018. How to Feel Worthy to Be Seen and Heard with Julie Ulstrup, Branding Photographer

Welcome. I am marketing expert and business coach Melissa Kellogg Lueck. And this is the Doing Business Like a Woman podcast, where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom one business at a time. Well, hello everybody, and welcome to the podcast. I am so excited for today's episode because I get to talk with you to one of my closest friends and most one of the women I look up to and admire the most in entrepreneurship. And so I am absolutely in love with her. And I know you are going to be as well. And so I present to you Ms. Mrs. Julie Ulstrup of Julie Allstrup Photography. And I'm going to ask her to introduce herself in a little bit, but I just wanted to kind of tell the story of how we met. It sounds like a dating show, but we met in a networking group that we're both part of called Polka Dot Powerhouse, which, by the way, is a nationwide, actually worldwide network of women. So if you're looking for a great group of women, I suggest you check it out. But anyway, we were both founding members of our chapter here in Northern Colorado, and that's how I first came to know Julie. And I was so impressed with her. You see Julie walk into a room and she's just such a presence. And I was like, I have to know this woman. She's fanning herself. But when Julie walks into a room, you can't help but notice her. First of all, just because of her stature, she's a tall woman. And But I was struck by her beauty and her maturity and just her, like, coolness. And she has a very, like, in charge type vibe. Like when she walks into a room, you know, she's in charge. And so in a good way. Like, not, you know, creepy, you know, controlling or whatever.

But.

So I knew that I wanted to connect with her. And that's really what this group, Polka Dot Powerhouse, is all about. And so I set up a time to meet with her and we actually went on a walk, went on a hike together through her beautiful neighborhood and in her area. And she's the kind of person that when you talk to her, you're like, instantly in deep conversation. Like, it's not a lot of surface bs. It's about like, let's really, I want to know you and who you are and see you. And that's what's been so great about knowing her is really she really sees you, she sees people and which obviously is. Is fits right into what she does as a branding photographer. And so she's going to tell us more about that. But that's your introduction, Julie. Wow. Thank you. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Well, after that introduction, yes, I'd be delighted to. So I, I'm Julie Ahlstrup. I bring out the beauty and the brilliance of women in their brand in photographs. Because what I've learned is that. And I didn't even wanna say, I didn't even used to wanna say this, but that women hate to be photographed and in business anymore. It is not just like, oh, nice to have. It is so, so important to have professional images as well as the ones that we take every day and post. You know, I like to correlate it to either going to the dentist. Like you brush your teeth every day and you also go to the dentist several times for a checkup to make sure everything's healthy, to make sure you don't have to worry about anything. And an experience with me as a branding and portrait photographer is nothing like going to the dentist. It's lovely and women feel comfortable and relaxed and it's an experience. And so I create a space for women. So that's about me and my business. I am a former school counselor. I worked at the middle school, high school and university level. So I used to, you know, elevate. I've elevated thousands of students and their parents by, you know, either digging them out of holes, helping them get into college, helping them manage and manifest the school experience. And I decided I really wanted to follow my passion of being a portrait photographer. I've loved it forever. Forever. Like, I got my first. Not even a DSLR because they didn't have them then, but my first single reflect, single lens reflex, I think that's how you say it. When I was 16 and I had a photography teacher who was incredible and so insightful and helped me. And I think of him to this day. He was also a professor at the Art Institute of Chicago. And he really had a huge impact on me. And that might be part of the reason that I was in educator as well for so long. But photography has been a passion of mine forever. And for, you know, 25 to 30 years, I have just loved helping people see in them what they don't see in themselves. So that's kind of the. The merging of that. I'm married to an incredible man. I have two adult children who are loving life and having so much fun. So I'm in a little bit of a different stage than you are, Melissa, with That and it's fun. It just keeps getting better. Just to me, like, with everything in life, like, things continue to get better. So that's a little bit about me.

So one of the things that really struck me when I first met you is just your story of moving from working in education to becoming a professional photographer. Like, that's a big jump for a lot of people that are, especially people that are in like a career like that. That's like, usually people want to retire from a career like that. Like, they want to work until they retire and it's. And going from a real steady, you know, income like that to jumping off the ledge into a being a photographer. So tell us a little bit about that.

It was terrifying because, because of what you said and you know, there was, there's very steady. I had 20 years experience in the K through 12 system. You know, everybody talks about, oh, and you get this great retirement. Oh, I also had a master's degree, by the way. So I had a master's degree in 20 years experience. So it's like you feel, you know, there's the term golden handcuffs. Well, the reality is they're not really golden. They're kind of like cheap. I don't know, something that rusts, it's not that great. And the work was wonderful and satisfying and everything about it, you know, working with and helping, you know, like I said, kids either get through high school, get to college, all of that, it was, it was amazing. And it was very steady and very much inside the box. And you know, there's that Aeneas Nin quote of the time came when something or other the it was staying tight in the bud was more painful than blooming. And that's what it was for me. Photography, like you said, like I said, it's been a passion of mine my entire adult life. And I was like, now's the time to do it. And when I made that jump, yeah, like all the structure was gone. All of the, you know, it had become confining. And so that all went away and it was all on me. And very quickly I found a mentor to work with, a photography mentor. And she is incredible. I still work with her to this day and she is all about.

You.

Know, learning photography as a craft and a skill and continuing to do that, also learning how to build a business, because that is part of it. I mean, there are lots of people who are photographers who, you know, can do a good job and can take good pictures, but to maintain a business around it. And one of the funny things Is Melissa. I don't know if we've ever even talked about this. I always knew that I would love to work as a photographer. However, I didn't know that I'd love the business part of it so much, and I really do love the business part of it and, you know, finding connections between people. And so that's been a really fantastic surprise.

That's awesome. Yeah.

Yeah.

So what kind of belief did you have to have in yourself and your abilities to make that jump, to be like, okay, here I am. I'm gonna, you know, set aside this. This career that has a really great retirement and pension and all those things, or, you know, and be like, okay, I'm gonna go make money taking pictures, like, because you could have just taken pictures or done it as a side gig or whatever. Like, what was that decision like?

Well, it was interesting because I thought that, oh, this will be great, and I'll be able to make money, and this will be good. And there's also this very ingrained mindset. Two ingrained mindsets that I had to overcome. One was the educator mindset of you work your ass off 80 hours a week, and you get paid not very well, not very well at all. And the other mindset is that artists can't earn a living doing. Creating art. And what I do is creating art. I mean, it's very useful that women can use it in their branding and families can have it in their homes and all of those kind of things. You know, women change the way they see themselves. And so there were those two big mindset shifts for me. And so that was challenging. And I was so. And still am, so committed to growth my own growth, the growth of my clients, because that happens. Just. I kind of have a system, and it kind of is who I am as a human being to. To create these experiences. I mentioned it before that it's an experience to have a photograph created with me. It's not. I have a pretty funny story. I have some clients who came in. It was a. I work with a nonprofit, a local nonprofit every year, and I photograph the women. And one of the women wanted to bring her adult daughters and her adult granddaughter, and they were having their makeup and their hair done. And the matron, the matriarch of the family, said, oh, you know, they're having makeup and hair and all this kind of stuff. And she said, I've never had a photograph like this before, Julie. I've never had this experience except at church, where it was wham, bam, thank you, ma'.

Am.

Nobody Wants that. Nobody wants that. So I realized very quickly that there is a need for this and a way to, in addition to creating incredible useful photographs for women to use in their business, also elevating them us because you know, doing business like a woman is a challenge and grow, you know, very growth oriented. So long answer to your question. But yeah, yeah.

So how did you change your mind about not being able to or that artists don't make money and. Or can't make money from their craft or can't make enough money to live on?

Mm, lots of hard work and lots of hard personal growth work with my mentor and also, you know, reading every single, you know, Jen Sincero, you are a badass. Gabby Bernstein. I mean all. Lots of work and lots of self reflection and lots of, you know, really determination of like, I'm going to do this, I love this and I'm going to make it work. And my husband used to say to me, he's like, Julie, it doesn't even matter if you make money. You're working your ass off and you're just doing so well. And I'm like, well, it matters to me. It matters a lot to me. So within my second year, I was making more than I made with 25 years experience and a master's degree. Wow, that's incredible.

Yeah.

So I just, I work really hard and I continue to work really hard to, to make that. To make, to make the life that I want and to also help other women do that for themselves. Because we're all in it together.

Yeah, yeah. So talk more about helping women see themselves. I just love that is kind of your, like the mission that you're on and tell me where that comes from for you and maybe where in your life you weren't seen that you want to help other women to see themselves.

Well, it started, I think there are a lot of ways and times and places that women aren't seen and we don't show up. And especially in photographs and especially when we reach a certain age. You know, I remember when my children were young, like, oh, no, I'm gonna, I mean, I'm the photographer. I'm like, oh, I'll take the pictures. I don't need to be in the pictures. Well, that's, that's ridiculous. I mean, of course I love going back through photographs of my family where I'm in them as well, you know, with them and all of those kind of things. So a lot of it for me was self imposed, like, oh, I'm not going to be in the Picture, you know, like, I felt like my hair didn't look right or my makeup didn't look right or I needed to lose, which is what I hear from women all the time. No, I don't want to be photographed now because there's this fill in the blank. And so, I mean, there's that. There's. And now, as a woman over 50 approaching. I'm 50 plus and fabulous, and I'm approaching 60 and spectacular, there's this culture in the US that we're not seen. And if you look through a magazine, if you look through Vanity Fair or, you know, Conde Nast Traveler, the photographs of women who are 50 and better are usually, like, in a Cialis ad or in a. You know, on an older guy's arm. You know, that. And it's like.

Well, we.

And recently there has been more celebration of women who are older than, you know, 25 or 35 in photographs. And so I feel like it's our responsibility to show up more. So when we show up more in our own lives and in our own photographs and in our own brand, then, you know, we can change the world how the world sees us. That's our responsibility when we change the way we see ourselves. Yeah, so that's my. But I will tell you interestingly, too, I was at the airport recently, and I went to the bar to get a drink, to get, you know, a couple of beers for a friend of mine. And I. We were traveling, and so I went up to the bar, and someone else came up and stood next to me. And the person behind the bar asked the person next to me first. Like you said, I'm not a small, slight person. I don't really wither. And the person next to me said, oh, she was here first. And I was like, wow, you just really didn't see me. And so I believe that each of us can change that in the way we see ourselves and the way we show up.

Yeah. Yeah. And so how do you really coach or lead your clients in that process of learning how to feel comfortable in front of the camera and allowing themselves to be seen, you know, and express themselves? Because you. I mean, the way that you take pictures, you create a lot of comfort and allow your clients to really come out of their shell. And it's not, you know, like a. A stiff, formal headshot. Like, you know, you're really pulling out the humanity from your clients. How do you do that?

Thank you for saying that, and thank you for noticing.

Yeah, well, I.

It begins for me with getting to know them. And again, with my experience as a counselor and creating space where a person can feel comfortable, a woman can feel comfortable, because it starts with a lot of questions on my part, because getting to know somebody that, you know, we've got two years, and the more I learn about my clients and then I reflect back to them. So it sounds like you want to be seen as the. This. It sounds like your brand really is. You want to attract these kind of people. Would you say that's true? And I check with them. You know, would you say that's true? Yes, absolutely. And then sometimes, just even in the course of conversation, I will ask them a question about something and say, oh, so it sounds like your clients really see you as confident and competent. You're right. You know, so it's all of that. And then when I go through, I make a very detailed shot list, and we. I style with them. So I have all of these steps that I help them build up their confidence for their photo shoot so that they know that they're really well cared for, that I've heard them, and that we style their shoot with their clothing. I have space in my studio for a full professional indoor studio, as well as some beautifully landscaped space outside. It's kind of a quintessential Colorado property. You've seen it, Melissa. And so really creating that space that they know, that they've been heard and they know, no, I only want indoor photographs or. No, I love being outside and just having that continuous conversation with them. It really, I think, helps people, you know, because we're all humans, and we all want to be seen and we all want to be heard. It's. It's. It's part of our humanity.

So. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm glad you can see that.

Yeah. And I love that, because I've been thinking about marketing, and I know you obviously work with branding, and I'm thinking about marketing more and more as, like, connection. Like, it's. The purpose of marketing is to allow us to connect with people with other humans, Right?

Absolutely.

So you, as the photographer, are, like, the conduit of that. So you can really create that connection with a photograph between me and my ideal client just by you, like, taking care to pull out that humanity that allows for that connection. You know, I think real formal photographs, it's hard to connect with someone when they don't feel comfortable. I mean, you can always tell. I mean, there's still energy that's, like, present in the photo, right?

Absolutely, there is.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's absolutely true. And I mean, Melissa, you know this, and listeners know this as well, I'm sure. But, you know, it's been hundreds of thousands or millions of years of evolution have helped us connect with other people through our faces, through our eyes, through our expression. And even though, you know, the world has changed, but, you know, when my parents were young, you know, newspapers and magazines and the advent of all of that, we're always evolving in how we connect with people. And, you know, during this time where we've experienced the shutdown and the pandemic and more of an online presence for everyone, it's a. It's a big change, and it's really important to continue to be able to connect with people in those same ways, using our face. Again, thousands. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution and saying, yes, I see who you are. I know who you are. It's evolutionary.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what are your thoughts around, like, the face and connection, you know, with, like you said, it's been hard through digital means, and then also with us having half of our face covered a lot of the time, Right?

Absolutely. Absolutely. I think it's more important than ever. I think, actually there's probably some research on it. You know, people we want to connect with other people. I mean, again, tribes, safety, all of that. Tens of thousands of years of evolution and having being on a computer screen or, you know, being behind a mask, we still want to connect with people. And our faces are the way that we do that. That's how we build trust. That's how we get to know, you know, what is a person saying? What are they thinking? It's just instantaneous. And I think it's more important than ever in this highly evolved digital world that we're living in right now. Absolutely. I mean, even people who are selling products need to have people in them because we connect to people. We all have different times when we're posting things that are a cute picture of our dog or a quote that we like. But people want to know us if they. If they want to work with us.

Yeah. And I really feel like that's become so much more part of that, that attraction to authenticity and, you know, less of that kind of corporate feel. Absolutely. And as women like, we are uniquely qualified and capable of creating connection. We're great connectors just inherently. And so. Yeah, I love that.

Yeah. I. I'm thinking on some of the photographs that I've taken recently and, you know, where women are just even just, you know, like, really willing to laugh and they love those photographs because they don't see themselves laughing so much in a photograph where they also think that they look and feel beautiful. And I think that's the other piece of it that comes across, Melissa, is that feeling beautiful and reminding ourselves that we are with our very unique gifts and talents. Because, I mean, I'm going to fess up. I'm going to own this, Melissa. Because I did it. Right before we got on the call, Melissa pulled up her phone and took up a. And I was like, oh, I didn't put. I said all the things, and I'm.

Like, you know what?

It's okay. It's fine. You know, but so. So. And it's showing up, and it's being willing to have some vulnerability and feel comfortable enough that. That I'm enough. And not even. That I'm just enough, but that I am brilliant and that. And that we all are. That we all have these gifts. And when. I love this quote from Marianne Williamson of when we let our own light shine, we give others permission to do the same. Boom. So even if we're not, you know, feel like we're not just doing it for ourselves, it's for a bigger purpose.

Yeah.

Because all of the people around us see that.

Yeah. Totally. Just gave me chills. And that also made me think, like, how do you put people at ease in front of the camera that maybe feel like they're not, you know, not what we've all been socialized we should be as women, you know, skinny and young and, you know, blemish free skin and long, luscious locks and, you know, all those things. Like, I think we have to learn to really appreciate our own beauty just as we are, no matter what shape or size or age or. How do you deal with that with your clients?

Well, all of those things that you said, and I said it before as well, are concerns that every woman has when they're photographed. I don't like this. I don't like that. And I start the conversation. Actually, my. You know, the. Often the very first thing I ask is like, so tell me, what are your favorite physical features about yourself?

Oh, I love that. Yeah.

So actually. Actually, that's not the first conversation I have with them. Usually that's a conversation I have when we are in the styling room. So while they're having their makeup done and I go through their clothes with them for a final styling, I ask them, you know, what are your favorite physical features? And so we. We highlight those and we talk about those. And another question that I ask women is, I'm like, when we're talking about their clothes that they're going to bring and what they're going to be photographed in. I'm like, tell me, what do you feel fantastic when you wear? Because we all have those things, you know, so it's about creating again that, like, that experience where a woman has the confidence to be who she is and. And to show up exactly who she is as she is and realize that beauty and that brilliance and that power. There's so much power in that to know that, to realize that this is not an unusual thing, but it did happen. Recently, a woman came in for branding photographs, and she decided to do some beauty photographs as well. And when we were going through her images after her session, she cried and she said, I never knew that I could look beautiful. And so the power in that is. Yeah, it's something really, like, my mission is to help every woman see that, to help every woman light up the world with her beauty and her power.

I love that, and I love changing how you change that perspective. To really asking them, like, what do you love about what are your favorite features about yourself? And changing that perspective. Because we all look in the mirror and we're like, oh, you know, my.

Hair'S out of place.

I've got these hairs sticking up my. You know, my eyes are this and my nose is that. And we're so eager to look at our faults.

Yes.

But, you know, really, we do have to practice changing that perspective. I heard a life coach talk about this one time that to, like, pick out a part of your body that you don't like. Like, maybe you have. I have cellulite on my thighs, right. And it's like thinking about the fat thigh and, like, what has that thigh done for me? Or, like, if my tummy is too big. Like, this is the tummy that, you know, carried my babies. You know, this is the thigh that, you know, supports my legs and allows me to stand and, you know, like, just having appreciation for your body, for all of it and just who you.

Are exactly as it is. Yeah, I remember this. When you. When you bring that up, I remember one time when my daughter was in high school and she was a cross country runner, and she asked me about, oh, mom is. You know, it was something.

Some.

I think she was like, do you think I'm fat? Is what she asked me. And I said to her, I said, glenn, does your body do what you want it to do? And she said, yes. And I said, your body's perfect. Then, you know, like, your body takes care of you, you know, and so for us to love it and to appreciate it and to honor it is. I don't know, it's. It's a great thing.

Yeah. And to just decide that it's. It's perfect and 100% lovable and 100% beautiful just as it is.

Absolutely.

Yeah. I, yeah, I could really get on my soapbox about that whole, you know, like the diet culture and all of that, but we won't go there.

Yeah, I. We could. Yeah, we could.

But. But back to entrepreneurship. So how's it been going with your business? How long have you been in business, like full time in photography now?

This is my fifth year. Wow.

Five years. And how's it going?

Going great. It's going great. I work with. I've been photographing a lot of women throughout the pandemic. It's a way that we've been able to be seen and to show up, I think, really for ourselves, powerfully. So it's going very well. It's going very well. Yeah. I'm having fun and the women I photograph are having fun and I do photograph families and I photograph men. But I really, really love photographing women.

Yeah. Yeah. One thing I really have loved about watching you grow your business is that you've done it on your own terms, like where you want to spend more time in California, Southern California, for example. And you love going to the beach and being near the water. And so you've decided, well, I'm just going to go out there and take pictures then and go like spend live a month at the beach and take pictures out there.

I did that and that's interesting. My son also lives out there and I'm a native Californian. I was born in la and I love la. And actually that experience that was just about a year ago really led me to something incredible that couldn't have happened. It was not a hugely. Actually it was not at all profitable, that experience. I had some sessions set up out there, I had done some advertising and everything fell flat for, for that part of my year last year. And so I reached out to, I looked up, you know, networking and women's groups and that kind of thing. And I went to a meeting of a business, a women's business community, because I'm like, I really need to get involved in that community if I want to serve women there and work more there. And what that led to another organization, Melissa, that you and I are part of, that led to me meeting a woman in this community, loving this community, all about business, women Supporting each other, growing our businesses, learning, networking, all of those things. Things. The E. Women Network chapter in Northern Colorado. That has been something that, you know, in my entrepreneurial journey, I. Beyond my wildest dreams, I did not think that that's something that I would do. I've always had a lot of leadership throughout my life. Someone asked me that recently and I'm like, oh, yeah, I kind of have. I have, yes, I absolutely have. So, yeah, kind of that. Thank you for saying that on my own terms because I, you know, I've heard you say this a lot, like just moving towards the joyful things. And that's what I do.

Yeah. And I think it just reminded me also of your TED Talk that you did. Like, that's something that, I don't know. Talk a little bit about that experience.

Oh, my gosh. Well, that was so much fun. And that was in November of 2020. So High Point of the pandemic. The organization that I worked with, my TED Talk is on TEDxCherry Creek Women, and they're all independently organized. And I had such an incredible experience working with this group of people to put together my TED Talk. I went in with one idea and my TED Talk was another. How it came out was another idea, but it was so much fun and so empowering and kind of terrifying at the same time. The truth of the story. Well, of course I'm telling the truth, but when I. There's a part that you write for the submission and then you need to do a little video clip of you speaking. And my video clip was in between photo shoots because I had kind of forgotten that I had to do it. And I pulled my cell phone up in front of me and I did a 45 second reel and sent it off and I was accepted. So.

Wow.

It was pretty cool.

That's very cool.

Yeah, that was great.

Yeah.

Highly recommend it for anybody who has that little spark that is saying, yes, I want to do a TED Talk. Fan the flames of that and make it happen. Yeah.

Where did that come from? When did that desire arise for you?

Oh, I've just loved TED talks. I think it is really part of that being seen and being heard as a woman and feeling like, you know, this is a time in our history that we have this great opportunity to really have an impact and to really make a difference. And I knew I had a message to share and I know I still have a message to share. So, yeah, I think that's. I don't know when it was public speaking. I love public speaking. You Know, I'm one of those. I'm one of those very strange people. Like, I enjoy public speaking, and I love being photographed. So that's, you know, that's a strange combo, for sure.

Yeah. But I think we kind of come to that. Like, I mean, I'm more that way now than I've ever been, but I think it's part of deciding that I have something to say and learning to trust my voice. Like, that's really, you know, the whole purpose of me even starting this podcast is an exercise in learning to trust my voice and to speak my thoughts, you know, And. Yeah, and same with being photographed. It's like deciding I'm worth being seen. And I, you know, I'm okay with, you know, my gray hair and my aging skin and all of that. Like, it's fine.

Yeah, it's awesome. It's awesome. And I agree with you 100%. I mean, you look at those hierarchy of needs and being seen and being heard, it's huge.

So speaking of that one thing that Julie and I. Julie and I collaborated with each other this past year, and actually on that, I think it was on that first walk that we went to or that we. That first hike we had together. I think by the end of it, we're like, wouldn't it be fun if we did a retreat for women?

It was.

And it kind of took off from there. And so last year, we hosted our first women's retreat up in Breckenridge, Colorado, and I got Covid right before we're supposed to come.

Yes, you did.

So I was.

And I think I broke my shoulder a couple weeks ago.

Yeah, and you broke your shoulder. And so we both. I think it was such a great experience of learning about how we allow our circumstances to affect our outcomes. Right. Or our reactions.

Absolutely.

Because stuff happens. It just is going to. And, yeah, you had a broken shoulder, I had Covid, and we decided to carry on anyway, and thank God the women that had signed up were on board and they were ready to roll. And I think. I mean, it would not have happened without you and your determination to.

Or you. I mean, make it go. Zoomed in and we. I was here, locked in my office. Yeah. Yeah.

But. But I think what I learned from that whole experience was just the power of. Of spirit and of presence. And, like, no matter the circumstances and no matter. Even the distance, like, I was sitting here in my office, and you all were at the house in Breckenridge, and we were still. I was still able to be part of the Experience because of the, you know, that spirit really, and energy. It transcends time and space. And so I think that's really what I learned from that whole experience. And, you know, it was just amazing. What, what, what have you learned?

Well, interestingly too, that happened and I had a series last, like I mentioned, I broke my shoulder last year. I was in October, a very minor car accident. And then just this past weekend, I got rear ended again. And this is this car. This is the first car that I've had that is my car that I've chosen. It's like my dream car. And there's part of me that even feels like it sounds silly, but it's like, no, I really like this car. It helps me get through the world safely and beautifully and all this kind of thing. And so I started to similar, Melissa, to when we had that first phone call. When you called and told me that you had Covid. I started to swirl down and I thought, I'm not going to do this. There are bumps, there are bruises. There are things in life that happen and I get to choose. Do I want to choose? Pain is inevitable. Misery is optional. I'm like, I'm not going to be miserable. I'm not going to do that. It was that thing. It was that presence really that you were talking about and that I, you know, I also work with my clients for, to, to help them with their presence during a photo shoot. And I'm like, I'm not, like, I'm not going to let every little ding bother me. I'm just not, I'm not going to swirl down the drain or the toilet or whatever it is I'm going to carry for. I'm going to carry on and have fun and enjoy.

Yeah. I mean, that's the human experience, right? I mean, life is going to be 50 50. Our circumstances are going to be 50% awesome and 50%. Not even our feelings can be 50, 50. And that's okay. Right? It's all part of the human experience. And we get to decide how we want to move within the world and within the circumstances that we're put up against.

Exactly. So that was my, that was a big, big thing for me. Yeah.

And I know when you broke your shoulder, that was a big growth. I mean, obviously pain. Lots of pain.

Yeah, it was pain. And interestingly, you know, I went to pt, I did all of this and I went to my doctor for the final checkup afterwards and he was like, this is amazing. I can't believe what great shape your shoulders in and there was talk, you know, like, oh, you really need to make sure you take care of your shoulder and you need to do your exercises because, you know, at your, at your age, this can happen, etc. Etc. I'm like my age, like, I am not, I am not gonna let anything stop me from because I like to do a lot of things that, you know, my husband and I cross country ski and we scuba, you know, and I'm like, I'm not gonna not do those things. So, yeah, I had a lot of, A lot of reason to continue to, to work, to make it, to be flexible. To be flexible.

Yeah. Nice. As you're moving your arm around.

It looks like I'm moving my arm around. I like to show off with it now. Yeah.

So we do have our retreat coming back this September in the mountains of Colorado.

Yes.

And so more details will be coming out about that. But what else do you have going on? Tell me all the things.

Well, I'm doing actually a special to really celebrate women again. I did this 50 and fabulous project and now I'm doing, starting to another project for Brilliance branding with women, which I'm very excited about. And I'm putting together some more things for collaborative experiences for women. Photo shoots that are collaborative because so many of us as women work with other women. So I have some of those and I have. Oh, I have a new YouTube channel that I'm collaborating with a woman who lives in California. It's called Beauty and the Brand and that we are, it is in the very infant stages. It is, we are moving forwardly, imperfectly, very imperfectly, and creating this YouTube channel, you know, with some of the same things we've talked about here, Melissa, you know, our mindset and our presence and how we can elevate women to live powerful, beautiful lives, whatever that looks like for us. Yeah, we're part of it.

Yeah. Awesome. I love it. Well, we will definitely put in the show notes all the ways to get a hold of you and to follow you and to book photography sessions with you.

Oh, thank you. I also have something free for your listeners.

Oh, yes, yes, please tell.

So it is how to look and feel fabulous in every photograph. You know, I mentioned, you know, you brush your teeth every day and you go to the dentist a couple times a year. So these are some secrets. I'm an award winning portrait photographer. So that's the title of it. How to look and feel fabulous in every photograph so that it can give women the confidence to say, okay, I'm, I'm going to be in the picture. I'm going to show up every single day because we have opportunities to show up every single day. So I have that. And if we'd like to share that in the notes, that would be fantastic. I would be most appreciative.

We'll definitely put that in the show notes as well.

That would be great.

Awesome. Thank you so much. It's been so great to have you here and always such a fun conversation. So I look forward to chatting and seeing you soon.

Thanks, Melissa. I appreciate you and appreciate the listeners as well.

Yay. If you like this podcast and want to take this work deeper, I invite you to coach with me one on one. It all starts with a conversation. Let's get on a call together and I'd love to learn more about you and your business and together we can identify what is standing in the way of creating the business and life you envision. And then we'll create a plan to get you there. So visit my website@melissamkellogg.com and find a spot on my calendar. I look forward to seeing.