Peak Performance Without Burnout w. Julia Arndt

Sometimes I have these moments where I'm like, well, if I would have everything tomorrow, then wouldn't my life be kind of boring? You know, like it's kind of the journey that gives me all these insights about myself and what I'm learning that I then can give to other people.

And welcome back to another episode of the Yes And Podcast. My name is Bunny Young, serial entrepreneur, retired stuntwoman, and mother of 3 beautiful babies and a builder of a life that I don't need to escape from. I cannot wait to welcome you to this episode for our season 2, because season 2 is all about diving even deeper with these incredible individuals who are breaking barriers, building empires, and designing lives and companies their way. And that is why today I have invited on Julia Arndt. Julia's not only a TEDx speaker and a corporate wellbeing expert, and founder of the Peak Performance Method. She has dedicated her career to helping high achievers both at Fortune 500 companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft overcome burnout and build mindful, sustainable success, but also bringing those practices to the entrepreneurial world as well. And after a nearly a decade at Google and experiencing burnout firsthand, which we're going to get more into, she transitioned to coaching and has since inspired and worked with over 10,000 professionals to prioritize their mental health and Productivity. And Julia and I get to have a very special podcast behind the scenes a little bit because I had the honor of coaching her for a year, a little bit over a year. And so she said that she's an open book and we're gonna bring lots and lots of that to you. So, and I wanted to bring Julia to you to help you and me better understand how to achieve peak performance without believing that the non-negotiable trade-off is burnout, and how to build sustainable success habits, and most importantly, how we can all have it without running ourselves into the ground. So, Jules, welcome to the Yes And Podcast.

Yay!

I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

So, out of the gate, I know you shared a little bit about this in your TED Talk about going from like Cs and Ds in school to like really being this high achieving, peak performance, all of that. However, what I wanted to ask you is to give us a little bit of the background on the journey up until this last year, because I really feel like this last year everything has accelerated and everything. It's kind of what we talked about with like that hockey stick where it just kind of takes off.

Mm-hmm.

And so a lot of people could look at your story and be like, oh, she did this so quickly. And you did. And like what led up to the being that did it so quickly over the last 12 months, being able to have those tools and knowledge and all of that going into the last 12 months?

Yeah, great question. I would say the biggest breakthrough that I've had was actually letting go of one of the most important deep-rooted limiting beliefs that I wasn't aware of to that extent, which was I need to work hard in order to succeed and I love myself because I work hard. I think those were like two really, really powerful limiting beliefs that I had to break through. And as that shifted, I feel like my business really accelerated, which is really powerful, right? Because we always talk a lot about energy and about how we are self-sabotaging ourselves and how we're holding ourselves back. And, you know, it's funny, right? Because you say, well, I've done this quickly. And at the same time, in my head, I'm like, well, it took me 6 years to like start to have this like acceleration. And, you know, when you're in it for like 5 years, that feels like a long time, you know, even though there were of course like these, these milestones that did happen over the course of that time.

I'm laughing and smiling at you because I'm like, girl, I've been at this for 21 years and like still feel like there's so many times when I'm like, it definitely, it should be happening faster. It should be, you know, I should be seeing results right away. And so you saying 5 years feels like a lot and me looking at it as like 21 years, you know, and I think that's the benefit of hindsight as well. Right. I think 21 years still is a lot quicker than people that take 40 years.

Right.

Right.

And, and it's, it, like, how long it takes to get to the place, to me, doesn't impact being present at the place. And like, for me, it's one of the biggest things that I think that I've seen with you is enjoying the journey and this concept of enough.

Mm-hmm.

And like being okay with going for more, but not letting that be like, well, this means that this isn't enough right now. You want to speak a little bit on that?

Yeah, totally. Yeah. It's an interesting concept because I think one of the things that is, you know, that we talk a lot about is kind of this idea of we can be grateful what we have and we can also always strive for more. And I think I always forgot the grateful part and the gratitude part a lot of times. And and really feeling just into like the, the successes I've had along the way. And like just pausing for a moment and just being really excited about, hey, this is actually really like, this is really special already, all of the things that are happening. And, and I can also still strive for more and I can still have these bigger dreams that I want to accomplish in my own business and in my own life. And I think there was also this thought that I had. I was just thinking that as you were saying that, that, you know, no matter if it's 5 years or 15 years or 20 years or 40 years, like sometimes I have these moments where I'm like, well, if I would have everything tomorrow, then wouldn't my life be kind of boring? You know, like it's kind of the journey that gives me all these insights about myself and what I'm learning that I then can give to other people. And since I'm a high achiever and I am used to pushing and kind of this push energy and being super disciplined and being super consistent, You know, I'm like, well, there's still, I'm learning still so many things that I can then give to my clients because of this journey. So yeah, it's, it's a cool mindset shift.

Yes.

And so how often are you doing gratitude? Is it a daily practice now? Or like, how often do you come back to that?

I would say it's been really rewired in my brain. I started like a journaling gratitude practice 6 years ago when I went through my burnout. And, um, And because I was really aware of how negative my thoughts were all the time, even though my outside world looked, you know, so good on paper and, you know, people were probably like, why, she's crazy. And maybe I'll talk a little bit about that just so people can kind of like see what was there, right? Like I had this like amazing job at Google and I was commuting between the Bay Area, Silicon Valley to Lake Tahoe where I bought a house in 2016. And so I spent all of my weekends in Tahoe. You know, I had a really safe job. I had great pay and benefits and all of these things. So on the, on paper, I had everything that was great, but I was very, like, I just didn't feel connected to myself anymore. And I was constantly having these negative thoughts. So when I did actually go on medical leave, I started a very conscious gratitude practice and I wrote down 3 to 5 things every day that I felt grateful for. And I've done it for many years and I feel like It really helped me rewire my brain, and now it's kind of almost like constant thoughts that I have, which is really cool. Like now when I start my day or when I go for a walk with my dog or when I'm looking at the lake or at the trees outside my window, I'm like, this is amazing. You know, so it's really cool to see how long it took, but also like how it's really integrated now into my brain. And it doesn't mean that I'm still sometimes having negative thoughts or things that I'm challenged by, but I, um, I can quickly shift kind of back into this like gratitude space. So I don't actually do it as much like in written form anymore. I feel like it's just more part of just my, my brain chemistry.

That's beautiful. Like it's like you had this identity shift and I love that.

And Here's the thing that, you know, I think I've struggled with, and that I think a lot of people struggle with, is what you said. You had success, like burning yourself out, doing it that way led to success. And I think I shared with you, in working with my own coach like several years ago, in this whole idea of masculine and feminine approach to business— and not all masculine or all feminine, but having this balance and leaving room for the magic— I'm like, yes, And I've built these multimillion-dollar companies with this very masculine approach. And my coach was like, if you knew there was a more optimal way though, wouldn't you try it?

And so you were born and raised in Germany.

I'm going to share a little bit of your background, but I want, I want you to share it too. You lived in these amazing multiple different countries in Europe.

Speak—

I know you speak French, you speak German.

In English.

Oh, English. That's, that's also, that's the thing, right?

I forgot.

I always forget that one. Um, and then you move to the States and you're working for one of the top companies in the entire world. Mm-hmm. Uh, I suspect that you were burning out all along the way. And how are you aware of that when it's your ocean that you're swimming in? Like how, at what point did you start to think to yourself, maybe there's another way to do this?

Mm-hmm. It was actually not until I started my business, actually. So really interesting. Um, first of all, totally relate to like the masculine and feminine energy because I do think that there's a lot of masculine attributes that I master very well, right? Like the discipline and the consistency and like kind of just like the ambition and all that kind of stuff. And I would say maybe the first thing when that softened for me a little bit more like unconsciously than consciously was when I started to go more to like yoga classes. And then I actually did yoga teacher training certification for a couple of hundred hours. And like that, I think, right? Of course, of course I did multiple hundred hours of yoga teacher training. But like, I feel like that helped me to connect a little bit more to myself, and it like helped me open up more of that feminine side and also just be aware of the feminine and masculine, because you kind of talk about that in yoga too. I, I think I was always— I like, I already mentioned it, but I, it's resonating so deeply with me, this like push energy. Like, I was always like pushing. Like, I was at Google and I wanted to be in Tahoe full-time, so I started an Amazon online business, and I, I started to have this idea of like giving private yoga um, lessons in Tahoe, and I was constantly pushing and thinking about what can I do in order to replace this really great salary plus benefits from Google with something that I do on my own. I burned out, you know, that was kind of unpredicted, but I like just didn't feel like myself anymore and started or decided through that journey of burnout and not really actually knowing what burnout was, especially in 2018 when nobody really, nobody talked about burnout. I feel like it's so different today and I, I'm so glad that it is so different today because there's more awareness for high achievers around what are actually things that you can do to avoid that or to overcome it. But it wasn't until I started my business and going back into the same cycles of my calendar being fully cramped with meetings and me working from 8 o'clock to 3 o'clock and without a break and feeling super tired that I was like, okay, well, here I am now. I am like, I actually create my life the way I want to, but I actually don't feel any better because my life is still the same. And so that was really powerful because I think we point so often the finger, and I did that myself too, at like the external environment. And I was like, Google was just not the right company for me anymore. My manager and my team just didn't feel as aligned as I wanted to. The work that I was doing didn't feel aligned. So I was just kind of like pointing at those external circumstances being like, this is leading me to feeling stretched thin and overwhelmed. And then I started my own business and I was like, I think it's me. I think it's me who is taking all these habits with me and I need to change something about that. And then it kind of brought me on this next journey of really trying to figure out what system will actually help me to sustain performance? Because I was always very clear that I want to be the high achiever and I want to have a successful career, but I didn't want to do it any longer on the, on my well-being, you know, and on sacrificing my, my, my happiness and my relationships for it.

Yeah.

There's two separate areas that I want to go in this. In this aspect.

And I wanna go back to the burnout and ask you, how did you know you were burnt out?

I didn't. I just knew I didn't feel like myself anymore and I didn't want my life to continue the way it was going. And I, learning more about burnout, there were totally signals there, but I didn't know. All I, I, all I knew was I can't keep going on like this. Like I've just felt super negative. I constantly got in fights with my partner. I felt super on edge. I took everything super personally at work. And yeah, I just got to a point where I was like, it was kind of like, I just don't know what I don't know, but I don't feel like myself anymore. And so I went to the doctor and they gave me two questionnaires, which now is funny because now they kind of do that all the time. But at the time it was like super new to me. It was a questionnaire on anxiety and a questionnaire on depression. And I, it's like 10, 12 pretty simple questions and each question except one, I think on the depression questionnaire, I answered with, I experienced this every day. And as I filled it out, I was like, wow. Like I had no idea that those were, that I was experiencing that. And I still didn't know what it meant because it doesn't, I don't think, I don't remember if it said depression questionnaire or something, you know? And yeah, that was kind of the first like moment where I was like, oh, okay. You know, and then I talked to my doctor and she was like, well, you have really high anxiety. And I was like, oh, that's what I've been feeling. You know, like I didn't even have a word to it, um, of like just the feelings in my body. And even though I, you know, again, I want to highlight this, like I was doing yoga and I was, I was trying to start to meditate. Like I was trying to connect with my myself, but I don't know, sometimes you, yeah, you go through this whole journey of really creating awareness and consciousness around what's actually going on.

Yeah.

And you know, there's part of this that we've kind of discussed where this was an environment in Google where you were not the only one that was experiencing this. And so you're kind of looking around at the other animals at the zoo and you're like, oh, well this is, this is normal, right? Like, this is normal. This is—

and I don't know if you had any conversations with anybody else.

However, like, I know in my work with corporations where there's either supervisors or co-workers that are like, I don't know what you're talking about. Like, this is, this is just the way things are. We work 14-hour days, we work 7 days a week, and like, this is, this is— and so it's almost a psychological aspect of normalizing this behavior. And I'm so proud of you because you're like, I hear that this is normal. I just think that for me, this is not healthy.

Yeah. And maybe it was the, the balance that I had between kind of those crazy Silicon Valley weekends and then, uh, weeks and then the weekends in Tahoe, because when I was in Tahoe, I felt so different.

Wow.

And I think that's why it pulled me as well so much into this place because it was calmer and like, you know, there was no crazy noise like 24/7, even from kind of like this external environment perspective, but also just this like fast-paced life that I left behind to come here and everything like slowed down. And at the beginning when I started to come up here, it was in during the shoulder season, September, October, which is a very quiet time. There is also really crazy times in Tahoe with lots of tourists, but like the time I started to come here, I was like, oh my God, like I can breathe and like this feels so much better. And again, like, these are realizations years later. Like, I actually never made the connection until this conversation that, you know, there was this like balance between, yeah, just this like normalized world in the corporate world and in like the tech world of we're striving for more, we are running from one meeting to another, we are in meetings all day long, we go home with our little box of food and continue to work. And it was just normal. Um, but yeah, I started to, but I started to experience there was another side of me that wasn't happy about that and that felt so much better in a calmer environment.

And you get to create your normal. I mean, you have created your normal and that's what you were sharing in entrepreneurship. Your first normal was the normal that, you know, were you addicted to that high-paced life?

That like, totally. I still am, I would say in some ways. Right. Well, I, I've obviously created like a lot of new habits and routines. But I, I, there's still, there's still things that I'm very aware of that I do enjoy. And that's why I think I am a high achiever, you know, because I am, I, I like that dopamine hit and I, I thrive off getting things done and figuring things out. Like I'm very excited about that, but I think it doesn't have to come at the cost of burnout. And I know that today and I know how to strike that balance, you know, but I would say there are still some addictions. To certain things for sure.

Wait, we will talk about that offline.

We'll work through that.

Yeah.

You know, and that's the thing that I love is that you have the tools that you can, and that's the thing we talked about is like, you know, our coaching together wasn't about you coming out healed or fixed because you didn't need to be fixed, but it was about, you know, having these tools for your life. And that's what you work with your clients on. And so I'm gonna ask you a big question and You know, it doesn't seem like a big question, but it is a big question. Um, do you never experience burnout now?

I would say I don't experience burnout. I would say I experience sometimes early warning signs of me pushing it a little. And I know I talk about it all, like, you know, you always do the work that I, that you, you do, you bring into the world what you need to learn the most yourself. And because I'm so aware and obviously talk about it all day long with clients, I'm very aware. When I slip into my own bad behaviors and when my body's like, mm, this is too much. So I do, I feel like no more burnout, just early warning signs and then knowing how to like reel myself back in and create the balance and create the regulated nervous system much faster.

I will be the first person to like confess to you.

I would tell you that I still burn out. It doesn't, it's not. I wouldn't say it's big burnout, you know, like I'm not sure if that resonates with, um, you and with those of you listening. It's not big burnout where I have had like complete and total exhaustion, like Jules, what you're kind of describing with I would have scored super high on anxiety and super high on, um, depression. However, when I become aware of what you say are like the warning signs, my mental communication is, oh, this is you're burning out. And it's not work per se that— and this is something that I want to highlight for our listeners that you said— it's not work per se that's burning me out. It's being an only child that's responsible for two aging parents. It's, you know, having, uh, the bicoastal living that we were navigating for the past year, buying a house in California and moving, all of that. And there's been so many times, especially over the past year, that I've been Not like, not big burnout, but also taking ownership and being aware of, hey, this is, this is, you're burning out. And I, I love being able to have that conversation and be open and honest with you to be able to say, look, I'm like a therapist. I literally have a license. I know all of the tools. Without using the tools though, and without using the tools with the correct energy, and this is something I want to go back to that you said that I feel like I am now mastering. Is you were doing all of the self-care things. You were checking all of the boxes on what people say to do in order to have self-care. However, the energy with which you were bringing to it meant that you weren't actually receiving— and we've talked about this in our coaching— you weren't receiving the nutrients. You weren't metabolizing the benefits of that self-care. And that's something that like I have made so much more time for. And it's like the more that you desire, the more the— even though I'm semi-retired in business now and all of this kind of stuff, I still have these really big desires. And when you have these really big desires, you're holding this big energy. It almost requires more of you, more self-care, more—

not just even time, but more support.

And so what changed for you where going from the hundreds of hours of yoga, yoga teacher training and doing this meditation stuff, where you changed who was showing up for the self-care so that you actually received the benefits.

Hmm.

It's interesting as you describe it. I was thinking, yeah, the self-care was almost like a checkbox as well on my to-do list of like, okay, and then I go to the gym, you know, and it definitely didn't actually reap the benefits and it didn't kind of go deeper and go like, like felt more nourishing. I'm trying to think when that shifted. And I honestly say I'm totally a work in progress in that area still as well. I have moments where I can enjoy sitting on my bed and reading a book or something. And then sometimes, again, because I like to get things done, I think that my brain just loves that, right? Of like, I do the dishes and I fold the laundry and I just make sure that my surroundings is nice and clean. Like that's something that's, that helps my mental energy too. But it also is not self-care, right? We all know that. And so I feel like it's still a work in progress. And I'm just so much more comfortable as well to set boundaries with my partner, my husband, and my friends to say, today is not— I'm not like on Sunday, my friends went floating on the river and I'm like, not my day. I'm going to stay in bed. And I stayed in bed for 4 hours, you know? And because I had like a little sore throat and I'm growing a baby as well. So there's a lot of stuff going on right now. But, um, yeah, so, so yeah, I feel like I can just like, I feel much more comfortable to be like, this is what I need. And I know that I will show up so much better for myself, for my partner, and for everybody else if I put myself first.

Yes. Yes. And putting yourself first for the aspect of putting yourself first.

Versus like what I, I've done this. I don't know if you've ever done this. And those of you listening, like, let me know in the comments if you've done this, where you put yourself first so that you can take better care of everybody else. And it's like, yeah, but it's this constant recycling of energy versus taking care of yourself so that you feel better and having that not be selfish.

And I want, I want to go there. I want to talk to you about that. Because I feel like that's the thing that not just changed what you got out of the yoga teacher training, but that's the thing in our work together that I saw the biggest shift.

And I know we've talked about this in business. It's not that you were doing anything differently over the last 12 months, but who you are is not the same and how you're taking up space.

And just for— and you tell me if I miss anything, but for those of you listening, over the past 12 months and like Jules brought me a to-do list.

Here's what I want to accomplish in our, in our coaching. Um, she wanted to get engaged, she wanted to get married, she wanted to hit 7 figures in her business and had a number as far as the consistent months, uh, the YouTube subscriber, uh, count and building her house, her dream house, getting pregnant and having a baby, TEDx, TED Talk. Is there anything I'm missing that we had on that list?

Mm, writing a book. Writing a book. I don't know if it was on our list, but I feel like that's been on my mind for a long time too.

Yeah. And, and here we are.

And here we are.

And for 9 months you were really frustrated that it wasn't happening. Mm-hmm. In our coaching container. What shifted? Who shifted? What changed?

It goes back to those two really deep ingrained beliefs of I love myself because I work hard and I need to work hard in order to succeed. And I think I've always had this like really strong grip on things because I, that's how things were working out for me in the past, right? Because I was striving and because I was pushing and because I was ambitious. Things, you know, I got the good grades in school and I got the job at the company that I wanted to work for. So that, that worked for a very long time. Um, but I think, I think what one of the biggest things I've learned in business, which is so empowering, is that, that push energy is actually not attractive, but it actually deters people. Um, and I think when you're so much—

slow that down for a second because not just like, I want you to go a little bit deeper into the people aspect of it, But also the energetics of it. So say that, say that again, and like how you learned that.

Okay. Well, what I said is, you know, when you are in this push energy, it's actually not attractive and you're actually not really attracting clients to you and also probably not the right clients because I was good at following up and getting people to meet with me or to get companies to work with me, but The energy that I showed up as was, I think, more of like the, a little bit a mix of desperation of like, I really want this like so, so badly and I know I can help them and pushing, like pushing them to be like, but this is the right thing for you. Like, why can't you see that? Um, and I think what I've learned from you is really this like leaning back and just trusting that the right people will come to you and also trusting that if there are pockets of time where you're not super busy, that things are still out there in the ether and they're still there. It still will all work out for you, right? Like, I think one of the biggest mantras in our coaching was everything is happening for me. If it's not this, it's something better. And to really embody that had a really big shift on how I could like step into the self-care and how I like knew that if I really just nourish myself and regulate my nervous system, I will be successful. And also like that brings up another thought in my head of like nourishing and like supporting that nervous system because when you are starting to pitch $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 packages or $250,000 contracts, you need to have a nervous system that supports that. And I don't think I understood that for a long time until I stepped kind of into this this higher level of like, wow, like I need to hold a lot of energy and space for myself in order to be able to hold that energy for other people as well.

Yes.

And so that was a huge, huge shift for me that I think of every single day of just kind of that, like how you attract versus—

Yeah.

Yeah. Push. I don't know. I, today's push is, I guess my word for today's podcast, but, um, yeah.

That's something that I remember one session in particular that we had this conversation of where are you going to put it, right? Where are you going to put the client? Where are you going to put the money? Where are you going to put the energy? Because we looked at your calendar and it was relatively full. And it wasn't just work. For those of you listening, like Joel said, open book. And so it was, it was comical and yet like also very, um, therapeutic because during one of our sessions we opened the calendar and Jules had reduced, I think you reduced your workload at least half, like at least 50% as far as your meetings and everything. And then there was social that had replaced, do you remember this?

Yeah, I do remember this. Yeah.

Where it was like your actual hours on your calendar hadn't changed, the activities did, which is kind of what you shared about with like the yoga aspect of like who and how we are approaching it. And so we talked about this aspect of leaving room for the magic, and what you talked about with the pushing versus attracting, part of being magnetic is having space and room and bandwidth and, you know, capacity, like you said, with your nervous system for that. And that takes having open space, and that wasn't something that I think you were super comfortable with when we started working together.

Totally. Yeah, I wasn't because I think in my brain it was still like, if my calendar is full, I'm productive. And when I'm productive, I do a good job and then I'm successful. That was kind of the equation. Yeah. And now I'm so much more. It's really interesting to, to reflect on that even like with you now a year later, because I do, especially at the moment, have a lot of space on my calendar and it still makes me uncomfortable. I'm still like, like, what am I missing? Like, what do I need to do? You know, um, instead of going outside and enjoying the Tahoe summer, you know? Um, so yeah, so it's definitely, like I said, I think we are constant works in progress. And even though I'm better at a few things, there's still things that, that I'm working through for sure for myself too.

Yeah.

And having that space to receive is not just in the entrepreneurial journey. It's not just in the, um, professional side. It also, you know, we can share a little bit about like the personal side as well, because I can share for me that not having the space professionally meant that it was very difficult for me to delegate. It was very difficult for me to allow space for people to learn and people to make mistakes on my team. And now I have 9 companies and I have this incredible team. And, you know, as uncomfortable as it was for me to not do those things and to have the space, I'm so grateful that I gave that space. And I do remember in 2014, 2015, going through a separation with my husband. And that's another thing that I learned in that time, in that space, is that I wasn't leaving any room for him to show up because I had, I had the finances under control. I had the household under control, right? Like, and, and I don't mean that in a positive way when I say like under control, And so there was very little room when you talked about the gripping, there was very little room for him to hold me and him to support me and him to step into any space in my life. Cuz there just wasn't any space.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yeah.

It's, uh, it's interesting. You know, I am delegating this year more as well. And yeah, it's a, it's such a new experience, a really good one. And that's probably why I have more space in my calendar as well. Right. Because I actually have people that help me work. Work on a couple of different things and it's great and it's also scary to let go of that control. And I think especially as a high achiever, we like that control.

Yeah.

And, you know, personally and professionally, it was for me, it was like the more that I put out, the more that I'll, in my, this was my belief. You were talking about a couple of your beliefs. Um, one of the beliefs that I dissolved is like the more that I do, the more that I can receive. So like even, even for my partner, like even for my husband, be like, the more, the more that I love you, the more that you'll love me, right? Like, that's not how that works.

It, it's almost what you talked about, the leaning back energy.

You wanna talk a little bit more about the leaning back energy?

Yeah. Um, I think it's really this like creating space and, you know, everything starts with just being aware that that's what's happening, right? Because you can't really start to tackle it and start to take action when you don't know that you're still gripping too much and controlling too much. And, um, leaning back is really about just observing what's happening and being aware in the moment that that's actually not helping you, you know? So now You know, when I go through a launch, for example, or something, I'm like, I, you know, I check in with myself and I'm like, did I do everything that I can? Yes. Okay. So then I'm just going to step away. And, you know, I think you talk a lot about this, Bunny, of like, you know, people just investing in themselves and like doing self-care or coming to your retreats. And then during that time, they make like, they have like the most success, like they have like 5 sales or they're all of a sudden bringing in all of that stuff and it's really this, like, because you're leaning back and you're creating space for the magic to actually happen. And so it's been such a cool shift for me to trust that and to, yeah, to just see it unfold the way it's supposed to unfold and to also trust that when I have time or like when things open up, right, because we went through a couple of scenarios during our 13, 14, 15 months together. Where there were things that didn't work out, right? Like there was this one big corporate contract that I was negotiating for a very long time and talking to a team about for a really long time, and it didn't work out. It was just not aligned energetically. And there were already all these signs, right, that it's not really working out and that it's also not really what I want to do anymore in the way they wanted me to roll it out. And so there was like this disappointment. And then 3 weeks later, I got invited to speak on the TEDx stage, right? And I like, and I didn't know that at the time when the, obviously when the corporate company said we're not moving ahead. So there was this like moment of disappointment, but then also that space of, okay, if this is not, if this, then something better. And so I actually got married in those 3 weeks. And then all of a sudden, I think the week, actually the week before the wedding, I got the invitation to speak on the TEDx stage. Like to interview for the TEDx stage. And so, yeah, to like really trust that. And I think that's one thing that I want to say as well is I think the more you can experience it and the more you actually see that it's happening, that it really is happening for you, the more you can lean into that as well. Because I think at the beginning you don't have the trust, you know, like on a theoretical brain basis, you're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I totally get it. But like, how do you embody that. And I think we talked a lot about embodiment as well, of just like, how can I step into that space and just really trust that? And that took me a really long time and a lot of tears and breakthroughs. Um, but yeah, I remember that one session we had last year in April where you were like, it's you, Jules. Like, you know, the only common denominator in all of these things is you. And it was really powerful and also really painful to hear in the moment. And then, yeah, that healed something super, super deeply in me that now has shifted into that, what we're seeing kind of the results of being today.

Share, share some of those results because I just want you to also take up some space and own what the last 12 months has really looked like for you.

Yeah. So I got married in June last year. Stood on the TEDx stage in September. And in that process, I decided to start a new Instagram account, which has grown to over a quarter million followers in less than 12 months. And that brought me a book deal, which is really exciting. I'm getting goosebumps when I say this because I just literally sent my final draft to my book agent yesterday and they are sharing it with publishers today. So that's like super exciting. And then I, we started building a house last year in July. We're moving in in the next week or two. And I'm also pregnant. Um, so yeah, so there's been a lot of things in the last 12 months and, um, you know, and I would, you know, and I think there's also, there's also been a lot of space for, you know, going with my husband on a 3-week honeymoon and going to Germany to visit my family for 2 weeks and going to visit his family for 2 weeks in March. Like, there's a lot of spaciousness as well. It's not like I was sitting behind a computer working nonstop for 24 hours, which I think that was kind of my belief maybe before, that that's what I need to do. And I guess from a revenue perspective, for the last 5 years, my energetic minimum, but also in a way maximum, was a quarter million dollars in revenue per year. And I hit a quarter million dollars in revenue this month. So I'm already halfway, halfway into the year. I'm already where I've been over the last 5 years, which is really cool as well.

Yes. And it wasn't from doing, which is kind of the mind-blowing thing, right?

Yeah, totally. Yeah, it's, it's very, it's yeah. Well, thank you for letting me share this. Like, it's very mind-blowing. Yeah. And I really, I love what I do, you know?

I love who you are and who you continue to grow into because that's the thing that we talked about with all of the things that you wanna do.

I have zero suspicion, worry, anxiety that you will not be successful. Not because that you know how to do it. But because of who you are. And I remember you had asked me how I have the amount of companies that I have, like how I do that. And I don't know if you remember my answer, but it was very simply like what I reflected back to you right now, which is I don't, I don't do it. I'm me. I show up as me. And, and the companies are just where I put my energy.. And so all of your to-dos, all of your goals, I had no concern because I, if, if, if you focused on doing the thing and then doing the next thing and then doing the next thing and doing the next thing, I don't know that it would've happened this way. However, you didn't. You focused on you, which I know was uncomfortable, and I'm so proud of you for doing it. Um, you focused on you and then it was like this domino effect. Could you have dreamed up the last 12 months happening?

No. Yeah, no, absolutely not. Yeah. And it's crazy that it's 12 months. Like, it's really crazy. Yeah.

Here you are.

Here you are. Yeah.

Okay.

So, I have like so many things that I still want to jump into and I'm gonna— there's possibly going to be a part 2 to this because I want to keep us, like, in this beautiful container for the right amount of time. But if I were to ask you a question, like, what question would, or could, or do you believe would most benefit the audience in me asking and you sharing?

Oof, I feel like we already talked about a lot of kind of deep things from our work together, um, that have really had, had the breakthroughs, um, that are so much more on this like energetic level than the strategic level. Um, yeah, yeah, I don't— I can't think of a question. You know, I thought a little bit about, I don't know if your listeners, you think, wanna learn a little bit more about my approach to the Peak Performance Method and maybe how that's different to just the self-care and the meditation and the yoga.

Yeah. Yes. And so I wanna ask you if you're still a high achiever.

Yes. It's totally an identity and I'm aware of that. But yes, I am.

How is it different? How is the high achiever you are today different than the woman that I met before we started coaching together?

It's a soft energy. It's a soft high achieving and not a gripping high achieving.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Cuz when you say high achiever, I have this, um, like image that comes to mind.

You know, working all the time, um, the gripping, the to-do list, the like kind of like that hardness. And that's not how I experience you today. And so even when I hear you say like the identity around it, like I, I get curious around that. And so I want to know, you know, from your perspective, I hear that you identify as a high achiever. And I know that you support a ton of female entrepreneurs that also identify as a high achiever. Is a high achiever the same thing as a peak performer?

I'm only asking easy questions today.

Yeah, you are. Um, I think it depends on how you interpret it. I would, my first initial reaction would be yes. And then, you know, I, The peak, my peak performers are different because they, they sustain their performance over time and they don't burn out in the process.

Yeah. That to me, I think, and this is my biased opinion, Achiever feels external. Achiever feels like the medals, the awards, you know, you got awards at Google. Mm-hmm. You achieved from burning out.

Mm-hmm.

That's what we said, it worked. Mm-hmm.

Performance is sustainable.

Performance is internal performance, even though performing is for others. For me, being an athlete, being a model, like the performing aspect of it, performance is a durability and a sustainability. When I think of when you say peak performance.

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Yeah, I can subscribe to that.

Yeah. It's like I'll be at the top of my game for a while, not just one round of Olympics.

Yeah. And I enjoy the, I enjoy it, you know, I, I don't, because I think a lot of people that are high achievers, they actually don't enjoy it anymore. Oh, because they haven't found a way of it being in alignment with also their personal lives and values and needs.

Yeah.

So if we dive into The Peak Performance Method for just a couple minutes, one of the things that I wanna bring forward that I think that you discuss and frame and teach and facilitate so beautifully is the relationship with stress. And I, I just did a reel earlier this week on like this toxic positivity. And I also, as a retired therapist, feel like we have this toxic relationship with stress where we think we should never be stressed, right? Like, you've heard this, Jules, right? Like, we should never experience stress whatsoever. And you— I've heard you describe in your master classes and in coaching other entrepreneurial women and in corporate, um, facilitating your corporate workshops that stress is absolutely natural and necessary.

Totally.

So I want you to kind of dive into a little bit of that and how you actually use stress in your Peak Performance Method.

Mm-hmm.

For your own benefit.

Yeah. Yeah. You need stress. And I, I kind of like, I smile when coaches or therapists or, or whatever person persona says create a stress-free life because I'm like, there is no stress-free life. Like our body, we literally produce cortisol and adrenaline when we wake up in the morning in order to get us going. And if we wouldn't have that, we wouldn't actually be able to get out of bed. So there is something called the stress performance curve that very clearly shows that when you have no stress, you also don't have any performance. So we actually need to find our zone of peak performance to have like the right amount of stress. To perform. The problem is, is that most of us have too much stress, and it's not a linear curve that goes up, but it like actually is a bell curve that goes down if you have too much stress. And so finding that balance, which, you know, a lot of people nowadays, they don't like the word work-life balance anymore. And I'm like, well, I get it, you know, maybe it's not a balance, but like it actually, from a stress performance perspective, You need to find that sweet spot of stress and performance. And when you start to learn, and that's why I was saying when you asked me earlier, are you still burning out? Um, sometimes, or even in smaller pockets, I would say I have, because of through all of the work, I have really clearly understood my own early warning signs when I'm starting to drift down the bell curve and when the stress is getting too much. And because I know how uncomfortable and not nice it was when I was in the burnout stage and how, and that also then takes a little bit of time to get out of it again. I'm kind of like pulling the emergency brake much faster now. Um, but yeah, so yeah, stress is, is great and we will not avoid it. And I think without it, honestly, our lives would also probably be pretty Uh, what's the word I'm looking for? That our lives would be boring, but we need to understand how it affects our systems and how we can balance it. Yeah. And regulate it.

Yes.

I mean, even breathing, I'm putting stress on my rib cage, right? Because my lungs are expanding. Standing up, I'm putting stress on my muscles. Right.

And the thing that I love that you've talked about with stress is that a certain, in that bell curve, a certain amount of stress actually makes you stronger and makes you capable of holding for more, not doing more, but holding for more.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, totally. You are expanding the, the capacity.

Yeah.

And so, and I think that's the other thing, right? Like because we are self-care and we, because we are building these like pockets of time, that's when we actually get more powerful. And that was, took me so like taken so long to understand that and to experience it. Because yeah, I think one of our strongest misconceptions as striving people is just that we need to— the more we work, the more we get done, right? Like kind of how you were saying, the more I work, the more like then everything will fall into place the way I wanted to, which is kind of that control piece.

Yeah, absolutely.

And, you know, I, I shared this with you. I think I sent you a Marco Polo around this, um, before you were pregnant, like while we were coaching in the aspect that like, it's so, I, I, I think my words were something like, I know you don't believe me right now. However, like I want you to trust that the more that you do doesn't mean the more miracles will happen. Actually, miracles happen in that subconscious, in that reprogramming, like while you're sleeping, in the time between, like you said, while you're at the retreats. And I use the example of being pregnant, and I use the example of like, when you're pregnant, you don't wake up today. I don't know if you didn't do this today and like, "I'm gonna grow a spleen today. Today I am gonna grow a pinky toe." Like, you're not conscious of it, and yet you're trusting and you're holding for this life and this miracle, and then it happens. And when you get into labor as well, Like it also, it, it just, it happens and you get to this point like right afterwards where you're like, I just, you're, you're holding your baby and you're like, I did this.

I actually like, I did this.

But you don't, you don't think your way through it.

Right. Yeah. Yeah.

And now you're like, actually witnessed that.

Yeah. Which is very wild. And I feel like I've already. Been allowed to learn a lot of lessons in that regard as well.

Yeah.

I love that life, and, and we talk about this, like life happening for you, and you had said that with life's curriculum is like, you know what, I'm gonna give you a real life example of what Bunny was trying to explain.

You think you've asked for your stress management now and your rest? Like, let's see how you're gonna deal with a baby.

Exactly. Exactly. Okay. So we are going to put everything for, um, Jules Peak Performance Jules' program below in the show notes. You can also reach out to Jules directly.

However, we wanna talk one last thing that we wanna talk a little bit about stress, that this has caused me a tiny bit of stress. I have not been completely honest with you, Jules. You have any idea what I have not been honest with you about?

My God. I'm like, are you pregnant? You are! Congratulations! Oh my God, that is so exciting.

Yes, and like completely surprising. So you and I had talked about— I have not shared this with like literally anybody, um, but you and I talked about— we were in the middle of doing the adoption stuff. Yeah. When I was going into my heart surgery, um, and I went into my heart surgery, I went into my post-op. You're the very first person that's like hearing this story live on the podcast.

And, um, went into my post-op by myself, by myself.

And the nurse comes in and goes, um, we asked you going into the surgery if you were pregnant. And you said you didn't think so. And I said, well, I'm nursing and I'm like a year postpartum, right? So like things are not, what, what's the word we kept using at the beginning of the podcast? Normal. Yeah. Right. And she's like, well, you are pregnant. And I'm like, oh, you did 2 blood tests and a urine test and you know I've had 10 miscarriages. And so what do you think my first thought was when she said like, you're pregnant, this little tiny embryo just went through a heart surgery.

It's not gonna last or not gonna stay.

Mm-hmm. And so I'm like, okay. And then I was so excited and I am so, you know, I'm over the moon for your pregnancy. And I'm like, I had this, this moment where I was like, you know, this is, this is gonna be rough because this timeline, you know, if I, and I didn't even tell Steve. So the lesson in that is like the support that we were talking about and the creating space.

Mm-hmm.

Because I thought I would be protecting him, you know, mm-hmm, in all of this. And then also this adoption aspect that we still had going.

And so then it got to this place where I'm like, well, I don't, I don't think the baby's going anywhere.

And so now how do we have this conversation with Jules to be like, so That is so exciting.

I'm so excited for you.

Wow.

But you know, like, it's funny, right? Because like, there's a part of me that's like, not surprised because when we're letting go and when we're not gripping and like, you know, wanting another baby, and I know you said, I want, I need one more baby to feel complete in my life. I'm like, this is like the most precious thing. So I'm so happy for you.

And we are still possibly adopting. So then we'll be at an odd number again. And Steve's like, well, I guess we adopt two. This, this This will be the last time that I go put my body through this. Yeah.

How many months are you or weeks?

I am gonna be 21 weeks.

Huh. You are the same as me then.

I'm the exact same as you.

Wow. That's so exciting. Yeah.

Oh my gosh. You know, and, and again, like what you said, it wasn't planned. It wasn't.

Yeah.

And that used to, I will tell you that used to annoy the the shit out of me when women would say that.

I think because of my projection of how hard it was for me to have a baby with my 8 miscarriages, right? So when women were like, oh, we didn't plan this, I was like, fuck you, you know?

Yeah.

And like, that just goes to show you, with like entrepreneurial stories and comparison, doesn't—

it doesn't do anybody any good, right?

Just because that was their story doesn't mean that's not— that can't be my story, right? So that's so exciting. There's so many life lessons. This is our like first back-to-back pregnancies, you know, uh, successful pregnancies. Um, we didn't do any fertility stuff. I mean, you hear these stories all the time and I think that's, that's how I wanted to wrap up, uh, our beautiful conversation of like letting go and trusting and all of the miracles, as well as to tell you you're 100% not alone.

And when I say like, we'll figure out the maternity leave, I, you have quite a bit of experience.

I have a really good ops person for you. Got it.

Got it. So, uh, my very last question in addition to my gratitude for you being here is what is your definition of a yes and life?

Yes, you can have it all. Yes. And, you know, put yourself out there and just don't be afraid because everything is happening for you anyway. And there's a reason why you have the dreams that you have. So don't be afraid to, uh, that, that's, that you're dreaming too big.

I also, for the rest of the day, I love that for the rest of the day, I am going to be in awe that your guess was like, you're pregnant.

I'm like, well, what, what else?

I love that.

Maybe it's the mother energy, you know, like I can just pick it up or something.

Well, you got me to move back to California, so there's that too.

I'm excited. It's awesome.

Jules, thank you so much for being here.

And, um, 10 out of 10 for those of you guys listening, follow her on Instagram. She's just sharing so many brilliant things. This is why that her Instagram has absolutely exploded, um, with not just with followers, but with engaged people who are— there's so many people in this world who are experiencing burnout, who are experiencing stress, who want to achieve more, who want to have peak performance, um, and don't want to do it at the cost of their mental, emotional, physical health. And Jules just has so much support for that. So go ahead and give her a follow. I'm going to put that link below. And then my last request for you guys listening is to share with us, tag Jules, tag me, in your takeaway from this. It helps us bring you better magic and higher quality and all of that kind of stuff. Plus, we also— this is the beginning of a conversation. That's the point of this podcast is the beginning of a conversation. So if questions came up, if thoughts came up, takeaways, we want to hear all of them, and we're here for that. So, Thank you again, Jules, for being here, and I encourage you all to check out Jules's Instagram and her website and all of her tools. She has so many incredible freebies as well. Thank you for wherever you took us on your listening journey. And if you, and I know you did, found something helpful out of this, share this episode with somebody that you love and let them know that you were thinking about them. Let them know that you want to encourage them building their yes and life. That means the world to me. That's how I want to build this podcast is organically through you guys. And I look forward to seeing you guys on Instagram, seeing you guys in the comments, and seeing how you're living your yes and life. And I will see you on the next episode of the Yes And Podcast.