The Power of Oxygen 1st

What if the life you’ve been calling ordinary is actually a legacy worth preserving?

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Hepburn, a writer who helps women put their stories on paper, to explore the transformative power of writing, processing our experiences, and finding the courage to share our voices.

After publishing her own book, Walking Forward, Sarah discovered just how powerful the writing process could be, not only for herself but for others. Today, she helps women bring their stories to life through ghostwriting, personalized writing support, and a safe, trusted space to explore the experiences that have shaped them.Through her work, Sarah believes that stories are meant to be written, even if they're never meant to be shared. Whether you're looking to process a difficult experience, create a meaningful legacy for your family, or finally begin that book you've been putting off for years, writing can become a powerful way to reconnect with yourself.

Together, we explore why you don't need to have your entire story figured out before you begin, how writing can help you see your past through a different lens, and why taking messy action might be the very thing that helps you bring your story into the world.

Oxygen Refills in this episode:

• Why writing your story can be a powerful way to process experiences, release what you've been carrying, and reconnect with yourself.
• How to approach difficult memories with greater compassion, perspective, and understanding as time passes.
• Why your story doesn't have to be dramatic or extraordinary to be meaningful, and how writing can reveal the impact of a life you may have been minimizing.
• Simple ways to begin writing your story without getting overwhelmed, from reflecting on a favorite photograph to creating a list of memories.
• How to let go of the pressure to write perfectly, figure everything out, or know exactly where your story is going before you start.
• The power of having a trusted, supportive person to help you navigate the writing process, build consistency, and keep moving forward.
• Why writing your story doesn't have to mean publishing it, and how your words can become a meaningful legacy for your children, grandchildren, and loved ones.
• How taking brave, messy action and allowing yourself to be vulnerable can give the next generation permission to do the same.

Sarah Hepburn is a writer who collaborates with thoughtful women to transform lifetimes of wisdom into meaningful books, chapters and legacy stories. Founder of Turning Pages Studio, author of “Walking Forward”, and creator of the newsletter “a midlife moment”, Sarah believes in the transformative power of putting pen to paper as a way to reflect, honour, and capture what matters, often at moments of transition, reinvention, or midlife turning points. Everyone has a story worth writing; sometimes it just takes a safe space and trusted guide to be told in a meaningful way.

Connect with Sarah:

Website: https://www.sarahhepburn.ca/

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-hepburn-/

Substack Newsletter: https://sarahhepburn.substack.com/

If you haven't taken the Oxygen Leak Quiz, start there. Find out whether you're the Stuck Founder, Breadcrumb Trap, Sticky Middle, or Capacity Crunch — and start uncovering what's really keeping you stuck: 

https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/quiz

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

From food guilt to feeling good: what does it really look like to nourish yourself?

In this episode, I sit down with Chef Nina Ruelens to explore what it really means to put oxygen first through the food we eat, the way we care for ourselves, and the choices we make every day.

With over 27 years of experience as a chef, Nina knows what it takes to feed people. But after years of putting everyone else first, pushing through exhaustion, and neglecting her own needs, she began a journey toward a different relationship with food, self-care, and her body.

Through her work with real food, meal preparation, and helping people build sustainable habits, Nina is passionate about supporting those who spend so much time nourishing others that they forget to nourish themselves.

Together, we explore how food can become more than another item on your to-do list. It can be a ritual, a source of connection, and a way to practice self-love, receive support, and create a life that feels more nourishing from the inside out.

Oxygen Refills in this episode:

• How to nourish yourself when you’re used to taking care of everyone else.
• Letting go of food guilt, rigid rules, and the pressure to eat “perfectly.”
• Finding a way of eating that works for your body instead of following a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Making healthy eating simpler with meal prep, real food, and more intentional choices.
• Recognizing burnout and using self-care practices like yoga and breathwork to reconnect with yourself.
• Learning to receive support, share the load, and use food to create connection.

Connect with Nina:

Website: www.getnourished.ca

Join her email list: https://www.getnourished.ca/cookonce

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

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

If you haven't taken the Oxygen Leak Quiz, start there. Find out whether you're the Stuck Founder, Breadcrumb Trap, Sticky Middle, or Capacity Crunch — and start uncovering what's really keeping you stuck: 

https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/quiz

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

What if the thing keeping you stuck isn't the decision, but the belief underneath it?

In this episode, I’m unpacking the hidden beliefs underneath the patterns that keep us stuck from overworking and accepting breadcrumbs to waiting for certainty and taking on more than we actually have capacity for. Because sometimes the oxygen leak isn't the obvious thing draining you. It's the belief underneath it.

Oxygen Refills in this episode:

• The surprising energetic shift that came from decluttering my home, finishing lingering projects, and finally letting go of my old headshots
• The belief I had to flip on its head to start this podcast — and why messy, inconsistent action got me further than perfection ever could
• How childhood experiences can quietly create beliefs about money, success, hard work, and what abundance will cost us
• The four oxygen leaks: the Stuck Founder, the Breadcrumb Trap, the Sticky Middle, and the Capacity Crunch
• The question that can expose the belief underneath the behavior
• Why breathwork doesn't magically delete a belief 
• How to put oxygen between the trigger and the decision so you can stop reacting from an old story
• Why awareness without action is just interesting information — and how to take one action from the version of you with more oxygen

This week's journal prompts:

• Where am I spending the most energy compensating for something that isn't actually working?
• What would I have to believe for this pattern to make complete sense?
• What is one action the version of me with more oxygen would take?

If you haven't taken the Oxygen Leak Quiz, start there. Find out whether you're the Stuck Founder, Breadcrumb Trap, Sticky Middle, or Capacity Crunch — and start uncovering what's really keeping you stuck: https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/quiz

Oxygen 1st Club | Join us September 8th for 30 minutes of Wealth Abundance Breathwork with Ashlee Livingstone, followed by journaling + inspired money action: https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/gqkasvz0fv

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

I don't actually think money is real. I know... coming from a CPA, that sounds unhinged. But stick with me. 

In this episode I'm making the case that what we call "money problems" are almost never actually about money — they're energy problems, avoidance problems, capacity problems. I'm sharing the money story that shaped me (it starts with my parents' tax return), why I think of money like Monopoly money, and why wealth needs somewhere to land before it can actually show up in your life. Plus, I'm announcing the first-ever Oxygen 1st Club Wealth & Abundance Breathwork, free, and open to everyone, on September 8th.

• Why the belief "hard work = money" almost broke me, and how I'm untangling it
• The breathwork session that gave me the clarity to leave an unsafe marriage two years ago
• My "money is like Monopoly" theory — less attachment, not less responsibility
• Why wealth needs somewhere to land before it can show up in your life
• Two journal prompts to find exactly where you're gripping money too tight

Here is the signup link: https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/gqkasvz0fv

When: September 8, 2026

11:30 PST / 12:30pm MST / 2:30pm EST

Oxygen 1st Club | Wealth Abundance Breathwork + Inspired Action 

We’re clearing the oxygen leaks around money—and then we’re doing something about it.

For the first 30 minutes, Ashlee Livingstone will guide us through a powerful wealth + abundance breathwork session designed to help us release, receive, and create a little more room for what wants to come next.

Then we take that energy straight into inspired action.

Bring your journal. Bring your laptop. Bring the money thing you’ve been avoiding, dreaming about, or feeling called toward.

Your action might look like:

• Opening your bank accounts and actually looking at the numbers
• Paying the bills you’ve been avoiding
• Coding expenses or getting ahead on tax prep
• Reviewing your financial statements
• Comparing expenses and finding an oxygen leak
• Running the Support +Breathe ROI Calculator™ to see what you’re still doing yourself that could be outsourced 
• Identifying where buying back your time could actually create more wealth
• Moving money into savings or investments
• Making an investment you’ve been considering
• Sending the invoice
• Following up on the opportunity
• Creating an offer
• Brainstorming a new revenue stream
• Taking one brave little action toward generating more wealth
  
  

There is no “right” money move.

We’ll breathe.

We’ll listen.

We’ll journal.

And then we’ll act.

Because abundance isn’t just something we manifest.

We make room for it—and then we meet it with action.

Come exactly as you are. 

Oxygen Leak Quiz:

https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/quiz

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

Sometimes your oxygen mask looks like a rally monkey — something ridiculous, joyful, and completely unnecessary that reminds you you're still in the game. Summer's over, Dominic's back to school, and I'm back in the podcasting chair after a season of two unexpected surgeries. In this episode I trace a thread from a childhood memory prompt all the way to a last-minute trip to LA, and the story I finally let go of along the way.

Oxygen Refills in this episode:

• Remembering little Dorothy: bold, fearless, and utterly obsessed with baseball and gymnastics
• Why baseball has always been my happy place, and how it still turns hard days into good ones
• Squeezing in a last-minute LA trip with Dominic after surgery derailed our real summer vacation
• Checking the Angels off our 30-ballpark list, a Dodgers game by the bullpen, and the rally monkeys that gave this episode its name
• Changing the story I've told myself for years: "I'm a single mom, so I can't" 
• Why joy isn't something you earn after the to-do list is done, and journal prompts to help you reconnect with who you were before you started editing yourself

This week's journal prompts:

• Who were you before you started editing yourself for adulthood? What did little you absolutely love? What made you lose track of time? What did you create? How did you play? Where did you feel most alive?
• Where could you bring a little bit of that person back into your life now — not someday, but this week?

If this one hit home, I'd love to know what story you're ready to let go of. And if you try the journal prompts from this episode, send me what comes up.

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

It's been a minute since my last episode, and I'm catching you up on why: my son Dominic broke his arm and tore his UCL off the bone, and life has been full to capacity ever since. In this raw, unscripted episode, recorded while I'm literally packing the car for a trip, I open up about what I've learned this summer about delegation, plugging "oxygen leaks," and choosing joy even when the to-do list says I shouldn't.

In this episode:

• Why I've been MIA, and what Dominic's arm injury has blown up in my schedule
• The oxygen leaks I finally plugged this summer: a bug man, a full sprinkler overhaul, and a professional car detail
• Why I hired a home manager for a twice-weekly reset, and how outsourcing at home has been scarier (and more freeing) than delegating in business
• The realization that my soul has been craving work just as much as rest
• My big news: I signed a book deal with Monarch and Company, coming early 2027
• Why I booked a spontaneous LA trip — a Cathy Heller conference plus a baseball run to see the Angels and Dodgers with Dominic
• A journaling flashback to my inner child, little Dot, and what baseball has always meant to me
• Why filling your own cup first lets it overflow onto everyone around you

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

I earned the nickname "The Velvet Hammer" for how I handle hard conversations at work. I've fired people, I've gotten them to resign, and I've never once been afraid of being misunderstood. But for the first 41 years of my life, I couldn't say the same thing about my own family.

This episode is about the one conversation you keep avoiding — with an employee, a client, a partner, an ex, a parent, maybe even yourself — and the invoice that shows up when you don't have it.

I'm opening up about the conversation I finally had with my son's father, why it took me so long to get there, and what happened in the car right after it, when my own son had a conversation of his own. I'm also breaking down what I call the oxygen tax: the real, compounding cost businesses and families pay when they build an entire system around one person, one problem, nobody wants to name.

In this episode:

• Why I was so good at hard conversations in the workplace and such an eggshell walker everywhere else
• The moment at my son's baseball game that I'd call a come-to-Jesus talk — and what happened when we got back to the car
• Meet "Brad": the employee your whole company has quietly rebuilt itself around
• The rework tax, the leadership tax, the trust tax, and the opportunity tax — and how they add up to something much bigger
• Why kindness without clarity is just confusion with a smiley face
• The difference between supporting someone and subsidizing their dysfunction

Journal prompts for this episode:

• The conversation I have been avoiding is ___.
• Who is currently paying the price because I haven't had it?
• What would become easier if I named what's actually happening?

If you already know exactly who, or what, I've been talking about this whole episode and you'd rather not say it out loud yet, book a Fire with Grace strategy call with me. We'll get clarity on the real business impact and map out how to have the conversation, instead of reorganizing your whole company around avoiding it. 

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

I once let my flight instructor blindfold me mid-air. On purpose. Then he put the plane into a stall spin. What happened to my body in that cockpit became a lesson I still use with every leader I work with, especially the ones white-knuckling their way through a hard season. 
In this episode, I'm getting into what a stall actually is, why your instincts might be the exact thing working against you, and what I trust instead when everything in me is screaming to grip tighter.

What You'll Hear

• The night I let my flight instructor blindfold me mid-flight
• Why my body lied to me the second I couldn't see the horizon
• The real reason a stall happens (it's not what most people think)
• The signs I look for that tell me a business is already spinning
• The recovery process I walk leaders through when they're gripping too tight
• My go-to method for hiring the right support, instead of just more of myself

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

This isn't a typical episode about hiring, firing, or delegation — it's a raw, real-time update about the hardest season me and my son, Dominic, have faced in years. After a baseball injury was repeatedly misdiagnosed, a gut-instinct second opinion led the family to a renowned surgeon in Vail, emergency surgery, and a summer that looks nothing like the one they'd planned.

This episode shares the full story — the medical misdiagnoses, the surgery, the support that showed up in unexpected ways, and the framework that's gotten her through it. This episode is about what happens when "doing less" stops being a productivity philosophy and becomes survival.

In this episode:

• The injury, the misdiagnosis, and trusting her gut anyway
• How a year-old conversation led to a surgeon almost no one can get in to see
• The call from the OR and the community that showed up
• Solo parenting through trauma, grief, and her own exhaustion
• The Basics, Elevated, Emergency framework — built in crisis, used again now
• Why asking for help isn't weakness

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

One of the questions I hear most often from leaders is, "Should I fire them?"

After more than 20 years in HR and leadership, I've learned that most leaders don't actually have a termination problem—they have a clarity problem.

In this episode, I'm sharing a real conversation I recently had with a CEO who thought she was ready to let go of a senior executive. She was exhausted, frustrated, and carrying the weight of a decision that had been keeping her up at night.

But as we talked, we realized something important: this wasn't just about performance. It was about fit.

Sometimes people aren't failing because they're incapable. They're struggling because they're sitting in the wrong seat. And when we avoid addressing that truth, everyone feels it—the leader, the employee, the team, and the entire organization.

That's exactly why I created my Grow or Go Framework.

I believe difficult conversations can be handled with both compassion and accountability. I call it the "velvet hammer" approach: leading with heart while still holding clear expectations and boundaries.

Because leadership isn't about avoiding hard conversations. It's about having them with courage, kindness, and honesty.

In This Episode:

• Why most leaders struggle with certainty—not termination
• How to tell the difference between a performance issue and a fit issue
• The hidden cost of avoiding difficult conversations
• Why the right conversation can create clarity for everyone involved
• How to lead with both compassion and accountability
• What my Grow or Go Framework looks like in practice
• How to create a path forward that honors both the employee and the organization

Grow or Go Framework: https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/fire-with-grace

Ready to Breathe Easier?

Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits. 

Start With Oxygen 1st
https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact

You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm.

Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator
https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator

Connect with Dot
Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_

Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.