What happens when your ambition isn't the problem but the way you're operating is?

Alli Murphy spent more than a decade in corporate leadership, eventually becoming a Managing Director. From the outside, she had built an impressive career. But behind the success, she was becoming increasingly absent from her own life.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Alli shares the moment a friend's comment that she was a “figment of her husband's imagination” forced her to take a closer look at how she was living and leading.

Today, through The Elevate Lab, Alli helps senior women leaders break out of what she calls the Chief Everything Officer pattern: the belief that being successful means being responsible for everything.

We talk about leadership identity, delegation, over-functioning, sustainable success, and why becoming a better leader isn't always about doing more it can be about learning what you no longer need to do yourself.

Connect with Alli Murphy:

- The Elevate Lab: https://theelevatelab.com/

- The Thrive Report: https://thethrivereport.beehiiv.com/

In this episode:

- Why ambition isn't always the problem

- The Chief Everything Officer pattern

- Why high performers struggle after promotion

- Moving from execution to leadership

- Delegation as an identity shift

- Building a sustainable leadership style

- Getting your time back without dropping the ball

- Leaving corporate leadership to build something of your own

- What sustainable success really looks like

- Learning to stop doing everything yourself

What happens when you stop chasing every opportunity and start choosing only the ones that truly align?

Bev Hampson, Founder & CEO of Category3 Media and a media growth strategist, has spent more than a decade helping health experts and purpose-driven entrepreneurs turn podcasts into profitable media businesses. Her work has included partnerships with leading names in health and wellness, but her approach goes beyond downloads, sponsorships, and vanity metrics.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Bev shares why trust is one of a creator's most valuable assets, why bigger opportunities aren't always better, and how the simple rule “If it's not a hell yes, it's a hell no” can change the way you make business decisions.

We also talk about audience first growth, podcast monetization, aligned partnerships, the mistakes creators make when chasing revenue, and what it really costs to walk away from opportunities that look impressive on paper but don't feel right.

Connect with Bev Hampson:

Category3 Media: https://www.category3.ca/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bev-hampson-79a72336/

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

Category3 Media Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/category3media/

Next Level Podcasters: https://next-level-podcasters-by-category-3.mn.co/landing

In this episode:

- Why alignment matters more than opportunity size

- Moving beyond downloads and vanity metrics

- Building a profitable media business

- Why trust is a creator's most valuable asset

- Choosing the right brand partnerships

- The “Hell Yes or Hell No” decision-making filter

- Monetizing an audience without compromising trust

- The real cost of walking away from the wrong opportunity

- Building sustainable influence without selling out

What happens when you're doing everything right at work but leadership still doesn't see the full value of what you're creating?

Rosie Zilinskas spent 32 years in corporate America and experienced that gap firsthand. After years of delivering results and waiting to be recognized for the next opportunity, a senior executive told her, “You never said anything.” That moment changed how she understood career advancement.

Today, Rosie is a keynote speaker, Certified High Performance Coach, and creator of the Articulation Gap Framework, helping high-performing women communicate their impact with greater clarity, composure, and conviction.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Rosie explains why doing great work isn't always enough, why confidence isn't necessarily the answer, and how learning to articulate your impact can change the way leadership sees your contribution.

We also talk about self advocacy, promotion conversations, career visibility, and what happens when you stop waiting to be noticed and start naming the value you already create.

Connect with Rosie Zilinskas:

- Official Website: https://nowomanleftbehind.com/

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosiecareercoaching

- No Woman Left Behind Podcast: https://nowomanleftbehind.com/podcast/

- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-woman-left-behind/id1622865017

- Impact Clarity AI: https://nowomanleftbehind.ac-page.com/impact-clarity-ai-optin

In this episode:

- What the Articulation Gap really means

- Why high performers often believe their work will speak for itself

- Clarity, Composure, and Conviction

- Moving from task language to impact language

- How to communicate your value under pressure

- Self-advocacy without feeling like you're bragging

- Preparing for promotion and leadership conversations

- Why confidence may not be the real issue

- How to stop waiting to be noticed and start naming your impact

What happens when you refuse to accept the story other people have written for your life?

Frank McKinney was asked to leave three high schools, spent seven stints in juvenile detention, and graduated with a 1.8 GPA. He eventually left Indiana with $50 in his pocket and went on to build an unconventional career as a real estate artist, author, philanthropist, and ultramarathoner.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Frank shares the journey from those early setbacks to creating and selling oceanfront mansions, building self-sustaining villages in Haiti, writing books across multiple genres, and completing the Badwater 135-mile Ultramarathon thirteen times.

We also explore reinvention, risk, philanthropy, endurance, creativity, and Frank's latest book, Hell's Heaven: Is It Really Forever? a nonfiction novel he describes as "faction" and a Psycho-Spiritual Thriller.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple question: What happens when you stop accepting other people's verdicts about who you are?

Connect with Frank McKinney:

- Official Website: https://frank-mckinney.com/

In this episode:

- Refusing to let your past define your future

- Going from a 1.8 GPA to an unconventional career

- The journey from $50 to high-end real estate

- What it means to be a "real estate artist"

- Philanthro-capitalism and building communities in Haiti

- Lessons from the Badwater 135

- The personal cost of ambition and reinvention

- The story behind Hell's Heaven: Is It Really Forever?

- Why your circumstances don't have to become your identity

What happens when the stories you turn to for survival eventually become the stories you use to help other people?

Thomas R. Wilson is a writer, advocate, community leader, educator, business owner, and Sensory Friendly Events Specialist whose work is rooted in storytelling, empathy, and creating more inclusive communities. Drawing from his own experiences, Thomas has spent more than three decades using stories, creativity, mentorship, and advocacy to help people find their voice and sense of belonging.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Thomas shares how poetry, novels, music, and storytelling gave him hope during some of the most difficult moments of his childhood—and how those experiences eventually shaped the work he does today.

We explore sensory friendly events, neurodiversity, advocacy, community building, and the role of Dungeons & Dragons in creating spaces where people can connect, communicate, and feel they belong.

Thomas also shares what it means to turn personal experiences into something that can serve others, the cost of carrying your own story while supporting other people, and why someone else's description of you doesn't determine your worth.

Connect with Thomas R. Wilson:

- Official Website: https://rhcreativeadvocacyandstorytelling.net/

- Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ndttrpg

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-wilson-42762927b/

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhstorytelling

- Threads: https://www.threads.com/@rhstorytelling

- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=9643132

In this episode:

- How stories can become a source of hope

- Thomas's journey from lived experience to advocacy

- What sensory-friendly events actually look like

- Creating more inclusive spaces and communities

- Neurodiversity and person-first advocacy

- How Dungeons & Dragons can support connection and belonging

- Building bridges between people and systems

- Turning personal experiences into meaningful work

- Why your worth isn't defined by someone else's description of you

What happens when we stop designing learning for people and start designing it with people in mind?

Jackie Pelegrin is an award-winning instructional designer, college professor, consultant, author, and podcast host with nearly two decades of experience across higher education, corporate learning, and adult education. Through her work and her podcast, Designing with Love, she explores what happens when creativity, technology, and genuine care for the learner come together.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Jackie shares why technically perfect learning experiences can still fail when the human element is missing. We explore creativity within structure, the role of AI in education, meaningful learning experiences, and what it takes to design something that actually connects with the person on the other side.

We also talk about career identity, building meaningful work without burning out, getting started in instructional design, and why waiting until you feel completely qualified can keep you from taking the next step.

Official Website & Blog: https://www.designingwithloveblog.com/

Designing with Love Podcast: https://designingwithlove.buzzsprout.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiepelegrin/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jT2g3PlbD2uc9kDPOq5GS

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/designing-with-love/id1688954972

In this episode:

- What “designing with love” really means

- Why technically good learning can still fail

- Balancing creativity and structure

- AI and the future of education

- Keeping the human element in technology-driven learning

- Building meaningful work without burning out

- Career identity and finding your own path

- Getting started in instructional design

- Creating learning experiences that actually matter

What if the reason your business feels chaotic isn’t that you need to work harder but that you need better systems?

Marianne Page spent almost 30 years as a senior manager at McDonald’s, one of the world’s most systemised businesses. She went on to spend 15 years working with scale-up businesses, helping owners build clear standards, stronger teams, and simple, repeatable ways of working.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Marianne explains what she learned from McDonald’s about consistency, leadership, hiring, training, and performance and how those principles can be applied to growing businesses without making the owner the bottleneck.

We talk about her Big Mac Thinking™ approach, Sticky Systems, why systems don't have to kill creativity, and how business owners can create a company that runs well even when they aren't involved in every decision.

Connect with Marianne Page:

- Official Website: https://mariannepage.com/

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannepage/

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariannepage/

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariannepage/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mariannepage

Books by Marianne Page:

- Simple, Logical, Repeatable

- Process to Profit

- Mission: To Manage

In this episode:

- What McDonald's teaches about consistency and systems

- Why business owners become the bottleneck

- The difference between systems and bureaucracy

- Big Mac Thinking™ and the OURWAY model

- Building Sticky Systems around hiring, training, and feedback

- How to systemise a business without killing creativity

- Knowing what to systemise first

- Letting go and trusting your team

- Building a business that can grow beyond the owner

What happens when the career that defined you suddenly disappears and you’re left wondering who you are without the title?

Sean Pieri spent nearly four decades building a successful career in professional fundraising, including leadership roles at the United States Air Force Academy, William & Mary, and the U.S. Olympic Committee. But after losing the career that had become such a big part of his identity, stability alone wasn’t enough. Something still felt unresolved.

So Sean started an experiment: 52 calls, 52 Thursdays, one year of reconnecting with the people who had shaped his life.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Sean shares what those conversations revealed about identity, success, relationships, failure, and the parts of ourselves we sometimes leave behind while chasing achievement.

We talk about what happens when the title is gone, why the people who knew us before success can help us find our way back, and how looking backward can sometimes be the first step toward moving forward.

Connect with Sean Pieri:

- Official Website: https://seanpieri.com/

In this episode:

- Losing a career that defined your identity

- The story behind the 52 Thursdays experiment

- Reconnecting with people who knew you before success

- Redefining success beyond titles and achievements

- What counts that cannot always be counted

- Failure, rejection, and rebuilding

- Why sometimes the way forward begins by looking back

What if the conversation itself could become the art?

David Deighton spent seventeen years running an art gallery before moving in a very different direction. Through Triptych Dialogue, he uses art, questions, active listening, and face-to-face encounters to create spaces where strangers can have meaningful conversations across political differences.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, David shares what he has learned from hundreds of conversations with people he didn't know, why physical presence still matters in an increasingly digital world, and how curiosity can create room for dialogue even when agreement isn't possible.

We also explore political polarization, echo chambers, assumptions, the discipline of listening, and what happens when we stop trying to win an argument and start trying to understand the person sitting across from us.

Connect with David Deighton:

- Triptych Dialogue: https://triptychdialogue.com/

In this episode:

- How art became a vehicle for conversation

- The story behind Triptych Dialogue

- Why face-to-face dialogue matters

- Listening across political differences

- Echo chambers and political polarization

- Asking better questions

- The discipline of active listening

- What hundreds of conversations can teach us about people

What happens when the life you've built no longer feels like the life you're being called toward?

Ellen Edmondson had built a successful career as a senior government executive before a profound spiritual awakening in 2013 changed the direction of her life. She eventually walked away from that career and became an award winning author, intuition mentor, and founder of Highly Intuitive Kids.

In this episode of The Ambition Lab, Ellen shares what it was like to let go of an identity she had spent years building, how she learned to trust her intuition, and what it means to recognize when a calling is real even when following it requires uncertainty and courage.

We also talk about her book A Place of Love & Light, spiritual growth, authenticity, compassion, parenting highly intuitive children, and the lessons that come from choosing a path other people may not immediately understand.

Connect with Ellen Edmondson:

- A Place of Love & Light: https://book.ellenedmondson.com/

- Highly Intuitive Kids: https://highlyintuitivekids.com/

In this episode:

- Leaving behind a successful career and identity

- How Ellen experienced her 2013 spiritual awakening

- Learning to recognize and trust intuition

- The difference between intuition, fear, and desire

- Authenticity, compassion, and spiritual growth

- Parenting highly intuitive children

- Following a calling when the path is uncertain

- Becoming willing to discover who you're becoming