She Looked Fine… Until She Couldn’t Walk Into the Room

Описание: 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: no quick fixes, real-life reckoning
01:23 – “What sideways moment could Sherry possibly have?”
02:04 – The season of loss and relentless disruption
03:05 – The breaking point: “I can’t do this” before a talk
04:44 – When support is offered… and you refuse it
05:30 – The first step outward: speaker support and new perspective
06:20 – Living in “waiting for the next bad thing”
06:50 – Mindset coaching and loosening the fear pattern
07:57 – Why her message got clearer after what she endured
08:39 – People, process, culture, tech—and why the human part is hardest
10:37 – The rug story begins: “Why don’t you move the rug?”
11:40 – What “ask the CEO” reveals about culture
12:25 – Why “the rug” works: lighter language for hard truths
13:32 – Why a children’s book became the right container
15:59 – What’s next: Rug Party, mastermind, AI accelerator, book launch
18:28 – The real rug: the cost of being “the reliable one”
20:24 – Closing: you don’t have to resolve it today—stop pretending it isn’t there

Resources
Jules Moves the Rug — Sherry Whitaker Budziak (Bookshop): https://bookshop.org/p/books/jules-mo...

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

About the Things Go Sideways Podcast
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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