![\"\"](\"https:\/\/livenortherly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1-3.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThrough seasons of parenthood, partnership and entrepreneurism, Abby Green has grown in both her sense of self and her purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
She explores these topics \u2014 and much more \u2014 on her two popular podcasts, HERself<\/a> and Pursuing HER Purpose<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abby<\/a>, who holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in community health education and master\u2019s of public health and is a certified personal and business coach, launched HERself in late 2019 with Amy Kiefer. The two had actually known each other for years before deciding to team up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAmy and I met in college, at UW\u2013La Crosse,\u201d she says. \u201cWe ran on the same cross country team but weren\u2019t that close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But they stayed in touch as Amy started a blog and Abby worked in sales at an insurance company, where she met her husband Colin. As the women journeyed along similar paths, getting engaged, married and pregnant, they exchanged advice and recommendations. When they both became interested in hosting a podcast, Abby suggested joining forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were working side by side, and all of a sudden, one day I thought, we should do this together,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea was that they\u2019d have a shared platform in which they\u2019d dig deep into topics of motherhood, marriage, self-improvement and more, but with two very different voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their approach and tone \u2014 of showing up with their full and authentic personalities \u2014 clicked with their audience, and the podcast grew quickly. Abby and Amy have published more than 150 episodes that have been downloaded more than two million times!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI love speaking,\u201d Abby says. \u201cPodcasts are great because you can reach a lot of people at once. And you meet people where they\u2019re at. Especially for busy mothers, it just works. I want them to be able to multitask.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abby\u2019s primary goal with the podcast is to help women become not their best self but their truest self, and she expanded upon that concept when she and Amy started their second podcast along with Kat Herro. Launched in September 2021, Pursuing HER Purpose speaks to the woman who wants to run a businesses or pursue a passion and \u201chit her goals without losing herself, her values or her relationships along the way.\u201d Through more than seventy episodes they\u2019ve showcased the wisdom of experts along with behind-the-scenes looks into their own businesses and experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abby says they\u2019ve never run out of content ideas for either podcast. They regularly bring on guests who have piqued their interest, and they listen to their audience when they ask about specific topics. \u201cPeople DM us, and if we get the same question six to seven times, we create an episode about it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They also aren\u2019t afraid to explore a topic from a variety of angles. \u201cWe don\u2019t have just one guilt episode,\u201d Abby says. \u201cGuilt is so multifaceted, so we have three different guilt episodes spread out over a couple of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abby loves learning from the experts featured on the podcasts, and she\u2019s put marriage and motherhood advice to good use as she and Colin raise their three kids \u2014 six-year-old Lucy, four-year-old Micah and two-year-old Owen \u2014 in Waunakee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019s also learned the power in sharing your own story, even when it\u2019s messy or before an issue is wrapped up. \u201cA lot of people on podcasts talk about a problem when they\u2019re nearly through it,\u201d Abby says, adding that it can be more helpful to show up when you\u2019re in the thick of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSix days after our diagnosis, I jumped on the microphone,\u201d she says, referring to episode 22<\/a> of HERself, in which she discussed learning that their third child would have Down Syndrome. It remains one of their most-downloaded episodes, and a local hospital now includes it among resources for parents receiving the diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Abby and Colin, the news was traumatic, partly because neither of them had any experience with Down Syndrome. But as they learned more \u2014 and met their sweet baby \u2014 their grief and fear turned to celebration and advocacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s actually a 0.8 percent chance of a baby having Down Syndrome,\u201d Abby says. \u201cIt\u2019s a miracle \u2014\u00a0that\u2019s the reframe. That\u2019s why every time a baby is born with Down Syndrome, it needs to be celebrated like crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abby says many people don\u2019t understand this, or know what to say when a family receives the diagnosis. And some have questions but are afraid to ask. Both in person and on her podcasts, Abby seeks to provide a space for dialogue and learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want you to ask me those questions,\u201d she says. \u201cSo then I can tell you and you can know. When someone gets a diagnosis, don\u2019t say, \u2018I\u2019m sorry.\u2019 Say, \u2018Congratulations. This child going to change your world and you don\u2019t know it yet.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abby now sees how each of her children changed her and helped her grow and find new purpose. She\u2019s learned what works for her and her family, and she hopes others \u2014 especially mothers \u2014 feel empowered to do the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And after living through trials and pivots on her own path and recording hundreds of wisdom-packed podcast episodes, Abby\u2019s biggest piece of advice is powerful yet simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour life isn\u2019t supposed to look like hers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Katie Vaughn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Photos by Poppy and Olive Photography<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kat<\/em><\/a>ie Vaughn<\/a> is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/livenortherly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/8.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/livenortherly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/livenortherly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/5-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n