Comeback Season, Episode 5: What If Your Awakening Makes Your Life Inconvenient?

We love to describe awakening as a beautiful moment of clarity. The clouds part, the truth appears, and suddenly everything makes sense.

But what happens when the truth you awaken to threatens the life you worked hard to create?

In this episode, I’m exploring the inconvenient side of awakening: recognizing that a job, relationship, routine, role, or version of success may no longer fit—and realizing that you can’t unknow what you now know.

I share how this has appeared throughout my own life, from divorce and opening and closing Daybreak Yoga to becoming a flight attendant, caring for and losing my mother, publishing You Get What You Get, and continuing to question what I want my life to look like now.

The awakening isn’t only found in the event. It happens at the intersection of what occurred, what you noticed, what you could no longer deny, and what you chose to do next.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why awakening doesn’t always feel peaceful

• How high-achieving women negotiate with truths that disrupt their plans

• Why gratitude and misalignment can exist at the same time

• The difference between aligned action and impulsive action

• What to do when you recognize the truth but aren’t ready to make a major change

• Why naming what you know is already a form of movement

A Practice: The Inconvenient Truth Inventory

Divide a page into three sections:

1. What I know: What truth have I already recognized?

2. What it disrupts: What role, relationship, routine, plan, identity, or source of security could be affected if I honor it?

3. What I can do now: What is one aligned action I can take without forcing myself to solve everything today?

Awakening may require action, but it doesn’t require recklessness. Sometimes the next step is to notice the truth. Sometimes it is to name it clearly. And sometimes it is to begin moving with it.

Omwork

What have I already awakened to that I keep treating as if I’m still confused?

Then ask yourself:

What is the smallest action I can take that demonstrates I believe what I already know?

You don’t have to blow up your life today. But you may need to stop pretending you haven’t seen what you’ve seen.

Interested in 1:1 Coaching? Learn more here: https://dawnmrivers.com/apply

Aligned Action vs. Magical Thinking

Visualization isn't a substitute for movement.

I believe in affirmations. I believe in visualization. I believe in prayer. I teach these practices, use them in my own life, and have experienced what can happen when we get clear about what we desire.

But I also believe you have to get your ass off the couch. 😂

In this episode of You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment, I'm sharing the story of how I spent six months envisioning, searching for, and eventually moving into my new home in Lakewood, Ohio.

I didn't just sit at home visualizing an apartment and wait for the FedEx Universe to deliver it.

I walked the neighborhoods.

I drove the streets.

I called numbers on signs.

I toured apartments.

I told people what I wanted.

I created affirmations describing how I wanted my new home and life to feel.

I used AI to create images of what I envisioned, turned those images into a video, recorded myself speaking my affirmations, and watched and listened to that vision repeatedly for months.

And then I kept moving.

One of the people I shared my vision with was my friend Giovanna "Gigi" Evans, who had lived in Lakewood for nearly 20 years. Eventually, one of her connections led me to the apartment that would become my home.

But even when the opportunity appeared, I still had to act.

On December 1, after touring the apartment while my mother was in the hospital, my best friend Jasmine reminded me not to wait. I pulled over, contacted the landlord, said I was interested, and started the process.

By January, I was moving into the home I'd spent months imagining.

That's aligned action.

In this episode, we're talking about the difference between believing something is possible and actually participating in making it possible.

Affirm: What do I believe is possible for me?

Visualize: Can I see and feel myself living it?

Act: What would I do differently today if I genuinely believed what I keep saying?

There's also an important distinction in this story.

Aligned action does not mean controlling every outcome.

My mother's death was not something I manifested. Her death brought grief, sadness, physical changes in my body, and circumstances I never would have chosen. And yet, life continued unfolding around that loss.

Manifestation isn't immunity from grief, difficulty, or circumstances beyond our control.

Alignment asks us to participate in what comes next.

So here's the question I want you to sit with:

What are you asking for that you're not yet participating in?

You don't have to know exactly how it's all going to happen.

But you do have to participate in the life you're asking for.

📖 Explore my book, You Get What You Get:
https://dawnmrivers.com/book

🌸 Ready to move beyond achievement and into alignment? Explore 1:1 coaching:
https://dawnmrivers.com/apply

If this episode resonated with you, follow the podcast, leave a comment, and share it with another woman who's ready to do more than visualize what's next.

You get what you get because you get who you are.

Dawn M. Rivers
Transformational Speaker • Life Coach • Author

SPECIAL AUDIO EDITION: The Canon of Identity

What happens when the life you've worked so hard to build still looks successful...but no longer feels like you?

In this special audio edition of You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment, I'm sharing The Canon of Identity, my evolving body of thought on identity, achievement, conditioning, leadership, and what happens when high-achieving women reach a point in midlife where success alone is no longer enough.

The Canon is the intellectual foundation behind my work.

It's where I explore the patterns I've witnessed in my own life and in the lives of high-achieving women: women who are capable, educated, accomplished, and accustomed to getting things done, yet find themselves asking a surprisingly difficult question:

Who am I when I'm not performing?

The Canon examines the journey from performance-driven success toward greater alignment, personal authority, and intentional leadership.

It currently unfolds through three core pillars:

The Performance Trap
What happens when achievement, usefulness, and excellence become intertwined with identity and self-worth.

Conditioning & Leadership
How family, culture, expectations, and learned patterns influence the way women lead, speak, choose, and claim authority.

Alignment as Strategy
Why creating what's next isn't simply about becoming more productive. It's about making decisions and building strategies that reflect who you are now.

Because high achievement doesn't automatically create alignment.

You can be incredibly good at living a life you've outgrown.

You can earn the degree, build the career, lead the organization, care for the family, collect the credentials, and accomplish everything you were taught to pursue...and still wonder:

Is this actually mine?

That question isn't necessarily a crisis.

Sometimes it's recalibration.

And once we can recognize the patterns and conditioning underneath our choices, we have an opportunity to choose differently.

The Canon grew from years of living, studying, teaching, coaching, writing, and eventually recognizing a thread running through all of it.

I had spent much of my own life achieving.

But eventually I had to begin asking different questions.

Not simply, What can I accomplish next?

But:

Who am I now?

What did I inherit that I no longer need to carry?

What am I doing because it genuinely reflects me, and what am I doing because I've become exceptionally good at performing it?

Those questions became part of the foundation for my book, You Get What You Get, the Luxe Identity Spiral™, my coaching work, and now The Canon of Identity.

I created the Canon because I wanted these ideas to live somewhere larger than a social media post or a single conversation.

They're ideas meant to be examined, questioned, returned to, and lived.

This audio edition gives you another way to experience them.

Listen while you're walking. Take it with you on your commute. Pause when something lands. Come back to the sections that make you uncomfortable or curious.

And most importantly, ask yourself:

Does the life I've built still reflect the woman I'm becoming?

Read The Canon of Identity and explore the individual essays and frameworks at:

https://dawnmrivers.com/canon

If you're ready to explore these questions in your own life with support, learn more about private 1:1 coaching with me at:

https://dawnmrivers.com/apply

You get what you get because you get who you are.

You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment
with Dawn M. Rivers

When an Identity Has Expired

What happens when something you worked incredibly hard to become...isn't who you want to be anymore?

In this episode of You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment, I'm talking about one of the hardest parts of reinvention for high-achieving women: recognizing when an identity has expired.

For more than 20 years, I was Librarian Dawn. Then I became Yoga Dawn, investing years in training, certifications, teaching, retreats, and eventually owning my own yoga studio.

I was good at those things. Really good.

But being good at something doesn't mean you're required to keep doing it.

Earlier this year, I was presented with an opportunity that made perfect sense on paper. I had the experience. I had the certifications. They wanted me. I even submitted the proposal.

There was just one problem:

I didn't want to do it anymore.

That realization led me back to an idea from Gay Hendricks' The Big Leap: the difference between our zones of incompetence, competence, excellence, and genius.

High-achieving women can spend years, even decades, living in a zone of excellence because we're rewarded for being there. People need us there. They know us there. And sometimes we've invested so much into becoming that woman that leaving feels almost irresponsible.

But competence isn't necessarily calling.

And excellence isn't always alignment.

In this episode, we're talking about recognizing when an old identity has run its course, the sunk costs that can keep us attached to it, why other people's expectations can make reinvention difficult, and the awareness required to finally admit:

This is who I was. It isn't who I want to be anymore.

Because you don't have to hate the woman you were to become the woman you're becoming.

Thank her. Take what she taught you. And allow yourself to move forward.

What identity have you become really good at performing that might not fit anymore?

I'd love to hear your answer in the comments.

If this episode made you think of another high-achieving woman who's questioning what's next, share it with her. And be sure to follow or subscribe to You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment.

📖 Explore the book, You Get What You Get:
https://dawnmrivers.com/book

🌸 Ready to explore what's next for you? Learn about 1:1 coaching:
https://dawnmrivers.com/apply

You get what you get because you get who you are.

Dawn M. Rivers
Transformational Speaker • Life Coach • Author

Gratitude in the Cocoon: A Guided Gratitude Practice for Becoming 🦋

What do you do when you know something in your life is changing, but you can't quite see what comes next?

Gratitude in the Cocoon is a 21-minute guided gratitude practice for those in-between seasons: when you're grieving, starting over, questioning what you once wanted, releasing an old identity, or simply realizing that something in your life no longer fits.

This isn't about being grateful FOR the difficult things.

It's about finding gratitude WHILE you're moving through difficult things.

Together, we'll move through gratitude for the ordinary things, love and connection, the versions of ourselves that got us here, our gifts, provision, clarity, and even the possibilities we cannot see yet.

You don't have to know exactly what's on the other side of your cocoon.

You can honor where you are while becoming who you're meant to be.

Ready to Go Deeper?

If this practice brought something to the surface and you're ready to explore what's next with support, I offer private 1:1 coaching for high-achieving women who are ready to move beyond achievement and into alignment.

Together, we'll look at the patterns, identities, boundaries, and beliefs shaping your life now and begin creating what comes next from the woman you're becoming.

Explore 1:1 coaching with Dawn:
https://dawnmrivers.com/apply

You get what you get because you get who you are.

You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment
with Dawn M. Rivers

Episode 1 of the Comeback Season

I’m back. 🎙️

A lot has changed since I last sat behind this microphone, and this episode is the beginning of a new chapter for the podcast and for me.

In this comeback episode, I’m sharing where I’ve really been: closing my yoga studio, working at Pilates, caring for my mother, becoming a flight attendant in my 50s, navigating bankruptcy, and somehow writing You Get What You Get at 30,000 feet while my own life was being rewritten.

Then came the moment that changed everything. I was on a layover when my mother had a stroke. Within days, she was gone.

In the aftermath of losing her, I began to understand grief, freedom, identity, and even my relationship with my mother differently. Selling her home became a release. Her notes and journals gave me glimpses of her love that I could carry forward. And the insurance money she left me allowed me to step into my next chapter with a level of ease I hadn't experienced in years.

On January 2, less than a month after losing my mother, I moved into the Lakewood apartment I'd spent months envisioning.

But I didn't simply manifest a new life. I walked toward it.

For six months, I explored Lakewood, looked at apartments, talked about what I wanted, created a vision video, listened to myself affirm and visualize my desires, and took action before I knew exactly how everything would come together.

That experience helped me understand the difference between achievement and alignment.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What happens when an identity you've worked hard to build no longer fits

• Starting over in midlife

• Caregiving, grief, loss, and the complicated emotions that come afterward

• Bankruptcy and separating what happened to you from who you believe you are

• Writing a book while living the lessons inside it

• Visualization versus aligned action

• Receiving support after years of being the person who takes care of everyone else

• Why achievement alone can't tell you who you are

• What it means to create a life that actually feels like yours

This is the beginning of You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment, a podcast for high-achieving women who are ready to ask a different question:

Is this still the life I want?

Because you get what you get because you get who you are.

The audio is a little lower than I wanted it to be. I spent HOURS trying to get it just right, and eventually I realized I had a choice: keep chasing perfect or practice exactly what I talk about here.

So I chose to release it.

Turn me up a little for this one. 😉 The next episode will sound better, but this episode needed to exist more than it needed to be perfect.

Welcome back.

Dawn M. Rivers
Transformational Speaker • Life Coach • Author of You Get What You Get

A quick note about this episode 🎧

The audio is a little lower than I wanted it to be. I spent HOURS trying to get it just right, and eventually I realized I had a choice: keep chasing perfect or practice exactly what I talk about here.

So I chose to release it.

Turn me up a little for this one. 😉 The next episode will sound better, but this episode needed to exist more than it needed to be perfect.

Welcome back.

Continue the journey:
📖 Get You Get What You Get: https://dawnmrivers.com/book
🌸 Learn more about Dawn, coaching & speaking: https://dawnmrivers.com

Why High-Achieving Women Keep Collecting Credentials

How much more do you really need to know before you allow yourself to begin?

I love learning. I have an English degree, a master's in library and information science, a 500-hour yoga teacher certification, additional training in meditation, yoga nidra and trauma-informed yoga, and coaching certification. I've studied with incredible teachers, read countless books, taken courses, attended trainings, and considered earning even more credentials.

I'm not anti-education. Education changed my life.

But eventually I had to ask myself a harder question:

At what point am I learning something new, and at what point am I trying to become qualified enough to trust myself?

In this episode of You Get What You Get: Beyond Achievement, Into Alignment, we're talking about the educational treadmill that high-achieving women can find ourselves running on.

Another degree.

Another certification.

Another course.

Another training.

And then we'll finally launch.

Apply.

Write the book.

Start coaching.

Speak.

Create the business.

Make the offer.

Except sometimes preparation has become procrastination wearing a respectable blazer.

Education can give us knowledge, discipline, expertise, exposure and skills. Some careers absolutely require specific degrees, licenses and credentials.

But another certification can also give us something psychological:

Certainty.

It can delay the uncomfortable moment when we have to decide:

I know enough to begin.

In this episode, I'm asking you to consider three questions:

1. Do I actually lack knowledge, or do I lack confidence?

2. Will this credential materially change what I'm allowed or able to do?

3. What would I do right now if someone told me I'm already qualified enough to begin?

Because maybe you're not missing another certification.

Maybe you're missing experience.

And the only way to get experience is to begin.

I've worked with brilliant, ambitious women who want to launch nonprofits, run for office, earn PhDs, become speakers, start podcasts, create programs, build businesses and bring ideas they've carried for years into the world.

Sometimes the next step isn't more preparation.

It's movement.

I'm practicing that myself with this comeback season. These episodes aren't going to be perfect. I'm editing them, but I'm not recording them over and over until every sentence is flawless.

I'm pressing record.

I'm publishing.

I'm allowing experience to become part of my education.

So I'm giving you permission to ask yourself:

What would I start if I believed I was already qualified enough to begin?

And then I want you to do something else.

Introduce yourself.

Not with your degrees, credentials or accomplishments.

Who are you?

Pay attention to how you answer. Your response may tell you quite a bit about where you've placed your identity.

Maybe you don't need another person to certify that you're ready.

Maybe your next credential is experience.

📖 Explore my book, You Get What You Get:
https://dawnmrivers.com/book

🌸 Ready to stop preparing and start moving? Explore 1:1 coaching:
https://dawnmrivers.com/apply

If this episode made you think of another brilliant woman who's still waiting to feel "qualified enough," send it to her.

And tell me in the comments:

What would you begin today if you believed you were already ready?

May you be happy.
May you be whole.
May you be free.

And remember: You get what you get because you get who you are.

Dawn M. Rivers
Transformational Speaker • Life Coach • Author

🌟 Awakening the Light Within: Masterclass on Identifying Your Core Values 🌟

In this transformative masterclass, I guide you through the process of **Identifying Your Core Values**—the foundation for creating a life of clarity, purpose, and alignment. Discover why core values are essential for making confident decisions, setting meaningful goals, and building a lifestyle that truly reflects who you are.

Through practical exercises and thought-provoking insights, this session will help you uncover what truly matters to you, empowering you to lead with authenticity and intention in every area of your life.

🌟 Awakening the Light Within: Featured on Bathrobe Moments with Dr. Loren Michaels Harris 🌟

In this dynamic and heartfelt conversation on Bathrobe Moments with Dr. Loren Michaels Harris, I shared the evolution of my journey—from my roots as a school librarian to becoming a certified yoga teacher and now an empowerment coach for ambitious women. We delved into the challenges and triumphs that shaped my path, the power of resilience, and how I help women embrace their potential and create the lives they desire.

If you’re seeking inspiration to transform your life, redefine your purpose, or simply want to hear an empowering story of growth, this episode is a must-watch!

🌟 Awakening the Light Within: My Success Story on Wealthy Woman Every Day Podcast🌟

In this solo spotlight episode, I had the honor of being featured on the Wealthy Woman Every Day podcast to share my journey to success. From embracing bold career shifts to building my dream life as a coach and entrepreneur, I answered thought-provoking questions about the challenges I faced, the lessons I learned, and the mindset that helped me thrive.

If you’re ready to redefine success, create wealth on your terms, and awaken the light within, this inspiring episode will give you the tools and motivation to take action.