Plan Simple with Mia Moran

“The dream work is helping to clear energetic resistance.”

–Amy Pearson

Do you remember your dreams? We’re talking about how to remember them and what to do with them.  Amy Pearson, a master coach and dream analyst, shows us how dreams can help clear resistance and help us move forward.

Sometimes we have to stop doing the obvious step to get ahead and try tapping into modalities that unlock more, like dream work. What happens to your goals when you really start to look at your dreams? What happens when you slow down and find ways to hear your intuition?

It can be helpful to get support in analyzing or understanding your dreams, but Amy talks about ways you can get at meaning from your dreams on your own, too.

We talk about: 

• why dream work is so important
• how to actually remember your dreams
• how to make meaning of dreams on your own
• incubating dreams to help answer questions
• what things can affect our dreams and our ability to connect with them
• using dreamwork to heal imbalances between masculine and feminine energy

ABOUT AMY

Amy Pearson, founder of Being Amy, is a master coach, writer, dream analyst, speaker and instructor who strives to make the world a better place by telling the truth … in public. No apologies. Her coaching approach is irreverent, incisive, and deeply compassionate. She calls upon an eclectic mix of modalities, including The Work, metaphors to invoke waking dreams, dream analysis, Internal Family Systems and self-compassion. Amy is currently finishing up her first book, a work of creative nonfiction called Forgiving Amy. She lives in Ashland, Oregon, with her husband, three children, one dog, two cats, five chickens, and four koi.

LINKS

• https://dreamalchemywithamy.com/
• BeingAmyTheBlog.com
• @beingamytheblog 
• https://www.facebook.com/beingamytheblog

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Change comes from action. Sometimes the action we need to take isn’t obvious. Sometimes it’s a way to step more into our intuition.

Doable changes are things that you can add into your life, one at a time to make micro shifts and really create a ripple effect that will create a big change over time. Choose one that really piques your interest and roll with it. 

Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• WAKE UP EARLY TO REMEMBER DREAMS. Try waking up 1.5–2 hours before you usually do to start to capture your dreams. This might look like setting an intention to remember your dream and rise earlier. It might be being more aware when you wake to use the bathroom. In any case, write down whatever you do remember, even if it isn’t much. Try voice recording on your phone or keeping a notebook by your bed or in the bathroom. 
• INCUBATE ANSWERS. Before bed, write a question you are seeking an answer to. Ask your dreams to help you answer it. This helps set the tone for what you want your dreams to bring up.
• WORK WITH YOUR DREAMS. You don’t have to be a walking dream dictionary to find meaning in your dreams. Start by noticing how you feel when you wake from a dream. What do you notice? What is getting your attention? What associations do you have from your current or past life? Taking time to work through these questions and noticings can help you find meaning from your dream.

“You get to be who you are. I get to be who I am. And I can trust that in myself and know that there are a million ways to do it because there are a million different ways that we're all designed.”

–Jackie Johnstone

Skeptical of Human Design? Think it’s too woo? Certified Human Design for Business Consultant, Jackie Johnstone was too, even now, she says it could all be bullshit — but it can be useful too. If you’re looking for decision making to feel easier, to get out of your own way, check out Human Design.

When you first look at your chart, there are all these numbers and lines and shapes and colors. You want to know what they mean? And there’s more information on the side. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or get lost down a rabbit hole. We’re here to talk about how to make it something that actually helps you.

Jackie describes Human Design like an onion — you can learn and take it layer by layer. And start to implement it.

We talk about: 

• How understanding Human Design can help teams work better together
• Our bodies holding wisdom to help guide us to the right decision
• The different ways we feel or sense what we want
• Experimenting with decision making
• Different variables that can affect how you “trust yourself”
• Using Human Design in marketing and business decisions

ABOUT JACKIE

Jackie is a certified Human Design for Business Consultant, Subconscious Transformation Coach and Breathwork Facilitator (and classic Manifesting Generator who can't pick just one!). She helps passionate business owners get their message out into the world in a way that's satisfying and successful -- and works with their unique energetic blueprint. Jackie is a recovering overthinker who is constantly blown away by the wisdom in our bodies. She describes herself as a weirdo at the intersection of "woo" and science. Of magic and practicality. Of intuition and strategy. (And loving every minute of it.⁠)

LINKS

• https://www.jackiejohnstone.ca/
• https://www.instagram.com/jackiejohnstone/
• A Plain English introduction to your Human Design: https://www.jackiejohnstone.ca/decode
• Human Design 101 with Megan Seamans

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action — instead of getting lost down the rabbit hole of research or learning. Change comes from action. 

Doable changes are things that you can add into your life, one at a time to make micro shifts and really create a ripple effect that will create a big change over time. Choose one that really piques your interest and roll with it. 

Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• START WITH YOUR CHART. Start by getting your chart. It may look overwhelming, but you don’t have to figure it all out at once. Pick one layer of the onion to start with, maybe your type, maybe your authority. And remember, you can focus on you — you don’t have to learn all the types or all the kinds of authority.
• EXPERIMENT WITH DECISION MAKING. Once you know a little about your Authority, or the way you make decisions, experiment with it. Notice when you rely on logic instead of how you feel. Notice what happens when you approach decisions in different ways.
• START WITH HOW YOU FEEL. In the FLOW system, we start with how we want to feel. We get centered so we can make decisions from a place of groundedness and starting with our inner self. Where you feel things and how might vary based on the particulars of your Human Design, but start by noticing how you feel in your body.

“What if you honored your flow, you honored what felt good and it unfolded better than you even imagined.”

–Megan Seamans

Need more ease? Human design shows you how your energy is designed to move with the most amount of ease. I’m so excited to talk to Life & Energy Coach Megan Seamans about Human Design and how you can use it to be the must “you” version of you.

We start with the basics: the five Human Design types. Projectors are guides. Generators are doers. Manifesting generators are multi-passionate movers. Manifestors are bold disruptors. Megan gives examples of what all that looks like. Your type is one of the first things you look at when you have your chart done. (See link for how to get that done.)

Beyond your type your chart shows you how you are designed to make decisions, where your opportunities come from, your strengths, and how your energy moves through your body — and more.

We talk about: 

• How you make decisions and listening to your inner voice
• Getting your chart done and where to start with it
• Noticing what’s worked for you in the past
• Getting back into alignment when you feel stuck
• Recognizing old stories about who we are and adapting to a new way of understanding
• Understanding relationship dynamics through Human Design

ABOUT MEGAN

Megan Seamans is a certified Life & Energy Coach who helps big hearted humans create success without the stress of comfort zones, people pleasing, or burnout getting in the way. She teaches clients how to integrate their Human Design so they can balance out into life on purpose.

After helping hundreds of humans around the globe, Megan’s been named the Clarity Queen as her coaching helps crystallize their vision into reality, with no overwhelm required. Centered on ease, she loves holding space for clients to get unstuck and finally live their extraordinary stories.

LINKS

• https://www.meganseamans.com/purposebydesign
• https://www.meganseamans.com/hd-chart/
• https://www.instagram.com/meganseamans/
• https://www.facebook.com/MeganSeamansCoaching/ 

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Change comes from action. 

Sometimes action gets a bad rap. You can be kind to yourself. You can practice being AND doing, but for change to happen you have to take steps. The way we take care of ourselves is making the steps doable and focusing on one thing at a time. We take time to integrate the change and then move on to the next one. Pick a Doable Change that resonates with you the most to start from. 

Here are three Doable changes that we chose from this conversation.

• GET YOUR HUMAN DESIGN CHART. The first step is to get your chart done. You can do this online. Identify your type, your authority, your profile and your channels. You don’t have to know what it all means, but start with knowing these pieces about yourself.
• EXPLORE ONE PART OF YOUR CHART. You don’t have to learn it all at once. You could read more about your type or your authority. Order a book, search online, or schedule a call with a Human Design specialist. Remember, your goal is to learn more about yourself — not get all the details of Human Design firm in your head.
• HOW CAN I LEAN INTO WHO I AM. If you re getting stuck, notice if there is something from your chart that you should lean into — a strength or a better way of decision making. What happens if you let go of old stories about what you should do and choose the path of more ease? Experiment.

My wish for you is that you find pockets of real deep rest and restoration and relaxation and growth this summer. It's what I'm doing too! On this episode I talk through some powerful things to get curious about — your future self bucket list, you "now" natural rhythms, using oracle cards, journaling (through art or writing or both). Listen in, and don't forget to download the activity guide at https://plansimple.com/summer.

“You are going to be out of your comfort zone, so just embrace it.”

–Leslie Danford

Don’t see the product you want on the shelf? What if you create it? That’s what Leslie Danford did. She’s a nutrition junkie with a corporate background in beverages and consumer products. In 2020, when her job disappeared, she started fiddling and founded Vitaminis.

One of the first things Leslie did was hire a babysitter. With four kids at home, she needed the dedicated time to do the work of starting and running the company. That gave her time to do interviews and play with ideas before investing more in a beverage formulator.

Her initial product idea had to do with gut health, but she was launching during covid and what everyone wanted was something for immune health, so she started there. Her interviews — market research — helped her find the right product to lead with.

We talk about: 

• how she moved in and out of corporate while she launched her business
• mixing her passion for clean food with her professional experience
• knowing when to call in help and how she found it
• some of her yummy, healthy product options
• shifting from an online presence to retail sales and what that entails
• the growth outlook for her business

ABOUT LESLIE

Leslie Danford, founder and CEO of Vitaminis, a clean-label functional food and beverage brand. She has always been passionate about nutrition, but she is not a foodie. For her, it's like a math equation, and it's important to cover all of your nutritional bases. In 2020 she combined her personal interests with her formal business training to launch Vitaminis. Previously she worked in beverages and consumer products at large corporations. She earned her MBA from Harvard University and her BA from the University of Chicago.

LINKS

• https://vitaminisbrand.com/
• Instagram @vitaminisbrand 
• LinkedIn Leslie Danford

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is where change happens.

Even though we want big change, it’s really little things done over and over that make the difference. So pick a doable thing. Put it in your calendar. Weave it through your days for a week and then move on to the next one. It will have a snowball effect.

Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• GET CHILDCARE. If you have young kids at home, childcare, even a few hours a week, makes a difference in your business and even your selfcare. See what happens when you invest in a few hours (or more) for yourself.
• DO MARKET RESEARCH. Set up conversations with people you know or friends of friends or people in groups you are in who are potential customers. Ask them questions to help them see which of your ideas have legs. It may not be what you think, but when you respond to a real need, you have a stronger start.
• TAKE THE NEXT STEP. Sometimes things don’t work out. Instead of quitting, try taking a break. See if you get a new perspective. Take the next step, even if you are discouraged or not motivated. The next step, even if you aren’t sure about it, may move you in the right direction or help you see what you should do next.

I used to find that I would have a strong idea of what summer “should” feel like. Then there was the reality of juggling work, family and summer. This summer the I decided to think about it differently. This episode is a piece of that.

“People need tools to help them put together a plan to care for their loved one. They also need to get really good at asking for help.”

–Sammie Stephens

We’re not prepared to become the family caregiver for our parents. Yet so many of us are thrust into that role. How can we be more prepared? How do we handle this challenge?

Sammie Stephens, an adult-geriatric nurse practitioner, who works with caretakers and has experienced that role herself, says it starts with conversations we aren’t good at having. Often these happen as a result of an event, like someone breaking a hip.

Caretakers need to set boundaries around their time and what they can do, especially because they are often juggle so many other things, including children, businesses and more. But often, what they need first, is a plan. Sammie helps us navigate both in this conversation.

We talk about: 

• what you need to have in place legally to be able to get medical information to advocate for your loved one
• using tools like CaringBridge to communicate what is going on and how people can help
• taking care of your own health/body and using available resources so that the burden is not all on you
• planning and budgeting for the cost of care
• advance care planning and understanding what your loved one wants
• setting boundaries, assessing needs, and building in self-care

ABOUT SAMMIE

Sammie Stephens is an Adult-Geriatric Nurse Practitioner with over 20 years of experience in

both the clinical and administrative side of healthcare. She has a Master of Science in Nursing from Walden University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from New Mexico State University. She is also a graduate of the Real Balance Global Wellness Coach training program.

In 2015, Sammie established a health coaching program for a Level II Trauma hospital in

Wyoming. The program aimed to improve health and decrease burnout risk for employees. The

following year, she played a key role in developing an integrative health clinic at the same

hospital. The clinic focused on helping community members reduce the risk of heart disease,

diabetes, and stroke.

More recently, she served as a Nurse Practitioner for seniors, providing compassionate care to

patients in various locations including skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and

private residences. In 2022, Sammie started Vivac Health to help family caregivers understand

and navigate the healthcare system so their loved ones can get the care they need.

LINKS

• https://vivachealth.com/about/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammiestephens/

Navigating Your Life and Caring for Aging Parents  with Courtney Nalty

• Unsharing with Kamini Woods

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Sometimes we don’t act because we’re emotionally stuck or because the change seems so huge. Change comes from action. Even a little shift can make a difference, especially when you keep making those micro shifts. 

Choose one of these doable changes that piques your interest or resonates with where you are — and roll with it. 

Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• DEFINE BOUNDARIES. Think about where you are in your life right now. What other responsibilities do you have? How is your own health? What are the actual needs? Be clear on what you can do and what you need help with. Define the boundary and then seek help for the rest.
• ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS. We don’t have conversations about advanced care planning or end of life, but we need to. Even if your loved ones are healthy and independent now, you can start having conversations about what they would want if they couldn’t speak for themselves. You can also start talking about where and how they’d like to live their later life.
• CREATE A SELF-CARE PLAN. Caregivers often stop taking care of themselves to take care of others. This isn’t sustainable. Make a self-care plan for yourself. Start with sleep, nutrition, appointments and care for health conditions that you already have or that come up.

“Don't be afraid to ask for help, whether it's paid help or friendly help, ask for help.”

–Courtney Nalty

Are aging parents one of the things you’re balancing right now? Or maybe you see coming? So many people in FLOW365 are balancing caring for parents along with kids, their own health, their business ... and it’s hard. Courtney Nalty wants to make it easier.

Courtney Nalty, is the founder of Generational Support and the creator of The Caregiver Toolbox, which helps people get ready for something a lot of us don’t want to think about — caring for our parents. We’ll talk about ways to prepare to make it more easeful — and things you can do if you are already in the thick of it.

If you google aging in place on, you're going to be inundated with ideas and solutions. Getting advice from somebody who has done the research already, who can guide you, can smooth the way. Then a really important place to start is with what your parents want.

We talk about: 

• How elder law attorneys can help you, having power of attorney before an emergency and having copies of the paperwork
• Safe house checks and medication management
• Starting conversations about what your parents want by talking about what you would like later in life
• Specific challenges related to a hospital discharge
• Knowing who to talk to when it comes to bank accounts, stuff, homes, and more
• Dealing with dementia

ABOUT COURTNEY

Courtney Nalty is a daughter, wife, and a mother of three. She gets the need to find time for everyone and give the best support to all. Courtney spent 11 years working in a retirement community in many different roles. She  also helped care for her father when he was fighting cancer. Courtney knows caregiving takes time, research, education, and even a little trial and error, and she’s here to make life easier for others navigating generational support in the 21st century. She’s the creator or The Caregiver Toolbox, which helps people gain knowledge and confidence while reducing stress in caring for a loved one. 

LINKS

• https://generationalsupport.com/
• The Caregiver Toolbox

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Sometimes we don’t act because we’re emotionally stuck or because the change seems so huge. Change comes from action. Even a little shift can make a difference, especially when you keep making those micro shifts. 

Choose one of these doable changes that piques your interest or resonates with where you are — and roll with it. 

Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• START THE CONVERSATION. One of the first steps is finding out what your parents want. You can ask directly, but if your parents are reluctant to talk, try one of these techniques: Using a checklist or workbook — try just leaving it on the table and seeing if they start filling it in or talking — is one way to get started. Another entry to these conversations is talking about your own wishes for your late / end of life. Remember, this isn’t a one and done conversation.
• GET ORGANIZED. Do your parents have power of attorney, living wills, and final wills in place? Do you have copies of them or know how to access them? Do you know your parents’ accounts and passwords? Do you know their doctors, health conditions, medications? You don’t have to gather everything at once, but it can be helpful to start collecting this information if your parents are willing. Start with a check list. Schedule time for each item on the list.
• FORM YOUR TEAM. Ask for and accept help, paid or otherwise. You could start by making a list of people you may need on your team, such as an elder law specialist, care managers or social workers. You could list people you could turn to for task support — their neighbor or a friend who could help with errands or the local senior center. Make a list of people who can support you, as a caretaker. Anticipate support you may need — resources for caretakers may help you do that — so that you can research before you are in an emergency situation.

“Not only are you putting good into the world, but it feels good too.” –Jenn Klein

Are you an overgiver? Women can get into a position of over giving or giving in a depleting way. How can we navigate giving in a better way? I’m talking with Jenn Klein about the benefits of generosity and volunteering — and how to make that a rewarding part of a busy life.

We talk about the helper’s high and the health benefits of giving. We also look at volunteering as a couple or a family. Jenn reminds us that volunteering can be a form of self-care, a way to fill your cup, not drain it.

We talk about: 

• The boomerang nature of giving
• Working with organizations and being intentional about putting kindness into the world
• Giving three ways — time, treasure, talent

ABOUT JENN

Jenn Klein is a world-class and highly respected nonprofit fundraiser, author of the book Giving Is Selfish, speaker, coach and a proud mother of two boys.

For more than 18 years, Jenn has helped nonprofits grow through best fundraising practices and strategies. Jenn also coaches individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices, which, at their core, include giving to charity.

Jenn is on a mission to share the benefits of generosity, not just for others but also for yourself and our world.

LINKS

• Website: https://youareaphilanthropist.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jennklein/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youareaphilanthropist/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennkleincoach/

DOABLE CHANGES

Even though we want big change, it’s really little things done over and over that make the difference. So pick a doable thing. Put it in your calendar. Weave it through your days for a week and then move on to the next one. It will have a snowball effect.

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is where change happens.

Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• ASSESS HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT GIVING. Sometimes we get on a board or volunteer for an event and start to feel drained instead of filled. It might be the wrong work or the wrong time in your life. Get clear on how your volunteer hours make you feel — which things excite or energize you? Which do you dread? Knowing this can lead to change.
• DECIDE WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER. You can give your time, your talents, or your treasure. What do you have to offer? How can it serve a cause you feel passionate about?
• PUT KINDNESS INTO THE WORLD. Maybe this isn’t a time in your life when you have a lot of time to give. You can still put kindness into the world without a formal or ongoing volunteer gig. Offer smiles or compliments. Send a thank you note. Hold a door. Offer to help a neighbor with a task you see them struggling with. Try building a little more kindness into your day.

“You have to market twice as much as you think you do, which is why simplifying really is important.”

–Christine McShane

Tired of feeling frenzied and behind on marketing and sales? Copywriter and content marketing strategist Christine McShane is going to help us make a summer content plan so we can stay calm and sane all while connecting with and selling to our people.

You don’t have to be an annoying telemarketer. You don’t have to send spammy emails. You do have to market your business. That starts with getting back to basics and getting really clear on who you serve, what they need, and how you help.

You don’t have to do it all. You shouldn’t do it all — that’s a route to burn out. Christine suggests choosing three channels and explains how to choose based on your business model.

We talk about: 

• What gets in our way when it comes to marketing and how to shift our mindset
• Decision fatigue and how to make good decisions less often
• Understanding the seasons of your business and of your client businesses and how to scale back in the summer
• Repurposing popular content
• Noticing what you open and like to read, thinking about what people want when you show up in their inbox
• Ways to actually get it done.

ABOUT CHRISTINE

Christine McShane is a copywriter and content marketing strategist that believes just like great cooking, you’ll get the best results with simple and high quality ingredients.  If you’re a mission driven personal brand, marketing can feel exhausting or confusing. But the best part is that you’ll get the best results if you show up as yourself.  

Christine creates content strategies for service based professionals and even writes the content for them. She also writes their website copy and sales funnel copy to have genuine and effective conversations with dream clients.

LINKS

• christinemcshane.com
• Power of 3 Content Marketing training

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is how change happens.

Often we feel like our actions have to be huge to match the bigness of our desires, but we have seen over and over and over again that the little things add up. By stacking up a series of Doable Changes, you will create that big change that you crave. Choose the one that really resonates with you this week and really make it part of your life. 

Here are Three Doable Changes from this conversation:

• GET BACK TO BASICS. Ask yourself and get really clear on: What am I trying to accomplish in my business? Who am I trying to serve? Why am I different? How do I get in front of those people that I want to serve and show them how I'm different and show them how I can make their lives better, whether it's solving a pain point in their lives or bringing them some joy or helping them achieve a dream or a combination of the three.
• CHOOSE YOUR CHANNELS. Where will you show up? Choose three channels: email, podcast, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, FB group or other networking space … You don’t have to be everywhere. Choose places you like to be. Choose places where your ideal clients or customers spend time.
• NOTICE WHAT YOU CONSUME. Which emails do you always open? What podcast do you never miss? Whose content do you love? While you will have your own topics, your own voice, and your own rhythm, you can learn from what engages you. It’s also a good reminder to help you get out of the mindset that people will get tired of hearing from you or that marketing is always spammy.