#130 Perfectionists! Stop Controlling Your Entire Life with Apryl Franchini

Perfectionists love controlling... Controlling workouts, what you eat, how you move your body, how many tasks you got done in a day. Perfectionists also like to overthink and often have a very strong inner voice that tends to be extremely mean and loud.

Today, I am speaking to my wonderful client, Apryl Franchini, who has been able to fully release control and perfection in her life and learned to shift from her overthinking mind into her beautiful heart.

Apryl is, just like myself, a certified Holistic Health Coach (IIN) and she specializes in food freedom and body love. She helps women ditch the scale and eat with zero guilt. Apryl recently moved to Bali and is currently living her very own version of the glow life in paradise.

IN TODAY’S EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• How she got from feeling confused, lost, overly controlling to becoming her own best friend

• How she ditched her Apple watch and learned to listen to her body's needs

• Why she was still perfectionizing her eating disorder and basically cheated on herself

• How she stopped overthinking everything and started trusting her heart

• What it truly means to be kind to yourself

And so much more! 

Have you downloaded the free Self-Care Guide for Perfectionist? Click here to access it:
martinafink.lpages.co/perfectionist-bundle

EPISODE RESOURCES

Download your free Success Guide for Perfectionists
Become a Holistic Health Coach with IIN
Learn more about Perfectionist Rehab

CONNECT WITH APRIL

aprylfranchini.com
instagram.com/aprylfranchini
More than Body Podcast

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! If you can think of anyone in your life who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now! <3

TODAY’S EPISODE TRANSCRIBED:

Martina Fink 0:00

This is episode number 130 with April Franchini Welcome to the Glow Life podcast. The one and only place for ambitious, high achieving and perfectionist women like you who want to leave, overwhelm behind. Turn self doubt into self confidence. And learn to trust yourself again, so that you can work less fully love and accept yourself and live a fulfilled and glowing life. Every week, I'll be giving you tips and inspiration on how to think less, feel more slow down, you can use your body and your daily habits to help you step up, level up and glow up in all areas of your life. This is not just about the big shifts, you can glow just a little more every single day.

Welcome to season two of the Glow Life podcast. So grateful that you are here again after a short break that was so needed over here. And that's one of the first things I actually want to share with you, that I have learned about myself through working through my own perfectionism over the last few years, I would say, I have learned that when something doesn't feel good, we need to change it. We don't need to just push through and pretend we have it all together when really we don't. And that's how I was feeling about the podcast, it became the thing that felt so huge and it felt overwhelming. And I started procrastinating, recording the episodes and getting everything ready on time for my team to upload it so that it can go out to you on time based on a schedule that we had for this. And I started noticing that as soon as I start procrastinating something, there is something that has to change, it is time to listen, when I'm not in flow, I need to get back in flow. And sometimes that means that we need to take a break and do things differently. So I want to give you a really gentle and loving reminder that it is completely safe for you to take a break from whatever you need a break from, it is completely safe for you to do things differently than everybody else would do. And, really whatever you want, you get to trust yourself and to get you get to trust that feeling that is telling you when something is out of alignment, no hard feelings. All that matters is that you do what is right for you.

So my Glow Tip of the Week of this very first episode of season two is that I am giving you permission to listen to yourself. And to leave perfectionism behind for a bit. I don't want you to feel stressed and overwhelmed, or that you're not enough or that you can't get anything done. None of this is serving you. When we feel that we are blocked and we're not in flow. We're not creative. We're not moving forward in our lives. It's time to take a break. And you got to listen to yourself. One of the things that I often do when I am in a situation like this, I asked myself what would love do. In that case, love told me to take a break from the podcast, recharge, get new ideas together, and then start fresh.

Welcome to season two, which is going to be very different from what you have listened to in the past season. From the beginning of this podcast, we are going to bring on more clients to the show because I want you to see the transformations that are truly possible for you when you start to embrace wherever you are right now and give yourself the opportunity to change. Love yourself enough to make a difference and do some work on yourself to release perfectionism. And you get to say, No, I don't want to continue on this overwhelm and stress from my everyday life. So I'm bringing on some of my beautiful clients and I cannot wait to share all of this with you because they're just such wonderful human beings and I want to share their spark with you. I'm also going to be doing some on air coaching on these episodes, which means that someone will come on to the show live and we will do a coaching session together and those are all people that have never worked with me. I don't know what their struggles are before. We get on the call, I just know that they're struggling with perfectionism and overwhelm. And then we get to see what we can explore in a short coaching session, and you get to witness the transformation that someone can go through live on the podcast, I'm really, really excited about this.

If you are someone who would love to do that, and be coached on air on this podcast, you can drop us an email to info@martinafink.com. And let us know, we would love to feature you.

And last but not least, we are also bringing on some special experts in guest interviews, and all of them are going to be in alignment with perfectionism, overwhelm stress, learning to feel that you love yourself and to give yourself the feeling that you are enough. And I'm just really excited to bring all of these different things together to help you on your very own journey to your own glowing life. In the meantime, I also created a new free resource for you if you are a perfectionist and you're struggling with overworking yourself and you have zero work life balance, you only have a work work balance. Basically, I created a free Self Care Guide for perfectionists where I'm sharing three tips for high achievers who are ready to remove, overwhelm and worthless without compromising your results. And without burning yourself out. You will get these tips when you sign up in the link in the show notes and it is completely free. We'd love for you to get a hold of this free guide so that you as a perfectionist can start taking better care of yourself and no, I'm not going to tell you to do face masks. This is a deeper guide.

And now let's get started with the beautiful Apryl Franchini who I had the pleasure to work with last year we started working together at the beginning of the pandemic and she's been through a couple of my programs. She is also a holistic health coach from IIN just like myself, and she specializes in food freedom and body love. She helps women who are struggling or healing from an eating disorder to ditch the scale and eat with zero guilt. And she also has a podcast that is called More Than Body podcast. April just recently moved to Bali in the middle of a pandemic and she is living her very own glow life there. In today's episode, we talk about how she got from feeling confused, lost, overly controlling to becoming her own best friend. How she ditched her Apple Watch and learned to listen to her body's needs. While she was still perfectionizing her eating disorder and basically cheated on herself, how she stopped overthinking everything and started trusting her heart and what it truly means to be kind to yourself and so much more. And you can find everything we talked about today in the show notes at MartinaFink.com/podcast/130.

Welcome, Apryl, I am so excited to have you on the Glow Life podcast today to share a little bit more about your own journey of creating your own glowing life

Apryl Franchini 8:36

I am so excited to be here you have no idea.

Martina Fink 8:41

And you're coming live from Bali, which is so exciting. You have yes to escape the craziness in Switzerland and you're finding yourself in Bali. I'm sure we're gonna dive into that. But really, I want to just take a moment to acknowledge how far you have come in the past six to 12 months, I remember you signed up for one of my mini courses really a couple I would say probably like March or April last year just at the beginning of the pandemic. And since then we've been doing a lot of work together and you know, just really helped you get your mindset in the right place and helped you uplevel yourself love and work through like procrastination and perfectionism and all those things that always get in the way. And so before we go into like how amazing your life is today, I would like for you to take us a little back to where you were about a year ago right at the beginning of the pandemic and how you were feeling back then. What did your life look like a year ago?

Apryl Franchini 9:44

So at the beginning of COVID actually feel like that didn't really hit me because I had just come back from a holiday. So was feeling okay and I actually didn't have any plans for this summer. And usually I have plans for the summer already at the end of the previous summer, you know. So I was feeling kind of good because they thought that everything was working out perfectly, because they went on holiday before. And then still, like I didn't really have plans. But with that being said, mentally, I was still struggling a little bit. Yes, I was still in the IIN program, actually, in March. So I was already thinking about building and open my business. But there was a lot of confusion in my head. And I didn't know where to start, I already had an Instagram where I shared different content to be honest. And it didn't feel that aligned, say really felt out of alignment and they felt kind of lost, you know, I wanted to go in one direction. Or my heart wanted to go in one direction. And my mind was telling me to do something else. And I really felt lost. I didn't know what to do. And I knew I wanted to I remember I wanted to explore or learn how to be more in alignment with my purpose, or actually how to know my purpose. And I wanted to learn more about manifestation. And I remember like chakras and yeah, I just wanted to start a spiritual journey, if you know what I'm saying, you know, I was really superficial, a year ago. And this also reflects or you can see that in the content I was sharing a year ago, I was more into fitness. But not that fitness that it's, it's good, you know, like, it's, it's okay to have like, fitness content. It's beautiful. It's still beautiful.

But what I was really doing, like I said, it wasn't in alignment, so I didn't feel like it was like really helping somebody. It was more a way for me to keep being in my disorder eating without feeling like I was in my disordered eating, if you know what I'm saying. I was still feeling good. Absolutely. Because I've been through a lot when it comes to my eating disorder. So I was definitely feeling good 100% But still, there was this little part of me that was pushing myself to the gym every day and counting how many calories I burned during the workout. And yeah, controlling my not really my weight but simply the way I looked in the mirror and how my clothes were fitting me and everything. So yeah, I just felt really not happy anymore with with myself and I felt like I wanted to change and I don't know if you remember but I remembered that we worked a lot on something counting calories on my on my Apple Watch and moving my body intuitively say remember that with you. I stopped going to the gym for a few months, not only because COVID hit and the gym were closed, but also because I needed a break from the gym. And yeah, it was it was a beautiful journey that one. So yeah, that's a little bit where I was when we first started working together in the group coaching program. Glow Girl Foundations if I'm not wrong, and then I started working with you one on one as well. And that started more for business right.

Martina Fink 13:47

So before we dive into that part because that's when like your transformation starts I really want to kind of talk about some of the pains that you experienced in your life because I know so many people that are listening, experienced the same thing. You know, people who are perfectionist, which I know you are a little bit have this thing that they need to control everything right and for you it was controlling your calories it was controlling that you go to the gym every day it was controlling what you are eating it was controlling that how you fit into your clothes, right and so this control piece is something that is so present for so many people because that's what gives us this feeling of safety like when I can control then I feel safe and I remember you and I having this conversation about getting rid of the Apple Watch right for a while and actually going to the gym without tracking how many calories you burn and, and all of that stuff and actually not going to the gym and still finding a way to feel good and instead of controlling so much finding a way to tune into your body and feel awesome. Your body, what kind of movement Do I need today, because there is nothing wrong with going to the gym at all, if you do it out of love, right, but when you do it from a place of control and fear of like, if I don't go to the gym, I will gain weight. Or if I don't go to the gym, I won't be able to look good in my bikini like all these things, right? Then it comes from this place of fear, where you're forcing yourself. And basically, we wanted to get you to the place where you trust your body. And whatever you do is because it feels good for you. And it's not because of something where you can tick it off the list and say, burn this many calories went to the gym, right?

Apryl Franchini 15:47

Yeah, I, I 100% agree with you. The important thing like there is nothing wrong in going to the gym. Actually, I am going to the gym right now. But it's out of love. So absolutely. The mindset is everything. So what I was struggling the most was like really connect, reconnecting or connecting with, with myself and intuition. I was living my life trying to, I guess, I don't know, feel fulfilled by numbers, if that makes sense. Or feel good, because somebody told me I was being good. So I was more looking for somebody from the external world or something from the external world that would tell me or would actually, yeah, like reminding me, hey, you're good, you're doing something good, you're worth it. Which This is something that you should feel inside, not outside, you know, you're not worth it. Because something had been on the outside, you're worth it, because you're just worth it, you know, from from something from within. So that is exactly what how, how I was feeling. And trying to go back in time. I feel like that was really the reason why I decided to reach out to you and reach out for support. Because it really realized that I wasn't really living my life for me, but more for others.

Martina Fink 17:29

And how did that feel?

Apryl Franchini 17:31

Not fulfilling at all, not in alignment. And I was I remember that one one night, I was actually doing some journaling. And I wasn't really used to it. Yeah, exactly. It was just pretty new. And I was doing journaling, just every now and then. And I remember I was journaling about the fact that I didn't want to live my life like that for the rest of my life. You know, just trying to make others happy, and just trying to appear pretty and worthy. And I don't know, good for others, and not for me. Like, I am important as well. Like I actually am the most important person of my life, you know, and something that you always say I am actually my best friend, you know. So why I was just trying to make others happy and not myself. I was trying to impress others, apparently. And when I realized that I was like, I think I need to change something. Because Yeah, it doesn't it doesn't work like that.

Martina Fink 18:42

Yeah. And that's a big realization where I feel like you're probably everyone listening resonates because we just grow up like that. No, you're you need to please Mom and Dad, you need to please your teachers with good grades and being you know, a well, well behaved child, you need to please your partner and make sure that you do whatever they want and need. And that's just so ingrained in our society that it's really hard to break out of that. And the first step is always to realize it. And you had this realization and your journaling, which is so beautiful, where you're like, you know what, I don't want to continue like this. And that is so great. What would you say was the first step then?

Apryl Franchini 19:26

So looking back now I feel like at that moment when I was writing that, I feel like I didn't even know that there was a realization I just started I was just writing. And I think it hit me a couple days later that maybe this was something that I needed to work on. So I remember I still remember Vedic very clearly how I got to know you. And during those days where I like between me writing those, that thing and Actually realizing that I wanted to have support. I remember that, that I received a memo from IGN. And they were promoting retreats or upcoming events from past students, and you were promoting your retreat here in Bali. And I was like, Oh, that sounds really good. And they feel like I didn't. At that moment, coven wasn't really there, or present like in in Switzerland, or like in Europe in general. So, obviously, you still had your retreat there. And I looked at your profile on Instagram, and I saw you were from Switzerland, I felt so like, Wow, she's from Switzerland as well. This is amazing. I didn't know that. There were like so many other health coaches in Switzerland, because luganda is a very different city or the Italian part of Switzerland is a very different like Cairo, Switzerland. And yeah, I felt like so understood already. I'm saying I just felt super connected with you. So in that moment, it hit me that I wanted to probably, like reach out support from you, because I was looking at your posts and pictures. And I was like, wow, this seems like this seems like the person I really needed in my life, you know. So yeah, that is the first step actually, that I that I took, like, reaching out to you.

Martina Fink 21:37

Oh, so beautiful. And I'm so happy, we were able to, you know, work through all these things together. And it was certainly not always easy, you know, working through these things. And one of the things I remember I also had to teach you is like, reach out when you're struggling, right? You're, you're working with me, so that I can help you. But when you don't tell me that you need help, like, I won't know. And I feel like towards the end of our time together, you were really so used to just saying, you know, Martina I'm struggling with this. Martina, I need help with this, you know, this is going on? Can you help me and I love that so much. Because we often feel guilty to ask for help. And I feel like like seeing you now a year later, as this beautiful, confident woman that has traveled across the planet during COVID completely living your life there and getting clients, you know, from everywhere. It's just so beautiful. And it did start with that first step of realizing I actually need help, or I want help, and then accepting the help and then also asking for it in the process.

Apryl Franchini 22:43

Yeah, absolutely.

Martina Fink 22:45

Let's talk a little bit about what your life looks like now. And obviously, you know, I'm really jealous of your being in Bali, being able to travel, but not everybody might want to travel. But it's not really about you know, you being able to travel and have this freedom. It's really about the feeling that you have today about your life and about yourself that I would love to dive into more. So how would you say you feel about yourself? You mentioned earlier that you're actually your best friend now. So what does that look like?

Apryl Franchini 23:18

Where do I start? It's just so nice in the first place to know that I have my best friend here with me, you know, Everywhere I go, I know that I can count on me. So I'm not afraid of myself or my mind or my heart anymore, which I used to be, especially in my eating disorder. I was very afraid of me in also in the recovery process, because it was always like, oh, but what if the voices inside my head come up again, you know, and now I know that even if something like maybe a voice come comes up in my head. I know how to handle this, you know, and I know how to be kind with myself. I know how to accept these voices in my head sometimes come up, I know how to just to really be compassionate towards myself. And I feel like that is really a list for me what being my best friend means, you know, just knowing that I always have my back and even if I make mistakes, even if I don't finish my to do list for today. I am still a good person. You know I'm still worth it. I'm still I'm still me. It's not Did I am less worthy because I didn't tick off all the things on my to do list or something like that. So yeah, I feel like that is the main thing.

Martina Fink 25:14

I got like full body with goosebumps. So as we were talking, and it's just exactly what you mentioned earlier around, getting the validation from yourself and not from the outside, like your worthiness doesn't depend on how many things you can take off your to do list, but actually how kind you are to yourself and how compassionate you can be. And I feel like seeing you now, after all this work that you've done, I can really feel the shift from your mind. To your heart, you know, in the beginning, you were like I'm feeling lost and confused, and my mind was controlling and I had all these voices in my head, I didn't know where I was going. So there's like a lot of thinking in your brain that almost makes your brain explode at times, right? There's like so much going on. And then over the month of working together, you've been able to bring all of this energy from your head down into your heart space where now you are pined you are compassionate, you feel worthy, like all of those are feelings that we only experience in the heart, right?

Apryl Franchini 26:19

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And I must say, sometimes, I still need to give me a wake up call and tell myself Hey, like, be kind towards yourself, be your own best friend. But I feel like that is part of of the process. Not everything is all like sunshine and rainbows is that how do I say that? I don't remember.

Martina Fink 26:47

rainbows and butterflies, or

Apryl Franchini 26:48

Yes. Yeah. So yeah, I feel like, but it's also nice, because I feel like it. It's exactly on those moments, like the low moments that I realized also how far I've come because they know how to how to handle them, how to nurture myself during those moments as well. And yeah,

Martina Fink 27:11

yeah. And I will say, you know, I go through same things to like I always have, I do have the inner critique, like, those are things that never go away, they will always be there. It's just about how we handle it. And I call this the bounce back time. So how quickly can you shift back into feeling better about yourself? Then you, you know, like, How much time does it actually take you because in the past, when you are in this negative, or, you know, confusing and lost mind, space or mindset, it can take you like a couple of days to get over a crisis, right or over a frustrating situation or moment, like I used to be like that to where I would like, attach to a conflict I had with someone and talk about it for days and spent so much energy into the situation. Whereas now my bounce back time is probably a couple hours. So I just know exactly. I'm frustrated, allowing myself to feel moving through the process, do what I need to do take care of myself, take a break, cancel things, you know, you all know all the things you need, so that you can feel better as quickly as possible. So it's not that we're ignoring all the difficulties. It's not that we don't get them. But we just know how to bounce back so much quicker, because we know ourselves like is that we are our own best friend. So we always know how to help our best friend, right?

Apryl Franchini 28:35

Yes, absolutely. Yeah. And I feel like, of course, we are humans. So we go through this low moments or down moments. And that's completely fine, actually. And they and I remember, like, usually I remind myself this a lot, but it's because of the low moments that we can actually have the high moments, you know,

Martina Fink 29:01

yeah, life is not an even like the Glow Life is not about being happy all the time. It's about getting to know yourself feeling the really high highs. And then when you're feeling low, just knowing that you can treat yourself with kindness and that better times will come again like that's that's absolutely normal. What is what would you say is the number one habit that has that you've been able to create that has truly helped you reconnect or connect or establish that relationship with your own best friend?

Apryl Franchini 29:31

Probably journaling and meditation. Yeah, definitely. I used to journal a little bit and do some meditations. But since I've worked with you, I am very consistent with those and that can feel the difference.

Martina Fink 29:51

Yeah, it's it's a space to have a conversation, specifically journaling, like you actually take the time to write whether it's to you yourself or about yourself, you know, you have this conversation in writing. And it's not just all the crazy thoughts in your mind. So I love that. It's a very consistent practice for me as well, where I just write out some thoughts without expectations without results. It's just about taking the moment to have an actual conversation with myself and check in with how am I feeling right now. So that's really beautiful. And then meditation really helps to just also feel into your heart and what are emotions that are currently present?

Apryl Franchini 30:33

Yeah, absolutely. You know, when I'm journaling, it's really nice, because the, all the you know, I overthink a lot. Notice. So when I am overthinking the situation, or just things in general, putting them on paper, like actually like with my hands and energy, putting them away from my body, helps me a lot.

Martina Fink 31:03

That's why it's so powerful. For example, when you can't sleep, because you're thinking about tomorrow's to do list and all the ideas you have you write it down, it's parked on the piece of paper, you don't need to worry about it. So that's so beautiful. What would you say is the number one thing you learned about yourself in the past year,

Apryl Franchini 31:23

I learned a lot when it comes to, especially moving my body since that was one of the main points that we worked on. And it really do a really deep learn how, what makes me feel happy? and what doesn't make me feel happy, if that makes sense. Like, I also learned where I was lying to myself. Yeah, it's just very difficult one to to answer.

Martina Fink 31:57

Yeah, I mean, you have answered it completely. You know, maybe it's not a number one thing, but there's several things that you have learned about yourself. And that's it. It's really a big thing to realize, where am I actually cheating on myself? Because we're constantly cheating on ourselves. If we're not truly stepping into the kind of life that we desire,

Apryl Franchini 32:20

yeah, yeah.

Martina Fink 32:22

You know, that I'm all about the glow life. So what does living a glowing life mean to you personally, now, Apryl?

Apryl Franchini 32:30

For me, it means really prioritizing myself every day with something that I know makes me feel happy, and loved. And just grateful, grateful for for everything for my life for my body. So it means waking up every day, and knowing that I can really dedicate the morning for myself. And then I know that I can, I have a job that really makes me feel happy, and grateful and fulfilled.

Martina Fink 33:15

And going to cool places in Bali and eating smoothie bowls, from like a tropical cafe.

Apryl Franchini 33:21

Definitely, definitely. But it really, it really means feeling happy and loved in my, in my heart. Just Just that.

Martina Fink 33:32

Yeah. And you don't create that feeling overnight. So, so proud of you for for doing that. And for you know, creating this space for you as well, every single day, because most people don't do that. So this is a big deal.

Apryl Franchini 33:50

Right? Yes, absolutely. And, actually, it's really nice to go back in time and see how far you have come. And you also know that I usually struggle a lot when it comes to celebrating myself, and seeing how far I've come. And I am I'm still working on that. But yeah, it's always nice because in one year, or even in just one month, a lot of can change.

Martina Fink 34:20

So much can change. I remember you coming to the calls, and asking me to dance together because you had something to celebrate, you know, and I'm like, of course I can dance together and celebrate you I love that.

Apryl Franchini 34:33

Yeah, I found it hard and sometimes I still find it hard to celebrate myself. So like knowing that I had somebody to like actually dance with and celebrate myself with feeling like like the better. You know, it doesn't know how to explain but I was like, Yeah, I can celebrate myself if there is somebody else but actually I can also celebrate myself by myself.

Martina Fink 34:58

Yes, just For you, for no reason.

Apryl Franchini 35:02

Absolutely, yes.

Martina Fink 35:05

Tell me what your favorite smoothie is.

Apryl Franchini 35:09

Oh, difficult question. I am obsessed with green smoothie bowls. I just love spirulina inside smoothies, I just love it. So, in every menu, I always choose the green smoothie bowl, with granola on top, and bananas and frozen blueberries, and shredded coconut, and peanut butter on top.

Martina Fink 35:37

So good. What are three things that you are grateful for today?

Apryl Franchini 35:43

I am so grateful for us for being here with you. You just been kind of a long time since we actually haven't like spoken face to face. So it feels amazing to be here again with you. And I am also grateful. Because today I had my day with client calls. And it's always nice to connect with my clients. And I am also grateful for being here. Actually just being here.

Martina Fink 36:14

Hmm. Yeah. So beautiful. Is there anything else you would like to share with our listeners today? Before we talk about like how people can connect with you?

Apryl Franchini 36:24

I reminder that if you are even thinking about changing something in your life, I know it's scary. It's real. Yeah, it's really scary to to change something and to take the first step. But do it really just do it? Because it's worth it. And at the end, you will actually Wish you started before this journey. So just do it.

Martina Fink 36:55

Yeah, do it now. Now's the time. love it so much. So where can people connect with you and potentially work with you if anyone is struggling with eating disorders?

Apryl Franchini 37:05

So I am hanging out most on Instagram and I am a I'm sorry, I am at Apryl Franchini. Yes, April, Franchini. And yes, my name is spelled with a Y instead of an I.

And I also have a website at aprylfranchini.com. And I have a podcast called More Than Body.

Martina Fink 37:33

Beautiful. And we will link all of those in the show notes as well. So anyone listening, please go check out Apryl, this beautiful young woman who has come so far in a year. And you know, I just want to also say that anything that you have achieved and I have achieved in my own life and my own personal transformation is something that anyone can like it's not this is not rocket science, to learn to love yourself and to learn to become your own best friend and be kind to yourself and you know, shift the focus from what everyone else from once from you to the inside. It is really something that any single person on this planet can achieve. So we're not special guys. We are not.

Apryl Franchini 38:21

Yes, we are just humans here. So

Martina Fink 38:26

Thank you so much for coming onto the show today, Apryl and for sharing so openly about your own journey and your struggles and how you know you've been able to transform over the past couple of months. And it's just so beautiful to see how you're thriving now in your in your life and with your clients and how you everything that the kind of work that we've done together, you're now able to pass that on to all your beautiful women in your community. And like that is really how we make change. We don't just make it for ourselves, we make it for the people and for the lives that we touched. So whether that's your clients, your partner, your children, you know, we always it always ripples out. So I'm really proud of you and for the hard work you have done and thank you so much for sharing this with me.

Apryl Franchini 39:13

Of course, thank you for being such a great coach and mentor.

Martina Fink 39:19

I am so grateful to have Apryl in my beautiful community of wonderful clients and to see her efforts and self love that she built over this past year for herself ripple out to all the women that she touches with her work but also outside of work.

If you are someone who is struggling with overwhelm control, self love, low self worth stress, and you have a lot of negative self talk and perfectionism just like Apryl used to head to the link in the show notes to grab your free self care guide for perfectionist or you can also join us and perfectionist rehab which is a 90 day healing journey out of overwhelm into a fulfilled and loving and glowing life. You can find all the details on martinafink.com/rehab. It would mean the world to me if you left us a review for this episode if this was in any way helpful for you and inspires you to live your very own glowing life. Follow the glow Live podcast on iTunes and Spotify and for everything we mentioned in today's episode, you can go check out the show notes at MartinaFink.com/podcast/130. If somebody that you love and truly care about needs to hear this episode, please forward it to them right now. I would so love to connect with you on social media you can find me at Martina glows on Instagram and Facebook. And thank you for being here today and for caring for yourself deeply. What you do for yourself is going to impact every single soul that you touch. So it's all so worth it. And don't forget that you deserve to feel glowing and confident.

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DISCLAIMER

All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.

#125 Fashion That Fits Your Body Shape with Cricket Lee

Cricket Lee is an entrepreneur and inventor and CEO at BOTASCI, particularly noted for creating an apparel fitting solution that includes body shape applications and online data profile algorithms to enable women to buy online without try ons and costly returns. 

IN TODAY’S EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:

• How the fashion industry fails inclusivity when it comes to body shapes and different ethnicities

• Why BOTASCI can help reduce unnecessary returns and therefore the carbon footprint of the fashion industry

• The history of shape and how fashion and body shapes changed over the last 100 years

And so much more! 

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.peacepilgrim.org
http://littleblackpant.com
Feeling is a Secret - by Neville Goddart
James Allen
Dr. Joe Dispenza

CONNECT WITH CRICKET

www.botasci.com
www.instagram.com/bota.sci/

TODAY’S EPISODE TRANSCRIBED:

This is episode number 125 with cricket Lee. Welcome to the Glow Life Podcast. The one and only place for ambitious, high achieving and perfectionist women like you who want to leave, overwhelm behind. Turn self doubt into self confidence. And learn to trust yourself again, so that you can work less fully love and accept yourself and live a fulfilled and glowing life. Every week, I'll be giving you tips and inspiration on how to think less, feel more slow down and use your body and your daily habits to help you step up, level up and glow up in all areas of your life. This is not just about the big shifts, you can blow just a little more every single day.

Welcome back to the Glow Life Podcast. so grateful to have you here with me today. I want to kick off this episode with a lot about the week. And since we are in this busy season of the year, which can be busy for a lot of people who have high level jobs that are really busy towards the end of the year. And it can also be very different than any other years before. Because we're still kind of in the middle of this weird 2020 experience, right.

So, wherever you are, however you are experiencing this month in 2020, I want you to take a break, and just breathe. Let's just do this together right now taken inhale and exhale. One more time, be present with yourself, inhale and exhale through your mouth. If you want to do it one more time, feel free to do so. It takes a few seconds. And it's so powerful.

So, how can you take more of these simple and quick little breaks in between your days to breathe, to be present with yourself to maybe take a look out of the window and where I'm at right now. It's all white. And it's so pretty. And I love looking outside and just yeah, I enjoy this beautiful peaceful light view. Snow, I love snow, It's so peaceful. How can you look outside of the window and watch the clouds pass by, or maybe you sit outside and soak in some sunshine for a few minutes.

So many people are not doing this. So many people are rushing through life. And I used to be one of those people too. You know, you can change. Things can change in your life. But it's important that we remain present because the present moment is the only moment we ever have. We are only living in the now we cannot live in the past. Our thoughts can for sure our thoughts can be in the past, they can also be in the present. I mean, in the future. They're rarely in the present, right. So this is a quick glow tip reminder to remain present to get present if you're not. And as simple as it sounds. It's sometimes so much harder than we may think.

Now, I'm really excited to share something that I have just published a couple days ago. It's a new workshop that is happening in January Saturday, January 23 2021. I'm hosting a 2021 New Year's vision mini retreat. This is an online event where you can join from wherever you are, I tried to make the time as possible for everybody to join wherever you are in the world. So check out the details in the show notes.

So, what we're going to do in this mini retreat is we're going to set really clear goals and intentions for the new year. We're gonna kick it off with the celebration party and setting intentions and then we're going to sit down and brainstorm. Start planning and figure out how can we prioritize ourselves in the new year, rather than just you know, having another year of working really hard being busy all the time, where time just flies by? I want you to intentionally go through this year, prioritizing yourself in every single area of your life. I will be sharing the tool that I've been using for several years with all of my clients around planning the new year and setting goals for the different areas of your life.

We're then going to do a visualization to get really clear with your inner eye with your subconscious about what it is that you want to magnetically attract. And there will be some journaling exercises for you to help you get clarity. And there will be time to ask questions and to share your experiences. And to get coaching from me. I'm really excited to bring this event to you. And it is happening again Saturday, January 23. You can sign up now with the link in the show notes. The early bird price is valid until December 31. And it's $97 instead of 197. So I really hope to see you there and to have some time together to get really ready for this new year without feeling frustrated that the year flies by and it will be 31st of December again.

And now let's get started with Cricket Lee. She is an entrepreneur and inventor and CEO of BOTASCI particularly noted for creating an apparel fitting solution that includes body shape applications, and online data profile algorithms to enable women to buy online without try-ons, and costly returns. In today's episode, we talk about how the fashion industry fails inclusivity when it comes to body shapes and different ethnicities, why BOTASCI can help reduce unnecessary returns and therefore the carbon footprint of the fashion industry, the history of shape and how fashion and body shapes changed over the last 100 years, and so much more. And you can find everything we talked about today in the show notes at martinafink.com/podcast/125.

Martina: Welcome crickets. I'm so excited to have you on the show today and talk to you about your brand BOTASCI.

Cricket: Well, hello, Martina and it's great to be here. I'm so honored to be part of your podcast. You really are. I feel like somebody that kind of lived lives in the zone that I do. So I'm excited to be talking to you today.

Martina: Yes, so you're the CEO of BOTASCI, which stands for body data science, which is a software that makes online shopping so much easier, because, you know, we send so many things back and forth because they don't fit us. Right. So online shopping is something that I really shy away from. Because it's so frustrating when you order and you have to bring it back to the post office. And so what has been your key motivator? Or like, what is why did you create this software?

Cricket: Well, I've been in fashion marketing and advertising for many years. And you know, my friends and I, we couldn't find anything to wear, of course, as you age, your body changes and so forth. So through all the trends of like low rise pants, and so forth. And, you know, if you're certain shapes, you just can't wear those kind of clothes. So it was just very frustrating as trends change. So I decided to solve it. And I started doing research many years ago, to see how to solve it. So it's, it's a real, it's a real passion to really get it done now, because the fashion industry is basically egocentric, meaning it is a it is a push consumer program, meaning we're gonna create it, we're gonna make it we're gonna design it, and then you buy it. And so it's more what not consumer centric from that perspective. Whereas what BOTASCI is, it's a consumer centric platform that makes it use your friend friendly for customers to buy clothes.

Martina: So maybe you need to explain how this exactly works, because I saw that you will have like different codes. So for example, I would have a specific code based on my body shape. And then I would go on to a brand's website and enter my code. And then will they then custom make things or will they have?

Cricket: No, it has different mass, meaning there will be a lot of product available, and all body types, but it's a totally opposite from today. Because the way everything's kind of grown up through the stores which have categories and like if you if you go sell clothing in certain departments that store so for example, they may have a category that's called missing, and that would be sizes, you know, like two through 16. And then you would go into a plus department and then that's 16 through w through 32 or whatever that is and then if you go into like the target you have to make us four through 24. So like every store has it's like mix.

So what they do is they have a bell curve that they make clothing from and then at the end of the day because everything's really siloed. Now, the day of an incline or Donna Karen, knowing everything about a product, customer marketing or distribution, everything that day is now changed into follows, meaning the designers here merchandisers here, the sourcing is here, the marketing is here, the finances here. So they don't, it's not really 360 inside these big silos anymore. So hard to affect anything from that perspective, but the way it really works is that a brand would adopt a particular body type segments. And then they would make clothing for that body type segment. And it's usually based, it's usually based ethnically how the shapes work, because if you cut the globe in half, and I learned this through studying, initially 60,000 women, and then we did over 300,000 transactions where we told you what to buy, and you bought what we told you, and then we made sure you had your fit.

So basically, you can cut the globe in half, over half of globe is really more Caucasian, Asian, light skin based, and that's mostly like a strike shape, you know, to an hourglass shape. And then the bottom half of the globe is more dark skin based. And that's basically smaller waist, and so forth. So those shapes have really not been present in the fashion industry before. So once you identify your shape, then you don't have to think about it anymore. Because the brands and manufacturers will make products that will fit you and your only looking at what fits you. Because ecommerce is, you know, I really created this for e commerce, I didn't really know it at the time. But really, it's where a designer in Singapore could make clothing for people around her or him. And it could be like a double 034. And it would be long waisted small busted square shoulder, you know, hyper hip carve regular torso and short legs. That's kind of a generic description of how an Asian body changes.

So the brands can pick whatever demographic they want, and make clothing for that demographic. And then the women that look at that, or man someday will only have to view what's going to fit them out of the box. So it's a totally different way of looking at how to make clothes, how to sell clothes, and how to keep the consumer happy. So once you've built your data profile, and we know your exact size and shape and configuration, then that profile stays with you. So any brand that licenses, the fit has licenses, the system has access to you through that profile. So you don't have to go into one store and go figure out your fit for each brand or have to go into another store online. It goes with you wherever you are. So that's one of the benefits we bring to the brands is that people already know they're fit or not, everybody's not guessing Well, how many size 10s? Do I need? You know, I have to pick it out online anymore. You just look at what fits you. It's a very disruptive concept.

Martina: Yeah, it kind of works the other way around, right? Instead of just producing clothing for like a very stereotype kind of body shape. And then kind of find people who fit in those clothes. It's like the other way around, we have the different shapes and ethnicities and you know, body types of people. And then based on that we will find the clothes, which makes so much more sense, especially now that we like you said the e commerce and online shopping especially now also in 2020, where we're not allowed to go out in many countries and cities and like we still need certain things right? So online shopping has become more and more popular. And also I remember in like March, right when we went into lockdown in Switzerland, we were like every everybody started buying online and the and the post offices and they were like overwhelmed with packages and everything was delayed. And so I think this is a great tool to also help reduce the amount of waste that is created in the world.

Cricket: While the global carbon footprint, these brands and retailers have signed agreements to clean up the waste by the year 2030. So they got to start looking outside the box of where they're doing things now. And you know the returns are $4 billion a year 65% of us will not buy because of the problems and fit online. It's just a huge issue with the industry in the three main problems we solve one is the returns problem we reduced returns about 75% which you can imagine what that would do for the bottom line profit for anybody that get adopted, we totally eliminate exterior returns, meaning you know, hello how some women, I don't know if you've ever done this, but two or three, pair it first to make sure you're going to get the fit, because you don't know which size is going to fit you. So we eliminate that totally.

And then the third thing is we have a predictive demand forecast model that we can, if a if a brand wants to target a particular demographic, we just say, Okay, here's a starting database that you can use to start building and anyway, so that's, that's the whole thing. It's totally it's it does, it kind of flips, everything about how everything's made. Because installed, because the designers and the brands are used to thinking about style first. And then oh, by the way, does it fit, that's 50% of the purchase decision is does it fit. So if if they now say let's figure out the fit First, let's design the products with that fit in mind. And then let's offer it to women that are that fit, then look how it changes the whole, the whole supply chain, and development and styling and so forth. Because some design, a lot of designers know how the industry really works, which actually to go into the history of that, of how that was developed?

Okay, so really fit and I can only speak to America, but I think America is kind of driven fashion worldwide, not not really to tour kind of fashion that really does come out of that, like France and Tokyo and so forth. But what happened here in the United States is they because mail order was coming together, the women used to either make their own clothing, our have Tyler make the club up until the 30s. And then the women went into the workforce, they had to come up with some solution for for readymade clothing. And so they started with like, the number 14 really meant 14 year old girl, because they really thought it would be the ones that would need a standard that adults wouldn't really need a standard because they all have tailors and they all make clothing.

So they measured women from the military, post rationing from World War Two, all Caucasian, all 25 year old, all set women, and they measured that group, and then they took those measurements in a bucket and averaged it out. Well, if you take all the shapes, and you average them out, you're going to get an hourglass shape. And an hourglass shape grows linearly. So they gain their weight evenly, top and bottom. Well, that's only about 20% of the global population. So that's where they standardize fit in our association. So you, we have to come up with a standard.

So 1952, they standardize that hourglass shape. And all of the things around it were standardized. So that fit models were all you know, you shall the 3624 35. Like that was how it was set up, which is still in place today. So even if a brand tries to adopt different ethnicities or different shapes, it's really they really don't have vehicles to do that with industry because of the fit model situation. So they might pattern or they might find a woman that has the shape that they want, but they use those old linear sizing rules. You know, if you see a pattern where they've got like, half an inch around the pattern, you're receiving a pattern. Well, that's how they do fit in the industry. Yeah, women like me, so I have a high up a hip turf, and my body when I gain weight, it's all in the middle. Yeah, okay. Just, you know, not because I'm protection, but part of that is being Caucasian or northern northern planet. And so my body grows that way, my legs don't really grow that much, but my middle grows.

So now, if you've got a big booty, and then your body is going to grow in your thighs and lower bottom. So it's a biological change that really happens. And so what I did was studied 60,000 women, with my team, and we discovered how the sizing should work as well as the shape. And so no matter who tries to emulate it or copy it, they can't really keep it because even though they reverse engineering, they can't hold it. Because they don't know how we're doing the fair because it's true innovation like so I'm only saying that because I've been doing this many years in fashion industry copies things that's just, I'm not bitching about it. I'm just saying you know, that's what happens.

So anyway, it's a it's pretty much a phenomenon, how it really works and women don't have to think about their their fit anymore. Once they've tried it. Try to solve my beta brands in December. I had a couple Concept logic and solve all that, really to replace the past and move forward with this new company, which is really an elevated science with more body shapes on the bottom, and top shapes, and then dresses, and then all of that. So, and I believe shape drives all of your purchase decisions around clothing. Like me, I'm a bigger woman, so I'm probably going to wear art, I do wear like chunky jewelry, because I'm artsy. And you'll never get to see me a little tiny in gold, because it wouldn't work on me.

So there is a lot of things that shapes drive, the cars you buy, you know, the kind of clothes you wear, and so forth. So anyway, that's kind of how the whole industry approached it. And so I've been working on this for 23 years actually started on HSN, with a body type application with the executive director of Ford Model, she had come up with this, she wrote this book and body types, and we merchandise the collection with nets, and put it on there for three years. And it really worked well. So after that I decided to see if I could find a way to put the fit part of it into the clothing. And I didn't realize how to throw out the whole book and start up. That's what I did. So tested in Nordstrom, Macy's on QVC, and then online. And then we started our own in house brand couple bought and sold like 250,000 pair, and a little over a year and discovered all of the online in the consumer, like the customer service pieces of it an online certification, I mean, the global certification of the product.

Martina: So interesting. And do you find with your research that generally body types have changed in the last century? Or have there always been the same kind of body types?

Cricket: Well, the body types have always existed, but the general population, and I'll just talk about the United States, because even though they're existed different populations, only a certain only certain ethnicities were really recognized. Does that make sense? though now, that latter part of last century, things started changing during the war, everything was rationed. So everybody was kind of the same size. So and women back in the 50s, they were dresses, you know, very rarely did you wear pants, you see Katharine Hepburn, she wore pants, but there were men's trousers, belts and plates. And though the shape really didn't matter, so when pants were starting to be brought into the marketplace, that's when the fit issue really started. And then right as far as diversity goes, you know, we became, over the years, we became so dependent on all of our mixers and vacuums. I mean, we we our whole lifestyle changed, we sit in front of a TV, we didn't go out so much and people work out, some people don't. But the whole lifestyle change. So as our lifestyles changed, we started gaining weight. Like I don't know if you know that 65% of women are oversize 12 in the US, and the average woman is 16 and five foot four,

Martina: And what would you say has been the biggest challenge in doing this work for you?

Cricket: I think probably industry mindset that designers have grown up with fit being a brand attribute. So I have my fitness brand has to fit this brand has to fit this fit back in the 70s and 80s. When Donna Karen have a fit kind of changed was in 1983, Ronald Reagan lifted the standards, which meant everybody can do their own fit whatever that was. And some of the designers started using themselves as fit models. And as they aged and grew, the production people were afraid to change the label is really what started happening. So it's just kind of an egocentric industry. It's like I have a consumer centric solution. But it's been hard to get them to think about it because even though returns are getting worse and worse and worse, it's just the way they think inside their box. Right? Yeah, big tech is supposed to go protect the fit, right?

And so I'd get the merchants, the merchants of the designers kind of love it. This is great. And then the fit temperature. I've got that handled. I'll do that. So the CFO is not going to tell the fitech when you show us this fit, you know, today, it's a whole different story. And I really never gave up because I knew someday it would be right but, but today, it's really needed because the industry is in such dire straits and retail is shifting the landscape is shifting rapidly, I think that I personally think the localized inventory model for fashion can't survive, because of the reasons right now, you know, there's a lot of issues around trying to enclose in the stores that don't even have a dressing room token. And then there's the fact that everybody's meeting online.

So whereas e commerce when I started my development, it was only 1% of apparel purchases. Today, it's like 50%, of pair purchase. Yeah. And it will be more so the online, they have to look at other solutions. Now, after I launched my first fit finder in on QVC, in 2005, I was on the air, I sell $700,000, with the pants in 14 minutes, it was phenomenal, six minutes early, and women just went crazy. I never tried on again. And so I tested but really, I didn't fit the pictures of the fashion industry. So because women like me, it wasn't really, you know, today might be more acceptable back then it wasn't acceptable for me to be a big, you know, from Texas, not from New York. Anyway, I'm gonna just say it like it is.

So anyway, the industry really has resisted the change to a universal fit. But we were voted as the best fitting gene in America on Good Morning America, in January this past January, because because of the way we do the online tool to find your fit, and then give you fit out of the box. So it really it's an idea, it's timeless. And now I'm starting to get retailers interested, because like I said, the whole environment is shifting from retail brick and mortar to online. So I'm hoping to take this system and put it into venues where people can, you know, look at samples or try things on and then have them drop shipped overnight from a centralized distribution center, like a regional central distribution center, instead of having the stores carry all that inventory, and the market down market down market down. And then dressing room overloads. And then it goes off to this whole chain of discounters, you know, and it gets closed out, and then it gets burned or thrown in the landfill.

Martina: Yeah. Which is a whole other story. So interesting. And so cool. I think with just with anything, you said, the industry is very resistant to this. And just with anything that is new, and that is kind of revolutionary, we always have resistance. So hopefully,

Cricket: that will be it's not a bad thing. It's just the way What do they say about the truth? First it's despised, then it's seen, then, you know, then it's accepted. And then it becomes the norm. And that's kind of the way this is this is the truth about the human body, how changes, and it's just now time for people to see that it really works. And you know that it's going to change their shopping experience they're making experience their production experience.

Martina: Yeah, that makes so much sense. Cool. So I have a couple of questions for you, personally. And the first one is, what does living a glowing life mean to you?

Cricket: Oh, well, I am. I've been working on myself for many, many years. I really work at shifting my consciousness every morning and every night, and meditating and moving into like nothingness. And it took me many years years, I really used to think meditating once, what do I want, you know, feeling the feelings of what I wanted. And it hasn't been until very recently that I realized that's not really it, what it is to totally blank your mind. And let your brain synapses Connect inside. And then everything, you know, is magical after that. So I think that a lot of you know of my journey I took personally, and that it was so hard for me to get here. So the day I'm accepting myself and allowing the universe to guide me instead of me trying to control everything. Control fridge. You being from Switzerland. Yeah, we got a little bit of that going on too.

Martina: Definitely. Definitely. Yeah, I understand that. So well. It's like the balance between Yeah, what do I desire? What do I want and how can I find like inner peace, and then also releasing the control and letting the universe take care of it like I call this co creation. So everything we do we co create with the universe, we do our part. And then the universe is its part. So I love this is beautiful.

Cricket: And it's so much better to just allow it all to be whenever it is, yeah. Oh my I wanted this or that it's like, let it let it all go. I've had some really violent, hostile takeovers, and actually, in the last four years, six years, I went through three of them. And finally, I just said, Okay, I surrender, and I just let it all go. And then it all came back brand new and fresh. And I still have my same team and I still have all the trade secrets in our heads. And we still have everything better than we ever had before, because we really learned everything you needed to learn. So it's been an interesting thing to just let the universe guide the external processes and make them all perfect. And that is, I think, to me is the probably the hardest job as human beings that we face is to just accept everything, totally as it comes and know that it's all perfect. Because the way we're trying does it.

Martina: Yeah. And it's also often doesn't feel perfect. So that's like, Okay, how am I going to accept this non perfect thing, or this disturbing thing, or this problem or this challenge, when, really, it just happens for a reason? So you said, you talked about meditation that you do every day? Is there anything else that you practice every day, in terms of like self care and taking care of yourself,

Cricket: I have some teachers online, I watch a lot. And even I found that their particular years of their teaching that I prefer, over later, you know, what I'm saying chicks or periods of time when they were connected in the flow and a great way that there's a lot of great books and, and things out there that kind of can help you learn about yourself. Somebody I've known for a long time is Joe dispenza. You know him. So he has a he says more theoretically, like his scientifically discipline, you know, disciplining yourself, to do the meditation and to do the work to allow your day to be perfect, like create your day to be perfect, right. So there's other people too, that I really love. And there's a lot of books back from during the years when Theosophy was big, I think the you know, James Allen and different writers, there's a book that I love called one of the best books ever.

Martina: Yeah, give me your favorite book.

Cricket: I think it's feeling as a sacred little short book, is by neville goddard. And it was done probably back in the 30s, or 40s. But it is just a book on the law and its operation, and how how the law, you know, of the universe works, which is, whatever you entertain in your mind, is in before you go to sleep. And when you get up in the morning, whenever you're entertaining, is what you're going to get. So what we tend to do is fall into all the bad stuff that happened during the day or, you know, or where we are with our relationships, or what's the problems or whatever. And it's, it's not so easy to to do that. But once you force yourself to move into that space, then the things that happen, don't feel violent anymore. Yeah, you know, the universe is just here it is, it's your drain, you got to know that whatever's coming to you is exactly your drain, you just can't look at it the way you might normally look at it. You just have to let it be whatever it is.

Martina: Yeah, I love that. We're gonna share the book in the show notes as well. So everyone can go check it out. What are three things that you are grateful for today?

Cricket: I'm grateful to understand my freedom in the cause and effect of my life. And that I'm only responsible for how I think and feel and the knowledge about that. That's the main thing is just knowing that that I'm perfect the way I am. Everything in my space is perfect because I created and so forth. I'm very thankful to have a beautiful family, my daughter, she's doing the business with me now, and I'm grateful to have her I'm grateful to have my boyfriend who looks after me and he's perfect for me because he's not clingy or needy or anything. He's like, okay, you want to go live in California go you know, it's like it's it's great to have relationships around me like that. So I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful that I found my calling. And my I'll just call it my it's really my life's work website is the culmination of my life's life's work. Since I was young as a fashion designer, or aspiring fashion designer, moving into it, living into this, and how the universe gave me pictures and visions for the years, and that now, you know, like, My boyfriend is retiring, and he wants me to retire, like right now he's retiring in two ways. It's like, I want you to retire, like right now, I'm like, sorry, that I have to finish this.

Martina: a mission to accomplish!

Cricket: I have to get it in the market, I have to get Natasha, like, the team around her like, I'm working right now. So that she can, this is her legacy, you know, for me, I'm just thankful for all of that. And also saying, and I'm and I'm starting to sing again. So, you know, I think it's important for us to, to use our talents and express ourselves, yes. And not, like, squelch something because you don't think you have time for it? And that's what I've done for the year. So

Martina: yeah, I think too many women are or general, people in general, using the excuse, I don't have time, I don't have time for this, this and this. And like, yeah, we all have the same amount of time. It's just about how we use it. So is there anything else you want to share with my listeners today?

Cricket: I think that's right now, it's an age of personal independence combined with collective consciousness, like, moving yourself out of the norm and out of the mass consciousness and into into yourself and loving yourself. And then having that connects you to people like you like talking to you today. You are of like, mind, I can tell of how I feel about things and life and so forth. And so then you connect into your group, you know, your group of people, and you may may say, What is it you meet somebody for a lifetime are a, you know, for a little,

Martina: I think a reason or a season or a lifetime? Yeah,

Cricket: that's it. Okay. So yeah, and so you may meet somebody, and you hit it off with them, and you never see him again. Or you may end up being best friends with them forever, whenever, but it's still, you know, it's still like your crew. So anyway, I, I'm thankful to understand that I don't have to surrender to mass consciousness. And I get I get caught up like everybody else. People are spinning out videos here and there and sending me Oh, look at this, look at this, like, like, Oh, no, I'm sorry, I don't want to buy into that. That's, it's gonna be negative for my personal energy. Even Yeah, I may agree with it or not agree with or whatever. So I just try to now like, ignore everything that doesn't support my happy, joyful consciousness that I'm that I've worked so hard to create for myself.

Martina: Yeah, it's definitely important to have healthy boundaries around that overflow of information that is available today. So where can people find you online,

Cricket: they can go to Botha fi.com. And that's b o ta sdi.com. We otaa SDI Comm. And that's where my new program is. There's a lot of stories on my past endeavors, and the media and you can read about the whole journey. I've got kind of a timeline in my web, my website that talks about when I started, and all the way through media articles that came out during years as I was in development, so that the world can see, you know, you can have your dreams, but it doesn't always happen overnight. But you know, yeah, any pressure, I should go for their dreams. And I had this after 911, I was a marketing consultant, and I'm sitting in my living room floor, and I have a little girl to look after. And my husband and I had an agreement, excuse me with me, I paid for, for her issues with him. He paid for her. So there was never any child support.

So all my marketing went away. And I'm sitting in the middle of delivering for and I just said, Okay, what do I do now. And this little voice came and said, do what you love the money. And truly, I got up the next morning and I worked on a Cricket League brand. And I first started first started working with target, they let me do research inside their stores. And that's how I started discovering how I'm shocked. But they looked at how they bought according to age and so forth. So I'm just saying do what you love every day. And don't, don't ever worry about it. If you have to leave something that you're unhappy and to go after something that you really want to do because it really will work out. We're always taken care of. No matter what we always can find food. I don't know if you ever read about this woman she was called a peace pilgrim. And one day she was so fed up. She got out on the road and she started walking. And she just walked in. She just didn't take anything with her. She just left everything. And she would just meet people along the road that would look after her and she just decided out I'm just gonna go send peace to the world. So she always had food, she always had a place to sleep. It's like, you know, you're always taken care of. So you just don't ever have to worry about that.

Martina: Yeah, that's beautiful. Thank you so much. Thank you for being on the show today and for sharing your experience and your wisdom with us. I think it's amazing the software that you that you are creating, because it's hopefully going to solve a lot of problems for people who want to shop online, but then also for brands to just reduce the waste. And I think that's, yeah, definitely a very, very great invention that is so needed in the wild right now.

Cricket: So can I say for people to go sign up and help us? Like Join the movement? Like on our website? Of course, they can. We can keep them in touch with what's happening. And as we adopt friends, I'm talking to my first big retailer right now. I think he's gonna adopt it. So once I have one, it'll that'll change everything I think, but thank you.

Martina: Yes, of course.

Cricket: Well, I've loved this. This has been great talking to you. I have to stay in touch with you. You're just lovely.

Martina: Thank you. What a beautiful mission to be on to help women feel better in their clothes and have better shopping experiences online, and also while making a difference on the planet. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast and I would be so happy if you left me a review about how you enjoyed the podcast. For everything we mentioned in today's episode, you can go check out the show notes at martinafink.com/podcast/125.

I would love to connect with you on social media you can find me at Martina glows on Facebook and on Instagram. And if there's anybody in your life that could really enjoy this episode today, please send it to them right now.

Thank you so much for being here today and for sharing and listening to our conversation.

I really hope this inspires you to live an even more glowing life.

You deserve to feel healthy, confident and powered and beautiful.

-

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! If you can think of anyone in your life who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now! <3

---

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DISCLAIMER

All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.

#47 Women's Health & Hormonal Health with Dr. Tabatha Carr

Dr. Tabatha Carr is a naturopathic doctor and a leading authority in the field of women’s health and wellness, focusing on the extremely powerful and effective tools of natural medicine. She is a leading advocate for women using the power of their mind, body, and spirit together to bring positive changes to their lives.

Dr. Carr specializes in identifying the root causes of a woman’s symptoms and partners with her to address issues, such as weight management, hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, and more, leading to a life of energy, good health, and balance.

IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• How hormones impact weight loss

• Her top tips for a healthy cycle

• Which foods to stay away from to balance your hormones

• How our mindset affects our physical health

And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

10% OFF Good Girl Chocolate with the code goodgirlchocolate
The Success Principles - Jack Canfield
Join the Daniel Fast in Tabatha's Facebook Group

CONNECT WITH TABATHA

livingandlovinglife.org
instagram.com/goodgirlchocolate/
facebook.com/groups/naturopathicwellness/

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! If you can think of anyone in your life who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now! <3

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SIGN UP BELOW TO BE ADDED TO MY LIST AND GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE GLOW GUIDE:

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DISCLAIMER

All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.

#34 Stop Dieting And Reprogram Your Food Beliefs For Weight Loss with Brittany Lake

Brittany Lake is an Intuitive Weight Loss & Transformation Coach, Energy Healer & hypnotherapist.

After being overweight since she was 12, Brittany learned how to lose weight intuitively by really listening to her body and trusting it 100%.

Today, she helps woman ditch the diet trauma and heal from the thin-side out by helping them master eating intuitively and clearing out emotional baggage contributing to food addiction and self sabotage. 

IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• Why restricting food can actually cause overeating

• How to let hunger come back and guide you

• Her No. 1 tip to stop dieting now and become a naturally thin eater

• The role our emotions play when it comes to food

• Why reprogramming your beliefs can help you achieve weight loss

And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

Her Hypnosis Track
10 Weeks Intuitive Weight Loss
Remembering Wholeness - by Carol Tuttle
Mastering Affluence - by Carol Tuttle

CONNECT WITH BRITTANY

brittanylake.com
instagram.com/intuitiveweightloss
facebook.com/secretsofthenaturallythin

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! If you can think of anyone in your life who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now! <3

---

WANNA LIVE A GLOWING LIFE?

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Learn how easy it can be to prioritize yourself, feel energized, healthy, and fulfilled from within, and uncover that magical GLOW you already have inside of you!

SIGN UP BELOW TO BE ADDED TO MY LIST AND GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE GLOW GUIDE:

---

DISCLAIMER

All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.

#33 365 Days of Happiness with Jacquline Pirtle

Jacqueline Pirtle a.k.a FreakyHealer is an energy healer, mindfulness-happiness coach, and bestselling author of 365 Days of Happiness. She has helped hundreds of clients shift into a “high for life” frequency, and as a result, their health peaked, success and abundance arrived, and life shifted to being magnificent for them.

Her professional background is in health, wellness, holistic medicine, energy healing. She holds international wellness degrees and is internationally certified as a Reiki Master. 

IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• How to make happiness your superpower

• The connection happiness has with the mind, body, soul, and consciousness

• How letting go of expectations can help you accept, respect, appreciate, thank and love the challenges you go through

• Why things happen FOR you and not TO you

• How you can change your frequency, so you can live a happy life now

And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

Download 365 Days of Happiness for free
The Biology of Belief - by Bruce H. Lipton
Books by Esther Hicks
Books by Gregg Braden
365 Days of Happiness Book
Get $10 OFF the "Say Yes To Yourself" Self-Love Online Course with the coupon code "selflove"

CONNECT WITH JACQULINE

freakyhealer.com
instagram.com/freakyhealer/
facebook.com/FreakyHealer/

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! If you can think of anyone in your life who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now! <3

---

WANNA LIVE A GLOWING LIFE?

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE EMAIL LIST AND GET MY TOP 5 LIFESTYLE SECRETS TO LIVING A GLOWING LIFE!

Learn how easy it can be to prioritize yourself, feel energized, healthy, and fulfilled from within, and uncover that magical GLOW you already have inside of you!

SIGN UP BELOW TO BE ADDED TO MY LIST AND GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE GLOW GUIDE:

---

DISCLAIMER

All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.

#32 Save the Bees and Experience Glowing Health with Bee Products with Carly Stein

Carly Stein is the Founder and CEO of Beekeeper's Naturals, a nutraceutical company grounded in a bee-driven cause. Beekeeper's Naturals is obsessed with creating sustainably sourced, and innovative products derived straight from hive superfoods.

After struggling with severe health issues herself that she was able to heal with propolis, Carly decided to begin beekeeping to ensure she never had to go propolis-free again. Also, Bees play such a big role in our planet's ecosystem, which also contributed to her passion for bees.

IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• How the ecosystem of the bees can improve our health

• The amazing benefits of bee products

• Carly's special recipes and top tips for optimal health

• How she found her passion and built Beekeeper's Naturals from a personal need

• Why we need to save the bees and what YOU can do to helpAnd so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

Get 15% OFF your BKN orders with the coupon code theglowlife
Management Principles - by Ray Dalio
Ender's Game - by Orson Scott Card
Her Honey, Cinnamon, Ginger Tea Recipe:
1. 1/2 Tbsp B Chill Hemp Honey (or any other honey)
2. 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
3. Some grated ginger
4. Lemon Juice
5. Propolis
6. Hot water
Get $10 OFF the "Say Yes To Yourself" Self-Love Online Course with the coupon code "selflove"

CONNECT WITH CARLY

beekeepersnaturals.com
instagram.com/beekeepers_naturals/
facebook.com/BeekeepersNaturals

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! If you can think of anyone in your life who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now! <3

---

WANNA LIVE A GLOWING LIFE?

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE EMAIL LIST AND GET MY TOP 5 LIFESTYLE SECRETS TO LIVING A GLOWING LIFE!

Learn how easy it can be to prioritize yourself, feel energized, healthy, and fulfilled from within, and uncover that magical GLOW you already have inside of you!

SIGN UP BELOW TO BE ADDED TO MY LIST AND GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE GLOW GUIDE:

---

DISCLAIMER

All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.

#31 Green Juice, Food Shaming, and Glowing Through Happiness with Bianca Klotsman

Bianca Klotsman is the Owner of HolisticRX, Certified holistic nutritionist, health coach, and a fitness and wellness influencer. She loves to help people become their healthiest selves through integrative and holistic nutrition with the philosophy to treat food as medicine.

She can personally attest to the power of proper nutrition to heal the body after struggling with breakouts, hormonal weight gain and PCOS. With the help of her grandma's knowledge about health, and with tons of research, Bianca healed herself holistically through food, supplements and lifestyle alterations - no prescription medications required.

IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• Why Food Shaming is a thing and how to stop it

• Her best health tips to kickstart the day

• How to glow from the inside through happiness

• Going on a retreat that changes your life

• How being humble can help you grow

• Why you need to stop looking at diets and food trends now

And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

Learn more about becoming a Holistic Health Coach
Kale & Crunches Blog
Cashew Butter Cookies
Martina's upcoming Retreats
The Beauty of Dirty Skin - by Dr. Whitney Bowe

CONNECT WITH BIANCA

myholisticrx.com
instagram.com/HolisticRX
facebook.com/Holisticrx/

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! If you can think of anyone in your life who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now! <3

---

WANNA LIVE A GLOWING LIFE?

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE EMAIL LIST AND GET MY TOP 5 LIFESTYLE SECRETS TO LIVING A GLOWING LIFE!

Learn how easy it can be to prioritize yourself, feel energized, healthy, and fulfilled from within, and uncover that magical GLOW you already have inside of you!

SIGN UP BELOW TO BE ADDED TO MY LIST AND GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE GLOW GUIDE:

---

DISCLAIMER

All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.

#30 Chronic Illness, and Choosing Happiness over Suffering with Nitika Chopra

Nitika Chopra is a Talk Show Host, Self-Love Expert + Chronic Illness Advocate, who has been a leader in the wellness industry since she founded her blog in 2010.

After suffering from chronic illness for the past 27 years, Nitika started to create a conversation about self-love in the chronic illness community and  is known for her straight-forwarded tone and intense vulnerability. With her experience in public speaking, social media and her blog, Nitika is determined to get honest with her audience, so that they can get honest with themselves in a way that truly transforms lives.

IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• How Acceptance is the first step to healing

• How to focus on happiness rather than on suffering

• Why self-love is a choice and how to say YES to yourself

• The importance of taking your boundaries with you when you leave the house

And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

Love Warrior - by Glennon Doyle Melton

CONNECT WITH NITIKA

NitikaChopra.com
instagram.com/nitikachopra/
facebook.com/BellaNitikaChopra/
The Chronic Illness Crew Facebook Group 

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! If you can think of anyone in your life who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now! <3

---

WANNA LIVE A GLOWING LIFE?

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE EMAIL LIST AND GET MY TOP 5 LIFESTYLE SECRETS TO LIVING A GLOWING LIFE!

Learn how easy it can be to prioritize yourself, feel energized, healthy, and fulfilled from within, and uncover that magical GLOW you already have inside of you!

SIGN UP BELOW TO BE ADDED TO MY LIST AND GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE GLOW GUIDE:

---

DISCLAIMER

All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.