Rest, Reset & Why we Should Watch The Kardashians

After a short break from the podcast, Debbie returns with a candid behind-the-scenes episode sharing what the past few months have really looked like while building The ROCKET VA™ Academy.

From platform migrations and supporting academy members to spending much-needed time with family and reflecting on burnout, this episode is a reminder that building a business isn’t always about constant visibility - sometimes the most important work happens quietly behind the scenes.

Debbie shares why she intentionally stepped back from social media and the podcast for a few weeks while focusing on supporting her community, moving the academy platform from Kajabi to Go High Level, and developing an exciting new project that will help both Virtual Assistants and clients connect more easily.

Along the way she reflects on returning to London to host a ROCKET VA™ alumni dinner, spending meaningful time with family, celebrating her birthday at home for the first time in years and why returning to Barcelona feels like coming back to the life she intentionally built.

And yes - even reality TV gets a mention (sometimes it’s more productive than you think). Debbie shares why watching shows like The Kardashians can actually teach us something about consistency, brand building and showing up in business.

Because sometimes inspiration comes from unexpected places.

In This Episode You’ll Hear About

• Why stepping away from social media can sometimes protect your energy
• The reality of burnout when building a business
• Why rest is not something you have to “earn”
• What returning to London reminded Debbie about designing your life intentionally
• The importance of community and meeting ROCKET VA™ alumni in person
• Lessons about business consistency and brand building (yes, even from The Kardashians)
• The upcoming new project designed to elevate trained Virtual Assistants and connect them with high-quality clients
• Why seasons of rest and seasons of action are both necessary in entrepreneurship

5 Ways to Keep Going When Motivation Fades

In this episode Debbie also shares practical advice for entrepreneurs navigating energy dips:

1. Take a break from the activities that drain your energy (like social media)
2. Keep momentum going quietly behind the scenes
3. Change your environment to reset your creativity
4. Reconnect with your vision and the life you're building
5. Allow rest without guilt - it’s fuel, not failure

This episode is a reminder that every entrepreneur experiences peaks and troughs - but what matters most is holding the vision and continuing to move forward.

Resources

Explore becoming a Virtual Assistant:
rocketva.com/starterkit

Learn more about The ROCKET VA™ Academy:
rocketva.com

Email hello@rocketva.com to start your journey with Go High Level

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:30

And we are back, baby. I am so excited to be back, not only on the Rocket VA podcast, but feeling energized and refreshed and rested. I'm ready to show up on my social media and to support my community and the Rocket VA alumni even more than I have been. And today's episode comes after a couple of months' break from the podcast, from social medias, from showing up how I used to, in fact. And it's sort of reminder to anyone who feels a bit burnt out or overwhelmed that it's okay to take a break. And in fact, it's actually essential in terms of moving your business forward if you take that break and to see rest, not as a reward, but as a part, a crucial part of growing your business. So I'm so excited to be back. The last um personal episode I recorded was I think the 15th of January about the power and the momentum of the VA industry in 2026, which is just gonna lift off so much. And then we also shared a podcast with our Pinterest expert Laura Reich in February. And after a month, I have decided to come back. It's my first episode where I feel in this brand new energy. I am back in Barcelona in my beautiful home and feeling so energized and refreshed and ready to be here. So yeah, if you've noticed that I've been a little bit quiet over the past few months, that has not been accidental. It's because life got busy in a very good way, but I also made a conscious decision to not show up here with flustered or scattered energy. And back in November is actually a time when I came back to England and it was gonna be for two to three months, but actually ended up being four months because genuinely I enjoyed being with my family so much, and I just realized that it was gonna be probably the only times in the next few years or maybe my whole life where I would get to have this precious, focused energy with my family, and you know, I really prioritized time with them. I didn't want to socialize, I didn't want to network, I didn't want to do too much. I wanted to just focus my energy there and rest. And that came from a feeling of feeling overwhelmed and burnt out from the past few years of my business, but also just you know, taking the opportunity as a remote worker to actually be able to carve out this time with my family and spend this time with them. So I feel really grateful for the time and honestly, it was just everything I needed and more. You know, I spent so much time with my family, my niece. I watched all the TV series and so many things that I don't normally do because I'm always thinking, okay, next thing, next thing, let's like listen to the best podcast, let's listen to the best personal development book, let's or read the best personal development book, let's tune in to things that are gonna actually take my business and my life and my mindset forward. But actually, having some mind-numbing TV, you know, Bridget and Season 4, if you know, you know, Emily in Paris, it was everything I needed and more. So yeah, I really want to share with you what's been happening behind the scenes these last few months and how I have this new big expansive energy that I've come back to Barcelona with, and how I just feel so excited for what's ahead, and how also, you know, in any type of life or business, there are times and seasons for different energy, and I just feel like I've come out of a, you know, a an introverted, quite a reflective, behind the scenes energy, and now I'm coming into this expansive, outward-facing energy. And this kind of also aligns with the spring, and I think it's a reminder that you know, the seasons are there for a reason. You know, we we have four seasons of the year for a reason. We have winter, which is where we're meant to hibernate, to relax, to restore our energy. We're not meant to be go, go, go, go, go. And I really learned that, and I actually enjoyed it so much this winter. And and then we come into spring, and now I really feel it. It's like where we are now, the spring equinox, the year of the horse energy, the Chinese New Year, all these new things. It's like intention setting. Like, this is actually the astrological start of the year, is spring, it's airy season, so we're heading into that now. It's like peak time for it, for that expansive feeling, and then we're going to summer where we can have the lots of long days, balmy days, fun, relaxing, and enjoy the fact that we have planted those seeds in spring, and then we have autumn to nurture those seeds and take ourselves into autumn again. So, you know, it really is a reminder that the seasons of life and the seasons of nature are there for a reason. And if you feel called to really nurture and into one of those seasons, then listen to it. So I hope that this will inspire you to do just that. So, yeah, over the past few months and especially the last two months, um, I have been working on some really important things for the Rocket VA Academy. So we've been moving our website platform from one, which was Kajabi, to Go High Level, which I absolutely love. I'm gonna put a link for Go High Level in the show notes and also in my link tree. So if you want to join Go High Level, definitely explore that there. It's been a really big project, but also really exciting, and it's not enabled, not only enabled me to learn a new tool, but also to literally review everything that's been in the academy, you know, all of the um free resources that we've got, all of our member collateral, our online videos, our workbooks, everything. And with that, we have also rebranded from Rocket VA Virtual Assistant Academy to Virtual Assistant and Marketing Academy because that's what we are. You know, we provide so many skill set and tools and knowledge for people not only who want to become virtual assistants, but also to expand into digital marketing and marketing as well. So the VA world really merges marketing and administration. So it only felt right to do this, and also with my marketing degree and background, I really want to share lots of the things I've learned and to make sure that everyone knows exactly what we offer in the Rocket VA Academy. So that's been a big focus of the last few months, and I've spent lots of weekends, literally at home just working on that website and building it, and it's taken me a lot of time and energy. But you know, it's a reminder that in those seasons when maybe you don't want to show up online or show up in different ways of your business, there are always things that you can do in the back end to support and grow your business, whether it's making one reach out per week, whether it's networking, like online digitally, so you don't have to show up, you know, making sure that you have some social media prepared for the seasons when you really feel like you can show up online. So I've been doing all of that and you know, it took me time and energy, but I'm really pleased that now it's done because it's that big tick. And there's one more final part which we are going to add in the next couple of weeks, which I'm very, very excited about. And this is something that is designed to support both virtual assistants and also clients, so it's a way to create more exposure for the virtual assistants that we've trained in the academy to connect with clients who are looking to work with or some trained virtual assistants, and also a way for clients who have perhaps have never outsourced before or might not know how to outsource can actually connect and learn how to work with virtual assistants. So very excited for that. It's been lots happening. Then I yeah, I went to London and it's my birthday. Then I packed up and moved back to Barcelona, and I'm literally only in day two back in Barcelona, but it just feels so good. Feels so so good. And it's just a reminder that in business, you know, even if you're not able to show up in some ways, as long as you hold that vision, do the things that are gonna take you to one step closer to where you want to be in the back end, all of that work, all that momentum shows up. So keep building, keep showing up for yourself in that's in those small ways, even. And remember, we have those seasons, just like the cyclical season of the period for for women as well. You know, we have seasons of the month where we just can't show up or can't do our work in those certain ways, and then we have peak weeks where we really can show up online and we want to, so it's tuning into those as well. So definitely listening to your body, listening to the seasons of nature and taking some rest. So I'm gonna track back to a few highlights from the past few months, and honestly, one of the best highlights for me is just having so much quality time with my family. Like, I can't remember the probably since COVID, um, when I just got back from Australia and the borders are closed, and I wanted to go back there. That's probably the last time that I've actually had this quality time, quality long time with my family. And it was so special, so precious. Like my sister, who's also a virtual assistant, she trained for the Rocket VA Academy. We'd get up and we'd have morning walks, we'd take our niece to school, I'd go for lunchtime walks with my mum, I'd have nice dinners with my my mum and dad and my sister and evenings on the couch with my mum, just watching mind-numbing TV, and it was heaven and you know, even some Eva Longoria in Spain and all these little things. It was just precious moments that I feel like my heart has come back to Barcelona so full because I just needed that. And I think if you feel like in your body you need something, then I feel so grateful that I was able to do that with this business because I could literally take my laptop there, and also I just happened to have a break in between apartments where I could actually take some time away from the city. So I'm very grateful for that time. It was so special. Also, another highlight was our Rocket VA community and alumni dinner. So I went down to London at the end of February, and it was honestly such a beautiful evening, and I got to see some of our incredible alumni in person, and I even met one of them, Sarah, for the very first time after working together online through the academy, and it was really moments like that that reminded me why I started this academy in the first place. No, behind every VA business is a real person building a life of freedom and possibility. And you know, every VA who joins the Rocket VA Academy is not just a number or a name, they become someone that I want to work with closely, want to support. And I love getting to know everyone's personal stories, like where they are now and where they want to be. I want to know their visions, how I can support them in that, and how the Rocket VA community as a whole can contribute towards their vision. And it was so incredible to hear their each individual stories. You know, some of them are now sold-out full-time virtual assistants working from home, others are part-time VAs working alongside their current job with the aim to transition into full-time VA careers. Others are still working their way through the academy. And we even had one lady who is my friend, lovely friend Annika's mum. She came and she shared her journey of wanting to start a new career in her 60s, in her retirement, and wanting to travel the world. And it was so inspiring to hear that because, you know, this is a reminder that virtual assistant is for anyone, for any gender. I know we speak a lot about women, and a lot of the alumni are women, but we support men as well, and we support uh men and women of all ages, all backgrounds. And it's something that really does enable you to create freedom on your own terms and the flexibility to live a life that you want to. And everyone around the table just had their own visions of what freedom meant to them. You know, some of them wanted to become mums and have a business alongside it, some of them wanted to travel, some of them wanted to build their own business into agencies, all these different ideas and goals and aspirations. It's all possible, and it all starts with taking that first step to joining a VA Academy or becoming a VA, whatever direction you and route you take. And so, yeah, that was just an incredible evening. I felt so grateful. It was like a pinchy moment, and we've held a few of these in the past, and every time we get different alumni members coming and joining, bringing a couple of friends, and yeah, it's just amazing to hear their stories, to know that they felt really happy that they joined the Rocket VA Academy and to know that they want to continue to build and grow and be part of the community going forward, which is why also we bring in guest experts every month. We really continue to invest and upgrade things in the academy, for example, changing website platforms. So just know that if you do decide to join the Rocket VA Academy, it's not like a join now and never work, never be supported or never see evolution in the Academy. It's a join now and we grow together kind of community. So you're definitely gonna be in the right place. And other things in London, it was just also lovely catching up with some old friends while I was there, you know. Something really interesting also happened when I was back there. Is that, you know, years ago, I think it was eight years ago now that I lived in London, lived there for five years, and I literally thought that I would live in London forever. I thought that I would get married there, felt like I would buy a house there, have children there, settle down there. And it was just so weird to come to the realization that I didn't miss my London life. Honestly, I really didn't. And I say that with so much gratitude. Like London gave me so many memories, opportunities, friendships, experiences, but going back also reminded me that that chapter of my life is closed. And isn't it funny how the places that we once thought would be forever sometimes turn out to be just one chapter of your journey? And now, knowing what is possible, I feel incredibly grateful that I get to return home to my life in Barcelona. And you know, all of that happened because I took one brave step, just leaving all of that life and not knowing what would unfold and what career I would have. But actually falling into the virtual assistant world has enabled me to open up so many doors, to to move my whole life and business to Spain. I mean, even when I landed in Spain this time, I was on this plane, I was like, this plane is this journey, is just everything's working out for me on this journey, everything's gonna work out. Like, I really feel I just I deserve good things. And I think having that feeling of deservingness, worthiness is a huge thing for women to overcome. And we have to step into that power to really step into the power of our business and our lives and our potential. And I just decided to kind of test it on the plane. I was like, this journey is gonna work out for me. And I literally were on the plane, like the airsuit desk was really sweet, and she was like, right, we're gonna land in Barcelona now. We're 35 minutes ahead of schedule. I was like, wow, amazing! And I we landed, and normally the passport queue takes quite a while because UK citizens, but this time they were like anyone with um residency cards, they don't normally say this. So I went right to the front of the queue, skipped the queue, and went straight through. And then I got to the luggage carousel. My two new suitcases were there. They were scuffed a little bit, but not really scuffed. I rubbed it all off and they were there. And I was like, wow, okay, this was easy. I got at Uber straight home and had a really nice taxi driver, and I was like, wow, that was so good. How good can life get? So I think one of the things also is like reminding yourself how good life can get. Because sometimes we focus on the negative things or the fact, you know, sometimes I'm now the more I travel, the more I dislike travel, to be honest with you, because it used to be a novelty and I used to think, oh, it's so fun. But I don't know if it's an age thing, but I just don't enjoy travel as much anymore. I want to be more grounded, but this time I was like, let's test this, let's enjoy the process. Like, what else can we do in this planet on the life? So that felt really good. And it also just felt so good to return home to Barcelona. My beautiful flatmate Marie was waiting for me. Um, I've moved back with her, and I'm so happy to be here in my home and just feeling very, very grateful and excited for the next chapter. So, yes, and I've come back with full energy because I really needed a rest. So, you know, I was feeling burnt out in November, been building my business for so many years. I just felt it was time to go home and not not network, not socialise, not do all the things, just be at home. And honestly, it was a reminder, or maybe my minor body told me very clearly that rest does not need to be earned, rest is not a luxury, rest is a necessity. So I allowed myself to do some of the things I hadn't done much of the in the past years, like you know, watching these um Netflix evenings and relaxing and spending some time with my niece. And, you know, it's just a reminder that we need polarity in life, we need balance, we need mind expanding activities, and we also need mind-resting ones. So having that rest is so important. And I've come back to Barcelona thinking, okay, how can I make sure I still carve out these times for myself and make sure that yes, some days are very busy with calls and lots of work, but in those other days, make sure I definitely have time, always, always to move my body every day. That's non-negotiable for me. Eating well, nutrition, that's also non-negotiable for me. Yes, doing mindset and being open-minded and spiritual and tapping into that side of me is very important, but also watching like Kardashians and doing things that sometimes people judge on or think that you're not doing good things with your time. Actually, honestly, whatever, you do you. And all actually, even for example, the Kardashians, I have learnt so much business technique from those incredible women in the last season that I was like, I need to watch this more because they are doing something right. So, you know, even in these things we think are nine mum mind mind-numbing, we can still learn lots. So, yeah, and so I had London, so I had lots of rest, I had lots of family time, and then I had my birthday. So at the end of February, I celebrated my birthday. I turned 36, and it was actually the first birthday I spent with family in yours, which made it extra special. I went out for a nice brunch with them, we went for a lovely family walk, and even my sister and I, who's also VA, decided to work a couple of hours on our businesses, and I actually really wanted to do that so that I was ahead for the weekend, and that was a conscious choice. And I actually sent an email out to our community just saying, you know, I really wanted to do this. You know, I didn't choose, choose to, I could have chosen to be off work all day, but I wanted to do a couple of hours, and I it's a reminder that this business is flexible. You can choose the hours that you want to work as long as your clients align, and you get to work if you're efficient and get things done, you can take time off. So, you know, there is so much flexibility in this career, and it's really been a big reminder of me for these past few months that, you know, I was able to make my business and also to work with incredible clients and work on some amazing projects and also support everyone in the Rocket Bay Academy from a new location. So now that I'm back in Barcelona in my flat, my wonderful roommate, I just feel so grateful, so rested, so full of love, and I feel ready to bring back this podcast with energy, the social media, and to share more of my journey behind becoming a virtual assistant. Because, like anything in life, building a business has peaks and troughs of energy. And the most important thing is to keep holding the vision, keep moving forward and allow yourself to rest when you need it. So here's five tips to help keep you going when motivation fades. The first one, take a break from the things that drain your energy. So for me recently, that was social media, that was networking, that was socializing a lot, but I kept doing the important work behind the scenes. You know, I kept making sure that I showed up my clients, from my alumni, moving my website over, but doing some of the other things, I just took them out of my schedule. Number two, keep the quiet momentum going. Client work, outreach, building systems, every small action compounds. Number three, change your environment. Sometimes simply changing where you work or taking a walk resets your energy. And I really am a big believer of this. You know, if you feel stuck or you just sat at your desk and nothing's coming out, take a walk. That moves your energy. Go to a cafe that's great for you, or go co-work with a friend, whatever it does, change your environment or move countries, change countries, go on holiday and remote work. Number four, reconnect with your vision. This is so important. Why did you start this version? What life are you building? Make sure that every time you feel stuck or in negative energy, tap back into that vision. Remind yourself. And I have a vision board on my phone, on my laptop screen, that just reminds me of the vision of my life that I'm creating. And part of that is building this VA business and helping others create their freedom because the more that I create my freedom, the more that I inspire others to do the same and to realize that this is possible for them too. And then number five, allow yourself to rest without guilt. Rest is not a weakness, it's preparation for your next level. Your body needs it to recollaborate, and also the nervous system cannot run on adrenaline all the time. So make sure that you are resetting your nervous system, you're doing the breath work, you're meditating, you're taking time in nature because we can't live on high with high low high levels of cortisol, especially as females, it's not good for us. So make sure you rest without guilt and enjoy the process. So a new season. Something that something else that feels symbolic at this time of year is that on February the 17th, we celebrated or entered the year of the fire horse. And energetically, the fire horse represents movement, courage, independence, and bold action. We're also moving towards the spring equinox, which is traditionally a time of renewal, rebirth, beginnings. And honestly, that's how I feel right now, refreshed, clear, and ready. So I want to leave you with a question today. How are you choosing to show up in this next season of your life? And even more importantly, who are you choosing to show up as? Because you always have a choice. You can always change the energy that you bring, you can choose the life that you build, and this season might just be your moment to step into something bigger. So take some time, work through these questions, think about those five tips to keep you going when motivation fades. And just remember that rest is essential in growing your business, growing yourself, and also taking yourself to the next level. And if you feel like you have so much potential in yourself, but you're not tapping into it, the power is in now. Do it now. Take those steps that scare you, go for it, show up online. The worst thing that anyone can say is, oh my God, like what is she doing? Or what are they doing? They can unfollow you if they want to. The right people will follow, the right people will be inspired by you, the right clients will show up. So keep showing up, keep taking those small steps behind the scenes, and just remember that this next season is where you can really create big momentum and step into that freedom and that life that you desire. So yeah, I'm really excited for this year ahead. We've got lots of plans. I'm gonna share more about this new um journey with clients and VAs in the next couple of weeks. And also I'm gonna share up more on my social media. So I hope that you can keep me accountable because I've shared this now. And yeah, I hope that if you aren't connected already, you come and connect with us at Rocket VA underscore or Debbie underscore Rocket and come and send it to our free VA starter kit. If you are interested about becoming a VA, rocketva.com forward slash starter kit. And yeah, just thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. Thank you to our amazing VA alumni. It was incredible to see them in London, and I just love supporting them online as well. Um, and thank you for being a part of this journey with me. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need to reminder that rest is part of success too. And I'll see you in the next. next episode of the Rocket VA podcast.