After interviewing 13 incredible working mothers, host Mikenzie Ginsberg reflects on the biggest lessons from Season 1. She shares four key takeaways from season 1: why perfect planning doesn't work, how meaningful work can anchor you through motherhood's identity shifts, building support systems that fit your family, and choosing authenticity over societal expectations.

Mikenzie weaves together powerful insights from all 13 Season 1 guests: Cecilie (startup founder), Emily (tech leader), Leila (VC founder), Silke (VP at Dow Jones), Jaclyn (therapist), Charlotte (marketing consultant), Candice (lawyer), Livia (political risk consultant), Shaina (filmmaker), Karina (business owner), Genia (social entreprenuer), Camilla (Deliveroo executive), and Shachar (communications).

Connect with Us:

• Instagram: @LeaningMyWayPod
• LinkedIn: Mikenzie Ginsberg
• Substack: Leaning My Way

Season 2 launches this fall with more honest conversations plus expert deep-dives on women's health and motherhood topics. Stay tuned!

Join Leaning My Way Substack: https://substack.com/@leaningmyway

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Show Notes:

Livia Paggi is a political risk consultant, business partner, and mother of three who has always lived life by her own rules. In this episode, she shares her remarkable career journey from helping global investors navigate geopolitical crises to turning around a bankrupt company with colleagues after her second daughter was born. When professional triumph collided with devastating personal loss—losing her third baby just one day before the due date—Livia's perspective on success and meaning was changed forever. She candidly discusses what her therapist called "post-traumatic growth," how loss gave her a laser focus on what truly matters, and why she believes the corporate world's messaging to working mothers can be harmful. We explore the financial realities of making it work with 2 career-focused parents, the crucial role of community and ritual that modern mothers lack, and how motherhood and loss gave her the confidence to go after what she wants. Livia's honesty and refusal to accept the status quo will challenge how you think about integrating career, family, and purpose.

Timestamps:

04:35 – Growing up as an only child but always wanting a big family of 3-4 kids
05:40 – Early career path from development work to political risk consulting for stability and roots
11:10 – First daughter coinciding with promotion: motherhood as confidence booster, not obstacle
18:00 – Second daughter and taking over a bankrupt company as business partners
21:03 – Thriving in chaos and working during maternity leave on "things that move the needle"
23:37 – Financial honesty: spending entire salary on childcare and needing a supportive partner
27:23 – Losing third baby one day before due date and the complete life reset
33:02 – Post-traumatic growth and finding laser focus on what truly matters
40:18 – Transition to public sector work driven by desire to give back to community
44:35 – Quick fire round: resilience lessons, community-based childcare, and advice to pre-kids self

Shachar Peled shares her journey from reporter to working mother, and how she's learned to find meaning when life doesn't go according to plan. A former journalist for CNN and other international outlets, Shachar opens up about her three-year fertility struggle, transitioning from the unpredictable world of reporting to Google, and facing two unexpected layoffs in recent years.

She's refreshingly honest about the challenges of motherhood, job searching as an ambitious woman, and how she's learned to embrace uncertainty while rebuilding her career and completing a master's degree at Oxford.

Show Time Stamps:

4:20 – Balancing demands of journalism with prospect of becoming a mother
8:45 – Three years of fertility struggles while building a journalism career
15:20 – Managing pregnancy and motherhood as a reporter
22:10 – Why she transitioned from journalism to Google
27:45 – Getting pregnant one week after starting her new job
35:50 – Two rounds of layoffs and the impact on her identity
45:15 – The reality of being a "soccer mom" when you're not a soccer mom
52:20 – Finding hope through education and new projects