Becoming Obsessed® | Personal Growth Podcast for Ambitious Women

Teresa Stastny
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Becoming Obsessed is a personal growth podcast for ambitious women who want to live a life they love, and it starts by following their curiosity. Hosted by Teresa Stastny, the show sits at the corner of ambition and self-care: honest conversations about trusting your intuition, quieting the pressure to perform, and letting curiosity (not comparison) guide your next chapter. Each week, Teresa sits down with founders, creatives, and everyday women who've traded the grind for something more aligned, plus solo episodes where she works through the real-time questions she's sitting with in her own life. Expect conversations on self-discovery, mindset, intuition, self-care for high-achievers, authentic ambition, purpose, identity shifts, slow business, women in entrepreneurship, and the quiet nudges that change everything. If you're craving permission to pivot, prioritize yourself, or stop performing a version of success that was never really yours, give Becoming Obsessed a listen. New episodes every Friday. Curiosity leads to a life you love.

  1. 96. How to Unlock Your Full Voice and the Life That Comes With It with Barbara McAfee

    3d ago

    96. How to Unlock Your Full Voice and the Life That Comes With It with Barbara McAfee

    In this episode: Discover why your voice is so much bigger than you think it is, and how learning to use all of it can change the way you show up in every area of your life, with voice coach, author, and performer Barbara McAfee. Barbara McAfee spent decades helping others find their full voice — but the real story starts with her own. She grew up surrounded by soloists (a grandfather on the radio, a mother, a brother) and still couldn't bring herself to sing alone. Fear and perfectionism conspired to lock her down. What finally broke it open was when she found herself at the Roy Hart Center, where a beloved teacher helped her discover a gap in her voice she didn't know existed — one that changed the entire direction of her life. In this conversation, Barbara walks you through her Five Elements Framework (earth, fire, water, metal, and air), what your voice actually reveals about your inner life, and why the version of yourself you've been suppressing might be your greatest gift. If you've ever dimmed yourself down, talked yourself out of singing in public, or wondered what it would feel like to just let it all out — this one's for you. KEY TAKEAWAYS The voice you have is not the voice you were born with. It's been shaped by trauma, culture, gender, and the things people said to you at age eight — and it can be reshaped.The Five Elements Framework (earth, fire, water, metal, air) is a map for your voice and your life. The element you resist most is usually where your biggest growth is hiding.When you change your voice, your life comes along for the ride. More groundedness, more lightness, more range.Barbara's turning point wasn't a plan — it was permission. One teacher, one moment of being taken somewhere her voice had never gone. Sometimes that's all it takes.The real joy is in the creativity. Whether it's a song, a business, or a life — Barbara is proof that creating from the inside out is more sustaining than any external validation. "When you change your voice, your life comes along for the ride." — Barbara McAfee CONNECT WITH BARBARA Website: https://www.barbaramcafee.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mcafeemusic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.mcafee Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbaramcafeesings/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbaramcafee/ Connect with Teresa Join the Becoming Obsessed Playground, the weekly email for curiosity-led women building a life they love. Instagram: @becomingobsessedpod and @teresaajeanLeave a review on Apple or Spotify Podcasts. Reviews are the biggest thank-you, and reviews help ambitious women find the show.Website: teresaajean.com Topics: finding your voice, voice coaching for women, personal transformation, Five Elements Framework, oral tradition singing, creativity and self-expression, living from the inside out, authentic leadership, permission to sing, grief and healing, personal growth podcast for ambitious women, building a life you love, curiosity-led living, identity and reinvention, fear of being seen, self-expression for high achievers, letting go of perfectionism, inner wisdom, creative courage, women and aging, community and belonging

    47 min
  2. 95. How to Find Your People and Build a Life Rooted in Community with Jessica Olsen

    Jun 5

    95. How to Find Your People and Build a Life Rooted in Community with Jessica Olsen

    In this episode: Discover why finding your people isn't about networking harder or waiting to be invited — and how to start showing up for a community that will change your life, with Jessica Olson, founder of the Creative Life Podcast. Jessica Olson spent nearly a decade living abroad — Sweden, South Korea, Argentina, Saudi Arabia — not by accident, but by necessity. When the job market collapsed in 2009 and a professor told her to just go, she went. What she found in those countries, particularly in the radical hospitality of South Korea, changed everything she thought she knew about community. When she returned to Omaha in 2018 and watched the pandemic hollow out the arts scene she loved, she didn't just mourn it — she built something. The Creative Life Podcast started as a hobby, a love letter to Nebraska creatives, but became a vehicle for Jessica to do what she does best: open doors for others the way doors were opened for her. In this conversation, we talk about what real community actually requires (hint: it's not networking), how Jessica shows up to events alone — intentionally — and why your boundaries might be isolating you more than protecting you. If you've ever felt socially rusty, new to a city, or like you're doom-scrolling instead of doing the thing — this episode is your permission slip to show up. KEY TAKEAWAYS Jessica's transformation from lonely expat to intentional community builder didn't happen overnight — it started with learning to survive as an outsider and choosing to bring those lessons home.The difference between networking and friendship: "Networking is, 'What can I get from you?' Friendship is, 'Who can I be to you, and who can you be to me?'"How to actually find community in your city: reset your algorithm, use search terms for events you care about, find the person who knows everything — and then buy the $10 ticket.Why Jessica goes to events alone on purpose, and how she uses that to model for her audience that you can show up solo and still opt into connection once you get there.If your boundaries are keeping you isolated, they may not be protecting you — they may be preventing your growth. Relationships are mirrors, and you can't grow without them.You don't have to show up at 100%. Jessica shows up tired, stressed, happy, and everything in between — because community can't be built on a representative. Show up as your real self, or you'll burn out.What every single participant in Jessica's doctoral research mentioned without being asked: physical wellness. Movement isn't just self-care — it may be the most underrated resilience tool we have. CONNECT WITH JESSICA Website: thecreativelifepodcast.com Instagram: @thecreativelifepodcastomaha Connect with Teresa Join the Becoming Obsessed Playground, the weekly email for curiosity-led women building a life they love. Instagram: @becomingobsessedpod and @teresaajeanLeave a review on Apple or Spotify Podcasts. Reviews are the biggest thank-you, and reviews help ambitious women find the show.Website: teresaajean.com Topics: how to find community as an adult, building community after COVID, showing up when you don't want to, community over networking, creative community Omaha, women in tech, women abroad, resilience, personal growth for ambitious women, curiosity-led living, building a life you love, how to make friends as an adult, overcoming isolation, authentic showing up, expat experience, arts community, personal growth podcast for ambitious women

    42 min
  3. 94. When "Success" Isn't Enough: Leaving a Job You Love to Create Better Alignment in Your Life with Briana Mascaro

    May 29

    94. When "Success" Isn't Enough: Leaving a Job You Love to Create Better Alignment in Your Life with Briana Mascaro

    In this episode: Discover why recognizing you need change and actually making that leap are two different things, and the framework to build the bridge between them, with executive coach Briana Mascaro. Briana Mascaro spent over a decade building a successful corporate career at a Fortune 100 company—loved the job, loved the people. But then a year-long psychology course, a colleague's sudden death, and her daughter's simple observation converged into a wake-up call she couldn't ignore. In this conversation, Briana walks you through the intentional, unglamorous work of preparing to change: the financial decisions that gave her freedom, the identity shifts she navigated, and the Release-Replace-Reinforce framework she now uses with her coaching clients. Whether you're standing at the edge of a big change or already in the messy middle of one, this is a conversation about processing and navigating change in a ground way (not an-overly romanticized way.) KEY TAKEAWAYSKnowing you need to change and deciding to change are two different things. This episode talks about how to know it's time to chance, prepare for the change, and actually make the change.Listen for quiet alarms that you're out of alignment: Sunday scaries, numbness, losing patience with loved ones.Financial clarity will make the change less scary. Prepare by being honest about your numbers, and building a savings runway.When you change your life, you're releasing the old identity, replacing it with a new one, and reinforcing daily. Some people around you won't be willing to growth with you.Bravery is intentional and accountable, not impulsive. Set goals, build infrastructure, and hold yourself to the plan "Knowing and deciding are two really different things. And that's where building that bridge is so critical." — Briana MascaroCONNECT WITH BRIANA Sophos Website https://teamsophos.com/On LinkedinOn Instagram Connect with Teresa Join the Becoming Obsessed Playground, the weekly email for curiosity-led women building a life they love. Instagram: @becomingobsessedpod and @teresaajeanLeave a review on Apple or Spotify Podcasts. Reviews are the biggest thank-you, and reviews help ambitious women find the show.Website: teresaajean.com Topics: career change, personal development, saying no, work-life balance, coaching, happiness, self-discovery, overcoming fear, building confidence, entrepreneurship, mindset shifts, prioritizing self-care, professional growth, navigating transitions, emotional intelligence, creating boundaries, self-reflection, goal setting, financial planning, personal growth strategies, career pivots for ambitious women, quiet alarms and early warning signs, decision-making, leaving corporate, the messy middle, personal growth podcast for ambitious women, building a life you love

    41 min

  4. May 22

    93. Keep Showing Up and Putting the Effort in, Even When You're Feeling Resistant

    In this episode: I'm exploring the feeling of resistance, what it feels like when your mind and body are fighting you, and why showing up at 50% still counts for something. I spent the weekend covered in hives and still dragged myself to a 6am power yoga class in a 99-degree room with a tweaked arm. And I did not want to be there. Not even a little. One thing I love about yoga is that if I can just get to my mat, the practice usually flows. Well, not this time. This time I got to my mat, and even by the end of class, I still did NOT want to be there. But even feeling completely resistant, I realized that just by showing up, by taking the time, prioritizing moving my body, I was taking care of myself. And I had to remind myself that even 50% is better than never showing up at all. This episode is a real-time process of figuring out what I'm actually resisting, how to create space when everything in you wants to shut down, and why falling in love with the effort matters more than the outcome. If you've ever had a day where even the easy tasks felt like too much, this one's for you. Connect with Teresa Join the Becoming Obsessed Playground, the weekly email for curiosity-led women building a life they love. Instagram: @becomingobsessedpod and @teresaajeanLeave a review on Apple or Spotify Podcasts. Reviews are the biggest thank-you, and reviews help ambitious women find the show.Website: teresaajean.com Topics: how to push through resistance, showing up when you don't want to, mindset on hard days, self-awareness for women, personal growth podcast for ambitious women, ambition and self-care, curiosity-led living, building a life you love

    14 min
  5. 92. How to Build a Profitable Business Without Letting It Run Your Life with Kimberly Tara, CPA

    May 15

    92. How to Build a Profitable Business Without Letting It Run Your Life with Kimberly Tara, CPA

    In this episode: what those "7-figure business" claims actually look like behind the scenes, and how to build a profitable business that genuinely works for your life, with CPA and certified tax coach Kimberly Tara. Kimberly Tara has saved her clients more than 15 million dollars in taxes, and she has seen the back end of more "7-figure businesses" than she can count. In this conversation, Teresa and Kimberly pull back the curtain on what flashy revenue screenshots leave out, what proactive tax strategy actually looks like for profitable business owners, and how Kimberly went from billing hourly and taking a one-week maternity leave to running a team of five while still making school drop-off and book fair with her four kids. If you've ever felt behind because of someone else's claims on Instagram, this episode will change the way you read those numbers and the way you think about building your own. KEY TAKEAWAYS The difference between gross revenue and actual take-home profit, and why the income claims you see online leave out the most important numbersHow switching from hourly billing to value-based pricing was the first move Kimberly made to stop trading time for dollars (and what to try if you don't know where to start)Kimberly's three P's: Profit, Plugging Leaks, and Proactive Tax Strategy. Her practical framework for keeping more of what you earnWhat "the other side" actually looks like when you build a business that doesn't solely depend on you, and why you have to define that finish line for yourselfWhy letting go of control might be the most underrated form of business and personal growth "I choose that hard because that's the hard that's worth choosing." — Kimberly TaraConnect with Kimberly Website: www.taracpafirm.comInstagram: @kimberlytaracpa Connect with Teresa Join the Becoming Obsessed Playground, the weekly email for curiosity-led women building a life they love. Instagram: @becomingobsessedpod and @teresaajeanLeave a review on Apple or Spotify Podcasts. Reviews are the biggest thank-you, and reviews help ambitious women find the show.Website: teresaajean.com Topics: building a profitable business, proactive tax strategy for entrepreneurs, female founders and burnout, revenue vs. profit, how to stop trading time for dollars, personal growth for ambitious women, curiosity-led living, high achiever burnout

    53 min
  6. 91. How to Build Intentional Community and Reclaim Your Time with Angel Holmes, founder of Brighter Side Society

    May 8

    91. How to Build Intentional Community and Reclaim Your Time with Angel Holmes, founder of Brighter Side Society

    In this episode: Angel Holmes built one of the country's largest food and wine festivals from her kitchen table. Now she's teaching ambitious women how to build intentional community, reclaim their time, and grow without torching everything they've already built. Angel is a business coach, community builder, and founder of Brighter Side Society — a global community for high-achieving women built around the idea that the right people, and the right systems, can change everything. She's also the founder of the Charleston Wine & Food Festival, host of the Never Stop Dreaming Biggie podcast, and co-creator of the Homestead Hideaway, a purpose-driven retreat and bar concept coming to the Caribbean. This conversation explores what it actually takes to build a community that lasts, why most of us are wasting time on the wrong things, and what it looks like to keep evolving without burning your life to the ground. KEY TAKEAWAYS Your village and your inner circle can serve completely different purposes. Knowing which is which is what makes both sustainable, and keeps you from resenting either one. Community without rules isn't a community. If all the weight falls on one or two people, it will collapse the moment they step back. Structure is what makes it last. You don't have to burn it down to evolve. Most of what you need for your next chapter is already in what you've already built. Start there. Audit your time before you try to optimize it. Most of us are filling hours with busy work that feels productive but isn't moving the needle on what actually matters. Your big thing will come when it's ready. Angel spent decades doing events before she could finally teach others to do the same — and the timing was exactly right. "I'm not burning it down. I'm building on what I've already done." — Angel Holmes CONNECT WITH ANGEL HOLMES Instagram: @angelpholmes | @thebrightersidesociety | @neverstopdreamingbiggie | @theholmesteadhideawayJoin the Weekly Scoop NewsletterListen to the Never Stop Dreaming Biggie Podcast Connect with Teresa Join the Becoming Obsessed Playground, the weekly email for curiosity-led women building a life they love. Instagram: @becomingobsessedpod and @teresaajeanLeave a review on Apple or Spotify Podcasts. Reviews are the biggest thank-you, and reviews help ambitious women find the show.Website: teresaajean.com Topics: women's community building, intentional community for ambitious women, time management for female entrepreneurs, building without starting over, purpose-driven entrepreneurship, personal growth for ambitious women, curiosity-led living

    44 min

  7. May 1

    90. Crying in Public, Letting Your Guard Down, and How Emotions Build Stronger Connection

    Would you be embarrassed if you cried in public? Because I wouldn't be. And I wasn't, even after crying in a coffee shop on a "first date" with a new friend. In this solo episode, I'm exploring and celebrating my own growth around working through emotions in real time. For the first 20+ years of my life, I would bottle up my emotions, until one small trigger, and I'd have a full emotion breakdown. There was no in-between. Now? I can let tears roll in the middle of a conversation with a woman I just met, and walk away feeling more connected to her, not mortified. If you're the woman who won't let herself cry, especially not in public, especially not in front of a stranger, this episode is for you. I'm talking about why tears are not a sign of weakness, what is actually happening in your body when you bottle emotions instead of releasing them, and the middle ground between "stoic and tough" and "complete meltdown." KEY TAKEAWAYS Crying in front of someone often deepens the relationship, not damages it.Bottled emotions do not disappear, they stack.A middle ground exists between "stoic and tough" and "complete meltdown." It took me 20 years to find it, and I'm still learning how to navigate my emotions.Letting your guard down is the practice of trusting yourself to handle whatever emotions come up in real time, without making the tears mean something about your worth or your character. "We can let the tears roll down our face in the middle of a conversation with somebody we don't know. And it doesn't mean the world is ending." - Teresa StastnyConnect with Teresa Join the Becoming Obsessed Playground, the weekly email for curiosity-led women building a life they love. Instagram: @becomingobsessedpod and @teresaajeanLeave a review on Apple or Spotify Podcasts. Reviews are the biggest thank-you, and reviews help ambitious women find the show.Website: teresaajean.com Topics: how to stop bottling up emotions, crying in public, emotional regulation for women, nervous system regulation, vulnerable connection, ambition and self-care, personal growth podcast for ambitious women, curiosity-led living

    11 min
  8. 89. How to Rewire Limiting Beliefs and Master Your Emotions with Stephanie Kaplan, Mindset Coach for Tech Founders

    Apr 24

    89. How to Rewire Limiting Beliefs and Master Your Emotions with Stephanie Kaplan, Mindset Coach for Tech Founders

    In this episode: Stephanie Kaplan blends neuroscience, universal laws, and emotional mastery to help founders upgrade who they are at their core because the biggest breakthroughs in business start from within. What if every argument, stuck decision, and frustrating relationship was actually a mirror showing you exactly what needs to change internally? Mindset coach Stephanie Kaplan, who works with tech founders on the inner game of leadership, joins Teresa to unpack why every decision you make is emotional (even the ones you swear are logical), how to rewire the limiting beliefs running your life, and the practice of being so internally obsessed with yourself that you become the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you've been doing the outer work and wondering why nothing feels different, this is your episode. Takeaways: The concept of life as a mirror reflects our inner beliefs and emotions, guiding us towards self-discovery.Emotions are inherently neutral and require expression; it takes merely ninety seconds to process them effectively.Recognizing one's value is vital; we must articulate our worth to ourselves to be perceived positively by others.The importance of reframing our narratives: shifting from a mindset of loss to one of gain can transform our experiences and decisions. Connect with Stephanie: Visit Stephanie's website at stephkaplan.comFollow Stephanie on Instagram @stephbodeSubscribe to The Inner Report on Substack at stephaniekaplan.substack.com Connect with Teresa: @BecomingObsessedpod on Instagram @teresaajean on Instagram Join the Group Chat - subscribe to our weekly email newsletter so you never miss an update. This episode mentions: mindset coaching, emotional mastery, tech founders, personal development, self-discovery, burnout prevention, inner work, emotional intelligence, leadership development, neuroscience in business, entrepreneurship, self-awareness, life as a mirror, decision-making skills, achieving balance, overcoming limiting beliefs, personal growth strategies, self-compassion, community building, cultivating joy

    48 min
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About

Becoming Obsessed is a personal growth podcast for ambitious women who want to live a life they love, and it starts by following their curiosity. Hosted by Teresa Stastny, the show sits at the corner of ambition and self-care: honest conversations about trusting your intuition, quieting the pressure to perform, and letting curiosity (not comparison) guide your next chapter. Each week, Teresa sits down with founders, creatives, and everyday women who've traded the grind for something more aligned, plus solo episodes where she works through the real-time questions she's sitting with in her own life. Expect conversations on self-discovery, mindset, intuition, self-care for high-achievers, authentic ambition, purpose, identity shifts, slow business, women in entrepreneurship, and the quiet nudges that change everything. If you're craving permission to pivot, prioritize yourself, or stop performing a version of success that was never really yours, give Becoming Obsessed a listen. New episodes every Friday. Curiosity leads to a life you love.

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