The Liz Moody Podcast - Valeria Lipovetsky—Social Media Secrets, Why Motivation Is A Myth & How To Feel Amazing In Your Work & Life

Episode Date: October 29, 2020

If I sound like I have a crush on Valeria Lipovetsky, it’s because I low-key do: I find her so inspiring as an entrepreneur and as a human in general. In this episode, we talk about: her childhood and why her family left Russia her relationship to money and wealth growing up as an immigrant, later as a model, and now if she married her husband for money how her and her husband’s age difference impacted their relationship dynamic what she learned about wellness from canada, russia and israel her relationship with beauty and her self-image how she deals with jealousy & comparison how she knows when it’s time to quit or transition how she started her YouTube and social media career exactly how to figure out your purpose how she creates so much content without burning out the secret to hiring good people the mistake people make when starting a social media career a genius exercising for figuring out what makes your personal brand unique where to get content inspiration how the pandemic has impacted her life and perspective the pros & cons of being a young mom why she believes motivation is a myth I can’t wait to hear your feedback on this episode! Screenshot and tag me—I’m @lizmoody— and Valeria (@valerialipovetsky) and share your thoughts, feelings, and reactions. PS: My foodie preset pack is officially live. You can get all 8 presets, designed to make your food pics look as good as they taste, at lizmoody.com/presets. PPS: Healthier Together is officially a number one best-seller! You can get your copy on Amazon or at lizmoody.com/cookbook. Please keep sending me your creations on Instagram—they make me so happy! This episode is sponsored by Lavva’s brand new Plant Based Milk. It’s some of my favorite plant milk I’ve ever tried—it’s super rich and creamy and made with pili nuts, which are a complete protein. Go to lovvelavva.com to find a retailer near you! This episode is also sponsored by Garden of Life, whose Advanced Omega fish oil I’m obsessed with. By buying it with my link, it lets the brand know that you found them through me, and it doesn’t cost you anything extra: https://amzn.to/2TwrGPl Healthier Together cover art by Zack. Healthier Together music by Alex Ruimy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Healthyer Together podcast. I'm your host, Liz Moody, and I'm a cookbook author and longtime journalist, and I am so excited to introduce you to my guest today, the lovely Valeria Lipavetsky. Valeria is an entrepreneur, content creator, and general social media megastar, with 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.2 million followers on Instagram. The former model is also a mom of three of the cutest boys that you have ever seen, and a certified holistic nutritionist. On this episode, we get into the nitty-gritty of Valeria's life as a mom, a partner, and a businesswoman. We talk about her childhood in Russian Israel, the pros and cons of marrying an older man, and her relationship with wealth and money, which is always one of my

very favorite taboo topics. We also really get into how Valeria built such a thriving business, both from the specific actionable elements, like the number one mistake that she sees people make on social media, and then the grander scale issues, like her secret to avoid. burnout, which I definitely needed her advice on this one, and why she thinks the concept of motivation is a myth. We talk a lot about how she got her incredible confidence, and she shares a really interesting story about a Victoria's Secret modeling gig that I took a lot of lessons from. I love, love, love talking to Valeria because she's truly so philosophical and brilliant. You can tell that she thinks deeply and carefully about the world and her life, but she also

manages to live the moments of each day lightly with a real sense of ease and joy, and I find that combination to be so goalworthy. So a lot of the interview is me trying to figure out how to strike that balance for myself. I teeter a little bit too hard towards the former, if you cannot tell. We discuss a lot in this episode, and we would both love to keep having that discussion with you, so please screenshot as you're listening and share any thoughts, feedback, or reactions that you have, and tag us on Instagram stories. is at Valeria Lipavetsky, and I'm at Liz Moody, as always. And if you do love the episode, I would so appreciate if you could share it with someone in your life that you think it might

help. I love growing our little family and reaching more people with my guests' incredible wisdom, and I am so grateful to everyone who's spreading the word about the pod. All right, without further ado, please enjoy this episode with Valeria Libavetsky. All right, Valeria. Thank you so much for taking the time to join me today. Thank you so much having me. I'm excited. Yeah, I'm excited to you. When we did our Instagram live together, it just you constantly surprised me. I think I know that you're so well read and so intellectual and intelligent, but the depth of conversation you can so quickly drop into like blew me away. And I was just like, oh my gosh, I could talk to this woman for hours. And so

here we are doing that. Thank you. I appreciate it. I feel the same. So that's why I'm here. mutual us well i would love so i was kind of trying to like do research into the timeline of your life and i know that you lived in russia till you were two and then you moved to israel and then you moved to canada when you were 19 is that right yeah 20 i turned 20 in Canada yeah can you like timeline me your childhood a little bit like why did you guys leave russia why did you leave Israel? Just kind of like walk me through your childhood. Yes. So it's funny. With Russia, I mean, it was in the 90s and it was just a big, big mess. We left Russia because my mom just didn't see a future there. There was a lot of crime,

especially where we were. We lived and I grew up in the south of Russia. So it was just a mess. I'm like, you know, kidnapping and it was crazy. So when my mother, you know, she was 21, I was two, and she just knew there's no other way. And although she lived well in Russia and came from a pretty well-off family, at that time, everyone lost everything. And she just said, you know, I have to protect my little daughter and run away. So because we are Jewish, Israel was kind of a place for us to go to. they accepted Jews and actually like really supported, you know, bringing them to Israel. So that was in the 90s, which in general was a big immigration for people from, from Russia and from Eastern Europe to come to Israel.

So that's how we ended up in Israel. And it was, honestly, I don't even know. Sometimes I asked my mother, like, how did it even go down? I mean, coming to a new country, 21 years old. She just lost her father. She just, you know, saw all these crazy things happening in her country, left her brother and her mother behind, came to this country without any money whatsoever, without the language, without knowing anyone.

I don't even know, I mean, I don't even know how you start from that point. So she's, I feel like with the years, she starts, she's telling me a little bit more and more and more information. I feel like she's been protecting me for a long time from, you know, all these kind of darker days. And I feel like now that I'm a little bit older and a mother myself, I feel like she's opening up a little more and diving into it, which definitely gives me a whole other perspective on life and on all the things and all the people that I have in my life.

and makes me very grateful to be able to live a life not knowing those kind of struggles. So, yeah, so we, I grew up in Israel. We moved to Tel Aviv and we just started moving around every year. My mother started, I remember she used to take me to work with her. So she is by profession. She was a singer. And when she came to Israel, she used to work at this one little restaurant, this owner, gave her a shot, although she didn't speak any of, like any Hebrew, but she would wash dishes

during the day and then she would go on stage and sing at night. And he would just, he would allow me to be there. So I would either sleep on chairs or in his office or just like around the restaurant. So that restaurant was like a little bit of a home to me. And that's kind of what I remember. And funny enough, and I think that's to the credit of my mother, I don't have any negative or kind of even scary memories, if that makes sense. Like she always made it fun. You know, she always made it kind of like an adventure. And I think that I guess out of necessity and because she had to work, she didn't have

too much time to, she might have felt guilty, but she didn't have too much time to show that guilt and make me understand that maybe something is wrong. It was always just like, okay, we've got to survive, we're going to move, you know. and it was just a very, very interesting childhood. And then I had my stepfather who came into the picture when I was five years old. And that kind of more stabilized our lives. And yeah. Interesting.

Were you financially comfortable in Israel in the same way that you guys were in Russia? No, no. I think in general, money was always a thing. Money was always just constant stress for most people, right? For most immigrant families. And it was no different for us. I think that, you know, again, in Russia, when you were well off, it was so completely different. I mean, just from stories hearing that my mother's telling me, like, my grandfather used to own, you know, a factory.

But that was taken away in a day. And that's it. It was done. So it wasn't anything, you know. You couldn't really trust your fate, you know, the next day or next week. You never knew kind of what's what can happen back then. So it's not like my mother had this like shock of all my, oh my God, all of a sudden we don't have money.

It was always something that was kind of, you know, nothing is guaranteed. So she really, she really learned to survive. And I didn't feel like anything was missing in my life financially. But money was definitely like a weird concept in the house. I just felt like it took me a long time to learn to stop looking at an evil thing, if that makes sense. Evil in what way? Well, I just felt like it created a lot of rift and separation between, you know, my mother and my stepbrother. Not my stepbrother, sorry, my stepfather.

It was just always a thing. Like my father was always, you know, we're on the brink of living in the street. And my mom is like, you know, we're going to figure it out. And she would go to work three jobs or, you know, borrow money from there. And she never really said no to anything. Like she wanted a beautiful couch to the house. She would get it. She wanted a new apartment.

She would find a way to get it. So my mother was always like, I want this. I'm going to go and get this where my stepfather was more like, we can't. This is going to crush us. This is the end. there's no way we can't. So when you grew up in a household where it's this imbalance between, you know, what money means and what it stands. It started, it just started controlling a lot of kind of my childhood. So I had always kind of a weird relationship with it. If that makes sense.

Yeah, there's an interesting theory. I think I've talked about it on the pod before about money attachment issues that like in the same way we have relationship attachments, we can have, you can be avoidantly attached to money, anxiously attached to money or securely attached to money. And I'm definitely avoidantly attached where I can't even, like if I go out to a restaurant, I'll have my husband like do the tip and sign the bill, even if it's coming from my account just because I don't like to look at it. Maybe that's anxiously attached. But I do think it's interesting how your childhood can shape your relationship with money now. So what is your relationship with money now? I feel like now I actually went to the other extreme. So I left the house when I was 16 and I started

working as a model. So I started making a living and, you know, I was kind of in charge of my own finances. And in charge, I mean, it's a very big word to what I was doing. It was just like, all I need to make sure is I can pay my rent and, you know, that's really it. Because I always figured, I'll figure it out what to eat, where to eat, you know, it's, you know, it's, it be fine. And I did. So I think that for me, instead of being actually attached to money, I became very like, whatever. It's not important. Just that it will come. And I don't know if it's good or bad. I can't say that I was so naive that it wasn't like a huge thing. It always kind of, I always figured it out. But I honestly look back at certain experience that I've had. And I'm just like, oh my God,

now as an adult, if my daughter would have done, you know, the steps that I've made when it kind of where I was at with money, I would have freaked out. Like I remember the other day I had this, I had this memory. I went to Tokyo. Wait, like what? I literally had like $20 in my pocket. I went to Tokyo, okay, for one month. And I didn't even think about it. And I was on the flight. And, you know, when you're as a model, you do have an agency there. So I knew that I have an apartment that, I was paying from the jobs that I was part of my job kind of salary, it would go to rent. So that was fine. But it all of a sudden we're landing and I'm thinking, wait, how am I going to get to this apartment? Like I didn't even think about it. Right. And I never called my mother because my mother

is like, if you call her with a problem, this is it. Like she's going to figure it out, but it's going to be, it's going to take her into such a whirlwind of emotions that I was just like, it's not worth it. Like, I'll figure it out. And I was sitting beside this nice guy that we spoke briefly on the flight. And I was like, he was Japanese. And I was like, hey, how are you getting? Like, where are you going? And he's like, oh, I'm going back to my home and my friend's picking me up.

And you give me a ride? I don't know. I don't speak the language. I don't really know, like what to do. I don't have money. He's like, sure. That could have gone so wrong. So these group of guys, like five guys that drove me to my apartment.

I mean, it all ended well, but I literally, the other night I woke up and I'm just like, remember that time I did that? Like, I just so completely forgot about all these crazy things that I used to do. But yeah, I was just, money wasn't a thing for me. I was just like, I'll always figure it out. And it actually, with money, the relationship that I had to build is more of like learning to appreciate it, understand the work that goes into, you know, making it. And I guess like, I guess like that, like kind of like a little bit of a more of a respect in a way towards money. Because just the way I even treat certain things, you know, I looked at it as like, oh, I'm not attached to anything, whatever, about myself, this beautiful thing. But I don't care.

I'm just going to like put it there or throw it around. And it was so cool. But actually it's disrespect in a way. You know what I mean? like that's also not a healthy relationship with money. So I was completely a different extreme. I wasn't holding on to it. I was just like,

whatever. It will come, it will go. It was like almost like proving to yourself that like it wouldn't matter if it went away. Like this purse doesn't matter because it's not the key thing in your life. So it's fine to leave it on the ground or whatever. Yeah, but that's interesting.

I was reading your, your Instagram post from where you answered the question if you'd like married your husband for money, One, it's crazy that people ask that. But two, I thought it was, you gave a really good answer to that. So I was wondering if you could expound on that a little bit here. Yeah. So I think that because my husband is older and, you know, when we got married, he was well off. He did very well for himself. Although he built everything himself, it came from a very, like, poor background. a lot of people just assumed that I decided to dedicate my life to be a trophy wife,

which is great, nothing wrong with that. And I just found that for some reason, you know, up until I would say last year, I would look at it and be like, how can I prove that that's not why I'm with this man. Although I gave birth to three children, I mean, you know, this is definitely not, it's definitely not me trying to get some money out of it. work. But yeah, so I was just, I was just thinking how the relationship that, you know, the way I viewed money and what I was kind of exposed to my childhood, these people, the way to view relationship and their assumptions of, okay, this person married for money,

I was like, they probably also seen something or, you know, the way they think about it, something affected, like made that, you know, decision for them, like gave them that, that perspective. And I thought it was just so interesting to talk about it because, first of all, I don't understand why money is evil. Because even if you marry someone that has money, you know, I think it's so important to, to mention how that person that created that wealth has just has to have so many different aspects to him to be able to create success and prosperity. and, you know, it's work ethic. It's knowing how to like manage yourself, conduct yourself in the world.

It's organization. It's just so many beautiful things that people aspire to, you know, to acquire throughout their lives. You need to have that in order to create, you know, this something successful. So for me, it's interesting that people only looking at like, oh, he has money where when I met my husband, And I was like, oh my God, he has all these things that I want to learn. And I want, you know, I know will impact me positively. And that's the household. I want my children to grow up in to see these values, to see this work ethic.

That's what I saw. So it was just really funny to me how people were so fixated on this money thing. And you know what? And then I was thinking, why is it so wrong to also, you know, if you're a person, let's say, let's say a girl marries a wealthy man. This wealthy man has done so much. He's not just going to pick like someone off the street. You know what I mean? Like it's, it's a life you build together. It's this marry that you, you built together. So everyone comes with their own kind of set of tools that complement each other. So although this person can have

money, you know, the woman can have other tools or vice versa. Anyways, I was just like, why are people focusing on such literally nothing? Like it's just, I just wanted to point out that people need to ask themselves the question of like, why do I look at money this way? Like, why do I think that it only, you know, money is the key factor in this relationship? Totally. And I also think it's interesting the idea that money can be something. It can be a tool.

It can be one of the factors somebody brings to the relationship. And I think that the issue comes in when you get into maybe like the real housewives thing. And it's like, oh, I married this person only so I can have the nice house, the nice cars, whatever. But if it's one factor, like if you want to feel financially stable, you want to feel secure, I don't think it's wrong to have that be a factor, you know? And then that's totally aside from everything else you just said, which is all of the stuff that makes somebody be able to be a self-made individual, which are very attractive. appealing qualities. Definitely. I agree. You said that you, when you met him, you were like, oh, I want to learn all of these things. And that was really attractive to you. Do you feel like your relationship dynamic because he is 12 years older? How much older is he? He was a couple of years

older, but he's, he's set 18 years older. 18 years older. Do you feel like your relationship dynamic is like him teaching and you learning or was it that and did it change over time or how did that age difference impact your relationship dynamic? You know, it's only because we were out for dinner with our friends the other night and this is a couple. They're in their mid 30s and they're the same age, a wonderful couple friends of ours. And we were talking about how she said, the girl said, you know, it's interesting to see the dynamic between us and you guys because you in a way, she didn't say got lucky, but she's like, you really had a different way of life because you had this person that, you know, been through a lot of these things, had all this experience, has all this

knowledge. And it's not like you're going, you know, kind of blind on this path of figuring out life where my husband and I, we're both in the same, like, we're on the same level. So we're both trying to figure it out at the same time. And it can get very difficult and confusing and, you know, I guess can shake up a relationship in a way, right? Because you really have to be aligned if you both are just kind of walking, not knowing what the hell to expect. So I found it to be very interesting. And it actually gave me a little material to talk. I mean, I was thinking I am very grateful and I am very lucky that, you know, I do have Gary. And aside from being the father of my children and my best friend and, you know, all these wonderful things, he surely is a mentor.

And I think that that's one of the things that did really attracted me to him. Because for some reason, I just, I don't know. I was, I truly appreciate and love wisdom. and I always felt kind of like an old soul. So I kind of always knew that I will marry someone that's older than me. And I think a lot of that dynamic in a relationship is that, you know, he does mentor me and helps me out and supports me. But he also kind of, you know, watches from the sideline my old kind of journey and process

that also kind of gives him certain. perspectives that he may be missed out while he went on his own journey. So it's a little bit of a different dynamic and a little bit of a different learning experience for both. But I do truly feel very supported and definitely it helps when you have someone that can guide you, especially when your values and morals are aligned, right? Because my mother won't be able to be in this way because, you know, the way she views the world or the way her certain morals or, you know, the way she views certain things are not aligned with who I am. But with Gary, I think another thing why I was very instantly attractive to him is because of that.

It's because we are so aligned on these, like, base level when it comes to morals and just, like, views on the world. Do you think... Did that answer your question? No, it does. It did. It did well. Do you think that you were looking for that sort of male mentorship in any way because you didn't have your biological father in your life? Oh, you're talking about daddy issues? I'm asking it in a very nice psychological sounding way. Oh my God. Daddy issues is a thing. I actually always make this joke.

You know what? I don't know. I have to say I haven't tapped into it that deep yet. For the longest time throughout my childhood and early teens, I was always saying, oh, I mean, I don't have daddy issues because I did grow up with a father figure in my life. And I, you know, I didn't really feel any void. But the other day when we were sitting for breakfast, I was talking about detachment with Gary. And he said something like, you understand that you have abandonment issues, right? And I said, what do you mean? I don't have those. it's like, yeah, you do have those and certain things that I see that you do.

Although you tell yourself the story that, you know, I had a father figure and I don't have any issues with my biological father and la-di-da-di-da, you still have a lot of things that you just carry from your childhood. So that kind of sparked the whole other train of thought for me where it's like, wow, okay, maybe I shoved it down so much that I don't even know it exists. But that's why I was like, I need to go to a therapist because I'm in. to that. I'm diving deep and just like asking all those questions and and trying to figure it out. I think that for me, what Gary represented, and that's something that I knew from the get-go,

something that I never felt in my previous relationships that, you know, were either guys a little bit older, like slightly older than me or my age. I never felt stable, solid person. I never met a guy where I was in a relationship and I was just like, I know that no matter what, this person will stay there. And to, you know, to thick and tin and shit and whatever it is, it's going to come our way,

we're going to figure it out together. I always felt like, this is nice, this is cute. I love him. He loves me. But if shit hit the fan, I'm on my own.

So that's definitely, I think, a representation of, you know, what I guess I saw as a child with my mother although, you know, I had a wonderful stepfather. My mother had a few other relationships. And I always felt like she was alone. I always felt like she was, you know, she was the one who had to figure it out.

And there was no like a stable, solid person beside her. So I think when I met Gary, what I did feel, I was just like, this man is not scared of challenge. He's not scared of, you know, talking about really uncomfortable things. He's not scared of figuring it out. And I've never met a person like that before. So I think because I had this experience with just, you know, observing how my mom's life went, her love life, I knew that this is definitely something I must have in my partner. I love that. That's definitely one of my favorite qualities about Zach, too. Like, I really like his hands and his jawline, but I really like

that he can talk about feelings and like the universe and like the first night we met, we talked for and did a number of other things, but we talked for like eight hours. And it was just, I think when you find that in a person, it feels really, really special. Definitely. Do you feel like you are Canadian, Israeli or Russian? I feel like it's, I used to say I'm more than Israeli and then I feel like it's kind of goes in seasons. I love Canada so much. I have a connection to Israel and I really love the Russian culture. So it's all kind of, you know, in me. And it just makes the fabric that I made. So I feel

like I can't really put this or that because it's just a combination of all that makes me who I am. Do your kids feel Canadian? Are you raising them multilingual or are they being raised speaking just English or? I mean, they went to Russian daycares and they were speaking Russian, but I have to say that Gary and I are both kind of guilty of not doing that enough. So they mainly speak English and they do have like a Russian tutor. I don't know. I mean, Russian's a hard language too. It's a hard language. And if, you know, you don't practice, it's like any other language. If you don't speak it on a daily basis, it's just very difficult. And I mean, it sucks. I would love to

preserve language in them and we're trying, but it's definitely not a, it's not a smooth sale here. When I was a full-time journalist, I did this, it was like a call of a feature, regular feature, and it was about wellness around the world. So how different wellness practices were in Japan and China and South America and all of that. And I'm curious if there's any, little wellness practices that have resonated or stuck with you from Russia or from Israel or I guess even from Canada? I think that with Russia, my mother always just like amazes me with all these super old school ways of treating certain things, you know, when you're like, you're cough and she's like,

oh, you have to smear this like thick fat on your feet, like some weird stuff. It's so weird. Wait, is that real? Is that one actually real? I think it's like on the chest or something's so weird. And she would come to my house, like, she'll find, obviously there's a lot of, like, small little Russian pharmacies and stuff like that. She always comes with all these potions.

So it's a lot of those, like, old school ways of treating some things. And then I think with, I think with Israeli culture, it's just mainly food. I think that it's just naturally the food is just so vibrant and a big part of the culture. And a lot of, like, like, vegetables and, like, alive, you know, it's living, it's living like vegetables that you eat. So I think that that's something that ingrained that in me, just like really looking at food as the medicine. And then in Canada, I feel like it's just, it really gave me a much better appreciation and connection to nature. Because Canada is so beautiful and we have these amazing landscapes and I've never been a nature person.

And now I'm just, you know, even looking at the window or just going on all these trails, it's so beautiful and so powerful. And especially as you get older, you kind of go back to nature more and more and learn to appreciate it. So that's been a really great thing that I feel like Canada gave me. I love that. Zach and I got engaged in Jasper in Canada. And I think it's one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's so stunning. If it wasn't so cold in the winter, I would have already been living there by now.

I know. So you left Israel to model. And I want to talk about the modeling period of your life for a little bit because I think as women, we're taught to sort of put beauty up on a pedestal. And a lot of people think that once you have beauty, you are basically good to go. And that's why I think in a lot of people, when people model, they're just like, oh, like, what do you have to complain about? life is great, but then I know a number of people who are models, and they've told me things about how that's impacted their self-image, their body, and all of that. So I'm curious, when you were 15, how old were you? I was 16, yeah. 16. Like, how was modeling all great?

How did it impact your ideas of how you looked and how you should be in the world? I feel like for me was a little bit different because I didn't grow up thinking I was pretty. It wasn't a thing for me. So it's not like I came on this pedestal in the modeling industry. And then it was like, I was already here. I was already like, what am I doing here? Where is this going? Why am I here?

So I feel like I already came with a very low self-esteem. But I think it was also like I'm very fortunate that it happened to me that way. because it really taught me to look into other aspects of me rather than kind of beauty. Because you can compete, right? I mean, you walk into a room with 150 models trying to book the same job. And you see these gorgeous girls from around the world, like Brazil and Russia and, you know, everywhere. And you just definitely, you can't stand there and start looking at all these legs and, you know, and faces and lips and be like, hey, I don't have this. I don't have this.

So that was the first introduction that I had. I would just come in and right away have this anxiety attack of like, what am I doing here? But also because my brain wasn't wired to hold kind of my beauty on a pedestal, I just, instead of going here, I went into, okay, how am I going to be memorable in this casting with these clients, right? Like, what can I do? I know that I have, you know, I have a pretty like,

I don't know, I'm kind of funny. So if I'll tell like a really funny joke or just like gave a compliment or just, you know, I knew that I was witty. So I was like maybe I'll just, you know, do something where I say something really quick and they'll be like, huh, that's how people remember you. Right. So I always kind of led with that. And I have to say that honestly, probably one of the top reasons why I was modeling for a decade. because people just remembered me for other things that weren't as fleeting as, you know,

oh, the way you look. Because at the end of the day, I was like another white girl with brunette eyes, with a brunette hair and light eyes. You know what I mean? Like, there was nothing so unique and special about me. So I think that for me, modeling actually gave me a great kind of school

to learn a little bit more about myself and to really certain things that I knew I already had, but really like, you know, go with them first and then hoping that I would kind of, you know, fit whatever it is that they're looking for on the out as well. Did you get jealous of people or do you, based on either how they look or people who are more successful as a model or anything like that? I think it's a little difficult. I mean, obviously jealousy, yeah, it exists, especially at that age when you think that,

you know, you're so, I mean, you could. other people constantly compare yourself to other people. So jealousy was definitely bad. But I don't know. It was also with modeling, it's so different because you realize when you start going through castings, they're looking for certain someone, right? They're looking for a certain, like, girl.

So they won't even specific. She needs to be this height and she needs to have this structure and she needs to have this, you know, hair length. So back then, I mean, it was very different. So when I didn't get it, it wasn't like, oh, my God, I'm not pretty enough. It was more like, okay, they didn't really fit what they were looking for. So I don't know.

It wasn't so, like, heartbreaking for me. That makes sense. What about now? Do you have jealousy or NB at all in your career now? No. Now, I think that it's unrealistic to say that there's, like, zero jealousy. I'm sure that sometimes, you know, when you're not mindful of what's going on in your brain, something can pop up, you know, like an autopilot in a way.

But I feel like now I really work on just being very mindful and intentional with what I'm thinking about and what enters my brain. And I have to say that it turned from jealousy to more of like admiration to more motivation to more like, you know, looking at people that are either successful in my industry or, you know, look a certain, not necessarily look a certain way, but maybe like have a certain energy about them. And instead of being like, oh, I wish I would have that, because that's basically like saying like, you know, I want that, but I'm not going to do anything about it. That of this, I wish, it's more like, what do they do? How do they speak? How do they present themselves?

You know, what type of content that create that can inspire something in me that, you know, I can take an example and kind of implement into my own life. So it really turned into more like motivation rather than jealousy and being like, oh, helplessness, you know, like, I wish. I love that. Can we, let's talk about your brand now. So you were modeling and then in your early 20s, were you just like, I want to do something different? Yeah, I think that I've always felt that modeling just wasn't my calling. And I think that's another reason why I just didn't take that industry so, so seriously. I think that it taught me a lot. It really opened the world to me and I met some wonderful people and had amazing experiences.

And it showed me how much is out there in the world. But I never thought that I'm going to be like this supermodel and this is what my life is going to be about. So I think that for me, when I met Gary, I was pretty young and we got married. I was 21. And I had all these different things that I wanted to do. I wanted to be a writer and I wanted to make clothes and I wanted to do all these different things. and I got pregnant with Jake and I was still doing kind of modeling but I already kind of felt okay I feel like I'm you know trying to keep this something that's already kind of been like

you need to learn when it's time to leave and I truly felt that in me already and that's when you know I started looking into what interests me and I think that wellness and health was something that I started getting exposed to when I was pregnant and I really wanted to to learn more, not necessarily as a career, but just to see, like, I just want to know more. And that's what kind of me to go and get my holistic nutritionist certificate. And, yeah, I just, I went up to that and that really opened me up to whole other ideas and subjects and just like questioning things that we've been taught for so long. It kind of gave me that tool that I feel like I never had. I always took things, you know, as face value. Like, this is it. This is what we

should eat. This is the diet. This is the, and I feel like in my school, it really gave me that tool of just like a why and how and let's research and let's read and let's see. So that was really wonderful. And when I finished school, I thought that I'm going to open a practice and start seeing patients. And when I started doing that, I had like three or four patients. I was like, well, I hate this. I absolutely am not. not aligned with this line of work. So I just started looking into other things that were interesting to me. At that point, it was a little bit on Instagram.

And it was 2016. And I knew that blogs were, you know, a big thing. Although 2016 was pretty late to start a blog. Like, block was already, you know, kind of like going out. But I was very late on this social media train. It wasn't very in tune with what was going on. in that industry. So I started a blog and I just wanted, I was like, you know what? I just want to give all this information for me, like all these recipes, all this advice and things that I do,

because people ask me about it anyways. And that's what kind of pushed me into doing blogging. And then I hated it too. I felt like it was so easy to edit myself. You know what I mean? Like it wasn't this connection. It was, I didn't feel like people knew who I was because you can ride this beautiful story. And then, you know, you know, in a computer, they'll show you all the grammar mistakes you made and all the phrases that don't really work. So you kind of edit yourself completely. And I didn't like that. So for me, I went back into like asking questions. Okay, I'm very comfortable at this point. If I continue doing blogging, it will be comfortable and fine. And, you know, people were kind of watching it

or whatever, reading my blogs, but it doesn't really challenges me in any way. And I think when I started like kind of repeating the word comfortable, comfortable, comfortable, that kind of lit fire under my butt. You know what I mean? It was just like made me realize that I don't want to be this comfortable at 25. And it felt really like I'm just supposed to start my journey not to be like, hey, this is good enough. So that scared me.

And that's where I think that's what pushed me to really ask myself, okay, what am I scared of? What can I do that will really kind of shake me and who I think I am? And that's when I started looking into YouTube. So again, a platform that I knew kind of really nothing about. I thought it was only for music videos and like cat videos. And then when I went on it, I was like, oh my God, there's all these creators and information and videos and it blew my mind.

So I really had to push myself to, number one, grab into a thing that I knew nothing about. So I literally had to YouTube. But how do I upload footage? How do I edit a video? How do I turn on a microphone on the computer? Like it was insane, the amount of things that I was YouTube. But it also really challenged me. And that's when I started making my nutrition videos.

and those failed miserably, by the way. But it also gave me a different kind of spark and satisfaction that none of the other things gave me. Because what it made me feel, it made me feel like butterflies and nervousness. And I was like, ugh, like my grammar is not it and my language maybe is not it. And I have this accent. And I don't know if what I'm saying makes sense to people because I can like go and start rambling. But I felt like I was like, oh, there's so much room for improvement. And there's just, I just, I'll continue doing it.

And I feel like the one thing about me that I love about myself to be, you know, modest and all, is the fact that I can recognize when it's time to switch. So I always, I guess, I'm pretty in tune with myself. And I just felt like, okay, I know that this is what I want to do. I know that I want to learn more about it, but this recipe thing is not really going. So how can I switch it into something else? So I started looking into all these other things and aspects of my life, you know, coming from fashion and beauty and all these things.

And I remember Gary was sitting with me and I was like talking to him about it and, you know, saying how, oh, maybe I'll show this and maybe I should this. Like, why don't you do a beauty tutorial? Like, why don't you do something with makeup? And I was like, okay, I guess. I don't really consider myself as a beauty plural because then if you Google, you know, back then it was people like James Charles with all these like amazing elaborate looks. I'm like, yeah, I guess I can do like a fall look type of thing with like one

eye shadow. And when I tried it, that's when it caught and that's when it started getting traction. And then that really taught me to be like, okay, now we need to sit down and figure out what are my pillars, what am I passionate about? What kind of like, diversity am I going to show on my content, you know, and that's kind of how it all started. It's crazy. That's how it started. So 2016 was out of my time where I started getting into YouTube and built my channel and just started experimenting. Okay. So there's obviously a lot to unpack there. One, I just want to reiterate the point because I think it's so important that you can find out so much information about anything you want to pursue on the internet. And I think people

are always like, oh, I want to start a YouTube channel, but I don't know how. And they let that be the thing that stops them. And I love that you were like, how do I do this audio thing? Like, do I need lights? Blah, blah, blah. Like, my first book that I wrote, I wrote it by literally Googling like how to do a cookbook proposal. And then I found one and I googled like how to find a literary agent. And that sparked my entire career. And I do think it's important that people realize like there's so much information out there. So I love that you started that way. Two, I would love to talk about how you know when to quit because that's something that you said offhand. And I think that's fascinating. Like people can spend either a few weeks at something and get really frustrated and be like

this isn't going anywhere or on the flip side. They can spend years kind of like hammering away at something and it's not doing anything for them and it's just making them feel frustrated. So If you were trying to teach somebody how to know when to quit, what would you say? Yeah, I think it's such a, it's so true. There's no really kind of a formula for people to follow because, you know, the slogans that we see out there today is like, you don't quit. You always push and keep doing it and giving yourself and blah, blah, blah. But I also think that the number one thing, honestly, with anything in life, especially when it comes to, you know, your career and finding your purpose, you've got to have that self-awareness.

Like you, you know how when you're a kid, your parents or whatever people tell you, you can be anything you want? You can't be anything you want. That's not how it works. You can be everything you are, right? So it requires the self-awareness to really look into what am I passionate about? What am I good at? What value can I bring to the audience, the people, the community, whatever it is around me?

And that's a concept that I also talked with yesterday when I did my life with Jay Shetty. He actually had a really good formula there. And I just love that finally someone put it out there, you know. In order to find your purpose, you need to, again, see what is your passion? Then looking at what you're strong at. What are you good at? And then look at this, you know, aspect of what did the value bringing? How are you being a service to someone?

And that's how you find your purpose. Now, all these three things won't happen at the same time. You won't necessarily know what you're passionate about, what you're good at, and how it brings value to the people around you at the same time. You know what I mean? It takes a lifetime sometimes for a person to realize what makes their souls happy and what they're good at and other things like that or how to make their career into something that will bring a positive change to the world.

it takes a long, long time. So I think that it's so important to be self-aware enough to, first of all, break that down and find the answers to those three aspects. And then start with one. Like, you know what I mean? Like your first career can be something that you're good at. Maybe you're good at with numbers, right? So your first career may not be something you're passionate about,

but it's something that you're good at that will keep motivating you to become better and better and better. and that once you get there, you can start looking into, okay, what am I passionate about? How can I bring this now with something I'm passionate about, right? And it's this little, like, ladder that we keep climbing and connect those three things until we reach that like, aha, this is it. This is my purpose. Yeah, it's almost like building blocks.

Like you build your base and then you just add on top, add on top, and then you have this, like, beautiful structure at the end. Exactly. So to answer your questions, I feel like I knew when to quit because I knew that, you know, with the blog, let's say, although I was, I wasn't bad at it and I was providing value, but it wasn't my passion. And in that specific context, in that specific profession, there were other ways available to me to express myself. So I didn't have to like have certain amount of like blog views to start a YouTube channel, right? So for me, right away, I saw, okay, nothing is really stopping me from switching the way I present that content and see if that resonates better. And is that some that will be more of a passion for me than to sit in front of my tutor and constantly edit my sentences?

So I think it's self-awareness is really required for you to be honest with yourself and just constantly like refocus and change kind of the pad that you're on. There's something new and so exciting that just launched in the non-dairy milk world. You might have heard of lava. They're famous for their super creamy plant-based yogurt. Well, they've just launched lava plant milk, which is going to be your new favorite non-dairy milk. It's totally different than any other plant milk on the market because it's made with

peeling nuts, a super nourishing food that's high in magnesium, vitamin E, and mono-unsaturated bats that support heart health and brain function. Gilly nuts are also a complete protein, making this honestly some of the most nutrient-dense plant milk I have ever tried. Beyond that, the texture is unreal. It's super rich and creamy, not at all like some of the other plant milks you find, which essentially feel like white water. It's also got the best ingredient list that I have seen in a long time. It's made with all real food ingredients, including coconut water, which provides a nice, gentle sweetness. They also have a chocolate lava plant milk, which is sweetened with dates and gets its delicious,

chocolatey flavor from unsweetened fair trade cocoa. It even has maca, a hormone-supporting superfood in it, which I thought was bananas, like how above and beyond can you get? None of their plant milkscifiers or sweeteners. I've been using the unsweetened milk as a base for my lattes now that the weather's getting cooler, and I love having the chocolate one as a little protein nash after my workouts. And for you coffee lovers out there, I am talking to you, Zach. They're launching a plant creamer too. You can find the last. You can find the lava plant milks at Whole Foods and you can find out more information about them at love lava.com. That is love with two Vs and lava with two Vs. They're going to blow your mind.

They are so unique and so delicious. I can't wait for you to try them. Now, let's get back to the episode. Can we talk about just the sheer volume of content that you create? Because it's something that I really struggle with as a creator. I was like, I got a hold of Instagram and my podcast. And then TikTok came out. And I was like, okay, I can do that too. And I added in TikTok and then, you know, Insta stories came out before that. But I got it. And then now it's reels.

And I just feel like the amount of content I have to create on a daily basis just to keep up my brand is exhausting to the point where I can't, I feel like I can't ever zoom out and push my brand forward. And you create more content than I do. Like you post multiple times day on Instagram. So like, how do you just deal with creating that much? Well, in the beginning, when I was a one woman show, it wasn't that much. It was one YouTube video a week. It was a lot for me even back then because I already had two kids and I was editing on my own and it was just completely exhausting. And for Instagram, I was maybe posting once a day.

It was really no formula there. It was just like whatever I can. And back then, it was a little YouTube and Instagram. That's it. As I kept growing, as all these platforms started appearing and I knew that at the end of the day, you know, social media is like real estate, right? And it's like, it's free real estate. So the more content and the more things you put out there, it's like you're grabbing, you know, this real estate for free. Why not create more content? And I understood that it's, it wasn't just, you know,

a game of like how much content, as much content, you know, as I can, I need to create. It's more like, I want to create all this content. I was inspired to create on this content. I don't have the bandwidth. And I feel like that's where I went to Gary for advice, because to me, like, I think he's a brilliant business person and he has experience of his own. And I came to him and I said, how can I, you know, have the time and space to focus on my strengths, which is, you know, creative concepts and being in front of the camera and create all this content without exhausting myself with all these other stuff that I'm not necessarily good at, that take me much longer than, you know, the things that I am good at and passionate about. And that's when I started,

you know, we started looking into, okay, we need to expand the team. And I think that that's kind of from the beginning, that's how my brand was evolving. It was constantly like, you know, okay, what am I doing now that takes a lot of my time that can be allocated to, again, to the things that I'm strong at and then maybe getting someone, even part-time to do the things that take me a long time and suck my creativity away. And, you know, how can we like join forces and I can get to that place of like having more time to create? So for me, it was honestly structure and process and people. And I know that it's, it's different for different people. But for me, you know, I was very fortunate that I took the money that I was getting from my business. And I really,

invested it. Right. Not everyone has the luxury of doing so, and I completely recognize that. So I am very fortunate that I had that opportunity, but it was very much of like reinvesting my income and getting people that are better than me at these things that slow me down. So the reason why I'm able to create so much content is because I have this channel around me. Can you just say a few examples of things that people do on your team because I feel like I'd like to do that but I also am like my brand is me like what would they you know I have a podcast editor but even then I'm going through my podcast and editing it for the content and like all of that myself and that takes hours and sending it off to him to do the production element but like I'm just like not somebody's not

going to post a TikTok for me or write an Instagram caption so like what would they do so Instagram caption is me, TikTok is me, things that when I need to shoot something, it used to take me so long to even just like make sure the battery is charged and I have the tripod and the lighting and this and all of that stuff used to take so much time rather than me coming in and just like so be in my zone and start doing my thing. You know, my first hire was a videographer. That was my first hire. So my first hire, she would come in the morning. We were working for my house and she would just be in charge of equipment, lighting, taking, you know, pictures and videos and then editing. And we used to split the editing. So that was the first hire. Then my second hire was I was wasting a lot of time on doing

invoicing, negotiation, talking this back and forth with brands and all these things. And, you know, As much as I loved it, because I love the business aspect of it, again, I knew my brand is me. So I need to be in front of the camera. I need to keep creating content in order for this brand to grow. No one, like if I'm going to be sitting and invoicing people, that's not going to really like help me with anything. So we hired a part-time like bookkeeper kind of a person that was communicating with the brand once, you know, the deal is closed, let's say. even those small things, those emails, those follow-ups, those invoicing, like, that took so much away from me and not even from like time-wise, but also like mental capacity.

You know what I mean? Yeah, I totally get that. That was kind of the ladder of, you know, the way we kept growing. It was just like, okay, what's next? What do you do next? That, you know, takes time. What do you do next? So it kind of like really processed that we keep asking ourselves.

even today, the way the company is growing, what else is needed that it's not essential for me to do? Because I know what I'm good at. I know my strength. What do you think is the secret to hiring good people? I think that, you know, the person needs to be aligned with what your brand represents. So our brand is very much of, you know, family and good content. So for me, every piece of content, you know, every person in our company, the number one question I always ask is like when you're editing something or when you're sending me something, I want to know that there's value to whoever is going to spend one minute out of their lives to watch it. What is the benefit? What is the value?

So when you're editing or when you, you know, putting something together for me or even like a content idea that you guys saw somewhere and you're sending me, I want to know what's the value for our community. community. So that's the number one thing that, you know, I'm leading with. And that's something that's very important for me that, you know, the people that work with me are aligned with. Because we had certain people that were very strong aesthetically, but that was their thing. It had to look a certain way. And that really mattered. And for me, I don't really care about that. Like you see my Instagram page, it's not all like college, you know, color coordinated type of thing. That's not what I care about. So I don't want people to focus on that. I want you to focus on what is the message. Are you going to make someone feel good today? Make some laugh. They're going to learn something.

Is it like a recipe? Is it feel good? So that's what, you know, number one thing I look at when we're bringing new people on if we are aligned and have the same kind of understanding of what we're trying to achieve. Honestly, it's probably a pretty good brand exercise in the first place to think about like what your underlying values, what you're your underlying essence is because then you know it. You can try to communicate it and everything you do. And then hopefully you can hire people who will also try to make it. It just, it's the little thread underneath everything you do that people might not be able to overtly know is there, but they'll be able to sense, which is probably very powerful. And one of the reasons your content resonates so much with people. Are there mistakes that you feel like people, you see people making when they're trying to get into social media or make it their career?

Yes, I think that, which is a mistake I did as well when I started, I was trying to, instead of feeling inspired, I felt the pressure to do the same stuff as other people that I looked up to were doing. So if it's even, you know, the way I was taking pictures or the way I was dressing or the things that I was talking about, I just saw a different person who was successful in this industry. And I was like, okay, so this obviously works. I'm going to do that. And I think that a lot of people do that today. A lot of people find an Instagram account that requires them, and they're just like, I'm going to start doing that. I'm going to take pictures of like my outfit and then a commutti photo,

then this and then, you know, things that I don't know. It might work for this person, but it literally looks like I can't differentiate you. Like I don't understand what you are about when I see the same concept. You know what I mean? So I think that that's something that a lot of people do. And listen, people are trying to figure it out, right? So there's a lot of mistakes. But that's the number one.

The number one thing is I feel like not letting kind of not having your stamp on whatever it is that you're posting and just being who you think other people want to see rather than you, if that makes sense. But how do you figure out your stamp? Like, I feel like I have a good sense of my stamp from my brand. But like when it comes to personal style, for instance, I truly have no idea. And I think it's an interesting. So I end up copying other people with fashion and the way that I think people probably would copy other people with branding.

And I have no, where would somebody start with figuring out what makes what their aesthetic, what their style, what their essence or brand should be? Well, I feel like you actually have, like I have a very understanding of your brand by looking at. your content. And I think that maybe although in the personal style, you feel like you don't have your own thing yet, that's okay, because you have all these other things that are yours, you know, that have their stamp on it. So the way you start is by trying things out, is by maybe copying, and then slowly you're tweaking something here and tweaking something there. And then it becomes, you know, a little bit more you. But I feel like people just need to kind of sit down and, first of all, write down their pillars like, you know, we mentioned prior. And also, like, what is, what is your

thing? What is special about you? Like, I know that for me, I always, I love approaching things with humor. It's part of my coping mechanism. It's part of the way I, like, go through life. So that's really much part of my content as well. And even when I do fashion videos, there's an aspect of that, right? So it's like, there needs to be something about you, if it's your person, something from your personality that's just like people just like, hey, this is it. This is her. That's her thing. I wonder if you could even like ask, you know, people in your life, like when you think of qualities with me, because you're like, I think of myself as funny person. People think of me as funny person. I bet if you asked everybody in your life, everybody like, oh, you're funny. And then you could be like, oh, maybe I'll bring that

to my brand. And like, for me, it's that I overthink everything, which is why I started to have a podcast because I was like, I want to have these incredibly deep conversations. as much as possible. And anybody who talked to me from when I was five years old on would have told me that about myself. So I bet you could, if you had no idea where to start, I bet you could just ask people in your life, like, what makes me interesting or unique? There's actually questionnaires, I think Pinterest even, where it's these questions that you send to our friends and family. And it's questions about you. And it's so interesting. And so, and this is a great way to maybe, you know, see something about you that you maybe don't see because you have all these

narratives and idea of who you are. So I 100% think it's such a beautiful way to have a kind of better understanding of what it is because, you know, we are so, the way we view ourselves is so clouded sometimes. And I think that that's an important exercise in general to have, to be honest, because honestly, even if you don't have a personal brand online, a personal brand is a thing, right? It's like we're all connected today. This is how we present ourselves to the world. So I feel like it's definitely a great exercise to do to have a better understanding of who you are. I definitely want to do that just period. Like I'm a Leo and I like attention and I like knowing what people. Like whenever I leave the room with like when I'm out somewhere with my dad and Zach, I'm always like,

talk about me while I'm gone, please. You know, like so the idea of somebody filling out in questionnaire about me sounds like truly my dream in life and I'm going to go and download it but it has to be anonymous yeah that's what I'll I'll send it out to like 50 of my closest friends get them all back anonymously and I'll just sit there and have the best night of my well I mean I guess it depends if it's anonymous it might not be the best night of my life we would have to we'd have to see what people say but I feel like you're the kind of person that will be able to you know identify constructive feedback with you know yeah for sure I love criticism. I haven't experienced it as much in my real life, but in writing, you know, you get a ton

of edits and people tend to be apologetic for them. And I'm like, I love this. This is what makes my writing better. Like, thank you for saying it. So I, I wish people would come up to me and be like, oh, you could do this a little different and you'd be so much happier. And I'd be like, oh, my God, thank you. That sounds great. Maybe not just like random people. I feel like it's important. I feel like it's important to get your feedback from the right people. So let's say I wouldn't, I mean, I love my mother and I love her advice, but I wouldn't necessarily go to her for business advice. You know what I mean?

So I think that it's very also important to know who you're asking feedback from on which subject. Go to the people that you respect in that kind of, you know, industry or sphere or whatever it is that can actually know what they're talking about and give you an actual feedback. So that's very important. A hundred percent. I think that's like a strict. My friend went to a hair salon and she got the worst haircut of her life.

And she said when she went in, she noticed the woman doing her hair had hair that she hated. And I'm like, never let somebody with hair you hate do your hair. And I think that's universally true. Like if you should want whatever they have in that arena before you look to them for advice or help or God forbid they touch your head. that arena, you know? Definitely. I think that's incredibly important. Agreed.

Okay, so one thing I love to do on this podcast is also bring it down to super nitty-gritty and pragmatic levels. So just before we close out social media brand building, I would love something that's like very specific people could do if they wanted to get started on that career path or accelerate their growth on that career path, whether it's an app that you recommend a time management system, just something they could implement today? So I think that today, one of the things, and you mentioned it previously, you said how you feel so bum, because it's all these platforms that you have to maintain and create content for. So for me, I think something that's very important,

even though we have a team building that bank of content on days when I feel like a rock star, creating a bunch of content and kind of, you know, storing it for the weekends or rainy days or days where I feel like I'm just not feeling it, instead of pushing myself to the accent, and experience burnout. I think that was one of the best, like, kind of things that I've adopted into my kind of career life. It also gives me the space and time to spend time on my own and, you know, disconnected and also have time with my family. So not only do I schedule more content on days when I feel like, hey, I am. And sometimes, honestly, I sync it with my cycle as well, by the way. Like, we have so many indicators to where, you know, when we're going to be at our

best. So like when you're ovulating, you'll produce a lot of content. A lot of trends and content. Exactly. So, you know, it's like, it's like time. So, you know, you can even do that. I mean, as women, we can also get so many signals from just like our bodies and the way we feel and, you know, understanding ourselves. So I have days when I know, okay, this is going to be a time where I'm going to just like create such content. And I also make sure that on the weekends, I am like a mom. So I schedule posts, I review everything before that. I make sure that I have scheduled a time slot to review everything that's going to be posted on the weekend. And everything is just prepared to go.

And I don't have to think about it. So I feel like that time management and scheduling and really like having those days of like my rock star days where I just like go at it with content are probably one of the most important things that I do that help me with my consistency. And just my overall, my overall, like, mental health and well-being. That begs the question. If somebody is like, I would love to have that day, but I never have 10 content ideas, where can they get that inspiration? I mean, I think that it's important to, you know, to schedule yourself also day to procrastinate, right?

So on the weekends, I may not be creating content or posting on my platforms, but those are the days where I watch different, like, documentaries or read books or, you know, listen to different things. And those are the days where I get inspired and I write things down or say things with like notes on them. Okay, like I love this concept, but I'm going to add this and this to it. So those are just great things to do. And you have to schedule yourself days where you just like, today is that day for me. Today I'm not shooting anything. I'm just like preparing some stuff for, you know, this week to come. And I'm just going to like read and watch some movies and, you know, just kind of like see what inspires me. And I give myself that

room and time and space to do it. That's very important. You are one of the most well-read people that I think it's one of the things that initially attracted me to you. I just think readers are good people. They're the best people on the planet. If somebody doesn't read, I don't trust them. I'm curious, you've talked a little bit about books that have changed your life. And I would love to talk about books that have changed your life. But I'd also love to talk about specific things you've learned from books that you've implemented that have actually changed your life? You know what? I feel like I read a lot and I'm not the kind of person that necessarily memorizes like this specific book, that specific line, that specific quote. It's more like

something that I literally like internalize and start practicing. So right now I feel like things that have changed me. I don't even know where it came from necessarily because it just became like a mishmash of things. But, and, you know, for me, because I also highlight all these things, I love to go back to different books and just like kind of go through these highlighted sections and see if they're even aligned with me today. I have some books that I used to recommend, like even last year. And I opened one the other day and I was looking at all the highlighted stuff. And I was like, wow, this is so not aligned with me now. Wait, what book was it? It was a book that, I guess it's not even like,

like it's a lie it's not like a bad book it was just like I'm at a different point in my life um there was this one book I made a video two years I made a video like a book that every woman should read and one of those books is um the woman I wanted to be by uh Diane von uh I always mess up her name plus her yes thank you first and I love her she's an icon and the book is great and it's so it's you know it's very inspiring for a young girl for a young woman who's like in the beginning of her road and I was very inspired by it. It was obviously in my like pop, like what every woman should read list. And I did mark a few things there.

And some of them I still kind of like, oh, I get it now. And some are like, oh, this is so cute. So it's more like that thing, you know? Like I feel like a book that you read even two years ago. If you mark things, it can even indicate the progress you've made, you know? Yeah, absolutely. The past year or two. So are there little tips and tricks?

So like I'm thinking about you got me to read atomic habits, which I love. Yes. And because of that now, every single morning, he talks about tying habits together. So to tie a habit you already have with a habit you want. And I wanted to read more nonfiction. And so I already drink green smoothies every morning. And I tied those two habits together. And since I read that about maybe five months ago, I've every morning drink my green

smoothie and I read a nonfiction book. And I love it. And so I'm curious, maybe it's more about like what habits you integrate. great into your day that make you happy or feel good or if there's mindset shifts that you've noticed like a big difference since incorporating or anything like that. So I've actually been really, really focusing on creating and giving myself more time and space to meditate. I feel like for the longest time, although my forms of meditation come in different ways. So for me, with yourself, let's say when you have your green smoothie, I have my coffee. I wake up early in the morning. I have my

cup of coffee or tea and I read. That's like my thing and that's a form of meditation to me or even going outside in our backyard and just walking with barefoot on the grass and just looking at the trees. That's meditation for me. But I really wanted to get into this habit of just like sitting down and just like, you know, like zoning out. Like I really want to. I feel like I'm ready now because I, you know, I baby stepped my way into this meditation practice. So I feel like now I really tied this, you know, when I wake up in the morning, I'll have my glass of water, I meditate before anything else. And that's kind of what I've been, I started doing lately, and it really helped me a lot. It's funny because when you do it, you feel like nothing's happening and

you feel like this is, I'm wasting like precious 15th of my life right now. But you notice how, like I noticed specifically, especially with my kids, I mean, they're the biggest syndicator, right? because like they can just drive you off, you know, like real fast. So it's just even the way to speak and my tone. And even though I think that I didn't have like a proper meditation session because I was distracted or whatever, I do feel like my mindset is completely different. It's just more in tune and more like relaxed and more aware. So that's something that I've been really focusing on lately.

And I'm the kind of first. that when I want to introduce certain habit, like I only focus on that one thing. I don't have any other five different things that I'm doing right now to try to integrate through my life. It's meditation only. So that's what I'm about these days. Interesting. Meditation has been, I'm a naturally anxious. I don't even know if I want to say I'm a naturally anxious person because I don't want to label myself that way, but I've definitely struggled with anxiety throughout my life. And when I was able to start regularly meditating. It transformed my life.

And it's like you said, you don't feel like you're, I feel like I've failed every single time I sit down to meditate. At the end, I feel like it was a failed session. But my entire day goes differently, which is magical. Have you ever struggled with any health or wellness issues, like gut issues or anxiety or, you know, anything like that? I don't think so. Like, looking back, I don't.

I can't think of anything, but also I didn't know any of these terms. They were not a thing at all. People didn't talk about them. So I don't even know if I experienced them, really. I feel like lately I've definitely anxiety and just pressure and stress and feeling drained has something that appeared in my life. And I think that, you know, with all these new tasks and projects and just like, you know, kids and all these things. just contribute so much. And obviously, I mean, the state of the world today doesn't help either. I've been experiencing more and more, but I also, that's why I guess I'm focusing on really

bringing those like slow down, be intentional, be mindful kind of moments into my life to help me control it. But I don't want to necessarily say that I have any specific experiences. And I'm not even the person for that, honestly. Even when my community sometimes messages me, I always make sure to be like, I haven't experienced anything that I know was a big issue. So I don't want to give you some bullshit advice. Like I really recommend you to speak to a professional or even, you know, to talk to someone that is kind of a thought leader or someone that understands much more about it.

So yeah, I really just, I do, you know, I'm just like I feel like everyone else is dealing with of the basic, like, anxiety, stress of the daily life. Which, as we were sort of talking about before we got on this call, I think the pandemic has impacted a lot of things, obviously, for good and for less good. And there's some really terrible stuff happening in the world. And I think you and I have both been lucky enough to have a pretty privileged situation throughout the pandemic. But I am curious.

I'm always curious, especially at this point, because it's this huge world event. Like in 50 years, we're all going to talk about the fact that we, like, lived through this period if we were lucky enough to live through this period. And I'm curious how you feel like it's shaped you or changed you in any way. I think that if it wasn't for the pandemic, I don't know if I would have had the opportunity that I have realized how much I needed to stop and re-evaluate and take like a breath and to look around and, you know, really. kind of, I guess, redefined who I was. I was somewhere else that my definition of who I am

and who I thought I was was kind of like lagging behind because I didn't have time to sit with it and to, you know, bring them together. So I feel like with the pandemic, it kind of forced me to do it. And I'm extremely grateful for that.

Obviously, it's a very weird and scary time. But I also feel like just across the board, I see that so many people just really dive deeper into their anger and frustration and anxiety and sadness and, you know, even just like more even into their communities and families. And I think it was a really beautiful thing that we all needed to really kind of set our priorities straight. And yeah, so I don't know, looking back even now when I look back, I don't necessarily have this negative. association with that, if that makes sense. And I guess it's the way you see it, right?

It's like all about perspective. What about parenting during the pandemic? Was that like a shit show or? It was a definite shit show. But again, it was, it really made me to just sit with my frustrations and emotions and and fear and worry because I feel like something that a lot of us connect to especially parents, I feel, we connect love with worry. So we feel like we have to have this extreme amount of anxiety and just like this fear of what's

going to happen to them and how it's going to fit them and all these things. We love that. And we think like this is love. This is what means that I love my child. And I think that it comes obviously, for some of us, it comes from just like the way we were parented. So I, it really also helped me dive into that face. You know what I mean? I'm just like, let me figure out what's going on with this guilt and with this worry and all this bullshit that I put on my kids thinking that this is me showing them that I love them,

but really, who is it serving? I feel like that the connection, that like, that broke me a little bit. The connection of love and worry, I think that's like played a outside. role in my life, which is interesting, conflating the two, particularly. That's really interesting. You're listening to the Healthier Together podcast. You already know that I love my Garden of Life products. The mood plus probiotic is my absolute favorite and I use the grass-fed collagen all the time in my smoothies. But ever since I interviewed Aviva Rom for the Ask the Doctor hormone edition episode of the podcast, I've been trying to get serious about incorporating a fish oil supplement into my diet, since we talked about how important it was for women's hormones and mood in general.

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Now, let's get back to the episode. You were a super, super young mom, 22, right? Yeah, yeah. Did you feel like you were missing out on your 20s, or did you feel like, oh, I'm lucky I have this all sorted while all my girlfriends are out doing this? Or how did that impact your experience of your 20s? I feel like because I started kind of my independent adult life or whatever it was so young that, I truly felt like I really crammed a lot of things into those four or five years before I met Gary. I traveled the world, the world.

I partied my butt off. I dated really like bad people and really great people and met great people and bad people. So I really just got to experience a lot of things. And when I met Gary, again, I just felt like everything was aligned. And for some reason, I didn't over analyze it and I didn't overthink it, which is. is a quality that is very aligned with, you know, my virgo self. I just really go deep into like, well, why, why is this? But what is going to happen with that? And, you know, all these different scenarios that you play in your head. And I mean, with Gary, I mean, there were so many scenarios.

He's older. And, you know, there was this whole thing with like, he has money and this and that and what's going to happen. But for some reason, it was just like, it just felt right. And I didn't resist it. And everything felt like it just flowed. So I didn't necessarily have this like, oh my God, I'm missing out. I had more of like, I am, it's weird to be in a completely different place than your friends are. And you do feel alone. And I feel like a lot of new moms honestly feel bad. Even if you're older or younger, that feeling of just like, wow, you know, it's a very uncomfortable, like, lonely place in the beginning.

So I felt that, but I never kind of looked back. And I guess also because I was raised by a young mom and I saw my mom traveling the world and working and had boyfriends and always looked hot and did all these things without any resources, like very important to note. I never looked at children to be like, oh, this is going to cancel my life. You know what I mean? So I think that also really helped me with just taking it as an experience and glowing with it. rather than just a huge limiting block. The way you talk about Gary makes me wonder if you believe in the idea of soulmates. Definitely.

So do you think he's your soulmate? Yeah. You know, because we're not very similar. Like, we're not, it's funny. Like, I love to read. He doesn't read unless it's like on a screen. Oh, no, I can't trust him. I know.

You know what? Sometimes I post this question to him as well. you know so i love culture love all these things and he's like me whatever this is all manmade bullshit you know so he has completely different perspectives on certain things so it's really challenging and fun and uh you know makes me sometimes question uh what do i like what am i attracted through if it's like something that i actually love or it's something that like society put you know like all these things so he very much expends my mind with different ideas and vice versa. But I think that the way, so on the surface, there's not a lot of

similarities between us, but again, I think those values and morals and just like, we just, we speak like the same language. Like when it comes down to the real important things, like we're completely aligned. So I definitely think that he's so made. And do you think if he is, like, do you think you just have one? Do you think if he's? He hadn't, he walked into like a bar or something that night, right? Like if you guys hadn't met, was there another soulmate out there for you? I think so. Like, I don't want to listen.

I feel like it's not a very popular belief. Not very like, you know, North America rom-com. But I, yeah, I do. Like, I do think that there are people out there and, you know, they come in the form of friends. They come in the form of lovers. They come in different type of forms. And, but yeah, there are like a lot of soulmates out there. And at the end of the day, it's so much deeper than like, oh, it's a guy or if it's a girl or if it's like your husband or not.

There's different people that are even married that maybe they're not soulmates, but they get that fix from either their show life or they're in their family. Right. So it's a much more complex thing than just like, oh, my God, I need to find a soulmate. And then I found him and then we get married and then, you know, happy ending. Right. I am a big believer in best friend soulmates and like that there's different. And also in the idea of soulmates for a time period, I interviewed Glenn and Doyle. And she said like somebody can be your soulmate for this period in your life and then not later.

And they were exactly who you needed at that time. And that's why they were vitally there. And I think that's a really beautiful idea. 100%. I definitely believe in it. I'm also obsessed with Glenn Doyle. She is in my soulmate because she just doesn't know it. I know.

The whole time I was interviewing her, I was like, are you going to realize that we should be best friend? or do I need to explicitly tell you. I wonder if everyone feels bad about her. It's so funny, right? I'm sure everybody does. Yeah, I was like she's going to see something special in me. I'm like, no. She did follow me on Instagram.

And so now whenever I do a post, I'm like, is she looking at this and realizing? What will Glennon do you think? Exactly. Every single time I'm like, I'm writing the caption. I'm like, Glennon, thoughts on this. I have a few listener questions that I would love to get your opinion on. Yeah. Okay.

Somebody wants to know what role does sustainability play in your life, especially with raising your kids and especially with your thoughts on fashion. Okay. Sustainability. I have so much work to do there. I'm not even going to pretend. I think that I definitely am much better than I was even two, three years ago. Definitely more aware.

am I fully like committed and you know taking every action possible absolutely not and I think that unfortunately with I don't know I've been how to explain it when you raise three children and you're around a household if I'm going to sit and think about every plastic box in my life I would literally like that's what's going to tip me over the bridge do you know what I mean like it's just you have to pick your battles. Yeah. And I truly want to be a more conscious and more sustain a person. And I do what I can. Like I change small little things throughout, you know, from like I stopped using, you know, like tampons and stuff like that. I only use a diva cup. And I stopped using, you know, those makeup wipes or like those one single use

like pipes and I, the multi-purpose. We make only, you know, they try. I really do. But I definitely have a long way to go. With clothes, with clothes, that's a tricky one because, you know what, when I started shooting fashion content, because fashion is one of my biggest pillars in my content, it's also a way to express myself. I was shooting a lot of kind of things like I would shop with like Forever 21 and make it affordable for people because a lot of people, like, why are you showing me this like Chanel and stuff? Like, I can't afford that. So I started doing that. And then it was, oh, you're killing the, you did the planet. And then I also educated myself and I stopped buying.

Like I literally blacklisted certain stores that I'm just like, this is complete garbage. But then there are shops like Agent M and Zara, you know, that are accessible to everyone, accessible price points. And I guess for me, when I show things, even if it's not sustainable by the matters of life, you know, certain people, I think about, okay, is this something I would recommend my friend to buy, something that can serve her for a few years. Is it good quality? So those are the things that I think

about and try to, you know, make conscious decisions of what to showcase to my audience. But I think it's also important to know that this is my work. Like I do this for a living. I don't own all these clothes. Some things I buy and just show you kind of like a trend report and then I return. Other things, you know, I own. I try to drift as much as I can. So it's just, a combination. But I think that before I would be attacked from both sides, this is too expensive, you're being insensitive to you're not being sustainable. And I've realized that, you know, at the end of the day, that's not what's going to create change in the world. I actually was inspired to make these sustainable changes from people that are, you know, leading by example

in a very realistic and very positive way. So that's what I'm. kind of trying to do. Like I'll talk about drifting and I'll show things that are more, you know, will serve you for longer time and things like that. But definitely, listen, we're not, you're not perfect. Trying to do what I can. Another listener said that you are the queen of self-improvement. It seems like you've completely nailed it. What are self-improvement things that you're still working on or changes that are harder for you to do? Oh my God. That's a big title to carry. I stopped saying I can. And if that makes sense.

I think that, you know, just like the example I gave you within this meditation, I take one thing at a time and really focus on it and try to like rework it in a way that will like actually work in my life and with my lifestyle. So I honestly don't believe that any of us can't. Like it's not like you're not a morning person. It's just it's not really aligned with your lifestyle. and you're not very like motivated to make that happen if that makes sense. Like it's not, you know what I mean? Like it's not that you can't do something. It's more like does it some things are just not, it's not a make or break it.

You know what I mean? Like it's fine. You're functioning well with not being a morning person and you get to do all these things that you need to do. So you're fine. It's not like it's a matter of life or that for you. You know what I mean? That's so interesting.

Well, don't you think so? No, I do think so. I mean, I do think I stopped being a morning person because I was basically, or like, trying to be because I was like, I don't care enough. Like, and I do think it's interesting that if you, but I wasn't an exercise person for a long time. And then I became an exercise person because I did care enough about my mental health and having that effect. And now I'm a regular. Yeah.

So, yeah, I think that's probably incredibly true. It also reminds me of that TikTok that you did a while ago that was like motivation is a myth. Yeah. What is that? Can you explain that briefly? So that actually very much aligned with kind of, you know, the whole stuff improvement and the things that you can't nail even though you want to. So I find that for some reason we've been fed as a society like this buzzword motivation and that's the thing that, you know, gets you to really go and do stuff. And that's how successful people operate and you're just motivated, you're motivated.

And I feel like even the definition itself, you know, if you look up the definition, motivation, means a reason or reasons to, you know, to act or behave a way. It's a reason. It's a seed. It's not the action. You know what I mean? So a lot of people think it's the action. So they sit down and they're like, you grab into something. They want to become a painter. And they're like so motivated. And they start doing it. And then the motivation go away. And they're like, oh, it wasn't for me. It's not meant to be. What mind will come. You know that, you know, that thing? Yeah. No. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think that just for me, I'm learning so much from my community because they DMing me and their messaging me. And, you know, I myself used to believe that that's motivation is key for everything that I do. And it's a wonderful thing to have. But what I've realized with time and with certain goals that I've achieved, that motivation is actually an outcome for me more than the beginning of something. Like you can be inspired, but that thing is so.

not sustainable enough to get you to take action. What makes you act is discipline more than anything else. And if you don't have the discipline, you can have a bajillion motivations a day. It's not going to really get you anywhere or won't create a long-term, you know, kind of path for you. So for me, I get motivated when I do something, even though I'm not really motivated to do it, but I do it. my discipline is, you know, strong enough now that I push myself. I finish that thing and I feel motivated because I prove to myself that I can do this and that makes me want to do more. So that actually sparks that motivation and sustains it enough to keep pushing me to the next thing. But it's the discipline that gets us to do anything that we want in life. So I feel like I want

people to stop relying on motivation and start looking and, you know, putting a process together or discipline because this is honestly a very important part of anything that you'll ever do. I think that's an incredibly important concept and probably one of like the keys to business and life in general. So thank you for sharing that. I have a few questions that I always ask everybody. These should be fun. Have you ever been some? somewhere in the world and thought the people here really got it right in terms of living a healthy and happy life. And if so, where was it? It was Okinawa in Japan. They just know what's up. And I think it's like a blue zone. No. Isn't like people? It's a blue zone. I was going to say,

you're the first person I think who's actually explicitly said a blue zone. So they actually scientifically got it right. It's absolutely amazing. I was there actually for a photo shoot. And I am so grateful for that experience because you see just older people doing all these manual work and just that there's just something like there's like this aura and energy. And it was just amazing with the nature and just the way people carry themselves, you felt that vibration. So I thought that was a beautiful thing. But I have to say, I kind of like, I also love a little bit of like struggle and frustrations. So even like France is a place that I love because I love that people are, you know, it's so real and mean and honest.

And it just makes me laugh, you know, because they really show what they feel they'll tell you. And I think there's something magical about it. And the same thing with, I think, Spain in the Middle East is like the temperament of people. And they're just putting it out there. They can be, they scream if they're angry and then they're fine and then they're happy. And then they're like, I love that. I think that that vibrancy is. something that I personally grew up in Israel. So when I came to Canada, it's a little bit of a

different culture here. I found like I really, really miss that. So I have to say like probably those countries, I really just like, I can, I can vibe with this. And briefly, for anybody who's not familiar, the blue zones are these areas in the world where people have been found to live the longest lives in Okinawa. Actually, one of the things they identified about people who live there is that they have really strong communities, particularly when they're older. I think in America, we aren't great and integrating our elderly people into society and making them feel important and valued and all of that. And in Okinawa, apparently they're much better at that. So they're sort of like the ultimate healthier together community. So props to them for that. My dad also

loves France because he's a psychologist and he thinks that they like find the beauty and depression better than any other country and he thinks that's such an important thing. I love that. I know. They make it so beautiful and I feel like, you know, have you watched Emily in Paris? Yeah. On Netflix. Yeah. Okay. So there was this thing. Obviously, it's like a complete like bubble gum show, but it was so like funny to watch and so needed, I guess, because everything else is so heavy. There was this one episode where they were talking about this American actress that came to Paris. and, you know, Emily was saying, oh, I love her movies. It's, like, such, like, beautiful rom-coms and it makes you feel fuzzy and whatever.

And the guy, the coworker, he's like, but it's not real. What do you like about it? It's not real. This is not how life is. Where's the heartbreak? Where is the, you know, and it's like, it's true. It's so true. Like, if we in North America or if, like, Disney decided to be real with, like, life and

show, you know, the real aspects of certain things. Maybe we would grow to be more comfortable with these uncomfortable feelings and these like anger and passion and rejection, like maybe it won't be such a big, you know, like dark place. Because I feel like French people kind of figured it out. They're just like they absorb it. They own it and then they kind of let it go. It's not like, oh my God, you know. Well, especially if you can find a way to celebrate it. Like I think we have TV and movies that are like, oh, that's bad. That's the life I want to avoid. It's like a tragedy and you watch it. You're like, I don't want to live in Breaking Bad or you watch something and it kind of makes you feel bad because it doesn't resemble your life in any way, shape, or form. And I think it's about being like

something can be tragic and you can find meaning and importance in that tragedy. And that's an important part of the human experience. It's the full human experience, which I think is really beautiful. It's the full human experience. That's correct. And I think that we're definitely on the right track. Like, I've been seeing so many beautiful, like, movies, more indie movies that are more of, like, a little, you know, portrait of, you know, kind of the human fabric and how we made, how we just experience different things. So there's this hope. What do you think is the best way to spend 20 minutes every day in terms of living a healthier, happier life? I absolutely love being by myself.

and have room throughout my day, every day, to process, you know, how I'm feeling, what I'm feeling, checking in with myself, you know, and not taking necessarily, like, you know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and your coffee spilled and then you bum your whatever finger on the counter and like it starts really iffy. A lot of people carry it throughout the day, the small little, you know, things and they ticked at the rest of the day. And I feel like what solitude helps me do. is to just really recognize if I'm carrying anything from earlier on that maybe wasn't so pleasant, that that dictate the rest of my day. That makes a huge, huge difference in my F-Day life.

So you know what? I actually read a very interesting study. There was a study done where they took men and women and told them that you have to choose between being 15 minutes alone with your thoughts or get an, an electric shock. You know that 60% shows an electric shock. Oh my God. That's crazy. No wonder it's so hard for us to meditate and we're like do anything to avoid. That's crazy. Exactly. So it's a very interesting thing to think about because, you know, if we don't practice that, if we don't make ourselves sit in these uncomfortable feelings and to ask ourselves all these questions and to just

really be okay with whatever's going on with it. in. I think that that's what really I feel like makes everything. That's what's creating balance, right? Because we're just so not aware, so not in tune. So yeah, for me, that's kind of my ritual that I must have every single day. What's something that you've purchased lately that has made your life healthier, happier? At the end of the day, honestly, like, probably a personal trainer. I started like, I invested in a personal trainer. I started like, I invested in a personal trainer now that comes to the house and I just feel like it helps me so much with just like scheduling and making sure that I get what I need to get from my training and just not get too

cut up with all this am I doing it right and it's my form right am I this and my dad and so that I feel it has been probably the best investment I've made for myself do you feel successful and why or why not I feel successful. I feel successful probably because I just feel like I am not afraid of, like, fail. I think that's one of the things that makes me feel successful. Like, that makes me feel, I guess success is, like, that I'm on the right path. Like, I'm not scared to make mistakes and fail. I also feel successful when I look at my children and, you know, just,

how kind and smart and funny and quirky and, like, open they are. That makes me feel successful. I love that. Okay, and this is the last one. What is a big mistake you've made, maybe one that you've learned a lot from, and then what's something that you really got right? I have this one mistake that I've actually,

I had during my modeling years. I got this really, really a big project that I just, it's literally like a dream job for every girl. And it was actually, I might even like not saying it. So I got this Victoria's Secret campaign. And for me, it was like a huge deal because I'm also very short for a model. So, you know, I had a little bit more of like, how do you say it? Like I was kind of less qualified than a lot of other girls that auditioned for that.

But they booked me because it was really funny, by the way. It was so funny about casting. I remember. I feel like that's my different thing. Victoria's Secret apparently is famous for like loving personality. Now, yes. Yes, definitely. Okay.

Back then, I don't know. But yeah, I guess they booked me. I don't know. But anyways, I got to the set. And I started telling such like different stories in my head to myself being like, you know, I'm too sure. Like, how did I get here? And oh my God.

Like there were these huge. supermodel sitting beside me and I was like, what am I doing here? This is so crazy. Like thinking, I'm doing it kind of like, oh, it's like a pausing. But actually I kept just like making myself smaller and smaller and smaller. And then it was my time to be on set. I was like already at like minus 15. And I didn't even like that was I just started shooting then. And I was already at disadvantage which is like the way I felt with myself. And it's funny because I look back and like, They saw me. They booked me. I tried on clothing, like their bras and whatever. Like, they, you know, it's not like there was any surprise. But I guess the energy and just that confidence, they just completely self-sabotage myself. And I led this huge opportunity completely survived. We started shooting. And I felt so uncomfortable in my own body, like didn't know what I'm supposed to do, although I've been doing it for a decade. And it's like on autopilot for me. You know, that. after like shooting one thing, she came up to me and she was so sweet.

She's like, okay, thank you so much. I was like, oh, that's it. Yeah, we just brought you here to do one bra. And obviously she didn't want to hurt my feelings to be like, you're, you're like, we're not feeling this. But when I left, I was just like, wow, this was literally a war with myself. Like I sabotaged this whole opportunity just on my own. No one was part of that war.

You know what I mean? So I think that for me, that was a. lesson to really work on that and to stop being my own biggest enemy. Because even, you know, once I had that opportunity, I got this confirmation that I am worthy being here. I'm supposed to be here. This was intentional, you know, I still kind of said there and completely canceled myself. And that was a big, like, wake up moment for me. And what's something that you really got right? I really got right learning lessons from different experiences. I feel like I feel like I never, and I don't know where it comes from,

but I never shied away from these really uncomfortable questions. And, you know, it humbles me to find all these things that still require so much work within me. And I love it. Like, I love the work. And I want to do it like all the time. And I just look for areas that, you know, I can just explore myself more and uncover and this cover and how can I unlean things that, you know, are maybe not so healthy for me. And I just love that process.

So I think the thing that I really appreciate with myself today is that I'm just out for the challenge, I guess. I love that. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to chat today. Thank you so much, Liz. This was fun. As always. It was awesome. As always.

I hope you loved this episode. I know we covered a lot of topics in here. This is definitely going to be one of the go-toes that I go back and listen to when I'm feeling kind of met on my brand or I need motivation or inspiration on how to incorporate my work and be motivated in my work and also in my life and live a really good life while doing my work, if that makes sense. I hope you loved it. If you know anybody who you thinks could benefit from all of the wisdom that Valeria

shared, please share this episode with them. I'm always so appreciative when you guys are like, oh, I got this. I found out about your podcast or one of my friends or I just shared this with all of my coworkers at work. It's so touching that you think that this podcast is worth their time and worth listening to or that somebody thought that about you once. So, so appreciated. And I love you all.

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