320: Sustainable Ambition with Kathy Oneto

How ambitious are you? More importantly, how ambitious do you want to be in different areas of life and work? Today’s guest, Kathy Oneto, takes the long view on goals, especially for those of us who are naturally inclined to overwork until we burn out. Instead, we can be more intentional by toggling the dials of right ambition, right effort, and right time up and down as we move through different seasons.
In this conversation, Kathy and I discuss managing ambition anxiety, how to know if you’re bumping up against what Gay Hendricks calls an “Upper Limit Problem” versus your “truest fit reduced ambition,” mapping energy vs. urgency, and how to know when ambitions or life seasons have truly shifted versus handling a short-term setback.
More About Kathy: Kathy Oneto is a strategy executive and life-work coach who is passionate about helping people succeed on their terms at work and in life. She is the host of the Sustainable Ambition podcast. Kathy champions being consciously ambitious and crafting fulfilling work from decade to decade without sacrificing your life or yourself. She is the author of the Sustainable Ambition 12-Month Workbook and Planner: Your Life plus Work Resilience Prescription and My Little Book of Curiosity: 26 Inquiries to Inspire What’s Next for Your Life and Work.

🌟 3 Key Takeaways



For any area creating stress, ask "Is this an ambition I still want?" If so, how much effort do I want to put into it? What you wanted at once time might not match where you are now. As a result, you may need to dial the effort you are putting towards that area up or down.


Sometimes ambition can clash with what you're capable of, and that can contribute to not feeling like it’s worth the effort. Add structure to support your ambition and current capabilities.


Four areas to consider if it’s becoming harder to move along a certain path: Your vision for your life and your work, your core values, what you want to give and contribute in the world and your community, and what you love.


✅ Try This Next: Dial-in your ambition. For any given goal, task, project, or area of your life, decide: How good do I want to be? Good, very good, the best? How much effort do I want to put into this? Be discerning as you recalibrate your ambition and the level of effort required to match.

🔗 Resources Mentioned


Kathy on the web, IG: @sustainableambition, LinkedIn, YouTube


Kathy’s podcast: Sustainable Ambition


Article: Reclaim Ambition on Your Terms


Jenny’s private BFF Community for Heart-Based Business owners


📚 Books Mentioned

Kathy’s book: Sustainable Ambition 12-Month Workbook and Planner: Your Life plus Work Resilience Prescription, My Little Book of Curiosity: 26 Inquiries to Inspire What’s Next for Your Life and Work



Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation by Ayelet Fishbach


Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business

Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One


🎧 Related Episodes


Sustainable Ambition: 93 on Dialing in Your Ambitions with Kathy Oneto, 48. On Yes! to Free Time & High Net Freedom with Jenny Blake, 60. On The Success Factor: A Blueprint for High Performance with Ruth Gotian



Pivot: Pivot x Career Pathfinder Playlist, 281: Feeling Impostery? Become a Qualified Curator Instead of an End-All-Be-All Expert



Free Time: 181: Be Irreplaceable with My Creative Coach Jay Acunzo, 035: The Long Game with Dorie Clark, 143: Exploring Time, Money, and Energy Capacity with Tara McMullin and Charlie Gilkey (Replay), 141: Process, Permission Slips, and Business Pivots with Tara McMullin



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