The Business Witch Doctor: Healing Burnout Through Rest

Meet Elizabeth Wangugi, the self-described "Business Witch Doctor" who's revolutionizing our approach to wellness through innovative experiences like nap concerts. In this deeply insightful conversation, Elizabeth shares her remarkable journey from morbid obesity to wellness entrepreneur, revealing how her 120-pound weight loss opened her eyes to the profound connection between chronic burnout and physical health.

"Obesity is a mental disorder that takes physical shape," Elizabeth explains, challenging conventional wisdom about weight, stress, and healing. Her company, Exclusive Excursions, creates transformative wellness experiences designed to "invade spaces with feeling" – specifically the calm, rest, and moderation our burnout culture desperately needs. What makes her approach truly revolutionary is her philosophy of "finessing capitalism for activism," using business as a vehicle for systemic change rather than perpetuating harmful productivity myths.

Elizabeth earned her unusual title when clients couldn't articulate exactly what transformation occurred through her work – they simply knew healing had happened. This mystery speaks to the deeper wisdom underlying her approach: that genuine healing often transcends easy categorization. "I can come and put healing in your environment where you need it," she says. "Everything else is God's mystery."

For those seeking to incorporate Elizabeth's wisdom into their lives, she offers three guiding principles: curiosity, willingness, and discipline. Together, these form the foundation of patience and sustained change. Perhaps most powerfully, she champions radical self-love as the foundation for everything else: "Nobody loves me the way I love me. I'm my sweet baby, and I really spoil me."

Ready to reimagine your relationship with rest, work, and wellness? Follow Elizabeth Wangugi's journey and discover what's possible when we prioritize genuine healing over quick fixes and productivity obsession. Contact her at thebusinesswitchdoctor@gmail.com to bring transformative wellness experiences to your organization.

Transcript

Introduction to Elizabeth Wangugi

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Welcome to the She Suite Society, a community where women from all backgrounds come together to share their stories, support one another, and reveal the unfiltered reality of our lives. I'm your host and empowerment Sherpa, Dahlia, and this podcast exists to give voice and space to women whose experiences might otherwise go unheard. Today, I'm joined by L. Elizabeth Wangugi, founder of Exclusive Excursions and known as the Business Witch Doctor, whose approach to wellness challenges everything we think we know about burnout, rest, and healing in the workplace. Elizabeth's journey from personal health transformation to creating innovative solutions, like the Nap concert, represents a radical reimagining of how we address systemic wellness issues. What makes Elizabeth's work so compelling is her philosophy of finessing capitalism for activism. Rather than working within traditional wellness frameworks, she's created experiences that bring calm, rest, and moderation into spaces where these concepts are often seen as counterproductive. Their understanding that obesity and chronic burnout are interconnected mental health issues, requiring holistic solutions speaks to a deeper wisdom about human well-being. Elizabeth's title as the Business Witch Doctor comes from clients who struggle to articulate exactly what transformation occurs through her work. They simply know that healing happens. Whether you're dealing with workplace burnout, questioning traditional approaches to wellness, or seeking ways to create systemic change through your work, Elizabeth's insights offer a fresh perspective on what's possible when we prioritize genuine healing over quick fixes.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

So how are you? Um, well, it's the nap concert is almost here. So the nap concert is coming. And uh I'm definitely in my busy season, but I'm I'm happy. I feel like I'm like, do you ever have that like feeling in business where you're just like, I'm on the brink of something? I don't really know what this is, but this is that. Yeah, that's how I feel right now.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Could not agree with you more. Where what do you feel like you're on the brink of? Tell me a little bit about where you are in life right now.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Okay, so okay. Um, I am the owner of exclusive excursions, wellness events, retreats, corporate wellness programming. Um, they call me the business witch doctor. Um, and I want to live up to that. What I do, I mean, I'm I'm technically an event planner, but what I really do is sort of invade a space with a feeling. And I think the feeling that we all really need right now is a lot more calm, a lot more rest, and a lot more moderation. Just people who can have almost like the I wouldn't even, I wouldn't call it steeliness, but the reserve to be moderate in their action and their speech. Um, and so that's what I do. So um I'd been hunkering down since last winter because my I have like an event season, it's usually like summer, spring and summer. And then I sort of hunker down in event season, unless I'm doing international retreats. Um, but I was like sort of in hibernation last year, and I'd had all these incredible just like influences and muses, and I'm kind of an artist anyway. And the nap concert was born, and so this is like a live acoustic jazz event where um, you know, it's a concert where you get to come take a nap. And it's also been like my debut because I went from being like a full-time employee who just had a side hustle to now I'm like a full-time business owner. And my goal is to, you know, become a CEO, um, and do it in a way that is not harmful to myself and others, if it and beneficial to myself and others, if it's possible. Um, with the priority being, you know, health and the reduction of burnout. So that's where I am, that's who I am.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Um, it's how did you get involved in this?

From Obesity to Wellness Transformation

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Tell me about your former life then. Um, so I was morbidly obese my entire life, and I was like the front door at my highest, I was like 325.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Really?

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Yeah. And I'd been in like the hospitality industry my whole life, and I'm, you know, from a small town. And over COVID, like everybody has a COVID awakening story. And so mine is something happened. Um, mine is that I lost over 120 pounds and I've been able to keep it off the whole time. Like I, and I'll never gain it back. Um, because I'm like in this place where health is very important to me. I think health has become really important to people, and I'm no exception. Um, it's come out in a very different way, I think, than I thought, or maybe anybody would think. But um health and well-being, holistic well-being for myself and as many people as I can include in my circles is the priority, like the imperative for me.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Yeah. But why?

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Because the system is built for us to not be healthy.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Yeah. That's not that's not far off, is it? Yeah, that's true. So you're you're taking control of what you can control to um better yourself and others in a whole perspective kind of way, not just one facet. Because I think a lot of people focus on like losing weight or exercising, but then they forget about the part of the mind and the emotions. So they completely forget about their the whole aspect of a person, not just how one looks what looks does does feed into how you feel, but uh it all is one system.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Yeah. Um, I guess you know, to your point, um, it can't be one thing. I found out that I was obese because I had been burnt out my entire life. What and yeah, and you know, weight gain is a symptom of and obesity is also a symptom of chronic burnout because your body cannot sustain that stress, and stress is stored in fat cells. So it's it's incredible, like it's your body's protecting you. Um, and you just sort of build these larger and larger blankets of protection within the body, you know. But I do, and you know, this is just a personal feeling. I don't I don't want to make too many big ripples. Um, but obesity is a mental disorder, like morbid obesity is a mental disorder, it takes physical shape, but it's a chronic mental disease. And we, I don't know if we're quite ready for that conversation. I might be early for that, but um I think it's definitely a worthy conversation.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

I could not agree more. I think a lot of things go back to uh a mental state of sorts, and that's kind of what I talk about on these things is I like to understand where everybody really originated from. It's like, sure, you are doing all these amazing things now and you have your own business now, but where did you start? And I love the the COVID awakening. I'm I'm curious to know where you said you're from a small town. What small town are you from? Where are you from?

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Yeah. Oh, so I was born in Detroit, but in the backwoods of Southeast Ohio is a town called Frankfurt. It's like out by the, you know, past the twin prisons out southeast. Um, hey y'all, listen, I'm from the country. So um I grew up kind of on a farm. I I tell you what, I didn't have my first neighbor until I was like seven or eight. Um, and they were at least an acre away, give or take.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Did you have any did you have any siblings?

Finessing Capitalism for Activism

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Like, what did you uh I do have a brother? Uh I grew up mostly with my mom. So it's just these two women on about half an acre of land, maybe a little more. Um, and we you know grew up a little poor. Um, and so you know, those are a lot of other factors that that come into weight issues. We weren't we didn't always have access to fresh produce. Um even though we were on the farm, if you can imagine, even though we lived on the farm, we didn't always have access to fresh, healthy foods. So it really speaks to the system that we're in. Um and while it may look like I'm starting my own business and finding my own niche, what it feels like is I'm finessing capitalism for activism.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

Ooh, I like that.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

But I like that. I like that. Do you think you were always of this mindset, or is this something you learned as time went on?

SPEAKER_00 9:58

I've always been a tiny bit rebellious. Um I think you know, there there was uh a lot of things happened because I I was born in this time. I was born in like the WWE attitude era and like off the 90s punk phase. And so there's just a lot of like disruption and rebellion and counterculture. And I'm not like I am too. Like I'm all of that too, you know. But um why not decide to stage it for good? Like if we're out here disrupting, why aren't we disrupting for the good of humanity? I don't see why we're not, and I have this opportunity in a niche to like see if I can go do it. I gotta go do it.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Yeah, I like to think that I don't think a lot of people, at least that I've met anyway, are not disruptive. I think that most of them are. They're disruptive, but I've never met people that were disruptive just to be for the sake of being mean or evil. I I heard somebody say once, and I disagree with it tremendously. It wasn't in person, it was like some podcast or something I saw. They're like, if you look at innately, humans want to be um mean or take it all or whatnot. I don't agree with that. I think human nature really is communal and really is about lifting one another up, and you're only as good as the next person next to you. Like, you just we're all literally trying to live together and lift one another up. I think that is our strength, and I also think that's what we lean more into. And I think there's a pretty big divide happening right now between people that think like that and people that think like, no, I want it all for me, and consumption is what they're after. What is that? What is that called? Like gluttony? Is that what that is? Is that what that means?

SPEAKER_00 12:01

There, you know, I've been I've been having a lot of conversations with recovery specialists. I think um one of the things we don't talk about enough is one of the symptoms of burnout is that you will find addiction at the end of burnout, you'll often find addiction and it just lives there. Um, and so I find that I'm often in conversations with recovery specialists who are talking about whether or not America, and you know, this the system as a whole, capitalism as a whole, but America specifically, is acting like uh a heavy user versus an outright addict. Um, and whether or not it's consumption, um, and honestly, it's all I really all about dosage, I suppose. There are some people who are like, I just need to get my next fixed. I just need to make money, I just need to consume, I just have to buy, I have to sell, like be a part of the system. And there are some people who are like, I don't know what else to do, and I'm relying on this system. And how do I get out? You know, how do I get out? Um, and they just don't know what else to do. Then maybe they're heavier users. Um, but either way, we're obviously sort of on a slippery slope. Even like the Gallup polls are starting to talk about how our leaders in this country, the people who are making policy decisions that affect our everyday lives, are also saying they're in mental decline. So, like the people who are making the decisions are saying, like, actually, I'm not okay either. And and those are the ones willing to admit that we're not okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

It's okay that we're not okay, but we have to find a place that we're starting from. And I think some of some of us are awakenings were the fact that we're healing in some capacity. So you're caring, I like to think of it as you know, in elementary school, they had that big parachute thing that you run on, run under. And every some people got the chance to run under it, but it only worked if everybody was holding their side of the parachute. So I always have I always envision it like that because I'm a kind of a I'm a visual person. So if I'm holding my end of the parachute in uplifting everybody through modes like this podcast or my voice or speaking, you're holding your end of it by doing uh healing work. But what type of healing work would you would you say that you're doing?

Becoming the Business Witch Doctor

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Honestly, the healing work of making space, um, it really there is nothing quite like getting in the room. It can be anywhere between, and some of the healing we work we do is maybe more yoga-based, body-based, um, and ancestral and ancient ritual based. And some of it is just like workforce development, you know, it's just learning etiquette in an office so that you can be back with people again if that's what you want, and being flexible as a company to let your people be hybrid if that's what they want. Um, and some of it is literally just like having consultations one-on-one, just like this, like seeing what people need on an individual level. But the goal is I'm in the space, we make the space for that. That's what exclusive excursions does.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

Nice. See, that's amazing. Um, and I love that you I love that you're rebellious and that you just decided I'm gonna go out and start this. And you did you started this in COVID time, is that fair to say?

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Yeah, so I started my business in COVID time. At the time it was really, and my business has always been an expression of me. And so um, at the time I was really in my in my weight loss and athlete phase, and I'd become a yoga teacher. And so the first year of business was just all like yoga events um and just getting women together for their health and wellness, pairing with other vendors who specializes in like pelvic health and nutrition and breathing correctly and where to access, you know, clean drinking water, air, food. Um, but then when we turned business to business, the sort of the floodgates opened and it was just like I was really able to attack burnout in a systemic way. And it became like how how do we address burnout? One of the largest contributors is not just stress at work, but lack of quality sleep at home, which is something you can't fix in the office. So, how do we talk about that? And that's how the nap concert was born. And so we just keep being more and more creative and fun, um, and bringing creativity and fun back into the workplace.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Right, which is in our lives. How did you get to be known as the business witch doctor?

SPEAKER_00 16:57

So um it sort of your question about like what it is I do became such a mystery to me and everyone else. I on the whole, I can be called like a consultant and an event planner. I'm a consultant, I'm an event planner. Um, but when I started going into companies, and especially when I started taking on the clients, I was like, I don't really know how to describe what my business does. And event planner is boring, you know, consultant, you can't really say what that they do. So I was just like, how, how do I tell people what I do? And a friend of mine was just like, Well, have you tried asking your past customers? Like, what do they say you do? Um, and so I was like, okay, I would have these events, I would plan these, you know, retreats, I would speak with my clients, and then I would get on video, like, okay, what just happened? Can you tell me what you just experienced? And then none of them knew, like, none of them even knew what I did. They the word transformation was um sort of said a lot. Like a lot of people was just like, it was really a transformative experience, but their experiences were so unique and individual that it just became like I can, I, I cannot describe what I do. I am the witch doctor. I know I can do it. I can come and put healing in your environment where you need healing. That I can do, but everything else is a mystery. It's God's mystery. Oh, I'm not sure. All I can tell you is you really want to get in the room. Like I'm not trying to sell FOMO, but you want to get in the room. Trust.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think that is so cool. I love that you've embraced that as um, you've you seem to have found yourself. And I hate to say you were ever lost, but you mentioned when, and I don't disagree, I uh burnout and stress can lead to so many different things. Um, and that's ultimately what put weight on for you. Um, I was the opposite, if it's helpful to know. I was the I can't control my surroundings and I'm so stressed out, so I'm just not going to eat. I did the whole opposite thing when I was growing up. So I was very anorexic. It took me a long time to break a hundred pounds, and it's not because of body image issues or anything like that. It it was all about control, all about control. Trying to control my environment, which speaks to the mental issue of it all, right? Uh, so as we come back to finding ourselves, um for you, was that difficult, or what did that journey look like for you?

SPEAKER_00 20:01

I mean, completely honest, I'm still on it. I'm still, you know, this is a lifelong thing. This is a whirlwind romance that's gonna last the next 80 years, I hope, you know? Yeah, um, so I can be I can be two things. I can be really proud of who I've become, I can be really excited on who I'm becoming, and I can be patient for the whole process, you know.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

I can be patience is not easy. I have all the so how do you have patience? Is this what you learned when you became yoga? Because I I can take all the advice you got to give on learning patience.

Curiosity, Willingness, and Self-Love

SPEAKER_00 20:41

I tell you what, I don't know if I'm listening to to all the young women out there, I don't know if this is good or bad, but if you want to learn patience, get married because my husband taught me patience. Well, that's why I got divorced. Um, you know, um in yoga, in yoga, we call it surrender. You have to be willing to let whatever happens happen without control. And sometimes it's a moment-to-moment breath to breath sort of thing. Like sometimes it's a breath to breath sort of thing, like relinquishing control. Um but as I practice, I build that muscle and I learn patience and I learn patience with other people. Um so again, I don't know if that's good or bad. Sometimes people will see your patience and go, oh, I can cross your boundaries just for fun. So also have boundaries. Yeah. Um, but definitely learn to exercise that muscle because you're gonna need it. Like you're gonna need it.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Yeah. I will say for me, I've never quite grasped the concept of patience, but what I've grasped in turn is my curiosity. So people think I'm paying, people think I'm patient, but I'm not really patient. I just learn to um convert it to just being a little bit more curious. So if I take more time to just try to understand something or to hear from that perspective or to to to learn, it's not quite patience, but it does work as a good substitute while you're trying to learn.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

I would argue that it is patience. Um let me not counteract you, but like I would argue that not only for me, all that patience is is curiosity and willingness. Am I willing to just see what happens next? I'm curious enough, but am I willing? And that's all patience is. So I would say no, you have it. Like you have it definition.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

I like your definition. Curiosity and willingness is patience. That's super helpful. Um, well, in the interest of time, because normally I try to keep these about 30 minutes, I end every episode about the same.

unknown 23:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

That is even though the whole episode ends up being advice, uh, it is what piece of advice could you give to listeners for either how how you live or maybe a mantra you live by, what piece of advice do you feel that they need to hear in this moment?

SPEAKER_00 23:27

Curiosity and willingness. Um curiosity and willingness and and discipline. And discipline also. If you can live, those are those are my big three, those are like my only three. Well, love, also love. Um, but if you have curiosity and willingness, then honestly, you're just out here getting into antics, seeing what you're even can do, like seeing what God will even let you do. Um, and and discipline will help you run it for longer. Like if you have discipline, you're always setting like like if you have discipline, then current you is always setting yourself up for future you. And I love me the most. So I'm gonna set myself up for future me. Um and love because yeah, I mean, it starts from me. I love me the most. Like I'm my sweet baby, but from there, my cup is very full to love on everyone else, too.

SPEAKER_01 24:20

So oh, I love that. I love that. And you're good at filling your own cup.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

Oh my, listen, nobody loves me the way I love me. I'm uh nobody's up here, so they don't know. But I love me the most, like I take care of me. I'm I'm I'm my sweet baby, and so I really spoil me, kind of actually.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Yeah, I love that. I think a lot more people need to adopt that mentality because we're so busy trying to give to other people that you forget about yourself. I mean, how many times do you hear even little kids say that? Um, when you ask, like, who do you love? They forget to name themselves or who's the most important, they forget to add themselves, and you're so busy pointing at everybody else that you forget about you first.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

I woo me the way that men woo women before they actually catch them. That's the way I take care of me all the time.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

Like, oh, I love that. I love that. Um, that is awesome. Well, thank you for sharing your advice, your space, your time with us. I really, really appreciate it. Um, is there any anything else you want listeners to know about you?

SPEAKER_00 25:35

Um, follow me, like, share, subscribe, talk about me behind my back. Um, it's budget season. Like it's um, I'm I'm pitched, I'm pitching, I'm chasing pitching. So um, Elizabeth Wonguki and the businesswitch doctor at gmail.com, get at me. I love this. Thank you so much.

Key Takeaways and Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Thank you so much, Dahlia. Thank you so much. What strikes me most about Elizabeth's approach is how she's transformed personal healing into systemic change. Her recognition that quality sleep can't be fixed in the office, leading to the creation of nap concerts where people can rest to live acoustic jazz, shows what innovation looks like when it's rooted in genuine understanding of human needs. Elizabeth's redefinition of patience as curiosity and willingness resonates deeply because it reframes patience from passive waiting to active engagement with uncertainty. Her emphasis on building this muscle through practices like yoga and surrender offers a practical path for those of us struggling with the discomfort of not knowing what comes next. I'm particularly moved by her commitment to self-love as the foundation for everything else. Her reminder that taking care of yourself first isn't selfish. It's what allows you to truly love others, challenges the martyrdom culture that often surrounds wellness and caregiving work. Elizabeth's work demonstrates what's possible when we stop accepting burnout as inevitable and start creating spaces where rest, healing, and genuine wellness can flourish. Her ability to put healing in your environment where you need healing speaks to a different way of approaching both business and life. For those of you feeling burned out by traditional approaches to wellness or seeking ways to create meaningful change through your work, Elizabeth's journey proves that transformation is possible when we're willing to embrace mystery, prioritize genuine healing, and finesse existing systems for the greater good. If today's conversation inspired you to reconsider your relationship with rest, patience, or self-love, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Remember, the Sheet Suite Society exists to amplify women's voices from all walks of life, proving that healing and activism can work hand in hand. Until next time, this is your host Dahlia reminding you that your life is your message to the world. Why not make it extraordinary?