In today’s episode, Heather speaks with Simone Knego, author of The Extraordinary Unordinary You, about what it truly takes to build confidence, embrace your story, and live fully.

From adopting three children from South Korea and Ethiopia, to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, to co-hosting a podcast with her daughter, Simone’s life has been a series of extraordinary experiences that shaped her outlook on resilience, patience, and self-worth. Together, they unpack how confidence is not about being perfect, but about choosing to see yourself differently and taking small, brave steps toward growth.

• Why Patience Builds Confidence – How parenting her son Noah taught Simone to redefine patience and see it as a strength.
  
  

• The Power of Choices – Why even small, bold choices can completely change your trajectory.
  
  

• Living Like You Have One Life – Lessons from her daughter Mili on resilience and joy despite difficult beginnings.
  
  

• Climbing Your Own Mountains – Simone’s Kilimanjaro climb and how it inspired her to say “yes” to growth outside her comfort zone.
  
  

• Breaking Free from “Just” – Why removing the word just from your vocabulary transforms the way you see your value.
  
  

• Control-Alt-Delete for Confidence – Simone’s simple mindset tool for shifting negative self-talk in the moment.
  
  

📖 The Extraordinary Unordinary You: Follow Your Own Path, Discover Your Own Journey – Get Simone’s book
🎙️ Her Unshakeable Confidence Podcast – Simone’s podcast with her daughter
🌐 Simone Knego’s Website – Learn more about her work and upcoming book Real Confidence

[00:00] Meet Simone Knego, author, speaker, and mother of six
[03:45] Why patience is the foundation of confidence
[10:37] Choices that shape your story – stepping out of line
[12:59] Lessons from Mili: you only get one life
[15:19] Climbing Kilimanjaro and finding purpose
[20:06] Breaking free from “just” and claiming your value
[22:26] Building unshakable confidence with her daughter
[24:42] Control-Alt-Delete: a confidence reset tool
[27:00] Where to find Simone and her books

Connect with Heather:

• Schedule a call with Heather

• Follow Heather on Instagram

• Website

• Watch Episodes on Youtube

• Heather’s TikTok ‍

• heather@elegantwarrior.com

The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

In today’s episode, Heather answers a powerful question from her Instagram community: How do I advocate for myself without bragging?

This is a challenge so many of us, especially women, face. How do you share your gifts, your expertise, and your accomplishments with confidence and authenticity without feeling arrogant? Heather breaks it down into three core strategies that will help you shift your mindset and your approach so you can advocate with grace, clarity, and impact.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Talk About the Thing, Not Yourself How externalizing your gifts makes sharing them feel like service, not bragging.
  
  

• Believe in Others as Much as Yourself Why trusting the openness and curiosity of the people you’re speaking to shifts your energy and confidence.
  
  

• Own Your Gifts Why fully embracing and sharing your talents is essential to living your purpose and making a difference.
  
  

• The Role of Service in Advocacy How approaching advocacy from a place of contribution removes the stigma of bragging.
  
  

• Practical Tips to Change Your Self-Talk From using “iliism” to adopting a service mindset, Heather shares tools to reframe doubt into empowerment.
  
  

Resources & Links:
📖 Chatter by Ethan Kross – Learn more about self-talk strategies
🎧 [Heather’s conversation with Ethan Kross on The Elegant Warrior Podcast]

In this episode:
[00:00] Listener question: How do I advocate for myself without bragging?
[02:00] Talk about your gifts as a “thing” separate from you
[07:30] Believe in the people you’re speaking to
[11:50] Own your unique gifts with confidence
[14:20] Advocacy as service vs. bragging
[17:30] Final thoughts & invitation to send your questions to Heather

Connect with Heather:

• Schedule a call with Heather

• Follow Heather on Instagram

• Website

• Watch Episodes on Youtube

• Heather’s TikTok ‍

• heather@elegantwarrior.com

The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

In today’s episode, Heather sits down with Dr. Christie McMullen, educator, author, speaker, and leadership expert, to explore how learning truly takes root. With a 25-year career spanning high school classrooms, adult education, and leadership training, Christie brings a wealth of experience to the conversation. Her book, Learning Can Stick: A Guide to Make Every Learning Experience Safe, Logical, Fun, and Memorable, offers strategies for teaching and leading that apply far beyond the classroom.

Together, Heather and Christie dive into why everyone is a teacher, whether you’re guiding patients, mentoring employees, or leading a courtroom, and how to make every lesson both memorable and impactful.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Performance vs. Learning Goals – How setting both helps define success and the steps to get there.

• “Clear is Kind” – Why clarity is essential in teaching, leading, and everyday communication.

• The Power of Connection – How learners deepen understanding by engaging with each other.

• Trusting the Learning Process – Why letting go of control often leads to better outcomes.

• Making It Personal – How emotion and reflection anchor lessons in memory.

• Note-Taking vs. Note-Making – Why interacting with your notes makes all the difference.

• Sprinkle, Splash, Flood, Drip – Christie’s framework for ensuring information actually sticks.
  
  

Resources & Links:
📖 Learning Can Stick: A Guide to Make Every Learning Experience Safe, Logical, Fun, and Memorable Buy the book here
🌐 Christie McMullen Learn more about her work and speaking

In this episode:

[00:00] Meet Dr. Christie McMullen, educator, leader, and author
[02:30] Performance vs. learning goals explained
[07:00] Why “clear is kind” in leadership and teaching
[09:20] Leveraging connection to make learning stick
[12:45] Trusting the process and formative feedback
[16:30] Making it personal: emotion, reflection, and relevance
[22:00] Turning notes into learning tools
[27:40] Sprinkle, splash, flood, drip: repetition that works
[31:10] Final reflections and key takeaways

Connect with Heather:

• Schedule a call with Heather

• Follow Heather on Instagram

• Website

• Watch Episodes on Youtube

• Heather’s TikTok ‍

• heather@elegantwarrior.com

The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.