14: The Power of Potential, Connected Souls and Life-Changing Signs with Mooch (Part 1)

Hello, friends, and welcome to Grief Guts and Green Smoothies. I am your host, Melissa Dugalecki, and I am so excited to be here with you all to chat about ways in which we can all get through different adversities, challenges, and loss, and how getting outside of our comfort zone and maybe having a green smoothie or two can help us do so. We will cover different topics, ranging from interviews to recipes, to sharing my own stories of my grief journey and the loss of my daughter, Layden. And I'm honored to be able to share her light in hopes of helping you spread yours. Now, let's dive in. Okay, everybody, I am so excited to introduce you, though I am quite sure most listeners have already been introduced to a very special guest today, Christina Muccio, AKA Mooch. And having her on for this episode is really special. As we're gonna get into further down in our conversation is we're really into kind of numbers and signs, right, Mooch?

Oh, yeah.

Like volume Never on an odd number.

Never. Like, I've almost crashed my car a number of times just trying to get that volume number even.

And so this is episode 14, which is my lucky number. And so I really wanted to have Mooch on for this one. This is going to be the first of probably a three part series with Mooch because she wears so many hats in my world. And I also have to credit her with kind of the foundation of this podcast, because it was in the fall when I talked to her about maybe wanting to do a podcast and did we want to do it for move and do we want to do a YouTube and what was our goals and what did we want to do? And if we didn't do it for move, would it be okay if I did it around kind of the topics of grief and the life coaching work that I do? And she was totally supportive on board. We didn't feel like it was the right fit for MOVE at the time, though. Who knows? Maybe down the road, maybe, maybe. But she was one of the biggest cheerleaders in helping me get this launched. So without further ado, formally introduce you to Mooch. Welcome.

Thanks. Thanks for having me. Sure. You guys are pretty aware of my voice in Melissa's world, so it's great to be a part of this and hopefully shed some light on a few things.

Yeah. Okay. Mooch, always start the podcast with two questions. What does Grief Guts and Green Smoothies mean to you? Like, what comes to your head right away?

Move with Mooch and Mel, basically our lives. It is. It is.

It is.

You Know, it's health, it's power, it's wellness, it's motivation, it's loss, it's fear, it's uncertainty. It's a lot of things. It's a lot of things.

We literally built. Move on. Grief, guts, and green smoothies.

Yep. Super nutritions for all.

Super nutritions for all. Yeah. All right, second question.

Yes.

Your absolute favorite taco, I would have.

To say, if I'm staying in the Boston area, I would make a trip to Watertown to see Stacy over at Ixtapa. I would get a shrimp and mushroom taco, corn tortillas, chips, and guac on the side.

Tons of guac.

I love a good taco. Like, I feel like I could put rocks in a taco with the right seasoning, and I would love it.

Yeah. I think included in our bonding was definitely a love for tacos.

Like a big chip with goodies inside.

And it's like the soft and the crunchy, like a Mexican cannoli. Yeah. Even better. All right. And thanks for making the long commute here.

It took about seven steps, so it was really hard.

Those of you who don't know, we have recently relocated, both of us, from where we were living to one roof, our office, headquarters, Back Bay, which is super exciting, which is unbelievable, because yesterday we really just celebrated the first day of having, like, a concept, like, and a deeper conversation. Like, we talked in April last year, but if anyone had told me a year ago on cinco de Mayo 2018, with or without margaritas, that we would be here.

Yeah.

Like, never. So let that be a reminder. You never know what your life is going to look like in one year. You just never know.

Yeah. Even one week.

So, mooch, let's start with filling anyone in who hasn't heard kind of the story of how we met. And then I'd like to go further into kind of your journey, your story, and from there. So why don't you tell them?

Yeah. It's one of my favorite stories to tell, mainly because it involves a few of my favorite things. Laughter, a little bit of barf, and tequila. So Melissa and I met. Officially met last January. Was it?

January 27th, I think. Yeah.

Melissa's brother, Timmy. Hey, Timmy. You are famous. Always. He had come to my bootcamp class with Melissa for the first time. It's kind of like her delayed birthday.

Present was, you know, my birthday was in August.

Yeah. Well, he pulled through. Okay. Give him that. He had promised Melissa that, you know, he would go work out with her and, you know, spend some time together. So that was Melissa's choice, going to work. It definitely wasn't Timmy's choice, but he did it anyway. Mvp. About seven minutes in, Timmy violently sprinted out of the class to go barf due to a hangover. I am pretty hard, but I think it was more the hangover. And it was kind of like ever since then, we just had bonded on, you know, Laughter almost was, you know, something Melissa said to me after class was, you know, I'm a yoga instructor and I feel so bad that he had left your class. You know, leaving class can be such a distraction. And I was like, don't worry, I get it. Like, your boyfriend's gonna be fine. And she's like, yeah, he's not my boyfriend. He's actually my brother. So it just goes to show, like, you know, I knew nothing about Melissa. I knew nothing about Timmy. I knew nothing about his hangover. And it was like the second we started talking, I felt like I'd known Melissa for years. So kind of bonded on that. It wasn't until April that we had met for coffee. Melissa was thinking about a career change and know was really looking for some advice and some guidance on. She wanted to go, you know, full time instructor or pursue life coaching or maybe a combination of the both or just kind of like really seeing where her avenues were gonna take her. So it wasn't until then Cinco de Mayo. She'd come back to my class. There were about eight girls that decided after class, like, let's go grab some drinks. It was a Saturday, fairly early. Like, it was like 2pm and we were like, yeah, let's go grab drinks. I was like, melissa, you want to go? And I swear it was like, it was like, I don't know, just something. It was so bizarre. It was like it just all fell into place. And it was there for a reason. And I think a lot of where we're at now are all these signs and connections back to kind of our reasons and our whys.

And I think what's really crazy too is that infamous class that Timmy puked in. I had never been to your class before, ever. And I always thought, to me, I think he's like a little guardian angel sometimes, but he laughs at that. But, you know, I just. Too many things like Mooch said, have fallen into place. And so we went out for drinks at Cinco de Mayo.

Yeah.

And I mean, I borrowed somebody's clothes. I was. I only had yoga clothes, Colleen.

I still have your shirt, by the way.

And somehow we had a follow up kind of to that coffee meeting that we'd had because, as you referenced, like, I wanted to sit with you. And when I was looking to change careers, like, anything that I would even coach anyone to is, like, I attached it, attacked it rather like a research project. Like, I wanted to learn from everyone who I had seen do it, and I had seen you do it. Like, I watched your journey. Like, I had looked back and I had kind of, like, seen you grow your presence and the work that you had done and really learn and then kind of take notes. And I think I was, like, I was a ridiculous amount of people I sat with, but I didn't feel this, like, strong, you know. That coffee we had, I thought was gonna be a half hour, and we sat there for, like, a couple of hours.

Yeah.

And so Cinco de Mayo Cam comes. The next thing we know, we're like, do you think we're gonna start a business?

We're literally like CEOs for life. Like, it's just crazy to think, like Melissa said, you know, a few moments ago is if you asked me last year where I would be right now, it would be, like, even into my personal life, completely different. And it just goes to show, like, the power of potential. Like, really seeing an idea and acting on it. So, yeah.

Yeah, it's the best, and it's limitless.

Unless you give it a limit.

Yeah. And one of the things that we bonded so deeply on was that we had both been really impacted in our roles and in the work that we are pursuing from our grief journey. So I didn't instruct yoga or life coach or understand gut health until losing my daughter, Laden. And that really, like, instilled this deep sense in me of ways that I kind of wanted to honor what I learned from her and just kind of my, I guess, interest in those whole areas. And I learned from you that you had had your own grief journey. So would you mind sharing about that?

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So do I start? When I was 9 years old, my dad was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. Really? Excuse my French. I don't know if we swear on.

You're allowed.

Okay, good. I think I've heard a few, but just checking. It is probably. And I know that there are other people out there that would say the same. It's one of the shittiest diseases to witness, to be a part of, to know someone who has it like, it is beyond. I don't know who the hell created this disease, but it's a pretty powerful one. So he was diagnosed when I was 9 and was just this guy of similar to how I was. And to some extent, Salam is, you know, keeping everything in. And when he got sick, he wanted no one to know. He didn't even want to know what Alice was. It was just these three letters that completely turned my family upside down. As he got sicker and sicker, he tried different surgeries, different diets. My parents bought like a friggin cow in New York, upstate New York, to try different diets to then drink its milk. And we would literally have these bags of milk delivered to my house weekly. And it was, it was just wild to watch. And I think as a kid, it was all I knew. That was my norm, that was my, that was my life, right. And it just became, you know, harder and harder as my dad got sicker and sicker and we just kind of bonded as a family and learned how to grow and adapt. But yeah, I think fast forward, my dad was living at home all through high school. My brother had gone off to college, he went to Bentley. So he was so close, but played football. I mean, he was really pursuing a lot, you know, to kind of make my dad proud too. So we all had these like different roles in my house and we all wore a lot of different hats. Shout out to Gina, who is like just a saint, really, really took the whole caregiver hat and wore that shit so proud to the point where it was, you know, she had to be a wife, she had to be a mom, she had to be a caregiver, she was trying to be a daughter, she was trying to be a friend, she was trying to work, she was trying to run my dad's business. And so having her as a role model, not only my dad, but my mom as well, just gave me this whole new perspective of life that I am like forever grateful for. Yeah. So my dad ended up losing his battle the week of my high school graduation. And like I said, it was my norm. Like, people are like, oh, you're so strong, you're so this, you're so that. And I'm like, yo, I am just surviving. Like, this is my life, this is the hand I was dealt, and I'm gonna make it as great as I can. And so I think just having that mindset and really seeing my dad's struggle and my mom's struggle and my brother's struggle and myself go through these waves of like, struggle. No, I'm great. No, I'm just a high school student. Everything's fine. I'm running track, I'm winning races, but everything at home's falling apart. It was just, you know, these, like, masks I had to wear, and I think it really shaped kind of my passion. And like I said, watching my dad almost deteriorate and seeing the body and what it. What it's capable of, because he was. I mean, he played football in college. He was a professional powerlifter. Like, he wasn't a scrawny, sick guy. But as he got sicker and sicker, I realized again, like, that was the card we were dealt. Long story short, I mean, I could go on for hours, but, you know, my interest really honed into anatomy. Like, really understanding the body and understanding why his broke down and why others didn't and how to be stronger and really, really spiraled into this idea of, like, getting into the fitness world. I didn't know what capacity or to what strength that. No pun intended, but to what strength that I had within it. I guess it all falls back to the power of potential and really listening to what you learn and what your norm is and creating something out of that, if that makes sense.

Oh, my gosh, it makes so much sense. And thank you for sharing because it's a lot to open up your heart and it's such strength in the vulnerability of doing that. But one of the things I heard from you was how this passion, this curiosity grew from seeing what your dad lost and how you've taken his battle and made it really a gift for so many other people by helping them believe and access their own strength.

Yeah. And I think another aspect of it for me, as I was in high school, I was a three sport athlete, like, I loved, loved sports, all stemmed, you know, from my dad, from my brother. And to see what I was able to do, not to like, brag or talk about myself, like, I'm not in any way that type of person, but.

But she's America's most inspiring trainer. Shut it down.

Shut down the podcast. Shut down the podcast. This show is canceled. No, but just to see, like, you know, I come back to wearing different masks and both which were so authentic to me, but taking my environment and really applying which mask needed to be on. And I, of course, was struggling at home. I was a caretaker, I was a daughter. I was, you know, trying to be a sister. It was, it was a disaster at home, but then I would get out on the track and it was like anything was possible. And so I think, you know, that mind, body connection has always been something that I've been so Intrigued by, you know, taking circumstances, regardless of what they are, and spinning it into strength. And that has always, always been my strength, I guess.

And a gift.

Yeah.

Because it is. Yeah. No, I understand that. But, you know, you could have held on to your experience in a place of victimization and that would have been understandable. Right. Because you didn't invite that, your dad didn't invite that. And it was traumatic, but instead you've turned it into something that you want to use to make this world better. And I just, I think that was something that probably our energies both jived with right away, which could explain how we went from a year ago, like, oh, here's an idea to like, literally living under the same roof, running a business.

Yeah.

Seems crazy.

I've done a lot of crazy things. Done a lot of crazy things. But I don't know, I just keep having these flashbacks. And it has been ever since we created this business, I've had these flashbacks of like where I was at in life. And one just came to mind was it was the day of my dad's week, it was a Friday, and my team, I had actually qualified in two races to go to New England's and then my four by one relay team to participate in New England's. And that was like, that was a big deal. Like, we had an amazing season. My four by one. And this is all in high school. Like, so funny. Glory days. I peaked way early, guys. But you know, we had broken the school record. We had qualified for meets, we qualified for nationals. We were so excited. And I will never forget, it was before my dad had passed and he was my biggest cheerleader. Like I would go and visit him before every single race because I just felt this like, again, this mind body connection of like, I need to see my dad before every race. Cause that gave me that drive. And it was the day of his week. It also happened to be the day of New England's. And before he passed, he was like, you better never miss a race for me. New England rolls around and I'm like biting my nails because I'm like, holy shit, my dad just died. I know that there's going to be a service. We were waiting to hear on dates and times and when the funeral, you know, all of these things. And it happened to fall right on New England's and I made a promise to my dad that I would compete. And I literally just had this flashback of me, I kid you not, running off the track after my race was done, jumping in my best friend's car. In the back of her car. She had my clothes hanging for the wake. And I'm, like, taking my, like, spandex and my sports bra in the back of her car, putting on, like, all black, and I just. I jump out of our Jeep and we're at the wake. And it's, like, not to say that, you know, wearing different masks and, like, it's not hiding things. It's being authentic in your environment and really learning how to adapt. And I think we coach this every single day with a bunch of women. But the only reason I know how to coach it, and I'm so. Excuse my French, so fucking grateful for it, is because I lived it. And I know you can relate.

No, absolutely. I mean, we always say you can't sustainably give to anybody something that you haven't cultivated in yourself. Which is why, you know, I think self care and not in the sense of we don't. Lord knows, we don't talk about it in the sense of, like, massages.

Good thing this podcast can't see my nails right now. Okay.

It's not self care. Like, oh, we've got to have these fancy white robes and vacations and massages and manicures and pedicures. It's literally like being aware of what you need, accessing it and just really, again, I think that awareness and choosing in a way that's alignment. Yeah. And so, like, ever since we met, it's kind of just talk about momentum, right? It's built a lot. We've had these ideas. We, you know, finish each other's sentences. We've had, like, you always say, we can feel when the other person is hurting even if we're not together. Or we can feel when the other person's energy's down.

It's bizarre, guys.

I know. It's so cool.

It's so cool. No, and it. I don't know what it is. It's just one of these things that we always say. I swear we've met in another life.

Because I have, like, no doubt.

No, like, I was probably a dog, though. I was something cooler than my own health. It's bizarre to think that a lot of our really, really hard times of the year fall in the same time as well. Like Father's Day, Laden May being ALS Awareness Month, being Neck Awareness Month. All of these things that have just aligned so perfectly, not even with our business, not even as friends, but, like, in lives that we've had before we met. Like, it's crazy.

Yeah. No, it is crazy. And it's stuff that I'd always like, kind of read and studied and, like, you know, love that yoga Woo stuff. But it was, like, feeling it and living it was something that was really different. And one of the stories that we haven't really shared, but we've been talking about it. I feel like this might be a good time to share it.

Let's do it.

It. Yeah, let's do it. All right.

But you got to tell it from your perspective, because I think it's funnier.

I'm supposed to interview you, but this is our story.

No, we need it.

Yeah.

Should I put my podcast hat on?

Yeah, go ahead.

All right, Melissa, tell me about the number 54.

All right, so this is going to seem like a very silly story, but when Mooch and I first started working on our idea, so we took. And we're going to do another series that's going to really dive more into how we built our business. And we're going to use the term messy action a lot. Part of what we did was, like, we had to find hours in time. And so when Mooch had to teach classes over the summer down on the Cape, I would go down with her. We literally turned the car into a mobile office. Remember that?

We did so much in that drive.

So much. Drank a lot of matchas.

A lot of it.

Did a lot of classes. That was an aggressive day of classes. Yeah, we'd go to a class. It was Monday night, and we took the class. It was a spin class. And I never, ever, ever at this point, would ride in the front, ever.

Keep in mind, Melissa's first class with me. She rode the entire class with her foot unclipped because she was too scared to ask for help or not even help. It was like, I turned off the lights, and everyone was already moving. And Melissa's like, well, shit, here I go. And she calls me over after class. This is. I'm digressing, but just needs to be said. Calls me up after class. Mooch. I rode with that entire class with one foot unclipped. I was like, get out of my room right now.

No, I didn't want to be a distraction for her, you know, like, obviously, I'm there in the class, like, the big class, but I'm really supporting her and, like, her friend, and I just didn't want it to, like, be a distraction, so. But I really had very to, like, little to zero spin experience at this point. Like, I was struggling, Mooch, and so I would hide out in the back. Well, for this particular class, Gina Mooch's mom, who we referenced, had come down. Forget who she was with, but she was in the front row, and there was a few people there. And Mooch called out, like, hey, anyone want to move up front? Anyone move up front? Like, we need these sidebars. Like, these bikes, you know, we need them taken. And Gina's pointing, sits right in front of her. And I'm like, you know what? For Gina, I'm gonna do it. So I went on the sidebar bike. So I'm right in front of Gina. Otherwise, I never would have been there, ever. And what did you say at the end of class? Do you remember? You said signs. You were talking about signs, looking around you like, oh, yeah, it was looking around.

Like, something about, like, open your eyes and look.

And so at the end of the class, I'm exhausted. I'm looking down. I had this moment. I swear I, like, blacked out. I didn't see anything. And I look up and I see this number 54. That's literally all I could see. It was on a bike, but it was like everything else around me went black. As much as talking about seeing signs and 54 doesn't mean much to me at this moment, I thought to myself, this is going to be something really big, and no one's going to believe me.

I just got goosebumps. Should we end the podcast now?

Tune in next time. Oh, that's not a bad idea. See, that's when you're some business savage.

Give the people what they want.

All right, so we pick up our sushi, our Chinese, whatever it was. Afterwards, we go my fortune cookie. That night I said to myself, if the number 54 ends up in my cookie, like, this is something big. Of course the number 54 ended up on my cookie. I didn't tell much this yet. This is how freaked out I was. And she kept saying, like, what is up? And we were talking about our course, which was launching in a couple weeks. And I was like, I just had this weird feeling what the number of people we're gonna have. Like, I just had this really weird feeling about it. She was like, okay, well, fast forward a couple weeks. That course started at the same time. We decided to really kind of up level and take a huge risk in ourselves. Remember that?

Mm, yeah.

Wanna talk about that for a second?

Yeah. I mean, we could go like the whole.

I know we'll get into it more detail, but yeah, essentially we decided to really invest in our. Ourselves and our business. Yeah, but it's risky when you're Doing that on your own, but I think it's really risky.

And you're doing someone. Yeah. Because you're like, not only are you investing in yourself, but, like, I'm trusting you with not only my money, but my time, my energy, my space. A bit like everything is kind of dumping into this other person's hands as well. So. Yeah, that was really cool.

Yeah.

And at this point, have you told me about 54 yet?

No, I hadn't told you.

How dare you keep this secret for so long?

So we work with our coaches, and we reformatted the program, and we were really like, was this the right investment? I mean, it was more than we had, you know, made at this point, I believe. And, you know, we were really taking that risk in each other. And our next course we're preparing to launch. We weren't even paying attention to numbers.

No, it's even creepier. We really weren't paying attention to numbers. But as Melissa said, we were kind of like. We were scrappy on the back end with our business and all boiling down to, like, messy action, but essentially we had kept a Google Doc of all these women that were deciding to sign up. All these women, like, I mean, we were just, like, writing down names, taking their emails, keeping it in a Google Doc. Come to find out the end of signups, we had 53 people on our list. 53.

And that's when I told you.

That's when you told me. And so I was like, holy shit. Like, 54. Like, does anyone else want to join? Like, this would be really cool. Come to find out, we recounted that Google Doc. We re looked at everyone that we had written down, and we missed one person. So we ended up with 54 people.

Which we didn't figure out until the day it launched.

And again, fast forward a little bit. We still hadn't looked up the number 54 because we were too terrified that it was gonna be something really shitty like abort mission or like you're out of your tree or like, something that was assigned for us. So finally, when do we even look it up?

We were driving and you were like, I don't know if this is a good time to look it up because I'm driving. No, look it up. Look it up, Mel. And so I looked it up. Do you want to read it?

Yeah, I just pulled it up on my phone.

All right. Angel number 54 and its meaning. Angel number 54 is a message from your guardian angels that you are manifesting your life's desires. It's not a Perfect life. But it's a beautiful life because of the blessings that you continue to receive and. And the people who make it colorful. I just let that sit right there.

Just let it happen.

And then we read on. And it says, most of all, angel number 54 is associated with your higher purpose in life, also known as your soul mission in life.

Again, let that. Just let it marinate a little bit, because at this point, we almost crashed the car again.

Literally. Good thing you were driving.

I literally think I screamed for, like, 22 seconds at least.

And, you know, maybe this resonates with you, maybe not. But you gotta understand, since we met literally over my brother puking, had a coffee one time. After that, the next time we spent time together was having some drinks and deciding that some deciding that we were gonna start a business. We literally not even spoken for more than a few hours.

Yeah.

And we just knew. Even though everyone was like, this is kind of crazy, we just knew. We said from the very beginning, like, there's something about our energy and our souls that are just connected and we're meant to do something people.

Yep. So we did.

Yeah. And I think Leighton and Mr. Mooch.

Yeah.

Are, like, giving us signs all the time.

Layden's just cheering, cheersing her little milk bottle. And my dad's butt heavy. Or maybe Layden's drinking butt heavy. Maybe it's the other way around. Yeah.

I always envision your dad just, like, snuggling Layton. I often ask the universe, like, Mr. Mood, can you just give a little hug for me?

Can I tell you something creepy?

Yeah.

I just thought about this. My dad was 50, and Layden was four months.

Oh, my gosh.

All right, well, again, podcast is canceled.

Like, literally gonna cry.

Yep.

Yeah. And we've had so many things like this. I mean, the list goes on and on. But I think what we want to share with you is one that's really special to us. Like, it's really special to us. Like, move. And what we're doing is not just something to fill our days. Like, it literally fills our hearts. Like, it fills our souls. And we have so much meaning behind it. I mean, I didn't start studying yoga, life coaching, or gut health until late in. You had really similar experiences. You wanted to study anatomy and health and coaching and helping people become their strongest.

Yeah.

You know, since we had these same missions from our guardian angels. And now we have move.

Here we are.

And those of you who have no idea what MOVE is, Mooch and I co founded our business MOVE with Mooch. And Mel, we'll put all the details in the show notes, you can check it out. But we support women in gut, health, nutrition, fitness and mindset in 12 week coaching program that we have obviously put our hearts and souls into. I gotta ask you, what do you love the most about move?

That's a little loaded, Melissa. How much time do we have? How much time do we have? I'm in awe of the community. I have always been in love with creating a space that is empowering, that is motivating, inspiring, and we have done just that. And it wasn't us, it was the women that decided to jump in. And I think, you know, aside from the coaching, which I love our content, which I absolutely love, the women that have joined this program were lost, stuck, scared, nervous, strong athletes. I mean, the list goes on. And it's all of these women from different aspects and different backgrounds and different careers and different situations and they just come together to create this force and this energy. And for me personally coming back to like move, filling my soul like that community does that for me. Like I said I could go on, but I think that's probably like my most beloved part about move.

I love that.

Yeah.

And I mean it's, you know, 9 o' clock at night. We've literally been working, you know, 12 hour day.

I left it 4:30. This. No, 4:18.

4:18. I woke up at 4:45. 4:44. Even numbers. Literally my alarm was four for four and text mooch. But she was already gone.

She was like, did you make it out already? Yeah, girl, I'm halfway to Wellesley.

Yeah. But my point is like, it's long days and this again we're gonna get into in series number two.

Yeah.

But when you really love it and when it fills your soul. And the words that we use all the time, Alignment. When you're in alignment with what you're meant to be doing, what you're passionate about, what you're skilled at, like, it just really removes so much of that. Like, what can be such weight, you know?

Yep.

So much weight. Yeah, good one. Yeah, this was a good one. So, a couple more questions before we wrap up. What advice would you give to people who maybe think they see signs or they're curious about it or not even seeing signs, but we hear a lot of people like, oh, that resonates with me. Or I have a gut feeling. What would you kind of, you know, share with them about that?

Not to sound too maybe cliche, I don't know. Trust your gut. Like your gut is A powerful, powerful thing. Whether it's your intuition, your gut, whatever you want to call it, go for it. You have a sign. Look into it. Research. Look it up. Look up a number, Be aware, and then take action.

Totally. Like, when something resonates with you, there's a reason for it. If you, like, feel like you met someone before, like, there's a reason for that. These things aren't just coincidences. There's so much beauty in the connections of our world.

Yep.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We. We both say, like, we don't feel like we see people or even animals. Like, we both just say we see souls.

Like, Bubba is a soul. I've known Bubba.

No, but I feel like. I don't feel like I see age or gender or, like, background or, you know, profession. I just see, like, souls.

Mm.

Yeah. It's an amazing thing, I think, when you can get behind. Because it's all. We all. We're all just souls with these masks on and these titles and whatever it may be. But at our core, we've all got that connection, which is pretty cool.

Yep.

So you've got a big ride coming up. Why don't you tell us a little bit about that to wrap up.

Yeah.

And, you know, it's interesting, as you said, that we have all these, like, overlapping things. The trek, which I couldn't go to last year was because it's the same weekend as Layden's memorial service anniversary.

Oh, yeah.

And I speak at my church.

Yeah.

I'm trying to work around that this year, but just another one of those, like, of all the weekends in the year.

Yeah.

Like, literally the memorial event that you do every year for your dad.

Yeah.

And what I do for Laden. Speak the weekend of her funeral at our church.

Yeah.

It's crazy.

It is, it is.

So tell everyone about that.

Yeah. So every year for the past. What is this? My ninth or my tenth? I can't remember. I do a 280 mile ride for ALS. It is run by ALS TDI. They're an amazing, amazing foundation in Cambridge. If you guys are in the Boston area, if you're listening in from Boston, please go check them out. They are some of the most brilliant scientists, most generous people, most passionate, beautiful souls I've ever met, and they host this ride every year from. It now starts at Boston College and it ends in Greenwich, Connecticut. It's called the Tri State Trek. We go from Boston into Connecticut, we dip into New York, and then we finish right on the Greenwich Sound. It is by far one of my favorite weekends of the year we eat so many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I can't even tell you. I literally come home as a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Not move approved. But I do it anyway. It is, it is. And it's just an incredible weekend. I always, always say, you know, as shitty as the situation is to be associated with als, it is the most amazing community to be succeeded with. So I am just beyond grateful and beyond excited. That's over in June. It always falls the last weekend in June. So heading out to do that pretty shortly here and yeah, just incredible weekend.

So we will put much's information in the show notes and you don't have to look too hard if you're connected to me to find her. Well, make sure you can find her directly on Instagram. She's simuch. She does a ton of work for als. Put the link so that you can support her campaign. Use your energy. If you're interested in contributing to her cause and honoring her dad and helping with that fight, which is obviously such an important one, you can find her running the business of move move with Moochamel.

Do a little. Little of it.

Does a little of it. And then of course teaching all sorts of amazing classes around Boston. We got some good stuff coming up. Round two.

Pretty excited. Yeah. I think we're gonna make like a little series out of this. We just have so much we want to share and yeah, like I said, I'm just grateful to be here and so happy that she had started this podcast to serve so many of you through different journeys of life. Whether it's grief or creating a business or following passion or setting goals, whatever it may be. So I'm honored to be here.

Yeah. And we actually haven't done any starting a business stock. That's going to be for us. Yeah. Part two. Much and I will dive in. This will be in a few weeks. I'll let you know. But we'll dive into it. Absolutely. You get to pick the number.

Okay.

We won't make you guys wait till 54 though. Too long.

Three years later.

But. And how what it's like to build a business and what it's like to make a career change. We both left six figure jobs to make a leap where we had no idea exactly how it was going to work. We both abandoned kind of what we went to and had college degrees or master's degrees, like whatever it may be to really pursue our passion. So we're going to talk all about that. What it was like for us to build a business. Challenges that we face advice that we would give, resources we recommend. It's going to be awesome. We will keep you posted on it.

Thanks, guys. This is awesome. This is an honor to be here. Me and Melissa and I have these conversations all the time, so thank you for letting me share it with you.

Thanks for being behind the start of this podcast. Yeah, let's keep moving.

Follow those signs, guys.

Yeah.

Trust your gut.

All right, thanks, everyone, for tuning in. If you loved this episode, go ahead and leave a little review. Subscribe. Spread the love. We just like a little grassroots effort here to spread a little bit of love and maybe some powerful soul souls and guardian angels into this world.