Design Your Life, Your Way - Strategic Growth for the Conscious Midlife Entrepreneur

Discover the transformative power of “letting go” in our latest podcast episode. Author Katharine Giovanni shows us how forgiveness can be a powerful catalyst for personal and professional growth. Tune in to learn how releasing anger and old hurts can open doors to new opportunities and deeper connections.

Show Notes | Transcript

"Forgiveness does not mean they were right. Forgiveness is selfish. You do it for yourself. You do it because you want to get them out of your head." - Katharine Giovanni

Three-time award-winning, best-selling author Katharine Giovanni carried a heavy load of anger for years before she discovered the transformative power of forgiveness. After retiring from a successful career in the concierge industry, Katharine poured her knowledge into a new book, “The Ultimate Path to Forgiveness: Unlocking Your Power.” By sharing her experience, Katharine helps us understand that forgiveness is a skill we can learn, and it can lead us to a happier, more peaceful life. Her story is an inspiration for anyone who wants to make a career change. It shows us that everything we've done in the past helps us grow and adapt to new challenges.

In this episode, you will learn:

The pivotal moment leading to Katharine’s journey towards forgiveness

The ongoing nature of forgiveness as a path to personal growth

The value of forgiving small grievances and working up to more significant ones

Forgiveness as a tool for self-liberation, not condoning negative acts

The significance of forgiving inanimate objects and circumstances

Katharine's professional transition and application of forgiveness

Resources:

Join the Soulful Women's Network

Connect with Katharine Giovanni:

Website: katharinegiovanni.com

Connect with Live Love Engage:

Send Gloria Grace a message

☕ Support the podcast

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating

LinkedIn: Gloria Grace Rand

Facebook: Gloria Grace Rand

YouTube: Gloria Grace Rand

TRANSCRIPT

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Do you find it tough to forgive people sometimes? I know it's not always easy, but stay tuned, because today's guest has a step-by-step process to help you find the path to understanding and peace through forgiveness. And if this is your first time here, welcome. I am Gloria Grace. I help female entrepreneurs release negative thought patterns like self-doubt, so you can grow a business that aligns with your soul's purpose, and I'm so really just excited about our guest today because I feel we're already aligned, actually, and just the brief moments I had to talk with her before I bring her on, which I will do here in just a moment but let me tell you about her. Her name is Katharine Giovanni and she's a three-time award-winning bestselling author of 12 books, a dynamic speaker, trainer and advisor, and she also has a corporate background too, which we'll probably talk about a little bit as well. But her latest work is called the Ultimate Path to Forgiveness Unlocking your Power, and it offers profound insights into the transformative power of forgiveness. So, without further ado, let's dive right into this and I'm going to bring on Katharine to the podcast. So welcome, welcome. So glad you're here.

Katharine Giovanni (Guest)

Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure.

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Well, I want to talk about, I usually ask our guests, like what got you into doing what you're doing today? So in a way, I am doing that because I want to know from you what got you interested in forgiveness that you decided to write a book about it?

Katharine Giovanni (Guest)

Well, anger, to be honest, and how to permanently forgive people. Because when you forgive people, some of them have a nasty habit of not staying forgiven. And it started way back in the eighth grade when my parents were getting an ugly divorce with all the bells and whistles. I was getting bullied and schooled really badly and I tried to commit suicide. So I spent the next 15 years that angry teenager, stereotypical angry teenager, and I kind of went into my twenties, went into my thirties. My mother died, and I realized that I couldn't continue my life the way it was. So I decided to change, one morning, on a dime really, and that's when I discovered that forgiving people kind of made me feel better and that started the journey.

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Wow, and it seems like, okay, that's great that you just decided on a dime that you're going to do that. And I know, I saw this, I think, in looking at your book it's like, okay, yeah, people tell us all the time that you know forgive or forgive and forget, but it's not always easy to do that, especially depending on how hurt you are by what someone has done. So when you decided that, okay, I can't live this way anymore, but then how did you actually decide to do that?

Katharine Giovanni (Guest)

Well, I kind of read an article, but in back in those days we really didn't have the computer. You know, if you wanted something, you got a magazine, a book, you went to the, you went to the library, that's. That's how old I am. So I decided to just forgive people and I decided to be positive and I kind of bumbled my way through life for a while doing that.

But the thing about forgiveness is everybody teaches you how that you have to forgive your pastor, your minister, your teachers, your parents. You have to forgive. You'll learn that in the sandbox when you're a kid. Nobody teaches you how.

So everybody listening to this broadcast or watching this broadcast right now, when you think of forgiveness on a 10 scale, with 10 being the most horrific, unforgivable thing, you're all thinking of your number 10 person and you don't want to forgive that person. Neither did I. So what I teach people is you don't have to forgive your number 10. This is what I've learned. You don't, because there is a whole bunch of other things you can forgive before you even get to that person and that person. It might be an unforgivable act. It might not even be appropriate for you to forgive. There are some very, very beautiful, loving people on the planet who are capable of forgiving a number 10. For the rest of us, it's a bear. So I want you to start with your number ones. I want you to start with the easy ones, and then you work your way up to the number 10 people.

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Well, that certainly makes a lot of sense. You know it's baby steps, I think, with just about anything in life when you want to learn, I mean, this is a skill just as much as anything else that we would do in life. So, to be able to start with the things that you can do, have you found, is it? I mean you? You mentioned that you know there's certain people, you know certainly that, really spiritual people, perhaps, or or you know, who can forgive those tens. You know, and I'm thinking of you know, let's, let's just say the first name that popped up in my head was, was and again, see, I'm showing my age to Ted Bundy. Okay, so he was a mass murderer from a long time ago, yeah, but if you were, you know, let's say, the parent of one of his victims, you know, is it possible for someone, even like following what you're talking about, to be able to come to a place where they could be able to forgive?

Katharine Giovanni (Guest)

There's a lot of other things. I want you to start with the number ones first, purposely because, once you, I want you to sit down and I want you to write a list of people, places and things. I did say places and things yes, I did. And I want you to just kind of stream it. And then I want you to label all of these things from one to ten, and you could have multiple ones. You can have, you know, five, fives if you want, it's all good, it's all correct. And you leave the eights, nines and tens. You do those absolutely dead last and you start with the ones and you kind of work your way up. And there's other things you could forgive. For example, let's take the number tens. You know there's other things you can forgive. Let's take a horrific example of rape. Let's say you were raped, or it's a Ted Bundy thing, you know, whatever it was. There's other things you can forgive because you don't want to forgive the rapist, because they were wrong. But forgiveness does not mean they were right.

Forgiveness is selfish. You do it for yourself. You do it because you want to get them out of your head. You want to stop thinking about it all the time, because that's what you're doing when you're angry all you're doing is thinking of this person. Now, for those of us, for those people who are listening to this broadcast, I'm about to hold a glass in front of my face. So I'm holding this glass. This glass is anger. So if I hold this glass too long, eventually it's all I can see. I can't see the opportunities coming in front of me because I am in my anger now. It's all I am, it's all I can see, it's all I can talk about, it's all I can breathe about. So you want to put the glass down. You want to get these people out of your head. So there's other things you can forgive. You can forgive the bed, the table, the chair, the building. You can forgive yourself. You can forgive yourself. You can forgive all these other things before you even forgive that person.

Now here's the secret sauce to the entire thing the reason people don't stay forgiven is because you didn't forgive the energy. Einstein said and proved that energy is neither created nor destroyed and everything on the planet has an energy around it. If you're spiritual, you might call it an aura. Well, what happens when we get angry? You think that you get angry and the words just kind of float into the air and dissipate. Sadly, they do not. They hang in your energy field. So the more angry you get, the darker your energy field is going to be, to the point where you are literally a walking dark thundercloud,...

Are you tired of feeling burnt out and uninspired on your entrepreneurial journey? Discover how gratitude can transform your small business and your life for the better. Get ready to feel inspired, energized, and empowered to create the life and business of your dreams.

Show Notes

"The more gratitude that you express in life, the more things you have to be grateful for." - Gloria "Grace" Rand

Gloria "Grace" Rand is a mindset and marketing strategist, as well as a bestselling author, speaker, and podcast host. She specializes in helping female entrepreneurs release negative thought patterns and self-doubt to grow businesses that align with their soul's purpose. Having helped 150+ companies attract and convert leads into sales in her 15+ years as an online marketer, Gloria knows that gratitude and being true to yourself contribute more to success than the latest marketing fad.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Gratitude has concrete benefits for physical and mental well-being, including improved sleep, mood, immunity, and decreased depression, anxiety, and chronic pain.

Expressing gratitude to others releases oxytocin, strengthens relationships, and benefits both the giver and the recipient.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude in business can lead to increased employee loyalty, customer satisfaction, and overall business growth.

Taking time to acknowledge and appreciate one's own accomplishments and small moments of success can boost self-confidence and motivation.

The more gratitude one expresses, the more things there are to be grateful for, creating a positive cycle of abundance and well-being.

Resources:

Learn about Heart Coherence: HeartMath Institute

Schedule a FREE 15 minute Light Language Session

Join the Soulful Women's Network

Connect with Live Love Engage:

Send Gloria Grace a message

☕ Support the podcast

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating

LinkedIn: Gloria Grace Rand

Facebook: Gloria Grace Rand

YouTube: Gloria Grace Rand

When you come to a crossroads in life like getting laid off, losing a loved one, or becoming an empty nester, the idea of thriving through transitions like these may seem hard to fathom. The good news is that you have what it takes to gracefully maneuver through life's inevitable changes. And it's easier when you have the guidance of a life transition coach like today's guest, Ellen Rothstein.

Show Notes | Transcript

"You have the means to get through it. With the appropriate support, you will get through it. But don't compare yourself to other people, because your life is your own and you're unique and you do get to approach this in any way that works for you." - Ellen Rothstein

Joining us today is Ellen Rothstein, an accomplished author and certified life transition coach. Ellen went through her own transition, shifting from an artist to the corporate realm and finally discovering her true passion in life coaching. Our candid exchange reveals the significance of heeding the universe's subtle nudges towards our genuine paths and the courage required to follow them. We also tackle the emotional layers of life transitions, recognizing the need to honor the grief that comes with pivotal changes such as career moves, changes in marital status, or the loss of someone dear. Whether you're an entrepreneur facing business challenges or someone navigating personal upheavals, this episode serves as a reminder that you're not alone and embracing change can be both daunting and exhilarating.

In this episode, you will learn:

Ellen's journey from artist to life coach, discussing career transitions and recognizing signals from the universe.

Life transitions involve complex emotions and enduring grief, but progress is made with patience and support.

The role of a life coach in providing impartial guidance to help you navigate through life's challenges.

The importance of self-care, and breaking down transitions into actionable steps.

Looking back on past transitions can give you confidence to face future ones.

You're not alone in your journey, you can reach out to others for support.

Resources:

Join the Soulful Women's Network

Connect with Ellen Rothstein:

Website: EllenRothstein.com

Email: Ellen (at) EllenRothstein.com

Connect with Live Love Engage:

Send Gloria Grace a message

☕ Support the podcast

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating

LinkedIn: Gloria Grace Rand

Facebook: Gloria Grace Rand

YouTube: Gloria Grace Rand

TRANSCRIPT

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Namaste. Making the transition from employee to business owner isn't always easy. I know because I've been there, done that, and if you're about to make a big change like that, stay tuned because our guest has some tips on how to navigate life's transitions much more smoothly. But first I'd like to officially welcome you to the podcast and, if this is your first time here, I am Gloria Grace and I help female entrepreneurs release negative thought patterns like self-doubt, so you can grow a business that aligns with your soul's purpose.

And I also want to welcome those of you who are watching, for instance on social media like LinkedIn, because that is a great place to connect with people, and in fact, it's where I connected with our guest today, who is Ellen Rothstein, and I forgot to double check how to pronounce her name, but I'm hoping that's correct. I'm going to bring her on here shortly, but she is an author and certified life transition coach who helps her clients get unstuck and face those transitions with self-assurance. So, without further ado, I'm going to bring her on. And what's your last name correctly? Well?

Ellen Rothstein (Guest)

I tend to say Rothstein, but a lot of people don't, trust me.

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Rothstein it is, but we'll just call you Ellen. How about that? Good, well, I usually like to start off our interviews talking a little bit about our guests, about their journey, and I'm guessing that the reason you decided to become a life transition coach maybe it had to do with a transition you were going through? I'm not sure, but I'd love for you to share that with our audience first, so they can get to know you a little bit better and why you have this expertise.

Ellen Rothstein (Guest)

Well, first of all, thank you for having me on your podcast as a guest. I am delighted to be here and talk to your listeners about the journey that I have gone through. And yes, to answer your question, I did decide to change my life due to what was going on in my life, and the brief overview of that is that I had originally gotten a degree in art. I'm a painter. I did that for many years and then didn't know if I was going to sell another painting in two weeks, two months, two years, so I eventually had to get quote a full-time job, and then that turned into many years. I still did some art on my own on the side, but no longer as my main life activity and income, and so I worked at advertising for many years and then later in digital media. I live in San Francisco, which is a very young tech town and, as you can tell, I am not a young tech gal. So fast forward to 2019 and my company went through yet another round of layoffs and I got laid off, and this time it was very difficult to get rehired. I did get hired for a brief gig at an advertising agency and it was horrible. It was absolutely a nightmare. It was an. I was a round peg in a square hole and I thought why am I doing this? I think I need a full-time job and benefits that much I was pretty clear on. But I really hated what I was doing. I was not good at it, except that I was very good at the people parts. Frankly, when I stepped back from this and realized I can't get hired, what am I going to do? This is a real pivotal moment for me. I looked and I did an assessment of what I actually did like about the jobs that I'd held and it was really when I was being the liaison with people, when I could be the liaison between senior management and leadership and engineers and sales staff and creatives. That was what made me happy.

And I had been working with a life coach on my own for quite some time, trying to bridge the gap between the person I felt at home, where I was very much in charge, and the person I felt felt at work, where I felt like I had to prove myself 24-7. And working with her she pointed out to me you know, you've got a knack for this coaching thing yourself. You might think about becoming a coach and I took some classes, but at that time I was still certain I needed a full-time job. So I said, oh no, I can't do that.

But then, when I got laid off and had this sort of eye-opening experience about what a bad fit I was in this current work situation, I thought, you know, maybe it's time to really think about this. And so I did, and I decided I'm going to get certified as a life coach and I'm going to pick an area of expertise that really resonates for me, which turned out to be transitions. Because here I was facing my own transition from thinking I needed a full-time job forever to figuring out what actually made me happy and how could I make this work. It meant starting my own business, which was a scary proposition, but that's what I did, and so with I don't want to keep going on and on, so I'm going to turn it back over to you.

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Well, I love that and it's it's. It's interesting Similar sort of story in the way that I was trying to figure out what to do with my life too, because we had moved from Miami up to Orlando, Florida, and I wasn't able to work full-time in my job in television anymore, and so I was trying to figure out what to do. And then they said, okay, I was doing some part-time work from them, and they're like we don't need you anymore. And I took that as a sign that, okay, I guess I better do this copywriting thing full time, similar to you, where you're like, okay, I guess, since I'm being laid off, maybe I should seriously look into becoming a coach. And I do think sometimes that even though we're in the midst of it, and it's difficult, I believe in a benevolent universe and I think the universe will throw us lifelines like that, even if we don't always recognize them.

I don't know if you agree with that or not. I know there's probably a lot of people in our audience and I know, I'm sure, that have gone through similar situations, certainly even over the last several years, because a lot of people had to, you know, face the same kind of thing with everything, the way our world has happened. So what are, what do you think are the common? I think I want to start here first. What are some of the common struggles, maybe, first, that people have when they're facing a transition? What are some of the things that come up for them?

Ellen Rothstein (Guest)

Well, people don't like change, myself included it's anything that's new and different is going to pose some kind of challenges. Even if you're excited about the upcoming change, it's still going to be new and different. So what does that mean? Especially if the change is not something that you chose, like being laid off. So then, I think it's really important for that person to step back and identify what is scary, what are the positive outcomes, what are the negative outcomes, what is there to be potentially excited about and what is scary? And if it's scary, thinking about why, is it because it's new, or are there actually reasons? Is there some evidence? A lot of us fall into the trap of feeling like it’s projecting onto the future? It's going to be that, but that's fear-based, it's not necessarily evidence-based.

So I like to take a step back and help my clients to do the same to really look at the situation, get some information, gather some facts. What is really going on here? And then breaking it down into small, bite-sized pieces. Oh, I've got so much to do....

Are you ready to go beyond the edge of despair and step into the light? Join us as we sit down with author Gina Cavalier, who opens up about her intimate struggle with suicidal ideation and her journey toward healing.

Show Notes | Transcript

"We could be dealing with 90% of the population that have suicidal thoughts once in a while. So, yeah, normalizing it in a kind way, with some levity and understanding, that we're just all unique, our story's unique." - Gina Cavalier

Gina Cavalier confronts the often-taboo subject of suicidal ideation in this candid and uplifting discussion. Gina is the co-author of the book, "Surviving Suicidal Ideation: From Therapy, Spirituality, and the Lived Experience" which promises to be a groundbreaking work on this topic. We delve into the raw realities of mental health, the importance of creating a safe space for these conversations, and the life-saving work she intends to offer through her planned nonprofit, Suicidal Ideation Anonymous.

In this episode, you will learn:

Gina's personal struggle with suicidal ideation, and her journey towards healing

The transformative power of connecting with one's spiritual core and embracing authenticity

The role of setting boundaries and fostering self-love

How to transform your life by understanding personal energy, grounding, releasing negativity, and connecting with nature's energy

The power of volunteering and the healing process of writing with spiritual guidance

Resources:

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call 988 in the United States, or visit the Suicide Crisis Lifeline: 988lifeline.org Help is available 24/7.

Join the Soulful Women's Network

Connect with Gina Cavalier:

Website: theliberatedhealer.com

Get Gina's book: theliberatedhealer.com/books

Connect with Live Love Engage:

Send Gloria Grace a message

☕ Support the podcast

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating

LinkedIn: Gloria Grace Rand

Facebook: Gloria Grace Rand

YouTube: Gloria Grace Rand

TRANSCRIPT

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Namaste. Did you know that nearly 50,000 people in the United States and more than 800,000 worldwide died by suicide each year, and in the US, it's the second leading cause of death among 10 to 14-year-old kids and young adults between the ages of 25 and 34. Young adults between the ages of 25 and 34. So it's not exactly a fun subject, not one that we typically talk about on the podcast, but it is an important one and I think, yeah, it needs to be talked about, and I've got a great guest who I'm going to be bringing out in just a moment. She has co-authored a book that is coming out soon called Surviving Suicidal Ideation from Therapy, Spirituality and the Lived Experience.

But before I bring the wonderful Gina Cavalier on, I would like to welcome you to the podcast, especially if this is your first time. I am Gloria Grace and I help female entrepreneurs shed self-doubt, negative thought patterns so you can grow a business that aligns with your soul's purpose. So I think part of that is really being, you know, being able to, yeah, get rid of some of these negative thought patterns that are can be very destructive sometimes. So we're going to bring on a wonderful woman right now sometimes. So we're going to bring on a wonderful woman right now, Without further ado. Her name is Gina Cavalier and, yes, she's also host of the Liberated Healer podcast. So a fellow podcaster, and I'm glad to have you on the show today.

Gina Cavalier (Guest)

Thank you for the opportunity. And, yes, it is a serious topic but we don't call it a dark topic and we are putting an effort together to bring levity towards it and to kind of take away some of the stigmatism so we can help our fellow humans. And so, yeah, we kind of raise the frequency, we try to keep it in the space where it's not so taboo and not so scary and so we can actually make headway.

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Yeah, absolutely. I like that. That's a good way to frame it. So I always love to start the interviews, you know, with our guests, kind of having them share with us a little bit about their journey, and so you know what got you here today, where you are someone who is talking about healing and talking about, you know, helping folks who may be having some trouble managing their lives. Let's put it that way.

Gina Cavalier (Guest)

Yeah, well, you know, we're just so individual, our story is always different, but there's a lot of things that are very similar. And you know, I just I had a suicidal ideation. On and off I wasn't even really a depressed person, I just didn't feel like I fit in anywhere. You know, I had abusive childhood and that kind of beat, some unworthiness into me and self-pity and doubt and just fears. And I knew I was a good person at heart. So I didn't understand. I felt there was a disconnect between what my soul was and how I was feeling inside and how the world around me felt. Also, I was very empathetic and very sensitive to energy, and so my nature was to go in and help people, heal people. And so I came in, just started helping everyone as much as I could, to the point where I got chronic fatigue syndrome. I was just overweight, I was exhausted and I was sad and I didn't understand this process. I just kind of, when life events would come in like a divorce or a job change or anything that felt really overwhelming, I just would kind of go there just saying, yeah, I don't belong here. I just don't feel like I belong here, I'm outside the circle, always, just always on the edge of feeling like I belong. And then I just really got tired of that record playing in my head and I said I'm going to really try to figure this out and I put the healing in my own hands um, knowing that I'm the only one with me 24, seven and I continued through a path to heal that and it was. It took me a while, but now I feel like I can reduce that um length of time for people explaining what my process was, some of the things that helped me creating these books, these workbooks that people can do on their home so they're not alone, I mean, so they don't have to tell anybody if they don't feel comfortable to do that yet, but they can still get some one-on-one advice and safety plans with some therapeutic context. And I'm building a nonprofit Suicidal Ideation Anonymous, which I'm trying to get grants for right now, and it's going to act much like AA and I thought, well, anything that needs to be anonymous probably is suicidal ideation, and that's just where we're going now. And so I'm building a whole 360, you know I'm building an app building this whole world around helping mental health and, you know, normalizing these conversations so we don't have to hear as many of these stories.

It's correct, we do lose one person every 11 minutes in the United States alone, so it is actually a worldwide epidemic, pandemic, whatever you want to call it. It's 911. We also have to have programs in place where people are so scared and overwhelmed by what might happen. Is it going to damage their future prospects of working? Is it going to? Because a lot of people have these emotions and they come over you and then they go away.

For a lot of the people that have, on and off, suicidal ideation, it's not something that's every day, so they don't want to damage their future by just communicating. Yeah, I have some dark thoughts once in a while, and the thing is we don't know the statistics on how many people have suicidal ideation. We only know people who've actually either had an attempt that was documented or, you know, actually followed through with it, and those numbers alone are staggering. So we could be dealing with 90% of the population that have suicidal thoughts once in a while. So, yeah, normalizing it in a kind way, with some levity and understanding, that we're just all unique, our story's unique. What are you going to put in your toolbox for you, whether it's exercising, meditating, maybe even church or whatever it is to you, but you have to create your own playbook, in a way.

Gloria "Grace" Rand (Host)

Yeah, I love that and so many things are going through my mind as you're talking about it and I'm going to start. I'm going to start with one thing is that I also believe that you know, because you went through this, it's why you are here now to be able to do this. You know it's clearly, this is your, you know reason for being here, and I love that. I love the idea also about suicidal ideation on out of us. I think that is very good.

It makes so much sense and I do think it may be 90%. I mean, I remember when I was a teenager and I briefly thought about it because I was growing up in a household that wasn't a lot of fun, and then you mix in just becoming a teenager and all the crap that goes with that sometimes, yeah, and, and I think the main thing that prevented me, or one of the things, was that my mom I had seen my mom when I was a little girl. She lost her best friend to suicide and I saw how devastated she was. I mean, just even I was probably five years old or something, and so I think that was always in the back of my head, that, nah, I can't really do that to my mom, so I didn't go through with it.

But, yeah, so there's so much to it, and I love that you mentioned a few things and that we all have our own journey to go through. What do you think actually helped you maybe the most, or have? Yeah, let me just start with air first. Okay, end up doing compound questions too often, so let's go there. What do you think helped you the most in being able to you know, finally, you know, flip that switch and be able to say, okay, I don't have to be in that place anymore.

Gina Cavalier (Guest)

We've kind of forgotten about spirituality. Spirituality comes last a lot of times when we're in our development. So it's physical and education and all these different things....

Discover the key to a more abundant, loving, and aligned life with April Roberts, founder of the Vixen Gathering. Join us as we explore the transformative power of embracing your feminine energy, revealing how it can revolutionize your relationships, career, and self-worth. Find out how to embrace your Vixen energy to elevate all aspects of your life.

Show Notes | Transcript

"So many of us are missing out because we're blocking the receiving. I was guilty of this. I had this huge a-ha a few years ago and I would do a daily meditation to imagine receiving so that I could retrain myself." - April Roberts

April Roberts shares the value of tapping into your feminine wisdom in today’s episode. She is intimately familiar with this topic because she helps Gen X women do just that in her transformative coaching practice. A former high-achieving attorney and financial advisor, April developed the five pillars of Vixen to help her clients harness their unique energies for work-life harmony.

In this episode, you will learn:

The significance of aligning with one's true passions and desires for a fulfilling life

The five pillars of Vixen and their role in achieving balance

Practical advice for transitioning energy between professional and personal roles

The importance of self-awareness and intentional breaks for energy management

The necessity of playing within one's business to foster creativity and prevent burnout

Emphasizing the balance of giving and receiving in feminine energy

Resources:

Join the Soulful Women's Network

Connect with April Roberts:

Website: VixenGathering.com

YouTube: @VixenGathering

Facebook group: Abundant Business Women

Connect with Live Love Engage:

Send Gloria Grace a message

☕ Support the podcast

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating

LinkedIn: Gloria Grace Rand

Facebook: Gloria Grace Rand

YouTube: Gloria Grace Rand

Related Live. Love. Engage. episodes you may enjoy:

TRANSCRIPT

Gloria "Grace" Rand

Namaste, so glad to have you with us today. And if you are one of my wonderful women viewer woman women viewers yeah sorry. You may feel a lot of pressure to succeed, you know, both in your personal life and your professional life and that often leads to a lot of stress, anxiety and burnout. And today's guest understands that because she has. She's lived that. She's been a high achieving former attorney and financial advisor and now she helps Gen X women achieve more abundance, love, spirituality and alignment by connecting with their femininity femininity.

I hope I can speak today. I apologize, I'm tripping up on my words today, but before we bring on the lovely April Roberts, I do want to officially welcome you to the podcast, especially if this is your first time. I am Gloria "Grace and I do a little bit of a similar work to April and that I help female entrepreneurs really strengthen the connection to their inner wisdom so that you can create a life and business that is prosperous and deeply gratifying. And since I know we have sort of similar, similar mission, shall we say, I'm looking forward to having this discussion and I hope you are too. So, without further ado, I'm going to bring April Roberts on to the show. Welcome, April.

April Roberts

Hi, I'm so excited to be here and I agree I loved when I was, when I was reading about you checking out the work you do. I feel we're very aligned, so I'm super excited for today.

Gloria "Grace" Rand

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I I love finding out about our guests and about their story, and I've done a little research on you and I know that you've been you've been doing this work for this type of work for a few years, but you've got, of course, this rich background. I mentioned that you've been an attorney and a financial financial advisor, so I'd love to have you share with our audience a little bit about you know what, what got you into doing the work that you're doing today?

April Roberts

Awesome. I like to joke that I'm on my fourth career, which is the truth. I mean potentially fifth. I'll share that with you. But yeah, I remember, you know I. I think a lot of us can relate.

I'm 47 and you know I'm I'm a Gen Xer and so many of us had parents that worked really hard to get where they were. Many of us were among one of the first generations in our family to go to college. In fact, you know my dad was the first person in our family to graduate from college. My mom went with him but she didn't actually graduate. And so you know, when I was going off to college, I was always a high achiever, like I was the nerdy kid who was like studying for the SAT on Saturday and the ACT. I thought it was fun to take practice exams, which, interestingly, I was extremely social as well. So I'll share that with you when we get get along.

But you know, I really just thought, oh, you go to the best college you can. And so you know, I made it my job applying for colleges and then I went to Vanderbilt University and I got there. My parents are like, where do you get a major in? And I was like oh, english, you know, I think it'd be fun to be an English teacher or a writer. And my parents were like we're not paying $50,000 a year for you to go to college. You can come home to Mississippi and go to college, you know, if that's what you want to do. So I and my parents had my best interest at heart. They weren't trying to do anything bad to me, but that was the way they thought. Right, you come out with a good job that pays you well. And even though my parents were entrepreneurs and my grand parents, I mean it was still in very practical professions. And so I really kind of decided oh well, what do I want to do? Well, with my degree, I can go to law school, which made my parents very happy.

And because I was a really good at test taker, I got into Notre Dame Law School and you know I thought, well, I'll be a litigator, because I love talking, whatever they were top 10 litigation. They had a program in London. Honestly, that's why I went there, because I wanted to go live in London for a year, if truth be told, and I was like, oh, that's cool. Um, and so, you know, I kind of found myself in law school and Grace, I actually remember the end of the first year going, oh my gosh, if I crammed all this in my head like I'm going to do something with it right.

So I don't even want to say that I chose my path into the legal career. It kind of it wasn't the path chosen for me, but it was like the practical choice and I don't think I would have made the practical choice left to my own devices. So you know, fast forward, I get out, I end up working somehow for the most prestigious firm in Atlanta. Like I make a lot of jokes about how I got that job because I was not law review. You know I very much enjoyed my time in law school as I meant it was very social. So I ended up at the law firm and again, I love the social aspect of working there. We were very connected.

I got to go to the Braves games, I got to go to the Hawks games, I got to go to events and so I thought, oh, my life is cool, forgetting that I was working 80 hours a week right and grinding it out when I wasn't doing these fun things which, by the way, at 25, you can do all of that Today, at 47, I don't think I could.

So it's kind of a long story. Hop in any time you want and interrupt me. But what happened for me is I fell in love and I fell in love with my ex-husband, who was Italian, and he moved to the United States to be with me and suddenly, when there's someone else being affected by your 80 hour weeks and although life is great and I'm getting to, you know, flit around and I'm making lots of money. it really changes your perspective and I realized that that wasn't a sustainable life I wanted for the future and I feel very blessed that that occurred to me at age 27, because I think a lot of people don't have that moment until late 30s, 40s or 50s.

Gloria "Grace" Rand

Would you matter? Oh yeah, yeah, for sure. You're very well blessed to be able to have that awareness at such a young age, especially and I'm not sure if you are a parent or not, but especially if you had it before you have any children.

April Roberts

So yeah, Well, at that point I planned to be a parent, and so that was very much in my thinking as well. Right, like, how do I manage all of this? Because you know, I grew up in South Mississippi, so the deep South, where families very engrossed and involved and so and not that it's only there, but you know that was kind of top priority and so that was in my thinking. So, anyway, what happened was we were in the midst of getting his green card after we got married and his grandfather got sick, and his grandfather was the closest person in the world to him and he wasn't allowed to leave the country because of that process, and so I just remember being at the lawyer's office going. You know, at this point I'm 27, 28. Well, I guess we're moving to Italy, because I just saw this person I love, you know, whole face fall, and so he was on a plane the next day and I came a month later. So that was, that was a crazy time, trying to wrap up my job, sell everything we own. He's in Italy looking for us a place to live.

And, you know, in my first year of marriage, I arrived in Italy under these circumstances, which it's funny because I teach the five pillars of Vixen, and I'm like gosh, if only my like 27, 28 year old self had had these five pillars when I was dealing with all of this, it would have been so much better. Because what happened for me is I went to Italy. My law degree wasn't good, I didn't think about that ahead of time, I couldn't get a job in a law firm doing anything else, because they told me I was over qualified because I was a lawyer. And so I suddenly you know this kid that had taken AT ACT exams on the weekend and always planned the future I suddenly found myself in this position where I was a house

Ever wonder what keeps entrepreneurs from achieving the level of business success they'd like? Not enough funding, ineffective marketing, poorly designed or no systems at all, are just a few reasons. In my 15 years of business, I've found that all of those are symptoms. The real culprit is your mindset. In today's episode we're focusing on overcoming emotional blocks that may be hindering your progress.

Show Notes

"Success really depends on emotional well-being. It's important to recognize and overcome emotional blocks that may hinder progress." - Gloria "Grace"

Gloria "Grace" is a spiritual mentor and business coach who specializes in supporting women business owners in strengthening their spiritual connection to create a prosperous and fulfilling life and business. With almost 15 years of experience in the industry, Grace has overcome her own emotional blocks and now helps others do the same. She has a background in copywriting and has worked with a variety of clients, including web designers, photographers, life and business coaches.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Emotional blocks are defense mechanisms of the brain that prevent us from feeling emotions normally, often resulting from stress or trauma.

Emotional blocks can hinder success in business by preventing clear thinking, hindering decision-making, and limiting opportunities.

Common manifestations of emotional blocks in business include perfectionism, negative self-talk, overwhelm, lack of focus, impostor syndrome, constant fatigue, depression, people-pleasing, overeating, and overdrinking.

Seeking help from coaches, counselors, and alternative healing practitioners can be beneficial in overcoming emotional blocks.

Personal practices such as meditation, journaling, and connecting with one's higher self through introspection can also aid in recognizing and releasing emotional blocks.

Resources:

Schedule a FREE 15 minute Light Language Session

Join the Soulful Women's Network

Connect with Live Love Engage:

Send Gloria Grace a message

☕ Support the podcast

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating

LinkedIn: Gloria Grace Rand

Facebook: Gloria Grace Rand

YouTube: Gloria Grace Rand

Related Live. Love. Engage. episodes you may enjoy:

World Sound Healing Day: Harnessing the Power of Sound for Global Harmony

Unshakeable You: Navigating Chaos with Authenticity

Trust Your Journey: Let Go and Let God’s Plan Unfold

Becoming a parent changes the dynamic for female entrepreneurs who thought of their business as their baby. Now, balancing a thriving business with family becomes like walking a tightrope while juggling - challenging to say the least. Add the noble pursuit of giving back to the mix, and you've got a recipe for overwhelm. For Laura Xiao, these seemingly conflicting demands are managed with grace. She proves that with the right strategies, integrating family, business, and philanthropy is not only possible but deeply rewarding. Ready to unravel the secret to her balancing act? Tune in.

Show Notes | Transcript

"I want my kids to be proud of me and to see the type of people we are, the way we treat others, the way we run our business and also the way we give back in our community." - Laura Xiao

Laura Xiao, the founder and CEO of Henne Organics, joins us for an inspiring discussion about the thrills and challenges of starting a luxury skin care company, while balancing personal relationships when your business partner is also your life partner. Laura opens up about her experiences as a business owner and a new parent, the delicate act of juggling family life with professional ambitions, and how shared business ventures can harmonize work-life integration, particularly when children enter the picture. We also shine a light on the importance of community contribution, as Laura recounts her efforts to partner with local charities like First Fruit, illuminating the pervasive issue of human trafficking and the role each of us can play in supporting such causes.

In this episode, you'll discover:

How Laura's leap of faith into the beauty industry led to the birth of a brand with soul and success.

The complexities of advice in the beauty industry vs. trusting one's intution

The dance of partnership in both marriage and business, and how personal relationships can blossom in a professional setting.

The joy and challenges of parenting while steering the entrepreneurial ship, and how we can be role models for our children.

The profound impact of supporting local charities, like First Fruit, in their fight against human trafficking, and how we can all contribute to such critical causes.

How Laura challenged her immigrant family's expectations through entrepreneurship.

Resources:

Join the Soulful Women's Network

Connect with Laura Xiao:

Website: HenneOrganics.com

Instagram: @henneorganics

Connect with Live Love Engage:

Send Gloria Grace a message

☕ Support the podcast

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating

LinkedIn: Gloria Grace Rand

Facebook: Gloria Grace Rand

YouTube: Gloria Grace Rand

Related Live. Love. Engage. episodes you may enjoy:

Harmony at Home: Aimee Greczmiel’s Self-Care Tips for Busy Parents

Transform What You Love Into a Scalable Business with Nathalie Doremieux

How to Create a Soul-Aligned Luxury Brand with Elva Li

TRANSCRIPT

Gloria "Grace" Rand

Namaste. You know, growing a business is no easy task, so if you would like some advice from a successful entrepreneur, you are in the right place, because today we are going to be talking with Laura Xiao, who is the founder and CEO of Henne Organics, a luxury beauty brand that combines natural and highly effective lip and skincare formulas with exquisite Nordic design. But before I bring her in, I just want to welcome you to the podcast and, if this is your first time here, I am Gloria Grace. I support women business owners and strengthening their spiritual connections so you can create a life and business that's both prosperous and deeply gratified. But I am really excited.

We were having a little chat before we got on the air here today, but I'm really excited to talk about Laura because I know she's got a great story to tell about her unique entrepreneurial journey. I think everybody has their own unique journey, but there's also some common threads in there that I think that we can learn from. So, without further ado, I'm going to bring her up right now. There she is and welcome Laura to Live love Engage.

Laura Xiao

Hi, thank you for having me. Happy Wednesday. I know we were joking before we went live that I don't know what the date of the week is sometimes when I have been a toddler, but today I did know that it was Wednesday, absolutely.

Gloria "Grace" Rand

Yeah, I know you're live on social media, but, of course, if you're listening to this now on your favorite podcast platform, it's probably Tuesday, because that's when it goes out. See, you never know what date is. It's all good. So I was mentioning that I always like to start our podcast with gambling a little bit into the background of our guests and finding out their journey. So I knew that you've got a good story to tell about. Oh, my goodness, my light just fell over. Well, I'm going to go ahead and let you share, and then I'll do it while I'm on you. So, yeah, tell us a little bit about your story and how you got to become a founder of a skincare product.

Laura Xiao

Well, it's definitely a little bit of an unconventional background story, I guess. I'd like to say I don't originally come from the beauty industry actually far from it but it was kind of a combination, I always say a little bit of inspiration and desperation. So my husband, who is Swedish initially, I actually moved to Sweden to be with him after I finished college and I think just moving there initially, kind of the wheel started turning because at that time I had just recently become a lot more interested and I discovered a lot more about just ingredients, everything from the food that I was eating to the ingredients and the products I was using. So it was something that I would have already started becoming very passionate about. And then this is back in 2010. And when we moved to Sweden, I noticed even in Sweden at that time they just had more natural options than we did back in the States. And I was very young at the time, I was in my early 20s, and of course I started thinking, oh, wouldn't it be great if I could launch my own products? And it was a great idea, but definitely seemed like a bit of a pipe dream at that time. I didn't have the money, the credentials, the experience, whatever you want to call it didn't have any of that, so kind of put on the back burner and I thought, maybe in a couple of decades, when I burned my stripes, when I saved up enough money, this is something I could do.

And then fast forward a handful of years later. We had been living in a few other places, a few other countries, kind of bounced around for a little bit, and then, when we moved back to the States, I actually developed pretty serious issues with my lips. My husband did as well. We were living in Nevada at the time, in Vegas, and that was when the desperation kind of came in and I thought, okay, I still don't have the beauty experience, I don't have the connections, but I have a little bit of money saved now, and I think this is something I'd really like to do, because I created a lip balm in our kitchen that worked really well for us and so already had the formula, and that's kind of what really got things going. I guess having struggling with dry lips kind of gave me the kick in the buck. I needed to really give it a go. Yeah, so we launched Hena in 2015, initially just with the lip balm, and here we are today.

Gloria "Grace" Rand

Wow, that's amazing. So it's been a very short time for you to be doing that, but quite the journey to be able to get there as well. What was very particular challenges that you found in getting the business off the ground once you decided, okay, yes, I'm going to do this, we're going to launch with this lip balm, but did you have any particular things that, looking back at, like I really wish we had a better way to be able to fix it or not? I don't know.

Laura Xiao

I think one thing I would say is I think in the beginning, because I had so little experience, I was getting feedback from a wide range of people in my life, and so people from just there are some people in the tech space, because we were in that. I was working in that space prior to launching Henne and everybody was well-meaning and some of the feedback was actually really, really helpful. But I think almost getting too much was a little bit confusing at times for me because, for example, after a few months after we launched Henne, I managed to contact a few people in the industry and try to get feedback from them, and I think it didn't take me in the wrong direction. But I think I tried to do things their way, a little bit more their way, because I thought that's how the industry works and I kind of realized pretty quickly that there is truly no one-size-fits-all and I actually think being a little bit whether you want to call it naive or inexperienced was actually an advantage that I had and I kind of ended up going back to that instead of just trying to follow this very, very rigid path but to follow a path that someone else had taken.

I know it's a little bit of a vague description, but I'll use an example. I was going to ask you. That's a very vague, very vague example. I said no connections but having my I guess my natural personality type of being very much of a go-getter, very type A and just yeah, I guess that personality type, I started contacting stores to see if they would be interested in bringing us in and I think the like I said whether you want to call it being naive kind of helped, because I contacted some stores that apparently are very exclusive and very difficult to get into and most brands wouldn't dare try in the beginning. And I didn't contact them in a presumptuous or rude way by any means. I was very friendly, very polite, but I was. I still dared to ask right, would you be interested, could I send you samples? And because of that we got into a few key stores very early on,...

Want to know the secret to achieving vibrant health? Best-selling author and nutrition coach Randy Rolfe takes you beyond food myths into a world of mindful eating. Explore how traditional cooking is the holistic way to feed your body and soul.

Show Notes | Transcript

"We need to believe that our body is meant to work. We're not getting sick because we're living longer. There is nothing wrong with living longer." - Randy Rolfe

In this podcast episode, we welcome Randy Rolfe, an expert in parenting, nutrition, and family, to discuss the intertwining of health and spirituality. Randy shares her insights on the importance of natural foods and the spiritual connection to our diet. We debunk myths about aging and health, advocate for a "single ingredient diet," and stress the significance of traditional cooking. The conversation also explores the spiritual aspects of well-being, including meditation and nurturing the soul. Randy's curiosity about empowering people to recognize their own strength is highlighted, along with her book "The Single Ingredient Diet." We also talk about the importance of choosing whole foods and reducing worry for a healthier life.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Importance of connecting with physical bodies

Debunking false beliefs about health and diet

Spiritual component of maintaining vibrant health

Randy's personal journey of learning about nutrition

Misconceptions about aging and health

Impact of diet on overall health

Shifting towards a "single ingredient diet"

Embracing traditional and cultural dietary practices

Adopting a holistic approach to health

Resources:

Join the Soulful Women's Network

Transform Your Relationship to Food in Just 21 Days with Randy's free resource

Connect with Randy Rolfe:

Website: Randy Rolfe

Connect with Live Love Engage:

Send Gloria Grace a message

☕ Support the podcast

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating

LinkedIn: Gloria Grace Rand

Facebook: Gloria Grace Rand

YouTube: Gloria Grace Rand

TRANSCRIPT

Gloria Grace Rand - I am Gloria Grace Rand, founder of The L.O.V.E. Method and author of the number one Amazon bestseller Live Love Engage how to Stop Doubting Yourself and Start Being Yourself. In this podcast, we share practical advice from a spiritual perspective on how to live fully, love deeply, and engage authentically so you can create a life and business with more impact, influence and income. Welcome to live, love. Engage. Namaste. Would you like to create a vibrant, healthier body, mind and soul? Well, if so, you are in the right place because that's what we're going to be talking about with our guest, Randy Rolfe, who is I'm going to tell you about in just a moment, and she'll be joining us shortly. But first, if this is your first time joining live, love, engage and welcome. I am Gloria Grace, the Light messenger, and I support women business owners and strengthening their spiritual connections so you can create a life and business that's not only prosperous, but also really fulfilling and gratifying.

But let's get to it. I want to talk to you about our guest today. Her name is Randy Rolfe, and she is a bestselling author, speaker, educator, and coach on parenting, nutrition, and family. And she's got a long and illustrious career that includes a degree in international relations, a law degree, a legal practice, certification in nutrition, and master's in theology. I don't know when this woman has time to like, you know, relax it, or because she's also spent 50 years talking and teaching about vibrant health. And she is also a returning guest to the podcast. We actually had her on the show a couple of years ago to talk about spiritual parenting, but I am super excited now to have her back to talk about health. So without further ado, I'm going to bring on miss Randy Ralph to live, love, engage and welcome you officially back to the program.

Randy Rolfe - Thank you so much, Gloria Grace, it's great to have you to be back here.

Gloria Grace Rand - Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'm I'm delighted to have you. And, especially talking about our health, because that's certainly something that has been on people's minds even more over the past four years. And I know that this is certainly you've spent practically a lifetime talking about vibrant health. So why does that mean so much to you?

Randy Rolfe - Well, a lot of different reasons. One is I learned to look up and and research nutrition because I just didn't know what I should eat. I was a doctor's daughter, but I was very academically focused. And when I went out on my own, I just didn't know what to eat. And I was making my husband's food, and I'm like, what do I do? So I started researching and I had was amazed by all the confusion. And so I decided to dig deeper. And so what I learned, I started applying right away, and friends started asking me, well, why don't you write about this? Because you explain it so simply.

So I got excited about that, and I was actually, helping my fellow lawyers when I was practicing law and my first career to prepare for their trials by eating correctly and keeping their their staying awake and keeping their minds clear and that kind of thing. And then when I had great success with my kids, my friends would ask me, why is this working so well? So in my first parenting book, I explained that getting the child's body working was the first,, duty of a parent was to feed the child right? And breastfeed if you can, and then go on to natural foods. So it's been a life voyage, really, of educating people. What an important part of our lives to diet is. And I do think there's a very strong spiritual side because this is the main way, other than breathing and touching the ground, that we relate to nature.

Gloria Grace Rand - Wow. So many things are coming to mind as, as you're talking about this. And I'm trying to figure out where is the best place to go. So maybe I'll just go with some of the talking points that you suggested we talk about today. Because I think they're, they're so good. But but I love how you do relate it back to, you know, parenting that's our first job is to nurture our children. But but we also need to start with ourselves. Really, because we can't we're not going to be able to take care of them very well if we don't take care of ourselves. So you you've talked about something about that we need to connect with our physical body in a new way, to feel whole. So why do you say that? And then how do we go about doing that?

Randy Rolfe - Well, yeah, that's a really important point, Grace, because the,, we are being kind of brainwashed that our bodies break down as we age and that we need to fix them all the time. And yet they're designed to work. We're designed to be healthy for a hundred years. And it's really important to give our body what body, what it needs and what what we've eaten the last 2 million years is real food, not man made additives, not refined foods where all the vitamins and minerals and fiber has been removed.

So it's it's about nourishing our own bodies and, and having confidence in them that they know how to digest and how to breathe and how to sleep. If we just give them what it needs, what it needs, what our body needs to maintain health. And so I really try to change people's way they relate rather than, oh, darn, you know, I have these extra pounds I can't get rid of, or my stomach hurts when I eat this or that and I have to take a pill to fix it., rather than thinking now, okay, what should I change in my lifestyle? I'm not getting any walking in. I'm not drinking enough water. I'm not getting enough fiber. I'm not feeding the microbes that are balancing my gut., so thinking about working with your body instead of against it is still the way I like to say it.

Gloria Grace Rand - And that's so important because there's so much number one, so much misinformation out there about food. There's also in in our strive strivings over the years, I guess, to, you know, have convenience. And, you know, I remember watching a couple of years ago there was a documentary, I think, on the History Channel about sort of the history of some of the food makers and how, like, frozen foods, you know, came about and how you know that this was a revolution back in the day. And at the same time, we seem to be a lot more prone to sickness and to,, conditions that. Maybe we didn't necessarily have 100 years ago or something when we were eating more natural foods. So how do you and I don't know why I'm having an echo today, but. Oh, well, we're just going to go with it. How do you go across communicating to people that it is more important, or I guess maybe number one, that it's important to really pay attention to what it is we are eating?

Randy Rolfe - Yes. I think that's the key is to to educate people how there is a direct relationship between our health and our diet. And if we're not eating the best foods for our body, we are more susceptible to disease. We're more susceptible to infection from outside sources. We're more susceptible to reacting to environmental toxins, to allergies,, to,, problems with our blood getting too much fat building up. And it's not from eating fat, it's from eating refined foods., just all the problems that are troubling us today at younger and younger ages even are due to the poor diet. And I want to say that what we're finding now is that 58% of American adults diet is ultra processed foods, and for kids, it's actually 67%,, you know, some of the cereals are half sugar and the snacks and the sodas,, and, and then everything has added seed oil, which is very hard for the body to deal with and is actually carcinogenic. So,, it and emphasizing that there's a direct relationship between how good you feel, how healthy you are and your diet, that director election a relationship.

...

Are you ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth? Join me in this episode as we dive deep into the transformative experiences and insights shared by our guest, Chris Cirak. Get ready to explore the power of mindfulness, connecting with your truth, and embracing curiosity as we navigate the path to inner wisdom and authenticity. Tune in for a conversation that will inspire and uplift you on your own journey of transformation.

Show Notes | Transcript

"Life is your teacher, and it's always reflecting who you are back to you, and there's always a lesson contained in every experience." - Chris Cirak

Author, speaker, and meditator Chris Cirak is passionate about turning sophisticated topics into accessible, meaningful, and inspiring experiences. With an extensive background in design, psychology, and tech, he breaks down traditional teachings to make ancient wisdom accessible and discoverable by modern audiences. His challenging upbringing led Chris to discover his true calling to help people navigate their own paths to self-awareness. His BE YOU mindfulness program helps you gain transformative insights to reacting less and thriving more. Discover how Chris's journey of self-discovery and mindfulness can inspire you to embark on your own path of inner exploration. Tune in to gain valuable insights and guidance on finding peace, purpose, and authenticity in your own life.

In this episode, you will learn:

The importance of embracing challenges as opportunities for growth and authenticity.

The benefits of self-reflection and surrender in personal transformation.

Insights on mindfulness and the power of being present in daily activities.

The significance of connecting with one's inner truth and standing up for it.

How mindfulness affects relationships and personal growth.

How holding space for others and the power of inner peace influences external relationships.

Related Live. Love. Engage. episodes you may enjoy:

Manifesting Magic: Harnessing Intention and Emotion to Shape Your Life

Why Mindfulness Matters with Kristen Manieri

Meditation is the Path to Self-Love

Neil McKinlay: Healing Through Meditation and Community

Resources:

Connect with Chris here

Follow him on Social Media: @ChrisCirak

Join the Soulful Women's Network here

Send me a message here

☕ Support the podcast here

❤ Love this episode? Leave us a review and rating here

Connect with Gloria Grace: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

TRANSCRIPT

Gloria "Grace" Rand:

Welcome to Live, Love, Engage, Chris.

Chris Cirak:

Hi, Gloria. Thanks so much for having me on.

Gloria "Grace" Rand:

Well, I have been looking forward to this interview for quite a while and I love all of the wonderful work that you're doing in the world and from where you're doing it from. Bali is definitely a place that I would love to visit. It's on my bucket list. But I love to start off our interviews talking with our guests a little bit to kind of get to know them. And in particular, what was that overall journey that kind of got you into doing the work that you're doing now and talking about mindfulness and things like that?

Chris Cirak:

Yeah, well, it's the journey that turns into our callings. People ask me, you know, what, what's my real purpose? And I always say, Well, just look at your challenges. Because it's, it's the challenges that we become experts at overcoming, and then we can, you know, help others in similar situations. And that's what makes us authentic. So my journey, really, I was very fortunate to have a loving, caring home. But the, the external was more the chaos and the turmoil and moving around a lot. My parents were civilian contractors for the military, and a lot of different cultures and, and mentalities and and moving right when you made friends and leaving again. And so it was pretty rough on me. And, and I felt like I really didn't belong anywhere. So in the end, you know, over time, we reflect on these things and, and realize that, well, that's what really shaped us into who we are. And in a way, if you kind of really look deeper than it had to happen, because your blueprint is kind of wrapped up in that you're what you ultimately wind up giving back and being of service for is your journey and your experiences. And so that's led me to today is just to really look at life as a teacher. And we're all conditioned to be Superman and Superwoman and to have to figure it all out ahead of time, ahead of actually living life. And the planning and the steering and controlling, and that's all crazy making. And to really adopt the mindset of a student. life is your teacher, and it's always reflecting who you are back to you, and there's always a lesson contained in every experience. And that, I find, really takes the pressure off ourselves, and the criticism, and the shoulds, and the coulds, and all that. And we're more in a state of learning, and open-mindedness, and growth, and expansion, without being too hard on ourselves.

Gloria "Grace" Rand:

Yeah, that's the key, isn't it? I've been guilty of beating myself up. In fact, I've been called out on that by a coach in the past. And so it's something to be always to be mindful about. Was there any though particular like, you know, Okay, come to Jesus moment is coming to mind. I don't know where that came from. That was sort of interesting. I don't usually use that phrase, but any sort of one thing that really in particular in your life, I mean, certainly I can understand, you know, moving a lot when you're a kid, but maybe when you were an adult that's kind of said, okay, I don't want to live like that. Or maybe just like, yeah, this is definitely what I want to do.

Chris Cirak:

Yeah. Well, you know, there's a lot of terms in pop culture that kind of point to a lot of the spiritual stuff and the awakening and the awareness of consciousness and all that. Come to Jesus moment is one of those. Midlife crisis is another common concept. I think maybe the difference when it hit me was that I took the time to really retreat and reflect. And I saw a lot of my friends just, for one reason or another, often responsibilities that they couldn't avoid that they had to get up for the next day. And, but I took the time to really let myself feel that which was wanting to, to come out. And that, you know, very quickly turned into a full-blown you know, quote, unquote, awakening and having to kind of rebuild my life from a different perspective through a different lens, or an absence of a lens. And, and so, you know, I see it happen to everyone. I don't think I'm special. It's just how do you respond? And what do you make of that situation? Do you push it back down? Do you numb out and go back to work and try to ignore it? Or do you embrace it? Because It happens naturally. You spend a couple decades at least living for outcomes and goals, chasing your happiness, and you learn along the way. It's like, OK, I achieved this. It was nice for a while, and then it fades again. And that's the nature of life. It's just temporary happiness that we find in those things. And then, and then we eventually we look to the last place we haven't looked, you know, to find that permanent joy, permanent happiness, and that's within. And so that's what I did. And I've been a researcher all my life. And I, you know, work with people and psychology, you know, psychology, tech and, and design, and the intersection of that. And, and I just went to, I just dug in and started researching. And then the more you kind of allow it, the more the, you know, it takes you over and you surrender. It wasn't easy, but you have to surrender to just kind of that greater current. Because the old way of doing it was just, it expired.

Gloria "Grace" Rand:

Yeah, for sure. And I do know the benefit of going within. Is there any particular method that you have found either personally or even in working with your clients that does seem to do the best? Or is it that maybe every, you know, because everyone is, we're all the same and yet we're all unique as well. And so we all come with our own baggage and things like that, that maybe some people need a different type of technique to help them to, you know, get unstuck or something when they face this like, you know, midlife crisis sometimes or what have you, what have you found?

Chris Cirak:

Yeah, you know, I was just recently rereading Many Lives, Many Masters and the Brian Weiss book and how the message from the masters was that all humans are not equal, because we come baked in with different experiences and different skills and lifetimes. And But we wind up equal. So the funny thing is that we all are headed towards that one destination of more unity consciousness. So all our journeys are going to be different. All my clients have vastly different stations that they're at. And it's about tuning in. For myself, one of the funny things is once you kind of let go of what I call the truth structure, this more rigid view on reality, And you start to just see things as they are, and thereby tapping into the infinite potentiality, as D eepak Chopra likes to say. New talents might arise, and new ways of not just navigating, but a new skill set. And it was funny. I discovered that I'm quite adept at energy healing. And that's what I wound up then developing a program around, my inner power program, and helping people release those stuck feelings. It's a somatic approach, and there's many kind of different things out there that one should experiment with and see what resonates, what sticks. It's all about resonance, right? It's like, lean into it, and then your body will tell you that this is a full body yes, full body no, and let that guide you. Again, life is a teacher. There's a built-in GPS. Just follow it. Just listen. Of course, we have cluttered minds and a lot of noise that tends to drown

Discover the transformative magic of light language for World Sound Healing Day! In this heart-opening episode, we dive deep into the powerful world of light language as a sound healing modality. Uncover how harmonious vibrations can not only soothe your soul but also create a symphony of global harmony. Are you ready to experience the healing power of sound and contribute to a more peaceful planet? Tune in now!

Show Notes

"When we hear sounds, it does resonate with us, and we can really tune in to a vibration of love, especially when that sound is infused with that intention, with that intention of love and peace." - Gloria Grace

In today's special episode, we celebrate World Sound Healing Day by sharing the power of sound healing and its impact on our planet and ourselves. You'll learn about the collective energy of sound, prayer, and meditation in fostering peace and unity globally. We also delve into the concept of light language and its healing effects on the soul. Join us in this transformative episode as we immerse ourselves in the healing vibrations of World Sound Healing Day and embrace the intention of raising the collective vibration of our planet.

In this episode, you will learn:

The purpose of World Sound Healing Day

The impact of collective sound, prayer, and meditation on global consciousness and the well-being of the planet

The power of sound and vibration and how it relates to love

Description and benefits of light language as a multidimensional communication

Resources:

Learn more about World Sound Healing Day here

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