What happens when pushing through just isn’t an option?
In this deeply resonant episode of UnCeiling You, I sit down with the incredible Trisha Tyon—a career strategist and coach who specializes in helping professionals navigate chronic illness, burnout, and caregiving responsibilities without sacrificing their ambition.
✨ We talk about:
How to match your ambition with your energy—especially on tough days
Redefining success when life throws a curveball
Trisha’s personal story of being diagnosed with lupus at 25 and how it reshaped her entire career path
The power of self-advocacy at work and how to start having those difficult conversations
What a truly inclusive workplace would look like—and your role in creating it
The hidden cost of “pushing through” and how to gracefully slow down without falling behind
Trisha shares actionable advice for anyone feeling stuck, exhausted, or overlooked—and her message is compelling for ambitious women navigating invisible challenges.
💡 Her parting advice?
“Give yourself grace. You don’t have to prove your worth by pushing past your limits.”
📩 Want to connect with Trisha? Find her on LinkedIn: Trisha Tyon Email her at: [email protected]
And check the show notes for her calendar link + info about her brand-new coaching program for professional women ready to land their dream jobs!
🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. @UnCeiling You
When it comes to effective leadership, passion and values are the cornerstones of success. In the latest episode of UnCeiling You, I had the pleasure of speaking with Robyn Parrott, Founder and President of Sleep Solutions, about her inspiring journey from respiratory therapist to business owner. Over 27 years, Robyn has not only built a thriving company but also established a legacy rooted in her unwavering commitment to patient care, family, and resilience.
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or leader, Robyn’s story offers invaluable insights into the power of values, hard work, and leading with authenticity.
Who is Robyn Parrott?
Robyn Parrott is the President and founder of Sleep Solutions, a Michigan-based company specializing in sleep care and medical equipment. Starting with just two employees, Robyn grew the business to over 30 team members, overcoming major challenges such as economic downturns, a global pandemic, and a significant product recall.
Her story is not only a testament to resilience but also a masterclass in value-driven leadership.
Key Leadership Lessons from Robyn Parrott
1. Lead with Your Values
Early in her career, Robyn faced a critical decision when her employer’s practices conflicted with her values. Rather than compromising, she handed in her pager and walked away—despite having two young children at home.
“Your word is golden,” Robyn shared during the podcast. “If your values don’t align with your company’s, it’s time to move on.”
This commitment to integrity became the foundation of Sleep Solutions, where every patient is treated as an individual, not a number.
2. Build Relationships That Matter
Robyn credits much of her company’s success to the strength of her relationships—with her patients, team, and industry peers. During a major recall that threatened her business, a trusted connection from a new manufacturer stepped in to provide support.
“Relationships are everything,” Robyn said. “People trust us because we stay true to our word and care about the individuals behind the numbers.”
Whether you’re leading a team or serving customers, fostering genuine connections can make or break your success.
3. Embrace Challenges with Creativity
The pandemic posed unprecedented challenges for Sleep Solutions, from supply chain disruptions to the inability to meet patients in person. Yet Robyn and her team adapted by leveraging technology like FaceTime to guide patients remotely.
Her determination to navigate these hurdles not only kept the company afloat but also strengthened its reputation for exceptional care.
“When you believe in what you’re doing, you’ll find a way through,” Robyn advised.
Creating a Legacy for Future Generations
One of the most inspiring aspects of Robyn’s story is her commitment to building a legacy for her daughters. Both are now actively involved in the business, with one managing operations and the other leading the sales team.
As Robyn puts it, “You always want to give more to your children than what you had as a child.”
By instilling the same values that have guided her leadership, Robyn ensures that Sleep Solutions will continue to thrive for years to come.
Advice for Aspiring Leaders
Robyn’s advice for women navigating workplaces that don’t align with their values is simple yet profound:
Know Your Goals: Clearly define what success looks like for you.
Believe in Yourself: Confidence in your abilities is key to making bold decisions.
Find the Right Fit: If your current environment doesn’t support your values, don’t settle.
“Dream big,” Robyn emphasized. “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
Final Thoughts
Robyn Parrott’s story is a reminder that great leadership starts with passion and values. Her journey from respiratory therapist to President of her company shows that staying true to your principles, building strong relationships, and embracing challenges can lead to lasting success.
If you’re looking for inspiration to lead authentically and leave a legacy, be sure to listen to Robyn’s full interview on the UnCeiling You podcast.
In this inspiring episode of UnCeiling You, Natalie Luke, PhD, interviews Hope Mueller—author, pharmaceutical SVP, and founder of a publishing and retreat business—about her journey from adversity to success. Hope shares actionable strategies for turning challenges into opportunities and embracing growth through imagination and ambition.
Hope’s story began with significant challenges, including food and housing insecurity. Despite these hardships, the foundation of love and encouragement from her community instilled an unwavering belief in her abilities. This resilience became her compass for success.
Key Takeaway:
“Self-worth and belief are the first things you need to build. Everything else grows from there.”
Transformative Practices for Overcoming Adversity
Hope credits her success to two key practices:
Taking Small Steps Daily “Progress is made in the small choices you make every day. You don’t need to achieve everything at once.”
Focusing on Solutions “Understand the root cause, but pivot quickly to how you can make things better.”
These habits helped her reframe adversity as an opportunity for growth and allowed her to stay focused on her goals.
Taking Accountability in Your Career
Hope emphasizes owning your narrative, even in difficult work environments.
Her Advice:
Control What You Can: Focus on what’s within your influence and release external factors beyond your control.
Know When to Move On: “If the environment is toxic and change isn’t possible, prioritize your mental, personal, and professional well-being and find a better fit.”
Imagination and Ambition: Keys to Defining Success
A recurring theme in the episode is the power of imagination in creating ambitious goals. Hope encourages listeners to think beyond limitations by visualizing their dream state.
Dream State Exercise:
Imagine you have unlimited time, resources, and money.
Envision what your dream career or project looks like.
Use this vision to guide your next steps.
“Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is the fastest way to grow.”
Lessons from Hosting a Retreat
Hope shares her experience launching her first retreat—a process fraught with uncertainty and financial risk. Despite initial hurdles, the event became a stepping stone for future successes, including her upcoming leadership conference.
Key Lesson:
“Being willing to fail taught me everything I needed to grow. Each step prepared me for the next big opportunity.”
In a deeply personal revelation, Hope describes her life-changing decision to stop using drugs. Her method? Simplifying the choice into its most fundamental components, such as “good vs. evil,” and committing to small, daily actions toward the right decision.
What’s Next for Hope
Hope’s inspiring career continues with new ventures, including her leadership conference, Thrive in 25, launching in June 2025.
Her success story highlights the importance of finding joy in both work and personal growth.
Key Takeaways for Listeners
Build a strong foundation of self-worth and belief.
Take small, consistent steps toward your goals.
Dream big and visualize your success.
Embrace failure as part of the learning process.
Take accountability for your growth, even in challenging environments.
🎧 Listen to Episode: Turning Challenges into Opportunities 📚 Explore Hope Mueller’s Books:Click Here 📅 Learn More About Thrive in 25 Leadership Conference: www.thrive-in25.com
Call to Action
Know someone facing tough decisions or career challenges? Share this blog and inspire them to turn challenges into opportunities!
How embracing uncertainty and taking bold steps can unlock your full potential.
Introduction
What keeps you from saying “yes” to that next big opportunity? Is it fear, self-doubt, or the thought that you’re not quite ready? In Episode 7 of UnCeiling You, Pamela shares how saying yes before she felt fully prepared transformed her career. Her journey, spanning small startups and corporate giants, reminds us that growth happens when we embrace the unknown.
Pamela’s career is a masterclass in taking risks and figuring things out along the way. Starting in a scrappy startup, she wore multiple hats—HR, compliance, operations—often with no roadmap or formal training.
“I didn’t always know what I was doing,” she admits. “But every day, I learned something new. Saying yes before I felt ready made me stronger, more adaptable, and more valuable to the team.”
When she transitioned into the structured world of large corporations, Pamela faced new challenges: navigating silos, staying visible, and building trust with leadership. But once again, she leaned into the discomfort of the unknown and thrived.
Breaking Free from the Experience Trap
One of the key themes in this episode is the “experience trap”—the belief that you need to be fully qualified or have done something before you can take it on. Pamela challenges this mindset:
“If you wait until you feel 100% ready, you’ll miss so many opportunities. The only way to gain experience is to start.”
This episode is packed with practical advice for anyone who’s hesitated to step into a new role, project, or career path because they felt underprepared.
Lessons from Pamela’s Journey
Here are three powerful takeaways from Pamela’s story:
Say Yes and Figure It Out Later Growth happens outside your comfort zone. Even if you’re not sure you can handle something, trust yourself to learn along the way.
Advocate for Yourself When you take on new challenges, make sure others see your contributions. Use meetings and projects to showcase your value.
Dream Big, Act Boldly During a workshop exercise, Pamela asked participants to visualize their wildest dreams. One participant said, “I want to go to Mars.” This kind of bold thinking is exactly what leads to extraordinary growth.
Why Saying Yes Matters
Saying yes isn’t just about career advancement—it’s about building confidence and unlocking your potential. When Pamela looks back on her journey, she sees how each bold decision paved the way for the next.
“Every opportunity I said yes to—even when I felt scared—added to my skills, my confidence, and my ability to tackle even bigger challenges.”
This mindset isn’t just for career professionals—it’s for anyone who wants to grow and thrive in life.
How to Say Yes Before You’re Ready
Feeling inspired but unsure how to take that first step? Here are some tips from Pamela’s experience:
Reframe Fear as Excitement: Nervousness is a sign you’re on the edge of growth. Embrace it.
Trust In Your Ability to Learn: You don’t need to have all the answers now; you’ll figure it out.
Surround Yourself with Support: Find mentors, friends, or colleagues who lift you up and encourage you to take risks.
Conclusion
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever said yes to? As Pamela’s story shows, saying yes before you’re ready can lead to incredible growth, unexpected opportunities, and a more fulfilling life.
🎧 Episode 7 of UnCeiling You is live now! Tune in for Pamela’s inspiring journey and her advice on taking bold steps.
In Episode 5 of UnCeiling Your Career, we sit down with Dr. Mona Jhaveri, founder of Music Beats Cancer, to uncover her inspiring story of resilience, ambition, and innovation. Mona’s journey highlights the power of determination to overcome obstacles and create systemic change in the fight against cancer.
Whether you’re a scientist, entrepreneur, or someone striving to make a difference, this episode is packed with valuable lessons on turning setbacks into stepping stones.
Who is Dr. Mona Jhaveri?
Dr. Mona Jhaveri is a scientist turned entrepreneur and nonprofit leader who has dedicated her career to addressing the funding challenges in biotech innovation. After founding Foligo Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup focused on ovarian cancer treatment, Mona faced the harsh realities of the “Valley of Death”—a critical funding gap that many groundbreaking ideas never overcome.
Rather than view this as a failure, Mona used her experience to launch Music Beats Cancer, a crowdfunding platform that empowers donors to support early-stage biotech entrepreneurs working on cancer solutions.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
1. Understanding the “Valley of Death” in Biotech Mona explains how the “Valley of Death” is a metaphorical space where many innovative cancer therapies die due to lack of funding. She discusses the systemic issues that prevent life-saving solutions from reaching patients and how she aims to bridge this gap through Music Beats Cancer.
2. Resilience as the Foundation of Success Mona’s journey exemplifies the importance of resilience. She emphasizes how fear, when channeled correctly, can fuel ambition and lead to meaningful progress. Her ability to learn from setbacks and adapt her strategy has been instrumental in her success.
3. Redefining Philanthropy in Cancer Research Unlike traditional charities that often focus on patients, Music Beats Cancer supports entrepreneurs on the frontlines of innovation. Mona believes in empowering individuals to choose where their donations go, creating a more direct impact on advancing cancer treatments.
4. Ambition with a Purpose Mona’s story is a testament to the power of ambition to drive change. She encourages listeners to embrace their fears and use them as motivation to take bold steps toward their goals.
What Makes Music Beats Cancer Unique?
Music Beats Cancer connects donors with early-stage biotech innovators, creating a platform for “passion capital” that funds critical experiments and milestones. Unlike traditional grant processes, which can take months or years, this crowdfunding approach ensures that life-saving ideas don’t stall due to lack of resources.
As Mona puts it,
“We’re not just funding research for a cure. We’re supporting entrepreneurs for cures.”
Inspiring Quotes from the Episode
“The Valley of Death is where great ideas go to die. It’s not just a lack of money—it’s a lack of relationships.” – Dr. Mona Jhaveri
“Ambition isn’t just about success. It’s about the courage to keep going despite the setbacks.” – Dr. Mona Jhaveri
“We aim to swim upstream and stop the flood, addressing the systemic breakdown in how we fight cancer.” – Dr. Mona Jhaveri
How You Can Get Involved
If you’re inspired by Mona’s mission, here are three ways to support Music Beats Cancer:
Visit Music Beats Cancer to learn more about their campaigns and the innovators they support.
Donate to a campaign that resonates with you—your contribution can fund the next breakthrough in cancer treatment.
Share this episode with your network to spread the word about the critical need for innovation in the fight against cancer.
In a recent episode of the UnCeiling You podcast, Natalie Luke, PhD, sat down with Julia Frense Maria, a rising star in the field of sourcing and procurement, to discuss the challenges and triumphs of taking on big roles, overcoming imposter syndrome, and making values-aligned career pivots. Julia shared inspiring stories and actionable advice for women at all career stages.
Taking the Leap: Embracing Big Roles Before Feeling Ready
Julia recounted her experience of being approached by a recruiter for a role that was several levels above her current position. While initially surprised, she decided to embrace the opportunity. The process involved interviews, flying out to meet company leaders, and even a meeting with the CEO.
She admitted feeling nervous and uncertain about stepping into the new role but emphasized the importance of embracing discomfort:
“Feeling insecure doesn’t mean you’re not capable. Lean into the discomfort, face the challenges, and trust yourself to grow into the role.”
Her key takeaway? Growth often begins outside of your comfort zone.
Aligning Passion and Values: A Career Pivot Moment
Julia shared a pivotal moment in her career when she realized her role no longer aligned with her values, despite initially feeling passionate about it. This realization led her to make a bold career move, establishing her three non-negotiables:
A great work culture.
Work-life balance.
An impactful role.
She reflected on how this decision shaped her career:
“If the environment doesn’t feel right or it’s taking a toll on your mental health, it’s time to make a change. That pivot taught me to focus on what truly matters.”
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: A Lifelong Journey
Imposter syndrome is a recurring theme for many professionals, and Julia is no exception. She openly discussed feeling like an imposter in nearly every role she’s held:
“Imposter syndrome often comes with new challenges. I remind myself of my achievements and that no one knows everything. It’s about learning, making mistakes, and growing.”
Natalie echoed these sentiments, highlighting that even seasoned leaders experience self-doubt. She emphasized the importance of self-talk and resilience in navigating these feelings.
The Power of Networking and Mentorship
Julia attributes much of her success to cultivating relationships with mentors and leaders:
“Building relationships with people you admire is a skill. It opens doors, expands your skill set, and creates opportunities.”
She shared two standout networking stories:
A conversation with a mentor led her to advocate for a new role, which ultimately resulted in her leading a new department.
A year-and-a-half-long effort to build a relationship with a company’s head of development culminated in a unique role tailored to her skill set.
Her advice? Be vocal about your aspirations and nurture genuine connections.
Taking Risks and Growing Through Career Transitions
Throughout her 10-year career, Julia has worked across four industries, each transition bringing its own set of challenges and fears:
“Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. Each jump has broadened my perspective and enriched my skill set.”
She stressed that risks can be scary but often necessary for achieving meaningful rewards.
Advice for Women at All Career Stages
Julia offered tailored advice for three distinct groups of women:
New Graduates: “Be open to possibilities and don’t be afraid to go after what you want. Use your voice and build relationships.”
Professionals Feeling Unaligned: “Step back, reflect on what sparks your passion, and explore ways to incorporate it into your career. Don’t fear the unknown—networking can reveal unexpected opportunities.”
Women Leaders: “Mentor younger women. Share your journey, insights, and support. Your guidance can inspire and empower others.”
Finding Bright Lights in Your Career
Julia closed with a powerful message:
“Seek out the bright lights—mentors and leaders who inspire and support you. They can help you navigate challenges and take the next step.”
For those interested in connecting with inspiring leaders like Julia, Natalie invites listeners to join the UnCeiling Zone, where members can engage directly with podcast guests.
Listen Now
Catch the full episode of UnCeiling You to hear more about Julia’s journey and insights on career growth, imposter syndrome, and networking. Don’t miss this inspiring conversation!
Watch Now
Catch the full episode of UnCeiling You to hear more about Julia’s journey and insights on career growth, imposter syndrome, and networking. Don’t miss this inspiring conversation!
In late July 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris garnered the backing of most Democratic delegates, positioning her as the party’s presidential nominee. While most celebrated, others called her the “Childless Cat Lady.” This derogatory label not only demeans her personal choices but also highlights a broader issue: the impact of gendered and demeaning language. Such language shapes our perception of female leaders and reinforces harmful stereotypes.
The Historical Context of Gendered Language
Gendered language is not a new phenomenon. Historically, women in leadership have faced derogatory remarks that aim to undermine their authority and capabilities. From labeling powerful women as “hysterical” or “emotional” to using terms like “childless cat lady,” these words carry significant weight and impact.
For instance, during Margaret Thatcher’s tenure as the UK Prime Minister, she was often described using gendered language that highlighted her femininity in a pejorative manner. Similarly, Hillary Clinton faced a barrage of sexist comments during her presidential campaigns, which focused on her appearance, voice, and personal life rather than her policies and qualifications.
The Impact on Women in Leadership
The use of gendered language perpetuates stereotypes that women are less capable or less serious than their male counterparts. It reinforces the notion that a woman’s worth is tied to her adherence to traditional gender roles, such as motherhood or marital status. This not only affects public perception but also impacts women’s self-perception and ambition.
While women receive labels like “hysterical” or “emotional,” I’ve seen men who pound angrily on the table or scream at the top of their lungs to the point that everyone in the building can hear them being excused because they are considered “passionate” or “assertive.” This double standard further highlights women’s challenges in being taken seriously as leaders.
Research shows that women who are subjected to gendered language and stereotypes in the workplace are less likely to pursue leadership roles. They may internalize these negative messages, leading to self-doubt and diminished capability. This creates a cycle where fewer women aspire to leadership positions and those who do face additional barriers. It’s a matter of women internally measuring the cost and benefits of moving into leadership roles. The cost of enduring name-calling outweighs the benefits of becoming the leader she dreams of being.
The Case of Vice President Harris
The recent comments about Vice President Harris being a “childless cat lady” are a stark reminder of women’s ongoing challenges in becoming the leaders they were meant to be. These remarks attempt to diminish her professional achievements and send a message to other ambitious women: your personal choices will be used against you.
Such language is particularly harmful because it trivializes Harris’s extensive career and contributions. Instead of focusing on her policies, leadership skills, and achievements, the conversation is diverted to her personal life. This shift in focus undermines her authority and distracts from the real issues.
Step Up to the Challenge
We must challenge and change the narrative surrounding women in leadership. Recognizing and calling out gendered language when we encounter it is crucial. Doing so can help create a more equitable and respectful environment for all leaders, regardless of gender.
We want to hear from you! How has gendered language affected your professional life or ambitions? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments below or send us a voicemail. We can shed light on these issues together and work towards a more inclusive future.
