The Power of Oxygen 1st

Dot Rock
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

When my son was little, I was a single mom who was doing it all alone. I was putting everyone else first and my own needs last. To everyone around me, I was successful but little did they know that my success was tied to pushing, stressing, sleepless nights and early morning workouts pushing my body and my limits to the extreme. Until one day  I was flying alone and nearly crashed an airplane and I realized that I needed to take care of my own needs first before anyone else. You see, when you’re a pilot, if you have any issues in the plane, you put on your oxygen mask 1st, not your passengers. They need you to land the plane.    This podcast is all about this journey to healing, to getting clear on the desires of your heart… and stepping into them with courage while leaning into, asking for and receiving support.  I hope you feel inspired to do less, to follow your passions and infuse them into your daily life and truly claim the life you were meant to live: a life filled to the brim with epic ADVENTURE.  

  1. Sep 8

    Ep 125: What’s Stealing Your Oxygen? 4 Hidden Causes of Founder Burnout & Overwhelm

    What if the thing keeping you stuck isn't the decision, but the belief underneath it? In this episode, I’m unpacking the hidden beliefs underneath the patterns that keep us stuck from overworking and accepting breadcrumbs to waiting for certainty and taking on more than we actually have capacity for. Because sometimes the oxygen leak isn't the obvious thing draining you. It's the belief underneath it. Oxygen Refills in this episode: The surprising energetic shift that came from decluttering my home, finishing lingering projects, and finally letting go of my old headshotsThe belief I had to flip on its head to start this podcast — and why messy, inconsistent action got me further than perfection ever couldHow childhood experiences can quietly create beliefs about money, success, hard work, and what abundance will cost usThe four oxygen leaks: the Stuck Founder, the Breadcrumb Trap, the Sticky Middle, and the Capacity CrunchThe question that can expose the belief underneath the behaviorWhy breathwork doesn't magically delete a belief How to put oxygen between the trigger and the decision so you can stop reacting from an old storyWhy awareness without action is just interesting information — and how to take one action from the version of you with more oxygen This week's journal prompts: Where am I spending the most energy compensating for something that isn't actually working?What would I have to believe for this pattern to make complete sense?What is one action the version of me with more oxygen would take? If you haven't taken the Oxygen Leak Quiz, start there. Find out whether you're the Stuck Founder, Breadcrumb Trap, Sticky Middle, or Capacity Crunch — and start uncovering what's really keeping you stuck: https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/quiz Oxygen 1st Club | Join us September 8th for 30 minutes of Wealth Abundance Breathwork with Ashlee Livingstone, followed by journaling + inspired money action: https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/gqkasvz0fv Ready to Breathe Easier? Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits.  Start With Oxygen 1st https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm. Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator Connect with Dot Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_ Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

  2. Sep 2

    Ep 124: Money Isn't a Money Problem: Breathwork, Energy & the Wealth Abundance Session

    I don't actually think money is real. I know... coming from a CPA, that sounds unhinged. But stick with me.  In this episode I'm making the case that what we call "money problems" are almost never actually about money — they're energy problems, avoidance problems, capacity problems. I'm sharing the money story that shaped me (it starts with my parents' tax return), why I think of money like Monopoly money, and why wealth needs somewhere to land before it can actually show up in your life. Plus, I'm announcing the first-ever Oxygen 1st Club Wealth & Abundance Breathwork, free, and open to everyone, on September 8th. Why the belief "hard work = money" almost broke me, and how I'm untangling itThe breathwork session that gave me the clarity to leave an unsafe marriage two years agoMy "money is like Monopoly" theory — less attachment, not less responsibilityWhy wealth needs somewhere to land before it can show up in your lifeTwo journal prompts to find exactly where you're gripping money too tight  Here is the signup link: https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/gqkasvz0fv When: September 8, 2026 11:30 PST / 12:30pm MST / 2:30pm EST Oxygen 1st Club | Wealth Abundance Breathwork + Inspired Action  We’re clearing the oxygen leaks around money—and then we’re doing something about it. For the first 30 minutes, Ashlee Livingstone will guide us through a powerful wealth + abundance breathwork session designed to help us release, receive, and create a little more room for what wants to come next. Then we take that energy straight into inspired action. Bring your journal. Bring your laptop. Bring the money thing you’ve been avoiding, dreaming about, or feeling called toward. Your action might look like: Opening your bank accounts and actually looking at the numbersPaying the bills you’ve been avoidingCoding expenses or getting ahead on tax prepReviewing your financial statementsComparing expenses and finding an oxygen leakRunning the Support +Breathe ROI Calculator™ to see what you’re still doing yourself that could be outsourced Identifying where buying back your time could actually create more wealthMoving money into savings or investmentsMaking an investment you’ve been consideringSending the invoiceFollowing up on the opportunityCreating an offerBrainstorming a new revenue streamTaking one brave little action toward generating more wealth There is no “right” money move. We’ll breathe. We’ll listen. We’ll journal. And then we’ll act. Because abundance isn’t just something we manifest. We make room for it—and then we meet it with action. Come exactly as you are.    Oxygen Leak Quiz: https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/quiz Ready to Breathe Easier? Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits.  Start With Oxygen 1st https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm. Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator Connect with Dot Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_ Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

  3. Aug 25

    Ep 123: Finding Joy Again in a Hard Season: Rally Monkeys, Baseball & Coming Back to Yourself

    Sometimes your oxygen mask looks like a rally monkey — something ridiculous, joyful, and completely unnecessary that reminds you you're still in the game. Summer's over, Dominic's back to school, and I'm back in the podcasting chair after a season of two unexpected surgeries. In this episode I trace a thread from a childhood memory prompt all the way to a last-minute trip to LA, and the story I finally let go of along the way.   Oxygen Refills in this episode: Remembering little Dorothy: bold, fearless, and utterly obsessed with baseball and gymnasticsWhy baseball has always been my happy place, and how it still turns hard days into good onesSqueezing in a last-minute LA trip with Dominic after surgery derailed our real summer vacationChecking the Angels off our 30-ballpark list, a Dodgers game by the bullpen, and the rally monkeys that gave this episode its nameChanging the story I've told myself for years: "I'm a single mom, so I can't" Why joy isn't something you earn after the to-do list is done, and journal prompts to help you reconnect with who you were before you started editing yourself  This week's journal prompts: Who were you before you started editing yourself for adulthood? What did little you absolutely love? What made you lose track of time? What did you create? How did you play? Where did you feel most alive?Where could you bring a little bit of that person back into your life now — not someday, but this week?  If this one hit home, I'd love to know what story you're ready to let go of. And if you try the journal prompts from this episode, send me what comes up. Ready to Breathe Easier? Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits.  Start With Oxygen 1st https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm. Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator Connect with Dot Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_ Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

  4. Aug 4

    Ep 122: Seeking Summer Joy to Fill the Oxygen Leaks

    It's been a minute since my last episode, and I'm catching you up on why: my son Dominic broke his arm and tore his UCL off the bone, and life has been full to capacity ever since. In this raw, unscripted episode, recorded while I'm literally packing the car for a trip, I open up about what I've learned this summer about delegation, plugging "oxygen leaks," and choosing joy even when the to-do list says I shouldn't. In this episode: Why I've been MIA, and what Dominic's arm injury has blown up in my scheduleThe oxygen leaks I finally plugged this summer: a bug man, a full sprinkler overhaul, and a professional car detailWhy I hired a home manager for a twice-weekly reset, and how outsourcing at home has been scarier (and more freeing) than delegating in businessThe realization that my soul has been craving work just as much as restMy big news: I signed a book deal with Monarch and Company, coming early 2027Why I booked a spontaneous LA trip — a Cathy Heller conference plus a baseball run to see the Angels and Dodgers with DominicA journaling flashback to my inner child, little Dot, and what baseball has always meant to meWhy filling your own cup first lets it overflow onto everyone around youReady to Breathe Easier? Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits.  Start With Oxygen 1st https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm. Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator Connect with Dot Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_ Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

  5. Jul 21

    Ep 121: The Dysfunction Tax: What Avoiding One Hard Conversation Is Costing Your Business

    I earned the nickname "The Velvet Hammer" for how I handle hard conversations at work. I've fired people, I've gotten them to resign, and I've never once been afraid of being misunderstood. But for the first 41 years of my life, I couldn't say the same thing about my own family. This episode is about the one conversation you keep avoiding — with an employee, a client, a partner, an ex, a parent, maybe even yourself — and the invoice that shows up when you don't have it. I'm opening up about the conversation I finally had with my son's father, why it took me so long to get there, and what happened in the car right after it, when my own son had a conversation of his own. I'm also breaking down what I call the oxygen tax: the real, compounding cost businesses and families pay when they build an entire system around one person, one problem, nobody wants to name. In this episode: Why I was so good at hard conversations in the workplace and such an eggshell walker everywhere elseThe moment at my son's baseball game that I'd call a come-to-Jesus talk — and what happened when we got back to the carMeet "Brad": the employee your whole company has quietly rebuilt itself aroundThe rework tax, the leadership tax, the trust tax, and the opportunity tax — and how they add up to something much biggerWhy kindness without clarity is just confusion with a smiley faceThe difference between supporting someone and subsidizing their dysfunction Journal prompts for this episode: The conversation I have been avoiding is ___.Who is currently paying the price because I haven't had it?What would become easier if I named what's actually happening? If you already know exactly who, or what, I've been talking about this whole episode and you'd rather not say it out loud yet, book a Fire with Grace strategy call with me. We'll get clarity on the real business impact and map out how to have the conversation, instead of reorganizing your whole company around avoiding it.  Ready to Breathe Easier? Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits.  Start With Oxygen 1st https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm. Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator Connect with Dot Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_ Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

  6. Jul 14

    Ep 120: How to Pull Out of a Business Tailspin: What Flying Airplanes Taught Me About Leadership

    I once let my flight instructor blindfold me mid-air. On purpose. Then he put the plane into a stall spin. What happened to my body in that cockpit became a lesson I still use with every leader I work with, especially the ones white-knuckling their way through a hard season.  In this episode, I'm getting into what a stall actually is, why your instincts might be the exact thing working against you, and what I trust instead when everything in me is screaming to grip tighter. What You'll Hear The night I let my flight instructor blindfold me mid-flightWhy my body lied to me the second I couldn't see the horizonThe real reason a stall happens (it's not what most people think)The signs I look for that tell me a business is already spinningThe recovery process I walk leaders through when they're gripping too tightMy go-to method for hiring the right support, instead of just more of myselfReady to Breathe Easier? Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits.  Start With Oxygen 1st https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm. Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator Connect with Dot Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_ Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

  7. Jul 1

    Ep 119: What to Do When Your Business Doesn't Care That Life Fell Apart

    This isn't a typical episode about hiring, firing, or delegation — it's a raw, real-time update about the hardest season me and my son, Dominic, have faced in years. After a baseball injury was repeatedly misdiagnosed, a gut-instinct second opinion led the family to a renowned surgeon in Vail, emergency surgery, and a summer that looks nothing like the one they'd planned. This episode shares the full story — the medical misdiagnoses, the surgery, the support that showed up in unexpected ways, and the framework that's gotten her through it. This episode is about what happens when "doing less" stops being a productivity philosophy and becomes survival. In this episode: The injury, the misdiagnosis, and trusting her gut anywayHow a year-old conversation led to a surgeon almost no one can get in to seeThe call from the OR and the community that showed upSolo parenting through trauma, grief, and her own exhaustionThe Basics, Elevated, Emergency framework — built in crisis, used again nowWhy asking for help isn't weaknessReady to Breathe Easier? Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits.  Start With Oxygen 1st https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm. Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator Connect with Dot Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_ Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

  8. Jun 16

    Ep 118: Should You Fire Them? The Grow or Go Framework for Difficult Employee Conversations

    One of the questions I hear most often from leaders is, "Should I fire them?" After more than 20 years in HR and leadership, I've learned that most leaders don't actually have a termination problem—they have a clarity problem. In this episode, I'm sharing a real conversation I recently had with a CEO who thought she was ready to let go of a senior executive. She was exhausted, frustrated, and carrying the weight of a decision that had been keeping her up at night. But as we talked, we realized something important: this wasn't just about performance. It was about fit. Sometimes people aren't failing because they're incapable. They're struggling because they're sitting in the wrong seat. And when we avoid addressing that truth, everyone feels it—the leader, the employee, the team, and the entire organization. That's exactly why I created my Grow or Go Framework. I believe difficult conversations can be handled with both compassion and accountability. I call it the "velvet hammer" approach: leading with heart while still holding clear expectations and boundaries. Because leadership isn't about avoiding hard conversations. It's about having them with courage, kindness, and honesty. In This Episode: Why most leaders struggle with certainty—not terminationHow to tell the difference between a performance issue and a fit issueThe hidden cost of avoiding difficult conversationsWhy the right conversation can create clarity for everyone involvedHow to lead with both compassion and accountabilityWhat my Grow or Go Framework looks like in practiceHow to create a path forward that honors both the employee and the organization  Grow or Go Framework: https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/fire-with-grace Ready to Breathe Easier? Whether you’re navigating a difficult people decision, feeling buried in work that drains your energy, or ready to build support that actually fits.  Start With Oxygen 1st https://www.dotrockconsulting.com/contact You’ll be guided to the right next step — without pressure, urgency, or overwhelm. Free Tool: Support + Breathe Calculator https://dotrockconsulting.myflodesk.com/hiring-calculator Connect with Dot Instagram - www.instagram.com/dot_rock_ Remember: your energy is your greatest asset. Protect it, invest in it, and always put your oxygen mask on first.

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About

When my son was little, I was a single mom who was doing it all alone. I was putting everyone else first and my own needs last. To everyone around me, I was successful but little did they know that my success was tied to pushing, stressing, sleepless nights and early morning workouts pushing my body and my limits to the extreme. Until one day  I was flying alone and nearly crashed an airplane and I realized that I needed to take care of my own needs first before anyone else. You see, when you’re a pilot, if you have any issues in the plane, you put on your oxygen mask 1st, not your passengers. They need you to land the plane.    This podcast is all about this journey to healing, to getting clear on the desires of your heart… and stepping into them with courage while leaning into, asking for and receiving support.  I hope you feel inspired to do less, to follow your passions and infuse them into your daily life and truly claim the life you were meant to live: a life filled to the brim with epic ADVENTURE.  

Information

  • Creator
    Dot Rock
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    126
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Power of Oxygen 1st
  • Show Website
    The Power of Oxygen 1st