March 21, 2025 • 40 mins
Joan Sotkin, a renowned financial and prosperity coach, joins us to share her unique insights into the deep emotional ties we have with money, especially when chaos seems to rule the day. As we navigate through uncertain political landscapes marked by figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Joan helps us uncover how our financial feelings often echo personal emotions rather than our actual bank balances. We explore how fear can cloud our judgment during turbulent times, highlighting the need to reshape our habitual financial emotions to empower better decision-making.
Our journey continues with an enlightening discussion on how hope serves as a powerful antidote to life's chaos.
About Joan Sotkin
Joan is the author of The Search for Connection: A Spiritual Journey to Physical, Emotional, and Financial Health as well as several other books. She was the first person to market crystals and minerals for healing and meditation nationwide and had a line of stones, Joan’s Stones, in 600 New Age bookstores. She has been offering her services as a prosperity coach for 20+ years to help people grow their businesses and their wealth using a unique approach of looking at the relationship between money and emotions.
Contact Joan at https://www.prosperityplace.com
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About Dr. Liz
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Listened to in over 140 countries, Hypnotize Me is the podcast about hypnosis, transformation, and healing. Certified hypnotherapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Dr. Liz Bonet, discusses hypnosis and interviews professionals doing transformational work.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Liz (00:01):
Hi everyone, dr Liz here.
Today's guest is Joan Sotkin.
She's been on the podcast a couple of times
and she is a financial coach prosperity
coach, I would say and works with the
emotional aspects of money.
She really believes that it doesn't matter
(00:21):
how much money you have.
We all have feelings about it and to work
with those habitual feelings to change them
into something that feels better for us is
the way to go in terms of like feelings
about money.
I consider her quite wise and we talk about
lots of different things on this episode.
(00:44):
I don't typically do any kind of politics
on my podcast and this episode does tend to
be more towards the political due to the
chaos going on in the US right now.
It was recorded in March of 2025, when
Donald Trump is the president and Elon Musk
(01:06):
is his right-hand man.
Joan does make a, let's say, globalization
when she's talking about Elon Musk, refers
to him as Asperger's and says so.
He has very low empathy.
If you're not familiar with the term
Asperger's, it was in the DSM for decades
(01:29):
and its own diagnosis, but then in right
around 2013, it got wrapped into autism, so
typically it's autism level one, because
the people often have very low support
needs, but they do come off as eccentric,
let's say so.
(01:50):
It is a misconception that all autistic
people lack empathy.
It varies greatly among individuals, both
autistic and neurotypical.
Actually, some autistic people can
experience a really wide range of
empathetic experiences and be super
empathetic to the point that sometimes it's
(02:12):
overwhelming for them, which is sometimes
when you get some meltdowns or withdrawal
or something like that.
Elon Musk himself I don't actually know him
personally, I mean from afar it looks like
he has very low empathy though, so I
wouldn't say that statement is more
(02:33):
specific to him than autistic individuals
in general.
We talk about all kinds of stuff in this
episode, but we do typically bring it back
to money and how to decrease fear around
money.
She gives you some real concrete actions to
take in this one, so stick with us.
All right, let's jump in.
(02:53):
I hope everyone is healthy and safe.
Peace, hi, joan.
Welcome back to the Hypnotize Me podcast.
It's great to be here.
Yeah, I thought of you.
Actually, a financial planner reached out
to me to be on the podcast and I thought
(03:16):
really I'd love to have Joan on again,
because she really talks about the
emotional aspects of money.
She really talks about the emotional
aspects of money and people feel, let's say,
unsettled right now so we're recording this
in March of 2025, and they're feeling very
unsettled around money, the markets, all
(03:39):
this stuff.
So I thought it would be wonderful to have
you come on and give your perspective
around that.
Joan Sotkin (03:44):
So I thought it would be wonderful to have
you come on and give your perspective
around that.
Well, let's say that what you feel about
money is a good way about learning more
about yourself, because whatever you're
feeling about money has nothing to do with
money.
(04:08):
It has to do with the feelings that you're
bringing to money.
So let's look at the possibilities.
Okay, first of all, right now, there is, I
think you can say, a great deal of
uncertainty.
Dr. Liz (04:17):
Yes.
Joan Sotkin (04:19):
Okay, and your brain is wired to warn you
during times of uncertainty, because you
don't know the outcome and we are getting
that in spades right now, and it doesn't
matter what your financial position I mean,
(04:40):
they're talking about the businesses and
how they don't know what to plan because of
the uncertainty.
And your amygdala's job that's that piece
in your brain is to keep you safe.
So, during times of uncertainty, it tells
you to be afraid.
(05:01):
So it's your brain.
Hmm, so it's your brain.
Your brain is telling you it's dangerous
and you need to protect yourself, which is
a perception because, right this minute,
most of you who are listening are not in
(05:21):
danger.
Uh-huh, yeah, there's no tiger coming at us.
No, there are no tigers in the woods.
And if you have enough to eat and a place
to stay, then at this moment in time you're
probably safe.
And we're just trained to just go to money
(05:44):
as the danger point, and particularly since
there's so much money talk going on in the
chaos.
Yes, there is.
It's like it's crazy and we keep hearing
the richest man in the world.
I feel sorry for him because he's got to be
really alone and he's got to fire.
I mean, his behavior is crazy.
(06:08):
He happens.
He has said he's got Asperger's, which
could mean that his empathy level is low,
and that's clear.
So you have to look at what's actually
going on.
And if you look at what's going on, you'll
see that the courts are responding very
(06:29):
fully to his.
You know, to stop a lot of this it's just
going to take longer than you want it to
and there will be disruption.
There's no doubt about it.
I've been talking about the chaos for a
long time.
You know I got this message in 1976 that we
(06:50):
were going into a period of great chaos,
that many people will leave the planet,
that the chaos in the Middle East will get
so bad people will say how could a
benevolent God allow this to happen?
And that people are being trained to be
points of light in the midst of the chaos.
Dr. Liz (07:07):
Okay, so you think we're finally there.
Joan Sotkin (07:10):
I think we're still on the edges of it.
Okay, because it's happening all over the
world.
It's not just in the United States, oh yeah.
Dr. Liz (07:18):
Right.
Joan Sotkin (07:19):
It's happening all over with the right wing
politics and what they're calling with the
right-wing politics, and what they're
calling populism, which hurts the people
rather than helps them.
And so this is what's going on.
And the problem is, when you're in the
chaos and your brain is going be afraid, be
(07:40):
afraid.
It's very difficult to make good decisions.
Yes, because your life is the result of
your decisions.
Okay, and so if you give into the fear,
because that's what you think is happening,
and remember our brains are wired to keep
(08:03):
us safe, yes, so it always looks for the
negative, mm-hmm, you have to bring the
positive to your brain so that that's what
your subconscious is acting on.
Okay, which is not always easy to do when
there's this much chaos.
(08:27):
Always easy to do when there's this much
chaos.
Dr. Liz (08:30):
Yes, there has been chaos before during the
Civil War, but we don't remember that.
Yeah, we don't.
I mean, I think you've lived through many
periods of chaos the Vietnam War, Right,
and you know, my thing has always been what
can I do?
Joan Sotkin (08:44):
And during the Vietnam War, I was an
activist and I was organizing
demonstrations that would get good press
coverage.
That allowed me to feel I was doing
something to help the situation.
And it did, because the protesting in those
(09:05):
days really made a difference.
Yes, I can't.
You know, I'm too old at this point to be
out there protesting.
My body doesn't want to do that, so I do.
I'm talking a lot about coping with the
chaos, because we must do that or we're
going to get sick.
(09:26):
Because when you're in fear, your brain is
putting out cortisol, which is the stress
hormone, and that is the basis of a lot of
physical disease.
So, and the idea is to train your brain.
So, instead of there's a lot of cortisol,
(09:47):
there's serotonin, which is the brain
chemical that leads to satisfaction and
contentment.
So how do you do that on a day-to-day basis?
Yeah, in other words, how do you counteract
the fear?
I know, the first time they started talking
about getting rid of social security, I had
those moments of fear and I had to remind
(10:10):
myself that it hasn't happened yet.
Mm, hmm.
And I don't need to make up a story about
what's going to happen, because when you're
in the future fear, you're making up a
story For sure.
Yes, so the trick is to make up a different
(10:32):
story.
So when that happened, I took a deep breath
and did some deep breathing and just
imagined that the courts were going to, you
know, stopping Social Security.
They can't.
I mean, the chances of them actually doing
(10:53):
that are smaller than the chances of them
doing it, particularly since the market is
tanking the way it's been tanking and they
don't, and Tesla stock has been tanking and
and they don't, and and tesla stock has
been tanking the way.
I mean, they had a a tesla sale on the
white house lawn, um yesterday and he had a
(11:16):
bunch of teslas there and said, uh, trump
said he was buying a tesla and of course
musk was there, was there and it's illegal.
Dr. Liz (11:27):
I don't follow the news a whole lot right
now.
Joan Sotkin (11:30):
I do, but I had no idea, it sounds like a
bad car show and that is actually illegal,
I was going to say Because it's not legal
to sell things on the White House lawn.
Uh-huh, so everything is topsy-turvy.
(11:51):
Yes, there are going to be moments of fear.
If you're one of the people that has been
laid off, you're going to have a lot of
fear.
Dr. Liz (11:57):
Yeah, yeah.
Joan Sotkin (12:01):
I can't tell you everything's going to get
well fast, but the more you can be still,
the more apt you will be to come up with a
solution for you.
I can't tell you what those solutions are.
You have to find them for yourself.
(12:21):
The people are becoming outspoken about
what has happened to them.
If you're watching if you're not watching
Fox News, you'll see that people are
telling the truth about what's going on.
Well, they're going to be stories for a
while.
There are going to be stories for a while
(12:44):
Once some of this is reversed, which could
take two years because we may have to wait
for the midterms it's going to take a while
to rebuild everything, because things are
going to start falling apart.
I mean, if you look at what's going on, we
have already Right and it's moving so fast.
(13:05):
I mean they warned us in Project 2025 that
this is going to happen and it's happening.
So now you know the Democrats are doing
their best to figure out solutions.
It's not easy, because when you've got a
bully in charge, it's hard to counteract it,
(13:29):
it's hard to counteract it and my heart
goes out to the people who have lost their
jobs, and for no reason.
Musk knows nothing about how the government
is run.
The thing that's hurting him is the
downturn of the Tesla stock, which is why
they're having the Tesla sale on the White
House lawn.
I mean well it's interesting.
Dr. Liz (13:49):
I took a seminar recently professional that
talked about the autistic brain, because I
do adult autism evaluations as well as
neurodivergent positive psychotherapy.
They did say, like the autistic brain is
very transactional, like when they do brain
(14:09):
scans on people.
In that moment it just explained to me like
oh, this is why Elon was a huge anti-Trump
huge.
And then all of a sudden switched.
It's like, oh, trump can give me something,
so now I'm going to support him.
(14:33):
And so it just sort of explained it that in
that moment it said like often they'll
switch friend groups when this friend group
isn't giving them something that they need
or want.
You know, suddenly they're into Star Wars
instead of Batman and so boom, the Star
Wars group is all their BFFs now.
And along the way, the people in the Batman
group are feeling hurt, right, like why
aren't you my friend anymore?
(14:53):
But anyway, it was really interesting to
hear it talked about that way and it
suddenly like made some sense for me.
So, yeah, very transactional, and what that
also means is he could quickly switch back.
Joan Sotkin (15:04):
So, yeah, very transactional, and what that
also means is he could quickly switch back,
yes, yes, when he decides he's like the
Tesla stock and all the people who are
standing in front of the Tesla things and
people and the Tesla sales are down in
Europe extremely hard.
So Trump is the same way.
(15:24):
He's very transactional.
Dr. Liz (15:25):
He is.
Joan Sotkin (15:27):
Yes, whatever his divergence is, it's.
Dr. Liz (15:30):
Yeah, but he is extremely transactional.
Joan Sotkin (15:33):
Yes, yes, why a lot of people like him?
Dr. Liz (15:36):
like telling him like it is.
Joan Sotkin (15:38):
There are other people like that.
Yes, but the country is based on serving
people.
Yes, not selling people, correct?
You know, so I always, I have trained
myself to believe that there's a positive
(15:58):
and negative to everything, okay, that we
live in a dualistic reality where, even on
an atomic level, there is plus and minus,
and that this is the polarity we're now
seeing the plus and the minus.
(16:18):
The minus just happens to be louder than
the plus.
It's like the yin and yang.
Dr. Liz (16:24):
Yeah.
Joan Sotkin (16:24):
You know the yang is very outgoing, the yin
is the feminine ingoing right, yes.
So it's a matter of the yin people being a
little more prominent.
Dr. Liz (16:43):
Mm-hmm.
Joan Sotkin (16:43):
In other words, instead of cowering in fear,
I believe that if those of us who have been
meditating for years start sending out
healing energy to the planet and to Donald
Trump and Elon Musk where, instead of
buying into the fear, we're counteracting
(17:07):
it with a different energy I mean this may
sound obscure to some people, but it's all
about energy.
Money is energy.
It's all about energy, and if you're
generating fear, you're not helping the
situation at all.
So go out in nature and let yourself feel
(17:32):
the trees and the leaves and the flowers
and the bugs and all those things who
couldn't care less what's going on on the
front lawn of the White House, to let
yourself be.
I think that meditation is a form of
dissociation.
Dr. Liz (17:50):
Okay.
Joan Sotkin (17:52):
It takes you to another dimension.
Dr. Liz (17:54):
It does yeah.
Joan Sotkin (17:56):
Okay, so does that mean that dissociation
is bad?
No, it probably has some positive aspects.
It lets you rise above the pain.
Dr. Liz (18:08):
Yes, I've always seen dissociation as
actually a skill, a skill that people
develop.
Joan Sotkin (18:17):
Yes, right, and that's what meditation is.
You're going someplace else.
Dr. Liz (18:21):
Yes, if you can use it voluntarily, even
better.
Joan Sotkin (18:25):
Yes, I've been meditating since 1972.
So I think I have a little practice under
my belt, so to speak.
Yeah, it's a highly developed skill for you
get into theta, whatever it is, it feels
good yeah and to be able to see the
(18:48):
possibility of what's going on now, which
is that we're seeing the corruption in all
of its glory true we can't hide it anymore,
and for those who you know, the bros who
(19:09):
really like what Donald Trump is doing,
they're going to get hurt too.
So it's just going to take time for the
energy to shift.
Okay to shift and if all of you who have
been meditating will work to get out of the
(19:30):
fear and into satisfaction and contentment
and hope.
I asked ChatGPT what are the brain
chemicals that are generated by hope?
And the answer is serotonin and oxytocin.
Right, if you can find a piece of hope and
(19:56):
hold on to it, listen to enough news to
know it's like Rachel Maddow.
And if you're not on cable, you can see it
on YouTube.
And when you see all the people out there
protesting, let that give you hope, because
(20:17):
the minute you allow yourself to feel just
a spark of hope, your brain goes oh, that
feels good and you're counteracting
cortisol, which doesn't help you one little
bit, and you're teaching your brain a new
(20:40):
response to familiar stimuli.
Dr. Liz (20:44):
Okay, that feels more doable for me Because,
honestly, during Trump's first term, I
tried to do compassionate meditation,
sending him good energy.
Finally, I gave up, joan.
I was like I just can't do this and I'm not,
I'm not doing it.
Joan Sotkin (20:58):
But it's a matter of this phrase that I've
been using for a long time is developing
new responses to familiar stimuli.
Dr. Liz (21:10):
Okay.
Joan Sotkin (21:11):
To me, that's the key you know what are you
feeling, what would you rather be feeling,
and do you know how to feel that?
Because if you don't know what you'd rather
be feeling, your brain hasn't been trained
to feel that.
Dr. Liz (21:27):
That's true.
I mean I am able to move to, and I was
neutral, sometimes not really positive, but
to me what gives me hope actually is that I
consider him on his own spiritual path,
like somehow in the life between lives he
chose to come back and fulfill this role
(21:50):
and that that's somehow spiritually part of
all of our journeys.
Joan Sotkin (21:54):
And what if it's an important part of our
journey?
Yeah, I mean, I'm 84 years old and so I
remember the times of chaos and I have the
experience of coming out of chaos.
I had measles as a child.
Now we're back to measles again.
(22:15):
I mean, everything is upside down right now,
so it's probably easier for me to switch
feelings because of my muscle memory, as
they call it.
For new people, people in their 30s, 40s
they've never learned to deal with this
(22:36):
kind of chaos, it's true, okay, so, which
is why I feel it's part of my job to help
people cope with the chaos.
Dr. Liz (22:48):
Yes, Well, you're running a group right One
Friday a month.
Joan Sotkin (22:51):
Right now I'm in the midst of moving Talk
about chaos.
Dr. Liz (22:55):
Yes, I just moved, it was chaos.
Joan Sotkin (22:58):
I have an analogy.
Do you know your junk drawer where you put
everything that you don't want to deal with
in the moment?
Well, even though I live fairly minimalist,
whatever is left now is pretty much the
junk drawer.
It's just they're bigger pieces Like where
(23:19):
do you recycle this?
Do I put this in the garbage?
What am I supposed to do with that?
Yes, there are so many decisions.
Yes, all those decisions you didn't want to
make when you put things in the junk drawer,
when you move, you have to deal with every
one of those decisions, or just come in and
(23:42):
have someone haul it away.
There are actually companies that will haul
it all away, but I'm so adapted to
recycling and composting and, you know,
will I be able to move on the right day so
I don't miss the compost people who pick up,
(24:02):
you know I think that's what.
Dr. Liz (24:05):
I hadn't recognized it till this moment,
but I got some decision fatigue yes, I was
like yeah, I'm just packing this and I will
deal with it later yes, yes, you're
creating a new junk drawer.
It was just like about 50 boxes of junk
drawer Right.
The other 50 I made decisions on.
Joan Sotkin (24:26):
I have a storage shed on my in the back of
my house, and I I opened the door the other
day and I see what's in there, and then I
closed the door the other day and I see
what's in there, and then I closed the door.
I totally get it.
And I'm not even sure where I'm moving,
although I think I have found the right
place.
(24:46):
So remember, your brain is designed to look
for the negative.
Dr. Liz (24:53):
Yes.
Joan Sotkin (24:54):
And those of us who can stay in hope are
the savior.
Okay, if you're worried about money, don't
spend it, which is a whole lot of a
difficult thing for people to do.
Yeah, but the thing is we don't know what's
happening with the money system.
(25:16):
The wealthy people will always do well,
because they've got enough socked away.
It doesn't matter.
My first spiritual teacher said to me Joan,
worrying is a waste of time and I thought
what a concept.
I didn't know anything about brain
chemistry at the time and so.
I've been working on not worrying for a
(25:37):
long time and I'll tell you it works really
well to not be a worry ward.
Dr. Liz (25:43):
Yeah, easier said than done though.
Joan Sotkin (25:45):
But because your brain is habituated to
worry.
Dr. Liz (25:50):
Yes, I like to see it as a practice versus
an either or.
Joan Sotkin (25:55):
Absolutely so, like when I would worry
about money and understanding that I was
making up a story.
So I would say to myself a large sum of
money from an unexpected source.
Dr. Liz (26:09):
Yes, I love it.
I use that all the time since I learned
from you years ago.
Joan Sotkin (26:14):
Yes, which means you're making up a
different story, yes, and then I would try
to imagine all the different places that
money could be coming from, and I knew that
that wasn't what's going to happen, because
I was making up a story.
But it didn't matter.
My brain got the message.
Dr. Liz (26:34):
Yes, well, you know, I know you'll believe
this.
I don't say that all the time, but
occasionally, a couple of times a year,
it'll occur to me when I start worrying
about money and I'll say no, a large sum of
money from an unexpected source.
And more often than not it actually happens.
Some crazy check shows up.
You know, I had that the other day.
(26:55):
I got a refund from the dermatologist of
all people.
Joan Sotkin (26:59):
It's the only medical refund I think I've
ever gotten and I got a check the other day
for 350 because I had overpaid escrow yes,
yeah, I still have like little checks
coming in from the sale of my house right,
like right exactly I didn know.
Dr. Liz (27:18):
I didn't know this was going to happen,
right.
Joan Sotkin (27:21):
And you know I'm looking around.
What can I sell?
Because I'm going from a three bedroom
house, that's, you know, sixteen hundred
square feet, to a thousand square feet.
Well, I better sell something.
And so it gives me what to think about.
And I don't think about, well, will I get
enough?
You know, I just I'm taking action, and
(27:44):
when you begin to expect the best, you know
the most comfortable.
There is no good or bad, there only is what
is and how you respond to what is.
So I know what's comfortable for me and I'm
imagining those things happening.
Dr. Liz (28:00):
Okay, so imagine something positive
happening.
Joan Sotkin (28:04):
Yes, and I don't even see it as positive
and negative.
I don't.
I don't use the term negative emotions.
I see what's comfortable or not comfortable
for me.
Dr. Liz (28:15):
Got it, got it, what's?
Joan Sotkin (28:17):
comfortable for Elon Musk is very different
from what is comfortable for me.
Yes, I care about other people, I have a
high degree of empathy, but I also know
you've heard me talk about empathetic
detachment.
Yes, I can understand your pain, but I
(28:37):
can't fix it.
Yes, I can help you fix it.
I have the feeling and the belief that each
of us has our own karma, so to speak.
I don't believe things happen by accident
and I see a bigger picture.
(29:00):
I've been into metaphysics since I was in
my 20s and I read in one of the books along
the way that we have all those cells in our
body that make up our body and that people
are just cells in the body of the planet,
(29:30):
and the planet is just a cell in the body
of the solar system and the solar system is
just a cell in the body of the galaxy.
What's going on on the earth right now is
it's sick, there's a cancer that's taking
over, there's dis-ease.
I like that dis happening is just what's
(29:50):
happening.
And if you're denying climate change and
you're denying pollution and you're rah-rah
for the oil companies, that's what's
(30:13):
affecting the energy of the cells on this
planet.
And so, if you look at it from that point
of view, it's like taking a spaceship and
going out there.
It's like when we first saw the Earth from
outer space.
(30:35):
Yes, you know, it changed our view of the
world.
And it was just, you know, this amazing
blue dot in the midst of all the other dots,
yes, and which, for me, allows me to take
myself a little less seriously, me to take
(31:03):
myself a little less seriously and, yes,
and and to realize I'm just part of a much
larger system.
And if I keep smiling, if I do my best to
keep my brain healthy and for me that's
been quite a job, because I had post-sepsis
syndrome I, in October I had a little mini
(31:26):
stroke that that my brain is my most
precious thing and that I have to do what I
can, yeah, so it's your choice.
The thing is, nothing's happening to you,
it's happening through you and you get to
decide what you want going through you, and
(31:48):
we haven't been taught that.
We have the power to decide.
So don't think you're a victim.
We're living in an age of victimhood.
We've got a president who is the victim in
chief and you don't have to be a victim.
(32:09):
You have control of who you are and how
you're living in the world, and that's hard
for people to hear.
You know, I'm someone who is spiritual, not
religious, and I study all the religions of
the world and they all have something of
value in them.
But you know, I love the phrase the kingdom
(32:31):
of God is within you, and what does that
mean?
Have we ever looked at what that means and
how, how, when we tune into that very high
level part of ourselves, we can find our
answers?
I don't care how smart or not smart you are,
your answers are there, you just have to.
(32:52):
How many people have said to me I've got an
inner voice, but I'm afraid to follow it.
Well, follow it.
Dr. Liz (32:57):
Yeah right, it's tuning in and listening.
Joan Sotkin (33:01):
You know I have I've been using the phrase
the truth of you shall set you free.
Not the truth shall set you free, but the
truth of you.
And to me, the journey of life is that
journey towards self-knowledge.
Whatever's going on, what is this telling
(33:21):
me about me?
When someone comes along?
Dr. Liz (33:29):
and criticizes you.
They're usually telling you about them.
Joan Sotkin (33:30):
Yes, so instead of saying oh, my God, there
must be something wrong with me, it's like,
oh, where are they?
And how can I have compassion for them, for
being so uncomfortable?
Dr. Liz (33:42):
Yes, I think the both is necessary and for
my personal life, it's like, okay, I have
to take a look and say is that accurate?
Are they giving me some feedback about
something I have the ability to change,
that I need to look at, and at the same
time, it is telling me about them.
Joan Sotkin (34:02):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
And to accept the acceptance piece is so
important.
I did a podcast episode on my sub stack on
the art of acceptance and I think it's on
Spotify too.
And I was born with a genetic problem.
(34:25):
I wasn't given a label for it until I was
65.
That has limited me in some ways.
Now I could spend all my time fetching
about what I can't do.
Dr. Liz (34:35):
True.
Joan Sotkin (34:37):
It's send to back.
Being to front, which is a computer command.
You know what doesn't work doesn't have to
be prominent, because when you start
looking for what does work, you know what
works for you.
(35:03):
You I see that because of this genetic
problem I have learned a lot about
nutrition and the body and how it works and
how to make it more comfortable.
And you know that's why I love chat GPT,
because it's got a lot of basic information.
Dr. Liz (35:14):
Okay, well, we're coming to the end of our
time here.
But tell people how to find you and how to
work with you if they'd like to do that and
we've talked about a lot of different stuff
here but tell them what your focus is.
Joan Sotkin (35:30):
My focus is helping people how their
emotions are affecting their decisions Okay,
and that it's never about the money and
emotions are not dangerous or hard to deal
with.
Once you understand your brain and how it
works Not my brain, not Liz's brain, but
(35:54):
your brain and to understand that you're
unique and to understand how your childhood
experiences are affecting your decisions
today and affecting your financial outcomes,
and so I do do this free gathering every
month, once a month.
I do do this free gathering every month,
(36:15):
once a month.
It's a very safe place where you know you
can share what's going on, to realize that
you do have choices.
So if you go to prosperityplacecom, you'll
find everything I do, including the money
coaching and you know everything I do
(36:36):
starts there, and you can always set up a
call to talk to me.
I love to talk to people.
Dr. Liz (36:41):
Okay, great.
Yeah, there's lots of information on that
site.
So you're doing the group and you're still
doing personal coaching too, though oh,
absolutely.
Okay, great.
Well, good luck on your move.
Joan Sotkin (36:54):
Oh, thank you.
Thank you, it seems to be moving along fine.
Dr. Liz (36:59):
Good, and thank you again for being on the
podcast.
Joan Sotkin (37:03):
My pleasure and I love to meet new people,
and I thank you all for listening.
Hi everyone, dr Liz here.
Today's guest is Joan Sotkin.
She's been on the podcast a couple of times
and she is a financial coach prosperity
coach, I would say and works with the
emotional aspects of money.
She really believes that it doesn't matter
(00:21):
how much money you have.
We all have feelings about it and to work
with those habitual feelings to change them
into something that feels better for us is
the way to go in terms of like feelings
about money.
I consider her quite wise and we talk about
lots of different things on this episode.
(00:44):
I don't typically do any kind of politics
on my podcast and this episode does tend to
be more towards the political due to the
chaos going on in the US right now.
It was recorded in March of 2025, when
Donald Trump is the president and Elon Musk
(01:06):
is his right-hand man.
Joan does make a, let's say, globalization
when she's talking about Elon Musk, refers
to him as Asperger's and says so.
He has very low empathy.
If you're not familiar with the term
Asperger's, it was in the DSM for decades
(01:29):
and its own diagnosis, but then in right
around 2013, it got wrapped into autism, so
typically it's autism level one, because
the people often have very low support
needs, but they do come off as eccentric,
let's say so.
(01:50):
It is a misconception that all autistic
people lack empathy.
It varies greatly among individuals, both
autistic and neurotypical.
Actually, some autistic people can
experience a really wide range of
empathetic experiences and be super
empathetic to the point that sometimes it's
(02:12):
overwhelming for them, which is sometimes
when you get some meltdowns or withdrawal
or something like that.
Elon Musk himself I don't actually know him
personally, I mean from afar it looks like
he has very low empathy though, so I
wouldn't say that statement is more
(02:33):
specific to him than autistic individuals
in general.
We talk about all kinds of stuff in this
episode, but we do typically bring it back
to money and how to decrease fear around
money.
She gives you some real concrete actions to
take in this one, so stick with us.
All right, let's jump in.
(02:53):
I hope everyone is healthy and safe.
Peace, hi, joan.
Welcome back to the Hypnotize Me podcast.
It's great to be here.
Yeah, I thought of you.
Actually, a financial planner reached out
to me to be on the podcast and I thought
(03:16):
really I'd love to have Joan on again,
because she really talks about the
emotional aspects of money.
She really talks about the emotional
aspects of money and people feel, let's say,
unsettled right now so we're recording this
in March of 2025, and they're feeling very
unsettled around money, the markets, all
(03:39):
this stuff.
So I thought it would be wonderful to have
you come on and give your perspective
around that.
Joan Sotkin (03:44):
So I thought it would be wonderful to have
you come on and give your perspective
around that.
Well, let's say that what you feel about
money is a good way about learning more
about yourself, because whatever you're
feeling about money has nothing to do with
money.
(04:08):
It has to do with the feelings that you're
bringing to money.
So let's look at the possibilities.
Okay, first of all, right now, there is, I
think you can say, a great deal of
uncertainty.
Dr. Liz (04:17):
Yes.
Joan Sotkin (04:19):
Okay, and your brain is wired to warn you
during times of uncertainty, because you
don't know the outcome and we are getting
that in spades right now, and it doesn't
matter what your financial position I mean,
(04:40):
they're talking about the businesses and
how they don't know what to plan because of
the uncertainty.
And your amygdala's job that's that piece
in your brain is to keep you safe.
So, during times of uncertainty, it tells
you to be afraid.
(05:01):
So it's your brain.
Hmm, so it's your brain.
Your brain is telling you it's dangerous
and you need to protect yourself, which is
a perception because, right this minute,
most of you who are listening are not in
(05:21):
danger.
Uh-huh, yeah, there's no tiger coming at us.
No, there are no tigers in the woods.
And if you have enough to eat and a place
to stay, then at this moment in time you're
probably safe.
And we're just trained to just go to money
(05:44):
as the danger point, and particularly since
there's so much money talk going on in the
chaos.
Yes, there is.
It's like it's crazy and we keep hearing
the richest man in the world.
I feel sorry for him because he's got to be
really alone and he's got to fire.
I mean, his behavior is crazy.
(06:08):
He happens.
He has said he's got Asperger's, which
could mean that his empathy level is low,
and that's clear.
So you have to look at what's actually
going on.
And if you look at what's going on, you'll
see that the courts are responding very
(06:29):
fully to his.
You know, to stop a lot of this it's just
going to take longer than you want it to
and there will be disruption.
There's no doubt about it.
I've been talking about the chaos for a
long time.
You know I got this message in 1976 that we
(06:50):
were going into a period of great chaos,
that many people will leave the planet,
that the chaos in the Middle East will get
so bad people will say how could a
benevolent God allow this to happen?
And that people are being trained to be
points of light in the midst of the chaos.
Dr. Liz (07:07):
Okay, so you think we're finally there.
Joan Sotkin (07:10):
I think we're still on the edges of it.
Okay, because it's happening all over the
world.
It's not just in the United States, oh yeah.
Dr. Liz (07:18):
Right.
Joan Sotkin (07:19):
It's happening all over with the right wing
politics and what they're calling with the
right-wing politics, and what they're
calling populism, which hurts the people
rather than helps them.
And so this is what's going on.
And the problem is, when you're in the
chaos and your brain is going be afraid, be
(07:40):
afraid.
It's very difficult to make good decisions.
Yes, because your life is the result of
your decisions.
Okay, and so if you give into the fear,
because that's what you think is happening,
and remember our brains are wired to keep
(08:03):
us safe, yes, so it always looks for the
negative, mm-hmm, you have to bring the
positive to your brain so that that's what
your subconscious is acting on.
Okay, which is not always easy to do when
there's this much chaos.
(08:27):
Always easy to do when there's this much
chaos.
Dr. Liz (08:30):
Yes, there has been chaos before during the
Civil War, but we don't remember that.
Yeah, we don't.
I mean, I think you've lived through many
periods of chaos the Vietnam War, Right,
and you know, my thing has always been what
can I do?
Joan Sotkin (08:44):
And during the Vietnam War, I was an
activist and I was organizing
demonstrations that would get good press
coverage.
That allowed me to feel I was doing
something to help the situation.
And it did, because the protesting in those
(09:05):
days really made a difference.
Yes, I can't.
You know, I'm too old at this point to be
out there protesting.
My body doesn't want to do that, so I do.
I'm talking a lot about coping with the
chaos, because we must do that or we're
going to get sick.
(09:26):
Because when you're in fear, your brain is
putting out cortisol, which is the stress
hormone, and that is the basis of a lot of
physical disease.
So, and the idea is to train your brain.
So, instead of there's a lot of cortisol,
(09:47):
there's serotonin, which is the brain
chemical that leads to satisfaction and
contentment.
So how do you do that on a day-to-day basis?
Yeah, in other words, how do you counteract
the fear?
I know, the first time they started talking
about getting rid of social security, I had
those moments of fear and I had to remind
(10:10):
myself that it hasn't happened yet.
Mm, hmm.
And I don't need to make up a story about
what's going to happen, because when you're
in the future fear, you're making up a
story For sure.
Yes, so the trick is to make up a different
(10:32):
story.
So when that happened, I took a deep breath
and did some deep breathing and just
imagined that the courts were going to, you
know, stopping Social Security.
They can't.
I mean, the chances of them actually doing
(10:53):
that are smaller than the chances of them
doing it, particularly since the market is
tanking the way it's been tanking and they
don't, and Tesla stock has been tanking and
and they don't, and and tesla stock has
been tanking the way.
I mean, they had a a tesla sale on the
white house lawn, um yesterday and he had a
(11:16):
bunch of teslas there and said, uh, trump
said he was buying a tesla and of course
musk was there, was there and it's illegal.
Dr. Liz (11:27):
I don't follow the news a whole lot right
now.
Joan Sotkin (11:30):
I do, but I had no idea, it sounds like a
bad car show and that is actually illegal,
I was going to say Because it's not legal
to sell things on the White House lawn.
Uh-huh, so everything is topsy-turvy.
(11:51):
Yes, there are going to be moments of fear.
If you're one of the people that has been
laid off, you're going to have a lot of
fear.
Dr. Liz (11:57):
Yeah, yeah.
Joan Sotkin (12:01):
I can't tell you everything's going to get
well fast, but the more you can be still,
the more apt you will be to come up with a
solution for you.
I can't tell you what those solutions are.
You have to find them for yourself.
(12:21):
The people are becoming outspoken about
what has happened to them.
If you're watching if you're not watching
Fox News, you'll see that people are
telling the truth about what's going on.
Well, they're going to be stories for a
while.
There are going to be stories for a while
(12:44):
Once some of this is reversed, which could
take two years because we may have to wait
for the midterms it's going to take a while
to rebuild everything, because things are
going to start falling apart.
I mean, if you look at what's going on, we
have already Right and it's moving so fast.
(13:05):
I mean they warned us in Project 2025 that
this is going to happen and it's happening.
So now you know the Democrats are doing
their best to figure out solutions.
It's not easy, because when you've got a
bully in charge, it's hard to counteract it,
(13:29):
it's hard to counteract it and my heart
goes out to the people who have lost their
jobs, and for no reason.
Musk knows nothing about how the government
is run.
The thing that's hurting him is the
downturn of the Tesla stock, which is why
they're having the Tesla sale on the White
House lawn.
I mean well it's interesting.
Dr. Liz (13:49):
I took a seminar recently professional that
talked about the autistic brain, because I
do adult autism evaluations as well as
neurodivergent positive psychotherapy.
They did say, like the autistic brain is
very transactional, like when they do brain
(14:09):
scans on people.
In that moment it just explained to me like
oh, this is why Elon was a huge anti-Trump
huge.
And then all of a sudden switched.
It's like, oh, trump can give me something,
so now I'm going to support him.
(14:33):
And so it just sort of explained it that in
that moment it said like often they'll
switch friend groups when this friend group
isn't giving them something that they need
or want.
You know, suddenly they're into Star Wars
instead of Batman and so boom, the Star
Wars group is all their BFFs now.
And along the way, the people in the Batman
group are feeling hurt, right, like why
aren't you my friend anymore?
(14:53):
But anyway, it was really interesting to
hear it talked about that way and it
suddenly like made some sense for me.
So, yeah, very transactional, and what that
also means is he could quickly switch back.
Joan Sotkin (15:04):
So, yeah, very transactional, and what that
also means is he could quickly switch back,
yes, yes, when he decides he's like the
Tesla stock and all the people who are
standing in front of the Tesla things and
people and the Tesla sales are down in
Europe extremely hard.
So Trump is the same way.
(15:24):
He's very transactional.
Dr. Liz (15:25):
He is.
Joan Sotkin (15:27):
Yes, whatever his divergence is, it's.
Dr. Liz (15:30):
Yeah, but he is extremely transactional.
Joan Sotkin (15:33):
Yes, yes, why a lot of people like him?
Dr. Liz (15:36):
like telling him like it is.
Joan Sotkin (15:38):
There are other people like that.
Yes, but the country is based on serving
people.
Yes, not selling people, correct?
You know, so I always, I have trained
myself to believe that there's a positive
(15:58):
and negative to everything, okay, that we
live in a dualistic reality where, even on
an atomic level, there is plus and minus,
and that this is the polarity we're now
seeing the plus and the minus.
(16:18):
The minus just happens to be louder than
the plus.
It's like the yin and yang.
Dr. Liz (16:24):
Yeah.
Joan Sotkin (16:24):
You know the yang is very outgoing, the yin
is the feminine ingoing right, yes.
So it's a matter of the yin people being a
little more prominent.
Dr. Liz (16:43):
Mm-hmm.
Joan Sotkin (16:43):
In other words, instead of cowering in fear,
I believe that if those of us who have been
meditating for years start sending out
healing energy to the planet and to Donald
Trump and Elon Musk where, instead of
buying into the fear, we're counteracting
(17:07):
it with a different energy I mean this may
sound obscure to some people, but it's all
about energy.
Money is energy.
It's all about energy, and if you're
generating fear, you're not helping the
situation at all.
So go out in nature and let yourself feel
(17:32):
the trees and the leaves and the flowers
and the bugs and all those things who
couldn't care less what's going on on the
front lawn of the White House, to let
yourself be.
I think that meditation is a form of
dissociation.
Dr. Liz (17:50):
Okay.
Joan Sotkin (17:52):
It takes you to another dimension.
Dr. Liz (17:54):
It does yeah.
Joan Sotkin (17:56):
Okay, so does that mean that dissociation
is bad?
No, it probably has some positive aspects.
It lets you rise above the pain.
Dr. Liz (18:08):
Yes, I've always seen dissociation as
actually a skill, a skill that people
develop.
Joan Sotkin (18:17):
Yes, right, and that's what meditation is.
You're going someplace else.
Dr. Liz (18:21):
Yes, if you can use it voluntarily, even
better.
Joan Sotkin (18:25):
Yes, I've been meditating since 1972.
So I think I have a little practice under
my belt, so to speak.
Yeah, it's a highly developed skill for you
get into theta, whatever it is, it feels
good yeah and to be able to see the
(18:48):
possibility of what's going on now, which
is that we're seeing the corruption in all
of its glory true we can't hide it anymore,
and for those who you know, the bros who
(19:09):
really like what Donald Trump is doing,
they're going to get hurt too.
So it's just going to take time for the
energy to shift.
Okay to shift and if all of you who have
been meditating will work to get out of the
(19:30):
fear and into satisfaction and contentment
and hope.
I asked ChatGPT what are the brain
chemicals that are generated by hope?
And the answer is serotonin and oxytocin.
Right, if you can find a piece of hope and
(19:56):
hold on to it, listen to enough news to
know it's like Rachel Maddow.
And if you're not on cable, you can see it
on YouTube.
And when you see all the people out there
protesting, let that give you hope, because
(20:17):
the minute you allow yourself to feel just
a spark of hope, your brain goes oh, that
feels good and you're counteracting
cortisol, which doesn't help you one little
bit, and you're teaching your brain a new
(20:40):
response to familiar stimuli.
Dr. Liz (20:44):
Okay, that feels more doable for me Because,
honestly, during Trump's first term, I
tried to do compassionate meditation,
sending him good energy.
Finally, I gave up, joan.
I was like I just can't do this and I'm not,
I'm not doing it.
Joan Sotkin (20:58):
But it's a matter of this phrase that I've
been using for a long time is developing
new responses to familiar stimuli.
Dr. Liz (21:10):
Okay.
Joan Sotkin (21:11):
To me, that's the key you know what are you
feeling, what would you rather be feeling,
and do you know how to feel that?
Because if you don't know what you'd rather
be feeling, your brain hasn't been trained
to feel that.
Dr. Liz (21:27):
That's true.
I mean I am able to move to, and I was
neutral, sometimes not really positive, but
to me what gives me hope actually is that I
consider him on his own spiritual path,
like somehow in the life between lives he
chose to come back and fulfill this role
(21:50):
and that that's somehow spiritually part of
all of our journeys.
Joan Sotkin (21:54):
And what if it's an important part of our
journey?
Yeah, I mean, I'm 84 years old and so I
remember the times of chaos and I have the
experience of coming out of chaos.
I had measles as a child.
Now we're back to measles again.
(22:15):
I mean, everything is upside down right now,
so it's probably easier for me to switch
feelings because of my muscle memory, as
they call it.
For new people, people in their 30s, 40s
they've never learned to deal with this
(22:36):
kind of chaos, it's true, okay, so, which
is why I feel it's part of my job to help
people cope with the chaos.
Dr. Liz (22:48):
Yes, Well, you're running a group right One
Friday a month.
Joan Sotkin (22:51):
Right now I'm in the midst of moving Talk
about chaos.
Dr. Liz (22:55):
Yes, I just moved, it was chaos.
Joan Sotkin (22:58):
I have an analogy.
Do you know your junk drawer where you put
everything that you don't want to deal with
in the moment?
Well, even though I live fairly minimalist,
whatever is left now is pretty much the
junk drawer.
It's just they're bigger pieces Like where
(23:19):
do you recycle this?
Do I put this in the garbage?
What am I supposed to do with that?
Yes, there are so many decisions.
Yes, all those decisions you didn't want to
make when you put things in the junk drawer,
when you move, you have to deal with every
one of those decisions, or just come in and
(23:42):
have someone haul it away.
There are actually companies that will haul
it all away, but I'm so adapted to
recycling and composting and, you know,
will I be able to move on the right day so
I don't miss the compost people who pick up,
(24:02):
you know I think that's what.
Dr. Liz (24:05):
I hadn't recognized it till this moment,
but I got some decision fatigue yes, I was
like yeah, I'm just packing this and I will
deal with it later yes, yes, you're
creating a new junk drawer.
It was just like about 50 boxes of junk
drawer Right.
The other 50 I made decisions on.
Joan Sotkin (24:26):
I have a storage shed on my in the back of
my house, and I I opened the door the other
day and I see what's in there, and then I
closed the door the other day and I see
what's in there, and then I closed the door.
I totally get it.
And I'm not even sure where I'm moving,
although I think I have found the right
place.
(24:46):
So remember, your brain is designed to look
for the negative.
Dr. Liz (24:53):
Yes.
Joan Sotkin (24:54):
And those of us who can stay in hope are
the savior.
Okay, if you're worried about money, don't
spend it, which is a whole lot of a
difficult thing for people to do.
Yeah, but the thing is we don't know what's
happening with the money system.
(25:16):
The wealthy people will always do well,
because they've got enough socked away.
It doesn't matter.
My first spiritual teacher said to me Joan,
worrying is a waste of time and I thought
what a concept.
I didn't know anything about brain
chemistry at the time and so.
I've been working on not worrying for a
(25:37):
long time and I'll tell you it works really
well to not be a worry ward.
Dr. Liz (25:43):
Yeah, easier said than done though.
Joan Sotkin (25:45):
But because your brain is habituated to
worry.
Dr. Liz (25:50):
Yes, I like to see it as a practice versus
an either or.
Joan Sotkin (25:55):
Absolutely so, like when I would worry
about money and understanding that I was
making up a story.
So I would say to myself a large sum of
money from an unexpected source.
Dr. Liz (26:09):
Yes, I love it.
I use that all the time since I learned
from you years ago.
Joan Sotkin (26:14):
Yes, which means you're making up a
different story, yes, and then I would try
to imagine all the different places that
money could be coming from, and I knew that
that wasn't what's going to happen, because
I was making up a story.
But it didn't matter.
My brain got the message.
Dr. Liz (26:34):
Yes, well, you know, I know you'll believe
this.
I don't say that all the time, but
occasionally, a couple of times a year,
it'll occur to me when I start worrying
about money and I'll say no, a large sum of
money from an unexpected source.
And more often than not it actually happens.
Some crazy check shows up.
You know, I had that the other day.
(26:55):
I got a refund from the dermatologist of
all people.
Joan Sotkin (26:59):
It's the only medical refund I think I've
ever gotten and I got a check the other day
for 350 because I had overpaid escrow yes,
yeah, I still have like little checks
coming in from the sale of my house right,
like right exactly I didn know.
Dr. Liz (27:18):
I didn't know this was going to happen,
right.
Joan Sotkin (27:21):
And you know I'm looking around.
What can I sell?
Because I'm going from a three bedroom
house, that's, you know, sixteen hundred
square feet, to a thousand square feet.
Well, I better sell something.
And so it gives me what to think about.
And I don't think about, well, will I get
enough?
You know, I just I'm taking action, and
(27:44):
when you begin to expect the best, you know
the most comfortable.
There is no good or bad, there only is what
is and how you respond to what is.
So I know what's comfortable for me and I'm
imagining those things happening.
Dr. Liz (28:00):
Okay, so imagine something positive
happening.
Joan Sotkin (28:04):
Yes, and I don't even see it as positive
and negative.
I don't.
I don't use the term negative emotions.
I see what's comfortable or not comfortable
for me.
Dr. Liz (28:15):
Got it, got it, what's?
Joan Sotkin (28:17):
comfortable for Elon Musk is very different
from what is comfortable for me.
Yes, I care about other people, I have a
high degree of empathy, but I also know
you've heard me talk about empathetic
detachment.
Yes, I can understand your pain, but I
(28:37):
can't fix it.
Yes, I can help you fix it.
I have the feeling and the belief that each
of us has our own karma, so to speak.
I don't believe things happen by accident
and I see a bigger picture.
(29:00):
I've been into metaphysics since I was in
my 20s and I read in one of the books along
the way that we have all those cells in our
body that make up our body and that people
are just cells in the body of the planet,
(29:30):
and the planet is just a cell in the body
of the solar system and the solar system is
just a cell in the body of the galaxy.
What's going on on the earth right now is
it's sick, there's a cancer that's taking
over, there's dis-ease.
I like that dis happening is just what's
(29:50):
happening.
And if you're denying climate change and
you're denying pollution and you're rah-rah
for the oil companies, that's what's
(30:13):
affecting the energy of the cells on this
planet.
And so, if you look at it from that point
of view, it's like taking a spaceship and
going out there.
It's like when we first saw the Earth from
outer space.
(30:35):
Yes, you know, it changed our view of the
world.
And it was just, you know, this amazing
blue dot in the midst of all the other dots,
yes, and which, for me, allows me to take
myself a little less seriously, me to take
(31:03):
myself a little less seriously and, yes,
and and to realize I'm just part of a much
larger system.
And if I keep smiling, if I do my best to
keep my brain healthy and for me that's
been quite a job, because I had post-sepsis
syndrome I, in October I had a little mini
(31:26):
stroke that that my brain is my most
precious thing and that I have to do what I
can, yeah, so it's your choice.
The thing is, nothing's happening to you,
it's happening through you and you get to
decide what you want going through you, and
(31:48):
we haven't been taught that.
We have the power to decide.
So don't think you're a victim.
We're living in an age of victimhood.
We've got a president who is the victim in
chief and you don't have to be a victim.
(32:09):
You have control of who you are and how
you're living in the world, and that's hard
for people to hear.
You know, I'm someone who is spiritual, not
religious, and I study all the religions of
the world and they all have something of
value in them.
But you know, I love the phrase the kingdom
(32:31):
of God is within you, and what does that
mean?
Have we ever looked at what that means and
how, how, when we tune into that very high
level part of ourselves, we can find our
answers?
I don't care how smart or not smart you are,
your answers are there, you just have to.
(32:52):
How many people have said to me I've got an
inner voice, but I'm afraid to follow it.
Well, follow it.
Dr. Liz (32:57):
Yeah right, it's tuning in and listening.
Joan Sotkin (33:01):
You know I have I've been using the phrase
the truth of you shall set you free.
Not the truth shall set you free, but the
truth of you.
And to me, the journey of life is that
journey towards self-knowledge.
Whatever's going on, what is this telling
(33:21):
me about me?
When someone comes along?
Dr. Liz (33:29):
and criticizes you.
They're usually telling you about them.
Joan Sotkin (33:30):
Yes, so instead of saying oh, my God, there
must be something wrong with me, it's like,
oh, where are they?
And how can I have compassion for them, for
being so uncomfortable?
Dr. Liz (33:42):
Yes, I think the both is necessary and for
my personal life, it's like, okay, I have
to take a look and say is that accurate?
Are they giving me some feedback about
something I have the ability to change,
that I need to look at, and at the same
time, it is telling me about them.
Joan Sotkin (34:02):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
And to accept the acceptance piece is so
important.
I did a podcast episode on my sub stack on
the art of acceptance and I think it's on
Spotify too.
And I was born with a genetic problem.
(34:25):
I wasn't given a label for it until I was
65.
That has limited me in some ways.
Now I could spend all my time fetching
about what I can't do.
Dr. Liz (34:35):
True.
Joan Sotkin (34:37):
It's send to back.
Being to front, which is a computer command.
You know what doesn't work doesn't have to
be prominent, because when you start
looking for what does work, you know what
works for you.
(35:03):
You I see that because of this genetic
problem I have learned a lot about
nutrition and the body and how it works and
how to make it more comfortable.
And you know that's why I love chat GPT,
because it's got a lot of basic information.
Dr. Liz (35:14):
Okay, well, we're coming to the end of our
time here.
But tell people how to find you and how to
work with you if they'd like to do that and
we've talked about a lot of different stuff
here but tell them what your focus is.
Joan Sotkin (35:30):
My focus is helping people how their
emotions are affecting their decisions Okay,
and that it's never about the money and
emotions are not dangerous or hard to deal
with.
Once you understand your brain and how it
works Not my brain, not Liz's brain, but
(35:54):
your brain and to understand that you're
unique and to understand how your childhood
experiences are affecting your decisions
today and affecting your financial outcomes,
and so I do do this free gathering every
month, once a month.
I do do this free gathering every month,
(36:15):
once a month.
It's a very safe place where you know you
can share what's going on, to realize that
you do have choices.
So if you go to prosperityplacecom, you'll
find everything I do, including the money
coaching and you know everything I do
(36:36):
starts there, and you can always set up a
call to talk to me.
I love to talk to people.
Dr. Liz (36:41):
Okay, great.
Yeah, there's lots of information on that
site.
So you're doing the group and you're still
doing personal coaching too, though oh,
absolutely.
Okay, great.
Well, good luck on your move.
Joan Sotkin (36:54):
Oh, thank you.
Thank you, it seems to be moving along fine.
Dr. Liz (36:59):
Good, and thank you again for being on the
podcast.
Joan Sotkin (37:03):
My pleasure and I love to meet new people,
and I thank you all for listening.
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