LIVE with The Famous Dr AL and Barbara Stone

Finding Your Path to Living Large with Barbara Stone

In this inspiring episode of How to Live a Fantastic Life, Dr. Allen Lycka welcomes Barbara Stone, a Syracuse-based entrepreneur, author, and leadership coach. After a 25-year career as an Executive Vice President and CFO, Barbara launched Build Your Path, LLC, combining her expertise in resilience, positive psychology, and leadership to help others achieve authentic success. She also draws on her personal experiences overcoming alopecia and loss, showing how challenges can become stepping stones. Her latest book, So Much to Drool About: Lessons for Living Large, uses stories inspired by her beloved Great Danes to offer wisdom and motivation.

From Corporate Success to Personal Fulfillment

Barbara shares her journey from climbing the corporate ladder to seeking deeper meaning. Recognizing that leadership begins with self-work, she pursued studies in resilience and positive psychology, became a certified coach, and devoted herself to guiding others toward their best lives. Leaving a secure career wasn’t easy, but she trusted her calling, even when it meant stepping far outside her comfort zone. Her advice: pay attention to life’s “quantum flirts”—the subtle signs and opportunities the universe sends—and be willing to take small steps toward change.

Lessons from Great Danes

The heart of Barbara’s book is the wisdom drawn from her Great Danes, whose presence, personalities, and unconditional love offer life lessons. She relates each dog’s story to human experiences—resilience, self-expression, rest, and joy. “Living large,” Barbara explains, means finding your voice, asking for what you need, and showing up fully in life, just as her dogs do. She reminds us to rest when needed, recharge, and welcome others with kindness—principles that apply as much to people as to pets.

A Morning Routine for Inspiration

Barbara begins her days with gratitude, meditation or prayer, and reading something inspirational—often her own book, which serves as a daily reminder of life’s simple but profound lessons. She encourages listeners to center themselves before diving into tasks, creating space for intentional living. Her stories are designed to spark reflection, offering a short piece of wisdom that can resonate throughout the day.

Living a Fantastic Life

For Barbara, living a fantastic life means listening to your heart, embracing change, and stepping beyond comfort zones. She believes personal fulfillment comes from helping others live their best lives and is expanding her work into curriculum for schools and social-emotional learning programs. Her encouragement to listeners is simple yet powerful: slow down, connect the dots, and take one small, brave step at a time.

Connect with Barbara Stone

Barbara’s book, So Much to Drool About: Lessons for Living Large, is available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle on Amazon. Learn more about her work, watch her TEDx talk, and sign up for her newsletter at www.barbstone.me.

BIO:

Barbara Stone is a Syracuse, NY-based entrepreneur, author, and leadership coach who helps individuals, teams, and boards define and achieve their authentic version of success. After a 25-year career as an Executive Vice President and CFO, she launched Build Your Path LLC in 2018, drawing on her studies in resilience and positive psychology, as well as her own experiences overcoming alopecia and personal loss. A TEDx speaker and author of So Much to Drool About - lessons for living large (April 2025), she inspires others through coaching, speaking, and community leadership to create lives that truly reflect who they are.

Social Media Links 

www.barbstone.me

https://www.linkedin.com/in/barb-stone-1409677/

https://www.facebook.com/people/Build-Your-Path-LLC/100063753121885/

[email protected]