How Good Can It Get

Episodes

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  Ep. 171 Let's Have a Joy Date 06.11.2026 11m

  I’ve decided we all need more joy, so I’m making it official. Maybe you could use a little more too. I choose joy over happiness because joy feels easier to reach, even in the hard moments. So I’m wrapping up a week in my creative cocoon and less to impress season by looking at what brought me joy, both in the headlines and in my own heart. This episode explores: The women who made history in the midterms, including Minnesota’s first woman governor-elect Catherine Breed’s 900-mile swim down the California coast, and the quote that captures my steady season Meeting my niece Georgia, and remembering first-time motherhood as the ultimate self-trust experience My sensory processing lightbulb moment, and what it explains about my crash-and-burn cycles Saying goodbye to Almond Joys and Junior Mints on my gluten-free journey What brought you joy this week? Send me a note and tell me, then share this episode with a friend who could use a little joy date of her own. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 170 What I'm Choosing in This Chapter 05.11.2026 11m

  When I stop trying to be impressive, I learn quick how much space it had been taking up.  This week, I’ve been naming what I’m setting down in my less to impress season. Today, I talk about what’s filling the space: steadier work that my inner Enneagram 3 sometimes calls boring, which is also where I’m finding a whole new zone of genius. It looks like 999 words a day, grace when life asks for it, and a lot more presence for the people and conversations right in front of me. This episode explores: My 999-word daily writing practice and the 80,000-word finish line on December 31 Choosing grace over my commitment after 42 sleepless hours welcoming my niece, Georgia My creative cocoon season, and why I stopped scanning other women’s 2027 goals The conversations I want to go deeper on, including how AI could make work better for women Why the sidelines with my kids matter as much as the impact I make in my business What could you see more clearly if you stopped scanning the horizon? If this one lands, share it with a friend who’s ready to put her attention back on what’s already hers. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 169 What I Mean by Less to Impress 04.11.2026 15m

  I’ve spent years copying what looked impressive without ever asking whether it fit me. Maybe you have too. I never consciously chose most of it. Seeing people operate a certain way, over and over, conditioned me to believe that was what it took to be respected and seen as valuable. As I practice doing less to impress, I’m uncovering a new layer of the work I started years ago, when I had to separate my work from my worth. This time I’m pulling apart being impressive and being successful, and it feels uncomfortable in real time. This episode explores: How a two-hour email rule turned availability into my measure of commitment The titles I still reach for to sound credible, and why I’d rather lead with my heart How over-preparing sanitized my own voice out of my work Looking the part, and the homecoming to who I was at 16 What it means to start impressing me, myself, and I What would shift for you if you did less to impress this month? If this one lands, share it with a friend who’s ready to stop performing for an audience that isn’t even watching. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 168 Doing Less to Impress 03.11.2026 5m

  I said out loud that I don’t want to be impressive anymore, and then I posted it. Maybe you’ve felt that pull too. As a millennial eldest daughter and lifelong overachiever, that admission made my pits sweat. It started with my revenue goals. When I looked closely, I saw a number built to prove myself to people from former lives, people I no longer work with or even respect. This episode explores: What I actually mean when I say I don’t want to be impressive anymore How my revenue goal exposed the layer of external validation in my business The hidden hours I spend polishing things in my head before anyone sees them Why off-the-cuff episodes are part of my practice of letting my best be enough My new experiment mantra for the month: less to impress Whose approval is quietly setting your goals? Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep.167 What If I Don’t Want to Be Impressive Anymore? 02.11.2026 7m

  For most of my life, I’ve wanted to be impressive. This week I started to wonder whether I still do. I recorded this one on my phone, diary style, with no outline and no research. It came right after I got to witness my brother and sister-in-law welcome their baby into the world. Being in the room for a birth has a way of rearranging your priorities. As an Enneagram 3, achievement has always been my native language. “I’m an attorney” used to say everything that needed saying. Now I’m sitting with a gut-punch of a question about what kind of ambition fits this season of my life, when my boys and my family matter more than any title. So in this episode, we get more precise. This episode explores: How the drive to be impressive can quietly run the show, even when nobody at home ever pushed you Why a sacred moment like a birth can make old ambitions suddenly feel small The nuance of wanting discipline and devotion while staying clear of burnout What I might be willing to trade, from bigger paychecks to bigger stages, for a life that feels good Why hitting record with zero polish became its own unschooling experiment If you’ve worn the “impressive” mask too, send this one to the friend who would recognize it. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 166 Haunted Headlines Impacting Women, Work, & Wealth 30.10.2026 10m

  This week’s headlines about women and money scared me more than my boys’ Halloween costumes, and one of those masks squirts fake blood... So I put on my former news junkie hat, with my employment attorney hat right on top of it, and took you on a haunted house tour of the stories that caught my eye. Some are spooky and a few are downright ghoulish. Together, they say a lot about how work is treating women right now. This episode explores: Microsoft’s voluntary buyout offer to about 60,000 employees, and why the scale of it feels so eerie How a buyout can be a real gift for women ready to leap into something of their own The disappearing act: 451,000 fewer women in the labor force since January, and what might be running underneath it Why so many wealthy women skip financial advisors, according to BlackRock’s first study on women and wealth What it means that women hold fewer than 14% of senior AI leadership roles, and some easy ways to start building your AI know-how Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 165 The Ambition Hangover (Part 3): My Complicated Relationship 29.10.2026 10m

  Right now, rewiring my relationship with ambition feels kind of boring. Nobody warned me about that part. We love a comeback story. What I’m living is the slow middle, where I catch old patterns in tiny moments and unschool them one decision at a time. Ambition and I are basically in couples therapy. On one side of the table sits the ruthless, get-shit-done version of me who was a rock star in the C-suite. On the other side sits the slower, more devoted life I’m choosing now. Some days I miss her. Other days I feel deeply sad for who she thought she had to be. So in this episode, we get more precise. This episode explores: Why the middle of rewiring can feel so dull, and what that boredom might be telling us The ABCs I’m unschooling: agreements, beliefs and conditioning carried over from 15 years of urgent work How I’m letting my intuition sit beside my ambition so my body gets a real say in my goals My new scoreboard of devotion goals, built to grow self-trust Why boring might be what safety feels like to a nervous system trained on urgency If you’re in a complicated relationship with your own ambition, I’d love to hear how you’re choosing a way of living and working that fits who you are. Come find me on Instagram and tell me. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 164 The Ambition Hangover (Part 2): Is It Burnout or a Hangover? 28.10.2026 9m

  Burnout and the ambition hangover love to show up together. For many of us, burnout is what finally slows us down long enough to notice the hangover was there all along. From the inside, the two can feel almost identical. Audacious ambition got me into the C-suite, and I look back at that version of me with a lot of love. Then, after one work wound after another, I started asking what all that striving was really for. That old ambition still shows up when I set revenue goals, and this chapter of my life is asking for something different. This episode explores: How the World Health Organization defines burnout and what it looks like in everyday work Why burnout and the ambition hangover so often land as a one-two punch One simple question to help you tell them apart Why regulating your nervous system comes before any big decision about your career or business The daily rituals I use to tune back in, and when to bring in a doctor, therapist, coach or mentor Are you tired of the work, or tired of the reasons you’re doing it? If this one lands, send it to the friend who keeps saying she just needs a vacation. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 163 The Ambition Hangover (Part 1): When the Wanting Goes Quiet 27.10.2026 9m

  I’ve spent most of my career climbing, and lately the wanting has gotten a bit stale.  For years, ambition was how people knew me. It was also how I came to understand myself. Every role I held, from managing partner to COO to chief strategy officer, asked me to keep reaching for the next thing. Even three years into building Executive Unschool, I still catch myself chasing goals designed to prove I’ve made it on my own. Then something shifts. A promotion feels flat. A work wound or a season of deep exhaustion forces you to stop, and you find yourself asking what it’s all for. So in this episode, we get more precise. This episode explores: What the ambition hangover is and why so many high-achieving women are quietly living it The arrival fallacy, and why reaching the goal can leave us feeling emptier than before Why this shows up whether you lead inside a company or run a business of your own Where in your life have you reached the goal and then wondered what it was all for?  Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 162 Are You Still Trying to Win a Game You’ve Already Left? 26.10.2026 12m

  I’ve chased the same financial goal for three years, and this weekend I finally asked who it was really for. Maybe you have too. I told myself the number meant financial freedom and legacy wealth for my family. When I sat quietly with it, I found a hidden audience behind it: colleagues, and earlier versions of me, from a professional life I walked away from years ago. Seven years into healing old work conditioning, I’m still finding new layers of it. This one showed up as a scoreboard I didn’t know I’d packed. So in this episode, we get more precise. This episode explores: How workplaces quietly teach us what success looks like, through billable hours, bonuses, titles and corner offices Why a big goal can secretly be a rebuttal to a former boss or a parent’s old expectations What psychologists found about goals chased for outside recognition and how they affect well-being How borrowed goals feed burnout, even after you hit them Why ambition belongs in your life, and how to make sure your goals belong to you (it’s an “and”) Here’s a question to sit with this week: what would you go after if no one from your past was watching? Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 161 Quieting Resistance with a Daily Rhythm 23.10.2026 8m

  Two weeks ago, I stopped giving my resistance a seat at the table. Maybe you’re ready to do the same. This week, we’ve looked at resistance from every angle, and today I’m sharing what’s actually working for me. I record a daily podcast, write every day and go live on Instagram every day, with no outs, no matter what. Even in a week full of disruptions, the practices held. They’re quietly rewiring my productivity-driven brain and teaching me to love the process. This episode explores: How to tell resistance that keeps you stuck from resistance that protects you from burnout Why making something non-negotiable leaves no open question for resistance to argue with What showing up in “troll mode” with no makeup taught me about building in public The difference between an amateur who dabbles and a pro who puts in daily reps How building a business can quietly build you, too Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 160 When I Got Sick of My Own BS, Things Changed 22.10.2026 8m

  For three years, I told myself I was writing a book. Maybe you’ve told yourself a story like that too. I had 54 pages I kept tinkering with, a publishing course I’d paid for, and a very reasonable list of reasons to wait. Then I heard a question that stopped me: whatever it is that you want most, do you want to be an amateur or go pro? That’s when I finally got sick of my own BS. This episode explores: How indecision about traditional versus self-publishing became a hiding place for my resistance The valid-sounding stories we tell ourselves to stay comfortable with our resistance What “going pro” asks of us in self-trust and commitment Why I’m measuring my writing days by done instead of stellar, thanks to my husband’s reminder Finding the one next action that moves you closer to what you want What’s your resistance, and what’s one small action you can take today to move past it? Then watch your world change. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 159 If It's Hysterical, It's Historical 21.10.2026 12m

  Who am I to want more when I already have so much? Maybe you’ve asked yourself that too. There’s a saying from recovery circles that I can’t stop thinking about: if it’s hysterical, it’s historical. When a reaction feels much bigger than the moment, it’s usually carrying something from long ago. This week I’ve been exploring resistance, and today I’m going deeper. Sometimes the thing holding us back from a big pivot started long before our first job. This episode explores: How the ABCs we absorbed as kids (agreements, beliefs and conditioning) get loudest right when we’re ready to change Why gratitude and wanting more can live in the same life The fear of becoming different from your family, community or hometown What being alcohol-free for four years taught me about other people’s reactions to my choices Two questions that help you tell whether your resistance is historical Here’s a question to sit with: choose one belief you hold about wanting more, and ask whether it’s still true for the woman you are today. And if you know a woman who’s ready for a change but keeps talking herself out of it, send this episode her way. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 158 The Upper Limit Problem 20.10.2026 12m

  Sometimes my resistance shows up right when things are going well. Maybe yours does too. This week, the daily podcast and my 999-word writing ritual have started to feel mundane, kind of like opening a pantry full of snacks I can’t eat anymore. A friend told me her season is about turning the ordinary into extraordinary moments, and it sent me back to one of my favorite books, Gay Hendricks’ The Big Leap. His idea of an inner thermostat changed how I see my own resistance, and it might change how you see yours. This episode explores: The inner thermostat that limits how much good we let ourselves feel Why our upper limit gets set by what feels familiar instead of what we deserve The four hidden barriers that keep our thermostat low, and the one I rumble with most Why so many women learned to be impressive, just not too impressive How naming your upper limit helps you push past resistance without slipping back into hustle culture Here’s a question to sit with: next time you feel resistance, ask yourself what good feeling you might be trying to avoid. And if you know a woman who keeps dimming her light to stay liked, send this episode her way. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 157 When Resistance Means Something More 19.10.2026 12m

  Most days this month, I’ve felt resistance before doing the very things I chose to do. Maybe you’ve felt that too. I committed to recording a daily podcast and writing 999 words a day for the book I’ve wanted to write since I was a little girl. Some mornings, folding laundry sounds better than either one. For a long time, I read that resistance as a warning. Now I’m wondering whether my internal alarm is working off an old map. This episode explores: Why resistance can feel like danger after a season of self-abandonment How the friction of growth and the friction of betraying yourself can feel the same in the body What Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art taught me about Resistance with a capital R Two questions that help me decide whether resistance is worth pushing through How small changes to my environment are making the hard work feel like coming home Here’s a question to sit with: where are you feeling resistance right now, and what might it be pointing you toward? And if you know a woman who’s starting something meaningful and doubting herself, send this episode her way. Curious what your work wounds are asking for this season? Take the Work Recovery® Audit at workrecovery.com. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 156 Why Grace + Discipline Belong Together 16.10.2026 13m

  If I give myself grace, will I lose my edge? Maybe you’ve wondered that too. If you built your career on getting everything done without complaint, letting yourself off the hook can feel like opening Pandora’s box. As an Enneagram 3, I’ve wrestled with this one for years. Part of the answer lies in how our culture rewards grit, and in what that’s taught us to call discipline. This episode explores: How the word “discipline” got hijacked by hustle culture Why so many high achievers fear that grace will make everything unravel Redefining discipline as devotion to your craft, your work and yourself What a missed workout teaches us about grace that gets you back up the next day How to tell when grace is helping you return, and when it’s become an excuse Here’s a question to sit with: what would it feel like to be held by both grace and devotion, instead of choosing between them? And if you know a woman who’s afraid to slow down because she thinks she’ll lose herself, send this episode her way. Curious where you are in your own work recovery? Take the Work Recovery® Audit at workrecovery.com. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 155 What Work Looks Like After Burnout 15.10.2026 12m

  After burnout, so many of us start asking when we’ll get back to normal and feel like ourselves again. In this episode, I give you my honest answer. You may never return to the version of you who existed before burnout... and that might be the best news. When you look at your patterns with radical honesty, you find things you want to change. That could be how you work, how you show up for your work, or how you separate your worth from your output. Those changes become who you are now. And yet there can be real grief in letting go of the woman who could push through anything, especially when the people around you got used to her. I also share where I am right now in writing my book, using a ritual of 999 words a day. That excavation has shown me a built-in “governor” I didn’t have in my chief-level years, and I’m learning to trust it. In this episode Why “getting back to normal” may be the wrong goal after burnout Grieving the version of you who could handle anything, and remembering what that capacity cost your health and your peace The pushback that comes when your new boundaries affect the people around you Why the urge to come back sharper and faster is an old pattern in a new flavor Small kept promises that rebuild self-trust, like taking lunch away from your desk or leaving when you said you would Meeting old reflexes with curiosity and grace when they come back Take the Work Recovery Audit I worked really hard on this one. The audit helps you slow down and notice what you might be carrying from work, then maps your answers to the Work Recovery Method (Regulate, Rewire, Reclaim). It tells you which phase to start in. Take it at workrecovery.com or find it linked at executiveunschool.com. I’d love to hear what you think. Share the show If this episode helped you, follow or subscribe and leave a rating. Then send it to the friend who keeps saying “I’m fine,” with a note that says, “This made me think of you.” Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 154 Force v. Flow? How to Tell the Difference After Burnout 14.10.2026 9m

  I’ve wrestled with this one for years: when do I give myself grace, and when do I push through? After burnout, your internal alarm system can get out of whack. Some women feel like everything is forcing. Others feel so numb that nothing registers at all. No one can watch you work and tell you whether you’re in flow. You’re the instrument, and this episode helps you tune it so you can feel into what force and flow feel like for you. This episode explores: What flow actually is, and why it needs challenge to show up How forcing borrows energy from caffeine, fear and self-abandonment Four questions that help you tell flow from forcing The difference between the friction of growth and the friction of betraying yourself Small, low-stakes check-ins that rebuild your connection with yourself after burnout Here’s a question to sit with: pick one task on your list this week. Does it renew your energy, or does it borrow from somewhere you’ll have to pay back later? And if you know a woman who’s trying to find her way back after burnout, send this episode her way. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 153 The Wound Underneath Burnout 13.10.2026 9m

  When a woman comes to me after burnout, I ask her what she wants for herself. Most of the time, she can’t answer. Maybe you can’t either. She can tell you exactly what her team needs and what her boss expects. Her own desires are much harder to find. That long pause says a lot. Burnout is the work wound our culture has finally named, and underneath it, so often, is self-abandonment. In this episode, I share how that showed up in my own career, and why rest alone rarely heals it. This episode explores: The quiet ways we override our own signals to be seen as valuable and worthy How years of small overrides add up to losing contact with yourself Why so many women rebuild the same burnout pattern in a new job with a new title How workplaces reward self-abandonment and call it a compliment Why a few days of PTO can’t rewire a lifetime of putting your needs last Here’s a question to sit with: where did you first learn that your needs could wait when it comes to your work? And if someone you love keeps saying “I’m fine,” send this episode her way. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.comInstagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool
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  Ep. 152 What We Get Wrong About Burnout 12.10.2026 10m

  I’ve said “I’m burned out” in the same breath as “I’m tired.” Maybe you have too. In the past few episodes, we redefined growth as capacity expansion. This week, I’m looking at what happens when our capacity gets pushed past its edge for too long. Burnout might be the most overused word in work culture right now, and I think it’s one of the least understood. We use it as a catch-all, then take some PTO and expect a week off to fix something that took years to build. So in this episode, we get more precise. This episode explores: How the WHO actually defines burnout, and why it’s specific to work The signs of burnout that go beyond exhaustion, including cynicism and declining confidence The mismatch between people and their jobs in areas like workload, control, fairness and values Why the cleanup for a systemic problem keeps getting assigned to individual women What I saw as an employment attorney when people changed jobs and the harm followed them Here's a question to sit with: when you say you’re burned out, what do you actually mean? Getting specific is the first step toward finding your way back. And if this episode made you think of someone who’s running on empty, send it her way. Connect with BreeWebsite: executiveunschool.com Instagram: @breejohnsonofficial x @executiveunschool