This week on The Found Podcast, I had the deep joy of sitting down with my friend, client, and just all-around bright light—Brooke Fitzgerald.

Brooke is a mom, a coach, a speaker, and a partner at The Restoration Project, where she helps individuals, teams, and organizations align with their values, cultivate healthy habits, and find clarity in who they are and how they show up in the world.

In our conversation, Brooke brought her signature energy, honesty, and grounded wisdom to the mic. And we went deep—on growth, transitions, the stories we tell ourselves, and the powerful act of learning to say no.

From Box-Checking to Breakthrough

Brooke shared how her own journey into coaching started with a major pivot—leaving behind a corporate job, cashing out her 401(k), and starting a coffee shop with a six-month-old in tow.

Sounds wild? It was.

But as she told me, the move wasn’t about rebellion. It was about reconnection. Like many of us, Brooke found herself on the proverbial hamster wheel, checking all the boxes that we’re told will lead to a “successful” life—career, family, hustle, rinse, repeat. Until one day she stopped and asked:
“What am I doing? Who am I doing it for?”

Those questions were her turning point. Her shift from doing what was expected to doing what was aligned.

The Power of the Pause

One of the most powerful tools Brooke brings to her coaching is the pause.
She encourages her clients (and herself) to take intentional moments to ask:

• What am I believing right now—and is it actually true?
• What is my motivation in saying yes to this?
• If I say yes here, what am I saying no to?

These aren’t just rhetorical questions. They’re deep invitations to come back to consciousness, to stop running on autopilot, and to make decisions from a place of grounded self-awareness rather than guilt or obligation.

As Brooke shared, “No isn’t oppositional. It’s actually a method of self-preservation and care.”

Saying No and Finding “Enough”

For Brooke, the word “no” was a lifeline.

She started with it as her word of the year—after realizing she had said yes to everyone and everything but herself. And through that year, she uncovered parts of her identity that had been buried beneath people-pleasing and burnout. Saying no became the catalyst for finding her version of enough—not the hustle-based “enoughness” we’re sold, but a deep internal sense of peace and clarity.

She now brings that journey—and the tools she gathered along the way—to her coaching practice at The Restoration Project.

A Season of Groundedness

If there’s one message that came through loud and clear in our conversation, it’s this:

You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to pause, check in, and lead yourself with honesty.

That’s where change starts. That’s where real growth happens—not in the hustle or the constant striving, but in the quiet space where you ask, What matters most to me right now?

Whether you’re in a season of transition, overwhelm, or redefinition, Brooke’s story reminds us that we always have the power to reconnect. To come back to ourselves. To say no. And to find our way to enough.

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Want More Brooke?

Learn more about Brooke Fitzgerald and the work she’s doing at The Restoration Project.

And if you haven’t already, listen to this full episode of The Found Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll walk away inspired to pause, reflect, and lead from within.