Mindful and Mighty

Huan and Amanda

An energetic podcast featuring two friends who met in the MBA program. Currently, in our late 30s and early 40s, we share our journeys exploring the world, careers, relationships, hobbies, and much more.

  1. FEB 13

    Mindful & Mighty Ep 42: From Obsessing Over Grades to Learning for Life

    In this episode, we dive into our very different experiences growing up in Mexico and China’s education systems, and how they eventually led us to meet in an MBA program in Canada 🇲🇽🇨🇳🇨🇦. We talk about intense private schools, strict teachers, endless homework, and what it’s like to be pushed to perform from a very young age 📚😮‍💨. Amanda shares what it was like to attend a bilingual, high-pressure private school in Mexico, while Huan reflects on the toughness of the Chinese system and the shock of coming to a Canadian classroom where teachers actually asked, “What do you think?” 🎒🧑‍🏫. We also chat about social class, public vs. private schools, teachers’ strikes, and whether our expensive and demanding education paths were really “worth it” in terms of ROI 💸🎓. Finally, we open up about our past obsession with grades, how our relationship with learning has changed, and what we would tell our younger selves now about success, achievement, and what truly matters 💖🧠. ✨ In this episode, we talk about: 🇲🇽 Growing up in Mexico’s private, bilingual, high-pressure schools 🇨🇳 The toughness of the Chinese education system and rigid expectations 🇨🇦 The culture shock of Canadian classrooms that invite your opinion 🎓 How we both ended up in an MBA program in Canada 💼 ROI of education: was all the pressure and cost really “worth it”? 📚 Obsessing over grades vs. learning for the sake of growth 🧠 How our mindset around success, achievement, and knowledge has evolved 💬 What we would tell our younger selves about school and self-worth #MindfulAndMighty #Education #SchoolPressure #Grades #MentalHealth #BilingualLife #ChinaToCanada #MexicoToCanada #MBAJourney #PersonalGrowth #LearningMindset

    40 min
  2. 12/19/2025

    Mindful & Mighty Ep 40: Our Year of Growth, Gratitude & 40 Conversations

    We made it — 40 episodes, 40 weeks, and a full year of learning, laughing, unlearning, and becoming. 👶🎙️💜 In this season finale, we sit down together to reflect on the moments, ideas, guests, and breakthroughs that shaped our first year of Mindful & Mighty. Join us as we look back on… ⚖️ Balance — always find your own balance. 🌱 Awareness & Mindfulness — the themes that kept resurfacing no matter the topic.🎭 Expectations & Perfectionism — and the aha moment where we realized: “You’re the only one who chooses whether to take on that expectation.”💛 Friendship, support & asking for help — because “when you ask for help, you give the relationship a chance to grow.”💪 Transitions & resilience — from career changes to emotional shifts to learning that the world doesn’t end when plans fall apart.💫 Creativity, art, music & space — the things that brought us joy and reminded us to keep making, dreaming, and seeing beauty everywhere.🐾 Pets, kids, food, aging — and all the small everyday stories that made us laugh, cry, and connect.🎒 Our incredible guests — each with their own balance, their own journey, and their own wisdom to share.📚 The books that changed us — from The Well-Lived Life to Games People Play, helping us understand ourselves (and others) more deeply. We also talk about the surprise lessons, the messy parts, the moments we wanted to re-record, the ones we’ll never forget, and how this “crazy idea” turned into a place where we feel grounded, curious, and creatively alive. And the biggest lesson of all?✨ Everyone is interesting. Everyone has a story. And you always have a choice in how you live yours. We’re taking a short break over late December & January to rest and recharge. 🌙🧘‍♀️But we’ll be back in 2026 — with new episodes, new guests, new books, new sparks of creativity, and new conversations about living a mindful, mighty life. Thank you for being here with us.💜✨ See you in 2026! ✨💜 #MindfulAndMighty #SeasonFinale #YearInReview #WomenWhoPodcast #PodcastCommunity #MindfulnessJourney #PersonalGrowth #PositivePsychology #SelfAwareness #LiveWithIntention #ConnectionMatters #HealingJourney #AgingGracefully #InspiredLiving #AlwaysLearning

    45 min
  3. 12/05/2025

    Mindful & Mighty Ep 38: The True Value of Creation

    Every Human Is Creative (Yes, You Too) In this Mindful & Mighty conversation, Amanda and Huan get honest about creativity—what it is, what it isn’t, and why so many of us still say “I’m not a creative person.” 🎨 From childhood doodles and “I’m just rational” identities to stick-figure art, podcasting, and the dream of a children’s book about Amanda’s dad, they explore how creativity shows up far beyond traditional “artistic talent.” 🌱​ They chat about: How narrow labels (“I’m not artistic”) quietly shut down our creative potential. 🧠 Why creativity is more like a muscle than magic—and why most of it is “bad first drafts” and practice. ✍️ Letting go of perfection, monetization, and external validation so you can create from joy, love, and curiosity. 💛 Using tools like journaling, morning pages, gratitude, and community to unlock ideas and express your inner world. 📓🤝 If you’ve ever thought creativity “belongs” to real artists, or you’re sitting on a project you’re scared to start, this episode is your gentle nudge to see the moon beyond the finger, trust your voice, and make something that only you can make. 🌙✨ #MindfulAndMighty #Creativity #EverydayCreativity #ImNotCreative #Perfectionism #JustStart #Journaling #MorningPages #ArtAsHealing #SelfExpression #InnerChild #PositivePsychology #FlowState #FollowYourBliss #MakeBadArt #WomenPodcasters #PodcastLife #PersonalGrowth #MindfulnessJourney #EmotionalWellbeing

    33 min
  4. 11/28/2025

    Mindful & Mighty Ep 37: Amir's Journey of Adaptation and Identity

    🌍 This week on Mindful & Mighty, we sit down with our friend Amir — someone whose life story feels like a passport full of lessons. Born in Iran 🇮🇷, raised in Dubai 🇦🇪, and later studying and working across Canada 🇨🇦, Amir’s journey is a beautiful reflection of what it means to grow, change, adapt, and continuously learn. 🧠 From engineering → biomedical research → architecture → construction → eventually completing an MBA, Amir shares how his path wasn’t planned — it evolved. And sometimes… the best paths do. We talk about:✨ identity and belonging✨ the surprising gifts of starting over✨ learning for curiosity vs. learning for survival✨ career pivots (planned or accidental)✨ the beauty of cultures blending, colliding, and overlapping✨ and why having no fixed plan doesn’t mean you’re lost — it may mean you're expanding. 💬 One of our favourite themes from this episode: The more you travel and meet people from different backgrounds, the more you realize how similar we all are — beyond language, traditions, and borders. 🌱 If you’ve ever questioned your career choices, felt pressure to “figure it out,” or wondered whether it’s too late to start again — this conversation is for you. Grab your tea, coffee, or commute headphones — this one feels like a warm, honest conversation you didn’t know you needed. 💛 #MindfulAndMighty #PodcastCommunity #PodcastLife #ImmigrantStories #LifeTransitions #PersonalJourney #CareerPath #CareerPivot #AdultingIsHard #ModernIdentity #CuriosityDriven #CultureAndIdentity #Adaptability #SelfReflection #LifelongLearning #GrowthMindset #BalanceNotPerfection #PurposeDrivenLife #StorytellingPodcast #MBAStories #Resilience #SelfDiscovery #MindfulLiving #ExpatsOfTheWorld #NonLinearCareers #MeaningfulConversations #SpotifyPodcast #ApplePodcasts #NewEpisodeAlert

    40 min

About

An energetic podcast featuring two friends who met in the MBA program. Currently, in our late 30s and early 40s, we share our journeys exploring the world, careers, relationships, hobbies, and much more.