How to Chase Sustainable Ambition & Find Your Purpose with Amina AlTai

Ambition 2.0

Girlboss

Entrepreneurship, Business, Careers

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What if ambition didn’t mean chasing the next title, paycheck, or performance review? In this episode of Ambition 2.0, host Amanda Goetz sits down with executive coach, podcast host, and author Amina AlTai (The Ambition Trap) to unpack what ambition really means—and why it might need a full rebrand. Together, Amanda and Amina get real about how culture (and capitalism) have warped our relationship with ambition—especially for women—and how to reclaim it on our own terms. From the “core wounds” that drive our overachieving tendencies to the importance of rest, self-awareness, and setting boundaries, this episode is your permission slip to stop chasing and start living. ✍️What you’ll learn Why ambition is cyclical (seasons of push + rest) The five core wounds (Lise Bourbeau) & how they show up at work “Painful” vs “purposeful” ambition—and how to shift The five "whys" to separate ego goals from what truly lights you up The resentment line: naming needs, stating them, and negotiating How to spot toxic individualism and reframe success as a team sport Why identity is a prism (you’re more than your job title) Whether you’re deep in your hustle era or learning to rest without guilt, this convo will help you spot what’s fueling your ambition—pain or purpose—and redesign it for something sustainable, joyful, and yours. 00:00 Intro 02:14 Two camps of ambition 03:58 Core wounds & masks 08:10 Untangling identity from achievement (and capitalism’s worthiness trap) 14:17 Desire, shame, and policing women’s wants 18:34 Toxic individualism vs. team sport mentality 22:38 Mistaking passion for purpose 26:50 Finding your purpose 32:45 Living above the resentment line GUEST LINKS Amina AlTai: https://www.instagram.com/aminaaltai/?hl=en Read The Ambition Trap: https://bookshop.org/a/116169/9780593655306 https://www.aminaaltai.com/ RESOURCES MENTIONED: Lise Bourbeau’s Five Core Wounds framework Stephen Cope’s The Great Work of Your Life FOLLOW THE PODCAST IG: https://www.instagram.com/girlboss/ | TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlboss Amanda Goetz: https://www.instagram.com/theamandagoetz/ https://girlboss.com/pages/ambition-2-0-podcast SIGN UP Subscribe to the Girlboss Daily newsletter: https://newsletter.girlboss.com/ For all other Girlboss links: https://linkin.bio/girlboss/ ABOUT AMBITION 2.0 Powered by Girlboss, Ambition 2.0 is a podcast where we’ll be exploring what it really means to “have it all” in work, family, identity, and self… and if it’s actually worth it. Each week, you'll hear from hardworking women who’ve walked the tightrope of ambition. They'll share their costly mistakes, lessons learned, and practical tips for how to have it all and actually love what you have. ABOUT HER WORKPLACE UNFILTERED Listen to Her Workplace Unfiltered—a podcast about what it really means to be a woman in the workplace. Instagram: @herworkplaceunfiltered @herworkplace TikTok: @herworkplaceunfiltered @herworkplace Watch on YouTube Join Her Workplace Follow Her Workplace on LinkedIn Subscribe to their newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I don't think that ambition is more for more's sake all the time.
0:03.0	Like culturally, I think that we're taught that it's more money, more power, more awards, next title, right? But that costs us our health and our relationships, and I think upholds oppressive systems. And so I think ambition actually is cyclical. It's just like nature. So you have these seasons where you want to grow, right? It's book launch time. Right. And so you have these beautiful peaks in the sun, right?
0:23.0	The petals come out.
0:23.9	It's this amazing flowering at springtime.
0:26.1	But then the seasons shift and you wind down and you go back underground where you rest until you're nurtured enough that you can rise again.
0:32.6	Yeah. Welcome to Ambition 2.0, the new podcast with Girl Boss, where we're going to explore what it really costs and takes to have it all in work, family, life, and self.
0:51.5	I'm Amanda Gets, your host. I'm a two-time founder, four-time CMO, mom of three,
0:56.7	and author of the book, Toxic Grit, How to Have It All, and actually love what you have.
1:01.6	I'm so excited about today's guest. I'm going to just go through this here,
1:06.7	executive coach, podcast hosts, author of the ambition trap.
1:14.3	We're going to really dive into these traps that we're all falling into.
1:19.6	She helps us rethink the very idea of ambition instead of chasing external validation.
1:25.6	We're going to really, in this episode, dive into the hidden roots of painful ambition,
1:29.2	how cultural scripts shape the way women show up to work,
1:33.7	and what it looks like to design a life of meaning and success on your own terms.
1:37.6	Amina Altai, welcome to Ambition 2.0.
1:39.5	Oh my gosh, thank you so much for having me.
1:40.9	I am delighted to sit with you.
1:42.7	I feel like we are soul sisters on this journey.
1:48.8	I feel like I've been Instagram stalking you for a very long time and then finally took the leap to be like slide into your DMs and be like, hi, I like you. Let's be friends. Oh my gosh, I feel the same way. That's how it
1:55.7	happens. You just got to slide into the DMs. So first question that we ask everybody, and this is very pertinent
2:02.9	because you wrote an entire book on this. Since the title of this podcast is called Ambition 2.0,
	...

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