The Conscious Edge Podcast: Redefining Wealth as a Whole Human Experience

❓Have a question for Monthly Money Talks? Send your question to me in a DM on Instagram → @aleciastg.  Your question may be featured in an upcoming episode with Zen Jenn.

Get full show notes at www.consciousedge.com/ep089

If you’ve ever hit a point in your business where things feel hard and you’re not sure whether you should push forward or pull back, this conversation will bring clarity. In this episode, you’ll learn how to quickly diagnose whether your business challenges are growing pains that strengthen you or signs of disordered growth that weaken your foundation.

In our Monthly Money Talk, Zen Jenn and I break down one of the most overlooked reasons businesses plateau: confusing disordered growth with healthy, capacity-expanding growth.

📝 Top 3 Takeaways from the Episode:

1️⃣Not All Hard Things Are Red Flags, Some Are Capacity Expansions: We unpack the difference between discomfort that signals misalignment and discomfort that signals growth, helping you avoid pivoting too early or forcing unsustainable strategies.

2️⃣Intentionality Is the Marker of Healthy Growth: Healthy growth includes planning, forecasting, and measured decision-making. Disordered growth shows up as reactivity, panic problem-solving, or chasing quick wins.

3️⃣Pressure Isn’t Always a Strategy Problem; It’s Often a Capacity Clue: When growth feels heavy or urgent, it’s often pointing to a gap in time, financial, emotional, relational, or energetic capacity rather than a flawed business model.

🎧 Related Episodes You May Enjoy:

Ep 80: When Growth Stops Feeling Good (Monthly Money Talk with Zen Jenn)

Ep 83: Financial Capacity: The Wealth Shift From Proving to Purposeful Growth 

Ep 84: Why Your Business Feels Hard to Grow (Monthly Money Talk with Zen Jenn) 

Connect with Jenn Baas:Jenn is an Outsourced CFO with over 15 years of experience helping small businesses bring ease, clarity, and strategic insight to their financial operations. She joins me each month for Monthly Money Talks with Zen Jenn and leads the Financial Leadership Labs inside The Exponential Entrepreneur.

To explore Jenn’s external CFO services, visit: peaktopeaksolutions.com

To work with Jenn inside The Exponential Entrepreneur, DM me on Instagram→ @aleciastg

Follow or subscribe wherever you’re listening so you never miss a Monthly Money Talk with Zen Jenn.

Learn more about The Exponential Entrepreneur: 

A year-long coaching experience for women entrepreneurs who want a business that feels meaningful and sustainable—one that supports fulfillment, presence, and the life they’re building. This work blends science-based coaching, soul-purpose alignment, and practical business strategy to support clear communication, guilt-free boundaries, and compassionate accountability.

The result is meaningful financial growth, steadier emotions, and protected energy. It also gives you more time for what matters most: your children and loved ones, travel and adventure, rest, and true personal restoration.

Connect with Us:To explore The Exponential Entrepreneur or learn more about working together, DM me on Instagram→ @aleciastg

Disclaimer: 

The Conscious Edge and all content published by Alecia St. Germain and Jonathan Dugger is for general information, education, and entertainment only. We are not liable or responsible for outcomes resulting from the use of information shared on this podcast or on our websites. This content is not personal, medical, or mental health advice. Please consult qualified medical and mental health professionals as needed. All investing and entrepreneurial endeavors involve risk, and use of this information is at the listener’s discretion.

Get full show notes at www.consciousedge.com/ep088

When you avoid a hard conversation, it doesn’t just disappear. It silently taxes your time, your energy, and your momentum. In this episode, we explore how expanding your relational capacity can completely transform how you lead and communicate.

I’m joined by real estate investor and client Sandra McEwan, a former pharmacist who rebuilt her career after inheriting her father’s properties and diving head-first into investing. She recently faced a conversation she’d been avoiding for months.  What unfolded on the other side wasn’t conflict but clarity, relief, and renewed trust. If you’ve been carrying the weight of a conversation you don’t want to have, this episode will show you how grounded, compassionate leadership creates connection instead of rupture.

📝 Top 3 Takeaways from the Episode:


Avoidance Has a Cost: Delaying hard conversations fragments focus, drains energy, and stalls momentum. When Sandra addressed the issue directly, her project moved forward immediately.


Testing Your Big Assumption Accelerates Leadership: Using Immunity to Change™, Sandra tested the belief that honesty would create fallout. Instead, she discovered that steady truth builds trust and strengthens relationships.


Compassionate Accountability Builds Trust: Clear expectations held with compassion create safety. When boundaries are grounded, leadership becomes simpler and connection deepens.

🎧 Related Episodes You May Enjoy:


Ep 68: Tough Conversations Made Easier: Accountability for Leaders who Value Kindness and Compassion


Ep 82: Emotional Capacity – Turning Reactivity into Power


Ep 86: Relational Capacity – Boundaries That Build Trust & Compassionate Leadership

Connect with Sandra McEwan

If you're interested in learning more about investing out of state, exploring partnership opportunities, or you’re looking for a mid-term or long-term stay in one of her Augusta properties, you can reach her here:

Instagram: @sandras_rei_voyage

Sandra transitioned from a 26-year career in pharmacy into real estate investing and now manages a portfolio of small multifamily properties in Augusta, GA. She generously came on the podcast to share her experience as a client inside The Conscious Edge.

Learn more about The Exponential Entrepreneur: 

A year-long coaching experience for women entrepreneurs who want a business that feels meaningful and sustainable—one that supports fulfillment, presence, and the life they’re building, not one that drains their energy or demands they become someone they’re not.

Get full show notes at www.consciousedge.com/ep087

As the year winds down, Jonathan and I sat together for a heartfelt, unscripted conversation about what truly shaped us in 2025 and who we’re choosing to become in 2026. If you’ve been craving a moment to pause and reorient your inner compass, this episode will feel like a deep exhale. We unpack joy, unexpected challenges, recalibration, and the moments that quietly changed everything. As Jonathan put it, “Some challenges were necessary; they revealed what truly matters.”

Before you dive in, here’s a simple reflection to ground you:What was one moment in 2025 that unexpectedly shaped you for the better?Give yourself 10 quiet seconds to answer, it will shift the way you receive this conversation.

📝 Top 3 Takeaways from the Episode:


Challenges Aren’t Setbacks, They’re Signposts: Both of us experienced moments that were undeniably hard… yet they became catalysts for clarity, redirection, and self-trust. We explore how reframing difficulty as “necessary growth” changes everything.


Joy Is Found in Alignment, Not Achievement: From hosting retreats to watching clients transform to watching lifestyle shifts become “the new normal,” we talk about how fulfillment came from alignment with our values, and not all the external milestones. 


Intention Is the Portal Into 2026: Instead of chasing the next big goal, we share the invitations we’re answering as we step into the new year: presence, expansion that feels good, and letting joy become a daily rhythm, not a reward. 

🗓️A Look Ahead: Episode 88

Next Week: Starting 2026 With the Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding

We’re kicking off 2026 with a powerful story from real estate investor Sandra McEwan, who finally had a conversation she’d been avoiding for months. What followed wasn’t conflict, but clarity, trust, and momentum. This episode shows what becomes possible when you lead with grounded honesty.

🎧 Related Episodes You May Enjoy:


Ep 81: Energetic Capacity – Lead from Alignment, Not Overdrive


Ep 47:The Journey from Compliance-based Bookkeeping to Powerful Finance-driven Business Decisions with Accountant Jenn Baas


Ep 35: What You Need to Know Before Making a New Year’s Resolution

Learn more about The Exponential Entrepreneur: 

A year-long coaching experience for women entrepreneurs who want a business that feels meaningful and sustainable—one that supports fulfillment, presence, and the life they’re building, not one that drains their energy or demands they become someone they’re not.

This work blends science-based coaching, soul-purpose alignment, and practical business strategy to help you communicate expectations clearly, uphold boundaries without guilt, and lead with compassionate accountability.

The result is meaningful financial growth, steadier emotions, and protected energy. It also gives you more time for what matters most: your children and loved ones, travel and adventure, rest, and true personal restoration.

Connect with Us:Share your takeaway or ask a question by sending a DM on Instagram → @aleciastg

If this episode brought you clarity or relief, pass it along to a friend who’s been feeling stretched thin.

Disclaimer: 

The Conscious Edge and all content published by Alecia St. Germain and Jonathan Dugger is for general information, education, and entertainment only. We are not liable or responsible for any negative outcomes resulting from the use or application of information shared in this podcast or on our website.

This podcast and any linked materials are not intended as personal advice, medical advice, or mental health treatment. Please consult a qualified medical or mental health professional if you need such services.

Please be advised that all investing and entrepreneurial endeavors involve risk. The use of the information and linked materials is at the listener’s own discretion and risk.

🌟 Join the Capacity Series and get instant access to all 5 replays → consciousedge.com/capacity

Get full show notes at www.consciousedge.com/ep086

Most entrepreneurs aren’t struggling with people… they’re struggling with relational capacity. If you avoid hard conversations, take responsibility for others’ emotions, or secretly resent how much you’re carrying, this episode will show you why your boundaries aren’t working and what compassionate accountability actually looks like.

In Episode 86, we break down the exact scripts, expectations, and leadership shifts that help you communicate clearly, protect your time and energy, and build relationships that feel respectful and easeful again.

📝 Top 3 Takeaways from the Episode:


Why Your Boundaries Aren’t Working (and What to Do Instead): Rules try to control people. Expectations create shared clarity. Boundaries communicate what you will do. This distinction is the foundation of relational capacity and changes every relationship you’re in.


Compassion + Accountability = Trust That Lasts: Most entrepreneurs lead with compassion but avoid accountability. In this episode you’ll hear exactly how to pair “I see you” with “we agreed to this,” so you deepen connection without sacrificing yourself.


Your Nervous System Reacts to Boundaries and So Will Theirs: When you begin holding people accountable, expect emotional responses. Some will rise. Some will step away. Your job isn’t to manage their discomfort; it’s to stay rooted in your leadership and let clarity sort your relationships for you.

🎧 Related Episodes You May Enjoy:


Ep 81: Energetic Capacity – Lead from Alignment, Not Overdrive


Ep 82: Emotional Capacity – Turning Reactivity into Power


Ep 84: Time Capacity – Reclaim Your Time & Lead with Aligned Focus 

Learn more about The Exponential Entrepreneur: 

A year-long coaching experience for women entrepreneurs who want a business that feels meaningful and sustainable—one that supports fulfillment, presence, and the life they’re building, not one that drains their energy or demands they become someone they’re not.

This work blends science-based coaching, soul-purpose alignment, and practical business strategy to help you communicate expectations clearly, uphold boundaries without guilt, and lead with compassionate accountability.

The result is meaningful financial growth, steadier emotions, and protected energy. It also gives you more time for what matters most: your children and loved ones, travel and adventure, rest, and true personal restoration.

Connect with Us:Share your takeaway or ask a question by sending a DM on Instagram → @aleciastg

If this episode brought you clarity or relief, pass it along to a friend who’s been feeling stretched thin.

Disclaimer: 

The Conscious Edge and all content published by Alecia St. Germain and Jonathan Dugger is for general information, education, and entertainment only. We are not liable or responsible for any negative outcomes resulting from the use or application of information shared in this podcast or on our website.

This podcast and any linked materials are not intended as personal advice, medical advice, or mental health treatment. Please consult a qualified medical or mental health professional if you need such services.

Please be advised that all investing and entrepreneurial endeavors involve risk. The use of the information and linked materials is at the listener’s own discretion and risk.

🌟 Join the Capacity Series and get instant access to all full replays → consciousedge.com/capacity

Get full show notes at www.consciousedge.com/ep085

Most entrepreneurs don’t have a time-management challenge.  They have a capacity challenge. If you’re a business owner or real estate investor who feels like you’re doing all the things but still not moving the needle, this episode will help you shift out of urgency and into aligned, intentional focus. I used to say, “I don’t have time” constantly, until I realized it was actually my nervous system signaling overwhelm, not my calendar.

📝 Top 3 Takeaways from the Episode:


The New Productivity Paradigm: Why “I don’t have time” keeps you trapped in reactive mode and the mindset shift that immediately expands your Time Capacity.


Where Your Time Is Really Leaking: How urgency, overbooking, and misaligned commitments quietly drain your focus and slow your growth (especially when you’re juggling business, family, and leadership).


Aligned Rhythms That Work: A simple way to use the Leadership Rhythm (Focus Out → Focus On → Focus In) to reclaim your energy, solve for bottlenecks in your business, and prioritize what matters so business becomes sustainable and fulfilling. 

🎧 Related Episodes You May Enjoy:


Ep 81: Energetic Capacity – Lead from Alignment, Not Overdrive


Ep 82: Emotional Capacity – Turning Reactivity into Power


Ep 83: Financial Capacity – The Wealth Shift from Proving to Purposeful Growth

Learn more about The Exponential Entrepreneur: 

A year-long coaching experience for women entrepreneurs who want a business that feels meaningful and sustainable—one that supports fulfillment, presence, and the life they’re building, not one that drains their energy or demands they become someone they’re not.

This work blends science-based coaching, soul-purpose alignment, and practical business strategy to help you communicate expectations clearly, uphold boundaries without guilt, and lead with compassionate accountability.

The result is meaningful financial growth, steadier emotions, and protected energy. It also gives you more time for what matters most: your children and loved ones, travel and adventure, rest, and true personal restoration.

Connect with Us: Share your takeaway or ask a question by sending a DM on Instagram → @aleciastg

If this episode brought you clarity or relief, pass it along to a friend who’s been feeling stretched thin.

Disclaimer: 

The Conscious Edge and all content published by Alecia St. Germain and Jonathan Dugger is for general information, education, and entertainment only. We are not liable or responsible for any negative outcomes resulting from the use or application of information shared in this podcast or on our website.

This podcast and any linked materials are not intended as personal advice, medical advice, or mental health treatment. Please consult a qualified medical or mental health professional if you need such services.

Please be advised that all investing and entrepreneurial endeavors involve risk. The use of the information and linked materials is at the listener’s own discretion and risk.