t caught up yet.Tune in. Take what you need. Leave with more self-respect than you arrived with.And remember:You’re not breaking down.You’re breaking open.