Motivation N'at

NC Bulger Solutions
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

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. 6d ago

    Healing Yourself and Your Marriage: How Complex PTSD Gets in the Way | Guest - Kayla Licari

    Complex PTSD isn't a recognized DSM diagnosis. That doesn't mean it isn't shaping your marriage, your parenting, or your health. This week Natalie talks with Kayla Licari, a former physician assistant who left a six-figure career after fifteen years once she realized what it was costing her body, her marriage, and her kids. They get into what complex PTSD actually looks like day to day, why it shows up as anxiety, people-pleasing, and chronic pain instead of the flashbacks most people picture, and how it forms long before anyone's old enough to remember it happening. Kayla and Natalie also talk about what it took to rebuild trust in her marriage once she and her husband realized they were speaking two completely different emotional languages, how their kids have responded to watching them mess up and repair it in real time, and the small daily habits, like learning to actually say no, that ended up mattering more than any single therapy session. Resources mentioned: 🔹 Somatic exercises playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWdxbsYN5kBDoKA3WUOZM5WvhDBtTeGBR&si=zXJmKoMdplNiwZRC 🔹 Bilateral beats playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ROcdCaBQ9EqR4WYOAEeOM?si=KmvxPzTKSf-oa3qZdPOjYg&pi=wXmd2S4jTcqmp 🔹 Be Magnetic (code KAYLA4434 for 15% off): https://tobemagnetic.com/whats-the-pathway 🔹 "When the Body Says No" by Dr. Gabor Maté: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470923350?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback 🔹 Kayla on Instagram: @kayla.licari

    Healing Yourself and Your Marriage: How Complex PTSD Gets in the Way | Guest - Kayla Licari

  2. Aug 9

    Reclaiming Who I Was: My Path Through Shame, Survival, and Self-Love | Guest - Stef Vachon

    Stef Vachon spent decades performing a version of himself just to survive. A former international figure skater who came up through relentless homophobic abuse, he walked away from the sport as a teenager, and it took him years, and a total breakdown, before he found his way back to who he actually was. In this conversation, Stef and Natalie talk about what it costs to hide who you are, what it takes to finally ask for help, and what it means to reclaim your identity instead of reinventing it. Stef is now a husband, an adoptive father, a competitive adult figure skater again, and the host of the Together Moving Forward podcast, a platform for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community built on healing and self-respect. In this episode: 🔹 Growing up in survival mode — how constant abuse as a young skater shaped Stef's relationship with his own talent and identity🔹 The therapist who saved his life — what changed when Stef finally asked for help in his early thirties🔹 Reclaiming, not reinventing — why Stef rejects the idea of becoming someone new and instead talks about returning to who he was🔹 Back on the ice — Stef's return to competitive figure skating in his fifties, and what it's taught him about safety and self-trust🔹 Building chosen family — marriage, fatherhood, and what it means to finally feel safe being fully himself Listen. Like. Share. That's all I ask. 🎧 Together Moving Forward Podcast: togethermovingforwardpodcast.com📺 YouTube: youtube.com/@TogetherMovingForwardPodcast📘 Facebook: facebook.com/togethermovingforwardpodcast🎵 TikTok: tiktok.com/@togethermovingforward📷 Instagram: @stef_vachon @stefvachonspeaker @togethermovingforwardpodcast

    Reclaiming Who I Was: My Path Through Shame, Survival, and Self-Love | Guest - Stef Vachon

  3. Aug 2

    Escaping a Cult: Faith After Spiritual Abuse and Isolation

    Peter Young spent almost twenty years surviving a cult inside his own family, and he didn't know it was happening until it was almost too late. Peter Young is the author of Stop the Tall Man, Save the Tiger, and he joins the pod to talk about the man his family called Uncle Robert, and how one person slowly took control of a marriage, a family, and twenty years of his life. We get into: 🔹 How a family gets pulled into a cult without ever "joining" one🔹 The guilt and shame cult leaders use to keep control🔹 What it actually took to get out🔹 Rebuilding faith and reclaiming a family afterward If you've ever wondered how something like this could happen to someone without them realizing, or you're trying to make sense of something similar in your own life, this conversation might give you a starting point, and, more importantly, hope. MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential® The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday. RESOURCES 📖 Stop the Tall Man, Save the Tiger: https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Tall-Man-Save-Tiger/dp/B0BW384Q2W/📩 Connect with Peter Young: authorpeteryoung@gmail.com🌐 Peter's website: https://www.authorpeteryoung.com/ 📲 Follow Peter:Instagram: @peterbyoungYouTube: @authorpeteryoung 📲 Follow Natalie:Instagram: @Sincerely__NatalieYouTube: @motivation-nat-pod

    Escaping a Cult: Faith After Spiritual Abuse and Isolation

  4. Jul 26

    Members of the Dead Dads Club - Reflecting on 20 Years of Grief | Guest - Caroline Degnan

    Grief after losing a parent doesn't follow a timeline, and it definitely doesn't come with a manual. Caroline Degnan is a licensed professional counselor in the Pittsburgh area specializing in grief and bereavement, and she lost her own father at eighteen, the exact same age I lost mine. This conversation is a reflection on what that loss taught us both, and how Caroline turned hers into the career and calling she has today. We get into: What it means to lose a parent at eighteen and rebuild a life around itWhy the five stages of grief aren't actually meant for the grievingWhat intentional grief looks like in practice, and how to build itGrief camps for kids who've lost a parent or siblingStaying connected to someone after death through signs and memory If you've been carrying grief quietly because you don't know how to talk about it, this conversation might be the permission you didn't know you needed. RESOURCES 📖 Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe by Laura Lynn Jackson 📖 The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk 📩 Connect with Caroline: caroline.iamasiam@gmail.com 🌐 I Am As I Am Counseling: https://www.iamasiamcounseling.com/counselors 🌐 Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us 🌐 Experience Camps: https://experiencecamps.org 🌐 Hospice Nurse Julie: https://www.hospicenursejulie.com 📲 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.

    Members of the Dead Dads Club - Reflecting on 20 Years of Grief | Guest - Caroline Degnan

  5. Jul 19

    Suicide Prevention: Peer-Led Support After a Suicide Attempt | Guest - Jeremy Carter

    This episode contains an open conversation about suicide and self-harm. If you're currently navigating this, it's okay to pause, skip, or come back when you're ready. If you need support, call or text 988. Free, confidential support is available 24/7. Surviving a suicide attempt is isolating. Add a stigma that keeps people silent and a system too overwhelmed to support them, and you're left with a gap that many survivors fall through. Jeremy Carter is a social worker who fell through that exact gap after his own attempt, and built Still Here PGH, a peer-led support group for people who have attempted suicide or struggle with suicidal thoughts, because nothing like it existed yet. Topics we cover: Surviving a suicide attempt and what came after Why peer-led support for suicidal thoughts didn't exist in Allegheny County until he built it What to say to someone suicidal, and what not to say Recognizing numbness as a warning sign, not an absence of feeling Why the system failed him even as a social worker who knew how it was supposed to work If you've ever wondered what to say to someone who's struggling or what to seek if you’re feeling this way yourself, this conversation gives you a place to start. MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential™ The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday. 🌐 Still Here PGH: stillherepgh.org 📲 Follow Natalie: Instagram: @Sincerely__Natalie YouTube: @motivation-nat-pod

    Suicide Prevention: Peer-Led Support After a Suicide Attempt | Guest - Jeremy Carter

  6. Jul 12

    The Real Work of Enterprise Risk Management | Guest - Charles Tapp II

    During his time as CFO, Charles Tapp II spun up the Enterprise Risk Management program at Veterans Benefits Administration which paved the way for me to do the same in Veterans Health Administration a year or two later. The dual effort was making its way to major impact when Charles and I both decided to step away, leaving the programs in the hands of our amazingly talented staff. Now we can talk candidly about what it actually takes to embed risk management into a multi-layered and complex corporate system. Charles walks through how his team turned risk registers into real budget decisions, including how a risk-informed approach helped VBA secure millions in PACT Act startup funding by identifying HR as a critical risk area before the legislation even passed. We also cover the difference between risk in the Department of Defense, federal civil service, and private industry; how black swan events like COVID reshaped risk appetite across government; and why it took a full year just to establish a shared risk vocabulary before any real progress could happen. This conversation is for anyone trying to wrap their head around instituting a risk-informed culture inside an organization that's resistant to change, whether that's a federal agency, a nonprofit board, or other institution. In this episode: The critical components of a starter enterprise risk management programTurning overwhelming risk registers into risk-informed budget decisionsThe PACT Act, VBA's HR pipeline, and $302 million in startup fundingBlack swan risk: what COVID taught federal agencies about risk appetiteRisk management differences across DoD, federal civil service, and private industryWhy things like shared language and escalation channels have to come first Connect with Charles Tapp:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlestapp2/ Further reading: Federal News Network: VBA Steps Up Veteran Outreach to Complete 300,000 Pending PACT Act Benefits Claims — https://federalnewsnetwork.com/veterans-affairs/2024/05/vba-steps-up-veteran-outreach-to-complete-300000-pending-pact-act-benefits-claims/VA News: World-Class Veterans Benefits Banking Program — https://news.va.gov/110704/world-class-veterans-benefits-banking-program/ MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential™ The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday. 📲 Follow Natalie: Instagram: instagram.com/@Sincerely__Natalie YouTube: youtube.com/@motivation-nat-pod

    The Real Work of Enterprise Risk Management | Guest - Charles Tapp II

  7. Jul 5

    What I've Learned In the Year Since I Left My Job

    A year ago, I left a job that had shaped seven years of who I was, and I thought the hardest part was already behind me. It wasn't. This is what a year of hosting more than 50 conversations with over 40 guests on the Motivation N'at Podcast has taught me about myself. Josh, my husband, was the very first guest on Motivation N'at when this show launched. A year later, he's back to interview me for the season two premiere. We get into: What actually changed in the year since I left federal governmentHow hosting a podcast pushed me outside my comfort zone in ways I didn't expectWhat I learned about my own healing by listening to other people's storiesAll of the other things I'm building beyond this podcast because.... bills If you've ever wondered whether leaving something familiar actually leads anywhere, this conversation won't hand you an answer. But it might help you ask the question more honestly. MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential™ The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday. 📲 Follow Natalie:Instagram: @Sincerely__NatalieYouTube: @motivation-nat-pod

    What I've Learned In the Year Since I Left My Job

  8. Jun 28

    You Can't Automate Your Way Out of a Bad Process | Guest - Shannon Gregg, PhD

    If one more person tells you the answer is a new system, a new tool, or a new platform, you might lose your mind. Because you've watched the stack grow and the problems stay, and nobody seems to want to talk about what's actually broken underneath it. Dr. Shannon Gregg is the president of Cloud Adoption Solutions and holds a PhD in CRM user adoption. She has spent her career inside the gap between what technology promises and what organizations actually need, and she doesn't let either side off the hook. We get into: — Why simplifying your tech stack is harder than building it out, and why it matters more — The difference between waterfall and agile development, and what actually happens when you skip the human in the middle — Where AI gives buyers false confidence and what a responsible seller does about it — How over-customization quietly breaks the systems you paid to fix — Why the process has to come before the platform, every time If you've been handed another solution before anyone finished diagnosing the problem, this conversation might make you feel a little less alone when it comes to what to do next. MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential® The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday. 📩 Connect with Shannon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonjgregg/ 🌐 Cloud Adoption Solutions: https://cloudadoption.solutions/ 📖 It's About Time: How to Do More of What Matters in the Time You Have - https://www.amazon.com/Its-About-Time-More-Matters/dp/1945605014 📖 Sales Ops Design Shop: Grow Revenue without Adding Sales Headcount - https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Ops-Design-Shop-Headcount-ebook/dp/B0D8KC3GZZ?ref_=ast_author_mpb Life Sciences Sales Lab Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-sciences-sales-lab/id1853940547 📲 Follow Natalie:Instagram: @Sincerely__NatalieYouTube: @motivation-nat-pod

    You Can't Automate Your Way Out of a Bad Process | Guest - Shannon Gregg, PhD
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

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
    60
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © NC Bulger Solutions
  • Show Website
    Motivation N'at

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