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Shamelessly Ambitious I Helping Ambitious Women Prevent Burnout + Create Nervous System First Success in Business, Motherhood, & Life
Shamelessly Ambitious is an honest, grounding, and vulnerable podcast for ambitious, emotionally intelligent women who are done proving themselves, tired of living in constant high-functioning burnout, and craving a life and business that actually feel good.
Hosted by Ash McDonald—therapist, nervous-system-first business mentor, and speaker this show blends clinical expertise with lived experience to deliver nervous system tools, embodied strategies, and radical permission so you can expand your capacity, root into emotional steadiness, and build sustainable success that supports your whole life.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stretched too thin, caught in productivity guilt, or stuck running on stress, this podcast meets you where you are—with therapeutic insights, embodied practices, and heartfelt stories that create real shifts. Whether you’re navigating motherhood, entrepreneurship, or the messy middle of redefining success, each episode helps you slow down, regulate, and return to a felt sense of safety in your body.
With over a decade of experience at the intersection of therapy and leadership, Ash pulls back the curtain on what really works—offering grounded guidance you can apply in real life.
What you’ll hear:
- Honest conversations about burnout recovery, nervous system regulation, and redefining success
- Somatic tools, meditations, and practices that build inner safety and capacity
- Stories of motherhood, mom-life, ambition, and the courage to create a life and business that feel rich and real
If you’re asking the following questions, you’re in the right place:
- How do I stop tying my worth to productivity?
- How do I know if I’m experiencing high-functioning burnout and what do I do about it?
- How do I balance motherhood and leadership without losing myself?
- How do I calm my body when I feel overwhelmed or overstimulated?
This is the podcast for when you’re ready to reclaim peace, expand what you can hold, and create success that doesn’t cost you yourself. Tune in and take the next step toward a regulated, rooted, and deeply fulfilling life.
Shamelessly Ambitious I Helping Ambitious Women Prevent Burnout + Create Nervous System First Success in Business, Motherhood, & Life
149. Seven Signs You’re in High-Functioning Burnout
Are you loving it? Send Ash a text!
What was meant to be a little pause turned into almost a year and a half off the mic.
August 2024 to October 2025.
Time is fake, apparently.
In this catch-up episode, I share where I’ve been, why I chose life (again and again) over momentum, and how I rebuilt my days around values that actually feel like mine, even when it meant letting go of things that once defined me.
If you’ve ever felt torn between who you’re “supposed” to be and the life you actually want, this one’s a full-blown compass reset.
TOPICS & TANGENTS:
• The unexpected 18-month break and why returning mattered
• Worldschooling adventures from Washington to Brazil
• Building community and life in Colorado
• Choosing what fits instead of chasing balance
• Values vs. ideals: letting your real life show what matters
• Perfectionism as a sneaky burnout driver
• Stepping away from social media and finding peace
POINT OF THE STORY:
Regulation isn’t about perfect calm.
It’s about choosing what matters when it costs you something, over and over again.
When your values get honest, your life gets simpler.
🎁 RELAUNCH GIVEAWAY (10/29–10/31):
Get free access to The Energy Advantage mini training (under 15 minutes!), where I share the exact framework I used to double my energy, work less frantically, and actually end my days with something left in the tank.
How to get instant access:
1️⃣ Leave a review for Shamelessly Ambitious on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
2️⃣ Screenshot your review
3️⃣ Upload it using the short form
Once you do, you’ll get immediate access to:
From Constant Exhaustion to Overflowing Energy, The Fastest Way High-Achieving Women Can Reclaim Their Capacity in 2025
Rooting for you, your way, always 🖤
MORE ABOUT ASH
I am the definition of duality — I swear like a sailor and break rules like it’s my job, but I also hold incredible space for my clients and work my ass off to help them achieve the success they’re after. But I'm also here for the non-preneur woman, too. My background in counseling gives me a unique perspective on what it means to show up, serve, & create connection for those who feel like they've never belonged before.
LINKS:
- Become the Regulated Woman
- Get emails that feel like your best friend (if your best friend was a therapist and actually told you the truth).
- Use code BB20 to get The Burnout Breakthrough for only $7
- Follow me on IG (dropping in once a quarter for updates & gossip)
- Website: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com
Work with me 1:1
- Therapeutic Mentorship
- Business Therapy (therapy + strategic mentorship) ...