Stop Playing Small: Building a Career and Life You Actually Love | Kelly Mooney (Bonus Episode)
30m | Oct 9, 2026What if the secret to getting ahead isn't doing more, but getting intentional about what matters most?
In this episode, I'm joined by Kelly Mooney, founder and CEO of Equipped Women and co-author of Up: The Playbook for Every Woman on the Rise, for a conversation about ambition, self-advocacy, and creating a career and life that reflect your values. Drawing on three decades of leadership experience, Kelly shares the unwritten rules of career advancement that women aren't always taught, including why working hard isn't enough, how to make your contributions visible, and why advocating for yourself matters.
Whether you're building a career, raising a family, considering your next chapter, or simply feeling stretched too thin, this conversation is a reminder that you don't have to do everything to build a life you love. You just have to get clearer about what matters most.
Links Discussed in This Episode |
- Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane.
- Subscribe to the Minimalist Moms Youtube Channel
- Previous Episode: You Can’t Control the Economy - BUT You Can Control Your Money | Crystal Paine @TheMoneySavingMom (EP468)
- Book: Strangers by Belle Burden
- Kelly's Resource(s): How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back by Sally Helgesen | Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It's Different Than You Think) by Reshma Saujani | The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - and How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay PhD
- Connect with Kelly:
- Website
- Book: UP!: The Playbook for Every Woman on the Rise
About Kelly |
Kelly Mooney is a three-time author, speaker, board director of a public company, and longtime gender equality advocate. She’s also a wife and mother of two who built her career while navigating the realities of modern work and family life. Over a decades-long career, she has experienced the full arc of the workplace—from intern to CEO—ultimately co-owning and leading the nation’s largest women-owned digital agency, scaling it 15x, and later exiting the business to IBM, where she served as Chief Experience Officer for North America.
Consistently ahead of the curve, Kelly anticipated the power shift from organizations to consumers, authoring The Ten Demandments and The Open Brand—the latter becoming required reading at Stanford and other universities. She also founded the Equipt Women Foundation and created Get Equipt, a widely read weekly career advice newsletter.
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