Money and Miracles with Emily King

[Ep 104] *Special Edition* Inspiring Transformations & Stories from 5 Remarkable Clients

• Emily King - Money Mindset Coach, TEDx Speaker, Business Coach, Money Expert

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What happens when five remarkable women decide to trust the process of transformation? Get ready to be inspired as we share the compelling stories from the SHIFT event, an annual gathering focused on personal growth and resilience.

From Cathy Jenkins, a retired teacher who discovered a new zest for life with the Extraordinary Life Experience (ELE) coaching program, to Alison Butler, a fearless entrepreneur launching self-care retreats amidst challenges, their journeys highlight the power of trust and change.

Explore the intricate dance between courage and comfort in the journey to personal fulfillment. We dive into the significance of prioritizing happiness and self-care, even when it means making difficult choices.

You'll hear about pivotal moments of unexpected support and financial windfalls that reinforced the belief in miracles and the importance of taking chances. This episode is a heartfelt reminder that nurturing oneself is not a luxury but a necessity in the quest for happiness and fulfillment.

This episode is a testament to the strength of self-belief and the endless possibilities that arise when you take the leap of faith towards personal growth.

LINKS:
Extraordinary Life Experience: https://jointheshift.ca/extraordinary-life-experience/

$500 COUPON CODE: ELE500 

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome back to the Money and Miracles podcast. Today's podcast is a special edition podcast and I'm really excited about it for two reasons. One is it gives you a little sneak peek of what the SHIFT event was like that myself and Gina hosted a couple weeks ago. So if you don't know what SHIFT is, you can go to jointheshiftca Now. The next event won't be until this time next year, but it's our annual event that we do. That's really this like deep dive into personal development and personal transformation for yourself. So it helps you give up the excuses, it helps you build more confidence within yourself and it helps you take radical action in your life. It's a phenomenal event and this year what we wanted to do was really feature the people that we've been working with over the past few years and really highlight them and show everyone in the audience what's possible. And it's my honor today and privilege to get to share this with you today, to share with you what's possible. And everyone, as you'll hear, has a different story, has a different background. Some people are business owners, some people aren't. Some people have kids, some people don't. Some people are retired, some people are just kicking off new business ventures. Like there's so many different variables to everyone's story, which I really love. But here's the cool thing that you'll you know a little spoiler alert is that what came from chatting with these five incredible women was that the underlying theme was trust. Despite all the what ifs, despite people nay saying them, despite so many fears and doubts and, oh, it's just a slew of things going against them, trust, trust, trust was the underlying theme. So it's my, like I said, it's my pleasure today to share with you a little snippet from the shift event a few weeks ago and sharing with you five incredible women and their stories and their transformation. Now, before I do that, I just want to preface this by saying that all of these women were a part of the Extraordinary Life Experience.

Speaker 1:

It is an eight-week group coaching course that myself and Gina pour our heart and souls into that kicks off next week. So next Monday we kick off, and today is actually the last day to save 500 bucks if you are interested in joining us. And it's one of the deepest ways to work with myself and then, you know, with my business partner, gina, to get that transformation. And especially, I love the timing of this, because what a way to wrap up the year, like if there's those things on your to-do list or on your goals that you want to crush, like this is the way to do it. If, on the kind of flip side of that, you're like you know what, like I feel like I don't know what direction I'm going, I feel like I need more vision, this is the program to come into. To put it quite simply, it's the program that takes you from ordinary to extraordinary, really up-leveling your life in so many different ways and really giving you that confidence, that oomph, that pep in your step, if you will, to go forward and do the damn thing right. So I'll link it up in the show notes. If you go to jointheshiftca and just click on our programs, you'll see the Extraordinary Life Experiences there, or we call it ELE. But yeah, if you want to join today's, the last day, to save 500 bucks, there is a six month payment plan and it is a phenomenal course. So have a read through the testimonials and you'll get to hear now from some of the ladies who experienced this program and the transformations that they had.

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to the Money and Miracles podcast with me, emily King. We call ourselves Rich Women over here because we are all about living the rich woman life inside and out. We take the taboo out of talking money and we say yes to our desires. And each week I'll be bringing you a dose of money, mindset and relatable life stories so you can go out into the world and live your best freaking life. Let's do this. Rich woman.

Speaker 1:

First person that we want to highlight is Miss Kathy Jenkins. So she flew in from Ontario, so let's hear it for that. Yes. And she said to us uh, just a couple of days ago, she's like they canceled my flight. Yeah. So she said to herself, essentially like the woman that I desire to be, you know what does she decide to do? And it was going to be hundreds of dollars more to rebook a flight. And she checked in with you know the few years down the road version of herself and said if I don't do this, I'm gonna regret it. Yes, so she booked the damn flight. I did she got herself here for this.

Speaker 1:

So let's hear from Kathy. Yeah, so we met Kathy just a short year ago when she joined ELE and she was a retired or she is still a retired teacher. She's not back in teaching, but Kathy has an interesting story because she thought her best days were behind her, and I was recently talking to someone who also shared that experience and she said you know, it feels like the back nine in golf, right, like yeah, and she thought this is as good as it gets, right, I'm retired now, like let's just kind of coast till the end, kind of thing. And now she is literally living her best life. And so much has changed for Kathy just within a year. And so we wanted to bring her up here to highlight her and ask you a few questions, kathy. When we were preparing for this, we had little chats with them beforehand and Kathy said something really interesting. She said I've completely reframed my life. I went from existing to thriving and I took failing lessons. So tell us about that. How did you go from existing to thriving?

Speaker 2:

which I know is a bit of a big question for you. But yeah, well, I tried to do it all on my own after I retired and I tried to boost myself up, talk, you know, and that wasn't working for me. I just all the messages started to come right, you're past your prime, you've already hit it, now it's. And then I thought, well, well, who do you? Lots, of, lots of talking to myself. My husband was getting a bit worried, are you talking to me?

Speaker 2:

no, no, I'm talking to myself um, but it was, uh, yeah, just feeling, uh, a feeling that I was past my prime. And then, who are you to ask for anything more? Like you've had a great career, you know, you've got a great family, you know so. But I thought, yeah, but it just didn't feel. I wanted more, yeah, and I thought I can't do it on my own. So when the extraordinary, ordinary to extraordinary program came, I thought, well, that's a promise that is appealing. I also knew that I had promise that is appealing. I also knew that I had to. I was starting to feel really isolated and old and so I thought I have to get into a room with other women and it was the best decision that I could ever make. I was very scared to do it. I allowed myself to be seen, I started to trust myself, and the biggest thing that I think was the barrier for me starting to thrive was I suspended the bullshit beliefs, like I just thought, what if that?

Speaker 4:

wasn't true.

Speaker 2:

And then I acted as if it wasn't true. Oh, I love that and it's still working for me, so yeah, Woo, Amazing?

Speaker 5:

Yes, absolutely. And like Kathy, I know like people are seeing a version of you up here who, literally, I feel you have completely changed your life in a year and we've had so many conversations about things that you've chose to do. But, like, how can you tell the audience because I'm sure someone's here looking at you going, well, geez, like I can totally resonate how do I do that? Like how do I go from you know, being retired and being in that place to being the woman that you are today? Like what was your journey? Like what do you want to share about your journey?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I, with being a retired teacher. I used that as a badge. That's how I would identify myself Like oh I was. You know what do you do, even today, you know what do you do. Well, I've stopped defining myself as that. As a retired teacher, I'm very proud of the career that I've had, but every time I said it, it felt empty. Because I thought no, this is time for me to start a new chapter. I was done with teaching, loved it, but was ready for something new.

Speaker 1:

Alongside of that, I've always been an entrepreneur and I had a crystal healing business. You have one.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I have one, but I was working on it part-time and I never told any of my teacher friends about it, because they think really and so I stepped into that, which with the help of both Gina and Emily, so I came out as an energy healer on social media.

Speaker 3:

She's incredible by the way.

Speaker 5:

Incredible. Go book a session with her.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So I'm not sure if that's the answer to your question, but yeah, I mean there's.

Speaker 5:

There's so many things I mean I can talk to people when I don't have a microphone in front of my face and I guess, to take that just a little bit further, what would you say is the biggest shift that you feel internally within yourself?

Speaker 2:

I think it was. I was just getting sick of hearing my own negative self-talk and I was starting to look at my future, not feeling very hopeful about it. I thought, ooh, did I retire too early? Am I too young? And now I'm thinking what? I only have about 40 more years left. So it was really getting out of my own. So it was really getting out of my own way. It was really getting out of my own way and trusting when you know, my new friends would say you've got this and putting myself intentionally in a focused coaching program with cheerleaders. I was a cheerleader for everybody else and I needed one for myself and really had to invest, um, and make that commitment to myself and and it's little habits that have helped- this amazing, amazing, isn't she incredible?

Speaker 5:

yeah, thank you so much. We're gonna come back to you in a second. All right, next is Jennifer. So Jennifer also traveled here. She is from Portabasque and even looking at Jennifer, I didn't think I was going to do this. Jennifer has been with me from the beginning, like my very first course that I ever ran. Sorry, I won't look at you. She was in my very first course and I feel like I've just seen Jennifer blossom and this woman has been. She's been through so much and I look at you being on the stage right now.

Speaker 3:

Don't look at her, though You're going to cry.

Speaker 5:

I'm trying not to get her to cry, but I look at you on the stage, jennifer, and I see everything you've overcome and who you are here on the stage and I'm just so honored that you're here and that you were part of ELE and everything else, like you've just been one of our biggest cheerleaders, right from the beginning, so I'm a groupie and she curses like a pirate, so get ready but just a little bit about Jennifer, and I'm gonna get you to share as much as you want to share, but Jennifer is a single mom and she is one incredible, strong woman who has had a lot of her journey.

Speaker 5:

But I'm going to just hand the mic to you right off the bat and give you the opportunity to share what you want to share and then we can ask you some further questions.

Speaker 6:

That's a little harder. I was expecting a little more guidance.

Speaker 5:

I can give you guidance if you want it.

Speaker 6:

Basically, I guess, where I was to where I am now, just in the last couple years.

Speaker 6:

So I was kind of living in a spare bedroom in my house, thinking it was the best thing to do to be under the same roof as my kid all the time. And it was a coworker who put it to me one day, a really close friend, and he said you know, you can continue to be in your kid's life 100% of the time, but only be a portion of the great person and mom that you are and keep living in the spare bedroom, or you cannot be with him 100% of the time, but be 100% of the mom that you are and the person you could be. And I think I thought I was doing okay until it was put to me that way. And then I realized, you know, I actually burst into tears. And he said I wasn't trying to upset you. I said no, but you're right.

Speaker 6:

I didn't realize that I thought I was doing the best thing for my kid and I really wasn't, because it wasn't a happy situation. So I guess that's that's the start and so I purchased my first shift ticket while I was still married, kind of knowing in my gut I wouldn't be by the time shift happened. So I think the first one was in June, right?

Speaker 6:

yeah, june 2022 separated in May and I went to the event in June and I just continued to put myself in these rooms and invest in coaching programs and follow Gina and Emily and be their little groupie. And I guess I embraced, like when I did the video application to get up here, which was really crazy to me, but anyway I did it. Anyway is the whole courage over comfort, because everybody's scared, like all of us up here are shit baked right, yeah, and so is everybody else.

Speaker 6:

If you had to get up here and like when they it's like you gotta take the microphone you're rocking it, but you basically, you realize that we're all just people at the end of the day and if we're not living our best life, like what are we doing? Like what a waste of time to not be happy, right, and we all deserve to be happy, whatever that looks like, whether it's the job you're in you don't like, or the relationship you're in, or the community you live in, or whatever it is. Is it really worth your life to be miserable?

Speaker 5:

And it's not.

Speaker 5:

Yeah, that's that's my intro I suppose yeah, no, and when I think of you, I think the word uh, like the word resilience, and I think of all the things that you've been through, and she was very, um, not I guess humbling in her story. You've been through so much and you know people looking up here see the version of you today, but you know your resilience is, I think, what's gotten you here and your ability to ask for help. So for somebody here who is maybe trying to strengthen that resilience, what have you done to strengthen your resilience? Because I think that's a key tool that we all need, you know.

Speaker 6:

That's a loaded question. I guess. In all the personal development I've done, I kind of learned what tools I need to continue to thrive. So it's, you know, every day applying some form of self-care, no matter what it is, finding what works for you, my toolkit, that I learned in all my courses I I use it and I try to help other people too. Like, if I see someone struggling, I'm immediately privately messaging like hey, can I help you out? You know, have you ever tried this? Have you thought of that? Because in the beginning, the very first meditation I did was in the SaySU course with Sarah, and I was one of those people. I can't meditate.

Speaker 6:

I can't do that and at the end of the five minutes it was like, wow, that is really effective. So I guess, finding what tools work for you, what brings you peace, what brings you comfort, what fills your cup, and doing it every day and not living each day like it's your last because it's so cliche. But I lost a friend years ago and after she passed it was kind of like, wow, she was 52. Like that's not that many years away from me. So what if today is my only day? So I guess, again back to courage over comfort and continuing. I tend to see like we've all had shit, everybody's had something bad happen in their life, but seeing it as an opportunity to grow and what could you learn from it? Like, what lesson can I take from this scenario and apply it in my life so I can continue to do better? I just want to mention so the cards that were on the table. They're Emily's lovely Oracle cards, and so I sat down and read it. I'm like, okay, I just randomly picked this place, but I didn't.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, it says the struggle is a choice, the solution is also a choice. I choose to look for miracles.

Speaker 6:

And I was like yep that card's for me, but I guess, yeah, I mean anybody can rebuild their life despite the obstacles and just take a chance. Like the joke about ELE not a joke, really it was like I kept saying, like I can't spend that money on myself, oh my gosh. And I have no problem saying I had a lot of paperwork not taken care of and I'd go clean it in my purse and there's some checks I had in cash and I added them up and there was literally $2,600 in my purse that I hadn't cashed. So it was like really to take the course I wasn't losing any money because of money that I not forgot I had. But you know what I mean. I had gotten behind on my paperwork and then so I messaged the girls to tell them and then later that day I went to the post office and there was a check and it was just over $400. So I completely had all the money and I didn't touch any of my money to invest in myself.

Speaker 6:

And it's scary to spend money on yourself, but think of the money you spend on other people and the not money that you waste. But you know things that you don't. You know that Tim's coffee. You get a little kick from it and then it's gone. But like investing in yourself and investing in these courses, it's life-changing like. It literally changed your life like I have. I have no problem saying I have social anxiety. I'm sitting on a stage with a microphone Like let's give her a hand so you can do it too.

Speaker 1:

You can do it too. So you shared so many amazing things about your journey and story and all that kind of stuff. But to kind of put a nice little bow on it is because I'm sure there's many of us in this room who are going through, like currently, hard things, and if you were to give them some words of advice you know you didn't prep me for this one- right, she's like let me go back, yeah yeah, but just from the heart, like what got you through the hard.

Speaker 6:

Was there a phrase or a quote or something that there's so many things that I do all the time really, that just became a part of my routine. So I guess, kind of trusting in the universe and trusting in the process, everything's going to work out in the end. One of my affirmations is I trust there's a plan for me and I trust in the process.

Speaker 6:

Just go with the flow, Trust your gut. I guess, at the end of the day, my gut. First, when I saw the application, I was like I'd like to do that. I was like, no, you can't do that. And every day, so the final day, I was like just hit record, just hit record and submit it. What do you got to lose? So basically, basically, you got one life, so just take the chance and if you fail, see the lesson in the failure.

Speaker 5:

Amazing. Give her a hand guys.

Speaker 1:

So next is Allison Butler, who has a bit of a funny story. So years ago I was hosting this retreat and it was out of town. It was like two or three hours out of town and people were signing up anyways. I had another space or two left and this random Allison Butler books in a call with me to talk about the retreat. And I remember, like it was yesterday, I was sitting on my couch, we're having a call, and she's like, yeah, I'm gonna come. I was like, oh, okay, and she knew nobody, and which is totally cool. I mean, you can go to retreats and not know anyone. But not only that, but she then was like, do you know anyone who's driving? And I was like, yeah, I can hook you up with some people who are driving.

Speaker 1:

She's like, okay, so she carpooled out with a few strangers and made the best of friends with everyone at the retreat. And I think still to this day you guys have like little like retreat get-togethers and I get a little jealous as I'm like, okay, cool, whatever. But Alice, so I've known I don't even know how long ago. That was now like eight, seven, eight years ago or something like that. Yeah, but so I've known Allison for quite some time now in her like entrepreneurial journey and when we think of you, what comes to mind is that you're not afraid to fail. Like Allison has mastered Fearlessly, moving forward like all. When I first met you, you were doing your really cool Kids like postcards that you were sending out and you've had different paths and journeys and all that kind of stuff. And now she has her amazing burnout to to Boundaries course, right, yes, and a new podcast, whoop.

Speaker 7:

Go listen. What's the name of your podcast? My podcast is called Real Talk with Alison Butler. Yeah, you can find it on Spotify right now. And ooh and we should share this too.

Speaker 1:

I almost forgot this is that last year yeah, that feels like ages ago. Last year you yeah, that feels like ages ago. Last year you launched a retreat, speaking of this whole failure thing. She launched an international retreat where they went to Costa Rica, or she had planned to go to Costa Rica for like a self-care retreat and she knew it was so important for people to just go and take care of themselves. And that was the true embracing of embracing potential failure, because I think it was for months. Did you have zero signups for months, or was there maybe one? Yeah, you want me to talk about it? Yeah, well, yeah, cause I want to ask you like, like what do you how? Cause I feel like you know, we, we talk about like embracing failure and all that kind of stuff, and it's that's cool to say, but in reality it's like, oh shit, Like how do you actually embrace failure? Like, how do you do it?

Speaker 7:

That's a great question. I think a lot of people you know shout out to all the people who came up to me today and was like oh, I follow you, like thank you, I really appreciate that. Um, I think a lot like a lot of people think I'm very confident and fearless and I am, but also I'm not like I'm just out here doing it, scared like everybody else another podcast, leah Leah's podcast.

Speaker 7:

I'm just out here doing it, scared. I didn't even that just happened, okay. So I want everyone to know that I am also scared doing the thing. So, even though I appear like I'm not, I still am, and so I in my core, because I work with so many people that are stressed and burned out and teaching mental health first aid and I was just seeing it everywhere and I have gone on retreats. I've gone on retreat with Emily. I've gone on retreat with Emily and Gina that's a whole other story. On retreat with Emily and Gina, that's a whole other story. And I knew that I wanted to have my own retreats so that I could create the space for you to really and truly rest, and I felt it really, really strongly. So me being me and I've had this conversation with a few people at my table tables today. Today it's like they're like how do you do that? I'm like I just do it. I was like, okay, I'm gonna have an international retreat, like booked the. I mean I obviously did more work than that.

Speaker 7:

I researched but I booked the resort and I was like, okay, retreat, here we go. Um, and it's a huge upfront investment, terrifying and yeah. So I started putting it out there. I was like I'm having a retreat, like let's go, and nobody signed up For months. Yeah, and that was the point where I really had to lean into trusting the process and doing the work also right, doing the work. That has to go behind that and it's scary. It's why I've invested in coaching for myself over and over and over and over again, because I get scared and I get in my head and I'm like like nobody's buying the retreat. But then the people bought the retreat and it was sold out and we went to Costa Rica and we had an amazing time.

Speaker 5:

Okay, so we gotta go back to the parts that you skipped there. So I mean, yes, all that happened, but I'd love for you to go into the part about the work, like the part of how you held the vision and held the trust, because I think sometimes when we hear it, it's like but how, alison, how did you hold the belief when everything looked like it was against you? Right, the money wasn't coming in, money was going out, bank account was going down. You're like holy shit, how do you hold the vision when the shit is hitting the fanneth?

Speaker 7:

um, I think it's a few things. So number one is because it's just me sitting in my living room running my business. Um, I, I have to make a conscious effort to put myself out there in rooms and get support from people that believe in me. So, like we were talking about the cheerleader thing, having someone in your corner has really become just like a non-negotiable for me, because otherwise I'm just in my head all the time. I think like owning a business. I know not everyone here is a business owner, but I think like owning a business.

Speaker 7:

I know not everyone here is a business owner, but I feel like owning a business is 95%, just like a head game, and so that's been a huge thing is investing, having someone to like help walk me through it, so that when I'm like there's someone there who's saying, yes, you can, and I have very supportive like family and friends, but it's not the same, mmm, because they all got their own stuff going on.

Speaker 7:

So that's been a big thing and putting the work in and showing up and talking about it all the time and sending the emails and doing the posts and, to be honest, I think that's the first time with the retreat when I really leaned into trusting the process, because there's been things that I did in the past where I gave up when people weren't buying it, but this one was like so big it was like I can't give it up, yeah.

Speaker 7:

And Denise was there and Barb was there. Oh, the clock is working. Now Is my time up. What's happening?

Speaker 5:

The hook's coming out, no, yeah.

Speaker 7:

So it's just been showing up every day and talking about it, even when it feels like nothing's happening, because something is happening.

Speaker 1:

Ooh, I think that's really important. Yeah, I love that.

Speaker 7:

And it's hard. And now I have another retreat if you want to come, but the same thing's happening over again.

Speaker 5:

And I think it's a muscle too right. What I feel we've witnessed you do is you've built that trust muscle.

Speaker 1:

Yes, right.

Speaker 5:

You were like, oh, wait a minute. Like I remember the first person that signed up and you were like Jada, I got my first client and our response was like, yes, of course you did. But I think sometimes it's really just teaching yourself, like we talked about before, to trust yourself. And it's okay to hear the words like trust the process, but what does that mean to you? Right, like what is that looking like for you? And for you it meant holding the vision, keep showing up and eventually you're building that muscle to go. Wait a minute, right, I can do this again. Like this time around, how are you feeling about your lunch this time around?

Speaker 7:

I feel good, and it also helps that Denise is already going, oh yeah, thanks, denise, yeah.

Speaker 7:

I think, too, the just leaning into the knowing and I think this is hard for a lot of us but leaning into the knowing of how good this is going to be for people Like I believe in this, because most of us, when we create something, it's like I believe in this, like I know people need this, but not from a like like I gotta convince you kind of way, although sometimes it feels like that, sometimes it feels like I'm just out here, like I'm trying to convince you to go rest you know like I know this shit is good trust me people but I think it was um, I really knew it and I just tried to stay with that too amazing and I know just because I'm using your words.

Speaker 5:

You talk about investing a lot. Where do you think you would be if you didn't invest in yourself?

Speaker 7:

um, I can't. I honestly can't even imagine I would probably wouldn't own a business. I would probably still be going along in my nine to five job. I I honestly at this point, like I I kind of can't even fathom that amazing, yeah, yeah, incredible yeah, and it's so important to have people in your corner that believe in you, and that's what keeps me going, yeah amazing.

Speaker 5:

Can we give her a big hand, please? All right, next we have Sarah. Sarah is actually a family member of mine. She's my first cousin and I feel we've been through so much, Sarah, and I remember when you made a decision to move home which I'm going to give you the mic to talk about in a second and I remember the moment when you started to change your life, Like the woman that you see here now is and where's my other two cousins in the house? Like, has she not completely changed her life? Like she has made so many don't make me cry so many amazing choices for herself. And I know you're going to talk about your anxiety, but I'm gonna just speak to it. So a Previous version of Sarah would have been so written with anxiety that you would have been able to come up on the stage right. So can we just celebrate her just for one second. And now, Mike, over to you. I'd love for you to share your story about even how you got here today, being here at a shift event, and where you were before.

Speaker 3:

Gina shared part of her story earlier, where she was walking down the school quarter, I assume, and she got hit by a truck. And I feel like I had a very similar story 2003,. My boyfriend at the time and I were working in Newfoundland in a not-for-profit in climate change, which no offense to Newfoundland, but that was not the time to be trying to save the earth in Newfoundland with oil and gas. So we quickly read the tea leaves and we had to leave. I actually wrote off. I wrote records of employment for 10 youth. I laid off 10 youth in 2003. And we packed up our cars and we drove to Ontario. We had a cousin, paula's sister, and I went. I had no idea what I was going to do. I kind of felt like I was kind of forced out of Newfoundland. So I went and did my, my master's and I kept saying to my husband boyfriend at the time like how long are we going to be here? No offense, no offense. Guelph people, no offense. It's a beautiful place and I long for it.

Speaker 3:

But anyway, 18 years later, we were there and I had a really successful career. I worked really hard, but I got really riddled with anxiety. It was awful and I too felt like I can't work anymore, like I don't know how I'm going to do this. I did take some time off and miraculously went back to work. I don't know how I did it, but I did it. And then I thought like something's got to change. This is not. This is not sustainable. And you know, I used to joke with my coworkers. I worked on the Drainage Act file. Everybody Googled the Drainage Act file in Ontario. Let me tell you it's frigging dry, but I used to be on these meetings. It's Ontario's oldest piece of legislation and I led the amendments to the Drainage Act file.

Speaker 3:

Let me tell you that's big okay, that's big Woo. But anyway, we used to have these weekly meetings with the lawyers and blah, blah, blah, and I used to joke and I used to say, oh God, I just want to live by the ocean and I don't care how much money I have, I just want to live by the ocean. There's got to be something better than the Drainage Act file, right, like I just like come on and then COVID hit and we made the decision to leave.

Speaker 3:

It was a hard decision but we did it. But there were moments in my anxiety story that felt, you know, really bad, really bad. Like I remember getting parking at my work parking lot and then you had to walk, like you know, 600, 700 meters and not feeling like I could get out of the car and the one person I confided in was Gina. There were times I would text Gina or call her on the way in, going like I don't think I can do this. What saved me in those days, I think, was the morning routine. No one's talked about the morning routine, which, holy fuck, everybody needs a goddamn morning routine. And if you tell me you cannot do a morning routine, I call bullshit Because I started my morning routine with like a five-year-old and a two-year-old and an hour commute north of Toronto. So I don't buy it. 15 minutes, that's what I started with and Gina called bullshit on it. But the morning routine really did it and I started meditating and my cousin Paula and I had this conversation last night. Everybody needs to check out Insight Timer.

Speaker 3:

It is the most authentic meditation timer out there and it's free and it's free.

Speaker 5:

So, yeah, yeah, and on top of that, like you have started doing yoga, you are going to have a yoga business. You've started teaching classes. Like you came back and you had every reason to stay up there. But I feel, since you've come back, like you have just done so much internal work and when we were meeting for the pre-call, you said that at one shift event, this just sticks to you and it's like anoint your damn self. Can you talk about that and why that hits so much with you?

Speaker 3:

I've always wanted to be a yoga instructor. My mom did yoga when I was in grade one and I remember it in a school that I don't know exists anymore, in Port Abbas, and I would go with her and there would be all these kids. This was like I don't know, late 70s, early 80s, and you'd see all these women come in and all their kids would go in a corner and it was like whoa and it was. I don't not sure if it was like true, true, authentic yoga. It doesn't matter, but I was exposed to it early on and I always wanted to be a yoga teacher and in Ontario I just could never find the space. The time we had no family. It was hard. So when I moved back I was able to. Miraculously. I was telling someone at my table that I found a yoga instructor, or I found a yoga teaching person on the west coast of Newfoundland who did it partially virtual. And last year when I did the ELE program, I feel like I've done a lot of self-work. But I just needed to be accountable because I had finished the yoga teacher training in like the spring and I knew if I didn't do something like ELE, I wouldn't teach and, like 90% of people who do the yoga teacher training don't teach, and that's not a judgment, because a lot of people just do it for their own personal practice, because you learn so much, which makes total sense. But I wanted to teach, I've always wanted to teach.

Speaker 3:

So I think we had just started the ELE program and I, like sent this Facebook post. I live in a very small town and I put it on a community center post. I don't know, I didn't know very many people and I had like seven people sign up at 7 am. Okay, this is what I started with 7 am, early morning yoga practice in a small town, knowing not very many people, and I remember going to the door and opening the lock and setting up my stuff and doing it. But before I did it, I think I messaged Gina and Emily and I had this aha moment. It's probably not going to be perfect and it shouldn't be perfect and God damn it. I don't know what else I've got to do. I'm just going to anoint myself. I'm going to anoint myself and do it. And I did it. Woo, I'm just going to anoint myself.

Speaker 5:

I'm going to anoint myself and do it and I did it. Woo, amazing. I'm so happy you're here.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and the cool thing about you, sarah, is like I met you last year. Yeah, last year was the first year I met you at Chift, right, first shift. Yes, and it's just cool because it's like you just keep taking these nudges of that next step for yourself. It's like that classic quote from Martin Luther King where it's like you don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the next step. And I think that really is you, when I think it's just like all right, I'm going to do this, okay, I'm going to do this, and you have fears and all that kind of stuff, but you do it anyway, similar to everyone sitting on the stage.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah. And I guess the last thing I would say is trust is really important. I remember driving down through Fredericton. My husband has one car, mine was in, I was driving mine. We trusted a mover to move all our stuff down. We didn't have a house. I left a full-time permanent job as a senior policy advisor in the Ontario government with a fucking beautiful yoga studio across the street. Like some people would say you're absurd. I took a leave of absence. I got a contract job. It was insane On paper. It was fucking insane.

Speaker 5:

And Sarah, you didn't even have a job when you came here. Like she was like I know I'm going to find one, and then she landed the perfect job and then when that one ended it was a term. She's like Gina, I just know I know it's going to work out for me and I didn't move to St John's.

Speaker 3:

I'm in small town but I think trust is really key and I think why women struggle with trust is it's a control thing. We're control freaks.

Speaker 4:

Let's be honest.

Speaker 3:

We're fucking control troll freaks. So lay off the gas and sit back and just trust and surrender, god damn it.

Speaker 1:

Surrender and now do your mic drop, okay. Last but not least is miss stephanie blackwood. So when we think of stephanie, the word that comes to mind is the word brave and we. She came to shift as we called her out earlier today. She came to shift last year saying what the fuck have I done? And you were like tempted to leave and go home because it's like I, this is yeah.

Speaker 4:

I was early in the day.

Speaker 5:

Yeah, it was before coffee.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it almost feels like because, like you joined shift and then you started to make these, these steps forward, and it feels like on our end, it almost feels like something just like clicked for you, where you were like I deserve these dreams, I deserve the life that I've been envisioning for myself, and it's just like. It just feels like you were just like fuck it, I'm, I'm doing this, so like what changed for you? How did you have that like pivotal fuck it moment for yourself?

Speaker 4:

I don't know if it was one moment.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I mean it's a journey.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, it's definitely a journey. Um, when I came to the last shift, I remember writing in the book I think there was something about like, why are you here Somewhere? We wrote that and I was feeling stuck and I really couldn't even put more words on it than that. I just felt stuck. I felt like I was. It was Groundhog Day I think somebody mentioned that earlier and you're just getting up and doing the thing every day and nothing was moving forward.

Speaker 4:

And I had the hustle mentality that if I just keep working harder, then it'll all come together. And then I was getting frustrated because I was working really hard and I just everything was fine, everything was okay, but it wasn't moving forward and I think from there it was. I just had that feeling that probably a lot of people here have had that there's got to be something more. There's got to be something more. It just I wasn't feeling fulfilled and I have been a teacher for 24 years and that, like many others, has been my identity. You know what are you? Who are you? I'm a teacher. And then I would say you know, oh, and I also have this business that I do that keeps me up all hours of the night because I'm trying to juggle everything. But after yeah, after the shift event, I started doing the mindset work and I was not a meditator, I was not somebody who took the time to do that, you know, at any point in the day. Now I can't live without my morning routine. It's crucial for me.

Speaker 1:

Sarah's going to be happy about that. Oh yeah.

Speaker 4:

I'm all about the morning routine. It's crucial for me. Sarah's going to be happy about that. Oh yeah, I'm all about the morning routine. Finally, yeah and yeah, it's been a journey. I just started doing the programs, saying yes instead of saying no, taking the opportunities, the opportunities, taking every opportunity to be in rooms like this and, as I was, you know, moving forward. I knew my confidence was increasing, but I still wasn't there and I think it just. It just took time. I just had to keep going and, like you said, I had to not focus on where I wanted so much to be as just taking the next step, because I was. I couldn't figure out the how.

Speaker 4:

But, how am I going to get there? You know, if I want to work on my business full time, how, how do I do it? So I just started working through the programs one step at a time, again, like the connections and and leaning on the community for support. That's been, that's been huge for me.

Speaker 4:

I went back to school of in September a year ago and everything in my gut was feeling off. Everything felt off. I did take some time off and that really helped kind of clarify for me what's, what is it? What's missing here? And it it was. I had established the routines and I was starting to put things in place. But once I changed that and I went back to nine to five and being on a schedule for going to the bathroom it just wasn't, was not working for me and my body was telling me that and I think that's a big part of it is. Through doing the mindset work, the personal development, I just felt more connected to myself and started to trust myself more, started to take more risks, started to embrace failure, failure and and just trusted the process and I seek validation from nobody.

Speaker 4:

now, that's big, that was a big one for me. Yeah, I, you know it's it's. It's not the other opinions that matter. So so I trust my gut, I listen to my gut, which I really wasn't doing, and, yeah, and I got through the year, but this month was the first September in 24 years that I have not set up a classroom. Woo, oh, I'm so happy. Yeah, so I stepped away so that I can focus on that and actually see the possibilities that I couldn't see before. But it's just been so much growth and confidence in myself. I love that.

Speaker 5:

And there was a moment I remember being on Zoom with you and there was a moment where you were like damn it, I deserve this. Can you remember that?

Speaker 4:

I do.

Speaker 5:

It was like a switch for you and I feel like ever since you claimed that and you were like yeah, no, I deserve to have what I want, I feel you just saw that everything was attainable.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I think it was just. You know, through the coaching, through the work, there was a moment I remember that call and it's just the belief, the mindset change that this is for me too. This is not just for certain people. This is something I can have too. This is something anybody can have, you know. But it's. It's difficult sometimes when you're looking around and you see again, you know the Instagram curse of you're seeing all the highlights and you're thinking everything is working out for everybody else but you which, of course, we know is not necessarily the case but it can be difficult and it feels like, well, maybe this is just not meant for me, but I really believe in the mindset work, the power of the mindset work and changing your beliefs, and working through that has been a game changer for me, without a doubt, and I just had that moment where I said, no, wait, now, this, this is something I deserve to.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you brought up a couple times mindset and I just want to share this because I read it. I don't even remember what book it was recently that I read where they said you know what is mindset? And they said mindset is how your mind is set to see the world and your mind previously was set to say I can't have that, I don't deserve that or whatever. And then you changed how your mind was set to go no, I deserve this.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, and I was in the gap. I was put onto the book the Gap Versus the Gain and it's such a good book. Yeah, it's, it's an ongoing, you know learning journey, but but yeah, I was, I was focused on, I guess, what I didn't have where I wasn't. Now I celebrate my wins, I celebrate my successes, no matter how small.

Speaker 5:

Can we give these guys just one more round of applause?

Speaker 1:

Okay, there you have it. That was our amazing ELE panel. That was a huge hit at Shift, so I hope it inspired you, motivated you, and if you want to check out ELE, go to jointheshiftca. And today only is the last day. You can use the code ELE500 to save $500. And we kick off next week on Monday and I can't wait to get started. So I hope to see you in there and bye for now.

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Emily King

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