Beautiful Work Beautiful Life

In this episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, cohosts Laurel Boivin and Laurel Holland continue their conversation about putting inner work into action by exploring what it really means to live your values.

They talk about treating values less like nouns and more like verbs—something we actively practice. They explore how our experiences, including the moments when something feels deeply wrong or out of alignment, can help us recognize what matters most to us.

Laurel and Laurel also discuss what happens when our actions, relationships, workplaces, or communities conflict with our values. Sometimes we experience that misalignment before we can even describe it in words.

Living your values requires awareness, but awareness alone isn't enough. It asks us to make intentional choices about how we show up, where we spend our time, the communities we participate in, and sometimes whether we are willing to make a change.

And perhaps most importantly, knowing and living our values helps us know ourselves. Rather than searching outside ourselves for some elusive sense of purpose, our values can help point the way toward the work, relationships, communities, and contributions that make life feel meaningful.

In This Episode

• Why identifying your values and living them is where the real work happens

• How experiences of misalignment can reveal what matters most to you

• What changes when you begin thinking of your values as verbs rather than nouns

• How your body may signal when your choices and actions aren't aligned with what you believe

• Why knowing yourself and living your values can help you discover greater meaning, belonging, and purpose

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. What are three values that feel most important to me right now, and how am I actively living each of them?

2. Where in my life do I feel most aligned with my values? Where do I feel least aligned?

3. When I act in a way that conflicts with one of my values, how does that misalignment show up in my thoughts, emotions, or body?

4. If I treated one of my most important values as a verb, what would living that value look like in my everyday choices?

5. What might change if I allowed my values, not other people's expectations, to guide more of my decisions?

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive. A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine. You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland, [email protected].

Awareness is an important part of personal growth. But awareness alone doesn’t create change.

In this episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, cohosts Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin explore what happens after we recognize that something in our lives no longer feels right. Whether it’s a relationship, a job, an old pattern, or simply a sense that we’re living out of alignment, awareness is the beginning of the inner work—not the end.

They talk about learning to listen to discomfort as a wake-up call, accepting what is without judgment or resistance, and getting curious about what we want instead. Laurel Holland shares her Inner Power Wheel and the practices that help move us from awareness into conscious choice, release, grief work, healthy boundaries, intuition, and ultimately, living more intentionally from the inside out.

They also explore why this work can’t always be rushed. Sometimes the temptation is to fix the external circumstances as quickly as possible. But when the inner work remains unfinished, we often carry the same patterns with us into the next job, relationship, or chapter.

Moving beyond awareness requires patience, curiosity, self-compassion, and a willingness to stay with what we discover long enough to create something different.

In This Episode:

• Why awareness is the entry point to change, not the change itself.

• How discomfort can become a wake-up call rather than something to avoid.

• The role of acceptance, conscious choice, release, grief, boundaries, and intuition in inner transformation.

• Why taking inventory helps us understand the patterns and choices that brought us to where we are.

• What can happen when we change our external circumstances before doing the inner work underneath them. 

  
  

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. What am I aware of in my life right now that doesn’t feel right or aligned anymore?

2. Instead of immediately trying to change it, what might happen if I simply allowed myself to get curious about it?

3. What patterns, choices, expectations, or experiences contributed to where I am today?

4. What am I ready to release—and what might I still need to grieve, forgive, or make peace with?

5. If I weren’t simply trying to get away from what I don’t want, what would I consciously choose instead?

   
   

Links/Books mentioned:  Live Your Inner Power, the Journal by Laurel Holland

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland - [email protected].

In this episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, cohosts Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin explore self-reflection as the “golden key” to inner work.

They talk about what becomes possible when we learn to turn inward—to notice our thoughts, emotions, judgments, patterns, and reactions without immediately criticizing, dismissing, or trying to change them.

Self-reflection isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it means recognizing parts of ourselves we would rather not see, including qualities we are quick to judge in others. It also asks us to become more willing to experience the full range of our emotions rather than avoiding the ones we find difficult.

But there is another side to this practice. The more present we become with ourselves, the more capable we become of experiencing not only discomfort, but also joy, love, peace, and connection.

Self-reflection is about seeing yourself more fully, learning from what you discover, and making conscious choices about who you want to become.

In this episode:  

• Why self-reflection may be the “golden key” to meaningful inner work—and why we can’t change what we aren’t willing to see.

• What our judgments of other people can reveal about ourselves, and how recognizing our shared humanity can change the way we relate to others.

• Why learning to experience the full range of our emotions—including the uncomfortable ones—builds our capacity to make clearer, more intentional choices.

• How becoming a better listener to others can teach us to listen to ourselves with greater curiosity, compassion, and less judgment.

• How accepting the parts of ourselves we would rather avoid can help us grow into greater integrity—and create more room for joy.

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. What have I been noticing about myself lately that may be asking for my attention rather than my judgment?

2. Think about someone whose behavior regularly frustrates or triggers you. What specifically bothers you? Where might some version of that quality or behavior exist in you?

3. Which emotions are easiest for me to experience? Which ones do I tend to avoid, minimize, explain away, or move through quickly?

4. What am I currently looking for from someone else that I might also be able to give myself?

5. When I notice something about myself that I don’t particularly like, what would change if I approached it as a teacher rather than something to criticize?

6. Where might there be joy, beauty, love, or contentment in my life that I am moving through too quickly to fully experience?

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland, [email protected].

In this episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin explore what it means to speak your truth—and to do it well.

Speaking up is a skill, and like any skill, it develops through practice. But before we can communicate our truth clearly, we need to understand what we mean by "truth." Our experiences, perceptions, beliefs, and observations all shape how we understand ourselves and the world around us. Recognizing that our perspective is ours, and not necessarily someone else's, is an important part of communicating with greater awareness.

Laurel and Laurel discuss the value of staying in your own lane, using "I" statements, and taking ownership of your experiences rather than speaking for others. They also explore the other half of meaningful communication: becoming a skilled listener and respectful receiver of someone else's truth.

Speaking your truth well isn't about having all the answers or convincing someone else that you're right. It's about developing the agency, self-awareness, humility, and respect to express what's true for you while remaining open to the experiences and perspectives of others. And like so much of our inner work, it gets better with practice.

In This Episode:

• Why using your voice, and using it well, is a skill developed through practice

• How conditioning around acceptance, belonging, and safety can make it difficult to speak openly

• The difference between our personal experience and the idea of an objective or universal "truth"

• How "I" statements help us own our experience while respecting the experiences of others

• Why speaking your truth well also requires becoming a skilled listener and respectful receiver of someone else's truth

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. Where in my life am I comfortable speaking my truth—and where do I still hold back?

2. When I communicate something important, how well do I stay with my own experience rather than making assumptions about someone else's?

3. How might my need for acceptance, belonging, or safety influence what I say—or don't say?

4. How well do I listen when someone shares a perspective or experience that differs from mine?

5. What would speaking my truth with greater clarity, respect, and compassion look like in my life right now?

Books mentioned:

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz 

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland - [email protected].

Authenticity has become something of a buzzword, but living authentically is anything but superficial. It requires self-exploration, courage, discernment, and a willingness to notice the beliefs, expectations, and judgments that may be keeping us from fully expressing who we are.

In this episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, cohosts Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin explore authenticity as both becoming the author of your own life and creating enough safety to discover and express your true self.

They talk about the importance of safe relationships and communities, the role of self-judgment and the inner critic, and what happens when the rules and “shoulds” we’ve inherited no longer align with who we are.

They also explore authenticity as an evolving practice. As we grow and change, living authentically means giving ourselves permission to outgrow identities, expectations, and ways of being that once fit but no longer do.

Wherever you are in that process, the invitation is simple: begin where you are. It is never too late to know yourself more deeply and create a life that reflects who you are today.

In This Episode

• What it means to become the author of your own life

• Why safety and trusted relationships matter in discovering your authentic self

• How self-judgment, the inner critic, and inherited “shoulds” can pull you out of alignment

• Why authenticity requires allowing yourself to change and outgrow who you once were

• How living authentically becomes an ongoing practice of self-discovery, courage, and alignment

  
  

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. What does living authentically mean to me?

2. Where in my life do I feel safest being fully myself? What is it about those people, places, or relationships that creates that safety?

3. What do I believe about how I came into this world? Do I believe I arrived whole and worthy, or that there are parts of me I need to change, correct, or get rid of?

4. Where am I “shoulding” myself? What belief, expectation, or rule is underneath that should—and do I still believe it?

5. What have I outgrown that I may still be holding myself to? Who am I allowing myself to become now?

Links/Books mentioned: 

• The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris

• Playing Big by Tara Mohr

  
  

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland - [email protected].

In this episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin explore the courage it takes to disagree, and why learning to do it well is an important part of our inner work.

They reflect on the early experiences and conditioning that can teach us to stay quiet, defer to authority, or prioritize harmony over expressing what we really think, want, or need. They also consider how our desire to be liked, praised, or accepted can shape our willingness to speak up. 

But disagreement doesn’t have to mean conflict or disrespect. Laurel and Laurel explore what it looks like to honor yourself while also respecting another person, to become more comfortable with temporary disharmony, and to recognize that advocating for what you want sometimes means risking disagreement. 

The conversation also offers a powerful starting point: know what you want and why you want it. By getting curious about the deeper “why” beneath our desires—or asking what we want instead when we know only what we don’t want—we can uncover the values and truths underneath our choices. 

Ultimately, courage grows through practice. The invitation is to begin in relationships and spaces where it feels safe to disagree, practicing greater honesty about your wants, needs, opinions, and truth. 

In this episode: 

• Explore how past experiences shape your willingness to disagree.

• Recognize that disagreement doesn’t have to mean disrespect.

• Get clear about what you want and why it matters.

• Learn to tolerate the discomfort of temporary disharmony.

• Build courage by practicing disagreement in safe relationships and spaces.

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration:

1. What did I learn growing up about disagreeing with other people—especially authority figures?

2. When I avoid disagreement, what am I hoping to protect or preserve? Peace? Approval? Belonging? Safety? How others see me?

3. Where in my life am I currently holding back what I really think, want, or need?

4. What do I want and why do I want it? Keep asking yourself “why?” until you begin to uncover the deeper value beneath the answer.

5. What do I want instead?  A question to ask when you know what you don’t want.

6. Where is there a safe relationship or situation in which I could practice disagreeing, expressing a preference, or speaking my truth more openly?

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland - [email protected].

What does it really mean to misuse your voice?

Most of us think of misusing our voice as saying something harmful, critical, or unkind. But in this episode, cohosts Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin explore a deeper truth: one of the most common ways we misuse our voice is by silencing it.

Whether fear, past experiences, emotional overwhelm, or nervous system dysregulation keep us from speaking our truth, every time we suppress our authentic voice, we move further away from the person we were created to be.

Together, Laurel and Laurel explore the connection between voice, alignment, emotional intelligence, nervous system safety, spirituality, and inner work. They discuss how learning to use your voice well isn't simply about speaking more, it's about speaking from your highest self with clarity, compassion, courage, and authenticity.

The conversation concludes with a beautiful reading from The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris that reminds us our lifelong work is becoming the fullest expression of who we were created to be.

In This Episode

• Why silencing yourself is one of the most common ways you misuse your voice.

• The relationship between emotions, nervous system safety, and authentic self-expression.

• How journaling, reflection, and "rage writing" can help you process emotions before speaking.

• The connection between physical alignment, emotional alignment, and speaking from your highest self.

• Why learning to use your voice wisely is a lifelong inner work practice.

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. Where in my life am I silencing myself instead of expressing my authentic truth?

2. What fears arise when I consider speaking honestly? Am I afraid of judgment, rejection, conflict, or something else?

3. How does my body let me know when I'm living or speaking out of alignment with my values?

4. What practices help me move difficult emotions so I can respond thoughtfully instead of reacting impulsively?

5. If I fully trusted my inner wisdom, heart, and intuition, what conversation or truth would I finally allow myself to express?

Links/Books mentioned:  The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland - [email protected].

Many of us believe we're being held back by external circumstances, other people, or systems. But what if the beliefs you've absorbed and the patterns you've developed over a lifetime are quietly limiting your freedom?

In this episode, cohosts Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin introduce the concept of internalized oppression through the lens of internalized sexism.

Together, they explore the subtle beliefs and behaviors we've absorbed from our families, workplaces, and culture that can quietly limit our confidence, voice, relationships, and sense of possibility.

Drawing from the work of Anne Mackie and decades of coaching and therapeutic experience, they invite listeners to begin noticing the hidden ways we devalue ourselves, compete with others, silence our voices, and settle for less than we truly want.

This conversation isn't about blame. It's about awareness. Because once we can see these patterns, we can begin the beautiful work of reclaiming our freedom to live more authentically.

Episode Highlights

• Learn what internalized oppression is and why it often goes unnoticed.

• Discover twelve common ways we unconsciously hold ourselves back.

• Explore how criticism, comparison, competition, and self-doubt limit our freedom.

• Understand how family experiences and cultural conditioning continue to shape our beliefs and behaviors.

• Begin recognizing the patterns that no longer serve you so you can move toward greater authenticity and self-liberation.

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. Looking back on your childhood, what situations made you feel that something wasn't quite right even if you couldn't explain why at the time?

2. In what ways do you minimize or devalue your own accomplishments, talents, or contributions?

3. Where do comparison, competition, or criticism show up in your life? What might those patterns be protecting?

4. What areas of your life have you settled for less than you truly desire? What beliefs have kept you there?

5. When have you held back your voice because you questioned whether your thoughts, experiences, or intuition were valuable enough to share?

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland - [email protected].

Sexism isn't just about unfair treatment—it's also about the messages we absorb about what is "appropriate," "acceptable," or even possible based on our gender.

In this episode of Beautiful Work Beautiful Life, cohosts Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin explore how sexism influences our beliefs, choices, careers, relationships, and identities. They examine sexism as both an external system and an internalized set of assumptions that can quietly shape our lives without our awareness.

Through personal stories, reflections on childhood experiences, and thoughtful conversation, they invite listeners to begin noticing where inherited beliefs may still be limiting their freedom. Because the beautiful work isn't simply recognizing sexism in society—it's uncovering the ways it may still be living within us.

Episode Highlights

• What sexism is—and why understanding the definition matters.

• How childhood messages shape our beliefs about gender, work, and possibility.

• Personal stories of navigating sexism in careers, family life, and education.

• The difference between witnessing sexism and internalizing it.

• Why recognizing internalized sexism is an essential step toward greater authenticity and freedom.

  
  

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. What messages did you receive growing up about what girls, boys, women, or men were "supposed" to do?

2. Is there something you wanted to pursue—but didn't—because someone suggested it wasn't appropriate for your gender?

3. Where might your assumptions about yourself or others still be influenced by sexism rather than your own values?

4. What examples of gender roles did you witness in your family growing up? How have they shaped your relationships today?

5. Have you ever experienced—or unintentionally participated in—sexism? What did you learn from that experience?

6. If you could release one inherited belief about gender, what would it be, and what new possibility would it create for your life?

Host/Cohost/Guest Info

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland - [email protected].

Patriarchy is often discussed as though it only affects women, but the reality is much more complex. In this episode, cohosts Laurel Holland and Laurel Boivin explore how patriarchal systems shape the lives of everyone—women, men, families, workplaces, and communities.

Beginning with a surprising look at the dictionary definition of "patriarchy," they unpack the difference between patriarchy as a social structure and what they describe as toxic patriarchy—systems that elevate certain qualities while devaluing others. Through personal stories, they examine how gender expectations become internalized, how they influence leadership, parenting, relationships, and career opportunities, and why questioning long-held assumptions is an essential part of inner work.

Rather than assigning blame, this conversation invites listeners to become curious about the beliefs they inherited, the roles they learned to play, and the ways those patterns continue to influence their lives today. Because greater freedom begins with greater awareness.

In This Episode:

• Why understanding the meaning of patriarchy matters before discussing its impact.

• The difference between patriarchy as a structure and toxic patriarchy as a harmful system.

• Personal stories of gender expectations in childhood, family life, and the workplace.

• How patriarchal beliefs shape both women and men through conditioning and social expectations.

• The role of curiosity and questioning in uncovering inherited beliefs.

• Why changing culture begins with examining our own homes, workplaces, and communities.

• How inventory—not judgment—is the first step toward greater freedom.

  
  

Journaling prompts are suggested to further your exploration. 

1. What messages did you receive growing up about the roles of women and men?

2. Where did you first learn who was "supposed" to lead, speak, earn, or make decisions?

3. Which expectations around gender still influence your choices today—even if you no longer agree with them?

4. Have you ever felt limited because of assumptions others made about your gender? How did that experience shape you?

5. In what ways might patriarchal expectations have also affected the men in your life?

6. What beliefs or behaviors no longer serve the person you're becoming?

7. Where in your life are you ready to replace inherited expectations with conscious choice?

Host/Cohost/Guest Info:

Guiding others to become effective leaders of their own lives, Laurel Holland has been on a journey of awakening and transformation throughout her life. Writing about inner work, Laurel has authored four books, including Crossroads and Love’s 8 Laws. Her books, Live Your Inner Power, the Journal, and Courageous Woman, introduce, share, and explore the eight foundational practices for creating transformation from the inside out. Through her books, programs, and innovative talks, Laurel’s great desire is to lift others up and courageously step into the life they came here to live. You can learn more about Laurel, her books, and work she does at www.liveyourinnerpower.com.

Laurel Boivin is a leadership coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Founder of Flux+Flow Professional Coaching, Laurel works with high-performing professionals and mission-driven organizations to shift from achievement to alignment, helping them connect deeply to purpose, lead with confidence, and create environments where people thrive.  A Reiki master and yoga practitioner, collector of sea glass and antiques, she lives in New Hampshire and summers in Maine.  You can learn more about Laurel and the work she does at www.fluxflowcoaching.com.

The email to send questions to Laurel Boivin is [email protected] and for Laurel Holland - [email protected].