Kind of a Big Deal

Kristin Belden
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Ever brushed off a compliment? Downplayed a win? Made yourself smaller so you wouldn’t sound like “too much”? Yeah, me too. Kind of a Big Deal is my love letter to women building careers and lives they’re proud of. This isn’t your typical Fortune 500 CEO interview. Instead, it’s real, relatable conversations with everyday women - corporate baddies, scrappy entrepreneurs, and everyone in between - who are leading lives we can all aspire to. Through honest stories and hard-earned wisdom, we shine a light on the victories, the lessons, and the messy middle that rarely make the highlight reel. It’s about celebrating the impact women make (even when we’re tempted to shrug it off). Because the truth is: you are kind of a big deal.

  1. 6d ago

    From the Philippines to the Executive Director’s Chair — One Yes at a Time

    What does it look like to build a life of service when you never had a master plan — just a thread you kept following? Rejie grew up on a farm in the Philippines, raised by grandparents who modeled community stewardship before she had a word for it. She came to the US in her early 20s with plans to teach, found her way into domestic violence advocacy instead, and eventually became the executive director of Asian Resources Inc — a Sacramento nonprofit that has been serving refugee, immigrant, and low-income communities for over 46 years. She didn’t plan any of it. She just kept saying yes to the next thing that needed doing. We talk about the grandfather who told her “make sure the next ship is bigger than mine,” what it looked like to arrive in a new country and have to completely reimagine her path, what she’s learned about building teams and collaborations, and the thing she didn’t expect about stepping into the executive director role — that the biggest work turned out to be the work she had to do on herself. What You’ll Learn ⭐ What it looks like to build a life of service when the path keeps changing ⭐ Why the biggest work of leadership is the internal work — not the external ⭐ How to build a team and collaborations that sustain the mission ⭐ Why “not everyone travels with you” — and what to do with that ⭐ What community stewardship looks like when it starts at the kitchen table ⭐ How to define success when the work is never done Key Insights Make Sure the Next Ship Is Bigger Rejie’s grandfather told her: “You are in my ship. If you want to jump to another, make sure it’s bigger so you survive.” It’s how she’s approached every transition since — not jumping for the sake of it, but making sure the next thing is actually worth the leap. The Biggest Work Is on Yourself When Rejie stepped into the executive director role, she expected the hard parts to be external — building the team, setting the vision, managing up. What she didn’t expect was how much of the work would be internal. Learning to smile. Managing her own expectations. Recognizing that not everyone travels with her. Success Is When People Are Still Cheering You On After losing two beloved community leaders in close succession, Rejie’s definition of success shifted: it’s not what you accomplish. It’s whether people are still cheering for you — and for the work — after you’re gone. You Cannot Duplicate Services — You Have to Collaborate One of Rejie’s clearest leadership beliefs: the community needs people to work together, not compete. Building relationships with other leaders isn’t nice to have. It’s how the work actually gets done. Prevention Is the Through Line From domestic violence to poverty to homelessness to chronic disease — everything Rejie does at Asian Resources comes back to prevention. Getting there before the crisis. Building the conditions where people don’t need emergency intervention in the first place. Timestamps 00:00 Intro: meet Rejie — executive director of Asian Resources Inc 01:20 Growing up in the Philippines — her parents’ separation and her grandparents’ influence 02:45 “Make sure the next ship is bigger than mine” 05:10 The farm, the community, and what her grandparents modeled 06:08 The question of what is “enough” 06:57 Teaching, soldiering, priesthood — and landing on social studies 09:41 Arriving in the US in her early 20s 11:41 What she missed most: food 13:54 When teaching didn’t translate — finding a new path 15:40 The shift to public service and domestic violence advocacy 16:57 Master’s in multicultural education and human rights 19:46 Joining Asian Resources during COVID — and why 20:40 What Asian Resources does and who they serve 28:29 From SAKO Lab to interim ED — did she feel ready? 30:05 “I’ll just try it” 30:57 The biggest learning stepping into the role 31:56 “The biggest work is on myself” 34:12 The car accident — right after being appointed 35:35 The self-leadership thread 36:01 How her definition of success has evolved 36:28 “Success is when people are still cheering you on” 37:29 The women who have been mirrors along the way 39:04 The mentors who gave her a platform 41:27 The legacy question Resources and Links Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at https://www.KristinBelden.com: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Sign up for Kristin’s newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Rejie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rejie-marie-baloyos-ma-5a655990/ Learn more about Asian Resources Inc: https://asianresources.org/ If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #womeninmidlife #leadership #communitywork #nonprofit #immigrant #refugee #selfleadership #womenleadership #careerreinvention #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

  2. Oct 8

    What Work-Life Integration Actually Looks Like When You're Building Something Big

    What does it look like to build an eight-figure company, raise six kids, and still feel like you're actually living? Cherie Hoeger is the co-founder and CEO of Saalt, a women's period care company on a mission to end global period poverty that hit eight figures in its second year and landed in every Target store. Since launching in 2018, they've donated over 160,000 products in 60 countries. The whole thing started with a phone call to a family member in Venezuela who had no access to period products — and the realization that 500 million women and girls face the same reality every month. We talk about what work-life integration actually looks like in practice, the vital few framework she uses to structure her days, why your to-do list should be a to-be list, and what Jeni from Jeni's Ice Cream said at a conference that changed everything. What You'll Learn ⭐ Why work-life balance is a myth — and what to do instead ⭐ How to identify your vital few and build your days around them ⭐ What a to-be list is and why it changes everything ⭐ How to build a people-first culture that actually retains talent ⭐ Why ending period poverty starts with breaking the stigma Key Insights Work-Life Integration Over Balance Cherie heard Jeni Britton Bauer say it at a women's conference — "work-life balance is a myth" — and it reframed everything. Integration means giving your time and energy to what needs it most, when it needs it. Your To-Do List Should Be a To-Be List Start with who you want to become, work backwards, and let your daily habits flow from that identity. Progress toward becoming — not a dollar number or a deadline. The Vital Few Identify the few things that bring you the most fulfillment and cut everything else. For Cherie it's five: her relationship with God, her family, her health, her impact, and the things that bring her joy. The 90-Minute Morning Routine No phone. No email. Scripture, movement, present time with family, and the two most important things for her business and her personal life — before anything else. People First as a Retention Strategy Saalt built an in-office preschool free for all employees. When you enable your people's lives, they give you their best. Timestamps 01:31 What Saalt does and the 1% giveback mission 03:18 The phone call to Venezuela that started it all 04:20 Discovering cups and discs — and being blown away 07:25 Creating a better brand story for a stigmatized category 10:31 What keeps her going on the hard days 11:31 Period poverty — 500 million women and girls 14:19 Breaking the stigma — and what Gen Z is getting right 19:39 Encouragement for the skeptics 22:29 The hardest early lessons as a founder 24:58 From at-home mom to front-facing CEO — and burnout 26:59 "Work-life balance is a myth" — the Jeni's Ice Cream moment 29:04 "My kids are the luckiest kids in the world" 30:06 The in-office preschool 33:19 People first as a culture and retention strategy 37:18 The 90-minute morning routine 39:30 The two most important things — for your business and your life 43:36 The to-do list vs. the to-be list 48:22 How her definition of success has evolved 49:39 Loss, mortality, and what it teaches you about legacy 54:02 Legacy is built in the daily moments Resources and Links Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at https://www.BeldenStrategies.com: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Cherie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherie-hoeger-5b3679b/ Shop Saalt: https://saalt.com/ Listen to Cherie's podcast: https://www.saaltshow.com/ If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #womeninmidlife #worklifeintegration #femalefounder #periodcare #missiondriven #morningroutine #intentionalliving #womenleadership #entrepreneurship #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

  3. Oct 1

    People First Isn't Just a Value. For This CEO, It's the Whole Strategy

    Patty Barahona has spent over 15 years at Youth Leadership Institute — starting as a part-time program coordinator and now serving as CEO of one of California's most respected youth advocacy organizations. Through all of it, the through line has been the same: people first. Not as a value on a wall. As the actual way they show up every single day. We talk about what it's like to grow up inside one organization for 15 years, what happened in the first week as interim CEO that changed everything, and the brand new clothing line they're launching as a love letter to their son, their past self, and every masc-of-center person who has never seen themselves in a store. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, Patty said something I haven't stopped thinking about since: "I think I live in love most days. And that keeps my heart safe from the world that is really hard to live through." What You'll Learn ⭐ What it actually looks like to lead with a people-first philosophy  ⭐ Why growing up inside one organization can be both complicated and beautiful ⭐ What changed when Patty stopped taking everything personally — and how they got there ⭐ Why executive coaching should be available at every level, not just the top ⭐ What makes someone a really good board member — Patty's top three ⭐ What it means to launch something that is a love letter to your past self and your future Key Insights People First as Operating System For Patty, putting people first isn't a culture statement — it's the actual strategy. Benefits, professional development, coaching, the freedom to leave early for your kid's back-to-school night — these aren't perks. They're how you build an organization that can sustain the work for decades. The Gift of Being Treated Like an Executive In Patty's first week as interim CEO, they missed a call from their board chair. When they finally called back days later, full of apologies, he said: "Patty. You're an executive. I trust that you're doing whatever you need to be doing whenever you're doing it." That one sentence changed how they saw themselves in the role. Stop Taking It Personally Patty spent years taking everything to heart — ruminating at 3am, absorbing every comment as a reflection of their worth. Coaching helped them see how much energy that was costing — and what was possible when they stopped. Them Tops: A Love Letter After over a decade of dreaming about it, Patty is launching Them Tops — a clothing brand for masc-of-center folks who have spent years in stores that don't see them. It's a love letter to their son, to their past self, and to everyone who deserves to see themselves in what they wear. Timestamps 01:34 What YLI does and who it serves 03:16 Early career: facing academic dismissal and finding a path through 04:24 The mentors who changed everything 05:45 The mentor who let her knock on the door every week 07:15 Grad school, international students, and falling in love 08:40 Moving to California and finding YLI 10:24 First role: working with queer youth on school climate 11:36 "We're asking young people what they think?" — and falling in love with the work 13:09 The through line: curiosity, storytelling, and centering people left out 14:37 What makes a strong adult ally for young people 16:14 The internal work that makes you a better steward 18:16 "I live in love most days" — where people-first comes from 22:07 The challenge of cutting people off — and choosing a different path 26:13 Growing up inside one organization for 15 years 29:56 The transition to interim CEO — what changed 31:18 The board chair who said "you're an executive" 33:15 What responsibility actually looks like in practice 36:33 Taking things personally — and the coaching that helped 42:01 Why executive coaching should be available at every level 44:13 How success has evolved — satiated over status 47:43 Them Tops — the brand, the mission, and why now 51:12 A love letter to their son and their past self 55:37 What makes a great board member — Patty's top three 58:11 The legacy question Resources and Links Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at https://www.BeldenStrategies.com: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Patty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-barahona-22828921/ Learn more about Youth Leadership Institute: https://yli.org/ Shop Them Tops: https://themtops.com/ If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #womeninmidlife #peoplefirst #nonprofit #leadership #queerleadership #youthleadership #executivecoaching #womenleadership #careerreinvention #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

  4. Sep 24

    Impact Doesn't Need to Mean Thousands of People

    What does it look like to spend 15 years changing systems from the inside — and then realize the work you're most built for happens one person at a time? Talia grew up watching her parents navigate the world as immigrants, which gave her an early and visceral understanding of what it means to need someone in your corner. That thread ran through everything: a congressional campaign, a decade-plus at City Hall working on youth programs and civic engagement, and eventually a realization that the scale she'd been chasing wasn't the only measure of impact that mattered. Now she's an executive and leadership coach, helping individuals and organizations build the kind of people-first cultures that actually perform. We talk about what it took to grieve the scale of government work and find meaning in a different kind of impact, the shift from confidence to courage that finally got her to hang her own shingle, what she's seeing in organizations right now around people-first leadership, and why the most important work often happens in the room where people feel safe enough to be honest. What You'll Learn ⭐ Why impact doesn't have to mean thousands of people — and how to make peace with that ⭐ The difference between confidence and courage, and why only one of them gets you started ⭐ What 15 years in government taught her about people, power, and what actually changes things ⭐ Why people-first workplaces aren't soft — they're the highest-performing ones ⭐ How to know when you've outgrown the room you're in ⭐ What it looks like to build something on your own after decades inside institutions Key Insights Grieving the Scale Talia spent over a decade at City Hall working on programs that touched thousands of people. Stepping away from that kind of scale wasn't just a career change — it was a grief process. The realization that impact doesn't have to mean thousands of people was hard-won, not obvious. Confidence vs. Courage Talia held herself back from going out on her own for years because she didn't feel confident enough. What finally moved her: the reframe that confidence is knowing you can do something because you've done it before — and courage is doing it anyway when you don't know. You don't need the first one to start. You just need the second. People-First Isn't Soft. It's Smart. The most common resistance Talia gets when working with organizations: "that sounds soft." Her response: the data is unambiguous. Organizations that invest in their people outperform those that don't. Psychological safety, trust, and belonging aren't feel-good extras — they're performance drivers. The Most Important Work Happens in Safe Rooms Whether it's a coaching session or a team offsite, Talia believes the most important conversations only happen when people feel safe enough to be honest. Creating that safety isn't incidental to the work — it is the work. Timestamps 01:20 Growing up watching her parents navigate a new country 04:12 The congressional campaign and how she found her way to public service 07:44 A decade at City Hall — youth programs, civic engagement, and what she learned 12:18 The legislator who passed away mid-session and what it taught her about the weight of the work 15:33 Leaving City Hall and figuring out what comes next 22:45 Sacramento's evolution and why she believes in the region 28:24 Building something on her own — the spark and the hesitation 31:45 Confidence vs. courage — the reframe that changed everything 34:58 Grieving the scale of government work 38:15 What executive and leadership coaching actually looks like 46:36 The coaching industry's trust problem — and how she thinks about it 48:12 People-first workplaces — what she's seeing in organizations right now 52:30 Micro-community and the conversations we need to be having 56:14 The legacy question Resources and Links Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Talia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliashanikaufman/ Work with Talia: https://workwithtalia.com/ If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #womeninmidlife #leadershipcoaching #publicservice #careerreinvention #peoplefirst #womenleadership #executivecoaching #courage #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

  5. Sep 17

    Not Everything Deserves Your Attention

    What does it look like when someone who has spent her entire career solving other people's problems finally realizes she doesn't have to solve all of them? Tuesday Hagiwara spent 13 years at Nielsen on the consumer trends and market research side, studying how culture shapes behavior and how behavior shapes markets. She went to school for broadcast journalism. She's a certified yoga teacher. And she recently left a long corporate career to build her own foresight-led marketing practice — because she believes the most important thing a brand or a person can have right now is a genuine, impossible-to-replicate point of view. We talk about the article she wrote that caused a stir — about Millennial and Gen X women arriving, not asking for permission, and living as though the old rules simply don't apply to them anymore. We get into what it actually means to stop showing up to the negotiation, why your unique perspective is the one thing AI genuinely cannot replicate, what zero-click search and the "dark funnel" mean for anyone trying to build an audience right now, and why the most radical thing you can do in a noisy world is just tell the truth from your own angle. Plus the BANI framework, a book about Darjeeling tea, and why Tuesday thinks everyone should write a personal mission statement. What You'll Learn ⭐ Why not everything deserves your attention — and how to start acting like it ⭐ What a trend-tracker is seeing in women at midlife right now ⭐ Why your unique point of view is the one thing AI cannot replicate ⭐ What zero-click search means and why it changes how you need to show up online ⭐ How to find your own angle when every topic feels already covered ⭐ Why writing a personal mission statement changes every decision you make Key Insights Not Everything Deserves Your Attention Tuesday is wired to see a problem and act — no hesitation, no space in between. It got her far. It also led to burnout. The permission she's finally giving herself: she doesn't have to fix everything. The real power lies in defining what her role actually is and protecting her time accordingly. Two Buckets of Women Right Now When Tuesday's article about women arriving and stopping caring what you think went viral, the responses fell into two clear groups: women who said "this is exactly what I've been doing and I finally have a name for it," and women who said "I'm on the precipice of this — I haven't given myself permission yet." Her observation: sometimes we can't see what we could be until it's right in front of us. Your Point of View Is the One Thing AI Can't Replicate In a zero-click world where AI synthesizes everything and spits out a table, what cuts through is the thing only you can contribute: your lived experience, your angle, your human perspective on what's actually happening. You don't have to be the expert. You just have to find your own way in. The World Is BANI Now Tuesday's current reading: a framework called BANI — Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible — that describes the world we're all navigating right now. The antidote isn't more information. It's interconnection, empathy, and systems thinking. Write Your Personal Mission Statement Seven years ago Tuesday saw a friend's LinkedIn profile with his own personal mission statement and wrote one herself. It's still true today. Her recommendation: write down what drives you — and then battle-test every decision against it. Timestamps 00:00 Intro: meet Tuesday — trend-tracker, marketing strategist, and foresight-led founder 01:08 The article that caused a stir — and what compelled her to write it 04:18 Women who have stopped showing up to the negotiation 05:47 The permission word — what Tuesday has been giving herself this season 07:43 The mental load, the ticker tape, and why women are tired 08:41 The two buckets of responses to her article 10:17 The three Ps — and how women are waking up to what comes next 12:29 What is foresight-led marketing? 13:39 Zero-click search and the dark funnel — what it means for your content 17:09 Your unique point of view is what LLMs glom onto 23:16 "Why would anyone care about my point of view?" — Tuesday's answer 26:44 The yoga teacher analogy — it's not always about what you say 29:41 The through line: from journalism to Nielsen to now 32:25 Just branched out on her own — what the first few months look like 35:06 Being a certified yoga teacher — and what it's taught her about life 37:29 Baby Tuesday: pretend news reports and the young authors competition 42:13 What she's reading right now — BANI and Darjeeling tea 47:10 How her idea of success has evolved 51:15 The legacy question — and the personal mission statement 55:38 Everyone go write your personal mission statement Resources and Links Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at https://www.BeldenStrategies.com: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Tuesday on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuesdayh/ Work with Tuesday: https://hirakaconsulting.com/ If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #womeninmidlife #trendspotting #marketingstrategy #foresight #AI #womenleadership #careerreinvention #permission #pointofview #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

  6. Sep 10

    Your Story Is Already Yours. You Just Have to Claim It.

    What does it look like to spend 20 years building on your own terms, not because you had a plan, but because you kept following what felt right? Toby Myles has never taken the straight path. From graphic design to direct response marketing to copywriting to story coaching, she's built and rebuilt her career around one consistent thread: she loves making things and putting them out into the world. Now she's a story strategist helping entrepreneurs build a hub of essential brand stories, host of the podcast Her Origin Story, and is finally writing the memoir she's been putting off for years. We talk about what it means to stop hiding behind buzzwords and actually claim the work you do, how her idea of success has shifted from revenue goals to spaciousness and freedom, why she finally started her podcast after three years of talking herself out of it, what the memoir process is teaching her about herself, and why the stories that are already yours are the ones that connect best — human to human, not just business to business. What You'll Learn ⭐ Why buzzwords and titles get in the way of the connection you're actually trying to make ⭐ How to know when it's time to evolve your business — and give yourself permission to do it ⭐ What "spaciousness" actually looks like as a definition of success ⭐ Why the stories you already have are your biggest competitive advantage right now ⭐ How to get out of your own way and just start the thing you've been sitting on. Key Insights Your Title Isn't Your Story Toby spent years watching people — herself included — hide behind titles and buzzwords that nobody really understands. Her take: people don't hire you because of your LinkedIn headline. They hire you because of the connection they feel through your content, your conversations, and the stories you tell about the actual work you do. Success Has Gotten Quieter For Toby, success used to look like revenue goals and client counts. Now it looks like working with women who feel like friends, protecting her morning coffee time with her husband, and having the flexibility to demo her deck on a Tuesday.  The Invisible Tether to the Desk Both Kristin and Toby grappled with the same thing leaving corporate: the guilt of not being at your desk by 9am, even when nobody was asking that of you. Untangling productivity from presence is one of the quiet but profound shifts of building something on your own. Just Get Out of Your Own Way Toby sat on the podcast idea for three years — too many podcasts, who's gonna listen, the tech is too hard. Until a coach said: just invite people to have conversations and record them. If it leads to a podcast, great. If not, you scratched the itch. Two months later she had three episodes ready to go. Your Story Is Your Edge In a world where AI can write anything and everything is starting to sound the same, Toby believes the stories that are already yours — lived, specific, human — are exactly what cut through. Not because they're polished, but because they're real. Timestamps 01:16 How she got started: junior college, volleyball, and a very unconventional path 03:58 The ventriloquist plan and other early career dreams 05:55 Six months in Israel, following a guy to London, and landing on graphic design 07:16 20 years of freelancing — and why it always suited her 08:53 Growing up with a sibling with special needs — and what it gave her 16:37 The entrepreneurial spirit — where it came from and why it fits 19:30 From direct response marketing to copywriting to story coaching 20:59 AI, ChatGPT, and why she pivoted to storytelling 22:21 Why your story is your biggest competitive advantage right now 24:19 Buzzwords, titles, and getting to the essence of what you actually do 28:33 How her idea of success has evolved 30:29 The invisible tether to the desk — and letting it go 35:31 Advice for women thinking about starting their own thing 42:58 Your podcast, your memoir, your legacy — let's talk about all of it 45:09 She sat on the podcast idea for three years. Here's what finally got her moving. 51:04 We created something that didn't exist before 51:59 The legacy question Resources and Links Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at https://www.BeldenStrategies.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Toby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toby-myles/ Listen to Her Origin Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/her-origin-story/id1811651968 If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #storytelling #womeninmidlife #femaleentrepreneur #podcasting #memoir #womenleadership #careerreinvention #brandstory #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

  7. Sep 3

    You Haven't Lost Your Creativity. You've Just Stopped Making Room for It.

    Devika started in finance, moved into impact investing, built her first company in London at the intersection of art and social good, and learned some hard lessons about market timing, what investors want, and what happens when you build toward an external vision instead of your own.  Her second company, soal, is a daily art discovery app, and it became something she never planned: a mental health and meaning-making practice for people who didn't know they needed one. We talk about what it means to let a business reveal itself instead of forcing it into shape, how to tell the difference between real feedback and noise when you're building something new, and what the inner work of entrepreneurship actually looks like when you're the one in charge of your own day. What You'll Learn ⭐ Why creativity is a skill  ⭐ How to tell the difference between feedback worth taking and noise worth ignoring ⭐ What it means to build from your own internal compass instead of external pressure ⭐ Why the second time you build something is harder and better in equal measure ⭐ How daily practices like journaling and quiet walks actually change your decision-making ⭐ Why reconnecting with art and creativity isn't indulgent, it's how you stand out Key Insights Let the Business Reveal Itself Devika spent a stretch building toward what she thought investors wanted SOUL to be. When she stepped back and let it take its own shape, it became something she never planned - a mental health and meaning-making ritual for people craving beauty and calm in their day. The business knew before she did. Creativity Is a Skill, Not a Gene We've been sold the idea that you either have the creative gene or you don't. Devika pushes back: creativity is something you can build, practice, and reconnect with. And in a world where AI can produce anything in seconds, your unique point of view and creative expression is exactly what makes you irreplaceable. Real Feedback vs. Noise When you're building something new, everyone has an opinion. Devika's framework: pair the tactical (user interviews, data, testing) with the internal compass (journaling, meditation, stillness). One without the other leaves you either data-driven or gut-driven. You need both. The Inner Work IS the Work Whether it's morning pages, quiet walks, or visualization - the practices that help you hear yourself are the same ones that make you a better builder, leader, and decision-maker. Devika didn't have these rituals until a few years ago. Now they're non-negotiable. soal Stands for Signature Of All Life The name isn't just a name. Creativity, Devika believes, is the signature of all life — the personal, innate way every human expresses themselves, whether they call it art or not. soal is built on that belief: that beauty and creative expression aren't luxuries. They're human needs. Timestamps 00:00 Intro: meet Devika, second-time founder building at the intersection of art and wellness 01:34 From finance to impact investing — the early career path 03:10 "Do good while doing well" — what drew her toward mission-driven work 04:31 Did she always see herself as an entrepreneur? 05:08 The entrepreneurial family she didn't lean into — until she did 05:29 Art of Kindness — her first company, built in London 06:19 What the market taught her: NFTs, blockchain, and timing 07:07 What she's building now — SOUL and the daily art ritual 10:39 Second-time founder: what she's carrying forward and what she's leaving behind 13:27 Reframing challenge and failure — building around how you naturally work 15:52 "Just be caught trying" — rejection as a game, not a verdict 17:52 "Soul has evolved alongside me" — letting the business reveal itself 22:34 How to tell the difference between real feedback and noise 25:46 Have you always been tapped into your intuition? 26:31 The Artist's Way, morning pages, and the practices that changed everything 31:03 Creativity is not a soft skill — it's how you stand out 33:55 SOUL stands for Signature Of All Life 37:20 What's not on your resume that shaped who you are as a leader? 41:49 Legacy: helping people connect to what's meaningful Resources and Links Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at https://www.BeldenStrategies.com: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Devika on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devikasarin/ Download soal: https://www.thisissoal.com/ If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #creativity #womeninmidlife #femalefounder #artandwellness #entrepreneurship #innerwork #mindset #careerreinvention #womenleadership #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

  8. Aug 27

    What does it mean to move at the speed of connection?

    What if the restlessness you're feeling at midlife isn't a problem to solve, but a calling you've been too busy to hear? Nevada has spent over 20 years helping teams see themselves more clearly. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, she had a realization that she'd spent decades in what she calls the three Ps — performing, productivity, proving — and had completely lost touch with her inner life in the process. Out of that came the Midlife Wisdom Circle, a container she built for women navigating exactly this transition: the messy, disorienting, necessary work of moving from the first half of life into the second. We talk about the three Ps and why the first half of life almost requires them, the grief that can come with looking back, why a big midlife transition doesn't mean blowing your life up, and how to start moving at the speed of connection. What You'll Learn ⭐ Why the first half of life is almost designed to pull you away from your inner life  ⭐ What the three Ps are and how to recognize when they've stopped being enough ⭐ How the Enneagram can help you see the adaptive strategies that are no longer serving you ⭐ Why a transformative midlife experience doesn't have to mean blowing up your life ⭐ Simple practices to start reconnecting with your inner life right now Key Insights The Three Ps Were Never the Whole Story Performing, productivity, proving — Nevada says the first half of life almost requires us to go out and demonstrate we can make it in the system we were born into. The cost is that we can forget about the deeper part of ourselves that has a calling. And at some point, the three Ps stop hitting the mark. The Enneagram as a Mirror Nevada picked up an Enneagram book at 13, knew she was a Type 3, and put it back down because she didn't want to be one. It wasn't until her early 40s — right in the middle of her own midlife transition — that she picked it back up. And it laid out every adaptive strategy she'd been running, clearly and completely. A Big Transition Doesn't Mean Losing Everything You've Built Nevada is still married to the same person, living in the same city, raising the same kids. And her experience of her life is completely different because of the inner work. Midlife evolution doesn't require blowing things up. It requires going deeper. Moving at the Speed of Connection A phrase Nevada borrows from an indigenous teacher: moving at the speed of connection — with other people, and with yourself. In a world that rewards speed and output above all else, slowing down enough to actually connect is the hardest and most important practice of midlife. Timestamps 00:00 Intro: meet Nevada and her 20 years of facilitation work 01:26 Graphic facilitation — what it is and how she found it 05:47 The "full body yes" as the spark of purpose 07:25 The Midlife Wisdom Circle and why she built it 10:07 Being in community as permission 12:12 The three Ps — performing, productivity, proving 15:44 The grief that can come with looking back 17:13 The Enneagram at 13, and again at 40 21:00 Can your Enneagram type change? A nuanced answer 25:29 Why she started her own business 20 years ago 29:50 Growing up in a Zen Buddhist temple in San Francisco 35:31 The wake-up call — the anger in the car 36:58 The searching: every modality, every retreat 37:57 Why the Midlife Wisdom Circle came to be 40:36 Moving at the speed of connection 44:06 The vertical axis — what holds you when the horizontal goes sideways 47:29 Simple practices to start reconnecting with your inner life 49:14 A transformative midlife experience doesn't mean blowing your life up 53:40 The legacy question Resources and Links Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at https://www.BeldenStrategies.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/ Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter Connect with Nevada on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/nevadalane/ Learn more about the Midlife Wisdom Circle: https://www.nevadalane.com/ Learn more about her organizational work: https://www.lanechangeconsulting.com/ If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it — and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #womeninmidlife #midlifetransition #enneagram #graphicfacilitation #womenleadership #innerwork #midlifewisdom #connection #careerevolution #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

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About

Ever brushed off a compliment? Downplayed a win? Made yourself smaller so you wouldn’t sound like “too much”? Yeah, me too. Kind of a Big Deal is my love letter to women building careers and lives they’re proud of. This isn’t your typical Fortune 500 CEO interview. Instead, it’s real, relatable conversations with everyday women - corporate baddies, scrappy entrepreneurs, and everyone in between - who are leading lives we can all aspire to. Through honest stories and hard-earned wisdom, we shine a light on the victories, the lessons, and the messy middle that rarely make the highlight reel. It’s about celebrating the impact women make (even when we’re tempted to shrug it off). Because the truth is: you are kind of a big deal.

Information

  • Creator
    Kristin Belden
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Kind of a Big Deal
  • Show Website
    Kind of a Big Deal

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