this the right person to be working with, you know, like, Am I making the right choice here working with Tracy Matthews and stuff like that. And so I did a lot of work to help get me grounded to a place where I could actually show up to have tough conversations and to fix and complete some of the things in my business that I've really been like, struggling to do. And so I wanted to talk a little bit more about some of the things that I did. And these are just practices that you can use at any time. So if you want to grab a notepad, and remember this or take notes on your phone, or save this podcast for later, for the next time that you're struggling, maybe it will be helpful for you if you're in a really bad place. So let's dive in, I have three things for you. And there might be an extra bonus one out of this, I don't know, sometimes that happens, we're gonna see. So one of the things that I learned a long time ago is that when you're developing a gratitude practice, especially when you're in a funk, and it's hard to remember, like, anything that's going well, is that you have to acknowledge all the gifts that you do have. And so one thing that's been helpful for me, and this is a daily practice for me, or at least I tried to, when I do take the time to journal is to create a gratitude list of everything that's going well in my life. So even if I feel broke, and I don't have any money, and things aren't going the way that I would like them to, you know, because we all have cycles of like patterns with our money and stuff like that. So there are times when things are going really well. And there's times like as a business owner when I have to make some sacrifices. And in these past couple of months, I've had to make some sacrifices. And so one of the things that I did was to acknowledge all the money that I do have, and all the gifts that I do have and what I've been able to achieve in my life with with the money that I've been able to generate. I say that because like I'm real, you know, it's like, you see entrepreneurs out there. And sure, like, I've made a significant amount of money in my career, millions and millions and millions of dollars, like over $8 million alone in my jewelry business. And most of that time has been working only part time in the business. And like 10s of millions with flourish and thrive, you know, if we were to add up over the past 10 years, so the reason why I'm saying this is that, you know, at any given time, like we might feel like we're not at the place where we think we should be or we want to be right that can trigger our Money Story and bring us back to like old bought. So if you're feeling like, in a place of lack, like you're not doing enough, you're not profitable enough, you're not generating enough cash flow, you aren't paying yourself enough, whatever it might be that I want you to get to a place where you are grateful for all of the money and all the that you've ever generated and all the money that is in your bank account right now. Feel that sense of gratitude. Same thing with relationships. You know, one of the things that was really hard thinking that I might lose this person who I think is like the love of my life, was to get to a place of being grateful for the experiences that we did have together. Because this relationship has been completely transformational to me. For the last three years, it's opened my heart to love again, and made me see things that I never thought I would see in my lifetime, in the context of a relationship. Oh, my gosh, I knew this was gonna be hard to get through. Anyway, finding gratitude in all the places that we have had an amazing relationship and the family that we've built and the dog that we have together and the stepkids I've been, I call them my stepkids, but they're Jason's daughters that I've been like, I call it mentoring, because, you know, I'm not really their mother, but I do. You know, I was having a great conversation with Jason's daughter Natalia last night, and she shares things with me that she won't even share with her dad or mom. And I understand the reasons why, but she really thinks of you as a confidant, she sends me messages all the time saying how much he loves me, and how much she hopes to be like me someday. And to hear that it's just like incredible. So I try to always remember those things, especially when things are tough. So I want you to take an inventory, no matter what is going on in your life, of all the things that are going well in your life, your friendships, your relationships, your dog, you know, the fact that you have an able body, that you're healthy, that you're getting a good night's sleep, that you have some money in the bank, you know, even if it's not what you want it to be, to be grateful at your capacity to earn money. If you don't have any money in the bank, you know what I'm saying, and get scrappy and resourceful. Just think through like every little thing until you've exhausted every single avenue and find that gratitude, because it will change your life when you do when you start getting to this place. Now another thing that I started doing, and this is became really important to me, and I've really been trying to get consistent with this is that I have felt really isolated over the last couple of years living here in Arizona. In my immediate community. What I mean by that is like, I don't haven't really met my people here. So if you're living in Arizona, or you know, people in Arizona who are cool, you know, introduce me to them, because I need some friends. And I'm kind of joking, but at the same time, like seriously, most of the times when I go and spend time with community, it's either to be traveling to New York, or Austin or Miami, or to Utah, or even Sedona, because we have some great friends there. But Sedona is an hour and a half away from where I live. So case in point is that the majority of my community is not in my local area. So what I try to do to feel connected to people is to reach out to two to three people a week that I haven't spoken to in a while and have a conversation either over text, or jump on a quick phone call or something where we can reconnect and really love on each other. You know what I mean? So that's been really helpful. And it's, it's been helpful to help me feel supported. And I think that if this is something that you've been avoiding, or you're feeling isolated, the more that you can reach out to people and start creating those connections that help you feel supported. And when you feel supported, you feel more grateful, because it's easier to do things with the support of a community. That's part of the reason why even started Flourish. & Thrive Academy because the jewelry industry was so insular. For so long, no one was willing to share a trade secrets and all the things and it became hard. So remember that and we are always have someone here with us. And we love connecting you guys and helping you guys stay connected with each other in our community, as well. And then finally, this is really, really important. When you're feeling down on yourself and everything that's going on for you and your business. I want you to remember how far you've come. You have come so far. It's really funny I did. This is where I started. And this is how it's going what video on Instagram for national entrepreneurs day last week. And it was funny because I looked at some of my early collections and the photography and those collections. I mean, I don't even have like great photos of like the early early stuff because they're like in a box somewhere. It was before digital photography, because this was back in the 90s I look at some of this stuff and I'm just like, oh my gosh, this is insane how far I've come and if you want to go on my Instagram feed, you can kind of find it probably like from you know, a couple weeks ago. There is a thumbnail of some beautiful jewelry on the cover. But then there's you'll see the first slide is like One of my best selling collections, and how I had it photographed for my line sheet, which is so embarrassing. It's like the complete opposite of anything I would ever tell anyone. But this is back in the late 90s, early 2000s, we didn't have, you know, trainings on product photography. And you know, I was just scanning my pieces on a photocopier. So I send them to my stores and create a line sheet, which is hilarious. But those, those are my best selling collections, people actually bought up those line sheets a long time ago, less competition that so you do have to have good photography. But it's amazing to see how far I've come 25 years later, I've written a best selling book, The Desired Brand Effect, go pick it up if you haven't done it yet. And it's gotten like over 105 star reviews and ratings. And it's just, you know, I've sold millions of dollars worth of jewelry to this point. I've impacted, like 1000s and 1000s of people, not just on my podcast, but in our programs. You know, we've had over a million downloads on this podcast over the years for a very, very niche and small audience. You know, some of my friends, they have a product podcast, and they're like, oh, we have like millions of downloads. But you know, it's like I'm talking to just one segment. And I feel really proud that millions of people have listened to this podcast over the years. And we've worked really hard to put it out. So I just want to remind you that you've come really far. So I want you to think of the early early days of when you were just starting a business or you were thinking about making jewelry or doing whatever you're doing. And you have come a long way, even if it doesn't feel like it and acknowledge that and be grateful for the journey. And I think the biggest lesson here is that business is not easy. My friend Audrey posted a reel the other day is like what people think having a business looks like. And it was her like all glammed out and like looking amazing. And then others he's like what running a business is really like. And it's like triggering all your money stories, like throwing you into your most traumatic experiences of your life. Serious ups and downs feeling like a failure every day, making mistakes, being underwater getting in debt, like it was kind of funny, because that sometimes is the real story of being an entrepreneur and a business owner. And, you know, it is a journey. And it is a learning experience every single step of the way. And I want to support you in that in your next steps with whatever you're doing. And so thank you for listening to this today. It was really, really hard to record. And I want to thank my friend Gary, who I dinner with.