Best Motivational Podcasts for Women, Creators, and Founders: A No-Fluff Guide
When you’re hustling to grow a business, build a creative portfolio, or lead a team, the last thing you need is another fluffy “inspirational” podcast that leaves you with zero action.
This no‑fluff guide reveals the best podcasts for motivation and organizes them by goal (entrepreneurship, women’s leadership, bite‑size daily hits, science, creativity, career, fitness, and money) so you can build a playlist that fuels your next milestone.
You’ll find short summaries, episode suggestions, and a simple listening system to avoid overwhelm.
And because Hustle Inspires Hustle (HIH) serves founders, creatives, and marketers, we start with our own show for founder‑grade tactics, then layer in other picks you can rotate into your week.
Why Hustle Inspires Hustle Belongs on Every “Best Motivational Podcasts” List
Hustle Inspires Hustle is a platform and podcast built to help entrepreneurs, creatives, and marketers unlock growth through real stories, strategic insight, and authentic conversations.
Each episode features tactical growth conversations, marketing systems, and real founder lessons that turn into same‑day action. Our peer‑to‑peer tone and community focus build trust, and we consistently end with a “do this next” takeaway.
Listeners often ask, “What makes HIH different?” The answer: outcomes over hype. We skip the fluff and deliver proven strategies from seasoned founders, marketers, and creators. Episodes blend mindset with execution, so you can immediately apply what you learn.
To prove the point, we encourage you to test one action after each listen (launch a lead magnet, try a negotiation script, or run a 30‑minute sprint) and share your progress in our invite‑only community.
Who It’s For (And How to Listen With Intention)
HIH serves entrepreneurs, creators, and marketers who crave mindset shifts plus measurable steps. Here’s how to listen intentionally:
Use a 3‑takeaway/1‑action template. Podcasts are a goldmine of insights, but those insights must be captured. A listening guide from Unmistakable Creative stresses that transcripts alone are inefficient and that rewriting information in your own words helps you remember and apply it.
Take notes only when a big idea arises, jot them by hand, and rewrite them into a concrete action.
Pair episodes with a ritual. Listen during your commute, a gym walk, or a weekly planning session, then schedule a 30‑minute sprint to implement the takeaway. Momentum comes from coupling consumption with creation.
Share for accountability. Create a Slack/Notion doc for your team or mastermind group. After each episode, post one shipped action (such as a landing page update or price increase) to cultivate accountability and community support.
Best Motivational Podcasts for Women (Leadership, Boundaries, Money Confidence)
Women face unique challenges when climbing corporate ladders, negotiating raises, or leading creative ventures. The following shows go beyond platitudes; they provide scripts for influence, negotiation, and resilience.
Hustle Inspires Hustle — Women Founders & Operators
Our interviews with women founders and operators share candid journeys and marketing playbooks. We respect your time and goals and deliver takeaways you can test immediately.
Start here: Queue two women‑led episodes; one on pricing or negotiation. HIH episodes are built to be evergreen, so you’ll get timeless scripts for your next promotion or client call.
Action: Implement one pricing or negotiation script in your next review or client negotiation. Track the outcome and refine your approach.
The Mel Robbins Podcast
Mel Robbins is a master at blending science and storytelling. Her podcast offers research‑backed advice and personal stories that aim to change listeners’ lives; episodes provide simple tools to boost motivation, build confidence, and tackle challenges.
Each episode offers simple tools to boost motivation, build confidence, and tackle challenges, making it one of the most inspirational podcasts for women seeking practical, science-based motivation.
Start here: Choose a five‑day challenge episode (for example, a confidence challenge) and put each step in your calendar.
Action: Track your anxiety‑to‑action improvements for one week.
Women at Work (Harvard Business Review)
Women at Work tackles gender discrimination, pay gaps, and workplace politics. HBR editors discuss issues facing women, interview gender experts, and share personal stories, providing practical advice to help women succeed despite obstacles.
Start here: Pick an episode on managing up or negotiating scope.
Action: Draft a one‑page case for your raise or role change using the examples given.
Goal Digger (Jenna Kutcher)
Entrepreneur Jenna Kutcher’s long‑running show (over 110 million downloads) offers clear marketing strategies and proven systems to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. It positions itself as a go‑to for women wanting to stop winging it and make real progress.
Start here: Listen to an episode on building a lead magnet or email list.
Action: Ship a simple lead magnet this week (an opt‑in PDF, checklist, or mini‑course) and share the results in your community.
Brown Ambition
Hosts Mandi Woodruff and Tiffany Aliche help listeners build wealth by saving, investing, and making smart career choices on their own terms. The show blends money tips with career advice from a WOC perspective.
Start here: Play a budget or credit‑confidence episode.
Action: Run a 30‑minute budget cleanup, automate your savings, and set up weekly money check‑ins.
These shows move revenue levers. Instead of empty affirmations, you’ll find growth loops, systems, and postmortems. Pair each listen with a 30‑minute sprint to work on your landing page, offer test, or pitch deck.
The Diary of a CEO (Steven Bartlett)
Steven Bartlett shares unfiltered diaries of CEOs, experts, and leaders. He created the show to help people live better lives and to encourage listeners to dream boldly, think openly, and feel connected.
Start here: Pick a recent founder deep‑dive and note the decision‑making frameworks that resonate.
Action: Adopt one weekly system, such as a decision log or early‑morning deep‑work session.
The Tim Ferriss Show
Often the #1 business podcast on Apple and the first interview show to surpass 100 million downloads, Tim Ferriss deconstructs world‑class performers to extract tactics, tools, and routines listeners can use.
Start here: Choose a guest in your niche; maybe a female founder or product genius.
Action: Test one habit for seven days (morning routine, batching, etc.). Keep it if data improves your output; drop it if not.
Masters of Scale (Reid Hoffman)
Masters of Scale features iconic leaders sharing how they scaled businesses, with priceless advice and inspiring stories.
Start here: Listen to an origin‑to‑scale case study, such as Airbnb’s early days.
Action: Map your funnel and plug one leak; refine onboarding, retarget lost leads or shorten your checkout flow.
How I Built This (Guy Raz)
Guy Raz interviews resilient founders to reveal gritty stories behind iconic companies. Hearing about setbacks and pivots helps you persevere when your own journey feels rocky.
Start here: Choose a sector‑relevant story.
Action: Log one “survival” principle (like staying lean during downturns or focusing on customer love) and incorporate it into your strategy.
The Knowledge Project (Shane Parrish)
This podcast explores mental models, decision‑making, and clarity under pressure.
Start here: Listen to a mental‑models episode.
Action: Add a pre‑mortem to your next launch; ask what could go wrong and how you’ll mitigate it.
Daily Bite‑Size Motivation (5–15 Minutes)
Consistency beats intensity. A ten‑minute hit of motivation, combined with one micro‑action, can nudge your focus each day. Just avoid empty affirmations; choose shows with at least one actionable idea.
The Mindset Mentor (Rob Dial)
Rob Dial’s podcast blends neurology, psychology, and personal development to offer practical guidance for mastering mindset. It has over three million followers and provides insights on habit‑building, self‑discipline, and goal‑setting.
Start here: Queue a morning episode and stack it with your coffee ritual.
Action: Add one micro‑habit (Like waking up ten minutes earlier or writing a “must do” list) to your routine for seven days.
Start here: Choose a virtue you’re weak in (courage, temperance) and listen to a related episode.
Action: After each listen, jot one line in your journal about how you applied the virtue that day.
Optimal Living Daily
Host Justin Malik curates self‑help articles on minimalism, productivity, mental health, and personal development and narrates them in bite‑sized daily episodes. The show aims to inform and inspire while providing actionable steps for personal growth.
Start here: Pick a habit‑building episode.
Action: Measure your time‑to‑task start each day; aim to reduce procrastination by one minute daily.
Tiny Leaps, Big Changes
Although not as widely known as the above shows, this podcast breaks down complex concepts into simple actions and encourages listeners to improve their lives through small daily habits.
Start here: Listen to an episode on habit stacking.
Action: Stack a new habit onto an existing routine (like stretching after brushing your teeth) for one week.
Science‑Backed Motivation & Mental Fitness
Motivation fades when willpower runs low; systems rooted in neuroscience, psychology, and behavior science stick around. Use these shows to build frameworks that make high performance sustainable.
Huberman Lab
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman hosts what’s been called the world’s #1 health podcast, using science and science‑based tools to improve everyday life. Episodes cover sleep, focus, dopamine regulation, nutrition, and more.
Start here: Listen to a focus or sleep‑optimization episode.
Action: Implement one protocol (e.g., 90‑minute focus blocks with 20‑minute breaks) for seven days.
The Happiness Lab (Dr. Laurie Santos)
In this show, Yale professor Laurie Santos dives into the science of happiness and challenges misconceptions about what makes us happy. She shares research‑backed strategies to improve well‑being and offers practical tips for cultivating a fulfilling life.
Start here: Choose an episode on gratitude or habit formation.
Action: Track your mood and productivity for a week, then tweak one routine based on the findings.
Hidden Brain
Shankar Vedantam explores human behavior and cognition, revealing insights that will help you persuade customers, build teams, or change habits.
Start here: Listen to an episode on habit change or influence.
Action: Rewrite one sales or feedback script based on the behavioural principles discussed.
The Science of Success
This podcast interviews psychology, business, and neuroscience experts to explore evidence‑based strategies for personal growth. It offers tools to enhance decision‑making and productivity.
Start here: Pick a science‑based productivity episode.
Action: Incorporate one mental model or cognitive bias awareness into your weekly planning.
Creativity & Purpose (Ship Your Work)
Creative blocks don’t vanish by simply consuming inspiration; you need systems for capturing ideas, drafting, and publishing. These podcasts will push you to ship your work.
Akimbo (Seth Godin)
The word Akimbo symbolizes strength and possibility. Seth Godin’s podcast is about culture and how we can change it; about seeing what’s happening and choosing to do something.
Start here: Listen to an episode on overcoming resistance or shipping your work.
Action: Commit to a seven‑day shipping streak: publish a blog post, LinkedIn update, or design each day.
Design Matters (Debbie Millman)
One of the world’s first podcasts, Design Matters has been broadcasting for over 15 years and explores how incredibly creative people design the arc of their lives. Host Debbie Millman talks with top creatives about what they do and how they got there.
Start here: Choose an interview with a creative in your medium; photographer, writer, or designer.
Action: Refine one element of your brand or portfolio based on the guest’s insights.
The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show
Visionary photographer and entrepreneur Chase Jarvis interviews top creative entrepreneurs, artists, and celebrities. Guests share stories designed to help listeners recognize their passions and achieve their goals.
Start here: Listen to a creative habit episode.
Action: Schedule a weekly “make hour” where you work on your craft without distractions.
Career Motivation & Leadership
Your career is your leverage. Use shows that deliver scripts for performance reviews, raises, and team rituals, and tie episodes to real calendar events; 1:1s, planning sessions, or retrospectives.
HBR IdeaCast
This weekly podcast features leading thinkers in business and management.
Start here: Listen to an episode on giving feedback or performance management.
Action: Rewrite your next 1:1 agenda with open‑ended questions and clear action points.
Manager Tools
Manager Tools is a weekly business podcast focused on helping professionals become effective managers and leaders. Each episode discusses specific actions to improve management and career objectives. The “About” page reiterates that the show offers practical skills rather than theory.
Start here: Find an episode on one‑on‑ones or feedback models.
Action: Implement that cadence this week; schedule weekly check‑ins and practice the feedback model.
The Femails (Career Contessa)
Host Lauren McGoodwin brings a female‑focused lens to career growth. Each week, the team provides actionable career advice on job searching, management, leadership, productivity, salary negotiation, and confidence.
It’s one of the best motivational podcasts for women who want to grow their careers and strengthen self-advocacy skills. It promises to help women build confidence‑building habits and reach goals faster.
Start here: Play an episode on negotiations or boundaries.
Action: Draft your promotion or rate‑increase case using their framework.
Hustle Inspires Hustle — Team/Leadership
In addition to marketing and founder episodes, HIH publishes conversations with operators about building and leading teams. These episodes share rituals you can port to your own organization.
Action: Adopt one meeting ritual (e.g., weekly retrospective or daily huddle) and track improvements in communication.
Fitness, Discipline & Energy (Fuel for Output)
Business results compound when your body and energy support your ambition. These podcasts pair well with a Hustle Inspires Hustle episode and a 30‑minute workout or morning walk.
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
This podcast exposes the raw truth about health, fitness, and nutrition. Hosts Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, and Justin Andrews debunk myths in the fitness industry and present science‑backed solutions to increase muscle and performance while prioritizing health.
Start here: Listen to a fundamentals episode on strength training.
Action: Create a three‑day workout plan and combine it with a HIH episode for mindset.
The Rich Roll Podcast
Ultra‑athlete and wellness advocate Rich Roll hosts deep conversations with thought leaders. The show is described as a master‑class in personal and professional development designed to inspire and empower listeners to unleash their best, most authentic selves.
Start here: Pick a resilience story, like a guest who reinvented their health or career.
Action: Add one zone‑2 training session or long endurance walk to your week.
Chasing Excellence (Ben Bergeron)
Hosts Ben Bergeron and Patrick Cummings explore how daily practices foster lasting peace of mind. They teach about “deep health” and five essential factors (training, eating, thinking, sleeping, and connecting) that turn clarity into sustained fulfilment.
Start here: Listen to an episode on standards or habits.
Action: Define three weekly non‑negotiables (sleep at 10 pm, train three days, unplug Sunday) and track adherence.
Money, Motivation & Financial Confidence
Motivation thrives when your finances create a runway. Anchor your listening on pricing power, cash flow, and owner pay. Then implement a simple system—three buckets for tax, operations, and growth.
Earn Your Leisure
Hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings provide behind-the-scenes financial views of the entertainment and sports industries, highlight entrepreneurs’ back stories, break down business models, and examine finance trends.
Their show blends business insight with pop culture and has been called “a college business class mixed with pop culture.” It’s consistently ranked among the best motivational podcasts for building wealth and confidence in business.
Start here: Listen to a pricing or business-model episode.
Action: Make one pricing move; raise rates, bundle an offer, or test a tiered pricing structure.
BiggerPockets Money
For those who have money or want more of it, this motivational podcast invites listeners to join hosts Mindy Jensen and Scott Trench each week as they interview thought leaders about how to earn more, keep more, spend smarter, and grow wealth. It’s one of the best podcasts for motivation if your goals include financial freedom and smarter money systems.
Start here: Play an episode on escaping the middle-class trap or Coast FIRE.
Action: Set up your three buckets (tax, operations, growth) and automate transfers into them.
All‑In Podcast
All-in delivers conversations worth having. Hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg, the podcast features insider takes on business, technology, and society and interviews with influential thinkers.
Start here: Choose an episode when they debate macro trends, tech strategy, or startup valuations.
Action: Write bull, base, and bear cases for your own venture or side project based on the strategic lenses discussed.
Build Your Motivation Playlist (Without Overwhelm)
The biggest obstacle to using podcasts as a growth tool isn’t scarcity; it’s abundance. To stay focused, build a motivation stack:
Styled Table
Playlist component
Purpose
Example picks
3 core shows (weekly)
Anchor your routine with a few essentials that drive your main goals.
HIH, Huberman Lab, Diary of a CEO
2 rotating shows (monthly)
Rotate category-specific shows to address emerging needs: finance, creativity, career, and women’s leadership.
Earn Your Leisure, Women at Work
1 wild card (quarterly)
Experiment with something new to stay fresh and inspired.
Akimbo, Chasing Excellence
Use app folders and speed controls. Create folders or queues in your podcast app by goal (Women, Founder, Science, etc.) and batch download before travel or commutes. Listening at 1.2–1.5× speed can save time; just slow down when taking notes.
Accountability That Sticks
Accountability is the missing ingredient in many motivational playlists. Share your goals and shipped actions inside the HIH community or with a friend.
After each episode, post one concrete action, like a tweet, note, or Slack update. Conduct a quarterly review and swap out shows that aren’t moving your metrics.
Press Play, Then Execute
Motivation without execution is entertainment. The podcasts above can help you build mindsets, systems, and habits that translate to shipped work and measurable progress.
Some people gravitate toward inspirational podcasts that lift their mindset, others prefer uplifting podcasts that spark creativity, or shows that tackle creative blocks and build accountability. The key is to listen with intent and act immediately. The best podcast for motivation is the one that moves you to build, create, and grow.
Start by queuing one HIH episode today, then add a science-backed show, a daily bite-sized hit, and a category-specific show that meets your current challenge. Take notes, ship an action within the next hour, and share your progress.
Growth happens when you press play, then execute.
Elevate your entrepreneurial game with actionable advice and inspiring interviews from high-level entrepreneurs, business owners, and overall badasses in the game. Get more insight and inspiration on our blog posts, podcast episodes, or invite-only community.
FAQs: Quick Answers About the Best Podcasts for Motivation
What Are The Best Podcasts For Motivation Right Now?
Start with HIH for founder-grade tactics, expert founder interviews, and a supportive community. Then add one science-backed show like Huberman Lab, one daily bite-sized show, and one category-specific show based on your current goal. It’s a simple way to find the best podcasts for motivation that fit your goals.
What Makes A Motivational Podcast Actually Useful?
Useful podcasts offer clear frameworks, real examples, and a concrete “do this next.” Research on habit stacking shows that repeating a behavior in the same context makes it automatic, meaning habit-based advice has a longer-term impact than motivational speeches.
Best Motivational Podcasts For Women — What Should I Look For?
Look for hosts who share leadership scripts, negotiation frameworks, and stories that fuel ambition with action. Shows like Women at Work offer research-backed advice for navigating gender dynamics, and Brown Ambition teaches wealth building on your terms. These are among the best motivational podcasts for women aiming for sustained growth.
How Many Motivation Podcasts Should I Follow?
Keep it lean with three core shows, two rotating, and one wild card. This execution system keeps focus sharp and prevents overwhelm. Review your playlist quarterly and prune anything that isn’t driving action or improving your financial runway.
How Do I Stay Consistent With Listening?
Pair episodes with a habit like your commute, gym time, or weekly planning. Follow the note-taking rules; capture only big ideas, take notes by hand, and rewrite them in your own words. Post one shipped action for accountability. That’s how goal setting becomes progress, and motivation turns into momentum.
Alex Quin
Entrepreneur. Podcaster. Go-Getter.
Alex Quin is a full-stack marketing expert and global keynote speaker. Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of UADV Marketing - a member of the Forbes Agency Council.
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