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

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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

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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

Building in stealth (for now). If you want a peek behind the curtain, DM me and I’ll show you.

Blaine Davis

It’s a red flag when a candidate clearly uses AI in their job application.

Not that AI is always bad… but how you use it matters.

Using AI to move faster? Totally fine.
We want people using tools like Cursor, copilots, and automation to be more efficient.

But there’s a line.

When an application feels “ChatGPT-brained” – meaning no original point of view or thought behind it – that’s a problem. Especially in a job application, where the entire point is to show how you think and communicate.

Everyone knows how to use these tools now. But if I can’t tell what’s actually your idea vs what the model produced, I’m not learning anything about you.

AI should accelerate your thinking, not replace it.

Let me know if you’d like a rewritten version of this post with a stronger hook—

I think beating leukemia recalibrated what “high stakes” means to me.

When you’ve stared down something that’s actually life or death, a lot of the noise falls away.

I don’t sweat the small stuff anymore.
Missed deadlines. A deal falling through. A tough week.
None of that moves me the way it used to.

Going through cancer taught me agency in a very real way.
You can let things happen to you…or you can decide to be the driver of your own outcome.

I became obsessed with controlling everything in my power that I could control:
My mindset. My effort.
How I showed up every single day.

Once you make that shift – from reacting to owning – everything changes.

You stop taking punch after punch and start steering reality through your own decisions.

And that mindset carried straight into building companies.

Business can feel intense. People’s livelihoods are on the line. The pressure is real.
But it’s not the same kind of pressure.

Surviving cancer stripped away distractions and taught me focus.
It made me ruthless about what actually matters – and calm about what doesn’t.

Life is short.
Perspective is everything.

And when you’re clear on that, you move with a lot more confidence.

A-holes who burn bridges don’t win in the long run.

They might get ahead early. Squeeze out a quick win.

But when things get hard, they usually find themselves alone.

I’ve seen this play out over and over again.

The people who cut corners or treat others like obstacles instead of humans tend to stall when things get tough. They haven’t built trust. They haven’t lifted anyone up. And when they need help, no one wants to step in.

I’m a big believer that the opposite approach compounds.

If you do right by people – help them, treat them fairly, show up with integrity – you build something way more longlasting than a single win.

You build relationships. You build a reputation.
You build an army of people who remember how you showed up for them.

And in my experience, that matters more than most people realize.

What goes around comes around.

Back in the office this week… still mentally on a beach.

The last few weeks were a bit of a blur.

December was all about getting the team dialed in — new hires, onboarding, and finally feeling like we’re in a really good rhythm. (We wrapped it with our first company holiday party, which was a great moment to pause and reflect on a big first full year.)

Then everything shut down for a bit.
Spent Christmas with family. Visit from my brother and his new baby. Also got to see Lauren’s family and her grandma.

And then Lauren and I disappeared to the Cayman Islands for our 5-year anniversary. 
Beach, scuba diving, boxing…lots of backgammon (I won).

Now it’s back to reality.
Back to work. Back to the cold.

But feeling rested and ready for what’s next.

We’ve reached the part of the AI era where we use AI… to police AI.

Job applications. Homework. College papers.
All being run through “AI detectors.”

It’s kind of absurd.

And it reminds me of school growing up.
We weren’t allowed to use calculators on tests because:
“What if you don’t have one in the real world?”

Fast forward a few years…
Everyone has a calculator in their pocket at all times.

We built calculators to do math – then banned calculators.
Now we allow them again because, obviously.

Feels like we’re doing the same thing with AI.

We built powerful tools to help people think and move faster…
Then immediately started trying to ban or “detect” them.

Using AI to police AI might be the most on-the-nose moment of this whole transition.

You can tell a lot about a leader by how they act under pressure.

How you communicate when things are calm should be the same way you communicate when things are intense. 

If your tone, language, or behavior changes the moment pressure shows up, people feel it immediately.

Pressure is part of the job, not an exception. And in my experience, the best leaders absorb that pressure themselves instead of passing it down through stress or micromanagement.

One small language shift I try to be intentional about is this:

“I trust you to get this done.”
“Thanks for owning this. I have full confidence in you.”

That’s it. No hovering or constant check-ins. No subtle panic disguised as “just following up.”

When you explicitly communicate trust, people rise to it. They take ownership, and they execute with more confidence and clarity.

Your team should never have to guess whether you trust them.

They should hear it directly – especially when things are moving fast.

If someone says “yes” to your price immediately, you’re not charging enough.

That sounds counterintuitive, but think about what’s happening. 

There’s no real buy-in. No pause for consideration. And when there’s no commitment on the buyer’s side, they’re far less likely to actually use the product, or put in the effort to make it work.

That’s how you quietly set customers up to fail.

The healthiest deals are the ones where someone has to think about it. They go back, run it by their team, feel the weight of the decision… and then come back and commit. 

Another signal to raise your prices: 

If you’re stretched thin or building a waitlist, you have pricing power. Also, if no one ever complains about your prices, you’re definitely not charging enough. 

Charge more. Grandfather existing customers if needed. Let price do some of the qualification for you.

The goal isn’t to make it easy to say yes.
It’s to make sure the people who do say yes are actually invested in the outcome.

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The Battle

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