Tara LaFon Gooch

Hi Reader, I have to be honest with you about something. For years, I've been operating in a category that never fully fit. "Self-help" The books. The stages. The podcast. The frameworks. All of it got filed under that one little label. And for a long time, I let it. But here's what I've come to know: Self-help is incomplete (I know that may ruffle a few feathers). Not because the tools don't work. Not because the strategies aren't real. But because the premise is false. The idea that YOU...

Hi Reader, I'm excited to share that Dr. Susie Hansley's TEDx talk is officially live! Here's a snapshot of her talk. 👇 We've all been taught that emotions are a sign of weakness; that real strength means pushing through, staying in control, and never letting anyone see you sweat. In this talk, Susie makes the case that this belief is exactly what's keeping so many of us stressed, disconnected, and burned out. Drawing on neuroscience and evolutionary biology, she breaks down why suppressing...

Hi Reader, Here's something most aspiring TEDx speakers don't know about me. I don't just coach TEDx talks. I sit on the other side of the table as an event curator, deciding who gets the red circle and who gets a polite "not this time." And here's the truth: I've never once said no to someone because they weren't talented, smart, or accomplished enough. They get rejected because their idea wasn't ready. Sometimes it wasn't one idea at all; it was five good ideas, wrestling each other for the...

Hi Reader, A little while back, you watched me speak virtually in a studio. It feels like forever ago! I wanted to reintroduce myself, because there's more to what I do than that one talk. I'm the CEO of Best Branding Solutions, and I help subject-matter experts, founders, and thought leaders land TEDx talks that actually open doors; not just a talk for the sake of a talk, but one that becomes the foundation for everything else you build after it. Here's the recording from when I spoke, in...

Hi Reader, Quick question… 🤔 If someone found you online today for the very first time, would your brand presence immediately communicate the level you’re operating at? Or would they have to piece it together themselves? This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately because I see it constantly with high-level experts, physicians, founders, and thought leaders. They have the experience, degrees, certifications, and the credibility. But their online presence still reflects an older...

Hi Reader, Two weeks ago, I lost one of the rarest people I've ever known. David Mulldune; former Marine, Vietnam veteran, author, and one of the most quietly extraordinary souls I've had the privilege of calling a mentor and friend. I've been sitting with grief and gratitude at the same time. I first met David when I delivered my very first faith-based speech at a C-Suite For Christ Raleigh-Durham Chapter meeting. He was in the audience. We spoke briefly afterward, and then one day I picked...

Hi Reader, Recently, I’ve experienced what most people would call a string of setbacks... 📚 Top book publishers turned down my next book.🎤 A TEDx event I spent five months preparing for (fully written and memorized) was canceled.🙏 I was even rejected from writing free daily devotionals! And interestingly… that last one stung the most. Now, you might expect that to be discouraging. And maybe, if you’ve ever faced something similar, you can remember a time when rejection felt personal… when it...

Hi Reader, Let me ask you something… Have you ever noticed how the stories we tell ourselves quietly shape how we show up in the world? For years, I carried a story. A story of pain… of disconnection… of things that were never resolved. And without realizing it, that story was influencing my confidence, my voice, and even the level of success I allowed myself to step into. Because what we don’t release… we rehearse. And what we rehearse… becomes who we are. It wasn’t until I consciously chose...

Hi Reader, I remember the day I walked away from everything. The company car.The laptop.The cell phone.The health insurance and salary. Gone. 🤯 I didn’t have a backup plan.I didn’t have a clear roadmap.I just had this deep, undeniable feeling… There had to be more. What surprised me the most wasn’t the uncertainty. It was the lack of support. On my last day, my boss told me: “You’ll never make the kind of money on your own.” And for a while… he was right. My first year in business was hard. I...