We Can Do It Women

At 14 she told her mother she'd write a world-changing book. It took decades, a year-long concussion, and a formula born in Olympic gymnastics coaching. Laura Ballet did it anyway.IN THIS EPISODE:J3=E: the Olympic gymnastics formula adapted for everyday women — unpacked simplyThe three fields of energy — negative, positive, neutral — and why neutrality is the superpowerThe five principles: awareness, willingness, accountability, critical thinking, energy"Negative Bob": the 7-year-old who learned to walk negativity out the door — now a champion at 15Subconscious contracts: how to identify the ones keeping you in the same loop"Suspend the doubt": the single most powerful instruction Laura gives every clientHow the concussion became the proving ground for everything she was writingEPISODE SUMMARY:Laura Ballet watched her brother Chris — former USA Olympic gymnastics coach — apply mindset training to elite athletes for decades. She wondered: what if everyday women had access to the same formula? The answer became The Science of Empowerment and a coaching practice built on one central truth: neutrality is where choice lives, and choice is the most powerful seat anyone can occupy.Her five principles — awareness, willingness, accountability, critical thinking, energy — don't just describe change. They create it. When a client walks in believing they're stuck, Laura asks one question: if you had high-level intellectual awareness right now, how would you answer this? They always know. The moment they voice it, the alignment begins. Information becomes knowledge. Knowledge becomes wisdom. Wisdom becomes an empowered life.ABOUT LAURA:Number-one bestselling international author of The Science of Empowerment, speaker, and empowerment coach. 150+ podcast and media appearances. Based in Farmington, Connecticut.CONNECT: https://thescienceofempowerment.com/ | Amazon: The Science of EmpowermentCOMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode made you ask what energy you're contributing right now — the formula is already working. Join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

At 12, a botched surgery shattered every bone in both feet and ended her Olympic skating dream. At 315 pounds in her late 30s, she decided that wasn't her story either. Two weeks before her 52nd birthday, a corporate layoff handed her a door she never would have opened herself. She walked through it.IN THIS EPISODE:The malpractice surgery at 12 that launched a lifetime philosophy: focus on what you can doLosing over 100 pounds as a single mom through tiny, sustainable changes — before GLP-1 injections existedThe layoff at 52, one week of intentional stillness, and the Venn diagram that changed everythingWhy six months of living expenses in savings is the breathing room that makes real choices possibleWhat happens when women reconnect with physical strength — and why it changes everything beyond the bodyThe 69-year-old client: breast cancer, a stroke, two knee replacements, couldn't rise from a toilet unassisted — now a self-described gym rat who lifts a 30-pound sewing machine aloneWhy reinvention starts where staying the same becomes more painful than changingEPISODE SUMMARY:Misti McCloud built her coaching practice around what she knows firsthand. She survived single motherhood in D.C., raised a neurodiverse son, built a corporate career, and lost over 100 pounds through micro-changes made one at a time. When a layoff at 52 pushed her through an unexpected door, she took one intentional week, drew a Venn diagram of her skills, the world's needs, and what she could earn, and found her answer: NASM-certified coaching for women 40 and better.Her philosophy: when women reconnect with physical strength, the transformation is never just physical. It changes how they walk into rooms, set boundaries, and trust themselves. She is the GPS. Her clients do the driving.ABOUT MISTI:NASM-certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and women's empowerment coach serving women 40 and better. Former corporate professional and single mother who lost over 100 pounds. Speaker and workshop leader for women's groups.CONNECT: trainwithmisti.com COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode fanned an ember, take one step today — then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

In his last coherent week, after eight and a half years of a brain tumor that had stolen him one layer at a time, Gerard came back. He told his wife she had been to hell. Then he asked her to promise him two things: love again, and write the novels. She scattered his ashes in Ireland and started writing that same night.IN THIS EPISODE:A fifth-generation Michigan girl who read every library in town — and ended up in the Reagan White HouseHow CEO Frank Popoff found her writing speeches that didn't sound like business speeches — and her career was never the sameMeeting Gerard Cowan in a Dublin pub — the electricity, the Tuesday Club, the tripletsEight and a half years of a right-frontal-lobe astrocytoma: personality changes, financial devastation, seizures, a broken back, and caregiving aloneHow IBM's chief medical officer got them into Sloan Kettering by Wednesday morningGerard's final week — the deathbed promise that unlocked everythingThree novels published in two and a half years. A fourth coming. A life that is finally full.EPISODE SUMMARY:Michelle Morris has always connected with people by telling their stories — at the White House, in journalism, across corporate boardrooms, in crisis communications on three continents. But the decade she spent caregiving for a husband whose brain tumor was slowly dismantling his personality was one she lived mostly alone — too hard to explain, too strange to fit anyone's framework.When Gerard died, he gave her a permission slip she had been waiting for her whole career: write. She came home to Michigan, walked away from her last corporate job, and in two and a half years published three novels. Her characters face what she faced — the question of whether you get back up and what you build next. Her answer, in every book and in this conversation, is yes.ABOUT MICHELLE:Novelist, former Reagan White House staffer, corporate executive, and crisis communications professional. Author of Comes Around, A Quiet Town, Fresh Water, and a forthcoming fourth novel. Based in Michigan.CONNECT: http://michellesmorris.com | Amazon: Michelle S. Morris | Facebook: Michelle S. Morris, Author | Instagram: @michelle.s.morrisCOMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode reminded you the story isn't over, come find your people at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

She was made redundant on a Friday. By Monday she'd enrolled in naturopathy. She built a 5-site business, sold it in one of South Australia's largest exits, and founded Mind Garage. Now Cindy Koehler brings 40 years and 10,000 coaching hours to this conversation.In This Episode:Cindy's own story: from biomechanics to education to a 5-site business to its sale — and now the coaching practice she was always building towardWhy the beliefs we carry into adulthood were never actually chosen — and the one question that exposes whether they're helping or holding you backThe "handbrake" metaphor: how the business owner's own mindset is the single largest obstacle to business growthIdentity-based resilience coaching: why "who am I becoming?" is a more powerful question than "what should I do?"The three-word exercise: a practice for stepping into your future self right now, without waitingMetacognition — the skill only humans have — and how to use it to separate threat from storyUncomfortable is not the same as unsafe: why the brain defaults to threat and how to override it with choiceHow women rebuild self-trust after years of people-pleasing and meeting everyone else's expectations"Empty the drawer first": the Russian proverb that reframes every major life transitionCindy's upcoming book Manifest You and what it will walk readers throughAbout Cindy KoehlerCindy Koehler is a transformational business and life coach based in Adelaide, South Australia. With 40 years of experience in mindset coaching, 20 years in education, 25 years in business, and a background in NLP, hypnotherapy, mindfulness, and energetic medicine, she is the founder of Mind Garage and the author of the forthcoming Manifest You. She has delivered over 10,000 hours of coaching to elite professionals, business owners, and athletes. She turned 60 last year and says she has never been more excited for what comes next.Connect with Cindy KoehlerWebsite: mindgarage.comUpcoming book: Manifest You (July 2026)ResourcesWeCanDoItWomen.com/group — join Debra's community

She was 70 years old, running a solo business without a steady paycheck, supporting a husband in severe decline in a nursing home — a man she had already decided to divorce — and quietly hitting the lowest point of her life. By 73, she was dating men in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, writing erotica, taking university classes, and finishing a book called Sex, Sensuality and the Senior Woman. Andrea Feinberg didn't wait for circumstances to improve. She decided she was the one who was going to improve them.In This Episode:The unexpected crisis that preceded Andrea's transformation: planning a divorce, then watching her husband have a life-changing accident and decline in a nursing homeThe four changes she made at 70 that cost nothing and changed everything: university classes, a weekly discussion group, one friend per week, and datingWhat she discovered on a dating website for the over-50s — and why it completely reframed how she thinks about age and desirabilityThe 16 reasons younger men gave her for why they specifically seek out older women (she asked every single one)Why Andrea says there's a generation of men in their 30s, 40s, and even 20s who find older women "wildly attractive and wildly desired"Her 10-step common sense framework for personal transformation — no investment, no unusual skills requiredWriting erotica for the first time at 70+ — and why she's now expanding it toward female satisfaction specificallyThe childhood story that made independence feel like her natural stateAbout Andrea FeinbergAndrea Feinberg is the founder of Coaching Insight and a 40-year veteran of business development, strategic marketing, and entrepreneurial coaching. After a decade on Wall Street and 35 years running her own firm, Andrea made a radical personal pivot at 70 — enrolling in university, dating younger men, and writing her most personal book to date: Sex, Sensuality and the Senior Woman, a 10-step transformation guide for women ready to pursue the life society told them they couldn't have.Connect with Andrea FeinbergWebsite: marketingthatrocks.comWebsite: bossonthebeach.comResourcesSex, Sensuality and the Senior Woman WeCanDoItWomen.com — join Debra's community

She found out that two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women — and was stunned. Then she found out that almost everything she believed about aging was equally wrong. That same question — why don't we know this? — made Ashton Applewhite the world's leading voice on ageism.IN THIS EPISODE:Why "old" should be a neutral word — and the shame we attach to it is the problem, not the ageThe U-curve of happiness: people are happiest at life's beginning and end — and whyOnly 2.5% of people over 65 are in nursing homes — and dementia rates keep droppingYale research: your attitudes toward aging affect your health at the cellular levelElder speak — what it is, why everyone hates it, and how to avoid itWhy "aging successfully" is ableist and sets us all up to failThe single greatest predictor of a good old age: not health, not wealth — your social networkThe shoe test for age diversity — and why making one older or younger friend is an anti-ageist actFree resources: Old School Hub, Wednesday office hours, "Aging Is Living" artworkEPISODE SUMMARY:Ashton Applewhite is entirely self-taught. She didn't start writing until her 40s or discover ageism until her mid-50s. Her TED Talk, her manifesto This Chair Rocks, and the Old School Hub she co-founded are the product of a researcher's rigor and a deep suspicion that cultural forces keep women in the dark on purpose. Under capitalism and in a sexist, ageist society, fear of aging is profitable. The facts are not.The facts: the U-curve proves people are happiest at life's beginning and end. Yale psychologist Becca Levy's research shows people with positive views of aging live 7.5 years longer. Loneliness rates are higher in young people than old. And discrimination, not age itself, is the problem. When you learn to see ageism in yourself, a veil lifts — and then you can do something about it.ABOUT ASHTON:Author of This Chair Rocks, TED speaker, co-founder of Old School Hub. Recognized by the United Nations, WHO, PBS Next Avenue, NYT, and NPR as an expert on ageism.CONNECT: thisChairRocks.com | oldschool.info | Wednesday office hours 1:30 ETCOMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode lifted a veil, go to oldschool.info and join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

She was mid-sentence in a business meeting when her brain froze. It kept happening. She stopped speaking in meetings. She couldn't sleep. She was convinced she had early dementia. A retired gynecologist at a dinner party changed everything: you're in perimenopause, Ellen. That moment became a 20-year mission.IN THIS EPISODE:The brain freeze, insomnia, and emotional chaos nobody warned Ellen about — and what was actually happeningThe three stages: perimenopause (6–10 years of symptoms), menopause (one single day), and post-menopauseThe 2002 WHI study that scared women off hormone therapy — and the 2024 study of 10 million Medicare women that reversed everythingWhy heart disease kills more women than cancer — and how estrogen therapy reduces that riskUTIs and vaginal health after 60: why this becomes a life-threatening issue and how to prevent itHow to find a certified menopause specialist at menopause.org — step by stepWhy only one-third of gynecologists have menopause trainingEllen's free symptom tracker, Menopause Mondays blog, and Fearless Vagina courseEPISODE SUMMARY:Ellen didn't plan this career. She hand-wrote a book on her living room floor, her son put it on a Word doc, menopause specialists vetted it, and a Disney ABC imprint bought it after Rachael Ray's producer found it first. Her Menopause Mondays blog has run every Monday for 20 years. Now her Fearless Vagina course delivers five 20-minute modules on everything women need to know — from perimenopause to post-menopause, hormones to heart health.The medical facts she shares are backed by two decades of interviewing the top scientists: the 2024 study of 10 million Medicare women proved that women who stayed on hormones had better outcomes in heart, bone, brain, and cancer protection. The conversation women deserved for decades is here. Ellen has been leading it the whole time.ABOUT ELLEN:Menopause advocate, bestselling author, and creator of Menopause Mondays and the Fearless Vagina course. Featured on CBS Sunday Morning, Today, Rachel Ray, NPR, and Oprah Radio.CONNECT: ellendolgen.com | menopause.org for a specialist near youCOMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode gave you something you didn't know you needed, share it with every woman in your life. Then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

She filled out a coupon in her FFA magazine. The Army wasn't looking for her. They got Major General Tammy Smith anyway — 35 years of service, two stars, and the first openly gay general in United States military history.IN THIS EPISODE:A farm-girl scholarship and the career no one saw coming — from Oakland, Oregon to the Pentagon25 years hiding her identity under threat of dishonorable discharge — not from shame, but to keep a job she lovedThe parachute jump that knocked out her tooth — and taught her to trust her equipmentBuilding roads and bridges in Costa Rica — and finding them still standing 20 years laterThe Admiral Mullen testimony that made her cry and rescind her retirement papersDeploying to Afghanistan while her partner said goodbye like a stranger in a civilian airportWaking up in Bagram on September 20, 2011 when Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealedBecoming the first openly gay general in US military history — terrified, and doing it anywayHow LGBTQ veterans can access blanket discharge upgrades and reclaim VA benefitsEPISODE SUMMARY:Tammy Smith hid for 25 years — not from shame, but from a policy that allowed commanders to discharge service members administratively, without legal recourse, simply for being identified as gay. She loved the Army too much to leave. When she met Tracy Hepner in 2004, hiding became harder. When Admiral Mullen testified that he couldn't understand asking soldiers to lie about who they were to serve with honor, she wept, rescinded her retirement papers, and stayed. She was in Bagram on the day repeal happened. She came home, married Tracy at the Jefferson Memorial, and two months later became the first openly gay general in US history — with her wife and her father pinning on her stars.ABOUT GENERAL SMITH:Major General Tammy Smith (Ret.) served 35 years in the US Army. She holds a BA in US History, two master's degrees, and a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership.COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode moved you, come carry it forward at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review takes under a minute and helps more women find this show.

She didn't think she would live to see 42. A domestic violence survivor who escaped three times — arriving in California with two babies and the clothes on her back — Wendy Ida spent her thirties overweight, stuck, and convinced she was destined for the same life as the women before her. Then, at exactly 42, the lights came on. At 72, she holds two Guinness World Records and is the oldest active certified fitness instructor in the country.IN THIS EPISODE:How Wendy escaped domestic violence and rebuilt her life from nothing at 42Why "go big or go home" is an antique — and how micro steps actually change livesThe suitcases: your past packed into luggage you don't know you're carrying, and how to set it downOutlook vs. inlook — and why the inlook is the first dominoThe hallway: her name for the stuck place between who you were and who you're becomingCease and replace: the nutrition approach that changes your palate without saying "don't"Why laughter and recovery are as important as any workoutAdiwanda: the mental sanctuary Wendy built — and how you can build yoursEPISODE SUMMARY:Wendy didn't start competing until 57. She broke Guinness records at 60. She left a six-figure accounting career behind because she discovered the reason she was born: helping others rebuild their minds, bodies, and lives. The tools she teaches go far beyond fitness. Her suitcase model unpacks old trauma that silently steers your choices. The hallway names the painful middle ground of change — and shows you how to walk through it. Cease and replace in nutrition starts with sugar and portion awareness, one micro step at a time. And inlook — how you see yourself in the world — determines whether any of it even starts. Courage, Wendy says, is wanting to change so badly that fear doesn't stop you. She proves it every day at 72.ABOUT WENDY:Wendy Ida is a bestselling author, certified trauma and life coach, fitness expert, domestic violence survivor, and motivational speaker who holds two Guinness World Records set at 60. Author of Take Back Your Life and Unbreak Me.CONNECT: https://wendyida.com | YouTube & Instagram: Wendy Ida FitnessCOMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode stirred something in you, take one micro step today — then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review takes under a minute and helps more women find this show.

She dreamed the accelerator stuck on a dusty West Texas road — no brakes, no key in the ignition. Then she looked down and the key was in her own hand. Gloria Feldt turned that dream into a life's work: the key is always in our hands. We need the wisdom to see it and the courage to use it.IN THIS EPISODE:Why women over 60 are the most untapped leadership resource in the world"Confidence is overrated" — why waiting until you feel ready is the mistakeWhy Gloria refuses to use the word "empower"Use What You've Got: the first of her 9 Leadership Power ToolsHow to close your own pay gap — research your worth, then askWomen earn 57% of college degrees; companies with more women leaders are ~15% more profitableHer two-word mantra for reinvention: just say yesEPISODE SUMMARY:Gloria Feldt has spent decades studying why women still hold a fraction of leadership positions — and her conclusion will free you. It isn't only the bias out there; it's what implicit bias does to our heads. We value ourselves less, ask for less, and wait to be tapped on the shoulder. Her work is about ending the wait.Drop the word "empower," she says — nobody needs to fill you up, because you already have power: your education, skills, relationships, money, plan. Shift from "power over" to "power to." And don't wait for confidence; overconfidence only stops you from learning.Her own story proves it. A teen mom in West Texas with three children, she rose to lead Planned Parenthood Federation of America, then left after 30 years — in her early sixties — to chase her childhood dream of writing. The books became a curriculum, the curriculum became Take The Lead, and Take The Lead became a movement, with online courses and "50 Women Can Change the World" cohorts where every woman builds a plan to rise and a plan to bring the next woman up with her.There will always be a disruption, Gloria says. Take its energy and build something new. Keep moving. Keep learning. Just say yes.ABOUT GLORIA:Gloria Feldt is an acclaimed expert on women, power, and leadership; bestselling author of five books including Intentioning; co-founder and president of Take The Lead; and former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She taught "Women, Power and Leadership" at Arizona State University for a decade.CONNECT: https://www.taketheleadwomen.com/COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode put the key back in your hand, say yes to one thing this week — then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review takes under a minute and helps more women find this show.

A man told her to shut up while she was speaking. So Heather Booth finished her point, tapped every woman in the room on the shoulder, walked them upstairs — and founded the first campus women's organization in America. That was 1965. She has spent sixty years since proving one idea: when we organize with love at the center, we change this world.IN THIS EPISODE:Freedom Summer 1964 at age 19 — and the Voting Rights Act that followed within a yearThe full story of Jane, the underground network whose women performed 11,000 abortions before RoeThe "significant response" study proving professors engaged men's comments four times more than women's — and the bookend technique women still needHow a wrongful firing became the Midwest Academy, which has trained generations of organizersTwo housewives who noticed green meat at the supermarket and won food expiration dating for the country — one is now in CongressHeather's first steps for any woman who says "I'm not political"EPISODE SUMMARY:Heather Booth acted in spite of insecurity, not because of confidence. Her answer to "am I enough?" became her life's work: we are enough, and we are the leaders we've been waiting for.At 19 she joined Freedom Summer in Mississippi. At 20, helping a friend's pregnant sister grew into Jane — at a time when three people discussing abortion in Chicago was conspiracy to commit a felony. Fired for helping a single mother question a pay cut, she won at the National Labor Relations Board and used the settlement to found the Midwest Academy.The smallest lessons may stay longest: women agreeing to "bookend" each other's comments so no voice could be erased — something Debra experienced herself as the only woman among partners at a billion-dollar firm. And Alice Palmer's warning, for every woman who says "I'm not political": if you don't do politics, politics does you. Find the issue you care about. Find the people already working on it. Join them.ABOUT HEATHER:Heather Booth has been one of the nation's leading progressive strategists for six decades — founder of Jane and the Midwest Academy, director of the NAACP National Voter Fund (raising African American turnout by nearly 2 million voters), and a leader of national campaigns on immigration, financial reform, marriage equality, and Social Security.CONNECT: https://midwestacademy.com/COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.comIf this episode lit something in you, take one step this week — then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review takes under a minute and helps more women find this show.

On January 7, 2005, Anita Cragen came off a life support machine after ten days when no one knew whether she would live or die. Twenty years later, she is twenty years sober and one of the most respected addiction specialists in the world — helping thousands of women get clean, stay sober, and repair the relationships addiction shattered.IN THIS EPISODE:From running a Spanish real estate firm to 20 years sober and senior addiction specialist at Phoenix Programs, Spain's oldest treatment centerWhy Anita didn't drink until 36 — and the loss of both parents within six weeks that pushed her over the edgeThe wedding her daughter wouldn't let her attend at ten months sober — and how they became best friendsThe "resentment rucksack" ritual: carrying written resentments down the beach and hurling them into the seaWhy 100 days is what the mind needs to changeWhy empty-nest isolation is a breeding ground for addiction in women over 50The elevator metaphor: addiction only goes down — but you choose which floor to get offEPISODE SUMMARY:Anita had the big house, the cars, and a thriving business on the Costa del Sol. What no one saw was a woman who started drinking at 36 after losing both parents within six weeks — and couldn't stop. She promised her three children, over and over, that she'd never pick up another drink. Every time, she did. At her lowest, she tried to end her life and spent ten days on life support.That was 2005. She hasn't had a drink since. The man who told her "I have a solution" — Chris Spencer, ten years clean when they met — became her husband and program director at Phoenix Programs in Marbella, where Anita now serves as senior addiction specialist.What they build there is a re-education of mind, body, and spirit: nutrition, daily lectures, the 12 steps, and rituals like the resentment rucksack. Anita teaches that addiction is a disease — an allergy, not a moral failing. And she speaks directly to women home alone after the kids leave, drinking quietly: isolation is the disease's favorite room. Connection is the way out.ABOUT ANITA:Anita Cragen, ICADC, is an internationally qualified addiction therapist with 20+ years of experience, certified in Recovery Dynamics, specializing in women, young moms, and their children. She has worked with clients across Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Europe.CONNECT: https://www.phoenixprogrammes.com/COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.com/groupsIf this episode stirred something in you, please seek help — you can't do this alone, and you don't have to. Then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review takes under a minute and helps more women find this show.

She was at a book signing when a well-dressed woman hung back until everyone had gone. Then she leaned in and whispered: I can't afford to buy your book. I've worked all my life. And I'm terrified I'm going to end up homeless. Jane Caro heard that story again and again on tour — from teachers, nurses, managers, women who had done everything right. It became the rawest material in her research on women over 55, and it is the reason this conversation exists.In This Episode:Why women born in the 1950s and 60s are the first generation in history to earn their own money as a whole cohort — and why almost no one has noticed or celebrated itThe devastating paradox: Australia's fastest-growing homeless group is women over 55, and the face of poverty is increasingly single women over 60 and 70The "deal with the devil" — why women traded income for flexibility, and what that bargain ultimately cost themJane's single most important financial instruction for every woman: own your own roofThe Teal movement — how ordinary women in teal t-shirts knocked on doors, held kitchen-table meetings, and elected 11 independent candidates to the Australian parliamentWhy Jane believes "if you don't do politics, politics will do you" — and how women's anger translated into electoral powerCoercive control in intimate relationships — and Jane's argument that it mirrors the tactics of totalitarian political leadersWhy power is not a dirty word: power just means the ability to take actionWhat women over 60 have that younger women do not: the freedom to stop caring what anyone thinksJane's call to action for women worldwide: write the op-ed, find your passion, sit at the kitchen table, run for local councilAbout Jane CaroJane Caro AM is a Walkley Award-winning author, columnist, novelist, feminist, public education activist and social commentator based in Sydney, Australia. She has published 13 books, including Accidental Feminists — her landmark examination of women over 55 — and her 2024 bestselling novel The Mother, about coercive control. A former multi-award-winning advertising copywriter and academic, she writes for Nine Media, The Saturday Paper, and The Monthly, appears regularly on ABC's The Gruen and the Today shows, and speaks to audiences across Australia on feminism, power, and democracy. She has 190,000+ followers on social media, and she is a beef producer and timber grower.Connect with Jane CaroBooks: Accidental Feminists, The Mother (2024), Lyrebird (April 2025) — available at all major booksellersResourcesWeCanDoItWomen.com — join Debra's community

She lost 60 pounds in eight months — and has kept every pound off for seven years. But that's not the transformation that matters most in this story. The real shift began when Mugs Haugen's best friend and oldest sister, Kathy, died of metastatic breast cancer. Standing beside Kathy as her nurse, her sister, and her closest confidante, Mugs looked at her own life and asked: How do I want to live the years I have left? Everything that followed began with that question.In This Episode:Mugs' lifelong caregiving journey: from helping elderly relatives at age 9, to nursing her dying father at 22, to caring for her best friend and sister through cancerHow 11 years in the emergency department quietly eroded her health, her weight, and her sense of selfThe seminal moment after Kathy's death that became the catalyst for a full life transformationHow Mugs lost 60 pounds in 8 months — and ended decades of yo-yo dieting — by changing her identity, not just her habitsThe ANCHOR framework at the heart of her coaching: Awareness, Nourishment, Compassion, Happiness, Opened Heart, and ResponsibilityWhy true self-care is not a bubble bath — and what it actually requiresThe counterintuitive truth about compassion fatigue: compassion isn't what causes burnout — it's what prevents itWhy Mugs named her practice Anchored Heart Coaching after her sister Kathy, the family's anchorClient wins: a retired nurse pursuing visual arts, a housewife who discovered her own dreams for the first timeHer vision: bringing burnout prevention to nurses on-site, in hospitals, and eventually at live retreatsAbout Mugs HaugenMugs Haugen is a registered nurse with over 25 years of experience and the founder of Anchored Heart Coaching. After her own health transformation — losing 60 pounds and ending a lifetime of yo-yo dieting — and a profound loss that reoriented her entire life, Mugs became a life coach specializing in burnout prevention and recovery for nurses, caregivers, and women who have spent a lifetime putting others first. Her webinar, "Bust Through Burnout by Understanding the Meaning of True Self-Care," brings her ANCHOR framework to nurses seeking balance, resilience, and joy.Connect with Mugs HaugenWebsite: anchoredheartcoaching.comResourcesWeCanDoItWomen.com — join Debra's communityIf you are a nurse, a caregiver, or a woman who has been putting everyone else first for so long you've forgotten what it feels like to put yourself first — Mugs is the real thing. Visit anchoredheartcoaching.com and take the first step. And a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts takes 60 seconds and helps more women find this show. Thank you for being here.

She had a bald spot the size of her fist. Her body had been sending signals for months — and she kept flipping her hair to hide it. She had worked for the world's largest retailer, managed multimillion-dollar budgets, traveled to 40 countries before 40, and climbed every rung she had set out to climb. And then her body simply refused to get out of bed. Lynn Wong's burnout story is not a cautionary tale. It is the origin story of one of the most compelling coaches working with high achievers today.In This Episode:Lynn's journey from Singapore to Atlanta — how a girl who majored in "people watching" (sociology) ended up running global teams for Fortune 1 companiesWhy Lynn noticed she had benefited almost entirely from male mentors — and what she decided to do about itThe burnout that stopped her cold: alopecia, 12 steroid injections, and the day her body refused to get out of bedThe three things she committed to during her sabbatical — and why she refused to add a fourthThe REST framework: the four-step acronym Lynn uses to help high achievers recover without losing themselvesThe moment during her sabbatical when she said for the first time: "I think I'm going to become a coach"What CliftonStrengths coaching actually is and why Lynn got her certification as a birthday gift to herself at 40The Canadian tech founder who sold her company, lost her identity, and came back to salsa dancing and communityThe warning signs of burnout that high achievers routinely dismiss — and why Lynn knows exactly what they look likeWhat it means to be "the one you've been waiting for"About Lynn WongLynn Wong is an executive and life coach, founder of LW Coaches, and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. A Singapore-born corporate leader who spent two decades managing global teams across Fortune 1 companies, Lynn knows the cost of high achievement firsthand — she burned out, recovered, and rebuilt her life around helping others do the same without paying that price. She specializes in high achievers who are burning out or breaking through, and works at the intersection of coaching, neuroscience, and yoga.Connect with Lynn WongWebsite: lwcoaches.com (free starter kit and burnout assessment available)ResourcesWeCanDoItWomen.com — join Debra's community

She passed out at the podium on her very first public speaking assignment. By the time she graduated college, she had won a national speaking competition and spoken to stadiums of 10,000 people. That trajectory — from clinically diagnosed shy child with a debilitating stutter to global leadership CEO — is not just Linda Fisk's backstory. It is the exact philosophy she has built an entire movement on: grit and grace, in equal measure.In This Episode:The childhood diagnosis that changed everything: clinical shyness that manifested as a severe stutter in every classroom and social settingHow Linda went from passing out at a podium in college to winning national public speaking competitions — and what that journey requiredThe concept of "grit and grace" and why both are essential to any woman pursuing her next chapterWhat LeadHERship Global is — and why it attracts everyone from solopreneur coaches to leaders of billion-dollar corporationsThe "multiplier effect" of transformative partnership — why one plus one doesn't equal twoReal results inside the community: businesses doubled and tripled, nonprofits fully funded, women stepping onto TEDx stages and into paid board seatsWhy radical responsibility and radical candor are the twin pillars of every real breakthroughThe "say-do ratio" — and why it is the only currency that builds lasting trustWhy women wait for "perfect" before taking the next step — and what Linda says to every woman who is hanging backAbout Linda FiskLinda Fisk is the CEO and founder of LeadHERship Global, a worldwide leadership community for women that provides access to funding, media, speaking, and partnership opportunities across every industry and geography. After overcoming clinical shyness and a severe stutter — and going on to win national public speaking competitions — Linda built her career in the C-suite of some of the world's most prestigious membership organizations before founding LeadHERship Global on the principle that women rise fastest together.Connect with Linda FiskWebsite: leadhershipglobal.comEmail: [email protected] Debra's community - WeCanDoItWomen.comFollow for new episodes weekly.

Dotty Scott built her business the same way she learned to run a farm as a child — through discipline, consistency, and showing up even when it was uncomfortable. As a committed introvert, she knows firsthand how paralyzing the online world can feel. So when she launched her web design and digital strategy business, she made herself a promise: one video per week for one year, no matter what. She kept that promise for two years. The result? Strangers at networking events started approaching her as if they already knew her — because they did. They had watched her videos. The introvert who used to stand against the wall at chamber meetings suddenly had people walking across the room to start conversations.That experience shaped how Dotty coaches her own clients. She teaches business owners to repurpose everything — turning one piece of content into multiple formats across multiple platforms, testing what gets traction, and leaning into what works. Her advice for time-strapped solopreneurs: stop trying to be everywhere. Figure out where your audience actually is, then show up there consistently. And always start by Googling yourself. Most people are shocked — either by what appears, or by what doesn't. Then Google your top competitor and look at every directory, listing, and platform where they appear that you don't. That gap is your to-do list.On reviews, Dotty is refreshingly counterintuitive. A perfect 5.0 rating is a red flag to savvy consumers — it signals manipulation. A 4.5 tells the truth: this person deals with real clients, and when something goes wrong, they respond with integrity. Her advice is to claim your Google Business Profile (it's free and always has been), welcome the occasional imperfect review, and use your response to that review to demonstrate exactly how you handle adversity. That response is often the deciding factor for a potential new client.As for AI, Dotty's message is simple: it's not coming for your job. It's coming to give you your Fridays back. She tests tools so her clients don't have to, filtering out the junk and sharing only what genuinely moves the needle. The result? She now takes every Friday and Monday off during Washington summers, running her entire business in three days a week — and her clients are experiencing similarly expanded freedom.About Dotty ScottDotty Scott is the founder of Premium Websites and a 20-year veteran of digital strategy for solopreneurs and small business owners. An introvert who built a thriving business in male-dominated industries, Dotty specializes in taking clients from invisible to invincible online — through websites, video, SEO, content repurposing, and curated AI tools. She is a teacher at heart who has been where her clients are, and that shared experience is exactly why they stay.Connect with Dotty ScottWebsite: premiumwebsites.net (schedule a Zoom call directly from the site)ResourcesWeCanDoItWomen.com — join the communityIf Dotty's story gave you one thing you're going to do differently this week — even just Googling your own name — then share this episode with a woman in business who needs to hear it. And a quick 5-star review on Apple Podcasts goes a long way toward helping more women find this show. We're grateful you're here.

She landed at JFK from Lithuania with $100 in her pocket and couldn't understand "window 30" — because she'd learned British English, not American. She didn't know what a checking account was. Had never seen a credit card. What Asta Sanders built from that starting point will change how you think about your own financial future.In This Episode:How Asta went from selling Kirby vacuums to becoming a CFP®, Enrolled Agent & Certified Private Wealth AdvisorThe moment she looked her bank manager in the eye during the 2008 crisis and asked: "If that was your mother, would you sell her that annuity?"Why taxes and investments must be planned together — and what it costs you when they aren'tCase Study 1: How a retiree was saved from paying ordinary income tax on $1M of company stockCase Study 2: How a $300,000 tax bill became $104,000 through year-end planningThe difference between a fee-only fiduciary and a commission-based brokerWhat multi-generational wealth planning actually looks like in practiceEpisode SummaryAsta Sanders didn't grow up knowing the language of American finance — literally or figuratively. In Lithuania, there were no checking accounts, no credit cards, no allowances. If you wanted money as a child, you picked berries and sold them at the market. That entrepreneurial spirit carried her through a career that began selling Kirby vacuums door to door (where she first heard the name Warren Buffett), through Merrill Lynch, through a regional bank during the 2008 financial crisis, and finally into the fee-only fiduciary world she now calls home.The 2008 moment is worth pausing on. Her manager pressured her to sell high-commission annuities regardless of client suitability. She looked at him and asked: "If that was your mother sitting in front of me, would you want me to sell her that annuity?" He didn't answer. She had hers.Today Asta holds three designations — CFP®, Enrolled Agent, and Certified Private Wealth Advisor (taught by Yale School of Management, requiring five years of high-net-worth experience to even qualify). That combination lets her do what most advisors can't: plan taxes and investments together before December 31st, not after April 15th. The results speak for themselves. One Occidental Petroleum retiree was about to roll $1M in company stock into an IRA and trigger ordinary income tax on the entire gain. Asta used a Net Unrealized Appreciation strategy instead — taxing only the $150K basis, preserving the growth at capital gains rates, and ensuring his children inherit the remainder at zero tax cost. In another case, a high-earning W2 client went from owing $300,000 to $104,000. The $196,000 difference? Year-end planning that most CPAs never do.About Asta SandersAsta Sanders, CFP®, EA, CPWA, is the founder of Empowered Retirement. A Lithuanian immigrant who built her expertise from the ground up, she specializes in tax-integrated financial planning, multi-generational wealth, and retirement planning for women. She still answers her own phone.Connect with Asta SandersWebsite: empoweredretirement.comPhone: 973-709-2244ResourcesWeCanDoItWomen.com/group — join the communityOne ask: If this episode opened your eyes to something your own advisor may be missing, share it with a woman who needs to hear it — and leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. It takes 60 seconds and helps more women find this show.

Women over 50, financial reinvention, and the revolution Debra Morrison is leading — that's what this first episode is all about.Debra L. Morrison, CFP®, TEDx speaker, and founder of We Can Do It Women sits down with Zondra Evans to tell her story — from a beef cattle farm and a trembling grandfather's stock shares, to leading an insurance agency at 21, earning her CFP® in 18 months, and ultimately building a movement for seasoned women ready to reclaim their power.In this episode:What We Can Do It Women is and why Debra calls it a revolutionHolistic wealth — health, relationships, and purpose beyond moneyReturn on Life (ROL) vs. Return on InvestmentInvestment clubs and travel expeditions for women 50+How to stop fear from standing between you and your next chapterEpisode SummaryDebra Morrison didn't set out to build a movement. She set out to understand money. Growing up on a humble beef cattle farm, she watched her grandfather — hands trembling — hand her shares of stock. At eight years old, her aunt took her to the New York Stock Exchange, and something lit up inside her that never went out. That spark became a 47-year career as a Certified Financial Planner, a master's degree in retirement planning, and a life spent sitting across the table from women navigating some of their most financially vulnerable moments.But somewhere along the way, Debra noticed something that no spreadsheet could capture. Women weren't just lacking financial knowledge — they were lacking belief in themselves. Husbands would pull her aside in hallways and whisper: "Please get her involved in money." Clients with portfolios full of assets couldn't answer the question: "What do you actually want?" The hope had been tamped out of them. And Debra decided that was unacceptable.We Can Do It Women was born from that recognition. Debra describes it not as a company, but as a revolution — specifically for women she calls "seasoned women," those 60 and wiser who carry decades of lived experience, wisdom, and untapped potential. The mission is to ignite the fire in their bellies. To help women step outside the roles they've played — wife, mother, caregiver, professional — and ask the question many have never dared to: Who am I, really? What Debra has discovered is that when seasoned women gather in community, something explosive happens. The synergy is, as she puts it, "intoxicating."The vision is sweeping. Investment clubs where women put their money where their values are. Travel expeditions to Machu Picchu and beyond. Writing workshops. Journaling. A community that gives women with less confidence more confidence — and women with more confidence more knowledge. And threaded through all of it, a reframing of wealth itself: not just greenbacks, but health, relationships, spirituality, mental wellbeing, and purpose. Debra's term for the ultimate goal? Return on Life — ROL. Because as she says with characteristic directness: life is not a dress rehearsal.Connect with Debra MorrisonWebsite: WeCanDoItWomen.comFacebook Community: WeCanDoItWomen.com/GroupLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/debralmorrisonInstagram: www.instagram.com/debralmorrisonTiktok: www.tiktok.com/@wecandoitwomenYouTube: www.youtube.com/@DebraLMorrisonConnect with Zondra Evans / Zondra TVZondra TV — where this episode was originally filmedJoin the RevolutionIf this episode stirred something in you — a spark of recognition, a whisper of that's me — don't let it sit. Go to WeCanDoItWomen.com and join the community. This is a free, safe space filled with women who have asked the same questions you're asking and found that on the other side of those questions is something extraordinary. And if you loved this episode, please take 60 seconds to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more seasoned women find this show — and every woman who finds it is one more woman who stops believing her best years are behind her.Follow the show for new episodes every week.