Ambition Without Compromise

In this Dashboard Diaries episode, Monique reflects on wellness, and the kind of path that only becomes visible once you start naming what you really want. She shares how turning 43 has shifted the way she thinks about movement, energy, and what actually fits her life right now.

From there, Monique moves into a coaching conversation that stayed with her: a woman who had built an impressive career, but still felt the pull toward more freedom, creativity, and self-expression. It becomes a reflection on what happens when the “safe path” is no longer enough to hold the fullness of who you are.

This episode is for the woman who can feel another version of herself asking for room, even if the path toward her is not fully visible yet.

GEMS DROPPED

“That's the thing that we're talking about when we are saying stuff like I want to feel more creatively expressed in my career. I have more talents that are not being utilized, I want to live out my dreams. It's like it's not just the application of skills and talents and gifts. That's one big piece of it. But more so it is the freedom that we experience is that I get to be in an experience of myself that feels free because I am experiencing more of myself on a day to day basis.”

“There is something about that collective energy of a community that when you say I think this is something that I want or I'm not totally sure where it is that I want and I get into it with you to help you identifythat A, you do know exactly what it is that you want. And B, it sounds like it's this or this or this. That the head nods around the room, the emojis that pop up on the screen, the chat cheering you on or affirming you or saying, oh my gosh, me too. It snaps the path into place and it's like. It's almost like the path that was. That felt inaccessible or invisible or something before all of a sudden becomes a lot more concrete, tangible and possible. And there is just nothing like that collective energy around something that felt again, immaterial to make it clear that this more expansive version of yourself has a place to land, has a path to walk.”

“When we're in a stage of life and career where we just keep feeling like, well, I don't know. We constantly say things like, I don't know what it's going to look like. I'm not sure what it will look like. And then we're able to show you. It's like, oh, my gosh, I didn't realize this. There's a whole feast in front of me and it's insane. It's sumptuous and delicious and gorgeous and all of these things. So much more colorful and abundant than I could have ever dreamed of for myself. Like, that is what happens.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Oct 7, 2026 23 min

95 | Learning To Be Held

Show notes

After recent midpoint conversations with clients in her group coaching program,CLAIMED, Monique noticed a common thread: many women deeply want community, but still hesitate when it is time to post, reach out, ask for help, or let others know what they need.

That hesitation is something Monique recognizes in herself. She shares how it surfaced after her grandmother’s passing, when even reaching out to a close friend felt tender and awkward. From there, she explores what it means to get used to being held, especially when you are used to being the one who holds everything and everyone else.

Sometimes support is available, but people cannot tell how much you need it because you still sound capable, polished, and in control. This episode invites you to notice where you may be making support harder to access, imagine what being held could actually look like, and begin practicing the courage to name what you want out loud.

GEMS DROPPED

“We have to get used to the idea of being held. And that is actually a bigger barrier than any of the other challenges like not living close by or being in different time zones than family.”

“You deserve to continue to stretch into and to build this new muscle of learning to want what you want, to say what you want out loud, and to let people in to your neediness because it's natural to have the needs that you have.”

“I know what it feels like to not feel permission to access support that has been clearly granted to you, to not text or leave the audio message for the girlfriend when you are struggling.”

“It's all of the little to medium sized things that can stack up, stack up, stack up, stack up, stack up, and can create, a lot of distance between you and the potential for closeness that you desire with others.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Sep 23, 2026 34 min

94 | Visibility: Your Strengths Are The Strategy [Dashboard Diaries]

Show notes

In this Dashboard Diaries episode, Monique talks about visibility and the false rules that make being seen feel harder than it has to be.

While waiting in the car for her daughter at gymnastics, Monique shares a coaching conversation with a client who is stepping away from a full-time role and building something of her own. Her client wants growth, revenue, harmony, and a slower pace, but she is struggling to believe all of that can exist together.

Monique questions the idea that business growth has to mean constant posting, pitching, and forcing yourself into a marketing strategy that feels heavy. Instead, she asks a better question: how do you actually like to be visible?

This episode is for anyone building a brand, business, or body of work and feeling stuck because they think visibility has to look one specific way. Monique reminds listeners that their strengths can become the strategy, support is allowed, and being seen can be simpler than the rules we have been carrying.

GEMS DROPPED

“I think we want things to be hard so that we can feel like we are worthy of the result.”

“If we erased the rules, if we erased the assumptions that, the way that I have to build this is in a way that feels icky and hard then I'm just not doing it. If we released the idea that that's how it had to be done, and we said, well, I can do this any way I wish? The goal is visibility so, how do I like to be visible? How do I like to share my ideas, my work? Where do I enjoy and in what ways do I find easeful or pleasurable to share?”

“What if we aligned what it is that you are naturally good at and that you find enjoyment in with what it is that you actually need to be doing? We can make that your strategy.. And I think it's actually important to make our strengths our strategy because it's more sustainable.”

“We have to begin to sell ourselves the same way you sell before you build a lot of the times, and there's nothing wrong with that. I don't want y' all to get ready to be ready like you have it. You have enough to begin to share. And right now, what we're even talking about is not asking people for millions of dollars. It's just, hey, want to learn something? Want to hear my story? And some people will and some people won't. And all that matters is that you find the folks who are looking for you.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Sep 9, 2026 23 min

93 | The Opportunity Was Never the Gift

Show notes

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

In this episode, Monique shares a client story about an exciting opportunity that almost became real, then slipped away.

Her client had already begun rearranging her life around the possibility. She was making plans, preparing her family, and feeling a kind of joy she had not felt in a long time. When the opportunity went to someone else, the disappointment was heavier than expected.

Monique uses this story to explore what happens when a dream opens something in you, even if the door itself closes. Through the image of digging tunnels and a reflection on Harriet Tubman, she points listeners toward a deeper truth about freedom, possibility, and who we become when we dare to move toward something new.

The outcome is not the whole story. Tune in to Tune in to hear what the pursuit may have revealed, and why what you found along the way may matter more than the opportunity itself.

GEMS DROPPED

“It's a reward that we're chasing at the end of this, of these tunnels that we're digging, the work that we're putting in. But consider that maybe the opportunity was not the gift, but that rather the tunnels were.”

“You have to imagine yourself, believe in yourself, know yourself to be free in order to create, to seek to be free, to become free. Because you become a beacon of freedom when you behave as if you are free.”

“Opportunities don't present themselves as gifts to us. They are co-created. It's who you get to see that you're capable of being that becomes the gift.”

“Who you're capable of being, is likely far beyond any of the fear, the doubt, the constraints, the things that feel biggest to you right now. You do have the opportunity to set them down and to remember who the f&*% you are.”

MENTIONED

Harriet Tubman

Brené Brown

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Aug 26, 2026 27 min

92 | What "Making It" Doesn't Fix

Show notes

In this episode, Monique thinks through what it means to live, work, and lead in a time when the middle feels like it is disappearing.

After reading an email titled “The Death of the Middle,” Monique reflects on her own questions around class, wealth, ambition, success, and what it means to want enough without chasing fame or extreme fortune. She talks honestly about the pressure many people are feeling as the economy shifts, AI changes the labor market, and the old promise of a stable middle-class life becomes harder to trust.

Monique also names the instinct many ambitious women have in uncertain seasons: to go inward, get more tactical, and become even more self-reliant. But she challenges that instinct by reminding listeners that the real preparation is relational.

Using the mycorrhizal networks of trees as a metaphor, Monique explains why deep connection, shared resources, and intentional community matter when the storm is here. This episode is a reminder that you do not have to hunker down alone. Depth, community, and the networks you build may be a key part of your way forward.

GEMS DROPPED

“The instinct is often to go inward and become more self-reliant, but the real preparation is always relational.”

“Deep community is the actual asset that’s going to hold us when the ground moves.”

“You don’t have to hunker down alone. Depth is likely a part of your way forward. And how you create, how you insist upon time and space to make that happen, is going to mean everything for the future.”

“Time together forges bonds in space for real talk.”

“The bar on comfort has gone up with inflation.”

“The whole point is to be able to affect one another, to keep each other going alive, through stillness and depth.”

MENTIONED

Article: The Death of the Middle

Creator post mentioned: Forming a Brain Trust

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Aug 12, 2026 35 min

91 | Designing a Slow-Season Sabbatical, Exactly How I Did It

Show notes

This week, Monique walks us through how she designed her July slowdown and worked at 30% capacity on purpose.

She shares why the pause was not about burnout, vacation, or checking out. It was about making room to think, create, rest, play, and reset before life and work became too full again.

Monique also talks about the fears that can come up around rest, including the fear of losing money, momentum, reputation, or progress. She explains why pausing does not have to mean losing something and how planning ahead can make rest feel safer and more supported.

As she breaks down how she planned the month, Monique shares the role of vision, clear expectations, blackout dates, boundaries, and choosing what truly belongs on the calendar. She also offers practical ways to decide what stays, what moves, and what can wait.

This episode is a clear reminder that you do not need a perfect setup to design a pause. You can start by deciding what the space is for, protecting it with intention, and allowing yourself to make room for what your mind, body, and life are asking for.

GEMS DROPPED

“We talk about giving ourselves permission to do things. And I think that the permission comes once we believe that we deserve it or that something is actually a necessity to us, and that we can have it.”

“Pausing for me is not about just doing nothing. It’s just making room for what matters.”

“You do need to start with a vision. Your vision, the vision you set for yourself is really the anchor, and it's what allows you to say no, without flinching. It's what allows you to move with a lot more confidence”

“You can design whatever you want and need for yourself. You don't need a perfect setup. It's a generative exercise. It's about cultivating something important within yourself and in your life, and you can give yourself over to it and then decide what it's for for you and protect it.“

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Jul 29, 2026 42 min

90 | Pause by Design: A Month Off At 30% Capacity

Show notes

What happens when you stop pushing through and give yourself permission to pause, reflect, and reset?

Reflecting on her recent journey, Monique shares how easy it is to take for granted the practices that support her mental well-being amid the daily demands of motherhood, work, and personal commitments. After recognizing her own tendency to hold tightly to control, she discusses how this summer has become a season of slowing down and creating space to reassess what she needs.

Throughout the episode, Monique highlights the struggle many women face in balancing ambition with self-care. She honestly shares her own experiences with burnout and the importance of stepping back to reevaluate priorities. With practical insights, she encourages us to find our own versions of rest and challenge the expectations that keep us constantly pushing.

Because true success does not come from constant productivity alone. It also requires the courage to pause, reflect, and care for ourselves.

GEMS DROPPED

“Sometimes things just feel okay or good because they are. Like, the things on the surface or on paper are looking good. So that means you should be good. You don't feel bad. So therefore, that means you're good. And it's like, no. Something more is here. Something that you can't even totally predict or comprehend is available to you, but you can't conceive of more than what you can conceive of while you're still in motion in the way that you are.”

“We busy ourselves with stirring because it makes us feel important, it makes us feel active, it makes us feel like we're doing something. And that's because our ego needs to feel it, not because there's any use in it at all.”

“Just because your identity and the value that you have sort of set an expectation around, just because thus far it has been that of almost unlimited availability and the person who is the fixer, the problem solver, the handler, doesn't mean that it has to remain that way.”

“You can rest by design. You can. You can be intentional and shift this proactively, as opposed to reacting to exhaustion and waiting for exhaustion to take you down.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Jul 15, 2026 42 min

89 | You Can't Outwork Your Way Into Safety

Show notes

This week, Monique shares one of her most personal episodes yet, offering an honest look at a season marked by anxiety, overwhelm, and the constant pressure to protect the people she loves. As worries about emergencies, business growth, social media, and motherhood began pulling her in every direction, she realized she had been sacrificing her own peace in an attempt to control the uncontrollable.

Through deeply personal stories, Monique reflects on the hidden cost of living in a constant state of future-focused worry and the breakthrough conversations that helped her recognize the difference between productive preparation and anxiety-driven control. She shares how chasing safety was actually pulling her further away from the presence, connection, and peace she was longing for.

If you've ever felt emotionally stretched too thin or found yourself carrying the weight of every possible "what if," this episode offers an honest reminder that peace isn't found by controlling more. It's cultivated by coming back to the present.

GEMS DROPPED

“I have been desperately seeking control and it has been under the delusion that the more we do, the harder we push, if we can break off more pieces of ourself to tackle more fires and to run faster, that this will increase our control. And the thing that I was seeking was safety. And felt like the more I do these things, eventually I'll feel more safe.. And it couldn't be further from the truth.”

“What I was losing in this constant pursuit of trying to control things and seeking safety was my peace and connection. You can't be present if you're always running out into the future.”

“You are not alone, you are not broken,, you are not the only one. Because I know that's the thing that I can feel like, really lost and sometimes I'm like, it seems like everybody else is coping so well. Girl, everybody else is not coping so well. People who are interested in dysfunction, who have been operating out of dysfunction, they're going to be operating fine. But if that is not who you are at your core, you are not someone who seeks dysfunction, who is interested in chaos, then you don't have to be fine. And you are definitely not alone. You are definitely not alone.”

“So my work right now is opening up more capacity to stay present to my process, to be in the process of things and to invite in more help.”

“There's no arrival point for anything in life, including safety. You never get to a point where you're like, I am safe. Not permanently. That is an active process of cultivating safety and seeking out things that are healthy and nourishing such as relationships, spaces, work, communities.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Jul 1, 2026 20 min

88 | Ambition That Has Put Your Body On The Line [Live with Dr. Kemi Doll]

Show notes

This week, Monique sits down with Dr. Kemi Doll, a gynecologic oncologist, surgeon, and debut author, for a conversation that is equal parts education, confession, and wake-up call.

Dr. Doll's new book, A Terrible Strength: The Hidden Crisis of the Black Womb and Your Survival Guide to Healing (Penguin Random House, May 2026), does what most medical books never do: it tells the truth in plain language, with warmth, and without talking down to you. In this episode, Monique shares how it changed her relationship to her own body, and Dr. Doll walks us through why so many Black women are bleeding too much, dismissed too quickly, and left to suffer in silence for far too long.

They get into the real numbers behind heavy periods and anemia, what your bleeding is actually telling you, and why the medical system has been so slow to listen. Dr. Doll also opens up about her own reckoning, including missing her own endometriosis diagnosis until she was on the operating table.

The conversation closes on the concept of womb sisterhood: the idea that healing this well-kept secret should not be a solo effort, and that the women in your life might be waiting for someone to simply ask.

GUEST INFO

Dr. Kemi Doll, physician, surgeon, advocate, career coach, and a double-board certified gynecologic oncologist and uterine cancer scientist | Website | Book | Podcast | Instagram

GEMS DROPPED

“I want women to have better gynecologic health. I don’t want us to continue thinking about gynecologic health as though, “as long as it’s not killing you, it’s probably fine.” - Dr. Kemi Doll

“I didn't realize how much I saw myself as a site of production, until you taught me that the unpregnant womb had its own life and role to play. And that my bleeding spoke an intricate language and that my well being was a part of that language.” - Monique R, Shields

“There’s something very powerful about receiving the message so young that, “when you suffer, be quiet about it.” That message carries forward in a way that goes beyond gynecology and womb health. And that is what I want us to heal from.” - Dr. Kemi Doll

“I invoke this concept of womb sisterhood, which means having one or two people in our lives we can share these things with so when you go to the doctor, you have someone who can come with you. you. There isn't embarrassment. There doesn't have to be silencing. These are such vulnerable appointments and having someone there who has your back can make a real difference. It also helps with accountability.” - Dr. Kemi Doll

“Especially for those of us born with a womb or gendered as female, I believe this is one of the first ways we learn to silence our bodies and hide. We teach girls how to have a period that nobody knows about. That's what we define as success.. This is how you hide it. This is how you very modestly go to the bathroom so nobody knows. And even when women talk about their most embarrassing moments, it's always somebody basically found out I was on my period.” - Dr. Kemi Doll

“This book has changed my relationship to my body entirely.” - Monique R. Shields

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Jun 17, 2026 50 min

87 | Career Visibility, Vulnerability And Community [Friday Night IG Live]

Show notes

When a message about choosing your wholeness reaches 100,000 people, you stop and ask, why does this land so hard? Monique did exactly that, and this episode is her thinking out loud about what she found.

She gets real about why so many high-capacity women are stuck waiting for an environment to change before they give themselves permission to shift, why visibility feels terrifying when your whole professional identity has been built around what you can endure, and why community is not a nice-to-have, it is the actual mechanism of change.

GEMS DROPPED

"There's no magic pill number thats like, hey girl, watch these, these three videos and now you will have a more holistic, whole self centered version of success. That's not really how this works. That's not how anything works in terms of creating a transformation in your life."

“What I have found to be the single most important driver is what community that you are in, who is speaking into you, or who is not, and how you have had a chance to practice being different inside of community that is a lot more aligned to who it is that you wish to be."

"We start to develop pride around our ability to endure. And then we start to develop our identity. Our whole person, our whole professional personality starts to get built around what we can endure. And we will talk about it loud and proud."

"You are in control of what environment you choose to put yourself in. Even if the choice is hard. Even if it's like, oh, but this environment pays me a whole lot of money. Even though I am not emotionally safe here, I am choosing to be here. You can never forget that that is your choice."

"Until you feel yourself behaving different, you will not become different."

"The inner voices that we have — as far as I know, not a psychologist — that inner sabotage, those voices that come up from us, they are not ours. They're not ours."

"If you really allowed yourself to fill the depths of what you were truly hungry for, the appetite that you really have for, satisfaction in your work, for feeling aligned more with your values, for feeling safe in meetings, to speak up and to be who it is that you naturally are being, you know, that you naturally want to be and who you actually are, to establish relationships with anybody along any level or whatever, you know, inside your organization, that was truly satisfied, the appetite is humongous."

"My old pastor used to say this. He said, your blessings are locked up in other people. Every blessing you desire, hope for, pray for in this world is locked up in another person."

LINKS

Join Monique’s CLAIMED Group Coaching Program Waitlist

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Jun 3, 2026 58 min

86 | [Rewind] Do What You Are Called To Do

Show notes

Episode 07 | Being "Worthy" Of The Pivot

Today’s episode is about finding real momentum. Recently, a few of my past clients reached out to share the incredible wins they are celebrating. It honestly blows me away to see the real-world impact of our work together, and I know their stories will hit home for you.

Like a lot of women, I used to play small. But reading those messages right before recording this episode reminded me of what actually happens when you stop ignoring your gut and pursue the work you care about. Too many of us hide our talents because we think our work isn't perfect, or that we need another degree, or that nobody will care.

Trust your experience. Stop waiting for outside permission to feel qualified. You are ready, you have earned this, and nothing is stopping you. You just have to take the first step. So if you’re holding onto a business idea or a creative project you keep putting off, just build it. Someone out there needs your exact perspective.

GEMS DROPPED

“If there is something that you know that you're just good at, or that you're just drawn to, it's like you have this creative inkling to go and put out into the world, someone is waiting on you. Someone is waiting on you…it's going to matter for someone in the end. You don't know how these things are going to take shape”.

“I know that there is someone, there are a lot of us, who are sitting on our visions who are sitting on our talents, or we're just minimizing, the baddest, most exciting and dopest parts of ourselves”

“It doesn't have to look a certain way for you to get out. Take the thing that you know is in you and just give it like you mean it.”

“No good ever comes from us thinking of ourselves as insignificant or not significant enough”

“Don't wait to offer the most real, the most true, the most honest parts of who you are to the world. Don't wait for someone to tell you that it's time. Don't wait for someone to tell you that it's okay. Don't wait for someone to tell you that you're worthy”.

“Courage takes time, I think to build… time and testing. You have to put yourself out there in small ways, and build and build and build until you can look back and see, oh, wow, look how much I've grown. Look how much I can offer. Look what I can do, right? Sometimes it just does take time to, see our magic”.

“it doesn't actually take time to extract your magic, it's already there. Like, you don't need to package it, you don't need to do anything else with it, someone is waiting on it”.

“The community that you've been waiting for, the community that you have desired and wanted. Actually, it's on the other side of you offering your most true and honest self”.

“There's a connection on the other side of you offering your, whatever your thing is. There is a community, there is a person, there is a human being who is waiting for your bat signal so they can be drawn to you so that you can connect for your purpose”.

“Doing what you were called to do, showing up as you're meant to show up in the world is not easy. It's going to force you to confront things that make you feel deeply uncomfortable, things that make you feel terrified. And it's not to minimize the fear, it's not to minimize the feelings of terror, those feelings can be real, those feelings are yours, and they are real. And you could give yourself permission to hold those feelings and to just do it messy”.

MENTIONS

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

May 20, 2026 35 min

85 | [Rewind] Unpacking Uncertainty And Taking Risks

Show notes

In this encore episode, Monique tackles the complex relationship between risk and ambition, especially for women of color. Through personal stories, she explores the emotions that come with pursuing dreams and why it’s important to acknowledge and work through those feelings. She also shares how self-awareness and creativity can help you face fear and find clarity when things seem chaotic.

Join in to discover how to change your perspective on risk and make progress on your own terms.

GEMS DROPPED

“We will use the past to try to predict the future. Right. Because this is the thing with the women that I work with, they're not just saying, ‘well, I'm scared of taking risks, so I don't even consider it’. You keep approaching the idea of taking those risks, but it's kind of torturing you because you keep approaching it, and then you keep hitting a wall. Everything feels too scary and so you're like, well, let me kind of think through my past–right? So there's this formula, and it feels like an airtight formula, and that's where we kind of get trapped, because if one or two of those variables feel off, you’re like ‘ooh, the risk of failure is now high’. That automatically shuts us down.”

“Where do you have space to actually stop and feel? You typically don't. And things are often happening fast. So you're trying to react, you're trying to think. You haven't gotten yourself any space, any room to feel what you're actually feeling. And that is what's keeping you trapped in that merry go round. There's no creativity available to you in that space because you're just trapped in cyclical, fear based thinking.”

“I challenge you, if you're sitting with this kind of indecision, this fear around risk and this story, to take a moment and see if you can, which I know you can, embrace the belief that I am someone who takes incredible risk and finds success. I am the great I am. I am someone who takes incredible risks and finds great success. What would it be like to embrace that? What are your earliest memories where that is true?”

“Remembering the truth of our resources, remembering the truth of our history, of our strengths, of our access, of our instincts, remembering the fullness of that truth, it changes how we sit with things that feel like risk, that are important to us, that we want to move through, that we are tired of approaching once a quarter and not knowing how to push ourselves through.”

“You cannot access creativity if the conditions that you have created for yourself to be creative have not been set.”

“Sometimes the way that we protect our imaginations is with our creativity, right? That's where it all flows from by allowing what is arising in us that is keeping us stuck…allowing it to flow through us and to inform us about any limitations that we're placing on ourselves, any lies that we're telling ourselves, any old stories that are coming up and distorting how we believe, how we believe we can exist and what we believe that we can have. That's another way of protecting our imaginations.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

May 6, 2026 39 min

84 | Resourcing Your Nervous System - How I Choose What To Outsource

Show notes

Tressi (Tressie McMillan Cottom)

In this episode, Monique talks directly to women of color about how to stop just getting by and start actually moving forward. When everything feels messy and unpredictable, it is hard to find the headspace to think about growth. Monique gets real about why you need to know where you stand in your own healing and how to handle the nerves that pop up when you start betting on yourself.

Listen in for some real-world steps to help you plan for what is next and build the grit you need to handle whatever life throws at you.

MENTIONED

LINKS

GEMS DROPPED

“The fact of the matter is that investing is a future oriented opportunity, A future oriented exercise. You have to be focused on what is here and what is available to me going forward. If you are trapped in the never again, you can't properly assess and attach yourself to the return on a future investment. Like you won't take the time to plant the seeds because you are not familiar with or you're not engaging with the sweetness of that future fruit.”

“The first thing I want to acknowledge is that it's really hard to leap into a season of thriving, a season of acceleration. It's hard to accelerate when you're still recovering. And I think we have to be honest with ourselves about that because you can't shortcut a recovery process. You can't skip past or circumvent a wound that is still healing.”

“It's still hard to believe and rest in our seasons of abundance when our hearts, our spirits are still trapped in the story of recovery or actual recovery.”

“What we gained through our challenges is just as important as the pain we experienced. Both are true.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields or YouTube and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Apr 22, 2026 29 min

83 | The Courage to Charge After Leaving Corporate

Show notes

Starting a business is often sold as an exciting path to success. But for many women of color, the reality of entrepreneurship is usually a lot messier.

This week, Monique gets real about the unglamorous side of building a multi six-figure business and shares the personal experiences that helped her handle the hard parts of the journey. She also talks about the stuff that actually matters, like setting your prices, knowing what your work is worth, and how to deal with those feelings of being a "fraud" that show up when it is time to sell your services.

Tune in to learn how to get into the right headspace, feel good about your pricing, and build the confidence you need to actually grow your business.

LINKS

GEMS DROPPED

“To build a multi six figure business and to sell what it is that you do for five and six figures sustainably, it is not magic, it is about having the patience to learn what your value is. It is about finding peace with the discomfort in the process and it is about releasing your attachment to asking reasonable questions. This is not a science, it's a practice.”

“Just based on the research that shows as a woman, we deeply undersell ourselves or discount ourselves, I think you should just lean towards overcharging because that's probably what's going to just even get you within the band of what's reasonable.”

“Pricing and what people pay for things and buyer psychology is so subjective. The longer that I have been running a business or I guess the more confidence I've grown in believing that you can charge anything for anything.”

“I also just generally think that entrepreneurial skills are beautiful life skills to build. I think I feel so much more connected to myself as someone who works for myself because soup to nuts, like, I have to imagine a future that I just create out of my head and then I've got to figure out how to make it happen. I think that that is an incredible skill set to have.”

“I don't necessarily believe that we need to be doing free work all over the place. This is a capitalist society. And I think that if you're delivering value, even if you're new at doing a thing, value is value. So when there are opportunities for you to get paid, ask to be paid, and if somebody doesn't have the budget for it, then you can have that conversation.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields or YouTube and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Apr 8, 2026 27 min

82 | If You Feel Like You’re Falling Short Everywhere, Listen to This

Show notes

Ladies, it's time to embrace our mess! Because our mess has the most to offer us.

In our latest episode, Monique shares her transformative experience with a group of women who bravely confronted their struggles and emotions. Each woman, while successful in her own right, expressed feelings of falling short in various aspects of life—be it motherhood, relationships, or career. This candid discussion highlights a common theme: the burden of perfectionism and the unrealistic standards that high achieving women often impose on themselves.

Join in to find out how accepting your mess can give you real clarity and a better way to connect with who you really are.

LINKS

GEMS DROPPED

“I think this is the nature of high achievement, where we feel we're coming up short because the bar is way, way, way too high. And that, way, way, way, way too high bar serves us in many ways throughout our life. And so it's tricky when that same strength becomes your greatest weakness. Having an extremely high bar in life, when you don't wield it with intention, with thoughtfulness, is a lot of suffering.”

“If you allow it, if you submit to yourself, you get to find that the message is not actually too much for anybody.“

“Many people won't take that step, won't move past that threshold, that marker of control, that line of demarcation, because they believe if they start crying, if they start raging, if they let the sadness out, the confusion out, that they'll never stop. That it feels so vast and so deep that no one can contain it. No one would be able to hold the space for it. And it feels unending. be. It's never as scary as you think it's going to be. And when you allow yourself to let some of that steam out of the pot, you allow yourself to be out loud in your mess, like you just kind of relinquish control, again in safe held space, that you get to meet the side of yourself that you've been dying to meet.”

“Our mess has the most to offer us, our mess has the peace that we're craving, our mess has the creativity that we can't access, our mess is where our compass lies in seasons of life, where we feel so lost.”

“Just because somebody is feeling fragile in a moment, somebody is breaking and cracking in a moment, doesn't mean that that is who they are. That fragility is something that we experience sometimes, that we move through, that we learn from, that we need to just be with. And then you find your way. We are all whole.”

“It is a practice. It is a skill. It is a capacity to build within yourself. And it takes a lot of strength and willingness and just faith that you can allow yourself to be seen by yourself and by others, to be witnessed as well, at your most honest, at your most real and raw.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields or YouTube and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Mar 25, 2026 16 min

81 | The Myth of Your Former Self

Show notes

In this episode, Monique examines the struggle many women face when longing to reconnect with a former version of themselves. She addresses the common longing of wanting to "get back" to who they used to be, exploring the nuances of this desire in the context of new life chapters.

Through an insightful coaching conversation with a woman who feels lost after stepping back from her career to raise her child, Monique highlights the challenges of balancing motherhood with personal aspirations.

Tune in to hear the full conversation and gain practical steps to reignite your creativity and confidence while walking through your individual journey.

LINKS

GEMS DROPPED

“In retrospect, when you get to this stage of life and you have children and your priorities change, your rhythms change, you sometimes miss parts of yourself that felt less encumbered, that felt like you had less constraints.”

“You're never going to be unencumbered the way that you were 10, 15, 20 years ago. Wherever that version of you is that you're looking back to, she's not coming back. She's never going to come to the present day to rescue you from this, your current context and the current place that you feel stuck in.”

“It's not that we necessarily have to resent where we're at today, but when we want to go forward and we don't feel like we have the tools that we need today, we'll reach backward to a version of ourselves that cannot help us in our new context. I do love connecting with former versions of ourselves in some instances, but she can't be the captain of this ship. You're the captain now. She was equipped for the season that she came through. She’s obviously laid some groundwork for you to be who you are today. But we can't go back searching for that version of ourselves to fully direct where we're going next.”

“We cannot compare our capacity or our experience or our own energy to that of other people. We all have different boundaries and limitations and you should be assessing that on an individual basis. If you want to push through, it's an individual assessment and you understand how you want to define the bounds of limitation for yourself.”

“You can at the end of the day, write down one thing that you found beautiful or inspiring or unique or curious. What's one little thing to begin to train your brain to focus on a little bit more, to begin to grow that relationship, to begin to feel a connection to creativity again. It can be small. These things don't have to be grand. Oftentimes it is just these little small commitments, these very simple revelations that we just have to respond to that will make all the difference. It's those incremental things over time. That is how people win.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields or YouTube and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Mar 11, 2026 27 min

80 | Community Is About Precision, Not Proximity

Show notes

In today’s fast-paced world, the conversation about community matters more than ever, especially in a time when isolation is one of the biggest challenges many women are facing. In this episode, Monique breaks down the huge difference between simply being in a room with people and being in a space where someone can truly say, “I’m in the right place. This is where I belong.” She explores why so many women leave group programs, masterminds, and memberships feeling underwhelmed, not because the space was “bad,” but because it wasn’t curated with the depth, specificity, and psychological safety needed for real transformation.

Monique unpacks what aligned community actually means, why group size and curation matter, and how to stop settling for spaces that force women back into survival when they are seeking spaces that support thriving. Tune in for a deeper conversation on discernment, alignment, and how to find a space that truly supports growth, belonging, and becoming more of who you are.

LINKS

Apply for her upcoming Retreat March 1-4, 2026 in Palm Springs, CA

GEMS DROPPED

“There is a huge difference between finding community and being in a room where you can look to your left, you can look to your right and say, ”I'm in the right place. This is where I belong. I'm so glad I'm here. This is making sense.”

“Aligned community has to be one of the most overused phrases and I think that we don't really know what alignment is and what it actually requires.”

“Group size matters when you are trying to actually grow your network, when you are actually trying to grow yourself, not just up level your skills, but you are trying to see yourself evolve, move past a lot of those internal barriers, the things that are scaring you. Like the extremely vulnerable, interpersonal, internal work. So who's in the room and what connection you feel to those folks really matters.”

“You have to know what your goals are. If your goals are things like exposure or inspiration or like broad networking, larger rooms can work beautifully. But if your goal is actually identity transformation, you want to become different. If your goal is depth and community, you want to feel connected, begin to establish new bonds with people, size matters. No one's going to tell you that. But I'm telling you that today.”

“High quality rooms create transferable insights.That is the goal.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields or YouTube and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Feb 25, 2026 39 min

79 | You Can’t Create From Exhaustion

Show notes

If you’ve been telling yourself you’re “just not disciplined enough,” this episode is your permission slip to stop weaponizing that story.

Because the truth is you’re trying to create from a body that’s depleted.

In this episode, Monique names what so many high-achieving women experience: you can hold a crystal-clear creative vision for years… and still shut down the moment you finally have time to work on it. Not because you’re lazy. Not because you don’t want it badly enough. But because pressure and creativity don’t thrive in the same conditions.

Tune in as Monique breaks down why execution can happen under adrenaline, urgency, and cortisol, but creation requires something else and offers a grounded shift that changes everything.

LINKS

Apply for her upcoming Retreat March 1-4, 2026 in Palm Springs, CA

GEMS DROPPED

“You don't actually lack discipline. You're just trying to create from a body that is truly, completely depleted.”

“Rest is not a reward that you get after you create. It's the requirement before you do.”

“You can't solve for your dream from the same place you produce from for your job. That place is pressure. The kind of pressure that has depleted you.”

“There is a middle space between burnout, which we have to acknowledge. And what I think is in that middle space is restoration.“

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields or YouTube and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.

Feb 11, 2026 26 min

78 | Am I Enough? Releasing the Habit of Counting Yourself Out In Your Career Growth

Show notes

In this episode, Monique explores a moment so many high-achieving women experience. That moment an opportunity appears and you quietly start building a case for why you shouldn’t take it.

Using the launch of her new YouTube channel as a real-time example, Monique shares what it looks like to move forward without waiting to feel “ready.” She unpacks the familiar fears that often surface when visibility increases, such as What if it flops? What if people judge me? What if I’m not enough? and offers a grounded reframe.

For anyone sitting on a pivot, a transition, or a new chapter, Monique encourages you to shoot the shot, stop self-disqualifying and see what happens.

LINKS