Executive Unschool Edit
Welcome. You've found your people. We explore the work you do, the wealth you build, and the wellbeing you deserve, without asking you to blow up the life you've worked so hard to create.
Executive Unschool publishes essays, written to start a better conversation. It’s a publication for ambitious women who have lost interest in optimizing a life that doesn't feel like their own.
WORK
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WEALTH
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WELLBEING
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WORK ⁘ WEALTH ⁘ WELLBEING ⁘
EP 119 Leadership in 2026: Less Control, More Inner Stability | with Andrea Tessier
As we move toward 2026, many leaders are sensing that the old leadership playbook is breaking down. In this episode of How Good Can It Get?, Bree Johnson and Andrea Tessier explore why strategy and performance are no longer enough—and why the future of leadership requires inner steadiness, emotional intelligence, and self-trust.
EP 118 Some years ask questions. 2025 gave me answers.
In this reflective episode of How Good Can It Get?, Bree Johnson shares five lessons that emerged from a year of growth, simplification, and trusting her intuition. A thoughtful look at how clarity often comes after seasons of uncertainty and change.
EP 117 Why Resentment Peaks During the Holidays
Why does resentment surface during the holidays—and what is it actually trying to tell us? In this episode of How Good Can It Get?, Bree Johnson explores how unmet needs, energy depletion, and the illusion of control affect wellbeing and leadership.
Right on Time: When Self-Trust Matters More Than Crushed Goals
What if the most meaningful growth doesn’t show up in metrics? A year-end reflection on misalignment, over-functioning, work harm, and why fewer goals crushed—but more self-trust gained—might mean you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
Ep. 116 The Biggest Leadership Lie We All Believe About Wellbeing
In this episode, I break down the single biggest barrier to wellbeing I see across founders, people leaders, and women running entire households: letting external uncertainty steal time, focus, and nervous system capacity.
Ep. 115 this podcast is for you!
Bree discusses transforming work into a craft, emphasizing the need for personal empowerment and the identification of resistance in one's professional life.
Returning to Yourself: Midlife, Craft, and the Work of Unlearning
What if your work isn’t something to manage—but something to craft? This reflection explores midlife reinvention, unschooling old expectations, and reconnecting with the version of yourself who loved deeply, created freely, and didn’t perform for approval.
Ep. 114 Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First with Guest Stephanie Wall Morrow
Bree Johnson hosts guest Stephanie Wall Morrow who advocates for integrating genuine self-care into daily life. They discuss the creation of The Self Care Circle, accessible self-care practices, the significance of mindfulness and intention, and the myths surrounding self-care.
Carrying Everyone Else’s Expectations? It’s Time to Remember Yourself
When you’re the planner, the detail-holder, the one who “just handles it,” it’s easy to lose yourself under everyone else’s expectations. This reflection explores overfunctioning, nervous system strain, and how renewal begins by remembering who you are beneath the responsibility.
Ep. 113 The Weight of Others' Expectations
The often unrecognized burden of meeting others' expectations, particularly for women who are caregivers, is intense and time consuming. Bree reflects on her personal experiences during the holiday season and emphasizes the importance of reclaiming time and energy for oneself.
Schedule the Joy Date: A Nervous System Reset for the Holidays
You don’t have to earn your rest. In seasons filled with giving and doing, joy becomes an act of self-preservation. This reflection explores why scheduling a “joy date” isn’t indulgent—it’s essential for nervous system regulation and sustainable wellbeing.
Ep. 112 Nothing Is Wrong with You If You're Merely Surviving
Bree addresses the challenges many face during the holiday season, particularly those who feel they are merely surviving rather than thriving. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging one's struggles and introduces the concept of the wellness wheel, which consists of eight core areas of well-being.
How to Create Financial Stability When Everything Feels Uncertain
When uncertainty, lack of information, and loss of control collide, stress skyrockets. This reflection shares how we rebuilt financial certainty after walking away from traditional security—and how bold, values-aligned decisions can restore agency during layoffs, career shifts, or economic instability.
Ep. 111 Stop Defending, Start Connecting
Have you every thought about how your childhood conditioning affects your adult relationships, particularly the tendency to justify actions and defend oneself in interpersonal interactions? Bree Johnson discusses the impact of early experiences on emotional responses and communication patterns in adulthood.
Rewiring Your Mind From Worst-Case to Best-Case Thinking
If you can imagine everything going wrong, you can imagine it going right. This reflection explores how bracing for worst-case scenarios trains your nervous system for fear—and how reclaiming your imagination can build courage, clarity, and better leadership in uncertain times.
Ep. 110 How to Confront Quiet Fear
If you're feeling fear, anxiety, or overwhelm, tune in to this episode where Bree delves into the complexities of fear, particularly the subtle, insidious types that keep individuals from embracing change and stepping out of their comfort zones.
Stop Forcing It: A Nervous System Approach to Better Decisions
How do you know when to push forward—and when you’re just forcing it? In volatile times, conscious leadership isn’t about speed. It’s about alignment. This reflection explores how to recognize flow vs. force and use nervous system awareness to make wiser, more sustainable decisions.
Ep. 109 Is Identity Death Essential with Guest Michelle M. Ghassemi
Guest Michelle M. Ghassemi helps Bree explore the themes of identity death, personal growth, and self-sabotage in the context of entrepreneurship.
When Contentment Isn’t Enough: Holding Presence in Hard Times
Not every season can be reframed with gratitude. When layoffs, disasters, and uncertainty weigh heavily, contentment may feel out of reach. This reflection explores how presence—not positivity—becomes the most radical act of wellbeing in difficult times.
Ep. 108 Stopping Gold Medal Syndrome
Bree talks about Gold Medal Syndrome as a way to describe how we all often focus on outcomes and miss out on the good stuff - particularly the 'messy middle' - where growth and effort occur. Outcomes aren't often as they seem.