Shameless Leadership

Erika Hayasaki is a Shameless Mom of 3. She is the author of Somewhere Sisters, the true story of twin girls who were born in Vietnam separated at birth and raised in different parts of the world. Somewhere Sisters was nominated as an NPR Best Book of 2022. She is also the author of The Death Class, a former 2021-22 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellow, and a 2018 Alicia Patterson Fellow. She has received awards from the Association of Sunday Feature Editors, the Society for Features Journalism, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Erika’s book is a stunning and captivating story of the intersection of nature vs nurture with twins, interracial adoption, identity, and the meaning of family. This was such a powerful conversation. Listen in to hear Erika share: About her book, Somewhere Sisters, the true story of twin girls, born in Vietnam and separated at birth, and raised in different parts of the world How she reconstructed the sisters Ha and Loan’s stories and their reunion when they were 13 The science around nature vs. nurture from twin studies The unexpected trauma that can come with twin and adoptee reunification that we don’t see play out in TV and movies How she had to follow the journalistic truth of each person’s story in the book and not be connected to her own hopes for the girls and the story The legislative loophole in which international adoptees are not automatically granted citizenship and the push for legislation to change it The ethical considerations of interracial adoption How sharing our layered identities with one another allows for a more connected human experience Links mentioned: Book: Somewhere Sisters Erika on Twitter Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! iHerb: Get your health in check with great products and great pricing. Get 22% off your first order when you use the code SHAMELESS at iherb.com. Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social-emotional learning with the world's first social-emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Peloton: Get access to a massive workout library and save up to $400 on Bike, Tread, and Row packages before April 2, 2023, at onepeloton.com. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I couldn’t help but dig into something I’ve been working on in live time: TRIGGERS. It seems everybody is talking about their triggers these days - to the point that it’s almost cliche. In fact, the term is used so loosely that it can be insulting to folks who have experienced serious trauma and have triggers that deeply impact their ability to show up and function in the world. I’ve made no secret about my PTSD diagnosis. Over the last couple of years, I have been exploring this diagnosis in therapy and more recently in a hypnotherapy session. I have learned so much. In today's episode, I’m sharing a bit about what I’ve learned as it relates to the things that trigger me. It’s important to note that I am not a therapist or a mental health professional. I’m sharing this because I think some of you will be able to relate to and learn from my anecdotal experience. If this episode triggers you or makes you curious about hypnotherapy, you can reach out to my hypnotherapist Nadia Ahrens at nadiaahrens.com. Link mentioned: Hypnotherapist Nadia Ahrens: nadiaahrens.com Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! iHerb: Get your health in check with great products and great pricing. Get 22% off your first order when you use the code SHAMELESS at iherb.com. Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social-emotional learning with the world's first social-emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Peloton: Get access to a massive workout library and save up to $400 on Bike, Tread, and Row packages before April 2, 2023, at onepeloton.com. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Kristyn Hodgdon reached out to me about coming on the SMA, it was a quick, easy, and emphatic YES! As you likely know, our family has gone through a lot around infertility - in trying to get pregnant with Vinnie and then again in pursuing a second pregnancy. I was so honored to speak with Kristyn, hear her story, and learn about how she helps other women. Kristyn Hodgdon is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Rescripted, the #1 global media platform for fertility, infertility, and pregnancy loss, offering technology tools & resources for wherever you are on your family-building journey. She is a professional writer, voracious reader, fierce fertility advocate, and proud IVF mom of twins. She lives in Long Island, NY with her husband Dan, and their two kids, Brooke and Charlie. Listen in to hear Kristyn share: Her journey to her PCOS diagnosis and then into her infertility What is secondary infertility and how common it is What it looks and feels like to make decisions around expanding your family when you know you can’t get pregnant naturally The hidden grief of secondary infertility What to say to friends & family who are experiencing infertility, secondary infertility, or pregnancy loss Links mentioned: Connect with Kristyn: www.rescripted.com Rescripted on IG Kristyn’s Podcast: Dear (In)Fertility Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! iHerb: Get your health in check with great products and great pricing. Get 22% off your first order when you use the code SHAMELESS at iherb.com. Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social-emotional learning with the world's first social-emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Peloton: Get access to a massive workout library and save up to $400 on Bike, Tread, and Row packages before April 2, 2023, at onepeloton.com. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For many people, there are few worse things than rejection or the threat of rejection. The fear of rejection can cause anxiety, depression, and the most relentless stress. It can stop us from going after what we want and what we deserve. It can keep us stuck for a season - or a lifetime. When you think about fear of rejection and what that might look like for you, I want you to consider what might drive your fear of rejection. What might the underlying causes be? Some common causes of fear of rejection are: Past life events Past rejection or abandonment Past trauma Poor self-worth, self-esteem, sense of self Susceptibility to anxiety, self-criticism If you can identify where your fear of rejection stems from, it’s more likely you can talk your way through it and give it less power over you. For example, as a person who was abandoned by her father as a little girl and again as a 38-year-old woman & new mom, it is helpful for me to remind myself that my father was unable to show up for me for a myriad of reasons. Those reasons were his. They are not a reflection of my worth or my value. They are also not any indication of how others will treat me. In fact, every other human in my life has shown they are very capable of showing up and supporting me. When I talk myself through all this, I can see how I am very likely to be supported in my life no matter what I go after or if I screw up from time to time. In this example, you can see where my fear of rejection might stem from as well as how I walk myself through it. You can see that in accepting my fear, labeling my fear, affirming my worth, and challenging my beliefs/past narratives, I’m able to walk my way right through this fear to a healthier place where I can show up for new things, hard things, big things, scary things - knowing that I don’t have to be perfect, get everything right, impress anyone or prove anything. In this episode, I talk through 7 steps you can take to overcome the fear of rejection in order to show up for your life, go after what you want, and get all that you deserve. Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! iHerb: Get your health in check with great products and great pricing. Get 22% off your first order when you use the code SHAMELESS at iherb.com. Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social-emotional learning with the world's first social-emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Peloton: Get access to a massive workout library and save up to $400 on Bike, Tread, and Row packages before April 2, 2023, at onepeloton.com. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Based in Los Angeles, Jennifer Cassetta is a nationally recognized speaker, empowerment coach, and self-defense expert. She has worked with tens of thousands of professional women around the country to help them unleash their inner badass. Equipped with her 3rd-degree black belt in HapKiDo, Master’s degree in Nutrition, and health coaching certification, she develops programming that helps women feel strong, safe, and powerful from the streets to the boardroom. With clients that include: American Airlines, British Airways, Del Monte, Nike, Uber, and UBS, Jennifer has rocked hundreds of stages across the country with her superpower combination of engaging content and contagious enthusiasm. Her new book, The Art of Badassery: Unleash Your Mojo With Wisdom of the Dojo, can now be found on bookshelves everywhere. This was such a fun conversation. Jenn and I had the most instant chemistry and synergy. Get ready to laugh along with us and take some fantastic notes! Listen in to hear Jenn share: The Art of Badassery and how to unleash your mojo The power of creating your Greatest Shits List Her profound life experience of being just a few blocks from the Twin Towers during 911 How our Greatest Shits create our greatest weapons The importance of Embracing the Suck and 3 strategies for bouncing back from the suck 3 steps to help you Find Your Roar Why claiming/reclaiming your power is critical life work Links mentioned: Connect with Jenn: jennifercassetta.com Book: The Art of Badassery: Unleash Your Mojo With Wisdom of the Dojo Jenn on IG Jenn on LinkedIn Jenn on FB Jenn on Tiktok Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social-emotional learning with the world's first social-emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I know I’m not supposed to have favorites, but I can’t help myself. One of my all-time favorite episodes to record was Mom Guilt Is a Lie. The reason I loved this episode is multipronged. First, I pointed out to you that the mom guilt you feel (that is very real) comes from a massive lie fed to you by the Patriarchy. Second, in making it clear where your guilt comes from, many of you would be able to release the grip that mom guilt has had on you over the years. And finally, I knew that if you could see mom guilt as a myth, you could also become someone who questions other culturally ingrained messages for moms - liberating not only yourself from the constant marginalization of moms, but hopefully so many other moms around you too! While I know many of you benefitted from that episode, I know that you are not miraculously healed. You are likely still struggling with mom guilt. My hope is that this episode will help you see how mom guilt plays a role in your life - likely a harmful role - so you may begin to heal from it. In this episode, I talk through 3 ways mom guilt is harming you. Once you see the ways it is harming you, it’s likely you will see how you can start to let it go in order to show up for your life in new and liberated ways! Links mentioned: SMA Episode 327: Mom Guilt Is a Lie Today's Parent Article: Why Mom Guilt Is the Biggest Lie of All Thank you to our sponsors this month! care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social-emotional learning with the world's first social-emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laura Cathcart Robbins is the host of the popular podcast, The Only One In The Room, and author of the memoir, STASH. She has been active for many years as a speaker and school trustee and is credited for creating The Buckley School’s nationally recognized committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. Her recent articles in Huffpo and The Temper on the subjects of race, recovery, and divorce have garnered her worldwide acclaim. She is a 2022 TEDx Speaker, and LA Moth StorySlam winner. Currently, she sits on the advisory boards of the San Diego Writer’s Festival and the Outliers HQ podcast Festival. Laura is a longtime friend of the show and perhaps the most frequent guest of the show. She has shared her brilliance and her heart with us in so many ways over the last few years. Today, she is sharing her story with us in a new way - talking about the release of her stunningly breathtaking memoir, Stash. I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Laura’s book and read it on my way to & from London last fall. I found myself trying to contain my crying and cheering for my dear friend, Laura, on each flight. Her mommy heart broke mine in half as I read about her journey into deep addiction and then my heart healed right alongside hers as I saw her embrace recovery and say YES to herself and her boys over and over again. Listen in to hear Laura share: Her desire for her high profile marriage to “legitimize” her worth Her path to crippling perfectionism and how it led her to a near fatal Ambien addiction How Stash addresses the intersection of addiction, race, gender, motherhood and class The misnomer that parents who are addicts choose drugs or alcohol over their children The significance of her authoring this book as a Black women working through addiction and into recovery Links mentioned: Get the STASH and connect with Laura: theonlyonepod.com Podcast: The Only One in the Room Laura on IG The Only One in the Room on IG Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social emotional learning with the world's first social emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As I’ve worked with women through growth and transformation over the last 20 years, I’ve had countless conversations about partners & spouses who, “just don’t get it.” Back when I was working with my personal training clients and boot camp members, women would come to be fraught about spending money without their husband’s approval. When I started running programs inside the SMA, moms came to me so eager to participate but very uncomfortable about talking to their husbands about investing money in an online program with a coach they met on the internet, especially a coach selling “personal development for moms”. I totally understand that it can be awkward to work on goals that aren’t connected to your partner, especially if you haven’t done that before. And… if that’s you, I want to invite you to consider why you haven’t taken steps to work on yourself independently in the past? Not from a place of judgment, but from a place of genuine curiosity. As I’ve helped so many women show up for themselves and step into growth over the last 20 years, I’ve also seen the frustration that comes when you are growing, growing, growing, and hoping your partner will follow suit, and they’re like, “Nah, I’m good.” There can be a decent amount of tension when partners are growing in different directions or one partner is committed to growth and the other is not. As you’ve become more Shameless as a listener of this show, perhaps you’ve wondered, “How do I encourage my partner to make some of the changes I’ve made?” In today’s episode, I talk through this tension. The tension of becoming more autonomous. The tension of codependency. The tension of doing your own work and letting a partner decide on their own what work they do or don’t do. Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social-emotional learning with the world's first social-emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gabrielle Blair a Shameless Mom of 6 and the founder of DesignMom.com. Started in 2006, it has been named a Website of the Year by Time magazine; praised as a top parenting blog by The Wall Street Journal, Parents, and Better Homes & Gardens; and it won the Iris Award for Blog of the Year. In 2015, Gabrielle published her New York Times bestseller, Design Mom: How to Live with Kids, a New York Times bestseller. Her second book, Ejaculate Responsibly, was just released and also became an instant New York Times Bestseller. Her writing is quoted and shared across the globe daily. If you follow her on Twitter, you know why. Gabrielle is also a founder of Alt Summit, the blockbuster annual conference for online content creators and creative entrepreneurs. I met Gabrielle at an event this fall and was immediately completely captivated by her work around her new book, Ejaculate Responsibly. Gabbi is a force and this conversation is going to expand your head and heart in many ways. Listen in and share widely. The world needs this message - desperately. Listen in to hear Gabrielle share: Why she has always integrated “controversial” content into her parenting blog, Design Mom, and how that led to her writing Ejaculate Responsibly Her mission to put men at the center of attention and center of responsibility when it comes to the conversation around unwanted pregnancies Why the management of women’s fertility should be shifted to the management of MEN’S fertility since men are fertile 365 days a year and women are fertile for a mere 36 or so hours a month. Why we have built a 100+ billion dollar women’s birth control industry around the idea that we don’t mind if women suffer as long as it makes things easier for men The reality that most men are actually quite open to taking responsibility for their ejaculation if they are given the right information How to talk to your kids about responsible ejaculation Links Mentioned: Gabrielle’s Book: Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion See Gabrielle on tour: Book Tour: https://designmom.com Check out Alt Summit: https://altitudesummit.com/ Gabrielle on Twitter and Instagram: @designmom Amy Lang on the SMA: Birds & Bees & Kids Amy Lang on the SMA: Sex Talk with Tweens Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Luvbuglearning.com: Support your child’s social emotional learning with the world's first social emotional gaming platform. Go to Luvbuglearning.com and sign up for a 7-day free trial, or simply download from the APP store and subscribe. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Train Her Game - Free Training: Moms of teen daughter athletes! Help your daughter build confidence and overcome negative mindsets in athletics by attending this free training offered by Breanne Smedley, Host of the Elite Competitor Podcast: https://trainhergame.com/shameless Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the most common questions I’ve gotten over the years is, “Sara, how do I find my passion?” Often this question is followed by some lamenting over the fact that one has not yet found their passion. Sometimes society tells us that if we are not committing our life’s work to something we are passionate about, we are wasting our time or our talent. I would like to argue that sometimes it’s ok to do something you’re not 100% passionate about because it provides you security and stability (ie: a paycheck and benefits). AND, I get it…. Doing meaningful work that is aligned with your passions and gives you a sense of purpose is highly desirable. AND… the world needs your gifts! So, please don’t hold back from sharing them with us. SO, how do you know when to go after what you’re passionate about? How do you determine the thing you want to passionately pursue? How do you know when it’s the right time to pivot? Over the last 20 years, I’ve spent a lot of time building businesses around work that I’m deeply passionate about - work that gives me a massive sense of purpose. But there have also been moments (even seasons) where I have sat in pretty “MEH” situations in order to strategically plan my next pivot. In this episode, I share a few examples so you can see what this looks like in real life. Maybe you’re ready to pivot right now or maybe you’re looking out at a 5-year plan toward your purpose. Either way, I got you - and this episode will give you some great insight. Link mentioned: Interested in Business Coaching with Sara? Email us at [email protected] with the subject line: Business Coaching and we will send you details on Sara’s 6-month One-on-One Business & Leadership Coaching Package! Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loria Yeadon is President and CEO at YMCA of Greater Seattle and the first woman and the first person of color to serve in this role in the 146-year history of the organization. She is an electrical engineer, a patent attorney by trade and training, and an accomplished non-profit and corporate executive with over 35 years of experience leading high-performing teams, managing P&Ls, and serving the community. She champions and advocates for equity and justice for all, especially youth and families in underserved communities. Yeadon currently serves on the Governor’s Social Supports Leaders Advisory Group for the State of Washington and on the Board of Directors for the Laird Norton Company. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of TiVo Corporation, Girl Scouts of the USA, Legal Momentum, and Stolen Youth. She was recently honored as a 2021 Women of Influence by the Puget Sound Business Journal and recipient of the 2020 Female Founders Champion Role Model Award. She is also a very proud Shameless Mom to 3 grown daughters. Listen in to Loria share: Her memories during segregation in Virginia and how things are not much different today How her mission to raise her daughters to be world leaders and worlds changers informed her career The impact of the pandemic on the YMCA as they recognized the importance of supporting families in deeply critical ways The “false choice” moms were given in the pandemic What happens in society when affordable childcare is hard or even impossible to access Possible solutions around more affordable childcare Her invitation to young women to move through the world more courageously The very special way you can support the mission of the YMCA The unique mission of the YMCA to be more than a building, but a movement forwarding communities Links Mentioned: Learn more about the YMCA and consider donating: www.seattleymca.org YMCA on FB, IG, Twitter: @YMCASeattle YMCA on LinkedIn Loria on LinkedIn Loria on Twitter Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If your voice has value and you’re using it as an agent to heal yourself and help others, it’s your job to be aware of the external noise you allow to inform your thoughts, beliefs, and actions. There will be people who try to diminish your voice, your power, and your credibility. There will be people who do not believe you, who downright oppose you, who say you are not who you say you are. There will be people who, out of their own insecurities, will deny your gifts, roll their eyes at your talent, and question your motives. How will you handle those who are disrespectful, dismissive, diminishing, and doubtful of who you are becoming? This is a big question. It can be a lot to wrap your head around as you choose a path of growth, power, and agency. So YOU must know who you are and what you stand for. In this episode, we will categorize the Haters, the Doubters, and the Skeptics in a meaningful way that will allow you to more clearly see how these folks take up space in your life. Then we will walk through 3 questions to ask yourself as you navigate interactions and situations with these folks so that you may conscientiously decide who gets to have a vote in who you are becoming and who does not. Your voice has value. Period. Even when others are questioning it, doubting it, or downright denying it. Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Last Bottle Wines: Get 10% off your order when you use the code SHAMELESS at lastbottlewines.com. Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sisters Yvette Gentile and Rasha Pecoraro are primarily recognized as the co-hosts of the wildly popular podcast “Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia,” a 2020 iHeartRadio ‘True Crime Podcast of the Year’ nominee. The dark story of their mother Fauna Hodel’s life became a six-episode limited television series “I Am The Night,” which premiered in January 2019. Yvette and Rasha have returned to the airwaves with a new weekly podcast, Facing Evil. In their latest venture, the siblings bring their unique perspective of growing up in a family with a dark history, to true crime with a focus on the victims and individuals at the heart of the stories. Outside of podcasting, Yvette is also an actor, model, and sandal designer with her husband Gino. She is an avid yogi who trains for and practices classes specific to individuals confronting distress and long-term grief and pain. Rasha was a fierce competitor on “The Biggest Loser” in 2006. Since then, she’s advocated for beauty at any size as a plus-size model and married her wife Vanna in 2010. She is a proud LGBTQ+ advocate and activist, mother, as well as an actor and voiceover artist. Listen in to hear Rasha and Yvette share: What it was like for Rasha to marry a man on national TV after being a contestant on the Biggest Loser - and then realize she was gay and come out out of the closet in a very public way The impact of their unique sister relationship of being a gay-straight passing blond woman and a black biracial woman - standing side by side as sisters What it’s been like for both Rasha and Yvette to embrace the spotlight in a big way as the layers of their family story is shared across multiple media platforms The impact and imprint of many tragic true crime stories on US history How they have intentionally stayed away from sensationalism and salaciousness in true crime podcasting, and instead opted for sharing humanity, compassion, and empathy in their stories Links mentioned: Podcast: Facing Evil Facing Evil on IG Rasha on IG Yvette on IG Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if your feelings of inadequacy had nothing to do with you? What if they were because you have been conditioned as a woman and a mom that no matter what you do, it will never be enough? Perhaps you have been conditioned to believe that everyone else has it all figured out. Perhaps you are never validated or affirmed as a woman and a mom because society has systematically dismissed and diminished our value, our contributions, and our worth for centuries. Perhaps those feelings of inadequacy, while very real, are not yours to own. Perhaps the burden to alleviate those feelings falls on the systems and people who have diminished us. But they don’t know that. They don’t see that. And until they do, it’s up to us to undo their damage. SO… let’s unravel it all so you can step back and see the bigger picture. In this episode, I walk you through 4 things that fuel inadequacy for most women and moms and then a 4 part framework to intentionally and permanently walk away from your feelings of inadequacy and into your worth, your gifts, and your talents Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rachel Luna, author of Permission to Offend, is a highly sought-after international speaker & Certified Master Neuroscience Coach.. Named by Forbes as one of The 11 Most Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs To Follow On Instagram. She is a former US Marine who calls herself a magnet for miracles because despite losing both her parents to AIDS, struggling with eating disorders in her teens, and battling alcoholism and depression in her early 20s, Rachel has never allowed herself to be limited by life circumstances. Instead, she persevered and when she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in the summer of 2019, Rachel tackled it the same way she does everything - with confidence, faith, and love. Through her top-rated podcast, Permission to Offend, and her new book of the same name, Rachel is inviting you to return to your truth, own it, and live fully self-expressed without fear of judgment, rejection, or defamation - so that you can step into your next level of elevation. Listen in to hear Rachel share: How she navigated her disappointment around motherhood and her struggle to bond with her daughters after their births Her decision to leave the US Marines after becoming a mom How she decided to become a life coach in her post-Marine life How to acknowledge our Big 3 Fears: judgment, rejection, defamation Strategies to be ready to “offend” How to use curiosity as the key to clarity How to engage in thoughtful but hard conversations with permission to offend Links mentioned: Connect with Rachel: www.rachelluna.biz Book: Permission to Offend Podcast: Permission to Offend Take the Permission to Offend Quiz: Permissiontooffend.com/quiz Rachel on Instagram Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I suspect your daily life is loud, literally and figuratively. Noise from your kids, your partner, your boss, noise on social media, the news, and the entire world outside your door. As you move through the world listening to all the noise, it’s easy to lose track of your own voice and your inner knowing. With all the outward listening, it’s easy to forget to listen inward. I recently had a situation where I found myself feeling very uncertain, even physically uncomfortable, as my gut was telling me, “This doesn't feel right.” While I love to rush through things in order to check them off my list, I made myself sit with this feeling and really listen to it. And I’m so glad I did. As I sat with this feeling, I made some requests of the people around me while this feeling took place. They were unable (or unwilling) to reassure me or provide any validation for what I was feeling, which confirmed my gut feeling: I shouldn’t stay in this situation. In this episode, I share this entire situation and the steps I took to give myself the space and time to listen inward as this situation unfolded. I hope this gives you some guidance on how to do the same. We are taught from the time we are wee little girls to prioritize the voices and comfort of others over our own. NO MORE. Give yourself permission to listen to you and prioritize YOU. Thank you to our sponsors this month: care.com: Get the help you need to make it all work for your family at care.com/book. Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Hello Fresh: Get farm-fresh, pre-portioned meals delivered right to your door! Go to HelloFresh.com/shameless65 and use code shameless65 for 65% off plus free shipping! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monica Packer is passionate about teaching practical-but-deep transformation. As a podcaster and coach, she guides women to find sustainable growth by adopting progress over perfection. Monica is a former middle school teacher, a forever Oprah fangirl, a perpetual cookie dough maker, and an ambitious walker (the last one is a joke . . . sort of). She is also the Shameless Mom to 4 awesome kiddos, with a 5th on the way! This is Monica’s second time on the show and I just love how we were able to dig deep so quickly. This is a juicy conversation that you might want to listen to more than once. Prepare to take some notes! Listen in to hear Monica share: The most important thing for women to know about progress and personal growth The lie that women fall for over and over again The uncomfortable truth that growth is supposed to be slow The magic of time and compassion and how to use compassion to give yourself permission in hard moments and seasons The very specific process she uses to help women work toward any goal How to reconcile that your identity is formed by behavior and habits How men miss the mark when talking about women and their habits What successful consistency actually (surprisingly) looks like for women Links mentioned: Connect with Monica: https://aboutprogress.com/ Past SMA interview with Sara and Monica: Prioritizing Progress Over Perfection Monica’s Podcast: About Progress Get Monica’s Habit Class: aboutprogess.com/habitclass Monica on IG Thank you to our sponsors this month: Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless10 to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I had a really hard time relaxing over our holiday break. I knew January was going to be a big month for me in terms of work opportunities and I was feeling some nerves for sure. I kept telling myself to “just relax” until January kicked off, but my anxious brain could not. If you have an anxious brain like me, perhaps you can relate to how foolishly ineffective it is to tell yourself to “just relax”. BUT… Now that we are IN January and I’m IN these opportunities, I’m having a blast. I’m running right up to some big edges of discomfort as I do new things and I’m having a great time seeing things come together. As I was wrapping up last week, I had to remind myself: “You are good at figuring out new things.” “It feels really great to challenge yourself by finding new professional edges.” “The high that comes after reaching a new edge is the best.” As I mentioned, I have an anxious brain. I excel in worrying about things before they happen. Sometimes that worry exists for months before an event or life situation and it takes a lot out of me. I have done a lot of work to minimize this worry, but it definitely still creeps in at times. I love challenging myself because I love - LOVE - the feeling of achievement. But I hate the feelings of worry (sometimes even dread) that can precipitate some of the best moments of my life. One of my top techniques to mitigate this worry is to really sit in the feelings that follow pushing my edges. I do this with skiing, with uncomfortable conversations, with new leadership opportunities, and when I’m working with new organizations - so pretty much anytime I’m doing something unknown or uncertain! In this episode we talk about how to use these questions to lean into the magic of your new edges: How did that feel? How did you use your skills, gifts, and talents to accomplish what you wanted to accomplish? What does this accomplishment tell you about yourself and the person you are becoming? Cheers to a year of new edges, my friend! Thank you to our sponsors this month: Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As co-founder of the Global Grit Institute, a mental health training platform for leaders and coaches, co-founder of the Dharma Coaching Institute, training thousands to live their best lives, and a thriving coach in her own right, Neeta Bhushan has helped thousands of people move past their heartbreaks, failures, and disappointments. And after years of research into human behavior, observing people in their worst and best moments, being a mother of two small children, and failing more than a few times herself, Neeta knows what it takes to get back up no matter what bowled you over. Her new book, That Sucked, Now What? is a real-talk guide to personal growth that draws on and embraces the suck–and helps you break through to lasting, audacious resilience. Listen in to hear Dr. Neeta share: Her experience of losing her parents and brother all before age 19, and then finding herself in an abusive marriage - and how that impacted her life and work today What makes our nervous systems so unique as moms, and why we are so dysregulated Practices to reconcile + integrate your emotional nervous system How to reframe your relationship with resiliency Why it’s so important to celebrate and normalize sucky moments What it looks like to be in a thriving stage in life and how to ignite your thriving stage Links Mentioned: Become a member of The Academy! Enrollment is open for a very short time: shamelessmom.com/academy Get Neeta’s book pack and 5 free bonuses: thatsuckednowwhat.com Connect with Neeta: neetabhushan.com Neeta on IG Neeta on FB Neeta on Twitter Neeta on Youtube Neeta on LinkedIn Thank you to our sponsors this month Full-Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothy’s: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I’m in Arizona to lead a training tomorrow. I led part of this training online a while back and an attendee emailed me after and said, “Sara, my team NEEDS your training.” As we talked through what her team needs most right now, I got pretty excited. I knew I could leap right into “Secret Lies” with them and help them shift their mindset and the stories that take up space in their heads in big ways. If you’re anything like - oh - every single human being, you likely walk around all day with different stories in your head. Stories about yourself, your life, your legacy, your past experiences, your qualifications, and your capabilities. So many stories. All day, every day. As you navigate the world, do you ever stop to think, “Is the story I’m telling myself helping me or harming me?” Oftentimes, women tell themselves stories that are diminishing and minimizing in a myriad of ways. Things like: You’re not good enough/smart enough/thin enough/qualified enough. If you do this, it’s ok. Society has conditioned you to do it. It’s totally normal. But, it’s also totally harmful. Luckily it’s avoidable. In this episode, I help you see how your secret lies might be standing in your way and how you might be able to reframe them in honest, authentic ways that give you a much greater sense of power, purpose, hope, and JOY in your everyday life. Early in my personal training career, I had a boss shame me in a huge way. It started in his office where he degraded me. But it continued out into the main gym where he made a colleague of mine mentor me in front of all the other trainers - as if I was a brand new, completely inexperienced trainer when I was not. It was an awful - AWFUL - experience. But, having gone through that, I was able to show up for myself as a strong self-advocate a few years ago when someone tried to take me down in a very public way. I was also able to take a stand when my own father tried to publicly humiliate me on my business page about a year ago. If I hadn’t figured out how to reframe my secret lies into courageous truths waaaaay back in my personal training days, those incidents would have cost me so much more mental energy and anguish. This is an invitation to get out of your head and into your truth - your most courageous truth. Let’s go. Link mentioned: Become a member of The Academy! Enrollment is open for a very short time: shamelessmom.com/academy Thank you to our sponsors this month: Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop at Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aubrey Gordon writes under the pseudonym of “Your Fat Friend,” illuminating the experiences of fat people and urging greater compassion for people of all sizes. She is the author of What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat and her newest book, You Just Need to Lose Weight and 19 Other Myths About Fat People. Her work has reached millions of readers and translated into 19 languages. She is co-host of the Maintenance Phase podcast, a top-rated podcast in 2021 and 2022, and a columnist with SELF magazine. Her work has also been featured in Health magazine, Vox, and Gay Mag, among others. She lives in the Northwest, where she works as a writer and organizer. Connect with her at yourfatfriend.com, and as YrFatFriend on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I’m not sure if I can adequately describe the profound honor it is to have Aubrey as a guest on the show. Her work has touched me deeply over the last couple of years. She has a massive fan base that is not specific to moms, so I never thought she would say yes to joining me here. I also never thought she could be 100 times more amazing IRL than she is online - because she is already so damn awesome online. But she was an exceptional guest and an exceptionally generous interviewee - with her time, her teaching, and her laughter. To know her laugh is to love her laugh. If you know, you know. Listen in to hear Aubrey share: What it was like for her to go from an anonymous online writer to a fully public figure How the success of the Maintenance Phase has impacted her work How women are conditioned to externally process and speak about their bodies and food constantly and how this is harmful in a myriad of ways The importance of understanding thin privilege and recognizing if you benefit from thin privilege Scripts and language for parents to talk to kids about bodies and fatness in a neutral way How to talk to your kids about healthy eating without subscribing to your own internalized messages from diet culture Links mentioned: Connect with her at yourfatfriend.com and https://www.aubreygordon.net/ Book: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk about Fat Book: You Just Need to Lose Weight - And 19 Other Myths About Fat People Aubrey on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook: @yrfatfriend Thank you to our sponsors this month: Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. 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

Getting grounded in a new year isn’t easy. As you recover from the mayhem of the holidays and try to find your footing in a new year, it can feel chaotic and a little frantic. This is why I always recommend (for moms especially) taking the better part of the month to ease your way into a new year. As you’re easing your way in, you can start to plant some seeds and let them take root. Getting clear on what you’re moving away from and what you’re moving toward. Deciding what you are ready to release and what you’re ready to reclaim (or claim for the first time!) This all shifts from year to year as you and your kids’ needs shift. An annual assessment or check-in can be so helpful! In this episode, I offer you 4 anchors to get grounded and stay grounded as you let those baby roots take hold this year. I talk through connecting with other powerful women, delicious routines to nourish your mind, body & soul, how to intentionally manage time, and the power of leaning into your gifts as you decide who you are becoming this year. Links mentioned: Get updates on upcoming enrollment for The Academy: shamelessmom.com/newsletter Book: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Casey McGuire Davidson helps busy women drink less + live more. She’s a leader in the modern sober curious movement of women who are gray area drinkers going alcohol-free. An ex-red wine girl turned Life and Sobriety Coach, Casey is passionate about helping women change their relationship with alcohol. She specializes in working with busy women with full calendars and overflowing to-do lists, who are doing all the things and then coming home and drinking to forget about all the things. Casey has helped thousands of women turn the decision to stop drinking from their worst-case scenario to the best decision of their lives. Casey is the creator of The Free 30-Day Guide To Quitting Drinking and The Sobriety Starter Kit, and the host of The Hello Someday Podcast for sober curious women and gray area drinkers, ranked in the top 1% of all global podcasts. Listen in to hear Casey share: Where the concept of Dry January comes from What it means and looks like to be sober curious The science of alcohol and dopamine on our bodies and how it impacts our mindset, outlook, positivity and joy in life How alcohol use contributes to our stress levels and overall anxiety Steps to manage dopamine if you’re choosing to not drink The significance of the non-alcohol (NA) industry on the alcohol industry Why alcohol works as an “Easy Button” AND is also a very maladaptive coping mechanism Links mentioned: Sign up for my Plan & Prep Pajama Party: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Casey: https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/ Get Casey’s Free 30-Day Guide To Quitting Drinking - 30 Tips For Your First Month Alcohol Free https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/30-day-sober-guide/ Casey’s Podcast: The Hello Someday Podcast: https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/podcast/ Get The Sobriety Starter Kit Online Course: https://www.thesobrietystarterkit.com/ Casey on Facebook Casey on Instagram Thank you to our sponsors this month: Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. 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

From time to time it’s essential to take a close look at some of our patterns and behaviors to see what we might want (read: need) to quit. Just as your kids are constantly growing and evolving, so are you. As your wants and needs shift, it’s important to recognize where you can quit certain patterns or behaviors to save yourself precious time and energy. I have done a few “permission to quit” episodes over the years. I love these episodes because they are gentle invitations to you to take a critical look at some of the things you might be doing without realizing they are no longer serving you. In this episode, I invite you to stop overgiving, overdoing, overproving; to stop setting goals based on other people’s agendas, opinions, or choices; and to stop quietly accepting old-school norms (that are quite likely misogynistic in nature.) Enjoy taking notes and then QUITTING ALL THE THINGS! Link mentioned: Sign up for my Plan & Prep Pajama Party: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Thank you to our sponsors this month: Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. 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

Rachel Nielson is the host of the popular parenting podcast, 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms. Each 30-minute episode gives 3 actionable takeaways to help women find more meaning in their unique motherhood experiences. Rachel lives in the mountains of Idaho with her husband and her two miracle children who arrived to their family through adoption and IVF. As a former high school English teacher, she loves to read, write, and talk about deep ideas...which has made podcasting a perfect career for her to do from home. Rachel and I first connected as podcasters who shared side-by-side rankings in Apple Podcasts Kids & Family top charts. Some may have suggested we were competitors, but we immediately saw one another's work as complementary. When we had the opportunity to meet in person in 2020, we were able to see that as colleagues, friends, and confidants in this industry we could lean on each other and build a really special relationship that could support us as women, moms, and podcasters. I so treasure my sweet friendship with Rachel. We have spoken about guesting on each other’s shows for years. To be honest, the challenge has been narrowing down what to talk about because we could talk to each other for days about so many things related to motherhood. But, I asked Rachel if she would be willing to talk about something deeply personal and special today - the adoption of her precious son, Noah. Listen in to hear Rachel share: Her family's journey into open adoption How she honored and did her best to center her son’s birth mother, Katie, throughout the process of adoption The unfathomable grief she held for Katie the day Noah was born The trauma of adoption for adopted children, no matter how healthy relationships they have with bio parents and adoptive parents How she and her husband navigated building and maintaining positive and healthy relationships with Noah’s bio parents, Katie and Drew How Katie’s death by suicide shifted Rachel’s perspective on the ethics of adoption What her family’s relationship with Drew looks like - how he is so significant and special in Noah’s life What she wants prospective adoptive parents to consider before going through the adoption process Links mentioned: Register for my 2023 Plan & Prep Pajama Party: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Rachel: 3in30podcast.com Rachel’s Podcast: 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms Get Rache’s Course, 5 Days to More Meaning in Your Motherhood: 3in30podcast.com/sma Rachel on Instagram Thank you to our sponsors this month: Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. 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 always already behind on January 1st. I’m late and disorganized and definitely underprepared. Pre motherhood, I would spend the last couple weeks of December reflecting on the year gone by and planning for the new year. I would spend time drafting lofty dreams and creating spreadsheets with goals and metrics. There would be graphs and charts and vision boards. I would wake up on January 1st READY. Ready to start fresh. Ready to live my crisp new dreams. Ready to make sh*t happen. Then I became a mom. For the last 10 years, I have spent the holidays in chaos. Lovely, exhausting, magical, frantic weeks on end where I have no time, no childcare, and no energy to sit and dream about a new year. As a result, I wake up every January 1st knowing that a bunch of people spent the last few weeks in quiet reflection and dreaming - but I did not. I spent it creating and managing magic for my child and family. A few years ago I gave myself permission to let January be an entire month of beginning and becoming. I don’t need to start fresh, live my crisp, new dreams, or make sh*t happen right on January 1st. I have the whole month to figure out where I’m going. And, during that month, there is only ONE thing that needs to happen. If this ONE thing happens, I know I’ll be set for the year. This ONE thing can happen on a Monday evening or a Thursday morning or a Saturday afternoon. This ONE thing can take 20 minutes or 2 hours. This ONE thing can happen on my terms. In this episode, I will share the ONE thing and why it is critical to helping you create a vision and action plan for 2023. Link mentioned: Register for my 2023 Plan & Prep Pajama Party: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Thank you to our sponsors this month: Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless. Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners - The VA Kickstarter Workbook! Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today. Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door. Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. 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. Sasha Heinz, Ph.D., MAPP, is an academic who went mainstream, using her background as a developmental psychologist to become a mindset coach who teaches people the science of getting unstuck. An expert in positive psychology and adult development, Dr. Heinz has based her entire career on helping clients make real transformations, giving them the tools to develop their mental fitness by facing challenges and breaking our mind’s default modes for stress, self-criticism, and anxiety. Dr. Heinz received her BA from Harvard, her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Columbia, and her Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also served as a faculty member. She was one of the first 33 people in history to receive a degree in Positive Psychology. Listen in to hear Sasha share: The growth curve all adults face - that no one talks about The developmental edge that motherhood brings us to the moment we become mothers How the self-help industry can be harmful to people The difference between technical and adaptive problems The 3 P’s of a socialized mindset: perfectionism, people pleasing, and paralysis The concept of moving from a socialized mindset to being self-authored The truth about “life hacks” and what is required for actual change and growth Links mentioned: Register for my Plan & Prep Pajama Party on January 23rd: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Dr. Sasha: drsashaheinz.com Sasha’s Mental Fitness Club: mindyourmind.com Sasha on Facebook Sasha on IG Sasha on LinkedIn Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Viki Zarkin was diagnosed with cancer in 2011, has been living with Stage 4 metastatic cancer for over 10 years, and is the only person in the world alive with this aggressive illness. She was diagnosed in her 40s when her doctor first told her to go home and get her affairs in order and at the time, she had 2 small children at home. Viki spent the next several years fighting for her life, advocating for herself, navigating through the healthcare world, and following her gut. Today, Viki is a beacon of hope for others, she’s a motivational speaker and coach on a national level and a successful author. Viki inspires women to change the way they have been programmed to think and emphasizes the importance of starting with young women on how to believe in themselves, challenge the status quo, find their voices and listen to their hearts. Listen in to hear Viki share: Her diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic cancer 12 years ago What happened when she grabbed her doctor by the neck when her doctor suggested she might not survive her diagnosis What it was like working through stage 4 cancer treatment with children ages 8 and 11 What her life is like being treated every 28 days with chemo to manage her cancer The side effects of long-term cancer treatments What it has been like to mother while also managing cancer for 12 years Her bargain with God and how that has played out How to navigate power differentials in healthcare Links mentioned: Register for my Plan & Prep Pajama Party on January 23rd: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Viki: iamtheone.com/ Viki on FB Viki on IG Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Ruchika Tulshyan is the author of Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work (MIT Press). She’s also the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy practice. A former international business journalist, Ruchika is a regular contributor to The New York Times and Harvard Business Review. I first heard Ruchika speak on Brene Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us. I became immediately obsessed with her work. I had the honor of hearing her speak at her book launch party here in Seattle and I’ve been fangirling over her ever since. The work she’s doing is so critically important and the way she does the work is so thoughtful and deeply impactful. I was so excited and so honored when she said YES to coming on the show. Listen in to hear Ruchika share: How being an immigrant and woman of color has impacted and challenged her as a mother The social construct of imposter syndrome for women and how it parallels the social construct of mom guilt Her challenges around being a working mom who travels for work and how she is treated differently than men in the same boat The difference between diversity and inclusion and how current systems undermine inclusion, even if promoting diversity Her BRIDGE framework for allies, advocates, and those wishing to lead in more inclusive and equitable ways across social systems Links mentioned: Join my 5th annual Plan & Prep Pajama Party on January 23rd: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Ruchika and get Inclusion on Purpose: inclusiononpurpose.co Ruchika on Twitter Ruchika on Instagram Ruchika on LinkedIn Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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 you come to the close of another year, I am inviting you to pause for a moment to own and honor 2022. I know pausing and taking a moment to yourself in this busy season might sound like a ridiculous suggestion. WHO HAS TIME TO PAUSE?! Perhaps you pause as you sip your coffee today. Perhaps you pause while taking a shower. Perhaps you pause as you walk the dog. Perhaps you pause for a few minutes before you go to bed. Whenever & however you choose to pause, I want you to think through the following questions: What am I most proud of from 2022? When did I show up as the person I most want to become in 2022? What did I learn about myself in 2022? In this episode, I walk you through these questions and how you can frame them in order to get the most out of them. I share my personal answers with you so you can see the value in looking back before you move forward. Link mentioned: Join my 5th annual Plan & Prep Pajama Party on January 23rd: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Sarah Stevens is a former healthcare executive turned writer, speaker, and entrepreneur. After leaving her career in corporate healthcare in 2016, she founded The Beautifull Project - a storytelling collective that has reached tens of thousands of women across the globe with its powerful message about learning to take up space. Today, Sarah helps other people tell their stories through Branded, by Sarah Stevens, a small business offering a full suite of marketing services. She also serves as the Community Impact Officer at The Project of The Quad Cities, a nonprofit that serves people living with HIV and the LGBTQ+ community. Sarah is a gifted storyteller with a skill for using her own story as a woman navigating the world in a fat body to invite her audience to encounter the parts of themselves they hide away from the world, the parts they believe to be “too much.” Addressing everything from “too-big” bodies to a fear of failure that cripples confidence, Sarah amplifies a message that moves beyond a body-positive sentiment and creates a movement that makes room for everybody to tell their truth and take up space. She draws out confidence and courage. She believes in being free and full. And she will make a believer out of you, too. This is Sarah’s third time on the show. I invited her back after finding myself in a parenting conversation around body image that I was worried I totally screwed up. I reached out to Sarah and asked if she would be interested in hashing this topic out on the show and she immediately said yes. This is a really important conversation, as the pervasiveness of diet culture continues to be so insidious, oppressive, and ultimately deadly, in our culture. Listen in to hear Sarah and I discuss: How my child casually throwing around words like “fat” and “chubby” threw me into a parenting tailspin How to check your own body image trauma when talking to your kids The importance of entering conversations with curiosity & compassion (vs lecturing and shaming) The truth about the insidiousness of current diet culture in spite of the fact that so many of us think we know better than to fall victim to it How to talk to your kids about fat without causing them to have an anti-fat bias (or “fatphobia”) The systemic oppression that is very present and real for people living in fat bodies How pushing kids to “make healthy choices” can be rooted in diet culture if we aren’t careful The importance of teaching kids to learn to trust their bodies - and how difficult this is if you don’t trust your own Links mentioned: Join me for my 2023 Plan & Prep Pajama Party and save $50 with Early Bird Registration: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Sarah: thebeautifullproject.com Past SMA Interview with Sarah - Episode 571: How to Take Up Space and Love Yourself in the Process Past SMA Interview with Sarah - Episode 366: The Beautifull Project: The Truth About Fatness and Thin Allies Sarah on Facebook Sarah on Instagram: @thebeautifullproject and @seeing_sarah Sarah’s TED Talk: Stripped: The Art of Being Seen Sarah’s Podcast: Beauti: The Interviews Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Vulnerable episode alert. 2022 was a year of a messy mindset for me. I made the choice to go after a lot of big things this year and many of them did not pan out for me. I think it’s great to reach for the stars. But sometimes when you only aim really high, you have a lot of misses. This is 100% OK! But, it can be tricky to internalize. In this episode, I talk about how my mindset got messy this year and how I clawed my way through my own headspace over and over again. I dig into my history of PTSD and how my mindset can be prone to messiness as a result. I share with you the tools that have worked for me this year - because I’m guessing you might have had some messy mindset moments this year too. Or maybe you're stuck in a messy mindset moment right now?? If that’s the case, I got you. Listen in to hear 5 ways I worked on managing my mindset when I felt like crawling under my desk and crying (which I sometimes did!) It’s ok to be messy, friend. You are not alone. Link mentioned: Join me for my 2023 Plan & Prep Pajama Party and save $50 with Early Bird Registration: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Yoky Matsuoka is the Founder & CEO of Yohana, an independently-led subsidiary of Panasonic, focused on building consumer technology products and services to help people live healthier and happier lives. As an accomplished executive and technologist, Yoky brings more than two decades of leadership experience to her role where she also leads global innovation and serves as the Managing Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation. Prior to Yohana, Yoky was a VP at Google, a CTO at Nest, a senior executive at Apple, and CEO of Quanttus, a health tech startup. She has also spent time as an endowed professor at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Washington. She is the recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award for her work in robotics and neuroscience and the founder of YokyWorks Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with physical and learning challenges, focused on removing reading barriers to unlock the potential of every child. She is also a Shameless Mom of four children, a dog, and a pet pig. Listen in to hear Yoky share: How she intentionally set goals and went after dreams based on what her mom regretted Her choice to leave big tech and build Yohana right before the pandemic How her mentality around “The best way to do it to do it myself” led her to build an innovative company that supports moms Why embracing her attitude around “I’m different and different is good” has served her well her entire life How the pandemic highlighted the need for the services she knew she wanted to create as she started to build her company How to get out of your own way to quit tasks that don’t allow you to reach your bigger goals Her powerful two-part mindset reset to release mom guilt Links mentioned: Get the SMA Newsletter to learn about our January 2023 events: shamelessmom.com/newsletter Connect with Yoky: https://www.yokymatsuoka.com/ Learn more about Yohana: yohana.com Yohana End of Year Promo: get a free trial and save 40% a month on your membership (or gift Yohana to someone!) at yohana.com with promo code ENDOFYEAR Yohana on IG Yoky on IG Yoky on Twitter Yoky on LinkedIn Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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 moms, we naturally center our children (and often our partners and extended families) repeatedly over the course of the holiday season. As caretakers and givers (mayyyybe over givers?) we love to make all the magic happen for everyone. But what about making magic for yourself?? Over the course of the holidays, it’s easy to completely neglect yourself and sometimes even compromise your core values in the process. Every year around this time, I record a holiday episode as an invitation to center YOU over the holidays. An invitation to: Prioritize your joy over other people’s expectations Do things differently Do less and breathe more Reconsider what brings you joy In addition to this invitation, I’m offering you 4 strategies to get what you want out of the holidays. My hope for you is that you get to the end of this month (and the end of 2022) feeling like you created all the joy you wanted for your family and yourself without overgiving, overdoing, over proving yourself in every moment of this season. Listen in to get ideas on how to make all the magic without all the hustle this holiday season. Link mentioned: Get the SMA Newsletter to learn about our January 2023 events: shamelessmom.com/newsletter Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Vanessa Quigley is a renowned memory expert and mother of seven. In 2014, she co-founded Chatbooks to help families organize and enjoy their family stories. Vanessa's aha moment came when she found her youngest son clutching his most prized possession: a photo album his preschool teacher made for him. Once an avid scrapbooker, Vanessa knew there needed to be a better solution for her photos stuck on her phone. Now millions of parents have printed their family memories with the Chatbooks app. Vanessa was named Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017, authored DIY advice book Real Moms, Real Hacks, and hosts The MomForce Podcast. In 2021, Chatbooks was named the #1 place to work for women in the United States, by Fortune magazine. And… fun fact: Vanessa is Miss Utah 1994 and a professionally trained opera singer. In her downtime, you can find her in the mountains with her family, seeing the everyday magic. Listen in to hear Vanessa share: Her road to becoming a tech founder as a mom of 7 How her company Chatbooks was inspired by her experience in motherhood How women differ from men in leadership and why it’s so critical for more of us to hold positions in leadership How can we make more space for women and moms in tech The massive struggle for childcare across our nation The importance of flexible work schedules for everyone What she wants the future of work to look like for moms How she has intentionally created a culture at Chatbooks and the importance of actual integration of values Her advice to moms who don’t feel seen/heard in the workplace Links mentioned: Get the SMA Newsletter to learn about our January 2023 events: shamelessmom.com/newsletter Check out Chatbooks: Chatbooks.com Podcast: The Mom Force Podcast Vanessa on IG: @vanessaquigley Chatbooks on IG: @chatbooks Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Last Monday, on my 47th birthday, I sat down at my desk and decided it would be a good day to integrate some new software into my business. Look, it’s never a good day to integrate new software, but it’s an especially rotten decision on your birthday. Shortly after that awful life choice (and 13,000 messages on chat support with said software company), I accidentally deleted 84,628 emails. That is not an exaggerated number I made up. That is the literal amount of emails that I watched disappear from my inbox. 84,628. Most of them were from the last 18 months. Many of them were filled with things like contracts and critical client information. Needless to say, I spent a decent chunk of my birthday having VERY BIG feelings. The kind your 3-year-old has when you give them the orange cup instead of the green cup. VERY BIG. I yelled. I cried. I definitely dropped a few (like, 347) F-bombs. I tried to remind myself of what my therapist recently shared with me. Based on research from brain scientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, she told me that feelings are waves that rise and recede all day long. These waves last only 90 seconds. After that, we're simply re-stimulating our internal circuitry. In other words, if we stay stuck in horrible feelings for longer than 90 seconds it’s because we have created our own feedback loop keeping us there. This is great news because it tells us we have the power to move through feelings very quickly if we have the right skills in place. This just made me madder, if I’m being honest. I knew that I was gonna need more than 90 freaking seconds. And how dare these doctors and therapists try to put limits on my ability to hold rage! I had to dig deep into my coaching toolbox to coach myself on my birthday. While I definitely felt the universe was conspiring against me, I was determined to move through my big feelings in order to still find a way to find joy in my day. In this episode, I talk you through how to use unconventional gratitude practices to get over yourself and get through sticky emotions - whether you deleted 84,628 emails or someone gave you the orange cup instead of the green one. Link mentioned: Get the SMA Newsletter to learn about our January 2023 events: shamelessmom.com/newsletter Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Mia Hemstad is a mom, speaker, self-care coach, and the founder of No Longer Last, which is a movement that helps women prioritize their health, happiness, and well-being. Mia is an abuse survivor, and she lives with diagnosed PTSD and depression. She shares her healing journey online to fight mental health stigma and to help other people heal too. Mia's work has been featured in major media outlets such as Parents.com and Romper. Mia continues to write and teach from Portugal, where she recently moved with her husband and two kids. Mia is a past guest of the SMA, as well as a Shameless Mom Con Speaker. She’s well-known and well-loved in our community. I’ve been watching her as she’s ventured across the globe to move her family to a safer country and I’ve been in awe of her entire experience. I asked her if she would be open to coming back on the show to talk us through what motivated their family’s move and what it’s been like as they’ve gotten settled in a new country. I’m so grateful she said yes. Listen in to hear Mia share: What inspired her family's move to Portugal - specifically around gun violence and lethal racism in her community, as well as across the US The role of her mental health on her decision to move How living in a safer place has changed her life Her shift from being a self-sacrificial mom to giving herself permission to make such a different and bold move How to discern resentment vs taking responsibility for your life in hard times Links mentioned: Connect with Mia: miahemstad.com Mia's Free Portugal Visa Guide:.miahemstad.com/d7visa Mia’s Podcast: The No Longer Last Journey: anchor.fm/mia-hemstad Mia on IG Mia on Youtube Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Some of you know I’ve been car hunting for a few months now. It’s the worst time to buy a car. Like, the worst. But it’s been the worst time to buy a car for a couple of years now and will likely still be the worst time to buy a car for a couple more years. And, mama’s 2009 Nissan Murano might not have that many trips to the mountains left in her. The time had come…. As I went through this whole car-buying journey, Vinnie saw me searching day in/day out on various online platforms. He had a lot of opinions and requests - most (ok, all) of which I could not honor. “No, V, we’re not getting a Tesla. Or a Porsche. Or a Lambo.” We are not fancy car people. We are very practical car people. Buy something that is a few years old and drive it for 10-12 years. I mean, we could not be more boring car people. After months of searching, I found a fantastic Toyota Highlander Hybrid option down in Texas. We had it shipped up here via CarMax (CarMax is not a sponsor of this show, but they definitely should be. I am a huge fan.) When the car arrived, we all went to see it and test drive it. It was the perfect car for us. We decided to move forward with the purchase. My husband sat in on the initial sales process to ask a couple of questions, but then headed home. Vinnie and I stayed at the dealer and completed the process. I didn’t plan for V to watch me buy a car, but I’m so glad he did. He saw a woman make a major household decision and purchase. He saw me fill out the paperwork, manage the financing, ask questions, request clarity, negotiate terms, and CLOSE THE DEAL. Why does this matter? It matters that our kids see us as powerful as possible. It matters that they see us manage the money, negotiate the terms, and sign the papers. It matters that they see us ask questions and require answers. It matters that they see us wield as much power as our partners. This breaks down gender barriers and models equity in power and decision-making. While I did not expect this car-buying experience to be a huge lesson in gender roles, it definitely turned into that. And I’m so grateful. Where in your life are you actively breaking down gender stereotypes? Listen in to hear me break down different areas where we all might have some growth in this. Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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 do you get when you raise a girl in the Arizona desert with 5 siblings, a strong matriarchal mom, a soft-spoken feminist dad, and an innate desire to LIVE BIG? You get Katie Krimitsos - an ever-curious woman who continues her evolution as a loving being of light - who is having fun being a mom, wife, creator, and friend in this life. Whose softness and wisdom have often come as the result of painful experiences. Whose ego is always trying to get the best of her. Who's deeply in love with a Greek man she's definitely known in another life. Who's lived through 12-step programs, athletics, and half a dozen businesses. Who creates meditations for women as songs to light their souls and wants to save all the animals of the world. She believes life keeps on getting better the older she gets. And so far, she's right. ;) This is Katie’s third time on the show. I keep inviting her back because she is always a good time and always full of so much insight that moms can immediately put into action in quick & simple ways that have big impact. Listen in to hear Katie share: How she listened to her own fears and worries as well as the world’s fear and worries in order to create meditations for women during the pandemic How listening to her intuition has led her to success over and over again - and how anyone can do this Specific steps you can take to develop a stronger sense of self-trust How to build your “self-trust wings” in motherhood A breakdown of what meditative practices can look like and how to integrate meditative practices that you actually enjoy, while learning to listen inward The power of the pause in meditation and the space it opens up The value of guided meditation, especially for those who struggle to sit in silence How to use (simple and brief) meditative practices to separate yourself from the noise of the world How to lean into self-trust to do things differently and give yourself permission to live an unscripted life Links mentioned: Katie’s Gratitude Giveaway: Leave a review for The Women’s Meditation Network to enter Katie’s Gratitude Giveaway Connect with Katie and the Women’s Meditation Network: womensmeditationnetwork.com Follow The Women’s Meditation Network on IG Follow Katie on IG Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Work-life balance is a social construct. It is an idea and philosophy that is sold to women as something to be desired, something to be attained, and something to aspire to. The myth that work-life balance can actually exist is a crappy bill of goods sold to us by the Patriarchy. As feminism has evolved over the last few decades, we have been told, “YAY! Women can have it all.” But we have been given no resources and no support. There has been no systemic restructuring (philosophical or logistical) to shift our expected full-time household and parental contributions as we take on other societal roles. We have been conditioned that because we can have it all, we should go after it all. And then once we go after it all and fill every millimeter and pore of our metaphorical plates, we should also keep it all balanced in some picture-perfect mathematical ratio - as if our lives are as simple as some sort of formula or squeaky clean quadratic equation. We are told if we have better balance, we wouldn’t be so stressed out all the time. We are told if we have better balance, we will be better moms and our kids will be more likely to thrive. We are told we are lucky to live in an era where we can work full time (if not more) and also parent full time - cramming 48 hours of work into every 24-hour day. Because we are told this myth is possible, we are left to feel inadequate, guilty, and resentful when we cannot figure out how to make it work. When we are working, we feel guilty that we aren’t parenting. When we are parenting, we feel guilty that we aren’t working. When men set aspirational goals around work-life balance and do things like, say, coach their kids' soccer team, we say, “Wow, he’s such an involved father.” When is the last time you heard someone say, “Wow, she’s such an involved mom.” We just are. Involved, engaged, ON… 24/7. If you feel like you don’t have a work-life balance, it’s because there is no such thing. So, how will you make peace with this crappy bill of goods we have been sold? Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

CEO of Sales Maven, Nikki Rausch has the unique ability to transform the misunderstood process of “selling”. With 25+ years of selling experience, entrepreneurs and small business owners now hire Nikki to show them how to sell successfully and authentically. Nikki has written 3 books, all available on Amazon. And she has a podcast called Sales Maven which you can find on your favorite podcast platform. Nikki and I have been in a few professional circles together over the last few years - podcasting, Seattle women entrepreneurs, online marketers… I’m always so impressed by how she shows up and her deep knowledge around selling in high integrity ways. She came in and did a training on selling with my business coaching clients last year and it was FAB. I asked her if she would be a guest on the SMA, with the caveat that I didn’t want to limit the conversation to selling because I know that’s not relevant to all of you. She suggested we talk about some of her other areas of expertise, like How to Stop Overcommitting. This was obviously a fast & easy HARD YES for me! I loved this conversation and can’t wait for you to listen in. Listen in to hear Nikki share: What are the most common reasons women overcommit What is at risk when you overcommit 4 questions you suggest people ask themselves before committing What you can say to buy yourself time to think about what you’re being asked for instead of giving a quick response that you might regret later How to use silence in conversations as a way to build credibility How you can get out of commitments with grace and integrity Links mentioned: Free ebook: Closing The Sale: yoursalesmaven.com/shameless Connect with Nikki: yoursalesmaven.com/ Podcast: Sales Maven Nikki on FB Nikki on IG Nikki on LinkedIn Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

700 EPISODES!!! YAY, US! 700 times I’ve hit record. 700 times you’ve shown up to listen. UNREAL. I wanted to do something fun for you for this 700th episode. So, I decided to take you behind the scenes to answer some of the most common questions I get about the show. Is it all about motherhood, diapers, and temper tantrums? Do you ever run out of content? Do you get sick of recording? Do you ever have difficult guests? (pssst… YES.) How do you show up so consistently? Is it exhausting? What does your recording schedule look like? What’s the future of the show? I had so much fun answering these questions, spilling some tea (see #4), and letting you see what it’s like creating this show behind the scenes. Have fun listening in! And thank you, THANK YOU for listening in. Whether this is your first episode or your 700th, I appreciate you being here. I do this for YOU. It is a true honor. Lastly, if you want more of the SMA, let me know! I’m considering adding some additional episodes in 2023 (woo-hoooo!!) But, I want to know that you actually want more. If you want MORE, please leave a review and let me know what you love and what you want more of over at shamelessmom.com/review. Link mentioned: Want more episodes of the SMA each week?? Leave me a review and let me know: shamelessmom.com/review Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Britt Frank is a licensed psychotherapist, trauma specialist, and author of The Science of Stuck. She holds a BA from Duke University and an MSW from the University of Kansas, where she later became an award-winning adjunct instructor. Britt is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Level 3 training in Internal Family Systems. I was introduced to Britt via a past SMA guest, Andrea Owen. Andrea suspected Britt and I would hit it off and she was spot on. Britt’s work involves all the mental health stuff I love to geek out on. We dig into a lot around trauma and dysfunction and dysregulation in this conversation. I think you will find Britt’s work to be as fascinating as I did! And you MUST read her book, The Science of Stuck - a brilliant compilation of stories, science, and strategies to help you heal your mind. Listen in to hear Britt share: How her “normal” upbringing made her dismiss her childhood trauma How function and dysfunction can coexist in our lives for years, if not decades - and the costs to our lives over time How dissociating into academics became her coping mechanism and why dissociation into high achieving is common for trauma survivors The necessity of suffering in order to process grief and trauma and get to a place of peace and joy Why celebrating tiny wins is a powerful brain hack that positively our nervous system The impact of the global trauma over the last few years, including why our trauma responses might be coming down the road and could show up as PTSD if we aren’t aware of the trauma we have endured Why trauma is inevitable and PTSD is preventable How to set our children up to process their inevitable trauma The #1 thing a parent can do for their children’s mental health Links mentioned: Connect with Britt: Scienceofstuck.com Book: The Science of Stuck Book: Trauma Proofing Your Kids Britt on IG Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Last weekend, we hosted our Fall Retreat for our membership community. The theme of this retreat was Tap Into Your Intuition. One of the activities we did early in the retreat was build-out our Self Trust Resumes. We had members take a look at their past skills & strengths (those that are innate and those they have trained). Members were invited to take a close look at how their education, professional experience, and personal experiences have formed who they are and who they are becoming. When we are looking toward goals and dreams, it’s easy to forget all the ways we have already qualified ourselves, making us perfectly poised to go after whatever it is we want right now. When I was in London 2 weeks ago training a communications team of a Fortune 10 company, we invited folks to share stories from their past as proof of leadership abilities today. It was absolutely incredible to hear what folks came up with. Your past qualifies you to own your future. When we push pause and create space to look back for a moment, we can find such clear and striking evidence of what we are capable of moving forward. But, when we are in the hustle and bustle of daily life, we quickly forget this. We are so busy getting through the chaos of the day or the season that we can’t see what we’re capable of in the future. I want to invite you to push pause. Think of a goal you are working toward right now - whether it feels like a long term dream or an immediate fixation. Now, look back over the course of your life and find a few pieces of evidence that prove you are capable of going after big things, you are good at figuring out new things, and you are brave when embarking on an uncertain journey. You have undoubtedly proven these things to yourself repeatedly over the course of your life. Once you start owning them, you will see how incredibly qualified you are to go after whatever it is you want right now. Link mentioned: Get on the waitlist to join the Academy: shamelessmom.com/waitlist Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Amber Hawley is a licensed therapist and lifestyle strategist who works with entrepreneurial individuals and couples with the emotional side of business. She is the owner of a therapy practice in Silicon Valley, and the host of The Easily Distracted Entrepreneur and Couples Fix podcasts. She is also a wife, a Shameless Mom of three kids, and a Marvel movie super fan. Amber originally worked in the tech industry but her love for people led her to pursue a career where meaningful relationships are at the center of everything she does. A lot of Amber’s work is centered around neurodiversity, as she brings her experience of having ADHD, as well as parenting children with ADHD to much of what she does. As soon as Amber and I got started in this conversation, I knew we would need more time. I wanted to make sure to dig into ADHD as it relates to women, as well as ADHD as it relates to kids. Amber was so kind to agree to turn this into a two-part conversation. This is Part 2 of our conversation - all about kids and ADHD. In Part 1 (Episode 696), we talked all about women and ADHD. Whether or not you are parenting a child with ADHD, your kid is in school with kids who have ADHD. This conversation can help you as a parent to your own kids, but also as a parent who supports other kids in your community. Listen in to hear Amber share: 3 Types of ADHD in kids and how they manifest differently How her 2 children with ADHD exhibit very different symptoms The importance of acknowledging ADHD as a dopamine deficiency in the brain The connection between anxiety and ADHD When to seek a professional assessment for your child’s mental health How a diagnosis can be helpful, even a powerful tool, especially if your child has a strong tendency to mask their symptoms The layers of making decisions around medicating your child who has ADHD and different kinds of medications that can support children who have ADHD How all parents and kids can be supportive of neurodivergent kids in the community Some of the superpowers and superstrengths of kids with ADHD Links Mentioned: Connect with Amber: https://amberhawley.com/ Podcast: The Easily Distracted Entrepreneur Amber’s work with couples Dr Amen’s ADD 7 Types Quiz Amber on FB Amber on IG Amber on LinkedIn Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Amber Hawley is a licensed therapist and lifestyle strategist who works with entrepreneurial individuals and couples with the emotional side of business. She is the owner of a therapy practice in Silicon Valley, and the host of The Easily Distracted Entrepreneur and Couples Fix podcasts. She is also a wife, a Shameless Mom of three kids, and a Marvel movie super fan. Amber originally worked in the tech industry but her love for people led her to pursue a career where meaningful relationships are at the center of everything she does. A lot of Amber’s work is centered around neurodiversity, as she brings her experience of having ADHD, as well as parenting children with ADHD to much of what she does. As soon as Amber and I got started in this conversation, I knew we would need more time. I wanted to make sure to dig into ADHD as it relates to women, as well as ADHD as it relates to kids. Amber was so kind to agree to turn this into a two-part conversation. In Part 1 (Episode 696), we will talk about women and ADHD. In Part 2 (Episode 697), we will talk about ADHD as it relates to kids. Buckle up, friends. You are about to jump into the brains of two women with ADHD. We are loud & proud (and maybe a little chaotic - in the best way!) and can’t wait to share this convo with you. Listen in to hear Amber share: The multiple types of ADHD, and how women tend to experience ADHD What is a hyperfocus hangover and why rest & recovery matters so much Women’s symptoms of ADHD that don’t look stereotypical or like what you might expect The benefits of getting an ADHD diagnosis Strategies to help moms with productivity and focus Links mentioned: Connect with Amber: https://amberhawley.com/ Podcast: The Easily Distracted Entrepreneur Amber’s work with couples: couplesfix.com Dr. Amen’s ADD 7 Types Quiz Amber on FB Amber on IG Amber on LinkedIn Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Kat Vellos is a trusted expert on the power of cultivating healthy teams and meaningful friendships in adulthood. Formerly a UX designer at Slack, Pandora, and multiple startups, her work today focuses on helping people design belonging into their lives and workplaces. She is the author of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, TED Talks, Forbes, Real Simple, Communication Arts, SF Design Week, Lesbians Who Tech, and many more. The hard truth is that it’s hard to make new friends as an adult. Sometimes it’s even hard keeping the friends we have. Friendship is just not as easy as it was when we had time to play with each other at recess everyday in our school days. But hope is not lost. Friendships are essential for our health and well being and there are some simple things you can do to establish and grow incredible friendships right now! Listen in to hear Kat share: The difference between meeting people and actually making friends The 4 reasons it gets harder to make friends as we age The specific challenges for moms in making friends How our relationships evolve (for better or worse) as our various identities evolve The significance of reciprocity in healthy adult friendships The important role of curiosity in friendship How to maintain strong friendships even when you’re on separate life paths Steps to take to invest in a new friendship Specific steps we can take to invest in the relationships we want to grow and preserve Links mentioned: Connect with Kat: weshouldgettogether.com Get Kat’s Book: We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships Kat on IG Kat on Twitter Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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 had a 4am realization last week. 4am realizations are the best… My realization had to do with “the space between”. I realized that so much of my discomfort of the last few years has come from having to live in “the space between”. The space where one thing has ended, but the next thing hasn’t started yet. The space between realizing something has changed permanently and you cannot go back to what was and what lies ahead is scary. The space between who you used to be and who you are becoming. The space between what you once thought to be true and uncomfortable new truths. The space between playing small and playing big. The space between standing in your truth and waiting to see who will stand beside you. The space between holding your breath and finally speaking up. Perhaps some of these spaces between are familiar to you too? In this episode, I share the agitation and impatience that tends to show up for me when I’m in the space between. Then, I walk you through 5 ways to navigate the space between. The space between is uncomfortable, for sure. But it’s a necessary piece (errr, gift?) of growth. If you’re in the space between right now in one (or multiple) areas of your life, you are not alone. I’m in it with you, friend. Link mentioned: Leave a review for the SMA: shamelessmom.com/review Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

Shonda Moralis, MSW, LCSW is on a mission to help ambitious moms play big without burning out. Author of the award-winning book, Breathe, Mama, Breathe and Don’t Forget to Breathe, she is a Psychotherapist, Life Balance Coach, Therapreneur, and Podcast Host. Shonda serves on the board of Shanthi Project, an education nonprofit providing evidence-based mindfulness services to children and adults. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two kids, loves to play outside, endeavors to practice what she preaches, and is perennially fascinated by what makes people tick. The timing of this interview was so serendipitous. The day before I interviewed Shonda, my therapist told me I would really benefit from mindfulness meditation. I was skeptical, if not downright doubtful. So, I loved picking Shonda’s brain as we dug into all the ways mindfulness as a practice can shift our brains to help us achieve balance (although not in the sense you might assume), greater productivity, creativity, and overall energy. Listen in to hear Shonda share: Her experience raising two children 10 years apart in age Her parenting philosophy: good enough is great How “balance” shifts over the course of motherhood and should be a gentle recalibration over time, not massive sweeping overnight changes How to integrate 1-5 minutes of mindfulness to shift your day - and the importance of keeping it short & doable The science of mindfulness and how meditation changes the shape, function, and efficiency of your brain The difference between mindfulness, meditation, and mindful breaks - and the benefits of each How to use breath, becoming, and balance breaks in short (like 1 minute) ways to increase your calm, increase your energy, or restore a mindset of balance to your day Links mentioned: Connect with Shonda and get her free 5-minute mindfulness meditation: shondamoralis.net Shonda’s podcast: Therapeutic Perspective Podcast Shonda on Instagram Shonda on Facebook Shonda on Linkedin Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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

When I’m working with private business & leadership coaching clients, one of the things we are always talking about is building traction. When you’re eager to grow and evolve in your leadership (in a business, the workplace, or your community), it’s easy to overlook the significance and impact of small (tiny!) actions over time. Tiny action adds up. But you have to be paying attention. Notice how you are showing up to do the little things each and every day that further your growth toward your goals. Be methodical and strategic in taking tiny actions and tracking your traction. This can be done by tracking tiny wins as you tick little things off your To Do List, or writing down small accomplishments and achievements at the end of each day. When I am in seasons of struggle and I feel like my growth is stunted or things are just not going the way I want, I commit to taking small, simple steps each day to keep going, while also noting the small (sometimes minuscule) wins each day that prove to me that simple action creates momentum (ie: traction!) and that always feels good. In this episode, I talk through 5 ways to build traction by taking tiny action. Let’s keep going and growing together! Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: 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