Motivation N'at

NC Bulger Solutions

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

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

    6h ago

    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

    50 min
  2. Motherhood Doesn't Kill Careers. It Changes Them. | Guest - Samantha Swan

    Jun 21

    Motherhood Doesn't Kill Careers. It Changes Them. | Guest - Samantha Swan

    Motherhood didn't break Samantha's career, but instead, it taught her everything the rulebook missed. It's something all of us, parents or not, should take some time to think about.This week I sat down with Samantha Swan, a senior manager in healthcare strategic planning and a mom of two, who has lived the tension between ambition and motherhood in real time and brought her insights and honesty to this conversation.We get into:— Why the old career rules stop working the moment life changes— The working mom identity crisis nobody prepares you for— What it actually looks like to return to work after maternity leave— How to stop juggling everything equally and start knowing which balls are glass— Why "you can have it all" is true — just not all at once— What parenthood actually adds to your leadership skills that hiring managers keep missingParent, non-parent, early career, mid-career... if you've ever felt like the rules stopped fitting, pull up a chair and take a listen.___________________________________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 Samantha Swan on LinkedInFollow Natalie:Instagram: @sincerely__natalieYouTube: @motivation-nat-pod

    50 min
  3. Music That Means Something | Guest - Sean Martin of The Quarantined

    Jun 14

    Music That Means Something | Guest - Sean Martin of The Quarantined

    "I hear chains rattling above me when I sleep." That's how Sean Martin described the psych ward he ended up in after his Humvee exploded overseas. Survival can look like a lot of different things. So can the road back. Sean's road back was a journey back into his love of music and combining it with renewed intent. The Quarantined is his grunge/punk/metal project, and it tackles addiction, trauma, and what he calls the illusion of normalcy. Things we touch on in our conversation:🔹 The transition out of the military, the inpatient psych ward, and the years before he got real help🔹 How music became the way Sean processes trauma and PTSD, not just a creative outlet🔹 The cannabinoid system, and why Sean is so vocal about alternative treatments for veterans with PTSD🔹 Aversion to Normalcy, his 2025 album with over a million streams, and what it means to build an identity around not fitting in🔹 Perspective and gratitude... the two things he says got him through the worst moments of his life This episode touches on suicide, trauma, and mental health. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text at 988. ___________________________________ MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential® The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday. ___________________________________ 🎵 Stream Aversion to Normalcy everywhere: https://too.fm/kdmjayj 🛒 Buy The Quarantined's full discography: https://thequarantined.bandcamp.com 🌐 Website: https://www.thequarantined.com 📩 Connect with Sean: TheQuarantinedtv@gmail.com 📲 Follow me: Instagram: @Sincerely__Natalie YouTube: @motivation-nat-pod

    56 min
  4. Nobody Trained Us for This Kind of Chaos

    Jun 7

    Nobody Trained Us for This Kind of Chaos

    Guest: Alana Cheeks-Lomax | Co-Founder & CEO, Untold Impact What Does It Really Mean to Lead Through Chaos?The chaos leaders are feeling right now often isn't accidental. The workforce is shifting, the table is changing, and most leaders are navigating the noise without ever really having been prepared for what this looks like. On this episode of Motivation N'at, Natalie Bulger sits down with Alana Cheeks-Lomax — Co-Founder and CEO of Untold Impact, former Global Head of Inclusion & Diversity at Cash App, and diversity executive at Microsoft — for a conversation about leadership burnout, generational workforce shifts, the DEI rollback, the AI reckoning, and what it actually takes to stay grounded when everything around you is on fire. Alana brings over 15 years of experience at the intersection of business strategy, people operations, and social impact. She is also the host of the Office Hours Black Girl podcast, now in its third season and recently picked up by a national distributor. Key TakeawaysLeadership burnout is real and widespread — leaders have been managing compounding crises since 2020, and many are overwhelmed and afraid to make mistakes.Staying grounded in your core values is the most important leadership tool right now — returning to what you founded your work on is what keeps you from second-guessing every decision.The workforce is experiencing a multi-generational identity shift — younger generations are uncoupling their identity from their job title, and companies that don't adapt will lose talent fast.Accountability is the leadership norm most overdue for a reset — fear of being wrong makes it harder to hold the mirror, and that ripples across the entire organization.High performance and high quality are not the same thing — fast output is not automatically good output, and leaders need to be intentional about the difference.Connect with Alana Cheeks-Lomax🌐 Website: www.alanacheekslomax.com💼 LinkedIn: Alana Cheeks-Lomax📸 Instagram: @acheekslomax🎙️ Podcast: @OfficeHoursBlackGirlPodcast🏢 Untold Impact: @untoldimpact_ Follow Natalie & Motivation N'at📸 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.

    55 min
  5. Stop Kicking Yourself: Careers Change | Guest - Lis Doggett

    May 31

    Stop Kicking Yourself: Careers Change | Guest - Lis Doggett

    Your career has been telling you something for a while now. The question is whether you're listening. Lis Doggett, career coach and founder of Hanai Career Solutions, joined me for this honest discussion which handed out some tough pills to swallow. We get into: 🔷 Why burnout isn't about how many hours you're working 🔷 The difference between running from a job and moving toward something 🔷 How to know when leaving is the answer — and when it isn't 🔷 What it actually means to separate your mission from your job title 🔷 The sunk cost trap that keeps people stuck longer than they should be 🔷 Why your next chapter doesn't erase what you built in the last one If you've ever stayed somewhere past the point of it making sense, OR left before you were ready, OR just quietly wondered what you're actually building toward, then you might want to stick it out through this whole episode. 📩 Want Lis's free Burnout Prevention Weekly Planning Sheet? Email hello@hanaicareers.com to grab it. 🌐 Lis's website: www.hanaicareers.com 📱 Instagram: @lisdoggett 💼 LinkedIn: lisdoggett 📘 Facebook: @hanaicareers 📲 Follow me: Instagram: @Sincerely__Natalie MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential® The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday.

    1h 1m
  6. A Place to Come as You Are | Guest - Gabbi Myers

    May 24

    A Place to Come as You Are | Guest - Gabbi Myers

    Gabbi Myers built Bella Day Spa around three words on her mission statement, come as you are, and spent ten years making sure every person who walked through the door actually believed it. Gabbi and I had a rapid fire chat where we pulled apart all of the layers of spa ownership and about the services offered as spas and salons. We cover🔹 The stigma around trade school and why her staff out-earns most college grads🔹 Why a good consultation isn't a courtesy — it's the whole service🔹 Building a team in a high-turnover industry without losing the people who matter🔹 What unexpected events can take, give back and why one pushed her into a bigger building🔹 The pressure AI photos are putting on stylists and estheticians 🔹 The importance of turning away clients rather than risk injuring them You should always be able to feel yourself, even in industries surrounded by beauty standards. 📩 Connect with Bella Day Spa: bellaspaandbeauty.com📱 Instagram & Facebook: @bellaspaandbeauty MOTIVATION N'AT — Hot Mess to High Potential®The podcast where real life gets talked about, hosted by Natalie Bulger. New episodes every Sunday.

    46 min
  7. Creating Confidence through Clarity | Guest - Sara Ann Todd, DHA

    May 17

    Creating Confidence through Clarity | Guest - Sara Ann Todd, DHA

    What actually separates a confident leader from a cocky one? Dr. Sara Ann Todd says it comes down to one, main thing: clarity. Sara Ann, founder is the CEO of Leadership Investments and a certified coach with over 22 years across the military, federal government, and private sector. We connected after both leaving the federal government and our discussion allowed us to look back and what we say during recent years as well as to look forward in how we can learn from what we were a part of. We get into:🔹The real difference between confidence and cockiness in leadership🔹Why self-awareness is a practice, not a personality trait🔹 What vulnerable leadership actually looks like versus emotional spillover🔹How to lead with integrity when the people above you aren't🔹What to do when you can't walk away from a misaligned environment If you've ever walked into a room wondering whether you belong there, or watched someone lead from fear and wondered how they still have followers, this episode might help to shed a little light on it all. 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 Sara Ann: saraanntodd@leadershipinvestments.biz🌐 Website: www.leadershipinvestments.biz💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sara-ann-todd 📲 Follow me:Instagram: @Sincerely__NatalieYouTube: @motivation-nat-pod

    1 hr
  8. The Messy Beautiful Work of Healing Together | Guest - Kristy Joy Weidner, LCSW, CCTP-1

    May 10

    The Messy Beautiful Work of Healing Together | Guest - Kristy Joy Weidner, LCSW, CCTP-1

    Healing isn't one therapist, one yoga class, one breakthrough moment. It's messy, it's layered, and it is absolutely not meant to be done alone. I sat down with Kristy Joy Weidner, licensed clinical social worker, trauma specialist, mindfulness teacher, and founder of two Pittsburgh spaces built around exactly that idea to talk about what community really looks like as a part of our healing journey. We get into:🔹What community actually means and why it has nothing to do with geography🔹The real cost of accessing mental health support and what to do when the system fails you🔹Why therapy is simply finding patterns and then practicing living differently🔹Nervous system responses: fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and flop and what they actually look like in your daily life🔹 How Pittsburgh is still more divided than people want to admit and what that means for healing spaces🔹Why the helpers are exhausted and what a real reset looks like🔹Letting go of what no longer serves you and trusting that something new comes in Kristy has spent her career building spaces where people can finally exhale and it's evident throughout our discussion. I hope you'll stick around to listen to the whole episode. 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 Kristy Joy Weidner:Instagram: @injoymeditationInstagram: @village_therapyWebsite: villagetherapy.org

    1h 6m
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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
    53
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © NC Bulger Solutions
  • Show Website
    Motivation N'at

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