Shari Alyse

What Shari talked about

Shari Alyse discussed the distinction she draws between joy and happiness, arguing that happiness is external and fleeting while joy is an internal, constant state accessible even alongside pain or grief. She described five pillars she uses to frame this: connection to self, community, nature, creativity, and purpose, and talked about slowing down, gratitude, and self-compassion as daily practices for accessing joy.

She also spoke about her own childhood experience of sexual abuse, including testifying against her abuser in court at age seven, and how she has worked to process that history and speak about it publicly. She connected this personal account to her broader argument that resilience and joy can be built out of confronting and voicing trauma rather than avoiding it.

The show

The Total Entrepreneur is a weekly conversation with founders, researchers, and health experts about what actually moves entrepreneurial performance across mind, body, spirit, and business.