VEST Her Podcast: Living on Fire with Shannon Watts

VEST Her Podcast: Living on Fire with Shannon Watts

What if the key to moving from stuck to unstoppable isn’t finding your one big purpose but choosing to live with purpose, every day?

In this episode, we sit down with Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action and author of New York Bestseller Fired Up, to explore a practical framework for aligning what you value, what you're good at, and what truly matters to you. She calls it the fire formula, a tool for any stage of life, from early career to midlife reinvention.

We unpack three common myths that hold women back:

• That you need a single, all-consuming calling

• That happiness is the goal

• That constant busyness means you're succeeding

  
  

Shannon also shares her playbook for handling blowback when you start showing up differently, how to decide whose feedback matters, what to hold onto, and how to keep going when the discomfort sets in.

You’ll hear actionable strategies for building aligned community, sustaining momentum, and reclaiming your time and voice. We also get into:

• How to navigate professional risks and resistance

• How to build meaningful relationships in midlife

• How to push back against the systems and narratives shaping our democracy

  
  

This is a grounded, honest conversation about courage, clarity, and living on your own terms. If you’re ready to stop waiting for permission, this episode offers the tools and the push to start.

Show Notes

Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark Into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age by Shannon Watts

Playing with Fire, Substack Newsletter by Shannon Watts

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself  by Kristin Neff

The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid  by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman

BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Extremism by Ruth Whippman

Guest Bio

Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action, the largest grassroots group fighting gun violence in the U.S. Known as the ‘summoner of women’s audacity,’ she has been named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, a Forbes 50 over 50 Changemaker, and a Glamour Woman of the Year. During the 2024 election, she organized the largest Zoom gathering in history, mobilizing over 200K voters and raising over $11 million in support of the Kamala Harris campaign and co-hosted the weekly Women Wednesdays for Harris calls with Indivisible. Helping to redefine what’s possible when audacious women unite to drive change, she writes regularly about culture, politics and women’s issues for her Substack, Playing with Fire, and outlets like The Washington Post, Elle, Time, The 19th. Her new book, Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark Into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age, was released in June.

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