Shameless Leadership

A few years ago, I was listening to a podcast interview with Brene Brown and Jim Collins and she shared this quote from Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great, “Uncertainty is chronic. Instability is permanent. Disruption is common.” Hearing this made me so mad that I immediately stopped listening. I later returned to the interview because I knew this was a lesson I needed to learn. A lesson around embracing change - and especially about embracing change as a constant. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Embrace Change in order to manage your mindset in a world that seems to be evolving much faster than we can keep up with! ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. Enjoy this shorty episode. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nadia Ahrens is a psychotherapist and spiritual life coach. A graduate of Columbia University, she's been helping women heal for over twenty years. Nadia believes that we all struggle and have trauma and tragedy to grow from, herself included. She shares her experience of losing her eight-year-old son in 2016, so she can be a beacon for others. Along with working 1:1 with her clients, she also leads workshops, online groups, and retreats. Nadia is also a hypnotherapist and uses this creative and spiritual modality in her work. Using a blend of clinical expertise and hypnotherapy, she helps women turn their wounds into wisdom. I have worked with Nadia personally and referred others to her as well. Her work is so transformational. I am so excited to share her magic with you all. Listen in to hear Nadia share: How to be intentional about how to give the best of us, not the rest of us How she managed the grief of losing her son Jack when he was 8 years old How she shifted from waiting to die to choosing to live after Jack’s death Why she made herself sit in the black hole of grief before she started making her way out How to check in on a grieving friend in a thoughtful and intentional way The concept of soul work especially as you navigate hard moments or season The importance of holding space for “this is happening for me” vs “this is happening to me” What hypnotherapy is and what it is not - the myths and the truth around this powerful form of trauma healing Links Mentioned: Connect with Nadia: nadiaahrenscoaching.com Get details on Nadia’s Fall Retreat: email [email protected] Nadia on FB Nadia on IG FB Group We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WHO YOU ARE ANYWHERE IS WHO YOU ARE EVERYWHERE. Who are you when you don’t have anything to gain? Who are you when no one is watching? Who are you when someone who has less than you needs something you have? Who are you when you see someone struggling? Who are you when there is an opportunity to share your time and resources? Who are you when there is an opportunity to perform a random act of kindness for a stranger? Last week, I was out on a bike ride and got a flat tire 5 miles away from home. I got off my bike to fix my flat and realized I had the wrong pump and without a valve adapter, there was no way I could re-inflate my tire. I did not have a valve adapter. I sat there in the rain for about 20 minutes - sitting in the wet dirt on the side of the trail, with my bike disassembled. The number of cyclists who rode passed me: at least 30. The number of people who acknowledged a woman sitting in the rain on the side of a trail with a broken down bike: 0 When no one stopped for me after 15 minutes or so, I started trying to flag people down. I called out to folks as they approached me, “Excuse me, do you have a….” And my voice would trail off as they whizzed by me without any sort of acknowledgment. If you’re the person who whizzes by the woman in the rain with the broken down bike, I’m going to assume you are also the person who walks by the person experiencing homelessness and acts like they are invisible. I’m going to assume you are the person who speaks in meetings without asking those who look or think differently than you for their ideas and opinions. I’m going to assume are not teaching your children how to treat people who are different than you with kindness and compassion because you are not demonstrating that yourself (unless perhaps it benefits you.) In this episode, I share how I finally got help, as well as how to check yourself in terms of how you show up for others. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Using your voice can be downright scary. But it can also be the most powerful tool you have. When you use your voice you expand and extend your edges. You move that line where your comfort zone ends and your discomfort begins and your comfort and capacity around using your voice grows tremendously. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Use Your Voice in order to stand up for yourself, the people you love, and the ideas you want to share with the world. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. Enjoy this shorty episode. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Content Warning: this episode talks about murder and the prison system. Sabrina Justison is a curriculum developer, speaker, and writer, wife to Fred, and mom or step-mom to 7 grown kids, plus grandmother to 6. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit, PrisonCare. One of those grown kids is "J," who is mentally ill and in prison, serving a very long sentence for murder. Sabrina is an advocate for people like J who are incarcerated, in particular those living with mental illness. The need for sweeping prison reform is undeniable for sure, but in the meantime, while we wait for legislation and funding, no matter WHAT our politics are, we can offer tangible support to the people inside the fence, simply because they are in need, and they matter. In particular, the mental health needs of prison residents AND corrections staff are overwhelming. For example: on average, three Corrections Officers die by suicide every day in the US. Incarcerated individuals are more than twice as likely to be significantly mentally ill than those outside of prisons. Through PrisonCare, Sabrina is committed to humazing people who are incarcerated and supporting the mental health of our incarcerated community members and Corrections Officers. Listen in to hear Sabrina share: What it has been like to be the mother of a child who is serving a very long prison sentence for murder How she took her background in psychology and the arts to found her non profit, PrisonCare How she started to pick up the pieces and move forward after her son was incarcerated The critical lack of mental health support in prisons and jails How we, as a society, have completely dehumanized prisoners and created a system that is harmful to prisoners and all of society The surprising parallels and similarities between the lives of the prisoners and Corrections Officers in the prison system What PrisonCare does and how to adopt a prison Links mentioned: Learn about Prison Care: prisoncare.org Connect with Sabrina: sabrinajustison.com The Prison Care Podcast: theprisoncarepodcast.buzzsprout.com Sabrina on Facebook Prison Care on FB Private PrisonCare FB Group Sabrina on Instagram PrisonCare on IG Sabrina on Twitter PrisonCare on Twitter Sabrina on LinkedIn PrisonCare on LinkedIn We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may know by now that I could preach all day about how women are programmed by the patriarchy to show up in this world in very specific ways that primarily (and almost exclusively) benefit white men. Please know when I say “patriarchy” I am referring to a system that is not only harmful to women but also undermines and completely stunts the emotional development of most men. This system benefits few, but the few who benefit have the most tremendous power - globally. Our patriarchal society has created tons of social constructs that lead us to unknowingly behave in ways that benefit some (men) while holding others back (including but not limited to: women, people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with neurodiversities, people with disabilities, and people with larger bodies) Over the years, I’ve talked about mom guilt as a social construct and imposter syndrome as a social construct. Both of these social constructs are part of a system that intentionally makes women and moms think and behave in specific ways that ultimately limit how they show up in the world. These limitations create more space for others (men) to have more opportunities to find success, build wealth, and amass power. I recently started doing some thinking on perfectionism as a social construct. Once I started thinking this through, I knew there had to be research to back up my hypotheses. So, I went and found it. In today’s episode, I’m going to talk about perfectionism as a social construct. We will dig into different forms of perfectionism, as well as how you can start to reject perfectionism in order to get out of your head and get on with your life. Buckle up. This is a good one! Links mentioned: NYU Article: Problematizing Perfectionism: A Closer Look at the Perfectionism Construct Harvard Business Review Article: Perfectionism Is Increasing, and That’s Not Good News We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There should be no shame in your quitting game. For years now, I have preached to my clients, “Be a quitter!” Rather than always adding more to your plate in an effort to overdo, overproduce, and over-prove yourself, how about releasing things from your plate as your needs, desires, values, and schedule change over time? This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Quit Something in order to make more space for the things that are most important and fulfilling to your right now. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. Enjoy this shorty episode and know that I am in this with you…Always! We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jill Shroyer is the CEO & Founder of Expedition HR and a past member of my Tenacious Mama Business Mastermind. Jill has 20+ years working in HR, having held positions across four industries from HR Assistant to Executive Level roles. Jill is thrilled to be entering her 5th year as a business owner where she refers to herself as an Expert Sticky Situation Solver. Jill has shared her work with me over the years, especially as she wrote her best-selling book, Conquer Sticky Situations. While she uses her principles primarily in the corporate realm, her 5 step formula to conquering sticky situations is 100% relevant to other aspects of life - relationships, parenting, and navigating community groups. I asked her on the show because I know her approach will be relevant to aspects of your life as you navigate sticky situations and tough conversations! Listen in to hear Jill share: How she went from feeling “mediocre” in life to feeling confident in hard, sticky, and uncomfortable forms of leadership The power of changing your beliefs to challenge your narrative and change your outcomes Why we shy away from sticky conversations and how can we rewrite the narrative about our ability to sit in tough moments and conversations Her 5-step formula for dealing with tough conversations Her 3-prong approach to the 5-steps that are "where the magic happens" in sticky conversations How to use the 5-step framework to go after what you want - like asking for a raise! Links mentioned: Connect with Jill: Expeditionhr.com Get Jill’s Book: Conquer Sticky Situations Jill on LinkedIn Jill on Facebook We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re anything like me, tough times might send you into a tailspin of brewing, stewing, and rumination around all the things that are not working out for you. While it’s totally appropriate (and necessary!) to feel all the feels when the universe seems to be working against you, it’s dysfunctional, if not harmful, to allow yourself to sit in these feelings for too long. At some point, you have to take responsibility for how you want to manage your mindset. When you are looking to shift your mindset from brewing, stewing, and ruminating to something more functional (and enjoyable), there are a few ways that you can trick your brain to whip it back into shape and allow it to work with you rather than against you. In this episode, we will talk through these 5 different ways you can “rearrange your brain” in order to keep going and move forward even when hard moments end up lasting for entire seasons. When you give your brain the opportunity to let yourself escape, release urgency, create the correct proof, and come up with creative options, everything can start to shift for you. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is so easy to become confused, if not consumed, by what the outside world says is important versus what you need to focus on for yourself and those closest to you right in this moment based on your specific needs right in this moment. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Shut Down Overwhelm in order to discern what you really need to be focusing on right now. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. Enjoy this shorty episode. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taylor Elyse Morrison turned being bad at self-care—and being firmly convinced of every human’s potential—into a career. She’s the founder of the media company Inner Workout, and the author of a book by the same name. Recently named one of Fortune’s 10 Innovators Shaping the Future of Health, Taylor is tired of aspirational 'wellness as usual.' Instead, she builds businesses, content, and experiences that make well-being and personal development more accessible. You're just as likely to see Taylor facilitating a workshop at a Fortune 100 as you are to see her talking about TikTok and body image with a high school class. Wherever she goes, Taylor's sure to use her coaching, mindfulness, and movement training to meet people where they're at and offer actionable steps toward creating a world without burnout. As someone who also believes a lot of the self-care industry is just a big marketing scheme, I was very excited to talk to Taylor about her experience and expertise. This conversation did not disappoint. I think you’ll learn a lot from Taylor and take a different look at what “self-care” means to you! Listen in to hear Taylor share: The difference between self-care and self expertise The problem around accessibility in the self-care industry How to make choices by asking yourself, “Is it myself or is it the system that is the problem?” when you’re questioning yourself and your needs How to start grounding yourself and growing your roots in your self expertise The importance of knowing how your inner wisdom speaks specifically to you How to become a better communicator as you become a better self expert Links mentioned: Connect with Taylor: Innerworkout.co Take the Assessment: Innerworkout.co/take-care-profile Get Taylor’s book: Inner Workout Taylor’s Podcast: Inner Warmup Taylor on IG: @taylorelysemorrison and @innerworkout We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What will people say about you at your funeral? When you attend a funeral and hear all the lovely things people say about the person who has passed on, you may find yourself thinking, “What will people say about me when I am no longer here?” While you certainly should not live your life constantly worrying about what others are thinking and saying about you, it is worth considering the legacy you are building and whether or not you might want to be more intentional about your legacy. I was at a funeral recently and as multiple people spoke about the person who had passed, I noted how the same words and themes came up over and over again. It made me pause and think about the words and themes people might use to describe me and the life I have lived if something awful were to happen to me right now. In this episode, I talk through how to build a legacy in simple ways, starting now. This isn’t intended to upend your life so you can go be someone totally new. Rather, it’s intended to give you some guidelines and guardrails (some of which you’re likely already following) to keep living in a direction that you love while building something you feel great about. We will talk through 5 Legacy Leverages (ways you can leverage building your legacy right away) as well as 5 Legacy Leaches (the things that quickly take away, distract, or totally deter you from building a legacy you love. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This shorty podcast episode is created with one thing in mind - to give you just ONE thing to make today a better day. You’re busy enough. You don't need 37 more things to do today. Let this one shameless thing guide you through your day today. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. Today I’m giving you One Shameless Thing to help you Renew Joy! My good friend Tanmeet Sethi accurately tell us that “joy is a birthright”. You do not need to earn joy. It is an essential life ingredient. I’m going to invite you to invite joy in today! Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andrea Ippolito is the CEO and Founder of SimpliFed, a virtual baby-feeding support platform. She previously was a faculty member at Cornell University, a Presidential Innovation Fellow based out of the White House, and Co-founder of Smart Scheduling (acquired by Athenahealth). She is a Shameless Mom to a 5-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a brand new little one born last month. Her journey through motherhood inspired her mission to provide better feeding support to mothers with newborns and infants. You know baby feeding is a topic near and dear to my heart, as I struggled so desperately to feed Vinnie in his first 6 months of life. It had a tremendous impact on my mental health and on his physical health. I was so thrilled to meet Andrea and dig into this really important topic. Listen in to hear Andrea share: How her struggles around breastfeeding led her to found SimpliFed The ways in which our current baby feeding infrastructure is broken The perfect storm that created our formula shortage How SimpliFed is an inclusive baby feeding company, not just a breastfeeding company The truth about women-led companies: Women-led companies are more profitable, more innovative, and have more impactful missions and outcomes The significance of a mom-founded, mom-led company creating formula and support for moms What needs to be done to create systems that actually support women’s health Links mentioned: Get Simplified Resource: www.SimpliFed.com SimpliFed on IG Reach out to SimpliFed Text Support: 888-458-1364 We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This shorty podcast episode is created with one thing in mind - to give you just ONE thing to make today a better day. You’re busy enough. You don't need 37 more things to do today. Let this one shameless thing guide you through your day today. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. Today I’m giving you One Shameless Thing to help you Own Your Power! You are more qualified and capable than you know. I want you to use that to your advantage #everydamnday. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This shorty podcast episode is created with one thing in mind - to give you just ONE thing to make today a better day. You’re busy enough. You don't need 37 more things to do today. Let this one shameless thing guide you through your day today. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. Today I’m giving you One Shameless Thing to help you Honor Rest! It’s high time you allowed yourself to rest - without guilt. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Suzy Rosenstein, MA is a master certified life coach and host of the popular podcast for midlife women, Women in the Middle, with over 1 million downloads. Having wasted five years being stuck herself, she knows how frustrating and painful it can be. She uses her upbeat approach with the serious topic of aging to help you get clear about what you want, get unstuck and live your best life. Girlfriend, there’s more fun to be had! She offers a free guide, 10 Questions to Reimagine your Life After 50. Suzy and I were in a business coaching group together back in 2018. We recently had a “catch up call” to check in with one another. On that call Suzy shared a really incredible story with me and I immediately knew I wanted her to share it here on the pod. Luckily, she said YES! Her story goes to show that you just never know what surprises you can create in your life, no matter your age or stage, if you remain open to possibility. Listen in to hear Suzy share: What it was like to lose her lose her mom at age 5 and dad at age 12 Her “bracelet story” that was 70 years in the making that reconnected her to her mom The significance of kindness and how that impacts Suzy’s reconnection to her mom Her invitation to live a regret proof life and how to do that The significance of really intentionally pursuing happiness as you age Links mentioned: Connect with Suzy: https://suzyrosenstein.com/ Suzy’s Free Guide: Top 10 Questions to Reimagine Your Life after 50 Guide Suzy’s podcast: Women in the Middle: Loving Life After 50 Women in the Middle Ep 93: My Unique Midlife Perspective From Losing My Parents as a Kid Women in the Middle Ep 267: A Bracelet, Kindness & a 70-Year Journey: A Shocking Midlife Surprise Suzy on FB Suzy on IG Suzy on Twitter We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This shorty podcast episode is created with one thing in mind - to give you just ONE thing to make today a better day. You’re busy enough. You don't need 37 more things to do today. Let this one shameless thing guide you through your day today. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. Today I’m giving you One Shameless Thing to help you Find Fun! You deserve more fun in your life, right?! Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Woohoooo! Thank you for tuning into these shorty Thursday episodes. I love to hear that you’re loving this content. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Walk Toward Your Fear. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cindy Muchnick, MA, is a graduate of Stanford University and has been working in education for the past 25+ years as a former Assistant Director of College Admission, high school teacher, educational consultant, and author of five other education-related books. Her essays have appeared in Zibby Magazine, Your Teen Magazine, College Confidential, Raising Teens Today, The Los Angeles Times, and The Mom Experience, among others. She is also an experienced and always-learning mother of three sons and a daughter, ages 25 (a teacher/graduate student), 21 (college), 18 (college) and 16 (high school junior). Cindy speaks professionally to parents, students, teachers, and business groups on topics such as study skills, the adolescent journey, college admission, and now the parent compass movement. Listen in to hear Cindy share: Why she decided to write a book about college and college admissions in the wake of the college admissions scandal of 2019 What a parent compass is and how to find & follow your true north as a parent The significance of truly seeing the child you have, not the child you want to inauthentically create When and how to help your kids be a self-advocate at school How to be open to all the options your kid might have after high school (4-year degree, gap year, pursuing a fine art or trade and community college, etc) Links mentioned: Buy Cindy’s Book: The Parent Compass: Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness and Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World Connect with Cindy: cynthiamuchnick.com Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you have an anxious, jumpy brain like me, you might have a constant, urgent need to talk, share, contribute, make your point known, be seen, be a fixer, and get the right answer out before anyone else in the room… Do ya feel me?! However, what is gained by sharing (shoving?) our thoughts and ideas with others at breakneck speed can just as quickly be lost when we skip the opportunity to step back, get curious, really listen, and dig into engaging and enriching conversations. So, how do we do this - especially if it’s not how your brain was innately designed?! In this episode, we will talk about how you can become a more curious person and better relationship builder by: Identifying as a great question asker Listening actively without formulating your response Expanding conversations instead of managing or dominating them Suspending judgment and the need to immediately respond to or counter everyone who thinks differently than you Showing genuine interest in others and their thoughts & ideas Embracing silence As you integrate these curiosity practices, you will find yourself enjoying (winning!) Deeper, richer relationships More safe and trusting relationships Empathy toward those who might have different lived experiences than you The ability to see, understand, and embrace diverse viewpoints A departure from always needing to be right to always being open-minded We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Woohoooo! Thank you for tuning into these shorty Thursday episodes. I love to hear that you’re loving this content. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Take Imperfect Action. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shirin Etessam is an entrepreneur, seasoned media executive, and transformational speaker. She has produced films, original television series, and specials, created several companies, and led campaigns for some of the world’s most recognized companies (ABC, CBS, Discovery, BBC, Facebook, Apple, Intel, Virgin, and many more). A proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Shirin founded OML TV, a popular platform dedicated to streaming and curating quality, queer female, video content, and OML Originals, a female-led production company telling diverse female stories through a vast spectrum of film and television genres. Today, Shirin guides seekers in her six-week program, Free to Be, to disconnect their human “being” from their human “doing” to find true and lasting fulfillment. She lives in Marin County, California, with her wife and two children. Listen in to hear Shirin share: What soul work is and why it’s so important in this day and age How soul work is different than spirituality and different than “woo-woo” practices Her 6-year “Magical Mystery Tour” of having to reconnect with her soul when she lost her partner and co-parent of 13 years and became a single parent of a 5 and 7 year old The framework she uses to help people reclaim their souls through a 6-week process How to use her framework of taser, shield, filter, and hug to determine how to hold space for each person in your life The importance of avoiding spiritual comas and spiritual bypassing Links mentioned: Connect with Shirin: https://www.shirinetessam.com Get Shirin’s Book: Free To Be Shirin on FB Shirin on IG Shirin on TikTok We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Gertrude Lyons is the Founder and CEO of Rewrite The Mother Code, as well as a faculty member at Wright Graduate University. Dr. Lyons is a leading-edge trainer and educator in human emergence, lifestyle, parenting, leadership development, career, relationship satisfaction and success, and women’s development. She is on a mission to help women reclaim their lives through mothering and create a safe space where women can express their dreams, fears, and truths around motherhood. Dr. Lyons firmly believes we are all mothers, and together we can support and empower one another to be the best versions of ourselves. Listen in to hear Gertrude share: How all women are mothers and how she is expanding the traditional definition and framework around mothering What the Mother Code is and how she is inviting each one of us to rewrite the Mother Code Specific steps you can take to mother yourself Questions to ask yourself as you write your own Mother Code How to check in around the feelings of fear, hurt, anger, sadness, and joy each day to be grounded, centered and present 3 steps to start rewriting your Mother Code today Links mentioned: Connect with Gertrude: www.drgertrudelyons.com Gertrude’s Podcast: Mot(her) Gertrude on IG Gertrude on LinkedIn We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Woohoooo! Thank you for tuning into these shorty Thursday episodes. I love to hear that you’re loving this content. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to SHINE. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a working mom of two active toddlers, Monica Plath intimately knows the anxieties parents and caregivers face when they are apart from their children. That’s how she came up with her idea for Littlebird, a wearable tracking device that offers parents and caregivers peace of mind and real-time data about their children. In the middle of the pandemic, Monica found herself on ZOOM while nursing a newborn and meeting with software developers to meet milestones for deployment. During this time, she also wrote a children's book for charity and created a wine for moms from unused grapes from an award-winning vineyard --- all from rural Yakima Washington. The pandemic enabled her to go digital, file 4 patents, raise 2 million in pre-seed money, and resource the best minds in the business to create Littlebird while raising 2 small children as her marriage was falling apart. Listen in to hear Monica share: Her reluctance around being a tech founder, but then shifting to embrace it What inspired her to create Little Bird when she was pregnant with a toddler under toe and knew she needed a way to support and monitor her toddler to keep him safe How Little Bird answers these questions in real-time: Is my child safe? What is my child doing? How is my child feeling? The power and importance of “care transparency” How our current care economy is underserving parents Her advice to other moms out there with an idea and how to take initiative to get started Links mentioned: Get a Littlebird: www.littlebird.care use promo code SHAMELESS to save $50 on your Littlebird Monica on Instagram & Twitter: @monicamplath Littlebird on Instagram & Twitter @littlebirdcares Monica on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicaplath Littlebird on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@littlebirdcares We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A couple of years ago, I was listening to Brene Brown’s podcast and she shared this quote from Jim Collins that made me so mad I had to stop the episode: “Uncertainty is chronic. Instability is permanent. Disruption is common.” Brene shared this quote in the middle of the pandemic when things were at an all-time low for so many. The reason I was so mad was because she and Jim were so right. It wasn’t just the pandemic that made uncertainty, instability, and disruption chronic, permanent, and common. This is how the world always has been and always will be. I wasn’t prepared for that last part. It will always be this way. It was as if I had been living in this dreamland in which I had convinced myself that at some point I would arrive at this beautiful destination where everything would finally be certain, stable, and free of disruption. Thanks for wrecking my dream Brene and Jim! But when I continued to think about this, I realized that I had already proven over and over and over again how adaptable I was. Life, career, relationships, and - most certainly - motherhood had trained me to adapt, pivot, change gears, and take share right turns on a very regular basis. The same is true for you. Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but you too are adaptable AF. But if you aren’t owning and honoring you may be missing out on really juicy opportunities and invitations to make decisions that allow for great expansion and possibility in your life. In this episode, we will talk about how to improve your adaptability in motherhood and life by: Honoring your scrappiness Owning your creative problem-solving skills Checking your ego Embracing change as a constant Becoming comfortable being uncomfortable Committing to long-term growth mindset We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Woohoooo! Thank you for tuning into these shorty Thursday episodes. I love to hear that you’re loving this content. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Ask For Help. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meg is an attorney and leader in anti-money laundering and financial crimes on Wall Street. She is also the founder and president of Don’t Hide It Flaunt It® (DHIFI), which is a non-profit whose mission is to advance understanding, tolerance, and mutual respect for people's differences. It provides “flaunt it” Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and anti-bullying programming to public and private schools, universities, community service organizations, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at Fortune 500 companies. Meg is a high-demand speaker and activist who has been featured on the TODAY show. Meg’s writing has appeared in Parents Magazine, USA Today, Scholastic Storyworks, The Jewish Forward, The Mighty, Motherwell, and Scary Mommy. The Zucker family was also the subject of a TLC special, “My Extraordinary Family.” Meg recently released her first book, Born Extraordinary: Empowering Children with Differences and Disabilities. Listen in to hear Meg share: Her experience being born with ectrodactyly - the absence of one or more central digits of the hand or foot The difference between the labels of “difference” and “disabilities” and how to use them appropriately How she has taken on the attitude Let Go and Let Live in order to let her kids with ectrodactyly figure out their capabilities The gift of her husband accepting her unconditionally before she accepted herself unconditionally How her son being bullied led her to start her non-profit, Don’t Hide It, Flaunt It. The fine line between cruelty and curiosity when it comes to interacting with people who are different than yourself Why kindness is a great goal, but not sufficient on its own when it comes to teaching your kids about being inclusive Links mentioned: Connect with Meg: www.megzucker.com Meg on IG: @MegZucker and @justflauntit_ Meg on FB and Twitter We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years I tried to attain what my mentors had. I assumed that once you got to a certain place in life, you would be all set - forever. You would finally know how to manage all the things and feel confident in all the things. I kept desperately hoping I could find the level of mastery my coaches had because then life would be full of ease. For a number of years in a row, I chose ease as one of my “words of the year”. I chose this word because when I looked around it seemed others had actually found this elusive ease. My coaches, random people I followed on Instagram, other school moms - all seemed to have it. I figured if they could find it so could I - DAMMIT. But over time - one by one - I started to see cracks. People who seemed to “have it all together” offered glimpses into their real lives. There was definitely much less ease than I expected. Sometimes, there was no ease at all. Instead, there was uncertainty, struggle, raw pain, and sometimes straight-up trauma. When we only show the world our pretty, shiny parts, we are doing a disservice to all women. It is in showing up with transparency (as long as it is safe to do so), that we allow other women to do the same. We have been socialized to give 110%, to actively desire and desperately pursue perfectionism, to quietly keep our struggles behind closed doors. This greatly harms women while upholding and benefitting the Patriarchy. By only showing the shiny parts of our lives and withholding the more authentic pieces of ourselves, we harm other women by: Creating unreal and unreasonable expectations for other women Upholding the social construct of perfectionism (that only exists for women) Perpetuating loneliness and isolation for women (and moms especially) Undermining authentic connection and the collective growth of women on a societal level Eroding the collective mental health of women & moms Impairing and inhibiting your relationships In this episode, I talk through how we have been socialized to hide certain parts of ourselves, why this works out great for men, and how you can start to practice transparency in safe ways in order to show up more authentically and create space for other women to do the same. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Woohoooo! Thank you for tuning into these shorty Thursday episodes. I love to see that you’re loving this content. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Practice Courage. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Angela Jia Kim founded Savor Beauty, a natural skincare and facial spa brand inspired by Korean beauty and self-love rituals. She is also a former international, classical concert pianist. Called “the unexpected beauty virtuoso” by MindBodyGreen, she created the award-winning skincare in her kitchen, became an accidental entrepreneur, and built a multimillion-dollar enterprise around the philosophy of manifesting beauty, brilliance, and balance. She has led hundreds of women empowerment workshops and her Savor Beauty Self-Care Planner has sold over 100,000 copies. A highly recognized skin and self-care expert, her skincare and spas in New York City have been chosen as “Best of New York” and featured in top publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, Elle, People, Allure, Well+Good, and more. Listen in to hear Angela share: Her commitment to staying inspired by inspiring others The importance of inner work and how to make it delicious and desirable Her drastic reinvention of self from concert pianist to building a multimillion-dollar skincare line The gift of play and making mistakes in creating her own skincare line after having to work with high perfectionism as a pianist How she let creativity fuel her as she built her business selling skincare products while nursing her 1-month-old daughter at outdoor NYC markets in the middle of winter How to create self-care routines that are playful and creative How she defines self-care as an action for which your future self will thank you Her philosophy of GIVE GIVE GET and how to use this philosophy to inspire your life in new ways Links mentioned: Get Angela’s Beauty Tips: savorbeauty.com Get Angela’s Planner: savorbeautyplanner.com Join Angela’s Weekly Email: radicalradiance.com/ Get Angela’s book: angelajiakim.com/ Savor Beauty’s newest product: Radiance Sun Milk SPF 50+ Angela on IG We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Pride, my friends! A couple of weeks ago, I had the absolute honor to moderate a panel of LGBTQIA+ leaders who were collaborating in support of The Pride and Joy Foundation as they had an incredible conversation about how to support our LGBTQIA+ youth during Pride month (and all year long!) When the conversation was over, I asked Executive Director of the Pride and Joy Foundation founder (and past SMA guest), Elena Joy Thurston, if we could share the recording of this conversation as a podcast episode. I just knew our community would love to learn from these leaders. I’m so grateful Elena said “YES!” And shout out to her producer Jessica Whipple who brilliantly edited our conversation so it could be used as podcast content. On the panel, we have: Junior Mintt (she/her), a “Black Transwoman, Drag Preacher, and Businesswoman” Kalyela Josephs (they/she), a “Queer Spiritual coach” whose work has focused on helping families of color understand how to integrate LGBTQ+ culture into their family culture. Rae McDaniel (they/them) recently released their groundbreaking book, “Gender Magic”. They are also a licensed therapist supporting individuals and families with gender transition. Elena Joy (she/her), an ExMormon mom of four kids who has also been featured in the award-winning documentary “CONVERSION”, has a viral TEDx talk, and is now the volunteer Executive Director of Pride and Joy Foundation. C Rizleris (they/them), a contributing writer for the Pride and Joy Foundation, as well as a member of the Transgender Task Force Committee for the city of Greensboro, NC. Listen in to hear this panel discuss: What drag is and what it is not How we can engage in healthy and supportive conversation around gender identity with our youth How to talk about non-supportive friends & family about gender identity How you can use Pride Month to increase your allyship with the LGBTQIA+ Community How to create safety & well-being for our youth all year long - beyond Pride month The best ways to engage rural conservative communities in Pride Month activities How can you support your youth with various intersectionalities (IE: ethnic background, neurodivergence, etc) during Pride month Links mentioned: Podcast: Out of Queeriosity Book: Gender Magic by Rae McDaniels Connect with Kalyela: kalyelaj.com Connect with Rae McDaniel: rae-mcdaniel.com Connect with Elena and/or Support the Pride and Joy Foundation: https://www.prideandjoyfoundation.com/ Connect with C Rizleris: crizleris.com/ Pride and Joy Foundation on IG Elena Joy Thurston on IG Junior Mintt on IG Rae McDaniel on IG C Rizleris on IG Jessica Whipple on IG We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Woohoooo! Thank you for tuning into these shorty Thursday episodes. I love to see that you’re loving this content. ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Shut Down Negative Self-Talk. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emily Lynn Paulson is a Shameless Mom of 5 and the author of Highlight Real: Finding Honesty and Recovery Beyond the Filtered Life, and the forthcoming Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing (May 2023). She has given two powerful TEDx talks, both challenging the status quo of parenting, alcohol use, and feminism as we know it. Paulson has also been featured in major publications such as the Today Show, New York Times, Washington Post, The Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, Next Question with Katie Couric, and the Tamron Hall Show. I found Emily and her work by way of Instagram and was instantly obsessed with the conversations she was having around the cult-like behavior of MLMs. As she was sharing about the overlap between MLMs, cults, and Supremacy culture, I knew I had to reach out to ask her to come on the show. I know so many moms have participated in MLMs at one time or another. This conversation is in no way intended to shame, but to shed light. Whenever I talk about MLMs in a negative light, I get messages from women who say, “But the MLM I’m in is different.” Maybe it is, but I want to make sure you have as many tools as possible to be a critical thinker and observer of what happens inside the organizations that benefit and profit from your participation. Listen in to hear Emily share: What inspired her first book, Highlight Reel, on her journey to sobriety What an MLM (multilevel marketing) company is, why they are so seductive, and how they are problematic, if not harmful The commonalities between the seductiveness of mommy wine culture and MLM culture The exploitative nature of targeting moms in MLMs The connection between MLM culture and White Supremacy How those working in “women’s empowerment” can be part of systematic brainwashing and indoctrination Links mentioned: Connect with Emily: emilylynnpaulson.com Emily’s Sober Mom Squad: sobermomsquad.com Emily on IG: instagram.com/emilylynnpaulson Emily on TikTok: tiktok.com/emilylynnpaulson We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two years ago, I shared that I had been newly diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder and PTSD. I was 0% shocked by the GAD diagnosis and 100% shocked by the PTSD diagnosis. But, as I dug more into some circumstances and my reactions, I was able to more clearly understand how this diagnosis came to be. A year ago, I gave an update on my mental health. It felt right to let you all know how things were going. I think the more we talk about mental health and normalize the ups and downs all of us experience, the less stigma there will be around mental health struggles and the more people will feel safe and comfortable asking for help. A lot has happened in the world and in my life in the last two years. Increasingly, it felt like some of the things that had supported my mental health over the years (decades even) were working less. Also, I found myself feeling less hopeful. I didn’t necessarily feel hopeless, but I definitely felt less hopeful. I also became almost certain that I was managing undiagnosed ADHD and I was confused about where my anxiety ended and my possible ADHD began. Or maybe they were one and the same?? And, I just felt so ridiculously tired. Not I-need-to-take-nap tired. More like my-mind-has-been-on-overdrive-for-47-years-and-it-might-crash-at-any-time tired. I stopped being able to prioritize tasks. I forgot a lot of random things that I would normally never forget. I became worse and worse with time management. During this time, I didn’t miss any deadlines. I didn’t let down any clients (that I know of!) I was able to be my usual over-performer self. But I had this overwhelming sense that the way I was existing was no longer sustainable. So, I reached out to a local therapy practice to be evaluated for ADHD. In this episode, I share what my assessment was like and how this experience was as odd as my experience of being diagnosed with GAD/PTSD. Are there any “normal” psychiatrists out there?! My experience tells me no… That said, I’m on a new path that I’m open to sharing in hopes it will give you permission to always be open to exploring your own mental health. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are struggling with your mental health, call your primary care doctor and ask for help. Call your therapist or psychiatrist if you have one. If you are in WA or OR, you can reach out to Mindful Therapy. If you do not have a medical professional you can reach out to, please dial 988 and they will help you find someone. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am bringing you this short form podcast, a minisode if you will, as a part of a mini-series. If you love this 3rd shorty episode each week, please let me know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, dropping a comment, or DMing me. If I get great feedback from you, I might just continue sharing a 3rd ep each week :) ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Say No. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rae McDaniel (they/them) is a non-binary Speaker, Author, Therapist, Certified Sex Therapist, Coach, and Transgender Diversity and Inclusion Educator. Rae helps audiences gain the sheer audacity to be themselves in the world through play, pleasure, and possibility. Their book Gender Magic, coming out on May 31st, is a first-of-its-kind practical guide to achieving gender freedom with joy, curiosity, and pleasure for transgender and non-binary individuals, gender explorers, and those who love them. They have been featured in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Time, and Women’s Health, and spoken at Rutgers University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago, Soho House, The Wing, and Rachel’s Rodgers’ Millionaires Summit. Rae is also the founder and CEO of Practical Audacity, a Gender & Sex Therapy practice in Chicago, serving over 300 clients yearly. When Rae isn’t educating audiences and bettering the world, they can be found drinking too much coffee, snuggling with their dog Gizmo (who might actually be a gremlin), or sipping whiskey with a good book. Listen in to hear Rae share: How their journey as a queer, non-binary person inspired their work How their work as a therapist serving trans & non-binary people inspired their book, Gender Magic The significance of integrating Play, Pleasure, and Possibility in gender exploration The importance of knowing/understanding what we are moving toward vs what we are running from, when considering our own choices and/or when we are considering the choices of those around us What the spectrum of gender expression looks like - well beyond the binary of only male and female How our gender evolves as we evolve over the course of our lives How freedom around gender expression deeply enhances and impacts the entire world Question to ask yourself if you’re struggling to accept or understand non-binary, trans people The importance of being the loudest advocate and ally you can be right now Links mentioned: Rae on SMA Episode 516: Taking The Suffering Out Of Transitioning for Trans People Connect with Rae: http://www.rae-mcdaniel.com Get the book: Gender Magic: https://www.gendermagic.com Rae’s Therapy Practice: https://www.practicalaudacity.com Instagram: @theraemcdaniel and @practicalaudacity Rae on TikTok Rae on FB We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I thought after 3 hard years, we had all earned at least 3 years of ease. But, no. The collective experience of enduring and existing in incredibly challenging times seems to have shifted from a universal experience to an individual experience. 3 years ago we were all in it together. Today, we are all enduring alone. Significant workplace challenges, supporting our struggling children, losing loved ones, many of us cascading into our own mental health and/or addiction crises, and the list goes on… There is a lot of hard sh*t happening all around me - and mostly behind closed doors. It seems almost everyone I know is suffering in some sort of monumental way - and very privately. I’m generally a glass-half-full person. I would say I’m pretty resilient. But I do have a threshold under which I cry uncle for sure. As I’ve hit that threshold a few times recently, I’ve tried to pay close attention to the questions I can ask myself that help me STAY. In the past I sat in hard moments and tried to push through, to move forward. But sometimes moving forward feels too hard. Too heavy of a lift. What are the questions that allow us to just STAY HERE, not necessarily the ones that force us to take on the world? I know some women who have opted out - permanently - in recent months. The pain too great. Too overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s ok to just STAY HERE and not necessarily need to take on the gargantuan task of actually moving forward. In this episode, I talk you through 5 questions to ask yourself when you are in a hard moment - when you are committed to staying here but need to think through how to manage the moment. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are struggling to stay here, please reach out to help. Call your primary care doctor and ask for help. Call your therapist or psychiatrist if you have one. If you are in WA or OR, you can reach out to Mindful Therapy at https://www.mindfultherapygroup.com, as I recently did. I was able to get an appointment within a week. If you do not have a medical professional you can reach out to, please dial 988 and they will help you find someone. The world needs you to stay here. Link mentioned: Suicide Hotline: Dial 988 or go to 988lifeline.org We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am bringing you this short form podcast, a mini-sode if you will, as a part of a mini series. If you love this 3rd shorty episode each week, please let me know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, dropping a comment, or DMing me. If I get great feedback from you, I might just continue sharing a 3rd ep each week :) ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Hold Your Head Up High. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julie Lewis, a 38-­year AIDS survivor, was infected with HIV in 1984 but not diagnosed until the early 1990s when she was given three to five years to live. After years of silence about her disease, she found an unlikely community of friends to fight alongside and began using her story to make a difference. Her experiences as a woman living with AIDS offers insights about grief and loss, caregiving, spirituality and the importance of community in the midst of tragedy. In 2020, Julie completed her 30/30 Project in celebration of her 30 years of living with AIDS. This resulted in 30 new healthcare facilities serving women, girls, and families in 9 countries. These facilities have allowed for over 715,000 patient visits, 127,000 HIV tests, and the safe delivery of over 9,000 babies. Jenny Koenig is a writer and Grammy Nominated Music Video Producer. She’s passionate about channeling her creativity into ways to raise money for nonprofits, including the 30/30 Project. She was a co-creator and Executive Producer for All in WA: A Concert for COVID Relief, which raised over $110 million for COVID related causes. She’s learning how to juggle life as a new mom to her 6 month old daughter. Jenny is a longtime friend of Julie Lewis and jumped at the chance to help her tell her story. Listen in to hear Julie and Jenny share: What it was like to receive her HIV diagnosis as a mom of a 2, 4, and 6 year old - and be given only 3-5 years to live Her decision to tell her 6 year old, Ryan, about her HIV status - knowing full well that he would not be able to keep the family secret How Ryan shared Julie’s status and broke the seal on “going public” with her status What it was like to feel like she was parenting on borrowed time The moment when she realized she had lived to see all the things she thought she would never get to experience The reality of Julie’s survivor guilt as she has outlived so many friends from the AIDS community The African women and moms who inspired her 30/30 Project to build 30 hospitals for 18 organizations across 9 countries The sweet, unlikely, and incredibly special friendship of Julie and Jenny (Julie’s daughter’s college roommate) Links mentioned: Connect with Julie and Jenny Book: Still Positive Still Positive on IG Support the 30/30 Project The 30/30 Project on IG Julie on IG Jenny on IG We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I want to tell you that I’m a few steps ahead of you and I don’t ever compare myself to others. But that would be a bold faced lie. The truth is, I do compare myself to others. Sometimes I even get angry when I see others who seem to have it all, or folks who seem to have all the good things just randomly and effortlessly fall into their laps out of nowhere. But, here’s the thing. At the wise(ish) age of 47, I’m starting to know better. I know to always look past the surface. I know things are never as picture perfect as they seem for others. When I find myself spinning in the that “she has it all and you don’t” inner talk, I have to catch myself and (loudly) remind myself: That’s not true. This lie is holding you back. In this episode, I talk you through 5 Ways to Get Out of the Mom Comparison Trap in order to see your own power in every instance, acknowledge what is true and what is NOT, and ultimately find more mental ease as you navigate a world that will always present you with picture perfect aspirations. Link mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and wellbeing of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am bringing you this short form podcast, a mini-sode if you will, as a part of a mini-series. If you love this 3rd shorty episode each week, please let me know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, dropping a comment, or DMing me. If I get great feedback from you, I might just continue sharing a 3rd ep each week :) ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Release Self Doubt. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. Link mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and well-being of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 9th was National Fentanyl Awareness Day. When past SMA guest, Brenda Zane, reached out to ask if we could have a conversation to raise awareness around this day, I knew I had to say yes. Talking about drugs, especially fentanyl, is scary and uncomfortable for sure. But if this conversation can help one family or save one child it’s well worth it. Brenda Zane is a family advocate, certified parent coach & facilitator with The Partnership to End Addiction, host of the podcast Hopestream, and founder of a nonprofit organization, Hopestream Community. She’s passionate about serving parents of kids who struggle with substance misuse and mental health. Brenda's oldest son struggled with an addiction to a high-risk lifestyle and illicit drugs for over 5 years. After nearly losing him to multiple fentanyl overdoses, Brenda left her marketing career to serve other families dealing with the fear, confusion, and feelings of helplessness of having a child who's misusing drugs or alcohol. Listen in to hear Brenda share: How her teen son overdosing on fentanyl twice in 3 days in 2017 informed her work today The 3 things you need to know about fentanyl as a parent Myths and truths about fentanyl and its various forms Where kids are quickly and easily getting pills online How to talk to your kids about fentanyl and what age to start the conversation How to keep open communication with your kids about drugs over the years The connection between neurodiversities and addiction What to do if you’re worried your child might be experimenting with drugs Links mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and well-being of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com Connect with Brenda and her community: www.hopestreamcommunity.org Podcast: Hopestream Brenda on SMA Episode 454: Parenting Your Teen Through Addiction Book: Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you feel like you are carrying a lot all the time, you are. The mental load of motherhood is so much. Too much. You become somewhat numb to it over time. You don’t realize you’re chronically tired, overwhelmed, anxious and emotionally drained because it feels normal. Because it is normal, sadly. This is motherhood. That feeling that you don't recognize yourself, you can’t remember who you were before kids and you’re not sure who you’ll be when the kids no longer need you? Normal. The whiplash from the rapid changing of hats from mom to professional to family project manager to community caregiver that has your head spinning? Normal. The realization that you’re always making trade-offs that come at a cost to your time, energy, and joy? Normal. I’m not saying this to make you feel worse - only to point out how normal this is. You are not alone. What if in acknowledging all of this, you could see that change is necessary and possible? In this episode, we talk through 4 ways you can navigate the mental load of motherhood in order to find more mental ease, more joy, and more comfort in your daily life. Links mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and well-being of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com Other SMA episodes about the mental load of motherhood: Ep 305: 4 Ways to Manage the Mental Load of Motherhood Ep 411: How to Create More Mental Space in Motherhood We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to ONE SHAMELESS THING! I am bringing you this short form podcast, a minisode if you will, as a part of a mini-series. If you love this 3rd shorty episode each week, please let me know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, dropping a comment, or DMing me. If I get great feedback from you, I might just continue sharing a 3rd ep each week :) ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Practice Forgiveness. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. Link mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and well-being of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Amy Conrad is a board-certified pediatrician, founder of Kinder Digital Pediatric Clinic, host of Ask Doctor Amy (Youtube, podcast), anthropologist, and believer in good information that empowers modern parents to raise healthy kids. As a working mom, she understands the struggle parents face today with an overabundance of conflicting information. Instead of adding to the noise, Dr. Amy cuts through the clutter to pave a more natural, instinctive path to parenting by putting the focus back on the child and family. Dr. Amy and I had a fantastic conversation about how to support your child’s physical and mental health. Listen in to hear Amy share: 3 things parents can do to give their kids a healthy foundation in life The importance of modeling health, not just preaching health The significance of modeling imperfection - that it’s ok and normal to be imperfect in your habits How to help your kids make positive choices around their physical & mental health as they get a little older How we can nurture our kids’ mental health and give them the “anchors” they need to feel supported and connected The current culture of parenting in Western culture and how we can choose from a variety of options and alternatives rather than accepting the Western culture status quo What modern working parents need to support their kids in a society that offers them so little time & resources to support The importance of your child having multiple attachment figures Links mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and well-being of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com Connect with Dr. Amy: Askdoctoramy.com Dr. Amy on Youtube: @askdoctoramy Dr. Amy on IG Dr. Amy on LinkedIn Podcast: Ask Doctor Amy Book: Hold Onto Your Kids by Gabor Mate and Dr. Gordon Neufeld Book: Bringing up Bebe We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For 750 episodes (750!!!) I have been preaching to you about shining. “STOP SHRINKING and START SHINING”, I have said over and over again. Today, I want to acknowledge there is a cost to the shining if we don’t keep an eye out for our own physical, mental and emotional regulation and restoration. We need to give ourselves time and space to rest and recover after we run all over town shining like a mother. What does shining look like to you? Perhaps something like this: Trying something new that is physically, mentally or emotionally taxing Stepping into a new level of visibility or exposure in your community or work Being vulnerable in front of your peers Having a hard conversation Doing something you’re scared of Showing up for intense work Holding space for others When you challenge yourself to show up and SHINE in any of these ways, it’s equally important to show up and REST afterward. Today, we talk through 4 ways you can recover from your extra bright, shiny (and awesome) endeavors, so you can keep going without burning out on shining. Link mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and wellbeing of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tanmeet Sethi, MD, is a board-certified Integrative Family Medicine physician who has spent the last 25 years on the frontlines locally and globally practicing primary care and trauma work with the most marginalized communities. As a mother, she has received the impossible news that her youngest son has a fatal degenerative disease. She weaves together the expertise of both acquired knowledge with lived experience and translates them accessibly through the blend of ancient spiritual traditions and modern neuroscience. She is trained in Psychedelic Medicine, Integrative and Functional Medicine, and is a clinical researcher of psilocybin at the University of Washington. Tanmeet and I had such a fantastic conversation here that we immediately scheduled a time to meet in person following this interview. A couple of weeks ago, I got to go on a walk with her and her dog (who is the cutest thing in the world - don’t tell Piper). It was such a fun and inspiring conversation that brought me so much JOY. Tanmeet radiates joy in so many ways and I’m so grateful to call her a new friend. If you’re in Seattle, please come meet Tanmeet, Ijeoma Oluo, and me in person at her book launch at Elliott Bay Books on May 3, 2023. Listen in to hear Tanmeet share: How she came to embrace joy as an act of resistance and self-identify as a Joy Activist How she has navigated mothering her son, Zubin, who was diagnosed with a fatal degenerative disease at age 3 The expansiveness of joy vs the narrow path of suffering The important difference between happiness and joy What her joy practice looks like when every day she sees there is something new to lose as her son’s condition worsens How to fight against whitewashed wellness (“looking on the bright side” or “finding the silver lining" and how this dampens our power) How to show up for people in your life who are going through grief - and things to avoid saying The role of our nervous system in joy How can we all step into joy activism and make your joy revolution your own Links mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and well-being of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com Meet Tanmeet, Ijeoma Oluo (and me!) at Tanmeet’s Book Launch on May 3rd: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/events/20230503 Connect with Tanmeet: www.tanmeetsethimd.com Tanmeet’s Book: Joy is my Justice Tanmeet on IG Tanmeet on FB We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if you could carry around all the hard things you’ve done in your life as little stones of courage in your purse/backpack/fanny pack/back pocket? What if you could hold the hard things you have endured in reverence as a means of honoring how they have informed who you have become up to this date in time? What if you could see the hard things you have achieved as proof and evidence of all the incredible things you are capable of from this day forward? I want to invite you to collect hard things as proof, as evidence, as defining moments, as resume builders that give you power each and every day as you step into all the possibilities that are stretched out ahead of you. In this episode, I talk about what it means to “collect hard things” and all the benefits of collecting hard things when it comes to building resiliency, tenacity, and self-trust. Link mentioned: Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and wellbeing of our LGBTQ+ youth: www.PrideandJoyParents.com We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices