We did a thing! It's called Manbition! And Dr. Hasan Merali fits right in! He's not here for parenting advice, but to share what toddlers taught him about living.

This pediatric ER physician spent 15 years watching children maintain joy in their worst moments. Turns out, they were teaching him about curiosity, persistence, presence, and fearless question-asking.

In this episode we explore why kindergarteners outperform MBA students in creative challenges, how neuroplasticity means we can reclaim childlike wisdom as adults, and why his 6-month paternity leave became "the best period of his life."

His research validates what mothers already know: children don't wait for "someday" to live fully. They show us that fulfillment comes from being completely engaged in this moment, this season, this beautiful chaos.

From Harvard Medical School to his daughter Arya - discover how childlike wonder fuels adult achievement.

The science is clear: we once had these qualities naturally. We can return to them.

Topics: Child development, neuroplasticity, paternity leave, integration over balance

What happens when a stranger on the train says "You have such an amazing mummy" and it makes you glow for hours?

Why does recognition about our parenting hit differently than praise in any other area of life?

In this episode I explore the feedback vacuum of motherhood - where there's no performance review telling you you're succeeding. We dive into why effort doesn't equal outcome with children (you can parent perfectly and they'll still have a meltdown), and how the unpredictability makes us doubt our instincts daily.

Stop thinking you need to have it all figured out.

When someone affirms your parenting, they're cutting through the internal doubt spiral that never stops.

Motherhood is the only job where logic goes out the window and you're winging the most important role of your life.

That validation you crave? It's not weakness - it's the feedback system motherhood naturally lacks.

Most ambitious women hit motherhood and immediately start negotiating with themselves: "I'll get back to my real goals when my children are older."

But what if that entire premise just keeps you waiting?

This episode challenges the foundational lie that motherhood puts your life on pause. Instead of waiting for this season to end, and for your true life to begin, I'm showing you how to recognise how motherhood can be the very thing that unlocks your next level of clarity, connection, and purpose.

The deeper truth:

• Why constraints don't limit potential - they reveal it
• How "losing yourself" is actually integration in disguise
• Why your children's stories become your greatest business asset
• How love as freedom (not attachment) changes everything you thought you knew about success

This isn't about productivity hacks or time management. It's about completely reframing what it means to be ambitious after children - and why the women who figure this out don't just survive this season, they use it to build something they never could have created before.

Your children aren't pausing your story. They're demanding you write a better one.

Ever felt torn between loving your children fiercely and chasing your own ambitious dreams?

This is for you. Inspired by Dr. Seuss, 'Oh the places you'll go'.

Ahhh the beautiful chaos of modern motherhood - 46 browser tabs constantly open (should I start that business? Write that book? Launch that podcast?) to the moment you realise constraints actually show you the way forward.

Sometimes you just have to close all tabs and keeping only the two that light up your soul.

In this chapter of life you might need to

• Choose "integration" over "balance"
• Master needs versus wants
• Embrace "trench self-care" in stolen moments
• Say no to the 5am hustle
• Realise that your children benefit from watching you chase dreams while you care

This isn't about the impossible choice between being utterly devoted OR wildly free - it's about mastering the beautiful art of being both.

You're not disappearing into motherhood; you're becoming an integrated version of yourself - strong, loving, and divine.

What happens when you realise you've been climbing someone else's ladder for 15 years?

Kate walked away from her Chanel executive role to build something entirely her own. Now recognised in Small Biz 100's most inspiring businesses for 2025, she reveals the messy truth about reconstructing your career identity after motherhood.

This conversation will challenge everything you think you know about "having it all."

What we're unpacking:

• The brutal moment you realise you're living someone else's definition of success
• Why limited time becomes your greatest clarity tool (not your biggest problem)
• The Ikigai framework that gave her clarity: What you're good at + what the world actually needs
• Why she looks at life 20-30 years down the line to make decisions in the present

• The negotiation paradox: Why we advocate fiercely for others but whisper our own needs
• How motherhood doesn't diminish your leadership - it reveals who you really are
• The price you pay to rewrite success (and why it's worth every penny)

This isn't feel-good career advice. This is about the identity reconstruction that happens when motherhood refuses to be compartmentalised.

About making peace with integration over balance.

About the courage it takes to stop following scripts and start writing your own.

For every woman who's ever felt pulled between who she was and who she's becoming - this one's for you.

The wisdom we think we're teaching our kids? We need to hear it ourselves.

Reading to my 2 and 4-year-old every night, I've realised these aren't just bedtime stories - they're life lessons I desperately needed to hear.

Here are four of our favourite books and what they're actually teaching me:

🐠 The Power of Belief (Tiddler) - We all need that one person who believes our story matters when everyone else dismisses us.

🦁 Courage Reveals Truth (The Lion Inside) - Sometimes the thing that terrifies you is equally afraid of you.

🐨 Comfort vs. Growth (The Koala Who Could) - Nothing interesting happens in comfort zones. Life's unexpected challenges force necessary change.

🏠 Gratitude Through Perspective (A Squash and a Squeeze) - Where you are now is where you once wanted to be.

Bottom line: The gift of motherhood is that as we're raising children, they're quietly raising us too."

Listen for the unexpected wisdom hiding in your bedtime reading routine.

What happens when my 4-year-old son believes he can fix a broken train? Or when Alex's son gets asked to design planets for his nursery?

We let them try - and discover the confidence-competence cycle in action.

In this episode we explore how these "successful" moments create evidence their ideas work, why confidence builds neural pathways for learning, and how today's pretend fixes and planet designs could spark tomorrow's real passions.

Don't just see your childrens' wild ideas as entertainment.

When you say "yes, and..." you're building real competence.

Your job is to fuel their belief that their ideas matter.

From train repairs to planet designs - every creative moment is building future problem-solvers.

What if the random chapters of your life weren't random at all - but quietly building the exact mother your children would need?

From suing a major corporation to helping a friend escape abuse, from quitting a soul-crushing job to starting a business with just my savings and hope - I'm sharing six of mine.

Looking back I realise that every brave thing I've done became an invisible superpower that now shows up for my kids.

I explore how taking on that bully corporation built my advocacy skills, why my "you can always go back" mentality teaches my children resilience, and how they're not just watching me be their mum - they're watching me be me.

The truth I've discovered?

I am not starting from scratch as a mother.

Every time I stood up for myself, every leap I took, every moment I chose courage over comfort - it was all preparation for this role.

This episode is perfect for mothers who feel like they're winging it, anyone wondering if their past matters, and women ready to recognise their own invisible superpowers.

My story shaped me into exactly the mother my children need - and yours does too.

What if your toughest moments aren't roadblocks, but deposits in your children's emotional bank account?

Picture this: You're crying in your car after another rejection, wondering if you should just give up. But what if that breakdown is actually preparing you to sit with your teenager when their heart gets shattered?

Every struggle you face - the career pivot, the business launch, the relationship that didn't work out - isn't just something to survive. It's wisdom in the making.

This episode flips the script on how we view our hardest seasons. Instead of obstacles, we explore how they're building the exact mother your children will need - one who knows real resilience, can challenge any authority figure, and yes, might know how to bury a body if necessary!

From learning to advocate fiercely to knowing when to let them struggle instead of swooping in - every challenge you're banking today becomes tomorrow's superpower.

Perfect for: Ambitious mums in tough seasons, anyone building something while raising humans, and women ready to embrace being beautifully unhinged in their protective love.

Because the best mothers aren't the ones who had it easy - they're the ones who learned to laugh while plotting and find joy after the storm.

You know how we got to know each other during pregnancy, bonded even deeper when our children were born weeks apart, and then started talking about doing something together?

Well, that "something" became this podcast - and 80 episodes later, we're sharing how that crazy idea turned into a real friendship.

In this episode, we share the story of how we went from strangers to genuine friends - and what we learned along the way about finding the right people to build something with.

You'll hear about:

• How pregnancy timing created an instant bond that went deeper than typical "mom friends"
• Why we both said yes to podcasting together when most people would have said no
• What it actually takes to show up consistently for 80 episodes while juggling toddlers, work, and life - and how far we've come since that first awkward recording
• How supporting each other through motherhood and business created unexpected trust
• The difference between friendships built on shared circumstances vs. shared goals

If you're craving deeper connections beyond surface-level mum chat, or you've been holding back from putting yourself out there because it feels too vulnerable - this conversation will show you the magic that happens when you take that leap.

We also answer some random questions that had us laughing - including celebrity encounters and the weirdest things that have happened to us.