Shameless Leadership

Rachel Nielson is the host of the popular parenting podcast, 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms. Each 30-minute episode gives 3 actionable takeaways to help women find more meaning in their unique motherhood experiences. Rachel lives in the mountains of Idaho with her husband and her two miracle children who arrived to their family through adoption and IVF. As a former high school English teacher, she loves to read, write, and talk about deep ideas...which has made podcasting a perfect career for her to do from home.Rachel and I first connected as podcasters who shared side-by-side rankings in Apple Podcasts Kids & Family top charts. Some may have suggested we were competitors, but we immediately saw one another's work as complementary. When we had the opportunity to meet in person in 2020, we were able to see that as colleagues, friends, and confidants in this industry we could lean on each other and build a really special relationship that could support us as women, moms, and podcasters. I so treasure my sweet friendship with Rachel.  We have spoken about guesting on each other’s shows for years. To be honest, the challenge has been narrowing down what to talk about because we could talk to each other for days about so many things related to motherhood. But, I asked Rachel if she would be willing to talk about something deeply personal and special today - the adoption of her precious son, Noah.Listen in to hear Rachel share: Her family's journey into open adoption How she honored and did her best to center her son’s birth mother, Katie, throughout the process of adoption The unfathomable grief she held for Katie the day Noah was born The trauma of adoption for adopted children, no matter how healthy relationships they have with bio parents and adoptive parents How she and her husband navigated building and maintaining positive and healthy relationships with Noah’s bio parents, Katie and Drew How Katie’s death by suicide shifted Rachel’s perspective on the ethics of adoption What her family’s relationship with Drew looks like - how he is so significant and special in Noah’s life What she wants prospective adoptive parents to consider before going through the adoption process Links mentioned: Register for my 2023 Plan & Prep Pajama Party: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Rachel: 3in30podcast.com Rachel’s Podcast: 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms Get Rache’s Course, 5 Days to More Meaning in Your Motherhood: 3in30podcast.com/sma Rachel on Instagram Thank you to our sponsors this month:Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless.  Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners -  The VA Kickstarter Workbook!Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months.  Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today.Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door.  Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am always already behind on January 1st. I’m late and disorganized and definitely underprepared. Pre motherhood, I would spend the last couple weeks of December reflecting on the year gone by and planning for the new year. I would spend time drafting lofty dreams and creating spreadsheets with goals and metrics. There would be graphs and charts and vision boards. I would wake up on January 1st READY.  Ready to start fresh. Ready to live my crisp new dreams.  Ready to make sh*t happen. Then I became a mom.  For the last 10 years, I have spent the holidays in chaos. Lovely, exhausting, magical, frantic weeks on end where I have no time, no childcare, and no energy to sit and dream about a new year. As a result, I wake up every January 1st knowing that a bunch of people spent the last few weeks in quiet reflection and dreaming - but I did not. I spent it creating and managing magic for my child and family.  A few years ago I gave myself permission to let January be an entire month of beginning and becoming. I don’t need to start fresh, live my crisp, new dreams, or make sh*t happen right on January 1st. I have the whole month to figure out where I’m going. And, during that month, there is only ONE thing that needs to happen. If this ONE thing happens, I know I’ll be set for the year. This ONE thing can happen on a Monday evening or a Thursday morning or a Saturday afternoon. This ONE thing can take 20 minutes or 2 hours. This ONE thing can happen on my terms.  In this episode, I will share the ONE thing and why it is critical to helping you create a vision and action plan for 2023.  Link mentioned:Register for my 2023 Plan & Prep Pajama Party: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Thank you to our sponsors this month:Full Time VA: Check out this free training on how to be a virtual assistant that makes full-time income with part-time hours: thefulltimeva.com/Shameless.  Owner Amanda Rush Holmes is also including a bonus free guide for SMA listeners -  The VA Kickstarter Workbook!Ritual: Ritual’s Essential for Women 18+ is a multivitamin you can actually trust. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months.  Visit ritual.com/shameless to start Ritual or add Essential for Women 18+ to your subscription today.Rothys: For stylish, comfortable, sustainably made shoes, shop Rothy’s. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SHAMELESSMOM. StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast!: Need another podcast in your parenting podcast library, check out StrollerCoaster: A Parenting Podcast! wherever you listen to the SMA. Thrive Market: Get groceries and household essentials delivered right to your door.  Join Thrive Market today and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Go to thrivemarket.com/shameless. Teachable: Join tens of thousands of creators turning their knowledge into scalable online businesses. Join a free plan at teachable.com/shameless to get started. Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Sasha Heinz, Ph.D., MAPP, is an academic who went mainstream, using her background as a developmental psychologist to become a mindset coach who teaches people the science of getting unstuck. An expert in positive psychology and adult development, Dr. Heinz has based her entire career on helping clients make real transformations, giving them the tools to develop their mental fitness by facing challenges and breaking our mind’s default modes for stress, self-criticism, and anxiety.Dr. Heinz received her BA from Harvard, her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Columbia, and her Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also served as a faculty member. She was one of the first 33 people in history to receive a degree in Positive Psychology.Listen in to hear Sasha share: The growth curve all adults face - that no one talks about The developmental edge that motherhood brings us to the moment we become mothers How the self-help industry can be harmful to people The difference between technical and adaptive problems The 3 P’s of a socialized mindset: perfectionism, people pleasing, and paralysis The concept of moving from a socialized mindset to being self-authored The truth about “life hacks” and what is required for actual change and growth Links mentioned: Register for my Plan & Prep Pajama Party on January 23rd: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Dr. Sasha: drsashaheinz.com Sasha’s Mental Fitness Club: mindyourmind.com Sasha on Facebook Sasha on IG Sasha on LinkedIn  Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Viki Zarkin was diagnosed with cancer in 2011, has been living with Stage 4 metastatic cancer for over 10 years, and is the only person in the world alive with this aggressive illness. She was diagnosed in her 40s when her doctor first told her to go home and get her affairs in order and at the time, she had 2 small children at home. Viki spent the next several years fighting for her life, advocating for herself, navigating through the healthcare world, and following her gut. Today, Viki is a beacon of hope for others, she’s a motivational speaker and coach on a national level and a successful author.Viki inspires women to change the way they have been programmed to think and emphasizes the importance of starting with young women on how to believe in themselves, challenge the status quo, find their voices and listen to their hearts. Listen in to hear Viki share: Her diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic cancer 12 years ago What happened when she grabbed her doctor by the neck when her doctor suggested she might not survive her diagnosis What it was like working through stage 4 cancer treatment with children ages 8 and 11 What her life is like being treated every 28 days with chemo to manage her cancer The side effects of long-term cancer treatments What it has been like to mother while also managing cancer for 12 years Her bargain with God and how that has played out  How to navigate power differentials in healthcare Links mentioned: Register for my Plan & Prep Pajama Party on January 23rd: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Viki: iamtheone.com/ Viki on FB Viki on IG Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ruchika Tulshyan is the author of Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work (MIT Press). She’s also the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy practice. A former international business journalist, Ruchika is a regular contributor to The New York Times and Harvard Business Review.I first heard Ruchika speak on Brene Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us. I became immediately obsessed with her work. I had the honor of hearing her speak at her book launch party here in Seattle and I’ve been fangirling over her ever since. The work she’s doing is so critically important and the way she does the work is so thoughtful and deeply impactful. I was so excited and so honored when she said YES to coming on the show. Listen in to hear Ruchika share: How being an immigrant and woman of color has impacted and challenged her as a mother The social construct of imposter syndrome for women and how it parallels the social construct of mom guilt Her challenges around being a working mom who travels for work and how she is treated differently than men in the same boat The difference between diversity and inclusion and how current systems undermine inclusion, even if promoting diversity Her BRIDGE framework for allies, advocates, and those wishing to lead in more inclusive and equitable ways across social systems Links mentioned: Join my 5th annual Plan & Prep Pajama Party on January 23rd: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Ruchika and get Inclusion on Purpose: inclusiononpurpose.co Ruchika on Twitter Ruchika on Instagram Ruchika on LinkedIn Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As you come to the close of another year, I am inviting you to pause for a moment to own and honor 2022. I know pausing and taking a moment to yourself in this busy season might sound like a ridiculous suggestion. WHO HAS TIME TO PAUSE?!  Perhaps you pause as you sip your coffee today. Perhaps you pause while taking a shower. Perhaps you pause as you walk the dog. Perhaps you pause for a few minutes before you go to bed.  Whenever & however you choose to pause, I want you to think through the following questions: What am I most proud of from 2022? When did I show up as the person I most want to become in 2022? What did I learn about myself in 2022? In this episode, I walk you through these questions and how you can frame them in order to get the most out of them. I share my personal answers with you so you can see the value in looking back before you move forward.  Link mentioned:Join my 5th annual Plan & Prep Pajama Party on January 23rd: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah Stevens is a former healthcare executive turned writer, speaker, and entrepreneur. After leaving her career in corporate healthcare in 2016, she founded The Beautifull Project - a storytelling collective that has reached tens of thousands of women across the globe with its powerful message about learning to take up space. Today, Sarah helps other people tell their stories through Branded, by Sarah Stevens, a small business offering a full suite of marketing services. She also serves as the Community Impact Officer at The Project of The Quad Cities, a nonprofit that serves people living with HIV and the LGBTQ+ community. Sarah is a gifted storyteller with a skill for using her own story as a woman navigating the world in a fat body to invite her audience to encounter the parts of themselves they hide away from the world, the parts they believe to be “too much.” Addressing everything from “too-big” bodies to a fear of failure that cripples confidence, Sarah amplifies a message that moves beyond a body-positive sentiment and creates a movement that makes room for everybody to tell their truth and take up space. She draws out confidence and courage. She believes in being free and full. And she will make a believer out of you, too.This is Sarah’s third time on the show. I invited her back after finding myself in a parenting conversation around body image that I was worried I totally screwed up. I reached out to Sarah and asked if she would be interested in hashing this topic out on the show and she immediately said yes. This is a really important conversation, as the pervasiveness of diet culture continues to be so insidious, oppressive, and ultimately deadly, in our culture. Listen in to hear Sarah and I discuss: How my child casually throwing around words like “fat” and “chubby” threw me into a parenting tailspin How to check your own body image trauma when talking to your kids The importance of entering conversations with curiosity & compassion (vs lecturing and shaming) The truth about the insidiousness of current diet culture in spite of the fact that so many of us think we know better than to fall victim to it How to talk to your kids about fat without causing them to have an anti-fat bias (or “fatphobia”) The systemic oppression that is very present and real for people living in fat bodies How pushing kids to “make healthy choices” can be rooted in diet culture if we aren’t careful The importance of teaching kids to learn to trust their bodies - and how difficult this is if you don’t trust your own Links mentioned: Join me for my 2023 Plan & Prep Pajama Party and save $50 with Early Bird Registration: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Connect with Sarah: thebeautifullproject.com Past SMA Interview with Sarah - Episode 571: How to Take Up Space and Love Yourself in the Process Past SMA Interview with Sarah - Episode 366: The Beautifull Project: The Truth About Fatness and Thin Allies Sarah on Facebook Sarah on Instagram: @thebeautifullproject and @seeing_sarah  Sarah’s TED Talk: Stripped: The Art of Being Seen Sarah’s Podcast: Beauti: The Interviews Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vulnerable episode alert.  2022 was a year of a messy mindset for me. I made the choice to go after a lot of big things this year and many of them did not pan out for me. I think it’s great to reach for the stars. But sometimes when you only aim really high, you have a lot of misses. This is 100% OK! But, it can be tricky to internalize.  In this episode, I talk about how my mindset got messy this year and how I clawed my way through my own headspace over and over again. I dig into my history of PTSD and how my mindset can be prone to messiness as a result. I share with you the tools that have worked for me this year - because I’m guessing you might have had some messy mindset moments this year too. Or maybe you're stuck in a messy mindset moment right now?? If that’s the case, I got you.  Listen in to hear 5 ways I worked on managing my mindset when I felt like crawling under my desk and crying (which I sometimes did!)  It’s ok to be messy, friend. You are not alone. Link mentioned:Join me for my 2023 Plan & Prep Pajama Party and save $50 with Early Bird Registration: shamelessmom.com/pajamaparty Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yoky Matsuoka is the Founder & CEO of Yohana, an independently-led subsidiary of Panasonic, focused on building consumer technology products and services to help people live healthier and happier lives. As an accomplished executive and technologist, Yoky brings more than two decades of leadership experience to her role where she also leads global innovation and serves as the Managing Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation.Prior to Yohana, Yoky was a VP at Google, a CTO at Nest, a senior executive at Apple, and CEO of Quanttus, a health tech startup. She has also spent time as an endowed professor at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Washington. She is the recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award for her work in robotics and neuroscience and the founder of YokyWorks Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with physical and learning challenges, focused on removing reading barriers to unlock the potential of every child.She is also a Shameless Mom of four children, a dog, and a pet pig. Listen in to hear Yoky share: How she intentionally set goals and went after dreams based on what her mom regretted Her choice to leave big tech and build Yohana right before the pandemic How her mentality around “The best way to do it to do it myself” led her to build an innovative company that supports moms Why embracing her attitude around “I’m different and different is good” has served her well her entire life How the pandemic highlighted the need for the services she knew she wanted to create as she started to build her company How to get out of your own way to quit tasks that don’t allow you to reach your bigger goals  Her powerful two-part mindset reset to release mom guilt Links mentioned: Get the SMA Newsletter to learn about our January 2023 events: shamelessmom.com/newsletter Connect with Yoky: https://www.yokymatsuoka.com/ Learn more about Yohana: yohana.com Yohana End of Year Promo: get a free trial and save 40% a month on your membership (or gift Yohana to someone!) at yohana.com with promo code ENDOFYEAR Yohana on IG Yoky on IG Yoky on Twitter Yoky on LinkedIn Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As moms, we naturally center our children (and often our partners and extended families) repeatedly over the course of the holiday season. As caretakers and givers (mayyyybe over givers?) we love to make all the magic happen for everyone. But what about making magic for yourself?? Over the course of the holidays, it’s easy to completely neglect yourself and sometimes even compromise your core values in the process. Every year around this time, I record a holiday episode as an invitation to center YOU over the holidays. An invitation to:Prioritize your joy over other people’s expectationsDo things differentlyDo less and breathe moreReconsider what brings you joyIn addition to this invitation, I’m offering you 4 strategies to get what you want out of the holidays. My hope for you is that you get to the end of this month (and the end of 2022) feeling like you created all the joy you wanted for your family and yourself without overgiving, overdoing, over proving yourself in every moment of this season. Listen in to get ideas on how to make all the magic without all the hustle this holiday season.Link mentioned:Get the SMA Newsletter to learn about our January 2023 events: shamelessmom.com/newsletterSponsor info and promo codes:Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices