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Shamelessly Ambitious I Helping Ambitious Women Prevent Burnout + Create Nervous System First Success in Business, Motherhood
Shamelessly Ambitious I Helping Ambitious Women Prevent Burnout + Create Nervous System First Success in Business, Motherhood
Shamelessly Ambitious is a podcast for ambitious women who want to prevent burnout and build success with a nervous-system-first approach. Hosted by therapist and business mentor Ash McDonald, the show blends clinical expertise with personal stories to help listeners regulate, slow down, and create sustainable success in business and motherhood. Each episode offers embodied strategies, therapeutic insights, and radical permission to redefine achievement on your own terms.
Episodes
212. Shamelessly Unedited in Europe
There's a version of you that only shows up when nobody needs anything from you. This episode is about her… what she knows, what she wants, what she's a little jealous of, && what she has absolutely no shame saying out loud. This is a go for it pep talk, my friend.This episode is a reminder to get to know yourself a little bit more as I share a completely unedited version of me,
211. Shamelessly manipulating the people I love
There’s a strategy I’ve been using in my marriage, my parenting, my friendships, and even with myself that gets me more of what I want without requiring anyone else to lose. And somewhere between two days of nonstop conversation in a tiny village outside Barcelona, I realized… technically, it might be manipulation. So let’s talk about it.TOPICS WE EXPLOREThe wildly underrated art of letting yourse
210. Shamelessly Making Life Harder
I recorded this from my car on the way to a networking event because I couldn't wait. It started as a rough morning with my middle son && turned into the most important realization I've had in a while. The habit that’s making my life harder these days is a perspective problem. && I caught myself teaching my son something I clearly needed to hear myself.TOPICS WE EXPLOREA
209. Shamelessly Practicing Ambition Again: 90 Days to Find Out If I Still Want This
This is a follow-up to my last (Episode 208), so make sure you listen to that first if you haven't already. Last week I announced the 90-day challenge to reclaim my edge && this week I'm getting specific: here are the actual rules, the micro-commitments, && what you're going to see from me starting October 1st. TOPICS WE EXPLOREWhy I can't decide if I'm don
208. Shamelessly Reclaiming My Edge
I'm giving myself 90 days to find out what happens when I genuinely start going for it again. This is the formal announcement, the whole messy truth, && the reason I'm coming back to social media for a little bit.Also… MIXTAPE opens September 21st to waitlisters only. ;)TOPICS WE EXPLOREThe slow unraveling nobody notices until it's already happenedWhy slowing down &&
207. Shamelessly Unaligned & Doing Shit I Don’t Want to Do
Last episode I got raw about uncertainty && not having it figured out. This one is the follow-up… because once you admit you've been standing still, the next question is: what does moving actually require? && the honest answer is sometimes it requires doing the shit you don't want to do, whether it feels aligned or not.TOPICS WE EXPLOREWhy "does this feel aligned?&qu
206. Shamelessly Not Having It Figured Out
I didn't know what I was gonna say when I hit record, truthfully… I'm in a funky season. I'm newly 39, && I'm noticing something I didn't expect: the more I know, the less certain I become. This episode is me processing that out loud.We're talking about the certainty epidemic, why we buy it, what it's costing us, && what I actually think it means
205. Ash Unplugged: It’s Kind of Chic to Know Where You Suck
It's my birthday week, I'm turning 39, && I'm coming in with a raw one. This is a full behind-the-scenes Ash Unplugged episode, which means personal updates, business updates, && the thing I've been sitting with lately that I had to say out loud: it's kind of chic to know where you suck.We're talking about the gaps that actually cost us, why self-aware
204. Shamelessly Reclaiming My Ambition: The Disconnection Epidemic
I've talked a lot about burnout, but so has everyone else in this space. I'm starting to think we've been diagnosing the wrong thing, because the women I work with aren't always JUST exhausted. They have capacity, however they seem to be lacking the desire they once had. They're functioning, often even performing well, but they feel flat… uninspired && disconnected
203. The Grief of a Declining Business: Identity, Income & Starting Over with Megan Yelaney
Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories.…This episode is for anyone who has watched a business they built go from printing money to something they barely recognize, and had to figure out who they are on the
202. The Grief of Motherhood: Ambition, Identity Crisis & the Versions We Leave Behind with Sophia Parra
Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories.…This episode is for the woman who fought hard to build something she loved, then had a baby && came back to her desk crying because she hated all of it. My g
201. The Grief of Losing Your Parents: Caregiving, Business & Keeping Life Moving with Cait Howard
Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories.…This episode is for anyone who has ever had to keep showing up while watching someone they love disappear. My guest, Cait Howard, has experienced profound loss while
200. The Grief of Being Witnessed: What My Husband Really Thinks About Being Married to an Ambitious Woman with Jake McDonald
Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women && men bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories.---This is episode 200 and I knew I had to make it count. I brought on my favorite person in the world, my husband Jake, for the most honest conversati
199. Your Life Is What You Tolerate: The Mindset Shift That Changed My Summer
If you've been white-knuckling your way through a season and calling it productivity, this one is going to hit. Sometimes grief isn't about loss… sometimes it's about the story you've been telling yourself so many times it started to feel like fact.A few weeks into summer, I caught my own brain running a narrative I didn't even realize had taken over. I was ending every da
198. The Grief of Belonging: Friendship, Family & the Village That Never Showed Up with Emily Merrell
Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories.…This episode is for anyone who has ever looked around and realized the people who were supposed to show up simply haven't. My guest, Emily Merrell, is a connect
197. The Grief of Reinvention: Divorce, Career Pivots & Becoming a New Version of Yourself with Delia Monk
Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories.…This episode is for anyone who has ever walked away from something they built, a career, a marriage, an identity, and wondered what the hell comes next. My guest, De
196. The Grief of Being Human: Marriage, Motherhood & All the Invisible Losses with Chrissy Powers
Welcome to the Grief Series, a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories.…This episode is for anyone carrying grief that doesn't have an obvious name. My guest, Chrissy Powers, is a therapist, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy practitio
195. The Grief of Aging: Beauty, Ambition & Becoming a New Version of Yourself with Bryn Daylor
Welcome to the Grief series - a collection of conversations about the grief woven throughout our lives with some extraordinary women bringing their raw, vulnerable stories to the mic. I hope you see yourself somewhere in these stories.…This specific episode is for the women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond who are entering a new season, physically, emotionally, and mentally. My guest, Bryn Daylo
194. Ash Unplugged: The Rebrand, My Red Flags & Everything I Hate Right Now
Welcome to Ash Unplugged, the behind-the-scenes monthly episode where nothing is off the table and the real shit gets said.In this episode we’ll explore the full rebrand reveal, the complete list of things I hate right now, the red flags me and my husband built together, and how I’m actually running our summer successfully.TOPICS WE EXPLORE:The rebrandEverything I hate right nowMy red flags and wh
193. ADHD and Ambition: Why Your Fast Brain Is Your Greatest Business Asset
Women with ADHD have been told their intensity, their fast brains, and their emotional depth are dysfunctional…but I truly believe ambition and neurodivergence can coexist in the healthiest way. The traits we have been taught to suppress (the hyperfocus, the pattern recognition, the emotional intelligence) are the exact things that create momentum, innovation, and success.In this episode, we’ll ex
192. What Regulation Actually Means (It’s Not the Zen Bullshit You’ve Been Sold)
Regulation is not being calm, checking a million boxes, or looking a certain way on the outside. The real definition of regulation is developing self-trust, adaptability, and the ability to stay with yourself rather than disassociate emotionally when life gets hard.In this episode, we’ll explore how every emotion is a message, and every message draws the path forward to the success you’re after in
191. The Internet Made Hustle a Dirty Word
This episode is for every high-achieving woman who feels exhausted trying to build a successful business, be present in her real life, and somehow make it all look effortless.We’re unpacking hustle culture, high-functioning burnout, soft living, invisible labor, and the shame women carry around ambition so you can stop questioning whether your drive is the problem and start defining success on you
190. I Quit Social Media for 8 Months (Here’s What Changed in My Business)
Eight months off social media. This episode is the behind-the-scenes of what that actually did… to my business, my relationships, my creativity, and my sense of self.TOPICS WE EXPLORE:What eight months offline actually looked likeRemembering what I’m actually good atHow I stopped letting the internet think for meGetting my time and energy backNo longer being bingeableThe painful friendship and fa
189. The Shift Happening in Online Business And How I’m Adapting
This episode is the continuation of Episode 188, and if that one was about telling the truth about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, this one is about telling the truth about what’s happening in online business right now. The landscape has shifted. People aren’t committing to long-term offers the way they used to. The economy is doing what it’s doing. And I’ve been collecting data on my own bus
188. The Most Dangerous Thing Ambitious Women Do In Their Business
There is a gap I see in almost every high-achieving woman I work with.What she shows the world. And what she actually tells me.This episode is my soapbox moment on why high-functioning entrepreneurs need to stop performing a version of their business that isn’t true… and what magic happens when they do.TOPICS WE EXPLORE:What it costs you to perform a version of your business that isn’t trueWhy hid
187. What I Actually Do When Everything Feels Like Too Much
Welcome to “From Where I’m Standing”, the monthly episode where I pull back the curtain on my actual life, my business in real time, and the stuff I’m learning the hard way so you don’t have to.TOPICS WE EXPLORE:Why I extended my social media return from one week to threeThe Digital Detox Diaries series and what I shared during my return to socialsRegulation isn’t the zen aesthetic you’ve been sol
186. The AI Identity Crisis No One Is Talking About
There’s a career and identity crisis happening right now, and almost nobody is naming the real cause.When you outsource your thinking, your creating, and your decision-making to AI, you’re not just losing time. You’re also losing the parts of yourself that made you good at what you do in the first place.TOPICS WE EXPLORE:The millennial career and identity crisisWhat overconsumption of tech and AI
185. The Control Pattern Driving Your High-Functioning Burnout
Control is a belief your nervous system learned a long time ago… the belief that if you stay on top of everything, nothing bad will happen.The problem is that belief doesn’t know when to stop. And the cost of running it every single day is higher than most high-achieving women realize.TOPICS WE EXPLORE:What control actually is (and why it’s a nervous system pattern)Where the need to control comes
184. Why You’re Not Getting Sales: The Visibility Mistake Most Entrepreneurs Make
If you’ve been wondering why sales feel slow, why momentum feels off, why the content you’re putting out isn’t converting... the answer is probably not your copy. It’s probably not your offer. It’s probably not your messaging.It’s visibility. And it’s the first thing we let go of when life gets full.In this episode, we’re talking about one of the most fundamental (and most overlooked) pillars of s
183. [Bonus Episode] Luteal Phase Meditation
This bonus episode is the final guided meditation from inside The Regulated Woman that teaches you how to use your cycle as a blueprint for your energy, capacity, and nervous system support.This meditation is designed for your luteal phase... a season that can feel tender, emotional, and sometimes overwhelming… but is also deeply wise.While this phase often gets labeled as “hard,” it’s actually an
182. Perfectionism in High-Achieving Women: Why Doing Less Gets Better Results
In this episode, we're going deep on perfectionism…so you can actually work with it rather than against. If you've ever tried to "just do less" and found yourself either paralyzed or doing everything again two days later, this one's for you. This is about high-functioning burnout recovery, breaking the all-or-nothing cycle, and learning to use experimentation (not willpowe
181. Success Anxiety: Why Achievement Makes Women Play Smaller
You finally have the thing you worked so hard for… so why does it feel scarier now than when you started?In this solo episode, Ash gets personal about what February taught her, from a soul-recharging trip to Costa Rica to a full business rebrand in motion, and lands on a truth that's been showing up over and over again with her clients: success doesn't always set us free. Sometimes it sh
180. [Bonus Episode] Ovulation Phase Meditation
This bonus episode is another guided meditation from inside The Regulated Woman. (See Episode 174 and Episode 177 for the previous phase meditations.)This one is designed specifically for your ovulatory phase… your season of peak energy, confidence, charisma, and connection.Instead of a traditional seated meditation, this is a walking meditation, created to match the naturally elevated, outward-fa
179. Decision Fatigue Is the New Burnout (+ The Truth About Your Business Lag)
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, reactive, exhausted, or stuck in “high-functioning burnout”… this episode is going to hit home.Because what if you’re not actually burned out from doing too much, but from deciding too much?In this solo episode, Ash breaks down why decision fatigue is quietly becoming the new burnout for high-achieving women and entrepreneurs. From constant micro-decisions to fa
178. Identity reconstruction after burnout
If you’ve been feeling like the old version of you doesn’t fit anymore (but the new version hasn’t fully landed yet) this episode is for you.Ash records a powerful riff on identity reconstruction: the messy, stretchy middle that happens when you’ve outgrown the version of you that worked… the one you secretly miss… the one you keep trying to force yourself back into.This is a conversation about ev
177. [Bonus Episode] Follicular Phase Meditation
This bonus episode is another guided meditation for your follicular phase… the season of new beginnings, curiosity, and forward momentum. This is the phase where energy starts to rise again, ideas feel lighter, and creativity begins to bloom.This meditation invites you to reconnect with your inner spring, soften into possibility, and allow inspiration to flow without pressure to act or decide anyt
176.How I Would Rebuild My Business Without Hustle or Burnout
If you’ve been feeling like business, motherhood, leadership — life — suddenly feels heavier than it used to, this episode puts words to what so many women are quietly carrying.In this deeply reflective solo episode, Ash shares what came up after a simple but powerful question from a friend: If you had to rebuild your business from scratch today, what would you do differently? What unfolds is an h
175. Invisible Labor: Why High-Achieving Women Feel So Overwhelmed
Ash returns with a deeply personal solo episode… a January recap with lots of life updates, personal mishaps and celebrations. From moving into a new home, navigating sickness, shifting work rhythms, and questioning the “do it all” narrative, this episode is an honest reflection on what women hold, what we’re quietly carrying, and what happens when we finally slow down enough to notice it.TOPICS W
174. [Bonus Episode] Menstrual Phase Meditation
This bonus episode is a gentle invitation to slow down and turn inward. Ash shares the menstrual phase meditation from inside The Regulated Woman. This meditation is designed for your inner winter (the phase of rest, release, and renewal) offering a place to land when your body is asking you to pause instead of push.TOPICS WE EXPLORE:• Using your menstrual phase as a time for rest and restoration•
173. Why High-Functioning Women Feel Exhausted: Hormones, Stress, and Undereating with Leisha Drews (The Energy Is Everything Series | Part 6)
High-functioning. Capable. Reliable. The one who always figures it out.And somehow… still exhausted.In the final episode of the Energy Is Everything series, Ash sits down with hormone and functional health expert Leisha Drews… her long-time, deeply trusted go-to for both her own health and her kids’. This conversation pulls back the curtain on why so many high-achieving women feel depleted, anxiou
172. Marketing Without Burning Out: Building an Energy Aligned Strategy with Kaitlyn David (The Energy Is Everything Series | Part 5)
Ash is joined by brand and marketing strategist Kaitlyn David for a real, refreshing conversation about building a marketing strategy that actually fits your life (kids, pivots, puppy chaos and all) without lighting yourself on fire in the process.TOPICS WE EXPLORE:• The hidden cost of go go go marketing and why it eventually stops working• How your environment impacts your nervous system and your
171. [Bonus Episode] Money Is Energy: The Nervous System Side of Wealth and Receiving
A sneak peek behind the scenes of The Regulated Woman, dropped right in the middle of the Energy Is Everything series because money is, in fact, energy. In this bonus, we’re reframing wealth as something neutral, dynamic, and always in motion and exploring the small energetic shifts that make money feel safer to receive, spend, and circulate through your life.TOPICS WE EXPLORE: • Money as neutral
170. Beyond the Algorithm: Using Human-First AI to Protect Your Energy in Business with Kelly Sinclair (The Energy Is Everything Series | Part 4)
In this conversation, Kelly Sinclair (self-proclaimed “accidental tech nerd”) pulls back the curtain on what happens when your business strategy doesn’t match your actual energy — and how human-first AI can become a tool for regulation, clarity, and sustainable visibility (without feeding the algorithm or burning yourself out).We talk about grief, hustle conditioning, generator energy, and the shi
169. Human Design & Energetic Hygiene: Micro-Shifts to Heal Hidden Energy Leaks with Danielle Laura (The Energy Is Everything Series | Part 3)
We’re continuing The Energy Is Everything Series and today I’m sitting down with my friend Danielle Laura, an energy mastery teacher and Human Design guide for conscious leaders who are here to use their gifts to make the world better… without sacrificing themselves in the process.In this episode we talk about energetic hygiene, the hidden places energy leaks show up (even in “self-care”), and why
168. [Bonus Episode] Outgrowing Your Ambition: Identity Shifts After Success
This bonus episode is an unfiltered reflection on what happens when the identity that once fueled your ambition no longer fits. I share openly about the messy middle of personal evolution, the quiet unraveling that followed slowing down in my business, and the unexpected ways that space reshaped my marriage, my sense of self, and my relationship with support.This is not a story of resolution or ar
167. The Energetics of Being Seen: Healing the Visibility Wound with Renee Bowen (The Energy Is Everything Series | Part 2)
Today we’re continuing The Energy Is Everything Series with a conversation that hits a nerve for so many high-achieving women: visibility, identity, and the energetic cost of hiding.I’m joined by Renee Bowen — photographer, trauma-informed coach, and the kind of woman who makes you feel seen just by being in the room with her. We talk about what it really means to be “seen” (and why that can feel
166. Reverse Engineering the Life You Want & Reclaiming Your Energy & Identity with Heather Chauvin (The Energy Is Everything Series | Part 1)
Welcome to the very first episode of The Energy Is Everything Series — a six-part conversation series all about protecting your energy, expanding your capacity, and building a life and business that actually feel sustainable in your body.In this opening episode, I’m joined by the brilliant and wildly honest Heather Chauvin for a raw, grounded conversation about identity fatigue, impossible standar
165. [Bonus Episode] The Self-Improvement Industry Is Eating Women Alive
Happy New Year, my love. This bonus episode is a gentle but honest conversation about what so many of us unconsciously bring into a new year: intensity, pressure, and the belief that healing only counts if it hurts.In this episode, I’m naming something I’ve lived, witnessed, and had to unlearn myself… the tendency to create struggle in the name of growth. The idea that if it’s not hard, painful, o
164. My Nervous System Friendly Planning Process for the Year
In this final episode of 2025, I’m sharing exactly how I plan for a new year in a way that feels grounded, supportive, and sustainable. This isn’t hustle planning or rigid goal setting. It’s the process I use to create structure that actually frees me.I walk you through my full end of year reflection ritual, how I set intentions across every area of my life, and why regulation, capacity, and self
163. Becoming Her: Why Burnout Often Comes Before Reinvention
This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at what really happens when success comes faster than your nervous system knows how to hold.I’m sharing the full story of what unfolded after a wildly intuitive, expansive year in business and how unworthiness, perfectionism, and fear quietly took over once things felt “too easy.” What followed was burnout, over-efforting, identity collapse, and ultimately
162. [Bonus Episode] When Stress Gets Stuck in Your Body And How to Release It
In this bonus episode, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes audio from The Regulated Woman private podcast. It is one of my favorite micro-tools for releasing stress that gets trapped in the body throughout the day.We’re talking about emotional residue... the irritation, disappointment, pressure, or overwhelm your body absorbs when you don’t have time (or space) to fully process what you feel. Even whe
161. When Parenting and Business Collide: Regulating Stress in Hard Seasons
Sometimes the plan for the episode… totally sucks. In this conversation, I scrap my original idea mid-recording and bring you into what’s actually alive in my world right now: parenting an 11-year-old, navigating big emotions, asking scary questions, and coming back (over and over) to my values as a mom.We talk about what it means to hold space for your kids’ real struggles, why “because I said so
160. How I Plan Profit Without Burning Out (Regulated CEO Strategy)
What if your business could feel steady instead of like a monthly rollercoaster? In this episode I walk you through my nervous-system-first profit planning, and how I map the year, choose what to sell (and when), and protect my creativity, energy, and peace while hitting my numbers. Today I’m sharing the exact quarterly profit planning process I use to grow my business and protect my nervous syste
159. [Bonus Episode] Motherhood and Identity Loss: Rebuilding Capacity After Burnout
Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on what happens after a retreat, when life gets lifey and the work has to live in your body, your kitchen, your calendar, and your conversations. I’m joined by my dear friend and longtime client, Em, a single mom to twin girls, homeschooler, full-time student, and retired Marine officer, who shares how somatic work, breathwork, and real integration reshaped her
158. The Money Myth That Keeps High-Achieving Women Burned Out
Today we’re naming a sneaky belief a lot of high-achievers carry: “If I just had more money, everything would feel easier.” I’ve lived that hustle. Many of my clients do too. Here’s the truth I’ve seen over and over… money doesn’t fix what’s unregulated; it amplifies it. The work is learning to hold “more” from a regulated, values-led place so the revenue magnifies your wholeness.TOPICS & TANG
157. Rewiring Your Nervous System for Long-Term Success
Hi sister friend. Back at it again... and today, we’re slowing all the way down. Because somewhere between instant coffee, instant Amazon deliveries, and instant validation, we forgot that most things worth building take time.This one’s your permission slip to take the long way, to build something that lasts, to stop chasing the dopamine hit of “fast results,” and to start measuring success by how
156. [Bonus Episode] The Problem with AI Therapy (and How to Use It Safely)
Hello, my love. Today’s episode might ruffle some feathers… and honestly, I’m okay with that. Because this one matters. We’re diving into AI therapy — the rise of chatbots, self-coaching apps, and those “instant healing” tools everyone’s whispering about, and the blurry line between support and self-abandonment.If you’ve ever found yourself venting to ChatGPT or journaling through a chatbot, this
155. High-Functioning Burnout: The Hidden Cost of Being the Capable One
What if your superpower of “I’ve got it” is the very thing keeping you exhausted? In this episode, I unpack the quiet trap high-achieving women fall into: mistaking capacity for compulsion. We talk about why saying yes feels safer than slowing down, how your body always pays the bill, and the simple filter I use to ensure I don’t lose sight of my defined version of success.TOPICS & TANGENTS:•
154. Running a Business Without Social Media: A Nervous System Friendly Strategy
Hi friend. If last week had you wondering “okay, but how do you run a business without the apps?”... This is the step-by-step guide. I audited where my sales actually came from, rebuilt my visibility around what works (and feels good), and let the rest go. Spoiler: less than 20% of my revenue traced back to social media and I was spending about 80% of my energy there. No more.This episode lays ou
153. [Bonus Episode] Nervous System Reset Meditation for Overwhelm and Stress
Hi friend. I wanted to drop in with a little surprise… something special outside our regular Tuesday episodes. This bonus meditation is one of the most-loved practices inside The Regulated Woman, my signature program designed to help you live, lead, and create from a regulated nervous system.This short guided practice will help you seal your energy leaks, call your power back, and ground yourself
152: Why I’m Taking a Year Off Social Media: Protecting Your Nervous System and Business Energy
Hello hello, my love. Reporting live from my social free era with coffee in one hand and a board game under the other. On my 38th birthday, August 28, I broke up with social media for at least one year. Two months in and I do not miss it even a little. Not the scrolling, not the performative selfies, not even the dopamine glitter.This episode is the tea and the receipts. Why I left, how I did it w
151. The Beginner’s Mindset: How to Find Yourself Again Without Controlling Everything
If there’s one thing that’s quietly changed everything for me, my nervous system, my relationships, my business, it’s what I’m sharing in this episode.This part-three conversation wraps up our relaunch mini-series with the simplest, most unexpected reframe that turned my constant striving into something softer, steadier, and so much more peaceful.It’s a way of seeing yourself and your life that ma
150. Cortisol Addiction Explained (and How to Break the Cycle)
Even after I slowed down, healed, lost 40 pounds, and felt like a brand-new human, the old patterns still tiptoed back in. Not the dramatic face-down-on-the-floor kind of burnout, just the sneaky version that makes you pause and say, “Oh, interesting… you again?” It was enough to make me curious.This part-two debrief is me pulling back the curtain on why urgency creeps in even after rest, how cort
149. Seven Signs You’re in High-Functioning Burnout
What was meant to be a little pause turned into almost a year and a half off the mic.August 2024 to October 2025.Time is fake, apparently.In this catch-up episode, I share where I’ve been, why I chose life (again and again) over momentum, and how I rebuilt my days around values that actually feel like mine, even when it meant letting go of things that once defined me.If you’ve ever felt torn betwe
Welcome to Shamelessly Ambitious with Ash McDonald
A real, unfiltered look behind the scenes of what it takes to build a life and business that actually feel good. Shamelessly Ambitious is where ambition meets regulation. Honest conversations, nervous system truths, and the messy, beautiful reality of being a woman who holds it all: the family, the business, the vision. Sometimes it’s deep, sometimes it’s messy, but it’s always real.Rooting for yo
148. The Final Episode In My Beyond Profit Era
Welcome to the final episode... at least for a little while. Tune in to hear the journey that led me to this choice, including the challenges of balancing work and life, and the realization that sometimes, even the things we love need to take a backseat. 🎙️🚗 Exciting — I’ve recently reclaimed full control over my content and emails which has felt really good. I've been opening up space and pu
147. The Perfect Business Plan Doesn’t Exist
I am doing things a littttttle bit differently this week, but I’m super excited about it! ➡️ I’m bringing you the BTS, original audio clip from the exclusive ATS Musings chat. I thought about rerecording it but as I listened back, I thought, “this is where the real magic is.” 🪄🌈Here is my backstage pass to a recent conversation I had with a client, how I coached her through, and why it’s so import
146. I Am Safe Enough To Go Slow
Coming to you for another Musings style episode from the comfort of my bed on day one of my bleed as I watch the Washington rain outside and dream about ordering some hot Pho. 🌧️🍜🩸🛌 This is the first time it's rained since we've been here and I'm obsessed. I can't stop opening the window to smell the fresh rain. As always, this episode is a catch up of where I've been, wha
145. Reparenting My Inner Child & Creating Moments To Heal The Younger Me
I'm taking my healing journey to a whole new level. This summer has been dedicated to healing childhood wounds, creating moments to comfort little Ashley, and reparent myself for the years I was forced into "leaping" when I wasn't ready due to my trauma. ❤️🩹🥹 THE JUICY HIGHLIGHTS:• Finally uncovering the piece of hurt from my childhood• What creating experiential healing pract
144. Backyard Reflections: Somewhere In Washington Becoming Her & Reassessing My Boundaries
I'm so excited to be coming to you from my serene backyard in the woods of Issaquah, Washington. Hear the tea BTS of Her Reinvention, what my daily thought pattern work is, and my challenges & adjustments of maintaining boundaries. &&& the freaking Above the Standard Collective is OPEN! I could cry. It feels like such a long time coming. 🥹 GTG, I think I just saw another bear
143. A Life & Business Above the Standard
If you tuned in to episode 141, I shared a very personal & vulnerable story about a time I didn’t belong. A huge reason why I felt compelled to share that was because of the sense of belonging that comes with my new membership, the Above The Standard Collective.Another urge you get inside the membership is to stop simply showing up for life & settling to instead start living intentionally
142. Sharing My Reinvention & The Thing I Fucked Up In My Business
This week's musings is brought to you riverside. I wish you could see & smell how fresh it is here. We are currently in Livingston, MT which is just outside of Bozeman. I am walking through the city alongside the Yellowstone River. 🗻 We're actually leaving today so I don't feel like I can fully check Montana off the list as we only stayed for two days, but we're off again a
141. A Time I Didn't Belong
Drum roll pleasseee 🥁 The updated membership is here and it is simply amazing. The Above The Standard Collective. ✨🥹🖤 Although I can't give away too much, I can tease that the membership was largely impacted by the idea of healing & belonging.Inside the membership are monthly healing intensives and within these intensives are prompts followed by my teachings of why that matters. The most
140. Experimenting with a New Schedule: My Top 3 Foolproof Tips for Time & Energy Management
I can’t lie, this first month of nomadic living has been a massive transition. The way we chose to do things in terms of work & children this time is much different than when we previously lived as nomads. My husband is keeping his full-time job which falls during regular work hours — this means my schedule is undergoing great change. We’re currently in our “trial period” of this new schedule
139. How I Shift My Perspective For A Rich & Present Life
Life is all about perspective && that’s exactly what we’re diving into today. If you would’ve asked me a few years ago if it would be possible to pack up our three children and hit the road to do what we are most passionate about — exploring, adventuring, and traveling — I would have said you were crazy because that would simply be impossible. Fast forward, my son asked me what I could do
138. The Balancing Act: Work, Kids, & The 'More Than Enough' Mindset
Whew, I'm gonna have to get used to this. In today's episode we're walking together on Mission Beach in San Diego, California. 🌴 I'm sort of obsessed with this casual vibe. It feels like we're on a hot girl walk together. Today we get personal about how I'm embodying my "more than enough" era. Tune in to find out how my kids are actually helping me get reall
137. Self-Sacrifice & The Need To Belong
A few months ago I did some "story extraction calls" with a close colleague where I laid my real, raw && oh so vulnerable life story all out on the table and had her help me decide what to do with it. Her name is Katie Quesada and she is an *incredible* story teller. So I knew when I made the decision to use my personal story to create a sense of belonging for others, I wanted he
136. The Catalyst To My Deep Depression, Emotional Eating, & Call To My Selfish Era
Welcome to the first episode of Nomad Musings. Possibly low quality audio, but high quality connection. 😏Ya'll know that 2023 was a hard year for me. I was dealing with some friendship breakups that fucking sucked. Why are friendship breakups the hardest?? I lost my passion for health which is SO unlike me. I lost my consistent workout routine & I was eating chips and ice cream like my li
135. How Falling Victim To Societal Standards Caused My Breaking Point & Selfish Era
Gahh, I am so excited to be back. In this episode, I get real about falling victim to societal standards and letting them dictate my personal and business decisions rather than living above the standard. 2023 was a really beautiful yet hard year in some ways. I found myself on the edge of burnout and having multiple identity crises, but it all led me to now. Last year taught me the importance of
134. Am I Burning Out? Super Important Announcements
Well, this sucks. I've officially been sick for FOUR weeks. A literal month. 😑 But I've been wanting to record this episode to fill you in on the few "aha" moments I've had since this sickness has forced me to slow down. I normally do an EOY recap, but things aren't panning out that way...THE JUICY HIGHLIGHTS:🖤 Two spots left for REDEFINE 🖤 I might be burning out... 🖤
