High Heels Higher Standards

Ashley Werner
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High Heels, Higher Standards is a bold, unfiltered podcast where two executive women get real about power, purpose, and the pressure to play small in careers, relationships and life. Ashley & Heidi blend ambition with authenticity and humor with hard-hitting advice to help high-achieving women own their voice, set the bar higher,  live unapologetically, and level up. 

  1. 2D AGO

    The Lifestyle Audit: Designing a Life That Supports The Woman You're Becoming

    Are you actually tired… or is your lifestyle optimized for a version of you that no longer exists? In this episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Heidi and Ashley introduce the concept of a Lifestyle Audit — a powerful personal growth tool designed to help ambitious women realign their schedule, habits, environment, and energy with the woman they’re becoming. Because wellness isn’t just about workouts, green juice, or meditation. It’s about your calendar. Your relationships. Your wardrobe. Your home. Your digital habits. Your boundaries. If you’ve been feeling low-grade dissatisfaction, burnout, resistance to your own schedule, or asking yourself “What’s wrong with me?” — this conversation reframes everything. Nothing is wrong with you. You may have simply evolved faster than your systems. In this episode, we cover: What a Lifestyle Audit actually is (and what it’s not)Signs your life is optimized for an old version of youHow misalignment shows up as fatigue, irritability, and burnoutThe six core areas to evaluate: energy, schedule, wardrobe, social life, home environment, and digital habitsWhy recalibration works better than dramatic reinventionSmall, elegant lifestyle upgrades that create outsized returnsThis episode is for high-performing women who want success without chaos, ambition without burnout, and standards without self-abandonment. If you care about personal development, mindset shifts, self-respect, productivity, feminine leadership, intentional living, and lifestyle design — this conversation will meet you exactly where you are. Power question to sit with this week: Does my life actually support the woman I say I’m becoming? High standards don’t require upheaval. They require clarity. Support the show Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast Thank you for listening, lovelies!

    39 min

  2. FEB 11

    Wellness Isn’t Weak: The Discipline Behind Feeling Good

    Is your “self-care” actually helping… or just helping you survive burnout? In this episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Heidi and Ashley break down the real difference between aesthetic self-care and disciplined self-respect — and why high-achieving women need to stop confusing exhaustion with ambition. If you’re a driven woman juggling career, leadership, family, and high personal standards — but still feeling tired, resentful, or constantly behind — this conversation is for you. We’re talking about: The truth about burnout in ambitious womenWhy powering through always comes with interestThe difference between indulgent self-care and real wellnessHow sleep, boundaries, nutrition, and movement directly impact leadership performanceEmotional regulation and decision-making under stressWhy feeling good is not a luxury — it’s a leadership skillHow to build stamina for ambition without self-betrayalWellness isn’t bubble baths and candles. It’s discipline. It’s systems. It’s honesty about what your life actually costs you. If you’re a woman in leadership, STEM, business, entrepreneurship, or simply someone who wants more without burning out — this episode will challenge the way you think about productivity, resilience, and work-life balance. Because the strongest women aren’t the ones who power through everything. They’re the ones who build lives they don’t constantly have to recover from. If this episode resonated, share it with a woman who needs permission to stop earning her rest. And remember, keep your heels high, and your standards higher.  Support the show Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast Thank you for listening, lovelies!

    25 min

  3. FEB 4

    Wellness as Strategy: Designing a Life That Supports Your Ambition

    Wellness isn’t self-care. It’s strategy. In this episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Ashley interviews Heidi to reframe wellness as a deliberate system that supports ambitious women, not a reaction to burnout. This conversation is for high-performing women who are done normalizing exhaustion and ready to design lives that actually sustain success. Together, they break down why constant recovery is a sign of a broken system, how your calendar reveals your true priorities, and why structure isn’t restrictive — it’s freeing. Heidi shares how treating wellness as infrastructure (not aesthetics) has transformed her energy, clarity, leadership, and long-term capacity. This episode explores: Why exhaustion is not the cost of ambitionHow to design a life that supports longevity, not burnoutThe role of structure, movement, and white space in executive performanceWhy your environment and relationships directly impact your nervous systemHow future-self thinking changes wellness decisions immediatelyIf you’re tired of chasing balance and ready to build a life that supports your ambition, this episode offers a smarter, more sustainable approach. Wellness isn’t something you earn after success — it’s what makes success possible. ✨ Raise your standards. Protect your energy. Support the show Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast Thank you for listening, lovelies!

    32 min

  4. JAN 28

    Choosing Focus Over Frenzy: How We’re Thinking About Priorities This Year

    January is loud. Declarations. Reinventions. “New year, new me” energy everywhere. In this episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, we’re doing something different. Instead of chasing more goals, we’re talking about choosing wisely—and why focus, not frenzy, is the real power move this year. As we close out January, Ashley turns the mic toward co-host Heidi for a grounded, strategic conversation about priorities, restraint, and intentional ambition. This episode is for the woman who’s capable of a lot—but no longer wants to be scattered. Together, we explore: How to decide what actually matters in a given yearWhy planning from capacity, not aspiration, changes everythingWhat it looks like to intentionally deprioritize—even when something is temptingHow saying no can create more momentum than saying yesWhy focus is the highest form of self-respectYou’ll also hear a powerful affirmation you can return to throughout the year—and a reframe that releases the pressure to have everything figured out right now. This is a conversation about selection, sequencing, and restraint. About choosing depth over breadth. About honoring your energy, your nervous system, and your real life—not the noise. ✨ You don’t need ten goals. ✨ You need a few priorities you can tend to with care. If you’re craving clarity, grounded ambition, and a more intentional way forward—this episode is your January exhale. 🎧 Listen in, reflect, and step into February with focus. Keep your heels high—and your standards higher. Support the show Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast Thank you for listening, lovelies!

    28 min

  5. JAN 21

    Creating a Life That Feels Like Yours: Curiosity, Joy, and Intentional Living

    What if joy wasn’t something you waited for—but something you intentionally designed? In this intimate and expansive episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Ashley sits down solo with her dear friend Doctor Kirsten Phillips for a conversation about building a life that actually feels like yours. One rooted in curiosity, community, intentional joy, and the courage to follow desire without needing it to make sense to anyone else. This episode is not about hustle culture, productivity hacks, or monetizing your hobbies. It’s about reclaiming whimsy as a conscious choice, allowing joy to be planned rather than postponed, and recognizing curiosity, play, and learning as essential nourishment for the soul. Dr. Kirsten Phillips, an OB-GYN, world traveler, sommelier, dancer, and devoted community builder, shares how following her curiosity (even when it’s inconvenient or impractical) has shaped a deeply fulfilling, expansive life. Together, Ashley and Kirsten explore why adulthood doesn’t have to be rigid, why joy is not a reward for exhaustion, and why community may be one of the most important currencies of the future. In this episode, we discuss: Why community and deep friendships are essential, not optional, in adulthoodHow to be intentional about joy instead of waiting for it to magically appearWhy whimsy doesn’t need to be spontaneous to be meaningfulLetting curiosity, not productivity, guide your choicesWhy hobbies are identity expansion, not distractionsHow leaning into discomfort and learning fuels personal growthReleasing the belief that desire needs to be justifiedHow to build community and make friends as an adultIf you’ve ever felt like you’re denying yourself joy because it doesn’t feel “useful enough,” this conversation is your permission slip. You are allowed to want what you want. You are allowed to try new things and be bad at them. You are allowed to design a life that delights you. Because sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is follow your passion, follow your curiosity and pursue what lights you up. ✨ Keep your heels high and your standards higher. Support the show Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast Thank you for listening, lovelies!

    33 min

  6. JAN 14

    What I’m Not Fixing About Myself This Year (And Why I’m Done Trying to Be Palatable)

    What if you’re not broken—just exhausted from trying to be palatable? In this deeply honest January episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Heidi and Ashley opt out of "New Year New Me" and fix-yourself culture that tells women they’re perpetually unfinished. As part of our Goals, Not Resolutions series, we’re challenging the idea that growth has to come from self-criticism, endless healing, or constant self-editing. Ashley shares what she’s not fixing this year—from her sensitivity and emotional depth to her need for rest, her changing opinions, and her refusal to romanticize resilience. Together, we unpack the Fix-It Industrial Complex, the wellness-to-self-help pipeline that disguises self-rejection as empowerment and rewards women for being manageable, agreeable, and “easy.” This episode is for the high-achieving woman who’s tired of interrogating every reaction, questioning every boundary, and shrinking herself in the name of growth. If you’ve ever wondered whether healing has turned into another performance—or felt both relief and grief at the idea of stopping—this conversation will feel like a deep exhale. Listener takeaway: You don’t need to be fixed. You need permission to stay. ✨ In this episode, we explore: – Why January fuels self-improvement pressure and self-worth anxiety – The cost of constant self-editing and emotional self-surveillance – Sensitivity, fatigue, and emotional depth as data—not flaws – Why “being palatable” is not the same as being powerful – How to name one thing you’re not fixing this year If this episode resonates, share it with the woman in your life who’s exhausted from becoming. High heels. Higher standards. Support the show Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast Thank you for listening, lovelies!

    36 min

  7. JAN 7

    January is for Stabilizing, NOT Transforming (You’re Right on Time)

    January doesn’t have to be about reinvention. It can be about regulation, steadiness, and coming back to yourself. Join us for our Goals, NOT Resolutions Series in this quietly rebellious episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Ashley and Heidi dismantle the pressure to “start over” in January and offer a radically calming alternative: stabilization instead of transformation. If you’re feeling tired, slow, emotionally tender, or resistant to becoming a “new you,” this conversation will remind you that nothing is wrong—you’re not behind. You’re right on time. We explore why January 1st is not nature’s New Year, how women’s bodies operate on cyclical—not linear—energy, and why winter is biologically designed for rest, consolidation, and nervous system repair. This episode is a balm for burnout, a counterpoint to hustle culture, and an invitation to stop abandoning yourself in the name of self-improvement. Inside the episode: Why reinvention is over-marketed to women—and who profits from itHow winter, menstrual cycles, and lunar rhythms support slowing downWhy stabilization is a power move, not a failureThe difference between chaos and true momentumWhat it looks like to choose a baseline instead of a breakthroughHow to decide what you’re not changing right now—and why that’s wisdomThis is a grounded, feminist take on goal-setting, self-trust, and honoring your capacity—especially if you’re burned out, sober curious, navigating depression or anxiety, or simply done with “New Year, New Me” energy. You don’t need a breakthrough. You need a baseline you can actually live inside. Because January isn’t about setting the ceiling. It’s about setting the floor. ✨ You’re not starting over. You’re staying with yourself. Support the show Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast Thank you for listening, lovelies!

    29 min

  8. 12/31/2025

    Goals, Not Resolutions: A Grown-Woman Guide to Setting 2026 Up for Success

    This New Years Eve ditch the dramatic resolutions and enter 2026 with clarity, confidence, and champagne. 🥂 In this vibrant New Year’s episode of High Heels, Higher Standards, Heidi and Ashley redefine what it means to set goals in a way that ambitious, growth-minded women actually achieve. If you’re searching for “personal growth,” “personal development goals,” or “how to set meaningful goals,” this episode is your fast track to success.  We kick things off with a heartfelt year-in-review, sharing the highs, lows, lessons, and glow-ups of 2025. Then we launch into why goals beat resolutions every time and how strategic goal-setting can transform your health, career, wealth, relationships, and lifestyle. This episode is perfect for women who want intentional personal growth, actionable goal planning tips, and a dash of celebratory glamour to start the year right.  Inside this episode you’ll hear about: ✨ Why resolutions fail and grown-woman goals work ✨ A step-by-step goal-setting framework for 2026 ✨ The five goal categories that elevate your life with intention ✨ Personal stories on growth, resilience, and self-confidence ✨ How to leave self-doubt, chaos, and comparison behind ✨ Champagne intermissions (Non-alcoholic for the sober-curious), CEO energy, and setting goals that stick If you’re ready to step into 2026 with strategy, style, and purposeful personal development, press play and start your year the HHHS way—because real growth is about goals, not resolutions. 🍾 Happy New Year, and cheers to women with high heels and even higher standards. Support the show Until next Wednesday, keep your head, heels and standards high! Please follow along for more on TikTok and Instagram: @higherheelspodcast Thank you for listening, lovelies!

    36 min
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About

High Heels, Higher Standards is a bold, unfiltered podcast where two executive women get real about power, purpose, and the pressure to play small in careers, relationships and life. Ashley & Heidi blend ambition with authenticity and humor with hard-hitting advice to help high-achieving women own their voice, set the bar higher,  live unapologetically, and level up. 

Information

  • Creator
    Ashley Werner
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 High Heels Higher Standards
  • Show Website
    High Heels Higher Standards