Episode Transcript
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Cassandra (00:00):
Welcome you to Is
your Way In your Way podcast,
(00:03):
and I'm your host, CassandraCrawley Mayo, and for those new
listeners out there, the name ofmy book is titled Is your Way
In your Way.
It's actually a self-discoveryguide for women on how to
restore yourself, learn fromyour experiences and be your
true self again, and we actuallytalk about topics that are
(00:24):
related to what I call personalgrowth, personal development,
business development, businessgrowth and these are individuals
who are stuck.
You know like.
You want to write a book, youknow you should be getting out
of this toxic relationship.
Or you want to be a speaker, youwant to have a podcast, you
want to adopt a child.
(00:44):
It's a number of things, butyou just can't seem to get there
.
So this podcast is going.
My hopes is always that it'sgoing to be a blessing to you,
that something will be said thatwill trigger your soul and say
you know what I'm going to dothis thing.
And perhaps today is the day,and I have a special guest on
(01:07):
today, and her name is MarniBattista.
Hello, Marni.
Marni Battista (01:12):
How are you?
I love that.
I love our purposes are soaligned and I'm just excited to
be in your aura here.
Cassandra (01:22):
Oh, I'm excited for
you to be here too.
Hey, well, actually I toldMarni that I'm going to put her
back in the orange room, so Ijust called her out of the
orange room and her topic whatwe're going to talk about today
is living courageously.
And before we get into ourconversation, I just want to
read a little bit about Marni sothat you can, I would say, have
(01:45):
some background on her and tounderstand why she is qualified
to talk about this topic.
Marni is a CEO and founder ofthe Institute Living
Courageously, where she'sdeveloped a research-based
holistic system empoweringambitious women to break free
(02:07):
from self-imposed limitations,embrace authenticity and live on
their own terms.
Drawing inspiration from a yearshe spent traveling the country
in an RV and guided by ancientspiritual questions.
And guided by an ancientspiritual questions, marni's
transformative approach blendspersonal growth principles and
(02:29):
meaningful self-assessments.
This is gonna be good.
You guys Listen.
Her upcoming book is called theRadical Living Challenge.
It's seven questions for ameaningful life, offers a
universal framework to enrich,happiness, fulfillment and
(02:49):
satisfaction, and together, hercoaching, her writing, even her
innovative methodologies, helpindividuals tap into their
fundamental nature, designingpurposeful living and purposeful
lives, and become the architectof their own success.
Yes, we are on one accord here,marni, this is going to be good
(03:12):
.
Hey, I'd like to know beforeI'm fascinated about your RV for
a year trip what was life likebefore you and your husband and
your two cats all decided totravel for a year.
What was life like before youall did that?
Marni Battista (03:31):
Well, it's kind
of interesting.
I, on the outside, like I'msaying, the Instagram version of
my life was amazing.
Right, I had built a businessup over a 10 year period to be
successful.
I was an industry leader in mycoaching niche at the time.
I had a big team that wasworking for me.
(03:52):
I had a lovely house, ahousekeeper who was also like a
house manager, my husband waslike a doting husband and and,
uh, you know it all looked great, handsome.
My kids were doing well, alllook great, right, um, and then
um, but I was like grinding hard, cassandra, like I felt like I
(04:18):
was um playing the game of Jenga.
Cassandra (04:21):
You know that game
where you build the thing and
you have to pull it, yeah, and.
Marni Battista (04:26):
I felt like if I
didn't control every single
piece of it, if one person orone thing fell out of the line,
it would all explode.
And it felt it was a lot likethat.
You know, when you're at thetop of that, that tower, and
you're like trying to push everysingle thing without making it
fall apart.
And I was just sort of onautopilot.
(04:48):
And in February 2020, literallytwo weeks before the world went
into lockdown I was skiing inCanada at a resort called
Whistler and I unfortunatelyfollowed a friend down a ski run
that was probably a littleoutside my expertise and I ended
(05:09):
up landing flat on my back andbreaking seven bones in my
sacrum.
Cassandra (05:14):
Oh my gosh.
Marni Battista (05:15):
Yeah, oh, wow.
That was a near cripplingaccident.
You know, like millimeters awayfrom a very different outcome.
In the recovery process of that, I had to basically not move
from my bed for about 12 weeksand I couldn't do anything.
(05:38):
And I realized that I'd spentmy whole life doing and if I
wasn't doing, then who am I?
My recovery didn't go assmoothly as I wanted it to.
I talk a lot about this in thebook.
I had decided I was going to bethe fastest recovery in the.
It just wasn't going my way.
(06:00):
A friend of mine referred me toa person that I had a
conversation with and thisperson said you've broken your
sacrum, which is the foundationof your physical self, because
you need to rebuild thefoundation of your life in a new
way that is not just based onyour neck up, on your head, on
(06:22):
productivity, on achieving, ondoing that.
You need to be an integratedwhole person and lead with your
heart and your emotions and yoursoul, and that's why you're
here.
And I was like, wow, and sothat got me on this road to
really re-evaluating my life andconfronting my fears and the
(06:47):
problems that I thought I had.
You know, like my team wasn'tperforming well, Sales weren't.
You know, I needed to breakthis one goal.
My husband needed to change inthis way.
Those were really my problems.
All those things, right, right.
My problem was that I wasterrified and this speaks to
your intro.
I was terrified of change.
(07:08):
I thought that my life was thatJenga thing and if anything
fell out of place then I woulddie Like I would explode.
Who am?
Cassandra (07:15):
I.
Marni Battista (07:18):
And that was the
beginning, really deciding like
do I want to sit here in thishouse looking at pictures of my
kids growing up, being stuck inthe past, lamenting what, what,
the loss of what was?
Or do I really want to live therest of my life?
And um, my mom had died at 64.
(07:40):
I was 55 when this happened andI thought, girl, if you have
nine years to live, do youreally want to spend it stuck in
fear?
Cassandra (07:47):
Yeah, that's kind of
it.
Wow, I love that analogy.
That's one of my favorite gamesand I loved it when you talked
about it sounded so much like mein control, you know, like it
had to be, like this's no otherway.
And then from that I thoughtthings were going smooth, you
(08:08):
know.
And then all of a sudden, voila, it's kind of like oh, I'm out
of control, what do I do?
And you made that decision andit's unfortunate.
But perhaps I say it'sfortunate because it takes
something like that to happen tosomeone for them to say you
(08:28):
know what, I can either bebitter about this thing or I can
be better.
And thank God, marni, you choseyou know what.
And that person that spoke inyour life said oh no, ok, you
have more to do, you have moregive, so let's get with it.
So it's your decision whetherhow in other words, you were
(08:48):
just sick and tired of how youwere and and it sounded like you
just surrendered- I, I had tosurrender.
Marni Battista (08:55):
I mean, you know
, like the, the things that were
keeping me stuck.
So interestingly, once I startedasking different questions,
rather than why is thishappening to me, and why did
this doctor not fix me?
And why is this person such ajerk, you know, going into um,
what might really be underneaththis um threshold that I'm at,
(09:18):
where I'm not healing in the wayI want?
Uh, I, I got access to a lot ofinformation and the key, which
I actually have never talkedabout any other show, was that I
had a client retreat.
It was in Utah and it was likethe first time I was traveling
and I had to bring this specialchair and I had to sit there
(09:39):
with my feet on this thing and Ihad you know, it was all very
whatever and I had my clients dothis forgiveness exercise.
There was like a labyrinth andI had them go through this hope
oh no process and you know theydid it and the retreat ended and
I had to stay there an extraday and it just hit me like do
you have some forgiveness to do?
(10:01):
And I went in the blaring sunwith this little strap around my
back and I I realized that Ihad to forgive the, the friend
who I followed down the skimountain.
Cassandra (10:16):
Oh wow.
So, oh my gosh.
So it's kind of like you blamedthem.
I totally blamed her.
Marni Battista (10:26):
I was like why
are you because this is so funny
, we're having such a goodconversation this is a whole
nother direction.
Um, when I skied with thesefriends, so my husband and I
used to always joke that weturned into like total followers
, like we lost agency wheneverwe skied with them, because they
knew the mountain, they werebetter skiers, and we would just
follow them and do shit we hadno business doing.
(10:47):
Anyway.
And my, so we were a couple youknow two couples, maybe all
your listeners can can relate tothis and my friend's husband
was always saying to his wifeyou know, like don't push, don't
push people, like don't pushpeople, right?
And so on this day that we wereskiing, it was the girls, only
(11:12):
the husbands were not skiing.
And um, so my friend was likeyou can do this, come on.
The friend you followed, uh,the friend I followed.
And so in my mind I was likethis is you know, it's like her
fault, like her husband told hernot to do this kind of stuff,
that she's super selfish and youknow she's a, you know she
battles narcissism she wasraised by narcissists Like we're
super good friends but,unconsciously I was blaming her.
(11:36):
I had lost my dad, um, aboutnine months before this.
There was a whole incidencewith my brother and the will and
a bunch of family stuff, and Irealized I wasn't forgiving him
Like I was, had all this angertoward him and I I did this, so
I did this forgiveness thing.
I like hobbled through thislabyrinth, I was bawling my eyes
(11:58):
out and and I, you know, I wasokay, like nothing happened
overnight.
But my husband and I weretesting out this rv idea.
So, from this place in utah, wehad rented a little like a
sprinter van because we thoughtvan life would be cool, uh, and
we were going to go on aone-week trip, uh, in utah and
(12:22):
arizona see the grand canyon andI was going to do the trip at
the limit that I could do it.
And we went to Zion NationalPark and there's this famous
hike there called Angel'sLanding and I really wanted to
do it and my husband's like youcannot do this hike.
I was like so I woke up in themorning and I was like something
(12:44):
feels different.
And he was like so I woke up inthe morning and I was like
something feels different and hewas like don't back and
everything, yeah, yeah, he waslike don't.
He was like don't push it, likeyou feel good, like you don't
have pain today, like, and I waslike I don't know something's
different.
So I put that thing on my backand I started walking and he was
like are you okay?
And I was like, yeah, the painis gone.
(13:05):
I was like he's like what?
I'm like it's just gone.
He's like okay.
And I said let's just keepgoing.
And we walked a little furtherand he's like are you okay?
And I was like, babe, the painis gone.
Um, and I made it to the top.
What?
Yeah, I made it to the top.
And from that day on, cassandra, that pain left my body.
Cassandra (13:29):
Marnie, Marnie, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait.
Do you believe when youliterally in your heart, you let
go and you forgave that release?
Marni Battista (13:41):
that pain.
Yeah, I released the I forgive.
I forgave my friend, my brotherand myself and that whole.
And I did that ritual, the hope, oh no, forgiveness ritual and
I believe that I was holding onto all of that somatically in my
body.
And when I literally let go andforgave, like something,
something shifted.
(14:02):
And when I talk to clients Ialways tell them like and this
is really a big part of the bookis like the problem you think
you have isn't really theproblem.
I thought my problems were theproblems I described before.
It really was.
I was afraid of change.
I thought the problem was somephysical thing and these doctors
were jerks and I needed to findthe right cure.
But the real problem was that Iwas holding on to anger and
(14:24):
resentment.
So the problem you think youhave might not be the problem
that you really have.
And when you actually find thatand heal it, then things kind
of start to open up.
Cassandra (14:34):
Wow, that is powerful
.
That's powerful because I knowI have listeners that are
thinking like you know what?
There's some people that I needto forgive even myself are
thinking like you know whatthere's some people that I need
to forgive even myself, you know.
So this to me is a rudeawakening, because they always
say how powerful forgiveness isand unforgiveness is a cancer,
(14:54):
how it just spreads and cancertainly impact your body.
Thanks so much for sharing that.
So after that is that when youall decided to take a year trip
in the RV with the cats, yeah.
Marni Battista (15:08):
So we did this
little experiment in the spinner
van and we loved it.
And so part of the process thatI do is you, you do what I call
an experiment and you assess itlike what worked, what didn't
work, what are you reallytesting for, and then you make
adjustments.
And so my husband and I werelike that was amazing, but like
(15:31):
there's no way in hell.
We're living in this smallspace.
Like we it would not work right,like to work and live, and the
cats, and, and so then we didanother experiment.
For six weeks we rented a RV.
I was then testing, like somevery specific things Can I work,
(15:52):
which is the internet work, sothat I can carry on with my
business?
Can I still exercise and do myworkouts and eat healthfully.
Do my husband and I like get alot?
Does this bring us closer?
Or do we argue Like there werea lot of different things?
And this in the fourth week ofthe sixth week?
I looked at my husband and Iwas like I'm literally having
(16:12):
the time of my life.
Let's do it, let's sell thehouse, let's do this, let's make
the commitment.
I'm ready and it was terrifying.
But I knew, because I had gonethrough the life design process
and I'd done these experimentsand I tested these certain
things, that I just knew it was,it was the time, and so we sold
(16:34):
the house, sold most of ourstuff, put some stuff in storage
, went to an RV show, bought anRV and set out on this adventure
.
Cassandra (16:46):
Wow, oh, my goodness.
So I'm going to say theInstitute living courageously
came from all of this.
Marni Battista (16:55):
Yeah, you know
that's a great question.
So before that actually I'vebeen working with a business
consultant and my old businesswas very limited in that I was
only helping people in theirdating life, like that was my
forward facing brand.
I was a dating coach but, I,had all these clients that were
staying with me for years andyears and they were building
(17:16):
their dream life.
And, um, I was talking to thisconsultant and he asked me a
really great question.
Um, and he said, what's thesoul of your business?
And I was like well, the soul ofmy business is helping women
fall in love with themselves andthen living a life that's
(17:37):
beyond their wildest dreams.
And he's like and how did theydo that?
And I said well, they have tobe courageous.
And he's like well, that'sreally what your business is and
that's how the Institute forLiving Courageously was formed.
Oh, my goodness.
Cassandra (18:01):
I like that.
What's the soul of yourbusiness?
Wow, I love that.
So so the fall, the selling ofthe home, the, the healing all
of was, it was like your truthseeking journey.
I mean that got to that, thattruth of who you really were.
So you know, cause a lot of usidentify ourselves with the work
(18:23):
we do and that's not who we are, Right, Right.
And then when the work is gone,then who are we?
You know, it reminds me of aprofessional football player,
professional, and when that'swhen they're done, it's like now
what?
Marni Battista (18:40):
That is so great
.
You know, it's really I I.
This really resonated with mewhen I heard it.
So I love sports, I lovefootball in particularly.
But I was watching a documentaryabout this, these college
students at Michigan that werewanting to be professional
football players, and there wasthis one kid and he'd go to
class and he'd sit in the backrow and he'd fall asleep.
And so the the you know theuniversity had a tutor for him
(19:03):
or an academic support.
And she was like dude, I toldyou like why are you sitting in
the back row?
Like you need to focus.
And he goes well, I can fallasleep in the back row Cause I
can lean my head back.
And she said I don't rememberhis name.
But she said what does the NFLreally stand for?
And he goes, not for long.
(19:26):
And she goes, you're right,what do you want to do after the
NFL?
And he's like I want to be aconsultant, I want to.
She was like then you need tosit your ass in the front row.
And I think that that is like ametaphor for life.
Right, you can.
You could take the easy way.
You could sit in the back row.
You can, like you know, be like, yeah, I want to, you know, do
(19:47):
this thing, and then just kindof fall asleep, right Right.
Or you can be like, wait, no,this is really what I want to do
.
I need to show up, I need tosit in the front row, I need to,
I need to pay.
Pay attention, because life isnot for long.
Cassandra (20:00):
Life is not for long.
Marni Battista (20:02):
So it's it's a
really a really powerful,
powerful message about, like,how we want to look at our life.
Cassandra (20:11):
Oh, I love that.
Ooh, not for long, I think I'veever heard that.
But you know what?
I want to start using thatRight.
Marni Battista (20:17):
Because it's
true, I'm playing my first year
of fantasy football, cassandra,okay yeah.
And I've loved football and Iwatched football.
For those of you who don't likefootball, I promise stay with
me, there's a lesson I didn'tknow, so I just watched my teams
.
I like my teams, yay Go team,watch Superbowl, whatever.
(20:39):
So now that I have this whole,this team that I was managing, I
did not realize how often these, these guys, get injured, like
really injured, and they're outand they're in and they're out
and they're in and um, it takesa lot of tenacity and really
commitment to the longterm, theway they don't give up, hurt and
when they get out.
And I've learned a lot about myown resiliency and what happens
in the face of challenge, whenthe universe makes it look like
(21:01):
you're not meant to do thisthing, and how do you show up?
And they show up, they go outand they play like they're going
to win every single week.
And and I really think thatthat's an important, important
message, because when you wantto change, when you have
something that you want to do,often the universe will test six
weeks from now, you might notbe able to play, and so do you
(21:24):
want to like, sit there and belike, why is this happening to
me?
Or do you want to do the workso that, when the moment comes,
you're ready?
Or the guys who are the secondor third string, yeah, practice
(21:46):
every day even though they don'tknow if they're going to play.
And then all of a sudden, themiddle of the game they're in.
Cassandra (21:52):
That's right, exactly
.
Great analogy.
You're this analogy queen.
Marni Battista (21:58):
I am my secret
talent.
I am loving this.
Cassandra (22:01):
I am loving this.
So you're in the RV for a year.
Yes, a lot happened, I can tell.
You had some revelations and,as a result of that, it sounds
like you evolved even more.
In that, and I like to hear,because one of the things you
talked about on your life onyour terms, you know, like
(22:24):
living courageously on yourterms and I say that to live in
your best life on your termswhat do you mean by on your
terms?
Marni Battista (22:32):
That's such an
awesome question.
I think that most people don'teven know what that means,
because they're so conditionedwith the shoulds of what their
life should look like.
And a lot of people if this isyou, I'm just going to call you
out a little they kind of getattached to being in that victim
(22:52):
mentality where they don't haveto decide, Like I can't, anyway
, it would never happen.
You don't know my situation,you don't you know.
They argue for theirlimitations and I say can I
swear on your podcast?
Go ahead.
I say bullshit, Like why areyou?
Why?
What do you get out of notbeing empowered and having
(23:14):
agency over what you want?
Because you have to know whatyou want to go get it.
And I think a lot of ladies outthere don't really think about
what their terms are, becausethey just believe that they
can't have it and underneaththat is the belief they don't
deserve it or they don't, orthey're afraid to fail, or
they're afraid to succeed orwhatever it is.
So I think, on your terms meanssomething different for every
(23:36):
person, and it's really based onwhat I call your soul map.
Like what is it that you love?
Like, how do you love to carryit out best, what are the
conditions in which you thriveand what are the core
motivations that make you feellike you're in flow?
If it's not resonant at a soullevel, it's a hell no, and we
don't want to have hell no's inour life or just figure out how
(23:57):
to live with them and wait forone day.
Cassandra (24:00):
Right, that's right.
I read something that saysabout how you identify and
resolve thoughts and behaviorpatterns that prevent success in
personal and professionalspaces.
How do you identify that inindividuals?
(24:21):
How do you do that?
Marni Battista (24:23):
Yeah, that's
such a fun question to answer.
I think that when you look at aperson's life, I don't know
about you, but one of myfavorite things that clients do
is when I first start workingwith them, they want to show me
their calendar.
They want to, like, show me howbusy they are.
(24:46):
Okay, okay, they're like youknow, girl, I can't look, I
can't date, I can't work out, Ican't cook, I can't make time
for friends, I don't have anytime for fun.
I mean, look, look, marnie, youknow.
And um, and it's so, it's likewell, let's start looking at the
rules that you have that allowyour life to be so busy and
(25:08):
programmed by other people andobligations and rules that
you're literally waiting foryour life to start till some
other situation outside yourcontrol changes right.
And so just from that oneexercise we can uncover so many
(25:29):
limiting beliefs.
I had a client I've been tellingthis story a lot because it's
just mind blowing who told meshe's a single mom and executive
very high level, two teenagedaughters Um, no dad in the
picture uh, telling me that shehas to wake up at three in the
morning to do the laundry.
Oh, that's the only time shehas time to do it.
And I was like, okay, well,what?
(25:50):
And she told me why.
Well, you know, you know I workreally hard.
So to be a good mom, I need tolike, volunteer and I need to
show, I need to be a good mom.
Well, what is a good mom to you?
Well, you know you, youvolunteer to sew the costumes
for the play that my kids are in.
You offer to bake the cookiesno, they can't be from the store
(26:13):
.
You offer to drive.
You do all these things, and atwork, you just have to say yes.
Because I'm on the choppingblock every day when I look at
her life at the beginning andthen what happened after
starting to break through theseand start to let go of them the
(26:35):
one, the, the, the salient pointyour listeners can take from
this is that she finally got tothis idea that I matter.
My needs are as important asother people's needs, and so we
don't.
we could still be a good mom andgo to the play and and support
you and cheer, but I don't.
(26:56):
I don't need to always be theone to make the costumes, even
if I'm really good at it.
I can.
I can go to the store and getcookies.
Uh, you know, I can tell myboss like you know what.
Uh, I'm going to miss somethingreally important for my kids,
so I have to leave early forthis conference.
My client like at the end ofour time working together, not
(27:21):
only did she set boundaries atwork, but she got offered a
massive promotion.
She healed the relationshipwith her kids.
She started to make friends.
She lost like 60 pounds.
She got, she got ready and gotexcited about started to date.
She healed the relationshipwith her adult siblings and her
parents, cause she was also likeI'm the only caretaker, like my
(27:43):
siblings are irresponsible.
I have to take care of myparents.
There's so much possibilitywhen you remember that you
matter.
Cassandra (27:50):
Yeah, marnie, that
that was really good because,
you know, I always ask myclients.
I'm like so where did that comefrom that?
You had to do this, you had todo the clothes at three, you had
to make the costumes, you hadto bake the cookies, when does
that come from?
You know?
And once they figure out, it'slike first of all you made her
(28:12):
aware Listen to this, you haveto do this, this, this, so where
did that come?
Marni Battista (28:18):
from.
Cassandra (28:18):
And a lot of the
stuff can come from our
childhood.
This is the things we believewe should do.
We should do that.
We should that.
Well, can you change thenarrative?
Why don't we change thenarrative?
And that's something that youhad her do, and kudos to you
because her life is transformedjust based on what you're
sharing.
Marni Battista (28:36):
Yeah, and it
makes her.
Her parents were alcoholics,like, so she's been being the
responsible ones.
She was like 12 years old.
Cassandra (28:44):
Yes, yes, she was in
charge of everything.
She had to take care ofeverything.
Wow, that's wow, what abreakthrough for her.
Wow, now you talked about Ican't wait to get to the rabbi
question but the things youtalked about is how does one
know if it's the right or wrongthing to do?
Marni Battista (29:05):
Love that.
So one of the things that Ibelieve is and I talked about
this earlier is that our soul isour unique guide, our GPS, our
navigational system for what isresonant with who we really are,
and it will tell us what isdissonant.
(29:27):
And I think there's a couple ofthings.
One of us don't.
We don't listen, we don't evenwe're not aware there's a line
of connection.
So we have to actuallyunderstand there's a line of
connection, learn how to accessthat connection and then start
understanding what that feelslike, and then how do you start
following it?
And once you understand whatthat resonance is is like it
(29:51):
becomes easier to do what I callholographic decision-making
which is uh, yes, there'sintellectual decisions, right,
that we have to make right.
So there's like I need clarity,I need facts, I need data, Right
.
Um, and then there's anemotional piece that we need to
(30:12):
look at, Like what are myfeelings around this, Making
sure that I'm coming from myadult self and not my wounded
self.
And then there's this spiritualcomponent, Like is this
resonant?
Like what is my intuition?
What is this in terms ofaligning really with who I am in
the world, so that it feelslike ease, flow and grace.
(30:33):
And when you have thisholographic decision-making
system in place, then you'reable to really discern what is a
hell yes.
And I learned this from agentleman named Greg McKeown who
wrote this book, Essentialism.
Cassandra (30:48):
And he says if it's
not a hell yes, then it's a no
says if it's not a hell yes,then it's a no, that's good,
that's good.
That reminds me of a movie thatI saw and I can't even remember
the name of it, but MayaAngelou was in the movie and
this young lady was trying tofigure out whether she should
marry this guy Right, and shesays well, I tell you this if
(31:09):
you have to think about don't doit yeah, exactly, yeah, it
should be a hell yes, yeah,exactly so I like that.
I love that.
I'm so, girl, you are somethingelse thanks, cassandra.
Marni Battista (31:23):
I think you're
just a great interviewer you're
a great podcast host.
Wow, now I.
You know I'm.
Cassandra (31:29):
I can't wait to talk
about the seven questions.
Okay, the rabbi.
Now what we didn't say.
Doing your year in the RV?
Okay, did you, would you say?
I would say, but would you saythat's one form of living
courageously.
Oh yeah, okay, all right.
Marni Battista (31:51):
Yeah, and it's
not just in the living in the RV
.
It was changing my lifecompletely.
Cassandra (31:56):
Okay, Okay, Good
Cause I want to.
I want to stay with that topic.
We had Now the questions.
Imagine being asked from thegates of heaven to determine
whether one has lived ameaningful life.
What are those questions?
Marni Battista (32:13):
Okay, so there's
seven of them.
They're in my book.
They're literally listed on the.
Gave it away, the publishergave it away.
They're on like the back cover.
You're on the.
You go to Amazon.
You're listening to questions.
Um but what I want to talk aboutis, um, I always have, like, in
every podcast, there's like, uh, a question that feels really
(32:35):
resonant, and so, uh, the onethat was on my mind this morning
.
And I, I really do.
Sometimes I wake up.
I don't know about you, butsometimes I wake up and I'm like
this isn't working.
Why is this happening?
What should I do about that?
You know, and I forget.
I'm like, wait a minute.
That's the old way of thinkingabout what makes a meaningful
life you know, pivot.
(32:56):
So the question in my mind thismorning, um is, were you hopeful
?
And that's one of the questionsWere you hopeful?
And it's asked in the form ofdid you count your blessings?
And I think that a lot ofpeople understand gratitude at a
(33:16):
basic level.
They're like oh yeah, I'msupposed to be grateful, but
what I invite people to sort ofdevelop the practice of is this
idea of appreciation.
So if I would say there's threelevels to gratitude, one is
like I am grateful for thisamazing big water bottle, right,
(33:41):
and you can say you're gratefulfor something and sometimes you
can feel it, that's level one.
Level two is appreciation.
So if I just ask your listenersto think like what do you really
appreciate in your life?
Maybe it's that person who said, like your hair looks amazing
today, right.
Or appreciate that your boss,like gave you an afternoon off
(34:04):
because you know you hadsomething going on and it was
easy to get out of work.
Like we get a feeling in ourbody when we think like, wow, I
really appreciated that.
When we get quiet, yeah.
The third level, which ismagical, which I talk about in
the study of this question, isdid you have wonder, wonder?
(34:27):
I think of it like childlike,wonder If you've ever watched a
little kid, or you've gone witha little kid to like Disneyland,
or you know we're in theholidays, like you watch kids,
like you know build a snowman,right, or like you know whatever
it is, and they're just like,wow, that's the coolest thing
(34:49):
ever, right?
It's like looking at lifethrough a child's eyes.
Yeah, Because, they have wonderand appreciation and gratitude
and marvel.
And what I invite yourlisteners and the readers of
this book to do is think aboutif you had wonder for the most
mundane things in your life, howcould that change how you feel
(35:11):
about your life?
You know, like wonder at like,the magic of like.
I was looking at the trees, itsnowed and I learned last year
that the reason why the leavesfall off the trees is because
they literally don't have energyto sustain even one little
dangling leaf.
And if they had that onedangling leaf, that means when
(35:34):
spring comes they're not goingto have as much energy to grow
beautiful leaves.
That we see in the spring andthe summer, and I was thinking
about that this morning becauseI was looking at these beautiful
leafless aspen trees and Ithought you could think that
those were ugly and it's likewow, winter, grr.
And I was like God, look howbeautiful they are.
(35:56):
They're just standing proud andtall and naked as hell, with no
leaves, like ready for it.
It like receiving the cold andholding on to the weight of the
snow and below the ground, likeall of all this magic is
happening, you know, and I justwas like wow, I have wonder at
(36:16):
like just the fact that, likeliterally on cue, yeah, like
it's a time of the year andwinter happens, that's, that's
kind of a miracle, yeah, evenwith climate change and so think
of all the things you couldthink about like you drink your
cup of coffee.
How did you even, how did thatcoffee even that bean land in
(36:36):
your house?
You know, like the sheets thatyou're laying on, like they feel
soft, like feeling that andbeing like, damn, that's pretty
amazing.
Like I get to feel thissensation.
So in my book one of thequestions is you know, did you
count your blessings?
Like, are you really focused onin creating and cultivating
(36:57):
wonder, childlike wonder?
When you do that like you're,like walking through life, if we
can remember to do it just in astate of joy.
Cassandra (37:06):
Yeah, yeah.
Now those questions like howdid you come up with that?
Like the rabbis, imagine that'sjust your creativity.
Like was it doing?
Marni Battista (37:28):
like, was it
doing?
So?
I'll tell you so.
Um, so in the jewish, uh, inthe jewish literature, there's
this thing called the talmud,which is like this ancient text,
you know, and uh, lots ofdifferent uh leaders, rabbinic
leaders, uh had questions andthen they would discuss them.
Like one of the foundations ofJudaism is like conflict and
discussing and points of viewand opinions, and so there's a
(37:49):
whole section in there about,like, what really makes a
meaningful life.
And I was sitting, my dad haddied, as I said, and I was at a
Jewish service and the rabbigave a sermon about these
questions and I started to thinklike my dad was so hard on
himself because he grew up inthis like very wealthy
neighborhood as a kid and hesaid all his friends like did so
(38:10):
well and he did well, but notat their level.
And I think, to some extent, healways felt like he didn't
achieve enough and I was likethat's such a that's, as he
would say, such a crock of shit,like he was such an amazing,
loved person and it was likemore than enough.
Um, I thought, well, wait, justthinking about my dad, am I
leading a meaningful life?
And that was in the moment withthat accident.
(38:31):
That's where I was like I needto re, I need to pivot, like how
am I really going to decidethis?
And so I found out about thesequestions and I really started
to study them.
Um, and then in my book I waslike I need to universalize
these, I need to modernize these, I need to really create a
frameworkice nurse who made adecision that she was going to
(39:04):
interview individuals that weretransitioning and to find out
what their regrets were.
Cassandra (39:10):
Yeah, and there were
five regrets, but the two that
really resonate.
The other three were like Iwish I didn't work so hard,
spend more time with familytravel, but the other two was
like I wish I could have beenmore true to myself.
And the second one was I wish Iwere happier.
And I was like, wow, that is sodeep to me.
(39:30):
And that's when I'm like, mygoodness, I started thinking,
and you know, you know, am Ihappy?
Well, what does that look like?
You know, because I don't thinkat times we even know unless
we're asked.
You know, as you indicated, allwe do is go through life.
You know, as you indicated, allwe do is go through life.
You know, when you, when you goto school, you graduate, you go
to college some of us thenyou're supposed to get married,
(39:51):
supposed to have kids, supposedto get a house, dah, dah, dah.
And who says that?
I mean, where did that comefrom?
So I love that, because I justcouldn't wait, because, for me,
I'm not afraid to die.
Marni Battista (40:07):
My fear is am I
going to live?
Yes, I love that.
I love the way I I'm with youon that.
I never thought about it likethat, but that is that is true,
right, like I want to live aswell, as well as I can.
Um, and I think one thing thatyou said um was something like
about how this is like afundamental thing, and I
realized, like the word fun isin that, and I think for a lot
(40:29):
of ladies, they're so busystriving and worrying and
focusing on what's not workingas we all do that they forget to
have fun.
And when they show me thatcalendar, fun is like the last
thing on the list.
Cassandra (40:44):
Exactly Fun and play
Right.
That's right.
Dr Seuss says fun is good Funis good.
Marni Battista (40:53):
My adult kids
came for the holiday and it
snowed like 30 inches orsomething and my husband made
like a sledding in the backyardand my kids grew up in
California, so in Arizona, so,like the, these kids never
played in the snow before andthey were like I want to go
sledding, Uh.
And they played for two daysliterally in the snow and I went
(41:15):
.
I split.
I went down there and we wereall like, and we all were
talking about how, um, andthey're in their mid to late
twenties and they were like,damn, I'm not playing enough.
And that was in their twenties.
So imagine all of us in ourfifties like our thirties, our
sixties.
We have to play.
We have to program in time forplay.
Cassandra (41:35):
Exactly.
And the kids?
That was a wonder for them.
They were loving it.
Marni Battista (41:39):
Yeah, for sure
it was fun.
The videos are epic it.
Yeah, for sure it was fun.
The videos are epic, yes, yeah.
Cassandra (41:45):
Now, marnie is your
book.
I thought I saw somewhere thatit was going to be done in 2025.
Is it?
Marni Battista (41:52):
published
already, so it's available for
pre-sale, pre-order now, so youcan get it on Amazon,
barnesandnoblecom, target,walmart, like everywhere, and it
will be released.
So you'll get to actually getyour copy in your hands February
5th.
There's also an audible versionthat I recorded, which was
(42:13):
really fun and interesting toread my book aloud.
So that's available as well and, yeah, I really recommend that
you get it.
Cassandra (42:23):
I am, I'm going to
get it, and I know many of my
listeners are going to get it.
I am, I'm gonna get it, and Iknow many of my listeners are
gonna get it, because it's timefor us, those who are not, to
live courageously.
Now there's one other thingthat I know my listeners would
love to get that phenomenal quizthat you have.
Oh my gosh, you missed it thepersonality type quiz.
(42:46):
I'm like, oh my gosh, Icouldn't wait to take it and I
want to say what do you think Iwas?
But I'll, we don't have a lotof time.
Marni Battista (42:52):
I bet you're a
creator.
Were you a creator I was.
Good job.
I was like this girl's acreator for sure.
Cassandra (43:01):
I sure was, and I
wanted my my listeners to to
take that quiz.
I think it's fascinating.
I was so, you know.
I even had to think about someof the questions.
I'm like, no, don't think aboutit, just go ahead and do it and
from that you create a soul mapfrom that quiz.
Marni Battista (43:19):
Yeah.
So it starts to show you likewhere the like, where your soul,
where, where your soul map,what it looks like and the parts
that you need to expand andbased on.
So it's kind of like whereyou're thinking, where you're
feeling, what's holding you back, where you're not living into
your soul map, and so it's veryinsightful and also gives you
(43:43):
direction.
What's interesting is over athousand people have taken that
quiz so far, and when I get theamazing opportunity to engage
with people about it and I say,how long have you been a settler
, how long have you been awanderer or how long have you
been a dreamer?
Those are some of the categoriesPeople are like for as long as
(44:04):
I can remember, and all that'stelling me is that if you don't
take action to figure out how tofind your courage, the data is
kind of showing like time orchanging circumstances or a
different economy or a differentage, or when your parents or
(44:25):
when your kids, you know, fillin the blank yeah, it's just
you're gonna keep doing it.
So it's kind of a wake-up callwow.
Cassandra (44:33):
So I'm gonna call
your quiz a call to action it is
a call to action.
Yeah, I'm gonna call that acall to action and that is is on
your um on your website.
Marni Battista (44:46):
It's on, so you
can find it at marniebattistacom
or you can go to decode yourdestiny quizcom, which is easy
to remember.
Decode your destiny quizcom.
Cassandra (44:59):
Wow Great.
I know they're going to look atthat, because I couldn't wait
to do the quiz.
Marni Battista (45:04):
Yeah, and then
if you do the quiz and then if
you want to have a conversationwith me, kind of like kind of
looking at your soul map andkind of going walking through,
that, I'm happy to do that too,and there's an opportunity to do
it, because I love to collectmy data.
Yeah, I can tell you a datagirl.
I just you know.
I always tell my kids, myhusband, my clients data, not
(45:27):
drama.
What's the data showing you?
Cassandra (45:30):
Exactly, exactly,
exactly.
So I'd like for you to share,based on my listeners and what
my podcast is about, any otherwords of wisdom that you can
provide them to get them unstuck.
Let's make that move.
Just let's just do it, becauseI believe there's some listeners
(45:52):
here that, based on ourconversation, they're gonna like
okay, I'm gonna do this, I'mgonna take that quiz and I'm
gonna get out of my way and I'mgonna start living more
courageously.
Marni Battista (46:03):
Oh.
Cassandra (46:03):
I love that If Marnie
could follow somebody fall down
, hurt herself and how resilientshe was to, like you know what.
This is not this.
This is not my life.
I want to live a victorious,courageous life.
So what will you have to tellmy listeners so they can do the
(46:26):
same?
Marni Battista (46:26):
Okay, this is
what I've noticed and this
speaks specifically to you thetitle of your book.
I think that I'm going to tellyour listeners, I'm going to ask
a question and then I'm goingto tell you.
The question is are you morecommitted to your bullshit?
Are you more committed to yourvision?
Because I hear a lot of peoplearguing for their way, arguing
(46:53):
for their limitations, arguingfor what sucks and finding a
consensus, building getting atribe of people who agree with
you that it sucks.
And notice your words.
You know like.
If you're like.
Here's another example.
Let me tell you the quality ofyour words, the quality of the
(47:15):
conversations you're having.
If you are arguing for your way, that's in your way you're
never going to get there.
So it's time to stop arguingfor your dreams instead of your
limitations.
Cassandra (47:27):
Oh, that's good.
That's good, marnie.
I tell you we hear aboutnuggets.
Like you just spread so manynuggets, but to me I call it
diamonds.
I mean you just raised the bar.
Oh, thank you.
You have sprinkles of all ofthis and I'm just so thankful to
(47:48):
have had you on my show.
And, like I tell my listeners,I know that this show has
blessed you and you knowsomebody else that it will bless
, and I encourage you to forwardit.
I also encourage you, numberone.
It will bless and I encourageyou to forward it.
I also encourage you, numberone it's going to be on all
podcast platforms and if youlike this show, I'm pretty
(48:11):
certain you're going to like theother ones.
So I ask that you subscribe andlike.
And, marnie, again, bye for now.
Blessings to you, my listeners,bye for now and God bless you.
And Marnie, oh my gosh, thankyou so much.
Marni Battista (48:28):
My pleasure Mwah
to all of you love.