How Awe Intervention Moments in Nature Reset the Brain and Reduce Anxiety

What would you tell your younger self about well-being when you think about what you know today versus when you were twenty? When I was twenty, I thought well-being meant fitness, that it meant triathlon or marathons are, like, real active environments. So the slowdown has been, what I have found out to be the most beneficial to me and also the quieting down. I've become very quiet since COVID, so that has really helped me center myself for myself. And it helps me feel more confident in my body because I feel more grounded into who I am in that space. So that is well-being to me is just finding that space of forgiveness for myself, grace for myself. And that way I can kinda tend to everything else and everyone else I need to. Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Purpose Pivot, a market scale podcast. And I am so excited today to sit with my longtime friend, Jennifer Walsh, who is joining me in this conversation and also a contributor to the book, The Purpose Pivot. So, Jennifer, thank you so much for for being with me and our audience today. Thank you, Melissa. I'm so thrilled. I'm thrilled. I know. And as I was, like, prepping for this, I was thinking back. Like, we've met I think it was two thousand nine, maybe two thousand ten. But, like, in that time period through Jennifer Yen, she introduced us, and we both were on the upper east side. And I remember we it wasn't. It was this little restaurant that had the best warm bread, and I remember us meeting. I realized why environments matter. Funny. I know. Exactly. Brings us all together. Yeah. Yeah. And it it's like those little things that you remember, that resonate with you. But I'm so glad that that connection, was made. And, you know, at the time, you know, I think you were making a little bit of a pivot for yourself. And over the years, I've been able to really watch you lean into, the study that you, are invested in of that innate connection between humans and beauty and nature. And, obviously, you're, like, a very successful beauty founder who sold your company and, you know, bringing that all together. So why don't we start with that? Like, just to the audience Right. And get to know you a little bit more. Tell us a little bit about the lab, you know, what you your lost art of being human, and a little bit of your career background. Sure. Well, I started when I really realized AI was kind of in this new found technology a few years ago. Back in twenty twenty two, I believe, I found out about it. I thought, okay. Now it's a time to really kind of go deeper into analog life and why beauty and nature and the human experience is so important. And that's why I really want to start lab, which is a lost art of being human. And how do we get back to understanding how important our spaces are, our human connection to one another, and the environment? So it was always, like, there for me, and I always kinda kinda pull on those threads of what I'm feeling in my body. So my my work has been all around beauty. So thirty years in the beauty industry, founding BeautyBar in the nineteen nineties, with just an idea and and feeling again, like, feeling like guttural almost like I have to do this because I feel it in my bones. And if I don't do it, someone else will. So I, I started beauty bar in the nineties. It was, an idea out of a TV segment that I was doing in nineteen ninety seven, where I was showcasing unheard of beauty brands at the time, which was Bobbi Brown, L'Occitane, Estela, you know, so on and so on. All my favorites now. I know. Me too. Me too. So it's just kind of funny how that little idea of, like, oh, if I can create if I can take my TV segment, and that's my educational tool, and maybe have a sales channel through creating an, brick and mortar location. I wonder if I could do that. So I just called all the founders I was already showcasing on TV, and they said, alright. So this is before Sephora and before Ulta. Sephora, I think, was just coming to the US. But they just only had their own Sephora branded products when they launched in the US, and it was very different format than what I was doing. So, and that was the beginning of my my long, long career in beauty and, and spaces and places and how they impact us. Yeah. And since then, you've really evolved after the acquisition and everything. But there were some learnings you had in that period of life that we actually talk about in my book, that I that I think is is is relevant in this conversation too because I think that that was an, an additive driver, for for the work you do today. So one thing the audience, you know, in that time you talked about, you know, you were always hardcore to the max. You were achieving all these things, but it was, like, always hardcore to the max. And, and your body had a response to that, and it made you pause completely for a minute. So can you tell us a little bit about that? Sure. I mean, you know it so well too. It's kinda one of those things where we'd love what we do. And oftentimes, I mean, I know that's what happened to me. I was so passionate about what I was doing, but I was working seven days a week for years, but I loved it. But it also at the time, I was married and I had a young stepson, and my my work was every day, Saturdays and Sundays. And I worked and worked at work, and I was growing steadily and opening more and more stores. And the online presence was growing, and it was just continual growth at a very elevated pace. And I didn't have any investors, so it was just like, we can do it. We can do it. And I call it the crab syndrome for entrepreneurs. I was like, oh, that looks like a good thing. And I'll I'll keep, you know, this crab. Well, I'm just gonna keep bringing things in. It is a trap. I got it. I gotta keep making and doing. And, that really and on top of that, I was also, becoming more of a hardcore triathlete. I was I would love triathlons, doing more marathons. So I think the intensity of my schedule of the work and then the working out at such a pace and level that was really unsustainable. Again, I thought I was the healthiest I could ever be. I wasn't really eating sugar, and I wasn't drinking alcohol. And I thought I thought I was eating all the right things. But, again, I was doing everything to the max. And that's when I had this feeling in my stomach, in my back one day, and I thought, oh, I'm in a lot of pain. And, a few hours later, I was rushed to the hospital. And in the few hours I was in the hospital, I was told that I had colon cancer that had, metastasized spread to most of my organs. I was thirty five at the time, thirty four, and I thought there's no way. There's no way I'm so healthy. Thankfully, when I did wake up from the emergency surgery, it wasn't cancer. It was just a benign tumor in my colon. It had not metastasized. I just happen to have cysts throughout my body. So I found out a lot about my body very, very quickly in a way that I thought I already knew about, but it was a whole new discovery of, it didn't look I didn't look at the warning signs. I didn't really think about them because I was like, oh, it's fine. I'm just maybe I just had a little bit of a backache or something, and it wasn't that. It was really this tumor, this benign tumor that was growing within my body for quite some time. So it really made me slow down in a massive way, in a way that I wasn't used to as a founder and someone that loved their job. But, again, I had to figure out what that balance would look like and what is balance and but really to listen to my body in a new way that I never had before. One of the things I talk about in the book, and thank you for sharing that, is there really ever balance? You know? I've been having a lot of conversations about this, and there's definitely different people quoted in in the book on this topic. But I think, especially in the world we live today, it's really integration more than balance. You know, and how do we wrap our heads around that? Mhmm. Yeah. I mean, I'm I'm thankful you said that because I feel like it isn't. We can't balance. It's a matter of, like, what are we gonna do now to take care of this thing? And then we we have different stages of our days. I really truly believe, like, I have a morning routine that I try and keep to myself. It makes me feel and that's that's my balance for that. And then I try and get my work done. That's another part of the pie of my day. But I look at it and I have to frame it as a priority for work, a priority for me. Like, what's gonna make me the best version of myself and the healthiest version of myself for myself, for my family, my loved ones, my community, to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Yeah. Well, you look great for sure. Thank you. So so it's we're gonna talk a little bit about the work, but on a personal level, you know, having gone through that and that moment of you know, that's a very scary moment. And thank goodness it was the nine, but that, you know, that's, like, stopped you and your pant you know, your track. Holy shit. Time. Yeah. What what did you change, like, from that? What did you learn and and, you know, what new practices did you bring into your life? Well, I'll I'll do a little side note for a second because I didn't I wasn't it wasn't easy for me to change. So I went right back to work. I know I think I might have told you off camera a while ago that I went right back to work when the doctor and the surgeon said it's gonna be a while. You can't go back to work. But here I was in my mind, I have I have to. But even though I had a full team of people that could take care of everything, in my brain, I wasn't used to not working and to slowing down. So, like, a week after surgery, I wasn't allowed to drive a car, because it was a colon. It was, like, the stomach and the lining. And so I drove myself to work, and I told my staff, my team, I wasn't there. Pretend I'm not here. And the my surgeon knew. She knew that I wasn't gonna slow down, so she and I told my team, I'm gonna be in the back office doing some paperwork. If anyone asks for me, I'm not here. And she pretended to be a family member and said I have flowers, and everyone said, oh, she's in the back. And I got caught. I got caught at work. And you're lucky she cared enough to do that. You know? She cared enough, and she really kind of said, Jenna, you know, I you know, you know, this isn't good. You have to rest. But I was about to open a new location, and in my mind, I thought I need to paint the store. I need to do I need to build these things, but the the real need was just to slow down. So that really stopped me in my tracks and said, I I can't I can't bend down. I can't lift. I can't move my arms. I can't move my body the way I used to. So I really had to slow my entire routine down, make more time for the slowdown. And that was the beginning of an understanding of my body is gonna tell you exact our bodies tell us everything that we well, we need. Tell us. Yeah. And we just still listen. So that really that helped me listen to my body in such a profound change in different ways. So it was it was a it's a meaningful shift in my life. Yeah. And it's very common. You know? So many of the women that I've spoken to, men and women, to be honest, but you you think you could just power through and Yes. People could tell you listen to your body, but actually practicing that is harder and and right? And instead of dismissing it. And, and I think also in the healing journey when you are such a, you know, ambitious person that's successful, we we often associate the ability to slow down as weakness when it's actually strength. Yes. Oh, I'm so glad you said that, Martha. That's exactly it. Because I think society has always taught us we have to go go go go, that that perception, makes you look successful or, oh, wow. Look. But, oh, look at the things she is doing or he is doing, and that must mean they're important or, I wanna say, popular, but they're important in their work, and they should keep going. And that perception is is kind of that that joke of worshiping the work over your body, and listening. Like you said, it's really the most important thing we can do. It's the most important thing we could do, telling us so much. So, well, I'm glad you've been able to recalibrate a little bit, right, and take a different approach. And, also, I think the other part of this is this the point of view of an entrepreneur. That's a common thread. I need to do everything. Right? And and and, really, you need to step back and ask yourself two questions. Is it because they can't let go? And is it because I do or do not have the right team? But as a founder, your gift is the vision, right, and bringing that. And then, ideally, there's teams that help execute it versus feeling the burden of, like, I have to come up with the idea and I have to do everything or it won't happen. Yeah. Just I would say, like, I mean, you know, too, like, I wanna have the best people around I want the smartest people around me. You know? I know what I I know what I know, and I know what I don't know. And I want those people to be, like, the best of the best around me. And I had to again, that that kind of knock on my head of, hey. You're sick. You need to heal, and you have a great team. You assembled a great team, which will it is, of course, never easy. It's a lot of trial and error. But when you have a very succinct, wonderful, empathetic, kind, hardworking, they love, they're passionate about what they do, what we all do together, that's the difference, that you can step away and they can help step in and do the work for you and with you and alongside of you in a different way. And, that realization is really powerful and important. But but you're right. When you assemble a great group of people around you, everyone shows up for each other. And I think the other thing is we put so much focus as founders and entrepreneurs on I came up with the idea and, like, I'm the idea and it has to happen. What we've put we should put more value on success is building that team. Like, that is a gift too to be able to do that. You know? So and it's freeing in many ways because we need to be thinking about the next things and, like, keep on the vision of what's happening. Well, you know, the reason I know, about your journey, you know, from a more personal standpoint is because when I shared mine, you know, you messaged me. And it was, I think, this moment too of, that I had of whenever you share and you realize you feel seen and you have that commonality and groundness and everything you shared about what you learned along the way in your recovery was so helpful in my journey for my recovery and reminding myself and hearing my doctor who did say it's going to be a while. Yes. And you need to talk. Yourself that time. You know? Oh, that's the worst thing an entrepreneur or a very passionate person in business wants a year. Like, you it's gonna take time. Like, no. I I've that's not me. Like, you get it. Like, we talked about that before. It's no. I'll be I'll be in no time, then I'll be better because you're used to being healthy, but your body needs to recover. And that could take that could take a long time. Take a long time and doing it right up front will help it take less time in the long run is the thing also. So, definitely definitely kept myself disciplined on that. But like I said, this has, you know, all been contributing to what you do today, you know, with the loss of being human. So talk to us a little bit about that mission, and, you know, how the work that you do helps people realize how they could reset their cognitive function, and also through that, become more successful at all that they do. Yeah. It's been really fun, Melissa, because I'm just so excited about that just because I keep learning. I think that's the best thing about as we age, the idea of having that open mind to curiosity and being curious about the world around you and listening. And there's a lot of you have to have patience with yourself and give yourself grace to learn new things, but be curious and kind of, do that deep dive into what's interesting you. And that interest for me was how are you evolving as humans with so much technology around us? And again, like that push, push, push to be more and more successful. How do we get back into our own bodies? Because again, like, I have my earbuds in right now to speak with you and we're on technology all the time, and I'm so thankful for that. But at the same time, I saw everyone wanting to biohack their lives away, and everything was given away to technology. Right? So what if we learned about our own bodies in the spaces that we go into? And the more I studied and the more I researched about our disconnection from self tends to be because we're so attached to the technology that we're not really whole. So we're giving away our own agency to be human Yeah. In a time that we have to be under we have to learn more about ourselves to be able to step into a role that's gonna be very, very different, in the future. So how do we show up for ourselves? How do we learn about ourselves? Whether it be, how the spaces really impact us, design, nature, how beauty experiences really help us thrive, whether that be through art, music, and also stepping into especially for women, like stepping into our confident body as a woman, as a female, whatever you might be doing. There's a sexuality to that. And I don't mean, like, sex, but I mean, like, to own the confidence in our own body of who we are as a female being, ancestral wisdom. I call that the AI, the ancestral intelligence that the more we learn about ourselves from the past, where did we come from, whether even if we're adopted, like, what were our parents like or our foster parents? And just kinda learn about things that we might be connected to, but that really to know about ourselves now and the future, we have to learn and unlock the doors from the past to really step into the future. And there's so many key elements of learning and really slowing down and listening to ourselves, which is not easy in a very noisy chaotic world. But it's it helps us recalibrate, and reset ourselves into a very loud and noisy world. And it's true. I write about it a little bit in the book, but I I could say on a consistent basis, I feel it every week. And, look, our conversation doesn't mean at all, like, we're all gonna be who we are. We're still gonna be passionate. We're still gonna be driven. We're still gonna but it's about going about it in a healthier way for ourselves and from a longevity standpoint. But what you're talking about, I feel almost every week because, you know, my schedule is very intense between being a mom and, you know, my my career and the book and these all these things. And I could find myself, like, at the end of the week on a Friday, you're so, like, you're going for it because you're so used to that adrenaline of an inbound, and I'm gonna answer it, and an inbound, and I'm gonna answer it. And you literally have to I have to, like, kinda force myself, and then I feel that seep out of my body. You know? And by Saturday, I'm in a better place, but Friday nights are hard. Yeah. I'm so glad you said that too because I feel like it's that they call it the popcorn brain where we're so there's this, there's that. There's all these, like, devices around us. And, you like you said, I'm like, oh, I better I better answer that right now because, God forbid, I wait a few hours or I wait till Monday versus Friday or that need to, check all the socials. And and there's so many things are coming at you, and I often lose track myself personally. Like, where was that message? I know someone messaged me, but I can't remember what I'm talking about. Thing and twenty other messages pop up at you. I can't forget where you are. But you're so right. I mean, that's exactly we have to be aware that we're doing it, and that's your you yourself saying that that you're really realizing your body. Like, oh my I feel that tension that I have that I have to, but you don't have to really all the time. You have to always be connected. You have to respond to everything. It's just something we kind of put into ourselves. So, like, you stepping away and realizing Saturday, oh, I have my body back. I have my mind back to myself in that space with your daughter, with your husband, with your dog, with, you know, your community. It's, you just feel present. And that is, something we're losing if we can't find the presence of our our time. And I see people walk down the street with their big headsets on, and they're looking at their phone, and they're bumping into people because they've lost their, you know, spatial awareness, who they are and where they are. And it's it's fascinating to me, and it's sad. It's scary because anything could come up and just take you. But being slammed into on a daily basis is is, it it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart to see that these people are completely letting go of their own bodies, and it's their choice. Yeah. It's their choice. Yeah. It's their yeah. It's a practice not to more so. That's the harder thing these days. So I love that you brought up presence because, a lot of the practice that you have and the work that you do with others is helping them find that presence. And, you know, we talk about in the book those awe intervention moments and stuff. And so can you let let's let's talk a little about that. One of the things that you share, I'm sharing a quote, is those who regularly engage in being present with a aesthetically pleasing environments exhibit lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of improved cognition. So, right, so so what are the practices? What is what what do you do? How do you work with somebody to find those ways, you know, to to be present? Whether it's microdosing, you know, whether it's, like, in longer longer time frames from that. Like, how do what what what's some of the work that you could share? Well, the one thing I started doing years ago, almost ten years ago, was leading wellness walks in Central Park. The more I studied around our brain on nature and beautiful places and spaces, all of a sudden, I said, oh my gosh. It's right here. You know, how we can benefit from nature is right in front of us. We just never really knew about it. I was never taught in school. I was never told anything. But the more I researched, then I partnered with a few different universities and and people to really study and do the research and learn what everyone else is doing globally. So I always try and tell people. So the wellness walks I lead are just trying to get people outdoors, whether it be for twenty minutes or an hour to really, I try and teach and we walk and talk about what's happening to our body when we're exposed to certain smells or, like, there's a beautiful breeze on your skin. So, again, it's just being human. So I always say, we are sensorial beings seeking sensorial experiences twenty four hours a day. It's we are like a giant antenna, and we can either be fed or, you know, the spaces can feed us or deplete us. So we're at places that can really feed our body and feed our soul and our spirit, and that's most of the time in nature. And that's scientifically proven. But, again, that cognition of witnessing, like, awe, like an awe moment, like a rainbow you might see. Or last night, I I just happened to be walking home from dinner, and the sunset stopped me in my tracks in the middle of the street. Yes. There was a red light so I could stop. I think you posted that on your story. I did. It was so stunning. It just and, again, like, it it took me out of my monkey brain of, okay. I have to do this tomorrow. I've got all these things to do. But in that moment of just witnessing awe, the profound beauty of nature, it gives you that space to just be present. And nature does that. So if you give give yourself that practice or that time to go outside, If you're doing yoga and you're doing all these great things for yourself, think about the profound benefits of going out in nature, the sounds you're hearing or tuning into your spaces. They're like, oh, what time of year it is? Oh, that bird is chirping. It must be. But it's interesting because the more you learn about the places you inhabit, the more in tune you are with them. So when they're they're off, you wonder why. And I learned that a lot by living in the tent every summer that I've had in my family for thirty six years. So I know exactly almost to the day what week it is of the summer because of the the light coming in the windows or the birds that can hear outside or I can hear acorns falling, then I know it's the end of August and summer's coming to a close. So the more you tune into your surroundings, it's like a superpower. It it helps, like, again, also benefits your intuition. You are fully active as a human, and it gives you that awareness to tune into people, to read a room better, to really listen with your whole body. Because sometimes we're just listening. We're on our phone, and we're just, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. You can I know? My daughter knows when I'm doing that because that's when she's asking me for things I would say no to, and then I say yes because I'm just like, okay. Whatever. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I get it. I still get it. Oh, boy. Yeah. So it's so once we listen with our whole body, it's a totally different experience. And we can hear what people are really saying with their words. And when you listen to how people speak, what they're saying with their body language, it's it's very telling, and you can you can be much more of a better leader because you can then understand your team better. You're more resilient to the surroundings and the changing environment. So there's a lot of, like, all these layers of things that can happen when we do tune into the entire body. And and, again, it's a practice. It doesn't come overnight. It's something you have to really hone in on, but it's it's one I say is the the best thing I've ever done is to get into this work. So how do you people that are, like, on the go all the time and feel like they hear you say this. Right? And they're probably like, well, that's not you know, I don't live in nature and that's not realistic. And if you're in Manhattan, I'm in a concrete jungle and when am I going to Central Park today? You know? So right. Just like in reality, that's how it feels. So you also talk about, like, quieting our soul is necessary work. For those who feel that way, what are some of the tips you have? Right? How do they find those moments that allow them to find that quiet and that presence? And that's hard. You're right. Because, especially, like, I live in New York City. So I'm thinking a little a few hours ago, the jackhammers were going up, so it irritates me, and it's that sound versus noise. So how do we block out the the noise around us, which usually is man made noise? And in our environment, create a space that is comfortable. If you can put on even if you have an Alexa device or a YouTube channel and just play nature sounds. I often do that in the winter. I'll play a crackling fire on YouTube. And just so I can have the joy of your sounds so good. Right? And cozy. Yeah. It really is. So I feel and again, that's also helped me block out the noise from outside my window. So I always tell people, find ways to create comfort in your environment. Even if you can't go outside, that kinda helps me hear different maybe birdsong in my apartment. There's some great studies being done for children, from Bill Bill Browning from Terrapin Bright Green. So he's been doing some work with students that have impact or, I'm sorry, like a fourth grade class side by side. The students that had birdsong in the classrooms and very minute, tiny, wouldn't even know it's there, but a little bit of birdsound, birdsong. The students did better on test scores, less absenteeism, and they were kinder to this to the teachers. So birdsong, like, simple, simple things that we often overlook impact us because, again, we evolved outside. So we're not thinking, oh, birdsong. It's gonna relax me. It's it's in our DNA. So think about it when we're, you know, millennia ago, when we were, cavemen or whatever what have you. We evolved to know that when there's a threat, usually, animals or birds will go away. So the big the big, you know, cyber saber tooth tiger might be behind us or something. So Yeah. I think about this. Even my parents' yard, they have all these beautiful, like, little animals around and creatures, and they have hawks and eagles. The minute the hawk and eagle do show up, everything else scatters because they're the they're the, you know, the threat to everything else. So if you can go ahead in your environment and have that really beautiful nature song or nature sounds, look out the window once in a while. Even if you just have forty seconds to look out the window at nature, if it happened to be a tree outside your window or a skyline, water, forty seconds is all you need to really relax the prefrontal cortex. That's all it takes. I mean, that feels very doable. I could do forty seconds. Yeah. Right? In between Zoom calls, if you only have forty seconds, just even if you have a painting that you love in your house that's of nature, just look at that for forty seconds. It sounds kind of silly, but it actually does relax the prefrontal cortex. Look at a beautiful piece of art, put on some music that you like. Again, use some things you can do in your environment that are quite simple. Create layers of textures within your house as well. Not everyone can have a green wall, but if you have some plants, some things like that. But think about airflow. Can you get some natural airflow? Like, could it open a window once in a while? I'm happy today because finally the heat wave broke, and I just moved my window a little bit to get the bearable. I could get that breeze coming in just for a little while just to feel that on my skin. So, again, think about how we're activating our senses. What am I smelling? What am I hearing? What what's that airflow like? So just these variations in our bodies throughout the day. So, again, it's very minimal, but you can do it at home for sure. Yeah. I like it because it feels accessible the way you're describing it, and I think people you know, there's a lot of conversations like this morning routine you're supposed to have or this. And I think that puts a pressure. Sometimes you can make that happen. Sometimes you don't, and then you beat yourself up about, I didn't prioritize that, but life happens. So I think it's nice to have in your personal toolkit. Okay. If there's a morning time frame, like, this could be my routine. But if not, I can find these little pockets, these little one minute pockets. That's exact thank you for saying that because you're right. Because we do tend to beat ourselves up. Oh my gosh. I should have. I always say I I I can should myself to death or when people should me to death. I don't wanna tell me. Like, don't tell me I have to. Like, if I can't, I'm gonna try. I'm gonna do my best and do things that make you feel good. And, again, it might not be every day or you can't, but you shouldn't beat yourself up for not doing it. But but find like those microdosing moments. I would say microdosing nature, really is, it's really beneficial. Really beneficial. Yeah. For sure. Well, I have my my pup now, and I walk with him every morning. And sometimes he's willing to go with me for half hour, and sometimes he's just willing for five minutes, but it's definitely made a difference because I get those moments right with nature and taking him for his walk, and, it gives me a nice grounding. Okay. Well, you've shared so much, but I wanna do a few rapid fire questions for the audience. So you've shared in this episode so much you've learned throughout your life, right, journey. What would you tell your younger self about well-being when you think about what you know today versus when you were twenty? Well, when I was twenty, I thought well-being meant fitness, that it meant triathlons or marathons or, like, real active environments. But now I know well-being is really more about, going inside, quieting myself down, finding that peace, especially now and just how life progresses so quickly and how do we kind of slow down. So the slowdown has been, what I have found out to be the most beneficial to me and also the quieting down. I've become very quiet since COVID, so that has really helped me center myself for myself. And it helps me feel more confident in my body because I feel more grounded into who I am in that space. So that is well-being to me. It's just finding that space of forgiveness for myself, grace for myself. And that way I can kinda tend to everything else and everyone else I need to. I love that. I think giving yourself grace is so underestimated and, so empowering when you're able to do that. Okay. What are three words of wisdom that reground you when you need it? There's a lot, but I'm just gonna I'm just gonna say there's a a few words that are just always seek silence. It sounds silly, but I now I really try and find if I can find the silence in my day and I don't mean, like, pitch silence, but I mean just there's no there's no I don't have a TV on. I have no music on. I don't have any earbuds in. Nothing, but I'm just listening to see what I can find. So seek the silence of, you know, the moment that you're in. I'm always trying to tune into the natural sound, the breeze, the rustling of the leaves. So silence. Yeah. And just, again, I use grace the word grace a lot because I think we overlook we have to give ourselves just the grace to just get through because we think that we're making the right decisions. And we might look back and say, I should have never have done that, but we did the right thing at the right time for what we were going through. And we can look back in that hindsight, but give yourself grace for living in that moment and making decisions that maybe later on, you're like, oh, I could have done that better, but you did the best that you could do for that moment that you're in. So seeking, you know, silence and grace and also, grounding yourself. And I, you know, that could be in nature, but just also, grounding in who you are. Stop looking to everything going on around you and to other people and ground yourself in who you are, where you came from, what you know, what you love, and share that beauty of the gift of you. Because everything else is great, but sharing the gift of you, whatever your talent is or what you're passionate about, that's that is where the passion exudes, so much. I just love watching people. I love watching people and things that they love to do, that they're passionate about. That excites me because I said, wow. I can see their enthusiasm. You can see. You could feel the happiness and joy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's there's a woman we both might know, but she she she loves to ice skate in the winter, and she shares it on social media. And I just find such joy in watching her because it makes her feel good. And I just Yeah. I love it. I just love watching her talent. And, again, it could be art. It could be drawing, it could be photography, whatever it might be. But I think when we, share those gifts, it just makes you feel grounded in yourself. Yeah. No. Absolutely. And I love you you mentioned, like, oh, I could've did it differently or whatever. I think you should also give yourself grace and understanding. You're probably often gonna feel that way. But that's just giving you an opportunity to bring that to the next opportunity. Right? Like, don't look backward on it. Take it, acknowledge it, and then you'll apply it next time. So okay. And then the last one, I feel like we touched upon it a little bit by sharing, you know, what you experienced when you were an entrepreneur the that first time around. You're still an entrepreneur with a with a new company. What's one new thing that you bring to your leadership style that you wouldn't have done back then? Oh, back then it was naivety is bliss. So it's, like, I'm just gonna do it because why not? But now I think what I what I bring to the table now, I think it's just awareness, that I don't feel like I have to do everything. I don't have to I don't have to create this big giant monster of a beast of a business that you can impact people's lives by doing what you love to do and doesn't have to be something big. So I really realized create what you love, and things will come from that. And don't don't think out what what your exit strategy is gonna be. If you're just having something that's a passion for something that you love, create from that space and something will grow. And whatever that something is, it will feel good in your body because you're doing it out of passion and love, and you wanna share it with the world. And I think that's what I'm bringing to the table now is I in my mind, I always thought, what am I gonna build next? Because, again, that entrepreneurship brain is, oh, it better be bigger than the last thing. It better be bigger, very bigger. And that's where I've caught myself in another business I created was I thought I had to outdo my first business. But now, I know that I can create something. It doesn't have to be gigantic, but it could be something big for me to impact other people's lives. I'm glad you said that because that's what I was thinking. It's I think we associate how do you define big? Because it's not just always in size and scale of your organization. It could be big an impact, and I think you're making a big impact. And you're also doing it by one of the things you said in your second words of wisdom. You're so passionate and happy about it. I think people see that. If you anybody follows you and you talk about the work and you you're on stage and all of those things, like, it's so clear that you're living your passion. Thank you. So that's an action plan. Itself. Yeah. Yeah. I get excited every day. I wake up excited every day because it's a new opportunity to learn, and be curious about things and and then share that with share that wisdom that you learned through your life or what you're learning now, and then it's just so interesting. So, yeah, I I thank you. I appreciate it because I get excited every single day. Well and that's the thing. That's when you should know. I think, you know, that's when you know you're doing the right thing. Like, if you can make that without an alarm clock because you're excited, not because you're excited. But you're excited. Right? And it's like, I'm I'm ready to go today and make this stuff happen. You know, that's an acknowledgment of, like, okay. It's not every day. I mean, it could be day you're like, oh my god. This is gonna be a tough weekend. Gonna be easy. Yeah. Exactly. That it was gonna be I mean you're energized. Yeah. That's exactly it. Because it's not when I say when I hear people say, oh, you're not so great. I'm like, it's so hard. And it's it's so hard. Like, we can go inside a whole other other time, but it's hard. But when you kinda come with something with passion and get like, I can face it because you're excited about the day, and you're willing to dig in deep and go through the hard stuff and and learn about yourself and the people around you and and what you wanna do. And that's that's the beauty of it. Yeah. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for everything you've shared. I love what you're doing with the lost order of being human. If people aren't following you after this episode, I know that they will. You know, you can follow Jennifer, on her website or on Instagram, and, you know, they can engage with with your consulting. So, they're getting such a tease of it right now in this conversation, but I I love that you shared, you know, what you've learned because life's a journey and and that you were able to, get a lot of good out of what happened even though those are some scary moments in between. Right, that I think a lot of people face. And it's what you make out of it that is the longer term opportunity. So appreciate you sharing. Thank you, and I appreciate you sharing for everything you're doing because you're such a role model to so many people. And and I'm so thankful that you share because, again, like, when you share what your story, it helps other people feel seen in their own journey. So, I love the I love everything you do. You know, I've been following you for years, and I'm just so appreciative for your friendship and all that you put out in the world because it is truly beautiful. Thank you so much. I'm glad. I'm, like, very I I like I said, it was a scary, scary time, but working on this book and and you and and others being a part of it was the gift I never expected. So thank you so much for that. You. Yes. Well, to everybody, again, this is Jennifer Walsh. I know you'll continue to follow her, and thank you for listening to another episode of The Purpose Pivot.