Eight women in business panel discussion for Gratitude Geek episode 300 on doing hard things
, , ,

300: We Can Do Hard Things | 8 Women in Business Share Their Stories

Episode 300 celebrates eight women in business who prove we can do hard things. Hear stories of cancer, MS, incarceration, caregiving, and mental health challenges from women who rebuilt their businesses and lives.

Kandas Rodarte

·

Spread the Love

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains a discussion about suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out to a loved one, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or text TALK to 741-741 to text with a trained crisis counselor from the Crisis Text Line for free, 24/7. Please take care while listening and make sure you’re in the right headspace. You are not alone.

Three hundred episodes. Nearly twelve years. Hundreds of conversations with remarkable humans who’ve done things other people think are impossible.

When I started planning this milestone episode, I knew I wanted to gather women who understand what it means to do hard things. Not because they’re superhuman, but because they’re human. Because life handed them something difficult, and they chose to show up anyway.

What I didn’t expect was how much this conversation would remind me why I started this podcast in the first place.

These seven women—some I’ve known for years, some I met more recently—proved that we can do hard things when they’re necessary.

And sometimes, the hardest thing is just being honest about what we’re going through.

We Can Do Hard Things: 8 Women in Business Share Their Stories | Episode 300

Prefer to watch? Catch the full conversation on YouTube above.

Meet the Panel

Christie Going

Christie Going is a licensed massage therapist and clinical massage aromatherapist who created a unique holistic program supporting women navigating breast cancer and thriving beyond it.

As a single mom who went back to school and completely changed careers, Christie understands what it means to rebuild while raising children and running a business.

Connect with Christie:

Diana Dru Botsford

Diana Dru Botsford is an author, screenwriter, and TV film producer who co-wrote my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “Rascals,” and spent nearly 20 years teaching screenwriting at Missouri State University.

Diagnosed with MS a couple of years ago, Diana is navigating what it means to build a creative life with a body that has different limits than it used to.

Sign up for Diana’s newsletter and get early access to articles on writing as well as free workshops on writing that she holds every couple of months.

Connect with Diana:

Kathi Laughman

Kathi Laughman is a strategist, writer, and possibilitarian who guides founders and solopreneurs through frameworks like the ideal method and the possibility factor after a 40-year career in business intelligence.

Her daughter was born at 27 weeks weighing just over two pounds, and Kathi’s response to the doctor’s grim statistics changed everything: “So 15% of them live. I’m choosing 15.”

Sign up for Kathi’s newsletter and receive her Ten Books That Will Help You Future Proof Your Best Life and Work.

Connect with Kathi:

Lauren Roche

Lauren Roche is an entrepreneur, podcaster, and mental health advocate who left her corporate consulting career at Deloitte in February 2025 to build her wellness brand, The Naked Truth with Lauren.

She’s passionate about destigmatizing mental health struggles and creating space for honest conversations about depression, anxiety, and asking for help.

Lauren offers a free 30-minute GOALFLOW coaching discovery session to help busy professionals get clear on personal and professional goals and create an actionable plan to achieve them.

Connect with Lauren:

Rachel Allen

Rachel Allen is a marketer and copywriter who has run Bolt From the Blue Copywriting for 16 years with clients in 21 countries.

Five years ago, her husband was incarcerated, and Rachel became a prison advocate while maintaining her business and keeping her professional life together.

She produced a limited-run podcast about their experience to break the silence around a topic that affects nearly half of American families.

Connect with Rachel:

Charlene Stewart

Charlene Stewart is a certified power hoop instructor—one of the only certified power hoop instructors in the United States—who turns fitness into a dance party, helping people strengthen their core, improve balance, and feel amazing while building community.

She served in the United States Air Force and is currently navigating the incredibly difficult journey of dementia caregiving for her mother.

Connect with Charlene:

Di Hilstad

Di Hilstad is a lifelong entrepreneur and co-founder of the very first scrapbooking store in her part of British Columbia, Canada.

She wrote a nine-page letter to her father cutting him out of her life for the safety of her children, went 15 years without speaking to him, and then advocated for him at a cancer clinic two days before he passed.

Recently, she broke her ankle and learned that sometimes the hardest thing is simply learning to walk again.

Connect with Di:

What This Episode Is About

This panel discussion celebrates 300 episodes of Gratitude Geek by bringing together eight women who’ve done things other people think are hard but they think are necessary.

We talk about MS, cancer, incarceration, single parenthood, dementia caregiving, mental health challenges, breaking ankles, and the importance of being transparent about all of it.

The conversation covers why we don’t talk about hard things, what happens when we finally do, and how creating community around taboo topics can save lives.

These women prove that resilience isn’t about being strong all the time—it’s about showing up, asking for help, and choosing your number.

Key Takeaways

From Kathi Laughman: Choose Your Number

When Kathi’s daughter was born at 27 weeks and doctors told her 85% of babies born that early don’t make it, Kathi asked a different question: “So 15% of them live?” She chose to focus on the 15%.

Her daughter is now 43, lives in Alaska, hikes mountains regularly, and had a 4.0 in college. The lesson? Whatever you think is the hardest thing you’ll ever go through, it’s not. It’s just the next thing.

Choose your number and focus on what’s possible.

From Rachel Allen: Your Now Self Can Pull Your Past Self Through

Rachel spent two years keeping her husband’s incarceration private, feeling like she was the only person this had ever happened to. When she finally started talking about it, she discovered that 45% of Americans have had an immediate family member incarcerated. Now she’s grateful for her “now self”—the strong present self that pulled her past self through the hardest five years. Sometimes the person you become is the one who saves the person you were.

From Diana Dru Botsford: Put On Your Big Girl Pants

Living with MS while her daughter is 900 miles away and watching the world feel like it’s on fire, Diana reminds us that women have this stunning, remarkable strength. We put on our big girl pants and get through it because tomorrow is a new day, this too will pass, and we can get through this. And if somebody tries to put you down to raise themselves up? That’s their problem, not yours. You’re a human being with a brilliant brain between your ears wanting to give your full potential. Do it.

From Christie Going: Don’t Let Someone Else Dictate Your Worth

Christie spent years letting others determine her worth—whether through wages, treatment, or expectations. After leaving a situation where she realized she’d done it again, she had to remind herself that the things someone else said about her, the wages they paid her—that isn’t who she is. The hardest thing can be recognizing when you’ve given away your power to define your own value, then taking it back.

From Lauren Roche: We’re Living in a Shared Human Experience

When Lauren first struggled with mental health in college, she felt alone and ashamed. When she finally opened up, her closest friends revealed they’d been in therapy for years or on medication—they just weren’t talking about it. The more we realize how prevalent these struggles are, the less alone we feel. Whether it’s mental health, physical health, or any other challenge, when you can find community and talk about it, your health improves because you’re no longer carrying it alone.

From Charlene Stewart: Hold On to Good Memories

Caring for her mother with dementia while running her business, Charlene has learned patience and the importance of remembering who her mother was before the disease. When her mom says something hurtful, Charlene reminds herself: “Who is this woman and where is my mom?” She goes back to old pictures and dear memories. It’s an honor to take care of the woman who brought her into this world, but it requires consciously holding on to the person her mother was.

From Di Hilstad: Show Up Even When You’re Doubting Yourself

Whether it was writing that nine-page letter to her father, navigating cancer, or learning to walk again after breaking her ankle, Di’s advice is simple: show up even when you’re doubting yourself. The hardest things require you to take one step at a time, even when you’re not sure you can. Showing up is often the only thing you can control.

From Kandas (that’s me): This Too Will Pass

People assume my metastatic breast cancer diagnosis 11 years ago was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It wasn’t. The hardest thing was picking up a life I knew and loved in California at 26 years old and moving to Texas where I didn’t know anybody to do a job I’d never done before. I spent the first year crying myself to sleep. But eventually, I met my husband, met amazing friends, and built a life. Everything after that was easier because I did that one hard thing. Once you survive one impossible thing, you know you can survive the next one.

Episode Highlights

11:51 – Kathi’s daughter was born at 27 weeks weighing two pounds. When doctors said 85% don’t make it, Kathi asked: “So 15% of them live. I’m choosing 15.”

18:44 – Diana: “We have to put on our big girl pants and get through it because tomorrow is a new day, this too will pass. There’s this strength that women have that is stunning, remarkable.”

29:25 – Rachel opens up about her husband’s incarceration and why she finally decided to talk publicly about something 45% of Americans experience but no one discusses.

36:29 – Kathi: “It’s harder to start a community and create a community than it is to join one. Somebody always has to go first.”

44:45 – The panel discusses working with men versus women and the reality of having to prove your worth three times as hard.

55:23 – Rachel: “I’m grateful for my now self. It’s like I had this strong present self pulling my past self through and I am so grateful for that.”

Your Turn

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? And more importantly, what did it teach you about what you’re capable of?

This conversation reminded me that we’re all doing hard things. Some of them are visible, and some of them we carry quietly. But when we talk about them—when we break the silence around mental health, incarceration, chronic illness, caregiving, financial crisis, or whatever our hard thing is—we make it easier for someone else to survive theirs.

Drop a comment below or share your thoughts on Instagram or LinkedIn. I’d love to hear from you.

Support the Show

If this episode brought you value, here’s how you can help:

Gratitude Geek Podcast is a proud member of Marketing Podcast Network.

Gratitude Geek Podcast celebrates creative people who share their gifts with the world.

Stay Groovy!

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase. This helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you.

, , ,

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.