Every human will have chapters in trouble. Smooth sailing is never guaranteed. There are seasons in life when everything feels uncertain, but the people around you still need you to lead.
In this solo episode, Lori shares one of the hardest chapters of her life: losing her mother to cancer in five weeks, from diagnosis to death, while leading a demanding corporate career as a single mom. She talks honestly about what grief actually looks like when you don't have the option to stop, the pressure to keep performing, and what it really means to be strong when you don't have the answers.
Rather than offering quick fixes, Lori shares the mindset shifts that carried her through, and what she learned about choosing who to be when nothing else was certain.
If you're walking through a difficult season while still carrying responsibility at work, at home, or in your business, this conversation is for you.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
Strength Doesn't Require Certainty
One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is believing you need to know exactly how everything will turn out before you can move forward. Lori shares how real strength is choosing your next step even when the future feels completely unknown.
Audience follow-up → Where are you waiting for certainty before allowing yourself to move forward?
Focus on What's Inside Your Hula Hoop
When life feels overwhelming, trying to control everything only creates more exhaustion. Lori introduces her "Hula Hoop Principle"—a simple but powerful way to separate what you can influence from what you cannot.
Audience follow-up → What are you carrying today that actually belongs outside your hula hoop?
Let Your Values Be Your Anchor
During seasons of uncertainty, circumstances constantly change—but your values don't have to. Lori shares three grounding questions that helped her keep showing up with intention, even while grieving.
Ask yourself:
- Who do I want to be while this unfolds?
- What values won't change?
- What energy do I want to bring today?
Audience follow-up → Which of these three questions do you need most right now?
Lower the Bar When Life Is Heavy
Hard seasons are not the time to expect peak performance. Lori explains why reducing perfectionism isn't giving up—it's making space for healing while continuing to move forward.
Audience follow-up → Where could you replace perfection with "good enough" this week?
Borrow Strength Until You Find Your Own
Resilience doesn't mean carrying everything by yourself. Lori reflects on the importance of trusted people who can hold hope, perspective, and strength for you when yours feels depleted.
Audience follow-up → Who are the people you can honestly lean on during difficult seasons?
Don't Make Permanent Decisions During Temporary Chaos
When emotions are high, our thinking often narrows. Lori encourages listeners to avoid making major life decisions in the middle of upheaval and instead focus on the next right thing.
Audience follow-up → What's the next small step you can take today instead of trying to solve everything?
🔎 Mentioned in the Episode:
- Lori's personal story of losing her mother to cancer in 2011 while leading a corporate career as a single mother.
- The Hula Hoop Principle—focusing only on what is within your control.
- Three grounding questions for navigating uncertainty with intention.
- The importance of lowering perfectionism during difficult seasons.
- Why trusted relationships are essential when life feels overwhelming.
- The practice of choosing the next right thing instead of trying to control the entire journey.
✨ Reflection Prompts:
- What's actually in your hula hoop today, and what have you been trying to carry that was never yours to hold?
- Where have you been mistaking certainty for strength, and what would it look like to lead without it?
- Who do you want to be while this season unfolds, and what values refuse to change no matter what's happening around you?
- Even load bearing walls need reinforcement. Who's someone you trust enough to lean on right now?
- What's today's assignment, not this year's, not this month's? Just today's.
🧠 Who This Episode Is For:
- Women leading teams while navigating personal hardship.
- Executives, founders, and business owners carrying heavy responsibility.
- High achievers struggling with uncertainty, grief, or major life transitions.
- Leaders learning to let go of perfectionism and control.
- Anyone who needs permission to lead with courage—even when life feels messy and uncertain.
📩 Want to Go Deeper?
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