This compilation episode is for mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and women everywhere who are challenged by work, life, and everything in between. It’s for women pushing to make a difference amid pressure and self-doubt and for those who need support along the way. It’s for anyone who has felt vulnerable but still found the courage to push forward. It is for you.

Our culture repeatedly tells us that the goal is to be the best, and to be the best you need talent or perseverance... but this message could be misleading. What if success isn't found in being the best but in becoming the best? What if becoming the best led to talent, perseverance, and hope instead of the other way around?

Welcome to Episode 100 of When Women Fly! To celebrate we go back to where it all began, Episode 1 with skydiver, life coach and writer - the amazing Melanie Curtis. True success — the kind you can sustain over time — demands a different relationship with ambition and action. Mel takes a deep dive into serving a higher purpose and how that gives meaning to life, a healthier, more sustainable model rooted in elevating the human condition. We reflect on the last 2 years, current lives and future goals.

This is an episode for all women everywhere. If you are finding motherhood hard, this episode is for you. If you are finding it hard to mother yourself, this episode is for you. If you aren't sure motherhood is right for you, this episode is for you too. In this special compilation, we are featuring five rockstar guests who tell their stories of becoming moms. 

In this episode, Sylvia talks to Serinity Young PhD, about her astonishing study into women and flight. Weaving together the concept of airborne women, she unfolds an investigation into the recurrent motif of women free from earthly constraints and empowered with the ability of flight. They discuss the ways flying women appear in a variety of cultures’ historical periods, in legends, myths, rituals, sacred narratives, and artistic productions. They dive into how airborne women have been both influenced and understood by society and religious traditions.

In this first episode of 2021, Sylvia talks with Alaska native and speaker Shannon Huffman Polson about her journey as a thought leader on grit and resilience. She served as one of the first women to fly the Apache helicopter in the US Army and earned her MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth before writing The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience, and Leadership in the Most Male-Dominated Organization in the World and founding The Grit Institute where she coaches people on developing grit in careers and workplaces.

Sylvia talks with pilot, visionary and strategist Ivy McIver, the Director of the SR Product Line at Cirrus Aircraft. Ivy talks about parachutes in airplanes, where planes can go and how they can change your life, why training is so critical, the importance of collaboration in the design process and bringing outrageous innovations to market. They also dig into the psychology of endurance multi-sports and how lessons learned from extreme physical challenges can be applied in other areas of life.

Paste episode overview here

Kimmy Fasani has been a pioneer in women’s snowboarding since she became the first female snowboarder to land a double backflip in the park and the powder in 2011. In this episode, Sylvia and Kimmy discuss balancing family life with a busy career. Kimmy shares how she discovered the truth about happiness after having her first child, living life without limits, and how women can show up as their authentic selves in all areas of life.