#156: This week, Han sits down with Jess Windell, founder of Maven PR and a public relations expert to investigate what it takes to build a foundation of self-trust through acts of courage.
Jess and Han have an honest conversation about the psychology behind confidence, courage, risk, productivity, ambition, and creating a life that feels meaningful beyond your career. Jess shares how calling off her wedding four months before it was supposed to happen became the catalyst for nearly every major decision that followed, and taught her that doing the hardest thing can open the door to an entirely different life. The girls get into:
- Why confidence is the outcome of courage
- How taking risks builds self-trust
- Calling off a wedding when nothing was “wrong,” but it still wasn’t right
- Why comfort can keep you trapped in the wrong life
- Letting go of the timeline and future you planned
- Navigating rejection, uncertainty, and unexpected changes
- Manifestation beyond material goals
- The pressure to always be productive
- Why traditional ideas of rest do not work for everyone
- Separating your worth from your career, relationship, or motherhood
- Creating a full life before finding a partner or having children
- Why placing your entire identity into one area of your life can be dangerous
- Allowing different parts of your life to thrive during different seasons
- The psychology, vulnerability, and human connection behind PR
- Why audiences are craving more truth and authenticity
- How Jess went from never wanting to own a business to founding Maven Consulting
- Why many businesses are not ready for traditional full-service PR
- Democratizing PR and making the industry more accessible
& MORE!
This episode is for anyone learning how to trust themselves, make a difficult decision, leave something that is comfortable but no longer aligned, or release the pressure to have their entire life figured out. Jess and Han remind us that confidence does not always come before the leap—sometimes, confidence is built by proving to yourself that you are capable of taking it.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:53 — Welcome Jess to the podcast
01:07 — The psychology and human connection behind PR
02:40 — Was Jess always confident?
03:32 — Confidence is the outcome of courage
05:30 — Why your life can become better when you take risks
06:45 — How Jess learned to trust herself
07:13 — Calling off her wedding four months before it happened
08:43 — Leaving when nothing is wrong, but it is not right
09:15 — How uncertainty keeps us trapped
09:29 — Getting uncomfortable to find true comfort
11:25 — Discovering a new life on the other side of fear
12:06 — Manifesting the feelings you want to experience
13:30 — Becoming too attached to the life you planned
13:57 — Letting go of control and welcoming change
15:35 — Finding balance within the gray areas
16:05 — Productivity, anxiety, and the pressure to always be doing more
19:12 — Why rest looks different for everyone
22:03 — Would Jess make the same decision nine years later?
23:05 — The conversation around whether women can “have it all”
24:11 — Creating a full life outside of a partner and children
24:43 — Why your entire identity cannot live in one area
25:22 — Nothing in life will be a 10 out of 10 all the time
27:08 — Understanding the different seasons of life
29:02 — Why Jess never planned to start a business
29:40 — Her desire to transform the PR industry
30:00 — Building an in-house PR team at Perfect Bar
31:30 — Earning a seat at the table
34:10 — The meaning behind the name Maven
36:00 — Why audiences are craving truth and vulnerability
38:32 — Why Jess turns away potential clients
39:20 — Democratizing and demystifying PR
CONNECT BELOW:
follow Jess here
check out Jess's PR program Catalyst here
CONNECT with HAN:
follow Han here
follow HOW I SEE IT here
follow Han on Substack here
watch HOW I SEE IT on YouTube here
shop the podcast merch here
work with Han: howhanseesit@gmail.com
