Shamelessly Ambitious I Helping Ambitious Women Prevent Burnout + Create Nervous System First Success in Business, Motherhood

Ashley McDonald, Therapist & Nervous System First Business Mentor

Shamelessly Ambitious is an honest, grounding, and vulnerable podcast for ambitious, emotionally intelligent women who are done proving themselves, tired of living in constant high-functioning burnout, and craving a life and business that actually feel good. Hosted by Ash McDonald—therapist, nervous-system-first business mentor, and speaker this show blends clinical expertise with lived experience to deliver nervous system tools, embodied strategies, and radical permission so you can expand your capacity, root into emotional steadiness, and build sustainable success that supports your whole life. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stretched too thin, caught in productivity guilt, or stuck running on stress, this podcast meets you where you are—with therapeutic insights, embodied practices, and heartfelt stories that create real shifts. Whether you’re navigating motherhood, entrepreneurship, or the messy middle of redefining success, each episode helps you slow down, regulate, and return to a felt sense of safety in your body. With over a decade of experience at the intersection of therapy and leadership, Ash pulls back the curtain on what really works—offering grounded guidance you can apply in real life. What you’ll hear: Honest conversations about burnout recovery, nervous system regulation, and redefining successSomatic tools, meditations, and practices that build inner safety and capacityStories of motherhood, mom-life, ambition, and the courage to create a life and business that feel rich and realIf you’re asking the following questions, you’re in the right place: How do I stop tying my worth to productivity?How do I know if I’m experiencing high-functioning burnout and what do I do about it?How do I balance motherhood and leadership without losing myself?How do I calm my body when I feel overwhelmed or overstimulated?This is the podcast for when you’re ready to reclaim peace, expand what you can hold, and create success that doesn’t cost you yourself. Tune in and take the next step toward a regulated, rooted, and deeply fulfilling life.

  1. 4d ago

    204. Shamelessly Reclaiming My Ambition: The Disconnection Epidemic

    I've talked a lot about burnout, but so has everyone else in this space. I'm starting to think we've been diagnosing the wrong thing, because the women I work with aren't always JUST exhausted. They have capacity, however they seem to be lacking the desire they once had. They're functioning, often even performing well, but they feel flat… uninspired && disconnected from the drive that used to make them insatiable. That's not simply burnout, that's disconnection. In this episode I'm breaking down the difference, why it matters, && what I've been doing to actually reclaim the aliveness I thought I'd lost. TOPICS WE EXPLORE Why burnout && disconnection are not the same thingThe difference between anxious-overwhelm && depressive-flatWhy resting your way through disconnection makes it worseCuriosity as a North Star instead of certaintyHow to find aliveness in micro momentsThe body-brain connection && why transition routines aren't optionalWhy I stopped trying to minimize my ambition && what changedLanguage as identity: "I'm overwhelmed" vs "I'm feeling overwhelmed"What reconnection actually looks like in practiceTHE POINT You can recover from burnout && still feel completely, utterly disconnected from your life. If resting isn't working, maybe what you need is to reconnect. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE MIXTAPE waitlist (opens September 21st)Work with AshAre you loving it? Send Ash a text! MORE ABOUT ASH I'm Ash McDonald — the Entrepreneur's Therapist. Trained therapist, seasoned entrepreneur, mom of 3, && the person you call when your business coach doesn't get your brain && your therapist doesn't get your business. I built the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: whole-picture support that holds your strategy && your humanity in the same conversation at the same time.  LINKS: Work with me 1:1 → Deep CutsFast-track your results → The Green RoomSolve one thing right now → Studio SessionsBurnout-proof your life && business → MixtapeGet your free podcast playlists → The SoundcheckWeekly emails that tell you what your business coach won't && your therapist can't → Subscribe to The BeatWebsite: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

  2. Aug 11

    203. The Grief of a Declining Business: Identity, Income & Starting Over with Megan Yelaney

    Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories. … This episode is for anyone who has watched a business they built go from printing money to something they barely recognize, and had to figure out who they are on the other side of that. My guest, Megan Yelaney, built her coaching business to insane heights during the golden era of 2018 to 2022, five-x-ed her income, lost her father-in-law && then her dad within fifteen months of each other, had a miscarriage, got pregnant, had twin boys, && came back to a business that just wasn't working anymore. She's one of the most honest people I've had in my corner, and she brought every bit of that honesty here. TOPICS WE EXPLORE The golden era of online coaching && what happened when it endedWatching your income decline && pretending everything is fineThe imposter spiral when your numbers don't match your reputationComing back postpartum to a business that tanked What she had to let die to rebuild with integrityComparison, viral moments, && the benchmarks that rob you of joyWhy unsexily consistent is the only thing that actually worksBuilding back to 100K months in under 30 hours a weekTHE POINT The grief of a declining business isn't just about money, it's about watching an identity you built your whole entrepreneurial-life around stop fitting. The only way out is to stop comparing yourself to a version of you that was built on circumstances you can't recreate, && start building something that actually belongs to you now. ABOUT MEGAN Megan Yelaney is a business coach && strategist who helps online coaches && service providers find and message their distinctive edge, the specific combination of story, process, && approach that makes them unmistakably them. She's based in Babylon, New York, is a theater girly, && is mom to two-and-a-half-year-old twin boys. After a complete rebuild in 2024, she had an almost $200K cash quarter && she is just getting started. Find her on Instagram @meganyelaney && on her podcast Business Not as Usual. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Business Not as Usual (Megan’s podcast)Ash on Business Not as UsualWith Megan Shamelessly Ambitious Soundcheck (free curated episode playlists)Work with Ash Are you loving it? Send Ash a text! MORE ABOUT ASH I'm Ash McDonald — the Entrepreneur's Therapist. Trained therapist, seasoned entrepreneur, mom of 3, && the person you call when your business coach doesn't get your brain && your therapist doesn't get your business. I built the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: whole-picture support that holds your strategy && your humanity in the same conversation at the same time.  LINKS: Work with me 1:1 → Deep CutsFast-track your results → The Green RoomSolve one thing right now → Studio SessionsBurnout-proof your life && business → MixtapeGet your free podcast playlists → The SoundcheckWeekly emails that tell you what your business coach won't && your therapist can't → Subscribe to The BeatWebsite: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

  3. Aug 4

    202. The Grief of Motherhood: Ambition, Identity Crisis & the Versions We Leave Behind with Sophia Parra

    Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories. … This episode is for the woman who fought hard to build something she loved, then had a baby && came back to her desk crying because she hated all of it. My guest, Sophia Rose, is a marketing coach, strategist, and IVF mom based in London. She had a business she was deeply proud of, a husband who showed up, and a clear picture of the kind of mom she wanted to be. None of that prepared her for sitting at her to-do list a few months postpartum && feeling like she was wearing someone else's shirt. She brought all of that here, one year out, still in it, && more honest than most people ever let themselves be. TOPICS WE EXPLORE The identity crisis nobody warned her about (even though her friend tried)Coming back to a business she'd built from the ground up && feeling nothingThe fog of postpartum grief Saying goodbye to breastfeeding without knowing it was the last timeThe duality of motherhood: joy && grief in the same breathHow navigating loss reshapes your tolerance for things that don't matterThe superpowers that come on the other side of falling apartWhat she wants women to know before they have their first babyTHE POINT You don't graduate from the grief of motherhood. You just get better at walking through the doors it keeps opening. && if you can stop fighting it, it will change you in the best possible way. ABOUT SOPHIA Sophia Rose is a marketing coach, strategist, host of Marketing Unfiltered, and co-host of Relatable with the Roses alongside her husband Bradley, a Peloton cycling instructor. She helps business owners cut through the noise and market in a way that actually works, and she does it from London with her IVF son Grayson. Find her podcast Marketing Unfiltered && Relatable with the Roses. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Marketing Unfiltered (Sophia's marketing podcast)Relatable with the Roses (Sophia's podcast with husband Bradley Rose)Ash on Marketing Unfiltered - Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning BurnoutShamelessly Ambitious Soundcheck (free curated episode playlists)Work with Ash Are you loving it? Send Ash a text! MORE ABOUT ASH I'm Ash McDonald — the Entrepreneur's Therapist. Trained therapist, seasoned entrepreneur, mom of 3, && the person you call when your business coach doesn't get your brain && your therapist doesn't get your business. I built the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: whole-picture support that holds your strategy && your humanity in the same conversation at the same time.  LINKS: Work with me 1:1 → Deep CutsFast-track your results → The Green RoomSolve one thing right now → Studio SessionsBurnout-proof your life && business → MixtapeGet your free podcast playlists → The SoundcheckWeekly emails that tell you what your business coach won't && your therapist can't → Subscribe to The BeatWebsite: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

  4. Jul 28

    201. The Grief of Losing Your Parents: Caregiving, Business & Keeping Life Moving with Cait Howard

    Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories. … This episode is for anyone who has ever had to keep showing up while watching someone they love disappear. My guest, Cait Howard, has experienced profound loss while building a business, raising three little girls, and navigating the many roles life has asked of her. Somehow, through all of it, she has kept moving forward. She brought so much honesty, wisdom, and heart to this conversation, and I think it’s one you’ll carry with you long after it ends. TOPICS WE EXPLORE Losing two parents in a short period of time Being a new mom && a caregiver at the same timeThe guilt of being pulled in every direction at onceHow subconscious work changed the way she moved through her mom's illnessBig G grief && little G griefHow she protects herself through the griefNavigating a business partnership with your husband through lossWhat she wishes someone had told herTHE POINT Grief doesn't have an endpoint. It has seasons && the only way through it is to let it be your own. ABOUT CAIT Cait Howard is the founder of Amplify Boutique, a podcast launch and management agency, and co-host of the Podcasting Moms Conference. She helps women get their voices && messages into the world through podcasting… she does it from just outside Nashville with her husband && their three little girls. Find her on Instagram @heycaithoward and at amplifyboutique.com. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Amplify Boutique (Cait's podcast agency)Shamelessly Ambitious Soundcheck (free curated episode playlists)Work with Ash Are you loving it? Send Ash a text! MORE ABOUT ASH I'm Ash McDonald — the Entrepreneur's Therapist. Trained therapist, seasoned entrepreneur, mom of 3, && the person you call when your business coach doesn't get your brain && your therapist doesn't get your business. I built the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: whole-picture support that holds your strategy && your humanity in the same conversation at the same time.  LINKS: Work with me 1:1 → Deep CutsFast-track your results → The Green RoomSolve one thing right now → Studio SessionsBurnout-proof your life && business → MixtapeGet your free podcast playlists → The SoundcheckWeekly emails that tell you what your business coach won't && your therapist can't → Subscribe to The BeatWebsite: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

  5. Jul 21

    200. The Grief of Being Witnessed: What My Husband Really Thinks About Being Married to an Ambitious Woman with Jake McDonald

    Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women && men bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories. --- This is episode 200 and I knew I had to make it count. I brought on my favorite person in the world, my husband Jake, for the most honest conversation we've ever had on record. We went into his grief around identity and purpose when I was the breadwinner, the resentment he carried for years, what it actually costs to be the supportive one, && what had to die in both of us for our marriage to become what it is today. This one is for every ambitious woman who has ever wondered what her partner is really carrying && every man who has never had the language to say it out loud. TOPICS WE EXPLORE Jake's identity crisis when I became the primary breadwinnerThe grief of losing your sense of purpose and provider identityResentment he buried for years and what it actually looked likeHow my ambition triggered his comparison and jealousyWhat I had to stop doing for him to step into who he wanted to beWhy slowing down in my business saved our marriageThe hyper-independence that was costing me the partnership I wantedWhat Jake sees when nobody's watchingWhat ambitious women get wrong about their husbandsTHE POINT Sometimes the grief inside a marriage is a man who doesn't know how to say he feels purposeless. Sometimes it's a woman who's so busy holding everything that she never leaves room to be held. Both of those things can be true at the same time && both of them can change. ABOUT JAKE Jake is my husband, my best friend, my baby daddy, && the person who knows me better than anyone in the world. He showed up to this conversation with zero prep && more honesty than most people manage in a lifetime of therapy. We've been together 16 years, married for 12, raised three kids, traveled the world full time, filed for bankruptcy, rebuilt, && somehow ended up in the best season of our marriage yet.  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Jake's week-long mental health onsite in TennesseeWork with Ash Are you loving it? Send Ash a text! MORE ABOUT ASH I'm Ash McDonald — the Entrepreneur's Therapist. Trained therapist, seasoned entrepreneur, mom of 3, && the person you call when your business coach doesn't get your brain && your therapist doesn't get your business. I built the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: whole-picture support that holds your strategy && your humanity in the same conversation at the same time.  LINKS: Work with me 1:1 → Deep CutsFast-track your results → The Green RoomSolve one thing right now → Studio SessionsBurnout-proof your life && business → MixtapeGet your free podcast playlists → The SoundcheckWeekly emails that tell you what your business coach won't && your therapist can't → Subscribe to The BeatWebsite: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

  6. Jul 14

    199. Your Life Is What You Tolerate: The Mindset Shift That Changed My Summer

    If you've been white-knuckling your way through a season and calling it productivity, this one is going to hit. Sometimes grief isn't about loss… sometimes it's about the story you've been telling yourself so many times it started to feel like fact. A few weeks into summer, I caught my own brain running a narrative I didn't even realize had taken over. I was ending every day feeling like everything was too much and the issue wasn’t my schedule but instead the stories I was telling myself. In this episode I'm sharing exactly what I shifted and how to do it yourself.  TOPICS WE EXPLORE The mental load that doesn't show up on a calendarHow I caught myself in a spiral I didn't even know I was inWhat my inner voice has been dictating in my life  Why your structures and systems can be working and you can still feel like you're drowningThe story your brain tells before you even open your eyesHow to get back in the driver's seat when your mindset has taken overWhy this is a practice && not a one-time fixTHE POINT You have the life you're willing to put up with. The circumstances don't have to change, but the story does. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Ash's new website and brand relaunchWork with Ash (Studio Session, Deep Cuts, The Green Room, MIXTAPE waitlist)Are you loving it? Send Ash a text! MORE ABOUT ASH I'm Ash McDonald — the Entrepreneur's Therapist. Trained therapist, seasoned entrepreneur, mom of 3, && the person you call when your business coach doesn't get your brain && your therapist doesn't get your business. I built the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: whole-picture support that holds your strategy && your humanity in the same conversation at the same time.  LINKS: Work with me 1:1 → Deep CutsFast-track your results → The Green RoomSolve one thing right now → Studio SessionsBurnout-proof your life && business → MixtapeGet your free podcast playlists → The SoundcheckWeekly emails that tell you what your business coach won't && your therapist can't → Subscribe to The BeatWebsite: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

  7. Jul 7

    198. The Grief of Belonging: Friendship, Family & the Village That Never Showed Up with Emily Merrell

    Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories. … This episode is for anyone who has ever looked around and realized the people who were supposed to show up simply haven't. My guest, Emily Merrell, is a connector by nature, the founder of Second Degree Society, a business coach, and a two-time boy mom based in Denver, Colorado. She brought her whole, unfiltered heart to this conversation, and we both cried. We go deep into the grief of friendships that fall apart without explanation, the grandparent village that never materialized, and what it actually costs to need your mom and find that who she is now can't meet you there. TOPICS WE EXPLORE When your friends don't show up for your businessThe slow fade of a deep friendship and the loop that never closesBeing ghosted by people who you thought were your friendsHow ambition triggers the people closest to youThe grandparent grief nobody talks aboutAsking for help once and being let downGrieving your mom while she's still aliveBuilding a village when the one you expected never arrivedTHE POINT Sometimes the hardest grief isn't the loss of someone. It's the slow realization that the village you were counting on was never coming, and you have to build it yourself. ABOUT EMILY Emily Merrell is the founder of Second Degree Society, a networking community that takes the awkward out of connection by handpicking who you meet. She's also a business coach passionate about helping people grow, scale, and open the right doors. She's based in Denver, Colorado, and is a two-time boy mom who turns human connection into both a superpower and a business. Find her on Instagram @emilyamerrell and at seconddegreesociety.com. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Second Degree SocietyLet Them by Mel RobbinsWork with Ash Are you loving it? Send Ash a text! MORE ABOUT ASH I'm Ash McDonald — the Entrepreneur's Therapist. Trained therapist, seasoned entrepreneur, mom of 3, && the person you call when your business coach doesn't get your brain && your therapist doesn't get your business. I built the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: whole-picture support that holds your strategy && your humanity in the same conversation at the same time.  LINKS: Work with me 1:1 → Deep CutsFast-track your results → The Green RoomSolve one thing right now → Studio SessionsBurnout-proof your life && business → MixtapeGet your free podcast playlists → The SoundcheckWeekly emails that tell you what your business coach won't && your therapist can't → Subscribe to The BeatWebsite: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

  8. Jun 30

    197. The Grief of Reinvention: Divorce, Career Pivots & Becoming a New Version of Yourself with Delia Monk

    Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories. … This episode is for anyone who has ever walked away from something they built, a career, a marriage, an identity, and wondered what the hell comes next. My guest, Delia Monk, has done it more than once. She came to this conversation with the full story: leaving journalism, building a six-figure copywriting business she eventually had to grieve, navigating divorce as a single mom, and making one of the scariest leaps of her professional life. TOPICS WE EXPLORE Leaving the career you built your identity aroundWhen AI devalues your trade overnightThe $12,000 rebrand that didn't save itFear laced with excitement vs. fear laced with scarcityCutting the rope and going all inGrieving the life you thought you'd have after divorceGiving up half your child's childhoodThe scrappy list: 100 ways to make moneyWhat opens up when you finally let goTHE POINT Grief is the price of going all in. You can't grieve what you didn't love, and you can't become who you're meant to be without leaving someone behind. ABOUT DELIA Delia Monk helps people who are ready for their next chapter figure out what that actually looks like and how to talk about it. After years working in messaging and copywriting, she pivoted into transition and pivot coaching, helping women who feel unfulfilled or called toward something new discover what comes next and position it with clarity. She's British, based in Barcelona, and entirely worth finding. Find her on Instagram @delia.monk and at deliamonk.com. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE deliamonk.comThe Mixermind (networking community mentioned by Ash)Work with AshAre you loving it? Send Ash a text! MORE ABOUT ASH I'm Ash McDonald — the Entrepreneur's Therapist. Trained therapist, seasoned entrepreneur, mom of 3, && the person you call when your business coach doesn't get your brain && your therapist doesn't get your business. I built the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: whole-picture support that holds your strategy && your humanity in the same conversation at the same time.  LINKS: Work with me 1:1 → Deep CutsFast-track your results → The Green RoomSolve one thing right now → Studio SessionsBurnout-proof your life && business → MixtapeGet your free podcast playlists → The SoundcheckWeekly emails that tell you what your business coach won't && your therapist can't → Subscribe to The BeatWebsite: ashmcdonaldmentoring.com

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5
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60 Ratings

About

Shamelessly Ambitious is an honest, grounding, and vulnerable podcast for ambitious, emotionally intelligent women who are done proving themselves, tired of living in constant high-functioning burnout, and craving a life and business that actually feel good. Hosted by Ash McDonald—therapist, nervous-system-first business mentor, and speaker this show blends clinical expertise with lived experience to deliver nervous system tools, embodied strategies, and radical permission so you can expand your capacity, root into emotional steadiness, and build sustainable success that supports your whole life. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stretched too thin, caught in productivity guilt, or stuck running on stress, this podcast meets you where you are—with therapeutic insights, embodied practices, and heartfelt stories that create real shifts. Whether you’re navigating motherhood, entrepreneurship, or the messy middle of redefining success, each episode helps you slow down, regulate, and return to a felt sense of safety in your body. With over a decade of experience at the intersection of therapy and leadership, Ash pulls back the curtain on what really works—offering grounded guidance you can apply in real life. What you’ll hear: Honest conversations about burnout recovery, nervous system regulation, and redefining successSomatic tools, meditations, and practices that build inner safety and capacityStories of motherhood, mom-life, ambition, and the courage to create a life and business that feel rich and realIf you’re asking the following questions, you’re in the right place: How do I stop tying my worth to productivity?How do I know if I’m experiencing high-functioning burnout and what do I do about it?How do I balance motherhood and leadership without losing myself?How do I calm my body when I feel overwhelmed or overstimulated?This is the podcast for when you’re ready to reclaim peace, expand what you can hold, and create success that doesn’t cost you yourself. Tune in and take the next step toward a regulated, rooted, and deeply fulfilling life.

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