076: The 7 lessons I learned from meeting Denise Duffield-Thomas

Mart Tweedy shares seven lessons from meeting Denise Duffield-Thomas at a business conference: perfection isn't required to make money, align with successful people, cultivate self-belief, embrace your unique talents, take consistent action, view failure as a stepping stone, and prioritize self-care.
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What are you doing on Tuesday the 26th of September, 2023? Because myself and Francesca Amber are coming to the Barbican Hall in London. Our event is called One Night Stand, and this one-night event is all going to be about manifestation, crystal healing, and ridding your limiting beliefs to help you achieve your goals. We've curated an immersive experience that will leave you feeling inspired and empowered throughout the evening as well. We'll also have interactive exercises, we'll have empowering discussions, and the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals on a similar journey towards personal growth and manifestation. There'll even be an opportunity for you to ask questions as well. This event is your chance to break free from the shackles of self-doubt and unleash your inner greatness. It's time to release those limiting beliefs that might be holding you back and step into your true potential. And if you want to come on your own, by all means do that. Single tickets are available and seating is totally unreserved, so You can even meet up with your spiritual friends and sit with them as well. Head to @kanyacrystals on Instagram and click the link in my bio. Tickets are limited, so secure your spot and be part of this transformative experience. Don't miss out on the chance to manifest your dreams and achieve your goals. We can't wait to see you there. Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of Canny Crystals, the podcast. My name is Mart, I'm your host, and this week is— it's a bit weird because usually I would have some notes to script out and things like that about my podcast episodes, but this week I am going totally free because I've just got so much to talk about, about what's happened over the last week. And I've been affirming to myself, um, over the last I'd say 2 to 3 weeks, every single morning when I wake up, what I've been doing is, you know how on iPhones, sorry if you're an Android bitch, but on iPhones you can name and label your alarms. So what I've been doing is every morning when my alarm's going off at 6 AM, I've got it labeled to say like, I AM SO LUCKY in capital letters. And the reason I do that is because when I look at it straight away, I'm like transported almost into that lucky lifestyle. And it's absolutely paying off. So I want to tell you about some of the stuff that's been happening over the last week because I just feel so lucky. And I've had maybe 6 or 7 people say to me this week, God, you're so lucky, how do you do it? And it's just made me really think that, you know, this is actually working. You might have heard of like lucky girl syndrome. I know Francesca Amber, for example, and Emma Mumford, they both did podcast episodes on lucky girl syndrome. Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with the same stuff because it's been covered already. But I do think there is something in it about stating how lucky you are, about how abundant you feel, how wealthy you feel, and how everything happens for a reason and everything comes into your life. So let me tell you about what's happened in the last week and we'll get into it. So basically, I work in a communal building in Newcastle. That's where my office is based. And although I get loads of people like coming in off the streets and like wanting to see me and buy crystals and stuff like that, I'm like, no, it's literally an office. Um, yes, I have all my supplies in there. Yes, I pack my orders from there, but nothing is laid out like a shop, for example. So the reception people, there's like Michelle who works on reception and then Lisa who is the manager of the building. They both work by the front entrance. And the other day they said, oh, we're doing a bit of a raffle. Lisa has a brain tumour charity. I think she lost her— she might have lost both of her parents to a brain tumour. Actually, I know she definitely lost her mum. And so her and her sister set up a charity and they were selling some raffle tickets. So Michelle said to me, "Oh, I bet any money you win. You're always winning. You always win things like that. You're always like, you're always just so, so lucky." So I was like, "Well, I'm going to buy some tickets." So I thought, I'm going to put £20 on. So give them £20. Wasn't really expecting to win. I just thought, well, it's a charity, isn't it? And like, you know what I mean? So anyway, give this £20. Give me some raffle tickets. And I came in to work on Monday. They drew the raffle over on the Saturday. And Lisa said, "You'll never guess who won." And I was like, "Was it me?" And she was like, "Well, of course, who else would it be?" She said when they were drawing the tickets, basically they turned one of them over and said Mart Tweedy. And Lisa said, "Oh my God, does that say Cany Crystals?" And they were like, "Yep." And she was like, "Well, I knew." So anyway, I won 2 bottles of wine, one white, one red. I don't really drink, but hey ho, they'll go for gifts for someone else, or they'll get drunk in the house, don't worry. And then I also won a bottle of Citron Gin. Now this is a really weird one because I don't really drink, as you probably know. Like, I always say like I don't drink and then I go out and get rass once like a year, um, but I don't really drink in the house or anything like that. But in the summer, for some reason, I always fancy something like citrusy, like a citrus gin. And that's exactly what I want. I couldn't believe it. I was like, this is literally my only like favorite flavor of gin. I know I like— there's like a million flavors of gin and things like that, but I always go for a lemon one or a lime one, a citrus flavor. Oh my God, I can't believe it. Anyway, won that. And then also last week I went to the Expert Empires Business Conference. Now, the reason that I went was purely because Denise Duffield-Thomas, the author of Lucky Bitch, Get Rich Lucky Bitch, Chillpreneur, you know, Chillin' Prosper podcast. Denise was basically going to be there. Now Denise lives in Australia. She lives in Newcastle, Australia, which is quite ironic because I'm in Newcastle, UK. And because she was coming over, and because I've been part of Money Bootcamp now for over a year, read all of Denise's books, listened to all the podcasts, I was like, you know what, I don't care how much this is, I need to go and see this woman speak. She's really inspirational, really, really helped me out in my business. And I just thought, let's go, let's see what she's all about. I might get some like new ideas from her business or anything like that. So This business conference was a 2-day thing, and I was quite apprehensive because although I'm quite like extroverted, you know, on social media, me podcast and stuff, I'm quite an introvert. And I almost didn't go because I was going on my own. I thought there's going to be like a thousand other people there. It's going to London on my own, which I haven't done since I worked in the NHS, but I was having to get a tube on my own as well, whereas usually I would just hire a car. And I've never been on the London Underground on my own because, quite frankly, it scares me. Not scary as in like I'm scared that something will happen, I'm just scared that I'll get lost or I'll end up on the wrong train and end up at the wrong place. So I decided to go the night before the conference started so that I was already in the hotel, do you know what I mean? And because I'd only booked one night at the hotel, this conference was on Thursday and Friday, I'd only booked the Thursday night to stay over. When I actually looked at trains on the Wednesday, the train was £180 cheaper. £180 cheaper to go the day before. So I thought, well, even if I do that and I book an extra night at the hotel, I'm still saving myself money. So did that. So that was quite lucky. And obviously I got down on the Wednesday. It's quite a funny story because I made it quite stressfully all the way to Wembley. I say all the way to Wembley, it was literally like 5 stops. If you live in London, I apologize in advance. I'm such a funny Anna. But yeah, it is literally 5 stops from King's Cross on one line. It's not like I had to change tubes or whatever it's called, like change stations, things like that. I literally had to get on one platform, go on a train for 5 stops, and get off. That's all I had to do, but I made it so dramatic. Anyway, I got out of Wembley, had to walk the 10 minutes to the Hilton Hotel where this conference was being held. Where I was staying over. And the second I walked into the hotel reception, oh my God, it was so grand and it was like all marbly and I felt like quite out of place. And I was like, oh my God, this is my home for the next two nights. And you know when you just start and feel a bit like overwhelmed? And I was like, oh my God, I'm gonna have to make small talk with people. So I literally start— as I was like queuing to check in, I started tapping and I had my headphones on anyway and I was already listening to my subliminals. But I just started tapping my forehead and, you know, start tapping the side of my hand, just like reaffirming that things were going to be okay. And just as I did that, this girl in front of me turned round. And you know, like when you look at someone and then look away and then look back as if you've noticed them? She did exactly that. She looked at us, she looked away, and then she looked back really shocked and went, "Oh my God, you're the crystal guy!" And I was like, "Yes?" And it was so weird. And she was like, "Oh, my name's Hayley." My mom sells crystals and you pop up on my Facebook and my Instagram all the time. It's so weird because I've literally just been watching your TikToks on the way here. And I was like, oh, okay. So obviously as I was checking in at one person, she was checking in at the other person, like, and we were literally side by side at the check-in desk and we got talking and stuff. And we were on— she was on floor 8, I was on floor 7, so we got in the lift together, you know. And it just instantly felt like, oh, I'm at ease here. I've got someone who knows who I am a little bit, just listen to the podcast, that kind of thing. And I instantly felt like, phew, that was a relief. Like, I didn't have to go through this conference alone. I wasn't going to like clutch on or anything like that, but I ended up doing that anyway. Um, so she basically said, why don't we swap numbers really quickly? And I was thinking about going for food or something like that tonight. And I was like, yeah, do you know what, that would be really, really nice actually. Settle my nerves, get to know the area. Let's do that. So I got up in my hotel room and she texts me 5 minutes later So we went for food and it was really, really nice. It was so weird as well because she had a gluten intolerance, same as me, and she also had allergies, same as me. So it was quite nice that like, because usually when I go for food with people, it's quite embarrassing because I'm like, can you check that there's no legumes in this? Can you check there's no dairy? There's no wheat. It goes on and on and on. And usually I'm quite limited for what I eat. But it was quite nice that we were able to scan the menu and have a laugh about it together. So we ordered our food, ordered our drinks. Can I just say, expensive AF. Um, we got 2 chicken Caesar salads, 1 gin, and 1 coffee, and it was £65. I couldn't believe it. Anyway, digressing, we basically went to the Sky, uh, rooftop bar, and she was talking away and stuff, and we just like really got on like a house on fire. I was sharing business tips, she was sharing her business tips., and we went back to our separate hotel rooms that night and then went to sleep. And the next morning when I got up, I went down for breakfast, I got myself ready, and as I was heading into the room, this girl came running over— shout out to Claudia, hi Claudia— and, um, she basically was like, oh my God, I listened to all your podcasts, um, I've ordered loads of stuff from you before, um, how are you, blah blah blah. So I got talking to her, I got talking to another girl, um, called Karen from Mind Marvels. She was absolutely lovely as well. And, um, Emily as well. Um, Emily does loads of decluttering. I'm going to get her on the podcast in a couple of weeks actually because she's really, really interested. She, she is trained in the KonMari method, like the Marie Kondo method and stuff, and she declutters people's homes. And I think that's really, really powerful for manifesting. But digressing again. So anyway, went into the room and our names, like all 1,000 attendees basically, our names were all on this huge wheel.. And we got to— well, they got to spin the wheel. And it was basically to make sure that when they came back after breaks and stuff like that, you were in your seat. Because if you— if your name was spun, you got to spin the prize wheel. And if you weren't in the room, your name basically got took out and they would re-spin the wheel again for the rest of the people. So anyway, the prizes on this, some of the prizes were amazing. There was a round table with Denise DaPhil Thomas. Which is what I was aiming for. There was— what else was there? There was a £5,000 retreat, um, to their resort and spa and to like mastermind over your business, things like that. As well as that, um, there was also, you know, a bottle of champagne, there was a 3-day intensive retreat, there were— there was so many prizes, but it all went down to like toilet roll right at the very bottom. And I think that there was even like a, um, a hug from the, the person who ran the event, Nick, Nick James. There was even like a hug from him, for example. And I was like, yeah, I am going to win this. So I had my crystals, I had my moldavite with this, I had my citrine, my pyrite, my Libyan desert glass. Honestly, like, I was literally sat there clutching them. And the first person that won won the, um, chance to spin it, and she won the round table with Denise de Phill Thomas. And I was like, oh, that's exactly what I wanted. But I was trying to be like grateful that she had the opportunity to, you know, better her business with Denise and stuff like that. So anyway, the first day was absolutely amazing. I learned loads, um, don't get us wrong. And Denise was on the first day, she was the keynote speaker, and people had met her at lunchtime. And I, I was literally stood 2, like 2 meters away from where she was stood apparently, but I didn't even see her. So I'd spoken to a few people, a few people that had their photos and things like that, and then there was like a break just before Denise came on. And I just remember like I turned around and it was almost like this, like, oh, this angel floating by. She had like this blue, you know, like she's well known for like this blue aqua color. She had this blue aqua like, um, caftan on. She came floating into the room, hair done, makeup done, just absolutely looking glamorous. Like she doesn't look 44 at all., and, um, she was like getting mic'd up and she walked onto the stage while everyone else was out of the room getting tea and coffee. So like an absolute stalker, I basically went over and stood in front of her just while she was like, you know, getting herself ready and things like that, and stood and took a photo, like a selfie of myself, so it looked like she was stood on my shoulder pointing at her. And she literally like put her thumbs up and took a photo. And I was like, oh, hi Denise. I was like, I'm Mart, I'm from Money Boot Camp. And I was like, this is like meeting Beyoncé, this. And she was like, is it? And I was like, yeah. I was like, it's really lovely to meet you. And I said, I'm part of Money Boot Camp. And she was like, yes, I recognize the name. I always thought you were Dutch for some reason. I was like, fucking Dutch? And she was like, yeah, just with the name Mart and you being blonde. She was like, I really, really thought you were Dutch. Never mind. I was like, no, I'm from Newcastle. And she was like, oh, in Australia? I was like, no, UK. Um, yeah, we got shit weather. You get the nice weather. And so we got talking, she let me get a couple of selfies. She was like, oh, let's get them this way because the lighting was better. And then when I turned around, there was literally like— I'd started a craze. There was like 100 people or so like queuing to basically get photos with her. And then eventually everyone had to sit down, and I was like, I'm so lucky that I got to have a photo before everyone else got told to sit back down. There was only about 10 people got the photos with her at that point. So I felt like so, so lucky. So obviously Denise did her presentation, which I'll talk about shortly, but I just wanted to continue talking about why I'm so lucky. So the conference finished that night. Denise had obviously done her talk. We'd, we'd kind of wrapped up. It finished at about quarter to 8. I had 15 minutes to get upstairs to my hotel room, get changed, and then come downstairs. And there was a free bar and there was like a DJ on. There was a free bar, you could just like get unlimited drinks all night. It was on until about 2 o'clock in the morning. So anyway, woke up next morning, it's quite hungover. I say quite hungover, hungover for me. I'd only had about 5 or 6 drinks, but I don't drink, so that's why I was feeling hungover. Got myself in the shower, got myself ready, and I thought, let's go down for breakfast. As I opened my bedroom door, I just saw this figure go straight past the door, and honestly, I kind of looked down because I just thought it was the cleaner. I was like locking my, my, um bedroom door. And as I looked back down the hallway, I started walking, following this woman. And I was like, that's fucking Denise Duffield-Thomas. So I was like, no, it's not. I was like, surely it can't be because she had her hair different and everything. But I was like, I'm sure it is, she's about the same height. And then, you know, when you can just smell someone, I could smell her perfume. Not that this is— this literally makes me out to be a stalker, doesn't it? I really wasn't. So I followed her down the corridor and stalker. Uh, as we got to the lift, she kind of turned around and looked at me and just went, oh, hi. I had Get Rich Lucky Bitch in my hand with a Sharpie, and I just looked at her gobsmacked. I must have looked like a crazed fan, and I just went, hi Denise, can you sign my book please? And she was like, yeah, of course. So we got in the lift together, and obviously the lift, you've got to put key cards in the lift and stuff, and our key card wasn't working. Anyway, this lift took forever. Because it was just not working. I was stuck in the lift with Denise Duffield-Thomas. I was able to tell her my backstory, how I started Canny Crystals, you know, like what she'd helped me with, um, in my business, what I was making when I started, when I was still working in the NHS, what I'm making now, the, the money mindset issues that she'd helped me overcome, the Manifesting Money Masterclass that I launched recently, and all of the things that that's helped me overcome. And now I'm helping others to overcome their limiting beliefs around money. Honestly, it was wild. And as we got out of the lift downstairs, she gave me the biggest cuddle ever. And when I looked at what she'd wrote in my book, she'd wrote, "Hey Mart, you are doing amazing things. Love, Denise." Honestly, like, I was shaking. And I said, "Can we get a quick photo again?" So she went, "Let's go over here where there's better light." So went against the window, took a photo, and then we went into the restaurant and she plonked herself at the table next to us, like, as she was having a breakfast. So we were having breakfast, she was having breakfast, she was going around talking to people. Like, there was a lot of us from Money Boot Camp there. I think there was about 50 or 60 of us from Money Boot Camp, and we were all having photos with her. She was like talking away. And obviously the, the day started at about 9:30, but we were in the restaurant from 8:30, and it got to 9:30 and I was like, you know what, I don't even care about listening to the first speaker in the main room I'm quite like happy to sit here and learn from Denise. So anyway, a couple of the girls that I'd given my phone number to that I'd met like from the main room started texting me. And they text me something along the lines of, "Quick, run." And I was like, "Quick, run? What does that mean?" 2 minutes later, it was just, "Too late, you missed your prize." And I was like, oh my God, my name had been drawn on that bloody wheel. At half 9, and because I was sat having breakfast with Denise, it hadn't obviously come about. So the weird thing that I'd done prior to this, as I was sat in my hotel room that morning, I got myself ready, I got my notepad, and I shared this on Instagram, so you might have seen this on my Instagram story. I started writing, and I'm going to quickly grab it because I want to read out to you what I wrote. Where is it? There it is. So I got my notepad and I wrote on it: Wouldn't it be nice to win a prize in the draw today? Imagine what it would be like to win a prize in the draw today. Wouldn't it be amazing if I won a prize today in the draw? I'm going to win a prize in the draw today. I can't believe my luck, I've won a prize in the draw today. I am over the moon to have won an amazing prize. I am so lucky when it comes to winning things like this. I always win what I want in life. I am so excited to be a winner. I always win. I am a winner. I wrote them down on that bloody notepad in my hotel room that morning. I tapped on it. I felt the feelings, what came up for each question. So I would ask the question, like, say the, the statement to myself, like, wouldn't it be nice to win a prize in the draw today? And I would sit with that feeling for 15, 20 seconds and just feel those feelings with my eyes closed. And I bloody won, didn't I? But obviously, because I wasn't there to claim the prize, I didn't get to spin the bloody wheel. So I was a bit raging at that. So obviously they took my name off the wheel. So I think there was like 10 prizes in total, but out of 10 chances at a— of like 1,000 people's names, I got one of them chances. But obviously, never mind, wasn't meant to be. Later on that day, after I'd said bye to Denise and stuff like that, she was sat out the back like in the VIP lounge watching the rest of the day. So we were just sat down by the front and listening to the other speakers. And it got back after lunch, and Nick spun the wheel, and the first person's name was called. They weren't back after lunch in time, so it went to the second person. They weren't back after lunch in time, so it went to the third person, and then the fourth. And he eventually turned round and went, "Ah, fuck this," he said, "Whoever catches this ball next, I'm gonna chuck this ball in the audience, whoever catches it will get to spin the wheel." Guess who bloody caught that ball? Me. So he went, stand up, what's your name? And I was like, Martin. And he was like, oh, was your name the one that was called in the prize draw this morning? I was like, yes. And he was like, oh well, you've got a second chance here to spin the wheel. What are you after? And I was like, the £5,000 retreat or the 5-year pass or the bottle of bubbly, anything really. So anyway, I spun the wheel and guess what I won? The toilet rolls. So everyone was like laughing at us and stuff like that. It was quite embarrassing, but I sat down and as soon as I sat down he went, oh, it looks like we've got some whose birthday is like this week. And he said, stand up if I call your name. So there was 4 people's names called. And because my birthday, because it was my birthday, he made me stand up and he was like, you again. And anyway, they sang Happy Birthday to us and gave me a little cake, which was cute. It's quite embarrassing when 1,000 people are singing Happy Birthday to you and you just have to stand there, isn't it? But then he said over the microphone, "We can't let Martin go away on his birthday without winning something better than those toilet rolls, can we?" And everyone started cheering. So he let me spin the wheel again. Out of 1,000 people, I got to spin the wheel 3 times. Well, potentially 3 times. I didn't get to spin it at all the first time because I missed me chance. But I got to spin the wheel another time and I won the Magnum of Veuve. A Magnum of champagne. It's getting delivered to me house next week apparently in a bloody huge box. Because I just thought, well, I can't even bring this back on the train, can I? Because like people are going to be looking at us and I've got to go on the tube. But anyway, I won that and I was like, I can't believe that I tapped on this, that I was going to win a prize. I didn't win the prize that I wanted to, but I won something. And I was like, I've done this, I've done this because I am so lucky. And I just think that I manifested that prize because I had my crystals with us, I've been listening to my lucky subliminals You know, I tapped on it. I had affirmed to myself that morning when I woke up and I saw my alarm that I'm so lucky and I win things all the time. I'd really gone into my feelings and felt those feelings deep, deep down inside, and I won. And to be quite honest, I felt like I was winning at life just from even meeting Denise Duffield-Thomas and stuff like that. So anyway, what did I learn from Denise Duffield-Thomas? Because she was quite inspirational. And when she was talking about, you know, making money and things like that, one of the lessons that she taught us was that you don't have to be perfect to make money. A lot of us think that when you want to make money, you have to have, you know, the perfect business or the perfect side hustle, and you have to have all your processes in place. Denise actually taught us that you don't need to be perfect to make money. You can make money in your sleep. You can make money with the crappiest of products, if you were to charge a pound and you had 1,000 sales, you'd still make £1,000. Like, I could go online and offer, you know, mentoring for £1,000 and I would still have to get one sale, but someone would have to be really invested in me to spend £1,000 with me. Do you know what I'm coming from? But she was saying, like, you don't have to be perfect to make money in business. Another thing that she mentioned that struck quite true with me is that we become aligned to the 5 most popular people in our life. So for example, if I was to hang around with, you know, Alan Sugar, Richard Branson, Stephen Bartlett, Sara Davies, Deborah Meaden— shout out if you watch Dragon's Den— um, but if I hung around with like them people, for example, the chance is I would become a millionaire as well. And the reason behind that is because my mindset would shift to become aligned with those people. And because they're making millions of pounds, I would be likely to make millions of pounds as well, because I would pick up on their, you know, their mindset, their mannerisms, their— the challenges that they experience. I would be able to see firsthand how they make that money. And I think by doing that, obviously you align yourself to those people around you. So they were saying, if you hang around with 5 people that are very, very, you know, like down in the dumps, and, you know, like, woe is me, and things will never get better, that kind of attitude, chances are you'll have that attitude in life as well. So that was the second thing I learned off Denise. The third thing that I learned from Denise is to have faith and belief in yourself. So obviously, if you've read like Get Rich Lucky Bitch and Lucky Bitch, the original book, you'll know that Denise emphasizes the importance of self-belief in achieving your goals. She teaches you that the first step towards success is believing that you can do it, because by developing a strong sense of belief belief. You can overcome your doubts and your fears, and you can pursue your dreams with ultimate confidence. And when she spoke about that, and she, she obviously like did a big presentation for an hour, she was quite funny. She was quite like a stand-up comedian. She talked about a lot about like her childhood and growing up and all of the, the kind of limiting beliefs and the, the blocks that were placed on her by her surrounding family. And she'd recently just retired her mom she had turned over $29 million Australian. She had paid $16 million Australian in tax. It's absolutely crazy what she's achieved. And like I say, she's 44. She is retiring next year, she announced. Retiring at 45, do you know what I mean? It's absolutely crazy. The fourth thing that I learned from Denise is to embrace your unique talents. Now Denise encourages everyone basically to embrace their unique talents and their strengths. She believes that everyone has something valuable to to the community, and that by focusing on your strengths, you can achieve success more easily. So for example, um, my, my strengths are really like— I, I opened up a crystal shop. Yeah, the crystal shop, they are product-based, but people are still buying me. Denise always says your face is your fortune. People buy me, people buy into me. No one would buy any of my courses, for example, if there wasn't a face behind them. Yeah, if it was just a generic course, no one would probably buy them. People are buying them because they have trust and faith in me, because I'm embracing my talent of mentoring people and kind of life coaching people, if you will. And I'm able to give people, you know, like real life advice and like pass down everything that I've learned and my expertise. And by offering and focusing on things that I can offer and my strengths, I'm able to pass them on so that you too can achieve success more easily. The fifth thing I learned from Denise is to take action. Okay, so Denise is a massive, um, a massive believer in the law of attraction. She really, really believes in manifestation, um, and she emphasizes the importance of not just manifesting, not just meditating and visualizing, but also the taking action towards your goals. And it's something that I talk about all the time, isn't it? But she teaches that success is not just about having good ideas, but also about being consistent and taking that consistent and focused action towards those ideas. Because by taking action, you can then create momentum and move closer towards your goals. I think, is this the 6th thing that Denise taught me? Is to embrace failure. Because she teaches you that failure is a natural part of the journey towards success. Not everyone will make it first time. Not everyone will make it, you know, like the first time that they want to do something in their life, chances are we will probably fail at things. But failure is a natural part towards success. She encourages everyone to embrace failure as a learning opportunity and to use their failures as a stepping stone towards future success. It's like, I don't even know if I've really spoken about this before, but I had two kind of, I wouldn't say failed businesses before this, I had two side hustles that didn't go anywhere. So I think back in— oh God, what was this, 2016? I started working from home twice a week, and I thought, you know what, on my dinner break, I, I could easily walk my neighbor's dogs alongside JJ and make myself, you know, £20 a day or something. Not much, but I just thought, let's go with it, see how it goes. And then I thought, actually, on weekends I don't really do much on a Saturday and Sunday. I could be walking like the neighbor's dogs. So Johnny made us a leaflet. I called myself the Barkin Brigade. And I basically just served my estate. There was about 600 houses on my estate. I went and I did a little flyer drop. I put it on the estate's Facebook group. And before I knew it, I maybe had 10 customers. I was making about £200 a week, which isn't a great deal, but I was working for the NHS. So it was good pocket money, really. But that £200 a week from walking people's dogs alongside my dog, who I would be walking anyway. It was a no-brainer. Yeah. And when my work started like picking up again in the NHS and I, I got promoted into a new job, I had to kind of let that slide because I didn't have as much free time. And the free time that I did have on weekends, I was spending, you know, with family and things like that. So then in 20— when was this, 2019, 2020, I think was in the first lockdown. I started another company called The Sweet Guy. And that was basically, you know, I bought some pizza boxes, bought lots of pick and mix and stuff like that. People couldn't get to the shops. So I was delivering, you know, sweet treats to people. And I made quite a bit on that. I would probably say I was making £200 to £300 a week. Again, I just set up a little Shopify store. I just did local delivery for £2.50. And every day, I just went out like a pizza delivery driver basically and delivered these sweets all over Newcastle. And I I had quite a big social media following. I had about 2,000 people on Instagram, for example. But again, I think Canny Crystals came along and I just thought, you know what, let's go with this. I'm more passionate about this. I didn't really have any passion to do with sweets. So you can also make something like, I don't know, just something that, like a little idea that pops up in your head. You could make that into a side hustle. And Denise always says, use your past failures as a stepping stone towards future success. So everything I learned from the Barkin Brigade and That Sweet Guy, kind of placed into Connie Crystals. And you know, third time lucky, here we are. And the last thing that I learned from Denise and talking to her is to prioritize self-care. So when I came out of the lift with Denise and I was talking to her about, you know, how, how I got into crystal healing, and it was because my mental health was at rock bottom, my friends had like killed themselves, and I was basically going through a really rough patch with my granddad dying and everything like that, she gave me a massive cuddle and she was like, I'm so proud of you for where you were and where you are now and for noticing those triggers. And she emphasises all the time the importance of self-care in achieving success because it's not an easy road. And she teaches that taking care of yourself, both, you know, physically and mentally, that's essential for achieving long-term success and happiness. And by prioritising self-care, you can reduce stress, you can increase your productivity, and you can achieve your goals with greater ease. And honestly, like, that cuddle that she gave me, it was like— it was almost like I sensed that she's been there as well. She knew what I'd been through, and everything that I was saying, she kind of connected with. And it— she didn't say it, but, you know, like I always say, like, I'm— I feel what other people feel. I'm quite empathetic. And that hug was a bit more than a hug. I knew that. It was almost like she was saying, I know exactly where you're coming and that was really, really nice. So, yeah, so there were the— I think that was 7 probably lessons that I learned from Denise. But overall, I just had such a good time to the point that I got on the train back to King's Cross. I got on the train back to Newcastle. And on the way back, they basically announced that they were doing another conference in November. And I just went and bought tickets straight away, didn't I? So, yeah, I'm going back in November. It won't be Denise Duffield-Thomas. They told us that it will be one of the number one podcasters in the UK, and she's got a podcast all about well-being. And there'll be two other surprise guests as well, because this year they had Joe Wicks as well. Joe Wicks was there, he was lovely, um, the Body Coach, if you know who he is. So I'm, I'm like thinking, oh my God, who is this, the number one podcaster all about well-being? Is this Emma Mumford? Is this Fran, uh, Francesca Amber? But no, it's neither of them. So the only thing that I can think of is that it might be Fearne Cotton, and I'm really, really excited if it is because I'm already going to meet Fearne in June or July, whenever it is, at Happy Place Festival. So I'm really, really excited. I might get to meet Fearne twice this year, so I'm really, really excited. Um, but yeah, what else do I have to mention? Oh, just before I go, this has gone on for a bit longer than expected, but like I say, I didn't have anything scripted. It was literally just me going off cuff. So this week I launched— you might have seen on the Academy, kanyacrystalsacademy.co.uk— a new community project which is called Manifest with Mart. It is a membership program. It is £10 a month, so it's not breaking the bank. You will get access to an app, and this app is basically like Facebook for manifestors. There are only 200 spaces, so it is very, very limited. I think we're at 50 spaces taken already. And I haven't really properly advertised it yet. All I've done is an Instagram post. And so there's 150 spaces remaining. Now, in this kind of this app, it's really fun because every day I can set you challenges. So the first 7 days I've set really, really simple challenges. And it's all based around gratitude. Next week's challenges are going to be all about decluttering, for example. And every month I'm going to go live in there and you can join me live like a Zoom call where I'll actually see your face, you'll actually see my face, and I'm going to do these around the new moon so that we can set intentions and we can manifest our best lives together. So as well as that, there's going to be like EFT sessions, guided meditations. There is a Q&A forum in there so you can pop all any of your question and answers, and I'm going to basically prioritize that over my direct messages because my DMs are just getting a bit out of hand. I'm getting about 300, 400 a day at the minute, and it's really it's really draining us, like, um, responding to like question after question after question after question. And I just thought, how can I offer people something different? So like I said, there's a Q&A forum, there is a chat room function, which is basically like a WhatsApp group chat, and you can, you know, get an instant answer from me. And I'm prioritizing that, like I say. So people have been messaging, and within like an hour I'm messaging them back, um, and it's really fun. Because I don't know if you've seen my Instagram story this week, but two people have manifested like things already just from doing the gratitude challenge. One lady said that she was chucking out some daffodils in her house and she felt gratitude and grateful that she'd had these daffodils in the house. And she said, oh, I hope next time I can get some pink flowers. I would love some pink flowers in the house. I'm really grateful for these flowers that I've already got. And she chucked them out. And when she went into work, her boss basically gave her a bunch of pink flowers. She couldn't believe it. It. Someone else had said that they'd been saving up, um, to get a new MacBook, and basically she felt gratitude for the laptop that she had, what she was already working with. And she said her child's father came home that night and gifted her a MacBook. Like, he said it was an old one or something, I think she'd said. Um, just give it to her. Absolutely crazy. So people's manifestations are flying in, and it's so nice as well because when we're doing the challenges, we're putting like a little photo and a little caption as to what we're grateful for, and other people in the group can then like comment on it, they can like it, people can hype each other up. So if I can see that someone hasn't posted in a day or so, I can click a button and it sends them a little notification to hype them up to, you know, get involved and stuff like that. It is such a fun community and people are loving it so far, and I've had nothing but praise for it. So if you want to be, um, part of this group, go on cannycrystalsacademy.co.uk, click Manifest with Mart Tweedy, join up. Like I said, it's £10 a month, there is no contract. You can cancel your contract whenever you want. There's no contract at all. You can cancel your membership, and if you do cancel your membership, you'll just get the next 30 days. So you could even join up, cancel it straight away, and just get the next 30 days for free, really. And then just see, like, see if it's something that you'd be interested in, and then sign up again if you really wanted to. Um, but yeah, come and join us. It's really, really fun. The only other thing that I've got to mention is that Wellbeing Journals on cannycrystals.co.uk The Wellbeing Journals are now 15% off if you add a subliminal to your basket with it. You can add any subliminal, there are 15 to choose from, anything from raising your wealth and abundance, anything to, you know, raising your self-esteem and your confidence. You can even add in the 8-hour bundle if you really wanted to, which has a few different ones on. It's got 8 different ones on. Anything, if you add any subliminal and the Wellbeing Journal to your basket it'll automatically deduct 15% from your order. So be quick, because you know what it's like with Canny Crystals— this won't be around forever. But in the meantime, I hope that you all have an amazing week. Don't forget to like and subscribe this podcast so you get notifications when new episodes come out. Please leave a review if you haven't done so already. If you have, I see you, I love you. Every week I read them, they're absolutely amazing. Thank you so, so much. And hope that you all have an amazing week. I'll see you all next Friday for another episode of Candy Crystals, the podcast. Thanks very much, guys. Bye! Come and join me in the Manifest with Mart Tweedy community. For just £10 a month, you will get exclusive access to my app, and you'll join all the other beautiful souls in the Canny community, where each day you'll be held accountable to making your dreams and desires come to fruition. You'll also be set daily and weekly challenges. There's a chat room built in so you can talk to people in real time, and you can also pop over any questions that you have in the Q&A forum and I'll answer them for you. It's changing people's lives, and we've already had so many people manifesting things in the first 2 weeks alone. Each new moon, I'll also be going live within the group on a face-to-face video to help you get the most out of the lunar cycles, as well as answer any burning questions that you have. And these live meetups are so powerful, and everyone in the group has had nothing but praise for the safe space that we share. There are very limited spaces for this community, however, just to ensure that I can place my focus on you you and nurture you into the ultimate manifester. So if you'd like a spot, please be quick and reserve your seat now. Head to cannycrystalsacademy.co.uk and choose the Manifest with Mart option where you can get instant access. And what's more, you'll also get access to all of the past recordings and chats too. Join now and start living the life of your dreams.
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