Tales From The Lane

Most people think planning season happens in January. I disagree. July might be the most powerful planning month of the entire year. By now, we have six months of evidence. We know what's working, what's draining us, and which goals still matter. Instead of waiting for another New Year, this is the perfect time to pause, reflect, and intentionally design the next 90 days. In this episode, I'm pull...

I just returned from my first-ever Craft + Commerce conference in Boise, Idaho—and I came home with far more than a notebook full of quotes. In this episode, I share the biggest lessons I learned from spending eight days, twelve flights, and countless conversations with creators, entrepreneurs, speakers, authors, and friends whose work has shaped my own. We'll talk about: Why I almost didn't go Th...

What does it actually take to create an event that people remember for years? Whether you're dreaming of hosting a conference, retreat, concert series, fundraiser, festival, or community gathering, there's a lot more happening behind the scenes than most people realize. Successful events require vision, strategy, leadership, budgeting, marketing, logistics, and perhaps most importantly, a deep und...

Two episodes ago, we talked about choosing your One Big Thing, Two Small Habit Tweaks, and giving yourself Three Months to make meaningful progress. Last week, we talked about how to stay focused when motivation fades. And this week, we're talking about something that matters even more than the goal itself: The Who. Because despite what the self-help industry often tells us, meaningful growth rare...

Last week, I introduced my 1-2-3 Summer Framework: One Big Thing. Two Small Habit Tweaks. Three Months to see what happens. This week, we're tackling the question that determines whether any of it actually happens: How do you follow through? Because most people don't struggle with setting goals. They struggle with June 14th. The day the excitement wears off. The day life gets busy. The day the pla...

Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of summer, and while many of us still think of summer as a season of possibility, adulthood has a way of turning it into little more than a blur of logistics, obligations, and unanswered emails. In this episode, I share a simple framework for creating a summer that feels expansive, intentional, and deeply satisfying. Rather than chasing another massive r...

Why does one difficult email feel like it will consume your entire day… only to take six minutes once you finally send it? In this episode of Tales from The Lane , we explore the difference between physical time and emotional time , and why so many high performers feel overwhelmed by tasks that objectively do not take very long. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, and her own life, Kate explain...

In this episode of Tales from The Lane , Kate is joined by sales and strategy coach Steph Crowder for a conversation about entrepreneurship, selling, courage, and building a business that actually supports the life you want to live. Steph is the host of the Courage and Clarity podcast, a former Director of Sales Training at Groupon, and the founder of Sold Out Group Programs , where she helps entr...

There's a conversation happening everywhere right now: "You're already enough." "You don't need to improve." "You don't need to be better." And while all of that is true… it's also incomplete. Because most high-achieving, thoughtful people don't actually want to stay exactly where they are. They want to grow, expand, and explore what they're capable of. So what does that mean? If you're already en...

Ready to think about your next season? Kate's  90-Day Strategy Sessions are now open. These one-off 1:1 sessions help you get clear on what matters most, organize the work in front of you, and build a realistic plan for the next 90 days. You can Book your session here or DM the word "Strategy" to @KKayaian on Instagram for details.  Most people think public speaking is about being impressive. But...

What do you do when your to-do list is full of important things, but none of them are urgent? That is one of the most disorienting places to be. There is no immediate deadline forcing your hand, no outside pressure telling you what to do first, and no obvious starting point. So even smart, capable, motivated people can end up stalled, spinning, or avoiding the work altogether. In this episode of T...

What if the problem isn't that you need a better morning routine… but that you've been trying to follow someone else's? In Episode 111 of Tales from The Lane , I'm joined by Amy Landino — high-performance coach, bestselling author, creator of AmyTV, and one of the most trusted voices on intentional productivity — for a conversation about morning routines, self-leadership, and what it really means...

  In this episode of Tales from The Lane , Kate breaks down why Q2 is the most powerful and underutilized part of the year, and how to turn the next 90 days into real traction instead of more busy work. She introduces the idea of Q2 as the Quarter of Traction , where you stop performing your goals and start following through on them in a way that actually fits your life. In this episode, you will...

What happens when a high-achieving life is optimized for performance—but quietly hostile to connection? In this episode of Tales from The Lane , I'm joined by Dr. Kimberly Horn —research psychologist, professor, health behavior scientist, and author of Friends Matter, for Life: Harnessing the 8 Tenets of Dynamic Friendship —for a powerful conversation about adult friendship, loneliness, and what m...

Most high achievers don't struggle because they lack ambition, ideas, or discipline. They struggle because their lives are full of tiny points of friction . Small decisions. Small interruptions. Small logistical annoyances that quietly drain attention, energy, and momentum throughout the day. In this episode of Tales from The Lane , Kate explores the concept of friction — and how seemingly minor o...

If you feel like everyone around you is racing ahead – launching faster, reading more, doing more, moving more quickly – this episode is for you. In this solo episode of Tales from The Lane , Kate explores a principle she first learned as a musician and now sees everywhere in life and work: Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. From music practice to reading, decorating a home, making decisions, dee...

You did everything you were supposed to do. You worked hard. You built the career. You earned the reputation. You became successful by every conventional metric. And now… something feels off. In this solo episode, Kate explores one of the most disorienting experiences of mid-career success: realizing that you may have outgrown something that is still working. You're still good at it. People still...

What if the next level of your career isn't about doing more… but about designing better? In this episode, I'm joined by Laura Sinclair —performer, educator, and coach (and a returning guest from Season 1, Episode 9)—for a conversation that goes way beyond music teaching. Laura has also been a 1:1 coaching client of mine for five years , and watching her build a values-driven, sustainable studio (...

What happens to our friendships when our lives start to expand? In this episode of Tales from The Lane , I'm joined by Dear Nina: Conversations about Friendship host Nina Badzin , whose podcast is ranked in the top 1% globally—and whose work sits right at the intersection of honesty, emotional maturity, and real-life friendship dynamics. Together, we explore what happens to friendships during majo...

We tend to think of courage as something dramatic—big leaps, bold declarations, or burning it all down and starting over. But most of the courage that actually changes your life is much quieter than that. In this episode of Tales from The Lane , Kate explores the non-obvious ways we flex our courage muscle —the small, often invisible decisions that compound over time and quietly reshape our career...

In this episode of Tales from The Lane , Kate explores a question she's been asked repeatedly—especially in uncertain, chaotic times: Is it selfish to focus on your own growth when the world feels like it's on fire? Drawing on psychology, leadership, and her lived experience as both a conductor and a coach, Kate reframes self-actualization not as ego or individualism, but as responsibility. When i...

In this solo episode, we talk about what is REALLY standing between you and your dreams, and how to remove the obstacles.  If you've been circling around the same goal for months (or years), telling yourself you'll begin "when you're less busy, when you're ready, or when you feel more confident about it," this conversation will hit home. Using the metaphor of a solid block of marble, Kate shares e...

Book a 1:1 Strategy Session with Kate! limited spots available, click HERE to schedule yours.  This episode marks a major milestone: 100 episodes of Tales from The Lane! Instead of celebrating with highlights or a "greatest hits" reel, Kate uses this moment as a pause—a chance to reflect on the identity shifts of the past year and to look intentionally ahead to 2026. Coming on the heels of ThriveF...

Get your free copy of my Quarterly Retreat Guide – it's the perfect time to plan out your next 90 Days.  In this episode of Tales from The Lane , I'm doing one of my favorite things of the year: a full, honest Year in Review. This isn't a highlight reel or a greatest-hits episode. It's a thoughtful reflection on what 2025 actually held—what worked, what didn't, where I surprised myself, where I ha...

Day 4 of the Quarterly Retreat Mini-Series: OPTIMIZE You've planned. You've created. You've organized. Today, we optimize . Day 4 is where we take everything you've built this week and make it smoother, lighter, more efficient, and far easier to sustain. This is where you move from "scrambling and reacting" to feeling supported by your tools, systems, and environment. Inside this episode, you'll:...