Order my USA TODAY Bestselling book: toxicgrit.com TOXIC GRIT: How to have it all and (actually) love what you have. It will help you create a new approach to ambition and find space for all the diverse parts of yourself. Join 75K+ others who read my newsletter 🧩 Life's a Game at amandagoetz.com. It’s full of free tips to play the game of life at a whole new level. In 2018 I found myself at the height of my marketing career with 3 kids under the age of 4 and filing for divorce. In a world telling me to find alignment......I realized that was impossible. The work version of me didn't want to leave early to go be with the kiddos. The mom version of me didn't want to miss a moment with them. I wanted to be fiercely independent and yet also wanted to find love again. Other versions of me didn't want to feel responsible for anything or anyone. This diversity within me led to the creation of my Character Theory Framework. This framework helped me to create space for the 10 characters that make up the movie of your life:  The CEO → wants to pursue big goalsThe Partner → desires companionship  The Soloist → cares about personal growth and development The Caregiver → deep desire to take care of others and show up for themThe Goddess → wants to be desired and pursue pleasure  The Lazy One → loves to couch rot, no goals whatsoever The Socialite → values connection The Creative → desires creation and creativity The Doctor → your inner health &amp; wellness character The Explorer → craves novelty And it helped me. I was able to let go of the idea of balance and give permission for hierarchy, boundaries and the transition sequences necessary to embody these diverse characters. So I put it all in a book and it was an instant best seller!! I'm so excited for you to create space for all parts of you and to see ambition as multi-dimensional. Follow me here for advice as I build a multi-hyphenate life as a CMO, Author, Mom of 3 and getting married again. 

Amanda Goetz

I took a month from posting to really sit with myself and think about what I wanted for 2026. Here’s why….

I spent a lot of the last year in survival mode. 
After a divorce with 3 small kids I was always proving. Pushing. Needing to provide for my family. 

But now I’m on stable ground and yet my nervous system hasn’t caught up. I still feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

That I need to prove I’m worthy. 
That I need to prove I’m smart. 
That I need to prove why I’m here. 

So this year my word is ENOUGH. 

And I’m going to spend the year learning what enough looks like. 

To be enough. 
To earn enough. 
To do enough. 

I love my new CMO role. 
I have a new exciting writing project this year. 
I’m hosting season 2 of the Girlboss podcast. 
And my weekly newsletter is a constant creative outlet. 

That’s enough. 

More isn’t always better. 

So if you are also planning to drive the speed limit in 2026 - follow along here as I’ll be sharing what I’m doing and learning along th way.

USA TODAY Bestselling Author of Toxic Grit | 2x Founder (acquired) 5x CMO | Mom x3 | Keynote Speaker | Subscribe ➡️ 🧩 Life’s a Game Newsletter

No alternative text description for this image

I’ve been struggling with 2 things lately:

1) it’s clear that when I spend less time on social media, my mind is clearer and I can write from a place of curiosity and purpose. 

But then when I contribute to social media I feel like I’m feeding the beast that is stealing our curiousity and clarity. 

2) The loss of social from the media. 

The closer I got to big creators, the more I found out about the “teams” behind their posts and replies. I can also clearly tell when someone is using AI to reply to posts. 

So what are we actually doing here? 

The point is to connect and inspire. To evoke thoughts and inject nuance into conversations. To drive awareness to things that people may not see from their seat in this world. 

Anyway….if I’ve been a little MIA on here it’s because of these thoughts. 

I deeply crave meaningful conversations and I am trying to find the right medium to having them.

Another great episode of Ambition 2.0 with @girlboss and Malissa Clark 

Check it out anywhere you get your podcasts!

🗣️ Repeat after us: You can love your job and still be a workaholic.

In this episode of Ambition 2.0, Amanda Goetz sits down with Malissa Clark, a professor at the University of Georgia, Director of the Healthy Work Lab, and author of Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture Is Bad for Business—and How to Fix It, to break down what workaholism can look like in real life (spoiler: it’s not just about working long hours). 

They get into the sneaky “working light” tasks that we tell ourselves don’t count as work (like sending emails while watching TV or checking Slack between errands), how leaders accidentally create always-on teams, and so much more. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/eKd9rtCv 

💻 Or watch the episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eRqNjSN6

Continuing on my journey of “enough” - it’s important you plan your work around your life. Not the other way around. 

I approach my yearly planning the same way I approach building a marketing calendar as a CMO. 

I slice the calendar in 4 ways:

- Annual tentpoles & events
- Quarterly launches
- Monthly beats
- Weekly non-negotiables

Reminder: Use this link to get your 🧩 Life's a Game Planning calendar. ⬇️⬇️

Open article: 🧩 Life's a Game: Your 2026 Game Plan by amandagoetz.kit.com

Today’s newsletter has already gotten more replies than I normally get. I think this topic resonates…

Check it out and let me know. ⬇️

https://lnkd.in/eHCRCS4b

graphical user interface, text, application, chat or text message

Loved this convo with Alexa von Tobel - check it out and let me know what you think!

In this episode of Ambition 2.0, host Amanda Goetz sits down with Alexa von Tobel—the founder of LearnVest (where she raised $75M and successfully sold it to Northwestern Mutual) and current founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital—to unpack the resilient mindset that has shaped her successful career, from founder to venture-capital veteran.

Alexa dropped out of Harvard Business School and poured her life savings into LearnVest, a multimillion-dollar business idea—despite warnings from nearly everyone around her that she was making a big mistake. She did it in the middle of the 2008 economic recession, no less.

🎧 Watch or listen to the full episode, now live on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts! 

https://lnkd.in/eq-wEGjd

Open video: From Harvard Dropout to VC Powerhouse: How to Bet on Yourself with Alexa von Tobel | Ambition 2.0 on youtu.be

From Harvard Dropout to VC Powerhouse: How to Bet on Yourself with Alexa von Tobel | Ambition 2.0

You’re smart. Capable. Driven.
And yet, when it comes to managing your money as a solopreneur, it feels… messier than it should.

Maybe you’re juggling big questions with no clear answers, like many solopreneurs:

“How much runway do I need to start a business?”
“Should I stay a Sole Proprietor or form an LLC?”
“How do I manage irregular income?”
“How do taxes work now that I’m self-employed?”
“How do I save for retirement with variable income?”

Underneath the logistics is a heavier feeling—
the pressure to not mess this up.
the fear of putting your family, your future, or yourself at risk.
the loneliness of being “the responsible one” while building something new.

Most financial advice wasn’t built for women stepping into solopreneurship—especially not women managing irregular income, emotional labor, and the invisible weight of needing to get it right.

That’s where I come in.

I help women solopreneurs move from financial anxiety and second-guessing to clarity, confidence, and grounded decision-making—so money becomes a stabilizing force, not a constant source of stress.

And it's not just what to do with your money. It's also how to think about it differently.

Inside the community, we (re)build your financial ecosystem together—from runway planning and business structure decisions to managing variable income, taxes, benefits, and paying yourself with confidence. All in one place. With context. With support. And with real-time guidance.

This isn’t generic advice or another “figure it out yourself” course. It’s financial mentorship designed to help you feel steady as you grow, so you can build a business without sacrificing your sense of safety.

The community is currently in a private beta, intentionally small and deeply personal.

If you’re already in the leap onto entrepreneurship—or standing right at the edge—and want financial clarity that feels human, supportive, and grounding, message me to learn more.

Or follow me for honest conversations about money, solopreneurship, mindset shifts, and the real financial decisions behind building a business on your own terms.

Ceres Chua

Happy New Year, LinkedIn 🎉

First day back after taking the last two weeks mostly off. What did I miss?

I didn’t disappear entirely, but LinkedIn definitely moved to the back seat while I prioritized time with people I love… and a lot of self-care (including finishing a couple of books, which felt luxurious).

I’ll be honest—watching my impression count drop at first was… uncomfortable (to say the least).

But even after two weeks of not posting, I was still getting about 15% of my usual impressions.

Not bad, and a quiet reminder that good content has a longer shelf life than we think.

It also didn’t hurt that a few people mentioned me in their shoutouts—thank you. You know who you are ❤️ 

Here’s what did happen during those two weeks:
- Gained 28 followers (and crossed 2,500 🎉)
- Met up with a couple of LinkedIn connections IRL
- Set up a future lunch meetup with a new connection

Which brings me to how I’m starting 2026 here, with a different mindset:

Quality over quantity.
Relationships over everything.
Less pressure to perform. More intention to connect.

But if I’m completely honest, I’m also curious what this post will spark after an almost 2.5-week pause.

If you’ve stepped away during the holiday too, I'm curious what you see on your end. Please share 👇

DIY financial planning community for women solos | financial planner & coach | money psychologist

“The East is odd. The West is even odder.”

No, that’s not a commentary or a riddle. It’s a pilots’ mnemonic.

Apparently, under visual and instrument flight rules (so basically all passenger flights), aircraft don’t just pick a cruising altitude. They follow a pattern.

Flying east?
You cruise at odd flight levels.
33,000 feet. 35,000 feet. And so on.

Flying west?
You take the even ones.
32,000 feet. 34,000 feet.

🤯 🤯 

I’ve flown hundreds—maybe thousands—of times.
Sat through countless captain announcements about our cruising altitude.
Nodded along like, yes yes, very reassuring, thank you madam/sir.

And somehow... I never noticed the pattern.

Now I am really curious: Did you know this?
Or am I the only one who completely missed this all my years of flying?

What getting a zit taught me about business (no, really!)

During the holiday break, I celebrated a milestone birthday. When it came time to blow out the candles, I wished for my 30-year-old body back. You know… more energy, better stamina, maybe a knee that doesn’t predict the weather.

Well, the universe delivered.

Two days later, I woke up with a zit on my face. 😅

Because I conveniently forgot that my 30s also came with the worst adult acne of my life.

So technically… wish granted. Just not in the way I intended.

And it reminded me how often this is exactly what happens in business.

We say we want growth.
We say we want visibility.
We say we want "more clients," "more success," "more opportunities."

The problem isn’t asking for more. It’s asking for more without defining what "better" looks like.

So this year, I’m getting clearer. More intentional. More focused. Here’s what that means for me:

1. I’m going to say the same thing 100 different ways (so the right people actually remember what I do).

Because repetition is what makes us memorable.
Because clarity beats cleverness.
And because Katelyn Bourgoin 🧠 reminds us that people need to hear our message again (and again… and again) before it sticks.

2. I’m going to say it in my own voice with conviction (so the right people know exactly whether I’m for them).

Because the internet is noisy.
Because there are a million "right" ways to do things.
And because Sandra Macele proves every day that standing for something—boldly, unapologetically—is what cuts through.

So yes… my zit showed up uninvited.
But the lesson was right on time.

Here’s to being clearer, braver, and far more specific about what we wish for—and building businesses that deliver exactly that.

Last year, I wrote a newsletter series about the four money scripts—the quiet beliefs that shape how we spend, save, and stress about money.

And judging by your replies… it struck a nerve.

So I decided to bring it back.

This time, I explored how those scripts quietly shape the way solopreneurs run their businesses. Again and again, I kept seeing the same four money scripts show up in solopreneur businesses:

- If you fundamentally believe money will solve most of your problems, you likely started by investing heavily in courses, programs, and coaching. And yet, the anxiety never quite goes away, so you keep investing—hoping that it will finally fix the anxiety.

- If you already equate your self-worth with your net worth, you may have poured time and money into branding and websites before validating your offer—ending up with a beautiful online presence and cash leaking behind the scenes.

- If you believe money is "bad," or tell yourself "I don’t care about money, I just want to help," you are probably quietly burning yourself out while calling it integrity.

- And if you’re anything like me, hiding behind "safety first," you’re the champion of DIY, convincing yourself it’s the responsible choice. You resist help—even when you have a healthy start-up fund—until progress quietly stalls.

None of these make you bad at business.
They make you human.

There’s no quick fix here—but awareness is the first step. And that’s exactly what this new series is designed to build.

Because once you can see your money script, you can spot the pitfalls before you spend your most precious resources—time, energy, and money—on things that don’t actually move the needle for your business.

If this felt uncomfortably familiar and you want explore further, check out the first of the series here: https://lnkd.in/gpdUZgny

More to come—this is just the beginning.

Late last year, I spent a lot of time thinking a lot about the tension between writing and building.

How much time should go to LinkedIn posts?
To the newsletter?
To actually building the business?

It can feel like an either/or decision. But the more I sit with it, the more I realize that it’s not.

For me, writing isn’t a distraction from building. It’s part of the build.

Writing is how I test what I think I know. It’s what led to multiple newsletter series last year—and why I’ll keep writing them this year.

Because the moment I try to explain something clearly, one of two things happens:
– Either the idea sharpens
– Or I realize… oh, I don’t actually understand this as well as I thought

And that realization is gold. It tells me exactly where I need to slow down, research more, think more deeply.

Writing exposes the gaps.
Learning fills them.
And that learning shows up later as better frameworks, clearer offers, stronger products.

So I'm more convinced now than ever that when I’m writing, I’m not just "creating content."

I’m refining my thinking.
I’m pressure-testing my ideas.
I’m building intellectual infrastructure for the business.

The time spent writing isn’t separate from building. It actually feeds it.

Once I saw writing this way, the content vs. building debate disappeared.

I'm curious, how does writing show up in your building process?

taplio

The Battle

Amanda Goetz

Ceres Chua

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreAmanda Goetz's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCeres Chua's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Amanda Goetz

Ceres Chua

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Amanda Goetz's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCeres Chua's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreAmanda Goetz's LinkedIn Performance