Podcast Episode Summary

What Are You Made Of? with Mike "C-Roc" Ciorrocco

Episode: Raising Confidence in a Programmed World: Ashley Gonor’s Blueprint for Parents and Young Leaders
Date: January 26, 2026
Guest: Ashley Gonor (Host, “Uncover Your Magic”)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode explores the intersection of personal development, parenting, and the cultivation of confidence and intuition in young people. Ashley Gonor shares her experiences raising her daughters intentionally to break free from societal programming and nurture authentic self-belief, intuition, and resilience. The conversation delves into the importance of mindset, energy, parenting strategies, and also ventures into health optimization and biohacking practices.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ashley’s Personal & Parenting Journey

• Background: Ashley started “Uncover Your Magic” in 2020, inspired by intuition, even while juggling the demands of parenting two young daughters (now 17 and 19).

• Parenting Philosophy: Raised her children with teachings from Abraham Hicks, Wayne Dyer, “A Course in Miracles,” and the principle of mind over matter, instilled since her own childhood in a Christian Science environment.

• Discipline vs. Rigidity: Ashley describes herself as highly disciplined, which her daughters sometimes perceive as rigid, prompting reflection and growth.

  “My daughter was saying, mom, this year you should be less rigid… but that’s a discipline, right?” — Ashley, [02:36]

• Intention as a Parent: Ashley’s approach is deeply intentional—to raise her daughters without regrets and to program them with the belief that they “can be, do or have anything.”

2. Raising Confidence & The "I Am Agency"

• Development of Classes: Inspired by parents asking how Ashley’s daughters thrived during the pandemic, she created classes—like "Raising Confidence"—for children and their parents.

• The "I Am Agency": A new collaborative venture combining energy work (with a partner who specializes in energy healing) and Ashley’s mindset coaching. They plan to co-write a book involving her daughters’ perspectives.

• De-programming & Authentic Living: The agency’s philosophy centers on helping children and parents recognize—and peel away—societal programming to reconnect with their authentic selves.

  "It’s nothing you need to discover. You just need to kind of pull the onion layers…to get back to who you truly are." — Ashley, [06:47]

• Clients & Community Impact: Works with children aged 5–14 and their parents; has an impact in schools, with athletes, and pageant participants—emphasizing that true confidence is about energy, not outward appearances.

3. Breaking the Cycle of Social Programming

• Generational Patterns: Both host and guest discuss how beliefs about limitation and self-worth are unconsciously passed down.

• Ashley’s Mission: She actively seeks to “put a stick in the hamster wheel”—to interrupt cycles of limiting beliefs in families.

  “Unless you keep…put that spoke and put that stick in that wheel, it’s just going to continue. And I’m so about putting the stick in there and saying, let’s stop and look.” — Ashley, [09:31]

4. Faith, Mindset, and Human Potential

• Faith as Foundation: Both discuss Christianity’s teachings about human potential and freedom from limiting stories.
• Biblical Reference: Mike references the idea that “the battle has already been won” and the call to “pick up your cross and follow me daily” as metaphors for self-actualization and resilience.

  “You humans have no idea what you’re capable of.” — Mike, quoting an ‘alien’ anecdote, [10:42]

5. Ashley’s Entrepreneurial Path & Lessons for Her Daughters

• Early Career: Managed twists in her own 20s and 30s—buying a spa with a credit card, building from scratch, faking it ‘til she made it, and ultimately selling the business.

• Empowering Girls to Take Risks: Encourages her daughters to say ‘yes’ to opportunities and not succumb to perfectionism or fear of failure.

  “That’s one of the things I wanted the girls to learn from me is like, it’s not perfect. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You just keep doing it.” — Ashley, [16:49]

6. Pageants, Competition & Defining Success

• Redefining ‘Pageant’: For the Gonor family, pageants are about developing confidence, interviewing skills, and community service, not just beauty.

• Mindset on Winning & Losing:

  “Everything is always working for you. We lose more than you win…You don’t lose, you only win.” — Ashley, [20:25 & 21:10]

• Mechanics of Pageants: Ashley discusses the stages, why participation itself is valuable, and how these experiences build her daughters’ confidence for other pursuits like public speaking and TEDx aspirations.

7. Health, Biohacking & Aging Well (25:23–31:25)

• Navigating Health Changes: Ashley and Mike shift to mid-life health, menopause, and advances in wellness approaches.

• Peptides & Biohacking: Both share personal experiences with peptides, hormone optimization, and routines that have enhanced their sleep, energy, and physical resilience.

  “It’s changed our life…We just finished this one protocol for 20 days and we wake up…never felt so rested in my life.” — Ashley, [26:33]

• Consistency and Strength: Ashley highlights how these changes fueled her daily exercise and stamina—sharing an anecdote about winning a plank challenge at Pilates.

  “These peptides have helped me really have the stamina. My strength is so much stronger…Consistency, understanding, there’s things out there now, like these peptides that are changing people’s lives.” — Ashley, [29:57]

8. Advice & Resources

• Where to Connect: Ashley directs listeners to her website (ashleygonor.com), Instagram, and “Uncover Your Magic” podcast for more insights and resources.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I was always, you know, I remember my dad had Wayne Dyer on the shelf…that was one of my first eye opening things.” — Ashley, [02:54]
• “I’m a yes girl. And when something comes to me, I know, like this…I always use the word full body yes.” — Ashley, [00:36]
• “I just want…for people to understand their power.” — Ashley, [18:05]
• “I’m a full-on believer in God and that I am you and you are me…we’re all one part…When people…understand their power…that’s what it comes down to.” — Ashley, [17:51]
• “You go, I walk with the girls anywhere. It’s like, ‘Oh, I love your nail polish. Oh, I love your…’ It’s constant. But that’s…where I feel like the world needs to start. There’s no competition. It’s just, you’re competing with yourself.” — Ashley, [19:14]
• “Pick up your cross and follow me daily…It doesn’t always make things easier, by the way. It gets kind of tough.” — Mike, [11:42]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |-------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:25–06:00 | Ashley’s background, parenting approach, roots in personal development | | 06:02–10:20 | "I Am Agency", confidence-building programs for youth, overcoming societal programming | | 10:20–12:25 | Human potential, faith, Christianity, breaking cycles of belief | | 12:25–17:51 | Ashley’s entrepreneurial path & lessons for parenting | | 17:51–24:22 | Movement toward mindset & energy awareness, pageant experiences, building authentic confidence | | 24:23–25:29 | Parenting, aging, segue into health and wellness | | 25:29–31:25 | Biohacking, peptides, hormone optimization, routines for vitality | | 31:30–31:49 | Where to find Ashley online and closing remarks |

Conclusion

This episode is a rich conversation about intentional parenting, empowering the next generation to break free from limiting beliefs, and the power of mindset and energy. Ashley’s journey blends wisdom from faith, personal experience, and modern wellness practices, offering a blueprint for parents and young leaders who want to live— and raise children—with confidence and purpose.