Your Happy Hour - Episode 20: That First Corporate Gig

Episode Date: April 19, 2024

Happy Friday everyone! Tune in to episode 20 and let’s chat about: That First Corporate GigIn this episode we are joined by Lauryn M. - a young working professional on a mission.We unpack topics like: moving from entrepreneurship to corporate, bringing authenticity into the workplace, dealing with transitions and breaking traditions in building the resume and brands, as well as loving and embracing the ugly sides of getting to know yourself, even and especially when you’re exhausted!We’ll be here - every Friday - celebrating with you!Connect with us @ friday-feels.co▶ Podcast Chapters01:12 Welcome Lauryn!02:25 Being a Young Working Professional04:58 Corporate Challenges and Authenticity in the workplace09:18 Do the Hard Things: Mental Health Awareness 11:39 Transitions and Breaking Traditions: You are a valuable player!19:00 Experiential learning in building a brand22:30 Love the Ugly: The emotion behind exhaustion25:09 The 20’s and Teens: Having confidence in life 28:57 Behind the Resume: Who are you when living on your own terms?40:10 One year from now…46:40 Gems of the week!55:31 Final thoughts56:15 Next week and farewell

Happy Friday beautiful people and hello to you all out there tuning in for your first sip of the weekend. You tuned into your happy hour with Fridayiday feels we're celebrating all you working professionals out there doing your crazy craft embracing the beauty of being human and connecting authentically we are host sergeant nicole we're living and working around the world holding space for you and keeping it raw and real as we see fresh content with you every week so follow us on linkedin at friday feels and instagram at these friday feels for updates throughout the week in our last episode we chatted to debbie and c mungle an actor dancer writer filmmaker entrepreneur wife and mom of twins debbie left her corporate job to follow her

passions and shared with us some of her desires, learnings, and dreams all in the making. And for this week's episode, we are chatting with young professional and dear friend, Lauren Muir. Lauren, welcome. We are so, so excited to have you on here. Lauren is a former social media influencer who built her Instagram Laura's Curls up to 100k plus followers and is now leading the charge as social media manager at Evolve Chocolate, a chocolate company based out of New York. Yes you heard that right. How does she do her job and not eat chocolates all day is a question I will always wonder. So today, let's find out and hear more about her journey as a young working professional. A very, very big welcome to you, Lauren. It's wonderful to have you on the podcast.

Thank you so much, Saj and Nicole. I'm very, very excited to be here. And I do eat chocolates all day. much such and Nicole I'm very very excited to be here and I do eat chocolates all day sounds like the life so this month we're talking about enduring through exhaustion and we mentioned on our earlier episodes that this is one of the most popular topics that people like to talk about that want to come on. And I thought it would be really interesting to do a session with someone who's a young working professional and Nicole agreed. And so we were super excited to have you on today to talk about, you know, your first corporate gig and what this topic means for you at this point in your life. So can you share a little bit with us in terms of the topic and exactly, you know, what your relationship has been with Enduring Through Exhaustion on your journey?

So I started off in digital marketing, digital content creation at a very young age actually I started off when I was maybe 14 I was obsessed with Instagram and Tumblr when that was like a huge thing and I thought it was the coolest thing ever to be able to connect with people across the globe um at any given time so I was I was super obsessed with it I didn't think it would go anywhere but it has and to this day it's just been such a crazy ride enduring through exhaustion with that it's it's definitely come with a lot of exhaustion um but my relationship to exhaustion has definitely changed over the years, especially when it comes to burnout and all that good stuff. I really appreciate how you guys use the word enduring.

I think that's such a beautiful word. It's such a powerful one because it implies that there's an end. And not only that there's an end to what you're going through but you're you're also strong enough and committed enough to get to that end and I'm definitely enduring definitely enduring these days as a as a young working professional at my first corporate gig but through through that enduring I'm just very grateful to be where I am and I think mixing gratitude with that enduring exhaustion is the biggest thing that anyone can do it's true I'm glad you pointed that out I think we didn't even think about it like that when we came up with the topic at the time but enduring does mean that you know this too shall pass and life is a is a journey of ups and downs and and um and it's important to feel those moments you know um Saj and I you've

we've been talking a lot about that in the last while you know the things we've been going through and so you're at the start of your journey really as a working professional and and you've started this corporate job so how has that felt for you like what have you what's been like the biggest challenge um and learning yeah it's it's very surreal um again i'm pretty young and all of my co-workers are a bit older than i am um i'm very blessed to be at a job that is honestly a dream job. Everything is absolutely wonderful, and the setup that I've been given has been so amazing. As a young working professional, I guess the biggest thing would be to stay true to myself. I think it's really easy to sort of fall into this mindset of having to be something

else or someone else in order to be respected. But I found that being authentic to who I am has gotten me the furthest, really, in this gig. And to any young person out there listening, I think that's the, or at any age, I think being authentic will get you the absolute furthest. And that's what I've been doing. And that's what's been carrying me through. And being authentic and looking after others and making everyone else's job easier as well, as my own, has really been carrying me through. But it's been a great experience. I mean, I've heard so many corporate horror stories about how people will switch up and change within three months and you know I've been here for a couple months now like going on eight I think and everyone is still pretty much the same and it's just been such a blessing

but I think in moving and in authenticity that's sort of what allowed this to be so so beautiful and sort of what it turned out to be it's amazing i think they say it takes about six months to really settle into a new job you know and when you make that that jump that leap of faith into corporate into a role that's you know working as you are now, you know, to give yourself that grace and give yourself that time. And I love that you speak about authenticity. I think that's something we talk about a lot too, you know, how do you actually be true to yourself? Firstly, you need to know yourself. So how's that journey been for you in terms of getting to know yourself so how's that journey been for you in terms of getting to know yourself and

and then during work you know that brings a whole different set of things that's such a great question Nicole it's hard it's really hard especially this day and age I think with social media and just all these distractions it's pulling you in every direction to be With social media and just all these distractions, it's pulling you in every direction to be something else. And it's really hard to really sit and listen to sort of yourself and block out all the distractions and really listen to what you need. Especially, you know, at my age, I see a lot of my peers also struggling with this and what I found is I feel as though my generation has a lot of really bad advice that sort of tells you to do the easier thing and to sort of move according to what feels good but I found that really doing the harder work

really got me to sort of knowing myself a little bit more rather than the easier stuff. So for example, enduring through exhaustion, I think in today's age, the advice would be to, if something feels bad, then just don't do it you know take a break and and really just sit back and and do whatever you need to do to make yourself sort of feel better but I found that when you really push through and you really do the work

to to sit and and feel all the bad and and really work through through all the things that sort of make you feel ill, that's where the real transformation comes. And that's sort of what I've been working with. And that's what's really gotten me to the point of knowing myself a little bit better. It's interesting that you mention that. What's coming up for me is the whole concept of mental health awareness and mental health day is that never used to be something when i started my first corporate job you know um you hardly take a sick day you know nobody wants to be sick or you if you if you're

sick you come into work because the project needs to get done so it was a whole different ball game of being exhausted enduring through it and not necessarily taking all the self-care but I do agree with you that I think there was something about working through that there was something about transforming through that so there's this sweet balance in between I think what our generation Saji and I probably experience and our parents generation even more so potentially and then I think what's happening now in the younger working professional settings where if you do take a mental health day and you do take that self-care what do you do in that space you know what does that actually look like so yeah it's important I think you bring up a really really good point there

I think there's a there's a solution that it needs to be pretty and perfect and self-care you know putting on a face mask and and sitting back and and it is right like you said there's a sweet balance but I think there's there's also this this part that's very ugly about it and that's going to take a lot of heartbreak, at least from what I've found. But I've found that when you go through the fire in that way, that's where you find the most help, the most insight, the most of yourself. The most of yourself. And I've noticed, you know, in my journey throughout growing my career, when I did really sit back and sort of just let life pass me by,

that's when I was the most sad and sort of the most, I felt incapable of taking charge. But once I took charge, even when it didn't feel good it's that's what it led me to just incredible opportunities and just a life that I couldn't foresee that's amazing so Lauren you grew up for listeners who don't know Lauren grew up down the street from where we lived in Mastic, New York. And it's on the east end of Long Island. And it's been awesome to see you grow, Lauren. I mean, from being a little girl to hanging out with Saloni as Saloni's best friend. little girl to hanging out with Saloni as Saloni's best friends. You also, you know,

you started your journey in terms of career in a very non-traditional path, right? You basically built your career on your own for so long when you were doing social media influencing. And I know that you've worked with so many large brands and innovative campaigns and just the creativity is on a different level I mean some of the things that you guys come up with are amazing to me and it's almost like second nature to you guys which I really admire and I think it's awesome and I think all those learnings you definitely have to give yourself credit for because that definitely takes a lot of guts and chutzpah and creativity and just because it comes naturally in certain aspects doesn't mean that it's not unique or amazing so that's one and then two I wonder as you transition that same skill set into your job now do you find that it really helps you

to kind of have that eye and you did the work to kind of get in terms of accolades in terms of breaking through the noise and finding your niche that was a lot of work I'm sure to figure out what products to review and what to do every day and which side of yourself. And now that you're managing a brand for another company, do you feel like that insight has really helped you understand, you know, consumers of either your generation or others? I'm just really curious, because that's not a traditional kind of path. But it is one that people are starting to play between the lines of a lot more, you know, going between freelancer and corporate worker, working with corporates, consulting, working full time, we're seeing a lot more people that are kind of deciding. I mean,

I myself personally have done that a few times in my career just really curious from your point of view you know what that journey has been like for you thank you Saj for those of you also who don't know Saj since I was a little girl I've always looked up to her as this amazing boss woman to the point where I was kind of you were so not intimidating but you were just so strong and you knew exactly what you wanted. And I've always really admired that about you as well. Of course, thank you so much. Aw, thank you.

Don't make me cry on here. It's weird because I've always known that this is sort of what I wanted to do. But then at the same time, I didn't know. But then at the same time, I didn't know. And then at the same time, I didn't think it was possible for me in a way. To give context, in high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do at all. When I graduated, all of my friends had parties, and everyone was super excited. But I remember just being devastated and going to the foot of my parents bed and just clawing my eyes out because I didn't know what I was going to do next. I didn't know

what to do for college. I didn't know what to do in terms of a trade. I just thought I was just sort of in this weird limbo. When I started my Instagram blog, I think this was in 2017, my Instagram vlog. This was in 2017. I was very shy. I didn't think anyone would sort of listen to me or want to see me. So it was just a hobby. And then it took off to something I couldn't have even imagined. And, you know, then the exhaustion kicked in. and I couldn't see myself doing that longer term and for a longer term. And then, you know, I started doing brand consulting and I also had this doubt set in that was like, I don't have the four year degree. I don't have these things. How am I going to land a job that I really care about? And then it came. And I think always having that hope within you more than anything,

more than sort of going the traditional route, that hope and that passion will always drive you to the next best thing. And it will come with exhaustion, it will come with frustration and not knowing what you're going to do. But in my experience, it always works out. If you have a really frustrating time, it will get better. And I've always held on to that. I didn't go the traditional route at all. And by some miracle, I will say that I'm here. And I'm very blessed to be here, like I said. Right now, to answer your question, I'm just really trying my best to work on my character to be the best that I can be at this job, even though I didn't go the traditional route. I feel as though, you know, this isn't true, but I feel as though I have a lot to prove to myself more than anyone that I am capable of doing this. And I am a valuable player. You know, there's a lot of self, self, self sabotage. And what's the word?

I forgot what it's called. It's when, not self-sabotage, when you think that, not identity. There's a word for it that's getting thrown around a lot. And I'm experiencing a bit of that. Is it imposter syndrome? Imposter syndrome. There's a lot of, thank you. There's a lot of imposter syndrome that also comes with

it as well but I'm learning that it's it's just an illusion and I just move past it and do the best that I possibly can for myself and for my company and just for my career moving forward I think it's such an amazing age we're living in where you don't have to go the traditional route anymore you know and there's so much there's so much grace that comes within there's so much just hope and freedom and I'm again I'm just very blessed that I've gotten this far with with hope and and trying my absolute best to to make something of what I've made in the past that was very well said I think that you're completely right and I think you also add so much to the table I'm a hundred percent a believer in hard work and dedication and hustle gets you further than a degree 100%. I don't think I use anything much.

I wouldn't say that. Let me not say I don't use anything much from my degree. But there's so much that you learn that you don't learn in school, to be quite honest. And it's really what you make out of it. And it's really a plus that you have this experience because you know what it takes to build a brand because you've built a brand. There's nobody in school who's only done that, who's really just went to school that would learn that from a textbook. And it begs the question and it really shows you that you learn so much more. Like even we learn so much more by doing Friday feels than I would have ever read, to be quite honest. We learn things every day. And it's kind of nuts to hear, you know, even a lot of things that you're feeling are things that I feel on a daily basis here. And so you just kind of get better at showing up and or pushing yourself or your bills push you. I don't

know. Your problems push you or your dreams push you. And it's really about making that bridge to have your dreams push you rather than your problems push you. And that's a lifelong thing for me personally. But I think even at your age, I mean, at 24, at 24, I was not thinking like that at all. I wish I was. But I was just like, okay, everybody's got a job. Let me go get a job. This guy sucks. But this is what everybody else is doing. I'm going to go do this. Yeah, I think it's just, it's's such an interesting an interesting point of view that you have you I know you've always been a spiritual person but I think you also if you ever wanted to go into motivational speaking I think there's a place for you because I always feel really hyped and just by your grace and I one time I I was smiling and my boyfriend came out so he's like

who are you talking to like that and I was like I'm talking to Lauren and she told me how great I did at this and this I was like I wish everybody greeted me like Lauren because I think you said so like have the best day ever so they was like yes exactly why shouldn't like have the best day ever or something. I was like, yes, exactly. Why shouldn't I have the best day ever? And he was just like, what? And I was like, yeah, why don't you tell me that every morning? It was just like, who is Lauren? Like, what is she doing? Because I don't think I met you in person yet.

But, you know, that's definitely a light that you can't dim. So you should definitely pull more towards that. And I think it's really helpful to hear people who are younger speak like that and think like that because it will carry you very well in your career. Sometimes when you only have one job, you don't know like your ups and downs or really, you know, what's normal, what's not. That's what I found a lot of times with, you don't know like your ups and downs or really, you know, what's normal,

what's not. That's what I found a lot of times with, you know, mentoring young professionals is they'll say things. I mean, it's like any relationship, right? If you're only in, if it's new, you don't really know how to navigate it. But if you follow your intuition, then it really does help like with everything right same with professional ones so that's awesome to hear super proud of you and your you know the strides that you've made personally and professionally I think they're really important and they really make up somebody who is a working professional you can't take someone's personal life away from them and expect them to be the same person so they go hand in hand

yeah absolutely and I also wanted to just mention that I think it's so beautiful that you're mentioning the the emotion behind going through all these things you know and like you were saying it's not always pretty but I think what makes it even more interesting is that often the reason that we are exhausted is because we are trying to keep up with other people's expectations and when you're really true with yourself you know you're obviously going to go through trials and tribulations even if you're following your intuition even if you're following your joy but it gets even harder when you are then trying to play amongst society's rules for your life and I think it's beautiful that you haven't done that in your journey and you know I'm sure at some point kids aren't going to go through the traditional school system the way that they are now you know because things are changing like you said you don't have to have a degree to be an

incredible woman in the world and my dad once said to me you know when you're studying different subjects university or even just school all that those subjects are doing is teaching you a way of thinking. Your brain is integrating, your brain's growing, your body's growing, you know. And so whether you do that in a classroom and a university setting, or whether you do that in experiential learning in a corporate setting or in a professional setting of your choice, you're still learning, you're still growing. And I think that's really beautiful that you can be an inspiration for people who might not even want

to go to university you know and and be successful in the world so yeah it's a wonderful journey you've walked so far growing up I attended a Caribbean church and it was one of the most, it was so much fun. I'll say that. It was so much fun. And just the people that I've met there, the mentors that I've had, none of them have any type of formal education, but the wisdom that they would just bestow was so rich and powerful. I've never gotten that in a classroom. I've never gotten that in a classroom. I've never gotten that

in a college course. And it just opens your eyes that the non-traditional route, you know, it is scary, don't get me wrong. And if there's a lot of self-doubt there, don't get me wrong. But again, if you just believe with all of your heart that this is what I want to do, this is how I'm going to get it, have the right people around you that speaks life into you there's nothing that you can't do I I am a very shy person and I haven't been the most confident my life in my life and such you can attest to this I was a very again very very shy kid and I didn't have much belief in myself if any up until I was a very, again, very, very shy kid. And I didn't have much belief in myself, if any, up until I was maybe 22. But I always knew that it was going to work out in some way.

And, again, I didn't think it would be in this way. I'm truly, like, extremely happy with where I am in life. But that just goes to show you that if you keep going, if you keep moving, if you keep believing, something beautiful will come out of it. It just has to. That's really what's on my heart. And thank you, Nicole.

I really appreciate that. Yeah, of course. And just to assure you that the 30s are a lot easier. Don't worry. Just to assure you that the 30s are a lot easier. Don't worry. I mean, it's still not like moonshine and roses and blossoms all the time. But 20s are hard.

The 20s are really hard. They challenge you and you're finding who you are in the world. And so it does seem to get easier. I know there's this thing called the Saturn return that kicks in when you turn 30 as a woman. I can't speak for men, but something changes. So you have lots to look forward to in that sense. And speaking of classroom, I mean, 10 years ago, you would have been 14. You obviously didn't think your life would be here where you are now.

What did you want to be when you were 14? If you think back. your life would be here where you are now. What did you want to be when you were 14? Like, if you think back. Funnily enough, when I was younger, my best friend and I, who just so happens to be your little sister, we've almost been friends for 20 years now.

We always said that when we're older, we would be working in New York City and we would be wearing pink suits with briefcases or an archaeologist. That was like my thing. That's what I wanted to be. If not an archaeologist, was that was like my thing that's what I wanted to be if not an archaeologist then a rock star but that that didn't work and throughout my high school years I I had a lot going on at home my sister was very very sick and I didn't have much of a social life outside of I I had my little friends, but you know outside of Saloni who was like my ride-or-die I didn't really have much of a social life other than that.

When I was 14 I really didn't think that I would really, not to be to be sort of morbid I guess, but I didn't really, I had such a low image of just my where I didn't really think that I would amount to much back then and I would tell myself that too and I would act accordingly to that and just over the years that grew and grew and grew until something snapped where I was like well I'm I'm gonna try you know and all of my peers around me they knew what they wanted to be they wanted to be doctors and lawyers and engineers and they were in all these amazing programs and AP classes and I remember just sitting back and being like I you know I don't know what I'm doing I I feel like I don't know what I'm doing.

I feel like everyone knows something that I don't. And so that's what I thought of myself and of my life at the time. But again, I think just living life a little bit more, getting some experience, some really deep-seated heartbreak sometimes really pushes you to want better for yourself and just do better. And yeah, that's sort of who I was. I think that's awesome, candid feedback. I think, you know, something that we try to do on this podcast a lot is just kind of shine

a light behind people's, you know, what, what you see when you meet them and even their accolades, right? Because very much so it's easy to write a resume, but it's very hard to kind of see the person beneath it. And, you know, I had an experience with this a few weeks ago, even where someone introed me to a young professional. It's like, oh, they're looking for a gig. Can you take a look? And the resume was awesome. And so when I got on the phone, it's just the person had no life. And I thought, and they really say this, right? And this is something that, you know, even myself, maybe Nicole, it's very different when you are the hiring manager, you are the CEO, you are the person making the directions. I've worked, you know, most of my life in corporate while also doing things on my own.

But now that it's about hiring other people rather than just working with them, it's true. They say like, you want to work with people you like, you want to work with people that you can grab a beer with after work. And it was, it's easier for me to navigate that setting because I understood the expectation after having a lot of jobs, knowing how to interact with people, being like more extroverted in that sense. I used to get a lot of interviews. I knew how to navigate them. But now when you're actually looking to hire, I'm like, okay, well, it's a small company. I got to talk to this person all the time. I also need them to bring their best self. And so

sometimes when you're working with more people, it's almost like the risk is spread out more, to be quite honest. And then if I hire one more person and it's me, Nicole, one more person, that's 33% of our risk is down there. So if it doesn't work out with that person, then you start all over.

And I think it's really great that you have that sort of mindset in terms of, you know, working on yourself as an individual. And I will say when you were younger, I just thought of you as like a model. I did not think that you were shy or not self-confident at all. And that just goes to show you that sometimes you're your own, you know, worst critic. I do it all the time. And to Nicole's point, it does get easier when you're in your 30s. That part of it, I will say. Maybe not the self-critic part, but also just showing up for yourself and proving to yourself,

oh, I was able to do X, Y, Z. So therefore, I have the skills to go do the next phase. That's a big thing that's helped me that you just kind of prove to yourself, like even if you're feeling doubtful, you prove to yourself like a math equation, like, oh, I feel like I can't do this. Well, you did do all these things.

I keep a list of all these things. And there's a lot of people that do that, even super successful people. I think I've mentioned her book before about Lisa Bilyeu's radical confidence. She and her husband grew Quest. I think it's like protein bars to like, I think they sold it for like a billion dollars or something and they started it. And she wears like a superwoman necklace she wears pink because she really likes it she has like a whole entire regimen when she has people coming on her podcast that are there just to build her confidence like with the gym she'll put up pictures and

things that she's done before and it's those little things that add up. Like if you start your day that way versus like just kind of rolling out, it makes a big difference. And yeah, I need to get better at that. But there are certain things, like certain aspects that I have kind of like jotted down and definitely helped me. So I would say as a young professional, it's nice that you actually take time to realize that when I think about myself 10 years ago, I don't think she was thinking about any of those things. She was definitely having fun. And Nicole and I were actually talking about this last week is like, did, you know, did we think we would be here at 35? And what would we tell our 10 years ago self, our 25-year-old self?

And I was like, I don't know, man, but this is definitely a different image than what I thought it would be. But it is more about, one comment that we both agreed on is at least we're doing things that we're living on our own terms, which is something that I do feel like younger people, one, sometimes have trouble realizing that that is a really good marker for success. Is living life on your own terms in certain ways. It could be financially, it could be, you know, mentally or emotionally, like you choose

to say the things that bother you or the things that you don't want to stand up for. So there's a, there's a fine line between balancing and fitting in and then like standing out and having the confidence to do that. Meaning like you're okay with, Hey, if no one agrees with me, I don't really care, but this is what I want to do. This is what feels good for me. That was like moving into startups. You know, I didn't have any friends that did it when I did it. I was trained to go into finance and I went for some of those positions. into finance. And I went for some of those positions. One, didn't like it. Two, didn't actually because like, because people could realize that I didn't like it. I tended to not get hired at some of them. And I was okay with that when I walked into a different world where

I felt like I was more accepted, my ideas were more heard. And it was more exciting for me. You didn't have to ask me to go to work every day and have to dread it. So I think those are little inklings that you could kind of follow along as breadcrumbs in your 20s that I wish someone had told me. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think, you know, we both grew up Caribbean. And it's like, hey, you got to be the breadwinner of the family, and you have to be a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer. And luckily, my parents, when I was a teenager, became a lot more convenient.

But with that in the back of your mind, whatever you choose to do that would make you happy, you sort of saw it as like well it's not what everyone else is doing so it's not right right or it'll never fulfill me but then I got you know I got a little older after realizing that and so my friends that went into these these companies that are highly coveted and to die for and they would say I hate where I work I hate my life I hate the people that I'm around. I wish I never got into this. I want to change everything. And I was sort of like, wow, you know, here I am thinking you have it absolutely set up, you know, you're good. But, you know,

I guess the grass is always greener and it's so important to sort of stand on, you know, what you to do in your heart of heart no matter what it is and to know this is good for me and no matter what people say even my own family I know that this is right for me at this moment and it's hard at first because there's a lot of noise but the funny thing is that once what I realized is once you really settle with that then people start to take notice too and they start to give you that sort of respect you know in a really weird way or just or just um validation that you're not even looking for you know it's so funny how that works but But yeah, I completely agree, Saj. And I'm very glad that I can't wait till my 30s, honestly. I'm really excited.

Listen, by no means, enjoy your 20s, okay? You can do whatever you want. You can be out till God knows what time and get back up. Oh my goodness. I had a lot of fun, especially kind of like being a young professional where all you have to kind of worry about, I mean, I'm not saying that it's easy. I probably didn't feel that way at the time, but now looking back, I'm like, wow, I had way less responsibilities. You know, my friends were single, so we could just like pick up and go and do stuff.

you know, my friends were single, so we could just like pick up and go and do stuff. And it's kind of hard to cultivate that same feeling. Like even if I do things with my friends now, and they're like spontaneous, like I went to Target and it was like, I was like, damn, this is fun. Like I read part of the book. Like, I'm just like, damn, I'm such a loser. This is fun for me. And people write that all the time. Like I see people writing that all the time. They're like, oh, you know, going out in our 20s and then going out in our 30s was like building a Lego set. And I think I was thinking about it and I was like, it's probably because we've done it so much like in our 20s that even doing the same thing in our 20s now is like like going out drinking a lot hanging out having fun I would be like okay I've

done that a million times like I want to do something different like building the Lego set is actually different for me so it's not it's not necessarily like that's probably why we get a thrill out of things that are almost like different unique but yeah you people say that when you're older like this is the best time of your life and I know people used to say that all the time to me when I was younger and I used to always be like it doesn't feel like it it doesn't feel like it because there's so much uncertainty but I think it's awesome that you you kind of you know thank you for coming on and actually sharing, like Nicole said, the emotions that have kind of been behind a lot of your moves. And even because that's really important that people hear that.

Like I said, like if you never shared it, I would never know. Maybe you never knew what my point of view was. But it's definitely helpful. my point of view was but it's it's definitely helpful hopefully it helps somebody who is listening that you kind of can take some of the gems that lauren mentioned today yeah thank you thank you for sharing so honestly and openly and you know you've kind of taken me back in time when i think back to where i was when i was 24 i just started my own uh corporate first corporate gig at KPMG uh as well and yeah what a wild ride so I took the opposite route to you where I kind of worked corporate first and now now getting more into creative so you know at the time I had decided not to pursue being a

chartered accountant further and my parents were really upset with me. And so I totally get what you're saying. You know, I think that there's so much pressure around performance and achievement and being this successful person in the world. But I think it's beautiful that you show your true self in a gentle way, shining your light in the world. So doing what feels good for you. So what is in store for you one year from now, if you had to fast forward?

One year from now? One year from now, I hope and pray that I'm still a part of this amazing team and get evolved to the next level we're steadily working on that and I'm just really excited to see where it goes again my job sometimes doesn't even feel like a job it just feels like I'm a part of this family that actually cares about me and cares about my ideas switching from being my own creative to a creative for a company, it still feels like I'm a creative, which is so special. And, you know, working with a team, honestly, it's not always the easiest thing.

But I think once you hit that breakthrough where everyone's on the same page, there's nothing like it. So I hope I'm still there there I'm also working on some personal projects as well that I hope will see the light of day and I'm actively working towards it and just learning and hopefully at 25 the whole frontal thing happens the prefrontal lobe I don't know that whole thing happens and I'm excited for that and I'm just really excited to get older because you know in the past I've sort of I guess I don't know but now I'm seeing that it's really such a blessing just to just to see

just to learn and grow there's so much to learn and I'm excited for it and along your journey what do you feel has been the best professional advice that you've received I guess the best professional advice I've ever received was from my brother and he said this in passing he said never be someone you're not at your job or try to be someone you're not at your job because if you ever leave your job or say one day you know they don't need your services anymore and you get laid off hired not only do you lose your job but you lose your soul so I'm very cognizant of that. I will say my siblings and you and your siblings are very old souls. Your advice is like that of like an 80-year-old person sometimes. And it's very wise.

I'm just like, where do you guys get these things from? But listen, it makes me feel better too when I listen to some of them very profound advice I would say from your brother and it's true you know you don't it's very hard balanced you know people struggle with this all the time personally and professionally just kind of unpacking that you don't want to lose yourself based on a job. And I know me personally, I've had a tendency to overwork in certain situations and then go through the burnout and then need to, and I'm still again, working on that. But I remember earlier on in my career, I had a lot of friends that went the traditional route, worked for very prestigious companies, etc.

And I remember one of my roommates, she worked for one of the big four accounting firms. And she was saying, oh, we get unlimited vacation. I hate this. And I was like, why would you hate it? You're getting unlimited vacation. And that was a big thing that was happening. The startup started doing it. You're getting unlimited vacation. And that was a big thing that was happening. The startup started doing it. And so then the bigger companies decided they wanted to do it. Instead of getting the set two weeks when you start, they started changing it to saying unlimited. And she's like, at least when I had two weeks, I knew I had two weeks. But when they change it to unlimited, nobody wants to take it

because everybody's like either trying to out-compete themselves or doesn't want to look lazy. And so they never actually end up taking it. And there's actually a lot of studies that have been done where when you say unlimited vacation, they actually take less vacation than they would have been allotted. And then it was very interesting because a few years later, then some companies started implementing a mandatory vacation because people just wouldn't take the vacation. And then also they, I don't even know if they like how they were compensating them for it because they said unlimited, they didn't have to necessarily. Like if you quit and let's say for five years, you've been working at this company and you took five days, they weren't

going to pay you out like two weeks for those five years. You wouldn't get like 10 weeks paid because there was unlimited. So, you know, it's the same thing in life, right? Like if you don't take the time for yourself, you know, you're going to kind of pay for it one way or the other. And it shouldn't be a job that has to tell you that it's like a lot more is being more self-reliant and you telling yourself, this is how I feel. You telling yourself, this is not okay in the workplace. You telling yourself, oh, I should be, you know, more like this X, Y, Z. So I would say if I had to leave you with a few words for getting older, that's what gets easier is the kind of you telling yourself and realizing over and over, okay, I went through a few jobs now.

We know how this goes. This is what is kind of expected, et cetera. So while it's fun getting older because you have more experience, it doesn't mean your bones don't hurt more and it gets harder so you kind of have that balance to look forward to Lauren I'm excited I'm very excited oh well we're very excited for you and you have an incredible journey ahead of you thank you for sharing the start of this with us. Look forward to 10 years from now, having you on the podcast again.

And then we can talk about what 35 feels like. And then we'll be like, well, we remember that. We remember that feeling, that podcast. But thank you so much. And yeah, I guess just a quick gems of the week for us that we do each time on the episode is really talking about what filled your cup for the week. What made you feel like you could be a good working professional, something that happened.

So, uh, Saj, do you want to kick us off? Yeah, sure. So, you know, we talked a little bit about validation on this, on this episode and you know as we are building and growing these companies I think for me just kind of I picked up a book on investing and I was reading it was almost like top advice from people who have had a lot of success financially and how they look at things. And, you know, as someone who is in real estate, for me, I found it, I mean, I would say, I found it very interesting, because I always take the approach of the market kind of in any industry, the market tells you what they want, the more people you talk to, the more you understand, and then you kind of make your decisions based on that. And I was, but I've been talking to a lot of people in the market,

there's a lot of stuff going on. And so sometimes it's very hard, like you said, to cut through the noise, and really figure out like, what do you think? Why do you think this? Like, can you support it? And that doesn't just go for investing that goes for a lot of things. And so I was reading a few pieces of commentary from people who have been in the market for a really long time, just trying to understand what's going on. And they were saying quite a lot of the same thing. And I felt really validated because I was like, I'm having a hard time understanding what's going on. And so for me, I thought that was an interesting gem of the week because it transcends into other parts of your life is just, you know, how do you kind of find that validation?

One of it is like, how do you find your voice? And then two is like, how do you find that validation? Is it you? Are you the only one? And for some of the industries that I work in, I feel like that you do kind of need to know what's going on. It's not so much about finding your own voice first. It's about understanding the playing field and then finding your voice through it. And for me, reading that, I was like, wow, I always find it very interesting how people get where they are and so some of those people would share like oh when I started it was like this so when I started it was like that and now and very much so a lot of it is they're pulling wisdom from older people who are mentors who are sharing their journey who would take them under their wing, et cetera. And I feel like, you know, for a lot of my life, it's not, I was thinking about this,

it's not like I have an older sibling or somebody who is kind of already charted some sort of path and you're just kind of following along. You're charting your own path. And so it became very apparent to me like last week and I was like oh that could be why stuff is a lot harder for me but also easier in a way because you're not following in somebody else's footsteps right you have the freedom to make your own and it's scary but it's also I think a lot of the anxiety I was feeling about things I could like put a pin

in it and be like oh this is why it's like this even with Friday feels what we do is new it's not anything I've worked on personally in my life before there's nobody in my life really that I know who has done it in the way that we're doing it so So for us, you know, I think about those things a lot. And for my gem of the week, it was, it was a piece of validation for me that yes, I'm thinking about things in the right way, without actually having to talk to, you know, mentors or people that and I say that with quotes, because sometimes they're just not on your journey they can't fully understand so it's it was a good lesson for me in trusting myself how about you Nicole I'm glad you got that sense and feeling this week um for me gosh it's been an

interesting week it's been an interesting couple of. I really have felt like the universe has been, I mean, it's Mercury retrograde. If anyone enjoys astrology, we're in the middle of two different eclipses. Like it's all happening in the world right now of energy. And so I've really felt like the universe is pushing me to find my feelings, feel my feelings, stop fighting my feelings and yeah and this and this week has just been like that breakthrough moment of kind of a bit of a wake-up of like hey okay wow it's been a year since the layoff it's it's um I find myself in the French countryside what is going on like you know what what's next and but also at the same time feeling gosh I really love who I am I yeah I'm really

happy at where I am in my life I just might not know exactly what the next step looks like and that's okay so turning 35 um has definitely been a really interesting kind of turning point for me, I guess like a midlife midlife crisis you know kind of feeling so yeah and on top of all of that Gracie was really sick and so that definitely added to the feelings of feeling kind of helpless. And knowing that I'm in a small village and most of the time things are just closed because it's small. So the gate's not always open. So, yeah, some interesting challenges, but really wonderful breakthroughs myself. And, yeah, just grateful, grateful for it all.

So what about you, Lauren? That's really beautiful, Nicole. That's really, really beautiful. It's like when you're in a position of not knowing where you're going to go next or even where you are right now, but still being like, you know, it's whatever, like it's going to work out. It's fine. And I like where I am.

That's a really great feeling. That's a really great thing that's really a great thing in such to what you said being the teacher and the student at the same time I think that's also very scary but it's also once you learn what you need to learn it's like you learn that you're capable of doing anything and there's nothing more rewarding than that too. So thank you. That really, those two gems really blessed me, guys. Thank you. I, oh, a gem.

I've been reading this book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. It's an amazing book, amazing book. And when I was done reading it this morning, I'm on week two. I tried in the past, but I failed. So now I'm starting it again. And one of the little side quotes that they have in the book, I forgot who it was by, but it said, the last line said, forget about yourself. And I found that when things get really hard, the only thing you can think about is like, me, me, me, like, how am I going to get out of this? How am I going to get through this? How am I going to finish this task? But I found that noticing what other people are going through is the number one. It's the best medicine because not only can you help them, which then will teach you how to help yourself.

You also feel a sense of accomplishment and just just, I guess, the love knowing that you you're going through so much, but you to another person. And that's really been helping me. I'm not the best at it, but I'm trying to be and just see outside of myself a lot more. And, yeah, that's my gem of the week. Sometimes you've got to forget about yourself to learn about yourself, I guess. I love that. And that is a great book, and I have also not finished it. The artist's way. It's tough because it asks a lot from you. You know, it's not just a book you read and it's you practicing with yourself. I know she talks about your morning pages and kind of getting up and then just writing and getting it all out, whether it's pretty or ugly or makes sense and doesn't make sense. And it's just, it's a beautiful practice.

That's awesome. I've never heard of that, but I'll definitely have to check it out. And then I guess for all our audience listening out there, some final thoughts. What was your first corporate gig like? Were you thriving? Were you diving? Were you dying? What was the best thing that it taught you? How were you enduring were you diving were you dying what was the best thing that it taught you you know how were you enduring through exhaustion if you did feel exhausted and if not we'd like to

hear why and please share with us yeah we'd love to hear from you remember to tag us using hashtag these friday feels to show your stories and listen to us on all your favorite platforms. And to work with us or have us broadcast Friday Feels from your space and organize your next workcation, reach out to us at hello at friday-feels.co. And next week, we have a very cool gentleman in store in the Cape Co-Living, Hustle House and Travel Tractions space, a multi-preneur, davison from south africa and it might be too early for black friday but we're feeling it so stay tuned for some

interesting stories about how he navigated hospitality during lockdown and also the emergence from it and thank you so so much lauren for joining us today do you want to maybe just quickly tell people they can find you thank you for having me i really appreciate it guys and i think you're doing an awesome thing with this podcast you're giving real deal life advice and i've had an amazing time listening so thank you you can find me on linkedin with my name la Lauren Muir if you ever want any type of brand consulting or just brand insight for socials I have a YouTube channel at Loris Curls and an Instagram at as well that I have not been active on in years however I hope to be very soon I will say and that's where you can find me i hope you guys have an awesome

day and i hope you can be blessed with at least one thing that i've shared on this episode thanks lauren and that's until next time that is our mix we've had fun mingling with you and we wish you safe travels into your bed into the night and into this awesome weekend so see you next week and keep it real