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 monthFull-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 megaphone.fm/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/academyThank 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 megaphone.fm/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 sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/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 sales@adalystmedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/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 sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/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 sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/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 sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/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 sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/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 sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/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 sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices