April 10, 2024 • 28 mins
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Have you ever pondered the deeper reason behind your existence or felt the magnetic pull of your dreams? Uncover the art of living with purpose as I, Meghan Alexander, unravel some stories of trials and triumphs that have carved our destinies. As this story journeys from my quaint Connecticut beginnings through the mesh of career and motherhood, this episode is a tribute to the conviction that we're all destined for something beyond the ordinary. I celebrate the narratives that not only define us but also have the power to motivate and uplift others, fostering a space of unwavering honesty and infectious positivity.
Feeling the world's emotions might seem like a heavy mantle, yet this monologue sheds light on how such sensitivity sharpens empathy and personal growth. I open up about my life as an empath and a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), and how these traits have shaped my interactions and led me to seek like-minded souls. From the bustling environment of a startup to the expansive halls of a major tech firm, I reflect on my 34-year career journey and some lessons learned along the way. Whether it's about finding fulfillment in hobbies or acknowledging the influence of leaders like Tony Robbins, this episode is an intimate look into the pursuit of our full potential and the heartfelt belief that even one life touched is a mission accomplished.
Thank you for checking out this episode! It's only part of my story, but I hope it sheds a light on what I'm about and is a glimpse into why I'm doing a podcast.
Thank you for tuning in to Meghan's podcast!
Remember, we are all made for more!
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Intro voiceovers by her family: son, Billy Alexander; daughter, Mackenzie Alexander; and husband, Bill Alexander.
Music by Bill Alexander
Produced by Bill Alexander
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the podcast we Are Made For More
with Megan Alexander.
In this podcast, we'll striveto inspire people around the
world to become the best versionof themselves by featuring
guests with experiences andmindsets that demonstrate that
we are all made for more.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Every journey is stitched together with moments
of realization and growth, andfor Megan Alexander, this
episode is where she pulls backthe curtain on her own life's
narrative, From the tightropewalk of managing a career and
family life to those quietinstances of clarity that
reshaped her path.
Megan opens up about theextraordinary found within the
(00:43):
everyday.
Megan opens up about theextraordinary found within the
everyday.
As you tune in, you'reembarking on a shared
exploration of empathy, the lawof attraction and the art of
building connections that adddepth to our daily lives.
Join Megan in celebrating themore we're designed for and the
(01:03):
beautiful intricacies weencounter at every turn of
life's journey.
And the beautiful intricacieswe encounter at every turn of
life's journey.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Hello and welcome to.
We Are Made For More.
I am your host, megan Alexander, and this is my podcast.
So this is my first personalpodcast.
I did a few sessions alreadyand thought I would pop in here
and tell you a little bit aboutmyself.
(01:28):
First, you can follow me onsocial media on Instagram, at
Megan Alexander being Real,please share my profile with
others and also share thispodcast.
That would be really helpful.
That is if you like it, ofcourse, if you don't like it,
maybe it resonates with somebodyelse and you can share it with
them, because we'd love to getthe word out.
Today.
I'm here, like I said, to tellyou a little bit about me, who I
(01:51):
am and why I'm doing this.
But first, a thank you to youyes, to you listening or
watching here today, thelistener, because without you we
wouldn't have a show.
So there are currently 3.2million podcasts out there.
I've seen other reports saythat there's somewhere around
(02:12):
4.1 million podcasts, but thatincludes all the podcasts that
aren't even active right now.
Why do I mention this Again?
Just to say another thank youthat you chose to come here and
check something out today, atthe end of my first episode.
My very first podcast was withmy guest, jordan White.
He said that if we justimpacted one person, one
(02:34):
listener, we've made adifference, and I truly believe
that that was incredible advice.
But, of course, the more weshare this out there, hopefully,
the more people that can getinvolved.
The more we share this outthere, hopefully, the more
people that can get involved.
So it was a dream of mine tostart a podcast and I finally
(02:54):
did it.
I launched in July of 2023 lastyear, and because I have a
full-time career and I'm also amother and a wife and I have
things going on in my life, Icould only get one episode out a
month, and I did that for aboutfour months.
I got out four episodes.
I was really proud of myself andthen life got busy.
Right, I have a full-timecareer that I just mentioned was
(03:14):
super busy.
We went into the holiday seasonNovember, december and not only
was I busy, but then for thoseof you that are creatives out
there or working on other things, you understand what I'm
talking about.
It got really difficult to evenhave like a creative energy
flow.
So where am I going with this?
Well, I stopped puttingpodcasts out and it got really
(03:37):
tough.
But listen, I don't want tohave what they call pod fade For
those of you that haven't heardof it.
It's exactly what you think itmight be is putting a podcast
out there and stopping for anyreason.
I want to keep it going.
So I recently had shouldersurgery and I'm in my
recuperating phase right now anddecided, while I'm healing, I
(04:02):
have the opportunity to get thatcreative energy going a little
bit again, and so I'm going todive in and do some more
podcasts, because I want tobring people on here and tell a
lot of life stories.
So let's talk a little bit moreabout that.
The name of this podcast is weAre Made For More.
We all are.
What did we come here to do?
(04:23):
My goal is to have guests on theshow talk about their life
stories, to help inspire othersto live out their own dreams, to
overcome fears, to take risks,to elevate themselves.
What are your dreams?
What are your goals?
That's right.
I'm talking about you as well.
What's holding you back?
Or, conversely, what ispropelling you forward?
(04:45):
What's allowing you to liveinto those dreams?
I'd love to know more about it.
I want this to be a place ofpositivity, but, with honesty.
I want to share our learns andlift each other up.
So let's dive in a little bit.
I want to talk a little bitabout myself and my life.
Who's Megan Alexander?
(05:06):
Well, I'm from a small town inConnecticut called Watertown.
For those of you that don'tknow where that is, it's a town
in the middle of the state, kindof between Waterbury and
Litchfield.
I grew up with two brothers I'mthe oldest.
My father was a school teacher.
(05:27):
He was an English teacher inDanbury, connecticut.
We're seventh and eighthgraders and that was about 40
years of his life.
And then on the weekends he wasa drummer.
He worked in a wedding band itwas called TK5.
And that would sometimes beFridays, saturdays and Sundays.
So in many ways he worked sevendays a week during the school
(05:49):
year.
Then in the summers, of course,as a teacher, he would have off
and that's where we would getto spend more time together.
In fact, I think in my highschool yearbook I said that
every August was my favoritetime of year because we'd have
our family vacations and reallyget to spend time together.
Because we'd have our familyvacations and really get to
spend time together, my mom wasa stay-at-home mom for a long
(06:12):
time, a lot of my childhood andupbringing, and I'm so grateful
for that that she was able to behome with my brothers and
myself.
And then, I believe it was whenI was a freshman in high school
, she started working at aprivate school in Connecticut
called Taft School it was in ourtown and then she went on to
stay there for about 25 years.
So she had that side of lifewhere she was the stay-at-home
mom and then she had a careerside of life.
(06:35):
So she kind of had the best ofboth.
And then I will say, you know,because this is about telling
stories, this podcast right?
So a little bit about me isthat when I was 20 years old, my
parents divorced and that wasone of the most traumatic things
I think that ever happened inmy life.
(06:56):
Yes, I know that there'sdivorce everywhere out there and
that's just a way of the worldtoday, but for me I was living
my own life and that was a shockto me at the time and it was
really challenging for a lot ofreasons I'll also share here
that my father remarried withina couple years after and that
(07:19):
went on to be a tumultuousrelationship with my stepmother,
for I, I think, around 27 years, and I'm bringing that up here
because it's part of my lifestory and it's part of what
makes me who I am today.
There's a lot more to come withthat if we share these stories
further down the road, but Iwill say to you that, in general
(07:43):
, my stepmother wasn't a reallykind person and it took a toll
for many years because thatrelationship was very
challenging for me.
Sadly, my father passed awaytwo and a half years ago from a
tragedy.
He actually fell down thestairs one day and it was, of
(08:08):
course yeah, no other word comesto mind other than tragic.
He was 74 years old it was justbefore his 75th birthday and
it's really been a lot torecover from.
Why am I bringing that up here?
Well, because, as I mentionedearlier, my Instagram page is
(08:31):
called Megan Alexander beingReal, and life is about being
real and we are the things thathappen to us, right.
But it's how we come out ofthose experiences and how we
live into those experiences thatreally make us who we are and
how we heal from them, and Ithink it's about sharing stories
(08:53):
with each other to help otherpeople grow in life, right?
So here's the deal I believe intherapy deal.
I believe in therapy and Ithink it's probably one of the
best things that I've everdiscovered, because I started
going to a therapist after myfather passed and it helped me
so much in life uncoverdifferent things about me and
(09:17):
different things about my familyand different things about how,
frankly, we all interact witheach other right, and the
stories that we tell ourselvesaren't always true.
Sometimes it's really about I'msure you can relate to this but
those experiences that happenaround you kind of formulate who
(09:39):
you are as a person, and atherapist has a way of stepping
out of the picture they're notin your life and giving you
perspective that you neverthought of before.
One of the first things that Itried to uncover was about my
relationship with my dad, and Ishould say here that you, I had
(10:05):
a tumultuous relationship withmy father for probably eight
years after he left.
It was really hard for me forso many reasons, but I'm so
grateful and glad to say that wewere able to come back around
and have a better relationshipOnce I met my husband had kids.
(10:25):
It was kind of like a reformingand a new opportunity to bring
that relationship back into mylife and I'm so glad that I had
kids.
It was kind of like a reformingand a new opportunity to bring
that relationship back into mylife, and I'm so glad that I had
that.
And I know that not everybodygets to have that.
Sometimes relationships areshattered and they aren't able
to be healed, but I'm glad thatI was able to do that.
I certainly wish I could havedone a lot more, and I've
(10:47):
certainly learned so much fromit that I try and handle my
relationships with peopledifferently today because of
what I did learn.
So getting back to therapy,right, I have heard a funny
quote before that I'll sharewith you, which is this I go to
therapy to deal with everyone inmy life that won't go to
therapy.
(11:08):
So laugh.
If you've heard that one before, it resonates with me because
that's so true too right.
We all have these crazyrelationships all around us that
we're constantly trying tonavigate, and I love to share
with stories and talk about it,and that's part of what this
show is about.
So let's move on a little bitfor now and I'll tell you a
little bit more about me.
(11:28):
I'm an empath by nature.
I would actually call it mysuperpower.
I care so much about the peoplearound me.
I'm highly tuned in to whatother people are thinking or
feeling, sometimes more thanthey know themselves.
It's just a natural ability ofmine, and for other people out
there that are also empaths, I'msure you can relate to what I'm
(11:50):
saying.
It's just who we are.
We can feel what's going onaround us and highly tuned into
what's going on around the room.
Some people don't like that, bythe way.
That's fine.
Some people don't love to bearound feelers all the time, or
they think you're too sensitiveand you're not tough enough, or
that that's not even actuallywhat it is, and I think if
(12:11):
others would take the time toget to know you on that level,
they might actually understand alittle bit more about it.
It's really an ability.
It's really something thatwe're proud of, just like you
may be proud of something elseand an ability that you have.
So I mentioned that here.
Another thing I'm going tomention is you may have heard of
an HSP.
In fact, I've noticed thatthat's in a lot of TV shows
(12:33):
these days and they talk aboutit kind of like it's a joke,
which it is.
It's funny.
What is an HSP?
Look it up.
It's a highly sensitive person.
I have a lot of traits ofpeople that are highly sensitive
.
Not all of the traits.
Some of the traits are thatpeople are introverts.
That's fine too.
I'm not.
I'm a highly functioningextrovert, but I'm so sensitive
(12:55):
to like light, like serious,bright light or loud, loud music
.
Don't get me wrong.
I love to go to a great concert, just like anybody else, but I
love the loud music at theconcert.
I don't love loud music whenI'm trying to talk to people.
So why do I bring those thingsup today Again, telling you a
little bit about who I am, andmaybe that'll help you
understand what this show isabout.
(13:17):
I'm a personal developmentjunkie self-proclaimed.
I love listening to andfollowing motivational people,
like some of my favorites areTony Robbins.
Like some of my favorites areTony Robbins, kathy Heller,
lewis Howes, wayne Dyer, breneBrown, jay Shetty, among others,
simon Sinek those are some thatcome to mind right now.
(13:39):
I love thinking about thingslike the law of attraction.
What is the law of attraction?
The energy that you put out inthe universe is what comes back
to you.
It's always fascinated me.
Have you ever noticed, whensomeone walks into a room, if
(14:03):
their energy is vibrant andelectric.
It brings you up.
And, conversely, if they walkin the room and they're down and
maybe they're angry, maybe whoknows maybe they're pissed off
today that it starts to rub offon you, where you start walking
on eggshells around them.
And it depends on what worksfor you.
You need to find your kind ofpeople, right, but have you
noticed your energy reallytranslates into other people's
(14:26):
energy it's amazing into otherpeople's energy.
It's amazing.
So I have a good friend who isgoing to be a podcast guest here
very soon and she has a quoteyou may have seen me say it in
one of my Instagram reels, butshe says your vibe attracts your
tribe.
Right, and it's so true.
So you have to find the kind ofpeople that work for you in
(14:48):
life and sometimes that's familyand sometimes it's not but
surround yourself with your kindof people, because that's
what's going to bring you up.
So, meaning of life,conversations, folks that's what
vibrates me.
I crave it all.
Bring it on.
I want to elevate theconversation.
I know that people love walkingaround talking about the
(15:10):
weather.
It's, I think, the most highlytalked about thing, except in a
presidential election year.
Then it's, of course, aboutpolitics, but those are some of
the things people talk aboutmost.
That's fine, that's how youmake small talk.
But the second someone startstalking about the meaning of
life and how we're connected andthe universe and what we're
(15:30):
here for.
What is our purpose?
I'm in, that's what I'm about,that's what I'm seeking, that's
what I crave, and I want toconnect with the people that
want the same and hopefully, onthis show, bring on people to
talk about some reallyincredible life stories to help.
First of all.
Maybe it'll resonate with you.
(15:50):
Maybe you've experienced itbefore.
Don't you love when you couldhave those aha moments in life
and realize, wow, I felt thatway too, and it makes you not
feel foolish anymore.
It kind of validates who youare as a person.
That's what I love to do,that's what I love to talk about
.
I love to be around people whoare inspiring and I love to
(16:10):
inspire others or have theopportunity to be able to do
that.
I want to be around people whotalk about positive, uplifting
things in life and get realtogether about what that means.
They say that the people thatyou hang out with most are who
you are most like.
What does that mean?
I think the quote is the sixpeople that you hang out with
most are who you are most like.
What does that mean?
I think the quote is the sixpeople that you hang out with
(16:34):
most often is who you end upbeing like.
So take a look around you inyour life and who is that?
Who are those people that youhang out with most often and are
you excited to be around them?
Do they make you feel greatabout being you?
Do they make you want to be abetter person?
You know, first of all, I'm.
One thing I haven't mentionedyet about my life is that I'm
(16:55):
married and uh, to the mostincredible man, and he's my best
friend.
Um and I have two incrediblechildren and so and they're
teenagers and I'd love to talkmore about them and my family as
this podcast progresses, butI'm mentioning it now because I
just want to say that my husbandhas often said he wants to make
(17:19):
me more me, and he's the firstand only person I've ever heard
say anything like that in mylife, and I'm so blessed to have
someone that wants to make mebe more me and hopefully I can
make him more him.
So I think that's another thingto take a look around your life
and are you around people thatwant to make you be more of you?
(17:40):
Can you be yourself in the roomwith them, and doesn't it feel
great when you can be so?
About this show, I'm not lookingfor quote, the perfect guest.
I mean, who has it all figuredout?
Let's be real.
Does anybody, do you knowanyone that has had no tragedy
in their life, no struggles, nofailures?
(18:02):
That is what makes us humanbeings to begin with.
That's where the growth comesfrom.
We learn more from our failuresthan we do our successes, or so
say some people.
In addition, I'm not looking tointerview heroes here.
Don't get me wrong.
I'd love to interview a greathero, and I hope that I do, but
I don't want to necessarily talkto just people that have it all
(18:24):
figured out.
We're needing to figure thislife out together, so I'm going
to have all kinds of guests onthis show.
Who do you know who hasn'tstruggled with money or their
finances, or family issues, orfriend issues, or their weight
myself included or addiction, orpoverty, or heartbreak or
(18:50):
tremendous loss?
Everyone that we're surroundedwith is going through something.
I've said that in one of myreels as well.
That's what life is.
We're here to figure it out.
So bringing guests on to talkabout what they've gone through
will hopefully inspire othersand again, like I said before,
(19:15):
resonate with some people totune in frankly and let's learn
and grow together.
Let's shift gears for just asecond.
I wonder how many people areout there doing what they came
here to do?
Who's content, fully content intheir life, like on every
aspect and all of the on, all ofthe measures, whether it's
finances, um, health, um,personal relationships, all of
(19:39):
those kind of things?
Who's really thrilled in theirjob?
Listen, I'm sure there's a lotof people who loves the work
that they're doing, but I don'tknow that it's a huge percent.
Many may feel blessed to have ajob, a good job, a well-paying
job or any job at all, but wholoves truly running to work
(20:00):
every day?
I don't know about you, butlisten, when I'm with my friends
on the weekends, we talk aboutall kinds of things.
Work is one of them andinevitably it's a topic where
people are well, work, work,work, work is tough, work is
hard, work is challenging, butit doesn't mean they're not
grateful to have a job.
No one's sitting there saying Iwish I didn't have a job, but
it's hard.
Why am I mentioning this somuch?
(20:22):
Because I wonder what we camehere to do in this world and who
gets to fulfill that before.
Let's face it, we leave beforewe pass over to the next side.
Believe me, I hope there aremany people loving what they do,
and I'd love to hear from anyof those people out there,
(20:44):
because we are here for a reason, but only for a season
professionally.
I'll chat with you just for amoment about me and my career.
I've been in a leadershipposition or a leadership support
role for my 34-year career.
I've been at my current companyfor 23 years, folks, 23.
(21:06):
I could do this on my fingers23.
And it sounds wild even sayingthat.
I remember when I hit my comingup to my 10-year anniversary at
the company, then 15 years,then 20 years and now here I am,
actually this month hitting 23years.
I kind of can't believe thatI'm here.
I didn't find myself to be oneof those lifetime career people
(21:27):
at one company, but here I amand it's an amazing company that
I work for.
So I'm glad to be able to saythat.
But it's just one of those wildmoments, right.
But it's just one of those wildmoments.
Right when I started at thecompany I'm at now, it was just
(21:50):
a startup retailer and sincethen has become a mega tech
company, in fact, one of thelargest in the world.
Who would have known that thatwould happen?
Frankly, no one.
And now with more than twodecades of experience at one of
the largest markets in the worldbecause I live here in New York
, I live in Long Island, but Isupport a New York market but at
one of the most complexretailers in the world, and I'm
very grateful for that.
(22:12):
But listen, as John Lennon said.
John Lennon said life is whathappens when making plans to do
other things.
Isn't that the truth?
So listen to this.
I was in a leadership role forhalf of my career and then I got
pregnant and had kids.
At that time, I took a role,where I am now, that allowed me
(22:32):
to work from home and raise mykids Wow, how lucky am I.
And that was before COVID folks.
Before that was even a thing,working from home.
But, like anything else in life,that became challenging too.
I found myself in a role thatchanged and the leaders at the
top of the company changed, andthose people didn't know me
(22:54):
anymore.
So they also didn't know what Iwas capable of or who I was, or
that I was a leader, before Ikind of came this leadership
executive, leadership supportperson and I got stuck.
I mean, that's just whathappened.
Believe me, I know a lot ofpeople that have been stuck in
their careers as time goes by.
Why am I mentioning that?
Well, I started thinking moreand more about what am I here in
(23:17):
life to accomplish?
What is my purpose?
Because I have way more tooffer and way more to offer, and
maybe people don't have time tosee that right now, or whatever
the processes are to do otherthings.
And it didn't mean that I don'tlove the place that I am.
So it's like this confusingplace I found myself in life,
and for a few years, to behonest with you.
(23:39):
So this podcast was, in largepart, a way to connect with
people on another level, diveinto skills that I'm no longer
utilizing at work, but who knowswhere it may lead.
Most importantly, I have provedto myself that I'm still
capable of a lot of things andall the things it took to launch
this podcast, which was a lot,I mean things and all the things
(24:00):
it took to launch this podcast,which was a lot.
I mean, listen, there was thetech side of it.
There was the.
You know writing copy, um toget it off the ground.
You know learning how to go onbuzzsproutcom, for example, and
sign up to be on all thesepodcasts, learning how to use AI
a little bit and coming up withhow do you?
(24:21):
You know what kind of what'sthe message going to be, what's
the theme, who are going to bemy guests?
And this is stuff that's allstill evolving now and I hope
will kind of continue tocatapult forward, but it's been
an incredible learning journeyalready and you never know what
will come of it.
I also want to say that I thinkour hobbies are some of those
(24:42):
things that can fulfill for us,maybe things that aren't
happening in other areas of ourlife, like our career or like
your personal, maybe in yourpersonal life.
So that's just something elsethat I think is really exciting.
So we don't get to always havecontrol over every outcome,
right?
So why do we try to controleverything?
(25:04):
I'm not going to say I'm acontrol freak, but I am probably
a self-proclaimed type Apersonality.
I like to execute at a veryhigh level things that I do in
life.
Like I said to you before, Ilike to bring positive energy.
Wherever I go, I want to tryand get positive energy out of
others, and when I don't succeedthere, that's tough for me.
(25:25):
I take things hard.
It's funny, I'm going throughphysical therapy right now, just
as I mentioned for my shoulderand the surgery that I just had,
and my physical therapist hasalready said to me you're so
hard on yourself, and I'mthinking here's a guy who kind
of just met me.
He met me a month before mysurgery because we tried therapy
(25:48):
before we realized that wasn'tgoing to work.
And I've known him now a monthsince my surgery so not a long
time in life, right but healready knows that I'm hard on
myself.
This is something that I'm surethe people that work with me
every day or my family alreadyknow, and then some, and I
certainly know it.
But the truth is, I'm hard onmyself because I have high
(26:09):
expectations for myself and forpeople that work on my teams,
for my kids, well, and for myhusband.
I have to say it, it's true, butat the end of the day, it's
because I think we are made formore.
I think there's a reason thatwe're here, and what are we
going to do with our life?
What are we going to do beforewe get to that day where, like
(26:32):
my father, who tragically hislife ended before any of us
expected, did we accomplish thethings that we came here to do
and is it?
Can we do more than small talkwhen we're together?
Look, small talk's great.
If you're my friend, don't beafraid.
I love that too.
But don't be afraid to talk tome about the deeper things too,
(26:55):
because I think it's awesome.
I'll quote Pitbull For those ofyou that know Pitbull the
rapper, singer, songwriter, alsoknown as Mr Worldwide.
He said this is for everybodygoing through tough times.
Believe me, been there, donethat but every day above ground
is a good day.
So thanks again for listening intoday.
(27:16):
I'm looking forward to sharingmore guests and, as I sign off,
I'll shamelessly ask again toplease share this podcast with
others.
Go on my Instagram, check outsome of my reels, share your
feedback with me and listen.
I always say be kind about it.
I really don't love that onsocial media, people tear each
other up and say terrible thingsabout how somebody looks each
(27:41):
other up and say terrible thingsabout how somebody looks, how
terrible they are at something.
Be nice about it, give feedback.
But give feedback.
But be gracious, right, becauseI'll do the same for you.
So, anyway, hope to see youaround, and that's it for now.
Megan Alexander, being real onInstagram.
Peace out, everybody.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Well, that's it for today.
Thank you for listening, if youlike what you heard.
Peace out everybody.
Solely for educational andentertainment purposes.
Megan is not a licensedtherapist and this podcast is
(28:22):
not intended as a substitute fora physician, professional coach
, psychotherapist or otherqualified professional.
Goodbye everybody, thank you.
Welcome to the podcast we Are Made For More
with Megan Alexander.
In this podcast, we'll striveto inspire people around the
world to become the best versionof themselves by featuring
guests with experiences andmindsets that demonstrate that
we are all made for more.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Every journey is stitched together with moments
of realization and growth, andfor Megan Alexander, this
episode is where she pulls backthe curtain on her own life's
narrative, From the tightropewalk of managing a career and
family life to those quietinstances of clarity that
reshaped her path.
Megan opens up about theextraordinary found within the
(00:43):
everyday.
Megan opens up about theextraordinary found within the
everyday.
As you tune in, you'reembarking on a shared
exploration of empathy, the lawof attraction and the art of
building connections that adddepth to our daily lives.
Join Megan in celebrating themore we're designed for and the
(01:03):
beautiful intricacies weencounter at every turn of
life's journey.
And the beautiful intricacieswe encounter at every turn of
life's journey.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Hello and welcome to.
We Are Made For More.
I am your host, megan Alexander, and this is my podcast.
So this is my first personalpodcast.
I did a few sessions alreadyand thought I would pop in here
and tell you a little bit aboutmyself.
(01:28):
First, you can follow me onsocial media on Instagram, at
Megan Alexander being Real,please share my profile with
others and also share thispodcast.
That would be really helpful.
That is if you like it, ofcourse, if you don't like it,
maybe it resonates with somebodyelse and you can share it with
them, because we'd love to getthe word out.
Today.
I'm here, like I said, to tellyou a little bit about me, who I
(01:51):
am and why I'm doing this.
But first, a thank you to youyes, to you listening or
watching here today, thelistener, because without you we
wouldn't have a show.
So there are currently 3.2million podcasts out there.
I've seen other reports saythat there's somewhere around
(02:12):
4.1 million podcasts, but thatincludes all the podcasts that
aren't even active right now.
Why do I mention this Again?
Just to say another thank youthat you chose to come here and
check something out today, atthe end of my first episode.
My very first podcast was withmy guest, jordan White.
He said that if we justimpacted one person, one
(02:34):
listener, we've made adifference, and I truly believe
that that was incredible advice.
But, of course, the more weshare this out there, hopefully,
the more people that can getinvolved.
The more we share this outthere, hopefully, the more
people that can get involved.
So it was a dream of mine tostart a podcast and I finally
(02:54):
did it.
I launched in July of 2023 lastyear, and because I have a
full-time career and I'm also amother and a wife and I have
things going on in my life, Icould only get one episode out a
month, and I did that for aboutfour months.
I got out four episodes.
I was really proud of myself andthen life got busy.
Right, I have a full-timecareer that I just mentioned was
(03:14):
super busy.
We went into the holiday seasonNovember, december and not only
was I busy, but then for thoseof you that are creatives out
there or working on other things, you understand what I'm
talking about.
It got really difficult to evenhave like a creative energy
flow.
So where am I going with this?
Well, I stopped puttingpodcasts out and it got really
(03:37):
tough.
But listen, I don't want tohave what they call pod fade For
those of you that haven't heardof it.
It's exactly what you think itmight be is putting a podcast
out there and stopping for anyreason.
I want to keep it going.
So I recently had shouldersurgery and I'm in my
recuperating phase right now anddecided, while I'm healing, I
(04:02):
have the opportunity to get thatcreative energy going a little
bit again, and so I'm going todive in and do some more
podcasts, because I want tobring people on here and tell a
lot of life stories.
So let's talk a little bit moreabout that.
The name of this podcast is weAre Made For More.
We all are.
What did we come here to do?
(04:23):
My goal is to have guests on theshow talk about their life
stories, to help inspire othersto live out their own dreams, to
overcome fears, to take risks,to elevate themselves.
What are your dreams?
What are your goals?
That's right.
I'm talking about you as well.
What's holding you back?
Or, conversely, what ispropelling you forward?
(04:45):
What's allowing you to liveinto those dreams?
I'd love to know more about it.
I want this to be a place ofpositivity, but, with honesty.
I want to share our learns andlift each other up.
So let's dive in a little bit.
I want to talk a little bitabout myself and my life.
Who's Megan Alexander?
(05:06):
Well, I'm from a small town inConnecticut called Watertown.
For those of you that don'tknow where that is, it's a town
in the middle of the state, kindof between Waterbury and
Litchfield.
I grew up with two brothers I'mthe oldest.
My father was a school teacher.
(05:27):
He was an English teacher inDanbury, connecticut.
We're seventh and eighthgraders and that was about 40
years of his life.
And then on the weekends he wasa drummer.
He worked in a wedding band itwas called TK5.
And that would sometimes beFridays, saturdays and Sundays.
So in many ways he worked sevendays a week during the school
(05:49):
year.
Then in the summers, of course,as a teacher, he would have off
and that's where we would getto spend more time together.
In fact, I think in my highschool yearbook I said that
every August was my favoritetime of year because we'd have
our family vacations and reallyget to spend time together.
Because we'd have our familyvacations and really get to
spend time together, my mom wasa stay-at-home mom for a long
(06:12):
time, a lot of my childhood andupbringing, and I'm so grateful
for that that she was able to behome with my brothers and
myself.
And then, I believe it was whenI was a freshman in high school
, she started working at aprivate school in Connecticut
called Taft School it was in ourtown and then she went on to
stay there for about 25 years.
So she had that side of lifewhere she was the stay-at-home
mom and then she had a careerside of life.
(06:35):
So she kind of had the best ofboth.
And then I will say, you know,because this is about telling
stories, this podcast right?
So a little bit about me isthat when I was 20 years old, my
parents divorced and that wasone of the most traumatic things
I think that ever happened inmy life.
(06:56):
Yes, I know that there'sdivorce everywhere out there and
that's just a way of the worldtoday, but for me I was living
my own life and that was a shockto me at the time and it was
really challenging for a lot ofreasons I'll also share here
that my father remarried withina couple years after and that
(07:19):
went on to be a tumultuousrelationship with my stepmother,
for I, I think, around 27 years, and I'm bringing that up here
because it's part of my lifestory and it's part of what
makes me who I am today.
There's a lot more to come withthat if we share these stories
further down the road, but Iwill say to you that, in general
(07:43):
, my stepmother wasn't a reallykind person and it took a toll
for many years because thatrelationship was very
challenging for me.
Sadly, my father passed awaytwo and a half years ago from a
tragedy.
He actually fell down thestairs one day and it was, of
(08:08):
course yeah, no other word comesto mind other than tragic.
He was 74 years old it was justbefore his 75th birthday and
it's really been a lot torecover from.
Why am I bringing that up here?
Well, because, as I mentionedearlier, my Instagram page is
(08:31):
called Megan Alexander beingReal, and life is about being
real and we are the things thathappen to us, right.
But it's how we come out ofthose experiences and how we
live into those experiences thatreally make us who we are and
how we heal from them, and Ithink it's about sharing stories
(08:53):
with each other to help otherpeople grow in life, right?
So here's the deal I believe intherapy deal.
I believe in therapy and Ithink it's probably one of the
best things that I've everdiscovered, because I started
going to a therapist after myfather passed and it helped me
so much in life uncoverdifferent things about me and
(09:17):
different things about my familyand different things about how,
frankly, we all interact witheach other right, and the
stories that we tell ourselvesaren't always true.
Sometimes it's really about I'msure you can relate to this but
those experiences that happenaround you kind of formulate who
(09:39):
you are as a person, and atherapist has a way of stepping
out of the picture they're notin your life and giving you
perspective that you neverthought of before.
One of the first things that Itried to uncover was about my
relationship with my dad, and Ishould say here that you, I had
(10:05):
a tumultuous relationship withmy father for probably eight
years after he left.
It was really hard for me forso many reasons, but I'm so
grateful and glad to say that wewere able to come back around
and have a better relationshipOnce I met my husband had kids.
(10:25):
It was kind of like a reformingand a new opportunity to bring
that relationship back into mylife and I'm so glad that I had
kids.
It was kind of like a reformingand a new opportunity to bring
that relationship back into mylife, and I'm so glad that I had
that.
And I know that not everybodygets to have that.
Sometimes relationships areshattered and they aren't able
to be healed, but I'm glad thatI was able to do that.
I certainly wish I could havedone a lot more, and I've
(10:47):
certainly learned so much fromit that I try and handle my
relationships with peopledifferently today because of
what I did learn.
So getting back to therapy,right, I have heard a funny
quote before that I'll sharewith you, which is this I go to
therapy to deal with everyone inmy life that won't go to
therapy.
(11:08):
So laugh.
If you've heard that one before, it resonates with me because
that's so true too right.
We all have these crazyrelationships all around us that
we're constantly trying tonavigate, and I love to share
with stories and talk about it,and that's part of what this
show is about.
So let's move on a little bitfor now and I'll tell you a
little bit more about me.
(11:28):
I'm an empath by nature.
I would actually call it mysuperpower.
I care so much about the peoplearound me.
I'm highly tuned in to whatother people are thinking or
feeling, sometimes more thanthey know themselves.
It's just a natural ability ofmine, and for other people out
there that are also empaths, I'msure you can relate to what I'm
(11:50):
saying.
It's just who we are.
We can feel what's going onaround us and highly tuned into
what's going on around the room.
Some people don't like that, bythe way.
That's fine.
Some people don't love to bearound feelers all the time, or
they think you're too sensitiveand you're not tough enough, or
that that's not even actuallywhat it is, and I think if
(12:11):
others would take the time toget to know you on that level,
they might actually understand alittle bit more about it.
It's really an ability.
It's really something thatwe're proud of, just like you
may be proud of something elseand an ability that you have.
So I mentioned that here.
Another thing I'm going tomention is you may have heard of
an HSP.
In fact, I've noticed thatthat's in a lot of TV shows
(12:33):
these days and they talk aboutit kind of like it's a joke,
which it is.
It's funny.
What is an HSP?
Look it up.
It's a highly sensitive person.
I have a lot of traits ofpeople that are highly sensitive
.
Not all of the traits.
Some of the traits are thatpeople are introverts.
That's fine too.
I'm not.
I'm a highly functioningextrovert, but I'm so sensitive
(12:55):
to like light, like serious,bright light or loud, loud music
.
Don't get me wrong.
I love to go to a great concert, just like anybody else, but I
love the loud music at theconcert.
I don't love loud music whenI'm trying to talk to people.
So why do I bring those thingsup today Again, telling you a
little bit about who I am, andmaybe that'll help you
understand what this show isabout.
(13:17):
I'm a personal developmentjunkie self-proclaimed.
I love listening to andfollowing motivational people,
like some of my favorites areTony Robbins.
Like some of my favorites areTony Robbins, kathy Heller,
lewis Howes, wayne Dyer, breneBrown, jay Shetty, among others,
simon Sinek those are some thatcome to mind right now.
(13:39):
I love thinking about thingslike the law of attraction.
What is the law of attraction?
The energy that you put out inthe universe is what comes back
to you.
It's always fascinated me.
Have you ever noticed, whensomeone walks into a room, if
(14:03):
their energy is vibrant andelectric.
It brings you up.
And, conversely, if they walkin the room and they're down and
maybe they're angry, maybe whoknows maybe they're pissed off
today that it starts to rub offon you, where you start walking
on eggshells around them.
And it depends on what worksfor you.
You need to find your kind ofpeople, right, but have you
noticed your energy reallytranslates into other people's
(14:26):
energy it's amazing into otherpeople's energy.
It's amazing.
So I have a good friend who isgoing to be a podcast guest here
very soon and she has a quoteyou may have seen me say it in
one of my Instagram reels, butshe says your vibe attracts your
tribe.
Right, and it's so true.
So you have to find the kind ofpeople that work for you in
(14:48):
life and sometimes that's familyand sometimes it's not but
surround yourself with your kindof people, because that's
what's going to bring you up.
So, meaning of life,conversations, folks that's what
vibrates me.
I crave it all.
Bring it on.
I want to elevate theconversation.
I know that people love walkingaround talking about the
(15:10):
weather.
It's, I think, the most highlytalked about thing, except in a
presidential election year.
Then it's, of course, aboutpolitics, but those are some of
the things people talk aboutmost.
That's fine, that's how youmake small talk.
But the second someone startstalking about the meaning of
life and how we're connected andthe universe and what we're
(15:30):
here for.
What is our purpose?
I'm in, that's what I'm about,that's what I'm seeking, that's
what I crave, and I want toconnect with the people that
want the same and hopefully, onthis show, bring on people to
talk about some reallyincredible life stories to help.
First of all.
Maybe it'll resonate with you.
(15:50):
Maybe you've experienced itbefore.
Don't you love when you couldhave those aha moments in life
and realize, wow, I felt thatway too, and it makes you not
feel foolish anymore.
It kind of validates who youare as a person.
That's what I love to do,that's what I love to talk about
.
I love to be around people whoare inspiring and I love to
(16:10):
inspire others or have theopportunity to be able to do
that.
I want to be around people whotalk about positive, uplifting
things in life and get realtogether about what that means.
They say that the people thatyou hang out with most are who
you are most like.
What does that mean?
I think the quote is the sixpeople that you hang out with
most are who you are most like.
What does that mean?
I think the quote is the sixpeople that you hang out with
(16:34):
most often is who you end upbeing like.
So take a look around you inyour life and who is that?
Who are those people that youhang out with most often and are
you excited to be around them?
Do they make you feel greatabout being you?
Do they make you want to be abetter person?
You know, first of all, I'm.
One thing I haven't mentionedyet about my life is that I'm
(16:55):
married and uh, to the mostincredible man, and he's my best
friend.
Um and I have two incrediblechildren and so and they're
teenagers and I'd love to talkmore about them and my family as
this podcast progresses, butI'm mentioning it now because I
just want to say that my husbandhas often said he wants to make
(17:19):
me more me, and he's the firstand only person I've ever heard
say anything like that in mylife, and I'm so blessed to have
someone that wants to make mebe more me and hopefully I can
make him more him.
So I think that's another thingto take a look around your life
and are you around people thatwant to make you be more of you?
(17:40):
Can you be yourself in the roomwith them, and doesn't it feel
great when you can be so?
About this show, I'm not lookingfor quote, the perfect guest.
I mean, who has it all figuredout?
Let's be real.
Does anybody, do you knowanyone that has had no tragedy
in their life, no struggles, nofailures?
(18:02):
That is what makes us humanbeings to begin with.
That's where the growth comesfrom.
We learn more from our failuresthan we do our successes, or so
say some people.
In addition, I'm not looking tointerview heroes here.
Don't get me wrong.
I'd love to interview a greathero, and I hope that I do, but
I don't want to necessarily talkto just people that have it all
(18:24):
figured out.
We're needing to figure thislife out together, so I'm going
to have all kinds of guests onthis show.
Who do you know who hasn'tstruggled with money or their
finances, or family issues, orfriend issues, or their weight
myself included or addiction, orpoverty, or heartbreak or
(18:50):
tremendous loss?
Everyone that we're surroundedwith is going through something.
I've said that in one of myreels as well.
That's what life is.
We're here to figure it out.
So bringing guests on to talkabout what they've gone through
will hopefully inspire othersand again, like I said before,
(19:15):
resonate with some people totune in frankly and let's learn
and grow together.
Let's shift gears for just asecond.
I wonder how many people areout there doing what they came
here to do?
Who's content, fully content intheir life, like on every
aspect and all of the on, all ofthe measures, whether it's
finances, um, health, um,personal relationships, all of
(19:39):
those kind of things?
Who's really thrilled in theirjob?
Listen, I'm sure there's a lotof people who loves the work
that they're doing, but I don'tknow that it's a huge percent.
Many may feel blessed to have ajob, a good job, a well-paying
job or any job at all, but wholoves truly running to work
(20:00):
every day?
I don't know about you, butlisten, when I'm with my friends
on the weekends, we talk aboutall kinds of things.
Work is one of them andinevitably it's a topic where
people are well, work, work,work, work is tough, work is
hard, work is challenging, butit doesn't mean they're not
grateful to have a job.
No one's sitting there saying Iwish I didn't have a job, but
it's hard.
Why am I mentioning this somuch?
(20:22):
Because I wonder what we camehere to do in this world and who
gets to fulfill that before.
Let's face it, we leave beforewe pass over to the next side.
Believe me, I hope there aremany people loving what they do,
and I'd love to hear from anyof those people out there,
(20:44):
because we are here for a reason, but only for a season
professionally.
I'll chat with you just for amoment about me and my career.
I've been in a leadershipposition or a leadership support
role for my 34-year career.
I've been at my current companyfor 23 years, folks, 23.
(21:06):
I could do this on my fingers23.
And it sounds wild even sayingthat.
I remember when I hit my comingup to my 10-year anniversary at
the company, then 15 years,then 20 years and now here I am,
actually this month hitting 23years.
I kind of can't believe thatI'm here.
I didn't find myself to be oneof those lifetime career people
(21:27):
at one company, but here I amand it's an amazing company that
I work for.
So I'm glad to be able to saythat.
But it's just one of those wildmoments, right.
But it's just one of those wildmoments.
Right when I started at thecompany I'm at now, it was just
(21:50):
a startup retailer and sincethen has become a mega tech
company, in fact, one of thelargest in the world.
Who would have known that thatwould happen?
Frankly, no one.
And now with more than twodecades of experience at one of
the largest markets in the worldbecause I live here in New York
, I live in Long Island, but Isupport a New York market but at
one of the most complexretailers in the world, and I'm
very grateful for that.
(22:12):
But listen, as John Lennon said.
John Lennon said life is whathappens when making plans to do
other things.
Isn't that the truth?
So listen to this.
I was in a leadership role forhalf of my career and then I got
pregnant and had kids.
At that time, I took a role,where I am now, that allowed me
(22:32):
to work from home and raise mykids Wow, how lucky am I.
And that was before COVID folks.
Before that was even a thing,working from home.
But, like anything else in life,that became challenging too.
I found myself in a role thatchanged and the leaders at the
top of the company changed, andthose people didn't know me
(22:54):
anymore.
So they also didn't know what Iwas capable of or who I was, or
that I was a leader, before Ikind of came this leadership
executive, leadership supportperson and I got stuck.
I mean, that's just whathappened.
Believe me, I know a lot ofpeople that have been stuck in
their careers as time goes by.
Why am I mentioning that?
Well, I started thinking moreand more about what am I here in
(23:17):
life to accomplish?
What is my purpose?
Because I have way more tooffer and way more to offer, and
maybe people don't have time tosee that right now, or whatever
the processes are to do otherthings.
And it didn't mean that I don'tlove the place that I am.
So it's like this confusingplace I found myself in life,
and for a few years, to behonest with you.
(23:39):
So this podcast was, in largepart, a way to connect with
people on another level, diveinto skills that I'm no longer
utilizing at work, but who knowswhere it may lead.
Most importantly, I have provedto myself that I'm still
capable of a lot of things andall the things it took to launch
this podcast, which was a lot,I mean things and all the things
(24:00):
it took to launch this podcast,which was a lot.
I mean, listen, there was thetech side of it.
There was the.
You know writing copy, um toget it off the ground.
You know learning how to go onbuzzsproutcom, for example, and
sign up to be on all thesepodcasts, learning how to use AI
a little bit and coming up withhow do you?
(24:21):
You know what kind of what'sthe message going to be, what's
the theme, who are going to bemy guests?
And this is stuff that's allstill evolving now and I hope
will kind of continue tocatapult forward, but it's been
an incredible learning journeyalready and you never know what
will come of it.
I also want to say that I thinkour hobbies are some of those
(24:42):
things that can fulfill for us,maybe things that aren't
happening in other areas of ourlife, like our career or like
your personal, maybe in yourpersonal life.
So that's just something elsethat I think is really exciting.
So we don't get to always havecontrol over every outcome,
right?
So why do we try to controleverything?
(25:04):
I'm not going to say I'm acontrol freak, but I am probably
a self-proclaimed type Apersonality.
I like to execute at a veryhigh level things that I do in
life.
Like I said to you before, Ilike to bring positive energy.
Wherever I go, I want to tryand get positive energy out of
others, and when I don't succeedthere, that's tough for me.
(25:25):
I take things hard.
It's funny, I'm going throughphysical therapy right now, just
as I mentioned for my shoulderand the surgery that I just had,
and my physical therapist hasalready said to me you're so
hard on yourself, and I'mthinking here's a guy who kind
of just met me.
He met me a month before mysurgery because we tried therapy
(25:48):
before we realized that wasn'tgoing to work.
And I've known him now a monthsince my surgery so not a long
time in life, right but healready knows that I'm hard on
myself.
This is something that I'm surethe people that work with me
every day or my family alreadyknow, and then some, and I
certainly know it.
But the truth is, I'm hard onmyself because I have high
(26:09):
expectations for myself and forpeople that work on my teams,
for my kids, well, and for myhusband.
I have to say it, it's true, butat the end of the day, it's
because I think we are made formore.
I think there's a reason thatwe're here, and what are we
going to do with our life?
What are we going to do beforewe get to that day where, like
(26:32):
my father, who tragically hislife ended before any of us
expected, did we accomplish thethings that we came here to do
and is it?
Can we do more than small talkwhen we're together?
Look, small talk's great.
If you're my friend, don't beafraid.
I love that too.
But don't be afraid to talk tome about the deeper things too,
(26:55):
because I think it's awesome.
I'll quote Pitbull For those ofyou that know Pitbull the
rapper, singer, songwriter, alsoknown as Mr Worldwide.
He said this is for everybodygoing through tough times.
Believe me, been there, donethat but every day above ground
is a good day.
So thanks again for listening intoday.
(27:16):
I'm looking forward to sharingmore guests and, as I sign off,
I'll shamelessly ask again toplease share this podcast with
others.
Go on my Instagram, check outsome of my reels, share your
feedback with me and listen.
I always say be kind about it.
I really don't love that onsocial media, people tear each
other up and say terrible thingsabout how somebody looks each
(27:41):
other up and say terrible thingsabout how somebody looks, how
terrible they are at something.
Be nice about it, give feedback.
But give feedback.
But be gracious, right, becauseI'll do the same for you.
So, anyway, hope to see youaround, and that's it for now.
Megan Alexander, being real onInstagram.
Peace out, everybody.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Well, that's it for today.
Thank you for listening, if youlike what you heard.
Peace out everybody.
Solely for educational andentertainment purposes.
Megan is not a licensedtherapist and this podcast is
(28:22):
not intended as a substitute fora physician, professional coach
, psychotherapist or otherqualified professional.
Goodbye everybody, thank you.
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