energy

EP 312 | Clearing The Energetic Clutter

WITH KIM SNEATH

 
 
 
Sometimes life circumstances shift you into a place where you need to release the clutter around you.
— Kim Sneath
 

Do you feel dragged down energetically and tired of navigating all of the stuff in your home?

Even though you spend so much time, money, and energy on all of your precious belongings it can also feel like a burden having them around and cluttering up your environment.

Your home (and home office) should feel like a sanctuary, a place where you feel relaxed and at ease. But most of the time we are trying to escape all of the stuff that is causing an energetic drain.

In this episode, I’m chatting with Clutter Coach Kim Sneath about how we can clear the energetic clutter from our home so that it can truly become a place of ease.

Connect with Kim: @sneathkim + www.kimsneath.com

Connect with Andrea: @andreacrispcoach + @the.couragecast

Learn more about THE ALIGN MASTERMIND and apply now.

Spring cohort begins May 2024. Space is limited.

Are you ready to dive into your inner healing journey?

Book a 20-minute Discovery Call and we can get to know one another better.

Audio Production and Original Music by Stephen Crilly.

 
 
 
 

Listen Here:

 
 
 

Your mindset is your greatest asset! But it is also what may be holding you back from taking that next step in your life. Are you ready to reframe your mindset so that you can step more confidently into your purpose?

229 | Step Into Your CEO Boss Energy

WITH ANDREA CRISP

 
 
 
A a paradigm shift is defined as “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way.
— Bob Proctor (paraphrased)
 

About This Episode:

Are you ready to take that next step in your business and truly embody the version of yourself that not only acts but feels like a complete boss. Today on the podcast I am going to share with you three mindset shifts that I believe you need to make in order to move your business to the next level.

Connect on IG: @andreacrispcoach @the.couragecast

Learn More LIMITLESS VIP EXPERIENCE

Join Weekly Call: Mindset Mentor Circle

Facebook Community: Mindset Mentor Collective

To book a FREE 20-minute Discovery Call with Andrea: www.andreacrisp.ca/schedule

 
 
 
 

Listen Here:

 
 
 

Your mindset is your greatest asset! But it is also what may be holding you back from taking that next step in your life. Are you ready to reframe your mindset so that you can step more confidently into your purpose?

 

0:00
Are you ready to take that next step in your business and truly embody the version of yourself that not only acts like a complete, badass boss bitch? Well, today on the podcast, I'm going to share with you three mindset shifts that I believe you need to make in order to move your business and yourself to the next level. Hey, friend, are you ready to take courageous steps to create a life and business you love?

0:31
Welcome to The Couragecast. I'm Andrea Crisp, mindset coach, author and a multi passionate entrepreneur. For years, I was afraid to allow myself to shine that was until I discovered that I could step into my own power, shift my mindset and take ownership of my own destiny. Now I coach women across the globe who are ready to own their life and make a massive impact. Each week, I'll share conversations with amazing humans who've been willing to face their fear and pursue their purpose. I'll provide a blend of practical and spiritual advice to help you take brave steps in your own life and business.

1:06
Hey there, welcome to The Couragecast. My name is Andrea and I am your host, I am so excited to be back with you. You know what, this morning I woke up and it was like fall is in the air. And there is nothing I love more than feeling like the crunch of the leaves underneath my feet, although they haven't completely fallen off the trees yet. But I love having new seasons. And as much as I loved summer, and it's like the best season in the world. I also really love fall. And there are new things happening in my life. There's probably new things happening in your life as we move and shift into a new season. And today I want to talk about what does that shift look like in your life, when you're moving from one belief to the next. So you might be in a place in your life and your business right now where you're like, Yeah, I'm a small business owner, or I'm a coach, or I am an entrepreneur. But I don't really feel like the CEO of my business. And you maybe even don't even know what that is or what that would feel like or what kind of shifts you would need to take or making your life in order to step into that new level in your business. So today, I want to talk about three shifts that you can make when it comes to mindset.

2:45
And how you can start embodying this next level version of yourself within your business. So maybe if you're thinking to yourself right now, like Well, that's a big leap like that, you know, from where I am now. Maybe it just started, you know my business a year ago, and you're already wanting me to like jump into the CEO mindset. Wherever you're finding yourself today, I'm sure there's going to be something that you can take from this particular podcast episode. It was actually interesting, because the other day I was talking to somebody who's very new in the online space. And she's like, Yeah, I already feel like a boss. But it was really interesting, because once we started to dive a little deeper into what her mindset was, there were so many indications that she really wasn't owning up to the level of success that she wanted or desired, or allowing herself to truly step into that level of success. So if you're feeling that way, I hope that you will get something from this particular episode that you can take away, you can implement into your life. And of course, I'd love to hear about that. You can follow me on Instagram at you can follow me on Instagram at at Andrea crisp coach and tell me what one of your takeaways are from this episode. So the first thing I want to talk about is having a paradigm shift. And that's a fancy word for saying mindset shift. Because when you think about a paradigm, which is learning I've gotten from Bob Proctor, when you have a paradigm shift, it's almost like you have this way of being shift, this way of believing shift. So when we're in an old paradigm, we are functioning out of an old way of thinking, believing and being.

4:39
But when we step into a new paradigm or a new place in our lives, we're essentially shifting into something that is leveled up something that is taking us to another space and time and really shifting our way of thinking and being so this is kind of like the actual definition, and important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way. Okay, so I probably could have just said that. But I wanted to explain it in a way that maybe you could relate to a little bit more. So the first thing I want to talk about is how to create a new paradigm for yourself, when it comes to your business, because as we know, you know, we are in the business, right, we are taking part in the business, we are the person who is the business in some senses, but really, the business is only going to elevate to the level you are elevating. And even if there are people in your world that are your support team, and people who are, you know, part of what you do within your business, maybe your staff or people who are, you know, on retainer for you or contract with you, they're only going to go to a certain level, depending dependent upon where you are going.

6:07
Okay, so creating a new paradigm for yourself in business you have to ask yourself this question, what would that look like? And what would that feel like? Because you're creating what you desire. So if you're like, I want to feel more freedom, I want to feel you know, that I can flow in my business more that I can, you know, be in my zone of genius, more that I can be confident in what I'm sharing and, and really, you know, position myself, as somebody who knows what they're talking about, then when you're doing that, you have to be very, very clear on creating that new thought, that new way of being in your business. So it's, it's really about how you're showing up. So if you're kind of showing up haphazardly, and you're like, you know, I'm not really going to pay a lot of attention to what I'm doing, I'm not going to put my full effort into it, and I'm just going to kind of throw it together, then you're probably going to stay in an old paradigm.

7:19
Because if what is happening right now is not working for you. It's entirely likely you got to shift that. Okay. So the next thing would be, it'd be looking at how are you making decisions from a higher level from this new paradigm. And I was having this fantastic conversation today with one of my peers, Stephanie, her and I talk every week, and we are talking about really allowing ourselves to be the decision makers in our lives, and to allow ourselves to trust more, that we are being led and guided, and that we have the answers that we need, we don't have to look outside of ourselves for confirmation all the time, we truly do know what it is that we need. And that means that we can make these decisions on a higher level, because we're not looking outside of ourselves to say, Oh, is this the right decision? Should I do this? Should I hire somebody? Should I outsource? Should I you know, start a new program? Should I price it this way? All those questions that come up. But when you kind of peel it back a little bit, and you say, You know what, when I'm standing in my power, when I truly am I really stepping into that boss energy, I am making the decisions for myself, and I am trusting my gut instincts. So maybe that would look like you know, really placing yourself in rooms where there are people who are doing the same thing.

8:57
Maybe going to conferences, joining masterminds up leveling your own game, in order to be in the same mindset in the same paradigm as people who are doing the same thing. And if that feels like oh, I don't know, I don't know which one to join or what I need to do. And you're just kind of questioning what that will look like specifically for you, then perhaps one on one coaching is more. What you need right now is to kind of dial in, how can you shift that thought process that paradigm, those mindsets, so that you can truly step into that boss energy that really calls in what you desire. So, when you're doing that, when you're in that boss energy, you're also creating a new paradigm for yourself when it comes to abundance, money, getting paid, having clients, all the things.

9:58
Somebody asked you a question. If you were to be really, really honest with yourself right now, do you believe that you can charge?

10:09
Do you believe that you can charge higher prices right now for your services? Or do you feel like you vacillate between getting a client who will pay for your services, then it's like, two weeks of crickets, nobody's there, nobody's knocking on your door. So you're like, oh, my gosh, I need like a flash sale, I need a slash on my prices. And, you know, hope that someone comes in on like a new offer, right? Like a reduced offer, right? When you're doing that, and trust me when I say this, because I have done this. It really is playing around with your energy with how you feel about yourself or your value. There is nothing wrong with having a sense to offer somebody a lower price on something.

11:06
But to slash a price on something, because you are in scarcity is a whole different ballgame. So stepping into that paradigm, stepping into that new way of being when it comes to abundance money clients in your life, really is about how are you showing up when it comes to your money mindset, to your abundance mindset to believe that you can charge what it is you believe you can charge? Because no matter what anybody says, and tells you to raise your prices, or tells you to do that until you are feeling aligned with it until you can have a full body Yes, around it. It's not going to feel right. So it's all up to you. So what does that look like? Well, it looks like when you're having an abundance mindset that you are fully aligned with everything you are doing. And when you are then you're creating offers, you're putting out prices that feel right. And it's not about whether or not they match industry standards, whether they're higher or lower or comparable. It's about what you feel you want to be charging, and what feels good for you and the transformation that you're providing for someone else. I think oftentimes we get, like really caught up in well, I don't know, you know, should I price it this way? Or should I go higher or lower. But at the end of the day, we're not really taking a look at what is the outcome? What is the result? What is that person walking away with? What is the transformation they are having, that they need you that they want to hire you. And if it, if it really is something that they truly, truly want, then they're willing to spend the money on that. And the third thing is creating a new paradigm for yourself, when it comes to being a leader or an influencer, an expert in your field. And the way you know whether or not you're being seen as the expert or not, is whether or not people are trying to sell to you.

13:21
Or you're selling to others. This was something that I literally, like just recently had this huge like aha moment for myself. I actually talked to one of my coaches, and I said, You know what, I feel like I'm being sold to a lot. And she said, Well, how are you showing up in your business? How are you showing up online? And she said, I never get sold to? And I was like, What do you mean, you never get sold to? She's like, well, I positioned myself as the authority as the leader. And to me that was like, Oh, well, maybe I'm not really like showing up as the authority and the expert, which means people think that I still need something more. And like I've said earlier, we already have everything we need ourselves, we already have all of the answers within ourselves. I mean, there are strategies and there are things that we can learn, obviously, that's why we're hiring people. That's where we're working with people who are experts in their field. But at the end of the day, how you're showing up energetically within your business within your online presence within your communication, your emails, just in how you are is a huge indicator in what you believe to be true about yourself and about your business and how people are going to perceive you and whether or not you're going to be able to move your business forward. Okay, so you want to always be adding value consistently showing

15:00
Up to add value, that doesn't mean you have to be there every single day. I mean, I don't personally believe that that's what you have to do, you might hear people say that all the time,when you feel energetically aligned to do so, then absolutely show up and share exactly who you are. That's why I love having a podcast because oftentimes, like today, I'll record two episodes. And I will get ahead by two weeks. So when it comes to next week, and I'm getting ready to go out of town, and I'm in my cycle, where I'm probably not going to feel like I really want to be like communicating in this way, I will already have recorded, edited, and have a podcast ready. So energetically, I'm not trying to make something happen, that doesn't need to happen during that time of the month for me. So really understanding when I'm showing up and how I'm showing up, but consistently putting out content. Hmm, see how that works. Okay, so you want to add value, position yourself as an expert and authority, and really share more with your audience on your existing platform. You don't have to, you know, reinvent the wheel, you can do what you're doing right now in the space you're in. Or you can invite yourself to be on someone's podcast, asked to be on their podcast, or you can do an IG live to or whatever works for you.

16:36
As long as you are showing up as the expert and the authority, and really, truly believing that you are. So when it comes to really showing up in that CO boss energy, it's about creating a new paradigm around what it is that you believe to be true about yourself and your business. And then once you have that mindset, once you know exactly what it is that you need to do specifically, then it's all about embodying that, and integrating that into your business. And that is exactly why I created the new limitless VIP experience. Now one of the tracks that we have, is really dedicated to stepping into that CEO boss energy. And for so many people that are sitting in this kind of like, I don't know, and for so many entrepreneurs that are waiting for something to manifest in their business waiting for something to happen and are not really sure. What are the steps that they specifically need to take. This is why I created this day, is to give you an up leveled version is to give you an up leveled experience, so that you can step into what it feels like to be a CEO to be in this upgrade in this upper level in your life. So that you can start embodying it. And oftentimes people think, Well, gosh, you know, like, it's quite a hefty investment. And like, is it just really one day? But here's the thing you're not necessarily paying for one day, you're you're really investing in your transformation, you're investing in? How are you going to shift where you are now and step into this new paradigm for yourself? What is that going to look like? How are you going to embody that? What steps are you going to take? How are you going to implement and integrate that into your everyday life and business. And so in the VIP experience, not only do we spend a day to do that, whether it's in person or virtual, but we take the next 30 days. And I help you do that, I help you walk out the process, and hold you accountable to taking the steps that you said you were going to take. Because at the end of the day, we want to see you have a transformation. There is something that you set out to do. There is a God given divine purpose calling on your life. And in order for you to truly step in to that. It requires you to really embody what that means for you so you can help others get the transformation.

19:35
So if this is something that interests you, I'd love to have a conversation with you. We can jump on a discovery call and talk about what are the options and what that might look for you to really take that step and have a VIP experience for yourself. And so you can click on the show notes and you can grab yourself a spot for a discovery call and we can talk

20:00
All about it. Friend, thank you so much for hanging out with me today. Next week we're going to be talking about what it looks like to really show up confidently and to put your gift out into the world and so you're not going to want to miss next week's episode. But until next time, remember you have everything you need to live bravely. If you liked this episode of The Courage cast, we'd love to hear from you. Leave us a rating and review and while you're there, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Original Music by Stephen Crilly.

227 | Are You Getting Results Or Are You Repelling Them

WITH ANDREA CRISP

 
 
 
When we have a desire that we truly want to see manifest in our lives, we have to be super, super clear, and careful about what energy we’re applying to the thought.
— Andrea Crisp
 

About This Episode:

Are you feeling frustrated by your lack of results in your business? Maybe you're constantly looking at the metrics trying to figure out what is going right and what is going wrong. Today on the podcast we're going to take a deeper look into why you might not be getting the results you desire.

Connect on IG: @andreacrispcoach @the.couragecast

Join Weekly Call: Mindset Mentor Circle

Facebook Community: Mindset Mentor Collective

To book a FREE 20-minute Discovery Call with Andrea: www.andreacrisp.ca/schedule

 
 
 
 

Listen Here:

 
 
 

Your mindset is your greatest asset! But it is also what may be holding you back from taking that next step in your life. Are you ready to reframe your mindset so that you can step more confidently into your purpose?

 

0:00
Are you feeling frustrated by your lack of results in business? Maybe you're constantly looking at the metrics trying to figure out what's going right, what's going wrong. Well, today on the podcast, we're going to take a deeper look into why you might not be getting the results you desire.

0:17
You're listening to The Couragecast a show to equip and empower you to live bravely. Each week, we'll share solo episodes and conversations with amazing people who have been willing to face their fear and pursue their purpose with a blend of practical and spiritual advice will help you take brave steps in your own life. Now, here's your host, mindset and confidence coach, author, and your secret weapon.

0:42
Hey, friend, welcome to The Couragecast, I am so glad that you have joined me today. My name is Andrea Crisp, I am a mindset and confidence coach. And you know what I would love to connect with you. One of the reasons why I created the podcast was really to create community. And there is no better way to do life and do business and really to take those brave steps than to do them together. So if we have not already connected, I would love to connect over on Instagram you can find me at at Andrea crisp coach. And when you do, come say hi. And let me know that you listen to the courage cast. And let's just connect and let's actually get to know each other a little bit better. So today on the podcast, I want to talk about why you may not be getting the results you truly desire. And this is going to be coming straight from a personal place. Because over the past few months, I have had some pretty big revelations when it comes to working towards certain outcomes in my life. And in my business. Now I am someone who loves the Whoo, I love visualization meditation. And it has always helped me to focus on the kind of results that I really want. But what I didn't realize was that when I was doing my meditations, when I was doing my visualization, I was actually focusing on the wrong thing. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't I'm as surprised as you are, you're probably like, well, what are you focusing on. So in the coaching space, we hear all the time that we need to visualize ourselves where we want to be, and focus on that outcome, focus on making that happen. And that's what I thought I was doing, honestly, and truly, I thought, during my times of visualization, that I was focusing on my future self and the life that I want to create for myself. And I would picture in detail, absolutely everything that I wanted to happen, how I wanted it to happen, what I was wearing all of the things, you know, if you've ever done meditation or visualization, you probably know all of this stuff. But I still was not getting the results I wanted. So as you can imagine, that was causing a lot of frustration. And it wasn't until I realized that there are actually two different ways to focus on what we desire, that everything changed for me. So what I'm about to tell you actually blew me away. It's a very simple concept, and yet a very, very powerful one. So we can either focus on having our outcome, or focus on the lack of having our outcome. I need to say that again, we can either focus on having the outcome, or the lack of having the outcome.

And I was focusing on the lack of it, but I didn't know that. And if you're anything like me, then you're probably thinking to yourself, well, of course I want to focus on the having it. But here's the thing, are you actually doing that? Or do you find yourself ruminating over the lack of it and focus on the disappointment that hasn't come yet? And it can really be sly when it comes to those thoughts coming in. But the moment we start thinking one thought, like, oh, well, it didn't happen today. Then all of a sudden that attracts another thought. And it builds upon another thought and then Finally, we find ourselves in a place that every time we think about what it is that we truly want, what we're actually focusing on, is the fact that we are not getting what we want, which then produces more of the same. So here's what got me. When I would focus on my desires, day after day, I would find myself like maybe later on in the day drifting into those thoughts. You know, like, maybe I was, you know, thinking about something I wanted to happen in my business, and then, you know, I wouldn't get any response, or I wouldn't really get what I wanted. And then I'd start to second guess myself, and then I would start to, you know, my insecurities would get the better of me, and all of a sudden doubt would creep in. And before you know it, you're in this place of frustration, and you're in this place of, you know, lack, and my energy was depleting, and it was going down so quickly.

Because I was then focusing on the lack of what it is that I truly wanted, and I didn't even know it. And I was attracting nothing. Like, even though I was doing all the visualization, all the meditation, I was actually getting back zero results. And I went, I started realizing that it like I just like, was like, Oh, my gosh, this is crazy. How did I not know this? And so of course, I want to talk to you about it, because maybe you've done the same thing, right? Maybe you're like, just new into the manifestation world, maybe you're just trying to figure out this whole subconscious programming thing. And you're like, What in the world, that's what I have been doing. Okay, so, my friend, here is the thing about manifestation and mindset. When we have a desire that we truly want to see manifest in our lives, we have to be super, super clear and careful about what energy we're applying to the thought. Because in that visualization, that energy, that emotion attached to the thought, that is what we will manifest. Yes. So if you are feeling frustration, or fear or insecurity and you're attaching it to the desired outcome, you will not have what you desire, because you are in an energetic vibration, of lack. So it's so important that you attach to the thought, the energy and emotion you would feel upon receiving that desired result. So, for example, say you were gonna go on a beach vacation, and you're like, Oh, I cannot wait to sit in the sunshine. And I'm so excited that I'm going to have the best time in the world. Well, when you're visualizing yourself on the beach, you definitely want to attach the emotions of like, what is it going to feel like when I'm lying on the beach, it's going to feel so peaceful and relaxing. And maybe like in the background, you can hear like this island music, and you're feeling like, Oh, I just feel so energized and like, just at rest. And so every time you visualize this beach vacation, you want to attach and associate that energy and those emotions to the visualization. But if you instead are thinking about your beach vacation, you're like, I don't have any clients yet. And I'm never going to be able to save money for that beach vacation. And I really want to go to that beach vacation, and I'm seeing myself sitting on the beach and but really, there's frustration a lack attached to it, then we're going to attract exactly what we're putting out, which is frustration and lack and no beach vacation, or you might get a beach beach vacation that's full of frustration, a lack, I don't know, it could be the to either one. So it's so important that you want to attach the right energy and emotion to it. Now, here are some real life examples for you because of course, I want to share from you know, my own life. So I want to talk a little bit about lead generation. So when it comes to, you know, building community when it comes to finding new clients, connecting with other people in my own life and my own business i over the past few months have had a huge desire. And the outcome that I wanted to see was a thriving community and to really cultivate community on an in an authentic way. But what was happening was that every time I I started to do lead generation, I would move away from the desire of the authentic community and more into overwhelm about having to do the cultivating part. And it was really depleting my energy. And so every time I thought about community or building community, I was like, Oh, this is so draining. And as you can imagine, what I was getting was crickets, because my energy attached to the desired result was of lack, and was not in the right place. So I had to take a look at, well, how am I doing this? What energy Am I approaching this with. And so it really had to shift for me and I had to start looking at every time I make a connection, every time I'm on, I have a conversation with somebody, it really needs to be from a place of service and adding value and my desire to have that connection. Because that is the only way that I'm going to have the desired result. So that I have the right energy and emotion going towards what it is I desire. Same thing happened. When it came to filming my my group coaching program, I had two programs in a row. And the first one was a brand new program. And I was really excited about it. And I was at ease, and I just was able to sell the program. The second one, however, was very different. I felt this scarcity around it and this need to have it be filled. And I was focused on that on the need to have it be filled, which was an emotion and an energetic vibration, that really wasn't what I desired. Instead of just thinking about how this program could add value to people, how could change our lives, how could change our business, how could help them really with their confidence, I was focusing on the lack thereof. Now I want to give you one more example. And this is from one of my clients. So this is more of a personal nature. So one of my clients that I've been working with came to me one day in frustration, because she has a partner that was really, the relationship was causing some frustration. But here's the thing, she was focused on the frustration, and not the desired outcome. So every time that she would visualize what it is that she desired in the relationship, she was allowing the frustration to get in the way. And of course, what happens is you attract more of that from the relationship. Often, that's not even the partner who's doing it, it's just your own emotion or energetic vibration that's happening that's causing that, and then that person, just follow suit. And all of a sudden, there's, you know, more crisis. So here's the thing. It doesn't matter if we apply this to business, relationships, finances, when we're focused on the lack of something than we're allowed, and we're allowing our emotions to set the attraction point, then we're going to attract more of the same. So even if we're taking actions towards those results, we will attract what it is that we do not desire. So it's so important that we set the attraction point. And then we make sure that when we're thinking about what it is that we desire, we think about it from the vantage point of being in a high energetic vibration, and having an emotion that would be attached to the desired outcome. Okay, so I think you get the point here. So leaving you today, I want to ask you, What results do you want to see manifest in your life or business? And how will you feel when you experience that outcome? Whatever the good feeling is that you have that is exactly what you want to connect with. When you're visualizing planning and executing your actions. They call it aligned action. Who knew? Right? So it's so important that when you have that aligned action, that really you have the aligned emotional and energetic component there as well. Okay, friend, I hope that is helpful for you. I know it was helpful for me, gosh, I wish I would have known that sooner. I really would just just encourage you when you are setting goals and outcomes for your life and for your business, that you take a look at how you want to feel and when what state you will be in when you achieve them. And every time you think about that, and every time you take action towards it, you are in that state. Now, if you've never joined me for a mindset mentor circle, I would love to have you join me each week on Wednesday at 12pm. Eastern Standard Time, there is a free weekly zoom call where you can jump in, you can get support when it comes to mindset. And really, it's just a great place for us to build and cultivate that community together. And really to support one another because you know, oftentimes it can feel lonely and isolating when we're doing this. So I would love to have you take part, you can find the link to the call in the show notes. And friend, Olivia, thank you for being here. Until next time, remember, you have everything you need to live bravely.

15:55
If you liked this episode of The Couragecast, we'd love to hear from you. Leave us a rating and review and while you're there, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Original music and production by Stephen Crilly.

218 | Are You Ready For Radical Self Acceptance

WITH STEFANIE EDWARDS

 
 
 
The marriage between action and energy is so important, allowing ourselves to believe while also taking action.
— Andrea Crisp
 

About This Episode:

Do you feel completely disconnected body, soul, and spirit? That is how I felt 75 days ago (right before I started 75 Hard). I was struggling to show up for myself and my business because I lacked the energy. My friend Stefanie suggested we do 75 Hard together and with some quick decision-making, we decided to commit on the spot. Today on the podcast we are sharing this life-changing journey with you.

Connect With Stefanie: Instagram + Unlocking Your Potential Bootcamp

Connect with Andrea on IG: @andreacrispcoach @the.couragecast

To book a FREE 20-minute Discovery Call with Andrea: www.andreacrisp.ca/schedule

 
 
 
 

Listen Here:

 
 
 

Your mindset is your greatest asset! But it is also what may be holding you back from taking that next step in your life. Are you ready to reframe your mindset so that you can step more confidently into your purpose?

 

0:00
Has there ever been something that you really wanted to do? But you felt like it was impossible, like there was no way you could ever achieve this outcome? Well, when I heard of 75 hard, that was exactly how I felt. That was until my friend Stephanie, recommended we do it together. Today in the podcast, Stephanie and I chat about our journey through 75 hard, and we're going to tell you all about it, what it is and how it transformed our lives and business.

0:38
You're listening to The Couragecast a show to equip and empower you to live bravely. Each week, we'll share solo episodes and conversations with amazing people who have been willing to face their fear and pursue their purpose. With a blend of practical and spiritual advice. We'll help you take brave steps in your own life. Now, here's your host, mindset and competence coach, author, and your secret weapon.

1:03
Hey there, welcome to The Couragecast. My name is Andrea Crisp, and I am so excited that you are joining me today. If we are connected on Instagram, you may have noticed that I have been posting over the past few months about a journey that I had been on called 75 Hard. So today on the show, I am going to unpack what I have experienced over the past 75 days. And my friend Stephanie Edwards is also going to be joining me on the show, talking about how it has impacted her life as well. So without further ado, here is my conversation with Stephanie Edwards.

Stephanie Edwards, we are back. I am so excited to have you back on the podcast today. And I think it's been like almost a year. Since you are on the show. And man, we have had quite the journey over the past year, but especially over the past 75 days, which is why I invited you back onto the podcast. And those of the people who have listened to the podcast, or maybe even followed me on Instagram, maybe don't realize that I am actually doing this journey with another person. 75 hard. But here you are. You get to tell part of your journey as well as you know me telling a little bit of mine. But before we get into that, I would love for people to kind of get to know you. And just feel free to share a little bit about yourself. Those of you who have met Stephanie before, I will link to her original podcast on here and you can take a listen. It's a great episode. But I'll I'll let you go with it. Tell us a little bit who you are.

2:48
Hello, everybody. Yes. So I get to hang out with Andrea. Every week, we chat about all kinds of things. And so it's fun just to bring this conversation here and have this conversation now with you guys. It's yeah, when was it? So however long ago that we started 75 hard, I had this idea, it just popped into my social feed about 75 hard and I brought it to Andrea one day on our weekly call. And she was like, let's do it, we can start today.

2:54
We did.

3:23
That's kind of been the energy that we took into this undertaking, I guess it's gonna say project. But it's really been way more than that. And I introducing myself, I started there because so much has changed about me and who I am and what I've embraced and bodied, and all these different things since beginning this journey.

I love how you say that and start start with that because it is definitely has been a transformational 75 days, like we're, we're not to the exact end. But by the time this podcast airs, we will have just concluded the official version of 75 Hard well talk about, you know, where we go from here and how that is going to look for each of us. But, you know, in this journey together and actually walking it out, you know, where we started, where you started? And where I started, is, you know, I don't think I'm showing up as the same person. I don't know if you'd say the same thing.

But we have both shifted, and I felt that big way. Okay, so let's kind of start there. Yeah. Can you remember what you were feeling like how you were showing up? When this started?

4:41
Terrible. I was feeling terrible about myself. I think you know, I was really at a point where I was so low energy. And I think I had said to you on one of our calls. We we do talk once a week and this is something we've been doing doing for a year. So those of you who don't know Stephanie as somebody who is really expanding in my life. And so when we have these conversations, we talk about anything from, you know, business to life to health and fitness to money, to dreams to manifestation.

We talk about, we seriously have all the conversations. Yeah. And so when when I was talking to you that day, I was, you know, just really telling you that I had been on a call in my Unblock Abundance group that I was a part of. And I was sharing with them how I had just really been feeling like, the next step for me was really to take my, my health and fitness seriously. And I was really low energy. And I was finding that it was really hard for me to put into practice the things that I really wanted to put into practice when it came to finances. Because I was always tired. And that's when you said to me, you're like, Well, you know, I've been thinking about, you know, doing 75 hard. Do you want to do it? And I was I literally jumped on it and said, Yes. Let's start today. Yes. And so that's why I love by the way, because you don't have to wait to start till Monday. Yeah, we start literally, we started on the Wednesday. We started on a Wednesday, just like done like let's No, no need to make a plan. No need to have any other decisions made. Like we're just diving in. Okay, love that. So for the person who's never heard of 75 heard, right. So like, Now, tell them to explain. Yeah, you go ahead. You explain what is it exactly.

6:39
So 75 Hard was, oh, I don't even remember his name. I'm sorry. It was created by a guy. And it's just here's your plan that you're going to follow for the next 75 days. No exceptions, no excuses, you're going to do it. So what is it that you're doing, you're going to drink a gallon of water every single day. So to hydrate, you're going to follow a meal plan and you get to choose what that is that you're going to stay committed to it for 75 days, you're going to work out twice a day, one of which must be outside, no exceptions. And it's for 45 minutes apiece, each workout, you're going to read a physical nonfiction book. And I say that because he says no audio books aloud.

And so we were opening up our minds to own different kinds of things by reading all these new books, at least 10 pages a day. And take a picture. And that's the one I always forget. Every single day to track your progress. Yeah. Oh, and no alcohol. Yeah. Yeah, I think. Yeah. And, you know, it's so funny.

7:41
Because at the beginning, I said, Okay, well, what are we going to do to stay accountable? Yeah. And you're like, I don't know. And I said, Well, we're gonna, why don't we send each other our our progress picture every day? And you were like, what?

7:55
That was not something I was excited about. Like, what do you mean?

8:01
And there's something even just starting there, that honestly has shifted for me. And because, you know, it's funny, like, there was like, maybe two or three places locations that I took that picture, every time. Yeah, and but I got to a point where I was able to stand in front of the mirror, full length mirror, and take a picture of myself every single day without

just wanting to berate myself, like wanting to be like, Oh, I hate this or this. And it wasn't about like, How good can I look? Or, you know, it wasn't about that it was about I'm doing this for me. And this is a, you know, this is for me, and this is to document it. And I would take the picture. And I stopped worrying about what I looked like, over the 75 days. Yes, definitely.

8:57
Yeah. I had to going back to because you called me out on it, but I did it feel that, like, I have to send Andrea this picture every day. And the reason I did that, in case for listeners, we live in different countries. So we have yet to meet in person, even though we talk every single week and have for over a year. We live in different countries. And so Andrew has seen me on Zoom and zoom is like you know, chest up, right? And she sees me on Instagram, but once again, I curate those pictures. I don't buy workout pictures on Instagram typically. So Andrea has necessarily no idea of what I look like chest down. And that really got in my head because like oh my goodness, now she's gonna see that I'm overweight. And as if like I was hiding that before because I don't but anyhow, it was just like Like, I had all this mind drama about it. And I remember Do you remember I said, Okay, I'll just send you had pictures. Yeah. Like, I was like,

Okay, I'm just gonna send this image of myself. And that's one of the biggest things that I've shifted, because she's now seeing all of me, I've sent her all kinds of pictures at all different points in the day and like hot, sweaty messes to, you know, makeup done, whatever. But like, I'm not hiding anymore in my pictures. And I feel that because I'm not hiding anymore in who I am. And it's because of the expansion that I had going through this journey.

And the shift that I felt and so I was like, it's okay to be fully present. And that means allowing myself to be fully seen. And so that was a big shift to for me is to be able to release my own stigma. And because that's all it is, it's my own judgment against myself about what I think I look like.

11:00
I totally agree with that. Like, I'm, I'm right there with you. I think there's oftentimes like, where I look back, even just on a picture that I came across the other day, wasn't this year, but it was a couple years ago. And I looked at and I was like wow, Andrea. Like what in the world and, and I think I stopped having compassion for myself, somewhere along the way. And this gave me this compassion, but also acceptance for myself in the change, you know, like, as I was working through,you know, how my body looks and how I feel in my body, right? As we go through the process, there's a lot of the aspects of 75 hard that felt easy to me. Yeah, like no alcohol. I was like, Well, I rarely drink anyways, not a big deal. So I found that was like, super easy. Where I know for some people, they would be like, Oh, that's really hard. And how can you do that for 75 days? And I want to know, from your perspective, like, what was the easy part of it for you? And what was the hard part of it for you?

12:20
Yeah. I'm leaning into that question. That's why I'm pausing for a second because it was still kind of thinking about the shift with taking the picture.

And the releasing the judgment, I think that was the hardest part. And so tying that back in it, because it's when we are seeing ourselves only in one way, and we can't see what others can see in us which, FYI, one of the reasons I've continued to have these amazing conversations with Andrea every week is because Andrea calls out and sees things in me that I limit myself, I don't allow myself to see all the time.And vice versa, like I feel like this is a gift that we give each other.

And so but going through 75 hard, because every day I had to show up, and do something to take care of my body, so that my body could also give that to me, what I was asking of it was I had to make that shift. And that's where the greater self love and the compassion like you were speaking to, started to evolve and started to come in as I was releasing the judgment, because I was like, wow, what are these new things called endorphins.

We don't doing these intense workouts in the morning that now I'm more awake. Now I feel more alive in my body. And my body certainly feel better throughout the day. So now I want to move my body more like and I started to, I talked about my body as if it's a separate entity, sometimes, so hang with me. But like, I get to this place where I'm like, I was not loving my body. I was so miserable with how I felt and how I looked, or the judgment I was putting on myself. So yeah, I felt like you know, just like exhausted and frumpy every day. And now it's like I'm getting up and I'm moving first thing in the morning and I'm having gratitude for how my body is working. And now how it's like lighting up and feeling better. And that's got easier and easier. The further I went that now it's like, I wake up at 5am I'm at the gym at six. I'm working out for an hour. Like that wasn't me that first week. I mean it was but I was dragging myself to do it. Whereas now it's like I want to go. You had a huge transformation when you started going and you shifted from doing your yoga classes in the morning to doing a rowing class and that is like probably I want to say after like, I don't know, four or five days.

As of rowing, I could notice a huge change in you when it came to like, how you were feeling about the journey and yourself. Yes. So tell us a little bit about what happened, then. Yes. And okay, so rowing, if you don't know, because I honestly had no idea what rowing was. It's like, based on the idea of like being in a boat rowing, and taking that sport, and they have these machines called ERGs, or rowing machines, and you're, you're moving your, like, 80% of your body is activated in this class, because it's your legs, your abs, your arms, all these different body parts. And it's like high impact aerobics without the stress in your body. So I say all it is because I was completely fascinated by it. But I was in my first week, my yoga class only met certain days of the week. And I was like, I really would like to have my workout done first thing in the morning, at least one of them. That was my intention. That was what I was wanting. And then I thought about it, I was like, okay, but where else could I go. And I really don't want to lift weights. And like I just had all these things are like, I don't want this. I don't want this. But I don't know what to do want besides an early morning workout class, that's going to be awesome. It's going to feel great. And just setting that intention of what I didn't want. And where I was being clear, even though I yet didn't know about rowing, I completely manifested a rowing class, it's only a 10 minute drive from my house. It's so easy it first thing in the morning, and is this awesome environment, so much energy in the class, I build off of that I have an amazing workout in the rest of the day, my tone is totally different. I manifested that out of nowhere, like, I didn't even know it existed is the point of what I'm trying to stress here. And it came into my world and I just trusted I was like, okay, and I just bought it immediately. And it has been the biggest transformation. I've been doing it for two months now. I go five times a week. It is it's life giving to me. And because it's activating my body in a different way that I had honestly gotten to a point where I was like, Okay, this isn't possible for me. I'm not a runner. I'm not a this guy was just like saying, I'm not all these things. And it taught me No, I am. I just had to find what lights me up that is jamming with my energy and it's it's brought out more energy from me. That's awesome. You know, it's funny, I did not go to the gym, except for once.

17:31
75 days. But what I did in the morning was I started doing a really early morning walk with the dog. And, you know, it's funny because you're like, Okay, well, big deal. But my dog at that point, when we started 75 hard, was not walking very well on the leash at all. So for me, you know, my my walks consisted of going out into the woods every day, and I had to drive out there and there was like a whole thing. It was just a whole thing. And I had made a an intention towards at a certain time in the summer, which we haven't even like reached technical summer yet that I would walk to a certain point in my work from my house with my dog and back. Well, within, I don't know, three days of me getting up early. I had already hit that marker. And it was the first time because there was no dogs out on the street. She was you know, easy to walk on the leash. And we did it every morning. And our ears just flickered as I said that.

And eventually what we were doing is we were taking walks. You know, in the morning, we were taking a walk in the afternoon, we were taking a walk in the evening. And it was you know, it was good for her. It was good for me. And I started to really see like the very thing that I I guess I was really struggling with which is you know, like, how am I gonna get this dog to do this was really honestly, Stephanie. My energy that had to shift? Yes, because I was showing up frustrated trying to do it with her all the time. And in the morning, you know, I was halfway be like crawling out of bed. And again, I'm in Canada, you're in Tennessee. So it was a little cooler when we first started here. Yeah, I you know, there was still like, you know, starting Oh, yeah, like I mean, we were not it wasn't like summertime here. And I was getting up and doing this walk and I noticed how I was showing up differently with her. Yeah, and that was my first indication to me that there was something happening, that this wasn't just about, you know, my fitness. It was about what am I capable of and what do I believe to be true for my life and for myself? Yes. And so, yeah, I like it.

20:00
It was the release of some resistance.

20:02
Absolutely. Because I have felt, yeah, I've had a lot of resistance around, you know, the way I did things, things had to be a certain way. And if I'm just really honest about it, like, there have been times in my life where I did better cardio than the past 75 days. Yeah, I have not been great to do the cardio I, I can run I do run. I didn't run except for once. I really just didn't do that. I think for me, this was a journey about expansion for me, and really leaning into the possibility and staying in things. When it when I didn't feel like I wanted to, or it didn't feel hard, or I was like, Oh, is this over yet? You know?

And for me, that's kind of where I felt like it was like, no, just keep going, just keep going. Because I think so often, we think all of the things that we have to do in life are going to be this Picture Perfect journey. And we don't really share like, oh, no, it actually wasn't that picture. Perfect. It you know, there were there were times where it was difficult.

So I wanted to ask you a couple questions. And I kind of divided them into little like, snippets, but how has your life changed? And I'm gonna go into different things. I'm gonna also go into your outlook, or start with a huge question, your outlook, your health and your business. Okay, so I want like, but just how would you say in general, like, and you don't have to, like say like, you know, all of your like, you know, gory secrets or anything, but your life in general has now changed? What changed? For sure. For sure. Yeah.

21:48
And yeah, like picking up what you were just talking about, like, it's the release of so much resistance. And for me, resistance shows up a lot of times it's judgment.

And so I resist moving into do things because I'm judging, like, for example, with the higher energy aerobics like, I didn't even know that rowing existed, but I didn't even think I could do that anymore, because of the knee pain that I had. So I resisted even trying, and moving my body in that way, because I was judging myself that I was too old, I was too fat, I was too all these things to be able to do that. And this 75 hard, I have been doing subconscious work as well throughout this process, which is something extra. But all of this has shifted my perspective to be like, Okay, there's my thought I found it. But is that really what is only possible for me? Or am I in resistance? Am I judging myself somehow? And that's huge, because I'm working on judging myself a lot less, judging others a lot less, like I catch it in random ways. judging somebody just for what they're wearing. I'm like, Why, why, why that's none of my business. Like, why am I doing and just being aware of this s come out of this process? So same thing, like putting that back at you like, how has this like, outside of just the activity of moving our bodies and taking care of our bodies? How has it opened up?

23:23
So much more for you, you know, I have always had this like thought in my mind where I had to compartmentalize what I was doing. So if I was going to focus on one thing it was, could only be the one thing, but it just so happened that I was working on my finances and my abundance mindset. Yeah, it was, you know, just so happened to coincide of the fact that we were doing 75 hard at the same time, you and I, we were talking about the expansion we are experiencing. And then you and I also, you know, kind of really got, you know, dialed into some teachings on the subconscious, you know, more from Bob Proctor, Proctor Gallagher. And we talked about that at some serious length. And then, you know, just crazy things started opening up for me, like, for example, a friend of mine was posting about a coach that needed to get some hours for her

ICF credentials. And she's doing coaching, so I jumped in on it. And now she's coaching me in relationships. And that was something I was like thinking there's no way that I could focus on abundance, relationships, health, and also do the subconscious work at the same time. Not a chance. And I think I've started to see how much more capacity I have. Huh? Because 75 Hard was like, you know, did you do the two walks was one outside. Did you drink all the water? I mean, those things seem a lot easier now.

And then they did at the beginning. But it was like, there was a list of things I had to do besides the fact of working besides the fact of like actually being present in life, and doing all, you know, working with clients, all those things, you know, I started to realize, yes, I have capacity, greater capacity for these things in my life. And I don't have to, like, defer them continue to defer what it is that I desire for another time in my life. So that, to me was the biggest, the biggest one. Now. How about your outlook? Like, your outlook on? What, what you want moving forward? Now, like, how is that shifted?

25:44
A lot, the shift is remarkable, because my outlook is much more positive. Because my energy is much more positive. I'm carrying with me. So and like, it's, it's like a charge is the best way to describe it, because I was so negatively charged before. And you didn't even think I was a negative person. It was once again, the judgments and the own doubt that I had in myself, and I was carrying the shame about my body, to lighting myself up with this energy, both naturally, that's coming from the endorphins I'm releasing every day. And also from the mental work that I'm doing. And it's, I feel so much better.

Because I've activated, cleaner,more conscious, more empowering energy every single day.

26:38
Do you find like, you know, talking about vibrational frequency that that shifted for you. And your outlook was able to change because, like, I even found as I was, like, starting to eat more healthy and less sugar, I was, you know, like, Oh, I feel so much better. And all the sudden you're just even there, it's like your outlook is better, because it's like, I felt less foggy, I felt clearer.

And that was a huge thing for me was thinking like, wow, like, it's amazing how we want so many things in life. And yet when it comes to, you know, the vibrational frequency or physical body is on that we're clogging it up and jumping.

And, you know, it hasn't been a perfect go for me, you know, like I've had, you know, ebbs and flows in it. But for the most part, I have really done pretty well. And so I'm very end even like this morning getting up and I again, I feel clearer, I feel, you know, capable of making decisions.

Your health, How's your health changed

27:54
a lot. Like bringing it back to what you were just saying about the food. It didn't realize, I thought it was a pretty healthy eater.

But I chose my meal plan to eliminate two ingredients out of my diet. And that was it. That was my only change name as I was going to remove these two ingredients. And just by doing that, I've been able to regulate my blood sugar. And

at least that's what I call it. But it's like, because I'm not having these ups and downs in these crashes and not having them like you said the brain fog. I also already drank a lot of water. But now I'm drinking a gallon of water, which does make a difference. Yep. And it's that has like cleared up

my brain as well. And I can't even until you are there in your experience it you can't fully understand how much better you are going to feel on the other side of it. Because it's not just one thing. It's your whole body opening up. And to give you an example of this, like I've been on a couple I was just on a call last week.

Nobody on that group had seen me since I started 75 hard in hearing I'm now at the end of it. So I've had plenty of time for my body to be fully hydrated and nourished and all the ways like a and people were like 70 You look like you're glowing about me on zoom.

No makeup is different. No anything is different. Like it's just I am different yet and I'm literally glowing from the inside out. Yeah. Because my body feels better. And my energy is that Yeah.

29:37
Same thing. I would I 100% agree with that. I would say like people have noticed it and they said stuff like you just showing up differently. Yeah, and I'm like I am and it's funny because I'm like I don't you know I don't know I'm not doing anything different. You know, I'm just but I do feel a difference. There has been times where

I've had, you know, some frustrations around like, oh, things are still not fitting the way I want to fit, you know. And that kind of went into my old mindset of like, you know, this is just about weight. And this is just about how I look.

But really, for me, one of the things that just like, like recently shifted for me was, I really started to understand that when it comes to love, when it comes to self love, that if I can't love myself as I am, then how can I expect that someone would love me and accept me the way I am? And I don't necessarily think that I want to stay the same. You know, I think that, you know, as we're talking about this, there's so many areas of our lives that are expanding, and shifting right. And I will continue to do that in every way. But in the same way, I was starting to see that okay, well, you know, full disclosure, at this point, I only lost five pounds. Okay. I wanted it to be 20. That did not happen. So, you know, they're the old program running is like, well see, you only lost five pounds. And I've started to really see like, No, this was more about learning to love myself, and love my body. And, and be in this place of like, just radical self acceptance. Yes. And, and feel like for me, that that's how I feel about myself. And so when I see myself or show up for things, people are saying, well, you're glowing, or you've shifted like, Wow, I feel like that's what I'm showing. Yes, I'm honoring myself in a way that I haven't. And it's not just by what I'm doing. But how I perceive myself, which I think is a big shift.

32:01
I think that's been a big theme for you throughout this process. We've had that conversation a good bit diving into that is, how are you going to honor yourself?

Yeah, in all different kinds of ways that's come up for you. And yes, because it's de restated, again, for anybody who's interested in trying a journey like this. It is not just about what you are getting up, or what you are doing physically to move your body. Yeah, it is all the other shifts that are going to come out of this. Yes. Because when I tell people about it, they're like, Oh, that's not for me. I could never work out that much. You're gonna do a whole gallon of water a day.

32:42
Let's say like, oh, you lost me. I can't have alcohol. Or you lost me. I have to read. I'm like, I have to read. Yeah. That's why last year, I was like, wow, I was like, you know? Yeah, once again, no judge yet from where you're at. And it's just so interesting how immediately, we are noticing, because to us now, it's become a way of living? Yeah.

33:06
And we're just like, No, it is freed up more time, we have more energy, like, you're gonna just feel so much better. But once again, you have to be in the right space to accept it into your life and be ready to experience a change. Because it's a commitment you've got to buy into. Yeah, and if you're not sold on that, we can, you don't have the accountability. I mean, we were lucky to have each other every single day. And we were encouraging each other to keep going in, you know, now, it's like, we just post our pictures. We don't even have to say anything back and forth. But in the beginning, we were like, how are you doing? It's okay, yeah, this is really hard. Like we were Yeah, we were really encouraging and holding each other in that space as we needed it.

33:47
And I noticed that even like, you know, coming towards the end of like, putting push putting the pictures in, it was more for me. It was It wasn't like, you know, I need her to see this. It's like, no, I need to do it so that I did it. You know, and that was what it became because like, there was never any point in time where I was like, seeing your pictures that I even was like, okay, like, you know, I didn't it was like there was if it was there or not there. It didn't matter when it was there or not there. The point wasn't, it was whether or not we were showing up for ourselves. Yes, that ended up being the biggest thing. Now, I have experienced and I know you have experienced too, but I'd love to hear how has your business transformed because of this? Yes. And this is fun, because I went into this feeling. I think wonky is a good word.

34:47
So I'm down with that. And just like chaotic in my mind about what I was going to do, and once again because there's always I'm I fight the judgment and

See how I wanted to present myself. And I just at the same time that we started this, I also went off social, I cleansed myself from that. I only just came back on last week. Because I was like, Oh, I feel like I have all these mixed signals. And I'm putting out mixed signals. And it just wasn't, I wasn't in a good space. And this process of growing through 75 hard, going through this journey experience has brought me to a better once again, belief in myself more energy, more focus, that I can make the commitment, because I could see what I was doing every single day.

Keeping this commitment to myself to do these workouts to eat this way, all these things. And it's like, wow, Stephanie, you're really disciplined. And wow, like, you can really do that like this. There's this kind of conversations, because I was deepening the gratitude that I had for myself, in my blog, you said the capacity for what we could hold. And it was like, I bet I could do this in my business. Like I bet I could, you know, because my business is me. Right? Like, it was like, I bet I could do it like this. And it just like, everything just started to get more clear, because I was shifting the belief I was having for myself. How about you? That's good.

36:21
That that's good. Yeah. Cuz shifting the belief about what's possible, right. And about what you have to offer, I think that stands out to me the most is just this unwavering belief that what I'm putting out into the world is needed and is valuable. And that don't have to second guess it. And there's going to be ebbs and flows within it.

I started a new program while we were doing this, yes, I launched and I'm about to launch another one. And so there were definitely things where I was, you know, showing up differently for myself and for for my clients. And I felt like in the process, like in this whole encompassing process that I elevated, where I'm going, yes, when it comes to my business, so the things that were important to me before or where I perceive I was no longer serving me. Yes. So I feel like I've been able to release a few things to let go and say, No, I don't want to do that anymore. That's not where I want to go. That's not who I want to work with. And I've kind of you know, just put it out into the universe and energetically and been like, okay, and I understand here's the thing. I'm totally get a rabbit trail here. But I'm with somebody who I've heard there's action that has to be taken, like, yes, so we both know that anybody's done. It was like, yes, that is so true. But when it comes to energy work, there, the marriage between action and energy is so important, because it's like allowing ourselves to believe energetically and hold space energetically for what we truly desire. Yes, also requires action. Yes. And I feel like there were times where I would slip back and forth between the two, I would go just in action mode, action, action, action, action, action. And then I would go into like, Oh, I'm just gonna meditate and hold space, and you know, all these lovely fun things. And then I was finding that with just the action, I was exhausted. With just the meditation, I was like, nothing's happening.

38:54
And I didn't realize that there was a part that I needed to marry the two. And realize, as I elevated that I could continue to take these action steps and they didn't have to be huge all the time. Yes. Sometimes there were just little steps. Yeah, yes. You use two very powerful words to describe your energy. And I want to call it out so that the listeners grab this, you said unwavering and elevate it. We elevated our energy. So that means like before, where we were having struggles or disbelief, not holding space, like for what was really possible for us in what we were doing in our lives and our business and for our bodies. Like we've elevated that because our energy has risen. Our belief has shaped gotten stronger. And it's unwavering. Now, like before we would be so do you think about what unwavering is like solid? Yeah, definite firm. Make

And now we are energetic matches for things that we were not at the start of this. And that's what we're both feeling is because new things are coming into our lives. We're attracting different types of clients, because we are now energetic matches for them. Whereas before, we may have had an intention, but we weren't ready for it. No, no, and God's not going to give us what we're not ready for the key is going to match our energy like, and so now we're feeling it, we're stepping into that in a bigger way.That, to me, is the most profound thing I've gotten out of this.

40:36
I totally agree. Like there was, there was something that happened the other day, and I literally just felt this huge, like, moment where it just like clicked, it all fell into place, in the sense of where I was, like, Oh, this is what this means. It just means that I am in a new space to really believe I deserve it, I'm worthy.

That this is a journey that I'm always gonna be shifting and changing. I'm always going to be growing. But I'm not at a deficit. I'm not in lack. i Not at you know, I'm not behind. I'm not you know, and now, you know, you were saying before, we were talking about working out and you're saying I'm not a runner, you know, like those are the things that used to go through your mind. Right? Right. And I remember what I used to identify not being a runner. And now I do even though I don't run all the time, I know I am capable of running, because there were years where I said I wasn't, and I legitimately did not run. And now I feel that I like I can identify as someone who is willing to be in this space to hold this space for myself. When it comes to, you know, eating well working out, growing my spirituality, my emotional bandwidth, my subconscious mind or programming, growing my business, you know, believing for, you know, relational things in my life, abundance, and really being able to say, yeah, like, I'm there.

I believe I'm not perfect. But on there. Yes.

42:27
Yeah. That being like, going back to where we started a conversation open to more possibilities. Yeah, it's, I heard somebody say one time, they're like, Okay, possibility, like, I bet you can believe most things could be possible. But is it really probable, like the odds are in your favor that it could happen? As I Oh, that's an interesting word description. But I, I'm there now, like I see the probability of things actually taking place, because it has shifted for you. And for me, what we are you capable of holding?

Yeah, the energy thing is such a big thing. And we've we've been doing this work. But we've also been studying a lot, like you said, give him credit, like with Bob Proctor.

And just understanding more and more about the energy work. And I've read different books about energy, I've been to see an energy healer a couple of times. Now, I don't even know that I was. First of all, I wasn't even aware any of this existed prior to

like this energy work type stuff. And then to go and be open to seeing somebody to do energy healing on trapped emotions. I didn't know what that was prior to this. But I was in the space that I was ready that when that information came, and then I was like, I would love to have a person like that in my life, I completely out of nowhere and manifest somebody whose lives like 10 minutes away from me that's willing to meet with me to do this work. And I did it for me and my son, like, it was amazing.

How just so many different things have come out of this, that we could just go on and on about all the amazing abundance of things that have happened. Yeah. And it's because we made a commitment to ourselves. And we didn't waver on that we stuck with the commitment and raised our energy that now we can see things differently. Like that's the premise of why this works. Yeah.

44:25
And, you know, if I was to go back and say, because my original goal, would love to lose 20 pounds. I did not last five. But what I trade that what I learned and what I experienced for 20 pounds. Heck now. Like, I can't even imagine now. Like just that being the goal. Like only loss of weight. Yes. You mean like I'm like, really? That's it? Like that's all I wanted, and I'm in the gift that I was given through showing up for myself every single day in this. Yeah. And by the end, I will reiterate again, not perfectly, because I did not do this perfectly was that I kept showing up? Yes. And even though I didn't do it perfectly, I wasn't like, well, you're gonna start over again. You know, it's just like, No, just keep going. Yes, that's it like it, there's no judgment of like, did you do this or not this. And I think that is probably one of the biggest lessons also, for me coming out of this is that, you know, I have judge myself so harshly in so many areas of my life for so long. That, you know, I wouldn't do things because unless it was going to be perfect. Or I could show up and just the exact way I wanted to, I would not do it, and get the exact result I'm looking for. Right, and the results that I have gotten. And I don't know if you'll say the same thing have far exceeded what I would have imagined if I would have just tried to be perfect in this journey.

46:13
So yeah, and there's the big business lesson, right? Like, instead of waiting to think that it's perfect before you can release something, put it out there and like, just keep going, keep putting it, keep moving forward, keep taking that action, just like we were doing here with this challenge. And what we are opening ourselves up to is far exceeds what we think we needed, or what we set that intention for what we were going for. Yeah, yeah. This has been this has been amazing. So what are you?

46:47
What are you going to do? How are you going to approach moving forward from here on out? Yes.

46:55
It has become such an ingrained part of my life that I can't imagine giving it up. My oldest child has been a part of this a lot with me, because he's been homeschooling throughout this journey. So he goes on Xbox and whatnot with me. And he's tried at times, it's really interesting to catch me like doing something wrong, or are you going to make it today? Are you really going to get that extra workout? And like,that's kind of a spirit sometimes. And then sometimes he's like, wow, we're already done with our walk. Like, we've gotten it so fast. And he catches that or like, the other day, he saw me jog with my kid. He's like, wow, you were actually running fast.

It has just changed in so many ways. And when when you hear a kid to give you honest, raw feedback, Oh, yeah. Like it's present. It's there and the model that I've set for him, I wouldn't give that up either. But I cannot imagine going back to being somebody who wakes up and immediately feels achy versus somebody who wakes up and it's like, let's go get this done. Yeah. And I look forward to what, that's what I'm going to feel like because then when I get home, and I've showered, and I dive into my work, my brain is already awake.

And I'm like, I'm not going to give that up. I'm like, I have come to this place where I'm like, because it Andrea had asked me this before, and she's like, What are you gonna do after I give it off? Yeah, it's so ingrained to know who I am, I'm going to keep going. Because why would I release these kinds of results? Now I know people have done it. And they, you know, for whatever reason, they they don't stay with it. Yeah. For me, it feels like the right thing to do. And I'm going to keep going for. Yeah, I love that. You know, for me, the, I think the one adaptation that I'm going to do, which I don't know, we'll see how this works. But is I'm going to implement some rest days.

48:55
I feel like that was maybe one of the hardest things for me was not feeling like on the days where I just my body really was saying like, You need to rest. Like, oh, I got to do these workouts. And I would just keep pushing through.

Because I have a dog. You know, there's a lot of the outside component of this that has to happen no matter what. Yeah. And so there's parts of it that are just going to stay with me, but I think what I've started to realize is like, you know, we had to do one one workout outside that was part of the deal as well. And so for me, I'm like, okay, that's easy. A 45 minute walk every single day with my dog is not a hard ask for me to do.

And also, I think for me, it'll be like, you know, on the days where I'm resting, it'll be just a walk and rest. Yeah, and that I think I will really try and implement I think otherwise I want to keep kind of the same thing going. I am

Not gonna lie looking forward to a nice glass of wine.As you know, a way to celebrate and also, you know, just you know, seeing how, but now it doesn't seem like this is something I do it just as a way I live. Yeah. So it kind of feels like after 75 days like this is very normal. I mean, I even to the amount of water and when I drink it, yeah. Like, I know how much water I need when I need to drink it. And if I drink it too late, I'll be up all night peeing. So yeah, so this is, this has been so amazing. And you know, at the end of the day, you ended up getting a puppy.

This week, you brought home a puppy, and, and so like, lots of lot of things have changed even for you, you know, when it comes to like how things are, are moving. So you're going to be doing some, some outdoor puppy walk, I definitely have more activities in my life. More on the horizon?

This is amazing. So what how can people connect with you what's kind of going on in your world that you can share with people I know, You've been so instrumental in my life helping me when it comes to really understanding who I am when it comes to how I show up, you know, with not only my messaging and marketing, and just really helping me kind of strategize things, but also really how I do it from a place of really understanding me. So what what are you doing right now that people can kind of jump in on?

51:43
Yes, if this conversation is interesting to you, then I encourage you to check out what I'm doing next. Because I am adapting this with manifestation with like getting clear and making that commitment to yourself for what you want. And I'm putting that together into a six week program. Taking the best parts of what we've done in 75, hard like activating your body, getting yourself into movement, I'm going to give you a specific plan on what you're going to eat, what you're going to be reading how you're going to be act, just like taking the things off of your plate. As far as how to make that decision, you just make the one time decision to go in, I'm gonna give you the support. So you stay committed to yourself, you have the accountability and like it is happening for six weeks that you can open yourself up to really see what you're capable of manifesting and bringing into your life. Because everything that we're talking about, has remarkably shaped, shifted, and transformed us into new versions of ourselves. And we're just more powerful women because of it. And I know that this is something I want to continue this work, yes, I dedicated for myself. But now I want to pour this back into other people's lives. And that's what this six week journey is going to be about. And I'm really, really excited about that taking place and showing people what they're capable of amazing. Well, I will link to that in the shownotes for people and I highly, highly encourage people to go and check it out. And get into your world because honestly, I am so grateful that we got to do this together. Like

53:32
I think I look back and go wow, like, you know, I mean, we're not done, we still have the rest of this week that we're we're on this journey together specifically. But I just feel like in this in this container that we held for one another in this space, that what a what a gift to learn and to grow and to manifest and to have expansion. You know, in so many ways, not just when it comes to our physical, you know, outcome, but when it comes to everything, so, thank you. Thank you for for pushing me, thank you for suggesting it. And I look forward to seeing how things kind of work out for you as they move forward. Yes, it's gonna be good for you and for me, amen. Over the past five days, I can honestly say that so much in my life has really shifted, and the one word that I really feel encompasses. My journey is expansion. And I am so grateful to Stephanie for being on this journey with me. It truly was really a catalyst for me to move forward. And that accountability that we all need when it comes to truly unlocking our potential and really moving forward in our lives, whether it's in our health, our business, our finances, really makes a difference in

So I think sometimes we have to get right back to the basics. And it seems simple. But in the same way it is so needed. And I love that Stephanie is stepping out and really offering something that is going to help you start moving forward in your own life with really actually opening up a six week program to do this work to have the same kind of expansion that we experienced when we were doing 75 hard. And so she is going to be launching unlocking your potential bootcamp. And during the six weeks, it's going to be amazing, because you're going to not only really start moving your physical body and release endorphins, but you're going to become more aware and connect with your subconscious programming, you're going to make decisions that are going to help you take action in your life and in your business. And really, you're going to put yourself in a position to manifest through guided meditations and becoming really aware of what you truly desire. And Stephanie is going to be offering some group calls during that time. And I'm also going to be there as well. So you'll have access to me during this process as well. I will leave all of the links in the show notes for you to connect with Stephanie, and jump into her program called unlocking your potential bootcamp. Friend, I'm so glad that I got to share this journey in my own life with you. I hope it inspired you. I hope it encouraged you that you can do so much more in your own life as well. And until next time, remember, you have everything you need to live bravely.

56:54
If you liked this episode of The Courage cast, we'd love to hear from you. Leave us a rating and review and while you're there, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Original music and production by Stephen Crilly.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

215 | Step Into Energetic Alignment

WITH SARA McCREADY

 
 
 
Particularly for coaches, your self-care practice and your healing journey is critical to you being able to show up and clear that last little bit of debris, energetic debris.
— Sara McCready
 

About This Episode:

How important is it for you to be in the right energetic space when you're working with your clients or working in your business?

So often as coaches and entrepreneurs, we tend to bypass how we feel what's going on in our bodies, and really look for the strategy, look at things that we can implement, to help us grow in an area of business. But what are you doing when it comes to growing energetically?

Sara McCready is an Intuitive Toxic Relationship Coach + Reiki Master, Solopreneur, and lover of all things self-care healing and wellness. Her passions are working with energy and intuition, and normalizing spirituality for everyone.

Connect With Sara: Instagram + Website

Connect with Andrea on IG: @andreacrispcoach @the.couragecast

To book a FREE 20-minute Discovery Call with Andrea: www.andreacrisp.ca/schedule

 
 
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Listen Here:

 
 
 

Your mindset is your greatest asset! But it is also what may be holding you back from taking that next step in your life. Are you ready to reframe your mindset so that you can step more confidently into your purpose?

 

0:00
How important is it for you to be in the right energetic space, when you're working with your clients or working in your business? So often as coaches and entrepreneurs, we tend to bypass how we feel what's going on in our bodies, and really look for the strategy, look at things that we can implement, to help us grow in an area of business. But what are you doing when it comes to growing energetically?

0:35
Particularly for coaches, your self care practice, your healing journey is critical to you being able to show up and that's actually how you and I ended up working together because you want it to be able to serve at a higher level. And clear that last little bit of debris, energetic debris that was you can feel it, but you couldn't identify it and you knew that it just needed like a little nudge, a little energetic nudge to be able to fully step into that best version of Andrea. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And this is the thing about energy work.

You are working at, again, the energetic body, so working with the chakras, but it's my knowingness and my understanding of the chakra system that helps integrate those energies into your physical body. So our chakra system has a direct impact on our physical body and our mental bodies, so more emotional, mental and physical. And when we haven't done the energetic clearing or tuneups, there is stickiness in our real lives our everyday lives either as a coach or in our personal relationship. And it's the best way to move the needle on any situation is to examine the energetic aspect of it, you're listening to the courage cast a show to equip and empower you to live bravely.

2:20
Each week, we'll share solo episodes and conversations with amazing people who have been willing to face their fear and pursue their purpose. With a blend of practical and spiritual advice. We'll help you take brave steps in your own life. Now, here's your host, mindset and confidence coach, author, and your secret weapon.

2:41
Hey there, welcome to The Couragecast. My name is Andrea, I am your host. And I'm also a mindset and confidence coach. And I'll tell you friends, over the past few years, I have had huge amounts of growth in my life and in my business. And if it weren't for the healing that I've experienced in my own life, I have to tell you that I would not be in the place that I am today. And so I'm so excited to be able to share with you a conversation that I had in my Facebook group, the confident coach collective with my good friend and also my energy healer, Sara McCready, she goes by @illuminatedjoy, and we were able to chat about energy and how we need to move the energy through our bodies and how that affects our business and how we're showing up, you know, creating boundaries within our lives. And in our business. It's just such a rich, rich conversation. And it was such a good conversation that I wanted to put it here on the podcast as well so that you could hear it. And I just trust that this is really going to help you shift. And if you're having any difficulties in your own life you have, you want to experience more growth. I want you I want to encourage you to take a look at maybe where you're holding energetically things that can be released in your life, through Reiki, through hypnotherapy, through all sorts of modalities, but in this case, we're going to talk about some of the modalities that Sara does, which includes data, data, Reiki, all sorts of stuff. So anyways, without further ado, here is my conversation with Sara.

Hello, Sara, it's so good to chat with you this morning.

4:39
Hello, Andrea, thank you so much for having me. This is going to be an amazing conversation. I can't wait.

4:47
You know, it's so far we're we have to joke all the time about you know, technology. And it's like one of those things where it's taken us a little bit of time to figure out how we're going to do this today, but here we are. I'm excited. to chat with you and for people to get to know you a little bit better. And I love for you this like, I mean, I could introduce you, but you're better to introduce yourself because you know you. So tell us a little bit about who you are and who you serve.

5:18
Thank you. Yeah, so my name is Sara McCready. And my business name is I Illuminated joy. So I have been down a very windy path for the last three to four years. And it has led me into this very beautiful space of coaching, mentorship and energy healing. So I am a 25 years survivor of toxic relationships, I have been in multiple, highly toxic relationships. And it was the fourth relationship that resulted in a marriage and the dissolution of a marriage. That was the pinnacle that prepared me to be able to take this step in the healing direction. So to begin my healing journey, to start to unravel what a toxic relationship is, and what energy healing can do for you when you're in emotional recovery. So I started my own practice in, it'll be two years this September. So in September of 2020, I opened the doors to what was really going to be an in person service. And it has really transformed in the last year as a result of being open and close so many times. And it was through the through lock downs and closures that it became apparent that I was going to be using the online space as my avenue to connect with people. And to bring this work to the masses. And it's been so much more than I ever anticipated it would be it's been a huge learning curve, but at the same time, so expansive, and so rewarding to be able to move my entire practice on line from formerly in person services. So I work in the energy world. So lots of healing modalities that I practice, and the primary one is Reiki, but I also have a modality called Theta Healing. And I combine a lot of energy healing modalities as well, I've kind of cobbled them together to create my own healing modality that helps you go through any grief or trauma that you may have experienced that helps you unpack that and heal those wounds or that trauma that is preventing you from possibly stepping fully into your highest self or just really experiencing life at its fullest version.

8:27
Amazing. It's so amazing. Of course, I have experienced that myself, I've experienced your work. So I know what that that looks like. But I'm sure people, you know, maybe are curious or like, you know, energy yearling? What does that mean? Like how well you know, what is data? How do I how do I do all of these things? What does this even mean? So, when you're working with with people, what are you what are you doing, like what does that mean? Is it magic?

8:56
What? Actually, I have started saying it's magic because at least it's magic is relatable. However, it is it is relatable, but it's not just sleight of hand there is actual physical healing that takes place during an energy healing sessions. So, with the energy healing, you are working on what we call the energetic body or the aura, but there is actual physical healing that takes place as well. So, when I work with my clients, I take them into what they call theta brain wave state, so theta state and that is a hypnosis type of healing modality so you are guided into it In this very relaxed state, and it is through that relaxed state that I am able to connect into your energy. So there is some magic at play. And the magic really is learning to work with other people's energy. So we all have the ability to do this. And this is what I have been called to do through the trauma and the emotional healing that I went through, is to really recognize those aspects of myself that were always there but weren't really necessarily tapped into. So I use the word intuition or intuitive, I use my intuitive abilities. Some people refer to them as psychic abilities, to be able to help guide the conversations that I have with the clients, I'm able to pinpoint an experience that occurred in their lives, that can be what I call capital T trauma, or little T trauma, you know, traumas not always something super dramatic. It can be an experience that you had when you were younger. And it's left its mark. So those are the type of traumas that are little T traumas that can show up later in life as a block of some sort, that you don't really realize is there. And so there is, like I said, this connection between our physical bodies and our energetic bodies, we are all energy, everything is energy. And so it is working at the energetic level, clearing the chakra system, working with those points within your physical body that allow the release, the energy healing really provides this release for the client to process the emotions that went behind the experience the trauma.

12:30
Hmm, yeah. So it's, it's, it's having an opportunity for them to actually work energetically and heal, you know, some trauma that's taking place in their life. And you're kind of the guide.

12:42
Yeah, facilitating, I call it facilitating, I'm just I, I say I'm a channel I am the channel to facilitate this experience for you to help. The energy work really helps you process the emotion because we tap into the nervous system, we're able to relax the nervous system. And the energy work also expedites the healing, healing process. It because it allows your nervous system to relax, it allows more awareness around and experience than you would otherwise have. So it can happen more quickly. Because you're in a relaxed state, you can kind of connect the dots and put the pieces together a little more quickly than you would if you weren't using energy work to help process that experience or those emotions.

13:43
So I'm curious, like, you know, a lot of a lot of, you know, online entrepreneurs and coaches, you know, one of the things that I really stress when I'm talking with them is like, you know, your life is really, you know, your life and your business. Like they're there in tandem, they work together, what affects your life affects your business. If you're, if you're not in a place in your life, where you're feeling like you're worthy, or you're feeling, you know, valued or loved, or you've been, you know, going through different things in your life that outworks within your business, because, you know, at some level, we carry all of those things, you know, we are the business. So there's a lot of coaches, a lot of online entrepreneurs who are struggling with, you know, trying to figure out how do I, you know, get over this, you know, hurt or this, you know, rejection that I have been feeling, how does that work? When, you know, they come to you and they've maybe experienced some sort of rejection or wounding? How can how can you work with them to help them heal so that it actually benefits not only their life, but their business?

14:56
Hmm, that's a really great question. So So it goes back to what you were saying at the beginning of that, which is, it is all connected. So there, there is no separation between the person you are in your everyday life and the person you are in your business we bring to our businesses in our everyday lives, the same emotions and the same energy. Together and individually. So you're, again, it's not a separation between work and life. And so if there is something bothering you in your everyday life, if there's something that you haven't been able to release or process emotionally, if you've had an experience that was not, that was traumatic, like I said, either capital T, or lowercase t trauma, that can impact how we show up, and it shows up subtly. So those experiences that happen in our youth are not always remembered. And so as we go along, we develop ways of being coping mechanisms, the ways that we show up the way that we process information and emotions, without really realizing that we're even doing it in a way that's protective. And at a certain point in our lives, that becomes no longer beneficial for us to operate in that way that we had been. And it's usually around that point in time, when you're struggling with something in your everyday life or your business life, that you start to wonder why isn't this working? It's always worked before, why why doesn't this work for me now, and when I'm saying that I'm talking about either, you know, just ignoring things and sweeping them under the carpet, or just, you know, like, continuing to talk yourself up so that you can get through something that may have worked for you for a number of years, being really driven, just like having yourself scheduled to the hilt and being constantly driven. These are some of the coping mechanisms that we develop in our youth and that continue on, and they help us achieve and succeed. But then they stop. They work until they don't. And so when we arrive at that space in place where what was working before is no longer working, is when we need to start examining what is underneath that experience or that emotion that you're incurring at this stage and place in your life. So we get to with my clients, I get to what I call the bottom belief, we work energetically to understand what that programming was that bottom belief was that you've built your whole life around. And we dismantle it safely and gently. And again, this is all done through energetic healing, through awareness through conversation, and you're able to understand when we arrive in that place and space, you're able to understand how that programming worked for you before and how it's no longer working for you. And and then we build a new program that you begin to operate out of a new belief.

18:50
It's beautiful. Yeah, it's beautiful. And I know that you'd have powerful it Yeah. Powerful. I can say I can testify to that. You also work, you know, directly with relationship issues as well.

19:04
Yes, absolutely. That is the basis for how I've arrived here in this space in time, was as a result of the 25 years of relationships, four separate relationships. Like I said, there's a lot of wisdom and experience that has come from being inside of those relationships. And so I'm able to help the client identify how those patterns keep appearing not just in romantic relationships, but in our familial relationships, our friend relationships, our work relationships, colleagues, peers, that sort of thing. So yeah, I I'm able to help the client identify those patterns as well, and where they're showing up and what they look like because again, we're quite ate, oblivious to what that patterning is? Yeah, until we are in a position, like I said, where things aren't working anymore, and we're ready to address what's happening.

20:13
Yeah, exactly. So is this something that both men and women do like can do or work with you or? Yeah, rarely women are.

20:21
So in my, in my private practice, I typically am seeing women, but I have worked with men as well. This these modalities work for everybody there. They're not gender specific. So, yes. Men and women, the coaching program that I have outside of this is specifically for women who have left toxic relationships. But the Theta Healing program is for everybody.

21:00
Okay, awesome. And what is the the coaching program look like? What is that for, like you're mentioning for women?

21:07
Yeah, so I have a coaching program called the evolution path. And that was a program that was created last year for women who have left a toxic relationship. And I work with them to navigate the trauma and the drama and the chaos that you experience inside a toxic relationship. These relationships are very nuanced and very specific. And so this evolution PATH program was built specifically to help guide women who have left those relationships and want to move into that peace, clarity, calm and joy, it's, it's a very lengthy journey, when you've left a toxic relationship that requires multi layered healing. So the program that I built uses the energy healing, as well as the Theta Healing. And there's like specific components that we address inside of that program. So that's, that's the coaching program for women's specific, and then the theta healing modality is, like I said, it's for everybody, it's an amazing resource to be able to use when you're trying to take your game to the next level. So if you've, like I said, if you've noticed a pattern of behavior that's no longer serving you. And you can't really identify why you keep doing the same thing. Data healing is a fantastic modality to drill down on to what that bottom belief is usually, as a result of something that we've buried or suppressed, and then we're able to pull that and then install the new programming, or the new belief that helps you operate in your highest version, like the best version of yourself is where the theta healing modality will help you go.

23:21
Hmm, and I would like to add to that, because, you know, I've experienced it, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna give my take on it. Yeah, please. You know, it's really interesting. I think a lot of coaches and entrepreneurs are doing personal development work, right, they're doing this work in tandem with what they do, because they know how beneficial it is for their lives and for their business. But even as like a coach and somebody who is, you know, for me, you know, I'm doing all sorts of modalities I'm doing. Also, I'm working with clients doing this type of work. You know, when I think about, you know, when I'm feeling that I'm stuck somewhere, like I've come to you in multiple instances where I have, you know, said, this is where I'm at, I've done the work I've done the mindset work and now I'd like to do some more clearing and like almost like quantum leap to another level. Yeah, and I think we're Yeah, heard a lot of times we we assume that it's like well, I you know, I already do this work I don't need anything besides this, you know, like, but I would say you know, for for coaches for for people who are like have already done the work. This expedites the process, and this actually takes it to another level things that you've said to me before. Are it's easier to clear, and it's easier to do the work with you, Andrea, because you're already doing the work.

24:51
Yes, yes. I love working with people who have already started down the path as I call it. Clearing Being having those awarenesses it? Absolutely. This, like you said just changes. It's a game changer, it changes the game because it allows you to take your processing to another level.

25:13
Yeah, that's yeah, it's the integration piece of it that, you know, because a lot of times when I'm, I've come to you I already have the answer, like, I already know what, but I feel like there's something that needs to be integrated energetically, that is maybe not actually manifested yet. And that's a great place. So I just encourage people who are even doing this work, and have gotten to a place where like, yeah, this resonates with me, but I do this work. This is a great add to the work you're currently doing to what you've already done in your in your own self development, professional development, to actually move you forward, whether it be relationally, you know, for your life personally, whether it be something that you're working on yourself, so that he will help you with your business, because I think no matter how you look at it, it's going to outwork within your business. So it's going to make a big difference. And to that end, when we do that, we are able to really help our clients. And it gives us an avenue to help them and impact them even more. That's right. So

26:29
and as the old adage goes, you can't pour from from an empty cup, and particularly for coaches, your self care practice, your healing journey is critical to you being able to show up and that's actually how you and I ended up working together because you want it to be able to serve at a higher level. And clear that last little bit of debris, energetic debris that was you can feel it, but you couldn't identify it and you knew that it just needed like a little nudge, a little energetic nudge to be able to fully step into that best version of Andrea. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And this is the thing about energy work. You are working at, again, the energetic body, so working with the chakras, but it's my knowingness and my understanding of the chakra system that helps integrate those energies into your physical body. So our chakra system has a direct impact on our physical body and our mental bodies. So more emotional, mental and physical. And when we haven't done the energetic clearing or tuneups, there is stickiness in our real lives, our everyday lives either as a coach or in our personal relationship. And it's the best way to move the needle on any situation is to examine the energetic aspect of it. That is the end. It's the quickest way if you if you want to move quickly. And yeah, get on to the next level, that the energy healing aspect of it will get you there quicker and faster than if you were to just work at the cognitive level.

28:35
Oh, for sure. Absolutely. That's actually what I started with with mindset was chakra clearing. That's kind of what got me into this field. Like it was it was through my, my natural health practitioner was introducing me to my chakra system, and I was like, what kind of magic is this? Yeah, I was like, I'm like, Are you a witch? She's like, No, she's like, No, I'm not. And I was, you know, but I can't of course came from a different background. But um, you know, I've since started to understand that it's, you know, the the chakras and clearing that really does, you know, give me that leg up when I am. Especially for someone who works in in their intuitive, you know, this is, I think so. I mean, it's important for everybody, but yeah, you know, for me, I can tell if I'm off, if something's off, I'm like, okay, something needs to move through clear. And like, it kind of feels like an upgrade for me. It's like, you know, upgrading my my software system. You know, getting the glitches out.

29:45
Yeah, exactly what it is. Yeah, that's a great way to describe it. Because you physically feel lighter and brighter. So our like I said, our chakra system is directly tied to our physical body. And so for instance, like the root chakra, which is a spot just below your tailbone is tied to your sense of safety and certainty. And when we've been made to feel unsafe for an extended period of time, however, that shows up, whether it's, you know, through financial lack, or literally safety for our physical well being, whatever that may look like that chakra is now out of balance, and you show up in the world physically, in restriction and in protection, and in lack, so when we show up that way, physically, mentally and emotionally, we're not going to be achieving those things that we are looking to achieve, we're not going to be operating at our highest and brightest. And so that's an example of the root and then it's typically the lower three chakras that are impacting our ways that we're showing up in the physical world, and that are possibly blocking our achievements at a certain point in time, through our working world or our personal world. So the sacral chakra is related to our creativity and our expression of self and our connection and relationships. So again, if there's been some sort of experience that has occurred that resulted in the experience of trauma, you know, our physical body experiences trauma as well, even though we might not register it emotionally, we may feel it physically. So again, impacting the chakras. And so there is a clearing and energetic clearing that happens to those chakras that allows your physical body to align itself to be balanced to be able to integrate, like he said, those energies and body those energies, yeah, you're operating at the brightest light.

32:17
Exactly. The highest wattage. Exactly. And that's, I think, I think it's so important for, you know, expediting the process, I think, when I look back on my coaching journey, and all the things that I have done, you know, there there is self development and personal work that that needs to be done, but you get to a certain point, and it really is important to, you know, be operating at a at a higher level. And I just know, for myself that, you know, feeling clear, energetically clear, has, you know, really shifted things for me. And it makes things faster, making things easier, it makes things burdensome,

33:02
yeah, you have a clarity you have, until clarity when you're doing the energy work that you don't necessarily have otherwise. Or you may have it and then it disappears. And then you have it again, and you think you're just tired, or you you know, haven't eaten properly, or, you know, you attribute it to all these things. When really, it's, you know, your energy field needs to be balanced and cleared out. Yeah, yeah.

33:32
And I know, absolutely, energetically, I'm the type of person who, where I'm like, I can feel the energies of other people. And I'm like, Isn't my energy is their energy? Yeah, who's you know, so I think it's so important to kind of have a space where we can. And as coaches as people who are doing this work, I think so often it feels like, well, I can do this, I can do this myself. And and I think there's a real wisdom behind saying, and being coachable. And being able to say, You know what, I can do this myself, I couldn't figure it out myself and I could get there. It's gonna take me longer if I do. Yeah. Or I can, you know, go to someone who's that's their gift, like yourself and say, Help me, help me, help me help me with

34:27
self care as a coach is a really big piece of the puzzle to being able to sustain and maintain a certain level of consistency. So being able to show up for your clients requires you to look after yourself in a way that you wouldn't have necessarily considered and I also just want to touch back on the energetics of being a coach you are you are or you are in other people's energy field. So whether you're doing energy work or not, just by the very virtue of the fact that you are engaging with another person on on a very personal level, you are your energies are getting tangled up into each other. Yeah. So because we are all energy, everything is energy you are your energies are interacting with each other. And so if you're not incorporating some some sort of self care around energy clearing, there is going to be a build up. And that's going to cause physical symptoms. Like I said, you're going to feel tired and not know why even if you've had like a great sleep, or you try to get more sleep, and you still feel tired. These are things that happen over time when you're working with other humans and not clearing yourself. So yeah, I've coaching. And I also say this to like massage therapists, anybody who's working with other humans, you're interacting with their energy. And if there's not an awareness around that, then what tends to happen is like I said, there's this built up, you get this residual or residue that starts to accumulate, and it's not yours. Like you don't know that.

36:38
You know, so funny just brought this up to me, I used to have a student voice student who'd come into a lesson. And she always bringing this crazy energy into the session. Not good. Like, yeah, you should walk in it was chaotic. Oh, yeah. And I told her one day, I was like, you needed to stop bringing that energy in here. And she said, What do you mean? And, and this is before I was doing the work? Mm hmm. So I was, but I would sense it. I was like, I don't want it. Yeah. And so now I understand how important it is to like, after every session to clear that energy myself. And to get in a place where I'm like, I ground by, they're actually doing like a releasing of it. Or I play music or I go outside or I do something that you know, physically release the energy. Yeah, back when I didn't understand. I was like, wondering, why am I getting so worked up over all of these things? never really been able to come down. It almost felt like I was constantly vibrating. Yeah. And now I understand you were. And I was like, and I was like, saying it, you know, it's It's you It's you. But really, I didn't know how to handle it. That's right. So now

37:51
it is always about us. Yeah, I didn't know that. Yeah. Yeah. And so these are the conversations that I have. I talk about how energy impacts our physical world. And one of the things I like to say one of my talking points is I like to normalize the whoo or normalize spirituality, because it does impact our everyday lives. And we when we're not aware of it, it shows up in funky ways.

38:22
Yeah. It really, truly does. And now, now that I have learned how to navigate it myself, it really has made a huge difference. Because I'm showing up differently. I'm holding space differently. I'm not carrying what my clients are going through into my day with me anymore. I'm able to release it. I noticed even like in personal relationships, you know, it's easier for me to release things there. Because I know it's like, oh, this is not necessarily about me. And I now don't have

38:57
to carry it. So well back to that clarity it gives you when you start minding your energy and doing some energy work. It gives you that sense of clarity that you don't otherwise have and you're able to discern what's yours and what other people's and you don't take things so personally and you're able to like you said clear clients energy as well. You're not taking it to bed with you were carrying it throughout the day, you know, when we when we're not aware of the distinction between our energy and other people's energy, we carry things around mentally and emotionally. We think about you know, renew, ruminate on the problem that had been discussed in the coaching session, or we feel like a sense of helplessness, possibly like we should be doing more we want to do more to help them and that all disappears when you start minding your energy and By paying attention to it, working with it, clearing it and supporting yourself energetically, you just show up in all aspects of your life much more fully and completely. And that clarity, that's the biggest piece, I think that I have found two is that peace, ease and clarity has been like, over the last three years since I've been doing this work. It has been the biggest asset and especially given everything we've gone through the last 24 months. Oh, yeah, having that sense of clarity has been huge for me. And that's, that's the piece I love. Being able to share with my clients is giving them that or not, I'm not giving it to them. But I'm helping guide them to get to that space in place where things finally make sense. And they're super crystal clear. And you are able to have answers for yourself. You make decisions choices easier. And you experience other people more easily.

41:07
Yeah, it's beautiful. It's beautiful work. Yeah. So how do people connect with you? Like how do they

41:13
Oh, okay. So illuminated joy is the business name. So I am located on the web at illuminated joy.com. I hang out mostly on Instagram. Ad eliminated joy, all one word, lowercase letters, Facebook as well. Illuminated joy, capital I capital J two separate words. places you can find me

41:44
in the search bar. Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure to link you link you up as well here. But thanks for hanging out with me and having a conversation. For doing this work. It is such an incredible and powerful work and so, so grateful that you're in this space, and that you're helping others with

42:03
it. So thank you. It's my honor. And it's my privilege. And I truly mean that when I say that, I feel blessed. And I feel so grateful that this work came into my world and that I get to share it with others now. And I'm very grateful that my life took the path that it did so that I could arrive in this space in place today.

42:27
Well, thank you, Sara. Thank you, Andrea. Wow, I just love having conversations with people who are going to continually help me in my journey of expansion. And I trust that this also helped you today as well. I really want to encourage you to connect with Sarah, this is something that has really helped me by doing these energetic sessions. And one thing that I want to reiterate is that there are often times where we've done the inner work, we've done the inner healing, we've done the mindset work, we've gone to therapy, but there are just little things energetically that just remain. And being able to go through this and to clear those chakras and that energy. quantum leaps you to the next level. And so if you're ready to go to the next level, I really encourage you to reach out to Sarah, I will put all of her information in the show notes, and you can be able to connect with her there. And I'm just so glad that you joined us today that you are hanging out with us. You know I love connecting with you. So make sure you connect with me over on Instagram, and also jump into my brand new Facebook group all those links are in the show notes. Until next time, remember, you have everything you need to live briefly.

43:49
If you liked this episode of The Couragecast, we'd love to hear from you. Leave us a rating and review and while you're there, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Original music and production by Steven Crilly.

EP 187 | Cycle Syncing Your Business

WITH MELISSA RODRIGUEZ

 
And we’ve been told by society, and by so much of the personal development world as well, and personal finance, we’re told to be perfectly consistent in that have a perfect morning routine, and have certain actions, just decide the actions that you need to take on a daily basis and repeat day in and day out until you get results. It’s a very masculine approach. And for most women, it doesn’t work.
— Paige Lawrence
 

About This Episode:

Do you feel like you’re always working against the flow?  As women we’ve been taught to work in a world designed for men. And that does not always work with how a woman’s body functions. Today I’m chatting about our menstrual cycles and how we can work in ease and flow when it comes to syncing our business with our cycle. 

Melissa Rodriguez is a Cycle Syncing Biz Coach. She helps female entrepreneurs lead with more ease, fun, and flow by syncing their life with their cycle. 

Connect with Melissa:

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Transcript

Andrea Crisp 0:00
Today we're talking about a whole new way to approach your business, and that is through understanding your body by syncing your cycle with your business. And my friend, you are going to love this episode with Melissa Rodriguez. So get ready to learn how you can start understanding your body and listening to your body more so that you can be more productive, and have more ease and flow in your life.

Melissa Rodriguez 0:30
So much of it is worthiness and worthiness around what work justifies certain results. And we've been told by society, and by so much of the personal development world as well, and personal finance, we're told to be perfectly consistent in that have a perfect morning routine, and have certain actions, just decide the actions that you need to take on a daily basis and repeat day in and day out until you get results. It's a very masculine approach. And for most women, it doesn't work.

Kate 1:01
You're listening to The Couragecast a show to equip and empower women to live bravely. Each week we'll share coaching conversations and stories of women who are willing to face their fear and pursue their purpose. Here's your host, life coach, author and your secret weapon.

Andrea Crisp 1:17
Hey there, welcome to The Couragecast. My name is Andrea Crisp, and I am your host. And friend, do I ever have a treat for you today. We are going to be chatting with Melissa Rodriguez, who is a cycle syncing business coach, which we're going to get into and you are going to love her. Honestly, this has been one of the most pivotal things that I have done for myself in the past few months, which is taking a look at how my body is working, how it is designed, and how I can move in ease and flow in my life and business when I am taking a look at my menstrual cycle. That is not anything I thought I would ever talk about here on The Couragecast. But here we are. And you know what I've realized that our bodies are so beautiful and created so intricately. And really, we are working on a cycle that is different than men or those that don't don't have a cycle. And so we have to learn how to work with our bodies. And, you know, really lean into those energies that fuel us, whether they be masculine or feminine, or even just leaning into our own divine essence, which is something I am also learning about. So you're going to love Melissa Rodriguez, you're going to love all of the things that she has to teach us today about cycle syncing about how you can do that with your business. And one of the best times for you to be planning and launching things in your life in your business. And this is what I'm working on right now in my own life and taking notes every single day about how I feel, and how creative I am and all the things. So you're gonna love this. So I'm so excited for you to meet Melissa Rodriguez.

Andrea Crisp 3:24
Melissa, thank you for joining me on The Couragecast today. I'm super thrilled actually to have you back. Not only were you a guest already, but I lost the episode. And you so graciously are back joining me from Spain to chat with me again. And so thank you for being here.

Melissa Rodriguez 3:44
Thank you so much for having me. I am, I'm sure the universe had its reasons. Although I can imagine it was still very frustrating. And apart, I'm very happy to be here talking to you again.

Andrea Crisp 3:59
So you're a cycle syncing business coach. And I have had a lot of conversations since our last one with other people who have been really you know, interested in, you know, how our cycle, you know, works with our bodies and how it works with our businesses and just all the things especially even as we age and how things are shifting and changing. And so, even since our last conversation, I have even been thinking about it more and more and more. But someone listening to this right now maybe like well, what is that? Like? What exactly is that? Like? How? So why don't you just go ahead and tell us a little bit about who you are and how you serve people in your business.

Melissa Rodriguez 4:42
Okay, amazing. I would love to. So my name is Melissa Rodriguez, and I am a serial entrepreneur. I started a few different companies in my life and currently I run a few different companies. One of them is a company in the real estate service industry in the UK. One of them is a digital marketing agency. And the other is I just said cycles syncing business coaching for female entrepreneurs who want to incorporate their cycle into their business and their lifestyle. So they can run their business with more flow, with more ease, have more productivity and basically do things and optimized time. As women, we know because we've done it that we can do things, we can do anything, right? We're superheroes, and we can do anything at any time of a month. But there's so much power in knowing which times are good for which things, and using that, leveraging that for your business.

Andrea Crisp 5:39
Now, I'm very curious, like, how did you get into this? Like, what was the catalyst for you even to become interested in, in your cycle and how it it works with your business and in yourself?

Melissa Rodriguez 5:52
Sure, okay. So I think on my path, as an entrepreneur, I definitely had a lack of feminine energy in my life. I'm also, I come from an immigrant family. I was born in Venezuela, but I grew up in the UK, my mom was also an immigrant, she, her family moved to Venezuela, from Spain, right after the Spanish Civil War. And if you if you know, any immigrants, you'll know that there's a certain kind of hustle culture. Because you know, when you move to a different country, different culture, there seems to be like this, this culture, and it's often true, they have to work harder than everyone else to get anywhere in life. Okay, so that was kind of very much ingrained in my family that was very much ingrained in the way I grew up in it, I felt that it was something that was much more prized in my family than feminine energy, and we all have masculine and feminine energies. And they work best when they're in balance, right? And I believe I, because of a myriad of different reasons, I grew up in a household with a lot of love, I felt very loved. I don't want this to sound like oh, I wasn't raised right, or anything like that. It was definitely a lot of love in my household. But I definitely felt that there was I somehow ended up with a lot of excess masculine energy, and not enough feminine energy in my life. And that was kind of leading me to burnout, to not feeling satisfied, find it very hard to be creative.

Melissa Rodriguez 7:13
And it was actually, but four or five years ago that my finances, my personal finances, were in a mess, okay? And I ended up working with a finance coach. But she wasn't just any finance coach, she was a feminine finance coach. And she taught me many things about bringing pleasure and bringing feminine energy into how you handle your finances. And one of the many strategies and tools that she introduced me was, and it wasn't something that she specialized in or anything, but she kind of said, you might want to look into working with your cycle as well, or maybe even just taking off the days that you're on your period, those cycles syncing is so much more than that. And it was her suggestion that got me reading got me investigating. And yeah, after experiencing the positive results, that brought to my life into my business, then I wanted to help other women with this too.

Andrea Crisp 8:04
You know, I find that fascinating, because, you know, when you thinking about finances, like my first natural inclination is not to think about my cycle. You know, but when we think about our, you know, our business, in our finances, you know, like, I have never really thought about that. I love that you bring up money, because I don't think about money when I think about my cycle. But it makes total sense that it would have something to do with, you know, our finances, how we feel about money, how we feel about entrepreneurship, how, you know, we are kind of living in that space. And, and so how did it? How did it shift your own view of money, and also how you were incorporating that in your life, like when you're talking to her, like, you know, implementing these strategies, you know, with your finances, and then through your business as well.

Melissa Rodriguez 9:07
Sure, so I think the key there is remembering Andrea, that we are emotional beings, okay? And although we tend to approach our businesses and our money with this, society tells us that we should approach it with this hyper rational, just make more money than you spend, just look at the numbers kind of approach. And obviously, that's important. But we must remember that we're, we're emotional beings, and generally when we have money issues, or at least it was a case for me, it wasn't a case of not knowing how to handle a spreadsheet. It was more of a case of I had limiting money beliefs that were probably related to how I viewed productivity and business in general. So there were fundamental beliefs that were affecting my money, and that were affecting my productivity. And, and the work that I did with her and the strategies that I, you know, I use with her and then with other coaches that I worked with, and the books that I read, the inner work that I did was all about going to those, those core beliefs, right, that affects every part of our business of our lives or finances. And still working on this, I'm 100%, not perfect at this, but just going going to the core of those beliefs. And so much of it is worthiness and worthiness around what work justifies certain results.

Melissa Rodriguez 10:37
And we've been told by society, and by so much of the personal development world as well, and personal finance, so many things were told to be perfectly consistent, right, perfectly consistent in that have a perfect morning routine and have certain actions, just decide the actions that you need to take on a daily basis and repeat day in and day out until you get results. It's a very masculine approach. And for most women, it doesn't work. For most women, it's especially true for men, it doesn't for a few men won't either. And maybe for some women it does, as I'm generalizing here, but for those of us who thrive off of feminine energy, it doesn't, it doesn't work, it gets to a point where we either get bored or burnt out, or simply our hormones get in the way, because our hormones affect so much about how we feel emotionally, and how we view risk and how creative we are all these things. So how can you be perfectly consistent during an average four week cycle, when you have inconsistent resources to work with? Right? It doesn't work that way. So instead of trying to be consistent with inconsistent resources, and not saying it's impossible, how about you just work out when you're going to have different resources, and sync the things that you need to do with those resources. So you're optimizing things and you also feel it's easier. Because if you're, if you're trying to be consistent, do things the same things, day in and day out. It's an uphill battle. So it's a battle against yourself.

Melissa Rodriguez 12:05
And it implies this massive lack of self awareness as well, that you're, it doesn't make sense to expect consistent results, when you don't know where you are, how you're feeling, what, where your best is going to serve that particular day. So in the same way that you probably wouldn't set a meeting at 3am, right? You wouldn't set a meeting at 3am, because you know, you know, you have a daily cycle. And that daily cycle involves hours of sleep. And during those hours of sleep, you're not particularly suited to meetings. And I'd say you could do them, you could probably do a meeting, if you set it at 3am, if you really wanted to, you could set your alarm, you could get up you could do your meeting. I'm not saying you couldn't, but what would that do to the rest of your day?

Andrea Crisp 12:47
You know, it's interesting you say that, because well, the first thing that comes to my mind is I have a voice student that I have at 7pm. And it's really funny. It's kind of like our compromise, 7pm at night, because he is a night owl. And I work in the day and he's my last student. And I never take anything usually past that time. But I noticed in the winter, I would get exhausted because his actual lesson in the winter was 7:30 to 8:30. By 8:30, I was done. I was like I'm done. You know, because I would get up early in the morning, I would have all my really good energy in the morning, I would be productive. And then I'm you know, holding off until 7:30 to actually hold one more lesson. And then feeling so exhausted and depleted. Even though he's a great kid, I love teaching him, nothing about you know whether or not you know, I want to be teaching him, it's really just my own level of energy at that time is very, very low.

Andrea Crisp 13:56
And I've even noticed, you know, because we've talked before I did a launch. Well, I did a couple of launches in a row. The people who listen to my podcast, they know that I just kind of like tell the things as I go. But I did three launches this summer. And launch number one was was kind of an organic type feel. I filled the group with eight women, it was amazing. And then the next one was following it right after right at the end. And I filled it with six and it was again it was really good. Got to third launch. I'm exhausted. I have now launched two different groups. I have spent a lot of time just doing that. But here's what happened. I got into a scarcity mindset. I got into, I need to get this done, you know, we're on a roll. I should just do it, you know, make sense. And everything on paper that would say okay, we'll launch during this time and I looked at the calendar as far as like the dates and will it match up for holidays and all these kinds of things. And I decided I was gonna launch. Well, I'm not sure what's going to happen. We still carts open for another week. But I don't have a person in it, not one.

Andrea Crisp 15:09
And the first two sold out right away. And the third did not. And, you know, so of course, my first inclination is to sit back and go, "Okay, I could easily go into that scarcity mindset again." But I also realize I'm like, "Okay, I'm obviously, what I'm putting out. Is, is not I'm not energetically aligned with it." And I feel like I wasn't paying attention to working in my masculine and feminine energy in a way that would serve me best. And so here I am, thinking, Oh, no, what have I done? And what am I going to do now? And I'm, I'm at this like, kind of crossroads, honestly, where I'm like, okay, like, I don't want to not learn the lesson. I feel like the lesson is actually more important than anything at this point. For me to go, How do I operate optimally, as best as I can really, in my own business, when I'm, you know, trying to think about my cycle, my masculine and feminine energy, and you know, especially as entrepreneurs, when we're launching programs, or we're working with clients, or we're, for me recording podcasts, or speaking events, all sorts of things like how do we where do we even begin? I mean, I know that's a loaded question. But that's kind of where I'm at. So I'll just leave it with you.

Melissa Rodriguez 16:34
So I think a good place to start would be to start with that self awareness of, you're telling me or you're expressing a vision of what you would like it to feel like, to look like, and to feel like, and first of all, you need to know like where you are. Okay, so where are you right now? What strategies focused on the positive and celebrating the positive? What strategies do you have that you're doing really well, right, which, and you probably have those, you'll have a few that are masculine and feminine too there. So, I would start with like an inventory of what's going well, what do I feel is missing, and then an exploration, it's not something somebody can tell you, it's something that you need to experience for yourself, because it is different for everyone, you can obviously have guidance during the process of somebody suggesting and helping you evaluate. And that's what I do with my clients when I coach them as they navigate this in their businesses. But it is a case of, "Okay, so if I identify that there are certain business activities that are draining me, first of all, do I need to do them? Do they need to be done? And if so, do I need to do them? And if that's the case, then what would it look like for this activity to be in the feminine and not the masculine? Or what would it look like for this activity to be pleasurable? And sometimes it can be something as simple as a ritual you do before the activity, or where you do the activity, or even what playlist you have on during the activity. These are all little simple things.

Andrea Crisp 18:03
Really?

Melissa Rodriguez 18:04
Yeah.

Andrea Crisp 18:05
So like you can like say, "Okay, like if this is something that right now I know I need to be doing." Or then I can switch up something about it to like, maybe put me in a different energetic space to hold hold that.

Melissa Rodriguez 18:19
Yeah. Sure. So for example, what, do you have any activities in mind that you're, you're thinking of right now?

Andrea Crisp 18:28
Emails are still a big part of what I do, writing, during the copy. And I find for that particular task, I'm either in the flow in the zone, or I am not. And it's like I can, I can know right away. If it's like, oh, yeah, it's coming, type type type, I can do three emails, like to just bang them out. Or I could sit there for an hour and go, What the heck am I gonna write, I should have bought the Copy Care from Marie Forleo, you know, like, go through the list of like, things that I you know, like, I should have bought that, that probably would have helped me. But I think that I like you said being self aware, and taking inventory of those times that I have had success in a way that feels really good like for writing emails, it's like, oh, well, when did I write them? What was what time of day was it? You know, what was where was I? Yeah, where was I in my cycle? What was playing? I never thought of any of that, to be honest with you.

Melissa Rodriguez 19:34
All that is going to influence how creative you feel, and I'd also add just if if you know if you because you already know before you sit down, you know, I'm gonna sit here for an hour. And anything I write is, because you already know, you can already feel it in your body when you're not in that right flow state and there's nothing wrong with that. So A: do not beat yourself up over it and B: Don't even try like it's more productive at that stage, go for a bike ride, like, go for a walk, go buy yourself flowers, go dance for 15 minutes, call friend. And you never know, maybe within 10 minutes of that, you'll actually be on your bike riding, okay, I need to stop because I'm, like, going through these fields. And I realize that I know what I want to tell my community and you write down a couple things in your phone, that's going to make it easier for you next time you sit down, like, Okay, I already know what I want to write about. Or you talk to your friends and, and you know what, maybe the hour passes, and you don't write anything, you don't get out of that, that energy state. But if you leverage the times that you are naturally in that energy state the most, then it's not going to matter the times that you're not, because you'll have produced enough content and enough emails. You have written enough emails in the times that you were naturally in that state, or that you did things to get you in that state.

Andrea Crisp 20:59
Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Because then I also feel like even yesterday, I went in the morning, because, you know, I was dealing with this whole launch thing and thinking, Okay, we've got a week left for cart closes. And it's Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. And I'm going through all this in my mind. So sat down, and I, one of the things I wrote down in my journal was today, I really want to be a powerful creator, and co-create beautiful things in my life. And where most of Canada was taking the day off yesterday, I had things scheduled, I had a podcast recording, I had two connection calls. And it was fine because I was feeling good. I was like, you know, I was in the right. I, I blew through those calls, and was like, "Oh, this is great." I had enough energy for the things I needed to do. I went and had a beautiful dinner at my aunt's house and had some great family time. And at the end of the day, I remember thinking to myself, you know, this is what I want it to feel like, all the time, or as many days as I can, where it feels like I, and one of the things I did, and I even did this this morning already, is I left my phone upstairs, and I have my my Apple Watch, which you know, if I need, you know, something right away, and somebody needs to get ahold of me, but other than that, I'm like, I don't have the distractions of getting on to social media, you know, sitting after something and scrolling and you know, shifting my energy by checking something.

Andrea Crisp 22:29
I can stay in that flow state, and accomplish the thing that I want to accomplish. without consistently going back and forth, you know, in and out of different things where I'm like, "I don't need to post on social media right now. I can post on social media when I'm feeling it." And I need to, I don't need just to be looking at it and like having almost like energy leaks and just draining my energy. So I really kind of feel like that coupled with knowing what my cycle is, will be helpful. But one of the things I do want to ask you, because we talked about this last time, and I'm super interested, is you talk about it in seasons. And you talk about your cycle in seasons. And I'd love for you to tell us about like, what does that mean when you're looking at your cycle, and the other thing you said, which I still have thought about lots is that it doesn't necessarily pertain to men and women, and i it pertains to how you identify. Because some, you know, whether you are male or female, biologically, you can identify a certain way and have that energy. So can you talk a bit about both those things?

Melissa Rodriguez 23:45
Sure. Okay, so I'll start with the seasons. The reason I like to talk about it in terms of seasons is that many people, when you think about when you first hear cycle syncing you probably think, Oh, my cycle is three to five days that I got my period, right? And that's and that's it? Well, but the cycle is 28 days on average cycle, where you have four distinct stages, like the four seasons of the year, the weather, so and they actually bear similarities in the characteristics they have and the way that we go through them. So I'll go through the four seasons, just briefly so that you understand what what I mean. And I am going to relate this to the biological side of this, because for those of us who work with our cycles in this regard, we're not just working, you know, with our feminine energy, we are also working directly with our hormones because our hormones affects how we feel about things, how we view things.

Melissa Rodriguez 24:41
So we have your winter, which is when you get your period, and the time for resting, for hibernation is time with increased intuition where we can tap into different gifts like being able to evaluate things in a different way. It's not a time for taking action, but it can be a time to have some life changing reflections about your life and your business. Then you have your spring, after winter comes the spring. So there's that new beginning, that kind of energy where things are starting to speed up to warm up a little bit, you have more energy, it's a great time to learn new things, to start new things, to set new sessions to set new goals.

Melissa Rodriguez 25:16
Then you have your summer, which is a great time for enjoying and for communicating, and for really being in that kind of outward energy with your clients and with your team and with your community with the world. It's when biologically you are you're ovulating, okay? So if you are a woman who ovulates, your body is saying, "Hi, I'm ready!" And that comes through in different ways, right, that comes through in the way you talk, there have been studies and that show that women even walk in a way that men find, that heterosexual men will find more attractive during this time. And that even that are faces are more symmetrical or more attractive. And I do not know how that works. Do not ask me, but basically, more attractive during this time. And that's not something you know, unless you are looking to be impregnated, and that's great. But if you're not, if you are just looking to move forward in your business, you can use these, this magnetism of the summer to make leaps in your business, or in your life,

Melissa Rodriguez 26:16
Then comes a fall, which is a little bit of a longer season for, it's a longer season. And it's a season for getting into the nitty gritty of things, for attention to details, for actually following through and all the intentions and goals that you set. And for it has a different sort of creativity, you have different sorts of creativity. I mean, creativity is feminine energy, in a very pure form. But it comes in different kinds of ways during this time, the creativity comes through in spring is more of like an ideas kind of thing. It's not a following through creativity, and in your Fall, you've got more of a following through kind of creativity. I would suspect that, for example, if you're writing emails, then you're early Fall is a great time for that. And then you're back to Winter. So those those are the four seasons that that we go through every month, and that we can really lean, if we lean into them and look for ways of embodying them, we can really leverage those superpowers that are available to us in each season.

Andrea Crisp 27:15
Yeah, that's really fascinating. Yeah. So how does it work with the, you know, with men and women then in that, that context?

Melissa Rodriguez 27:22
Okay, sure. So, in what what of what I've been referring to is a very much a hormonal context, okay? If you are a woman who does not have that hormonal cycle, because of menopause, or because you just don't have it, or even birth control, birth control, hormonal birth control, IE the pill affects the cycle, because essentially, it stops ovulation. Okay, so if for any reason you do not have this cycle, feminine energy still has the cycle, because essentially, it's a cycle of creation, right? It's a very natural cycle, I have a client who does not have a period yet she identifies as a woman, what we do is we work with the moon. So many, many ancient cultures, and even a few studies have shown that we're, we're somehow went to the moon, I think it's something that we haven't yet understood. But it's there. And it's there if for other species and animal kingdom as well, but the moon affects their fertility and things. So it's there's, there's a connection there, and leveraging that. So leveraging, you know, new moon intentions, and rituals for the full moon and all these things can help. That's that's how I usually work with people who do not have that period. I haven't worked with men on their feminine energy cycle at all, I'm just here, top my head. If a man maybe does identify more with feminine energy, than with with masculine energy, then again, you can either take the moon approach, or you can take the really diving into that self awareness approach. If you really dive into that self awareness and start tracking how you feel every day for like, three to six months, you might see patterns, right? You might see patterns, you might see the seasons without even noticing. And then you just might know for yourself like I have a Spring that's 10 days long, and then I have a Summer that's five days on you hurt you, you might be able to see patterns in here. And that's what I would suspect if you are kind of looking to use that feminine energy that you you'd see it that way. However, I do believe that that a lot of men and a lot of people will thrive more of that masculine approach of that, you know, day in day out consistency approach, if especially if you are a man who has a male permanent cycle, you have that testosterone high in the morning just gradually increases throughout the day, then you might thrive off more just going with that biological imperative that you have in your body.

Andrea Crisp 29:44
It's so fascinating to think about how different biologically men you know, their cycle, their 24 hour cycle, versus our female 28 day cycle. It's so different because once I started to learn about this, and I mean, obviously, I feel like I'm just like, you know, scratching the surface, even with this conversation, but, you know, thinking about how we are functioning in a world that is very built for men, you know, especially if you have a job, and you work outside the home, you know, is built for, for men to thrive and women not as much. And so it's really interesting to think about how we can become more self aware, and, and start learning our bodies and listening and being a little bit more intuitive to what our body is telling us. And, and even for me, it took even after having conversation with you, it took an instance in my life for me to kind of get to the end be like, Okay, this is really just not working. And for me to go, "Okay, I need to slow this down. And I really need to start listening. Because I think that if I listen to my body and become a little more self aware, I will know when the right times to do different things will be for me, you know, to help." And it's like, I think you've said this before, but maybe not today. But it's like there's some things we just know we do, do on an everyday basis. Like those are things that we we do, we get done, we you know, if you have a family, you feed your kids, you know, like, there's certain things that just have to happen. But but there are a lot of other things where you know, especially when it involves creativity, and that really can be best served, we understand our bodies.

Melissa Rodriguez 31:29
Sure, or even for the things that we have to do every day, you said the example of feeding our kids. What if you meal prep, when you have more energy? Do you know there's going to be a week where you are going to be more tired? Can you make meals and freeze them? Is it, I mean, there's not going to be a way for everything you cannot you know, batch brushing your teeth, for example. And I'm not suggesting that there are definitely ways that we can get creative, even with the things that we feel that we have to do every day. And I invite you to ask yourself, "Do I really? Or is there a way that I can make this easier on myself when I know that it's not going to be easy for me? Is there a way? Is there any way that I can ask for support? Or is there any way? How can I set this up differently?" So I think where we sometimes got stuck in boxes of how things have always been set up, or how we've always done them, or how everyone else, quote unquote, does them. And just you know, taking a step back and asking yourself like, Okay, first of all that self awareness? And then is there another way that I can achieve the same or even better results without having to do this without working against myself?

Andrea Crisp 32:37
Now, one question, you know, especially for women who are working in teams. So if you have someone that works for you, and you know you're doing a launch or whatever, and say you've got a OBM and you know, they're in one part of their cycle, where you know, like, how does that work? Like, how do you try to like navigate working with other women when you're cycling, and you're?

Melissa Rodriguez 33:02
Sure, so it's interesting. I think there was one point where I literally synched up with 80% of my clients and my team. It's funny how even when we were working remotely end up syncing up, we're also synced up with the moon at something super interesting that happens when you when you're like in a specific type of alignment. So I guess I've been mostly lucky in that regard that I've been fairly synched up with the woman that I work with both my clients and my team, but let's just take the hypothetical scenario that you're on, but completely different schedules, your OBM is, you know, she is ovulating whilst you're on your period and vice versa. So when you most need her support, because you're in that outwards, launch kind of mode, she's in that rest mode. Okay. So there, I think it really is just about planning ahead. Okay. So planning ahead and making sure that, that you have other people in place for things that are most important in the case that you, that you are asking your OBM to to work those days, you don't have a choice, you know, these are things that cannot be prepared in advance, these are things that cannot be done better. And whilst then it's how do you have that self care? So that person is ready to give 100% on those few tasks that cannot be they cannot be moved. Okay, so how do you make sure that person, how does that person make sure that at the end, it's a personal responsibility? How does that person make sure that she's taken care of, both before and after that extra self care that extra, like, I'm taking naps, or I'm resting, doing the things that fill my cup, so that when I do show up for those few things that you need from me on these days, then I will be there 100%.

Andrea Crisp 34:46
So there's a lot of having conversations, right, like it's a, cause, I mean, this I would indicate to me that there's a lot of conversation around our periods, talking, you know, things that we've not always talked about, really openly. Because I mean, if you know, you're synced up with your clients and people you work with, obviously, then you're having conversations about that with them because they're your clients. But, you know, like, especially I'm thinking like, I don't know, like, I don't know, if I'm synced up with people. You know, I know that when I spend time with people a lot, with women a lot. But one of the things you said, really piqued my curiosity, and you said, syncing up with the moon. And that that's almost like a, and then he's, I can't remember the word you use. But can you talk a little bit about that? Like, how do you sync up the moon? How did you know you're synced up over the moon with the moon?

Melissa Rodriguez 35:37
Okay, so back when we lived in smaller, in small tribes, like 150 people, and we were also very committed, we didn't have this artificial light and everything, most women would sync up their periods with the moon, like accident, that they didn't mean to obviously, they didn't say, "Hey, let's sync up with the moon." But naturally, they would find that they were bleeding either on the full moon or the new moon. As you know, the the moon has 28 day cycles, thanks, can't remember is 28 point something 27.4. It's not exactly 28. Otherwise, rolls be a full moon and same day of the week, it's not exactly 28. It's something point something around 28. And the average female cycle is also 28 days, and we would sync up with the moon in a natural way, and get this, right, women would, for those days, and on many tribes, they would go into a tent, and they will just have be on their periods together.

Melissa Rodriguez 36:29
And they will use that time to really like let go, okay? So they would like leave them and do their thing. And they would, they would let go, they would use that time to like cleanse and do different kinds of rituals around their period, all these things. And interestingly, the so some woman would sync up with the other moon. So if you didn't sync up with the full moon, you'd sync up with the new moon. And they would be the woman who would take care of the others. Right? So during that time, so there's also benefits, like we were saying right now. So if you're if you're on your period, when your OBM is ovulating, or vice versa, it's also I'm going to take care of you, and then you're going to take care of me kind of thing that used to exist in times with with these tribes, the moon in the period. And it's interesting that many women affectionately call their period their moon, because there's there's definitely some sort of relationship there. I'm not, I don't know what it is, I think, would be super interesting, if science, you know, decided to study it more. But yeah, it's interesting. And I do think there's one study that shows that when woman are more connected to nature and have less artificial lights and live in place with less artificial light, that's when they most start to sync up with the moon.

Andrea Crisp 37:40
So fascinating, that I now I'm gonna totally like, pull my app out afterwards. See where I am at.

Melissa Rodriguez 37:48
Get, so, get this app called Stardust. And I recommend this app. It's a great app, it's called Stardust. And it's kind of a cycle tracker, and also tracks moon. So you go into it and tells you where you are Kind of hormone wise. And it tells you where the moon is, as well. So I highly recommend that.

Andrea Crisp 38:06
Okay, that, you know, because even I've noticed, like, as I pay more attention to my body, like in the summertime, like, here in Canada, I'm in the northern part of Ontario. So it's lighter, longer. 5:30am it's light and 10:00, it's still light, but then the sun goes down. And I noticed that like, I wake up, right with the light. I'm up. Whereas now right now it's like seven o'clock, and I used to like set my alarm and be like, Okay, I'm going to still get up at 530 in the winter. And so like, I can't get up in the morning, I'm a morning person. But I have let myself sleep until I wake up instead of making and it's really interesting because I noticed even with the, the light and dark, how my body is, if I don't manipulate it, and I'm doing it mostly just to see like, what happens if I'm just letting my body you know, when I tired I go to bed, you know. And when I wake up, I wake up and just being, being more aware because if I do you want to have a life that I really, really love and I want to create a business and a life I love. I want to do it feeling really good. And I want to do it feeling energetic, and I want to feel like, feel all the amazing things that life has to offer. And also do it in a way that you know I can support myself financially because I'm productive in the moments I need to be most productive. And, and I think that as women is something that if we pay more attention to, then we will have, have a better understanding about how we can do that and not just operating fully full on masculine energy. Like as you said before, so so fascinating. I think we there's so much more we can talk about and really even continuing to dive into this work? How do people work with you? Like, how does that work? So let us know.

Melissa Rodriguez 40:09
Sure, can I just add one more thing that came to mind while you were saying that?

Andrea Crisp 40:14
Absolutely.

Melissa Rodriguez 40:16
Because I totally resonate with you there that you want to feel good on the journey. And it's so important because how you feel during the journey and in the process, is how you're going to feel when you get the result. So sometimes we tell ourselves that we're going to feel better when we achieve X, or Y, or Z, or whatever. And that's not the case like those when people talk about having reached certain goals, and that they weren't as satisfying as they were expecting them to be, I'm willing to bet in most of those cases that they didn't enjoy the process of getting there. I think it's amazing, I think it's, it's beautiful that you are prioritizing that because that's going to mean that when you get there, it's going to feel, it's going to feel great. If you feel great during the process, it's gonna feel great when you get there. Just wanted to add that in, because I totally resonate with that.

Andrea Crisp 41:05
I love that. Thank you for adding that.

Melissa Rodriguez 41:08
And yeah, and that's mainly, you know, this is what I help my clients with, you can find me on Instagram. My handle is @melissa.r.j, can go to my website, melissarj.com. And yeah, at the moment, I do have spots for one on one cycle syncing, business coaching. So whether you just want to incorporate this into your business, or you have a launch coming up and you want, you know, this strategy in your launch as well, I do have a marketing agency. So I love combining these things, cycles and marketing for launches. I absolutely love that. And I do have spots available for one on one coaching for that. So just just get in touch and we can hop on a call.

Andrea Crisp 41:49
Well, thank you so much, like this is, it's fascinating, super fascinating. And I hope that we can talk again, and you know, learn more and even as you're working with more clients, and you find out more information. And please come back and continue to share because this is super, super fascinating. So thank you.

Melissa Rodriguez 42:10
Thank you. I love love joining you again, Andrea.

Andrea Crisp 42:15
Okay, wow, I never thought that I would be talking about my period on The Couragecast, let's not something that was in my mind at all. But here we are. This is where we are now. And I'm so glad that I did. And honestly, friends, like this has really been a game changer for me, because I have spent the past probably several weeks since I talked to Melissa, writing down how I feel every single day, what my cravings are, how I'm feeling to feel creative. I mean, some days I forget, and I, you know, just keep picking up the next day and start writing it out. But it's really made a difference because I'm being more aware and conscious of like how creative I feel, or do I have energy or when do I have energy when the times in the day I have energy. And it's really making a difference in what I'm doing and how productive I am because I feel an ease and flow at different times depending on how my body is working. So I want to encourage you that if this is something you're really interested in, please connect with Melissa because she would help you to go through that process of discovering how you can start tracking your cycle, to work with your business and your flow. And I will leave all of her links in the show notes and so you can get a hold of her.

Andrea Crisp 43:38
Before you go today, friends, I have an exciting thing that I want to share with you as well. You know, I have just created a brand new text community. And I would love to invite you to join. You know what so often we can feel discouraged and not take those steps have courage and bravery in our own lives. And so I want to encourage you every single week through a couple of text messages. And so if you want to join my text community, and receive encouragement, how to create intentions for your life, and even some guided meditations along the way, I want you to go ahead and text me at 647-424-2429 and I will leave that link as well in the show notes for you, so you can have it and you can text me the word COURAGE and we'll be able to connect with one another there. Until next time, remember you have everything you need to live bravely.

Kate 44:36
If you like this episode of The Couragecast, we'd love to hear from you. Leave us a rating and review and while you're there, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Original Music and production by Stephen Crilly.

 
 
 

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