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

📲 Follow LauraAura on TikTok: @ThatLauraAura

🔥 Join The Gutsy Collective: Learn More

💡 Work with LauraAura: www.LauraAura.com

Connect with Ilene Kastel

Facebook  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

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.

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

I was a totally normal person yesterday, so why did I wake up today feeling like I can't do anything, and I want to burn it all down? We call that PMS, we call it hormonal, and usually we say it like it's an insult.

Today's guest, Dr. Aumatma, is straddling two worlds right now. She's taking her work in fertility and expanding it into leadership, and after I dug into her work and watched her TEDx talk, I knew I had to get her on the show. She and I talk about hustle culture, and why working against your hormones instead of with them is exactly what's driving the burnout and fatigue so many women are living with day to day. 

She makes the case for reclaiming "I am hormonal" as power instead of an apology, and we get into what it looks like to plan your life, your energy, and your work around your cycle instead of a 24-hour clock that was never built for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Working against your hormones vs. working with them
• The masculine "push" culture vs. a 28-day cycle
• Reclaiming "I am hormonal" as your power
• Migraines, headaches, and the weight of the world
• Receiving support without losing yourself
• The Silence Methodology, step by step

Dr. Aumatma's TEDx Talk  — If you want to go deeper on working from a place of safety instead of fight-or-flight, you must listen to this TED talk.

Holistic Fertility Institute — Dr. Aumatma's practice, where she's guided thousands of women through fertility support that works with their hormones instead of against them.

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

📲 Follow LauraAura on TikTok: @ThatLauraAura

🔥 Join The Gutsy Collective: Learn More

💡 Work with LauraAura: www.LauraAura.com

Connect with Dr. Aumatma Simmons

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Youtube  |  Web

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

If you're cramming your calendar full of little things to avoid the deeper work you know you need to do, this one's for you.

What I've seen over and over again with ambitious women is that busy isn't just a calendar problem but an identity problem. You've tied your worth to how much you're doing and how fast you're going for so long that slowing down feels dangerous. Like you're falling behind or even falling apart!

But what if busy is actually the thing keeping you from the breakthrough you keep saying you want?

In this Powerback®, I'm talking about why we stay stuck in execution mode, what it costs us to keep cramming surface-level work into every crack of our day, and how strategically slowing down is the thing that speeds everything up. 

Busy is a safety mechanism. Busy feels productive. And busy is also what's standing between you and the business and life that you actually want.

Take your Powerback® and let's flip the script on busy.

We'll go through:

• Why being busy feels productive, but it’s a trap
• The difference between doing the work and cramming the work
• What it really means to slow down 
• How to identify what actually needs your time and attention most
• Practical ways to start introducing white space into your days

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.

Free Clarity Session — If you're curious about Auralign or just want to talk through where you're at and what your next move looks like, book a free Clarity Session with me.

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

At the end of 15 years, she felt like a husk of a person. She’d spent so long living for who she thought she was supposed to be that she'd lost track of who she actually was. That's the story today’s guest brings into this conversation, and it's one a lot of women are quietly living.

Thomai Roi is known as the divorce doula for accomplished women. She helps women remember who they are and rebuild their lives before, during, and after divorce. What I love most about Thomai is that she isn't selling a tidy version of this story. She went through it herself — 15 years of marriage, a life that looked perfect on the outside, and the slow, confronting realization that she was living for who she thought she was supposed to be. 

If you've been through a divorce, you're considering one, or you're in the messy middle of one right now, this conversation is for you. 

And even if none of that applies, this episode is really about one bigger question: What do I actually want? And being gutsy enough to sit with whatever answer comes back.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Recognizing misalignment before the decision is made
• The shame and guilt of choosing yourself when your life looks perfect from the outside
• What "doing the work" really looks like
• How to start discovering what you want by following what excites you
• Managing other people's emotions and where your responsibility actually ends
• Why the finalization papers are only a starting point
• Building the evidence that this new life is actually working

Arguably Feral Women Skool Group

Thomai's free community for women navigating divorce before, during, and after. It's a safe, supportive space built around the village she wished she'd had — weekly live calls, identity work, and a community of women who truly get it. She mentioned it's currently free, with anyone who joins during the free window grandfathered in permanently. 

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.

🎙️ Subscribe & Review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

📲 Follow LauraAura on TikTok: @ThatLauraAura

🔥 Join The Gutsy Collective: Learn More

💡 Work with LauraAura: www.LauraAura.com

Connect with Thomai Roi

Instagram  |  Threads  |  LinkedIn  |  Substack  |  Web

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

We've all played this game with ourselves:

When I hit this goal, then I'll start living like her. 

When the business reaches this milestone, then I'll let myself enjoy it. 

But the finish line keeps moving, doesn't it? You check one box and three more appear, and the good feeling you're waiting for gets buried in the routine of building.

In this Powerback®, I'm calling you out on it because I've been there too. I used to hold off on the fun little coffee shops, the nice dinners, the moments that actually feel like life, until I'd earned them. And what I realized is that waiting doesn't build you into the woman who has what you want. Moving like her does. 

That's what I mean when I say find the dazzle.

Take your Powerback® today and start adding a little dazzle in, right now, because you've already earned it.

We'll go through:

• The "when I achieve it, then I'll enjoy it" trap 
• How your environment, wardrobe, and business systems are either reinforcing your future or keeping you stuck in your present
• Why moving like the future version of you now is how she actually gets built

The Gutsy Collective — My membership community for women ready to make gutsy moves together. If you're craving connection with like-minded women who are building and becoming at the same time, this is where you want to be. 

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

What parts of yourself are you still hiding? Shame has a way of convincing us that if people really knew us, they'd judge us or use it against us. And so we stay quiet. We carry things that were never meant to be carried alone.

Today's guest, Candi Rose, found freedom after years of toxic shame and self-destruction. We talk about what happens when you finally stop running, how shame grows in silence, and why healing often starts with radical honesty. It's uncomfortable, but it's powerful work, the kind that asks you to face the parts of yourself you've spent years avoiding.

We also get into inner child work, which is near and dear to my heart. Becoming the person you needed when you were younger changes everything.

If you're afraid your past mistakes and experiences are going to define you for the rest of your life, this episode is a beautiful place to start unpacking that.

In this episode:

• How shame grows in silence
• Why healing starts with radical honesty
• Inner child work and becoming the person you needed when you were younger
• Turning shame into strength and reclaiming your identity

Naked by Candi Rose — Candi's memoir is a raw, courageous account of her journey through incarceration, abuse, addiction, and shame — and how she found her way to freedom on the other side. 

Candi Rose TEDx Talk: "Why Speaking the Truth Sets You Free" — If this conversation moved you, watch Candi's TEDx talk to go even deeper on why speaking your truth is the first step to getting your life back. 

Auralign Mastermind — A six-month mastermind for women in business who are ready to stop downplaying their success and go all in. We're building your business your way — offers you're excited to deliver, systems that keep you grounded, and the gutsy moves to get it done.

Free Clarity Session — If you're curious about Auralign or just want to talk through where you're at and what your next move looks like, book a free Clarity Session with me. 

🎙️ Subscribe & Review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

📲 Follow LauraAura on TikTok: @ThatLauraAura

🔥 Join The Gutsy Collective: Learn More

💡 Work with LauraAura: www.LauraAura.com

Connect with Candi Rose

Instagram 1  |  Instagram 2  |  Web

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

I swear that life and business have a committee somewhere where they meet up and decide to do all the things at the exact same time. And when that happens, stuff gets out of whack. 

The routine that was supposed to work stops working, and instead of changing it, you're white-knuckling your way through it because you said you'd do it this way — and damn it, you're going to do it this way.

In this Powerback®, I'm walking you through how to stop maintaining what's not working and start realigning with what fits. I'm sharing a real example from my own Auralign Mastermind where I had to confront an expectation I'd built around when to deliver content to my clients, one that had nothing to do with what worked and everything to do with what I thought I was supposed to do.

Take your Powerback® with four questions to help you identify what's out of whack, get honest about what's true, and make the shift. 

We'll go through:

• What it means when something drops during a high-tide season 
• The difference between a season of chaos and a pattern that needs to change
• How outdated expectations create ongoing friction 
• Four questions to evaluate what's not working and figure out what to do instead

Auralign Mastermind — My 6-month high-touch mastermind for ambitious women in business who are ready to simplify what feels complicated, get clear on their next moves, and build in a way that actually fits their life. If you're ready to stop going it alone, this is where to start.

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

What if the thing you've spent years building no longer fits? And what if that's not failure, just your next gutsy move?

Today's guest, Kim O'Hara, is a book coach, author, and creator of the Delicious Life brand, a platform built entirely around permission. Kim spent over a decade coaching women to write and publish their books, built a business from scratch as a single mom, bought a house — and then found herself at a pivot point she didn't see coming. A New York editor told her to throw out the book she'd spent six months writing and start over. And instead of that breaking her, it cracked her open.

We talk about what happens when you write a book from your heart, and why AI can never do that for you. We get into the real, raw territory of pivoting when something stops fitting: the financial fear, the identity shift, the moment you have to ask for help, and how terrifying that is for women who are used to carrying everything alone. And we talk about the permission to want more. More ease. More joy. More of what actually feels good, not just the version of you that's been grinding for everyone else.

In this episode:

• Writing a book from your real, lived experience 
• Pivoting your brand and identity when the old model stops fitting
• Permission and receiving — why women struggle with both
• The financial reality of making a big pivot
• What a "delicious life" actually looks like in practice
• Asking for help and letting yourself be supported through change

Kim O'Hara — book coaching, the Book Roadmap Intensive, and free resources: kimohara.com (Gutsy Podcast listeners get $1,000 off the Book Roadmap Intensive — just say "I'm gutsy")

Live Your Delicious Life newsletter — Kim's growing community where she shares events and everything delicious life

I Give You Permission Substack — Kim's Substack where she digs into permission, writing, and reinvention

The Gutsy Collective — A community for women who are ready to stop doing it alone and start making their next gutsy move. Start your free 30-day trial!

🎙️ Subscribe & Review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

📲 Follow LauraAura on TikTok: @ThatLauraAura

🔥 Join The Gutsy Collective: Learn More

💡 Work with LauraAura: www.LauraAura.com

Connect with Kim O'Hara

Facebook  |  Substack  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Website

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970

You've done everything the way you were supposed to:

Followed the rules. 

Climbed the ladders. 

Wore the heels. 

Ran when you were tired and conformed when you wanted to create. 

And while it kinda worked, it also didn't. Because there's a not-so-little voice that's been getting louder, and she's saying: “I have a lot more to give, and this time, I want to do it my way.”

This episode revolves around something most of us skip: the pause, the exercise of slowing down long enough to actually hear yourself, maybe for the first time in a really long time. 

The shift I want you to feel today isn't can I do this? That questions your ability. The shift is how do I want to do this? That solidifies your possibility. Take your Powerback®, and let's go there together.

We’ll go through:

• The "what if" exercise that gets you out of the trenches and into a bird's eye view
• Shifting from “can I do this?” to “how do I want to do this?”
• What this next chapter could give back to you: time, peace, energy, joy, presence
• What it feels like when you stop fighting yourself and start honoring yourself

Auralign Mastermind

https://lauraaura.com/mastermind

Connect with LauraAura

Facebook  |  TikTok  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  Web

Support the show

Leave a Review!
We love, love, love to read your comments, feedback, and reviews. It also helps other women like you know they're in the right place to get support.
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-gutsy-podcast/id1445481970