Pam Butler spent 15 years navigating illness, divorce, loss, and PTSD before becoming a speaker and transformational coach. She defines happiness as bliss, a state rooted in service to others, and emphasizes daily disconnection from technology to recharge. Her advice: align passion, talent, and authenticity, and slow down to cultivate patience.
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Thank you for listening to the Business Blast podcast. So for all my listeners out there that have been wanting to do your own podcast, I'd like to introduce to you Anchor. Anchor is a one-stop shop for recording, hosting, distributing, and monetizing your podcast. So before I found Anchor, I had never actually done a podcast because all the research that I had gathered made it seem very complex. Then I found Anchor, and Anchor makes podcasting extremely simple. So if you want to do your own podcast, go to anchor.fm/start. I can't wait to hear your podcast. 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. All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Pam Butler with us. She is the author of Return to Life and the creator of the Bliss Toolbox Kit. Which is simple daily techniques to celebrate your life and make every day better. She's also a sought-after speaker and teacher. Pam has developed a variety of creative workshops and classes to help people forgive, redefine, and live their lives with purpose and freedom. She also provides one-on-one coaching to individuals, groups, and businesses on health, wellness, meditation, and movement. So welcome to the show, Pam.
Thank you, Tyler Wagner. Great to be here. Thanks for having me on.
Of course, great to have you here. We'll dive right in. The first question I have for you, Pam, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
So that's interesting. My best story actually grew out of my 15-plus-year journey in compensating illness, divorce, the death of people close to me, and the near deaths of some others. I had recurring periods of depression, lots of stress, anxiety, and even a PTSD diagnosis. So obviously those were hard times, to say the least. But I'm happy to say that I didn't just survive them, I overcame and thrived. And since those really dark days that brought me to my knees, I've become an inspirational speaker. I'm a meditation and yoga teacher, and like you said, a transformational bliss coach, where I try to help other people through my experiences and my journey to help heal from their trauma and stress so that they can find balance and bliss in their own lives. So my story really came from adversity and being able to turn that adversity into a life opportunity and living from that place of passion and purpose now.
And what is the most valuable piece of information that we should know that is within your expertise or industry?
I just think it's really important, you know, we become a stressed-out society, and I think that it's important for people to learn every day how to disconnect. You know, we become a technology-driven society, and the technology is developing faster than our bodies can even keep up. So learning how to unplug from the external world, to plug back into ourselves so that we can charge our own batteries and find comfort in that discomfort of sitting quietly, even if it's just for 5 minutes a day. It's so important to just disconnect and find that space of peace where our bodies can begin to repair and heal themselves.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
I think for people to choose something that they love, that they're passionate about, combined with what they're good at. You know, we each have our own unique talents and gifts to share with the world. And I believe that people feel the energy that you put behind your business or your product. So when you come from that place of being authentic, I believe people feel that and they want more of that. So, you know, what do you love? What are you passionate about? And how can you be authentic and stand behind your business or product? So don't give up, don't take anything personally, and don't take no for an answer.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I think about this all the time. Slow down, you move too fast. So definitely to have more patience. I once heard a great quote: a moment of patience during a moment of anger solves 100 moments of regret. So creating that pause between whatever situation you're in and your response to it is really powerful because then you have the freedom to choose and take what action you want to take. It's in the best interest of everyone, including yourself, to be more mindful with your response rather than just reacting and blurting out the first thing that comes to mind.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
So happiness, I've kind of redefined that for myself and my business, and I call it bliss. And for me, bliss is that special place where I can find real peace, love, and joy in my life. And it's not so much a thing as it is kind of a state of being. And more importantly, it's something that no one can take away from us. You know, we put a lot of emphasis on when we have this, when we get that, then we'll be happy. But I think if we can come from a place where we're guided more by purpose and giving back and being service of others, that You know, when we can become a more helpful person who's serving the world, the more we think of service, the less time we have to think about negative things. So there's no greater feeling than putting a smile on someone else's face. So, you know, it's just finding that place within yourself.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
My favorite book is called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. And he really made me realize how I was living my life through the eyes of judgment, not only for myself, but for others. And I think the biggest takeaway was learning how not to take things personally. And when we cannot take things personally, we lighten up on ourselves and we lighten up on those around us.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is by Louise Hay, and it's, "When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we will also find it in our lives." And obviously now doing what I'm doing in trying to help people find balance and bliss in their lives, it's just so important, again, first and foremost, to find that space within our minds where we can quiet our minds down and quiet the chatter in our minds down. And when we find that harmony within our, our own minds, we can then find it within our lives and then help other people to find it in their lives.
I love it. Thank you so much for coming on. This was such a valuable episode. The last question that I have for you before we do let you go, Pam, is what is, or where is, the best place for people to find you online?
My website is returntolife.com. I'm on LinkedIn, Pam Butler. I'm on Instagram, Pam Butler Meditation. And I'm on Facebook, Return to Life with Pam Butler. But returntolife.com is my website and people can contact me through that.
Perfect. Thanks again for joining us. We appreciate it.
