Posts in 2022
67. SA Quick Tip! On Don’t Know? Get Into Action with Kathy Oneto
67. SA Quick Tip! On Don’t Know? Get Into Action with Kathy Oneto

Overview

In this Sustainable Ambition (SA) Quick Tip, host Kathy Oneto offers an antidote to not knowing what you want to do. When you don’t know, get into action.

Kathy shares how one of the most common phrases she hears from coaching clients and those in a career inflection point is, ”I don't know what I want to do!” It’s usually said with angst and frustration. She found the same having done research with those who made career transitions; they often start the process in a state of not knowing. If you are in a career or life transition and find yourself saying the same thing, this quick tip is for you.

Putting this quick tip into action requires just that. Action. Listen in for more.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration
66. On Smart Strategies to be Fulfilled at Work with Art Markman
66. On Smart Strategies to be Fulfilled at Work with Art Markman

Overview

Today I’m joined by Art Markman, a professor of psychology, human dimensions of organizations, and marketing and vice provost of continuing and professional education and new education ventures at the University of Texas at Austin. Art brings insights from cognitive science to a broader audience through his blogs at Psychology Today and Fast Company, as well as his radio show/podcast Two Guys on Your Head.

I wanted to have Art on the show because I kept running into his content from the above blogs and in Harvard Business Review. I then went on to read his books. I knew he’d have a lot of great insights to share on how to think about career management, be more fulfilled in our work, and how to work at our best, especially in today’s environment. Art didn’t disappoint.

We cover a lot of ground in this discussion, and Art offers a lot of great nuggets of wisdom on how to manage one’s career over time, feel more successful day-to-day, be more productive, and sustain oneself. I love the idea of starting meetings with a joy moment and the sneaky, smart tip to put a meeting with a “fake” person on your calendar to carve out thinking time. I’m doing both!

Art - thank you so much for being on and being willing to share your brain insights with all of us!

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration, Right Effort
65. Part 5: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen
65. Part 5: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen

Overview

In this episode, I’m excited to be joined by my good friend and mentor, Philip VanDusen, whose been on the podcast with me two times before. Philip comes back to join me for this 5-part series on Building a Work Life after Corporate Life. How do you leave corporate and move into self-employment or starting a business? Our intent with this series is to create a guide to going out on your own.

This became a topic for The Sustainable Ambition Podcast based on a listener request, and I thought who better to discuss this with than Philip. Both of us have had 25+ year careers in Corporate and then went out on our own and even have a shared journey on our post-Corporate path that will share along the way.

The series will be aired here on The Sustainable Ambition Podcast, as well as on Philip’s podcast, Brand Design Masters.

In Part 5 of the series, the final episode, we talk about getting your brand and new business going: the launch and beyond.

We cover some similar ground yet go deeper in exploring how to build your visibility, activate your connections, other approaches for sales and marketing, and be prepared to demonstrate your credibility and the importance of doing great work. Throughout, we offer power tips and set expectations to embrace the journey of work-life after corporate life.

And that’s a wrap! Thanks for the fun and informative series, Philip! Always great to be in conversation with you.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration
64. A More Sustainable+Ambitious Year: Q2 Assess & Adapt with Kathy Oneto
64. A More Sustainable+Ambitious Year: Q2 Assess & Adapt with Kathy Oneto

Overview

In this episode, Kathy Oneto, founder of Sustainable Ambition, builds on the series that kicked off the year on planning and living a more sustainable+ambitious year. This episode is about checking in on your Q2 progress. How have things gone? What worked? What didn’t work? What do you want to practice next? It’s time to Assess and Adapt to help you both stretch and sustain yourself in your life+work in the months ahead.

The series coincided with the launch of the Sustainable Ambition 12-Month Workbook+Planner: Your Life+Work Resilience Rx. The workbook+planner offers inquiries, exercises, and planning tools to help you lead a fulfilling, sustainable, and ambitious life+work. Learn more at: sustainableambition.com/planner2022

If you’d like to do this work with others, consider creating a circle of friends or professional colleagues to plan and learn together over the year. Doing this work as part of a community can support you in setting intentions, holding yourself accountable, providing encouragement, and learning together along the way. Find guides for a Planning Circle or Workshop at Work at: sustainableambition.com/planner2022

Have a beautiful and enjoyable summer! Here’s to sustaining ourselves!

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort
63. Part 4: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen
63. Part 4: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen

Overview

In this episode, I’m excited to be joined by my good friend and mentor, Philip VanDusen, whose been on the podcast with me two times before. Philip comes back to join me for this 5-part series on Building a Work Life after Corporate Life. How do you leave corporate and move into self-employment or starting a business? Our intent with this series is to create a guide to going out on your own.

This became a topic for The Sustainable Ambition Podcast based on a listener request, and I thought who better to discuss this with than Philip. Both of us have had 25+ year careers in Corporate and then went out on our own and even have a shared journey on our post-Corporate path that will share along the way.

The series will be aired here on The Sustainable Ambition Podcast, as well as on Philip’s podcast, Brand Design Masters.

In Part 4 of the series, we talk about getting resourced for going out on your own and running your business. What is the “infrastructure” you need to put in place to have your business operate.

Another way to think about it is what do you need for your front office (like your website, social, email lists, and more) and back office (like administrative systems and your physical office) and with whom are you going to work (not clients, but partners or team members) to deliver your product or services.

A fun discussion, Philip! On to Part 5 in the series! To close things out: Getting your brand and new business going: The set-up and beyond.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration
62. On Finding Motivation in Loving the Journey with Ultra-marathoner Jack Hsueh
62. On Finding Motivation in Loving the Journey with Ultra-marathoner Jack Hsueh

Overview

Today I’m joined by Jack Hsueh who is an ultra-marathoner who has run races like the Tahoe Rim Trail 100-mile race, Tor de Géants which is a 330km race in Italy running through the Alps (which takes about 6 days to run!), and the Western States 100. Jack does these events while managing his career and having a family.

I wanted to have Jack on to learn how participating in endurance events that require commitment, resilience, and grit helps inform how we might manage our life+work from decade to decade, which in our modern times is an endurance event, as well.

Building on Episode 54 with Dominic DeMarco, in this conversation with Jack we discuss finding motivation in loving the journey, the benefits of putting in the work, redefining success beyond the outcome, embracing failure, and how others support you along the way.

Jack - I loved our conversation! Thank you so much for sharing with us. You’ve given us a lot to think about and consider on how to apply your experiences to our own life+work journeys.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort, Right Aspiration
61. Part 3: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen
61. Part 3: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen

Overview

On Episode 61, I’m in conversation with Philip VanDusen, whose been on the podcast with me two times before. Philip comes back to join me for this 5-part series on Building a Work Life after Corporate Life. How do you leave corporate and move into self-employment or starting a business? Our intent with this series is to create a guide to going out on your own.

This became a topic for The Sustainable Ambition Podcast based on a listener request, and I thought who better to discuss this with than Philip. Both of us have had 25+ year careers in Corporate and then went out on our own and even have a shared journey on our post-Corporate path that will share along the way.

The series will be aired here on The Sustainable Ambition Podcast, as well as on Philip’s podcast, Brand Design Masters.

In Part 3 of the series, we talk about what to do before you leave your Corporate gig, putting plans in place so you have a soft landing when you do go out on your own, yet knowing that you can’t plan it all and will need to learn and pivot along the way.

In the end this conversation is about managing the transition from one to the other, from Corporate to being on your own, and that includes creating a transition plan to start with, addressing both internal and external support you’ll need. Then think about your initial business model and brand plan for how you want to present yourself. And be prepared for the fact that it will evolve over time.

We’re on a roll, Philip! On to Part 4 in the series! Next up: Getting resourced to be ready when you start your own work outside corporate.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration
60. On The Success Factor: A Blueprint for High Performance with Ruth Gotian
60. On The Success Factor: A Blueprint for High Performance with Ruth Gotian

Overview

Ruth Gotian has for decades studied and researched the most successful people of our generation, including Nobel laureates, astronauts, and Olympic champions, to understand what they do when the world isn't watching that ultimately put them in an elite class of people who achieved exceptional success.

In this conversation, we dig into Ruth’s research and her new book, The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance. We discuss why it’s important to find what you love to do, how to optimize what you work on and when to improve your productivity and avoid burnout, the importance of breaks and staying true to the fundamentals, and why mentorship is critical to success. Ruth offers many great insights from the best of the best, and the book offers useful guides to support your own personal journey.

Thank you, Ruth, for sharing your insightful work on unlocking the keys to success and showing all of us the way to reach beyond the average.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort, Right Aspiration
59. Part 2: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen
59. Part 2: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen

Overview

In this episode, I’m excited to be joined by my good friend and mentor, Philip VanDusen, whose been on the podcast with me two times before. Philip comes back to join me for this 5-part series on Building a Work Life after Corporate Life. How do you leave corporate and move into self-employment or starting a business? Our intent with this series is to create a guide to going out on your own.

This became a topic for The Sustainable Ambition Podcast based on a listener request, and I thought who better to discuss this with than Philip. Both of us have had 25+ year careers in Corporate and then went out on our own and even have a shared journey on our post-Corporate path that will share along the way.

The series will be aired here on The Sustainable Ambition Podcast, as well as on Philip’s podcast, Brand Design Masters.

In Part 2 of the series, we talk about recognizing it’s time to go and how to go.

In this conversation, we share our own experiences with stepping out on our own, talk about the importance of paying attention to the internal and external signals you might be noticing that are telling you that leaving Corporate might be a good next step for you, acknowledge that transitions can take time, and importantly share how to leave to best support you on your next adventure.

Great discussion, Philip! On to Part 3 in the series! Next up: What to do before you leave.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration
58. SA Quick Tip! On Sustaining through Energizing with Kathy Oneto
58. SA Quick Tip! On Sustaining through Energizing with Kathy Oneto

Overview

In our first episode in the series of Sustainable Ambition (SA) Quick Tips, host Kathy Oneto talks about sustaining ourselves through energizing.

Oftentimes we think that recovering and building resilience come from rest. But what if that’s not the case? What if instead we actually need to get our metabolism going? We need a shot of adrenaline?

That’s what I learned over the last year during the pandemic, both through my own experiences and also through coaching and talking with friends.

How can you put this quick tip into action? If you are like some of us who are starting to feel a little antsy or dull even and you are looking to find a new spark or need some stimulation, add an energizer. What will energize you or inspire you?

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Effort
57. Part 1: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen
57. Part 1: On Building a Work Life after Corporate Life with Kathy Oneto & Philip VanDusen

Overview

In this episode, I’m excited to be joined by my good friend and mentor, Philip VanDusen, whose been on the podcast with me two times before. Philip comes back to join me for this 5-part series on Building a Work Life after Corporate Life. How do you leave corporate and move into self-employment or starting a business? Our intent with this series is to create a guide to going out on your own.

This became a topic for The Sustainable Ambition Podcast based on a listener request, and I thought who better to discuss this with than Philip. Both of us have had 25+ year careers in Corporate and then went out on our own and even have a shared journey on our post-Corporate path that we’ll share along the way.

The series will be aired here on The Sustainable Ambition Podcast, as well as on Philip’s podcast, Brand Design Masters.

In Part 1 of the series, we talk about the importance of building your personal and professional brand before you go out on your own.

In this conversation, we discuss why this topic is of interest, our own personal experiences with leaving Corporate despite loving our experience working on the inside, the importance of lifting your head up and considering the outside world even while you’re still employed, and how to think about building your professional and personal brand. Or, if the “branding” terminology makes you uncomfortable, just think about it as building your reputation and how you want people to think about you as your best self.

Philip - as always, I love being in conversation with you. Looking forward to Part 2 in the series! Next up: Recognizing it’s time to go and how to go.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration
56. On Career Pivots & Finding Purpose with Sarah Moore
56. On Career Pivots & Finding Purpose with Sarah Moore

Overview

Today I’m joined by Sarah Moore, a partner and Director of Brand Strategy at Mission Minded, a brand strategy firm that works exclusively with nonprofits and foundations. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation.

I wanted to have Sarah on the show for a couple of reasons. First, I’m interested, as always, in people’s career journeys, and Sarah shares her experience with pivoting from for-profit to non-profit. And second, I’ve had listeners ask how to bring philanthropy, giving back, and volunteering into one's life to make it more fulfilling and to find purpose outside of one’s professional life. Sarah shares tips on how to start this exploration of giving back in your own way.

And I couldn’t let Sarah go without hearing more about the best practices that Mission Minded has learned from being a virtual, remote company for 20 years. What has the company done to make remote work work, and what can individuals do to support themselves in successfully working from home? Sarah weighs in.

Thank you so much, Sarah, for the work you do and for sharing your journey and insights with us!

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort, Right Aspiration
55. On Being Ambitious with Strategic In/Action with Jinny Uppal
55. On Being Ambitious with Strategic In/Action with Jinny Uppal

Overview

Today I’m joined by Jinny Uppal, author of the new book, IN/ACTION: Rethinking the Path to Results. In this conversation, Jinny shares how the book was written for people who are ambitious and that there is a better way to drive results than to always lean into the prevalent cultural bias for action. She encourages us to find the courage to embrace reflective thinking and strategic inaction, which offer a less stressful and more efficient way of achieving more by “doing” less.

Test it out and put in/action into action and see how this powerful strategy can help you get the results you seek.

I really enjoyed this conversation, Jinny! Thank you so much for championing an easier way for us to find nonlinear paths to better results.

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort, Right Aspiration
54. On Following Your Own Path & Success for the 99% with Dominic DeMarco
54. On Following Your Own Path & Success for the 99% with Dominic DeMarco

Overview

In this episode, I’m thrilled to be joined by my good college friend, Dominic DeMarco (who you’ll hear also goes by Mimo in friend circles), who is a small business owner and an adventure traveler who successfully hiked the 2100 mile Appalachian Trail, hiked the 2600 mile Pacific Crest Trail, and bicycled the 4000 mile TransAmerica Bike Route.

I wanted to have Dominic on for 2 reasons: 1) I want to learn from people who have engaged in activities that require endurance and resilience and understand if there is learning from those experiences to apply to how we might lead more sustainable lives+work; and 2) Dominic followed a non-traditional career path from early on and now runs a successful small business.

In this conversation, we hear life lessons from Dominic’s long-distance treks, a redefinition of success for the 99% of us, the importance of embracing a growth mindset and “micro-tries” as adults, and what it takes to carve out space for yourself if you run a business.

Mimo - thank you so much for being on and being willing to share your personal experiences with us. So many good gems in this conversation!

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort, Right Aspiration
53. On A More Sustainable+Ambitious Year: Q1 Assess & Adapt with Kathy Oneto
53. On A More Sustainable+Ambitious Year: Q1 Assess & Adapt with Kathy Oneto

Overview

In this episode, Kathy Oneto, founder of Sustainable Ambition, builds on the series that kicked off the year on planning and living a more sustainable+ambitious year. This episode is about checking in on your Q1 progress. How have things gone? What worked? What didn’t work? What do you want to practice next? It’s time to Assess and Adapt to help you both stretch and sustain yourself in your life+work in the months ahead.

This series coincided with the launch of the Sustainable Ambition 12-Month Workbook+Planner: Your Life+Work Resilience Rx. The workbook+planner offers inquiries, exercises, and planning tools to help you lead a fulfilling, sustainable, and ambitious life+work. Learn more at: sustainableambition.com/planner2022

If you’d like to do this work with others, consider creating a circle of friends or professional colleagues to plan and learn together over the year. Doing this work as part of a community can support you in setting intentions, holding yourself accountable, providing encouragement, and learning together along the way. Find guides for a Planning Circle or Workshop at Work at: sustainableambition.com/planner2022

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration, Right Effort
52. On Setting Your Own Pace with Kathy Oneto
52. On Setting Your Own Pace with Kathy Oneto

Overview

In this solo episode, host Kathy Oneto shares her personal experience with setting the pace in her life to not fall into the “I’m so busy” frantic narrative that often surrounds us. You’ll learn 5 tips that have helped Kathy create boundaries around how she experiences her time. This has been a topic that has held Kathy’s attention for months now, and she continues to play with her own practices to not let the external world command her personal, day-to-day experiences.

How do you want to experience time? What pace do you want to set?

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Effort
51. On Becoming Superhuman & Avoiding Reckless Ambition with Dr. Sahar Yousef
51. On Becoming Superhuman & Avoiding Reckless Ambition with Dr. Sahar Yousef

Overview

Today I’m joined by Dr. Sahar Yousef, a cognitive neuroscientist and faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Sahar researches and teaches busy leaders and their teams how to be more productive and effective at work, runs the Becoming Superhuman Lab, and teaches one of the most popular MBA classes, called “Becoming Superhuman: The Science of Productivity and Performance.”

In this conversation we discuss how our future self can help us make decisions today and for our future, cadencing career possibilities across our lives, how to avoid “reckless ambition!,” and tips to becoming superhuman to get work done in less time and with less stress so you can get back to your life. There are so many smart, practical tips in this conversation that you can implement today, right now!

Thank you for being on, Sahar, and for the work you are doing to uncover new insights to help us care for and sharpen this powerful tool we all carry with us (our brain) to support us in achieving Sustainable Ambition!

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort, Right Aspiration
50. On Celebrating #50 🎉 and 10 Guest Wisdom Themes for Sustainable Ambition with Kathy Oneto
50. On Celebrating #50 🎉 and 10 Guest Wisdom Themes for Sustainable Ambition with Kathy Oneto

Overview

I can’t believe I’m already at Episode 50 🎉. It’s really been such a joy to be in conversation with experts, authors, and friends over the last 15 months. I’m so grateful for all my guests who have been on and shared their knowledge, insights, and experiences. And I’m so grateful for all of you listening in!

In honor of my guests and all of you, in this solo episode I’m sharing 10 themes and common wisdom insights we’ve heard from all these wonderful guests and what I’ve learned over the last year about living and working with Sustainable Ambition.

Sustainable Ambition is aspirational. And that admittedly means it isn’t easy! These insights will help us all on our journey to find fulfilling work, while also living a fulfilling life, from decade to decade. The end goal—experience more joy and ease in your professional and personal lives and less angst and guilt, while still being ambitious.

Here’s to the next 50 episodes and more learning ahead! Thank you for listening and being a part of my community!

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Aspiration, Right Effort
49. On a Holistic, Ambitious Flex Philosophy with Annie Auerbach
49. On a Holistic, Ambitious Flex Philosophy with Annie Auerbach

Overview

Today I’m joined by Annie Auerbach, an expert in cultural trends and co-founder of Starling, an agency which keeps brands relevant through understanding cultural change. She is also the author of *FLEX: reinventing work for a smarter, happier life,* which came out pre-pandemic, but is so relevant as we rethink our world and how we live today as we enter a new stage of the pandemic. Is it any wonder that Annie was on top of this trend? It wasn’t just because she tracks cultural trends; it’s also that she has been living, modeling, and championing a “flex” life for 20 years.

In this conversation, Annie shares how living flexibly is ambitious and that now is the time to reimagine how we live our lives more flexibly to make it all more sustainable. She advocates to first look within to what you need now and then to think big and muster the courage to craft and ask for what you want. One of the things I love about Annie’s approach is that it is multi-faceted; flex is not one thing and not just about work. Rather, Annie shares how flex applies also to home, mind, body, and future and is really a holistic philosophy: “It should be about a more progressive way of living and a more progressive way of society working.” Listen in to learn more, and pick up Annie’s book. So good!

Thanks so much for putting your beautiful book into the world, Annie, and for sharing your insights with us and championing flex for us all!

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort, Right Aspiration
48. On Yes! to Free Time & High Net Freedom with Jenny Blake
48. On Yes! to Free Time & High Net Freedom with Jenny Blake

Overview

Today I’m joined by one of my favorite people and someone who has been an inspiration for my career and business, Jenny Blake. Jenny is the author of three books; her latest “Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business” comes out on March 22, 2022. Jenny is also the author of “Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One,” an important life+work book that won the Axiom award for best business book in the careers category in 2016 and is for anyone who wants to be “high net growth” and successfully manage change throughout their career in today’s ever-changing environment.

In this conversation, we talk about the new book and also how Jenny finds the courage and conviction to build her business her way and create Free Time for herself. After 10 years of running her own business and sharing her lessons with her private community, now called BFF, Jenny shares her lessons for eliminating business stress through systems and non-traditional ways of running one’s business, like following your intuition and a Jenny-ism I love, “Let it be easy, let it be fun.”

If you are already a small business owner, someone looking to go out on your own, or a creative person looking to find more spaciousness to your best work, check out the book and Jenny’s podcast of the same name, Free Time with Jenny Blake.

It was such a joy to have you on, Jenny! This podcast wouldn’t exist without your generosity in sharing your knowledge and wisdom. Thank you for continually showing us the way to more freedom to do our best work, while, as you say, “serving the highest good for all involved.”

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort