Lifting the Rug on Avoidance, Grief, and the Cost of "I've Got This"

Sherry Whitaker Budziak is known as the helper, the fixer, the leader who can walk into a messy situation and make it workable — until life handed her a year where the disruptions didn't stop: the unexpected loss of her husband, more loss soon after, and a chain of emergencies that made "keeping it together" feel non-negotiable.

In this conversation, Sherry shares the moment her "I've got this" identity finally cracked — right before a speaking engagement she'd done a hundred times. We talk about what happens when your strengths stop working, how fear quietly shrinks your world, and why naming the thing everyone steps around is often the first honest move toward real change.

You'll also hear the origin story of "The Rug"—a metaphor that became a framework and two books: Jules Moves the Rug (for kids) and RUG: How to Move What You're Tripping Over and Lead with H.E.A.R.T. (for leaders). It's a surprisingly human way for teams (and families) to talk about what's been hiding in plain sight.

Why Listen to This Episode Now? A lot of teams are tripping over the same issues and calling it "busy." This episode helps you name the rug, lift the edge, and stop managing around what everyone can already feel.

If you've been living in 'waiting for the next bad thing,' Sherry's story will give you a steadier foothold.

HIGHLIGHTS 00:00 – Welcome to Things Go Sideways (no quick fixes, real reckoning) 01:23 – "What sideways moment could Sherry possibly have?" 02:04 – The year everything piled on: loss, disruption after disruption 03:10 – The breaking point: "I can't do this" before a talk she'd normally crush 04:44 – "I don't have time for therapy": when support is offered and refused 05:30 – A first step outward: joining Judi Holler's Speaker School 06:20 – The fear pattern: waiting for the next bad thing 06:50 – Mindset work with Tim Shurr and "One Belief Away" 07:57 – Why her message got clearer (and deeper) after what she endured 08:39 – People, process, culture, tech—and why the human part is the hard part 10:37 – The Rug origin story: "Why don't you move the rug?" 11:40 – The culture issue underneath: needing permission for everything 12:25 – Naming the "rug" gives teams lighter language to face hard truths 13:32 – Why a children's book (and why that choice matters) 14:30 – The story of Jules: lifting the rug and finding what's underneath 15:59 – What's next: "The Rug Party," mastermind, AI accelerator, book push 18:28 – Making meaning after loss: finding a reason, without pretending it's neat 19:10 – "I had a rug": the cost of being the reliable one 20:24 – Closing: one small step forward, and why that's enough

Resources Jules Moves the Rug — Sherry Whitaker Budziak (Bookshop): https://bookshop.org/p/books/jules-moves-the-rug-sherry-whitaker-budziak/23463546?ean=9781963732269&next=t

RUG: How to Move What You're Tripping Over and Lead with H.E.A.R.T. — Sherry Whitaker Budziak & Kevin G. Ordonez (Hardcover, Feb 1, 2026): https://a.co/d/0bBLySO8

When life or leadership goes sideways, the story's just getting interesting.

Things Go Sideways with KiKi L'Italien features honest conversations with leaders, creators, and changemakers navigating disruption, uncertainty, and identity shifts. Each episode explores trust, resilience, and what it means to stay human when certainty breaks down.

New episodes share real stories about rebuilding agency and meaning without rushing to quick-fixes, spiritual bypassing, or pretending clarity comes easy.

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