Open Doors Podcast

If 2025 felt like a year of letting go—relationships, jobs, identities, roles you used to play—you weren't imagining it. According to the Chinese zodiac, last year was the Year of the Wood Snake. And snakes? They shed. But here's the thing: shedding isn't loud. It's quiet, internal, and it happens on your timeline, not anyone else's. Maybe you let go of being the person who solves everyone's probl...

Everyone sees the beginning—the excitement, the launch, the "I'm doing this new thing!" post. And everyone sees the end—the exit, the success story, the "look what I built" moment. But nobody talks about the middle. The part where you're grinding every single day with no recognition, no pat on the back, and your bank account giving you constructive feedback that honestly feels pretty rude. Here's...

If you've been telling yourself you "should" meditate but can't find the time, or you've tried it once and felt like you were doing it wrong—this one's for you. Here's the thing: mindfulness isn't about adding another task to your to-do list. It's not about sitting in silence for an hour while your brain screams at you about everything you should be doing instead. We break down what mindfulness ac...

Okay. If you've been lying awake at night wondering if your job is safe, if your skills still matter, if you're going to be okay, you're not alone. While everyone's spiraling about the WALL-E future where we're all just riding around on conveyor belts, there's actually something else happening here. Something kind of exciting if you can get past the fear for a second. We break down what's really g...

What if you could go back and tell your younger self the one thing that would've changed everything? Here's what nobody tells you: that feeling you have right now—good or bad—it's not permanent. The people in your life? Some are here for a reason, some for a season, and some for a lifetime. And that "perfect path" you think everyone else is on? It doesn't exist. We break down the permanence illusi...

Here's what nobody tells you: your purpose isn't hiding in a job title, a career path, or some grand revelation you're waiting to stumble upon. We break down why the question "what should I be doing with my life?" is actually the wrong question. The real work? Transformation. Growth. Learning to feel your actual feelings (not what you think you should feel). We walk you through making the list—the...

Scroll through LinkedIn right now. Count how many people have posted about career changes in the last three months alone. Lost jobs. New jobs. "Exciting pivots." It's a lot. But here's the thing—life is full of all types of pivots. The ones you choose and the ones that choose you. We talk about how to actually move through unexpected change, why the only way out is straight through, and what to do...

What's the worst thing that's happened from asking for help? Probably nothing. So why does it feel so terrifying? Here's what nobody tells you: there are three tiers of asking for help. Get the level wrong and things can get uncomfortable fast. Your inner circle, close friends, professional contacts—the rules change at each level. We get into why we've lost the built-in communities we used to rely...

We're back! And we're talking about something that's been eating at both of us: why does promoting yourself online feel so uncomfortable? Like you're bragging or being too much? We get into the weeds on naming what actually scares you, why everything you want really does live on the other side of cringe, and the difference between building a brand and just... being a person who's growing. If you'v...

In this episode, Lauren Douglass and Shannon Pruitt sit down with powerhouse communicator and author Maha Abouelenein to unpack one of the most transformational mindset shifts we can make: self-reliance. Maha shares the inspiration behind her book, The Seven Rules of Self-Reliance, and how these principles can help anyone stop waiting for permission and start building the life they want. From buil...

In this reflective episode, Lauren Douglass and Shannon Pruitt explore the concept of bucket lists, not just as a checklist of "must-dos" before we die, but as a lens to reimagine how we live with intention. From rethinking what truly matters in a world that rarely slows down to asking hard questions about dreams, creativity, time, and purpose, this conversation goes far beyond travel goals and sk...

In a world that’s always on, always demanding more, so many of us are quietly overwhelmed, trying to keep it together while feeling like we’re falling apart. This episode of Open Doors is all about keeping calm and carrying on and choosing yourself with honesty, humor, and heart. Lauren Douglass and Shannon Pruitt unpack how to find moments of peace amongst all of our daily stresses, and what it r...

What if the secret to happiness is just a conversation with your future self? We’re getting deep—and maybe a little teary—this week as we talk about happiness and what it really means. Inspired by a thought-provoking article, Lauren Douglass and Shannon Pruitt dive into the idea of picturing our future selves and asking: what would they tell us today? From big life choices (do I want kids? What’s...

🚪 Welcome to Open Doors! 🚪 A fresh, real, and thought-provoking podcast hosted by Lauren Douglass and Shannon Pruitt—two friends who’ve spent years having deep (and sometimes hilariously unfiltered) conversations about life, careers, success, failures, and everything in between. This podcast is all about those moments when one door closes, another opens—and the messy, magical space in between. I...

How do you know when it's time to pivot? What happens when the life or career you built no longer fits? And how do you move forward when everything feels uncertain? In the second episode of Open Doors, Lauren Douglass and Shannon Pruitt dive into the messy, exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying process of reimagining yourself. From career upheavals to personal transformations, they explore the un...

Women are leaving the workforce—or at least stepping back—and we need to talk about why. In this episode, we’re diving into the big workplace study from McKinsey and Lean In, and let’s just say…the numbers aren’t great. A third of women are saying peace out to full-time work, promotions are still playing favorites (spoiler: not with women), and the whole “work-life balance” thing? Yeah, still a me...