Are you crushing the to-do list but quietly crumbling inside? Do you look productive but feel depleted?

In this episode of Aligned & Accountable, Mellisa Alfaro pulls back the curtain on the sneaky kind of burnout that high-achieving mompreneurs often miss—the kind that hides under “busy,” “booked out,” and “being everything to everyone.” If you’ve been chasing productivity but losing your spark, this conversation is your wake-up call and your way out.

You’ll discover:

• 🔥 The 4 silent signs of burnout that high-capacity women ignore
• 
  
• 🧠 The hidden beliefs fueling your burnout (and how to rewrite them)
• 
  
• 🛠️ Practical steps to shift from burnout to aligned execution
• 
  
• 🛑 Why your nervous system is part of your business strategy
• 
  
• 💡 The tools, mindset shifts, and boundaries Mellisa uses to protect her energy while raising six kids and running multiple businesses

This isn’t about quitting your business. It’s about reclaiming it—and yourself.

Whether you’re building between nap times or scaling to six figures, this episode will help you stop justifying the hustle and start building sustainably—with peace, power, and purpose.

✅ Listen to the episode

✅ Tag @mellisaalfaro on Instagram and share what hit home

✅ Subscribe + leave a review to help this podcast reach more overwhelmed moms in business

✅ Send this to a friend who’s been “busy” but secretly burned out

• bit.ly/winewithmellisa Give back to a charity of your choing
• 
  
• Monday.com – For project + content management
• 
  
• HoneyBook – For seamless client onboarding + automation
• 
  
• Working Genius Assessment – To discover your natural work style

Let’s stop spinning our wheels and start executing. Together.

📩 DM Mellisa on Instagram: @mellisaalfaro

🎧 Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

In this episode, Mellisa dives into:

• Why purpose isn’t just something you write—it’s something you live
• How to uncover the through-line in your story that drives your business
• The real reason your systems might feel scattered or flat
• Why purpose evolves and how to honor it through every season
• Action steps to realign your business to what matters most

Resources mentioned:

• Join the Aligned & Accountable Coaching Program – Apply here
• Sip with purpose: Choose a ONEHOPE bottle that gives back

Take action this week:

👉 Define your current purpose

👉 Align your content and systems to it

👉 Say it out loud: “My purpose is powerful—even when it’s quiet.”

📸 Screenshot this episode and share your biggest takeaway—tag @mellisaalfaro so she can cheer you on.

🎧 Subscribe and come back next week for Episode 23: “Burnout in Disguise—The Hustle You Justify.” It’s not what you think—and it might be exactly what you need.

If you've ever replied to a client while juggling snacks and a toddler tantrum, this episode is for you. Mellisa Alfaro unpacks what it really looks like to build a business while raising kids—without pretending that life is tidy or quiet. You'll hear how to pivot with permission, design rhythms instead of rigid routines, and rewrite your job description to honor both your business goals and your motherhood journey.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Giving yourself grace to pause, pivot, or push back deadlines
• Creating sustainable business rhythms that flex with your family
• Tools that help automate the chaos (HoneyBook and Monday.com)
• Why your productivity is not tied to your worth
• Actionable steps to simplify your schedule and lighten your load

Action Steps for the Week:

1. Write your current life reality in bullet points (include caregiving & commitments)
2. Build one supportive rhythm
3. Choose one system to streamline (HoneyBook or Monday.com)
4. Write “My rhythm is allowed to change” on a sticky note

Mentioned Tools:

• HoneyBook for client communication
• Monday.com for planning and content management

Special Mentions:

• Aligned & Accountable Coaching Program – Open enrollment now available! Mellisa is offering a deep discount for 5 entrepreneurs ready to take action and move the needle forward. Click here to apply.
• Sponsored by ONEHOPE Wine – Choose a bottle that gives back. Sip with purpose. Explore wines at bit.ly/winewithmellisa

Share the love:

Know another mompreneur in the thick of it? Send her this episode.

Subscribe:

Be sure to follow Aligned & Accountable so you never miss a moment of real talk and real tools.

Connect with Mellisa:

Instagram: @mellisaalfaro

Website: Golden Seal Solutions

Next Episode Preview:

We're diving into purpose—not as a branding buzzword, but the fuel behind your mission. Find your "why that lasts" even when life feels like too much. Don’t miss it!

Summary:

Welcome to the very first episode of Aligned & Accountable! If you're tired of chasing to-do lists, stuck in the cycle of planning and perfectionism, or feeling like you’re “busy” but not truly moving forward—this episode is your reset. We’re stepping into the Execution Era, where productivity is purposeful, and alignment trumps hustle.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• The cultural myth of “busy” and why it’s time to redefine productivity
• My personal turning point that shifted me from task overload to outcome-focused
• The 3 P’s framework: Priorities, Path, Plan—so you stop spinning and start structuring
• How accountability can feel empowering instead of pressure-filled
• Action steps to take this week to move your business forward—on purpose
• A glimpse into what it really means to execute from alignment, not exhaustion

This episode is for you if:

✨ You’re overwhelmed but don’t feel like you’re making real progress

✨ You’re building your business between therapy appointments, pickups, or dinner prep

✨ You want to stop babysitting your brand and start building a legacy

✨ You crave a rhythm that makes room for both peace and productivity

Your Execution Plan for This Week:

✅ Write down your top 3 priorities

✅ Break each into 3 simple, doable steps

✅ Host those steps in a system (I love using Monday.com)

✅ Book a 20-minute solo reset and ask: What’s working? What’s draining me?

✅ Bonus: DM me on Instagram @mellisaalfaro and tell me what you’re working on—I’d love to celebrate your commitment.

Resources & Mentions:

🛠 My go-to productivity system: Monday.com

📱 Connect with me on Instagram: @mellisaalfaro

💻 Apply for coaching & accountability support: Aligned & Accountable

Next Episode Teaser:

In Episode 2, we’re diving into the beautiful chaos of growing a business while raising kids—yes, even when nap time disappears or bedtime feels like a marathon. You’ll hear how I’ve built structure around family rhythms, and I’ll share real-life permission slips to help you give yourself grace without losing your drive. Don’t miss it.

Today’s show is about recapping the great things Mrs. Trish Shallenberger - Founder and CEO of A Soldier’s Hands is doing and how to support RIGHT NOW.

Write a letter or a card to A service member fighting for your FREEDOM right now. Show your gratitude, your appreciation, show them what FREEDOM means to you. I want you to tell them what FREEDOM means to you, what life would be without your freedom that they are fighting for. Show them who you are, what you do, and why LIFE means so much to you. Give them HOPE. Share HOPE.

I don’t care how you write it. It does not have to be perfect. DONE IS better than PERFECT. It can be on paper, cardboard, typed, it doesn't matter …. Show our troops fighting for our safety, our freedom that what they are doing matters!

Letter/Card Writers:

• Include your FIRST name, City and State
• Place letter/card in individualized envelopes
• DO NOT seal the envelope (as they will be adding the STAR)
• IF you need suggestions on what to say, email me
• Email me for where to send the letter/card when complete

If you enjoyed what you heard today, please give me some love and support my podcast. You can also find me over on Facebook @mellisawithONEHOPE and Instagram @mellisaalfaro

Come join me in my communities and keep up with the impact I am making all year. The links are in the description below.

Together WE CAN!

Sip HOPE. Share HOPE. Give HOPE.

*********EMAIL: thecausebetweenthevine@gmail.com ********

www.asoldiershands.org - Official Website

https://www.onehopewine.com/alexslemonade?dealer=959576 ALSF Fundraiser

https://bit.ly/2VFT8yl Kyler’s Kicks Foundaction

https://www.facebook.com/mellisawithONEHOPE Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/mellisaalfaro/ Instagram

Have you ever truly thought about the hard work our hands do each and every day?

How about the impact they make each and every day?

Have you ever just taken the time to look at someone else’s hands and try to visualize what they do for work? How about what they do in their off time?

Have you ever taken the time to look at YOUR OWN hands and see the condition they are in based on your own lifestyle, both professionally and personally?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO if a soldier sitting next to you on a plane said "Thank you for the hand cream. Dry hands are harder to handle than my fear. Thanks for the offer to send some more over to me where I'm deployed, but truthfully, unless the whole unit gets some, it's not fair."

Today’s show is about a beautiful soul who was on a plane one day traveling next to a soldier with horribly cracked and sunburnt hands having a casual conversation, Mrs. Trish Shallenberger - Founder and CEO of A Soldier’s Hands.

Write a letter or a card to A service member fighting for your FREEDOM right now. Show your gratitude, your appreciation, show them what FREEDOM means to you. I want you to tell them what FREEDOM means to you, what life would be without your freedom that they are fighting for. Show them who you are, what you do, and why LIFE means so much to you. Give them HOPE. Share HOPE.

I don’t care how you write it. It does not have to be perfect. DONE IS better than PERFECT. It can be on paper, cardboard, typed, it doesn't matter …. Show our troops fighting for our safety, our freedom that what they are doing matters!

Letter/Card Writers:

• Include your FIRST name, City and State
• Place letter/card in individualized envelopes
• DO NOT seal the envelope (as they will be adding the STAR)
• IF you need suggestions on what to say, email me
• Email me for where to send the letter/card when complete
• DEADLINE October 1st

If you enjoyed what you heard today, please give me some love and support my podcast. You can also find me over on Facebook @mellisawithONEHOPE and Instagram @mellisaalfaro

Come join me in my communities and keep up with the impact I am making all year. The links are in the description below.

Together WE CAN!

Sip HOPE. Share HOPE. Give HOPE.

*********EMAIL: thecausebetweenthevine@gmail.com ********

www.asoldiershands.org - Official Website

https://www.onehopewine.com/alexslemonade?dealer=959576 ALSF Fundraiser

https://bit.ly/2VFT8yl Kyler’s Kicks Foundaction

https://www.facebook.com/mellisawithONEHOPE Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/mellisaalfaro/ Instagram

How would you respond if you were told your child, less than a year old, had cancer? Or any terminal illness?

Would you ever believe that good would ever come from news such as that?

My name is Mellisa Alfaro, the host of The Cause Between the Vine Podcast where I give nonprofits a platform to share their voice and their WHY. Today’s show is about a little girl who created a lemonade stand at the age of four in order to help fund research to find a cure for cancer.

Together WE CAN!

Sip HOPE. Share HOPE. Give HOPE.

https://www.alexslemonade.org Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

https://www.facebook.com/mellisawithONEHOPE Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/mellisaalfaro/ Instagram

https://bit.ly/2VFT8yl Kyler’s Kicks Fundraiser

Shipping laws apply (CANNOT SHIP TO: AK, AR, AL, DE, HI, KY, MS, RI, UT)

Is bullying something to take seriously?

Have you ever been bullied?

If you have been bullied, or know someone who was or is, how did that impact you?

Today’s show is about a boy who was constantly bullied in school until one day his life was changed forever.

Help us make an impact and bring Kyler’s Kicks to a new level of awesome. The link will be in the description below.

If you like what you heard today, please give me some love and support my podcast. You can also find me over on Facebook @mellisawithONEHOPE and Instagram @mellisaalfaro

Come join me in my communities and keep up with the impact I am making all year

Together we can make a positive difference

Sip HOPE. Share HOPE. Give HOPE.

https://www.facebook.com/mellisawithONEHOPE

https://www.instagram.com/mellisaalfaro/

https://bit.ly/2VFT8yl

Shipping laws apply (CANNOT SHIP TO: AK, AR, AL, DE, HI, KY, MS, RI, UT)