Shameless Leadership

Deeann Graham is the award-winning author of Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, and an alopecia coach/consultant, educator, and advocate. She was first diagnosed with alopecia areata (an autoimmune hair loss condition) when she was 7-years-old. She published Head-On, Stories of Alopecia to share stories and photos of people around the world who are living with alopecia, in order to provide a broad perspective on the journey of hair loss. Educating communities in order to empower others who have been diagnosed, especially in the beauty and medical industries, is an important part of Deeann's outreach. She is also the course creator of the Alopecia Roadmap, and host of the Alopecia Life podcast where she continues to educate and share stories to help others realize they are not alone.Listen in to hear Deeann share: Alopecia 101: what alopecia is and how it can manifest differently in people The difference between alopecia and alopecia areata What her life was like as a 7 year who experienced total hair loss What it was like to not know anyone with alopecia like her for 30 years to then making 500 new friends with alopecia Her decision to stop wearing wigs when her daughter was in the 2nd grade and how she handled kids at her daughter’s school talking about her Where people experiencing hair loss can turn for support What to say and what not to say to someone who is bald or balding Links mentioned: Join my free CEO training for small business owners: shamelessmom.com/ceo Connect with Deeann: alopecialife.com/  Get Deeann’s Book: Head-On, Stories of Alopecia Deeann’s Podcast: Alopecia Life Deeann on IG Deeann’s FB Group Nonprofits:  https://www.childrensalopeciaproject.org | https://www.naaf.org/  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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the most common struggles for women and moms centers around self-worth. Because we are taught from such an early age that we should look a certain way, act a certain way, desire certain things, reject certain things, we often spend a lot of our lives questioning ourselves.  We wonder if we are enough, if we are qualified, if we are making the right choice, if we should try harder if we should do things more like others are doing them, We think about how we might be more perfect or polished or positive. We assume other people have it all figured out.  We feel alone and isolated and confused.  Over the last 6 years, and in my 15-year fitness career before the Shameless Mom Academy, countless women have told me they struggle with self-worth. If you struggle with self-worth, whether it’s been a struggle your entire life or it’s something that is hard for you in this particular season, this episode is for you. Listen in as I walk you through 5 simple steps to start shifting your self-worth today.  Link mentioned:  Join my free CEO training for small business owners: shamelessmom.com/ceo 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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reshma Saujani is a leading activist and the founder of Girls Who Code and the Marshall Plan for Moms. She has spent more than a decade advocating for women’s and girls’ economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector, and, most recently, championing policies to support mothers impacted by the pandemic. Saujani is also the author of the international bestseller Brave, Not Perfect, and her influential TED talk, “Teach Girls Bravery, Not Perfection,” has more than five million views. She began her career as an attorney and Democratic organizer, and she now lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal; their sons, Shaan and Sai; and their bulldog, Stanley. I have been a long-time follower and admirer of Reshma’s work and her relentless commitment to her mission. I was so delighted when she said yes to this conversation. As you listen to Reshma share how she sees the future of work for women and moms in America, I think you will see yourself reflected over and over again as she offers story after story that Illuminates the impossible expectations put upon moms over the last two years. Listen in to hear Reshma share: What is the Future of Women and Work – and why is it different than we think What women are looking for in an employer The long term significance of 2.3 million women leaving the workforce in the last year Her Marshall Plan for Moms, what came out of it, why it’s critically important in this historical moment What all moms can do to be a part of the PAY UP movement to push through change for moms and women in the workforce across the country Why it’s imperative that we “not waste a good crisis” The constant cognitive dissonance for moms around being told we can have it all and not having access to having it Why she is critical of the feminist movement and is still a Feminist  Links mentioned: Connect with Reshma: reshmasaujani.com Get Reshma’s Book: PAY UP: The Future of Women and Work Reshma on IG  Reshma on Twitter   Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week I got stuck. A cascade of hard events plus solo parenting for the week plus general pandemic/war/life fatigue caught up with me. I don’t get stuck often. But every now and then, if I don’t check myself, a series of hard events will send me spiraling into a funkity funk funk.  Last week was a funkity funk funk week for sure.  After sitting in my funkity funk funk for a good 20 hours or so, I decided it was time to pull out my tools.  After many years of defunktifying myself, I know exactly what works for me. After 19 years of coaching women, I know what works for most folks.  If you happen to fall into your own funkity funk funks every now and then, this episode is for you. I’m going to walk you through exactly how to defunktify yourself by changing your state to change your day.  These tools are really simple, but ridiculously and predictably powerful. They WORK.  So, let’s defunktify, shall we?Link mentioned:Leave a review for the SMA: shamelessmom.com/review Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson, are comedians, mothers, and hosts of the podcast What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood. What Fresh Hell regularly ranks at the top of the Parenting and Kids and Family charts on Apple Podcasts, and has over five million lifetime downloads. In each episode Margaret and Amy discuss a parenting topic from their usually-completely opposite perspectives.Amy Wilson is the author of When Did I Get Like This? The Screamer, The Worrier, The Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget Buyer, and Other Mothers I Swore I’d Never Be (HarperCollins) and of Mother Load, a one-woman show which she toured to 16 cities after its hit off-Broadway run. She also appeared as a series regular in two sitcoms (Daddio on NBC and Norm on ABC). She and her husband live in New York City with their three kids.Margaret Ables is a comedian and writer whose work has appeared on MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and PBS. Margaret created television shows for Klasky Csupo (creators of Rugrats) and was the head of video production for Nickelodeon’s mom-centric channel NickMom. Margaret also teaches improv and public speaking in correctional facilities for the non-profit organization Rehabilitation Through the Arts. She and her husband live in Westchester, NY with their three kids.I met Amy and Margaret via our mutual podcast editing team (SHOUT OUT to Christy and Allison!) Christy had a sense we might hit it off and, of course, she was spot on. Listen in to hear Margaret and Amy share: How they came together to create WFH and how each bring their unique strengths to create support for parents how parenting changes and evolves us over the years why we don’t need to fear or resist the constant growth that parenting provides Why new ventures and unchartered territory feel so big and daunting as we approach them, but then so much smaller in hindsight How parenting problems over the years. IE: little kids = lots of problems/easy to solve, big kids = fewer problems, harder to solve The difference between “easy” parenting and satisfying parenting What satisfying parenting looks like and how it can look sooo different than what you expected Links mentioned: Connect with Margaret and Amy: whatfresshhellpodcast.com Podcast: What Fresh Hell WFH on IG WFH FB Group Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I had the honor of speaking at an event for moms last week. My talk was “How to Play Bigger in Life without Asking Permission.” After my talk, there was time for Q&A and the question folks kept circling back to was, “How do I start to speak up so I can play a bigger game?”  A number of attendees noted they were so in the habit of not speaking up that they didn’t know where or how to start using their voices.  Because women have been socialized to stay small and quiet, we often have to really make a concerted effort to actually use our voices.  I gave these women three steps to start practicing speaking up: Practice stating your preferences out loud  Practice stating your needs out loud Practice sharing opposing opinions in neutral ways  These steps are intended to be practiced over time, in this order. Start out with low risk/low exposure steps. The stakes are typically pretty low when you’re stating a preference: “I prefer pepperoni pizza to sausage & mushroom.” Or, “I would prefer to watch Movie ABC vs Movie XYZ this evening.”Once you’ve practiced this a few times, try to share a need with a loved one: “I need some time to myself, so I’m going to take myself to lunch and a movie this weekend.” Practice this a few times.  Once you’ve practiced #1 and #2 over time, you can move to higher exposure speaking up - where the risks and stakes are higher. This is where you can start to practice sharing an opposing opinion in a neutral way, “Thank you for sharing your opinion/experience. That hasn’t been my experience.” Or, “Thank you for sharing your opinion/experience. I see it differently.” Make sure to listen in to the episode to learn how to do #3 safely, this part is important!Listen in to learn more about how to practice speaking up - in order to get what you want and, ultimately, in order to impact the world. Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jennifer Kem is a San Francisco Bay Area-based brand building and leadership expert who gets entrepreneurs seen, heard, and paid for being themselves.She’s the creator of the Master Brand Method: a framework to develop powerful brand archetypes that win customers’ hearts, leveraging Jennifer’s 20 years of corporate experience and her launching of multiple companies.What she is most passionate about in her work today is her legacy project: Femmefluence, a platform that supports women leaders to fully rise into their influence and affluence, so they can make an even greater impact in the world.Jennifer serves up straight talk wrapped in love, because she understands entrepreneurs’ challenges. She built a retail business and became a millionaire at 32, only to lose it all in the recession two years later. She is now the successful owner of three million-dollar brand-building businesses and the mother of three children.I’ve had the opportunity to overlap Jen in a few business groups over the last couple years and she is a force. I finally got to meet her a few months ago and I decided to ask her to be a guest on the show. I was elated when she said yes, as I know she has such a compelling story.   Listen in to hear Jen share: Her experience of going through a violating event in her corporate career that changed the trajectory of her work and her life How she went from having it all, to losing it all, to building it all again - all on her own terms as she navigated being a wife and mom What happened when she built and then lost a 10 million dollar a year business What it means to be Values Driven and why it’s crucial to know your values in life and work/business How your values can guide you to make confident and clean decisions How to find and define your values by clarifying your voids and violations Links mentioned: Connect with Jen: www.JenniferKem.com Jen’s Podcast: Femmefluence Radio Jen on Instagram Jen on LinkedIn Jen on Facebook Jen on YouTube Jen on Twitter Jen on Pinterest Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are times when we look at something we would like to accomplish and it just feels too far out of reach - like the work required to get us to that point is not only completely overwhelming but also elusive in nature.When we consider taking action we think:How will I find the time?How will I find the energy?How will I acquire the skills?Do I even have what it takes?By the time we get through this list of questions, we decide it’s too hard, will take too long, we definitely don’t have the skills and we don’t know where to begin to acquire them.  So, we do nothing.  I want to invite you to an alternative way to take action in your life: practice taking tiny action.What is tiny action?Tiny action is those little steps that we are tempted to skip entirely because we falsely assume they don’t matter or won’t make a difference.  But the truth is that if we want to become better action takers, taking tiny action might just be the prerequisite you didn’t know you needed.  Taking tiny action is taking any action step and making it smaller, less overwhelming, less time consuming, less frequent, less energy-consuming.   When we practice taking tiny action over time, we begin to see the effects of compound interest: 10 minutes of exercise each day that boosts energy and productivity 10 minutes of reading each day that inspires our work or our way of thinking Yoga once a week that alleviates back pain Date nights once a month that improve our marriage Asking for what we need from our family once a week that leads to more personal time Speaking up at the monthly office meeting that leads to being considered for a new role at work As we take action in these small ways, our identity starts to shift and we see ourselves as more capable, more confident, more courageous. We see ourselves as action takers who go after the things we want and actually get them! This shift is not tiny. Taking tiny action leads to BIG shifts. In this episode, I share 4 ways taking tiny action gives you more power. Then, I share 3 simple steps to taking tiny action #everydamnday.  Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laurel Handfield began her writing career years ago in a small, suburban town outside of Philadelphia, PA. In college, she majored in business marketing and after graduation, she worked in sales, marketing, and advertising. However, a trip to the Bahamas led to a shift in focus and a rediscovery of her true passion: writing.Her vacation to the islands turned into an unexpected romance when she met and fell in love with her now-husband. After two years in a long-distance relationship, she decided to move to the Bahamas permanently. While life in the Bahamas was slower and more relaxed, she also discovered that her marketing career didn’t hold quite as much opportunity on the islands as it did in the United States, so she went back to creating. She wrote and ghostwrote over five full-length novels, including a fictional tale about the only Black family on the Titanic.Today, Laurel creates coloring/activity books for young girls of color. She still calls the Bahamas home and enjoys the laid-back island life with her husband, three children, and two dogs.Listen in to hear Laurel share: Her journey of building her self esteem as a young Black girl and then a Black woman The impact of being teased for her looks and physical attributes as a young girl How the impact of her low self-worth led to self-harm in the form of an eating disorder How she healed from her low self-esteem and eating disorder - and recognized what an epidemic there was around the struggles she was facing What inspired her work to create books and coloring books for girls of color How moms can affirm their daughter’s worth in different ways Her advice to moms who might want to write a book Links mentioned: Join me in Jen Lumanlan’s 10 week Taming Your Triggers workshop: shamelessmom.com/taming Connect with Laurel: www.happyislandpress.com Laurel’s Books on Amazon: Happy Island Press Laurel on FB Laurel on IG Laurel on TikTok Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Back in August of 2021, I got a text from my dear friend Laura Cathcart Robbins:“Sara, I know this is crazy, but I’m going on the Dr. Phil show on Wednesday to talk about CRT and they’ve just asked me if I know of any white moms who might be willing to speak as an ally and I thought of you. Would this be something you would consider?”I thought for a solid 30 seconds, felt like I might vomit, and then said YES.  The next day, I flew to LA to record the show.  It was a whirlwind event around a huge topic: Should Critical Race Theory be Taught in Schools? This week, I asked Laura if she would come on the SMA (for the 3rd time - WHOOP!) to have a conversation around our experience and around Critical Race Theory in America.   If you’re not familiar with Laura, she is the host of the popular podcast, The Only One In The Room (you must subscribe!), and author of the forthcoming Atria/Simon& Schuster memoir, STASH (due out in spring of 2023). 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 LA Moth StorySlam winner and currently sits on the advisory boards of the San Diego Writer’s Festival and the Outliers HQ podcast Festival.In this conversation, Laura and I dig into: Why each of us said YES to appearing on Dr. Phil Some of the behind the scenes surprises while taping the show What Critical Race Theory actually is Our takeaways from the conversation we had with 6 other guests on the show - all of whom had strong opinions and some very opposed to ours What the media is actually talking about when they talk about “Critical Race Theory in schools” Steve Bannon’s involvement in creating an intentionally divisive conversation for Conservatives to more easily pave the road to the White House What is actually being taught in schools that is being misrepresented as Critical Race Theory Why age appropriate race education is crucial in schools Links mentioned: Join me in Jen Lumanlan’s 10 week Taming Your Triggers workshop: shamelessmom.com/taming Connect with Laura: theonlyonepod.com/ Podcast: The Only One In The Room Laura on YouTube Laura on IG Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices