Hi friends -
I just got back from three amazing weeks in Greece. It wasn’t supposed to be that long, but sometimes when life hands you a chance to say fuck it and do what you actually want... you take it.
I stayed an extra week, and now I’m wildly behind on everything. But it was worth it.
It wasn’t just a break in paradise. It was the most present I’ve felt in a long time.
I spent most of the time running around with my 3-year-old nephew, building Legos, getting bossed around by a toddler. If I’m being honest, acting like a kid again was incredibly refreshing.
One morning, in between toddler chaos and trying to get a little work done, I ended up scrolling through old photos. I landed on a batch from COVID. And wow. There was this look in my eyes — numb, flat, just... gone. It was a gut punch. I realized how deep in survival mode I was back then. Not dreaming. Not planning. Just trying to get through the day.
That’s exactly where this week’s guest, Miriam Simon, spent a lot of her life.
She became a mom at 18, had three kids by 21, and spent years working full-time in transportation, doing what she had to do to keep her family afloat. She eventually worked her way up to HR at the World Trade Center. And even then, she realized surviving isn’t the same as living.
In this episode we talk about:
What it takes to get out of survival mode – mentally, not just logistically.
Coming out later in life, and the cost of hiding who you are.
Unlearning generational patterns to be intentional about what you want in your life.
What happens when you hit the peak of your career and still feel like something’s missing.
The power of writing, and how to own your story before someone else tells it for you.
Miriam’s story is about what it takes to finally choose yourself, even when it’s terrifying. There’s grief and reinvention and that moment we all hit eventually where we think: Wait, what do I actually want?
This was the first conversation I recorded after my long podcast break. I finished it and immediately said out loud, “Fuck, I missed this.” Hope it hits you too.
Abrazos,
M.
P.S. Turns out that “fuck it” vacation time comes with a to-do list hangover, so no big extras this week. But here’s one suggestion:
Do something that makes you feel like a kid again.
📖 Read your favorite childhood book (hard recommend The Little Prince and if you don’t want to actually read, you can tune in to this ASMR video of a reading)
🦀 Watch (and sing at the top of your lungs) old Disney songs on YouTube — I introduced my nephew Sebastian to Under the Sea, very on brand.
🧩 Build a puzzle. Draw. Paint.
🦄 Do whatever joy looked like before you started overthinking it.
Let me know what it brings up.
🎧 Prefer Spotify or Apple? Take it to-go:
(And while you’re there - don’t forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating 😁)
✨ About Miriam Simon:
Leadership expert and Forbes Coaches Council Member Miriam Simon is a certified executive coach, author, and speaker with over 25 years of corporate leadership experience. As CEO of Mi Sí Coaching and Consulting LLC, she created the I.N.K. & P.E.A.R.L.S. leadership
method to help professionals integrate authenticity with excellence. A proud Latina and LGBTQ+ advocate, Miriam empowers marginalized voices and is on a mission to elevate one million diverse leaders into positions of power.
Miriam is the author of Tattoos and Pearls: Combining Street Wisdom with Corporate Strategy.
💖 Thanks for being here!
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