Free to Be Mindful Podcast | Mindset, Permission and Real Talk for the High-Achieving Woman
The Free to Be Mindful Podcast is a weekly mental health podcast for high-achieving women, hosted by licensed therapist, speaker, and Latina mom coach Vanessa De Jesus Guzman, LPC, NCC.
Fifteen honest minutes with someone who actually gets what it's like to build something impressive and still feel like you're disappearing inside it. We get honest about ambition, identity, and the parts of ourselves we've quietly put on hold.
Each episode is unfiltered and grounded in mental health insight, for the woman who's tired of holding it all together and ready to come back to herself. It ends with a short guided reflection, a chance to give yourself permission for the one thing you've been putting off.
It's like a conversation with a friend... who happens to be a therapist.
New episodes drop every week.
Free to Be Mindful Podcast | Mindset, Permission and Real Talk for the High-Achieving Woman
Chasing Gold Stars As An Adult | Ep317
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High-achieving women don't need gold stars to keep chasing validation, we just found more sophisticated adult ways to earn it. As a licensed therapist, I see this constantly in the women I coach, and in myself. This episode is about what happens when you try wanting something with absolutely no one watching.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
✅ Why the validation you got from childhood gold stars never actually stopped, it just changed shape
✅ The difference between preparation that comes from real care and preparation that comes from needing to be noticed
✅ A simple way to find a want you've been quietly editing down for years
✅ Why reclaiming something just for yourself starts with taking the audience away
CHAPTERS
00:00 Chasing Gold Stars
00:41 Podcast Welcome
01:14 Adult Approval Habits
02:32 Compliments As Stickers
03:15 What Do You Want
04:00 Salsa And Self Focus
05:15 Finding The Want Again
06:24 Guided Reflection
07:11 Let It Stay Full
07:31 Coaching Invitation
08:02 Final Sendoff
GRAB AN OFFER
🎁 Free Resource: 120 Coping Skills: https://www.freetobemindful.com/podcast-120copingskills
💛 Coaching for the Mom CEO: https://www.amigamoms.com
💡 Coaching for Child Therapists: https://www.thekidclinician.com/
💚 Coaching & Community for Latinx Therapists: https://www.latinxpracticecollective.com/
ABOUT ME
I'm Vanessa, the therapist who helps high-achieving adults become the best version of themselves, not just at work, but in the rooms that matter most. I host the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, named the #1 Latino Mental Health Podcast in 2026 by Feedspot. I believe the people who give everything to everyone else deserve to stop surviving and start living intentionally.
CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL
🎧 Podcast: https://www.freetobemindful.com/podcast
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/counselorvdejesus/
📋 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/counselorvdejesus/
🎤 Speaking & Workshops: https://www.freetobemindful.com/speaking
DISCLAIMER
Free to Be Mindful Podcast episodes are for educational purposes only and should not be considered as or substituted for therapy or professional help from a licensed clinician.
