What does authentic leadership really look like—and can you be joyful and ambitious at the same time?

In this episode of Joyful Optimist, Sandy Kusano sits down with Natalie Siston—author, speaker, and leadership expert—for a deeply honest conversation about joy, authenticity, community, and finding your voice.

Natalie shares her journey from growing up in a small town in Ohio to becoming a nationally recognized leader and speaker, and how that path required her to “let her out”—to shed armor, reconnect with her true self, and redefine what leadership means on her own terms.

Together, Sandy and Natalie explore:

• Why loneliness is one of the biggest challenges adults face today
• How authentic leadership begins with reconnecting to joy
• The power of community in personal growth and leadership
• What it really means to be joyful and ambitious as a leader
• How public speaking and self-advocacy are skills you can build
• The lessons Natalie hopes to pass on to the next generation of leaders

This episode is for leaders, founders, creatives, and anyone who feels successful on paper—but knows there’s something deeper calling them forward.

If you’re craving more joy, more authenticity, and a leadership style that actually feels like you, this conversation will meet you right where you are.

✨ Joy isn’t a distraction. It’s a superpower.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction – Joy and Authentic Leadership

01:25 Growing Up in a Small Town and the Power of Community

03:52 Why Loneliness Is So Common in Adulthood

07:30 Letting Her Out – The Book’s Inspiration

10:37 Authentic Leadership and Mental Fitness

13:33 Reconnecting with Your True Self

18:28 Being Joyful and Ambitious as a Leader

21:42 Public Speaking and Finding Your Voice

31:57 Cultivating Joy in Everyday Life

What does it mean to lead consciously in a world that feels overwhelming?

In this episode of The Joyful Optimist Podcast, True Wealth Coach, Sandy Kusano, explores conscious leadership as awareness, presence, and influence—not a title or role. Conscious simply means awake. Leadership means influence. And whether we realize it or not, we are all leading something in our lives.

Sandy reflects on how easily we slip into autopilot when the demands of life exceed our internal resources—and how that often leads to reactivity instead of choice. Drawing from her training with XChange and years of coaching and facilitation, she shares why conscious leadership matters for ourselves, for the people around us, and for the world we’re shaping together.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

• What conscious leadership really means
• How autopilot shows up in everyday life
• The difference between reactivity and creativity
• Why awareness is one of our most important leadership skills

The episode closes with a reflection and an invitation to explore Awakening the Conscious Leader, a live workshop experience offered in January and February.

If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who might need it right now.

So as you move into the week ahead, sit with this question:

What’s the best that can happen?

Learn more about Sandy’s work, coaching, speaking, and upcoming experiences at joyfuloptimist.com.

What if wealth isn’t about money at all? In this reflective episode, Sandy Kusano explores a different definition of wealth—rooted in connection, presence, legacy, and lived experience—drawing inspiration from philosopher, Alan Watts and life’s pivotal transitions.

What if wealth isn’t something you accumulate—but something you experience?

In this episode of The Joyful Optimist, Sandy Kusano offers a different definition of wealth, one that goes far beyond money, status, or achievement. Recorded from the Pennsylvania home she bought with her mother nearly twenty years ago—now in the process of being sold—this episode weaves together reflections on loss, legacy, travel, identity, and letting go.

Sandy shares how years of life pivots, career changes, and extended travel through Asia reshaped her understanding of what it truly means to live a wealthy life. Drawing inspiration from Alan Watts and Eastern philosophies such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Vedanta, she explores the idea that money is a tool—an accounting system—but not the substance of life itself.

Instead, True Wealth is found in:

• Connection and meaningful relationships
• Presence and nervous system safety
• Experience over accumulation
• Freedom, intuition, and alignment
• Legacy beyond material things

This episode is an invitation for anyone who feels disillusioned by the life they were told to want—and is quietly longing for a more connected, intentional, and joyful way of living.

✨ Don’t wait for the magic… be the magic.

If this episode stirred something for you, leave a comment or share it with someone who might be questioning their own definition of success.

Learn more about Sandy’s work or connect at joyfuloptimist.com