Sense of Soul - Finding Your Purpose

Episode Date: December 6, 2021

Today on Sense of Soul Podcast we have Maggie Gentry, the founder of Own Your Why, where she coaches her clients with Thought Partnership and Mindful Marketing designed for high conscious entrepreneurs, Maggie is also a certified yoga and meditation teacher. Maggie believes this world needs more people who lead with their heart, and there’s no better place to do that than through sharing your gifts. Maggie joined us for an inspiring conversation on how to discover your purpose by connecting to your true authentic self, asking yourself “why”? www.maggiegentry.com Follow Maggie’s journey on Instagram here @maggiegentry Did you know you can greatly support Sense of Soul Podcast simply by giving us a 5 star rating, following and leaving us a comment, one or all, they all help, and we absolutely appreciate it so much!  Also please check out our Sense of Soul’s merch and workshops including Shanna’s CLEAR ancestry workshop and learn more about us @ www.mysenseofsoul.com! Exclusively NOW on Sense of Soul Patreon  is the 777 Chakra Journey, 7 weeks 7 Chakras, beginning with the Root Chakra and ending at the end of 2021 with the Crown Chakra!  You can also listen to Shanna’s mini-series about her ancestral journey, “Untangled Roots” and Mande’s mini series about her two NDE’s has begun.  https://www.patreon.com/senseofsoul

Welcome to the Sense of Soul podcast. We are your hosts, Shanna and Mandy. Grab your coffee, open your mind, heart and soul. It's time to awaken. Today we have with us Maggie Gentry. She is the founder of Own Your Own Way, and she is a certified yoga and meditation teacher. But she helps soulpreneurs who are uniquely positioned to create an impact on our world. She believes this world needs more people who lead with their heart and there's no better place to do that than through sharing their gifts. Thank you, Maggie, for joining us. Hi, Maggie. Hey, Shanna. It's nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. Hi. Hey Mandy. So where are you from? Are you originally from Texas? Born and raised. Austin. I think I saw. Yeah. I grew up in South Texas,

but I've been in Austin now for 15 years, I think. So, and it was for school. And then I've been here ever since. You want to know what's kind of fun is that Shannon and I recently pulled up like where a lot of our listeners are. And considering we talk about a lot of super woohoo stuff, I was shocked to see that one of our top places is Fort Worth. Really? Yeah. Yeah. I haven't spent much time in Fort Worth, lived in Dallas for about a year and a half, but I only made it over to Fort Worth once. And that was the only time that I've been there, which is funny. So I don't know much about the makeup of that city. Isn't it weird?

We have found that there are so many spiritual people on the East coast, like Virginia. It seems like every time we have them on, they're like, we're from Virginia. We're from Virginia. We're from Pennsylvania. There's a lot of East Coast. Yeah. It's so funny because it's almost like the same with like New York and California, how far apart they are yet. They're usually within the same trends and stuff too. And I hate to say that spirituality is a trend, but it seems like it is trending. And which is so funny to me because a lot of, none of my journey had to do with anything that was trendy. But I wonder like, because it feels like there's a larger awakening or like this consciousness

rising. So I wonder if it really is like a trend or if it is like pervasive, like movement towards something. I think so. I hope you're right because it's so funny how like I had to be, Mandy and I would have to go way down to Denver, which isn't too far to get, you know, like sage or, you know, any kind of crystal or gemstone. And now they're like everywhere.

Yeah. And so, and no one knew what a chaperone was yeah and and for me it was like those stones really affected my my energy and even my sleep shanna knows the one time i i slept with um an intention and a big piece of uh this beautiful quartz in my hand um i had some crazy dreams and the little amount I did sleep. And then I woke up with like tons of just like downloads and messages. So you get these young kids that are going into these trendy stores, picking up these high energy and high vibrational stones and books and wearing things. And they have no awareness around what it is. They might just be like,

what if they had a piece of moldavite on? Or remember when, so I push, it was a long time ago. It was probably like six years ago. I made a dream catcher for Kinsley's for my little girl's room. And she was probably only like four then. And it was just a fun project. And it was not based on anything that had to do with dreams. It was going to be decor. You know what I mean?

And I always, you know, would end up sleeping with her in the middle of the night at some point, you know, she'd call me in there and I go in there and I sleep. And I had the craziest dreams of snakes that night. And they were so scary. And all I could look at that dream catcher and I was like, oh shit, that actually, you know, really had me thinking like, wow, there was something behind the dream catcher. It was a purposeful divine tool that they made and I just made it for fun. And so I took it down and it kind of blessed it and, and just kind of honored it and intentionally

asked for good dreams and, and just kind of honored it and intentionally asked for good dreams. And, and then it did make a difference. You know, everything is about intentions. Some people will say, Oh, you know, tarot cards are bad and you're tapping in with this evil, you know, spirit or something. And I'm like, I am because I'm not, you know, calling on, you know on my good guides and it feels positive and divine. And so, but I mean, if that's kind of the energy, it's all about whatever you put out there is the energy that you'll receive. That's what I believe anyways. Yeah.

I think it's interesting to navigate some of that because it's also around, I think what we were conditioned to believe. And I grew up in a Christian household. And so then from that point of view, it's like the kind of underlying belief is that we are flawed from birth, like we are bad. And so then, you know, that was something that I had to unpack and dispel. And I'm still not fully through that work. But I think that finding my own belief around, oh, we're all inherently good. But I think that that ties into what you were sharing, Shanna, just about like, if I go

in thinking that I'm inherently flawed, then it's like, that's the lens that I see my world in. And it's an interesting kind of like mindset shift, I think, to then be able to flip that. I was really blessed today with going to the DMV super early. When I was sitting there, I was just kind of closing my eyes and I was kind of just setting intentions on our conversation today. And so what came to my mind was purpose. And there was this quote I want to read really fast that really just kind of was standing out to read because I think a lot of people think that if you don't

know your purpose, that means something's wrong with you and the life you've been living is wrong. So here it goes. Finding yourself is not really how it works. You aren't a $10 bill in the last winner's coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people's opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. Finding yourself is actually returning to yourself, an unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got Its Hands on You by Emily McDonald. I love that.

Right? I loved it too. And when I read your website and what you do, I was like this whole thing about purpose. How do you find your purpose? And what are some tangible things you can do to find your purpose? And does it mean that you haven't been living your purpose? There's a lot in there. Thank you. Yeah. So I completely agree that this idea of finding yourself or finding your purpose is a deeply personal internal process. So how to go about that? I mean, I think it looks different for everyone

based on what your own way of communing with your intuition is. So for me, a way that I'm able to really access it is through writing. There's something with the physical act of pen to paper in a journal that allows me to really feel like I'm in a space of being able to access what I call the quiet whisper of my soul that I often can't hear when I'm just living day to day. So that's one way I find it. Once you do, does that mean that you were not living your purpose previously? And no, I think that if we're on this spiritual path, then I think there's something inherent to that process in which we are growth-minded individuals. So just because we're in a different state now than we were previously does not mean that we were not whole

or we're not intentional back then. It just means that we're on like a different place on that path. So whenever I have a new layer of understanding or whenever I have a new layer of learning, there has to be a moment of like really deep honoring and recognition for past me, because I'm only able to get where I am today because of the work that past me has already done. There's so many people that are trying to find their purpose. You know, they're always seeking it. So, which is beautiful, right? Because I mean, if they're seeking their purpose and they're not seeking to be in the box of the conditioned world, I feel they're seeking, you know, what is true

for them. However, they don't know where to start. They don't know where to take that first step into discovering their purpose. And my thoughts on that, looking back at my journey is that there were passions within me or things that I came here with. I have a very nurturing side, you know, that mother side. Of course, I thought it was my purpose was just to be a mother, which now I've expanded that. But also I like to teach. I always pretended I was a teacher. So there are these qualities about me, even as a child that I used to play that, you know, makes sense to me now.

So I feel like people need to kind of, you know, sit with themselves and see what did they love to do even as a child? Yeah. I mean, I think there's a lot of wisdom to be found in some of that inner child work and really having those conversations. I think also you make a great point that as adults, play is not something that we really revel in and there can be something that's really liberatory in accessing that again. Going back to that quote of homecoming, I think a lot about finding your purpose almost as a reclamation. So it really is this reclaiming of your truest nature. And the way to do that, I find is through gentle inquiry, always gentle, you know, the work that I do,

I've kind of, it's under this moniker of own your why. And so a lot of that is asking why each step of the way. So that can be, you know, through the guise of work. It can also be through the guise of life. So it's like, Hey, I'm doing this thing. Why am I doing it? Why is it important? Why do I feel compelled or drawn to this thing over the other? And I think that that helps because going back to this idea of the conditioning and the conditions that we have that have been placed on us, then there are a lot of, you know, you can talk about the shoulds. So we'll do a lot of things just because it feels like, oh, this is what everyone else has done. Oh, I should be following this particular route.

And so that then is always a mental flag for me to pause and question, and again, gently inquire, is that a belief that I truly believe? Or is that a belief that I've been told I should believe? And so in that way, I find that the process of allowing your purpose to unfold is really this daily iterative moment by moment process. I don't think that it comes, at least in my experience, it was not something that came to me very clearly in this one particular moment. It was something that evolved. That was part of the journey to be able to strengthen those things that lead you to your purpose. But do you believe that your purpose has to be like your, you know, profession? Oh, no, absolutely not. So I work with, I call it, you know, like solopreneurs mainly. So folks that are entrepreneurs, largely them, they might have a couple of contractors assistants, you know, virtual

assistants working with them, but largely also in the service-based industry so doing some sort of offering that is largely themselves and so in that realm it's nearly impossible to have conversations about business without bringing in the personal and so i think vice versa it's like yes work can absolutely be a place in which you find fulfillment. And I think in this day and age, what we're seeing this transition to is that no longer are people wanting work just to pay the bills. They are wanting work to be meaningful and purposeful. And, you know, thinking of Maslow's hierarchy, they're wanting work that allows them to even touch into self-actualization to some degree.

And it doesn't have to be that. I mean, I think that we can find purpose merely in being. And that's where I'm thinking of the conditioning of capitalism, where it's like, oh, our worth is tied to our productivity. And I find that so problematic because we are worthy for simply being here. And, you know, so I, yeah, I would really like to detangle this idea that purpose and work have to be so intricately linked. They can be if that feels true for you, but it doesn't have to be. Thank you for that reminder to our listeners and to me, because you're right. We tie purpose in with productivity, even as like a wife, a daughter, a mom, because you're sitting there thinking, oh, I'm not a worthy mom because I didn't do anything productive today. Yeah. Thank you. I love the word you used to detangling it? You know, my heart was breaking. Mandy had, I mean, I'm like oblivious to the world news, but she had told me about what was going on in Afghanistan. And I was watching this one

thing that showed these women who were protesting for themselves to keep the rights that they've had all these years when the Taliban wasn't there, you know, imposing these restrictions on women. And it just broke my heart because I listened to this podcast. I think it was on the daily and had this woman who was talking about how she cannot believe like not only was her city taken over and she's lost, she feels like she's lost her city, but she she's lost her dreams. And it just reminded me, and I have been reminded over the past few years, even through my ancestry, just women have really have had a lot of oppression and have not had very many opportunities. But yet here in America, we do right now.

And how we take that for granted. Absolutely. And I wish I could remember precisely where I read or heard this so that I could properly credit and forgive me that I can't. If I can find it, then I'll make sure to send it to you all so we can link to it. And you might be familiar with this idea of the witch wound, which is this idea that from for millennia any woman who was deemed different did not conform to society was given this label of which ostracized outcast and so if you believe in reincarnation then there is this belief that now there's a resurgence of women who have this witch wound, who are waking

up and trying to reclaim power and autonomy and sovereignty. And so I think that we're seeing that in small ways, but even in the fact that like what you just shared, that woman in Afghanistan, to be able to speak her truth, I think there's something profound in that. Yeah. Very grateful that we in America can be entrepreneurs, that we can start businesses, that we don't have to worry about our children, never not being able to go to school and, you know, and that we can even talk about this. and that was one of the things that I was so mad in America about when I was going through my ancestry journey I was so pissed because I felt like I had been lied to that I didn't really know the truth about things and I was so disappointed

and I think it was it was a past guest Brit who actually teaches history, American history. And he said, you know, just the fact that you can even talk about it, you know, is a freedom. And then I think about that. We have a woman as a vice president. We are in the age of Aquarius. I don't know if that has something to do with it. Yeah, we're coming up. president. We are in the age of Aquarius. I don't know if that has something to do with it. Yeah, we're coming up. And speaking of coming up, Maggie, let's go back. You had mentioned a little bit about your personal life. I'm always the one that just really wants to dig in there deep and hear your personal story. Cause that's the part that I just, I just, I thrive to hear people's stories that you were brought up in a Christian home and that that kind of shaped you. Can you talk about

the journey that you went on to find your purpose today? Yeah. So it's interesting how I would say my spiritual development journey, therapeutic journey, entrepreneurial journey all started around the same time. So I started my business in early 2016. And when I did, I knew that I wanted to be supported. I knew it was going to be a big endeavor. So that was the first time I sought therapy. My first therapist was also very big in mindfulness practices, grounding practices.

So she first introduced me to meditation. I also have a dance background and an arts background. So I danced for years through my late 20s. And then once I stopped that was looking for another movement practice. But I've never been one that's into like, you know, hit works at hit workouts or anything like that. I just needed something a little more gentle. So then that's when I also discovered yoga. So it's like all these things kind of converged around that time in 2016. So then from there, it all started to evolve, I'll say. I mean, because I think there's something very confronting about entrepreneurship

as well, because then when, especially when you're in this service-based role, and especially me, when what I'm selling is consulting and coaching, which is in some weird way, my ideas, which are they me? Are they not me? So then like selling these things that are intangible that are of me gets really weird. And so then again, this idea of, well, how do I price this? And what am I worth? And all of these weird questions that you face when you're a business owner, that really allowed me to dig into some of these other practices. And I then started to read more about spirituality. I got my yoga teacher certification in 2018.

I went through a meditation teacher training in 2019 and, you know, started following folks and got my first tarot deck and began to dig into my astrology. And I think I've always been pretty curious, but then something about starting my business and having to find my voice and having to talk about myself and my work and build this brand was something that was also very uncomfortable at first. But in that process, like I had to really dive deep and find what I wanted to say. So through that, it was when I first read Simon Sinek's book, Start With Why, that really sparked something for me. And then that felt like it was the first time that I saw an approach to business that felt true. And yeah, it kind of evolved from there.

So I'm going to ask you, what is your why? I believe where there's truth, there's strength. So for me, and that goes back to the question that you were asking earlier, Shanna, you know, I think that that why for me is both personal and I also feel like it ties perfectly into my work because when I am able to really dig into my truth or the truth for my clients, then we're able to find there's courage there. There is clarity there. So for me, it's always about pausing and personally in my life, asking where am I out of alignment? What is in alignment?

Is this as integrity for me? So again, it goes back to that gentle inquiry. That's like how I live my life and how I do my work. But that's a lot of it. And passion, because I know for myself, I mean, I am very passionate about certain things like ancestry or energy work. It's so amazing how when you have this passion, this energy rises in you, you feel it expands from you. It just naturally does. I mean, you don't even have to worry about what you're going to say.

You know, you don't have to be nervous about talking about it because it's just part of you. Yeah. And then I don't even need like notes or you know what I mean? Yeah. And I wonder if that's an element of if passion is almost linked to just being in flow, finding something that feels so right and true and in alignment for you that it's like, it just naturally comes like you were saying. Yeah. Yeah. And we all have our own thing. Like my passion lies with my, my challenges. It's, you know, all of my passion, like that deep passion lies with recovery and addiction and Shanna's can't, her passion came from pain too, the pain of her ancestors and what they've gone through. So it's so interesting that that pain, like we always say, turning your pain into purpose. Did yours start from pain? Oh yeah. I mean, going back to little Maggie,

when I was a kid, that insatiable curiosity was always present. And so I think that something that was not available to me was a parental figure who could sit with me and deal with that. There was always a dismissive air to the house in which I grew up in. And also parents who, I mean, I just found out three years ago, some very, very deep truths about my parents that I'm not even supposed to know and like extremely traumatic experiences for them. So then of course it makes so much sense about their parenting style and the house that I did grow up in. But I think that that's why there's always this curiosity for me to dig even

deeper because everything is so surface level with them, even to this day. And that's not how I operate. I swim and live in the depths and that's where I want to be. And so I want others to meet me there. And so, especially with the work that I do or in the, in the relationships that I have, it's all about that big, deep, purposeful work conversations. Your expertise actually comes from your experiences, right? I mean, even, I mean, it doesn't matter. There've been so many times prior to this journey where I read books and now I read them and there's totally different to me, you know, you know, and maybe I could have told you everything about them prior, but I hadn't experienced those things yet.

Well, for Mandy and I, for sure with our pain, we've became experts on pain through our pain. Well, and then to bring note to that, you have these young kids that graduate from college that have very little experience because they're so young yet. We expect them to go immediately jump out and find their purpose. And we don't create a space for them. You know, over the weekend, I met a gentleman that was from Israel and he was telling me in Israel, they have a year after college called a gap year where they give their children a year to just go do whatever they want travel. And, um, I loved that idea because you're right, Shanna, they don't have enough experience. Some do, I'm not saying all, but a lot of them don't have that experience to

help lead their way. And guess what? Probably the harder you had it as a kid, the more experienced you are and ready for the world, how unfortunate someone's life could have it as a kid, the more experienced you are and ready for the world. How unfortunate someone's life could have been as a child, how they can turn around and use those things to help change the world. Well, I think it goes back to what we were chatting about earlier, just about giving perspective. So when you do have a lot of adversity early on, then I think should you choose allows room for gratitude to grow and for this expanded perspective around what the world can be or could be. is something I learned in the rooms of AA. And that is that you're only as sick as your secrets. And I thought of that because I thought about your parents, like here they're, they're holding onto these secrets. And yet if they could have just released them, which they probably didn't because of shame, I'm assuming, but if, if they could have just released them, then they would offer you some more understanding and compassion and empathy about why they were the way they were. It's one of those tricky things where it's like, you feel so shackled to your secrets. If you just release those to people that you trust or support,

it really offers so much connection. Did you feel more empathy and compassion when you found these things out? Did you feel more empathy and understanding? Yeah. I mean, is there understanding? Yes. And I think there's also a lot of frustration that I can see the potential of healing that's possible that they won't step into. And I think that there's something about learning from pain that we're talking about. It hurts like hell to go into your own pain. And it feels so liberating once you're through it. And so I think that they're so scared to go into it, to feel it fully that it stays stuck. And I can't do that process for them. Yeah. And that's what's hard with my family discovered this 85 year old secret insane.

Like I, the very beginning, there was no compassion. Actually, I was extremely upset and it took me a long, long time, probably years to understand and empathize. And, but I had to go through it. I had to actually go and really, really dig deep in understanding why someone would do something like that. Yeah. The way you just spoke, Maggie reminded me exactly of Shanna. It was hard for her to accept because she could see the healing there, the potential. Well, and that's what's frustrating is because there's a history of very real, true victimhood. And that doesn't always have to be

the case, but that has been the label and the identity that they have chosen to perpetuate. And so then that's really hard when it's like, yes, there is an incident that absolutely you were the victim in that. And I want to honor it completely. And there are other things that have happened in the decades since that you did have a role in some of this hurt that you're refusing to look at. And that's frustrating. Yeah. It's very similar. Did you know that Sense of Soul now has a Patreon where you can get exclusive episodes, mini series that Mandy and I have been working on for a long time that we can't wait to share with you. Monthly readings, Sense of Soul, Sacred Circles, workshops, behind the scene clips, and much more. Hop on Sense of Soul

Patreon right now and sign up. Maggie, how does one take these experiences, these pains that they've been through and not let it affect the business side of their income? It's so hard to draw that line. I mean, I worked in a rehab with alcoholics and I brought it home every night. I tried to pretend I wasn't, but I was carrying it in my body. Now that I look back, I wish I had discernment then. but, and then I worked at children's hospital and I was losing kids all the time. And I felt like I was leaving it there, but I truly wasn't looking back. What are boundaries you can put up for yourself or how can you use them to fuel you in a positive way? That's a great question. I mean, I'll speak to some things that I found helpful. So, you know,

just very practically, and also because I live and work in my same space, which I think many of us now, especially in this COVID reality are doing that, it's helpful for me to have ritual and transitions. So that's been really sweet, because I feel like I focus or previously had focused so heavily on a morning routine and a morning ritual. And then now it's really helpful for me to have something to close out the end of my day because otherwise it bleeds. And so I think there's a lot of that like boundary leaking. So it's helpful for me to have a close the laptop, like end of day ritual that allows me to say, okay, work is done. Now I'm going to focus on me.

As always happen. It's not an everyday thing, but I do try when possible. Also just thinking about, you know, but then what to do as far as being a human and also being a human that exists in a system that requires us to do something to make money to live. It's also, I think, really critical to have a support system, whatever that might look like. So whether that is on a personal front, having friends, having your own internal processing system so that you feel like you're taking care of your needs. And if in whatever way possible and on the work front is, do you have colleagues or a boss,

or, you know, if you're working for yourself, is it time to explore having a virtual assistant or someone who can help you? And if that's not a possibility, then what about someone that you can, you know, a coworker or colleague that you can just have as a coworking buddy, somebody to help bring that sense of community and that sense of belonging, I think helps tremendously because when we are in pain, at least for me, I know that I tend to isolate and feel very alone. And so in whatever way I can bring forth and remind myself that there are people here for me, it helps significantly. So like teamwork and some sort of support system. I like that. Yeah. Yeah.

Over the weekend, I was talking with a gentleman who has started four companies from scratch. Very, very successful man. And we were having dinner and there were some comments flying around the table from salesmen about these labels that get put on salesmen. That they're all slimy or that they're all an ego. And, and one of them started talking about how to an extent, of course that's true, but that also this gentleman brought up, there's nothing and no one in life that doesn't involve sales. And he challenged me to think of one area in life where you're not trying to sell. And I couldn't think of anything. I mean, we are always trying to sell. We're selling ourselves.

We're selling by how we represent ourselves, how we talk, how we speak. What are your thoughts on that? I don't know, because it's like, sure, maybe we're intentional about how we show up and what we wear and how we speak. But I wonder if part of that is living in intentionality and just being your true self, because then in doing so, then it becomes a matter of like, you are who you are, you're living in your truth. And then you release how others receive that or perceive it or respond to it. And so then if people want to pick up what you're putting down, it's like, cool or not, you know, I think there's something about just being in your truth. So then I don't think it is really selling. I don't need that. If you are authentic, I mean, I, I never, I really sat with that. I'm like, have I ever really tried to sell myself? I don't think so. You know? I mean, I think intentionally, um, yeah, I don't know either. I mean, this, this behind us is a representation of you know like everything

we put together on our website that's that's to an extent trying to sell yourself but it did it the intentions to wanting to share with others yeah I don't know I know yeah even our podcast did not start that way you know know, we weren't trying to sell anything or ourselves or our stories. We were just wanting to share to help others. So, because if that's the frame of mind that you go into every interaction, if you do think, okay, everything is negotiable or everything is a transaction, then I wonder what you could be missing out on. And so that's where I challenge it a little bit more that everything is a sale, because I think there's so much that feels a little binary to me. I think otherwise, if we can have something that is more expansive,

where we are just being intentional in who we are and how we present ourselves and how we want to show up to relationships, then that allows us to open up to nuance and perhaps not go in with such a predetermined idea of what you can get out of it, which I think could be problematic instead of just showing up open hearted, open palmed. When I'm working with someone like on a clear workshop, like I'm not thinking about selling. I mean, I really want to help them connect with their ancestors. I mean, even if like relationships or something like I divorced a couple of years ago. So like currently dating. So even if you

want to use that as an example where it's like, but I don't know that I'm necessarily selling myself as I go on these dates and meet these other humans. I think it's more that I'm testing the waters of how I can show up most fully as me and who allows me to show up like that. Thank you for your take on it, because I agree with both you and Shanna. If you're just being your authentic self, that's great. But can you be your authentic self, that's great. But can you be your authentic self and sell a product? Oh, hell yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of people feel like what if the product doesn't align with them, but they're forced to sell it?

Then that's a question, you know, is this an alignment and, you know, because again, acknowledging massive privilege too. So sometimes there are things that we have to do in order to sustain. So I think about Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic a lot of times, and she talks about how she never wanted to put the pressure on her writing to make money. And so she waitressed for years. And so I know plenty of people like that, who they do something that pays the bills so that they can still explore this creative pursuit completely unencumbered. So there's nothing wrong with that. I think it's again, going back to like what feels true for me and how can I design the life based on that? Yeah. If someone came to you for some, some coaching,

what would that look like? Or do you have someone that you've worked with that you could share their growth and where they started and what they found within the end their purpose? Yeah, I'm so fortunate. It's like most of my engagements have been quite long lasting. And, you know, so I, I'm thinking of one client right now where I think we started about two years ago and we did an own your why session, which is what I call it to do this like big, deep dive and try to find the words to encapsulate the feelings of her big purpose. And so we did that. Then that led into doing an entire like website revamp, rehaul. Then we recently did like a revisiting the why session just a few months ago because she has personally evolved. And so then she wanted to incorporate that into her work and things have been shifting in this really beautiful way. And

so I've been there with her throughout that time. And so now going from one-on-one work and then she hired a team. So now she's not doing one-on-one work anymore. Then it was teaching classes and now it's launching an entire community. So it's been really interesting to see how holding dear her vision and holding really dear to her truth has then supported the evolution of her business. It seems like if you are aligned is probably where you're going to be most successful. With that passion you were talking about, that flow you were talking about that happens, because if you're not, then there's not the flow.

You know, you're going to find yourself against a wall, right? Yeah. And it's funny. I actually just wrote a newsletter about this. That'll go out tomorrow, but I've been having these conversations with a lot of my clients recently that are feeling really frustrated with this idea of having to niche down and having to oversimplify and to fit into boxes. Because again, this is something that we've been told that we have to do in order to sell a thing. And my rebuttal to that is like, no, you do not need to whittle yourself down into this tiny version of who you are just so that it's palatable to the masses.

Like, I believe that there is this growing number of humans who are waking up to higher consciousness who want people to be their full multifaceted selves. Yeah. I just want to champion people who feel like they can and want to bring all parts of themselves to life and to work. And I find that being, I mean, my entire client roster, you know, they believe that too. And like watching them be successful is just beautiful. And it speaks to how it does work when you are wholly, truly authentically yourself, people resonate

with that. So I've done a lot of multi-level marketing companies and actually really enjoyed them. They all had me start with my why in your why shifts sometimes even daily. It's interesting to go back to my journal and look at some of my wise from previous, cause they always had to do with like outside, you know, like my children, my husband, my family, my why now is more about my own soul evolution. What are some whys that you hear? Is a why just one sentence? Is a why a paragraph? What does a why look like? For ease of remembrance, which I think is helpful, I do think that one sentence is best. So I shared mine earlier. And so my why is I believe where there's truth, there's strength. And in that small statement is a lot to unpack. For me, it signals when we're able to do that deep inner work, then we're able to step into a newfound spaciousness that allows

us to do these big, scary things. So for instance, like speaking of like in the business realm, a lot of what marketing folks will tell you to do is look at what the competitors are doing. And it's like, yes, to an extent, but take that lightly. Because then I think if we look too much outside of us and what other people are doing, then we make decisions on external factors rather than what is true for us. So to me, like all of that is kind of baked into my why. So I like to encourage my clients when they're coming up with a why, like the exercise really is this. If you have a journaling practice or a meditation practice,

just allow yourself to write down, I believe, and then free write. Set a timer if you want, go on a walk. You can voice note it and voice record it. But try to come up with as many variations, one sentence phrases to complete that statement as you can. I believe, fill in the blank. And if possible for extra little creative experimentation is try to write that phrase without the word and. Because if you think about many mission or vision statements, they can be like run on sentences that

are paragraph long and then who can actually remember that. So for recall, it's really helpful to think about how can you concisely say what you really mean and that exercise of not choosing the word and really requires you to be very intentional and specific about the language that you use and really get down to like the essence of your why. And I mean, I think that also a component of your why is that I feel like you want something that is universal enough so that others can feel the call to join you and yet personal enough to, so that you can tap into that passion, like we were talking about. So then if we dig down a little bit deeper, like, why is it important for you to make money? Is it to support your family? Is it to build intergenerational wealth because you haven't had that before? Is it to give to others who

don't have the resources that you do? So it's a continual peeling of the onion with, well, why is that important? Why is that important? Why is that important? Why is that important? Because in the greater scheme of things, your soul doesn't give a shit of what kind of position you have or how much you make. If you have a lot of money, what will you do for the greater good with it? That would be the soul's purpose of, you know, having that, in my opinion. Yeah.

That's like this weekend when I was on this gentleman's catamaran, I heard him donate like $80,000 to like the Catalina hospital and to their wildlife preserve. And I'm like, it just warmed my heart. Like that's what he does. He takes his money and he helps. And obviously he lives a very blessed life, but I mean, isn't that what it's really about, you know, finding other things you're passionate about and being able to give to those, you know, it was just, it was just beautiful to witness and his intention. You could just tell it meant so much to him. Yeah. I love that. Maggie, you had mentioned something earlier that I just want to jump back to real fast.

You said two words that are sticking out to me. One was the word play. And the second one was, you were talking about how you like to be in that deep conversation. Like that surface stuff just doesn't, doesn't do it for you anymore. You know, for me, I had to kind of pull back because I found like Shanna talks about it sometimes, like how we tend to always just want to be up in our crown chakra and we want to be all up in here in our third eye. And sometimes you can play up here. You can play a lot. You can do some amazing fun things.

And for me, it's like I experienced that on the ultimate level of like a near death experience. And so I always want to be there, but I got to learn how to play down here too. I got to learn how to play down here by my feet where I'm rooted. So I have to learn how to play in this earthly level. And I have to learn how to be okay with having surface conversations with people

because not everyone I come across is going to be at that same level up here. It's important to remember that I still got to be down there sometimes if I want to be going to be at that same level up here. It's important to remember that I still got to be down there sometimes if I want to be able to connect with people. I mean, what are your thoughts around all of that? Yeah, I agree. And I mean, it's situational, right? But I mean, I think the context from earlier was in relation to my parents. And it's like, so it's really challenging to have this relationship with those who birthed and raised you. And all you can really talk about is the weather and sports.

So that was really what I mean. And yeah, of course, it's like, I love, you know, I was watching Never Have I Ever on Netflix last night. So it's like, I'm not always like I watch like silly TV too. And I'm also a Taurus moon. So it's like, I love, like when I think of play, it's like very sensual. Like I mean, it's like in simple stuff too, but it's like, I live right by a trail. And so it's just like putting my bare feet on the grass and it kind of weaves in and out of a creek. So we just had some really beautiful rain. And so then it's like when the water's flowing, putting myaves in and out of a creek. So we just had some really beautiful rain. And so then it's like when the water's flowing, putting my feet in and swimming. And that's how I think of play a lot is how am I able to tap into some of those, like even micro joys. I keep a coloring book out

next to my sofa just because that feels like a fun and almost kind of meditative way to check out if I want to, or I just don't want to be on the screen anymore. So tell our listeners where they can find you. If they want to get some coaching, where can they go? Tell them about what you've got going on. Yeah. Thank you. All my info is on my website, which is maggiegentry.com.

And I still randomly will go into Instagram, but I've just haven't felt the urge to be in that social media space very often. I play in stories, but you can find me there, Maggie Gentry underscore at the end. I have a monthly newsletter that goes out with a lot of beautiful resources. So if you're in that space of entrepreneurship and want to try to explore mindful marketing, I've got some goodies in there when you join, but that's me. You know what? Can you expand on that really fast? Because that definitely stuck out to me. Mindful marketing. Yeah. Well, I mean, really, it's a lot of what we've been talking about. So it's this idea of

really intentionally diving into who you are and allowing your full self to come forward. So it really is about releasing these ideas of what marketing should be. It's the idea of releasing this idea that you have to work within a certain framework, just because someone said that it worked for them. When honestly, that framework that worked for them, they can connect the dots looking backwards. And they, you know, often will leave out a lot of serendipity that happened along the way. It's really fiercely honoring who you are and allowing yourself to give yourself massive permission to do things your way. So it's like going within to help guide you just like you would with healing or with discovering your true self.

So it's just like the work that you do on yourself, do on your business. Exactly. That's exactly it. And now it's time for break that shit down. You're worthy. I think that that continues to be the core fear and wound that I myself work through. And so even if it's more reminder to self, maybe it lands with someone listening, but

you are whole and beautifully worthy. You're not just being is you're worthy. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much. You have been just a light in my day and I appreciate you. And thank you so much for taking time to talk to us. It was an honor. Thank you. Thanks for being with us today. We hope you will come back next week. If you like what you hear, don't forget to rate, like, and subscribe. Thank you.

We rise to lift you up. Thanks for listening.