Time To Press Pause: A Podcast for CEOs by CEOs

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In this episode of Time to Press Pause, Ellen sits down with Thomas Cox, founder of Cox Capital, investor, and former college football coach, to talk about one of the hardest decisions leaders face: 

👉 When growth starts costing you your life. 

Thomas shares two pivotal “press pause” moments that changed everything: 

•  Walking away from a 75-hour work lifestyle 
•  Hiring before he was financially ready 
•  Choosing family presence over short-term profit 

And here’s the truth most people won’t say out loud:
Sometimes growing your business means making less money first.
 
This episode is about:

•  Why hiring is the hardest (and most necessary) leadership move 
•  The real cost of not delegating 
•  How to know when it’s time to step back 
•  Why you shouldn’t be the smartest person in the room 
•  And what actually matters when you zoom out 

If you’ve been stuck doing everything yourself…

or questioning whether it’s “worth it”…
 
This conversation will hit.

 
🎧 Listen now and ask yourself:

 What do you need to press pause on ?
 

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What happens when everything that’s worked your entire career… suddenly stops working? 

In this episode of Time to Press Pause, Ellen sits down with Nicole Donnelly, co-founder of Cardinal Search Partners, to unpack a deeply human and vulnerable moment in her career, when success stalled, confidence wavered, and nothing seemed to move forward. 

After nearly two decades of success in legal recruiting, Nicole found herself in unfamiliar territory: stuck, uncertain, and questioning everything. 

Instead of pushing harder in the same direction, she did something most high-performers avoid, she paused. 

What followed was a powerful shift: 

•  From autopilot → intentional action 
•  From comparison → self-awareness 
•  From comfort → growth through discomfort 

Nicole shares how leaning into discomfort, building her personal brand, and changing her daily actions helped her rebuild momentum and become a stronger leader in the process.
 
This episode is a must-listen for anyone in sales, leadership, or high-performance roles who feels stuck despite doing “everything right.”


What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

•  Why success can suddenly stop working (even after years of results) 
•  The difference between a forced pause and a conscious pause 
•  How comparison kills momentum and how to break free from it 
•  Practical ways to “get comfortable with the uncomfortable” 
•  How LinkedIn and personal branding can reignite growth 
•  Why vulnerability makes you a stronger leader 

Key Takeaways:

•  “What worked before won’t always work next.” 
•  Growth often starts where comfort ends 
•  Comparison is one of the biggest blockers to progress 
•  Small daily shifts can completely change your trajectory 

 
Connect & Learn More:

Guest:

Nicole Donnelly: 

• Company: https://www.cardinalsp.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleldonnelly/

Host:

Ellen Williams

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenwilliamsny/
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Time-Ellen-Williams/dp/1637778481/

 
If this episode resonated with you:
Follow the show, share it with someone who needs a reset, and take a moment to reflect, where in your life is it time to press pause?
 

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Entrepreneur Shane Barker built a fast-growing company with 130 employees and a $25M valuation in just two years. 

But behind the success was a dangerous reality. 

He was working 18-20 hour days, living on coffee and energy drinks, missing his son’s baseball games, and slowly pushing his health to the edge. 

Then came the realization that changed everything. 

In this episode of Time to Press Pause, Shane shares the moment he understood that success without boundaries can cost you everything, your health, your relationships, and your presence in the moments that matter most. 

Today, Shane leads a smaller team, protects his energy, and lives by a different philosophy of leadership. 

A powerful conversation about ambition, burnout, delegation, and redefining what success actually means.

We talked about:

• The hidden cost of entrepreneurial hustle culture
• Why working 18–20 hours a day nearly broke him
• The moment Shane realized he was on track for a heart attack
• Why delegation is one of the most important leadership skills
• The difference between work-life balance and life harmony
• Why most entrepreneurs ignore the signals their body sends
• How COVID reinforced the importance of being present
• Building a lean company without sacrificing personal life

This conversation is a powerful reminder for entrepreneurs, leaders, and founders chasing growth at any cost. 

🌐 Shane Barker
 https://tracefuse.ai


📘 Ellen Williams
https://thesalientstrategist.com


📖 Ellen’s Book – Creating Time: The Key to Productivity and Peace
Available on major online bookstores.
 

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In Season 3, Episode 12 of Time To Press Pause, Ellen Williams sits down with Cory Dunham to explore what it truly means to disconnect in a world that never stops. 

Cory introduces the concept of a “Digital Sabbath”  a deliberate 24-hour period without screens, notifications, or digital noise. 

But this conversation goes far beyond productivity hacks. 

It’s about attention.
It’s about presence.
It’s about reclaiming humanity from the algorithms that compete for it. 

Together, they discuss: 

• Why leaders struggle to disconnect
• The anxiety that surfaces when we put the phone away
• How constant interruption erodes deep focus and meaningful relationships
• The difference between being informed and being consumed
• A simple starting point: the “Phone-Free First Hour” 

Pressing pause isn’t about escaping the world.
It’s about returning to it, fully present. 

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What happens when something you believed would succeed… doesn’t ? 

In this episode of Time To Press Pause, Ellen Williams is joined by Jon Sheldon, founder of Bellewood Coaching, who shares a humbling and deeply honest press pause story about accountability, ego, and misalignment. 

After years of success in real estate investing, Jon made a decision that looked right on paper, but slowly became unsustainable in real life. 

What followed was a difficult realization: the problem wasn’t the market, the property, or the people involved. The problem was his lack of focus and accountability. 

This conversation explores what it really means to take ownership, not just of success, but of failure and how pressing pause can help realign your time, attention, and intention. 

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• How ego can quietly drive misaligned decisions
• Why vision without accountability eventually breaks down
• The cost of assuming past success guarantees future results
• How to recognize when something no longer supports your life
• Why pressing pause is sometimes the most responsible leadership move

This episode is a powerful reminder that real growth begins when we stop deflecting and start owning the truth.
 

 
🔗 Learn more about Jon Sheldon and Bellewood Coaching:

👉 https://www.belleauwood.coach/

 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sheldon-82760a51/

 🔗 Learn more about Ellen Williams:

📘 Ellen Williams upcoming book (pre-launch):
 Creating Time: The Key to Productivity and Peace

 👉 https://shopbooksdirect.com/product/creating-time/
 
📰 Subscribe to Ellen’s newsletter for updates on new episodes and the book launch:

 👉 https://www.thesalientstrategist.com

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