The Lauren Widrick Podcast

I've been sitting on a big idea, and instead of keeping it to myself, I workshopped the whole thing on the podcast. Out loud. Unfiltered. Half-baked and all.🎯 92% of goals are dead within two weeks. A Harvard study said it. I'm just here to stop pretending otherwise.🏃 I'm pitching a totally anti-goal system built on sprints, and the methodology I stole from software developers might be the thing that actually changes your life.✨ Forget discipline and consistency. What if your plan only had to survive the next seven days?🧠 I think I'm building an app. I also think I might be losing my mind. Possibly both.📞 One brown spot on my cheek, one phone call, and suddenly I understand how micro wins turn into a completely different life.🎤 I applied to do a TED Talk. Okay, I said I MIGHT apply. I'm dragging a friend into it either way.📬 If this kind of messy, in-progress thinking is your thing, you'll love my twice-monthly newsletter over at laurenwidrick.com.The whole point of this podcast is vulnerability and building out loud. So there you go.

I disappeared. No explanation, no farewell post, no "I'm taking a break" announcement. Just... gone. Here's what actually happened.🔥 I was drowning in content I was creating for an audience that wasn't growing, posting five days a week on LinkedIn like it was my religion, and getting exactly zero return on that investment.💀 I shut down my business, went back to corporate America, and had absolutely no idea how to explain that without sounding like a fraud, a hypocrite, or someone who just faceplanted in front of everyone she'd ever inspired.🪞 The shame spiral was real. I built a whole identity around "I escaped investment banking and run my own thing," and then whoopsie, I un-escaped. The internal reckoning was not cute.🤬 My coach told me I wasn't "healed enough" to relaunch, I had a full rage moment about it, and then realized about six months later she was completely right and I hated that for me.🗼 Two posts in two years broke the internet (okay, went viral). One was a selfie. One was me in front of the Eiffel Tower. Neither had bullet points or a call to action. Lesson apparently learned.🧩 The messy middle is the content. Not the polished five-step framework. Not the answers. Just the honest, unfiltered, "I'm figuring it out too" energy that apparently hits different.📬 If this is your kind of chaos, come hang. Sign up for my twice-monthly newsletter at laurenwidrick.com for episode recaps and real talk delivered straight to your inbox, no spam, nothing to sell, just vibes.You don't need to announce your comeback. You just need to show up.

I started the year like a woman possessed with greatness. Right now? The only things I possess are extra pounds and credit card debt. Here's WTF happened and what I'm doing about it: 🔥 I crushed an 8-week fitness challenge, lost body fat, gained muscle, and then got on a cruise ship and completely self-destructed like I was being paid to do it💸 My husband and I had a legendary three-day money fight last fall that somehow fixed our finances completely, and then I undid four months of progress with one spring break shopping cart📋 I pulled up my 2026 goals document this morning and the words "not started" appear so many times I started to feel personally attacked by my own Word doc🙏 I prayed for real clarity instead of just white-knuckling another "I'm going back to the gym five days a week" plan that would last eleven days, and what came back stopped me cold💡 Turns out the goals crushing it in my life are the ones with God and deeper meaning baked in, and the ones in the dumpster are powered entirely by wanting to look good in shorts, which is not, it turns out, enough fuel🎾 I am now spiritually motivated by a $50,000 backyard pickleball court and I have never been more serious about anything in my entire financial lifeYour goals are not dead. You have eight months, a deeper why waiting to be found, and a woman in Fort Mill who is locking in right alongside you.

I left a six-figure corporate job chasing freedom, built a business from scratch for six years, and came crawling back. So which is better? W2 or Entrepreneurship? Let's break it down...🏆 Pro of entrepreneurship nobody talks about: the meaning is unmatched. Building something that's yours, with your gifts, hits different than optimizing bank software for someone else's bottom line.🪤 Con of entrepreneurship nobody admits: freedom is a trap if you're wired like me. Decision fatigue, zero structure, and a business that lives or dies on your emotional state is a full-time psychological experiment.💰 Pro of W2 that I took for granted: the same number hitting your account every other Friday. I didn't appreciate it until my income became a rollercoaster tied directly to my feelings.😬 Con of W2 that drove me out: the earning ceiling is basically a mortgage on your ambition. Two to five percent raises forever was never going to get me where I wanted to go.🔄 Surprise pro of going back to corporate: I returned at a higher salary than when I left. Six years of entrepreneurship made me more valuable, not less hireable.🤝 The con nobody on either side will say out loud: neither path meets all your needs. A job won't give you self-expression. A solo business won't give you safety. The answer might just be both.Stop asking which one wins. Start asking which parts of each you actually need.

I've been getting bombarded with "how do you DO this?" messages, so here's the whole embarrassing truth about how I make a podcast from my car and my bed in my pajamas.🎙️ The whole setup is a voice memo app and a $0 budget, and somehow that's working better than my old fancy produced show🚗 My audio quality is, by my own admission, genuinely mid, and 600 downloads in under a month says nobody cares✂️ I edit in about the same amount of time it takes to listen back, which means a "production day" is basically just a lunch break📊 Throwing spaghetti at the wall turns out to be a legitimate content strategy, and I'm getting better data from 16-minute duds than I ever did from a week of effort🎨 My cover art was AI-generated in 10 minutes and features me in a suit holding champagne, which has nothing to do with recording in my pajamas, and I stand by it🍝 The whole point of this thing is connection, which means your imperfect little podcast matters more than the one you've been perfecting in your head for two yearsStop ruminating and record a voice note. That's the whole strategy.

I had a total clusterf**k of a weekend because I forgot to manifest. Oops. Lemme remind you (and me!) the 4 critical steps to manifest *LITERALLY ANYTHING* you want.Tune in to hear goodies like: ☀️ I looked a rainstorm in the face and told my friends it was leaving. Forty-five minutes later we were toasting ourselves for fixing the weather at Coco Cay.💳 Sean's wallet disappeared on day one. I told him to picture it back in his hand. A stranger named Nicole personally delivered it within the hour.🗺️ Meanwhile, the soccer weekend? Left the credit card at home, lost 12 times by GPS, dropped $65 on a Starbucks order we never got, and ended with buffalo chicken wrap all over me on the side of the road.🧠 The difference wasn't luck. It was a 4-step framework I accidentally built while tipsy on a beach, and it actually holds up.⚡ Step one starts with a personal mantra. The kind you can say in two seconds when everything is going sideways.🎯 The other three steps take about as long to execute as it does to close your eyes and picture exactly what you want.In case you forget how to manifest and go into a doom hole, play this little micro-ep on repeat.

I Did NOT Plan to Get Baptized (And Yet Here We Are)We went to church draggin ass from a cruise. We left a completely different family. No, really.💦 Shawn and I almost skipped church entirely after a week of partying on a cruise ship. Almost.🙌 The pastor basically dismantled every excuse we had in real time, including the hair dryer one (yes, that was a real concern).👀 A four-way eye contact moment with my husband and daughters, and we all just... stood up. No words needed.🎂 Turns out we spontaneously got baptized as a family on our 18th wedding anniversary because apparently God has a flair for the dramatic.✍️ I wrote "get baptized" on a goals list in December and spent this whole year talking myself out of it. The universe had other plans.🏠 My brand new next door neighbor was literally on the baptism squad waiting to hug me. You cannot make this up.If you've been dragging your feet on something you feel truly called to do...let this be your sign.

I got a DM from a friend that sparked a rant I didn't know I needed to go on ...and honestly, this advice could save you hundreds of hours of dead-end sales calls.🏷️ Listing your prices is a "grown ass adult move" and I will die on this hill🎯 Your dream clients aren't scared of your prices. The looky-loos are, and that's the point📋 The secret weapon? A slightly annoying intake form that does your selling for you🐣 The one exception: if you're a baby business owner, go get your knees skinned up first🔥 If your price doesn't roll off your tongue with zero ick, your offer isn't cooked yet🧲 Like attracts like. Boss energy on your website attracts boss energy buyersSplash that shit on your website. I said what I said.

I brought my friend Dre Ross on to talk about the drink blowing up everyone's FYP, and and why it might actually work, according to someone who geeks out on living to 110.🍒 Tart cherry juice, magnesium, sparkling water: three ingredients standing between you and the best sleep of your forties🧬 Dre is a certified nutrition coach, corporate leader, and co-runs Super C Vitality with her husband Tony — where they literally experiment on themselves for science😴 We broke down why sleep hits different after 40 — and why "just go to bed early" is a joke once perimenopause enters the chat🧪 Instead of just talking about it, Dre and Tony are running a 7-day sleep challenge starting the first week of April...and you're invited🚢 I'll be on a cruise sabotaging my circadian rhythm with pizza and screentime, but I'm jumping in the second I'm back — priorities📺 Head to Super C Vitality on YouTube to join the challenge, get the full recipe breakdown, and check in with the community all week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEeUzJpAWqAThree ingredients. Seven nights. One question: what if the internet was actually right this time?

Guest Post by Lindsay Nelson 🌟Lindsay Nelson — tarot reader, astrology enthusiast, brand strategist, Colorado mama, and the kind of soulmate friend you get magnetically pulled toward at a sorority house and never let go of — drops in to give us the cosmic download for April.The Card: 10 of Pentacles: Your basket won't break. Whatever you're building, betting on, and pouring yourself into this month — the tarot says trust it. Steadiness, sustainability, stability. Keep going.Key Dates to Watch:April 1st — Full Moon in Libra. Overthinking szn is here. The cure? Make spontaneous social plans and get out of your head.April 9th — Mars enters Aries. GREEN LIGHT. Gas pedal. That thing you've been journaling about, business-planning, and overthinking? This is your cosmic permission slip to go.April 19th — Taurus Season begins. Pump the brakes (lovingly). Time to ground all that hustle and ask: show me the ROI. Prove the value of what you built, and let the 10 of Pentacles remind you it's solid.April 24th — Venus enters Gemini. Exhale. Picture yourself on a boat, yacht rock playing, sauvignon blanc in hand, sunset glowing. It's light, flirty, and fun. You're gonna be just fine.The Vibe:Overthinking → Activation → Proving value → Deep exhale. April wraps up beautifully — sit in what you've built and feel proud.

I spent years debunking religion for sport...then my 11-year-old dragged me to church and I ugly-cried during the first song. Yep, I'm a card-carrying Christian now. Here's how it went down: ⚡ Mid-identity crisis, secretly job hunting, and my kid's sleepover friend accidentally evangelized me🍷 One glass of wine at Hobo's later, I told my husband I was done white-knuckling life solo🔥 Closed my business, crawled back to corporate, and it all worked out suspiciously well📱 I now use ChatGPT as a Bible concordance before big presentations—best productivity hack yet🐍 Literal talking snakes? Unclear. WWJD-ing my way through gossip and gluttony? Absolutely.🔮 Jesus told me (in my head, casually) that He's cool with my tarot cards because He's "all up in there"The smug atheist era wasn't it for me. It was the surrender era changed everything.

How does a former freak-flaggy entrepreneur fit into Corporate America? I mean...what about HR? My thoughts on if/when/how to bring your Freak Flag (aka your TRUE self) out in a corporate setting. Sneaky peeks: 🦓Why I wear an orange zebra dress and hot pink party pants weekly to work. 😬 I hit a colleague with "no notes" and he genuinely asked if he needed to add notes. Gen Z has failed me.🫣 In my interviews I announced I'm the dumbest person in every room — then got multiple offers. Confidence is confusing.🔥 I told my skip-level boss I want to be Chief People Officer. That job doesn't exist here. Minor detail.🐍 I drew a public line in the sand: I will NOT be writing Python. My career satisfaction thanks me.💀 Some people absolutely think I'm off my rocker. I consider that quality control.The world doesn't need the watered-down, polished-up, people-pleasing version of you. They need the one in the zebra dress.

It's been two years since I walked away...and now, I have hindsight to see the patterns I couldn't see while I was in the sauce. 🪩 Built products nobody asked for and acted surprised when nobody bought them🎪 Made my best offer "for everyone" — which is marketing for "for no one"🧠 65 Canva slide decks. Sixty. Five. (Business ADHD is undefeated📣 Sold so hard in every post that people could smell the CTA through their phone💸 Hired coaches and redesigned websites when I just needed to... talk to humans🔥 What the comeback era actually looks like (spoiler: no sales pitch)Whether you're launching, pivoting, reinventing, or quietly rage-quitting in a parking deck — I've been there, I've coached hundreds through it, and I'm spilling all of it so you can skip my mistakes and steal my lessons.

Show Notes:🚗 Recording live from the Monday commute — audio quality is a vibe, just go with it🍽️ Weekend highlight reel: surprise steakhouse dinner, toasting a friend's new job, and a body scan that actually didn't destroy me💪 Lost 0 lbs, gained 2 lbs of muscle — calling that a win and nobody can stop me🎯 The big debate: if your goal doesn't stretch you, is it even a goal or just a Monday to-do list?💸 I set a $100K revenue goal, missed by half, had 7 out of 8 ideas flop — and it was still my best month ever📖 Why "10X is Easier Than 2X" should be your next read — small goals just make you slightly more tired🏆 Set audacious goals, stack tiny daily wins, and DM me the wildest thing you ever did to hit yours🎤 92% of goals fail. Should we be the unhinged 8%???

A real-time meltdown about missing my daughter's first middle school soccer game…because apparently they start at 5 PM like we don't have jobs?? Da fuq?What We Cover: • Why millennial moms are up our kids' butts 6+ hours a day(our moms gave us 1-2 hours and a bike, bye) • The batting average theory of parenting (spoiler: you'reat .990) • How to not to trauma dump your Mom Guilt onto your husband and kids• Guilt vs. shame (one is "I f*cked up," the otheris "I AM a f*ckup") • Why your kid only guilt-trips you if YOU trained them to. *Ouch* but because I love you. The Takeaway: You forgot the permission slip. Yousnapped at bedtime. You're gonna be late. Cool. You also fed them, loved them, and drove them all over God’s green earth. You're doing fine, babe.Stop spiraling. Start modeling badass energy. Your kids arewatching.Note: I record these in my car during my commute, so the audio quality is meh. I assume you don't mind.

I heard something on a podcast that literally blew my pants off — and now I can't stop applying it to everything.In this episode:🧠 The Alex Hormozi mic-drop moment that rewired my entire brain 💪 Why I've been hiding behind perimenopause like it's a security blanket — and the gym wake-up call I didn't see coming🎙️ Every unhinged fear I had about relaunching this podcast (yes, including "what if everyone thinks I'm stupid")🔥 The 3 types of limiting beliefs — and only ONE of them requires you to actually do something about it😬 The real fear that almost killed this podcast before it started (spoiler: lawyers were involved)🤷‍♀️ The most underrated strategy for dealing with fear: "who cares?"🅱️ Why I'm recording this from a cheerleading parking lot and why that IS the point👊 The unsexy first step I took to land my first two coaching clients — no website, no funnel, literally just a photocopied piece of paperBottom line: Your overthinking isn't a bug — it's proof you're brilliant. But B*tch, Please, it's time to take the baby step, mkay

I went from Joe Dirt rat tail to cascading blonde goddess. Everyone is *super intrigued* when I reveal that it's fake, so this is an unhinged FAQ in case you are extension-curious. Highlights: 💸 I looked my husband in the eye and said "mommy needs this" — $1,500 later, here we are🚿 Every morning I do a naked, bent-over, shower-cap-rubber-band-towel contraption just to wash five real hairs⏰ Appointments are 3.5 hours every 8 weeks and yes, it costs $500 a pop Regular sunscreen will turn your extensions pink and your investment into a bonfire✨ My real hair now stays curled with the fake hair and literally no one can explain it🧢 Even in a baseball hat I look like a shampoo commercial and I will not be humbled🍜 The lifestyle is: eat ramen, look expensiveVerdict: 10/10, would financially ruin myself again. If you're in Charlotte, go see Lauren Cage at The Mill Salon in Fort Mill. People can't tell it's fake, and I will never shut up about it.

I don't have "one thing." No singular calling, no Taylor Swift-level obsession. What I do have is a brain full of ideas, a corporate job, and a wild itch to f*ck around and find out.In this episode, I'm tackling the "millennial life crisis" — that spiral where you're either drawn to nothing or drawn to everything.Things I could maybe be when I grow up:C-suite executiveCostco influencerStandup comedianConference queenPodcast host (hey, look at that)What I've learned by FAFO'ing: You cannot journal, meditate, or ruminate your way to resultsCooking up ideas alone and shoving them down people's throats doesn't work (RIP my last business)The universe rewards bravery with clarityWhat I'm doing differently this time:Recording messy micro episodes on my phone with zero polishNo products. Nothing to sell. No agenda.Throwing stuff at the wall — recipes, rants, life lessons — and seeing what sticksLetting you tell me what you want more ofYour takeaway: Whatever's nudging you — that dumb little idea you keep dismissing — just do the baby step. You don't have to solve the whole life problem. One tiny move gives you clarity for the next one.Tell me your first FAFO baby step in the comments!

Fair warning: You might cancel me after this episode. I'm saying the quiet part out loud: I can't stand International Women's Day. While some people are shouting out incredible women (love that), others are drowning in victim stories about the patriarchy, the wage gap, and how impossible it all is. And I'm not here for it.Here's the thing — words are spells. If you keep telling yourself you're stuck, congratulations, you will be.In this episode, I'm getting into:Why I think the "it's not fair" narrative is keeping you smallThe uncomfortable truth about why your husband "doesn't help" (and what actually works instead)A book recommendation that changed my perspective — even as a full-on atheist (Love and Respect — yes, it's Christian-based, yes, it's still gold)The real reason women aren't in the C-suite (spoiler: it's not a room full of men plotting against you)Why I respect the stay-at-home-mom as much as the female CEO — and why you should just pick one and stop suffering in the middleThe time I delivered this message to 80 women at a financial services company... and it bombedMy free-range, wild-chicken parenting philosophy I'm not saying this to be mean. I'm saying it because I see how capable you are. You have choices, you have agency, and you are not a victim of your circumstances.Now — are you a secret baddie who agrees? Tell me.🌶️ Spicy spice, delivered with love.

Live from I-77 on a Monday morning. Watch me go from Saddie to Baddie in 6 minutes flat. The uber-embarrassing thing I did this morning that instantly changed my mindsetWhy your to-do list is scarier in your head than in real lifeMy cold brew brain dump hack: 50 tasks → 2The phrase that changed how I think about time (hint: it's not PG)When you have more than 6 minutes, listen to this ear candy about making time your B: https://open.spotify.com/episode/12dKny7ReavjS5RBgcr4VeA 30-second mindset shift for when work stress feels like the end of the worldLemme ride shotgun on your commute and we can level up together.

I got struck with this "Gaslighting for Good" concept and why talking sh*t to myself is really the only way I get things done. Hmmm....My 4:20 AM mantra that gets me out of bed (and it's not positive affirmations) The meal prep boxes that say "be a baddy, not a fatty" — and why I stand by themI told my coaching clients my secret and they staged a mini interventionThe difference between gaslighting for good and just being mean to yourself in the bathroomNow I'm curious - would you ever gaslight yourself for good?

While LinkedIn melts down, I'm thrilled AI is about to handle all the soul-crushing spreadsheets and task tedium. I have a multi-pronged approach to thrive in this crazy new world, and I'm spilling the beans so you can too. 🪣 Bucket 1: AI Queen of Corporate — Build a sweet-ass command center with autonomous agents so you can stop digging through 120 project plans and start playing maestro with dashboards.🪣 Bucket 2: Side Hustles, But Sentient — The Lauren Bot: a voice-enabled digital clone you can actually talk to. Plus a Sassy Sprint App for ADHD squirrel brains that roasts you into hitting your goals. ("Bitch please, you said you'd meal prep. Pics or it didn't happen")🪣 Bucket 3: AI-Proof Ideas — Pop-up dance nights for elder millennials who just want Usher and Little John by 10:30pm. Open bar, sequins, finish-the-lyrics games. AI can't twerk. Case closed.🪣 Bucket 4: Get Your Money Right — Bitcoin, stocks, multiple income streams. Even the sexiest AI cockpit can't guarantee your job.Sidebar: My 9-year-old wants to skip college and open a one-stop beauty empire. Honestly more AI-proof than most Fortune 500 strategies.Bottom line: If you're only using ChatGPT to process feelings, you're behind third graders. Stop chitchatting, start building.

Forget the 12-step skincare routines and hand-crafted matcha moments. This is what a real working mom morning looks like—recorded live from the rage-inducing parking lot that is 77 North (so forgive the audio quality please). In This Episode:Why 4:20 AM wake-ups aren't brutal (brainwash yourself)The date + nut butter + flaky salt combo that's better than a candy barSidebar: my beloved minivan died and I bought a... Hyundai TucsonOrange Theory vs. ISI: One made me gain 8 lbs of pure fat. Guess which onePerimenopause "cortisol spiking" is hot garbageHow I fit the gym, grocery shopping, packing lunches, full glam, a Dunkin' run with the kids, commuting and hour and recording a podcast all before 9:00 AM. WFH days: The luxury of three-hour slow mornings to journal, Bible study, or just scroll Instagram guilt-freeThe art of brainwashing yourself into loving things that should suckKey Timestamps:4:20 AM: Alarm. Straight to shower. Not sorry.4:40 AM: Two dates with Nutso 5:00 AM: Orange Theory hip-hop sweat fest6:02 AM: Smug Starbucks run6:15 AM: Home feeling like an absolute BOSS (with groceries)7:10 AM: Quality car time with kids who already live their own lives at 139:00 AM: Arriving at work after living half a day alreadyThe Real Talk: Extraordinary mornings require choices. You can't stay up till midnight and wake up at 4:20. You can't hit snooze and also crush a workout. But you CAN lie to yourself until loving your routine becomes true.Products Mentioned (That I'm Not Getting Paid For):Gorgie Energy (the blue one, obviously)Nutso mixed nut butter from CostcoOrange Theory (cortisol spike and all)Hyundai Tucson (my zippy new dream car)Voxer (for asynchronous friend BS-ing)Where can YOU re-brainwash yourself? Slide into my DMs and tell me about your morning routine—awesome, terrible, or somewhere in between.

Spiraling over forties aging? Me too. Jowls, wrinkles, and a stubborn perimenopause FUPA later, my husband dropped this bomb: "You're 43. You're allowed to look 43."What's inside:Why looking 22 forever is not a thing (but yes, I'm still getting that facelift)How Hillary Duff's hot body healed me. The cold but comforting truth that nobody even notices that thing you obsess over. The truth: Hotness is a vibe, and you have it. Even my husband thinks so.