Ted Lasso is a Business Story: Real Rest Requires Real Alignment

Rest doesn’t always look like slowing down. Sometimes it looks like dancing all night, playing weird games, or skipping town with your dominatrix girlfriend.

In this episode, we explore rest on your own terms through the lens of Coach Beard in Ted Lasso. Beard doesn’t try to be anyone else. He knows what recharges him—and he doesn’t apologize for it.

I’m breaking down why so many entrepreneurs burn out even when they’re technically resting, and why copying someone else’s version of “wellness” won’t save you. If you’re ready to stop glamorizing burnout and start finding joy in ways that actually work for you, this one’s for you.

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Transcript

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Coach Beard disappears for an entire episode. No explanation, no warning. One minute he's on the sidelines in khakis. The next, he's clubbing in a velvet blazer, dancing with strangers, playing chess with his dominatrix girlfriend, and somehow miraculously making it back to the pitch on time. The wildest part, it's not out of character, it is the character. Coach Beard rests by being fully, ferociously, himself, not curated, not optimized, not wellness branded. Just weird, joyful, real. Today we're talking about that kind of rest, the kind that doesn't look like spa days in silence. The kind that looks like you being fully you without apology. Hey, hey, it's Mary Williams and this is the School of Moxie podcast where we use your favorite TV shows to talk about real business, real leadership, and real damn life. This season, it's Ted Lasso, and today we're talking about something most of us have internalized without even realizing it, that rest is a reward instead of a requirement. Let's fix that. Don't forget to subscribe for weekly Woo Crew updates at sensiblewoo.com/subscribe. Let me say this loud and clear. You do not have to earn rest. You don't need to cross off a to-do list to deserve sleep. You don't need to hit a revenue goal to take a break. You don't need to justify why your nervous system needs a fucking pause. Rest is not a retreat from the real work. It is the real work. So let's talk about Ted. Ted keeps going, keeps smiling, keeps baking those biscuits. But behind the scenes, he's unraveling. He's stuffing down grief, trauma, guilt, until his body starts waving the red flag. Sound familiar? Because in entrepreneurship the signs of burnout aren't always crashing. They're coping. Overperforming, overgiving, being on all the time, telling yourself you'll rest once you hit that milestone. Once the launch is over, once the inbox is empty, once the client work slows down. But the truth, it never slows down because you never slow down. Let's take a left turn and compare this Ted example with Coach Beard, the unsung hero of rest and weirdness. Beard is eccentric. He's deeply loyal. He doesn't need the spotlight, but when he does show up. He shows up fully. And when Ted returns to America at the end of season three, Coach Beard stays. He doesn't follow out of loyalty. He stays because he knows what's right for him. And that is a whole ass masterclass in autonomy. Beard recharges in ways that don't make sense to anyone but him. Clubbing all night and barely remembering it, wearing whatever the hell he wants and vanishing when he needs a break. The man is weird and the man is well, that's the lesson. Rest isn't about being still, it's about being you. If you don't feel restored after a long nap, maybe what you need is a dance floor. If breath work makes you anxious, but karaoke brings you joy, then guess what? That's your recharge. You don't need a curated list of rituals to rest well. You need alignment. Too many entrepreneurs are trying to rest by copying someone else's Pinterest board, trying to adopt slow living like it's a job title, trying to biohack their burnout instead of just asking what actually makes me feel alive again? For me, I've had to learn how to rest in ways that don't always look calm. I've had to carve out weird little rituals that don't photograph well. I've had to learn the belief that joy does, in fact, equal laziness and what I found is that true rest isn't passive, it's intentional. Coach Beard doesn't abandon his responsibilities. When the team starts actually functioning as a team, Beard doesn't say, cool, I'm off to Mykonos. He digs in. He stays. He does the hard work because he wants to, because he knows who he is and he knows what fills him back up. That's balance. It's not about perfect delegation or optimized workflows. It's about knowing how to catch micro moments of joy, how to create space in the cracks, how to live in a way that lets you breathe between the big pushes. So here's your journal prompt for this week. What kind of rest actually recharges you? Not what looks good, not what someone else swears by. What brings you back to life. Are you willing to give yourself that without apology? This episode is brought to you by my membership newsletter, the Woo Crew. But before you commit to another subscription, did you know you can get a free reading every Saturday delivered right to your inbox? Yep. It's totally free. And it's designed just for entrepreneurs. Head over to sensiblewoo.com/subscribe to sign up. You'll get a weekly tarot reading to help you make aligned business decisions plus a peek at whether I am the right reader for you. No pressure and no sales funnel trap. It's your taste test. The ethical way. You'll also receive weekly updates about my online and in-person workshops and events. It's not just a newsletter, it's a weekly media magazine digest for intuitive entrepreneurs who want clarity strategy in just at the right amount of magic. The grind is not a personality. The hustle is not a holy practice, and burnout is not a badge of honor. You are allowed to rest now, not when it's convenient, not when you've earned it, but now. And whatever that looks like for you, let it be sacred. Let it be weird. Let it be yours. Coach Beard would want it that way, and so do I. Thanks for listening to the School of Moxie podcast. I'm Mary Williams. This season is inspired by Ted Lasso, which is available to watch on Apple TV+. This podcast is written, produced, and edited through my media company, Moxie Studios in Vancouver, Washington. Make sure to subscribe to the School of Moxie podcast on your favorite podcast app and also on YouTube. Leaving a five star review helps other listeners find the show and it's always deeply appreciated. And hey, if this episode helped you, give yourself permission to rest, send it to your biz bestie who needs it just as badly. We don't need to burn out to belong. We just need to find what lights us back up. I'll see you next episode.