The Thing You Want Is Behind What You Resist with LauraAura

Feeling stuck in a job that’s draining you but too scared to make a change that looks crazy on paper? This one’s for you. 

I sat down with LauraAura, keynote speaker, coach, and host of The Gutsy Podcast, to talk about what it actually takes to make a bold move when you’re burned out and second-guessing everything. 

We get into why the thing you want most is usually hiding behind the thing you resist most, why you shouldn’t make big decisions from a place of exhaustion, and how small moves build the momentum you need to change direction. Laura also shares the gutsiest move of her own career, selling the branding agency she ran for years to go all in on speaking and coaching. 

If you keep talking yourself out of what you want, this conversation will help you spot what’s really holding you back and figure out your next step. 

Resources: 

• Follow LauraAura at lauraaura.com
• Listen to The Gutsy Podcast (lauraaura.com/the-gutsy-podcast/)
• Connect with me at tarakermiet.com

Need a little more balance and a lot more badass in your life? Check out my 1:1 coaching sessions designed to help you tackle your biggest challenges, manage stress, and create a personalized plan for success. Your first 30-minute session is free! Visit tarakermiet.com to get started. 

Transcript

Tara: [00:00:00] What is Up party people? Today I am talking with LauraAura, who is a keynote speaker, personal growth coach, and host of the Gutsy Podcast, which is a top 100 show helping people own their desires and take gutsy action, which I just love, and I'm very excited for our conversation.

LauraAura: ambitious

Tara: works with ambitious women and leaders who built successful lives on paper, but still feel like something's missing.

And so I know that's gonna relate to a lot of you listening. And her approach is all about helping people get out of their own way, cut through that overthinking that we know we do,

LauraAura: make

Tara: actually make some moves that align with who they really are. So clearly.

LauraAura: Just

Tara: It just made natural sense to have her on the show.

LauraAura: to

Tara: I'm excited to dig into hesitation burnout, what it really takes to kind of make a change when you're scared that it might look crazy from the outside, and how to do all of this while you're trying to deal with everything else. So without further ado, let's get [00:01:00] into it. LauraAura, welcome to the Balanced Badass Podcast.

LauraAura: having me.

Tara: Yeah, so I always like to start my guest episodes with my favorite icebreaker question, and that is what is something that you're loving in your life right now?

LauraAura: I, I'm honestly loving everything. I

Tara: Okay, that's good.

LauraAura: like I, I am, get maybe even a little bit more specific, I'm just really loving the way that like my career is going and the way that that is impacting my life. Like I've spent a lot of time fighting myself. Figuring things out, um, doing all the things that I was supposed to do, I've done all the inner work and I've made the big moves, and I've made all the little moves, and I am, I'm really, really starting to live the way that I always thought that I could, so I'm freaking loving that.[00:02:00] 

Tara: I love that for you. That's amazing. Yeah. Um, I'm kind of right there with you. Like,

LauraAura: Looking back on my

Tara: looking back on my career, I, first off never would've guessed that my career trajectory was gonna take me to where I am now, but I'm so glad that it has, 'cause it has really been

LauraAura: I.

Tara: like I, I'm at home in what I do now and.

That piece falling into place has really helped like the rest of my life kind of domino effect fall into place too. So.

LauraAura: did not start off doing this work. I made a really, a really big, uh, career pivot two years ago. when I sold my branding agency, my background's in branding and graphic design, and I ran an agency for 16 years. 22 years as a graphic designer. Um, didn't set out to be a keynote speaker.

Didn't set out to coach people, but it, you know, when you find the work, right? I think sometimes we, we set out on this quest to find our purpose and when it's [00:03:00] not coming together, we get frustrated or, or discouraged. And it's like sometimes we just need to go down the journey so that the purpose can find us. And, and that's, I, I think that's what I did.

Tara: Yeah. That's good.

LauraAura: Well, that kind of

Tara: Well, that kind of really segues into, I think, my first question. So I love that your whole thing is about making gutsy moves. That's that's what drew me to having you. Yeah. So

LauraAura: I work

Tara: now I work with a lot of folks who are.

LauraAura: over.

Tara: So burned out at this point that they can barely even make a grocery list, let alone some big life altering decision.

And I totally get it 'cause I've been there too. So my question is, how do you help someone take that gutsy action when they are at that point? Like what are the steps that you take with those folks?

LauraAura: wanna say that making a gutsy move does not have to be a big thing. In fact,

Tara: Mm-hmm.

LauraAura: not, it's a series [00:04:00] of small, tiny moves and decisions that we make. And so if you're, if you're really experiencing burnout, if you're like, one more thing and I'm gonna flip the table over, you know, like we don't need to make giant shifts.

And in fact, we really shouldn't make big life changes and decisions in moments of complete burnout, of feeling completely disconnected. Um. That can be challenging. It's not always wrong, but it, it can be challenging. we really need to focus is where do we need to start pouring back in? And so those moves don't have to be big. I want you to start focusing on the little things like the little gutsy moves that you can make. It's those little moves that add up to the bigger changes. so a gutsy move might be choosing to sit in silence for 10 minutes and drink your coffee or your tea this morning. Instead of jumping right into email, that's a gutsy move. [00:05:00] It might be choosing to say no to an obligation that you said yes to or feel, feel like you should go to this thing. gutsy move is saying, really need a time at home today. No, thank you. Like, so I, I just want everyone to really know and understand that being gutsy does not require big, it does not require bold, it does not require, um, giant leaps.

It can be, but if you're really in a space of burnout, I want you to start focusing on the micro levels of choosing yourself. That's the gutsy move that I want you to focus on.

Tara: Yeah, I,

LauraAura: about, we

Tara: so much about we need to go back to the basics before we can even think about making a decision. I'm right on the same page with you as far as you're in burnout. Your nervous system is fried. You don't have the clarity to be able to make informed, educated decisions on. Kind of [00:06:00] what's next

LauraAura: I love that you're

Tara: and, and I love that you're talking about like these small things and these are gutsy things because they're interrupting a pattern probably that you've established for a long time.

So it's, it's very hard to do that. So that's where the gutsy piece, I think comes from. Right.

LauraAura: it's, you know, a, a lot of times we don't get into burnout because we've prioritized ourself, shocking news here, friends in the headlines. Um, so being gutsy is, like you said, interrupting that pattern, but it's choosing yourself maybe for the first time ever or the first time in a really long time. So it's gutsy to break a pattern. It's gutsy to change the way that you've been doing something. It's gutsy to choose yourself when you typically choose other people. I, I mean, at the foundation, it's choosing you again, and the way that we get out of burnout choosing you. You have to start setting those boundaries.

You have to start making decisions that support the [00:07:00] life and the energy and the vitality that you want instead of going against it.

Tara: Yeah,

LauraAura: So

Tara: so

LauraAura: there's

Tara: there's.

LauraAura: something that

Tara: Something that I am seeing show up in a lot of my conversations, like with my clients or even in my comments or dms on my content.

LauraAura: that's

Tara: And, and that's hesitation. Um, so

LauraAura: maybe when someone

Tara: when someone kind of knows what they need to do or what they want to do, but they keep talking themselves out of it, I talk about, like I say, they should themselves.

They're just. Spreading themselves out of anything. So what's really going on there, do you think? Like what do you see in the work that you do that might help us understand that a little bit more?

LauraAura: hesitation can come for a, in, in all shapes and sizes, right? It, it can show up when,

Tara: Um.

LauraAura: when you're not sure. can show up [00:08:00] when, um, you're faced with making a change. It can show up when you're uncomfortable. It can show up when you're uncertain, I find more often than not that hesitation is really rooted in resistance. It's the resistance that is making it feel like you're spinning through mud. It's the resistance that feels like a 500 pound chain that you're, that you're dragging behind you. And that re you know, the thing that you want the most is often behind the thing that you resist the most. I'll say it louder for those

Tara: Yeah.

LauraAura: The thing that you want the most is often behind the thing that you resist the most. so usually when we're like bumping up against a shift or a change or a decision uncomfortable or it's new or we just don't know, resistance is gonna come up. I'm gonna go back to what I know because it's comfortable.

It's not what I want anymore, but I know how to handle it. know [00:09:00] how to talk about it. I know how to complain about it. know how to, uh, think about it. It's familiar. It's familiar territory. So the reality and what, what I like to dig in with people is what are you actually resisting? Is it change? Is it certainty?

Is it the newness? it vulnerability? always something on the underside of hesitation that's driving that

Tara: Yeah.

LauraAura: two

Tara: And I think too, an exploration into

LauraAura: what are you

Tara: not just what are you resisting, but why? Right.

LauraAura: that

Tara: Because that certainly helps I think so much.

LauraAura: I had a client the

Tara: I had a client the other day, she's like, you know, you ask me a lot of questions and I'm like, yes. That's kind of the point. Um.

LauraAura: what we're doing. That, you know, the, the questions lead to answers that lead to questions that lead to answers. And it's a,

Tara: Right.

LauraAura: project. You know, when,

Tara: Yeah. Yeah.

LauraAura: uh, the root [00:10:00] of what's driving this in the first place. that gives you freedom. Now we

Tara: Yes.

LauraAura: going on, what's happening, what's driving this, and now we can consciously choose what we wanna do instead. you don't have to

Tara: Mm-hmm.

LauraAura: over tomorrow. You don't have to make giant decisions. fact, I want you to really start focusing on how do I support the thing that I want? And side Quest here, what do you want in the first place? Big question. Ding, ding, ding. Like, we don't even, when I ask women that the, usually the answer is, I have no idea. No one's ever asked me that before. I haven't had time to think about that. Um, I'm not allowed to go there, know? And so we have to first answer what it is that we actually want, and to also even figure out how we're resisting it in the first place.

Tara: Yeah, I find that. Identifying the what [00:11:00] first, then kind of working backwards from there and kind of reverse engineering. Okay. Then now to your point, like where are you resisting? What's that causing? I love that you said like, let's get to the root cause. One of my favorite things is to ask why five times?

It's like a standard practice. It really does help you get a little deeper into really where is this coming from? And that helps give you context, I think, around that. What, 'cause then you understand, okay, this is kind of the current status of where we are, and now that you know what the goal is, then you can kind of make your plan for moving forward.

LauraAura: Absolutely.

Tara: Okay, well let's say. Let's say someone's in a job or they're in their career and it's draining them. They, they've identified kind of at this point, I know I'm burned out. I know something needs to change,

LauraAura: They're

Tara: but they're terrified to make a change because maybe it looks [00:12:00] crazy on paper. And given that you've

LauraAura: this

Tara: kind of done this on your own, um, what is

LauraAura: advice

Tara: your best advice for making that kind of gutsy move?

LauraAura: they've already made

Tara: Maybe they've already made the smaller gutsy moves at this point,

LauraAura: to

Tara: but

LauraAura: to do that

Tara: to be able to do that without completely like blowing everything up or blowing up their life,

LauraAura: know, people do wanna blow it up. And if that, and if that's

Tara: fair

LauraAura: trust it.

Tara: rock on.

LauraAura: if that's not your jam, that feels too risky. That feels too big. That's okay. We don't need to blow it up. need to take an intentional next move. We, we have to start moving with focus and intention, not just fly by night, not just, um, thrown spaghetti at the wall. Like, okay, have first. Have you decided if you're gonna stay or if you're gonna go, I know that sounds very simple and, and foundational, but have [00:13:00] you, have you asked yourself, like, have you decided if you're gonna stick it out? And if you are, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna ask for a different position?

Are you moving to a different team? Are you moving to another location? Are you asking to go remote? Right? Like, those are the types of questions to ask yourself if you're staying. Or am I leaving? Okay. Have, have you decided that you're going to quit? Where a lot of people get stuck is in indecision. They're wavering back and forth. They're in both spaces. They've not fully committed to either one, means anything that they do doesn't move anywhere. don't get any further ahead. In fact, they just get more frustrated because nothing's changing. But the back problem, if we backpedal there for a second, you haven't made the decision on what you're gonna do. Making a decision does not mean that you have to do it today. Like if you decide you're going to quit your job, not suggesting that you march into your, into your boss's office and quit [00:14:00] You are the only one that's gonna know if and when you need to do that. But deciding that you're gonna quit says, okay.

Body okay, universe. Okay. Um, things that I see in my life, I'm ready for a change. Making that decision allows you to then start taking action that supports that decision. I'm updating my resume. I'm starting to look on Indeed. I'm updating and making sure that my LinkedIn is, is, is fresh and polished. I'm starting to to peruse on the internet and seeing, see, you know, see what's out there.

I'm starting to talk to my friends differently. your brain is scanning for opportunity. It's scanning for change. It's scanning for your next move. But only because you've decided and because you started to move in that direction, this is where change actually happens. We can think about something all day long.

That doesn't mean it's gonna happen. You have to move. And that [00:15:00] move can be as simple as I've decided I'm gonna leave, and today the only thing that I'm gonna do is update my resume. That's a gutsy move. Okay, now we've got motion. Now we've got some traction. Okay, that's done because that's done. Now I can update my Indeed because that's done.

Now I can update this because that's done. Now I can send an email to that person that I met at a networking event six months ago. You know what I mean? Like we're building gutsy moves are all about building, and that creates that momentum, and ultimately it's gonna lead you to the right decision. Notice I never said that you knew where you were gonna go next. I never said that you had a perfect plan there. I said, you are making intentional moves that support the fact that you are going to quit. It's all gonna come into place. Stop trying to figure it all out today.

Tara: Yeah, I think that's the hard part for a lot of folks, right? Because that unknown is, [00:16:00] is what they're resisting. Back to our conversation

LauraAura: They're,

Tara: before

LauraAura: the unknown. You're resisting the what ifs you're resisting,

Tara: I.

LauraAura: um, the change, but what, what's more uncomfortable? Getting uncomfortable and figuring it out, or staying in this same discomfort for the rest of your life. If I told you today, okay, if you're not gonna decide this is the position that you're gonna stay in for the next 40 years, if you want to vomit or throw your keyboard across the table, wake up, sister. It's time to make a change. And that change doesn't mean you have to know it all. You just need to commit to what you're going to do and then take the steps after it.

Tara: The momentum

LauraAura: Bill

Tara: builds after you kind of take, take each small step. Right. And [00:17:00] I,

LauraAura: I really focused on.

Tara: I really focus on like, what am I learning from this? So if I'm updating my resume, what I'm.

LauraAura: what data I can I

Tara: What data can I gather from this experience? Not just like my resume itself, but like the experience of updating my resume when I'm looking at jobs and I notice which jobs I'm naturally drawn to or which jobs I'm.

Automatically discounting myself for whatever reason, 'cause I don't think I'm qualified or what have you. That's data that's telling me something so I can build off of that information. It's like kind of putting together,

LauraAura: putting

Tara: So it's putting together like a research paper, right? You wanna have your different pieces of information and then you can start to

LauraAura: in.

Tara: put it in a logical order and kind of come up with your hypothesis or what's going to happen and run your experiment and do all that.

LauraAura: that you're gathering information to help support your next steps. But again, that's only possible because you've decided that you're gonna do something and you [00:18:00] started to take some kind of action. I, I know a lot of people get really caught up in like, what's the right next thing to do? Or where do I focus?

Or, there's too many things like I, ooh, that's too much. It's too big and too scary. And then what happens? Our brain shuts down and we do nothing, right? So if you're, if you're wanting to change a job and you're like, I, I don't even know what kind of job I would want next, that seems too big. So I'm just gonna keep going to this. Job that's sucking the soul outta my ass, right? Like, okay, hold on, let's back up for a second. You don't have to know what you want to do next, but you have to be willing to figure it out and.

Tara: That's part of the steps that you take.

LauraAura: getting on and looking at like, okay, let's look at my salary. Is this the right kind of salary? Am I not making enough? Okay, do I wanna stay local? Do I wanna go remote? Like just start experimenting and getting curious about, okay, if I could craft what this [00:19:00] next move looks like, what would be best case scenario for me? And then just start researching. Again, you're not committing to anything. gonna hunt you down because you're scrolling on Indeed trying to figure out what everyone's paying. You know, I mean, some ads might retarget you, but you know, like

Tara: Algorithm will get you, but that's about it.

LauraAura: you. But that's okay. We can, we can say we hide this ad, right? But it, it's, you're just going into it with curiosity. It takes the pressure off of needing to figure out, and it gives you information so that you can make a decision that works best for you.

Tara: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I resonate so much with that. Um, what you were saying about, um,

LauraAura: It old

Tara: it, it'll find you right? Because,

LauraAura: quit my

Tara: so I quit my corporate job

LauraAura: and I had nothing.

Tara: and I had nothing. I, I didn't have a plan. I. To quote friends, I had a, like, I was [00:20:00] there. I kind of, I knew I wanted to start something. I didn't know what the heck that something was gonna be and it took some time figuring it out.

But it was all part of the experimental process and it was still momentum to get me here. And like that was even, uh, that was very gutsy for me to just quit and go about. And I'm with you. I don't recommend that for everybody. 'cause it is not easy.

LauraAura: easy and

Tara: Um,

LauraAura: has a different tolerance for risk.

Tara: yeah.

LauraAura: my don't ever measure my tolerance for risk. 'cause I, like, mine is, it's just, I, I'll do some shit because I know I'll figure it out. But that's not the right path for

Tara: Yeah.

LauraAura: know? And it sounds like the same thing for

Tara: Right.

LauraAura: quit without a, without a plan. But that works for you. Some people thrive in that space of there are no other options and I have to figure it out. somebody else that's gonna completely shut them down. You know what I mean? They need something grounded. They need some kind of plan. They need some kind of next [00:21:00] step, and, and knowing where you fall in that spectrum is really important.

So don't try to mimic what somebody else is doing because it looks like it's working for them. You gotta, you gotta trust yourself on that.

Tara: Yeah, and I'll say typical. Tara is not that type of person, but my husband is very much that type of person. And because I had his support, he was like, we'll, figure it out. Something will happen. He's like, he had more faith in me than I did at the moment. Um, and I needed that and, and obviously like I had the right support network and all that too.

So,

LauraAura: it. Like

Tara: but I get it. Like

LauraAura: you have to

Tara: you have to define what the gutsy is for you and what,

LauraAura: what pushes

Tara: what pushes you enough

LauraAura: in the butt.

Tara: but doesn't break you essentially. Like I, there's like.

LauraAura: going to your edge. There's

Tara: To your edge, but then there's also falling off the cliff kind of situation.

LauraAura: yeah, yeah. You know, it's, and I don't, I don't know [00:22:00] that there's a perfect answer to that either. it,

Tara: Oh,

LauraAura: we're, we're all,

Tara: that's life.

LauraAura: We're all people e everything is always in motion. Variables are always changing, and you're the only one that's gonna know when you're like, okay, hold on, I gotta pause for a second. Okay, hold on. I need to, I need to reroute here. But that, that comes into paying attention to your body, paying attention to your surroundings, being realistic about things. You know, I'm, I'm all about, um, and trusting the universe and all that stuff too. And I also am a firm believer in logic. And okay, hey, something's gotta shift here, or I need to do something different. Where do, where do I need to shift my energy so that I can help call this in? You know, like it's, it's an ever moving and ever evolving situation.

Tara: Yeah. Well, I wanna shift gears a little bit 'cause you. You [00:23:00] said you had your own business before you kind of transitioned into what you're doing now. So you've been a business owner for quite some time. Um, and so looking back kind of over your entire career trajectory, what has been for you, like the gut seest move that you've made, and what did it teach you?

LauraAura: So I've been in business for 18 years. It's been a minute and a half, and I, I'm gonna answer this in two ways. On paper, it would look like the gutsiest move that I made was when I sold my agency and left the industry. I mean, that's pretty gutsy. I'm not gonna discount that, that

Tara: By any definition of the word.

LauraAura: a whole lot of letting go and a whole lot of trusting, um, and a lot of inner work.

So that on paper is probably the gutsiest move that I've made. I. However, that business was pretty darn gutsy. I left my job when I [00:24:00] was six and a half months pregnant. I was designing ads. The phone book? Yeah, the phone book. It was just

Tara: The

LauraAura: Oh

Tara: phone.

LauraAura: old, that old archaic love of ours, uh, back when we had to, you know, flip through to find a phone number.

Yeah. That was, that was my first job outta college. I quit that job when I was six and a half months pregnant to start the business. Also a gutsy move. However, I would not define either one of those as my most gutsy move. I think the gutsiest move that I made in my business was, um, in the midst of COVID, um, after I had to fire my team. And pack up all my stuff and move back into my basement office by myself and take back over every role in my business. Because branding and marketing, the first thing to get cut when budgets are tight are who marketing. Uh, I knew what was gonna happen, so I had to make a really hard decision. But I also had to make that really hard decision because of a bunch of other [00:25:00] decisions that I made leading up to that.

And I realized that I had unintentionally built my business on the backbone of my insecurities. And so while the business looked great online and on paper, I was completely falling apart. I had six months worth of my own paychecks, paychecks laying on my desk, uncashed. It was laying next to a foreclosure letter warning from our mortgage company and. In the moment I can remember, it was a couple months after shutdown. Um, I was sitting in the basement. The dust had settled for the day. I was sitting by the lamp at my desk and I, I kind of kicked back in my chair and I leaned back and I was like, what does Laura want? And I realized in that moment, I hadn't asked myself that question in probably over a decade. And I answered myself honestly. And I think that was the gutsiest move that I've ever made was answering myself [00:26:00] honestly in one of my most vulnerable moments when everything literally had fallen apart. I was in survival mode in every way possible, and I got honest about what I wanted to do next. I was like, I'm, I wanna speak.

Like, I'd already been speaking, but not getting paid. The gutsy podcast was already up and running at that point. Like, I was already starting to do this work. The, the, the tables had started to tip in another direction, but I was like, I, I'll do branding till the day I die. Right. And no, turns out fast forward, spoiler alert, I, I'm not, um, but I was like, I, I wanna speak. Wanna, I wanna help women do the things that they really wanna do. I wanna, I wanna get on stages. I wanna be in rooms where I'm talking to women that are having breakthroughs and they're like, like this beautiful release of a cry, and then we're hugging at the end, and then they go off and do what they really want to do in life.

Like, that shit lights me [00:27:00] up. Why am I sitting in this basement by myself trying to force this to happen? That's the gutsiest move that I ever made was answering that question because right after that I built, I reserved laura aura.com. I built out my website, which was mess at that point. 'cause I had no idea what I wanted to do yet, or how I wanted to structure it or what any of this looked like. But I, I made it I started to experiment with it. And I started to, to play with different offers and, and what my speaking style was. And I was already starting to form what that was. But, you know, I got the business back to a healthy place. It was growing again. You know, built my team in a very different way.

The second time around, it got to a really healthy place, and then I got to another pivot point where it was like, okay, what do you wanna do? Are you gonna keep going with the agency are you gonna let it go and go all in on speaking, like you said you wanted to. And I made that decision to let it go. I was able to sell the agency [00:28:00] and now I'm a full-time keynote speaker and coach. I, I believe in my heart and soul that the gutsiest move I've ever made was asking myself the question, what do you actually want? Answering it, honestly, and then backing it up with the actions that supported it.

Tara: I would add just from hearing that story, revisiting it regularly too.

LauraAura: It wasn't, it wasn't overnight. There was a, that was 2020. I sold the agency in 23, so two and a half, three years. It wasn't overnight. It a quick fix. I did not hack it. You know, I, I, I let things continue to unfold the way that they were supposed to. I, I let the death grip off of the control. 'cause one of the, one of the final points where I was like, oh, okay, what am I gonna do here? Was, you know, [00:29:00] our, our largest, um, agency client at the time was, their contract was ending. It was finished, but inside I was like, I don't wanna replace them. I'm like, oh, there's some infor,

Tara: That's a sign.

LauraAura: to work with.

Another sign was I got asked to speak at a women's event, which normally I'm like, hell yeah, let's do it. They wanted me to speak about branding. My whole body turned inside out. It was like, if you talk about branding on that stage, going to trip you on the stairs on the way up. You know what I mean?

Like it. I was like, I, there is not a single ounce of me that wants to get out there and talk about branding. I don't wanna be known as a speaker that talks about branding, I didn't know that. I thought maybe that might have been part of my path until it presented itself. Then I'm like, Nope, nope, more information.

That's not what I want. Ooh, there's, there's some, some more, you know, ammo that I gotta work with here. So it, it wasn't, it wasn't a quick fix and, and the tables just adjusted ever so [00:30:00] slightly, but I kept leaning into it. I kept being curious. I kept asking questions. I kept following what felt good or interesting or exciting, and I started to let go of the things that felt heavy or draining or me cranky and, and it worked

Tara: Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. I think I can relate to a lot of what you were saying and um, just based on my conversations with folks, I'm sure there's gonna be a lot there. And I, uh, once again, it's

LauraAura: example

Tara: example of

LauraAura: of buying what

Tara: defining what gutsy means for you. And,

LauraAura: started

Tara: you know, you started, like on paper it probably would've been this, or people might think it's this, but

LauraAura: was

Tara: to you it was something completely different.

It was asking yourself that.

LauraAura: on the outside

Tara: On the outside is like, oh, one simple question, but it's not a simple question. It's quite a convoluted question.

LauraAura: you know, I'll touch on real quick, 'cause I think that you asked this and I wanna make sure I answer it. [00:31:00] when it looks crazy on the outside, what, what are other people gonna say? You know, or you, you have friends and family that you know seemingly mean well, but they're projecting their own insecurities or their own worries onto you.

Well how are you gonna do this and how are you gonna do that? And what about this? And you're like, ah. You know, that can get very confusing very quickly because their fear becomes your fear. Unless you're

Tara: Right.

LauraAura: about separating that, which also begins with being very intentional about who you're talking about, these types of changes with, um, talking to trusted mentors, um, people that can help guide and support you people that you know are notorious to tell you the truth, right?

Like, be very intentional about who you tell your dreams and your, and your changes to. 'cause that really makes a difference. you know, I, I would be lying if I, if I didn't say. There, there were quite a few times where I was like, people are going to think that I've lost my mind [00:32:00] because I also sold, we had a commercial building sold that three months after I sold the business.

Like I, I let go of everything. I sold everything. I'm like, people are gonna be

Tara: Bye.

LauraAura: okay. Uh, early midlife crisis perhaps. you know, some of the dialogue in my mind was like, people are gonna be like your whole. Reputation is built in running a branding agency. This is what you have your, your degrees are in.

This is what your background's in. How are you gonna make money? How are you gonna shift over here? What are you gonna do over here? Why would you let all that go? And it's like, because I want to, whatever you say or think about what I'm doing, I don't care. can't care. I can't afford

Tara: Mm. Yeah.

LauraAura: Mentally, I can't afford to care I couldn't afford to care emotionally, I couldn't afford to care. at some point you just have to say, I, I know and trust that I'm doing what's right for me. [00:33:00] And whatever you think about what that is, that's yours. It's not mine. I have to do what's right for me doesn't need to make sense to you. So I just wanted to that back across the table because there, there will be people that question you. There will be people that tell you that it's a bad idea. Come back to you. Come back to you. Does this feel right? Does this feel interesting? Does this feel like something's pulling or tugging at you and you're just like, I can't put it on paper, but I just know that it makes sense. Trust that over anybody else's opinion always. Well, I think

Tara: Well, I think.

LauraAura: that's how I'm

Tara: That's how I wanna wrap this up, but I have one more question and that is, so this podcast is all about balanced living with badass results. So how do you define being a balanced badass in your own life?

LauraAura: Hmm. A balanced, badass, balanced, badass [00:34:00] to me means, um, prioritizing my body and my mind and what I need as a physical human being. While doing the cool shit that I know that I'm supposed to do, like I, I, I, I, I mean, I think you can probably tell fairly quickly I'm pretty raw. I'm pretty blunt. I tell, I talk about things the way that they are and it resonates with the right people and that's fantastic. I love being. Who I am, I've spent a long time trying to not be me, and I love being me, and I think that's very badass and it's balanced with this side of very slow mornings. I don't usually start working until at least 9 30, 10 o'clock. I sit with my coffee and enjoy the space that I've created and the home that I've worked very hard for.

And so there's this balance of softness with this gutsy me that you get on a [00:35:00] regular basis.

Tara: I love that

LauraAura: This was such a

Tara: this was such a good conversation. I really

LauraAura: you

Tara: appreciate you coming on and

LauraAura: insights

Tara: your insights and, and all of that jazz. Now, before we wrap up though, where can folks find you if they wanna work with you, if they wanna just follow along on your journey,

LauraAura: Where can we.

Tara: where can we, where can we find that?

LauraAura: aura.com. It's L-A-U-R-A-A-U-R a.com. Uh, is the hub for all things me. You'll find all my programs and my social links and all that stuff there. If you want a, a good one. Next step, I might encourage you to subscribe to the Gutsy podcast, so if you like this type of conversation, if you like this directness, if you like the actionable, like, okay, I'm ready to do the thing.

But we're kind of baby step and building the confidence to do it. The Gutsy podcast is, is a great next step.

Tara: Awesome. Thanks so much for being here. This was really great.

LauraAura: having me.

Tara: Yeah. And friend, if you're [00:36:00] listening to this episode and something resonated with you, I hope you'll share it with a friend or a colleague or even just email it to yourself as a reminder later on.

LauraAura: also

Tara: and also when you subscribe to the Gutsy podcast, don't also forget to subscribe if you haven't already to the Balance Badass Podcast.

And, um, as always, I'll catch you next time. We'll be here right back in the same place. And until then, be sure to make good choices. Friend.