We Didn't Turn Out OK with Jennie Monness

This week, I’m joined by Jenna Zoe, founder of My Human Design, the Align app and one of the most recognizable voices in Human Design. While Human Design may not be familiar to everyone, this conversation is ultimately about something much bigger: self-trust. Jenna shares her perspective on the shift we’re seeing from a more collective way of living - where success, parenting, education, and even identity were often defined by external expectations - to a more individual one. How more people are finding the courage to question what they’ve been told, explore different paths, and create lives that feel more aligned with who they truly are. We talk about how Human Design can serve as a framework for understanding ourselves and the people we love - not as a label or limitation, but as a tool for greater awareness and compassion. One of the ideas that resonated most with me was how often our suffering comes from trying to be someone we’re not. As parents, we can unintentionally do the same thing with our children. We may push a slow-to-warm child to be more social, encourage a cautious child to be more adventurous, or assume there is one “right” way to move through the world. What if instead we learned to better understand who they already are? Through her Align app, Jenna helps people discover their Human Design type and use that information to better understand their natural energy, decision-making, relationships, and parenting. The goal isn’t to put ourselves or our children in a box, but to reduce the exhaustion that comes from constantly working against our nature. Whether you’re familiar with Human Design or completely new to it, this episode is an invitation to consider what becomes possible when we spend less time seeking validation outside ourselves and more time learning to trust what already exists within. In this episode, we discuss: • The shift from external validation to self-trust • Why more people are questioning traditional paths and expectations • Human Design as a tool for self-awareness • Understanding your child’s unique temperament and needs • The difference between supporting growth and trying to change who someone is • Alignment, energy, and reducing unnecessary mental suffering Whether we’re talking about Human Design, parenting, or personal growth, I think so much of it comes back to the same thing: spending less time looking outside ourselves for answers and more time learning to trust what we already know (and feel) inside. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s episode is a little different. After a recent conversation with a guest discussing psychedelic-assisted therapy and healing, many of you reached out with questions about my own experience and what led me down this path. So today I’m scratching the surface on that personal story. In this short solo episode, I talk about the anxiety I’ve lived with since I was a teenager, the healing modalities I explored over the years, and what ultimately led me to pursue psychedelic-assisted therapy as part of my own journey. This episode is not medical advice, a recommendation, or an endorsement that this path is right for everyone. Psychedelic therapies carry risks, are not appropriate for every person or situation, and should only be considered with qualified medical and professional guidance where available. My intention is simply to share my experience honestly and provide context for why conversations about healing, self-awareness, and personal transformation have become increasingly important to me. As always, take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and make decisions in partnership with trusted medical professionals. Thank you for listening and for being open to these conversations. ⁠The heart openers behind my journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julie Vincent is the founder of The Gifted Life, a movement and podcast redefining giftedness as every human’s birthright. After 12 years in corporate marketing, Julie became a coach and began noticing how many people had achieved traditional success on paper but still felt disconnected from their worth, meaning, and gifts. Then motherhood deepened that work in a way she never could have expected. Her son was labeled gifted in the traditional sense. Her daughter, born after what had been a normal pregnancy, spent time in the NICU before eventually being diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, myotonic dystrophy. Julie shares the grief of letting go of the “mini me” daughter she had imagined, while also learning to see and celebrate the extraordinary child in front of her. In this conversation, we talk about how society uses the wrong ruler for our children and ourselves. We discuss giftedness, labels, IEPs, advocacy, emotional intelligence, and the difference between measuring children by metrics versus meaning. We also talk about the ways our children trigger us and teach us. From the birthday party where my daughter retreated back to me after I thought I was finally free to mingle, to Julie realizing her daughter’s “no fancy dresses” comment was showing her where she was over-controlling, we explore how our kids reflect back the places where we still equate their behavior, clothing, temperament, or success with our own worth. This episode is about parenting the child in front of you, not the child you imagined, feared, or thought you were supposed to have. It is about advocacy, acceptance, repair, and learning to see every child’s gifts especially when they don’t look the way the world taught us to recognize them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on We Didn’t Turn Out Ok, I’m joined by Michael “Zappy” Zapolin — founder of  ⁠Psychedelic Concierge⁠, and one of the leading voices helping bring more mainstream awareness and understanding to psychedelic healing. Zappy has worked with celebrities, CEOs, veterans and individuals from all walks of life. He is the creator of films including The Reality of Truth and Frequency featuring voices like Joe Dispenza, Marianne Williamson and Aubrey Marcus discussing healing, consciousness, transformation and human potential. This conversation goes far beyond psychedelics themselves. It’s really about healing. Survival mode. Emotional patterns. Motherhood. Identity. Fear. Connection. And what happens when people finally begin reconnecting with themselves in deeper ways. We talk about the changing landscape around psychedelic healing, why these modalities have carried so much stigma historically, and why both of us believe these conversations are becoming increasingly important - especially when approached responsibly, ethically, and with proper support and integration. We even get into the growing use of psychedelics for bio hackers like Bryan Johnson who are looking to extend their lives and the benefits of psychedelics for brain and mental health. I also share openly about my own experiences with several guided psychedelic journeys over the past year and how profoundly they’ve impacted the way I think about parenting, nervous system regulation, self-awareness, and healing. One of the biggest themes we explore is this: Motherhood can bring the deepest love and connection you’ve ever felt toward another human being… while simultaneously surfacing all the places you may feel disconnected from yourself in ways you never realized before. And perhaps that’s why so many mothers are craving deeper healing. We also discuss: why so many people feel emotionally stuck the difference between healing and escapism the importance of ethical guidance and integration why psychedelics developed such a complicated reputation historically what happens when parents begin healing themselves and how these experiences can shift the way we move through life, relationships, and connecting with our children.  I honestly believe many people are walking around disconnected from parts of themselves (and the world around them) and that there are layers of ourselves many of us never fully access until we experience “healing” of this depth. The more I experience and learn about this work, the more I realize that this is part of my calling because so many of us are functioning, succeeding, caregiving and showing up for everyone while quietly becoming more disconnected from parts of ourselves that we haven't had the space or safety to access. I honestly believe that at the least, everyone should learn more about this, now more than ever as it is gaining more and more science backed research, importance and approval at a government level because of the healing and profound nature of its impact on mental health and well being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After more than fifteen years working to the top of luxury fashion, culminating in her role as COO of Brandon Maxwell, Lauren Phelps walked away. She had just lost her mother to brain cancer and was pregnant with her first son, and she realized something: the memories she carried of her mom weren’t the milestones or big moments, trips and celebrations. They were the in-betweens. The way her mother brushed hair away from her face during a bedtime story. The songs. The painting together on the back porch. She didn’t want to miss those moments with her own children. Today, Lauren is a fine artist working out of her studio at the historic National Arts Club in Gramercy Park, where her oils, charcoals, and pastels are devoted almost entirely to the bond between parent and child. She is currently illustrating a book with bestselling author Michael Sampson (out soon), with her own debut as author-illustrator launching in 2027. In this episode, Lauren and I get into the big little moments, and we bond, hard, over what it’s like to raise deep-feeling kids who show those feelings in wildly different ways. Our older ones tend to process through complication and quiet; our younger ones leave nothing unsaid. We close the conversation with Lauren in the middle of a real one: her 8-year-old is scheduled to perform an almost unbelievably complex musical piece in front of his entire school the next day, and he’s wavering. We talk through how to hold space for a child who is caught between wanting something and being terrified of it. (An update from Lauren the morning after we recorded: he performed. He was incredible.) This one is two moms pulling back the curtain on what it actually feels like to parent big-feeling children and on holding each other up while we do it. I hope it helps you and you connect with it the way we did with each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices