How to Align Your Home With Who You’re Becoming with Kim Costa

In this episode of A Beautiful Fix, I’m joined by Kim Costa, founder of Lifestyle Foundations and author of Live in Your Wheelhouse, for a powerful conversation about alignment, environment, and the way our homes reflect who we’re becoming.

We talk about what it really means to live “in your wheelhouse” — not just in your career, but in your physical space, your relationships, your lifestyle, and your energy. Kim shares how she went from living out of alignment as an accountant on a remote farm to redesigning her life and career around authenticity, creativity, and connection.

If you’ve ever looked around your home and thought, something feels off… this episode is for you.

We explore:

• How your home can either support or drain your energy
• The connection between your nervous system and your environment
• The Wheel of Life framework and identifying your biggest pain points
• When to stay, renovate, or move
• The emotional power of decluttering
• How multi-generational living is becoming a rising trend
• Why alignment starts with knowing yourself

Kim also shares her powerful story of breaking her back on what she calls “Clarity Farm” and the wake-up call that followed — a moment that ultimately led her to rebuild her life in alignment.

If you’re in a season of reinvention, transition, or simply craving more clarity, this conversation will help you think differently about the space you wake up in every day.

Connect with Kim Costa:

Website: https://lifestylefoundations.com

Social Media: @Kim.E.Costa

Book: Live in Your Wheelhouse (available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and major retailers)

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend, subscribe on Apple or Spotify, and join us on YouTube for full video episodes.

Want More?

Grab your Human Design chart here: https://www.abeautifulfix.com/pages/hdchart

Want to unpack it together? Book a 1:1 session here: https://www.abeautifulfix.com/products/discover-you-a-personalized-60-minute-human-design-reading

Subscribe to A Beautiful Fix on Apple or Spotify

Ready to feel more alive and aligned? Grab my free guide, Finding Your Beautiful Fix: Simple Shifts to Rediscovering Your Inner Power : https://www.abeautifulfix.com/pages/get-your-free-guide-finding-your-beautiful-fix

Subscribe to Tracy’s weekly Sunday Love Note, Thought Gems, at abeautifulfix.com—your weekly reminder to pause, breathe, and choose your focus.

Support the Show

💕 Love this episode? Follow & leave a quick review—it helps others find A Beautiful Fix!

💬 Join the conversation on Instagram & Facebook @ABeautifulFix or find me on LinkedIn: Tracy Hill. Have a thought to share? Reach me directly at abeautifulfix.com.

🎙️ Know someone who should be a guest?...

Transcript

How to Align Your Home With Who You’re Becoming with Kim Costa

A Beautiful Fix

[00:00:00] a home is the physical representation of your soul, in my opinion. 

Welcome to a Beautiful Fix. I'm Tracy Hill. Each week we'll dive into the latest Thought Gem recharging and reconnecting with what lights you up and makes you feel alive. Let's discover your next beautiful fix together.

Hey, real quick before we dive in, you're powerful and sometimes you just need someone to remind you what's already in you. That's what human design does. It's the difference between guessing and knowing so you can stop searching outside yourself and start trusting the answers within. I promise you, they're there.

Grab your free chart@abeautifulfix.com and when you're ready to go deeper, book a one-to-one session with me. Alright, let's get into the episode.

Kim Costa is the [00:01:00] founder of Lifestyle Foundations and the author of the upcoming book Live In Your Wheelhouse, where she helps women align their outer world with their inner truth, through her signature lifestyle, life assessment, and real world experience in both real estate and reinvention. Kim guides women to design lives and homes that reflect who they truly are.

Her message is rooted in the belief that when we live in alignment, everything flows. And Kim is a three five manifesting generator in human design with sacral authority, which means she's here to move with a fast, creative, non-linear energy, make decisions based on what lights her up in the moment.

Learn through experimentation and real world experience. Kim, I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to a beautiful Fix. Thank you for having me, Tracy. I'm so excited 'cause this conversation feels a little differently than our, than all the [00:02:00] conversations I've been having so far. I love the idea that we're talking about people's environment.

So I know you have an upcoming book coming out in April. In March, uh, March. March 24th. March, yes. Wonderful. Okay. And, and my understanding is that book is all about alignment, and it's not just alignment in the spaces that we live in, but also kind of the lives that we build around them. But before we dig into that, I'd love for you to just kind of take us back a bit and just tell us a little bit about your path.

Like what, what brought you here? So I, I was actually living out of alignment, um, for some very basic things for a good part of my middle life. You know, I, the way I'm looking at life right now is the first 30 years, you know, where I was, mostly me, and then the next 30 years where I was a mom and a worker and all that.

And I'm still a worker and I'm still a mom, but I'm moving into my next 30 years where I really want to be authentically myself. I [00:03:00] really want to align with. How I was made and live in a way that brings out the best in me and in a way that I can help other people. So somewhere along the way, in those 30 years I was an accountant and I'm really as, as you, as you said, a manifesting generator.

Three five. I'm not meant to sit in a room for eight hours and crunch numbers. No, no. At all. I wonder why I had that headache for 20 years and totally out of alignment there. I'm uh. I'm mostly an extrovert with a little bit of introversion, but I was living in a very, very remote environment for a while, and that just didn't fit.

I couldn't see neighbors and I really wanted to have people around. Um, and I was an accountant, so I was, you know, very, um, very, uh, lonely, really in a beautiful home. Um. Yeah. And so I just really hadn't aligned, you know, I, I had studied interior design. I'd studied human resource development, uh, master's [00:04:00] program, but I never got to apply those because I was doing accounting in a family business that served us quite well financially.

Um, but it did not serve me very well. And so the last part of my second 30 years in my, for late forties and fifties, I changed everything. And now I'm a writer, realtor. Uh, speaker, um, you know, running workshops so that I, I can have the diversity of hearing people's stories and how they're made. That really lights me up.

And, um, I also love a beautiful environment that people feel at home at. And so I, I've realigned myself to work in that space. Hmm. Kim, can you, um, just hearing your story, I know that so many people are listening and, and identifying with that being out of alignment when you recognize that you were so out of alignment with this life that you had built and now you're doing something completely different.

Can you walk us through a little bit, maybe the mindset shift or how did you [00:05:00] make that decision? How did you go from being this accountant to, to where you are now? What did you have to do? Well, you know, I was a, a controller for, after I got, uh, divorced in my mid to late forties, I, I did not work in the family business anymore.

So I parlayed all those skills for the past 20 years into working in other, um, companies. And I chose design companies and companies that probably I should have been working in the design area of. But I was working in the, because that was my experience that I had to. Help, you know, provide insurance for my children in college and all those things.

So I, I slowly like, moved into the right industry, but the wrong, the wrong position in the industry. And then, um, made and really got myself into, uh, being in a realtor. Position where I could be out with the people instead of stuck in an office. So like little bit by little bit. And my, I [00:06:00] downsized from a very large home to a home that was manageable so that I could switch my career.

So like little steps, I found my home changing and my environment changing as I changed my life. Little by little. I love it. So I, I mean, I've always believed that our environment. Especially when you think about human design and energy, it either supports us or it distracts us. You know, they talk about your environment depending on what's going on.

It really kind of mirrors what's going on in your mind if there's a lot of clutter. So you help women align their, their outer world with their inner world. What does that look like in practice? Well, it, it really looks like, you know, how are you made, what, you know. I, I read a little bit of my human design recently and it said I'm supposed to live in a valley.

And I thought, oh my gosh. I always wondered, am I a beach person or a mountain person, like up on the mountain where there's a great view, but turns out maybe I should be in the little town in the valley. And then once I thought [00:07:00] about it, I was like, I really, I kind of do like the little towns in the valleys and my personal home, uh, the back of it.

I've noticed when I like to sit in this chair looking out the window and there's, you can see the whole landscape as it go, as it rises behind my house and there's a garden and bird, bird sanctuary, and, um, fox come and deer and, um, rabbits and. Hawks and everything, so I just love watching the activity and I was like, oh my gosh.

I do kind of live in a little valley here. And I'm Kim. Where, where do you, where do you live? Where's the I live in the north side of Atlanta. I live in a, a town called Alpharetta. Yes, yes, sure. Okay. Yes. So cute. A cute, quaint little town, and not only, well, let me go back. I live in a little area called crab apple.

It's in between Alpharetta, Roswell, and Milton, which are three very cute small towns. But I now have the, because I don't like to do the same thing all the time, I can go to [00:08:00] eat any one of those towns within five to 10 minutes. Um, so it's like, okay, I'm like living in the, the perfect little combination of, um, everything I like to do.

Well, you had me at Bird Sanctuary and then Fox, and then, dear, I, I'm all, I'm all in. It sounds amazing. And so, so then how do you, how do you work with women when they come to you? How do you get those two things in alignment? So we really start to go around the Wheel of life. If you, are you familiar with the Wheel of Life?

Yes. Okay. Absolutely. So it has eight areas, career, family, um, finance, you know, all through the eight areas of your lifestyle. And then we start going through questions and really we start with a conversation and I say, what is your biggest pain point right now? And they might say. My children have gone to college.

I'm an empty nester. I don't know what to do with myself. We, we kind of start with them and how they're feeling and what their pain point is, um, is, is, or if it's, uh, in [00:09:00] another circumstance. Um, their family's growing. The house is too small. They're, they've got two dogs now and three kids. They don't have enough space for their parents to come visit.

And so it's, that's an upsize situation. That's their pain point. They're frustrated because they feel boxed in. And so that's the first thing we start with it is what pain points are they feeling? Um, and then we go on to assess their environment along the lines of the Wheel of Life in eight different areas.

And when I first started putting this together, I, I placed anyone who was buying with me in a category of. This is a career finance move, or this is a family and friends health move, um, et cetera. And so as they came, as we were talking, I, I started placing their answers to certain questions into one of those eight categories that they were trying to fix.

And so then ba first of all, are they surprised when you take them through this exercise? So they're [00:10:00] coming to you as a realtor, right? To, to help them find another home, right? Yes. And then suddenly you're taking them through this exercise and getting them to think about these eight key areas in, in their lives.

Are they surprised by this? Do they, do they see immediately how this can help them? Or are they like, what, what are we doing here? Yeah, well some of the areas they think, oh gosh, well that doesn't really apply to me. You know, for example, one of the areas is spirituality. And the way I think of spirituality is, you know, and many, everyone has different beliefs, and I'm all, whatever you believe is what I'm trying to help you with.

And, um. And people don't think that spirituality, like it's very, a very low ha, low on their list of things that they're worried about. But if I'm working with folks that are higher up on what I call, well, not what I call Maslow's hierarchy of needs, like their physiological is taken care of, they've. They sleep well, all the things.

And then safety. They're safe in their neighborhood, they're safe in their home. They go up to, um, love and belonging. So once we get a little bit higher, spirituality [00:11:00] becomes like the cherry on top of the ice cream. And so that is an area I like to explore with people because it could be, again, recognizing who you are and how you were made and like, I didn't know that I should live in a valley, but it makes sense now.

That I don't like being exposed. Like I don't like, I like a little nest. Yes. And a valley that's kind of like what a valley feels like is you're in a little nest between some mountains or some hills. Yes. And so now I understand that about myself, even this year. Like I just figured that out in the past couple of months.

Um. And so that, you know, if I were to look for a second home, it may not be on a flat stretch of beach or the top of a mountain. It might be in the town of the mountain where I can go out and see people. Yes. Yeah. And I can go hiking at my leisure. Yeah, mine in human design is kitchens, which I was like, that's, that's, that's interesting because I'm not big on cooking.

I mean, I, I do it, but I would've never thought of kitchens. But [00:12:00] in human design, it's not always literal for kitchens, it's just creative spaces. It's spaces where. Things are being cra and being made. And I was like, I, I can absolutely see that I thrive when I'm in places where there's energy and Yeah. You, you know, you, you can feel something is, is being created.

So it's, it's interesting. Um, yeah. And combining ingredients to make new things maybe. Yes. Because that's what cooking is, right? Absolutely. And it's, it's the gathering space of, you know, of the harvesting space where people kind of come together. Um, totally, totally. So, yeah. So when, when I help people, it's just I try to, they don't always know what their human design is, but I am, I'm a.

Equal opportunity kind of personality theorist, theorist, person, so Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, human design, all the things I talk, I like to talk about. And then, so based on all of that information that you get from their, uh, wheelhouse or will of life, then what's next? How does that influence, first of all.

Do you, um, help them find a new home? Or do you ever look at their [00:13:00] existing home and help them maybe reimagine? I am actually in, um, a class right now. I'm in week tonight, will actually be the third week, a feng shui class, um, which I've always loved feng shui and, and in theory. But, you know, sometimes these things can be overwhelming.

Uh, which, let, let's talk about that next. But, but just going back to, is it just helping them to relocate or is it to helping them reimagine their existing home? It, it's not only to help them relocate. So the, the, um, subtitle of the book of Live in Your Wheelhouse is an Empowering Guide to Stay Go or Reno.

And so it's, it's, you might stay or and just repurpose a room from, you know, an uh, a living room with no doors to an office that has doors so that if you're starting a podcast or, um, doing some kind of work that you need some zoom call quiet, that you can close those doors. So, and it is just repurposing certain areas or furniture or color schemes [00:14:00] to just.

Improve the home that you're in. Um, and then a bigger renovation like adding on, uh, finishing out the basement or adding on something to the back of the home, expanding to make more room for an area that's not quite big enough or something like that. Um, so, so there, I mean, often I'm talking with folks, they just wanna talk about their living environment, their house, and they may be five years from moving, but I think it's important to start talking about it now.

So that you have a clear plan for where you want to go, because if you're making a move out of your city or coun, uh, state. You may need to go investigate some options and just kind of live there. I recommend people go and investigate somewhere for like a week and pretend like not. Don't just be there as a tourist, but go and pretend like you're living.

Go to the grocery store. Find your, uh, place of worship if you have one. Go to, um, the gym or yoga or whatever, or golf, tennis, [00:15:00] whatever the things you like to do, make sure they offer that there. And just see what it would feel like to live there before you make the move. And even possibly try somewhere for six months when you get a chance.

Abso, do any surprises come up when you are working with these? Um. Families and they're looking at their life from this, um, point of view of these eight areas in their life. Do any surprises come up where they thought they wanted this, but then they completely change and realize it's absolutely something else that they need?

Yeah, I, I mean, I mean, I work with a lot of midlifers. And I'm, I'm working with more younger folks 'cause that's super fun. But a majority, I would say at least half of the folks I work with are, you know, forties, fifties, sixties, even seventies. And I actually have a set of clients that are 89 and 94 right now.

Um, yeah. So working with the children to, you know, get them to their next stage of life and, um. And so I find that some of the folks that think they need to [00:16:00] downsize, 'cause everyone says, oh, you don't need a big house anymore. You need to downsize. But they don't want to do that. They want to keep their home or, or move into a different home.

Um, that offers like some sort of entertainment or a destination for their kids and grandkids to visit like the beach or the lake. Or in a downtown, like one of these little local towns I live near, it's real fun to walk downtown and they want to entice their kids to come back, you know, even though they've flown the nest, they want a space 'cause they can afford it.

Um, they're used to having a big home, they're still in good health. So why not move and move into a home that entices, uh, people to come back or, and, or they can entertain. And have, uh, nice parties and things like that. So that's been something surprising because the, the, the script is your kids move away, you downsize and you buy a beach home or whatever, right?

Or you sock it away for retirement. And, [00:17:00] um, flipping this, the script on that is, um, we still have a long life to live. 20, 30, 40 years here. So enjoy yourself. What is it you want to do? Well, I don't want a small house. I like my big house and I wanna throw parties for, you know, 40 people, 50 people. And we want all the TVs on and a pool outside so that people can come and spread out and little vignettes of conversations and have a good time.

And in the South, like we're SEC crazy, which of course is no secret, but that's what people around here like to do. I think we have to just realize that there's, we have to stop with these cookie cutter solutions. Yes. Like this is how you do something. It's different for everyone and it's different in different, um, phases of your life.

It just, you know, we're complex. It keeps changing. Um, well, I mentioned feng shui, which is, you know, it's all about how your space affects your energy. And it's, it's the idea that the way your home is arranged can either support you or drain you. Do you [00:18:00] incorporate Feng shui into. What you do at all? I do a little bit.

I wish I knew more about Feng shui. I would love to take a class on it. I have researched it. It, there is a little bit of it in my book regarding romance in your home and I real, I really did just have to quote a Feng shui expert. He had a fascinating article on how to set up your home for romance, which is one of the eight areas.

I, um, I quoted him and, and recognized him in the book for that. And then I do also know when I walk into a home that if the stairs come directly towards the front door, it's like, isn't it like money or luck going out? Something like that. I'm, she, we talked about the front entry, the front door. It's like one of the most important parts of your home.

Yes. And yes. I, she didn't talk about that, but I've heard that in the past, like, you do not want the stairs right as you enter Ours are a little bit off to the left. Yes. But it's something like, yeah, money going right out the door. Money you or luck. Something about that going out the door. Yes. And [00:19:00] so little, you know, little or big things like that 'cause it just does not feel right sometimes when you walk in.

Because, because those are people's private areas usually up the stairs. Yes. And so when you walk in, you're not welcomed into the heart of the home as much as you're welcomed into a private space that you're not really, you're, if you went and walked up the stairs of someone's home right as you walked in the door, they wouldn't, they would think you had gone nuts.

Right, exactly. So let's have the flow of the house pull you to where you're supposed to be. That's right. That's right. Um, it's, and it was interesting 'cause you were just talking about romance in a home. There's so much that goes into it. She was just talking about their, our last class was about the bedroom and it's their, their power.

Um, places in your home and the bedroom. I think the kitchen, and maybe it was the front door, right. Don't quote me on that, but with the bedroom, she was saying that it tells her so much when she goes into her, but first of all, she said if she walks into someone's home and they're like, well, we're here to talk about the living room.

Let's not worry about the bedroom. [00:20:00] She already starts to kind of know something she said, because the way your bedroom is set up says so much about how you value yourself. Is your bedroom just something that you know? All the other rooms, you've put all your energy into the other rooms, decorating the other rooms, but your own bedroom, it's like, man, no one's really gonna see this.

Um, she said that is the number one thing that, and I just thought that's so interesting. That is just, you know, also what is on your walls. Um, it's really important what's on your wall. I mean, just, there was so many little things to think of, but one of the things I was gonna ask you, Kim, is. As much as I love feng shui, and it's something I've kind of read about throughout my entire life, I've rarely ever practiced it because sometimes these things can get so overwhelming.

You, you listen to all these sets of rules and she's really good about that. And basically you do with, you take, you listen to this stuff and then you figure out what, what resonates with you, what feels good to you. Mm-hmm. And that is the most powerful thing. But how do you get women out of that place of overwhelm of where do I even start?[00:21:00] 

How do you know, I don't even, or I'm looking at the Pinterest, I've got these Pinterest boards and these homes are just perfection. How do you make that transition for them? Well, it to me, it's not about perfection. It's about intentionally building a space that matches you. So out of those eight areas, what's the most important to you at, at this stage of your life?

Is it your health? Then do you wanna set up a home gym or are you close enough to a gym? Do you need a stretching yoga place? Do you need a place to meditate? I have a walking treadmill, um, walking treadmill, a treadmill with a raised desk in the other room so that if I'm, you know, sitting all day that I can just get up and do a little walking.

And so it's really about. Asking them first what their pain points are, and second, what is most important to you. Because you could go through all eight areas in the book or in a workshop and be overwhelmed. The same thing like, well, I can't do all of this. Nothing's ever perfect. You have to prioritize what's important to you, [00:22:00] and which of those eight areas is the lowest you know?

Which of those do you have a two out of 10 in health? That's probably what you need to focus on. Or do you have, uh, one out of 10 in finance? Um, you know, let's hopefully hope. Let's hope you won a million dollars and now you're living in a home that you could live in a better. But so often people, you know, are stressed from finances in their home, either trying to keep one that doesn't suit their lifestyle anymore, um, or they're getting older and they have to focus on retirement, whatever.

It's all about life change. So the pain points are about your life has changed or you want it to change in one of those eight areas and the home does not, is not helping.

Um, let's talk a little bit about nervous system regulation. So I think you've stated before that our environments can regulate our nervous system or [00:23:00] dysregulate them. What are some small but maybe powerful ways to create a more calming aligned space? Well, of course the big one is decluttering. I, I did it myself for five or 10 minutes this morning.

I had some sticky notes that I've held onto for. 14 years now, a prior boss of mine who was just a love, he passed. And so I've kept these little sticky notes in a notebook, but they weren't, they were, I was trying to use them editing my book and they were ripping 'cause they were so old. And I thought it is time to throw those away.

And so once I got into that little drawer, I threw that, I threw some broken glasses of my husband. It's like, why are we keeping these, why are we. These are, these are gonna scrape his face. We should throw those away. They're taking up space in the drawer of like the, the scissors I'm trying to really use every day.

So every time I open [00:24:00] that drawer and see the unusable sticky notes and the broken glasses, and I threw. I don't know. Something else ended up in there and I was like, I don't even know what that is, but I'm pretty sure we have not used that in five years. So it went in the trash and then it just kind of freed me.

It, I felt better, like for, I just kind of felt better taking action. It was silly. It was almost silly, the little things I threw away, but it, I had so much to do today that it just felt cathartic that like, I won't have to look at that again and wonder. Why is that still here? It just, that thought will never enter my mind again.

And so it could be a room that has gathered things you don't use, um, anymore or, um, uh, I've spoken to someone recently, you know, children's, children's now adults' rooms that they've moved across the country and the couple now travels to see them because their kids are very active and they keep a room in the house where they can come visit anytime.

But she still keeps the children's adult [00:25:00] children now rooms the way they were. And she decided to make one, a podcast studio and the other, a little den for her retiring husband. So they weren't like in the house bumping into each other all the time. And I thought that was an excellent repurposing of the function of a room.

Yes. And, and do you recommend, do you. Just declutter a little bit all the time or do, do try to like seasonally? Yeah. I mean, there are, there are weeks, um, where I am dumping and running. Right? I mean, I think we've all experienced the, I don't have time to organize that. I'm just gonna place it here. Yes. I'm placing this pile of papers here about my client and, and we have closed, but I'll file that later.

And then the next thing you know, there are three or four of those little stacks in a row. And so they sit for a minute. And so sometimes I take a half day. You know, to just like, just get caught up or a full day and just get caught up on No, I'm, that's not true. I hardly ever do a full day, uh, because Okay, it's [00:26:00] too much for me.

If it's a full day, I need to hire somebody. Have you, have you ever done the Marie Condo? I have System of, okay. Uh, uh, yeah, I have, I've, I do look at, that's what I did this morning. I was like, these have no use and they bring the, these are not special glasses. Yes, they need to. We have 12 more of these, but these, this needs to go because I then that's her kind of premise, which I really embraced.

I should do it more, but it's just. Clear your space so that when you see things, there are things that bring you joy, like the things that you leave remaining. It's something that's important to you that has meaning that that's what you're looking at, versus the stack of papers or something that has nostalgic meaning to you, but it's, it's kind of time for it to move on, and I love that she would say.

You know, like, like the post-it notes that you had from your boss, those, those were very meaningful to you, but they kind of serve their purpose. Mm-hmm. And so before you let 'em go, you say thank you, you know? Mm-hmm. I did. She literally [00:27:00] did. Yes. And I almost texted his daughter to say, but I was like, no, that'll sound crazy.

About some sticky notes he gave me 14 years ago. Kim, I think you should. I did take a photo. I did. I took a photo and I, um, and I probably will reach, we do stay in touch and he, he actually helped me through a period of time where I was freshly divorced. He gave me a job where I could work three or four days a week and still get my kids through school.

And, um, was such a fun person that I, I held onto those sticky notes. Kim, I'm gonna encourage you to share that story for someone who lost, has lost their father. Yes. When people reach out or when I run into some of his friends or someone who knows him or knew him, it means the world. Yeah. I think that would just mean so much for his daughter to hear.

What he meant to you and that you just recently, you know, released those that, that they meant that much, that you, you hung onto them for that long. I kept them in my kitchen drawer for, I don't know how long, well maybe it's 12 years, but a long time. [00:28:00] Yeah. It had just a great spirit. He just reminded me of like all those colors in there about his fun spirit.

He was fr he loved ho, he loved Hawaii and he made hippie juice. So those little colored, um, colored thing. So this is how you spark joy in your house. You keep little, like, keep things from your travels, keep things that like, give you chills, um, play your favorite music. I have, I had a friend over yesterday and she said, you have a lot of Sonos around the house.

You know the musical systems. I said, I love music. Yes. Oh, it's the best. And so, and I have it programmed, so whatever room I'm in, I can play it. And I have mood music. If I'm in a, a writing mood, I play music that helps you focus. It has no words. If I'm cooking, it's some kind, something kind of fun. I can, you know, some old, old school Motown or whatever, like I can dance around the kitchen and if I'm on the front porch with friends, I, I sometimes will play like, you know, uh, [00:29:00] country barbecue type music.

Right. Yeah. Music is so powerful. It, it has a place, I think, in every, every part of our life. Yeah. Yeah. And, and things aren't always perfect, but that, you know. Think life is never going to be perfect. Your home is never going to be perfect. Um, all your relationships aren't ever going to be perfect. But if you can focus on things in your home that bring more joy to borrow from Marie Kondo and get rid of things that weigh you down or get in your way or stop your progress or distract you from your mission, which is.

The third chapter in my book, the four S myself, mastery, mission, and Mates, who you surround yourself with, these all need to be present in your home, but they need to be aligned with who you are. So it starts with you. You're the North Compass. Oh my gosh. I'm just, I'm just taking notes 'cause it's so perfect because first of all, I think that is just true in life in general.[00:30:00] 

Um, what you said, it can apply to your home, but also to your life. Just do more of what you love. Yes. Like it can sound so simple, but really. Even if you can't stand, maybe your job or whatever, there's something you can clear. Can you go get a coffee on the way in the morning that you love? Yes. Can you turn on, on, on music as you're going?

Like you always have the choice to choose something that makes you feel good and do less of what drains you. That's right. But you mentioned that chapter and, and the first thing that you said was myself or me. Was that one of the mss? Yes. The first is myself. Yeah. Who am I? Yes. Yeah, so. The reason why I'm getting so excited 'cause I'm on a little bit of a mission in 2026.

I'm bringing selfish back. Yeah, love it. It's, it makes me think of the Justin Timberlake. So I'm bringing sexy back. I'm bringing selfish back. I like it. You know, and I use the word selfish 'cause it's a little bit triggering. It. It's, it's meant to wake people up. I'm trying to say that. It's a good thing to put yourself first.

We've been told that selfish, I'm reclaiming that word. I love it. That, that, especially [00:31:00] with women. Yeah. That we have to put everyone else's needs before ours. We disappear to check everyone else. We disappear. We disappear. Mm-hmm. We become invisible. And I'm saying it's really not selfish because when you fill yourself up, you can get from a much more full place.

Um, it, it starts with you. Anything in life, it starts with you. And I love that you, you feel that even when it comes to your home, yes. Your home needs to reflect you. Yeah. And what brings you joy. And, and I relate that to like a home for your soul. And there's a whole part about how creating a home for your soul.

And in that chapter, I do say ego's not a bad word. It's not a dirty word in this book. A healthy ego is you sticking up for yourself. Yes. It is. You presenting yourself to the world in a proud way and being recognized. By people who see the real you and support your mission. And so ego can be a bad word if it's a false ego, but if you're yes, re reacting and acting from your [00:32:00] soul how you were made, I think that ego can be a very good thing.

I completely agree, and I'm gonna even say that when you say reacted from your soul, we have to learn to let our body lead. Less our mind and more our body. Our body, if we listen to it, it has, it's talking to us all the time. You can walk into a room and have an energy shift and immediately feel like, Ooh, this feels good, or, Ooh, you know, constrictive.

This doesn't. If, if we can lead with our body more, I think it, it'll, it, it can be very powerful. Um, but I, I'm curious though, has there ever been a time in your life where you kind of realized, you know, well, I guess we kind of started that where you were an accountant, I was gonna say, where you were living in a way that worked for everyone else but you and, and what kind of helped you choose yourself?

Well, it took a long time, you know, for me to do that. I, I, here's what happened, really. The, the very first time I thought I am so out of alignment that I am struggling [00:33:00] is on a beautiful farm. It was aesthetically just amazed, like southern living, gorgeous, right? Um, hor horses, uh, the red barn, the house on the hill, the pastures.

You know, the flower garden and all the things, you know, Mar Martha Stewart, move on in. But, but it was remo again, it was remote. I was an accountant working remotely, had a beautiful view, but I was like, oh, I need, I just wanna go walk out and talk to people. There's no one here. And I was, I was riding horses and I'm a golfer, so even my hobbies.

So that's another spoke. That's fun and leisure. Like how you set your fun and leisure up, you know? Um, and I have always been a golfer since I was very little. Mm-hmm. And for some reason I got the bright idea, um, to own a, for a horse farm. And so I was riding, uh, my new horse in the back, uh, acreage on a, a kind of an unfinished riding ring.

And I, the horse bolted and I flew up [00:34:00] in the air and landed on the frozen ground and broke my back. And, and I'm not supposed to be walking at all right now, like over like 94% or something of people with my injury never walked again. Huge wake up. Call two hours, I mean two years to recover. But here's the funny part, this is the funny part and this, the whole story's in my book and there's a bit of a surprise ending about this house, which was the final catalyst for me really changing my life.

It was all about, and the home was called Clarity Farm. I mean serendipity or what? So lots of clarity from that farm. So when I was recovering from that broken back, I got back to writing. 'cause I've always liked to write. And I wrote the Oprah Winfrey show and I won the contest for about friendship writing an essay about friendship.

And they, um, were they. Wanted to fly us to Chicago. And that was all great. But they wanted to film at the house, and I told, uh, them no. [00:35:00] And I loved, I was obsessed with Oprah Winfrey. With her show at the time. Yes, it was in 2001. I mean, it was like, wait, wait. The biggest show ever. And so hanging onto the story, why, why'd you say no?

Why? 'cause I had a broken back. I was in a walker. I was trying to maintain a 40 acre farm, and I couldn't even drive. I, um, I al the, and the home was all wrong for me, no matter how pretty it was. Um, and once I started reading the book, part of the book was about a woman who was terribly unhappy in her home, and I was thought, I don't really want millions of people.

What did I write? The essay. The essay disappeared. I never saw the essay again that I wrote. Um, it was disappeared into the digital ether. Back in the day, it was not an email, it was nothing that, it was no Word document. It was a website that you typed into. And I sat at my desk there and I retyped and retyped it while the kids were at school.

And I zipped it off once. I thought it was funny enough [00:36:00] and good enough to send, and I never saw it again. Um, and I was like, what? And then I start, I hadn't read the book, I just knew it was about friendship. So I started reading the book and, and a big part of it was about a woman who was terribly unhappy in her home.

I thought, what did I, and I was on painkillers 'cause I had, you know, severe nerve damage. And I thought, what did I write in that essay anyway? So I was like, no, I, I cannot have million, I cannot have millions of people here to my home. Uh. I have no I I've like that just sounds like I could be in a lot of trouble.

Wow, that's not easy. Turning Oprah down back, especially back then, then. No. Well, I still regret it to this day, but I guess in a way it taught me a life lesson, didn't it? Wow. Well, I was with you on that whole story until you fell off the horse that it just sounded like a fairytale. That is terrible. It was.

It still is. It's still a beautiful home. Yes, and there's a surprise ending there that's quite interesting. It's very serendipitous. [00:37:00] Very serendipitous. What happened with that home? Well, we'll have to, we'll have to get the book when it comes out in March. Well, so Kim, before we go into our speed round, is there anything that we haven't covered that you would love to share, you would love for the women?

Well, a million things. I could talk all day with you, but, um, I think we've hit on most everything. I, I do think, um, I do think the one thing I, I wanna say in summary, and I was thinking about this as we talked, is. The way my book reads is like a representation of your best self. So the ground below the foundation of the home, which is your foundation.

Mm-hmm. It's, it's can be, you know, barriers to self illness, um, addiction, all the things that can help you, that prevent you from being yourself need to be solved before you even become yourself, which is. The foundation of the house and the foundation of knowing who you are is the foundation of being who you are.

Then you get up into the living areas in the house, so it's the picture of [00:38:00] house. Like the second level of a home above the basement is, are the living areas come sometimes two floors, eight, eight rooms, um, each with a different purpose. And so you're trying to maximize your living space. And then the attic is self-actualization where you have maximized all of those eight areas as much as possible.

And now you're going out for, you know, to help other people, um, through transcendence through the top of the house. And it all, it, there's a physical representation of infogram. But it, but a home is the physical representation of your soul, in my opinion. And so you're working in all of those areas to maximize and get as high as you can in the house.

Um, you know, just sort of like Maslow's hierarchy as well. Yes. So, Kim, were you saying that, are you comparing like a person to a home and that. The foundation of a home. Before you even move into a house, you need to make [00:39:00] sure that you have worked on these ailments, these blocks, these things in your own life.

Get, get, get that together. Are you kind of comparing, making a comparison between what's going on within you? If you have time home, if you're, if you are, if you got a job transfer and you're moving next month, you probably don't have time for that, but so use the, I even say in the book, if you're in a rush, go to part four to start the wheelhouse assessment immediately.

But when you have time, if you still, like, if you still feel like something's off in the home, like if there's, if the foundation is cracked or settled, there's gonna be cracks in the upper levels. You see them off the corner of doors, and that's a foundational issue. So when you move and you get into your new home, or you haven't moved yet, maybe take time to read those first parts and really examine what do I really want my life to look like or how has my life changed and I'm not the same person I was and I need a different environment.

So what do I want the next 10 years to look like and do I need to move to achieve that? [00:40:00] Um, and so you do, I wouldn't say it will, you have to do it before you move, but it may prevent a costly. Mistake. Sure. That's powerful. I've lived it. I've seen people live it and they just don't realize it. Yeah. The last thing you wanna do is go through everything you have to go through to move and realize, oops, oops.

Yes. So do, do, do the work beforehand. Yeah. And it's not that hard. You could read the book in four days. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Alright. And will that be available on, on Amazon? It will be all the, all the Barnes and Noble Amazon books A million. Um, you can just, it, it'll, it'll be a li uh, live, uh, in about a week. Yeah.

And you could go on my website and pre-order as well. And you get some free things. And tell us the name again. Live in your wheelhouse. Wonderful. Yeah. Wonderful. Well guys, definitely check that out. Um, but for now we're gonna [00:41:00] go move into our speed round. So Kim, what makes you come alive? Music. Oh yeah. I love music.

All different kinds. I'm going to see a bluegrass quartet, uh, on Saturday. Yeah. With my husband and some friends. Well, and along those lines, what, what is a song that instantly shifts your energy or makes you feel something? Okay, so I love Ammo Lee. Yes. He's like a singer songwriter. Have you ever heard Jim, ah, I have chills now.

I, yes, I, I thought I was like the only person. He's a little obscure, but I love him. Do you ever hear the song Windows are rolled down? Oh, well Kim, that is my favorite AMS Lee. Yes. Song it. But here's the thing. So back when I was in corporate America, before I left, I was at this conference and, um, it was during the break and we were, you know, people were out mingling around and I was, you know, I was always in charge of these conferences, so I was kind of doing whatever it is I needed to do for the next thing.

And [00:42:00] Windows our roll down was playing and I had to stop what I was doing. Like I just, 'cause he was filling the whole conference room and it was just me in this room and I had to Shazam it. And I came home from that concert and I fell in love with him. I downloaded his music and that song, my whole family can tell you, I played it out.

I, I love him. I've posted it. Okay. So the best version of it, in my opinion, is him at Red Rocks, uh, with a symphony behind him. Oh my God. Oh my gosh. Okay. I'm gonna have, that is exactly what I'm gonna go play in just a moment. You listened to it or were you there live? I was not live. I wish I had been there live.

It was like a YouTube video of him at Red Rocks. It was amazing. I would love to see him in concert. I like it. I like to play it in my car for obvious reasons. Yes, same. Same. And you know what, that hasn't come up on my playlist recently. I'm gonna have to listen to that this afternoon. Thank you for reminding me.

So how about a book, a book that cracked you open or stayed with you long after the last page? I'll tell you what book helped me get [00:43:00] through this writing process was, um, the War of Art by Stephen Pressfield and, um. So it's about resistance. Which it, it, it can go for if you're starting to try to get in shape, it's anything you're trying to do.

In this case, I was trying to write, finish my book for seven years. So it got me through. It's a, it's about starting a business. It's about, um, really anything you're starting that you're feeling resistance to and making excuses for and, and things like that. And the, the funny thing is, is he got me through my writing and I got a chance to speak with him in a group last year and a, a month later, his house burnt down.

And, um, and we talked about where he liked to write. 'cause I'm very fascinated with cre, creative people and how they set up their office. So like, I was asking him questions and unfortunately, um, I've been, I've been trying to follow along and I think he's rebuilding, but I always send a lot of, uh, hope for him that he'll rebuild, uh, [00:44:00] something spectacular for himself.

Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Wow. Um, what is your favorite little indulgence or guilty pleasure? Buy flowers for myself. Absolutely. I can't, and I have a flower garden, but they're not always as prolific as I'd like them to be. So I'll pick up a bouquet. And the other day I picked up a bouquet and my husband came home with one.

So I have two, uh, two downstairs right now. There's nothing like fresh flowers. Yeah. In your home. The smell. Hmm. What's And, and feng shui. That's powerful, by the way. She talked to us about that last week. Good. I need to read more. Oh, yes. 'cause it's just, it's life. It's just, it's just the, the energy, it's, it's nature.

It's beauty, it's nature. Whatever you can bring it into. Yes. Yeah. What's something you, what's something you're genuinely curious about right now? Maybe something you're exploring or rethinking or waking up to, you know, um, multi-generational living. I've had several people talking to me about multi-generational [00:45:00] living.

And I think, um, also I, I've done a lot of research on what makes people happy and we're so disconnected now that there's, um, becoming, it was like number three in Sotheby's, top trends this year, multi-generational living. And I thought, isn't that brilliant? Because we feel so disconnected. Getting back together is a family unit so that the parents can age in place and the grandchildren are with the grandparents and the.

And the, uh, the sandwich generation has help in the home. Um, yes. Is a beautiful thing. So it just, I just piqued my interest this past week, so I'm gonna investigate that a little bit more. It makes so much sense. Mm-hmm. It makes so much sense. And I think, um, outside of America, other cultures really get that very much so.

Know they, they, they do it. You see the, the elders in the home that are giving their wisdom to the young ones. Yes. It's, it's a beautiful, it's a beautiful, it. I just got chills. I think it's a wonderful [00:46:00] thing and I, and, um, you know, there's some cultures, you know, that, uh, in, in my area as well, that they are very, very much, uh, up to multi-generational living and a home that has a finished basement with a kitchen and all that, um, sell quite quickly and for a lot more money because it's such a trend.

Mm-hmm. What's one thing that always reminds you how beautiful life really is? Hmm. Oh, okay. So back to the flowers, roses, because there are thorns and my mom had a rose garden growing up. And then, and you know, I think my grandmother had peonies were her favorite. So just flower, beautiful flowers in general, but not the ones that are easy to grow.

Roses are very hard to grow. You have to, they get, um, I'm pronouncing it wrong, aphids. And they get mold and they, you have to tend to them. And you're, the more you talk to them, the better they grow. And, um, it's just [00:47:00] fascinating to me. Yeah. And then another flower ish, it's sort of a weed is a thistle and it will grow in the concrete, in the city and ha form this little beautiful purple flower and it just survives and, and learns how to be beautiful no matter what.

It's, there's just so many analogies to life again that you can make from what you, you just said. I, I, I love that. Mm. Well, Kim, how can people connect with you or learn more about your work? Sure. Um, so I do have a website that has, you know, my book and my philosophy and workshops that are upcoming, and that's lifestyle foundations.com.

And then on social media, you can find me everywhere as Kim e Costa, C-O-S-T-A. Perfect, and we'll put all of that in the show notes. Well, thank you again for being here for such a beautiful conversation. And to all of you listening, if this episode sparks something in you, feel free to share it with a friend or [00:48:00] leave a quick review.

It really means so much. And until next time, keep getting high on life one beautiful fix at a time. Thank you, Kim. Thank you. Thanks for listening to a Beautiful Fix. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review to help others find us. And if you'd like to share your own beautiful fix or join me as a guest, reach out anytime at tracy@abeautifulfix.com. Looking forward to next time.