Well with Arielle Lorre - 107: Body Love, Rising Above Toxicity & Building the Life of Your Dreams with Almost 30's Krista Williams + Lindsey Simcik

Episode Date: April 21, 2021

In this episode I’m talking to Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik, founders and hosts of Almost 30 Nation and Almost 30 Podcast, respectively. We discuss how they left their previous careers and built a successful brand; how to build the life of your dreams; how to focus on process rather than outcomes; how to find joy in being single; what it’s really like being a content creator today; overcoming disordered relationships with food and exercise; rising above toxicity; how to be present and detach from social media and so much more.   www.Curology.com/blonde for your free 30-day trial. www.Blublox.com/BLONDE for 15% off your order plus Free Shipping. www.Gomacro.com with code BLONDEFILES for 30% off plus free shipping on orders over $50.   Produced by Dear MediaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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would auto-hue without your re-sadviseur or sunnycars. The following podcast is a dear media production. Hey, welcome to the Blond Files podcast. I'm your host, Ariel Lori, and I'm here to talk all things wellness.

From how to achieve optimal health and well-being to the best beauty tips and everything in between, no topic is off limits. I know there is so much information out there, so I'm here to help you navigate it all and live your best life. Thanks for listening. Let's get into it. Hi, everybody. Welcome to the show.

I have a very fun episode today. Actually, it's a crossover. So today on the show, I have Crystal Williams and Lindsay SimSick. They are the hosts of almost 30 podcast, founders of almost 30 nation, founders of podcast pro, and so much more. And I went on their show, almost 30 as well. So that's out this week. So make sure you go check that out. And we go deep on both of these episodes, but we also just had a good time. So, In today's episode, we go all over the place and we talk everything from building a brand, dealing with adversity along the way, manifestation and visualization and like how and when we should be in the present, but also when it's appropriate to be in the future to build the life that we want. We talk a lot about relationships and the sacredness of being single. We talk about what it's really like being content creators, how to deal with toxicity, also how to not just live for Instagram, which I think a lot of people can relate to right now, especially after the last year and just being so immersed in the digital world. And we also delve into false beliefs

that we've had about our bodies and disordered relationships with food and exercise and overcoming that and just kind of rising above the toxicity that is so pervasive in our culture today. So I really just loved talking to them. And so much so that this is, a longer episode, but the end is just as valuable and fun and real as the beginning. So make sure you listen all the way through. I had such a full circle moment with Lindsay. It's really interesting how I met her initially when I was about a year sober, so six years ago. And it just felt like I was talking to girlfriends. It's really authentic. And yeah, enjoy the girl talk. All right, welcome to the show. So happy to be finally sitting here with the two of you. So pumped.

Yeah, we've been waiting for them. We're all warmed up. A while in the making. I'm really, really, really happy. Yes. I feel like months. Yeah. You know, I feel like everything happens in its own time. It was like very good timing right now. But yeah, you guys have been on my podcast bucket list for a while. And it's so crazy because I just went on their show. And I was sitting here talking about, my addiction and getting sober and looking at Lindsay and I realized that we like kind of met before six years ago when I was taking her soul cycle class before you were podcasting before I was podcasting. It's just so crazy. I've had so many full circle moments, especially being here in LA. Yeah, I appreciate it that moment because one, I didn't know it was six years ago. I'm like, where did the time go? I know. But yeah, I just, I love. the moments where, yeah, I'm able to either witness my own growth in evolution or someone

else's, you know, for you to on that day during that ride, be celebrating your year of sobriety and now me just kind of looking back and honoring how integral, like, that time at SoulCycle was in my growth and just meeting Krista and meeting so many just incredible people. Yeah, I love those moments because we don't slow down to do that enough. Yeah, it's so true. Yeah, and you guys started almost 30 to kind of guide people through their own transitions, right? And I think everybody feels like they're in some sort of transition now, especially in the past year, there are so many people who have reevaluated their lives and wanted to make changes, whether it's with their career or their relationship or where they live.

So I want to talk to you guys about how to navigate that and how to navigate the fear. but first I would love to hear about your own transitions from like you were talking about Soul Cycle before and from Christa from when you were doing the 100 blog. Oh my God, my blog. I sometimes forget about that phase. We were on, we got interviewed just in a random note. We were interviewed on this show and I don't think they knew much about us. And he was like, well, Krista, you still have this like happening blog. I was like, oh my God, 100 blog. But yeah, so I was always someone that was like a seeker in life. And I was never really satisfied in the corporate jobs that I had. So I was working in various corporate positions as a consultant for a while in digital marketing, in international

events. And then eventually my last job, which was an ad agency. And throughout my journey, I was just looking for that next thing because I was never satisfied. I was never spiritually nourished by what I was doing. And I felt so lost. And I was like, okay, maybe the next job will be it. maybe the next company will be it. And where I grew up, which was, you know, in Ohio, I never saw anyone pursue a passion or pursue one of their dreams. I never saw anyone have really any spiritual meaning to their life or have a job that was in purpose. And, you know, I wasn't looking for it. So it's not like I sought those people out. I'm sure they do exist. But I never saw it. So I never really thought it was possible. So through my journey, I always thought I would just have

my corporate job and I thought I'd have my my side hustles on the side, my passions on the side. So I did blogging for a while. I had 100 blog for probably from 2012 until 2020 when I transitioned to It's Krista. And that was really just like a creative outlet. I was traveling quite a bit when I was in these jobs because that was like my outlet. So I was going all over the world because I worked for a company that was based in New York and London. And I would just document these trips. My blog posts were pretty crazy. They were like haikus and then pictures. It was like very weird. But eventually it became and to be something. So I thought, you know, it would potentially be my thing. So at one point I was like, okay, I'm going to go for it. I'm going to be a blogger full time.

This is like my dream. And when we were moving to L.A., I decided to quit my job and try to do blogging full time. That wasn't really working. And, you know, I was really bought into the idea that if you have this thing, you need to quit your full time job and pursue this passion. and spend all your time doing it and all these things. And, you know, for me, that wasn't really founded in my logical reality. And I ended up getting in a lot of debt and had to get, you know, another job eventually to pay off that debt. But all the while I was doing the blogging. I was pursuing Soul Cycle. I wanted to be a Soul Cycle instructor really, really bad. And I discovered it when I was in New York City as like my church almost. It was like, I mean, you know, it's magical. And when I was

auditioning. I auditioned in New York. I didn't get it. And through my audition process, I was just so dead set on becoming a Soul Cycle instructor that I asked to be connected to Lindsay through a friend because she was an instructor in L.A. didn't get the audition, although Lindsay helped me. And eventually we became friends. And so through this, me not having a job, trying to pursue blogging full time, feeling super lost, moving from New York to L.A. and not feeling like my life had any meaning or I had any purpose or I knew where I was going or, you know, I was where I was supposed to be, in quotes, when I was 27. I thought I'd have kids. I thought we'd have a house. I thought I'd be doing all these things. And I wasn't. So me and Lindsay started to

have these really meaningful conversations about it. Like, why aren't our lives turning out how we thought? And what was this thing that we thought? Like, who told us to believe what we thought? And, you know, eventually we started to record these beautiful conversations, but it was really through all these crazy different experiments with these jobs I did outside. There was a few other jobs that I tried and feeling super lost that really brought us together and brought us to these meaningful place of like people are going through so many transitions and life is really just a full-time transition. Everything is always in flow and how can we, you know, come together and support people in that. And shortly after college, about six months after college, I moved to New York City

and I wanted to be a Broadway star. I wanted to be an actress. And so knowing that, that in college I started to bartend. So, you know, I had that narrative of starving artist must bartend if you're going to be able to audition during the day. So that's what I prepared myself to do and did when I got to New York City. So I had three different bartending jobs. I was bartending, waitressing, doing bottle service, working until all hours of the night until, you know, to 4 a.m. and then having to get up and prepare for auditions and learn copy and all of that. And it was exhausting. You know, I didn't have the tools that I have now in order to center myself, slow down, really hear what my intuition was saying, you know, related to career, relationships,

food, drinking, all the things. I was distracting myself in any way that I could. So eventually I found SoulCycle and that was, you know, for me like Krista said, just like church. And every morning to wake myself up, not every morning, but I would, you know, if I could afford it, I would go to SoulCycle and ride and I just felt so good in my body. Eventually, you know, I got to know some instructors and they would have me ride on the podium during the class and which meant I rode for free. So I was like, wow, okay, I can do this more. And then they eventually asked me to, audition and at that point I had let go of some of the bar jobs and began fit modeling a little bit more, which is like non-glamorous side of fashion. And so like that was pulling me out of the bars and now SoulCycle was kind of going to maybe pull me out of the fit modeling. So I auditioned.

I did make it and it was, yeah, it was intense. It was like a whole other, whole other rhythm. You know, I was pushing my body to the limit every single day. But what I really loved about it was this, the ability to get up in front of a room, be myself, but also like be so, like, expressive and embodied. And that's how I felt on stage. And it wasn't me, like, faking it or performing. It was just, like, so, like, it was a tent. You know what I mean?

And I just felt so, so good. And so that really satisfied that itching me. And I still auditioned and all of that. But then SoulCycle moved me to L.A. And that was really like the point in my Saturn return, which is kind of what we based the podcast off of, that really changed everything. It made me look at what was working and what was not in my relationships and my career and just my day to day. And when I moved out to L.A., I just felt more space like I could breathe. And so I opened up Newport Beach Studio, just met so many people and just found my rhythm here. I loved that I didn't know a lot of people here. I don't know. It just gave me kind of the freedom to like be whoever the fuck I wanted to be. And eventually I met Krista. And that was about probably a year and a half in.

And we started the podcast like two years into me being here. And I'm always down to start something like creative without like the end goal in mind, just wanting to do it. I love the process. And we showed up for it every single day, no matter what. And so, yeah, I was teaching SoulCycle at the same time, building the podcast for like two years. It was like a juggle, struggle, but also like so many parts of my life at SoulCycle supported the podcast in terms of being on a mic. I knew how to be on a mic, creating community. You know, like just so many things. I was like, I'm really using what I'm doing in my quote unquote side gig to pour into this thing that we're trying to build. So yeah, eventually I quit SoulCycle and have been doing the podcast full time and pursuing music as well. And it's just it's been really cool to loosen the grip on what I thought my life would be, you know. I thought I was going to be this actress and do this, you know, like all these things, right? And who knows?

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Go to curology.com slash blonde. For a free 30-day trial, all you have to do is pay for shipping and handling. Again, that's curology.com slash blonde, C-U-R-O-L-G-Y dot com slash B-L-O-N-D-E to unlock your free 30-day trial. see cureology.com for all the details. You said something, you said a lot of things that I really love, but you said that you

like the process. You're not so focused on outcomes. And I think so many of us are just focused on the next thing, getting to the next goal. We're goal setters, right? And we lose ourselves in that process. So how do you guys make sure that you are staying in the present, staying in the moment, and not a week, a month, a year from now, especially with you? your own massive business now and all these things going on. Yeah, I think I was in, you know, when I was really trying to create my life to being what I wanted it to be, me being in the future really served me because it helped me with my manifestation in the way that I was doing it with my visualization. And it really helped me to connect with the future self that I was trying to embody.

So there was actually a really important time where I had a few years where I was fully in future me. And I was fully in the future moment because I wanted to like energetically connect with that. And a lot of Dr. Joe Dispenza's work is really that brain heart coherence with the future version of yourself that exists in the quantum field. So there is a deep part of us that's really important to have that. But then I realized after a few years of doing that, how it wasn't serving me anymore. And I really needed to evolve to a point of presence and really recognize how much of the present moment was important. And, you know, even for us today, we just, or not today, but in January, we launched our membership and our new website. We had a lot of things that we put out into the

world. And I remember the Monday after everything had closed and we were sort of done with this like three month process of pushing, I was like depressed. I was like sitting on my couch. I was like messaging my friends. I was like, do you guys ever get depressed after you launch something or do something? I'm like, I don't want to be like someone. I just felt really low. I was like, oh, this is, is this it? Like, okay, now what? And then I was like, thinking in my head, I'm like, how can I not feel this? Okay, let's do another thing. Let's launch another program. Let's, you know, create another goal. Let's do another thing. And I realized how much of my life I sit in this mode of like creation, execution, doing, goal setting, visualization, and how little I sit in the

receiving of like all the things that I'm trying to create. And how in my life, if I'm going to spend three months creating all of these beautiful things and then allow myself one day to actually receive all of that joy. That's actually like energetically imbalanced with the way that the universe works. And when we're putting out all this energy and then we're sort of blocking our ability to receive it, we're never going to live the life we want. I'm never going to live a full, abundant, loving, beautiful life of like joy, happiness and flow if I'm not allowing flow into my life when it's ready for me to receive it. So I've really tried my best and I'm doing going to try even harder this year to receive my life a lot more than I am to like goal set and to push. But again,

I think people need to be mindful. Like if your life, like right now my life is my dream. I'm living my dream life and I have so much more that I want to do and so much more that I want to create and so much more that I want to receive. But I do think that when people are sort of coming to the place where they're starting to develop their practices, develop their spiritual experience, sort of create their life that it's really important to actually be more in the future than they are, I guess, in the past or present to connect with that. Yeah. And I think just on like the process part, I struggled for a long time because I think a lot of people around me were like, so like, like, what's the goal here? And what are you want to do with it? And, you know, I think the first person is like,

my dad would always ask like, so how are we doing on that? like, you know, whatever it is. And I think it confuses people, to be honest. I think they're like, so why are you doing that? Why are you sitting in your room like just like playing guitar and doing music for the like fun of it? But it's just like it feels so good to me. And you know, there's a part of my brain that says, is that an excuse? You know, is that an excuse to not actually do the thing? but like it truly, that's just my mind, but my heart knows that like I actually just love doing it. And I'm not, I'm not right now in this moment attached so much to what it could become because in the past I feel like I've had such a clear vision. And when like things came my way that didn't fit into or support that vision, I'd be like, nope, next, nope, excuse me.

I'm like focused on this one thing. So I actually, I really love being in that vibration of just like, you know, loving, loving the learning in the moment, you know. And I think when I was young, I hated like taking lessons. I hated, you know, the process itself. I got so impatient. And so now as an adult where I have this like beautiful career in podcasting, if I can like treat my music as just something that I'm like, like, wow, this is, this is just feels like euphoric to me. Then that's what I'm going to do. But again, it's been on me to kind of do work not to take on other people's thoughts and expectations of what I'm doing as my own. I want to talk about visualization and manifestation. My audience hears me talk about meditation all the time, but that's kind of the extent of my, my spiritual practice, right, prayer and meditation. But visualization manifestation is fascinating to me. So I'd love to hear how you guys use it. I bet you you've visualized your, like, have you visualized your life?

I thought of this recently. I remember two very distinct times when my family came out here when I was newly sober. One, we drove up to the beach, the Malibu Coastline, and I was standing there. We pulled over on the side of the road. And I was like looking out at the water and I pictured myself living there. And then another time we drove up Chautauqua, which most people don't know what that is. I know Chautauqua. And went like down sunset and pretty much past the street that we live off now on the Palisades. And I was like, I'm going to live here one day.

Wow. And we have houses in those two. My husband, you know, had them before me. But that was very interesting. I was like, oh, that's really weird. I didn't like meditate on it or visualize it. And I wasn't like, I'm going to meet someone with a house in Malibu and a house in palisades.

But I did just have this kind of like deep inner knowing, if that makes sense. A hundred percent. And with that, it's important with the manifestation, you know, it's like the non-attachment. Like you're kind of like, I'm going to live here. And then you let it go. You know, there's really that like importance of the non-attachment. You know, for a long time before when I wanted to be a soul cycle instructor, I was manifesting in this way that I thought would work.

And that was sort of like the repeating, I'm a soul cycle instructor. I would sit on the subway. I was like, I'm a soul cycle instructor. I'm a soul cycle instructor. I would sort of repeat to myself. And I would sort of visualize myself as these things. And it's interesting because in my egoic sense,

I was manifesting myself as a soul cycle instructor, but my journey has been more beautiful than I could have ever. imagined it if I would have manifested my experience as a soul cycle instructor. So if it was up to me in my humanness, I would be a soul cycle instructor right now because I manifested it. So my point with that being is that we can manifest as much as we want, but God is still in charge or source is still in charge. And there is something that's a higher power that will still always win, no matter how how hard we try to manifest. But for my manifestation practice, it's a lot of TBM work, which is to be magnetic. Our dear friend Lacey is the founder of To Be Magnetic. And really the concept and

idea is that within your life, we are running from our subconscious brain. And our subconscious brain is really at the base of our spine. It's really the reptilian brain. And up to age seven, all of your experiences really create this subconscious memory and the brain that runs a lot of our lives, our experiences, our beliefs, and our patterns. So for me as an example, I had the belief from, you know, my mom that I was only worthy if I was a certain weight. So I had this like belief running in my mind. And so that runs a lot of my experiences in life and causes me to have eating things or causes me to body things or whatever. So a lot of these things are running in the back of our minds and we don't even know it. So this is essentially keeping me in a sense from having,

you know, a good relationship with my body because I'm running from my subconscious brain. So the work of manifestation is really to reprogram your subconscious mind. So to reprogram my subconscious mind by pulling that memory to the forefront to my conscious brain so that I can have a new relationship with it. Because my conscious brain knows like, oh, that's not true. Like I know that I loved even whatever weight my body is or I know that I can have a great career no matter what my body is. So when we pull that to our conscious brain and we rewire that, then we're able to live from that place instead of these beliefs. So manifestation is really less about law of attraction in my perspective. It's more about the reprogramming of your subconscious

because once we're operating from that conscious place of like awareness of all of our beliefs, then we can really live in the full moment of the beauty of like whatever is meant for us. I love what you said about like you can manifest, but there is something ultimately in charge because I feel the same way. If I wrote down everything that I wanted when I first got sober, which I did, it would be like, I mean, we just can't imagine, you know. And if we if we follow that source, you know, the things that unfold are so much greater than we could. ever plan for ourselves. And essentially at your at that point, you're, you had limiting beliefs around what you're having. So you're like, like, you would have never been like, oh, I live on, I have houses

all over and blah, blah, blah. You're like, it's from what my mind was. So for me with the soul cycle, my mind could only perceive me as a soul cycle instructor. That was my high, that was my limit. That was like my glass ceiling. This is the, this is the greatest thing ever. But there's more for me on the other end of it. And it's really like, that's the thing with manifestation. There's different types based on your human design. If you're specific or non-specific. but for me, mine's less specific. So I can't be like, I am this, I am doing this, I am doing this. It has to be more like energetic where I can focus on being the most aligned version of me. And that will be the vortex to attract whatever experience that I'm going to have.

And when I think about what I've manifested in my life, I think when I was single for like seven years, I really, really understood how I was going to manifest anything I wanted. And I'm actually a specific manifester. And so I had to get really specific, but it's actually scared me to get specific because then I was worried that I would be disappointed. So I kind of avoided being specific about my manifestations. But at about year five of being single and I was about, what was I? Like 29? Yeah, almost almost 30. Yeah, I really just kind of got sick of focusing so much on everything outside of me to bring me that piece and validation and joy. I was, you know, dating a ton. I was, you know, out there partying to an extent, having sex, like just kind of like living it up. And it's fun at times, but I really wasn't getting what I was seeking. It was like kind of missing the mark in that way. And so around year five, I was like, you know what? I'm actually going to like pull back and take all of the energy that I'm putting out and direct it towards myself. And it was really, really hard. It was incredibly uncomfortable to actually hear what my soul was saying because I pretty much had been like ignoring her this whole time. So through, you know, therapy. through, you know, healing modalities like Reiki and Breathwork, through just like tons of just

reading and exploration, conversations with friends, and just like practices that I kind of picked up on intuitively like solo trips, like dating myself, that really created this new experience for me where I was like, whoa, like, I really, like, I really. love you. You know, it's like that self-love feeling of just like, what comes to mind is like the Friday night feel, you know, because I had so many Friday nights where I wasn't doing anything. And I was like, should I like text that guy? Should I go on Bumble? Should I reach out to a friend who are going to friends who are going to a bar right now? And it was that like internal dissonance that was like, it was a hump. I just needed to get over. And on the other side of it, I was like,

I actually really love spending time with you, me. And I would cook for myself. I would like watch my favorite show. I would go to bed early. I would take a bat. You know, it's like all of these kind of like self-care things we talk about. But I was really doing them intentionally for myself. And I really got to the point where I was okay. I was like actually I'm good on like searching for my person. You know, like, if that doesn't happen for a while, like, I feel really, really good. But what I would do at night is I would lay next to him in bed, pretend like I was. So I would like really, I would really feel into and get specific about what we were talking about, what he said, what, how he made me feel, like, what he sounded like, what were we laughing about, like, what was our cuddle position, you know, all of these very specific things. And sometimes it would like bring me to tears. because it was so real. So that specificity, like, I started to feel in my body. And I was like, oh, my God, like, it's possible. You know, like, there's no doubt in my mind that it's possible. It was just kind of about the timing of it all. So anyway, shortly after that, I reconnected with

someone who I would never have thought I would have been with, to be completely honest. My soul always knew, because I always got that feeling. But my mom was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He's like, not your dad. Can you explain that? every time I so we knew each other for eight years and so he knew me when I was like at my bottle girl stage and every time I saw him every time we would kind of reconnect and maybe try it again I just felt that feeling of like like overwhelm like I didn't know this was possible and I didn't see it growing up you know like my parents are still together but I really didn't see that like two people seeing and honoring each other. And he just saw me and he just like, yeah, and it scared

me. And I was like, oh, hell no. I need someone who's not as available. I need someone who's like, kind of a dick because it makes me look better, you know, just all those things in your 20s that you think you need. And, but my mind was like, no. Like, tell him, you don't like him. Tell him that you don't want to date anyone. And so I did that for years. It was like a back and forth. every once in a while. And then we reconnected. And I was just like you said in our interview, just ready. And I felt just so open and I felt soft and I felt just confident. I was like, and if he said no, I would have been okay too, you know, but yeah, I pursued him at this time. And yeah, I've been together ever since. I love that. And did he meet all of the specifics that you were

So many of them. Wow. So many of them. But some of them not. Right. I told him the other day I was like, or not the other day, sorry, early in our relationship. Because I shared the list with him at one point because it was like pretty spot on. And there was one thing that was like, he makes me laugh all the time. And he's like, he got really insecure. He's like, do I? And like lately we've just been laughing so much. And like he'll bring it up. He's like, I think this is like a part of your list. Like we're laughing. It's working. But also like being really flexible with that because there's so many parts of him that I didn't think I would love in a person and I love so much. So do you guys listen to Heather McMahon? I mean, Heather McDonald, sorry. Oh, Juicy Scoop. Juicy Scoop. Yeah, I've heard of her. It's like my guilty pleasure. Yeah. I don't know why I'm thinking of this. She's so funny. She's so funny because I remember she says this in a bunch of interviews, but people have asked her like if she's mad. She's. manifested certain things. And she'll be like, I think I secreted this show. And I think I secreted.

And she's like, but I wish I secreted some cooler shit. Because like it actually works. It works. Not necessarily. It truly works. It does work. 100%. Yeah. That was the first book, book I read that got me into spirituality. Really? And like, yeah, it was like, I was in Chicago and it, I actually was like understanding law of attraction. I remember I wanted to quit my job and eventually did. And, because I wanted to move to New York City. I fucking hated my job. And I was like, okay, but I need to, like, get some money. Like, I'm fucking broke right now. I'm making nothing. And I remember I secreted. I mean, this is like also privilege. I completely understand. But I had someone in our family passed. And basically I got like, $15,000 or something. I was like, fuck, yeah, I'm

going to quit my job. And I was like, this works. Like, it was the most random money influx of my life. And I was like, oh, my God, it works. Wow. That's so interesting. I mean, RIP. And I feel bad. Like RAP to the family numbers. Thank you very much. I appreciate you. But it was just a very weird thing. I know what you mean.

I've had similar things happen where it's been like the exact amount where it was like crazy. I mean, not to like talk about money. But so interesting. Do you guys, when you look back on your kind of journey, I hate that word, but your journey from what you were doing before to where you are now, do you see what could be categorized as mistakes as mistakes? Do you see adversity is a good thing? Is there anything that you look back on that you wish you did differently? Or can you just kind of look back in hindsight and appreciate it all because it's all gotten you to where you are now? I think so much of the journey I feel so grateful for because it's served us so well.

It served me so well. I mean, when we're hiring people, for our team, like I, if this is my preference, I want them to have corporate experience because when you have corporate experience, there's just a language, there's like an understanding of what I want to do within our business and how we want to people to experience almost 30 in the most professional way that I prioritize people that have had corporate experience. And my corporate experience helped me to like understand email etiquette, understand, especially in digital marketing. We're in digital marketing essentially. We did, I did international, events. We were on tour for years. We ran our entire events for tour. When I was in consulting,

I was actually, most of my job was like talking to heads of finance. I was literally 23 years old. Like I had no fucking business talking to these people. But it helped me to really figure out how to talk to like really important special people. And that's what we do every day in our business. So there's really these like beautiful connections that I can now see that I wasn't seeing clearly for so long. And if we are present for our life, And we do trust that in the end it will all lead to a place of like the greatest purpose for us. And we still make mistakes and decisions that, you know, could be seen as embarrassing or like take jobs that like might not be a perfect fit, but are closer to the fit.

I think that's what the point of it is is I was always taking a job that was closer to the fit. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't it, but it was closer. I was always doing things outside. I had the blog. I had a travel company. I was doing these things. And I didn't know why, but I was doing them because I was intuitively called.

And so if I could, you know, say anything about my journey that I do regret, I think the one thing that I do regret is that because I knew so badly I wanted to be an entrepreneur and I knew that my jobs weren't for me, I feel like I was not as integrous as I could have been where I would be like, at my last job, I was like, you know, at doctor's appointments but recording podcasts. And so there was parts of my journey where I was like, oh, because I was so unhappy. I was just kind of like lying about stuff with work. So I think that would be the only thing, but I'm going to like apologize. I'm actually my thing this year. I'm going to write letters to all my old bosses and just like thank them and apologize. That's actually my thing and be like, I'm sorry I was like such an asshole. And I was like so entitled and all these things. But it was beautiful how it, you know, all worked out. Yeah. It's very freeing to do that by the way. I had to do that because I got sober. Yes. And that's actually where I got that from.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I'm trying to think how to say this without having to edit it out. But yeah, I mean, there are certain principles and certain practices that I think if everybody did them, they would be so much happier. The world would be such a better place. And so that part of that process is writing letters to people you feel like you have wronged in your experience. Did anyone write back? That's my nightmare. Like, don't write back.

I did most of them in person. Wow. which adds a whole other layer to it. But the ones that I did not in person, everybody really, I think my situation was a little bit different because they're all like, thank God you're alive. Totally. And just take care of yourself, like that kind of thing. But now it's something that I continue to do.

You know, I continue to be accountable and apologize when I'm wrong, which is so hard because I'm so stubborn. But it keeps me free. 100%. Oh my gosh. Yes. Yeah. And I feel like, you know, there are definitely some things that I would have done differently, but it actually helps me when I take time to connect the dots, it's actually freeing for me in the present because I'm like, whatever I'm doing now, even the hard stuff, even the things that I think I don't want to do, you know, I know are part of the whole picture. So it actually helps me to motivate and commit in the present moment when I look back and have a lot of like compassion for her, you know, like Krista said and our other conversation on our podcast, just kind of this constant flux, you know, like always in transition. So yeah, I'm just trying to think. Yeah, regrets in relationships so often. I think in like romantic relationships where instead of having

the hard conversation, I just made a decision or decisions. that really hurt me and really hurt the other person. And it could have been avoided and actually a growth opportunity for us both if I just got the courage to have the combo. Yeah, but we learned from it. We learn. And you won't do that behavior again. Exactly. That's the thing. You guys probably already know my love for go macro macro bars. I literally eat one every day and I have done so for the past year. So I'm going to tell you why they are so amazing. So I actually discovered them last summer when I was doing low-fod-map. I know a lot of my listeners are dealing with various gut disturbances, sensitivities, and we love to find foods that agree with us. So go-macro. Macro bars have seven certified

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So there is a lot to love. Get your hands on some of Go Macro's delicious macro bars today by going to GoMacro.com and use the code, blonde files, for 30% off plus free shipping on all orders over $50. Again, that's go macro.com, G-O-M-A-C-R-O, and use the code blonde files, B-L-O-N-D-E-F-I-L-L-E-S, for 30% off plus free shipping on all orders over $50. So I want to switch gears a little bit. You guys are so busy. You have this massively successful business.

Obviously, things are a little bit different in this past year. But what does wellness mean to you? And what does it look like for you, especially after going from SoulCycle and that lifestyle to this? Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, it's so it's changed for me, I think, especially because, we do what we do and we have the conversations that we have with people in the wellness, health, spirituality spaces. And, you know, I think the shift has become more so focused on the spirituality

because I've seen the effects that it's had on my physical health and wellness. So for me, like as cheesy as it sounds, it really is that like sync between my mind, body, and soul. You know, and that really requires a commitment to my practices. And it requires like the recommitment to, yeah, just being willing to like discover more. Because I think we can get it to a certain point. And it's like, okay, I've done a lot. Can I just chill? And there's always more. So it's kind of like honoring that ebb and flow of of change and deepening. So wellness to me, especially in the last year, especially with what, you know, certain things we've gone through in the business is being able to be myself fully, is being able to say how I feel in the moment, whether it's with people that I'm close to and love deeply or strangers. And just really creating boundaries so that I can maintain, I can maintain especially my mental health. Because I think just as, you know, we're both empaths. And so it's like I have to put up those boundaries to make relationships stronger, actually.

And it's been cool as like I've gotten older people respect it. You know, it really is like a, I think in your 20s you create a boundary and you're like, oh my God, my friend is going to think I hate them. But now it's like, damn, I respect that. So I feel more, I feel more empowered. Yeah. And I think for me, I'm still figuring it out. You know, for my 20s, it was like wellness is working out and wellness is being whatever

size and wellness is being this weight. And it was all body focused for so long. And then I had health issues with my adrenals and with my hormones, which kind of caused me to have to stop working out. And then it was so mind focused. I was like, okay, I'm going to create the best. business, my purpose. It was like all about the mind. And then the past couple of years, it's really more been about the spirit. And I really do think that there's a greater opportunity for me to

integrate the three. I find myself disjointed between the three at times. But I have learned in the process of almost 30 and interviewing people in the wellness space that if you are not able to be who you are or basically be in the moment and have that mental health or that ability to be present, then there's really nothing else. And I've spent so many years not being where I am because I've been anxious or because I've been depressed or I've been whatever. And being able to be really where I am and if that's in my body or if that's in a conversation or if that's whatever it means has really been like the greatest gift.

Can you talk about your body acceptance journey? You've talked about it before. But you also mentioned earlier that in your reptilian brain you have these messages that were embedded right from your mother and are you open to sharing about that? Yeah. So yeah, so growing up for me, I think a lot of people can relate to this, but my experience was that in my household, my mom was terrified of food. She always saw food as a threat and something that would just be incredibly stressful whenever she was around it. So we had diet food always and it was just like an uncomfortable at dinners. It was just very odd. And I was someone that,

when I was little, I was kind of a little bit rounder. And my sister was like a rail. She was like 5, 10, 110 pounds when she was like 18. She was a rail. So there was this experience going on where my mom was terrified of food where it made her incredibly uncomfortable. And then where I was being compared to my sister and she was someone that had a completely different body shape than me.

So I had different meals than people. She would get dessert. I wouldn't. So there was this, you know, crazy dynamic going on. And then there was this period in time where I was so uncomfortable. being just a human on earth as a little kid that I would use food to numb. And so from a young age, I found food to be incredibly amazing. It was a great escape for me. And it was always there for me. It was this beautiful comfort that was always there for me that I could always count on to support me.

So I had just this experience of feeling like I wanted to escape my body because it was torturous for me, but also I was eating this food that was pleasurable for me. And then I was like being compared to my sister and I just, you know, had all these programming in my mind that I'm still sort of working on. And, you know, in high school, I would take my friends Adderall to try and lose weight. I was taking other people's prescription for Adderall. I was in the hospital for that my senior year. And then I was having my dad call diet pill companies to get them to get diet pills for me at a very young age. And so I was just experimenting with different ways to really just be a smaller size than I was. And I really came to a head after living in New York for a few

years and auditioning for Soul Cycle and being a weight that I had not been in a really long time. And I just, my body just kind of gave up on me. I started to have adrenal fatigue. My hormones were just crazy and I couldn't do it anymore. You know, I couldn't, I couldn't do it anymore. So I just made it my goal to get to the bottom of it and really figure out like how I could unravel. And it's been a consistent process. You know, I'm never fully there. I have beautiful weeks and I have beautiful months. And I have days where I feel embarrassed of how I look and the way that my body is.

And I have days where I'm incredibly confident. But I think the main thing in my journey has really been focusing on my individual process and healing every day. And I think the thing that I'm most grateful for is that I thought, I would live my entire life with the constant conversation of my body and my head and the fact that I don't have that now that I can be in conversation or do things without thinking about how I look is really like the greatest gift. So I'm looking forward to just like kind of moving further along that journey because I know you're not fully there, but being closer to whole than ever before.

I think it's so important. for people to hear, though, like, like you're celebrating the small wins. And they're not small wins. They're wins, you know, when you have that kind of messaging and we all have our own shit and I can really relate. I know my mom is listening to this. I know. Bless. We love you. But, um, healing for her too, though. Yeah. Because I mean, she, you know, for my mom, she didn't even really know. Yeah. She's like, I had no idea you, you, I had no idea you saw that or you thought that. And, and she didn't really even, she wasn't able to contextualize how she saw food as a threat until I was able to. Right. And now she's like, oh my God, I'm terrified of food. Right. And it's helpful, so it's helpful for her as well.

Yeah. I mean, I think it's so important for people to hear, though, that it's like it's a journey. And even for somebody who looks like they have it all figured out, right, and, and come across so confident, like we still have these struggles. And you guys are so great at conveying that, you know, your whole thing is like you're not alone. So I love that. What about your experience, Lindsay? Did you have any issues going from Soul Cycle and being in that grind, you know, teaching multiple classes a day? And I remember years ago, again, I feel like a stalker, but I remember seeing like you're what I eat in a day. I think I'm like, I think I did a blog post of what you eat in a day. Maybe that was so embarrassing. I'm like, I mean, that's how insecure I was. I was like, no one wants to know what I eat in a day because I'm a piece of

shit. Let me show what you eat it. Maybe I saw the blog post. Honestly, probably is it. That's hilarious. I mean, I posted a reel today. Like, hello. I actually loved your. I loved yours. But it's funny because my relationship now, I'm like, oh, that's great. I'm like, inspiring. Yeah. But I know people who started out in that space and now they're doing something different. And they have said it's kind of a mind fuck. You know, you go from pushing your body to the limit to doing something completely different. And how did you navigate any changes from that? Yeah, I was scared to quit soul. I was used to teaching 15 classes a week.

I was used on top of that taking like Barry's classes, hot yoga, like really doing the most because I thought I had to in order to maintain. I don't even know what I was trying to maintain, just like a body that I liked. And, you know, I think also. Not that it's everything, but during that time I was single. And so I was kind of like reaching for I'm like, okay, I have to have like a hot body in order to date people. You know what I mean? It's just like, I don't even know. And what even is that? So much of what I'm attracted to in a person, whether it's like a friend of mine, like a female friend, like just seeing their like magnetism or attracted to in a guy, is that just confidence and peace in themselves. So I know that now. But yeah,

I was really pushing myself, not drinking enough water. I was, you know, eating for fuel, but eating in a way that was super bingey, you know, and I didn't realize it because I was burning it off the next day, but it just was not supporting me in having a healthy relationship with food. So when I quit SoulCy, yeah, I was nervous, but I was also ready to rest. And what I realized was that like my body had been wanting the rest for a really long time. And in allowing myself to rest and not do a million workouts in a week, I noticed that one, my inflammation went down. My body was super inflamed. And two, like, I was not. know, like my relationship with food changed. I was like, I was no longer, like, thinking about it all the

time. And everyone has their own experience with that. But for me, because I was working out so much, I was like, when am I? I need to eat something. I need to eat a lot right now, you know, like always thinking about it. And now it's just kind of like more of this piece around food. And it does feel more intuitive without me really trying. I'm like, I'm hungry. I'm going to eat. I'm satisfied. I'm going to stop. And before it was like, I just wouldn't stop, you know, because I thought, well, I'm just going to work out for eight hours the next day. So it's actually been really, really nice. It's nice to know that my body loves a peaceful walk and some stretching, you know, like I just love that. And there are days when I do feel like I want to go a little nuts and hit a

Barry's class or something. And that's cool. Like I'll go and I feel so good. What I would would recommend to, you know, women in particular out there is exploring cycle sinking. So that's been really helpful for me. Alisa Vitti of Flow Living talks. She's been on the pod. Talks a lot about it. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm sure your audience knows, but specifically with working out, that's been really, really helpful. So, like, during like the week of my period, I am slow. I am resting. I'm doing yoga. I'm stretching. I'm walking and sleeping. You know, I'm really. I'm really. I'm really being mindful of that. But then the week after my period, I am like ready to go and I maximize that time. And I'm doing, you know, a pretty tough workout every other day and on the in between

doing my walks or, you know, a little run or something. But that has helped so much with my energy, with my digestion, with my, even my period symptoms, with my sleep. So I'm really loving, loving that because it's also bringing me closer to like knowing my body more in that way. Yeah, I love that. That was my experience too doing BBG for so many years where it was like high intensity, plyometric jumping every day no matter what, you know. And so much jumping. Literally I'm like, dude, I don't want to jump. Especially in my apartment. I'm like, I'm not jumping. I try to do it now. Like, let's see, five years after I first did it. And I can't. I'm like, I'm that. old now. I can't. My knees hurt. But yeah, I mean, I love that approach because we're constantly

fluctuating and it's it's not fair to our bodies, you know, and it sounds like your body reacted, kind of like minded, you know, we get to the point where we just shut down. Yeah, I really related when you talked about that. I was like, I think that's what happened to me too. Like, yeah, my body You're just like, dude, no more. Yeah. No more of this. But I think we were so distracted and we just, we don't pay attention to those cues a lot and we override them until it gets to the point where we can't ignore it anymore.

And, you know, a lot of people are experiencing a lot of issues because of that. Yeah, because it's the mind-body disconnect. It's like, I'm not doing it because my body wants it. I'm doing it because I want my body to look. You know, this is in my mind, I'm like, if I do. do this, I will look like this or this will happen. And it's like that's not what your body actually wants. Like your body actually doesn't want to do fucking eight soul cycle. 15, 18, you know, that doesn't want to do that. Like I've been thinking a lot about this lately too, but I have a thing

with more where I'm like, even with wellness stuff, like I'm like, worth workouts. I'm like, more is better. If I do four, that's good, but five and six and seven is better. If I have this much maca powder in my thing, it must be more must be better. You know, and the wellness stuff, too, sometimes I'm like, I look at my supplements or I look at my drinks or whatever. I'm the fuck. I'm like, oh my God. Like, how much better am I getting with all of this stuff going on, you know? I'm laughing because I do the same thing, but I'll do it with supplements. I'm like, oh, a thousand I use is good. Totally. Wonder what? 20,000. 100%. Or like, they're like, it's like, I'll look at one bottle. It's like, helped with detoxification. I'm like, perfect. Like, I don't have a goal. I'm just like, okay. Whatever. I do that

with my supplement game is insane. I find it to be helpful. But I have had points where actually when I first got my hormones tested when I was going through that low period, they were testing it. And they were like, why is your DHEA like 80 times what it should be? And I was like, I was self supplementing. I was like, oh, they said that DHEA does this. So I'm taking. this and they're like, no. Like, you should not be like doing that. But I read on, it was like, I read online. I was like, oh, so it's like good for you, whatever.

And so I did it. And that actually taught me so much about the supplementation process. And too, like also thinking about how much our liver is processing when we're, because that's what happens. We take it in our body. It goes in our stomach, our stomach digest it, but our livers, what processes it? So it's really like so much activity for our livers all the time too. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, I think, I think it's kind of a, it can. be a dangerous market because, I mean, it's hard to navigate. And well, it's also just like social media, like when you're kind of talking about it, I always, I give like kind of a disclaimer where it's like what I take is might not be what's good for you. Because that's where it gets dangerous. People are like, oh my God, I need to take Irish moss and everyone, you know what I mean, whatever it is. And it's the quick fix. Yeah. You know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, how do you guys navigate social media right now? I think it's...

With ease and grace. Love it. Joyfully with ease and grace. I know for me it's gotten a lot more toxic in the last year. I think that people just have a lot of pent up anger and sadness and understandably so, but we're kind of low-hanging fruit, people that they can have quick access to. And we were talking about this earlier, or like feeling morally superior to someone, just so much negativity. But also there's just so much toxicity and body image and, you know, photoshopping and all of that. So how do you set boundaries with that?

Yeah, I noticed myself going in and out of phases and I think a lot of people can probably do that. And, you know, it's interesting in their relationship with people and sort of like their perception of me or their projection of me. It's like, I've had people that were like, you know, for a while, I was really mad that you were whatever, whatever. And now, now you're fine. Now you're, now I'm like loving your content or vice versa. I'm sure. But I just find it to be so funny because it's so much less about what I'm doing and it's about the person on the receiving end. Because, you know, for a lot of people, like, they know me for sure. Like we spend hours a week together. Like I'm sharing whatever. But you really don't know me because I don't know you. And a lot of our relationships are in relation to each.

other. You know me, but we don't know each other in relation to each other. So what you're engaging with is a projection of me. You look at pictures and you're like, oh, then she must be this, she must be this, she must be this, she is good, she is bad, she is all these things. So so much of the conversation that people have or about you or in relation to you is just them. It's their perceivment of whatever. And I always have to just remember that. So I always try to just disengage from however people tend to perceive me online and just really focus on how it can be, you know, more of myself. In relation to the body image stuff and all of that, I do not engage or look at anything related to that. I don't even look at body positive accounts. I don't look at body positive accounts. I don't look at. And this isn't on purpose. It's just not

in my algorithm. It's not in my consciousness. I don't find it to be part of my journey. And I don't find it to be inspirational. I find things that are completely outside of my wheelhouse and experience to be inspirational. So that's like art. That's like cartoon drawings. That's like random fashion or color accounts or that's like people that are not, I'm not, I don't have access to because that's where I find inspiration where it's outside of like what I'm normally used to. So my relationship with social media and that sense is really curating the people that I'm following to be people that actually don't trigger me at all. I find joy in. I find to be inspiring in some way that I can't have access to in my life and really just pulling that in.

But I do think that there has been just with the last year of everything that's going on and how much we are on our phones, such greater discernment that we need to have with online. And I think about quite often how much I'm serving myself as the person that exists right now that I can touch and how much I'm serving the projection, Krista, that exists online. And sometimes I'll get a little scared because I'm like having this experience, I'll be doing something. And I'm like, okay, and then my caption's like, she walked away, blah, blah, blah. You know, and then I'm like thinking of this like fucking caption. And I'm like, oh my God, no, that's not the point. Like the point is not to have experiences for captions.

Like the point is to have the experience and have it for yourself. Like, how am I feeding myself as the person in that moment? And how much am I feeding the projected self in that moment? And I have to be very careful because I often find, myself doing the latter. Yeah, that's so interesting. It's so, it's such a blurry line. Yes. I think today. And I do that all the time. All the time. Yeah, it's like this character. Yeah. You know, like it's me, but it's like not all of me. Yeah. You know. Yeah. Interesting. What about you? Yeah. I think it's evolved. I mean, I was like looking at my feed from years ago the other day and I said,

wow. Wow. What did you say? She was doing photo shoots every week. Oh my God. I know. with a friend photographer, you know, just really, but it's different. It was, it was, wow. It was stylized. It was zero purpose to it. You know, wearing the bucket had and doing like whatever on like Venice Beach boardwalk looking at like name plates. Why? Yes. You don't mean. Right. Yes. So, yeah, I've definitely involved from that. But I think, you know, I love Instagram for, I get inspired for sure, you know, like Krista, I curate my feed. And just the ability, to connect with people, I think is really beautiful. Thankfully, you know, I've had a great experience with like one-on-one in my DMs and just like people being really kind and supportive. And I just

really appreciate that. And just lately I've been noticing I'm like, when do I open Instagram to kind of make me feel, I don't know if it's like less alone or because I live alone. So I'm just like, is it that or is it like a distract a very blatant distraction from what I need to be doing? And I just notice the hit. I literally can like feel my brain. It's like, whoa. It's weird. I'm just like, okay, I don't like that. And all it takes really is me putting my phone in a drawer, forgetting it exists, probably after like 10 minutes. And then I'm like, I'm flying. I'm actually living my life in the present moment. And I love that. Yeah. I got a message the other month for. someone, you know, I was visiting my boyfriend and she's like, lovingly. You know, I feel

very triggered when you visit your boyfriend because you don't post about it. And I feel like you, you know, my friends leave me when they have boyfriends, et cetera. And I just thought about that a lot because I was like, huh, wow. You're welcome for the self-study. Yeah, to your point, Krista. I was like, this is a projection, obviously. And there's so much of that happening on Instagram. And, you know, I didn't feel any way about it. I was just like, this is very, interesting where people feel like they know me and feel like who like abandoned by me. And then I was also thinking about how, you know, I don't. I don't really post. I'll post like a picture of me and my boyfriend every once in a while. But as far as like when I'm with him, I'm very rarely on my phone. And I'm like,

ah, I like that. Yeah. Can I do that? Can I do more of that and, you know, just inject. some, I don't know, like more of, more of who I really am into every moment rather than thinking about like, okay, I got to answer this comment and I got to go, you know, like, it does take away from me being with people and present to my life. So, yeah, it's ever, it's ever evolving. I have dreams some days about deleting Instagram. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. All the time. All the time. Oh, yeah. My husband is not on social media. that's cool. Anywhere at all whatsoever. He's like, I don't know what people say about me. I don't know what's happening today with whatever. You know, he's like, I don't know. And it's amazing. And I'm like,

that is. And I always say, if this wasn't my job now, I wouldn't have social media because it is so hard to have boundaries with it. It's so hard to set limits. It's hard to, like you were saying, have that kind of persona and then be your authentic self. And there's like a disconnect. And it's hard to balance those. And I mean that example, Lindsay, that's a lot to take on, especially as an empath and to have a lot of people following you who are really connected to you, who rely on you, but it's also kind of demanding of you. You know, it's a lot. It's a lot. It's an energy stock. And even creating content, I'm sure people will roll their eyes at this a little bit, but that of itself is very draining too because you put so much into creating and then you put it out there in the world and yes and then you need more yes and then what's the next shot in the arm honestly yeah literally

yeah it is I mean especially if it's your like yeah you know we have friends as well who are like full I mean we're influencers in a way but podcast is like our main our main thing and yeah for friends who are are full-time influencers I mean, wow. It is a... Yes. And you have... It is a legitimate job first. And second, like, you have to treat it as such. This isn't willy-nilly. Like, you block your days out in order to get content shot. Like, this is very serious for brands to invest in people like this. So it's, yeah, it's wild that we're kind of seeing this rise of like a different type of career that is so, can be so lucrative. And these people are becoming like the new celebrity, the new person.

that people are going to for all of their answers. Thank you for clearing up the misconceptions about influence. I mean, I get people all the time that are like, so you do your podcast, so that's like two hours a week and then you like take a picture and you post it. And I'm like, no, no, no. I mean.

I literally wish. I wish. Well, you know what it is too? I was saying this all the time. It's like, this is said very curtly, but it's the point I want to make is like you're coming for a lifestyle. Yeah.

or an experience. And an experience isn't one photo. An experience is the stories behind everything, the talking about something, the caption writing for something. So you can't just be, first of all, you can't, you have to grow an account that takes having engaging content consistently, engaging consistently, having a creative perspective, having a whatever. And it's like, you know, when you post a photo, it's like, yeah, you're posting a photo, but you actually need to bring it into the story and the experience, which is the full-time job of it, where you're like because if you look at a photo, you're like, okay, that's like a photo of whatever. But it's like, why are you engaged with it? Because I've already showed you my life behind it. And I've showed you

and shared all these things. Yeah, it's all a cohesive thing. Yes. Yeah. And for each photo, you know, I can only speak from my experience and I'm not here to like defend influencing. But, you know, they don't realize that, okay, that's the prep for the photo shoot. Maybe if you're working with a professional photographer, which is what I do. And then there's the editing. And then there's the captions and all of that. So each photo is not just some random thing. And for brand things, it's like in podcasting or in Instagram, it's like, no, no, the brand is paying you five figures, six figures, seven figures, whatever, not to just take a picture and post it. You know, there's so much. They're paying you to be creative director. They're paying you to figure out your everything.

There's so much back and forth for one picture, one real, one Instagram, one podcast ad. You know, it's like they're paying you to do everything, whereas before they would pay, you know, an advertising agency. And then they would pay a creative director and they would pay the makeup people and they would pay all these different people. Now the content creator is all of those things. It's so true. Oh, I never, I never thought about it like that. Like I know what goes into that, but just how it used to be done where it's like you could just show up as talent. Mm-hmm.

You know, it wasn't on you to create the concept, to execute to, you know, you. know. Now I'm so used to that. I'm so used to it. So used to that. You know, it's like we get on calls with brands and I'm like, okay, everyone. So this is what we're going to do. Like, you know, this is the idea. This is like whatever. And yeah, I think about that too for for younger influencers that are kind of coming up, like having kind of leading everything because it's your business and your brand. You really have to have your own perspective and lead everything and have an opinion and really take everything by the reins. Like you cannot, as, a young influencer, just firstly have anything handed to you. And secondly, really let anyone

else take control about yourself because it's so important with everything. Like, we had a photo shoot. I had to shoot this thing with this brand. And it was like more like, I don't know, modeling thing, I guess. And like I got into the shoot and they like, everyone was like kind of standing around. I'm like, okay, I guess I'm going to go in this position and do that. Like, I had to literally self-direct an entire shoot that I'm just like, okay. Like I was like, what would be happening here if I wasn't me. If I wasn't just like wanting to not be here and like trying to figure out which pose is best for me.

Like it's just you have to be super, you have to have a perspective. Yeah. So glad I'm not a young influencer. Oh my God. I know. I mean, it would be. Wow. Yeah.

I mean, I don't even. I'm not on TikTok, but I can imagine that it's just wow. Yeah. My thing about it too, though, about like being a young influencer is that it's like, I just find it to be. a little, I don't know how this is going to come off. And I don't mean this mainly because I was blogging at a younger age, but like, is it just like if you're pretty you want to be in a little? Like, you know what I mean? Like, I don't know. Like, I'm saying that as someone that is one.

But it's like, is that what kind of, it feels like that's what happens. Where it's like, yeah, I think at our age, we look for people that we can identify with. And we want to look for people with experience and overcoming challenges and, you know, how do, navigate a relationship or a career thing, you know, exactly what you guys talk about on your podcast. Whereas, you know, when I think when you're that age, I think you're looking for, like, like, people that you admire for their looks and their fashion and stuff like that. You're not really interested in anything on a deeper level. That's exactly what it is. You're so right. That's literally exactly what it is. But also, too, it's like you can be pretty,

but, like, you have to be really smart and, like, savvy and good with your time and boundary to succeed. So it is, it's like that's the entryway, but then there's so much more. with it. Do you guys feel like you are living your purpose right now? Yeah. Yeah. I do. It's hard, you know, I think running a business and owning a business. Like there's just so many things, and we're doing this for the first time, so there's so many things that come up that just make it hard to actually like appreciate that that's happening, you know, because you're like managing a team, you are trying to meet deadlines. Like, it's all the nitty gritty that can sometimes like overshadow what is actually happening. But I never thought that, you know, I could do

something that I love and also impact people in the way that we do. And I think that for me is really what purpose is. It's like it's not just self-serving and, you know, your own soul, but it's also super, super connected to other people because then it becomes something you couldn't yourself imagine, which is what almost 30 is. Yeah. And that's why, yes, I do think I'm living my purpose and I was literally not going to die without finding my purpose. I was so freaking purpose obsessed. But I also think this is why it's so important. Like kindness is so important in reflecting back to people how unique they are and how special they are and their unique gifts because I can think about in my life, you know, even when I was very young, I remember I was one time,

I was in like my friend's van with her mom and their mom turns around and she goes, she has such a beautiful voice. Like your voice, your speaking voice is so beautiful. And I'll never forget it. And it's something I think about today. And when we do reflect back to people like what is unique about them or what is special about them or their gifts, it really does help guide people closer to their purpose. And I think if I would have had a little bit more, not to be victim, but if I would have had a little bit more guidance or directional suggestion about what I was good at and like been able to really explore more about what my gifts were. I think I'd be a little bit further along in finding my purpose or I would have found it sooner. But it's a lifelong pursuit. You know, eventually at some way I could be

like, oh my God, I feel out of purpose. I feel like I don't have purpose. But right now I feel incredibly on purpose. Do you? Yes, for sure. I mean, I think I think the sobriety aspect definitely helps because that first and foremost is my mission, right? Help other people who are in my position or struggling with it, help them get sober. But yeah, it also gave me this kind of relentless attitude to pursue what really fills my soul up. And, you know, I love what you said about making it about other people. Because when I make it just about me, and we were talking about this earlier, that doesn't fill me up at all. But when I can use it in some way to help somebody else,

then it feels like purpose. There's something Jay Shetty says, right? I know that you guys have had him on the show, but something about like when you turn your turning passion into purpose is when you use it to help other people or something like that. Am I making that up? What did he do? Every year he has one thing he's learning.

I know that's another thing too. One thing he's learning, one thing he's loving, and one thing he's leaving. Launching? Launching. Like he's leaving something behind. Yeah. Learning, loving launching.

Yes. Yeah. So he's like learning. Last year he was learning podcasting. He was loving writing his book and then he was launching something. But he has that three focus. But as far as purpose, I'm not sure. And I also think like your purpose evolves.

So like Chris has said, you know, you could kind of wake up one day and be like, I'm I'm unfulfilled. I don't know what my purpose is. And like I'm excited to kind of. to see what that looks like. You know, I think there's going to be part of me that, like, if I'm lucky enough to be a mom, that will be such a big part of my purpose, you know? So I just like, I want to also leave room for just it to evolve and not feel like, oh my gosh, if my purpose is only in the podcast, you know, which so much of it is, but like having it kind of show up in

different ways. Yeah. I get a lot of like flexible, malleable. vibes from you guys. Yeah. I love it. It's all that CBD and the wellness space. Yeah. So what's next for you? I know you have a lot of projects going on now.

Lindsay, you have sacredness of being single, right? Yeah. Next week that it's starting. Yeah, we're going to. Well, actually, it'll be last week, I think. But she comes out.

I don't know. Yeah, we start the program officially on the 14th of March. But yeah, that was something. that I created actually last year during, you know, quarantine and just everything being kind of not normal. And it just kind of poured through me one weekend. And so since then, I've kind of been nurturing it and just seeing, you know, how I can make it the best and most supportive experience. It could be. So this is going to be like six weeks with a group of women who, you know, find

themselves in that season. And so many different experiences. are walking into this program. So it's, you know, women who are recently divorced. Some women are serial daters. Some have never dated anyone. Some have been single for a while. And so I'm really excited because even just in our connection circle that we did, it was like a free just kind of gathering with everyone. A couple hundred women were in there. And yeah, it was just like really beautiful to see like them reflect back to each other what they what they felt about the others share or vulnerability and then also just the act of like sharing your own story and just feeling less alone because this season in particular I feel like can feel really really lonely you know

I think we see people getting engaged and married and like the media just kind of praises that like accomplishment in life and so I'm really really excited to see how people will truly embrace where they are now because I know that, you know, even the relationship that I'm in so much of why it's so beautiful and fulfilling is because I, like, walk back to myself during that season and I continue to. You know, that's kind of what's cool. I'm no longer losing myself in relationship. You know, I'm no longer abandoning my needs and desires because during that time, I made that a priority. and a non-negotiable.

Love that. Yeah, I think, you know, for us, it's really focusing on just further, like, solidifying all parts of the business. I think as a small business, so much changes. So I'm looking forward to sacredness and then podcast pro, which is really like our baby. And that's to help people launch, grow, and monetize podcasts. So we put all our love in there and then the rest of the courses and programs. But I think it's just seeing where life takes us, really, you know, trying to be unattached

to like the goal of things because I feel like every time I make goals, I don't hit them. So I'm kind of trying to like let go of any goals. We have high expectations. We're like, guys are insane. We want a million people in the program. Honestly. I'm like, why would I double my revenue and I could triple it? It's that more thing.

Yes. Exactly. And it's like what is this goal? What is this based in? Yeah. Like what? You know what I mean? It's like, why?

Like it's like I pull it out of my ass. I'm like, yeah. I love it. Well, thank you so much for coming on. So good. Finally meeting you guys, hopefully we'll do it again soon. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. We'll come to any of the houses. Yeah, we'll hang. Don't worry. We're there. Thank you guys so much. Thank you. Bye. I hope you enjoyed that episode. If you liked it and if you like the show in general, please take a second to rate, review, and subscribe. It goes a long way and it's actually the best way to support the show. Also, if you want to see more about each episode, you can head over to The Blond Files podcast on Instagram. I'm always posting about each episode there or over on my personal

page at Ariel Laurie.