School of Self-Worth

In today’s episode, Nicole chats with Steph Gaudreau, a nutrition and strength-training coach, about body image, self-worth, and strength. They talk about the challenge of maintaining a positive body image growing up with diet culture and how to disentangle self-worth from athletic performance.

Tune in to hear about what it looks like to decouple self-worth from your self-image, and the critical elements of grace and compassion when struggling with your body image.

Steph Gaudreau creates solutions for athletic women over 40 to fuel themselves better, get stronger, increase their energy, and perform better in and out of the gym. She’s a sports nutritionist, lifting coach, author, and longtime podcaster. She believes that strength is a catalyst for a more expansive life.

Listen to learn more about… 

• Steph’s evolution with her self-worth and how being an athlete came with its own challenges around self-worth (3:31)
• The importance of finding innovative ways to keep tracking progress (13:06)
• Finding self-acceptance and dealing with body-image issues in a society of diet culture and in the digital age of social media (20:40) 
• Tangible tip from Steph for anyone working on their progress with self-worth and the concept of autoregulation (38:33)
• Bonus: Learn about the benefits of mouth-taping when it comes to sleep and physical training (42:00)

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

Want to build morning habits that last so you jump out of bed with energy and clarity every morning? Join Nicole’s 5-Day Morning Challenge >> go.nicoletsong.com/morning-habits

Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to https://podfollow.com/school-of-self-worth

For full show notes, transcript, and links, visit nicoletsong.com/podcast.

Have a question or topic you’d like Nicole to touch on in a future episode? Email [email protected] to share any thoughts or feedback.

Get more of Steph: 

• Website: https://www.stephgaudreau.com/
• Podcast: Fuel Your Strength
• Instagram: @steph_gaudreau and @fuel.your.strength 
• Free Workout: https://stephgaudreau.com/dumbbell-workouts

Body image resources Steph mentioned: 

• Chrissy King - The Body Liberation Project 
• Beauty Redefined
• Bri Campos

Find out what Nicole is up to: 

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

In this episode, Nicole chats with Sydney, a Your Clear Calling (YCC) alumni, about the unorthodox journey she took to reach her goals, and the breakthroughs she experienced to generate a relationship of trust with herself and her intuition. 

Before YCC, Sydney was feeling stagnant in her life and her job. She had achieved the goals that she had set for herself 10 years prior and didn’t know what came next. YCC helped her get clear about her purpose and gave her the tools to pursue those goals. We get an intimate look at the personal and professional goals that Sydney has since achieved, and what comes next for her. 

Sydney Ratukalou (Ra-too-ka-low) is a full-time family manager, coach, and lifelong learner. Through Your Clear Calling and coaching with Nicole, she was able to identify her purpose, and she went on to certify in Lightyear Coaching and start her entrepreneurship journey in starting her own business.

Listen to learn… 

• The steps to take when you’ve successfully hit ALL your goals (4:10)
• The importance of clearing incorrect beliefs and blocks keeping you from connection to self and your authentic self (6:30)
• How to clear out feeling stagnant at work (7:50)
• The MAJOR step Sydney took to trust money and abundance (13:15)
• The amazing results for Sydney since she completed YCC (17:24) 
• How to trust in your purpose when other people may be questioning what you’re doing (19:38)
• Sydney’s top suggestion for starting the journey (32:39)

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

Want to build morning habits that last so you jump out of bed with energy and clarity every morning? Join Nicole’s 5-Day Morning Challenge >> go.nicoletsong.com/morning-habits

Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to https://podfollow.com/school-of-self-worth

For full show notes, transcript, and links, visit nicoletsong.com/podcast.

Have a question you’d like Nicole to touch on in a future episode? Email [email protected] to share any thoughts or feedback.

Find out what Nicole is up to: 

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

In this special early-release episode, Nicole chats with her former Your Clear Calling (YCC) student, Sarah Castle, about how Sarah transformed her life and moved from being an Amazon executive to becoming a college professor and launching her own business.

Before YCC, Sarah carried work home with her every day. She knew she needed to make a change, but didn’t know how to make the leap.

You’ll hear how Sarah decoupled her worth from her job in order to reallocate time to her family, friends, community, and things she loves to do. Hear about the unexpected benefit of incremental changes towards a goal…. even when the timing doesn’t feel right.

Sarah is the founder of Castle Coaching & Consulting, a firm focused on helping individuals and companies get clear on what they want, and then, going after it! Prior to starting her business, Sarah was an executive at Amazon, where she worked for 15 years. There she held a variety of roles in mergers & acquisitions, investment fund portfolio management, digital devices, Amazon Alexa voice technology, digital and print books, and human resources. 

Through all of this experience, she honed in on her purpose – transforming organizations and elevating leaders. Now, she's working in her purpose every day by being a coach, consultant, and speaker. Outside of her business, she lives a full life where she's a mother, mentor, entrepreneurship professor, non-profit board member, published author, athlete, home cook, and an all-around badass!

Listen to learn more about… 

• Sarah’s self-worth journey and the impact of being raised by a single mother (3:25)
• How she decoupled her worth from work by embracing a detached commitment to her job (8:30)
• The importance of incremental changes even when the timing doesn’t feel right (13:30)
• How YCC (Your Clear Calling) helped her tune into her intuition and be clear about what opportunities to say “yes” to (22:34)
• A simple practice to put into place to sort through the noise in order to get clear about your purpose (29:38)
• What has happened for Sarah since she took YCC in the Spring of 2021 (35:30) 
• The message/tangible tip Sarah has for anyone who is struggling with investing in themselves (38:31)

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

Want to build morning habits that last so you jump out of bed with energy and clarity every morning? Join Nicole’s 5-Day Morning Challenge >> go.nicoletsong.com/morning-habits

For full show notes, transcript, and links, visit nicoletsong.com/podcast.

Have a coaching question for Nicole? Email [email protected] to get your coaching question answered in a future episode.

Find out what Nicole is up to: 

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

Reach Sarah at:

• Website: Castle Coaching
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahocastle/

In today’s episode, learn the top 3 daily work boundaries you can implement immediately to protect your time and energy in order to prevent burnout. Listen to her journey with boundaries (or lack thereof in her younger years), and discover what inspired her to change her boundaries over the years, PLUS the 3 tangible boundaries to help you feel clear and confident every day. 

Inside this episode, you’ll find… 

• A radically different way of looking at boundaries (7:52)
• 3 boundaries that you can implement immediately to feel powerful and whole (9:35)
• How to get more space and time to do the things you love (18:33)

Nicole’s FREE series, Transform Your Relationship with Work Boundaries (without shame or guilt) is live from 5/11-5/18! Grab your seat >> go.nicoletsong.com/boundaries

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

Want to build morning habits that last so you jump out of bed with energy and clarity every morning? Join Nicole’s 5-Day Morning Challenge >> go.nicoletsong.com/morning-habits

Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to https://podfollow.com/school-of-self-worth

For full show notes, transcript, and links, visit nicoletsong.com/podcast.

Have a question or topic you'd Nicole to touch on or a guest you're interested in hearing in a future episode? Email [email protected] to share any thoughts or feedback. 

Find out what Nicole is up to: 

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

In this episode, Michelle Cassandra Johnson shares an intimate look at her journey with self-worth and the powerful impact that her mother had by teaching her that she was more than enough. Michelle’s mother gave an invaluable gift by nurturing her to be intentional with risks, teaching her to be ok with being imperfect, and to trust her voice and intuition. Nicole and Michelle talk about what it could look like to listen to your intuition when you’re unsure of your purpose, and the significance of signs and symbols in everyday life. 

Michelle C. Johnson is an author, spiritual teacher, social justice activist, intuitive healer, and Dismantling Racism educator. She approaches her life and work from a place of knowing we are, can, and must heal individually and collectively. As a dismantling racism educator, she has worked with large corporations, non-profits, and community groups, including the ACLU-WA, Duke University, Google, This American Life, Yoga Alliance, Lululemon, and many others.

Her newest book, “We Heal Together: Rituals and Practice for Building Community and Connection" explores the deep knowing and truth that we are interconnected; we belong to one another. “We Heal Together” offers rituals and practices meant to dream us into a new way of being to benefit the highest and fullest good.

In this episode, listen to hear — 

• Michelle’s journey with self-worth and the power of being raised and nurtured by a mother that instilled in her an innate knowledge that she was enough (3:07)
• How she navigated the dominant culture of perfectionism as an empath who was raised to be ok being imperfect (7:53)
• Having an internal compass and being driven by purpose while also being unsure of what her purpose is (10:40)
• The critical point of recovering from an eating disorder in the past that was a manifestation and internalization of dominant cultural norms (12:30) 
• How she developed and used her intuition to follow service and purpose (14:10)
• The origin of her latest book, We Heal Together (26:25)
• How we heal as a community from all the loss we have experienced in the last few years of the pandemic (33:52)
• A daily practice you can incorporate to develop your self-worth and intuition (45:48)

Nicole’s FREE series, Transform Your Relationship with Work Boundaries (without shame or guilt) starts May 11! Grab your seat >> go.nicoletsong.com/boundaries

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

For full show notes, transcript, and links, visit nicoletsong.com/podcast.

Get More of Michelle:

• Website: https://www.michellecjohnson.com/
• Instagram: @skillinaction
• Her Newest Book: https://www.michellecjohnson.com/we-heal-together: 

Find out what Nicole is up to: 

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

In today’s episode, we look back at the beginning of Nicole’s 30s when she hit rock bottom with her career and identity. At the time, Nicole’s self-worth was directly tied to her journalism career but as job security in journalism was threatened and old trauma started creeping back in, she found herself at a crossroads in her career. Tune in to hear the significant moment when she realized she was causing her own misery, and how that realization gave her the spark of hope to take the leap of faith she needed. Learn the biggest, bravest choice Nicole made that led her to a job where she could fully be her authentic self. 

Nicole covers...

• Looking back on her era of change in her 30s (1:45)
• The significant moment when she realized she was responsible for her own misery (8:08)
• How following her pathway to purpose led her to finding her purpose (9:13)
• The leap of faith she took when she was feeling bold (9:49)
• The important takeaways she learned from an unexpected training (11:57)

Join my FREE series, Transform Your Relationship with Work Boundaries (without shame or guilt). We start May 11! Grab your seat >> go.nicoletsong.com/boundaries

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

Want to build morning habits that last so you jump out of bed with energy and clarity every morning? Join Nicole’s 5-Day Morning Challenge >> go.nicoletsong.com/morning-habits

Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to https://podfollow.com/school-of-self-worth

For full show notes, transcript, and links, visit nicoletsong.com/podcast.

Find out what Nicole is up to: 

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

In this episode, Nicole and Kate discuss impostor syndrome, which plagues even the most successful women. Kate shares how she moved through impostor syndrome to be where she is today, founding and running a non-profit and becoming a national leader. She speaks about overcoming her insecurity of being biracial and a leader of a Native organization and navigating those incorrect beliefs to be proud of exactly who she is. She also shares about overcoming the shame she carried from being a stripper in her 20s, owning and healing that part of her life, and ultimately turning that into a story that empowers and helps others.

Kate is a member of the Pueblo of Cochiti (COACH- ih- TEA) and is the founder and director of Native Strength Revolution, a non-profit that equips a new generation of Indigenous healers through leadership training and yoga certification. Kate and her Indigenous team work with Indigenous communities and organizations to educate, elevate and uncover a new possibility of wellness for Indigenous people. She is also an active daughter and wife! Sweating is her ceremony- when not on her reservation, she loves weights, dancing, yoga, and running.

Nicole and Kate talk about…

• When Kate started owning her journey and listening to her intuition (5:13)
• How she leaned into the concept of surrender to shift into a new path of life (9:48)
• Navigating moments of crisis, when everything feels out of control (13:05)
• The experience of trusting your intuition when you don’t have the evidence that everything will work out (17:03)
• How Kate’s nonprofit, Native Strength, became a part of the NYC Marathon in a way bigger way beyond what she had imagined (22:00)
• How to maintain your worthiness when you’re succeeding and how to combat impostor syndrome and incorrect beliefs (27:20)
• Overcoming her insecurity of being a leader of a Native organization and being biracial (28:53)
• Letting go of shame and owning those parts of your story (32:34)

If this episode inspired you, take a screenshot of you listening and post it to your Instagram stories, and tag us @nicoletsong and @nativestrengthrevolution.

Want to build morning habits that last so you jump out of bed with energy and clarity every morning? Join Nicole’s 5-Day Morning Challenge >> go.nicoletsong.com/morning-habits

Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to https://podfollow.com/school-of-self-worth

For full show notes, transcript, and links, visit nicoletsong.com/podcast.

Get More of Kate: 

• Instagram: @kateherrerajenkins, @nativestrengthrevolution
• Website: https://nativestrengthrevolution.org/
• Facebook: Kate H. Jenkins

Find out what Nicole is up to: 

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

In today’s episode, Nicole meets with Dr. Christine Li, the Procrastination Coach, to dig deep into an energy-depleting issue that may be holding a lot of high-performing women back: procrastination. They discuss their own personal journeys with procrastination, the way that self-worth ties into procrastination, and the pivotal moments in each of their lives that got them to start changing their habits. Join Nicole and Christine as they get to the secret that is the heart of procrastination, and discover paths of choice that could be open to you.

Dr. Christine Li has been a clinical psychologist for the past 20 years and she has been working online as “Procrastination Coach” for the past 10 years. She helps people who are struggling with underperforming at work and at home to work smoothly and with high levels of productivity. Her coaching process is a blend of mindset strategy, time and emotion management work, and guidance for higher levels of self-love and self-care.

In this episode, we cover… 

• Christine’s own history of procrastination (2:05) 
• Reconciling her cultural and family upbringing with the need to communicate about feelings and vulnerability in psychology (3:40)
• The turning point that led her to start her recovery from procrastination (5:49)
• The complex connection between feelings and procrastination (7:27)
• Christine’s own journey of healing and transformation with her self-worth (12:14)
• How to find your energy again by correcting your habits (17:59) 
• A surprising suggestion from Christine if you’re feeling drained and depleted (26:00) 

If this episode inspired you, take a screenshot of you listening and post it to your Instagram stories, and tag us @nicoletsong and @procrastinationcoach.

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

Want to build morning habits that last so you jump out of bed with energy and clarity every morning? Join Nicole’s 5-Day Morning Challenge >> go.nicoletsong.com/morning-habits

Haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to https://podfollow.com/school-of-self-worth

For full show notes and links, visit nicoletsong.com/podcast.

Get More of Christine: 

• Listen to her podcast Make Time for Success
• Find out more at Procrastination Coach
• Request her Free Resource Library
• Follow her on Instagram
• Follow her on TikTok

Find out what Nicole is up to: 

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

In today’s intimate episode, Nicole and Susanne discuss the sticky details of navigating power and change, while balancing personal and professional lives. Susanne shares the challenges she navigated with writing her first book and becoming a first-time author, and all the different ways she pushed herself to keep moving forward.  Together, they talk about relationships, picking themselves back up after devastating heartbreaks, and moving forward to pursue the dreams that they knew they were worthy of. 

Susanne Conrad is the author of Get There Now, founder of Lightyear Leadership, the co-developer of Lululemon’s renowned leadership culture, and served as Director of Possibility at Lululemon from 2007-2017.  She also has served as a mentor and teacher to Nicole for a decade, and has seen Nicole through various stages of her life; stay tuned for the most intimate conversation yet.

Nicole & Susanne talk about…

• Building an inner set of cheerleaders that are front row cheering you on 14:45
• A message for aspiring writers 15:48
• How does one generate self-worth continuously 19:46
• How to keep moving forward after loss and learning to trust yourself to live the life that you deserve 23:45
• “The only way your heart can grow is to break open.” 34:12
• A self-worth daily practice to build your self-worth muscle 37:42

Want to build morning habits that last so you jump out of bed with energy and clarity every morning?

Join Nicole’s 5-Day Morning Challenge >> go.nicoletsong.com/morning-habits

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

To Learn More About Susanne: 

• Visit her here: https://www.susanneconrad.com/
• Learn more about Lightyear courses
• Read or listen to her book here 
• Follow Susanne on Instagram
• Listen to more of Susanne on these podcasts…
  • Free to Be With Lucca: The Good, The Great, and The Uncomfortable Journey to Accessing More Personal Freedom and Compassion w/ Susanne Conrad
  • On The Daily: Leadership and Intergenerational Learning with Susanne Conrad

Keep In Touch with Nicole:

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter
• Instagram: nicoletsong
• Tiktok: @nicoletsong_
• Facebook community: Balance + Boundaries
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tsong/

In today’s episode, we travel back in time with Nicole to her 20s and explore the evolution of her self-worth as she grew and evolved as a 20-something. Starting as a newly graduated 21-year-old teaching English abroad in a foreign country, to coming home to pursue journalism, and finally, as a young journalist slowly finding her voice and worth. 

Nicole covers…   

• Dedicating all her energy to her career in her 20s (5:39)
• Experiencing success on the outside while dealing with crippling self-doubt on the inside (7:08)
• The intense but pivotal moment in her journalism career that made her realize some jobs are not worth any amount of money (8:00)
• The different struggles she had with her self-worth in her 20s, in relation to her career, body, and relationships (11:22)
• What Nicole wishes she could tell her 20-something-year-old self (14:40)
• The importance of choice when it comes to living a joyful life (19:56)

Quotes From This Episode: 

“In School of Self-Worth, I consider myself to be both a teacher and a mentor in this space, and also a perpetual student because my experience of self-worth and my journey of self-worth has shown me that it is a long progression. It is one that evolves and it continues to evolve as you grow and you shift and you change.” 

“I remember at that time being so clear that this job is not worth any amount of money, and I would say that's probably the first time in my life I started to have a distinction around money and worth and value.” 

“Because I want you all to understand, really the big theme that was going on for my life is that I never really felt successful. And I also not only didn't feel successful, I didn't feel like I was in charge of my success. I didn't feel like I was driving my success in general.” 

“If you are thinking you are stuck in a career, or stuck in a direction, or the way you're supposed to live your life, know that you have so many gifts that will get you to the next stage, whatever that stage is when it shows up in perfect timing.” 

“Back then, I wish I knew that partnership was not an indicator of my self-worth, that I was worthy, that I was loved, and that I could have whoever I wanted. I feel like that was the thing I wish I had known the most, that I could have whoever I wanted, and it wasn't that it was a privilege for me to be selected by them and in fact, the opposite that it was a privilege for those people to be chosen with me and that we together could create partnership that was powerful and expansive.” 

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz >> nicoletsong.com/quiz

Keep In Touch with Nicole:

• Website: nicoletsong.com 
• Subscribe to her newsletter  
• Follow her on IG @nicoletsong
• Follow her on TikTok