The School of Moxie Podcast

Welcome to the final season of School of Moxie. This season's theme: my business pays for my life — not someday, not kind of, actually. Every guest answers the same discussion guide, so to kick things off, host Mary Williams turns the questions on herself. In this episode, Mary covers: Her comfort movie, Spy (Melissa McCarthy), and what it reveals about community and not doing it alone The si...

Jessica Lackey is a business consultant and author who spent roughly four years running two businesses simultaneously: fractional COO client work funding the audience, book, and membership she was building on the side. Her comfort show, Younger , sets up a conversation about invention, ingenuity, and getting knocked down repeatedly without quitting. In this episode: How Jessica funded four years o...

This episode's guest, Arianna Smith, is a licensed professional counselor turned copywriter, messaging strategist, and tarot reader. We used her comfort show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine , as the doorway into a conversation about why business success is never a solo act. In this episode: Why Ari reframes her niche as "the puzzle I never get tired of solving" The two-moment timeline of realiz...

Ashlan Glazier-Anderson runs a marketing agency and co-hosts the Take the Leap podcast. Her comfort watch — the entire Jurassic Park/Jurassic World universe — sets up a conversation about avoiding the same mistakes on repeat and building systems that actually scale. In this episode: Why Ashlan directly asks prospects and clients for the work she wants, instead of waiting Her milestone timeline: fr...

Eunice Brownlee is a narrative strategist who's spent years running her business full-time and location-independent, all while solo-parenting her daughter. Her comfort movie, The Holiday , sets up a conversation about daring to imagine — and build — a wildly different life. In this episode: Why Eunice pushes back on the advice that "Plan B" work distracts from your real goals What i...

Rachel Allen is a brand strategist and copywriter whose comfort show, Supernatural , becomes the framework for a conversation about narrative control, creative risk, and why conditional commitment quietly wrecks businesses. In this episode: Rachel's exact, repeatable process the moment her revenue drops (she's been through it more than once) What health insurance costs for two self-emplo...

Jeanne Grabowski coaches high-achieving, high-net-worth entrepreneurs and splits her time in Costa Rica. Her comfort show, Oprah , opens up a conversation about sitting comfortably in uncertainty and meeting people (and yourself) exactly where they are. In this episode: Why Jeanne canceled a $400/month NYC office to hire a $600/month business coach — and how that reallocation changed everything Th...

Cris Caruso is a fee-only financial advisor who left a big national firm to build an independent practice serving LGBTQ+ people, women breadwinners, and Gen X clients. Her comfort shows — Alias , Wednesday , and 10 Things I Hate About You — set up a conversation about identity, not fitting the mold, and building a business anyway. In this episode: Why Cris documents every business relationship, ev...

Rebecca Graves Prowse is a potter and the founder of Gravesco, the studio behind the viral "Not today, fascist" mug. Her comfort show, Peaky Blinders , mirrors her business philosophy: gritty, adaptive, willing to pivot the second something isn't working. In this episode: Why Rebecca built a 14-person team, hated it, and scaled back on purpose Surviving a 47% revenue drop last year...

Veronica Yanhs closes Season 3 of School of Moxie — and she's also the first talent Mary has ever signed at Sasquatch Media Grounds, making this episode a full-circle moment for the show itself. Using Ted Lasso , Hacks , and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as a syllabus, Veronica and Mary unpack what it took to rebuild a business and an identity after a controlling long-term relationship ended. Thi...

Season 3 of the School of Moxie Podcast is officially on the way. If you’re new here, School of Moxie is the podcast where we use TV shows and movies to talk about business. Not the fluffy “compare leadership styles” kind of conversations… the real ones. The decisions, pressure, and identity shifts that come with building something that has to survive in the real world. Season 1 walked through the...

This episode is for the people who stuck around. The ones who know that real creativity doesn’t run on launch calendars. It runs on healing . In this bonus episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what really happened between Season 1 and Season 2—everything from storm damage, caregiving, grief, and chronic health recovery to the soul-stretching journey of building Moxie Studios in Vancouver. I ta...

Episode 10: “The Long Game Is the Only Game” This episode is a sermon. A love letter. A late-night call to every entrepreneur who’s tired of shortcut culture and ready to lead with integrity. We’re closing out Season 2 with a deep dive into long-game leadership. From Trent Crimm’s legacy journalism to Coach Beard staying in England, to the spark of Rebecca’s women’s franchise—we’re talking about t...

Episode 9: “Your Brand Can’t Hold Your Baggage” There’s a difference between telling your story with intention—and bleeding all over your audience for engagement. In Episode 9, we unpack the misuse of vulnerability in online entrepreneurship and why your healing deserves more than a Canva carousel. With help from Ted Lasso characters like Jamie Tartt, Rebecca, and Dr. Sharon Fieldstone, we explore...

Rest doesn’t always look like slowing down. Sometimes it looks like dancing all night, playing weird games, or skipping town with your dominatrix girlfriend. In this episode, we explore rest on your own terms through the lens of Coach Beard in Ted Lasso . Beard doesn’t try to be anyone else. He knows what recharges him—and he doesn’t apologize for it. I’m breaking down why so many entrepreneurs bu...

Welcome to the episode where we separate useful reflection from noise. In Ted Lasso , the fans at the pub act like a character unto themselves—cheering, jeering, and always watching. And just like in business, not all of that input is helpful. This week we’re looking at the Richmond fanbase as a metaphor for your online audience: the pressure to please, the vulnerability of being seen, and the dee...

Episode 6: “Fire Rupert. Build Diamond Dogs.” This episode is a love letter to chosen family, emotional support systems, and the kind of business friendships that don’t just cheer you on... they hold you down. We’re talking about the difference between Rupert energy and Diamond Dogs energy, because if you’ve ever been burned by a collaborator, ghosted in your hardest moments, or told that “busines...

Episode 5: “It’s Easy to Buy the Mic” In this episode, we’re digging into the real question behind visibility: ➡️ Are people paying attention to you because you’re aligned… or just because you’re loud ? We’re using Ted Lasso to unpack performative branding, manufactured backstories, and the pressure to always be “on.” And we’re coming back to what matters: who you are when no one’s watching. From...

Episode 4: “Girlbossing Too Close to the Sun” This one’s for the entrepreneurs who woke up one day and realized:   Oh shit—I’ve been sold a sparkly lie. In Episode 4, we’re dissecting the aesthetic trap of boss babe culture and how it packages power without offering any real substance. Through the lens of Ted Lasso , we explore what real empowerment looks like—starting with the relationship betwee...

Episode 3: “Your Brand Can’t Hold Your Baggage” Being honest about your story is powerful. But turning your trauma into a marketing plan? That’s something else entirely. In this episode, we talk about the difference between integrated vulnerability and unprocessed oversharing—and how Ted Lasso gives us the perfect metaphor through characters like Jamie, Ted, and Dr. Sharon Fieldstone. We’ll also e...

Episode 2: “The Metrics Aren’t the Message”   Ted Lasso is a Business Story: When Visibility Outpaces Readiness In a world where algorithms dictate value and going viral is mistaken for success, we need to talk about what happens when your brand grows faster than your ability to hold it. In this episode, I unpack what it really means when visibility outpaces readiness—through the lens of Ted Lasso...

Episode 1: “The Game Is Bigger Than You” We’re kicking off Season 2 with a truth bomb: if your brand becomes more about you than the people you serve, you’ve lost the plot. Inspired by Nate’s arc in Ted Lasso , this episode takes a hard look at ego-driven leadership, performative personal brands, and the cult of personality that’s eating entrepreneurship alive. We’ll talk about how legacy leaders...

There’s a moment in Ted Lasso where Roy Kent realizes he’s not the player he used to be… and instead of staying stuck in nostalgia, he levels up. That’s not just character growth—it’s a damn masterclass in business evolution. Welcome to Season 2 of The School of Moxie Podcast , where we’re flipping the playbook and calling out real talk in entrepreneurship using the one show that broke our hearts...

Hey School of Moxie fam! I've got a season intermission episode for you with updates on where we're at with season 2, featuring Ted Lasso as the TV binge-a-thon with a ton of leadership lessons.  I'm also sharing a podcast episode swap with my friends Ashlan and Victoria at Take the Leap .  For all of you who ask me lots of questions about how I built a business weaving my intuitive...

In the season finale of the School of Moxie Podcast, host Mary Williams reflects on the journey of Season 1, centered around the video game adaptation, "The Last of Us." She shares insights from the official podcast of the show, where creators originally aimed for ten episodes but discovered a more compelling narrative by merging the first two episodes into one. This parallels the concep...