Ambition Without Compromise
Ambition Without Compromise is the space where powerhouse women of color — with a special heart for Black mothers and future mothers — come to redefine success on their own terms.
Hosted by Monique R. Shields, executive coach, entrepreneur, and mentor to women at the highest levels of leadership, this podcast dives into the real challenges women face when juggling bold professional pursuits with the responsibilities of being present partners, mothers, and whole, healthy individuals.
Through honest conversations and powerful stories, you’ll gain insights on:
- Balancing ambition and freedom without burnout
- Crafting sustainable work-life integration
- Protecting your mental and emotional well-being
- Building intentional communities and seeking mentorship for growth
Whether you're scaling your business, stepping into a higher leadership role, or simply seeking clarity about what success means now, this show offers the tools and stories to help you thrive without compromise.
Follow Monique wherever you listen to podcasts and step into a world where ambition and joy can coexist.
Ambition Without Compromise
74 | [Rewind] The Right Time Is Not Coming
This week on Ambition Without Compromise, we’re revisiting a pivotal episode that resonates deeply with our ongoing theme of embracing change.
Join Monique as she tackles the elusive concept of the "right time" and how it often keeps us stuck in a cycle of waiting for the perfect moment to pursue our dreams. She dives straight into the heart of the matter, sharing powerful insights on how we often cling to familiar paths, fearing the unknown, and how this can lead to stagnation. She encourages us to challenge the narratives that keep us from embracing our true passions and desires.
It's time to give ourselves permission to dream big and take action!
GEMS DROPPED
“This magical right time, the time when you feel ready, when things are in place, when you have done enough, when you have prepared enough, and you know that this is up for you, that this is a challenge for you right now… The whole thing is a trick.”
“When you keep saying stuff like, well, I just have to think about, or I just have to decide, or I've got to give some more thought to … I need to do some preparation… I just. I just. I just. I just. y'all. This is all danger language. Danger, danger, danger, danger, language. We start backing ourselves into deep limitation because we are fearful of giving ourselves permission to be specific about what it is that we truly want.”
“Leading with our wants feels reckless when we have always led with what we think we need/what is required, for so, so, so, so long.”
“You can't cut something off from nourishment and expect it to survive.”
“I recognize that in order for this next part of me, this next phase to come to fruition, for that to happen, I'm gonna have to relinquish the reins. I'm gonna have to let this other part of me, this free and creative and open, this vulnerable part of me, come up to the driver's seat and I might have to get in the back, I might have to get in the trunk at some point. That feels so risky. It feels so, so risky internally.”
“We disconnect from that part of ourselves. We leave those, air quote, ‘childish things’ behind and we get serious about life and we put on new coping skills and different things toughen us up and rough us up, and we forget that that wild and free little version of us, has so much power.”
“I hope that if you are sitting in stagnation and not realizing, I hope that if you are sitting in, ‘I need to wait for the right time’, or ‘I just need to think through. I just need to figure out,’ or ‘I just need to, you know, shore up x, y and z,’ that you bust down those walls and get real with the truth of what's going on here, which is knowing that you don't have to cling to what's familiar and that you're not going to find your freedom. Your salvation will not come from this place. You have everything you need to make the move if you give yourself permission to let that part of you actually dream it up and connect you to the urgency of it all.”
STAY IN TOUCH
Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to ambition@moniquershields.com.