Motivation N'at

NC Bulger Solutions

Motivation N’at is hosted by Natalie Bulger and features guests from all walks of life — each bringing their own stories, experiences, and insights to the table. Together, we dive into everything from relationships and sobriety to mental health challenges and the lasting impact of growing up too soon. On Motivation N’at, we take on life’s tougher conversations and explore how the lessons we’ve learned can shape what comes next — all in the spirit of turning life’s hot mess moments into high potential.

  1. 3d ago

    Intentional AI: I am the Loop, You are My Tool

    Brée is a mindfulness facilitator, AI practitioner and digital strategist who spent years at NASA bringing the universe to newsfeeds. After burnout that took her three years to recover from, she built the Synergy Squad, an accountability community that grew from four people to thirty almost overnight. Today she sets up AI automations that find grants, paid speaking gigs and open government proposals, then email her the results each week, so she spends her time on the work and the people.We're both former federal employees, so we also talk about who you are after the agency job is gone. And we get into the side of AI that worries her: chatbot nicknames, AI companions, and voice cloning good enough to fool our parents. We close with our own parents, and why no AI tool can replace them.Brée and I talk about: 🔹 Simple AI automations for grant research, paid speaking gigs and job leads 🔹 Why she calls herself platform agnostic, and the tools she uses most🔹 Building one app at a time, and why project management still matters🔹 Pacing your calendar to who you are today to prevent burnout🔹 The Synergy Squad, and why community helps you finish your goals🔹 Life after federal service, and finding yourself outside your job🔹 Where she draws the line on AI art🔹 Protecting your voice and identity from AI voice cloning🔹 AI companions, and what we lose when we stop talking to people🔹 Murder boards: practicing your talking points before a podcast or speaking gig🌐 Connect with BréeWebsite: https://hub.breenachelle.com/Aligned, Not Automated: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FL868M91Threads: https://www.threads.com/@baronessbreeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/baronessbree/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/baronessbree📖 Mentioned in this episodeArtificial Intimacy by Sherry Turkle: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sherry-turkle/artificial-intimacy/9780316573962/Zo Computer: https://www.zo.computer/About Brée NachelleBrée Nachelle is a mindfulness facilitator, AI practitioner, and digital strategist, or as she puts it, what happens when all three plus a pop culture habit find a Wi-Fi signal. She founded Brée Nachelle Innovations to help creatives align their presence with their purpose without burning out or blending in. She is the author of Aligned, Not Automated, a guide to using AI with intention, writes the Mindful Moments newsletter, hosts the Glitchy Genius podcast, runs Build in Beta for the AI curious, and is head instigator of the Synergy Squad, an accountability collective for soft hustlers with big visions and even bigger hearts. Her two decades of work include working as digital strategist at NASA, where she helped bring the universe to newsfeeds and timelines. She is certified in MBSR, women's circles, and meditation, and has spoken nationally.About Motivation N'atHot Mess to High Potential® Hosted by Natalie Bulger.Website: https://www.ncbulgersolutions.com

    Intentional AI: I am the Loop, You are My Tool

  2. Oct 25

    Life after Learning You're Neurodivergent | Guest - Tasha Simpson

    Were you always the weird friend? Tasha Simpson was in grad school to be a therapist when she started recognizing herself in some of the diagnoses the textbooks defined. She’d known about her ADHD since she was a teenager. At 32, an assessment confirmed there was more to it. Tasha now works for herself as a content creator and social media manager, and she hosts The Divergent Disco, a podcast for neurodivergent creators. She calls leaving traditional work a power move and an accommodation at the same time. Her main point: you don’t have to chase a diagnosis to start living the way your brain works. If this sounds like you, you can start making room for it now. I accepted my own ADHD diagnosis at 38, and I’m still figuring out which of my habits are coping and which are just how I work. Some of what Tasha described, I do too, like covering my ears through the loud parts of House of the Dragon. Tasha and I talk about: 🔹 Grieving the person you tried to be, and why “that makes sense” can sting 🔹 Choosing an assessment from a specialist instead of a medical diagnosis 🔹 A full routine for brushing your teeth, and why seven and three are purple 🔹 Drinking, food and spending as coping before she knew 🔹 Why warm laundry is a problem, and my shower lamp 🔹 Exercise as a stim, and dancing in public 🔹 Leaving traditional work as an accommodation 🔹 Using years of masking to build characters as an actor 🌐 Connect with Tasha Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tash.irl_/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@tash.irl_ The Divergent Disco: https://open.spotify.com/show/5wLNPBAMBxPANTMljclF6d Tasha Simpson Social: https://tashasimpsonsocial.vibepreview.app/ Mentioned in this episode Embrace Autism tests: https://embrace-autism.com/autism-tests/ Shower lamp: https://amzn.to/4ifZHhH About Tasha Simpson Tasha is an AuDHD creator and social media professional sharing insights on autism, theater, and fitness. She is the host of The Divergent Disco, the podcast for neurodivergent creatives & entrepreneurs who are done trying to fit into systems and ready to make their own. The podcast talks honestly about ADHD, autism, and the neurodivergent experience through the lens of entrepreneurship, career reinvention, and everyday life. Motivation N’at Hot mess to high potential®. Hosted by Natalie Bulger. https://www.ncbulgersolutions.com

    Life after Learning You're Neurodivergent | Guest - Tasha Simpson

  3. Oct 18

    Learning to Return to Yourself After Burnout | Guest - Nana Adabie

    What do you reach for on a hard Tuesday night, when the plan from your last appointment isn’t enough? Nana Efua Adabie spent years as a psychiatric nurse practitioner watching patients face that exact moment with nothing to use. After burnout pulled her out of clinical care, she built Loretta, an emotional regulation app designed to meet you where you are. It walks you through noticing what you feel, sitting with a short guided ritual, and taking one small practice into the rest of your day. The link to Loretta is below! Her main point: regulation doesn’t mean being calm. It means giving yourself enough room to pause between feeling something and acting on it, and sometimes that pause shows you what needs to change. I spent years as a buttoned-up federal worker who didn’t say much, and I felt the golden handcuffs the second Nana named them. If you’ve ever been great at your job and had nothing left by the time you got home, this one will feel familiar. Nana and I talk about: 🔹 Why leaving clinical care held grief and relief at the same time 🔹 The golden handcuffs, and what staying was costing her at home 🔹 Translating yourself for every room, and where flexible communication turns into self-erasure 🔹 Her aunt’s question: have you ever tried to put the sun in a box? 🔹 Some people prefer the version of you that requires less of them 🔹 Regulation isn’t calm. It’s a pause between feeling something and acting on it. 🔹 Why Loretta uses real artists and human voices instead of AI 🔹 The tree in her front yard that gave the app its name 🌐 Connect with Nana Loretta: https://helloloretta.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadabie/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@nadabie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nana-efua-adabie-759190a6 About Nana Efua Adabie Nana Efua Adabie is a UCSF-trained PMHNP-DNP with clinical experience across outpatient and inpatient settings, specializing in mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, ADHD, perinatal and postpartum mental health, and treatment-refractory conditions. Her work is grounded in evidence-based practice, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, and psychoeducation, and shaped by a deep commitment to care that is experienced, not just delivered. But she kept seeing the same gap. People leaving clinical settings without the tools to regulate in the in-between moments. The moments that don’t make it into a session. The quiet overwhelm that high-functioning people are so good at hiding. She is the Founder & CEO of Here Within, Inc. and the creator of Loretta™ — an emotional intelligence system beginning with guided rituals as the entry point, and evolving into a tool that learns what each individual needs to regulate, when they need it, and why it works. Motivation N’at Hot mess to high potential. Hosted by Natalie Bulger. https://www.ncbulgersolutions.com

    Learning to Return to Yourself After Burnout | Guest - Nana Adabie

  4. Oct 11

    Why Past Performance Doesn't Predict Leadership Readiness | Guest - Logan Yonavjak

    Who gets promoted, and why? Logan Yonavjak says most organizations still answer that with gut instinct, and her data shows how often it goes wrong. Logan is the Co-founder and CEO of Readiness Engine, a leadership analytics firm. Her team measures leadership readiness by looking at how people actually talk and the qualities that actually produce positive leadership related outcomes. They score transcripts from interviews, calls and presentations with three AI models plus human review, then link those scores to company performance. Her main point: past performance doesn't predict future readiness. A high IQ, a strong résumé or a warm intro won't tell you if someone can handle the complexity of leading a team and if they have the capacity necessary for the vast amount of information and engagement. I've seen this in healthcare and in the government and odds are you've seen it too. Maybe it's "failing up", claims of nepotism, or just hires that seem to get the job because they're smooth talkers. No matter what - this discussion will push you to think in more detail about what leadership is and how we measure it.What we cover: 🔹 Why past performance doesn't predict leadership readiness 🔹 Mispromotion, and why picking talent by gut feel falls short 🔹 Strategic complexity: how many perspectives a leader can hold at once 🔹 What your speech patterns show about how you lead 🔹 The martyr complex, and what over-explaining your decisions signals 🔹 How Readiness Engine uses AI scoring, human review and anonymous scoring to reduce bias 🔹 The retirement wave and generational change in leadership 🔹 What industries may benefit most from leadership readiness data🌐 Connect with LoganReadiness Engine: https://readinessengine.ioLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loganyonavjakReadiness Engine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/readinessengine/Email: faq@founderrl.comAbout Logan YonavjakLogan Yonavjak is the Co-Founder & CEO, Readiness Engine — building a decision-support layer that quantifies leadership readiness and complexity capacity for promotion, succession, and organizational design. She partners with mid-market organizations to reduce mis-promotion risk and embed readiness signals into existing talent and workforce planning infrastructure. She is also a Founding Member of Angels.VC — a women-led angel network increasing female representation on cap tables and in early-stage capital formation.Motivation N'atHot mess to high potential.Hosted by Natalie Bulger.https://www.ncbulgersolutions.com

    Why Past Performance Doesn't Predict Leadership Readiness | Guest - Logan Yonavjak

  5. Oct 4

    Fixing a Broken Healthcare System with Recentralized Care | Guest - Carrie Allen

    Healthcare is built around institutions. Carrie Allen wants to rebuild it around the patient. Carrie is the founder of the Holistic Health Hub, and she calls her model recentralized care. You own your health data, and your primary care doctor, your specialists and your other practitioners work together with you at the center. Right now most of us do that coordination ourselves. Carrie calls it being the project manager of your own health, and if you care for kids or aging parents, you're doing that job several times over. I spent years on the hospital side as a risk and compliance leader, so we also talk about how the system looks from the inside, and why a simple home sleep study took me almost a year. What we cover: 🔹 Why healthcare is built around institutions, and what patient-centered care changes 🔹 Being the project manager of your own health, and your family's 🔹 Specialists who never talk to each other 🔹 Prior authorizations, and a story from a breast cancer surgeon in Texas 🔹 Why practitioners in the Holistic Health Hub directory sign a manifesto 🔹 Stark Law, HIPAA and the rules a health startup has to follow but do they fully make sense in todays environment 🔹 The Well-being Concierge and the Boston network launch 🔹 Why Carrie thinks millennials may be the generation that fixes it 🌐 Connect with Carrie Holistic Health Hub: https://holistichealthhub.ap Sign the declaration: https://holistichealthhub.app/uprising Email: hello@holistichealthhub.app Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your.holistic.health.hub/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieallen12 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourholistichealthhub About Carrie Allen Carrie Allen spent over 20 years scaling consumer platforms at Zipcar, Babies"R"Us, Kaplan, Skedaddle and LocalizeOS. She founded The Human Array and, most recently, The Holistic Health Hub. The Hub connects practitioners and wellness businesses with people who want whole-person care. Each person owns their own data, and practitioners from conventional, functional, integrative and holistic care can work together around them. Carrie built it after she saw how disconnected care was in her own health journey and in the journeys of the people around her. About Motivation N'at Hot mess to high potential. Hosted by Natalie Bulger. Website: https://www.ncbulgersolutions.com

    Fixing a Broken Healthcare System with Recentralized Care | Guest - Carrie Allen

  6. Oct 1

    The Waiting Room: Faith, Grief, and the Long Silence | Guest - Natasha Minier-Robinson

    Natasha R. Minier-Robinson wrote two books while going through a miscarriage, the unexpected death of her younger sister, and a chronic illness that kept her hospitalized for most of a month. When I asked what she tells someone who's praying and hearing nothing back, she didn't reach for a verse. She said sometimes you won't have the words, and it's okay to sit in the silence. She calls the space in between the waiting room. We get into what that season does to a person's faith, why she stopped keeping faith in a Sunday box, and the advice a church mother gave her in the ER while she was focused only on getting physically well. Natasha is also a Licensed Vocational Nurse, so we talk about what medicine loses when it treats symptoms and skips spiritual health, and what it meant to be the patient a nurse prayed with. Her latest book, My Heart Is Home but Still Aches, is the second in the My Heart Is Home series. What we cover 🔹 Ten years between books, and how the writing changed from pain seeping out to naming the weight without wearing it as an identity 🔹 What it looks like to stop compartmentalizing faith from marriage, parenting, and career 🔹 Spiritual health as part of physical and mental health, from both sides of the hospital bed 🔹 The advice she got in the ER: strengthen the part of you that isn't already compromised 🔹 Why "strong in faith" has nothing to do with wearing a cross or quoting scripture 🔹 Respect between provider and patient when beliefs don't match 🔹 Getting pieces of the plan instead of the whole thing 🔹 What to do when grief takes your words away 🌐 Connect with NatashaWebsite: https://natasharrobinson.com All links: https://linktr.ee/Natasharrobinson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natasha_r_rob/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@natasha_r_rob TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@inspire.motivatelove Natasha's books 📚 All titles, all retailers: https://books2read.com/natasharrobinson 📚 My Heart Is Home (book one): https://www.amazon.com/My-Heart-Is-Home/dp/B0H19QLN87 📚 My Heart Is Home but Still Aches (book two): https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Home-but-Still-Aches/dp/B0H6S4BSHZ About Natasha R. Minier-Robinson Natasha R. Minier-Robinson is an author, poet, and Licensed Vocational Nurse who uses her voice to speak on grief, healing, and transformation. Through her lived experiences, she creates space for honest conversations that help others find hope, rebuild their identity, and keep moving forward. She is a US Navy veteran and spent most of the last five years working in mental health nursing. Motivation N'at Hot Mess to High Potential® Hosted by Natalie Bulger.

    The Waiting Room: Faith, Grief, and the Long Silence | Guest - Natasha Minier-Robinson

  7. Sep 20

    Suicide Loss Survivors and the Postvention Gap | Guests - Kelleigh Boland & Nina Hotkowski

    Suicide loss survivors get handed a pamphlet and a phone number. That's the postvention. Kelleigh Boland's brother Patrick died in June of 2020. Her family sat outside for four hours while the investigation ran, and what they got afterward was a flyer for biohazard cleanup. She and her mom started Our Black Rose because of it, and they've made nearly 500 care packages by hand since. Nina Hotkowski is a licensed clinical social worker and DBT clinician who lost her grandparents twenty five years ago and has worked with suicidality her whole career. Both of them serve on the SAFE Task Force of Allegheny County. I lost my 19 year old cousin in 2007 and my ex lost his brother Bryce in 2020. Three of us, three different points in life, and none of us had anything structured to lean on. We get into: What postvention actually means and why it feels like almost nobody is doing itWhy postvention IS preventionWhy suicide prevention research counts loss survivors instead of serving themWhat goes into a care package, and who decides a family gets oneThe stigma that keeps coworkers and friends from claiming their own griefRemembering how someone lived instead of how they died If you've lost someone to suicide and felt like no one really understood what was happening, this one is for you. RESOURCES 🌹 Our Black Rose, to request a free care package, donate, or partner as a funeral home or police department: https://www.ourblackrose.org 🌐 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ourblackrose 🌐 Kelleigh Boland on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleighboland/ 🌐 Nina Hotkowski, LCSW: https://www.njhotkowski.com 🌐 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-hotkowski-9280376/ 🌐 SAFE Task Force of Allegheny County: https://www.safepgh.org/ 🌐 Indiana County Suicide Task Force: https://www.stf32.com/ 🌐 Highmark Caring Place, grief support for children and families: https://www.highmarkcaringplace.com/cp2/index.shtml 🌐 American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org/ 🌐 For loss survivors: https://afsp.org/ive-lost-someone/ 🚶‍♀️Out of the Darkness Walk, Pittsburgh, October 4, 2026: https://afspwalks.donordrive.com/Pittsburgh 🚶‍♀️Find a walk near you: https://afspwalks.donordrive.com/OOTDWalks 🌐 Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: https://www.dbsalliance.org/ 🌐 Pittsburgh groups: https://moodpeerspgh.org/ 📖 2025 Impact Report: https://www.dbsalliance.org/education/newsletters/2025-impact-report/ 📖 Surviving a Suicide Loss, American Association of Suicidology: https://www.suicidology.community/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=13916121 📖 Rethinking Suicide by Craig J. Bryan: https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Suicide-Prevention-Fails-Better/dp/B0BSW79QS4 🎙️ Suicide Prevention: Peer-Led Support After a Suicide Attempt | Jeremy Carter: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/motivation-nat/id1824984122?i=1000777413844 🎙️ Members of the Dead Dads Club | Caroline Degnan: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/motivation-nat/id1824984122?i=1000778400427 ☎️ 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call or text. Allegheny County Peer Support Warmline: 1-866-661-9276, 9am to 1am daily. 📲 Follow Natalie: Instagram: @Sincerely__Natalie YouTube: @motivation-nat-pod MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential® The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday. Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: 9GPYLCQ3SB04H0QS

    Suicide Loss Survivors and the Postvention Gap | Guests - Kelleigh Boland & Nina Hotkowski

  8. Sep 13

    What Is SEO and Who Can You Trust to Do It? | Guest - Megan Pritts

    Megan Pritts has been doing search engine optimization since 2012. She got into it because a former boss sold SEO to a client before anyone at the company knew how to deliver it, then handed her the project and told her to figure it out. We start with what SEO actually covers, since most people are nodding along to a word they can't define. Megan explains the difference between the technical side and the content side, why the website and the SEO are two separate jobs, and how AI has changed what search systems look for. Then we get to how you tell whether the person you're paying knows anything, and what an honest consultant will talk you out of. She also thinks you should get a therapist before you start a business. She has reasons. What we get into 🔹 What SEO covers, and how the technical side differs from the content side🔹 Why a good-looking website doesn't get found on its own🔹 Why AI gives bad SEO advice, and what happens when you act on it🔹 What breaks when the traffic actually shows up: bandwidth, fulfillment, and orders you can't fill🔹 Leaving an agency after private equity changed what the work was for🔹 Building a client base through relationships instead of cold outreach About Megan Pritts Megan Pritts is the founder of Ducks In Rows, where she helps growing businesses, nonprofits, and startups improve their online visibility through SEO, search advertising, and strategic marketing. Known for her clear, practical approach, Megan works closely with clients to develop and implement strategies that drive measurable growth aligned with each organization's unique goals and priorities. Her work combines data analysis, creative strategy, and hands-on execution to help organizations build stronger brands and long-term results. Website: ducksinrows.comEmail: megan@ducksinrows.comInstagram: @ducks_in_rowsFacebook: @ducksinrowsLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/megan-pritts-08a41722 Other episodes you may find interesting https://youtu.be/jQoQgpRaNtQhttps://youtu.be/EDRWKnQnnpE

    What Is SEO and Who Can You Trust to Do It? | Guest - Megan Pritts
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About

Motivation N’at is hosted by Natalie Bulger and features guests from all walks of life — each bringing their own stories, experiences, and insights to the table. Together, we dive into everything from relationships and sobriety to mental health challenges and the lasting impact of growing up too soon. On Motivation N’at, we take on life’s tougher conversations and explore how the lessons we’ve learned can shape what comes next — all in the spirit of turning life’s hot mess moments into high potential.

Information

  • Creator
    NC Bulger Solutions
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    71
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © NC Bulger Solutions
  • Show Website
    Motivation N'at