I did NOT expect a 6-week pottery class to turn into a bigger conversation about quitting, intuition, and the things we stay stuck in for way too long. But that’s exactly what happened.

What started as a small creative experiment on my career break ended up showing me how much resistance I was feeling, what kinds of creative experiences actually light me up, and why forcing myself to keep going just because I’d committed wasn’t the lesson I needed after all.

In This Episode:

• What resistance reveals about creative expansion vs. adding another open tab to your life
• My unexpected visit with a reiki healer a few months before I got laid off
• The complacency I felt in the final stretch of my tech career, even while still liking my job
• The internal tension between leaving a stable job for entrepreneurship, and sunk cost fallacy

Let's Connect:

Follow me on Instagram: @alisonkinsey or send me an email: alison@alisonkinsey.com.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

I also help entrepreneurs and thought leaders launch and grow their podcasts through my boutique podcast editing agency, Podcasting for Creatives.

For 8 months, I’ve been avoiding the job market, questioning if I want to “enter the arena.” And it’s because the stories I'm hearing are genuinely jaw-dropping.

The rules have changed in 2026. We can no longer reactively apply to hundreds of jobs. Our networks matter more than EVER, and I’m ready to share all of my theories.

In This Episode:

• My “life admin” week, and why I skipped last week’s episode
• Why the traditional job search feels more broken than ever
• The two arenas you can choose to play in, and why one of them is a crowded, exhausting dead end
• Why the "white picket fence" version of a career might be the thing we need to question

Resources & Links:

Episode 8: A $107K Portfolio Career, “Boring” Businesses, & the Rise of Unconventional Work

Let's Connect:

Follow me on Instagram: @alisonkinsey or send me an email: alison@alisonkinsey.com.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

I also help entrepreneurs and thought leaders launch and grow their podcasts through my boutique podcast editing agency, Podcasting for Creatives.

Last week, I REALLYYYY stretched myself by saying “yes” and speaking on stage at a local podcaster’s panel.

I'm going to take you into my head for the entirety of it - the anticipation, the "day of" investments I made, what it felt like minutes before walking on stage, and how podcasting has shaped who I am as a person.

In This Episode:

• Live clips from my introduction on stage, along with some panel highlights
• The three “power words” I wrote in my journal before I got on stage
• The $60 and $13 investments that changed how I showed up
• The unexpected part of committing to this experience that drained the most energy
• Did I get paid? And was it worth it?

Resources & Links:

This is the bronzer I used for a sunkissed glow on stage:

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Melting Bronzing Stick

Let's Connect:

Follow me on Instagram: @alisonkinsey or send me an email: alison@alisonkinsey.com.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

I also help entrepreneurs and thought leaders launch and grow their podcasts through my boutique podcast editing agency, Podcasting for Creatives.

Nobody talks about what happens when a high salary stops feeling like enough. I was making over $200,000 a year and STILL attaching my sense of worth to every paycheck, every commission, every win.

This is a vulnerable episode that goes deep into the complex layers of lifestyle creep, what it was like to earn at a high level and why I was still chasing “more” even when I was already maxed out.

In This Episode:

• My exact tech sales salary progression, and what I earned at each stage
• The debt that “ballooned” to 5-figures overnight when I was in my early 20’s
• How I got caught in an unexpected shame spiral because of lifestyle creep
• The “overemployment” rabbit hole I fell into while already burned out

Related Episodes:

Episode 1: I Lost My $200K Tech Job… and Everything I Thought I Wanted

Episode 5: We Scaled Podcasting for Creatives to 22 Clients… Then My Husband Ended Up in the ER

Let's Connect:

Follow me on Instagram: @alisonkinsey or send me an email: alison@alisonkinsey.com.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

I also help entrepreneurs and thought leaders launch and grow their podcasts through my boutique podcast editing agency, Podcasting for Creatives.

What do I actually DO all day?! In this episode, I’m getting real and honest about the resistance I felt around committing to a new creative hobby, why I’m doing the exact opposite when it comes to my usual workout routine, and how I’m trying to avoid acting “retired” 24/7.

The messy middle of reinvention doesn’t always look super dramatic from the outside. It’s like a series of tiny experiments that slowly start reshaping your life.

In This Episode:

• The six-week pottery class I almost bailed on 90 minutes (!!) before it started
• My awkward first attempt filming video content (hello, cringe mountain)
• The self-care appointment I hadn’t done in almost 1 year
• Early reactions to the Brick device and how it’s impacting my screen time
• A coffee chat with a founder building device-free “third space” experiences

Resources & Links:

Read my layoff story in Maggie Blackburn’s newsletter, Feeling Free

Learn more about the Brick if you want to cut back on your phone screen time

Get the FREE AI prompt I used to map out my 3 odysseys, lifeview, and workview

Related Episodes:

Episode 3: The Bad Habit That Hijacks My Life, and What I’m Changing in 2026

Episode 10: I Asked AI to Map Out My Future… and It Gave Me 3 Completely Different Lives

Let's Connect:

Follow me on Instagram: @alisonkinsey or send me an email: alison@alisonkinsey.com.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

I also help entrepreneurs and thought leaders launch and grow their podcasts through my boutique podcast editing agency, Podcasting for Creatives.

Every time someone asks me what’s next for my life, I freeze. And last week, a conversation with my former boss pushed me to explore that tension using AI in a way I didn’t expect. (And I’m sharing the ENTIRE prompt with you so you can try it too!)

We’re talking all things AI, internet nostalgia, and what I learned when I used Claude to map out three potential “paths” for my career.

In This Episode:

• Betting on a dream vs. the “safer” path that’s less risky
• How I craft thoughtful AI prompts to avoid surface level answers
• The reflection questions that forced me to confront what I think about work
• AI use cases, including my take on AI clones
• The future version of my life that would feel like a “slow death”

Resources & Links:

Get the FREE prompt I used to map out my 3 odysseys, lifeview, and workview

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Learn more about AI Snack Club to join a community of other women mastering AI together

Let's Connect:

Follow me on Instagram: @alisonkinsey or send me an email: alison@alisonkinsey.com.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

I also help entrepreneurs and thought leaders launch and grow their podcasts through my boutique podcast editing agency, Podcasting for Creatives.

Seven months ago, I was googling “how to make extra money from home.” I had just been laid off, my nervous system was buzzing, and I needed proof that I could still be “valuable” and generate income if I had to.

Over 3 months, I experimented with three different gig-style income streams: market research studies, restaurant mystery shopping, and wedding event support, and made exactly $1,127.

Some of it felt empowering. Some of it felt absurd.

In This Episode:

• What it was like having a post go viral on LinkedIn last week
• Why I felt like I needed to be “busy” and “useful” after getting laid off
• How I landed seven paid market research gigs, one of which paid $200
• The unglamorous aspects of restaurant mystery shopping
• The mindset shift that made me stop gig work completely and commit to building visibility and leverage

Resources & Links:

Episode 2: Why I Almost “PANIC-SOLD” My House, and How I’m Saving Over $1,500/Month

Sign up for Dscout and make money doing research studies.

Check out these mystery shopping companies: A Closer Look and iSecretShop.

Let's Connect:

Follow me on Instagram: @alisonkinsey or send me an email: alison@alisonkinsey.com.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

I also help entrepreneurs and thought leaders launch and grow their podcasts through my boutique podcast editing agency, Podcasting for Creatives.

There is a WILD cultural shift happening between AI, massive layoffs, and the boom of portfolio careers, “boring” businesses, and complete identity rewrites are happening EVERYWHERE.

One woman left Slack and Asana and built a 6-figure income without a traditional job. Another started a “boring” business and had a four-figure day. People are walking away from a stable corporate path to make a zig-zag pivot into a dream they can’t ignore.

It feels less like rebellion and more like recalibration, and I can’t stop paying attention!

In This Episode:

• The unconventional income mix behind Maggie’s $107K portfolio career
• How Alyssa turned a playful hobby into a creative income stream
• The sentence my friend said about her wine bar dream that gave me chills
• My friend’s “boring business” that is generating real revenue
• Why I’m constantly turning to my 80-90 year old self for wisdom

Resources & Links:

Many of the women featured in my stories have Substacks where they go deeper on their pivots! Check them out here:

Feeling Free by Maggie Blackburn

Made of Memories by Alyssa Mopia

From the Inside Out by Jessica Howell

Episode 6: I Turned Down TWO 6-Figure Job Opportunities - Am I Crazy?!

Let's Connect:

Follow me on Instagram: @alisonkinsey or send me an email: alison@alisonkinsey.com.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

I also help entrepreneurs and thought leaders launch and grow their podcasts through my boutique podcast editing agency, Podcasting for Creatives.