The Sallie Ogden Show: Everything I Wish I Knew When I Was 25!

I once set my kitchen on fire making dinner. Not because I couldn't cook — but because I believed that since I could, I was supposed to.That same belief followed me everywhere. Into a corner office I didn't need. Into a backyard renovation nobody asked for. Into launching product after product in my business and scrapping each one before it had a chance to breathe — costing me close to a million dollars in wasted time, energy, and revenue I left on the table.The pattern? Capability equals obligation. If I can do it, I should do it. And that one belief was running my life.In this episode, I tell four stories — each one more ridiculous than the last — about what happens when you confuse being able to do something with being meant to do it. And I talk about the real cost: not just money, but the energy, the focus, and the fulfillment you lose when you say yes to everything you're capable of instead of the things that actually matter.If you've ever looked at your life and thought, "Why am I doing all of this?" — this one's for you.You're allowed to stop doing things you're good at. That's not quitting. That's just smart.This is The Sallie Ogden Show — Everything I Wish I Knew When I Was 25.DM me on Instagram @the_brimm the dumbest thing you've ever done just because you thought you should. I'll read every single one.

She built a nearly $3 million business from scratch. Her customers loved her. Her repeat purchase rate was extraordinary. And she was drowning.Not in debt. Not in failure. In noise, complexity, and the feeling that no matter how hard she worked, she couldn't see what she'd actually built.When I looked under the hood, I found over a million dollars in annual revenue sitting right there — uncaptured. Not because the strategy was wrong. But because of what she believed about herself and what she deserved.She was underpricing because she didn't think people would pay more. Hiding her bestsellers because she didn't trust that they were good enough. Giving everything away before she felt like she'd earned the right to ask.This founder didn't have a marketing problem. She had a belief problem.Beliefs control your thoughts. Your thoughts control your actions. Your actions control your outcomes. That's not a motivational poster. That's what I watched happen in real time, in one real business.And I'll be honest — this story is personal for me too. Because I've been her. Not in business specifically, but in life. Still operating from fear. Still making decisions from an old version of myself. Still hiding the good stuff.If you've ever built something successful but still felt overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure why it doesn't feel the way you thought it would — this one's for you.Because the real work is almost always on the inside first.This is The Sallie Ogden Show — Everything I Wish I Knew When I Was 25.

What happens when the person who knows you best asks the things you've been avoiding?In this episode, my husband Jason asks the questions I'd never ask myself — about who I really am underneath the version I built for everyone else, and what I'm actually afraid of. No script. No safety net. Just an honest conversation that went places I didn't expect.If you've ever felt like you were performing a version of yourself that looked right but didn't feel like you — this one's for you.

The degree. The career. The marriage. The house. She checked every box. So why did it feel like something was missing? In this episode, Sallie explores the achievement trap — the lie that “enough” is always one more accomplishment away — and what happens when you finally stop running long enough to ask: am I building a life I want, or a life that looks good from the outside?SHOW NOTESI got the degree. The title. The paycheck. The marriage. The house that looked like the ones in magazines.And I remember sitting on my couch one Saturday morning, staring at my coffee, thinking: why am I so tired? Not physically tired — soul tired. Like I’d been running a race I didn’t sign up for and couldn’t remember why I was running.That’s the achievement trap. And if you’ve ever hit a goal and felt... nothing — or worse, immediately started chasing the next one — you already know what I’m talking about.In this episode, I dig into why achievement doesn’t deliver what we think it will. The hedonic treadmill — it’s like running hard at the gym, sweating, exhausted, but the scenery never changes. The arrival fallacy — that lie your brain tells you: “I’ll be happy when...” And the real cost of building someone else’s version of success: the exhaustion, the imposter syndrome, the regret.Bronnie Ware spent years with people at the end of their lives and found the number one regret of the dying was: “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” When I first heard that, I burst into tears. Because I was already living that regret — and I was only in my thirties.This isn’t about being ungrateful. It’s about being honest. Achievement aligned with someone else’s values will always feel hollow, no matter how impressive it looks.The real question: Am I building a life I want to live — or a life that looks good from the outside?KEY THEMESThe achievement trap and the lie of “enough”The hedonic treadmill — why the goalpost always movesThe arrival fallacy — “I’ll be happy when...”Bronnie Ware’s research: the #1 regret of the dyingThe cost of building someone else’s version of successImposter syndrome as a signal, not a flawTIMESTAMPS0:00 The Saturday morning I realized something was wrong3:00 What I thought success would feel like vs. what it actually felt like7:00 The hedonic treadmill — why the high never lasts11:00 The arrival fallacy and the lie of “I’ll be happy when”15:00 What it cost me to chase someone else’s dream18:00 The #1 regret of the dying — and how to avoid itTAGS / KEYWORDSachievement trap, hedonic treadmill, arrival fallacy, empty success, burnout, purpose, fulfillment, imposter syndrome, Bonnie Ware, regret, women’s stories, personal growth, midlife, self-discovery, conditions of worth

What if the life you’re building isn’t actually yours? In this episode, Sallie explores conditions of worth — the invisible “if/then” rules we absorb as kids about what makes us lovable — and how those rules quietly shaped every major decision she made for decades. If you’ve ever achieved something and thought “wait, is this what I actually wanted?” this one’s for you.SHOW NOTESWhen I was little, I learned something without anyone ever saying it out loud.I learned that being helpful meant being valuable. That being quiet meant being safe. That good grades and good behavior earned something that felt a lot like love. And my little-kid brain started making deals I didn’t even know about: if I’m this, I’m worthy. If I’m that, I’m not.Psychologists call these “conditions of worth” — the unconscious if/then statements we build about our own value. Think of it like a piggy bank that doesn’t hold coins — it holds your sense of being lovable. And every time the adults around you light up, a coin drops in. Every time they pull away, one comes out. So you learn the formula. You become the version of yourself that keeps the piggy bank full.Here’s the thing nobody tells you: you can meet every single condition and still feel empty. Because you were never building YOUR life. You were earning coins for a piggy bank that was never really yours.In this episode, I dig into what conditions of worth are, how they shaped my choices for decades without me realizing it, and the question that started to untangle everything: Is this what I really want — or what I think I should want?This isn’t about blame. It’s about awareness. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.KEY THEMESConditions of worth — the invisible rules that shape your choicesThe piggy bank analogy: how we learn what makes us “valuable”The difference between your voice and your “should” voiceHow childhood patterns show up in adult decisionsWhy meeting every expectation can still leave you feeling emptyTIMESTAMPS0:00 The deals we make as kids without knowing it3:00 What are conditions of worth?7:00 The piggy bank — and how I learned to fill it11:00 How this showed up in my life15:00 The moment I realized I was living someone else’s plan18:00 How to start telling the differenceTAGS / KEYWORDSconditions of worth, people pleasing, self-worth, personal identity, Carl Rogers, psychology, childhood patterns, authenticity, women’s mental health, life transitions, inner voice, should vs. want

For five years, Sallie Ogden sat on the sidelines — researching, planning, hiding behind the idea that she wasn’t ready. In this first episode, she finally stops waiting. She shares why she’s doing this, what she hopes you’ll get from it, and why the scariest thing she’s ever done isn’t getting sober or surviving an affair — it’s pressing record. If you’ve got your own scary thing on the sidelines, this one’s for you.Welcome to The Sallie Ogden Show — Everything I wish I knew when I was 25.This is the episode I was afraid to record.For five years, I told myself I wasn’t ready. I researched. I planned. I did “behind the scenes” work that felt productive but was really just a sophisticated way of hiding. Fear had a grip on me — fear of making another mistake, of being seen, of showing up without something profound to say. All that fear did was keep me stuck and miserable.So this episode is me doing the thing: starting before I have it all figured out. I’m sharing why I’m here, what the last ten years have taught me — getting sober, surviving an affair, leaving my legal career, rebuilding at 40-something — and what I hope this show becomes. Not a place for advice or quick fixes, but a space where we can be honest about the messy, painful, beautiful process of becoming who we actually are.There’s a lot of BS out there that life tells you to believe — things your friends, your family, or even you yourself have decided are true that just... aren’t. This show is about telling the truth. Sharing the stories of how I discovered what is actually true and what I wish I’d known so long ago.And if you’ve got your own scary thing sitting on the sidelines? Consider this your nudge. You don’t figure it out first and then take action. You take action, and then you figure it out.Here goes.KEY THEMESOvercoming the fear of being seen and getting it wrongWhy “perfect” preparation is often just sophisticated hidingStarting before you’re ready — action over perfectionWhat this show is about: debunking the BS life told us to believeAn invitation to do your own scary thingTIMESTAMPS0:00 The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do2:00 Five years of hiding — and what I was really afraid of6:00 The last 10 years, the short version10:00 What this show is about — and what it isn’t14:00 Why I stopped waiting for the perfect moment17:00 Your turn — what’s your scary thing?TAGS / KEYWORDSfear of being seen, starting before you’re ready, personal growth, vulnerability, midlife reinvention, reflective podcast, life transitions, women’s stories, courage, authenticity, doing the scary thing

I'm incredibly excited to launch this new podcast. It's a lot of hard won experience that I hope will help you either know you're not alone or avoid these tough times all together.