Sharon Elise: Holistic Wellness Practitioner | The Business Blast Podcast #863

All right, everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. Today I have Sharon Elise with us. She is a holistic wellness practitioner who works with people to gain holistic and spiritual healing through educational development and empowerment. Welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me. I appreciate you, Tyler, so much. It's an honor to join you.

Yes, it's an honor to have you on. So, Sharon, the first one we ask on this show is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?

The best story I have from my life that has an underlying valuable message, I would say going to school and so I taught previously. I was a therapist. I like to say in a former life I was a therapist, and I had this great vision of going to get a PhD because I wanted to be a writer, but I felt like I couldn't write anything, and I tried to write many books throughout my life, once in the 8th grade and then again in high school and at some point again in college, But there was always these self-worth things coming up for me about just feeling like I wouldn't be heard or that my word wouldn't be appreciated without having this doctoral degree. And so I went all the way through, got my master's and applied for a doctoral program. I got accepted, although in my doctoral program I knew I didn't want to be a therapist and I knew that it was like this This insight that came at some point, like in between my master's and doctoral program of like, you don't need this. And I don't know why you're going through this. This is not what you want to do. I was like so unhappy. And then so like hearing your story, like how you like left college, I thought that was so bold. And I wish I had that energy and that courage to do so at that time. But I was like, you know, who drops out of a master's program? And, you know, so I felt like I had to continue at that point. And so I continued, I applied for the doctoral program, I got accepted, I did all of my academic work, and then it came time for me to do my internship and my dissertation. And I just was met with so many walls. Like, it was like, you know, I couldn't find an internship that felt right to my spirit. The pay wasn't good enough for the travel. It was all these different things. Then when I finally found a placement that felt right for me, the school told me that they didn't accept it as an internship. Internship requirement. So it was just like all these different walls that was being met of like where I felt like I couldn't move forward. And there was this inner voice like telling me like, you know, this is the time for you to walk away. Like now you walk away. But you know, I still had that fear of like, you know, who drops out now of a doctoral program? Like this is insane. But finally, after a year and a half of like wasted tuition, because I wasn't actively occurring any credits, although I was paying my tuition, I finally decided to walk away. And there was this huge shift in me and in my spirit. I felt lighter. I felt like, oh my God, I can do this. And it was a really pivotal moment for me because it ultimately led me back to my writing and feeling like, you know, I could write and produce something without having the degree and that I had acquired this plethora of knowledge that was super important through that journey. But now I didn't need the degree. It didn't mean so much. And it wasn't as, you know, a greater weight held on it. And it brought me back to the thing I love the most. And I was able to do that and ultimately, like, write my book. So it felt, it feels really good. And we were talking previously about, like, steps and how you got to go through things. I had to go through all of that to get there. But I was like, I'm just grateful for that process of like reflection and revelation that I was able to recognize that that wasn't the path I needed to be on.

Thank you for sharing that. That is an amazing story. The next one I got for you, Sharon, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?

I would say to find your spirituality. And by that, like, it's so interesting because, like, while I was in school for my doctoral program, a lot of the research that I was interested in was in spirituality. And a lot of the resistance and some of the walls I was being met with, particularly surrounding my dissertation research, was like, what is spirituality? And they wanted me to quantify it and, like, break it down. And I didn't have the language then to even, like, just saying what it is. And a lot of people connect spirituality to religion, and it's like, no, like, what is your belief in something? What is that life force that, like, vibrates, that energy inside of you that's connecting you, uh, to your being and into life? And so for me, I would say, you know, the best piece of information is just finding that life force and finding that spirit, whatever that looks like or feels like, and tapping into that because That's what's ultimately going to help in terms of like manifestation and creation in anything in your life, whether that be, you know, in your business, in your personal life, in your professional life, in your relationship. I feel and I believe that like it all starts with that, you know, that spiritual grounding and that spiritual foundation.

And then what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.

Stay committed and have a plan. Being strategic was not something that I was well versed in or even knew about. I was sort of like all over the place and didn't really have, even in terms of like going to school and like, I just sort of was moving blindly. And that works for a little bit because like I said, those steps sort of need to happen, but you reach a space where you recognize that like, you know, procrastination is not as helpful as it seems. And that like planning really is a really beneficial tool in terms of like moving forward and having a strategy. And it helps you to just be more logical in your decision-making. And it helps you to execute with precision instead of just like going with emotion. So I would say, you know, just staying committed and like having a plan and just being strategic in your decision-making and choices for your business.

And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

Oh, wow. I would say to believe in yourself. I definitely, like, you know, I was speaking about like just not having the confidence and not really valuing or seeing the value in my self-worth and in my being. And so I would tell her to believe in yourself first and not to seek the external validation that she like utterly wanted so much, but ultimately to just find that internally in that, you know, she could do anything that she wanted to do if she just believed in herself.

And then, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?

Oh, that's a good question. That's a really loaded question. What is the key to happiness? Inner peace, I feel, is happiness. I feel that when you come to accept the fullness of your being, in all of its glory and magnitude. Whether, you know, we were talking earlier about light and darkness. And I feel a lot of times we like to shy away from the darkness. We never want to talk about those taboo things that we deal with, that we all ultimately experience as human beings. That is a part of our experience. We like to shy away from it. And it causes a lot of feelings of shame and guilt that, like, get in the way of being able to be happy. But, you know, a lot of people associate happiness with this constant state of being, or I want to be happy, or something that they can aspire to. When for me, happiness is about just being at peace with who you are and where you are in life. And like, it's this sense of dwelling and entering into that space of dwelling and not seeking any one external thing, but more finding that peace within yourself so that then all those external things can sort of just add on to that peace and sort of be really great, just great add-ons. It's just beneficial, more things to add to your piece, but not necessarily something to aspire to.

And then what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?

The best book that I've read is The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck. And I learned the importance of spirituality and that In it, he talks about these two paths that we have, and there's these options, and there's this one path where everyone is taking, and it's sort of familiarity, and it's comfort, and it's security, and it seems assuring, but what is it really? And then there's this other road that is the path of least resistance, and it's, although it's dark and it's unknown, you don't know what you're going to get from it. Just being able to walk that path to explore that internal world that exists that a lot of people sometimes are afraid of. And, you know, I was saying earlier that I didn't have the language about spirituality previously, and The Road Less Traveled gave me that language. It was like, oh my God, like, it was like, why didn't I have this years ago? A friend of mine gifted it to me, like, maybe 2 years ago. And I was like, this is amazing. Like, I wish— and he is a psycho— it's a psychology book. It's not even a self-help book, but he just talks about a lot of the shame and guilt and a lot of those, even mental health things that we deal with, it stems from that spiritual connection. And if we can tap back into that life force, that we're able to heal from some of those things and be able to see and think more clearly and have clear thought and clear mindsight so that we're able to move forward on our journeys. And so that's what I got from that book. It's an amazing, amazing read. I recommend everyone. To read it.

And then what is your favorite quote and why?

My favorite quote is, go towards that which makes you most uncomfortable because that's the only way that you will grow. It's by Yalitza González. I don't know what book it came from. I've read so many of her books, but it's my favorite quote because it reminds me that if I'm not uncomfortable, that I'm not growing and that I'm being stagnant in that I am a living being and I've been created to grow and to move forward. And like birth, it's uncomfortable at times or can be uncomfortable. But if I move and go towards that discomfort, ultimately I'll blossom into the flower that I'm supposed to be. And it keeps happening. I like talking a lot about This metamorphosis that a lot of people think that life is this linear process that, you know, we just, you know, we live, you know, we're born, we live, we die. It's like, no, you die many deaths within your life to keep evolving, to keep growing into your highest evolution of yourself and not to be afraid of death and to like let some of that shedding go so that you can ultimately, you know, evolve into your higher self.

Well, listen, thank you so much for coming on. The last one I got for you before we let you go is where can our audience best find you online?

The best place to find me is on Instagram. I'm somewhat active there. And my website is there. The information about my book is there. Everything is there. And my Instagram is Sharon Elise 12. And that's the best place to connect with me.

Perfect. Thank you again for coming on.

Thank you so much for having me, Tyler. It's been great talking to you. The podcast you just heard was made using Anchor. Ever thought about making your own podcast? Anchor makes it really easy for anyone to get started. It's a one-stop shop for recording, hosting, and distributing podcasts. Best of all, it's 100% free. Sign up now at anchor.fm/new. That's anchor.fm/new to get started.