Embracing Stepping Stones to Success: Pleasure over Pressure

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The podcast episode focuses on the transformative power of stepping stones in various aspects of life, including healing, relationships, and business. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing these pivotal moments as essential tools along the journey to growth and self-discovery.

• The concept of stepping stones as tools for growth 
• Personal experiences with therapy as a stepping stone 
• Spiritual teachings as essential stepping stones in personal evolution 
• Lessons learned from past relationships and personal boundaries 
• Business strategies as stepping stones leading to unique paths 
• The pleasure model as a transformative approach to business and life 
• The value of recognizing and honoring stepping stones in one's journey 
• Openness to evolving beyond current stepping stones as growth continues

Chapters

• 0:05 The Power of Stepping Stones
• 10:39 Finding Success Through the Pleasure Model

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to Unveiled, the podcast. I'm your host, angela Christian, and I help you with unveiling your true self by peeling away the layers that society placed on you. I do this with a combination of neuroscience, energetics and ancient spiritual wisdom. I went from underpaid and overworked in corporate America to launching a six-figure company that continues to grow. I went from toxic relationships to being happy and single for over a year as I worked and continue to work on becoming the best version of myself, and so much more. My greatest passion is to help women and mothers heal, transform and become the highest versions of themselves. Heal, transform and become the highest versions of themselves. As I continue to grow and expand my intuitive knowledge and unique wisdom, I'll be including you on my journey to millions, so let's get into it. Welcome to Unveiled. Today, we're going to talk about stepping stones, the power of stepping stones in healing, growth, business relationships, all of that. I really want to dive into this concept because I have learned to be really appreciative over the stepping stones versus how I used to feel, which was oh, I should have done this, they should have done this, like blah, blah, blah. Right, that's not helpful. As you can probably guess, stepping stones are not the final destination, but they are pivotal in our journey. Stepping stones are the strategies, the mentors, the moments that really help us move from where we are to where we want to be, and even when they're not perfect and even when they stop being useful, they still hold immense value. So I'm going to talk about how these stepping stones show up in our lives, why they're important, and then how to know when it's time to pivot. So we all start somewhere right. When it comes to healing, growth, business relationships, stepping stones are the tools or guides that meet us exactly where we are, even if they're not designed to take us all the way. So for me, for example, therapy traditional therapy was a huge stepping stone for me when I was dealing with physical abuse and trying to clear the trauma. I spent over a decade in traditional therapy and while it gave me space to like, explore my feelings, to vent all of that, it never gave me the results I was searching for, which was, and I didn't even know what I was searching for at the time. I just wanted the emotions gone, but now I know, looking back, I just wanted them neutralized, right? So I would just go to therapy every week and I felt like I was spinning my wheels, talking about the same issues over and over again without truly moving forward into healing. Then, once I discovered nervous system regulation, unconscious reprogramming, and then blended that with the energetics, that's when everything clicked. But it wasn't linear. So it's not that therapy was wrong, it just wasn't the whole solution. It was a stepping stone that got me ready for the deeper transformational work that ended up changing my life and that I now help others with Right. And so I don't regret my time in traditional therapy, because I wouldn't be able to tell people now like I tried traditional therapy. It's not like I didn't try it right and I don't feel like.

Speaker 1: 3:34

And for older souls which, if you're listening to this, you are probably an older soul For older souls these kinds of traditional conventional techniques just don't work because they're created by younger souls. It's not that there's anything wrong with that. There's different frequencies to everything. So, for example, reiki it's a beautiful healing method I'm certified in Reiki but Reiki only heals up to a certain frequency and then, once you're beyond that frequency, reiki isn't going to do anything for you. Same thing with acupuncture or any other modality. And so the older souls that are here on earth, which are only 14% of us. We are here to actually design newer ways of healing that actually works. So I also can look at this in my spiritual growth and my spiritual path.

Speaker 1: 4:30

I remember when I first found Gabby Bernstein her book Spirit Junkie totally changed my life. I just was like who is this woman? She felt so wise and like otherworldly to me. I devoured all of her books, I took all of her programs and I was like, oh my God, she's got all the answers. Now, looking back, I love Gabby. I see her work as a beautiful introduction to the spiritual world. It's accessible, it's light, it's perfect for someone easing into spirituality. For me now it feels basic and sometimes, and sometimes even fluffy, like some of the things, like one of her big things is the universe has your back, which is kind of true.

Speaker 1: 5:18

But a lot of these manifestation spiritual teachers don't fully understand the spiritual, energetic, universal laws and so, for example, there's a lot of quotes out there that say things like what's meant for you will be easy. That could not be further from the truth. I mean, just look at what I've gone through. To get to where I'm at, I had to go through years of physical abuse, years of emotional abuse, years of trauma, years of suffering, and only when I had like enough is when I finally the pendulum started to swing the other way right. This path was anything but easy for me and your soul pull, your soul pull. Career is not going to feel easy. That's like a huge misconception. But again, gabby was a beautiful stepping stone these kinds of ideas like the universe has your back, stepping stones into understanding that there's a lot more to the world and to manifestation than we, than we can see with our physical eyes. Right? So Gabby 100% was a necessary stepping stone for me to find these deeper truths and practices. I will always, always be grateful for her work because she met me where I was and then she helped me to take the next step, even though she doesn't know that she did right. Take the next step even though she doesn't know that she did right.

Speaker 1: 6:48

So stepping stones also show up in relationships, in that each romantic relationship, for example, I've had, I've realized what I like, what I don't like, what I'll put up with, what I won't put up with, all of that right. And it got to the point where I used to date out of survival I would like be, for example, running out of money or I was tired of living somewhere, and then I would start dating someone and we'd move in quickly. It was definitely like I was in fight or flight and I would date people out of survival and move too quickly. Then the pendulum swung to the other end where now I've been single for like almost two years. So I'm ready for the pendulum to be swinging in the middle where I can find, you know, an aligned partner. But I had to do those extremes right, that it was all stepping stones for me getting here and now I understand oh, here's why I suffered so long about that relationship. That was 20 years ago or something right.

Speaker 1: 7:50

And so, as a side note, in February in my membership, it's going to be all about relationships. I'm going to teach you guys why we get stuck in past relationships, both in our unconscious mind and also energetically. So in February the audios will be all around relationships, breaking ties both emotionally and energetically with our past, and this will actually give you back pieces of your soul Like it is so powerful. Also, in my membership, every month you get a one on one check in with me where I'll do like a short mini intuitive read on any question you have and, like my members, love this. So you can ask me literally anything. I'm going to teach this really advanced cord cutting technique and you can ask if it was successful. So you can ask me literally anything. I'm going to teach this really advanced cord cutting technique and you can ask if it was successful. You can ask literally anything.

Speaker 1: 8:41

Yesterday I helped someone figure out the last two beliefs that were preventing her from healing Lyme's disease. I helped someone figure out the right thing to do with staying in her career while launching her business, if she should go all in on her. Do with staying in her career while launching her business, if she should go all in on her business or stay in her career or both. I helped someone else figure out what was going on with her teenage daughter. That's the gift of having scientifically accurate, precise intuition. So I can help you with literally looking at anything. Even just I can look at your biggest block or whatever is the biggest struggle you're heavily having right now and the first thing to do to start shifting. And if you want this, just like you, if even if you just wanted to do an intuitive read, I do offer those separately so I can share the link in the show notes. So, getting back to this, so let's talk about stepping stones in business.

Speaker 1: 9:38

So when I first started my online business during COVID I think it was 2020, I purchased Amy Porterfield's Digital Course Academy. This was like my first opening to this whole online world, and when I heard her story how much money she made, like I was like Whoa, it's possible to do this. Because I love teaching I've always loved teaching I thought I had to do it exactly like her, though that's the thing and a lot of people fall into this, but we'll we'll talk about that in a second. So she did at that time. I think it was like a five day free event leading into her cart open and then, and then there was like a week or something and then cart would close, right, so it's a live launch model. So I just thought that's how it was. I thought I had to get the software she was using, which I did, which was way too expensive for like a beginning online business, right, but this is all learning lessons. That's my point.

Speaker 1: 10:39

So then I did the live launch, I did the five day free event and it was exhausting by the third day. I was like this is not fun. So like every day for five days I was showing up and teaching for like an hour and I actually did a really great job. My first launch, I brought in like 11 people which is a lot If you're in the online space like for your very first launch ever. So that was really exciting and I was like, oh wow, so like this is possible. But then I was also teaching the program live, so I was feeling exhausted. I was teaching it live, I was launching it live. I was also teaching the program live. So I was feeling exhausted. I was teaching it live, I was launching it live.

Speaker 1: 11:17

I was doing everything I was told is the right thing to do by not just Amy Porterfield, but by a lot of people in the industry, a lot of the coaches I work with now. They do that live launch model right, but it works for them, it works for their energy. So those strategies drained me and I just thought, well, maybe this world isn't for me. I don't like that model, like all of that right. Until I found Andrea Crowder, which you guys know. She's my mentor coach. She's actually coming on my podcast next week to talk about how much she literally like she gave me the permission slip I didn't even know I needed and what she did is she showed me you can run your business in the way that feels good for you and, in fact, it's more profitable for you if you do so.

Speaker 1: 12:07

I started tapping into more of a feminine led, intuitive led business and I learned, like what lit me up, where I actually felt like I had an increase in energy, not a decrease, right? So looking back, I was like I'm so glad I did that, I'm so glad I followed Amy's steps, I'm so glad I followed you know this person's steps, because those were all stepping stones. Those were showing me what did not work for me in order for me to see what does. So I'll get into this more when I have Andrea on the show, but when I started taking her courses and just like, I literally like was obsessed, I signed up for like every program of hers because I just funny, I didn't know this until later up for like every program of hers because I just funny, I didn't know this until later.

Speaker 1: 12:56

But we have the same birthday, we have a lot of the same planetary placement, so it just makes sense that I would resonate so much with her and I feel like we definitely have like a soul connection from the past of some sorts. Maybe we were sisters or something. But she was like obligation, hell. No, like I don't do anything out of pressure, only pleasure. And I was like wait, what, what is this world? I want this world right.

Speaker 1: 13:24

And so I started looking at how I could do things differently, and at first I even copied her style, which is fine. That's like one of the steps of mentorship is like literally copying your mentor or sounding like your mentor, which you know. I do that with Andrea, I do that with Alessandro, I do that with Allie like who you're learning from. It makes sense that for a little while you will copy them or you will sound like them until you find your own footing Right. And so what I did is I was like, okay, I don't like the live launch model.

Speaker 1: 13:59

In my membership. I used to do a monthly live call with a group. I liked it, but it was feeling a little draining too. And I was just like, okay, what can I do where I feel the most alive and I can give my very best to my members right, because I know a lot of memberships. They don't have a live component, but I really wanted to offer that to my members. While I can, obviously, once it reaches a certain point, something will need to change. I'm not going to be able to do one-on-ones with like 100 people, but what I might do is just offer my membership, just you know, instant access to all of the trainings and then, as a VIP, you would get the monthly intuitive read. Right now, anybody who comes in gets all of it, but some people might not want the intuitive read or might not have time for it or whatever, right.

Speaker 1: 14:49

So I'm very much in the place where I like tinkering with things now, where I used to think, okay, I launched it this way, it has to stay this way, like I was very much in that space. And then I felt like, well, if I change the name or if I change anything, people are going to wonder like, what am I? What I'm doing? And now I'm like it actually benefits me and them, right, and people don't care. People are more involved in their own world. They're not like paying attention. I've changed my podcast name like four times, right?

Speaker 1: 15:21

But again, I had to go through those phases to get to where it is now, and so I listened to my intuition. I'm a trained intuitive so of course I do. But you don't have to be a trained intuitive to just know like what feels lighter in your body when you're, when you're doing something in business, right? So like doing these one-on-one telegram intuitive reads for people is fun for me, it lights me up. If I was having to get on a zoom call and do it live with a group of people I know already like I can feel my energy draining Just talking about that a group of people. I know already like I can feel my energy draining just talking about that. I also probably just have zoom fatigue because I've been working remote since 2015. So almost 10 years I've been working remote on zoom calls. So for me, like getting on zoom does not make me feel in my like intuitive, you know powerful energy because it reminds me very much of finance and accounting stuff.

Speaker 1: 16:16

So everybody's going to be different, but that's the beauty of the pleasure model which is what really helped me shift. A lot of this is this beautiful program by Andrea which we are launching right now. So it's 25% off until the 31st. If you join before the 31st, you are going to get a live free training with Andrea on January 30th. And I'm throwing in that you're going to get a free mini intuitive read with me. So you're going to get 25% off, a live call with Andrea and an intuitive read from me. So I will link in the show notes the link as well as the code.

Speaker 1: 16:58

So the pleasure model is all about running your business and the way that feels good for you, which will be different for everybody, right? It's not like a cut and paste, kind of like an Amy Porterfield, which, again, great stepping stone. We need those right, but while they serve a purpose, we don't want to live there forever if we're feeling drained, if we're not feeling alive. So and this isn't just about ignoring the things that don't feel good Like, of course I still have to do my own bookkeeping and my taxes, but what I do is I figured out a way to make those feel good and all of that I learned from Andrea, like little tips and tricks, and I use my intuition, like should I charge this much? My intuition tells me everything. It's not even my human self that decides the price of my courses, or or what to do or the topic, like I literally asked my higher self for everything and you wouldn't find that in a normal business course, right?

Speaker 1: 18:01

So some of the quotes that I love from Andrea that were inside the pleasure model are the game isn't worth winning, unless I get to play, because that reminds us like life is, life should be fun. Like we get so caught up and this is like a dark force issue, so that's a totally different topic but like we get so serious about things and like life and business should be fun, like the journey should feel the way that we want the destination to feel. I only say yes to what feels correct for me, so that would be honoring, you know, taking a second to like, tap in what feels good to you, and a way that you could do that is do you feel when you think about it? Do you feel your body get taller or do you feel your body contract? That's a really good way to know if something's aligned, if you don't have your intuition dialed in and, of course, not a penny from pressure, only pleasure. When Andrea and we're going to talk about this on the podcast before Andrea launched the pleasure model and really embodied it, she was stuck around $300,000, $500,000 a year, which is great. That is a goal for a lot of people. But after she launched the pleasure model in 2022, so from 2022 to now, she's made three point over $3.5 million. So it is absolutely possible to run a business successfully using the pleasure model and these values.

Speaker 1: 19:32

So here's some other ones. I trust my body to guide me again, leaning in and listening to how your body's responding to certain ideas, certain pricing. All of that. I decided to do things differently. I would have never even had this idea to do things in these ways if I hadn't embodied the pleasure model and started looking at things. So, like nobody told me, like, oh, set up your membership, where you do a 15 minute intuitive read on this specific day on telegram, like I created all of that by listening to myself and what lights me up. But I wouldn't have even thought about it if I hadn't chosen to do things differently.

Speaker 1: 20:13

Right, when I feel alive, I make magic happen. That is so true and that's why I don't schedule like the thought of me scheduling a five-day training like literally ugh. I can feel my body contracting. Now, some people might love that. Some people thrive in live energy. That's great. If that's you, then go for it. It's not for me and I know I'm not going to give people my best when I don't feel alive. So I choose the things that make me feel alive so that my clients and my students will feel that aliveness from me. Right, I allow myself to be, not just do so.

Speaker 1: 20:50

Sometimes the biggest ROIs have been when I've decided to rest. So, for example, last week I was feeling really overwhelmed. I was getting attacked by dark forces and one day I was like you know what that's it? I'm canceling my calls and I'm just going to relax, I'm going to do what I want to do. And then someone reached out to me who's about to go on Judge Judy to face her ex, wants me to neutralize her. And it started, it created this whole new offering that I hadn't even thought of yet because I was in a space to just really be relaxed and be with myself. So now I'm offering private, curated audios that I'll choose intuitively based on what you're wanting to resolve, and then also an intuitive read so that I can get her neutral and also tap into the most powerful thought broadcasts, so that when she walks into Judge Judy and she's on set, powerful thought broadcasts, so that when she walks into Judge Judy and she's on set, she's going to be radiating these certain thought broadcasts. But if I hadn't taken the time to just give myself space, I would have never like been able to wrap my mind around that kind of offering. Oh and that's another one of her quotes decisions made from pleasure lead me to opportunities I could never have planned. So true Again.

Speaker 1: 22:07

If you're in therapy, if you're reading self-help books following Gabby Bernstein like, don't discount the value of what those things are doing for you right now. They're moving you closer to the version of yourself that's ready for the next level. But also know it's okay to outgrow your stepping stones. It doesn't mean they are doing anything wrong or bad. It just means they did their job and you're ready to evolve. You're ready to move on to the next level, right? So for me, traditional therapy did not work and I had to move on to the unconscious reprogramming to clear out those outdated beliefs, nervous system regulation to get myself out of fight or flight, and then the energetics and intuition to really reclaim my energy and align with what I and my higher self desires. When I pivoted from following and doing what worked for others to leaning into what felt aligned for me, everything shifted. 2024 has been my biggest revenue year. It was a six figure year for me, and it's not just about me. My clients started getting better results because I was showing up as my best self right.

Speaker 1: 23:17

So honor your stepping stones therapy, the certain business strategy, the spiritual teacher they're all part of your journey and they're all valuable. But don't be afraid to ask yourself what's next and close your eyes, put your hand on your heart and lean in. Your intuition will always guide you to the next right step if you're emotionally regulated, so sometimes intuition it will feel like intuition, but really it's emotions. So if you're over 17% emotional, you need to get yourself emotionally regulated before you tap in and then, when you're feeling like it's time to step into something deeper whether it's healing, whether it's business or personal growth there are tools and support out there. You're never going to be stuck unless you choose to be right, and this is something I can intuit for you as well.

Speaker 1: 24:13

So reach out, let me know. Where do you feel stuck? Where do you want, where do you want to be going? I would love to hear from you your thoughts on this, if you've also done the same thing, where you felt like you had to copy somebody else's business model and it just didn't feel good and you're ready to, you know, try the pleasure model way. So stay tuned for next week for Andrea, and have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for listening to Unveiled. I always love hearing your takeaways, so please connect with me on Instagram that Angela, marie, christian and feel free to tag me when you share it with your friends. Every single review matters and it helps me reach more people who want to improve this world. If you leave a review, let me know and I'll send you a little thank you gift. Any resources mentioned in the show will be linked in the show notes. Sending you all love.