Mindful Millionaire with Leisa Peterson

You've been told the same story your whole career. Negotiate. Work harder. Be more confident. Speak up. And if you do all those things, the doors will open. But what if that story was designed to keep you quiet? In this episode, I sit down with Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez, author of The Ambition Penalty: How Corporate Culture Tells Women to Step Up and Then Pushes Them Down. Stefanie is a journalist, the host of Real Simple Magazine's Webby Award-winning Money Confidential podcast, and the creator of the newsletter Too Ambitious — and she has spent years compiling the research that the mainstream personal finance world has been slow to reckon with. The gender pay gap in the United States just widened for the second year in a row. It's now back to where it was in 2005 — when many of us started our careers. Decades of girl power, leaning in, and girl-bossing, and we are right back where we started. This conversation is about why. And more importantly, what actually works. We talk about the ambition penalty — the real, documented, data-backed sum of professional, financial, social, and personal costs women pay for simply wanting more. We dig into the myths of meritocracy that have conditioned women to blame themselves for systemic problems. And we talk about what history shows us actually moves the needle — because it's not power poses. I also share something I've never talked about on this podcast before: the day I accidentally found my entire team's salary sheet and what I did with it years later. This is one of the most important conversations I've had on this show. Especially right now. In this episode: Why the gender pay gap is back to 2005 levels — and what that means for every woman doing "all the right things" The ambition penalty defined: the professional, financial, social, and personal cost of wanting more Why negotiation alone will never close the gender pay gap (and the attorney whose job offer was rescinded for asking) The 30 identity characteristics research shows are weaponized against women — while being used to elevate men The paradox of meritocracy: why the people who most believe they're unbiased exhibit the most bias How feminism was turned into a dirty word the same way socialism was — and why that was strategic What the civil rights movement and feminist movement can teach us about what actually works Why ambition isn't the problem — hyper-individualism is Community as a career strategy: salary transparency, collective organizing, and building resilience together Leisa's BART story: the accidental salary discovery that changed everything Who this book is for — and why it matters that men read it too Connect with Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez: Website: www.stefanieoconnell.com Newsletter: www.tooambitious.com (Too Ambitious) Instagram: @stefanieoconnell LinkedIn: Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez Book: The Ambition Penalty — available everywhere books are sold (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook)

What does it mean to democratize wellness? And what does yoga have to do with building a more equitable world? In this episode, I sit down with two of the most important voices in yoga today: Tamika Caston-Miller, E-RYT 500, executive coach, and founder of the Ashe Yoga Collective, and Ashley Nicole Rideaux, E-RYT 500 teacher trainer, meditation teacher, and co-host of This Is Not Tea. We met at the Sedona Yoga Festival, and this conversation had been brewing ever since. We go deep on what yoga really is — and what it isn't. We talk about liberation as a practice. About the two pandemics we're navigating: the physical one we lived through, and the spiritual one we're still inside. About why yoga studios are rarely where they're most needed. And about how the tools of classical yoga — tapas, swadhyaya, and ishvara pranidhana — are exactly what we need right now to do the hard work of being in honest relationship across difference. We also get practical. Tamika and Ashley share how they've built an online, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ affirming yoga community with equitable pricing. I share what happened when I added a sponsorship option to my nine-week workshop — and how it changed everything I thought I knew about generational generosity. If you've ever wondered whether wellness was designed for you, this episode is for you. And if it was, this episode is even more important to hear. In this episode: Why yoga stalked Ashley into becoming a teacher (and how acting, eating disorder recovery, and a commercial residual check all played a role) Tamika's journey through chronic pain, a medical system that only saw her body size, and what hot yoga gave her that doctors wouldn't What "democratizing wellness" actually means in practice The Yoga Sutras as a roadmap for working across difference: tapas, swadhyaya, ishvara pranidhana Why every space needs to be trauma-informed, not just "specialty" ones The financial reality of doing liberation work: asking for your worth when you've been conditioned not to Tiered pricing, scholarships, community sponsorship, and the economics of shared-care models Two pandemics: physical and spiritual — and why the second one doesn't have an end date yet What Ashe Yoga Collective is building and who it's for Connect with Tamika Caston-Miller: Website: tamikacastonmiller.com Studio: asheyoga.com Substack: Soul Garden Instagram: @tamika_castonmiller LinkedIn: Tamika Caston-Miller Podcast: This Is Not Tea Retreat: Sacred Valley, Peru — June 27–July 3, 2026 Connect with Ashley Nicole Rideaux: Website: yoga-with-ashley.com Instagram: @ashleyrideaux Studio: asheyoga.com Retreat: Vietnam (upcoming)

What does it actually take for women to step into financial agency? In this episode, Leisa talks with Natalie Levy — engineer, former Wall Street derivatives trader, and founder of She's Independent — about angel investing, what holds women back from writing checks, and how taking action changes your mindset more than anything else will. Natalie shares how she started angel investing with $10–15K checks early in her career, how the death of her mother cracked open a deeper mission, and why she built a community where women can learn to invest even before they have the capital to do it. Guest: Natalie Levy, Founder of She's Independent Website: shesindependent.com Instagram & LinkedIn: @shesindependent Topics covered: - What angel investing actually is and how it differs from Shark Tank - The difference between venture-backable companies and cash flow businesses - Why mindset — not money — is the real barrier for most women - How stepping into action changes your identity as an investor - Why consumer power and investment power are two sides of the same coin

What if the numbers in your spreadsheet aren't judging you — but the part of you that feels that way could use some healing? In this episode, Leisa sits down with bookkeeper and financial guide Beth Crittenden to explore the deeply emotional terrain of money tracking. Beth brings a rare combination of spiritual depth, empathy, and practical know-how to bookkeeping — and this conversation goes far beyond spreadsheets. They talk about why so many high-functioning people avoid looking at their numbers, what shifts when people finally face them, and how to build a money-tracking practice that feels more like tending a garden than sitting in the principal's office. Leisa also shares her own experience of being "fired by her bookkeeper" — and what she learned about herself in the process. Guest: Beth Crittenden, Bookkeeper and Financial Guide Website: BethCrittenden.com Topics covered: - Why money tracking triggers shame, avoidance, and fear even in financially savvy people - The yin-yang embedded in every line of bookkeeping (and why it matters) - How to know whether to DIY your books or hire help - Platform overview: YNAB, QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Monarch - The difference between bookkeeping for tax prep and bookkeeping for real financial clarity

I hit record with a stranger I met on LinkedIn and this is what happened. Josh Allan Dykstra is an optimistic futurist, keynote speaker, and host of the Hello Tomorrow podcast. He spent two decades inside organizations trying to make them better places for humans to work. By every available metric, the field largely failed. Now he is writing the book that decodes why. In this conversation we talk about: Why the future is constructed, not inevitable The coming economic reckoning and what life looks like after fiat currency breaks How seasons of history prepare us for what comes next AI, truth, and the discernment we are losing Entrepreneurship as the best preparation for an uncertain world The heart vs. the mind as civilization shifts Non-attachment as a daily practice Josh also shares something real about going through personal bankruptcy as an entrepreneur. That moment alone is worth the watch. Find Josh: joshallan.com | Hello Tomorrow podcast and YouTube Find Leisa: wealthclinic.com | The Mindful Millionaire Podcast