Back in Business - We Got Real Deep Real Fast With Laura Aura

SPEAKER_02 0:15

I guess this is your business. It's all in my lady business. What's me? Thanks so much, everybody, for tuning in today. I am super excited for today's guest. We've got Laura Aura, an alignment coach for female entrepreneurs, guiding them to learn how to honor their energy and truly listen to what they want instead of what they have been taught they should. Laura is a CEO of Works with an X and Co. An urban branding studio, the host of a top 100 podcast, The Gutsy Podcast, speaker, author, and all-around visionary. She'll be the first person to push you out of your comfort zone and the last to hug you as you head to the next level of your life. It's like the, it's like the carrot and the stick. Thank you so much, Laura, for uh for coming on over to All Up in My Lady Business.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Absolutely. Thanks for having me, Mary.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Um, I uh I am super excited to have you here. You've got you've got you're basically doing all the things I wish I was doing.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Oh, well, you know, I think we're all doing our own variation of things, right? Like, and then we get to connect and have great conversations with each other.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

Yeah, I um I hope that it would be the dream, right? That's the goal.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

I mean, imagine, imagine I was just having this conversation with somebody yesterday. Imagine if everyone on the planet just did even 10% more of what brought them joy or made them curious or made them excited. What a different climate this entire planet could be in right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Oh, I mean, sure. I mean, yes. I guess the weird thing is is why don't they? And I and I can say I I can sit here and tell you why, because I I haven't always had the best work life or toxic thought versus positive thought balance uh in my in my life. But I have been thinking a lot more about the limited time that I have left on this planet, you know, uh, and wanting to make sure that it's not just filled with garbage.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Yeah, I I hear that loud and clear. And and you know, that's that is the the work, right? That is the journey. That is the the answering the why, but also like at what point do we at what point do we get out of our own way and allow ourselves to do things? And that's what it boils down to, right? Like life circumstances happen and and things go on in people's lives, and we all have our own story, we all have our own version, we all have, you know, these things, these, these moments that kind of shape where we are. But at the end of the day, we also get to choose. And I think that that's where things get kind of hairy is when it comes down to choosing you, are you going to?

SPEAKER_02 3:11

I think I I think that what might be the issue is people not realizing they're in their own way or realizing that they have a choice. Absolutely. You know, because I I feel like, you know, I feel like I have to perpetually give myself permission. Like my instincts are always like, you don't deserve that. You haven't worked hard enough to deserve a break. You haven't, you know, you haven't made your goals, you know, this month or maybe even the last 16 months. And so therefore you don't deserve to go on vacation or buy that thing or you know, just sit and watch TV without doing anything else.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

It's a lot of conditioning too, right? Because your your body and mind wasn't born believing those things. But because of circumstances, situations, societal expectations, past experiences, old habits, I mean, we could go on and on, they form now this kind of voice and these reactions to everything. And to your point, yeah, most people are walking around on autopilot. Every single person has their vision of their version of it. And and I'm not void of that. You know, I very much implement the things that I teach because I go through them as well. You know, I think that's sometimes in the work that anybody does, it's like, oh, well, you know, you don't struggle with that, so you don't understand. Actually, I can teach this because I I probably understand more than you think or know. And so, you know, it's this kind of wake-up call, you know, are you are you willing to stop long enough to even have the conversation with yourself? Like, am I happy? And is this what I want? Like, when is the last time that that you slow down, not necessarily you, but just whoever's listening, when's the last time that you slow down long enough to say, what do I actually want? And that's a big question, right? Like when I asked that question, more often than not, people were like, that's a great question. I have no idea. And it's like, okay, that's that's okay, right? That that's not another invitation to go down the the shame hole or the beat myself up, or well, I should have had this figured out by now, and all the we're not doing that today. It's just simply to start to bring awareness to it, and I think that that's the big piece.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

And it feels like it's gotten a lot more heavy or hard to consider what you want when the last like you know, three years we've all been kind of, you know, there's this ricocheting of like it's just there's there's just trauma all over the place and like crazy news and people not behaving ethically and the center will not hold. And it's like how like I've hearing a lot of in a lot of different places people saying, like, there's a reckoning going on, there's a big, you know, people are becoming aware and there's a big awareness movement going on right now. And while I agree with that for me, is that happen is that really happening with everybody, or is that just like the people I'm surrounding myself with? Because it does feel like things are untenable and can't keep going on the way that they are.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Yeah. I mean, uh, we may be bouncing in the same circles because in in my circles there is an awakening happening as well. I think, you know, I think that the shutdown forced people to face things that they didn't either have the time or the willingness to face, right? And and that's not counting like um some of the the tragic things that happen. I'm not talking about that kind of stuff, right? I'm talking about just like your everyday life things that's going on. And so again, it comes back to that word choice is do you want to keep going on the way that you're going, or are we waking up to the idea that things can be different and that we as people have a lot more power and a lot more influence than what we realize. And when used for good, good things can happen. So I think that that what you're feeling is the same as what I'm feeling. I think that everyone's having their own version of it. And whether they're calling that an awakening or not, I think sometimes we get locked up in terms. Um, but I think that people are they're shifting and they're seeing that there is another way because we were forced into living another way.

SPEAKER_02 7:38

So um let's get back to who you are, because I feel like we need to kind of do a little bit of I feel we got really we got like real deep, real deep, real fast.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

And uh that's my jam.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

Yeah. And I'm I'm there with you. I just uh want to make sure that people understand, you know, why why you you are so knowledgeable and learned and how you are qualified to tell people, you know, how to get that out of their own way. So how did you become Laura Aura? Your branding, your your visionariness, how does that all come to be?

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Yeah. So I'll I'll give you the Cliff Notes version. So my branding agency is 16 years old. She's she's uh she's a teenager. She can thrive. Yeah, she's official. Um, so I started my branding agency 16 years ago when I was six and a half months pregnant with my son. I was working at the phone book designing ads for the phone book. So we can like the telephone book? The telephone book. Yeah, we're back in prehistoric days here.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

Yeah, I remember that 16 years ago. Yeah, the phone books were happening back then.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

They were they were a whole thing. And I can remember, you know, working there and meeting some really great people, making good connections, but like I could feel the dread, right? I'm like, there is more to life than this. Uh there's something bigger calling me. Um, I've always just been really good about leaning into what is calling me or what I find interesting or curious. So when I was six and a half months pregnant, I quit that job. I started my branding agency from my couch, and that business is still alive and well today. Through that journey, though, through working with entrepreneurs, I found that not only did the brand interest me, but maybe even more the mind of the people that I was working with really lit me up. And I'm like, okay, there's something in this. I have no idea what it is. But I find it again, I find this very interesting. So I started interviewing entrepreneurs on something called the Green Couch Project, which was like a YouTube show. And, you know, I just felt like, okay, me as an entrepreneur, I'm having all of these crazy feelings. One day I'm excited. The next moment I feel like everything is going to hell in a handbasket. You know, I've got all these ideas. It's like really this kind of tug of war. So I'm like, if I'm feeling like this, I can't possibly be the only one, right? Like I'm at least hoping not. So I started having these conversations on the Green Couch project, interviewing other entrepreneurs, and turns out just about every entrepreneur goes through the same kind of mental cycle. And it just it became a thing, and I loved it. And um, you know, I wanted to grow the show, but the cost of putting on a whole production was was limiting. So I was like, well, how do I do more of this and lower my cost? I'll figure out how to launch a podcast. Can't be that hard, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:36

And the mental cycle that you're talking about is just, I mean, is it the high highs and the low lows? Or what what would you say is the mental cycle that you see every that most entrepreneurs kind of go through?

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Absolutely. So the mental cycle tends to be four kind of pivotal moments. One is the aha moment, the strike of the idea, the you saw something, you got inspired, you're like, oh, there it is. I love it. Like, what's going on? I'm I'm I'm loving this feeling. Next, we end up in uh this kind of ideas in motion, I call it. This is when you are researching, you are going on blogs, you're writing things down, you've got a special notebook that you picked up at the at the at Staples. Like you're just like you're in it, right? Like you're in the thick of figuring out what this thing is. Then we start to turn the bend. This is where the subconscious mind tends to pop in. Turning the bend. Okay. So we're we are going into the mental scramble now. The mental scramble is where the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and voice in your head likes to pop in and start to challenge that initial idea. Who am I to think that I can do this? I don't have enough experience, other people are already doing this, I don't have enough money, I don't have enough time, you know, I'm not good enough, blah, blah, blah. All the things that your mind is telling you.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

Like inner critic stuff.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

The inner critic, yes. And then, last but not least, if and when that voice wins, then we end up in a standstill. And that's kind of the final part of this cycle, is you freeze, or you put the notebook away, or you fill up your time so that you don't have time. A lot of times self-sabotage comes into play in this phase, um, where we're just like unintentionally stopping ourselves because we have leaned into the belief that we cannot for whatever reason. And how long you stay there is not the same for everyone, and it's not the same for every situation. But inevitably, you end up with another aha moment, and the cycle starts all over again.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

Huh. And you're saying that this so can you apply this to like a real life situation, either with you or one of your clients that can kind of illustrate this?

unknown 12:56

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Because I mean, I because I mean, when you get into this cycle of aha ideas, you know, mental scramble, and then, you know, the standstill, like what's the getting out of it? Like, what does it look like? What's the what's the fifth option when you're not in the cycle? Like what breaks the cycle?

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah. Well, there's another cycle called the aligned cycle, which is where we've actually broken what we were doing and are in a new healthier cycle. But to give you an example, we're on a podcast. So I'll just use that as an example. Lots of people are interested in launching podcasts right now, so it could be relevant. Um, but this can be applied to literally any situation. So I get the aha. Okay, I I think I want to start a podcast. I like talking to people, I like connecting with people around the country, maybe even around the world. The idea of meeting new people is really exciting. Um, you know, I'm wanting to strengthen my voice and I have something to say. You know, I want to I want to inspire people. Shit, I'm gonna launch a podcast. That's your aha moment, right? Then you go into the ideas in motion. How do I figure out how to launch a podcast? What equipment do I need? Is there somebody else that's podcasting that I can ask questions to? Um, who else is in the space that's doing what I might like to do and what's working for them? And like, you know, you're just doing all this research. You're figuring out the back end of launching a podcast. Then we round the bend, and the brain starts to take over. There's already hundreds of thousands of podcasts. What good do I have to offer into this? Why would my message be good enough? No one's probably gonna listen to it anyway. It's probably too hard. I don't think I have enough time, no one's gonna want to be on my show, and everything I have to say is shit. I mean, I'm familiar with all those feelings. Yep. Yep. And then if that takes over, now we have ended up in a situation where we're in the standstill. We're not looking up how to launch a podcast, we are not taking action moving forward, we haven't ordered the microphone, we're no longer, you know, we let the the trial subscription of garage ban expire.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Or you buy the microphone and you just look at it in a box.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

You look at it every single day, and then you you beat yourself up because, well, there it still sits, and I'm not doing anything with it, right? Like that's that's where we kind of end up. Um, if those thoughts take over. So it and it's it's crazy because it's so quick to happen. And like you mentioned earlier, it it's the awareness piece, right? It's the how do I, how do I even recognize that I'm doing that when I just keep doing it, right? Like I'm in the hamster wheel of of continuing in this cycle. And that's where the work that I typically do in. So, you know, I started the podcast, uh, which led me to coaching female entrepreneurs on how to get out of their own way so they can start doing the shit that they actually want to do in this world. And that's where the aligned cycle comes in. That's where the aligned cycle comes in. So happy to walk you through that real quick if you want to.

SPEAKER_02 16:11

Yeah, I am very curious about it.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Excellent. So let's we're basically the the first two steps stay the same, right? We get the aha moment, we want to launch the podcast, we have the ideas emotion, that's where we're doing all the research. This is where the awareness piece pops in, right? Because I have a I have a process that teaches you how to break this cycle, which is a different conversation that we can have in a minute if you'd like.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:36

But it's the awareness, and they they they coincide together here because the awareness piece is this is where I pause. Okay, I'm doing all of this stuff. I'm researching, I've got the microphone sitting there. This is usually where my mind starts to take over. I'm starting to feel that tightness in my chest. I'm starting to hear that voice in my head. I can feel myself starting to kind of pull back and pull out of what I'm trying to do. Okay, I can see that. I can feel that. And so this power of the pause, this pause to check in with yourself. What am I saying to myself and how am I feeling? And if you can build awareness around those two things, then you can start to reclaim what's actually going on on the inside.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

So instead of like like thinking to myself, I'm self-sabotaging. Is that like you have to kind of consciously say to yourself, like, yes, I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Yeah, yeah. Well, it it's here, here it is again, right? So, in the example, okay, nobody wants to listen to me. There's too many podcasts, all this stuff. I'm feeling like anxious about it. Like, okay, let me pause. What's going on right now? There it is again. I I really want to fucking do this podcast. I'm excited about this. Why am I saying all these all these shitty things to myself? Is any of this actually true? Like, what is going on? And and where am I feeling this in my body? Because our mind and our body are directly connected, right? We're we're constantly like we can physically feel our thoughts, which is insane to me, but it's so fascinating. So if we can stop long enough, if you're willing to stop long enough to even acknowledge how you're feeling and what you're thinking, then you start to come back up into your conscious mind because you're only thinking consciously up to five percent every single day. Literally, like most of your thoughts are subconscious.

SPEAKER_02 18:31

Really?

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Say more on that.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

So what do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 18:35

What do you mean? So 95 to 97% of your thoughts every day are subconscious, which means you're not aware of them. These are pre-programmed things based off of thoughts, feelings, experiences, expectations, life circumstances, all the all the stuff that's been formed. It's like your your subconscious is basically like your online storage bin for your brain.

unknown 18:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

It's where you store things.

unknown 18:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:00

But that's also where you operate out of the most. Okay. So this is where you are making decisions. This is where that voice that you hear is coming from. This is where you're operating out of. So three to five percent of your day, literally, is spent thinking with your conscious mind, the front of your mind, the like the here physically now in the moment. And so when we don't have awareness, we're we're running on autopilot. Like you're literally making these decisions from the back of your brain. That's why things keep happening the way that they're happening. That's why the cycle continues. Because we're not aware of the thing that is subconsciously happening. So by bringing awareness by stopping, you're like literally tricking your body and your brain to come back into the moment and get into that tiny, tiny window of five percent of your consciousness where you actually get to choose differently.

SPEAKER_02 19:56

And that's one of the things that you help people do is like in the pause, get them like to make the five percent more rich or access more of the subconscious.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Yeah, yes. So it's it's to uh to get more into the conscious. But here's the cool thing you are continuously creating new subconscious thoughts, beliefs, uh, and actions. So by bringing things to the consciousness, by making change consciously, by doing that enough times, now you're creating a new habit. Eventually, that habit becomes a new subconscious thought. So it's new and requires you to like have a little bit more like oomph up front, but eventually it becomes a new healthier habit that you don't have to think about quite as much because it just becomes your new thing.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

So you're not like ripping on yourself and telling yourself what you yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Correct. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

So okay, so this is that like is that is awareness uh one of the parts or is aware is that is that the awareness is part of the the power back process.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Okay, so I'm gonna I'm gonna insert the power back process in what then creates the aligned cycle. Okay. So the powerback process is an acronym A U R A, which is Aura.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Which helps you get to the name it it is pun fully intended. But this process, this acronym, is what helps you to get back into your energy to get reconnected so that you can consciously make a change. Okay, so the first part is awareness. A awareness. I have to get in touch with my thoughts and feelings. Am I willing to pause long enough to say what I'm thinking out loud and to recognize where it's at in my body?

SPEAKER_02 21:52

And and when when it when it manifests in your body, is that like the tightening in your chest, or is it like a knee problem? That kind of flares up. Like, what is what is the what is the anything.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

So definitely have no medical background here, so cannot claim anything medically. However, um, sometimes there's just really unexpected and unexplainable things that people search for years or decades to try and figure out what the hell is going on, and all the doctors are like, it's fine. There's nothing wrong with you. Um, more often than not, in those types of situations, there's something going on in your mind that has manifested into your body. So this could be um, you know, tightness in your chest, this can be anxiety, this can be a pain in your left knuckle, right? Like this can be um ongoing headaches or migraines, this can be pain in your lower back. Like there's there's also energetically like different spike spaces in your body, and what that means is to what you're holding on to, which is a whole different discussion, but it can manifest just about as anything, right? Like anything physically. So for me, it it's often in my chest. I get a tightness in my chest, I get anxiety, so I can sense it. And that's the other cool thing about this, is the more that you like pause and recognize, the easier and faster it is to pause and recognize, right? It's a muscle. I mean, you're essentially building a new stronger muscle. So now we've got awareness of it. So the next step is you, which is to unpack it. This is a non-judgmental space. We are not here to be like, oh, see, I'm doing the thing again, and now I'm gonna kick my own ass because I'm doing the thing. No, we're just getting curious about what's going on. Did I see something that, you know, kind of brought this up with me? Did I read something that triggered this? Is this um a habit that I've had in the past that now I'm kind of perpetuating in it? Like, like basically, where is this coming from? We're getting we're just getting curious with it. And what that does is it starts to soften it. Because at first that feeling is often like really like dense and really hard. So unpacking it allows us to like start to soften it. Then we can go into R, which is to reframe it. What is really true? Am I I'm super capable of this. I've figured out so many other things. What I have to say is really important. I everything is figure outable, right? That's a that's a coined phrase. Um there are people in my life that I can lean on. If I don't know, I can ask someone. The internet has a shit ton of information. I can figure this out, right? We're reframing it. We're now we're starting to get back into our bodies. Now we're starting to get into our conscious mind. And now we can go into the last portion, which is A to take aligned action. Now I can choose to respond and continue to move forward instead of going on that windy turny wacky trail that I would typically go down. Now I've gotten back into my body. Now I'm consciously aware of what's going on, and now I can choose differently. And that, my friend, is where you make your fucking change.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

The change happens. And did you like figure this all out, like staring off into the abyss? Like, I mean, if you don't have medical training, like I mean, this is all like, you know, pretty psychological, you know. I mean, there's you know, a bit of uh, you know, cognitive behavioral therapies kind of in here as well. And I mean, where's where are you? This is like this is a lot of very dense psychological stuff.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

It is. I I'm a nerd for learning about people in the brain. Um, so I'm currently um in the process of getting certified in mind body connection. So that's really fun. How do you get certified in mind body connection? Nobody knows that, by the way. You're the first person outside of my house to know that. Um there's a pro there's a program that I'm going through right now. It's a six-month program that gets you certified that I would be happy to share some information.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

It's but like who who can certify you?

SPEAKER_00 26:09

The Mind Body Food Institute. They're based out of Australia, and the certification is accredited by like a bajillion different areas that says that it's real. I don't know the I don't I don't know the real terminology. Right, because you can get you can like pop online and like, you know, in a week and get a get a certificate, and I'm not knocking that by any means, but like this is um this is like board certified. I don't know who the board is. I don't know. It just tells me that it's super real.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

And is it is it following like the like the teachings of like Dr. John Sarno? Or like is that like is that part of it? Or is it like I mean, what's I mean, I because I I went through like a huge like personal uh physical pain. I had cr chronic pain for like almost a decade. And then I wound up healing it after I had four surgeons tell me I needed to fuse my spine uh with mind-body work. That was like how I got that's how I overcame it. And so um I have a lot of experience and opinions and feelings about this. So I'm I'm very interested in what you're doing. So I'm like, wait a minute, could I also get certified in that? What's the food part?

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Yeah, uh that I don't know. I'm not involved in that. That's not they have a couple of different certifications and programs within this school. Um, it's been a great experience. I'm happy to share the information with you. Put it in the show notes. There you go. Excellent.

SPEAKER_02 27:31

So you're getting certified in mind, body, food connection.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

Yes, not the food. I not the food. Minus, I mean, that's an important part, but not not my focus. Um, but also honestly, just like my own journey, right? Like healing my own um trauma and wounds, lots of personal therapy as well. Huge advocate for supporting the mental health. Um, and my intuition. I'm I'm very intuitively inclined. Um, and working with energy is something that I've always had an interest in. Um, and it's all of that combined is just has formed and built and gelled over the years to lead me to where I am today. And I and the things that I teach are the things that essentially that I created with the support also of, you know, grounded knowledge. Um, but these are the things that I use to change my life, you know, and and I believe wholeheartedly that we have we are in so much more capable. I mean, you just shared how you were able to heal something that was super chronic through your mind, um, and many other things, I'm sure. But we have we are so much more capable than we give ourselves permission. And the ones that are ready but also willing to show up and do what what the world calls the work, um we can do anything. Like it's it's it's liberating and terrifying all at the same time, and I recognize that, but it's you're worth it, right?

SPEAKER_02 29:03

Yeah, and especially this is all you got. Like, this is our this is I mean, well, I mean, who knows if this is all we got. But I like, I mean, I you kind of have to operate from a place that like this is all you've got. I mean, I know that some people like to think like, oh, when I die, everything'll get better. That seems like a terrible way to live. Um, but when you only have this, it's like, you know, what are you waiting for? Like there's like no one's gonna come to you and hand you a better job. No one's gonna come to you and hand you a better, you know, plan to make your idea come to fruition. Right. And um, and so this is what you've got. And so when you was did you so basically when you were doing the red, the green couch project, uh-huh. That was was that that's consecutive with your branding company. Like the branding company is still going and it's what it is that what you're you do still?

SPEAKER_00 29:51

The branding company is still up and running. Yeah, it is it is definitely, it's kind of our bread and butter. But over over the last few years, and especially when COVID hit, you know, myself, much like basically everyone else on the planet, kind of had this life epiphany of what I really want to do and what really lights me up. And that is helping people to wake up and to get out of their own way and to actually start doing, like actually being happy and joyful and creating a life that is for them without the expectation of what everyone else in society thinks that they should. And so I started leaning more into the coaching aspect. This is when I um unintentionally created the power back process. This is just what I was doing. And at one point I'm like, okay, this is actually working. So what were the steps that I took to get to this point? Let me start documenting this stuff. I mean, I have notebooks for notebooks for notebooks because my brain just doesn't stop. Um, so I'm forever writing things down because I'm like, every single day there's a learning lesson. And how can I share this with the people in my world and in my community? Because if I have these little aha moments, if I get these little, these little trinkets of information, um, let me apply it with myself. And if there's something good in it, let me let me share that with people. Let me teach other people how to do the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 31:14

So when you've taught this to other people, when you've brought when you started getting like when you got your first client to wherever you are today with your, with your uh your stable of clients, like what kinds of things have you taken people through to like make them make the aha moment come into fruition? Hmm.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

Well, you know, it it's funny because the majority I work primarily with women, but not exclusively. Um, I'm open to the right person and the right alignment. But most of the people that I support are women in business, and a lot of them are going through life changes and or they are sick and tired of being stuck. Right? Like they're they're like, I know that there's more for me. I know I'm meant to do more, but I'm frustrated as hell because for whatever reason I just can't seem to do it. I know what I need to do, but I can't do it. Right. And so I've seen women completely change their life in the sense of like changing their income, of course, is is often a big one, going from undercharge, like grossly undercharging to having milestone financial months. That always feels super amazing, right? I've also seen women um just completely change their like their energy field. And what I mean by that is like I've I've worked with someone who, when they came to me, like flat was the word that they used. I feel flat, I'm not excited about anything, I'm not inspired about anything, like nothing's really happening. To now is like this like ball of energy that's bouncing around, that's taking risks, that is able to like shift through some negative mindset stuff like in the moment and and is attracting the right clients now because of it, has changed like the entire vibe of her house has changed and how she runs her household and um the impact that she's making on people. Now there's a ripple effect, which is it's just it's incredible, right? Like I think one of the most common things that I see is like these women come back alive. And when they're feeling alive, they make more aligned decisions, they're taking more um calculated risks in their business, they are living a lifestyle that they actually want to live, they're impacting the people in their lives. A lot of them have kiddos, right? And where are the kids looking? Right up at you. So now we're causing this ripple effect in a positive way where we're positively impacting our children. We're paying positively now impacting their clients. I mean, it just it's hard to put your finger on because it it perpetuates in the best of ways.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

And when you like, are you like so how many, I mean, roughly how many people do you think you've have gone through your powerback process and like and it is it like a one-time, like is it like a one-time engagement or do they like see you forever? Like what's the are you like a business? Are you like a business therapist?

SPEAKER_00 34:19

Uh you know, it it's funny that you say that because I've been given that title more more times than than I could probably count. It's like they're like, oh, you're like, you help me with my business, but you're also like my therapist, so you're like my business therapist. I'm like, you know, it's it's not so bad. I can accept that.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

And you're not gonna violate any HIPAA laws.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

No, no, no medical stuff. We're not we're not going down that road. You know, it's I will be super transparent in that um in my coaching practice, I feel like right now I have just caught traction. And and I and I want to be super vulnerable about that with everyone listening right now. Because, you know, when you start to do something that you're passionate about, I think it's very easy to say or feel like it should happen right now.

SPEAKER_02 35:10

Oh, I have a real hard time with that. I want to like when I when I have an aha moment or when I like come up with an idea, I want it to already, I want today to be the day when it's actually working. I'm really bad at like well taking the steps to make things happen.

SPEAKER_00 35:22

And if and if it sounds like your brain works like mine, in that by the time I've decided that I want it, I've already been thinking about it for probably weeks or months at a time. So to me, it's not a new thing. It's a now now I'm ready to run. The challenge with that is we we poke at the mental cycle when we do that, because now we're slipping back into the mental scramble and saying crap things to ourselves. And oh, when it's not working, now here's proof of why I suck, right? Yes. Yes. So the reason I'm sharing this is because, you know, when COVID hit and I decided to go into coaching, there was a probably a solid year or so of just even figuring out what that meant to me. Um, and then honestly, it was quite a few years of continuing to show up, even when it felt like nobody was listening. And that, my friend, again, is where the change happens because what happens is we get discouraged when things are not going a thousand miles an hour when we want it to, when we decide we are ready for it. It's like, okay, are you willing to work through this as this is building, as these opportunities are coming in? Are you willing to continue to show up when maybe you feel like nobody's listening? Now, on the other side of that, people are always listening. You just don't know. Right? Like the podcast, um, you know, used to average, you know, a thousand downloads a month, which is amazing. Right? Like that's that's the goal. Yeah, a thousand downloads. Yeah, the a thousand downloads was like incredible, some months less than that, right? 500, 800 a month. And I'm like, okay, this is pretty cool. Now we're averaging five to six thousand downloads a month. I'm like, people have always been listening. It's a matter of are you willing to stay consistent and show up when it feels like they're not, when you don't have any quote unquote proof that they are. And and a lot of it is the experiment of what works and what doesn't, you know, what content resonates with people and what doesn't. And so, you know, now I've got five coaching clients, I've got five to six thousand downloads a month. Um, you know, I've got a f Facebook community that's, you know, grown to almost 800 people very, very quickly. But none of that happened because I just started this, right? All of this is happening because I continued to show up and I continued to do the mind work in the moments where I felt like I was a piece of shit and nobody wanted to hear me. Because was that true? Absolutely not. I've always been brilliant, but I'm always learning. And there are people that are silently listening and absorbing the content. You wouldn't believe how many people I talk to that are like, I've been listening to you for years. I just I just binged, I just binged every TikTok that you've ever made. Right? Like you just you can't calculate that stuff. We we lean too much on metrics. Uh, and sometimes you just have to trust.

SPEAKER_02 38:38

Yeah, that's my like my my hard part with all of like, you know, like the TikTok of it all and the people not listening is that like I don't like understand social media. Like I don't, I don't, I'm not, I I don't, I don't care. Like I post pictures of my kids. Like I I have like a social media person that like posts my things for me because I don't I don't have that instinct and I wish I did because I feel like I would have a better community because I don't know how to build that. And that's like where I get like I get very stuck. I'm well I can't figure out how to make a TikTok. So I'm never gonna be able to have an online community. And uh and I don't know if there's any truth in that. Um, but I do bel I I do understand the the consistency and the showing up. Uh, because I can disappear for a while. I'm real good at disappearing for a while.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Well, and but that's easy, right? And while it's uncomfortable because it's not getting you to where you want to be or have what you want, it's comfortable because it's familiar. So getting temporarily uncomfortable to get a new outcome, again, that is what we call the work, where we are building awareness. Okay, there I am again. I can't make the TikTok because I don't know how to do the thing. So now I'm just not going to. There it is again. I'm talking myself out of it. What do I actually want? I want to grow a community. Okay, I can figure out how to make a TikTok.

SPEAKER_02 39:58

There's some very dumb people that can make TikToks. I probably can't figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 40:03

You you absolutely everything can be figured out. And if you can't do it on your own, there's somebody that can guide you, right? It just depends on our how much how willing are you to lean into figuring something new out to get a different outcome. Because learning how to make a TikTok video is temporary. It's it's a short moment. Once you once you learn it, you learn it, right? And then you can just wash, rents, repeat all over again. So it is very it's really easy to make excuses on why things won't work. Yes. Yeah. And you know, tendencies and resistance are two things that I talk a lot about because those are the two kind of like they like to hold hands and skip down the street together. Those are the the turds that like to nestle their way into your brain and and convince you that you can't, or you're and therefore you won't. So, you know, I I make a video quite frequently because it ruffles feathers in the best of ways. And I tell people that the thing that you want the most is often behind the thing that you resist the most. And when I tell you, people get fucking wound up.

SPEAKER_02 41:12

Can you give me an example of that?

unknown 41:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

Say that again. The pe so you the thing you want the most. Wait, say it again.

SPEAKER_00 41:18

Mm-hmm. The thing that you want the most is often behind the thing that you resist the most. And most of the time people are like, why would I do that? This is the thing that I want. Why would I push it away? Why would I resist it? I'm like, well, let me tell you. So let's use let's use time. I want more free time.

unknown 41:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:39

I want more white space in my calendar. I want more time to do things with my family. This is something a lot of people that come into my world, they're like, I just want more time. Okay, so let's look at how you're resisting that. I'm resisting having more time by unintentionally packing my calendar. I'm saying yes to things that I don't actually want to do. I'm taking on one extra meeting tomorrow because, well, there's a little bit of a sliver in there, and so I'll just I'll make it happen. I'm going to a bunch of shit that I don't actually want to go to, right? You're giving away your time. You're resisting having free time.

SPEAKER_02 42:15

You want more time, but you're giving it away. Yeah. That's that's yes.

SPEAKER_00 42:18

Yes. And why am I doing that? Because the idea of having time is actually scary. The idea of having white space, what am I going to do with myself? Well, now I don't feel productive. Now I don't feel like I'm contributing. Now I feel like a failure. Now my brain's taking it. Like the thing that you want the most is often behind the thing that you resist the most. So if we get very real about what you actually want and you look at how you're resisting it, that can tell you a whole lot about what's important to you.

SPEAKER_02 42:51

You know, a couple months, a couple of weeks ago, John, my husband was going to take my son to his parents' house in Iowa for a weekend. And he's like, How would I just take Sebastian and like you just stay home and like have a ladies' weekend, like do whatever you want? I'm like, that sounds great. And then I was like, I don't know how to fill my time if it's mine. Like it was weird. It was like, and I I really was like kind of nervous about the weekend because I was like, oh, I don't know how I'm gonna do it. And then John canceled the trip and I was relieved, relieved, because I didn't have to think about like, you know, how I was gonna have to figure out what to do with my time when I have it. And I feel like that's the like the ultimate flex is like having time, right? Like ever like it feels like whenever you ask anybody how they're doing, oh, I'm so busy, I'm so busy, couldn't be more busy. Oh my god, I've got I'm doing 15 things in this moment. You just can't see them. And it's like, and as if it's a flex. And I've been as guilty of that as the next person. And like really the real flex is like, I ain't got shit to do because I chose it. Not because I don't have you know, I don't have a client, not because I don't have like, you know, it's it's because I I I I made that hole in my life. And I'm gonna go stare off into the abyss. I'm gonna like watch the bear, which I'm so sick of people telling me to watch the fucking bear. And I'm like, like you'd love it. I'm like, I'm sure I love a lot of things. Who's got the time? And then maybe I could have the time if I just sort of said, I'm just gonna watch TV instead of like if you if you chose it.

SPEAKER_00 44:18

Yes. Yeah, absolutely. I mean the goal here is is to get into that aligned cycle, right? Is to you basically gotta trick yourself until it becomes real. And is it? I'm just putting it in like layman's terms. Are you tricking yourself? You're basically tricking yourself until it becomes real, right? Like you want more time, you want the downtime, you want to sit on the front porch and drink a cup of coffee every morning, but you don't have enough time to. Okay, is that really actually real? Is that very true? Or have we created a reality that makes that to be true?

SPEAKER_02 44:56

Do you remember a couple a couple there was there was a woman who posted a thing on the internet that was like, it was like on Twitter and she was like, My favorite thing in the world is you know, drinking a cup of coffee for three hours with my husband and like, you know, you know, like it was it was basically like I get to sit in my garden. Do you remember this?

SPEAKER_00 45:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 45:17

And and everybody was giving her so much shit, like, wouldn't we all like to sit in the garden for three hours with our husbands and drink coffee? And then she had to like go on and be like, wait a minute, I have a job that starts at four o'clock in the afternoon and I work from four o'clock until one o'clock in the morning. So therefore, like almost like apologizing for like it was just like just like a wholesome, like, I like hanging out with my husband, and people were like, How can you like hang out with your husband so much? Don't you hate them like I hate my husband? And it was like this, it was one of the most disgusting auraboroses that I've seen like play itself out on the internet. And uh is that sort of what we're talking about here?

SPEAKER_00 45:51

Yeah, I mean, think about like that is like flashing lights on the the parts of people's lives that they're just miserable in, right? Like, you know, if you all right, I'm gonna go on a rant here for a second. Do it. I gotta I gotta shift my seat around. We cannot continue to bash people for having things that make them happy and also want those same things. For instance, if your goal is to be financially abundant, right? If you you just you wanna you wanna take the trips, you want tons of money in the bank, you want to be able to give back to things in your community, you're like, you know, I want to be rich, I want to have a lot of money, but then you're opening up your phone and you see somebody on a vacation with their family or enjoying their life with their money, and your very first thought or instinct is to bash how fucking ridiculous their life is, there's a problem.

SPEAKER_02 46:50

What is that? Right, like what is that particular because I feel like I see that and feel that all the time. The bashing people for things that they're bashing people for things for having the things they want. That's what you're that's what this is, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:06

Yeah. I mean, I think that there's probably a lot to unpack in there, but if I had to to throw out some guesses, a lot of it's projection, right? A lot of it is unhappiness coming to the surface as as anger, and it's I think sometimes it's a mirror where you can see what's possible, but you know that you're not choosing to, and that disrupts people's souls again often comes out as anger or judgment or um stereotyping or whatever it is that you want to call it, it doesn't really matter. But if someone, if there's something in someone that's invoking you that you want, that's invoking a big emotion, take that as a sign that there's something in there for you to learn or to unpack or to heal. Because if you want to have a lot of money in life, and I'm just using that one as an example, or let's use the the gal that was drinking coffee for three hours in the garden. If you want the time to be with people that you love and to not have to work it early in the morning, but you're pissed off because you're working early in the morning and you don't have time to do that, and now you're bashing on this this gal, or you're for maybe you're not outwardly, but inwardly, now you're like making it mean a whole thing, there's something in there to be healed. Are you willing to change careers? Are you willing to get a new job? Are you willing to adjust your schedule so that you can have that time? Are you willing to do the work with your spouse so that you have a healthy relationship? You know what I mean? Like it this is the work. So to have what you want, you must be willing to do the work to have it. Like these things don't just fall out of the fucking sky and land in your lap.

SPEAKER_02 48:53

You know, there's like like there's the um how long have you been married? 20 years. 20 years. Like I've been married almost 13 or 14, whatever, I don't know how I've been over 10 years. Um, and you know, it's like when you're married for over 10 years, I have to, that's all I'm at at this point, not 20, but you know, you have you you have moments where like things kind of suck and you're like, Jesus Christ, this isn't what I signed up for. And uh, and then you're like, oh, wait a minute, I actually did sign up for this. I actually did sign up for better or for worse. And I have to say, it's like when Michelle Obama posted, she said something in her most recent book about how she hated Barack Obama for like 10 years, um, specifically the time when we all knew them very intimately. Uh, it was very comforting to me that, like, oh, wait, even the woman and man who have seemingly the greatest relationship in the entire country have had problems. I'm like, oh, I then it makes and but then you're like, wait a minute, are we all just like Stockholm syndroming ourselves? Not that my my marriage with my husband is awesome. Like, I'm not, I'm not, but it's just it's not all easy and it requires work. And I and and that's the thing, that's where I was going with this was that like life is work. It doesn't have to suck though. Like, don't you go to work sometimes and love it? Like I I mean I do, but I think you and I both do because we own our own companies. Um you want to hope you want to hope that if you're going to work and you made it happen that you like it. Um but there are days that it fucking sucks. But it's like when it on the but the good days far outweigh the bad ones and the um but you have to work to get there. And and I don't think that's where the that's where the problem lies is the having to actually do stuff to make things happen.

SPEAKER_00 50:42

Yeah, I mean, you can we, you, all of us, can say all day long that we want something, but if we don't support that want with a decision and an action, then it stays in the space of being a want. And you know, resentment grows and then you comparison grows and all this stuff grows, and it's like are there extreme circumstances where okay, maybe some of the people that you see were handed some of this stuff? Absolutely. There are situations for everything, but the majority of time people get and have what they want, live the way that they want, run a business the way that they want, or going on the vacations that they want, it's because they chose something and then they worked for it to have it. And that is possible for people, but it's easier to stay stuck because that's familiar. It's easy to sit around and bitch about stuff, right? I don't know about you, but I don't know if you've ever gotten caught in like one of those like conversation circles where it's like whose life sucks the most right now.

unknown 51:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:52

It's the I'm so busy, people. It's yes, and it's like if that's what you choose, then so be it. But using that then as fuel to, you know, to project onto other people, that's where it's not cool, right? Whereas it's like, okay, maybe I'm having a sucky moment right now, maybe business isn't going the way I want it to, or maybe my finances aren't the way I want it to be, or you know, my relationship's not the way I want it to be, whatever your story is right now, if you recognize that and then actively choose to change it, little by little, taking messy action, because that's the other thing. People get tripped up on needing to have all the details to move forward when really we just need to focus on what that next thing is. And we start to lean into the possibility instead of instead of the thing that's draining us, then then you can really start to make some change. And then you too could sit in the coffee. Not don't sit in your coffee. That's gross. You too could I get to drown in coffee sometimes. I mean, you can just suck that stuff right up in your butt.

unknown 53:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:03

The coffee enema. I mean, that's that's how I want to wake up in the morning. That's gonna you're gonna be alive, is all I can say. Yeah. But you know, you you could sit in the garden and have coffee if you wanted to. And if that's not your thing, what is your thing? What is the thing that's most important to you? What is the thing that would like drastically change the quality of your life right now? Okay, if you if you're willing to identify and voice that, even if it's just to yourself, what's one thing that you can do today to get you closer to that? And that's really all it boils down to.

SPEAKER_02 53:35

And the patience to see it through and realize that not it's like I mean, I find that very rarely is anything a straight line. You know, like there's there's we we have this fallacy that other people are having things so much easier than us, or that they understand it better, or they were given the right book, or they were put the right person with put in front of them. I mean, I'd even argue that people who bitch about, oh, they were hand like, you know, I mean, I, you know, I mean, I found myself besmirching a lot of people that like where their parents gave them seed money to start their business or paid for cost, whatever. There's any number of legs up I can imagine that people are given. And it's like, even if you have certain things handed to you, that almost is like it's a curse in its own. But at any rate, the powerback uh cycle, is that the aura? Is it awareness, unpack, reframe, and alignment?

SPEAKER_00 54:25

Is that the is that the power back cycle? That is the power back process. And is it that is what helps you get into the aligned cycle.

SPEAKER_02 54:34

Oh wait, and then wait, and then what's the aligned cycle?

SPEAKER_00 54:37

So that's where we've changed, you know, before we were in the mental cycle, right? The the the loop that keeps us stuck, right? When you implement the power back process, then you can get into the aligned cycle, which is where you make change. So, you know, we we had the aha moment, we had the ideas of motion where we were researching the shisnet out of launching this podcast. I'm gonna I'm gonna bring us back full circle here. Now our brain starts to to do that thing that it always does. Okay, boom, power back process, awareness. We're going through that process. Now that we've gotten back into our body, instead of doing the mental scramble, now we are in self-belief. This is basically the reframe, right? This is shifting into what's true and what's real and what's possible and and seeing things from this moment, not from the past or worrying about the future. That allows us then to shift into the aligned action, which is where we are choosing to move forward from our conscious mind, from our our our embodiment of self and what's true. This is where we're taking the messy action. This is where we are sending the email. This is where we are buying the equipment, this is where we are taking the walk instead of cramming in one more thing. This is where we are sitting on the porch drinking a cup of coffee in the morning instead of taking on another meeting, right? And it's this process over and over and over again where we truly start to see the change. And sometimes it's in a short period of time because there are little changes, and sometimes they're bigger things that are ready to be shifted, and it takes a little bit more time. We have to release our our need to control time. Cause I don't know if you've picked up on it, but that's not really up to us. So, you know, it's it sounds simple and clear here in this conversation, um, but it's not always in the moment, right? It's it's when you're standing at this crossroads by yourself. Are you going to choose yourself this time? Or are you going to keep going down the path that is draining you, that is pulling you away from your mission, that is stopping you from actually living the way that you want to.

SPEAKER_02 56:59

I think I want you to have like a Colin show, like a Colin radio show where people call in and like give you their business problems and you like business Delilah them. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 57:10

Delilah. I remember Delilah. You know, I could get down with that.

SPEAKER_02 57:17

I feel like that's I feel like I just planted a new seed. I can you do Colin podcasts? That feels is that a thing?

SPEAKER_00 57:24

I mean, I feel like you could do Colin Zooms or something along those lines and record it and turn it into a podcast. Or or maybe like a you know, like a syndicated radio show.

SPEAKER_02 57:41

Like a business Delilah.

SPEAKER_00 57:42

Pick picks me up and and we have a whole new business conversation.

SPEAKER_02 57:46

Um, so we are almost at time. This this like kind of flew by. I like I just looked at the clock and I'm like, how are we at 58 minutes? Um so what are you how can people find you? What can they do? Like, what's your situation for finding?

SPEAKER_00 58:00

What's my yes? So the hub uh is loraura.com. It's l-a u r a-u-ra-a.com. That'll give you all the information that you need about ways that we can work together. I'd love to support people. Um, it also has links to all of my social media, but I play the most on TikTok. And now Facebook, weirdly, that's a whole lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 58:22

Is it making a comeback?

SPEAKER_00 58:24

Uh in my slice of the world, yes. Um on all the platforms I'm at that, Laura Aura. Um, but again, all those links are on my website. You know, funny quick story. I was literally about to like shut down my Facebook page because I'm like, there's nothing happening over there. There was like very few, like every picture or post would get like two likes, which you know, I'm thankful for that. But it just there was no momentum right there. I was like, I'm getting ready to shut it down. And we decided to start to repurpose my TikTok videos as reels on Facebook. Okay, and this was three months ago. I have 18,000 followers, and it is my most active platform to date.

SPEAKER_02 59:09

18,000?

SPEAKER_00 59:11

Yeah, 18,000.

SPEAKER_02 59:12

Well, how many followers do you have on TikTok? 12,000. Okay. Wow, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 59:18

Yeah. So, you know, again, sometimes you just gotta hold on and and tinker around with things a little bit. You just never, you never truly know when that next breakthrough moment is about to happen. And they only happen when we are willing to continue to show up and try. Now, when you have a gut feeling when something's just done, honor that. But, you know, sometimes it's just sticking things out a little bit longer when, again, you think that nobody's listening, then all of a sudden everyone is.

SPEAKER_02 59:47

That's beautiful. I think we're gonna we're gonna end there. That was that was gorgeous. That was gorgeous. Well, thank you so much, Laura, for uh taking time out of your uh your business bonker mind stuff. I that was very eloquent.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:05

I just uh business bonker mind stuff. That's the the name of my next class.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:10

You just slap it on a bumper sticker and be that that's the future. Um all right. Well, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:16

It's my absolute pleasure. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:19

Thanks for listening to All of the Millady Business with me, Mary Easty. Uh, we'd love for you to like, review, subscribe, follow us at all of the military business on the program. And if you're a female identifying person and you want to dance, you follow. I mean, everybody can follow us. But if you want to be a part of the magic at hot watch dance party, I know the female point, colour quiet out. And listen to my radio shell. I'm a radio shell. I'm radio, it's a radio shell. Um five. Alright, guys, peace out.