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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.
00:00:03:01 - 00:00:25:18
Unknown
Welcome to return on intuition, the podcast where strategy meets soul. I'm Erin McMann, 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.
00:00:25:20 - 00:00:45:10
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.
00:00:45:24 - 00:01:10:14
Unknown
Hello. Welcome back to Return on Intuition. Today I want to talk about seasons and changes and what that means for our intuition and how we can adapt to it. I know it's late August, and even in North Carolina, a very warm part of the world, it's the weather is a little bit cooler and the leaves are starting to change just a little bit.
00:01:10:14 - 00:01:34:18
Unknown
And that has me thinking about fall. And then with fall comes back to school, even though I'm like, my kids are in daycare, so they get Year-Round school, there is no back to them. That's just, continuing. They do officially start the new year. And then also sports seasons are starting back up again. I am a big, basketball and football fan.
00:01:34:21 - 00:02:02:16
Unknown
More so basketball than football. I don't know all the rules in football, but, I am so inspired by the game and love watching going to games and learning about the challenges of the players and everything behind the scenes. So all that, all that connects with me, it's a very, very emotional time of year. And we recently had, a lot of birthdays, and my family and my son's birthday is coming up on August 31st.
00:02:02:16 - 00:02:28:03
Unknown
So, you know, that transition is significant, too, because that marks not only his fourth birthday, but the time I became a mother. And, you know, during for kids birthdays. Now, and for a while I've always gone, you know, happy birthday to whomever the kid is. But then, you know, for my close friends, if I knew that that that birthday was also when I made them a mother, it's, you know, like, happy motherhood to you.
00:02:28:03 - 00:03:07:28
Unknown
It's, you know, it'll be four years of motherhood for me. So that's that's a significant day to, and so within the framework of fall, it's somewhat of a comforting feeling, the the familiar feeling of going back to school, the familiar feeling of seasons changing. And it's an interesting juxtaposition to intuition and what we talked about last week, which was like, you know, notice the change, notice what's going on around your outside, but also, you know, reflect, reflect internally and, focus on what your intuition is saying, which is coming from within.
00:03:08:00 - 00:03:47:11
Unknown
And, you know, that's not necessarily reflective of outside experiences. And, it's an interesting, interesting contrast because, what's happening outside is exciting and familiar, and I don't think it should be ignored. And in fact, you know, embracing and savoring like every, every little change I'm seeing just because I know that I love I love the idea of, you know, being, for sports season and, you know, the leaves changing and all the fun holidays coming up.
00:03:47:11 - 00:04:16:20
Unknown
And so I'm getting very excited about that. And I thought, what does that mean? You know, as it relates to listening to my inner voice or focusing internally. And I think both are key to do and balance. And what the external changing environment can do is it can help you, remember what is what is true to you and what activates and lights you up.
00:04:16:20 - 00:04:50:07
Unknown
And you can use that as guidance that is coming internally. So what's happening externally? You know, don't be restrictive Lee. Following that. But use what is exciting to you and what calls to you to then connect internally and see what that means for you going forward. As seasons change, I think about growth, I think about development. And, obviously the school year relates to that too, because part of going to school is learning and growing.
00:04:50:09 - 00:05:17:02
Unknown
And while I'm not going to a, full time school right now, I it's obviously the school of life. I'm a lifelong learner. So certainly thinking to myself, what what goals do I have over the next, you know, a few months, year, that sort of thing. What do I want to learn? I did actually recently enroll in, Kundalini, yoga teacher training.
00:05:17:02 - 00:05:44:05
Unknown
So I'm very excited about that because Kundalini yoga has changed my life since I started, which was shortly after I gave birth to my second child, Katie. It was in very early postpartum, literally like days, I want to say, and I couldn't do my normal cardio routine. And I just came upon this podcast, about Kundalini yoga and decided to start.
00:05:44:05 - 00:06:08:14
Unknown
It's very gentle movements, focus on breathing, focused on movement that has, an energetic meaning. So I started it and I literally haven't stopped. And it's been absolutely life changing. So I'm excited to embrace this journey at the next level. And, you know, so that's sort of my, my back to school now, I actually got a few books about it.
00:06:08:17 - 00:06:34:07
Unknown
And that was great for just learning more about the energetics behind it and then the different, movements so I can build if you are following along on this journey and one, a one an online class, I will be learning all about that. So please, let me know if you're interested because, there will be lots of Reiki.
00:06:34:10 - 00:07:04:18
Unknown
Maybe. Maybe not the best, most well trained sessions, but they will be in development and I am excited to share what I learned. So that's a segment aside, but, you know, maybe maybe I was unknowingly influenced by the fall of, you know, this back to school season and saying, like, I'm I'm ready for something more in terms of what I, what I want to learn and also what I'm ready to give to the world.
00:07:04:18 - 00:07:25:04
Unknown
I've told a lot of people that I in my circles that I love Kundalini yoga, but I haven't really been able to offer an outlet for it or, you know, give, give more information. And then when I attend classes, I'm always like, I want to know more. I want to know more. So anyway, that's that's that side of things.
00:07:25:06 - 00:07:51:11
Unknown
I mentioned sports and my love for sports that there comes it comes in two forms for me. Number one, when, I was in school, I did, cross-country and track, and, going back to school always meant, you know, the, the start of a cross-country season. And me focused on getting faster and being the best and, you know, excelling and being a leader on my team.
00:07:51:14 - 00:08:16:07
Unknown
And that was always for of anticipation. And I like the excitement of it, but I was very intimidated. And mind oriented as I came to, the competition. So I would find myself being fast when I would go and practice racing, when I could, you know, leave my mind out of it. But I, I've certainly had races where I was very mind focused and froze up.
00:08:16:10 - 00:08:45:05
Unknown
And then after I stopped competing in, in high school and, I didn't compete in college, but, I literally had some of my fastest, some of my fastest times in running longer distances, half marathons and the like, because I didn't put that internal mental pressure on myself to, do the best and, like, literally push my mind.
00:08:45:07 - 00:09:13:09
Unknown
And I think that did such a key analogy for, for, for life and everything else, and one that I'm learning over time to, you know, not put as much push and focus on it because that can, constrict overall development and growth. And again, that's say, you know, maybe that was a function of obviously something I wanted internally to grow, achieve, you know, when be the best.
00:09:13:09 - 00:09:48:15
Unknown
But then that forcing function of doing it and then thinking about, you know, everyone else, external expectations, that sort of thing that I think constricted my overall performance and growth, which is why, you know, afterwards when those, those restrictions were off, I, some were a success, success, like I get I was faster I, I, you know, it's honestly, you know crazy and I'm sure my high school self would have been like, oh my gosh, what in the world?
00:09:48:15 - 00:10:12:17
Unknown
Why did this job now when I really when I really, really wanted it, you know, and could show results to, you know, potentially running in college if I wanted to do that. So anyway, that's, that's one of sports that I, you know, always think about. Also running in the fall is absolutely dreamy. It's just an amazing time with, with scenery and everything like that.
00:10:12:17 - 00:10:42:01
Unknown
So definitely if you, if you're into casually running it all, I would suggest the fall is a good time to remember that. And then number two team sports. So team sports I became a fan of, a fan of watching sports and, like, literally a super fan more extracting, you know, more meaning from it. I would say starting in eighth grade or my dad took me to a Duke basketball game.
00:10:42:06 - 00:11:08:20
Unknown
That's when I first saw, you know, a team that Duke basketball and, you know, college has always been very good and led by, world famous coach makes me, more famous in the US. But he's won Olympic gold medal. So I'll say world famous. And, you know, I started watching. It is just a game. But the more I follow the team, I listen to what coach K said.
00:11:08:20 - 00:11:36:02
Unknown
And, you know, he he didn't say things necessarily just about the sport, just about, you know, logistics and passing the ball and scoring or whatever. But he's, you know, said things that were very much spiritual and mental, you know, really connected to things of greater meaning that could apply outside of sports. He wrote one of his first books, maybe his first book was called Lead with the heart.
00:11:36:02 - 00:12:02:02
Unknown
It's one of my favorite books that I've read, and it really talks about something that is the basis of this podcast, which is leading, leading from your intuition or, you know, as he says, lead with your heart. So that is not not going mental, but really thinking about, what your inner wisdom is, is calling to you.
00:12:02:02 - 00:12:36:13
Unknown
And I think, you know, one of the things he talks about in, you know, is playing not not to lose, but playing to win and really focusing on, you know, discipline, focusing on your teammates, how you're going about things, thinking about emotion and intelligence, and trusting your own internal instincts and not other externalities. And the pro part of the reason why that was key for him and key for his teams is because there is so much external pressure or expectations.
00:12:36:15 - 00:13:06:15
Unknown
Which, you know, part of that is the fans expectations, which I certainly have on the team, but, you know, not giving in to those external expectations and really focusing on, you know, internal development, what you want to need and things like that. There's one player that was in my class at Duke, JJ Redick, who, you know, went through a period of I mean, first of all, he was, you know, one of the top players in the country.
00:13:06:22 - 00:13:29:06
Unknown
There's a lot of expectations on him coming in. He was really good coming in. But everybody was you know, going either either hated wanted to, you know, attack him on and off the court. A combination of both. In terms of because he was so good and, and that, it did seem to get to him to some extent.
00:13:29:09 - 00:13:55:23
Unknown
In terms of, you know, there were games where his performance wasn't as great and there were times when and he went through a period of, you know, mental uncertainty and, being lost a bit. And, you know, he talked about this with Coach Canas podcast, on one of one of their podcasts, JJ used to have a podcast before I became head coach of the Lakers.
00:13:55:25 - 00:14:19:14
Unknown
And coach K talked to him about how, you know, he needed a bridge to get from one side of where he was going to the next. And as a 2020 year old, he didn't necessarily have the the skills to, you know, get over that bridge. And that was the role of, you know, a coach and a leader to help him recognize that there is a bridge.
00:14:19:14 - 00:14:46:17
Unknown
People have been here before. And here's how you get from one side to the other side. And I think that's important in terms of development, setting, setting goals, and actually feeling the rhythm of the seasons, because it allows you to reflect on where you where you were and where you want to go. So even though, you know, when we were 28, you know, the those things may, may not have been as apparent.
00:14:46:17 - 00:15:20:21
Unknown
But, you know, as we've been through more, more fours and we see where we want to go the fall, the back to school season. It's a good time to remember that, you know, there there are bridges there, seasons. There are times when we were one place and, you know, we we made it and developed to another place. Get a little bit emotional thinking about that because, you know, it can be it can be scary going over bridges, but it can lead to better breezes.
00:15:20:24 - 00:15:48:19
Unknown
So, so yeah, I think I think that's, really important thing to keep in mind. And the others have been where you want to go. And, you can go in those bridges. So I know on top of that, outside of, outside of school, I recently read a book called Inner Tennis, where I think it's it's not quite entertainers, but it's like the inner game of tennis.
00:15:48:19 - 00:16:11:21
Unknown
And the reason why I read it is because, there's a podcast, by, Duke basketball. One, one former Duke basketball player who, if you know me at all, you know, he's my favorite basketball player of all time. Shane Battier, he graduated in 2001, was on the team when I first watched them in middle school.
00:16:11:24 - 00:16:42:29
Unknown
And like the fact that he has a podcast in 2024 is my, 16 year old league dream, because I always wanted to hear what he had to say as a 21 year old because I, you know, I thought he was the smartest guys on the team. He, you know, was very much like go go oriented, wanting to go places that I thought more about, you know, talked about more than just the games and the action and those like a very at a very young age.
00:16:43:02 - 00:17:17:18
Unknown
And so I was inspired by that as a 16 year old. So now he has a podcast with one of his best friends who is a tech entrepreneur and now is a partner in Sequoia. And then Alex Smith, who used to play for the 40 niners and the Kansas City Chiefs. And I love this podcast because it talks about business and sports and, you know, all aspects of it mental, mental, spiritual, logistical talks about teams.
00:17:17:18 - 00:17:46:15
Unknown
It's called glue guys because, they say and I agree that there's important, people on the team, not just the CEOs who were, you know, running their business or the players on teams that are scoring the points. But, you know, the people who are the unspoken heroes who are passing the ball and things like that. And that's really the the player that Shane Barry was in college and in the pros, he made, other players better.
00:17:46:17 - 00:18:17:02
Unknown
He in the pros. He was on the Miami Heat team with winning two national championships or two NBA championships, and that team had, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and, he helped them elevate and do championships. He famously would always guard Kobe, and he, he would, analyze how Kobe performed on the court and make sure he would, you know, get him into situations where and places on the court where he, performed the least.
00:18:17:02 - 00:18:44:07
Unknown
So he would have, a more of a minimal impact on, on the game. So anyway, this podcast, amazing, talks about a book called Inner Toughness. When they were talking to head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, I never heard of this book. They were talking about Phil Jackson in that case, and Steve Kerr was given this book by Phil Jackson while he was on the, Chicago Bulls.
00:18:44:07 - 00:19:16:20
Unknown
I had no idea that Phil Jackson was so philosophical and was sort of ahead of his time in terms of really making sure his players were understanding the mental game, but there it is. This is why I love podcast. For everything I learned. So I, of course, being the dedicated learner that I am and also just obsessed with the podcast, and learning more definitely immediately downloaded the entire game and thought it was amazing.
00:19:16:20 - 00:19:43:17
Unknown
And some key points which I wrote down. I want to review the inner game type of tennis, talked about two key things self one and self two. And the coach was a tennis coach. In various places, and he identified two cells, self. One is your inner critic. The voice is constantly instructing and judging you in self two, which is your natural intelligence.
00:19:43:20 - 00:20:09:18
Unknown
Sounds kind of like the inner voice. The part that you already know that already knows how to learn, adapt and perform. And he, noted in his, and his coaching that depending on how he would communicate with people about their, you know, tennis performance or, what kind of pressure they were under, whether they were in a group coaching situation or things like that.
00:20:09:18 - 00:20:34:13
Unknown
But it would really, literally make a huge difference on, how they were engaging and how they would adjust, to two playing. And the whole thesis is that most of our struggles are necessarily bad, like a skill or knowledge, or about your inner critic and how it's lacking, and his case calling it the natural intelligence ability to respond.
00:20:34:15 - 00:21:06:06
Unknown
Now, in this case, the natural intelligence you're, you're literally taking that's that's literally removing your thinking. And in sport that's so much more important. So you can, react based on instinct. And the more you can do that, the, you know, the better that you can perform and adapt and, and safe, I suppose, from a running perspective, like literally me removing my inner critic when I got faster was like, you know, does it matter if you're going faster?
00:21:06:06 - 00:21:42:25
Unknown
Slower is going. And you know that just let let my body do its thing. And I think in the case of tennis and other other sports, certainly, if you're put in the place of thinking about what you need to do, you're less you're removing the natural ability to to respond and the amazing thing is, or the amazing thing to me is still, you know, relying on my mindset is that when you remove your mind, your body can respond and, and do amazing things.
00:21:42:25 - 00:22:17:18
Unknown
And, I mean, that's another reason why I absolutely love sports, because seeing that in another person and seeing someone develop that is amazing and magical. And then you can, and you can make that apply and all sorts of situations in professional life or as it relates to creativity, I think it's really important because the more mental pressure you're putting on yourself, the less you're letting those ideas come to you however you think they may come to you.
00:22:17:18 - 00:22:38:10
Unknown
So, you know, creatives like Elizabeth Gilbert say the ideas are in hers. They are kind of channeled to her and through her. And, you know, that's how it comes about. You know, Bruce Springsteen as an artist says that the idea is like help heal obsessions. And he calls it like drilling. He's just like drilling, drilling, drilling and things.
00:22:38:12 - 00:23:08:05
Unknown
You know, at one point, Hillhead, he'll add some oil and then he'll get like, you know, these, these inspired, lyrics and messages, and then it'll turn into his gray's heads. But, you know, he, he is also recognizing in that observation of how it works at the effort is is certainly there, but it is those moments of, you know, looking, allowing that then, can cause inspiration to strike.
00:23:08:05 - 00:23:30:19
Unknown
So I think that it was a great, great, audio read. I need to read it again. But, I, I was absolutely, inspired by it. The more that you and how it relates to your inner voice and your return on intuition, if we can make a parallel between this self to your natural intelligence, what do you think?
00:23:30:19 - 00:23:51:25
Unknown
That that's the same pathway or a different pathway? The more that you can trust, allow your mind to take a backseat, the better. Those that intuition and, or those instincts have a voice. And it's hard because your mind's in there, your egos in there. You want to put the effort in and feel like you have control.
00:23:51:25 - 00:24:17:23
Unknown
But, the more you let go, the more you can trust the process that you can access something that, is greater than than what you really imagine. So I think those are the those are the key things as it relates to intuition and sport. I've deviated a bit from the fall intro to this, but I think the the key things are your season time and cycles.
00:24:17:28 - 00:24:40:21
Unknown
They remind us of what is familiar. They remind us of where we've been and where we could go. If we want to go somewhere. Identify. I think the key thing to do, and when I'm thinking about is identify where I where I've been, where, you know, I want to go and where I am right now and how I get there.
00:24:40:21 - 00:25:33:25
Unknown
Thinking more big picture allows me to focus and prioritize things that are important, not just what I can get done, and then what I will get immediate external validation for. Honor your your ego. And what your mind wants to do and doing doing that allows you to be satisfied to some extent. But then also what I've been saying is, you know what that side take, take a rest and, you know, remember, as I read, like, many years ago, read with heart, intuition, remember what that inner calling is that, you want to do and figure out how you can get there and then, you know, in the middle of all that, you're also
00:25:33:25 - 00:25:58:19
Unknown
showing up for the magic, whether that be what's happening internally, that inner voice inside you, but then also thinking about, you know, the the cycles of the seasons and honoring where you have been and, you know, where you are now, even though sometimes that's, that's hard because you have a, you have a picture where you want to go honoring both of those things.
00:25:58:21 - 00:26:19:26
Unknown
I saw I was at my parents the other day, and I saw a picture of my middle school self, and I was like, you know, obviously like, or maybe it was early high school stuff. And I was like, as awkward and, you know, I don't know, like, just didn't have the right haircut and things like that.
00:26:19:26 - 00:26:44:00
Unknown
And, you know, what was my fashion style? What was I thinking then? And, I mean, these are the immediate, you know, things that come up in my mind, but I'm like, also, that girl had a lot of drive and she had a lot of dreams. And it's important to remember who she was there, too. So honor that part of yourself and also, you know, the things that you've been through, and where you want to go.
00:26:44:00 - 00:27:13:16
Unknown
And that can help you, give you strength for going where you want to go next. So call to action this week, ideally, I want to notice, where I'm trying to control outcomes instead of trusting the process and trusting that process. Listening to that calm center that says chill out. Where could I benefit from a little more high level leadership, in my life?
00:27:13:16 - 00:27:40:26
Unknown
And, hopefully if that inspires you, you can do the same. And, hopefully in doing so, we can reflect a bit more, and appreciate the season of all where we've gone, where we want to go as we go back to the school, the school of life, in this case, the school of intuition and strengthening intuition.
00:27:40:29 - 00:27:47:12
Unknown
And I will talk to you next time. Have a wonderful day.
00:27:47:18 - 00:28:06:05
Unknown
Thanks so much for tuning in to return on intuition. 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.
00:28:06:07 - 00:28:12:12
Unknown
So take a breath, trust yourself and keep following the moments that feel like magic. I'll see you next time.