What if work-life balance feels impossible not because of your schedule, but because of what's happening inside your head? In episode 259 of Joy Found Here, international life coach Rebecca Olson unpacks why so many ambitious working moms are stuck — and it starts with asking better questions. From her own motherhood identity crisis to coaching thousands of parents through theirs, she makes the case that balance isn't a dream. It's a skill set.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:50) The motherhood identity crisis that made Rebecca a coach

(07:46) When ambition and new motherhood feel like an impossible battle

(10:36) Why the guiltiest generation is also the most present

(13:05) The workplace bias against working moms that won't quit

(16:02) The two conversations working moms keep conflating

(21:34) The one question Rebecca asks to cut through the noise

(25:42) Work-life balance is a feeling state, not a calendar fix

(28:03) Clarity, Confidence, and Control — Rebecca's 3 C's unpacked

(39:20) Why you never think in fact — and the flashlight vs. floodlight shift

(43:44) Retraining your thoughts with Rebecca's Daily Kickstart

Rebecca Olson is a Certified Professional Life Coach, international keynote speaker, and host of the podcast Ambitious and Balanced Working Moms. A member of the International Coaching Federation, she has spent seven years helping career-focused parents stop feeling overwhelmed and "not enough" — so they can be present at home without sacrificing their ambitions. Her passion was ignited by her own motherhood identity crisis, which led her to leave a successful corporate career and go all-in on coaching. Through her signature group program and weekly podcast, she has helped thousands of working parents redefine success on their own terms and build the skillset for real work-life balance.

In this episode, Rebecca shares her framework for helping working moms untangle two conversations that constantly get conflated: what do I actually want from my career, and how do I manage the chaos of my current life? She introduces her 3 C's — Clarity, Confidence, and Control — making the case that lasting balance starts from the inside out: get clear on what success means to you, build an internal voice that supports your decisions, then develop the emotional regulation to follow through. She reframes work-life balance not as a calendar problem but as a feeling state driven by thought — illustrated by her flashlight-vs.-floodlight metaphor — and closes by sharing her free Daily Kickstart, a 10-minute daily practice designed to retrain thought patterns and build the mindset muscle working moms actually need.

Connect with Rebecca Olson:

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Podcast: Ambitious and Balanced Working Moms

The Working Mom’s Daily Kickstart: A simple morning practice to stay ahead of stress and overwhelm – so you feel in control of your time, your mindset, and your priorities.

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What if the most powerful life lessons you carry were handed down by the woman who raised you — and it took 40 years to realize it? In episode 258 of Joy Found Here, serial entrepreneur and action coach Amy Goober shares how a lifetime of her mother's wisdom became a book and a blueprint for women ready to stop waiting and start living. Amy is living proof that the best chapters don't always come first — and that the words we grow up hearing might just be the ones that change everything.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:44) How a Cornell grad became a secretary — and then a cake baker

(06:14) Opening The Icing on the Cake at 26 with zero business experience

(08:09) Reinventing herself from stay-at-home mom to action coach at 60

(10:44) Why Amy's mother believes successful parenting is successful separation

(12:05) The story behind My Mother Always Says and Gwen's 94 years of wisdom

(13:31) The 25 lessons — including why you can only tell your adult children something once

(23:48) The go-go, slow-go, no-go framework for living fully while you can

(28:17) The real trigger behind Amy's coaching pivot — and the loss that shaped her

(32:35) Why women need permission to put themselves first — and how Amy gives it

(42:08) The loneliness epidemic and why real, in-person connection changes everything

Amy Goober is an action coach, serial entrepreneur, and author who has spent four decades proving that reinvention has no expiration date — from opening a custom cake bakery at 26, to launching her own coaching practice at 60. Based in Boston, she helps women reconnect with what they want through 1:1 coaching, community events, and her women's travel brand Wandering Women. She is also the co-author of My Mother Always Says: 25 Lessons for Finding the Silver Lining, written with her 94-year-old mother, Gwen Borden.

In this episode, Amy Goober shares the story behind her book, co-written with her mother Gwen, whose life lessons — shaped by WWII and decades of resilience — form the heart of the collection. She reflects on how the mother-daughter dynamic shifts as children become adults, and unpacks the idea that successful parenting is ultimately successful separation. Amy also opens up about founding her action coaching practice after observing that too many women were talking about things they weren't doing — offering practical tools like her "go-go, slow-go, no-go" framework and her "toe dipper" approach for women hesitant to take that first step.

Connect with Amy Goober:

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Book: Amy Goober & Gwen Borden - My Mother Always Says

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What happens when the mental health system is quietly crumbling — and the woman holding it together has been doing so for 25 years? In episode 257 of Joy Found Here, Janelle Miller Moravek, Executive Director of Youth & Family Counseling, pulls back the curtain on America's behavioral health crisis — from a shrinking workforce and impossible pay rates to the hidden toll social media is taking on our kids. Hopeful yet eye-opening, this conversation is a reminder that access to mental health care is not a luxury.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(3:54) How a French major stumbled into 25 years of nonprofit leadership

(7:49) Why loving your work makes it harder to switch off

(10:39) What nonprofit fundraising really looks like

(17:47) Why the mental health crisis didn't start with COVID

(20:05) The workforce shortage driving therapists out of behavioral healthcare

(22:57) How social media is rewiring kids' tolerance for discomfort

(30:16) The wrestling mat conversation that led to her son's ADHD diagnosis

(36:48) The "atlas" project helping people navigate to the right care

(38:22) Why one person getting help creates a community ripple effect

(39:30) What Medicaid rollbacks mean for mental health nonprofits in 2026

Janelle Miller Moravek is the Executive Director of Youth & Family Counseling (YFC), a nonprofit mental health organization serving Lake County in the Chicagoland area. A Wesleyan University graduate, she joined YFC in 2000 as its first-ever development director and has spent over two decades building it into a leading provider of affordable, accessible mental health services — including bilingual care and Medicaid-covered options — for children, teens, adults, and families.

In this episode, Janelle Miller Moravek brings 25 years of nonprofit leadership to a candid conversation about the growing gap between mental health need and workforce capacity — tracing the roots to chronically low reimbursement rates, a lengthy therapist training pipeline, and COVID-era burnout. She connects social media's rise to a surge in adolescent mental health struggles, shares a personal story about parenting a son with ADHD that deepened her advocacy, and makes the case for treating behavioral health literacy as common knowledge. She also introduces YFC's "atlas" project — a navigation tool to help people find the right care — while sounding an honest alarm about what Medicaid rollbacks could mean for organizations like hers in 2026.

Connect with Janelle Miller Moravek:

LinkedIn

Youth & Family Counseling website

Let's Connect:

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