AI is rewriting the rules of business, but the leaders who thrive in this new era aren’t just the smartest in the room… they’re the most self-aware.

In this episode of Executive Connect, host Melissa Aarskaug sits down with Amanda H. Young, an energy healer, intuitive coach, and “miracle instigator” who helps executives and entrepreneurs tap into their authentic power. Together, they explore why the next generation of leadership depends on empathy, intuition, and soul alignment, not just strategy and intellect.

Amanda shares her journey from corporate leadership to conscious transformation, how to release fear-based leadership patterns, and why the future belongs to those who lead from their essence.

Transcript:

Amanda

(0:00) I went down the energetic metaphysical rabbit hole in this really epic manner and now I get to call myself a miracle instigator because people come to me and I just bibbidi-bobbidi-boop and magical things happen to them. (0:15) I find the one thread that we need to pull that unravels the whole thing and then creates new tapestry. (0:20) It’s like zero F’s given, right?

(0:22) Like we just don’t care anymore and we throw it out the window and we just start saying, all right, I’m going to be fully me and we step into our authenticity in a totally different way. (0:31) That’s when we start reclaiming all of our power.

Melissa

(0:34) AI is rewriting the roles of business, but the leaders who truly know how to thrive aren’t just the smartest in the room. (0:43) They’re the most self-aware. (0:45) Today’s guest, Amanda Young, believes the future belongs to the leaders who lead from their essence, not just their expertise.

(0:54) She’s here to share with you why authenticity, soul alignment, and conscious leadership aren’t just soft skills. (1:02) They’re the new hard edge in a fast changing world. (1:06) Welcome, Amanda.

(1:09) Thanks so much for having me, Melissa. (1:12) You’ve spent years helping leaders navigate a world that’s moving faster than ever. (1:20) Let’s start with the story behind how you got to where you are and your vision for soul-led leadership.

Amanda

(1:30) Oh my gosh. (1:31) My journey has been long and windy and all over the place, but I think it comes down to when I became a mother, I started having some panic attacks and that sent me on this epic journey to figure out why they were happening and how to heal them naturally without pharmaceuticals. (1:49) And that led me to learning all sorts of metaphysical things like Reiki and beta healing and energy mastery and Akashic records.

(1:58) I mean, I went down the energetic metaphysical rabbit hole in this really epic manner. (2:05) And now I get to call myself a miracle instigator because people come to me and I just bibbidi-bobbidi-boop and magical things happen to them. (2:14) And I described it the other day as being able to see the invisible energetic solutions, like whatever the invisible solutions are that people are looking for.

(2:23) They’re like, I just can’t put my finger on it. (2:26) Then I’m like, it’s this. (2:27) And they’re like, yes.

(2:30) So I think the journey was really a self-discovery of learning how to go from, I think you and I even talked about this when we first met this idea that we should be the good girl who’s the people pleaser, who goes to school and gets the education. (2:47) I went and got my business degree and then I got my MBA. (2:51) And then I was like, I’m going to go be an entrepreneur and take over the world.

(2:56) And then it was like, oh, wait, but I also want to have a family and kids. (3:01) And so then I got the 2.5 kids and the dog and the cat and the house and all the things. (3:07) And then I was just like, okay, what now?

(3:10) So it’s been a winding journey of consulting with various businesses in all different areas, being an entrepreneur, working for other people, helping nonprofits. (3:23) I’ve started shelters, like emergency shelters for nonprofits during COVID. (3:28) And it’s just been this really beautiful winding journey.

(3:32) And most of it is me working one-on-one with executives and high-end women leaders. (3:38) For the most part, I do work with some men on everything from helping them repair their marriage or figure out how to become a better leader by tapping into their intuition and tapping into healing whatever traumas they might have. (3:52) I have people that come to me and just say, I’ve been working with a therapist for 16 years.

(3:57) And then we do one session. (3:58) They’re like, wow, I’m home in my body for the first time ever. (4:01) And I have other women that are like, yeah, I’ve tried to get pregnant and the doctors keep telling me this and that and something else.

(4:08) And I’m like, well, what’s really going on? (4:10) And when we dive into it, that invisible solution just pops up to me and I’m like, oh, well, it’s totally because of this. (4:16) And next thing you know, they’re pregnant naturally or the in vitro works.

(4:21) So it doesn’t matter what area they’re looking for, whether it’s career or business or if they, you know, financially, whatever, whatever they want in their life, like whatever miracle it is, I just pull out the magic wand and we just energetically zap it. (4:36) So I have this ability. (4:37) My natural ability is to energetically feel into what it is.

(4:41) What’s the story, help them clear it, become aware of it. (4:46) My real gift is creating a safe space for people to hear themselves and tap into their intuition because we all know what the answers are. (4:54) We just sometimes have to be prompted and have to remember how to get back to it.

(5:00) So that’s what I do. (5:01) That’s what got me here.

Melissa

(5:02) And I find there’s so many things in that. (5:05) I want to unpack it a little bit. (5:06) I think it’s interesting because a lot of times we’ll hear from, you know, let’s just stick with the women.

(5:14) I’m the same guy keeps showing up. (5:16) I got out of this bad marriage. (5:17) I got into the same relationship again, but I feel like history continues to repeat itself.

(5:24) But what you said was, is you help people find the thing that they’re doing, which is the one thing that they keep making, like the thing they’re looking to find in this person and help them get unstuck from that one thing. (5:42) So what I, what I often hear is whether it’s a relationship or, you know, a boss, I keep getting the same boss or I keep making the wrong financial decisions. (5:53) I think what you do is you help people figure out what it is, what that one thing is, and then you zone in on that one thing and help them solve that problem.

(6:05) And then, like you said, everything else, they can, you know, get there themselves after that.

Amanda

(6:11) Totally. (6:11) Yeah. (6:11) You just, I find the one thread that we need to pull that unravels the whole thing and then creates a new tapestry and it services and all the things are intertwined.

(6:22) So when somebody says, you know, I’m a life coach or I’m a health coach or I’m a wellness coach, or I’m a business coach, entrepreneur coach, leadership coach, to me, I just say, I’m helping people across the board with everything because somebody might come to me and say, man, I need a new job. (6:38) And then I say, well, how’s your relationship at home? (6:40) And they’re like, oh, it’s such a power struggle.

(6:42) And I’m like, well, there’s your control, your perfectionism, your people pleasing, all come in. (6:46) You’ve got no boundaries in your life. (6:48) And of course, you’ve got, you know, you’re exhausted because you’re pushing in all these different directions.

(6:53) Of course, you’re drained because you’re trying to make everybody else in your life happy. (6:58) And then as women go through the various phases, like once we get to perimenopause, and I mean, the research is just getting started on that area, but we’re learning. (7:07) I was in a healing session today.

(7:09) And what I learned was that we people please until we’re 35, because that’s how we make mates and find connections so that we can procreate, because we need somebody to like us in order to have that relationship. (7:22) But after 35, gloves off, and we’re like, it’s like zero Fs given, right? (7:28) Like, we just don’t care anymore.

(7:30) And we throw it out the window. (7:31) And we just start saying, all right, I’m going to be fully me. (7:34) And we step into our authenticity in a totally different way.

(7:37) That’s when we start reclaiming all of our power. (7:40) And what I’m focusing on right now is these powerful women that are executives and leaders and heads of household that are in their jam right now, because they might be, you know, over that 35 threshold and hitting their stepping into perimenopause or their menopausal. (7:58) And they’re just like, I’m just not tolerating anybody else’s stuff anymore.

(8:01) I’m not going to people please, I’m not going to show up for other people. (8:04) I am here to live my life authentically for me. (8:08) And if they’ve got kids that are empty nesting or moving on or like transitioning, and they aren’t needed at home as much as they were before, that opens up a whole new, then they have a blank slate to be who am I?

(8:20) What am I here for? (8:22) What’s driving me? (8:24) What’s sparking me?

(8:25) And then I even work with people that are early entering retirement and like now what? (8:31) And they don’t feel grounded and they don’t feel connected to their ancestry, because all that’s been stripped away through colonization, all the different oppressions, oppressive systems. (8:42) So really getting to hone into their ancestry, tap back into their roots, like really pull up their magic.

(8:49) Like my job, I’ve spent the last 20 years figuring out what my magic is and how to create miracles and how to spark them and how to help people get their magic back. (9:00) And in doing that, like now I can just be like, well, this is your magic. (9:04) It’s always been in there and we just have to dust it off and turn it back on.

(9:07) And then they’re like, what, I have power?

Melissa

(9:10) It’s amazing. (9:11) It’s true though. (9:11) I think, you know, it’s so funny because it’s so funny that, you know, we met and because I do agree with you.

(9:18) I think we all, I call it, you know, we all have this inner maverick. (9:22) We all have this gift and, you know, going back to what you were saying, like I think about the evolution of me and my career and, you know, I think a lot of us are shifting. (9:35) So I want to talk a little bit about how, you know, the evolution of leadership and how things are shifting.

(9:43) Cause I think back to when I started my career and everything was come to work at eight and leave to work at five and you have to have your one hour lunch break. (9:52) And it was a lot of control and a lot of, you will do this, you won’t do that. (10:01) And I think, you know, maybe it was the pandemic, maybe it’s the technology’s moving so fast, but we’re moving into a place where I call like consciousness, empathy, emotional intelligence.

(10:16) I mean, it could be all these things. (10:18) I’m curious to get your perspective on what’s driving, you know, these changes in the world today as it relates to leadership.

Amanda

(10:27) Well, I think we’re coming into an energetic shift. (10:31) We were in this era that was very extractive and very individualistic and like me, me, me go, go, go competitive one person against another person and pitting people against each other. (10:44) And even in the, even working with other women, I always thought, Oh, I’m working with other women.

(10:52) They’re going to have my back and they’re going to help me get ahead. (10:54) But it was really catty. (10:55) I mean, in this era, years ago when I was working in the corporate landscape, it was just more catty.

(11:01) And I was like, why am I just not getting along? (11:03) I mean, of course, as you were talking before those, I had to recognize the patterns of why am I having this cattiness against other women? (11:11) But in that age period, you’re competing for mates.

(11:15) And so there’s kind of that component to it, but it’s also, we’re programmed by society to be really antagonistic with one another and not support one another because how else do you oppress an entire gender of people? (11:29) So for me, understanding that competition is really irrelevant and, you know, marketing studies can show the competitive analysis and all these different things, but what it really comes down to is like, if I can live a hundred percent authentically in my own energetic and show up fully for who I am and what I need to do, that’s way more powerful. (11:53) And I think what’s getting lost in this evolution of leadership, I mean, so many people have been focusing on like, let’s have these skills and let’s have this, you know, like, let me be better at speaking or, you know, working with teams or whatever.

(12:08) And it’s like, what if I’m a more kind, generous, compassionate and empathetic and intuitive person, because if I show up fully in my authenticity, then I can change the world. (12:20) And I am working with another woman who really, her whole platform is this idea of when we show up individually in a room, then collectively, it’s like, if you have all these individual pegs, if you’re building a building and you have all the different pylons you need to support the structural system, then you can build a floor and it can be held by all those pieces. (12:43) But right now we get asked to be like a collective of people working together in a team.

(12:49) And if those teams don’t have, if they’re not individually supported, if each person is not showing up authentically to the team, because they’re trying to fit in and be normal and like meld with everybody else, they become homogenous. (13:03) And that loses its spark. (13:06) It loses its magic.

(13:07) And I think, you know, if we bring that around to how are things evolving as far as AI goes, I mean, then you’re talking about losing the soul and the essence of what’s next. (13:20) Like we’re going into a place where humans are needed more than ever because we aren’t machines.

Melissa

(13:27) Ready to lead smarter and invest wiser? (13:31) On the Executive Connect podcast, we unpack executive strategies for wealth and influence. (13:38) Hit the subscribe button now.

(13:40) Don’t just watch, act. (13:43) Yeah. (13:44) Oh, that’s such a great, I feel the same way.

(13:47) I feel like AI, I love AI. (13:50) I love technology. (13:51) I love innovation, but we still need the human touch.

(13:57) And I think you’re spot on in showing up like some of the best run groups I’ve been a part of or boards I’ve sat on or, you know, volunteer boards I’ve been a part of. (14:10) We all were so diverse. (14:12) Like we all were different races, different ages, different backgrounds.

(14:18) But we all showed up with our authentic selves and we respected each other’s opinions. (14:27) And our end solution was so much better. (14:31) You know, I didn’t agree with everyone.

(14:33) And we kind of, I don’t want to say battled it out, but battled it out until we got to the end, which was really just negotiation to a better product. (14:45) And so showing up that way in the world today versus, you know, you’re this, I’m that, therefore we’re different. (14:54) So we’re going to fight is a no win in our world today.

(15:00) So I guess, talk to me a little bit about how we can keep the human touch in the world of AI.

Amanda

(15:09) Well, so for me, I’m recognizing more and more that we are all connected. (15:14) They say this so much in energetic spaces, like we’re all one, we’re all swimming in the same soup and everyone has their own flavor and we all energetically contribute to it. (15:23) But when you introduce AI into the soup, AI has a very blank, I would say there’s a blank flavor.

(15:31) It doesn’t have the soul. (15:32) It doesn’t have the passion. (15:33) It doesn’t have the humanity to it.

(15:36) And as such, I mean, I’m at the point now I’m a writer. (15:40) And so, so much of what I do in my marketing and in my promotions, I now can use AI to help me write things. (15:47) But what I’ve learned is that AI has a, it has a formula that it follows.

(15:52) And having used it for a year now, I can read other people’s stuff and be like, oh, that was generated by AI. (16:00) And so I can feel like as a empath and highly sensitive person and an intuitive, when I read something, I know whether Melissa wrote it or whether ChatGDP or some other AI thing wrote it. (16:13) And as such, I can feel the authenticity coming through.

(16:18) And I think this is really key for, as that, if we extrapolate that out into all the different uses that AI is going to have, there are things that it can automate. (16:27) It’s just like, hey, we need to move you through the system. (16:30) But when you cover all those points with the energy of a human being, it becomes so much more valid.

(16:38) And even talking, I mean, years ago, I had a coach that’s like, if you’re going to have a VA or an assistant work with you, you need to make sure you touch every single piece of marketing that goes out of your business because you need to like slather it with your energy. (16:52) It either needs to have like my peppiness or my spark or my some sass, something about me has to be in that. (16:58) And that’s what I’m seeing get stripped out from the AI component.

(17:02) And that’s something that we as leaders and as we push this evolutionary movement, we have to make sure that we stay true to that. (17:12) Because if we buy from people we know, like and trust, and if we don’t have that trust factor, because that energetic is just like a blank slate of soulless, robotic, blah, blah. (17:25) Like, we’re just not going to be like, yes, I want that.

(17:29) Oh, my gosh, I need that. (17:30) And you and I have no idea how we’re even connected. (17:33) You click on a button.

(17:34) I don’t think that button should have even worked. (17:36) All of a sudden, we got connected. (17:37) And here we are a week later doing a podcast together.

(17:40) And I’m sitting here thinking, I have a feeling like that’s just the magic of the universe. (17:48) Me putting out a bat signal saying, hey, bring in the bridges, bring in the people that are going to connect me to the next people that I’m here to serve and help. (17:57) And you’re just like, oh, look, I see that bat signal.

(18:00) This is Melissa. (18:01) Press here. (18:02) And you press it.

(18:03) And all of a sudden, we have this magical conversation that takes us into wild places. (18:07) There is so much more magic between human beings interacting and can be built. (18:14) Like, AI is a, it’s a tool, it’s a shovel.

(18:18) Like, let’s use it as the tool that it is. (18:20) It’s not going to replace the people that are out there digging and planting and creating some really magical stuff. (18:27) Like, there’s more, there’s so much more juicy richness in how we connect with one another and how we feel one another.

(18:34) Like, there’s, oh, it’s just yummy and juicy and good. (18:37) And I just, you know, okay, yeah. (18:40) AI can get you pieces of that and components of that and kind of help you enhance it.

(18:46) Especially for metaphysical people like me that are just, we have so much, I have so much love to give and actually getting it out of me. (18:54) It’s really nice to have that interaction with some sort of AI tool to be able to say, what are some strategies? (19:00) How can I get this out?

(19:01) But actually getting it out of me has to come from my heart. (19:05) Does that make sense?

Melissa

(19:06) Yes, it makes perfect sense. (19:08) I think you’re spot on with so much. (19:11) And I want to kind of jump back to something you were saying, because I would agree.

(19:16) I know when I was starting young in my career, I often felt like I was competing with everyone, boys, girls, everybody was competing with me. (19:25) And I had a closed loop mindset, meaning, okay, I’m going to go from this to that, to this, to that. (19:34) And now on the other side of the street and down, you know, down the way, older in my career, over 35, I believe that in a very different mindset, there’s enough for everyone.

(19:51) It’s more, you know, expansive thinking, every interaction, there’s a way to look at the connection with a person like you were going down. (20:03) You know, there’s, you know, I met my husband by a woman I sat next to on a plane. (20:09) That’s not by accident.

(20:10) You have to wonder sometimes. (20:12) But the point is, is I have the choice to take that call from that woman who introduced me to my husband, just like to click on the meeting to connect with you. (20:23) So let’s talk a little bit about, like, what I was trying to say is younger Melissa was more fear-based, closed mindset, in competition.

(20:36) Melissa today is less fear-based, more expansive thinking. (20:43) There’s enough for everyone. (20:45) Talk to me a little bit about people, you know, maybe it’s just what I’m seeing on social media, but it seems like everybody is not thinking expansive in the world today.

(20:57) It’s a lot of negative drama. (20:59) So what does that look like in practice today? (21:03) How do we move from fear-based, we’re in competition to expansive thinking is what I’m trying to say.

Amanda

(21:13) It’s a beautiful question, right? (21:15) And for me, what that looks like is all of us doing our inner work, because what happens is we have collective beliefs. (21:22) We have collective mindsets and stories that we then adopt.

(21:27) And they can be generational. (21:29) It could be, you know, you’ve got to save your money. (21:32) A lot of hoarding comes from that generation of people that went through the great depression because they’re like, we didn’t have stuff.

(21:37) So we need stuff. (21:38) There’s scarcity, right? (21:39) That scarcity mindset that can be transferred down generation to generation.

(21:43) And then you’re like, why am I saving all these cardboard boxes from all these shipments I got? (21:48) Because what’s going to happen with like, what am I ever going to do with them? (21:50) And the cardboard boxes, you know, like we could just recycle them or you can hoard them out of scarcity.

(21:57) And the difference between the two of those actions is mindset. (22:01) It’s either the mindset of, I have everything that I need because I’m not living out of scarcity, or it’s that scarcity mindset of I might need this later. (22:10) So I should save all of it and hoard it.

(22:13) And there’s the energetic of it is that things are designed to be in flow. (22:18) It’s like a tree grows, the leaves fall, they go back into the soil, they regenerate, and it just keeps going. (22:24) And then you grow this grove of trees.

(22:26) And we have this really beautiful thing happen where the next thing you know, you’ve got a forest and it’s producing all these magical things and all the trees are working together. (22:35) And it’s absolutely incredible. (22:38) But if you really don’t work on your mindset, and you continue to have these ancient programming and stories and belief systems running behind the scenes, like those to me, the mindset of it is so important and so key.

(22:55) And until you bring that into light and shine some sunshine on it and say, hey, this is the programming that’s underneath. (23:02) You’re going to continue to repeat that pattern. (23:04) And that’s what I see with the women who keep dating the same kind of men, because they’re like, oh, well, I’m only good enough to date like men, I can’t trust men, men are going to cheat on me.

(23:15) Like I can’t be independent. (23:17) I always I need to be codependent, like whatever those patterns are. (23:21) And a lot of times you’ll see it happen from one generation to the next generation to the next generation.

(23:27) Or like you were saying, the example you’re giving is a woman who’s like, I’ve had a bad boss at every single job that I’ve gone to, and I keep changing jobs, but I can’t seem to shake it. (23:37) And it’s like, well, you’re the common denominator in that, but it’s not your fault. (23:41) It’s the beliefs that you have.

(23:43) It’s just I think of it as computer program that has a virus in it. (23:47) And if we can go in and find out where that virus is, and be like, you know, like, find this and change it to this, and really go in and wipe that code, then there’s so much opportunity for magic to happen. (24:01) Because you have a blank slate where you’re no longer like, well, I can’t get promoted because I don’t have the right degree, or I haven’t worked long enough, whatever the stories and BS is behind it.

(24:13) And that’s the same thing with women getting pregnant, right? (24:16) Like if they’re some of them will have a story that’s like, well, I don’t want to get pregnant, because my family member died really young. (24:23) And it was so tragic to not have a parent growing up that if I couldn’t possibly bring a child in this world, because if I died, they’re going to have that same experience.

(24:31) And it’s like, that is so fear based. (24:33) If we can shift into this space where we’re abundant space, we can be like, you know what? (24:39) Yeah, that happened to me and it sucked.

(24:42) And I can change my belief. (24:44) And I can say, even if that does happen, there’s still value in me having a child, there’s still value in me having any sort of relationship, even if I die, like, it just shifts the entire essence of what’s going on in a way that allows so much more beauty and magic in the world. (25:02) And I mean, if we all just start helping each other out, and we all start believing that there really is enough, I mean, there is enough food on this planet to make everyone really thrive.

(25:13) It’s just how we’re distributing it. (25:15) It’s just like, we’re not working as a collective group. (25:18) And when we start, I mean, the magic of this, the turning of the eras, so that now we’re having this awakening where we’re like, oh, wait, maybe I should take care of my neighbors.

(25:28) And maybe I should make sure the little old lady gets across the street. (25:31) Like, yes, we’re all connected, we need to help one another. (25:36) And I think we’re seeing the societies apparently collapse.

(25:40) I’m not a history person, but I’m hearing a lot of civilizations that were big, the Roman Empire, the, I think, the Chinese Empire, whatever they are, they all have collapsed at some point in time. (25:52) And so when you understand that, like, we’re going through a major collapse energetically. (25:58) And it’s in order, it’s, to me, I always have this story that, like, you need villains in order to create heroes.

(26:04) And we see villainous things happening. (26:07) And then we see all these heroes step up. (26:09) And maybe it’s in politics where people don’t agree with something.

(26:12) Maybe it’s environmentally or whatever the case may be, we see something we don’t like, and then it activates people and they turn on. (26:20) And right now, I’m seeing a huge activation in a group of people, coaches, healers, metaphysicians, people that just want to do social impact projects, whatever the case may be, a lot more heart-led missions in order to help make the world a better place. (26:37) And I think, I mean, I assume that’s what you’ve been experiencing in your world too, like being lit up by something way more than let me just fatten my bank account.

(26:47) You know, like I would fatten my bank account so that I could manage who gets it from a nonprofit standpoint and how do I make my impact bigger. (26:55) But at the same time, like, I just, I really want to have a business that’s doing the social impact without even having to donate to another, like, I just want it all to flow so effortlessly that it’s just on and everyone’s benefiting.

Melissa

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(27:46) To learn more and get a free white paper, oil and gas demystified, just visit www.summitven.com forward slash executive connect. (28:02) Yeah. (28:03) And I think, you know, I, I work in gaming.

(28:05) I talk a lot about it from the context of gambling, but you know, we’re all have our deck, we’re dealt right. (28:12) How we’re born, what we have, what color our hair is, all these things, things that, you know, we play out. (28:20) But I think the interesting part is all of, I believe all of our gifts are not our gifts necessary.

(28:27) There are gifts to hone. (28:29) Our internal maverick is what we hone and our craft is what we give to the world. (28:34) Now, yes, we need to be, you know, paid because that’s the currency on how we feed ourselves, how we roof ourselves.

(28:42) But it’s also our responsibility, like you were saying, to help our neighbors who can’t see get across the street or lift heavy things. (28:51) It’s just common courtesy. (28:54) And I think kind of what you were saying is, you know, we’re in a world right now that we have in the United States, more burnout, more stress, more of all the bad things than we have seen in a while.

(29:11) And, you know, I think companies that are trying to get every single moment of every single minute of somebody’s time, their energy, and people are freely giving it to these companies. (29:26) What I would like to see is still do good for the company, still give more to your job and your employer than they expect to be. (29:37) I’m not saying don’t do that.

(29:39) But what I’m saying is, don’t do that to your completely, your battery’s dead. (29:46) The joy is missing from your life. (29:48) Engaging with, you know, your spouse, your significant other, your children, all the things that you’re passionate about, don’t do that.

(29:58) You know, I guess my question is, how do we change this approach to transactional, making sure we get every minute of our employees’ time, we take from people, like, what is this shift and how do we change it?

Amanda

(30:15) I love this question because it’s not about just how much can we suck dry or like how much can we, it’s not like, let’s just juice the lemon, right? (30:26) It’s like, let’s plant lemon seeds and grow a lemon trees and then have this magic, like, let’s just make it flow. (30:34) Like, let’s make a lemon river that just is like, boom, you just go over and scoop up the lemonade and start drinking it.

(30:40) We have the magical ability to do that. (30:44) If we tap into our intuition, the solutions we’re looking for are so much more elegant when you’re looking at them in the invisible realms. (30:54) We are so, I was talking to somebody about this today, like when witches were hung, it was to disconnect the head from the heart.

(31:04) It was to take away their wisdom. (31:06) It was to take away their property. (31:07) It was to disconnect them from their power, like legitimately disconnect women from their power.

(31:13) And now we’re seeing this, like, how do we reconnect to our power? (31:18) Once we have the connection to mother earth and the connection to our ancestry and like the real true soul alignment, these answers just come to us like muses. (31:31) It’s just like, oh, click this button and being connected to this magical human being.

(31:36) And oh, maybe you should read this book. (31:38) Or like I’ll walk, I walked through a store the other day and it was a crystal store. (31:42) And I found this box of Phoenix cards, they’re Oracle cards.

(31:48) And I was like, oh, I got to bring that box home. (31:50) I have learned more from playing with, you know, you talked about a deck of cards. (31:54) I’m like, I’m dealing with a different deck.

(31:56) But like when I’m playing with divination of Oracle cards and things like that, it’s like, all of a sudden I get this one card and it has this message and I read it and I’m like, hmm, how can I apply that to my life? (32:06) And then like all these sparkles drop in and I’m like, oh, I’ve never felt like I belong. (32:12) I feel different.

(32:14) Oh, but you know what? (32:16) It’s okay to be different. (32:17) It’s never been safe to be different.

(32:19) Now it’s okay to be different. (32:20) And actually being different is what’s going to let my magic sparkle. (32:24) And so I need to lean into that more.

(32:26) But I also need to work on healing my nervous system. (32:29) So it’s not like, oh, if I’m different, people are going to ostracize like I need to be part of the group and belong. (32:36) Where can I belong in my magic?

(32:38) And so finding that it’s, there’s such an elegant way, like so many more elegant paths to go on. (32:48) And we keep trying to figure things out cerebrally just from the neck up. (32:52) And in doing that, we’re really missing out.

(32:56) It’s like somebody, it’s like when you get the gut feeling or the spidey sense, it’s like our bodies, if you think about our entire body, like every single little cell on our body is taking in information. (33:08) Even if you just like rub your hand against the palm of your other hand, there are so many sensations that are happening right there. (33:15) And to think that we can make the best decision just by, oh, well, let me think about that.

(33:20) Like, hmm, but if I’m like, there’s so much input that’s coming in, you can go into a space and be like, hmm, this space feels creepy. (33:31) Or wow, this, I would, I would have people walk into my apartment all the time and be like, the energy here is so incredible. (33:37) And I’m like, well, what do you think?

(33:39) A, I’m a healer. (33:40) B, I live here. (33:41) C, I have all my artwork everywhere that’s healing artwork.

(33:44) And I was like, D, I do this for a living here in this space. (33:49) I spend hours like pulling in the ancestry, doing all these ceremonies, like using incense. (33:55) Of course, the space is going to feel epically magical.

(33:58) And they’re so shocked by that. (33:59) But I’m like, but every, it wasn’t just, they were walking into the room and being like, look, this is beautiful. (34:04) No, they were feeling every ounce of safety that I had created and embedded into that space and the fabrics and the colors and the plants.

(34:13) It was all creating this experience for them that they were like, oh, this is a safe space for me to really drop in and connect. (34:22) And literally people would meet me, walk into my house and within five minutes, be balling on my couch with their biggest, juiciest secrets right there in front of me. (34:33) Because I just would be like, bring it, this is where it goes.

(34:36) And they were so ripe and ready that they would drop it. (34:39) And I’d be like, how do you feel? (34:40) And they’re like, wow, this is amazing.

(34:43) Right? (34:43) Cause it’s just like a load. (34:45) I was like, just pull up the dumpster.

(34:47) We’ll dump in all this energetic stuff, as many dumpsters as you want. (34:51) Like, just give it all to me. (34:52) And then they walk out of there.

(34:53) Like, that was like years of therapy. (34:57) I’m like, yeah, because you’re ripe and ready. (34:59) And you know, what’s right.

(35:00) Like by the time people get to me, they’re like, I need shit to change in my life. (35:04) And it does.

Melissa

(35:06) And it’s true. (35:07) And I think back, you know, depending on what you believe in the Bible, the pilgrims, I look at, you know, hosting a dinner party, however you want to call it. (35:17) What was amazing to me when I was in Italy last summer was, you know, I stayed in a castle that the families had for 750 years in that area.

(35:32) And what I found interesting about, I’ve never stayed in a place that old before. (35:38) So that was my first experience of that. (35:41) What I found really interesting, going back to what you were saying, is everybody provided a piece of something to the community.

(35:50) So somebody brought the egg, somebody, you know, knew how to, you know, was a farmer, and somebody knew how to run this, and somebody knew how to run that. (36:00) We have split apart as a collective, I don’t know if that’s the right word or not, where everybody’s pulling their own train, their own rope, and they’re not bringing their maverick to the table with other mavericks to build something that’s contributing to the world. (36:19) And so I think about what kind of the work that you do, because I believe all of that is inner work first.

(36:26) To let out that maverick, whatever the maverick is in you, you have to do the inner work first. (36:34) And the inner work requires you to make mistakes, learn, make some more mistakes, reassess, build a new plan, make another mistake. (36:44) So it’s a lot of mistake-making.

(36:47) And I know a lot of times when I speak, Amanda, people are like, oh my God, like, you, how did you, you just had this perfect life. (36:56) And I’m like, no, no, I’ve just made more mistakes than you, right? (37:00) And I’ve leaned in, and I’ve learned from those mistakes.

(37:05) And so I want to go back to your philosophy about the inner work, because, you know, I find when I was doing some inner work for some difficult times in my life, it was like prickly. (37:21) It was like, it was all the emotions, right? (37:24) You get sad, and you get mad, and you are in denial, and whatever the different levels of emotions are.

(37:34) But I want to talk about your philosophy on the inner work and why it’s so important when we’re crafting who we are and building our legacies and growing that internal maverick. (37:50) Can you share a little bit about how people can do that inner work, even understand?

Amanda

(37:57) Yeah, so I agree with you. (37:59) It’s terrifying. (38:00) And most people have a fear of being uncomfortable.

(38:03) And you’ll see that when, if ever somebody cries, they’ll just be like, oh yeah, stop crying. (38:10) Or, you know, if somebody’s upset, oh, don’t be upset. (38:13) Or like, they try to tamp down those emotions.

(38:17) And the best thing you can do is teach yourself, in my opinion anyway, I think the most juicy growth happens when you can sit in a space of discomfort and just be like, oh, that’s grief. (38:39) Hmm. (38:40) I see you.

(38:41) You’re welcome here. (38:42) It’s safe for you to be here. (38:44) And when people understand, like people think of grief, it’s a, I’ll use this as an example because it’s like, when I say grief, most people are like, oh, somebody died.

(38:54) Or you’ve lost something. (38:56) Like yesterday I was grieving, I’ve lost my necklace. (38:58) I took it off to go to the masseuse.

(39:00) And it’s like my daily wear necklace that I am so in love with. (39:05) And I’m just like, all right, let’s see what magically, maybe it’ll come back to me. (39:09) Maybe I’ve moved on.

(39:10) It had three things on it, three charms given to me, sentimental value, of good value, because it’s, you know, they’re gold, they’re crystals, whatever. (39:19) And some people will be like, oh, well, you lost, you know, like you lost someone. (39:23) But to me, I’m like, I’ve lost my necklace.

(39:25) I was crying yesterday because I lost, like, it’s a different kind of grief, a loss of a thing. (39:30) But there’s also loss of a potentiality. (39:33) And I remember I had somebody tell me at one point in time, like, if you get a diagnosis for something, or if something, like maybe you don’t get a job, maybe you break up with a lover or something happens in your life, it’s not just like the actual severance of the situation.

(39:53) It’s also the potentiality of what that could have been. (39:57) And I think that we miss out on, like, grief is such a yummy thing to work with, because you’re, you’re dealing with multiple layers of it. (40:06) And some people are like, well, you just need to like, get over it.

(40:08) Or, you know, grief has no, no path, or you just need to accept what you the best thing that I can tell you to do is to sit with it. (40:16) So sit with each of these feelings. (40:18) If you’re angry about something, be angry about it.

(40:21) I have people that will come to me and just that I can just tell I can just I’m like, I feel as soon as they see them. (40:27) I’m like, man, you’re angry. (40:29) And they’re like, yeah, I am.

(40:30) And I’m like, can you just be angry, like, let yourself some people have been taught, don’t be angry, don’t let that out, you’re going to be because they think they’re going to be explosive, and they could actually harm someone which, you know, that’s a that’s a real thing. (40:42) So like, go vent that anger. (40:45) And now there’s so many people talking about the vagus nerve and how we need to regulate our nervous system and somatic healing.

(40:52) And like, we do need to process things through our body. (40:55) But anger, that doesn’t mean that you need to go beat somebody up, like you can go take a pillow and throw it over your head 10 times onto the bed and let it go. (41:03) And that will also release the anger like we have to, in my opinion, I invite everyone to learn how to find safe spaces to process their feelings.

(41:15) And I think that that’s what’s missing in our society. (41:18) We’re, we’re seeing higher rates of suicidal ideation in kids, anxiety in kids, like, you name it, it’s happening to the younger generations, because A, I think they’re coming out of the womb way more sensitive. (41:31) I think we’ve got like a highly sensitive generation of kids that are raw wires that are coming out.

(41:36) And additionally, that’s I think, while we’re seeing so much neurodivergence, ADHD, autism, it’s I don’t even think it’s called that anymore. (41:46) Blends, right, there’s so much or maybe it’s I guess there’s Asperger’s two, which isn’t really called Asperger’s anymore. (41:51) But we have these blends of neurodivergence that are being identified more prevalently.

(41:57) And even women like I was recently diagnosed of having neurodivergence and being being different, which it’s like, well, duh, because this new to me, this new generation is evolution, talk about an evolution of leadership, right? (42:11) Like we are evolving metaphysically in our bodies to be more sensitive to the world around us. (42:17) So that loud noises and big lights and harsh things around us in our environment are far more impactful to us.

(42:26) And like, I can’t listen to the news, if I turn it on, my, my body is just like, I’m hurting, I’m crying for all the people and all the damage in the world. (42:34) And it just feels icky to me. (42:37) So if we can start teaching the younger generations, A, you’re a live wire.

(42:43) And so be kind to yourself, like have some self compassion. (42:47) B, I would say, if we can get them to understand and simply ask themselves, is this my energy? (42:54) Or is this somebody else’s?

(42:55) Like, I’ll listen to the news and be like, well, why am I so jumpy right now? (42:59) It’s like, well, because you just got impacted by this really big piece of tragic news that they’re promoting. (43:04) It’s not really something going on with me.

(43:06) Or it’s like, oh, I lost my necklace. (43:08) Yeah, I am grieving. (43:09) I’m sad.

(43:10) This sucks. (43:10) And I really hope it comes back to me. (43:12) And maybe in my, you know, right now, I’m sitting with it to the point of, there’s either a miracle where someone’s going to find it, or it’s, it’s like, just gonna be like, oh, it was in your car, even though I’ve looked at all these places.

(43:23) I’m like, let’s see what happens. (43:25) Or maybe I go to my masseuse next time and find it in his couch, right? (43:28) Like, who knows?

(43:30) Or maybe it’s already done its use. (43:34) I’ve had these pieces for three years, they’re those energetics, like whatever I needed those crystals to serve the purpose for have then moved on. (43:41) And now the next piece of jewelry that I love so much gets to come into my life, right?

(43:46) And for whatever reason, it’s like, we’re making space for something new. (43:51) But if we, if we can’t learn to release things, we can’t make space for new things. (43:56) So all of that is an energetic, but we’re being called to be so much more in our bodies.

(44:02) And to, we spend so much time disassociating or trying to spackle it over and just be like, yeah, that’s not a problem. (44:09) Like, move along, move along. (44:11) No, we have to sit and feel the feelings, but we have to have a safe space for our nervous system and our mental process to be able to actually be there, like physically, mentally, emotionally, we have to be able to find safety before that can even happen.

(44:28) And we’re not exactly creating safe spaces when we’re yelling at each other and telling people they’re wrong and making it wrong to cry or feel and telling, you know, boys to man up and women to just be less emotional. (44:41) Are you kidding me? (44:42) No wonder we have this issue.

Melissa

(44:43) Well, it’s true. (44:44) I mean, it’s true. (44:45) We’re defining right and wrong.

(44:47) It’s right for women to cry and wrong for men to cry. (44:50) So therefore we can’t. (44:51) And I would agree with that.

(44:54) I think by defining crying as good or bad, we’re labeling it. (45:00) And I also think, I love something you said. (45:04) I think about, you know, I identify so many things as a person, but some of those things I have had to mourn, right?

(45:15) So there are pieces of me that got me from this place to that place. (45:20) And so what you were saying is, and I think back, you know, younger, I was a softball player. (45:27) Things changed me being a softball player, and I became a track runner.

(45:33) My identity was tied up in being a softball player. (45:38) I did not understand how I was cut from a team because I had an accident outside of my control by somebody else. (45:46) But when I mourned that, and I leaned into being something and somebody else, and I went through those emotions, like you were saying, I became a state champion.

(45:59) But had I sat and I got cut from a team, and I sat in the victim, and I just sat in the victim, and me, me, me, poor me, me, me, and left my identity there, I couldn’t grow outside of me as a softball player. (46:16) And that’s a very, like, small example. (46:18) But what you’re saying is sometimes we have to let go of these things we were or used to be or wanted to be, or it’s wrong for men to cry, and it’s right for girls to cry, or we can’t, you know, do things.

(46:35) We need to get out of that space and recreate a world where it is okay for men to cry. (46:42) And it is okay for women to cry. (46:45) And, you know, we don’t attack them for doing that.

Amanda

(46:52) 100%. (46:52) I mean, we can’t, we just, we can’t keep, we can’t keep attacking people for being human beings. (46:59) We need to treat them as human beings and say, hey, are you going through something?

(47:03) And I’m even, I have a client the other day who, you know, she’s working on getting pregnant, and she had to terminate a pregnancy, and she found out when, like, she was in this big CEO meeting. (47:17) And she found out in that meeting. (47:19) And she’s like, I just have to push through it.

(47:21) And I was like, what would it be like if you were actually given the space to say, hey, guys, I have a personal matter to attend to, I’m going to have to take a moment. (47:31) And like, go actually attend to the fact that you’re human has just found out, like, this is a death in the family. (47:38) Like, how do you not, like, we’re just taught, we’ll just.

Melissa

(47:43) But I think that’s where authenticity comes into. (47:47) That’s where the human part of what you were talking about comes into. (47:52) And that’s life.

(47:53) All of us are going to have these, you know, blips, leaps, whatever you, highs, lows, whatever you call it. (48:01) And none of us are perfect. (48:04) None of us are cut from the perfect cloth that somebody else wants us to be.

(48:08) I think about all the people that have managed me, I was probably not their perfect employee in one way or another. (48:15) And all the people I’ve managed, they weren’t the perfect employee the way I, I see it, right. (48:21) But we’re human, right?

(48:22) We’re just all showing up, doing our best with the tools that we have to work with. (48:28) And so giving people a little grace, and a little flack for doctor called they need a take, or tears on their cheeks. (48:38) I think it’s time.

Amanda

(48:42) Yeah. (48:42) And to stop. (48:43) I also think we can give ourselves permission to stop self abandoning.

(48:47) And just saying like, well, somebody else’s needs. (48:50) I mean, that’s part of the people pleasing to like, somebody else’s needs or my job is more important than my feelings in this moment. (48:56) Like, if you’re having a personal moment, and you need to tend to that, like, I want people to actually have the safety and the space to tend to that without feeling they’re like, they’re going to get fired, or somebody’s going to think less of, they’re going to look weak.

(49:09) All that that construct has to go because we when we don’t, when we defer it and defer it and push it off and push off and keep saying, No, there’s no space for that. (49:18) No, there’s no space, but no wonder your burnout, no wonder you have autoimmune system diseases and disease in your body and like, headaches or migraines or whatever the problems are going on, like we are manifesting, we’re like internalizing all of that junk, because we’re not releasing it. (49:36) And we’re going to be so much happier, so much healthier, so much more productive, so much more magical.

(49:41) Like you want to talk about competing with AI, get your friggin teams into a place of being in their power, authentically showing up in a space of courage and bravery and like, empathy and compassion for one another where they actually can be like, like I when I worked with teams, I would literally say to my employees, I love you so much. (50:04) I can’t wait to see you next week. (50:05) And when one of them died, I was able to say she friggin knew that I loved her.

(50:11) I love that. (50:12) That’s so much more powerful. (50:13) Like that just, that’s yummy.

(50:17) You know, that’s like in the middle of COVID to have people just go out of your life. (50:24) Like I knew that I was authentically showing up and they knew with every fiber of their being, who they were getting and that I had their back, no matter what. (50:33) And when they were gone, I was like, Oh, thank God.

(50:36) Like, yes, I’m grieving, but they knew where I stood. (50:39) And I feel like there’s this imaginary barrier that’s just like, we need to be tough and we need to be like the stoicness and the like insensitivity. (50:48) And like, we can’t be human because we’re at work.

(50:52) And to me, that line needs to be blurred because we need to be human to one another, especially in a world where AI is going to start stripping that humanity. (51:02) What are we going to do? (51:04) Be robots next to a robotic system and have technology just be, no.

Melissa

(51:09) Yeah.

Amanda

(51:10) I’m not able for that.

Melissa

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(52:00) It’s true. (52:01) And I think, you know, kind of enclosing here, any final thoughts or anything that we didn’t touch on that you want to leave with our listeners? (52:09) And then secondly, where can our listeners connect with you?

Amanda

(52:14) Yeah. (52:15) So final thoughts are really to in this evolution of leadership, as people are expanding into what’s next and as people are developing their teams or as leaders privately, I really want to invite people and encourage people to stop sacrificing themselves, stop abandoning themselves and start really tapping into their power and their intuition and their inner knowing and their authenticity. (52:44) Because I think that that’s the future of leadership, the future of how we be human in a world where AI is quickly, quickly taking over and doing so from a place of healing trauma, like healing the generational trauma so that your kids don’t have to go through these cycles.

(53:03) And so for me, you know, when I’m working with clients, I guess people can reach me to do more of this work to go into the deep stuff very quickly to teach their and train their teams into how to be more authentic, how to be more in touch with their intuition, how to know. (53:21) I mean, we can go and analyze and AI can analyze whether somebody should go with this version or this version. (53:29) But the true test of it is energetically tap in and feel into that network of all these different sensory things that are coming to us and saying, you know what, I know in my gut that it’s this answer.

(53:40) And I don’t necessarily need to know in the data, but this is where we’re going. (53:44) So if people want to connect with me more and have conversations about how they can, we can work together, how I can work with their teams to help them really tap into this and get into that evolution of leadership in a new, in a new age where we need to be more human than ever before. (53:58) They can visit my website.

(54:00) It’s Amanda H as in healer young.com and reach out to me. (54:06) I have a free call on there. (54:08) People can reach out to do a alignment call and see how I can help or if it’s somebody looking to help their corporate team, just send me an email.

(54:16) I mean, Amanda, Amanda H young.com will get right to me. (54:19) And I will answer and talk to you about what customized solutions we can make, because this is what I’m here for, to create these safe spaces for women, for men, for leaders, for people that are of this next generation to really tap into the hidden energetics of the world that are actually giving us a lot more information than the technology. (54:42) I mean, like I talk about technology being two things.

(54:44) It’s like we have as human beings, all this technology, all these spidey senses and gut feelings and inner knowings far more powerful than the new technology that’s coming on board. (54:58) And I mean, there is a reason that humanity is humanity and robots and technology or something else. (55:04) Like we have sentientness of being a human being and that being needs to get elevated in these next years and decades, because that’s where the real magic is going to happen and where humanity can thrive.

(55:19) And we can really have more, more joy, more miracles, more magic in the world. (55:25) Like get those mavericks to come into their joy and just changing.

Melissa

(55:31) I love it.

Amanda

(55:32) Yeah.

Melissa

(55:32) I love it. (55:33) So true. (55:34) So true.

(55:35) I love it. (55:36) Thank you so much, Amanda, for being here, sharing your heart and your joy with our listeners today. (55:45) That’s the Executive Connect podcast.