An Inspired Chat with Malaysia Harrell

Malaysia Harrell shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Malaysia, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: When was the last time you felt true joy?
The last time I felt true joy wasn’t in achieving another milestone or checking off a professional goal, it was standing on a stage, speaking to a room full of women who were ready to remember who they truly are. The energy in that space was electric, but sacred, like the entire room was breathing in possibility at the same time. It wasn’t just about delivering a talk. It was about witnessing transformation in real time.
I could see it in their eyes, that quiet yet undeniable shift when something I said reached beyond their minds and touched their souls. It was the moment a woman unclenches the weight she’s carried for years, realizing she doesn’t have to prove her worth anymore. It was the soft exhale of recognition, the silent tears of remembrance. There’s a sacred exchange that happens when truth meets readiness, when stories meet hearts that are open to healing. That’s the space I live for.
As I looked out over the audience, women laughing, crying, nodding, holding hands, it felt like I was standing in the middle of divine alignment. I felt God’s presence so strongly, moving through every word, every pause, every heartbeat. It was as if heaven itself was reminding me, “This is why you’re here.”
To speak life into women who’ve spent too long surviving instead of living. To help them see that their pain was never the ending, it was the awakening. That moment wasn’t just joy, it was clarity. It was peace. It was purpose in motion. And it reminded me that when we walk in what we’re called to do, we don’t have to chase fulfillment. We become it.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Malaysia Harrell, a board-certified psychotherapist, spiritual transformation coach, veteran, and founder of Blissful Life Consulting and the Malaysia Harrell Foundation. My work lives at the intersection of clinical excellence and sacred restoration. I help high-achieving women, veterans, and leaders reclaim identity beyond titles, rebuild resilient inner lives, and design purpose-driven careers. What makes our approach different is that we do not treat trauma as an interruption to success, we treat it as the very soil from which a deeper calling can grow. We blend evidence-based therapies, somatic and nervous system work, spiritual practices, and practical leadership frameworks, then translate them into tools for daily life and organizational culture. We design retreats, corporate wellness programs, one-on-one coaching, and signature workshops that welcome both the wound and the wisdom. Ultimately, Blissful Life is less about performance and more about alignment, helping people move from surviving to thriving, from doing for worth to being from worth.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that equated value with productivity must be released. For decades, I believed rank, titles, and outward achievement validated my worth. That version of me was useful; it protected me through trauma and propelled me through systems that often tried to minimize me. But it also cost me intimacy, rest, and spiritual alignment. Holding tightly to “deliver, perform, prove” kept me safe from vulnerability, but it also kept me disconnected from the deeper life God intended. Releasing that posture is not rejection of discipline or excellence, it is an invitation to re-root my identity in presence, not proof. I’m learning to honor ambition and excellence, while refusing to let them hollow out my soul.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
The turning point came in a hospital room, on my death bed, where my mind, body, and spirit, overwhelmed and exhausted, forced me to stop. I was trained to move, to solve, and to endure, but my collapsing made the pretense impossible. In the quiet between monitors and prayers, I heard the truest thing I’d ever been afraid to admit: hurt is not disqualification, it can be qualification. That moment of surrender changed everything. I stopped hiding behind competence and started translating my scars into service. The power wasn’t the absence of pain, it was the refusal to let pain be wasted. From that point, every difficult conversation, every therapy session, and every mentorship became a place to convert personal suffering into collective care. I began to teach women that their most tender places could be their most significant ministry.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
I once believed that independence was the highest form of strength. I thought needing help meant weakness, that admitting limits would disqualify me from leadership. That belief kept me stoic and solitary in moments when connection would have healed me faster. I now understand that interdependence is the truest posture of mature strength. Asking for help, receiving support, and building community are not failures of independence, they are the scaffolding of sustainable leadership. The myth that leaders must carry everything alone isolates and exhausts us. Real power is the courage to be seen, to be supported, and to allow others to grow by serving alongside you.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I want people to say that my life was a living testimony of service, resilience, and transformation, that I didn’t just speak about healing and alignment, I embodied them. I want to be remembered as a woman who turned her pain into purpose and made it her mission to help others do the same. Every hardship, every scar, every chapter of my story was preparation for the calling I now walk in, to guide others back to wholeness, truth, and divine alignment.
When women, veterans, entrepreneurs, and leaders, think of me, I want them to remember the way I made them believe again not just in their dreams, but in themselves. I hope they recall the conversations that awakened something deep within them, the part that had been buried under expectations, fear, and survival. I want them to say, “Because of her, I stopped performing for approval. Because of her, I found my peace. Because of her, I remembered my purpose.”
More than titles, accolades, or recognition, I want my legacy to be written in transformed lives, in the hearts of those who chose courage over comfort and truth over perfection. I want to leave behind evidence of light, hope, and faith, the kind that doesn’t just inspire, but activates others to rise.
Because at the end of it all, I don’t just want to be remembered for what I did.
I want to be remembered for who I became, and for how I helped others remember who they were always meant to be.

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Image Credits
Kim Amazing Photography
Devin Trent Photography

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