198 | Making It Without Losing It: Holding Ambition, Success, Motherhood, Joy, and the Pressure to Do It All with Jess Ekstrom

7 days ago
6 min read

Listen to Making It Without Losing It: Holding Ambition, Success, Motherhood, Joy, and the Pressure to Do It All with Jess Ekstrom on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Your player of choice

In this episode, Making It Without Losing It: Holding Ambition, Success, Motherhood, Joy, and the Pressure to Do It All, I sit down with bestselling author and entrepreneur Jess Ekstrom to talk about what success really looks like in a world that never seems to slow down. Together, we unpack the tension so many women feel between ambition and inner peace, and why hustle culture often convinces us to delay joy until we’ve finally “made it.” Jess shares the inspiration behind her new book, Making It Without Losing It, and invites us to challenge the idea that productivity, performance, and constant striving are the only paths to fulfillment.

Throughout our conversation, we explore the hidden cost of chasing success at the expense of our well-being, and why burnout, overwhelm, and anxiety are not personal failures, but signals that something in our lives may be out of alignment. Jess introduces the powerful concept of an “Arrived Mindset,” the belief that you are already enough right now, not someday after the next milestone or achievement. We talk about redefining motivation, finding sustainable success, and learning how to stay driven without sacrificing your mental health, relationships, or sense of joy.

We also dive into the realities of modern motherhood, leadership, and entrepreneurship, and the pressure many women feel to do it all while holding everything together. This conversation is an honest look at what it means to pursue big dreams while staying grounded in your values, protecting your energy, and creating a life that feels good, not just one that looks good from the outside. If you’ve ever wondered how to balance ambition and peace, navigate career growth and family life, or build success without losing yourself in the process, this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

At the heart of this episode is a simple but radical idea: success doesn’t have to come at the cost of your well-being. You can chase meaningful goals, cultivate motivation, and build a thriving life while honoring your nervous system, your relationships, and your own definition of fulfillment. This conversation is an invitation to rethink hustle culture, release perfectionism, and embrace a version of success that includes joy, presence, and peace, right here, right now.

Meet Jess:

Jess Ekstrom is an entrepreneur, speaker, and mom of two who believes ambition and real life can coexist. She is the founder of Mic Drop Workshop, where she helps women step into their voice and become confident speakers. At home, she loves board games with her husband, time with her kids, and occasionally setting off the fire alarm while attempting dinner.

In this episode, Making It Without Losing It: Holding Ambition, Success, Motherhood, Joy, and the Pressure to Do It All, we cover:

How Jess Ekstrom started Headbands of Hope with no prior business experience—and how speaking became a practical way to fund her mission and share her story in the early days
What it really looks like to build a business, grow a career, and raise children at the same time—and the honest tension of trying to be present at home while still pursuing meaningful work
How motherhood changes your relationship to productivity, time, and expectations—and why success often has to be redefined in each new season of life
The shift from hustle culture and constant striving toward a more sustainable version of ambition—one that protects your mental health and allows room for joy
Why success is not a fixed destination—and how your definition of “making it” naturally evolves as your priorities, family, and responsibilities change
How growing in your career or business can create more freedom and flexibility over time—and why ambition and balance don’t have to be at odds
The powerful question Jess often asks to clarify motivation: Would you still chase this dream if no one knew it was you?
Why chasing goals for validation, recognition, or external approval can lead to burnout—and how reconnecting to intrinsic motivation creates more sustainable success
The core idea behind Jess’s Arrived Mindset—the belief that you are already enough right now, and that fulfillment doesn’t have to wait until the next milestone
The reframe that purpose is not something you passively discover, but something you build through your work, relationships, and daily choices
Why women are still underrepresented and underpaid on stages—and the importance of advocating for yourself, knowing your value, and negotiating compensation
How speaking and storytelling can become powerful tools to grow a business, expand your platform, and share your message with greater impact
The importance of turning your lived experience into lessons that help other people—and why authenticity builds trust with an audience
The reality that parenting, leadership, and entrepreneurship all require a constant balance between comfort and growth—and how doing hard things builds resilience
What it looks like to let your children see your humanity—including the hard days and imperfect moments—and why modeling perseverance matters more than perfection
The courage it takes to step into visibility, share your voice, and pursue your calling—even when you don’t feel fully ready

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Emily is a speaker, facilitator, and host of the Wild & Waking podcast, creating spaces for women to unravel conditioning, reconnect to their truth, and rise in alignment with who they’re becoming.

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About Wild & Waking:

Wild & Waking is more than a podcast—it’s a sacred return to who you’ve always been.

This space is for the woman standing at the edge of everything she’s outgrown. The one who’s checked all the boxes, followed all the rules, and still feels the quiet ache for something more honest. More alive. More hers.

She’s begun the unraveling—of roles, expectations, identities that no longer fit. She’s remembering the voice beneath the noise, the rhythm beneath the hustle, the truth beneath the performance. She’s reclaiming her joy, her intuition, her fire. And she’s rising—not as a version of who she was told to be, but as the truest expression of who she already is.

Hosted by soul expansion coach Emily Reuschel, Wild & Waking is for the spiritual entrepreneurs, coaches, rural changemakers, and conscious leaders dismantling old paradigms and creating new ways of living, leading, and becoming. Through raw conversations, deep reflections, and embodied wisdom, we explore what it means to awaken a life of abundance, authenticity, and purpose.

This is for the woman who holds both sacred rage and radical joy. Who moves with reverence for the seasons of her life. Who isn’t afraid to break cycles, speak truth, and dismantle what no longer serves—not to destroy, but to create. To rebuild a world rooted in the celebration of difference, the beauty of nuance, and the power of sovereign, embodied leadership.

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