Work stress doesn't always stay at work. It follows you into dinner, into conversations with your partner, into time with your kids, and into the moments when you're technically off, but your brain is still running with 47 tabs open, thinking about all your unfinished tasks.

Today's guest, Clarity Coach Samantha Hawley, is here to talk about how to stop letting work stress bleed into the rest of your life by getting underneath the expectations that are creating it in the first place. Samantha shares a simple journaling process you can use to get out of problem-solving mode and make choices based on what works for you instead of what you think you're supposed to be doing.

In this episode:

• Why work stress follows you home instead of staying at your desk
• Getting underneath the expectations, pressure, and "shoulds" driving your stress
• The "dropping all the balls" feeling and why it's so common
• A journaling process for getting out of problem-solving mode

Beyond Awareness (formerly Journal Entries) — Samantha's podcast for successful women in leadership and business who know exactly what they need to do but can't make themselves do it. Listen on Spotify.

Calm Mind Blueprint - A free guide with 5 strategic journal prompts to help overwhelmed women clear mental load so they can make confident decisions and feel inner peace.

The Gutsy Moves Challenge — a five-day live challenge running September 21st–25th to help you stop spinning in indecision and get clear on the goal you've been putting off. 

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I've got a little challenge for you today. I want to hear your big, wild, audacious goal or idea that you can't stop thinking about. I'm talking about the idea you have a secret Pinterest board for, the one you find yourself smiling about when no one's around.

You've put in the work, you've gained the knowledge, you've completed a chapter, and you have what you need to take this next step forward. Where the disarray and the frustration and the feeling like a bag of turds comes from is when we ignore that rumble for too long, when we tell ourselves we need more planning before we're allowed to claim it.

Today's Powerback® is about playing in the space of what if. What if you actually went for it? I talk you through why it's only wild and audacious until it's your regular life, and why owning that thing in the first place is what makes that shift possible.

It's time, friend. This goal is rumbling because you're ready, so take your Powerback® and go claim it.

We'll go through:

• Why the "rumble" you keep feeling is a sign you're ready, not a problem to fix
• The difference between gathering more information and actually making a decision
• My own story of daydreaming about speaking and coaching for years before making the leap
• Why claiming a goal often speeds things up in ways that feel uncomfortable

Gutsy Moves Challenge — A live, 5-day challenge happening September 21–25, 2026, built to help you make the moves you can't stop thinking about but keep putting off. It's an hour a day, $49, and I’m in the chat with you all week long. 

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You can build a business, lead a team, handle pressure, and usually figure shit out. So why does dating or love feel so much harder? 

Today's guest, Laura Nagiel, is a dating and confidence coach and the creator of the DREAM Framework, the method she's used to help high-achieving women find the one. We're talking dating, perfectionism, control, receiving, and all the ways ambitious women unintentionally recreate the same exhausting patterns, not just in work, but in love too. 

But if you dig deeper, this conversation isn't really about dating or your current relationship at all. It’s more about  your relationship with yourself. Self-trust, letting go of control, and being willing to ask yourself some pretty uncomfortable questions about what you actually want and whether you're creating space to receive it. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why high-achieving women struggle with dating even when they excel everywhere else
• The link between perfectionism, control, and people-pleasing in relationships
• How childhood patterns quietly shape adult relationship habits
• What it means to become a "match" for the relationship you want
• Why receiving (love, help, support, time)  is the real common denominator

DREAM Framework — Laura Nagiel's signature six-month coaching program guiding high-achieving women through discovery, healing, and strategy to find a committed, high-value partner. 

Auralign Mastermind — My high-touch coaching space for women who are ready to stop depleting themselves for everyone else and start building a business and life that actually works for them. 

Clarity Session — A casual, no-pressure call with me to talk through what's going on and figure out your right next move.

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Every single person I work with comes to me because I said the thing they needed to hear. I called it for what it was and helped them find the solution to finally fix it.

Today I'm handing you four unfiltered things I've said to my clients that ended up growing their business: slow the fuck down, get rid of an offer, ditch the framework, and talk like you, not your old boss. 

I'm not going to pretend any of this is comfortable to hear. It wasn't easy for me to learn how to say these things out loud either, and it's not always easy to receive them. But if you've been busting your ass and still feel like something's missing, or you've got momentum but it feels heavy and off, that's your sign. 

Let this be the episode that gets you out of your own way, so you can take your Powerback® and finally build the business you want to be building.

We’ll go through:

• Why slowing the fuck down is the fastest way to actually speed things up
• The offer you're holding onto that needs to go
• Why frameworks are textbooks to learn from, not blueprints to follow
• Talking like you instead of your old boss

Clarity Session — a casual, no-pressure conversation with me to figure out what's really going on and get clear on your next right move. 

The Gutsy Collective —my community for driven women making gutsy moves in their lives and businesses. 

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There are seasons in life when everything looks fine, but doesn’t feel quite right. It's not that you're ungrateful or that anything's necessarily wrong, but something inside of you keeps saying there's more. 

Today's guest, Katie Pulsifer, is a master certified life coach and creator of the Golden Coaching Certification. With over 13 years of experience, Katie has trained thousands of coaches and guided high-achieving women out of overwhelm and people pleasing and into clarity, self-trust, and purpose. 

We're talking about that ache for more, why so many women feel stuck even when life looks good on the outside, and how we've gotten so practiced at knowing what everyone else needs that we've lost touch with what we want. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The ache for more and what it actually feels like
• Signs you're stuck even when life looks good on paper
• The guilt passed down through generations
• Questioning what you've always considered "normal"
• Katie's own story of rebuilding a life that reflects who she actually is
• Reclaiming self-trust, your voice, and your purpose

Golden Life Coaching Certification — Katie's heart-led coach certification program, built on 13+ years of coaching and training thousands of coaches: 

Clarity Session — If this conversation hit home, this is the next right step. It's a casual conversation with me to figure out your next gutsy move. 

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If you want to take your business to the next level, you have got to give yourself space to do it. 

Your routine is set in stone, but maybe you have a new idea, trying to grow through the cracks like a little weed, saying, “hey, look at me!”

I'm in this with you in real time. I've been wanting to write a book for a decade, and this year I finally had to get honest about where all of my creative energy was going, and make room to pour into the book instead. 

That's also why the Gutsy Podcast cadence is changing: we're moving from two episodes a week to one, alternating a guest episode and a Powerback®. It's the same evaluation I walk women through inside Auralign — protecting a sleep schedule, blocking off a CEO day, letting go of commitments that no longer serve.

It's going to feel a little bumpy at first, and you're going to have to hold your new priority sacred and say no to the stuff that used to fill that space. But once you give yourself the room to go deep, the clarity starts pouring in, and that's exactly why it's time to take your Powerback® and start making the space your next level is waiting for.

We'll go through:

• Why cramming your creation time in between meetings keeps your next-level idea stuck
• How to evaluate where your time, energy, and creation are actually going
• Real examples from women inside Auralign making space for their next level
• Why the Gutsy Podcast cadence is changing (and what that means going forward)
• The mindset shift it takes to hold your new priority sacred

LauraAura's book pre-launch list — Follow along behind the scenes as I write my book! 

Auralign Mastermind — My 6-month group coaching experience, the space to work through this same kind of evaluation with support. 

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Do you ever look around at the life you built and think, wait, is this it? Maybe the kids are growing up, your career doesn't fit anymore, your business is evolving, or your relationships are changing. Or maybe you just have this quiet feeling that the version of you who built this life is not the same woman who's meant to build the next chapter. 

Sometimes this gets labeled as a midlife crisis, but what if it's actually just an invitation to do things your own way?

Today's guest, Wendy Valentine, believes that midlife isn't a crisis at all. It's a catalyst. After navigating divorce, menopause, job loss, debt, an empty nest, and a devastating personal loss all at once, she found herself on the bathroom floor, wondering how she would ever rebuild her life. What happened next completely changed the way that she saw herself and what's possible.

In this episode:

• Why midlife isn't a crisis but a catalyst
• Wendy's story: divorce, menopause, job loss, debt, an empty nest, and a devastating loss, all at once
• Grieving the versions of yourself you've outgrown
• Identity, reinvention, and self-trust
• Letting go of who you thought you had to be
• Trusting yourself without having all the answers

Resources from this episode

Women Waking Up: The Midlife Manifesto for Passion, Purpose, and Play — Wendy's book on reinventing midlife using her 7-step FREEDOM method. 

FREEDOM at Midlife — Wendy's signature group coaching program that walks you through her 7-step FREEDOM framework for midlife reinvention. 

The Midlife Makeover Show — Wendy's top-ranked podcast on embracing midlife as a powerful new beginning. 

The Gutsy Collective — My integration space for deepening self-trust, confidence, and making Gutsy moves. 

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You've thought about it long enough, and it's time to make a decision. But right before you make your move, your brain kicks in and turns something simple into something that feels 10,000 times more complicated. 

The problem is you're going outside of yourself for permission, asking everyone and their sisters, brothers, neighbors, and dogs what they think, gathering up opinions like Pokémon cards, until you don't know which end is up anymore. 

Better decisions only come from an internal agreement with yourself. In this Powerback®, I'm walking you through three ways to make better decisions, faster, so you can make gutsy moves you didn't even know you were capable of. 

We’ll go through:

• Getting clear on what you actually want (and what you don't)
• Why waiting until the emotion passes leads to better decisions
• Learning to trust your body's unfiltered truth over your brain's noise

Free Clarity Session — A free 30-minute call to talk through what's going on and figure out your right next move, if you're on the edge of a decision and need help making it.

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Imagine selling a 7-figure company you built from the ground up, without knowing what was next. Could you do it? Could you even let yourself think about it? 

Today's guest, Ilene Kastel, did just that. After 14 years building a mental health counseling practice from nothing, she walked away because, as she puts it, "I just knew what I was doing wasn't it anymore." 

We get into what it actually looks like to leave corporate for reinvention — the self-reliance that replaces hierarchy, the isolation that shows up when collaboration disappears, and the nervous system cues that tell you when you're forcing a decision instead of trusting one. 

I share my own version of this — 20-plus years in branding and marketing, thinking I'd do that until the day I died, and then starting over. Ilene and I both know that feeling of rebuilding competence from scratch, and why doing it inside a community beats doing it alone.

If you're sitting in a corner office wondering if there's something else calling you, by the end of this episode, you'll have real language for what your body's already been telling you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Selling a 7-figure business without knowing what's next
• Golden handcuffs and leaving corporate for reinvention
• Listening to your nervous system as a business skill
• Calculated risk vs. burning it all down
• Undoing corporate habits in business ownership
• Isolation, community, and finding your people
• Imposter syndrome and comparison
• The real-life logistics of a big pivot

Mindfully Modern Collective — Ilene's coaching practice, offering one-on-one coaching, breathwork journeys, half-day intensives, and retreats.

Auralign Mastermind — If you're pivoting your business focus, taking your growth to the next level, and ready to build your next chapter your way, Auralign is where you get the support as you make those moves. 

🎙️ Subscribe & Review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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There's a move you're ready to make, and you've been doing everything except taking the actual action to do it. 

You can feel it coming. You know what you want to do, but doesn't it feel better to go outside yourself first, to other people, and get their opinions before you commit?

That's what we're talking about today: the three ways you're looking for permission instead of taking action. Permission feels comfortable because it spreads the responsibility around, but the only responsibility you actually have right now is fulfilling the promise you made to yourself.

I'm not going to pretend this is comfortable. Change is going to feel scary and uncertain because you've never done this particular thing before, but friend, you do not need permission to go after the things you know are right for you.

Validation doesn't create confidence — your action does! So take your Powerback®, take a deep breath, and go do the one thing you've been dancing around.

We’ll go through:

• The habit of collecting opinions instead of making a decision
• The "one more thing" trap that keeps moving your finish line
• Consuming more than you're creating

The Gutsy Collective — The community I built for women making bold moves, including the many women I've walked alongside through divorce. When you're navigating something this big, you don't have to do it alone. This is the place to make your next gutsy move with women who will celebrate the chaos with you and help you find your way through.

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Support the show

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https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970