What does self-care really look like when you are scaling fast, raising four kids, and carrying the weight of other people's livelihoods on your shoulders?

In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with Michele Henry, founder and CEO of Face Foundry, to talk about what it actually takes to build a high-growth franchise brand without losing yourself in the process. Michele launched her flagship location in 2019 with a clear vision to franchise from day one. Within a year, the world shut down. She furloughed her entire team, slept in her warehouse during COVID, and faced the kind of doubt that tests every founder's resolve.

Today, Face Foundry has dozens of locations open, with aggressive expansion plans still ahead. But this conversation is not just about growth. It is about steadiness.

Michele shares how self-care for her is not indulgent or optional. It is disciplined. Early mornings. Movement. Quiet time. Meditation. Clear routines in a world that constantly shifts. She talks openly about unlearning the belief that strength means doing everything alone, and how building a trusted team has become one of her greatest leadership shifts. For Michele, self-care also shows up inside her organization, from encouraging her corporate team to step away for restorative moments to creating experiences that reinforce gratitude and connection.

We also explore the idea of seasons. Survival seasons. Scaling seasons. The importance of extracting the lesson so you do not repeat it. Michele reflects on integrity as a non-negotiable value, how alignment drives franchise success, and why consistency in an inconsistent world is one of the most powerful leadership traits you can cultivate.

If you are a founder, an emerging leader, or someone navigating rapid growth, this episode will remind you that becoming unshakable does not mean being rigid. It means being clear. Clear in your mission. Clear in your values. Clear in who you are at your core.

As you listen, consider this: In your current season, what does self-care need to look like so that your leadership remains steady for those who depend on you?

What if the very drive that helped you succeed is the same force quietly pushing you toward exhaustion?

In this conversation with Dr. Selina Neri, I explore a tension so many high performers live with but rarely name. The desire to hold high standards, to lead well, to deliver excellence, and at the same time feel deeply depleted. Selina brings both research and lived experience to this topic, helping us understand that burnout is not a sign of weakness. It is often the byproduct of sustained overextension without intentional recovery.

We talk about what recovery really means. It is not about checking out or lowering expectations. It is about creating rhythms that allow your nervous system, your mind, and your identity to recalibrate. Selina shares why rest must be designed with the same intentionality as performance, and how leaders can model this in ways that strengthen culture rather than diminish it.

One of the most powerful parts of our discussion centers on identity. When achievement becomes intertwined with worth, stepping back can feel threatening. Selina gently challenges that narrative. She offers a path where ambition and sustainability coexist, where self-respect fuels excellence instead of self-pressure draining it.

If you care about leading at a high level without sacrificing your health, your relationships, or your sense of self, this episode will resonate. I hope it invites you to reconsider what strength looks like and how recovery might actually be your greatest advantage.

What if the very thing you are trying hardest to avoid is the doorway to becoming unshakable?

In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with Amy C. Edmondson, Harvard Business School professor and the thinker behind psychological safety, to reframe how we see failure. Amy has spent decades studying leadership, teamwork, and learning organizations, and in this conversation, she brings her newest body of work into sharp focus. Together, we unpack the three distinct types of failure and why only one of them truly moves us forward.

Amy challenges the simplistic messages we often hear, either that failure is unacceptable or that we should fail fast and fail often. Instead, she offers a more grounded framework. There are basic failures that can and should be prevented. There are complex failures that emerge from systems and unpredictability. And then there are intelligent failures, the thoughtful experiments in new territory that help us grow, innovate, and build resilience. If we are not experiencing some intelligent failures, we are likely playing it too safe.

We also talk about what becoming unshakable really means in today's world. Amy describes it as being anchored in values while everything around us shifts. With technological change, geopolitical instability, and workplace uncertainty, resilience is no longer optional. It is a daily practice. And that practice begins with self-awareness.

One of the most practical takeaways from our conversation is Amy's "stop, challenge, choose" framework. When anxiety spikes or the inner critic gets loud, pause. Challenge the story you are telling yourself. Then choose a response that aligns with your values and long-term goals. It sounds simple, but it is powerful. It is how we move from spiraling into the pit of despair to taking the next small step forward.

Amy also shares vulnerable moments from her own journey, including the early years of her PhD when she felt certain she would not make it. What carried her through was not perfection, but perspective. A willingness to question her own catastrophic thinking. The courage to ask for help. The discipline to focus on what she could control in that moment.

For those of you who feel like you are barely hanging on, this conversation is for you. We talk about the importance of protecting time on your calendar as a real commitment, even when that commitment is to yourself. We explore how unlearning the automatic "yes" can be an act of integrity. And we return again and again to one grounding truth: you only ever have to take the next step.

Failure is inevitable. But how we interpret it determines whether it shakes us or strengthens us.

As you listen, consider this: where might you need to reclassify a failure in your own life? And what would change if you saw it as an intelligent experiment instead of a verdict on who you are?