We Are Women Unapologetically

Jessica Cumming
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Created for women who are: Pivoting careers or reinventing themselves Balancing care for both kids and aging parents Navigating professional shifts - from layoffs to promotions Ready to write their next chapter, authentically and boldly Why this podcast? Because I've been there - juggling career pivots, family demands, and personal reinvention. And I know you have too. What to expect: Honest conversations about real challenges and victories Stories from women who've turned obstacles into opportunities Practical strategies for navigating change with confidence

  1. 5d ago

    How to Build a Better Relationship With Yourself | Susie Hall

    The relationship you have with yourself affects how you set boundaries, communicate what you need, recover from mistakes, and navigate change. I sit down with Susie Hall, The Sassy Godmother and author of Sassy Godmother’s Pearls of Wisdom: 50 Inspiring Ways to Navigate Your Life, for a wide-ranging conversation about self-love, assertiveness, vulnerability, grief, self-forgiveness, course corrections, and intentionally making room for joy. If you know how to handle almost anything but want to become more thoughtful about how you treat yourself and spend your time, this conversation is for you. CONNECT WITH SUSIE Website and book: https://thesassygodmother.com/ WORK WITH JESSICA Private executive coaching: https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/coaching Keynotes, leadership workshops, and corporate training: https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/speaking Start the free Clarity in 10 Reset™: https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/clarity-in-10 Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/

  2. Sep 23

    Finding Yourself After Divorce: Midlife Reinvention and Self-Trust | Dawn Pick Benson

    How do you find yourself again after divorce, especially when your career, faith and identity are changing too? In this episode of We Are Women, Unapologetically, Jessica Cumming talks with self-discovery travel coach Dawn Pick Benson about starting over in midlife, learning to trust her own voice and building a career around what brings her alive. After 19 years of marriage, Dawn began questioning her relationship, career and the expectations she had spent years trying to meet. Much of that questioning began several years before her divorce was final. Walking away carried personal, professional and spiritual consequences. It also forced Dawn to confront a difficult truth: she had spent much of her life looking outside herself for answers. Dawn shares how therapy, solo travel and time away from familiar expectations, including extended stays in Kosovo, gave her space to hear her own voice. She also opens up about accepting an available job without first deciding what she truly wanted. Later, the words “travel coach” came to her during meditation and eventually led her to build Brave Journey. In this conversation, we discuss: Finding yourself after divorceMidlife career reinventionLearning to trust your own voiceLeaving a career that no longer fitsSolo travel and self-discoveryMaking major life changes one step at a timeChoosing work that brings you aliveIf you are facing divorce, questioning your career or wondering who you are after years of meeting everyone else’s expectations, this conversation is a reminder that you do not need every answer before taking your next step. Connect with Dawn Pick Benson: Website: https://dawnpickbenson.comInstagram: @dawnpickbensonSubstack: Wandersmitten Connect with Jessica Cumming: Website: https://jcnewbeginnings.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/ If this conversation has you questioning whether your career or life still fits who you are now, connect with Jessica to explore executive coaching. Organizations can also work with Jessica through keynote speaking, corporate training and organization-sponsored coaching. Subscribe to We Are Women, Unapologetically for honest conversations about career transitions, leadership, reinvention and building a life that reflects who you are now. #MidlifeReinvention #LifeAfterDivorce #CareerChange #SoloTravel

  3. Sep 16

    Leaving an Alcoholic Husband and Rebuilding From Rock Bottom | Sandy Colling

    After 28 years of marriage, Sandy Colling left a husband struggling with alcoholism. Within days, she was evicted. She went from food stamps and rock bottom to rebuilding her life and starting her own travel business. In this episode of We Are Women, Unapologetically, I sit down with Sandy to talk about marrying at 20, the independence she developed early in life, and the exhaustion that came from feeling like she had to handle everything alone. We also talk about loyalty, staying “for the kids,” and the difficult realization that staying may not protect a family in the way you intended. Sandy shares what it took to begin again financially, trust herself, and rebuild everything from nothing. Travel has been part of Sandy’s story since childhood. When she was six, her nine-year-old brother died, and her family traveled as a way of coping with the loss. That connection eventually became a career built around helping other women experience the confidence and transformation that can come from navigating somewhere new. Sandy is a travel advisor, author, and host of The Travel Lounge Life podcast. She also leads small-group trips for women who are ready to stop waiting and go. Follow We Are Women, Unapologetically for more honest conversations about navigating change, rebuilding your life, and choosing what comes next—because shift happens, but you don’t have to do it alone. Connect with Sandy: Website: https://justtravelwithsandy.comEmail: support@justtravelwithsandy.comFacebook group: Luxury Travel Advisor Sandy European Vacations and Group Tours for Women 45 Plus Connect with Jessica: Website: https://jcnewbeginnings.comEmail: jessica@jcnewbeginnings.com

  4. Sep 9

    How to Stop Hiding and Break the Cycle of Shame with Chantelle Botha

    What happens when shame becomes part of your identity before you are old enough to understand it? For 40 years, Chantelle Botha carried three words that shaped how she saw herself: broken, deviant and twisted. Those words followed her into her relationships, career, sexuality, addiction and the life she kept trying to rebuild. In this candid conversation, Chantelle shares how she survived crystal meth addiction, relapse, homelessness, the loss of her father and a moment when she came dangerously close to ending her life. She also explains what changed when she stopped hiding, began examining the story beneath her shame and finally said the words she had been afraid to say. Jessica and Chantelle discuss: How shame can quietly become a subconscious identity Why addiction is often about more than the substance The moment Chantelle’s 13-year-old son forced her to face what was happening The final words her father gave her: “Stop asking why. Start asking what next.” Why shame can return even after years of personal growth The connection Chantelle sees between desire, creativity and leadership Why saying the words out loud can become the beginning of change Chantelle’s story is direct, provocative and deeply human. Reinvention does not erase your past. It changes the authority your past has over your future. Connect with Chantelle Botha: Website: https://phoenixconfidence.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantellebotha-confidence/ Connect with Jessica Cumming and JC New Beginnings: Website: https://jcnewbeginnings.com Email:contact@jcnewbeginnings.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/ Content note: This episode includes candid discussion of addiction, recovery and relapse, suicidal thoughts and planning, childhood sexual behavior, adult sexual experiences and themes of shame and self-abandonment. Please take care of yourself while listening. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 for immediate support. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and available 24/7. https://988lifeline.org

  5. Jul 29 ·  Bonus

    Encore: You Already Know. So Why Are You Still Asking Everyone Else?

    Jessica Cumming, executive coach and former Dell Technologies leader, revisits the exact moment self-trust turned into second-guessing, and how to reverse it. If you already know the answer but keep asking everyone else first, this encore episode is for you. This episode traces the turning point when instinct became hesitation, from a nine-year-old alone on the Stockholm subway to a black car she never wanted parked in a Texas driveway. Jessica breaks down why capable, high-achieving women learn to override their own judgment, why certainty starts to feel like it needs permission, and what the research says about the pressure to seek outside validation before trusting your own decisions. You'll hear the data on why 59% of women feel pressure to meet others' expectations, why the average adult's 35,000 daily decisions hit differently when self-trust is missing, and a simple weekly practice for rebuilding your own instincts one choice at a time. If you have been outsourcing your knowing, waiting for permission you never needed, this is the episode to start reversing it. Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/ Book Jessica to speak: https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/speaking

  6. Jul 22

    When Success No Longer Fits: Rebuilding Around Who You Are with Amber Swenor

    Amber Swenor, founder of Soul Seed Strategy, has built a marketing business past seven figures, written a Wall Street Journal bestseller, and fronted a metal band for nearly two decades. In this conversation, she explores what happens when success no longer fits and how she's redefining success on her own terms through growth, joy, energy, creativity, and work that fits who she's becoming. Amber and Jessica also discuss the self-editing beneath outward confidence, the money wounds that shaped some of her early pricing decisions, the editor feedback that helped her keep writing, and why she won't outsource her creative voice to AI. Connect with Amber: https://amber-swenor.com Connect with Jessica: https://jcnewbeginnings.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/

  7. Jul 15

    How to Talk to Your Manager About Extra Work Before You Say Something You Regret Role Drift Part 2

    Are you doing extra work that was never officially added to your role? Maybe you inherited responsibilities after a reorg, layoff, hiring freeze, or leadership change. Maybe people keep coming to you for answers because you know the history. Maybe your meeting load went up, your priorities did not come down, and now your frustration is starting to build. That is where role drift becomes dangerous. In Part 2 of the Role Drift series, Jessica Cumming breaks down how to spot the red flags of role drift, document what has changed, and prepare for a calm, strategic conversation with your manager before frustration takes over. This episode answers questions like: How do I talk to my manager about extra work?How do I bring up additional responsibilities without sounding difficult?What should I do if my job changed but my title and pay did not?How do I document role drift?How do I ask for role clarity after a reorg or layoff? You will walk away with a practical role drift audit, a 60–90 day reflection framework, and language you can use to realign expectations, priorities, and success measures. Because documenting your contribution is not creating drama. It is how you stop your work from disappearing. Book a clarity call with Jessica Download the Clairty In 10 Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn

  8. Jul 8

    Doing More Work Without a Promotion? Role Drift at Work Explained (Part 1)

    Have you ever asked yourself, “Why am I doing more work without a promotion?” Or maybe you have wondered: “When did all of this become my job?” “Why did my responsibilities change but my title stayed the same?” “How do I know if this is career growth or quiet overload?” “What do I do when I am doing more work without more pay?” That is where role drift often begins. In this episode of We Are Women, Unapologetically, Jessica Cumming breaks down role drift at work: what happens when your responsibilities quietly expand, but your title, pay, authority, and career path do not change with them. Part 1 of this two-part series focuses on how to recognize role drift, how to tell the difference between real growth and quiet overload, and why high performers often become the default owners of invisible work after reorgs, layoffs, hiring freezes, leadership changes, and AI rollouts. If your job keeps getting bigger but your career is not moving forward, this episode will help you name what is happening and start protecting your career with more clarity and strategy. Book a clarity call with Jessica

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Created for women who are: Pivoting careers or reinventing themselves Balancing care for both kids and aging parents Navigating professional shifts - from layoffs to promotions Ready to write their next chapter, authentically and boldly Why this podcast? Because I've been there - juggling career pivots, family demands, and personal reinvention. And I know you have too. What to expect: Honest conversations about real challenges and victories Stories from women who've turned obstacles into opportunities Practical strategies for navigating change with confidence

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