429: How Ordinary Moms Can Make a Difference // Sharon McMahon

3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms

Cloud10

Education, How To, Society & Culture, Parenting, Personal Journals, Kids & Family

5 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you’ve ever felt like the problems of the world are too big, and your influence is too small to matter, this conversation with Sharon McMahon will help you realize how powerful even just your small actions can be. Sharon is a former high school government teacher turned trusted online educator and advocate. In her new book The Small and the Mighty, she highlights 12 lesser-known Americans whose quiet courage changed history. In this episode, she shares the stories of three women whose steady choices and persistence still shape our world today—and shows how small, consistent actions in your own life can create a ripple effect too. Tune in to hear: 🌎 Why doing the next needed thing can be the most impactful—and most accessible—form of change 🌎 How helping just one person can expand your capacity, bring you hope, and ripple outward in unseen ways 🌎 What it looks like to keep showing up, even when others don’t understand or support you Sharon’s storytelling is rich and inspiring, and her perspective will help you reframe your role as a mother, a neighbor, and a citizen. You don’t need to be extraordinary to do something that matters. You just need to begin. For full show notes, including takeaways, click here. *** Announcements: If you love this conversation, grab the worksheet that my team made to go along with this episode, where you can think through Sharon's takeaways and brainstorm how they apply to your life right now. It includes some of Sharon's best quotes and some thought-provoking questions to help you apply what you learn today. Related Episodes: 392: How to Have Grace-Filled Political Conversations with Family & Friends // Sarah Stewart Holland & Beth Silvers of Pantsuit Politics 256: Why “Unsexy” Elections Matter and How to Get Involved as a Busy Mom // Laney Hawes 051: How (and Why) to Get Involved in the Political Process as a Mom // Lacey Parr Episode Sponsors: Tushbaby: Visit Tushbaby.com and start customizing your own carrier. Make sure to use code 3IN30 for 20% off your first order. Nutrafol: For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code 3IN30. AirDoctor: Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code 3IN30 to get UP TO $300 off today! Let's Connect! Join me on Instagram! Get weekly-ish emails with BTS of my life Find Your Magic in Motherhood: Free 3-Day Email Course

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to 3 in 30, a podcast to help you feel more like yourself within your motherhood.
0:09.3	Each 30-minute episode features three actionable takeaways to help you become a more self-assured mom,
0:15.2	someone who knows yourself, honors your needs, and loves your people.
0:19.9	Listen in to feel encouraged as we learn together how to
0:22.6	overcome overwhelm and find more magic in motherhood. I'm your host, Rachel Nielsen. I'm so
0:28.5	glad you're here. I recently spent almost an entire day crying.
0:38.7	This is so unusual for me because I am not normally a weepy person.
0:42.7	I cry maybe once or twice a year, but I was just overcome by how heavy the world feels right now.
0:49.7	So many upsetting news headlines, so many world tragedies, so many sorrows that my own family
0:55.8	and friends are facing. It's a lot, and maybe you have been feeling this way too. In the face of
1:01.8	so many big things, it can be tempting to believe that if we can't fix everything, our small
1:07.6	efforts don't even matter. But deep down, I know that's not true. And this week's
1:12.7	podcast episode with Sharon McMahon was the reminder I needed. Sharon is an award-winning educator,
1:19.0	philanthropist, and founder of the wildly popular Instagram account Sharon says so. She's known as
1:25.1	America's government teacher for the way she breaks down complicated issues
1:29.0	with kindness, clarity, and hope. And her debut book, The Small and the Mighty, was a number one
1:34.5	New York Times bestseller, went to number one on all of Amazon, and was celebrated as one of the
1:40.0	best books of the year by Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and more.
1:49.1	In today's episode, Sharon shares the stories of three incredible women from history that she profiled in her book, and she offers us three takeaways from their lives that we can
1:53.9	apply to our lives today as mothers, neighbors, and changemakers, even and maybe especially
2:00.8	when the world around us feels overwhelming
2:03.5	and heavy. If you love this conversation, I'd invite you to grab the worksheet that my team
	...

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