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What happens when you leave a 100-year corporate legacy… and then get fired six months later?

In this honest and energizing conversation, Kathy Love sits down with Lyndsay Dowd — leadership expert, speaker, and founder of Heartbeat for Hire — to unpack reinvention, resilience, shame, confidence, and the power of intentional community.

From 23 years at IBM to being unexpectedly fired, Lyndsay shares how that painful pivot became the catalyst for building a purpose-driven business focused on modern leadership and culture. Together, Kathy and Lyndsay explore how true self-care includes nurturing your network, surrounding yourself with belief-builders, and learning that visibility is a skill — not a personality trait.

This episode is for anyone navigating a career shift, recovering from a setback, or realizing that the circle you’re in may not be the only one available to you.

Lyndsay Dowd is a leadership expert, speaker, author, and founder of Heartbeat for Hire. After spending 23 years at IBM building high-performing teams and cultivating culture, she transitioned into entrepreneurship to help organizations develop emotionally intelligent, modern leaders. Lyndsay specializes in refining leadership behavior, elevating executive presence, and creating irresistible cultures that drive results.


After 23 years at IBM and a 100+ year family legacy with the company, Lyndsay left on her own terms — only to be fired six months later from her new role. She shares the emotional impact of shame, identity loss, and starting over.

The Three Self-Care Questions That Changed Everything

When everything fell apart, Lyndsay asked herself:

What am I really good at?

What do I love to do?

How can I help people the most?

Those three questions became the foundation for her business and a roadmap for anyone navigating reinvention.

From Shame to Power

Losing her job initially felt humiliating — but it became the most relatable and powerful part of her story. We discuss how setbacks often become the very thing that makes us accessible and impactful.

Can Bad Leaders Be Taught?

Yes — and many of them are simply insecure or never shown another way. Lyndsay talks about “reformed assholes,” leadership awareness, emotional intelligence, and why good leadership is absolutely learnable.

Building Your Personal Board of Advisors (PBA)

Why surrounding yourself with people who believe in you, speak your name in rooms you’re not in, and remind you who you are is essential self-care. Community isn’t optional — it’s fuel.

Visibility as a Skill

If you struggle to be seen, start by celebrating others. Shouting out the people who inspire you builds confidence, connection, and authentic visibility.

Reinvention Is Ongoing

Lyndsay shares why she’

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If you’ve been struggling with emotional codependency or want to learn how to establish a healthy balance of independence and vulnerability in relationships, join Kathy on this transformative journey. Be sure to subscribe to My Self-Care Sht* and leave a review!

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What do you do when life hands you a death sentence — literally?

In this profoundly moving episode, Kathy Love sits down with Terry Tucker, a former college athlete, police officer, SWAT hostage negotiator, and cancer survivor who has been living with a rare and aggressive form of melanoma for nearly 14 years. What unfolds is a powerful conversation about purpose, resilience, faith, mental endurance, and the quiet, life-changing impact of simply showing up.

This episode isn’t about toxic positivity or pretending things aren’t hard. It’s about finding meaning in misery, making deep human connections, and understanding that your life exactly as it is right now — matters more than you may realize.

Terry shares his cancer diagnosis story and how he reframed a two-year prognosis into a lifelong commitment to meaning, connection, and contribution.

The Mental Battle of Chronic Illness

Why the psychological toll of illness can be harder than the physical pain and how faith, honesty, and endurance carried Terry through his darkest moments.

Purpose Found in the Middle of the Struggle

Purpose didn’t return after healing — it showed up during the suffering. Terry explains how purpose often reveals itself quietly, without our awareness.

The Power of Human Connection

From waiting rooms to hospital chairs, Terry shares how going deeper with people — really seeing them — creates healing on both sides.

Why Your Life and Your Story Matter

A powerful story of a nurse whose life direction changed simply by watching how Terry showed up, proving that impact often happens when we don’t even realize it.

Redefining Success

Drawing on John Wooden’s definition of success, Terry reframes achievement as peace of mind and giving your best — not titles, money, or recognition.

The Four Truths That Guide a Life

Terry shares the four foundational truths that shape his philosophy:

• Control your mind or it will control you
• Embrace pain and difficulty
• What you leave behind is what you weave into others
• As long as you don’t quit, you can never be defeated

Episode Sponsor: The Outlier Project

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If you’ve been struggling with emotional codependency or want to learn how to establish a healthy balance of independence and vulnerability in relationships, join Kathy on this transformative journey. Be sure to subscribe to My Self-Care Sht* and leave a review!

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Guest:
Karen Laos is a keynote speaker, executive advisor and TEDx coach, who transforms how high-achieving women communicate in business. Fondly called The Confidence Cultivator, she has empowered professionals at NASA, Google, Facebook, Netflix, and Sephora.

Her mission: to silence self-doubt in 10 million women by giving them communication tools that drive tangible results in the boardroom and beyond, using her trademarked method, The Confidence Cocktail™. Karen's clients consistently report significant outcomes—securing promotions, winning negotiations, and attracting ideal clients.

She’s a three-time bestselling author and podcast host in the top 3% globally (Ignite Your Confidence). Karen's books: Trust Your Own Voice: Growing Your Influence Through Confident Communication, Invisible No More: Stepping Into the Spotlight, and Unshakeable.

Website: Freebie: 3 Strategies to Speak Up in Meetings

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PODCAST: Ignite Your Confidence with Karen Laos

Contact: karen@karenlaos.com

Retreat: (Santa Fe, April 30 – May 3)

Karen shares how confidence is built through intentional practice, healing old patterns, and taking aligned action — not something we’re simply born with.

From traditional family dynamics to workplace authority figures, Karen explores how early conditioning shapes our ability to speak up — and how to unlearn it.

Why so many brilliant women misrepresent themselves through their voice, tone, and delivery — and how small shifts can radically change how they’re perceived.

Karen explains why speaking first in meetings builds leadership credibility, reduces anxiety, and positions you as a confident presence in the room.

A practical conversation about why saying no is essential self-care — and how phrases like “I’ll pass” or “I’m not available for that” can protect your energy without overexplaining.

Self-doubt doesn’t need to vanish — it just needs to stop running the show. Karen shares how to make peace with doubt without letting it paralyze you.

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Support the show

If you’ve been struggling with emotional codependency or want to learn how to establish a healthy balance of independence and vulnerability in relationships, join Kathy on this transformative journey. Be sure to subscribe to My Self-Care Sht* and leave a review!

Follow Kathy:

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