(#78) Embodying Values and Building Your Mumpire with Leah Selfe, The Productivity Queen

When it comes to coaching my clients, embodiment is one of the pillars of the Alchemy Mindset Transformation Method I love to focus on.
How we see ourselves in business and life impacts the way we often show up, feel, act and in our business.

It’s so much to say you want to be or have something, it’s another to act on it.

One thing that drew me to having Leah Selfe, The Productivity Queen on the show is how she is fully embracing, showing up and embodying what she truly values in her life and business.

Leah openly shares how she has been working with Weightloss Solutions Australia and a procedure using an allurion balloon to support her on her weightloss journey so that she can fully embrace, live and embody the lifestyle and sustainable business she is passionately creating for herself and her son

You’ll hear how navigated her mindset after being made redundant during Covid to using a key process to help her pin point her steps to creating her own business and playing the experimentation game to finally building her mumpire..

In four years Leah has built a 6 figure business working with women who are passionate about impacting others through their teachings and knowledge. 
She’s the go to Automation Strategist for fine tuning processes, creating business systems that work and automating workflows for easier business operations. Or, in short, she’s the gal who helps women be more productive in their business, kick goals and get shit done.

If you came here for specific productivity hacks from the productivity queen herself, you may hear a few, but what you will learn is the importance of embodying your values and what you truly want your life to be like NOW, and not later.

Find Leah Selfe The Productivity Queen
@the.productivityqueen

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Transcript

0:01

Hello, hello, and welcome to Alchemy Mindset. I'm your host, Anna Hasty, Business Mindset Coach for Women and a Sound Healer. If you are ready to become the most aligned, magnetic, and confident business woman you are worthy and deserving of being, Then this show is for you. This is where I share everything from mindset, energy, and spirituality, and how to embody your future self in business and life. Sprinkle that with deeply relaxing sound healings and meditations, and you have the Alchemy Mindset podcast. Hit subscribe. So you always get the latest episode. Now let's begin. Hello. Hello, dear listener. Welcome back. Welcome back to this episode of the alchemy mindset podcast. I want to start by saying when it comes to coaching my clients, embodiment is one of the pillars of the alchemy mindset transformation method that I just love to focus on. Embodiment is all about how we see ourselves in our business and our lives. And the way that that ideal that we have impacts how we show up, how we feel and how we act within the work that we do. And it's so much to say you want to be or have something. Once you've reached a certain level or a place or aspect within your business, but it's also another thing to actually act on it and to actually look at where you can start embodying those parts of you right now, rather than waiting until that day or that time. Now, one thing that drew me to having Leah Self, the Productivity Queen on the show is how she is fully embracing, showing up and embodying what she truly values in her life and business. Leah openly shares how she has been working with Weight Loss Solutions Australia and a procedure using an Illurium balloon to support her on her weight loss journey so that she can fully embrace. Live and embody the lifestyle and have the sustainable business. She is passionately creating for herself and her son. You'll hear how she navigated her mindset after being made redundant during COVID to using a key process to help her pinpoint her next steps to creating her own business and playing the experimentation game to finally building her mumpire. In four years, Leah has built a six figure business working with women who are passionate about impacting others through their teachings and knowledge. She is the go to automation strategist for fine tuning processes, creating business systems that work, and automating workflows for easier business operations. Or in short, she's the gal who helps women be more productive in their business, kick goals and just get shit done. So if you actually came here for specific productivity hacks from the productivity queen herself, you may hear a few, but what you will learn is the importance of embodying your values and what you truly want your life to be like now and not wait. For the later. So without further ado, I'm welcoming Leah onto the show. And now let's begin. Hello. Hello, Leah. Hello. Welcome to Alchemy Mindset. I am beyond excited to have you here on the show. Welcome. I'm so excited to be here and have a chat about all things, everything. Let's be honest, nothing is off the table. Let's just get straight in there and tell us, so what happened? What happened to you during COVID and where was your mindset in that moment in your life? So it was pretty like. It was pretty bad. I'm not going to lie. I'd actually been made redundant 12 months before COVID hit from a company that I thought was going to be my ride or die. That was where I saw my career. It's where I saw my path. I had embodied everything. I was made redundant. I worked in a similar industry for 12 months and then COVID happened and I was again, And I kind of gotten through this area of my life where I had finally realized that I was sick of letting other people dictate what my financial issue was going to look like. But for a while there, I was pretty low. I was completely defeated. I was trying to figure out how I was going to make it from one day to the next. I'm a single mum, so my income is the only income. I was trying to be strong and brave and resilient, but I didn't want to do any of that. There were some days I didn't want to get out of bed. There were some days that the thought of parenting made me want to pull my hair out and scream. You know, I, my house was turning into a big sty. I wasn't eating properly. I was barely communicating with my son. Things were pretty, pretty off for a while there. I knew I was getting to a point where it was like, this was either going to be it, and this is just how I was going to live my life, or I had to figure out an alternative because I could see where it was heading. And I just wasn't happy with that. And I wasn't happy with how that was going to make me feel. And I'd like to say, I just woke up one day and was like, my life has changed and everything's better. And I just have this great outlook on life and it wasn't, it definitely took some time, but I just slowly. Did things differently that I was doing, what I was doing before when I was in that really low effortless state, I just did small things to kind of get those changes, but yeah, it was pretty low. It was pretty low. What kind of things did you do to sort of lift your mindset and your energy from the fact that you were no longer employed and you were in your lowest of low? Like what kind of things did you do that helped? Yeah, definitely. So I love learning. I love reading. I love learning new things. I love being taught new things. So I decided to go from being made redundant to doing a fast track diploma of business and just keeping myself super busy and keeping my mind active. And I found that by learning something that I didn't think I was ever going to be able to like put into practice, it gave me an opportunity to almost like. not have space for the other bullshit that was happening. I got back into my love of reading, you can't see, but to the right of me, I have a bookcase that is completely full with books. Yes, it's color coded. I've got books everywhere. And I realized that there were some things that I just had stopped doing because I just didn't find doing anything. So I tried to. Force myself to find joy in those little things again, reading, learning the ocean water is my safe space. It's a place where I can go and feel held and secure. So going down into the ocean, I lived literally like a two minute walk to the water. So I would go down there and just float in the ocean and have the sun on my face. And it was just these little things that I was doing that didn't feel big. That made me feel better. And then at what point did you realize, okay, there's something more within me. And like you said, you were sort of done doing things, other people's way and being told what to do. Where was it in that moment that you went, maybe I should start my own business? Like where did that, where did that like inkling suddenly just drop in? Well, not inkling, but like download or inspiration, you know? Yeah. It's an interesting one. So I had been listening and learning to a few different. People align. I know one of them was Amy Porterfield. And this was around the time where I was just trying to figure out what was out there. Just, I obviously had plenty of time of my hand. So I was just trying to see what was out there and what I could learn. And one of the things I learned from her was a post it note party. And I teach this to. everybody that I come into contact with. A post node party for me is very much a visual and physical representation of what's going on in your head. As someone who had a very high functioning, anxiety ridden human being, there's a lot of voices in my head. There's a lot of things going round and round that can sometimes cloud what I want to do, what I need to do, how I'm feeling, what I need to kind of action, all those bits and pieces. So I. Was introduced the idea of a post it note party where you literally put on music that is going to just make you move and sing and dance and just feel great. And then everything pops into your head. You write it down onto a post it note and you put it on the wall. It's great to have some sort of attention. So my Intention for this was to figure out how my 10 years in the travel and the events industry was going to be transitioned into something else because I knew coming into covert that that industry was going to be dead for a long period of time. And I'd spent 10 years in that industry, so I had to figure out is that I could do what it is that I loved what it is that I wanted to keep doing. And figure out what that was going to look like in my life. You know, I'm one of those weird people that after working in the industry for so long, I can look at license plate numbers and letters and tell you airport codes. And, you know, which is great when you're in that industry, but when you're not in that industry anymore, it's like completely useless. Right. So I just put on some music and I. But all the colorful post it notes that I could find, and I just started putting down a lot of things that I didn't love, things that had brought me joy, what I enjoyed about my job, what I hated, what I wished I could do more of. And then I just let it sit for about 24 hours. I didn't touch it. I didn't move anything. I just let it sit. And then I came back and started grouping things together based on, A common denominator based on what I looked at and made me smile and made me go, yeah, I really did miss that. I really enjoyed that and kind of grouped this all together. And then I typed in a few of those words on the internet and typed in, you know, business ideas for this and virtual assistant just kept popping up and popping up and popping up. So that was it. That was my big revelation. And I honestly cannot thank enough Amy Porterfield and her post it note party. It definitely changed. So much. Oh my goodness. That is like one of the best ways I've ever heard someone come down to like going, yeah, actually this is the direction that I need to go on based on things that I really love doing from my previous job or previous work life or what I enjoy doing overall and kind of narrowing it down to like a little bit of a Google search and seeing what comes up. That's brilliant. I really love that. I'm sure, I'm sure everybody you tell this is just like, that's amazing. I'm going to go get posted notes right now. I know. And I do, I do. I tell people to be like, if you're struggling with something like decisions, or if you're struggling to figure out what path you want to go down, or if you're struggling with the advice that somebody has given you. Dancing out, move your body, put it on post it notes and just throw it out. Like there's not a right or wrong answer. I mean, I had a backup plan. My backup plan was to go and work in retail if I literally found nothing, but I was so dead set on never having to step back into a shopping center ever again. So it's like, this post it note party has to work, but there is, there's no right or wrong answer. You just, whatever's in your head, put it on a post it note, stick to the wall. And then. If it sticks, if it doesn't, move on. Exactly. And is that, is that where the productivity queen? No, actually, the productivity queen probably came about a good, I'd say 18 months later. Up until that point, I was a generalized VA because I was like, cool, these are all the things that I love, but I don't know if I love them enough to want to do it forever. So I was like, let's just do all the things. Yeah. Thanks. Figure out what I like and then go from there. I very much understand needing to niche down and you can't, if you talk to everyone, you talk to no one, but I struggle with people who feel like they need to find a niche straight away. Because I think like it blocks you from so many other opportunities in your potential business growth because you're like, no, this is my silo. This is where I work and that's all I'm going to do. So I did, I spent pretty much a good 18 months doing everything. Data entry, social media, Building basic websites, answering phones, filling out forms. I worked for so many different industries. I worked for coaches, a mortgage broker, digital agencies. I literally did everything and I just wanted to do everything. I wanted to see what lit me up. And then that really kind of came down to how the productivity queen was kind of put together. I should say is I realized I really liked the whole Seeing things from above and being strategic and helping women and mums in business to figure out how they could go from where they are to where they wanted to be more strategically, more efficiently, more effectively, so they can build more impact in a shorter matter of time, not, not cutting corners, not, you know, Um, doing things the wrong way, but just doing it in a way that was going to make them feel like they were creating more impact in a way that was best suited for them. So, yeah. And eventually it just came down to the fact that I really liked telling people what to do and getting paid for it. So yeah, that's where the productivity came from. Telling people what to do and getting paid for it. I love it. That's the best upgrade ever. Um, I really think you've shared something really important there and that's for anybody who's listening and you're in that place of like, I do want to start my business, but I don't know what I want to do, or I feel like I need to be in this like avenue of my business world, but I'm, I'm, or my industry or whatever it is, but I'm. But I feel like maybe I could be doing something else, or I should be doing more, or do I go even more niched down? Like, I love the fact that you took it in a broad lens first, to again, experience all the different things, knowing what you did like doing from your post it note party, and then dropping down into experiencing all those things and avenues to then drop it down even further and go, you know what, this is where I really, really get excited, and this is what I really feel like my calling is taking me. Yeah, that's pretty powerful because I feel that a lot of people and some people or clients that I speak with, you know, they do get brought up with like, Oh, do I, don't I, should I, shouldn't I, could I, could I not, all those, those questions. And then rather than just doing it and then knowing that, I think this is one of the biggest things is that like you've experienced, you know, trying all the avenues, realizing the ones you don't like focusing on the ones that you do. It's okay. It's okay to go. All right. Well, I tried that area within my industry or my business world, and it didn't quite fit right. So I'm just going to swivel it a little bit and go over here. You know, it's not a complete change or, you know, you're pulling things apart. You're just going, all right, well, that wasn't really quite right. So I'm going there. So I myself can reflect on that really easily and say. When I was, I finished my 300 hours of yoga teacher training. And I always had this idea I would be a yoga teacher because I love yoga. I love it. And I was already a soundbite healer. And I had the beautiful idea of just marrying the two up. So I do a yoga class and then finish it with a sound bath. There was a beautiful combination. People loved it, but I quickly found out that I hated teaching yoga. Like I felt very mediocre at it. It wasn't, I wasn't honoring the teaching practice enough to be able to be a teacher. And I just like. Doing soundbars. I just like sitting there playing my balls, channeling meditations, guiding people through something really relaxing. And that's something I really enjoyed, but I had to go through that moment to understand, well, yeah, actually. The things I thought I would really want to do actually the things I don't really want to do. And I love yoga for all that it is, but I'm happy just to do it. For myself and that's, and not saying that that course, you know, and I'm sure you can relate, nothing that you've done has been a waste. Is it? I think that's the other thing we have to remember is that nothing we've done is a waste. It's all got meaning and value for us. And that's where our experiences lie. A hundred percent. And I think it's also taught me that I still have that love of learning. Like there's still things that I do today in my business that some people would look in and go, Oh, that's not really productivity. Or that doesn't really have anything to do with systems and processes. And it's like, Sometimes I just like to experiment and have fun. If a client comes up with a project or an idea or something that they want to do and I see value in that and I see fun in that, yes, it might not necessarily be exactly what I've always done. What's wrong with just giving it a go? What's wrong with just having fun with it? What's wrong with just experimenting? Because I don't know. Yes. I might get to the end of that project and go, Oh my God, I'm so glad we never have to do that again. But then there's some things that I've got, Oh my God, I can't wait to do that again with a client. So it's like, even I found what I love, I'm still okay with being like, yeah, let's just give that a go. Yeah. Let's have fun with it. Like, do we know what we're doing? No. Are we going to have fun with it? Fuck yeah. Like let's just go with it. And I think still having that element of experimentation in your business will allow you. To enjoy what you do for a longer period of time. As you grow and as you evolve as a human, what you love and what you like and what you cherish is going to change. So just because I'm based on productivity and efficiency and systems and processes now, doesn't mean that in the next five and 15 years time, that's going to change again. And. I'm okay with that because I'm just going to spread it out as I go and I'm just going to experiment and have fun and continue to learn. Yeah, absolutely. I love that. I really, really enjoy. Yeah. I really love hearing you say that because it's that reminder as well, that we can have flexibility in our business. Cause didn't we go into business to do things the way we want to do them? So, you know, you think of like other, say, let's say for example, I'm going to say like bigger corporations, they'll have a team or a department where someone will come up with an idea and they'll be like, okay, let's run with it. Let's see how it works. Let's give them an experiment. Like, don't they do those kinds of things? They don't just go, Oh no, sorry. This is how we do it. And this is the only way we do it because companies and business don't evolve unless there's experimentation or play. I mean, gosh, look at any. Business that's invented something. Let's think of all those big name brands, like electronic goods, you know. Yeah, they just went, Oh, sorry. We only do one model of this and this is how we do it. Wow, gosh, maybe still left in the stone age. So, yeah, I think that's a really great reminder that we can have flexibility and we can have play and experimentation because it's our business at the end of the day, like no one's going to come down on us and say, Anna, that's not in the realm of what you do. It's like, well, actually, you know what, I just wanted to see how that would roll. Good, bad or otherwise. No, I love that. And I think it's true. And I think if you forget that that's what building a business is meant to be like, experimentation and fun and enjoyment, you're going to soon really quickly figure out that what you're doing isn't making you happy. And you know, those are the people that start 50 million things. And go all in and never have a true direction of where they want to go and what they want to do, because they just think, yep, no, I've chosen that. And that's what I have to do. And I'm going to do this until it fails. And then, oh, yep, that failed. And now I've got to go and do something else. And it's like, but what if we just had fun and experimented along the way and built something that was just unique to you and what you wanted to offer? Do you think that comes around to people's fear of like failure or being seen as a failure or people afraid of like success and how. And like what success could do for them. I think it does a little bit, but I think it has more along the lines of not being seen as an expert. And I feel like this has taken over a lot in the online world over the last four years, especially since COVID, you don't have to be an expert in everything. You just have to have a willingness. To give it a go. And I've always been very open to my clients when they come to me with something new, or if I come up with a new concept, I'm very much like, yeah, look, I don't have all the answers. I don't know the perfect solution, but I'm willing to just give it a go and we can learn. And if you want to do it again, we can have a look at what works and what didn't work. So I think the biggest thing is that people feel like they're not an expert straight away, or if they're not an expert enough to. feel like they have authority in that space, they're not willing to try, they're not willing to experiment, where I feel like you just have to give it a go. And if it doesn't work, you just learn from it. So I'd like, I feel like there's a certain level of fear of failure, but I think it's also this fear of not being seen as an expert, but every expert Outside of the online world was never an expert until they learned and they failed and they tried and they learned some more and they experimented even further. So, you know, I think it comes down to what you see value in what you offer and how you can deliver that to your clients rather than you need to be the expert or the go to person in that field. Yeah, absolutely. Because a lot of the stuff that is being shared these days is from experience, but it's not necessarily having had experience in terms of qualification. I went to uni, I did a business degree or I, you know, I went to TAFE or I did some sort of formal sense of education. A lot of it now is actually from experience and sharing, look, this is how I did it and it worked for me. It could work for you or I could support you, or I've created something that's really like, you know, let's say I was come down to like making candles or soaps or selling essential oil blends or something like that. You know, you have a passion and an understanding and a love for those things. That's. Great experience within all that already. You've probably had time to play, experiment, research, you know, choose the ones that you like, you know, how they make you feel. Isn't that enough experience? And you can be an expert in what it is like. I'm sure if you cornered someone in a dinner party and you said, so you do essential oils, they could probably talk your ear off about essential oils. They have an essential oil degree. Maybe not, but they love essential oils. You immediately see them as being an expert because they can talk all day about essential oils. So yeah. Yeah. I think like business is a big science experiment, really, like if we all thought about what science, you know, in high school, it was always like you had a theory. Or, you know, a thing or topic or whatever it is, and then you had to go away and experiment and see which, you know, I'm probably even going to get this, you know, whether test A or test B came out properly. My mind is going back to bunts and burners, right? Yes. Plugging them in and having the gas, who's left the gas on in the room? Anyway, but you can remember like science taught us in high school that you have like Hypothesis, and then you have the, you know, the test subjects, you do the experiment and you look at the results to create like your findings. And that's what business is. It's a one big experimental science experience. So, yeah. Exactly. And I think you also have to remember that to be seen as someone who hasn't, better understanding in a certain field, you only really need to be one or two steps in front of the people you want to teach. So you learn from the people that are one or two steps in front of you, so that you can then pass on that knowledge to the people that are one or two steps behind you. And that's it. You don't need to know everything. You don't need to be the expert. You just need to know a few more things about that area. And that's it. Of interest to you so that you can help teach the people who aren't quite up to where you are. Yeah, absolutely. That's literally it. I am not coming up with brand new content. People have been talking about productivity and being procrastination for God knows how many years. I am not creating content for you. Anything new, I am purely educating the people who don't have the same understanding of me, what I have been taught and what I have learned about how to be more productive, how to create efficiencies, how to have better systems and processes. That's all I'm doing. And the only reason that I don't see myself as an expert is because I don't feel like I need to be an expert. I'm not going to learn everything there is to know about being productive. Because then I'd be bored. Yeah. Cause then I would be like, well, my love of learning is gone now because I've learned everything. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Stop thinking you need to be an expert and just go, right. What is it that I know that I can have a conversation about with somebody who probably doesn't know as much and what could I teach them? And that's it. That's all you need to know. That's it. No more complicated than that. Yeah, exactly. And you're the step within their business to get them a little bit further than where they are. And you've got this key process that's going to help them. And that's where you fit into their life journey within their business. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. That's so good. So within Productivity Queen now, what is happening for you on this? Like I did a little bit of a stalkio on your, I know where this question is going, I'm just going to lead into it, but I've seen that you've really at this moment in time, stepping into this element of embodying who you want to be as a mum and a woman in business. Let's talk a little bit more about that. What is happening for you there? Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, definitely. So six months ago, I decided to take a pretty drastic step. Well, I saw it as a pretty drastic step in starting to love myself again and find out who I am and start doing the things that I love. Because as many mums would know, you tend to lose a bit of who you are when you become a mum. You tend to fall into a different category and you move away from the things that. Brought you joy. You don't do the things that you love all the time. And it's not because we don't want to, we just don't put ourselves first. And I found that this was really impacting my relationship with my son. I started to become quite resentful at the fact that he was doing all the things that he loved. And I was almost just kind of sitting there in the sidelines, just watching. And then I also noticed it was creating a bit of an impact on my business because Started my business, one, to just make enough money to pay the bills, and then I started, like, it slowly has turned into being able to have the freedom and flexibility to work when I want, how I want, and in and around my son, so that we can do more things together. But I wasn't, Doing that. So then I said, I resentful for my business, not allowing me to do that. But I realized that the common denominator in both of those situations was myself. And yeah, it was pretty enlightening. And I realized that similar to the COVID situation, I could continue doing what I was doing and I could be going down a path that was extremely unhealthy for me, or I could make a change. And yeah, so that's what I did. I. I started work with Weight Loss Solutions Australia and I had the Illyrian Balloon procedure done and it has taught me so much more about myself. It really has. So just walk us through that whole entire procedure because I was fascinated when I, First of all, I want to say like. I'm really so excited and so happy to see that you shared this whole entire procedure on your Instagram, your social media, and with your community, because embodiment is one of the pillars that I love to focus on within my coaching and within my business, because it's that element of like, we're all in the thick of business by doing a lot of the processes and where, you know, All the other fun things that we love, but as a business woman, whether we know we're a mom or we're not a mom or we're, you know, whatever, we still have this idea of I'm in business to work towards something that I want to achieve. Now who is that person that's achieving all of that? Are they similar to you right now or are they drastically different or is there just a subtle difference? Are they still you, but they're just in this next level? What is it about them that you can draw into right now? So you can start bridging that gap of, Oh, but that's so far away. It's further than what I could ever imagine. It's a one day, one day, one day thing rather than being right now. And I love the fact that you have a sharing with the community that like, I need to change this aspect of myself so I can have a better connection with my son. Be more there for him, have all these things available to you for yourself. So you chose to do this weight loss. Process, and it's with a plume. Yep. Now. What does that mean? So what does that mean for those who haven't seen the video? What does this actually mean? Um, and trigger warning, if you do go and see the video, it's not a simple video. It is quite confronting. So just be prepared of what you're going to see. There's no blood or gore or anything like that. I'll first touch on why I chose this procedure as opposed to a more surgical approach. I have over my last probably I'd say 20 to 25 years I've seen quite a few people who have gone under the knife to get the procedures done for gastric band, you know, gastric bypass, all those bits and pieces. I've seen some great stories and some great outcomes, but I've also seen a lot of Negative outcomes, whether it comes to needing multiple surgeries, whether it comes to a very drastic change in lifestyle. And when I say drastic change in lifestyle, like not being able to just enjoy the things that you were hoping you could enjoy, I know the lifestyle change when it comes to having some sort of procedure, but there were certain things that I was just like, I don't want to have to live that way. And I'm more so of the understanding that if you don't have to go under the knife. I've had a few emergency procedures over the last eight or nine years that I obviously wasn't planning for and recovery from surgery is not easy and recovery from surgery as a single mom is not easy. So I, something that was going to assist me in what I wanted, but not what I see. And I do apologize if I offend anyone by saying this, but not a bandaid. solution for me. My problem is my relationship with food and what I've seen with certain people, if they don't address that, it doesn't matter what process or procedure you have. That problem will still occur. And that's what I loved about the Illyrian balloon and doing it with weight loss solutions, Australia is that the process of swallowing the tablet, which is very small, think of it probably double the size of say like a multivitamin tablet. It's not very big. It is attached to a very long tube and I have to swallow and swallow and swallow until it gets down into my stomach. And then they fill it to via, uh, The tube or islet that they call it with fluid. So it's about 500 mils of fluid in the balloon and it stays in your stomach for about 16 weeks. So mine has passed now. People always ask, did you know that it was gone? Like, did you feel it go? And I was like, nope, you didn't poop it out. Like it's simple as that. Eventually it deflates over time and then, then it's gone and that's it. So the reason I chose that was because that I saw as a tool, cool. In the whole process. So that was something that I could assist with managing my food intake, but then work extremely close with the team at Weight Loss Solutions Australia about my psychology around food. I saw food, looking at food differently, noticing things in my body that I think I had mistaken as just, Oh, this is just what the body's meant to feel like. Whereas having the conversations with a psychologist, a dietician and a nurse, pretty much every other week, I was able to be a little bit more in tune with what my body was feeling, what it needed, what I was giving too much of, and it's made me really understand how little I valued myself. And how little I value my body, because I had gotten to a place where I was just like, doesn't matter what I eat, as long as I eat something so that I can survive, so that I can get up and do my job, so that I can pay for the bills, so that I can give my son what he wanted. That's literally the life that I thought I was going to have. That was really depressing and it was really disheartening to think that I'd gone to such effort to go so far out of my comfort zone to build a business that I never thought I was going to be able to do to then almost resolve myself to the fact that. I was just going to be on Groundhog Day, eating, sleeping, pooping, and doing it in a way that wasn't healthy for anybody. So that process over the last six months, I like, I am so much more in tune with my body. I listen, I feel, and I'm like, Oh, that doesn't feel right. I probably should go and get that checked. That muscle shouldn't feel like that. I'll go and get that checked. And I invest now more heavily in, Remedial massage, psychology and just doing what I know my body needs because I know it's going to be helpful for me. So yeah, it's been a huge, huge transition over the last six months. And I have also found out that I have a love for running, which I never thought that I would have, and it feels extremely weird to hear those words come out of my mouth. But it is one of those things that my anxiety just completely fades away because I'm so focused on breathing and stepping in one foot in front of the other, and I say running, it's definitely more of a shuffle and if anybody has seen any of my videos on Instagram, you will see that it's definitely more of a shuffle, but I love the idea of just. Concentrating so heavily on putting one foot in front of the other and making sure I'm breathing at the right time that my brain just shuts up and I get to just be in the sun in nature, watching my little sausage dog run around, sniff everything. And that's all I have to concentrate on for half an hour to 45 minutes. That's it. So amazing. And that's not, I mean, I would have seen myself do six, 12 months ago. Wow. How incredibly empowering to hear that, that you, you realize that there was a change and like you said, it's not like a bandaid solution for you. You saw like perhaps the gastric band or any other procedures just being a bandaid to the solution because those, those kinds of procedures, are they permanent? Like there's no, and it's done, isn't it? Yeah. And that's where I think I. I was just, I was scared to think that I was going to have to put my whole future in the hands of something that was permanent, but obviously you do have to get it reversed and things like that. But again, that's another surgery. So it's just like, I wasn't using this as an easy way out as in like, Oh, I just swallow something and then eventually it'll just go. But to me, it was just another tool in the tool belt. And I didn't see like. It was almost like I get to see a psychologist, I get to talk to a dietician, I get to check in with a nurse. Oh, and I also have this balloon that's going to help. Like it wasn't the starting conversation around why I wanted to do it. It just so happened to be, it was another thing in the tool belt that was going to help me. That's what I've loved more about finding this program has worked so well for me is that I haven't always said to myself, well, the balloon will fix everything. I'm going to make it better. No, the balloon is there to help, but I need to put in the effort to see food differently, to think about myself differently. And I'm starting to think about myself in ways that I didn't think was possible. And I have more energy and I feel excited to do things. And I just all around feel like. where I see myself in the next, you know, five years is so different to where I thought I was going to be. I love that. You were saying there that it's like a tool, like it wasn't the whole reason you went there. You knew that this was, this was going to help you in the step and you were. Empowering yourself, you're empowering yourself to go, all right, I need to make the change and this is going to help me that one step closer to making the change because it also allows me to have contact with a psychologist and a dietitian and a nurse so I can understand what is going on. Like basically your psychology around food is exactly what you said. You know why it is that you have this relationship with food so that once this balloon has passed, you're still not like. I'm not needing to find the next crutch to support you. It's like you're in that place of, I've shifted and I've changed and I have a better understanding about myself and I'm ready to move forwards in other ways. Yeah, totally. And I think that has been such a huge revelation for a lot of the people that I talk to who have questions about what I did. And I put it online because I'm like, this is just who I am. I'm very open about this journey and I'm open about what it looks like. Has it been perfect sailing? No, do I still have work to do? Yes, but I feel like I'm now in a position where I feel more empowered to make certain decisions for me, all my body and. There is, I think the biggest thing that I've learned so much about this journey is that there's no guilt. There's no feeling of shame. There's no feeling of, Oh, well, I didn't get this exact weight loss. So this failed because I never saw it as a weight loss journey as such. I saw it as a journey. Our journey to find who I am again, and learn more about what my body needs. And on that journey, obviously becomes the weight loss and you release and you get to become a different person. But you know, if I hadn't have had the toodles and the help from the balloon and from. Like the solutions Australia, I wouldn't have found out things about myself that I'd love. I wouldn't have put myself in positions or thought about myself in certain ways because I didn't think that I was worthy of that. Whereas now I'm like, I love this and this is what I do. And I'm going to eat that because it makes me feel good and I'm not going to feel guilty and I'm still going to have that. And I'm going to enjoy doing things over there and I'm going to learn to start running and Cause it feels good. Am I perfect at it? No. Do I look awful? Yes. But I don't care. You know, through crime podcasting and I run around a park and I just enjoy life. And I think that's to me has been the biggest transformation throughout this whole journey. And that I think is more important to me than the weight loss. The weight loss will come because I'm starting to learn and release more about myself than I, you know, that I was before. But I think. Finding out who I am, listening to my body, understanding what my body needs, and. If one day it needs more food than the other, then that's it. I'm a woman, I go through hormones. I eat the way that I need to eat because that's what my body needs. And I feel it the way that I want to feel it because it just makes me feel good. Yeah, absolutely. And you now know like the way to feed your body and you know now like how to. Being mindful of all those things, because you've given yourself education. And I really like hearing you say that this is still a journey. Like this wasn't for me to just have a crash diet and lose like a bajillion kilos all in one go. So I can look like the next little supermodel or whatever, you know, have that idea of who I think I should be, because in the process, it sounds like it's a lot about you, not only undoing. Maybe bad habits or mindset around food or your psychology around food, but creating and building other ones. And that all takes time and process, doesn't it? So definitely. And like I've done the whole crash diet I've lost when I was a young teenager, I lost 30 kilos in three months and. it was awful and it put my body through things that shouldn't have been put through. And it taught me so many negative relate like things that I related around food and my body and the way that I saw myself. And now for me, like you said, it's definitely a journey. It's I'm always consistently learning things about me and I'm always consistently learning things about my body. And It's changing the way I think about myself and like, don't get me wrong. I'm still a human being. I still have bad days where the thoughts are pretty shitty. And, you know, I want to sit down and eat a whole bag of chocolate, a whole big packet of chips, but I kind of go, well, I'm just. Blurred me. Like I'm still figuring out, okay, well, what can I do differently so that I don't do that? Changing my mindset around why I feel like I need to always consistently go back to those habits when I know that if I continue to learn and I continue to listen to my body. My mindset will then eventually shift to going, well, no, this is what you know you can do. And you know, it still makes you feel good. I really, yeah, that's such a great message that you shared there. What I want to ask you here is, do you feel like you would have come around to the same realizations about yourself back when you had the, the. That sudden realization of I'm actually resentful of my son getting to do whatever he wants and enjoying it. And I'm just on this treadmill and I don't feel like I'm getting to enjoy things that I enjoy or hoped our life would be like together because of this situation that I'm in or I've created without realizing, et cetera. Do you think you still would have come to the same conclusion had you not been working for yourself? No, because I, when I wasn't working for myself, family wasn't a value and people talk about, you know, find out what your values are. They are really important. When I first started in business, I was like, what a crock of shit. Like I know value. It's values. Just tell me. I just want to focus on my game plan, like the next real and social media value. And it wasn't until I actually, and it was probably a good lie. I think it was like nine or 12 months into business before I actually sat down and figured out what my values were. And I was still very caught up in the whole corporate thinking, and this is what you have to do. And this is what it is. And I put such an emphasis on building my career and trying to give my son everything that he could ever want, need, deserve, which is not, like, I don't think that that's the wrong thing, but. I was doing it for the wrong reasons. So I have for a very long time up until probably about 12 to 18 months, didn't value family. anywhere near where I thought I thought I did. So my biggest value for such a long period of time was money, hard work, and then family. But I kind of always said to myself, well, because I'm, because I value how much I earn and the hard work I put in to earn that really good money, I still value family just as much because that's what I'm doing it for. And then I soon realized that that was just such bullshit. Like I, When I was working for somebody else, I would work from seven o'clock in the morning until six or seven o'clock at night. I, my son was always. Always, up until he started school and even probably up until I'd say grade three, he was the first person, first kid at, before school care or at daycare. And he was the last kid to get picked up every day, every day, every vacation care he was booked in and he would be the first kid there and the last kid picked up because my biggest value was money. And my second biggest value was hard work. And as a single mom. My value as an employee was based on how hard I worked, regardless of my home life. So I had to work, and a lot of women and mums in business hear this, and mums in corporate careers, we have to work like we have no kids. And that's what I was working to prove my value as an employee, because I valued what my employer thought about me more than what my son saw me as. And it wasn't until I started my business and I slowly got out of that corporate mentality that I was like, I really, like, if I could earn enough to just pay all the bills and still enjoy hanging out with my son, that's all I need. It took me a long time to realize that that was the value I needed to place more emphasis on than the value of feeling like I needed to get that external validation from an employee. So do I feel like I could have come to the same realization? No, I don't. Because it wouldn't have been a value of mine. It wouldn't have been high enough on the pecking order for me to make it a priority. If it, like, if, if me earning the money and doing the hard work was at the detriment of my relationship with my family and my son and the relationship with my own body, I would have done it to prove that I valued money and that I valued my hard work. Yeah. Wow. I often feel like that businesses sometimes, like for people who go into business for themselves, it is that catalyst for that inner development work and that self realization on lots of things within their life that have that ripple out effect. Into other avenues of their life. Like the work that you do on yourself, from what I see with the mindset coaching is often we're unraveling things that are not actually business related at all. It's actually stuff that's a low trauma everywhere else in our life. And that once we do unravel that, how much it has an effect in other areas of our life that we didn't think it would in the first place. Yeah, like, and I have always been an advocate for seeing a therapist and a psychologist and I've done therapy since God, probably from the moment I could walk, but I don't think I've learned more about myself in the last, what would it be, four years in August. I haven't learned more about myself in the last four years than I have. in the entire, probably 20 years prior that I've been in therapy. Like, this shit is lightening as hell. Like, you know so much about yourself. You will discover things that you never thought that you were possible, like, could do. It's honestly like, I sit back and I think about the conversations I now have with people, the way I show up, the way I talk, the way that I am so enthusiastic about some of the things that I say, the things that I do. And I just think, there's no way in hell I could have done that back in the corporate world. And it's so freeing. Like it's so, it's scary. Cause you're like, damn, this is who I actually am. And I don't have to like put on the special suit or put on the specific shoes or wear the right makeup. I just get to rock up and do this shit I love. And I just get to be happy about it. I love it. Cause I see that within your Instagram and there's a couple of reels that really speak to me that I go. Yeah. This woman's rocking it. And it's the one where you were in your denim jacket and then your two piece outfit. So you've got a bikini top on or whatever, and this really nice flowing pants and you know, and you're just rocking your body and you're rocking your best life and the energy that you emanate out of those two little, you know, 90 second or 30 second clips or whatever it is, is just amazing. It's so magnetic. It's like. Thank you. I don't care what anybody thinks because I'm running my empire and I love my life and I'm doing this for me and I'm doing this for my family and this is what I love to do and you're like, wow, I really, really loved seeing those videos. Cause I think it really showcases like who you are and you're like, you know, I didn't give a shit what you think. For me, I only care about me and this is how I love myself. And I really felt like that was the, just those ones really captured my attention because I saw that energy within you and I saw what you were embodying and who you were as this really magnetic, amazing woman in business. And a mom. Yeah. It's the great video clips. I'm like, yeah, you are. Yeah, you do. And you're great. I love that color on you. I really liked it. Yeah. But yeah, and this is something that I try to talk to my clients about as well. It's like you create a business and it is whether you're a product based business or service based business, you are still at some point the face, the voice, someone that they relate to that particular business and just have fun with it. Like, you're not. Ticking off somebody else's performance review, you're not ticking off somebody else's, you know, to do list or whatever. You just, you just get to have fun, be yourself. And if people don't like it, there's like, that's okay. There's 7 billion people in the world. You'll find the right one and they will hang around and people that don't like it, decide to leave. Don't let the door hit you on the way out because I was never going to change. I love that. It was never going to change. I'm not going to go. No, don't leave. I want you to be here. Okay. Bye. Like. Come back when you realize that this is exactly what fun looks like. I'll be waiting. I'll be still moving on with my fun world, actually. 100%. You'll have to chase after me. Fun in my world is a fast moving machine and it's not waiting around for anybody. Down straight. Oh, Leah, you've shared some amazing, like, Wisdom, gold nuggets of like insight within this conversation. And I'm just so grateful that you came on the show today to share all of that. I would love to ask you one last question before we find out where we can find you and all the amazing things that you offer to this brilliant world of entrepreneurship. If you had a client walk through your doors today and just say, all right, I'm about to start my business, or I'm in the early stages of my business, and I'm What would you, what would, what piece of advice would you give them within that moment? What do you think? Have a post it note party. 100%. Have a post it note party. I'm not going to steal it and say that it was my idea. No way. I will never steal it. It's 100 percent Amy Porterfield. But I would tell anybody who is thinking about starting or stuck at a crossroads or they've been told they need a niche or they're not really sure which direction to take their business in. Just have fun. Fun. And the easiest way to have fun is to dance and move your body and just get it all out of your head because we get so stuck in our head 24 seven as women, especially as moms that you just need to stop and have fun with it. So have a post it note party, stop putting so much pressure on needing to get it right and put more emphasis into just experimenting and having fun because there's no right or wrong answer. I love it. Amazing. That's brilliant. Post it note party. Let's go back. Full circle in this episode. Everybody go out and buy some post its. Get some colored post its, favorite marker, and just start decorating those walls with all those ideas and inspirations and things. I know, I think I was sitting here before going, yeah, I could definitely use a post it note party around something I'm sort of sitting on for a moment, so I think I've just found my solution. Leah, Leah, Leah, share with us, where can we find you? And all that beautiful. Gold wisdom that you continue to share and shine. Amazing. So you, everyone can find me on Instagram at the dot productivity queen. I do have a website. It is a work in progress, so no judgment, but it is something that I'm working on. But if anybody just wants to have a conversation about why things seem hard or why they can't seem to get things done or why the list seems to grow and they're not really sure. What's on it anymore or why it needs to happen in my DMs are always open. So start on in, shoot me a message. I love talking to, especially mums in business about just being able to prioritize the shit that needs to get done as opposed to the stuff they think needs to get done. Um, we have so many things that go on in our world. Outside of business that need to get it done that sometimes we get caught up in what we think needs to happen for our business. Whereas sometimes you just need someone like me who can come in and have a frank conversation, kick your ass and go, right, just sit down, shut up. This is what's going to happen. So yeah, it's me. Right. By the way, you also have a podcast. I do have a podcast. I actually had the beautiful Anna herself on my podcast. So the building a mom podcast is out there for you to come and have a listen. I talk to amazing, amazing moms in business on their journey into building a mompire and how they have discovered more about who they are, what they love, what they do, and the legacy that they want to create for the future. For themselves and for their children. So yeah, if you want to go and listen to that, you can listen to wherever you listen to your podcasts. Amazing. I love it. I love your show. It's really good. I've got several episodes already bookmarked. So thank you so much Leah for coming on this show. I've had a wonderful conversation with you and I've really enjoyed this. So thank you so much. And again, everybody check out Leah's socials, send her a hi, send her a hello, and thanks for joining. Thank you so much. It's been amazing. Thank you so much for tuning in and listening to today's episode. Please rate and review this podcast so that it can continue to thrive and reach more listeners. I love to know who my listeners are, so please screenshot this episode and tag me on Instagram at Anna F. Hastie, and I look forward to connecting with you in the next episode.