The Badass Leader: Helping High-Achieving Women Lead with Calm, Clarity, and Deep Self-Trust

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This episode is a full-circle moment for me.

I’m sitting down with my very first business coach, Jeff, and reflecting on the past three years—what it really took to go from leaving corporate, feeling uncertain and invisible… to building my coaching business and stepping into the woman I am today.

And I’ll be honest with you—this journey wasn’t just about confidence.

It wasn’t about “thinking more positively” or “fixing...

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In this episode, I’m sharing something very close to my heart—a masterclass I hosted on the three essential shifts that changed everything for me.

If you’re someone who looks successful on the outside…
but inside, you still feel pressure, self-doubt, or like you’re never quite “there”…
this conversation is for you.

I spent years trying to fix this by working harder, achieving more, and proving myself.

But nothi...

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In this episode, I’m talking about something I see over and over again with the women I coach—and something I lived in for years myself.

You’re smart.
You’re capable.
You’ve done incredible things.

People see you as a badass.

But inside?
You don’t quite feel it.

If you’ve ever thought, “I know I’m capable… so why do I still second-guess myself?”—this episode is for you.

I’m naming what I call Hidden Badass Sy...

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In this episode, I’m sharing a deeply personal and honest conversation about something so many high-achieving women experience—but rarely say out loud:

You’ve done so many badass things… so why don’t you feel like one?

From the outside, I looked successful. I had the title, the income, the achievements.

But inside, I felt small. I second-guessed myself. I was constantly trying to prove, please, and perform.

In...

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In this episode, I’m sharing something deeply personal—and honestly, a little vulnerable.

I’m officially renaming this podcast from Unshakeable Confidence to The Badass Leader. And this isn’t just a rebrand. It’s an identity shift. 

For years, I believed confidence was the goal. That if I achieved enough, proved enough, pushed hard enough… I would finally feel like the powerful woman everyone else already saw me as.

Bu...

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Can you create extraordinary success without suffering for it?

For most ambitious women, success has always come with pressure, sacrifice, and relentless pushing. We were taught that if we want to achieve something meaningful, we must grind harder, endure more, and prove ourselves constantly.

But what if that belief is simply not true?

In this episode, I share the powerful story of Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu, the ...

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This episode is a special one — my birthday edition.

As I turned 47, I found myself reflecting not just on how I celebrate, but what I’m actually celebrating. For years, my birthdays were about doing something fun — snowboarding, traveling, being in nature. And I still love that. But this year, something deeper shifted.

Instead of only celebrating with activities, I chose to celebrate the woman I’ve become.

In this epi...

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If you’ve achieved a lot in your career but still feel exhausted, pressured, or constantly “on,” this episode is for you.

I recorded this on Lunar New Year — the year of the Fire Horse, a symbol of momentum, boldness, and ambition. And it made me reflect on something important: for many years, my success was powered by frantic fire — pressure, over-functioning, and constant striving.

Today, my ambition is still alive…...

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We don’t wake up one day and decide to live in survival mode.

We adapt.
We cope.
We push through.

We prove.
We please.
We perform.

And one day, we realize we’ve built a life that looks successful on the outside… but feels exhausting, tight, and heavy on the inside.

In this deeply personal episode, Coco Duan shares the story behind her new book Unchecking the Boxes—and the five-year journey that took her ...

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We’re only weeks into a new year, and already so many people are thinking:

I can’t do another year like that.”

Not because you didn’t try.
Not because you don’t want change badly enough.
But because the way we’ve been taught to change asks us to start in the wrong place.

More goals.
More discipline.
More willpower.
A better planner.
A perfect morning routine.

It sounds promising—until life happen...

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Growth is something we all say we want.

More clarity.
More confidence.
More calm.
A different life than the one we’re living now.

But growth doesn’t happen because we want it.
And it doesn’t happen because we consume more books, podcasts, or tools.

In this episode, I share five powerful lessons about growth that emerged from a deeply embodied experience: completing three 10-day silent meditation retrea...

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Every January, we start with so much hope.

“This year will be different.”
 “I really want to change.”
 “I just need to try harder.”

And yet… by the end of January, nearly 88% of people have already quit. Only about 8% stick with their resolutions for the whole year.

If that’s been your experience too, I want you to hear this first:

There is nothing wrong with you.

In this episode, I unpack why New Year’s resoluti...

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When I look back, I realize that for so many years, my loudest voice was my inner critic. No matter how much I achieved, it was never enough. I would replay meetings for hours, beat myself up over small mistakes, and carry shame for days after setbacks. Maybe you can relate.

In this episode, I open my heart and share not only my own journey of shifting from self-criticism to self-compassion, but also the exact proces...

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As we close out the year and step toward 2026, I want to talk about something that quietly holds so many high-achieving women back from real change: investing in themselves in a meaningful way.

Not a facial.
 Not a yoga class.
 Not another vacation.

I’m talking about investing in your emotional well-being, your nervous system, and the deeper inner work that actually changes how you live and lead.

In this episod...

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As we approach the end of the year, many high-achieving women find themselves exhausted, overwhelmed, and quietly hoping that next year will be different.

Maybe you’re telling yourself:

• “Things will feel better when work slows down.”
• “Once the kids are older, I’ll have more time.”
• “After the promotion, the raise, or the job change, I’ll finally relax.”

I hear this all the time—and for years, I told myself the ex...

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Do you ever feel like life looks successful on the outside—but inside, you’re exhausted, stuck, and quietly wondering, Is this really it?
Like you’re running hard, doing everything “right,” yet somehow your life feels out of your control?

I know that feeling intimately. I lived it for years.

In this episode, I talk about what’s really happening when you feel trapped on the hamster wheel—and why quitting your job ...

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In this episode of Unshakeable Confidence, I’m talking about a pattern so many high-achieving women struggle with—being “too independent.”

For years, I was proud of being the strong one who never needed help. But behind the strength, I felt heavy, overwhelmed, and painfully alone. What I didn’t realize was that my independence wasn’t confidence—it was protection. A survival strategy I learned when support didn’t feel...

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In this episode, I’m opening up about one of the most essential human needs that most of us never learned to name — the need to be truly seen. Not for what we do. Not for what we achieve. Not for how impressive we look on paper. But for who we are at the deepest, most human level.

I share the story of the first time in my life I ever felt genuinely seen — not for my accomplishments, but for my emotions, my struggles,...

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In today’s episode, I sit down with my dear friend and longtime client, Natalie Lee, who is now a Vice President at Louis Vuitton and one of the calmest, most intentional leaders I know.

When we first started working together almost three years ago, Natalie was leading Asia Pacific during the pandemic, pregnant, living in Hong Kong without family support, and running on empty. On paper, she was a high-performing exec...