Redefining Success
FEBRUARY 26TH, 2025
EPISODE 81: Redefining Success with Laura Gassner Otting
Do you ever feel like you’re chasing success, but once you get “there,” the finish line moves again?
If you’re nodding along, then this episode is for you.
This week, we’re getting deep, real, and hilarious with bestselling author and keynote speaker Laura Gassner Otting (LGO)—a woman who has done it all, from working in the White House to writing books that change lives. But here’s the twist: even she has struggled with self-worth, impostor syndrome, and figuring out what success actually means.
What if success isn’t about more money, more titles, or even more standing ovations?
What if success is about feeling aligned with your values and choices—no matter what anyone else thinks?
That’s the conversation we’re diving into today. It’s a mix of wisdom, humor, and real talk (plus a detour into drag queens, rage rooms, and why Malala might just be the best at avoiding awkward small talk).
Topics We’re Breaking Down
Success: Who Defines It? – Laura turns the traditional definition of success on its head. Spoiler alert: It’s not about a corner office, a million-dollar paycheck, or someone else’s approval.
Why We Suck at Receiving Compliments – Laura’s personal struggle with praise, her therapist’s game-changing advice, and how you can actually accept a compliment without feeling weird.
The Different Versions of Ourselves – Ever feel like you have a work-self, a home-self, and a totally different karaoke-self? Laura shares how she balances “LGO the speaker” with just being Laura, the introvert who loves bad reality TV.
Success Does Not Equal Happiness – If money and power automatically made people happy, billionaires wouldn’t get divorced and celebrities wouldn’t have meltdowns. We get real about why external success is often a trap.
The Everest Analogy – What climbing a mountain taught Laura about life, ambition, and why getting to the top isn’t actually the goal.
Show Notes
Episode Links:
Discount Codes:
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Special Guests
LAURA GASSNER OTTING
As a Career Expert, Executive Recruiter, Bestselling Author of Wonderhell and Limitless and Serial Entrepreneur, Laura Gassner Otting brings over 25 years' experience navigating career challenges and opportunities, helping professionals define success on their terms. Her TEDx talk, which inspired Wonderhell, has garnered over 2 million views, and her insights have been featured on Good Morning America, Oprah Daily, Tamron Hall, and Forbes.
Her 30-year resume is defined by her entrepreneurial edge; she served as a Presidential Appointee in Bill Clinton’s White House, helping shape AmeriCorps; left a leadership role at respected national search firm to expand a tech start-up; and founded, ran, and sold her own global search firm, partnering with the full gamut of mission-driven corporate and nonprofit executives.
Laura is turned on by the audacity of The Big Idea and that larger-than-life goal you just can’t seem to shake. She’s an instigator, motivator, and provocateur, and she’s never met a revolution she didn’t like. She lives with her husband, two almost-grown sons, and two troublesome pups outside of Boston, MA.
Your Host
DR. SCOTT LYONS
Dr. Scott Lyons is a licensed holistic psychologist, educator and author of the book Addicted to Drama: Healing Dependency on Crisis and Chaos in Yourself and Others, with Hachette publishing. Scott is also the host of The Gently Used Human Podcast, a delightfully depthful and often hilarious exploration of what it is to be human, to have lived life, and come out gently used.
As a renowned body-based trauma expert, Doctor of Osteopathy (Spain) and Mind-Body Medicine specialist, Scott helps people to break free from cycles of pain, limited beliefs, and trauma. Scott is an innovator in transformative wellness and trauma therapy, teaching over half a million people internationally over the past twenty years how to relieve stress and restore vitality. Scott has worked with many of the country’s top leaders and CEOs as an executive coach and wellness consultant.
Scott is the creator of The Embody Lab—the largest online learning platform for body-based trauma therapies—and developer of Somatic Stress Release™, a holistic process of restoring biological resilience, taught in over 20 countries. Scott is also the founder and progressive designer of Omala, a wellness brand dedicated to creating sustainably sourced tools for transformation.
About the Podcast
THE GENTLY USED HUMAN
Dr. Scott Lyons and his world renowned guests take us into the delightfully depthful and often hilarious exploration of what it is to be human, to have lived life, and come out gently used. From passion to pain, glory to defeat, comedy to drama to tragedy, we’ve all been through it. This show unpacks the psychology and humor needed to keep you thriving on the roller coaster of being human.
