Show notes:

149. Journey to Authenticity: How a mom of 3 and an entrepreneur overcame procrastination and imposter syndrome to create the business-and life of her dreams

Vanessa 00:00
Welcome to the Empowered brain, the only podcast using science, psychology and coaching to help you rewire your brain and create a life you love with your host, Dr. Vanessa Calderon, a Harvard grad physician, master coach, and mother of two.

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm joined today by a special guest, one of my students, one of my clients, her name is Nora, and I'll bring her on in a second, she'll be able to introduce herself more thoroughly. But Nora is a super special human being she has an incredible heart. She's a mom of three. She's a registered dietitian, works clinically as a dietitian, and is also an entrepreneur and runs her own business. And I was incredibly drawn to her because you can just tell she's resilient, she has a ton of grit. And there's a lot of beautiful things she wanted to do in the world, and she is doing in the world. And I'm just so grateful that she wanted to come on the podcast and share her experience in working together. So Nora, welcome.

01:07
Thank you, Vanessa. It's great to be here with you. Yeah,

Vanessa 01:12
and you know, right before we hit record, you're sharing all these beautiful things. And so why don't we just start from the beginning. And you can, you know, share from your heart, just what you want what you felt like you wanted to share? Totally.

01:24
So I am all, I always strive to do my best in everything since I was a little kid. I don't know if anyone can relate to that, you know, we are immigrant family. And we wanted to do our best, learn more, be the best professionals we can. And all of that my family, we emigrated to Canada in 2009. So I was just a fresh graduate from undergrad in nutrition. We came from the United Arab Emirates. And when we first came, I remember my dad asking us to have goals like to achieve here. And it was like a very good thing. And I still remember that time. And I remember wanting to first of all, study more and become a registered dietician. So I can practice in Canada. The other thing that I always wanted also to continue my graduate studies and doing a master's in nutrition because I really enjoy it. So yeah, that's how I like to say how it started. And it's been, it's been a journey since then, with many, many changes.

Vanessa 02:43
Absolutely. And what do you think got you interested in working in my program and the journey? Yeah,

02:50
so I'm always looking for something that makes me better, professionally, personally, in terms of like, in the space of business. So since I started the private practice, in 2020, I wanted to learn more about how to improve as a professional as a like as a person, at the same time, how to improve in the business space. So it was always signing up for coaches like firing coaches signing up for courses, buying books about how to start and how to do things efficiently. I wanted to also serve my clients the best way possible. And if I am, at some point I can speak to that experience, I got overwhelmed. I also felt like an imposter, all these things that many people feel. But that didn't serve me in terms of I felt how I dealt with my children at home. And with my family. At the same time how I also dealt with points, so I was procrastinating on the work to do for them.

I was procrastinating on charting because I'm a registered dietician. And that's something that we have to do for each patient, particularly record of everything we are of the plan and assessment that we do for them. And I was procrastinating on that and feeling all that guilt and shame. And that was overwhelming for me to feel. So at one point, I was also like signing up for all these courses and things and starting with them or just like purchasing them and saying like there's a right time. I will start with those courses. I'll start with that program. Well, I'll start reading that book and usually I read the first chapter, and I leave it so I don't know, like continuing with the work in is key. And that's one of the things I also, of course, noticed in myself that I sometimes start with something because I start excited. I wanted to do it. But then I don't know what happens wife or something. It takes me away from it. So one day, I was actually scrolling through Instagram. And I saw a post. It's it was an ad, but it totally spoke to my core. It spoke to me personally, I felt like what I'm saying here? It was like, Are you an over achieving woman who was procrastinating? And those are like, now I'm giving those responses because that was me. I have a master's degree I am.

People see me as a successful professional, but I wasn't seeing that in myself. And I was at the same time procross At that point, specifically, I was procrastinating on so many things. And I remember describing to a friend that I'm procrastinating on my wife like, what, what am I doing? Exactly? So I saw that post and I was like, is that like, this is exactly speaking to me. So I signed up for the free class that Vanessa offered. And in that class, every single thing that Vanessa mentioned, was that that like the solution or the thing that I really wanted to work on, because it felt like yeah, it's not just my professional life, but it's mostly about what I felt like who I am as a person, how to master my mind to master my time, all the components of the journey, which is the program, and the name of the program, by itself is something that resonates with me because I like I am in the health field. So and I take people from point A like if they are feeling a living with a condition, which is usually painful and tiring, and everything, and I take them in a journey to health journey to point B, where they feel better improve their health, doing things that they want to do in life with a better body and spirit. Yeah, so there are many things that I actually felt in the program. And I wanted to share that experience because I have done a lot in the past.

Yes, I have a bit of a big library I like to read. But now with kids, it's very much like when I have limitation with time, of course. And and as I told you before I start and I don't continue, I don't follow through. But here where I find ministers program different. That's Vanessa doesn't leave you on your own, which was my problem. She kind of keeps following up like the program is not just you know, buying something, you watch it on Kajabi. And that's it. No. Which I did in the past. And yeah, it might work. Or I don't think of course, like most of them. I don't finish, unfortunately. And I feel like I wasted some investment. The other thing that happens is that maybe I watch some of the of the content. But I think works for a while and I kind of forget it. I do things I'm usually my days there are no not today's the same because of responsibilities with kids, with family with in laws, with life in general. So yeah. For a while, and yeah, I can speak to many things. Vanessa, first of all, I don't know if that was true. Vanessa can tell me. I was the first one who signed up after that webinar. I don't know.

Vanessa 09:11
If you believe if you believe that to be true, it probably was, believe and because it was you announced my name as the first and then people for the training up. Because yes, yes, yes. I was like, yes, that is no matter what she asks like in terms of investment, because that was, you know, the more than just like a bandaid.

09:15
That was the thing that I wanted for my pain point. Like that wasn't my pain point. The ones the exact points you share. And you know the solutions that you have in the journey, and you shared in the webinar. So I said like, if she asks for $100,000 I am there investing because that would be what helps in what I'm doing right now. So Yeah, I signed up right away. And, and Vanessa contacted me after that was like, you know, that personal touch that I really, really love. This is what I do with my clients. And I can talk to that as well, because it overwhelms me in a way sometimes. Because I do it with everybody. I tried to give them that also, personal experience, which I really felt taken care of. Like, it's not just you know, you signed up you are one in contracts. No, you are one individual who has value and I really, really felted with Vanessa's, with Vanessa and her program and all her I can also Like everything else she does in the program. Yeah, I keep going.

Vanessa, please interrupt me if I am going but because I'm very excited to share my experience. And I'm actually excited to share what happened. So Vanessa sent me an email after welcoming me to the program. And they it was not automated. It's not automated, which is yep, I understand automation. And it's very efficient and important in business. But that was not automated. She welcomed me and you're one of the first who signed up. And this and this like offering. And I'd like to offer you a gift. And I was like, Oh, that's cool. I love gift. So yeah, just like share your address with me, I'll send you that little gift. And it's like a welcoming gift. And also, she offered me an individual session with her as the beginning to start with. And that was a life changing. I remember that session very well. Because I shared with her my kind of main concern, which was like procrastination on charting. And she because also She's a doctor, and she gets what I'm saying. So she shared with me like, yeah, I can do that. Simplify it do that. And there's that was like very, very good, because so I stopped focusing on the fluff and unnecessary details. And I was focused on what is important in the chart, which is something that was really hard for me at that time.

It still gets like it's challenges, of course, but I still kind of try my best to work with that. But anyway, so I It felt so personal and felt so good

Vanessa 12:40
on in our one on one coaching session, because I also remember it very, very clearly. And I remember you bringing in the question about, we talked about procrastination, and you said, you're really struggling because you have all these charts that are not complete. And you're not leaving work on time. And you know, and you have children at home and all of these things. And so you wanted to solve that problem. And I remember specifically coaching you on what the problem was and giving you solutions. And what I'm hearing you say is you because we never actually followed up, like I never asked how did the training go. But it sounds to me like you went back and used the coaching and finished your charting on time, and now you leave work on time.

13:24
For the most part, of course, with everything in life, it's life like it's I wouldn't expect perfection from life that I so there are ups and downs there are kids crying here and there a messy place or something. But there is that feeling that first of all I got listened to in a way that is like so personal. It's not just a course that you buy online, or a book that you keep on the shelf. It's something that you get kind of cared for, in a way that is you know, practical. It's not just like yeah, yeah, that's okay. Okay, validation is important, I love to be validated because I don't validate myself that like but of course, you learn how to validate and have self compassion, which is a work in progress, always for me. And, and at the same time, I felt like okay, there is a solution.

And of course, she mentioned the journey. After a while I I actually stopped receiving emails from Vanessa and I sent her an I know that she does coaching calls. So I sent an email asking like I don't receive I don't know when the coaching calls are, and she was like, right away, I started receiving those weekly coaching calls emails, and they attended many of those of course like sometimes I miss some of them because of family scheduling and appointments. But whenever I attend I feel like I'm on an end. Like, she's Vanessa. And even that group of women, they are also so awesome. It's they, they don't deal with you as a person in the group, you are not a person within a group, you are a person who's, you know, unique and important and valued. And that's very, very, that makes a big difference for my day. And for in general for my experience with the program. Of course, without with a great content anyway, I after a while, I haven't received the gift. That's very interesting.

So, again, I sent an email to Vanessa, I actually went back to the emails and saw that I didn't specify I think, the postal code in Canada, we don't use a zip code, we use a postal code. And, and I, it wasn't there, I forgot to send it to Vanessa. I sent her Canada instead of my postal code. And they told her, I missed something. Is that okay? I like if I want to get the gift. So she said, like, of course. And after I think, a week, 10 days, something, I received the gift, and I was very happy about it. It's like really beautiful, personal gift that felt personal, like little things that are beautiful. Yeah. So yeah, from there, and then I, of course, I started attending the coaching sessions. And you will get your time in those coaching sessions, you ask questions, you send hearts to others, it feels beautiful, because everybody understands you. Many of those women are high achieving women who are struggling with something that is stopping them from being their best potential. And their struggles, feels very similar to my struggles. So whenever we listen to each other, we get some coaching from Vanessa, we get some we try. We also like validate and give compassion to help the person especially they have like something that is urgent that's happening in their lives, which is also very, very similar to many of our experiences, like many of them also are intrapreneurs. Many of them are very, like they are professionals, clinicians and other professionals. So it's really important and helpful.

Vanessa 17:54
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Wow, that was so beautiful, Nora, if you can keep going.

18:03
Because it really feels different. And it's different from many of the programs I signed up for. I tried in the past, I also went to therapy, therapy is good, but therapy is different. And many people actually I can for for a while I confused coaching with therapy, like Yeah, I do therapy, I go to a therapist. But coaching is different. I don't I haven't tried any differences. I searched it, but I felt how different it is. Of course, like there are similarities in a way that like looking into your self and all of that. But therapy takes a little longer it might dig into your past, it might look at you know, different act like different things versus coaching. It helps you. I felt like it helps you now, it helps you to deal with things as they come up more than you know, it's not it's not a longer process like therapy therapy kind of some longer. I don't know if that's true. If anybody experienced any of therapy versus coaching, but I felt like coaching and I even now, whenever I speak to my clients, nutrition clients, I tell them that have you tried coaching before? It's very helpful because yeah, it's different from therapy, you can do both as well at the same time, which I sometimes do, as well.

Vanessa 19:38
Yeah, you know, what's interesting about that, I agree with you, I think it's very different. And coaches themselves are individuals, right? So they're all going to have their own way to coach and the way they approach situations and clients and students. And one of our students in the journey. I can't remember if you were there, they she said this, she's a therapist herself. She's a Sakai Trust, and that she's like, wow, this is so different. She trained as a therapist, you know, she's she, she's a therapist, now, professionally, still with clients, she sees clients like that. And she said, a lot of the things that I'm learning here, I never learned, I never learned through therapy, because coaching therapy are different. Plus, also, my background is different.

You know, I do, I'm a master coach. But I also have a lot of other background and mindfulness and mysticism and ancient wisdom. And I bring all of that to coaching. But she said, the therapist, she said, you know, in my experience, the difference between therapy and the way you're coaching us is therapy really focuses on the problem. And the root of the problem, where did it come from, and your coaching is activating, it sees the problem, but it doesn't stay with the problem, it looks for solutions, and helps pull you forward. She said, It's very activating the type of coaching you have. And I thought that was just such a beautiful and kind of clear way to explain the difference.

21:02
Yeah, exactly what I felt maybe I described it in a different way. And so like, fast, or I mean, like, you do it while you are living life versus therapy, kind of a longer process where you analyze and look into the things and of course, what caused that problem? Yeah, and so the thing is, also with Vanessa's background, I didn't know that before or like all these things. But this is what speaks to the whole person. It's not just how you feel, of course, like how you feel in your body. It's how you feel emotionally. But also, sometimes we we touch on other things, like even kind of spiritual, and we touched on with Vanessa, we touch on, like social type of things. I remember also being coached over how to about parenting, and of course, how to look into myself to parent my kids better.

Vanessa 22:07
Yeah, that's right. And the truth is, you know, I believe that how you do one thing really bleeds into all areas of your life and how you do other things. And when you can look into yourself when it comes to parenting, I remember that specific issue you're talking about with your kids. And aye, aye, aye, I know, you know, I have I have a gift. It's a deep knowing. And for me, it helps me help my students so much faster. You know, it's helps me create revelations really quickly, I can hear what you're saying. And I know exactly where it's coming from, or what you're feeling, which is why I can pull those things out. And they do ask questions for affirmation, right? I'll say, did you experience this? Or was this coming up for you.

And I think what I realized is, the more I do this, the more experience I have, the more I hone my own gifts, the faster I get my student results. And so it used to take me a year to work with some of my students to get the results they have now, we've cut that in half and for all my students and said the journey because I think the way the program is structured, where you have the core curriculum, and you also have coaching, and then you also have the group in the community. Students are getting results so fast, right? It's like, one session one hour, you know, or like, you watch one module. And it just changes the way you're thinking about things. And I'm curious for you, you know, you kind of touched a little bit about the modules, the coaching, and then the group you kind of mentioned all three of those. What's been your experience with all those different experiences with all those different different parts of the program?

23:40
Oh, wow, I love this question. Because yes, of course. I haven't started with the core curriculum at the beginning, as I always do, but I started with coaching and with the group, the Facebook group first of all those coaching sessions they are really good. I look forward to them every week because it's it feels really good to connect with other women like minded women. And I remember coming out of childbirth experience having a two week old baby and attending one of the coaching sessions and they told them I don't need coaching I want connection and at that point that session felt so connecting felt so good at that time where I'm so healing and a little babies on my arm. And yeah, the whole group kind of felt it. Of course we are all virtual but it feels like Virtual hugs. Which felt really really nice and everybody also welcome baby which also I means lot to me.

Vanessa 25:02
Yeah, I remember when you brought your baby, she was so beautiful. And you know, I didn't share this with the group. But I had this reflection when I was watching the group, because it's all these like really smart, ambitious women, many women of color, many immigrants, you know, and here you are this like incredible woman with a child in your arms here for human connection and being in support of others, and everyone has a point of view. And what came up for me was like, Well, I will be damned like, what, what is this is like, the most beautiful thing ever? Like, what if the world Oh, we supported women, the way we're lifting women up here, you know, teaching them how to let go of all the stuff that's getting in the way of their beauty and their greatness and their divine feminine. And I just, I was just so moved inspired, you know, this beautiful emotion came over me just a ton of gratitude for what we've created, you know, what this beautiful group is and the teachings that we get. And when you come, even if you just listen, you just get so much out of it, you know, even if it's the community, the connection.

26:11
Absolutely. And by the way, that now you mentioned, how much emotions that you are feeling that reflects so much to the group. Like, and what's also really beautiful, also, those group sessions, coaching sessions with Vanessa, she shows how much she's compassionate for everybody and sends love and all that. And it means so much as intrapreneurs, again, really my intrapreneur experience, many, many times we feel isolated, especially if we are we don't work with people directly. So with those types of connections are those sessions where you feel seen and well taken care of, because we can take care of so many people, but when you have like a group who is like, like a community who is listening and helping and sending so much, you know, Virtual hugs, and virtual hearts. And it's it's beautiful. Yeah, maybe words are I don't come up with those creative words. But beautiful describes, I think nice.

Vanessa 27:28
Yeah, for sure. For sure. I think, you know, the magic in the journey, I think comes from so many different aspects. One big part of it, I do think is in the end, not to toot my own horn, but in my ability to hold space for so many people. And I've gotten better and better and better and better at that. And I can be in a room of 100 people and hold space for them, you know, and in our group, when it's beautiful. And it's intimate, and it's beautiful. And we always start with compassion. Every time someone gets close, we always start with compassion. And we shift into solutions. But the solutions always have to start with compassion first, right? Like, get an understanding as to why that came up for you. Why you're doing what you're doing. Let's understand, let's still love ourselves. And we can still shift and change and improve and really reach our potential because I fully believe we have unlimited potential, we are unlimited human potential. And the more we can heal things that are holding us back, the further we go. And so for me, I'm dedicated to my own healing because I know when I do it, I can bring it to the group. I think that's why my probably why I keep getting better and better because I keep doing my own work too.

28:50
Yeah. And that's also when you share that with everybody. It feels different as well. It feels like good for us as well. When you tell us how you start your day with intention and and that that's very good. Many times we start like really kinda just starting with morning routine, especially if if anybody has kids, they can feel that like oh, yeah, getting ready for school, having breakfast. It's it's really it's things happen fast, but kind of pausing for just a minute maybe thinking about the days intention makes a huge difference for your day. A huge difference. And whenever I have like I started my day this way. It's it's different than other days when I'm just like, having those chaotic mornings.

Vanessa 29:44
Yeah, I actually remember Nora when you came there was the specific issue you had coach you needed coaching on and it was about work, right like going back to work after having your third child. And I remember we talked about that we talked about was honest. Again, let's be super thoughtful about how we start our day and we coached on that, and then I shared what I do. And for all of you listening, many of you are not on a coaching call, obviously. But um, I just want to teach that because I think it's really can be life changing. And it takes, like Nora said a minute. And there's a bunch of different ways to do it. And in the group, I went through my super comprehensive routine, and some people adopt it or parts of it.

And I'm not going to go through that here. But what I will just share as if you just open your eyes and the floor before you do anything else, before you grab your phone, before you get out of bed to go to the bathroom before you do anything else, when you open your eyes, if you can just pause for a second and be in a space of gratitude for having another day to live. And from there choosing, you know, like, how is it that I want to like, how is it that I want to live today? What do I want to create today? What kind of feeling do I want to have today? That shifts so much just those two little things. And it takes us in a minute, I opened my eyes and I say thank you. Thank you, God. Thank you source. Thank you spirit for giving me another day. I'm so excited. I can't wait to create. And I say what is it that I want to feel today? We want to feel grateful, we want to feel bliss, I want to feel x whatever it is that I want to feel, you know, and from there from knowing how I want to feel I'm super intentional with what I think and what I choose to do, because I know that what feeling I'm trying to continue to cultivate throughout the day.

31:21
Yeah, yeah.

Vanessa 31:25
Your baby's up. Okay. So Nora has a five month old that was born while she was in the program. And she just said that her baby just woke up. So she's gonna go pick up her baby and probably bring little mono back to the podcast. Okay, so Nora is back on the podcast after picking up her little five month old who she is now breastfeeding. Hello, little cutie baby. So, um, so, you know, I I just love that you wanted to continue to record we, we didn't have to Banaras it? No, it's not a problem. And for me, it's clearly not a problem, either, because I have kids as well, as part of why. But um, anyway. So as we continue, I'm curious, you know, you talked a lot about your experience in the program and how much you've appreciated it and the uniqueness of it from other programs. Now, one thing you said that I forgot to just highlight was, how different this was from other programs. Because I think if you are online, if you've ever bought something online, you might have the experience of purchasing something and putting it on the shelf.

And it might be for you, maybe not a program online, it might be a book, we buy all these books, and we have all the best intentions of doing them. But we don't follow through. And I just really appreciate what you said about how supported you felt, and how it helped you essentially follow through. And honestly, I can't make anybody follow through. That's that depends on whether or not you want to do the work yourself. But I do my best to make sure that everybody feels welcomed and supported and helped and like an individual, you know, because they think, for me when I joined programs, I don't want to be one in a million or one in 1000. And you know, I have very little problem speaking up or asking questions or emailing. I have very little problem doing that. And at the same time, it just is so nice. When you feel recognized and you feel like, Hey, you're here, you're part of a group, how can we support you? How can we help you so I love that you said that because the last thing I think anybody wants is to purchase something that they're never going to use. And the fact that you know, we it sounds like what you're saying and it was my intention to make it super easy to access everything inside the program. So it wasn't something that just ended up in a shelf, you know, exactly.

33:45
I also can access the program from my phone because there's an app, which is very easy as well, if I am going for a walk, I can just put my head headphones and listen to the videos. Of course there are some things that I need to write down with them. But all of these things are available to me or I can get them anytime and of course work with the workbook or do the SOT tracking all these important things for coaching. Yeah,

Vanessa 34:16
I forgot about that. Yeah, I'm glad that you mentioned that. We that you know for me, I'm a super busy person and when I created the program I was like what would make this so easy for me for like, a really busy at the time when I created this full time mom I had. I had like my husband joked that I had to be full time jobs before not not including parenting. And I did this because this this work that I teach others transformed my life and changed my life and I knew how helpful it was.

So I wanted to create it for others and I was like how can I do it in a way that would be so simple and easy for anybody for any smart busy person with really tight with me really rigid schedules, what can I do, which is why it is the way to it's specifically designed to make it super easy for you be able to access anywhere. It's why like, the course you know, when you're watching one of the video modules are super short, they're like 15 minutes. So if you only have like 15 minutes while you're doing dishes, watch a quick one, you know, or, if you're gonna go for a run, pop it in and turn on the app and pop it in when you go for a run, and you can listen to one of the lectures. So I'm glad that you said that because I that was my intention, you know, to make it super easy and accessible. Alright, so tell me your results from coaching. I'm curious, like, we talked a little bit about this in the beginning, but like, what do you think are like your, you know, top three, or however many you want to share. Um,

35:44
the main ones are, of course related to my, to my problem, which was procrastinating. So, and whenever I talk about it, and I remember, first thing I asked about it in the Facebook group, and I like I also asked about it in one of the coaching sessions. And I remember as well Vanessa did that podcast about it. So the procrastinating happens, because we are avoiding feeling. And I've learned this very well from the coaching and from the program. Because every time I am I know that I'm procrastinating on something, I say what feeling Am I avoiding. And most of the time, it's mainly coming from the perfectionism tendencies that I grew up with. So I'm avoiding the fear of failure, these types of making mistakes, these types of things.

And I tried to take, like, you know, action steps with that. And, of course, processing those feelings that I am. I am feeling with that. Unless now I am, of course, like, there are some tasks that I still procrastinate on because we are humans, but it's so much less than before. Of course, with my clients work with the work that I do, charting is much easier for me now. And what else A I, of course, like I'm, I feel very, you know, now I feel more intentional. And I also watch my emotions better. I noticed what I am feeling. And trying to slow down with that. In the past, I used to of course, if ya want to go go go, like many of us, and not knowing my emotions, but kind of pushing them away like yeah, okay, whatever, let go. I need to finish this, or I need to go there or something. But now I can feel those emotions. And that hopes, which is so, so magical. Yeah,

Vanessa 38:04
for sure. You know, I think a lot of really smart women, especially, you know, busy, high achieving women. I think we've been taught that emotions might slow us down, they might get in the way that they're unproductive. We've been taught that to be successful. Honestly, whether we were told this, or we just saw examples of it that to be successful, we needed to be more masculine, like, like dudes, right? Like, who was always successful, who's leading things. It was men. And I know for me specifically the way that showed up as I really pushed my feminine aside because that my feminine wasn't good enough. It was unproductive. I want to you know, like I had a lot of drive and motivation and and there's a lot I wanted to create.

And I thought there's only one way to do it. And so for me, it required a lot of healing. And it required me reconnecting to my own human body, which meant also my emotions. And turns out that emotions aren't bad. The emotions are the driving force behind everything that we do, right, which is what I teach you all and I think what I've realized with a lot of our students is you come in to, you know, heal from procrastination, or impostor syndrome or manage your time better or manage money better, all those types of things. And a lot of the students one of their favorite things in the program is the emotions, right? Because now all of a sudden, you're like holy smokes, you know, light bulbs going off all the time when you reconnect to your emotions. Yeah,

39:31
yeah. And of course, also with emotions, also thoughts, and all of these are very important. And yeah, something that I like also to share is because I'm also health professionals, we are all drive by research and science. So I also enjoy that aspect of the program, because it's all based on science, especially the core curriculum. It's based on science is based on evidence on all those evidence based models. All, that also means a lot to me. It's not just like, you know, anybody talking? No, it's It's more professional and ScienceBase. So we know it works. Yes, it's nice to hear experiences. And I love hearing witnesses experiences, how she made all these changes. But also, this is what works. This is what we know, as humans, that it works because it was studied, it was well established, was used for a long time. It's not just, you know, a talk in the air, right?

Vanessa 40:37
Yeah, that's interesting that you say that I forget about that. Because it's so innate to who I am. I'm such a curious person. I'm a scientist by nature. And then I also went to medical school, right? So I've always been kind of a scientist, asking questions, trying to figure it out finding research, like, what's the hypothesis here, and then I go to medical school. So I know the inner knowings of the human brain and the body and what happens? And so I've always been innately curious. And so of course, my entire course is based on science, I teach a thing, and then I'm like, hold on a second, let me tell you quickly why I'm teaching this or why even from the very first module, remember, when I put that together? I was like, you know, what would be really cool for them to know why we're, why we use this, you know, like, where did it come from? Why do we use this. And so everything I teach is 100%.

Evidence based and, and the truth is, you know, sometimes in our coaching sessions, a lot of the things I bring in, might not have a, you know, gold standard randomized control trial to back it up. And that's because a lot of the tools that we're learning now, especially in the field of positive psychology, a lot of that is coming from ancient wisdom and mysticism. It's like, you know, now we have studies to prove why gratitude works. But people have been using gratitude for centuries, or why intentionality works. Now I know what part of the brain it's you. But all of those things has been used forever. So I think, honestly, ancient wisdom is way ahead of science, obviously. And science is doing its best now to try to prove things that have been working for centuries. And I do I bring in both. And I always bring in things that are evidence based, you know, and I think, for human beings, especially a lot of the smart women in our group, they have analytical brains, they want to know that what they're learning is science based, you know, and so, so it is, like,

42:26
an integrating actually, there's nothing, of course, nothing wrong with integrating what we know from our ancestors and from the elderly, in our community, and integrating it the right way, here where, you know, change happens and better understanding of ourselves and our communities as well. So yeah, I wanted to share that, because it fascinates me like science always brings, it's important to me, like I don't, because in nutrition, there are so much false information, because not everything is based on science that we hear about. And of course, we we try also to integrate all the culture in food and all, you know, culture and social aspects and important things that are related to food, because it's not just also science and nutrition. It has more of like community and celebration, culture and many practices. Anyway, I can go on and on. But that was something that is very important to me. And I found it in the program.

Vanessa 43:33
Yeah, for sure. You know, we've talked a little bit about this earlier. But I'm curious, how have the benefits or the changes that you've experienced in the program rippled out to other areas? You know, you mentioned a little bit about parenting, and about the way you treat yourself now, do you mind sort of expanding on that? Or if there's anything else you want to touch on?

43:54
Um, yeah, so the main parts, which are, again, it looks at you as a person, and I felt that so as a whole person, so parenting was was big for me, because it was one of the struggles I had. Also, professional life and intrapreneurship and fight. And finally, what was the Yeah, and personally, how I my relationship to myself, because that wasn't always the best. So, of course, it's everything and I love that understanding that and Vanessa always reminds us of that, which is like you wouldn't see change or like in like, right away like you wouldn't see it, you know, instantly which which is understandable because human being and life doesn't happen like there's no magic it doesn't like you know, change entirely, but it's more of like training yourself coaching yourself. And they love that because, yeah, after that you're on your own and Working on yourself with so much compassion, and love. So

Vanessa 45:05
what you're saying is that it's a journey.

45:10
Exactly. It is a journey. And it is what's good that there's no, you need to enjoy that the journey. It's not just like, oh, once I, I don't know, achieve this, it's, it's done. It's a journey, it's continuous with life. And whenever you have that deep understanding of yourself dealing with self, gently and kindly, that's very, very important. And they felt it makes a big difference, and it made the difference in my life. Yeah, for sure.

Vanessa 45:43
That's really beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah, you're right. Because, you know, for me, something that was really important is that you don't just get help with your work with me, but you learn how to start helping yourself, because you're going to experience issues in 15 years. But now you have all of the tools that you need, you know, to say that in 15 years, what you're learning today is still sustainable. I think for me, that was probably why I created the program, the way it created it is that you don't just learn something, but you retain it. And it's a sustainable change. Because I know when I went through my own, sort of entire, like, physical, spiritual career transformation, what actually stuck with me was the basics.

And so I get super clear on hey, here are the things that you got to make sure that you're learning how to do for yourself really well. And yeah, absolutely having a coach, I wouldn't have been able to get to where I am today. So quickly, without a coach, you know, without somebody seeing the holes that I didn't see seeing my blind spots. Now, Albert Einstein says, You can't solve a problem from the same level of consciousness that created the problem. So you need somebody that's able to see from above, you know, it's able to see you poke your holes, poke, poke those holes a little bit. And really like notice, especially when you're kind of in your Shi t, you know, like when you're in your stuff, and you need help getting pulled out. A coach is super helpful. I think for me, that's why coaching transformed my life and why I do the work that I do now, to really help others really transform their lives. Yeah,

47:18
first time, and you have always the best coats, and our first ever coaching which I had, like, like one on one with you. You share the code that that is that still resonates with me. Every time I feel I have like an uncomfortable feeling. I remember that codes. And it was a quote, it was about that God sees you from and because I'm a believer. So is you from all that, like you see yourself just like, I don't remember the code.

Vanessa 47:53
Oh, it's that verse from the Bible. Oh my god. Okay, so you're sitting with me and spirituality and the Bible. So I was raised in a Christian home. And there were a lot of things about the way Christianity was taught to me that just, I just didn't vibe with you know, I just didn't vibe with it. And but the truth is, I have always been really drawn to higher a higher being the universal power source divine. And so my spiritual journey has led me to where I am today, which is someone that's incredibly open and understands that there's something so much bigger than me out in the world. And again, I'm someone that I don't I just don't believe in coincidences, I believe in synchronicities. You know, and I believe in these beautiful spiritual powers. But because I was raised in in a spiritual home, I had this huge reverence for all spiritual practices, right? extremism is something different, but just like really beautiful spiritual practices. And so sometimes, like, one of my favorite quotes comes from the Talmud, which is, you know, Jewish tradition.

One of my other favorite quotes comes from the Christian Bible, which is the one I shared with you, and I am going to share that with everybody now, because it's such a good one. And which is, you know, when we look at ourselves in the mirror, most of us the 80 99% of human beings, we're only seeing a small part of us because we're always we're not seeing ourselves whole or complete. Because we think things are missing you know, a noun paraphrasing but the Quran the Bible is you know, when you see yourself now you're seeing yourself as incomplete but when the when you see yourself holy ie when sources Your Spirit sees you when you understand your great divine you will see yourself as hold the way I see you.

And I just think it's I think it's comes from Corinthians it's that it's actually the end you know, that really famous quote from Corinthians Love is patient love is kind love does not do this love does not do that. I don't remember the whole quote, but um, but it's one that like people recite at weddings and people post everywhere. It's an Instagrammable quote from Corinthians, the end of that verse of the Bible is, when you see yourself now you're not hold, but when. But eventually you will be when you have full love, when you understand your great divine, then you will be complete. And so really, it's like, you know, the source universe God like your highest self, nor will always see you as the beautiful complete being that you are, you know, never needing to prove yourself to anybody, without all of the things that we have held against ourselves. I'm not good enough, smart enough, perfect enough, all those things. Yeah.

50:41
That's beautiful. So beautiful.

Vanessa 50:43
So what would you tell someone like if we have listeners right now that are kind of on the fence that they're like, I want to join, but maybe it's not the right time. But the investment by Tino all, you know, like all those things, what would you tell someone that was sort of like, considering joining, but on the fence?

51:06
I encouraged them to join, just because it's not something that even if you are not feeling like a struggle right now, but because it's it's good to master those things, because in the journey, it's all about Matt, like mastering the important things in life, mastering your brain, mastering your time, your emotions, there's the fourth one is

Vanessa 51:33
stress. Yeah, stress resilience.

51:34
So those things are, are important in life, like they are life skills, you are just a parent, if you are doing everything, you are an intrapreneur, that's so much needed. Intrapreneurs do things, many of them do things in isolation. So this is very needed. And of course, so it also covers that idea of again, and they really appreciate that the human connection, there's also the continuous human, the continuous connection on on the group on the community. And Vanessa also posts, content on their like videos. And they feel very like, on the spot, very genuine, and beautiful, as well.

So I really encourage people to join, of course, there isn't investment, but it is worth it. And this is what I told Vanessa, when I wanted to do this with her that I felt the program values so so so much more than then, like how how it's priced. And I'm saying that because I did many programs, and many of them were way more expensive. And they didn't worth it. Like it wasn't worth it. Why? Because they didn't have many of the aspects that the journey when I suppose program class. So it's it's very worth it. And also there are like, installments, this is what I did. And it was very easy to do that like right now. Like, in a way that was monthly paid. So it was not like, well, kinda I didn't pay a whole amount. That was hard for me to do. And it wasn't bad in terms of like, financial. I mean, it's it was not a financial stress or a problem.

Vanessa 53:33
Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing about Nora, and thank you for reaching out to me, you know, Nora reached out to me telling me that she's had such a great experience. And she wanted to share her experience with me, can she leave a testimonial? And I said, Well, let's do something a little bit different about you just come on my podcast. And I'm just so grateful. For one just for meeting you, you know, and for humbled that you have have allowed me to support you on your journey. I have seen your growth, tremendous growth throughout the time that we've worked together, I have seen the birth of your third child, which has just been such a blessing for me. And I just so appreciate everything that you're putting out in the world, you know, what you are creating out in the world? I think you mentioned a little bit about entrepreneurship.

I didn't realize how much I was gonna love coaching on entrepreneurship and business. And I think for me, entrepreneurship has been one of the biggest soul journeys of my life, you know, really expanding my own soul journey. And I think because of that, I just love supporting other entrepreneurs because I know what's possible, you know, and I know how you can grow personally and professionally when you jumped into entrepreneurship, if that's something that's for you. And so I really love coaching all entrepreneurs inside the program. So Nora, I'm so grateful for you and for lamona for joining us for you know when she woke up from her nap, it's been such a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

54:59
Thank you You are having me

Vanessa 55:10
Hey, sweet friends, if you love what you're learning, then you've got to join us in the journey. It's my all inclusive program and the best community out there giving you the education you never knew you needed to help you create a life you love. Join us at Vanessa Calderon md.com forward slash join. I'll see you there.