A Transformative Journey Through Life, Love, and Motherhood

Download my free mini-ebook: It's About Damn Time: The Self Check for Women Leaders Who Work Their Ass Off, Play By the Rules, and STILL Get Passed Over.

In this solo episode, I’m reflecting on identity, transformation, and the versions of ourselves we outgrow along the way.

I revisit last week’s conversation on family estrangement and expand it into a deeper look at who I’ve been, who I am now, and the space between “OG Allie” and “Allie 2.0.” From growing up in El Paso to nursing school, an MBA, and climbing the healthcare ladder to CEO and regional VP, I share how each chapter shaped me—and where I had to choose authenticity over approval.

This episode is also personal. I talk openly about single motherhood, marriage, divorce, and the hard-earned lessons around love versus being in love. We get into dating, alignment, and why choosing a partner—or people—who honor your values isn’t optional if you want a life that feels true.

I also speak candidly about my role as a healthcare disruptor and why I believe the system is broken. This is a conversation about leadership that centers people over profit, patient care over corporate comfort, and what it costs to push for change from the inside.

At its core, this episode is about surrounding yourself with real people, embracing honest feedback, and letting go of relationships that only exist for convenience or gain.

If you’re done performing and ready to live aligned, this one’s for you.

Let’s build a kick-ass 2026—on our terms.

🎧 Subscribe for more unfiltered conversations on leadership, growth, and building a life that doesn’t cost you who you are

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

All right, guys. So hard to believe we're already back for another episode. Those of you that tuned in last week know that the topic was pretty raw and vulnerable on family estrangement, at least from my perspective and what I've experienced. And today's topic is kind of along the same lines. So I get a lot of questions about, you know, who are you and kind of where did you come from or what made you you? And so I thought I would get on today and share a little bit. I actually have my phone because I made a few notes on things that I want to touch on. And then also because I'm actually waiting for a text message from my kiddo to tell me whether or not he made the middle school basketball team. So don't mind me if I seem a tiny bit distracted. I'm a little bit excited. But really, I wanted to start with um kind of OG Alley and what I now kind of refer to as Alley 2.0 and how that came to be and what I think kind of influenced some of the changes in my life in regards to the choices I've made professionally, personally, um, and everything in between. So nothing new for me to share a real raw, vulnerable version of me with you all. Um, but again, here goes something. So original Allie, um born and raised basically in El Paso, Texas, uh, went to UTEP for nursing school and then eventually obtained my MBA in healthcare management and um worked my way up through the hospital systems here and eventually worked for a large um actually national organization that um partners with uh joint venture organization and large hospital systems. Um but really where I wanted to start today is who am I? And so a lot of people um when they ask me that, it's I have to pause for a minute. And I think, you know, I'm a nurse and I'll be a nurse until I take my last breath. Um I am a mom, a single mom of a teenage boy. So there's that. I am a divorcee. So was married for 10 years and dated him for eight or so, I think before that. Um I describe myself as a healthcare survivor, so um, or actually a healthcare disruptor, pardon me. So a healthcare disruptor, and I describe myself as a survivor of corporate America. So I'm gonna talk about those things. And then lastly, um, I say all the time I am an avid supporter of real women. So a real woman supporting other real women. And what do I mean by that? So I'm gonna start. Um, like I said, it's a lot, so I've got some notes. Um, but really I'd say OG Allie was a people pleaser. She was somebody that was extremely concerned about, oh my goodness, what might others think? If I do this or say that, what might the impact be to others and to myself? And I'm not saying I don't care anymore. I've just kind of changed my viewpoint on that. I think as far as um really believing that eventually data and results and you know, information, et cetera, would kind of prove my value, right? And so as a daughter or a child growing up, I thought that if I just worked harder and did more and excelled and got this promotion as I got older and you know, was awarded this accolade or that accolade, that my parents or my dad would be proud of me and I would be more, I guess, chosen in the family or however you want to word that. I think, you know, as a wife, I thought if I just support him and help him grow into the man that I married, um, or I guess into what I thought maybe I was marrying, I really did what I thought was the right thing to do in regards to um, you know, paying for an education, trying to help him grow into his role as a husband and a and a father, etc. And I'll be honest with you, as time kind of went on, um, that OG alley shift, I'll talk about when I get more into Alley 2.0. Um, I attained, um, like I said, my undergrad degree, then immediately, I think within six months of becoming a bachelor's prepared nurse, um I went back to school and got my master's in business administration with a focus in um healthcare. And so with that, again, um as I climbed, and I talked a little bit about that, and I talk about it quite a bit in the book. I really thought as I climbed, um, and especially in that last uh role as a CEO and a regional VP of hospital operations for multiple um hospital campuses in two different markets, um, I really trusted in the data to prove the results I provided to prove um my worth or my value to the organization. And so, alas, in all of those scenarios, so whether it was as a friend or you know, a family member, whether it was professionally at work, whether it was as a spouse, what I realized was none of those things work if it's one-sided. Um, and so really, I think what changed me from Ally OG to Ally 2.0 was the realization that it's not just the data and the results that will demonstrate your value. It's not just you that will demonstrate your value. The other party in the relationship, whether it's a business, it's a family member, it's a spouse, they have to be um open and willing to see the value that you bring. Otherwise, there is no value. Um, and so really is Alley 2.0, um, to kind of sum it up for you, I saw a quote that I wanted to share with you. Um, and it's actually from Casey Kenny that reads one day you wake up and see how much of your life was built to please others. And in that moment, you burn it down and rebuild it for yourself. Now, I love that, and he's fantastic, but I would add to that that a big part of why I blew it up or burned it down or whatever you want to say, yes, for me, to start over and do it my way, um, on my terms, and um never again even contemplate selling myself out. I never did it, but I don't ever want to be in a situation where I have to contemplate it again. But the other big piece was to help others um do it better or do it with less pain. Um, and that includes those personal relationships, friends, family members, those real women that I talk about being a fierce advocate for. Um, my son, right? So teaching my son that you really can stick to your values, make decisions that allow you to continue to look yourself in the mirror and be proud of what you see, and be wildly successful while doing it. So I think those are really the key points as to how I kind of navigated or or blew up what was formerly OG Alley and kind of came out as Alley 2.0. So I'll start with a divorce, right? So I say I'm a divorcee. Never in a million years did I think that would be me. I thought, you know, you get married, marriage is forever. I dated this person and knew him very, very well. Um, but at the end of the day, it did not turn into the relationship that I thought we were going to have. I thought we were gonna build and grow together. I thought, you know, I was gonna climb the ladder and he was gonna build a business, or he was gonna climb whatever ladder and whatever career path he chose. Um, and after several years, I realized that that was not the case. And I think one of the things that was hard for me, um, I married my best friend. And I talk in the book about the fact that when I married my best friend, I was, I wasn't young. Um, I was already close to 30 or right at 30. But I was naive to the fact that there is being in love with someone and there is loving someone. And I married my best friend, I loved him very much, but I wasn't in love with him. And so over time, that became more and more apparent to me. Um, and I will tell you, when I was writing the book, um, the first book, and it's actually linked, I think, on either the YouTube channel or it is for sure on my website. If you haven't read it, I would encourage you to. But I talk about in the book, um, and it came, I came to the realization, and I'm now writing a bit about it in book two, about the fact that I had to sit with the understanding or sit with, I guess, the experience, and then try to figure out the why behind it. So the first realization was the difference between love and being in love. Two very different things. I think the second big realization I had was the fact that I moved a boy out of his mom's house, literally, out of mom's house and into mine, and expected a man to show up and be ready to carry that role or that weight. And that wasn't fair. It wasn't fair of me to put those expectations on him. Um, and we should not have, you know, progressed in the way that we did. But I think the other piece that I really had to sit with is as he's moved on and remarried, um, why was he capable of or willing to grow in a manner to be that person for another woman when he wasn't willing or able or capable of being that person for me? And so, what could I have done differently or what could I do differently in future situations so that I don't end up in that same one? And I think the realization was I married the young, inexperienced kind of, I guess, boy version of a man I loved very much, and then spent 10 years really trying to help him grow into the person that I knew he could be and he was capable of achieving. And his second wife um married the man version. So she married the version that that was more raised and more responsible and had had to figure out living on his own and budgeting and a lot of those things. And so hindsight 22 or yeah, hindsight 2020, um lesson learned. I think um when I talk about you know where I'm headed now in version 2.0, I joke about the fact that Mary'd been there, done that. I've said many times now, the longer I go without another person living in my house um and without a ring on my finger, or not a cool ring that I love to wear, um, the less I feel like I might be wanting to do that again. I don't know. And, you know, I remember the attorney when we settled and everything was said and done. I said, My God, if it's this expensive to get divorced, I am never getting married again. And the attorney laughed and told me, Yes, you will, you just won't do it without me protecting your assets first. And um, I'm not real sure. So, you know, it's been several years, and I've done the dating app thing, um, which if you've read the book, The Dumpster Fire of Online Dating, it's a good chapter. Um, and there's some updates to that that I'll share in book two. But I think I came to the realization that I'd never chosen anybody. I had um what I think of now as kind of a daughter wound where I had wanted so desperately to be chosen and loved and cherished as a daughter that I ended up with, you know, quote unquote daddy issue from the perspective of, oh my gosh, this man wants to date me. Oh my gosh, this guy thinks I'm attractive. Oh my goodness, this person wants to take me on dates. And so I would get swept up in the, I guess, the version of me that wanted so desperately to have been chosen, that I forgot that, well, it'd probably be good if I was also attracted to this person. And it would probably be smart if I was also intrigued by them and respected them and some of the things they'd done in their life. It'd be great if they were um kind of a builder growth-centered mindset, um, all of those things. And I would never really look at that. I would just go, oh my goodness, this person picked me. And so I don't believe in fairy tales. Um, and having dated the dumpster fires that I've dated, I don't, I like I said, I don't think fairy tales exist. What I do know is this, and that is for the next person that comes into my life, I don't want a situationship. I don't want any more situationships, I don't want to be an option to somebody. Um, do I want to be chosen? Abse freaking Lutley. But the difference now, I want to also do the choosing. I want to choose back. I want to go on dates with this individual and be courted by them and get to know them really well. And for both of us to then look at each other and think, man, I can't imagine my life without you in it, um, at the same time. And so I think the realization of, you know, why I made the choices I made, made the decisions I made, allowed what I allowed in my life, you know, the combination of former relationships. And, you know, I talked a little bit last week about family estrangement, but the reality that my desire to be loved and worthy of my father's love and chosen by him really did a number on my dating life. So anyway, kind of my two cents on the divorced version of me. Um, and then I wanted to talk a little bit about single mom. So I talk a lot about AJ, who is my son, 14 years old, um, and our relationship. And, you know, I'm gonna share, I shared earlier that I'm waiting for a text message or a phone call, which if it comes, I'm answering. Sorry. Um, but the reality is we are closer now than we've ever been in his 14 years. And, you know, the family estrangement stuff has scared me terribly. But part of the reason that I did what I did in setting a boundary with my sibling was the fact that behaviors were being modeled to my son that I would not in turn tolerate from my son. And so if I want to raise a man that I would feel comfortable being around as an adult, my daughter, my friends' daughters, then I had to figure it out quick. And so when I talk about AJ, and I'll share this with you, I always joke around about the fact that, oh my God, if CPS heard half the stuff that we say to each other or half the lessons I teach AJ, um, they would probably have taken him for me at this point. Um, but the reality is I'm trying really, really hella hard to be real with my son also. And not just to be his mom, um, not just to be a friend or a counselor or whatever. And I mean, if we're being honest at this point, currently in his life, I'm more of a moober. So a mom uber who drives him back and forth to all of his things, a chef that cooks all of his meals for him, um, the housekeeper that does his laundry and makes sure he has clean clothes so he doesn't go to school smelling like onions or butt, as I sometimes tell him. But also to raise a good human and to help him understand what life is about. And so I wanted to share with you kind of this basketball theme, right? So this kid is taking his basketball to school every day of middle school. And he's in his last year of middle school. So this is year three, to play basketball at lunch and hang out with his friends, playing basketball after school. And yet each year, when it was time to try out for basketball, he'd be like, No, mama, I'm not gonna do it. So I'll tell you, last year I reached out to a male friend of mine who is a very um kind of renowned coach in El Paso uh for high school boys' basketball. And I said, What do you think I should do? Like he doesn't want to try out. He's he hasn't said so, but he said, Well, I can't get my physical in time. And so I said, I have this idea. I think I'm gonna go pick him up from school early, which I never do, because then he'll know it's important to me, right? Like if I'm gonna pull him out of school, this has importance. I'm gonna tell him that it is important enough for me to come pick you up and take you to go get a sports physical in the middle of the school day so that you can try out tonight, because I really want you to take that leap, to believe in yourself enough to give it a go. And um, my friend gave me some pointers and, you know, say this, don't say that, yada, yada, all the good boy stuff. And it was fantastic. So I did all of that stuff, and then AJ was like, yeah, but I'm not gonna do it. But you know what, mama? I'll do it next year. And I'll be honest with you. In fact, we laughed about it this morning in the car on the way to school because I was telling him that whether he makes it or not, I really don't care. I mean, I hope for his sake, if he wants in, he makes the team. But that I could not be prouder of him than I am right now, whether he makes it or not, because he put himself out there, he took the leap, he did the uncomfortable thing. Um, and you know, I shared in a post on Facebook on Friday, or maybe it was Thursday, I think it was, I don't know, whatever. But I shared in a post that when we got there, you know, he was a little scared to get out of the car, and I I, you know, pumped him up a little bit. And I told him, look, look at how I look at things. What is the worst case scenario? What is the worst possible thing that happens? And I said, the worst thing that could possibly happen is you try out and you don't make the team and you just keep playing for fun, like you have the last two and a half years. And my often smarter than me and definitely even more sarcastic than me, kid, goes, No, mama, the worst thing would be if I screw up really bad and they make fun of me. They laugh at me. And so then I made him laugh by saying, No, kid, because if they laugh at you, I will be there and I will shank them. And we laughed. Well, then he goes to get out of the car. And this is where I joke that, you know, CPS will be called or, you know, someone will file a complaint against me. But AJ says, All right, mom, testicles, check. And I looked at my 14-year-old son and I said, Chesticles, check. And we both at the same time said, here goes something. And so that's me trying my best to raise a good human who understands that sometimes the success is in the failure. Um, that the lesson teaches us something that we need to know in the future, um, without, you know, overcomplicating things with him or whatever. But again, I thought that would be something great to share in regards to kind of how I have navigated things with AJ. And, you know, as far as the family estrangement piece, he keeps me on path because I look at him. This kid is A and B on a roll up through this part of the year. And he made A B on a roll the majority of last year, um, all of this year so far. He is smiling more, happier. He's not picking at the skin around his fingernails like he used to. He's not stressed all the time about, you know, who's arguing or who's fighting or, you know, what the issues are going on. And the fact of the matter is, if it's something that's impacting me, I had to realize it's also then impacting him, whether I share it or not, whether I talk to him about it or not. Um, he's very perceptive and he knows immediately if I'm upset. And so trying my best to raise a good human my way, despite what CPS thinks, or some of you watching this going, oh my God, I can't believe you said that to your kid. Um, or those of you that have read the book, but the reality is we are closer than we've ever been. He knows damn well I'm not messing around and that I'm not his friend, I'm his mom. So don't mistake the two. But I think he respects me more now than he ever has because he also knows I mean what I say and I say what I mean. And so he knew if he falls off the AB honor roll, he loses his phone for that next nine weeks. That's a big deal to a 14-year-old boy. And I can tell you right now, he knew I meant it because he was sweating bullets before the report cards posted when they came back from Christmas break. So here's to continuing. Um, my why really is him to prove to myself, yes, very much so, but also to prove to my 14-year-old son that you can make the right decisions, you can stay on the side of right, you can be the person you're proud of looking back in the mirror. Um, you cannot sell your soul out for something, and you can still be unbelievably successful. And so therein is my why. And I think why my purpose really is my word for this year following my purpose and following the path to that purpose. Um, as far as don't be a fan, right? I talk a lot about, so let's go down the path of real women. Okay. So I'm a real woman who supports other real women. I'm not the clicky friend that, you know, if you're part of the click, you're in. If you're not part of the click, you're not in. And I'm not going to support you. If you're incredibly popular and everybody in the in the city loves you, then I'm going to be team you. That's not me. Um, never has been and never will be. And I think one of the things, you know, I talked about in the book when you, when I went from Ali R N to Ali as a leader and then Ali CEO, you notice you gain an awful lot of coattail people, as I call them. People that need something from you, want something from you, want the um, I guess the proximity to you because you might be able to help them get a job or get a promotion, or you you pay every time you all go out, or whatever that thing is, right? Well, then get fired. You lose employment, and those same coattail people all fall off. And more so than you may have really considered. And especially when you come out and you start talking about real things. So toxic work environments and you know how broken healthcare is and topics that some of your friends um still work in that arena. So I get it, and we have to be careful and we have to be cautious. But the reality is when quote unquote friends or supporters or whatever tell you, oh my gosh, yeah, call me. I'd love to come on. Or, you know, oh my gosh, your stuff is fantastic. I watched the episode on such and such, I couldn't agree more. But then in public, kind of shy away or disappear, or, you know, don't invite you to the gatherings anymore. Um, it's a pretty strong sign. They're not, they're not real. They're not real to you. And if we're being honest, they're not real to themselves. Because if they're saying one thing and living a different way, um, that's not me. It's not who I am. Um, and I don't necessarily want them all that close to me. I think the opposite of that is the women who mean what they say and say what they mean and do what they say. And those are the people that I've continued to grow closer to and surround myself with. These are the people that say, Allie, I want to have you on my podcast three weeks after you lose your job in healthcare. And the podcast is about healthcare. Um, these are the women who love the fact that you are speaking your mind. And they text you before and after certain things or send you a message and say, Damn, girl, you nailed that one. Um, and they give you real feedback. So that's the other piece. Uh, I was actually watching something this morning and I wanted to make sure um I got the names right. But Chelsea, for those of you that have seen her comedy, whatever, she's hysterical, um, don't agree politically with all of it, but I still can be friends with people I disagree with, can be fans of people I don't necessarily agree with everything on. But Chelsea Hanler, and same with Jane Fonda um on the political side. But what I will say is Chelsea Handler was on a podcast and I was, I saw a clip of it, and she was talking about how years and years and years ago, Jane Fonda called her to her house, um, invited her over, and basically told her, and I'll say this in Allie words, not Chelsea words, but you know, you acted a fool on Saturday at my house and you embarrassed yourself and you embarrassed me, and you can't be doing that. And so I think the quote that I loved from it, and I won't quote it exactly, but something along the lines of in this life, you have to make sure that essentially whatever environment you surround yourself with does not make you become that. That instead take the high road and have the environment around you become the environment around you because of what you bring to it. And so to me, my inner circle is extremely small. And, you know, I have rings of it. It's kind of like a tree, right? Like you get older and the the friend or the family rings get bigger. But the reality is that inner circle of mine is really small. Those are the people that I can tell anything and everything about me to with no fear of judgment. They will give me straight talk, they'll give me real talk, they'll say, You screwed that up, you should not have done this, or this was an error, or that was a mistake you made, or whatever. They'll be real. They don't just, you know, blindly cheer for everything I do and pretend to support it. No, that inner circle is composed of the people that are gonna give it to me like Jane Fonda gave it to Chelsea. And those are the people you want right around you. The ring kind of next to that, um, one larger spreads just a little bit, right? So they may not be so much the real talk because that takes guts. It takes guts to have those conversations. Um, but they're gonna do it on some level. So they're gonna say, hey, you know, when you did such and such, it hurt me. And I'd like to keep you as a friend, but I need you to know that I didn't appreciate this or that. Um, they're the friend that's gonna say, Hey, I heard this about you and thought you would want to know that's what's out there. Um, they're gonna be the friend to kind of cheer you on and um give advice and kind of point you in the right direction. But at the end of the day, as those circles widen and as the distance spreads, you also have to realize that the trust they've gained is less, right? So don't share nearly as much. Um and kind of take less from them in regards to feedback. Because if you haven't done what I'm trying to do, if you haven't been brave enough to blow up a piece of your life, or all of it for that matter, that you were really unhappy in and take a leap of faith hoping your wings come in before you splat, then you're probably not the person that I should be taking advice for from in my life path currently. So I think that's another thing to always keep in mind. Like, yes, who are you? Don't compare yourself to anyone. We're all in our own race, but who are you measuring maybe success against, right? Well, it are they worthy of you measuring against them? Or have they set the bar so low, you're a 10 and they're a two. There's no point in measuring that, right? Also, is this somebody that is doing something you are interested in doing or want to do? Because if not, you're measuring apples to oranges and that's never gonna get you anywhere. So keep in mind, real women, supporting real women means doing what you said and saying what you do. It means supporting other women when it's inconvenient, uncomfortable, even unpopular, and doing it publicly and loudly in addition to quietly and real. And I hope that kind of resonates and makes some sense. Um, I talk about being a survivor of corporate America. So, and I'm actually excited. So I'm gonna announce here I am gonna start recording and I'm putting together um a YouTube show called Real Leadership, no bullshit. And that is exactly what it is. So each show will have kind of an individual theme, but the reality is I want to talk about real topics and leadership. I want to talk about real topics in corporate America, and I want to support women in navigating that better than I did, um, more successfully than I did, in a manner that helps other women continue to climb if that's what they want, continue to grow and build in an organization if that's appropriate, and also encourages and helps women to understand when it's time to just cut ties and get the hell out of there. So more to come on that. But in regards to being a survivor of corporate America, what I mean by that is this. There were multiple times in my career in corporate America that I was given a choice where I had to, you know, make a decision, where I was at a crossroads. I shouldn't even say given a choice. I was given something to do or something to roll out or a direction to head in that I knew wasn't right. Um, that, you know, whether it was Spidey Sense in the back of my neck just felt like something was off, or if it was just straight out, this is not good for patients, this is not good for my team, people, whatever. Um, where I had to make decisions. And I can tell you, survivor, because I never one single time allowed myself to take the easy way and make the decision that would be popular, that would help me continue to grow in corporate America, that would make my bosses happy and maybe get me a promotion or a bonus or whatever. I never one single time compromised myself or my values or my ability to look myself in the mirror and take the easy way out. Not once. And so to me, Abs freaking lutely survivor of corporate America. And to give you just a little example, I had um a dear friend that doesn't live and work in this market anymore, but um, they reached out to me the other day and said, I was just disgusted. I was sitting there talking to somebody and they were saying that, you know, the evaluations were done and they had submitted everybody's e balls, and then they got um an email from, you know, whatever your company calls it, people experience, the HR director, whatever this individual is called, um, saying, Hey, we got all of your evals, thanks for getting everything in on time, but you have way too many fours and fives. So we need you to bell curve it. And you're gonna need, you know, this many more ones, this many more twos. Now keep in mind, those individuals were rated that way based on the reality of their performance over the past year. So now this individual has been instructed to go back and rank them lower to fit the bell curve because the bell curve will then equate to the budget for the raises. Bottom line. And so they're being instructed to take, you know, Allie that performed because I'm that amazing at a five. And now you need to bring me down to a three because you've got to make sure you keep room for these other four people because you know if they don't get, you know, the highest raise or the highest score, they're probably gonna leave. So then you end up doing things where it's like, okay, I'm gonna do all the PRNs at this level and I'm gonna do all the part-timers at this level to save a little more bank for my full timers. Um, and then I'm gonna take some of the budget from this and move it over, and you do all of these things in order to make your bell curve hit what HR has instructed you to hit so that your budgeted merit increases, merit. Uh that's the key word. The budgeted merit increases will fit in this nice, pretty budgeted box of bell curves. And I guess my thing to that is, and I I've said this to company execs that I've consulted for, then don't call it a merit. Don't call it a merit increase. Decide what your budget is, and that's what the budgeted amount is, and you call it a cost of living increase, and everybody gets the same percentage of their salary. It's not very motivating, it's not very inspiring, but it's fair and it's not being used in a manner that, hey, at least if Allie that did a five and should have gotten a five and is now getting a three knows that, hey, your evaluation, you're a five out of five. Thank you so much for your incredible work, you know, keep keep at it, whatever, and your cost of living increases X rather than dumbing my eval down, neglecting, you know, all of the work that I put into my performance this year and making me walk out of my annual evaluation feeling mediocre. Um there's ways to do things, but that gives you an example of what you're up against all the time in leadership in corporate America. And then the last way I describe myself, and this one I love, um, but I talk about being a healthcare disruptor. Okay. So what does that mean? Well, first and foremost, I tell everyone now if you have not watched The Pit on HBO, go watch it. Um, and I'm gonna say my goal right now is for myself and Noah to go and talk at Congress about what it's really like. His mom is a nurse, and I think that's fantastic because he has the real inside of it from the family of somebody that gives their all in the healthcare system. And, you know, with my background, let's do it. But that aside, I think the reality of what healthcare is for patients and for providers of healthcare. And by providers of healthcare, I mean every single person working in that hospital, working in that clinic all day, every day. So the physicians, the um, the nurses, the rad techs, all the different therapies that are required. You've got massive um numbers of people that go into delivering the healthcare. And I think that also is so well portrayed on that show. And one of my favorites, I guess, so far was last year. Um, you know, there's a there was a mass shooting somewhere on this show, and it was um, you know, the ER's going through it trying to handle this and trying to save as many as they could, and there's patients everywhere. And the hospital administrator comes in and wants to talk about why the patient satisfaction in the ER has come down. And I think you could not better summarize the state of healthcare than in that one moment. Because, um, and I think I said it on one of the podcasts with the guest recently, where I've said, you know, there's a place for private equity in healthcare. It's needed. We need the funds. Healthcare is extremely expensive to provide. Um, and so the funding is required. So there's a place for it. But then they need to surround themselves by true experts that know what they're doing in healthcare, not, you know, more bankers and people that have run things that have nothing to do with the healthcare scene. I think um that all of that shows so well on that show. But when I talk about being a healthcare disruptor, um, and it's funny because somewhere I worked actually um was bothered by that. They reached out and they were kind of annoyed that I was referring to myself as a healthcare disruptor. And I reminded them that I actually got that term from them, from an individual there who said um how welcome I was as a disruptor and the fact that I questioned things and whatnot. That eventually um ended up costing me tremendously. But the reality is this being a disruptor in the healthcare space is what we need right now because the health and the care has been physically, mentally, and emotionally beaten, honestly, out of healthcare. So you've got PTSD, um literally major mental health issues of healthcare providers on the front lines, pre and post-COVID, yes, but very much so as a result of COVID, and then the constant pressure. So help this family mourn the loss of this individual that was so unexpected, and then close that curtain and go into room two and put a smile on your face because now you're delivering a baby in this room. Um, the toll it takes on people, and that's why I love the perspective that Noah brings to the fight, not just on the TV show, but in all of the speaking he's done as a result of it, because he was the dot, he is, pardon me, the daughter of a nurse. So you bring that stuff home. You lose a patient today, you help deliver a stillbirth baby, you realize that an error was made in the OR and there was a wrong limb amputation. And so now this individual has no arms or no legs because someone screwed up. You bring that home with you, whether you take the scrubs and the shoes off at the door or not. Um, and the system's broken. And so I was listening this morning on my way here to record this to a mastermind segment. Um, and every Monday, Dean Graziosi gets on and talks about different things. And he was talking about how you start something, you build something, and then it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger until it you've made it so hard or so complicated, or it's grown so far away from what you initially intended that it's unrecognizable. And to me, that's healthcare. It's you know, we tweak it and we try to kind of course correct, and so politicians get involved, and now we have you know Obamacare, and so that was supposed to fix it. And it's a it's a disaster, it's a nightmare. As long as insurance companies, private equity, and people that do not know anything about the provision of healthcare are making all of the healthcare decisions in regards to policy, in regards to you know, operations, all of that stuff, we're in really big trouble. And I keep saying I'm not sure who's gonna be here to take care of all of us because people are leaving the profession by droves. But yes, to the person that was upset that I'm referring to myself as a healthcare disruptor, thank you so much for naming me that because you're right. I am a healthcare disruptor because the system we're living and working in now is broken. And it's gonna take every single person involved in the pres provision of care to change that. It's gonna take all of us to stand up and say, we need more, we need better, we need different. Do I have all the answers as to what that is? No, because if I did, I wouldn't be on here, I'd be out there fixing it. But if we don't talk about it, there's no hope. And so I hope now that kind of answers the question of what I mean by healthcare disruptor. Um, what I mean by a real woman supporting other real women, what I mean when I say I'm a corporate survivor or a survivor of corporate America, um, when I label myself as the CPS mom. Um, and when I say I don't know about dating um again, I don't know that I want to be married again. I'm not sure. Um, never say never, but I hope today's episode gave you a little bit more insight um to those that maybe aren't in my very, very inner circle that know all there is to know. And believe it or not, there's a lot more to know than what I've shared here, which is kind of frightening. But I hope that, you know, those of you that are in those, you know, slightly outer rings of my tree of life, um got to know me a little bit better on today's episode. And so my goal here is to talk not about me, but I wanted you all to know where I'm coming from, why I've selected the specific pillars I have in regards to what I talk about, my content, who I bring on the show, um, by getting to know me, Ally 2.0, maybe just a little bit better. And so how I'll end it today is again, those of you that read the book, I talk a lot about big girl panties and lipstick. And I also talk about how sometimes your big girl panties just aren't big enough for the issue, for the purpose, the path you're on. And so, what I'll say to that is what I said in the book some days you gotta just ditch the big girl panties, you gotta go commando, and you gotta bust out the lace up kick-ass boots. And so, what I'll say is here's to a kick ass 2026 and making meaningful movement and change in the areas that need it desperately. So, Alley 2.0, we'll see you next week.