High-achieving women often wear exhaustion as a badge of honor, pushing through until the warning signs become impossible to ignore. For Molly Rosen, co-founder and co-CEO of Project Next Leadership, that moment came while driving between obligations, fantasizing not about a vacation, but about simply being allowed to stop. That recognition led to a sabbatical that stretched from one year to six, a journey that ultimately gave her the perspective, resilience, and clarity to build the leadership coaching company she runs today.

In this episode, Melissa Joy, CFP®, sits down with Molly to explore the realities of burnout for senior women leaders, the under acknowledged impact of perimenopause on career performance, and what it actually takes to build a life and career that is, as Molly puts it, human-sized. Drawing on more than two decades of coaching executives at companies like Pixar, Airbnb, DocuSign, and Samsung, Molly shares the patterns she sees most often in high-performing women, and the strategies that help them find their way back to themselves.

What You'll Learn

• Why working harder stops working at the executive level, and what actually drives advancement
• How burnout differs from a bad week, and why the body often signals it before the mind does
• The underreported career cost of perimenopause and menopause for high-achieving women
• What it means to ask "What is it that only I can do?" and how that question changes everything
• How to strategically step back from the workforce and return with greater clarity and purpose
• Why women leaders consistently rate themselves lower than others rate them, and how to close that gap
• The role of peer networks and cohorts in sustaining women at the top

Website: https://www.projectnextleadership.com

The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https...

Almost everyone has heard of a prenup, but very few of us have actually sat down and thought one through in practical terms. In this episode, Melissa Joy, CFP®, opens up a candid, surprisingly approachable conversation about what prenuptial agreements really are, who they are for, and why they belong in the financial planning discussion. Whether you are considering one for yourself or thinking about the next generation in your family, this is a topic worth understanding before the question ever comes up.

Melissa is joined by Kaylin Dillon, CFP®, a fee-only financial planner in Lawrence, Kansas, who has built a specialty around couples with separate assets, blended finances, and prenups. Kaylin reframes the prenup as a partnership exercise rather than a defensive move, walking through what can go into an agreement, why each partner needs their own attorney, how inherited and family wealth complicate things, and the single biggest mistake couples make. It is a thoughtful, practical look at planning for marriage with eyes wide open.

What You'll Learn

• What a prenuptial agreement actually is, and why it is not only about divorce
• Why each partner should hire their own family law attorney, and how that protects the validity of the agreement
• What can go into a prenup, from current assets and debts to future businesses, homes, life insurance, and even estate terms
• Why inherited and family wealth is one of the most common reasons couples pursue a prenup, and how to protect both sides
• The legal standard of unconscionability, and why a 30-day runway before the wedding is far too short
• The number one mistake couples make: rushing the process before agreeing on their own goals
• Why a joint financial plan is Plan A and the prenup is usually Plan B
• How a prenup coach can support a couple alongside their attorneys to keep the process focused and less expensive

Connect with Kaylin:

Website: kaylindillonfinancial.com

The Prenup Coach: prenupcoach.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theprenupcoach/

The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https...

Women are told to lean in, negotiate, and step up. And many do. But new research reveals that doing all the right things still isn’t enough — and may actually work against them. On this episode of Women’s Money Wisdom, Melissa Joy, CFP®, sits down with award-winning journalist and author Stefanie O’Connell to unpack the systemic forces that penalize women for their ambition, and what that means for their careers, their wealth, and their lives

Stefanie’s book, The Ambition Penalty: How Corporate Culture Tells Women to Step Up and Then Pushes Them Down, draws on research across sociology, psychology, economics, and public health to dismantle the persistent myths used to explain away the gender pay gap. This is not a conversation about what women are doing wrong. It is a conversation about what the system is doing to them.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the most commonly cited explanations for the gender pay gap — job choice, caregiving, and lack of negotiation — are not supported by the data
• How ambition itself is weaponized against women as they advance beyond entry-level roles
• Why elevating a single woman into leadership can actually make gender inequity worse
• How the ambition penalty shows up in personal relationships, not just the workplace
• What pay transparency and collective action can do that individual best practices alone cannot
• The research-backed threshold at which women’s representation in leadership begins to close pay and promotion gaps

About Stefanie O’Connell:

Stefanie O’Connell is an award-winning journalist and the author of The Ambition Penalty: How Corporate Culture Tells Women to Step Up and Then Pushes Them Down. Her work draws on interdisciplinary research to expose the structural forces behind gender inequity in pay, leadership, and power. She also writes the Too Ambitious newsletter.

Website: tooambitious.com

Book: ambitionpenalty.com

Newsletter: Too Ambitious on Substack

Instagram: stefanieoconnell

LinkedIn: Stefanie O’Connell on LinkedIn

The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https...