Shameless Leadership

Ronit Plank is a writer, teacher, and podcaster whose work has been featured in The Rumpus, The Atlantic, The Iowa Review, Writer’s Digest, The Washington Post, HuffPost, and The New York Times among others. Her stories and essays have been nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and The Best of the Net and she is author of When She Comes Back, a memoir about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation. Her short story collection Home Is A Made-Up Place won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and will be published in 2022.I met Ronit at an event a couple months ago and had an immediate connection with her.  As I’ve read her book, When She Comes Back, I feel like we are long lost sisters at times.  While we had different experiences growing up, we both had parents who abandoned us, creating this void of confusion in our lives that left us constantly questioning how to take up space. If you’ve watched the docuseries Wild, Wild Country, some of Ronit’s story will be familiar, as the cult featured in the docuseries is the cult her mother joined. Listen in to hear Ronit share: Her experience of being born on a kibbutz in Israel and living separately from her parents as a baby and toddler The effects of her mom leaving her and her little sister to follow a guru How she maintained a relationship with her mom in spite of being repeatedly abandoning her The challenge and conflicting emotions of having her mom be close to her after her daughter was born What it’s been like for her to mother after not having a mother role model The difference between the vulnerabilities we choose to share and those we must carry How knowing someone’s story creates space for compassion in spaces where compassion might not otherwise exist Links mentioned: Get my newsletter to be notified of our 2022 Plan & Prep Pajama Party Connect with Ronit and get the book: Ronit Plank IG/Twitter: @ronitplank  Thank you to our sponsor:Evite: Head over to Evite to choose from thousands of design options to create and send invitations for free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are at that time of year where it’s easy to wake up every morning and feel like you're 5 days behind on everything. Work deadlines, gift lists, travel plans… It’s so much!I want you to take a moment to imagine what it would be like to wake up each morning of this holiday season feeling a sense of peace and ease. Last week, in our membership community, Momentum Mamas, we had a couple members share that they completely flipped Thanksgiving on its head this year. They broke all past traditions, planned something totally new - and way more full of ease - and had the VERY BEST Thanksgiving, as voted on by themselves and their kids. Less plans, less people, less old & stressful default traditions. More peace, more ease, more connections with the few you want to be closest to, new thoughtful & intentional traditions that made their hearts swell. As these members shared their Thanksgiving stories, I reminded everyone: You can always rewrite the rules. Sometimes we forget. We default to what we’ve done in the past or what others expect of us. The result is often stress, total overwhelm, and resentment. Let’s rewrite the rules this year, shall we?This year, I’m inviting you to: Prioritize your joy over other people’s expectations Doing things differently Do less and breathe more Reconsider what brings joy Listen in to hear how to use these 4 invitations and how to apply 4 matching strategies to bring yourself more peace and ease this holiday season. Cheers to rewriting the rules, my friends. I’m doing this right alongside you!Link mentioned:Get my newsletter to be notified of our 2022 Plan & Prep Pajama Party   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Founder of The Compassion Code Academy®, Compassionate Communication Coach, International Best Selling Author, and Trainer for The Grief Recovery Institute®, Laura Jack guides heart-centered leaders to relate, communicate and lead more compassionately through loss and change of any kind - without burning out.I invited Laura to come on the show to talk about the story of losing her mom - a story of sudden tragedy, marked by heartbreak, grief, and ultimately, triumph. Listen in to hear Laura share: The story and deep impact of losing her mom in freak tragic accident in 2008 The unrooting of losing her mom and how she had to rebuild her sense of identity after that loss How motherhood is a grieving experience that no one warned you about How to redefine and reframe grief How her former life as Little Miss Sunshine & Silver Linings diminished her capacity to be compassionate toward others and how she had to learn to stop suppressing negative feelings How she found her “Monster Mommy” through her son after suppressing anger and hard feelings throughout her life How she teaches moms to rage in a safe and productive way How we are all constantly navigating grief and the key the managing the constant inevitable grief we endure Links mentioned: Learn about the Compassion Code Academy Connect with Laura Get Laura’s book, The Compassion Code Laura on IG FB: Living The Compassion Code and Laura Jack Laura on LinkedIn Thank you to our sponsors: Talkspace: To match with your perfect therapist for a fraction of the price of traditional therapy, go to talkspace.com, Make sure to use the code SHAMELESS to get $100 off your first month and show your support for the show. MamaZen: Go to your app store or Google Play and download MamaZen today. Use PROMO CODE: shameless for a FREE TRIAL so you can try MamaZen for yourself. Bean Box: Order today at com/SHAMELESS20 and get 20% off purchases of $40 or more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

About 10 years ago I went on a bit of a shopping spree at Banana Republic. I was on a mission to buy “speaker clothes” - some slacks, blouses, and a cardigan or two. I considered a blazer, but that seemed too presumptuous of a speaking career I did not yet have. The blazer would come a few years later. I delighted in making space in my closet for my crisp new speaker clothes.At the time, I was a gym owner. I wore workout clothes (often sweaty ones) all day #everydamnday. But I knew I wanted to be a speaker. On stages. Any stage would do.So, I started walking through life as if I were a speaker. I bought the clothes, planned some talks, applied to speak at some events, added “Speaker” to my email signature and website. It would be awhile before I actually got to speak in front of anyone outside of the gym I owned, where I was definitely already a speaker (as well as coach, motivator, and maybe even part preacher), but not the Banana Republic slacks wearing kind. Trying to get on stages would eventually get under my skin - as I saw so many men land the speaking gigs I was applying for. Ultimately, I launched my podcast, this podcast, in order to step into my role as a Speaker. I stopped waiting for others to invite me to their Banana Republic stages and I built my own damn stage. I had been walking through the world as a speaker for years waiting for invitations when I realized that I didn’t need anyone’s invitation. I only needed my own permission.In this episode, I share 4 ways you can practice walking through the world as the woman you are becoming. Perhaps you are becoming a Banana Republic wear speaker. Perhaps something totally different. No matter what, you deserve to walk through the world clear and confident about who you are and where you are going - without expecting or waiting for anyone else’s invitation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Julia Colangelo is an award-winning mindfulness educator, flow expert, and founder of Hello Flow a consulting and educational company based out of Maui where she teaches on Flow, Purpose, Creativity, Zone of Genius, Alchemy, and Alignment. Dr. Julia teaches and presents worldwide how the science of flow decreases stress allowing us to align our values and actions.  Dr. Julia provides high-level executive consulting to public figures, celebrities, and thought leaders. She also teaches Mindfulness at Columbia University and speaks and trains at companies including LinkedIn, Convene, and Harvard in Tech. Her work has been featured in Glamour Magazine, The Washington Post, Huffington Post and more. A proud toddler mom and surfer raised in New Jersey, Julia’s equal parts hippie + hype.  I met Dr. Julia at an event a couple months ago where she was speaking on flow.  I immediately knew I want her to be a guest on the show.  She is going to teach you how to break all the rules in order to find your flow.  Get ready for some serious inspiration. Listen in to hear Julia share: Why she doesn’t “follow the rules” when it comes to time management, productivity, and mom life What is flow, how it looks different for every person and how it helps you in all aspects of your life How to access your flow state and intentionally trigger it How to prioritize humanness and self compassion in order to access your flow How shame shows up when moms are trying to access flow Why you might want to reconsider your YESes… When you say YES to everything you’re constantly saying NO to yourself Symptoms of burnout and intentional steps you can make to prevent chronic burnout How to take small steps to activating your flow state more routinely Links Mentioned: Apply for my Tenacious Mamas Business & Leadership Mastermind: info@shamelessmom.com Julia on IG Julia’s Podcast: Hello Flow Podcast Connect: Dr. Julia Colangelo Dr Julia’s Free Quiz: ​​Flow Quiz Julia’s Free Best 100 Days Workshop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

600 EPISODES!Unreal.600 times I have hit record. 300 incredible guest interviews. 300 solo shows. WOW.Having a podcast is like having a child. It’s like the podcast just started yesterday and it also feels like she’s been a part of my life forever. I have learned a lot over the course of 600 episodes. So many deeply impactful life lessons that I didn't see coming - and could have never anticipated when I started out.  In this episode, I share 6 life lessons I’ve learned over the course of 600 episodes. I am sharing these lessons because I know many of you are learning right alongside me. With each lesson, I share a tip and the “secret sauce” behind making the tip work in a simple and consistent way in your everyday life.I want to take a minute to make a few Thank You’s, as I’ve only made it to 600 episodes because I walk through every episode with so many special people by my side. Thank you to my teammates over the last almost 6 years: Christy, Allison, Christie, Katie and Nikita. Your constant and unflinching support means so much to me.Thank you to every single guest who has shown up so openly and generously to be in conversation with me. You have touched and expanded my heart in more ways than I can count.Thank you to my loudest cheerleaders, Vince and Sheila (hi Mom!) You believe in me and build me up even when I’m tired and cranky. And you are the first ones who want to celebrate with me. Thank you to Vinnie, who makes me more of a Shameless Mom #everydamnday. Without you, there would be no Shameless Mom Academy. I can’t say more about you because the tears will most certainly damage my keyboard.Lastly, most importantly, thank you to every single listener - whether you have listened to 6 episodes or all 600. Thank you for trusting me. I know many of you have invited me into your ear for every single episode. It means so much to me that we have had the chance to spend time together 600 times. I’m beyond humbled and honored. People always ask if I’m worried I’ll run out of things to talk about.Never. Here’s to 600 more.Link mentioned:Apply for my Tenacious Mamas Business & Leadership Mastermind: info@shamelessmom.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monica Froese is a digital product coach for women business owners and host of the popular podcast, Empowered Business. She has an MBA degree in finance and marketing and runs two brands Redefining Mom, a site for helping women thrive in both motherhood and business, and Empowered Business, where she’s committed to empowering 1000 women to earn $100,000 through digital products. She spent 11 years working for a Fortune 100 company running multi-million dollar marketing campaigns with large brands like Microsoft and HP. Now she provides online marketing education to small businesses that are looking to build a profitable revenue stream through digital products through her online courses and podcast.I invited Monica on the show because I think it is so important that we have these conversations about women and money. They are hot button conversations for sure. And you know I never shy away from a hot button convo! Every single one of us was raised with a money story and we must constantly look at how we look at money and its role in our lives. Listen in to hear Monica share: How she landed at the White House seated in a round table conversation with President Barack Obama The truth about the working mom tax - the price moms pay to play in corporate America Why it’s critical for women to be financially independent The double standard of men being automatically autonomous with their finances and women having to jump through hoops to have financial autonomy How women can have more impact across multiple women’s lives through building microeconomies What happens across our communities when more women have financial independence Why mom guilt is a not real, but a social construct Links mentioned: Join my free business training on November 18th Connect with Monica Empowered Business Podcast™ Monica on Instagram Thank you to our sponsor: MamaZen: Go to your app store or Google Play and download MamaZen today. Use PROMO CODE: shameless for a FREE TRIAL so you can try MamaZen for yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I might have had too much fun with this… The truth is I can geek out talking about business all day long. Why, you ask? Because stepping into my identity as a business owner and entrepreneur has allowed me to step into my role as a leader.Before I had a business, I did not see myself as a leader. A loudmouth? Maybe. Outspoken? For sure.But a leader? Nope. When I started owning that I was, in fact, a business owner so many things shifted for me. I took my work more seriously. I valued my contributions to my clients at a higher level. I became so much more thoughtful and intentional about what I was building.So, when you hear me geek out about this, I hope you understand it is in stepping up as a business woman that I’ve been able to step up as me: Sara Dean, the leader, and the legacy builder. It is my hope that you find this for yourself - that magical place where you see yourself as a leader and legacy builder. Maybe it’s in your role in a traditional job, maybe it’s in the work you do to take care of your family, maybe it’s in the positions you hold in your community, and maybe, just maybe, it’s in your work as a business owner - like me. Last week I had so much fun talking about some of the nuts and bolts of my business. This week I’m back for more - but this time I’m coming from a different angle. I’ll be talking about how I manage my mindset when things get tough, how I stay out of the comparison trap, how I manage haters, and some nitty gritty podcast details (because some of you are dying for the nitty gritty!)I hope you enjoy this second week of me pulling back the curtain on my business. If you’re nosy like me, it’s really fun and fascinating to learn all the behind the scenes goodies of the people you know online. Lastly, if you want specific business advice, join me on Thursday, November 18th at 5pm PT/8pm ET for a free business training: 3 Building Blocks You Need To Grow Your Business. You can sign up here: Shameless MomLink mentioned:Join my free business training on November 18th Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post, Christine Michel Carter is the #1 global voice for working moms⁣. She is also the bestselling author of children’s book Can Mommy Go To Work? and adult novel MOM AF. In 2015, Christine created the first national mommy and me professional development networking event called Mompreneur and Me, which was featured in Adweek and Entrepreneur⁣. She's worked with the Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on maternal and child care related issues. She's also worked on the maternal initiatives of Vice President Kamala Harris and received a Congressional Citation from the U.S. Senate for going “above and beyond in ensuring that Black Moms and Moms of Color have access to important health information for their children and families.” When an inquiry about connecting with Christine landed in my inbox it was an immediate and easy and loud YES from me. I knew she was someone I wanted to learn more from. I’m so grateful for her voice and tenacity.  Listen in to hear Christine share: How she is showing up in all the facets of her identity right now - as a single mom of 2, a mom raising black son, a woman with multiple professional tracks in her career, and a daughter caretaking a parent Her book, MOM AF, what makes it relatable to in ways that RH and Sheryl Sandberg, “I’m not going to tell you to wash your face or lean in” The truth about healthcare for Black women vs white women and her own personal experience of discrimination after giving birth to her son How systemic racism contributes to higher COVID rates among Black people and Black families What we can do on societal, employment, government levels to support Black maternal health and mental health Why she’s calling BS on traditional self care and the real truth about the notion of self care Why “work life balance” isn’t real - and what is real about how moms manage time How to relate to people in underrepresented groups - and find things in common in order to build relationships and bridges  Links mentioned: Join my free business training on November 18th Connect with Christine Christine on Twitter and IG: @cmichelcarter Christine on Facebook and LinkedIn: @Christine Michel Carter Book: Can Mommy Go To Work Book: MOM AF Thank you to our sponsor: MamaZen: Go to your app store or Google Play and download MamaZen today. Use PROMO CODE: shameless for a FREE TRIAL so you can try MamaZen for yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Sara, how do you run your business??” Well, let me tell you….I get asked business questions pretty much every single day. Everything from the nitty gritty on how to produce a podcast to how to support clients with varying needs to how to stay inspired and pumped up year after year to what kinds of software to use. SO MANY QUESTIONS! While members of Tenacious Mamas, my business and leadership mastermind, can ask me these questions on our weekly calls, the rest of you don’t have a place to “pick my brain.” So I thought it would be fun to pull back the curtain a bit for you to see how I do things and WHY I do things the way I do. In this episode, I’ll talk about some of the first steps you should take in building a business, as well as how to delegate, and when to know it’s the right time to scale. This is going to be so fun!If you enjoy this episode, I hope you’ll join me for my upcoming free business training on November 18th. I’ll dig even further into these same topics and more. You can sign up for free here: shamelessmom.com/business.Also, ANNOUNCEMENT… After my free business training, I’ll be opening up applications to Tenacious Mamas, my business and leadership mastermind. If you think you could benefit from business coaching with me, I highly recommend you come to the training and apply to Tenacious Mamas. I would love to see if we are a good fit for each other. Link mentioned:Join my free business training on November 18th   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices