Unlocking a Fertile Imagination with Best-Selling Author and Mom Coach Melissa Llarena

In this episode of Mom to MORE™, host Sharon Macey is joined by Melissa Llarena:  Author, imagination coach and podcast host.

Melissa, a multi-hyphenated mom to 3 high energy boys,  is also a contributor to Forbes Women articles that have garnered over 4 million views. She is the host of the Mom Founder Imagination Hub podcast (formerly Unimaginable Wellness podcast) for entrepreneurs, founders, and creators who are also moms.  

Melissa is a beacon of inspiration for moms who want to integrate creativity and resilience into their lives. As an imagination coach, she blends managing a business and raising her boys with innovative problem-solving and adaptability. Her journey highlights the power of creativity in overcoming challenges and balancing chaotic schedules, offering a motivating example for other moms striving to handle their multifaceted roles with confidence.

Her emphasis on creativity, resilience and a gradual, long-term progress on a mom’s personal timeline, provides valuable guidance for moms looking to enhance their lives and achieve fulfillment. Melissa’s story is a compelling reminder that creativity and determination can transform challenges into opportunities, inspiring moms to embrace their own journeys with courage.

Melissa holds a psychology degree from NYU, an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and a Transformational Coaching Academy certificate. She is training to become a meditation practitioner.

Join Sharon and Melissa as they discuss balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship, facing fears to unlock creativity, and leveraging imposter syndrome as an asset for success.

[00:00] Introduction
[02:16] About Melissa Llarena and her background
[04:19] Managing a busy schedule and motherhood
[07:24] What is an Imagination Coach?
[10:14] Validating intuition over data
[13:11] Facing fears and unlocking your imagination
[17:02] The role of fear in creativity
[21:04] Giving yourself permission to be weird
[25:04] Leveraging imposter syndrome as an asset
[29:57] Melissa’s MORE
[31:00] Where to find Melissa online

Learn more about Melissa:

Website: https://www.melissallarena.com/
Instagram: @melissallarena 

Say HI👋 to Melissa on IG and tell her what you liked about the episode.  She will respond back! 

Looking for MORE? Follow @momtomore on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.  @Sharon Macey on LinkedIn.

Keep an eye out for episode #20 of the Mom to MORE™ podcast where Sharon is joined by Amanda Parton who took a career pause to "mother her brood", entered the world of competitive ballroom dance and followed a lifelong passion of home design to start her own business. Coming soon - you won’t want to miss it ♥

  • 0:00:00 - (Melissa): I want to be able to tell my imagination. Okay, I'm going to listen to you this time. I'm going to listen to you because at least I have evidence that I've done scary things like this in the past. So that might be the next step. It's like, oh, wow, she actually listens to me now. So that means that she might actually be open to me, giving her more bright ideas, right? So first you reawaken your imagination, which is like addressing your fear.

    0:00:26 - (Melissa): There's three steps. The second one is playing with your imagination. So that means, oh, okay, I gave her an idea, now she's entertaining it, right? She's actually exploring it. And then it's about stretching yourself. That's the third part to really getting a fertile imagination, which is the ability to think unlike any other mom you may have seen in your history or in the past or in your circles, right?

    0:00:49 - (Melissa): In terms of just pursuing your passion, going for your interest, building your business, or being a stay at home mom as well, that also accounts just as viable as a dream, as building a billion dollar organization.

    0:01:04 - (Sharon): Welcome to the podcast where motherhood meets reinvention. I'm your host, Sharon Macy, and this is mom to. More. I'll be speaking with remarkable moms who have embraced the art of transformation, crafting their more by leveraging the skills they hone as stay at home moms. They'll share their experiences, struggles, and successes as they return to a former career pursuit, a passion or hobby, or charted an entirely new path, giving you the clarity, motivation, and inspiration to help you.

    0:01:35 - (Sharon): Answer the question, what do you want.

    0:01:37 - (Sharon): To do when your kids grow up?

    0:01:42 - (Sharon): Welcome back, moms. Well, today I have a really special guest and let me tell you a little about her. Melissa Lorena is an author, imagination coach, consultant, speaker, and contributor to Forbes women articles that have garnered over 4 million views. She is also the host of Unimaginable Wellness, the podcast for entrepreneurs, founders, and creators who are also moms. Melissa holds a psychology degree from New York University, an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and a transformational coaching academy certificate.

    0:02:16 - (Sharon): She is training to become a meditation practitioner. I love that. Melissa lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and three sons. Well, welcome Melissa.

    0:02:26 - (Melissa): Thank you, Sharon. It was amazing to have met you at mom 2.0. I am delighted to be here. Thank you.

    0:02:34 - (Sharon): I'm so thrilled you're here. And big shout out to mom 2.0. I think I met you within five minutes of walking into the hotel. So I'm thrilled that you're here and we have so much to talk about, so let's just dive in. I start all of my interviews with what I call my essential mom question, and that is, how many kids do you have and where are you raising them?

    0:02:53 - (Melissa): Absolutely. So I have three sons. My sons are very interesting because my first one is twelve years old. Well, 13. Oh, my gosh, he would be so mad at me, right? He just turned 13 on May 4, so it hasn't been that long. And I have identical twins who are ten years old. So three boys, two pregnancies, a number of zip codes. But at the moment I am raising them in Austin. Austin, Texas. So it's been such an amazing experience.

    0:03:29 - (Sharon): I've been to Austin, went to school there, so it is a fabulous city, that's for sure.

    0:03:33 - (Melissa): And.

    0:03:33 - (Sharon): Okay, so three boys and twins. You're a little busy. We'll preface everything by saying you're just a little busy, so. All right, so let's talk about your mom journey for a moment. You are an entrepreneur. You have, you're an imagination coach. How did you make your schedule work so you could be there for your boys? Tell me what that looked like.

    0:03:52 - (Melissa): It looked like a mess. You know, like, I think. I think that's kind of how it starts, right? It's just like chaos. And then we try to organize ourselves in a way that feels, you know, suitable for our families, our priorities, and the ever changing stages. And I think when it comes to my schedule and how I make it work, you know, it's really taken shape and looked very differently at the different stages of being a mom.

    0:04:19 - (Melissa): I would say when I had my firstborn, things for me felt a lot easier. I had my mom who was taking care of my firstborn for that very first year. The first year of launching a business really took a lot of focus on reaching out to, you know, media, publications like Forbes, or, like, reaching out to people that didn't know me from anyone at all. Right. At the time, this was, like, in 2011 or so, six months into becoming a mom was when I decided to launch the business.

    0:04:51 - (Melissa): Right? And so originally it was simple, and then all of a sudden, I moved out. You know, went to a nice apartment that was, you know, overlooking Manhattan, and then we had the identical twins, and that was like hot air or wind in my face. I don't even know what to call it. But I will say that I needed help. There was just no other way around it. So I got some help, and, you know, I don't know if it was a great decision. I'm sure a lot of moms can really understand where I'm coming from, but I decided that that help would really be with my older child because I wanted to do the same thing I did for my first, which was to like, nurse the twins.

    0:05:39 - (Melissa): And so when I had my business humming in the background, at that point, I had to figure things out in a very different and creative and highly imaginative manner. So I really was operating my business almost like just, you know, bare minimum. It's like the business existed. I barely slept and I had childcare. And as time moved on, I had different ways of making it work. You know, like now they're in school and so we're at a different stage.

    0:06:14 - (Melissa): You know, school hours are my work hours and they're sacred. And I don't, you know, pick up the phone. I don't personally sign up for volunteer activities unless it's like one that I really, really want to go to or one that's really special for my boys. And so it's a lot of making decisions on how I'm going to use the time that I have where they are focused on their school and other things. And I can then use that time to focus on my business.

    0:06:48 - (Melissa): And then when it comes to, like, mom's stuff, you know, I do a lot of mom stuff, quote unquote, cooking and all of that when they are there with me. Right. And so that's how I kind of leverage that time. And maybe I call it a learning moment. Maybe we cook together. Maybe they cook because they complain about my food. I make it work, and I think we all have to.

    0:07:11 - (Sharon): I've heard that a lot from a lot of women. You know, you know what you need to do and you, and you make it work. So you are an imagination coach, and I love that title. So what exactly is an imagination coach?

    0:07:24 - (Melissa): Absolutely. So I have been in business for twelve years now, which parallels almost, you know, my first born, right, being 13 now. And I have had to really think expansively about how to tackle challenges, whether it is mom challenges, you know, like what school should I enroll my children when we did our global expat, you know, in Australia, having lived in the US, or, you know, how can I ensure that I am bringing new clients to my business? Whatever the challenge is, I've had to think expansively and beyond convention and what I've seen in the past, very specifically in terms of what I have seen other moms in my life do.

    0:08:13 - (Melissa): My mom, for example, you know, was a single mom and she worked in like, healthcare, right? So there was a path for her that she knew what she would do, you know, to get to work, and she knew how to, you know, help patients and all of that stuff. For me, I wanted to figure out, okay, how can I make my motherhood worked for me? And I needed my imagination. I needed to think creatively. So the way that I apply the same exact skills that I use as a mom in my business to help mom founders as an imagination coach, is, quite simply, if there's a business challenge, if there's something that you want to do, I help you think about how to do it on your timeline, on your terms, and in your reality, which is the opposite of the word imagination. Right. So it's not about fantasy.

    0:09:08 - (Melissa): It's not about, you know, making stuff up, although it's inspiring. And you could visualize these amazing things, which I did to write my book, but it's more about, okay, you know, this is what you want. So I help mom founders so they could have the business they want now, not, you know, never. Right, right.

    0:09:29 - (Sharon): And also within the confines of what is happening within their life, deploying that creativity in how you are judiciously using every moment of your day is what this sounds like.

    0:09:40 - (Melissa): 100%. 100%. And that is the point of differentiation. I had a client who told me the other day, she said, you know, I've taken courses because I do a group coaching program for moms. I've taken courses where people are telling me, you know, I should be at this point in my career, I should have achieved this goal by this timeline. But you're the only one, Melissa, who said, you know what? You might feel behind and you're not behind, as long as you are moving in the direction of your dream, even at a snail's pace, honestly, there is no timeline.

    0:10:14 - (Sharon): I think that's the number one thing that we have to really stress to all moms, even though internally we feel like there's this, oh, my God, I'm behind the eight ball. But the reality is, there is no timeline. And now I wanted to talk about your mom superpowers and skills, and moms have so many. Right.

    0:10:31 - (Melissa): So I would love for you to.

    0:10:33 - (Sharon): Share with our listeners how these superpowers that you have helped you imagine and create what you're doing now.

    0:10:41 - (Melissa): Yeah, I mean, it's so funny, because the first thought that came to mind for me was the fact that, you know, uniquely, as someone with twins, I mean, if you don't have a superpower of being able to do a hundred things with only two hands or check this out. This is very real. If you, for example, ever get caught in a place with only one diaper and you have two soiled babies, your imagination kicks into gear beyond control.

    0:11:10 - (Melissa): Right? Same exact thinking. Same exact thinking. When I interviewed James Altucher, for example, on my podcast, right? I created my own SWAT team. I had to assemble these people in 24 hours. I went and I asked someone that worked in the military to meet me at a pizza shop, okay. Before going to James Altucher's house so that we could, like, figure out the equipment for the first time. And I also assembled a former podcast guest who was on America's got Talent for trombone dancing.

    0:11:42 - (Melissa): And basically same skill I would use as, like, a twin mom who's in a bind. I had to figure out the equipment real time at the pizza shop, like, 20 minutes before going to his house to interview him. I had to then figure out, like, what plug went in wherever. And I got it wrong, by the way, but the equipment real time, like, 20 minutes before going to his house to interview him. I had to then figure out, like, what plug went in where.

    0:12:14 - (Melissa): And I got it wrong, by the way. But I guess I'm a guyver because that is a skill that a lot of twin moms have. I still got it to work, and I don't think I could have done that and get everything done if I weren't a mom.

    0:12:29 - (Sharon): If you weren't your mom. And using your imagination. Yeah, we make things work. It's really extraordinary how women like us just make things work. So I want to point out about your book. It's called fertile imagination, a guide for stretching every mom's superpower for maximum impact. And it is also an Amazon number one bestseller in a couple of categories. So congrats about that. And there's really so much unpacking here, Melissa, and it's really engaging, and it's jam packed with so many great ideas and future looking concepts. And I really want moms to come away from this episode totally jazzed and motivated to strategically harness the power of their imagination.

    0:13:11 - (Sharon): So let's keep that in our heads as we move forward. So in no particular order, decision fatigue. How does that impact our imagination and our creativity? Because, boy, we have all been there.

    0:13:24 - (Melissa): Absolutely. So, you know, Sharon, when I think about just any decision I have to make, you know, as a mom, for example, in the book, I talk about that moment where we were relocating from Connecticut to Australia, totally different hemispheres. I had so many tabs on my computer open at one time, maybe 30 tabs, where I had all these different schools, I had all these different rankings, and none of it was relevant to Australia, by the way. But I felt, you know, a sense of peace, that I was, like, getting all the information right. A lot, a lot of information gathered that moment.

    0:14:02 - (Melissa): I mean, in the book, Michelle Florendo, who's a decision science engineer from Stanford, she told me, she said, you know what? We have multiple sources of intelligence and our instincts, for example, like, you know, our gut, our heart, they are just as valid as an excel spreadsheet with all your answers from all these different resources. Just as valid. And I think as moms, if we want to really navigate this idea of our mental bandwidth and making sure that it's not so clogged and stretched, then we have to be open to the possibility that there are other ways to make decisions that can be shortcuts and be more respectful of our limited energy sources and our gut, our heart, our instincts.

    0:14:52 - (Melissa): They're valid. This is coming from, you know, ancestral knowledge, some of it somatic intelligence that we have just forgotten is as valid as, you know, using a calculator and things.

    0:15:05 - (Sharon): As a mom, you make so many decisions every single moment of every single day. At times, you just feel like your brain is going to explode and that you're just like, okay, please, I don't want to make another decision.

    0:15:16 - (Sharon): Mom to more podcast is sponsored by ally Shoes. Created by a trio of trailblazing women, these shoes are engineered to alleviate pain. That's because every pair of ally shoes is handcrafted with premium lambskin leather and an ergonomic, cushy, insole design. I mean, from the moment you slip them on, you can tell these shoes are wildly different. They cradle your foot with very strategic support and come in every chic, classic and live out loud color you can imagine.

    0:15:45 - (Sharon): Many of you probably know how obsessed I am with shoes and boots. I love the three inch classic heel, high enough to make your legs look gorgeous. And you can literally wear these all day. And the chunky heel ankle boots, timeless, modern. And every time I wear them, people ask who makes them. Plus, they come in so many sizes and widths that every shoe feels custom to your foot. And I'm sharing the love with all of you.

    0:16:09 - (Sharon): Head on over to Ally NYC, where new customers and listeners of the podcast will get $40 off your first pair of heels with special code Momtomore 40, and get 10% off your first pair of boots and flats with special code Momtomore. Ten moms, meet your ally and fashion, who are reimagining how comfort and function support women every day. Check them out. Ally NYC.

    0:16:35 - (Sharon): So I want to go on to a concept that is near and dear to my heart, and that is fear. So, Melissa, I want to ask you, what scares you and why do we all need to challenge and face the things that hold us back first? And admittedly, that first step is a doozy right before we are free to move on with our imagination and our creativity for whatever it is we're going to do for our next chapter or when our kids grow up.

    0:17:02 - (Melissa): So here's the thing. Our imagination gives us ideas, some of which we might have in the past ignored because it brought up in us a fear, right? So our imagination, just to give you very quickly a sense of the framework that's in the book. So you have to wake it up. And that's step one. And that is where fear comes into play. It is important that you pre addressed some of your deepest fears so that when life hits you as it will, you are prepared, ready, and have tools that, you know, work for you already available.

    0:17:41 - (Melissa): And here's the thing. You know, you. You have a choice. Like, either you create a situation up front that you know is going to make you nervous, like public speaking or doing trapeze stuff, or, like me, yesterday, yesterday I pitched an organization that I would do a meditation talk for them. Okay? That was the first time between you and me and your listeners that I pitched an organization to do a meditation talk.

    0:18:10 - (Melissa): That is a fear of mine, because I am going to officially be certified in 2025. Right now. We're in 2024. Like, that takes guts. And so for me, I was like, you know what? I'm putting a, you know, my name in the hat, and I'm gonna give it a go because I know I'm gonna show up. But I was scared, and I still am scared. And if I'm chosen, fingers crossed, I know I'm still gonna be scared before, but I have to do that now. Because what if my imagination then gives me another bright idea?

    0:18:41 - (Melissa): Hey, Melissa, why don't you go and, like, be, you know, the keynote at mom 2.0, for example, next year, right? I want to be able to tell my imagination, okay, I'm going to listen to you this time. I'm going to listen to you because at least I have evidence that I've done scary things like this in the past, so that might be the next step. It's like, oh, wow, she actually listens to me now. So that means that she might actually be open to me giving her more bright ideas. Right? So first you reawaken your imagination, which is like addressing your fear. There's three steps. The second one is playing with your imagination. So that means, oh, okay, I gave her an idea. Now she's entertaining it, right? She's actually exploring it.

    0:19:25 - (Melissa): And then it's about, you know, stretching yourself. That's the third part. To really getting a fertile imagination, which is the ability to think unlike any other mom you may have seen in your history or in the past or in your circles. Right. In terms of just pursuing your passion, going for your interest, building your business, or being a stay at home mom as well. That also accounts just as viable as a dream, as building a billion dollar organization.

    0:19:50 - (Sharon): And it also sounds like you are helping women through overcoming their fears or facing their fears head on, how to really go from dreaming to doing. And I think that's so vital, and it's such an important step.

    0:20:03 - (Melissa): It is absolutely important. And I think that's the point of differentiation, right? So you might imagine that your book is written, and that's fine. That might be step one, right? Have that visual, that image, that spirited excitement over an idea. But here's the reality. Do you know how many books are still held captive in a woman's imagination? A mom's imagination?

    0:20:27 - (Sharon): Millions.

    0:20:27 - (Melissa): Yeah, millions. It's like a very high number of people who just say they want to write a book. I have a book inside of me. I've always wanted to write a book. Someday I'll write a book. That's incredible. But it's not serving or supporting anyone. Right? So you've got to get it out there. So if you're nothing doing, like taking action in your own way, on your own terms, in your own timeline, then it's like you will be missing out. And you know what? The readers would be missing out on your story. And your story matters as well.

    0:20:59 - (Sharon): That's terrific advice. Thank you for that. All right, I'm going to jump to one of the chapters I thought was really interesting.

    0:21:04 - (Sharon): Chapter nine.

    0:21:06 - (Sharon): In chapter nine, you give yourself permission to be weird.

    0:21:09 - (Melissa): And.

    0:21:10 - (Sharon): And I love this. What is the weirdest thing you have ever done? And why is this concept of giving yourself permission to be weird so important for moms?

    0:21:20 - (Melissa): So in terms of being weird, the concept came from Beth Comstock, who is the former CMO of GE. And what's interesting was that if someone in an organization that's a Fortune 500, you know, in manufacturing, can go to South Korea to, like, a K pop concert and derive insights that she could bring back to manufacturing. If someone like that can. Can be so, so cool and weird, quote unquote, her words, then imagine a mom who is at home and wants to raise a family, but also wants to open up a photography business or wants to do something that, you know, appeals to her interests. Right?

    0:22:05 - (Melissa): Like, you have to be open to going outside of your comfort zone. And a lot of us need permission to do something that we have never done before. And so it's about giving yourself the permission. Testing, like, what lights you up? Like a Christmas tree. What lights you up? What might it be? For me, the weirdest thing I've done. It's so funny because it's, like, interpretive. Some people think it's weird, some people don't. But this, I think, is kind of weird. So in Australia, in the library, they were offering a fantasy map making course.

    0:22:43 - (Melissa): So for me, I took the course. I think I was the youngest person there. I had zero idea what a fantasy map was. And when I got into it, this was right around after the pandemic. It was so much fun because it was just reimagining what this false, fake world could look like based on, like, my wacky ideas. So, for example, if I saw a little pond, maybe what came up in my mind was naming that pond, you know, the sea of former stockbrokers, which was weird, right? So weird. The whole point is when I decided to step outside of my everyday life and do something super random, I then came up with this insight. I was like, wait a minute. The person who actually creates the map, creates the world, is the one that writes the rules for how to exist in that world, in that society.

    0:23:43 - (Melissa): So I almost got, like, philosophical for me as a business owner. I was like, huh? That's an Instagram post, right? So I made it very tangible, and that actually got the attention of a lot of people. So why is it important to be weird? I think it's important to be weird because if being boring is your thing, then okay, fine, don't ever be weird. But if you want to be interesting to people, if you ever want to walk into a room and have something to say that is going to be so interesting to someone, it behooves you to do something that is interesting, be a more interesting person, and you get to choose the library class.

    0:24:24 - (Melissa): That didn't cost me anything. That was free. And it was so fun because then I brought home those drawings of those maps to my children, and I told my kids, I was like, how cool is that?

    0:24:38 - (Sharon): So it was a win win on both sides, right? Getting weird and creative for you, but also being able to bring that creativity home for your boys to expand on it from there. So you also talk about. And this really intrigued the heck out of me, leveraging an experience for those of us with imposter syndrome. All right, show of hands, right? I think we all have it. How do you turn that into an asset?

    0:25:04 - (Melissa): So, this is the funny thing. I just have to bring it back to, like, a very regular mom moment. So, Lisa messenger, she is an entrepreneur who's very well known in Australia, who I interviewed for that one chapter of the book where we talk about imposter syndrome, using it as an asset. And I was literally, I was in the car driving home from the supermarket one day when I had this thought pop into my head, which was, you know, you should invite Lisa messenger to your podcast.

    0:25:37 - (Melissa): A prior podcast guest mentioned her, you know, affirmations as being so helpful when she herself had cancer. Like this podcast guest. And so, again, moment. Here I am just driving home, right? And I think, okay, Lisa Messenger. I look up Lisa messenger on Instagram. It so happened that she was in Austin, Texas. Out of every place in the universe, an Australian was in Austin, Texas, and I, at the time, was in Australia.

    0:26:09 - (Melissa): So that that created the opportunity for me to reach out to Lisa, who didn't know me at all. But I shared this story with her because she thought it was pretty wild. Point of the matter, how to use your imposter syndrome, right. It's something that I have to be honest. My position is that, sure, we can try to pretend that we don't feel it, we don't have it. It is not something that pops up for us, but that takes energy.

    0:26:35 - (Melissa): So if you already have to, you know, think to yourself, oh, yeah, I can fake. I could fake until I make it. If you have to have that thought and pretend to be more confident, that's energy you're using. That could be better used for your goal, your ambition, your dream. Instead, why not say to someone, you know what, this is the first meditation practice or talk that I have given. You guys are the first people for me to share this gift with.

    0:27:08 - (Melissa): And I want to just tell you that, you know, I'm doing my best. I know what you need because you're a mom founder, and I'm one of you. But I'm open to feedback. And if you like it, you know, maybe, you know, another group that can also hire me in the future. Right? But being honest and being upfront about that, it is such a relief because now everybody knows cards are on the table where you don't have to pretend.

    0:27:35 - (Melissa): And that also conjures the generosity of people because, let's say, you know, you are a mom and you're at a school and you see a brand new mom who doesn't know, like, where to drop off her kids. Don't you want to help her? You know, like, people want to help people who are trying their best in a scenario. And if you do a good job, for example, with that meditation talk, and it's your first time, like, you just proved that you were able to do something you've never done before.

    0:28:07 - (Melissa): And, like, yeah, you're someone to watch, you know, someone to, like, follow along, someone to support, because you're going to have that integrity. You're going to do well, present yourself as, like, a great asset or, like, you know, contact to the person that's helping you. And so Lisa messenger did exactly that. Like, she developed her whole magazine. She got amazing celebrities on the COVID She had no experience.

    0:28:34 - (Melissa): And she said that in her editor's letter. She wrote in her letter, this is the first time I'm doing this, which, ps, she had a celebrity on the COVID So not bad, right? I coach my clients to do the same. Like, if it takes a lot of work to actually, like, you know, tell people that, oh, yeah, I have a lot of experience. I'm really, really confident. Why not put that to the side? Do your absolute best. Like, my client right now, she was in my group coaching program.

    0:29:05 - (Melissa): She's brought in without experience, $1.6 million to her nonprofit organization. I had her write an editor's letter in my group coaching program where she was able to own her success, but then also own the fact that it was the first time that she ever, like, led a nonprofit or created a nonprofit. And, oh, by the way, can you help me? And that is part of, you know, her campaign.

    0:29:33 - (Sharon): Right. And you know what I really like about that leveraging your inexperience concept is there's nothing wrong with telling people that this is your first time out of the box. Like, when I started this podcast or, you know, other speaking engagements, there is a simplicity and a beauty in saying, here's who I am. This is what I can offer. Give me a chance. You're going to be really happy that you did.

    0:29:57 - (Sharon): Melissa, my friend, we are coming to the end of our time together, and I know I could talk to you all day, but I have a question that I ask all of my moms, and that is Melissa Lorena, given that this is the mom to more podcast. What is your more?

    0:30:14 - (Melissa): My more is it's my heart. It's my heart. You know, for me, I think as a mom, I have felt that my heart is outside of my body, right, in three different entities in my three sons. And so my more is something that I've really figured out how to personalize as a meditation practitioner. Like, a lot of times, the idea is that you really tap into your heart. You're tuned into your heart. And what I've decided to do for mom founders is when I do a meditation, I actually have them do it next to their kids, around their kids, even if their kids are sleeping, because I feel like that is how we truly plug back into our hearts.

    0:30:59 - (Sharon): I love that. That's beautiful. Thank you for that. Thank you for sharing your heart in that wonderful way. So please tell my listeners where everyone can find you online. Tell us where we can find your book, and everything will be, of course, listed in the show notes.

    0:31:15 - (Melissa): Absolutely, Sharon. This was amazing. So anyone that's interested in learning how to use your imagination so that this way, you could create the life of your dreams, the business that you've always wanted be present. You know, go to fertileideas.com. on fertileideas.com, i have a number of things. So a free chapter to my book, Fertile Imagination, is on my website, fertileideas.com. it's one of my favorite chapters, too, because I talk about how I went on stage and was telling stories as a mom of three.

    0:31:46 - (Melissa): And I also have a wonderful quiz in case you feel like you don't know why you're stuck right on Instagram. I'm Elissa. Larena. So it's a l I s s a l l a r e N a. I invite you to say hi on Instagram. Like, actually would love, love, love a mom to more listener to just go to Instagram, say hi. Cause I just. I'm just so excited to see, like, who listens and what you got out of this conversation. Like, are you gonna do something weird? Like, let me know? I could totally, like, encourage you on Instagram. So Instagram and fertileideas.com. thank you.

    0:32:27 - (Sharon): Terrific. And also, where can people find your book?

    0:32:30 - (Melissa): Yes. So my book is on Amazon. It's every bookstore. It's barnesandnobles.com. so it's on all the.com. but on fertilideas.com, that is where you can find anything that you need. So you could buy the book. There's links there. You are set up for success on my website.

    0:32:47 - (Sharon): Fantastic. Melissa, you are a kick and a hoot, but you knew that. And I'm so glad we connected at mom 2.0. And thank you. Thank you for your time today. This has been enlightening and invigorating, and I know moms are going to come out of this just with a renewed sense of energy and sort of like, let's get to it.

    0:33:07 - (Melissa): Thank you Sharon. Mom, two more woohoo.

    0:33:14 - (Sharon): Before I sign off a quick favor.

    0:33:16 - (Sharon): I would love it if you would take a few moments to follow or subscribe to the pod. Following us means you'll never miss an.

    0:33:21 - (Sharon): Episode, and it really does help the show to grow. Just go to the mom to more show page on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen in. Tap the plus sign in the upper right right corner or click on follow while you're there. If you'd be willing to leave a five star rating and review and share.

    0:33:37 - (Sharon): An episode with another mom, I'd be.

    0:33:38 - (Sharon): So grateful and appreciate your support. Thanks for listening in and see you next time.

Previous
Previous

Designing Her Next Chapter: Motherhood in Motion with Amanda Parton

Next
Next

Overcoming Generational Trauma and Thriving: The Inspirational Mom Journey of Samantha Danielle