What happens when meaningful work becomes so central to your identity that it begins to ask too much of you?

In this episode, I speak with Sita Sargeant about building She Shapes History, the power of recovering stories that have been pushed to the margins, and the difference between treating work as a job, a career or a calling. We also explore the loneliness of leadership, the tension between purpose and overwork, and why a meaningful life must ultimately be larger than our work.

Sita Sargeant is a social entrepreneur, author, and one of Australia's leading voices in women's history. In 2021, she founded She Shapes History, a feminist experiences company on a mission to make women's history accessible, engaging, and relevant. They currently operate in four cities: Canberra, Sydney, Wollongong, and Melbourne, with plans to be in eight cities by the end of 2027.
In 2025, she published a book by the same name sharing the stories of over 250 women who helped shape 31 towns and cities across Australia. In 2026, she was named the ACT Young Australian of the Year. She was named the 2026 ACT Young Australian of the Year. She is a 2025 Snow Foundation Entrepreneur Fellow and AMP Foundation Tomorrow Maker, recognised through both the IGNITE (2025) and SPARK (2024) programs.

Production note: this episode uses backup audio due to a technical issue with the main recording. You may hear a little background noise in parts, but the conversation is clear — and very much worth sharing.