Quick question: What are you waiting for?

That move you haven't made. That conversation you haven't had. That boundary you haven't set.

You know exactly what I'm talking about.

In this episode, I'm naming the pattern I see constantly in smart, capable, talented people: The Permission Trap.

It sounds like "I'll go for it when I've proven myself more." Or "I'll negotiate once I've been here longer." Or "I'll set that boundary when things calm down."

It sounds strategic. It sounds responsible.

But it's not timing. It's avoidance disguised as readiness.

If you've been waiting for someone to tap you on the shoulder and say "now you can start" — this episode is your tap.

Because that permission slip you're waiting for? It's never coming. And the only person who can sign it is you.

In This Episode:

• Why "I'll start when..." is sophisticated avoidance (not smart timing)

• The real cost of the Permission Trap (it's not what you think)

• The 3 lies keeping you at the starting line

• The one question that changes everything

• How to move like someone who already has permission

Memorable Moments:

"You're not waiting because you're not ready. You're waiting because you've outsourced your permission slip."

The Permission Trap doesn't just delay your career or your business. It dismantles your self-belief."

"Ready isn't a feeling. It's a decision."

"You don't need permission to be powerful.

Resources:

Book a Free Clarity Call

Breakthrough Blueprint Quiz: https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint

Connect with Anik:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/

Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/

Next Episode: The Self-Imposed Breakdown... or Breakthrough? — If your body is starting to rebel, you're not going to want to miss this one.

She Slowed Down and Scaled Up

Julia Chien did everything right.

She launched her online nutrition practice during COVID. Clients poured in. Revenue grew. She was riding the high — traveling, thriving, loving what she did.

And then 2024 hit. And everything she'd built stopped working.

In this episode, Julia gets radically honest about what happens when first-generation success reaches its expiration date — and why the beliefs that built her first six figures were the same ones breaking her down.

If you've ever wondered why what used to work isn't working anymore... this conversation will hit different.

In This Episode:

• Why rapid early success can set you up for a harder crash
• The moment Julia realized her "hustle" was actually her body screaming for help
• How to know when you need to push harder vs. when you need to rest
• What "slow down to speed up" actually looks like in practice
• The mindset shift that changed everything: "Fuck it. People connect to humans."
• Why your definition of success might not actually be yours

Memorable Moments:

"You have to slow down in order to speed up in business." — Julia Chien

"What is meant for you will never pass you." — Julia Chien

"The beliefs that built her first six figures — work hard, push through, sacrifice rest — those same beliefs were now breaking her down." — Anik Malenfant

Resources:

🔗 Book a Free Clarity Call with Anik:

📋 Your Breakthrough Blueprint Quiz: https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint

Connect with Julia:

Website: www.juliachien.ca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliachien.rd/

The Eczema Warrior Podcast: https://www.juliachien.ca/podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliachien.rd/

Connect with Anik:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/

Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/

Next Episode:

Coming up next week — The Permission Trap: Why "I'll Start When..." Is Killing Your Business. If you've been waiting for someone to tell you you're ready, you're enough, it's time... this one's going to hit a nerve.

You're stuck.

Maybe you know exactly what you need to do—and you're not doing it. Or maybe you ARE doing everything. And it's still not working.

Different flavor. Same feeling.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the two completely different patterns that create the exact same "stuck" feeling—and why they require opposite medicine. Because taking the wrong action (or inaction) can keep you trapped for months.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• The two patterns that create the same "stuck" feeling (and why they need opposite medicine)
• Why results sometimes lag behind effort—and when that's actually okay
• Three body-based questions to discern which pattern you're in
• The specific action to take if you're in the Paralysis Pattern
• The specific (non)action to take if you're in the Lag Pattern

Memorable Moments:

• "Readiness is not a feeling. It's a decision. The fear doesn't go away. You just learn to move with it."
• "The same action that looks like failure today looks like genius three months from now."
• “Seeds don't need more seeds. They need time, nurturing, and consistency.”

Connect with Anik:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/

Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/

A few years ago, I found a journal from 2017. The goals I'd written? I was still writing them. Different year. Same list.

That moment changed everything — because I finally realized this isn't a discipline problem. It's a foundation problem.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the three questions you need to ask BEFORE "what's my plan?" — and why skipping them is the reason your goals keep dying.

In this episode:

• Why the same goals keep showing up year after year (and it's not what you think)
• The difference between relief goals and resonance goals — and why one drains you while the other fuels you
• The three questions that have to come before strategy
• A client story that might sound uncomfortably familiar
• What's actually possible when you build on a solid foundation

Memorable Moments:

"Relief goals run FROM pain. Resonance goals run TOWARD purpose."

"Her soul hadn't been blocking execution because she was undisciplined. It was protecting her from building something she didn't actually want."

Resources mentioned:

• Breakthrough Blueprint Quiz: https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint
• You & Your Soul-Led Business Program: https://ascensionacademy.life/product/you-your-soul-led-business-development-program/

Connect with Anik:

• Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Next Episode: When Everything's in Place But Nothing's Moving (January 12)

For six years, Mattanja Lennings tried to fit into a box that was never hers.

She shaved off parts of herself. Followed every rule. Did everything "right" — Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, classical opera training.

And she lost her joy. Her spark. Her reason for singing in the first place.

Until her spirit whispered: "Go paint."

She went to the dollar store. Bought some supplies. And started creating again — this time, with zero rules.

Now she sells paintings for five figures. Not because of strategy. Because she followed her intuition instead of the industry.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How six years of "doing everything right" led to complete emptiness

• The moment her spirit whispered something that changed her path

• Why not knowing the rules became her biggest business advantage

• The Hathor story: when a painting told her to charge €3,333 (and she'd never sold above €200)

• How to expand your nervous system to hold what your intuition already knows

• The question to ask yourself: What's YOUR opera?

About Mattanja Lennings:

Mattanja Lennings is an artist, former opera singer, and mentor from the Netherlands. After six years of classical training left her empty, she followed her spirit to painting — and built a business selling work for five figures without ever learning the "rules" of the art world.

Connect with Mattanja:

• Website: https://www.mycosmicdreams.com

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattanjalennings/

Connect with Anik:

• Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Resources:

• Your Breakthrough Blueprint (Free Quiz): https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint

• You & Your Soul-Led Business Program: https://ascensionacademy.life/product/you-your-soul-led-business-development-program/

Memorable Moments:

• "For six years, I made myself smaller and smaller to try to fit in the box. In the end, I did not fit and I had completely lost myself." — Mattanja Lennings
• "Every year you stay in a box that isn't yours, it gets harder to remember who you were before you started performing." — Anik Malenfant
• "The goals aren't the problem. The foundation is." — Anik Malenfant

If this resonates: Leave a review and tell us — what rules are YOU following that you never actually agreed to?

The Pattern to Leave Behind in 2026

I snapped at my husband over something small. And what came out of my mouth showed me a pattern I'd been running for years.

"I know we joke that you guys can all just access my brain — the family cloud — but I'm exhausted. I'm out of bandwidth."

He didn't see me juggling four calendars. The meal plans. The bedtime routines. The constant "Mom, where's my..." Managing my team while holding the vision for my business. I was the cloud for my family AND my business.

Before you set a single goal for 2026, you need to see what patterns you're dragging with you.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• The moment I realized I'd made myself "the family cloud" — and what it cost me

• Pattern #1: Hyper-Independence — why "if you want it done right, do it yourself" is keeping you stuck

• Pattern #2: Conditional Permission — the "once/then" trap that sounds like wisdom but keeps moving the goalpost

• Pattern #3: Time Scarcity — why it's not ambition, it's self-abandonment

• The questions that help you work with patterns (without adding them to your to-do list)

• My challenge for you before the new year

Featured Moment:

"I gave myself maybe sixty seconds of satisfaction before my brain kicked in: 'Okay but what's next? You're behind on this other thing.' Sixty seconds. That's all I allowed myself. And I remember thinking: If I can't celebrate this — if I can't let this land — what's any of it for?"

Connect with Anik:

• Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Resources:

• Your Breakthrough Blueprint (Free Quiz): https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint

• You & Your Soul-Led Business Program: https://ascensionacademy.life/product/you-your-soul-led-business-development-program/

Memorable Moments:

• "I know we joke that you guys can all just access my brain — the family cloud — but I'm exhausted. I'm out of bandwidth."

• "He didn't know it, but he'd just thrown a match into a pool of gasoline."

• "Hyper-Independence is dangerous because it works."

• "That 'once/then' language? That's the tell."

• "It's not ambition. It's self-abandonment."

• "You cannot change what you refuse to look at."

• "2026 will give you exactly what you allow."

If this resonates: Leave a review and tell us — which pattern hit you in the chest? We read every one.

For 12 years, Laura Johnson's business lost money. Every spreadsheet, every logical analysis said the same thing: quit. But her gut said something different. So she made a radical choice—she left her corporate job, put her health and happiness FIRST, and watched everything change. 210% growth later, she's proof that your intuition knows something your spreadsheet doesn't.

In this episode, you'll discover:

1. Why Laura kept going when 12 years of data said stop
2. The post-it note philosophy that changed everything: "Health and happiness first. Income second."
3. How leaving corporate wasn't about escaping—it was about going all in
4. The pivot that transformed her business: targeting frustration instead of demographics
5. What an 11-year-old girl taught her about why this work matters

Featured Moment: Laura shares the moment she realized she couldn't keep living two lives—the corporate employee and the entrepreneur with a dream. "I couldn't give up without really fully putting my whole heart into it. And that doesn't mean 80 hours a day. Because I quit my job for balance and sanity."

About Laura Johnson: Laura Johnson is the founder of Bust'DD, a mobile bra fitting service helping women finally feel confident in their bodies. After 12 years of building her business on the side while working corporate, she took the leap in 2024—and hasn't looked back.

Connect with Laura:

1. Website: www.bustdd.com
2. Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/bustdd/

Connect with Anik:

1. Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/
2. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant
3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/
4. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Resources:

1. Your Breakthrough Blueprint (Free Quiz): https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint
2. You & Your Soul-Led Business Program: https://ascensionacademy.life/product/you-your-soul-led-business-development-program/

Memorable Moments:

1. "You trusted yourself—and that trust became the strategy." — Anik
2. "Number one: health and happiness. Number two: income, business, money." — Laura
3. "Your intuition is not mystical guesswork. It is your highest form of intelligence." — Anik
4. "I've grown 210% from last year to this year." — Laura

If this resonates: Leave a review and tell us: When did YOUR gut know something your spreadsheet didn't?

Top highlights

00:28 – Meet Laura Johnson, Founder of Bust'DD
01:39 – Laura’s Turning Point: Frustration to Purpose
02:26 – The Birth of a Business Idea
03:17 – Pivots, Intuition, and Breaking Patterns
04:55 – Overcoming Fear and Trusting Yourself
06:00 – The Leap: Leaving Corporate for Entrepreneurship
09:14 – Health, Happiness, and Redefining Success
11:34 – The Power of Intuition in Business Decisions
12:22 – Rapid Fire Round: Daily Practices & Advice
17:13 – Impact, Transformation, and Leading with Purpose
19:32 – Closing Thoughts & How to Connect with Laura
21:41 – Outro & Final Message

I was sitting at the dinner table with my family—food gone cold on my plate—because I'd spent the entire meal answering "urgent" messages. I told myself I was making an impact. And I was... in everyone else's life. But in my own? I was living in a deficit.

In this episode, I share the pattern I finally had to name: I was both the arson AND the firefighter in my own life. The fires weren't the problem. The pattern starting them was.

I also share a recent client conversation where I almost lost a client—on purpose—because I saw something she couldn't see. And what I discovered underneath her overwhelm will sound painfully familiar.

If you've ever wondered why things never seem to calm down no matter how hard you work... this episode is for you.

In This Episode:

• Why I spent years with cold dinners and counting down to bedtime

• The pattern that keeps high-achievers exhausted (arson + firefighter)

• The inherited belief that creates "indispensable" syndrome

• The boundary I set with a client that changed everything

• 3 questions to ask yourself next time a "fire" shows up

• The shift from "sacrifice for success" to "prosperity AND presence"

"I was both the arson AND the firefighter in my own life."

"Productivity, is the most socially acceptable form of self-sabotage there is."

"You made yourself indispensable. And now you're trapped inside the very thing you built."

"My daughter's not going to remember how many clients I helped. She's going to remember if I was there."

Your Breakthrough Blueprint (Free Quiz): https://subscribepage.io/breakthroughblueprint

The You & Your Soul-Led Business Program: https://ascensionacademy.life/product/you-your-soul-led-business-development-program/

Connect With Anik

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anik.malenfant

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anikmalenfant

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikmalenfant/

Website: https://masteringascension.com/coaching/

Timestamps:

• 00:54 — The cost of overcommitting: Missing family time and feeling exhausted.
• 01:34 — Emotional deficit: Realizing the impact on personal and family life.
• 02:38 — Self-judgment: Questioning motherhood, entrepreneurship, and boundaries.
• 03:34 — When did your family last get the best of you? Reflecting on priorities.
• 04:42 — The pattern of saying yes: How small favors become big commitments.
• 05:15 — Productivity as self-sabotage: A client story about overwhelm and boundaries.
• 06:37 — Inherited patterns: Service as love, sacrifice as worth.
• 07:51 — Why exhaustion persists: Always another fire to put out.
• 08:28 — Setting boundaries: No more crisis calls after hours.
• 09:09 — Empowering clients: Stepping back to let others grow.
• 10:35 — The shift: Building a business that supports life, not the other way around.
• 11:29 — Three questions to ask when a fire shows up in your life.
• 12:44 — Patterns vs. time management: How to truly change.
• 13:52 — Breakthrough Blueprint: A tool to identify your invisible ceiling.
• 14:36 — The discomfort of change: Proof that the pattern is breaking