Sharing Passion with Yvonne Myette

Stuart: Foreign. Welcome to another edition of the book More Show. A great episode in store today. Got the pleasure of being joined by Yvonne Maiette, who's one of our authors, whose book is Get Ready to Thrive. So we've had a couple of shows in the past where we've talked with people who've completed. This is another one in that series. The these are always the shows that get the greatest feedback because I think it's Although it's interesting hearing Betsy and me talk about the theoretical side of things and the internal books that we use, there's nothing quite like talking to people who are grabbing the idea and running with it. So, Yvonne, welcome to the show.

Yvonne Myette: Thank you so much, Stuart. I'm excited to be here.

Stuart: Yeah, this is going to be a good one. We're probably a little bit behind the scenes. We're probably 10, 15 minutes into this recording because Yvonne and I sort of jumped on the call and started talking and realized that the enthusiasm and the excitement of talking to the subject, we were kind of covering the stuff that we should say for you guys to listen to. So it's always good to jump on a call with someone and feel that energy from the start. So I'm looking forward to sharing this with everyone else. So I think the best place to start probably is to share with the guys listening, sort of your story, who you are and what you do out in the world.

Yvonne Myette: Well, I appreciate that opportunity, Stuart, and I just want to say hello to those of you that are listening. I really appreciate the opportunity to connect with you, even if it's just a voice now and into your heart and maybe into your head. And I hope that as you hear something today, that it might be speaking to you, that there might be a particular reason that we are joining together around your dreams and what you hope to be. So I truly hope that there is something in it for you today as well as you listen to Stuart and I have this conversation, because that's really what I've been about. I grew up in a healthcare family and as having the dad as a doctor, I really wanted to serve people. I really wanted to be able to help people. So I entered the healthcare profession early, not sure if I was going to go the route of being a physician like my dad or a nurse like my mom. And I was kind of had a foot in both directions. And after working clinically, it came to my attention that there were a lot of system changes that needed to be made to really help people be their best. We needed to address some of those. So I moved into administration and then into consulting, and I was very, very active in health care. It's going on now, 35 years in the traditional healthcare industry and a lot of different positions, Stuart, including leadership. And, you know, life happened. I got married, I had kids. Life started to change. And like many people probably listening, things start to evolve. Sometimes you have life events that can really have an impact on your health and on your psyche and on your spirit. And that was the path I was on. I didn't expect a lot of the things that happened to me in my 40s. I had, you know, gotten married later in life. And I didn't know when I entered into the marriage that there were some elements of that that would become very difficult, very toxic. And I certainly have always wanted to be a mom, and that's a big dream. And I became a mom. I have four beautiful kids that I had, all in my 40s. I'm now a midlifer. I'm 54 right now. So you can all tell that, you know, that was a challenge to my body. And so I had all these life events, including a major fire and drama and families. A lot of you probably have that kind of thing, right? And I found myself in this situation. Maybe some of you listening are in a situation. Situations that our egos might have gotten us into. Mine certainly had. I. I kept things kind of tucked away in terms of a really, really hard relationship that I felt a lot of pain in, and also some of the actions that we take and the torment. So I was in the thick of it. I felt like I was in a deep pit. I wasn't sure if I would be able to ever climb out. I was certainly praying about it all the time and seeking God's will, seeking support and help from others. And there were some major decisions that had to be made. And they were tough. They were really tough. And I knew I was stuck. I had been stuck going on about 12 years, and things were really cracking. I was really in a place of quite deep despair. This was now going on three and a half years ago, and I had a moment. And many of you may have already had your moment that are listening to this. Maybe your moment is on its way or about to happen. But I had my moment. And that's the awakening, Stuart. That's what was the genesis of the book was as I started my journey to. To really awaken. Awaken to the inner woman. Awaken to the woman that wanted to thrive. Awaken to who God designed me to be and who God designed each of us to be. And so in that, excuse me, in that awakening, the believing comes along and how you care for yourself and how do you start to dare more deliberately. And so as I was taking my journey back to health and as I was approaching some of these tough situations, I wanted to help others with me and I started helping others with me as a health and life coach. And I've been helping hundreds to going on, maybe almost thousands of women now. And I've been in health care, like I said, 35 years. And it's just about helping others, Stuart, really, it just is that simple.

Stuart: It's quite a journey, isn't it? I think it's the recollections that you're telling them for your own life about how it's quite easy to just keep going and keep going. And it's not until something happens, get to a tipping point where you realize that there are quite so many challenges going on and that it's not. It's not necessarily, I don't want to use the word depression, but it's not necessarily that something medical is wrong or there's not necessarily always a big critical issue that happens, but the build up and build up and build up of small elements that might lead you to a position where you're not happy. It's surprising how much that can creep up on you. And then when you do notice it, have a kind of epiphany almost that you realize that, okay, this path has diverged quite a bit. So I imagine that some of the work that you're doing is helping people kind of come to terms with that realization and then the next step of what they can do about it to bring it back on track.

Yvonne Myette: Exactly. And you know, Stuart, one of the things that you made me think of is actually, you know, the little things that, that we kind of are there and how they build up is when I had sort of my moment of really becoming more aware of I. What came to mind and actually I found a cartoon strip on was how we sweep things under the rug. And this cartoon strip that I found exactly represented what I had been doing as I was in a relationship with a lot, a lot of pain for a lot of reasons that I won't get into now. I was sweeping things under. So I didn't want people to see. And that was my ego. I didn't want people to know. I mean, we had the trappings of a great life and little did people know what was going on behind closed doors and the sweeping under the rug. We all do. And the rug gets bigger and bigger and bigger in this cartoon strip, Stuart, it was really funny. It sewed the rug, like, almost to the ceiling. And things were creeping out under the rug and starting to show their ugly head. And I got this visual image of this rug like I had been sweeping things under. And then there were some things, like I said, that as they. It became apparent there was a tipping point. There was the needle that broke the camel's back in my family, and it related to my kids and how much I cared about my kids. And I needed to do things that were in their best interest. And people, I think, Stuart, sometimes walk around in a fog, don't you?

Stuart: Yeah, absolutely. Because until you get a chance to look at it from the outside, or until something happens that kind of breaks the spell almost, it is that your brain is doing whatever it can. Well, I'm talking like an expert. In my experience, it's that your brain's doing whatever you can to cope with it and keep the wheels on the bus and keep everything moving forward. It really does take a. As you said, it could be a small thing that is that catalyst. But it's not until that happens that people can realize. Because you don't see what you don't see.

Yvonne Myette: Exactly. And when I was going through the changes that I needed and wanted to make, I was seeking resources to kind of help make. And it's really taking one baby step at a time. And I was fortunate enough to have some really great people that came into my life to help me, you know, start physically really making some changes. I was having some health crises, and I ended up, even though I was in healthcare, I knew a lot, the actual actions weren't happening. And so I partnered with a health coach and lost 80 pounds that I've kept off now for three years. Got back to awesome health.

Stuart: That's impressive.

Yvonne Myette: Yeah, I mean, it's amazing. Right? Right. And one of the things that started to happen as I was doing that, as I was getting healthy, is I was starting to see some of these other. These other symptoms, these other things that were coming up with a clearer lens, more true, more reality. And that's when it dawned on me that this being ready, we need to be ready for change. We need to get ready to thrive. And was. I started thinking about what I was going through, and I was journaling. And so a lot of the content that later became a part of the book were things from my journaling times. And I was thinking about awakening as a concept and what helps us to awaken and why do we believe in something or what story do we tell ourselves? And that's what forms our belief. And so I was really excited when I found a method that could help me put my book out into the world. I was so excited when I heard, you know, about 90 minute books and how I could partner with somebody to actually then encapsulate what was a lot of content into a readable format and get that guidance and get that partnership to think about how to put what would become maybe not just one story, but a potential series because there's so much that we do with change. And so I really enjoyed this partnership and I'm very excited that I now have, you know, a little book, a little book to hopefully help change women's lives by first off, being aware of the concept. So thank you, Stuart, again for all that you've done and everyone I partnered with.

Stuart: It's a pleasure. I mean, we get so many people that we talk to who have had an idea for a while and on the one hand there's the capability problem because although none of this is rocket science, it is. There's a lot of moving parts to get it done, which slows down coming to it from an outsider. It really slows down the process of you want to end up with something out there engaging and helping people and you've got all of the ideas at the top of the process, but all of those conc and machinery to get from A to B or A to Z. It really can slow down the process. And we speak to so many people that have been thinking about it for, for, for years and, and it's good to be able to in a fast and effective way help people kind of realize that and get something out there, which of course is the, the ultimate aim of it. That circles around to a good question then to that your experience was of going through the process yourself and developing it and identifying in other people and helping things, those bringing it back specifically to the book. Was there any particular thought process or was there anything that led you from the idea of here's a lot of conversations I'm having with people anyway, and it would fit well in a book to be able to share that with people. Was there anything that kind of, Was there a spark that said, oh, this should end up in a book?

Yvonne Myette: Yeah, that's a great question. And actually there was, and I'm getting what I call God bumps when I was, you know, because it, I hope I don't cry is when I was in a lot of pain. I mean, there's a lot of pain in people's lives at times. And I was certainly. I was in a lot of pain. I've had some really painful emotional things happen in my life, especially in the last. About last nine years, and there's. They're kind of been repeated. And my life, thank God, is in a totally new place because I took that step. And when I was first in a lot of pain, Stuart, one of the things that I know is people need resources, they need other people, or they need an idea or they need something that helps give them courage. And often it's that sentence or it's that quote or it's that hope because somebody else has done it. And that's really one of the things that, you know, I want to be able to do. And I think of it as faith. I mean, I think with faith, I think, okay, how can I help show that faith really stands by us and serves us, and it's our attitude then that can help move us forward. It's the story we tell ourselves. And one of the. I'll probably cry about this, too. At the beginning of when I was deciding what I was going to do about, you know, I'd been in a toxic marriage for a long time and what I was going to do to change that situation. And there were a lot of spiritual beliefs that came into it and a lot of family dynamics and whatnot, like a lot of people. And one. One woman that I worked with said to me, you are the author of your own story. So little pun there is. You know, she helped me realize, I get to write my story. I get to write the story I want. Do I want to write the story about, you know, the woman that was in torment and living? Do I want my story to be about a woman in despair who looked at herself in the mirror and thought of herself as a fat old crone and honestly at times thought about driving off a bridge and just felt like life was just unbearable at times just unbearable because of the marriage relationship I was in. And it was affecting every dimension of my life and my body and what I wanted. It was in conflict with my values, you know, tremendously, and also is in conflict with even what I expected of myself and who I was. It was just in such misalignment, and I wanted to get back to that. And so when this colleague said to me, you are the author of your story, I'm like, that was so empowering to me. And I thought, I am. And this is not the story I want to tell my kids right and another woman said to me, you know, what would you want your daughter? What would you want her story to be? Because our kids learn from us. I'm like, no, I, heck no. I don't want this story for my daughters. And that led me to start rewriting my story. And then Steward, of course, if I'm rewriting my story and what I live, I want to rewrite that story on paper so that hopefully it will help inspire others the truths that are available, the way that they can move to more health, physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, spiritually. It's there. People just have to get ready for it and then decide and, and it's that simple. And I just, I felt called. I, I think myself as a servant leader. I want to be a vessel for God and the Holy Spirit. And I know as a Christian that there are certain things that I'm expected to do to serve the kingdom, and I want to do them now without fear. And so I just, I had to put it down on paper. And I'm trusting that whoever is supposed to read this to be able to get that, that faith to help them make those steps and maybe move away from the torment they're in either physically or relationally or financially. Any area that they can start taking baby steps to her. It's, I feel really passionate about it, obviously, definitely.

Stuart: And there's such a personal connection that it's hard not to kind of feel that energy coming through. I think this is an interesting show for people to listen to as well. We get so caught up in the, the details and the numbers of the books as a marketing tool, which is definitely primarily where we focus our kind of outgoing attention. There's a good number of people who have written with us who are telling personal stories like yourself or finance or family stories rather. It's not just all financial advisors and the more fact based side of things. So it's, it's great to have the opportunity to speak to someone who talks more to that side of things than we do naturally, because it's not my, it's not my experience or my natural tendency when thinking about this type of thing. So we get a lot of people come to us wanting to write books that do have more of a personal connection or more of an emotional connection. And it's not just all about sharing lead generation facts and figures to kind of compel the invisible prospector to raise their hand, which is obviously what we talk about quite a lot. I think there's the bridge between the two though. Obviously you're writing this from the perspective of someone that wants to engage more people and offer the guidance in your experience to help others whether or not they end up being customers of a service that you have, but bridging those people into, from rather not having any exposure to you and your background to getting something of value and then potentially raising their hand for the next stage. I think books like this that share someone's journey for anyone that's listening, who is in that side of things, the more coach side of things than the financial advisor side of people who are listening. Having that story and writing in a compelling way that shares an experience and begins to make a connection is just as valid as sharing the tips to make sure your IRA is protected or, or you get the best mortgage out there. It's. It's just as valuable, just a different, different construct around it. So for you, as you were, the experience is obviously very personal. So the content of the book is, is retelling those stories and sharing with people how they can make a difference for themselves. We were talking just before we started about the work that you were doing with Susan when you first came on board to kind of corral those thoughts into a particular, kind of thematically bringing them together or bringing them together with a particular outcome in mind for this first stage. Don't talk about that for a second. In, in whether that was a challenge or whether it was helpful to, to run through that and think, okay, well, the book could be anything, but it should be this.

Yvonne Myette: Yeah, that's a great question. And actually there were two Susans in my life. There was a Susan, I was working with your organization. And then a really good friend of mine who's also been a business partner for a long time in a lot of endeavors. And so I had two Susans in my life that really have helped move forward what I call my blue sky. And when I was working with both of them, really, and others, you know, that have been a part of this journey, it gets back to again, the model that ties to a lot of what you were just sharing Stuart with, what information is available. And I've been a businesswoman. I have two master's degrees. I've had very high level executive positions. I've owned my own company. I can analyze data with the best of them. I've been in quality improvement. I know hundreds of tools. I can be very scientific. I'm a professor as well. And so I very much follow a scientific model at times. And yet we all have a heart. And so there's either the head, heart, head model, or there's the heart, head, heart model. And so now I'm more of a place of, you know, we all have hopes and dreams. And Susan, with you, you know, help me start being able to package and really believe that I could then put something together because it does feel overwhelming when you think about, you know, not only do you need to organize the content, but you need a title and you need a process and you need all of these things. And she kept giving me assignments. And between the two Susans, you know, I had your Susan giving me assignments. And then I held myself accountable with my friend and colleague, the other Susan, Susan S. I'll call her. And they were both serving on both ends because then I would give a due date to myself and to my friend Susan S. And it would push me to keep taking that step. And then I would tell your Susan when I would have it done. And it just having partners in life, I mean, we all need partners. And so, yes, absolutely, she was instrumental. This wouldn't be a reality as it is now without 90 minute books. And it wouldn't be a reality without my colleague and my other writing partner, Susan S. And there's more to come and we all need partners in life. I mean, I try to do a lot of things alone. I, you know, I'm very independent and I'm less independent now than I used to be because I realized that we can be partnering with people. And I certainly tried to get my own health back. And look at, in traditional health care, people try to do things on their own all the time. And even in our healthcare facilities, in our hospitals, in our universities, in our clinics go in. They're the statistics. You know, the statistic of obesity is 3 out of 5Americans are overweight. 1 out of 5Americans is obese by the year 2030. If we continue on the path we are, we're going to have diabetes impacting not only our adults, but our youth to the tune of one out of three. And these are diseases that are life threatening. People minimize them again, what the impacts can be on body organs. And so just like your Susan helped me to start as a partner to move a dream to reality, so too do the people listening need to make that decision to get the partnership they need, whether it's an idea they want to get out in the world, whether it's getting to better health. And it's not just about losing weight and seeing a scale figure. It's about truly how your body feels, how your brain acts and behaves, what you're able to do then, because your body is in good health. And that ranges from some of the stories I share. People just weren't even in a good place to play with their kids. They were too tired. Or people not having the energy to be effective at work. And so whether you're looking for a mortgage or whether you're looking to sell a home or whether you're looking to start a business or whatever your book might be about, people need to thrive. Let's thrive, people. Let's not be in a pit of disease and despair. And so without your Susan and my Susan S, I don't believe I would be able to not only have my book, but hopefully the next part is really change lives, change more people's lives. So I, again, I just thank you. I wish I was there to give her a big old hug and, and also high five, everybody. That helped me that now it's here.

Stuart: It's. It's. I've often said when we're talking to, on the podcast episodes or I'm in a fortunate position of getting to speak to a number of the authors anyway, when we're talking about strategy at the end of the process on how to use, use it. And it's always empowering for me to talk to people who are engaged and enthusiastic about what they're doing because they see the potential in not only having the book done through the partnership and helping people actually bring it together and kind of shortcutting that process down from however long it would take them to themselves to actually getting it out the door in a relatively short, short period, but also their enthusiasm for sharing that message with the people that they're trying to share it with. Because I think no matter what industry you're in or what the message of your book is, you're not going to do this unless you're engaged and believe it's. It's the right thing and that you're sharing absolutely valuable information with people, even if you never actually heard from the person reading it again, having that sense of, of certainty or the good feeling that comes from having shared useful information in a way that's accessible, in a way that adds value to them, creating the books, even if you never saw any business from the end of it. I mean, obviously for the majority of people, we are talking about creating business at the end of it, but just having created something that puts that value back out there, there's an energy and enthusiasm that comes from that. And I think the whole book community that's around what we're able to do for People and help all of the authors out there, helping all of those guys thrive. Like you're saying, whether it's spiritually, emotionally or financially or in business, it's. There's an energy around it and it's, it's exciting. I think the looking at the book then that we've created with yourself, you were talking about having a. I know we're just putting an order through at the moment moment because you've got an event coming up and then there's a webinar a little bit later in the year for people listening. Do you want to talk and share about some of the ways that you think about using the books in conjunction with some of the other things that you're using? It's always useful to share kind of real life examples with people so they can conceptualize them a little bit more.

Yvonne Myette: Yes, absolutely. Thank you. I have had a Facebook business page for a while and so people can find me by my name, Yvonne Maiette, and they can find my personal profile, they can find me on LinkedIn. So I've been there and had a presence for years. But I really wanted to be able to reach women that wouldn't know of me otherwise. And so having a website and when you have a website, you have to have something to offer people. And so knowing that I had a book coming was really what jettisoned getting the website started to get that out there and available. And then also I have wanted to have probably for years women's gatherings, women's retreats, and I have done that through business. I had business retreats because I own my own company and I was in leadership positions with large organizations. So we had leadership events a lot and I led those. And I've done this in business. But I wanted to get again back to the heart. And so it has. The book is going to be a part of a retreat that I have coming up November 11th. I'm having my first, what I call Radiant women. And so I'm having my first Radiant Women's Gratitude mini retreat on November 11th. And the book will be a part of that and there will be also other activities. And then I have webinars, we talked about that coming up that I'll be offering monthly. The information will be on my website that's going to be launching in a week or so here and then as well, people can contact me directly and I can give them the date. So I have online webinars and those are for six life changing habits to thrive. And also, of course there are other ways that I Serve people, Stuart. And that's by one on one coaching. I'm a one on one life coach and a health coach. And people can reach out to me and send a message, get ahold of me. They can schedule directly just for a complimentary assessment. There's so many ways that people can get assistance to her. Like you said, they might just read the book and it might serve them that way. They might want to get into a gathering with other women on a similar life path to really be more of their best self, to really thrive, to be their best and to help bring that to the world and serve others and also to model it for their kids and other loved ones. So whatever people need, I want to be able to. Like you said, if they're raising their hand, I just want to encourage them. Stuart, raise your hand and let me see if I have something that might be able to help. And if you raise your hand, maybe there's somebody else around you that can also help. So that would be just all I think I would have to share at this point, Stuart, would be just encouragement.

Stuart: And it's the team, is it? I think like you were saying with the team of Susans that you were talking about, to get this created, having people in your life as people are listening to this, the people who are ultimately going to read the. Read your book specifically having that team. And even if one person on the. On this side is just providing one piece of information, a quote or line, something that you've mentioned before, another person over this side, you resonate with more. So you get more and more from them. But seeing that team of people that contribute to the whole, the kind of the influence circle that you've got, some people will play a more major role, some people play a more minor role. But being able to take something from each of the. Really tripping of my words, being able to take something from each of the relationships, I think is important, to kind of build that hole and lift the energy of what you're trying to do.

Yvonne Myette: Yeah. And if it's okay, Stuart, I'd like to end with one quote from me, one of my quotes, it's in the book. And I'd like to end with one scripture passage. Would that be all right? And then we could wrap it up.

Stuart: Absolutely.

Yvonne Myette: Appreciate that. So I just want to encourage those of you that are listening. You are and can be even more amazingly awesome when you awaken to the idea. So awaken to the idea of what it will be. That will help you to be more amazingly awesome and bring that to the world and then just in closing from first Thessalonians 5, 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. So blessings to all of you are listening. Thank you again Stuart. This has been awesome. Really appreciate all that you and your organization do to assist us all that just really want to serve the world and grow businesses because we bring something whether it's a service or product. So thanks again. Big, big thanks.

Stuart: Fantastic. Thanks Von. That was inspiring words to finish on there and that let us not sleep quite. Although I haven't hit that one directly, it reminds me of some others that I've got written on the walls here or hold close. So hopefully people will take something from that. I think we'll put this is going to be going out as we record now we're in middle of October so this show is going to go out in a couple of weeks time. Your website I believe will be up by then so we'll make sure that we've got some some notes and links in the show notes. So as people are listening head over to 90minutebooks.com forward slash podcast and Yvonne's recording will be in the latest in the show notes there. So make sure people can get a note to follow up. And I think it's definitely going to be good as we get into next year. As you've got bedded in with this process and using it in various different ways. I think we should definitely check back in next year to see how the books helping make those connections with people and with the retreats and the webinars that you're doing and the other channels. Let's have a catch up show in next year sometime and see how it's been working out and feedback to people on what the success has been.

Yvonne Myette: Oh I'd love it. Thank you so much everybody. Have a great great day. When you listen to this, hopefully 2017 just ends for you in a really peaceful loving way and 2018 is just a year you soar. So thanks again Stuart.

Stuart: Fantastic. Thanks guys. We'll catch you again in the next show.