Learn to Silence Your Inner Critic (and Make Some Noise!)

Get ready, because everything is about to change. There's a new way of living life and doing business that will blow your mind. This is a podcast all about the timing of life and the timing of success. It's what we call the Right on Time Life. And you are listening to the Right on Time podcast with Amber McHugh. Andrea Owen. Welcome to the Right on Time podcast. I am so happy you are here, Amber.

I am so glad. It's always a pleasure to talk to you. So, yes, I'm pumped too.

Oh, my gosh. Your energy is radiant. Your books are phenomenal. Every time I go to your website, I'm always overjoyed by your photos and the energy that pulls through there. You are the author of the three incredible books. Make Some Noise is the latest. 52 Ways to a Kick Ass Life and How to Stop Feeling Like Shit. And that was actually the first book. That's when I came to know him. Like, look at this. What a great book.

It was a catchy title.

Oh, my gosh. So catchy. It's awesome. Like, yeah, I don't feel like shit every day, but there are days. And how do I stop that? Even if I have one day, I'm like, no, don't want it.

I'm out. Yeah.

Oh, my goodness. So tell us before we dive into this episode, because we are going to cover some super cool stuff today about creating change in our lives, but tell us a little bit about yourself.

Well, I mean, I think the first thing that comes to mind is I am a mama of two. Two littles that aren't so little anymore. So my daughter is turning 12 tomorrow and my son just turned 14, which blows my mind because I feel like they were just babies and I was building my business. And let's see what else. Author, like you said, podcaster, global speaker. Those are favorite things to do. Write books and speak up on stages. But I also come to this work from some pretty serious hardship. I'm gonna have 10 years of sobriety from alcohol this month as well. So I got sober a while back. And also this is my second marriage that I'm in. I had an awful, traumatic, dramatic divorce. My husband had an affair with our neighbor and got her pregnant. Some people know my story. And then I was conned by a drug addict that told me he had cancer for almost a year. That was like, all during the same time. That's what brought me to this work is like my rock bottom moment. Back in 07, early 077.

Oh, my gosh. I mean, there were there's a lot in there.

There's lots to unpack.

It took me a second. Wait, your husband?

Ex husband.

Ex husband. Affair with the neighbor. And she got pregnant.

Well, and on purpose, too. Like, that was his way of telling me that he wanted a divorce. And we were con. We were talking about having our first child. We'd been together for 13 years, since we were teenagers. Yeah, I had no idea. She didn't know either. She thought we were divorced because he told her that.

Oh, my gosh.

I know they didn't last. They had a baby, but she left him.

Oh, well.

Yeah, that's what happens when you lie.

These things happen. Oh, my goodness. So incredible journey that you have been on. You said that was 07.

Yeah.

Okay. Wow.

Yeah. Diagnosed with complex PTSD from that and, like, severe codependence, love addiction. So that's what started my journey in personal development, was healing myself. 12 step programs, lots of therapy, trauma therapy. And then I thought it would be a good idea to go to coaching school to get my certification.

Yes.

And I did. And here I am.

Oh, my gosh, what a super cool journey. I have goosebumps from head to toe. Amazing. So you went to coaching school. How did you step into the writing and the speaking space?

That's a good question. So I've always. Well, I shouldn't say I always wrote. I wrote as a child, like, short. And I was a voracious reader and wrote short stories. And when I was a teenager, I wrote, like, angsty poetry, you know, like about being brokenhearted and those things. And then in my 20s, I lost myself in a relationship, the one I just mentioned, and didn't write for a long time. Not for any particular reason other than I just didn't think that it would. Was useful for my time. And then when my life fell apart is when I started back up again. I started journaling, you know, from the suggestion of my therapist, and started a blog, because that was back when, like, blogging was kind of new and people started reading it. And I started, you know, meeting people on Twitter and just realized that, okay, I have kind of a gift. Because people would say, like, you write from your heart, you just pour everything out. And that's what started it. And then I got sober and decided to write a book. And then that's how that all spun from there.

My gosh. Wow. It's so cool to hear the steps that people take on their journey to get from there to here, because it can look like so many different things. And as you know, like, creating change Even though we want the change, sometimes it could still be hard.

So before we go there, okay, tell.

Us about make some noise.

Okay, so this book is my third, as you mentioned. And honestly, I got the idea when I was writing how to Stop Feeling Like Shit. So a lot of people ask me when I'm talking about negative self talk and the inner critic people are like, where did this beast come from? And so I always say it could come from a handful of things. It can come from your wiring. Just some people are more, you know, rejection sensitive. Some people are more shame prone than guilt prone. It depends on just how you're born. And it also can come from your family of origin, how you were spoken to, how your parents sort of looked at talking about your feelings and things like that. And then the third way is from our culture, especially as women. The majority of my audience is women. We are brought up to be fundamentally insecure and to always be accommodating, to shrink ourselves in order to make people more comfortable. And we all drink that same Kool Aid because there was no other beverage choices available. Like, that's it. It just was, you know, the water that we swim in, the air that we breathe. I wrote very briefly about that and how to Stop Feeling like shit. And I got the tap on my shoulder by my intuition saying, like, there's so much more to this, like, expand, expand. But I couldn't because I was, you know, had an outline for another book. And so that's really when it started. And then I just got the download about, you know, really what it was going to be about. And the short answer is, I didn't feel like I could write another women's empowerment book and keep talking about women's empowerment without naming the elephant in the room. And that is our culture and how we have been more or less programmed and conditioned to be and to think.

So good. And so make some noise about how we shift that programming, right?

And it's not necessarily, like, titles, you know, a lot of times are tongue in cheek or a play on words or, you know, you don't have to take it so literally. I'm not asking women to go and, like, flip tables at home or tell their boss to piss off. I mean, you can if you want, but I'm not encouraging it. That's not my advice. Making noise can absolutely look like hiring a trauma therapist to get through your childhood trauma. Making noise can look like setting kind but firm boundaries. Making noise can be about your internal work, about parsing out what is your conditioning versus what is your truth and your destiny. That's what making noise can look like.

Oh, so good. Because in our community, so many of us are creating change, wanting to create change, and sometimes hitting those blocks that we're unsure how to go about doing that. And sometimes, you know, imposter syndrome comes up a lot as conversation. The inner critic, the inner voices, and exactly what you said. All of these things that we've played out over a lifetime. So how. How do we even begin? Like, and there are even things I think of, like, I've got a pretty successful career. I built two business that, like, I'm doing it. And even still, like, I love my, like, good things going on there. And yet I'm like, okay, how do I get to the next step? Cause there's a change brewing. And I think of it like, there's this nudge, there's this calling, there's this voice that isn't the critic, but it's like, go, go do this. I don't know. I don't know how. I don't know what. I've got to change my life to become that different person. Where the flip do we start?

Yeah. Well, that sounds like upper limit stuff, and I love that term. And I love the book the Big Leap that Gay Hendricks wrote where he coined that phrase. And for people who are unfamiliar, it's when you get to this place in your life exactly how you just described, we have reached some form of success, whether that's in our relationships with our friends or our romantic partners or at work and. Or with our, you know, with other goals. And we get stuck a little bit and can't seem to get to that next level. Well, why is that? And it could be several reasons. I think the one that there's maybe a little bit of, you know, I don't know if it's confusion, but just unknowing about is our deep wounds that we have that are many times unconscious. And this is what I've been diving into recently, because I'm same Amber. Like, I, like, on the surface, I can tell you the things that are hanging me up, you know, like, if there was money blocks, if there was just, you know, the chatter, the negative chatter, like the limiting beliefs, like these things that we're, you know, conscious of. And. And that kind of makes sense, even though we don't like them. And so many of the tools out there from coaches and therapists and personal development experts can help.

Yeah.

And then there. It's like when they don't and same. So what I've come to realize through asking people that are much smarter than I am and looking at research is that sometimes it's our nervous system that just is flaring up, for lack of a better term. And that's what we need to look at so it can be again, these. These wounds that we have. And for many, it's things like the abandonment wound, you know, raises hand over here at the rejection wound, things like that. And then there's also directly related to that, things that have happened to us that have caused fears that we might not even know are there. So all this to say therapy can be very helpful. And I say this as someone who's not a therapist. I'm, like, not selling you anything. Go to psychologytoday.com find a therapist who perhaps specializes in what you think is going on. You know, it might be religious trauma. It might be, you know, emotional abuse that you received in a relationship when you were a teenager, and you feel like maybe this is kind of still coming up. It could really be anything. And I think it's all worth digging into and looking at.

So stinking awesome. So what are signs? Like, you mentioned the inner critic, and I know I've got one. Do you think all of us have one?

I do. And I think it looks and sounds different for each person. Some people hear an actual dialogue. Like, this is, I'm so stupid. How could I have made that mistake? This will never work. So that's how I hear it. But it really depends on how your brain works. And some people don't hear a dialogue. It's just a feeling that they can't move forward. It's a feeling that they feel not good enough, not smart enough, not young enough, not experienced enough, whatever. And it's sort of inexplicable to them. And ask 10 people about theirs, and they might describe it 10 different ways. But the short answer is, yes, I think we all do to some degree.

Interesting. That's so fascinating that you say sometimes it's a voice, an actual dialogue, and other times it's just this knowing. Because for a long time, like, I do not think I have this inner critic. And I was standing in my closet in Ethiopia, so this was probably winter 2018. And like, oh, that's the inner critic. And I was, like, changing clothes or something and having babies. My. My body has done all sorts of sorts of things. And, like, you know, no big deal. I'm just kind of always moving through it. It's good. It's fine. And then in that moment, I'm like, oh, you have you for a minute there, it's tapped into that not enough space. And I was like, oh, it wasn't super clear to me because it wasn't this conversation or this chatter, but all of a sudden I just knew. I'm like, oh, this is what's happening.

Yeah.

So if it's a voice, much more clear and easy to pinpoint, like these are samples of sentences. But for those of us who may also just, just not have the voice, like, how do we find that faster so we can start healing and moving forward?

That's a good question. And that's what I was going to ask you when you were telling that story about standing in the closet. It's, it's, it's all about what you do after that, in that moment. So I want to circle back to that. But to answer that question, I would ask people, like, what are the things that hold you up? You know, what are the things that, when you find yourself, you know, think of something, maybe even last month or earlier this year or last year, it might be. So it might be a little bit more obvious where you hesitated or you regretted not having a conversation with someone. You regretted not speaking up. Whether it was on social media or in real life. How do you think you were feeling that made you decide not to speak up? And you know, again, it might be something recently that happened. Or think of something that's super triggering for you. Like maybe it's your, your parents, even though you're an adult and they, they make comments about something and you don't say anything. Why do you not, why do you not say anything like, what are you afraid might happen that might give you some clues and you know, it might be inner critic, it might be these, you know, deep unconscious fears. Either way, I'm interested in what is the thing that's holding you back. That's really all I care about. I don't, I don't care if it's distinctly an inner critic or childhood wound or whatever it is. What are the things that are holding you back so you can have self compassion because that's so important. And also try to untangle that.

Oh, so good. Ok, so. And I love your perspective on that, that whatever it is. Yeah, it's okay. Like, doesn't even matter. But this is what's going to help us untangle and move through to the next step, which is what so many people we've got going on. Like, all right, how do we get there? I mean, to your point, in an entrepreneurial community, in a community of modern CEOs and really change makers. I see an experience myself from time to time. So many people getting stuck on how do I do that? Like, what steps should I take? And many times I'd be curious what your thought on. In this is. That's like, that comes secondary to the inner stuff that's happening. And you talk about there are two steps that we take to create change and move to where we want to be. The internal work and the external work.

Right.

Can you describe that a little bit? Yeah.

Well, I'm curious. I'm going to turn the tables on you because we can use this as an example. So when you were standing in the closet, it. And. And you. And you had that. That moment, what did you do next when you kind of heard that that might have been your inner critic?

Okay. When I heard my inner critic, I was like, oh, there is a you're not enough element to this, which I had never in my life thought I had.

Was it body stuff?

It was totally body.

Okay.

And actually that's not true. I have had those conversations before, but it was very like, oh, my, my. I use. My skin breaks out a lot. Lots of scars. I was like, I got to fix this before I can do the next step. But I never heard it as, you're not enough. And when I connected, like, you're like, not enough. Not. Not where you need to be. I was looking in a mirror. I just looked down, but I was looking straight ahead. When I had this conversation, like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I immediately caught myself and said, that's just not true. That's just not true. That's just not reality. And I was so grateful that that thought came up way that you're not enough because you're not fit enough yet. You're not in shape yet. I'm like, okay, not true. And we've got to shift the dialogue and start moving past that. So that was my immediate. Like, check yourself. And I love that question, which I had originally learned about from Byron Katie, like, is it true? And play that out. Like, no, actually it's not. Okay, now what are we going to do about it? So that's where I was in that space.

Okay, good. So that's. That's the goal. Like ideally, that's the goal that we want people to get to. And so let's stick with that example because body stuff is pretty common with women. Our body appearance and age is the. So I'm trained and certified in Dr. Brene Brown's work. And it's. She talks about the Top shame triggers and how they are, you know, shame is universal with all genders and but she talks about how it is gendered like the top triggers, the top shame triggers. You know, for men it's one thing, and for women it is our body, our, our appearance and our age. And so I just want to reiterate that it's, it's important and it's complicated. It's super complicated. And I want to say this from the get go for you. And I dive into this because diet culture is so prevalent that, you know, and especially. So I'm 46, so I grew up in, you know, I came of age in the 90s when it was heroin chic was everywhere. And then in the early 2000s I was in my early 20s when it was, you know, Paris Hil, Tara Reid. So these, these women that are naturally so thin and that was the beauty standard, that was the ideal, you know, at least for, for white women. And it's changed, it's changed now, but it's still very complicated, I think, especially for, for middle aged women who are seeing body positivity, body liberation movements, which I think are so important. And then we're over here like, wait, what we're supposed to do, what we're supposed to not care about our body size. And that doesn't matter anymore. So I just, I just want to say that from the beginning. Yeah, and those questions that you ask yourself in those moments can be profoundly life changing. I like some of Byron, Katie's stuff, I don't love some of it because it can lead to some self blame, but I just love that she asks, asks questions, you know, like, is this true? Another one is, is this helpful? Is this empowering to me? You know, some people like the question, who is profiting off of this thought and belief that I'm having right now? So I went through a major body thing around 2016 when my dad died. And I realized that I had never exercised for any other reason except to maintain or change the shape of my body. And I said I was doing it to take care of myself and for health reasons. I have a degree in exercise physiology. It's my background. And that was a big fat lie that I was doing it for my health. My primary reason was to keep a certain size. And I had this kind of a breakdown in 2016 and I was like, I'm done. I'm done with this relationship, with this messed up relationship with exercise, with this messed up relationship with my body and food. And I basically boycotted to exercise, which I don't recommend. It was just the journey that I had to go through. And I'm like, I'm not going to do this until I can get to a place where I truly accept my body, no matter what size it is. So I gained some weight, actually. My cholesterol went up, which my doctor was like, well, this is interesting. I was like, oh, maybe it's because I haven't exercised in two years. So I started exercising again. And Covid, I've put on at least 10, 15 pounds. I don't have a scale. I've had to buy all new pants, which is irritating. But the point of my story is that it's been a journey to get to a place now where I am the heaviest I've ever been. And also, I can bravely and truthfully say 90% of me does not care. 90% of me accepts this size as just my body is set point and my body is happy. Am I exercising? Absolutely. Do I do it to excess? Not like I used to. And I hope this is helpful because I want to give people, like, a realistic sort of snapshot of what the whole journey can look like. And the way that I've gotten here is by asking myself those questions that I just mentioned. When I have those moments where a pair of pants that I bought from Nordstrom in late 2019 that still have the tags on them because I never got a chance to wear them do not fit me anymore. Instead of beating myself up so badly and going on a crash diet, I'm like, oh, well, that's a bummer. Like, I'm disappointed because I really liked them and I'm going to sell them on Poshmark.

Good for you.

That's, you know, the previous me would have just gone down the rabbit hole, gone on a crash diet, hung up a pair of size much smaller pants to be able to, like, give myself, quote, unquote, inspiration. I don't do that anymore. It's exhausting. And it sure as heck does not get me to the next stage in my relationships in my business. Literally, no one cares, Amber, that I'm two sizes bigger than I was when I was up on stage two years ago. No one cares.

No one. It's all our internal talk and our internal conversation and baggage.

And I. And I. I say that also with the caveat of it's not your fault. It's not your fault. Because we can. Then we can start beating ourselves up for having body issues. Oh, I'm never going to get to that place where Amber and Andrea Are. And I'm just so broken. And then feel like crap about ourselves. Our culture has set this up.

This is.

This is patriarchy in action, truly. And I am so tired of seeing women waste so much time and energy and space worrying about five or ten pounds. Like, matter.

Yeah. In the big scheme. And so this is part of it. Like, if we are trying to create change, significant change in our lives, do you find. How do we separate? And like, you just, like, does this really matter? No. No, not really. How do you shift from, okay, this is what I'm focused on. Are these the right things to the things that will really create the change? Like, how do we move toward the path of change versus spinning on these things that are just there?

It's very nonlinear. And I think on a surface level, it's easy for you to logically believe me when I say it doesn't matter. But when you're stepping out of the shower and you're, you know, putting on a pair, like, I put my exercise. My biker shorts on when I. Because I have a peloton and like, my belly, it's sort of like, funny at this point. Like, it hangs over the front and then I like, pull my biker shorts. I'm like, this is new. This is. This is new. So, like, those moments, like, those little snapshots are what I want people to think about. And that, you know, even a year ago, it was hard for me to see that in the mirror. And it's. It's just over time, I've started to, you know, I just focus on self compassion. I ask myself the questions, and I don't know if this is helpful for anyone out there, but I see my mom's body in the mirror and. And I love my mom. Like, I think she's great and I think she's beautiful and no matter what weight she's at. And I. And sometimes it's as simple as, you know, this is just genetics. Like.

So amazing how there are so many because we also. I run a photography business, boudoir photography. And we are so hard on ourselves. Every single woman that I would shoot when I was shooting still, like, you are beautiful. Oh, my gosh, you are beautiful. Oh. Like you can see into someone's soul. Like, oh, you are so amazing. You are incredible. Like, the positive would just flow out. And that was part of what we wanted to give to women. But then you play it back and like, wait, what? Like, why are you saying these things to yourself and similar to your mom, like, is she. She's stunning. You're amazing. And it's hard to see those things in ourselves and for ourselves. Like, I look like, oh, Andrea cranked out three books, Amber. Like, I got a book. I got a book done. I got another one started, not published. And I've got one that actually is out there and published. But, like, wait, why can't. Wait, why can't you do that? And my thinking goes to, you can. But what is it? Is it like, then why aren't you. Yeah, then why aren't you? Because so many people are listening right now. Have a goal, have a dream, have a something, and you can do it. You can do it. How do we get. How do we. Like, okay, go, go.

Okay. I love this. I love this shift. So one of the things that I've learned over 12, 13, maybe 14 years of entrepreneurship is that hustle culture will kill you. Boom.

Yeah. Yeah.

Tried to kill me. And I think that, you know, you and I were in it at the height of hustle culture, and I was a victim to it, and it gave me two different burnouts. I had two, and after the second one, I was like, okay, when I come back from this, which I'm still feeling, I think the ramifications from it because of COVID when I come back from this, how do I want things to change? And it's a major mindset shift, similar to what we just talked about with the Bodi stuff of, how do I define hard working? Because it used to be a set amount of hours, a certain amount of appointments, a certain amount of clients on the docket, and. And I would feel so guilty and sometimes ashamed for laying down in the middle of the day when it was the first day of my period and I was really tired and I worked out that morning and didn't sleep. Like, legitimate reasons for being tired, and I'm paying for it now. Just, there's health stuff going on, so I kind of got lost there. But I think that it's about doing some introspection and getting very clear on what your magical strengths and talents are and putting all the focus on that. My magical strengths and talents are writing books. My magical strengths and talents are not scaling group programs, which that might be one of yours. And I might compare myself to what you've created and think like, well, I could break seven figures if I just did it. Like, Amber, it's like, no, that's not what I'm great at. I'm okay at that. But experience has shown me, like, my superpower is getting up on stage and delivering keynotes. And writing books. So that's what I'm going to stick to. And this is the long way of answering your question about. I even forgot how you worded the question. But my journey into getting to a place where I'm just not so hard on myself about my success, about my business, about being an entrepreneur. And honestly, that's one thing that I've learned the hard way through Covid. I don't know if that's been your experience.

Yeah, it's interesting. My biggest learning of that was pre. Covid. Covid. I thrived. It was bizarre. I'm like, how are you so productive?

How. I've known a few people who have.

How are you so balanced in this? And I kind of did some assessment of my personality. Like, oh, okay. Your design. Like, when there is a conflict or when there's a problem, I'm like, let's go. Like, this is when I'm like, yes. I joke that I would have been like, great PR crisis management.

Okay. Like an Olivia Pope.

Too much adrenaline. So I wouldn't actually choose that. But, man, that would have been fun, because that is when I am like, yes. Go time. See the paths. Choose the paths. Prioritize the paths. So it was a little bit weird, but my big transformations came when I broke free from corporate. I was separating from my corporate environments, and I was starting to create my own lifestyle, which I had a vision for. But it was hard for me to break from the habits of the hustle. Like, work 24 7. Yes. There's an email in the middle of the night. Okay, we're all up. We're all up working. We're going to answer emails this late. Work hard. Play hard. And I went from a culture that was focused on talent management, and they still worked their buns off. They were phenomenal people, but phenomenally hardworking to a culture that was. This was, again, corporate. The frat party. And this was like, we're like, it's a party. You're gonna work hard. You gotta play hard. And I got in trouble at this very professional, wonderful organization once because I didn't go to the Play Hard event. But I got work, too, and I've got a family. And, like, this is what we're prioritizing. Like, getting wasted.

Yeah.

Like, I love it. Like, there's a place for the camaraderie. But it just so happened that day I had another priority, and that was a big aha for me in terms of my values. I'm like, I will play hard. But some days I've Got to prioritize this work that needs to get done or I've got to prioritize my family. And so just, it was for me, about my values. And then when I realized, when I started working on my own, like, wait, you say these are your values? Are you showing up in alignment? Again, it was another question. I love that you brought this to the surface. And my answer back was, no, you are not showing up in alignment with those values. We've got to make an adjustment. And you're right, it doesn't happen. It didn't happen quickly, but that was probably 10. Another 10 years of like adjusting, fine tuning, tweaking, having conversation with the people I said matter, my family. Okay, how am I balancing work and all of these things? Because I love my clients. I can show up there all the time with my clients and my team. And then I started to shift that value to, okay, family is a value client. Like, this is an extension. Clients and team, extension of family value. How do I show up? But it was a process.

Yeah, yeah. And it's, it's so. I love that you brought up, like, priorities and what are your priorities and how do they line up with your values? And, and so 2019 was my best year financially. And we thought, you know, as many business owners do, okay, like, this trajectory is just going to keep going. And then Covid happened. And in my experience, I had like a complete mental breakdown. In the olden days, they would have called it a nervous breakdown. That's legitimately what it was. I had a rough, probably two or three weeks where I was not well mentally and emotionally. And luckily I told my husband, I told my best friend, I got a new therapist, told my doctor, got put on an antidepressant for the first time. And I was talking to a mentor of mine who had been my coach in 2019 when I made all that money. And I was beating myself up because it was, you know, we were halfway through 2020. And I'm like, I am going to make significantly less money this year than I did last year. And it's going to be the first time I have never experienced growth over the last decade. And she said, you know what? There's so many different ways that you can measure success. And sometimes measuring success is taking care of your mental health and making that a priority. And I, and this is a woman who is like eight figure earner. And I was so thankful it was Susan Hyatt. Like, I was so thankful for her advice. And I was crying on the phone and, and, and yeah, because, like, I entered into trauma therapy that was so difficult where I would have to, like, book out the rest of the day after I saw my therapist. And that whole year and I was writing a freaking book. Like, it wasn't like I wasn't doing anything with like, the biggest in the world. It was like, still kind of a big deal.

Oh, my gosh.

That's prioritized my mental health. I made a lot less money and we were still okay. Like, we were okay. And so I had to exactly what you said. I had to reprioritize and also redesign what my version of success is. And also, I want to say this one thing real quick. My financial advisor, because I was, I felt like so just embarrassed when she came over and was doing our yearly thing with us as financial advisors do. And I said, I showed her the numbers and she was like, andrea, this is normal. She's like, I work with a lot of business owners and this is totally normal. And I was like, it is not to make this huge profit. And she was like, yeah. So it felt so good. And she is someone I respect so much in the world of finance. So the point of my story is surround yourself with great people who support you, especially great women, and just redefine your priorities and how you define success.

Unbelievable. Andrea, I am just sitting here with so much gratitude for this conversation and your openness. I mean, from end to end, even when you threw in the financial advisor, I'm like, oh, yes. If there is anyone out there who is running a business and you don't have a financial planner yet, get one. Get one.

If you live in North Carolina, I have a great recommendation.

Ok, so speaking of, I have two more questions for you. This is the Right on Time podcast. So my question to you is, as we sit in this space in time together, as we sit in this space and time in history, whatever comes to mind for where we are sitting right now, what guidance would you give, what encouragement would you give to people right now as we think about where we are and what's top of mind for you?

Probably a question that I pose in the beginning of make some Noise that I pepper throughout the rest of the book. And that question is to ask yourself, what is my conditioning versus what is my truth? So just to tag onto that example that I just gave, my conditioning told me that it was very important to always crush your previous year's financial goals when the truth was that's not always how it works and that's not a measure of success. And I needed to prioritize my mental health. So it's just, it's asking yourself that question just from a place of curiosity and no judgment, that can move mountains in any area of your life.

I had to write that down because that is good. What is my conditioning versus what is my trigger?

Yeah. Especially for women.

And to peel this back and to go deeper into this, you've got to grab Make Some noise. Oh, it's so pretty too.

I was a little worried about the pink, but they, they picked a great pantone color.

Yeah, it's a good shade. And the gradation. Love it, love it. And I always love a good pop of yellow. And then my second question to you is, is where do people find you? Where do people connect with you to go deeper into your work?

So if they're interested in the book, I would send them to andreaowen.com noise because that's where all the free stuff is. There's a 65 page free workbook that goes with the book so they can get that there. And then also I have a podcast of the same name, Make Some Noise podcast.

Fabulous. Easy to find. If you have any questions about this as you listen and you can't find something, hit us up. We are going to link up everything in the notes with this episode. If you want to link straight out. Andrea, thank you. You are a gift. It has been such a joy to spend this time with you.

Thank you, Amber. Thank you so much. It's been fun.

All the love. Bye. Hey, hey. Amber McHugh here. Welcome to the Right on Time podcast. You are not going to regret listening to the this episode. Today on the podcast, we are hanging out with Andrea Owens, the author of the new book Make Some Noise. Now, if you have ever wanted to create any change in your life, this is the book. This is the book you have to read and the episode you have to listen to to start to understand how. How is there something we know we want, know we can have, know we can achieve a goal we know is because it is in us. But somehow we are stuck in moving toward and reaching this goal to create change and to move towards what you want. You got to listen to this episode and you have got to hear what Andrea has to say. From tapping into those conversations that we have with ourselves to our inner critic, to that internal knowing all the way through to financial advisors and success in business and where we have not had success and how we overcome and move through that. Andrea covers so much in this episode with us. It was such a lovely conversation. I was taking Mad notes. I cannot wait to see the notes that you walk away with. Without further ado, let's dive into this episode with Andrea Owen speaker, author, coach and change maker. The latest book is Make Some Noise and this episode might cause a little bit of shift. It might make you a little bit uncomfortable from time to time. I was questioning myself. I was having aha's. We got it. We got to get into this. Let's go. I'll see you in the episode. And at the end, I'm going to circle back with a special excellent excerpt from the book. This is the closing. I wasn't joking. That was pretty incredible, wasn't it? What a thrilling episode. I was so grateful at the end. The Andrea went where she went, turned the tables on me. And I hope that you experience a shift, a change, a little bit of a nudge towards taking the step towards your next goal as well. As we bring today's episode to a close, I want to read an excerpt from Andrea's book Make Some Noise. This excerpt is a poem that she has in the book called Burn It Down. Here we go. Burn it down. She had fire in her belly and she used it to summon her truth. She had fire in her soul and she used it to remember where she came from. She had fire in her heart and she used it to trust the women who came before her. She had fire in her spirit and she used it it to show other women their own flames. She had fire in her eyes and she used it to burn it all down. She had fire in her every being and she used it to blaze a new path, a new way, a new life. That last line got me. You may hear it in my voice. There are certainly tears in my eyes. I'm going to read those last two pieces again. She had fire in her every being and she used it to blaze a new path, a new way, a new life. If you see a different way of doing business, if you see a different way of doing life, this is your sign and you are right on time.