Striking a Balance Between Growth and Healing with Angie McPherson

I am so honored to have this guest return to the show. Her name is Angie McPherson. She is an amazing branding photographer and she's just a beautiful soul inside and out. And I wanted to have her back on the show because a few years ago she had a huge life-altering change in her health situation.

I know all of us are living with different chronic illnesses and it seems like often we are given new things to deal with.

And what I wanted to do is have Angie share her experience of getting diagnosed with breast cancer and then also sharing the things that she had to do for self-care and taking care of herself while running a business through her treatment. We get really real and raw in this episode about the real needs that are required in order to run a successful business while prioritizing our own well-being. So I can't wait for you to tune in and cheer on Angie and continue to see how this can help you in your life, in your business, as a chronic illness warrior and entrepreneur.

So stay tuned.

Welcome to Crafted to Thrive, the globally ranked podcast for entrepreneurs living with chronic illness. I'm your host Nikita Williams, and after being diagnosed with multiple chronic illnesses myself, I figured out the surprisingly simple missing links to growing a profitable business without compromising my health. Since then, I've helped dozens of women just like you learn how to do the same. If you're ready to own your story and create a thriving business that aligns with your health and well-being, you're in the right place. Together, we're shifting the narrative of what's possible for entrepreneurs with chronic illness. This is Crafted to Thrive.

I am really excited and like over the moon to have Angie back on the show.

I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

Thank you for coming on. Thank you for saying yes to come and kind of do like, where are we now and where did we come from? Yes. Gonna be so good. So for anyone who doesn't know who Angie McPherson is, let us know who you are, what you do, and where you're from.

Hi, so I'm Angie McPherson. I'm a branding photographer, a marketing strategist, and a hype woman for creative entrepreneurs, and I am based here in Virginia.

Yeah, I was actually just there recently for a summit.

What part?

Where were we? Where were we? We were near the water. Hampton, Hampton Roads.

Oh my gosh, yes, I live in Hampton Roads. I can't believe you didn't tell me. What? I didn't even know.

I thought for some reason I thought you lived like in a, like further away from the water. So, no, so funny.

I'm about, gosh, 15 minutes into 15 minutes to the beach. And it's funny that you say that. So many people, I mean, I don't really talk about where I live all the time, but so many people have misconceptions about where I live. And I'm like, that's so interesting. So many people think I live in North Carolina and I'm like, I don't know where y'all get that from. I'm 2 hours from there, but I don't live there.

That's so funny.

Yeah.

Oh yeah, we were just there actually doing a summit about chronic illness and how to run a business and feel like, you know, how do, how do you deal with the mindset drama that comes up with running a business and living life and overcoming those things while living with chronic illness? And so that's what we were there for. And you've experienced that, you know, when we first, when we first had you on the show This— we were both in different places. We were talking about this, girl.

Yes, yes.

Before the conversation.

Yeah, things, things have changed. I mean, it's— and it just, it's just the rug is just pulled out from under you. That's, that's what gets me, is like, you kind of anticipate there are going to be some life struggles, you know, but when it's just like sudden and unexpected, you just, you don't know which way is up, and you don't know what to do about anything.

And you're—

yeah, and, and put that on top of running a business, just like, what?

Kids? Yeah.

And being a wife and being a daughter, all of those things, all of the things. So yeah, things have definitely changed since our last conversation. Yeah.

So let's kind of like dive into that a little bit. Like, how, how do you feel looking back right now at what has happened over the past several years?

Yeah. Yeah. So I, I started January 2021, like just a beautiful start to the year. I mean, I had booked a ton of branding photography clients. I launched my course that I launch every year. Like I had a beautiful start and I was like, you know, I mean, everybody, when you get to January, you're like, this is my year. This is my breakthrough year. I'm gonna make it happen. I'm gonna hit all these goals. I'm gonna go on all these vacations. But every— I mean, that could just be me, but most people in my circle, they start that— the year that way. And so in January, I felt a lump. I felt a lump in my breast, and I was like, okay, what's that? It can't be what I think it is because, you know, you just don't expect that to happen. Yeah, you think, oh, that's somebody else's path. You don't really think that's gonna happen to you. And so I put it off for a couple weeks, and finally it was just like— it was— it literally started like throbbing, and I'm just like, well, I can't ignore this. So I went to the doctor, you know, got a mammogram. I was only 33 at the time, so I— you know, insurance doesn't even cover mammograms until 40 unless you're like begging because there's something wrong. And so yeah, did a mammogram. They said we We don't see one, we see two masses. And I'm like, oh my gosh, like, what is this? And so did a biopsy. And, you know, they said they'd be in touch within, you know, the next, the next week with the answers. And literally the next morning I was on my computer, I was planning out content for my course. I was planning a vacation that summer, just doing, you know, putzing around. And I got an email from MyChart from my hospital, said, your results are ready. I'm like, I hate my chart. I hate my chart. PTSD. Let me tell you, your results are ready. I'm like, okay, open it up, log in. Big black bold letters. It says invasive ductal carcinoma. And I just, I just, oh God, just saw red. Like, just probably the biggest panic attack I've ever had in my life. I Googled it, which was the bad Not the right decision. And I called my sister. I think I called my sister first, and she's just like, "We're going to get through this." My sister, she was living in New York at the time. She's like, "We're going to get you to the New York hospitals. We're going to get you the best." I just remember calling my mom and just saying, "I have cancer." And she's like, "Girl, no, you don't." She thought I was freaking out before the results came in. She's like, "No, you don't." And I was like, no, literally, literally, I have cancer. And that just completely changed the trajectory of that year. I immediately scheduled surgery, double mastectomy. And I— every little layer of this, I'm like, this is it. I'm done. Like, you know, we'll do surgery, then I'll go back to work. We'll do surgery. Yeah. No, it was like layer upon layer upon layer. They're like, we'll do surgery. You're young. We don't see it anywhere else. We're just going to— do surgery and you'll recover for 6 weeks and you'll get back to your life. Probably do some medicines. So I did the surgery and they said, well, we found cancer in— a little bit of cancer in your lymph node. And as soon as it hits the lymph node, you just don't know. You just don't know because that's how— I'm learning so much about this. That's how it travels throughout your body. And so they said, we highly recommend that you do chemotherapy for 5 months. We recommend that you do radiation for 6 weeks. And so literally from January 2021, my last day of radiation was November. So almost the whole calendar year. Yeah, I was in active treatment while running a business and being a wife and being a mom.

And it's just like you just—

it wasn't in my life bingo card. Like, I just wasn't expecting that. And I'm just like, how do you even— first of all, like, other than, you know, the family stuff, like you know, how do you even show up in life anymore after this? Like, I was so depressed. I would literally smile all day, be happy with my kids, you know, show them I'm, you know, there and encourage mom. As soon as I closed the bedroom door for them to go to sleep, I would just cry. I would just cry until I fell asleep. Like, my poor husband, every single night he just needs me to go from, "Da da da da, good mom," to, "Oh, like, I don't know if I'm gonna make it." Just like It was such a hard season. And like I said, and that's just the personal stuff. So I, I still had to, like, I would— I had just launched my course, so I had to go through my 6 weeks of my course. Midway through, I had my surgery and I'm recovering. I remember doing calls from chemotherapy, like mastermind calls that I was in, like, and it was just a struggle to, to balance it all and still be myself. Because me, I'm fun, I'm joyful, I'm like Enneagram 3, Type A, I'm like in your face. And I was just like on the inside, I was just so like depressed and so sad. And the thing that was getting me through it was the way I know I needed to show up. If I didn't have a business or if I didn't have anything else, like any other responsibilities, I, girl, I don't know what I would've done. I would've been in my room and I would've been in the dark and I wouldn't have talked to anybody, wouldn't have called anybody. But the way that my business was set up, that I had to do these things, it was a perfect distraction. It really was. Like, I was excited to hop on Zoom calls with my courses, you know, my core students and my members. I was excited to photograph branding shoots. I was excited to be forced to do— to show up, to show up in business, to show up in life. And I'm so thankful that I, that I had set myself up in that way. And of course, I gave myself lots of grace. You know, I had to reschedule some things. I had to you know, just really just plan out my year. But, you know, I, I had a fire under my butt to still continue to be successful, um, in life and in my business. And that, that really honestly pulled me through. And of course God too. I mean, I can't— yes, he's everything. Yes, yes, you know. But like, he, you know, he put all this in my path, you know. Like, my, my business and my life is where it is because of him. And so It just— I had to do it. I had to show up in that way. It was hard, but I had to do it.

So when I hear— so first of all, I remember when you posted it on Instagram, and I feel like I had just like— I'm getting goosebumps even thinking about it right now. I'm like, I feel like I have never hugged you in like person. Like, we've only had like this thanks to Jasmine from this, you know, Social Curator. That's how we connected. Like, that's how we even knew each other. And I just remember feeling like two things: she's so young, she's a mom. Well, three things. And oh my gosh, like, that's all I thought. And I was just like, she is so brave to even share this right now because I, I remember, I remember you like literally launching that course and I was like, she's on fire. We were actually, I think we even talked about that course.

Yeah, we were talking about it with my mastermind.

Yes. And I was like, you're like, the ads are working and everything. And I just remember you sharing that and I was just like, oh my goodness.

Yeah, literally rug pulled from beneath me. And yeah, and I do remember sharing that on social media because when I was first diagnosed, I was like, well, how do I even show up? Do I just continue to work as is and just be posting on social media like nothing's going on and then be, you know, going through surgery and all this stuff, or do I just share? Because this is now a big part of my life, especially in this season. It is consuming my life. And so I literally would just click on the hashtag like breast cancer, breast cancer survivor, and see how other people were showing up on social media. And I wasn't looking to connect with anybody. I just wanted to be, one, other people living, like being alive, you know, because of course you think cancer, you think death sentence. And two, I was just like, how are they showing up? And just, just like anytime I would comment on somebody, they would send me like a message and a voice message. Like, I wasn't asking for help. I'm just like, oh my gosh, like, thank you for sharing this, I was just diagnosed. And they were like sending me messages. People were asking for my mailing address. They were sending me books and all this, just random other breast cancer survivors just putting themselves out there and just like really sharing. And I was like, that was so therapeutic. Like the fact that I could message with these people, I can see— like I would literally go through, you know, the highlights on Instagram. Like they would make a highlight and it'd be like chemotherapy, and I would literally tap through and see week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4. Okay, week 6 she lost her hair. Week 8 she was throwing up and asking for, you know, therapeutic medication. Like just, just seeing. And I'm like, yeah, like, I would love to, to do this for somebody else because it really, really helped me. And so I just started sharing whatever I was comfortable with. I shared my surgeries. I shared what it was like to go through chemotherapy, what I took to chemotherapy, the snacks I ate there, and how sweet my nurse was. Like, just really taking a lot of the fear out of everything. Because when you're first diagnosed with anything, it's just fear. It's just like I the fear of the unknown. So I just wanted to share as much as I was comfortable with to let other people know my experience and to see that, yes, it's scary, but you will get through it. You will get through the hard stuff. And so, yeah, just seeing other people do that really motivated me to do the same thing.

I think that's such a powerful thing because, I mean, there's no guilt. I feel like people feel like when new things happen with their health, they feel like they have to share it all. What I really appreciated about your journey is You, you shared what it felt genuinely comfortable, the things you would share. And I think sometimes people feel like, well, I have to show everything and share all of the bad and the good. And I felt like you had a really authentic boundary of sharing. Like, how did you create that for yourself?

You know, I— it's funny because even though you put up boundaries, you'll, you'll still get some people that will like really just cry and give you a lot of criticism. Um, and so, you know, I, I shared what I was comfortable having conversations about because I knew, yes, I can share, but I'm all about that, like, interactive— like, interaction. Like, send me a voice message, send me a DM, send me an email. Like, let's go back and forth. I'm just not on a stage just yelling to a crowd. Like, I love having, like, conversations and building relationships. So I had to think, like, what am I comfortable getting on the phone with somebody about? What am I comfortable going back and forth in an email? And some of it, you know, was— I was really comfortable with it. And some of them, some of those ideas and thoughts, I'm like, you know, I think I'm going to keep that to myself, keep that in my household because I don't want to go back and forth with somebody on it. So those, those are my barriers. Like, what, what am I comfortable with just talking to somebody back and forth about?

Yeah, I think there's something that you said earlier about like you The question I'm curious about is the things that you like in your life personally that you had, like, skills or emotional support that you had before, that I feel like maybe did they come from entrepreneurship and you had to learn how to deal with them, and then that they serve you in this season of like, what the heck is going on with, like, with my— with all of the things? Did those things really help you to like frame how you would show up, if that makes sense? Yeah.

I mean, yeah, for sure. I, I feel like my, my support system 10x'd after I spoke. Like, you know, I have my close circle, I have my family, I have, you know, my, my tight-knit circle, but it was just like, as soon as I shared, like I would literally be on the phone with people in other countries, just talk. They were just talking me through these things. And, and just seeing how they were so helpful, I was just like, I can make this a part of how I show up. Like, you know, I'm always sharing the business stuff, you know, that's, that's my thing, business and marketing. But now that I have this huge part of my life, now I can show up on a more personal side and really help people, you know, really help people deal with not only balancing business and family, but business family. And, you know, now I'm on multiple medications for the next 5 years that, you know, I'm not, I'm not like, oh, I've done everything and, you know, it's all good. Like, no, they're like, you're still young, there's still time for it to come back. There's, you know, you had a high-risk cancer, so let's throw the entire, you know, kitchen sink and everything else at you. And so I, you know, I still deal with a lot of side effects. And so I'm, I'm really people who reach out to me, people will send me DMs like, I found you via a hashtag, I found you. And, you know, I'm on the, I'm on the other end of what I needed in the beginning. And so I'm sending out pieces of things in the mail, I'm sending gift cards to people, I'm sending, you know, welcome packages. And so it's really opened up a part of my life that I really wasn't in, you know, focused in before. Before it was like business, mom life, let's do this. And now I'm just like, how can I help you get through this? How can I help you feel stronger? You know, what questions can I, can I answer? So it's opened up this whole other, other world of support.

Yeah. So to the support piece, you know, it's interesting when that all happened. It's so, it's so funny how like I feel like we're all like connected by strings at times, like community-wise. Like there's people in our world that go through something and then the something is helping someone closer than you think it's helping. And I had a client who was diagnosed with breast cancer. And it was like anything, a shock, because we have been told that cancer doesn't happen to young people. It happens to anyone 40 and above. That's why we only get mammograms then, right? And so it was one of the things that was like, well, I know someone— I knew several people, but you had just gone through the big shock and she found it the same way you did with MyChart. Yeah.

Oh, gosh, MyChart.

Right. And it was, yeah, it was like a beautiful thing because she's like, I was— what you expressed about being able to go and see like, oh, kind of more expectation management of what to expect during things are going. She also felt that way by looking at what you were going through. And she wasn't open to like looking at hashtags. That felt like super overwhelming.

Yeah, it can be.

Yeah. But for her, it was like, I'm so glad you just know these like one or two women that I— and you already kind of know their personality, that they wouldn't— like, I wouldn't feel a certain way. And I think that's the power of story, and I think that's the power of community. I think it's the power of vulnerability, as scary as it can be, you know.

For sure, for sure. And you're right, it is that story, and our stories can change over, you know, the course of time. My story, you know, 2 years ago was very different than what it is now, and we just have to know that we all have a story to tell and share what we're comfortable with, and that that story can really impact somebody else's life. I've had multiple people message me over the past couple of years and say, I finally did a self-check. I saw that you were diagnosed, and I'm the same age as you, and I never thought to do a self-check, and I did it, and I found out I have cancer. And so it's just like, it just blows my mind. I wish I had checked sooner. I wish I had checked. I wish I had went to the doctor as soon as I felt it instead of waiting a couple of weeks because I always live with, if I would have found this earlier, maybe it wouldn't have hit the lymph node and maybe I wouldn't have to do chemo and maybe I wouldn't have this high risk that it comes back. It's just like, I want people— I want a part of my story to tell other to be, to tell other people, like, if you feel something is wrong, like, go to the doctor, like, check yourself out. Like, don't sit here and be prideful. And it's scary, but you've got to do things scared. Like, yeah. And I, you know, I do that every time I do a PET scan or a CT scan. Like, yeah, the active, you know, the cancer, the tumors are out. But gosh, every time I go to get a scan, you might as well have just told me I had cancer. They call it scanxiety. The anxiety is so real because I've been through this before. I've had scans before. When I first was diagnosed, I had these scans and they're like, okay, here's your cancer right in the picture. And so it's like every time that daggone MyChart message comes, they need to fix it. They need to fix it. Before I even open it, you might as well have told me that it's back. And it's just— I don't know if that's ever going to stop. I really try to do a lot of personal work to reduce that anxiety. But I tell you, when that MyChart result comes back, it all goes away. It all goes away. I've had to tell my doctors, You know me, you know how anxious I get. I need you to call me. But even then, Nikita, when they call me, I'm like, why are they calling me? Oh no, this is gonna be horrible. Like, I just always have that anxiety. But you just, you just gotta do it scared. You gotta do it scared because, you know, what, what's gonna happen is what's gonna happen whether you're— whether you ignore it or not.

Exactly.

You've got to do it scared.

I think that lesson of doing it scared. I think the lesson of doing it scared and doing it even when there's no line— like, what is the thing I'm trying to say? There is no perfect circumstance for anything. Like, I always think people are like, they're waiting for like the perfect time to post on social media or the perfect time to start eating better. I'm like, there isn't ever going to be a perfect anything. Like, it just doesn't—

right.

And I think when you are living and going through— once you've gone through something like this, your priorities change, right? Like, the thoughts of things change. How has that changed for you when you look at life, your business, like, your, your everything, like, now that this is a part of where you are now?

For sure, for sure. You're right. I mean, in all aspects of life, it's like, okay, well, I'll start this diet on Monday, or I'll start, you know, working on something new next week, or, you know, I want to do this, but I don't know if I'm ready. And I'm just like, life is short. Life is so short. Like, I, I just— I look at life so differently now. Before, I'd be like, okay, this is in my 5-year plan, this has been my 10-year plan.

Yeah.

And now I'm just like, girl, you don't know if you're gonna be here tomorrow. Like, like, and of course I can't do everything now Even though I'm an Enneagram 3 and I want to do everything now, I know that I can't, but I can make these like baby steps. I can, you know, I can make these needlepoint moves to where I want to be in 5 years or 10 years. I don't have to jump into something brand new, but I'm not going to shy away if there's something in my path that's going to help me get there. Yeah.

So I want to talk about how this is like showing up in your business now. I know, like, living with any kind of chronic illness, it's chronic. And cancer, you know, we don't— people don't think about cancer as being chronic. They think about it like, oh, you get a treatment. It is different, but still the same because there's still this ongoing— like you said, there's still this ongoing thing that you're doing to try to make sure, and there's constant checks and all these things.

Yes.

How are you balancing— I hate using that word because, you know, I hate that. How are you finding, like, flow? Really, how are you finding flow with— okay, there's side effects to these medications, there's energy stuff. I also taking care of these things. I have a business that you love. How are you finding your flow with all of that?

You know, my calendar and my time look very important to me. I probably, like, the number one app on, like, my phone probably used to be Instagram, but now it is my calendar. Like, I have to make sure things are lining up correctly so I know in advance, you know, I, I get a shot in my stomach every 28 days for the next couple years just as part of my ongoing treatment. And so I know how I feel the next 48 hours after that shot, so I know every month on whatever day it is, I need to block out my schedule the next 2 days after that shot because I'm not going to feel up to it, you know. So no branding shoots, no, you know, maybe I could do a Zoom call. And I have to think about like, what can I do, you know, in that time frame? I could probably hop on a Zoom call, but I'm not going to go out and shoot a 3-hour branding shoot the day after I have one of my treatments. And so I— and, and so just like my doctor's appointments, I still have quite a few doctor's appointments, you know, even per week. And so I'm like, how can I make sure that I'm not going to the doctor. I had a horrible grasp on this when I was first diagnosed because I had my whole calendar year set in stone already, and I had to fit in these appointments and surgeries and things like that. And so that first year, it was horrible. I was like going to the doctor, going to a different doctor every single day, coming home, doing a Zoom call, doing a branding shoot. And I'm like, I've got to get this together. I've got to be able to have one day where I'm just not working. I'm going to this doctor at 9 AM, this doctor at 11 AM, meeting a friend for lunch at 12 o'clock, and then this doctor at 2 PM. Like, I can't do every day going to the doctor because I'm never going to be in a flow of running my business. My business is always going to be secondary. But if I tell myself Tuesdays are for appointments, that's what it is. And I know I don't work on Tuesdays, you know, I'm going to work Monday, Wednesday And if I know that, you know, like I said, the 20th day of the month I'm getting a shot in my stomach and I always try to make it on Thursday. So because Friday I like to have a casual Friday, so maybe I'll answer some emails, maybe I'll do, you know, things like that. But I'll usually like try to go to the movies by myself while my kids are at school or meet someone for lunch. And so I'm like, okay, I need to, I need to match up my shot in the stomach days on a Thursday so that I can rest on Friday and relax. And not doing work. And so I'm just very particular about my calendar, which is good and it's bad because if something goes off, I'm like, ah, like this is how it's supposed to be. But that rarely ever happens because I, I'm really good with, with scheduling. But that, that's how I stay in a state of flow with my business. I, I give myself dedicated business hours to show up, to content create, to connect with people. And then some days I need to set for appointments and even just like, not even the physical part of going out to the doctor. Every, you know, certain parts of the day on one day. Like, I know my mindset that day is gonna be weak. Like, yeah, going to the doctor, talking about recurrence rates and percentages and this, this and that. I don't want to be working on business that day. I just want to give myself the time to be like, this sucks, this really sucks. And then the next day I'm back to business and I move on. And so, yeah, I just, I just really, really tell people, like, just be in control of your calendar. Like, prioritize what needs to be prioritized. Give yourself some white space, give yourself some time for self-care, and, you know, just, just do it that way.

Yeah, I think it's so good that you talk about this. It's something that I constantly— like, I'm constantly telling my clients, like, it is not about if you are going to have a doctor's appointment. It's not about if you're gonna feel crappy. It's not about if you're gonna feel like— it is going to happen. So, right, plan for it. Like, it's It is. And don't beat yourself up for having to plan for it because that is life right now. And you can still create what you want and still have kind of— you don't— I hate the thought of like, you don't have to be limited in what you're able to do unless you choose to be limited. And I know that's hard to say sometimes when you're like, good girl. But girl, I have like 10 appointments to go to, and I have— yes, you know, chemo ain't no joke, radiation, you know, joke. These chronic illnesses that come because of those situations, look, those are things that definitely mess with us, but we still can create the business that works for us, for us right now, right? And I think that's the power of what you're saying, is like, yeah, there's gonna be all those things, and I can still choose, right?

Right. And, and is the keyword. It doesn't have to be an or, you know. Can I run a business or do I need to deal with XYZ? Like, you can, you can do both. You can plan to do both. And I just had to learn that the hard way because that first year was rough. It was rough because I, I've always been a stickler for my calendar. That's nothing new. But I had, I had planned out that whole year. I had trips. I had photo shoots scheduled. I had launches for my educational courses, and I'm like, all right, I gotta, I gotta fit this new life into what I'm already doing. And it was, it was really rough. So now I plan way in advance.

Do you, do you find— so that's interesting— do you find that when that happened, you realized how much you didn't plan for you?

Oh, 100%. Yes. 100%. I put everybody else in front of me, my kids, my husband, like I put everybody else in front of me. And that really, that whole year really forced me to put me first and just, you know, put my health first, put my mental health first. Cause man, my mental health was a mess. It was a mess. And so yeah, I. I, I gave myself lots of time for me, even if that time is like getting up at 5 AM before the kids get up and just having quiet time, coffee, you know, reading a devotional, maybe even checking a couple emails. Like, I, I still do that because, man, it's like when you— when these kids gets up, it's all about them. Bless their heart. It's all about them, and it should be because they're kids that they can't do much for themselves, you know. So I'm like, OK, that's fine. I'm going to pick the and. It's not going to be them or me. It's going to be both, all of us. And I'm going to get my time in the morning. And so I hate getting up early. I hate it. But as soon as I'm up, my gosh, it feels so good. Like, I get up and I'm just like, all right. Like, the alarm will go off and I'll be hating life. But as soon as I'm like up and downstairs with a drink, I'm like, man, I get to take on the world. A good 90 minutes if I'm lucky, 90 minutes or 2 hours before these sweet little angels get up and I turn into a whole other person. Oh yeah, you got to give yourself time.

Yeah. And you know, I think that is something, if anything, if you haven't had a life-altering health condition or something, COVID should have taught us all that we need to make more space for us. And, and these businesses that we're growing so that we can truly live the life we really wanted to have when we started. Yeah, you know, I think it's the reality of that. I had Julie Paisley on the show a while ago, and love her, I love her too. And she had a similar experience of being like, I realized I was trying to build a whole empire that rested on my shoulders, and I didn't include myself in it, right?

Right. Like, oh boy.

Yeah, so I think it's really powerful for us to have those conversations because I think social media— like, as much as we love social media, social media puts this glitz and glam on so much we don't see of real life. And we gotta talk, like, we gotta talk about, like, yeah, real life is— you got to be included in this journey, right? You gotta make space for you. Yeah, I like to say you are the space.

Oh, I like that. You are—

you are the space. Everything is gonna fit around you, you know?

Right. And you gotta take up space too. Exactly. Yeah, I love that.

So what are you looking forward to as far as this new season of life?

You know, I, I want to say it, I feel like it's going to be a breakthrough year, and I— it scares me to say that because I tried saying that, and so it literally, like, just that those words coming out of my mouth, I'm like quivering, like, oh, like, Lord, please, please just don't pull the rug out for me. You know, because I, I feel like 2020 was the pandemic and that was a mess, and then 2021 was cancer, and I was also homeschooling my oldest because I wasn't comfortable putting him back into school yet. And then 2022, I'm just like, you know, I was getting my head above water, like, okay, you know, treatment after treatment is done, let me start to adjust to this new medication, let me adjust to you know, getting help with, you know, one kid going to preschool, the other kid going back to school. Like, I'm just adjusting. So 2023, I'm just like, all right, like, I am here. I'm, I'm gonna pull out all the dreams that I had before all this mess. I'm gonna think bigger. I'm gonna get more help in my business. I just hired a VA a couple weeks ago, and so she's been working in my business. I'm like, this is the breakthrough year that I haven't had the past 3 years, and I don't want it to just be like this breakthrough year. I want it to be a conglomeration of the past 3 years that should have been a breakthrough year. Like, I want to 10x everything. And so I'm just really— and Nikita, it just— it's so weird to say it because it's like I get all excited, and then I do have that back of my— the back of my head, like, girl, like, humble yourself just a little bit. Just a little bit.

You know, that's your nervous system, though. That's your nervous system doing the thing that it does to try to protect you from what that has meant in the past. But it also, you know, I like to think about— Angie, I like to think about, because when you get hit with chronic stuff, when you get hit with a health thing, you shift your whole nervous system straight up, shifts into like thinking survival on all of the levels, not just physically, but also like financially, emotionally, like it's just— yes, yes, right. But when you kind of get over those humps, it's hard sometimes for us to like— we have to like retrain that nervous system, be like, you know what, we're not at that pinnacle anymore. And yeah, it's like, okay, we have, you know, we, we, we, you know, this is gonna be a breakthrough year.

Right.

We go, okay, we okay, like, we okay, we okay, right? Uh, so I think the women that I've come to really appreciate and learn from over my years of living with chronic illness, their breakthrough years always included a somatic one, like a healing with their body, the conversation of like the love on the deeper level of how that mind-body connection is there has just been a huge part of that. So I'll be excited to hear how that's part of your journey in this breakthrough here.

Yeah, it's gonna be a breakthrough. It, it really is. And I, you know, I'm just being real. Like, I do have those fears and anxieties in the back of my mind. I'm not even gonna shy away from that. Am I gonna say, oh, it's gonna be great and everything? No, I still worry that something is going to pull the rug out from under me. But I'm more prepared now because I've gone through it. I'm definitely more prepared. And that's, that's all I can do is to work for my own version of success and to, you know, give myself lots of grace and to just pray about it and be faithful that, you know, amazing things are on the horizon and that, you know, I'm taken care of no matter what, no matter what comes my way. So yeah, the best I can do, best I can do.

I love that. So what's one thing— or not one thing, what are three things? You know, I always like the threes. Yeah, me too, me too. Three things that— what are three pieces of advice you would give to someone who, one, is headed into their breakthrough year, or who is headed out or into their overcoming year?

Right. Yeah, yeah. Let me, let me think, and let me also give myself the advice. You know, I would say to get a support system for sure, because you have literally had the weight on your shoulders of, you know, of whatever you've gone through, and it's time to, to pull off the weight wherever you can. You know, that can be in your business by hiring help. That can be with your kids by, you know, getting a babysitter, signing them up for preschool or some type of camp. It could be in your home by taking off things off of your plate, whether that's a spouse or your kids— can they do stuff? Or whether you hire somebody to come in once a month and do a deep clean. I mean, just wherever in your own personal life you feel that weight, where can you get some help? That's one tip of advice that I've really done a good job of the past couple of months. Because I'm the type of person, I want to do everything myself. I hate to say, but I'm kind of a control freak. I just know if I do it, it's going to get done well. It's really hard for me to ask for help. It's hard for me to ask for help because I don't know. That's something I need to work out in therapy.

Because I don't—

I don't like asking people to watch my kids. I don't like, you know, outsourcing some of my business, but I just, you just gotta do it. I can't do everything. You can't do everything. You have to let some stuff go. You know, I had my youngest at home for a long time before I put him in preschool. 'Cause I just had this like, this prideful, oh, I can do it all. I can work during nap time. No girl, no, no. You can try, but you're not gonna hit that version of success that you want by just chasing something the whole time. You have to be more, you know, aggressive and assertive in things. And if that's having a dedicated 4-hour workday, then your kid needs to go somewhere. That's what I had to tell myself. And so number one, definitely getting a support system. Number two, I would say to, you know, just be comfortable with, with sharing. Because a lot of breakthroughs in life and in business can come from, like we said, these conversations and building relationships and pouring into other people. I've made so many friends, you know, in the cancer world, in the survivorship world, by sharing, and they have made such an impact in my life and have probably contributed to a couple of different breakthroughs in my own life. So definitely don't be afraid to share, you know, what you're comfortable with. Third would be just to give yourself grace. Like, don't be hard on yourself. It's tough. This stuff is really tough. And it's completely cracked me open. I cry very easily now for good stuff and bad stuff. Like, I don't say I'm a sensitive person. Like, things don't really bother me. But I can be an emotional person. Like, if somebody says something really nice,— it's not unlike me to cry a little bit and be like, thank you. And before, it wasn't like that. I'm like, oh girl, thanks. I do the best I can. And now I'm like, oh, you saved me. Oh my gosh. And so just give yourself some grace. You're going to have some mindset shifts. You're going to have some behavioral shifts, some emotional shifts. And you can't be hard on yourself. These things are already hard. Already. Like, why add to the hard? Like, just don't be hard on yourself. Yes, all of that.

Yes. Oh yeah, I, I so appreciate you saying— those are like probably the 3 things I would say too. Like, yeah, yeah, it's, it's— and Angie, I will say this about being like on the side, very far side of this journey of watching you and you see you share it. I, I have lived with chronic illness for 14 and a half years, and I have been inspired by you. Oh, and so I am just like, when I think about so many— there's so many people going through so many different things And some people are like, yeah, it's just a business. But when you love a business and you love— like, that's a part of you. Like, it's, it's not like a— again, it's not a this or that. It's like, how can I still bring this joy into my life even when I'm going through like the worst situation ever? And I felt that joy coming from you when you would show up, even though it was like hard. Like, it, it exuded out of you even though it was the hardest time of your, your life in a way. Like, I felt that and other people felt that. And I just thank you for sharing your story because I think it opens the way for so many more people to see and feel heard and feel seen. And not only that, just be like, it's okay to be vulnerable in this place, and it's also okay that if you choose to still work a business it doesn't mean that you are like sacrificing your health.

You're adding—

for some of us, this is the way we get through, right?

Exactly, exactly. Like I said, I, I needed to be active. I needed to communicate with people. I needed to, to go along life as similarly as I could. I didn't want to just shy away. Like, I needed to know your life is not over It's not— you're still going to be able to do what you love, and you have to do that by doing it. You have to be active in doing it. And I'm inspired by you, the way that you show up, the way that you help so many people. I mean, 14 years, like, you've been dealing with chronic illness, and you, you continue to just constantly show up, to constantly help people, to have these conversations. Like, I am very, very inspired by you.

Girl, we ain't gonna be crying on this thing right now.

I just told you I'm emotional.

I can get— okay, okay. So you have something really cool coming up, which is a retreat. Tell us a little bit about that. It's happening in May. Yes.

So I have been wanting to do— so I'm a branding photographer. I've been wanting to get people in person to do a retreat. Like workshop style, retreat style for years. I mean, I literally launched a waitlist for it in March of 2020. I was like, I picked a location, here's the waitlist. I had everything ready. And then like 5 days later, the pandemic hit. I'm like, okay, next year. All right, I'm going to do it. We're back to being comfortable with being in person. Nope, cancer. And so this year I finally put it out there. I've already booked the house. I already have a couple people signed up, and I am just like, I'm ready to get back in person with other business owners, talking business, talking life, staying up late, you know, eating snacks. Like, just really, that is where I find the most growth for me. You know, I've invested in digital products, in courses and memberships and masterminds, and the most growth that I get is when I'm in a small tight-knit community and we are just pouring into each other. And I am excited to facilitate that with my own community.

That's gonna be so awesome. Well, y'all, if you wanna connect with Angie, how can they find you?

Yes, you can go to my website, angiemcpherson.com. And then I'm big on the Instagrams and that is Angie Janine. So Angie and then Janine is spelled J-A-N-I-N-E. That's my middle name.

And we'll have all of that in the show notes. Thank you so much for coming and do this. This has been awesome.

Thank you for having me.

That's a wrap, y'all. Thanks for tuning in to Crafted to Thrive, the podcast that helps entrepreneurs with chronic illness to thrive and build a holistic business and life. Check out our website at craftedtothrive.com for episode show notes and all the gifts and goodies. Connect with me on Instagram @thrivewithnikitawilliams for more tips and behind the scenes and more. Tag me to share what you loved about this episode and I'll feature you on an upcoming episode. So until next time, remember, yes, you are crafted to thrive.