How to invest in your coaching business when you’re used to putting yourself last

Building a business gets to be fun. Like, it doesn't, it doesn't have to be a bunch of screen time and a bunch of strategy. When you're in the energy, people are, people wanna follow you, literally. Hello and welcome back to the Yes And Podcast. I am your host, Bunny Young, and today's episode is one that I have genuinely been looking forward to because this one is a celebration and you get to join Right along with us. Now, I'm old and I have been in this work long enough to know that the real transformation is not loud. It does not usually announce itself. It doesn't necessarily look like a pretty Instagram carousel or reel, and it shows up quietly in the way that an entrepreneur, and in this case, a woman, carries herself differently. The way that she says no without apologizing, the way she walks into a room like she belongs there and owns the room. Because she finally believes it, embodies it, and owns it. Not just that, is this particular guest emits this and evokes this in others. So my guest today is someone that I have had the privilege of watching do exactly that over the last 12+ months. So Nikki Acosta is a licensed marriage and family therapist, relationship expert, and transformation coach. She helps women break free from self-abandonment, heal their nervous systems. I'm slowing this part down since we just like redid the whole Instagram bio. So, you know, I want you to drink this part in, Nikki. It's not every day your business coach writes your bio for you.

Love it.

All right, here we go. She helps women break free from self-abandonment, heal their nervous systems, and build lives they actually want to live. And she created the Live Fully, Love Deeply method. But Yes. And what you are about to hear today is not the bio. It's the story behind it and the version of Nikki that existed before the breakthrough and what it actually cost her investment and all, and gave her to become the woman sitting across from me right now. So Nikki, welcome to the Yes. And podcast.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm so excited. This is, this is a first, but I'm really excited to share my story and yeah. So ask away.

We got it. We got it. And, and we've, we've got your Sabrina with me as well. So she's just going to chime in when she wants to. Yeah. I want to start at the beginning and like, not just the professional beginning, like the real, the real beginning, the, the beginning that we've talked about many times with your nervous system and some of your beliefs, because I think that's one of the things that makes you so powerful and the work that you bring this to this world so powerful is that kind of this learning curve that you've lived and how you've really truly embodied using business as a way to heal yourself. And I, I'm not saying that's how you started or what you started with, but what you can share as much as you want. But one of the things that you've shared with me when I asked you about making money, when we were creating your financial plan, is you said, I don't really have to make money.

Mm-hmm.

I don't, I've never really thought about it. I just knew it was something I had to do to take care of my family.

Mm-hmm.

So let's start there.

Okay. So, yeah, I mean, with, I pretty much just grew up like, I gotta do what I gotta do to survive really is what that looked like. Right. I moved out at a really young age and I, you know, became pregnant at a really young age and it was from there that All kinds of choices were made, uh, because I knew that I wanted to give my son, um, an amazing life. And in order to do that, I, I really needed to figure out what I needed to do. And that looked like going back to school, um, going to college. And it looked like, I mean, there's so many different stages of what that looked like, but all I knew was that this was a non-negotiable, that Mm-hmm. this was what I needed to do to make a life for my son or give him a life that I didn't necessarily have so I could provide him everything. And so that's kind of where the beginning stages kind of looked like, um, from that.

Okay. So I'm going to fast forward to just 12 months ago.

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah. Yeah.

Because the woman that's sitting in front of me when I first was introduced to you You didn't tell me about the numerous other businesses that you successfully ran, sold, business partnered, all of this kind of stuff. I knew you were a therapist. I knew you had a successful therapy clinic and practice. And you told me, yes, but, you know, I want to, I think I want to be a coach too. And in my head, and I told you this, I said, As we were talking about you joining Defy, I said, well, you've already built a successful business. Like, what is it that you really want? And I want, I want you to give our listeners kind of a peek into what you were thinking about back then versus what you're aware of now and what you were really asking for, because you are a therapist, you understand nervous system work, you do the self-abandonment work, you know. a lot of the energetics that's in Defy deeply, and yet there was still a gap in what you understood versus how you were living it.

Right. Yeah, no, absolutely.

Yeah.

So if we were to go back just about a year ago, I, yeah, I did come to you and I was like, I need help creating this coaching business. I didn't know exactly what, what that looked like or how to do it. And I just remember That I wanted to do something a little bit different than therapy. And, and I really wanted to help women specifically, um, really empower themselves and really step into a lot of what I had personally went through actually. Right. There was a huge transformation and I really wanted to, you know, to kind of shift into creating a program or honestly just like starting from scratch. What'd that even look like with you? Like 12 years, like 12 months ago, I like, I didn't even know how to do anything for some reason. It was, it was a block, um, even though I had done other businesses, right? I had a mobile moving business. I had a real estate and loan officing business. And for some reason that just really came to me. But when, when I wanted to create this coaching side, I didn't really know what that looked like or how to even get started. But I knew that I wanted to share my experiences, um, with other women because a lot of people would ask me like, How did you, you know, how are you doing what you're doing now? Right. And like, you look so like, you look like something's changed or shifted in you as well too.

You were doing it, but you weren't thinking about how you were doing it. I know, I really want to slow this down because we had this conversation. I said, you're getting clients and you're like, yes.

I said, how?

And you said, I don't know. I said, Nikki, like those 3 words, I'm going to measure success by how little you tell me I don't know. Right. And if we are really slowing this down and taking a breath right now, you shared or you owned, you discovered what a defense mechanism business had become for you, the way that you were really doing business from a nervous system standpoint of like, I'm doing it because I have to. And the thing that I want to recognize is that this beautiful baby boy that you shared about, you— there was a couple big losses heading into last summer, you know?

Yeah.

And one of the things, the weight that you were feeling, this was around a Costa Rica trip, guys. Like Nikki had shared, I just can't book this Costa Rica trip. Well, it's because her loving baby boy was heading off to college. And it was like the last trip really for him being home and you guys being together. And so there was a lot of putting it off, saying you didn't want to deal with the logistics, but it's like, what, what shifted last year where it was like the first sense of who you were actually going to be doing business for? Because it wasn't going to be your son. It wasn't going to be your clients. It wasn't going to be for the revenue. You had all that. What shifted?

Yeah. Well, it was me, right? Like, I wanted to, I wanted to have a business where I had the freedom to do and go wherever I wanted to, right? And it was, yeah, I didn't have my son anymore and he was a huge, like, he was going off to college, um, and he was a huge reason for it all, right? And, and now that he wasn't going to be around me, I was like, what, what am I doing? Right? Like, Like, how is this gonna look like? And I started, I started choosing me. I started, you know, finding the things that I wanted to do, what was important to me. And, you know, that, that was really scary. I didn't know.

Yeah.

I didn't really know who I was at times. And, and I had to like find myself again, to be honest, right? Like what, what were those things that gave me energy? What were those things that gave me joy? Right. And as soon as I started to kind of step into that, um, the business also shifted because energetically I was choosing me, finding all these ways to fight, like, you know, create joy or live freely or be, or not be scared. Right. And because I was so afraid to, to do some of these things, and I don't know what I was afraid of necessarily, because when I, when I look back at it, I was like, That was a thing. Like, that's what I was scared of back then. Right. So.

What were you afraid of losing? What were you afraid it was going to cost you to say yes and step into a 12-month container for you?

The first thing that came to my mind right now is 12 months is a long time. And I was nervous for that commitment.

Uh, was it really a long time? Because I feel like it went so fast.

I just wanna know. Yeah, no, it wasn't long at all. And I couldn't believe 12 months was up and I was like, wow, that just happened. So, but initially I was like, 12 months, a whole year I'm committing. And it felt really scared to, to show up, right? Like to show up what was gonna happen in, in our Defy calls and to be seen. There was so much about like, Show, you know, being super vulnerable and showing it all. And yeah, so now that we're talking about this, I'm remembering all those fears coming out again.

Yeah. Yeah, there, there was short-term fears and long-term fears. I remember, you remember this call where I was sitting on the patio of like the hotel that I was staying at in Austin and You said, you're so beautiful in this moment and vulnerable in this moment. You're like, Bunny, I can't because of X, Y, and Z. Well, maybe I can start next month, or maybe I can start in 3 months, or— and then you stopped yourself and you said something super powerful. Do you remember what you said?

What did I say?

You said, there's always going to be— you said, I'm always going to find a reason. Not to.

Yeah. Yeah.

Do you remember that? How that felt to say that out loud?

Yeah. Yeah. I remember saying there's always some things that could easily come up. Exactly.

Yeah. And like you just shared, like with your son going off to college, like you were finding additional reasons not to, and yet you were realizing that That resistance, that it was just a story. What do you like speak to that resistance? Because you see this in your clients too. What do you feel like that resistance was?

Yeah. I mean, I, I mean, now that I think about what you were, you know, that conversation, it was like, I was like, no, it's not a good time. Right. There's this going on. There's that. I was like, I don't know how I'm going to find the space or the time to do this. And there were so many other things that I was focusing on. And in reality, right, you're right, I do see this with all my clients, like they can't make time. But that was like the beginning of, I am not choosing me in these moments, right? I'm choosing everything else. But this is something I really wanted to do. And I couldn't see that until I, you know, I started speaking with you and saying some of those things out loud. I'm like, I really want to do this, but I'm choosing, you know, what I've been, you know, doing for a long, for many years, right? You know, focusing on family or focusing on everyone else but me actually. Right. And, um, so that was really huge to really, to really kind of step in and say yes to this. And yeah, like make myself a non-negotiable, right? I really wanted to. I wanted, I really wanted to grow and invest. Right.

So I just louder for the people in the back, because like, that's the Instagrammable moment right now. Make yourself a non-negotiable. What did you have to finally stop tolerating in order to make that a possibility? I hope you wrote that down and I see a reel and a carousel on your page now from that, please. And I really want you to share, like, what was it that you had to stop tolerating in order to make that possible because there, there was sacrifice in order to make yourself a non-negotiable. I don't, I don't want to sugarcoat that. I want to give you all the credit for the fact that there was sacrifice in making yourself a non-negotiable. So what was it?

I mean, I think we kind of said it a little bit earlier, right? There's like, I could see my resistance and I could see my fear, um, not wanting to commit. And I knew that that right there was something I needed to really lean into, right? Like there was, I felt it and I, and I just knew that if I was able to move through that, that something was, something next level was going to happen. Right. And so, and it did. And it did. The moment I leaned into saying yes to myself, right, committing to myself, a lot of things started opening up and, you know, all the thoughts that I had about like this, I, I don't know how this is gonna work, or there's no way I could, you know, be there at that time commitment. Like all of that didn't even happen. It wasn't even true, right? So it's just, it's just kind of funny because those are all those anxious thoughts that come in, right? And as soon as you start leaning in, none of that even happens, right? But what did happen was a lot more opportunities and a lot more experiences that That really helped me.

Oh, okay. I have so much that I want to follow up with on that. And I, what do you, what got you through that moment? That moment, that oh shit moment, that I can't do this moment where your energy settled. And what would you say now to that woman who was citing all the reasons why she couldn't?

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. What got me through that moment to, to say yes is what you're asking? Mm-hmm.

To, to say yes to you.

Yeah. Yeah.

To bet on you.

To be really honest, I, I, there was just a moment of, I was just reflecting on a lot of my past on, you know, my son was gone. That was a huge part of it and. I felt like I had the space and the freedom to actually finally see myself. But also it was like, I should have done that a long time ago, right? I probably should have seen that. And I just had a real, I just remember having the space to reflect on past experiences, past relationships, and I did it for everyone else but me. And it was in that moment where I just knew, I was like, this is, this is my next step, was to invest in myself. So, and I knew you were going to help me get, get me there. So.

We've got to be honest about that because you have your master's degree. I have my master's degree. We've done a ton of schooling. We've done a ton of certifications. We've done a ton of continuing education. And you and I have both gotten coaching degrees as well, or coaching certifications. And that was a conversation that we had because I warned you and I was honest that Defy is not a program or a course. And that what it was going to require of you to move forward, it's not just sit on a call and learn.

Mm-hmm.

And I think if we're being honest, the first couple months, that was a little shocking to the system is how much you would be seen, how much you would be called forward.

Yeah. Yeah. I've already blocked it out, but yeah, you're right. It was extremely, it was ex— I mean, I, I'm on a call with ladies I've never met before. Like, I'm like, do I Do I even deserve to be in this room? Like, there's a lot going on these first, like, these first few months, right? Um, and showing up, being on screen, being super vulnerable. Yeah, all those things, those feelings were there. All those thoughts were there. Um, for sure. Right.

And as they come up and out in this community, I wanna honor how you showed up for yourself. Mm-hmm. Because most of the time we're screens on, most of the time we're camera on.

Right. Yeah. Yeah.

What I want to discuss right now is how the uniqueness of the container led to you showing up in a different way. So there was this beautiful marriage of the uniqueness of your commitment to make yourself the non-negotiable and the uniqueness of the community and the container and it not being another giant Zoom room you can hide in, as well as what we talked about earlier in the aspect that there's no prescription Yeah. There's permission for you to create your roadmap. So really for the first time you had to put riverbanks is what we call them. You had to put the actual documented strategy of what makes your business successful.

Mm-hmm.

Can you share kind of the confronting and the exciting parts of that journey for you?

Yeah. Yeah. One of the first memories that comes to mind is being on, on one of the Defy calls and sharing part of my story, right? And this is in front of, you know, I don't know, just 11+ women I don't even know, right? But it's, it's still small, still intimate, but everyone's listening. Everyone cares. Everyone is seeing me and The feedback that I got from all these beautiful ladies was absolutely shocking to me, right? I, I felt heard, I felt seen, and in a very different way, right? Where I've never received so much love from all these, you know, women before in this space. And that was, that was huge for me. That was an absolute game changer for me in Doing business because I've been doing business on my own for a very long time, right? Doing everything on my own, you know, all the doubts that come in, like, is this good? All the worry. And to be in a room with other women who've had these similar feelings at times, um, it didn't feel lonely. It didn't feel lonely doing, doing my business. So.

Okay, I'm kind of burying the lead here. However, there's something I want to— like, I want to go here. And this was last fall. I finally got you to post on Instagram.

Oh my gosh. Yeah.

Your first post in a long time was— do you remember what the picture was of?

Yeah, my face.

It was your— and I remember you being like, Bunny, people are commenting, people are liking. I don't understand what's going on.

Yeah.

What had shifted?

I, I mean, I was scared. I was like, I don't know how this is going to work. And it did. And people wanted to see and hear the stories. There was a lot of comments of, I had no idea. Like, this is what some of the comments had said. It said, I had no idea you had these businesses. I didn't know you were even doing this. Like, um, they were like, what? Tell me more, basically is what they were saying.

Right.

So yeah.

Okay. And as a follow-up, I want to paint the picture for everybody listening. We're at Space Mountain. It is September of last year because when you joined Defy, one of the pay-in-full bonuses is a Disney day. And actually, Nikki, you and Carrie and a couple other of the women in Defy are the ones who actually created this bonus because I go to Disneyland like at least once a week, every single week. And you guys were like, can we go to Disneyland with you? I'm like, sure. So we're at Space Mountain and you discovered you could not go live without 500 followers.

Yeah.

That's right. Yeah. And so you were like, well, I can't go live. And I was like, hmm, it's interesting that that's what you took away from that. Because what I took away from it is what?

You, we are still gonna do it somehow, some way. We're gonna do the live.

And we're gonna get 500 followers. So you're walking around Disneyland with a posse of Defy Unicorns. There's all these women. That are like helping you get followers as you're going through Disneyland. Do you remember this?

Yes, yes, yes. And I was like, I need 500 more followers. And we're literally like, help me get there. So.

How did that feel?

It was fun, actually. It was so much fun to be able to do that with the ladies. It was also like, we're doing this. Like, I, yeah, I remember just like going around Disneyland, going down Splash Mountain. We were like, yeah, all of the rides, right? Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, or, um, what's the other one with the teacups? Yeah, the teacups, right? What's another one? We were like, I need more followers. Help me through this so I can go live with, with, go live in Disneyland Park there.

So it was so fun. It was so fun. And that's like where, you know, I really wanted everybody there and you to feel that like building a business gets to be fun. Like it doesn't, it doesn't have to be a bunch of screen time and a bunch of like strategy. When you're in the energy, people are, people want to follow you literally. So I want to talk about the energy for a second because.

Yeah.

This aspect of your journey that drove you to do this work in the coaching space of supporting individuals with not self-abandonment, the irony is not lost on me because in building a business over the last 12 months, what became a non-negotiable? What became true for you?

Me, actually. That's, you know, choosing myself became true for me and The moment I started choosing myself in everything, uh, you know, choosing myself first, everything kind of changed, honestly. So there was so much that was happening, right? Like I didn't, it's just kind of interesting just looking over the past 12 months, right? Where it was like, I don't have to, I don't have to overgive or perform, or I don't have to, right? I don't have to say yes to certain things anymore, right? Like there was.

Yeah.

I don't, they're, they're all in these really small, tiny decisions, but they were, they were massive, right? There was a lot of things that I was doing. Putting boundaries is like, I, I don't, if I'm not feeling it, like if I'm not in this energy to do something, I'm not doing it anymore, right? Like I was really in alignment with who I wanted to work with, what I wanted to do, and I was no longer kind of like people pleasing, I guess. Just saying yes to everything or anything that was like coming my way. Like I really got to choose what I felt like, um, I really wanted to work with, if that makes sense.

You don't have to share this. And I want to say like, if we were to make a success metric board, a success vision board for the past 12 months, it wouldn't just be business there. Because what I've noticed as your coach, when you say everything's changed, it has been so much more than business.

Right. I mean, learning to love myself, be free, doing everything I want to do actually is creating a lot more business, to be honest. Right? Like there's, I'm showing things on Instagram now about how to love yourself, how to live freely, how to live fully. And honestly, like the amount of responses I'm getting from the energy that I, because I'm just showing my life, right? I'm documenting all the things that I'm doing, doing about how to choose yourself and You know, I'm getting some responses to this right now and like, this is, this is important because I, this is how I get to do business, right? Like I'm, I'm out there doing whatever I love to do, whether it's dancing, working out in nature at a waterfall or something. And, um, like I could still do all those things and still do what I love to do, which is help women or, uh, and it's amazing. So.

What are you doing now in your business that you could not have even imagined doing or would not have let yourself do 12 months ago?

I mean, there's a lot, but the first thing that comes to mind right now is actually sharing a lot of what I'm doing, um, with my business. It's actually all together, right? And I used to think I needed to separate my, my personal life with my business, and that's actually not the case at all, right? And the more I'm sharing about my personal life, the more, the more it's actually allowing some, a lot of other people to, to ask questions about some of the things that they're kind of exploring with themselves right now too. So that's actually like the biggest thing right there, right? Like business is. It isn't separate whatsoever, right? It is a relationship that, uh, it is another relationship that I have that, um, and it's just as important like any other relationship, whether it's with your partner or your family. Um, so there's so many things that I've learned just with that alone.

Uh, so I want to keep going with this because there is an entrepreneur, there is a being, there is someone listening. To this episode right now who is recognizing themselves in your story. And first, I want to let them know that, and you can tell me if this is wrong, it didn't take 12 months. It actually happened fairly quickly for this to awaken in you and you bringing your whole self into your business. And for the woman that is listening and is exhausted and is not believing that it's possible, she's smart because you're freaking brilliant, right? And to that person that is listening to this podcast that knows that something needs to change, and yet moving is scary, making that choice is scary, making that investment is scary. What do you want to say to her?

I would absolutely tell her that investing in herself is, again, like I said, a non-negotiable, right? Because, right, choosing herself first is, is going to change everything, right? Like the moment I decided that I wanted to do some things differently, the moment I decided that I wanted to take my business to a different level, it, it was It all happened when I was able to see myself in a very different way and being around other women helped me to see myself and, and kind of see where some of those, um, you know, those gaps were. So I would absolutely, you know, share with her that this, how important it is to be in a, some type of group setting or to love herself and choose herself. And that shouldn't be a guilty feeling to be able to do that, right? That's not selfish at all whatsoever.

Yeah. And Nikki will be on the inside of Defy waiting for you when you make that choice too. She's our resident cheerleader.

Yeah, exactly.

Like, I just want to thank you for the way that you show up in the community and just like how committed you are to holding the energy of what's possible. That's one of the reasons that I wanted to do this podcast episode is I wanted to hold a mirror for you to see everything that you're cheering everybody else on is from this identity. It's from this energy. It's from this place of what you know is possible for everyone else because you've literally walked the walk exponentially over the last year and beyond, but really taken ownership of it over the last year. So I just really want to take a chance to really hold the mirror for you and you see that.

Yeah. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much, Bunny. Thank you for this. I really, really appreciate all of it. And, um, I'm really happy to be on here sharing this with you. So.

And then before I ask you what your version of a yes, of yes and is, the one last thing that I just want to have you share from your perspective is the transformation, because yes, we can talk about the revenue in your business. Yes, we can talk about The team that you've hired. We can talk about the strategy that you've created. And Nikki, the biggest transformation that I've seen is your identity.

Tell me what you see, buddy.

Ooh, what a great question. I, I want to hear it from you first.

Yeah. Uh, I, you're right. I absolutely think the identity shifted because Right. The moment you change your identity and really step into who you want to be, right, and start doing those behaviors, those habits, like who you want to be, everything shifts, right?

Mm-hmm.

And I wanted to be a female entrepreneur who, who is free, right? Who loves herself, who also, you know, is able to accept all of herself. Right. And the moment I started leaning into that type of freedom, you know, I would actually always ask myself if, what would a woman who was free, what would they do? What would their answer be? And I would ask myself these questions anytime I wanted to make a decision. And, um, whether that was hop on a plane to Costa Rica or Hawaii, or, and it was very clear. It was, it was always a yes. If If that's what I wanted to do.

So, and including your first solo trip down to my house for the retreat that just unlocked all the rest of the trips.

Oh my gosh.

Yes.

We can't forget about that. That was, that was life-changing. That was absolutely life-changing right there.

And you gave that gift to yourself.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. Oh, how could I forget that?

I do, I do remember following you in the parking lot of the, like, hotel at Disneyland with your suitcase, trying to make sure you were all good.

Yes.

Man, I just have to tell you, there's no limit to what I won't support you in, including making sure that you're safe in a parking lot.

Yeah. Yeah, that meant everything. Um, yeah, you didn't like just drop me off. You like waited for me until I got my, my luggage put in the car and then we left together. So that was— talk about door-to-door support there.

So, well, 100%, 100%. So I promised you that I would share a little bit about the identity shift in the easiest, the simplest way that I can, because I know it wasn't easy, but the simplest way that I can hold a mirror for you is last year when we got on our calls on Thursday mornings, you would ask me the how. You wanted the strategy. You were looking for that magic pill that would unlock what it was that you weren't even sure what it was that you were looking for.

Mm-hmm.

And now exactly what you said is true, is you, while you're asking the question, you embody the energy And then I ask one of those annoying questions that you love of like, what if you ask me what the answer is? My most common answer is, what do you think it is? And you have the answer now, Nicki. Like, you, you'll tell me even as I'm asking this question, I can hear my answer. And so the transformation in the identity that I've seen is instead of the woman who has to have All the answers instead of the woman that has to find all of the answers and has to fix and has to solve. You embody being the solution without having to provide that solution to everybody else. So instead of the woman with all the problems, you are the woman with— who is the solution.

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I love it. Yeah, it's, it's true. Like, it's, I feel like I was just saying this to somebody else the other day, is that I am the one who I always needed, actually. And instead of looking, and I used to like look outside of myself or, you know, think that somebody else needed that. And, and in reality, it, it's always been me.

So, um, That's huge. I think one of my favorite memories of the past month is at our virtual retreat when we were working on the coding in AI and you built out the whole thing. And I'm just seeing you in the chat be like, I just created a quiz. I just created this.

I just— I was so excited when you introduced that. I was like, oh my goodness.

Like, This is— I, I will never be able to put that genie back in the bottle, and that's okay. So, Nikki, my last question is, what is your definition of yes, and?

What is my definition of yes, and? I don't even know. Just kidding. I just wanted to do a pushup. My definition of yes, and is So for those who don't know, but he also, every single time I say I don't know, makes me do a pushup. I'm just kidding.

Hey, you know what? Look at her arms. They're fantastic. So I would just like to point out we're getting stronger in so many areas of our life.

Right? Not only the mental reps, we've got the physical ones. Uh, the definition of yes and is absolutely saying, I mean, honestly, it's saying yes to Pretty much anything you want to do, right? So it doesn't have to, it doesn't have to be and/or the other, right? It's yes and whatever else you would like. So, uh, yes and is literally something we say all the time now because 2, but you know, 2 things can exist at the same time. 2 truths. Yeah. So yeah. I love it.

I love it. Ah, Nikki, thank you. I mean it. You're such a blessing and an honor, not just In Defy, but to this world. So thank you for being here.

Thank you, Bunny. So much fun. I love it.

And thank you for being here as well. I guarantee you during this episode, you felt something in this conversation, and I want to invite you to do something with that feeling before it fades. So I've actually got 3 pieces of homework for you. So one is to go follow Nikki right now. Uh, Nikki, you've got to tell me how to say this Instagram handle. Yeah, Nikoya Nikki.

It's Nikoya Nikki. So, um, so I'm half Nicaragüense, so you can actually— it's abbreviated as Nikoya. And so it's Nikoya Nikki is how that, how that is.

It's going to be in the show notes, I promise you. And you, if I want you to connect with her, I want you to tell her what cracked open today for you, and you can go deeper into her work. You can make plans to meet her at Disneyland this year with Defy because she'll be there. All of the links to connect with Nikki are in the show notes. She is the real thing, and I— that is your first piece of homework. Second, make sure that you're following this show. New episodes are dropping every single week, and I promise you it's just the beginning of what we're building here. And so it means the world to me when you leave a review, when you subscribe. When you share this with somebody else, please, please, please just take a moment to do that. You've made it to the end of the show, so obviously we're going to spend some time together and that just means the world. So, and lastly, and I'm going to be super direct with you about this one, if you're listening to Nikki's story today and something in you said that, that's what I want, I want you to pay attention to that sensation. I want you to pay attention to that feeling. I want you to pay attention to that thought. That feeling's not random. That's your future self getting your attention and saying, pay attention to this. This is for us. And that sensation is what led me to build DEFY. DEFY stands for Design Everything For You. And the one who is done building a life that costs everything, that's who I built DEFY for. The one who's ready to do the real work and build something that actually reflects Not just what you do, but who you are. And we're going to put the link to Defy and to book a fit call in the show notes. Go and read it. Make your decision. You already have. And do not let that feeling talk you out of what you already know. Allow that feeling, that sensation to talk you into it. Allow Nikki's story to be the inspiration for you to take that next step, whatever that is. When I'm planning these episodes, recording these episodes, bringing these guests on, it is to benefit and support and just sprinkle, pour magic into your life. And so I would love to hear from you on Instagram @thebunnyyoung. If you have a takeaway, I know you do, tag me, tag Nikki, as well as if you have an idea for an episode that you would love to hear, email my team at hello@bunnyyoung.com. Book a fit call in the show notes, in the link below. We can stay connected. It won't be that long until I see you in the very next episode of the Yes And Podcast. And until then, I am Bunny Young and you are amazing.