In this episode I’m joined by Brittany Martin DeJean, who helps women work through what she calls FOMU, the fear of messing up. Brittany spent 20 years in disability inclusion before she turned the lens on herself and realized the same fear that made people freeze around her dad after his accident was quietly running her own life too.

We get into her name it, own it, trust it framework, the cycle of overthinking before a mistake, the spiral during, and the recovery afterward that almost no one teaches us how to do. Brittany shares what it actually looked like for her, like spending eight hours on a single LinkedIn post and still feeling sick when two people left unkind comments, and how she learned to meet those moments with curiosity instead of judgment.

This framework has helped so many women find freedom from the fear of messing up, and it’s something Brittany actively lives herself as a solopreneur growing her own business.

Inside the episode:

• What FOMU is and why it hits high-achieving women the hardest
• The name it, own it, trust it framework for working through a mistake
• Why you can’t think your way out of overthinking
• How a failed launch became proof the inner work was landing
• Choosing joy on purpose, and why it changed everything

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ABOUT BRITTANY

Brittany Martin DeJean spent most of her life being who she thought she was supposed to be. When she was 12, a car accident took her brother’s life and left her dad a quadriplegic. Perfection became her protection. And she watched people freeze around her dad, afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. Over 20 years in disability inclusion, she gave that freeze a name: FOMU, the Fear of Messing Up. Then she realized it was the operating system running her own life. She faced those fears instead of running from them. Today, through FOMU to Flow and the Intentional Joy Club, she helps others do the same and have fun again.

Links to connect with Brittany:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-martin-dejean/
https://www.instagram.com/fearofmessingup
https://www.instagram.com/intentionaljoyclub

Ways to work with Brittany:
www.fomutoflow.com - for fomu program
www.intentionaljoyclub.com - for free dance party on nov 10th

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I have a webinar on Tuesday, and over a hundred women have signed up. This is one of the biggest things I’ve done in my business, and I’m approaching it in a completely different way than I ever have before.

This is a shorter, more personal episode. I’m pulling back the curtain and bringing you into it in real time, because the two shifts I’ve made going into this one have taken so much pressure off, and I think they’re exactly what a lot of us, especially high-achieving women, need to hear.

In this episode:

• Why I stopped treating this as one make-or-break moment, and started seeing it as one more breadcrumb on a much longer path
• The growth mindset that lets me walk in knowing I’ve already won the second I choose to show up
• How I’m protecting my space, my rest, and my family time just as fiercely as I’m protecting my prep
• Why running yourself into the ground before something big actually makes your output weaker, not stronger
• The choice to let the whole experience feel grounded and exciting instead of stressful and depleting

Because greatness was never one single moment. It’s a series of them. And you do not have to sacrifice yourself to get there.

If you’re standing at the edge of something big, a launch, a presentation, a hard conversation, a leap, this one is for you.

P.S. The webinar is called Make Space, and it’s happening Tuesday, October 20th. If you’d like to join me, I'd love to have you there.

You can save your seat here

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I've spent a lot of time talking about connecting more deeply to myself. And lately I've found a brand new layer of it, in the most unexpected place: boredom.

In this episode, I'm sharing one of the quiet practices that has genuinely shifted how I move through my days: letting myself be bored. It sounds almost too simple to matter, but there is real power in it, and I think by the end you're going to want to try it for yourself.

I talk about how I realized that from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed, there was almost never a stretch of silence. There was always something going into my ears, always something to absorb and respond to. And in all of that noise, I'd lost the magic of simply existing without a task attached to it.

Here's what we get into:

• Why your value living in your being, not your doing, has to show up in how you actually let yourself be
• The small, ordinary ways to reclaim pockets of quiet, from standing in line to driving in your car to washing the dishes
• What happens when you stop filling every gap with noise and finally get to hear your own voice again
• Why productivity and distraction can quietly become a shield, and what you find on the other side of putting it down

Because the boredom is where you get to see what's truly there for you. The places you're being called to grow. The parts of yourself that have been waiting for you to stop long enough to listen. And everything you've been avoiding in the stillness is the exact thing that, once you face it, is going to set you free.

If you want to go deeper on creating space and feeling safe in it, I'm hosting a free live webinar called Make Space on October 20th at 9:00 AM Pacific. I'd love for you to join me.

You can save your seat here

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Content note: this episode explores sensuality, the body, and pelvic health in an open, honest way.

Stepping into your sensuality can feel scary. For so many of us, we were taught to hide this part of ourselves, to be the good girl, to feel shame around our bodies. But on the other side of that fear is something powerful: freedom, self-love, and a coming home to who you truly are.

This week I'm joined by Brianne Grogan, a doctor of physical therapy turned somatic guide, for a conversation that is equal parts brave and magical. Bri spent twenty years in the medical world, building a huge following in pelvic health, before she followed a deeper calling and began doing something entirely new. Her story of leaving the known, respected path to trust her inner knowing is one every woman at a crossroads needs to hear.

Here's what we get into:

• Why sensuality is really about freedom, and how it becomes a doorway to your power and self-love
• The courage it takes to leave a successful, established path and start over as a beginner
• The fear of being "too much" and "not enough" that shows up when you step into your true self
• Reclaiming the womb as a portal, and releasing the shame we've been taught to carry about our bodies
• How to begin building a relationship with your body, slowly and safely, wherever you're starting from
• How your body speaks to you, and how to tell the difference between a yes and a no

This one is tender, freeing, and full of permission. Because your body was never something to hide. It's a source of magic.

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ABOUT BRI

Brianne (Bri) is a Doctor of Physical Therapy devoted to holistic pelvic health. After spending 12 years overseas building a global online education platform, she and her family came home to Oregon, where she joyfully returned to her first love: providing hands-on care for women. Bri's deeply personalized in-person offerings and private retreats weave together movement, breathwork, nature, nourishment, and extended bodywork sessions. Bri is especially passionate about the mental, emotional, and energetic dimensions of care. No longer aligned with the conventional "modern" medical model, she embodies a Whole Woman, Whole Pelvic Care philosophy, one that honors mindset, energy, Spirit, and Soul alongside skillful, body-based therapy.

Connect with Bri:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iam.briannegrogan
The Experience: https://www.briannegrogan.com/experience
Pelvic Witchcraft (coming soon): https://www.briannegrogan.com/witchcraft-coming

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We're told to keep pushing. To keep up. To perform like nothing is changing, even as our entire body undergoes a systemic transformation.

This week I'm joined by Blessing Uchendu, a leadership coach and somatic therapist, for a conversation on something so many women in their 40s and 50s are navigating quietly and often alone: perimenopause, and what it asks of us as leaders, as women, and as humans.

We talk about why this transition is so much more than hot flashes and night sweats. It's a full-system rewiring, and the strategies that carried you through the first half of your life, the over-functioning, the reading the room before you read yourself, the pushing through, start to fall away. Not because something is wrong with you, but because your body is asking for a different way.

Here's what we get into:

• Why somatics, connecting to the body, is the foundation of how we lead, not a nice-to-have
• The reframe that changes everything: your body is going through a reorg, and it deserves the same grace
• Why the strategies that got you here stop working, and what that's actually inviting
• How to find safety within yourself when the world around you isn't built to support this transition
• Releasing the shame we've been taught to carry around our bodies, from our first period to now
• Why this season is not a deficit to your leadership, it's an expansion of it

This one is honest, warm, and full of permission. Because perimenopause was never meant to be something we hide. It's a coming home to ourselves.

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ABOUT BLESSING

Blessing Uchendu is a leadership coach and somatic therapist who helps driven, high-achieving women expand their capacity to lead from a grounded, embodied place. A licensed clinical social worker with nearly two decades of experience, she bridges deep clinical insight with somatic and leadership work to support women navigating stress, transition, and the demands of senior roles.

You can find Blessing on LinkedIn under Blessing Uchendu, where she shares her work and offers one-to-one somatic leadership coaching.

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You have been told to be more confident. To speak up. To be more strategic, less emotional, less nice. As if the friction you feel at work is something in you that needs fixing.

My guest this week spent years being told exactly that, until she realized the problem was never her. And more importantly, she figured out what to actually do about it.

Michelle McDaid spent more than twenty-five years leading engineering teams in tech, including a role as the first female director of engineering at her company. Today she is the founder of The Leading Place, where she helps women own their voice and lead as themselves, and helps organizations build cultures that actually keep the women they work so hard to hire.

This conversation is honest, fired up, and full of practical, do-this-now wisdom that only comes from decades inside the room.

We get into:

• What to do instead of just trying to "be more confident"
• Small, no-budget changes that transform who applies for a role and who stays
• The difference between being mentored and being sponsored, and why sponsorship is what actually moves your career forward
• How to make your work visible without feeling like you're bragging
• How to lead from your strengths, including the ones you've been told are weaknesses
• What the research says about the leadership style that actually works best
• How to move from fear and shrinking into action, even in an uncertain job market
• Why real change requires men to be part of the conversation

Whether you are still inside the system, thinking about leaving it, or building something of your own, this one will leave you with real tools and a new way of seeing your own leadership.

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ABOUT MICHELLE

Michelle McDaid is the founder of The Leading Place, a purpose-driven startup helping organisations reimagine leadership and build cultures where both people and performance thrive.

Michelle is a qualified and accredited coach and mentor (Advanced Diploma in Executive Coaching, Kingstown College; EMCC EIA Practitioner accreditation) and is a Chartered Member of CIPD. Through The Leading Place, Michelle supports organisations with leadership development, communication, strategy, and culture change.

Michelle has been recognised as a finalist in the 2026 Newstalk Changemaker Awards (Inclusive Workplace and Workplace Wellbeing categories), Everywoman in Tech Awards (Leaders category, 2022) and Women in Tech Awards (Trailblazer category, 2019); listed in Diversein's 133 Women Who Change the World (2023); included in CTO Craft 100; and featured in Focus on Diversity's Irish female-founded companies who empower females in Ireland and abroad (IWD 2025 and 2026). Her thought leadership has been featured by CTO Craft, Electronic Specifier, Irish Examiner, Business Post, and Silicon Republic. She is a frequent speaker at conferences, podcasts, and panels.

Connect with Michelle:

LinkedIn (personal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleamcdaid
The Leading Place on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-leading-place/
Website: https://theleadingplace.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theleadingplace
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/michelle-theleadingplace/30min
The Illuminated Path newsletter: https://www.theleadingplace.com/#newsletter

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You keep saying you need more space. More time to breathe. More room to think. More moments where no one needs anything from you.

The real reason space feels so hard to create usually isn't about time at all.

In this solo episode, Jess breaks down the two types of space we need to truly live lighter: the external space around us and the internal space within us. She gets into why so many high-achieving women instinctively fill every open pocket in their day, why slowing down can actually feel uncomfortable, and how our nervous systems can learn to experience space as safety instead of a threat.

You'll walk away with a simple way to start creating more space right now, not once everything finally slows down.

Space isn't the reward you get once everything is done. It's what makes everything else possible.

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Work with Jessica:

→ Golden Era Mentorship: My signature 1:1 mentorship for the woman ready to do the deep work.

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Content note: this episode includes discussion of birth trauma and a life-threatening medical experience. Come to it when you have the space to.

This episode is unlike any I have recorded. Because the bravest thing my guest does is not in the story she tells. It is the fact that she is telling it at all.

Ashley Graham spent years in PR helping other people share their stories. This is the first time she is telling her own. And she is not speaking from the tidy other side of her healing. She is speaking from the middle of it, still finding the words, still learning to trust the very voice she is using to speak.

After two miscarriages and a hard-won pregnancy, Ashley's birth became an emergency that put both her life and her baby's on the line. And in the days that followed, a quiet voice inside her kept saying something was still wrong, while a louder, more familiar voice told her she was overreacting. That it was just postpartum anxiety. That she did not want to be too much.

She silenced it. And what followed changed the course of her life.

This conversation is about what happens in the space between those two voices. It is about the birth of her daughter, and the birth of Ashley coming home to her own knowing. And it is a living example of the exact work I do with women every day: learning to trust the quiet voice inside, the one so many of us were taught to silence.

In this episode we get into:

• The birth experience that changed her relationship with her own mortality
• The inner voice that knew something was wrong, and the conditioning that told her to ignore it
• Why choosing to be seen and share your story can feel as vulnerable as the experience itself
• What it looks like to use your voice before you feel ready
• The courage it takes to tell your story from the middle, not the tidy end

Ashley is not speaking from the finish line. She is speaking from inside it. And that is exactly what makes this so powerful.

If you have ever felt a quiet knowing you talked yourself out of, or a story you have been too afraid to tell, this one is for you. Your voice matters. You are not too much.

Links:

Ashley's Website: https://simplyashleygraham.com/

Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simplyashleygraham/

Follow Ashley on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SimplyAshleyGraham/

Listen to Ashley's Podcast: https://pod.link/1667617698

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Work with Jessica: Golden Era Mentorship - 1:1 mentorship

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