What if the key to moving from stuck to unstoppable isn’t finding your one big purpose but choosing to live with purpose, every day?

In this episode, we sit down with Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action and author of New York Bestseller Fired Up, to explore a practical framework for aligning what you value, what you're good at, and what truly matters to you. She calls it the fire formula, a tool for any stage of life, from early career to midlife reinvention.

We unpack three common myths that hold women back:

• That you need a single, all-consuming calling
• That happiness is the goal
• That constant busyness means you're succeeding

Shannon also shares her playbook for handling blowback when you start showing up differently, how to decide whose feedback matters, what to hold onto, and how to keep going when the discomfort sets in.

You’ll hear actionable strategies for building aligned community, sustaining momentum, and reclaiming your time and voice. We also get into:

• How to navigate professional risks and resistance
• How to build meaningful relationships in midlife
• How to push back against the systems and narratives shaping our democracy

This is a grounded, honest conversation about courage, clarity, and living on your own terms. If you’re ready to stop waiting for permission, this episode offers the tools and the push to start.

Click here for more Show Notes and Guest Bio.

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Democracy thrives when citizens participate, yet America faces a troubling reality: even in presidential elections, only 65% of eligible voters cast ballots, with participation plummeting in local and primary elections. This democratic deficit has serious consequences, especially for women and historically marginalized communities who continue to face systemic barriers to political participation.

At the heart of this problem lies a structural issue: closed primary systems that restrict voting to registered party members. These closed primaries shrink the voter pool, fuel polarization, and produce candidates who cater to partisan extremes rather than representing the broader population. The result? Elected officials less willing to compromise and increasingly dysfunctional governance.

In this compelling conversation, Margaret Kobos, founder of Oklahoma United, and political consultant Sarah Blaney explore how open primaries could transform our democratic landscape. They make a powerful case for State Question 836, which would implement an open primary system in Oklahoma where all candidates appear on a single ballot accessible to every voter. The top two finishers would advance to the general election, ensuring meaningful choice in November.

The statistics are striking: Oklahoma has ranked last in voter turnout nationally, with only 51% of voters registered as Republican despite complete Republican control of state government. With 80-90% of election decisions effectively made during primary elections, the current system silences independent voters and moderates from both parties. This directly correlates with Oklahoma's poor rankings in education, women's quality of life, and other critical metrics.

What makes this reform particularly powerful is its simplicity and familiarity, it mirrors the system already used successfully in Oklahoma's municipal elections. By expanding this model to all elections, voters would gain real choice while elected officials would become accountable to the entire electorate, not just partisan extremes.

Ready to support democratic reform? Learn more about open primaries and how you can get involved in this movement to revitalize American democracy through meaningful electoral reform. The future of our representative government depends on ensuring every voice can truly be heard.

If you enjoy the episode share it with a friend, leave us a review and don't forget to hit the subscribe button.

If you are ready to take your career and business to the next level, apply to join our community of professional women, all eager to help you get there and stay there. Learn more at www.VESTHer.co

When we talk about startup runway, we obsess over finances, how many months until the money runs out. But what about the founder's emotional runway? That invisible reservoir of energy, resilience, and motivation that keeps a company alive even when the path forward seems impossible?

In this deeply personal and practical conversation, Claudia Naim Burt, Co-founder and COO of Keep Company, shares how she discovered the concept of emotional runway through her own struggle to sustain herself while building a venture-backed startup. As one of only 250 Latinas to raise over $1 million in venture capital, Claudia brings a unique perspective to the challenges of entrepreneurship, motherhood, and maintaining wellbeing when everything feels urgent.

The emotional runway framework offers a strategic way to think about personal sustainability. Just as financial runway helps you make business decisions, emotional runway helps you make intentional choices about your time and energy before hitting burnout. Claudia shares her process of conducting an "energy audit" to identify activities that drain versus replenish her, and how making seemingly indulgent choices (like taking hour-long walks) became non-negotiable investments in herself as a key business asset.

Throughout our conversation, we explore powerful frameworks for extending your emotional runway:

• Reframing choices through values rather than guilt
• Recognizing the spectrum of burnout rather than viewing it as binary
• Making needs explicit rather than implicit
• Finding connection with peers as the ultimate antidote to isolation.

We also dive into how these principles apply differently across various seasons of business and life, and the importance of regularly renegotiating your contract with yourself about what matters most.

Ready to extend your emotional runway? Listen now and discover practical strategies to protect your wellbeing while leading through challenging times.

Your business and the people who depend on you will thank you for it.

Whether you’re running a business or building a career in corporate America, if you’re ready to extend your emotional runway, 🎧 Listen now.

If you enjoy the episode share it with a friend, leave us a review and don't forget to hit the subscribe button.

If you are ready to take your career and business to the next level, apply to join our community of professional women, all eager to help you get there and stay there. Learn more at www.VESTHer.co