The Cycle Advantage

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you're hustling to be the perfect mom, perfect partner, perfect boss… and secretly wondering if it's slowly killing you.

No wonder we're exhausted, anxious, and quietly wondering if this is really what life is supposed to feel like.

In this episode, I sat down with Brooke Jean, therapist and founder of Unperfected®, to unpack the perfection pressure on modern women and how it's fueling burnout, anxiety, autoimmune disorders, and disconnection from our own desires. Brooke's mission is clear: it's time to unsubscribe from "perfect" and reclaim the joy, truth, and power you've always had inside.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

✔ Why "modern women expectations" are breaking our nervous systems
✔ The sneaky ways perfectionism shows up as protection (and how to heal it)
✔ Feminine leadership vs hustle culture and how to know which one you're operating from
✔ The dance between masculine + feminine energy in business, motherhood, and relationships
✔ How to reclaim your energy and channel it into what actually matters

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Perfectionism isn't who you are, it's a survival strategy. 

2️⃣ Your body holds the truth of what you desire.
3️⃣ Feminine leadership isn't about being "soft." It's about desire, power, and creation with masculine structure to support it.
4️⃣ Burnout isn't inevitable. When you unsubscribe from the pressure, you make space for wealth, pleasure, and sustainable success.

Why It Matters

If you keep hustling to meet impossible standards, you'll stay stuck in survival: burned out, resentful, and secretly Googling "is it normal to fantasize about getting the flu just to rest?"

But when you start leading from your truth (not someone else's rules), you reclaim your energy, soften into your feminine, and finally create success without self-sacrifice. This is how you scale your business, enjoy your family, and build a legacy you actually want to live.

This Episode Is For You If…

✔️ You feel like you're doing all the things, but never enough

✔️  You've checked every box, yet still don't feel fulfilled

✔️  You're tired of burning out but scared to slow down

✔️  You're craving a business and life that feel aligned, joyful, and true to YOU

Brooke Jean is a therapist turned truth-teller, speaker, and founder of Unperfected® — a brand and methodology that helps high-achieving, anxious women drop the pressure and rise in their power. Through nervous system work, somatic practices, and identity alchemy, she guides women to heal perfectionism, reconnect with their bodies, and live a wildly alive, unapologetic life. Whether she's leading a corporate training, dancing barefoot at a retreat, or dropping soul truth on The Unperfected Pod, Brooke brings a rare blend of psychological depth, real-world leadership, and raw, unfiltered heart. Her mission: help women stop performing and start creating from their truth.

Links + Resources

Find Brooke on IG: @brookejeanunperfected

Listen to The Unperfected Pod + learn more at liveunperfected.com

FREE LIBERATION: From Pressure to POWER Masterclass

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 9-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

If you've ever pushed through exhaustion with another cup of coffee, ignored your period cramps to meet a deadline, or worn "busy" like a badge of honor, you're not alone. 

You want the thriving business and the thriving body, but right now it feels like success is costing you your health.

This week's guest, Charlène Gisèle, knows that story all too well. Once a high-powered attorney sleeping less than three hours a night, she hit full-blown burnout before discovering how to rebuild her life from the inside out. And her story is a roadmap for every ambitious woman who's ready to succeed without sacrificing her body.

In this powerful conversation, Charlène and I uncover what burnout really is (hint: it's not just being tired) and how women can recover before hitting rock bottom. We talk about the signs of burnout in women, the hidden ways our nervous system and hormones reveal when we're out of alignment, and how nervous system regulation and cycle syncing can become your greatest business advantage.

Charlène shares her journey from workaholic to high-performance coach, offering science-backed and deeply feminine strategies to protect your energy and create sustainable success. If you've ever wondered how to keep growing your business without burning out, this episode is your wake-up call.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

🌿 The three D's of burnout that most women ignore until it's too late
😴 How Charlène went from chronic insomnia and anxiety to reclaiming her vitality
💡 Why "awareness is a gift" (and the first step to lasting change)
🔥 The surprising truth about ambition, addiction, and why women burn out
🗓 Practical ways to integrate cycle syncing even in corporate jobs

1️⃣ Burnout doesn't happen overnight: it builds quietly through ignored signals like fatigue, anxiety, and irregular cycles.
2️⃣ "Awareness is a gift." Simply noticing your patterns is enough to start change.
3️⃣ Your body is not an inconvenience: it's the foundation of your creativity, ideas, and sustainable performance.
4️⃣ Recovery doesn't require drastic changes overnight. Small, consistent shifts (like meditation, nourishing food, or mindful breaks) compound over time.
5️⃣ You can achieve big goals without living in hustle mode, success is possible without sacrificing your health.

Because staying stuck in hustle culture comes at a cost: your energy, your health, and the very life you're working so hard to build. If you don't shift, burnout will rob you of your impact, your income, and your joy. But when you learn to listen to your body, regulate your nervous system, and sync your work with your natural rhythms, you unlock more freedom, creativity, and energy than you thought possible.

💼 You're ambitious but exhausted, constantly wondering how to keep up without burning out.
😑 You've hit the "meh" stage in life going through the motions instead of feeling lit up.
💃 You're ready to build sustainable success without sacrificing your health, hormones, or happiness.
🛑 You've tried the productivity hacks, but you still feel like you're running on fumes.
🌸 You want practical, science-backed tools to prevent burnout and feel more alive in your body.

Press play now and discover how to finally recover from burnout and create success that lasts.

👉 Want more on building a business that supports your body? Check out How to Align Your Business with Your Cycle and Breaking Free from Hustle Culture on the blog.

"Awareness is a gift. If the only thing that you gain today from listening to us both is awareness, that's enough." Charlène Gisèle

Charlène Gisèle is a former Big Law attorney turned High-Performance Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist. She helps high-achieving professionals recover from burnout and optimize their vitality through nervous system regulation, subconscious mindset work, and science-backed tools for sustainable performance.

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

The online business space can feel like walking through a carnival funhouse. One moment you're dazzled by shiny promises of "six figures in six weeks," and the next you're clutching your wallet wondering if you've just been sold snake oil in a Canva PDF.

If you've ever felt the ick of marketing that doesn't match the delivery, or wondered whether you're "enough" to share your gifts yet, you're going to feel so seen in this conversation with Emily Russell.

Episode Summary

In this juicy episode, I sit down with Emily Russell to talk about what's really happening in the online coaching world. We talk about the icky marketing tactics that make your skin crawl, how to stay rooted in integrity while running a profitable business, and why imposter syndrome keeps so many brilliant women stuck on the sidelines.

If you've ever questioned whether your voice matters or if you're "ready" to share your work, this conversation will remind you that you don't need another certification to start changing lives. You need courage, integrity, and a little bit of humility along the way.

What You'll Hear in This Episode 

✔️ The truth about the "ick factor" in online business (and how to spot it before you invest)

✔️ Why some coaches market well but fail to deliver results (and how to avoid becoming one of them)

✔️The human craving for belonging and how that plays out in communities, cults, and coaching spaces

✔️ The difference between leading with integrity vs. creating a facade of success

✔️ How to know when you're ready to share your gifts (hint: you already are)

✔️ The fine line between confidence, humility, and delusion in business growth

✔️ Integrity matters more than hype. Marketing might sell, but authenticity and delivery build longevity.

✔️ Belonging is a human need but awareness keeps you from slipping into "us vs. them" dynamics.

✔️ You don't have to be at the top of the mountain to guide someone else up the trail.

✔️ Imposter syndrome keeps you waiting for "one more certification" but your gifts are too valuable to hide.

✔️ Believe you're the best while staying humble enough to receive feedback. That's where growth happens.

Too many women (maybe you included) downplay their brilliance because they don't want to be seen as salesy, pushy, or fake. But hiding your gifts serves no one.

You miss opportunities, your future clients miss out on the transformation only you can deliver, and you stay stuck second-guessing yourself instead of creating the freedom-filled business you crave.

The truth is, your imperfect, integrity-filled leadership is exactly what the industry needs right now.

This Episode Is For You If…

✔️ You're tired of cringy online marketing tactics and want to build a business in alignment.

✔️ You're a coach or entrepreneur who's been wondering if you're "ready" yet.

✔️ You've invested in programs that over-promised and under-delivered.

✔️ You crave a business model that energizes you instead of draining you.

✔️ You want to learn how to discern what's real vs. what's hype in the online space.

Meet Emily

Emily Evans Russell is a single mom, 6-figure business owner, and an Intuitive Life Coach & Breathwork Facilitator. She helps women master their nervous systems so they can create businesses that energize rather than deplete them. Because a woman who feels fully alive and present creates impact everywhere she goes. Emily brings mastery in trauma-informed breathwork, somatic practices, and energy healing to create profound transformation. She holds her master's degree in teaching and has trained in breathwork, hypnotherapy, reiki, and yoga. She has also been a facilitator of seminars around the world in consciousness, energy and mindset for over 10 years.

Connect with Emily 

✨ Grab Emily's free gift here → emilyevansrussell.com/experience

✨ Follow her on Instagram: @emilyevansrussell

✨ Check out her podcast: Shift Your Vibe to Thrive

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

You know that feeling when you've been running so hard that suddenly… your body, your brain, and even your bank account are like: nope, we're done? Burnout isn't just a buzzword, it's a full-body STOP sign.

And yet, most women entrepreneurs keep pushing through because they think rest equals failure. My guest today, Kelly Brock, knows this story all too well. After building multiple six-figure businesses, she hit burnout again, this time with kids, employees, and a whole lot of expectations weighing on her shoulders.

What she discovered in that breakdown is exactly what we're talking about today: the seasons of business, how to actually enjoy the present moment, and why authenticity is the only strategy that never goes out of style.

Episode Summary

In this refreshingly honest episode of the Cycle Advantage Podcast, Kelly Brock and I talk about the real cost of hustle culture. Kelly shares her journey of walking away from a thriving business, taking a social media sabbatical, and rediscovering what presence, pleasure, and alignment really look like as a CEO, mom, and woman.

If you've ever felt stuck on the hamster wheel of bigger goals, higher revenue, and non-stop content creation, this conversation is your permission slip to breathe. We dive into the natural rhythms of business, why building around your "summer season" is a trap, and how authenticity will always be your most magnetic asset.

✔️ The hidden danger of building your entire business on your "summer energy" 

✔️ Why burnout is more than exhaustion: it's a sign you're out of alignment

✔️ How a social media sabbatical revealed Kelly's hidden attachment to dopamine + validation

✔️ The surprising link between presence, prosperity, and play

✔️ Why you cannot automate authenticity (and what to do instead)

✔️ Seasons of business are just as real as the seasons of the year

✔️ Presence is a practice. If you can't enjoy today, you'll miss the very life you're working so hard to create.

✔️ Authenticity vibrates higher than perfectly curated content. Connection beats curation every time.

✔️ Burnout isn't failure, it's feedback. Let the "dark night" refine you instead of rushing past it.

If you're in a season where growth feels slow (or like everything's falling apart), this episode is your reminder: nothing is wasted. Every season: spring, summer, fall, winter serves a purpose.

You don't need to keep proving yourself by hitting bigger numbers. You don't need to show up online 24/7. And you definitely don't need to burn yourself down to build yourself back up.

Your worth isn't tied to your revenue. Your value isn't measured in likes. And when you stop chasing "more," you'll finally have space to receive what you actually want: freedom, presence, and overflow.

➡️ You're feeling the sting of burnout (again) and wondering how to climb out

➡️ You've been comparing yourself to mentors or peers in a totally different season of life

➡️ You've ever felt addicted to social media validation and craved a break

➡️ You want to build a business that supports your whole life not just your highlight reel

Meet Kelly

Kelly Brock is an entrepreneur and CEO of Kelly Brock Co., a coaching company that empowers women to live out authentic and abundant lives. From self-leadership and intuition development to branding and sales, Kelly coaches women to define the life they desire and equips them with the tools they need to make it their reality.

Connect with Kelly

Website

Personal Instagram

Business Instagram

Guide Not Guru Podcast

Work with Kelly

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

You've read the books. You've followed the strategies. You've checked every box the "experts" told you to. And yet… your business still feels heavier than it should.

If you've ever wondered whether you're doing something wrong (spoiler: you're not), today's conversation is going to feel like a warm exhale.

In this episode of The Cycle Advantage, I sit down with Jillian Dolberry to talk about what it really takes to build a business rooted in alignment, not hustle.

We dig into the messy middle of entrepreneurship: unlearning outdated rules, finding your values, releasing internal pressure, and creating systems that honor both your body and your business. If you've been craving permission to grow with peace over pressure, this one is for you.

✔️ How to unlearn the "rules of business" you've inherited and create ones that actually fit you

✔️ Why pressure isn't always a good motivator (and what to choose instead)

✔️ How to give yourself permission to move things on your calendar without guilt

✔️ The surprising connection between personal healing and business growth

✔️ Why peace and pleasure may be your most untapped business strategies

➡️ Curiosity is powerful. Asking "why am I feeling this way?" can reveal patterns and programming you didn't know were running the show.

➡️ Peace overrides pressure. Sustainable growth doesn't come from hustling harder: it comes from aligning your work with your energy.

➡️ Your body always counts. Burnout doesn't have to scream at you before you pay attention. Honor the signals early.

➡️ Unlearning is as important as learning. What worked for someone else (or your parents in the '90s) may not work for you now and that's okay.

➡️ Permission creates power. Moving tasks, slowing down, and working from joy can unlock more magnetism than forcing yourself forward.

If you've been white-knuckling your way through business, telling yourself that hustle = success, this conversation is your reminder: you don't have to earn success by suffering for it.

Your future self, the one who's working fewer hours, attracting aligned clients, and enjoying her life is built on different rules. 

This Episode Is For You If…

✨ You're exhausted from "doing all the right things" but not seeing results

✨ You're constantly comparing your progress to other entrepreneurs

✨ You want permission to rest, slow down, and still be wildly successful

✨ You crave systems that support you instead of suffocate you

✨ You want to believe in yourself again (and need someone to remind you it's possible)

Meet Jillian

Jillian Dolberry is an Ops Consultant and Team Strategist for women entrepreneurs and host of The Grace-Filled CEO Podcast. In addition to devoting her heart and time to her family, she helps busy women honor their values and find consistent grace while trying to leave every business better than she found it. Jillian has become a master of setting up boundaries, streamlined systems, Increasing profit from the inside out, and navigating hard conversations with her "honor everyone in the room" approach.

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

Your business isn't stalled because you're lazy. It's stalled because you're waiting until you "look professional" enough to show up or you're stuck in the self-help hamster wheel, journaling on your limiting beliefs but avoiding the scary action that actually moves the needle.

Sound familiar? (Yeah, me too.)

That's exactly what Kimberly Spencer and I dive into in this juicy, real-talk episode.

Episode Summary:
Kimberly Spencer, an award-winning coach, TEDx speaker, and bestselling author joined me to unravel the three big traps ambitious women fall into: perfection disguised as professionalism, ignoring the natural cycles of business, and hiding in personal development instead of taking action.

This conversation will remind you that your business isn't meant to be linear, polished, or perfect. It's meant to evolve with you messy bun, winter seasons, limiting beliefs and all.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

➡️ Why "professional" often means procrastinating and what professionalism actually is

➡️ How to recognize the season your business is in (and stop shaming yourself for it)

➡️ The sneaky way personal development can keep you stuck instead of moving forward

➡️ Why courageous, imperfect action is always more powerful than waiting to feel ready

➡️ How aligning with your natural rhythms creates momentum without burnou

Key Takeaways:

✅ Professionalism is an energy, not a polished backdrop or blazer.

✅ Business moves in cycles: spring, summer, fall, winter and each has value.

✅ Limiting beliefs don't need to be "cleared", they just need to be acknowledged so you can act anyway.

✅ The most magnetic leaders aren't perfect (they're authentic, courageous, and consistent with their commitments)

Why It Matters:

The cost of staying stuck in these traps is huge. You waste energy trying to look the part, you shame yourself for natural slowdowns, and you keep telling yourself you're "working on your mindset" while avoiding the actions that would actually bring in clients.

The future version of you isn't waiting to feel polished, healed, or ready…she's showing up courageously, honoring her seasons, and taking aligned action even with fear in the room.

This Episode is For You If…

✅ You've been waiting until things "look professional" to take action.

✅ You're in a slow season and worried it means you're failing.

✅ You've done all the mindset work but still feel stuck. 

✅ You want your business to feel more cyclical, natural, and aligned. 

✅ You're ready to lead with authenticity and courage instead of perfection.

Meet Kimberly

Kimberly Spencer is an award-winning high-performance, trauma-informed coach and trainer, Amazon best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and the founder of CrownYourself.com, helping visionary leaders transform their self-limiting stories, build their empire, stand out fearlessly, and make the income and the impact they deserve.

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

Have you ever felt like you had to shrink yourself just to "fit" into the room?

Like the louder, bolder, more buttoned-up version of you is the only one allowed to succeed in certain spaces?

You're not alone, and my guest today proves that the exact opposite is true.

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Cycle Advantage Podcast, I sit down with Emily Apollonio, founder of Interstellar Performance Labs and the architect of the STAR Program. Emily's real breakthrough didn't come from another credential, certification, or degree. It came from choosing to fully embody her authentic self (yes, fringe sleeves, glitter, and all).

If you've ever wrestled with self-doubt, hustling for validation, or wondering if you're "too much" in your work or business, this conversation will light a fire under you.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

➡️ The surprising truth about female leadership in aerospace and what it's really like for women in male-dominated industries.

➡️ Why self-awareness is more powerful than stacking credentials (and how it shapes your influence as a leader).

➡️ Emily's journey from aircraft accident investigator to spaceflight analog missions (yes, training like astronauts on Earth!).

➡️ How embracing her cycle and feminine leadership traits helped Emily ditch burnout and lead with confidence.

Key Takeaways

✅ Authenticity is magnetic. When you show up as your true self, you actually gain credibility, not lose it.

✅ Self-awareness beats another degree. Real leadership starts with knowing yourself, not just collecting titles.

✅ Your femininity is an asset, not a liability. Traits like communication, connection, and intuition are desperately needed in high-stakes industries.

✅ Burnout isn't required. Cycle syncing and feminine rhythms can help you thrive even in high-pressure environments.

✅ Confidence is built like muscle. Strength in one area of life ripples into every other part of who you are.

Why It Matters

If you're tired of hustling for worthiness, working harder, chasing validation, or wondering when you'll finally feel like enough, this episode is your reminder: you don't have to prove yourself through exhaustion.

Authentic, feminine leadership isn't just "allowed" in male-dominated spaces… it's the revolution we've been waiting for. Emily's story proves that you can be playful and powerful, feminine and fierce, glitter-loving and grounded and still command the respect of your industry.

This Episode Is for You If…

➡️ You're a woman in a male-dominated field (or online space) who's tired of proving herself.

➡️ You're craving permission to show up fully as YOU without the mask, without the hustle.

➡️ You've ever thought "Do I need another certification just to be taken seriously?"

➡️ You're curious about how cycle syncing can create more ease, productivity, and confidence.

➡️ You're ready to stop dimming your light and start leading with your full brilliance.

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

If you've ever thought "What's wrong with me? Why can't I just handle this like everyone else?"... this one's for you.

Because nothing's wrong with you.

You're not "too emotional." You're not lazy for wanting more freedom in your schedule. And you're definitely not broken because hustle culture makes you want to burn it all down.

This week on The Cycle Advantage Podcast, I sat down with Jessica Steele, a former high school principal who walked away from a picture-perfect career to become a leadership and energetic alignment coach.

We went all in on the conversations most people avoid…the ones about humanity, emotional intelligence, and what it really takes to lead without losing yourself.

We live in a world that celebrates doing over being, reacting over pausing, and "leaving your feelings at the door" like that's a badge of honor.

But suppressing your emotions doesn't make you stronger; it disconnects you from yourself. And when you're disconnected from yourself, it's impossible to lead with clarity, empathy, or confidence.

Jess and I talked about what happens when you finally stop trying to fit into a life you never consciously chose… and start creating one that actually works for you.

➡️ How Jess climbed the career ladder without ever stopping to ask if it was her ladder to climb

➡️ The turning point moment that made her question everything she thought she wanted

➡️ The cost of living by society's script (and why so many women don't realize they're doing it)

➡️ The difference between reacting to a trigger and carrying someone else's energy

➡️ A simple question that can diffuse almost any emotional outburst

➡️ Why pausing before reacting will change your relationships at home and at work

➡️ The role of meditation, stillness, and nervous system regulation in leadership

➡️ How to raise kids who see differences as normal and humanity as non-negotiable

✅ Your emotions are data, not flaws. Anger, fear, sadness… they're all information. When you learn to sit with them instead of suppressing them, you stop making decisions from a triggered place.

✅ Ask yourself: "What's true for me right now?" That tiny pause between feeling and reacting can be the difference between a fight and a productive conversation.

✅ Lead yourself first. You can't offer empathy, clarity, or grounded leadership to others if you haven't practiced it with yourself.

If you've been living on autopilot, following rules that were never meant for you, and measuring success by someone else's yardstick, you will burn out.

Not because you're weak, but because you're human.

And humans need connection, stillness, and space to breathe. When you reclaim your humanity and lead from that place, you don't just create better results… you create a better life.

➡️ You're tired of white-knuckling your way through work and life

➡️ You want to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting instantly

➡️ You've been told emotions don't belong in leadership (and you're ready to call BS)

➡️ You're craving inner alignment before another strategy, hack, or to-do list item

➡️ You want to model emotional intelligence and empathy for the next generation

Meet Jessica

Jessica Steele is a leadership and energetic alignment coach who's spent nearly two decades transforming lives through purpose-driven leadership. With a background in psychology, secondary education, and instructional design, she's served as a high school principal and held various leadership roles, all while staying rooted in her mission to empower others.

Her journey hasn't been linear—it's been guided by intuition, soulful pivots, and a deep trust in her inner knowing. From one-on-one and small group coaching sessions to large-scale PD for schools and organizations and launching the Dear Jess app and The Empowered Educator Series, Jess continues to merge strategy with soul to elevate leaders from the inside out.

A published author, passionate creative, and devoted student of energy, Jess brings empathy, alignment, and authenticity into every space she enters. Whether she's coaching, hiking in nature, or creating tools for conscious leadership, she leads with love—and lives with intention.

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

Have you ever been halfway through a decision and thought,
"Wait… is this even my choice, or am I just doing what I should?"

That's where this conversation is going today.

Because if you've been feeling pulled in a million directions, chasing everyone else's expectations, and secretly wondering why you can't just trust yourself… it's not because you're broken. It's because you've been trained (since you were tiny) to put everyone's opinions above your own.

Today, I'm sitting down with Jessica Frew…wife, ex-wife, stepmom, and certified BOLD action taker to talk about how to ditch the "shoulds," make confident, conscious decisions, and live in a way that actually feels good (not just looks good on Instagram).

She's here to help you stop overthinking, people pleasing, and endlessly justifying your choices and start owning your voice.

✔ How to tell if you're living from your truth or from decades of conditioning

✔ Why most women don't actually know what brings them joy (and how to figure it out)

✔ The sneaky ways we pass "shoulds" down to our kids without realizing it

✔ How to navigate other people's opinions without losing yourself in the process

✔ The decision-making framework Jessica swears by (and why it works for any life choice)

✔ How to shift from "What will people think?" to "What do I really want?"

✔ Your worth isn't up for debate (stop proving it and start living it.)

✔ Every decision is just information (not right, not wrong, just feedback.)

✔ Small self-honoring choices matter (it's not about spa days, it's about the tiny daily actions that make you feel good.)

✔ You can hold boundaries kindly (respecting your needs and others' feelings isn't mutually exclusive.)

✔ Your conditioning isn't your destiny (you can rewrite your beliefs and how you show up, starting now.)

Because staying in the land of "should" costs you everything: your energy, your joy, your health, and your sense of self.

When you learn to make decisions from alignment (not fear of judgment), you stop second-guessing, you move faster toward what you want, and you actually enjoy the process.

Imagine walking into any situation whether it's a business opportunity, a parenting choice, or even just a Friday night plan and knowing exactly what's right for you. That's what's on the other side of this work.

✔ You constantly second-guess your choices (and replay them in your head for days)

✔ You feel like you're living your life on other people's terms

✔ You want to make confident decisions without the mental tug-of-war

✔ You're tired of wondering "What will they think?" every time you do something for yourself

✔ You want to model self-trust and confidence for your kids

✔ Grab Jessica's book: Shove Your Shoulds: Become a Decision Making Badass and Live the Bold Life You Deserve

✔ Connect with Jessica on Instagram: @jessicafrew

Meet Jessica

Jessica Frew is a wife, ex-wife, mom, stepmom, and BOLD action taker. She believes that you find true peace, connection and confidence by making your next best decision. Jessica helps you make clear, confident, and concise decisions to lead a BOLD life that is in alignment with who you were created to be while leaving behind overthinking, people pleasing, and the need to justify your decisions through her proven Be.Be.Be Decision Making Formula.

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.

Ever feel like your life is one big, safe bubble…
…and yet there's this whisper in your soul saying, "There's more"?

That's exactly where Whitney Joy found herself before she walked away from her husband, her house, and her career in one single day.

No backup plan.
No safety net.
Just seven blank passport pages and a decision to rewrite her life entirely.

This conversation is an open permission slip to any woman standing on the edge of change whether you're about to leap, have just been pushed, or are clinging to the railing wondering what's next.

Whitney and I dive into what it really takes to shed old identities, face the unknown, and step into a version of yourself you haven't met yet (but she's going to blow your mind).

In this episode of The Cycle Advantage Podcast, Whitney Joy shares her wild, raw, and soul-stretching journey from adrenaline sports and luxury events… to solo world travel, spiritual transformation, and motherhood.

We unpack:

✔️ The identity shifts we face in motherhood, career pivots, and big life changes.

✔️ Why fear of the unknown keeps so many women stuck and how to dance with it instead of hide from it.

✔️ The sneaky ways we cling to our old selves (and how to lovingly let them go).

✔️ Why your next evolution might not look anything like you think and why that's beautiful.

If you've been craving change but clinging to comfort, this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

✨ The moment Whitney walked away from "the perfect life" in 24 hours.

✨ How seven blank passport pages became her roadmap to reinvention.

✨ Why your ego is not the enemy (it just needs better boundaries).

✨ The myth of "getting back to your old self" (and why she's gone for good).

✨How to shift from fearing change to playing with possibility.

Key Takeaways You Can Implement Today

✨ Change isn't the villain. It's the portal to your next chapter if you let it be.

✨ Fear of the unknown shrinks when you zoom out. The "worst case scenario" usually has about 57 detours before it gets there.

✨ Permission is an inside job. No mentor, spouse, or Instagram guru can give it to you.

✨ You're not starting over you're evolving. Pieces of your old self come with you, just in a new shape.

Why It Matters

If you've been sitting on that metaphorical porch, whining on the nail (yep, we went there), this episode might just be the nudge to get up.

Your "safe" bubble might be fine… but fine is not where your soul catches fire.

Whitney's story is proof that you can blow up the script you were handed, start fresh, and create something wildly better even if you have no idea what that looks like yet.

This Episode Is for You If...

✔️ You're feeling stuck in a life that looks "good on paper" but feels flat inside.

✔️ You're navigating a big transition: career, relationships, motherhood, identity.

✔️ You're afraid of change but more afraid of staying the same.

✔️ You've been waiting for someone to tell you it's okay to leap.

Meet Whitney Joy

A midwestern-born, adrenaline-sports athlete and seasoned mountain climber, turned solo-travel, spiritual philanthropist, Author Whitney Joy has lived many lives in many worlds including Wisconsin, Colorado, Copenhagen, Paris, New Zealand, and San Francisco.

With a dynamic background in marketing, business strategy, gemology, and luxury events, Whitney has always been passionate about bringing people together and creating lasting connections through shared experiences.

In recent years, Whitney has turned her attention inward, diving into the realms of spirituality, personal growth and transformation. She wrote Seven Blank Pages as a permission slip to her younger self, but it turned into a compass for anyone standing on the edge. It inspires readers to embrace change, follow their hearts, and discover the magic that we are all capable of.

Whitney now lives in Austin, TX with her husband and two young children, and works as an author and inspirational speaker.

If you would like to learn more, see Whitney speak, or invite her to your speaking event, readers can get in touch with her via: her website whitneyjoy.com, email at [email protected], or follow her on social media @whitneyjoywrites.

If you're a coach, healer, or feminine leader scaling to $10K–$20K months and tired of hustle-based strategies, here's your next step…

✔ Apply for Your Cycle Advantage:

A 6-week business planning program that teaches female entrepreneurs how to create a cycle-synced business strategy, build consistent $10K months, and grow without burnout.

For the woman ready for aligned business planning, feminine CEO leadership, and sustainable income growth…

✔ Join the Flow Collective Mastermind:

A high-level mastermind for women entrepreneurs scaling to $20K+ months using cycle syncing, feminine business strategy, wealth energetics, and embodied leadership

For those cycle curious and ready to get started with understanding your body and its impact on your income and business…

✔ Grab Your Free Cycle Sync Your Business Book:

A guide to planning your coaching business around your menstrual cycle. Designed for women ready to stop hustling and start syncing for more impact, income, and ease.