EP 19 | Goals with Soul: Redefining Success with Confidence, Joy, and Alignment with Kate House

The goals you’ve been taught to chase might be the very ones burning you out. Together with transformational coach and new author Kate House, we trade checkbox ambition for goals with soul—a human, flexible approach that honors your capacity, your season, and your joy. We dig into why rigid timelines often backfire for moms and high achievers, and how to design goals that are aspirational yet attainable, deeply meaningful, and right-sized for the life you’re actually living.

Kate breaks down her four-part framework and shows how to build confidence through aligned action. You’ll hear simple, non-fluffy tactics and tools and we talk through seasonality—newborn chaos, school schedules, health shifts—and how to keep momentum by adjusting your pace without abandoning your dreams. 

We also get honest about identity evolution. You’re allowed to pivot, experiment, and choose yourself without apologizing. =

If you’re craving ambition that feels like you, this conversation is your permission slip to take up space, start small, and keep going. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts to help more rockstar moms live with intention and ease. What’s one tiny action you’ll take today toward a goal with soul?

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Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You are listening to the Rockstar Mom, a podcast for high achievers who are ready to get off of autopilot and live a life with more intention, peace of mind, and happiness. This is a space to expand, dig deep, get clear, and take action towards living your most authentic, aligned life. I'm Megan Caldwell. As a mom of three, two-time burnout survivor, and empowerment coach and speaker, I've cracked the code on what it actually takes to thrive at work and home, ditch perfectionism and people pleasing, get your schedule under control, and live with more ease. So you've got more time and energy to do the things you love without the mom guilt. It's time to get out of your head and into action. Now is the time to live your most rock star life. Let's go. Hey hey, my friends, and welcome back. I am super excited to share today's conversation with you with my really good friend Kate House. Do you ever meet someone, whether in person or virtually, and you're like, yes, and you just click and you just feel like you're instant friends. That is my experience with Kate. Kate is an amazing transformational coach, speaker, and as of this week, she is also now a published author. And I am just so excited to share this conversation with you, which was recorded from one of our past Rockstar Mom live summits and virtual events, where we are talking about goals with soul, redefining success with confidence, joy, and alignment. And in this conversation, we're gonna talk about why traditional goal setting often doesn't work and how to bring a much more feminine approach that fits your current season of life. She's gonna really break down what goals with soul actually means and how you can make these feel good for you. We talk about the connection between confidence and action and how you can actually build more of that. And it's just a really, really wonderful conversation. And if you're catching this in February of 2026, I also want to invite you to Kate's Owning Her Authority Summit that I am speaking on next week. This summit, she has brought together 30 other speakers where it is all about helping you step into that next version of yourself, your 2.0 version, if you will. It's an amazing opportunity where you can listen anywhere, just pop your earbuds in. The episodes are free for forever. And she really has just a kick-ass panel that is guiding these conversations. And our conversation, which drops on Tuesday, February 10th, is all about how to live your rockstar life. I am going behind the scenes to break down taking value-aligned action and what the Rockstar Mom framework actually looks like. So I invite you to join us for that. And if you are catching this at a much later date, go check out Kate because she really is a kick-ass human. All right, enough from me for now. Enjoy the conversation I had with Miss Kate House.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Kate, welcome to the show. Oh my goodness, Megan, thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to be back here and to be with this incredible community you've created.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Thank you. Before we dive in, I'd love to share a little bit with our audience about who you are and all of the magic that you bring to us today. So Kate empowers women to own their voice, ignite their confidence, and drive change. As a transformation coach, she guides ascending women, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs to amplify their voices, realize their vision, and step into their highest leadership potential through her owning her authority podcast and mastermind programs. Kate provides the clarity, community, and confidence women need to create a powerful impact. She understands the internal and external challenges women face when stepping into their power. She empowers them to overcome limiting beliefs, build a strong community, and take bold action. Her expertise is underscored by her achievements, including recognition as a top 2% globally ranked podcast host for owning her authority, successfully hosting virtual summits for thousands of goal-getting women, and her upcoming debut as an author in the field of women's leadership. Oh my goodness, Kate, you bring so much to our world. And ah, this is gonna be such a fun conversation.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Oh my gosh, thank you. I can't help but just like smile as you read that out because it's been a long journey of just taking the next right step. And it's just kind of cool to be like, wow, yeah, I've done all those things. It's taken time and energy and intention and doesn't happen overnight, and that's okay. And here you are.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

And the fun piece, which I know we're gonna get into, is that the journey just keeps going. We have this opportunity to continue to grow and to continue to evolve as women. And so I'm excited to explore that and share again so much of your tips, techniques, and ways with our listeners today. So I want to begin with kind of one of your secret sauces and one of the things that I now know that you are known for, which is what you call goals with soul. Talk to me a little bit about not only like what are goals with soul, but like why are they important?

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Yes. Oh my gosh, I love this question, Megan. So I think many of us, when we think about the word goal, that we don't always have like the best relationship with it, or we were taught smart goals as kids, which is like time-bound and you know, measurable and all these things. And there's nothing wrong with a smart goal, but for me, it's like a very masculine approach to goal setting. And it assumes that you have this like structured life with the same amount of energy and time every day. And I'm over here like, hey, I'm a woman, like my waist look and feel different week to week. I have two small kids in elementary school. Like, I need flexibility with my goals. Like, I need to be able to like press pause and take care of my kid that came home with the flu or something or strep or who knows what. And then press play again. And so I felt like smart goals just made me feel so defeated because more often than not, it was the time-bound piece that really got me.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Like, oh, yes, right.

The Four Parts Of Goals With Soul

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Like, I love the book Essentialism by Greg McGowan. And in it, he talks about how everything, like, he always budgets 50% more time for activities and tasks than he thinks he needs. And when I heard that, I was like, I feel so seen because everything I want to do, like, I'm a high achiever. I have an idea and I want it done yesterday. And like the fact that things take time, like I've had to learn like budget 50% more time than I think I'm gonna need. And then that way, like I have the freedom for life to unfold in the background, right? For a parent to need support or a grandparent is sick, or these big things in life that happen and we can't always control them, right? And so yeah, that's where really Goals with Soul came from for me. I was like, I need a more fluid, a more feminine approach to goals, and I want to take the like bro mentality out of it.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Totally. I love that you bring that up and bring up this whole concept of masculine and feminine, and really we as women, how do we lean into what actually works for us and what serves us long term? Because that then is how we create change in this world, which is what I'm about, is when we take care of ourselves, we create this ripple effect that just seeps into our families, into our children, into our communities. I also want to note this whole concept of this timeliness piece or time-bound piece of goals. And as you're saying that, like, yeah, there's like a little cringe, right? And I know that so many members in our audience here, we want more time. Truth be told, we're never gonna create more time. But there are ways to do this to make it work for us. One other quick thing I just wanted to share is I heard a couple months ago, the greatest cause of stress. I don't know if this is like truth, but it sticks with me. The greatest cause of stress is when we attach a timeline to an action that we're wanting to do. I mean, think about it. If you're like, okay, I gotta pick up my kids at three, and all of a sudden the the train is going across and you get stuck, you feel the stress creep up because there's a timeline that you need to get there before the kids are at three, or the proposal is due to get to so and so. And if there's a timeline, we feel tightened stress if we give ourselves a little bit more flexibility, not as much. So I think that this is really about what goals with soul is tied into. What does this actually look like? What does it mean to have a goal with soul versus a smart goal?

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Right? Well, I love that, Megan. Even as you're like describing it, I'm sure the audience had this experience too. I could like feel my gut tightening, like, oh god, timelines. Yeah. And so, yeah, that's what a goal with soul is about. So I like to say that a goal with soul is four things. The first is that it's aspirational. And what I mean by that is it's a goal that future Megan, oh, she's got this, future Kate, totally like she is totally capable of this. Current Megan, current Kate, like maybe it makes our palms a little sweaty, or we get some butterflies in our stomach. And that's okay. Usually that's a sign you're actually like going the direction that you like you really want to go. So we're thinking in terms of our future self. So this goal was sold for mine for a long time, up until recently. My goal is to write my first book. Happy to report, it's happened. It is happening. But for me, that was aspirational, right? When I sat down and was like, I'm gonna write a book. I had never written a book before, I had no quote proof that I could do this. But I was like, no, I can because future me is capable of doing this. So I'm just gonna bet on my future self. So, first part of the goal is so it's aspirational. Future you've got this, Curry's a little nervous, but that's okay. Yeah. But the second piece, and it kind of feels like opposites, but I actually like to think of them as two sides of the same coin, is that it's attainable. So if you show up and you consistently put in the effort, and consistent doesn't have to mean like the same amount of time every day or even the same amount of time every week, it can ebb and flow. But if you show up consistently, it's something you can achieve. So like writing a book. If I show up and I joined a program and I had a coach, so I attended my coaching sessions, I made my outline, and then I just wrote one chapter at a time, right? And if you do that consistently over time, you have a 22-chapter book, right? So it's aspirational, but it's also attainable, right? And and sometimes we have to remember that. Like I'm a huge fan of having huge goals, like, but I don't like to think in like a 10-year vision because 10 years from now, I'm like, oh man, like it's too far. It's too far. I don't even know who I'll be in 10 years, right? And so I'm like, okay, what is the next right step? So this goal was sold, it's the next right step for you. It's aspirational, it's attainable, but it's also meaningful. Now, this is super cheesy, it's like such a dad joke to say this, but you can't spell meaningful without the word me. And I think these last two pieces are the most important for us ladies because so often, as high achievers, especially who want to create impact in the world, we might be the oldest daughter, we were probably a high achiever, straight Ace in school, like ticked all the boxes. And then one day, like many women in my community, myself included, we wake up and we're like, how did I get here? Do I really want this? And we have to think, and so a lot of times when we think about our smart goals, like sometimes these past goals we've set for ourselves, like they weren't actually meaningful to us. They felt like there was pressure from family or friends or society that said, this is what you quote, should want to do, right? And a goal of soul is all about you. You don't need to justify it to anybody. Certainly, if you have a partner, if you're married, right? Bring your family into the conversation. When I set out to write the book, I had to be like, hey, babe, I'm doing this thing. Like, I might need you to pump me up from time to time if I'm feeling a little defeated, or like, if I need to get a chapter done, like, can you get the kids off the bus? Right, which is something I normally do. Little things like that, right? It only matters to you. How does that feel to you, Megan? Like that meaningful piece.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

It just resonates so strongly as I know. I've called this kind of piece of it in the work that I do the foundation, if you will. And it's really getting clear in your priorities, your vision, and your values. And this sits right in there. Is we spend so much of our lives, so many women, especially the women in our audience who are saying, Hey, how do I live a more rock star life? How do I actually have more purpose and have more meaning? Is our goals then, the things that we set out, our visions, have to be for us. And this is what I preach so strongly is like we actually have to pull back the ropes a little bit. We actually have to get a little bit selfish to say, I'm actually just doing this for me. Yeah. It actually doesn't matter what the results are. Like, sure, do you want to be a bestseller and do you want to reach thousands and sure? But at the end of the day, it's your journey of doing the thing, whether it is as big as writing a book or figuring out how to eat breakfast consistently every day, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:42

So totally. Absolutely. And I always say, like, you don't have to justify this to anybody. Like now that the book is done and that was kind of my big priority for a while. Like, my fun thing now that I'm doing is I joined a master gardener program. I live in Pennsylvania. There's a program through Penn State. It's only like$200. It's like super inexpensive, but it's mostly like a time commitment. And I'm like, yeah, I'll show up at the Ag Center every Wednesday night to learn how to be a better gardener and connect with my community. Right. I'm like, I'm like Grandma Kate living her best life. But like that's my current goal of soul. I'm like, I honestly, like, I just want to like love my hobbies and lean into that sense of joy, right? And so, like, yeah, your goal of soul does not have to be write a book, start a podcast, do the thing. It can literally be like, I have a love of like baking bread, and I'm gonna take a class to learn how to do it even better, right? Like, that's amazing. So, yeah, let me ask you this, Kate.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

Yeah. For the women who may be listening who are like, that's awesome, Kate. Like, oh, Megan, I actually love cook making sourdough bread. Like, good for you. You've got the time. Like, I feel like so many women oftentimes when they're stuck in cycles of overwhelm and feeling really stuck, they don't even know where to start in terms of exploring what would be meaningful. How do you recommend women start to think about this? If they're like, where would I even go if I'm not really sure what I want or what is meaningful?

Finding What Feels Meaningful Again

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Yeah, I love that. I'd say two things. One is something that my friend and business coach Emily Rushel says, and it's this prompt of, wouldn't it be cool if? And just asking yourself, wouldn't it be cool if I started first back riding again? That's like my other fun thing that I've decided to start this year. And rollerblading. And rollerblading, I was thinking. And rollerblading. I'm doing like all the things that my 12-year-old self loved to do. And that's kind of what I mean by like the wouldn't it be cool if it's like, what did you enjoy? The second thing I would say is what did you enjoy when you were a kid? Like, what was the thing when you got into a flow state before you even knew what a flow state was, where you lost track of time and you were just totally in the moment and you were just like living your best life? Like for me, it was coloring. Like I could color for hours as a kid, but I was an art major in school, right? Like I love to have like, I mean, I've got like 40 colored pens next to me. Like, I still love color. Yeah. And so, like, what were the things that you enjoyed as a kid that maybe you've lost as you've gone into adulthood, right? Because you have responsibilities. Like, you're probably keeping little humans alive. Maybe you have a career, maybe you're an entrepreneur, maybe your partner's going through a hard time. Like, maybe your parents are sick, you're caring for an ailing grandparent. Like, my gosh, like our time is so taxed. And so I would say, like, what did you enjoy as a kid, or wouldn't it be cool if? And then I would make it like so simple. Like, I like to talk about like the lowest barrier to injury. So if it's like, yeah, I like to color as a kid, amazing. Go grab your adult coloring book and buy that beautiful, brightly colored pack of like Crayola markers from the store. And it can literally be like, for 10 minutes every night, I'm gonna color in this coloring book. And like making it as small as possible. Right, exactly. And like we might think, like, okay, okay, whatever. Like it's 10, but like it's cumulative. So like 10 minutes tonight, 10 minutes tomorrow night. And then sometimes when you're in that state of giving yourself permission to do something just for the joy and the fun of it, it can unlock other things. Like it gives you can be like, oh, look, I'm flexing my muscle of taking care of myself, or I'm flexing my muscle of creativity. And it makes it easier to do it more in the future. That's what I would say. And that, like the fourth piece of a goal of soul, actually think speaks to this really well is that a goal of soul is seasonally appropriate. And so I think we have to be really cognizant of this as women, as rock star moms. Like, we need to think about like, do you have a newborn who'll think that that is a totally different season of life than when your kids are like in high school or in elementary school? Like my kids are in school full-time for the second year, and I was a full-time stay-at-home mom. And so for me, I'm like, oh my gosh, this is such a different season of life, right? So my goal is so of writing a book. Like, if I had set that goal three years ago when both my boys were home, I would have just like felt like I was knocking my head against a wall because there is no way. It just it wouldn't, it was not the season, right? That season was like, how do I just keep showing up on my podcast consistently? Totally. And so I think that's a part of the conversation. I think that's what smart goals miss is what season of life are you in? Like I had long COVID last year. And so like the season that I wrote through was a season when I had very low energy. And I was like, I can't go speak on stages. I don't physically, I can't do it. But I could sit at my desk and I could like I wrote my book by writing it verbally and I dictated it into like a word doc and then I turned that into something readable because that's just I'm a podcaster, I like to talk. Yeah, you made it work for you. I yeah, and made it work for me and in the season I was in, right? And so sometimes it's not about thinking about like, oh, I can't wait for this next season or being wistful of a past season, but it's just like, how can I meet myself where I am with like so much love and tenderness that I would be to a friend that I don't normally show myself? Totally.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

That's what was coming for to mind for me as you were saying that I speak often to this whole concept of the season of life you're in as well. And is just we need to take time to pause and we need to take time to give ourselves some grace that we are holding so much and doing so much, and we have the power to delegate and say no and set boundaries, but also we have the power to to set these goals with soul, the things that are fun and aspirational. And I'm also just thinking to invite our listeners as well, as maybe they're like, hmm, what was it that I liked? Is just this whole concept of inviting yourself into curiosity, is just explore. When a friend mentions something, say, huh, would I like to go indoor skydiving? No, I actually wouldn't, wouldn't like to, but maybe I would like to take the aerial arts class or getting curious as to what opportunities are out there to see if it does fit in. And maybe if it doesn't fit in in your life right now, or I don't even like saying fit in, but if you are not in a space where you can make time for it in your life right now, put it over here in the parking lot and maybe you'll come back to it at some other point.

Seasonality And Setting Flexible Goals

SPEAKER_00 19:00

So yeah, I think that's awesome. I think that's so true. Because some I think we can let ourselves feel defeated and we're like, oh, I've got this desire to do this thing, but it's not the right season. It's like, oh no, that's like such a beautiful opportunity to be like, I hold space for this. I honor that I have this desire, but I also honor that I don't have the capacity right now, energetically, mentally, physically, emotionally, whatever. That's okay. And you just get to like, I like to like visualize that I like I'm holding it in my hands and like cherishing it. And I just like really gently like place it over to the side. And I'm like, I see you. I will come back to you. Like, you bet your buns, I'm gonna have a note on my phone where I jot down every idea I have about you between now and the time I get to start. Like by the time I started my book, I have like 40 different stories I wanted to tell from my life. And I just every time they came to mind, I just put them in this note in my phone. And that was my way of honoring like, I have this idea. I know it's the next right step, but it's not this step. And I would just put it in there. So the idea isn't lost, it's just waiting, it's just percolating, right? Sometimes you just gotta let it, you just gotta wait for the season.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Yeah, I love that so much. I'm a huge fan of the notes document for whatever it might be. And that's part of like when so many women have mental fog and decision fatigue. It's like sometimes we just have to get the stuff out of the out of the brain. So I love this idea of everybody, if you're listening right now, go ahead and open on up your phone, create a new notes document. And I would either call it like your fun list or your joy list or something where you can just start jotting down like what could some of these fun goals with soul be? Because that is a big piece of what I preach is fun and joy cannot be an afterthought. It has to be integrated.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

Yeah. And be purposeful, right? Like you have to create, you have to make that time for yourself because like it's your responsibility, right? Because it's your life. Like, we can't wait for our like partner to plan the most perfect date. It's like, no, do you like going walking around bookstore and getting a cup of coffee? Like, go do that.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Yeah, yeah, totally. And I think as like as you share through, I've heard you speak about goals with soul several times. And like every time I'm just like, yes, yes, yes, this is so good. Is what's really coming to mind is taking an approach to goals like this really gives us as individuals permission to grow and change. Again, that last piece, so important in terms of season of life. But as we know, change, no matter if we desire it or not, is scary. Our brain is going to try to protect us and say, no, don't do that, even though it's something you desire because right now is safe, even if it's not safe, right? What are some ways that women can either give themselves permission and or gain confidence to actually take that next step forward? I'd love to hear your take on kind of this confidence piece.

Curiosity, Micro-Steps, And Joy Lists

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Yeah, I love that. So, first of all, I just like I so appreciate that you create a space for us to have these conversations, right? Because I think sometimes we're missing the like, what how do we get there? Right? Yes. And I think a lot of times there's this idea that you're either born confident or you're not. Which to me feels like a fixed mindset. It's like you're born with it or you're not, and That's it. Yeah. Right. Whereas a growth mindset says, like, okay, that's interesting. But like, what if we can cultivate that, right? What if we can learn more? And what if we can start to flex that confidence muscle? But the biggest thing for me is that the confidence comes from taking aligned action. And the clarity comes from taking action. So, like in my journey, for example, like I worked a traditional nine to five for a long time. And I woke up one day and I had a quarter life crisis and was like, this is not for me. This is great. It's the career I was supposed to have. It was the dream job, whatever. Had amazing colleagues, nothing wrong with the job or the people. It was me. It was not in alignment with me. And I became a yoga teacher and then a holistic health coach and then a podcaster and then a summit host and then an author and now a speaker. Right. And so it was just a journey of choosing to take the next right step while giving myself permission to say, like, this is an experiment. Like, I'm going to go and do this yoga teacher training. And if I get there and I do the program and I really commit to it and I'm still terrible, like that's okay. I've learned I'm a student and not a teacher sometimes, right? Right. And I think we have to be really kind to ourselves. Like, I think there's this expectation sometimes that it's like, well, if you make this change, you have to have it all figured out. Sometimes it's just little steps, right? It doesn't have to be this wholesale 180 of your life. It can be like, what if I got curious about this thing I'm interested in and I signed up and take some night classes in it to see if I enjoy it, right? We have to give ourselves permission to explore and permission to be allowed to change, right? And just kind of anecdotally, my podcast for the first five years was called the Live by Design Podcast. And in writing my book, I which is called The Live by Design Blueprint, it was kind of like this beautiful way of summarizing everything I'd learned in five years of podcasting, having incredible conversations with women, just like Megan, actually Megan included. And it was this way of kind of saying goodbye in a way to that chapter because it was it's very personal growth oriented. And I grew so much as a person and my community grew, but I just felt this internal like friction, like something new is on the horizon. I don't totally know what it is, but I trust myself to figure it out. So I called in a new coach, right? I brought in mentors, people whose opinions I trust, people who have gone through evolution before and come out the other side, and people that I look up to, right? Not people who've never done it, who have a lot of opinions, but no experience. That's their life. They great. We want them in our life, but we don't go to them for this kind of thing. And so I gave myself permission to evolve. And now the show is called Owning Her Authority. And I really want to nurture female leaders and help us with confidence, right? Because so many of us hold ourselves back from doing the thing that's on our heart to do the thing we feel so passionate about that, like if we had a conversation one-on-one, you could talk about for 40 minutes nonstop because you're like, I feel so strongly about this, right? But we stop ourselves because we're lacking the confidence. And so often I think like we have to take action and the confidence will come. It's like a muscle. We just got, we just have to keep taking messy action. Yeah. I even have a tattoo that says do it scared, right? And it's literally on my wrist. So I see it every day. Cause like I have to, I'm a mindset coach and a confidence coach, and I have to remind myself, like, do it scared. Not like pee your pants scared, but like four percent outside your mind.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

In order for change to actually occur, we have to get uncomfortable. We have to allow ourselves and give ourselves permission to get into that space where it does feel a little bit icky sticky. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:40

And it does feel a little bit off. You won't be great at it at first. And like that's kind of the beautiful part about it. Like I was telling Megan before we hit record my first three podcast episodes, I had the fancy microphone, didn't know how to set the input correctly. So recorded on the awful built-in laptop mic, and the quality is awful. But I was like, you know what? They're recorded. Just gotta put it out there. I'm just gonna do it. Right. And yeah, with every episode, I learned something, right? With every guest you interview, you become a better interviewer, right? With every woman you help, you become a better coach, right? Whatever it is that you do, you get better with repetition. And so we have to get out of the starting gate.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

It's so true. It's so true. And I know you shared a little bit with me about like for the woman who's like, yes, yes, yes, I feel this, and how do I actually take that first step? Like, what is it with that you would say, Kate, gave you the confidence from big idea in my head about writing a book to now I have notes in my phone? What would you say that there is a tipping point? Is there often for women, or is it just a like, is it a choice? We just get to choose. What's your thought on that?

Confidence Through Aligned Action

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Yeah, I love this question again. I think it's a choice. Like, I think being ready is a choice. Like, I I was not born this like super I friends, I was not a confident kid, first of all. My whole life until my 30s felt like an outsider in every friend group and almost every social situation, with the exclusion of like my very best friend from high school. I always felt like a step off. Like I was like, I have an old soul. Like I make references, like my husband doesn't get, and he just likes that about me. And I'm like, it's okay, I'll explain bonanza to you sometime. Right. Like I just like, I don't know, I just always felt out of step. And so as I got older, I was like, well, what if I stop trying to fit in and I just let myself be who I am? And I realized that like some people will led me and some will be ambivalent and some won't like me. And honestly, none of it is my business. Like, right? If I can just keep leaning into the things that bring me joy, the impact I want to have, the income I want to create, that's kind of the sweet spot. And there, and somewhere along the way of growing into that woman, I created that confidence. And so, like, for me, I think like if you have that thing on your heart and you really want to do it, at some point you just have to choose you. You have to say, like, yes, the kids need my time and energy. Absolutely. Being a mom is like my most favorite thing in the entire world. Like, those kids are everything to me. So is my husband. Like, he's my best friend. We've been together since we were 18. Like, it's adorable and ridiculous, and I love it. But I realized along the way, like, my relationship with myself and my sense of like not even personal accomplishment isn't quite the right word, but that like sense of pride and ownership of my experience of life, like has to have a seat at the table. It doesn't have to be my highest priority. Like, I I've never been in a season where it's my highest priority yet, right? I'm it's this constant amalgamation of parenting and being a partner and being a community member and leading my community and you know, all these things and leaning into my projects and the things that bring me joy, but it has to be part of it. Yes. And you can start small and you can just start with repetition. But like when you hear that little internal voice, that like intuition hits, and you're like, I want to do this thing. Like, yeah, listen to it. Because listen to it.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

Like we've been taught to suppress it for so long. Now is the time, my friends. Like, listen to that little voice or that little gut feeling. And oftentimes fear will come up. But what if I fail? What if so and so doesn't like that's okay. Like when we are owning our own authority, as the name of your things are called, that's us stepping into our power. And that's so cool.

SPEAKER_00 29:40

It's so cool. And like people will reach out to you. Like when I so I had this like internal friction about switching from living by design to owning her authority, but I like I felt I was growing, I like I was like, ooh, there's this like tornado of feelings going on. But I was like, some like I I feel stuck where I am. And I was like, wait, but this is my business, so I get to choose where it goes, right? Yeah. And I had this fear, speaking of fear, I had this fear of leaving people behind. I was like, what if I leave somebody behind? And then my business coach was just like, what if you're leaving behind all the women who need what you're about to do and say if you don't do that thing, right? It's like, what about the potential impact that you're not stepping into? And I think that's the other piece of like, for me, like what got me to sit down and like sign up for a program to learn how to write a book, right? It was like thinking about myself five years in the future. And like in five years, I want to be a keynote speaker that speaks on stages around the world and brings her kids and her partner with her to travel and have these experiences, right? And want to sell my book from stage. I want to sell my programs from stage. Like, I'm a ham. Put me on a stage, I'll talk about anything, right? And it was like, okay, is the discomfort of figuring out how to do this and learn this new skill worth that future version of myself? And I say five years, like, I don't know, maybe it's three, maybe it's seven. It doesn't matter. It's just like we started, we got into motion. And for me, it was like the pain of not bringing that into reality in the future, or like the regret of not doing that and living into that potential I know that I have, like somewhere inside, I know it's there, was like, okay, it's time. And like it's not always easy. Like the things that you do that move the needle on your life take time and take effort, but like the time's gonna pass anyways. So, like, why not do the thing? Even if it's messy, even if you need to improve as you go. Like, we all have to improve as we go. Like, I'm already thinking about book two, and I'm like, oh God, there's so many things I would change in book one, right? That's part of the journey, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:45

Like part of the journey. And that's how I always speak to it, is we are on a journey, my friends. We are not just to set a goal and reach it and set a goal and reach it and set a goal and reach it and keep raising the bar. It really is, it might go left, it might go right, it might go backwards, but it's to continue taking steps forward in alignment with clarity in that we are listening to ourselves. And I think one of the things I often hear is, but Megan, it's just not the right time. My friends, if we keep waiting for the right time, five years are gonna go by. Yeah, ten years are gonna go by. And I know Kate is with me on this. We don't want to see you there when you're on the brink of burnout or when you've left a maybe a good opportunity that had come by because it wasn't the right time, is listen that those instincts, listen to your gut and take those steps. Now is the right time, and that's a choice as well.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

Yes. And and what you said earlier resonates too for me. It's getting quiet with yourself. We live in this world of like doing and doing and action and moving. And like, but what was the last time you like drove home after dropping off your kids at school in the quiet, right? Like that can be your quiet, like it doesn't have to be this like Pinterest perfect, Instagram worthy journaling routine. Like, that's not the season of life I'm in, right? But I can drive home from my kids' school, which is exactly 22 minutes, and I can sit with my thoughts, right? And I can think through how do I feel going into my day? And for me, how do I feel peace is really important too? Cause if I feel abundant, if I feel excited, if I feel even if the task that I have lined up is challenging, but I feel like it's in alignment, like these are all great things. If I feel like something is an obligation, if I feel myself like physically shrinking myself, you know, like curling your shoulder and tucking your chin, you're like, oh God, I just want to disappear. Like that's a sign that like maybe there's a little bit of a misalignment. And that's okay. Because as you continue to grow and change, like you're gonna have to make decisions to change the things and the people and the activities around you. And it's okay to have a season where you're like, you know what, maybe I take a step back from, I don't know, the PTA or whatever it is. Like that's okay to but just keep checking in with yourself. You know, go for a walk without headphones, you know, or go to the gym and hop on the bike and just be with your thoughts for a little while. Cause that for me, or the shower, like though that's when I get those intuitive hits. Or I'm like, great, I've got nothing to write with. Right.

Permission To Evolve Your Identity

SPEAKER_01 34:08

But now it's all coming and downloading, totally answer. And I preach this in Stanford this so much, is just the power of pause, is where do we allow ourselves just a little bit of space? Again, it doesn't have to be a 30-minute meditation practice, but it's like to just be and to get a little for those of you that are not comfortable in that space, it will be a little bit uncomfortable. Allow yourself to go into that discomfort because that is how you're gonna get to know yourself best. Yeah. So, yes, to getting back into our bodies, trusting ourselves, listening to how we feel, and then taking that inspired action forward. So good, my friend. So good.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Thank you, Megan. I mean, I could talk about this forever with you because it's just it's I know we could we could go back and forth forever. Oh my gosh. You just you need those people in your life. And even if you're listening to this and you don't know Megan and I personally, like that's okay, friends. Like, I have mentors who like Mel Robbins. I'm like for every book. I love her podcast. I've learned so much from this one. Mel has no idea I exist, and that's okay. Yes, you know, but for with Megan and I like slide into our Instagram DMs or our email. We are real people, we're real people. We're with Mel. But she's got a lot bigger following. Yes, exactly. And it's like find the mentor that you need who shares the message that you need. Like, if you're like, I'm on my rockstar mom journey and I'm feeling a little defeated, like chat, like tap in with Megan, see what she's doing, see who she's teaching and how she's offering it, right? And like get plugged in, like choose a mentor and just get plugged in with them. I think sometimes too, we like want to learn from everybody and do all the things that I found so much power in just like picking one person for a season and being like, this is the person or the program to lead me through this goal of sword. To support me on this, right? And like ask me for help is not a sign of failure. I think it's like a sign of like that you're ready for the next step. So like tap in with the community that supports you because like don't go it alone.

SPEAKER_01 36:03

No, don't have to do it all alone. Don't have to lone wolf it. I think that that's a great point to kind of wrap up on here. Thank you so much for that, Kate. Before we sign off, do you have any just final thoughts for our listeners today? Anything that you want to leave them with?

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Oh, I think I would just say, like, friend, you are so worthy of having that goal with soul put on your heart. Like, it's not an accident that your intuition is nudging you that way. Like, you are so worthy of pursuing the things that are important to you and investing your time and your energy or your resources. Like, so often we're made to feel small in this world. And I just like feel so deeply that women have so much innate power. And if we could stand in that and like take up space, like, oh, that would be so amazing. Like, we have the power to change the world. Exactly. And so, like, you're worthy of that. So, like, don't question your worth, just like start doing the thing, even a little bit at a time. That's what I would say. Because sometimes, like, I've needed that reminder. Like, it's okay that you have goals, like, it's okay that you want to do these big things. Like, sometimes we question ourselves, or like, am I the right person for this? Or, like, I don't know, you even worry, like, oh, like what you know, what are these people gonna think of like, nope, you're worthy. That's all that matters. And like, it's beautiful, like it's messy and it's beautiful, and you grow, and it's all a journey, and you get to be on that with other people, which is just awesome.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Okay, Kate, thank you so much for being part of the Rockstar Mom. Thank you so much for tuning into the Rockstar Mom podcast. If today's episode resonated with you, here's how we can keep this momentum going. First, be sure to subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode. Next, I'd be so grateful if you took a moment to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback helps us reach even more women who are ready to live more intentional, fun-filled lives. Lastly, please share your insights on social media and be sure to tag me at Megan Caldwell PDX so we can connect and inspire other rock stars to live their best lives too. Again, I am so glad that you are here, and I'll see you next time.