Plenty with Kate Northrup

Hosted by Kate Northrup, Author, Entrepreneur, and Speaker

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Nov 2026

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What if you could get more of what you want in life? But not through pushing, forcing, or pressure. You can. When it comes to money, time, and energy, no one’s gonna turn away more. And Kate Northrup, Bestselling Author of Money: A Love Story and Do Less and host of Plenty, is here to help you expand your capacity to receive all of the best. As a Money Empowerment OG who’s been at it for nearly 2 decades, Kate’s the abundance-oriented best friend you may not even know you’ve always needed. Pull up a chair every week with top thought leaders, luminaries, and adventurers to learn how to have more abundance with ease.

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November 10, 202616 min

184. Why Holding More Money Is Keeping You From Receiving More

What if trying to hold on to more money is actually keeping you from experiencing more abundance? In this episode, Kate challenges a common idea in the wealth and personal development world: that we need to increase our capacity to “hold” more money. For women and highly capable people who are already carrying so much, Kate offers a different perspective. Maybe the answer isn't learning to hold more at all. Maybe it's learning how to receive, enjoy, and consciously direct the money that's already flowing through our lives. Kate shares a funny moment from her time living in New York City, when she found herself inside a store called Hold Everything, juggling so many items that she couldn't actually hold anything. It's a simple story with a powerful lesson about money. She explains the difference between gripping tightly to what we have and approaching money with an open hand, introducing the concept of financial stewardship rather than ownership or control. She also gets practical about what it means to give your money a job. From savings and investments to everyday expenses and long-term goals, Kate explains why having an intentional system for where your money goes can help you feel rich now while building wealth for later. She shares three questions to ask when money comes in, helping you make financial decisions with greater clarity, confidence, and alignment with your values. Ultimately, this episode is about changing your relationship with money from one of grasping and fear to one of trust, intention, and flow. Because building wealth isn't just about how much money you can accumulate. It's about becoming someone who can receive it, steward it wisely, and allow it to support the life you actually want to live. “Money was not meant to be held. Money is meant to move. Money is meant to flow.” - Kate Northrup 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 Money Is Meant to Move 00:52 Why Holding More Isn't the Answer 02:00 The Hold Everything Story 03:59 Stewardship vs. Holding Money 04:20 The Open Hand Exercise 05:17 Giving Your Money a Job 06:59 How Money Works for You 09:26 Creating an Intentional Money System 11:34 Three Questions to Ask About Money 12:45 Building a Healthier Money Relationship Links and Resources Kate's Instagram Relaxed Wealth The Wealth Mirror What if building wealth wasn't about holding on to more money, but learning how to receive and steward it? ✨ So many of us have been taught that the goal is to get better at holding money. But what if that's not actually what creates lasting wealth? Money is meant to move. And when you learn to consciously direct where it goes, you can begin building wealth that supports the life you actually want to live. 🤍 That's why I created Relaxed Wealth — my new community designed to help you become a more intentional, aligned, and confident steward of your money. Because the goal isn't just to accumulate more. It's to create a healthier relationship with money, give every dollar a purpose, and experience more freedom, security, and abundance along the way. 💌 Ready to build wealth in a more relaxed, intentional way? Explore Relaxed Wealth here: 👉 https://katenorthrup.com/wealth

November 3, 202658 min

183. How Your Father Wound Affects Your Money and Relationships with Terri Cole

What if your drive to succeed, your need to do everything yourself, or your discomfort with receiving support isn't just part of your personality—but a pattern you learned in childhood? In this episode, Kate sits down with her dear friend, therapist, and bestselling author Terri Cole to explore the invisible ways father wounds shape our relationships with money, success, love, and ourselves. Drawing from nearly three decades of therapeutic experience and insights gathered from 650 women, Terri explains why a father wound is often a worthiness wound—and how it can show up in high-achieving women who appear to have everything together on the outside. Kate and Terri unpack the connection between father wounds, hyper-independence, people-pleasing, control, and financial behavior. They explore why some women struggle to ask for help, why earning more than your father can feel uncomfortable, and how childhood experiences can influence your relationship with financial structure, boundaries, and receiving abundance. Terri also shares a powerful distinction between ambition driven by genuine desire and ambition fueled by the need to prove your worth. The conversation gets deeply personal as Kate shares how healing her own father wound has transformed her relationship with her dad and her ability to connect with men. Terri opens up about her relationship with her emotionally unavailable father, the unexpected healing that came from inviting him to her graduation, and how doing this work helped her recognize the man who would become her husband. Together, they explore why healing doesn't require your father's participation, permission, or even presence. Ultimately, this episode is about moving beyond the patterns that once helped you survive and discovering what becomes possible when you no longer have to earn your worth. Because healing your father wound isn't about blaming your father—it's about reclaiming your ability to ask for what you want, receive support, create healthier relationships, and experience success from a place of freedom rather than fear. “My healing was in the asking and being okay because the asking isn't about manipulating the other person.” - Terri Cole 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 Introducing Terri Cole and Father Wounds 03:16 What Is a Father Wound? 06:16 Mother Wounds and Co-Wounding 12:02 What 650 Women Revealed 14:55 Control and Hyper-Independence 17:54 Kate's Struggle to Ask for Help 19:59 Why Asking Can Be Healing 25:56 Healing Kate's Relationship With Her Dad 32:31 Is Your Ambition Driven by Fear? 34:19 How Father Wounds Affect Money Links and Resources Kate's Instagram The Wealth Mirror Father Wound Book Connect with Terri Cole Website Instagram More money doesn't automatically mean more financial peace. ✨ You can be earning more, saving more, and watching your assets grow… and still feel like something isn't quite clicking. Because what you earn and what you keep are two different things. And the numbers alone don't tell the whole story. That's why I created The Wealth Mirror — a FREE diagnostic tool that helps you uncover what's really happening beneath your financial numbers through three powerful diagnostics. 🪞 So you can identify the patterns that may be keeping you from experiencing the security, freedom, and abundance you've been working toward. 💌 Ready to see what's really going on with your money? Get your FREE Wealth Mirror here: 👉 https://katenorthrup.com/mirror

October 27, 202618 min

182. Your Bank Account Has Grown, But Your Body Hasn't Caught Up

What happens when your bank account grows, your financial goals are within reach, and you're making more money than ever—but you still don't feel safe, secure, or abundant? In this episode, Kate explores why your body doesn't always catch up to your financial success. You might have more savings, higher income, or even reached your financial independence number, yet still find yourself checking your accounts constantly, avoiding certain expenses, or feeling anxious about money. Kate explains why these patterns aren't necessarily about how much you have, but about what your body has learned to associate with financial safety. Kate shares a deeply personal moment from 2021, when Mike was seriously ill and she was carrying immense financial and emotional pressure. During a therapy session, she was asked to imagine Mike coming home with $10 million and telling her she no longer needed to work. Instead of feeling relieved, she felt completely empty. That unexpected reaction revealed how deeply her sense of aliveness had become tied to stress, achievement, and financial pressure. Through the metaphor of two garden beds—one depleted and one rich with nutrients—Kate explains why adding more money to your life doesn't automatically create a greater sense of abundance. She introduces the idea of your nervous system as the soil in which financial growth takes root, and shares a simple 60-second practice to help you become more present with the abundance that's already here, without trying to change or fix how you feel. “Your nervous system is the soil. Money or opportunities or any kind of abundance are the seeds.” - Kate Northrup 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 Why More Money Isn't Enough 00:46 When Your Body Hasn't Caught Up 02:17 Signs of Financial Hypervigilance 03:21 Hidden Spending and Money Shame 05:29 Kate's Personal Money Story 05:59 The $10 Million Therapy Exercise 07:54 Your Money Nervous System Thermostat 09:21 The Garden Bed Metaphor 12:14 Understanding Abundance Blindness 13:37 The 60-Second Money Practice Links and Resources Kate's Instagram The Wealth Mirror More money doesn't automatically mean more financial peace. ✨ You can be earning more, saving more, and watching your assets grow… and still feel like something isn't quite clicking. Because what you earn and what you keep are two different things. And the numbers alone don't tell the whole story. That's why I created The Wealth Mirror — a FREE diagnostic tool that helps you uncover what's really happening beneath your financial numbers through three powerful diagnostics. 🪞 So you can identify the patterns that may be keeping you from experiencing the security, freedom, and abundance you've been working toward. 💌 Ready to see what's really going on with your money? Get your FREE Wealth Mirror here: 👉 https://katenorthrup.com/mirror

October 20, 202654 min

181. When Success Becomes a Trap and You Don't Know What's Next with Christine Thompson

What if the chaos in your life isn't something you need to fix, but something that's opening the door to possibilities you can't see yet? In this episode, Kate sits down with her dear friend and executive advisor Christine Thompson, author of Alchemy of Chaos: A Radical Guide for Harnessing the Power of the Unknown. Christine shares the unexpected story of how her book came to her at the beginning of the pandemic, why it took years to finally bring it into the world, and how the very wisdom she had written for others became the guide she needed when her own life began to unravel. They explore what happens when the life you've carefully built no longer feels like the life you're meant to live. Christine opens up about navigating divorce, uncertainty, and the humbling experience of learning to trust the unknown. Kate shares her own questions about success, visibility, and feeling trapped by a business model that has brought her so much abundance, yet may no longer fit the life she's being called toward. Together, they unpack why success can become just as limiting as failure, why our constant search for answers can keep us from discovering what's possible, and what it means to stop trying to control every outcome. Christine offers a different way of approaching uncertainty—not as something to escape, but as a creative space where something entirely new can emerge. What unfolds is more than a conversation about navigating change. It's a deeply personal reminder that life isn't something we need to figure out before we can fully experience it. Sometimes the most transformative thing we can do is stop rushing toward the ending, embrace the unknown, and allow ourselves to experience everything happening in between. “The end of understanding exactly what's about to happen is the beginning of wonder.” - Christine Thompson 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 The Beginning of Wonder 05:36 Dreams Coming True 07:15 How Alchemy of Chaos Began 15:46 When the Book Took Longer 16:44 What Chaos Really Is 20:10 Learning to Trust the Unknown 29:36 When Christine Needed Her Own Book 39:34 Kate's Questions About Success 42:42 When Success Becomes a Trap 47:20 Don't Skip the Middle Links and Resources Kate’s Instagram Big Money Decision Matrix Connect with Christine Thompson Instagram Alchemy of Chaos ✨ What If You Trusted Yourself With Money Decisions? The free Big Money Decision Matrix is the exact framework Kate uses for major financial decisions — from investments to business moves to buying property. Because second-guessing is expensive. And hesitation compounds fast. Inside, you’ll explore: 🔹 How to regulate your body before making money decisions 🔹 The difference between desire and proving something 🔹 How to get clear on the real numbers 🔹 Whether your wealth systems can actually sustain the win This is body first, bank account second. And it’s designed to help you become the kind of person who can say: “I don’t make bad decisions.” Not from arrogance. From self-trust. 👉 Download The Big Money Decision Matrix and use it on a decision you’ve been circling. ✨

October 13, 202626 min

180. Why Being the First in Your Family to Make More Money Can Feel Like Betrayal [Inheritance Part 4]

What happens when you become the first person in your family to achieve something no one before you ever had—and instead of feeling excited, you feel scared, guilty, or like you’re doing something wrong? In the final part of the Inheritance series, Kate explores why going beyond what previous generations experienced can feel surprisingly uncomfortable, even when it’s something you’ve worked hard for. Whether you’re the first in your family to start a business, go to college, own a home, or become a millionaire, stepping into unfamiliar territory can bring up feelings of fear, guilt, and even a sense of betraying the people who came before you. Kate unpacks the connection between inherited trauma, family money patterns, and the nervous system, including how experiences of scarcity and financial struggle can influence our relationship with money across generations. She shares a personal moment from her wedding when she realized she was creating a kind of relationship she hadn’t seen modeled in her immediate family, and explains why the body can interpret unfamiliar success as a threat rather than something to celebrate. She also introduces a simple practice she calls the “safety sandwich”—regulating your nervous system before taking an expansive step and again afterward. Through small, manageable actions, you can gradually build the capacity to receive more, pursue opportunities, and navigate the discomfort of growing beyond what’s familiar without shrinking yourself to keep others comfortable. Ultimately, this episode is a reminder that you don’t have to limit your future to what was possible for your ancestors. You can honor where you came from while creating something entirely new—not just for yourself, but for the generations that come after you. “We are changing the pattern. We are just one element in the whole lineage.” - Kate Northrup 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 Breaking Generational Money Patterns 03:00 When Success Feels Uncomfortable 04:22 Going Beyond Your Family's Experience 06:28 Inherited Trauma & Money 11:23 Kate's Wedding Realization 14:04 Why Success Can Feel Unsafe 16:35 Your Money Nervous System 18:12 Expanding Beyond Your Lineage 21:20 The Safety Sandwich Practice 22:07 Growing Without Shrinking Yourself Links and Resources Kate's Instagram Be The Queen The Inheritance Series ❤️ Ready to Stop Settling and Attract the Love You Really Want? Whether you’re calling in your person or wanting to deepen the relationship you’re already in, lasting love starts with what’s happening within you. In Love Magnet , a free 3-day workshop with relationship expert Christine Hassler , you’ll uncover the patterns that may be keeping you from the love you desire and learn how to shift into a more receptive, magnetic way of relating. You’ll explore how to stop doubting and settling, move beyond the blocks that keep repeating in your relationships, and step into your “queen energy” so you can receive the kind of love and partnership you truly want. Because attracting epic love isn’t about trying harder to find the right person. It’s about becoming available for the love you’re ready to experience. 👉 Join Love Magnet for free at katenorthrup.com/magnet More receiving. Less settling. A whole lot more love. ❤️

October 6, 202654 min

179. Ryan Levesque Walked Away From a $70,000,000 Deal and Moved Into a Tent

What happens when you build the successful life you thought you wanted—and realize you want to escape from it? In this episode, Kate sits down with entrepreneur and Return to Real author Ryan Levesque, who spent a decade building a hyper-growth company that generated more than $100 million in revenue. When a $70 million acquisition fell apart just days before signing, Ryan found himself confronting a question bigger than the deal itself: What was all of this actually for? That question eventually led him somewhere unexpected—a tent on a farm in Vermont. Ryan shares how learning to grow food and work with his hands awakened a part of himself he’d lost, why his family sold their home and moved across the country without knowing exactly where they would land, and how they ultimately built a life centered around nature, food, family, and what feels real. Kate and Ryan also explore the hidden cost of scale. Ryan opens up about realizing that for seven years, virtually everything published under his name had actually been written by other people—and how returning to writing his own words brought more opportunities in six months than he’d experienced in the previous six years. They unpack authenticity, cortisol as a “molecule of misalignment,” and why some of the most valuable things in life simply cannot be scaled. This conversation is an invitation to question the endless pursuit of more. In a world increasingly filled with AI, automation, and artificial everything, Ryan makes the case that what’s real—your voice, your relationships, your body, your attention, and the ordinary moments of your actual life—may be more valuable than ever. “It's like you get to that level of real and it becomes almost like this craving where you want real in your life.” - Ryan Levesque 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 Escaping the Life He Built 03:42 Investing at 10 Years Old 13:00 Preparing Kids for an AI Future 22:50 The $70 Million Deal 24:59 Moving Into a Tent 29:25 Returning to Real Food 35:20 The Prison He Built 37:07 Reclaiming His Own Voice 40:14 The Best Things Don’t Scale 46:13 A Business Built for Real Life Links and Resources Kate’s Instagram AI Employee Bootcamp Connect with Ryan Levesque Website Instagram Return To Real ✨ What If You Could Build an AI Team That Actually Gives You Your Time Back? AI isn’t just about getting more done faster. Used well, it can create more space for the work that actually needs you. In the AI Employee Boot Camp, you’ll join AI expert Callan Faulkner for 3 live sessions, where she’ll take you behind the scenes of the 150+ AI employees she’s built and show you how they’re being used across real businesses. Through live demos, you’ll see how AI can support everything from financial dashboards to launch management and everyday workflows, so you can start identifying what could be automated, streamlined, or taken off your plate. The goal isn’t to become less human. It’s to spend less time doing work a machine can do — and more time using the creativity, strategy, and gifts only you can bring. 👉 Join the AI Employee Boot Camp for at katenorthrup.com/automate Less busywork. More leverage. More room to do what you’re actually here to do. ✨

September 29, 202631 min

178. What 90 Seconds of Fully Feeling It Actually Does to Your Bank Account [Inheritance Part 3]

What if some of your money problems aren’t really about money at all—but about emotions you haven’t allowed yourself to feel? In Part 3 of the Inheritance series, Kate explores the connection between your emotional life and your financial life. She challenges the idea that money decisions should be purely logical and explains how emotional suppression can show up as financial avoidance, overspending, under-earning, over-giving, or the persistent feeling that there’s never enough—even as your income grows. Kate shares what happened during one of the most stressful seasons of her life, when Mike was sick, their expenses had dramatically increased, and her lifelong response to pressure was to become even more capable, productive, and focused on earning. With the help of her therapist, she began experimenting with something radically different: instead of turning uncomfortable emotions into productivity, she learned to actually feel them. She explains why emotions begin in the body, how numbing behaviors can directly affect our money, and why feeling an emotion for as little as 90 seconds can allow stuck energy to shift. She also explores titration—the practice of gradually building your capacity to feel safely—especially when emotional expression wasn’t welcomed in childhood. Ultimately, this episode is an invitation to examine your emotional inheritance and the ways it may still be influencing your financial behavior. Because when you stop using money, productivity, or achievement to avoid what you feel, you can free up more of your energy for aliveness, prosperity, and personal power. “Your emotions are not a problem. Your emotions are information.” - Kate Northrup 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 Your Emotional Inheritance 02:16 Money & Your Emotions 04:21 When Kate Hit a Wall 06:53 Productivity as Emotional Avoidance 09:30 What Feelings Have to Do With Money 10:54 Emotions Begin in the Body 15:08 The Cost of Suppressing Emotions 18:13 Numbing Behaviors & Money 21:11 Building Capacity to Feel 22:14 What 90 Seconds Can Do Links and Resources Kate’s Instagram Inheritance Series 90 Day Roadmap ✨ What If You Knew Exactly What to Focus on With Your Money Next? You don’t need another list of financial rules that may or may not apply to you. You need to know what your next move is. The 90-Day Relaxed Money Road Map helps you figure that out. You’ll answer questions about your numbers, emotions, money story, goals, and how you actually handle money — and receive a customized roadmap for what to focus on over the next 90 days. Because changing your financial life isn’t just about spreadsheets or making more money. It’s about understanding the whole picture and knowing where your attention will make the biggest difference right now. 👉 Get your personalized 90-Day Relaxed Money Road Map at katenorthrup.com/roadmappod Less guessing. More clarity. Your next 90 days, mapped out. ✨

September 22, 20261 hr 4 min

177. "You Probably Have Parasites": The Money Reframe Nobody Wants to Hear with Sinclair Kennally

What if the symptoms you’ve been trying to get rid of are actually your body trying to protect and heal you? In this episode, Kate sits down with detox and root-cause health expert Sinclair Kennally for a deeply personal conversation about chronic illness, mold, parasites, and what it really means to become the CEO of your own health. Sinclair shares her own journey from slowly losing her ability to function to becoming bedridden, believing she was going to die, and ultimately rebuilding her health from the ground up. Their stories are also uniquely intertwined. Kate shares how Sinclair and her husband Michael became instrumental in helping Mike recover during his severe health crisis in 2021. Together, they unpack why seemingly healthy people can suddenly become extremely sick, the relationship between the nervous system and immune system, and Sinclair’s belief that symptoms aren’t simply problems to silence—they can be part of the body’s healing response. They also get practical about two topics that are often misunderstood: mold and parasites. Sinclair explains why exposure can affect far more than digestion or allergies, some of the symptoms she associates with parasites, and why she believes jumping straight into “killing” protocols without first supporting the body’s drainage, energy, and detox pathways can make people feel worse. Finally, Kate and Sinclair bring the conversation back to money, exploring the surprising parallels between physical parasites and financial codependency. They examine what can happen when generosity becomes a way to earn love, why healing can change our relationships, and what becomes possible when we stop giving our life force to people, patterns, and circumstances that only take. “The nervous system and the immune system are so deeply intertwined, it is a false construct to describe them as separate.” - Sinclair Kennally 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 Your Body Is on Your Side 04:11 Sinclair’s Health Collapse 13:44 How Sinclair Helped Mike 20:24 The Nervous System & Immunity 25:55 The Hidden Mold Problem 34:05 Becoming Your Own Health Detective 43:03 The Truth About Parasites 51:41 Where to Start With Parasites 56:35 Health, Money & Codependency 1:01:17 Reclaiming Your Life Force Links and Resources: Kate's Instagram Love Magnet Connect with Sinclair Kennally: Website Instagram ❤️ Ready to Stop Settling and Attract the Love You Really Want? Whether you’re calling in your person or wanting to deepen the relationship you’re already in, lasting love starts with what’s happening within you. In Love Magnet, a free 3-day workshop with relationship expert Christine Hassler, you’ll uncover the patterns that may be keeping you from the love you desire and learn how to shift into a more receptive, magnetic way of relating. You’ll explore how to stop doubting and settling, move beyond the blocks that keep repeating in your relationships, and step into your “queen energy” so you can receive the kind of love and partnership you truly want. Because attracting epic love isn’t about trying harder to find the right person. It’s about becoming available for the love you’re ready to experience. 👉 Join Love Magnet for free at katenorthrup.com/magnet More receiving. Less settling. A whole lot more love. ❤️

September 15, 20261 hr 0 min

176. She Built 150 AI Employees and Never Fired a Human — Then Made $19,500,000 with Callan Faulkner

What if AI didn’t replace humans—but gave us more time and capacity to actually be human? In this episode, Kate sits down with AI expert Callan Faulkner, who has trained more than 13,000 business owners to become AI architects. Callan shares the extraordinary story behind a launch she expected to generate $4 million that ultimately crossed $19.5 million—and the financial and nervous system work she did in the months leading up to that expansion. They unpack Callan’s money story, from growing up with an underlying feeling that there was never enough to learning how to make increasing amounts of money without necessarily knowing how to manage it. She shares how preparing for greater wealth before it arrived helped her body feel safe receiving it, and why having the systems, team, and financial plan in place mattered just as much as setting a bigger goal. Then they dive into AI: what it could mean for the future of work, the environmental concerns surrounding it, whether it’s making us less intelligent, and how businesses can use it without losing the human element. Callan explains how she’s built more than 150 “AI employees” while never firing a human because of AI—instead using the technology to move her team away from repetitive work and into more strategic, creative roles. Ultimately, this conversation is about far more than technology. It’s about using AI as leverage to create more time, possibility, abundance, creativity, and space for the parts of life that only humans can experience. “I have not fired one person because of AI. I have only elevated their role.” - Callan Faulkner 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 The Opportunity of AI 02:27 Callan’s Money Story 05:02 Making Money but Avoiding It 08:16 Expanding Her Capacity 10:11 The $19.5M Launch 13:13 Preparing for More Money 18:00 Success, Friendship & Belonging 25:00 The Environmental Cost of AI 31:39 What AI Makes Possible 34:00 AI Without Firing Humans 38:03 Can AI Increase Creativity? 38:47 Six Years of Work in Two Hours 43:00 AI, Privacy & Financial Data 49:00 Does AI Make Us Dumber? 53:00 Building 150 AI Employees 55:54 The AI Employee Boot Camp 56:19 The Future Callan Is Building Links and Resources: Kate's Instagram AI Employee Bootcamp Connect with Callan Faulkner: Website Instagram ✨ What If You Could Build an AI Team That Actually Gives You Your Time Back? AI isn’t just about getting more done faster. Used well, it can create more space for the work that actually needs you. In the AI Employee Boot Camp, you’ll join AI expert Callan Faulkner for 3 live sessions, where she’ll take you behind the scenes of the 150+ AI employees she’s built and show you how they’re being used across real businesses. Through live demos, you’ll see how AI can support everything from financial dashboards to launch management and everyday workflows, so you can start identifying what could be automated, streamlined, or taken off your plate. The goal isn’t to become less human. It’s to spend less time doing work a machine can do — and more time using the creativity, strategy, and gifts only you can bring. 👉 Join the AI Employee Boot Camp at katenorthrup.com/automate Less busywork. More leverage. More room to do what you’re actually here to do. ✨

September 8, 202651 min

175. How to Keep Going When Your Dream Hasn't Happened Yet: Debut Novelist Andrew Forrester on Creativity, Faith & Fortitude

What keeps you going when the dream you’ve been working toward still hasn’t happened? In this episode, Kate sits down with debut novelist Andrew Forrester, author of How the Story Goes, to talk about the ten-year journey that took him from his first finished manuscript to finally becoming a published author. Along the way, Andrew wrote multiple manuscripts, spent years trying to land an agent, had several books that never sold, raised four kids, and worked a full-time job—all while continuing to write. Andrew shares why he never fully gave up, how writing became something he genuinely craved rather than something he had to suffer through, and why community, accountability, and giving himself permission to try something different ultimately mattered. He also gets practical about his creative process, including his thousand-word goal, writing late at night, and using the Pomodoro method to get himself started. Kate and Andrew also explore creativity, faith, and the mystery of where ideas come from. Andrew opens up about growing up Southern Baptist, how his relationship with God has evolved, and how learning to live with questions instead of needing every answer has shaped both his life and his writing. At its heart, this is a conversation about creative resilience, permission, and continuing to show up for the thing you can't stop thinking about—even when it takes much longer than you imagined. “It's accountability. It's encouragement. It makes you feel like you're allowed to take yourself seriously when someone else is doing it.” - Andrew Forrester 🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤 00:00 Ten Years to Get Published 02:16 Ten Manuscripts Later 04:23 Why He Never Gave Up 07:05 Knowing This Was the One 10:07 Becoming a Better Writer 12:38 The Power of Writing Community 26:26 Creativity After Group Therapy 29:18 Finding Time to Write 31:32 Where Ideas Come From 38:06 His Pomodoro Writing Method 40:54 Faith, Doubt & God 47:07 Giving Himself Permission 49:06 How the Story Goes Links and Resources: Kate's Instagram Blue Light Blocking Glasses Opting Out of Urgency Connect with Andrew Forrester: Website Instagram Andrew Forrester’s book — How the Story Goes ✨ What If Everything Didn’t Feel So Urgent? You know that feeling when everything feels important, everything needs to happen now, and slowing down somehow feels impossible? That’s not just a mindset problem. Urgency has a biology. In Opting Out of Urgency , a free workshop led by nervous system healing expert Sarah Tacey , you’ll learn why your system gets stuck in urgency — and simple, body-based ways to return to greater spaciousness, clarity, and choice. You’ll discover how to recognize the difference between pressure that drains you and pressure you consciously choose, move beyond all-or-nothing thinking, and access options you simply can’t see when your nervous system is stuck in urgency. Because slowing down doesn’t mean you stop getting things done. It means you’re no longer letting urgency run the show. 👉 Join Opting Out of Urgency for free at katenorthrup.com/urgency Less urgency. More choice. More space to actually live. ✨