Bloom | Build | Birth

Do you actually know how to use AI — or are you still using it like Google?

Rob Richardson believes most people have barely scratched the surface.

In this episode of Bloom | Build | Birth, Rob — founder of Disruption Now and chief curator of MidwestCon — joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence, the future of work, entrepreneurship, AI agents, responsible AI, and why you do NOT have to consider yourself “technical” to start building with these tools.

Rob is also the first man on Bloom | Build | Birth — and an old friend. We first crossed paths roughly 20 years ago when I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today, he’s building an ecosystem around AI while I’m building an AI-powered personal health intelligence platform for women.

Talk about full circle.

We get into:

• Why Rob identifies as “Blooming” after reinventing himself beyond politics and law
• The teacher who told him college wasn’t for him — and what his mother told him instead
• Why so many people are afraid of AI
• The difference between basic prompting and actually building AI-powered systems
• How entrepreneurs can use AI to amplify their existing expertise
• Whether AI could create new opportunities outside traditional tech hubs
• Why the Midwest may be underestimated
• AI privacy, bias, accountability, agents, and the need for guardrails
• Why women need to help BUILD the AI future
• What AI means for my own work in women’s health and personal health intelligence
• Why human context, empathy, judgment, and taste may become even more valuable
• What attendees will actually build at MidwestCon

And then I put Rob in the Bloom | Build | Birth Hot Seat. 🔥

If AI has felt intimidating, overwhelming, or like something meant for “tech people,” press play.

You may be far more capable of building with it than you think.

🐝 MIDWESTCON
September 8–11 | Cincinnati, Ohio
MidwestCon.live

Subscribe for more conversations about wellness, leadership, reinvention, technology, and what it means to Bloom, Build & Birth the next version of your life.

What happens when you do everything "right"… and still don't end up with the life you thought you would?

You got the degree. Built the career. Showed up for your family. Checked the boxes. Said yes when you were supposed to say yes. Worked hard. Tried to be a good woman, a good mother, a good daughter, a good partner, a good employee.

And then somewhere around 35, 40, 45, you look around and think:

Wait. Is this actually the life I want?

In this episode of Bloom | Build | Birth, Khalelah Patterson, founder of Radiant Phases, joins us for an honest conversation about the invisible rules so many women inherit and what happens when following them doesn't deliver the fulfillment we expected.

Khalelah shares her own realization that earning a degree and pursuing the next "right" step in her career wasn't actually what she wanted, and the decision she made afterward: that would be the last time she said yes when she wanted to say no.

Doing everything right doesn't guarantee happiness. Sometimes the most powerful thing a woman can do is admit:

This isn't working for me anymore. I get to choose again.

Learn more about Khalelah and book a complimentary discovery conversation with Radiant Phases at RadiantPhases.com.

Bloom | Build | Birth is a Her Hive Collective podcast exploring whole-person wellness, leadership, relationships, reinvention, and what it means for women to build lives rooted in awareness, intentional action, and sovereignty.

If this conversation makes you think of another woman, send it to her. She may need permission to pivot, too.

Most women don't need more productivity hacks.

They need better systems.

In this episode of Bloom | Build | Birth, I sit down with business strategist and founder of Clear Elevation Operations, Merlyn Colbert, to talk about why success isn't built on hustle—it's built on the systems that quietly shape how we live, lead, parent, and care for ourselves.

After surviving burnout once and later breaking her jaw in a freak accident, Merlyn found herself facing the ultimate test: Had she actually built a business that could function without her?

That experience changed everything.

Together, we explore why systems aren't just spreadsheets or software—they're your habits, your boundaries, your routines, your relationships, and the decisions you make every day.

In this conversation we discuss:

•Why overwhelm is usually a systems problem—not a time problem

•How to stop becoming the bottleneck in your own business

•The surprising connection between burnout and perfectionism

•Why delegation is an act of leadership—not weakness

•How to build a business that supports your life instead of consuming it

•What it really means to become the woman your future is calling you to be

If you've been carrying everything on your shoulders, this episode is your reminder that you don't need to become more capable.

You need systems that allow you to breathe.

Connect with Merlyn Colbert

Website: www.clearelevationops.com

Instagram: @merlyn.colbert

If this episode encouraged you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another woman who deserves to build a life that doesn't require her to carry everything alone.

What if success isn't the destination we've been promised?

For decades, ambitious women have been taught the same formula:

Work harder.
Sacrifice more.
Keep proving yourself.

Eventually, you'll arrive.

But what if that's the lie?

In this episode of Bloom • Build • Birth, I sit down with Kamaria Scott, Founder & Chief Performance Strategist of Enetic, to unpack the hidden cost of achievement and what happens when women begin redefining success on their own terms.

Together we discuss:

• Why "work doesn't love you back"

• Burnout and the invisible cost of ambition

• Human-centered leadership

• The difference between confidence and self-efficacy

• Intentional life design

• Why perfectionism keeps women stuck

• Building a life that fits instead of a résumé that impresses

One of my favorite moments comes when Kamaria says: "Go make a different mistake."

Growth is refusing to stay the same, but that will include failure.

If you've ever questioned whether the life you've built actually feels like your life, this conversation is for you.

Work with Kamaria:
https://www.managermomentum.com/

https://www.instagram.com/kamariascott/

Work with Nicci:
https://herhivecollective.com/

https://www.instagram.com/niccimorris/

What if your next chapter isn't about becoming someone new—but finally returning to yourself?

In this episode of Bloom | Build | Birth, I sit down with Dr. Stephania Shine for an honest conversation about what really changes after 40—and what should.

We explore why women struggle with boundaries, why friendships can become more complicated as we age, how people pleasing quietly steals our peace, and what it actually looks like to reinvent yourself without abandoning who you are.

Together we discuss:

• Why healing begins with radical self-awareness
• The surprising connection between boundaries and self-care
• Friendship breakups, people pleasing, and oversharing
• Learning to choose yourself without guilt
• Reinvention after 40, 50, and beyond
• The power of rituals that protect your wellness
• Why Bloom | Build | Birth is a lifelong cycle—not a destination

If you've ever felt like you're outgrowing people, redefining your identity, or learning to put yourself first, this conversation is for you.

Follow Dr. Stephania Shine: https://www.instagram.com/iamdrshine/

Follow Nicci Morris: https://www.instagram.com/niccimorris

If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another woman who's becoming the next version of herself.

#WomenOver40 #Boundaries #PersonalGrowth #Midlife #Wellness #BloomBuildBirth

Shenikka Moore-Clarke spent years as a licensed holistic psychotherapist before her own body forced her into a season of being bedridden — and that breakdown became the doorway to the work she does now.

In this conversation, we go into what it actually means to come home to yourself: the difference between intellectualizing healing and embodying it, why so many women carry intergenerational trauma in their nervous systems without naming it, and how rest becomes a form of resistance when your worth has been tied to output your whole life.

Shenikka is the founder of the Embodied Liberation Collective and host of a book club for women doing this work in community. We talk reparenting, boundaries, shame versus compassion, and what it looks like to finally trust yourself.

Connect with Shenikka: thehealingvibetherapist.com | @the.healingvibe

Connect with Nicci: herhivecollective.com | @niccimorris

This episode is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or financial advice.

The reality is 80% of women die single.

That stat alone should change how you plan your money — not as someone's wife, partner, or beneficiary, but as the person who has to make it work, alone, for the long haul.

This week on Bloom | Build | Birth, I sit down with Reshell Smith, CFP™, founder of AMES Financial Solutions, to talk about the conversation most women avoid: money. We get into the money leaks hiding in plain site (hint: check your open browser tabs), why a trust beats a will and why a will is better than nothing, the financial trauma we inherit from childhood, and a take on why gray divorce is on the rise.

This is financial wellness without the shame spiral.

📍 Connect with Reshell Smith, CFP™ | AMES Financial Solutions
🌐 amesfinancialsolutions.com
📲 @reshellsmith | @amesfinancial

📍 Connect with Nicci | Her Hive Collective™
🌐 herhivecollective.com
📲 @herhivecollectivehq | @niccimorris

Disclaimer: this episode is for educational purposes only and is not financial, legal, or medical advice. Please consult a licensed professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Many women have had the idea. The app concept, program, the solution nobody's built yet. What stops them isn't the idea — it's not knowing where to start, and not having a space where it feels safe to try.

Safia Porter, Executive Director of Building Our Tech (BOT), has spent her career building such spaces. We talk about closing the access gap in tech, moving from vision to execution, what real leadership actually looks like at the foundation level, and why being willing to fail is the prerequisite — not the setback.

In this episode:

• Why core functionality is the step most builders skip — and why it's the most important one
• The difference between a builder and a disruptor (and which one you are)
• How to validate your idea before you invest time, money, or energy
• What hustle culture actually costs you
• How to protect your creative time when life is already full
• Where to start if you have an idea but no roadmap
  

Connect with Safia Porter & Building Our Tech:
🌐 buildingourtech.org
📧 [email protected]
📱 LinkedIn & Instagram: @BuildingOurTech or @BuildWithBOT

Connect with Nicci & Her Hive Collective:
🌐 herhivecollective.com
📧 [email protected]
📱 Instagram: @herhivecollectivehq | TikTok: @herhivecollective
🛍️ herhivecollective.com/shop

This content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice.

This week, I'm on the pitch stage. And I want you to know what I'm pitching — and why it matters for every woman who has ever felt like her body was trying to tell her something her doctor couldn't hear.

In this episode, I'm giving you a real update on what's happening inside Her Hive Collective right now. I'm sharing more about what I'm building and why I walked into the Building Our Tech accelerator with it. I've officially opened the doors to the 60-Day Hive Reset — starting June 15th inside our Skool community. And I'm planting a seed for something I want you to have a full year to prepare your heart for: the Sovereign Soul Retreat, a women's wellness immersion in Ubud, Bali, June 2027. So I'm building in public, with you.

In this episode:
— What Her Hive Collective is actually building, and the data gap in women's healthcare it will close

— Why I'm pitching this week and what integrity looks like when you're building in a room full of relationships

— The 21-day habit myth — what the research actually says about how long real change takes

— The 60-Day Hive Reset is open: what it is, how it's structured, and why community isn't optional for women's healing

— The Sovereign Soul Retreat: seven days in Bali, June 2027 - built for the woman in the space between who she had to become and who she really is

🐝 Join the 60-Day Hive Reset — DM RESET on @herhivecollectivehq on Instagram for the link, or find us on Skool: https://www.skool.com/her-hive-collective-2731/about

🌺 Learn more about the Sovereign Soul Retreat in Bali (June 12–18, 2027): herhivecollective.s.gy/B4hgod

Shop my digital guides: https://stan.store/HerHiveCollective

Connect with Her Hive Collective:

website: herhivecollective.com
email: [email protected]
Instagram: @herhivecollectivehq
TikTok: @herhivecollective

⚠️ Disclaimer: Everything shared on this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health, nutrition, or fitness routine.

When is the last time you showed up for yourself — consistently, intentionally, in community — for 60 days straight?

Not a weekend detox. Not a Monday promise that faded by Wednesday. Sixty days. With a structure built around and for you.

In this episode, I'm breaking down why 60 days isn't an arbitrary number — it's biological. I'm introducing the 60-Day Hive Reset and our brand-new community home on Skool. I'm talking about what real community does for women's bodies and nervous systems. And I'm giving you a first look at a hypothesis I've been developing that I believe is the future of personalized women's wellness — the Four B's: Biometrics, Biology, Baseline, and Behavior.

This one is a milestone episode. Come in.

In this episode:

— Why the "21 days to build a habit" myth is costing you real results — and what the research actually says

— What the 60-Day Hive Reset is, how it's structured, and why it's different from every challenge you've tried before — The Her Hive Collective Skool community is officially open — and this is your invitation

— Why community isn't a nice-to-have for women — it's biological medicine — A first look at my Four B's framework: Biometrics, Biology, Baseline & Behavior — and why their synthesis may be the future of personalized wellness for women 35+

🐝 Join the 60-Day Hive Reset inside the Her Hive Collective Skool: https://www.skool.com/her-hive-collective-2731/about

🛒 Shop digital guides (30-30-30 Method, Big Ass Bed Salad, Sovereign Table): https://stan.store/HerHiveCollective

📲 Send RESET to my DMs on Instagram for the direct link to join the Skool community.

Connect with Her Hive Collective: 🌐 herhivecollective.com 📸 Instagram: @herhivecollectivehq 🎙 Podcast: Bloom | Build | Birth — on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube

⚠️ Healthcare Disclaimer: Everything shared on this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health, nutrition, or fitness routine.