Hello everyone! I’m so glad you’re here…
If you listened to my first episode, you heard me talk about why I started this podcast. The truth is it’s taken me decades to accomplish this dream. I recently found the original logo for “Sound Mind & Body” that I designed years ago. At first it was an idea for a TV show because YouTube and podcasts didn’t exist then. Years went by, and this logo and idea got stuffed away in a file drawer. I got lost in my busy life and the thought of me actually accomplishing it slipped away.
We all have dreams that our hearts tell us to do, but we don’t always listen or we don’t think it’s possible, or we’re just too busy.
We’re busy trying to make a living, raising children, taking care of our families and relationships and managing careers. Suddenly, 20 or 30 years fly by and you realize you have been running in place. At least that was my story.
I was a single mom, who always had creative ideas, and tried to pursue some of them, but the fact of the matter was that I was living paycheck to paycheck, and work came first. After a long day at work, and then taking care of my son, I didn’t have the time or energy to do my own thing.
Still, I knew that being creative made me feel alive, so I kept trying.
In my 20’s I was a VJ for an independent Cable TV show in Europe called “Underground USA”. It was so much fun to introduce new bands and videos while highlighting different places in L.A. Funny story, this came to me through my babysitter – who would’ve thought? I wanted to be a VJ on MTV, and even got an audition, but I had never been to an audition before, and wasn’t prepared - so there went that opportunity. View Audition Video
In my 30’s I took acting classes and was in a couple plays, commercials and TV shows. I conquered my fear of performing in front of others, had an amazing time and met some incredible people, but it was a struggle to be a single mom and pursue acting, so that eventually fell by the wayside too.
In my 40’s I resurrected some poems I had written when I was in my 20’s and began to write more. I took singing lessons and even learned how to play the guitar so I could turn my poems into songs. One summer I got up the courage to go to an open mic at a local coffee shop and that is when I met one of my BFF’s Lisa P. Meeting Lisa opened a whole new door in my life to interesting friends, music and fun!
I began to realize that every time I stepped out into the scary unknown and tried something new – the universe rewarded me.
Then about 8 years ago, I jumped into being co-owner and manager of a strength- training studio, The Strength Code . I thought I had finally found my dream job. I always had a passion for health and fitness, and now my passion would be my work. Perfect! But after three and half years of working two jobs, and struggling to grow my business, I realized it was sucking the life out of me. I began to crash, living in a whirlwind of constant stress trying to keep the business going and maintaining a second job just to make ends meet. During that time, my mother passed away, I broke up with my boyfriend, and my finances were a mess.
One day I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize myself. I was now in my 50’s and I felt like my life was speeding by.
When I went for my annual check-up in May of 2017 I told my doctor I felt “old, fat and tired”. Blood tests revealed that my thyroid was barely alive, my cortisol levels were off the charts, cholesterol was high, blood sugar was bordering on pre-diabetic and to top it off I was at “full pregnancy weight” – the same weight I was when I was 9 months pregnant. That is when I realized I had lost myself. I had stopped doing all the things that made ME feel like ME and was in a spiral of declining health. What happened to ME?
I decided I was going to get myself back. I had to find my woo-woo again!
I had to get my health and nutrition in order, as well as get back to doing the things that I loved to do! One of the first things I did was go to a full moon women’s circle. We danced and encircled each other as we declared our goals and dreams. I was feeling better already!
Over the next 5 months, my nutritionist Matt Mahowald guided me to lose 15 lbs and to lower my blood sugar. All of this was not easy. It took hard work and constant attention. It took money and time. But this was my life at stake here – and I was determined to feel like ME again!
The next thing I did was sign up for the Werk-It Women’s podcasting event in LA and was chosen to be in the Pop-Up Studio! Fun, yet terrifying! When I sat in front of that microphone at the Pop-Up Studio that day, I just spoke my truth. I went with my gut. I let my creativity flow. I put it out there and found that people were responding to my story - they could relate.
I remembered what it was like to feel that scary, excitement – like my first acting class, or the time I went to that open mic. That was my woo-woo.
That dash of woo-woo is important to me. It’s something that only YOU can define for yourself. For me it was to follow my life-long dream of starting this podcast. To have that conversation with inspiring people, to share my own inspiring experiences and to be enlightened by new people and topics I was discovering. When I have that conversation and share it with you, it inspires ME to keep going.
One thing I know... it is a lifelong journey and it never ends. But as I accomplish one thing after another, my life has begun to change. I finally committed to meditating every day – and now it’s been over 165 days as of this writing! The software of meditating changes the hardware of your brain – and suddenly you are the person that you always knew you could be.
Believe me, it does change you. Try it. But my story doesn’t end there. I constantly have to remind myself to stay in a positive mindset – to remember that I can access the positive energy that is always there. That the energy I am putting out there is the antenna to the universe of what I’m attracting into my life. It’s a thin line between worry and stress, and positivity and dreams, but I walk it each day. Resetting myself each day. And with each guest who tells an inspirational story on my podcast, I am re-inspired to keep going.
That is what I wish to bring you, my beautiful community – to inspire you to be your best self, to take care of YOU and to find and shine your unique and beautiful light in the world. So much more to come! I’m so happy you’re on this journey with me! Let’s live in the excitement of the opportunities we are given each and every day!