Lean Into Curiosity

Afton Negrea helps passionate entrepreneurs and freelancers to make money online with intention and soul. After discovering for herself who she is on a soul level rather what roles she plays in life, she is passionate about having others discover how they want to feel. She offers a six month in depth, strategic mentor program called Free Birds. Afton and her clients sort through their ideas and she is aiming for them to have AH HA moments, who doesn’t love those right? TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: Think about how you don’t want to feel and that can help you understand how you want to feel. Try the three D’s, delegate, delay or delete because there can be so many small things distracting you preventing you from getting to the big ideas you have. You have to prioritize your goals and ideas; you can’t do big things if you’re distracted by small ones. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:The Designer Map by Danielle LaporteFollow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here CO

I had three major ah-ha moments as a recent podcast guest so I wanted to share those with you. Since I realized each of these major takeaways had to do with my Mom I thought I would use this episode to pay tribute to my Mom for Mother's Day. As you listen, I want you to think of your childhood and what things shaped you that you can take advantage of in your endeavors. What perceived negatives can you turn into a positive? MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: What The BLEEP Are You Doing With Your Life Podcast Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

In this episode I share the benefits and positive things that come from procrastination. It might seem counter-productive, but as I share and discuss what I believe to be the two major reasons we put things off you will quickly see how this can benefit you. Pausing, pivoting or completely scrapping an idea does not mean you’re a failure, it’s an opportunity to reevaluate your idea, task or project. You will gain a new, fresh perspective. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Episode 002: Defining Your Personal Values Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

Allison Scholes is a boss lady in sweatpants and that’s the name of her brand! She has various sources of income as an MLM hustler, stock photo photographer and is a fellow podcast host. Her podcast Social Media for Mompreneurs offers free practical tools to make social media enjoyable again. She shares so much good insight into social media strategies as well as the importance of having grace with yourself. Allison explains her perspective on pivoting; starting something doesn’t mean failing, it means you are a multi passionate creative person. TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: Make sure what you are doing brings you joy. If you are on a social media platform that feels like you have shackles on, don’t try to grow your audience on that platform. Consistency doesn’t necessarily mean posting 7 days a week; consistency is how you define it and by understanding what your followers or customers wants. Have grace yourself, stopping something doesn’t mean failing, it means you are a multi passionate creative person and

You’ve heard of ghosting right? It happens in business all the time. You send an email or leave a voicemail and you never hear another word back. In this episode I give practical tools to shift your mindset and a real life example that recently happened to me. I didn’t mention in the episode, but in case you were thinking maybe I had the email address wrong for this person, I didn’t, she was active in a group email that I was a part of too! MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

Jessi Beyer is an author, speaker and mental health advocate sharing her story to help others understand they are not alone. We talk about her journey to keynote speaking and how she shows up for college students during our nation’s mental health epidemic. Jessi shares the importance of consistency and follow through as well as trusting in your value. TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: Consistency is key with anything you do. It’s a numbers game and you can and probably will get a lot of no’s before you get one yes. No often means not right now. Don’t feel like you have to do something a certain way because others are. Be authentic or otherwise you will lose yourself and get burnt out. If someone is rude to you remember it’s not you, it’s them. They are fighting with something so don’t take it personal, just move on. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here CONNECT WITH JESSI BEYER: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessibeyeri

Not only are your skills transferable from one job to another, but what you are learning through your passion project, side gig or hobbies can also transfer over to other areas of your life. In my situation, I took what I have created with this podcast to change careers. Now I will be doing something more in alignment with my values. I want you to think about what you are working on that can transfer over to other areas of your life and even help you completely pivot. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Episode 002: Define Your Personal Values Episode 030: Leap of Faith Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

There are those people who visualize. Then there are those people who visualize and share it with their friends. Then there are people like me, those who visualize out loud aka Vis-O and put it out to the media world! If this is weird, I don’t want to be normal. Tune in to my conversation with thee one, thee only Rachel Hollis! I crack myself up and let’s get real, if you can’t laugh at yourself, what’s the point really? MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: RISE Episode-Rach meets Oprah Episode 002: Define Your Personal Values Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

It’s crazy to think about what can happen in one year. With consistency I have been able to have so many amazing pepisodes on Lean Into Curiosity. This pepisode is dedicated to sharing with you the top three most valuable lessons I have learned over the last year as well as three major takeaways you can implement immediately. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Episode 002: Define Your Personal Values Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

Elena Ciccotelli is the creator and host of Sid Gig Central Podcast.  Through her business she helps female entrepreneurs start and grow their side gigs. As someone who works a corporate job while scaling her side gig, she gives practical advice to others who might be scared to leave their full-time job. She shares her concept that not all ideas need to turn into businesses and sometimes we don’t even need to monetize our passions right away-hence Lean Into Curiosity podcast. TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: Get crystal clear on what you want! And I’ll say it again - go back and listen to Episode 002 Defining Your Personal Values! Don’t feel like you have to go all in on your side gig and quit your day job. Keep your day job and see what direction your side gig takes. Begin leaning in one direction and taking steps! A side gig can help pad your resume which can help you get a different job more in alignment with you values f you are dabbling on a side gig you can really show your soft skills you are good with p

By showing up as yourself, the truest version of you, in every situation, you will attract the right people at the right time for the right reason. By toning down your uniqueness so you don’t “offend” another person can cause internal conflict, resentment and being off balanced.  Authenticity is your power and I want you to use your uniqueness to your advantage. You have your personality for a reason, use it! MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Episode 002: Define Your Personal Values Episode 006: Embrace All Your Traits aka Just Be Yourself Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

As Chief Strategy Officer of a women owned business, Russ Ruffolo works with the CEO and the board to outline and implement the organization's global growth strategy by identifying strategic partnerships and opportunities to fulfill the femmebought mission. femmebought is an online community, directory and education hub for women owned business. Russ helps femmebought build solutions to provide more empowerment, funding access and exposure to female entrepreneurs. In this conversation we talk about barriers, gaining traction and having a long-term strategy. TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: As you are building an online community make sure you are focusing on quality on quantity , focus on your long-term goals. Create balance with various energies, masculine, feminine, strategic and creative, heart and mind.  In any partnership early on work together to craft your mission statement and ask yourself consistently, are you working towards the same cause? MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: femmebought Episode 038: Focus on

I think there are two kinds of comparisons - one that is super powerful and one that can suck your soul dry. Negative comparison is the #1 killer of creativity. In this short pepisode I explain how to be completely present as you scroll through your IG feed. I do this magical thing with my mindset which I practice now each time I pick up my phone. The way I am able to compare in a positive way is a game changer! MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Episode 002: Define Your Personal Values Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

Julianne Holland aka Jules, owner of Bella Terra Firma is an incredibly talented artist living in the Australian desert. She didn’t let her remote park ranger job stop her from being creative, in fact it encouraged her creativity. In this conversation she shares her journey to starting a business from curiosity and picking up new modes of art when she is feeling stuck. By taking the pressure off herself she created beautiful embroidered botanical art onto hats which later enabled her to quit her job to pursue her art passion full time. She shares the importance of connection and the power of creative problem solving.   TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: Creativity can’t be automated, creative problem solving is a superpower. It’s the core to being human and having connection. When you create from a place of play  you take the pressure off yourself. As an artist you have to be very careful who you absorb information from, because even if someone means well, they can plant a seed of doubt which can take a lot of unl

In this episode I share two practical tools you can use when making a major decision.  Using these two powerful tools can help you get to the point where you are more confident in taking a big, scary running leap of faith.  I am not here to tell you that stepping into the unknown will be easy, of course it will be challenging.  Anytime we step out of our comfort zones it can be scary, but getting honest with yourself, trusting the unknown and taking the leap of faith is when the magic happens. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

No matter what path your creative journey takes you down, you’re are going to have creative blocks from time to time.  Sometimes these can last a few hours, a few days and even weeks.  In this episode I share with you three practical tools you can begin to practice when you’re feeling stuck.  I like to try a variation of things in different situations and I hope you can do the same! MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Episode 052: Maybe it’s an Opportunity Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

You know the saying “Don’t look back, you’re not going that way.”? I do feel that it’s necessary to look back at your accomplishments and appreciate all that you’ve been through. Looking back to reflect on what you’ve learned, the unknown you’ve stepped into and the projects you’ve completed can help keep you motivated to keep going. Grab your journal and write down everything you’ve done in the last year.  It’s so inspiring. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

Sarah Irwin is a Shamanic Reiki Practitioner, Empowerment Mentor and Coach, Yoga Instructor and divorced Mom of two. She experienced first-hand the isolation and stigma that tends to go along with stepping outside of the life of “should” and into her life by design. Today Sarah uses her experiences to assist others in reclaiming their power. It is through her courses, coaching and workshops where she supports others on their healing journey to becoming a lighter more aligned version of themselves. TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: Crying is one of the bravest things we can do, it doesn’t make you weak. Crying is a way to release emotions, the good and bad. It all needs to be released in some form to feel through it. We will always have triggers, but use those to assess why you are judging yourself. When you start to feel down on yourself or begin to criticize yourself, think of one thing you’ve accomplished in the last year. Come up with a mantra when you are feeling stuck. A statement or affirmation to encourage

Would you consider yourself someone who doesn’t handle rejection well? Do you take things personal in specific areas of your life or maybe all?  This episode is for you.  I share a very solid mindset shift that can help you change the way you look at someone telling you no or maybe not replying to your email. It happens to the best of us. It seems like a big deal at the time, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s helping you on your path. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Follow me on IG: @leanintocuriosity Topic suggestions, questions or to be on the show, click here!

Not only is Ashley Lane an exceptionally talented artist, but she is a strategic business woman dedicated to her work.  We talk about what it took to turn her art into a business, how she became a featured artist in multiple restaurants and what she does to stay dedicated to practicing her art. She loves creating connections with people through her work and her art varies depending on what is inspiring her at the time. This conversation is motivating for anyone looking for creative ways to pitch your idea, show your value to your audience or heck, even start painting like I did. TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: The hardest part is putting your product or service out there, but once you take that first initial step, then you can get feedback to help you push forward. You have to pivot and experiment, it’s never wasted time. You can spend so much time in your head coming up different outcomes, but you really don’t know how it’s going to turn out until you actually do something. If you get a no, it doesn’t mean you