Escape Diet Prison by Anne-Sophie Reinhardt

Do I have what it takes? That's a question that's been on my mind for months now and I've struggled with it a lot.

In this episode of Your Life Your Success, I share my doubts openly; my doubts about myself, my work and my relationships.

Do you have self-doubts? Do you struggle?

I think we all do in some way, but I truly believe that if we listened to ourselves, we'd find out what we need to be successful, what we need to feel like we're measuring up and sometimes the answer may surprise you!

If you would like to leave feedback, send it to [email protected] or simply leave a comment in the comment section below.

You can follow me on twitter: @theannesophie

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Have you ever dreamt of leaving everything behind in order to travel the world?

In this episode of Your Life Your Success, I am joined by Natalie Sisson of suitcaseentrepreneur.com. Natalie is one of those women who you can’t but be in awe of. She’s living her dreams to the fullest traveling all over the world while building an awesome business and brand. She’s a whirlwind and a huge inspiration.

Natalie has had a super adventurous life – from cycling through Africa to smashing a World Record for Dragon Boating to being a body sculpting champion and now traveling the world teacher others to run their own online businesses.

Natalie shares where shegets all her energy from, when her love for traveling started, when she got serious about being location independent and how she draws in clients.

We talk about staying productive when you’re traveling like crazy, dealing with being homesick (or not) and lonely, coming up with her brand, the likes and dislikes of the traveling life, her imminent book launch and so much more!

Natalie shares that in order to live a life of freedom, you need to be extremely discipline and how that applies to her life. [Click to Tweet]

We talk about the We Mastermind, which she founded with the beautiful Natalie MacNeil of shetakesontheworld.

The WE Mastermind is a 3 month program designed to ensure women learn the nuts and bolts of setting up an online business, launching lucrative products, developing a million dollar mindset and receiving killer coaching.

This program is delivered online with 12 step by step modules to take you from zero to launch of your own online product or service based around your sweet spot – the intersection between what you already know, what you’re good at and what you love to do. Complete with coaching videos for each module and actionable workbooks, there’s also an interactive forum dedicated to knowledge sharing, your own mastermind group and weekly Q&A coaching calls with Natalie Squared.

So, if you’re searching for an awesome mastermind group, go ahead and watch the videos to see if the Natalies are a good fit for you. (Note: the videos are awesome!!!)

Check them out here.

Natalie recommends Awaken the Giant Within By Antony Robins (Affiliate Link)

You can find her website here: http://suitcaseentrepreneur.com/

Check out her YouTube videos here.

If you would like to leave feedback, send it to [email protected] or simply leave a comment in the comment section below.

You can follow me on twitter: @theannesophie

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Note: My podcasts are now also available on Stitcher!

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Kathryn, is the Founder and CEO of VROU, a Women’s Health Brand that targets major voids within Women’s nutrition and fills them with innovative and specialized products.

In this edition of Your Life Your Success, Kathryn talks about her hopes for her company, what she wants her brand to focus on and where she dreams of going with her first product and beyond. We go deeper into the ins and outs of creating a physical product. Kathryn also shares her experience playing soccer in Iceland.

We touch on the importance of a water for women and why women have different nutritional aspects than men.

Kathryn then shares what’s interesting and surprising about her co-founders, why she decided  to partner with her co-founders and what the inspiration behind the name vrou was.

We talk about going from having an idea to making it a reality, how to deal with self-doubt and how to keep up a self-care routine even in the craziness of building your own company.

Her book recommendation: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

www.VROUwomen.com

Twitter: @vrouwomen

Instagram: @vrouwomen

If you would like to leave feedback, send it to [email protected] or simply leave a comment in the comment section below.

You can follow me on twitter: @theannesophie

Thanks For Subscribing To the Your Life Your Success Podcast:

Note: My podcasts are now also available on Stitcher!

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My Happy, Beautiful You Group Coaching Program is now open for 20 new life-changers. The new round will starton May 27th. It's a 4-week program that'll help you to make radical changes in your daily life.

Maybe you're stressed. Maybe you're in agony. Maybe you feel lackluster. And maybe you feel disconnected from yourself.

Together we'll build a framework that'll help you cope with the world and yourself with more ease and lightness.

This course won't heal your mental illness nor will it make you overcome your body-shame and self-love problems altogether. I'd be lying if I said so. But this course will take you forward and it'll initiate a healing process that you might have been waiting for for too long.

One of my core beliefs is the power of a sisterhood that encourages you, loves you and serves you while you're making radical changes in your life. That's why I'm not going to offer this program as a self-study course anymore and instead will create a community that goes through this process together. I will focus on one, maybe two (but probablty not as there are others things I want to try) rounds a year.

You can read the details here: https://annesophie.us/happybeautifulyou/

Read what Marthe Hagen of thefreedomexperiment.com (incredible blog!) has to say about the program:

"28 Loving reAwakenings is a beautiful and interactive program filled to the brim with wisdom, mindfulness and love. You can tell that Anne-Sophie has lived  - and this course is made for real people with real struggles. I have been inspired and uplifted - and you will too! In addition, I just have to say that I've been blessed with meeting Anne-Sophie in person twice and she is an absolutely adorable person too. I wholeheartedly recommend 28 loving reAwakenings. " 

I am not going to offer a refund for the class as I am convinced that if you apply these prompts you will succeed.

This program is also quite intense, so you've got to be committed if you want to sign up.

Sign up by May 3rd to get the course for $97. 

If you sign up after May 3rd, you'll receive the course for $297 (Payment plans are available if you'd like to pay in smaller chunks.)

I sincerely hope to see you in this round of the course. I know that this course changes lives and I'd be honored to help you create more happiness, peace of mind and a deep acceptance of who you are.

I'm a book worm.

Diving into new worlds, expanding my horizon, hearing about different perspectives and completely new revelations has always been one of the best parts of my life. As a kid, I used to look forward to bedtime to escape reality for a few moments before going back to the daily grind of a student's life. And this love for books has never vanished.

I read everything, from novels to non-fiction, from books about God to cheesy romances because I believe that there's something to be learned in every single book (well, in almost every book...). My book shelves back in Germany are packed and my future dream office will be filled with tons of new and old wisdom in the form of books.

I thought that I'd share my love for books by going back and putting together a list of my top seven books. It wasn't easy, but here they are. Enjoy!

1. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown

Brené Brown is a leading expert on shame, authenticity, and belonging.

She changed my life with her powerful and vulnerable talk at the World Domination Summit last year. I wrote a blog post about it called: https://annesophie.us/brenebrown

This is a very sensitive book about human longings and the quest to live and love fully. I love Brene Brown and I find her approach of creating a whole life with rest and play, authenticity and self-love, boundaries and gratitude not only immeasurably inspiring, but also eye-opening.

In this book, she shares ten guideposts on the power of Wholehearted living—a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness.

In her ten guideposts, Brown engages our minds, hearts, and spirits as she explores how we can cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, "No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough," and to go to bed at night thinking, "Yes, I am sometimes afraid, but I am also brave. And, yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable, but that doesn't change the truth that I am worthy of love and belonging."

1. CultivatingAuthenticity: Letting Go of What People Think

2. Cultivating Self‐Compassion: Letting Go of Perfectionism

3. Cultivating a Resilient Spirit: LettingGo of Numbing and Powerlessness

4. CultivatingGratitude and Joy: Letting Go of Scarcity and Fear of the Dark

5. Cultivating Intuition and Trusting Faith: LettingGo of the Need for Certainty

6. Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison

7. Cultivating Play and Rest: Letting Go of Exhaustion as a  Status Symbol and Productivity as Self‐Worth

8. Cultivating Calm and Stillness: Letting Go of Anxiety as a Lifestyle

9. Cultivating MeaningfulWork: LettingGo of Self‐Doubt and “Supposed To”

10.Cultivating Laughter, Song, andDance: LettingGo of Being Cool and “Always in Control”

You can watch her brilliant TedX talk here.

 2. Desert Flower by Waris Dirie

A story of a true heroine who escaped her nomad life right before an arranged marriage with an older guy and slowly worked her way up to the top of the modeling business. Waris Dirie now speaks up against the female genital mutilation in Somalia. I read this book when I was 11 years old and it opened my eyes for the very first time to the realities of other children’s lives and their destinies. I can honestly say that I’ve never looked at the world the same way again after being drawn into this powerful biography and witnessing the immeasurable strength with which women deal with their fates in other parts of the world.

3. Pack Up the Moon by Anna McPartlin

The best novel I’ve read in my entire life. This novel makes you sit up and think about the fleeting nature of life in a more impacting way than anything else I’ve ever read. This novel captures you from the first word until the last page. It makes you laugh, cry, cheer, grieve and reminisce about your own life. Simply brilliant and good for your soul.

4. Lost and Found by Geneen Roth

Most of you know that gender equality is a topic near and dear to my heart, which is why I'm so excited about today's interview with Katie Rock.

Katie Rock is the founder and CEO of Activyst, a startup that makes women’s athletic bags and funds girls sports programs worldwide. She started her career as a corporate attorney before working with the WHO and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights on legal reforms to promote gender equality in sport. She is now tackling this issue through entrepreneurship.  Follow her on Twitter @HiKatieRock and support her efforts to help more girls play sports here: www.indiegogo.com/activyst.

Check out this quote from Activyst's website:

We’re fired up because girls in much of the world are suffering – pregnancy, abuse, illiteracy, disease, and the list goes on. And studies show that a girl who plays sports is less likely to get pregnant or stay in an abusive relationship. She is more educated, healthier, and happier. [Click to Tweet]

That's pretty amazing, isn't it? I think it is. It's definitely a cause worth putting in the spotlight!

I had tons of fun chatting with Katie and hearing all about her journey from being a lawyer, working in gender equality to being a business owner and on a mission to create gender equality around the globe.

Katie talks about the amazing effects that sports has on women's lives,  We get into the nitty-gritty of building a business and talk about finding the right business partner, having the guts to quit your job and what fears she faced while taking this step.

She talks about her vision for Activyst, why she decided to do an Indiegogo Campaign and what the money is for, how it felt to hit their campaign goal after only 3 days and why they're focusing on project based funding.

Katie shares her secret weapon to keep moving forward in life and business, how to determine priorities and how she masters team work as a perfectionist. We also get into the challenges around the message of girls, sports and self-confidence and how she made sure that her company and her mission wasn't seen as something "cute", ready to be overlooked.

Of course, I couldn't let her go without asking her about her self-care routines and how she made sure to take care of herself during launch week, which must have been crazy!

Resources we mentioned: The Charge by Brandon Burchard (Affiliate Link)

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath (Affiliate Link)

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath (Affiliate Link)

If you would like to leave feedback, send it to [email protected] or simply leave a comment in the comment section below.

You can follow me on twitter: @theannesophie

Thanks For Subscribing To the Your Life Your Success Podcast:

Note: My podcasts are now also available on Stitcher!

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I want to start with a story.

When I was deeply eating disordered, I mean in my darkest phase, I was abusing laxatives.

For those of you who don’t know, abusing laxatives is believed to help you control your weight and counteract any physical effects of binging. However, this is completely untrue. If you take too many of them, they’ll destroy your colon and bowel movement doesn’t work on its own anymore. [Believe me, I know that this is true!]

But I bought into this lie and for years, I was abusing them in numbers that make me want to vomit just thinking about it now.

Since I wasn’t working full-time (I was a kid after all), I didn’t have the money to buy these enormous amounts, but my mom was a pharmacist.

Do you see where this is going?

Well, I was stealing from my mom for years. I was obsessed. I was addicted and I stole over and over and over again.

When I came clean two years ago, admitting to my laxative abuse was one of the most terrifying things I ever had to do. I was ashamed, I was petrified of being judged and I was scared of losing my family.

I hated myself. I had lied to everyone – my therapist, my husband, my mommy, my sister, myself.

Why am I telling you this? Well, two years later, I’ve forgiven myself. I’ve moved on. I’ve let it go.

And I’ve never felt freer.

The same can be true for you too. You can let go of your wrongdoings and you can move on.

Here are 7 steps that guide you along this journey.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean condoning what happened.

Forgiving yourself doesn't mean you’re saying it was right for doing what it is you’ve done. Forgiveness means moving on from that situation and realizing that you can’t do anything about it anymore. Forgiveness means making peace with that situation or your actions. It’s an important act of moving forward and releasing yourself from the past. It’s a way of protecting your health and general well-being, but it's not a justification for the things you've done wrong.

Don’t push your negative emotions - the pain, the anger, the sorrow, the fear - away, but sit with them, soak them in.

Feeling is important – both negative feelings and positive ones. By allowing yourself to feel the negative emotions, you're allowing yourself to start a healing process.

Write a letter of forgiveness to the person you’ve done wrong.

You don’t have to send it. This is for you.

Try to not give a fuck about what others think.

Often times, we hold on to our wrongdoings because we're scared of the reactions of neighbors, family, friends when they see that we've moved on and have made peace with our past selves. But who are they to hold us in a dark place?

Have you forgiven others before?

If you have, dig deep and see what it was that you’ve done to forgive others. Then point these tools in your direction.

See your experience with gratitude.

Maybe something positive has come out of your experience. For me, it was a more open and honest relationship with my mom and with myself. It was a deeper understanding of my values and my strength. What's your light in the darkness? What positive lesson can you draw from your actions?

Stop punishing yourself: you are worth more than that.

We are all human. We are not perfect and we all make mistakes.

Write a letter of forgiveness to yourself. You can start by telling yourself what a fuck-up you are, but in the end, tell yourself over and over again that you forgive yourself.

See forgiveness as a journey, not a destination. It won’t make CLICK and you’ll have forgiven yourself. Sometimes times heals, sometimes distance heals. Find out what it is that heals you, but don’t expect that forgiveness will be here by the end of this day.

Use these seven tools whenever it feels like the beating yourself up part has you in a headlock again.

Remember that self-forgiveness allows you to live in the present instead of the past. It enables you to  move into the future with a renewed sense of purpose! You'll be able to focus on change,

In today's episode of Your Life Your Success, I am joined by Nisha Moodley of fiercefabulousfree.com.

Nisha talks about her quarter-life-crisis and her disenchantment with work and life after a break-up with her boyfriend.

She shares how yoga helped her find a new level of freedom in life and at the same time made her passionate about health, nutrition and environmental sustainability. She talks about her journey of becoming a health coach, moving to NYC and finding balance at the intersection of ambition and ease.

We spend some time talking about emotional eating and how you can break free from it.

Emotional eating means having a distrust of pleasure. [Click to Tweet]

When we struggle with addictions, we feel like our desires are wrong. That's why it's important to amp up the pleasure and enjoyment in life altogether. It's counterintuitive but it is always a a lack of pleasure that gets you into trouble. Finding enjoyment in mundane experiences is super important. Another thing to remember is to slow down: savor life and food. Chew more and really taste what you’re eating. Eat without distraction and make sure you tune in to the power of sisterhood.

We then talk about finding balance in life. Nisha thinks balance is dynamic and is about living while being alive. Balance always has a context. Her context is: We’re all gonna die one day and we don’t get to choose when. That's why she makes sure she spends a lot of time with her girlfriends and feeds her body beautiful food.

She writes so beautifully because she asks herself what’s true for herself and also relevant for her readers.

She also shares how self-doubt influences her work, what her best moment in life was and  why she’s always in open dialogue with herself.

Her book recommendations:

The Slow Down Diet: Eating for Pleasure, Energy, and Weight Loss (Affiliate Link)

Jitterbug Perfume (Affiliate Link)

Nisha Moodley is a former foodaholic, shopaholic and workaholic, turned freedom junkie, who broke free from addiction and is on a mission to champion women's freedom.  She is the founder of FIERCE FABULOUS FREE, where she takes women on incredible adventures worldwide to create a clear vision for their future, and design their lives and work to align with that vision. Download her free Take Flight Action Guide at http://fiercefabulousfree.com.

URL/Facebook/Twitter:

http://FIERCEFABULOUSFREE.com

http://twitter.com/AskNisha

http://facebook.com/nisha.moodley

If you would like to leave feedback, send it to [email protected] or simply leave a comment in the comment section below.

You can follow me on twitter: @theannesophie

Thanks For Subscribing To the Your Life Your Success Podcast:

Note: My podcasts are now also available on Stitcher!

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How do you feel about a little inspiration and positivity for your week?

Or even your life?

I think that we are so prone to seeing the negative, talking about the what's wrong and thinking about our problems that we forget how amazing life is and what a gift it is to have this day, to be alive.

I realize that we all have problems - big ones and small ones - but this doesn't mean that we can't have fun too.

In this episode of Your Life Your Success, I share ten simple, yet effective and powerful mind shifts that'll infuse a bit of positivity into your every day and into your every thought; well, at almost.

Ready?

1. Say thank you instead of f**k you!

This may just be a little problem I have, but I've started to automatically curse whenever I face a problem, feel frustrated or judged. Not only is this not the person I want to be, but it also accumulates the negative and aggression that is all around. So, exchange that f**k you with a thank you and see for yourself that every problem is a challenge that can and will make you a better person - if you choose to see it in that light.

2. Your body is the vehicle to your dreams.

This statement was a major shift for me in my recovery from anorexia. I can't follow my dreams, can't change the world if I continue to abuse my body and neither can you. So, whenever you go on your next diet, starve yourself or abuse your body with hurtful thoughts, remind yourself that you're building a huge roadblock on your way to your dreams.

3. Go from a statement that’s matter of fact to a how or why question.

"I'm not good enough." "Who am I?" "I can't figure this out." "I'll never find my dream job."

Know those thoughts?

If you do, try to rephrase them into questions and add some curious contemplation to your life.

"Why do I believe I'm not good enough?" "How can I change that belief?"

"Why do I feel like I don't know myself?" "How can I change that feeling and get to know who I am?"

This will not only lead to more happiness, but it'll help you to grow and get out of that vicious cycle of destructive and belittling thinking and living.

4. Now is all I have!

We are not promised a future, we are not entitled to a tomorrow. Now is all we have. So, let's make the best out of this moment and our lives will transform almost magically.

5. No matter what I’m struggling with, I’m not alone.

So often we feel like we're the only person in the world struggling with a certain problem, but I've come to learn that we're never - never ever - alone. There's always someone going through the same. All we have to do is reach out and connect.

6. I can't believe that I…

Beating yourself up again?

How about you stop yourself and instead tell yourself how proud you are for doing X,Y and Z. There's so much you can be proud of: you learned how to walk, talk, made it through childhood and your teenage years (and let's face it, those years suck), learned how to cook, drive a car, read or use Twitter. Make a list of your accomplishments and celebrate them.

7. Vive la difference.

This one will kick Miss Comparison in the butt.

How boring would this world be if we were all the same? How bland would life be if we hung out with clones of ourselves? It would suck. So, celebrate all the different shapes, languages, world views and ways of living and be proud that you're a citizen of such an awesome planet.

8. If not me, who?

Are you holding yourself back from publishing your novel? Are you chickening out and always say no to big opportunities? Are you afraid to own up to all you've got?

Stop it and finally admit that if you won't share this one special thing, nobody will. If you don't share your voice, nobody will. If you don't share yourself, nobody will.

And we want to hear, see and experience you! Yes, we do.

9. I belong.

I never felt like I belonged - not in my family, not in school, not in college. I was the odd one out, felt insecure and hid behind my books, music or podcasts.

Yet,

*Today, you can win 5 copies of the book "Stand Tall & Speak From The Heart". All you have to do is leave a comment below!

In this episode of Your Life Your Success, I am joined by Arianna Merritt, the founder of Arianna’s Random Thoughts. The focus of her work is centered around issues of: perseverance, mentoring, self-worth, body-image, and personal development.

Arianna empowers individuals to reach their full potential through finding their voices and sharing their stories.

We talk about how a realization on the beach in Hawai'i changed her life forever.

Arianna shares why she took a leap of faith and started her own coaching business and how how the beginning months of being her own boss have felt.

She talks about overcoming the fear of reaching out and asking for help, bullying and where she wants to take her coaching business.

We dig deep into the definition of success and why success has nothing to do with achieving something or attaining something, but everything with going after your dream and trusting yourself.

We also randomly talk about the depth of the ocean, why laughter is so important in life and why everyday is an "I'm a Star Today" Day for Arianna.

Her book recommendation for you: The monk who sold his Ferrari (Affiliate link)

You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter or on her website.

If you would like to leave feedback, send it to [email protected] or simply leave a comment in the comment section below.

You can follow me on twitter: @theannesophie

Thanks For Subscribing To the Your Life Your Success Podcast:

Note: My podcasts are now also available on Stitcher!

If you like this podcast, why not share it with others?

In this episode of Your Life Your Success, I talk about the mysterious concept of living a balanced life.

Can you really have balanced or will you forever try and fail to juggle family, friends, work, hobbies, passion, self-care, fitness and everything in between?

I've always been fascinated with finding balance: balance in my diet, balance in my body and - most important of all - balance in my mind. But as of today, I have not find that one moment, that one place of true balance.

It seems like there's always one area in our lives where we fall short and we are often burdened with a bad conscience and the feeling of "never being good enough".

 

That's why I share a few tips with you on how you can zone in to your priorities in life and how you can find balance by staying aligned with your core values and priorities.

Finding balance is not easy as your priorities will change over time and with the many different seasons of life, but it's also not impossible, or is it?

Find out in today's episode.

If you would like to leave feedback, send it to [email protected] or simply leave a comment in the comment section below.

You can follow me on twitter: @theannesophie

Thanks For Subscribing To the Your Life Your Success Podcast:

Note: My podcasts are now also available on Stitcher!

If you like this podcast, why not share it with others?

Your turn: what are your thoughts on finding balance in life. Does balance exist or will there always be an area or two that doesn't get the attention it deserves?

Have you had to make some hard and gut-wrenching decisions in order to find true balance or does the state of balance come super easy to you?

Share your thoughts with us in the comment section!