In today’s episode, we’re talking to Sarah O’Brien Hammond. Sarah is the Chief Community Officer and Founder of The Network of Women. Driven by her own life’s journey, her mission is to bring together growth-minded women through diverse and unique experiences focused on helping them live their best, most fulfilled life in a supportive, judgement free safe space. I’ve been attending NoW events since I moved to the US and Sarah has proven to be an amazing connector of people and friend.

During our conversation, Sarah shares how she checked all the boxes, did all the things that society told her to do along the way, added a few Ironmans for a good time, and still woke up one day thinking:

 

Is this it?!?!?

Sarah continued, “I hit a wall. It happened to me at 41. I was like oh my gosh, I’m exhausted, and I’m not happy, and I’m not fulfilled, and I’ve been working my ass off for all these years and this is where I’m at?”

How many of us has stopped and asked ourselves, “Is this IT!?”

I know I did. I played by all the rules, I even added some heart following along the way and made some bold decisions and still reached a point where I was like… “Is this what I now have to do as an adult for the next 50 or so years? WTF for? What is the point? This sucks!”

As our convo continued, we got into Sarah’s zone of genius which is networking and connecting and she gave us 3 amazing tips for avoiding networking burnout.

1. Be realistic about what you can commit to. Know your bandwidth. Know your boundaries. Be sure you’re not signing up for everything available just because you feel like you should. If you can commit to one hour a month, use it well. 
2. Be Intentional with choosing your events. Choose them for yourself and not just growing your business. Prep for them and be present when you’re there.
3. Know your ask. What are you looking to get out of the event? Who can you help? Are you looking for clients or maybe a referral source? Being clear on what you’re striving for makes it easier to get and makes your introductions more clear!

 

I love talking to Sarah and it was great to have her on FRIED because I got to sneak an extra hour of chatting with her which is always fun for me. The thing that hit me most in this episode was that you can literally have it all and still burn out.

What is one thing that stuck out for you from this conversation? What’s your biggest takeaway?

 

Both Sarah and I would love to know, so please share and tag us on social media so we can support and cheer for you!

 

Connect with Cait

Website: www.caitdonovan.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/friedtheburnoutpodcast

Pre-Order My Book: https://bit.ly/bouncebackorder

Connect with Sarah

Website: https://www.thenownyc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenownyc/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenownyc/

LinkedIN: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahobrienhammond

USE CODE: NOWGUEST for free access to an event at The NoW! 

Xo

Cait

 

P.S. Do something to care for yourself this week and book a FREE Breakthrough Burnout Call with me! Initial calls last 35 minutes and are a great way to kickstart your burnout recovery. Book your call at caitdonovan.as.me/free.

 

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