What if your inner critic isn’t the enemy but a scared part of you trying (very badly) to keep you safe?

In this deeply honest, expansive conversation, I sit down with my very first life coach, Kate Swoboda, to unpack fear, self-doubt, nervous system safety, and what real courage looks like over the long haul.

Together, we explore:

1. why fighting your inner critic only makes it louder
2. how self-compassion is anything but fluffy
3. why alignment—not ease—is the true measure of an unruly life

This episode gives brilliant insight into nuance, integrity, and reclaiming your power without harming yourself.

If you’re done white-knuckling your way through growth and ready for a more humane, sustainable way to live, lead, and create, this one’s for you. Hint: This is exactly how I went from self-loathing to self-loving.

👯‍♀️ Connect with Kate

Find Kate and all her brilliance at 👉 yourcourageouslife.com and checkout her Level 1 ICF Accredited Coach Training (where I got certified) at TeamCLCC.com

📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED

1. The Unruly Collective
2. Kate's books: The Courage Habit and 100% Fully Alive

We the Unruly is building a movement of folks creating their own paradigms of how to live, love, and lead while building lives, businesses, impacts, and legacies built from truth, power, pleasure, rebellion, and the kind of unapologetic self-expression that makes fragile men miss the days of complacent, agreeable women.

We call it living your legacy NOW and if you vibe, you belong. Come join us in The Unruly Collective and be in community with folks who “get” it.

Founder & Head Unruly Jen Vertanen, is a Speaker, Favorite Self Mentor, and Life & Business Strategist for entrepreneurs, founders, thought leaders, artists, healers, coaches, and other super cool humans audacious enough to believe you absolutely can change the world.

She blends 3+ decades of helping people make big visions real with her bold thought leadership on identity, self-trust, and embodied action.

Stay Connected: YouTube | Website | Facebook | Instagram

👋🏼 Thanks for listening!

We the Unruly song written by Wendy Babcock

Lisa's? Live her legacy NOW.

In this inaugural live episode of We the Unruly, I sit down with my soul-friend, accountability buddy, and gratitude practitioner Lisa Condon for a deeply vulnerable, completely off-the-cuff conversation about belonging, self-trust, redefining success, and living your legacy while you’re still here to enjoy it.

What unfolds is equal parts heart-expanding, spicy, rebellious, and grounding.

We pull back the curtain on what it really looks like to un-become the stories you were handed, step into who you actually are, and create impact from that place of embodied truth.

The conversation touches everything from perfectionism, ambition, identity, spiritual downloads, the cycle of gratitude, ADHD realities (including brushing your teeth 👀), feral raccoon energy, and the freedom that comes from finally deciding: “EFF it — I get to live my life my way.”

Listen in and let's get Unruly!

👯‍♀️ Connect with Lisa

Find Lisa and all her brilliance at 👉 lisacondon.com

📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED

• The Unruly Collective
• How gratitude impacts the brain from Harvard Review
• Big A$$ Wall Calendar (Lisa got the wall version and I got the journal version to help us both see 2026 at a glance because we each have BIG plans)

We the Unruly is building a movement of folks creating their own paradigms of how to live, love, and lead while building lives, businesses, impacts, and legacies built from truth, power, pleasure, rebellion, and the kind of unapologetic self-expression that makes fragile men miss the days of complacent, agreeable women.

We call it living your legacy NOW and if you vibe, you belong. Come join us in The Unruly Collective and be in community with folks who “get” it.

Founder & Head Unruly Jen Vertanen, is a Speaker, Favorite Self Mentor, and Life & Business Strategist for entrepreneurs, founders, thought leaders, artists, healers, coaches, and other super cool humans audacious enough to believe you absolutely can change the world.

She blends 3+ decades of helping people make big visions real with her bold thought leadership on identity, self-trust, and embodied action.

Stay Connected: YouTube | Website | Facebook | Instagram

👋🏼 Thanks for listening!

We the Unruly song written by Wendy Babcock

Feeling STUCK in a life that no longer fits?

(you are SO not alone...not by a long shot which is one of the core reasons why I created BE. DARE. CREATE.)

You know that moment when everything in your life should feel fine, maybe even great, but deep down, something feels off? That restless feeling, the nagging thought that there has to be more?

That’s what my guest, Amy Pons, calls the pinch.

It’s that moment of realization when the career, the relationships, the day-to-day grind no longer align with who you truly are and want to BE.

In this episode of BE. DARE. CREATE., Amy and I dive super deep into how to break free from the copy-paste life, rewrite the rules, and step into the FULL power of your magic.

Whether you’re feeling disconnected from your purpose, stuck in a job that drains you, or just craving something more, this conversation is ABSOLUTELY for you.

(We also talk about vulvas...it's a good one!)

Amy and I talk about...

• How to recognize "the pinch" - that moment when life no longer feels...'right' and what to do with it
• Why it's so forking important to recognize when you're 'shoulding' on yourself and how to define success on your terms so you can stop that already
• Healing in only ever an inside job and how to get started
• Your body knows...it absolutely knows and how to actually tap into it for wisdom and decision-making
• Vulvas...so much vulva talk but it's all super relative to how you BE, how you get stuff done (CREATE), how you show up (DARE), how you heal
• And lots lots more...

Meet Amy Pons
Amy Pons is an intuitive coach, marketing expert, and host of the podcast Women Making Moves. After spending decades climbing the corporate ladder, she had a soul-stirring realization—she wasn’t truly living. Now, she helps women step into their full power by embracing who they were always meant to be.

Connect w/ Amy

Listen to Amy’s Podcast: Women Making Moves, esp. my episode on giving yourself permission

Follow Amy: Unlock The Magic | LinkedIn

Mentioned In This Episode

The Vulva Gallery on Instagram

Want to get in on your own version of BE. DARE. CREATE. Your Life. Your Legacy?

First step is giving yourself PERMISSION. Download my {free} guide if you're ready to get started today!

Head on over to jenvertanen.com/podcast for show notes and other binge-worthy episodes.

🫶🏼 If you loved this episode, please leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. It means the world and helps more people find these conversations!

I'm Jen Vertanen. Speaker. Coach. No-B.S. Transformation Partner. I'm your kick-in-the-ass strategic partner who helps high-achieving overthinkers, perfectionists, and dreamers stop stalling, start taking bold action, and build a life & legacy that makes their 80-yo selves proud. No fluff. No waiting. Just real, unapologetic permission...