In today's episode, Heather shares the one sentence that will get you to show up for high-stake conversations, even when you absolutely don't want to. While mindset and emotional management are powerful, some conversations - like receiving tough feedback or facing a dreaded interview - can't be thought or felt out of. Sometimes, the only answer is a simple mantra: Do it anyway.

Drawing from her diverse background as a trial attorney, psychology major, and certified hypnotist, Heather explains why acting in spite of dread is the ultimate secret sauce to communication. This episode is a deep dive into the power of evidence and why "doing it anyway" is a win for your personal growth, regardless of the conversation's outcome.

Together, we explore how to collect and create evidence that supports your dreams and how to prove to yourself that you are capable of far more than your feelings suggest.

• The Power of "Do It Anyway": Why this simple sentence is the key to breaking through the avoidance of difficult conversations.

• The Evidence Secret Sauce: How collecting and creating evidence makes you more persuasive, influential, and charismatic.

• Evidence You Can Do Hard Things: How pushing through a dreaded talk provides lasting proof of your own resilience.

• Why Feelings Aren't Fatal: A reminder that emotions like embarrassment, fear, or boredom are survivable and don't have to dictate your actions.

• The Trap of the "Soft Life": Why letting your feelings hold you back can prevent you from achieving your goals in 2026.

• Dismantling the "Difficult" Myth: How doing the hard thing often reveals that the conversation wasn't as difficult as you imagined.

00:00 Welcome & Introduction to High-Stakes Conversations

02:10 Episode Theme: The Mantra "Do It Anyway"

03:55 The Role of Evidence in Personal Growth

05:00 Evidence #1: You Can Do Hard Things

03:26 Evidence #2: Feelings Aren't Fatal

10:01 Evidence #3: It Might Not Be That Hard

11:33 Tool for Today: Use Evidence to Support Your Dreams

12:24 Preview of next week's episode

📘 Book: Advocate to Win by Heather Hansen – Master the tools of a trial lawyer to advocate for your own goals and dreams.

🎧Podcast Interview: How Heather uses the Evidence Journal to build self-belief

Connect with Heather:

• Schedule a call with Heather

• Follow Heather on Instagram

• Follow Heather on Facebook

• Connect with Heather on LinkedIn

• Website

• Watch Episodes on Youtube

• Heather's TikTok ‍

• heather@elegantwarrior.com

The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

In today's episode of The Elegant Warrior, Heather breaks down why "difficult conversations" are only difficult if you believe they are. Whether you're giving or receiving feedback, negotiating a raise, setting a boundary, or asking for help, Heather shares three practical tools to help you prepare mentally, emotionally, and strategically.

Drawing from her experience as a trial attorney, communication expert, and advocate, Heather explains how your beliefs shape your energy, your actions, and ultimately your results. You'll learn how to reframe the story you're telling yourself, calm your nervous system when fight, flight, freeze, or fawn shows up, and recognize when argument helps and when it hurts.

This episode is a grounded, actionable guide to approaching high-stakes conversations with more confidence, calm, and clarity.

• Why "difficult" is just a story
  How your belief about a conversation determines your energy, behavior, and outcome.

• The BEAR framework
  How belief leads to energy, energy leads to action, and action leads to results.

• How to test your story
  Why changing the narrative in your head can immediately change how your body responds.

• Mothering the animal of your body
  How to work with your nervous system instead of fighting it when stress shows up.

• The three Bs for calming your nervous system
  Breathing, binding, and bending to signal safety and control.

• Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn
  How these instinctive responses show up in conversations like negotiations and feedback.

• When argument is the wrong tool
  Why arguing rarely works when the other person is the decision maker.

• A grounding mantra for high-stakes moments
  A simple phrase to calm your subconscious and help you choose presence over fear.

00:00 – Introduction & Evolution of the Podcast

04:00 – Preparing for High-Stakes Conversations

04:30 – Tool 1: Test Your Story

08:24 – Tool 2: Mothering the Animal

09:47 – The Three B's: Breathe, Bind, and Extend

14:28 – Tool 3: Know When to Argue

17:15 – Summary of the Three Tools

18:21 – Tool For Today (TT): Affirmation Mantra

20:12 – Conclusion & Closing Remarks

📘 Book: Advocate to Win by Heather Hansen
Learn how to persuade, influence, and communicate effectively in high-stakes situations.

🎧 Grace Smith, Clinical Hypnotherapist
Learn more about hypnosis, subconscious calming techniques, and the mantra shared in these videos. Learn more about Grace Smith at her official website: gracesmith.com

Connect with Heather:

• Schedule a call with Heather

• Follow Heather on Instagram

• Follow Heather on Facebook

• Connect with Heather on LinkedIn

• Website

• Watch Episodes on Youtube

• Heather's TikTok ‍

• heather@elegantwarrior.com

The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

In this episode of The Elegant Warrior, Heather welcomes leadership expert Susan Drumm to explore how music, neuroscience, and the Enneagram can transform your leadership and your life. Susan shares her fascinating journey from Harvard Law School to consulting, television, acting, and ultimately leadership development, showing how following intuition and curiosity can lead to extraordinary growth.

Together, Heather and Susan dive into practical tools for recognizing patterns, disrupting limiting behaviors, and building new mental "playlists" that support empowerment, confidence, and personal growth. Whether you're a leader, an entrepreneur, or someone looking to level up your self-awareness, this episode provides actionable strategies grounded in research, neuroscience, and Susan's decades of experience.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Susan's background in law, consulting, and acting shaped her approach to leadership development

• The concept of "old playlists" vs. "new playlists" and how music rewires your brain for growth

• How to identify your belief statements and practice being in an empowered state

• What the Enneagram reveals about your blind spots, superpowers, and path to growth

• Tools to apply both music and the Enneagram for leadership, personal development, and team success

In this episode:
00:00 Welcome and Susan's journey from Harvard Law to consulting

02:08 Why the "sweatshop" law firm model didn't fit Susan's personality

06:41 Experiences at NBC: Learning the importance of organizational culture

08:42 Pivoting to acting: Developing empathy and mastering the inner critic

11:41 Pattern recognition and the concept behind The Leader's Playlist

13:46 Neuroscience: How music rewires neural pathways and shifts mental states

17:20 Practical steps: Creating your empowered "I am" playlist

21:19 Introduction to the Enneagram: Nine leadership styles and blind spots

24:45 Why accurate assessments matter and the "Enneagram Applied" program

26:21 Breaking down Enneagram Type 3 (The Achiever) and Type 7 (The Visionary)

30:11 Free quiz: Your Leadership, Superpower, and Roadblocks

Resources and Links:
📘 The Leaders Playlist by Susan Drumm – Explore music, neuroscience, and leadership.
🎯 Free Quiz: Leadership Superpower & Roadblock Assessment
🌐 Susan Drumm - Website

Connect with Heather:

• Schedule a call with Heather

• Follow Heather on Instagram

• Follow Heather on Facebook

• Connect with Heather on LinkedIn

• Website

• Watch Episodes on Youtube

• Heather's TikTok ‍

• heather@elegantwarrior.com

The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

In today's episode, Heather challenges one of the most popular beliefs in personal development: that mindset alone creates change. While visualization, manifestation, and positive thinking all have value, Heather explains why none of them work without action.

Joined by frequent guest Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, Heather explores how thinking, dreaming, preparing, and acting each play a role in real transformation and why action is ultimately what creates momentum.

Together, they unpack the limits of visualization and manifestation when they are not paired with effort, practice, and follow through. Drawing from personal stories of writing books, building careers, preparing for court, and navigating big life transitions, Heather and Judge Aquilina show how confidence, clarity, and growth are built through doing, not just thinking.

This episode is a thoughtful and practical guide for anyone entering 2026 feeling stuck in their head, overwhelmed by goals, or unsure which next step to take. Whether you are a planner, a dreamer, or someone who thrives on action, this conversation will help you understand yourself better and move forward with intention.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why action creates the evidence that builds confidence and belief
  
  

• How overthinking can quietly block progress even when intentions are good
  
  

• The difference between dreaming as motivation and dreaming as avoidance
  
  

• Why preparation is an action, not just a mental exercise
  
  

• How the WOOP framework helps turn intention into execution
  
  

• Why small actions matter more than perfect plans
  
  

• How creativity and thinking outside the box support meaningful action
  
  

• What it really takes to prepare for high stakes conversations and decisions
  
  

• How patience, consistency, and effort compound over time

In this episode:

[00:00] Why this conversation matters heading into 2026

[01:16] Action versus thinking and why it is not an either or debate

[03:41] The real obstacle most people face when taking action

[06:00] Visualizing outcomes versus feeling pride and confidence
[07:30] Effort, talent, and the role of grit in achievement

[10:42] Manifestation, karma, and why action creates results

[13:09] Different paths to success and knowing what works for you

[15:34] Impatience, shiny distractions, and staying committed

[17:53] Why preparation builds confidence in high pressure situations

[20:14] Thinking, planning, and practicing as forms of action

[22:34] Using if then planning to stay grounded and consistent

[24:49] Creativity in action, leadership, and problem solving

[26:40] Final advice for setting goals and moving forward in 2026

📖 Book: Rethinking Positive Thinking by Gabriele Oettingen

📖 Book: Grit by Angela Duckworth

📖 Book: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

🧠 WOOP Method

🌐 Follow Judge Rosemarie Aquilina – Website

Connect with Heather:

• Schedule a call with Heather

• Follow Heather on Instagram

• Follow Heather on Facebook

• Connect with Heather on LinkedIn

• Website

• Watch Episodes on Youtube

• Heather's TikTok ‍

• heather@elegantwarrior.com

In today's episode, Heather welcomes authors, leadership consultants, and husband and wife team Dr. Linda Schubring and Brian Schubring to explore the deeper meaning of identity, transformation, and trusting your inner map. Together, they discuss their bestselling book Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane, a powerful allegory that invites readers to rediscover their inner wisdom and reshape how they show up in the world.

Through stories of leadership coaching, personal reflection, and creative collaboration, Heather, Linda, and Brian unpack how uncertainty, change, and self doubt can become catalysts for growth. This conversation is a reminder that your experiences have already shaped the map you need, and that unfolding your potential is both an internal journey and a shared one.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the Map Is Already Inside You
  How your past experiences hold the answers for where you are meant to go next.

• Transformation Is a Choice
  Why the shape you are in today does not have to be the shape you stay in.

• The Power of Community in Growth
  How different voices, including critical ones, help shape who we become.

• Reflection and Action Must Coexist
  Why introspection without action leads to paralysis and action without reflection leads to burnout.

• Creating a Practice That Is Truly Yours
  How journaling, meditation, and reflection work best when tailored to your own needs.

• Navigating Noise and Distraction
  Why stepping away from constant external input helps you reconnect with your inner voice.

• Wisdom Across Generations
  How mentors, inner dialogue, and lived experience guide transformation at every stage of life.

In this episode:
[00:00] Introducing Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring and their book Unfolded
[02:00] The origin story behind the origami crane allegory
[04:18] Anchoring certainty within during times of uncertainty
[06:37] Agency, reshaping identity, and choosing how you show up
[08:57] The role of community, inner voices, and leadership teams
[11:19] Reflection versus action and why both matter
[13:40] Meditation, journaling, and intentional pauses
[18:14] Listening to your inner voice amid constant noise
[22:55] Wisdom, mentors, and being the owl for others
[27:36] Writing together, creative process, and collaboration
[33:31] A closing meditation on trust, courage, and taking flight

Resources and Links:

📘 Book: Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane
Discover a powerful allegory about identity, growth, and transformation.

🌐 Website: Leadership Vision Consulting
Learn more about Dr. Linda Schubring and Brian Schubring's leadership and organizational work.

Connect with Heather:

• Schedule a call with Heather

• Follow Heather on Instagram

• Follow Heather on Facebook

• Connect with Heather on LinkedIn

• Website

• Watch Episodes on Youtube

• Heather's TikTok ‍

• heather@elegantwarrior.com

The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.