She got herself to cross country practice. She paid for it. Her mom never chased her about piano, or hair, or being on time — she just loved her kids, and never once judged herself for how she was doing it. Decades later, Nicole has driven her own family through thirteen countries in five months, and once lay in bed paralyzed with fear over a $10 Spanish lesson. In this episode, Nicole and Becky talk about moms who provide everything versus moms who provide nothing, why she told her first grader's teacher "no," and why she thinks safety is quietly killing our communities.

Meet Nicole Gardner

Nicole Gardner is a mother of six, the tenth of eleven children, and a certified life coach trained through the Brave Thinking Institute and Jody Moore's Better Than Happy Coach Training Program. She and her husband once shipped their van to Spain and spent five months driving their kids through thirteen countries, from Morocco to Egypt. In the middle of raising teenagers, she's learning Spanish and taking piano for the first time in her life. She loves easily, drops judgment fast, and is quietly compiling her ninety-year-old mother's life story one sibling interview at a time.

@momcoachnicole

nicolegardnercoaching.com

Podcast - Becoming with Nicole Gardner

Takeaways

- Do it scared

- There is no perfect way to raise a family

- Letting a six-year-old fail at turning in homework is cheap

- What you focus on increases

- Safety isn't the goal. Growth is

- Your job as a mom is to make them not need you

- Notice how you talk to yourself. Then answer yourself the way you'd answer a friend.

Chapters:

00:33 Doing it Scared with Preply

03:54 Tenth of Eleven: Childhood and Her Parents' Divorce

06:49 The Mom Who Never Judged Herself — And Why That Mattered

12:14 Chores, Consequences, and Raising Kids Who Don't Need You

23:46 5 Months, 13 Countries: What a Family Sabbatical Really Looks Like

27:36 Midway

29:23 At a Crossroads

30:33 The Forge: Her Husband's Radical Homeschool Dream

35:55 25 Years a Mom — Then What? Finding Her Next Chapter

36:53 Organization Hacks

47:05 The 3 Skills Every Life Coach Needs: Love, Neutrality, Space

49:59 "What You Focus On Increases": Radical Acceptance in Marriage & Motherhood

51:24 Is Too Much Safety Hurting Our Kids? A Mom's Take

55:17 Rapid Fire Questions

If you liked this, you'll love these:

1. Radical Acceptance with Miriam Wood

8. Fierce Family Love: Traditions, Europe Bike Trips, and Courage

Letting Go So You Can Soar: 4 Lessons in Courage

Resources:

"I Just Did It Anyway": 4 Lessons in Courage from Nicole Gardner

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