Episode 307: Stop Hustling & Start Leading with Grace: The Grace Codes with Dr. Kelly Martin Schuh
Exhausted from the Hustle?
Here's How to Enjoy Business (and Life) Again
Okay, real talk. This conversation with Dr. Kelly Martin Schuh about The Grace Codes for women entrepreneurs is one you need to hear.
We're at such a crazy, pivotal moment right now—not just as women entrepreneurs, but as women period. Everything around us is falling apart. Those structures we used to lean on? Crumbling. The old ways of doing business? Yeah, not working anymore.
Watch the full episode
If you're new here, welcome! I'm Sarah Walton, and I help women entrepreneurs build profitable businesses without sacrificing their souls to the hustle. On the Game On Girlfriend® podcast, I have honest conversations with incredible women about what it actually takes to create sustainable success. Today's conversation with Dr. Kelly Martin Schuh is one you'll want to bookmark.
And if you're a Gen X woman like me (shoutout to my fellow latchkey kids!), you know exactly what I'm talking about. We learned to hustle our faces off, prove ourselves constantly, and basically turn into dudes to get a seat at the table.
We watched our mothers burn their bras and fight like hell for their rights. Then guess what? We had to fight even harder to keep those seats they won for us.
But here's what nobody bothered to tell us: You can't 10X your impact, your income, or your life by just working harder. Actually, the harder you push, the more you push away what you're trying to create. Wild, right?
The Mountain Moment That Changed Everything for Women Entrepreneurs
So Dr. Kelly recently led a group of women entrepreneurs up Mount Kilimanjaro—yes, THAT Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world at over 19,000 feet. They raised over $40,000 to build a school for children in Tanzania while they were at it.
But the most powerful moment? It wasn't at the summit.
Picture this: Five hours into a seven-hour summit climb. It's midnight. There's only a full moon lighting the way. A guide walks up to Dr. Kelly and asks to take her backpack.
She says no.
Every. Single. Other. Woman. had already handed their packs over to the support team. But Dr. Kelly? Nope. "I'm fine. I'm strong. I got this."
The guide asks again. And this time, she notices something—she's weaving on the trail. You know what that means at high altitude? Your brain isn't getting enough oxygen. She literally hadn't even realized it.
When she finally handed over that pack, she got full-body chills. And suddenly it all made sense.
This is what we do as high-achieving women. We carry burdens that aren't even ours. We refuse help when we're literally struggling. We push away support because somewhere along the way, we decided our worth depends on doing it all ourselves.
Want to know what really got me? It took 28 porters and guides to get 5 women to the summit.
Let that sink in for a second. You need a whole village to scale anything meaningful. But first? You've gotta be willing to say yes when someone actually offers to help.
The Grace Codes: A New Framework for Women Entrepreneurs
Dr. Kelly created this framework called The Grace Codes—four activations that help women entrepreneurs move from pressure to presence. From hustle to actual flow.
And this? This is the missing piece from every business strategy you've ever tried. I promise you.
These four steps work specifically for women in business who are tired of the masculine hustle model and ready for something that actually feels sustainable.
Step 1: Release It
Think about it—your closed fist can't grab anything new. You've gotta release what you're death-gripping first. The old ways. The familiar discomfort. This constant burden of proving yourself.
We hold on so tight because at least uncomfortable is familiar, you know? But your next level? It requires open hands.
This is your root chakra stuff—how safe you feel, your relationship with money, whether you feel secure in the world. Until you let go of the old stories, you literally cannot create new results.
Step 2: Reclaim It
Dr. Kelly calls this "power amnesia,"—and oh my God, I felt so seen.
You know what we do? We summit a mountain. We hit a huge goal. And then immediately we're like, "Cool, what's next?" No celebration. No, taking a moment to be like, "Holy crap, look what I just did." Just straight onto the next thing.
We completely forget how powerful we are. We brush off our accomplishments. We totally overlook our own strength.
This is your personal power work—third chakra energy. Calling back your power. Actually, remembering how brilliant you are. Honoring what got you here instead of immediately running toward the next peak.
And here's the thing—this goes back generations. Our mothers and grandmothers weren't acknowledged for their power either. So, when we do this work? We're not just healing ourselves. We're healing entire lineages.
Step 3: Rewrite It
Heart chakra territory. This is where you get to create a new story—but from love instead of fear. Instead of scarcity. Instead of constantly trying to prove something.
This is where you design your shero's journey. Not the hero's journey we were all taught, but something that actually feels true to who you are and what you want.
Dr. Kelly works with what she calls "red threads"—all those ancestral patterns, scarcity stories, subconscious programming running in the background. She helps women transform them into "golden threads" of wisdom instead.
Step 4: Receive It
Dr. Kelly says this is the hardest step for most women. And I totally get it.
We've been programmed to "just do it" our entire lives. Nike style. Go, go, go. Make it happen. Force it if you have to.
But here's what's wild: When you try to force something, you actually resist it. You push it away.
This step is about deep surrender. Knowing you're worthy of your dreams just because you exist. Realizing that sometimes the best thing you can do is to allow, rather than push.
I've been working on this hard for the last six months. And you guys, I cannot even tell you how many times I would refuse to receive the smallest things. Someone holds a door? "No, you go first." Someone offers help? "Oh no, I'm fine, I got it."
The sheer number of ways we refuse to let people contribute to us? It's actually shocking when you start paying attention.
But you ARE worthy of receiving. Not because of what you accomplish or produce. Just because you're breathing.
The Great Pause Happening Right Now
Dr. Kelly said something that made me tear up:
Everything around us is falling. We're in a place of breakdown before breakthrough. High-achieving women need to stop and get really real about this.
COVID forced all of us to pause because we didn't have a choice. The entire world just stopped.
Now we're facing another pause—except this time, we get to choose it. Or it'll be chosen for us through a health crisis, a relationship breakdown, or mental health struggles.
If we don't intentionally stop and realign, we'll just get swept away by the chaos.
And I've gotta tell you—I've seen this with literally every single client I've talked to this week. Something's shifting. The old hustle model isn't just exhausting anymore. It's actually becoming impossible to sustain.
Creating the Role Models Women Entrepreneurs Never Had
Dr. Kelly asked me this question that completely stopped me: "Who's your role model for divine feminine leadership? Like, a woman who's successful AND takes care of herself? Who has grace, not just grit?"
Most Gen X women, she asks, can't name anyone. Their minds literally go blank.
And that makes total sense because we didn't have those role models. We had women who fought to "have it all"—but usually it cost them everything else.
That's why Dr. Kelly created the Gen X 10X movement. It's a whole new model of leadership based on presence, purpose, and prosperity. Where we don't have to choose between success and actually enjoying our lives.
We're literally becoming the role models we never had. Women who are successful AND well-rested. Who make great money AND have time for long Italian dinners with family. Who build empires AND have actual white space in their calendars.
Your Success Blueprint Already Exists
One of the tools Dr. Kelly uses is Human Design—basically your energetic blueprint for how you're designed to make decisions, where your natural genius lives, how you're meant to show up in the world.
She calls it the success manual your parents should have gotten when you were born. Except they didn't. But it still exists. It's literally encoded in your DNA.
The reason you haven't 10X'd yet? It's not because you're lazy or not working hard enough. It's because you're following a blueprint designed for someone else's energy.
When you finally understand your own design, you stop forcing things. You start flowing. You actually honor your natural rhythms rather than constantly fighting against them.
And then expansion happens without the burnout.
The Worthiness Conversation That Made Me Cry
Dr. Kelly shared something so vulnerable. Her 15-year-old daughter came to her and said, "Mama, I realized I put my worth in my grades."
Can you even? Fifteen years old and already aware of this pattern.
Sweetie, you're a lot like your mama. I used to put my worth in the money sitting in my bank account. If the money was there, I felt worthy and successful. If it wasn't? I felt like I was failing and needed to work harder.
This is THE work, you guys. Separating your worthiness from your productivity. From your achievements. From your bank balance.
You're worthy because you exist. Not because of what you produce or accomplish.
How Everything Changed with One Dare
Picture this: Dr. Kelly was $130,000 in debt. Her coaching business was bringing in $50K a year. Her husband was literally suggesting she go back to her chiropractic practice because the coaching thing wasn't working.
Then her coach dared her to double her rates.
She tripled her business that year. Went from $50K to $150K. And she didn't work harder—she just aligned with actually feeling worthy.
She even trained for and completed a Tough Mudder that year because she finally had breathing room in her schedule.
The shift had nothing to do with strategy. It was all about worthiness. About learning to receive. About releasing the old identity that kept her stuck and broke.
What This Means for Your Business Right Now
If you're reading this feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, like you're weaving on the mountain but keep insisting you're fine—this is your wake-up call.
Those structures falling apart around us? They're not here to punish us. They're here to wake us the hell up. You don't need another strategy. You don't need to work harder. What you need is alignment.
- Let go of the old ways that got you here but won't get you to your next level
- Remember your power and how brilliant you actually are
- Write a new story from your heart instead of your wounds
- Start practicing receiving like your life depends on it—because your next level absolutely does
When Women Rise, Mountains Move
Dr. Kelly literally proved this—leading women up Kilimanjaro and raising $40,000 for kids who needed a school.
But she's proving it in her business too. In the Gen X 10X movement. In every single woman, she helps step into embodied feminine leadership.
Here's what I know after this conversation: We're creating an entirely new type of leadership. And when Gen X women are resourced and aligned? We have the power to actually change the world.
But we can't do it through hustle. We have to do it through grace.
Listen to the Full Conversation
This conversation goes SO much deeper than I can even capture here. Dr. Kelly breaks down the entire Grace Codes framework, shares her Human Design wisdom, and gets real about what it actually means to lead from feminine power when the world is still trying to pull us into masculine energy.
Listen to Episode 307 of the Game On Girlfriend podcast here or watch the interview here.
And if you want to understand your unique energetic blueprint for success, grab Dr. Kelly's free Human Design chart at queenofworth.com/chart
It's time to stop weaving on the mountain while insisting you're fine. Time to hand over the pack. Time to let your village help you reach the summit.
Your power, peace, and prosperity? They already live inside you. Let's activate them together.
Ready to Hand Over Your Backpack?
If this conversation hit home—if you're weaving on the mountain but keep insisting you're fine—let's talk.
I offer a free 15-minute call where we can talk about what's actually happening in your business right now. No pitch, no pressure. Just a real conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
Think of it as handing over your backpack for a few minutes. Let me help you see what you might not be seeing on your own.
*These calls book up quickly. Grab a spot while they're available.*
Connect with Dr. Kelly Martin Schuh
Find Dr. Kelly on LinkedIn at @DrKellySchuh, follow her on Instagram at @DrKellySchuh, or check out her website at QueenofWorth.com
About Dr. Kelly Martin Schuh
Dr. Kelly Martin Schuh is a transformational thought leader, speaker, and trainer in embodied feminine leadership and nervous system integration. A force of nature for visionary leaders exhausted from the hustle and grind, she helps women move from pressure to presence through The Grace Codes™—her framework for leading with grace, not grit.
As the founder of the GenX 10X™ movement, Dr. Kelly is creating a new lineage of embodied feminine leaders—women who lead with authenticity, alignment, and grace. She is also co-author of Peak Performance: Mindset Tools for Leaders.
Dr. Kelly recently led a group of women up Mt. Kilimanjaro, raising over $40 K to build a school for children in Tanzania—proving that when women rise, we truly move mountains.
About Sarah Walton
Sarah Walton is a business coach, podcast host, and mentor who helps women entrepreneurs build businesses they love. She's the creator of the Abundance Academy, Effortless Sales, and the Game On Girlfriend® podcast. Sarah's mission is to put more money in the hands of more women while teaching authentic, heart-centered business strategies.
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