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In a world where AI is ever-present, information never stops, and external opinions flood our feeds, it’s easy to lose touch with the one voice that truly knows: your own.
Return to Intuition is a podcast for conscious leaders, working parents, creatives, and seekers who are ready to pause the noise and tune back in. Hosted by Erin McMahon—marketing executive, mother of two, and intuitive seeker—this show explores how reconnecting with your inner voice can transform the way you lead, parent, create, and live.
Each episode offers grounded insight, personal reflection, and meaningful conversations with founders, intuitive leaders, and thoughtful creators navigating growth, ambition, and soul-aligned choices in a fast-changing world.
Let’s face the future knowing our greatest guide is within—and talk to each other about how to use the world around us to build the best every day and an even better future.
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;25;17
Unknown
Welcome to return on intuition, the podcast where strategy meets Soar. I'm Erin McMahon, a marketing leader, startup advisor, mom of two, and lifelong seeker of what's real in a world ruled by data speed and artificial intelligence. There is a space where we pause to tune in. Each week, we'll explore what it means to lead, build, parent, and grow not just with logic, but with intuition.
00;00;25;19 - 00;00;51;27
Unknown
You'll hear from founders, creators, marketers, spiritual guides, and so many more people aligning ambition with purpose and using their intuition as a real tool for transformation. Because when we pay attention, get present and trust our instincts, that's when the magic happens. Let's get into it. Hello. Welcome back to Return on Intuition, the show that helps to not the noise.
00;00;51;27 - 00;01;22;26
Unknown
Trust your inner compass and live from a place of grounded knowing. I'm your host, Erin, marketing leader, mom of two, and lifelong seeker. And in each episode, we'll explore how to navigate life's twists and turns with clarity, courage, and deep trust. So today we're looking at the past, the present, and the future through the lens of intuition and how it shows up, how we can ignore it, and why embracing it can turn the events of unknown into our greatest adventure.
00;01;22;28 - 00;01;49;12
Unknown
So this came up for me because I reflected upon myself and how I've made decisions over the past and where my pattern has been in my life and actually ever since I was little. I can always imagine hearing stories what other people told me, whether it initially was my parents or whether it was my friends and family. Just what people are doing in society.
00;01;49;12 - 00;02;11;09
Unknown
And you know, I use that as a way to guide myself. And when I was doing, I don't know, the moment when those Guideposts switched from listening to my inner voice to, you know, increasingly leaning on what other people were saying, but it certainly certainly happened. You know, of course, when you're little, you listen to your parents.
00;02;11;09 - 00;02;39;10
Unknown
And, you know, I distinctly remember learning, you know, when they thought about college, what sports they played in high school, how many best friends they had when they got married, how many people they dated, what they did for work, what they studied, everything. Like, you know, in middle school, I had to choose a language to take. And I said, mom, what language did you take?
00;02;39;10 - 00;03;01;05
Unknown
And she said, I took French, and I was like, okay, French in his. And then I remember my dad saying, well, Aaron, you should really take Spanish or German. Those are the two other options at the school. I was at. And I said, no, I think mom took French so I can take French. And so, even though I really like German, actually.
00;03;01;08 - 00;03;28;12
Unknown
But anyway, French is harder. Enjoyed French, and continued taking it through college. It was probably one of my most painful courses in college because my my studies in high school were limited, and in college they had a graduate student teaching. So I, my, my studies in French have not completely fulfilled to, you know, connect to everything I do on a daily basis in this moment.
00;03;28;12 - 00;04;01;24
Unknown
Although supposedly, you know, I suppose I could if I really, implemented and and took it back. So anyway, that's just one example of external Guideposts that I, that I use. And then, you know, that continued when I went to college, and, you know, didn't play sport. And when my parents did or where I was going to work, you know, I initially looked at working in, you know, consulting or finance because those are things that other people and my friends were doing.
00;04;01;24 - 00;04;27;18
Unknown
And honestly, that was what was on campus in terms of recruiting. So I really, you know, tried to follow patterns and it didn't, didn't really work out. An example would have been in college initially, got a lot of interviews for finance and consulting and, you know, didn't really get the the job and the institution choices I wanted.
00;04;27;18 - 00;04;53;15
Unknown
And you know, what that did is it prolongs my, my perceives, you know, future quote unquote when I graduated college. So I didn't know where I was going in in the fall. And some people knew whether they were going to live in New York or DC. And I, kept looking, kept looking. And then I actually was guided to do the unconventional thing.
00;04;53;15 - 00;05;20;17
Unknown
Not not necessarily by choice, but by, you know, pure necessity, which was applied to a bunch of other places at the time. Google was a company that did not recruit, naturally, even especially for non engineering jobs. So I ended up applying there was that in getting a job there? That ended up being an amazing life transition for me and really set the trajectory of my career.
00;05;20;19 - 00;05;49;28
Unknown
However, it was not it was not planned. I almost, you know, kicked and screamed and would rather not have gone with the external job, you know, with the unconventional path that, was laid out before me because I was looking at external Guideposts and I was saying my judgment, as it stands right now, is based on what my friends are doing, what people at school are doing, and that's really what I was striving for.
00;05;50;00 - 00;06;11;29
Unknown
Other examples, you know, when I got out to California, you know, I was looking at dating and thinking about, you know, relationships. And my parents got married at 25, which is very early. And I said to myself, okay, I want to get married by 25. And, you know, that did not happen, but that that was, you know, a benchmark for success.
00;06;11;29 - 00;06;38;08
Unknown
And it was my parents got married at 25. They had me at 27. And, I was like, okay, that's where that's where my life clock and my life calendar's going to be. And that certainly did not happen. Not by my own volition. And I think that would have been my preferred path. Again, because I was judging myself based on the historical precedent that surrounded me, based on my family.
00;06;38;11 - 00;07;09;01
Unknown
What? You know, my parents did what? You know, family, some friends were doing. So I say all that to emphasize that the the guidance of my life from, you know, probably middle school onward and the default guidance of my ego has been, look what other people are doing to some extent and use that as as guidance for what you want to do.
00;07;09;03 - 00;07;33;24
Unknown
And I am here to say that that is probably not the best way to go about building your life. So I want to explore that that tendency that I had and still continue to have, the pull of the past external guidance, the judgment of the present and looking at the future. Number one, the pull of the past.
00;07;34;00 - 00;07;56;29
Unknown
Intuition was present in the past, even if we didn't notice or act in it. So we look back to find lessons, make meaning, and understand our story. In my case, and when you are younger, I, you know, tend to lean on the story and the expectations of others and society's expectations. So, you know, in my case, what did my family do?
00;07;57;01 - 00;08;25;17
Unknown
What are people around me doing and what guidance can I think about? It really helps providing structure and providing meaning for, what I can do in the uncertain present and the uncertain future. And I think part of this really is the desire to create some sort of structure and meeting and foundation. That's what we know to be the the uncertain present.
00;08;25;17 - 00;08;59;23
Unknown
And, uncertainty can be scary. It isn't necessarily you can be in a situation that is not happy, but you have the choice in the mentality to think about whether that point of uncertainty can be a good thing or a bad thing. So I, you know, also recently I reflected upon this by watching the end of a show called The Gilded Age, which is on HBO, and no spoilers in this episode, I won't give anything away.
00;08;59;23 - 00;09;34;01
Unknown
And also, if you think of this show as a little bit fluffy because it talks about, a bunch of rich people in New York City and their lives, that is surface level, you know, what it initially portrayed, but it really has some substantive messages that I think are important. And, I highly advocate watching the show, especially if you like Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski and, Meryl Streep's daughter is in it, too, as well as Carrie Coon, who is, fantastically.
00;09;34;03 - 00;09;58;29
Unknown
So. The premise of the show, that age, part of it is really class structure money during, the, you know, late 1800s, early 1900s in New York City, the structure of society based on old money versus new money that comes in Carrie Coon's leading character is, a symbol for, the the new money that is disrupting society.
00;09;58;29 - 00;10;47;04
Unknown
And everybody's just all in a tizzy because she's she's there, she's present. She's her family's richer than everybody else. And, she is doesn't does it know the the old spoken and unspoken patterns of what's going on and people don't like it because it is breaking the structure. It's breaking the pattern. It's it's introducing elements of the unknown into a society of structure, certainty, patterns, hierarchy, etc. and, and as the show progresses, as, more of these elements get introduced of, you know, things changing and things, you know, moving forward and how each of the characters is dealing with those changes.
00;10;47;04 - 00;11;17;17
Unknown
And while, you know, looking at it through a historical lens, you, you can reflect and say, of course, these things change. I'm looking at this from 2025. I know that, you know, economies change. There are cycles of, you know, who's disrupting what is happening, how we do things, how we work, how we, transform, who we who we connect with all those things.
00;11;17;17 - 00;11;45;13
Unknown
And it seems inevitable looking at it, either reading it from a history book or, you know, just even reflecting on the character of the TV. But what this, show really does is it brings out the the character struggles in the present moment, which then you can and I do certainly reflect on what things are, are changing now that so that's part of the reflection of the past.
00;11;45;13 - 00;12;20;15
Unknown
And one of the key things in, this in season one is just the introduction of Carrie Coon's character and, her coming into society with no experience of the etiquette of New York ladies and, you know, who is in charge and what they're doing in her trying to fit in and understand, but still, you know, introducing elements of her own strong character into it because she is new, because she's just introduced to it.
00;12;20;15 - 00;12;43;12
Unknown
She's very much living in, in the present, not by not by choice necessarily, but because she that is literally the the path that she's given. And other people who are already in, in their place of structure can rely on the past and say, this is how it's always going to be done, this is how it should be done.
00;12;43;15 - 00;13;10;20
Unknown
This is our area of certainty. Let's move forward this way. I think that show represents a part of the past I have relied on the pull of the past to understand how things are going, and I think there is a human tendency to do so again, because there is a there's a comfort in it for people who rely on certainty and who have somewhat of a, comfortable position in society.
00;13;10;20 - 00;13;37;11
Unknown
And their life has been patterned in a way that that makes sense. So now that we've talked about the past, let's talk about the magnet of the future with intuition as a compass. So we talked about the human tendency to be guided by the past and specifically my personality to be guided. And that's because I gravitate towards what I want to be ambitious and, you know, have a lot of dreams and aspirations.
00;13;37;11 - 00;14;21;08
Unknown
I also like certainty, and some sense of knowledge. And, you know, I do rely on external sources for information and guidance. So, overall, why why we look for it as humans for hope, possibility and goals and the joy of imagining something better. Which is certainly something that is also pull for me. So I think while my immediate desire and tendency is to look towards what others have done and use that as as Guideposts, there are things that I want to do and I would like to achieve that haven't been done before.
00;14;21;10 - 00;14;42;17
Unknown
You know, I don't I don't know that many people close to me that have podcasts and this is something new for me, which you may be able to tell by the quality of when, when I'm buzzing, when I'm posting, etc.. But then also, you know, just the ideas that I have and, you know, what's guiding me.
00;14;42;17 - 00;15;10;07
Unknown
And so that, that is really showing me that there is an intuitive side to what I want to do and the hopes and dreams that I have for myself and for my future. And so that shows me the importance of listening to my intuition and following that, which is why, you know, partially why I made this podcast, partially why I am guided to listen to it more, even though it's harder.
00;15;10;09 - 00;15;43;25
Unknown
And, you know, hopefully I can do so more in the future. So to the future is that it's a blank canvas. Anything is possible when lit by intuition. It can feel expansive. In addition to scary, and it can be motivating. You feel pulled towards possibility, and the shadow side of it is fear and anxiety. The fact that we create negative futures in our minds, imagining, you know, what could go wrong failure, catastrophe, what other people would think of us.
00;15;43;25 - 00;16;15;16
Unknown
Which is definitely a huge one for me. And the fear of the unknown keeps us from stepping into to those new territories and areas. And quite honestly, working externally and seeing what others have done, what our societal rules, what is expected, things like that, that, that propels us to gravitate towards things that are known. And we don't have to create the the story for ourselves necessarily.
00;16;15;18 - 00;16;48;27
Unknown
Although that is a framing, because overall we're always creating this story for ourselves, even though we are looking externally and internally, we're either way we're constructing, we're constructing a story, a narrative for ourselves. So the fear of the unknown and the flip side of it is that the unknown is where life's best surprises often live. So going back to my college example, when I really wanted a consulting job and I could not find consulting job at a big firm like I want to do, and I ended up working at Google.
00;16;48;29 - 00;17;14;04
Unknown
That would not have anticipated or would not have been written on the places that I wanted to go or the places that I want to be, which, you know, retrospectively can sound, a little, a little strange because it's now, you know, such a huge, amazing company. But, at the time, it was in 2006 and, you know, I had many friends and said, well, what in the world do you going to do for that?
00;17;14;04 - 00;17;32;21
Unknown
There's there's one page of, you know, that you type into a search box and you know, you're not an engineer. So what in the world are you going to do for that company? Luckily, there was something for me to do. Think about the moments. And and I would encourage you to think about the moments that you didn't plan for, but turned out better than you could have imagined.
00;17;32;24 - 00;18;02;10
Unknown
And I go through this exercise as I think about the unknown things that work and don't work, because I get very disappointed when something doesn't work out as I wanted to. So, there's, a renowned psychologist, named Lisa miller, doctor Lisa miller, based in New York at Columbia University. And she talks a lot about intuition and consciousness and how consciousness drives our lives.
00;18;02;10 - 00;18;34;17
Unknown
And one thing, when learning exercise she has is a visualization that has you go through lives and think about the red door. The red door is that place that you want that objective and that goal that you really had. Like, I really want to make the the soccer team, and you don't make the soccer team, or you really wanted that job and you didn't get that job, but then, you know, just around the corner there is another door, a yellow door that, was slightly ajar.
00;18;34;20 - 00;18;55;21
Unknown
And you hesitate because you don't know what's behind that door. But often that door leads you exactly where you needed and wanted to go. So in your mind, right? Resist. Your ego might resist. My ego certainly fights fights that a lot. But your intuition often knows that that's your door. And that's the place that you need to go.
00;18;55;21 - 00;19;23;18
Unknown
So how intuition can help here is distinguishing two true risk from fear stories, and then helps you become intuitive about the future anchors and how you want to feel, not just what you want to achieve. And this is a fairly new a new practice for me that is really leaning into the the feelings and thoughts, not not the thinking like, I know I want to do this.
00;19;23;18 - 00;19;49;28
Unknown
Why do I want to do this? How do I want to feel when I have this perceived thing like, you know, get more people to listen to my podcast so I can have more fun conversations about these interesting concepts. How do I want to feel when I or or why? Why do I why do I feel like I need to, do more and create my own business?
00;19;49;28 - 00;20;16;01
Unknown
It's because I want more of a sense of freedom. I enjoy working with other people, but I don't necessarily love having them. Be the the only driving force in what I do or how I spend my time. I want to speak to lots of different people, and I want a, a good and clear reason to do that and to share the lessons I've learned with others.
00;20;16;01 - 00;20;39;19
Unknown
And you know how those lessons expand my story in the my understanding of it when I share with others. So, you know, those are all things to think about. And it helps you really dig in to why you want to do some of the things that are that are more thought oriented, external, or like that. You may be thinking about the external result of it.
00;20;39;22 - 00;21;04;15
Unknown
And I think this also helps because if you do see something you like from other people or that you know, are part of what society is doing currently, like, if you get that, how would that make you feel? And is that really what you want, or is that what society is telling you to want? And then you dig into the feeling of it, then that helps you maybe evaluate your internal and external Guideposts a little bit differently.
00;21;04;22 - 00;21;28;11
Unknown
So the magic in the present is where your intuition speaks the loudest and speaks although you can reflect in the past and pinpoint where you where you remember your intuition speaking and whether you listened to it or not and what that did. So why the present matters the most? It's where your choices happen. It's where you can.
00;21;28;11 - 00;21;52;17
Unknown
You have the decision to quiet the noise of the past in the future, and the stories that you are creating from the past, in the future. And although we think about, things that happen in the past as historical fact, they often how our memories construct things are not how things happen. And those interpretations are important to be remembered as such.
00;21;52;20 - 00;22;22;13
Unknown
And how our intuition operates is through not just thoughts, but through physical sensations, micro reactions, and emotional resonance. And it's important to be present and to listen to the combination of your body and your mind and how your emotions feel. To think about those things and ignoring it. Intuition has consequences, that, you know, aren't always immediately present, but they don't really feel great.
00;22;22;13 - 00;22;57;08
Unknown
And your intuition is persistent. So, you will get, messages over time. But at the same time, if you do not listen to your intuition, you will learn. And those lessons will be important for building your life moving forward. I certainly realize that too. So embracing intuition now pause before responding. Think about how you feel. Think about what your goals are and how you want to feel, and use grounding practices like breathwork and body scans to help guide you.
00;22;57;10 - 00;23;34;18
Unknown
And do this on a regular basis so that, intuition, which is really that quiet voice, will, respond and we'll have, will have a, a voice in, in your consideration set. So time is a spiral and intuition is a thread. I like to think of this because your life does is not a linear line. As much as we would like to create one story that leads us in logical flow and makes sense, and is neat and tidy, that is often not how it works.
00;23;34;22 - 00;23;58;25
Unknown
And the spiral view of time is that we visit all lessons with higher levels of awareness. And if you believe that time is a construct, as a saying goes, then, you can think about it like our futures selves can heal our past through our present choices. And you can connect the wisdom of the past with the vision of the future.
00;23;58;25 - 00;24;41;27
Unknown
So embracing intuition matters because it helps you build self-trust. It helps you build the life that will make you feel the best, that helps you feel most at peace and helps you listen to yourself holistically instead of being driven by those external choices. These. This is difficult because society expectations are real. As emphasized by the Gilded Age, where there is pressure to do what is expected to, align with what's going on, to listen to your boss, to make peace, to not disrupt and make waves.
00;24;41;27 - 00;25;12;00
Unknown
But if that is not what your heart is guiding to that you're going into, then it's important to listen to that. So takeaways. You know, reflect on a time where you ignored your intuition. What was the signal and what would you do differently now and then? Imagine your future without limitation and without expectation, not worried about what other people would think or, you know, not worried about people pleasing.
00;25;12;00 - 00;25;34;17
Unknown
Which for me is another big one. Like what is this person one at work for me to get done that I need to do? And, you know, a certain way is they expected is that is that really the right way or is that, is that them, you know, constructing what they need, like, you know, always, always focus on what you think is the right thing to do.
00;25;34;24 - 00;26;15;23
Unknown
Again, there's a balance to that as you work with other people. But think about what your body's telling you. What sensations arise does it feel like expansion or contraction? And as we've talked about in other episodes, where where is your energy being put in in the right time and place and then, you know, I would say doing daily, daily check ins and reflections is as important for, you know, understanding, especially as as you are listening to your intuition or just like listening to that quiet voice are you're making changes that are leading you towards your intuition.
00;26;15;23 - 00;26;52;11
Unknown
If this is uncomfortable, how does your body feel about it? Are you are you feeling comfortable with the unknown? Do you want to go back? Are you still feeling that voice? Those sorts of things. I appreciate your time listening to my musings about the past, present and future. The tendency for myself and, for many people in society to look, look outwards, see what has happened, build something based on what has happened because that is known, that is predicted, that is more certain.
00;26;52;13 - 00;27;22;05
Unknown
But at the same time, is that really the right thing for you? And if we didn't have people who worked internally and, you know, forged ahead with, with the unknown in what they wanted to do, then we wouldn't have amazing progressive changes and the world and humanity really wouldn't move forward. So, it's an important lesson for me to learn when I think about is a forge ahead into areas of unknown.
00;27;22;05 - 00;27;49;23
Unknown
And I hope you do too. And that will certainly have a return on intuition for your life leading somewhere to happier and more fulfilling, and society in circles close to you and far reaching will be the better for it. And thank you for listening to our podcast today. Talk to you soon. Thanks so much for tuning in. To return on intuition.
00;27;49;25 - 00;28;09;13
Unknown
If something sparked your curiosity or let you up, I'd love to hear from you. Share the episode, leave a review or DM me with what landed. Your feedback helps shape where we go next and remember the best decisions don't just come from what you know. They come from what you feel. So take a breath, trust yourself and keep following the moments that feel like magic.
00;28;09;15 - 00;28;43;18
Unknown
I'll see you next time.