What does it take to keep leading when uncertainty, technology, caregiving, and constant pressure are stretching your mind and nervous system to their limits?

In this episode of She Owns It, Kristen McAlister sits down with Michele Jewett, founder of Q4 Leaders and executive coach, for a conversation about what business owners and executives carry behind the scenes. Michele shares what she is seeing among leaders navigating uncertainty, technological change, employee challenges, and the emotional weight of supporting their businesses and families.

Together, they explore how leaders can create safe spaces, develop a kinder inner voice, and acknowledge difficult emotions without allowing them to take over the day. Michele explains why the drive that helped build a successful career may no longer be the healthiest fuel for the next chapter—and how to replace fear, criticism, and constant striving with love, purpose, and sustainable growth.

Kristen and Michele also examine the evolving relationship between leaders and AI. Michele encourages business owners to choose how they want to engage with this technology. Her reminder to “observe, not absorb” offers a powerful framework for navigating news, social media, conflict, and leadership.

They also discuss meditation, comparison, the freedom to begin again, and why entrepreneurs remain trapped in the grind even after their businesses become successful. Michele shares how self-awareness, peer support, and simplification can help business owners reconnect with the freedom they originally wanted to create.

This episode is for leaders who feel overwhelmed or unsure how to navigate the next chapter. If you have been comparing yourself to others, carrying more than you can control, or wondering why your business no longer feels freeing, this conversation is an invitation to pause, reassess, and begin again.

Key Takeaways

• Creating a safe space requires attention and a willingness to go first.

• A kinder inner voice helps leaders process anxiety without adding shame.

• The fuel that built your success may not sustain your next chapter.

• Choose an intentional relationship with AI, news, and social media.

• Observe without absorbing to protect your energy while staying informed.

• Comparison diminishes joy; finding what works for you creates peace.

In This Episode

• [00:00] Leading through uncertainty

• [03:37] Creating a safe space for others

• [06:22] Developing a kinder inner voice

• [10:24] Changing the fuel that drives you

• [13:21] Navigating AI and rapid change

• [20:03] Learning to observe, not absorb

• [25:00] Meditation and inner peace

• [27:37] Escaping the comparison trap

• [31:16] The power of beginning again

• [33:38] Moving beyond the grind

• [36:54] Defining freedom

• [38:46] Why success is not a solo journey

• [40:00] Simplifying what no longer serves you

Notable Quotes

• [07:08] “I think part of it, and for a lot of women, is trying to find a kind inner voice.” – Michele

• [15:48] “Put yourself in the driver’s seat. Ask yourself, ‘What would I like my relationship to be with this new intelligence that’s on the planet?’” – Michele

• [20:03] “Can you observe but not absorb?” – Michele

• [28:01] “Comparison just ruins happiness and joy.” – Michele

• [31:16] “The simplest quote has turned out to be the most meaningful, which is just begin again.” – Michele

Resources and Links

Our Guest

Michele Jewett is the founder of Q4 Leaders and an executive coach who helps business owners navigate uncertainty, strengthen self-awareness, and build businesses that support their freedom.

Michele Jewett

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelejewett/⁠ Website: ⁠https://q4leaders.com/⁠

Kristen McAlister

Website:⁠ https://www.kristenmcalister.com/⁠LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenmcalister⁠

What if the problem isn’t that you’re failing, but that your body is finally asking you to stop pushing through?

In this episode of She Owns It!, Kristen McAlister sits down with Dr. Shannon Burke of Curis Functional Health for a real and honest conversation about women’s health, stress, hormones, nervous systems, menopause, recovery, and the silent pressure so many women carry in midlife.

Dr. Burke shares why so many high-performing women feel anxious, exhausted, wired but tired, disconnected from themselves, or frustrated that they no longer feel like they used to. Together, Kristen and Shannon unpack what is really happening beneath the surface, from estrogen and progesterone changes to cortisol timing, sleep disruption, vagus nerve regulation, emotional recovery, and the role of hormone therapy.

This conversation is not about surviving midlife. It is about understanding your body, advocating for yourself, building recovery into your life, and learning how to lead with more clarity, capacity, and self-trust.

For any woman who has been quietly wondering, “Why don’t I feel like myself anymore?” This episode is the conversation you may have needed years ago.

Key moments:

00:00 — The conversations women should have been having years ago
01:00 — Dr. Shannon Burke’s 26-year journey in women’s health
03:00 — Why so many women say, “I want to feel like me again”
04:00 — The vulnerability of admitting, “I may look like I’m succeeding, but I’m failing”
05:00 — Why midlife changes the way your nervous system handles stress
06:00 — How estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol affect energy, mood, anxiety, and sleep
09:00 — Why hormones are not always the first or only answer
11:00 — The role of the vagus nerve and the brain-gut connection
13:00 — Simple tools for vagal toning and calming the nervous system
14:00 — Morning sunlight, breathing techniques, and grounding
17:00 — Why hydration, electrolytes, protein, and muscle matter in midlife
19:00 — Why women can’t keep processing stress the way they did at 35
20:00 — Self-care as necessary infrastructure, not indulgence
21:00 — The difference between physical recovery and emotional recovery
23:00 — Why sleep should be treated like one of your biggest assets
24:00 — Brain dumps, bedtime routines, and fixing cortisol timing
26:00 — Why that relaxing glass of wine may be disrupting your sleep
27:00 — Why recovery becomes your new superpower
29:00 — Hormone therapy, the Women’s Health Initiative, and why women are still afraid
34:00 — Finding a certified menopause specialist and advocating for better care
36:00 — Trusted resources and why women need doctors who truly see them
38:00 — Why midlife can be a powerful season, not just something to survive
40:00 — Advice for women entering or already navigating midlife
43:00 — What brings Dr. Burke joy and purpose
44:00 — What Dr. Burke is owning today: not abandoning herself
47:00 — Leading with confidence, clarity, and ourselves first

Notable quotes:

“We’re all suffering, but we’re suffering in silence.”

“Midlife is a time where our nervous system says, ‘That doesn’t fly anymore.’”

“Your body is changing through the normal course that it’s supposed to change.”

“Very often it’s not a hormone deficiency running the show. Very often it’s stress.”

“Recovery is your superpower.”

“Self-care is not selfish. It is necessary infrastructure.”

“Sleep should be treated like the biggest asset you have.”

“No, I don’t. I can actually thrive in this.”

“Be your own champion.”

“I am owning not abandoning myself.”

“Drop the guilt, drop the apologies, and just be true to yourself.”