We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Emily Jacobs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dr. Emily thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so one thing we think people don’t talk about nearly enough is investments – either time or money. What’s one of the best or worst investments you’ve made and what did you learned from the experience?

The best investment I’ve made as a business owner was hiring a mentor…someone who taught me to “catch up to my calling.” At the time, I was juggling business growth with the demands of motherhood, and while I was driven with ambition….I was also running on empty. I had this deep passion for helping women dream bigger, to believe that their dreams don’t end at motherhood—but I realized I wasn’t fully modeling that in my own life. That’s hard to admit.
I was showing up for everyone else while quietly playing small with my own ambitions. That disconnect started to eat away at me. So I hired a coach…not because I had the time or money to spare, but because I knew I couldn’t lead others into boldness if I was playing small myself.
That decision changed everything. With my mentor’s support, I was able to unpack limiting beliefs, reimagine what growth could look like, and start leading with more confidence and alignment. I stopped seeing motherhood and ambition as opposing forces and started designing a life and a business that honored both.
The biggest lesson? You can’t pour from an empty cup, and you can’t inspire others to chase their dreams if you’re quietly abandoning your own. Investing in that mentorship helped me step into the kind of leadership I wanted to offer to other women: one rooted in courage, clarity, and unapologetic dreaming. These lessons are priceless!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Dr. Emily Jacobs, an author, speaker, leadership coach and the founder of Empowered Moms…a bold, growing movement and community for women who know deep down they were made for more. Our mission is simple but powerful: to raise the bar for motherhood by helping women overcome fear, guilt, and burnout so they can pursue their dreams beyond motherhood. We do this through community building, connection, and massive collaboration …because when women come together with a shared belief in possibility, everything changes.
After over 20 years serving in the healthcare system, I ultimately realized it no longer aligned with the kind of impact I was destined to make. I saw burnout, bullying, and broken leadership structures that pushed people (especially women) toward silence, people-pleasing, and self-sacrifice. I knew it was time for a bold change.
After publishing my first book, Live Your Life For You (Not Your Mom), a deeply personal book that explores my own complicated mother-daughter relationship and the journey of unlearning perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the pressure to live according to someone else’s rules. It’s my story, but it’s also the story of so many women who’ve felt stuck trying to meet expectations that were never truly theirs.
Today, Empowered Moms is a growing community of over 900 women…and it’s just the beginning. Over 250 women coached, acknowledged on over 200+ platforms/interviews, we continue to show up as an advocate for boundaries, resilience, and dreaming big, even in the thick of motherhood. One of the proudest moments of this journey so far has been hosting the Empowered Moms Live Event, a 2x sold-out experience with over 100 women, motivational speakers, 20+ women-owned vendors, and an atmosphere of genuine transformation. It was proof that women are hungry for this kind of space: a place to be inspired, seen, supported, and celebrated. Save the date for Sunday Oct 5th in Michigan! Tickets are live on our website! https://empoweredmoms.co/
If there’s one thing I want people to know about me and my work, it’s this: You don’t have to choose between being a great mom and living a fulfilling life. You get to have both. You get to model that for your children. And you’re allowed to want more. And…That’s not selfish.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was that doing “good” meant keeping everyone else happy…even at the cost of my own peace. For most of my life, I wore people-pleasing like a badge of honor. I thought if I could just keep the peace, avoid conflict, and meet everyone’s expectations, I’d be seen as worthy, loved, and successful.
But what it really cost me was me. I was exhausted, anxious, and constantly second-guessing myself.
The turning point came when I started unpacking my complicated relationship….realizing how deeply I had internalized the belief that my worth was tied to approval. That realization became the heartbeat of my book, Live Your Life For You (Not Your Mom).
Since then, I’ve done the work to reclaim my boundaries and rebuild a life that honors my values, my priorities, and my peace. And now, I coach other women how to do the same. Because when we stop abandoning ourselves for the comfort of others, we become EMPOWERED. Communicate your limit with love and make peace your non-negotiable.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After 20 years in nursing and healthcare leadership, I made one of the biggest pivots of my life. I walked away from a stable, successful career to follow a calling I couldn’t ignore. I had always felt a pull to do more….to create real impact, to speak truth, and to help women rise…but at first, I was scared and let fear win.
Eventually, the signs from God became impossible to ignore. The misalignment, the burnout, the people pleasing to stay in a toxic situation lead to a deterioration in my mental health. So I took the leap and launched my own coaching and consulting business which lead to developing the Empowered Moms community.
It was scary, uncertain, and totally outside my comfort zone…but I trusted that if I followed the nudge, the path would unfold. And it did. That pivot led to deeper purpose, powerful community, and a business that allows me to lead women toward transformation every day.
Sharing my message as a keynote speaker has allowed me to inspire and impact hundreds of women, with the hope that each talk sparks transformation and reminds them of their power, worth, and potential.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://empoweredmoms.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dremilyjacobs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredmomstribe
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dremilyjacobs/

Image Credits

Photo Credit 1127 Creative Co