Success Secrets Exposed - Your Pathway to Financial Independence

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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's your host, Sally A. Curtis.

Good morning, good evening, and good day to you, and welcome to Success Secrets Exposed. You are in for a treat in today's episode. It's going to be high energy. Lots of storytelling and very, very, very purpose-driven. The topic for today is your pathway to financial independence, and I have a fabulous speaker, Milan, joining me today. So I do, do sit tight, grab your notepads, enjoy some fun with us, and let's get into it. So those that are new to the show and haven't met me as yet, I'm a speaker I'm a marketing strategist for speakers, coaches, and consultants. As you can tell, I'm super excited about my guest today. And my purpose with helping those speakers and coaches is to help them increase and leverage their voice, their message, and their impact. And I do that in a number of ways. I help them repurpose their content, and I also help them utilize LinkedIn strategically. And I mentioned that today because I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Milan through LinkedIn, and we had a fabulous conversation and a cup of tea together. And I really got to dive into some of the backstory, which we're really excited to be able to share with you today. So let me tell you a little bit about our guest. I have the very official bio to share with you just to give you some backstory and some insights. And Melinda is a financial independence mentor. She's a best-selling author. She's written a couple of books, one called Shift Towards Abundance and one called Shift Towards Purpose. So we might ask her some questions around those today as well. She's an investor and an entrepreneur and a former Wall Street executive. She's a graduate of the acclaimed Wharton Business School, a holder of master's degree in physics, a certified NLP practitioner, as well as a certified Instant Miracle Healer. And what I love most is she combines the traditional and this holistic energy and educational elements to help entrepreneurial women, um, to find their way towards and their path towards financial independence. And it's all about creating choices, uh, purpose, and the lifestyle that people are looking for, particularly these savvy entrepreneurial women. And what's even more equally exciting is Milan actually demonstrates this. She's been financially independent for 10 years or more, and she has the luxury because of her purpose-driven life of being able to live in South Florida and South of France, which just sounds absolutely fantastic. So please help me welcome to the show Milan, who's going to share with us her story of pathway to financial independence. Good morning and good evening.

Thank you so much for having me, Sally. Yes, so I guess good morning to you and good evening to me and anyone in between, whoever is listening to us right now or watching us.

Yeah, thank you very much. And as you gathered, it was great to talk to you before we came on the show, and I got so excited I was getting tongue-tied. And I love that, love that because of the sheer energy that I can feel that we're going to bring and that inspiration that we're going to bring to the show today. So thank you so much for joining me. I would love, um, to dig into how did you trans— uh, transition from that Wall Street career into the one that you've got now? So that is a— is it for a lot of women taking that step or that leap of faith to leave a, you know, a very comfortable career, um, is a scary one. And obviously you're a very driven person. So tell us a little bit about the backstory of that. If you could, please.

All right, so, um, warning, it was not as glamorous as some people may think, like, oh my God, she did jump from this one, this prestigious, uh, uh, career on Wall Street, well-paid job, uh, beautiful office with a view in, uh, on Manhattan. Um, nothing like that, uh, actually. So I was, um, working for a while on Wall Street, and initially my, um, my curiosity was I want to learn how to invest in the stock market. And, you know, it was kind of like a mix of my ego-driven goals and my curious mind goals. So it was, it was okay. And, uh, just a small note, at that time I was very practical person. I was thinking about making more money, supporting my family, and that's pretty much it. And at some point, and I cannot explain I started feeling some void inside, and it was not like some particular event that happened or, or something else. It just— I started feeling that this work does not have meaning to me. And, uh, on the surface, everything was just really great. That's why I said it was not like a bomb happened or something like that. Speaking of bomb, actually, I survived Um, the first bombing in 19— in 1994, I was there working on the 46th— I think it was 46th floor, because I always, uh, worked for different Wall Street companies, uh, from Morgan Stanley, Banker Strauss, Deutsche Bank, etc., but always in World Trade Center. So the first bombing, I was there and I survived. And I will share with you, if, if we have time, about how I survived the second, the 9/11. because I was supposed to be there as well. So anyhow, so I started feeling this void and I had no idea what was happening to me. But I clearly remember one day when I was sitting in my, my office looking at the computer and thinking like, is that all there is?

Hmm.

Are you going to live that way wondering, um, you know, maybe there is something else for you? Maybe there is something that is more meaningful for you. Are you willing to live like that for the rest of your life? That was the important question for me. And I don't know where this question came from. Are you willing to live that way for the rest of your life? And the answer was resounding no. And then, and then I said, okay, you know, it was kind of like a dialogue with myself or with my higher self. then what are you waiting for? How long you're gonna wait for the perfect time and perfect opportunity, both perfect package? You know, we— those people who work for corporations often, often have golden calves. We have like our, you know, vested interest in, in stocks, etc. So it was, it was not easy. Right. And, um, what is interesting that I kind of said, okay, so I will go to, uh, the Wharton Business School because I want to grow. I want to improve myself. I didn't really know exactly why I decided to go. It was probably also ego-driven, I think, because it was very prestigious school. And, you know, in this country, I wanted to have degree that would represent me better. But there was no clarity, like, what's after? Like, okay, you'll get this. What's after? There was no clarity. So what I decided to do, I said, okay, so I will work part-time, uh, at this, uh, at this company, and I will go to, uh, the business school as well. So I, I wanted to kill 2 birds with one stone. And guess what? Initially they said okay, and then at the last moment they changed their mind. And you know, I really needed this income because at that time— and that's a different story, that's kind of like my private life story, I decided to walk out of my marriage. You know, when you make the decision, it's very hard to make the decision, but once you make this decision, you liberate the energy. You liberate the energy, and then it's like, okay, so I can do that. I can do this and I can do that. And so I was like, you know, my daughter went to college to be, you know, was to, to, to give the whole picture, to give the context. Mm-hmm. And I felt that, okay, so now she's okay. she's in college. Now it's time for me to see how I want to live my life after, after that. So I walked out of my marriage, rented a small apartment in a small city called Hoboken across the river from Manhattan because I was working in Manhattan. And, um, and then I said, okay, I will go to the business school and work part-time. And then at first it was okay, and then at the last moment, it was I think end of May or beginning of June 2001, They said, no, you have to decide. It's either your business school or your job here.

And

you know, it was, it was a nerve-wracking decision because at that time I really needed this money. I was, you know, I was relying on this. Uh, the schools in the United States these days, you know, good business schools, actually all, all schools, all colleges are very expensive. So I was, I was really a little bit scared.

Yeah.

But anyway, I decided that I would listen to my intuition and I resigned. And I was, you know, I was shaking, I was worried, I was scared. All of this range of emotions was there, but the decision was made that I will follow my intuition. And my intuition was resign. You had a goal. Don't, don't allow anything to stop you— your fear, your concerns. You will figure out. That, that was the message that I received.

Yeah.

And guess what? And I know I shared this with you when we spoke last time. I was saved by this decision because I resigned 2— what, 3 months just before 9/11. That's, that's why I'm still around.

Yeah.

Because I happened to watch 9/11 unfolding across the river live. I saw this live, and I was thinking like, you know, first of all, I was thinking, oh my God, I should have been there. It was, it was me who should have been there. And I had my friends, and I had my colleagues, and yes, I lost some. And it was a nerve-wracking moment and also a huge, huge lesson. That we have to trust our intuition.

And can you see that on my wall?

I didn't see it because you were covering this, but oh my God, now I see it.

Yes. Yeah, very much so. So I love that. And I was just talking to Rebel before you came on the show about how we get so, as you've used the term ego-driven, but how we get so serious and we forget to Uh, uh, form that, um, and play in that, uh, playful arena. You called it the curious, uh, mind. And I think I, for myself, we've all get stuck in that practical, very serious, and we forget the play element. We forget the curiosity element, and therefore we don't allow the intuition and, uh, you know, the inner guidance to come in to, um, to give us the ability to take those, I call them leaps of faith. You, you sort of said it was a little bit of an ego-driven wanting to go to to Walton, but perhaps it was a leap of faith in that you were just trusting.

Yeah, it was a mix because otherwise it would not be such an important decision. It was very important to me. And if it was just ego-driven, it probably would not be to this degree. And it was something else that I wanted to say anyway, so I forgot. So we will come back to this.

That's all right. I'm sure you'll remember as we keep, we keep moving through this. That's awesome. And now you've also been financially independent, which I mentioned in the beginning, for the last 10 years. So do you want to explain to us what— because lots of people have got different interpretations of financial independence. I suppose it can mean different things to different people.

Totally.

Yeah, yeah. What do you, what do you see as the common, I suppose, the common scenarios of what that means to people, and then perhaps what that means to you as it relates to the work that you do.

Thank you, it's a good question. And I just want to tell you, I'm not sure there is a common, uh, definition of financial independence because we all have our experiences and our perception of the world. So that's why I think it's very unique for everybody, and it's important to know your own. So let me, uh, if that's okay, let me share with you my definition because I know that that people will have, uh, maybe, maybe similar to mine or maybe very, very different, and it's okay. So my definition, and again it comes from my experience, was I wanted to be independent from being with the person, being with the husband or partner, uh, for the financial reasons, because I was afraid that I cannot, I cannot support myself. I didn't want to work at the job, uh, working for the boss who I cannot stand, and, you know, being at the job who— that drains my energy because I'm afraid that if I leave this job, I will not have sources of income. I never wanted to be in a situation when I depend on the government. And all this, all these things that I just mentioned, I experienced in my life. I was married for 23 years. And, um, I knew that this marriage was really not working. You know, we were more like roommates, right? And, and I knew that, but I was afraid to— I was— I know. And, you know, it's not just you and me, it's many, many, many women like live this life.

Yeah.

And I was afraid to walk out because it was so financially comfortable, it was so familiar. And for, you know, it's not always easy. Sometimes we have to really go through some, I don't know, challenge, uh, to make this decision to walk out.

Yeah.

So, and the same with work, you know. I, uh, was at the job that on the surface was prestigious, but you know what, in corporate world you have so many, I don't know, nutheads. I don't know, I, I'm trying to be politically correct, but you, you don't really choose who you work with, who you report to. And, uh, you know, you have to, you have to follow the, the orders, so to speak, right? So I, you know, since I was a young girl, I was very rebellious. I, I need, I need my independence. I want my independence. And also depend— dependence on government. And now it's relevant more than ever before. When we just came to the United States, because I was not born in the United States, I came, uh, over 30 years ago from Lithuania. At first, we, we were on public assistance, on welfare. And boy, I remember that time waiting in line for hours and hours and then, you know, worrying that they may not approve you. You know what? I don't want to live that way. Mm-hmm. We're not meant to be limited. We are meant to be unlimited. And I decided that my core value. That happened actually when I came back from Wharton because I didn't want to go back to corporate. Usually people get these prestigious degrees from prestigious, highly acclaimed business schools so they can go back and climb the ladder faster and higher, right? Yeah. But in my case, I realized I don't want to do that. And then I was like, okay, so then what's next for you?

Yeah.

And that's when I was— I don't know, somehow I was wise enough to pause, and I realized that freedom is my core value. Not having big houses, not having millions and millions, uh, on my account, not driving the prestigious, uh, latest brand car or wearing Armani suit— it was not what was driving me. Freedom was driving me. And you know what? When a woman knows what she wants, she is unstoppable.

I love that. Just let me just share a story. And again, a lot of people don't know this because I don't share much of the personal stories, which is why I've loved the radio show and what we're doing today, because it's actually liberated a lot of the stories. But when I was with my husband, I was going through that process of, you know, a little bit like the roommate scenario that you referred to, which is why I sort of resonated with it so much. And I'd been going, you know, for thinking about it for probably 10 years, you know, this isn't working, this isn't working, but stayed because from a financial perspective, we had, you know, 6 investment properties, we had companies together, we had a whole abundance of different investments which we had worked hard to achieve, but probably didn't really know what we were doing. I would look at that and say we were very, very lucky for Um, because we just seem to make the right choices at the right time. I think again, probably trusting my intuition and instincts there more than actually being savvy. Um, and I had Andrew who I was with at the time was, uh, trusting enough for us to allow to do that. But as a result of that, we had lots of stuff and it was like, what, you know, stepping away from that, so similar experience. I got to the point and was brave enough to actually share that conversation I just had with you with that one person. And it was that one person that listened that then enabled me to go, I just said that out loud. Okay, no problems. I'm thinking about doing it in 12 months was the conversation. And within 6 weeks it was done. I was done. I'd made the decision. I was out and, and, and, and just went on my own journey of self-discovery to then find out, you know, like yourself, what am I going to do when I grow up? What do I want to do when I grow up? And my freedom's a little bit different to yours is that I don't want to be, I don't want to be the 9 to 5. I don't want to be stuck in somebody else's time loop. I wanted to be able to have time is my, is my scenario. So isn't it interesting that freedom, which you pointed out to me in the beginning, is so different? The word freedom in itself is actually different, has different meanings for so many people. So thank you for sharing that. That was— That's just given me a massive amount of aha moments. So thank you.

Thank you for sharing your story. It gave me aha moments too, because it's very true. I somewhat was, you know, we were so intertwined in terms of financial things, you know, and it was— it's not always easy to step out of the comfortable scenario or comfort zone. Right. But the fact that it's not easy doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done.

Correct. Yeah.

And, and also what I didn't, didn't mention before is that for me also freedom means to live your life on your terms. I wanted to live my life on my terms, not because my husband wanted me to do XYZ, my boss wanted me to do XYZ, and government wanted me to conform in a certain, uh, certain, uh form or whatever mold, right? So for me, it was so important. And just to top the, the whole this, uh, story, I thought that now that I will be free, I would be flying, you know. I was so excited. Like I said, it was the feeling of liberated energy was palpable. It was great time in my life when I was like, finally Finally make the decision. Because when we are indecisive about anything, we keep this energy, we contract. So every time when you make the decision, whatever decision might be, you liberate the energy.

Yeah, I love that. Love that. I'm just going to add to that, that whole liberating of energy. And I love that we've got this rebellious spirit. And the minute you said the word conform, it was like, oh, no, thank you. Um, but I remember, and I'm going to say the phrase, use the phrase, the universe will provide, and you can take whatever meaning into your own world. But I know when I left my relationship, I had $3,000 in total. And I still don't know for the life of me, but I managed to survive on that through what gifts and all the rest of it from other people, you know, divine gifts or generosity or whatever. But I lived on that for 9 months. Wow. I know. And it's sort of like I had nothing coming in. I just took some time to be, and I stayed with friends. And, you know, it— there was never any moment or feeling of hardship because I was decisive. And then literally the universe provided, and I just found my way, and it was about finding that path. So I love, um, love that phrase about that, you know, if you're either contracting— contracting, constricting—

or expanding. Expanding. And I, I, like I said, this feeling of expansion was, uh, amazing. Well, it was amazing. And I think many people, uh, underestimate the power of being decisive. Really, really, it's, it's, it's a, it's a big secret among secrets.

So you've got some, um, because of that being a big secret, let's, let's, um, I suppose let's explore some of those secrets that you've discovered through the journey of what you've done personally, but also the women that you've helped as well. So slightly off, off, off-kilter, but I reckon there's some good stories in some of those secrets.

So you want to, you want to hear other secrets that they have?

Yeah, absolutely. So we've got to be decisive and trust.

Okay. I, um, I happen to believe, and this is, that's a very strong conviction that I didn't have before, and I came to this just from personal experience. I happen to believe that we all have capacity to be financially independent. And I can tell you, I didn't have this belief before. So, you know, I, we usually gain the beliefs through experience. So when I decided that freedom is my big North Star,

Yeah.

I started thinking like, okay, what's, uh, what is the path there? And I had no idea. And what I discovered at that time, at that time, and that's my secret number 2 for you today. Is that to be financially independent, we have to have multiple sources of income with multiple streams of income from each source.

Wow.

So that's, that's the only way. Because when you rely on one source of income, let's say it's your job, and then COVID happened, and then people get laid off, or even if you have your own business and that's the only source of income that you have, Things, things tend to change, and things tend to change unexpectedly. And sometimes it's not always good surprises. Sometimes you have bad surprises. So that's why it's so important to remember that we, we've got to develop multiple sources of income and multiple streams of income from different sources. And I think, um, a lot of people who have especially jobs, maybe well-paying jobs, they don't realize it. And even entrepreneurs, successful entrepreneurs with a lot of money— and I have clients like that who spend most of their time making money, but they don't spend almost none of their time on, on making their money work for them.

Yeah, right.

So, so that's my secret number 2. And, uh, and like I said, I, I'm convinced that we all have capacity to be financially independent. However, and that's a big however, not everybody will be and not everybody has to be. Just like we all have capacity to be parents, but you know what, not everybody wants to be a parent and not everybody have to— has to be a parent. So that's why I think that it's a choice. Like everything else, it's a choice to decide, I want to be financially free. Because this choice will require that you make, uh, you make decisions, you take actions that are aligned with this choice. For example, even in my own family, I have people who That's not their core value, right? Some of my family members' core value is to wear Armani suits, uh, drive the latest brand of BMW, etc., etc. So when you make these choices, it's very likely that financial independence probably is not in your vision.

Yeah.

And I'm not saying that it's a bad choice. I'm not judging. There is no good or bad. It's whatever fits you. So for me, it was— I remember one of my girlfriends said, when I was living in this rundown apartment, to be frank, um, in the city Hoboken, and, um, you know, I, uh, had old car and I was walking with my backpack, um, and she said, Milena, at your age— I was in my early 40s— at your age, women have like houses with swimming pools, they drive BMW, and, you know, they have designer purses, and look at you. And I was like, it feels right.

Yeah, yeah.

That's all that it takes. You want to feel that it's, it's right for you. It doesn't matter what other people say, because if you're gonna be living your life according to someone else's opinion about your life and your vision you will never be happy. Never. Because you will be constantly trying to conform into someone else's mold. And that's not the way to live, really.

Yeah. Yeah. Beautiful. Now, I loved one of the sayings, and I've, um, after cyberstalking you a little bit extra this morning, um, you've got the, um, the phrasing, you can be financially free. But the bit that I love that adds on to that is faster than you believe,

right? And there is a reason, and there is a reason for this faster. I love your questions, I do, I really do. Okay, so because yeah, I was working on this, on my message for a while, because I know that the way I teach, the way I guide is different than many money coaches or even investor coaches, etc. So why I added faster? Because most people, like specifically women, think that you have to have a lot of money, a lot of money to be financially independent. That only maybe really well-off people like sports figures or actresses or actors can be financially independent. The lucky one that win, uh, lottery or marry the wealthy partner or whatever, right? And I'm saying, and I proved this through my own life and through my clients, that this is not the case. And that's why basically what I did when I came up with my— the Millionaire Method, right? I kind of play off a little bit of my name, which is a holistic method for becoming financially independent. I realized, and you know, I basically reverse engineered what I've done in my life, what steps, uh, were taken, and how I managed to go, frankly, from not just ground zero but below zero. Because I think I mentioned to you that I was depressed, I was suicidal, and I managed to turn this around. How I went from this place, this dark phase of this dark night of the soul to living a beautiful life and being financially independent. So I realized that there's certain, uh, magic and certain system in what I've done. And, um, to answer your question, you basically— you've got to calculate your financial freedom number. You can calculate it. It's up to you.

Yeah.

You know what, for some people financial freedom number would be $50,000 a month or $100,000 a month. And guess what? For other people, it would be $5,000 a month. So it depends on your appetite. It depends on your values. Very important. You have to know your values.

Mm-hmm.

Because knowing your values will help you to align your choices, your decisions, and your actions With your values. I like to say you've got to live in integrity with your goals and with your values. And if your values and if your goals to, to look like a model and wear designer clothes and all the time, etc., you know, I respect this, but just be aware that that's your values. And I'm sure that you will align your actions with this. Most people do, right? But in my case, for example, my values were different. I just wanted to be a free woman who lives on her terms. And I started aligning my actions, my decisions, my choices with that. And once I achieved my financial freedom number, then I was saying, okay, now what's next? Now I could add to this. But, but the goal was to be financially independent. And once I accomplished this goal, then it was a very different ballgame, so to speak.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Beautiful. I love, I absolutely love, um, I'm going to use one of my phrases, which is the been there and done it experience, because as you said, you've sort of, you've had, you know, the, from below ground zero, you've crawled the, crawled your way out of the dark hole.

So literally, literally.

Yeah, I call mine the sandpit with the lid on it. You know, I was in the sandpit with all of the toys and the lid on it telling everyone to go away and rack off. I wanted to be on my own and in my little dark cave. Um, so I love that, that you've actually got that, been there and done it experience all the way from, you know, woe to go. Um, but you've had the ability to very, very clearly and concisely reverse engineer what you've, uh, what you've actually done. And what I'm hearing in, in when you're talking is that you've actually not just reversed the, what I'm going to call the big chunks. I did this and I did this and I did this. You've actually reversed the big chunks and then all of the nitty-gritties elements within each of it, uh, to create that, um, significant clarity. Um, which is then obviously, um, what the way in which you're able to help your clients because you've actually got all of the, not just the big steps. I'm working with a lot of coaches as they come up. They've got step 1 and it's step 2 and it's step 3, but there's actually 25 or 15 steps in step 1. And you need to know all of the details to be able to help people have those micro movements forward that gives them the ability to build on it. So they get the big, that big step accomplishment. So well done to you. That's, uh, I really heard the extraordinariness That's a Sally word for the morning, of the ability of what you've done to be able to reverse engineer your process.

Thank you. And I just want to add a little bit to what you said, that small steps accumulate into something that becomes bigger step and bigger step. So we often talk about compound effect with money, right? So as Einstein said, it's one of the biggest wonders of the world. But I believe that compound effect happens with small steps. So when you have a small step on top of the small step, because in my case, and I'm sure you probably, because I know a little bit your story too, you could relate that there were moments when all, all I could do, just get out of the bed and basically just, you know, brush my teeth. Yeah. There were moments like that. There were moments when sleeping at night, because I was not sleeping, I was not eating. when just having a good night's sleep was a huge accomplishment.

Yeah.

So it's, it's putting your step in front of the other— foot in front of the other, I, I should say. And this taking these small steps when, uh, sometimes you don't have maybe energy for something big, but start somewhere. Start somewhere. Don't just allow this apathy to take over, because it's very easy to get into this downward spiral. It's too easy, and that's why it's dangerous. And that's why I say, remember that small steps create compound effect, and then you will see the changes in your life. Just the same with money.

Mm-hmm.

When you don't have a lot of money at the moment, maybe just start with small amount putting aside. Develop this pattern. It's all about patterns, right? Yeah. So that's, I just wanted to add this compound effect of small steps. I think it's very important. You can consider this secret number 3.

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm really glad you've expressed that further because for me, I am with, uh, the, the different clients I work with. So I work with the speakers and consultants, but, um, I also work with a lot of people that are up and coming. especially in that sort of startup phase or women that are transferring, transitioning out of corporate. But they always have this expectation that their transformation or their growth, that they've got to take these great big huge steps or leaps, jumps. We talk about a leap of faith and that's a bit different, but from an action and a progression step, they think that they've got to jump the Grand Canyon to say that they've actually done something or achieved something just in that microsecond moment. But it's actually not. It's, you know, all of those little tiny incremental steps that, as you say, accumulate to the big ones. So not— I think that we focus too, too much on that. I need to take this great big huge step to show how big and brave I am, where it's— you're actually braver if you take the consistency steps, which comes to time tracking.

I just love what you just described. It's very, very accurate. And I want to to share with you, if I may. Secret number 4. You mentioned that a lot of people— and, you know, the secrets just come up. I don't know. I didn't classify. I didn't prepare them. But you mentioned that a lot of your clients, especially successful clients, they have expectation to jump, to have like leap to the next step, or maybe 2, 5, 10 steps forward very quickly. And I am not a big fan of expectations. I just want to tell you this. I'm a big fan of intentions because expectations imply that when we expect something, we automatically attach to the outcome. We expect that certain outcome should happen at a certain time. And that's the killer.

Expectation versus flow.

Yes. Speaking of attracting and creating, I, every time when I have expectation, I'm just like, cancel. What is your intention? Because intention, you know, declaring or stating or be— being clear about your intention and then attaching elevated emotions, excitement, gratitude, love, creativity to this intention, that's what creates great experiences. And from, from my personal experience, from seeing my clients, Expectations could be dangerous because they basically lead to attachment to the outcome. And that's the killer of creating what you want to experience.

Yeah. Beautiful. Thank you. Now I'm going to ask you to share a little bit about, um, what it is that you do and what you have on offer for people, only because we, I know we're getting sort of close to our time and I don't want people to miss out on discovering those. more hidden gems and goldenness of you. So can I ask you to share a little bit more about that? And then we'll see what other tips and key tips might come out at the end.

All right. So I just want to say that I'm very passionate about what I do. I'm very fortunate to do that because I want to, not because I have to. And because of this, I decided that I will offer complimentary consultation with me. I called it How to Never Worry About Money Again, where I could help you to map your unique pathway to financial independence, because it's always unique for every person. So, uh, the value of this consultation is $500, but I want to offer this to your listeners, to your followers, Because I really think, and I mentioned this before, I really think and believe that we all have capacity to be financially independent. So if freedom is your core value, let's talk. And, uh, you have the link. I saw the link, uh, um, in the banner. Uh, just go to speakwithmilan.com, speakwithmilan.com, and, uh, schedule your consultation. And those of you who will actually show up on, on this complimentary consultation, I will offer you a free beginner investor toolkit. So you will start investing strategically, not sporadically. So that's what I want to offer to your listeners, to your followers today.

Thank you.

And now you can continue. You're welcome. Now you can continue, uh, whatever you want to ask me. I'm, I'm excited. It's fun.

Yeah, no, we've, we've dived into lots of areas out there. I'm just sort of— I'm going, oh, which question, which question, which question? Actually, what I'd love to do is actually just go back to your 2 books because you've written 2 books and I know from memory you're working on a 3rd one as well. Was that— I remember that right?

Yes.

So you've written 2 books. One was around the purposeful career and focus and the other one was around abundance. All of which are called A Shift Towards Abundance and A Shift Towards Purpose. So there's very much that action taker in there. So tell us a little bit about those books very quickly, and perhaps the book that's coming out, because I can see that this is, this is a mission-driven woman with a very strong purpose and an underlying theme.

I feel that I was saved for a reason. I told you that I was saved on 9/11, and actually There were, uh, it was another most recent accident that I was in when I was hit by the car and I was saved. So I believe that was a reason why, uh, universe decided to keep me around for a while. So my first book was written in 2015. It was A Shift Toward Purpose, and it was written not because I wanted to be an author. Just full disclosure, I had no idea what I was doing at this time. I wrote this book because, uh, I, I had all this accumulated information about, uh, how I decided to quit corporate, how I went through, um, divorce. And I, I expected, I expected that my parachute would open. And guess what? It didn't happen. My parachute didn't open and I crashed. And how I recovered, how I— found spirituality, how I intuitively started praying and, and meditating, and how I became yoga instructor, certified yoga instructor, meditation instructor, etc. So it's my journey of, uh, journey of one woman who left corporate and moved to completely new world of entrepreneurship and how this, uh, decision changed her. So that's, uh, book A Shift Toward Purpose, and I have also audiobook about this as well. And then the second book was published in 2016. By the way, it became bestseller out, out unexpectedly. And then the second book was A Shift Toward Abundance. In this book, I talk about duality of money, duality of wealth, because money is not does not only have practical aspect of it, right? So I, I discussed that, and at that time I already knew that we are, um, spiritual being going through physical experience, and I, I already knew that money, uh, doesn't have a meaning except for the meaning we give it. Mm-hmm. And so I, I talked about this as well as sharing some very practical— because I'm a very practical woman. I shared some very practical tools that people could use to have multiple sources of income. And both books became bestsellers. They're very small, they're very easy read, and you can find them on Amazon.

Lovely, thank you. And do you want to give us a little, a little insight into what the third book's about, or you're not ready to yet?

Well, the third book, uh, I'm thinking about, I'm thinking about, and I was I met— I was mentioned, uh, that this book should be not only a book but a movie as well. It's basically, it's, uh, my life journey including my love story and, you know, overcoming. So I was thinking that maybe I will call it, um, Overcoming to Becoming, From Overcoming to Becoming, just to share, to share what incredible, remarkable things can happen when you start living in alignment with your values, with your goals. And I really think that my transformation is, uh, is quite remarkable, um, for considering where I started and where I, uh, where I am right now.

Yeah. Beautiful. And I thank you so much for sharing some of that. I just wanted to, again, further demonstrate that The ability to have that transformation, to understand and know the steps that you've actually gone through yourself that other people can reference, can emulate, and obviously then work with you to discover those steps for themselves. So thank you so much for sharing so much with us today. It's been an absolute pleasure. It's been so insightful to have somebody share their stories so openly, but also their keys and their steps so people can understand for themselves, hey, that makes sense, that resonates for me, what can I do next, how can I do next, etc. So thank you very, very much. Thank you. Last closing minutes, I'll give you a minute to just share anything that you would like to, but I do want to say thank you very, very much. It's It's been an absolute gracious pleasure.

Just if I have, if I have to give just one final secret, don't do it alone. Is it possible? Yes. But is it efficient? Is it joyful? Is it easy? No. And I, what I didn't have a chance to say, that I was saved by a life coach when I, when I was going through my divine crisis that I call now divine crisis. I was hiding like you from people. I didn't want help. I didn't want to talk because I was in the tunnel. I could not see anything else outside of it, and I needed to have someone who would be outside of this vision, narrow vision that I had, to help me out. So whoever is listening us, reach out for help. Have from this moment on, I. Always, always have a coach, have multiple mentors because we grow faster together.

Yes. Yeah, absolutely agree with that. It's all about people having the right people around you at the right time with the right perspective of fresh eyes that are willing to play the game alongside you and with you. Very true. Very, very much.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. That's all from us today, but great show. And as always, um, there's information that you'll be able to see, um, on the replays and the record so you can connect with Malin. Um, and we will look forward to seeing you next week. Thank you very, very much.

Bye. That's it for this week's episode. Thank you so much for joining us. I trust you got some inspirational tips to move you forward. See you next Thursday at 7 PM Eastern for more Success Secrets Exposed.