What if the thing you’re calling “chaos,” “overwhelm,” or “not enough time” is actually a sign that your life is running on someone else’s definition of success? In today’s episode, I’m joined by New York Times bestselling author and Slow Living advocate Stephanie O’Dea for a conversation that will make you rethink how you work, plan, parent, and build your business, especially if you’ve been craving a calmer pace but don’t know where to start.

Stephanie shares how a single New Year’s resolution turned into 11 books, a massive online brand, and a completely different way of designing life, one rooted in intention, capacity, and tuning out the noise. We talk about redefining productivity, creating a three-year plan that actually feels doable, why journaling changes everything (even if you hate journaling), and how to build a business without burning out your brain, body, or joy.

If you’re heading into a new season wanting more peace, more purpose, and less rushing, this episode is your reminder that slow isn’t stagnant, it’s sustainable. And it may be the very thing that moves you forward the fastest.

Today you’ll hear:

01:48 – The truth about holiday overwhelm and why acknowledging “this is too much” is the first step toward slowing down
04:48 – How a crockpot, a New Year’s resolution, and consistency built an accidental empire (plus what she learned about working in her true capacity)
07:54 – The power of finding your pockets of time, why hustle seasons are personal, and what slow living actually looks like in different life stages
09:58 – The S.L.O.W. acronym
12:13 – Why Stephanie walked away from Instant Pot culture, what happened when her publisher dropped her, and the voice of intuition that redirected her business
14:48 – Real-life slow living examples
16:08 – How to begin slow living when your life feels too full
17:48 – Why she swears by a 3-year plan (and why 1-year and 5-year goals often fail humans in real life)
19:40 – The “sleep, creep, leap” model and how to use it for business, health, relationships, finances, and long-term life design
21:08 – The one small daily shift to start today
23:00 – Stephanie’s most-requested crockpot recipe (and why her kids still make it in college)
25:00 – How thinking three years ahead creates stability, peace, margin, and resilience — even when life gets unpredictable

CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE:

Website: stephanieodea.com

Instagram: @stephanieodea

FREE daily journaling and goal setting worksheet: stephanieodea.com/daily

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