Today, we’re diving into motivation...and I'm not just talking about the quick-fix, caffeine-and-panic kind, but the deep, sustainable motivation that actually sticks. And who better to guide us than Dr. Rebecca Block, the former professor, parent of two lively sons, and all-around motivation expert?

Rebecca’s here to break down the four essentials of motivation—her ABCDs—which are all about feeling "A" Able, finding "B" Belonging, being given "C" Choices, and, yes, even getting a "D" Dopamine boost. This framework is profound because we can start to recognize that when one of these is off, our motivation tanks. The real kicker is that Midlife hits us with new challenges everyday like menopause, sleep disruptions, and juggling way too many “shoulds"! So, ladies, getting our ABCDs in order can be a lifesaver.

In today’s chat, Rebecca gives us tools to recalibrate our motivation when life feels off-track. She’s got tips for avoiding those sneaky dopamine-sucking apps, reframing the “have-to’s” (like dinner duty) into “choose-to’s,” and recognizing what’s sapping our energy. Plus, she’ll let us in on what motivated her to tackle this topic after years of seeing teens *and* adults wrestle with it alike.

So whether you’re trying to motivate yourself, your kids, or your team at work, this episode is for you. Get ready to drop the guilt, harness your energy, and get a fresh take on motivation—let’s dive into the ABCDs with Dr. Rebecca Block!

In this episode, Rebecca teaches us:

1. There are 4 things that must be present to attain sustainable motivation. Becca calls these the "ABCDs" of motivation: a. Ability: you feel as if you have the skills and capabilities to be successful, b. Belonging: sense of belonging and support, c. choices: I was able to choose this path, d. dopamine: live a healthy lifestyle to maintain a base-level of dopamine
2. When you know these 4 requirements, when you lack motivation, then you can reflect and evaluate which of these things is missing and make small course corrections. OR you can create an environment in which these things are present so you can increase the likelihood that your children, partner, or employees will be motivated.
3. One of the first steps we can take to regulate is to get more sleep. Most women in menopause are severely sleep deprived especially because hormone shifts are disrupting our sleep and circadian rhythm. In this space we just feel exhausted and. motivation is hard to achieve in this state.
4. Evaluate how much time you're spending in the apps on your phone. Most of these apps are programed to stimulate very fast dopamine release cycles, which depletes your energy.
5. Reframe the things you feel like you "have" to do by examining why you choose to do it. If you know you HAVE make dinner for your family, flip the narrative and ask "why" you choose to make dinner...I choose to make dinner because I want my children to be expose to healthy foods, I want to eat healthy foods, and I prefer to reserve our money for other choices and, therefore, chose to eat at home. This helps provide a greater sense of control over your choices.
6. Sustained motivation comes in a space with a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. When some of the ABCDs are present AND you're focused on an external goal you know that what you're doing is moving you closer towards that goal, this creates a perfect environment for long-term motivation.

To find more of Rebecca:

Website | canyouhelpmegivea.com

LinkedIn | Rebecca-block

We were amazed by this episode! So many revelations...because, we know women in...

What IF you could wave a magic wand and gain clarity on who you are and what you know you do best so that you could harness these qualities and characteristics to live a life with purpose and intention.

We know you're thinking "that would be some magic wand!" But, we our guest today, Mikkel Leslie does just that for her clients. But, there is no magic wand just the magic of a little tool called "Human Design"

Human Design is a holistic system that uses a person's birth date, time, and place to reveal their unique energetic makeup and life purpose. Human design is based on the idea that people can detach from societal expectations and re-establish their individuality. Human Design won't tell you what you should or shouldn't do, but it guides you towards the things you are most suited to and helps you do "life" in a way that capitalizes on your strengths and feels good!

What?!?...letting go of societal expectations?? Think you could do that? Let's face it! As women, many of us have lived life being the "good girl" and fulfilling ALL of the societal expectations and then some. We "should" yourselves all day long! I should make a gourmet meal tonight, should be Supermom, should get up at the crack of dawn to squeeze in just a little more work....should do all the things.

We need to step back and evaluate what is most important to us. Cut out the noise and focus on what we each, individually, do best and let life do the rest! Mikkel is a champion, author, coach and business manager for those ready to live their own lives. She has coached hundreds of individuals awakening them to their potential. Before coaching, Mikkel went through her own journey of self exploration, moving from what she was supposed to do, to what she is passionate about.

We're getting to that point where we are SOO burned out! We're ready to throw the "shoulds" out the window and just take a breath. Let go...and lean into the things we love. Mikkel is here to help us to screw the societal BS that has held so many of us back and guide us to step into our own true selves. Her genius comes in two parts. The first providing inspiration, clarity, and motivation for people ready for their next level to get after it. The second is providing tools, tips, and techniques to help people break through the doubts, fears, and apprehensions about living their truest, best life.

This episode is packed with human design a touch of sass, and a sprinkle of F-bombs, it’s all about breaking free from guilt, people-pleasing, and perfectionism.

Today, Mikkel teaches us:

1. To let go of the "should" and false expectations, we first have to start by recognizing that they exist. If your day isn't lighting you up
2. Take stock in all of the things that you do in a day. Evaluate your list and acknowledge that you are choosing to do these things. The more you recognize the decisions you ARE making every day, the more you realize you can control the daily decisions of your life.
3. Start small when letting go of the things that don't light you up and/or try to let it go and see what happens. Does the world fall apart if you say "no" to organizing your child's class holiday party?
4. Human Design is a holistic system that uses a person's birth date, time, and place to create a bodygraph that reveals their unique energetic makeup and life purpose. Human Design is based on the idea that people can detach from societal expectations and re-establish their individuality. It combines ancient and modern disciplines and when you understand YOUR human design, it can help you live life with purpose and intention.
5. Human design isn't going to tell you what you should or shouldn't do, it is there to provide guidance as to...

In our pre-chat with every guest we have on our show we share a disclaimer with them...Trinity says she's a cusser, and Shelby claims she's a crier. (Though, Shelby often cusses as much as Trinity and Trinity is trying to stop!) The irony of these acknowledgements is that Shelby realized in this conversation with our guest, Tamar Gersh, that she may actually have a hard time CONSCIOUSLY feeling her emotions. The reality is that she can't control the tears sometimes. That is her normal reaction to so many thing...things that are sad, things that make her happy, things that make her upset. However, she's been shamed about these tears her whole life. People tease her that she's "too emotional". So, she's learned to quickly turn off the tears and push her emotions away. Whether she's watching a movie with her kids, in a heartfelt conversation with a friend, or in the middle of an interview with a podcast guest, the shame she experiences when expressing her emotions has taught her to suck it up and move on. Now, she doesn't often give herself permission to feel sad because she doesn't want to dwell in these, perceivably, negative emotions. But, what our guest pointed out today is that, when Shelby denies her feelings and moves through the emotions too quickly, she may be depriving herself of experiencing the truest joy!!

Trinity, on the other hand, NEVER lets herself feel ANY negative emotions. Perhaps, it is because she PRIDES herself in being the strong one. She's always HAD to be the strong one ever since she was a little girl and to fix all the problems around her. She doesn't have time for negative emotions or sadness. She's got shit to do and problems to solve and she can't do that if she's overwhelmed with emotions.

The bottom line is that we've both been programmed to deny our emotions and to quickly bury them and get on with life. However, when that happens, Tamar says instead, we need to slow down and get curious...ask ourselves why we're rushing past a feeling or emotion. What are we afraid of feeling? She reminds us that there is value if we become more aware of our emotions, dig deeper, allow our emotions to move through us and surrender to that. And, ladies, surrendering doesn't mean sitting in the emotion forever...which I think is maybe what we're both afraid of. I think we believe that staying in the headspace of negativity or sadness for too long will hold us back from accomplishing what we want to.

However, by rushing past the negative emotions and never actually allowing ourselves to feel them or know the depths of sadness or despair or frustration, we are preventing ourselves from, consequently, feeling ultimate joy. Because, just like that old song, "joy and pain, like sunshine and rain." You can NOT have one without experiencing the other.

Tamar touts herself as the queen of joyful living and says she's an unconventional Life and Business coach and a master of self-discipline. She leverages a variety of tools to lead her clients, who are typically the creatives and healers of the world, to plug back into their own genius so that they can stop showing up to their business like a weirdo and start showing up as their 150% authentic selves.

In this episode, Tamar Teaches us:

1. In order to live a joyful life we have to be willing to experience ALL emotions, especially pain. We can never know or appreciate the greatest joy without experiencing pain.
2. When you bring awareness to the thing you are trying to "conquer", whether it is breaking a habit that no longer serves you or navigating your emotions, one approach is to bring awareness into the space and to welcome it in (vs. trying to avoid), name it, feel it, notice the thoughts, feelings, sensations, and slow things down and experience it all. When doing so, you are then better able to manage through it.
3. Stop...

So, here’s the thing, we all have suffered our own traumas in childhood. Shelby lost her mom at an early age and had to navigate that feeling of abandonment and struggled with forming an unconditional bond with a new mother, which caused her to feel as though the only way she could "prove" herself worthy of love and acceptance was to embody perfectionism.

Trinity's biological father left at a very early age, never to return. Then, when her sister's father stepped into their lives, it was tumultuous. He was threatening and abusive and, as a result, they fled the home at a young age and lived under assumed names. As a consequence, we all grew up with some confusing expectations of who our parents were supposed to be.

Shelby felt her stepmother was perfect and almost super human and that she, too, had to be flawless to win her affection. Consequently, she's practically killed herself striving for perfectionism in her relationships with her significant other, friends, and children to her own detriment, sacrificing herself in the process.

And Trinity, who lacked that father figure...the "ultimate protector" never felt safe and, instead, she became the protector of everyone herself and feels like she's constantly required to "save" those that I love. I mean, Trinity actually spent time this week learning how to connect her iPhone to satellite so that, when the apocalypse comes, she's prepared and we're not joking! She's constantly looking over her shoulder and living this life has impacted her tremendously.

Living these lives have caused us both self-doubt and created an atmosphere in which we're constantly hustling to the point of burnout and loss of personal identity because I spend so much time trying to please or take care of other people. We don't even know who we are or what makes US happy any more.

And it is weird because now Trinity suddenly finds herself on her own and looking in the mirror and realizing that SHE the only one that she has to take care of now. She finally has the space to catch her breath and look around and, for the first time ever, she has the time to contemplate these traumas and their impact and begin to come face to face with her own patterns.

And that's where our guest today, Amy Schadt, comes in. She’s all about helping women finally confront and heal these deep, core wounds—especially that ‘Father Wound,’ which, let’s face it, so many of us carry. Amy's not just talking about forgiving your parents and moving on. She has this incredible method that helps you really embrace healing—mind, body, and soul.

She calls it the *Radical Embodiment Method,* and it’s all about reflecting on those old traumas, releasing the anger and sadness, and then re-envisioning your life without those chains. Amy's approach is all about helping women let go of those old patterns we’ve been stuck in for decades, so we can finally live the lives we were meant to.

Honestly, middle age is the perfect time to do this. We’ve spent so long running on autopilot, we don’t even realize how much these unhealed wounds have been shaping our choices. Amy helps us to stop, pay attention, and heal for real—so we can abandon the self-doubt, people-pleasing, and all those ways we’ve been playing small.

Let’s be honest—we’ve been carrying this baggage for way too long, and it’s time to let that shit go. We deserve to step into our power without being weighed down by our past.

In this episode, Amy teaches us:

1. The father wound is a feeling of loss when we have certain expectations of our father figure that go unfulfilled and that leaves us with a sense of wounding or trauma as a result. This can happen when our father is not present at all, present and abusive, or simply a close bond is not formed.
2. The first step in healing the father wound is through empathy. Most parents do the best they can with the knowledge and experience...

You know, We've both spent the better part of our lives chasing optimal health. Shelby's mother passed away when she was 7. Her mother was just 30 years old and the autopsy suggested that she died of cardiac arrest due to complications with an undetected autoimmune condition called Hashimoto's Hypothyroiditis. And as she reached adulthood and had 2 daughters of her own, Shelby swore she would do everything in her power to remain strong and healthy for her girls. She didn't want to leave them without a mother.

Shelby is not the only one. So Many women struggle with our health and weight. Trinity has had her own struggles. Her mom also died of cardiac arrest and was lost at far too young. She was raised on a diet of comfort food and learned to feed all of her emotions. Then, when she became 100 pounds overweight, she tried all of the solutions from yoyo dieting, to gastric bypass, and all the fads in between. And, now that we find ourselves here...in midlife. We're both happier with our bodies than we've ever been before! Now, health to us is more about being strong and able to do all the things we want to do as we live this next chapter in our lives!

But the problem is that we feel like I've tried EVERYTHING to achieve optimal health and it STILL alludes us! You know, we're all looking for that easy button or the silver bullet, but it feels like there is no PERFECT solution to figure out what are the RIGHT things for OUR (individual) bodies...

OR...What if there IS a perfect solution? What if that solution is in the GENES you wear everyday...But, we're not talking about the jeans you wear, we're talking your GENETICS, girl. Today's guest, Brenda Wollenberg, helps educate us on how to unlock the secret to health with our DNA, ya'll.

That's right, Brenda and her business partner analyze and interpret genetic profiles to design personalized wellness programs that are UNIQUE to you and your genetics. They recognize that 'one-size-fits-all wellness" can be confusing and ineffective. But, with the programs that Brenda offers, maintaining optimal health can be simple, personal, and doable.

WE love the fact that Brenda combines her years of experience as a Social Worker and holistic nutritional consultant to compassionately and uniquely help her clients understand their current patterns of behavior and lifestyle choices that are UNhelpful and that are (possibly) contributing to their current state of health. THEN, helps them to adopt simple, new behaviors that make a BIG impact.

Because, here's the thing, ladies. Midlife is HARD on our bodies. Things are happening that we can't really understand and that we feel are totally out of our control...I'm talking hot flashes, sleeplessness, inflammation, aches, brain fog. These are ALL things that can be remedied with the RIGHT information and tools. Think about how your life would be different....ELEVATED if you felt great waking up every single day?! What would you do? What could you accomplish? We are here to help you live your best midlife and it starts with your health!

In this episode, Brenda teaches us

1. There are things you can actually do to change the way in which certain genes are expressed to make an impact on our life and health. Genetics can be used to pinpoint the exact lifestyle or dietary shifts that your genetics require to become optimized
2. The two things that have a high impact on the expression of our genes are high levels of stress and inflammation, or high amounts of cortisol, epinephrine/norepinephrine. These create proverbial "power surges" to our system that then inhibits the positive expression of our genes and prevents them from operating in the best possible way for our energy and vitality
3. When we focus on the specific genes that have exceptional levels of data science behind them, are relevant to our health, and are "actionable" i.e. there are lifestyle shifts we can make to alter the

You know, we have been on this entrepreneurial journey for what...2 1/2 years? And it's been difficult. We've had to balance managing our side business and very busy day jobs in which we are both executives, we've struggled to make the financial investment, we've felt lost at times (we're still lost) in defining our direction or what exactly it is we offer our customer. Having the conversation with our next guest, Jen Jaciw, was really eye opening.

We've had a lot of conversation about how to get this business going. I think we've both recognized that we have our own unique skills and experiences and, while there may be a lot of overlap there in the space of adult learning and coaching, its still evident that we each just have different things that light our fires or what I like to call our "zone of genius"...

What stood out to us is that Jen is suggesting that working with a coach like her helps women just like us find their "zone of genius" and then supports them in stepping into that space by paving the way to a faster path of success....and when I say "like us" women, in midlife, who are struggling to find themselves and have an entrepreneurial spirit!

Jen is the consummate entrepreneur. She and her husband owned and sold a business of their own. But, then Jen found herself back in the "corporate grind". After being laid off twice in two years and having to prove her worth over and over again to potential employers, she became frustrated. She was tired of trying to find the “right” job that she actually enjoy doing and that would pay her a competitive wage. It was time to create something better for herself, but she wasn’t sure where to start. That is when a friend introduced her to a The Entrepreneur’s Source (TES) coach, and it was a game changer.

She now does what she calls Career Ownership Coaching. She helps people transition from employment to entrepreneurship through a complimentary coaching experience that includes goal defining, behavioral assessment, coaching, and education. .

Now, Jen helps clients identify their super powers and how they can transfer them into a business ownership role. In this episode, Jen shares her difficult path and how she's risen to success having been born to parents who struggled with addiction and then navigating abusive relationships. These experiences and her subsequent path to healing empower herself her to relate to her clients and hold transparent conversations that are a necessary part of the coaching experience.

In today's episode, Jen teaches us:

1. Stepping into owning a franchise can be an excellent solution for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit because your stepping into a proven business model, you avoid the typical phase in which you throw the spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks and are armed with the tools/resources for success.
2. Many people don't realize the transferrable skills that are accessible and applicable when transitioning from full-time corporate employment to entrepreneurship,
3. Brokers are focused on helping a business sell and/or supporting individuals who want to buy a business and bringing the two together. The Entrepreneur's Source is more focused on helping individual's find their path through conversation.
4. Being an entrepreneur requires doing what feels uncomfortable to you and you just have to do it and put yourself out there. The more you do, the better you get.
5. A lot of success comes from trying something, falling down, picking yourself back up, pivoting, adapting and trying again. The more you embrace this method and step into new things the happier and better you will become.

To find more of Jen:

Website | jjaciw.esourcecoach.com

Our next guest, Aleen Raybin, believes the healing industry has been co-opted - promoting things like self-care and being your best. But, we agree, this just reinforces individualism, self-reliance, the proverbial "hustle" and the illusion that we are not enough and must DO more. This feels like it has been our truth for our whole lives. We're never enough...we must always DO more and BE more!

But, then we step back and ask ourselves where that has gotten us and the answer is we feel lost, stuck, and burned out. We KNOW you are also out there and likely grappling with this same truth. Thankfully, Aleen is here to save us from ourselves. She show us that we can live richer and fuller lives when we choose to be led by our soul, the TRUE parts of ourselves rather than being led by our conditioning.

Aleen calls herself a Medicine Woman. And I don't know about you all, but when I think about a "Medicine Woman" I think of an elderly indigenous woman with miraculous healing powers. But, while Aleen WAS trained by said indigenous woman and was bestowed the title "Medicine Woman"..."medicine" To Aleen means going deep into ourselves to heal our trauma. Her medicine is reconnecting with our truth, and putting the YOU back into your life.

Aleen's work and her mantra is to "help you come home to yourself", which is so beautiful, and her process entails helping us to remember who we are in all of our truth and authenticity...NOT by telling you what to do, but THROUGH you. Aleen helps us slow down and listen to our souls for the answers that are already there. And then supports us in making small shifts to live more as ourselves and less as our conditioned selves. She says her personal medicine is what she learned while waking up to how good her own existence can be - even in the everyday human sh*t of life and she strives to do the same for others by witnessing them on this journey and holding space for their unique truth.

In this episode Aleen teaches us:

1. Letting go of the societal narrative is a, potentially, impossible. We are swimming in both our own truth and what society tells us we should be and do and to separate the two and fully live only in our truth is unrealistic.
2. When we heal our trauma, as women, we also heal our lineage and the trauma of our ancestors who preceded us as our ability to step into the space of healing and the access we have to the tools and resources to do so is a luxury that was not afforded our mothers and grandmothers
3. Moving closer to yourself happens in the little moments. Small shifts to your habits and rituals can make a big difference. Trying to make big changes too quickly is often what gets in our way.
4. Knowing more about what sets our heart on fire and moving beyond our feelings of being lost or stuck, requires us to start by going inside, we need to get quiet in order to hear our truth.
5. Asking yourself if YOU are satisfied instead of always only considering the way in which you are satisfying the others in your life can be a true measure of self-love. And, what a gift to give to those who love you most...your whole and authentic self.

To find more of Aleen:

Website | aleenraybin.com

Instagram | @aleen_raybin

And baby girl, we are here for you on this journey as well. Make sure we're connected on Facebook and Instagram. We've got your back with a no-nonsense blueprint and a supportive tribe....

When Shelby was 7 years old, her mother passed away and then Shelby's father passed away at the very end of December 2022. When Trinity lost her mother when she was in her 20's, it was profoundly painful. Needless to say, experiencing the loss of a parent is one of the most traumatic experiences we can have.

Our guest today, Jocelyn Bates, lost BOTH parents within the span of 7 days and under the most distressing circumstances during the COVID pandemic. I don't know if any of you have experienced such loss, but it has taken us YEARS to heal from the loss of our parents who truly had a unique and special place in our lives in so many ways and we, honestly, don't think we'll ever fully heal from that loss. It is something we'll carry with us for ever.

Shelby still tears up when she thinks about losing either parent (no surprise)...whether it has been over 40 years or just a little more than a year the pain of the loss is still very real and raw. Jocelyn knows that pain well and has channeled her grief to creating a space of healing and reinvention for others.

During this period of loss, Jocelyn was really in tune with her body and intuition and leaned into the messages she was receiving and allowed them to guide her actions. It was because of this intuitive path she took that she now helps others heal by encouraging them to get curious about their emotions and then to express those emotions through some form of creativity.

On this journey, Jocelyn found new meaning and used her grief as a catalyst for transformation. She has so many tools at her disposal...and so many of these were new to us. She's getting certified in Soul Art Healing through Creative Expression, she's trained in Akashic Records and Human Design. She uses Yoga Nidra to balance the nervous system as we move through our emotions. All of which help to navigate through pain, trauma, and grief to find yourself in a place of growth and empowerment.

Trinity was SOO fascinated by these tools that she booked a session with Jocelyn to experience them myself and gained so much insight into the sort of longing she's been feeling.

In this episode, Jocelyn teaches us:

1. We tend to want to avoid grief or feeling badly. However, this is an opportunity to really get in tune with your body and feel/move through your emotions in a way that resonates with you.
2. When you're truly in touch with your body and emotions, you can hear the subtle messages that you are getting sent. Surrender to your intuition and follow the threads of opportunity that present themselves.
3. Akashic records are a dimension of pure knowledge. Every soul has record of all the life experiences it has had. Everyone has the ability to access these records. Time is not linear. Everything is happening all at once...past, present, and future.
4. There are ways to open the door to our emotions slowly and to feel them incrementally. If we need to, start by writing out your painful experience in the third person and, when the time is right, you can revisit the narrative in first person.
5. Soul Art was developed by Laura Hollick and is a creative process that works with Intention, Somatic Awareness, and channeled creativity to gain insights through your art about an area in your life where you may desire more clarity, healing, or transformation.

To find more of Jocelyn:

Website | Jocelynbates.net

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And you know...if you are feeling lost or stuck, you're not alone. Midlife can be a tricky time, We're fed up, burned out, feeling lost, and trying to remember who we are and figure out who in the hell we want to become. But, we are on this journey with you alongside so many other women. It is our goal to give you space to...