The ROCKSTAR Mom
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The ROCKSTAR Mom episodes

  • EP 26 | From People-Pleasing to Power: The Art of Assertive Communication with Julie Shafer

    Communication gets weirdly hard when you’re used to being “the easy one.” You know what you want to say, but you freeze, soften it, over explain, or just do the thing yourself, then wonder why you feel resentful later. People pleasing can quietly run your relationships, your workload, and your stress level as a working mom.

    In this week's episode of The ROCKSTAR Mom, we sit down with Dr. Julie Shafer, psychologist, relationship coach, and award-winning author, to talk about how people pleasing forms, why it feels safer than conflict, and how it disconnects us from our own needs. Julie shares the concept of “changeback behavior,” the pushback you can expect when you finally start setting boundaries at home, with friends, or at work. When you anticipate that reaction, you stop taking it as proof you were “wrong” to speak up.

    Then we get practical with the art of assertive communication. Julie breaks down passive communication, aggressive communication, and the middle ground that protects your peace without steamrolling anyone else. 

    You’ll learn her simple three-step framework to say what you need clearly: acknowledge their situation, name your situation, and make a direct request. 

    If you’re ready to stop living on autopilot and start communicating with more clarity, calm, and self-respect, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more moms can find this support.

    You can learn more about Dr. Julie Shafer below:

    https://www.instagram.com/drjulieshafer/

    https://www.drjulieshafer.com/

    Buy Dr. Julie's Book HERE 

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    34 min
  • EP 25 | Calm Confidence: Breaking Free from People-Pleasing with Internal Family Systems with Raina Garner

    You can be the woman who “handles everything” and still feel like you’re quietly disappearing. That gap between looking confident and feeling drained is where people pleasing, perfectionism, and mom burnout love to hide and it’s exactly what we’re naming out loud today.

    In this week's episode for The ROCKSTAR Mom podcast I’m joined by Raina Garner, an Internal Family Systems (IFS) practitioner and empowerment coach, to break down parts work in a way that’s clear and deeply human.

    Raina connects IFS to boundaries in a way that changes everything! She explains why a boundary isn’t a request and doesn’t require anyone else to cooperate. It’s a commitment to what you will do to care for yourself. 

    We also get real about the guilt spiral: setting the boundary, feeling terrible, then backtracking to keep the peace. Through self-compassion and reparenting, you can meet the tender parts underneath that guilt, release what they’re carrying, and build what Raina calls calm confidence, the grounded self-trust that holds steady even when other people don’t like your choices.

    We wrap with a reminder for every recovering people pleaser: this work doesn’t click overnight, and constant consuming isn’t the same as healing. 

    Pause, let it integrate, and keep choosing yourself. 

    Subscribe for more conversations like this, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and share this with a friend who needs boundaries without guilt. What’s one boundary you’re ready to hold this week?

    You can check out more of Raina's work here :

    IG : https://www.instagram.com/raina_garner/

    Website : https://www.rainagarner.com/

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    42 min
  • EP 24 | From Corporate to Entrepreneurial Freedom : Are You Ready for Your Big Leap? with Sarah Janzen

    In today's episode of The ROCKSTAR Mom we sit down with business coach Sarah Jansen, founder of Her Big Leap, to unpack why so many high-achieving women hesitate to leave corporate even when they’re exhausted and how to build a business that preserves your income while giving you back your time, energy, and peace.

    Sarah shares her journey from award-winning corporate leader to entrepreneur after stress sidelined her. Together we explore the real pivot point: identity. Moving from employee to entrepreneur isn’t just swapping schedules; it’s stepping into a CEO mindset where abundance replaces scarcity, self-trust outruns approval seeking, and your so-called “too muchness” becomes your market edge. We dig into visibility fears, money stories, and the practical strategies that turn deep expertise into client outcomes you can confidently price and sell.

    So much good info in this episode! 


    Ready to redefine success on your terms and make your own big leap? Follow the show, share this episode with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a quick review to help more women find the freedom they deserve.

    You can learn more about Sarah Janzen here : 

    https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen/

    https://herbigleap.com/

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    44 min
  • EP 23 | Reset, Rewire, Recharge: A Holistic Approach to Women's Nervous System Health with Julia Kogan

    In this episode of The ROCKSTAR Mom podcast, we unpack how nervous system over-activation drives burnout, procrastination, and sleep issues and how a three-phase system can reset your baseline, retrain your focus, and restore energy. 

    We talk about :

    • Why the brain treats modern stress as danger
    • Signs of over-activation across mood, mind and body
    • The Overdrive Trifecta and what it predicts
    • Procrastination as a stress signal not a flaw
    • Reset tools that LOWER your baseline
    • Rewiring attention, focus and cognitive bias
    • Recharge habits for sleep, boundaries and energy
    • And the bedtime buffer with blue light basics

    First, be sure to subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode!


    Next, I'd be SO grateful if you took a moment to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts! ⭐️

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    43 min
  • EP 22 | Body Confidence for You AND Your Children with Whitney Casares

    What if your child didn’t just try to “love their body,” but learned to trust it, care for it, and return to compassion on the hard days? That’s the heart of our conversation with Dr. Whitney Caceres—board-certified pediatrician, author of My One of a Kind Body, and founder of Modern Mommy Doc—who helps families raise kids with real confidence, not performative positivity.

    We dig into the difference between body positivity and body confidence, and why the latter makes space for the full human experience. Dr. Whitney shares a clear, science-informed approach to health and body literacy: teach kids what foods do inside the body, remove moral labels, and frame cupcakes, proteins, and veggies by their functions and feelings. We unpack how to name diet culture in everyday media—from 90s movie nights to social feeds—and use those moments to build critical thinking instead of shame.

    You’ll hear practical strategies for joyful movement that sticks because it fits a child’s temperament and season of life. We talk real-world scripts for self-compassion, modeling boundaries, and handling “body bullies,” including well-meaning grandparents. Dr. Whitney also reframes the pediatric checkup: BMI can be one data point, not a destiny. Learn how to steer doctor conversations toward sustainable habits, mental health, and long-term well-being.

    Inside, Dr. Whitney previews exercises from her kid-focused book—food curiosity lists, weekly reflection prompts, and language swaps that reduce shame—and offers a look ahead at her upcoming guide for parents, Raising Body Confident Kids. If you’re ready to retire “good vs. bad foods,” ditch punishment-based exercise, and ground your family in values that outlast trends, this conversation is your toolkit.

    If this resonated, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more families find practical, compassionate guidance. What body message are you rewriting at home today?

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    42 min
  • EP 21 | Style Is Self-Care: Reclaiming Confidence Through What You Wear with Judith Gaton

    What if your closet could help you feel like yourself again? We sit down with lawyer and style coach Judith Gaton to unpack a simple truth: style is an inside job. When your inner voice is kind, the right clothes become easy; when it’s critical, even a perfect outfit falls flat. Together we map a practical path from overwhelm to alignment and how your own personal style and wardrobe plays into this.

    Judith shares a powerful reset for your feed and your mind: clean up your visual diet. When you follow people of different sizes, ages, skin tones, hair textures, and styles, your brain stops chasing a single “ideal” and starts embracing what actually lights you up. From there, we go ultra-tactical for busy moms: begin with the underwear drawer. Yup, that's right!

    So many takeaways in this powerful conversation, we hope you enjoy it!


    If this conversation helped you see style as self-respect, do us a favor: subscribe, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and share this episode with a friend who’s ready to show up like she belongs—because she does.

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    39 min
  • EP 20 | Self-Love Without the Guilt: A Wake-Up Call for Overwhelmed Moms

    It's the month of LOVE and Self-love gets praised on posters, but what does it look like on a hard Tuesday when your calendar is packed and your inner critic is loud??

     We dig into a practical, judgment-free approach that helps high-achieving moms shift from perfectionism and people-pleasing to steadier confidence, calmer boundaries, and real compassion you can feel by dinner time.

    I walk through the difference between self-love and self-compassion.

    You’ll hear why “speak to yourself like you would to your child” isn’t just cute advice, it’s a cognitive reset that changes your choices. 

    We also reframe self-care beyond candles and trips, focusing on daily standards, kept promises, and nervous-system-friendly rituals that fit the real world.

    You’ll get simple tools you can use today and connect these skills to something bigger: the relationship you have with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship in your life. When you stop abandoning yourself, you become easier to love and easier on yourself.

    If you’re ready to trade constant self-judgment for practical self-respect, this conversation gives you the steps. Subscribe for more grounded coaching, share this with a mom who needs a permission slip, and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts so more women can live with intention, ease, and joy.

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    24 min
  • EP 19 | Goals with Soul: Redefining Success with Confidence, Joy, and Alignment with Kate House

    The goals you’ve been taught to chase might be the very ones burning you out. Together with transformational coach and new author Kate House, we trade checkbox ambition for goals with soul—a human, flexible approach that honors your capacity, your season, and your joy. We dig into why rigid timelines often backfire for moms and high achievers, and how to design goals that are aspirational yet attainable, deeply meaningful, and right-sized for the life you’re actually living.

    Kate breaks down her four-part framework and shows how to build confidence through aligned action. You’ll hear simple, non-fluffy tactics and tools and we talk through seasonality—newborn chaos, school schedules, health shifts—and how to keep momentum by adjusting your pace without abandoning your dreams. 

    We also get honest about identity evolution. You’re allowed to pivot, experiment, and choose yourself without apologizing. =

    If you’re craving ambition that feels like you, this conversation is your permission slip to take up space, start small, and keep going. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts to help more rockstar moms live with intention and ease. What’s one tiny action you’ll take today toward a goal with soul?

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    41 min
  • EP 18 | Love & Life: How High-Achieving Women Can Foster Deeper Partnership & Connection at Home with Kyle Benson

    Burnout thrives in the shadows of “I’ve got it,” and today we drag it into the light with a research-backed, heart-forward path to real partnership with sex therapist and EFT specialist Kyle Benson.

    In our conversation, we unpack how attachment styles shape the way we love, fight, and share the load at home and why so many high-achieving moms end up carrying it all behind a polished exterior. We trace the roots of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment and translate them into everyday moments: the lunchbox that always falls to you, the mental checklist that never ends, the hug that feels oddly hard to initiate. Kyle shows how to move from manager-and-helper dynamics to true shared ownership, where your partner notices, plans, and executes tasks without prompts. You’ll hear a simple framework for giving feedback without micromanaging, plus a weekly check-in ritual that protects standards while building trust.

    We also break down the “3 by 3” micro moments, three minutes, three times a day, to reset your nervous system and rekindle warmth. If intimacy feels awkward after distance, Kyle’s “name it, tame it, change it” approach offers a clear script to make affection safe again.

    If you’ve felt alone in the invisible load or stuck in perfection mode, this conversation gives you permission and the playbook to do it differently. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs backup, and leave a review to help more rockstar moms find their way back to ease and secure love. Your next small step could change everything. 

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    36 min
  • EP 17 | The Self-Made Mom: Reclaiming Confidence, Joy, and Power as a Working Mother with Julia Sewell

    A shattered acrylic cup on a snowy Colorado driveway became the wake-up call: something had to change. From that vivid moment, we dive in with performance coach and author Julia Sewell into the practical tools working moms need to move from autopilot to intentional living, without burning down the lives they love. We talk about confidence you can count on, boundaries that protect your heart, and identity that exists beyond job titles and parenting roles.

    Julia breaks down the real difference between dependent confidence  and independent confidence and maps the path how to move from one to the other. We dive into setting boundaries, the power of values and daily wins, and more.  

    This conversation is equal parts heartfelt and tactical, weaving stories with step-by-step shifts that make a real difference on hard days. Julia also offers a preview of her upcoming book, Self-Made Mom, a guide for working mothers who want power, intention, and joy without abandoning ambition or family. If you’ve felt joyless in the grind, stuck chasing gold stars, or invisible inside the roles you carry, you’ll find a blueprint here for a life that feels more like you.

    If this resonates, tap follow, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review to help more moms find these tools. 

    We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a text

    The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit Season 4 is HERE!!!! 25+ Expert interviews, TONS of free gifts, pre-recorded + live sessions + more!  Grab your Free Ticket at www.megancaldwellpdx.com/summit   We begin soon! 

    ----

    ➡️ Are you ready to get into action? Sign up for your Free Rockstar Mom Breakthrough call --> www.megancaldwellpdx.com

    ➡️ Download your free 7-minute Rockstar Mom Morning Reset 

    ➡️ Connect with us on Instagram --> @megancaldwellpdx

    ➡️ AND Please subscribe to the podcast now to join our ROCKSTAR community and begin your journey towards living a life with more clarity, energy, peace of mind and FUN!  

    ➡️ Did you REALLY love this episode.  We'd love it if you took 2 minutes to rate this show and leave a 5 star review.  That's how even more moms are able to find us. 🙏


    46 min

About The ROCKSTAR Mom

From the publisher's feed

THRIVE at work and home, discover why balance is actually bullsh*t and get your schedule under control so you have more time and energy to do the things you love - without…