Success Secrets Exposed - How to Elevate Your Life

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Welcome to Success Secrets Exposed with Sally A. Curtis, where we share stories of challenge, success, and inspiration, along with practical tips and strategies to move you forward to your success. And now here is your host, Sally A. Curtis.

Good evening, good morning, and good day to you all. Welcome to another episode of Success Secrets Exposed, where we have great conversations with thought leaders, changemakers, disruptors to bring you tools and strategies to help you grow. For those new to the show, I'm a content repurposing whiz for speakers, authors, coaches, and consultants. and I help them turn their book into 2 years' worth of social media posts. Effectively, my role is to help them turn their existing collateral and content into new profits. Today, we're gonna have a very, very impactful conversation with 2 phenomenal women. We're gonna be talking with Megan and Lacey on how to elevate your life. Now, these 2 women have an incredible story of connection, heartbreak, Reconnection that has helped them overcome trauma and mental illness through practicing a holistic life as well as building a business. We're going to be deep diving into one patch of bananas, 2 women, and a fateful Instagram post. So please help me welcome to the show Megan and Lacey from Elevate Oats.

Hi, how are you guys?

So excited to be sharing the audience, or you with the audience today. You've got a phenomenal story, which I know we're going to deep dive into. So thank you so much for sharing with us and being on the show today. Very, very much appreciated.

Thanks for having us.

Excellent. Now, obviously, there's— we've created quite a bit of curiosity by sort of sharing a little teeny tiny tidbits of your backstory. But I would love it if we could perhaps start with a bit of a deep dive into each of you backstories and then sort of roll on into how you became reconnected through that Instagram post.

I will start first. So

I joined the Army when I was 17, and it just kind of turned into that being my life. I was doing air traffic control. I got out, did that in the DOD and the FAA. Then life kind of continued on. Lacey and I met in Iraq, um, but you know, when you're, you're kind of just getting new jobs and moving along, and then I ended up in Alaska and, uh, with a whole different plan and purpose.

Yeah. And Lacey?

Um, I joined the Army at 19. I tried college a little bit first, but that was not for me, and so I kind of I quit that and joined the Army to get out of Indiana as fast as I could. It was just a little tiny town and I had bigger ideas than that. So I joined the Army to escape and there's not a lot of females. So when we met in Iraq, I think we clicked. You know, I didn't expect us to start a business many, many years later, but it happened.

And I can only imagine, you know, being an air traffic controller, Megan, that that in itself sounds incredibly stressful, let alone being a pilot. Part of the Army at such a young age and a woman, and also stationed in Iraq as well. So what was that sort of Army life like for both of you as women at such a young age as well, regardless of the escapism? Because I can relate to that as well.

I think it— well, it was a big challenge. You are limited on how many other women there are, and it's almost like you're Pinned against each other. It's very interesting now, like, how things have changed. How things have changed. But yeah, it was definitely a challenge. Lacey, go ahead.

I actually had people who were in charge of me tell me that, like, female soldiers, so people who were under me, were talking about me negatively. Like, they would go out of their way to try to pit us against each other. And there was one time I remember when Megan and I were deployed together, someone came up to me and was like, oh, Megan said this about you. And I was like, really? That doesn't sound like her. So I approached her. And you have to be able to communicate, otherwise you'll believe it.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's— you've hit the nail on the head, you know, having that, that open, honest conversation that clearly you guys have had probably from the very, very beginning, and that, that trust in each other to be able to know in your heart of hearts who each other was in that moment while you were doing that. Because as you said, when you're— there's limited women, and if you're in an environment where the pot's stirred and you're sort of pitted against each other, you've got to really have a level of trust in yourself, but also the key people around you.

Definitely, definitely.

Now, you've just also dropped a little nugget in as we were talking before we came on the show, That even though years later, and we'll get into that, you actually do have a business together, and I want to hear some of that backstory. But you actually, which was an assumption of mine, as I just mentioned, I always assumed from the conversation and the fantastic stories on your website that you actually were in the same location in business together. But also when you've actually introduced yourself, you're actually not. So can you walk us through a little bit of that? I'm not. don't mind whether you start with, you know, how you actually came to work together and then sort of sharing some of that backstory that you actually aren't in the same township, because I think that's, um, in itself is actually intriguing, uh, for women that, you know, there's so many, so many elements. Uh, we've got, you know, how did you come together, how did you build a business together, and more importantly, how have you built a business when you're not actually in the same location together? So who wants to deep dive into the banana story and the, um, the Instagram story I'll let

her go

with the bananas. I'll start with the bananas. Yes. Um, I was living in Hawaii on the Big Island with my second husband, um, over an acre of land. There was a huge banana patch. Granola was the only healthy thing that I can make with those bananas. Um, so when things— my, my second husband had a psychotic break and I had to leave. I just kind of left everything, ended up in Alaska in my dad's basement. with this recipe. And Lacey and I had connected maybe 2 months before that. And I was asking her about a logo for a different business idea. And then I'm like, hey, I have this new business idea. I need a logo. It's called Elevated Oats. And so she was like, well, what happened with the other one? And then we came back into like, this is what happened in my life. Um, I couldn't really make sense of it because I didn't know anything about mental illness. And she was that person that I could talk to. And then that personal support system turned into this business partner, right? It just turned into like my business was my life and she was such a big part of my life. And then it just kind of all merged together.

Yeah. Beautiful. Yeah.

And as far as the Instagram post, um, it's so interesting because she had asked me for the label or the logo already. But when did you get the, um, the license again for Elevated Notes?

It was like 2 weeks after I landed, so it had to— August 2nd, August 2nd.

And so the Instagram post happened on August 19th, and so it was really, really fast. I was in school for graphic design And that's why she had reached out to me. And so she had posted, you know, like 4 different flavors of this, you know, she had come up with 4 different flavors now and they were in these naked bags. And I was like, hey, are you interested in labels? And she totally was. And so now we've changed packaging, I think like 4, 4 times total. Yeah. But that's how we connected. And for me it was, I was also going through a dark time. Um, my husband had recently— my husband and I had recently been going through a custody battle with his children, and it was pretty nasty. And, uh, I, I realized that some of the things that his ex-wife was doing, my mom had done. And so it was kind of triggering me a little bit. And so I was more familiar with the mental health thing. So I think Being able to like provide that space for Megan also showed me that like people can help even when you're hurting. And so it also lifted me up and gave me a reason to keep fighting.

Yeah, brilliant. Thank you. And I think that's the, um, that's the specialness when you find initially the one person that you really connect with or the small key people in your community where on each other's darkest days, you're able to be there for each other and actually shine the light regardless of what that support is. And that support, as you would have experienced, can be any form of light because you never know, A, what people's assumptions are based on what they're seeing, e.g., with me with the photo, assuming that you both were in the same location. And also the same, you don't know what going on in other people's lives, even if you're trying to put their shoes on, you're still not overly familiar with it, but you can certainly shine the light just by simply being there. And on your website, you talk a lot about being advocates for mental health, but also about community, community, community, which has obviously started with the connection or the reconnection that you guys have actually rekindled and found over the Instagram post that was, you know, yes, I do want some labeling. You know, 4 reiterations later, you've got a few variations. So talk us through how, I suppose, going through different versions of your own mental health experiences, both externally and internally, because everyone will relate to being triggered by other people's circumstances. I think that's, you know, one of the greatest things about being human. It's, you know, we think we've overcome stuff or worked on stuff, and here we go again. It comes up again. So share with us how that philosophy of how you guys were connected has really helped you be a support and advocate for mental health and help really build that community of people helping people.

I think really I remember the first time I visited Megan in Alaska. It was the first time we'd seen each other in 8 or 9 years in person. And we'd already been working together for like a year, I think.

Yeah.

And, um, I remember being in her apartment and she sort of like was, was commenting about something and I'm like, it's okay, I have messed up parents too. Like, that's why we have each other. And I think it— us connecting really made us both realize like, hey, it doesn't even matter how good your childhood was or how bad it was. At the end of the day, Um, we all kind of had some sort of trauma as a kid that we didn't understand because we were kids. And so that's the message we want to spread is like, you can overcome that. Like, just because this happened to you as a kid, um, you can do these things with your mind, body, and soul. Megan was all about the food. I'm gonna let her go now.

I— when we came together too, like, I was doing a lot of things that I thought thought were like the right things that were, you know, getting me to that place. Um, but my family didn't talk about mental health at all, mental wellness at all. We didn't grow up talking about our feelings or emotions, which I'm sure many people can relate to.

Mm-hmm.

And so my— I mean, even though there was like childhood trauma, like we have like crazy trauma as adults too. And it's like holding onto that, like, Just certain books that you read and talking about it. Um, having Lacey, both of us are very open-minded, and so like when we do hear things, it's, you know, there's compassion in bringing awareness. Um, and it's a practice, like especially when you kind of grew up— oh, there's a moose right out my window. Um, especially when you, you grew up like Not feeling like it's okay to express your needs or to say those things that are bothering you, you know? Like, we still have physical reactions that we deal with and talk about, um, but now we're just like becoming more aware and trusting that it's not like I'm just gonna leave, I'm just gonna leave you or something. Mm-hmm. Uh, there's a lot of practice involved, and so I think spreading that message like that you can live this elevated life, but it comes from connection and food, like really what you're consuming. Um, your diet, that's your food, you know. So what are you consuming all the time and how can we be better just every day?

Yeah,

right,

absolutely. Sorry, Lacey, did you want to add to that?

Yeah, just when she said, you know, your diet is not what you can— or not just what you eat, it's You know, just the people that you're around. So, um, it's the people that you're around, what you're listening to, what you're watching, what social media that you're on. The news for me was a big thing. I actually like told my husband and my whole family like, stop watching and reading the news because it was making us feel anxious all the time. Like it was, it is our problem, but it's not, we don't need to be in it all the time.

Yeah. So very true. And I'd love to talk more, um, about the, um, you always talk about, um, the nutrition side of it. And it was funny when I was rereading elements on your website, my parents would, if they were still alive, would be in their late 90s now. So they'd both been through a war. My mum had— was where my repurposing comes from. She wasn't a repurposer, but she was an incredibly resourceful woman. And some of the remade food that she did, you know, for the next day where she repurposed food or used leftovers creatively were you know, both good and bad, but we won't go into those stories. But I noticed for myself, when I've had darker periods or I've been financially strapped, I would go into eating whatever was going to fill me up and fill my body up, not fuel my body, fill my body up with the wrong things. And I can now look back at that, having done that a couple of times in my life, where filling your body up just for the sake of filling it up and having real— no real enjoyment with it because you're just trying to fill your body up. And actually almost putting— and I would believe now that it actually was the wrong fuel in my body, uh, to make me feel elevated, actually made me feel less— is in itself an interesting concept, um, that I'd love to explore. Because I know you talk about, um, you know, having, having the right people around you, having the right nutrition. And you've got a phrase that you talk about, you know, eating the rainbow. So I'd love to explore that food, the relationship that you guys have with the connection of each other, but also how food actually helps to support that mental wellbeing and mental wellness as well.

I would love, Lacey, for you to talk about that blog that you just wrote, because it's so fitting to this. Because the main thing is changing that relationship, changing that relationship with food so that you can come to it with a different viewpoint.

Yeah, beautiful.

Yes. Um, well, when Megan and I reconnected, I was— I was— my primary source of food was Pepsi. Like, that was all I was consuming, and she was really worried about me and I didn't care, to be honest, until I started traveling back and forth and I was actually starting to get like, uh, problems with my legs and swelling. And then she was really adamant about, hey, you know, what you're putting in your body is, is not good. Um, and so I, I quit, I quit soda. But that all started because I, when I was young, I was a really picky eater and You know, I come from the generation where our parents were like, you're gonna eat everything on your plate. Like, don't, don't waste anything. But then they would, they would make the plate for you. Yes. Or my mom would say, eat it or starve, but like wouldn't accommodate any, you know, 4 kids, but wouldn't accommodate anything for me. So for me, it was a really— eating was really stressful. And I was not, I don't, I hadn't eaten to fuel my body. It was just a thing I had to do. Um, and I craved sugar a lot. So now that I understand, I've literally looked at food like McDonald's and been like, this is not real food. This is not even something that comes from nature. Um, now that I understand that the food that you put into your body literally helps fuel your brain, and that is like, that controls your thoughts, that controls everything else in your body, all the chemicals. that you have to start with, you have to start with what you're putting in your body.

Yeah. And isn't that so easy? And I sit here going, yes, and I get that. Um, and we do that, but we've got our default patterns where we go, oh crap, I'll just eat, you know, boring old— in my case it was actually, in my case and my son's case, it's peanut butter on toast and biscuits. And then wonder why we'd have the, you know, the mood swings of the, yes, I feel all right. And then I crash and burn. Um, and just putting the wrong the wrong consistent fuel in that's not the right thing and how that actually really, for me, I really noticed the, you know, A, the mood swings, but also the dips in, I was gonna say it was feeling depressed because I haven't had the right food to fuel, in this case, the right chemicals to actually, you know, actually feel good. So yeah, Megan, I can see you're nodding away there. You've got something to add, so please do.

I think that for, well, for me, like when I was working in the government, everybody around me would eat, and I did too, like ate fast food. Um, and when I kind of changed and started appreciating and looking at food differently and eating and changing my taste buds, I would be like, hey, let's have, um, vegetable curry. I'm gonna bring in vegetable curry. It's vegan. And I only worked with men. So it was very entertaining, but I was always trying to like Get people to eat more vegetables because vegetables are very important. So relating to the eating the rainbow, um, really the most basic way that I like to eat for myself is if I eat all the colors of the rainbow, I know that I'm getting all the nutrients that I need. If I'm just having a plate with like mashed potatoes and chicken or Or something, it's like all one color. I like a salad that has like all these different veggies going on and it just makes me so much happier to be eating all of that color and think about it in that sense. Not even, it's like not really restrictive. Um,

except for not Skittles. Don't eat the rainbow Skittles. Like,

no, that's not the rainbow we're talking about.

We're talking real food here.

And I think you've actually tipped on something there for me because I'm actually quite visual, very visual. So if you think of even the color and the way in which the colors uplift your spirits versus the, you know, boring beige or boring white, that in itself should be, should be a clue perhaps.

Are you familiar with the chakras at all?

Yes.

Yeah. Okay. It's like eating for your chakras. If you eat all of the colors, like if you need help in a certain area, like for me, I have a very active sacral chakra. Lacey's, Lacey's like, eat more orange. And so I'm over here like eating carrots every day.

Yeah. And I love that we've actually gone down this avenue because isn't this the area— and you talked about awareness, awareness in general terms, but this is the thing that excites me most of having these great conversations with different people around the world is this variation of awareness where we're actually coming back to being in sync with who we are, what we do, and how, how we look after ourselves and our bodies. So thank you for sharing that. So we've talked about the, the colors of the rainbow and the food elements. So tell us how you came about the granola recipes, um, and how you actually created and started this Elevate Oats.

So it started with a banana bread, banana bread granola recipe, which was from that banana patch in Hawaii. And I found that recipe. I found a variation of that recipe on Pinterest and I was just Pinteresting everything, new recipes, trying out things. Um, this is where I learned that granola was the only healthy thing that I made. And I'm sure in one of these things that I read, it was like, you could probably do this with beets. And I was like, man, you probably could do that with beets. And then it just like didn't stop. And then it was like, oh my gosh, this is so such a great idea, like putting vegetables into granola. And it adds so much color. Like it makes this bright pink granola. And then we add carrots to another one. We did blueberries and colored this other one with tea, like this butterfly pea flower tea. So it started off as like cottage food, which means you do everything at home. And then it just, it was like, what's the next step? What's the next action step? We would just figure out what the next move was. And we were like, well, I guess we got to get a factory. And so then we had a factory, and then I was like, okay, we got to do wholesale.

And

yeah,

yeah, Lacey, I can see you nodding there. Do you want to add to that?

I just like it because, like I said, I'm a picky eater, and if you ask anyone in my family, I'm the pickiest of them all. So I'm a very big texture person, and I probably don't— I don't think I ever ate a beet until I ate cranberry cashew chew, to be honest with you. And now it's one of my favorite flavors. I don't like bananas, but banana nut bread is my— is, you know, like, I eat it. So it appeals to me as a picky eater. And so I love it because my kid is a picky eater and he likes it too.

Yep, beautiful. So you've, um, you've started the business after this fateful Instagram post where you were already creating some products And Lacey helped you out with the logoing. And then this, this, um, this baby grew by the sounds of it. Um, and you, uh, started with the factory or, you know, you kept working out what's next, what's next. So, and again, I love these stories where the life that you lead becomes serendipitous and you sort of fall into what it is that you're on the planet for your purpose and those sorts of things. And it's, you know, it's almost universally divine that, you know, We get thrown back in and then, you know, get tested along the way and then we get thrown back in and then something else happens. So talk us through where it started for both of you as it relates to when you came together and went, this makes sense, let's do this together. Because you were, even though you were connected and friends, you were on your own as such and then you've joined. So talk us through some of that element. Go

ahead, Lacey. I think—

Come on, girl. It's been a journey. It's, it's been a journey. And I will say probably, okay, I remember at the beginning Megan was, she was talking about imposter syndrome and I'm like over here, not a part of it really. I'm just like doing a logo and I'm like, why, you know, like tell me about your imposter syndrome. And you know, she worked through that and then all the while not realizing I am also doing the same thing. And so I kind of like You know, pushed it, pushed it, pushed it. Um, and she's like, yeah, I would, you know, just come on to the team. And I'm like, no, no, no, this is yours, this is yours. I don't want to step on your toes. Um, so it's been a journey for me particularly. I guess I'm just now starting to step into that role fully, even though we have been working together this whole time.

You came on board kicking and screaming by the sounds of it.

Pretty much, even though I was all in. I mean, I was like I was like, let me help you do this research. I'm like looking up packaging, like we need nitrogen, this is the machine, but I'm still over here like, no, no, no, I'm not really involved.

So it sounds as though you've actually had very complementary skills, which I'll come back to in that. But Megan, I'm seeing you getting giddy excited to share something there, so please do.

Oh man, yeah, it's so funny because it has been 2 years of being like, just come on. But it's our, it's our fear, and we're such a mirror. Like, I have those same fears of commitment. Like, we've both been married several times. Like, we know what this kind of thing is. Like, it's like a marriage. And so we have that fear built up around it. Um, but that's where, like, having clear communication and being like Look, I'm here, man. I'm here to do whatever you want to do. If you want to be on the team, let's do it. If you don't, just let me know so I'm not over here like riding the edge. But it's been like, it's been so much fun. And I think I'm— it wouldn't be anything if we weren't doing it together. Like, I really think our skills did complement each other. The universe, the universe.

Yeah, and I love that way, the way you've just sort of expressed that too, because I've just thought about, you know, when, um, having been married a couple of times too, it's, it's that whole, you know, they've proposed and we've got the engagement ring, but she hasn't said yes or he hasn't said yes or no yet, and I'm on that edge. And are we gonna, are we gonna get there? All the— no, why? All the while knowing that at the time you're a perfect match and you've got all those sorts of things. So I love that about the two of you, that the, you know, the marriage for you guys finally came, uh, came together, and that you have been able to complement each other with the skills so much. But I, and I, I get the whole, the whole, um, you know, imposter syndrome. Yes, yes, I'm help— I'm helping you, but I'm not part of it. Because is it— isn't that such a female or woman's thing to be, you know, all in helping the people around us but sort of pushing back when we actually are actually invited in. We— I don't know why we do that, but I can— I'm laughing internally and I'm pissed off at myself at the same time because I've just been realizing I've been doing that a lot myself recently. So, you know, yeah.

Awareness.

Very, very well said. So I know Peter just commented, who's one of our regulars on the show, about him with his rainbow of fruit in your cereals and how Having helped Peter out when he was quarantined for COVID, I did do some shopping for him. So I will congratulate Peter exactly what to bring in that breakfast because I went to the shops for him. So well done, Peter. So that's good to know. And again, just an acknowledgement of somebody that's very, very aware of eating the right things, etc. So now let's talk about— I'm going to switch gears very, very slightly. You've talked about the labels being changed a couple of times. You've talked about, you know, you, Lacey, you're researching products or how to, you know, package your items up. And one of the things is that you talk about it being more than what's on the packaging. So there's a spirit behind it as well as the ingredients. So talk us through that.

Go ahead, Megan.

Man, I had no idea that we were going to be a lifestyle brand. I had no clue we were going to be a lifestyle brand. I was just like, we're making granola. And it just became more about life, like living that better life and such a great way to do it in Alaska, like where you have this beautiful playground in your yard to go anywhere and do anything. And everybody here is like— I can't say everybody here is into it because we are trying to get people more into the outdoors and things like that ideally. But yeah, it's, it's living the way that you choose to live. It's like really having balance in your life. And listening to your body, listening to yourself, you know, having that support system. It's so many different things, but really, like, you can choose your reality. You can change your thoughts. Like, you can make those things to make it better.

Yeah, absolutely. Uh, Lacey, I can see you nodding away there furiously as well. Do you want to add to that?

Yeah, I mean, um, I guess, like, you could say, like, I joined— I started my self-help journey in high school because my mom suffered from mental, um, mental health problems herself. And I get— that's when I learned that there was this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. She said, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. And it just sparked this idea inside of me that was like, nobody can make you feel anything without your consent. And here we are doing this granola thing and realizing for the first time, because I didn't have a community growing up and the only community I had was the military, that this is, this is the awareness, the talking about it. This is what's lacking. And we can be those people. We're doing it for each other. And we're not, we're not scared to be told shut up.

Hmm.

Because we, we feel it. We— I feel it in myself. Like, be true to yourself. Like, when you hate doing something, why are you doing it?

And Megan, I can see you had something there to add as well. Sorry.

Oh, I am just— yeah, I definitely feel like I've been in too many stuck situations to where I'm like, I would never want to live like that again. And I don't want other people to live like that either, you know. And it's all about growth. Like, we figure it out as we go. Yeah, and it's like a constant practice every day.

Yeah,

constant practice.

It is, isn't it? Yeah, and I think that's the great thing, that as we have these sorts of conversations and we, we share how we have been alone or felt isolated or, you know, all of the different isms or syndromes that we, you know, we want to label for ourselves to help ourselves create the understanding understanding for it. But the reality of it is when we are in those, you know, vulnerable moments where we're willing to share with the right person, that makes all the difference in that moment that we actually do feel, you know, where we can actually just have that sigh or that relax where we suddenly understand through the mental process of understanding, but also through the way in which the body reacts where we go from that stress, high anxiety, or whatever the emotion is down to that place of, you know, where we get that settled, settling feeling in. And it all quite clearly starts with having the right conversation with the right person at the time to almost create the bridge to bring other people on that journey as well, which is from when you talk about a lifestyle brand is obviously the quest that you ladies are on as it relates to, you know, health helping people understand that having those initial conversations, as tough as they are, is where the first starting point occurs and then helps to create those ripple effects. So how have you been, I suppose, creating those results? You talked about, you know, getting people to move and to have the awareness and then getting into moving their bodies more. What are some of the other things that you bring to your community as those, you know, regular reminders. Sally calls them Sally Nags. I have— I'm known for being bossy in my community. Peter's always saying I'm bossy, and in a nice way. And we've also rephrased that, you know, it's not necessarily bossy, it's a different form of leadership. You know, it's all in the spin, isn't it? All in the spin. So how are you sharing, I suppose, your story and what you're doing to help those around you develop their own awareness?

We do a lot of different things. We do outdoor hikes, and I think on these outdoor hikes we bring that conversation to the table pretty frequently. I think we both do different podcasts, a lot that has to do with mental awareness, just to spread that message. And yeah, we, we do a lot of— what else do we do? Donations.

Yeah, we've actually— we, we keep donating. When we do Veterans Day, we like to donate to Mount Sinai. It is an affiliation with the Veterans Hospital here, and they are doing psilocybin research for the treatment of PTSD and anxiety and depression. And we really— we've had some psychedelic experiences ourselves and some spiritual retreats. And I would say that, that we've found that that unlocks things faster than traditional medicine. I would— see your doctor though.

Yeah, love that. Megan, do you want to add to that?

Oh yeah, it's, um, it's just about changing your life, right? It's like letting go of like that old you that you have. And yeah.

As Shrek and Donkey have often discussed, it's those damn onion skin or onion rings, you know, peeling the layers off, continually peeling those layers off. And that's one of the things that you've also said on your website about that, you You know, that understanding that we are constantly growing and we're constantly learning and our awareness of new things is also occurring, but also the awareness is increasing and those sorts of things. And it's the ability to, I suppose, trust yourself, reconnect to your intuition, to have those conversations with people, other people, so they can have their own awareness around that as well. And really, I'm gonna say unlocking those conversations that perhaps our parents never had.

Totally.

We only know what we know. We only know what we know. And it's like, yeah, that whole reframing. I'm just like, everybody's just a kid that's only been taught the things that they know.

Yeah, absolutely. Sorry, Megan, go ahead. Oh, sorry, Lacey. Apologies.

I just want to add that growing up, I remember like the adults around me saying, you know, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. And I think the common belief was that like once you get a certain age, you stop learning. But that felt so wrong to me. And now here we are, you know, like 30 years later, and we're finding out the science is like, no, your brain stops growing when you stop using it, when you stop learning new things. So really it's learn, learn, learn so we keep a healthy mind.

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm gonna ask the question now around that healthy mind, and if you can tie it back to— because we've talked about healthy fuel, but also talking about the healthy movement. Because for me, that's been my experiences. I have never felt the most stagnant that I have felt when I have stopped moving, because one of my beliefs was, was when you were hurt or you were hurt, whether that was emotionally or whether your body was hurting, that you actually stopped to nurture it versus moving again to stretch it out, which is— it sounds bizarre when you say it out loud now, but that, you know, that was what you did. If you were hurting, you stopped. But that for me was, you know, just creating stagnation. So can I ask you to elaborate on your experiences around that at all?

I recently had— okay, well, I am not a very active individual. Megan is the, the way better physical, but I think that's, you know, I had like these beliefs growing up that I just, I wasn't good at that. All that aside, as I recently had surgery and I was not allowed to like move around really for a week, and I was in a really good place Mentally before that started, and I could tell every single day that I couldn't move. It was like more depression and more depression and more depression. And then I started you know getting the crying. I was calling Megan, and I'm like, "I'm just crying about everything. Like everything just makes me so so sad." I'm like, "I need to move. I need to move my body." And I don't move it very much anyway. I'm I work from home. This is the walls that I see most of the day. So I told Megan, I'm like, I feel— I felt sedentary before, but this was real sedentary. Like, I really noticed the effects of my mental health decline when I stopped moving my body even just a little bit.

Yeah, I hear you on that one for sure. Megan, I can see you've got something to share.

I've always been, um, I like to move my body and I like to kind of be a little more extreme. Like, I have to do something really intense Because I don't like my mind being able to think at the same time. So I will— I haven't been as good about it lately because I am in Alaska and it is cold. And skiing is great, but you know, there's a whole part of it. So it's not as much as like in the summertime, especially because it's dark. Like it's— now we're gaining like 5 minutes of sunlight a day, which is amazing. But it was 4 hours of daylight. So you're dealing with the darkness and the cold. Getting out is extremely important because you will— like, I will feel it, and it doesn't stop, you know. The days just get shorter and shorter until that winter solstice, and then it's like, yay, we're on the climb!

Isn't that funny? See, there's a— there's my— again, one of my own bubbles that I live in. You don't realize what's going on around in other people's world because we've got daylight from like quarter to 6 in the morning through till, you know, 8 o'clock at night at the moment for us.

Oh, that's lovely.

That is lovely.

Which is lovely. But you don't realize that other people around the world, you know, have got darkness for longer periods of time. And that in itself, from an awareness and how you feel and how you operate, has a different effect for different people at different times, especially for somebody like myself that wouldn't have been used to it, you know. It's, it's different. So it's again having the awareness of what's going on in your own world, but also appreciating what goes on in other, other people's worlds, and then working out how you can best learn, because we're continually learning, learn to, learn to operate within that, within those confines, if they're confines, or, you know, working out how to rebel against them and overcome them. So you've got that. fluidity, you're putting the right fuel in, etc. So I quite clearly know now, Megan, that the, you know, the phrase for adventure fuel definitely comes from, from you. Which is beautiful. So just as we start to wrap things up, how can, how can people get in contact with you? And I know we've got your, your social media handles going across the page. And we'll also have the website going across the page. So You do offer the products and shipping. So tell us a little bit about Elevated Oats and what people can do and how people can connect with you next.

You can go to our website, elevatedoats.com. There it is. You can follow us on social media. We're on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook at Elevated Oats for any of those. We also have a Facebook group if you want to come in and join the conversation about our flavors that we're coming up with or share with us your hikes and how you elevate your oats. If you're in the Alaska area, we would love for you to join us on one of our hikes. We do monthly hikes. There's also one in North Carolina that's going to be going on next month too. And I think if— Lacey, do you know anything else to add to this?

We're releasing a limited flavor on March 1st for 24 hours on our website, elevatedoats.com. It is called Lemon Berry Muffin and it is delicious. You should try it.

Brilliant. Thank you very, very much. And I would say for anyone that has the opportunity, has podcasts, or is involved in the mental health arena in any way, shape, or form, who wants 2 guests to help elevate awareness around having the right conversations and how to build the right community of people around you to assist with that, please do reach out for the girls for that opportunity as well. It's been an absolute pleasure sharing so much time and so much depth of stories with you both today. Thank you very, very much. And as I said, please do reach out to the girls. You can find them at elevateoats.com. As they also said, they've got a full range of recipes and flavors, and a very special one coming out on the US's March 1st, which would be Australia's March 2nd. And so please do reach out to the girls and connect and support them in any way you can. And please remember, it's food for fuel, not for just filling up, and it's food and movement to elevate you and being around the right Any closing words, ladies?

Thanks for having us. We had a lot of fun.

You're very, very welcome. Thank you very, very much, and we will see you all in another episode of Success Secrets Exposed. And we'll go to a very quick commercial as we close out. Thank you very much.

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Thank you very, very much. And for next week's episode, we've got another very interesting conversation and another add to the whole awareness. We have Annie Burke coming on who's going to be sharing with us what animals tell her. Now, she's a spiritual, spiritualist who actually communicates with animals. Communicates with animals, both past and present. And for those that are an animal lover, who's somebody like me who's only just recently got a dog again after not having any pets for 8 years, I can certainly tell you, I'm sure that dog— she nags me as much as I nag everybody else, but she's been an incredible support and certainly does know what's going on in my world, sometimes even before I do. So Annie's going to be sharing with us what our animals actually do tell us. And I've had the great privilege of having a chat with Annie, and she's told me some phenomenal stories of, you know, what our pets really do know about what's really going on for us. So it's going to be an interesting conversation. And again, I want to say very much a very, very deep and heartfelt thank you to both Megan and Lacey for sharing so much of their story and their journey with us about how they've remained connected and how they've built a business together and become lifestyle evangelists for, you know, being the right sort of human beings that we're all meant to be on this planet— ones that are happy, healthy, and aware. So thank you very, very much, ladies, for joining. It's been an absolute pleasure.

Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

Brilliant. That's us closing the show out for this week, and I look forward to seeing you on next week's show. Till then, have a phenomenal week and weekend and see you again very, very soon. Take care.

That's it for this week's episode. Thank you so much for joining us, and I trust that you got some inspirational tips to move you forward. You can find this episode along with many more on your favorite streaming platform such as iHeartRadio, Spotify, iTunes, and more. See you next Thursday at 7 PM Eastern time for For more success secrets exposed with Sally A. Curtis.