Brave Moves: Confidence, Mindset & Business Growth for Women Entrepreneurs

Most of us are taught how to pursue success. We learn how to set goals, work harder, grow the business, earn the promotion, and reach the next milestone. What we are rarely taught is how to carry everything that comes after the achievement.

Success can bring more decisions, expectations, responsibilities, and pressure. From the outside, it may look like everything is going beautifully. On the inside, you may feel like you are carrying twelve grocery bags simply because you refuse to make two trips.

In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie DeLucca-Collins explores the difference between building success and developing the capacity to sustain it. She also examines how capable people can become trapped by the identity of being the person who always has everything handled.

You do not have to prove that you deserve your success by exhausting yourself. Carrying it well may require clearer boundaries, better support, fewer commitments, and permission to enjoy what you have already created.

What You’ll Hear

• Why building success and sustaining it require different skills
• How success can quietly become heavier than expected
• Why capable people often try to become the entire support system
• The danger of building your identity around being the strong one
• How boundaries, delegation, and support protect what you have created
• Why the habits that helped you succeed may not help you sustain it
• How to determine what you are ready to stop carrying

Today’s Brave Move

Choose one area of success you have created and ask yourself:

“What am I carrying because it genuinely belongs to me, and what am I carrying because I am afraid to put it down?”

Then take one small step to lighten the load. Ask for help, delegate one task, decline an invitation, create a boundary, or remove an unnecessary step.

You do not have to dismantle your entire life. You are simply showing yourself that success does not have to be carried through exhaustion.

Connect With Julie

If you are ready to step away from the constant doing and reconnect with what matters to you, join Julie for the Recalibrate Retreat, October 16 through 18.

Learn more at goconfidentlycoaching.com.

If this episode made you think of someone who is carrying more than anyone realizes, send it to them. It may be exactly what they need to hear today.

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

C. S. Lewis wrote, “There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable.”

Loving another person always involves risk. We can be thoughtful, loyal, generous, and honest, and still experience disappointment, change, rejection, or loss. After we have been hurt, it can feel safer to protect ourselves by sharing less, trusting less, and keeping people at a comfortable distance.

But there is an important difference between healthy boundaries and emotional armor.

In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie explores what happens when temporary protection becomes a permanent hiding place. She shares why vulnerability does not mean giving everyone access to your heart. It means refusing to let fear make every decision about how deeply you love, trust, and connect.

You will also be invited to take one small step toward connection without needing to know exactly how it will be received.

In This Episode, You Will Hear

•  Why meaningful love cannot come with a guarantee 
•  The difference between discernment and emotional armor 
•  How past hurt can influence new relationships 
•  Why asking for help is also an act of vulnerability 
•  How to protect your heart without locking it away 
•  One small way to practice honest connection today 

Today’s Brave Move

Take one small step toward connection without demanding a guarantee.

Send the text. Tell someone you miss them. Ask for the hug. Accept the help. Share one honest sentence instead of offering the polished answer you normally give.

You do not need to make a grand declaration. Simply allow yourself to care openly in one small moment.

Episode Quote

The quotation and its attribution are also featured on the official C. S. Lewis website.

Retreat Call to Action

If you have been craving the space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with yourself, join Julie for the Recalibrate Retreat, October 16 through 18.

This is not about fixing yourself or squeezing more into your schedule. It is an opportunity to hear yourself again and thoughtfully consider what you want your next season to feel like.

Learn more at goconfidentlycoaching.com.

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

As we move closer to the end of 2026, it can be tempting to focus on everything we have not accomplished yet. We start counting unchecked boxes, revisiting abandoned goals, and convincing ourselves that we need to do more.

But what if finishing the year well is not about doing more? What if it is about returning to the basics and recognizing what is already working?

In this episode, I’m sharing a simple framework to help you look honestly at where you are, give yourself credit for what you have accomplished, and choose one meaningful priority for the remainder of the year. Your goal does not have to be impressive or life-changing. It simply needs to matter to you and fit the capacity you have right now.

In This Episode, I’ll Cover:

•  Why we often overlook how much we have already accomplished 
•  How reflection can help you create a more realistic roadmap 
•  Why one meaningful goal may be more powerful than a long list 
•  Simple ways to reduce distractions and return to what works 
•  How accountability and weekly planning can help you follow through 
•  What you may need to adjust, simplify, or release 

The Framework

1. Reflect: Take an honest look at where you are today, without comparing yourself to where you think you should be. 
2. Refocus: Choose one meaningful and doable goal for the remainder of the year. 
3. Simplify: Return to the routines, tools, and habits that have worked for you before. 
4. Execute: Create a realistic weekly plan that fits your current priorities and capacity. 

Your Brave Move

Choose one area of your life that you want to improve before the end of the year. Ask yourself:

•  Is this specific and meaningful to me? 
•  Does it fit my current capacity? 
•  Can my actions directly influence the outcome? 
•  What can I simplify or stop doing? 
•  Who could help me stay accountable? 

Then choose one small action you can take this week. You do not need a perfect plan. You just need a plan that you can actually follow.

Life is going to happen, but a girl with a plan, or a cool dude with a plan, can create a life they feel brave and confident about.

If you need help applying the framework of reflect, refocus, simplify, and execute, visit GoConfidentlyCoaching.com and send me a message.

Until tomorrow, go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

Do you say yes because you genuinely want to help, or because you cannot tolerate the possibility of someone being disappointed?

In this episode of Brave Moves: Daily-ish, Julie explores why another person’s disappointment does not automatically mean you have been selfish or unkind. Sometimes it simply means they wanted a different answer.

Julie discusses the difference between caring about someone’s feelings and making yourself responsible for managing them. She also explains why a thoughtful no can be more honest and loving than a reluctant yes that eventually becomes resentment.

In This Episode

• Why capable women often struggle to say no
• The difference between discomfort and harm
• Why you do not need a dramatic reason to set a boundary
• How overexplaining can weaken a clear decision
• The difference between responsibility and emotional over-responsibility
• Why a thoughtful no can be kinder than a resentful yes
• Simple language for communicating an honest boundary

Your Brave Move

Give one honest answer today without building a case to justify it.

Try saying, “I’m not able to take that on,” or “I can help with this part, but I cannot manage the entire project.”

Be respectful and clear. Then resist the urge to negotiate against yourself simply because the other person may feel disappointed.

You can care about someone’s feelings without abandoning your own needs.

Learn more about the Recalibrate Retreat at goconfidentlycoaching.com.

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

What do you say to yourself after you make a mistake, miss a goal, or have an unproductive day?

In this episode of Brave Moves: Daily-ish, Julie explores why self-kindness is not the same as making excuses or avoiding responsibility. We can acknowledge what needs to change without turning one difficult moment into a judgment about who we are.

Julie also challenges the belief that criticism is necessary for motivation. A harsh inner voice may create pressure, but it rarely creates the safety we need to be honest, learn, and begin again.

In This Episode

• Why self-kindness matters most on difficult days
• The difference between accountability and self-attack
• How shame can make it harder to try again
• Why rest should not have to be earned
• Practical ways to offer yourself care
• How to rewrite an unkind thought without avoiding responsibility

Your Brave Move

Catch one unkind thought today and rewrite it as if you were speaking to someone you love.

Replace criticism with a statement that is honest, useful, and kind. You can take responsibility for your choices without using cruelty as motivation.

Learn more about the Recalibrate Retreat at goconfidentlycoaching.com.

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

Have you ever changed your personality, minimized your success, or ignored your needs to make other people more comfortable?

In this episode of Brave Moves: Daily-ish, Julie explores the difference between fitting in and genuinely belonging. Fitting in can leave us constantly monitoring and editing ourselves, while belonging gives us space to be honest, imperfect, and fully human.

Julie shares why setting boundaries or expressing your needs may change some relationships, and why that does not necessarily mean you are doing something wrong. Real connection should not require you to abandon yourself.

In This Episode

• The difference between fitting in and belonging
• How we learn to perform for approval
• Why being surrounded by people can still feel lonely
• What happens when you stop being endlessly accommodating
• How self-acceptance influences your relationships
• One small way to practice being more honest today

Your Brave Move

Notice one place where you have been performing for acceptance. Choose one small way to be more honest about your opinion, your boundaries, your needs, or something you are proud of.

You do not need to reveal everything to everyone. You are simply giving the right people an opportunity to know the real you.

Learn more about the Recalibrate Retreat at goconfidentlycoaching.com.

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

Some of the simplest stories carry the messages we need most.

In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie reflects on the wisdom found in Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. Through the journey of four unlikely friends, the story explores courage, kindness, vulnerability, friendship, and the importance of allowing others to walk beside us.

Many of us pride ourselves on being capable and independent. However, being strong does not mean carrying everything alone. Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is admit that we are struggling, ask for help, or allow someone to support us.

This episode is a gentle reminder that our worth is not determined by how productive, polished, or certain we appear. We all need places and people who allow us to be honest, imperfect, and fully ourselves.

In this episode:

• Why asking for help is an act of courage
• The difference between being capable and doing everything alone
• How self-kindness changes the way we move through difficult seasons
• Why presence can be more powerful than advice
• What it means to find a sense of home in the people who accept us

Your Brave Move

Reach out to someone today. Ask for the support you have been pretending you do not need, or check on the person who always appears to have everything handled.

You do not need perfect words. You can simply say, “I’ve been thinking about you,” or “I could use someone to talk to.”

You are not weak because you need support. You are human, and none of us were meant to make this journey alone.

If this episode encouraged you, share it with someone who may need the reminder today. Then choose one small, brave move and take it before the day is over.

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

Feeling sorry for yourself isn’t a character flaw — it’s a signal. In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie DeLucca-Collins breaks down why self-pity shows up (control, grief, exhaustion, and old patterns), five practical ways to interrupt the loop when you catch yourself in it, and the one brave move that actually gets you unstuck: getting radically honest about what you really want. If you’re a midlife entrepreneur who’s tired of the “why me” spiral, this episode gives you a clear, doable way out.

In this episode:

•The real (and very human) reasons we fall into self-pity

•5 tools to break the pattern in the moment

•Why self-pity often means you’ve lost touch with what you want

•A simple writing exercise to get clear on your next brave move

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

What does it really mean to go with the flow when life throws you a curveball? In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie DeLucca-Collins shares a personal story from a recent trip with friends, where a canceled flight became an unexpected lesson in grace, adaptability, and emotional control.

Julie unpacks why the ability to roll with the punches isn’t passivity, it’s courage. She explores how much energy we lose being upset about things outside our control, and why releasing that grip is one of the bravest moves we can make.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•Why adaptability is a sign of strength, not a lack of standards

•How to tell the difference between what you can and can’t control

•Why “going with the flow” doesn’t mean lowering your expectations

•A simple mindset shift to reclaim your energy when plans fall apart

If you’ve ever felt drained by things outside your control, this episode is your reminder that peace is in you.  

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...

Sometimes life does not follow the script. People disappoint us, plans change, the lights literally go out, and suddenly we have a choice to make.

I recorded this episode of Brave Moves Daily-ish outside Shrimp Boat Sound in Key West, with boats, friends, roosters, and all the wonderfully imperfect background noise that comes with recording an episode in the middle of an adventure.

After a storm knocked out the power during dinner the night before, I found myself thinking about expectations. The restaurant couldn’t control the weather, but there were things I wished had been handled differently. And then I realized something even more important: I couldn’t control how they showed up, but I could control how I did.

That’s true far beyond restaurants and vacations.

People aren’t always going to meet your expectations. Clients, friends, family members, coworkers, and even complete strangers will sometimes behave differently than you hoped they would.

Your power is in deciding what you do next.

In this episode, I talk about:

• Why stepping outside your normal routine can shift your perspective
• What an unexpected Key West blackout taught me about customer service and expectations
• The difference between noticing what could have been better and letting it ruin your experience
• Why other people’s behavior doesn’t have to dictate yours
• Choosing the person you want to be, even when someone else doesn’t meet your expectations
• Focusing on your next best move instead of needing the entire plan figured out
• Why even a tiny 1% shift can move you closer to the person you want to become

Your Brave Move

The next time someone doesn’t meet your expectations, notice your first reaction.

Then ask yourself:

“Regardless of what they did, how do I want to show up next?”

You don’t need to fix the entire situation. You don’t need the perfect response. You don’t even need to know how everything is going to turn out.

Just choose your next brave move.

And sometimes that brave move is getting out of your routine, laughing with good friends, getting on a boat, and apparently having a rooster provide the closing remarks. 😂

Ready for your own reset?
Join me October 16–18 at the Recalibrate Retreat at the Guest House Retreat and Conference Center in Chester, Connecticut. Step away from the noise, reconnect with yourself, and get intentional about how you want to finish the year.

If you loved this episode, text me and let me know what you though.

Support the show

For more about the Recalibrate Retreat, visit my website.

Get $150 off your FACTOR Meal Plan. 

Brave Moves is a daily confidence and personal growth podcast for ambitious women, women entrepreneurs, and leaders who are ready to overcome self-doubt, build resilience, and take bold action in business and life. Each short, practical episode blends mindset science, decision-making psychology, and real-life stories to help you strengthen your confidence, rewire negative thought patterns, and create meaningful forward momentum.

If you are navigating career pivots, burnout, reinvention, or leadership growth, Brave Moves gives you the tools to think differently, act bravely, and design a future aligned with your values and vision. Because confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one brave move at a time.

Liked this episode? Share it with your midlife woman, entrepreneur friends!

Love this show? Let us know how we helped you increase your confidence by leaving a review.

If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching p...