I continue my Ambition In Between series by exploring something many of us experience but don’t always name: the mixed emotions that surface after completing a big ambition. I look at why conflicting feelings show up, what they might be pointing to, and how we can work with them instead of against them.

Toward the end of the episode, I offer several sets of reflection questions to help you review your year, make sense of the emotional complexity that may have surfaced over the past twelve months, and consider what you want to carry into 2026.

Whether you’re at the end of a big project, navigating a transition, or simply noticing conflicting feelings about where you are right now, this episode invites you to expand your lens, honor the “both/and,” and move forward with more clarity and self-trust.

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Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcast

Learn more about my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at: https://sustainableambition.com/books You can also get order links and pre-order bonuses!

Pre-order my book on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4hESYMp

Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

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What does it mean to live a creative life? How can creative pursuits support us in being ambitious and living sustainably?

Fostering creativity, innovation, and visual thinking can boost our ability to see and enact new or different ways of working and living. Laura Holson offers insights on integrating creativity into our lives, why so many of us come back to creative pursuits in midlife and beyond, and how creative practices sustain us for the long term.

Learn more about Laura Holson:

• Website
• Instagram: @lauramholson

Thanks for Listening!

If you liked this episode, please rate, review, and share the episode. Thank you so much!

Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcast

Learn more about my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at: https://sustainableambition.com/books You can also get order links and pre-order bonuses!

Pre-order my book on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4hESYMp

Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

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Since the June release of my first book, Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work, a number of people have asked me how it feels to have achieved this big ambition. Have I checked that box and moved on to something different? Or am I percolating another book idea?

Over the last few months, I’ve been mulling over and researching those questions. Today’s episode kicks off a new series exploring how we navigate the ups and downs of our ambitions, and what happens if we don’t end up quite where we thought we would.

Pursuing our ambitions is ultimately a process of learning more about who we are and what we want. And even when things don’t turn out as expected, it still moves our stories forward.

Thanks for Listening!

If you liked this episode, please rate, review, and share the episode. Thank you so much!

Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcast

Learn more about my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at: https://sustainableambition.com/books You can also get order links and pre-order bonuses!

Pre-order my book on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4hESYMp

Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

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What if the future of work isn’t about technology but about being more human?

That’s the question at the heart of my conversation with Dr. Natalie Nixon, creativity strategist and author of Move, Think, Rest: Redefining Productivity & Our Relationship with Time.

Natalie believes we’re not in a technology revolution. We’re in a human revolution. In this new era, imagination, curiosity, and creativity aren’t luxuries or “nice to have.” They’re strategic advantages. But to access them, we have to rethink how we work and how we rest.

Learn more about Natalie Nixon:

• Figure 8 Thinking
• Instagram: @natwnixon
• Connect on LinkedIn

Thanks for Listening!

If you liked this episode, please rate, review, and share the episode. Thank you so much!

Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcast

Learn more about my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at: https://sustainableambition.com/books You can also get order links and pre-order bonuses!

Pre-order my book on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4hESYMp

Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

Sign up for my curated bi-weekly Sustainable Ambition Forum newsletter at: https://sustainableambition.com/subscribe

Hard work isn’t a bad thing, even when we’re seeking sustainability. The trick is to put hard work into what actually matters to make progress and meet our goals.

If you want to advance in your career, focusing on performance metrics alone won’t lead to success. In today’s conversation, leading visibility coach Susan Barber shares how visibility is an essential piece of making the impact you want to make and offers practical steps for shaping how you show up at work.

Learn more about Susan Barber:

• Website
• The Visibility Factor Podcast
• Connect on LinkedIn

Thanks for Listening!

If you liked this episode, please rate, review, and share the episode. Thank you so much!

Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcast

Learn more about my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at: https://sustainableambition.com/books You can also get order links and pre-order bonuses!

Pre-order my book on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4hESYMp

Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

Sign up for my curated bi-weekly Sustainable Ambition Forum newsletter at: https://sustainableambition.com/subscribe

If we want work to work better for us, we need meaningful work. But that doesn’t mean we have to choose between what’s good for individuals and what’s good for our organizations.

In this episode, Wes Adams and Tamara Myles dig into why meaningful work matters, why we need to shift away from downstream metrics like engagement, and three essential focus areas for fostering meaningful work. And as they share, becoming meaning-driven leaders doesn’t have to be overwhelming, rather it invites us to be intentional about creating moments of meaning for those around us.

Learn more about Wes Adams:

• Instagram: @wesadams1
• Connect on LinkedIn

Learn more about Tamara Myles:

• Instagram: @tamaramyles
• Connect in LinkedIn

Thanks for Listening!

If you liked this episode, please rate, review, and share the episode. Thank you so much!

Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcast

Learn more about my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at: https://sustainableambition.com/books You can also get order links and pre-order bonuses!

Pre-order my book on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4hESYMp

Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

Sign up for my curated bi-weekly Sustainable Ambition Forum newsletter at: https://sustainableambition.com/subscribe

Our work and our finances are inextricably linked. Our financial wellness impacts how we view our work and shapes the choices and trade-offs we make, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Return guest Dana Miranda joins me to discuss how embracing the link between financial wellness and our work can actually help us find more flexibility and peace in our choices as we navigate the inevitable ebb and flow of energy and ambition in our lives.

Learn more about Dana Miranda:

• Healthy Rich
• Substack: @justdanamiranda
• Connect with Dana on LinkedIn
• You Don’t Need a Budget: Stop Worrying about Debt, Spend without Shame, and Manage Money with Ease

Thanks for Listening!

If you liked this episode, please rate, review, and share the episode. Thank you so much!

Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcast

Learn more about my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at: https://sustainableambition.com/books You can also get order links and pre-order bonuses!

Pre-order my book on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4hESYMp

Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

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A “popular” metric people like to look at is employee engagement. But I’ve always thought this data isn’t that useful and have wondered if this is the best data point to focus on to understand how people really feel about their work.

But if not this metric, where do we focus instead?

My guest today, Mark C. Crowley, argues that we need to “lead with both mind and heart” to create environments where employees feel supported and like they belong. And why the way we manage people today is unsustainable — and what leaders must do differently.

Learn more about Mark C. Crowley:

• Website
• Lead from the Heart Podcast
• X: @markccrowley
• Connect on LinkedIn

Thanks for Listening!

If you liked this episode, please rate, review, and share the episode. Thank you so much!

Get show notes for this episode at https://sustainableambition.com/podcast

Learn more about my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at: https://sustainableambition.com/books You can also get order links and pre-order bonuses!

Pre-order my book on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4hESYMp

Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

Sign up for my curated bi-weekly Sustainable Ambition Forum newsletter at: https://sustainableambition.com/subscribe