August 15, 2023 • 41 mins
Carli and I continue our honest conversation about going from attorney to yoga instructor and small business owner, shedding light on the complexities of personal growth that might not align with others' expectations and ideas of who you are and could/should be. We also speak about the challenge of breaking free from the molds that society often casts, exploring the empowering journey of embracing your unique path.
Additionally, Carli gets candid about documenting the rollercoaster ride of big career changes & small business ownership. We talk the highs, the hurdles, and the heartwarming moments that come, all while navigating the intricate dance of online and IRL reactions.
But that's not all—our treat for you awaits at the end! If you've been enticed by the world of meditation and are ready to check it out, be sure to stay tuned for a special session. Carli Michelle, Founder of Meditation Circle, will guide us through a free breathwork session. Consider this a gift from us to you to you. Immerse yourself in tranquility and experience the magic firsthand.
Enjoy this conversation full of insights, revelations, and a touch of meditation magic.
Connect with Carli:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meditationcircle_/
TikTok: @meditationcircle (https://www.tiktok.com/@meditationcircle?_t=8aFV1hIG5PC&_r=1)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meditationcirclellc
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@meditationcircle_
Website: https://www.meditationcircle.co/
E-mail: hello@meditationcircle.co
Additionally, Carli gets candid about documenting the rollercoaster ride of big career changes & small business ownership. We talk the highs, the hurdles, and the heartwarming moments that come, all while navigating the intricate dance of online and IRL reactions.
But that's not all—our treat for you awaits at the end! If you've been enticed by the world of meditation and are ready to check it out, be sure to stay tuned for a special session. Carli Michelle, Founder of Meditation Circle, will guide us through a free breathwork session. Consider this a gift from us to you to you. Immerse yourself in tranquility and experience the magic firsthand.
Enjoy this conversation full of insights, revelations, and a touch of meditation magic.
Connect with Carli:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meditationcircle_/
TikTok: @meditationcircle (https://www.tiktok.com/@meditationcircle?_t=8aFV1hIG5PC&_r=1)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meditationcirclellc
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@meditationcircle_
Website: https://www.meditationcircle.co/
E-mail: hello@meditationcircle.co
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the Big Quit with Chris, a show that
originally started off as a place to connect with those
that identified as part of the Great Resignation and said
see you to their jobs, and has evolved to a
show where we talk about how quitting is just the
beginning for so many things, whether it's leaving a job,
a relationship, a comfort zone, or any other status quo.
We're here to explore the courageous journey of letting go
(00:27):
and embracing new possibilities. What's up, good folks, Welcome in
a Part two of my conversation with the founder of
Meditation Circle, Carly Micheau. Today we're discussing life after the Leap.
(00:48):
Carly provides some really unique insights into how she perceives
and navigates the various forms of doubt and the understandable
natural skepticism that comes from leaving behind a six figure salary,
from newcomers being skeptical about meditation in general, to family
and friends being skeptical about her new path in life.
We talk about it all, but that's not all. Our
(01:10):
treat for you awaits at the end. If you've been
enticed by the world of meditation and are ready to
check it out. Be sure to stay tuned for a
special session. Carly Michelle is going to guide us through
a free breathwork session. Consider this a gift from us
to you, to you, Well, what are you so skeptical of?
(01:33):
Like what do you think people are hesitant about when
it comes to meditating or breathwork or yoga.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I think in these practices, especially if we're in this
corporate space, people just see it as woo woo, right.
They can't understand how it has such a profound impact.
How can just sitting still and focusing on my breath
change my life? Right? Or how can just deeply breathing
(02:03):
like I breathe all the time. I breathe every day,
Like I wouldn't be here if I wasn't breathing. So
how was breathing? Like? I hear that, Like how what
is that going to do? And it's like, but you're
not intentionally deeply focusing on your breath. You're not really
expanding those lungs. You're not moving the energy out. Actually,
most of us breathe incorrectly and not deeply enough, so
we are actually not moving through are the energy and
(02:24):
a lot of it's just stuck so breathwork really helps
with moving suppressed emotions, trauma, and just energy through your
nervous system and out of your body. So maybe in
breathwork people experience tingling, They might experience dizziness and lightheadedness.
They could experience like I do visualizations and kind of
like this hallucination experience. But some people have intense emotional experience.
(02:48):
They start to laugh or scream or cry, but it's
because there's so much stuck energy and you haven't been
when you breathe. When you deeply breathe, you you're filling
up all your muscle, You're filling up every cell in
your body now with that oxygen, and now it's able
to really move and actually cleanse through you like your
breath is cleansing. And if you're not doing that full
(03:10):
cycle every time, things just get stuck and your nervous
system gets stuck and you're stuck in fight or flight.
And so that's why doing these deep breathing exercises is
so important. And people have these experiences, but I don't
think they understand that because they're like, I always breathe,
so how I'd never feel this when I normally breathe,
which is a deep and deep different type of breath.
(03:33):
And also I think people hear the benefits and a
lot of these benefits. While some things you can experience immediately,
like oh, I do feel better like that, I feel
a little bit calmer, a little bit less anxious than
I did fifteen minutes ago. Great, But some of these
things take time. Right for me to have cured and
really healed my own depression anxiety. I didn't notice that
until three or four months later, right, I didn't. I
(03:55):
didn't realize that I loved myself and that was my
self awareness was increasing until a few months later. And
I think we live in a very microwave society. So
a lot of people they may have tried to meditate
once or twice, right, or they may have been to
a yoga class. Most people have tried meditation, especially yoga.
People have done yoga before, so they might have tried
it and they're like, I can't do it. It didn't
(04:17):
work for me. You said you experienced this, but in
my five minute meditation, I couldn't even get my brain
to turn off. So I think the skepticism comes from
like the fact that I tried and I failed. But
like with anything, You don't try once and expect to
be an expert. You don't do that in anything else.
You don't go to the gym for the first time,
never having worked out in twenty years and expect to
(04:38):
run a four minute mile and bench free fifty. You
start with the five pound weighs and maybe walking on
an incline, like you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Maybe.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So I think those are some of the reasons that
people have this skepticism. And then people wanted to be
so logical, so concrete that doing anything that seems not
that and having it worked just doesn't make any sense,
and they just kind of think you're lying. But there's
so much science and so like when I do these,
when I go into corporate I always do a presentation first,
(05:09):
and I am like very you know, those people are
very science minded, and a lot of you know, if
I'm in a law firm or school or something like that,
they want the facts. So I always lead with science.
The healing, like physical benefits, how how breathing impacts your
nervous system and turns on your para sympathetic nervous system
and you know, really heals your autonomic nervous system. And
(05:33):
so seeing the facts really does help people kind of
lean out of their skepticism and be willing to at
least try it. I want to talk about the transition
from going from being an attorney to now you have
this newborn at home right a five with those baby
business and being a business owner aka a human octopus,
(05:53):
where you're doing everything from social media to your taxes,
to finances, to fining events space and posting your events
and documenting everything. Like, how has that transition been for you,
going from essentially an employee to now a business owner.
It's definitely a transition, for sure. It's interesting because you know,
(06:18):
I want The work that I want to do is
just being in community in this space, holding place with
the individual, the corporation, the group, and just doing the work. Right,
That's that's all I want to do. I just want
to help people learn to meditate, yoga, breathwork, all of that.
I don't mind sending out the emails and I don't
(06:39):
mind doing that, like that stuff is fine to me.
I don't mind making certain social media posts. Some things
I'm like absolutely not. Some things I'm like, yes, I'm excited.
Some stuff I'm like, oh my god. So there's that
and then you know, I don't mind mind writing my
emails because I like to write, but then there's some
other things that are just you know, posting everything. Everything
(07:00):
is arduous, so you know, following up with certain things
is annoying. Being the billing professional and the website developer,
I'm like, this is not my expertise, Like I hate
of dating this website every week and doing these things right.
So it is a balance of me trying to if
we're going back to my pillars, me really trying to
(07:23):
like be in that ease and finding what flows. Again,
challenges will always be there, but I refuse to force
anything right, And I think that's the biggest challenge in
this transition is knowing when to how to flow and
not to force. So I refuse to work too hard, right,
(07:45):
Like obviously being diligent and being a good steward of
your business is necessary, but I refuse to be burnt
out or overworked or you know, anything like that, or
just going at ten miles a minute like whatever, just
going going way too fast. So I try to set
really good boundaries with myself. Like if I say I'm
going to close my laptop at this time, I do it.
(08:06):
Because I can get sucked into that go go go mentality,
and that is not why I'm doing my business. My
business is supposed to be one of ease, and it's
challenging right because I want it to be good. I
want to do all the things. I want to make
sure everything is set up right, and you know, I'm
getting calls at all times, you know, kind of like
(08:27):
I always have an opportunity to kind of be on
my phone or in my computer or doing something business related.
But it's all about I think boundary setting, which sometimes
I'm good at sometimes I'm not, and finding that balance
because I think we've seen the memes on social media
that like, oh, you quit your nine to five to
be an entrepreneur, thinking that like and now you just
(08:49):
work twenty four to seven, and I refuse, I don't
think that has to be reality. So I refuse to
let that idea of the transition take over. And I
really want to keep my firm boundaries. So like, I
do work a part time job, so that takes about
twenty to twenty five hours of my time, and so
I really am I tried to be dedicated about the
(09:11):
amount of time I put into my business as well, like,
I don't want to spend more. I don't want to
work more than honestly thirty hours a week in total.
Right now, that's not quite feasible since I do work
twenty to twenty five hours part time, and I obviously
have to put in work in my business, so I'm
really not going to surpass that forty hour a week
work mark. So I think for me, the biggest part
of the transition is honoring that boundary so that I'm
(09:34):
not leading myself into burnout with something that I'm trying
to make easeful.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
That would be counterproductive. Right, You did not leave your
job which was causing you burn out to go and
burn out yourself. No, not quite, not quite. And I
love that you said that, Like, of course, there are
so many memes out there right about being an entrepreneur
and how yeah to five seems a lot better than
twenty four twenty four to seven, But it doesn't have
(10:04):
to be like that, right, And I heard you mention like, hey,
I work part time as I'm building this, And again,
I think that speaks to the earlier part of the
conversation about keeping your options open and being open to
these different opportunities. Again, it doesn't have to be all
of your eggs in this one basket.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
It's hey, I'm building this and I'm working part time.
As long as I'm not burning myself out and pursuing
my passion, we get right. But it doesn't have to
just be one thing. If that one thing is going
to stress you out and burn you out, don't do it.
You don't have to do that.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Even with having a part time job, it was important
for me to find something that's still aligned with my
business goals. So it wasn't me just getting any part
time job. If I wanted to do that and make some
fast money, I would have just become a bartender or
a server again like I was for eight years prior
to becoming a lawyer. But I refused to kind of
get into that hustle mentality that I've been in most
(10:58):
of my life. And so I got a job more
in the hospitality range where I work at a coworking space.
And I even said this in my interview, and I
was very intentional in my interview. I told them I
have my own business, I am building my business. I
am using this. I don't plan to be here for
longer than one year, it will be less. And I
am using this job since I'm in this co working space.
(11:20):
So there's a lot of different companies, smaller businesses in
here that use the space. I told them I will
be using this job as a networking platform for my business.
So like I have gotten some clients or some interest
from the members of this co working space, which is nice.
So like I used and they loved it right when
(11:41):
they were interviewing me. They ate it up. Obviously I
got hired, and so I think it's important when you
are transitioning to leverage your transition. Like I could have,
like I said, just gotten a bartoning job, but that
would not have really leveraged what I want to do,
Like I want to go into businesses and give them
meditation and breadth work. Right, So let me be somewhere
(12:01):
where there are businesses, where there are people who are stressed.
Who are you know, who I have to talk to
every day? Like I chat with these people, you know,
I set out the coffee I do. It's very you know,
it's not challenging work, which also allows me to sit
at the front desk for half the day and draft
my emails, make my Instagram posts, do everything I have
to do on Canva, Like, I have the space to
(12:23):
work on my business outside of my business while getting
paid at another job, not making a ton of money.
It's like twenty four bucks an hour, so like it's
very but it gives me a little bit of stability.
It gives me opportunity to work on my business. They
let me use like the printer when I want to
make flyers, and I do make these connections with other people.
So I do think it's important, not only obviously to
keep options open, but in those options, don't just do anything.
(12:46):
Do something that is somehow a bridge to like furthering
your goals. Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I love that and I'm not gonna live a little inspired.
I'm like, do I need to get a job, but
to go work?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Is that what I need to do?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Like, I know I'm helping with podcasts right now, but
if you catch me at we work, you know what's up.
I'll make sure to keep you all on the loop
about my wee work journey. Carly's intentionality with leveraging the
work bridge from where she is to where she wants
to go is rooted in a deep knowing that she's
on the right path. And that clarity comes from trusting herself.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
My biggest advice is truly to trust yourself. Like that
is I think we hear that a lot. It's said
across all of these different platforms and communities, but I
think really trusting yourself it's really really challenging, and sometimes
it can make you feel like you're crazy or you
don't know what you're doing, and that's part of it.
(13:50):
But I think it has to be the number one
thing because if that like I'm almost getting misty eyed
thinking about it, but like that's been the biggest part
of my journey, is no knowing that what I feel
inside is real, and I've faced a lot of I
don't know if backlash is the correct word, but just
you know, things coming at me on this path. When
(14:12):
I first left my big law career, right, it was
how can you leave that money? Are you crazy? Maybe
you just need longer than a year, like it was
only one year. Like of course the first year out
of law school's challenging, right, So me having to know like, no,
this isn't right for me, like the money doesn't matter,
that that's not the end all be all, Like I
had to trust that and it was hard, Like, you're
(14:32):
at this prestigious company. Everyone's looking up to you. My
friends were like, what are you doing? My parents, you know,
had never seen that much money. They're just so everyone
was being bolted. When I left that first job, found
another job. Okay, you're still a lawyer, so we can
still kind of respect that, right. But when I made
that leap to leave, that was also another challenge, right,
(14:54):
and I had to again trust myself, trusted that visualization
I saw in Spain was that was real, like that
That's what I had to trust, knowing that, like, that's
how God spoke to me and through me, and you know,
that's I had to trust that guidance. But when I
came back and I started telling people that I'm putting
in my notice and yet I don't have this long
term plan. I only got a little bit of money
(15:15):
really saved up. You know, that was scary obviously for me,
but it was really I think it even more scary
for everyone else because they do want me to be safe,
and they do want me to be secure, and they
do like the fact that I had money because it
just it makes people feel better. Right, And so when
I was willing to give that up that caused a
(15:35):
lot of discomfort for people, but in that beginning there
was there was still a lot of more belief. As
time went on and my situation even changed even more.
Like so, once I stopped contracting and I was more
fully just me and my business, I faced some challenges,
right like maybe you know, I wasn't able to fully
(15:56):
afford my rent anymore because I got that apartment when
I was making two hundred thousand dollars a year, so
it was pretty high expensive. So by the time you know,
we come to like April and May of this year,
I you know, wasn't accruing as much money. I had
run out of my savings. So then I faced some
housing insecurity and not knowing where I was going to live,
and having a crash with friends and people really judging that,
(16:19):
and me still having to be really firm with myself
and trust that, like, this process may not look how
we want it to look. I may not have it
all today, but like I still know that this is
exactly what I'm supposed to do, and every moment I'm
going to be guided and protected in some capacity. And
I had people to ask me if I had a
mental breakdown if I was manic or schizophrenic. I had
(16:41):
people telling me that I was, you know, living my
life incorrectly or doing something wrong, or being stupid or not,
you know, not really like having this blind faith in
God or the universe, and that was unrealistic. And so
maybe I really was like going through something like mentally,
like having an actual mentat will break down. And that
was really challenging hearing, you know, from loved ones and
(17:03):
from friends and from family that they thought I was
actually mentally unstable. They thought that I was actually harming myself.
And then so that was really all of that is
and then looking at me like, you're making just bad choices.
And this is a choice because you could, if you
wanted to go get a job making one hundred thousand
dollars plus in a heartbeat and have that job within
(17:25):
the next couple of weeks. So you're doing this to yourself.
And so it's also making it hard for people to
want to help me or really cheer for me in
some way because they see it as me just hurting
myself for no reason when I could just follow the
plan of the world. I got the degree, go do
the job, and stop being stop. I guess it kind
(17:45):
of comes off as like not appreciating what I have,
when in the actuality I appreciate it all. Like I
know my legal career right has some good influence on
having a business, and I know that just from me
making my own contrac and stuff like that, Like it's
just helpful. So all that to say that you really
got to trust yourself even in the face of adversity,
(18:07):
even in when people are questioning you, even when they
don't think what you're doing makes any sense or looks good,
even when you know the sky feels like it's crumbling,
even when you're sleeping on somebody's couch and you don't
know you know exactly what's going to happen. If you
know that something is true in your heart, I firmly
believe that it has to come true. Like it might
(18:28):
not come true in the way that you want it,
but like there's a reason that you have to go
through the things that you go through. And honestly, I
believe that I go through these things so that I
can effectively hold that space for in the future for
people when they come to me. Right, So, like I've
experienced so many traumatic things, but like in that I
now know how to deeply hold that space and be
(18:49):
in deep, loving present awareness in my business when I'm
guiding someone through meditation and breath work and they are
experiencing those things, I can now hold that space like
deeply compassionate and not have any judgment about it because
I've been there, like I've been unhoused, I've been deeply
traumatized in you know, sexual situations, YadA, YadA, YadA. And
(19:11):
so trust yourself, trust your journey because there's some beauty
in it, even if you can't see it right now.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
What a powerful message. And just to add on trusting yourself,
trusting your beliefs, and trusting your dreams even when you
don't know the how. Sometimes the how is none of
your business, none of my business, none of our business, right,
but trusting yourself always is. We're going to take a
quick break and we'll be right back, and we're back now.
(19:44):
Carly did mention that trusting yourself isn't always easy, especially
when some of the doubt and challenges you're facing are
coming from your own friends and family. Let's listen and
as Carly shares her thoughts on why her journey and
transition may be so difficult for others to break. Okay,
So Carly again, you shared that a lot of people
(20:04):
have doubted you, a lot of people have questioned this right,
but you've been very open and very transparent about your
entire journey, and I know you've been documenting it and
sharing online. I want to ask, like, as somebody who
follows you on TikTok okay follow Carly Show on the
Clock app and we'll make sure to have all of
your socials posted in the show notes. But what has
the response been like to you sharing so openly about
(20:28):
your journey.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
So that's been interesting. From the strangers on TikTok's they've resonated.
They have always said things like thank you for sharing,
or I'm going through this too, or you know, this
is really inspiring in some capacity, right, But from like
friends and family, you know, you can kind of see
on TikTok who views it whether they like it or not.
(20:50):
You can see the views. And it's been interesting because
a lot of my friends from my college or you know,
prior to law school in my life, they view every
TikTok that they don't like it, and so that's that
fascinates me. I find that's so interesting. And so I've
(21:11):
also found that while the strangers really really react well
to it and appreciate it, it is through my TikTok
that like some of my friends and or family have
found out some of the things in my life that
I have not necessarily shared with them. Which is fine, obviously,
I know that can happen because I'm on this platform,
but they have used that as a way to talk
(21:34):
amongst themselves and come to their own conclusions, own assumptions,
whatever that might be, and talk amongst themselves rather than
reach out to me, ask me how I'm doing, ask
me what I'm going through. So there's been a lot
of like behind the scenes chatter going on, and I
found that to be also interesting because people have expressed
(21:55):
worry or concern to amongst one another or maybe even
to some family members of mine, but they won't reach
out to me, they won't ask me, and so I
found that to be quite interesting that And you know,
I think we hear this on social media a lot too,
that like, your biggest supporters are not your friends and family.
In a lot of cases, it's the strangers. And I'm
(22:17):
not saying none of my friends support me, like obviously
you do and stuff like that. But you know what
I'm saying that, like my first customers are stranger, you know,
you know, it's not necessarily I'm not getting the you know,
the influx of friends necessarily coming into the studio and
taking a class, even if I give them fifty percent
off or one hundred percent off, like, they don't necessarily come.
(22:39):
And I find that it's an interesting thing to reconcile
because like, you love your friends and you want them
to support you, and you want them to show up,
and you know, I'm giving you a discount, and so
it's hard to reconcile that, especially when they're expressing that
they're so concerned that you don't have any money, and
then them not and then then the kind of not
it's not that I'm asking for money, but even if
(22:59):
I give you a fifty percent off code, now you
have access to this for so cheap, right, So it's
just that's hard for me to sometimes reconcile. And that's
been a challenge of learning that, like, that's not necessarily
about me. I don't need to take any of that personally.
That is just a reflection of where they are in
their journey and what their values are, what their beliefs are,
(23:19):
and maybe they're busy, you know, maybe they just can't
understand and so they need to have separation. But that
has probably been the biggest thing of noticing how strangers
are really so much more supportive and they show up
for me in ways that a lot of my close
loved ones cannot or do not.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Do you think it's hard for people to see you
grow in this direction? Yeah, of course you've been very
First of all, I've known Carly a long time. She's
my wife's best friend. But I've always known you to
be incredibly intelligent and very driven. Like once you decide
like I'm going to do this thing right, and now
the thing might change in two years, but when you
(24:01):
start the they you're very driven to do it. And
so going from a lawyer to a certified yoga teacher,
which is still very hard to do, Like I just
wanted to put it out there right like two hundred hours.
A lot of people can't, you know, No, it's just
not a thing. So I'm wondering, like, why do you
think it was so hard for people to see you
(24:23):
grow in that direction? And say, like, you know, what
being an attorney is not for me, But knowing that
you've always been very successful in pursuing whatever it is
that you set your mind to, all of a sudden,
now there's doubt around.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I Actually I do this in my brain all the time.
And what I've really come to and one of a
friend of mine actually kind of mentioned it to me,
and she said that, like I've always seen you exactly
what you said is this, you know, go getter, this
hard worker, this like really diligent and logical and intelligent person.
(24:57):
So to see you put so much faith in us,
in like your journey and in just like just trusting
this path that you don't know where it's going to
come from, and just lean on faith rather than logic
and practicality like I've known you to do before. It's
scary and it doesn't necessarily make sense, and it's different
from the person I've known you to be. And this
friend that I was I'm talking about I've known since
(25:19):
I was thirteen and so I'm thirty two, so we've
known each other for way too long twenty she got
out entirely too long that she was expressing that to me,
And I found that to be interesting. I think it's
hard when you are used to something for you know,
(25:40):
change is challenging for people, even though it's the only
constant seeing something change in such a way, especially something
that doesn't make sense. Like it made sense for me
to change up being a bartender to becoming a lawyer, right,
that made more sense. It doesn't make sense to change
up going from a six figure career that you spent
(26:01):
six figures to receive the degree on right, Like, it
doesn't make sense to give that up for financial instability
and the pursuit of a dream that could or could
not take off. But what I said to my friend
and when I've said to other people is the same
thing you just said. Like I've literally said this verbatim.
I have always been intelligent. I have always been a
(26:23):
go getter. I have always succeeded at everything I have.
Literally don't. I can't think of one thing I've ever
failed at. And that's not to be cocky, but that's
just it. I just don't think I can fail, even
if it doesn't turn out how I want it. It's
not a failure. Like I just I don't believe that
I anything can go wrong, or that I can fail
I know this company is going to be successful. It
doesn't have to be just be like And it's the
(26:44):
same thing with law school when I think about law school.
When I first started law school, did I have money? No,
I was broke. I had absolutely no money. That's how
you start things. You start at the beginning. Did I
know that I have all of the connections and all
of the career opportunity When I started law school, I
had no idea I was going to be able to
make two hundred thousand dollars when I graduated. But I
(27:06):
did set an intention when I started law school. Actually
I did do this when I started law school. One
of the first things I said when I graduated, I
will make a minimum of one fifty and I did that.
I always do what I say I'm going to do
every time, so I don't. I had to reiterate to
that friend and to other friends that even though it
looks scary and confusing, and you can't understand my faith
or my trust, you have to know the person that
(27:28):
you've known your entire life the last five, ten, fifteen,
twenty years. And Carly has never failed, Carly has always succeeded,
Carly has always done everything she said she's going to
do with a smile on her face, and it's always
and it's always materialized andhing, there's nothing that's going to
stop me. And so that's kind of my response to that.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Hell yeah, hell yeah, there is nothing that is going
to stop this train.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Either get with it or get off the tracks, period period.
I love that, and I think or not amuly, I
think I know that that circles back to something And
we talked about earlier in the conversation where when people
first met Carly the attorney and all of a sudden like, oh,
you work at what law firm? And oh my goodness,
(28:15):
you're a jd Oh. It's just people are so impressed
by that. And then all of a sudden, well, actually,
I've decided to switch career paths and pursue being a
yoga instructor and pursue breathwork and leading people to freedom,
essentially like the meditation Harriet Tubman. And it's like, oh, okay,
(28:39):
well how much does that make Yeah, it's not. You know,
where's your studio. I got to start somewhere. You have
to start somewhere, you know. Wow, Okay, I love that
you're sharing that and again, like I said, you've been
very very transparent on TikTok on socials. I'm not on
Instagram like that, but I know that you're on there too,
(29:00):
So tell the people where can they find you?
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Yes, you can find me on all the things. If
you'd like to follow Meditation Circle, you can follow Meditation
Circle on Instagram at Meditation Circle underscore. You can follow
Meditation Circle on TikTok at Meditation Circle no underscore, just
Meditation Circle there, and those are the main places that
(29:23):
I'm on both. I'm also on threads as well, so
the same thing for threads at meditation under, Meditation Circle
underscore and then as far if you want to follow
me personally as well, you can follow me on Instagram,
threads or TikTok. No, actually that is a lie. You
can follow me on Instagram and threads at yeah and TikTok.
I'm sorry, I was thinking Twitter because my handle is
(29:47):
different on Twitter. It's just we don't do Twitter anymore.
I have to, so you can follow me on Instagram
follow you can follow me on Instagram, threads and TikTok
at b well, Carly Michelle and Michelle has two l's in.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
It FYI so so bad. You're better than me, girl.
I have different handles on I think every socials, but
I'm a whole different bitch on every platform. I need
people to realize I contain multitudes. Okay, I am on
that pest generator. So are you like me with different
handles for different platforms, or like Carly steady consistent and
(30:31):
easily searchable. Either way, make sure to follow Carly Michelle
across all platforms with her very consistent handles, which are
linked in the show notes. We're going to take another break,
but go ahead and get comfy and stay tuned because
we have a gift for you after the break. Welcome back.
(31:02):
It's time to take some time for yourself. Settle in
for this peaceful meditation session with Carly Michel enjoy.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
All right, So, if you guys are interested, I am
going to lead you in a quick breath work in
meditation just so you get a taste of that freedom
that I'm talking about. So if you are ready, go
ahead and make sure you're in a comfortable seated position.
You can also lie down, but you definitely don't want
to be doing anything like driving or operating any heavy
(31:30):
machinery and then just go ahead and get comfortable. Maybe
close your eyes or bring them to a soft gaze.
If neither of those feel supportive, you can maybe bring
your focus to a singular point in your space and
(31:50):
just begin to breathe in and out through your nose,
taking long, deep breaths in through the nose and completely
emptying out on the exhale through the nose. We're going
(32:18):
to try a style of breath known as box breathing.
We're going to breathe in for four counts, hold the
breath at the top for four counts, exhale for four counts,
and hold at the bottom for four We're gonna do
this all through your nose, so empty out all your
(32:39):
stale air right now, ready in two three four, hold
two three four out two three four hold too three
four in two three four hold two three four out
(33:04):
two three four hold two three four in two three
four hold two three four out two three four hold
two three four in, hold out, Hold one more time in,
(33:39):
hold out, Hold. I'll take a deep breath in and
fill all the way up, completely filling your lungs with air.
Squeeze all the muscles in your body very tightly, squeezing
your glutes, your toes, clinching, your fists and your jaw,
(34:03):
squeeze and a hold and let it out with a sigh.
We're gonna move into one more style of breath. This
is called rhythmic breathing. We're gonna breathe in through the nose,
out through the mouth. You're gonna follow my cout so again,
(34:24):
empty out your stale air. We're gonna breathe in two
three four five six seven eight out two three four
five six seven eight in two three four five six
(34:46):
seven eight out through the mouth, three four five six
seven eight in through the nose, three four five six
seven eight out through the mouth, three four five six
seven eight in out One more time, in and out,
(35:30):
and take another deep breath in, fully expanding and squeezing
once again every muscle in the body, your jaw, your fists,
your glutes, your eybs, your toes, squeezing and release on
a sigh, and return to your normal breath in and
(35:53):
out through the nose. As you rest here, I want
you to bring your attention to one thing you are
grateful for, whether that's an experience, a place, a person,
(36:21):
a thing. Focus on that which you are grateful for
in this moment, really begin to see it in your
minds eye as if it is right here in front
of you. And as you focus on this thing that
(36:53):
you are grateful for, I want you to see it
begin to expand right before your eyes. It just begins
to get bigger, engulfing the space that you are in,
(37:14):
the city, the country, the world. You see this item,
this person, the situation, just really take over everything and
engulf the entire universe in this gratitude energy, this energy
(37:41):
of appreciation and thankfulness. Begin to breathe the deeply, noticing
that with every breath you draw in this energy of gratitude,
(38:04):
you're sucking it in from that space and filling up
your body from your toes all the way up to
the tip the top of your head with every breath,
infusing each in every cell, every muscle, every fiber of
(38:28):
your being with gratitude. Once you see your entire body
build up with this energy, I want you to take
a deep breath in with me and release, filling up
again inhale and exhale one more time inhale and on
(39:00):
your exil, just repeatedly say thank you, thank you, thank you,
either out loud or in your mind side. You may
begin to wiggle the toes, the fingers, maybe stretch or
give your neck a shake from side to side. When
(39:23):
you're ready, you can flutter open those eyes and return
back here. And I hope you're feeling good. How are
you feeling, Chris.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
Oh, so good, so good. It was really peaceful. I
was so peaceful. And I don't know if I've ever
told you this, but you just have the perfect voice
for leading meditations.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Probably my second favorite compliment after the inspiration. I love
when people say so thank you.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Uh, you're so welcome. Okay, we got to leave the
people with your meditation circle tagline to close this meditation out.
Speaker 2 (40:07):
Yes, meditation circle inhale, exhil take it easy.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Perfection, my friend, Thank you again for this interview, Thank
you for this conversation and this meditation. You are appreciated.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
Thank you, Thank you for having me. Thank you everyone
for listening, and I can't wait to connect with you
on the other side.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Whoo, we are feeling relaxed and ready to take a nap.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
I mean, go get after.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
We are ready to take on the world. But on
a serious note, I hope that you remember time to
yourself is available. Whenever you need it. You don't need
to wait for anything or anyone else. I hope you've
enjoyed the final part of our conversation, and I'm leaving
this episode with a reminder to self that there's no
skepticism that is stronger than the belief that I have
(40:58):
in myself and in y'all. All Right, y'all, I hope
you enjoyed this episode of The Big Quit. Subscribe and
follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, and join
us as we share stories of the quest to embrace change,
navigate uncertainties, and create a life filled with purpose, fulfillment,
and most importantly fun. This has been the Big Quit
(41:19):
with Chris, where the end is only the start of
something incredible. Remember Quitter's win two. All Right, y'all, see
you in the next episode.
Welcome to the Big Quit with Chris, a show that
originally started off as a place to connect with those
that identified as part of the Great Resignation and said
see you to their jobs, and has evolved to a
show where we talk about how quitting is just the
beginning for so many things, whether it's leaving a job,
a relationship, a comfort zone, or any other status quo.
We're here to explore the courageous journey of letting go
(00:27):
and embracing new possibilities. What's up, good folks, Welcome in
a Part two of my conversation with the founder of
Meditation Circle, Carly Micheau. Today we're discussing life after the Leap.
(00:48):
Carly provides some really unique insights into how she perceives
and navigates the various forms of doubt and the understandable
natural skepticism that comes from leaving behind a six figure salary,
from newcomers being skeptical about meditation in general, to family
and friends being skeptical about her new path in life.
We talk about it all, but that's not all. Our
(01:10):
treat for you awaits at the end. If you've been
enticed by the world of meditation and are ready to
check it out. Be sure to stay tuned for a
special session. Carly Michelle is going to guide us through
a free breathwork session. Consider this a gift from us
to you, to you, Well, what are you so skeptical of?
(01:33):
Like what do you think people are hesitant about when
it comes to meditating or breathwork or yoga.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I think in these practices, especially if we're in this
corporate space, people just see it as woo woo, right.
They can't understand how it has such a profound impact.
How can just sitting still and focusing on my breath
change my life? Right? Or how can just deeply breathing
(02:03):
like I breathe all the time. I breathe every day,
Like I wouldn't be here if I wasn't breathing. So
how was breathing? Like? I hear that, Like how what
is that going to do? And it's like, but you're
not intentionally deeply focusing on your breath. You're not really
expanding those lungs. You're not moving the energy out. Actually,
most of us breathe incorrectly and not deeply enough, so
we are actually not moving through are the energy and
(02:24):
a lot of it's just stuck so breathwork really helps
with moving suppressed emotions, trauma, and just energy through your
nervous system and out of your body. So maybe in
breathwork people experience tingling, They might experience dizziness and lightheadedness.
They could experience like I do visualizations and kind of
like this hallucination experience. But some people have intense emotional experience.
(02:48):
They start to laugh or scream or cry, but it's
because there's so much stuck energy and you haven't been
when you breathe. When you deeply breathe, you you're filling
up all your muscle, You're filling up every cell in
your body now with that oxygen, and now it's able
to really move and actually cleanse through you like your
breath is cleansing. And if you're not doing that full
(03:10):
cycle every time, things just get stuck and your nervous
system gets stuck and you're stuck in fight or flight.
And so that's why doing these deep breathing exercises is
so important. And people have these experiences, but I don't
think they understand that because they're like, I always breathe,
so how I'd never feel this when I normally breathe,
which is a deep and deep different type of breath.
(03:33):
And also I think people hear the benefits and a
lot of these benefits. While some things you can experience immediately,
like oh, I do feel better like that, I feel
a little bit calmer, a little bit less anxious than
I did fifteen minutes ago. Great, But some of these
things take time. Right for me to have cured and
really healed my own depression anxiety. I didn't notice that
until three or four months later, right, I didn't. I
(03:55):
didn't realize that I loved myself and that was my
self awareness was increasing until a few months later. And
I think we live in a very microwave society. So
a lot of people they may have tried to meditate
once or twice, right, or they may have been to
a yoga class. Most people have tried meditation, especially yoga.
People have done yoga before, so they might have tried
it and they're like, I can't do it. It didn't
(04:17):
work for me. You said you experienced this, but in
my five minute meditation, I couldn't even get my brain
to turn off. So I think the skepticism comes from
like the fact that I tried and I failed. But
like with anything, You don't try once and expect to
be an expert. You don't do that in anything else.
You don't go to the gym for the first time,
never having worked out in twenty years and expect to
(04:38):
run a four minute mile and bench free fifty. You
start with the five pound weighs and maybe walking on
an incline, like you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Maybe.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So I think those are some of the reasons that
people have this skepticism. And then people wanted to be
so logical, so concrete that doing anything that seems not
that and having it worked just doesn't make any sense,
and they just kind of think you're lying. But there's
so much science and so like when I do these,
when I go into corporate I always do a presentation first,
(05:09):
and I am like very you know, those people are
very science minded, and a lot of you know, if
I'm in a law firm or school or something like that,
they want the facts. So I always lead with science.
The healing, like physical benefits, how how breathing impacts your
nervous system and turns on your para sympathetic nervous system
and you know, really heals your autonomic nervous system. And
(05:33):
so seeing the facts really does help people kind of
lean out of their skepticism and be willing to at
least try it. I want to talk about the transition
from going from being an attorney to now you have
this newborn at home right a five with those baby
business and being a business owner aka a human octopus,
(05:53):
where you're doing everything from social media to your taxes,
to finances, to fining events space and posting your events
and documenting everything. Like, how has that transition been for you,
going from essentially an employee to now a business owner.
It's definitely a transition, for sure. It's interesting because you know,
(06:18):
I want The work that I want to do is
just being in community in this space, holding place with
the individual, the corporation, the group, and just doing the work. Right,
That's that's all I want to do. I just want
to help people learn to meditate, yoga, breathwork, all of that.
I don't mind sending out the emails and I don't
(06:39):
mind doing that, like that stuff is fine to me.
I don't mind making certain social media posts. Some things
I'm like absolutely not. Some things I'm like, yes, I'm excited.
Some stuff I'm like, oh my god. So there's that
and then you know, I don't mind mind writing my
emails because I like to write, but then there's some
other things that are just you know, posting everything. Everything
(07:00):
is arduous, so you know, following up with certain things
is annoying. Being the billing professional and the website developer,
I'm like, this is not my expertise, Like I hate
of dating this website every week and doing these things right.
So it is a balance of me trying to if
we're going back to my pillars, me really trying to
(07:23):
like be in that ease and finding what flows. Again,
challenges will always be there, but I refuse to force
anything right, And I think that's the biggest challenge in
this transition is knowing when to how to flow and
not to force. So I refuse to work too hard, right,
(07:45):
Like obviously being diligent and being a good steward of
your business is necessary, but I refuse to be burnt
out or overworked or you know, anything like that, or
just going at ten miles a minute like whatever, just
going going way too fast. So I try to set
really good boundaries with myself. Like if I say I'm
going to close my laptop at this time, I do it.
(08:06):
Because I can get sucked into that go go go mentality,
and that is not why I'm doing my business. My
business is supposed to be one of ease, and it's
challenging right because I want it to be good. I
want to do all the things. I want to make
sure everything is set up right, and you know, I'm
getting calls at all times, you know, kind of like
(08:27):
I always have an opportunity to kind of be on
my phone or in my computer or doing something business related.
But it's all about I think boundary setting, which sometimes
I'm good at sometimes I'm not, and finding that balance
because I think we've seen the memes on social media
that like, oh, you quit your nine to five to
be an entrepreneur, thinking that like and now you just
(08:49):
work twenty four to seven, and I refuse, I don't
think that has to be reality. So I refuse to
let that idea of the transition take over. And I
really want to keep my firm boundaries. So like, I
do work a part time job, so that takes about
twenty to twenty five hours of my time, and so
I really am I tried to be dedicated about the
(09:11):
amount of time I put into my business as well, like,
I don't want to spend more. I don't want to
work more than honestly thirty hours a week in total.
Right now, that's not quite feasible since I do work
twenty to twenty five hours part time, and I obviously
have to put in work in my business, so I'm
really not going to surpass that forty hour a week
work mark. So I think for me, the biggest part
of the transition is honoring that boundary so that I'm
(09:34):
not leading myself into burnout with something that I'm trying
to make easeful.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
That would be counterproductive. Right, You did not leave your
job which was causing you burn out to go and
burn out yourself. No, not quite, not quite. And I
love that you said that, Like, of course, there are
so many memes out there right about being an entrepreneur
and how yeah to five seems a lot better than
twenty four twenty four to seven, But it doesn't have
(10:04):
to be like that, right, And I heard you mention like, hey,
I work part time as I'm building this, And again,
I think that speaks to the earlier part of the
conversation about keeping your options open and being open to
these different opportunities. Again, it doesn't have to be all
of your eggs in this one basket.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Right.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
It's hey, I'm building this and I'm working part time.
As long as I'm not burning myself out and pursuing
my passion, we get right. But it doesn't have to
just be one thing. If that one thing is going
to stress you out and burn you out, don't do it.
You don't have to do that.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Even with having a part time job, it was important
for me to find something that's still aligned with my
business goals. So it wasn't me just getting any part
time job. If I wanted to do that and make some
fast money, I would have just become a bartender or
a server again like I was for eight years prior
to becoming a lawyer. But I refused to kind of
get into that hustle mentality that I've been in most
(10:58):
of my life. And so I got a job more
in the hospitality range where I work at a coworking space.
And I even said this in my interview, and I
was very intentional in my interview. I told them I
have my own business, I am building my business. I
am using this. I don't plan to be here for
longer than one year, it will be less. And I
am using this job since I'm in this co working space.
(11:20):
So there's a lot of different companies, smaller businesses in
here that use the space. I told them I will
be using this job as a networking platform for my business.
So like I have gotten some clients or some interest
from the members of this co working space, which is nice.
So like I used and they loved it right when
(11:41):
they were interviewing me. They ate it up. Obviously I
got hired, and so I think it's important when you
are transitioning to leverage your transition. Like I could have,
like I said, just gotten a bartoning job, but that
would not have really leveraged what I want to do,
Like I want to go into businesses and give them
meditation and breadth work. Right, So let me be somewhere
(12:01):
where there are businesses, where there are people who are stressed.
Who are you know, who I have to talk to
every day? Like I chat with these people, you know,
I set out the coffee I do. It's very you know,
it's not challenging work, which also allows me to sit
at the front desk for half the day and draft
my emails, make my Instagram posts, do everything I have
to do on Canva, Like, I have the space to
(12:23):
work on my business outside of my business while getting
paid at another job, not making a ton of money.
It's like twenty four bucks an hour, so like it's
very but it gives me a little bit of stability.
It gives me opportunity to work on my business. They
let me use like the printer when I want to
make flyers, and I do make these connections with other people.
So I do think it's important, not only obviously to
keep options open, but in those options, don't just do anything.
(12:46):
Do something that is somehow a bridge to like furthering
your goals. Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I love that and I'm not gonna live a little inspired.
I'm like, do I need to get a job, but
to go work?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Is that what I need to do?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Like, I know I'm helping with podcasts right now, but
if you catch me at we work, you know what's up.
I'll make sure to keep you all on the loop
about my wee work journey. Carly's intentionality with leveraging the
work bridge from where she is to where she wants
to go is rooted in a deep knowing that she's
on the right path. And that clarity comes from trusting herself.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
My biggest advice is truly to trust yourself. Like that
is I think we hear that a lot. It's said
across all of these different platforms and communities, but I
think really trusting yourself it's really really challenging, and sometimes
it can make you feel like you're crazy or you
don't know what you're doing, and that's part of it.
(13:50):
But I think it has to be the number one
thing because if that like I'm almost getting misty eyed
thinking about it, but like that's been the biggest part
of my journey, is no knowing that what I feel
inside is real, and I've faced a lot of I
don't know if backlash is the correct word, but just
you know, things coming at me on this path. When
(14:12):
I first left my big law career, right, it was
how can you leave that money? Are you crazy? Maybe
you just need longer than a year, like it was
only one year. Like of course the first year out
of law school's challenging, right, So me having to know like, no,
this isn't right for me, like the money doesn't matter,
that that's not the end all be all, Like I
had to trust that and it was hard, Like, you're
(14:32):
at this prestigious company. Everyone's looking up to you. My
friends were like, what are you doing? My parents, you know,
had never seen that much money. They're just so everyone
was being bolted. When I left that first job, found
another job. Okay, you're still a lawyer, so we can
still kind of respect that, right. But when I made
that leap to leave, that was also another challenge, right,
(14:54):
and I had to again trust myself, trusted that visualization
I saw in Spain was that was real, like that
That's what I had to trust, knowing that, like, that's
how God spoke to me and through me, and you know,
that's I had to trust that guidance. But when I
came back and I started telling people that I'm putting
in my notice and yet I don't have this long
term plan. I only got a little bit of money
(15:15):
really saved up. You know, that was scary obviously for me,
but it was really I think it even more scary
for everyone else because they do want me to be safe,
and they do want me to be secure, and they
do like the fact that I had money because it
just it makes people feel better. Right, And so when
I was willing to give that up that caused a
(15:35):
lot of discomfort for people, but in that beginning there
was there was still a lot of more belief. As
time went on and my situation even changed even more.
Like so, once I stopped contracting and I was more
fully just me and my business, I faced some challenges,
right like maybe you know, I wasn't able to fully
(15:56):
afford my rent anymore because I got that apartment when
I was making two hundred thousand dollars a year, so
it was pretty high expensive. So by the time you know,
we come to like April and May of this year,
I you know, wasn't accruing as much money. I had
run out of my savings. So then I faced some
housing insecurity and not knowing where I was going to live,
and having a crash with friends and people really judging that,
(16:19):
and me still having to be really firm with myself
and trust that, like, this process may not look how
we want it to look. I may not have it
all today, but like I still know that this is
exactly what I'm supposed to do, and every moment I'm
going to be guided and protected in some capacity. And
I had people to ask me if I had a
mental breakdown if I was manic or schizophrenic. I had
(16:41):
people telling me that I was, you know, living my
life incorrectly or doing something wrong, or being stupid or not,
you know, not really like having this blind faith in
God or the universe, and that was unrealistic. And so
maybe I really was like going through something like mentally,
like having an actual mentat will break down. And that
was really challenging hearing, you know, from loved ones and
(17:03):
from friends and from family that they thought I was
actually mentally unstable. They thought that I was actually harming myself.
And then so that was really all of that is
and then looking at me like, you're making just bad choices.
And this is a choice because you could, if you
wanted to go get a job making one hundred thousand
dollars plus in a heartbeat and have that job within
(17:25):
the next couple of weeks. So you're doing this to yourself.
And so it's also making it hard for people to
want to help me or really cheer for me in
some way because they see it as me just hurting
myself for no reason when I could just follow the
plan of the world. I got the degree, go do
the job, and stop being stop. I guess it kind
(17:45):
of comes off as like not appreciating what I have,
when in the actuality I appreciate it all. Like I
know my legal career right has some good influence on
having a business, and I know that just from me
making my own contrac and stuff like that, Like it's
just helpful. So all that to say that you really
got to trust yourself even in the face of adversity,
(18:07):
even in when people are questioning you, even when they
don't think what you're doing makes any sense or looks good,
even when you know the sky feels like it's crumbling,
even when you're sleeping on somebody's couch and you don't
know you know exactly what's going to happen. If you
know that something is true in your heart, I firmly
believe that it has to come true. Like it might
(18:28):
not come true in the way that you want it,
but like there's a reason that you have to go
through the things that you go through. And honestly, I
believe that I go through these things so that I
can effectively hold that space for in the future for
people when they come to me. Right, So, like I've
experienced so many traumatic things, but like in that I
now know how to deeply hold that space and be
(18:49):
in deep, loving present awareness in my business when I'm
guiding someone through meditation and breath work and they are
experiencing those things, I can now hold that space like
deeply compassionate and not have any judgment about it because
I've been there, like I've been unhoused, I've been deeply
traumatized in you know, sexual situations, YadA, YadA, YadA. And
(19:11):
so trust yourself, trust your journey because there's some beauty
in it, even if you can't see it right now.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
What a powerful message. And just to add on trusting yourself,
trusting your beliefs, and trusting your dreams even when you
don't know the how. Sometimes the how is none of
your business, none of my business, none of our business, right,
but trusting yourself always is. We're going to take a
quick break and we'll be right back, and we're back now.
(19:44):
Carly did mention that trusting yourself isn't always easy, especially
when some of the doubt and challenges you're facing are
coming from your own friends and family. Let's listen and
as Carly shares her thoughts on why her journey and
transition may be so difficult for others to break. Okay,
So Carly again, you shared that a lot of people
(20:04):
have doubted you, a lot of people have questioned this right,
but you've been very open and very transparent about your
entire journey, and I know you've been documenting it and
sharing online. I want to ask, like, as somebody who
follows you on TikTok okay follow Carly Show on the
Clock app and we'll make sure to have all of
your socials posted in the show notes. But what has
the response been like to you sharing so openly about
(20:28):
your journey.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
So that's been interesting. From the strangers on TikTok's they've resonated.
They have always said things like thank you for sharing,
or I'm going through this too, or you know, this
is really inspiring in some capacity, right, But from like
friends and family, you know, you can kind of see
on TikTok who views it whether they like it or not.
(20:50):
You can see the views. And it's been interesting because
a lot of my friends from my college or you know,
prior to law school in my life, they view every
TikTok that they don't like it, and so that's that
fascinates me. I find that's so interesting. And so I've
(21:11):
also found that while the strangers really really react well
to it and appreciate it, it is through my TikTok
that like some of my friends and or family have
found out some of the things in my life that
I have not necessarily shared with them. Which is fine, obviously,
I know that can happen because I'm on this platform,
but they have used that as a way to talk
(21:34):
amongst themselves and come to their own conclusions, own assumptions,
whatever that might be, and talk amongst themselves rather than
reach out to me, ask me how I'm doing, ask
me what I'm going through. So there's been a lot
of like behind the scenes chatter going on, and I
found that to be also interesting because people have expressed
(21:55):
worry or concern to amongst one another or maybe even
to some family members of mine, but they won't reach
out to me, they won't ask me, and so I
found that to be quite interesting that And you know,
I think we hear this on social media a lot too,
that like, your biggest supporters are not your friends and family.
In a lot of cases, it's the strangers. And I'm
(22:17):
not saying none of my friends support me, like obviously
you do and stuff like that. But you know what
I'm saying that, like my first customers are stranger, you know,
you know, it's not necessarily I'm not getting the you know,
the influx of friends necessarily coming into the studio and
taking a class, even if I give them fifty percent
off or one hundred percent off, like, they don't necessarily come.
(22:39):
And I find that it's an interesting thing to reconcile
because like, you love your friends and you want them
to support you, and you want them to show up,
and you know, I'm giving you a discount, and so
it's hard to reconcile that, especially when they're expressing that
they're so concerned that you don't have any money, and
then them not and then then the kind of not
it's not that I'm asking for money, but even if
(22:59):
I give you a fifty percent off code, now you
have access to this for so cheap, right, So it's
just that's hard for me to sometimes reconcile. And that's
been a challenge of learning that, like, that's not necessarily
about me. I don't need to take any of that personally.
That is just a reflection of where they are in
their journey and what their values are, what their beliefs are,
(23:19):
and maybe they're busy, you know, maybe they just can't
understand and so they need to have separation. But that
has probably been the biggest thing of noticing how strangers
are really so much more supportive and they show up
for me in ways that a lot of my close
loved ones cannot or do not.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Do you think it's hard for people to see you
grow in this direction? Yeah, of course you've been very
First of all, I've known Carly a long time. She's
my wife's best friend. But I've always known you to
be incredibly intelligent and very driven. Like once you decide
like I'm going to do this thing right, and now
the thing might change in two years, but when you
(24:01):
start the they you're very driven to do it. And
so going from a lawyer to a certified yoga teacher,
which is still very hard to do, Like I just
wanted to put it out there right like two hundred hours.
A lot of people can't, you know, No, it's just
not a thing. So I'm wondering, like, why do you
think it was so hard for people to see you
(24:23):
grow in that direction? And say, like, you know, what
being an attorney is not for me, But knowing that
you've always been very successful in pursuing whatever it is
that you set your mind to, all of a sudden,
now there's doubt around.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I Actually I do this in my brain all the time.
And what I've really come to and one of a
friend of mine actually kind of mentioned it to me,
and she said that, like I've always seen you exactly
what you said is this, you know, go getter, this
hard worker, this like really diligent and logical and intelligent person.
(24:57):
So to see you put so much faith in us,
in like your journey and in just like just trusting
this path that you don't know where it's going to
come from, and just lean on faith rather than logic
and practicality like I've known you to do before. It's
scary and it doesn't necessarily make sense, and it's different
from the person I've known you to be. And this
friend that I was I'm talking about I've known since
(25:19):
I was thirteen and so I'm thirty two, so we've
known each other for way too long twenty she got
out entirely too long that she was expressing that to me,
And I found that to be interesting. I think it's
hard when you are used to something for you know,
(25:40):
change is challenging for people, even though it's the only
constant seeing something change in such a way, especially something
that doesn't make sense. Like it made sense for me
to change up being a bartender to becoming a lawyer, right,
that made more sense. It doesn't make sense to change
up going from a six figure career that you spent
(26:01):
six figures to receive the degree on right, Like, it
doesn't make sense to give that up for financial instability
and the pursuit of a dream that could or could
not take off. But what I said to my friend
and when I've said to other people is the same
thing you just said. Like I've literally said this verbatim.
I have always been intelligent. I have always been a
(26:23):
go getter. I have always succeeded at everything I have.
Literally don't. I can't think of one thing I've ever
failed at. And that's not to be cocky, but that's
just it. I just don't think I can fail, even
if it doesn't turn out how I want it. It's
not a failure. Like I just I don't believe that
I anything can go wrong, or that I can fail
I know this company is going to be successful. It
doesn't have to be just be like And it's the
(26:44):
same thing with law school when I think about law school.
When I first started law school, did I have money? No,
I was broke. I had absolutely no money. That's how
you start things. You start at the beginning. Did I
know that I have all of the connections and all
of the career opportunity When I started law school, I
had no idea I was going to be able to
make two hundred thousand dollars when I graduated. But I
(27:06):
did set an intention when I started law school. Actually
I did do this when I started law school. One
of the first things I said when I graduated, I
will make a minimum of one fifty and I did that.
I always do what I say I'm going to do
every time, so I don't. I had to reiterate to
that friend and to other friends that even though it
looks scary and confusing, and you can't understand my faith
or my trust, you have to know the person that
(27:28):
you've known your entire life the last five, ten, fifteen,
twenty years. And Carly has never failed, Carly has always succeeded,
Carly has always done everything she said she's going to
do with a smile on her face, and it's always
and it's always materialized andhing, there's nothing that's going to
stop me. And so that's kind of my response to that.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Hell yeah, hell yeah, there is nothing that is going
to stop this train.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Either get with it or get off the tracks, period period.
I love that, and I think or not amuly, I
think I know that that circles back to something And
we talked about earlier in the conversation where when people
first met Carly the attorney and all of a sudden like, oh,
you work at what law firm? And oh my goodness,
(28:15):
you're a jd Oh. It's just people are so impressed
by that. And then all of a sudden, well, actually,
I've decided to switch career paths and pursue being a
yoga instructor and pursue breathwork and leading people to freedom,
essentially like the meditation Harriet Tubman. And it's like, oh, okay,
(28:39):
well how much does that make Yeah, it's not. You know,
where's your studio. I got to start somewhere. You have
to start somewhere, you know. Wow, Okay, I love that
you're sharing that and again, like I said, you've been
very very transparent on TikTok on socials. I'm not on
Instagram like that, but I know that you're on there too,
(29:00):
So tell the people where can they find you?
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Yes, you can find me on all the things. If
you'd like to follow Meditation Circle, you can follow Meditation
Circle on Instagram at Meditation Circle underscore. You can follow
Meditation Circle on TikTok at Meditation Circle no underscore, just
Meditation Circle there, and those are the main places that
(29:23):
I'm on both. I'm also on threads as well, so
the same thing for threads at meditation under, Meditation Circle
underscore and then as far if you want to follow
me personally as well, you can follow me on Instagram,
threads or TikTok. No, actually that is a lie. You
can follow me on Instagram and threads at yeah and TikTok.
I'm sorry, I was thinking Twitter because my handle is
(29:47):
different on Twitter. It's just we don't do Twitter anymore.
I have to, so you can follow me on Instagram
follow you can follow me on Instagram, threads and TikTok
at b well, Carly Michelle and Michelle has two l's in.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
It FYI so so bad. You're better than me, girl.
I have different handles on I think every socials, but
I'm a whole different bitch on every platform. I need
people to realize I contain multitudes. Okay, I am on
that pest generator. So are you like me with different
handles for different platforms, or like Carly steady consistent and
(30:31):
easily searchable. Either way, make sure to follow Carly Michelle
across all platforms with her very consistent handles, which are
linked in the show notes. We're going to take another break,
but go ahead and get comfy and stay tuned because
we have a gift for you after the break. Welcome back.
(31:02):
It's time to take some time for yourself. Settle in
for this peaceful meditation session with Carly Michel enjoy.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
All right, So, if you guys are interested, I am
going to lead you in a quick breath work in
meditation just so you get a taste of that freedom
that I'm talking about. So if you are ready, go
ahead and make sure you're in a comfortable seated position.
You can also lie down, but you definitely don't want
to be doing anything like driving or operating any heavy
(31:30):
machinery and then just go ahead and get comfortable. Maybe
close your eyes or bring them to a soft gaze.
If neither of those feel supportive, you can maybe bring
your focus to a singular point in your space and
(31:50):
just begin to breathe in and out through your nose,
taking long, deep breaths in through the nose and completely
emptying out on the exhale through the nose. We're going
(32:18):
to try a style of breath known as box breathing.
We're going to breathe in for four counts, hold the
breath at the top for four counts, exhale for four counts,
and hold at the bottom for four We're gonna do
this all through your nose, so empty out all your
(32:39):
stale air right now, ready in two three four, hold
two three four out two three four hold too three
four in two three four hold two three four out
(33:04):
two three four hold two three four in two three
four hold two three four out two three four hold
two three four in, hold out, Hold one more time in,
(33:39):
hold out, Hold. I'll take a deep breath in and
fill all the way up, completely filling your lungs with air.
Squeeze all the muscles in your body very tightly, squeezing
your glutes, your toes, clinching, your fists and your jaw,
(34:03):
squeeze and a hold and let it out with a sigh.
We're gonna move into one more style of breath. This
is called rhythmic breathing. We're gonna breathe in through the nose,
out through the mouth. You're gonna follow my cout so again,
(34:24):
empty out your stale air. We're gonna breathe in two
three four five six seven eight out two three four
five six seven eight in two three four five six
(34:46):
seven eight out through the mouth, three four five six
seven eight in through the nose, three four five six
seven eight out through the mouth, three four five six
seven eight in out One more time, in and out,
(35:30):
and take another deep breath in, fully expanding and squeezing
once again every muscle in the body, your jaw, your fists,
your glutes, your eybs, your toes, squeezing and release on
a sigh, and return to your normal breath in and
(35:53):
out through the nose. As you rest here, I want
you to bring your attention to one thing you are
grateful for, whether that's an experience, a place, a person,
(36:21):
a thing. Focus on that which you are grateful for
in this moment, really begin to see it in your
minds eye as if it is right here in front
of you. And as you focus on this thing that
(36:53):
you are grateful for, I want you to see it
begin to expand right before your eyes. It just begins
to get bigger, engulfing the space that you are in,
(37:14):
the city, the country, the world. You see this item,
this person, the situation, just really take over everything and
engulf the entire universe in this gratitude energy, this energy
(37:41):
of appreciation and thankfulness. Begin to breathe the deeply, noticing
that with every breath you draw in this energy of gratitude,
(38:04):
you're sucking it in from that space and filling up
your body from your toes all the way up to
the tip the top of your head with every breath,
infusing each in every cell, every muscle, every fiber of
(38:28):
your being with gratitude. Once you see your entire body
build up with this energy, I want you to take
a deep breath in with me and release, filling up
again inhale and exhale one more time inhale and on
(39:00):
your exil, just repeatedly say thank you, thank you, thank you,
either out loud or in your mind side. You may
begin to wiggle the toes, the fingers, maybe stretch or
give your neck a shake from side to side. When
(39:23):
you're ready, you can flutter open those eyes and return
back here. And I hope you're feeling good. How are
you feeling, Chris.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
Oh, so good, so good. It was really peaceful. I
was so peaceful. And I don't know if I've ever
told you this, but you just have the perfect voice
for leading meditations.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Probably my second favorite compliment after the inspiration. I love
when people say so thank you.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Uh, you're so welcome. Okay, we got to leave the
people with your meditation circle tagline to close this meditation out.
Speaker 2 (40:07):
Yes, meditation circle inhale, exhil take it easy.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Perfection, my friend, Thank you again for this interview, Thank
you for this conversation and this meditation. You are appreciated.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
Thank you, Thank you for having me. Thank you everyone
for listening, and I can't wait to connect with you
on the other side.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Whoo, we are feeling relaxed and ready to take a nap.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
I mean, go get after.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
We are ready to take on the world. But on
a serious note, I hope that you remember time to
yourself is available. Whenever you need it. You don't need
to wait for anything or anyone else. I hope you've
enjoyed the final part of our conversation, and I'm leaving
this episode with a reminder to self that there's no
skepticism that is stronger than the belief that I have
(40:58):
in myself and in y'all. All Right, y'all, I hope
you enjoyed this episode of The Big Quit. Subscribe and
follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, and join
us as we share stories of the quest to embrace change,
navigate uncertainties, and create a life filled with purpose, fulfillment,
and most importantly fun. This has been the Big Quit
(41:19):
with Chris, where the end is only the start of
something incredible. Remember Quitter's win two. All Right, y'all, see
you in the next episode.
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