Bonfire

There are times when your job is about helping someone else look good, get the credit or shine in the spotlight. When that’s your role, do you embrace it, or does your ego fight it? Rachel and Suzanne talk about how to make “being Number 2” a position of power, and as always, share stories of their cringe-worthy mistakes. As they say in the theatre-- there are no small parts, only small podcasters...

With thanks to Tina Fey for introducing all of us to “sheetcaking” as an emotional release in turbulent times, we bring you this podcast episode on the topic of reducing your stress in ways that actually work. Whether it’s your boss, your clients, or and the crazy “back to school” insanity, we all need better ways to not only relieve stress in the moment, but reduce it entirely. As always, Rachel...

Jennifer Romolini, chief content officer for Shondaland.com, is a self-proclaimed misfit. Even while killing it in her career she has never felt that she looked or acted like she was supposed to, and just couldn’t shake the awkwardness and anxiety that has always been a part of her. So she wrote a book about it called, “Weird in a World That's Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups, and Failures...

She walked into the conference room and within seconds she was smiling and chatting easily with the others. There’s an ease, a magnetism, an instant desire to be in her presence. How DOES she do that? You might want to say-- well she just has a charismatic personality. And while that may be true, she is likely putting a few techniques into play. In this episode, Rachel and Suzanne break it down an...

Does this sound familiar: “I worked all day but got nothing done.” It’s the worst feeling ever. Right? Our guess is that you did everything BUT the work you needed to get done. This isn’t procrastination-- which is when you knowingly clean the house instead of writing that report. This is Work Avoidance. It’s sneakier. Rachel and Suzanne have identified 3 work avoidance time sucks to help you avoi...

You’re focused on the one negative comment your boss made about a piece of work you just turned in. You keep getting in the same fight with your kids (or your spouse/partner) day after day. You wonder if you are even on the right career track. It can be exhausting. So on this podcast, Rachel and Suzanne pose a different set of questions. Instead of asking if you are good at what you do, or if you...

“What should I wear?” is one of those questions that has a lot beneath the surface. What it reveals is the anxiety we have when we’re headed into a new situation. The real bubble over our head is: “I’m not sure I’ll be comfortable walking into that room. Who is going to be there? What will I say? And who am I supposed to BE?” Okay, maybe that’s just Suzanne’s internal dialogue, but we are all fami...

We’re back! We took our vacation hypothesis on the road and put our 4 specific theories to the test so that we could tell you what we learned. (It was a tough assignment, but for you dear listeners, we made the sacrifice.) Our goal was to create a vacation experience that could result in something truly shifting inside you so profoundly, that it goes home with you and is better for you than that s...

Rachel and Suzanne have packed their Louis Vuitton bags and are going on vacation. Together. For the first time ever. Here’s the problem-- they’ve never been very good at taking a break from work so being together certainly won’t help matters. The good news for you is that this event has led them to radically rethink the purpose of a vacation from work, and they have some insights to share. Rumor...

This is between us. I shouldn’t be telling you this. Don’t tell anyone I told you, not even your dog…We’ve been there-- more than we want to admit. Why do we do this? What do we think we will gain? As it turns out, not much. In fact, there’s a lot to lose. Michelle Smith from Source Financial joins us for an honest conversation about what sharing a secret will cost you. This is behavior that can c...

Last year photographer Kate Parker was on our show to talk about her amazing “Strong is the New Pretty” photo campaign. Her breathtaking new book has recently been published and it is EVERYWHERE. To date, this episode with Kate has been our most popular, for good reason-- she has helped to change the way women see themselves, and most importantly, teaching girls that they are to be celebrated for...

We all want to be liked. But when we work too hard at it, we pay a price-- at work, in our personal relationships, and even at places like the doctor’s office. Ever used this phrase when you didn’t really mean it: “No problem.” Yup. Us too. To the rescue: our resident financial therapist, Michelle Smith of Source Financial. She doesn’t care if we like her as long as we listen to her. Hosted on Aca...

The weekend is coming up. Here’s a pop quiz: Do you see the weekend as: a. Time to do the things I enjoy b. No different from the rest of the week c. An endless to-do list d. An abyss of resentment On this podcast we explore what your attitude about the weekend says about you. Listen to the end for some real to do’s that can make a difference for you, and to hear Suzanne and Rachel’s “Bad Habit Sh...

Ever pay extra cash to avoid a hassle or make something you dread more bearable? On this podcast, we explore the habit of “Dread Financing”-- spending money to make an upcoming situation a little less dreadful. As Rachel and Suzanne discover, with the help of Michelle Smith from Source Financial, this behavior is costing you more than you might think. Let’s fix that. Ready? Calculators should be a...

Ikram Goldman is one of the most influential figures in the world of fashion and owner of the Chicago boutique, Ikram. She recently added “vocalist and performer” to her title after the band, Pink Martini, asked her to sing “Girl from Shallabiya” with them at concert halls around the globe (and on their recent album). In this podcast she shares that soul awakening experience, and the secret to bei...

Most of us have a junk drawer in our home. Keys, batteries, old chargers, loose change...and, what else? It turns out that junk drawers are shockingly revealing. Join us as Michelle Smith, our resident financial therapist, analyzes what Rachel and Suzanne found in theirs, and learn what your junk drawer might be telling you about your “stuff.” You might just find something that you never knew was...

It’s easy to reject the doomsday scenarios of the impact of technology on our concentration. After all, even as I’m typing this on my computer, I’m also checking Instagram and responding to a text. Yeah. So what? Well, we’ll tell you what. The way we behave around our technology, at work and at home, is giving away something that’s hard to get back. And oh, do we have stories to share. Hosted on A...

Who pays for dinner on a date? Answer this: are you a millennial? Do you earn a salary? Do you want to see sexism live forever? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Or should we ask, what are you afraid of? Oh, yes, we’re going there... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Excuse me. I have a question. Can someone set up a soapbox for me?” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Work for free? We say uh-uh. No. Unless it’s your dad who’s not paying you. Then you’ve got a problem. Right, Suzanne? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A cringe-worry confession from Suzanne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It will take a while before we will be able to shake off the bad feelings and anger that surrounded us on all sides of this election. While revenge fantasies are often the first thing that comes to mind (or at least, came to ours), in the end, those thoughts just make you feel worse and less in control of the world around you. So we set out to find someone who has a very different take on what to...

Getting emotional at the office is typically a big no-no. Expressing anger can be particularly nasty. But is it really healthy to keep it all in? (Black Mirror Season 3 watchers will know the answer to that.) Maybe Trump really is right (yes, that’s not a typo) and what happens at work IS, in fact, only business? Cue Anne Kreamer, one of the founders of Spy Magazine, a Fast Company columnist, and...

Does arriving at your desk in the morning, flipping open your laptop, or hearing the ping of your phone feel like the beginning of a Stephen King movie? Feeling scared and anxious at work is all too common. We break it down and talk to an expert coach from the The Muse to help us understand and face our demons. Make some popcorn and get comfortable. Here we go. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...