164. What I've been up to

Hey everyone, welcome to the Influency Podcast. This is episode number 164 and today it is going to be a slightly different episode because in this episode I'm going to share with you an update about my life and what I have planned for you. And there's going to be an invite for something interesting. So stay tuned. Hey everyone, what is up? Today is Thursday and this podcast is going to be published tomorrow on a Friday. Now, it's a very timely episode because I'm going to be sharing with you something that is going to happen tomorrow. So if you're listening to this in November of 2021 and onward, then this is no longer relevant. But I'm probably going to keep it anyway. But still, I wanted to just jump in and connect with you through words, which is something that we all want to do freely, to be able to find the right words and express them confidently, to connect with other people. So that's what we're doing now. So I wanted to give you a quick update on where I'm at, what I've been doing recently, and what we are planning in our company for the next couple of weeks. And more specifically, starting from October 11th until pretty much the end of the month. So we are hosting our annual live event called the English Fluency Festival. Last year we called it the New Sound of English and this year it's going to be bigger and better. And this is why we decided the word festival would be more appropriate. Plus, saying the English Fluency Festival 10 times in a row is the perfect tongue twister. So what to expect? This is going to be a seven day live event where you will be invited to attend several things live. First and foremost is going to be the live training that I'm going to deliver Monday through Friday, every day for four days. And in this training I'm going to lay out the foundations for building a strong communication ability in English. In other words, I'm going to give you the tools to reach a breakthrough in English. We're going to talk about learning habits. We're going to talk about speaking habits. I'm going to teach you my pronunciation confidence method and how to apply it when it comes to improving your pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. I'm going to help you understand how to identify your fluency needs so you can focus on really the things that are going to get your results rather than, you know, spending time practicing things that are not helpful or that will not help you improve really, or that you're never going to use. So why waste time Practicing it. So I'm going to be teaching you all of that. And of course, of course we're going to talk about mindset and how to change your attitude towards English and how you feel in English so you can finally enjoy the language and feel confident and proud and like English belongs to you. Because ultimately, you know, this is the thing, I talked about it in my last episode about confidence. And it's all about confidence. Because even if your pronunciation is not what you had expected it to be, and even if you're still missing out on some words, when you have the confidence, you find your way around it. You bounce back, you try, you dare, you improve. But when you don't have confidence, then you don't do anything that would really advance you. So we're going to talk about the things the mindset shifts and thinking strategies and how to avoid the negative self talk so that you can step into that confident speaker that you deserve to be. So that is going to be in the live training. Then there are going to be implementation workshops with my coaches, Jelena and Christina, which means that they will take the content that I taught the previous day and will help you implement it, ask you questions, they will answer your questions. There's going to be a conversation about it. So it's really not just you consuming content, but you consuming and processing this new information so you can gain more clarity and you will be able to put it into action. Because the whole point is that you're not supposed to do it alone and we are going to help you. By, by the way, I think I forgot to mention that the event is 100% free in case that thought has crossed your mind. So in addition to the implementation workshops with my coaches, there's going to be a conversation group every single day with our mentors and hosts. So they will offer you some conversation topics around everything that we're discussing. It's always super interesting and fun. We're gonna send you to breakout rooms. It's going to be on zoom, so it's an opportunity for you to practice. In addition to that, we're going to have daily sprints. Sprints are my effective English practice. Pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, practice. So it's where I put into practice my pronunciation confidence method that is all about repetition, intentional practice and perception. And I'm going to teach you what that is in the event. So the sprints are basically 10 minute drills that you're going to get every single day to boost your English pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary. We're going to have challenges in the group. I'M going to offer some prizes and there's going to be a hot seat session where you can sign up to work with me individually on Sunday. So, as you can see, there are a lot of great things that are waiting for you and I'm going to put the link to join for, for free in the comments. That's it. So this is what we're working on now. We're super excited about it. I've been off the radar for a while. I wasn't doing a lot of lives recently. I was, you know, sharing my podcast and doing my YouTube videos, but I wasn't going live interacting with people so much like I love doing and I used to do. And that is because the past month has been a month where I was mostly off. Like, I wasn't off off, but I wasn't actively, you know, creating new things. And I'm going to talk about what I did in the past month in a sec. But the reason why I took this full month is first because we had, like seven different holidays. I'm exaggerating just four, but still, it's a lot. So most of the month was off, most of September, and that's after the summer break, Right. But also I took this month off because the six months or even eight months prior to that were the busiest, busiest months of my life, I think, because we created a new program called New Sound, and it was really one of the most demanding things I've ever done because it was incredible, right? Like, it was a mission that I've accomplished because I've been wanting to revamp and revise my program that my old program called Accent Makeover because I felt like I have changed a lot and I've changed in the way I teach and I see things. And also Accent Makeover was, you know, think of the name, was a lot about pronunciation. And I was trying to build in more elements like mindset and confidence and fluency and all of these other elements, but it just didn't fit because the core of of it was about pronunciation. And I felt like, you know, I actually need to create something that is bigger than that. That includes a lot of elements related to owning a language. Right. And when it comes to that, I always talk about it, and I'm definitely going to talk about it a lot in the live event. There's so much that goes into it, like habits, right. And strategy and confidence and finding your motivation and understanding what keeps you stuck. So all of these things had to go into the program to allow people to reach a real Transformation now, creating something that was kind of new to me. I always talk about it, but sporadically. To build something really structured was very demanding. It was really easy for me to create the pronunciation part of the course, but then, because I wanted to teach the prosody part, intonation, rhythm, stress differently and really simplify it and break it down and dismantle that element of English. It took me so long to figure out how to do it, and I was surprised, like, how much time it actually took me. So I felt like I was writing a book. So this is why it was really demanding. And then we enrolled a lot of students, and it was an amazing experience, and we've learned from them and all that. You know, going through another wave of COVID here quarantines. You know, the girls are on and off school. There was a war here in Israel when we were launching the program. So it was like, such a crazy year, really. I remember when 2020 ended, I was like, thank God, 2021. I'm ready for you. And then. And then it really started. So I'm very grateful for, you know, the passing year because we created something really big. But I also needed to recharge and rest after that. So when September came, we traveled to Egypt, actually. So I live in Israel, and Egypt is just across the border, and you can actually walk there. So we took the car, we drove for four hours, and then we crossed the border. First time since ever, actually. I've never been there, unfortunately. And it was amazing because we went to. To South Sinai. So I don't know if you've been there, but it's such a gorgeous, restful place. It's just the sea, the Red Sea, that is in the middle of the desert. And, you know, when you go snorkeling inside the water, it's this beautiful. You get this beautiful vision of different fish and corals, and it's so magical. And we were staying with this Bedouin camp that took such good care of us, and all we did was just rest and be. And here's my biggest insight from that trip. The fact that I did not have to make a decision at all. I mean, the biggest decision I had to make was what to eat for dinner. And, you know, it was a big decision because the food was so good, but. But that was the biggest decision I had to make, or if I want to go to the hammock or go into the water. And for me, after making so many decisions, small and big decisions for eight months, it was so freaking refreshing not having to decide Anything and just being so. I'm telling you that because I didn't know how much I needed that space base, and I only understood how much it was needed and how much it gave me. I only understood it after. So if you feel burnt out and if you feel like, you know, you're overwhelmed, everything's happening, I would invite you to. You don't have to travel to South Sinai, but, you know, create some space in your life where you. You don't have to make decisions and maybe a space where you can be on your own or do something kind for yourself. Because before that, I felt so burnt out. I was like, I don't know how I'm going to continue with my business because I can't see a situation where I feel joy in creating content again. It was that bad. And all it took was that week, you know, and I came back and I was like, oh, my God, I want to do this and I want to do that, and I have all these ideas. And I was like, I couldn't wait to get back to work. But then we had, like, two more holidays and we were in quarantine because we traveled abroad. So I did not get to create right away, but I was hungry again to do. And I always talk about how important it is to take space. And, you know, I talk about it with my community of teachers and with my students where they feel like they're stuck in their English journey and they're like, in a plateau. I say, take a break, stop doing things and come back to it. And usually it works. So then I actually had another trip that was not planned. But here's the thing. I'm sharing with you everything today, so I'm getting personal. So sometime between our trip to Sinai and, you know, getting back to the routine, I had this horrible headache. Really, like, for three days, I felt miserable. And here's the thing with me, even though I was, like, super rejuvenated, I felt like something really bad is happening in my body. And sometimes I tend to develop this anxiety around health issues because, knock on wood, I'm usually very healthy, very grateful for my body and for the universe for allowing it. But, you know, I'm usually very healthy. And when something happens, I'm like, oh, my God, something's wrong. I need to go check it. That's it. So I started having these existential thoughts, you know, about the trip we had. What an amazing time we had. All the time that I spent with my daughters, just being, you know, not thinking about other things. And I was like, life is short. I gotta do something. You know, I want to spend time with the people I love. And then I called up my mom and said, do you want to go to Budapest? I mean, I have no idea where that came from, but. But I was like, I need to spend time with my mom, and we need to go abroad. And she really wants to go abroad. We haven't traveled abroad in a plane for over two years. My dad is a little scared of COVID and he's busy, and she's like, I'll never get to travel again. So I was like, I'm going to take her to Budapest. And it was my sister's birthday, so I'm like, we're going to take my sister, too, and we're going to travel, all three of us. Only after talking to my mom, I asked Gil, my partner, and my husband if it's okay. Of course, he's very supportive. So he was like, of course. So then we figured it out, and we decided to travel. It wasn't that easy because just like, a freaking procedure to travel these days with tests and permits and, you know, you have to find out all this information and no one knows anything. But we ended up buying tickets and we traveled, and it was beautiful. Of course, again, little anxiety around flying because I haven't done it in so long, but it was really great. It was really great to spend time with my mom and sister. We've never done it. We never traveled together. And again, you know, just creating space for the things and the people you love in your life is the most important thing. And life is so freaking short. So I'm so glad I did it, even though I was overthinking it before, and I was like, what was I doing? Why did I. You know, I have all these things happening. Anyway, we just got back on Monday, and after this trip, I was like, I'm on fire. I have to start connecting with people, and I can't wait to do exciting things. And I have all these ideas, you know, after a month of not doing too many things and. And we had planned the event a while back, it's not like, oh, let's do it tomorrow. But it was the perfect timing, and I feel like the entire team is so ready for welcoming new students. We already have, like, 12,000 people who have signed up for the festival, for the event, which is crazy to me, and such a privilege. But, yeah, so we're starting on Monday. This whole story is to circle back to tell you that we have the event coming up on Monday. And now you know why I'm super excited about interacting with my community again and why I haven't been doing it too much over the past few months. So that's it we're back and I think it's going to be great especially because the community is so remarkable and so unique and so kind hearted and you know if you join and you join the Facebook group you'll see what I'm talking about and it's really rare. I've been in the online sphere for many years you know especially around business related things and there is no community in the world that I've seen like our community of new speakers, of global speakers, of international speakers whatever you want to call it speakers of English as a second language so I'm super grateful to be a part of it. So the link to join is in the description. If you're listening to this after the event then I hope you enjoyed my story and I will catch you next time in the next episode. Bye. It.