April 16, 2025 • 33 mins
Julie Ulstrup's journey along the Camino de Santiago serves as a profound testament to the transformative power of travel. Her experience on this ancient pilgrimage not only facilitated a deeper understanding of her own purpose but also culminated in a significant spiritual encounter that catalyzed her alignment with her true mission. Throughout our conversation, we explore the rich tapestry of her adventures, the sense of community she encountered, and the invaluable lessons gleaned from both the journey and the people she met along the way. Julie’s reflections illuminate the intricate relationship between passion and purpose, encouraging us to embrace our own paths of discovery. Join us as we delve into her inspiring narrative, which stands as a reminder of the profound impact that travel can have on our lives.
Guest's Bio:
Julie Ulstrup is a business strategist and coach who works with educators, medical professionals and other leaders in mission driven businesses who want to start or grow a profitable business so they can have more time and money freedom.
Connect with Julie Ulstrup
Website: julieulstrup.com/masterclass
Instagram: @julieulstrupco
Facebook: Julie Ulstrup
LinkedIn: Julie Ulstrup
YouTube: Julie Ulstrup
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello travelers. My name isGrace Simmons and this is the Random
and Wonderful podcast. Settlein and listen to stories of wanderlust
and transformation as you gaintips to inspire your next travel
experience. The Random andWonderful is brought to you by the
Amethyst Palava Hut llc.Welcome Julie Allstrup to the Random
(00:27):
and Wonderful podcast. Thankyou so much for being here today.
I am so delighted to be here,Grace. Thank you so much for having
me.
Absolutely. I'm glad we'reconnected over the the power of social
media. So good isn't is veryhelpful. Before we get started into
your journey of travel and howit's inspired your life, could you
(00:50):
please tell us just a littlebit about yourself and then we'll
dive into your story.
Of course. So I'm a businessstrategist and a coach and I work
with experienced educators,medical professionals and other leaders
in mission driven businesseswho want to start or grow a profitable
business so they can have moretime and money. Freedom.
(01:11):
Okay.
Yeah, it's great.
How did you even get intothat? Because you seem to have a
specific group actually thatyou tend to work with, especially
those who have a missionthemselves. How did you connect with
those people and how did yourealize those are the people that
you wanted to help?
Well, because I realized thatI have a mission and my mission is
(01:35):
really to help people who haveexperience, who are passion and purpose
driven to have more of whatthey want. Because I believe when
we have more of what we want,we're able to give more, you know,
of what we desire. And Ibelieve I worked as an educator for
over 20 years, close to 25years, as well as in secondary education
(02:01):
as a school counselor. And Igrew programs and things like that.
And then it just wasn'tworking for me anymore. I know that
I have these gifts and talentsto share and oftentimes people forget
that. They forget that theyget stuck. Stuck in a place that
is maybe not healthy, maybenot serving them and not serving
(02:24):
their highest potential orgenius. So I help them get clarity
about what that is and how toput that out in the world so that
they can do the work that theyare meant to do.
Yeah, yeah. When people cometo you and they kind of feel like
there maybe is that draw theywant to do more, but they're not
(02:46):
sure how exactly what are someof the concerns that people have?
So I have this purpose. I feellike I have this mission, but I'm
stuck with this. What are someof the things that come up for others?
Yeah, and stuck is a word thatthey Use often. And they're like,
you know, I just don't knowwhat the first step is or what the
(03:07):
second step is or what thethird step is. And how can I ever
make a living doing this?Like, they don't have this belief
in themselves that they havebig value to offer. So. Yeah.
So speaking of taking thosefirst steps, I'm also curious to
(03:29):
hear how your journey oftravel weaves into what you do. Was
it inspired by your work orwas travel something that, like,
you had a personal interest in?
Well, I've always had apersonal interest in travel. When
I was five, my family movedacross country from my mom had all
(03:52):
of her family lived inSouthern California. I'm like a fourth
generation Californian and mydad's family.
Cali girl here too.
I loved it. I looked. I'm aLos Angelena. Are you a Los Angelena?
San Jose.
Okay. I'm a Los Angeleno. So.And my dad's family is all in Norway.
In Norway. So, like, pond. SoI always traveled as a child and
(04:16):
my father traveled a lot aswell for business. So I've always
been a traveler. I've alwaysvisited family. I've had opportunities
to travel many, many differentplaces. And the opportunity for me
to walk on the Camino deSantiago happened while I was working,
(04:37):
working in the public schools.And an email came across my desk
for sabbatical. And I justknew in my heart of heart, in my
gut of guts, that kind ofsounds funny, that I was going to
go on sabbatical. And so Iapplied right away. And I had always
(05:00):
wanted to live abroad. I'dalways wanted to study abroad, and
I didn't do that when I was incollege. It wasn't like the thing
that everybody does. It kindof seems like it's the thing that
everybod everybody does rightnow. And so I applied and I was accepted.
There is a university in mycommunity, in my city, and I took.
(05:21):
I wanted to learn Spanishlanguage and culture because we have
a large Spanish and Mexicanpopulation, immigrants here in my
community. And I wanted notonly to speak the language better,
but I wanted to learn moreabout the culture because I just
feel like that is such apowerful way to know people. Yeah.
Yeah. So I took three classesat university here, and I was able
(05:47):
to audit them. I rode my bikeevery day. I was with college students
and I had one teacher fromVenezuela, one teacher from Mexico,
and one teacher from Spain. SoI had, you know, a really nice, diverse
group of Spanish teachers togive me some context. And we talked
(06:07):
a little bit but in one of myclasses about the Camino de Santiago,
and my daughter had graduatedfrom college within a few years and
walked the Camino. And Ithought, you know, it just had this
little spark in my mind atthat point. But I didn't have the
idea that I was going to walkon the Camino de Santiago. And so
(06:30):
I went and I studied and Ilived with a family, and it was this
beautiful, remarkableexperience. I was really well cared
for. I lived in a city on theocean, which I'm. Well, in the Mediterranean,
on the beach, which I love.The ocean that might be from my California
(06:53):
calidaries. Yeah. So I livedwith them. Like I said, I had a great
experience. I traveled allaround the country. I learned Spanish
very well. And then after fivemonths and I was there for. I was
like, I need to do somethingdifferent. Actually, it was about
after four months, and Ithought, I'm going to walk the Camino
(07:16):
de Santiago. So I just. Andthis was a few years ago when, you
know, you couldn't findeverything online. You couldn't,
you know, make reservations.There wasn't a lot of information
about this out there. So, youknow, I asked a few people about
it and decided that I wasgoing to. So for people who aren't
(07:37):
familiar with the Camino deSantiago, it's an ancient pilgrimage
that leads to the Compostelade Santiago in northern Spain. And
people have been walking thisfor millennia. It has been guarded
by the Knights Templar. Imean, lot of rich history, Napoleon,
(07:58):
Roland, you know, and thereare walks from all over Europe to
get to the Compostela deSantiago, which is northwest Spain.
Yeah. And so I decided that Iwas going to start in France in Saint
Jean Piedaport, which is rightover the French border and along
(08:18):
the Pyrenees. So I took a. Afriend drove me to the airport, and
then I took a flight and atrain and a taxi, and I arrived late
night in St Jean Piedre Porbd,and I had my first experience in
an albergue. And again, ifyou're not sure what an albergue
(08:39):
is, think of it as like acombination of a dorm room, an Airbnb,
and I don't know, it's a placewhere pilgrims can go, pay a very
small amount and stay for theevening. And then oftentimes dinner's
included and. Or breakfast thenext morning. And they're sponsored
(09:00):
a little bit by the Spanishgovernment because it's a big attraction.
People want to come and walkon the Camino de Santiago. And people
do it for different reasons.Historic Reasons, Cultural reasons,
exercise as well as forreligious reasons. The Compostela
de Santiago is a Catholictradition. However, there are religions
(09:24):
from all over the world,people from all over the world. And
for me, it was very much tohave a cultural experience and a
spiritual experience, which Iabsolutely did. Wow.
So going from wanting to learnthe language to then embarking on
(09:45):
this pilgrimage of your own.
Yes. Yeah. That's how ithappened. It's, you know, quite a
quick, like, oh, yeah, I'mgoing to do this. I'm going to. And,
you know, it was one of thosethings where it was like, I followed
my heart because that's what Iwanted to do.
Yeah.
(10:05):
Yeah.
One of the other guests thatI've chatted with about this experience,
he mentioned that. He talkedabout how intense it was, especially
with the walk, and all thedifferent things that he encountered.
And then when he was done, hesaid, and as soon as I was finished,
I wanted to do it again.
Oh, wow.
So what were some of yourtakeaways from that experience as
(10:29):
far as you dove in with theculture? Kind of like an open heart
also. But you went in for theculture, you went in for the language,
for the experience. What weresome of the things that you gained?
So, really. So I had anexperience. Well, first of all, a
huge sense of community. Myidea for walking the Camino, I didn't
(10:49):
take a cell phone, but I didtake my camera, and I took my computer.
And the idea. I carriedeverything on my back. A backpack.
And the idea is not to carrymore than 10% of your body weight.
And I had, like, two pair ofpants, two pair of underwear, two
pair of socks. I had, like twoor three different shirts. And, Megan,
(11:14):
a pair of shorts and then apair of flip flops. Because you wear
your hiking shoes during theday, and then you want to. I. We
wanted to take them off. AndI. And so my idea was to. And I share
all of this with you becausethere's a point to it. But my idea
was that I was going to walkit alone. And I got up in the morning,
(11:35):
the very first morning inFrance. I had never been to France
before. And this man, a manjust a little bit younger than me,
shows me the back of hiscamera, and he's like, oh, look,
I took a picture of you whileyou were sleeping. I was like, okay,
what cultural. He seemed nice,and he was kind of cute. He wasn't
(11:56):
creepy. I love it, becauseyou're cracking up. And obviously,
you know, the listeners aren'tgoing to hear that I was like, okay,
you know, I had learned enoughbeing there for five months. I was
like, okay, this is areligious pilgrimage. It is safe.
This guy, like I said, hedidn't seem creepy. And I ended up
calling him my hermanito, mylittle brother.
(12:16):
Oh, yeah.
Because the short version ofthe story is there were people of
us, you know, people fromaround the world that ended up walking
together loosely, you know,meet up for lunch or for coffee,
stay at the same albergue inthe evenings, and he would inevitably
lose a piece of clothing. LikeI said, you know, we brought two
(12:39):
pair of clothes, two pair ofsocks, and you'd wash them at night
and then dry them overnight.And sometimes, you know, tie them
to your pack so they would,you know, like, I'd find a sock.
It'd be hermanito. So, yeah,that was a beautiful, beautiful surprise.
I have a friend who's German,another friend who's Irish, a woman
(13:00):
from South Africa. There was aman who. I think he was Russian,
and he didn't speak anySpanish or English, which, you know,
it's like, there were peoplethere doing things, and he was diabetic,
and he. So there are peoplethere doing things that were, like,
really, really courageous. Oneman was Korean. He only spoke Hangul.
(13:24):
And he would wake up early,early in the morning and be out before
anybody else was out. I met anun who was 70 and was walking. She
was on sabbatical as well.
Okay.
She was walking with herniece, you know, so just, like, the
richness of the people that Imet and the community, and there
(13:48):
would be people that I metearly in my walk, and then I met
them the very last day. Imean, it was remarkable. And I had
made a decision to walk thewhole 500 miles in 21 days, because
that's when my flight back toMadrid was. Oh, wow, sorry. From
Madrid back to Denver. And atthe time, I'd been running marathons
(14:12):
and training for marathons andhalf marathons and all of this kind
of thing. I was like, it'll befine. I can walk 40 km a day.
Okay. Because that's about tobe my next question, which I think
you're gonna answer.
Yeah, yeah. So that changed.Well, now I am a very driven woman.
Okay. I am like, I've run 10marathons. Like, you know, and after
(14:35):
walking over the Pyrenees thefirst day, and people were like.
And there was one man who wasdoing it very quickly, and I just
decided, you know what? Idon't want this to be a fast experience.
I want it to be a fatexperience. I want to have all of
the experiences that I can.And it wasn't that. I mean, I walked
(14:59):
15 miles a day. It wasn'tthat. I was just, you know, skipping
along and eating. Crumpets.Yeah, crumpets. In Spain anyway.
But, you know, I just. I hadthis really beautiful experience
with meeting people, meetinglocals, trying new food, learning
(15:20):
new customs, and just reallyconnecting with myself in a way that
I had not given myselfpermission to do in the past.
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(15:42):
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(16:04):
did you take for the entirewalk? Did you do it in the 20?
So I did. However, okay.However, what I did is I took a bus
across the middle, and myfriend Tobias from Germany, he's
like, julie, you don't need towalk across the mestiza. It's boring.
The middle is the mestiza andit's a prairie. And he's like. And
(16:28):
he had walked it the previousyear. He had walked the Camino. So
I was like, okay, I'll take abus across the mestiza.
Okay.
Not need to do that. And I wasstill walking at a pretty, you know,
robust pace. I walked, youknow, 10 to 15, 18 miles a day. But.
Yeah.
(16:49):
Wow. I'm curious also to hearabout what the spiritual impact was
for you.
So one of the big things thathappened to me there was one night
where we were staying in analbergue, and I was the only person
(17:09):
who spoke both Spanish andEnglish in the group. Most people
speak Spanish or English onthe Camino. So the owner or the person
who managed the albergue askedif we would like to have a Pilgrim's
Mass. And so there was myself,and there was my friend Tobias, who
was German. There was anEnglish. I don't know if he was a
(17:32):
priest or a minister in our.In our place, there was the Spanish
man who ran the albergue, andthen the Korean man. And so I asked
everybody, would you like tohave a Pilgrim's Mass, knowing I
wanted one. And so everybodysaid yes. So we go down to this little
church that the Camino deSantiago is a UNESCO World Heritage
(17:55):
site, and there are churchesupon churches with gold and magnificence,
just like beyond anything thatwe have in the United. It's just.
It's remarkable. And we go tothis tiny little church in this town
in northern Spain, and heunlocks the door, and we go sit in
(18:20):
this. It doesn't even reallylook like a church. It looks like
a what you would imagine, youknow, like a. A temple. Like a medieval
temple kind of thing.
Okay.
And so we walk in and, youknow, like, all of a sudden, the
tired is starting to seep in,and we sit up in the front row. And
I had gone to, you know, manymasses when I was in Spain, and I
(18:42):
just. I sat on this bench, andit was. I was tired and it was cold,
and I'm listening to the wordsof the Mass, and all of a sudden,
I hear the sweetest song inthe most beautiful voice Singing
Amazing Grace how sweet thesound to save a wretch like me and
(19:07):
I just start crying andcrying, and it was beautiful. I once
was lost but now I'm found Wasgrace that made me see and so I sat
there, you know, through therest of the Mass, and, you know,
I got the ugly cry off. Andafter Mass, I went back to my friend
(19:29):
Tobias, and I know that hesings in his church choir at home
in Hamburg. And I said, thankyou for singing Amazing Grace. That
was beautiful. And he's a bigGerman guy, and he puts his arms
over his big barrel chest, andhe says, I wasn't singing Amazing
Grace. He said, besides,that's an American hymn. I said,
(19:50):
but you heard it. And he said,no, Nobody. Amazing Grace. So again,
the ugly cried. Oh, my God,just for me. And it was such a message
from God, from spirit, fromthe universe, you know, saying, julie,
(20:12):
there is so much more for you,and you are so loved, so beloved,
and it's time for you to see,and it's time for you to start showing
up in bigger ways. So that'swhat I did.
Wow.
(20:33):
Yeah, it was pretty. Pretty remarkable.
That is incredible. How do youcome back to your day after an experience
like that? Like, what was thatafter you got back?
Yeah, I mean, I went back. Imean, Tobias and I talked, and, you
know, we had dinner with therest of the group and drank some
(20:55):
wine and. And the next day,got up and walked again. And that
was life on the Camino. It isthis. One of my friends, the woman
from Ireland who was living inBerlin at the time, we were eating
something, and she said, it'sso simple and it's so good, and So
(21:16):
I wasn't plunged right backinto life in America, you know, my
life as an educator. At thatpoint, I was plunged into. I continued
to, you know, get up everymorning, have something to eat, put
one foot in front of theother, walk into holy places, meet
(21:39):
people, you know, so that. Andyou are very correct, coming back
to life in as we know, it wasa bit of a challenge.
Yeah, I'd imagine so.
Yeah. I mean, it was justthere were a lot of things that were
(21:59):
shifted. And the reason why isbecause, as you can imagine, I had
changed so very much so. Therewere relationships that fell away,
that no longer served me orserved the people who I was with.
And when I came back. So Ihave been also my entire life, I've
(22:21):
been a photographer. And it'ssomething that I'd always wanted
to do as a career, but I wasalso a school counselor, as when
I was worked as an educator.But I knew that I wanted to do something
that would make a differencefor people, and I didn't know how
I was going to do that. Sowhen I came back, I started my photography
(22:41):
business and I just thought,some way, somehow, I'm going to make
a difference for people withmy photography. And I photographed
high school seniors andfamilies and all of this kind of
thing. And it still, it took awhile for me to. To realize. To kind
of get my groove about it, Iguess, that I was really passionate
(23:02):
about photographing women whohad experience. And here's what I
found. Women over a certainage hate to be photographed. And
what I can do is I can reflectback to them how powerful and how
beautiful they are. And somaking a difference and making an
(23:26):
impact in that way reallyskyrocketed my entrepreneurial journey.
And then it came full circlein having my desire to have more
depth and breadth ofexperience for the people who I work
with and bringing that back toeducators as a counselor and being
(23:47):
able to see in them what theycan't see on themselves, the gifts
they have to offer.
Wow. And that also connects.So you're able to do that through
photography on the outside andon the inside, but then you're also
doing that as a coach as well.Right. So helping people to connect
back to their purpose.
(24:08):
Yeah.
Do you now have this sense ofmaybe, like, fulfillment? Like, have
you reached that? Do you knowthat you're walking aligned within
your purpose? Or is therestill something that you could work
towards or like, are you inthat good flow?
Yes and yes.
(24:30):
Okay.
Yes. I mean, I know that I'mliving my life Purpose with purpose
that that can shift and changeand adjust. And something else can
open up for me too. I also amwriting a book, and I wrote a chapter
in a book and it was abestseller. It was specifically for
(24:51):
women over 50. But I'm alsowriting a book that combines all
of these experiences that I'veshared with you. So that'll be coming
soon.
Do you have a title yet?
Well, I do have a title. I'vegot the title of Alchemista. And
an alchemist is, you know,someone who transforms things into
(25:12):
gold. And I feel like my wholelife purpose is to transform my own
life as well as to help otherssee possibilities for transforming
their lives.
Wow, that's beautiful, Jilly.I love that. If ever there's a tagline,
(25:32):
I think that's beautifully put.
Thank you. Well, what would bethe tagline very specifically, what
did you hear that was.
There'S something aboutcreating things into gold? I think
that that is what registeredwith me. So sometimes we take situations
(25:53):
and we kind of drag them on aslike hard lessons as opposed to being
able to say, okay, I've madeit through this and now this is the
wonderful thing that I can.This experience is now a gift.
Yes.
And I can help other peoplethrough it, I can learn from it,
and I can support others whoare maybe going through the same
(26:13):
thing. So, like having thattransition and being able to say,
okay, now this is what I haveto offer to other people. Yeah, you're
making your experience a gift.
Yeah, yeah, that's. And Ithink that's here for all of us if
that's, you know, if, if we'reopen to it.
(26:36):
Well, before we go, I need toask, what is a self care practice
that you use maybe as you'retraveling or something that you've
acquired from travel?
Well, one of the things that Ido is I journal. And I've done that
for a long time, even before Iwalked on the Camino de Santiago.
(26:57):
But journaling is one of thethings that I do. And I also movement.
I walk. I love. I used to be arunner, but now I walk. And my husband
and I, we tandem bike ride. Weride a bicycle built for two. So
that's part of my self care as well.
What do you get out of thatwalking and do you have like a specific
(27:21):
place that you walk or is itjust the ability to walk?
It's putting one. When I'm athome, I walk in my neighborhood or,
you know, but it's the. Itquiets my mind. Movement quiets my
mind. And the bike packing,that. That does, too. I'm on the
back, so he does all of the,you know, the navigating and that
(27:43):
kind of thing, and I can enjoythe scenery and. And get my heart
pumping, you know? Yeah. Beingthe stoker in the back, do.
You know what I feel like? Ialways imagine tandem biking as,
like, first off, it'sadorable. It's a very cute look first
(28:03):
off. But I think that there issome, like, extra thought to that.
Like, you're not just hangingout in the back. You also need to.
You can take in the scenery,but you're also helping the drive,
that.
Oh, yeah.
Movement for the two of you.
You gotta lean. You gotta gowith the flow. Yeah. It's so much
fun. And we have. It's funnybecause we'll have. We'll see couples.
(28:27):
I live in Colorado, and there,it's a big bicycle. State bicycle
area, and we'll see couples.And the wife will be like, I want
to do that. And I'm alwayslike, you should. Or, you know, the
woman. I don't know if it'sthe way, you know, you should, because
it's so much fun. And thenwe'll also see little kids. They'll
be like, mama, look at them.Look what they're doing. You know,
(28:48):
kind of to your point. It's.It's a little unusual, but it looks
fun. Yeah, it's really fun.
Julie, what is next for you? Iknow you're working on your book,
but what else is coming up for you?
Well, some more travel. Myhusband and I love to travel together,
(29:09):
and we're looking at someinternational travel. We spent a
month in Spain last year andjust had this incredible experience.
So we'll, you know, we'lltravel to Europe. We'll. We'll do
some travel to Central Americaand, you know, continue to build
my business and serve people,to help them, you know, see why they're
(29:32):
here and see what they have toshare. Yeah.
I think just talking to you,you have a very calming and welcoming
presence, and I imagine thatthe people that you work with, you'll
be able to support them in a,like, strong but soft way.
Oh, thank you.
So I. Yeah. I wish you thebest of luck with that.
(29:53):
I appreciate that. Thank youso much.
You're welcome. Before I stopthe recording, I knew you had some
questions for me, so.
I would ask you, besides thispodcast, what do you do? How do you
use your gifts to change theworld for good?
My business is the AmethystPalaver Hut, so my mission is to
(30:15):
get people building up theirconfidence through travel. And so
I do confidence coaching, butalso conducting retreats. Well, starting
to conduct retreats. That'swhat I'm working on this year.
I love that. So is that therandom and wonderful part for you?
Is that the travel or how doesthat fit together?
(30:35):
The random and wonderful. Sothe podcast falls under the business,
but I think I love travel. Andwhat I started to do was I was trying
to combine my coaching withtravel, but my path to confidence
was traveling. However, it'snot everyone's path or everyone doesn't
have that desire to travel orto do a solo travel as a way of,
(30:59):
you know, creating their own,like, personal change. However, what
I do enjoy always is talkingto people about their emotional balance.
And so that is where I directmy coaching. And I think having this
podcast is me showing people away that you can grow in confidence.
You can take baby steps to getto, you know, the next version of
(31:21):
yourself, and then you canjust hear other people's stories
of their experiences, theirmistakes, their lessons. And I want
to remove any excuse fromanyone who wants to travel by listening
to this podcast. And they cansay, oh, well, I remember hearing
about that from this person.Or, you know, oh, I have to travel
with my kids. But here's anepisode about someone traveling with
(31:43):
their young kids or whatever.So, yeah, I want to give people options
to experience travel forthemselves. That's the purpose of
this podcast. And random andwonderful is it's life. It's the
best way I can describe life.It's just.
That's true.
Things end up being seeminglyunconnected, and when you look back
on it, you're like, oh, mygoodness, what a great experience.
(32:05):
What a wonderful experience.
So, absolutely. I love it.Well, thank you so much for having
me as a guy. Appreciate it.
I'm glad. I really appreciateyou taking the time to sit with me
and just share yourexperience. I hadn't heard of the
El Camino before, and now I'mloving just digging into the way
(32:25):
that everyone has had adifferent experience, like a deep
experience with thispilgrimage. So I appreciate you sharing
your story.
Yeah, you're most welcome.
Hey there, Grace. Here. I hopeyou enjoyed today's episode and gained
some useful takeaways. Thankyou so much for listening and staying
until the end. Don't forget torate the show or share it with some
(32:48):
friends. Have a wonderfulweek. Take care, and remember, be
bold, be curious, be ready totell your story. You never know.
Who needs it?
Bye.
Hello travelers. My name isGrace Simmons and this is the Random
and Wonderful podcast. Settlein and listen to stories of wanderlust
and transformation as you gaintips to inspire your next travel
experience. The Random andWonderful is brought to you by the
Amethyst Palava Hut llc.Welcome Julie Allstrup to the Random
(00:27):
and Wonderful podcast. Thankyou so much for being here today.
I am so delighted to be here,Grace. Thank you so much for having
me.
Absolutely. I'm glad we'reconnected over the the power of social
media. So good isn't is veryhelpful. Before we get started into
your journey of travel and howit's inspired your life, could you
(00:50):
please tell us just a littlebit about yourself and then we'll
dive into your story.
Of course. So I'm a businessstrategist and a coach and I work
with experienced educators,medical professionals and other leaders
in mission driven businesseswho want to start or grow a profitable
business so they can have moretime and money. Freedom.
(01:11):
Okay.
Yeah, it's great.
How did you even get intothat? Because you seem to have a
specific group actually thatyou tend to work with, especially
those who have a missionthemselves. How did you connect with
those people and how did yourealize those are the people that
you wanted to help?
Well, because I realized thatI have a mission and my mission is
(01:35):
really to help people who haveexperience, who are passion and purpose
driven to have more of whatthey want. Because I believe when
we have more of what we want,we're able to give more, you know,
of what we desire. And Ibelieve I worked as an educator for
over 20 years, close to 25years, as well as in secondary education
(02:01):
as a school counselor. And Igrew programs and things like that.
And then it just wasn'tworking for me anymore. I know that
I have these gifts and talentsto share and oftentimes people forget
that. They forget that theyget stuck. Stuck in a place that
is maybe not healthy, maybenot serving them and not serving
(02:24):
their highest potential orgenius. So I help them get clarity
about what that is and how toput that out in the world so that
they can do the work that theyare meant to do.
Yeah, yeah. When people cometo you and they kind of feel like
there maybe is that draw theywant to do more, but they're not
(02:46):
sure how exactly what are someof the concerns that people have?
So I have this purpose. I feellike I have this mission, but I'm
stuck with this. What are someof the things that come up for others?
Yeah, and stuck is a word thatthey Use often. And they're like,
you know, I just don't knowwhat the first step is or what the
(03:07):
second step is or what thethird step is. And how can I ever
make a living doing this?Like, they don't have this belief
in themselves that they havebig value to offer. So. Yeah.
So speaking of taking thosefirst steps, I'm also curious to
(03:29):
hear how your journey oftravel weaves into what you do. Was
it inspired by your work orwas travel something that, like,
you had a personal interest in?
Well, I've always had apersonal interest in travel. When
I was five, my family movedacross country from my mom had all
(03:52):
of her family lived inSouthern California. I'm like a fourth
generation Californian and mydad's family.
Cali girl here too.
I loved it. I looked. I'm aLos Angelena. Are you a Los Angelena?
San Jose.
Okay. I'm a Los Angeleno. So.And my dad's family is all in Norway.
In Norway. So, like, pond. SoI always traveled as a child and
(04:16):
my father traveled a lot aswell for business. So I've always
been a traveler. I've alwaysvisited family. I've had opportunities
to travel many, many differentplaces. And the opportunity for me
to walk on the Camino deSantiago happened while I was working,
(04:37):
working in the public schools.And an email came across my desk
for sabbatical. And I justknew in my heart of heart, in my
gut of guts, that kind ofsounds funny, that I was going to
go on sabbatical. And so Iapplied right away. And I had always
(05:00):
wanted to live abroad. I'dalways wanted to study abroad, and
I didn't do that when I was incollege. It wasn't like the thing
that everybody does. It kindof seems like it's the thing that
everybod everybody does rightnow. And so I applied and I was accepted.
There is a university in mycommunity, in my city, and I took.
(05:21):
I wanted to learn Spanishlanguage and culture because we have
a large Spanish and Mexicanpopulation, immigrants here in my
community. And I wanted notonly to speak the language better,
but I wanted to learn moreabout the culture because I just
feel like that is such apowerful way to know people. Yeah.
Yeah. So I took three classesat university here, and I was able
(05:47):
to audit them. I rode my bikeevery day. I was with college students
and I had one teacher fromVenezuela, one teacher from Mexico,
and one teacher from Spain. SoI had, you know, a really nice, diverse
group of Spanish teachers togive me some context. And we talked
(06:07):
a little bit but in one of myclasses about the Camino de Santiago,
and my daughter had graduatedfrom college within a few years and
walked the Camino. And Ithought, you know, it just had this
little spark in my mind atthat point. But I didn't have the
idea that I was going to walkon the Camino de Santiago. And so
(06:30):
I went and I studied and Ilived with a family, and it was this
beautiful, remarkableexperience. I was really well cared
for. I lived in a city on theocean, which I'm. Well, in the Mediterranean,
on the beach, which I love.The ocean that might be from my California
(06:53):
calidaries. Yeah. So I livedwith them. Like I said, I had a great
experience. I traveled allaround the country. I learned Spanish
very well. And then after fivemonths and I was there for. I was
like, I need to do somethingdifferent. Actually, it was about
after four months, and Ithought, I'm going to walk the Camino
(07:16):
de Santiago. So I just. Andthis was a few years ago when, you
know, you couldn't findeverything online. You couldn't,
you know, make reservations.There wasn't a lot of information
about this out there. So, youknow, I asked a few people about
it and decided that I wasgoing to. So for people who aren't
(07:37):
familiar with the Camino deSantiago, it's an ancient pilgrimage
that leads to the Compostelade Santiago in northern Spain. And
people have been walking thisfor millennia. It has been guarded
by the Knights Templar. Imean, lot of rich history, Napoleon,
(07:58):
Roland, you know, and thereare walks from all over Europe to
get to the Compostela deSantiago, which is northwest Spain.
Yeah. And so I decided that Iwas going to start in France in Saint
Jean Piedaport, which is rightover the French border and along
(08:18):
the Pyrenees. So I took a. Afriend drove me to the airport, and
then I took a flight and atrain and a taxi, and I arrived late
night in St Jean Piedre Porbd,and I had my first experience in
an albergue. And again, ifyou're not sure what an albergue
(08:39):
is, think of it as like acombination of a dorm room, an Airbnb,
and I don't know, it's a placewhere pilgrims can go, pay a very
small amount and stay for theevening. And then oftentimes dinner's
included and. Or breakfast thenext morning. And they're sponsored
(09:00):
a little bit by the Spanishgovernment because it's a big attraction.
People want to come and walkon the Camino de Santiago. And people
do it for different reasons.Historic Reasons, Cultural reasons,
exercise as well as forreligious reasons. The Compostela
de Santiago is a Catholictradition. However, there are religions
(09:24):
from all over the world,people from all over the world. And
for me, it was very much tohave a cultural experience and a
spiritual experience, which Iabsolutely did. Wow.
So going from wanting to learnthe language to then embarking on
(09:45):
this pilgrimage of your own.
Yes. Yeah. That's how ithappened. It's, you know, quite a
quick, like, oh, yeah, I'mgoing to do this. I'm going to. And,
you know, it was one of thosethings where it was like, I followed
my heart because that's what Iwanted to do.
Yeah.
(10:05):
Yeah.
One of the other guests thatI've chatted with about this experience,
he mentioned that. He talkedabout how intense it was, especially
with the walk, and all thedifferent things that he encountered.
And then when he was done, hesaid, and as soon as I was finished,
I wanted to do it again.
Oh, wow.
So what were some of yourtakeaways from that experience as
(10:29):
far as you dove in with theculture? Kind of like an open heart
also. But you went in for theculture, you went in for the language,
for the experience. What weresome of the things that you gained?
So, really. So I had anexperience. Well, first of all, a
huge sense of community. Myidea for walking the Camino, I didn't
(10:49):
take a cell phone, but I didtake my camera, and I took my computer.
And the idea. I carriedeverything on my back. A backpack.
And the idea is not to carrymore than 10% of your body weight.
And I had, like, two pair ofpants, two pair of underwear, two
pair of socks. I had, like twoor three different shirts. And, Megan,
(11:14):
a pair of shorts and then apair of flip flops. Because you wear
your hiking shoes during theday, and then you want to. I. We
wanted to take them off. AndI. And so my idea was to. And I share
all of this with you becausethere's a point to it. But my idea
was that I was going to walkit alone. And I got up in the morning,
(11:35):
the very first morning inFrance. I had never been to France
before. And this man, a manjust a little bit younger than me,
shows me the back of hiscamera, and he's like, oh, look,
I took a picture of you whileyou were sleeping. I was like, okay,
what cultural. He seemed nice,and he was kind of cute. He wasn't
(11:56):
creepy. I love it, becauseyou're cracking up. And obviously,
you know, the listeners aren'tgoing to hear that I was like, okay,
you know, I had learned enoughbeing there for five months. I was
like, okay, this is areligious pilgrimage. It is safe.
This guy, like I said, hedidn't seem creepy. And I ended up
calling him my hermanito, mylittle brother.
(12:16):
Oh, yeah.
Because the short version ofthe story is there were people of
us, you know, people fromaround the world that ended up walking
together loosely, you know,meet up for lunch or for coffee,
stay at the same albergue inthe evenings, and he would inevitably
lose a piece of clothing. LikeI said, you know, we brought two
(12:39):
pair of clothes, two pair ofsocks, and you'd wash them at night
and then dry them overnight.And sometimes, you know, tie them
to your pack so they would,you know, like, I'd find a sock.
It'd be hermanito. So, yeah,that was a beautiful, beautiful surprise.
I have a friend who's German,another friend who's Irish, a woman
(13:00):
from South Africa. There was aman who. I think he was Russian,
and he didn't speak anySpanish or English, which, you know,
it's like, there were peoplethere doing things, and he was diabetic,
and he. So there are peoplethere doing things that were, like,
really, really courageous. Oneman was Korean. He only spoke Hangul.
(13:24):
And he would wake up early,early in the morning and be out before
anybody else was out. I met anun who was 70 and was walking. She
was on sabbatical as well.
Okay.
She was walking with herniece, you know, so just, like, the
richness of the people that Imet and the community, and there
(13:48):
would be people that I metearly in my walk, and then I met
them the very last day. Imean, it was remarkable. And I had
made a decision to walk thewhole 500 miles in 21 days, because
that's when my flight back toMadrid was. Oh, wow, sorry. From
Madrid back to Denver. And atthe time, I'd been running marathons
(14:12):
and training for marathons andhalf marathons and all of this kind
of thing. I was like, it'll befine. I can walk 40 km a day.
Okay. Because that's about tobe my next question, which I think
you're gonna answer.
Yeah, yeah. So that changed.Well, now I am a very driven woman.
Okay. I am like, I've run 10marathons. Like, you know, and after
(14:35):
walking over the Pyrenees thefirst day, and people were like.
And there was one man who wasdoing it very quickly, and I just
decided, you know what? Idon't want this to be a fast experience.
I want it to be a fatexperience. I want to have all of
the experiences that I can.And it wasn't that. I mean, I walked
(14:59):
15 miles a day. It wasn'tthat. I was just, you know, skipping
along and eating. Crumpets.Yeah, crumpets. In Spain anyway.
But, you know, I just. I hadthis really beautiful experience
with meeting people, meetinglocals, trying new food, learning
(15:20):
new customs, and just reallyconnecting with myself in a way that
I had not given myselfpermission to do in the past.
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(15:42):
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this course was designed foryou. All you need is a willing heart
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enroll today and start yourjourney with confidence. How long
(16:04):
did you take for the entirewalk? Did you do it in the 20?
So I did. However, okay.However, what I did is I took a bus
across the middle, and myfriend Tobias from Germany, he's
like, julie, you don't need towalk across the mestiza. It's boring.
The middle is the mestiza andit's a prairie. And he's like. And
(16:28):
he had walked it the previousyear. He had walked the Camino. So
I was like, okay, I'll take abus across the mestiza.
Okay.
Not need to do that. And I wasstill walking at a pretty, you know,
robust pace. I walked, youknow, 10 to 15, 18 miles a day. But.
Yeah.
(16:49):
Wow. I'm curious also to hearabout what the spiritual impact was
for you.
So one of the big things thathappened to me there was one night
where we were staying in analbergue, and I was the only person
(17:09):
who spoke both Spanish andEnglish in the group. Most people
speak Spanish or English onthe Camino. So the owner or the person
who managed the albergue askedif we would like to have a Pilgrim's
Mass. And so there was myself,and there was my friend Tobias, who
was German. There was anEnglish. I don't know if he was a
(17:32):
priest or a minister in our.In our place, there was the Spanish
man who ran the albergue, andthen the Korean man. And so I asked
everybody, would you like tohave a Pilgrim's Mass, knowing I
wanted one. And so everybodysaid yes. So we go down to this little
church that the Camino deSantiago is a UNESCO World Heritage
(17:55):
site, and there are churchesupon churches with gold and magnificence,
just like beyond anything thatwe have in the United. It's just.
It's remarkable. And we go tothis tiny little church in this town
in northern Spain, and heunlocks the door, and we go sit in
(18:20):
this. It doesn't even reallylook like a church. It looks like
a what you would imagine, youknow, like a. A temple. Like a medieval
temple kind of thing.
Okay.
And so we walk in and, youknow, like, all of a sudden, the
tired is starting to seep in,and we sit up in the front row. And
I had gone to, you know, manymasses when I was in Spain, and I
(18:42):
just. I sat on this bench, andit was. I was tired and it was cold,
and I'm listening to the wordsof the Mass, and all of a sudden,
I hear the sweetest song inthe most beautiful voice Singing
Amazing Grace how sweet thesound to save a wretch like me and
(19:07):
I just start crying andcrying, and it was beautiful. I once
was lost but now I'm found Wasgrace that made me see and so I sat
there, you know, through therest of the Mass, and, you know,
I got the ugly cry off. Andafter Mass, I went back to my friend
(19:29):
Tobias, and I know that hesings in his church choir at home
in Hamburg. And I said, thankyou for singing Amazing Grace. That
was beautiful. And he's a bigGerman guy, and he puts his arms
over his big barrel chest, andhe says, I wasn't singing Amazing
Grace. He said, besides,that's an American hymn. I said,
(19:50):
but you heard it. And he said,no, Nobody. Amazing Grace. So again,
the ugly cried. Oh, my God,just for me. And it was such a message
from God, from spirit, fromthe universe, you know, saying, julie,
(20:12):
there is so much more for you,and you are so loved, so beloved,
and it's time for you to see,and it's time for you to start showing
up in bigger ways. So that'swhat I did.
Wow.
(20:33):
Yeah, it was pretty. Pretty remarkable.
That is incredible. How do youcome back to your day after an experience
like that? Like, what was thatafter you got back?
Yeah, I mean, I went back. Imean, Tobias and I talked, and, you
know, we had dinner with therest of the group and drank some
(20:55):
wine and. And the next day,got up and walked again. And that
was life on the Camino. It isthis. One of my friends, the woman
from Ireland who was living inBerlin at the time, we were eating
something, and she said, it'sso simple and it's so good, and So
(21:16):
I wasn't plunged right backinto life in America, you know, my
life as an educator. At thatpoint, I was plunged into. I continued
to, you know, get up everymorning, have something to eat, put
one foot in front of theother, walk into holy places, meet
(21:39):
people, you know, so that. Andyou are very correct, coming back
to life in as we know, it wasa bit of a challenge.
Yeah, I'd imagine so.
Yeah. I mean, it was justthere were a lot of things that were
(21:59):
shifted. And the reason why isbecause, as you can imagine, I had
changed so very much so. Therewere relationships that fell away,
that no longer served me orserved the people who I was with.
And when I came back. So Ihave been also my entire life, I've
(22:21):
been a photographer. And it'ssomething that I'd always wanted
to do as a career, but I wasalso a school counselor, as when
I was worked as an educator.But I knew that I wanted to do something
that would make a differencefor people, and I didn't know how
I was going to do that. Sowhen I came back, I started my photography
(22:41):
business and I just thought,some way, somehow, I'm going to make
a difference for people withmy photography. And I photographed
high school seniors andfamilies and all of this kind of
thing. And it still, it took awhile for me to. To realize. To kind
of get my groove about it, Iguess, that I was really passionate
(23:02):
about photographing women whohad experience. And here's what I
found. Women over a certainage hate to be photographed. And
what I can do is I can reflectback to them how powerful and how
beautiful they are. And somaking a difference and making an
(23:26):
impact in that way reallyskyrocketed my entrepreneurial journey.
And then it came full circlein having my desire to have more
depth and breadth ofexperience for the people who I work
with and bringing that back toeducators as a counselor and being
(23:47):
able to see in them what theycan't see on themselves, the gifts
they have to offer.
Wow. And that also connects.So you're able to do that through
photography on the outside andon the inside, but then you're also
doing that as a coach as well.Right. So helping people to connect
back to their purpose.
(24:08):
Yeah.
Do you now have this sense ofmaybe, like, fulfillment? Like, have
you reached that? Do you knowthat you're walking aligned within
your purpose? Or is therestill something that you could work
towards or like, are you inthat good flow?
Yes and yes.
(24:30):
Okay.
Yes. I mean, I know that I'mliving my life Purpose with purpose
that that can shift and changeand adjust. And something else can
open up for me too. I also amwriting a book, and I wrote a chapter
in a book and it was abestseller. It was specifically for
(24:51):
women over 50. But I'm alsowriting a book that combines all
of these experiences that I'veshared with you. So that'll be coming
soon.
Do you have a title yet?
Well, I do have a title. I'vegot the title of Alchemista. And
an alchemist is, you know,someone who transforms things into
(25:12):
gold. And I feel like my wholelife purpose is to transform my own
life as well as to help otherssee possibilities for transforming
their lives.
Wow, that's beautiful, Jilly.I love that. If ever there's a tagline,
(25:32):
I think that's beautifully put.
Thank you. Well, what would bethe tagline very specifically, what
did you hear that was.
There'S something aboutcreating things into gold? I think
that that is what registeredwith me. So sometimes we take situations
(25:53):
and we kind of drag them on aslike hard lessons as opposed to being
able to say, okay, I've madeit through this and now this is the
wonderful thing that I can.This experience is now a gift.
Yes.
And I can help other peoplethrough it, I can learn from it,
and I can support others whoare maybe going through the same
(26:13):
thing. So, like having thattransition and being able to say,
okay, now this is what I haveto offer to other people. Yeah, you're
making your experience a gift.
Yeah, yeah, that's. And Ithink that's here for all of us if
that's, you know, if, if we'reopen to it.
(26:36):
Well, before we go, I need toask, what is a self care practice
that you use maybe as you'retraveling or something that you've
acquired from travel?
Well, one of the things that Ido is I journal. And I've done that
for a long time, even before Iwalked on the Camino de Santiago.
(26:57):
But journaling is one of thethings that I do. And I also movement.
I walk. I love. I used to be arunner, but now I walk. And my husband
and I, we tandem bike ride. Weride a bicycle built for two. So
that's part of my self care as well.
What do you get out of thatwalking and do you have like a specific
(27:21):
place that you walk or is itjust the ability to walk?
It's putting one. When I'm athome, I walk in my neighborhood or,
you know, but it's the. Itquiets my mind. Movement quiets my
mind. And the bike packing,that. That does, too. I'm on the
back, so he does all of the,you know, the navigating and that
(27:43):
kind of thing, and I can enjoythe scenery and. And get my heart
pumping, you know? Yeah. Beingthe stoker in the back, do.
You know what I feel like? Ialways imagine tandem biking as,
like, first off, it'sadorable. It's a very cute look first
(28:03):
off. But I think that there issome, like, extra thought to that.
Like, you're not just hangingout in the back. You also need to.
You can take in the scenery,but you're also helping the drive,
that.
Oh, yeah.
Movement for the two of you.
You gotta lean. You gotta gowith the flow. Yeah. It's so much
fun. And we have. It's funnybecause we'll have. We'll see couples.
(28:27):
I live in Colorado, and there,it's a big bicycle. State bicycle
area, and we'll see couples.And the wife will be like, I want
to do that. And I'm alwayslike, you should. Or, you know, the
woman. I don't know if it'sthe way, you know, you should, because
it's so much fun. And thenwe'll also see little kids. They'll
be like, mama, look at them.Look what they're doing. You know,
(28:48):
kind of to your point. It's.It's a little unusual, but it looks
fun. Yeah, it's really fun.
Julie, what is next for you? Iknow you're working on your book,
but what else is coming up for you?
Well, some more travel. Myhusband and I love to travel together,
(29:09):
and we're looking at someinternational travel. We spent a
month in Spain last year andjust had this incredible experience.
So we'll, you know, we'lltravel to Europe. We'll. We'll do
some travel to Central Americaand, you know, continue to build
my business and serve people,to help them, you know, see why they're
(29:32):
here and see what they have toshare. Yeah.
I think just talking to you,you have a very calming and welcoming
presence, and I imagine thatthe people that you work with, you'll
be able to support them in a,like, strong but soft way.
Oh, thank you.
So I. Yeah. I wish you thebest of luck with that.
(29:53):
I appreciate that. Thank youso much.
You're welcome. Before I stopthe recording, I knew you had some
questions for me, so.
I would ask you, besides thispodcast, what do you do? How do you
use your gifts to change theworld for good?
My business is the AmethystPalaver Hut, so my mission is to
(30:15):
get people building up theirconfidence through travel. And so
I do confidence coaching, butalso conducting retreats. Well, starting
to conduct retreats. That'swhat I'm working on this year.
I love that. So is that therandom and wonderful part for you?
Is that the travel or how doesthat fit together?
(30:35):
The random and wonderful. Sothe podcast falls under the business,
but I think I love travel. Andwhat I started to do was I was trying
to combine my coaching withtravel, but my path to confidence
was traveling. However, it'snot everyone's path or everyone doesn't
have that desire to travel orto do a solo travel as a way of,
(30:59):
you know, creating their own,like, personal change. However, what
I do enjoy always is talkingto people about their emotional balance.
And so that is where I directmy coaching. And I think having this
podcast is me showing people away that you can grow in confidence.
You can take baby steps to getto, you know, the next version of
(31:21):
yourself, and then you canjust hear other people's stories
of their experiences, theirmistakes, their lessons. And I want
to remove any excuse fromanyone who wants to travel by listening
to this podcast. And they cansay, oh, well, I remember hearing
about that from this person.Or, you know, oh, I have to travel
with my kids. But here's anepisode about someone traveling with
(31:43):
their young kids or whatever.So, yeah, I want to give people options
to experience travel forthemselves. That's the purpose of
this podcast. And random andwonderful is it's life. It's the
best way I can describe life.It's just.
That's true.
Things end up being seeminglyunconnected, and when you look back
on it, you're like, oh, mygoodness, what a great experience.
(32:05):
What a wonderful experience.
So, absolutely. I love it.Well, thank you so much for having
me as a guy. Appreciate it.
I'm glad. I really appreciateyou taking the time to sit with me
and just share yourexperience. I hadn't heard of the
El Camino before, and now I'mloving just digging into the way
(32:25):
that everyone has had adifferent experience, like a deep
experience with thispilgrimage. So I appreciate you sharing
your story.
Yeah, you're most welcome.
Hey there, Grace. Here. I hopeyou enjoyed today's episode and gained
some useful takeaways. Thankyou so much for listening and staying
until the end. Don't forget torate the show or share it with some
(32:48):
friends. Have a wonderfulweek. Take care, and remember, be
bold, be curious, be ready totell your story. You never know.
Who needs it?
Bye.
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