CONNECT with Sheila Botelho Podcast

How I Quietly Outgrew My Calendar — And Created Space for My Next Level | EP 501

• Sheila Botelho

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🔗 Mentioned on this Episode: Show Notes 👈


I share a personal story of expansion that may surprise you. If you’ve ever sensed that the way you’ve been building your business no longer aligns with who you’re becoming — you’re not alone. Many high-performing leaders are quietly realizing that their next level isn’t about more. It’s about better alignment, intentional space, and embodied leadership.


I’ll take you behind the scenes of the exact moment I began shifting my business strategy to prioritize well-being without sacrificing growth. You’ll hear how an unexpected insight (sparked by a well-timed book) led me to start saying fewer “automatic yeses” — and ultimately, positioned me for greater impact with less hustle. I also share a key gold-nugget mindset shift that my most successful clients lean on today to stay ahead in crowded markets.


If you’re ready to evolve how you lead, create more white space, and build a business that fuels both your revenue and your vitality — this episode will inspire your next moves. Tune in for grounded insights, real-world application, and a refreshing perspective on scaling sustainably in your current season.


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Sheila:

Most people stay in situations that no longer fit because they're afraid of letting people down. But here's what I've learned Even when you stay the same, the world will keep changing around you. The question is, will you evolve with it or resist it? You don't have to become someone else. You get to become a deeper, more fully expressed version of you, and when you create space for that, the right opportunities, the right opportunities, the right connections they will meet you there.

Sheila:

Hi, welcome to the Connect with Sheila Botello podcast. I'm committed to help you reconnect to your purpose, elevate your wellbeing and build your version of a happy, successful life. On today's solo chat, I want to share a story from my own journey, and one that in many ways, set the stage for the work that I do today. It's a story about expansion, but not the kind of expansion we typically hear about, where you push harder, you do more, you achieve bigger. This was really about an expansion that began in a much quieter place, a space of listening, a space where I was noticing what was going on around me, how I was operating, and also a space of allowing, and it started more than a decade ago. At the time, I had a thriving wellness business with my husband and I really loved it. I loved seeing the people have light bulb moments about their wellness, seeing them take care of their bodies, seeing the results from them doing that, seeing their energy improve and the choices in their life opening up because they had a new lease on life. But beneath that, a subtle whisper had begun, a nudge that wouldn't leave me alone, and it was telling me there's more for you here. There's a bigger conversation you're meant to be in. There are people beyond your immediate circles who need to hear this message.

Sheila:

And, of course, I'd just come through a really tumultuous time with the loss of my sister and also raising my kids through that experience, and so there were a lot of emotions to navigate and my thought was okay, is this really something that I need to be following, or is this just this short season that I'm in of processing everything that I've just been through? And yet, as I've experienced so many times in my life and maybe you can relate that intuitive whisper started getting louder. The only problem was I was so deeply immersed in my life. As it was, I was home educating my kids, I was volunteering with some different organizations and saying yes to almost every request that came my way, filling my calendar to the brim, and I had created a rhythm of life that looked really good on the outside, but I was starting to feel kind of heavy on the inside, because I'm one of those people that needs to have spaciousness, not only for the ideas to land, but really for sorting through and organizing them but really for sorting through and organizing them. And so it was in this season that I picked up a book that changed everything for me. The book was called Thrive by Arianna Huffington, and the moment that I opened that book, it was as if someone had put language to the very thing I had been sensing.

Sheila:

Now. She was talking about her own version of heading companies, and she had had a really big crisis situation with her own wellbeing in her work physically, and that's what woke her up. And really, what this book spoke about was a deeper definition of success, one that didn't just include the financial trappings or the numbers on a spreadsheet that were successful, but one that included wellbeing, wisdom, wonder and giving. And as I read, something in me softened and something also strengthened. It really was like receiving permission to pursue what I already knew in my bones was true, and that was a moment that the deeper work began. I didn't just, of course, suddenly abandon everything that I was doing Obviously I couldn't do that but I did start asking better questions. When things came up in front of me, I started paying attention to where I was saying yes, from habit and not alignment, and I began noticing where my calendar felt really draining and not nourishing.

Sheila:

And over time, slowly but surely, I began this process of creating space. It felt kind of weird at first too. It actually wasn't easy. I had built relationships and commitments over years and there was a part of me I know maybe you can relate to this too I was afraid to let people down. But this time it was different. It was as if I had outgrown the version of me that needed to say yes out of fear or obligation, and in its place was someone who was ready to say yes to her deeper calling. And so I started lovingly releasing. I stepped away from certain roles. I declined new opportunities that just did not align, and there were even some friendships who had been long held, friendships that there just was less and less space for, and it was like a natural letting go. That just happened over time and it was right on time and I ended up building intentional white space into my life.

Sheila:

And here is the beautiful part as soon as I created that space, a brand new energy rushed right in and I was introduced to several incredible women leaders who were doing revolutionary work, and it was so aligned with the new direction I was moving toward. I literally called it in. I think about it now and it's not like I sat down and had a plan of I'm going to reach out and search for these types of people or organizations or memberships to be a part of types of people or organizations or memberships to be a part of. They just literally emerged in front of me. So they also the cool thing about this they were not trying to convince me of anything. They were simply embodying this new paradigm of leadership and business that I also was feeling called into. And when I was in their presence, watching how they led, how they lived and how they honored their wellbeing themselves while also building incredible impact, I mean I just felt like it was exactly what I needed. It was like a breadcrumb on my path that I could follow, and I was no longer doing this in isolation. All of a sudden, I was being held in community, in proximity to women who reflected back to me what was possible, and I'm talking women from all walks of life, the creative arts, the corporate world, people who were leading foundations, like all kinds of individuals doing such interesting work. And this is what I see again and again, not only in my own life, but in the lives of so many people that I work with now, especially women.

Sheila:

Frankly and it's this we often stay in situations that are no longer a fit. We stay because it feels safe, we stay because we don't want to disrupt the status quo and, frankly, we stay because it's what we know. But here's what we need to remember Even if we insist on staying the same, the world will continue to evolve around us. The world will continue to evolve around us, and when we resist our own evolution, we start to create this kind of friction within ourselves, and then obviously, it trickles into our businesses and relationships. But expansion isn't about abandoning who we are. This is something that, I think, held me back a bit too. I knew that certainly, through life, we change, but I wanted to make sure that I kept my grounding, and so, when I thought about this, I started to realize it really was more about becoming a deeper, more rooted, fully expressed version of myself, and it's true for you too.

Sheila:

Expansion is really about honoring what we value now and not clinging to past versions of ourself that no longer fit the life we're being called to lead. So I want to invite you to ask yourself this question today where in your life or business might you be holding onto ways of operating that no longer fit? Where might you be staying out of habit when your intuition is inviting you to expand, and where might you need to create space to make room for what's next? It's not about running away. It truly is about knowing that there's something more for you waiting on the other side of where you are now and often the feeling of discomfort that you need to step through to get there. And I also want to speak to something else here, something that's really important, especially in our fast moving, hyper digital world. When we make this decision to evolve, our minds often will leap ahead Like they're ready to move at lightning speed. Minds often will leap ahead Like they're ready to move at lightning speed, but our bodies truly, truly need time to integrate, and I want to say that to you and I want you to know. It's totally okay. It's actually the best part. It's just part of the process. It's what allows us to remain human, to stay connected to our essence, even as we step into bigger arenas of leadership and impact.

Sheila:

Now, one of the most pivotal experiences for me in this regard actually came years later, during a trip to Lisbon. I never would have expected it would happen this way, but I just find it so interesting how we learn these things. So I had just completed a business retreat and my family had flown in on my birthday and we'd had a lovely meal and the sun was shining and it was just. It was stunning. That summer, and as I was reflecting on just everything we'd been experiencing already, I suddenly experienced my first hot flashes, and at first I thought it was really just the heat or maybe travel fatigue, because, like it was hot, it was the middle of July. But as I sat with it, I realized there was more beneath the surface and it was really my body telling me you're in a new season. Now you cannot lead or operate the way you always have. You need new rhythms and you need deeper nourishment. And there's so much more to that story, oh my goodness. Stay tuned I'll be sharing.

Sheila:

But that experience has stayed with me because, as much as the world tells us to push harder to override our signals, true expansion honors the wisdom of the body and in many ways, this is the gift of the time that we're living in. Because, who knows, maybe all of these technological advancements will finally give us the precious time we have been craving for decades to unplug, to reconnect deeply to our souls, our source, our environment and with each other. But it begins with us. We don't need to change who we are at our core, but we do get to become the next truest version of ourselves. That, in my understanding, is the path to fulfillment. That's the path to sustainable impact.

Sheila:

So today I encourage you, I urge you listen to the nudges, create the space, allow yourself to evolve and trust that, as you do, the right people, the right opportunities, the aligned support that you most need will meet you on that path. I hope this resonates with you today and I so appreciate you being here listening. I would love to hear how this episode landed for you, so go to the show notes and you'll see a place where it says text me, and I'd love to hear what comes up for you as you're listening. Also, feel free to go over and give a review on Apple or Spotify so that I can keep bringing aligned conversations your way. When you leave those reviews, that actually boosts it up in the algorithm so that people are able to see the podcast. I so appreciate you. Stay true to you and I look forward to seeing you on another episode. Big blessings.