Hail the Queen

By Rayna Spasova - van AalstEducation Self-Improvement

Hail the Queen episodes

February 25, 2023015 Marja Godvliet - Creating space to be ourselves
Marja Godvliet works with conscious entrepreneurs to help them build a dedicated tribe online. She is on a mission to support businesses for good to manifest their holistic vision and multiply their impact. With her company Marjoy she has chaptered the vision of more than hundred coaches, systemic workers, therapists and consultants in video portraits.
Marja coaches her clients to channel their truth and wisdom through video. She believes video is a very powerful and essential tool to quickly draw in what we desire. When heart-driven entrepreneurs amplify their powerful frequency with video they are embodying the change they wish to see.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS MARJA SHARED DURING OUR CONVERSATION:
“If I need to perform in someone else’s way, they don’t get to see the best of me. What’s the point of me being there?”

“Often we think we need to be like the person we have in front of us. But what we’re really looking for is somebody to compliment us so we can be stronger together.”

“We live in a very patriarchal society and to make a place where as a woman you feel comfortable, or as any gender or sexual orientation, you have to make your own rules, and make space for yourself.”

“What drives me is connection - connection with another human being, and connection with myself.”

“Trust is a key element to build relationships, in life but also in business.”

“A lot in our society is about getting to the end results, sending out messages. It’s quite one-dimensional. I, as a woman, but also the feminine energy really wants to connect. Once we connect we feel much more at peace, with our surroundings but also we’re tuned in to ourselves.”

“What’s really important is whether you’re truly present with who you are because then you give the other person permission to be who they are. That’s the biggest gift you can give someone.”

“The more we are connected and tuned in with ourselves, the better we can listen to what [the voice inside] is saying. And that’s the best advice, you can listen to.”

“Take your message and intuition very seriously, and yourself a little bit less.”

And much more.
53 min
February 02, 2023#014 Magda Haver - Learning to trust
Magda Haver is a certified life and spiritual coach who bridges spirituality with practical life. Born and raised in Poland, Magda traveled the world and, following her heart and intuition, found teachers and mentors to help guide her experiential learning and inner transformation. Her passion for psychedelics has opened gates to more understanding, love, and compassion. Magda works with individuals and groups privately and at retreat centres helping others to connect with their authentic selves and cultivate trust as guidance toward their inner knowing.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS MAGDA SHARED DURING OUR CONVERSATION:
“Spirituality is about getting to connect to our inner knowing, to who we are.

“Once you want to know yourself, you get to understand yourself better, you can love yourself more. Self-lofe leads to self-acceptance.”

“Ego is our best friend and worst enemy.

“To trust is easier than not to trust.”

“To trust is to let go. You’re already in the process so let go and see what happens.”

“I don’t think there’s something like finding your life’s purpose because it’s ever-evolving. You can definitely take a path, and if it’s aligned with your values, […], it will take you in a direction to something you call purpose.”

“Purpose is growth. We’re here to learn and to evolve.”

“Intention is like creating, a wish, a conscious choice.”

And so much more.
41 min
October 14, 2022#013 Milla Kuhto - On big transformations and evolving
Ljudmilla “Milla” Kuhto is a photographer, videographer and storyteller. For Milla photography is the light, details, and wholeness in one click that live forever. It's about loving everything about us that we already love and silently hate. It's about being present in the dark and light without any doubt in our precious uniqueness and inner shine. Some of the people Milla has worked with are Tony Robbins, Gary Vee, Robert and Kim Kiyosaki.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS MILLA SHARED DURING OUR CONVERSATION:
“Fear and faith are both imaginary. We learn that ‘this’ is scary. We need to remind ourselves that we are the ones who are grown-ups now. We are not kids anymore, and there will be no dragons."

“I know you have to dream big but sometimes you don’t even know what that dream is, so you just have to know the next step.”

“What comes out of a giving state is that an opportunity presents to give more.”

“When you start you have to dare to suck.”

“God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”

“We are always evolving, transformations never stop.”

“Take your time during your transformations because it will not be a day or two but it will certainly be worth it.”

“I started believing that when I don’t know what will happen, it will be something good.”

And so much more.
53 min
April 15, 2022#012 Megan deBoer - Healing our relationship with money
Megan deBoer is the founder of Tended Wealth, a business that helps individuals heal their emotional and practical relationship to money. As a certified Financial Recovery Counselor, her approach considers the context of our current financial circumstance: our lived experience, our family of origin, and the broad culture that together shape our beliefs about money. Megan is passionate about transforming this fundamental part of our lives from shame and overwhelm to a sense of agency, clarity, and potential. She specializes in helping those who are selfemployed to radically increase their earning. Her course participants and 1:1 clients regularly attest to the life-changing power of this work.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE POINTS MEGAN SHARED DURING OUR CONVERSATION:
“When we own our own business, and when we are responsible for earning our income, it’s very different from receiving a paycheck. It can be confronting."

“There’s so much behind closed doors, so much that is secret, and shameful, about that part of a business owner’s life not being neat, and tidy, and all buttoned-up. Then there’s this front-facing, how you’re presenting yourself as a business owner, as successful. And there can be this shadow side that’s filled with a lot of shame. […] that piece is often holding people back.”

“Shame is how we are perceived and judged. It’s always coming from the external. We feel it internally but it’s because we are perceived by someone else. It’s the exposure.”

“When we think of the term underearning, we think of low earning, while it can span a pretty wide range of earning. […] the common denominator is not honoring our own needs, and our own worth.”

“I started reframing underearning as underreceiving. It isn’t limited to just money. It spans a much wider spectrum - receiving support, giving yourself time off, allowing yourself to enjoy the money that you do have.”

“Coming into relationship with money is the path to coming into relationship with wealth.”

“In the US, and most Western countries, we have a deep conflict - an obsession and disgust with money. Those are two sides of a very extreme spectrum. A harmonious relationship with money is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.”

“The language around abundance, attracting abundance, speaking to that side is so beautiful in one sense, but it has a shadow to it. Sometimes, it’s an aspiration to have an abundant life before there was resolution with the actual money piece.”

“There is abundance around us but how much do we really need?”

And so much more.
For links to the books which Megan mentioned click here.
HOW TO CONNECT WITH MEGAN
Megan’s website
Megan on Instagram
xo Rayna
P.S. Do you want to receive each new episode and the behind-the-scenes article accompanying it straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Hail the Queen newsletter.
57 min
March 28, 2022#011 Joanna Polak-Goodman - How to get people to listen to you through your personal brand
Joanna Polak-Goodman is an international corporate image consultant and personal brand expert. Through her company ImageTALKS, Joanna helps professionals achieve their best marketable selves. Joanna's passion is to transform the lives of other professionals. She has worked with a number of global brands delivering talks, workshops and consultations to professional groups and individual executives, helping them achieve effective gravitas, congruence and a polished presence.
As Joanna says, “Once you truly understand your personal impact, and you are confident how to portray the best version of yourself, then the world is truly your oyster!”
HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS JOANNA SHARED DURING OUR CONVERSATION:
The thing about executive presence is that people can easily identify it but find it much harder to articulate.

A personal brand is the feeling that you elicit in others that describes what it’s like to have a relationship with you.

If you get personal branding right, it can unlock your career success. You’re seen as the go-to person in your company or department. it means you get invited to things like speaking engagements and it’s easier to negotiate your pay rises.

If you don’t manage your brand strategically, it will manage you.

Your personal brand and executive presence is being able to portray on the outside what’s on the inside.

One of the misconceptions about executive presence is that you’re born with it. What looks effortlessly takes an awful lot of practice. To look effortlessly takes effort.

Whatever your personality type, there are going to be parts about executive presence that come more naturally to you and parts that you have to work on.

It isn’t the people that are working the hardest, or the longest hours, or the smartest that are getting more senior jobs. It’s the people who are going to those networking events. It’s the people telling other people what they have done. It’s the people that got the most influence and persuasion.

Your personal brand and your personal impact can make your career, but it can also break it your career.

And so much more.
For links to the books which Joanna mentioned click here.
HOW TO CONNECT WITH JOANNA
Joanna’s website
Joanna on LinkedIn
xo Rayna
P.S. Do you want to receive each new episode and the behind-the-scenes article accompanying it straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Hail the Queen newsletter.
55 min
March 17, 2022#010 Marianne Oude Nijhuis - We need to be good listeners
Marianne Oude Nijhuis is a child and youth psychologist by education, and a mentor for visionary professional and creative entrepreneurs by calling. She is a writer and a mother of two children. She loves being outside and she swims in the North Sea (!) weekly all year round.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS MARIANNE SHARED DURING OUR CONVERSATION:
“Sovereignty is a soul quality. It’s within you, it’s within me.”

“In motherhood, it’s important to develop a lot of soul qualities to be the mother you want to be, to give our children the support they need so they can grow up as their sovereign self. We have to give [our children] love, safety, protection and also honor their sovereign so they can be themselves.”

“I discovered that everything in creating a business - creating your project, creating your art, your writing, it’s all a relationship. Your business has its own soul so you can be in a relationship with your business.”

“We are nature. And we are part of the ecology we live in.”

“I don’t believe we need to punish our children. we have to be good listeners to our children, to our body, to our soul.”

“I want to work from my overflow. […] I don’t want to give everything to everyone.”

“We don’t have to do it all ourselves. Support is really important to do our work. And our work is not only the productivity but also be outside, be at the seaside. That’s also my work because when I’m there all these ideas are coming to me and I give that in my work with my clients, in my writing.”

“I call this radical self-care. And I call it radical because we are not used to it. We are used to running and running, productivity, and being there for whatever. But it’s so exhausting. We have to change this as mothers, for our daughters. It’s not sustainable. We cannot do this anymore.”

“Really listen to your body. What does your body need? What is your body feeling? What are your thoughts? And make that a daily practice.”

“You have 5 minutes to take care of yourself. You have two hours to go outside. But you have to put it in your agenda. And it is part of taking care of others.”

“Carve out the time for self-care because we have the time.”

“Take care of your relationship with your inner selves. And if you’re a parent, take care of your relationship with your child.”

And so much more.
For links to my behind-the-scenes article about this Hail the Queen episode called “Our Relationship With Time" or to the books Marianne mentioned, click here.
HOW TO CONNECT WITH MARIANNE
Marianne’s website
Marianne on Instagram
xo Rayna
P.S. Do you want to receive each new episode and the behind-the-scenes article accompanying it straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Hail the Queen newsletter.
44 min
December 20, 2021#009 Wonderlusting Lynda - I am responsible for my own happiness
Lynda D’Aboh, aka Wonderlusting Lynda, is a trained journalist, tourism marketing expert, and joy-seeking missile filled with wanderlust and boundless curiosity. Established in 2011, Wonderlusting is an award-winning, green beauty and lifestyle blog focusing on the interesting, innovative, and inspiring.
My conversation with Lynda is centered around that talent of hers to enjoy life fueled by her curiosity, the desire to be true to herself, and not caring what other people think of her.
Here are some of the things Lynda shared during our conversation:
“I need to try something at least once. If I don’t like it, fine. But I must discover something amazing.”
“Knowledge is power and you can make better decisions about how you live your life when you know the truth.”
“Curiosity is the path that leads to joy.”
“I have been very aware that I am responsible for my own happiness.”
“It’s partly seeing other people deter their dreams and become martyrs. I knew that’s something I didn’t want to do. If the downside o that is being considered selfish, I was fine with it.”
“Being able to live my life the way I choose was more important to me. So yes, that’s selfish. But not to the detriment of other people.”
“I’m aware that other people probably see some of my choices as selfish because I’ve chosen to do what makes me happy rather than what makes family, culture, or society happy.”
“I don’t expect perfection in anything, or any field because that’s just failure waiting to happen. Nobody is perfect. Nothing is perfect.”
“I feel we have stress quotas. I’m not going to waste mine on things that to me are just a waste of energy.”
“I can’t say I don’t care about what other people think about me. I’m not a sociopath. […] It used to be very high on the scale, now it’s very low.”
“Pleasing others is something hard not to do because when you do it, you get so much praise for it. But if it’s not what you want to do, then you pay the inner price for that.”
Tapping into being wowed by the world.
And so much more.
Read my behind-the-scenes article about my interview with Lynda - What if being high on life was one of my top priorities?
BOOK: Lynda is currently reading essays by James Baldwin.
How to connect with Lynda
Lynda’s website
Lynda on Instagram
You can listen to my interview with Lynda on Spotify, iTunes, or your favorite podcast provider.
Enjoy listening.
xo Rayna
P.S. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
42 min
November 17, 2021#008 Adélie Williams - There‘s a link between everything
Adélie Williams is the founder, owner and jewel designer at Authentique Alchimie. Originally wearing the “author” hat, she recently took on the one of jewel designer. Adélie and her business endeavors aim at providing a peaceful haven in the midst of saturation.
Here are some of the things Adélie shared during our conversation:
“Can you be creative when there’s fear in you?”
“When I am scared I see it as a road sign that there’s something that could be birth out of this fear. I transform darkness into light.”
“Being fearless is not too healthy. It’s OK to feel the fear, acknowledge it but don’t give it too much credit.”
“Sometimes when I’m afraid, I just let it be. I accept the fear as wisdom, or a wise teacher. when you feel the fear it’s an indication, it triggers something. It’s an opportunity to get to know yourself better and deeper. Once you know yourself really well, people don’t have that much power over you. […] Fear is the tool to get there.”
“Faith is being strongly confident in the fact that you’re not alone.”
“Seeing the link between things helps you feel less alone. […] I can see which events landed me here, which events helped me become who I am now.”
“Poetry is like a tool for happiness.”
“My take on poetry is more sweet, and light, like a guardian angel. […] My poetry lifts you up.”
“Poetry is linked to what you receive. But you receive what you allow yourself to give as well.”
“Poetry is seeing what has been given to you instead of what’s been taken away.”
And so much more.
Read my behind-the-scenes article about my interview with Adélie - I'm not afraid. Are you?!
How to connect with Adélie
Adélie’s website
Adélie on Instagram
Authentique Alchimie’s website (Adélie’s jewelry line)
Authentique Alchimie on Instagram
You can listen to my interview with Adélie on Spotify, iTunes, or your favorite podcast provider.
Enjoy listening.
xo Rayna
P.S. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
P.P.S. Sign up for my newsletter, aka Sunday Letters, to receive a message from me when there’s a new Hail the Queen episode, as well as my behind-the-scenes insights.
1 hr 1 min
October 14, 2021#007 Rebecca Cahoon - Femininity is acknowledging my soul
Rebecca Cahoon is the feminine, flowing half of the power duo behind Creating Spectacular. Rebecca is highly acclaimed in the field of Marriage Relationships and Women’s Personal Development. She is an author, businesswoman, and exclusive coach. She is a Master Certified Neurostrategist with over a decade of working with women to help them create the lives that they desire. Rebecca’s extensive expertise in marriage relationships, women’s confidence/identity, and personal development have helped women all over the world overcome various struggles to find true joy, beauty, magic, passion, purpose, and fulfillment in their lives.
Since it was Rebecca and Alonzo who introduced me to the concept of femininity in an authentic way, I reached out to Rebecca to be a guest on the Hail the Queen podcast so we can talk about this fascinating, often misunderstood, topic of femininity.
Here are some of the things Rebecca shared during our conversation:
“The mindset that women need to be independent, and never rely on a man, didn’t help my relationship”
“We are not waiting for what we want, we are creating it”
“You don’t have to be this disciplined go-getter. You can enjoy life. And you can accomplish so much”
“We live in a society where we can survive on our own. Is it the quality of life any one of us is looking for? No.”
“When we get to the edge of everything we know, that’s where it gets exciting. That’s where the next level is.”
“Feminity is giving a gift to the world.”
And so much more.
How to connect with Rebecca
Creating Spectacular’s website
Saturday group coaching call by Creating Spectacular (donation-based) - 9AM Mountain Standard Time (that’s 17:00 CEST)
You can listen to my interview with Rebecca on Spotify, iTunes, or your favorite podcast provider.
Enjoy listening.
xo Rayna
P.S. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.
P.P.S. Sign up for my newsletter, aka Sunday Letters, to receive a message from me when there’s a new Hail the Queen episode, as well as my behind-the-scenes insights.
43 min
July 28, 2021#006 Annie Tevelin - Storytelling vs Selling
Annie Tevelin is the founder of SkinOwl. It was Annie’s journey as a skincare consumer and struggle with cystic acne that led her to take things into her own hands. She enrolled in a post-graduate program at UCLA & received a certificate in Cosmetic Chemistry. From there SkinOwl was born, a skincare company that allowed men and women to feel as good as they looked.
I reached out to Annie to talk about her fascinating entrepreneurial journey.
In this episode, Annie and I talk about:
Storytelling vs selling in business;
taking risks and stepping so far outside your comfort zone you can’t even see it;
success as something that pulls me towards the things I value;
the difference between an entrepreneur and business owner;
being fearless;
saying no to the pigeonhole mindset;
and so much more.
Here you can find a list of books I recommend to help you hone some of the skills Annie and I talk about.
SkinOwl's website
Visit SkinOwl at their store in Boise, Idaho
Listen to Annie’s podcast “Off the Record”
Off the Record on Instagram
Find SkinOwl on Instagram
You can listen to my interview with Annie on Spotify, iTunes, or your favorite podcast provider.
Enjoy listening.
xo Rayna
P.S. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
P.P.S. Sign up for my newsletter, aka Sunday Letters, to receive a message from me when there’s a new Hail the Queen episode, as well as my behind-the-scenes insights.
49 min