In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews life‑coach and writer Natalie Vartanian. Natalie shares a pivotal 2011 story about choosing to travel to Costa Rica despite a client commitment, a decision that sparked a year‑long series of road trips, random‑act‑of‑kindness projects, and a web‑TV series, illustrating the power of following what lights you up. She then outlines her core framework for love, sex, and relationships: untangle societal overlays, explore personal wants and dislikes, and deliberately design a unique personal truth. Natalie offers business counsel emphasizing that true success comes from consistent, dedicated action over time, not overnight shortcuts. She advises her younger self to stay true, follow dreams, and live with integrity and kindness. Her definition of happiness centers on doing activities that energize the body, calm the mind, and fill the spiritual cup. The book that most impacted her is The Four Agreements, especially the lesson of not taking things personally. Her favorite quote, “Dedicate your life to a cause greater than yourself and your life will become a glorious romance and adventure” (Mac Douglas), reflects her values of contribution, adventure, and romance. Finally, she directs listeners to her websites NatalieMartynion.com and ThisTurnedOnLife.com, where they can access her blogs, videos, podcasts, and an upcoming book on sexual exploration and healing.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Natalie Bartanian with us. She is a life coach specializing in sex, love, and relationships, and is also a writer. Welcome to the show, Natalie.
Thanks, Tyler.
Of course, thanks for joining us. We'll dive into the first question. The first question I have for you, Natalie, is What's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Yeah, so I think it was in 2011, a friend of mine reached out and asked if I would live with her in Costa Rica for 5 weeks. And we didn't even really know each other that well, but she knew that I was kind of an up-for-anything kind of person. And so she just texted me this question and my initial response was, no, thanks, but no thanks. I can't because I just committed to a client to do some work in person. And I think my friend realized that there was something up. So when we talked on the phone, I realized that the reason I said no was because I was afraid of disappointing my client and how easily I put aside my dreams and desires to please other people. But this had been a dream and dream of mine for years to live abroad. And so, you know, and I hadn't even considered asking my client if we could negotiate something. So I decided to stretch and do the scary thing and talk to my client and let her know. And, you know, although she wasn't super happy about it, she knew it was something that I really wanted to do and travel in this way and was really supportive about it. And thank God I did, because that one experience, that one trip to Costa Rica changed the trajectory of my life in a huge way, especially that year. I ended up living with her in Costa Rica for 5 weeks. Then it inspired a 5-week road trip that we did in an RV around Western US. We lived in various parts of the US and then we ended up finishing off the year with a 9-week road trip, like coast to coast, where we did random acts of kindness and we ended up filming the whole thing for a weekly web TV series. So, I mean, for me, the major message was, you know, following your turn-on, following the thing that lights you up. And I was so glad I did. It just, again, changed everything.
Yes, that is so cool. Thanks for sharing that story.
Yeah.
The next question I have for you is, what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, this one definitely feels like a life one for me, but it's something I tell my clients all the time when it comes to love and sex and relationships and dating is that you get to design all of that in whatever way works for you. And that there's a process of untangling all that's been overlaid onto us about that, like societally, religiously, culturally. Then that's followed up by an exploration period of finding out what you want and don't want, like what's actually true for you there. And then you get to decide what your personal truth is around sex, love, and relationship that's uniquely yours. And what might work for you might not work for someone else. What turns you on might not turn someone else on, because, you know, at the end of the day, it's your life and your heart and your body.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Yeah, things take time to grow. You know, we're all addicted to the overnight success story, the magic pill, the shortcuts, et cetera. However, there's no such thing, in my opinion, as a true overnight success. All of the major players had to put a lot of years to build their empires, blood, sweat, and tears. And I think it would really benefit all of us to read the behind-the-scenes stories like documentaries, biographies, autobiographies, you know, to really find out what it takes. And I've found just in my opinion, or in my life and others, that consistent, dedicated Action over time is what pays off.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
It would be that it really does all work out in the end if you stay true to yourself, follow your dreams, and live a life of integrity and kindness.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Let's see. Do the things that light you up. Feel good in your body, that feel good in your body, that calm your mind and that fill up your spiritual cup and then rinse and repeat often.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
You know, I think this book, because of the one takeaway that was a game changer, was The Four Agreements. And the thing that I learned was that don't take things personally. That one really landed for me to realize that most things people say or do is not about you. Was super hard to get and understand, but so helpful on my heart when I did. Because I'm someone that's super sensitive and feels responsible for the whole world and their kind of happiness. So this one lesson, you know, just really changed the way I looked at things. And, and it's one I have to remind myself and practice, like, on the regular.
Yeah. And what's your favorite quote and why?
Oh God, this one was hard. This was the hardest question. I have so many, but One that I come to from time to time is Dedicate your life to a cause greater than yourself and your life will become a glorious romance and adventure by Mac Douglas. And I love it because it reminds me of my why and it connects me to my values. Like it ties it all together around contribution, around adventure and romance.
I love that. That is an amazing quote. Thank you so much for coming on, Natalie. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Yeah, they can go to either my name, NatalieMartynion.com, or ThisTurnedOnLife.com. And I have all my blogs, videos, my podcast episodes, the podcast called Taboo and Turn On. And, and I also am publishing a book this year about my sexplorations and healing and liberating around sex. So you can get on the list and find out more.
Awesome.
Thanks again, Natalie. We appreciate you coming.
Yeah. Thanks so much, Tyler. Have a good day.
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