What if empathy wasn’t about absorbing everyone’s emotions but about leading with heart and boundaries?

In this episode, Heather sits down with Shermin Kruse for a powerful and timely conversation about stoic empathy, emotional discomfort, and the messy middle between caring deeply and protecting your energy. They explore the spectrum of empathy; from burnout and people-pleasing to disconnection and avoidance. And they discuss what it really takes to lead, parent, and grow from a place of internal strength.

In this episode, they cover:

🩶 How to know when your empathy is hurting more than helping

🩶 Practical tools to stop absorbing others’ emotions and energy

🩶 The hidden discomfort in emotional growth—and how to face it with clarity

Whether you over-function, shut down, or toggle between both, this conversation will help you build emotional capacity that fuels your mission without draining your soul.

About Shermin

Shermin Kruse (most people call me Sher) is an author, speaker, professor, and TEDx producer who helps leaders, teams, and organizations master resilience, influence, and the power of human connection.

Her new book, Stoic Empathy (Hay House, April 2025), introduces a groundbreaking framework that fuses Stoic resilience with deep emotional intelligence, giving readers practical tools to navigate high-pressure decisions, lead with confidence, and build meaningful relationships in business and life.

Sher’s work is deeply rooted in experience. From growing up in war-torn Iran, fleeing to the West, and later becoming a successful lawyer, speaker, and executive coach, she has spent her career helping people harness both strength and connection to create lasting impact.

She has been featured in Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post, and on TEDx stages, speaking on leadership, negotiation, resilience, and emotional intelligence.

She also works behind the scenes, producing TEDx events, coaching speakers, and consulting with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and corporate teams to help them master the art of influence, communication, and decision-making.

Sher brings high energy, deep insights, and engaging storytelling to every conversation and she’s excited to bring that to your audience.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sher.kruse

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sher_kruse/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shermin-kruse/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZEnWQF0ONo-IE2PLsBI2Eg

Website: https://www.sherminkruse.com/

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stoic-empathy-with-shermin-kruse/id1744005230

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The older your kids get, the more they need you. Not for rides to soccer practice or packed lunches, but for leadership, boundaries, and emotional presence.

In this life update, Heather pulls back the curtain on a summer filled with big transitions, personal growth, and hard choices. From her oldest son moving across the country on short notice, to restructuring her business and team, to dialing in her health with more intentional energy management, she’s sharing what’s working, what’s not, and the uncomfortable truths she’s had to face to stay in alignment.

Listen in as Heather breaks down:

🩶Why “it gets easier” in parenting is only true if you get better at leading yourself

🩶How she’s handling the emotional reality of launching her oldest into adulthood

🩶The patterns she’s breaking in business and leadership to protect her vision

🩶The physical and mental shifts she’s making to prevent burnout and sustain momentum

If you’ve been feeling stagnant, overextended, or stuck in “busy but not better,” this episode is your invitation to look in the mirror, face what you’ve been avoiding, and make one bold change in the next 90 days.

For those of you who are CRAVING a reset and ready to break free from overwhelm, resentment, the continual exhaustion.... join me for a Cottage Retreat Intensive—four peaceful days designed to help high-achieving women reclaim time, energy, and clarity.

We have multiple dates, so find out more and apply at https://heatherchauvin.com/retreat

Ready to reclaim your time and energy without adding more to your plate? Yes, please! Then join I have also created the Time Rich Reset—a proven system to help high-achieving women gain back 10+ quality hours a week (that's 520 hours a year, ladies) as well as their ENERGY without having to do more. Make your time work for you.

Head to https://heatherchauvin.com/timerich

What if success doesn’t have to cost you everything?

In this weeks episode, Heather sits down with author and entrepreneur Alyson Caffrey to talk about the unseen emotional labor of being "the strong one." From the moment she checked in with clients after giving birth to her first child, Alyson began questioning the cultural narratives that taught her to grind, produce, and prove her worth no matter the cost.

Together, they unpack what it really takes to shift out of burnout and into alignment, create systems that support rest, and redefine success on your own terms.

In this episode, they discuss:

🩶 The hidden cost of tying your self-worth to productivity

🩶 What it really looks like to rest, recover, and still lead powerfully

🩶 How to grieve old identities while raising your standards

If you’re the one everyone leans on but you’re secretly wondering who supports you—this episode will remind you of what you actually deserve.

About Alyson
Alyson Caffrey is a small business Operations Strategist, Bestselling Author and founder of Operations Agency.

Alyson is best known for helping founders escape the bitter day-to-day of running a growing company. Over the last 8 years, Aly and her team have helped streamline the back-end ops for a multitude of brands and using her Operations Simplified™ framework to unleash the power of small teams.

She left the board meetings, consulting 8-figure companies on their operations, to serve founders running small businesses. Alyson believes that if she can return fulfilled founders back to their families, she can generate a much larger impact in the world.

Alyson is committed to using her experience growing businesses and streamlining operations to help founders (mostly parents) have better relationships with their business. Whether navigating a new baby, managing the chaos with young kids, or simply making sure you’re front row at all the wrestling matches, Alyson helps create businesses that give time back to our family, not the other way around.

Alyson is mom to two young sons (yea, it’s crazy) and enjoys spending her time at home with her growing family.

https://instagram.com/alycaffrey/

https://instagram.com/mastermaternityleave/

https://alysoncaffrey.com/handbook/

https://mastermaternityleave.com/workshop/

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