The Productivity Shift Every Woman Entrepreneur Needs to Hear with Renae Fieck

If you've ever felt frustrated with your own energy, like you should be able to do so much more, but something just feels off and the other day you were able to accomplish so much more, then this episode is your permission to exhale. My guest today, Renee Fik, is a mom of three, an occupational therapist and the author of the book Cycle Sync youc Business. Her work is all about helping you understand your body's natural rhythms to so you can stop pushing through and start honoring what you really need. We talk about syncing your business to your menstrual cycle, committing for more when the time is right and knowing when to take a step back. I love this episode. It's honest, practical, and it's a total permission slip. Let's get started. This is the Leap Live and Laminate Podcast. Hi, I'm your host, Esther Godor. Twelve years ago, I took a big leap. I left my corporate job, I moved into a new country and started a business from scratch in my fifth language. Today I run a boutique launch and systems agency helping ambitious entrepreneurs build smart and scalable digital businesses on Kajabi without having to do everything by themselves. This is your go to place with honest stories, actionable strategies and real talk around building a business and life you love. Your best life and success story are still at hand. Let's write them together. Hi Renny, Welcome.

Hey, thanks so much for having me. I'm excited. I'm glad to be here.

Yeah. Such a pleasure to have you. I've been looking forward to this as I've been always intrigued by your topic. But before I jump into that, please tell our listeners, our viewers, what you do and why do you do what you do.

Yeah, well, thanks so much for having me here. I'm super excited. And yes, I 100% believe, like this is a topic for men and women. So if there are men listening, like, don't just jump out and go away because. And also that we have so much to pass on to the next generation. Like if the next generation of girls learns this when they're 12 and 13, like that would be absolutely amazing. Instead of waiting until they're almost 40, like I'm, I just turned 40, so like, I wish I had known this when I was 12 and 13. But yes, Renee, I am a feminine leadership coach and cycle thinking expert. I'm also an occupational therapist. So that background in the physiology and the actual body makes up a huge part of what I do. And really understanding people's biochemistry, understanding our nervous systems, like understanding how all that works. I started My business back when I was pregnant with my. Or right after I had my third baby, my husband had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and we had our third baby. And I got what I thought was my dream job at the children's hospital. And so, like, all of these things were, like, all happening at the same time. It was a very intense year, but very quickly realized, like, to. Time goes by so fast. Like, our little ones are only little for such a short period of time. And with my husband and like, going through his brain tumor and his surgery and seizures and like, all the subsequent things that we had after that, it made me really realize, like, we only get one life. And are we really living that life in the current now, how we want to be living it? There's so much messaging and so much out there about, like, the future and our goals and, like, where we're headed. But. But at the time, it was like, I want to actually enjoy life now. I don't want to just wait until my kids are old and now I have all this money, right? Or now I. I've saved up and life is different now. So I set out on this journey of, like, how do I really create that now? And it was starting a business, and at the time, it was a network marketing business. And I don't know about you, Esther, but when I started my business, it was a whole lot of hustling and there was a whole lot of late nights, and there was a whole lot of getting up early and squeezing in work and every little nook and cranny and. And two years in, got to the place where I'm like, man, I am trading the very thing I wanted. Like, I wanted more time with my family, and now I'm trading all of that extra time that I could be spending with them trying to build this side hustle. And it's not growing as fast as I want it to grow. And so now I feel like I've spent all this time, it's not growing, and now I've just wasted all this time. And it was this really hard spot that I kind of got into of realizing maybe it's something I just don't have. Maybe there's something other people have, like, business people have. Have, like, some magical touch that is just like, it's not meant for me. Or maybe there's something I'm doing wrong. Like, maybe there's something truly wrong with the way I'm trying to build my business and the way I'm working and the way I'm structuring it and almost gave up. Like, I will say, I almost threw in the towel on business and said I wasn't going to do it anymore. And then I discovered how we can step into this place of our cycles and how our cycles and the way women are designed to work is just different and. Than men. Biochemistry. And then also energetically, like the feminine and the masculine. Like, there's so many nuances, and so much of what we've been taught is just from that more masculine approach in terms of biology and makeup and energy and like, all of the things. So that's kind of how I got started. And once I started sharing it with my clients, at the time, I was like in the back end being like, man, this is really working. Like, this is really helping me. That's when my clients were like, girl, you need to be talking about this. Like, this is what every woman know. So that's a little bit about my story and that journey of how I kind of got to where I am today.

Okay, so when we say cycle, let's clarify something that we are talking about. Menstrual cycle. It was funny. I was reading the book fast. Like a girl from Mindy Pouts. I'm following her intermittent fasting routine. One of the. Of the. The. Like, at the start of the book, she said, cycling women. I. My brain automatically went to, like, cyclists. Maybe it's because English is my second language. And then I realized, no, it's women who have a cycle. A menstrual cycle. Yeah. So, yeah, that's what we are. That's what we are talking about here. It's still, you know, I'm. I'm at the start of this journey, and it hits me how different you describe. Like, you are. Like, if you didn't know what you know now, you would have had to leave. Having a business. Is that. Do you think it's that serious?

I mean, I think that what a lot of women. I think a lot of women are experiencing burnout in business 100%. I think even if we just look at not even carrying a business, women are in this place of burnout. We're juggling so many things, right? There's. In the past, we were predominantly taking care of just our babies and taking care of the household and maybe doing some bartering with our neighbors and things like that. Now we are still oftentimes managing a majority of that as well as now adding in, you know, work. And for most of the women that I've worked with, they're. They're. They have a full time job or a part time job of some sort. And then they're also now building this business on the side. And I think that just with the way like looking at it from a nervous system perspective, the amount of pressures and a lot of amount of stimuli and the amount of like sensory stimuli that we're receiving today is putting us in a little bit more of a state of potential burnout. Regardless of the activities that we're doing. We just have so much coming at us, there's so much stimulation that our nervous systems are in a little bit of fight or flight probably a majority of the time for most women. And so I do think that there is this element of one, we've got to get our nervous systems back into control. And when we start to look at like our bodies and our, and our menstrual cycles, like there's a majority of women have some sort of issue around that area. Whether it be infertility, whether it be irregular periods, whether it be endometriosis, whether it be, you name it, like there's so many women's health issues that are populating to the surface. And I think a big part of that is that we're living out of that rhythm with the way our body was really meant to be. So it's kind of like we have cortisol, the stress hormone. It's constantly pummeling out. Even if those little things that we don't feel like are big stressors, but it's like it is a stressor on the body. And so our bodies right now are functioning in this low or maybe high level of stress all of the time, which is sending this cascade of health problems, of mental health problems, of productivity problems. Like there's so many, so many layers to it. So yeah, I do think it's one of those things that whether or not you're actually using your menstrual cycle and cycling your business with it or whatnot, I think it is imperative that women really start to understand like what is actually happening in their bodies and what is the impact of all of the things. Like whether it's business, whether it's social media, whether it's our food, whether it's our pesticides, like whether all of those things, they all are contributing to how your body is functioning and how your body is functioning is going to precipitate health, diseases and mental health and stamina and energy and all the things. Yeah, it's one of those conversations like multi, multi layered. I. 100%, yes. Yeah.

You know, now listening to you, I'M remembering. I think I heard about this concept, this idea, like, four years ago, and I was very much in the middle of total hustle mode. And what I thought was, okay, once I get stability in my business, once I get my finances in order, then I'm gonna look at this fancy approach of. Of cycle syncing my business or my life. But I realized this works the same way, like, with. With money mindset. Like. Like, I'm gonna get my business in order when I have enough money. Now I just have to hold my head down and push forward. Whereas if I never stop and never get things in order, I will never get to that level. So it could have been that. I could have looked at this already four years ago when I was 38, and maybe things would have gone a lot more easily. But I looked at this as a. Like, a fancy thing. Like, whenever I will be so bored that I'm like, okay, what else could I. Then I will look at it. I was like, I can't afford looking at this because I thought there will be parts in the month when I have to slow down. And I was like, I can't afford slowing down. That's not an option. I think that's the mode I was in.

Yeah. And I. I mean, I hear that a lot. There's a lot of women that are in that place of, like, I can't slow down. Like, if I slow down, I have five bajillion plates spinning at the same exact time. Like, if I slow down, one or more of them are going to fall, and it's not, or it's not. I'm not going to have the same momentum or the same energy. And I think a lot of that is just built off of the. The constructs of what we've been taught and messaging and the systems and things that we are involved in and, like, built within. Right. Like, we live in a very patriarchal sort of society. And so it is very much built around that masculine sort of way of being. And I hear it all the time. Like, I get messages on my Facebook. It's actually Facebook only on my Facebook posts about men being like, oh, you want equality, but you don't want to work equally. And it's like, well, it's not the same as women. Operating with their cycle doesn't necessarily mean they're slowing down and they're not as effective. It just means when you slow down, you become more effective in those other times of the month. So I kind of describe it to my clients as like a slingshot. When you know, you, my, my son, my dad gave my son and my nephew these like slingshots and they were out in the backyard or like in the RV park we were staying at camping and they were like pulling the slingshots back. At first they're just pulling the rubber band a little bit and the rock is flying maybe a couple feet. And then they got really adventurous and they start pulling it back really far and the rock starts flying really far. And I was like, they've got to get out of this RV park or we're going to have damage and I'm going to have to pay for it, you know. But it's kind of that same idea that we have in our ingrained in our way of being that we have to just go all of the time. That productivity looks the same and it looks like checking off the to do list, getting things done, moving forward, like the hustle mode, like that is what we've been ingrained to believe is productive. But when we really look at productivity in the way that women's cycles work, it's like there is an element of pulling back, there is an element of slowing down. Doesn't mean that you're stopping everything in your business. Like those times are still productive. It's a different type of productivity. What I call like your, your period phase. It's like that is, I've started describing it and if I were to go back and rename it, I would name it like the visionary phase. And you think about like really successful businesses, the leader is predominantly in that visionary space, right? He's the one or she is the one directing the ship, directing where to go, overseeing like the whole big expanse of it. But when we're caught in the weeds of just the doing all of the time, we lose out on that. Like the most effective businesses are the ones that have that real strong visionary at the lead at the helm, you know. But what happens is that for most of us, especially as beginning entrepreneurs are like in those like build up startup phases, we're like, we just gotta keep going, we gotta keep producing, we gotta keep hustling, we gotta. And we, we don't ever get ourselves back into that visionary space. And so what most women may think is like a lazy week or a non productive week is actually becomes your most productive week, right? That is your visionary week. It's your time of really standing in there and casting that vision and like really getting clear on like, am I moving forward towards the things I really want to? Am I taking the right aligned actions? Like what is the best fit for me this month. Where do I really want to shift and go? And so while it may feel like a slowdown, it actually becomes that. That slingshot, that pull back, that makes you FL really far right. And I think it's some layers of that of just like really looking at how have we been taught or what have we been taught about productivity and what does productivity look like? Men have these same cycles. They just cycle them in the day. It's not that they don't have them, they just cycle through it quicker. And so why, while a man may have this like visionary phase, maybe for like an hour or two a day, we have the week, right? And so it's not that we don't need it or don't have it, it's just that our productivity looks a little different. Like we can function the same, produce the same amount, even taking that week to slow down, that a man may get in that same whole month, if that makes sense.

So let, let's take an example. I'm pretty sure that when we, when we talked about when this recording would happen, you had this, you had your cycle and seasons in mind, right? We agreed in January and now we are in April. So, so here you were able to define the date or choose a date on the week where, where you thought it would be a good fit. But what happens if you get like your biggest, most amazing speaking opportunity for, I don't know, the middle of June and that's not a great week for you on maybe speaking in front of hundreds or thousands of people, but you still want to do it, so what can you do about that?

Totally. Yes. So good. And one, I'll just highlight, like, women are amazing, right? Like, we have accomplished really amazing things and we've done really amazing things without even paying attention to our cycles. So first off, like, yes, we. I don't want anybody walking away from this conversation thinking like, oh, Rene told me, because I'm in that phase of my month, I can't do anything. So I'm just like now crippled and like changed to this idea. It's actually the opposite. Like, I very much believe that what I teach and how I teach it is meant to help liberate women, is help to permission women to really build it and do it the way that they want and give them choice and autonomy and like be able to make those decisions for themselves. So first off, yeah, we can take a look at our schedule and six months from now, one, it may fall in the wrong spot. Two, things may change six months from now, right? Like, my cycle has a few days of variance. And so if it looks great now, you stack six months of two to three days of variance on there, it could be in a completely different phase by the time we get six months down the road.

Right.

So I think there's some element of like, we can do our best to schedule things like when we are going to be at our best and we're going to be at our peak. But the really, the magic of it is really learning how to listen to your body and learning to listen to like what you need. So for instance, if I got a speaking opportunity and it fell right in the middle of my period weeks, which would not probably be my most optimum time, I still say yes. But I also now have that knowledge of like, hey, my energy may not be at its fullest, my capacity might not be at its fullest. So what do I need to do to stack the rest of my day or to really help support my body at that place? It's kind of like looking if I had one, you know, bar of energy, but the task that I need to get done requires four bars of energy. I can look at that and say, okay, I can still do this four bar energy task, but how am I going to make up the difference? Because I only have one bar of energy. So that may look like I don't schedule anything else in that day. That is the only thing I ensure that I get a bubble bath. Maybe I get outside in nature, maybe I'm doing breathwork, maybe I'm, you know, taking a few days off after, like, whatever it may be. And however you need to adjust to really support your energy in that state is going to be the key piece. One of the things I asked my clients to do every day is like, every single day, just ask yourself, like, what does my body need today? Because I think that's even in the moment, right? Like your cycle is one component and one piece. But what if you slept really crappy last night and maybe you went to out with your girlfriends and had a couple drinks and now that's making you sluggish. Like, your cycle is just one piece of who you are and like how you're showing up in the world. And so when we like, the most important part of what I do and what I'm teaching women is how do you really learn to listen to yourself? Like, how do you learn to listen to your body? How do you learn to listen that like subtle little language that it puts out there and then that intuitive part of you Most of us aren't listening to that either too, you know. And so it's like really helping women to start listening to their bodies and listening to your cycle is just one piece of that layering out even more. It's like, how do I really become a good steward of what my body needs? And how do I take care of my body? How do I support my body if there's something I really want to do? But I know looking at the calendar, it's going to fall at a time when I'm energy depleted. What do I need to do to support my energy to still meet those demands? What happens is that most of us aren't even paying attention to that. And so we're just like going, going, going, going, going. And then we get to this place where, like, women are burnt out and they're overwhelmed and they're exhausted and they're frustrated and they're feeling like, what the heck? But it's like these just. If they had paid attention to the subtle little energy conversations of their body or listen to, like, what their body is saying all along, they may not have reached that place of just, like, total depletion.

How would you get started about getting to know our bodies? So someone who has never come across this kind of approach, and even independently from, from sinking it to the cycle, just, just listening to our body, I can very clearly remember that in the first four years of my business, listening to my body was like the very last item on the list. And I would only listen when I got really sick. That happened sometimes. And even then I would, I would be pushing through. You know, like, freelancers don't get sick. At least in Spain we don't because there is no sick leave and stuff like that here. Or, I don't know, it's very low. Um, so we have this saying, freelancers don't get sick. That kind of mentality is like making you work like a robot. Just, okay, I'm up. I. I have to do a million things and maybe I will get done 40 and then tomorrow I will have another million. And it's just, it's just going. So how would someone who is right in the middle of that start listening to their body? What, what is your, your secret to that?

Well, I think there's so many different layers, and it is kind of like a process of learning to listen to our bodies, right? So we have so many different senses, and we also, like, we have our taste and touch and smell and things like that, but we also have internal senses that we don't know, like, we don't always see on the external side of it. And so it's understand, like beginning to learn and understand how to listen to that of like, what is my body telling me can. I mean, I think it could be a lifetime journey. Like, even for me today, I'm like, wow, I'm still uncovering. I mean, I've been an OT for 14 years or 15 years now. And so, like, I've been immersed world occupational therapist, like, which is like, immersed in this world of the body and the senses and like understanding it from a very sensory perspective. So like, I've been in this world for a good chunk of time. And even now I feel like, man, I'm still just uncovering like the. The breadth of like, being able to listen to our bodies. Right? So one, I would just acknowledge that, like, understanding and learning to listen to your bodies is probably something that you will continue to evolve in and for the rest of your life. So give yourself a little bit of grace in terms of like, what season or what stage that is and what that looks like for you. I would say one of the practices that has been really helpful for me has been practicing breath work. And not even necessarily breath work, as in like a modality, which is amazing. But even just the sense of like, when you sit down to work or when you get in the car, or when you're cooking breakfast or when you're doing whatever, bringing your attention to the breath and like breathing in, breathing out, and breathing in, breathing out. Even if you just do it like five to 10 times to help you just take a pause, I think the pause is the number one thing that you could do to help create more of that listening of your body. Because like you said, we're looking at the task of 45,000 things that we have on our to do list. If you're like me, I have three kids. And so like, between three kids and a business and multiple sports and taking care of the dog and all the things like finding moments to pause in my day is. It's challenging if I'm not intentional about it. And so that intentionality can be really simple. It can be really slow. Like I said, you can interweave it into every part of your life. Like when you're cooking dinner, you're like, hey, every time I cook dinner, I'm just going to like, be here. Like, I'm going to focus on, like, right now I'm in the moment of making my dinner and like, what is present for me right now. So I think one that that is huge. Of just, like, listening. And then the other piece is, like, specifically around the cycle is just learning to track kind of like, what's coming up for you, these patterns that may come up for you. Right. There's going to be probably a time of the month when you feel like burning everything down and that it's going to probably come on a pretty clockwork thing. Like, it was funny. I was actually at my retreat. I host a retreat for women in business, and one of the women was like, man, like, a week ago, I just felt like I was gonna burn everything down. And I was, like, over it. And I was, like, venting with my husband. And all of us in the room were like, what phase were you in? Like, before we even get into coaching on, like, where you want to go and, like, how we want to adjust things for you, like, let's take into account that, like, maybe we were just in a cycle phase of everything needed to crash down, you know? So I think just starting to track that, like, every single day kind of tuning in. Where am I in my cycle? And there's a whole bunch of tools and resources I'm happy to share if people need help with, like, actually learning to track and listen to that on, like, a biological perspective. But I think even just that intentionality of slowing down and asking those questions, asking yourself, like, what is present for me right now? What does my body need right now? Like, where am I? Like, where in my cycle am I? Like, what am I experiencing? Like, how can I be present in my body right now instead of worried about what's on social media and, like, what do I have next to do? And, like, I've got to make dinner and I've got all these other, like, pieces and things juggling. How do I just be present in my body right now?

Yeah, it's interesting. Until, like, two years ago, I wouldn't even know where I was in my cycle.

Yeah.

When I. When I would go to the doctor where they would ask me sometimes, I would have big trouble even to remember when. When did I get my last. Now that I know, I think I have more control. But I'm still in the phase where. Where I don't fully know. It's more like when something happens and I can. Then I can track it back. My husband calls it la furia. You know, when the raging woman comes up, it's la furia in Spanish, or at least in our house. So when the furia comes out, that can be usually explained with. It's the week before my My menstruation would happen, but sometimes I can't avoid it coming out the Furia. But then there are other. Like, lately it has only been, like, the last four or five months when I felt it, like, oh, my God, it's happening. We were. The three of us. The last time it was getting serious. It was him, his daughter, and me. And I was just like, okay, I need to remove myself from this situation. So I literally just left the house. And we were able to skip that meltdown session. And it's a new experience for me, and it's so cool. And, yeah, today at lunch, I asked him when was the last time that the Furia really came out? And he didn't really remember a recent time, which is really good. But how do we. Can you. Can you explain to us. Yeah. About the phases in the. In the whole cycle. You explain this with full detail in your beautiful book, which I have here. Can you. Can we go into the four phases and what each of them is? What each of them is for four. And. Yeah, let's. Let's go through that because I think it's really interesting.

Yeah, well, and I'll. I'll start maybe with the Lafudia phase, because you were already talking about it. And I think even just what you highlighted, too, is like, one. As you start cycling and as you start trusting and leaning into what your body's saying, oftentimes those extremes can become less and less and less because you're now paying attention to what your body needs. And so it's less of this, like, rearing its ugly head and, like, going all crazy sort of moment. It's like, oh, I feel this. And I'm feeling a little bit more intensity. But now I know I can go for a walk now I know, okay, this is where I'm at. This is how I'm going to support my body. So you start to adjust and accommodate, and those things do become less extreme. I have clients who will tell me, like, now they almost feel like they have no hormonal shift throughout the month because everything has just gotten so much more smooth because they.

It gets boring. Yeah.

They're like, I know how to adjust for my body. So that phase is the week before your period. Oftentimes I have clients, they're like, that's actually the worst week of the month. Like, most women will say the period part isn't that bad. It's this phase because it can be so intense. So what happens is that as you move through the cycle, in the front half, we have Estrogen and estrogen climbs. And then right around the time of ovulation, estrogen drop or like, shortly after that, estrogen drops off and progesterone kicks in and they just feel very different. So progesterone tends to be that feeling of like, I want to slow down. Maybe you've been going, going, going all month long with that nice estrogen. Like, it's more of the masculine type of energy of like, let's keep going. But when progesterone kicks in, it's like, no, I want to slow down. Please don't make me be on camera. I don't want to talk to anybody. You might be really productive. It's like a very detail type of productivity, like organizational. It's oftentimes the time when I hear, like, my clients will say, like, I cleaned out my entire closet, or I went through my entire downloads folder and I cleaned out my entire email inbox. Like, it's like these micro types of tasks where you're like, sort cool. Sort cool. Like, I'm organizational and cleaning everything out. So you mean very. It can be very detailed and very organizational. But it's not the time of the month when you're going to feel like, hey, let's show up on a podcast or let's go live. Like, I feel glowing, I feel radiant, I feel amazing. It's going to be, no, I'm right now maybe filled with a lot of self doubt. And I'm not sure if this is possible for me. I'm not sure if I really want to be doing this anymore. I feel like the world's worst mom, I'm the world's worst wife. I'm like failing in my business. Like, burn it all down, right? And so for a lot of women, that can be really intense and really heavy and hard. But what I've noticed and what I've learned over my years in business is that so much of our success in business is going to be about our level of being willing to heal and grow ourselves and like, do that inner work. And so in some sense, if you're, if you do believe that, like, if you're a type of business owner that does that and like, if you're building a personal brand, it's probably different than if you're building a brick and mortar. Like, it's gonna just be a little bit different. Let's be almost. But being willing to go to those places of like, this is the fear that's coming up for me. This is the belief that's coming up for me. This is the doubt that's coming up for me. One, it can create a lot of healing, so it can be one of your most healing, expansive phases, but it also can really highlight the things that are not working for you. So if you're feeling so incredibly overwhelmed, like, my client was like, I want to burn my entire business down. Like, I'm. I think I want to shut the whole thing down. It's like, okay, well, let's. Let's sit with that feeling rather than just, like, brushing it off or moving it on or ignoring it. How can we sit with it? And, like, what is really coming up for you? Is it you're not feeling in alignment with what you are doing anymore? Is it that really, you're maxed out? Are you not meeting your values? Like, what is it? Like, why is that feeling coming up? So I think in our world, maybe. I mean, I don't know if it's the same in Spain, but in the US There's a lot on, like, don't feel your feelings. Be strong. Just buckle up and keep moving on. And, like, just shove all those things down. But those things are coming up for a really big reason, and so this can be that time for you to really lean in and listen to them. So, like, I said that it can be. It's actually become my favorite phase because I, like, spend a lot more time with myself. I'm like. I go deeper into, like, what's actually coming up. Like, what are these beliefs? What are these fears? Like, how can I just nurture myself during this phase? And so it can become a really beautiful phase instead of this phase where you're like, I'm a raging lunatic. It's like, this is my nurture phase. You know, Like, I'll tell the kids, like, hey, mom needs a break right now. I'm gonna go sit in the backyard. I'm gonna sit in the sunshine. I'm gonna go meditate. I'm gonna do whatever I need to do, right? But I can communicate that to them and be like, I. I'm tapped out right now, and I need this space. So, like, please let me have. You know. And so, yes, that one's my favorite phase. So then after that luteal phase, it comes in your menstrual phase. So I know I said at the beginning that's, like, what I now kind of describe and talk about is, like, the visionary phase, but it's also your recharge phase. It's the time of the month when it is for you to, like, slow down, recharge your cup so that you have the energy and the stamina to achieve everything you want to do in the rest of the month. Like, if you were to try to go after big goals but you have only have half a tank of gas, like, it's not going to be as effective as if you have a full tank of gas. So think of this time as, like, how do you really nurture and fill your cup so that you have the energy you need? And physiologically you're just going to be more drained. Like, your body just. That's the way it works. When you're losing blood, you're losing iron, and iron, huge energy component. But it's also that, like, cast your vision. Like, where am I going this month? Like, get yourself super excited about what you're doing and where you're going. It's not just a. I'm muscling through day after day after day. It's like, this is my time to, like, really step into, like, who am I being?

Like, who.

Who do I need to be to achieve the goals I've set for myself this month? And like, how do I step into that identity right now? So that really can be that. That menstrual phase? And then after your menstrual, before we.

Move on, there's an interesting element, and you briefly mentioned this today and also mention it in the book. Like, I feel like. Like lately observing myself more. I feel like my worst week, though, from today on, I will try to look at it differently and try to find the beauty of it is really the. The last week before my period and when my period actually happens, I feel like it does give me a new source of, like, power and energy even. I'm. I'm able to do stronger workouts. So in. In the first two days, and then it's more like I want to just maybe not do that much. So could it be that or could it be that it's true? Or am I, like, mistaken or am I just making it up that now I have more energy and I can do more?

No, I mean, I hear from a lot of women that, that, like, the heaviness. I think it's the emotionality, right? The emotionality, heaviness that we feel in that luteal phase. It's almost like that gets lifted as soon as our period comes in. And so it does kind of like one we look at, like, the blood and like, the blood loss that we're doing. It's cleansing, right? It's a purging. It's like a Clearing out. And think about if you go through your house and you declutter. Like, I oftentimes. Like, if I. I go through and I'm like, I can breathe. It feels so good in here. Like, you feel light. You kind of feel airy. It can be something similar. Like, that when you start, when your period comes right, it's like, purging and cleansing out. You've just, like, walked through all these dense, heavy emotions, and you've felt them and you've sat with them, and then the period comes in. It's like, let's clear all that out. Let's make room. Like. Like, let's clear space for what we're creating this month. And so it can have a bit of that. Like, my energy's back. I'm like, I'm here. I'm ready to go. And in that time, it is that phase of, like, how do you nurture that? Like, how do you amplify that? How do you, you know, like, you said, like, you get excited about what's coming, and, like, you feel this energy and you're ready to go. And it's like, maybe. Maybe some of it is like, I am gonna work out really hard right now because that's what my body's asking me to do. I think that's a big one. Like, if your body is asking you for that, like, lean into that and like, how can I support and nurture what my body wants right now? If I'm feeling that doing a workout right now is going to make me feel energized, it's going to make me feel good, and it's going to make me feel amplified. Tech. Yes. Like, even doing that, you know? So, yeah, it can be very. On the same token, some people don't feel that. Some people do feel like, man, my blood, the blood loss. So I think it probably partly has to do with, like, the amount of blood too. Like, if you are a heavy eater, physically, you're probably going to feel a little bit more physically drained. You might feel emotionally and energetically excited and amped up, but physically, you might be like, I. I want to take it slow. So it's kind of really uncovering and listening to your body from those two perspectives, too, of, like, there's the body you and there's the energetic you. And, like, how do they merge together and how do they coexist together? It's not just your physical aspect. It's the energetic aspect, too. And how they go together.

Yeah, you talk about physical body, mental body, emotional body in. In the book, I, I don't think I've ever looked at things from that perspective. Like, never slowed down to actually take that in.

Yeah, there's so many pieces and facets to us, right? Like, yeah, yeah, for sure.

All right, let's, let's continue and then I will get back to some, some of this. Okay, so after, after the period, what, what happens then?

Then your estrogen starts to pick back up. So estrogen during that period week, most of your hormones are pretty like low. They're like flatlined. And then estrogen really picks up and that estrogen is going to be that more masculine. Like, I'm ready to go. If you're, you know, if you've ever noticed, like there's times when you're like, I'm ready to take on a new diet. I'm gonna do a new workout plan. I'm gonna like do this whole new big. I'm gonna do 100 days on Instagram, posting every day or whatever. It might be like you, if you pay attention to those times when you're like 100 all in on committing to something like that, chances are it's during this phase because you do. You're like, yes, I can tackle everything. Yes, I can do it. Yes, I'm ready to go. Like, your body is most of the time going to be this like big, energetic yes to life and doing things and creating big things and moving big things. And so you want to lean into that with those big projects, those big things. If, you know, if, like I talk a lot about like the cycle and how it creates this balance. This might be a time of the month when you are getting up really early in the morning and working really late at night. Like, I remember there was one time I had a, during this phase I had like a day of back to back recordings and calls and whatever. It got to the end of the day, I was like, wow, that was a 16 hour day and I still feel good. I'm like ready to go. But if you did had me do that in that luteal phase, I probably would have been melting. Like there's absolutely no way I could have done it. So when we like even just looking at like men saying like, oh, women don't want equality, it's like, well this phase you may be able to push so much harder. This is your push phase. But it's not going to feel like you're pushing. It's not going to feel like it's burning you out to push this way. It's going to like you May even feel excited to do the push, right? Like this is the time of the month where I'm like, yes, let me work. Like I want to give so much of myself to my business right now. And so let yourself do that, let yourself go into that, lean into that. Like your sleep patterns might change, your work habits might change. It's okay. Like let that happen. Like let your body do that. You may, you may not eat the same. Like your appetite might be less. Like everything in your body changes throughout your cycle. And this, and this is one of those phases where you like can run on less energy or like run on less nurturing. So less sleep, less food, less taking care of yourself and you're going to still feel good versus that luteal phase. You may be like, I can only work two hours today and I need to eat a whole bunch of food and I'm not working out. Like I need to nurture myself. Like they're just very, very contrastingly different. So this phase is great for tackling any of those big to do's, big projects, big things that you need to create big momentum with. And then it reaches the top of that estrogen curve is right around ovulation. That's the time when your body is literally signaling to the world to meet with you. You are the most magnetic, you're the most radiant, you're the most glowing, you might communicate the most effectively. You're going to feel the most aligned to be on stage or talk to people or podcasts or interviews or like lives. All that social media content, like any of that type of content where you have to project out into the world. This is going to be your phase. So that that phase of like estrogen ramping up your follicular phase and your ovulation phase, those are kind of your outward facing phases, they're your extroverted phases. You're pushing energy out into the world. Type of phases. That luteal phase and the menstrual phase are like, how do I come back and tune back in with myself and refill my cup and maybe more of like that introverted phase. So each one of those phases has a different element, a different superpower, a different strength, a different obstacle challenge, if you'd call it that. And it's really about learning how do I honor each of those different uniquenesses and how do I learn to support my body in each one of those different phases where it's at and give yourself the permission to do that. Like you know, there maybe one week you allow yourself to like, sleep in and skip the morning workout, because that's the phase of the month you're in. And instead of feeling guilty about it of, like, man, I don't stay consistent with anything I commit to. And I said I was gonna do this workout every day for 30 days, and look at me. I'm like, two weeks in, and I just. I'm hitting snooze.

Right?

Let's let go of that mentality and know that you don't have to be the same every single day to be consistent. Your consistency looks very different. And so, like, it's really about honoring this rhythm of what your body needs when it needs it, instead of expecting it to every day.

Yeah. I'm realizing right now that for this podcast recording, I have the, like, the pledge with myself that I do one a week with a guest and one a week with just me, a solo episode. But maybe it shouldn't be like that. Maybe there. There could be a week when I'm not doing any, but there could be other weeks when I'm doing four. Totally. And I was always like, okay, I have to do one a week, maybe. No, I don't.

Yeah, yeah, okay. Like, do them when you feel like. This is my amazing. So, for me, I recently started repoadcasting. I haven't podcasting in a while myself, but my favorite sweet spot to record podcast episodes is like, when the ovulation energy is dipping and the. The luteal phase energy is. Is rising. So it's kind of that cross. It's the cross between, like, high vibrant, like, I want to be out in the world, and also this emotional, connected, like, inner sort of space. It's like the marrying and the blending between that. That's like my favorite sweet spot. Like, when I record solo episodes, that's when I love to do it, because there is some of that. Like, I still feel good about coming on and talking, but I also am feeling more of that introspective, like, deep type of content. And so it's my favorite sweet spot. And so when I was recording a lot of episodes in the past, I would record, like, four or five episodes during that week, if possible. Like, if I felt like it, because that's when I felt the most ready to do that. And then I was set for the whole rest of the month versus feeling like, what you're saying I have to do it every week instead of having those blocks every single week. It's like, how can we block with where our energy is actually at and meet the task that fits that, wow.

This makes so much sense. And I. I'm just. Just thinking back, like, I thought there are days when I would sit down with the most amazing script that I have written. And even that way, I don't get the solo episode done because it just doesn't come out the way I want it. And other days, I would just do an unscripted one, and I would be so happy with it. And I never thought about it this way. And I'm just, like, I'm just waiting for those days unconsciously, like, when they happen, but maybe I could try and. And plan them out. Totally.

Your. Your energy makes such a huge difference, right? Like, we've all listened to those episodes or done our own. Usually we're more, like, evaluating our own than other people's. But where we sit there and we're like, man, there was just something off about that episode. Like, I didn't like it. Like, I recorded it five bajillion times, or I kept saying the same thing, like, funny, and I didn't say it how I really wanted, versus, like, what you said. We speak, and it's just, like, on fire, on point. We're, like, feeling so good and we leave it, and we're like, man, that was an amazing episode. Right? That energy makes a huge difference, and oftentimes we're just not even paying attention to where that energy is falling. But this does give you an opportunity to kind of look at, like, where is my energy naturally aligned and how do I fit with that so that maybe I have more of those spark days where I leave the conversation. I'm like, damn, that was good. Like, I really felt like that was good. And it's not coincidental. Like, you know, like, oh, this is when it's going to be the best time for me to do that.

Okay. It's amazing to know that it's not just a coincidence. So I don't have to, like, just wait. I can do other things and. And then schedule that in for. For when it's most probably gonna work. You also mentioned photo shoots. That's a funny one for me, because the last time I had a photo shoot, I. What. The only thing I was looking at was avoiding that. That I'd have my. My period that day, but nothing else. So I ended up doing it right before my period, which now I understand it was probably not the best idea because when I. When I saw the photos, like, everybody said they were amazing. They were, oh, my God, wonderful. And I was like, oh, my God, my. My arm. What. What does it look like, oh, I should have worked out more, that dress. Why didn't she tell me that? It wasn't like, it. It didn't look good. And I was. I was just picking on. On all those already, like, at the photo shoot. And now I realize that was probably the worst time I could put that to because maybe even with my period, it would have been better if. If it had to be that part of the. Of the month.

This is crazy. I mean, there is actual science. There is actual science that shows, like, your skin changes. Like, your skin glow changes the texture of your skin. Like, even this morning, like, I'm coming off, I. I'm kind of in that gray area between the. The ovulation phase and my luteal phase. My app says that I, like, ovulated a little bit earlier than I thought. My Google Calendar is a little bit later. So it's like kind of. We're in a little bit of a gray area. And I woke up this morning, I'm like, man, my face looks a little dull. Like, I can just tell. Like, it. Look my face. My skin just looks a little more tired than normal. Right. And I was like, oh, I bet you. I'm. I'm. I can feel that the hormone shift. Like, so it's like subtle little things that you might notice, like, that. That might be what you were picking up on. Like, man, my. My body just didn't look vibrant. Like, it didn't look amazing. Like, it didn't look how I want to feel, you know? And you can just sort of subtly pick up on it. But there is science. There's research. Like, I mean, our skin changes, our saliva changes, our smell changes, our brain changes. Like, they're. Literally every part of your body is changing every single day, and we just don't know it. Like, we're not paying attention to it enough. Yeah.

Wow. It's such a. We are. Or I am realizing this beyond 40, and I so would have wanted to know this at, like, latest in my 20s or even before. Wow. Oh, my God. This is. This is crazy. Tell us a little bit about. You mentioned you have written a book. You run. Like, you have a membership or a course. Yeah. You. You run retreats, you have your kids, but you also have a. A job. Like a day job, night job. How does it still fit in? Can you take weeks off your. Your job, or how do you still juggle with it all?

Yeah. And.

Yeah. Tell us about your job. I. I love that.

So I work in the nicu, so it's in the neonatal intensive care unit as a therapist there. And so just like I talked about here, like understanding the nervous system and the body, it's like that's what I do. But with babies and helping their brains and their bodies develop when they're born way too early. So that was always my dream to get to that place. And about five years ago I was offered a position doing that kind of out of the blue. And I love it. Like, it's one of those things, like there's so much of who I am that has grown outside of the NICU that makes me a better therapist in the NICU and then in the nicu. The things that I experience there are just so life changing and amazing too that they impact the way I show up outside in my business and my life and things too. So it's one of those people ask me all the time, when are you gonna ever leave your the hospital? I'm like, I don't know, like, I love it so much. Like those moments when I get to like help. You know, a mom that has her baby was born at 20, 28 weeks, 29 weeks, and to get to that place where she's able to latch the baby on and breastfeed for the first time and she's crying and like this just magical moment that happens, I'm like, I can't. I don't know if I could ever get those feelings anywhere else. But I feel very fortunate. The way that I work with them is that I am per diem, which means basically I work when I want and as needed, essentially. So for me, it's created a lot of flexibility. I only work, you know, usually about two days a week. And if I know I have something coming up and I don't want to be at the hospital, I can just tell them I'm not working that week. It's kind of an idea. So for me, I have a lot of flexibility in the way that I work and then the position that I'm in. I don't take off weeks on my period or luteal phase or things like that. I usually structure it around that. So for me, I've for especially like, it's one of the questions I hear for a lot of women that are working nine to fives that maybe don't have as much flexibility as mine does. They'll ask like, how do I do this in my job? Like, my boss is not gonna let me just take a week off or he's not gonna let me rearrange everything in my calendar and I think it's one of those things where we don't have to re. 1. We don't have to rearrange everything. But what are the things that are gonna make the biggest impact for you? What are the things that are gonna really impact how you're showing up and how you're feeling? For me, one of the first things I did was my workout. When I changed the way I was working out with my cycle. And just that alone changed how much energy I had every day. The days when I would do these big workouts, when I felt that big workout energy, and then when I started to feel that dip when I would be working out and I'm like dragging, I could tell, like, okay, my body needs me to switch. Like, it needs to switch into something else. And just switching my workouts changed everything for me, like, so much. Whether or not you actually can change your workload, which is what I love. I love helping entrepreneurs be able to do that. But if it's not that, like, what is it that you can change? Maybe it's just the way you're eating, Maybe it's the way you're sleeping. Maybe it's the way you're working out. Maybe it's that you don't schedule things with other people in the afternoons and you go take a walk instead. Like, whatever it might be, how do you structure, maybe even outside of that, to really support where your body's at?

I love this. What is it that you can change? Because so many times we are like, no, I can't afford slowing down. I can't afford breathing. Yeah, I can't afford sleeping. I can't afford exercise. Okay, so what is it that you can still change to totally. To make it work? That's. That's so important? There is a. There is a, an approach which comes back in your book multiple times. This is switching, wanting something to allowing. Can you tell us a little bit about. About this?

Yeah. From switching. Was it something specific or. I don't. I'm like, what did I.

What it was? I'm trying to remember. I think it. I think it. It came up with. Especially with the. I think the. How did you call that phase, maybe the reflect phase. That, that when you, when you try to stick to. To things, sometimes things work out better if you don't try to stick hundred percent to them, just let them work their. Their way out. But it's. For many women especially, I think it's so difficult because we have a plan in our head and that's how things should happen.

Yes, totally. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember. I think it's one of those add on chapters at the end, like, past the phases, where I do talk a little about, like, that adaptability and like, that flexibility. And I think for me, one of the biggest lessons I learned was that the. One of the biggest struggles that I had with my kids or with my husband was in unmet expectations. So, like, I held an expectation of them that they were going to behave or act or do in a certain way. And then when they didn't do that, that would make me so angry and so frustrated that they weren't reading my mind and being able to do these things when I hadn't even really expressed it right. And so it really took me on this journey of looking at, like, what are the expectations that I have, what are the attachments I have to how things are supposed to go, like, how I want them to go. And when we release that tension, like, when we let go of that expectation of, like, it has to go this way, it does allow a little bit of this unfolding. For me, the year I wrote that book was my word of the year was allow. And it was like, how do I just allow things to be? Like, how do I allow what is to be here? How do I allow what's happening and the shifts and the changes? How do I allow that rather than feeling my resistance to it? And I think when we step into that place of just understanding and honoring, like, I can make a plan and I can make it how I would like to go. Also letting go of the attachment that it has to go that way. We don't. We don't always know what's best and right for us. And whether you believe in God or you believe in the universe, or you believe in divine intervention or like, whatever it is that you believe, there's something beyond us that we don't always have the fullest awareness of. And those. You'll hear those stories, right, of the person who got stuck in traffic and they were like, so frustrated they got stuck in traffic, or their, their coffee spilled at the coffee cafe and they were like, now 10 minutes late. And then you hear, oh, there was a giant accident on the freeway, or there was a fatality, or there was something. Those inconveniences that we sometimes experience that we're like, this is such an inconvenience. We never know what that maybe is circumventing us from having or experiencing or where it's redirecting us or what it's shifting and changing us into, right the divine moment that you're gonna. That serendipitous moment that you're going to meet your special person or the. The moment that you're gonna, you know, miss the car accident or whatever it might be. Like, we just don't know. We don't know all of those pieces. And so it's kind of that element of, like, how can I trust and release? Like, here's my plan. Here's where I want to go. Here's what I'd like to create. This is how I want it to go. But I also am gonna, like, trust and release that I don't have the fullest picture and I don't understand all of it. And I think, again, going back to that idea of, like, listening to our bodies and learning to listen to the language of our bodies, it a ongoing lifelong journey. It is ebb and flow of, like, there's times when I'm so much better at about allowing things to be and letting things go as they are. And other times I'm like, I'm holding on to the death grip, you know, and it's like, how do we lean into those. Both of those feelings and honor both of those feelings and step ourselves a little and more and more and more towards releasing the outcome, releasing that tension, releasing that expectation that we have on the way life should be. And I think when we do that, that's when the real magic happens. Because I think there's so much more for us in life beyond what our conscious mind can come up with. Like, right. I don't. For me, like, when I started my business, I had a very small window and lens of what I thought my business was going to be and what it was going to create for me. And over time, that vision keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. And I look back and if I looked at myself where I was, you know, seven years ago when I started my network marketing business, the idea that I would be doing the things that I am now or that I would be dreaming of the things I am now would blow that version of me out of the water. So I think it's kind of that idea too, of like, just knowing that you are still unfolding and your life is still unfolding, your steps are still unfolding, like you don't know where everything is really ultimately taking you. And if you can surrender into that and trust that process, yes, you will be amazed at where it goes.

That's beautiful. And I. And I love how. How you're reflecting on. On that Version. Yeah. Or, or even if you, if you tell this to someone that this is what you do, they would be like, how can you build a business out of this? How can this be a job?

Yeah.

Because this is not like the typical title that you would, you know, like when you are a little kid, like, what, what. What are you, what do you want to be when you grow up? This is not. Not on the list. I don't think so. Maybe for future. Maybe for the new generation.

Yeah. You Talk to like 8 year olds now and they're like, we just want to be YouTubers. Like, oh my gosh.

Yeah. Wow. Tell us a little bit about what happens when someone doesn't have a cycle. So if they are pregnant, they are in perimenopause, menopause, or for some reason they don't have a cycle. Is it just the. I'm trying to listen to my body or is there still more that they can do?

I mean, I think ultimately you being able to listen to your body is number one. Like, I will without a doubt say that, like, that's number one. I think it's not something that most of us have been taught and so it sometimes takes a little bit of support and learning into being able to do that for a lot of women. Yeah.

I said, just, is it, is it just listening to your body or is there more to it? I'm like, like, yeah, listening to your body is already huge. If I was ever able to do that for a full month, it would. It will blow my mind when it happens, but I hope it happens very soon.

Yeah. And just giving yourself the grace to like, whatever that looks like and however it looks, you know. But I think for a lot of women, when we start to look at like people, we can look at it very micro in the terms of like the hormones and the cycle. And that makes a huge difference for women. Our actual biology, like what's actually happening. But when we start to meta, layer it out and look at our world operates in cycles. It is the cyclical rhythm. Right. We have seasons of the year, we have spring, summer, winter, fall. We have season or rhythms of the moon, we have rhythms of the sun, we have rhythms of the stock market, we have rhythms in politics, we have like the, the. The seasons of life. Like we have so many cycles and seasons. I actually started to notice when I was like really starting to lean into this, that there was a week in February I got sick every single year. Like it would pop up on my memories of, on Facebook. I'm like, I've been sick the same week, the same week for five years in a row. Like, that's not coincidence. Like, there's something here. So I think when we start to really look at, like, what are those cycles and how do I really function within a cycle? And that time in life is not linear, it's cyclical, that we can start to see where those cycles are. So for women, we follow a very similar cycle to the moon, whereas men follow a cycle to the, the. To the sun. And I think it's not coincidental that we've got those two elements that function and govern most of our day and night and that those are the same rhythms that men and women operate on. So for women that are outside of that rhythm, like, they don't have a menstrual cycle for some reason, I oftentimes recommend trying to sync up with the moon. So starting to use the moon as that external guide of like, okay, here I'm in this phase of like trusting myself and listening to myself. Like, how can I be intentional about that? And here's my phase of being really outward. And at first it may not feel like it really syncs up. Like, you may not feel that energy there, but I think your body will. Is craving that. Like, because most of us function on that monthly rhythm for most of majority of our lives, right? That when we start to tap into that, it starts to be like, okay, this is where I'm supposed to be. This is what's supposed to happen. And I've seen a lot of women that, that do that end up feeling more balanced. They feel more like, okay, this is. This feels like there's some semblance of a rhythm. For me, it's not just go, go, go, go, go all the time. So that's generally where I'll like, give a blanket statement of starting. And then it's going deeper with them and really helping them, like, learn what are those cycles and those patterns for you and what does it really look like and lean into for you? Yeah, yeah.

It feels like it has so many layers. If, if someone is listening to this and they're like, oh, okay, I, I want to know more about this. Where, where can. How can they go deeper with you? Where can they find your book, listen to you? Can they.

What's.

What's the next step?

For sure. Well, if you are in the US I would love to offer your listeners that are in the US a free copy of my book. So if you go to my first and last name, which is reneefic.com forward/freebook. You can do that and you just pay shipping and handling to get a copy of that. I'm trying to figure out a way to be able to make shipping and handling internationally affordable, but at this point it's not there yet. So. So if you are international and not in the US you can just go to reneefic.com cyclesyncourbusiness.com that'll get you access to the book and you can purchase it from Amazon or wherever and it'll ship directly to you. That's a great place to start. It kind of gives a lot of what we talked about here today, but goes a little bit deeper into each of the different phases and like how that really applies and integrates into your work. If you are wanting more support on that, I would recommend your Cycle Advantage, which is my program that kind of goes into like more of this masculine approach to our cycle. Like how do we become more productive with our cycle? How do we work with it? And then if you're looking more of the feminine approach of like going really deeper into some of these big common.

Com.

What was the word? Not Comments Content topics maybe I'm like what was I looking for? The Flow Collective is my mastermind for women that are really looking to elevate their business with this more feminine approach and the more feminine energy and biology and rhythms and cyclical nature to how they run and approach their world and their business. So those would be the three areas. But definitely go check out the book. That's a great place to get started for sure.

Yeah, I can totally recommend it. I. I've already done my first read through. There are so many things underlined as if it was a textbook. But I will definitely go through. Through it again or maybe even, you know, I have a GPT wellness companion. This is my latest thingy. Yeah. So I will definitely add things to that it already knows. Like my, it has my blood test, it has my, my cycle, it has my, my diet and, and this. I. I will have to add your whole book. I will have to dump it into it. So, so it, so it helps me because. Because yeah, it, it feels like it might be difficult to keep up with it. What happens for example, if I, if I start with this approach and, and then some days I, I just can't listen and I'm. I'm just crazy. So would you say there is a best moment to, to get back to it or, or even start with it? Or would you say it doesn't matter, just check where you are on your Cycle and get started, do as much as you can. And. And little by little, you will understand more and you'll be able to work with it more.

I think for most women, we have this, like, all or nothing sort of mentality.

Oh, I totally, I totally have it. Like, if. If I don't do it exactly the way it has to be, I'm like, okay, let's not do it at all. And I.

Exactly.

And I don't want to make that mistake. Right.

And I think part of that's just kind of how we've been taught, right. Like, we've been conditioned in that kind of paradigm of we go all in, we're going to commit everything, we're going to give everything to this thing. And I think you can. But I, like you said, it may be one of those things where you, you do that. You may feel like, man, this is a lot. There's a lot to change everything. If I will admit, I've been doing this for, I don't know, however many years, seven years, maybe something at this point, six years. I still don't cycle everything. Like, not everything in my life is cycled. Fetched with my cycle. And that's okay too, right? Like, there's some seasons when I'm like, okay, I'm gonna mash up my food, food, I'm going to be really good about matching up my food with my cycle. And then other seasons, I'm like, I'm going to eat whatever I want. There's going to be times when I may be in a launch mode and I've got, like, big projects going. And I know that, like, in this season, I may not be honoring my cycle as much as maybe in another season. And so giving yourself that fluidity and that grace to adjust and accommodate to what life needs, needs, always ensuring that they're like that. Like in my season, I know, like, okay, this is launch season. It may not look the same as in another season, but I know that I've planned for after launch to have that downtime, to have that rest, right? Instead of just like, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. So allow yourself the fluidity to adjust what you can and what you are maybe not able to do at this point in time and be okay with that, even if it's just the awareness. Like, most of my clients will tell me they've seen profound shifts in their life with just that awareness of, like, oh, on my calendar, I'm in my ovulation phase. Okay, cool. What is that? What am I noticing about my body right now. What am I noticing about how I feel right now? And even just that, like, even just the awareness can make start making huge ripples for you. So don't necessarily feel like you have to go in and, and change everything or you have to do all this big work or it's like Renee's telling me I have to overhau call my entire calendar, my entire business and the way I structure everything, it's like just being present with like what's actually here for me right now. Where am I right now? Like what is happening for me right now? Like, how do I bring myself back into this present moment and just become aware of what's here for me right now? And that alone can have huge, profound shifts for you even without changing anything. Like without changing anything in your calendar that would be just like icing on the top top, this awareness component piece will change everything for you.

I love that flexibility that allows for so much more. And just do what you can. All right now before we wrap this up, I want to be conscious of your time as well. I would love to know what's next for you. I love to ask this question. Where do you see yourself in three years from now? Although to me it feels like you, you've done it all. It's. It's already there. Where, Where I would imagine where many of us maybe imagine ourselves to be. Like, oh my God, she's doing what she loves at many levels. What, what more is there?

What more is there? I think for me.

But does it have to be more?

Yeah, I think for me I have like a very strong vision of the mastermind that I want to continue creating. Right now it's still in an evolutionary phase. It's still growing into what it's going. So like I have this vision of what it is and it. We're like micro stepping to get there. So for me, the retreat, funny you mentioned chatgpt and like I have one that has my whole human design and my astrology and like my favorite things like this. So it's like it's become my business coach. It's just amazing. But it, when I've asked like I talk back and forth with chat GPT. It's very clear. Like being in the retreats and this like high level coaching type of experience is like my spirit sweet spot right now. I host one retreat a year which I absolutely love. We just got back from and I'm like sitting there in awe like, oh, this is just magical. And so I have visions of like creating more retreats and spending more in person. I know for the last however many years I've spent so much time building an online business and it's all online and I'm really feeling this pull towards in person and building more in person events and in person and experiences. And so I think that's where the vision for me has is and I think it's partly where AI is taking us too. But like I really think that there's going to be a shift and a move in the industry away from content teaching type of stuff and it's going to be more in this experience and things like that. And so one I think a lot of my stuff and the vision where I'm taking place people and things is not in the sense of like come to me for the content, come to me, don't come to me for the information. Because in all fairness we could probably google everything content wise that we wanted, right? Or even now chat GPT. Like the other day I asked it about something and it spits out all this information for me. Right?

Yeah.

Content based businesses are going to become kind of the way of the past, but the way of the future is going to be experiential like in the body, listening to the body, feeling the body like, like this energetic component that the AI is not going to be able to do. So for me personally I've been feeling this pull and then seeing this trend with AI and content. I'm like definitely that's where I'm headed is more experiential like experiencing things like feeling things like being with things. Whether that be actual virtual workshops still or in person workshops or retreats or whatnot. But that, that's, that's the vision, that's where I'm headed is like really helping people experience something rather than just teaching something fantastic.

I can, I can see that. And, and yeah we are, we are craving more of like we don't want more data, we don't want more information. We wanted on to like understanding ourselves is, is not so high up on the list for, for many of us and this is, this is so much part of that. I love that. Thank you Renee. I so appreciate your time today and even though you said you might look, I don't know, more tired or whatever, you were fire. Thank you. I think you truly brought your very best everything. So I truly appreciate that. And everybody get Renee's book. I, I love it. It's definitely one of my key references from now on. And yeah if you are in Europe, Amazon is super easy. It arrived real Quick to me. So I will keep promoting it in my circles, and I hope I will get my husband to listen to this episode. I don't think he has listened to any of my episodes fully yet, so. So I hope this one will be the one. Maybe he'll get there.

At least he can listen on a fast speed or something.

Yeah, he still needs to practice his English. He will even need to slow it down. But, yeah, he has some rough moments sometimes with his daughter, who is now 18, so it will be even easier for him to understand her, I think.

Totally. For sure.

All right. Thank you, Renee. Thank you. Is there anything else that I haven't asked you about and you think it's crucial for our listeners to be aware of?

No. I mean, I think we covered a lot. I think we covered so much. I think one of the things I would say is that, like, most of my clients walk away saying they feel like they've just been granted permission. And so if you just give yourself. It's not like, me permissioning you. Like you permissioning you. Right. So, like, give yourself just that permission to build the business the way you want to build it, to build the life you want to build. I know to my core, like, that is one of my missions and my purposes in this world is to help women begin to feel the perm. Like, help them find the permission to live the life that they want to live. And so, like, give yourself that grace to, like, figure that out. Figure out, like, allow yourself to go against the rules, like, break the rules, like, go against the paradigm. Just begin to give yourself the permission to build the life that you want. Yeah.

Perfect. I can already feel it. I'm so excited about this permission. I definitely want to give myself permission, and I'm going to do it. Thanks, Renee.

You're welcome.

Thanks. Appreciate you.