From Corporate Burnout to Launching a Wellness Business

[00:00:00] LuRae: Welcome to another episode. Today, I have a very special guest. Jessica Berg is the founder of Moonrock Wellness, where she helps female professionals connect back to themselves with online classes, including yoga, meditation, breath work, sound healing, and one on one coaching. Jessica invested two decades of her life doing corporate work, which is where we originally met, before launching out on her own to found Moonrock Wellness.

[00:00:30] LuRae: So Jessica, welcome to the show. I'm so excited for you to share your story. So you could start wherever you would like. In your journey, it might be interesting to know like where you started, how you began your career and then how you progressed and, and are now doing what you're doing.

[00:00:49] Jessica: Yeah, absolutely.

[00:00:50] Jessica: I'm so excited to be here. So thank you. Um, yeah. Oh my gosh, where to start after where do I start with 20 years? I mean, when I look back at. Where I started versus where I am today, I, I really do see that every role I had within my career kind of led me to, to exactly where I am right now. And it's, it's funny because I was talking about this to someone, uh, my husband, someone talking about this to someone else, my husband, um, we were talking the other day and I was just saying.

[00:01:24] Jessica: Talking about, you know, we are so kind of like trained to just check the box and, Mm-Hmm. , you know, graduate high school, check, go to college, check, um, right outta college, just, just get a job. That's all you need. You just need a job that pays a salary. Right, right, right. Um, and, and I remember even being talked out of pursuing a degree in art because.

[00:01:49] Jessica: That wasn't, and not by my parents, but more my uncles, um, that wouldn't pay the bills, you know? So it was just like, we're constantly trained of doing what is expected of us. And even in the, the course of my 20 years, like even hitting burnout and everything, I didn't, I didn't really step back and question.

[00:02:10] Jessica: Why I was kind of putting myself through the long hours, the high fight or flight stress, and it wasn't until the last five years where I really started to just ask myself, there's got to be a different way to make a salary and also to experience life. Why does it have to be one or the other? And that's kind of.

[00:02:32] Jessica: Where I started my, my venture and what's brought me to the other side. Then the other side,

[00:02:39] LuRae: making the leap. Yeah. Making

[00:02:41] Jessica: the

[00:02:41] LuRae: leap. Yeah. Oh my goodness. So how did you start getting, I call it stacking skills because we add on one thing after the other until we have this array of skills that we can. Offer the world and things that are way more in alignment with where our heart is that probably so how did you start that while you were In your corporate roles, because obviously I'm presuming you did some of that while you were still, Oh, absolutely.

[00:03:14] LuRae: Saddled up as an executive.

[00:03:16] Jessica: Oh God, absolutely. Yeah. Burning the candle at both ends for a little bit there. But honestly, it all started with the work on myself. Like I hit, I hit some pretty bad burnout. It was right before it was before COVID happened. So I can't blame it on any means, but I had been burnt out before in the agency days where I feel like everyone who's been in an agency has one or two stories of burnout.

[00:03:42] Jessica: Um, and I thought I had put boundaries in place to, to make sure that that wouldn't happen again, but. It just, I, it, I threw myself in it. I'm a type a hyperachiever. And what I know now is that I didn't do some of the deep inner healing work in order to meet those boundaries, the people pleasing, the fear, the limiting beliefs, all that other stuff.

[00:04:01] Jessica: Um, but there was one time where, um, but my burnout really peaked where I was working like 10, 12 hour days, weeks on end. And I. I wasn't really owning my calendar. I was letting the demands all come kind of piling on at me. I was taking on other people's work, um, to try to compensate for where other people might not be showing up, et cetera.

[00:04:24] Jessica: And I had two young kids and I remember there was one night my son came up to me and I was at the dinner table just. We had finished eating dinner, but I was still working. They came up to me and was like, mommy, I drew you a picture. And it was this little picture and I have it above my desk because it's a constant reminder for me to, to always, you know, remember that moment because it was really pivotal.

[00:04:45] Jessica: And it was a picture where. He, it was two stick figures, obviously him and me, and he was holding an umbrella over me and above there's lightning and a thunderstorm going. And he said, this is protecting you from, from being sad and from getting hurt. And because he was seeing the stress that it was taking on me, and he was seeing how I'm happy.

[00:05:07] Jessica: I had become, and I just, I remember taking that picture and I thanked him and I walked up to my bedroom and I just collapsed on the floor and I just started bawling my eyes out because I'd gotten to a point where I was, my whole life was work and I was, I was built, the buildup of the, uh, resentment was very strong in how I felt towards my work because I was seeing the amount of time that I wasn't present with my kids and my husband myself.

[00:05:38] Jessica: And it was in that moment where I just, I, I started changing things drastically and I started putting those boundaries in place, but I really started working on the inner child work. I started working like kind of asking why, what caused me to get to this point? And it's by reflecting inward and doing that healing work on myself that I started to build kind of the, the tools and the, the mindset and the strategy to.

[00:06:07] Jessica: Put a balance in place between work and life. And, and that's where I was able to see, you can have an excelling career and a personal life. You don't have to have one or the other, but you're the one who's dictating what that looks like. And that's what I wanted. I see so many. Women time and time again, and men too.

[00:06:30] Jessica: I just have more, you know, empathy being a female myself working mom. Um, I just see time and time again, where the same thing, we're just constantly prioritizing other people's needs before our own. We're losing connection for ourselves. I mean, I can't tell you how many people I talked to where they're like, I just don't have time to even go for a walk.

[00:06:51] Jessica: And it's like, Oh my gosh. And then they get the walking treadmills. To work under their desk because they walk away from their desk. And it's just, so from that moment on, I just, for my own healing, I started to kind of build the skill sets to, to create those boundaries and that balance. Um, and then that's where I decided this is what I want to do.

[00:07:15] Jessica: I want to help other women live a more balanced life, have abundance, be present and really connect back to themselves. Um, And that's kind of where it was all born,

[00:07:27] LuRae: which is so good. It's just so good. It's making me remember when I was at the agency in New York and my boss at the time had told me about the New York Open Center and he said, I think you would really like this place.

[00:07:41] LuRae: You just check it out. And so I saw they had a coaching open house. One night it was like on a Friday night. And I remember I reserved to go. It was like a, you know, two hour open house. It was an introductory experience of, it was coaching for transformation. And, and so I, you know, Dash, I remember running to the end of the block.

[00:08:01] LuRae: I was in a sublet that summer. I think I had moved apartments for some reason. And, Ran, caught a cab, ran, you know, got, got there just as it was starting. I mean, working late on a Friday, like why, you know, like why, why do that to myself? And so I got there and they were doing an icebreaker and I got paired with one of the founders of the program.

[00:08:21] LuRae: And he, the question we were asking one another in the introductory icebreaker was, if you could do anything with your life and there were no barriers, what would you do and why? Do you remember what you put? I do. It was such a pivotal moment. I looked at, I looked at him and tears started rolling down my cheeks and I said, how long do you continue doing something that's sedating your soul?

[00:08:50] LuRae: And I just, I, I didn't even answer, I couldn't even answer the question because I, you know, I would, I still use the analogy of, you know, when you'll ask someone, are you on your path? It's like, I don't even know where the road is, let alone if I'm on my path. But I also pursued doing that thinking I wanted to be a therapist when I was in college.

[00:09:10] LuRae: And then I got steered away by friends who were like, Oh, everybody's a therapist, everybody's a psych major. So then I went a different route and ultimately was met. I remember I was meant to become a certified coach. So I, that night I remember staying there and calling, you know, one of my daughters and saying, Oh my gosh, I just had the most amazing experience and I just know I have to do this.

[00:09:32] LuRae: I wasn't even sure how I was going to pay for it. But I'm like, I just have to do this. It was like a 6, 000 program for nine months. And you know, it was just one of those. I just knew I had to do it. So it was through working on myself, though, also because I'd had a failed marriage, failed relationships. I was like, I remember thinking to myself, I'm going to figure this out.

[00:09:53] LuRae: Like I'm going to figure life out because I'm not going to go through that again. Right. As we do that, then. Yeah, then we, we acquire the skills and then we can, we heal ourselves and then see outside at how many wounded people, there's so many people who are carrying. All of the things you just listed off, the people pleasing, like the fear of failure, wanting to achieve all of the, you know, being accepted and it just leads to us doing things at work and in our personal lives in a way that we burn ourselves out.

[00:10:36] LuRae: So, yeah. A hundred

[00:10:37] Jessica: percent. And, and we, it's so. Crazy to me, especially, especially now looking back when I was in the thick of it and I was just doing it all. I mean, my, my things that I would say to myself is, well, this is just, this is, this is the norm. Which is horrible. And I remember in the days, and this was before I had kids, but this is kind of where it all started to develop is I remember I wanted to be one of the first people in the office and the last people believe, because it was like a badge of honor and I don't know why or where that, like that mindset came from, but it was something that I, like my ego proudly wore when I'm just sitting at my desk.

[00:11:28] Jessica: As long as possible, because that shows my commitment to this organization, but not a commitment to myself.

[00:11:35] LuRae: Right. Absolutely. Yeah. I actually wrote about that recently being first in last out and how incentive programs are designed to get the achievers to even go above and beyond what they normally would have done because there's all this recognition that's built into the ecosystem in the corporate Yes.

[00:11:55] LuRae: That's how people get. Considered for raises. That's how people get considered for promotions and in spite of us being burned out or burning the camera. I get both. And I was a sandwich child, elderly parents, young Children and was a single mom. Like I was a solo mom doing it. I just remember being exhausted.

[00:12:16] LuRae: Like there was no, there was no space and I just kept going. But it was to a detriment at a certain point because you get disconnected from yourself, which is why I love Moonrock Wellness. The whole concept of that is reconnecting with ourselves as women. I think women tend to take on a lot. If you compare the roles, typically women Take on a lot, a lot.

[00:12:47] Jessica: We take the brunt in personally and yeah, a hundred percent. And then even professionally, I feel that it was, it was easier for me. And I'm also a type type a hyperachiever. So there was a lot of perfectionism things that I had to work through because I, I started to realize I was like, okay, if I want to have balance in my life, one, I have to have boundaries.

[00:13:06] Jessica: So I have to work on this people pleasing. Yeah. And I have to work on me being okay with saying no, even just even to clients, even to my boss, right? Because I'm committing to myself on my balance and my wellness. And then there's the whole entire, like the need for, to address perfectionism. That was another thing that was a big thing for me.

[00:13:31] Jessica: So that was stopping me from truly being able to delegate any of the work or also Being the catch all for any leaky buckets. So when people were performing, I was kind of overcompensating for their lack. And that's just, it's, it's a recipe for complete burnout. And like you said, just absolute disconnect from who you are and, and disconnect from your body too.

[00:14:00] Jessica: That's where I feel the whole entire. Everything starts is our presence of our body and

[00:14:06] LuRae: absolutely

[00:14:07] Jessica: we lose connection with that when we're just sitting at our desk, working, working, fight or flight stress, pumping cortisol, pumping through us.

[00:14:16] LuRae: Ah, so let's talk about, let's shift to at the point you made the decision within yourself, whether it was, I whispers.

[00:14:26] LuRae: Yeah. You need to do something different. You know, and I was like, you need to do something different now. It'll become a yell and a scream if we don't listen to the whisper. So that pivotal point, what was that and what were the steps you started to take?

[00:14:40] Jessica: No, I love this question. So I, I would say that the, the, they started out as whispers and it really felt as though it was the only way I can describe it is it felt like whispers from the soul.

[00:14:52] Jessica: It was, it was a, a poll, like a soft little poll from the heart. That just was like. There's something else out there. There has to be something else that, that I can be doing with my life. And it was very much centered around wanting to have a positive impact and having a life that felt more purpose led versus ego led, like it starts with that one little whisper and then you lean into it and then you start getting curious and it's like, well, what could this look like?

[00:15:22] Jessica: And I remember I first started wanting, I was like, I'm going to write a book. That's what it is. And then I have my whole entire like outline of it. And while I still do want to write a book one day, um, it's, it's definitely not what I ended up doing, but it, it was a stepping stone. And I think that it all starts with that curiosity and that pull from the heart and then just starting to develop, like.

[00:15:46] Jessica: over time, it does become more clear and being open to the shape shifting. So when I, when I got this vision of moon rock, it was going to be a brick and mortar. It was going to be, um, I was going to have yoga and all this like healing and wellness. And then I was going to have like healthy foods that you could, it could be like a community center and music and all this stuff.

[00:16:07] Jessica: My husband, when I approached him with this was having heart palpitations because here I am suggesting leaving my high pain. Corporate career and opening up a brick and mortar in Southern California, where the lease is just, we live by the beach. So you can only imagine what that, that lease amount is.

[00:16:25] Jessica: But then obviously through some coaching that I had signed up for, I realized that online was definitely more my avenue. And then it just kind of started to morph, but there was a lot of steps that I had to take. Like I said, once I had the idea, And once I had the vision of what this business was going to be, and I knew it was almost like without question, it was, this has to happen.

[00:16:50] Jessica: And I, I'm going to do everything in my power to make it happen. So I started waking up at 4 a. m. for 2 years so that I could work on moon rock before my kids woke up. And then before. My corporate work, right? I would work weekends and that's where I was kind of burning the candle at both ends But I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

[00:17:10] Jessica: It wasn't something I was going to do forever and then just the internal work then the shadow work and the inner child work that I had to do to really start to peel back the layers of The systematic leafs and mindsets that had been ingrained in my system from day one, right? being okay With detaching myself from the ego and my identity with this career and being okay with doing something that not everyone does.

[00:17:42] Jessica: And that goes against the grain, but goes completely in line with my soul. Um, even the, the limiting beliefs, the being kind of being okay with the whole entire mindset of 40 hour work weeks. I mean, why is that the bar? And I would say the minimum that some of us strive for.

[00:18:02] LuRae: Right.

[00:18:03] Jessica: I'm starting to shift that mindset.

[00:18:05] Jessica: Right.

[00:18:06] LuRae: Absolutely.

[00:18:08] Jessica: So there's, there's a lot of inner work that I had to go through and I, I got a coach and it completely helped guide me. It kept me accountable and I just. I just kept evolving internally and then I got to the point where I was like, I'm ready.

[00:18:29] LuRae: Hmm. Yeah. I totally, I hear all of that. It's just the whole journey that it, it brought me back to at the point that I was in New York and I was so, I had always said I will never live in New York and then wound up being Moving there twice for, for jobs, for agency roles.

[00:18:52] LuRae: And I remember sitting on a park bench and overlooking the Hudson river. And I also had, I'd gone through the coaching program and had actually hired one of my peers to coach me. And I remember I was wanting to leave. I was wanting to get out of New York. And I said to her, but I don't think I can make this kind of money if I move back to the West Coast or if I leave here.

[00:19:16] LuRae: And she just asked this one question and it shifted everything because I had tears rolling down my cheeks. And she said, is that the truth or is that a story you're telling yourself? Yes. And it stopped me, right? It literally, it was. Like a light bulb came on, I remember walking back to my apartment and I literally took the steps to reach out to people that I knew that were, and actually that's how we got connected at that point.

[00:19:45] LuRae: Soon after that, because I moved to San Diego and with literally with less than a month, I was in a new role, moving to Southern California out of the city, living. Somewhere right, I always wanted to be, and it was all just a shift in perspective and what we give ourselves permission to do. I think one of the challenges we have when we get in for anyone that's listening in corporate roles where we're just in this hamster wheel, like you got to, got to keep it going, got to keep moving.

[00:20:15] LuRae: Don't look up, just keep do the next thing in front of you. You have to give yourself permission to step away. It's all about the questions you ask yourself. We can ask empowering questions, or we can ask disempowering questions. So that, that is just a key to being able to recognize what else, to your point, like you knew that there was something else you were meant to be doing other than the type of life that you You had created up to that point and especially with young children.

[00:20:50] LuRae: I mean, it's

[00:20:51] Jessica: a hundred percent. Another thing.

[00:20:54] LuRae: And

[00:20:55] Jessica: I feel that when we, when we fear is very much something that we tend to default to, I saw this quote, which stopped me in my tracks, where it was like, fear and belief. And so fear in the unknown and belief in like the best possible outcome are both based off of unknown situations for as humans.

[00:21:19] Jessica: We are just trained to default to the fear, the fear of failure, the fear of not being accepted, the fear of whatever it might be fill in the blank. But what if we started to put more energy into the possibility, because we all are limitless, you know, energy into and passion and belief into it does, it's, it's going to grow.

[00:21:41] Jessica: Um, and it's just, it's a complete mindset shift to start. One, being mindful of the fear when it comes up, but then also to start asking yourself the question, what's the worst that can happen because when you make a leap like this, it doesn't impact. In most cases, if you're married, if you have kids, it's not going to impact just you and I coming from a place.

[00:22:08] Jessica: In digital marketing, it brings us a good significant salary, which is why the golden handcuffs are absolutely a legit thing,

[00:22:18] LuRae: right?

[00:22:19] Jessica: So when you're on this path and you want to make the leap, there's other people that you are taking into consideration. And having my husband on board was obviously like a requirement for the two of us.

[00:22:30] Jessica: I'm more of the. You know, just anything can happen. Just believe in the positive, do it more. Yeah, just do it. And he's more of the, yeah, but this could happen. And that could happen. I like to say we balance each other out pretty well, like the balloon floating up in the air and he's the one, um, but getting him to come on board.

[00:22:54] Jessica: And I remember I was kind of prepping myself after a year and a half. Of me working towards this and getting to the point where I, I knew I couldn't do both at the right for much longer. And I also knew that I wasn't going to be able to grow my business to where I wanted it to be by putting an hour and a half hour a day into it.

[00:23:18] Jessica: Right. So I had, I wanted to have a serious conversation with him and just really make sure that we were on the same page as far as like me taking the departure. Cause I was in strategic sales before I left, and there was a sales book that we had laying around the house. And the question that I, the whole thing that this, this guy talks about is ask yourself, what's the worst that can happen.

[00:23:42] Jessica: And so that's what I kind of proposed to, to him. It's like, well, what's the worst that can happen? And also to myself, you know, the worst that can happen. God forbid, it doesn't work out and I have to figure out a circle back to where, right? Or to me, the worst that could happen was me regretting not taking the chance on myself.

[00:24:05] LuRae: Absolutely.

[00:24:07] Jessica: Like that's something, you know, if I get lucky enough to live past 80, maybe 90 when I'm on my deathbed, that's something I'm going to regret.

[00:24:17] LuRae: Yes. Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:24:20] Jessica: That was my driving force. Really?

[00:24:22] LuRae: Yeah. That's a quote from one of the coaching books that I read, Donna Markova saying, I will not die an unlived life.

[00:24:33] Jessica: I

[00:24:33] LuRae: love

[00:24:33] Jessica: that.

[00:24:34] LuRae: And we have to challenge ourselves because what you said at the very beginning, we are just conditioned from zero to seven and into high school. I remember telling my mom I wanted to travel once I graduated from my school and I know she was. In a more traditional role where she wanted to be a teacher, she wanted to go to school and then didn't get that opportunity.

[00:24:57] LuRae: So she was not able to pursue anything professionally for herself. So she was committed that I was going to go to school and then I just. You know, I remember graduating like, Oh, I want to move to New York and work for an agency or a magazine. And her saying, Oh, that's so far away. Are you sure? And then I got swayed and didn't do it.

[00:25:16] LuRae: Ultimately, there I was like later in my late forties, you know, like early fifties going to New York and wound up doing that. So you know, whatever we're meant to do, I think our path will ultimately wind up getting there. It always

[00:25:31] Jessica: finds us.

[00:25:32] LuRae: Yes, absolutely. I know that you have got to have, because you're fairly new into this, so I like hats off to you.

[00:25:41] LuRae: You're a month, a little over a month, month and a half going on into, into your new venture. So what are the things that you're doing to keep yourself on track when doubts come up, when uncertainties come up? Any words of advice you would have for people to stay the course? Thanks.

[00:25:59] Jessica: Yeah, I think that, and I was actually, it's funny you asked that because I was having this pep talk with myself this morning and it's a constant, right?

[00:26:06] Jessica: I mean, I, when I decided I was ready to take the leap, that readiness was not from a financial standpoint for my business. My business wasn't where I financially nowhere near where I financially wanted it to be, but I had gotten it to where as far as I could take it. So the readiness was emotionally and mentally like at my knee.

[00:26:30] Jessica: And then now kind of being six weeks on the other side, I'm definitely the happiest I think I've been in decades, which is amazing.

[00:26:39] LuRae: Um,

[00:26:40] Jessica: I was thinking this morning because I was looking at thinking about my numbers and all this other stuff. And I had to remind myself, like, you have to look at your progress in six, 12, 18 month increments.

[00:26:52] Jessica: Like you can not. Look at your progress on a day by day level, because that is going to one, the growth is more of a long term growth, a shift more long term. And when you look at that, when I think about 6 months ago from where I am today, there's huge milestones and shifts that I've made and built and created, even the numbers, you know, promising.

[00:27:19] Jessica: And it's just to kind of remind yourself when you're in it and. You know, you're I'm like I said, I'm a type a hyper achievers. I'm constantly like, you know, reflecting and thinking of the things that could be doing better this this mess. And it's really just kind of reminding yourself to 1. Relish in the present moment.

[00:27:42] Jessica: So don't get so caught up on where you want to be versus where you are, that you're not relishing in where you are, but also looking at your progress in large chunks of increments.

[00:27:55] LuRae: Yeah, absolutely. Don't

[00:27:57] Jessica: get discouraged because it's a long thing for everyone.

[00:28:00] LuRae: Absolutely. I know I just learned and was reminded to do is to reflect on what you did the day before.

[00:28:08] LuRae: Did I work on my key goals? And to acknowledge yourself for the things that you did do, which I just had to do that for myself recently, just to remind myself and to keep in mind exactly what you said. All there ever is, is right now passes over the future. We. We're, I say, as long as we're moving in the right direction, slow motion is better than no motion.

[00:28:35] LuRae: Yeah. And as long as you're in the right direction, you'll eventually get there and to relish it along the way because it's not any kind of, Oh, I've, I've arrived. We're always evolving and growing and continuing and just remembering. Did that recently myself. I wrote down, okay, these are all the things that I just have completed in the last, whatever the window of time was.

[00:29:00] LuRae: And it fuels you to keep going. And the other thing that you were saying triggered also for me was like, the why. Why am I doing this? And remembering why I am doing it. Yep. Will, if I'm tired, it'll give me that little oomph to finish whatever that thing is of if I wanna get it done right?

[00:29:21] Jessica: Yes, yes. You know?

[00:29:23] Jessica: 100%. And I, something else that's, I'm very acutely aware of, especially cause I'm like, we were saying, I'm a month and a half on the other side of corporate corporate is very much heavy, masculine energy where it's very go, go, go. It's very action oriented. As a result, at least from my experience and the roles I play, like there is a lot of pressure, there is a lot of high stress.

[00:29:46] Jessica: And so you're trying to pack a ton of stuff in a little amount of time. There's never enough time in the day. And. Being on the other side of it, what I have realized is these are habits and my ways of working that I really need to freaking tear down and break apart because that, that stress and that feeling like time is scarce.

[00:30:08] Jessica: Yes, that will carry over into this new world that you've been dreaming for. If you don't allow yourself to slow down and respect these new boundaries, because you are your own boss. I was looking at my schedule the first two or three weeks into it. I was like, God, I am, holy crap, I'm working 10 hour days.

[00:30:27] Jessica: And I didn't really pick up on it because I'm so excited that all my energy and time could actually go into passion.

[00:30:34] LuRae: Right.

[00:30:35] Jessica: But I soon realized that I was like, I, this, this is not what I, I want. And guess what? I'm my own boss. So I should be able to, but it's being mindful of those habits.

[00:30:51] LuRae: Yes. You might have.

[00:30:52] LuRae: Absolutely. Because even, because I'm approaching 10 years of doing it, and it's, it is mind blowing. The time goes so fast. And when you just stay true to yourself, the universe will rise up to meet you and everything will work out. To plan the way it's meant to may not be exactly how we think in our mind, our ego may say, Oh, we should be here.

[00:31:16] LuRae: This should be happening. No, it's exactly where it's meant to be right at the moment and, and to just be at peace with that and flow with it. And you'll look up a year from now and just be amazed at, as we always underestimate what we can do in a year or five years, and we over exaggerate what we can do in a day or a week or a month.

[00:31:41] LuRae: But having those goals, having things we're striving toward, like I said, having them is great. Slow motion is better than no motion and giving yourself permission to not go all out is okay too. Yeah,

[00:31:58] Jessica: 100 percent because that 1 of the things that I saw immediately for me is while financially for the time being, obviously, like, I'm in over the years, I'll build up to where I was maybe 5 years, whatever, whatever the universe wants to, right?

[00:32:15] Jessica: There is a vast amount. Of emotional and mental and physical richness that you get Mm-Hmm, that I didn't have before. So while on the corporate side, I had financial richness to an extent. I, I wouldn't say I was very much lacking in the emotion, emotional, physical, and mental richness. And now on the other side of it, I see how much, how numb I was to being present in areas of my life that matter the most.

[00:32:43] Jessica: And on, on Mother's Day, I even. I had at the end of it, I just had tears streaming down my cheeks because I was so overcome with happiness of the gratitude of what I had, but then I was also overcome with, I had this all along. And I never really felt it tenfold like I do right now because I was at capacity with other stress factors in my life.

[00:33:14] LuRae: Absolutely. Yeah, I hear you on all of those levels, not until we can step out of the demilitarized zone that we can realize, Oh, wow, I had all of these things all along. But when you're just fight or flight, it just detracts from everything completely.

[00:33:37] Jessica: Yes. And I fully believe. That you can have it all. You can have a successful career.

[00:33:45] Jessica: You can have a successful, abundant personal life, but it's, you just have to make sure that you're maintaining a balance and respecting those boundaries. I remember there was an executive that before I left my corporate, I was, there was an executive client of ours doing a fireside chat and she was like, you can have it all, just not at the same time.

[00:34:05] Jessica: I was like, why not? Why can't you, you know, maybe you're. And I mean, if you if I'd be interested to get your thoughts on that, because I just, I don't know, I feel like we have our choice and what that looks like and.

[00:34:22] LuRae: Yeah, I think it's what you had said earlier is that when we're most of us, the majority of us are operating with self limiting beliefs, with wounds from the past, and we go into whether it's work environments, relationships, whatever those things are, and we conduct ourselves in a way that.

[00:34:45] LuRae: And that other experience we had of life and those tapes are causing us to, I'll say in my case, like I climb that ladder, get that job, move. Who cares if you're moving across the country twice? Exactly. So it's all about choices, but it's why we're making those choices because I believe The wounds by overcompensating in other areas.

[00:35:10] LuRae: And that ultimately does lead to burnout. And I didn't have anything to jump out to when I left. I was like, I'm just done. I just can't do this anymore. And I literally took eight months to find myself. I had retirement money. I had like an executive savings plan. I was just, I remember being so fearful because I was like, Oh my gosh, what am I going to, you know?

[00:35:32] LuRae: And, and then it was that same. Thought that I had, I actually had a friend who said, well, you can always go back. And I said, don't even give me that option because I don't want that to be an option. It ultimately wasn't. And I just kept going, have done so many different things. I've had multiple websites, multiple business endeavors, and multiple startups, and you just stay true to yourself.

[00:35:57] LuRae: And probably in the most alignment right now that I've ever been, which is, Yeah, which is just so soothing to my soul and it's created a life that I love and that I'm peaceful, which is why I'm wanting to help other people realize there are other options. You have to just give yourself permission. So this is one of the final things I'll ask you is what advice would you have for someone who they're listening to this, they're burned out, they know that they need to be doing something different or.

[00:36:30] LuRae: They maybe know someone else that needs to hear this. What advice would you give someone who is needing to make a change? What are the first steps that you would suggest that they do to get more in alignment with themselves?

[00:36:44] Jessica: I mean, honestly, one, just believe that. Anything that you want can happen. I truly, truly believe that.

[00:36:52] Jessica: And that if you have a pull, if you have a desire that you feel deep in your heart space, there is a big difference between. Your head and your ego and your mind and what that's telling you versus what your soul and heart is telling you. I truly believe that the more you lean into your heart's calling, the more aligned your life will be.

[00:37:12] Jessica: Usually I will say this from my own experience, the heart's calling Doesn't always make the most sense on paper ever, ever, ever, ever. But once you continue to listen to it and you take steps towards it, what you will see, kind of what you've said is like the universe starts to pull things into your path because you are stepping into alignment on the life you want to be living.

[00:37:37] Jessica: And that's where all of a sudden things just start to make sense. I did it when my husband and I left. We lived in California, we moved to, uh, Chicago to be closer to family. And then we wanted to come back to California financially. It made no sense, absolutely no sense, but we did it and we are extremely happy and it all worked out.

[00:38:00] Jessica: And the same thing with, with my leap on paper makes no sense, but it just makes all the sense in the world at the heart level, you will not live a life with regrets, the more you leave it into the heart and it's possible. Everything is possible.

[00:38:15] LuRae: I love that. Love that so much. So moon rock wellness. How can people get in touch with you?

[00:38:21] LuRae: I will put the links in the show notes below, but where can they go?

[00:38:25] Jessica: Yes. Thank you. The website is moonrockwellness. com and my Instagram handle is moon underscore rock underscore wellness. And you can DM me, you can email me, Jessica at moonrock wellness. com. I would love to hear from you right now. I have my connect back to you coaching program open.

[00:38:43] Jessica: So there's spots available. And then I also have a wellness membership. So for busy women professionals, if you want to have daily wellness, there's yoga, meditation, breath, work, sound, healing, all for a super low rate. So just reach out. I love connecting with people.

[00:38:59] LuRae: So good. Just so good. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story.

[00:39:07] LuRae: It's inspiring and encouraging and just like you said, we don't have to know. I always say God gives us enough sunlight for the day. And then takes it away so that we rest and come back the next day and things are new and refreshed and we start over again. And so give ourselves permission to not have all the answers, but to follow our heart, stay connected with your heart and you'll never be steered wrong.

[00:39:32] LuRae: Yes. A hundred percent. I love that. I'll have to have you on again down the road, then we'll do an update on what's happened and where you're at and all of that. So thank you so much. Oh,

[00:39:44] Jessica: I would love that. Thank you,

[00:39:45] LuRae: Larray.

[00:39:46] Jessica: Thank you so, so much. Okay. Bye.