Ted Lasso is a Business Story: Vulnerability ≠ Strategy

Episode 3: “Your Brand Can’t Hold Your Baggage”
Being honest about your story is powerful. But turning your trauma into a marketing plan? That’s something else entirely.

In this episode, we talk about the difference between integrated vulnerability and unprocessed oversharing—and how Ted Lasso gives us the perfect metaphor through characters like Jamie, Ted, and Dr. Sharon Fieldstone. We’ll also explore my own experience with public overexposure and the unexpected healing that came through a Season 1 interview with Eunice Brownlee.

This isn’t about shutting down your truth. It’s about knowing when your story is medicine—and when it’s still a wound.

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Transcript

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There's a scene in Ted Lasso where Ted walks off the pitch mid match. He's not injured. He's not angry. He's having a panic attack and he hides it barely. Not because he's ashamed, but because he doesn't yet have the words for what's happening. That is the tension we are diving into today. What happens when we confuse performing vulnerability with processing pain. Especially in business. Especially online. Hey, hey, it's Mary Williams and this is the School of Moxie podcast where we use your favorite TV shows to talk about real business, real leadership, and real damn life. This season, we are unpacking Ted Lasso, and today's conversation is a big one. We are talking about emotional exposure, social media trauma cycles, and how to share your story without burning yourself or your audience out. Don't forget to subscribe for updates and behind the scenes woo at sensible woo.com/subscribe. Let's talk about algorithmic authenticity. That moment when crying on camera becomes a marketing tactic. When the algorithm rewards our nervous systems for being cracked open on cue. When the phrase just be vulnerable becomes a demand, not an invitation. It's everywhere. And while it might look like healing, it's often just performance. Now listen, this isn't me dragging people for feeling big feelings. You should feel things. You should have space for your humanity in your business. But the moment we monetize the wound before it's healed, we risk bleeding all over our audience and calling it service. Ted's panic attacks were never about content. He wasn't trying to brand his breakdown. He was just breaking, and that's what made it honest. Pain when witnessed and honored, creates trust. Pain when packaged and scheduled, that creates suspicion. I've experienced this firsthand during the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial I was massively triggered. As a survivor of abuse, I felt like I was watching the world gaslight victims all over again, and I shared too soon. I vented online. I posted, I talked about it on platforms where it did not belong, and it landed nowhere. Not because people didn't care, but because I hadn't done the inner work yet to know why I was sharing. I didn't feel held, I didn't feel understood, and afterward I felt exposed. That's how I learned. If you're sharing something that still feels like an open wound, the internet is not your first stop. These days I still share about my story, but only when it serves a purpose beyond catharsis. Like when I talk about my hatred of online sales tactics that didn't come from business school, that came from surviving coercion, and now I speak from the scar, not the bruise. There's a huge difference between authentic content and,"I'm outsourcing my emotional regulation to the feed." And here's the rub. As a coach, I became the emotional support system for a lot of clients who hadn't realized they were projecting their unprocessed trauma into their business model. I was their safe person, their regulation, their container, and at first I felt honored. Then I felt tired, then I felt resentful because what no one tells you is business coaching is often a stand-in for therapy, and that's not just unfair to the coach. It's dangerous for the client. We need both. We need therapy to process our humanity, and we need coaching to build what's next, but one cannot replace the other. Roy Kent models this beautifully. He's fierce, honest, blunt, but never performative. He doesn't weaponize his emotions or turn them into content. He just shows up. Emotionally available, emotionally accountable. That's the kind of leadership I want to see more of. And then there's Keeley, the queen of public facing sparkle, and behind the scenes self-awareness. She doesn't use her trauma to manipulate. She doesn't brand her breakdowns. She chooses what to share, when to share, and how to lead with care. That's what I want to call us into. Not silence, but discernment. You can build a powerful business without turning your story into a circus. You can be vulnerable without live streaming your grief. You can teach from what you've processed and leave the rest for therapy, journaling, and trusted community. So if you're listening to this and feeling called out, please hear this instead as a call in. This isn't about shame, this is about sustainability. You don't owe the internet your unhealed self, and you don't have to sacrifice your safety to stay relevant. If you've been crying on camera oversharing, spiraling on stories, you don't need to apologize, but maybe just pause. Regulate, reflect, refocus, because your story, it deserves to be shared, just not before you have found the power in it. This episode is brought to you by my membership newsletter, the Woo Crew. But before you commit to another subscription, did you know you can get a free reading every Saturday delivered right to your inbox? Yep. It's totally free. And designed just for entrepreneurs. Head over to sensible woo.com/subscribe to sign up. You'll get a weekly tarot reading to help you make aligned business decisions plus a peek at whether I am the right reader for you. No pressure, no sales funnel trap. It's your taste test the ethical way. You'll also receive weekly updates about my online and in-person workshops and events. It's not just a newsletter. It's a weekly media magazine digest for intuitive entrepreneurs who want clarity, strategy and just the right amount of magic. There's a big difference between crying with your audience and crying on your audience. The first builds trust. The second creates confusion. You don't have to bleed for likes. You don't have to retraumatize yourself to be relatable. You don't have to air your hardest moments before you have made sense of them. This episode is about pacing, about sovereignty, about sharing your humanity in ways that build your business, not break it down. You don't need a formula to know what's sacred. You already know. And if you've been stuck in that trauma to content pipeline, you can get out. You just need a better boundary. Build your business with the same care you'd want someone to hold your story. You are the steward. You get to choose what gets shared. And that choice. That is where your power lives. Thanks for listening to the School of Moxie podcast. I'm Mary Williams. This season is inspired by Ted Lasso, which is available to watch on Apple TV Plus. This podcast is written, produced, and edited through my media company, Moxie Studios in Vancouver, Washington. Make sure to subscribe to the School of Moxie podcast on your favorite podcast app and also on YouTube. Leaving a five star review helps other listeners find the show, and it is always deeply appreciated. And hey, if you're feeling inspired by this episode, send it to a biz bestie who's building something with heart and remind them that their healing isn't a pitch deck. It's sacred. I'll see you next episode.