Hi, I’m Lara Zuehlke…
As an award-winning writer and communications leader, I was the go-to person behind the scenes.
For nearly thirty years, I worked across agencies, nonprofits, universities, and Fortune 500 companies.
I’ve led creative teams, facilitated complex conversations, shaped stories, and created clarity in moments when people and projects felt stuck.
So I understand the pressures of creating on the clock. Pleasing the difficult clients and leaders. And saying “yes” so many times to keep the peace that you lose sight of the inner “no.”
I won awards. Landed big clients. Earned the new titles.
I learned how to quickly identify what everyone else needed. But along the way, I lost touch with what was waiting to be expressed through me.
And this weighed on me.
By my early forties, I found myself inside a career and life, which looked perfectly “fine” from the outside.
But I felt heavy. Restless. Disconnected from the parts of myself I had tucked away.
I kept thinking the answer was to work harder, be more disciplined, or maybe buy another self-help book.
What I couldn’t see yet was that I didn’t need another “fix.”
I needed to lighten up on myself, so I could gain new life.
On July 6, 2017, the proverbial brick whacked me. Hard.
In one of those aha moments you simply can no longer ignore, I knew I was DONE living a half-lived life.
I began taking one baby step at a time. I listened to my body, questioned the old stories, finally embraced my Inner Mean Girl, and rebuilt trust in my creative voice.
It’s been a journey of lightening up that’s impacted nearly every part of my life.
Healing my relationship with food to let go of 40+ pounds for good.
Breaking up with alcohol.
Launching podcasts and publishing a novel.
Navigating the grief of stepping away from work and relationships that no longer felt safe or aligned.
Little by little, I stopped waiting for life to happen.
Instead, I began happening to all of my life.
These career and life experiences are not separate. They are all part of the story.
Behind the scenes of my career, I was also a long-distance runner and triathlete. I became certified as a Food Psychology Coach and energy practitioner (Reiki Level I).
And I spent years studying wellness, creativity, spirituality, and spiritual growth.
For a long time, I kept those parts of myself in separate compartments…
The communications leader over here.
The writer and creative over there.
The athlete and wellness geek somewhere else.
And the woman deeply interested in intuition, energy, and the mystery of becoming?
Well, she had her own hidden room entirely.
Zula is where I stopped separating them.
Because our bodies, stories, work, creativity, relationships, and inner lives are all connected.
Fluent in woo. Grounded in real life.
I believe in intuition, energy, prayer, synchronicity, and the things we can’t always explain.
And I also believe in compound interest, taking responsibility, strength training, honest conversations, and following the plan.
Sure, I love a good spiritual aha over a steaming cup of coffee.
But awareness alone doesn’t bring our dreams to life.
Or, as I like to say: put feet to our prayers.
We are the conduit. And that balance of being human is at the heart of Zula.
Through Zula, my work brings together nearly 30 years of storytelling, communication, and leadership experience with food psychology, wellness, creativity, and personal growth.
Because we’re never too old.
And it’s never too late to write the rest of our stories.