47: On a Mother Level: Authenticity, Compassion, and What It Really Takes to Lead When Life Is Full With Korina Maestas

Nobody hands you a manual for what happens after you bring the baby home, and nobody warns you that building a business while building a family is going to stretch you in ways you were never prepared for. In this episode, Natalie sits down with Korina Maestas, board certified behavior analyst, special education advocate, founder of Kaibab Behavioral Services and Rising Mountain Academy, and author of the mini book and journal "On a Mother Level," for one of the most honest and wide-ranging conversations this show has ever held.Korina shares what it was like to start her first business while pregnant, navigate postpartum anxiety without knowing that is what she was experiencing, parent a neurodivergent child while being neurodivergent herself, and slowly rebuild her sense of self across her first four decades of life. This is a conversation about the fourth trimester nobody talks about, the generational patterns that surface the moment you become a parent, and what it actually means to lead with compassion when you are the one who is still healing.If you are a female founder who has ever felt like a dried-out rubber band being pulled in every direction at once, this episode is going to make you feel deeply seen. And if you have ever wondered whether the version of yourself that is building a business and raising kids and trying to show up fully for the people who need her is enough, Korina's answer is going to stay with you for a long time.WHAT YOU'LL LEARN▸ Why the transition from your first to your second child is one of the most underestimated emotional seasons of motherhood, and what Korina wishes more people talked about before it happens▸ How becoming a parent became the most powerful mirror for the personal growth work Korina needed to do, and why she believes parenting is only difficult for good parents▸ What compassion as a leadership tool actually looks like inside a growing organization, and how Korina built a team culture where people stay because they feel heard▸ Why authenticity on social media is not just a feel-good idea but the actual strategy that creates real connection, and how Korina learned to show up as herself instead of the version she thought people wanted to seeWEEKLY CHALLENGEThis week, write down one thing you have been carrying alone that you have not let anyone help you with. Then reach out to one person in your life and ask for that specific help. Korina is right that there is almost no season of life where you need support more than the ones that feel most overwhelming, and asking for it is not weakness. It is the most powerful thing you can do for yourself and for everyone who depends on you.GUEST INFO▸ Instagram → @onamotherlevel713 ▸ Book → On a Mother Level by Korina Maestas, available on Amazon ▸ Services → Kaibab Behavioral Services (ABA therapy, parent and teacher training, law enforcement training on autism) and Rising Mountain Academy (micro school for kiddos with disabilities in Arizona) ▸ Donate → Rising Mountain Academy is a nonprofit; donations support scholarships and a robust educational experience for studentsCONNECT WITH ME🥂 Instagram → @nataliebernacchi and @lightheruppodcast 🥂 Website → https://nataliebernacchi.com  🥂 Get on The Lit List → https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter