Lies My Ego Told Me

Lilo sits down with Aamina Siddiqui, a wealth manager who spent her life chasing financial security, only to discover that money was never the real source of safety. After enduring childhood instability, post-9/11 discrimination and her father’s repeated job losses, Aamina rose to the top of her industry. But even as she advised multi-millionaire clients on managing their wealth, her own relations...

Lilo sits down with trailblazing fighter pilot Sharon “Betty” Preszler, one of the first women to fly the F-16 after the 1993 combat exclusion law change. From ejecting out of an F-16 in a five-second life-or-death emergency, to working inside Cheyenne Mountain on 9/11 while six months pregnant, to navigating her young son’s leukemia diagnosis, Preszler shares the “lie” her ego told her for decade...

Lilo sits down with Dr. Anne Harrington, a leading nuclear policy scholar and trailblazer, to unpack the lie that perfectionism equals excellence. From global security systems that fail despite flawless execution to the intensely personal grief of infertility and motherhood, Anne shares how doing everything “right” still doesn’t guarantee the outcome we want. This conversation explores control, vu...

Season two of Lies My Ego Told Me takes off with aviation trailblazer Theresa “TC” Claiborne, the first Black woman to graduate from U.S. Air Force pilot training. She shares the lie that shaped her life: “I can carry the weight.” From being deliberately minimized at a historic milestone to proving herself again and again in the cockpit and beyond, Theresa opens up about invisibility, the quiet pr...

In the season finale of the now award-winning Lies My Ego Told Me, Lilo sits down with her longtime hero, Colonel (Ret.) Nicole “FiFi” Malachowski — the first woman to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. What begins as a story of breaking barriers in the F-15E Strike Eagle becomes a raw account of institutional betrayal, medical gaslighting, and the years Nicole spent fighting for an accurat...

Lilo sits down with performance coach and resiliency strategist Charlie Cannon to unpack the lie that shaped his life: that fragility and sensitivity are weakness. From a traumatic car accident that nearly killed his sister to the hidden wounds of elite boarding school and abuse, Charlie shares how survivor guilt, partying, and a “survival mask” kept him running from his pain—until he chose to tur...

Host Lilo talks with Kelly Poquiz-Burke—executive coach, CEO of Career Slay, and former brand marketing executive for Doritos, Chick-fil-A, and Avocados From Mexico—about the lie her ego clung to for decades:  “Quitting is failing.”  From a breast cancer diagnosis while pregnant to stress hives, brain scans, and a three-year-old’s pleas—“Don’t leave us”—Kelly shares how she walked away from the co...

Innovation strategist Ellen Di Resta exposes a common career myth: “If I do good work, it will be recognized.” In this episode, host Cathyrine “Lilo” Armandie explores how metrics, measurement, and management culture often overlook the invisible value that drives real innovation. In this episode: Who is Ellen Di Resta? Ellen Di Resta is an innovation and entrepreneurship strategist with a backgrou...

From an Afghan refugee camp to the skies above every continent, Shaesta Waiz shattered barriers as the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft. But before she could take flight, she had to confront the lie that she didn’t deserve to dream big. In this powerful conversation, Lilo interviews Shaesta about breaking free from cultural constraints, the courage to redefin...

Futurist and leadership expert Dr. Graham Norris joins host Lilo Armandie explore how to make better decisions under uncertainty. Learn practical ways to overcome perfectionism, overachievement, and feeling overwhelmed. Drawing on research, global experience, and his own pivots, Graham shows how imagination (not prediction) helps us navigate uncertainty, make better decisions, and design futures t...

Space Force Guardian and rocket scientist Col. Bree Fram joins Lilo for a candid conversation about service, leadership, and the myth of meritocracy. Bree traces a 23-year career of deployments, command, and showing up authentically—then reckons with an executive policy shift that branded loyal service members as “problems,” sidelining talent in the name of politics. Together they unpack instituti...

What if the very things you thought would hold you back were actually your greatest strengths? In this episode, linguist-turned-CEO Kathleen Perley shares how living with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD once convinced her she could never succeed. Instead, those differences became her superpower — fueling a multimillion-dollar business, a career in AI strategy, and a passion for redefining what inte...

Ashley Peebles spent years quietly believing she wasn’t good enough — that her background, education, and skills didn’t measure up. In this candid conversation, she shares with Lilo how that lie shaped her choices, from passing on opportunities to undervaluing her own achievements. Ashley takes us through the turning points that rewired her self-worth, from life as a military spouse to building a...

Leonard Murphy seemed to have it all—prestige, ambition, and success in the banking world. But behind the polished exterior was a man silently unraveling under the weight of addiction, generational trauma, and unresolved pain. In this raw and powerful conversation, Leonard shares how childhood wounds, ego, and ambition fueled his descent—and how losing everything became the gateway to reclaiming h...

Lilo reconnects with longtime friend Justin Leone—musician, award-winning sommelier, author, and entrepreneur—to explore the painful cost of tying self-worth to performance. From a childhood shaped by control and conditional love to a career defined by reinvention, Justin shares how early trauma impacted his adult relationships, his ego, and his ability to trust. With honesty and humor, he opens u...

Lilo sits down with retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and mental health advocate Angelina “Strike” Stephens. Ange shares her powerful journey through depression, suicidal ideation, and postpartum struggle—unraveling the lie she once believed: I have to do it alone. From her raw essay Run Toward the Fire to her quiet unraveling behind the scenes of a decorated military career, Ange speaks candid...

Lilo welcomes Dr. Kate Bieri, a trauma specialist, clinical psychologist, and fellow fighter pilot wife, to explore the high cost of unchecked ambition and the hidden toll of toxic overachievement. Kate shares her deeply personal journey of navigating identity, career, and motherhood, reflecting on the lie that you can have it all — and the realization that balance and self-value are more importan...

Lilo reconnects with her friend and former Air Force comrade, John "Rain" Waters, a fighter pilot turned podcast host. Rain shares the personal lie that propelled him through his storied aviation career—“I’m invincible”—and the humbling lessons he learned along the way. From his experiences in the high-stakes world of military aviation to his journey through personal loss and resilience, Rain open...

Lilo sits down with JoAnne “Jo” Bass, the first woman to serve as Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, to talk about the lie that nearly derailed her career: I’m not good enough. Jo shares her journey from self-doubt to self-acceptance, breaking barriers as a woman, a mother, and a leader in a male-dominated world. Together, Lilo and Jo unpack the pressures of perfectionism, the importance of p...

In this first episode of Lies My Ego Told Me, Cathyrine “Lilo” Armandie exposes the biggest lie she believed: that she could “have it all.” As a combat veteran, mother, and recovering high achiever, she shares her unfiltered story of ambition, burnout, and the moment she realized her ego was calling the shots. With sharp wit and hard-won wisdom, Lilo invites you to confront your own ego and embrac...

Lies My Ego Told Me is a bold and deeply human podcast hosted by Cathyrine “Lilo” Armandie—a military veteran, leader, and mother who knows firsthand how the ego can be both a fierce protector and a persistent saboteur. In each episode, Lilo sits down with guests from all walks of life to explore the pivotal moments when ego-driven stories began to unravel—and the deeper truths that emerged in the...