[00:00:00] Jeremy: Coming up today on the fit mess.

[00:00:02] Donna:  Falling in the flow of the natural rhythm and flow of life feels a lot better than forcing ourself against it because when we force ourself against it we get hurt. 

[00:00:14] Zach: That's Donna Bond. She's a spiritual life and business coach and author of Original Wisdom Harness, the Power of the Authentic You. Today, we'll talk to her about how to get unstuck and transform your problems into possibilities,

[00:00:27] But first, I'm Jeremy. And I'm Zach. We've spent years pushing ourselves to learn more about our own physical, emotional, and mental health, and picked up a few coaching certificates along the way. But really, we're two guys who got sick of our own shit and started making changes to be healthier, happier, and live more meaningful lives.

[00:00:42] And each week we talk to world class experts with advice to help you do the same.

[00:00:47] Zach: 

[00:00:47] I don't know about you, but I feel like the number of problems that I have anymore are like sufficiently higher than they used to be. It's like growing. Every year there's just more problems and I am feeling stuck a lot more than I used to. I don't know, I felt, I always felt like possibility was something I could grow into, um, earlier on.

[00:01:10] And I do feel stuck quite a bit. But I've got methods in place that I can, you know, unstick myself and, and really, and get through it. So like that, just that one key line of like how to get unstuck and transform problems into possibilities is really interesting in the sense that I've been doing that my whole life because I was set up to be stuck and I'm used to being stuck and I like to be stuck.

[00:01:34] It's my happy place almost, right? It's where my brain

[00:01:37] Jeremy: You know how to play that song.

[00:01:39] Zach: Oh God, I know how to play that song really well. But you know, in all the work that we've done with ourselves over the years, you know, I think we know how to get unstuck a little bit, but I was listening to this interview. I was unfortunately unable to attend because I was flying to Seattle to see you.

[00:01:56] Um, it was like, you know, a great interview for you, for you like, it, it actually seems like it meant a lot for you

[00:02:02] Jeremy: actually, yeah. Listening back to it, preparing to share it on, on this episode. There were, there were some points where I was getting emotional listening to myself and listening to the advice that, that Donna was giving me because,

[00:02:14] Zach: do you get, do you get stuck and, uh, have

[00:02:17] Jeremy: oh, I don't know every now and then, just, you know, most of my life.

[00:02:21] Zach: Oh, no. Shit, I would never have

[00:02:22] Jeremy: yeah. Yeah. Cause we never talk about that stuff. Um. It's, Yeah, certainly the last few months I've, I've been in a place where I feel kind of stuck, but, but in a weird way, right? Like, as you'll hear in the interview, you know, I share that I've made some choices in the last couple of years that have given me everything that I want in my life except for, you know, some financial stability and I'm working on that. But that just leaves the question of, once I do resolve that issue, once I accomplish that goal, what's the next thing? What's the next thing? So I've gotta find ways to just settle in and enjoy the, the journey.

[00:03:00] Zach: Enjoy the journey. I know, but look at Maslow's hierarchy, right? Like there are certain things that you do need to meet in your life in order to be comfortable and enjoy that

[00:03:09] Jeremy: Right.

[00:03:10] Zach: Having the finances to support your life is one of those things that make you comfortable. Like you, you do need to meet that need.

[00:03:17] So, so get, get it,

[00:03:19] But I think the point we're trying to make is like, you know, we're all human. we all have things that hold us down and we have problems and we have issues that we need to fix. We have goals and we have things that we want to be better. And we're always in that, that mode of, of just progressing as a human being.

[00:03:36] And, um, as I love the one part in the interview where they told you, take, take a deep breath, right? As long as you're taking care of your body, like doing the things you need to do, you'll have the energy, you'll have the power and the momentum. To actually get out there and do it. And again, that for me, that starts with having all the nutrients in my body that I need in order to get up every day and go get after it.

[00:03:57] So that's why I take Athletic greens.

[00:03:59] Jeremy: It's packed with 75 high quality vitamins and minerals. It works with any diet plan and it tastes great. And for less than three bucks a day, you're investing in your health for a lot less than your cabinet full of vitamins. So reclaim your health now with convenient daily nutrition to make it easy. Athletic greens is gonna give you a free year supply of immune supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athletic greens.com/fit mess again, that's athletic greens.com/fit.

[00:04:27] Mess to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. You can also find that link on our website, the fit mess.com. All right. Well, I feel like we've teased it enough. It's time to get to the interview. Our guest is Donna Bond. She's a spiritual life and business coach and author of Original Wisdom harnessed the Power of the Authentic You and I started by asking her about her own transformation and why it inspired her to help others. 

[00:04:49] Donna: So I had a big fat corporate career working as a marketing executive for 28 years in hospitality. And, , I turned 44, which was how old my father was when he died. And like all of a sudden.

[00:05:07] I was in this big rush, you know, to figure out like, what in the hell am I doing here? What is my life about? And I was really at a point in my career where it was just that auto play that repeat, you know, it was just like, same. every day, same shit every day. Right? Like get up, you solve the same problems

[00:05:30] with the same people in the same environment.

[00:05:34] And it was just soul crushing. you know, it was soul crushing. 

[00:05:40] Jeremy: mm. 

[00:05:40] Donna: and I worked for an amazing company. I worked with amazing people, like best in class people.

[00:05:47] and, so on the advice of a psychic. I enrolled

[00:05:53] myself in a master's

[00:05:54] program in spiritual psychology,

[00:05:57] Jeremy: Okay, but were you were you into

[00:05:59] sort of the psychic things or was that like way out of left 

[00:06:02] field for you?

[00:06:03] Donna: yes. And, um, so I have been a spiritual seeker since a young age, like since I was 12 and this has always been my love, my passion, , really the thing that uplifts me more than anything. But I was sort of keeping that part of myself locked in a closet. You know, it was like something that I took out on the weekends and, you know, I would never have told anyone that I would go to a psychic or, you know, was interested in holistic healing and spiritual energy.

[00:06:37] And, you know, those were sort of taboo subjects at the time in corporate land. So this was a part of myself that I definitely kept hidden. And. When I, I like literally went to this person in like bawling, you know, I need to find my purpose, which I had done a million times before. 

[00:06:59] Jeremy: Mm-hmm 

[00:07:00] Donna: said, Donna, they're spelling it out for me, spiritual psychology.

[00:07:08] And I said, what in the hell is spiritual psych? 

[00:07:13] Jeremy: I think you just read my cheat sheet notes here. I was. gonna ask you that question in a 

[00:07:16] few minutes.

[00:07:17] Donna: Well, she didn't tell me what it was. , she gave me the names of two universities that teach a program in spiritual psychology. And I went home and consulted the real Oracle. I Googled it, right? 

[00:07:30] Jeremy: Yeah. of course. 

[00:07:31] Donna: And very quickly, I found my way to the university of Santa Monica, which so happened to be kind of up the street from where I was living in Southern California.

[00:07:41] It's in Santa Monica and I started researching and believe me when I tell you, you know, my ego and my personality had 101,000 reasons why not to do. Why not to do it, that's time. The money, the, you know, not the least of which was I was already

[00:08:03] working a 60 hour a week job. right Like where in the hell?

[00:08:08] And I'm married

[00:08:09] to an amazing guy. We have an art business, like where in the hell was I gonna find enough

[00:08:14] time and energy to pursue a master's degree 

[00:08:18] Jeremy: Right. 

[00:08:21] Donna: I did it. I said, yes, on sort of a blind faith, you know what I mean? Like on this inner

[00:08:29] something that was going on that I couldn't even really talk about or define or articulate at the time, but okay. I'm gonna, I'm gonna

[00:08:37] just do it I'll just do it. And we'll just see what happens. We'll spiritual psychology is a technology really, and it's a technology. That was innovated and developed by Dr. Ron and Mary

[00:08:52] Holick at the university of Santa Monica. and

[00:08:54] this technology

[00:08:55] teaches us that everything that's happening in our life, the good, the bad, the ugly, and I'm from Connecticut

[00:09:05] originally.

[00:09:06] So I like to say the super wicked ugly at everything that is happening.

[00:09:14] Is happening as a beautifully designed opportunity, giving

[00:09:19] each of us the chance to grow and learn and evolve. 

[00:09:24] Jeremy: Mm-hmm 

[00:09:25] Donna: And when we begin to see our life through that lens, that everything is offering me a chance to expand my horizons.

[00:09:36] Essentially, I immediately put myself in a seat of empower.

[00:09:42] Rather than feeling victimized by life's happenstance by life's unpredictability, by life's craziness 

[00:09:50] . 

[00:09:50] and the ego doesn't like this, right? This is hard for us to get our heads around. And this is where the spiritual piece comes in. That we have the opportunity to recognize we are so much more.

[00:10:08] Then our thoughts, then our feelings, then our behaviors that there is this whole other part of ourself, right? Our soul or what I call our original wisdom that there's this energetic essence that is breathing life into you. Whether you wanna recognize that or not. It's animating your physical form, it's animating your beingness.

[00:10:35] And if that energy were to leave you, then your body would drop dead and be in a hump on the ground. Right? So there's this other part of us that we often overlook and this part of us, this higher essence wants to be included in our life. Wants to participate with the experience that we're having here on planet earth, because this is the part of us that sort of holds the keys to the kingdom.

[00:11:13] This is the part of us that has our lesson plan, essentially, that knows all of the reasons why we came to this. If we came to this life to learn about compassion or humility or perseverance or resilience, then life is gonna set up for us opportunities for us to learn these things. Right. And each soul holds the key to what that looks like.

[00:11:51] And so the work

[00:11:52] that I do with my clients is supporting them in making those discoveries.

[00:11:57] Jeremy: . so I'm sure that is, uh, more than a, a 30 minute interview question to answer, but how do you, how do you discover that? Right? I mean, our heads and, and our hearts, I think are filled with all kinds of messages and ideas and thoughts. And, you know, I, I know for me, part of the practice has been learning to let go of most of them and, and listen to the ones that come from a deeper place than just, you know, the, the racing around in my head.

[00:12:25] So, how do you identify that, that inner wisdom, that original wisdom versus

[00:12:30] what is just our racing, you know, monkey brain trying to keep us alive.

[00:12:35] Donna: Well, I love your question , you know, to use what works for your audience and what you guys are teaching about. You do it one step at a time, you know, you do it one step at a time. It's a process and

[00:12:54] you're already in it, Jeremy, right? Just in your acknowledgement of. Recognizing the framework that we have in our mind, and we operate our life according to this framework in our mind.

[00:13:09] And so part of the process is recognizing that there's another way, right? Maybe there's another viewpoint or there's another perspective or there's another way to see it. And as soon as we're willing to open ourself to that, we opened a door. We opened a door to let the light. And the minute we open ourselves to something new, then this infinite intelligence in the universe, this invisible, everywhere, present energy has the chance to show us something different. 

[00:13:50] . 

[00:13:50] So, you know, how do we get outta the monkey mind? We gotta slow down. We have to slow down and most of us are going mock 10 with our hair on fire. And we buy into the misbelief that we can't slow down because we think it's all on us. Like I, I gotta do it all, but that's another misunderstanding. So there's this opportunity for partnership with this higher part of your. 

[00:14:23] 

[00:14:23] And really the first step is the awareness.

[00:14:25] Jeremy: yeah. Okay. I have a thousand, my monkey brain's racing right now. Cause I have a thousand questions and I want to get them all in. One is what you were just alluding to is, is sort of the letting go of the. Uh, this is something that I've been just very recently trying to practice with is letting go of, of the, how to accomplish the thing I wanna accomplish and focusing on the, how will it feel to reach that point and sort of put that out into the world, into the universe, into whatever you subscribe to, uh, with the idea.

[00:14:59] By putting it out there, the universe will respond that the universe responds with whatever you put out to it. So if you are constantly the victim, if you're, oh, I can't make enough money, I can't get the job. I can't get the girl, the guy, the, whatever the universe is gonna go. Yeah. Okay. If that's what you believe then you're right.

[00:15:15] But if you believe that, yeah. I'm gonna be a huge success and I'm gonna, you know, provide for my family for generations, that those door, the universe will open those doors. It's not, and this is, I, I like to bring this up and maybe you disagree. I don't know. But. whenever we talk about sort of this manifestation idea of, of creating your reality and, and inviting the things into your world that you want.

[00:15:37] I think a lot of people hear that as I'm gonna sit on the couch and I'm gonna wish for it, and someone's gonna deliver it to my

[00:15:42] front door, but that's not how

[00:15:44] Donna: not gonna ever happen. It's not gonna ever

[00:15:46] happen. It's not gonna ever happen because of the dimension that we're in here in physical world, reality, physical being the operative word, like things are physical here. There's density. There's a lower vibration action is required. Action is required.

[00:16:06] . 

[00:16:06] I love what you're talking about. And as a matter of fact, there's a whole excerpt in my book. I'm not even sure what chapter it's in, but there's a whole excerpt in my book called hang up the how 

[00:16:15] 

[00:16:15] So I wanna encourage you to check into that and, you know, the first thing Jeremy is to have sort of the energetic blueprint to. The best case scenario, right? The energetic blueprint to the vision of what you would love to experience. 

[00:16:38] . 

[00:16:38] And so setting time aside to actually create that, you know, before you even think about the, how sometimes we're, we're going into the how, but we don't really know where it is. We're even trying to get. 

[00:16:55] , 

[00:16:55] So setting that time aside to really dream, to let your imagination play with you, to paint a picture, right? Imagine you have a blank canvas in front of you.

[00:17:11] What does that picture look like? What do you want it to look like? What would be amazing? Right. What would like inspire. Life giving energy to move through you.

[00:17:24] As you imagine that happening, 

[00:17:29] Jeremy: mm-hmm 

[00:17:30] Donna: about the how, right. You just wanna get really, really clear on the what, 

[00:17:35] . 

[00:17:35] and as you get really, really clear on the what,

[00:17:39] then you wanna get really, really clear on the why. Well, why, why do you wanna make a bunch of. 

[00:17:46] Jeremy: Mm-hmm 

[00:17:47] Donna: Why do you wanna leave a legacy for your family?

[00:17:51] Because answering those questions are then the deeper questions that can really inspire the motivation that you need to get off the couch.

[00:18:03] Jeremy: So I've I've heard this expression used in sort of the, the business world and I'm I'm, I think I'm starting to adapt it to my own journey that, uh, that I've, I've been on this, you know, spiritual wellness journey thing for the better part of a decade. And I've, I've heard this description lately of companies, rather than improving on their past, envisioning a future and building backwards from there.

[00:18:28] And so many of us, myself include. look at all the baggage that we bring into this path, into this journey, into this exploration that we go on. And they're all reasons. They're all things to let go of reasons we get in our own way, reasons. We can't reasons. We shouldn't reasons we won't, whatever. And there's just been this sort of liberation in my head where I've just thought of, and, and maybe this is where we're going with

[00:18:50] this, but this idea that if you do just imagine the best case scenario,

[00:18:55] despite what you're bringing to it, and then fill in the blanks on how to

[00:18:59] get there.

[00:19:00] And, and let go of all

[00:19:02] that past stuff, that's, that's sort of what I'm trying to make a mental

[00:19:06] shift to do And, and it really, it started, we talked a little bit before we started recording that,

[00:19:10] you know, I moved up to Canada. I walked away from a 20 year

[00:19:12] career, took this blind leap of faith. And so far everything I've imagined, everything I've wanted has come true, except for the money.

[00:19:21] And so

[00:19:22] to try and to try and fill in that blank, I'm

[00:19:23] looking at what is the future that I want to

[00:19:25] build and, and trying to fill in the blanks back to where I am now. And I'm not all the way there. I'm, I'm still putting the

[00:19:30] pieces together, but is that is that a, a fair way to approach

[00:19:34] this journey is to, to try and build from wherever your imagination can take

[00:19:39] you, rather

[00:19:39] than trying to build upon whatever you've been handed.

[00:19:42] When you showed

[00:19:42] Donna: Yeah, I love that. Yes.

[00:19:45] And I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna give you a little bit of a paradox holding the vision is like your north star, right? Like. Painting that vision and then holding that vision can be used as a tool when it feels like things aren't working out or you need to get refocused, or, you know, you're experiencing frustration And you're not motivated. It's like you can go back to that vision and you can.

[00:20:17] Read it out loud, or you can tune into what it feels like, and that can give you a shift in your own energy body, which can reinvigorate and re-energize you towards the next step you have to take. Right? So, if you're gonna try to get from Los Angeles to Boston, there are a million different. 

[00:20:43] Jeremy: mm-hmm 

[00:20:43] Donna: That you can go, right?

[00:20:45] There's a million different ways. And what most of us do when we're trying to figure out the, how is we plan the route and then we stick to it. But what happens when we do that is we're leaving it all up to us. Right, because We figured out the route and we're insisting that that route is the route that We have to take to get there. and when we insist on something, we force our way and when we force our way on something, we go against the natural rhythm And flow of. life And falling in the flow of the natural rhythm and pattern and flow of life feels a lot better than forcing ourself against it because when we force ourself against it we get hurt. 

[00:21:45] Jeremy: Yeah. 

[00:21:46] Donna: way or another 

[00:21:48] So what happens if you're gonna travel from Los Angeles to Boston, knowing there's a million different ways is throw out your.

[00:21:56] plan on the how throw out your route and take one step at a time 

[00:22:02] 

[00:22:02] And be willing in the dark on how you're gonna get there. Be willing to be in the dark, but you take one step.

[00:22:13] And as you take one step, the next step is illuminated. 

[00:22:19] Jeremy: so using that analogy.

[00:22:22] If I wanna get to Boston and I throw away the map and I start driving

[00:22:27] and I'm in LA, I started in LA and I've ended up in

[00:22:29] Seattle. I went the, I went a really long way and now I'm 45 and going well, I don't have time to get to Boston. Now

[00:22:39] do I give up on Boston? Is, is that the thing, am I, is it a mistake really?

[00:22:44] To, to have an end

[00:22:45] goal. I guess, I guess that's what I'm trying to figure out is, and this is, this is a very personal question for me. I am 45 years old and I am starting my life over

[00:22:53] in a lot of 

[00:22:54] Donna: I hear you. 

[00:22:55] Jeremy: And I, the, I mentioned the

[00:22:59] money thing, right? Like that, that is a hang up for me because I did not

[00:23:03] grow up with money. so my life has been a struggle trying to just, you know, keep the lights on and all the things. I don't want my kids to

[00:23:09] continue that I want my kids to have it, have it a little easier than I did.

[00:23:15] not because I want them to have an

[00:23:16] easy life. I want them to have a good life, but I don't want them to ever have the, the same kind of financial pressure and

[00:23:21] stress that I've had. And so it's hard for me to let go of, of that. Like how do, how do I just go, well,

[00:23:27] kids, we're gonna just trust the universe. Dad's gonna just, you know, keep playing podcast and see what

[00:23:32] happens, how, I mean, Part of this, I know is a midlife crisis. Just like, how do I

[00:23:38] figure this out at, you know, 45 and

[00:23:39] starting over. But I guess it's, it's hard for me to let go of

[00:23:43] that end goal of solving that

[00:23:45] problem because it feels wildly

[00:23:48] irresponsible. 

[00:23:49] Donna: Hmm. 

[00:23:51] Jeremy: to just be like, I'm just gonna trust. I'm just going to do my best and hope it all works out. Like, I feel like I need to force my will to accomplish

[00:23:57] the thing I wanna

[00:23:58] accomplish. So I, I'm not exactly sure what my question is in all of that rambling, but if you can help me

[00:24:02] sort that out, that would be helpful. 

[00:24:04] Donna: Take a deep breath, 

[00:24:05] Jeremy: yeah.

[00:24:08] Donna: take a deep breath when you really, call upon the wisdom and the guidance of. your own inner knowing Jeremy. 

[00:24:20] Jeremy: Mm-hmm 

[00:24:23] Donna: What do you know? What's true for you 

[00:24:27] Jeremy: I know that right now I have everything I need. And, 

[00:24:34] uh, I, I believe it's fair to say my family has never been.

[00:24:37] Donna: Beautiful. Wow. 

[00:24:40] So just take that in. 

[00:24:42] Jeremy: mm-hmm

[00:24:44] Donna: Wow. 

[00:24:47] Jeremy: and this is where the baggage of my life comes in and says, but it's all gonna slip away at any 

[00:24:52] Donna: Okay. What do you wanna say to that voice? Maybe that's just an old story. 

[00:25:00] Jeremy: that is an old story and what I w what I would. I guess that's what I'm seeking here. What I'm seeking here is what, uh, I believe it was in the big Lebowski was referred to as fuck you money. I want to be able to tell that story of me that it's all gonna go away. No, it's not because I have the power to control it. 

[00:25:19] Donna: what if you were to befriend that voice? , what part of you is speaking right with that voice? The part of you that has been disappointed, the part of you that is fearful, the part of you that doesn't believe in yourself.

[00:25:43] Jeremy: The there's a lot of it, but I know almost every time I go down this path, I end up the 12 year old version of me watching my parents divorce. 

[00:25:54] Donna: Hmm. 

[00:25:55] Jeremy: I, and watching everything that I knew. as, as insecure and, you know, bad as it was because of their dynamic, but it comes back to that moment where everything I knew,

[00:26:10] even though it wasn't

[00:26:11] great was shattered 

[00:26:12] Donna: Yeah. 

[00:26:14] Jeremy: and I've gone back to, I've done a number

[00:26:17] of different, uh, healing modalities.

[00:26:18] I've literally gone back

[00:26:19] and stood next to and held that version

[00:26:21] of. told him you're going to be okay,

[00:26:24] you're going to come out stronger because of this. This is not the

[00:26:27] end. This is just, you know, another, I mean, I've done all the things I've been there.

[00:26:31] I've changed my memory of that moment to the, to one of me being there with me

[00:26:35] as a child, helping me, but still it doesn't erase that feeling

[00:26:41] of everything that you have and everything that you love can and will go away.

[00:26:48] Nothing's

[00:26:48] permanent like this. It will.

[00:26:51] but I'm, I want to avoid the

[00:26:52] dramatic, you

[00:26:54] know, the home we live in, we can no

[00:26:56] longer live in the you know, income that we have. That's keeping the lights

[00:27:00] on, is going to go away. I want to avoid all of that and

[00:27:03] provide the stability and 

[00:27:04] security for my family, that my

[00:27:06] family, as a

[00:27:07] child did not,

[00:27:09] Donna: What do you get out of it out of perpetuating the old story?

[00:27:15] Jeremy: uh, a lot of grief, a lot of 

[00:27:16] stress, a lot of depression, a lot of anxiety. a

[00:27:20] lot of worry. 

[00:27:21] Donna: Are you done with that? Jeremy? 

[00:27:23] Jeremy: I have been trying to be done with it for a long time.

[00:27:25] Yeah.

[00:27:33] Donna: Relating differently to that voice. when that voice comes up, could be helpful 

[00:27:40] Jeremy: Mm-hmm 

[00:27:41] Donna: when that voice comes up, probably. Makes you work harder, right? Makes you force your plan a little bit, a little bit tighter, right? Like 

[00:27:53] Jeremy: and, and, honestly spin my wheels. It's it makes me spin my, go do something productive, even though you don't know that it's going in the right. It's just something, right. It's it's making the needle move. Yeah.

[00:28:02] Donna: So you've gotta be picking up what it's putting down.

[00:28:06] Jeremy: Mm-hmm

[00:28:07] Donna: Right. what if you just stopped believing that voice

[00:28:15] What, if you were able to relate

[00:28:17] to that voice with a little bit

[00:28:19] more understanding, 

[00:28:23] Jeremy: mm-hmm 

[00:28:23] Donna: compassion, even some empathy, right? Like that was then,

[00:28:31] and this is now. 

[00:28:33] 

[00:28:33] And I hear you and I hear your

[00:28:34] fears and I, and I, I acknowledge

[00:28:38] you and I hear your fears and we're gonna do it

[00:28:43] different this time. 

[00:28:45] Jeremy: . So what does different look like? 

[00:28:47] Donna: Well, it. looks like I heard you say 10 minutes ago

[00:28:51] that you have everything you need and your family is

[00:28:55] really happy. 

[00:28:56] Jeremy: Mm-hmm. 

[00:28:57] Donna: and there's this one other piece 

[00:29:01] that you are still in the process of creating. 

[00:29:08] 

[00:29:08] What if you loved the process a little bit more 

[00:29:11] Jeremy: yeah, I was just gonna say, I, I 

[00:29:12] just heard Gary V yelling in my head. Love the process, man. Um, yeah. Uh, 

[00:29:17] Donna: what are you gonna do when you 

[00:29:17] get there? Right then you're gonna have stupid money then what. 

[00:29:22] Jeremy: right. 

[00:29:22] Donna: what are you gonna do? You're gonna stop working. Probably not. You're gonna stop podcasting. You're gonna stop talking to cool people. Probably not. 

[00:29:31] Jeremy: no, no, you're right. 

[00:29:33] Donna: So love the process a 

[00:29:35] little bit more. 

[00:29:38] Jeremy: Yeah. And I, and I don't wanna dwell on this. I have a thousand other questions, but. but part of it is J I mean, I say this, like, I'm an old man. I'm not an old man. I'm 45, but 45, you know, to the 12 year old version of me is very old and is very late to be playing this game. Is it ever too late for someone to reinvent themselves and take that leap and have it turn out?

[00:30:00] Okay.

[00:30:01] Donna: I'm about to be 55. So I have 

[00:30:04] to say 

[00:30:05] no. 

[00:30:06] Jeremy: Okay. 

[00:30:06] Good answer. 

[00:30:07] Donna: started when I was 44. 

[00:30:10] And, um, I'm kind of just getting started,

[00:30:17] Jeremy: That's awesome. That's that's inspiring. 

[00:30:19] Donna: you know, walked away from the regular direct deposit every two weeks, you know, had to learn about that. And, , 

[00:30:30] Part of my journey was breast cancer and, um, going through breast cancer a year after I quit, my job 

[00:30:42] Jeremy: Oh, geez. 

[00:30:43] Donna: was a really, really important

[00:30:48] invitation from the universe asking me if I wanted to do it different.

[00:30:54] Right. Because. In corporate land, you kill yourself, just like part of the program, right? You get up every day, you don't eat right. You don't sleep right. You live on bad food, old coffee, you know, you're too busy to take care of yourself. All of that. 

[00:31:12] Jeremy: mm-hmm 

[00:31:13] Donna: So I left the corporate arena with this sort of same framework of like, if I'm gonna make it in the world, that's what I gotta do.

[00:31:21] I gotta kill myself, which is what my father did. Which is what my father did. He was a workaholic and he died of lung cancer at the age of 44. And so life was like, oh, do you wanna repeat what he did? You know? And it was at that moment that I said, no, I'm not willing to do that. 

[00:31:47] . 

[00:31:47] I wanna do it different. And.

[00:31:53] this is now bigger, longer giant

[00:31:55] can of worms like door that I'm opening, but I'm gonna, I'm

[00:31:59] gonna come back to your, , conversation about manifestation and part of the illusion

[00:32:05] here, and part of where we go wrong is That we're always trying to get to something, right. Like you're trying to get to

[00:32:13] this level of wealth or you're trying to get to

[00:32:18] Boston. 

[00:32:19] 

[00:32:19] What really

[00:32:20] has to happen is that you have to come from it. You have to sort of like assume the sale. if that makes sense, you've gotta be it 

[00:32:29] 

[00:32:29] And you've gotta be it mentally and

[00:32:32] emotionally so that you start vibrating

[00:32:35] at it physically. And then the law of magnet magnetic attraction, which is always happening on this planet.

[00:32:44] Is just gonna bring into your awareness that, which you are the

[00:32:49] match to So in your scenario,

[00:32:53] if you are dumping a bunch of your energy, your attention,

[00:32:57] your life force into,

[00:33:00] I don't have enough money. I don't have enough money. I don't have enough money. Then you are not gonna have enough money, 

[00:33:05] . 

[00:33:05] but what if you started given some love? To the money that you do have

[00:33:11] Jeremy: mm-hmm 

[00:33:12] Donna: some acknowledgement, giving some gratitude, some appreciation, 

[00:33:17] 

[00:33:17] You see where I'm going with 

[00:33:18] Jeremy: oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, 

[00:33:19] Donna: right? You're like, you're flipping it on

[00:33:20] your head. Then you're like loving your money.

[00:33:24] No matter whether it's a dollar or whether, you know, it's a million dollars, 

[00:33:31] Jeremy: Right. 

[00:33:32] Donna: doesn't matter.

[00:33:37] Jeremy: And, And this has been my experience in, in pretty much every other aspect of my life Even the, the move that I mentioned, we, we decided we loved this, place. That was the place that we belonged and that what followed, that was all of the action And opportunity to get there. So. So I, I I know it to be true.

[00:33:55] I've, I've seen it happen. I literally, I have work now that happened because of, of that energy that that I put out there. So, but it's not an easy thing to do in any way to, to, to sort of imagine that person and this, we talk about this all the time is that, you know, to whatever goal you're trying to accomplish is that you have to decide you are that person and then take the actions that that person would take to become that person.

[00:34:20] to then realize, oh, I've been that person all along because, I had it in me to do those things. So I, I think that that can apply to this and to any, uh, adventure that someone's on in, in trying to 

[00:34:31] reach a goal, 

[00:34:32] Donna: How would your life.

[00:34:33] be different if

[00:34:33] you had this, you know, stupid.

[00:34:38] Jeremy: Uh, it would alleviate a lot of stress. It would, uh, it would allow us to have stability of knowing. knowing more That we couldn't, you know have a house because like right now we rent a house, we rent the house that we love. We want to be able to buy one so that? somebody can't come in and say, Hey, we need to do something else and You

[00:34:55] need to move.

[00:34:57] Um, that's a big

[00:34:58] piece of it. And then it's also just knowing that my kids are gonna be okay when I'm gone.

[00:35:02] You know? I mean, those 

[00:35:02] Donna: And how old are they? 

[00:35:04] Jeremy: uh, 11 and seven, 

[00:35:06] Donna: So you've got some time. 

[00:35:08] Jeremy: but it doesn't feel like it 

[00:35:10] Donna: I hear you. I hear you. So, , when I left. The steady paycheck, um, and became an entrepreneur. And I didn't go right into coaching by the way, because I, I didn't see myself as a coach. I didn't, I didn't think I was gonna like coaching. Uh, it, it was not what I did. I hung out a shingle as a marketing consultant and because I had contacts and I could make money that way I began coaching. One of the commitments that I made to myself so that I wasn't falling into these old ways of being and these old, like patterns of killing myself and like the overdoing and the belief that it's all on me. One of the things that I did was I said, once a month, I'm going to off in the middle of the week, like on a Tuesday.

[00:36:08] Or a Wednesday, like I'm gonna plan a spa day with one of my girlfriends and I'm going to completely remove myself from, you know, the 100,000 things that I could be doing on or in my business. And I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna play. 

[00:36:26] 

[00:36:26] And what happens to us when we do that is we get out of the stress. we Emotionally, physically and mentally put ourself at a different vibration because now we're

[00:36:43] in a place of play.

[00:36:45] We're in a place of relaxation. We're in a place of receiving we're in a place of receiving because when we're doing, which is all masculine energy, the pushing energy, the forcing energy, nothing can come in.

[00:37:03] Jeremy: Yeah, 

[00:37:04] Donna: because we're driving. The only way we can receive is to be in that receptivity, in that openness. And for me personally, it's easier for me to get into that open receptivity place when I am relaxed, not when I'm under stress, when I am open, when I'm not creating any resistance mentally or emotionally.

[00:37:29] Right. So, you know what, what's, you know, what started to happen. I would have these amazing days with my girlfriends. I'd be out like laughing and goofing

[00:37:39] off and high on life, cuz it's a beautiful sunny day in Southern California 

[00:37:43] Jeremy: Mm-hmm. 

[00:37:44] Donna: and the phone would ring and it would be a client that I saw six months ago saying, Hey,

[00:37:50] I'm ready for another six month coaching journey.

[00:37:52] Do you. have room on your calendar for me? And boom in started to flow the abundance. But I had to get out of the way to create space for that to happen. Jeremy,

[00:38:09] Jeremy: So two, two things about that one, the, the contrarian in me the person, the doubter who's hearing that is going. So you're saying. Screw around. Go take off, take a spa day and work will show up on the other end of the phone in your case. That, is what happened. Um, so I want, I want to touch on that but I wanna just also say literally last week I took two days off. One was, uh, had to take my kids somewhere in the morning and anyways, we just went. you know what, screw it. We're just gonna go for a hike after that. We're gonna go check out the water park and see if it's something you guys would wanna do at.

[00:38:41] And it was just a super fun day. And it was just one of those days where I went, this is the life I created is one, that I went, I can just decide to do this today because that's what I want to do. And then Friday it was I woke up and went, oh man, I took Tuesday off and I've got all this stuff I should do.

[00:38:54] And there were all these pressures of, of things that, uh, that needed to happen. but it was getting in the way of being with my family and helping my family get done, what we needed to get, get. . And so I literally, I turned to the, this book that I use all the time for guidance. I turned to the, the gurus that I follow and just as I sought them out, all of their answers were let go, just let go of that. shit and go with it.

[00:39:21] And so I did, I took another day off and went and I'm just gonna take care of the family. And it was, and it worked out great. It was awesome. so far the phone hasn't rang with you know, the the big contract, Maybe that's coming next week. I don't know, but so help me out with that doubter and, and I guess that the second part of that was just sort of validating that, 

[00:39:38] that there, the, the work I've done has created this life. 

[00:39:42] .

[00:39:42] Donna: Well, you just said it, right. The 

[00:39:45] work that I've done has created this life that I have. So let that be your evidence. Let that be the substantiated proof in your life that is helping you rebuild an old belief system, a belief system that will lead to. I'm here to tell you, right. A belief system that will lead to killing yourself, which is how society operates, 

[00:40:15] Jeremy: Mm-hmm 

[00:40:16] Donna: having any fun 

[00:40:17] Jeremy: right. 

[00:40:18] Donna: who who's thriving, really.

[00:40:20] You know, even I coach a lot of, a lot of very wealthy people, a lot of people with stupid money and they're no HAPPI. 

[00:40:35] They're no happier because they're still, uh, I'm gonna say a victim of their own cage and the cage is one that we keep ourself in, but you're the one who's got the key.

[00:40:51] Jeremy: Right. Yeah.

[00:40:53] And I, and I feel like, I feel like I've gotten out. I feel like I got out of that cage other than this one thing that I need to, that I need to let go of. I feel like I've gotten way out of interview mode and way into just talking to you because, uh, the work you do is fascinating and it's very applicable to my life.

[00:41:13] What? Yeah, Uh, what have we not touched on? That is important that you wanna make, make sure people know about this work, your work. What have we not gotten to that? You wanna make sure 

[00:41:23] people hear

[00:41:23] Donna: Yeah, thanks Jeremy. Well, , my book, original wisdom, and I hope that you'll add that to your list of, you know, the gurus you're checking into when you need to hear the right thing at the right time. Um, original wisdom harnessed, the power of the authentic U. You can find it on Amazon. You can find it at Barnes and noble.

[00:41:47] You can find it on Donna bond.com. , yeah, I hope this was helpful. I hope this was helpful for you and I acknowledge your journey and the courage that you have, uh, demonstrated again and again and again, to get yourself where you are today. And this one other little piece of it. It's in the queue, 

[00:42:10] Jeremy: mm-hmm 

[00:42:12] Donna: it's in the queue.

[00:42:13] So keep loving that critic, that inner, , doubter and just let him know that you've got his back. Because you're pretty resourceful and you're pretty creative and you've done some pretty amazing things. And so maybe the doubter can start realizing all of which you have created and you can graduate him over to being more of a believer. 

[00:42:48] Jeremy: I hope so. Uh, if I can just ask one, one last thing, uh, we mentioned that it's, it's small steps. It's doing the little things. What are one or two things that someone listening to do listening to this right now they wanna break out of the cage. They wanna find the 

[00:43:01] key, where do they start? Where's one or two things they could do when this episode's over to start on that 

[00:43:05] path.

[00:43:05] Donna: Yeah, they can go to empower the authentic you.com and check out my masterclass, which is a nine week class where I. Teach this framework where people have the opportunity, not only to hear new concepts and new mindset shifts, but where they get the tools to do the practical application of how to apply this to their life.

[00:43:34] And over a nine week period, they have developed a whole new toolbox that can. Stay with them for a lifetime, whole different way to relate to themself and their life. 

[00:43:51] Zach: Our thanks to Donna Bond. She's a spiritual life and business coach an author of Original Wisdom Harness. The Power of the Authentic. You can find links to her and her work in the show notes for this episode@thefitmass.com.

[00:44:03] All right. Well, obviously a very personal interview for me. I, I, uh, crossed the line, I think from interviewer to, uh, therapists office, but I hope you got something out of that. One of the points that, that really stuck with me, uh, because it really echoed something that Zach, you and I were talking about, you know, when the mics aren't on, is the idea of sort of, uh, putting out into the universe what you want.

[00:44:23] Jeremy: And not so much like I want X to happen, but finding the, the feeling that it's gonna create. X happens and, and sort of sharing that with the universe that this is the feeling that I'm trying to create so that I can operate from that place rather than, you know, I wanna win the lottery or some random thing.

[00:44:41] So that is something that I had been practicing prior to this interview, and I have seen some very positive results. I've had opportunities show up that I don't believe otherwise would've happened had I. Sort of an operating from that place of how I want to feel once I reach those goals.

[00:44:59] Zach: Yeah, I've had the same thing happen a few times now where I've, I've put it out there and like written it down on paper, you know, like kind of what I want, but how it's gonna make me feel, And, a few of those things have actually shown up.

[00:45:12] And like I just kind of go back and I'm like, Wow, I do feel those things. Like, and the gratitude that I have for the universe or whatever you wanna call it, um, is pretty immense at this point in time.

[00:45:24] Jeremy: Yeah. And we talked about, you know, getting unstuck, turning problems into possibilities. That's, this language didn't come up in this interview, but I kept thinking of the idea that I, I know we've talked about this before, but the idea of when you're faced with a challenge instead of, I have to.

[00:45:38] Telling yourself, I get to, I get to solve this problem. I get to do this thing. I have the opportunity to do this thing. Just reframing whatever challenges you have in your life can really help you, uh, put a better, you know, just a put a better spin on it and, and feel better about the opportunities that, that are put in front of you rather than constantly, you know, sort of playing the victim and, and feeling bad about whatever life is throwing.

[00:46:01] And this works in life and it actually works in your job as well. Like just as an example, we, my company, we have to do an audit that is like boring and nobody likes doing an audit. They're boring, they're pain in the ass. Ridiculous. But this one audit we had to do because we were doing so much volume in like transactions.

[00:46:20] Zach: So like I was on a company meeting, I was like, Hey, we have to do an audit. And like I could hear the collective grown. From the entire audience, and I was like, and the reason that we get to do this audit is because we're so successful and we're doing so great and we get to do this audit. Not, we have to, we get to do this audit because we're doing so well.

[00:46:40] And that like shifted a bunch of people's perspectives and they're like, Oh, okay, I'll, I guess I'll give you what you need for this particular thing. And they, you know, they slog through it. But it is such a huge difference when you just make that subtle change in the words, whether it's work or.

[00:46:56] Jeremy: Yeah. And finally, another point that we've made, uh, often lately is, is the idea of envisioning the person you're trying to become and start taking the actions that that person would take and do them today. Because if that person exists in the future, that person exists. And you now it's just a matter of not, you know, eating the whole elephant at once, Taking the small bites, implementing the small changes.

[00:47:17] That you can add every day to become that person and ultimately look back and say, Look, by making all those little changes, I made that person a reality.

[00:47:26] Zach: Yeah, I ran into that today. I literally looked at my bed and went, It's been a while since I've changed those sheets.

[00:47:34] Jeremy: Gross

[00:47:35] Zach: No, I mean, it's been a week and a half, but I was like, Am I the guy who goes three weeks? Am I the guy who goes four weeks? No, I'm the guy who goes a week and a half, two weeks, and I was like, Oh, just do it.

[00:47:46] Rip him off.

[00:47:47] Jeremy: Yep.

[00:47:50] Zach: Of course I ripped them off and the bed still isn't made yet, but

[00:47:52] Jeremy: You'll get there. You'll get there. One small step at a time.

[00:47:55] Zach: as long as they're off the bed, I will at the very least, make the bed right before I go to bed.

[00:48:03] Jeremy: Oh, there you go. Yeah. I, I'm a big fan of making the bed too, just moments before I get into it and completely mess it up again.

[00:48:10] Zach: Yes, I know. I'm also a big fan of leaving. I bring laundry and I put it on the

[00:48:16] Jeremy: Oh yeah.

[00:48:17] Zach: like clean clothes. I dump it on the bed and I'm like, Okay, I do have to go do this other thing, but because it's here, I will get it done before I go to bed. And then I go to go to bed and I'm like, Oh shit. The laundry and the, and then I dump it all back into the bin and go to bed.

[00:48:33] Jeremy: I'm so glad I'm not the only one. Right. Uh. All right, well if your laundry also holds you down, join us in our Facebook group where you and Fellow Fit Mess listeners can connect for monthly challenges, accountability to reach your goals, and maybe some help doing the laundry if you're, if you're really, really nice, you can find the link to do that on our website, the fit mess.com.

[00:48:51] That's where we'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Thanks for listening.

[00:48:56] Zach: See everyone

[00:48:57]