Rock the Damn Boat

In this episode of RTDB (Rock the Damn Boat), Christy Hughes sits down with Maggie Blackburn of maggie-blackburn.com to talk about what it really looks like to leave the traditional 9-to-5 and build a portfolio career on your own terms.

• What a portfolio career actually is — and why it's more than just "having a side hustle"
• The difficult conversation with a manager that became the turning point for Maggie's corporate exit
• Why questioning corporate life is a valid, necessary step — not a crisis of confidence
• Rocking the boat in real life: Maggie's move into self-employment and building multiple income streams
• A fun tangent on dream retreat destinations (because entrepreneurship needs joy too)
• How to work with Maggie to figure out your next steps and market your ideas with steadiness and direction

• A portfolio career isn't about doing everything at once — it's about building income streams with intention
• The moment you start questioning corporate life is often the moment real direction begins
• Self-employment doesn't require having it all figured out on day one
• Marketing your ideas well matters as much as having good ideas in the first place

• 🌐 Website: maggie-blackburn.com
• 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/maggieblackburn

• 🎙️ More episodes of RTDB: thrivewithchristy.com
• 🤝 Join The THRIVE Collective for ongoing support as you build your own next chapter

Enjoyed this episode of RTDB? Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who needs permission to rock the damn boat.

In this Monday Mini episode of RTDB, Christy gets honest about the fatigue that comes with aging, the strange grief of realizing some "firsts" are behind her, and why she's leaning harder into travel to satisfy her wanderlust. She also unpacks why women's brains seem to dig up old trauma out of nowhere — and what to do when it happens.

Show Notes:

• The real, unfiltered version of fatigue — not "tired," but the deeper exhaustion of aging and carrying more
• Grieving the "firsts" — acknowledging that some experiences won't happen again, and why that's okay
• Choosing travel as a response to wanderlust instead of postponing it "someday"
• Why women's brains seem wired to resurface old trauma — nervous system patterns, not weakness
• Reframing fatigue and memory resurfacing as information, not failure

Support:

menopause.org

sherecovers.org

Rachel Skaff is the Senior Vice President of Sales at FedEx and a veteran of the tech industry with past leadership stints at AWS and Intel. Known for her "messy, magical, and spectacular" career path, Rachel combines the technical mind of a computer scientist with the heart of a mentor. She is a passionate champion for STEM and a believer that an exceptional life only happens outside of your comfort zone. When she isn't scaling global organizations, she’s exploring off-the-beaten-path destinations with her six children.

Join Christy as she discusses Rachel's wide variety of industries, from hardhat construction as a civil engineer to global logistics with FedEx. At the heart of everything Rachel does is a curiosity for how things work, how to simplify them, and how to improve the world around us.

Beyond the P&L, Rachel is a fierce advocate for inclusive leadership and STEM education. She is a sought-after voice on the "Human Advantage" in the age of AI, believing that vulnerability and authenticity are the ultimate drivers of high-performing cultures. Rachel holds an MBA from Regis University and is an alumna of Columbia Business School. Based in the Phoenix area, she is a mother of six and an avid adventurer who can be found hiking or boating when she isn't transforming global sales organizations.

What We Discuss:

• Rachel's starting line, and how her career has looked more like an obstacle course than a run
• The key traits of steady leadership
• The difficult but necessary act of listening
• How we can shape the next generation through understanding and support
• How grabbing the markers help us play it big

Follow Rachel's colorful career and tips on compassionate leadership and presence on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelskaff/

Learn more about Christy's work at thrivewithchristy.com

Christy shares a thrilling (and hilarious) hiking adventure through Northern California and Tahoe, complete with a rickety bridge crossing, a steep tumble, and an unexpected visit to a secret clothing-optional beach. This episode is all about courage, rediscovery, and the messy side of stepping outside your comfort zone.

What Happened
Christy tackled a challenging hike that included crossing a sketchy wooden bridge and navigating a steep descent—which ended with a literal fall on her bum and a bruise to prove it. The adventure took an amusing turn when she discovered a clothing-optional beach nearby, where she became one of many "bums" enjoying nature in the raw.

Why It Matters
This isn't just a funny story—it's about what happens when you revisit things you used to love and push past the fear that says you can't.

3 Key Takeaways

1. Enjoy Nature — Get outside. The views, the fresh air, and the reminder that you're small in the best way.
2. Revisit Things You Used to Love — Hiking used to be Christy's thing. Coming back to it brought joy she'd forgotten.
3. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone — That's where the story (and the bruise) come from. Growth isn't always graceful.

Safety Reminder
Be sun smart and always tell someone where you're going—especially on solo or remote hikes.

Follow me on Instagram for more hiking photos

www.instagram.com/rockthedamnboat

Find out more about The Thrive Collective

www.thrivewithchristy.com

Getting laid off doesn't have to be the end of the story — sometimes it's the opening scene.

In this episode of RTDB, I sit down with Alison Kinsey, host of the Real Time Creator podcast. After being laid off last year, Alison didn't scramble for the next "safe" job — she leaned into creative work and said yes to whatever came her way.

She already had the skills: Alison runs a podcast editing business with her husband, and that behind-the-scenes experience became the launchpad for her own show.

We talk about:

• What it actually felt like to get laid off — and the mindset shift after
• Why she chose to build something of her own instead of job-hunting
• How her editing business gave her an unfair advantage in podcasting
• What "leaning into whatever comes" has looked like in practice
• Advice for creators thinking about launching their own show

Connect with Alison:
🎙️ Podcasting for Creatives: https://www.podcastingforcreatives.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-langone/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/alisonkinsey/

In this episode of RTDB, Christy shares the responses from her viral reel on saying what's true instead of what's polite — sparked by a real moment where a podcast guest asked to reschedule two months out, and she defaulted to "it's fine" when it really wasn't.

What you'll learn:

• Why "it's fine" is often a polite lie, not a real answer
• Crowdsourced advice from RTDB listeners on ditching doormat status
• Practical phrases to use when you want to say no but default to yes
• How disrupted boundaries show up in everyday moments — not just big confrontations

What if the support people need most arrives before the crisis hits? In this episode of RTDB, Christy sits down with Laura Kunz, co-founder and President of Spirence, for an honest conversation about recovery, resilience, and why workplace mental health support can't wait until burnout becomes a breakdown.

Laura's path is anything but linear — from selling water filtration systems in early recovery (and getting called out for her recovery journey) to building a career in behavioral health to co-founding Spirence. Spirence is an award-winning wellness platform that lets you choose the learning tools that best fit your needs. Her story is proof that need drives ingenuity.

In this episode:

• Why people need mental health and wellness support before they reach crisis
• How Laura's own recovery shaped her approach to behavioral health
• What Spirence offers and who it's designed to serve
• The joy of podcasting — and Laura's show, Prevention Pioneers
• Breaking the stigma around asking for help at work
• What Laura's personal tools are for mental health fitness

If you've ever white-knuckled your way through burnout instead of reaching out, this one's for you.

🎙️ Connect with Laura: spirencewellness.com

Listen to Laura's show: Prevention Pioneers podcast

Connect with Christy and learn more about The Thrive Collective at thrivewithchristy.com

Some weeks the nervous system runs hot. In this Sunday Shortie of RTDB, I'm talking about windows of tolerance — the space where you can actually feel and function before you tip into overwhelm or shutdown — and what it looks like when menopause keeps shrinking that window without warning.

I also get honest about something quieter: the pull to dim someone else's joy when you're depleted. Not out of meanness — out of exhaustion. And what it takes to let other people be happy without making it mean something about you.

Then there's Yesteryear. I always thought I was writing the character's postpartum depression. Turns out the page was holding a mirror up to my own state of mind in menopause. The writing knew before I did.

In this episode of RTDB:

• What a "window of tolerance" is, in plain language
• Why menopause narrows that window — and how to notice the edges sooner
• The difference between protecting your peace and stealing someone else's
• How my own writing surfaced what I wasn't saying out loud
• A gentler way to move through a depleted week

Key takeaways:

• Your window of tolerance isn't fixed — hormones, sleep, and stress move the walls
• Feeling depleted doesn't make you a bad person; it makes you human
• Someone else's joy is not a withdrawal from your account
• The creative work you make often reflects you before you're ready to look
• You don't have to fix the whole feeling — you can just name where you are

• What is a window of tolerance? The range where your nervous system can handle stress and emotion without tipping into overwhelm (hyperarousal) or shutdown (hypoarousal).
• How does menopause affect emotional regulation? Hormonal shifts can narrow that window, making it easier to feel flooded or flat with less provocation than before.
• What does "stealing someone's joy" mean? Diminishing another person's happiness — often unconsciously, when you're depleted — instead of letting their good moment exist on its own.

Learn more about The Thrive Collective at thrivewithchristy.com

The second half of Christy's conversation with Nicole Beaudin picks up right where things get real — shadow work. If Part 1 was about recognizing you want something different, Part 2 is about doing the deeper work to actually get there.

Nicole walks through the coaching method she uses to help high performers uncover the subconscious beliefs quietly running the show — the ones formed at age seven that are still blocking you at forty. From denied personas to underlying commitments, this conversation gets specific about what the inner work actually looks like in practice.

In this episode of RTDB, you'll hear:

• What shadow work is and why the person who triggers you most is a mirror worth looking into
• How subconscious beliefs form in childhood and show up as self-sabotage in adulthood
• Nicole's concept of a "spiritual board of directors" — and why she recently fired hers and started over
• What to do when your tools stop working (and how to build a regulation toolkit that evolves with you)
• Why the aftermath of a big life change can feel harder than the change itself — and what that means for your nervous system

Learn more and work with Nicole at nicolebeaudin.com

Follow her Substack: https://substack.com/@nicolebeaudin

Learn more about The Thrive Collective and work with christy at thrivewithchristy.com

In this Sunday Shortie episode of Rock the Damn Boat (RTDB), Christy slows down. Before she heads back to corporate life and a lot more screen time, she's spending the week outside — trading notifications for fresh air and reconnecting with nature.

Benefits of nature include:

• Pattern Recognition and Nervous System: Pattern recognition can create nervous system regulation.

• Bird Song and Safety: Bird song can create a sense of safety.

• Trees and Calming Effect: Trees releasing phytocides can have a calming effect.

This one's a gentle nudge to celebrate your milestones, even when it feels like bragging. If you were taught to shrink as a kid, or you've spent years as a people-pleaser, owning your wins can feel uncomfortable. But Christy makes the case that celebrating your achievements isn't ego — it's a ripple effect. When you honor how far you've come, you give someone else permission to chase their own passions too.

Tune in for a grounded reminder to rest, unplug, and take real pride in what you've built.