In this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by Dr. Ezzie Spencer, author of “Lunar Abundance” and the “Lunar Abundance Journal.” After first hearing her interview with Jess Lively in 2017, I was deeply inspired by her story. Ezzie started out as a lawyer in Australia, and also holds a Ph.D in emotional well being. Starting in childhood, Ezzie found herself drawn to the moon and its phases in cycles, and found herself returning to its magic and cycles as she looked for ways to cope with the stress of life as a lawyer.
In this episode, Dr. Ezzie Spencer and I talk about:
-Her early sparks of joy in watching the moon
-Working as a lawyer, and finding herself at the brink of burn out
-Returning to the inspiration of the moon and its cycles and phases
-How to take inspiration from the lunar phases and cycles as a way to pace our own lives
-Re.love, and her work with women who have experienced toxic relationships
-How to jump start your joy: set an intention to be joyful, meditation, asking what is the one thing you’re grateful for, right now?
Resources:
Lunar Abundance: Cultivating Joy, Peace, and Purpose Using the Phases of the Moon by Dr. Ezzie Spencer
Lunar Abundance Journal (on Amazon)
Re.Love program for recovering from toxic relationships by Dr. Ezzie Spencer
Dr. Ezzie Spencer on The Lively Show Episode 212
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Jennifer Louden is a coach, author, and all around delightful powerhouse of self care, and I’m delighted to have her on the show to talk about her upcoming book: Why Bother: Discover the Desire for What’s Next. Considered a pioneer in the self care movement, Jennifer wrote her first book, The Woman’s Comfort Book, in 2005. I really enjoyed talking to Jennifer, and it was an honor to have her on the show.
Jennifer Louden and I talk about:
-How masterminds and coaches can help shed light on things that you can’t see for yourself
-Why Bother: Discover the Desire for What’s Next
-Using what bothers you as an invitation to dig deeper and create transformation
-Rock bottom as a place to transform from
-Why we need to normalize that life has hard parts to it, and struggle
-Taking action is the key transforming
-Living a human scale life - one that honors your need for boundaries and care instead of being focused on hustle
-Why “faster” and “hacking” and “hustle” don’t equate to “better” and why we need to set kind goals for ourselves
-“Net joy” and how to keep it as a compass for your life
-Change and growth are not linear
-How Wonder can help you get your bother on
-Grit without compassion is just grind
Resources
Jennifer Louden’s website
The Life Organizer: A Woman’s Guide to a Mindful Year by Jennifer Louden on Amazon
Order Why Bother: Discover the Desire for What’s Next by Jennifer Louden on Amazon
Episode 247: Why it's time to embrace playing small
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This week, Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh (also know as The Egg Whisperer) is back for her second interview here on the podcast. Dr. Aimee is a fertility specialist, living in the San Francisco Bay Area, and she works with people who want to grow their families. It’s a treat to have her on Jump Start Your Joy to talk about how she has developed a positive mental attitude, not letting the virus steal her joy, and how she’s advising fertility patients to approach treatment during the coronavirus pandemic.
In this episode, Dr. Aimee and I talk about:
Resources
Dr. Aimee on Episode 2 of JSYJ
Dr. Aimee’s Egg Whisperer Show podcast
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While there is a lot of noise out there about "Playing Big," I want to encourage Playing Small. What happens when you embrace that you ARE enough, just as you are, and that it is OK to live a life that fits you, right now? Let's dive in!
Managing your stress, and looking for ways to find joy, contentment, and peace during the pandemic will help you stay positive. Mallory Wisong joins to talk about practices and ideas on how to keep centered.
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Some of what we cover:
In this episode, Mallory and I talk about:
-Moon cycles, yin and yang, and the cosmic shift happening
-Grief, and the collective grief we’re all experiencing
-How trees communicate through their roots, and our connection to each other
-Examples of mindfulness tools we use, and that we’re finding especially helpful right now
I’m delighted to be sharing this interview with Tiffany Han, host of Raise Your Hand Say Yes on the podcast this week. Tiffany is an amazing life coach, leader of her year long “Inner Circle” class, and offers up a lot of guidance on how to “have a life that feels as good on inside as it looks on the outside.”
In this interview, Tiffany and I talk about:
Resources
Early Bird registration for the Inner Circle (through 4/17/20)
Tiffany’s 31 Days to Flow Class (starts 4/27/20)
Join the Free “Plan Your Podcast 5 Day Challenge” starting 4/20
Sign up for “Jump Start Your Podcast” to create your own podcast
Grief and grieving is a big part of what the society is going through right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, I'm looking at the work of David Kessler and a past interview with Julia Samuel for thoughts on how you can name and process the emotions and grief you're feeling.
In this episode:
ResourcesJulia Samuel’s Website
Harvard Business Review : That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief (an interview with David Kessler)
David Kessler on Dr. Brene Brown's Podcast, Unlocking Us
Julia Samuel’s book, Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death, and Surviving on Amazon
If you are grieving: Julia’s 8 pillars of strength (a free download)
On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss by Elizabeth Kubla-Ross
Waking the Tiger, by Peter Levine (a book on healing trauma)
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Amazon Prime
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Fred LeBlanc, the energetic drummer and lead singer of the band Cowboy Mouth is back for a second visit this week to talk about his brand new release, “Open Arms.” It was fun having him join me for this interview about the new music the band is putting out, along with an updated version they’ve done of their hit, “Jenny Says.”
What Fred LeBlanc and I talk about in this interview:
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How do you embrace change, when everything feels like everything has turned on it's head? In this short episode, Paula talks about the inspiration, intention, and action you can take to find calm in the storm.
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Tara McMullin joins Paula to talk about the many ways she's pivoted in her life and business in recent years. In this fun interview, we talk about "What Works" and how you can jump into authentic leadership as a business owner.
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-Running a small business
-Podcasting and how it’s a growing industry
-Our backgrounds, which are both in religious studies
-The What Works network, and how she engages with small businesses
-What happens when your personal values are misaligned with your business
-The importance of independent thinking and personal agency
-The What Works rule of “no advice,” and valuing experience over expertise
-What happens when we “live a Story”
-Being an Enneagram 3, and not chasing accomplishments
-Our similarities: softball, religious studies, podcasting
-How to Jump Start Your Joy: do what you say you will, question your assumptions, and expect success
Resources
The Art of Gathering by Pria Parker on Amazon
Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis on Amazon
War of Art by Stephen Pressfield on Amazon
Enneagram Institute
Get the full show notes here: http://jumpstartyourjoy.com/2020/03/9-ways-to-cope-with-overwhelm-during-hard-times
Join the Thursday live chats: https://paulajenkins1-gmail-com.ck.page/73765b29a5
Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, school closures, and shelter in place announcements, no doubt you're feeling a bit overwhelmed. In this episode, Paula shares 9 ways to work with, and tame, overwhelm in your life.
4 Things to Try:
Stop worrying about trying to find the silver lining, or the bright side of the situation
Embrace “let it be” instead of “let it go”
Notice the emotions and feelings that are present
Mindfully choose what is most important, and what (or who) you want to give your energy to
Five things to consider when working with overwhelm:
Can this thing wait?
Take a break from the situation
It’s OK to treat yourself
You are not your thoughts
Sleep is important
Kayla Butler of Ivory Mix is joining me this week to talk about how she started her business, what it’s been like growing a stock photography site, and how community has been the center of her business from the beginning. In this episode, I'm delighted to be talking all about joy, creativity, and stock photography at 'Ivory Mix' with Kayla Butler.
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-Her early love of drawing Disney stories, and desire to be a Disney artist
-Going into interior design as a career
-Getting burnt out once she was in a director position and no longer creating designs regularly
-Choosing the name “Ivory Mix” as a blank canvas for her to try new things
-How creative people keep hitting up against the wall of possibly becoming more involved in running a business than doing the creative pieces, and how to juggle that
-How giving away quality, free, incentives can help build a strong community
-Growing a business while working a 9 to 5 job
-Creating a business that is niched, and different than a standard stock photo site
-Importance of building authority and how to do it
-Ways to jump start your joy: gratitude, random acts of kindness, and creating boundaries
Christy Tending is back for her sixth visit, and this time we’re talking about how our lives and businesses have recently evolved. It’s a living discussion, and one that started when we met to co-work at a cafe this summer and found ourselves diving into a conversation about how we’d recently had a very mindful and impactful experience of making decisions that have intrinsically changed who we are, and how we approach things.
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In this episode, Christy Tending and I talk about:
Resources
Christy Tending’s beautiful new website
Christy Tending’s podcast: Tending Your Life
This week on the podcast, I’m delighted to be talking about changing the narrative for small businesses and entrepreneurs in marketing with JinJa Birkenbeuel of Birk Creative and the Honest Field Guide podcast. JinJa and I had the pleasure of meeting at She Podcasts Live, and I truly enjoyed her sense of humor, realness, and her enthusiasm for podcasting. It’s a treat to have her on the show.
In this episode, JinJa and I talk about:
-Her early love of candy and the magic and freedom she felt going to the store to buy some each week with her friends
-How to help businesses keep up with the pace of change these days
-Coaching women and entrepreneurs in finding success in business
-How she is changing the the narrative for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs
-Using LinkedIn for networking, connecting, and growing your business (more than looking for a job)
-How it’s sometimes uncomfortable to own your own expertise, and your own narrative
-Taking a good look at what motivates you and how much you really need
-Focusing on the conversation that’s at the heart of marketing no matter what medium you’re working in
-Finding what fits for you in marketing, regardless of what everyone else is doing
-Owning your introversion / extroversion
-The reality of being a solo-preneur and juggling so many things. (Automation is great, but it’s still hard to keep up).
Resources
Birk Creative
Episode 14 of The Honest Field Guide Podcast: “I hate networking”
Honest Field Guide Podcast
Laura Li’s Quietly Bohemian Podcast
Forbes Article about Jinja this week “How Google-Sizing Her Mindset Propelled This Founder’s Career Forward”
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Marketing yourself or your small business is a journey. In this episode, I'm focusing on what happens when you talk about what makes you unique, as inspired by Taylor Swift's journey as seen in Netflix's Miss Americana.
Action: Look at your social media feeds. Look at what you’re sharing. Look at the pictures you’re posting. And get honest with yourself.
What are you sharing because it’s expected?
What language are you using because it’s a turn of phrase that’s popular right now?
What images are you posting to keep up with an image of what’s expected or cool?
Where are you censoring yourself, and why?
On the flip of it, notice what you’re sharing that feels like you, to the core.
What are you saying that you want to say more of?
What in your social media brings you joy and highlights the things you love about yourself and your life?
And, where have you been hiding out and wanting to say something, but you’ve been quiet because of an external expectation?
Tune in to Miss Americana on Netflix.
Listen to Episode 234 (Six Ways to Make Marketing More Joyful) by clicking here.
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Having been a project manager in marketing and advertising for 20 years, it was a shock to me when I moved into marketing myself. If you have listened for awhile you’ll know that I started my podcast as the marketing arm for a life coaching practice. The podcast took off, and, I started learning a lot about what to know about being successful at marketing as an entrepreneur, and how to make it joyful.
I’m sharing my thoughts with you here this week about how I have found my way to the Joy of marketing.
Find the whole article and show notes on the website. Click here.
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Marketing your small business doesn't have to feel gross, or like an effort or hustle. This week I'm sharing the inspiration I found in my conversation with Suzie Soloviev, and sharing how you can look to your past to find your joyful through line, now.
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the Inspiration this week is to look at your life from a place of wonder. If you drop the accolades and list of things you’ve accomplished (which are all amazing, btw!), how would you introduce yourself to someone else? If you look at what you love and what lights you up, how do you define yourself?
Intention: I will start to notice how I see myself. I will notice when I identify with accolades and degrees, and I will notice when I see myself as the things I’m passionate about, that bring me joy. I will look for and uncover those things if it seems like I can’t remember what they are.
Action: On a sheet of paper, take 5 minutes and list out the top 5 things that you loved doing and being in these age ranges:
Ages 1-5 (or your earliest memories)
Ages 5-10 (this is early elementary school)
Ages 10-20 (think about middle school and high school)
Ages 20-30 (college, and a lot of “adulting” firsts happen in this range)
30 and after (adult life, with it’s shifts. Also, feel free to add in 30-40, 40-50 if you like. I’m not suggesting that life remains static after 30. I might also add in “Life after having a kid”)
Take a look, after you’ve made your list, and look for patterns. Was interacting with people a major part of your life? How about planning or leading? Creativity?
Now, I want you to look at your current life and see if the major through lines are still present.
This is your story, your narrative, something you love. Can you craft a new bio or a new description of yourself that involves what you found, above?
And, would you consider using that description the next time someone asks what you do?
In this episode, I’m delighted to have Suzie Soloviev of Your Sacred Record coming on to talk about how you can have more fun and more joy in your marketing. She’s a story teller at heart, and helps people discover how they can tell their story clearly - from bios, to copy for websites, to crafting your message, Suzie digs in and finds the truth and clarity for her clients. Plus she shares how she incorporates puppets into her business, which you’re going to want to learn more about, and we dig into why you need to be sharing your pricing up front, as part of your marketing information.
In this episode, Suzie Soloviev and I talk about:
-Her earliest sparks of joy: performing and video taping those performances as a kid
-Her background writing copy for businesses
-How she landed her first client on a call
-Why marketing can feel arduous or like a chore (hint: You’re pushing something you don’t really want to be doing)
-Why Suzie has a puppet in her Instagram feed
-How to embrace your own truth and let it become your business (we both fought it)
-How it’s hard, as a multipassionate, to own the Thing you want to do
-How to write a great bio
-Pricing and Marketing are part of the same conversation
-Three ways to jump start your joy: Add plants to your home or living space, do something silly and share it with a child (or online), and sing with other people.
Resources
Suzie Soloviev’s website: Your Sacred Record
Brene Brown: The Call to Courage on Netflix
Brene Brown: Joy is Terrifying
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Marketing is the focus this month, and I'm taking a look at the inspiration from Lisa Princic of Scaling Deep. Learn how to make marketing more joyful and fun, based on who you are, and your personality.
Resources
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Take the Myers-Briggs personality indicator test.
Lisa Princic’s Website: Scaling Deep
Lisa’s podcast: Scaling Deep
his week kicks off “The Joy of Marketing” month, where I’ll be talking with small business owners and marketing experts about how they have found ease and joy in their marketing.
Lisa Princic is the branding and growth specialist behind “Scaling Deep,” which is the name of both her business and podcast. I knew she was a great fit for “Joy of Marketing Month” here on the show because her approach to growing your business is refreshingly distinctive. Instead of doing “all the things” or feeling like you need to be “everything to everyone,” she encourages entrepreneurs to scale deep. In other words, identify your niche that matches your zone of genius (aka the work you REALLY want to do) and build your business around that.
In this episode, Lisa Princic and I talk about:
Lisa Princic’s Website: Scaling Deep https://scalingdeep.com/
Lisa’s podcast: Scaling Deep https://scalingdeep.com/podcast/
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How do you set yourself up for personal, heartfelt, meaningful success for a new year? I'm inspired by the words of Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh and Kate Courageous this week, as I look back on "How to Plan Your Year" month.
Psychiatric nurse, life coach, and intuitive eating specialist, Molly Larkin joins Paula to talk about how you can look at body image, food, and eating in a new way. By learning to trust your own intuition, you can achieve a balanced, joyful approach.
In this episode, Molly Larkin and I talk about:
-Intuitive eating
-Finding your set point range for your weight and habits: What have you been doing and what worked?
-How you can attune to what your body wants and needs, and allow that to direct your eating habits
-Why society demonizes food groups like carbs and fat
-How many of people are terrified of letting go of the diets and restrictive eating because it’s the only way you’ve know so far
-Asking what works for your body?
-The 10 principles of intuitive eating
-Looking for what pulls you from the present moment
-The ties between Byron Katie and intuitive eating
-Learning to “Wage Peace” with your body and your own size
-How to jumpstart joy: tell the truth, beginning with yourself, showing up and dropping into the present moment, being grateful
Resources
Molly Larkin’s Website
Molly in Episode 10 “Meeting All Things With Loving Kindness”
Molly’s course: Waging Peace
Byron Katie's book "Loving What Is" - my favorite of her books, on Amazon - it's simply brilliant and I know you'll love it!
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When I first heard Dr. Ezzie Spencer on another podcast back in 2017, I knew I had to talk to her. She’s the author of Lunar Abundance, and she’s defined a framework for creating a natural balance in your life that is all based on the moon, it’s cycles and phases. Now, before you shut this email thinking this is some new-fangled out-there hippy talk (this would be exactly why I’d keep reading, but, to each their own) … keep reading because there’s some big aha moments ahead.
One of the things that Ezzie talks about, and that feels like a missing piece of my life’s puzzle was that the moon has two different kinds of cycles: those with “doing” or Yang cycles that have a more masculine quality, and those cycles that are Yang, or “being” and have more feminine qualities. And the moon goes through four of each of those cycles every month.
Action: The marriage of being and doing: and there are a couple of ways to try this out.
Starting tomorrow, we hit the first new moon of the year and you could try out Ezzie’s Lunar Abundance approach. I love the structure and process that she’s set out.
If that seems like a bit much for you right now, allow yourself to be inspired by the idea of following the phases of the moon and build in down time to your day, your week, and your month. Where can you mindfully note that you might like a break? For example, my coach, Jennifer Lee, sets aside Fridays for creative time. I’ve started blocking off Wednesdays for myself so I know I have a breather in the middle of the week. Where can you block off some time to rest?
Resources:
Lunar Abundance: Cultivating More Joy, Peace, and Purpose Using the Phases of the Moon
Dr. Ezzie Spencer on The Lively Show Episode 212
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In this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by Dr. Ezzie Spencer, author of “Lunar Abundance” and the “Lunar Abundance Journal.” After first hearing her interview with Jess Lively in 2017, I was deeply inspired by her story. Ezzie started out as a lawyer in Australia, and also holds a Ph.D in emotional well being. Starting in childhood, Ezzie found herself drawn to the moon and its phases in cycles, and found herself returning to its magic and cycles as she looked for ways to cope with the stress of life as a lawyer.
In this episode, Dr. Ezzie Spencer and I talk about:
-Her early sparks of joy in watching the moon
-Working as a lawyer, and finding herself at the brink of burn out
-Returning to the inspiration of the moon and its cycles and phases
-How to take inspiration from the lunar phases and cycles as a way to pace our own lives
-Re.love, and her work with women who have experienced toxic relationships
-How to jump start your joy: set an intention to be joyful, meditation, asking what is the one thing you’re grateful for, right now?
Resources:
Lunar Abundance: Cultivating Joy, Peace, and Purpose Using the Phases of the Moon by Dr. Ezzie Spencer
Lunar Abundance Journal (on Amazon)
Re.Love program for recovering from toxic relationships by Dr. Ezzie Spencer
Dr. Ezzie Spencer on The Lively Show Episode 212
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Let's look at laying a strong foundation in your life, and take inspiration from how coach Casey Jourdan defines change and evolution. This time of year is a great chance to look at what still fits and works in your life, and what it's time to let go of.
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