Grown from Within Podcast

32: Taking the Leap: From Corporate to a Free Spirit Business

What most people don't realize when they start a business is how much it will ask of them personally. It shines a bright light on your self-worth, your fears, your boundaries, and your beliefs. You grow as your business grows. In this episode, I sat down with my dear friend Kris Schneider, the brilliant force behind Kindred Spirits Creative, for a conversation about truth, evolution, and what it really means to jump off the corporate cliff. Kris spent two decades working in the banking industry and today, she runs a fluid, multi-passionate business helping small business owners with everything from tedious web migrations to office interior design. Kris describes the reliable income and predictable routine of corporate life as "the golden handcuffs." Breaking free isn't about having a flawless, 10-step plan figured out beforehand, it’s about trusting your inner foundation and choosing to surrender to the unknown. If you are standing on the edge of that cliff right now, looking out into the fog and waiting until you feel completely "ready," consider this your sign. The survival instincts telling you to stay safe are completely normal, but magic happens when you shuffle forward anyway. We also dove deep into a common struggle for women entrepreneurs: the hesitation to delegate and ask for help. Too often, we treat outsourcing as a sign of personal failure, believing we need to wear every single hat in our business perfectly. If there is one major takeaway from Kris’s journey, it’s that action is the best fighter of fear. When you choose curiosity over criticism and start exploring your natural talents, your path will naturally evolve. You don't need all the answers to start taking up space. You just have to push the button and do the thing.

31: The Future of Work: Embracing AI and Human Creativity

There is a strange comfort we find when a new AI tool isn’t quite perfect yet. We see a wonky design or a clunky piece of copy generated by a prompt, and we breathe a quiet sigh of relief, thinking, Okay, my job is safe for a little longer. But the reality is, this is the worst that AI will ever be. And instead of waiting around for tech to become flawless, the real challenge for entrepreneurs is shifting our mindset today. In this episode, I’m continuing my conversation with John T. Meyer, and we are diving deep into the messy, exciting, and rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence. We explore why the pendulum is swinging away from deep technical coding and back toward generalists, creators, and big-picture thinkers. If you can articulate a vision, communicate a problem, and stay curious, you hold the ultimate technical skillset for the future. We also talk about redefining success for the future. How do we guide our kids when the career paths of tomorrow haven't even been invented yet? And as entrepreneurs, should we simply delegate AI to a team member or get our hands dirty and stay intensely curious? If this conversation resonates, consider it your gentle nudge to move past the intimidation. Pick one repetitive task in your business or personal life this week, sit down with a tool, and just start tinkering.

30: Unleashing Business Momentum

When you step into the world of entrepreneurship, your business becomes a direct reflection of who you are. It has a way of shining a bright light on your self-worth, your fears, your boundaries, and your beliefs. In this episode, I sat down with performance coach and founder of Leadmore, John Meyer, to talk about business growth, personal alignment, and the unexpected factors that influence our well-being. John shared how transitioning into his own "second chapter" as a coach completely challenged him to merge who he is with what his business represents. Many entrepreneurs feel the pressure to chase traditional milestones or maintain a relentless pace, but this conversation was such a grounding reminder that true business momentum is about doing more of less. We also talked about what John calls the "momentum takers" that quietly creep into our lives and work. Those subtle distractions, decision fatigues, and false goals where we begin chasing what someone else tells us we should want instead of looking at our internal compass. What does a business that actually fits your life look like? Embracing your authentic identity and protecting your focus may actually be the very things that unlock limitless potential and keep you moving forward without waiting for "later."

29: ADHD, Visibility, and Showing Up Boldly

There is something powerful about realizing the way your mind works is not something to fix, but something to understand. In this episode, I sat down with Alicia Schumacher to talk about visibility, identity, and navigating life and business as neurodivergent women. Alicia shared how discovering her ADHD at 39 completely changed the way she understood herself, her work, and her purpose. So many women feel pressure to constantly perform online or show up a certain way to stay relevant, but this conversation was such a refreshing reminder that authentic visibility can look different for everyone. Sometimes it starts with simply trusting your voice enough to share it. We also talked about what Alicia calls the “second chapter” of life and business. That season where many women begin asking deeper questions beyond titles, achievements, and expectations. What do I actually want? What kind of impact do I want to make? What parts of myself have I been hiding just to fit into spaces that no longer feel aligned? If this episode resonates, consider it your reminder that the way your mind works is not something to hide or overcome. It may actually be the very thing that makes your voice, your story, and your impact so powerful.

28: Fear, Mindset, and Growth

Fear is sneaky. It does not always show up loud and obvious. Sometimes it looks like overthinking, perfectionism, or staying "busy" to avoid the thing you actually need to do. In this episode, we are unpacking the subtle ways fear quietly shapes your decisions in business. Whether it is hesitating to raise your prices, holding back from a big opportunity, or waiting until you feel "ready" to launch, there is usually something deeper going on underneath. Fear is almost always tied to something you really care about. It is a signal, not a stop sign. And when you get curious about it instead of critical, it starts to lose its power over you. We will talk about how fear connects to self worth, why courage is not about eliminating fear (but moving forward alongside it), and a few simple ways to work through it in the moment so you can stop waiting and start growing. If this episode resonates, consider it your reminder that fear is part of the process. It doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong, it usually means you’re doing something that matters.