Ignite (Aired 02-05-2025) Tax Season Strategies: Maximize Deductions and Reduce Stress

[00:00:25] Speaker A: Hi, I am Vicki Wright Hamilton, and welcome to Ignite. Are you ready to spark your passion and fuel your leadership journey? Then this is where ambition meets action and transformation begins. Let's light the fire and keep it burning. I will tell you, I am so excited to have my guest today, Kendra McDowell. We going to be talking about some things that are happening, what, right now all around this tax season. Hi, Kendra. [00:00:58] Speaker B: Hi. [00:00:59] Speaker A: Welcome. [00:01:01] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. [00:01:02] Speaker A: Well, why don't you take a minute and just tell the audience about your company and what you do. Yeah. [00:01:07] Speaker B: So my name is Kendra McDowell. I coined myself as a born accountant. I own Premier Accounting Associates, which is a bookkeeping and tax firm. I have a home care agency and I do podcasts and. And I'm working on my first documentary series. So, yeah, boring stuff. [00:01:25] Speaker A: So exciting stuff. I can relate to the documentary. I got one releasing on March 20, the diary of Successful Black Women here in Atlanta. And so we'll be at the theater and doing our premiere. And so I can relate to all of that. I also sell products. So, girlfriend, you are in good company in terms of moving forward. But as we talk about that, you know, we are in tax season and it's a very, very stressful time. You know, as we begin to look at taxes. I'd like to ask you, what are the steps that business owners can take throughout the year to prepare for their tax season? So it's not so stressful. [00:02:07] Speaker B: Right. So I always tell my clients that you need to keep up with your receipts. You need to make sure that you are bookkeeping. That's like the scariest word that a lot of clients don't do. And so what they do is every month they put everything in a shoeboxing. Yeah, there are still some clients that. And we're not talking about small companies, but, you know, I don't know if they do that just to be quirky, but my advice to business owners is that, you know, you have to get a handle and know where you are. And so in order to do you that, it's best practice to make sure that you're tracking your income, you're tracking your expenses daily so you can know, have a handle on your cash flow and making sure that if you don't have an accountant or bookkeeper that you are reconciling that to your bank statement. A lot of businesses like to look at their cash balance to say, oh, this is where I am, but your bank balance is not where your cash position is. [00:03:06] Speaker C: So. [00:03:07] Speaker B: So I can't speak that enough to say keeping track of Your income and expenses. And that also lets you know what you have left to pay and then what you're owed. So it's a great practice. [00:03:20] Speaker A: You know, I really appreciate that advice. You know, even as a single business owner, you know, taking files to categorize during the year. Okay, this is a receipt I need to keep for this. This is a receipt I need to keep for this. Or here's my monthly statement or this is where I am. Or this is, was my financial review with doing my quick, you know, with my QuickBooks and making sure, you know, it's all those little things, but it's the things we don't like to do but we have to do. Right? And I think that's one of the benefits of your company is that if you don't want to do it, you have to worry about it. Hire me, I can get it done. [00:03:54] Speaker B: Attack. Hero. [00:03:56] Speaker A: I see you. I see you. I see you. So let me ask you, how can someone maximize the deductions without the fear of making a mistake, you know, that I'm doing the wrong thing or I didn't do it correctly, etc. [00:04:13] Speaker B: Right. So in order to maximize your deduction, you want to make sure that you have evidence. Evidence, evidence, evidence. I can't say that enough. So you have to make sure that it's an expense that is insure, you know, an expense that should be written off. And then you have to have the receipt and then you have to have the reason. You know, a lot of individuals were like, oh, I had, you know, my house redone and you know, I have a home based business, can I use that as an expense? So I think it's also being knowledgeable of what are eligible expenses so that you are maximizing the correct expenses. Because just because whether you have a business or home based business, not everything can get thrown in there as an expense. And I think that's where I see sometimes the, the knowledge basis is just you can maximize, but you have to document, you have to make sure that it's in the correct category and that it is insurer deduction that is yours to take. And if that is true and you have the expenses to back it out, maximize it. [00:05:17] Speaker A: So I want to take that a little further. First of all, where can a business owner go to get a lick of what's available to be, you know, for expenses? And does that matter based upon the kind of company you are, whether you're LLC, a nonprofit, etc. Where do we go to get that so that we know? [00:05:38] Speaker B: Right. So I would suggest the best place to go is going to be to the IRS.gov because you can print this form. So, going back to your question, a schedule C or an llc. So for tax purposes, they are treated just like sole proprietors. So they will do theirs with their personal income tax and they'll be on the Schedule C. And if you go into the IRS website, it's going to give you instructions, but it's also going to give you detail of the different line items. And then you can also cross check that if you are an S corporation or C corp, you're going to be filing on 1120 or 1120s and then from there all your expenses are going to be reported and then the difference will be delivered to you as a K1, and then that K1 will be submitted with your tax return. [00:06:25] Speaker A: Okay, so if I go to the website and I pull down, it will tell me all the eligible expenses for my S corp or C corp or whatever. It'll list those out so that I know, okay, if I have a house and I have a home business and my, my office takes up 300 square feet and my rent is X and I have a total of 4,000 square feet, that's what percentage, So a percentage of what my rent is or my mortgage is that I could write off those kinds of things. Where do I get those kinds of specifics? [00:07:01] Speaker B: Right? And this is what a lot of people don't realize is that when you are looking at those forms, the IRS produces instructions for those forms. And the instructions are based on the line items. So first of all, I would say check in with your accountant because we want you to do what you're good at and run that business and give us more green. So we can, we want to grow with you. But if you must, if you must go down the rabbit hole and the most safest secure place to get a resource, and we have resources on our website too. But just to just, I would always say go to the instruction of the tax form. And the IRS provides not only the instruction on how to pull up the tax form, but on the different numbers. It gives you detailed information about that as well. Now, of course they're not going to tell you about maximizing. And that's when you need to sit down and speak with a professional. [00:07:51] Speaker A: Okay, let's break down a little. Break that down a little bit. When you say maximizing, what does that really mean? Maximizing what and how? [00:07:59] Speaker B: Right? So you want to maximize your deductions. So like say, for instance, if I'm doing, let's pick a industry. Medical transportation. Right. I have a lot of vehicles. Maybe the S corporation setup isn't going to be the greatest for me because I'm not able to deduct the mileage. So again the question goes back to if I started out as an LLC, but maybe I want to save 10,000. So sometimes people would do the election. Right. But there are different deductions and different entities that are treated different ways. If I have a partnership, right. And we want to maximize the expenses there. So when I think of maximizing deductions, how I see that is just making sure if I do have a transportation company that I'm making sure that I'm have everything at a limit, you know, your 401k at a limit. The max that you can deduct here is max is maximizing those different categories and it's going to look different based on the different entity. So someone that has a daycare is going to look a lot different for them than someone that has a transportation to someone who's driving a truck. So taxes sometimes, although we report on the same form, is not a one shoes fits all. [00:09:15] Speaker A: Oh, thank you. I think that's important for, for people to understand and I think that also indicates the importance of understanding what kind of entity should I get in in the first place and being able to say, well, what's my end goal? What do I want to do? Am I looking to, you know, do. Do generational wealth and leave it and I'm going to sell it and those kinds of things and I want to be able to deduct these kinds of expenses versus those kind of expenses. So I appreciate that because it really helps the audience understand that it's important that we, we delineate those. So you know, as we're talking about this, we all know and you know, I know what my, what I'm good at. I know what I'm not good at when it comes to details. And there's a lot of people that are like, I have anxiety. What advice do you have for those dealing with tax related anxiety all of the time? What should they do? [00:10:17] Speaker B: Yeah, so before I jump into that, I did want to say this one thing that I failed to mention when we're talking about maximizing deductions. If in fact you're going to be buying property or doing something, maybe maximizing may not be the thing for you because you need to show income. So I wanted to go back and make sure that we had mentioned that to those like you said, want to, you know, have A different. So it depends on what your end goal is, but getting back how to make it less stressful. So in order to make it less stressful, what I see a lot is embarrassment, right? Individuals are embarrassed of how they did their records. They're dealing with so many issues and problems. So I just said, you know, just breathe, be in the moment. You're doing the best that you can do. You're doing a lot better than a lot of people are at this current time. You took a brave step to start your own business and go on your own. And now not only only are you supporting your household, you're supporting employees and their families. And that's to be celebrated and cheered on. I think just making sure that you have a strategy in place, making sure that you category, you know, have your receipts organized. Categorized, because if you're organized, then you're not going to have that anxiety when you show up. And if you do show up that way, just, hey, come as you are. At our practice, we're like, come as you are. We're the premier family, you know, and I like individuals like there's. There's nothing you. Sometimes people think they're the only one going through this. I'd be like, oh, my God, I'm making money, or this wasn't this year, or, you know, my partnership is falling apart, but it's okay. [00:11:58] Speaker A: Well, you know, I appreciate that. And I think the other thing is, is when you're going to look for that CPA or account, that's the most personal thing you have. And our ability to connect is so important. We're going to take a station break and we'll be right back because I want to continue with this great conversation. We'll be right. Welcome back. And for those of you who have. Are just now joining, let me tell you, Kendra gave some great information about taxes during this time of tax season and getting stressed out and really trying to understand how do we move forward and the importance of your businesses, et cetera. So if you missed it, I encourage you to go back and listen to it. But Kendra, as we talk about that and we move forward, I want to be able to step up a little bit. You know, a lot of times as a business, we want to scale, we want to get bigger. So. Right. A person may start as a solopreneur, then you know, there's one or two people that they're subcontracting with, but now they really want to scale their business. What are the key financial considerations when scaling a business that you should look. [00:13:33] Speaker B: At slow and steady wins the race. No, seriously, I literally have that situation going on right now with two clients. [00:13:43] Speaker A: Right. [00:13:43] Speaker B: Slow. Slow and steady wins the race. There's no rush. In order to. In order. First of all, you have to make sure that you have financial stability. And what I mean by financial stability, make sure that your business is financially secure. If you're paying payroll, make sure that you have enough like six, like you do with your personal finances. You want to make sure that you have up to six months in business income as well, in case something goes haywire with the. The next steps. So when you think of scaling your business, there's many other options that could be going out, seeking funding, it could be adding partnerships, it could be just, you know, transitioning into a different stage. But in scaling your business, you want to make sure that you have the backing to handle that. Right? Because it's going to be more employees, more individuals that you have to be accountable for without losing the customer service and the feel of your product of service. [00:14:48] Speaker A: You know, I think what you just said is the key. We can't lose the value add we've already given because our customers have come to know it. So if we scale so much that we're not able to do that extra, you know, white glove service them to give. Customers are like, wait a minute, I should move on, I should go somewhere else, right? Because they've been spoiled. It's kind of like you spoil somebody, you spoil a child, they come back and they want some more. Our customers are the same way. They become to expect that as we continue to move forward. And I think you would agree that when you're talking about scaling a business and you're looking at your workflow from end to end, you may have to scale a piece at a time of that workflow and not everything at once. So you can take small bites. Right. I'm gonna do a partnership over this piece, but that's it. I'm gonna stop. I'm gonna do something over here with this piece, but gradually do it. I like how you said slow is great. Steady pace, but slow. We're thinking about that. How do you balance investing in your growth that you wanna do and maintaining your financial stability? [00:16:00] Speaker B: Wow, that's a huge one. Well, when like, you also have to take in consideration the time. And I'll give you a short, quick example. During the pandemic, I wrote a little book with my daughter. Actually, it started from me explaining to her what was going on in the world. I had to put a pause on it. Not because it wasn't a great book. Everyone just didn't like the pandemic. They didn't want to hear about it. So that would have been an example of something that would flop. So I say that to say that even when you're scaling your business, you have to be aware of what's going on everywhere. You have to kind of play every angle. I had a client, we were looking over software, and they wanted to charge all these different fees. And I said, did you look at the economy? Disposable income? So, getting back to your question, I think when in a business owner is ready to scale and they don't want to trip, they have to do it in stages and they have to do it in tests. Like you said, move a proportion. Well, maybe I'm going to try it here. I always say you have to have that safety net. And if you're unable to have that safety net, then that's when you have to get a line of credit or, you know, but you have to have that. And most importantly, payroll. You have to make sure that you're covering. No, seriously. Because I see a lot of business, you know, that have dissolved the partners get, you know, a little selfish, and they forget about the individual individuals that help along the way. And, you know, I say the universe rewards you well when you treat people well. [00:17:32] Speaker A: Agree? That is so true. Karma is something. Right? But, you know, I want to expand on something you said because I, you know, when we think about investing in growth, and then you talked about thinking about what's around you, okay, so the economy may be changing. How is the perception in your mind of a business for value when you are discounting or you're charging lower fees because of the market versus what the value is that you're truly bringing to uplift or to help someone solve their pain? Because we're in business to solve pains. That's what we do. Somebody has a pain, somebody doesn't want to do it. That's what we're there to solve. So how do you balance that from your perspective so that as you're advising your clients for growth, that we're not telling them, you know, yes, the market is. Doesn't have any money. And lower your prices to a dollar versus keeping your prices where they are, but, you know, diversifying your expectations? I'd love to get your thoughts. [00:18:44] Speaker B: Yeah. So with this specific client, what I had said was, I don't think that you should change your price structure, but you should offer a discount. Right. Because if disposable income changes, then you have to really think of the mind of their consumer. And if your product is not a necessity, going back to Maslow, you know, rule of order, then you have to be creative in how you discount it, but not lowering your price. So you would say 20, 25 year discount, and it's a discount to get, you know, individuals in. And then it's the wording, you know, I think that when we think of the economy, it's not. I didn't mean it to like, say, oh, no, no, don't, you know, because, you know, risk is what is going to grasp, you know, and it's changing your brand. Even with the ohs, you know, when we first came out, it was about the pandemic. And then I said, wow, we bring the joys to the messiness of life. So you can rebrand. So you can rebrand and restructure. So it's okay, but you have to be cognitive of everything around you. [00:19:47] Speaker A: Agree? Yeah, agreed. And I love the fact that, you know, and that's why I asked questions, because I wanted to bring more of that out because I truly, I truly believe that that is the case as we begin to think about it. I also think I'll tell you, I have a personal thing I don't ever call a discount because I'm not discounting my value. I always say I'm doing an investment, right? So I, if it's a 25%, you know, that I'm going to, you know, reduce that price. I always say, in 2025, I got 25% investment in you. And what was a $500 value is now, you know, a $425 value or whatever. Because I think that to your point, wording matters, and if we start thinking about devaluing a discount says, oh, I'm getting it for cheap, but guess what? My value is not cheap. So my value not being cheap means that I need to use language that says, wait a minute, I understand the economy is this way and I'm going to do more investment in you, but that does not discredit the value that I have and what, what I would, you know, charge. So being able to say it's the value, this is $1,000, put an X through it. But my investment for you is X, right? So that you can be able to do it. So I just wanted to drop that because that's something that, as a, as a business coach, when I do it, that I'm really cognizant and I want listeners to know words matter how you market Matters. And to your point, when you get ready to rebrand, how you speak to your customers matter. So. [00:21:28] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Oh, my goodness. I love that. [00:21:30] Speaker A: Absolutely. So let me ask you this. What strategies have you seen work for businesses that are really wanting to expand without overextending themselves? So how would you guide a company out there on their strategies to use? [00:21:45] Speaker B: Right. First I always ask, why are you here? You know, the reason you're here, why are you doing this? If it's to make money, that's not what you're going to do. You're going to earn money, you know, but I think that if you're here to solve a problem, if you're here to make the lives of individuals better, then you're going to be able to withstand. I think that, you know, having a business plan, going by that plan, having your financials, projecting those financials, looking at different scenarios. I think that if you're taking your brand from A, and you're like, you know what, I want to introduce, say a new product or I want to introduce a new service, you have to be able to have the foundation or the, or the, the backing in case A, it doesn't grow as much, B, it does grow, or C, it totally flops. So I think you have to have that strategy. And what does that strategy look like, having a business plan, you know, running the financials, scenarios. I can't say that enough. Running the scenarios. That's why you want to get you that a boring accountant that's listening to classical music so they can help you. They don't got nothing better else to do than her run scenarios for you. [00:23:08] Speaker A: Like, seriously, okay, so can I dial your number and get you to do my scenarios? You know, you bring up such an important point as we begin to talk about, you know, doing this with scenarios, because, you know, you think that, okay, I'm gonna be really, really optimistic. I'm sell this amount, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna make all this money and then I'm going do this. And you're so excited about what you're doing that you're hyped. And then somebody comes in and bust your bubble and says, but what if that doesn't happen? What are you talking about? It's going to happen. I've already manifested. I already said that's what I'm going to do. What do you mean it's not going to happen? Of course it's going to happen. So I think that you're bringing up a great point in terms of Looking at risk, looking at what you can do, looking at if this occurs, what's my plan? You know, it's kind of like I tell, even with some of my leadership clients that I talk to, you know, that I'm coaching, is that you have to always plan. What if, if I lose my job, what is my plan? I remember when I got, when I was no longer working, I said, I'm a, I'm a teach. I'm going to consult and I'm going to get on paid boards. That was my strategy. When I wasn't working, what did I do? I went to teach. You know, I, you know, did projects because it's so important to have that alternative plan. Kendra, I have thoroughly enjoyed this. Thank you so much for joining us on Ignite today. This has been a phenomenal conversation. [00:24:44] Speaker C: Absolutely. [00:24:44] Speaker B: Thanks for having me. [00:24:46] Speaker A: No problem. Okay, we're going to be right back, and when we come back, we have another guest to share with you, and I think you're going to be just as excited. See you in just a moment. Welcome back. I told you we were going to have a great guest when we came back. It is my honor and my pleasure to introduce you to Susan Drayton. Boy, get your pencils out and start taking notes because I can guarantee you're going to get some things that are very inspiring. Inspiring. Welcome, Susan. [00:25:39] Speaker C: Thank you. Thank you for having me. [00:25:42] Speaker A: Oh, I'm so glad to have you. Would you share with our audience a little bit about what you do? [00:25:48] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. So diving in with the Reiki. I am a Reiki master. And what that means is it's gathering all of the knowledge into one and creating a bridge and being open to receiving energetic messages. And that is my modality as a conduit. I am a bridge. I don't consider myself a healer, but more of a bridge where I take your energy and I become a mirror and reflect it back onto you and I scan your whole entire body with my hands away from your body, and I just feel your energy and it will tell me what is going on as far as current events and as something as far back into childhood. I'm also known for having psychic Tourette's. At times, I just let everything out. But in doing that, the goal is to. To unblock anything that you have suppressed in your energy field. And it goes as far as to your cells and your organs, if you really want to get technical with the energy. And this is how a lot of discomfort in your body starts happening and any kind of pain and what we'll do is sit you down or lay you down, and we will sit with it. And I'll bring in meditations, I'll bring in sound as well, because that cuts and clears because of the frequencies of the vibration as well. And so in doing so, I create a atmosphere where you're comfortable to at least look at a portion of what it is that you've been suppressing that you don't want to face. And slowly we work through it. And then I bring in breathing techniques. [00:28:08] Speaker A: So is that how Reiki helps to heal people and get their energy? Is that what those are, those tools and mechanisms, the way that that works? Is that what's happening? [00:28:19] Speaker C: It is. That is what it is. It's your pressure points, okay? With the crown, from the crown chakra to the root chakra, the root is basically having you grounded in the 3D while you are working and navigating through this journey of your spirit, your soul, and really tying it in and aligning it with your 5D version, which is the more grounded and divinely guided in the knowing. And we are to connect both and work with it in and out of it as frequently as we can. This is not a phase, okay? It should be a long life practice to just be in tuned with more of the depths of who you are, you're transitioning, why you're transitioning, what are you trying to accomplish, how to accomplish yourself authentically as you are thriving in this journey. [00:29:33] Speaker A: So one of the things I like what you were saying about going through the journey and understanding. My question is, what are some of the simple steps that somebody can take when starting to explore Reiki for themselves and really understand it? What, what should one do? How does that process start? [00:29:54] Speaker C: For me, it was curiosity. Doing research about Reiki and how long Reiki has been and why it's been in quite incorporated and how it came to be and about here in the States. And so in doing so, for me, Reiki is more spirituality. I started off with religion and religion exposed me to a foundation that was good at the time, but I was still thirsty. I my soul wasn't quenched. I wasn't too thrilled with this fiction of Jesus. I felt I needed to get more on a personal level about the divine. And divine is really a definition to the beholder. Everyone has their own definition and mine is I dive in with the divine and I work very closely, check in with the divine as to how I'm doing and where I need to go. And that is a steady process. That is not something that takes Place one hour at a Sunday pew with Jesus. Aerobic exercises by the pew. For me, it just doesn't work. But for others, I'm sure it does. And it does bring great good vibe feelings for others. Me, it's a more deeper knowing. You know, what is this journey about? Why is it so deep and so changing and it's like a Milky Way jumping into a Milky Way and you just don't know why things need to be stripped. And a lot of it has to do with trauma of childhood and so forth as you're going on that we just suppress because our mind will process what it can. But it's our bodies that absorb the energy impact first. And then your mind is trying to catch up with what is going on. So you're on this fight or flight type of mentality. So your heart and your mind are kind of missing each other and you're learning to bring it into balance as one. And the emotions as we know comes from the heart and logic, we should be logic, but sometimes we overthink and that's where the fight and flight comes in. [00:32:48] Speaker A: So talking about that, I'd like for you to connect the dots. How does Reiki help with that emotional healing? What does it do if the body has got it all tracked and yes, you're looking at the body and putting your hands over the body to get the energy. How does, how does this process really help the emotional side where the mind's trying to catch up with it? How does that work? [00:33:13] Speaker C: Well, what I've told my clients, and I still tell my clients, you're going to learn how to detach. How you detach is by as everything is going on that is just so chaotic, you're going to have to remind yourself that the only thing you can control is your breathing. And the more you focus on your breathing, it brings you to the now, to the present moment. And that is all you can control is that present moment. And when you do, you start shifting in thoughts slowly, you start shifting in your emotions. You become more calmer to the point things start to clear. The veil starts to clear that, okay, it's not as bad as I thought it was, or this isn't happening like that because you're becoming more in the center of who you are. It takes a lot of practice. It's not an overnight thing because we are conditioned to react. And not everything deserves a reaction, not everything deserves a response that's wasted energy. We are here to learn how to utilize it in a more fundamental way that is going to enhance Our lives and more in the present moment. [00:34:44] Speaker A: You know, this is so. I'm so fascinated by this as we talk about it because one of the things that when you think about the true healing, and you mentioned that it doesn't happen overnight, it's a process. Does it ever reach a destination or does that destination always change? [00:35:11] Speaker C: Both. It depends in how far you want to go in with the self. I know that you will see. See changes happening. When I see my clients, I always give a month window for them to experience that Reiki process, the Reiki emotionally and mentally and then to practice on their own with the techniques. And they do come back and they'll see the slight changes happening. And then all of a sudden they're evolving slowly and obviously more you dive into it, you're going to have some situations that are not as intricate as heavy traumas. Traumas take longer to work through. So with that, it's consistency and breaking through in doing the meditation and see, sitting through it and talking, I speak with them as well. When we're doing this, I can just easily put my hand right over you. And it could be something about a relationship that stems all the way from dad or mom or a sibling or what have you. And. Okay, let's talk about it. What, what do you recall happened at that moment? Hone in on those feelings. So, yeah, okay. [00:36:48] Speaker A: You know, that is, that's interesting, especially when you're saying you're giving them techniques. So there are things that going through this process with you, they don't have to wait to the next visit to get to you. There are things that they can do in the, in the, in between to actually grow and develop. I just think this is so fascinating. We're going to take a station break and we'll be right back. Welcome back. I don't know if you listened to that last segment, but I tell you, when we think about Reiki and emotions and the process and the destination, Susan gave us a lot of nuggets. So if you're just now joining us, you may want to go back and listen to that first part of the segment because it was very enlightening. Susan, as we start to talk about emotions and mind and what we're doing, one of the other things that you really have a strong foundation in, that I love for you to share with our, our audience is around how that power of art, you know, can help for healing as we move forward. So I'd love to get your perspective on how that actually happens and how it helps our own healing process. Through the use of art. [00:38:11] Speaker C: And me. It. I started applying art in my life because there were some deep traumas that I needed to work through. But in doing so, it also taught me how to incorporate meditation, Drinking alkaline water that helps elevate your frequency as well, and cutting through a lot of the toxicities. And for me, it was just staying in tuned with bringing in crystals as well. That also helps with the art of Reiki along with the copper as well, to keep you grounded because it activates like Mother Earth. So this is my everyday practices and I do do my prayers as well. And it makes me align more with my higher self. And my goal is to become authentic with me. Who am I in this world that's ever evolving and changing? And how do I keep the true essence of who. Who I am? Am I going to feed that ego or am I going to feed the authentic me and still thrive? And it's not easy to do because it's very easy to get lost because the emotions. And sometimes I have to refrain. And in doing so, I go back into my practices as well. And it's just sometimes it's better to observe than to react. You learn a lot when you're observing because you're detaching and you just want to see things for what it clearly is. [00:40:08] Speaker A: You know that. I mean, this is, like I said, this is very fascinating to me. Even when we talk about the power of art and what that can do for our emotions and what we're going through and help us to heal in different ways. And, you know, people use different kinds of art for different things as they, as they move forward. What advice do you have for someone who feels that I can't express myself creative creatively. I'm just not a creative person. What, what do you tell them? [00:40:42] Speaker C: I say dip into it, get curious and just let your imagination lead the way. And better yet, your inner child, I guess, is, is the best way to allow you to just be. It knows, it knows. And that inner child doesn't go away. The imagination, the creativity, just start somewhere, anywhere is better than not starting at all. Just, just be curious, just like you were as a child. Just don't have any expectations. Don't walk with the hopes that it's going to turn out with this imagery that you have in your mind, because now you just set yourself to fail. Just go with the flow of it all and just let it be. And let it just blossom like a lotus instead. See what takes place. [00:41:41] Speaker A: You know, that sounds so simple, but when we talk about the how. How do I do that? Is it that I just meditate and think about when I was a child and what I did or, you know, because it's you. [00:41:54] Speaker C: What was that feeling like when you had no responsibilities? [00:41:58] Speaker A: Okay, you know, when you had no. [00:42:00] Speaker C: Responsibilities, what was it like to just get up and just go do whatever you wanted to do and not worry about any consequences to it? You know, it's just that something as simple as that, as curiosity, and then you just take it from there. And then as you put it out into the universe as to what you want, it's going to respond to you and it will show up on your path and it just intertwines that law of attraction, just in and out, weaving in and out. Take the expectation out of the equation, detach from an outcome and just be carefree like a child. If you forgot what that's like, then go observe children when they're laughing and just being in their element. You know, sometimes I always tell people to just go by the beach, watch the waves, how they dance, and just flow with it. It's going to teach you how to flow. It all comes together at the end, but sometimes you'll see some high waves on one end of the shore or the other and then somehow it just rolls right in and it knows when to stop. Something as simple as that, I think we overthink too much that it's got to be this grand Oso kind of thing. And it's the simple stuff, it's simplicity. We need to get back to the simplicity of things. [00:43:40] Speaker A: Well, you know, Susan, like I know as I, as I used to think about being creative, it was like I am a very left brain person, a strategy person. I'm. I am all about facts and figures because I always had to prove something and to validate something. So it was like it had to be there. And I used to say, boy, when God gave creativity away, he left me out the mix. And what I have learned as you're talking about is that creativity is there. I just didn't get a chance to use it. So I thought I never had it. Now that I'm in my own business and doing my own thing, I'm more creative in thinking outside of the box of more the art of the possible and what that can look like. [00:44:26] Speaker C: So that's about tapping into your sacral chakra, which is all about creativity. And that is allowing you to have that relationship with creativity in whatever it is that you're doing. It's thinking outside the box. It's doing things differently than what you did before. And that's what's changing and evolving is how you're approaching things different, differently that you normally wouldn't do. So that's calling you to step out of a comfort zone that you're so used to because it comes to you so naturally. That John autopilot. So it's like, how do you put the brakes? And how you put it is just changing one simple thing every single time. And before you know it, you're automatically changing the brain, the crown chakra, to open up and be more open to the messages of, oh, maybe I can do it this way, or what would happen if I did it that way? [00:45:28] Speaker A: Well, you know, Susan, you also talked a lot about, you know, copper and stones and things like that. And I've always been curious to understand which one is for what. So, you know, when do you use this stone to get this feeling? And this stone that's going to help you to do this? How do you. How do you get this information so that you can utilize it to help yourself as you're trying to bring on this change in yourself? And I love how you said this. Be authentic to me. [00:46:04] Speaker C: Yes. [00:46:05] Speaker A: And what that looks like. Can you help and guide us a little bit in that area? [00:46:10] Speaker C: So believe it or not, everyone's discernment is not broken. It's just not awoke. [00:46:17] Speaker A: Okay, wait a minute, Wait a minute. Say that again. [00:46:19] Speaker C: I said everyone's discernment is not broken. It just needs to be awakened. You need to trust it. You need to trust it. When you walk into a holistic store, you are surrounded by so much crystals and you sometimes can get overwhelmed. But as you walk through it, your body is going to feel a connection with those stones. Something as simple as a turquoise stone is for your throat chakra, your root chakra. It's usually like, it could be a Jasper, you know, but definitely when you do walk into a. A holistic place, those crystals are going to speak to you. [00:47:06] Speaker A: This is fascinating. This is just fascinating because I go in, you know, I'd have opportunities where I would go into holistic places because I do a lot of holistic foods and things like that and treatments. And so, yes, the stones are all around, but it's more of. I used to always think it was because the color drew me in. I'm attracted to this one or I'm attracted to that one. And what you see, what I understand from what you're saying and playing, Please correct me if I'm wrong, but what I understand that you're saying is, is my body is attracted to that. Not the color, not what it looks like, not what it feels like when I pick it up. [00:47:49] Speaker C: That is smooth or body, body's connecting with it. It's having an energy connection with it. It's going to know and for you in, in the physical world, ooh, wow, look at that shiny color. Look at that. You know, but body's already attracting what it is that it needs. And then you go and you look it up, what the stone means and then right there and then it's going to tell you why you were so attracted to it. [00:48:19] Speaker A: And where's the best place to go and get that meaning of a stone? Because you know, there's a lot of things out on the Internet, you get multiple stories, etc. Where's the best way to say, okay, a Jasper is for this and turquoises for this. [00:48:31] Speaker C: I what I like to do is literally physically walk into a holistic store. And I like to go to holistic stores that actually will order their stones in the raw. The better in the raw, the stronger it is for me. I don't really like a lot of the stuff is man made and you got to be cautious with it. But yeah, if you just go and walk into holistic stores, they will tell you where they purchased it all from. [00:49:10] Speaker A: You know, Susan, I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. I want to thank you for coming on to Ignite and Igniting our fire. It has been a joy to have you. [00:49:22] Speaker C: Thank you for having me. [00:49:24] Speaker A: I appreciate it and I have learned so much. So this is go. I am so excited you all came to join us for Ignite today. And just remember, this is where the light of the fire keeps on burning. Join us next time for the light burning with another guest on the show. Look forward to seeing you then. 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