295: 2025 Was a Test. 2026 Is the Blueprint.

When you are building a career, raising a family, and carrying the weight of constant opportunity, it can feel like you are moving fast without a clear line of sight, especially as one year closes and another begins.

In this episode of Life of And, Tiffany and Sam reflect on 2025 and look ahead to 2026, unpacking the tension women feel between unprecedented opportunity and profound exhaustion. They explore why burnout has become so common for working women, how cultural expectations and outdated systems contribute to it, and what it actually takes to build a sustainable life that grows alongside your ambition. Through personal stories, hard-earned lessons, and a clear framework for boundaries, priorities, and leadership, Tiffany shares how women can stop brute-forcing life and start building a life with clarity, intention, and hope.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why women experience burnout at the height of opportunity and how we got here culturally over the last 40 years
• How outdated systems and invisible domestic labor create exhaustion even when careers are thriving
• Why boundaries must be defined alongside goals to build a sustainable life

For more from Tiffany:

Check out Tiffany’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide: https://www.tiffanysauder.com/2025-Holiday-Gift-Guide

Follow Tiffany on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffany.sauder

Learn More: https://www.tiffanysauder.com

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:38) The tension facing modern working women

(02:57) Lessons learned from testing in 2025

(07:03) Podcast rebrand and audience growth milestones

(13:07) Corporate partnerships and executive retreats explained

(21:02) Personal transitions shaping leadership decisions

(22:21) Defining boundaries alongside ambitious goals

(23:13) Choosing family presence without losing ambition

(25:24) Why self-prioritization is personal responsibility

(27:20) Tracing forty years of women’s progress

(30:41) Cultural expectations fueling burnout and guilt

(34:28) Technology changed work, but not expectations

(37:20) Outsourcing ordinary tasks to regain capacity

(41:56) Scaling the Life of And framework

(45:02) Gratitude for the Life of And community

Check out the sponsor of this episode:

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius

Your Holiday Gift Guide Starts Here: https://www.tiffanysauder.com/2025-Holiday-Gift-Guide