Sense of Soul - Is it time for a Soulbbatical?

Episode Date: June 27, 2022

Today on Sense of Soul Podcast we have, Chief Soul Operator Shelley Paxton, certified professional coach, podcast host and author of Soulbbatical: A Corporate Rebel's Guide to Finding Your Best Life. Forbes # 1 book to read in 2021. Soulbbatical is a way of being and movement inspired by Shelly’s personal journey. Shelley Paxton spent 26 years as a highly regarded marketing and advertising executive stewarding some of the world’s most iconic brands like Harley-Davidson, Visa, McDonald’s, and AOL. Today she is passionately sharing her story through her book and her podcast to impact the world in becoming Chief Soul Officer of their own life, taking responsibility for nurturing both yourself and your soul. As a certified professional coach, she works with individuals, entrepreneurs, and executives at Fortune 100 companies like Lowe’s, Inc. and Mars, Inc. Shelley has always been a rebel soul with a nomadic spirit. She’s a self-proclaimed Global Citizen having lived in places as diverse as Istanbul, Shanghai, and New York City, and she has traveled to 66 countries and counting, quite a few of them on a motorcycle. (Oh, and she pierced her nose at age 42.) Are you ready to flip the middle finger to the status quo in life and business? Check out her podcast of Rebel Souls Podcast. Liberate Your Soul. Step Into Your Power. Learn more and get this amazing book here https://soulbbatical.com www.mysenseofsoul.com Join our Sense of Soul Patreon!! Our community of seekers and lightworkers who get exclusive discounts, live events like SOS Sacred Circles, ad free episodes and more. You can also listen to Shanna’s new mini series, about the Goddess Sophia! Sign up today and help support our podcast. As a member of any level you get 50% off Shanna’s Soul Immersion Healing Experience! 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 Shelly Paxton. Shelly is a lifelong rebel liberator of souls and the author of Soul Biblical, a corporate rebel's guide to finding your best life. She is also the host of Rebel Souls podcast, where she hosts conversations with movement makers, culture creators, and game changers who are breaking the rules and rewriting the script of success. So buckle up for some serious badassery and a whole lot of inspiration with our guest today. Welcome Shelly Paxton. Hi. Hello. Hi. How are you? I'm very good. How are you?

Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Gorgeous backgrounds and everything. I love it. We are so excited to have you because number one, you're fricking hilarious. You're raw. You cuss. You're like our people. I love it. I knew we'd get along. I knew we'd get along. I was thinking about how Shanna and I are like, you like, we just get on.

And there's so many times her and I have conversations where we're like, shit, we should have just pressed record. Yes, I know. I know. I paused my podcast for a couple of few months and I'm just enjoying this kind of season of renewal, um, rejuvenation. Yeah. Yeah. My little sabbatical for my podcast. That's a good reflection because I want to think about like, what do I want to do more of? How do you, how do you keep this really fun? I love that the two of you can work off of each other's energy and have fun doing it.

And that's a, that's a cool vibe. Yeah. It does help to have somebody, well, you interview people because I mean, it definitely helps to like, when I, whenever I have to do something alone, like I did an entire ancestry by myself. And right now I'm working on this other podcast, just like I call her my side, hope podcast. And you know, it's like, I am like, I struggle because it's not like this because I'm not as natural. And so, and I'm trying to get there, but man, you're better at it. I just, it sounds so much like a storyteller. Don't yes but you want to know what why people are loved it the way you did it so i think you should just own it and roll with how you do it because

i think it sounds amazing when you do it oh well thanks thank you very much so where do you where do you join us i am in chicago okay. Where are you ladies? Well, we're like in Chicago too, because it's been windy as shit here. We're in Colorado. Ah, what parts of Colorado? Are you in the same place or different cities? No, we're in the same

well, not anymore because Mandy just made a data virus, but she's still 10 minutes away. But yeah, we're just in the suburbs of Denver. Got it. Okay. Yeah. Such an amazing city. Yes. When you first came through our email, the word sabbatical obviously stuck out to us. I'll tell you why, because I had a dream about two, maybe two, three years ago, I was in this space. It was kind of like, I think it was in like a desert. And I felt like it was in this circle and this old man with this long red cape, right?

He tells me you need to have a sabbatical. And I was like, what? A sabbatical? So I woke up and I'm laying in bed and my partner wakes up and I'm like, what's a sabbatical. Isn't that some kind of like Catholic thing? I mean, I don't even know what one is, but he said he needed one. And the same guy also told me in another dream that I needed to find my druid stone. So he gives me very little details of what I'm supposed to do, but it's very interesting. Yeah. So, and here we are, the universe connected us at last. I know. So why don't you tell us what's a soulbaticle? What does that mean to you? And I know you've had some interesting dreams too. So I'd love to hear.

Yeah. Yeah. So what's fascinating is when I created the word soulbatical, I really had no fucking idea what it meant. I just, I was honestly, so I'll give you kind of the, the evolution of this word and what it has come to mean as I wrote the book. And as I live it today, and as I, as I preach it, I created this word because when I was leaving Harley, I was chief marketing officer of Harley Davidson. Nobody leaves this job without being fired. So here I am, the person who's like, but I feel empty inside and I don't understand what's going on. And then through the nightmare, which we can get into, I had a crazy nightmare, which woke me up to the idea that I was not living at all in alignment with my soul, with my own truth, with my essence.

And I knew I was 46 years old at the time. And I was like, do I want to be miserable when I get to be 50? Do I want to be moving further away from who I've meant to become? So I made the really courageous, you know, scariest shit, courageous decision to leave. And people around me, my own family included were like, who does this? Shelly, you don't leave a job without another job. You don't leave like the sexiest job in marketing, period. Like let them fire you, let them usher you out the door, but what are you doing? And so I'll be honest, I, because I'm creative and, you know, I'm a marketer, it literally came to me. I woke up one morning and I'm like, ah, I'm going to explain, I'm going to give people a handle so that they can just get off my back and understand that I'm doing something that maybe nobody's ever done before, because it's not a traditional sabbatical. It wasn't like, I'm going to take a three month break and come back.

It wasn't a vacation. It was a very intentional departure to reconnect with my soul. And so that's where it started. So listen, I could not have articulated any of this five and a half years ago when I created the word. What I love is that I've realized so many things on this journey. One is Solbatical was never about leaving your job. It was about finding yourself. And even more importantly, what I realize now, I've kind of gone back and I've created definitions with what I know now, the wisdom I have of having been on this journey for five and

a half years. And the way I talk about soulbatical now is that it's a way of being. Again, you don't have to leave your job. It is a conscious choice to live in full alignment with one soul. And I say, you know, it's a choice to live and lead with greater authenticity, greater courage, and greater purpose, you know, in this one wild and precious life that we have. So that's what it's come to mean over the years. And that's what I really preach now is let's rewrite our script of success and live the life you're meant to live. Well, I think that I was blessed with the fact that I didn't know what the word meant. So I had to come up with my own definition through my own experience and I would absolutely describe it the same. Isn't that amazing when there's no conditions attached to a word that, you know, you come up with the soulful definition. So yeah, right on. That's not a surprise given, you know, what I know of you ladies and how you live your lives and just the, this beautiful platform that you've created. So you are living soulbatical.

So thank you. You want to know what another word that I loved that I was like, yes, was the revolution. Oh yeah. So talk about that word. Well, so I love that you are honing in on my language because I've really come to appreciate that this is my genius and I didn't understand it. Even though I was in the advertising and marketing business for 26 years, I didn't really appreciate that I had this genius for creating language because I was always using the language of another brand, right? I was using the language of the brand or the company and a lot of corporate jargon and all of that shit, right? That'll just like, that'll kill your soul real quick. So, so for me, this journey has also allowed me to embrace so many facets of who I am.

So around the idea of language creation, I've really zoned in on that. And writing the book was so much fun because I got to create language the entire time. So this word revolution came up. I mean, it has many layers. So one, the subtitle to my book is A Corporate Rebel's Guide to Finding Your Best Life. And as I tell my story, I came flying out of the womb as a rebel. I just, from the very beginning, I was, I know, oh, believe me or believe me, but both. Right. Um, and then they were kind of, uh, I don't know what the right phrase is, but sort of goody two shoes. My parents were very,

very straight laced and they were young parents and yes. And I'm the oldest, I was the first child. So they had no idea. And so I know. So I always say I was rebelling against so many things. I was rebelling against my parents and they were very Catholic. And so they raised us in the religion early on. I left that many, many, many years ago and authority and everything. Like I was just always pushing against and beating my head against a brick wall. And what I realized when I left Harley and I started thinking about this journey is that that rebel against like, that's what gives rebels such a bad rap because it's like, you're pushing against, you're pushing away, but that's actually on somebody else's terms. So it's very constricting. And I thought, wow, there's a whole lot of power in this idea of rebelling for. So this got me on this sort of a mission of, wait a second, why aren't more of us rebelling for who we are, what we want, and the impact we want to have in the world and we're doing it on our terms. And so when I thought about what

would it look like for more of us to make this choice in the world, I'm like, that's a fucking revolution. And the word just came out. So, oh my God, I love it. How did that affect your soul though? Like when you were growing up, you know, pushing against everything, not following the path, I'm questioning things, not believing the conditions, I'm standing up to authority. Did that like at any point in your life make you feel like, am I a bad person? Is there something wrong with me? Like, how did it make you feel? Yeah, I was always in search of, so it really made me feel like I didn't know where I belonged. I feel like my whole journey throughout life, and I talk about this in the book too, is I was in search of, I'm like, where are my people?

Actually, who are my people? Because I didn't even feel that connected to my own family of origin. I was sort of like, they don't understand me and I don't understand them. Where, where, where did I come from? So that's like what, so that's one thing. The other thing that's coming up for me is what it made me do is I finally learned to play the game. So what I think I did is I just started tuning out because I was like, oh, well, if I listen to my soul, I get in trouble. If I listen to my soul, somebody tells me, well, that's all well and good, but go do this thing anyway. And so I really started to

go down this path of not trusting my own intuition and not listening to that beautiful voice. And so that's what this whole, my, my whole story is about how I got really good at tuning that voice out and stepping up to everyone else's definition of success in life. And so this journey has been me tuning way back in to my soul. And that's why I created that word. Soul is at the center of soulbatical and I'm finally listening to her and she's guided me very, very well. Oh my gosh. I can relate so much. I actually remember like at one point as a child, when I was kind of rebelling against things, struggling with, with anger, because I felt like I was misunderstood. I felt like I really had an issue with that word

anger. I was always told like, I was such a rebel and I'm so bad. And, you know, my mom even went as far back as like telling me a story that I just came out that way. Like at one time when I was a toddler, I crawled under the table and I was biting her ankles and Donald's because I was just being a little brat. And the stories were always like really bad. And I was like, oh my God, I was like this horrible little terror. And then, and you know, in high school, I was like authority, fuck you. Um, I was, you know, it's very verbal with coaches. I was very verbal with teachers. If I felt like they were slacking or, um, I was very verbal with teachers if I felt like they were slacking or I was just, yeah, you know, I questioned a lot of things. If you gave me rules, I was going to break them.

And so I had this point in my life, which I think fed my addiction, where I felt like I was like a bad person, like an angry person or something. And now based on what you just said, it has me thinking I did the same thing. That's where my integrity just completely got out of line because I quit listening to myself and I started just trying to be what everyone else wanted me to be. Okay. Well, guess what y'all? I did the opposite.

Okay. I was trying to be good my entire freaking life. And now I'm a rebel. I love it. Well, and I have to say, so I love that you said that Shanna, because we are all rebels. Like here's my view on the world. My view on the world is authenticity is the truest form of rebellion because the world doesn't want us to be true to ourselves. The world doesn't want us to be unique and to stand up and speak out and take up space and all the things, right? Totally. So I'm like, this is my bumper sticker, my billboard or whatever you want to say in the world is

authenticity is the truest form of rebellion. We, I know a lot of people don't identify with like, you know, the, the old, well, I'm wearing a black leather jacket today. It's kind of funny, but you know, that kind of the Harley Davidson rebel and the, you know, bomber jacket, the Steve McQueen, whatever. But what I do is part of my work is, well, when you really get in touch with your soul and you really connect deeply with your own truth and your own values, by definition, you're being a rebel because it's all the things that the world is telling you not to be. Yeah. And the world is afraid of that. Like, especially, you know, the hierarchy is like,

oh shit, they're going to figure out that they have the power over themselves. They're not going to need prescriptions. They're not going to need the government. And then what do we do? We don't have control over them anymore. They are a revolution, right? I'm like, we're all like, I'm on a mission to liberate a billion souls. I'm not going to do that on my own. That's all of us inspiring each other by living our truth, by living soulmatical, authentic, courageous, and purposeful lives. And that is scary, right? Because the more of us who choose to do that, the more things start to change. We've had a lot of conversations with listeners who have told us that they quit their job. And Shanna and I were like, holy fuck, we're like inspiring people to just quit their fucking jobs.

I don't know if this is good. They're, we're like, they're all like sending us emails or calling or texting us and telling us they quit their jobs. And we're like, that was not what our mission was. Yeah. It's interesting. I know you don't have to. That's why I always say, I mean, listen, at first I, like I said, I didn't really even know what this word soulbatical meant or was going to mean or what it was going to show me along the way. But I am very, very clear now that it's not about of alignment, but it doesn't mean like don't work or go travel the world for 12 months and do eat, pray, love and whatever. It doesn't mean that I realized that real quick. Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, I just feel like once you start doing those kinds of things, you're putting yourself just into another box. You know what I mean? Of, of people not doing something because they feel like, you know, they're putting yourself just into another box. You know what I mean? Of, of people

not doing something because they feel like, you know, they're on some path of the Buddha, which realistically we're not. I mean, well, some of us are, but I can't be that. I have four children. You know what I mean? I can't stay in a meditation state all day. You know, I have to, you know, I have to take my kids to school. Unfortunately. Damn it. You're not going to go van life with me, like through all the national parks. Not in this life, honey. Won't work. I might meet you on the way though.

Just give me a call. Deal. I think me and you would get in a lot of trouble. I think we would absolutely get in a lot of trouble. In the best way possible. Yeah. Yes. I agree. So when you landed your job with Harley Davidson, your family probably wasn't surprised at all, right?

They're like, this is the most perfect fitting job for her ever because it's sexy. It's sassy. It's like biker, babe. Yeah. Yeah. I would say almost everybody in my life was like, yeah, that makes sense. What was interesting is I wasn't a rider before I went to Harley. And they really liked that because I had global experience and all this other experience and I have fresh perspective on being a rider. I did eventually get my license and ride, but you know, it was so interesting. So Harley came to me through, I tell a bit of the story in the book, my dear friend who I'd worked in advertising at an agency in the early days with, who became a good friend. He and I would travel together. He and I did second city improv

together. We started an improv troupe. He ultimately went to Harley and he was a, he was big time motorcycle rider. And then as he was growing the global marketing organization brought me in. Here's what's really interesting is at first I was like, I don't know, do I want to move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin? Do I really want to do this motorcycle thing? And then, so I was coming off the back of a really ugly divorce, really ugly divorce. And so for me, it was also my way. I mean, this is such a rebel's perspective. It was my way of just saying, your chick is back.

Like I'm back. I got my rebel fire. I'm going to go hang out with, you know, I'm going to go hang out with the Harley peeps and I'm going to do this and I'm going to be bad-ass again, because I feel like I'd lost some of my mojo and just being torn apart in this divorce. So yeah, nobody was surprised. And it was really a sign to myself of like almost like a rebirth after a horrific divorce. Yeah. Another sabbatical within itself, right? Yeah. Yeah. Before, before I ever even knew that word. Yeah. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think, you know, I think everything happens for a reason.

I mean, my, my daughter tattooed that down her spine because I tell her that all the time, but I feel like you have no regrets being at Harley. You know, you said sometimes it was going against your soul, but look where it's landed you and all of that amazing knowledge and wisdom you learned. Now you're able to tweak your marketing, tweak your advertising, tweak what you do as a person all from that experience. So no regrets. None. I say this every time anybody asks me, I not only don't have regrets about Harley. I mean, listen, I got to ride motorcycles around the world with some pretty bad-ass humans, like no regrets. Yes.

Did it, was it my moment in life to kind of wake up to my own truth? Absolutely. But I don't know if I would have woken up if I wasn't in that situation. I have no regrets about my whole 26-year corporate career. I worked for incredible brands. They took me amazing places in the world. I got to live in Turkey. I got to live in China. I got to work and visit probably 50 plus countries. It was, I feel very fortunate. It's a very privileged story actually. And all of that had to happen to get me here and

for me to have this awakening. And I think about this a lot, like the fact that we all went through this past two years of this crazy pandemic, a lot of people had wake up calls that they had not had before, right? We got shook up. We, you know, for most of us, this experience crystallized what matters most to us. Who are those people? Where do we want to live? What do we really want our lives to look like. And I kind of smiled because my book came out in January of 2020,

exactly eight weeks before COVID came to town. I was a mess when all of a sudden the world shut down. I was like, you got to fucking be kidding me. Like I've just fulfilled the dream of becoming an author and writing my first book. And little did I know everything does happen for a reason. My book was in the world exactly when it was meant to be because lots and lots of people experienced soulbatical and my book was there for a lot of people. So I totally buy that. So no regrets at all, because the timing has played out exactly as it was meant to and the epiphanies and all the things like, of course I had no control over when my book came out. The only thing I said to Simon and Schuster is I would like it to come out right

around my 50th birthday, because there's a powerful story here. Cause like I said to you, I did not want to feel empty. I wanted to feel alive and energized when I was 50, I wanted to feel like I was getting closer to who I meant to be in this world. And damn, if you know that, that was the truth. This came out a week before my 50th birthday and it was the best birthday gift ever. Oh my God. That is freaking awesome. And you know, that's, that's part of Shannon and I's hope and dream for the younger generations is that they can awaken and we can teach them to get to know themselves at a younger age because we weren't taught that. And so here we are, you know, 46 years old, like it took us so long. So you realize, and to awaken to like it took us so long to realize and to

awaken to all the conditions and to get to know ourselves and to love ourselves and to bring awareness to ourselves and our feelings and our bodies and our minds. And so our mission is to really try to spread to, to parents, even like teach your child to get to know themselves and that happiness isn't outside of them. It's like, amen to that. Yes. Preach, preach, preach. I am standing united with both of you on this mission. Absolutely. I joke because I have young, I have friends who are in their early thirties who I've met because they are, they woke up way sooner than I did. And I laugh about it. And yet I'm so clear. It wasn't meant to happen for me at 32 or 33 years old.

And I love what you said. I've had like love notes and feedback from millennials who've read my book. And I was like, never in a million years did I think a millennial was going to pick up my book. And yet nothing makes me happier than somebody who writes me and says, thank you for sharing your mistakes so that I don't have to make them. And I'm just like, it brings tears to my eyes. Well, I would say that millennials are our largest age group that listens to our podcast which is insane and amazing we love you and you

know because they're our future and they are different you know and then gen z and all these different generations when you said that your parents you know you guys didn't even understand each other it's that generational gap and it's just like i think now these kids are less attached to conditions and to religion. It's all about how can we help humanity? How can we advance humanity evolve? I mean, just, I mean, as young as like Mandy's daughter, seven. I mean, it's just amazing.

And talking about the sabbatical, when you're in a sabbatical, you're not attached. You know, like if you're actually talking about a sabbatical, I mean, you're, you are taking a break, you are free of all of it and there's no attachments. So I would, that's what my journey has been like really owning that impermanence and knowing that anything can change and I need to be fluid and allow it to. So who knows if I'll go from a corporate job to working and donating my time somewhere because I'm not willing to attach myself to anything because the attachment is the root of all suffering. It's so true. And what you're making me think, I mean, a powerful realization for me, and I've shared this often or as often as anybody will listen is, you know, when I left Harley, I had no idea, no idea where I was going, what was going to come of this. Like I said, what this word even meant.

And I gave myself 12 months. And so very similar to what you're saying, but I also gave myself permission to say, if in three months, this doesn't feel right, well, then I'll course correct. If in six months, I'm like, oh my God, I want more time. I'll figure it out. If in eight months, I'm like, oh my God, I'm about to go broke and I need a job. And I go back to a corporate job, maybe one that feels more aligned in that moment. Fantastic. But I think so often to the point that you were just making, we're judging ourselves and we make these things seem permanent and they're not like allow, yeah, let go and give yourself the freedom, give yourself the permission to go. Yeah. You know what? If it doesn't feel right tomorrow, I'll check back in. And of course, correct. If it doesn't feel, you know, and in

my case, I never could have known that eight months into this thing, my dad drops from two massive strokes and it changed my whole life. And that was another, and in my mind, I was super clear that that was the universe saying you are never going back because this is what just happened to somebody who gave everything to his career. Two years after retirement, he's just, you know, and my dad's, my dad is thankfully still alive, but is very severely brain damaged and is not, you know, he's not the person we once knew. And I knew in that moment that it, that was a sign that I had different work and bigger work to do in the world. That's my story too. My dad worked himself to death. You know, he never had tools. His heart

could not take all the stress that he put himself under and he died, you know, at 63. And I just looked at him and thought, I am just like him. You know, I'm always go, go, go, go, go, go, go. I can do the most. And when I was stressed, I just put a mask on. I didn't have tools, you know, and so I was determined to learn tools and to stop that in my family, my generation, my lineage and teach my children, you know, it, life is not about working yourself to death. It's just not, it's not the purpose. You want to know what is interesting though, is, is that's the path my husband's on. Like he, he just works, works, works. But he said to me, I would never have it any other way. Like he's just, he it's, it's who he is. Like, he's like, I can never imagine not being in this like mode. And I was, and I, I sat there and I was

like, wow. I mean, he's aware that's where he's headed, but he's like, it's, it's almost like, it's, I think it's the athlete, the competitive person in him. It's he's so driven. Like it's very hard for him to just sit and chill. And Shanna, your dad, I don't know that your dad would have done it any different. I am so sorry that your dad is in that state. That's got to be really hard for you to see. And of course, Shanna, you know how much I loved your dad. You guys have me like almost wanting to cry right now because we're talking about fathers and tools.

As we're on this podcast, apparently my dad came over to my new house not knowing I'm doing a podcast and he's using tools like hammers and shit and hanging up cabinets in my garage right now oh god did I hope you get some where you want them mamby fuck I love my dad's have to keep muting it because clearly he's going to town in my garage right now. But my dad, my dad is sweet. He's so sweet. He's 83 years old. He looks like he's 50. He swears it's because he jogs and doesn't eat red meat. You know, fathers, I love my dad. Dads are so important. You know, it just had me in this moment of like gratitude talking about our fathers because and tools because I was thinking like what is my dad's tool then my dad's a writer a lot of people don't

know that about my dad but he writes his thoughts out he's not comfortable sharing them a lot of times because he's kind of hard on himself but he is he's a journaler he's a writer yeah Mandy it reminds me of the time he wrote that letter to Connor and you were so mad. You're like, Shanna, you should read this shit. But my dad just wrote, her son is also my God's son. Okay. And it was all about like this openness of religion and spirituality. And at the time, Nancy and I were very much still, you know, playing the Christian role. And she sends over her son to my house.

I was godmother. Shanna will set him straight. By the time he left, I was so convinced that maybe all of it was a sham. It was so amazing. I'll never forget that. But I forgot your dad wrote. He wrote Connor a note saying, don't listen to them. Like follow your heart and follow your own. I was pissed. I was like, how dare you try to turn my son against, you know, Jesus in Christianity. And then I sent him over to Shanna's and she, and he ended up talking her into believing that we're all in her.

Yeah. He was like, where did Joseph go? You know? And I'm'm like that's a very good point and he was like is he like the first deadbeat dad or what and i was like i think you're right and she was like oh my god that's amazing he was like 16 oh my gosh she's so funny shelly speaking of religion um so your family, how did that go over with you being a rebel and, you know, them being very Catholic? Oh, not well. I mean, I was going to say about as well as you can imagine.

I, you know, like you, I was, you know, I was kind of punished for being me. And I'll admit, I mean, I wasn't necessarily me in the most constructive ways. I was a rebel in some pretty destructive ways back in those days. And so I was punished. I was sent off to boarding school because my parents were like, you cannot live in this house. You just can't be here. This is not working for us.

And it was absolutely, you know, it had a little bit of a, you know, a Catholic bent to it was called Shattuck St. Mary's. I called it nuns with guns because it was the merging of like an ex-military boys school with like a convent girls schools. I got nuns with guns. I was like, where all the girls were really rebelling. I was like, I was like, I had access to more drugs and more fun there than I ever did at home. I was like, this is amazing. I had more sex than ever in my life. Yeah, right. So I only lasted for a year there because I was just a bad kid.

Yeah, it didn't go over well. And it really bothered me. So I've had a tough history with religion. Intellectually, I am so fascinated by all religions and the intersection of all religions. And I ended up marrying a guy who was raised Muslim or divorced, but we would explore, like we had a lot of Jewish friends. So you just, we'd have the most fascinating conversations. And I'm like, why isn't this uniting us? Why is it dividing us? But when I was being raised as a Catholic, you did not question, you did not question. And so that's what really turned me off

is, you know, it's kind of funny, you know, right? Like Connor was saying, it's like, well, wait a second, not all of this makes sense. So, you know, I was the kid in like, you know, the little catechism classes, he was asking all the questions and not really making friends with the teacher. So it became a divide between me and my parents very, very early on. And when I could, you know, I made the decision around, you know, 14, 15, I was just like, I'm not, I'm not interested in this. This doesn't speak to me. I doesn't feel like my people, I don't understand it. I feel like even asking questions is, um, you know, is, is something punishable. So yeah, it really not. And my parents are still, you know, they

don't go to church as much as they used to, but you know, there's still people of faith and we've just sort of agreed to disagree on how we approach those things. My sister left the church as well. And we're like, you know what, we're, we're doing okay. We're doing okay. And now I would consider myself much more spiritual than anything. I, you know, I believe there's a higher power, but I, you know, I don't really sign up for any one explanation of that or any one religious, I guess, theory on that. Yeah. You know, and I just think about how women really truly even more than men were unable to kind of drop that faith without being persecuted as like a witch or just totally, you know, rebellious. And that thought was so negative. And I like how you said that at the

beginning, like being rebellious is not really, I mean, they've made it a bad word, rebel, rebel, rebel. But I mean, really, it's just truly about trying to own your own truth, find your own connection resource, which is the most authentic that you can possibly have. And you know, it even goes deeper than that. It's like, if you express yourself through your clothes in a different way than society thinks you should be, then you're all of a sudden labeled a rebel. I always go to language. We get so hung up on words. So I love that you're telling people like, no, embrace that and live on your own terms, your own terms. Exactly. Imagine like how amazing this world will be. I'm not even going to say would be, I'm going to say will be because enough of us are doing this work now and we're banding

together. I mean, this world's going to be a fucking incredible place to be when more of us are being true to ourselves and supporting one another and being more courageous and not having to sign up for someone else's dogma or tick the box of what someone else says is success. I mean, all of it, that's exciting to me. It's so exciting. Just to keep you guys in the loop. My seven-year-old taught me the other day that the new words, it's not rebel anymore. It's called being a baddie. Oh yeah. I want to be, she came downstairs with fishnet pantyhose on under her shorts with her Doc Martens. And I was like, Oh, that's an interesting outfit. She's like, I'm a baddie. And I was like, Oh, that's an interesting outfit. She's like, I'm a baddie. And I was like, okay, rocket girl. So is that like slang for badass kind of

thing? Yeah. It's like, you're going to be a baddie. Awesome. Tell us about your podcast. I saw that you've had some amazing guests. We've had some of those guests as well. So tell us how you got there and what's your hope with that? Yeah, it's so I, that was a pandemic project for me. So I, I love having these kinds of conversations. I mean, you know, I, what, how you both show up in the world and how you have these conversations is exactly how I have these conversations. I love it to be raw and real and organic and feel supportive. And so I was doing a lot of, here's the real way it came about. Because my book came out right before the pandemic hit, I was doing a ton of virtual press for the launch of the book, which then became a lot of podcast conversations. So I got myself a nice microphone and I was doing this. And then one day I'm like alone in my house

because we were very alone. I don't have, at the time I wasn't in a relationship and I don't have children. So I was like very alone in my house. And I'm like staring at this microphone and I was like, you know, I have a lot to say. I have a lot to say beyond the book. You know, that was only the beginning of like priming this pump of me wanting to share. And I could see that the book was already having an impact. And I just kind of looked at the microphone and I'm like, Hey, you and me can have some fun. Like, why not? I didn't, why not? And I put it out to my, I put it out to my Instagram community and I was like, so me and this microphone were thinking about starting a podcast and calling it Rebel Souls. And it's all about, you know, it's flipping

the middle finger to the status quo in life and business and the world at large. And it just felt like this beautiful extension of my work in the world. And it became a thing. So I started it probably in July of 2020. And other than this little tiny break that I'm taking right now, it's like, I love it. It fires me up. I do some solo stuff. I do a lot of guest interviews and I just love to hear different perspectives of this kind of thing. People who are choosing to live life on their own terms and people who are choosing to redefine success for themselves. And what does that look like? So we can all be inspired, you know, across industries and around the world. So that's what it's about.

It is what it's about. And also I think even the corporate world from all the guests we've had on is shifting in that direction too. I mean, we, me and Shanna say it all the time, but the, you know, age of Aquarius is rising and people are tapping into awareness around having more balanced feminine and masculine energy. So men are becoming a little more, I know authentic and women, you know, are becoming a little bit more truer to their, to their souls. So it's a beautiful shift happening and you're right. It's so exciting. Sometimes I feel sad for these people that think like that what's happening in our world right now. I mean, trust me, there's horrible things. The war in Ukraine is absolutely heartbreaking, but there's a lot of good happening to people. Like people think that the world is

coming to an end. And, and I don't feel that I, Shanna and I have been so blessed with our podcast to have so many people on like you saying the same thing, feeling, not just saying, feeling the shift happening. So, you know, it, and we can give our listeners hope you guys, there is so much joy and love in the shift that's happening in the world right now. You know, Shanna, I love it. I went to her house one day. She had it in chalk on her cabinet. It said, where your attention goes is where your energy flows.

I love that. You guys turn off all the shit, turn off the news and get off the TV and go on a hike. You know, you know, redefine what the word success looks like for you. We are the shift. We collectively, we are the shift. We are the shift and the shift. We are the shit and the shit. Exactly. Speaking of definitions, I looked at Batty and you guys are going to freaking love this. It's a girl who lives her life successfully. A female who can hold her own and take care of herself. She is pretty independent. Well, fuck yeah for the baddies.

I'm all in. I'm all in. I'm using that one. I'm totally using that one. You guys, my new success currency is the new definition of ROI is ripples of impact, not return on investment. And we are ripples of impact. So there you have it. Who else wants to be a ripple? Okay. I'm writing that down because my husband, you know, he's a CFO of a robotics company. So I always have to listen to him talking about the ROI. I'm so using that. That's the new one, baby. Yeah. Yeah. I talk about, I talk about that a lot. I talked about it in the book and that's why I like, to me, it's like impact is what gets me out of bed every day. And I'm like, if every day I can help, you know, be some beautiful force and liberating one more soul, that just feels yummy. That's a ripple, right? And, and that's what will, that's what,

what sparks the shift. Yeah. That little ripple, all those ripples and eventually become like a tsunami of, of love. And guess what? It's just energy that you're putting out to the world and it never dies. So it lives forever. And Shelly, it has been such a pleasure to have you. It was so nice to meet you and I just love your energy. I love what you stand for. I love your terminology. Yeah. You're a baddie.

Oh, well from one baddie to the other. Thank you. This has been amazing. Please doing what you're doing. I love that you're both such a positive force in this world. And it, I always, I feel so good when I find more of my people and I know that we're doing this work together and we're, yeah, we're energetically supporting each other. So thank you. Freaking awesome. I've had so much fun. Like every time I get off with a guest, my, my energy,

like right now my ears are like, like right now, my ears are like, I can just, my vibration raises. I'm just so blessed to be able to do this. Keep being, keep being you. Thank you for coming on. Tell our listeners where they can get your book and tell our listeners where they can find out more about you. Yes.

So you can get the book anywhere books are sold. So anywhere from Amazon to Barnes and Noble to, I like to point you in the direction of bookshop.org, which the big publishers created during the pandemic to make sure that indie bookstores survived. So I still like to support indie bookstores. So any one of those places, anywhere where you buy your books. You can learn more about me on soulbatical.com. It's ultimately going to become shellypaxton.com, but you'll be redirected. So soulbatical is two B's and one T. That is main website where you can find out more, sign up for my newsletter. You can find out where to listen to rebel souls it's on all of your favorite pod platforms um and yeah uh instagram is kind of my playground so you can find me at soulbatical

again spelled two b's and one t um on instagram and come play with me shoot me a note and let me know how this landed i love it it. Oh my gosh. I freaking love it. And now it's time for break that shit down. I want everyone to be what I call chief soul officer of your life, you know, to be a badass or a baddie who takes responsibility for the direction of your life and courageously create it, you know, in alignment with your truth and your values and your purpose and join this revolution. Cause that's what it means to live authentically. Chief soul officer. Those are two things I made up at the very beginning. Soulbaticle and chief soul officer

both came to me in those days before I was leaving Harley. And I still use the title today. And I encourage everyone to use that title. I think it's really beautiful. It just reminds's because we have this Catholic background, but look at the shift in Mary's. I mean, women are connecting more with Mary Magdalene than they are the Holy Mary. That's awesome. Oh my God. That's so funny. Oh, nice to meet you, Shelly. Have a good rest of your day. 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.