In this re-release of Drink More Water, I sit down with Megan Conner, a running coach and author of "I Am Not a Runner," to talk about what it really means to try something new when you don’t see yourself as “that kind of person.”

In honor of Lunar New Year and the Year of the Fire Horse, this conversation feels more relevant than ever. Fire Horse energy is bold, independent, and a little fearless — and Megan’s journey embodies exactly that.

She didn’t grow up identifying as a runner. She started with curiosity, discomfort, and a willingness to redefine herself, and she teaches us all that we can do the same!

We talk about:
• Setting goals that scare you
• Becoming someone you never imagined you could be
• Why identity shifts are the hardest — and most powerful — kind of growth
• The difference between motivation and commitment
• Coaching yourself through the messy middle

Whether your “running” is fitness, business, creativity, or simply chasing something that feels out of reach, this episode is about claiming the audacity to try.

If the Year of the Fire Horse is about movement, momentum, and courage — consider this your sign.

Listen. Reflect. And maybe start the thing you keep saying you’re “not.”

🎧 Subscribe for weekly conversations about ambition, mindset, and building a life that feels aligned.

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And don't forget...DRINK MORE WATER!

This one feels like sunshine.

Anna Watson Carl grew up around a bright yellow kitchen table where everyone was welcome — neighbors, friends, family, stories, and second helpings. Years later, that same table became a cookbook, a cross-country Kickstarter tour, and eventually The Yellow Table Cafe in East Nashville.

But this isn’t just a conversation about crepes and lattes.

It’s about chasing a 20-year dream.
It’s about hauling props up six flights of stairs because you believe in something.
It’s about opening a brick-and-mortar business when you don’t have all the answers.
It’s about building community in a world that desperately needs it.

Anna’s life advice? Do it scared.

And this episode is proof that the magic doesn’t happen when you feel ready — it happens when you start.

If you’ve been waiting for a sign to go after the thing… this might be it.

Maybe it’s time we all pull up a chair at Anna’s yellow table. 💛

Visit The Yellow Table Cafe in Nashville: www.theyellowtablecafe.com
Follow Anna: ⁨@theyellowtable⁩

Don't forget to hit subscribe...and Drink More Water!

Support the show

Don't forget: new episodes drop every Tuesday! Like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you never miss a minute!

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

And don't forget...DRINK MORE WATER!

Why are so many women anxious about money? And more importantly, how do we change that?

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Lauren Reed Williams, co-founder of Wealth of a Woman, to talk about why the #1 word women use to describe money is anxious — and how we can shift that narrative starting now.

For too long, money has been taboo. We weren’t taught how to talk about it, negotiate it, invest it, or define it for ourselves. Lauren, her co-founder Teresa J.W. Bailey, and the team at Wealth of a Woman are changing that by helping women build confidence, clarity, and power in their financial lives.

We discuss:
* Why women feel anxious about money
* How to define wealth on your own terms
* The emotional side of financial literacy
* How to start talking about money without shame
* The free 6-part course designed to help women build confidence with money

Wealth looks different for every woman. It’s not just numbers — it’s alignment, security, freedom, and choice.

If you’ve ever felt intimidated by investing, overwhelmed by financial conversations, or unsure how to build wealth in a way that reflects your values, this episode is for you.

It’s time to stop whispering about money.
Let’s get powerful instead.

🔗 Learn more about Wealth of a Woman and access their free 6-part course: https://thewealthofawoman.com/

Connect with Lauren on Instagram @laurenreedwilliams
Connect with Teresa on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresajwbailey/

Support the show

Don't forget: new episodes drop every Tuesday! Like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you never miss a minute!

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

And don't forget...DRINK MORE WATER!

Burnout is everywhere right now.

The world feels heavy. Work is demanding. Our nervous systems are tired. And somehow, we’re still expected to “practice mindfulness” like we have unlimited time, energy, and silence.

In this episode of Drink More Water, Amanda sits down with meditation, mindfulness, and movement leader Rosa Castaño for some much-needed soft advice for stressful times — and a more realistic approach to self-care: being semi-mindful.

Not perfect.
Not zen 24/7.
Just present enough to notice what your body is telling you — before stress turns into full-blown burnout.

Rosa shares how to:

• Recognize your personal stress style
• Spot early burnout signals in your body and behavior
• Create simple mindfulness habits that actually fit into real life
• Practice self-care without adding more pressure to your to-do list
• Build emotional resilience at work and at home
• Fear less, enjoy more, and stop waiting for life to be perfect

We also talk about her powerful life advice — “have the audacity” — and why so many of us aren’t actually afraid of failure… we’re afraid of what success might change.

As a certified meditation, mindfulness, and movement leader with a background in the corporate world, Rosa works with individuals and companies to implement practical stress-management strategies and workshops that support emotional well-being in the workplace.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, disconnected, or stuck in survival mode, this conversation will meet you exactly where you are.

You don’t have to fix everything.
You don’t have to meditate for an hour.
You don’t have to be perfect.

You just have to start noticing.

Connect with Rosa on Instagram: @wellbeingwithrosa or via her website: www.rosacastano.com

Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @askamandaadams

Support the show

Don't forget: new episodes drop every Tuesday! Like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you never miss a minute!

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

And don't forget...DRINK MORE WATER!

Megan Barry knows what it means to have your life split into before and after.

In 2015, she became the first woman elected Mayor of Nashville — a milestone moment and the realization of a lifelong dream. A few years later, she resigned after an affair with a colleague became public, a scandal that played out on a national stage.

But that wasn’t her worst day.

Not even close.

Megan also endured the unimaginable: losing her son to a drug overdose. Grief, public judgment, shame, and heartbreak collided — and she was left to figure out how to rebuild a life from the wreckage.

In this raw and deeply human conversation, Amanda and Megan talk about:

• What it’s like to fall very publicly
• Surviving profound grief
• Letting go of the “girl boss” myth
• The impossible expectations placed on women to be everything to everyone
• And how to begin again when you don’t recognize your own life

Megan also shares the story behind her powerful memoir, It’s What You Do Next, and the hard-won wisdom that came from living it.

This episode is honest, unfiltered, heartbreaking, hopeful — and ultimately empowering.

Because if Megan Barry can rebuild after losing everything that once defined her, it’s proof that no single chapter gets to decide your ending.

Follow Megan on Instagram: @mayormeganbarry

Support the show

Don't forget: new episodes drop every Tuesday! Like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you never miss a minute!

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

And don't forget...DRINK MORE WATER!

Anastasia Brown is one of the most influential women in the Nashville music industry. She discovered Keith Urban and worked with legends like Peter Frampton, Leon Russell, and Sting. She later became a pioneer in Hollywood, serving as a music supervisor on Emmy-winning film and television projects, including Steven Spielberg’s miniseries Taken and the iconic, music-driven film August Rush.

But this episode goes far beyond her career.

In a heartbreaking period of her life, Anastasia lost her son, her sister, and her father in rapid succession. The trauma and grief that followed didn’t just affect her emotionally — it changed how her brain functioned, impacting her memory, mood, and ability to think clearly.

In this conversation, Anastasia opens up about:

• Child loss and surviving the death of her only son
• Complicated grief, PTSD, and mental health after trauma
• Discovering Keith Urban and building a career in Nashville
• Her transition from the music industry to Hollywood music supervision
• Working on Steven Spielberg projects and August Rush
• Why therapy and medication weren’t enough
• How a brain scan finally revealed what was wrong
• Targeted TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) therapy and brain-based healing

She is also joined live from California by her doctor, Dr. Jabour, who explains how advanced MRI brain imaging and neuro-navigated TMS therapy work, what happens to the brain during extreme grief and trauma, and how the brain can be retrained to support healing from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and complicated grief.

This is a powerful story of resilience, science-backed mental health treatment, and rebuilding a life after unimaginable loss.

If you or someone you love is struggling with grief, trauma, depression, or PTSD, this episode offers honesty, hope, and a path forward.

Follow Anastasia Brown on Instagram: @anastasiabrown

Learn more about Dr. Jabour and his ground-breaking therapy: https://www.smartbrainandhealth.com/contents/about-us/our-doctors

Connect with Amanda on Instagram: @askamandaadams

Support the show

Don't forget: new episodes drop every Tuesday! Like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you never miss a minute!

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

And don't forget...DRINK MORE WATER!

Lauren Ruth Martin thought she would be a radio deejay...not a therapist. But either way, she was clearly sent here to help us all manage burnout, perfectionism, and eldest-daughter energy. And those planners we all buy every year? It's time to stop because they're stressing us out! But don't worry -- Lauren has us covered with the BEST planner on the planet!

Lauren comes in with so much real-life advice on this episode! Whether you're tired of being called flaky, trying to figure out how to quit a job, or you want to stop worrying about what other people think, this episode is for you!

Real advice. Real tools. From a real therapist. And when it changes your life, you can tell your IRL therapist that you heard it on a podcast (Lauren says they really love that).

Start 2026 with new energy. It's time to look around and find the right doors for you!

Follow Lauren on Instagram: @laurenruthmartin

Follow Amanda on Instagram; @askamandaadams

Support the show

Don't forget: new episodes drop every Tuesday! Like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you never miss a minute!

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

And don't forget...DRINK MORE WATER!

It takes more than luck to make it in the music business. It’s an industry that will knock you down far more than it will lift you up. But Barrett Baber isn’t one to stay down for long.

From surviving a plane crash, to having the courage to leave a job he hated — and then leaving a job he loved to bet on himself on The Voice — Barrett has built a career by doing one thing, over and over again: showing up.

Now a certified platinum songwriter, including co-writing “Nothing On You” for Cody Johnson, Barrett shares how he’s taken every curveball life has thrown his way, figured out how to keep moving forward, and trusted the process even when the outcome was anything but guaranteed.

What We Talk About in This Episode

• Life before The Voice — teaching, faith, responsibility, and early setbacks
• Why Barrett understood The Voice as an opportunity, not a shortcut
• Leaving stability (twice) and betting on himself
• What really happens after the spotlight fades
• The Nashville grind: writing rooms, rejection, and patience
• Using AI as a tool without losing the human heart behind the music
• Writing “Nothing On You” and reaching platinum success
• The mindset that’s carried him through it all: Keep showing up!

Follow Barrett on Instagram: @BarrettBaber

Follow Amanda & the show: @AskAmandaAdams and @DrinkMoreWaterPod

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Thanks for listening. If you loved this episode, make sure to like this episode, follow the show, share it with a friend, and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.