Ashley McDonald, Therapist & Nervous System First Business Mentor

Shamelessly Ambitious I Helping Ambitious Women Prevent Burnout + Create Nervous System First Success in Business, Motherhood, & Life

Business EN ↓ 201 episodes

Shamelessly Ambitious is an honest, grounding, and vulnerable podcast for ambitious, emotionally intelligent women who are done proving themselves, tired of living in constant high-functioning burnout, and craving a life and business that actually feel good. Hosted by Ash McDonald—therapist, nervous-system-first business mentor, and speaker this show blends clinical expertise with lived experience to deliver nervous system tools, embodied strategies, and radical permission so you can expand your capacity, root into emotional steadiness, and build sustainable success that supports your whole li...

Author

Ashley McDonald, Therapist & Nervous System First Business Mentor

Category

Business

Latest episode

Jul 7, 2026

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Episodes

Welcome to Shamelessly Ambitious with Ash McDonald 24.10.2025

A real, unfiltered look behind the scenes of what it takes to build a life and business that actually feel good. Shamelessly Ambitious is where ambition meets regulation. Honest conversations, nervous system truths, and the messy, beautiful reality of being a woman who holds it all: the family, the business, the vision. Sometimes it’s deep, sometimes it’s messy, but it’s always real. Rooting for y...

148. The Final Episode In My Beyond Profit Era 20.08.2024

Welcome to the final episode... at least for a little while. Tune in to hear the journey that led me to this choice, including the challenges of balancing work and life, and the realization that sometimes, even the things we love need to take a backseat. 🎙️🚗 Exciting — I’ve recently reclaimed full control over my content and emails which has felt really good. I've been opening up space and p...

147. The Perfect Business Plan Doesn’t Exist 13.08.2024

I am doing things a littttttle bit differently this week, but I’m super excited about it! ➡️ I’m bringing you the BTS, original audio clip from the exclusive ATS Musings chat. I thought about rerecording it but as I listened back, I thought, “this is where the real magic is.” 🪄🌈 Here is my backstage pass to a recent conversation I had with a client, how I coached her through, and why it’s so imp...

146. I Am Safe Enough To Go Slow 06.08.2024

Coming to you for another Musings style episode from the comfort of my bed on day one of my bleed as I watch the Washington rain outside and dream about ordering some hot Pho. 🌧️🍜🩸🛌 This is the first time it's rained since we've been here and I'm obsessed. I can't stop opening the window to smell the fresh rain. As always, this episode is a catch up of where I've been,...

145. Reparenting My Inner Child & Creating Moments To Heal The Younger Me 30.07.2024

I'm taking my healing journey to a whole new level. This summer has been dedicated to healing childhood wounds, creating moments to comfort little Ashley, and reparent myself for the years I was forced into "leaping" when I wasn't ready due to my trauma. ❤️‍🩹🥹 THE JUICY HIGHLIGHTS: • Finally uncovering the piece of hurt from my childhood • What creating experiential healing p...

144. Backyard Reflections: Somewhere In Washington Becoming Her & Reassessing My Boundaries 23.07.2024

I'm so excited to be coming to you from my serene backyard in the woods of Issaquah, Washington.  Hear the tea BTS of Her Reinvention , what my daily thought pattern work is, and my challenges & adjustments of maintaining boundaries. &&& the freaking Above the Standard Collective is OPEN! I could cry. It feels like such a long time coming. 🥹 GTG, I think I just saw another be...

143. A Life & Business Above the Standard 16.07.2024

If you tuned in to episode 141, I shared a very personal & vulnerable story about a time I didn’t belong. A huge reason why I felt compelled to share that was because of the sense of belonging that comes with my new membership, the Above The Standard Collective. Another urge you get inside the membership is to stop simply showing up for life & settling to instead start living intentionally...

142. Sharing My Reinvention & The Thing I Fucked Up In My Business 09.07.2024

This week's musings is brought to you riverside. I wish you could see & smell how fresh it is here. We are currently in Livingston, MT which is just outside of Bozeman. I am walking through the city alongside the Yellowstone River. 🗻 We're actually leaving today so I don't feel like I can fully check Montana off the list as we only stayed for two days, but we're off again...

141. A Time I Didn't Belong 02.07.2024

Drum roll pleasseee 🥁 The updated membership is here and it is simply amazing. The Above The Standard Collective. ✨🥹🖤 Although I can't give away too much, I can tease that the membership was largely impacted by the idea of healing & belonging. Inside the membership are monthly healing intensives and within these intensives are prompts followed by my teachings of why that matters. The...

140. Experimenting with a New Schedule: My Top 3 Foolproof Tips for Time & Energy Management 25.06.2024

I can’t lie, this first month of nomadic living has been a massive transition. The way we chose to do things in terms of work & children this time is much different than when we previously lived as nomads. My husband is keeping his full-time job which falls during regular work hours — this means my schedule is undergoing great change. We’re currently in our “trial period” of this new schedule...

139. How I Shift My Perspective For A Rich & Present Life 18.06.2024

Life is all about perspective && that’s exactly what we’re diving into today. If  you would’ve asked me a few years ago if it would be possible to pack up our three children and hit the road to do what we are most passionate about — exploring, adventuring, and traveling — I would have said you were crazy because that would simply be impossible.  Fast forward, my son asked me what I could d...

138. The Balancing Act: Work, Kids, & The 'More Than Enough' Mindset 11.06.2024

Whew, I'm gonna have to get used to this. In today's episode we're walking together on Mission Beach in San Diego, California. 🌴 I'm sort of obsessed with this casual vibe. It feels like we're on a hot girl walk together. Today we get personal about how I'm embodying my "more than enough" era. Tune in to find out how my kids are actually helping me get real...

137. Self-Sacrifice & The Need To Belong 04.06.2024

A few months ago I did some "story extraction calls" with a close colleague where I laid my real, raw && oh so vulnerable life story all out on the table and had her help me decide what to do with it. Her name is Katie Quesada and she is an *incredible* story teller. So I knew when I made the decision to use my personal story to create a sense of belonging for others, I wanted he...

136. The Catalyst To My Deep Depression, Emotional Eating, & Call To My Selfish Era 28.05.2024

Welcome to the first episode of Nomad Musings. Possibly low quality audio, but high quality connection. 😏 Ya'll know that 2023 was a hard year for me. I was dealing with some friendship breakups that fucking sucked. Why are friendship breakups the hardest?? I lost my passion for health which is SO unlike me. I lost my consistent workout routine & I was eating chips and ice cream like my...

135. How Falling Victim To Societal Standards Caused My Breaking Point & Selfish Era 21.05.2024

Gahh, I am so excited to be back. In this episode, I get real about falling victim to societal standards and letting them dictate my personal and business decisions rather than living above the standard.  2023 was a really beautiful yet hard year in some ways. I found myself on the edge of burnout and having multiple identity crises, but it all led me to now. Last year taught me the importance of...

134. Am I Burning Out? Super Important Announcements 26.12.2023

Well, this sucks. I've officially been sick for FOUR weeks. A literal month. 😑 But I've been wanting to record this episode to fill you in on the few "aha" moments I've had since this sickness has forced me to slow down. I normally do an EOY recap, but things aren't panning out that way... THE JUICY HIGHLIGHTS: 🖤 Two spots left for REDEFINE 🖤 I might be burning out...

133. 4 Steps To Cultivate Magic & Real Connection | RTWOS EP 8 19.12.2023

Not to toot my own horn, but I hold space for deep, deep magic & connection inside my containers.  A client recently asked me how I'm able to do this, more specifically, "how are you able to keep a pulse on your groups?"  && this was my response. ⬇️🔥 This is the final episode of the Releasing The Wounds Of Success Series.  THE JUICY HIGHLIGHTS: 🖤 It will be what it wil...

132. Finding Contentment In All Seasons | RTWOS EP 7 with Katie Quesada 12.12.2023

When I asked Katie about what wounds of success meant to her, she had a very different take and I can't wait for you to hear it. This woman and I have so many similarities in our stories from experiencing miscarriages to selling it all and living in an RV. This is the Releasing The Wounds Of Success Series, Episode 7, with Katie Quesada. ✨ MEET KATIE Katie is an acclaimed speaker and consult...

131. The Naked Truth of Success & Discontentment | RTWOS EP 6 with Shay Bacani 05.12.2023

From her parents experiencing great financial loss as a child to starting over at age 18, Shay still deals with her money mindset and fears she could lose it all again. She is experiencing "success" at this moment, but wonders if she'll ever be content. This is the Releasing The Wounds Of Success Series, Episode 6 with special guest, Shay Bacani. 🤎 MEET SHAY Shay is a CFO, Financia...

130. Unexpected Struggles of Success | RTWOS EP 5 with Jenn Pike 28.11.2023

Have you ever felt like the success you're chasing is someone else's goal? Have you experienced mom guilt as a result of showing up more consistently in your business than at home? Or, have you ever been ashamed of the fiercely audacious woman you are and felt like you had to dim yourself down for the comfort of others? This is the Releasing The Wounds Of Success Series, Episode 5. ✨ To...

129. Entrepreneurship is Lonely | RTWOS EP 4 with Kaili Meyer 21.11.2023

Entrepreneurship can be a wildly emotional & lonely rollercoaster. If you've ever experienced losing a friendship or relationship from running your own business, this conversation is going to light you up. This is something that isn't talked about enough by CEOs, IMHO, but as humans who crave connection… it's so important. This is the Releasing The Wounds Of Success Series, Epis...

128. Depersonalizing Failure | RTWOS EP 3 with Topsie VandenBosch 14.11.2023

Let’s dive into the transformative power of embracing failure and learning how to fail well. In this episode, you’ll find how depersonalizing your setbacks can lead to growth and how the importance of treating everything as valuable data can lead you to become the scientist of your own entrepreneurial journey. This is the Releasing The Wounds Of Success Series, Episode 3. ✨ The expert for this ep...

127. Money Mindset Toxicity | RTWOS EP 2 with Erica Reitman 07.11.2023

Erica Reitman is a successful, rule breaking CEO who is a full fucking vibe. In this episode we dive deep into her experience growing up, how success was portrayed to her, and how she’s carried those narratives into her business today. This is Releasing The Wounds Of Success Series, Episode 2. ✨ THE JUICY HIGHLIGHTS: 🖤 Being a “non-settling, all-in” CEO 🖤 Realizing the mountain peak of “success...

126. Hitting My Rock Bottom | RTWOS EP 1 31.10.2023

Welcome to the Releasing the Wounds of Success series. I’m kicking off the series by sharing about my own wounds of success. We take it waaayy back to the life of younger Ashley and pinpointing where my desire to chase success even came from. I wasn’t always a high achiever & I didn’t used to apply myself whatsoever… Strap in because this is the kick off to an epic series. THE JUICY HIGHLIGHTS...

125. My Take On Quantum Leaps 24.10.2023

Thissss is a little bit ridiculous, but I'm finally talking about it because it seems to be the thing that everybody wants. A quantum leap. 💥 What is it? How can you prepare for it? Is this what you're really desiring? Spoiler alert: a quantum leap isn't sustainable and IF it brings you more money, you ought to be prepared because more money doesn't fix your woes. 💵 THE JUICY...

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