Previous Community Calls

September 12th, 2024

We know that transitioning from military to civilian life is more than just a career change – it’s a whole new way of life. If you’re feeling a bit lost without your uniform, you’re not alone. Lauren’s been right where you are, and she’s here to share her journey and insights.

Lauren’s story begins in 2007, fresh from an IA deployment and facing the challenges of PTSD. Like many of us, she found that her transition training didn’t quite prepare her for the realities of civilian life. From navigating VA claims to finding meaningful work, Lauren’s path had its share of twists and turns.

In this candid discussion, Lauren will open up about the emotional rollercoaster of transition. Remember that feeling of uncertainty when you realized your next steps weren’t outlined in an operations order? Or the challenge of translating your military skills into civilian-speak? Lauren’s been there, and she’s learned some valuable lessons along the way.

For our service academy graduates, we’ll tackle those unique-to-service-academies pressures and expectations head-on. Let’s talk about redefining success on your own terms and finding purpose beyond the uniform.

But this isn’t just about swapping war stories. Lauren will share practical advice on today’s job market, especially in tech and healthcare. She’ll introduce you to resources you might not know about, including vocational rehabilitation services that can be game-changers for your career.

August 8th, 2024

We’ve all heard of the concept of servant leadership – the leadership philosophy that prioritizes the needs of others over the leader’s own. You’re focused on serving others first, empowering and uplifting those around you. Servant leadership can help foster trust, accountability, and psychological safety.

Any leader worth her salt aspires to be a servant leader.

…but where is the line between selflessness and self-violation?

…where is the line between being the servant leader and losing yourself?

→ Selflessness involves putting others’ needs before your own in a healthy, sustainable manner. It’s about contributing positively to others’ lives while maintaining your well-being.

→ Self-Violation occurs when you neglect your own needs and values to the point of harm. This can lead to burnout, resentment, and reduced effectiveness as a leader.

On paper, the difference seems so clear.

But your conditioning as a military woman leader may have blurred these lines – and now you’re exhausted, burned out, and doing so much for others that you’ve lost yourself.

Let’s talk about it.

July 25th, 2024

Do you ever feel like you’re constantly pushing through stress, anxiety, and burnout just to keep up with the demands of life? Like you’ve had to convince yourself that certain sacrifices are just “part of the job”? Trust me, you’re not alone.

In this engaging, no-nonsense conversation, We’ll be exploring the narratives that you need to flip – and how to flip them. We’ll discuss the challenges that military women face that have shaped what we believe about ourselves, the world – and the price we have had to pay to achieve our goals. We’ll share strategies for prioritizing our well-being and creating a life that truly fulfills us.

Let’s talk about it.

July 11th, 2024

Struggling with anxiety, exhaustion, and feeling just…off. Maybe you deal with insomnia, chronic pain, or that fun combo of the two? This unconventional mind-body approach may be the thing that can finally bring you some relief.

For women who have served in the military, nagging anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain and other hard-to-treat conditions can hold you back from truly thriving.

Maybe you’ve tried talk therapy, medication, and other conventional treatments to no avail. But what if a seemingly strange technique involving tapping on accupressure points could be the missing piece?

Let’s talk about it.

June 6th, 2024

Over the course of your military career, you’ve been trained to think and behave a certain way.

You’ve likely been exposed to situations that weren’t normal.

Maybe you’ve been traumatized by violations of your person, by your environment, by what you’ve had to do, what you’ve had to endure, and who you’ve had to be.

And now your brain can’t tell the difference between life’s normal stresses and the trauma that you’ve survived.

Your highly developed, overactive defense mechanisms are keeping you from connecting with other people, with your life, and with yourself.

Maybe you’re hostile, defensive, emotionally volatile, and easily triggered.

It’s not who you are. It’s not who you want to be.

Maybe you’re stuck in a cycle of overachieving, applying your highly tuned coping mechanisms and years of learning how to suppress, repress, suck it up and drive on – and now you’re exhausted.

It’s not who you are. It’s not what you want for yourself.

How can you move forward to grow past trauma and manage or overcome a disordered post-traumatic stress response?

How can you heal so that you can become yourself?

Let’s talk about it.

May 2nd, 2024

Ok I get it. Boundaries. There’s so much talk about boundaries and how important they are.

And yet…how many of us actually have them?

Take a genuine look at your life –

Listen, if your boundaries are rock-solid, then girlfriend – please join this call to share how you are doing that.

But if they aren’t – if you’re still struggling with how to stop over-obligating and people-pleasing – join us for empathy, encouragement, and tips on how to create and maintain healthy boundaries.

Establishing and maintaining boundaries is crucial for women leaders to safeguard your well-being, foster healthy relationships, and create a foundation for alignment that leads to personal and professional fulfillment.

…so why do so many of us struggle with them?

Let’s talk about it.

April 18th, 2024

Life is change – and as a military woman leader, you’ve experienced a lot of it.

You’ve changed locations, you’ve changed jobs. You’ve changed social circles, houses, church communities, day cares, physicians, and schools. You’ve changed uniforms while the military figured out what pattern of camo was the right one.

You’re pretty good at change, actually.

But what about the major life transition you’ve recently experienced, or are experiencing now?

What about transitioning from the military to civilian life – which is more than just a job change – it’s a change to your identity?

Let’s talk about it.

March 14th, 2024

There are a lot of factors influencing your money mindset – and that mindset might be keeping you from financial freedom.

Many women leaders grapple with a mindset challenge tied to their sense of financial self-worth, where societal expectations may contribute to feelings of inadequacy or imposter syndrome.

We carry financial mindsets from conditioning, up-bringing, family or cultural backgrounds, which could either empower or constrain our financial behaviors and decisions.

And since financial status can be perceived as a measure of “enoughness,” many women leaders silently struggle with shame. This can lead to isolation, negative self-perception, avoidance of financial conversations, physical and emotional stress, and damage to relationships.

Let’s talk about it.

March 7th, 2024

We don’t retreat…we advance!

I mean, yes. I understand the concept here and as a military woman leader, I know, I know – we don’t retreat.

But what if retreating is what’s necessary to advance?!

…especially since your life isn’t, and shouldn’t be, a battlefield.

Sometimes it feels like it though, doesn’t it? Maybe that’s why you could use a retreat. To rest, recenter, and reconnect with yourself and other women like you.

Want to learn more about whether our upcoming retreats are right for you?

Want an opportunity to ask all of your questions and get answers from women who have already attended one or more retreats, in a no-pressure setting?

Let’s talk about it!

February 8th, 2024

Ever set a goal that you attempted to shame yourself into achieving?

What if, instead, you set a goal that was aligned with what you really value, and who you truly are? What if you created habits that were less focused on deprivation, and more focused on the goodness they are creating in your life? …that’s being self-loving.

Ever taken a job because someone else required you to?

What if, instead, you pursued a career in a field that you’re actually interested in and passionate about, wherein you’re using your talents, giftings, strengths, and skills? …that’s being self-loving.

Let’s talk about it!

January 18th, 2024

We are a generation of women who were raised with traditional gender roles.

But we were also empowered and equipped to be independent.

For many women, this means we’re doing BOTH the household care-taking AND the professional bread-winning.

Not only are we exhausted, we often struggle to feel loved.

Let’s talk about it!

January 4, 2024

“It’s 4 days into the new year, and I’ve already busted my resolution.”

“I don’t believe in resolutions, I’m just going to (fill in the blank thing that sounds a lot like a resolution…)”

“I don’t need it to be a new year to set new goals.”

All of the above.

The thing is, you’re setting resolutions all the time.

And maybe you’re frustrated that your resolutions never seem to stick.

Or you’re able to accomplish them, but they don’t create the change in your life that you hoped for or needed.

There’s a better way to do this.

Let’s talk about it.

December 7, 2023

As a woman leader in the military, you faced additional layers of challenge.

Sexism, misogyny, sexual harrasment, sexual assault, or even just being outnumbered – they impacted your leader development experience and subsequently, your leadership style.

Your environment has imposed rules around what you’re supposed to be like.

Leaders are supposed to be unemotional and the strong ones who don’t show how they feel. This thinking has caused you to further suppress and repress the emotions associated with your experiences, some of which were actually traumatic.

Your environment made you feel like you couldn’t talk about it. It was frowned upon and even considered professionally unacceptable to talk about it. Instead you bottled it up, and you haven’t dealt with it.

Maybe you still haven’t talked about it.

Let’s talk about it.

November 30, 2023

Our lives, our upbringing, the military, or just the world in general have tried to tell us that we have to be just one thing.

On two sides of your personal ampersand there are characteristics that describe you. They may seem like opposites – and yet they are both YOU.

They seem like they shouldn’t go together. They might even seem to be in conflict with one another.

But you recognize that different situations call for different aspects of your personality.

The world may have tried to convince you that these sides of you can’t coexist.

They’re wrong, though.

Let’s talk about it.

October 5, 2023

Even if you loved or are still loving every minute of your military service, the military can be an environment in which you become who you have to be in order to survive and be successful.

You conform – at the expense of your true self.

And even for those for whom serving in the military was an entirely positive experience, the transition from the military to civilian life is jarring.

You can’t ever go back to who you were while you wore the uniform.

There is no choice but to rediscover and reinvent yourself.

Becoming yourself means becoming the person who you are when you stop being who you have to be to survive, or the person who your environment requires you to be.

It is a process that takes reflection, commitment to developing deep self-awareness, personal growth, and support.

Let’s talk about it.

September 7, 2023

You’ve been trained to think and behave a certain way.

You’ve been exposed to situations that weren’t normal.

You’ve been traumatized by violations of your person, by your environment, by what you’ve had to do, what you’ve had to endure, and who you’ve had to be.

And now your brain can’t tell the difference between life’s normal stresses and the trauma that you’ve survived.

Your highly developed, overactive defense mechanisms are keeping you from connecting with other people, with your life, and with yourself.

You’re hostile, defensive, emotionally volatile, and easily triggered.

It’s not who you are.

It’s not who you want to be.

How can you move forward to grow past trauma and overcome a disordered post-traumatic stress response?

How can you heal so that you can become yourself?

Let’s talk about it.

August 24, 2023

Imposter syndrome.

Self-doubt.

Anxiety.

Fear.

Even the most confident high-performing woman experiences fear and self-doubt – often without even realizing it.

If we aren’t aware, deliberate, and intentional about it, our instinctive and conditioned desire to keep ourselves safe will only keep us small.

Let’s talk about it.

June 1, 2023

Women are constantly bombarded with messages about how we should look. The world elevates what is aesthetically pleasing over what is functional – or simply tells us that whatever it is we look like, we should look like something else.

In the military, the completely inaccurate tape test and ever-present emphasis on military bearing create constant pressure to look a certain way.

The combined effect is that so many military and veteran women struggle with body image issues, low confidence, and anxiety.

Let’s talk about it.

May 18, 2023

From early childhood, women are conditioned to think and behave in certain ways. As humans we work to become what will be approved of in our environments – sometimes at the expense of being who we truly are.

But to be at our best – we must be our true, best selves.

How do we live and lead authentically in a world that is constantly telling us who to be?

Let’s talk about it.

May 4, 2023

Transitioning from the military is so much more than changing jobs.

It changes your whole life.

It requires a shift in your sense of identity, smart decisions about a new career, and a willingness to learn new things – and unlearn a lot of stuff too.

It can be intimidating, lonely, confusing, and overwhelming.

Let’s talk about it.

March 13, 2023

Despite women making up a strong proportion of the workforce, household tasks are still the woman’s responsibility in most households.

For the women leaders who are investing in the help that they need to successfully manage careers and home responsibilities, statistics show that they feel ashamed to admit it.

This has to change.

Let’s talk about it.

March 2, 2023

“The world opens when competency and capability dictate what people can do rather than an adjective.” – LTC Lisa Jaster, author of Delete the Adjective

We believe that the “what right looks like” leader archetype must evolve.

We must choose to define leadership only by effectiveness.

It’s time to disrupt millenia-long held social and cultural norms about what leadership looks like.

Let’s get past all the shit that has conditioned us to believe that we’re “supposed” to be this or that, so that we can lead effectively, as ourselves.

Let’s talk about it.

February 2, 2023

If you’re a military or veteran woman transitioning from the military soon, recently transitioned from the military, in the midst of a career pivot, or have recently been laid off – you want to be on this call!

These are complicated times in our lives and careers.

Let’s talk about it.

Build Relationships

We hear all the time from military and veteran women how alone and lonely you feel.

Connection and sense of belonging are innate human needs.

Relationships, friendships, and love are important aspects of aligned lives.

These calls provide you an opportunity for us as military and veteran women to build connection and community with each other.

This community provides you a space to give and receive love, support, acknowledgement and encouragement.

Grow as a human

Alignment is the path to lives that we love.

When you live aligned, you are using your strengths and talents in the way that best aligns with your values and what is meaningful to you.

Discovering your personal alignment will require reflection on who you are, what you really want, and what has kept you from being who you are and doing what you love.

Our community calls are meant to be a resource for connecting with yourself and discovering your personal alignment.