Self-leadership Isn’t Selfish It’s Intelligent
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
Release Date: 10/21/2025
When Discomfort Becomes Your Advantage
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What if becoming unshakable requires being shaken first? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I welcome Artesha Moore for a candid conversation about discomfort, failure, grief, identity, and the lifelong process of learning who you are beneath the armor you built to survive. Artesha believes you cannot understand resilience without experiencing moments that test everything you thought you knew about yourself. From crying every day during her first senior leadership role to eventually becoming a CEO and discovering that success did not silence her inner critic, she shares how each difficult...
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The Secret Behind Sustainable Excellence
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
Have you ever stopped to consider that the missing ingredient in sustainable excellence isn't working harder, but recovering better?In this solo episode of Becoming Unshakable, I explore one of the most overlooked aspects of leadership and personal resilience: intentional recovery. We often celebrate relentless effort, packed calendars, and constant availability, but what if those habits are quietly limiting our ability to perform at our best? Drawing inspiration from elite athletes like LeBron James and the Williams sisters, I share why high performers invest so heavily in maintaining their...
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The Other Side of Hard
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What helps you keep moving forward when life or work feels harder than you expected? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I’m joined by Wendy-Jo Toyama, CEO of the American Epilepsy Society, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, resilience, and the moments that shape who we become. Wendy shares how a difficult chapter in her career forced her to rethink what leadership looked like and why trying to become someone else would never be the answer. We talk about the influence of competitive gymnastics, where falling was expected, but getting back up was part of the process. That...
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Borrowing Steadiness: Why Mentors Matter
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What does it take to stay steady when life, leadership, and uncertainty seem determined to pull you in every direction? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with Phillip W. Heath, President and CEO of Samaritan Health Care and Hospice, to explore a career built on service, compassion, and resilience. Having dedicated more than three decades to caring for vulnerable populations, Phillip shares why leadership begins with understanding others' needs and how staying connected to the people you serve can provide clarity, purpose, and perspective. Our conversation moves beyond...
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The Hidden Path — Finding Unshakable Strength Where You Least Expect It
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What happens when the life you planned disappears in an instant? And where do you find the strength to keep moving when everything familiar has been taken away? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I welcome John Register, whose life story offers a remarkable perspective on resilience, leadership, and the power of adapting to circumstances beyond our control. As a world-class athlete, Army officer, and Olympic hopeful, John appeared to be on a clear path forward. Then a training accident changed everything, ultimately leading to the amputation of his leg and forcing him to confront...
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Perspective Shifts: Nothing is Worse Than Open-Heart Surgery
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What happens when surviving cancer as a newborn, enduring a stroke in your 30s, and facing emergency open-heart surgery becomes the foundation for a life lived with purpose, perspective, and courage? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with my friend Mikki Gates, a TEDx speaker, executive leader, advocate, and someone whose story will stay with you long after this conversation ends. Mikki shares how being born with cancer shaped her outlook from the very beginning, why a series of missed diagnoses nearly cost her life, and how a massive tumor inside her heart was finally...
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Redefining the Journey: Why the Zigzag IS the Path to Becoming Unshakable
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What if the moments that feel like detours in your life are actually leading you exactly where you need to be? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with Frankie Hamilton for a conversation about resilience, career pivots, self-discovery, and learning to trust your own path, even when it looks nothing like the one you originally planned. Frankie shares his remarkable journey from aspiring doctor to teacher, nurse, military officer, and leadership voice, revealing how each unexpected turn helped shape who he is today. Together, we explore the pressure many people feel to have their...
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What Actually Makes You Feel Safe in Uncertainty
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What actually makes us feel safe when everything around us feels uncertain? In this solo episode of the Becoming Unshakable podcast, I reflect on a conversation that’s showing up everywhere right now, inside organizations, leadership circles, employee focus groups, and even in our personal lives. Change fatigue is real. Uncertainty is exhausting. And somewhere along the way, many of us were taught that resilience means pushing through quietly while pretending everything is fine. I share why I believe we’ve confused strength with steadiness, and why those are two very different things....
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Authenticity: The Foundation of Unshakable Leadership
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What does it really mean to lead with authenticity in a world that constantly pressures us to fit a mold? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with Aileen Warren, President and CEO of ICAN, for a deeply honest conversation about values, identity, mentorship, and the courage it takes to stay true to yourself through every season of life and leadership. Aileen shares the experiences that shaped her leadership philosophy, including a defining moment when she chose to walk away from a successful corporate career because it no longer aligned with her values. Together, we talk...
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When Everything Feels Loud, Become The Calm
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What do you do when the noise around you starts becoming noise inside you too? In this solo episode of the Becoming Unshakable podcast, I open up about something I think many leaders, parents, teammates, and professionals are quietly carrying right now, emotional overload. The constant pressure, uncertainty, competing demands, and invisible tension can leave us reacting instead of responding. I share a very real moment from a recent speaking event where loud music unexpectedly interrupted my keynote, and how that experience became a reminder that steadiness is often more powerful than...
info_outlineIn this episode of Becoming Unshakable, Heather reflects on a moment that reminded her what true leadership looks like from the inside out. Fresh from speaking to 13,000 nurses at the Atlanta World Congress Center, she shares how an experience that looked glamorous on the surface, with makeup, stage lights, and a long line of people waiting for hugs, became a powerful reminder that self-leadership is not selfish. It is essential.
Heather unpacks what it means to prepare so thoroughly that you can show up fully. For her, deep preparation is an act of care, allowing presence to replace pressure and connection to replace performance. As she recounts her time with the nurses, she explores the toll that constant caregiving takes and how compassion fatigue quietly chips away at strength. Her message to them, and to all of us, is clear: when you care for yourself as intentionally as you care for others, you become the calm in the storm, the unshakable center that others can rely on.
Through raw honesty, Heather shares her own turning point, the realization that the success she had built came at the cost of the people she valued most. That moment of clarity became the foundation of her teaching: align your life with your true values, lean on your team, ask for help, and give yourself permission to rest. Strong self-leadership is grounded in awareness, humility, and care.
This episode invites you to look inward, to question the beliefs that keep you on autopilot, and to remember that balance is not weakness, it is wisdom. When you prepare with intention, lead with presence, and live in alignment with what matters most, you do not just survive the chaos. You become unshakable within it.