Trust Your Gut or Lose It All: My Hard Lessons in Business and Life

Huge red flag. She goes, you know, with all of the time and attention and effort I'm putting into building this business with you, I feel like it's only fair that I be credited as the co creator of the Method. The moment she said that, my body went dark. Hey, badass. Welcome to Keeping It Real, the podcast where we ditch the nonsense, say it like it is, and redefine what it means to feel good, your body and your life. I'm Misty Tripoli, creator of the Groove Method, and I'm here to help you move, dance, and live authentically and unapologetically. So if you're ready to break free from the societal expectations, embrace your truth, and find your own unique groove, you are in the right place. So let's keep it real, let's keep it wild, and let's keep it moving. This is episode seven, Moving from the Darkness to the Light. This one is all about my second dark night of the soul. We don't always just go through one, we'll go through multiple dark nights. So I'm traveling the world, gathering tons of contacts, people that are interested in what I'm doing. Like, I know I'm on the right path. And then I go to Canada and present a Canfit pro. And at this conference, there's a girl there that approaches me afterwards and was like, one of those people that was like, what you're doing is amazing. Like, this is the most logical, practical approach to dance I've ever seen. I work for the Canadian government and I help write curriculum. And I would really love to see this concept with kids in the schools. And so I'm going to contact you. Are you okay with that? Absolutely. Whatever. So some time goes by, she contacts me and she's like, I'd like to invite you here to teach groove in some of the schools so we can see it actually live what happens with kids when they groove and not try to learn choreography or try to dance. Like when you actually, you give these philosophies and these truths to the kids and they dance. So I was like, cool, yeah, sure, I'll do it. So I came. And again, I only got paid for my appearances. So I wasn't like making a ton of money. I still had no money. I was still like getting by. Like, just be able to pay my rent, survive. I had to buy an $800 car. I went from a Volvo that was costing me 6, $700 a month to paying cash. $800 for a fucking little Saturn that was like 15 years old. Like, I was living on the bare minimum. But I was making enough to survive, let's say, and thinking about, how am I going to build this business? And so this girl, you know, okay, I'll come. I go to Canada. I don't have money. So what I ended up doing, a lot of places that wanted me to come and present is I would. I would be hosted. I would stay at someone's house to save expenses so I wouldn't have to pay for a hotel, all of that stuff. So I'm staying with her. She's hosting me. I go into the school, I teach it. It's magical. The teachers, everyone's like, what the. This is amazing. Like, we need this program. She knew it. She saw it. She was like, you need a training system. And I was like, I know that's what I'm trying to create is the training system, but I can't. I don't have time. And so she's like, well, that's what I do. I create curriculum. I can do this for you. And so I was like, let me think about it. And I was like, yeah, you know what? I was desperate. I needed someone to help me. So I said, yeah, I needed a business partner. I needed someone that knew business. I was a dancer, fitness instructor. Like, I did management of people, but I didn't know how to start a business. I had Clueless, and she was really smart, and I was like, okay, cool, let's do this. So we started to develop a friendship. And the beginning of that friendship, I took her to Puerto Vallarta for a salsa thing. My friend had a place there. She came and we went with a couple of friends. And just so happened. I'm bringing this up because that is where I met the love of my life. On the final night that we were there, I was out of the beach, I put my ipod on. I was out just fucking getting my groove on by myself. Just flying a public beach, you know, tons of people everywhere. I didn't give a shit. I was just in my zone. And then I went and sat down and he came up to me. We just instantly were like, da. Like, electric. From the moment we met each other. And so that started parallel almost at the same time, I'm developing a friendship with this girl. So for about a year, we're working really well together. I'm filling the trainings. I haven't received any money, which was interesting. She just kept saying, all the money's going towards all the things we have to do in the business to build the website, all this stuff. But I was packing trainings around the world, and then when I would come home from one of my trips, I would instantly book a ticket and go to Mexico to spend time with my sweet love. And so I started to travel throughout Mexico and realizing I didn't really have a life in LA anymore. So that's why people like, you know, was it hard for you to give it up? No, it really wasn't. Because it had ended. Like, that life for me was over, and me traveling the world now was my life. And then meeting someone in Mexico, you know, changed the game completely. So about a year in were like, all these people getting trained, all the people that are grooving now and the community's starting to build, and it's great. And it's like this vision I had is starting to come to fruition. I could have never dreamt it or planned it. It's just. This is how it came about. Two things that happened. Well, one thing that was really important is that my mom is a very wise woman and she's a professional astrologer. And I took her to my mom's house to meet her and do her astrology. And my mom, it was behaving very strangely. And I was like, what's going on with my mom? And after we left, my mom told me, she said, number one, when that girl walked in the room, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end, number one. And number two, her astrology, she's like the blueprint of who she is. What you see is not what you get. I would not trust her. And I was like, but I'm already in business with her. I kind of have to. And she's like, you do what you need to do. I'll support whatever you need to do. I love you, but I'm just telling you what I know, what I saw. What you see is not what you get. And I had kind of sensed this, but I was so desperate. And this was like, also another level of awakening. Like, I started to become very aware, but I still had my blinders, right? Like, and not just that, but my desperation. You know, the red flags that pop up, but you just let them go because you think you can make it work or whatever that might be. Well, yeah, pay attention to fucking red flags and listen to em and honor them. We all know this. We regret it when we don't pay attention to those red flags. So there were red flags, but I was just like, I'm desperate. I'm still traveling full time. I need you to do this. And Now I'm in love. Now I'm ridiculous. Now I'm just lost in love. So every moment I can possibly can, I'm spending it in Mexico with my love. And about a year. So now we're about a year in, and my students and everything all around the world, and my teachers are all like, we want to do a retreat. And I was like, okay, cool. Mexico, right here's a cool spot. So I call my lover and I'm like, listen, we're gonna go check out Tulum. Cause I'm gonna. I think I'm gonna do a retreat in Tulum. So let's go check it out. Cool. So we go down, spend a week in Tulum, Playa del Carmen. And the moment, I mean, number one, Tulum was magical. But then when I went to Playa del Carmen, I was like, this just feels like home. I'd never felt that in my whole life. I just instantly felt like in such a beaut. Like I can't even. I can't even put it into words. But it was just like after traveling the world and being all over the place, this was the first place I actually went to that I was like, oh, the exhale, the home. Like, oh, this place feels good. I don't want to leave. And my boyfriend said the same thing. I don't want to leave either. I was like, well, fuck it. I got to go home and get rid of the rest of my shit and get rid of my apartment and everything there. You find us an apartment. I'm going to go head back. So it took me two weeks. Got rid of everything I owned, basically. I called my friends and family and said, hey, listen, come take anything you want. It's yours. I. And I wanted them to because I had lots of, like, artwork and shit like that and things I'd collect. Buddhas and really beautiful things that I collected from around the world. They had no meaning to me anymore. But it made me feel good that they would be in my friends and my family's homes so I could revisit them. When I come and see them, I can still see my shit, but now it's their shit. So got rid of everything, Let go of my apartment. Everything gone. LA is over. And what was so. Such a fucking slap in my face but so good is this job that I had, you know, I was on. Like, I'm like, they can't replace me. There's no way I'm irreplaceable. Like, they're gonna fall apart when I leave. Like, I know they Are. Because they. How could they function without my skills and my talent? Well, I go just to say hi to everybody, and I walk in and the person, like, they didn't even know who I was. I was like, hi, I'm Misty. I'm. I'd like to see so and so, you know, one of the managers, and she's like, how does he know you? Like, who are you? And I was just like, oh, my God. Do you have any idea, little sister? I ran this bitch for like 15 years. But it was funny because it was like, oh, yes, I am totally irrelevant. Like, life goes on. Nobody cares. These ahas were just happening all over the place. So that was great because I realized nobody missed me. They don't even fucking know I'm gone. That's a reality check. So then took me about two weeks down to literally one suitcase. I took my blender, my knives, and some clothes, and that was it. And I had a closet filled with Nike shit, shoes, bags. Like, they spoiled me rotten. I had so much shit. And I was just like, just come take it off. I don't need any of it. I'm moving to the fucking Caribbean. I'm gonna live in a bikini. And that's what I did. So moving to Mexico was actually quite easy for me. That change was liberating. In fact, I never looked back. The moment I got to Mexico, I was just like, la doesn't even exist. Like that life is over, gone, done. See you later. It's just felt so natural. But I was living a very simple life. Okay, so now let's go back to where the dark night of the soul is going. So this relationship is developing. And what was interesting is at that one year mark, she comes to me and she goes, huge red flag. She goes, you know, with all of the time and attention and effort I'm putting into building this business with you, I feel like it's only fair that I be credited as the co creator of. Of the Method. The moment she said that, my body went dark. Like, this darkness just came over me. My whole body was just like, what? And at that point, I was a people. Like, I was still. Like, I didn't want to rock the boat. Things were going fine. I thought. Didn't realize she was stealing everything out from underneath me all while this is happening. And so I was like, I let my ego. I put my ego aside because I was like, the Method was already developed. Like, I've been doing this for a long time before I met you. Like, the Method is already solid. You didn't create the method, but if you need to be the co creator so that you feel seen and heard and you need to do that to be able to create the business, I will give you that. Which I knew in my guts, I was like, this is so wrong. This is so wrong. But I did it. And there might even be video of me saying it. Like me and the co creator, like just. And every time I said it, I wanted to vomit. And then another year goes by. Now during this year, I'm living in Mexico, madly in love, traveling the world, having so much fun. She's building the business and I'm not sure that if she. But that was our agreement that I would go travel the world and I would fill the trainings and I would generate the income that came in and she would create the structure that it would run through. And we had two different responsibilities. So I was doing that. But I don't know what happened. Something went south and I, you know, I have thoughts about it. I don't know the actual reality because I'm not her. But what ended up happening, and this is where the culmination of the dark night of the soul starts to come about is we're now three years in, possibly another. Like, so time is evolving. I still have not received a dime from the world group movement, but I've been filling trainings for years. And then the people that are going to the trainings are contacting me and going, what she's teaching really isn't what you're like. That's not the experience that you gave us. What she's teaching, she was trying to script it. She's like, people aren't going to get it. You have to tell them what to say. People don't have. They have to be told what to say. And I'm like, but then it's not coming from an authentic. Like there were just all these weird things that I was like, that just doesn't make sense. And she wanted to turn it into a fitness product, like pure fitness, like a pre choreographed, like Les Mills. And she went and she took the Les Mills concept and tried to combine it with mine. I don't know if you know what Les Mills is, but Les Mills is this program all around the world, pre choreographed fitness. They tell you what to say, they tell you what to do, every count. It's all. And it's awesome. They do a really great job at it. But she loved that. So she was trying to do that with my concept. She was kind of evolving it a bit. And the People were getting pissed off because they're like, this isn't what we thought it was. And I was catching wind of this and I was like, oh, shit, I need to address this. Now comes another year around and we're now doing another retreat in Tulum. And she's there, she's behaving weird during the retreat. And then at the end of the retreat, she says to me, she somehow convinced me and manipulated me into signing over the logo into her name for a dollar. And I can't remember everything she said, but I wasn't in the business part of it. She just gave some business thing, like to save us money, we have to like bring it from this company. We have to create a new corporation. We have to do this. But what she was really doing was literally stealing everything piece by piece and putting it into her company. The logo, the name, the method, the copywriting, everything. She was doing this, you know, me completely clueless, just, you know, trusting her implicitly. And so that was the first thing. And that was right after the retreat. And that felt really dark too. But it was just like, okay, this is a business thing. She needs me to do this. Okay. So I literally signed my logo over to her for a dollar. Now I could punch myself in the face for all this. Cause I was like, misty, you are not stupid. But I again just wanted to go with. I wanted to make everything. I didn't want any problems. I just wanted the chip to keep moving forward because I knew that was the vision. But this happened probably about four years in and things are just getting more and more. Just things are just getting weird. And then one day I go to log into the Facebook page and I can't get in. I go to log into the website, I can't get in. And I'm like, what the. So I send her an email and like, what's going on? Is there some issues with the website and stuff? She responds with a cease and desist order from a lawyer that said I could no longer associate my name with the Groove Method. And I about shit myself. Like my whole. Everything just fell. Came crumbling down. I was like, everything's in her name. She owns everything. Like, I was like, how's this possible? And I got so mad. I was just like, you gave me this vision. Like, I was pissed. I was just like, how can someone take from me what's actually mine? Like, I have the journal entries, like it's all here. Like the whole method, the logo, like it's. I created this shit. No one else created this. I Created this shit. Yeah. And things just got real dark. And not just that, but it was like all this money I had been generating tens of thousands of dollars, never received a dime because it was to build the business. And now I'm on my own again and I have nothing. She has all the contacts, all of it. But what was really great is that I still had access to the people that gave me their email addresses so I could contact them, which was awesome because that was the foundation of the actual movement. These first people that came out and started to get trained and stuff, they're still teaching. Like, this is the foundation of the method. And they were the ones that met me that were like, I want to get trained. So it was really easy. I didn't know what to do for several days. I just went into darkness. I was just like, this is fucked up. I don't know what to do. I literally went into shock. Like, I can't even associate my name with my method. How is that? Like, how did this happen? Remembering my mother warned me. And so, yeah, all the red flags start going, yeah, that. Oh, my God. Like, you just. But I was desperate. And desperation will make you do very stupid things and make very bad choices. But of course, all of this ended up being the greatest blessing I could have had with my business. I wouldn't be here today in my dream home if it wasn't for that shit. So this is what I mean. You gotta bless the shit that happens in your life. The stuff that pushes you to the brink, the stuff that gets you into the dark night. Because the light on the other side, that's what's gonna bring you into the next level of who you fucking are. So I'm like, dead. Like, I don't have any energy. I don't even wanna dance anymore. From going to the beach every day and putting my ipod on and dancing. Because now me dancing at the studio. Cause I was traveling the world. The only time I could really dance for myself was in my hotel rooms at night after, I would present. And then on the beach when I came back to Mexico, I would iPod groove every. I call it ipod grooving. Put my ipod on and just go fly on the beach for hours. That stopped. I didn't want to dance. I didn't want to do anything. But I was booked for, like, another global tour. So I had to leave for almost another year. I maybe came back. I literally was gone almost all the time. And then this is where, while I was gone, the next level of the Dark Knight was this man that I loved and adored so much. I just. Like, we adored each other. We just. Oh, my God, I could just eat him with the biscuit. But yes, I was 38 and he was 22. Yeah, we were 16 years difference, which was stupid, but it was so beautiful at the time, and I'm so glad I went through it. But he would keep trying to tell me. He's like, you know, I need you here. You're always gone. He's telling me these things, you know, I love you. I need you here. Like, I want my girlfriend here. It's hard when you're not here. I'd be gone for a month and home for a week and then gone for three weeks. Home for two days. Like, it was just. I was almost never here. So he was trying to tell me, but I didn't want to hear it because I was just like, we love each other too much. All right, fierce ones, that's a wrap for today. Thanks for keeping it real and grooving with me. If you're loving this vibe, be sure to subscribe, share and leave a review so that we can keep this movement alive. Remember, this journey is all about you. You owning your own truth, trusting your instincts, and living boldly. Stay true, stay wild, and most importantly, keep being unapologetically you. So until next time, let's keep it real.