Learning to lead with heart with Meghan Cathlin

A Q&A with the author of "Leading With the Heart: The Courage to Trust Your Inner Wisdom and Rewrite Your Life"

Oct 15, 2025

Meghan Cathlin is a writer, speaker, and founder of Considerate Ventures. For over 25 years, she has been a trusted advisor to authors, celebrities, CEOs, and dignitaries, in high-stakes environments and heart-centered missions. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her son Greyson and their two dogs, Lucy and Django.

What does it mean to "lead with heart" versus leading with your head?

Leading with the heart is the holy grail of life strategies. It means taking direction from our greatest source of intelligence. While the head is wired to keep us safe—scanning for danger, calculating risk—the heart is designed to guide us toward fulfillment, truth, and aligned action.

The heart’s guidance often speaks through subtle intuition. It’s not loud. It doesn’t shout. But when we learn to listen, it offers incredibly precise direction—sometimes before the mind can even catch up. It’s not about abandoning logic. It’s about letting the deeper intelligence guide us along the way.

You call yourself a "forever hot mess." Why is embracing imperfection important to your message?

I call myself a “forever hot mess” because it’s not just true—it’s liberating. I’ve come to understand that embracing our imperfections is actually the path to success—not the obstacle.

For years, I chased the myth that if I just worked hard enough, I’d eventually arrive at some magical place where I’d feel whole, polished, and finally “enough.” But the truth is, that place doesn’t exist. We’re not here to become perfect. We’re here to become real. And that’s where our true potential begins to flourish—not through the brute force of the head’s effort, but through the deep wisdom of the heart.

The more I worked with high-level clients who looked like they were a smashing success, the more I realized we were all a hot mess in one way or another. Behind the curtain, their lives were just as messy, uncertain, and beautifully human as mine. When we stop performing and start accepting our humanity, we breathe easier. We stop wasting energy trying to fix ourselves or chase the wrong goals—goals rooted in perfectionism, performance, or comparison. This self-acceptance creates a ripple effect—it softens our inner world, and that softness extends outward. That’s the heart of my message: success doesn’t come from achieving perfection. It comes from embracing our forever imperfections—and recognizing that we’re all stumbling along in this messy, beautiful way.

What's the science behind heart intelligence? How is it more than just "following your feelings"?

Heart intelligence isn’t about chasing every passing emotion or “following your feelings” in a reactive way. It’s about accessing a deeper, wiser source of inner guidance—one that’s now backed by decades of scientific research.

According to the HeartMath Institute, the heart is much more than just a pump. It has its own complex nervous system, often called the “heart brain,” made up of over 40,000 neurons. This system allows the heart to send powerful signals to the brain—signals that influence our emotions, cognition, decision-making, and even perception. In fact, the heart actually sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends to the heart.

The heart is constantly collecting information—not just emotional, but physical and energetic. Tuning into that information can offer incredibly nuanced guidance, especially when paired with mindfulness and intention. It’s not about ignoring logic—it’s about integrating logic with the intuitive intelligence of the heart.

When we experience positive emotions like gratitude, compassion, or love, the heart’s rhythms become smooth and ordered—a state known as heart coherence. This coherent rhythm sends a signal to the brain that enhances mental clarity, emotional regulation, and resilience under stress. In contrast, when we’re feeling anxious, frustrated, or overwhelmed, the heart’s rhythms become erratic—disrupting that communication loop and triggering the body’s stress response.

So when I talk about “leading with the heart,” I’m not talking about impulsive emotional decision-making. I’m talking about cultivating a science-supported state of internal alignment—where our nervous system, brain, and heart are working together to guide us toward clarity, fulfillment, and truth.

How did early loss teach you the difference between surviving and thriving?

Early loss fast-tracked my pursuit of answers. Was it my fault? Are other people more worthy than me? Do we live in a cruel world or a loving world? What is the meaning of life—is there a point? And how do we succeed at it?

I learned to survive by becoming the responsible one, the people-pleaser, the achiever. I knew how to read a room before I knew how to read a book. That’s what survival can look like: high-functioning, hyper-aware, always scanning for safety.

And while that strategy earned me external success, I found I was deeply unhappy on the inside. At the “top of the mountain,” I realized it wasn’t just me who had chased an empty dream. My work with the wealthy, the famous, the beautiful—they weren’t any further along than the rest of us. In that massive “aha moment,” I realized we were all, not just me, going at it the wrong way.

The real path forward was inner success. So I pivoted. I began exploring that quieter, deeper terrain. And through many paths—and about a million mistakes—I finally found my way to the power of the heart.

What does “misaligned success” look like and why is it so hard to walk away from?

Misaligned success tends to look great on paper—but feels like a big UGHHH! on the inside. You achieved the thing you thought you should pursue, but instead of fulfillment, you feel unsettled, depleted, or even outright unhappy. Or, if you’re less in tune with your inner state, you might just sense that something’s off—something isn’t right.

Maybe your family is proud. Maybe the paycheck feels validating. Maybe it matches what society told you success should look like. But if deep down you don’t feel peaceful, energized, or truly fulfilled—something is misaligned.

Why is it so hard to walk away from? Because most of us were never handed the life manual we actually needed. We were taught to chase the kind of success that looks good on paper—but we were given nothing when it comes to cultivating inner alignment. Most of us don’t even realize why that matters.

We weren’t taught to measure success by how alive, free, or at peace we feel. And yet, that’s the only kind of success that sustains itself. It’s from that inner state of alignment that we make better choices, build stronger relationships, and create from a place of real clarity.

And of course, this isn’t to suggest that the goal is to always feel amazing. That’s not realistic. Bad days will still come, no matter how heart-aligned you are. But when you have a solid, steady, heart-led foundation, you’re far better equipped to handle whatever life sends your way.

After reading your book, how can someone start leading with their heart today?

As with learning any new language, you want to start by becoming familiar with the basics. And when it comes to the language of the heart, that begins with learning to recognize what brings your own unique heart a YESSS!—and what brings you an UGHHH!

An UGHHH! is a word you might think, feel, or speak when certain ideas, people, or situations make you cringe, wince, feel disgusted, depleted, or drained.

A YESSS! is a word you might think, feel, or speak when something makes you light up, sit up straighter, feel energized, elated, or deeply excited.

I recommend starting a simple list. Throughout your day, pay attention to what gives you an UGHHH! and what gives you a YESSS!—then write it down. It can be simple or complex. For me, a couple of things on my UGHHH! list include loud, public places and having to work in the evenings. My YESSS! list includes rainy days, meaningful conversations, and being an author.

The goal is to really tune in to how your heart is responding—not to be perfect or certain, but to build fluency. And that alone is a powerful first step.

What comes next is to begin taking action. Start giving priority to the *YESSS!*es, and do what you can to reduce or eliminate some of the *UGHHH!*s. That’s how you begin to lead with your heart—one decision, one small shift at a time.

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