130: Emotional Intelligence & Entrepreneurship130: Emotional Intelligence & Entrepreneurship
You're Sober! Now What?
Tamar Medford talks about how emotional intelligence has changed her recovery and her life as an entrepreneur, from feeling emotions fully to staying resilient through major transitions. The episode touches on perfectionism, anxiety, self-care, and using faith and purpose to handle fear and responsibility.
17:26•2 Sept 2021
Emotional Intelligence, Sobriety and Building a Business
Episode Overview
- Accepting that it is okay to feel emotions and to ask for help is a crucial step in recovery.
- Learning where emotions show up in the body and pausing before reacting can reduce defensiveness and conflict.
- Reframing sensations like nervousness into excitement can shift mindset and behaviour, especially in business.
- Prioritising self-care and support during trauma helps avoid shutdown or burnout while still honouring commitments.
- Clarifying purpose and nurturing faith can support resilience when facing major life and entrepreneurial changes.
“When I finally realised that it was okay to not be okay, that was the first step.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This episode focuses on how emotional intelligence can become a crucial tool for staying sober and building a business at the same time. Tamar Medford talks openly about drinking "because of my inability to handle my emotions" and how early recovery felt like a tidal wave of feelings.
She shares that in her first two years sober she "cried more than I have in my entire life", and how learning that it was okay to feel – and okay to ask for help – marked a major turning point. You’ll hear her break down emotional intelligence in very practical terms: noticing where emotions show up in the body, pausing before reacting, and choosing a response instead of a knee‑jerk defence.
She uses simple examples, like how nervousness before a talk can feel exactly like excitement, and how reframing that sensation can shift behaviour. Tamar also brings in her experience with perfectionism, depression and anxiety, and the old "suck it up" mentality that kept her stuck.
She contrasts her past pattern of shutting down or pushing through trauma until burnout, with her recent choice to prioritise self‑care during a difficult life change – becoming a full‑time entrepreneur and living alone for the first time at 45. There’s plenty here for entrepreneurs in recovery: balancing emotional healing with the reality of needing to keep a business running, rearranging schedules instead of abandoning commitments, leaning on a support network, and using hikes, laughter and connection to stay grounded.
Spiritual growth and faith also play a role in how she faces new challenges with more trust and less panic. If you’re sober, building something of your own, and wondering how to handle the emotional rollercoaster, this candid conversation might be just the reminder that "it’s okay to not be okay" that you’ve been waiting for. How might strengthening your emotional intelligence change the way you run your life and your business?
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