004: The One Love Movement with Kim Bauman

Hi, I'm Natalie Jill, fat loss expert turned high performance coach. When odds are stacked against us, how do we shift and create everything from nothing? How do we level up when we aren't feeling it yet or we've had a big setback? On this podcast, I'll be talking to some of the most inspiring and courageous men and women on this planet who at their worst, learned how to achieve success greater than they ever dreamed possible. Leveling up and creating everything from nothing. Abandoned as a baby in Seoul, Korea, with all odds not in her favor, Kim Bauman's life could have gone in a very different direction. You see, nobody gets to choose what or where they're born into, but they do get to choose what they decide to believe and create in their lives. My dear friend, Yoga Kim, as I call her now uses her past story and pain to fuel, fuel her passion and drive her current vision. Kim believes it's her duty and her purpose to touch as many people as possible and make a difference in the dignity and humanity of their life. On this episode of Leveling up, you'll learn how Kim, the founder of One Love Movement, practices gratitude, compassion, and service to use her life as a message to the world, ultimately leveling up and continually creating everything from. From nothing. So today I'm so excited because I have my good friend Kim here. Kim is. I call her my good friend now because she is a good friend, but I really, truly kidnapped her from yoga world. I did. I kidnapped you from yoga world. Kim. How I met Kim. I met Kim because I knew I needed to do yoga. This is how it started. I knew I needed to do yoga, but I had that personality where I can't tune my mind off or shut down to do yoga. So going to a class was stressing me out a little bit. So I remember stopping by a yoga studio and I said, hey, is there somebody that I could hire to literally come to my house and make me do yoga? And they sort of laughed at me, but they left a sticky note. And that sticky note brought the amazing Kim into my life. Yay.

I love it.

And you quickly became so much more than a yoga instructor because we would chit chat during yoga and we got to know each other and I got to know her story. And I'm so excited to have you on today, Kim, because you really are the epitome of somebody who has created everything from nothing. So thank you so much for being here today.

Oh, thanks, Natalie. I'm so honored that you see me that way. Thank you so much. My amazing Kim, my amazing Nat. So, Kim, by the way, everyone, Natalie saved my life too, so I'm sure we'll get into that. Down.

Well, I can't wait to hear about that, too. Kim, people look at you now like this incredible success you have, a nonprofit organization. You are yoga guru extreme. You know everybody that there is to know. You are just the most warm, fun, happy, positive person. I tell everyone you have got this contagious energy about you. You want to be in relationship with you when you're near you, but it always wasn't like that for you. And, you know, I want people to know about you, like where you came from before we knew you as Yoga Kim and this amazing being. Can you take us back to where you started from, like where you were born, what happened?

Yeah. So, first of all, thank you for that because I've just been grappling after doing your awesome workshop this past weekend about that idea of being seen. And so I just appreciate you that you've always seen me for who I am. But. Yeah. So my story begins. It's sort of like one of those stories for me that I don't realize it's my story until I look back and talk about it when people ask me about it, because it's just what I know. And so I remember it really Clearly. It was 2010, and I had finished yoga teacher training, and I was starting to teach yoga as a job, so I was getting paid to teach yoga, which was not as Mainstream back in 2010 and this today, but it was not back then. I had fallen into a space of my life where I was looking for more. I was looking for something different, and I knew that there was something bigger for me outside of what I had been doing in the past. My life had been a lot focused on a lot of. I was very social. I was the type of person that was really interested in shopping, having new outfits, doing really fun things, and going to new restaurants. And that was like the depth of my life. And so after I had gotten into yoga teacher training, I started to see that I wanted to be a part of something bigger in the world. But I had no idea what that was because I just hadn't ever had anything present itself to me that was different from my. My great, easy life that I knew. And so I ended up joining a. It's called the Global Save A Challenge. It was a program back then that was offered by a nonprofit called off the Mat into the World. And the challenge was to raise $20,000 in your community through being a leader and if you raised $20,000, you were sponsored to then go to, which is where the money was being, the country the money was being raised for that year. And so I ended up raising over $21,000 in six months. And I did that through various means. One of the larger ones, which still is going on today, is an annual charity yoga event that started from this particular fundraiser. So I got sponsored to go to Haiti. And in 2012, that was during 2011. So in 2012 was the actual trip in February 2012. And I remember we were volunteering in different tent camps. You know, these are like large cities of people living in tents with dirt floors, with no running water, with no electricity. And we were also working in orphanages. And it was really rewarding to get to see how all the money that I had raised, along with everyone else who had raised the money, how our money was being used in that community. And when we were at one of the orphanages, I was. I was holding this little girl, and I was talking with some of the older kids that were probably, I would guess, like from age 13 to 15. And I just remember the moment of holding the little girl. And then also combined with talking to these older kids, that particularly that little girl, she brought back. She brought me back to my own story, which was that I was once a little baby abandoned in an orphanage in Seoul, Korea. And I don't know actually my true story, because I'm in the middle of unraveling that as we speak. I'm in the middle of finding some type of connection to my past pre adoption. And that was the first time ever in my life that I had realized how blessed my life was and that I had realized what I came from. So I'd always known I was adopted. I'd always known it was never a secret in our family. I'd always known what I came from, but I didn't really know it until I was actually holding that little girl. And, you know, I can just still remember and feel what it was like to be there. And all I could think about is that that was once me. And I. And I couldn't believe that that was once me. I was. It was very. It took me about. It was very. Was very jarring for me to discover that and to realize that, because to feel it and to experience it is way different than having the concept of like, oh, yeah, it was adop. You know, it's just such a different feeling to process that.

Yeah. And, you know, I remember so clearly the day that you told me this. You Said, you said it sort of lightheartedly, you know, you said, yeah, I was abandoned as a baby in Seoul, Korea. I was left on a doorstep. That's literally what you said to me on an orphanage. And then you kind of giggled after, almost like, this is a fact. And it happened and like, no one's interested. And I remember digging.

Exactly.

It's interesting. So you. It's almost like it was something that happened to you, but you didn't realize that this was really intrinsically, like motivating you towards anything. It was just one of those, like, this happened to me. I don't even want to hear that it sucked. It just is what it is. And like, let's move on. Let's move on, right?

And I think today I still struggle with sharing my story. Not because of shame or anything like that, but just because I. I feel, I guess I'm not really sure how interesting it is to people. And so, and so I always fall in that sort of borderline of, is this interesting to people or am I just talking about myself?

Okay, yes, that's interesting. You know, Kim, people have excuses every day, right? Like so many excuses. And it's like you people will go to this victim of circumstances, but then you look at someone like you, who truly has everything now, who came from nothing. You were left at a door on a doorstep. How do you, how do you create from that space? Like, how do you become you, this happy, content person of gratitude, somebody who gives back and not harvest that resentment? What does that take from you? How did you become that?

You know, I would say that. So first of all, I did think I was left in a doorstep because that's what my mom told me. But what I discovered at this point in my digging is that I was left at a hospital, I think, and a doctor found me. So we shall see. But to answer your question, you know, Natalie, it's one of those things where I was so like my world was rocked when I went on that trip to Haiti, and I'd never before experienced such poverty and I'd never before seen how other people live. You know, I'd been backpacking through Europe already at that point, and I. So I'd been out of, you know, out of the United States, but to actually be in a community like Haiti, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, is a whole different story. And so I. Even to this day, what touches me the most is when I can feel, I can feel what those kids lives might be like just because I can. I just I can't believe that I was once there myself. And so. And so for me, what, like, you know, how. What I've taken from that is that I'm just so grateful and so blessed that I got picked for, you know, for a big life with opportunity, with love, with lots of things, with lots of nice stuff, with an amazing family. And so many of those kids will never get picked for that. And I'm fully aware that I'm not any better than them, but that it's sort of like, you know, the cards that you're given in life. Some people are born with this, some people were born with that, and you deal with what you're born with. And, you know, I was blessed enough to get the cards of adoption. And so I feel that because I was given this and they weren't, that it's my duty to give that back as much as I can rather than just be here and, you know, take up space and have a great life. I don't want to just take up space in the world and have a great life. I want to be able to take actions that can help, you know, kids who won't get what I have.

What I'm hearing you say, too, in Kim, like, fashion, you don't even take credit for it, which is just so amazing to me. But you, you really chose to not be a victim of circumstances and instead find the gratitude in it. And you are a master of that. Like, you took something. You could have had this victim story your whole life, and instead you found the gratitude in it and looked at it as, I am grateful, I was chosen and I get to give back now. It helped you define your vision is.

What I'm hearing, 100%. I mean, without a doubt. There's no. I mean, I'm sure I would have come to it in some other way, but the depth of my compassion for others highly stemmed from. Highly. Highly. I credit it to that trip, 100%. I mean, I was always a compassionate person. I was never a mean person by any means. I was always, you know, thoughtful and, you know, very cared about people a lot. But it elevated to a level beyond what I even knew from that trip. And so it keeps me humble.

Did compassion and giving back and service. Would you say those are the two things that helped you define your vision or what? What did help you define your division, your vision?

I would say definitely compassion. Definitely just acknowledging the idea of acknowledging also the people that came together to get me where I am. So I'm really big on remembering the people that you know, that lead me from behind, because I'm really clear that the opportunity has been the opportunities I've been given and, you know, the things that have come my way isn't. I didn't do it on my own. It's because people lifted me up and wanted to support me and what I was doing. Like, you're. Like, you're a huge example of that. How you are the person that, like, you are really the person. It's from our conversations and yoga, and I literally took the leap into doing my own thing, which was creating my nonprofit One Love movement, or I guess it already been created, but in terms of doing that full time and leaving my, you know, my secure paycheck job was from our conversation. And so I always like to like, for me, it's like giving you that credit and acknowledgement and along with other people that have done things for me is really important because I feel if I don't. If I don't keep that, then I lose sight of what I'm grateful for, because then it becomes more about myself versus about everyone together that's working together in unison. And I know that's how it is for everyone else, too. Like, people come together to do great things for others. And so I would definitely say it's. It's my compassion, but also my curiosity, because I'm really curious. Like, that's why I'm so into discovering my own roots, is because I want to know who I don't know that I can thank for getting me to where I am today.

Wow. You. You just, like, embody gratitude. It's just so amazing to listen to you and watch you like that. You can't. You almost can't help it. It comes out in everything. And I feel that it's such a key to. To your success. Let me ask you. So do you. Are you clear on what your vision is now? What would. If I. What is your vision?

Well, my. I mean, my. I say my. My vision and mission are the same, but then sometimes they're different.

Okay, what do you mean by that?

So the mission of my nonprofit One Love movement is to advance social justice with kids. And. But my vision, I would say, isn't like. Is always connected to that, but it's much larger than the mission oftentimes. And it kind of ebbs and flows depending on if I'm in a dark hole or if I'm, like, seeing the light, depending on my day. But definitely my vision is 100% always in alignment with wanting to. Wanting to give back to People who have given to me, wanting to acknowledge people that are given to me and then wanting to contribute to the good of all and to do my part for getting to have this life that I have. Because I could have easily not been dealt the adoption card. I could have grown up homeless, I could have grown up without a family. I could have grown up in foster care my entire life. And there are a zillion kids out there that that's their path and that's not my path. But there's no reason that could not have been my path. I was on that track just from the simple, just from the simple action of me being left of me being abandoned by my mom or my dad or whoever dropped me off at the hospital. And so that single act put me immediately on that path of that type of life. And that's not my life. And so I'm fully, fully aware of that. And you know, the biggest way I can show my awareness around that, my gratitude around that, is by putting my life into that work to make sure that I help others who aren't ever going to get the life that I have.

So, Kim, I find a theme too with people that stay on this, the positive track and find the gratitude and things and want to give back with. They almost rewrote the story of their past. So like, like you said, you could have had a different, you could have had a different understanding of your past. Like I was left, I was this and victim. Or you could have used it to empower you, which you did. What do you tell yourself about your, the parents that gave birth to you, the biological parents? What's the story you've told yourself to help keep you in that non victim mode?

Oh, that's a really good question because I've actually like thought about that before. I love that you asked that. No one's ever asked me that before. So the story I tell myself is that I thank them because I feel, I feel in my heart that they didn't have what they needed to give me the life that I deserved. And so the best they could do is to hand me over to make sure I was taken care of. And so I know for sure that they wouldn't have given me up because they didn't want me or they didn't like me or they didn't love me. I think that they gave me up as an act of love because they knew that they couldn't provide for what I needed. And you know, back then I was born in 1975 and so back then things were Way different. And, you know, especially in the Korean and the Asian culture, families could keep boys, but they couldn't keep girls. And so, you know, oftentimes even women were abused or they were forced to abort their babies if they found out they were girls or the baby girls were killed. And so I really. And so I believe that it was an act of salvation for me to make sure that I could, you know, have a life. And so that's part of my, like, my journey is that I want to get as close as I can to discovering that because, you know, I want to be able to look at people in the face. Like, I want to look at the doctor who. Who. Who found me. I want to look at the. The receptionist. I want to look at, like, the, you know, the social worker who approved me for adoption, the foster family that took me in. Like, I'm gonna be able to. I would love to get to meet those people and just tell them thank you and. And, like, share with them how amazing my life has turned out because of their. Their acts that they did that they probably don't realize that impacted people like me as much as they did.

Amazing.

So that's the story I tell myself as far as my, you know, like, my. My birth parents, because I know that, you know, especially because I feel that I probably got some. Some sort of my will to love from them or, you know, just from my genes. And so I know that it was an act of love.

Yeah, I love that. And. And again, from a place of gratitude. It's just. It's. It's just such an amazing example to watch. Kim, what drives you. Like, what drives you now, and how do you stay committed to your vision? Because it's a big vision. I mean, you mentioned that you want to help kids advance their social justice. Can you explain what that means, too? What does that mean to you?

Yeah, so basically, what we do. So, for example, we do an annual charity yoga event every year, and this will be, like, the seventh year we've done that. So what we do is we choose different organizations or existing programs that are already in place, and as long as we have a connection to them and they're somehow in alignment with what our mission is and what we're up to at that moment, then we'll take those projects on and we'll fundraise for those projects. And so that would be the ongoing example of us assisting social justice. So right now, one of our main causes is education and programs in elementary schools for anti bullying, lgbtq, transgender, and gender equality. Within. Within kids. Because I believe that if you don't, you know, that. That so much is shaped at that elementary age. And what happens is so many of those elementary kids today are adults, and they're still bullies. They're just a lot older. And so I want to help, you know, make a difference in schools in young ages so that kids can grow up to be kind and, you know, they can have something that's reshaped in them at a small age, which is where I believe it's really important.

And how do you stay committed to that? Because I'm sure there's days you don't feel like it, there's days that.

Not at all. Oh, my God. Every day. Every day can feel like a struggle.

Yeah. So how do you stay committed?

You know, I stay committed by. I have a really strong yoga practice. I teach yoga regularly, and I have a really amazing community that surrounds me and supports me. But a lot of it comes from the act of, you know, my meditation practice and the act of just getting more in touch with something that's bigger than me, like, whether it be God or whether it be the universe or whether it be spirit, you know, like my type of belief in God and having that be the driving force. Because what I've learned, Natalie, is that I don't have to do it on my own, but it oftentimes feels like I'm all alone. And so. And I. When I say I don't have to do it alone, meaning that it's not up to me. There's always a plan that's so much bigger than my mind can grapple with or that my mind can even see. And I think really, really big. Like, I think. I think that anything is possible. And so. But I know that beyond how big, I think there's even something way bigger out there. And I don't. I can't concept it because I don't have, like, that awareness yet in terms of my growth. But it's that. That I tap into, and then I just, like, hand things over because, like, energetically or like, in my brain, I'll just say, all right, I'm done with this, because I'm sick of worrying about it, and I don't know what to do anymore. And so I'm going to give this away. And that's the idea of that. You don't have to go. You don't have to approach life on your own. You always have something that's so much bigger than you. The plan is always bigger than you, but you just have to be willing to trust that. And so for me, it's a practice of daily trust and believing that. Believing in that higher power, that. That is really way bigger than me. Because oftentimes I feel like I'm here to deliver a bigger message. Because sometimes when I sit down and work and I get really creative, I almost feel like I'm not. It's not me that's creating, like, all the great stuff. It's almost like it's. I'm just, like, feeling it. I don't know how to say that without sounding like a weirdo, but it.

Sounds to me like you just. You have a. You have big sense of connection to.

Things, bigger than you completely. I'm connected to a higher power. And I sometimes feel when I get in my. In my zones, I'm like, oh, my gosh, what just happened? That wasn't me. Like, that was like, yeah, like God speaking through me.

And, you know, that's a common thing I hear from people that live a life bigger than themselves, you know, that are delivering a message, you'll hear that, like, it just kind of comes through them. It's like. And they think, that wasn't. That wasn't me. I'm delivering a message. But when people are super connected to their vision and really in integrity with it and have a sense of connection to others, I've heard that before.

It's amazing.

Kim, has there anything that you have had to overcome or stop believing so that you could continue to work towards this vision?

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I would say it's a daily or on good times, it's a weekly or sometimes I can go longer with this, but for me, it's just the idea of getting out of my own way and getting my own, I guess, understanding my own personal value. It's easy to think that nothing's going to turn out. It's easy to think that, you know, you're not good enough for something that you want. And so for me, it's the constant mind, mind chatter that happens. And, you know, how I move through that is I've learned to, like, when I'm. When I'm really, really in a moment of like, oh, my God, I want to get away from myself. Then I sit down and I. And I set my meditation timer and I just start saying my meditation mantra so I can focus on that instead of on my mind chatter. So that really helps me. And the, you know, the. The other side to that is just befriending myself rather than resisting myself because, you know, the Part of the mind chatter is also part of just being alive and being a human being. And I think that. That it happens to all of us. It's something that we share in common, is, as you know, in humanity, is our minds. And so rather than resisting it, I'm, you know, I just remind myself, okay, that's part of you, and just, you know, love it and thank your mind for sharing. And then move forward. And just like, no matter what, move forward.

That takes commitment. I mean, you. You recognize those voices in your head. You recognize what's coming up, and you learn to shift it. It sounds like through meditation and just grounding yourself and then clearing the space. And that's. So that would be the biggest tool in helping you, do you think?

Yeah, I mean, 100% meditation. And I have a meditation buddy, Alex, and he and I, we will text each other the number of minutes that we meditate every day.

I love that.

The capability that.

Yeah.

And I love it not. And I love it because sometimes I'll forget, like, I'm so busy, or if I have one of those days that are stacked back to back, I won't. It won't even cross my mind to meditate. And then I'll get a text message from Alex, and he'll. It'll say 10 minutes or whatever. He meditated. And I'm like, oh, that's what I need right now. And it reminds. So it reminds me. But I also keep me accountable in the sense that. Not that I do it because I. Because he accepts, expects me to text him, but I do it because it just, like, keeps me on track for myself, knowing that I want to be able to text him today, what I've meditated. It's sort of like, you know, a workout buddy. Like, if, you know, your friend is meeting you for yoga, and even though you're not going to be talking in class, you don't want to not show up for that person. Yeah. Yeah. So meditation, my own practice. I do a lot of, like, I listen to a lot of podcasts. I have, like, really good people in my life that I stay connected with, that I make sure and have lunch with, you know, on like, a monthly basis, stuff like that.

Do you ever worry about what other people think?

Oh, yeah, all the time. Yeah, it's like the dark hole in me.

Tell me about that.

You know, it's just. It's controlling, like. And I'll oftentimes allow what people think of me to control me. And, you know, I've gotten. I've gotten to A space to where I'm a lot better at managing that in the sense that I won't care. I'll just. I'll just do like. Like I tell myself, as long as you know that you have the. You had good peer, honest intentions. And as long as I feel like this is an expression of my truth, then if those things are like, like, you know, fuck yes, then I don't even care what people think. Yeah, yeah, but if, but it. But if my answer to those are, oh, shit, I don't know if that was really my true self, then that's when I. I'm like, okay, so that's when I let someone else what other people think more so impact me because I already sort of knew that it wasn't my full true self in that. That.

Yeah, yeah, no, it makes total sense. So how do you find that you. Is it. Is it stories you're making up that you're thinking that. That they think they're thinking certain things? Is it because they've actually said certain things or talk to me more about, like, where is that even coming from?

Good question. I've definitely gotten some interesting feedback from people before, like anonymous stuff through the website. We have a podcast show as well that you've been on and feedback through that. But I would say 90% of it is in my mind. I will think I'll make something up that I think somebody didn't like, something I did or doesn't approve of something I did, someone that I look up to, and then I'll carry that story with me as if it were true without even consulting or asking that person, you know, is this what you think I'll take on? This has got to be what they think I messed up. Shouldn't have done that. Shouldn't have done it that way. And it becomes my own world versus what's actually real reality.

It's interesting you notice that about yourself, that you notice that.

Yeah, I mean, it happens like all the time, so.

And you still stay committed to your vision, so I love that.

Yeah, I'm very aware of my, My, My mind chatter. And you know, that doesn't mean that it goes away just because you're aware of it. It's more for me. I see it. Is that what, what makes it better? Like I had said, you know, a few moments ago, but applies to this question too, is that what makes it better is if I love. If I love myself, if I love it because that's a part of what I'm doing at that time rather than Getting mad at myself or being like, I can't believe you're doing this again, or you're so stupid, why would you, you know, better, Blah, blah, blah, like all that stuff that you can say in your head. And so it just helps if I am, you know, kinder to myself when I say things that are not empowering and then just kind of forget about it and go on with my day.

So you. If you have an event coming up, or you have, you know, you're doing something within your vision and this is coming up for you, so you're having a bad mood, you're having self doubt, or you're having these voices of this is what this person is saying, even though it's not true, but it's a story. How do you shift your mood when you don't feel like it? Because this comes up a lot with people. They say, I just don't feel like it. So how do I. How do I get motivated? How do I. What is that tool that you use to shift yourself and get your mood in the right place so you can stay committed to your vision when you don't feel like it?

Mm. So for me, I. Okay, so, one, I don't always come out of it. Sometimes I might wallow in something for days on end and. But at some point I do. Here's just some of the things I've done in the past. So one, if I'm like, oh, my gosh, you've been. You've been stewing over this for, you know, two weeks now. Like, I might say this to myself, then I'll. I'll look at my calendar and I'll be like, okay, you have one more day to feel sorry for yourself, and then no more. So I'll do. I'll like, give myself a time frame. Like, okay, enough is enough. You've been doing this for. For so long now you've got one more day to. To just, you know, sit on the couch and watch Netflix and feel bad for yourself.

So it sounds like you let yourself truly feel your emotions. You don't fight them.

You.

You're like, okay, I'm gonna. I'm feeling this. I'm gonna have a pity party. I'm gonna feel down. I'm gonna have these emotions, and then I'm gonna.

Yeah, but I'll. I won't let it go to where it spirals. I'll. I'll take steps to prevent it from spiraling. Like, set myself a time frame. I will call friends. Like, I have a handful of friends that I'm that really, really get me. And I'll call them and they'll just laugh and say things like, oh, my God, you're doing the same thing that you do all the time. And they'll give me. They'll just. They know what to say to me, so I'll do that. And then I also, though, will just come back to reflection of everything that I have. That's my biggest tool, I would say, is remembering and noticing all that I have. Because when I. When I start to see all that I have, I come back to again, to that moment in Haiti when I. When I experienced what other people have compared to what I have. And that always sets me straight because the stuff that I let bring me down is like, it's nothing that actually is going to matter in the long run. It's smaller things, like small, small things that will bring me down or things that, you know, like, oh, I wanted to have that class, or I wanted, you know, like that yoga class on the schedule, for example, or things like that. And, you know, the manager gave that class to a different teacher. So it's like, I'll get down about things that don't really actually matter. And so. But in my world, because my life is so wonderful and it's so big that when those things do happen, it's definitely the idea of bringing myself back to what I have.

Got it. Gratitude again?

Yeah. Like, what do you have? It can be like, oh, my gosh. Like, my whole thing is like, oh, my gosh, I have nothing to wear, you know, And I can be like, shoot, what am I going to wear tonight? And stress out about that. But then it's like, I have a closet and two dressers and another closet full of clothes.

Gosh, you are a master at gratitude. You really are. You exude it. You sweat it. I see, I hear it. It's explaining a lot to me. I mean, I think you look at everything through gratitude. It's incredible. So, speaking of which, you mentioned that some. One of the things you do to shift is you reach out to your circle, to your people that you call who is in your circle. Because I feel it's so important to surround yourself with the right people. Who's in your circle and what type of people do you choose to let into that circle? Who do you surround yourself with?

Well, I mean, gosh, my circle is so big, and I have different layers of friends for different purposes.

Okay.

So I've got like, the friend who, you know, like friends who can tell me how it is I've got friends who can, you know, who really know my story and, you know, are those people that are softer and more compassionate. But then I've got the friends who are a little bit more abrasive, which I love, by the way. I love it when you know, where you stand with someone. And that comes from the people who are just super honest and. And they don't beat around the bush. And, you know, I've learned a lot of that myself from my friends. I feel like my expressions are a culmination of my community where I take and I learn from so many people around me and I take all those. Those traits and I try to incorporate them into my own life, too. And so, you know, I think it depends on what the situation is and what the. What I'm going through with who I turn to, because it's not always the same. People like it, really. You know, I've got friends from 15 years ago that are still my best friends today. My friends Allison and Jesse, and they're like my definite, you know, I can just go and lay on their couch and fall asleep if I want to, or I can. I can always show up to their house without anything. No wine, no flowers, no nothing. And, you know, make myself at home. So I've got friends like that. And then I've got, you know, my yoga friends, the people I teach yoga with that I've known for years. And then I've got, you know, people like you who are more mentors to me and, you know, where I might follow what you're doing and, you know, go back and reread some of your posts to remind myself of something that you said. I remember reading when you posted it, but I'll go back and look for that to remind myself what you said. So I have different, like, mechanisms of, like, how I use my community, my circle. And it's really because everyone has a different offering. And, you know, some people. Most people, though, are people that I take on in terms of where I always feel like I'm the little sister to people or I always feel like I'm. I mean, I have. So I'd say a lot of the people in my life are younger than me or my same age or even older. But I always feel like no matter what the age is, that I'm always a little sister. So I tend to have people in my life that are more. I don't want to say caretaker ish, but that's the best thing I can think of now. But I tend to have people in My life that are always the ones that I look up to that sort of guide me which way to go.

If I hear you correctly, you surround yourself with mentors, people that you can learn from people, people that lift you up, and you suck a lot of that up. I guess maybe a better question would be, who do you not let in your circle? Who do you. Because you do have that contagious energy and you attract so many amazing people who. Like, how do you know when somebody shouldn't be in your circle or when they're not good for me or they're toxic?

I can sort of tell when people aren't happy for me. I don't let onto it, but I can tell when people aren't happy for me. And so those are the type of people that I will. I still have them in my space, but I don't engage with them, if that makes any sense.

These are people that you feel aren't celebrating your wins or aren't supporters.

Exactly. Got it. Because they might want it for themselves and they're not happy that I got that. Or. And so I can feel that energy. Or. And I. And, you know, sometimes I'll question it, like, oh, I hope that I'm not making that up, but it might be comments that I. That they've made to me. It might be things like that. So people like that, I tend to keep, you know, at a distance, but I don't totally shut them out because I think that. That, you know, that success and jealousy and stuff like that is also a part of being human. And I think that at some point, we've all wanted, you know, to be in other people's shoes and have what other people have. And so I try to also have compassion for that because. Because I think that if somebody, you know, isn't happy for you, then that's someone that you want to offer, you know, like, love and compassion to, because they clearly have something that they're working through that's personal to them. And so it's not anything to do with me.

Gosh, Kim, you have so much. Not only gratitude. I said that earlier about you having so much gratitude. You have so much acceptance for people. You really. It's really. You can really tell that you feel that we're part of something greater and that we're all connected. And it's funny, you don't even exclude anybody from your circle because you feel we're all connected. It's amazing.

Well, I mean, I don't like to explain people, but I definitely have, like, layers of People, like, I protect my energy. Like, I know. I know that there's certain people I'm not gonna hang out with in terms of, like a dinner, for example, where you'd have, like, two or three hours in the evening with.

Yes.

Like, I. Those are people I wouldn't have dinner with because I will. I'm very sacred with my energy and how much and. And who I put myself around. And so it's only going to be people that are empowering to me.

I love that.

But I would still have the non. Like, the kind of more of the energy sucker people. I would still have them in my space. I'm just not gonna make plans and spend time with them.

You're managing your time because it would take from.

It would take. I would feel drained when I leave. When I leave them. Yeah.

All right, two final questions for you, Kim. I want to know, do you have a favorite quote?

Oh. Oh, my God, I have so many favorite quotes. Okay. I love the one. So I actually have a tattoo on my arm. It says, my life is my message. And that's a Gandhi quote. And the reason I love that is because it reminds me that my actions are what is creating my message to others. And so when I'm not sure what to do, like some, like. Which is quite often, I'll be like, shit, do I do this or that? Or. There are so many moments, and I just. I just. I'm not sure the direction to take on something. Then I will choose the one that is closest to being in line with a bigger message.

I love that. That's a great one. And then my final question for you. So I want to know, what are three pieces of advice that you would give someone starting out from a rock bottom spot, somebody that needs to level up? Like, what are those three pieces of advice you would give them?

I would say trust, number one. Number two, I would say be willing to let go of or not let go of. But I mean, sometimes let go of or even distance yourself in relationships or in friendships that are no longer empowering for you.

Okay.

Because I think that we outgrow people, and I think that people outgrow us, and I think that that's part of life, and you have to be willing to let those relationships pass by. And then I would say third would be to pretend. Pretend that you are magic. Pretend that you are a unicorn. I mean, I'm just making this up because that's what I do.

So act as if you're acting as if you are something else.

I will pretend because I'm not feeling it. So then I revert to playing house, like, because I'm not feeling it. I'm feeling so shitty right now about whatever it is, I'm just gonna have to pretend because that's all I've got in me right now.

Ooh, that's really good. I love that piece of advice. Kim. Kim, you are so awesome. Where can people find find more about you, what you stand for, how they can support your vision? Where do they find you on.

So our Instagram and Facebook is the same. It's One Love movement. Org. Just one word. One Love movement. Org. And then our website is also that onelovemovement.org and then yeah, those are our three things. Facebook, Instagram, and then our website.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Natalie. I'm so honored.

Thanks for leveling up with us today. Please share this episode if you found it helpful so others can join in. And don't forget to hit that subscribe so you don't miss out on future shows. And if you would leave me a five star review. I appreciate those so much. I read all of them and it's how I know that I'm giving you information that you find value and come interact with me over on Instagram at nataliejillfit. I read all the direct messages and comments over there. Make it a great day. Creating everything from nothing.