This conversation with Marni Wandner explores what happens when burnout does not arrive as a breaking point, but as a slow erosion.

We talk about creative ambition, responsibility, and the quiet ways people lose themselves while trying to be useful, capable, and reliable. Marni reflects on building a career in an industry that is supposed to generate joy, and the moment she realised that something essential was missing, even though everything looked fine on the surface.

There is a lot of honesty in this episode about resistance to change, the fear of not knowing what comes next, and the tendency to override internal signals in order to keep moving. Rather than framing burnout as failure, this conversation treats it as information, something asking to be listened to rather than pushed through.

It is a thoughtful discussion about agency, identity, and learning how to notice when the way you are working no longer matches the life you want to be living.

What comes up in the conversation

In this episode, we talk about:

• Burnout that develops gradually rather than dramatically
• Resistance to change and uncertainty about direction
• Creativity, pressure, and responsibility in the music industry
• Learning to listen to internal signals rather than override them
• Redefining usefulness and success on your own terms

About Marni Wandner

Marni Wandner works with individuals navigating stress, burnout, and career transitions, particularly in high pressure and creative environments. Her work focuses on helping people build sustainable ways of working without losing themselves in the process.

Links & resources:

• Website: https://marniwandner.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/marniwandner
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/futurepresentco

If you are interested in speaking with Marni about stress management, burnout, career transitions, or thriving in high pressure environments, you can schedule a free call here:

https://calendly.com/marniwandner/free-consult-call

About the podcast

12 Steps to Success is a podcast about what happens when the path you were on stops making sense.

Hosted by Eric Mackay, the show centres on honest conversations with people navigating change, pressure, identity shifts, recovery, and redefinition. These are not success stories or instruction manuals, but real conversations about how people live inside uncertainty and keep moving without false certainty.

Stay connected

• Website: https://twelvestepstosuccess.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/twelvestepstosuccess

What happens after the big win - or before anything makes sense?

12 Steps to Success isn’t a podcast about polished success stories or highlight reels. It’s a series of honest conversations about the messy middle - the moments where identity shifts, certainty disappears, and you keep going anyway.

Hosted by Eric Mackay, this podcast explores purpose, pressure, identity, recovery, leadership, and change through real conversations with founders, creatives, executives, and builders who have had to redefine success more than once.

Across this season, you’ll hear from guests including Marni Wandner, Mo Hiromoto, and Christopher Brereton (plus many more), reflecting on burnout, evolution, grief, faith, community, legacy, and what happens when the identities we build no longer fit.

This trailer offers a first look at the tone and intent of the season:

• Conversations that don’t rush clarity
• Stories that include doubt, recalibration, and resilience
• A refusal of performative success and empty optimisation
• Space for humour, honesty, and being present rather than productive

Each episode stands on its own, but together they form a bigger picture - not of what success is supposed to look like, but of how people actually live with it, question it, and sometimes walk away from it.

If you’re in a moment of transition, pressure, burnout, recovery, or quiet re-evaluation, you’re in the right place.

Season 1 Launch Information

🎧 Episode 1 of 12 Steps to Success drops on January 13th, 2026.

New episodes will be released weekly.

Subscribe now so you don’t miss the start of the season.

About the Podcast

12 Steps to Success is a long-form conversation podcast about navigating change, redefining success, and building a meaningful life - without shortcuts, hype, or neat answers.

Hosted by Eric Mackay.

twelvestepstosuccess.com

Instagram.com/twelvestepstosuccess