Most Days

Some days the growth feels like all spending and no return. I had one of those days this week, and it was set off by nothing dramatic. The guys at the machine shop asked me to buy another machine, and I went and looked at the cash flow, and it did not feel good.This episode is what I needed to hear, so I recorded it. The premise is simple. There is no success story where everything went smoothly. Not one. The discomfort you are trying to get rid of is the actual process, not a sign you did something wrong.I tell three stories to prove it. A man who failed for 65 years before anyone bought his chicken. A cartoonist who went bankrupt at 21, had a nervous breakdown at 29, mortgaged his house at 35, and opened a theme park so disastrous the press called it Black Sunday. And a broke single mother on government benefits who got rejected by twelve publishers, then got rejected again twenty years later under a fake name by a publisher who suggested she take a writing course.If you are in the uncomfortable middle of something right now, this one is for you.Mentioned in this episode: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.

If talking about money online makes people angry, it usually points to something deeper: a belief that wealth is fixed, opportunity is gone, and earning more is for “other people.” Scarcity makes us grip tighter and make decisions like there’s no way out. Abundance does the opposite. It helps us notice what’s already working and gives us the courage to create more value so we can earn more money.I'm breaking down 30 side hustle ideas you can start in the gig economy, from content creation, tutoring, driving gigs, and social media management to Airbnb property management, house management, cleaning houses, yard maintenance, mobile car detailing, Etsy shops, reselling on Facebook Marketplace, furniture flipping, pet sitting, party planning, and even AI training for small businesses. I wrap with four simple questions to help you choose a side hustle based on what you know, what you make, what you’re good at, or what you love that others don’t.If this sparks an idea, share it with a friend and hit subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next. What side hustle could you start this week?

"If money can fix it, it's not a real problem."I posted a reel saying this and the comments were split. Some people felt seen by it. Some people were pissed. I get both reactions, and I wanted to dig into why.The idea is about the difference between a hassle and a crisis. An unexpected bill is a hassle. A sick kid is a crisis. Most of us treat both with the same level of panic, and that's the thing I want to talk about.I share a season from 2014 and 2015 when I took over a fast-growing business that had no cash. We were running on personal credit cards and I ended up about $80,000 in unsecured debt. That stress taught me something no quote could. I was still safe. I still had people, options, and the ability to keep going. Safety, not wealth, is what changes your relationship with money. It's also what lets you take smart risks.I also talk about why bankruptcy exists, how the US system is actually built to let you fail and recover, and why worst case scenario thinking can be calming when you do it on purpose instead of at 3am.Then I get into three ways I've been building an abundance mindset before the abundance shows up. Specific gratitude, down to the exact paycheck amount. Letting go of the idea that money equals happiness or worth. And getting some global perspective on what rich actually means.There's nuance here too. Poverty is real. Illness is real. Money can't erase those and I'm not pretending it can.If you've ever spiraled over a bill or carried shame about not having enough, this one's for you. Share it with a friend who needs it.

Social media takes your nervous system for a ride.In this episode I talk about why Instagram is so hard to quit and the moment I realized the algorithm knew exactly what I was vulnerable to. When I was pregnant, my feed filled up with worst-case scenario pregnancy reels. When my son was in the NICU, it fed me NICU content that made an already terrifying season worse. I never agreed to that loop. It just found me.We also get into the creator side of this, because I'm on both ends now. All the advice pushes you toward five-second hooks, constant posting, quick hits. It works for engagement. It also feels gross sometimes, and it's training all of us to accept a shorter attention span as normal.Then I walk through what's actually helped me with screen time. I replaced the app with something else instead of going cold turkey. I move icons around to break the muscle memory. I use blockers that make me wait, and limits I can't instantly override, because I will absolutely override the ones I can.The best part is what happens when you stop feeding the feed. Magazines. Books. Fiction especially. Audiobooks and long podcasts that let your brain breathe again. We end with an honest take on meditation, why nobody is ever good at it, and why that's not the point.If this one hits, share it with a friend who's burned out. And tell me: what does your algorithm think you're vulnerable to? Mine figured it out before I did.

You can do everything right with your budget and still feel stressed, resentful, and on the edge of burnout. That's why I wanted to talk about money as a mindset thing, not just a math thing. Starting with the costs that hit working parents the hardest: childcare and the day-to-day spending that keeps a household running.I share the reframe that changed my mental health around childcare costs. I stopped seeing childcare as an expense that steals my paycheck and started treating it as an investment. In my career, and in my kids' development, routine, and security.We also get into a framework for outsourcing at home based on your target hourly rate, and why it can make sense even when you're not replacing those hours with paid work. Sometimes the payoff is time, energy, and patience. Not a dollar-for-dollar trade.Then we go deeper on the thing that we never price correctly: rest. Rested brains lead better, make clearer decisions, and show up more patiently at home. I walk through what delegating at home actually looks like for us, including how our housekeeper became a house manager, and the little "vacation return" routine we set up that makes coming home actually feel like coming home. If you're a high-achieving parent, a default parent, or anyone trying to build a career without losing yourself, consider this your permission to ask for help.Share this with a friend who needs it. And tell me: what's the one task you'd outsource first if you let yourself?

Kevin and I sit down during naptime to talk through a decision we're in the middle of right now: where to send our kids for preschool and early elementary. Private tuition in our area can rival a mortgage payment. Public school comes with question marks. We don't have this figured out. We're working through it in real time, including the parts that are emotional and messy.One thing we keep coming back to is the future. We were pretty set on a Spanish immersion school 30 minutes away. Then it hit me that AI translation is getting so good that I honestly don't know how valuable being bilingual will be in 10 years. I still think learning a language grows your brain. But is it worth $25,000 a year per kid plus an hour a day in the car? That money and time could go toward travel, tutoring, experiences. It adds up fast and it quietly reduces your flexibility.We also get into what "bad schools" actually means in a well-off area, how class size and funding shape a classroom, and why we care about our kids being around all kinds of people, not just kids whose parents can afford tuition.Then we zoom out. School was designed for the industrial age. The world our kids will work in is changing fast. Maybe grit, leadership, and social skills matter more than test scores. Maybe a school five minutes away with a tight village around it is a feature, not a compromise.If you're weighing public vs. private, charters, or homeschooling, this episode won't give you our answer to copy. It'll help you figure out what you actually value.What's the biggest factor driving your school choice right now? I want to know.

Burnout doesn’t always come from doing too much. A lot of times it comes from feeling stuck, unseen, and disconnected, even when the workload looks “reasonable” on paper. I’m Courtney, and I’m sharing what I’ve learned after 10 years as a CEO running a medium, family owned company with about 30 employees, including the policies that have helped and the ones that surprised me. We get specific about how leaders can reduce employee burnout by giving people more autonomy and making rules we’d actually follow ourselves. I talk through unlimited vacation and why it can lead to people taking less time off unless leaders model it, encourage it, and protect fairness. We also get honest about flexible work from home policies, why fully remote setups can increase isolation, siloing, and office politics, and how hybrid overlap days can rebuild real connection. Then we move into what I think is missing most in modern workplaces: “purpose in,” the sense that your coworkers matter and you matter to them. I share simple, non contrived ways to build relationships at work, like weekly bagels and coffee, small routines that give teams something to look forward to, cross training and shadowing to build respect, and even reading the same fiction books together. We close with a leadership practice I’m actively working on: celebrating wins through gratitude, handwritten notes, and peer shoutouts so the team doesn’t sprint forever without ever feeling progress. If you want practical leadership strategies, workplace culture ideas, and real world burnout prevention tactics, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

The default parent is the one who knows everything. Who knows what size diaper the kids wear. Who tracks the lunch supplies, the babysitter's schedule, the medicine doses. It usually falls on mom, and when both parents work, it's a fast track to burnout.Kevin and I sit down during naptime to talk about how this became a real problem in our marriage, how we started to work through it, and what we're still figuring out.We get into:- Why I stopped communicating early enough and let resentment build- Kevin's honest reaction the first few times I brought it up (defensive, blindsided, biting his tongue)- The mental load that nobody sees, and why "well I emptied the dishwasher" isn't the same thing- How Kevin found his own footing as a solo parent once he stopped trying to replicate my routines- Why 50-50 isn't the goal and expecting it will make you miserable- The pink Nikes story, and what it taught me about letting go of control- Kevin's advice to men: swallow your pride- My advice to women: ask for help, it's not failureIf you're carrying the mental load and don't know how to hand any of it off, or if you're the partner watching your spouse burn out and not sure what you're missing, this one's for you.Follow the podcast, subscribe to Most Days on Instagram, and tell me in the comments how you and your partner have worked through this.

Burnout doesn’t always mean you need a new job. Sometimes it means you’ve lost the thread of why you’re working in the first place, and your days have drifted out of balance. I break burnout down into a simple framework I keep coming back to: paycheck, passion, and purpose. When one of those pillars gets weak, work starts to feel heavier than it should, even if nothing “big” changed on paper.We start with paycheck, because money is real and pretending it doesn’t matter only adds stress. I share a specific gratitude practice that helps me reset fast, plus why being precise about what you earn and what it provides can change your mindset. We also talk about how your brain filters your reality, and why shifting focus away from “I don’t have enough” can start a noticeable snowball toward steadier motivation and better mental health at work.Then we move into passion and flow state: what you’re actually good at, what energizes you, and what drains you. If you feel underutilized, I walk through how to approach your boss in a way that’s honest, practical, and tied to value, including a simple 80/20 idea for spending more time in your unique ability. Finally, we dig into purpose, especially customer connection. I share a story that reminded me how different work feels when you can actually see the humans you serve and how small doses of humanity can reduce employee burnout, even in repetitive roles or remote work.If you’ve been burned out, are burned out right now, or have climbed your way back, I want to hear your story. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Perfection is a trap, and most advice sounds better than it works. I'm starting Most Days with a simpler, truer standard: aim for progress most days, not flawless every day.In this first episode I get into the real reasons I'm doing this. I want accountability that isn't already built into my work. I want to slow life down through some actual self-reflection. And I've had a long-standing itch to teach while I'm still learning in real time.I also lay out the format so you know exactly what you're signing up for. You'll get short solo episodes built for real schedules and short drives, plus "Nap Time With Courtney and Kevin," conversations we record while the kids are asleep. Those cover working together in a family business, navigating marriage and partnership, and parenting while building a company. Down the road I'll add owner-operator interviews with leaders who've rebuilt, failed, learned, and kept going, with a focus on the human side of business and leadership.Then I unpack what "most days" actually means and why it changes everything. Add those two words to almost any bold claim and it gets more honest, more useful, and more forgiving. That same lens shapes my early topic pillars: money mindset, burnout, and raising kids with healthier financial literacy and a healthier relationship with work.If you're trying to lead well, parent well, and stay well without pretending you have it all figured out, you're in the right place. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs permission to breathe, and leave a review so more people can find Most Days.

We talk honestly about what it takes to run family businesses while staying connected as a couple and as parents. We share the wake-up calls that pushed us from chasing work-life balance to building work-life harmony through boundaries, perspective, and better habits. • why “harmony” beats “balance” when you’re building a career and a family • the moment work comes home and how we try to stop it • how kids change our perspective on success, failure, and stress • burnout as a season rather than a permanent identity • why constant connectivity makes modern work feel heavier • the comparison trap of social media and “grass is greener” thinking • ambition as both a strength and a weakness, learning when to push or pause • our reaction to the viral claim that real freedom means never having to work • what partnership looks like when both people want purpose and meaningful work