The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business

939: A Conversation With My Mom About Time, Motherhood, and What Gets Passed Down

11 snips

Dec 15, 2025

In this heartfelt discussion, a mother and daughter delve into the nuances of motherhood and personal identity. They reflect on the rapid passage of time and the importance of nurturing curiosity in children. Generational differences emerge as they explore the impact of technology on relationships. Sue shares her experiences with gender roles and the evolving challenges mothers face today, from community safety to personal well-being. Their conversation is a profound reminder of the wisdom passed down through generations.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Time Accelerates In Parenthood

Time with children passes far faster than parents expect, making everyday moments more precious than they feel in the moment.
Jenna Kutcher and Sue Shelerud both reflect that parenthood becomes a blur but leaves lasting identity shifts.

ANECDOTE

Creating Opportunities For Curiosity

Sue created hands-on opportunities for Jenna's curious interests, like arranging a vet job shadow and finding ways to fund gymnastics tuition.
Those childhood permissions made Jenna comfortable exploring many career pivots later in life.

ADVICE

Ask Directly, Accept The Answer

Ask for opportunities directly and accept constructive yes-or-no answers instead of assuming barriers.
Sue encouraged curiosity: if someone says no, you are no worse off for asking.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Every time my mom comes on the show, you ask me to bring her back. You want her wisdom and her perspective, the way she sees straight through to what actually matters… and today, we’re giving the people what they want!

My mom, Sue Shelerud, is intelligent, fierce, persuasive, empathetic, and deeply respected. Over the years, she built her impact face to face in classrooms and living rooms and hospital hallways. She shaped people and held space and asked the hard questions that made them think differently.

I realized that as I've gotten older, we need collectively to learn from women like her, the ones who led in different ways than we do, the ones whose platform looked different, but whose influence was undeniable. The ones who remind us that impact isn't about how loud you are, it's about how deeply you show up.

So today we're talking about motherhood and identity, about the differences between her generation and mine, about what it means to be a safe space for people, about what gets passed down when you lead with presence and not performance. This powerful conversation is for me, it's for my daughters, it's for anyone trying to learn from the women who came before us, the ones who did things differently, and the ones whose power showed up in ways we're only now learning to name.

Goal Digger Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/goaldiggerpodcast/

Goal Digger Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goaldiggerpodcast/

Goal Digger Show Notes: https://jennakutcherblog.com/motherhood-generational-wisdom-conversation-with-my-mom

Thanks to our Goal Digger Sponsors:

Find a co-host today at http://airbnb.com/host.

Check out What Should I Do With My Money? from Morgan Stanley. Listen now at https://mgstnly.lnk.to/bqe8HiAC!GD.

Visit http://www.spectrum.com/freeforlife to learn how you can get Business Internet Free Forever.

Experience the power of a Dell PC with Intel Inside®, backed by Dell’s price match guarantee. Shop now at https://www.dell.com/deals.
Your dream wardrobe’s one click away. Visit https://www.revolve.com/goaldigger for 15% off your first order with code GOALDIGGER.