When Work Feels Uncertain, Here's How to Stay Grounded
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
Release Date: 04/21/2026
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...
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From Perspectives to Performance: Using Data to Drive Results
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
Could the way we measure contributions at work miss the very things that make people most valuable? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with Jacob D. Chase to discuss pressure, performance, leadership, and the human side of data. Jacob’s journey takes us from Wall Street and hedge funds to entrepreneurship and people-centered performance, where he began asking a question many leaders struggle to answer: how do we really understand someone’s value inside an organization? Jacob shares the moment that challenged his leadership thinking, when he realized that one high-performing...
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The Myth of Doing It Alone
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
Have you ever convinced yourself that strength means handling everything on your own? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with the incredible Crystal Washington, Hall of Fame speaker, futurist, and someone whose wisdom always leaves a lasting mark. From walking away from corporate America after recognizing social media would change everything, to building a thriving business and becoming one of the most respected voices in leadership and foresight, Crystal shares a journey built on courage, trust, and listening to that inner compass. What stood out most for me in this...
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When Work Feels Uncertain, Here's How to Stay Grounded
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
Why do some days feel heavier than others, even when nothing obvious has changed? In this solo episode of Becoming Unshakable, I speak directly to those moments when everything feels like a struggle. The days when motivation is low, your energy is off, and you quietly question whether you are doing enough, or even moving in the right direction. I share an honest reflection on what it means to keep going when you feel stretched, tired, or unsure, and why those moments are often part of a much deeper process. I talk about the internal pressure many of us carry, especially as leaders, caregivers,...
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How Grateful Leaders Stay Steady When Others Spiral
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What does it really take to stay steady when everything around you feels uncertain? In this episode of Becoming Unshakeable, I sit down with Kisha Wynter, an executive coach and former GE leader, to explore what steadiness actually looks like in real life. Not the polished version of leadership we often see on the surface, but the kind that is built through self-awareness, difficult personal moments, and a willingness to keep returning to the work. Kisha shares how her own journey through corporate leadership, personal change, and moments of deep self-doubt shaped her understanding of what it...
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The Trust Formula: Transparency + Honest Dialogue
Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger
What does it really take to build trust in a world where skepticism feels like the default setting? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with Scott Trumpolt to unpack what trust actually looks like in practice, beyond the buzzwords and surface-level statements. Scott shares a clear perspective on why transparency alone is not enough, and how honest dialogue, even when uncomfortable, becomes the real foundation for meaningful relationships inside organizations. As our conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that trust is tested in moments of tension, not in periods of stability. We...
info_outlineWhy do some days feel heavier than others, even when nothing obvious has changed?
In this solo episode of Becoming Unshakable, I speak directly to those moments when everything feels like a struggle. The days when motivation is low, your energy is off, and you quietly question whether you are doing enough, or even moving in the right direction. I share an honest reflection on what it means to keep going when you feel stretched, tired, or unsure, and why those moments are often part of a much deeper process.
I talk about the internal pressure many of us carry, especially as leaders, caregivers, and people who others rely on. There is a tendency to push through, to stay strong on the surface, while ignoring what is happening beneath the surface. In this conversation, I open up about what it looks like to acknowledge that weight without losing your sense of self, and how small shifts in awareness can change how you experience difficult seasons.
This episode is a reminder that struggling does not mean failing. It often means you are growing, recalibrating, or being asked to pay attention to something you may have been avoiding. I explore how to stay steady in those moments, how to be kinder to yourself without lowering your standards, and how to reconnect with your own resilience in a way that feels real.
If you have been feeling off, overwhelmed, or quietly carrying more than you let on, this conversation is for you. What would change if you stopped fighting the struggle and started listening to what it is trying to show you?