Amy Leneker is a former C-suite executive turned leadership advisor, “recovering workaholic,” and author of Cheers to Monday: The Surprisingly Simple Method to Lead & Live with Less Stress & More Joy, where she teaches leaders and teams how to break the cycle of burnout and overwhelm. She has trained over 100,000 leaders, including those at Fortune 100 companies, and now serves as a Joy Strategist helping organizations thrive with less stress and more energy.

On this episode we talk about:

Amy’s two burnout experiences and how her body forced her to stop
The belief that “stress is the price of success” and why it’s wrong
Eustress vs. distress and how to tell which one you’re in
The “stress ruler” tool and how leaders can use it with their teams
The Stockdale Paradox, toxic positivity, and bringing real joy back into work

Top 3 Takeaways

Stress is inevitable, but burnout is not—most high achievers are trapped in the story that stress is the price of success, when in reality chronic distress quietly kills performance and joy.
You can and should use “good stress” (eustress) as fuel for growth while actively monitoring when it tips into “bad stress” (distress) that drains energy, health, and relationships.
Simple practices—like rating your stress on a 0–10 “stress ruler,” defining clear seasons of hard pushes, and intentionally weaving joy into your normal days—create sustainable success instead of cycles of crash and recover.

Notable Quotes

“Stress isn’t the price of success—it’s the thief that steals it.”
“My body shut down before my brain was willing to admit I was burned out.”
“Joy isn’t something you schedule once a quarter; it’s something you protect and practice in the middle of real life.”

Connect with Amy Leneker:

Find out more about her book here: https://www.amyleneker.com/book

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