What does ambition really look like when life doesn't go according to plan?

In this episode, I'm joined by Erin Winter, founder of Erin Winter Mortgages, for an honest conversation about ambition, resilience, and what success really looks like in different seasons of life.

We talk about building a business while navigating the unexpected, balancing work with family, and why success isn't always measured by the next milestone. Erin shares how she approaches serving her clients, managing the pressure that comes with entrepreneurship, and staying grounded in what matters most.

We also dive into:
• What ambition looks like beyond achievement
• Why every season of life requires a different definition of success
• The pressure of feeling like there's always more to do
• Building support systems before you need them
• Learning to appreciate the small moments along the way
• Why comparing your journey to someone else's only holds you back

If you've ever wondered how to stay ambitious while honouring the realities of life, I think you'll really enjoy this conversation.

If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. If this conversation resonated with you, I'd love it if you shared it with someone who would enjoy it too.

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

In this episode of Aligned Ambition: Authentically Kate, Kate sits down with her longtime friend Janessa for an honest conversation about ambition, motherhood, resilience, and redefining success through different seasons of life.

From network marketing days to entrepreneurship, postpartum healing, and raising young children, this conversation explores what it really looks like to pursue goals while navigating the realities of motherhood, exhaustion, identity shifts, and personal growth.

Together, Kate and Janessa discuss
 • Ambition and motherhood coexisting
 • Postpartum depression, anxiety, and healing
 • Learning to ask for help and receive support
 • Comparison, self image, and redefining success
 • Entrepreneurship versus corporate expectations
 • Building resilience through difficult seasons
 • Giving yourself grace while still moving forward
 • Staying aligned with your values in changing seasons of life

This episode is a reminder that ambition does not have to disappear when life changes. Sometimes it simply evolves.

Whether you are a mother, entrepreneur, caregiver, or someone navigating a major life transition, this conversation offers reassurance that you are not behind and you are not alone.

If this episode resonates with you, be sure to subscribe, follow, and share it with someone who may need this conversation today 🤍

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

In Episode 7, Kate sits down with Shawn Gallant, a former professional football player and veteran law enforcement officer with over 26 years of combined high performance service, for a powerful conversation about what it truly means to stay steady under pressure.

Originally from Windsor, Ontario, Shawn played 11 years in the Canadian Football League, including four seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, where he became known for toughness, discipline, and team first leadership. After his football career, he transitioned into policing and has now served for 15 years in frontline patrol and specialized roles, bringing the same calm under fire presence and relentless preparation that defined his athletic career.

But beyond the field and the uniform, Shawn is also a devoted husband and proud father. He shares life with his partner Jen and their two young daughters, who are the driving force behind everything he does. Whether at home, on the street, or in a leadership role, his foundation remains the same: protect, lead, and show up with strength and heart.

In this conversation, Shawn reflects on how his mindset has evolved over time, what pressure has taught him about resilience, why preparation builds confidence, and how to navigate public perception without losing your footing. He shares practical wisdom for anyone feeling overwhelmed, reminding us that strength is built in small, consistent steps.

Built through sport. Proven through service. Grounded in family.

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

In this episode of Aligned Ambition: Authentically Kate, Kate sits down with Shauna Frederick, CPA, FEA — financial literacy educator, entrepreneur, fractional CFO, and co-founder of The Finance Cafe.

Shauna is on a mission to transform the way entrepreneurs, especially women, understand and engage with their finances. As the founder of Frederick OTG and co-host of The Finance Cafe Podcast, she helps business owners move beyond financial overwhelm and build clarity, confidence, and resilience with their numbers.

Together, Kate and Shauna explore:

• The emotional roots behind our financial decisions
 • How money stories from childhood shape our business choices
 • Why financial avoidance creates stress — and how clarity builds resilience
 • The truth about debt, safety, and freedom of choice
 • Practical ways entrepreneurs can build financial confidence

This conversation is honest, grounding, and empowering. If you’ve ever felt unsure about your numbers or hesitant to ask financial questions, this episode will remind you that financial resilience is learnable — and you are not alone.

Connect with Shauna:
 Website: https://thefinancecafe.ca

Podcast: The Finance Cafe
Instagram & LinkedIn: @thefinancecafeofficial

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

In this episode of Aligned Ambition: Authentically Kate, Kate sits down with Sean Grixti, a leader working at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and strategic growth.

Sean is passionate about building and scaling sustainable technologies and is widely recognized for his expertise in commercial strategy, technology commercialization, and developing strategic industrial partnerships. He currently leads business development at Torngat Metals, a rare earth mining company focused on the critical minerals shaping our future.

Previously, Sean served as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Cyclic Materials, where he established the company’s first commercial relationships, and led European expansion efforts for lithium ion battery recycling startup Li Cycle. His career reflects a deep curiosity for emerging technologies and a willingness to navigate uncertainty in fast growing, high impact industries.

Together, Kate and Sean explore
 • Navigating unplanned pivots and uncertain career paths
 • Leadership inside startup and scale up environments
 • Making decisions without rigid timelines
 • Managing ambition without burning out
 • Risk, responsibility, and resilience in high stakes roles
 • How wellness, travel, and boundaries support long term success

Sean holds an M.A.Sc. in Materials Engineering from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from McMaster University.

This episode is an honest conversation about building a meaningful career while staying grounded, intentional, and aligned, even when the path forward is not always clear.

 If this conversation resonates, subscribe and follow for more. Share this episode with someone navigating growth or a career pivot. Your support helps these conversations reach more people.

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

Donavan Robinson Feature

Welcome back to Aligned Ambition, the podcast where Alignment Guide and Connector Kate Hanson explores what it truly means to pursue meaningful goals while staying rooted in who you are. Each episode invites honest conversations about ambition, alignment, and the inner work required to build a life and career that actually feels good.

In today’s episode, Kate is joined by Donavan Robinson, a Red River Métis entrepreneur, ADHD advocate, and co founder of PopCoLab. Donavan’s work centres on helping organizations and communities strengthen creativity, connection, and culture through play based, purpose driven experiences.

Donavan shares his entrepreneurial journey across multiple industries and how discovering his ADHD helped him better understand how he works, leads, and creates. Together, Kate and Donavan explore why play is not something we grow out of, but something that keeps us present, innovative, and connected in both life and business.

This conversation dives into the realities of building something meaningful without burning yourself out. They discuss ambition that is guided by curiosity instead of pressure, the importance of environment and community, and how play can support mental health, leadership, and authentic connection. Donavan also reflects on balancing responsibility with joy, staying grounded through uncertainty, and redefining success in a way that honours both purpose and well being.

✨ This episode is an invitation to rethink what success looks like, to release the belief that ambition has to feel heavy, and to reconnect with the parts of yourself that thrive through curiosity, creativity, and play.

Episodes posted monthly. Subscribe now and continue the journey toward aligned ambition.

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

Kyle Hanson Feature

Welcome back to Aligned Ambition, the podcast where Alignment Guide and Connector Kate Hanson explores what it truly means to pursue meaningful goals while staying rooted in who you are. Each episode offers honest conversations about ambition, alignment, and the personal work required to build a life and career with intention.

In this episode, Kate sits down with someone especially close to her heart, her husband Kyle Hanson. With seventeen years at IG Wealth Management, Kyle supports executives, business owners, and medical professionals in building clarity and confidence around their financial futures. His work spans portfolio management, insurance planning, tax strategies, estate planning, and long term wealth transfer, always with a focus on the full picture.

Beyond his professional expertise, Kyle is one of the most grounded and thoughtful people Kate knows. Together, they reflect on their early days in corporate life, their individual and shared entrepreneurial journeys, and what it has taken to grow through seasons of uncertainty, risk, and change while staying aligned with their values.

This conversation explores the very real human side of building a business and a life together. Kate and Kyle discuss partnership, communication, money conversations, patience, and the importance of staying grounded through success. Kyle shares how his definition of success has evolved over time, how he recognizes when he is out of alignment, and the advice he would offer to those in the early years of sales, entrepreneurship, or business ownership.

✨ This episode is a candid look at ambition through the lens of partnership, humility, and long term growth, and a reminder that success is not just about numbers, but about values, relationships, and who you become along the way.

Episodes posted monthly. Subscribe now and continue the journey toward aligned ambition.

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

In this episode, Kate discusses the importance of manifesting with intention and setting goals that align with one's true desires. She emphasizes the need to break free from societal pressures and 'should' goals, advocating for a more authentic approach to goal setting. Kate provides practical steps for listeners to tune into their true wants, create supportive environments, and take inspired actions towards their goals. Through personal anecdotes, she illustrates how aligned goals can lead to sustainable success and fulfillment.

Chapters
00:00 Manifesting with Intention
06:01 Setting Aligned Goals
11:36 Creating a Supportive Environment
17:55 Real-Life Examples of Aligned Goals

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

In the inaugural episode of 'Aligned Ambition,' Kate shares her personal journey of resilience and ambition, exploring the challenges of maintaining authenticity while striving for success. She discusses her experiences in the corporate world, the signs of misalignment she faced and the importance of prioritizing mental and physical health. 

Kate emphasizes that alignment is an ongoing practice and invites listeners to reflect on their own lives to find areas of misalignment. The episode sets the stage for future discussions on personal growth, self-care and achieving success without sacrificing well-being.

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
📸 Instagram: @xokatehanson
🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.