The Unstuck Career

Send us Fan Mail This week, I explore a question that can quietly change everything: What if I’m wrong about my limits? I start with a surprising thought about sleep, then follow it into the assumptions I make about my personality, my capabilities, and what I believe I’m allowed to pursue. I’ll challenge the idea that “I’m just not that kind of person” has to define what comes next. What if gettin...

Send us Fan Mail In this Friday Focus episode, I explore the gap between who you are today and the version of you who has the job, freedom, autonomy, or happiness you want. The changes required may be smaller than expected, from shutting off screens at night to stopping after a set number of Reddit stories, but following through builds something essential: trust in yourself. I also share why waiti...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we unpack what it really costs to stay in a toxic workplace with Kasey James, who found herself in two back-to-back environments that eroded her confidence, relationships, and sense of self. How do you know when a bad job is temporary, and when the organization is simply operating exactly as it always has? Kasey shares the warning signs, the moment she knew she had to l...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I’m tackling the limiting beliefs that shut down your biggest goals before you even give them a chance. Have you ever thought, “I’d love to do that, but it’s not possible”? We’ll look at how quickly we talk ourselves out of what we want, whether that means opening a business, pursuing additional training, or stepping onto a TEDx stage again. I’ll show you why you don’t...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I sit down with Hannah Carvey to talk about the moment a career can start shrinking you instead of helping you grow. After more than two decades as a speech-language pathologist, Hannah realized her work had become less about helping people connect and more about paperwork, tracking minutes, and following someone else’s rules. Her decision to leave wasn’t sudden, but it...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we tackle the moment when you realize you’ve handed your career decisions to someone else. Maybe it’s your boss, your family, your friends, fear, or even the job market. I break down why “not to decide” doesn’t mean you made a decision. It means something else made it for you. You’ll learn how to tell the difference between using advice and surrendering your authority....

Send us Fan Mail This week, I talk with Deval, who is still in the middle of a career pivot from work that no longer fits toward a life built around service, mindfulness, and coaching. We explore what it feels like to move forward without a perfect plan, especially when comfort and certainty make staying put seem safer than taking the next step. You’ll hear how one clarity conversation helped Deva...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I unpack what it means to drift through your career, taking whatever opportunity appears after the last one disappears. I share how I moved from sales to a call center, insurance, human resources, and FedEx, often responding to circumstances instead of choosing a direction. The cost of that drifting eventually showed up in my health, family life, and social life. You’ll...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I talk with Patrick about walking away from the corporate ladder after reaching the kind of title and income many people spend their careers chasing. He shares how corporate politics, constant travel, and a job that demanded he leave the day his daughter was born forced him to question what success was costing him. His answer came with a massive pay cut, a lower title,...

Send us Fan Mail Chapter 3: The Rationalizer The conversation focused on the voice that sounds reasonable while quietly keeping you stuck. In Chapter 3, “The Rationalizer,” the central belief is “I’m just being realistic,” but the stories created by the rationalizer may be believable without being true. A cliff jump into a lake becomes a lesson in how excuses can grow larger than the fear behind t...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I sit down with Lori, who has spent more than two decades in SBA lending and has reached a point where the Sunday evening dread, 10 to 14-hour workdays, and constant exhaustion have made staying stuck impossible. She’s ready to trade the W-2 and alarm clock for work that gives her room to serve people, pursue her faith, and be present with her four grandchildren. We tal...

Send us Fan Mail Ch2: Fear Makes Predictions, Not Promises Fear can feel like evidence, especially when the future is uncertain. This episode explores how fear, doubt, and anxiety can distort decisions, from asking for the life you want to trusting your instincts in the cockpit. One concept discussed was the difference between feelings and reliable information. In flight training, instruments reve...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I talk with Aryana about leaving a full-time job that promised stability but delivered 166-hour workweeks, burnout, and benefits she couldn’t afford. After grad school, she returned to freelancing in costume and contour design, creating everything from wedding gowns and corsets to dancewear, sportswear, and wearable technology. We unpack what it takes to build a busines...

Send us Fan Mail  This week, I explore the limits we accept without ever testing them. A dentist’s recurring problem, a numbed mouth, and a surprising product that may reverse Novocaine’s effects reveal how often we simply put up with frustrations because we don’t know an alternative exists. I’ll take you from a moving truck on the highways of Wyoming to Harry Houdini’s supposedly locked jail cell...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I sit down with Susan, who found me on TikTok and bravely reached out in the midst of her own messy "what’s next" journey. After a pivotal four-year reboot—relocating solo, embracing huge physical changes, and diving deep into self-discovery—Susan is now staring down her last big pivot: finding work that actually feels good. Together, we get real about the exh...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I’m asking a question that exposed more than a coolant leak: What am I tolerating simply because I’ve forgotten that I have options? I share how I ignored a problem with my car for months, only to discover that a five-minute test and a small repair could fix it. The same thing happened with electrical problems I had tolerated for years, because I was afraid to find out...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we're taking you behind the scenes with Lucy, whose path from family-run businesses to independent hospitality entrepreneur will leave you rethinking everything you thought you knew about “safe” career choices. Lucy shares how leaving a so-called stable job led her to building a life and business filled with passion and flexibility, despite setbacks and the constan...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I sit down with Dan for a whirlwind journey through the ups and downs of an unconventional career path shaped by resilience and adaptability. From small-town roots in rural Oregon to living in five states and two Caribbean countries, Dan shares what it’s really like to reinvent yourself again and again in the face of layoffs, industry changes, and personal challenges. Y...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Unstuck Career Podcast. In this episode, Ken Williams explores a question most of us have never truly considered: who is really making the decisions about your career and your life? We assume that we’re in control, but as Ken Williams points out, too often we delegate that authority to our jobs, our bosses, societal expectations, or even an unwashed bathroom. Throug...

Send us Fan Mail Every decision adds a new line to your life story, but who’s really holding the pen? In this episode, I lay bare the real reasons so many of us stay stuck in our careers and lives. We dig past the surface—fear of failure, fear of the unknown, imposter syndrome—and reveal the hidden force that keeps us spinning in place: authority. I share eye-opening stories, including the moment...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I sit down with Sharyn Abbott, an unstoppable force in helping people break free from soul-crushing jobs and discover fulfilling work that truly fits who they are. We dig into why so many people feel trapped in jobs they hate and how you can reignite possibility in your career, even if you think you don’t have the resources or options. Sharyn shares the surprising power...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we dig into the overwhelm of decision-making in a world packed with endless information and opinions. Have you ever found yourself paralyzed by choices, unsure if you’re picking the right path or just following what others expect? I share a late-night conversation with my 19-year-old son, as he wrestles with whether to pursue art, psychology, or sign language, all while...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I sit down with Andrea, a master of joy and transformation who turned life’s setbacks into a thriving singing telegram business. Ever wondered what it takes to move from playing small to leaving a lasting impact? Andrea shares how a major life change led her to follow her creative spark, start “Singagram” in the heart of the pandemic, and bring unforgettable celebration...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we're tackling a question that’s been haunting so many of us: Is fear really about not knowing something, or is it about not truly knowing yourself? If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “Something’s got to change—I can’t keep doing this,” you’re in the right place. I open up about my own journey dealing with fear, from stumbling through podcast recordings with...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Unstuck Career, I sit down with Maria, aka “the Spicy Chef,” for a raw, honest conversation about what it really takes to leap out of a toxic work environment and into the unknown. Maria shares her journey from feeling trapped as an executive chef—even when she was “winning” by all traditional measures—to boldly starting her own hot sauce business and food consulting...