Welcome to No Definition: The Podcast

Introducing a new podcast for women building ambitious careers and full family lives, and refusing to choose between them.

Next week, No Definition officially launches with an amazing roster of guests - including CEOs, CMOs, VCs and founders from companies you’d recognize and experts on a range of topics.

Before the launch, it feels important to share the story of how this came to be, why it matters so much right now, and to thank the many people who have made No Definition possible.

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The origins of this podcast started when my son was two years old and got very sick.

In order to get him well, I stepped away from a career I’d spent twenty years building. And somewhere along that journey, for the first time in my life, I started to wonder if I could ever go back and still be the mother I wanted to be.

I loved my career. I was proud of it. But suddenly it felt like I had to choose: give it up to be a good mom, or keep the career and fail him.

A photo taken during my son’s recovery, shortly after I’d taken a pause in my career.

The guilt was unbearable.

And slowly, I started to believe the thing we’re all told: You can’t really do both. At least not well. And not at the same time.

If you’ve ever felt that, I want you to hear me: that feeling is real. I’m not going to tell you it’s in your head. At times, it can be true.

But over the last several years, I’ve come to see that most of the time, the reasons we feel we can’t “have it all” are because the systems and stereotypes around us are failing us. And I’m determined to change this.

So when my son got well again, I decided to give my career another shot. I began calling every ambitious working mother I knew and asking them a single question:

“How are you actually making this work?”

I didn’t want the highlight reel. I wanted the real version. How these CEOs, CMOs, and entrepreneurs design their weeks to still be present for their families while also delivering results at work. How they split things at home. The decisions they’d make again, and the ones they wouldn’t.

Those conversations made me realize: it is possible to have it all. We just don’t talk enough about how. The tips and advice I received gave me my life back. They gave me the confidence to go back to my career, to reject traditional assumptions, and to be a better mom than I was before. I enjoy both more now than I ever have.

My only regret? Originally I didn’t record a single one of those conversations.

So I’m recording and sharing them now.

What these conversations reveal is that working moms and executives are not dealing with a capability problem (working women are the most capable people I know).

We have a design problem.

The school hours, expectations of what a mother “should” be, the way work is built and the cultural norms we have come to accept – none of it was designed for women who want an ambitious career and a full family life. So we spend our lives trying to force (or hide) ourselves in systems that were never designed to support us. And then we blame ourselves when it doesn’t work.

You can have it all. I believe that completely. But not the way you were sold it. And not by trying harder (or “leaning in”) inside a system that was never built for you. You have to get there by questioning the systems around you and building your own.

That’s why I created No Definition.

Every episode, I sit down with women operating at the very top of their career game who are also building full lives at home. We break down what it actually looks like. The frameworks, the tradeoffs, the systems that let ambition and motherhood coexist.

Not perfectly. But sustainably.

The first episodes publish next week. Here’s how to make sure you don’t miss them, and how you can help:

• Follow on Spotify, Apple or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

• Subscribe here to get notified when we air new episodes and recaps on Substack.

• Send this to one woman who might benefit from these episodes. If you know a woman doing this math right now and wondering how to make it all work, share this if it could help them. This is a conversation for all of us.

And let me know what you want me to cover in the comments. I want to know who’s here and what’s helpful to you right now. What does your version of “all” look like, and what’s the part that feels hardest to navigate? This space is about us figuring it out together, so let’s start now.

Amanda

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The Credits

Like in life, nothing great happens alone. Thanks to these amazing people who made everything about No Definition possible:

• My wonderful husband Rob (Music) who supported and encouraged me to do this every step of the way, and is a wonderful partner and co-parent. He’s also a prolific musician who wrote all of the music you hear on the podcast. Check out more at: https://japanonthemoon.com/

• My amazing editor Jay Cowit (Sound Editing & Host Coaching). Jay is both a long-time friend and an amazing editor and national radio producer. He made this all possible and is why No Definition sounds incredible. He is also available for hire here: https://jaycowit.com/#soundDesign

• Linzi Cora (Editing & Design), who led the design, blog editing, and set up of No Definition. She’s given me invaluable advice and makes everything look seamless. Check out her work at: https://linzi-cora.com/

Finally, this podcast is really about our guests, whose willingness to be vulnerable and share their learnings make this all possible. Each of them is an inspiration to me and many I’m honored to call both mentors and friends. I can’t wait to celebrate each of them in the coming weeks and months.

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