Shameless Leadership

Happy Pride, my friends! A couple of weeks ago, I had the absolute honor to moderate a panel of LGBTQIA+ leaders who were collaborating in support of The Pride and Joy Foundation as they had an incredible conversation about how to support our LGBTQIA+ youth during Pride month (and all year long!) When the conversation was over, I asked Executive Director of the Pride and Joy Foundation founder (and past SMA guest), Elena Joy Thurston, if we could share the recording of this conversation as a podcast episode. I just knew our community would love to learn from these leaders. I’m so grateful Elena said “YES!” And shout out to her producer Jessica Whipple who brilliantly edited our conversation so it could be used as podcast content.  

On the panel, we have:

Junior Mintt (she/her), a “Black Transwoman, Drag Preacher, and Businesswoman”

Kalyela Josephs (they/she), a “Queer Spiritual coach” whose work has focused on helping families of color understand how to integrate LGBTQ+ culture into their family culture.  

Rae McDaniel (they/them) recently released their groundbreaking book, “Gender Magic”. They are also a licensed therapist supporting individuals and families with gender transition.  

Elena Joy (she/her), an ExMormon mom of four kids who has also been featured in the award-winning documentary “CONVERSION”, has a viral TEDx talk, and is now the volunteer Executive Director of Pride and Joy Foundation. 

C Rizleris (they/them), a contributing writer for the Pride and Joy Foundation, as well as a member of the Transgender Task Force Committee for the city of Greensboro, NC.

Listen in to hear this panel discuss:

Links mentioned:

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Woohoooo! Thank you for tuning into these shorty Thursday episodes. I love to see that you’re loving this content.  

ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. 

This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Shut Down Negative Self-Talk. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. 

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emily Lynn Paulson is a Shameless Mom of 5 and the author of Highlight Real: Finding Honesty and Recovery Beyond the Filtered Life, and the forthcoming Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing (May 2023). She has given two powerful TEDx talks, both challenging the status quo of parenting, alcohol use, and feminism as we know it. Paulson has also been featured in major publications such as the Today Show, New York Times, Washington Post, The Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, Next Question with Katie Couric, and the Tamron Hall Show. 

I found Emily and her work by way of Instagram and was instantly obsessed with the conversations she was having around the cult-like behavior of MLMs. As she was sharing about the overlap between MLMs, cults, and Supremacy culture, I knew 

I had to reach out to ask her to come on the show.  

I know so many moms have participated in MLMs at one time or another. This conversation is in no way intended to shame, but to shed light. Whenever I talk about MLMs in a negative light, I get messages from women who say, “But the MLM I’m in is different.” Maybe it is, but I want to make sure you have as many tools as possible to be a critical thinker and observer of what happens inside the organizations that benefit and profit from your participation. 

Listen in to hear Emily share:

Links mentioned:

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two years ago, I shared that I had been newly diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder and PTSD. I was 0% shocked by the GAD diagnosis and 100% shocked by the PTSD diagnosis. But, as I dug more into some circumstances and my reactions, I was able to more clearly understand how this diagnosis came to be.  

A year ago, I gave an update on my mental health. It felt right to let you all know how things were going. I think the more we talk about mental health and normalize the ups and downs all of us experience, the less stigma there will be around mental health struggles and the more people will feel safe and comfortable asking for help.  

A lot has happened in the world and in my life in the last two years. Increasingly, it felt like some of the things that had supported my mental health over the years (decades even) were working less. Also, I found myself feeling less hopeful. I didn’t necessarily feel hopeless, but I definitely felt less hopeful.  

I also became almost certain that I was managing undiagnosed ADHD and I was confused about where my anxiety ended and my possible ADHD began. Or maybe they were one and the same??  

And, I just felt so ridiculously tired. Not I-need-to-take-nap tired. More like my-mind-has-been-on-overdrive-for-47-years-and-it-might-crash-at-any-time tired. I stopped being able to prioritize tasks. I forgot a lot of random things that I would normally never forget. I became worse and worse with time management.  

During this time, I didn’t miss any deadlines. I didn’t let down any clients (that I know of!) I was able to be my usual over-performer self. But I had this overwhelming sense that the way I was existing was no longer sustainable. So, I reached out to a local therapy practice to be evaluated for ADHD.  

In this episode, I share what my assessment was like and how this experience was as odd as my experience of being diagnosed with GAD/PTSD. Are there any “normal” psychiatrists out there?! My experience tells me no… 

That said, I’m on a new path that I’m open to sharing in hopes it will give you permission to always be open to exploring your own mental health.  

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are struggling with your mental health, call your primary care doctor and ask for help. Call your therapist or psychiatrist if you have one. If you are in WA or OR, you can reach out to Mindful Therapy. If you do not have a medical professional you can reach out to, please dial 988 and they will help you find someone.  

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am bringing you this short form podcast, a minisode if you will, as a part of a mini-series. If you love this 3rd shorty episode each week, please let me know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, dropping a comment, or DMing me. If I get great feedback from you, I might just continue sharing a 3rd ep each week :)

ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism, and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. 

This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Say No. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. 

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rae McDaniel (they/them) is a non-binary Speaker, Author, Therapist, Certified Sex Therapist, Coach, and Transgender Diversity and Inclusion Educator. 

Rae helps audiences gain the sheer audacity to be themselves in the world through play, pleasure, and possibility. 

Their book Gender Magic, coming out on May 31st, is a first-of-its-kind practical guide to achieving gender freedom with joy, curiosity, and pleasure for transgender and non-binary individuals, gender explorers, and those who love them. They have been featured in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Time, and Women’s Health, and spoken at Rutgers University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago, Soho House, The Wing, and Rachel’s Rodgers’ Millionaires Summit. 

Rae is also the founder and CEO of Practical Audacity, a Gender & Sex Therapy practice in Chicago, serving over 300 clients yearly. 

When Rae isn’t educating audiences and bettering the world, they can be found drinking too much coffee, snuggling with their dog Gizmo (who might actually be a gremlin), or sipping whiskey with a good book. 

Listen in to hear Rae share:

Links mentioned:

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I thought after 3 hard years, we had all earned at least 3 years of ease.  

But, no. 

The collective experience of enduring and existing in incredibly challenging times seems to have shifted from a universal experience to an individual experience. 3 years ago we were all in it together. Today, we are all enduring alone.

Significant workplace challenges, supporting our struggling children, losing loved ones, many of us cascading into our own mental health and/or addiction crises, and the list goes on…

There is a lot of hard sh*t happening all around me - and mostly behind closed doors. It seems almost everyone I know is suffering in some sort of monumental way - and very privately. 

I’m generally a glass-half-full person. I would say I’m pretty resilient. But I do have a threshold under which I cry uncle for sure.  

As I’ve hit that threshold a few times recently, I’ve tried to pay close attention to the questions I can ask myself that help me STAY. In the past I sat in hard moments and tried to push through, to move forward. But sometimes moving forward feels too hard. Too heavy of a lift. What are the questions that allow us to just STAY HERE, not necessarily the ones that force us to take on the world?  

I know some women who have opted out - permanently - in recent months. The pain too great. Too overwhelming.  

Sometimes, it’s ok to just STAY HERE and not necessarily need to take on the gargantuan task of actually moving forward.  

In this episode, I talk you through 5 questions to ask yourself when you are in a hard moment - when you are committed to staying here but need to think through how to manage the moment.  

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are struggling to stay here, please reach out to help. Call your primary care doctor and ask for help. Call your therapist or psychiatrist if you have one. If you are in WA or OR, you can reach out to Mindful Therapy at https://www.mindfultherapygroup.com, as I recently did. I was able to get an appointment within a week. If you do not have a medical professional you can reach out to, please dial 988 and they will help you find someone. The world needs you to stay here. 

Link mentioned:

Suicide Hotline: Dial 988 or go to 988lifeline.org

We love the sponsors that make this show possible!

You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected] 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am bringing you this short form podcast, a mini-sode if you will, as a part of a mini series. If you love this 3rd shorty episode each week, please let me know by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, dropping a comment, or DMing me. If I get great feedback from you, I might just continue sharing a 3rd ep each week :)

ONE SHAMELESS THING is created with one thing in mind - to give you ONE thing - just ONE thing - to make today a better day. My purpose is to give you the hope, optimism and POWER you need to make today whatever you want to make it - even if life is throwing you one curveball after another. 

This week I am giving you ONE SHAMELESS THING to Hold Your Head Up High. Enjoy. And know that I am in this with you. Always. 

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julie Lewis, a 38-­year AIDS survivor, was infected with HIV in 1984 but not diagnosed until the early 1990s when she was given three to five years to live. After years of silence about her disease, she found an unlikely community of friends to fight alongside and began using her story to make a difference. Her experiences as a woman living with AIDS offers insights about grief and loss, caregiving, spirituality and the importance of community in the midst of tragedy.

In 2020, Julie completed her 30/30 Project in celebration of her 30 years of living with AIDS. This resulted in 30 new healthcare facilities serving women, girls, and families in 9 countries. These facilities have allowed for over 715,000 patient visits, 127,000 HIV tests, and the safe delivery of over 9,000 babies.  

Jenny Koenig is a writer and Grammy Nominated Music Video Producer. She’s passionate about channeling her creativity into ways to raise money for nonprofits, including the 30/30 Project. She was a co-creator and Executive Producer for All in WA: A Concert for COVID Relief, which raised over $110 million for COVID related causes. She’s learning how to juggle life as a new mom to her 6 month old daughter. Jenny is a longtime friend of Julie Lewis and jumped at the chance to help her tell her story.

Listen in to hear Julie and Jenny share:

Links mentioned:

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I want to tell you that I’m a few steps ahead of you and I don’t ever compare myself to others. But that would be a bold faced lie.  

The truth is, I do compare myself to others. Sometimes I even get angry when I see others who seem to have it all, or folks who seem to have all the good things just randomly and effortlessly fall into their laps out of nowhere.  

But, here’s the thing. At the wise(ish) age of 47, I’m starting to know better. I know to always look past the surface. I know things are never as picture perfect as they seem for others. When I find myself spinning in the that “she has it all and you don’t” inner talk, I have to catch myself and (loudly) remind myself: 

In this episode, I talk you through 5 Ways to Get Out of the Mom Comparison Trap in order to see your own power in every instance, acknowledge what is true and what is NOT, and ultimately find more mental ease as you navigate a world that will always present you with picture perfect aspirations.  

Link mentioned:

• Parent Prep for Pride Month 2023! Join me on Tuesday, May 16th for a virtual panel to learn how to use this Pride Month 2023 as a powerful way to increase the safety and wellbeing of our LGBTQ+ youth:  www.PrideandJoyParents.com

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices