Know Your Fire
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Know Your Fire
Journey from Corporate to Keynote Speaking with Brandi Spurling- Owner/Founder of Sage Culture Co.
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Get ready for a lot of laughs and practical wisdom with guest Brandi Spurling. Brandi is the owner/founder of Sage Culture Co. and as a Human Design Reflector, she shares inspiring stories and insights into her personal manifestations, including her journey transitioning from corporate to entrepreneur and sought after keynote speaker.
00:00:05 Exploring Manifestation and Energy
00:04:25 Human Design and Energy Power
00:11:44. Embracing Your Zone of Genius
00:16:01. Manifesting Fun and Freedom
00:26:11 Navigating Creativity and Consistency
00:40:13 Expanding Vision for Sage Culture Co
00:44:28 Unconventional Leadership and Keynote Speaking
00:51:17 Empowering Money Mindset Shift
00:59:0 Balancing Freedom and Discipline
01:11:51 Casual Conversation in Cozy Office
From setting impossible-sounding intentions to manifesting them into reality, this episode is packed with inspiration and practical advice. Brandi's journey from booking speakers to becoming one herself is a testament to the power of believing in your own capabilities and going after your dreams
We discuss overcoming self-doubt, the balance between creativity and consistency, and the emotional challenges of leaving the corporate world to start a personal business. Embrace a vision of leadership that is both joyful and adventurous, and learn how to create a fulfilling life that blends work and play seamlessly. Don’t miss this heartfelt conversation that promises to leave you feeling empowered and ready to manifest your own dreams.
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Exploring Manifestation and Energy
Speaker 1Welcome to the Manifestation Lab . This is your host , kelly Howe . From the grounded science to the mystical and unseen , we're investigating this big experiment we call life and finding what really works when it comes to manifesting a life that sets your heart and your soul on fire . Welcome to the lab and your soul on fire , welcome to the lab so . I had you read some cards had you pull some cards . So what are the cards telling us , brandy ?
Speaker 2Oh my gosh , I have a deck that has a book with it and I always read the book , this one so it looked like . So we got four of Raphael , which says seek out other possibilities , look for the magic in life , be aware of your own emotions . Ooh , that's really pretty . And then eight of Gabrielle a great deal of activity , sudden and immediate results , important communication . And then eight of Raphael , which is funny . We got four , eight , eight . It is interesting isn't it , yeah , which you're 411 , so that's really interesting .
Speaker 2There is something better waiting for you . Do you know what is right for you ? A spiritual quest , okay , I like that .
Speaker 1That's really pretty . I like those . Okay , well , that's going to start our conversation off . Welcome , thank you . So , glad we're doing this . I know I am too . We had a little bit of technical hiccup getting started , but I think we're going to be good to go now , and you know I do the best I can with technology but that's all I can do .
Speaker 2Honestly , that's all I can do . We could have just pulled up our iPhones and just had a phone call on it , and it probably wouldn't have mattered .
Speaker 1I know right , probably . I know right , probably would have sounded just excuse me just as good . Literally it was like a burp hiccup . I'm not even sure what that was . Here we go .
Speaker 1Okay , so to launch in , I am going to read a little bit about Miss Brandy Sperling , who is sitting with me today . And Brandy and I got together I don't know a few weeks ago and she started telling me about this amazing story that she has been , this journey that she's been on for the last few years , and I was like , oh my gosh , we need to have a podcast and talk about this , because this is just too fun and talk about manifestation and energy and synchronicities and things coming together . It's just so beautiful . So , brandy , welcome , brandy welcome .
Speaker 1Brandy is a keynote speaker , the founder of Sage Culture Co , which we are going to talk all about , a culture and team development organization where she brings leaders and teams together through learning and team buildings . She melts her master's in strategic leadership and her bachelor's in theater , which , by the way , I had no idea that that was in there . I was like that's so cool , right , and stand up training to bring topics , audiences to audiences in a thoughtful and fun way If she isn't on stage somewhere telling really bad jokes which I've never heard you tell a bad joke , by the way .
Speaker 1Oh , thanks . By the way , she's at home with her dogs and cats or hiking somewhere in the mountains , and I think that's why we click .
Speaker 2Probably right , Right . Every time I come here , your dogs are obsessed . They go crazy .
Speaker 1I'm going to share those videos before the podcast so that people can see my dogs like attack you . They love you so much . I love those dogs , they love you .
Speaker 2You're my favorite part of coming here , but the dogs are the second , that's okay , they can be number one .
Speaker 1The dogs are second . I can be a close second , if you want . Well , let's go ahead and get into this . So very practical things . I want to start with first . Okay , what is your astrological sign and what is your human design ?
Speaker 2Oh , I am a Scorpio , so , uh , november 3rd , scorpio and my um , would you ? What was it ? The human design ? I am a reflector , I'm a reflector . I'm the little unicorn , right yeah , like less than 1% , less than 1% . And I , I'm finding reflector . I'm the little unicorn , right yeah , like less than 1% .
Speaker 1Less than 1% , and I , I'm finding have a lot of experience with reflectors , because I have a son that's a reflector , do you really ? And I have a sister that's a reflector . How wild is that ? Oh my gosh . That feels rare , does it ? It's ? Yeah , it's pretty crazy and I do feel like learning that they were reflectors , learning about human design in general , just was like such a game changer . So I'm curious , I mean because it helps me understand them better and like their dynamic . So when you learned you were a reflector , were things like oh my gosh , things make sense ?
Speaker 2Yes , 100 percent , I think . Well , funny enough , I actually have a funny story with how all this came about . Funny enough , I actually have a funny story with
Human Design and Energy Power
Speaker 2how all this came about . I was introduced to human design only maybe like a year and a half ago and I had . I knew I was a reflector . I didn't know really what that meant until one of the big things that kicked off this company for me was I did a speaking competition and at the speaking competition afterwards afterwards a bunch of people came . There was like 110 people in the room and this one girl came up to me and she was like I have a really weird question are you a reflector ?
Speaker 2yeah , yeah , she was like are you , do you know human design ? I was like , yeah , I know a little bit about it . She was like , are you a reflector ? I was like , yeah , yeah , she her name's Kristen , she's , she's , she does a lot of human design training . But she picked me out of a crowd , literally that's wild Okay .
Speaker 1So I know a lot about human design , but I don't think I would have . I would have been able to do that , so I'm curious . Did she ever tell you what it was that like ? She could just she could just tell .
Speaker 2Yeah , I think it was . I have a very unique stage presence , I think , and a big piece of what she noticed was like how easy it was for me to bring people in on stage . So she just had like this feeling of like man , she's just able to connect with everybody up there , which is interesting , because that has been a really it has been almost like a genius of mine in training and keynote speaking is it feels like if anybody's in the room I could easily like connect with them in some way . Um , so it was just the way that I stood on stage and the presence that I had , and she's a reflector too . So I think she saw maybe some of her like tendencies in me but yeah , I was shocked .
Speaker 1That is so cool , I know . That is so cool , I know and for people that maybe don't know or need a reminder , so reflectors really do reflect the energy of a room and sort of embody it .
Speaker 1I would say , and so we always say , if you need to look at the health of a business or a culture or a family , right , like if my son is really crabby or if he's really spicy about something , it usually takes me a little bit to kind of notice , but I'll sort of like pull back and look at like OK , what else is going on , like are Chris and I sort of , are we having an issue like battling against something , sort of silently , that it's like coming out through him ? It's , it's wild I mean it really is or if he's really resistant to doing something , I feel like I'm throwing him under the bus .
Speaker 2That's not my intention at all .
Speaker 1But if he's just really resistant to doing something or procrastinating , I can look at it and be like , oh wow , not that I'm the only influence on the family , but being the mother in the family , I know that my energy is very strong and I'm a generator , so I have very powerful energy that really affects everybody , and I will , I'll , he will be mirroring that to me and I'll be like , ooh , okay , so I'm going to work on myself and typically , when I can get my energy shifting , that will sort of start to help him as well . So I don't know , so for reflectors , so important the energy that you're in to be aware of , like how that's influencing you , but you are using it as your genius and you're just going . Okay , I'm going to feel into the room and I'm going to be able to connect with everybody , because this is what I do .
Speaker 2A hundred percent and the the like . Dark side of that is being so aware of that and being aware of the energy in a room is I've been hired in some instances with harder rooms to do that with . So if the energy is super low or you can tell that they're not super open to you know , if a leader hires me to come in and do leadership development , but these leaders have never been asked to do it before , they're harder to bring in to that circle . So as much as I can see , it's my genius . There's another side of me that's very conscious . Whenever it's not super easy and whenever there are rooms that to meet them with their energy , I just can't , I can't go , I can't go there , yeah , yeah .
Speaker 1Well , that's . I appreciate you sharing that , because I think that so many of us are very , very sensitive to energies . I mean reflectors . Just having all those open centers like you're just incredibly in tune and sensitive to what's going on around you . I have my G center is open or undefined . There is one tiny little gate on there , but so we call those the mini reflectors .
Speaker 1And so it's not as strong . But I can relate to that where it's like if I'm in an environment and it's just if there's a lot of resistance in the room , I literally feel that resistance inside and it's hard to not take it personally .
Speaker 1Yeah Right , like , like , if the room isn't open , if the hearts aren't open in the room , I feel it , and so sometimes I can internalize that as like , am I doing something wrong here , whereas , like , maybe it's just not the right right space or there's some other dynamic that I don't know about . So I appreciate you sharing that yeah .
Speaker 2But I love hearing that story too . That's so good , so good , and then a .
Speaker 1Scorpio , do you know your sun , moon and rising , all that ?
Speaker 2I don't , and that's where I kind of got . I was like man , I don't know any of those , but I know I'm a Scorpio . I am super . I follow a couple of um a couple of accounts on Instagram that I'm so into . Just you know my horoscope every day . I'm watching it . The full moon was impactful . For us Scorpios , like that was a big one , was it a big one , yeah it was a big one .
Speaker 1I had a series . This one wasn't as bad for me , the last couple haven't been as bad , but I had a series for like a year where it was like every time I would get hit with this , like these emotional highs and lows mostly lows honestly like things just coming up out of nowhere .
Speaker 1I was like , ah , and I didn't . I'm not sure I truly fully bought into the astrological moon aspect as much until I really started tracking it and even tracking like which sign specifically the full moon was in and how , like how that really lines up .
Speaker 1And now I'm a full believer you're so and I mean on some level I've always been a believer because working in the hospital you see the craziness , you see what happens . I mean people go into labor like we are moving with these cycles and emotionally people are off and unstable and more dynamic .
Speaker 2I'll just say it's so funny that you say that , because my husband's he's a firefighter here in Columbia and he these last two nights he was like insane nights , absolutely insane , and they even in the station they're like it's a full moon and just know that they're just going to be so busy . That's how it is in the hospital .
Speaker 1I mean , we don't even question it . We start looking at it , we're like , oh , no wonder it's a full moon .
Speaker 1Okay , yeah , you know or there's that one new nurse . So it would always be like and this Friday I'm going to be here , who's going to be here ? It's going to be full moon , you know . It's talk a little bit about , like how Sage Culture actually , let's talk a lot about it because there's so many ways that this business came to be and I love every , every bit of it . So talk to us about Sage Culture Co and how this came into the world .
Speaker 2Yeah , so it's so weird ? I think probably it's not weird . It's , and what an interesting like past couple years because I think I got a job in learning and development which had me training in front of a lot of people . It was for a 5,000 person organization . I loved every second of it , got to do leadership development , training , team buildings , and this was the first job like this that I had had , and before that I was .
Embracing Your Zone of Genius
Speaker 2I would book keynote speakers , I would book trainers , and the crazy thing is is I would sit in the back of those rooms and be like , oh my gosh , I could do that .
Speaker 1I could totally stand on the stage and do that , which I think it was the theater in me , obviously , and so whenever I you recognize something in them , oh yeah , right , and like did feel that kind of like , oh , I just I want to do that .
Speaker 2I you know what ? Okay , I'm not . I'm going to set aside my fear of judgment right now and say it's not that I recognize something in them , I think I recognize something that was missing . And I was like , oh , I think I could do better than that . I think I could , I think I could do that better . Or oh , and I even was asked while I was booking all these keynote speakers . I wasn't asked .
Speaker 2We were looking for someone to speak on generational differences and I had just done my thesis on that topic and my master's , and in talking with my advisor she was like why are you contacting other people ? Why don't you do the keynote ? And at that , at that time , it was for like 150 people and I just I couldn't even imagine . I was like I'm not my exact words , I could tell you exactly where I was . I said I'm not qualified to do that , why on earth would I do that ? And so I didn't do it and fast forward , maybe two months later I had someone else asked me to do it and I remember thinking I said no once the universe is giving it to me again like you can't say no to this . And so I said yes and that just honestly slung shot me into speaking and training , and so I got hired to do it at a company and did upwards of like 300 trainings in four years and loved every second of it and I was so good at it . I think that that's what it was .
Speaker 2That was really natural , it was just , it made sense , it just . I can't explain that . Nothing has felt so easy as that .
Speaker 1I want to pause right here too , though , also , and go this is how it works . Like the thing that we are so qualified for you had a master's degree in it . Like it does I mean you know no , you had haven't written a book on it yet but like you were so qualified . But this is how it works . Like it can be our zone of genius and we can be like oh no , no , no , no , not me .
Speaker 2That's not it . I laugh now looking back at that you know , like I laugh and I'm like I don't blame me . You know , I don't blame me in that moment because I think we're innately told that we have to have done something to feel qualified to do it . And even though I hadn't stood on a stage before , I was still qualified to speak about the topic . But I think I just had it in my mind that I had to have been a speaker to be qualified to be a speaker . But everybody has to start somewhere .
Speaker 2Start somewhere . And so , yeah , I was at that company and I was working and I was training and I just I , honestly was just noticing how easy and how skilled I was at it , how easy it was for me to connect with people , how much fun I was having , how easy it was for me to dive into topics and make them relatable for people . And so I I maybe two , three , three years ago I thought I might open my own business someday , I might become a keynote speaker . And I think that the minute that I said that out loud to my husband and he responded with why are you waiting , why are you waiting ? And I was like , well , I need to be vested , like I need to wait until I'm fully vested , you know , before I can leave . But I think the minute that I put it out in the universe , it just like all started happening . And that was two years ago .
Speaker 2Um , the biggest moment , probably the full turning moment for me , that said I'm in this corporate environment , it's time to get out of it , was I had written on a piece of paper uh , after I'd read a book , like I want to have coffee with this author . I fell in love with his book , like it just resonated so much with me we could talk about like even that and a whole fricking podcast . But I had written on paper like have coffee with this author , and my company ended up bringing him in to speak and I was like , oh my gosh , well , this is my moment . I got to reach out to have coffee .
Speaker 1How , how much time do you think there was between you writing it on that piece of paper and them bringing this ?
Speaker 2A year . It was a year , yeah , so genuinely probably a year , to the day that I wrote it on a piece of paper and so he was coming
Manifesting Fun and Freedom
Speaker 2in . I slid into his DMs on instagram as you do , as one does like you do that right , like if your favorite author is coming into town yeah , why wouldn't you ? And I ended up being like , hey , we should grab a cup of coffee , and he was like no you're so cute , no , when he was very kind about it .
Speaker 2He was like I'm too busy , like I . I ended up like yeah , I'd noticed you know , thanks , and I I did not stalk him . I did not like walk around Columbia looking for him , I just you know . Put it to rest , Sure .
Speaker 1I did like hiding behind , like Broadway when is he ? I know he's here somewhere . I didn't do that , okay , okay .
Speaker 2So anyway , he I ended up long story short , if that's even possible at this point end up talking with him before his keynote . He was like , hey , here , give me your email , gave him my email After the keynote and he did some workshops and we got to talk . I gave him some feedback . He was like we should find a way to do a project together and I was like you have your people call my people . I am my people , so have your people call my people . I am my people , so have your people call me .
Speaker 2Right me when I say my people , I mean me Right right and I walked away like on cloud nine , thinking I'm probably never going to hear from this guy . I probably a month later had said out loud again to my husband , just dreaming up working with this author . I was like what if I did just ? I think I want to start my own business , I think I want to do keynote speaking . I want to work with authors and bring their content to life through training or through keynotes or through writing . What if I did that ? And he was like I think you should do it that same day . That same day , I get something in the mail and it is a book from that author and the book is that little children's book called what to Do with an Idea , and it just changed everything and I bought my LLC that day , ended up having a lot of conversations with him later . I've been writing for him , you know full circle . I just did it Like I got that book and it was like you have this idea , do something about the idea .
Speaker 1And I did it On the same day .
Speaker 2Yeah , same day that I said it that's incredible bought the LLC and here we are .
Speaker 1So let's just back up and talk about how important intention setting is and just allowing yourself to have the thought , to have the vision , to say I want to do that thing . Yeah , because it's so hard for some people even just writing down I want to do that thing because it's so hard for some people even just writing down . I want to have coffee with this author . Brandy , like some people will be like , who am I to even think about having coffee with this author ? But you wrote it down . A year later he happens to drop in and then you totally flew past having coffee and he's like let's work together . Let's work together , yeah , let's just do the thing .
Speaker 2yeah , and it's it . Honestly , I don't think I thought anything of it whenever I wrote it down to you say like intention , and I'm looking back and I'm like was I really really intent on doing it ? My mom remembers me riding it because he he lives near my mom in a similar state and she was like I know where that area is and I was like Mom , I'm just going to go post up in coffee shops .
Speaker 2And that was a year before I even met him . So the comedy of my mom remembering it , me writing it and then all of it happening . I think for me it was a lesson in don't write something down unless you want it to happen , because I probably didn't take it as serious . Whenever I wrote it down I was like this would be fun versus like no , I I want to make this happen , which I still . Haven't had coffee with him , but I've been on zoom calls .
Speaker 1I , you know , texted him You've done a million other things that kind of like blow past that . Yes .
Speaker 2Yeah , he followed me on Instagram , which was well . Now I have to like do close friends sometimes because I'm like , oh , I don't want my idol to see this .
Speaker 1I don't need him seeing this . Oh my gosh , that's amazing . But you said something so important and you were like I mean , I didn't set intention , like it's this important thing . You said , wouldn't that be fun ? Yeah , don't you think that's maybe like the key ? You know that's like having fun is so high vibe . Yes , and I feel like the universe is like , yes , we want more fun . You know , like what are the things that are going to be more fun ?
Speaker 2I love that too , because we work together . Like I come and see you , you coach me , I tap with you . Yeah , so this isn't news to you . Whenever I started my business , I think I was so surprised at how easy it could be and how fun it could be , and that there could be like this freedom , of freedom from like just huge struggles of what we , you know , experience in the corporate world , or at least what I experienced . I'm not going to attribute that to everybody , but so the irony of saying , saying , like what if the universe is just like looking for fun vibes , and then when we get those fun vibes of like that's whenever we go , is this , is it supposed to be this easy and is it allowed to be this fun ? Am I allowed to take a nap at one o'clock in the afternoon ? And yeah , so it's , it's cool to like have that said . But then also interesting of when we get it , do we actually welcome it or do we shy away from it because that's not what we're used to experiencing ?
Speaker 1I feel like I still have to be aware of feeling almost like ashamed when things feel too easy . Yeah , isn't that interesting .
Speaker 1It's relatable , yeah , so relatable , yeah , I mean , and obviously like , this is the work that I do , so I'm super aware , but like , but it's , I mean , even when you're doing that kind of healing and emotional awareness and emotional releasing and healing and all the things , it's that still creeps back in . And here's where I think it creeps back in and I wonder what you have to say about this is when things get comfortable , it's like it's like we get get comfortable with that thermostat where we're at . And then it's like when we try , when we start to desire to set intentions , to take steps towards whatever , that next big level , like they can't see my hands , but I'm like obviously like going up the stair steps .
Speaker 1I'm a hand talker , so Brandy's seeing a lot . Right now you guys are seeing none of it . It's a little chaotic it's a lot . It's a lot like when I'm recording videos by myself and I'm like flailing my hands around , I can't help but laugh . I'm like nobody sees this . I'm talking to myself . Nobody sees this . But yet here are my hands . I feel like they're like dancing with the energy .
Speaker 1They are dancing , they're creating energy . So what does that happen for you ? Like when you , when you go to up level that , like all that weird stuff comes back up when you go to up level that , like all that weird stuff comes back up .
Speaker 2Yeah , a hundred percent , and I think it's whenever I think of up leveling to it's in my business . People often ask , like scaling , like scaling and for me it's interesting because it's not necessarily . I'm not constantly looking for more money , more money . I'm looking for like more freedom , more , like joy , more fun . Those are the things that we wanted to create whenever we started this , and I think the interesting thing about setting out a business with those intentions is when you get more of them , like the resistance towards like , oh , am I allowed to have this much ? So yes , a hundred percent .
Speaker 1And the money usually comes with it . Yeah , because that's really what we want . That's what we want from money . We want the fun , the freedom the relaxation , right ? Yep , we , we want that , and so I always try to tell people it's just an energy , and so when you're cultivating that energy and the money starts to come , it's interesting how we can have weird responses to that too , like is is this okay ? Yeah , but yes , yes , it is .
Speaker 2But you know , what's funny is I like I wrote a very high number cause I try to do vision now , seeing how powerful my fricking hand and pen is , yeah , like if I can bring this guy into Columbia and like me into his team , and in moments like what else can I bring to life ? So I , I try and do , I don't try to do . I do vision boards every January and I do them on Canva and I love to like drop in all of these pictures and I just like try and trust what comes in to my mind and like this very high number came in and I didn't . I I was like is this money , is this like ? Numbers now can be attributed to anything . It could be subscribers , it could be followers , it could be . I don't think I would ever get that many gigs in a year .
Speaker 1Words in a book .
Speaker 2Words in a book , Exactly . Yeah , I feel like it could be all of these things , and I wrote this very big number down at the beginning of the year and whenever I had this moment of like could this be money ? Like could this be ? It just didn't even seem attainable and largely because we don't , I try not to put my energy into money in that sense , like not tie it to a number . Well , it was money . Like it was it was money and I was like , well , that's a very big number that we've hit by July Like what in the world ?
Speaker 1That's amazing . It's crazy . Okay , so when I saw that you had started a business , I hadn't really like talked to you for a long time . And so I had no idea how it was going , other than I mean , I'm seeing you doing all these really incredible things . Brandy did a TEDx last fall . No winter .
Speaker 2Was it this year ?
Speaker 1It was February , it was this year .
Speaker 1Yeah , um , you've been doing , obviously , all these speaking events and flying all over the place and training and doing all this cool stuff . Um , but I really had no idea , like , how these things came together , how successful you'd really been , how it had just taken off on its own , and so when we got together , I was like , okay , I'm not surprised , but it was really really cool to hear the story on the backside , like of what was actually going on behind the scenes . But so I want to back up a little bit . What were you doing energetically when you were starting your business ? What do you continue to do to keep your energy clean , to keep your vibration high ? Like , obviously , we mentioned that you do tapping , but but I didn't see you for like a whole long time . So we can't , I can't take any credit for this .
Speaker 2Well , you can take credit , I was still tapping . I was just using the tapping solutions app on which you introduced me to . I love that app . Um so good , and you and I talked about this . I went into
Navigating Creativity and Consistency
Speaker 2. I did a lot of therapy in between , the last time you and I worked together and now .
Speaker 2And so that was a big part of it doing therapy , kind of pulling some strings of what I was experiencing at work and how it , might you know , correlate with my childhood , which is what I do in tapping too , I think I was just , I was experiencing everything I could . So I was doing therapy , I continued to tap , I was doing emotion code , um , which I have will love and swear by . I don't know a lot about the background of it , but it's just , man , it's helped me move emotions so quickly . So I was using that nearly every day . Some days I was spending 30 minutes just getting through emotions , because there was a lot working , a full-time job and starting a business , and then I was meditating . So I would do meditate and then I would tap and then I would do a motion code for whatever was left over and then I would just start my day and I still do that .
Speaker 1You have a pretty consistent morning practice then .
Speaker 2Yes , Lately this summer has been a little bit harder for me to maintain . Part of that , I think , has been the freedom that this job has given me , that I'm very , very I'm trying to find the balance again of how do I fit it back into my days .
Speaker 1Well , because you were doing corporate before I was in the corporate world .
Speaker 2So it was like you had to be at work at a certain time and you left at a certain time and then there was , you know , it was sort of lined out for you in some ways , I would imagine , 100 . It was just so much easier to keep a schedule . And now , especially this summer , I've been really curious around like what if I just followed what energy I have ? Like what if I just follow my instincts ? And it's led to me to walking every morning with my dog so we do a lot of walking to beat the mosquitoes but those three things continue , even especially if I'm having a really hard day . I stop everything and I'm like let's do it , let's get it all out . Tap , meditate emotion code .
Speaker 1I love that .
Speaker 2And usually I feel I can go from like a three to a ten easily .
Speaker 1Are you good at consistency ? Normally Like , is that like a skill of yours ? I am not super good at being consistent . I have to work very hard at it .
Speaker 2No , I'm not good at consistency , and the way that I explain that is like well , I'm so creative and I don't use that as an excuse . Creative like I , and I don't use that as an excuse . I want to use it as a superpower of like , following my gut instincts and following you know what feels right at the time , and sometimes the schedule doesn't really fit within that right . I could be using that to hide behind a little bit .
Speaker 1Maybe we should tap on that well , I think there , I think it's . I think there are the two sides of it . I think we can sort of use it as a crutch , a little bit Like . I'm just a creative , like I don't you know I mean , I'm guilty of that .
Speaker 1But that's why I ask , because you fit the bill of the people that find me and it's like very creative , obviously , very ambitious , soul driven , you know people , but very creative , very intuitive , and I feel like that combination is sort of its own flavor of ADD , and I'm not trying to say that you have ADD , but like say it right for the people in the back , like , really , if you're an intuitive , if you're very creative , like you're not alone , but I think , again , that's one of those things that people it's very natural and easy for some people to have a set schedule , to stick to it . It's just they're very linear . And I know we were talking like right when you first came in about how when we get creative , we like go like into a different realm and I lose track of time . And you were saying you did the same thing , you know . So it is like an interesting balance of trying to stay tapped into that and also being in the real world .
Speaker 1I literally go into like my mad scientist mode when I'm writing and there's like papers everywhere . It's like it's out of a movie , it's like disorganization papers everywhere . I'm like pulling things together . Yes , it's just , and like a whole day will fly by and I'm like whoa what just happened .
Speaker 2Yeah , no , and it's so funny , I feel the same .
Speaker 2I don't do it as much writing , probably , I would say mine is whenever I'm working on keynotes or whenever I'm working on trainings that it's just honestly , time feels so relative in those moments , because I've had a lot of people ask like , how do I prepare for those things ? I , you know , get ready for them and , to be honest with you , I don't . And it took me a while to be comfortable with like owning that and saying no , I don't prepare the day before . I usually pull up my powerpoint , you know , an hour before , but that's , that's probably too close . I probably pull up my PowerPoint that morning and just follow my gut , like , follow like the creative flow of what feels right to say , what feels true , to say you know , and then leaving space for everything else in there . But what's interesting is I for so long felt like I needed a consistent routine of how do I prepare for keynotes instead of just allowing and just saying how I prepare for keynotes is that I don't like . That's the magic in them .
Speaker 1And it works for you and it works for me . Yeah , Works . I wonder how many people over prepare and sort of that like gets in their head rather than like speaking from their heart and allowing that , that flow that happens when you're just like so tapped in .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah , I think it's a skill of just trusting yourself more than anything , which tapping has helped me with . I tap before every keynote because really quickly I can notice if I have any energy that's not moving , that it's just messing everything up . The energy has to be flowing because that's the magic whenever that it's just messing everything up Like I . The energy has to be flowing because that's the magic whenever I'm in keynotes , and so I always tap before keynotes . Um , it tap . The tapping solution has one too , if anybody , for public speaking . Yes , they have one for public speaking .
Speaker 1They . That is such a great app and they're like five to maybe 20 minutes at the longest and they have a free version of it and the paid version is really good version is so good , I mean it's so good , it's so so , so good .
Speaker 1I mean , while we're talking about the app , the app is great for like day-to-day stress , um . But you know , if you're like wanting to go deeper with tapping and like really do the the trauma healing type work , you obviously need to work with somebody . I feel like I have to say that because I've had people try the app and be like well , I'm still not . You know where I want to be and I'm like okay , but it's , it's a very different . You know , when you're doing it day to day , it's like more of a emotional regulation , emotional hygiene , you know just like balancing your nervous system .
Speaker 2But that deeper tapping obviously is like a whole different animal oh my gosh , and and I , I don't ever touch that stuff without you to be honest because , truly , I think , unless you're willing to keep pulling the thread like it could leave me in positions where I don't feel I feel worse because , like I just couldn't keep going with it .
Speaker 2There've been like times , whenever I've been sitting with you , that it's like I think you can tell like , oh , this is getting hard , but we need to keep going , we need to keep pulling . There's more here .
Speaker 1So yeah , I fully agree with that , like a trainer that can kind of sit with you and be like okay , let's push through it . Yes , you can do it on your own , but we do better with people . You know , I think about that a lot because , especially for those of us that do healing work , sometimes it can be frustrating when we're like , well , why can't I just like I can do this for everyone else , why can't I just do this for myself ? And I really believe it's because we're not meant to do it by ourself .
Speaker 2Right .
Speaker 1Like we are designed to feel relaxation when we give it over to someone else and say take care of me , you know , please help me with this . And so true , Um , I think people that do healing work . If we could do too much of it ourself , it might be very bad for our ego .
Speaker 2It might not be very good .
Speaker 1We're too powerful , Well like maybe you know or like yeah , I don't know , I think I get on a soapbox . I think there can be a little bit of like a spiritual snobbery sometimes . Yeah , um , if people aren't careful , that's fair with that . I guess that's what I'll say . So , what ? Okay , so I want to talk a little bit more about these keynotes that you're doing . Do you have a process for creating them ? Is there anything that you can share with people , like if they're listening and they either want to , they want to be doing more public speaking , or they are doing public speaking but they want help writing , and it's a big question yeah , do you have anything that comes to mind ?
Speaker 2yeah , um , what I would say is I think one of the things that I've noticed is that people try to do too much in keynotes a lot of times and the thing that keeps them from doing it in the first place is not feeling like they have anything to say . And I truly believe that every single person has a keynote . Every single person has a presentation . If you want to be speaking to people , you could be speaking to people , Because every keynote that I have , it doesn't speak to every single person in the audience , but there's always groups of people that need to hear what I'm saying and or even if they don't speak , my , my presentations don't speak to the person , to them directly . It could be speaking to someone that they're working with . So what I would say is like first is just realizing you have something to say . So many people stop themselves from doing keynote speaking or presenting in general because they're afraid that they're not qualified .
Speaker 1I feel like I needed to hear this .
Speaker 2Yeah , I didn't realize . I was asking .
Speaker 1Yeah , I'm like , I feel like that sometimes , like and obviously I have a shit ton to say , so I don't know what that is . That's crazy , right , but yeah , but I feel like I needed to hear that even you should .
Speaker 2You should be doing keynotes like I don't know .
Speaker 2Honestly , I think it's the reason why I wanted to do it too , and I tell this to people whenever , like , they're talking to me about booking me . I feel like for so long , there was just this suit and tie , buttoned up experience of keynote speaking and that's going away , and or it's not necessarily going away . The audience is shifting and I think whenever I'm sitting in an audience and wanting to see someone speak , I think I'm looking for a very relatable version of it that's not forced Like . I don't want the forced relatability . I want , like , the TikTok version of keynote speaking . I want to see you pull your phone up in a car and just tell me a story , and I think that that's what the world is leaning into . And when we start leaning into that , then that means now , all of a sudden , people as themselves should be on stages , because people as themselves are on cameras , they're on TikTok , they're on Instagram . We're seeing people's stories so quickly and so unrefined and unedited that that's just changing the game for keynote speaking .
Speaker 1I feel like people truly are craving a different level of authenticity and vulnerability .
Speaker 2that is just undeniable everywhere , a hundred percent , everywhere , a hundred percent , and that's , I think , when you feel like you aren't supposed to be a keynote speaker , you probably are like that's probably the world that we need more of is the people that don't feel like they have to have a suit and tie in . And there's nothing wrong with suit and tie keynote speaking . I think it's got a space , but I don't fit in that space , you know , and I'm really grateful that I don't , and I think it's been really relieving to see that you can be successful , not having to hold a script in your hand and not having to , you know , wear loafers and all of that . My , my go-to outfit is an athletic jumpsuit and like that's it . You won't see me , probably , with a blazer on at all .
Speaker 2Right High heels and a blazer , yes , so hopefully people start seeing there's just this shift in the public speaking space . I hope that it feels more real and it feels more relatable .
Speaker 1I think so , I think so . I mean , you know , obviously , if you listen to anybody spiritual , they're talking about this great awakening and I do truly believe that it's because , consciously , we're going to a different level and so it's like the BS just doesn't land as much as it used to People can see through it . So when you're up there , authentic and heart open , it's more . I mean , it is what you're saying , but it's like a whole being vibration that they are picking up on Brandy . So all that energetic work that you do , you are literally sharing that with your audience .
Speaker 2Yeah , oh , that's so audience . Yeah , oh , that is so powerful . Isn't that beautiful , that's so beautiful .
Speaker 1I just got the really like coolest image when I said that too .
Speaker 2Like I think I needed to hear that , cause I think one of the things that you which I think everybody needs to hear and it's it's for any role , it's for any leader , it's for anything it's like if we start making it about other people , like if we start making it about the people that are in front of us and it's not always about us then if everybody starts doing that , then what a wild world we would live in and what a caring world . And I think with keynote speaking , people often think , like it's about the speaker , but really I I attribute it to improv , 100% . Whenever you're improv-ing , it shouldn't be about you . You move the story forward by making it about the other person , by , you know , keeping the audience's eyes on the other person , and if everybody's doing that in an improv scene , it's you just fall into the story dynamic .
Speaker 2Yeah , and that if we all start doing that , like , especially in keynote speaking , if you're making it about your audience what is it for them ? And less about what is this for me , then you just fit in with them so quicker too . They can feel it . You can feel it the stakes lower , because like , okay , this isn't about me , this isn't what they think about me . It's like what do they think about themselves on the other side of this ?
Speaker 1Wow , that's so powerful . No wonder you're so good at this . I don't know about that .
Speaker 2I do , no , I am , I do , I know , I know .
Speaker 1Stop it . No , say more . I'm so good
Expanding Vision for Sage Culture Co
Speaker 1at this . Okay , you're continually being asked back and Sage Culture Co is thriving .
Speaker 2Yeah , so where ?
Speaker 1do you see it going in the future ? What is your vision for where this goes ?
Speaker 2Yeah , Whenever I started it , I think it would have been really easy for me to name it like Brandy Sperling speaking . You know , Brandy speaks whatever . And I didn't . I very intentionally didn't create a company under my name because I did envision more people being under it . I wanted there to be this opportunity where we bring , like learning and development and leadership development in a fun and exciting and still very intentional way to companies , and so I like I definitely see it growing . I see more than me . Um , maybe there's someone in the works with that .
Speaker 1So that's fun .
Speaker 2Um . So , yeah , I think , growing in that regard and then , more than anything , I think just I think you shared the same sentiment reaching more people , just being able to reach more people , whether that's through keynotes or trainings or leadership development , while still like protecting the things that I want to protect for the reason that I started it , which was for the freedom , for the joy , for the fun , for the . You know , adventure was a word that I started this company with , and if I have to sacrifice any of those , then whatever's on the other side isn't worth it . So it's , yes , and it's like how can I grow but then also keep protecting ?
Speaker 1what I started for the original seed of intention , yeah , and that's so important to come back to , to make sure that we are in alignment with that , because it's so easy to get caught up in our business and to get caught up in life and all of it , and if we forget to come back to that , that original intention A , we can like get away from it , but B sometimes our intention changes too , and so it's just so important to go back and go . Am I in alignment ? Yes , great , let's keep doing it . Am I in alignment ? No , but that's okay , because now I have this whole new vision and , yeah , I just appreciate you , I appreciate you saying that so much , and I just want to backtrack a little bit , because we were talking about like , maybe the people that are really should be doing keynotes .
Speaker 2Keynotes are the ones that are like I don't have it in me , that kind of thing , and I've always said that about like the best leaders are , the are the reluctant leaders , are the ones that are like it's in them but they don't really know it all the way , and a lot of times it's like they just want to serve other people but they don't envision themselves as being like quote the leader , you know a hundred percent , hundred percent um , and I'm a strong leader type and I and I know that about myself now , so I can like own it , but like that was definitely growing up , I kept being put in these positions where I was in charge of people , but I was like you know , um , I feel like it's because the same thing that we were talking about with keynote speaking , this idea of like status and responsibility and , um , hierarchical , you know things come into play whenever we talk about leaders or even keynote speaking , because that's like we're putting people on pedestals is really the end of the day , and I think that's been a problem in itself , because if we keep putting people on pedestals , um , think that's been a problem in itself , because if we keep putting people on pedestals , um , we're glorifying the position in a way in which it feels like like a space between the people that are looking up to it , versus leaders really should be there for their people .
Speaker 1you know , like it's not about them , it's about leading the people right and among the people , yeah , and understanding the people and what they really need and desire and how people can come together . So the word that comes to mind and did we talk about this the other day , or was this a different conversation is the word synarchy Did we talk about this .
Speaker 2We didn't talk about this .
Speaker 1Okay , so that is a word in human design or , I'm sorry , in the gene keys In the gene keys . I love gene keys and that's actually part of my activation sequence is this idea of synarchy , and it is exactly what you're describing , and in fact I would be curious to look . It's probably in your gene keys too , I would imagine .
Unconventional Leadership and Keynote Speaking
Speaker 1But it is that whole idea that you just described of like a different type of leadership that comes from like within . Yes , you know like an organism rather than a pyramid .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's 100% . Now I want to know more about that , because that's beautiful .
Speaker 1I know we'll have to look into it .
Speaker 2It really is , and I think it helps if that's the picture of leadership versus putting someone on top of a pyramid , because if you put someone on top of a pyramid , they now all of a sudden view a status and or like you must be this tall to ride type of experience , versus if it comes from the perspective of what can we do for other people , like , how can we make it about other people ? If it becomes more of like wow , I am serving people , which I think servant leadership became like a very hot , hot , like topic word for a long time and it got outside of what it should really be . But yeah , I think if we started looking at it more like that and encouraging those leaders that are like well , why don't you see yourself in leadership , why don't you see yourself as a keynote speaker , and then all of us rewriting well , that's not what it was about . So , like , like , let's tell you what it's about , just like we just did for keynote speaking , more people would maybe do it , you know yeah , I totally agree .
Speaker 1Do you have any ? This again goes back a little bit , but do you have any ? If somebody's sitting there and they're like , okay , I'm gonna do a keynote , yeah , and I have no idea what it's gonna be on , how does one decide ? Just decide what to talk about , like what ? Where does that come from ?
Speaker 2so I one follow my gut a lot .
Speaker 2I think we talked I know we talked about this , um , james Clear , who's the author of Atomic Habits , whenever he was writing Atomic Habits . The irony is , as he said to his publisher like I'm having a hard time building consistency around writing this book about habits , like I'm having a hard time creating habits . And his publisher told him we write the books that we needed and I think the same goes for keynotes is like what if you wrote a keynote for what you needed ? Like if you were sitting in the audience and you presented that keynote for you in the audience . Like what if you did that ?
Speaker 2And it could be a past version of you or it could be a future version of you , it could be the current version of you . It doesn't have to be , you know , factual , right in this moment , um , but if you just do it for you , then now , all of a sudden , you're leaning on what you now know , or what you wish you knew , or what you what you hope you know , to share a message , and then it could just be as simple as that . What if you just write it for you ?
Speaker 1It's brilliant . I know people talk about that with writing your book , too , like you're actually helping the past version of yourself that was struggling with that same thing .
Speaker 2Yeah , I , I just and I know it sounds so crazy I think we overthink it so much , like if we just did it for us , did it for one person , and then I also tell people I've seen a lot of really bad keynote speakers and they still get booked , they're still getting paid , like you know . So , like , remind yourself of the stakes and go well , I could still get booked .
Speaker 1On the other side of this , Even if I'm really terrible , I could still get booked . On the other side of this , even if I'm really terrible , I could still make money .
Speaker 2Yeah , seriously yeah .
Speaker 1Yeah , how , how would somebody ? Is there a system for , like , getting started in keynote speaking ? You know I how do you ? Get in the door that first time .
Speaker 2Oh my gosh you know I I want to plug this group because I got so , um , I was in the right place , place , right time is like putting it lightly . It was like very divinely aligned for me to get this gig with Women Lead Change . It's an organization in Iowa , women Lead Change , and they did speaking competition . So it was their first year for doing it . I just one of my friends , wendy Moore , sent me . She was like hey , she knows I was starting this business . She was like hey , I follow this group . They're doing a speaking competition . You should apply . I applied , got one of the breakout sessions . That winning , I won the competition and then I got paid gigs .
Speaker 2So my entry in to keynote speaking , I think , is a little different than a lot of other people . I think a lot of people would just tell you to just get some reps in . Is it's just getting things under your belt , hosting things for free ? I also am not a huge fan of hosting things for free . People can afford even $10 . So I say , make money off of even your first , you know , workshop that you ever host . I agree with that .
Speaker 1Free does not be good for free . It feels like there's something about like having some skin in the game for people , like it's an energy exchange , and I do , I've experienced that . I see it . I think that's so true .
Speaker 2And I think I don't think this statement is correct , which maybe you have a better one Like free doesn't breed money . Like money creates money . That doesn't feel entirely true , because I think I did that that gig for free , but it also was a competition . I think now , looking back , what I would tell myself as a speaker is for you to like value yourself , you have to require other people to value you , and in speaking , it is hard to get paid money to do it . So I think you have to get used to charging money right out of the gate . Yeah Is really . What I mean is you could speak for free forever and never make money , but you also could charge right out of the gate and always make money .
Speaker 2Was that hard for you in the beginning ? Charging , yes , a hundred percent . It's still hard , but I've raised my prices multiple times Like , and I just sent off a proposal and a group was like we can't afford that and they could afford one fourth of my costs . And it's interesting to like , send or say how much you charge whenever the concept is is that like , what they see is an hour ? You know , oh , you're charging . You know $4,000 for an hour . And then you're like well , you know it's in . Even explaining it right here and right now is a little making me sweat a little bit .
Speaker 1Yeah , no , I'm so glad you're talking about this . So actually , as you started talking about this , I'm like , oh my gosh , yes , yes , because it isn't an hour , it's your , it's your entire life story , it's your every experience that you've learned and grown through for your entire life has built into that hour . Yeah , and let's just say , a recent master's degree , yeah , two , you know what I mean . And all that costs money and all that takes energy and time and effort . And it's not just about that hour , because you wouldn't be able to be so good at that without your entire life .
Speaker 2Absolutely , and I hear that and I know it , and you still which this might be good for my next session .
Speaker 1Yeah , we'll tap on it , we'll work
Empowering Money Mindset Shift
Speaker 1through it .
Speaker 2But it is interesting to ask for money for something like that , especially when you do love doing it . I love doing it , I feel so good , it comes easy to me , and so whenever you attribute a dollar amount that is so large that I don't often you know shoot , I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about money on this .
Speaker 1Talk about whatever I made . You know shoot .
Speaker 2I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about money on this , but I mean I made talk about whatever . I made , you know , fifty five thousand dollars in my last corporate job and to charge five thousand dollars for a keynote , I mean I would only have to do ten a year to make my salary and I'm doing well over ten a year . So to like , go from a your value is aligned with a dollar amount at a previous job to now have that amount be triple , you know , and then to go am I allowed to do this ? Am I worth this ? Do do they think I'm worth this ? When you run your own business is just so different because you're giving that it can be kind of a mind , fuck it is , it is a mind fuck .
Speaker 1It is , it is a mindfuck it is yeah it is , it is , but it's also so cool to work through . Yeah , because a lot of it is a mind twisting like what do I do ? Because of our nervous system reactions to it . You know , I'm sure you've felt that right , like when you decide to bump that number up and then you like , all of a sudden , your body's like , oh , like there's a lack of safety behind it .
Speaker 1And we have to work through and do whatever we do to feel safe . Of course . I mean , I'm a tapping person , so that's what I do or I breathe , or I walk or whatever . But it is the nervous system . A lot of times it's driving the like . I can't do this , I can't do this .
Speaker 1I can't do this driving the thoughts , and it does go both ways , right , like the thoughts are affecting the body , but it goes the other way too , and when the body feels unsafe , it's affecting the mind . And so a lot of times we feel so physically unsafe because we're , like , so far beyond what our original thermostat around money was right , like this is what you're , what is what is normal and okay , and Like this is what you're what is what is normal and okay , and anything above this is you're greedy and bad , and anything below this is you're poor . You know it's like we all have this . We all have it , every single person has it , and so when you start to go outside of those parameters inside of yourself , your nervous system will react , and so it's it's , it's it's for me , it's a fun thing to help people work through , because it's it's it's for me it's a fun thing to help people work through , because it's I mean , it's like once we can get the body feeling safe , it's like , oh , I can do this , I can do this , and usually what happens is just exactly like you described .
Speaker 1It's like we were like I'm going to do this , and then we get like a rejection or something for me . I I can't even tell you how many times like once I bump my rates up , I feel really good about it . I'll get an email from somebody that's like . I mean , I got one from one lady one time that was like I just think it's really sad that you healers are all about making money these days and you know like it was a really not very nice . It was a not nice email , but it was . I needed it to work through that next level , to be like she's where she is with that . I understand that that's her perspective and her reality and I still feel so good and solid over here , you know like .
Speaker 1I know this is what I want to do . I mean , I'm not going to lie . That email was very activating for me and I had to like call my coach and cry for a while and work through all the confusion around it . But on the other side of that big nervous system reaction , I felt so solid in my decision and I could see it for what it was , and it was like I don't like the word test from the universe but it was like oh , I thought I was that solid and ready to do it , and then any bit of shakiness showed up in my reality so that I could work through it and then truly up level .
Speaker 1Wow , does that make sense ? Yeah .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah . And it instantly made me remember whenever I was going with , whenever I first started with you . I'd been with you probably for like a year and then I was like you said something about like hey , I'm raising my prices and I was just , of course , yeah , yeah , of course .
Speaker 1And I kind of remember feeling like you were like nervous to even I probably was yeah , but I was just like yeah , okay , oh , yeah , no , money stuff is like a big thing for me to work through in this life . So it's it's like you know , we help ourself and then we help people with the same thing . It's like I know how hard it is for people , because I'm going through it too , you know , but I also know how well you can work through it , like , how like quickly we can shift this stuff . Um , I think one of the saddest things that I see in people that like get to a point where they are very financially abundant is that they're still living in a scarcity mindset and they're still living in a scarcity nervous system around money . And that breaks my freaking heart . I'm like , okay , you've gotten there and you still don't feel safe around money . That's a nervous system issue . I mean , yes , you can try with your mind , but usually at that point it's just so deeply wired in it needs something somatic to help break the pattern .
Speaker 2Right ? Um . So you know what's really funny , the week , the year I quit my corporate job it was January and I I mean I grew up with we did not have money , you know , which was not a bad thing , like it didn't . It impacted me from like a scarcity mindset , but I still had everything that I needed . Um , so the energy that we would , that I would put around money all the time was like oh my gosh , I'm living paycheck to paycheck , it's checking my bank account all the time , and and that January I remember thinking I am living no different now , making $55,000, .
Speaker 2I am living no different now making $55,000 , like the feeling of the feeling , the feeling experience yes , the experience than I was whenever I was making $11 an hour working at a bank . Like , why do I feel the same ? Why can I remember that pizza that I bought five years ago that I was stressed about , Like , oh my gosh , $40 for a pizza ? Um , why am I now 27 years old and going or 20 , I guess it was , it was only three years ago why am I 30 years old and going ? Oh my gosh , I can't go do that . So I told my husband . I was like I'm not doing this anymore . I am not stressing about money , I'm just going to exist . Money is going to come to us . I'm not nervous about it and it took us a while for him to get on board and I , if I'm being honest , we're probably still trying to work through that , and I would say we are too .
Speaker 2It's a it's an ongoing process , but I'm just like I , if you are stressed about it , if you , like you got to figure out how to deal with that , because what you're feeling is not realistic , like I'm telling you we . You are a captain on the fire department . You , anybody in the city could look up your salary . We make fine money between the two of us and it was that year that I started my business . Um , you know , a year later now I guess it's a year and a half later I'm making triple what we , what I was making . Our household is easily tripled in income and I just am unwilling to put any stressful energy into it .
Speaker 1I love that .
Speaker 2Because why ? What's the point ?
Speaker 1Yeah , it doesn't help anything and it hurts us . It hurts how we think , it hurts our physical well-being , it holds us back in so many ways . And yet culturally , there's this idea that , like , we almost need to be stressed around money or it's irresponsible . Yeah , yeah . A hundred percent , A hundred percent , or you're just your head's in the clouds . You're not in , you know , quote reality and I'm like well , I am in reality . I want to be in that reality where it's okay to not worry about these things .
Speaker 2Yes , and live stress-free oh my gosh and we , we say , like our soundtrack around money is around our just life in general is we want to be half retired our whole lives .
Balancing Freedom and Discipline
Speaker 2And I told my husband I was like , well , if we're going to be half retired our whole lives , then the way that we're going to deal with money is going to be different , because we , you know , we're going to be working for a lot longer because we're half retired , like we're going to travel , we working for a lot longer because we're half retired , like we're going to travel , we're going to go to Italy , we're going to do it , love that Brilliant .
Speaker 1We can't say one thing and then not , you know , put our money where our mouth is literally Right . And I want to . I want to work forever , as long as I'm healthy and I'm loving what I'm doing . Yeah , like I don't have this age where I'm like , oh , thank God , I get to retire . No because I love what I do and I hope that that continues . You know , I mean it's my intention that that will continue , so that I too can live half retired . I love that Half retired , so smart .
Speaker 2And it's like we talk about intention at the beginning , but that is like the intention we put into things and that's you know . It changes then the way that we move our bodies , because if we're going to be half retired our whole lives , and that means we need to be hiking mountains when we're 60 , you know that we're also going to hike them now whenever we're not 60 , whenever it's easier . But it just changes the way that we like , want to live and exist , because we want to live a long time , not so that we can have 40 years of you know , now we can go all over the country . It's like , no , we need 40 years of still living . You know , just like we always were , I love it .
Speaker 1I love it . Okay , so I have a couple more questions . Yeah , what is one of the biggest things you've learned about yourself as a gift , that surprised you when you started your business , which I think we've already covered . And then also , what was one of the biggest things that was like , I would say , a shadow surprise , like , ah , I didn't realize I was that kind of person or I was scared of that , and I think we probably covered these , but the thing that I was surprised about .
Speaker 2Now that I mean I'm not , there's some things that I'm not surprised about .
Speaker 1Or you can even just say delighted to see more of . Delighted to see more of .
Speaker 2I think I honestly I am oh , I know the thing that surprised me . Like that is like the shadow piece , um with the corporate world . It's interesting like the energy around urgency that exists and reactivity , so much of like reacting to everything and feeling like I am performing for everybody , like how quick I send an email , how quick I respond . That that took me a long time to get out of . I'm probably just now like letting some of it fall off of . Like the fear if I don't email back quick enough . Or the fear of like what if I don't do a good enough job ? Or what if I don't like ? The urgency around performing for people still lingers and I just see how much has been rooted into my day to day since I started working in the corporate world . Like when you're working for someone else that is there , you're constantly under a microscope . It feels like . So when you're not working for someone else , it doesn't automatically go away . You're constantly like who else am I doing this for ? Right ?
Speaker 1So it's watching who's going to be disappointed or who's going to . You know , give me the praise that I secretly want .
Speaker 2That that's . That's so hard whenever and and I as a keynote speaker , I think whenever I was first starting I was looking for that , and if I didn't get it , then I was like , oh , like man , I didn't you know , but really like the beauty or like the , the gift is is on the other side . You don't have to have it Like I'm going to be running my business no matter what . You know , it's a bonus if someone's like , yeah , she did a good job , totally Um , but it's like getting out of the need for it because and it's like getting out of the need for it because and , like you get to design your business the way that you want to design it .
Speaker 1I think that people struggle with that initially , like , oh , I should be doing it like this person over here , I should be doing it like this person , and maybe somebody wants to have that urgency in their culture . Yeah , but you don't have to and I don't have to .
Speaker 2Right , oh , my gosh . Well , and it even impacted like how I would go after sales , feeling like am I allowed to just allow things to come to me or do I have to be on the offense all the time ? Cause I'm not on the offense really , I would venture to say , at all . In a lot of ways I I've been very lucky that all of my sales have happened from referrals or people seeing me and I haven't had to do any , any sales of really , and aside from just existing you know , and so like that was really hard to go . Am I just waiting ? Am I just sitting around ? And there's like that Hamilton song . Did you watch ?
Speaker 1Hamilton . Oh , it's been a while . I actually looked cause I wanted to go see it in Chicago when we go , but it's not . It's not running right now .
Speaker 2They're going to be in St Louis . It's going to be in St .
Speaker 1Louis , when does that happen ? Um October , oh soon .
Speaker 2Ooh , so I haven't seen it in person , I saw it on television . Oh well , there's a song in there that it's like I'm not I I'm lying , wake , like I'm , I'm . You know , I'm not just waiting around , I'm just like I'm , I'm actively waiting Cause I know that that's like what's happening and so being okay with like there's this like active stillness of just knowing things that are are going to come to me and being trusting in that and not following the hustle culture of you know , running your own business and feeling like you constantly have to be doing everything , like I'm trying to trust in that . And then the shadow pieces like sometimes you were like wait , but no , is this okay ? And then you're like no , it's okay .
Speaker 1And then you're like no , is this okay ?
Speaker 2No , it's okay .
Speaker 1Right , right , settling in . Oh , I still go through that too . Yeah , still do that dance as well , okay , okay . So what are you really grateful for right now ?
Speaker 2I'm so grateful for time . I'm just so grateful for time feels so different to me and I'm experiencing it . So just different . July was a month where I didn't have , I think , in general speaking or planning events doesn't happen a lot in July because people are traveling , it's summer and vacation , and so the amount of downtime that I had this month was one unexpected , but very , very wonderful , and so getting to rethink how time exists for me , like every day feels like Friday . No lie , my sister and I met for coffee on Monday and she said something about well , I guess I do usually come to a cola on Fridays and I was like it is Friday and she was like it's .
Speaker 1Monday and I was like what it's Monday . Oh , but you've built that freedom into your business and you're enjoying it . I freaking love that . Is there anything that's glitchy right now ?
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2There's glitchy things . I and it's probably because of like just trying to figure out the whole feeling of time Like the glitchy experiences is like getting the motivation to do some of the things that I have to do . You and I have talked about this in my own personal sessions . But when you set an intention to have freedom and adventure in a business and then a business requires deadlines that are restrictive , like it innately goes against the intention that I set in my business , and so then being able to like balance that and honor that there can be sometimes restriction in freedom , uh , and there can be a restriction and like obligations within adventure , Like that's the , the duality that I'm kind of balancing , Um , and some of it just is a really good indication that it's like I shouldn't be doing some of these things and then others . It's like you should be doing them .
Speaker 1It's just gonna look different than you thought yeah , I love that . You said that because I am constantly doing that dance as well . Like discipline is freedom discipline is freedom , discipline is freedom .
Speaker 2Oh , I need that .
Speaker 1I like that you just said that , yeah , discipline is freedom . I come back to that a lot when I'm like , but I just want to be free , I just want deadlines . I don't want to have to , you know , because , as you know , it's hard also because we have to have deadlines for ourselves . When we're working for ourselves , we have to , you know , if we want to be serious about getting a project done , we have to have a beginning , middle and an end . Yes , we have to have deadlines for ourselves yes , a hundred percent .
Speaker 2Oh , it's so hard but it's . I needed to hear that .
Speaker 1I think like the discipline is freedom , and then it can be a little more fun .
Speaker 1I know , my coach one of my coaches actually said that to me one time and I was like , oh my gosh , that's freaking brilliant . How could I never think of that ? And it's like because my brain won't think of it , because it's just like I don't want to be disciplined . Discipline is brilliant , but yeah , isn't that good . That's beautiful , so so , so good . Okay , if you could wave a magic wand not magic , wave a wand If you could wave a magic wand and do anything at all for humanity one thing to make the world a better place what would it be ? Oh my gosh . I have not asked these questions to anyone , by the way , but all three of these came through at the very end and I'm like I think .
Speaker 2I'm going to start asking everyone these that's beautiful If I could wave a magic wand . Man , there's so many things .
Speaker 1I would want to do .
Speaker 2I know Me too . There's a low hanging fruit Like I don't think anybody should be hungry Like that feels weird .
Speaker 1Um , I could wave a magic wand . I think it would be . You could give me top three , I guess . Yeah , I know Well .
Speaker 2I think . I think nobody's going to judge me if I don't go like feed everybody , you know like we're going , you know , whatever we can here and it's a crazy political season , so there's like a lot of things that I would give people in terms of like rights and love , and .
Speaker 2But I think the biggest like thing in line with just how I try to live my life is like changing the way that we like view life in general , of like savoring it more than rushing to something um largely in the corporate world . I I think I would like wave a magic wand here and just make it to where people didn't have to sacrifice home and work and that there could be adventure and there could be fun and there could be freedom while still making a living . And that probably would be it too making a decent living . I don't think that there's any reason that we shouldn't be able to afford to exist .
Speaker 2To have a home , to have a home , to be able to feed your family . Those feel like inherent human rights to me . But I think how we experience a working world is holding so many of us back and I think it's going to take an overhaul of like the corporate structure to to shift it . So I would wave a magic wand and just like fully change the corporate world of what's allowed , what's not allowed and just say what makes sense for people to exist , Like what makes sense .
Speaker 1You know what's so cool about that too , and because I , more and more , I'm deeply settling into this idea that you know our human design , our gene keys , that we just carry these energetic gifts and my coach is helping me really embrace this on a whole new level and this idea that , like , we came here with that energetic mission sort of that , like just this thing that we naturally do to our environment , and everything that I'm hearing is like that's what you do when you step into a culture , when you step on stage . You're like that's in you and so energetically you are a part of that shift , you're a part of changing that . I hope so hearing that , you know , I just can't imagine that , with your values and what you care about and the way that you are , like , there's just no way that you're not a part of that .
Speaker 2So it's really beautiful .
Speaker 1Oh , look at us so beautiful . I know this has been so . I knew it was going to be so easy and so good , but I just want to thank you for your time and , to end , why don't you let people know how they can find you if they're curious about what you do ? Maybe booking you all the things that you do ?
Speaker 2So my website SageCultureCocom pretty chill and easy . Instagram is just SageCultureCo , and then on LinkedIn you can find me Brandy Sperling , brandy with an . I Brandy with an I Preferably with a little heart over it .
Speaker 1Yes , you could do that , of course .
Speaker 2That'd be awesome Of course I forgot I was on a
Casual Conversation in Cozy Office
Speaker 2podcast . To be honest , this was so easy . But also we're sitting in the same chairs that I come and do coaching with .
Speaker 1And it is getting a little warm in here like all of a sudden . I'm like my mustache is sweating , but they don't know . But we're like in my office , which is , I think , the most beautiful space in the world , but there is not an ac in here , and so when it's 100 degrees outside , we just sit in here and cook it's wonderful , though .
Speaker 2It's just such a cozy space , so thank you for making this easy . I genuinely , truly forgot I was on a podcast . This just felt like a conversation and I've loved it .
Speaker 1I love everything that you're doing and hopefully we can do this again sometime in the future well , I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't have a really cool person that I pay to help me , thank you , darling , thank you .
