In this episode, Kristin talks with Susan (she/her) who spent years building a successful career in the legal world before realizing that being good at something is not the same as feeling aligned with it. Together they explore the path from paralegal to massage therapist, what it meant to choose a more embodied and values-driven life, and how self-employment changed her relationship to work, stability, and success.

Together, they talk about right livelihood, the surprising ways stress lives in the body, the intimacy and healing of long-term client relationships, and why changing direction doesn’t mean starting over. Susan’s story is a reminder that nothing is wasted, your experience comes with you, and sometimes your body knows what your brain is still trying to figure out.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re off track, this conversation offers a gentler reframe: maybe you’re not lost. Maybe you’re just collecting information about what a more aligned life could be.

How to get in touch:

• susanlmt.com

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In this episode, Kristin sits down with Brielle (she, her), one of the first friends she made after moving to New York City and someone whose career has always been marked by a rare sense of intentionality.

Brielle works in corporate social impact, helping large organizations connect their resources to nonprofit partners and community needs. But her path didn’t begin in corporate boardrooms. It started with volunteering as a kid, working at a small women’s rights nonprofit in New York, and asking a lot of questions about how change actually happens.

In this conversation, Kristin and Brielle reflect on early career uncertainty, the surprising culture shock of moving from nonprofit scrappiness into corporate life, and what it means to build a career with purpose. They talk about informational interviews, meditation, leadership, parenting, and how perspective shifts as we grow older.

Along the way, Brielle shares a simple but powerful reminder: you don’t just get one career or one version of yourself. Over time, we all get the chance to build many lives.

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In this episode, Kristin talks with Josie (she/her), a project engineer in the construction industry who helps manage the building of massive projects like hospitals and data centers. Josie shares how she found her way into construction after starting in civil engineering and realizing she wanted something more hands-on, practical, and people-centered. She reflects on choosing an unconventional path to college, leaving New Jersey for the University of Wyoming, and the sweet story of her dad moving nearby to support her while still giving her space to grow.

Together, Kristin and Josie talk about confidence, credibility, and what it means to put your foot down as a young woman in a male-dominated field. Josie offers thoughtful insight into learning to trust your voice, speak with authority, and accept that not everything that looks good on paper actually works in real life. Funny, grounded, and quietly wise, this episode is a conversation about building a career, and a life, that actually fits.

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In this episode, Kristin sits down with Zakiya (she/her), Vice President of Philanthropic Partnerships at the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, to talk about leadership, identity, and the through-lines that shape a career.

A Bermudian immigrant, former therapist, and seasoned fundraiser, Zakiya reflects on what it means to mobilize money at the intersection of climate and racial justice; and why money, at its core, is intimate work. From navigating tokenization in philanthropy to choosing when and how to step back into formal leadership, she shares hard-won wisdom about boundaries, authenticity, and using your gifts before they atrophy.

Together, they explore what it means to build a career without bitterness, how to recognize the skills that have always been yours, and why the job may change, but the gift doesn't.

How to get in touch:

• Zakiya J. Lord on LinkedIn

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Season 2 kicks off with Amber (she/her), someone who has never stayed in a life that didn’t fit. From Texas Tech to flight attendant, from a post-9/11 pivot to a master’s degree in London, from being “under-qualified” for marketing roles back home to building a career across sports, student marketing, and ultimately professional tour guiding, Amber’s story is a masterclass in adaptability. Today she leads tours across London, Oxford, and Paris (sometimes in full costume) and has earned multiple prestigious guiding qualifications. In this episode, Kristin and Amber talk about career reinvention, contingency plans, learning as a lifestyle, and what it looks like to stop forcing a fit and start building a life shaped like you.

How to get in touch:

• americantourguideinlondon.com
• @americanldn on Instagram

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In this bonus episode of Everything Counts (but nothing is real), Kristin sits down with her almost 10-year-old niece, Quinn, for an off-script conversation about school, art, animals, ambition, and all the possibilities that exist before work becomes a defining force in our lives.

There’s no tidy narrative arc here, and that’s the point. Through stories about clay figurines, lemonade stand economics, animal rescue videos, sibling dynamics, and future dreams of teaching and saving animals, Quinn offers a reminder of what it’s like to be “pre-work,” when curiosity leads and some identities are still joyfully undecided.

This episode is a reflection on trying things before mastering them, wanting more than one future, and allowing phases, pivots, and wonder to coexist. It’s an invitation to reconnect with childlike imagination and to remember that not every meaningful path needs to make sense right away.

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In this special bonus episode, Kristin sits down with Nana (Loren’s grandmother) to talk about work, family, and the quiet choices that shape a life. Raised on a farm in rural North Florida, Nana spent decades working part-time as a bookkeeper and in banking, intentionally building a career that left room to be present for her children and grandchildren.

What unfolds is a tender oral history about money watched carefully, work done well but never centered, and a long marriage built on partnership, planning, and love. It’s a reflection on what we remember at the end of a working life. And what truly counts when the job is no longer the point.

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People matter most.

In the Season 1 finale of Everything Counts (But Nothing Is Real), Kristin sits down with one of her closest friends, Celia (they/them), to reflect on careers, values, and the human relationships that shape our work lives. A feminist philanthropic advocate working at the intersection of gender, racial, and economic justice, Celia shares what it really means to “move money ethically” and why relationships, patience, and trust are central to lasting systems change.

They talk about a winding career path, several big moves, stumbling into fundraising, and learning how to operationalize big visions without losing sight of the people behind the work. 

From carrying rocks in their pocket as career armor to redefining what it means to be “on track,” this conversation is a grounded close to a season about careers, detours, and the absurdity of work and a reminder that, in the end, people matter most.

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Say it, then do it.

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Sara (she/her), a longtime friend and education leader whose career has been shaped by ambition, follow-through, and a deep belief in joy as a leadership practice. From nearly two decades in education nonprofits to earning multiple master’s degrees, getting married, and landing a new role as Dean of Student Life (all at once) Sara shares what it really looks like to set a goal and see it through.

They talk about ambition without burnout, the importance of good benefits (“the bennies”), sneakers as career armor, and what it looks like to lead with joy in schools and in life. It’s a reminder that you don’t have to have it all figured out, you just have to say what you want and then do the work to make it real.

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A grain of salt and a pair of soft pants.

In this episode, Kristin and Loren break the fourth wall on career conversations and swap the usual interview format for a casual, candid advice session.

From figuring out what you actually want (versus what you’ve been conditioned to want), to recognizing the difference between burnout and boredom, they talk through the questions so many of us are quietly asking at work and in life. Along the way, they unpack urgency culture, eldest-child energy, pointless meetings, LinkedIn performance art, and the freedom of choosing soft pants over hard rules.

This is an advice episode to take with a grain of salt: thoughtful, nosy, occasionally petty, and rooted in autonomy, self-trust, and the belief that your job doesn’t have to be your passion to be good enough.

No professionals here, just two eldest children in their 40s, doing their best.

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