Episode 25
[00:00:00] Welcome to The Be About Being Better podcast, where we help people make evidence based sustainable. Small changes for their health that compounded the huge shifts towards a better, more vibrant life. I'm your host Abbie Stasior, a health and life coach, future registered dietician, a master's graduate from Columbia University, and a certified intuitive eating counselor.
And I believe that we can't make lasting or meaningful change single handedly. So I'm so happy that you're here so that together you can see that a diet free, sustainable lifestyle is possible, and you can leverage that to live a better life. And remember my disclaimer, This podcast is meant to give you general information.
And it's not meant to substitute or replace medical advice, a diagnosis or serve as treatment.
Abbie: Hello. Hello y'all. Welcome back to the Be About Being Better podcast. I have a special interview for y'all today and someone that really is truly near and dear to my heart, and this podcast probably wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for Megan Elaney who we're gonna be interviewing today. She was my business coach for several years.
and her and I actually met in my Beachbody days and she was my coach during Beachbody. And if you haven't listened to all of my Beef with Beachbody, please listen to that recent episode. Yikes. Uh, but we met during the time and we both got to this point when we were working for Beachbody, where we realized.
This just isn't aligning. This just is not the vibe . This just isn't it. So we both left the company, we both broke away and Meg will explain our interview, like what she went on to do and she ended up, uh, she has had a whole wild journey, but she ended up business coaching and I hired her during Covid.
She wasn't my first business coach, but she really helped me take me about being better to the next level and. Make sure that everything that we do as a company is aligned and from a values centric place, and that we really understand what are our core values as a company, and ensure that everything that we're doing, everything that we're promoting is in line with that.
Core value system and that vision, mission, purpose, she really helped align me with that. And she's just someone that I really respect. She has so much integrity. She's had like six figure months. Could you imagine making six figures in one month. Wild. That is just wild to me.
And she got to this point in her. Realized it wasn't aligning, she wasn't doing it the right way. So she ended up doing a series of things to cut back her income by almost like 70%. And she has rebuilt her business now from a truly aligning place. Something that's sustainable, something that's values driven within herself.
and I just respect that so much. So Megan has so much integrity and. I, I really value her as a mentor, so I'm really excited for her to mentor all of us in this episode together. I hope that you all get a lot out of it and get the sense that Megan is genuine, be because she truly is like, I met her in person.
I've known her for years. She's such a genuine person. She wants to help people, she wants to empower people, and she's such a good coach. So this episode is great for literal. , anyone. Anyone that wants to improve their relationships, that wants to live an authentic life that's in alignment and that's living a life of integrity.
She opens up a lot about. The struggles in her marriage during Covid and how that's improved since. And this episode is also for someone that has a dream that maybe they want to start a side hustle or they wanna start a business, or you know, does it have an idea for something And they have maybe an entrepreneur.
Dream that's, that's on their heart. She can help with that and give you some initial steps from from that standpoint. So if you are business minded, thinking that you maybe wanna start a side hustle or start a business, this episode's great for you. And in addition, it's also great for you if you just wanna know how to live in alignment and learn how to live a life of integrity.
Enjoy.
y'all. I am so excited for this episode. Oh, welcome back to the Be About Being Fighter podcast y'all.
We are joined today by Megan Elaney. Y'all just heard in the intro. She is the most fabulous person and someone I really admire and look up to. She's my business coach and we've known each other for several years, even in my Beachbody days. So I'm really excited to have Megan on today. She's gonna drop so many like nuggets of wisdom.
Yeah. Megan, welcome.
Megan: Yay I’m so happy to be here. Abbie, you were just
like, You just make me feel so good about myself. So I'm coming on here just for an ego boost as well, but I'm
really pumped to be here. I adore you. Um, I just really love working with you. You've become such a good friend and I feel like it, we've seen so many journeys and so many different lives. I feel like we've lived in all the years that we've known each other, and it's, I just love that we're still, um, close and still respect each other so much. Today it's pretty.
Abbie: Yeah, absolutely, and it's really cool to recognize almost zoom out, like be about being better wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for you and your coaching and your different coaching containers. I think I went through your mastermind three times, three, maybe four like eachsix months long
Megan: mm-hmm.
Abbie: we've had v i p days, we've, I've gone to your in-person retreats. Like I've just had so many breakthroughs as far as where to take, be about being better. So y'all listening right now. We wouldn't even have a podcast if it wasn't for Megan. So I just have so much gratitude and appreciation for you. So it's really cool to have you on.
Megan: Aw, thank you. That means a lot. And it's, it's nice to hear that cuz you like, you know, you do this for the, the bigger purpose. You do this for the ripple effect. So it's really cool to see the ripple effect of, of our work together. You know, and You did it obviously, but it's just like, it's awesome. I love seeing clients like just keep expanding. Um, and that's the goal, you know, past the coaching. So I, I love being a part of it. And your, your, brand and your business and your mission is just so incredible and so needed. So I, I adore your, your whole business and your people too.
Abbie: Thanks, Meg. I appreciate that. We will dive in with our first question and we're gonna get to know you real quick. Okay. So what is one thing that you've been through in your life that has ultimately made you better since going through it?
Megan: Ooh, love this question. and there's definitely a few answers I could have, but I will say for sure, especially more recently, was my husband and I separated. Um, and that definitely at the time didn't know if that was gonna be for the better, but a hundred percent was for the better. Um, so we could dive into the details that that was definitely, um, that was it for us was our separation.
Abbie: Yeah. Yeah. And where are y'all now? How does it feel now? Because y'all are still married, but where, where, are things
Megan: Yeah. Yeah. So we separated in January of 2020 for six months, not knowing we had a pandemic upon us. so that was fun. Um, we were gonna get back together in March and like, For three after three months and start dating. And we couldn't because we had to all be quarantined. So we were like, all right, so we're gonna stay separated a little longer. And then it got to a point where we're like, all right, we're ready to work on our relationship together. We wanted to work on ourselves separately and not feel so much pressure to do it together. And was more so me like breathing down his back, like, change, make your changes. You know, that's not helping anyone. Um, I look back, I'm like, wow, Megan. Really good approach. Really good approach. I learned a lot, but after six months we're
Abbie: all growth.
Megan: Right. You're like, why did I do that? Um, after six months, we just realized we needed to actually be in the room together to work on our marriage together. And so we got an apartment sight unseen. We thought like virtually, but we couldn't go see it cause of covid. And so it worked out. My mom had actually like seen the complex years before. And we moved in and two days later was my birthday. Um, so that was fun. And right away things were different, but the next six months were definitely like a rollercoaster.It was like learning each other again, like working on new things. And I feel like at the end of the year when we bought our house, which. ,I was like, we're not getting this house unless we are rock solid, obviously. Cuz I almost feel like that's more of a commitment than a marriage . Um, We were like, we're it's just we turned such a corner and I felt like we turned, I remember talking to our mutual, very good friend Allie, about this and she was like visiting me and started crying cuz she's always been such a big like, supporter of us.and loves us.Um,and she was just like, you guys really? Turned a corner and like gone. I, I like visually think of going over a hill that we're not gonna go back over, you know, and never say never. Who knows? I'm not putting that out there. But it's like I have such confidence that whatever life throws at us, we're gonna be able Weather and life tested us after that. It threw a lot of us after that. So I was like, wow, we really were meant to go through this to survive these last few years cuz I don't think we would've, and our marriage got stronger through some really tough things. We lost his father. I had a miscarriage. Like those are huge life events that happened within two months of each other or three months of each. and sowe would not have been able to, I don't think, weather that and we're stronger because of it. We're true partners now. We're not in competition. Our marriage is like better than ever. Of course we still have our stuff cuz that's just marriage and we've realized that too. It's.
Abbie: life. Megan: always will be hard, but it's like we're, we're a team now.We're a team working on it together and we wanna make it amazing. We don't wanna settle for like a mediocre marriage. We wanna be really great. So .yeah, ,,it's, it's been a journey and I'm like, wow, I'm so glad that we had that time apart, even though at the time I didn't think we were heading to get back together.I didn't know. So yeah, ,it's ,kind of wild.
Abbie: Wow. Oh my gosh. So many value bombs in, in that so many realizations. And Ijust commend you for like recognizing we are out of alignment. We need time separately. Cause I think acknowledging that like we can't move forward, we can't change if we don't acknowledge the current reality and bring to the forefront, bring that to consciousness because then you can change and make things better.And just your commitment to each other. And it's so true. I mean, God's timing is perfect. The universe has our back, You know, whatever you believe in, it's, everything is happening for us in perfect timing.You needed to go through that at the beginning of the pandemic to be able to weather these other storms down
Megan: Yeah totally. It's pretty wild. When we look back, 'm wow, never was like needed and, and donea couple like videos it biggest always say is like, disclaimer, not a relationship coach, I'm not a marriage I've just lived it. And relationship most couples shouldn't separate. It's actually like the statistic is very,I don't know if this like but I did look it up really recently a you
Megan: know, Google, where, where are you getting all these stats? I don't even know, but the Google stats, said 87% of couples who separate divorce. That's really high percentage
Abbie: Wow. Wow.
Megan: high. But it's funny, I personally know two very close friends of mine who also separated and then got back together and their marriage is stronger than ever. They went on to have children like, so it's just kind of funny that the people I've, I've surrounded myself with were on that and myself were on that other percentage.And I think the reason is you have to really, you have to. I think especially if you're the woman asking for the separation and you feel like the, your partner is the one who needs, needs to do the work, you have to look at yourself and go, what was my part in this too? And that was the hardest for me. Cause I was like, I'm good.I do personal development.I'mgreat. I got this wonderful business. Like, you've got your shit you gotta work on. you know? And. looking back, I'm like, Wow. And that was my big thing. I had to be like, what was your part in this? Like what do you need to work on? Cause you definitely are not perfect over here. So, um, it's just interesting though. So say is like, I don't necessarily recommend separating cuz it's not for everyone, but you gotta go in with the right mindset and we definitely did.
Abbie: Yeah. and I don't think it was a coincidence that you had those people in your life to be an example for you. I think that that is all kind of divine as well. I heard when I was, um, single and dating in New York, I heard something, it might have been on a podcastor you know, from someone else, but that men expect women to stay the same and women expect men to change. And I'm like, that isso
Megan: Yes. so true. It is So
Abbie: true. But I, like you said, I mean relationship, I, I say this to my clients all the time. Relationships are a mirror. So anything that we're upset about, anything that's triggering us, it's a mirror An unmet need in us and something that we need to work on in ourselves. So it's like, ugh, something's about the other person is bugging us. It's like, oh, okay. There's, you know, it almost ends upkind of being like whack-a-mole. It's like, oh, there's another thingI need to work on. Oh, okay.
Megan: So accurate. We joke around all the time cuz he's been in therapy for so long now too. And we're always like, what are you projecting right now? And I'm like, oh gosh, I hate that we know this stuff Sometimes it's annoying but it's, but it's helpful.
Abbie: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it sounds like, it sounds like y'all are thriving right now. I'll be curious to hear, In that six month period when y'all were separated, what did you do? Cause I think this will resonate with a lot of people listening right now, cuz we're in our healing eras. What did you do during that time to develop yourself, to care for yourself, and to reconnect with yourself?
Megan: Yeah, I love this question. I definitely, um, health has always been like a really big priority of mine. Um, well since I graduated college, I should say. And so I doubled down on that and I really like prioritized my, my, um, exercise routine and specifically like taking care of my body, so like yoga and stretching and things like that, going on walks, um, and also, I really prioritized silence , which is something that I used to look at as like traditional meditation, but I realized that doesn't really work as well for me. But just walking and having no headphones in or walking and having no, like, I'm not listening to anything. It's just me. I'm not talking to anyone. I'm not looking at anything like that. Really helped. Something else too was like going on dates by myself, honestly, which was really scary and like, Ooh, I'm by myself at, at dinner, you know?But that really helped. Um, and then also is really surrounding myself with people who were so supportive of the separation, but also supportive of me and Mike. That was like a big thing. I didn't want, which I don't really have anyone in my life. He's really great ,so I didn't have ,anyone who was like, yeah, like, screw that guy.You know? Like everyone was Like Rooting for us to win. But my friends were like, rooting for us to win, but also really proud of me for taking this time and like, here, we're here, for you. You know, we love him, but like you're our girl. So it was really great to be surrounded by those people who were so supportive, um, and who just had similar like goals and values and and morals as me and I really strengthened those relationships.Um, some of which were living nearby me and I had a couple clients visiting in person. I had some of my friends come visit, so I just surrounded myself by. With those people. And to me that was actually a lot of personal growth. Um, in addition to the podcasts and the books and all of that, these were more like tangible things that I think really, um, helped me more than I I realized at the time.
Abbie: Absolutely. Like we really can't date other people if we're not dating ourselves And setting that expectation cuz people will treat us how we treat
Megan: Totally. Oh yeah, exactly. Our relationship with ourself has to be like first and foremost, and then we set the stage or the standard for how we wanna be treated. Totally.
Abbie: And if we're not comfortable being in the silence, I think that's kind of a red flag and something to dive deeper into like w. Why are we not comfortable and why do need to eat while watching a show or eat with headphones? Go on a walk and always have our phone with us listening to something, or even get ready in the morning and always have to be listening to something or talking to somebody on the phone.Why can't. we spend a Friday night alone? And diving into that because silence is so good and so much healing comes out of it's kind of hard to describe.
Megan: Yeah, it's pretty crazy. But it was it was very, and even now, like I, I do that, I try to have like an hour of silence a day. sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. But it's so simple. Like you said in the shower, instead of playing music, I just have nothing. Or when I'm putting my makeup on, I just have nothing. Or I go on like a few walks a day, one of them, nothing. Like, it's not like I'm adding time to my day. I'm just taking things. I'm already. and just taking out the noise especially an entrepreneur that's like helped my creativity a lot too, which has been great.
Abbie: Oh, amazing.
Yeah, because I think you're not consuming so much, but you can really see what's coming from within and bringing that out. Yeah, And especially as an entrepreneur, we're processing ourstory so much. Like we can't take a client down a transformation or as deep of a transformation as we've gone through ourselves.So if we're having these aha moments and these revelations. That's gonna come out in our content, but it's also gonna allow us to have a deeper. To offer that to other people.
Megan: Yeah. A hundred percent.
Abbie: so good. So good. Well, your business has changed so much overthe years. so I found you during our Beachbody days. and I was on, I recently did an episode Abbie: all about Beachbody.Abbie: So our audience is very familiar with Beachbody,
Abbie: so I'll be curious to hear from you. What made you want to leave the company? I mean, were
Making significant amount of money with themfor, You know, MLMstandards. what made you wanna leave the company and go out on your own? And how has your business shifted from working for somebody else as a health coach to now being a full-time business coach?
Megan: Oh gosh. It's been such a journey. I, I mean, when I look back exactly, that's when, you know, it's like not about the money, right. Because if it was, I would've probably not left. I probably would've just kept going. But for me, I was like, I feel so like stifled. I was like, I feel like I'm meant to do something so much bigger with my life and. And /it was a great jumping off point. I learned so much about business. I think network marketing in general is a a good place to learn some basics without needing to like create a product or create a service or anything like that. You can learn a lot of business basics in it, in a sense, if you have a decent upline or decent company. Um, and so I learned a lot, a lot that I got to take with me, which was great and so much experience in all those years. But I was like, I have all this experience, I have all this knowledge, and I went to school for business and market. And I can't use it unless someone joins my team and pushes a product that I wasn't really even using as much anymore. Like I still personally drink the shakes and stuff like that, but, I just was like doing other things. I was doing other things. I was learning more about intuitive eating and and things like that. And so I just realized like my heart isn't here anymore. And so once I went and this, I was in this interim for a while where I was like dipping my toe in health and mindset coaching and then dipping my toe in that and Beachbody.and both were like, okay. And both were like suffering. And I realized for me I needed to go all in. And so I went all in on this other business. I pretended I didn't even have that Beachbody income. I literally changed my direct deposit to go into an account that I never see that I, it's likehard for me to log into. So I didn't actually see the money. Uh, and that lit a fire. Even though I knew I was coming in, it's still lit a fire, which was really interest. Um, And so that started to take off and then very quickly, very quickly, probably about six months I was. This isn't what I'm supposed to be doing. Yeah. I was like, this is, this isn't my path. Like, and I think I mistook and I know a lot of people out there. I think you do a really good job explaining this too. A lot of people out there think that just because they've had an experience or a journey or a transformation means that they now need to teach it or coach it, or that's their mission.And I get it cause you feel so good and you, you're so excited. But just take a beat and Is this something I'm supposed to be coaching on? Do I need more education? Do I need more knowledge? Do I even love this? You know, like I was like, okay, so should I go get my certifications and things? and I had to take a beat and I'm like, Megan, this isn't what you wanna do. , You just, are passionate about it for your own health and your life, and it'll always be a huge part of you, but you can be passionate about something. And It doesn't have to be your business. It doesn't have to be how you make money, you know? And. so I realized pretty quick the reason the business and Beachbody took off.The reason I loved it was the business side, and so I just dove all into that and it was like pretty quick. It was like, oh yeah, this is what you're supposed to be doing the whole time. So it took off pretty fast. But the reason I think it took off fast, if you, if you look at it seemed overnight, was I had built a business and a brand for years with Beachbody, and so I already had a lot of credibility and trust.So it really was like four years in the making that transitioned pretty well into business. Megan: business coaching.
Abbie: Mm-hmm. .Yeah. I mean, your whole brand is the pretty awkward entrepreneur, and you were your authentic self showing up every single day on social media, whether you're with Beachbody or not. like you were showing up as
Megan: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I was doing it. I, I always joke around, I was like, I was authentic before it was trendy.Megan: it's like, Megan: you know, it's not that it's trendy, but everyone's like, be authentic. Be yourself. Which, thank God I'm so glad that that's where things are going. I think it's very needed. We all need to do that. But I did it when it was uncomfortable. I did it when like, everyone in the fitness industry was like, , doing the booty pose. And I was like, this feels so weird. I don't wanna do this. And, and it, I couldn't do it like a lot of my good friends were and they rocked it and I was like, you guys, more power to you cuz you it.It was authentic for them. It wasn't for me. And it felt so weird And I was like, we're calling this out right away. And that's kind of where it all started. and you know, then as the years came on, people started to crave that kind of stuff. They're like, we want the realness, we want the reality. You know?And so I think that's,that kind of started to, to come from
Abbie: Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. You gotta be authentic to yourself. And you've been in business now, like I think people look at your success and they're like,oh my God, why aren't, why aren't, I there yet? And it's like, you've been doing this for like a decade, if not over a decade. You know? You've been doing this for a long
Megan: Yep. It's been literally, I think I signed up for Beachbody in November, 2011 and like ran my first challenge group maybe January, 2012 or something like that. So it's been like 11 years. Yeah, like, I mean, we weren't committed the whole time. We were definitely up and down many of those years, but still like some way, shape or form.That's a long time. Like I've learned a ton in those years. So Yeah,
Abbie: definitely. You've just worked with so many people and one thing that I've always, I mean I know I've told this time and to again, but I really admire your integrity And here's another reason. I mean, you didn't want a health coach because just cuz you've been through this experience, you've seen amazing transformations physically. Mm-hmm. Yeah. do you need coaching on
Megan: Yeah, I was not supposed to do that. Yeah. Yeah. No.
Abbie: And then even with your business coaching, there got to a point where,I
Mean, incredible, An abundance of money was coming your way.
Megan: Mm-hmm.
Abbie: and. You took a step back and you're like, whoa, this doesn't feel aligning anymore. I need to shift things, but this will require me having to actually give up some income, change things around, remodel how I'm doing things, get back into alignment so that I can relaunch stronger.So could you speak to thatand. That pivot in your life and cuz it's enticing. I mean, I know there's a lot of Recent grads and people that are in that, uh, mid to late twenties, even early thirties, that are listening to the podcast right now that are like, wow, like making more money per month sounds great.It's like, how do we get more money? Okay, we need to spend less or we need to be making more. You know, We got a couple options there. Um, so having money coming sounds really good, but is it worth it if, you know the integrity's not there? So could you speak to that pivot?
Megan: Yeah, totally. I feel like I just ended it. Um, my ego death, I feel like it was like a two year ego death. Um, it was hard. It, It, and it's like champagne problems, obviously. but I was like, okay. When my husband and I got back together in June, um, those six months until the end of the year we're kind of like, And it's funny, you, you And I coached during all of this, . And a lot of my Clients who I'm so close with still to this day were like in the middle of that and didn't know that we were separated Um, and I'm like,okay, I'm really glad, I still showed up very fully, you know?But something that I realized in those six months that we were back together for till the end of the year was like, I was still kind of trying to operate the way I was before we separated and it was very clear by the end of the year, we can't, we can't, do that. Like if we're gonna really make strides, I have to give something up because I was so depleted. Cause I was working so much that by the end of the day if I, even if I was done at like 5:00 PM let's say, Energetically, I was like a zombie. I was like, I have no energy for you. I don't wanna talk to anyone. I've been talking all day and I just like couldn't give anything else.And so that was really affecting us, you know?And I just found like I was very, my masculine a lot. So I had to work on balancing that, which really affected us. We did a lot of work around that. We joined a few programs that helped us like really dive into our masculine, feminine and embodiment and all that jazz, and that was amazing. Oh, so, so incredible.Such good work. Um, and I just realized like, if I am going to really say my marriage is my number one, I have to actually like change some things and it has to, I just can't keep going like I've always been, Uh, I got rid of one Mastermind and I cut my other one down, eight people, and I cut my one-on-one client load pretty much in half. Like I got rid of almost half of my clients right away. So full swoop. I was like, okay, we're done. And that means half of my recurring revenue was also gone and I didn't have a plan to replace it. I was like, uh, to build a plan. I get this question. They're like, well, how can I replace that right away? And I say, you know, either you are working on that plan while you're still doing all that stuff, and if you have the time, the capacity, great. I didn't, it was like I couldn't be burning out and working out a plan to get out I was like, I literally don't have the energy or time to work on that. I can only do one or the other at at a time. So I needed to take a step back and go, okay, Let's Have the space, let's have the time to start working on these things. And, and it's just been like, the last few years has been such a journey. And this year I actually just recorded a podcast episode right before we got on,All about coming back. and I feel like , the last few years have been Experimentation and discovery and figuring out what I want and what I don't. And I've been very lucky to have built a very strong brand that I could pretty easily sustain myself and more than pay for our expenses, more than pay for all this stuff and save, um, not necessarily at the level I I was and that I wanted to, but in a way that I'm like, we're good. And this year feels like a coming back home where I'm actually going back to some things I did in 20 20, 20 19. But with such a, such a better lens, like, oh, this is how I should have done it. this is how I should, you know what I mean? Um, and in just such, so much more alignment and I just realized a lot of the things I had to get rid of. But then what I did on top of that was I changed a lot of what was working that I didn't need to get rid of, and I totally changed it around. And I didn't need to like, I burned it to the ground. Cuz we love to say that. We love to say we burn our business to the ground and I didn't need to, I had a great foundation and so I'm like kind of it, it's just like after a few years realizing, and I know a lot of people experience this, who are like, oh, I actually didn't need to change that thing.I need to go back to that. But now you're going back to it with so much more clarity and like just more skills, more experience, more expertise. It's just gonna be like a 2.0 version. So it's kind of what we're doing this year. Yeah.
Abbie: Yeah. So when you say you got rid of things, was this more things in your business or changing up how the program is structured?or more things personally like, I need to get rid of like expectations or I need to set boundaries Or something like that. Morepersonal That was impacting business?
Megan: For me. it was the first thing was actually get rid, getting rid, of programs And so I got a lot of time back, so I basically cut my time in half. Um, and I just had more time. Like I wasn't on as many calls, I had more space to work on content, to work on other things, to just be with my husband, to work on our relationship.And that's really what a lot of that time was spent towards, was just actually working on our relationship. And so that was really huge. Um, And also again, during that time, like when you, one big thing I had to work on was my identity, and that was a really big thing because when you're at this certain point in your business, especially in the coaching world, it can be a little bit, , I don't wanna say toxic, uh, but it can be., especially with business, there's this, like once you hit a certain monetary level, there's this pressure. To Keep it up and to keep saying that you're doing better and better and making more. You're making more and more equals better, more equals better. And I was like, over here, all right, we're getting rid of everything.We're cutting everything in that , you know? I was .,like, oh my gosh. Like no one's gonna take me seriously. People aren't gonna look at me as a leader anymore. And it's like, How does that reflect your skillset as a coach? Zero. Like there's you, Cho, you consciously chose to do this. why Why, would this reflect it?And that's how ingrained that messaging was to me. And so even though a lot of that work was like literally just getting, getting rid of some things, it was a lot of identity work of like, Am I, how much money I, make? Of course not am I my business? Of course not. You know, just like anything, we shouldn't attach our entire identity to anything because if it's gone, we have a, A crisis. We're like, who am I? You know? And so I started to just like, honestly, as corny as it sounds, find myself again outside of just. Being someone who makes a certain amount of money. I was like, I don't want my, my, worth and my identity to be tied to a number because that's just dangerous. So it's, that's been a huge growth moment for me over the last few years.
Abbie: Absolutely. And whether it's monetary or the number on the scale, I mean, that's something that we talk about a lot on this podcast. Like if you're tying so much of your self worth to some number, ,you're always going to be left empty, always gonna be left disappointed. And um, yeah, it's so important more To realize you are more than your business.You are more than a body, and you need to focus on. Other hobbies and other passions to remind you of that and, and what you're good at and try and get back to that. So, and I know there was a point to you started to, get, you know, back to singing, you you were in a show when we were in our… you really got back to your passions, which was really cool for, for me to see. It's like, oh, you know, I used to dance all the time and now I don't dance anymore. Why is that? So I ended up picking up a ballet class when I was in New York, and I need to find a studio here in Nashville.But that was really inspiring to me. And, question, but One thing that I was thinking of when you were talking is the concept of hustle culture, Masculine feminine energies.And because to be successful in. You need to take action. But there is a line in the sand where maybe you're hustling too much, where you're burning yourself out. So how do you balance now that you know and you've had that, that data and that experience, that being too in your masculine doesn't feel aligning to you and is actually detrimental to yes, your energy, but also your marriage and other relationships as well. How do you balance still taking action ,without diving back too much into your masculine.and too much hustle culture, but not being so relaxed,like, things are just gonna happen to me, where then you not
Megan: Yeah, no, you don't do anything. No, for sure. I actually made a TikTok, uh, that for my account did really well. I was very excited, um, recently, and it, it also did really well onInstagram and it was kind of like, I knew it would be a little bit, um, controversial in a sense because of the way I titled it, because I wanted to get people to watch it. you know, what we do. Megan: That's it. and Megan: I think the first line was something. Megan: Um,Megan: why anti hussle cul? No, I said why intense anti hussle culture. That was like the word I was hoping people would pay attention to. But you know why? Intense anti hussle culture is really killing the work ethic of so many new entrepreneurs.And my whole point with that was , I think the pendulum was so much like Gary V. Go, go. go. Always work nonstop. Like if you want it, you gotta goforMegan: it. Grant 10 x Megan: grant Cardone, 10 x, like that's who we were flooded with, and it was like all these people, myself included, were doing that and burning out and. Megan: like Megan: Sacrificing their marriage and you know, all that stuff. So that was where we were. And I think we the pendulum had a swing so far the other way, which was like, feel into it, flow. Just Do it when it feels good. If you don't feel like it don't do it and you know, then you just don't work. Because I love my job, but I'd always rather watch Netflix. So I I mean,I'm just saying, you know,Megan: know,Megan: and so I feel like we, we swung so that way and it's like we're finding this middle ground. And one thing I had noticed is I saw so much messaging from people who were really successful. Who did put in a lot of hustle and a lot of work, and they're talking now about their four hour work weeks and their flow and how they're bringing in all this amazing money by like doing nothing pretty much. And all these new people are following them, expecting those results and literally doing nothing and expecting all these results. and I'm like, They had so many years of building this brand to the point where they could do that. The last two years I was kind of flailing. I was kind of all over the place and we still brought in a lot of money and I'm like, we were able to do that because of all of those other years. that was like the big point. And 99% of the people were like, yes, yes. yes. Thank you for saying this, because you still gotta work. You still gotta put in the work, you know? And, And, I think that's where people are like, oh, I'm just so surprised it's not working. And I'm like, well, how long have you been working it? And it's like, oh, like a month. Okay, keep going. keep going. , Megan: Yeah.
Abbie: Yeah. and I Abbie: think there's, I think there's a difference too between the action steps that you take, what's the intention behind it? and Are you taking action steps that are in alignment or are you doing something just cuz you feel obligated to, or you feel pressured, or there's this fake expectation that you need to do this so Other people can see that you're Abbie: doing it.
Megan: Exactly what is, yeah, that's a great point. What's your intention behind this? If it's just to show off or look good, it's never gonna, first of all, it's never gonna feel fulfilling and it's like it's never gonna be sustainable. And so it's kind of funny because now my income goals and our vision is actually so much bigger than it used to be. which is kind of funny. Um, but it's from such a like, sustainable point of view. There's not like a specific timeline. I have to do it by. There's not this pressure, like there is this pressure because I think pressure is good in a way to get you going, but it's a healthy pressure. you know? It's avery, I it's ait's from such an intentional like vision place for my husband and I together, like where we wanna build our, our life and our family and it's so much more fun that way. But you hit the nail on the head before There's a difference between. Putting in the work and burning out. And so I think for me, like the signs, or for anyone who's listening, like if you are so depleted that you can't give any energy to the people you love, the people you're doing this for, your family, your friends, like things like that, and you're like I'm a zombie all the time, that's a sign right there.Two is if just the work you're putting out is subpar, I noticed that as well. I could work a 10 hour day, but the last three, four hours were not quality, and I wasn't really working. I was like scrolling and that's another big sign, and I'd even noticed this today. When I start to do it, I'm like, okay, I think I'm done for a while, or I need to take a significant break for the day is if I then start scrolling and I just pick up my phone? You're distracted, you, you're tired, you need to go on a walk, you need to go do a workout. You need to go call a friend. You need to be in silence. Uh, it's not that scrolling is bad, like you could do that, but to me that was a sign that I was like, not gonna put out quality work right now. And so also having more blocks and having more breaks, that really, really helps as well.Um, and then honestly, for the feminine embodiment part, I did a whole program on feminine embodiment It was amazing, um, is actually doing things that put you in that space. So dance is a great one. like just literally dancing in your house, da dance with my puppy and like we just have a dance party. Um, that's really helpful.Moving your body, like going on walks, moving my body, um, letting myself cry. As silly as that sounds, literally letting myself have, have a good cry fest helps so much. And also like Megan: Asking Megan: for help when I need it. That's been a big thing. Like I used to think, oh, I can do everything myself.I'm, I'm strong. I'm, a strong. independent boss woman, you know, and I'm like, I have this husband here who wants to help means is just like, give me something I can help you with. So I'm just like, I ask for help when I need it. You know, I don't hold back anymore. I'm like, this is what I need. So there's so many more. But those are just a few of the things that are like some signs if you're kind of on that verge of burnout versus, doing the work.
Abbie: Yeah, I think it's good for people to listen to that and almost figure out for themselves, where am I on that, on that pendulum. And I actually just invested this past weekend in a feminine energy embodiment.
Megan: I love it.
Abbie: I'm, so excited The things that we're doing are exactly what you were just
speaking to. It's dancing, like she said, I'm prescribing dance parties, at the beginning of all of our calls, butalso on the days that we don't have calls. You need to be dancing every day to reconnect with your body Abbie: and, Abbie: expressing your emotions. Like we need to Heal, and if you are fully connected to your divine feminine, you need to be expressing your emotions.We Can't keep that bottled up. So dancing connects us with ourselves, connects us with our bodies, gets us out of our head, back into our bodies,and stop helps us to stop looking for external things to fill us up, But realizing that we. Fill our own cup up. And that, that's where home is. That's where the divine feminine lives. is inside bodies. Yeah. So Abbie: coming home to that coming home, I can't wait to listen
Megan: It's such a theme, and it's like you hit the nail on the head. It's really about being in your body. And one thing we did in the program I was in iswe had, uh, which I loved was temper tantrums. Like they were Like okay. ,you're all gonna be on mute and go wild and like scream, hit, hit stuff, hit your bed, hit your le like don't hurt yourself obviously, but like just have a temper tantrum like a child would.Like kids got it, right? Like these kids, we just need to keep being children in so many ways. That's one thing I realized too, is like play and like literally throw a temper tantrum and so.I'm glad we're talking about this cause I have to do this more often, but I was doing it a little bit after the program ended, but you know how you just kinda lose track.Um, having a scheduled tempered tantrum and being like, I'm gonna have a tempered tantrum today cuz I know I need to let this out. You feel so much better. Like, and, and the funny thing is when I was like, My husband and I would come back from our sessions cuz he was in the masculine ones and I was in the feminine and we would talk and his was basically meditation almost the whole time. It was pretty much just stillness and like holding the ground, holding the space, holding the structure for the feminine to be her wild, crazy, awesome self. Like that's moreMegan: the best. Oh,
Abbie: I love that. Oh,I love that so much. I love that y'all are doing that work together,
Megan: pretty cool
Abbie: be in your feminine, butAbbie: expect, if we drop into our feminine,
Megan: Mm-hmm.
Abbie: How do we know that the person that we're with isgonna step up into their masculine? We Abbie: We don't, we don't know. We Abbie: can't control that So I think it's reallygood that he was
Megan: coach. Yeah, it was really fun. We, he's like, basically we meditated for an hour. I was like, but in a good way. It's like, and that's the thing is like so many women I know, they'll go and same with me. Like they'll go to meditation right away. Meditation's amazing. It's great. But they'll go to that and think that, I thought this, like that's me being. like calm and peaceful, but actuallythat's the masculine that's holding theground. Whereas the flowy movement, you actually moving your body. That's the feminine, you know? And it was, and we all have both in us. Like it doesn't matter, you know, what you identify as. It's like we all have both in us and when Mike and I were at our most, Megan: Or Megan: let's say, say, our least attracted to each otherness. We'll put it that way. We were both in our masculine, I was in my masculine all the time. So like he could be physically like , Ithink Megan's beautiful and physically I'm attracted to her, but I'm not because she's in her masculine all the time. And same for me. I was like, Uh, what, what's happening here?Like, he looks the same physically, but I'm not feeling it, you know, and it's, it's just the same that someone could see someone that physically, maybe they didn't normally weren't attracted to them, but they turned this like masculine energy or feminine energy on, and they're like, oh my gosh, I am like so attracted to this person. What's happening? You know? And it's like, it's, the energy energy's so huge.
Abbie: Yeah, it's so huge.we were just talking right before the call and like my audience knows this, that I am recently single and What's so great about you and Mike is that you both were willing to dive in this work. So if y'all are in a relationship right now and you are kind of questioning, is this right, Is it not? Abbie: You have to ask yourself and be honest and ask your Are they willing to do the work that's necessary to get that energy back into alignment and get back to the energy that you had when you were dating back to when it was good back in the beginning? Because if they're not, if only one person's willing to work on it, ultimately it's just not Abbie: gonna
Megan: No, that's the biggest thing. Unfortunately, around the same time, it was funny, my girlfriends and I were in New York City and we went to dinner and it felt, it felt like exactly like sex in the city because we were, it was like six of us, and I was, I was saying, I was announcing that I was separating, My friend was announcing that she was getting divorced and one was engaged.The other was like about to be engaged. The other was single. I was like, This Megan: is, oh my
Megan: Wild. It was just so funny. And so we both were saying these things and unfortunately the girl who got divorced, my really goodfriend, her partner wasn't willing to work on it. He wasn't willing to change until it was too late, until it was like she was done, You know? And in that moment, even though we were literally separating, I was like, I am so lucky because. He had been working on himself and we had been working on things for so long, like he was right away, open to, open to therapy, open to coaching, and I'm like, wow, this is not as common as I thought. And so that's, you hit the nail on the head. Like that was the biggest like reason I held on. Even though it was hard for so many years is like, there was always a little bit of progress and he was always willing, you know, if they're not willing to even have a conversation or even see someone or try, then you can'tmake someone do the work. They've gotta be a, they gotta do Megan: themselves. Megan: Now he's addicted to doing it. It's great.He loves it.
Abbie: I love it. I love it. Gotta have that growth mindset for sure. Now a couple like last minute,
Megan: Yeah.
Abbie: speed round. Now, forsomeone that is listening to this, maybe they'reinterested in starting a business or they have an idea for a sidehustle, but they're currently either a student or they have a full-time job, but some sort of gut feeling or a vision was kind of placed in them some idea to start a business. Where doyou suggest that they start? What is maybe the first. One step or three to five steps. that somebody should go through to, to initially get started if they just have an
Megan: Yeah, I love this. So if you just have an idea, I think is getting really clear on what is theservice that you wanna provide or the transformation you wanna provide. Because whether it's a product, whether it's a service, whether it's a coaching, there's always people buy things to experience some kind of transformation, even if it's. Buying a cupcake to enjoy the taste, right? Like it could be that simple. So what are, what is the transformations? And I would write a list, like I would brain dump all the different things that you've experienced that you would like to help people with. Right? Um, And to help you with this, I would kind of go to like, what do people naturally come to you for? Cuz a lot of the times the things we end up doing are things that we were always kind of good at. You know?Like my friends always came to me for help and advice and I was always that person that they felt comfortable and safe with. And That's a huge part of my coaching, right? And so I'm like, oh, this makes sense. You know? And I'm sure for you too, with a lot of what you do, right? It's Megan: like,
Abbie: Yeah, people are always coming to me for health
Megan: Exactly. So it's like, what are people already kind of coming to you for that you feel really, you know, just skilled to do? Um, what are some of the things that you feel like, you like, have skills in, you have credentials in, you've taken classes in or courses in or certifications or whatever it is.Um, and combined that like your, your skillset and expertise with the. What do people actually naturally ask you for? Um, write out the list of transformations and then kind of go through the list and start to like visualize and imagine yourself helping people with this. Like, is this something that is like, oh yeah, it's fun, like maybe a couple times, but after doing this with five people, I'm gonna be like, no, I don't wanna talk about this anymore because that's not gonna be a long lasting business and you're gonna change.We, we've all had. Versions of our business. But if after like one or two clients you're like, don't wanna do it, like that's a big thing. So really go through and go what are the things that I'm so excited to talk about all the time that I could definitely keep going? Um, and then after you kind of whittle it down, I would start to, we talk about market research a lot. I would start to actually get on calls with people who've maybe fit this ideal client profile who wanna experience this transformation. and just have a no pressure, no strings attached conversation with them, asking them about why they want this transformation, why it's important to them, what their problems are.And truly no strings attached. Don't try Megan: to Megan: to sell them like you just try to get to know your client from their perspective of where they're at versus just your own experience. And that's where I would start. And, and then from there, you can go And create your offer and all those other things.
Abbie: Yeah. I love that I love that. because I think people jump to, I need to start marketing. I need to create content. It's like, whoa, your content's not even gonna land with anyone if you don't even know who you're what you're gonna help them with. Yeah. So don't worry about making reels right now.Just try and, you know, refine how you wanna help people. Um. oh, I love that. When do you recommend that somebody invest in business?
Megan: Mm-hmm. ,you know, this answer's gonna be kind of lame, but it's just, I think true is, uh, if you can right away. Um, now it's gonna look different though. Like, I don't believe everyone needs a one-on-one coach right off the bat. Um, they're gonna be more expensive and there's just so many things that you, foundation building things that you can build and learn in a group format at a much lower cost or a course. and the beautiful thing with that, I actually think it's better to get started in groups because you're gonna feel so confused, so lost, so overwhelmed that when you have other people feeling that way with you, it's so much more like, oh, I'm not crazy. This is normal. Like the, it's normal to feel imposter syndrome and doubts and all that stuff.So I actually really encourage, if you do any investments early on, is join some kind of group where you have other people at the same level as you at that beginner stage, cuz you just, you will feel so supported with them and have that community. I did that off the bat and it was hands down the best decision.Some of them are still my closest friends to this day, some of them I've coached, some of them we've coached together. It's been like so beautiful. So that's I I honestly think if you can afford it and you can find either a course or a group program Try to get support instead of figuring it out yourself.You. , but you'll get there quicker if you have some support right off the bat.
Abbie: I completely agree. I was in a group coaching program right from the get-go, and I loved all of your masterminds because it was a group. You just learn so much from other people and the other ideas that they have and just the group support is amazing. I'm curious how many of your clients still have full-time jobs and when they start to leave their full-time job? If they wanna make their new business full-time
Megan: Yeah, I love that question. So all of my private or mastermind clients are all full-time, but that's just because the level of which they joined, they're already full-time. I would say it really depends, you know, I've had clients go through my group program and within three to six months, Quit their job and they're, and they replace it. And then I've had people who, it takes 'em a few years, you know, and it just really depends on their lifestyle, like what they have available time-wise to work on It It also depends on their personality and their, I don't wanna say work ethic, but like how they can show up, right? Everyone Has different abilities and so how much can they, some people.Go, go, Go, I wanna quit now. And They have such a tunnel vision and some people are like, I actually like my job. I don't need to get out of it. I don't feel that pressure. So I'd rather slowly build. And so it might take them two years, but not because they're not doing the work. It's just cuz they're okay with it taking two years. like if you are in a job that is so draining, you absolutely hate it. It's sucking the life outta you. You're like, you feel, you just really hate showing up for it, right? And it's just not good for your mental health. Then try to set an exit plan and go, how can I really, for lack of a better word, hustle. To get this going and be able to like really dive into something I'm passionate about. If you're like, you know what, I have a good thing here. I have a good setup here. I, I, feel well respected. I'm just not super in love with what I'm doing. Maybe you can give yourself a little bit more of a runway, but it's so depends. I've literally had three months go full-time than I've had two years go full-time. You know, sometimes longer. It just really depends on the on the person.
Abbie: Yeah, Yeah, that makes sense. that makes sense. So I think people will have to assess their own lifestyle and their goals,how quickly they want. to be full-time in their Business if that's something they wanna do, um, and and go from there. Now, where can people find You Or is there anything that you're promoting right now? I mean, I've been through your programs absolutely. Like I can't like recommend Megan more highly and I think you.are so great for people that already have a business and maybe have already tried. You help people get to the next level. And you're also so great helping people right from the start. And I know you have programs and offers for that too.So wherever you are on the, on the Stage or in the entrepreneur journey where, are you promoting right now?
Megan: Thank you so much. You're so sweet. Um, so one is always like, you're on, you're listening to a podcast. So since you're already listening to a podcast, if you wanna just hop on over and search The Pretty Awkward Entrepreneur, um, I have amazing podcast episodes there so much gold there, so much strategy you can go back and listen to. and we always have up to date on what we're doing. So definitely listen to the podcast. And then I have a few things coming out over the next quarter, over the next few months that is really geared towards people in the first few years of their business.So in that beginner stage, I always have stuffer established people ongoing. Um, but the next few months is really gonna be dedicated to that more beginner. So if you, that is, you definitely come hang out on Instagram because we're, as, when this comes out, we'll probably have a new freebie for you to download.
We. And workshops and challenges coming up, all about really signing high ticket clients and building that consistent business and knowing how to show up on social media and creating your offer, all those bells and whistles. So we've got a lot of stuff coming in the next few months.
Abbie: Awesome. I love it. I love And to close this out, what is one thing you are going to do this week to make your days? better?
Megan: I love this question. This is so cute. Um, one thing that I am really gonna do is, cuz I need to get better at it, is I am going to be a little bit stricter with my social media consumption. That is, I've been very good with like my walks and my workouts and my water. Like that is such a habit now that it's like I don't have to think about it, you know? Um, but I have noticed. Popping into that app Instagram, when I really don't need to. and it's just like a habit. I'm just like, why am I going on there right now? I literally, no, there's no intention. And once a while if I wanna scroll sure. But like, that's my goal is to limit my time on, on the [00:53:20] apps this week.
Abbie: Mm-hmm. . Awesome. I need to do that too.
Megan: Yeah. I was like, Ooh.
Abbie: Awesome. Yay. Thank you so much, Megan,for being here. I appreciate it. I appreciate your time and all Of your wisdom and all of your coaching over
Megan: Hmm. I adore you. I love working with you. and it's just been so beautiful to see this brand like grow to what it is and you're just, I'm so glad you have this podcast cuz I, I knew this was gonna be just a beautiful way to get your message out. So thank you for having me on. I'm honored.
Abbie: Oh, of course. Thanks, Meg. Talk to you later. Bye.
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