Episode 15 – Leadership & Presence Featuring Eleanor Beaton

Michelle: Welcome to the “In FLOW” podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Bosch. I see a gaping hole across society that focuses on the outer work and forgets about the inner work. When what we really need is to bridge the gap between prosperity and spirituality, to live a life in flow with inflows of light, inflows of cash, inflows of creativity, inflows of grace in our lives. Each week, join me for powerful messages and interviews that will leave you inspired and ready to step into flow in your higher work. So now, let’s go.

Welcome to the “In Flow” Podcast. I am your host, Michelle Bosch. I am very excited about my guest today. We are both part of a very elite group of women business owners. And I can say without a doubt that she is one of the premier experts out there on feminine leadership and her name is Eleanor Beaton. I’m gonna tell you a little bit about Eleanor. Eleanor is a president and CEO of Impact and Influence for Women, a global training and development company that helps high potential women reach the top. She is an award winning journalist, international speaker, coach, and expert in high performance for women. Eleanor is a host of “Fierce Feminine Leadership,” a top-rank podcast for ambitious women in business, and she is also the creator of “Old Women Thought Leaders,” an exclusive business coaching program for women thought leaders. She is one of eight global advisors to the visiting women’s executive exchange program at the Yale School of Management, and she has been recognized by entrepreneurial expert, Ali Brown as one to watch in women’s leadership.

She is a go-to-coach for highly accomplished executive and entrepreneurial women who are looking to really dial up their impact results and love the process. As a consultant coach and entrepreneur, she has worked closely with celebrity entrepreneurs, leaders of major corporations, and founders of international movements. I am so, so honored to have her here with us on the “In Flow” podcast. Welcome, Eleanor.

Eleanor: Thank you so much. I’m so excited to be here, Michelle.

Michelle: Eleanor, I really wanted to get you on the show today because part of being a successful real estate investor or experienced success in any field for that matter, it is required of us to stretch, but also to rest in our strengths and really own our feminine leadership. It is easy in the real estate industry, from my experience, to fall for competing with the guys and become very masculine in our approach. So what does it mean when somebody says about a woman who really embodies fierce feminine leadership?

Eleanor: Oh, that’s such a great question. And it’s a little bit like, you know, I think the answer is in the example that you gave. So for so many years, and I would say really, since we started creating businesses, it has very much been the domain of men. There was much more of a division of labor. As women, we were very much the family caretakers. And it was men who were running businesses, who were running countries, who were building companies and building empires. And, you know, it’s really been since I would say, the 1950s, particularly the Second World War, when women really started to enter the workforce en masse. And it’s only been very recently that we have gotten to a stage where we are representing sort of a growing cohort of leaders. And what we as women bring to the world of business is a different definition, a redefinition of what leadership is.

And when you see women leading it is much more about equality. We bring a sense of intuitiveness, of receiving and a different approach to strategy. You will see as women, it’s important to us to minimize status differences. We don’t just wanna lift. We want to lift others around with us. And so for me, it’s very exciting when you see this brand of fierce feminine leadership entering the business world and the way that it interacts with and complements traditional models of leadership that we would associate with a much more sort of masculine form of leadership.

Michelle: Absolutely. Yeah. I know for sure that the power of following my intuition whether things check the box in terms of being on paper, a good deal or not a good deal, but actually listening to those little whispers has definitely helped us, you know, stay out of certain deals that, oh my god, would have been horrible. So I totally get that. And it seems like I mean, men have it too, but for us, it’s just so much more I think developed this warning signals. I don’t know that you just feel that something doesn’t feel right.

Eleanor: Totally. You know, and it’s like a delay. It’s this funny, it’s totally there. And I love that you share, that you experience it because of your background, you know, you are a numbers’ person, a highly-trained numbers’ person. You have a highly successful business and when we have women like you talking about the power of intuition, the power of listening to your gut, I think that it really legitimizes what we as women bring to the business world. And I agree men do have it too, you know, it’s there. Just like we have competitive, you know, traits that we would sometimes characterize as masculine.

Michelle: Yeah, absolutely. Now, can you tell us a little bit about your journey starting as an entrepreneur and leadership expert? Like how did you end up as an expert in this topic?

Eleanor: Oh, I love that question too. So my journey began, you know, after I graduated from university, I started my career, you know, in advertising and public relations and really spent the early part of my career in the field of communication, like helping people communicate better, more strategically, whether it was through advertising, public relations or journalism. I launched in my 20s, a boutique communications consultancy, and so that was another business and I did a lot of work advising politicians, and leaders, and organizations on their communication strategy. So it was fun. So if they were trying to lobby for changes to public policy, if they were in a crisis communication situation, I would go in and help them tell their story and communicate better and loved it.

And then some of my clients started saying, “Listen, you know, would you like to come into our organization and do some communications work with our teams?” And my answer was, “No, that’s not what I do.” But as a good consultant, I was like, “Yes, I’ll come. Of course I can.” So I started doing that work, and it was fascinating because, you know, created programs, they were very successful. Then the question was, “Can you come into our organization and do work with our leaders?” And that is where I started to see the need for, you know, me to specialize in women’s leadership development. Because around those tables there were, you know, predominantly men. I’ve talked to everybody before the work began and then when I had formed really great impressions of these people, then there were few instances where around the tables I saw the way that the women were holding themselves back or being held back from expressing their ideas as boldly as they could. And so the organizations were suffering because they weren’t hearing the sort of totality of ideas around the table. And that’s where my mission to make, you know, business more competitive, more evolved by bringing the power of women to the boardroom. That’s really where it got started.

Michelle: Awesome. Now, why do you think women are so reluctant to speak up in general? Or why do they speak amongst other women, but perhaps not, you know, as often or as assertively amongst men or at those levels of leadership?

Eleanor: Hmm. There’s a couple of different reasons for that. I mean, it can be very difficult and intimidating no matter how successful you are, no matter how many degrees you’ve amassed, how much experience you have behind you. There’s still nothing quite like walking into a room and being the only one. And so, you know, so when you are the only one around a table, it just takes a lot more courage to speak up. And I think it sort of that sense of self preservation that can sometimes hold people back in that situation from voicing what it is that they have to say. But in fact, I mean, so that’s kind of part of it. But there’s another, you know, deeper, more historic origin to why women don’t speak up. You know, if you look at and I’m really focusing right now on Western culture. But when you look at Western culture and our artworks, our plays, our mythologies, you know, if I go back to like Greek and Roman mythology, which…and so much of our culture is changing, but so much of our culture really has its roots back in that historic past. What’s interesting is that in that culture, the ability to speak and articulate ideas publicly, that was a rite of passage for manhood. That was what made you a man was your ability to speak publicly.

And what’s interesting is if you look back at mythology and in stories, there are many stories of women, literally having women who spoke up literally having their tongues ripped out. I know this sounds really graphic, like your listeners are like whoa, this is not flow. But that’s, you know, in kind of the artworks and in stories that have been enshrined. So the whole idea of power comes from your ability to give voice and power is not what women have. I’m not saying that we are thinking of that when we’re sitting at that table. What I’m saying is that it is an undeniable part of our legacy. That’s why it’s tough.

Michelle: It’s tough. Yeah. And what are some things that, for example, you coach your clients on developing courage and the confidence to speak up and have their voice be heard?

Eleanor: I love that. So there’s a couple of different ways. The first of course, is to find ways to bring other women to the table. So what they have noticed and, you know, research in executive boards and boards of directors, and, you know, I sit on some of those boards I’m sure you do as well. What they have noticed is that when you have one woman around the board, it’s all right, two getting better, when you have three women sitting around that board that’s when there really becomes a shift in culture, a shift in conversation, and that’s where things really start to even out. So the first thing is to find ways to bring other women to the table.

Michelle: Women.

Eleanor: Yeah, exactly. That’s important. The second part is much more practical and it’s to prepare. So, you know, if you are going into a situation where you know you’re going to be a little bit uncomfortable, be very prepared. Prepare for, you know, both expect a positive outcome, prepare for the downside as well. Have a few questions that, you know, that you can ask and come with a couple of clearly articulated points of view. And I find that, you know, the more that you’re able to do that, as you, you know, sit around that table and find ways to insert yourself into the conversation and do so in a way that feels articulate to you that begins to build your confidence even more.

Michelle: Yeah, yeah, got it. Yeah, it’s so simple that you kind of like overlook it, but yeah, if you in, you know, in advance think about a few things that you wanna definitely voice and articulate and make sure that are discussed, that unless you don’t plan on it and prepare for it, your nerves might get the better of you and so on and so forth once you’re in there. If you had to choose between just one characteristic that is the cornerstone or can be attributed to success for a woman from a leadership standpoint, what would that be? Would it be being able to speak up?

Eleanor: Yeah, that’s such a great question. I would say that it is her willingness to own her own power. You know, so I’ll give you an example. I was speaking recently with a woman. She’s based in Asia. She is a very senior executive inside a big company. I mean, you know, she’d be responsible for…her group would have, you know, 20,000 people working inside it. Very educated and articulate and like many women, she struggles with politics. You know, with the politics that can happen inside big companies. And the further that you rise, the more that you see the sort of inner machinations of, you know, politics and power and stuff. And what was interesting is that again, like so many incredible women leaders, she really chooses to disengage from politics. She doesn’t play that game. She plays her game. And of course, the challenge when you step into your power and play your game, it’s not like everything is unicorns and rainbows. It’s actually like you are in the world, you’re in the flow, you feel the harsh rain, but it’s an honest and authentic existence. That to me is what stepping in your power is. It’s not wrapping yourself in Saran, wrapped to protect yourself from the elements because you’re too scared. It’s stepping in your power, voicing your truth, and living in authenticity and having the courage to do that. And I think when we have the courage to do that we live from a place of true power, and leadership. The challenge is we’re very authentic, and sometimes it can make us unlikable.

Michelle: Yeah. And nobody wants to not be liked. It’s like for safety, for protection. If we go back, like you said, historically it was such a basic need, and when you don’t have that, or that’s in jeopardy, it can be tough. Yeah.

Eleanor: Well, and what’s so interesting, I find this fascinating. Just within the last month, some very compelling new research came out, I think, from Northwestern University. And it was looking at networking and women’s networks. And what it found is that in order…like when they studied the networks of women in business, so they basically studied them throughout graduating from these top business schools. They were following them in their careers and the women who reached the highest, the way that their network and the composition of their network was very different from the composition of men’s networks. So for men to ascend to the top of the food chain, they basically needed to have a big network of people.

So the advice is also always ladies, ladies build your network. What the research showed us is that those women, the size of their networks was much less important and having a small cadre like three to four close relationships of other powerful women whom they communicated with and drew support from regularly. And I think it’s what you’re talking about, we provide each other with that safety, right? That allows us to lead and make the difficult choices. And I mean, that’s one of the reasons that I’m so privileged to call you a friend. You know, it’s that kind of relationship, right? Like, uh, when I have women like us behind me, it allows me to go out and make the tough calls, and live authentically and not be too concerned with whether that makes me likable or unlikable.

Michelle: Absolutely, yeah. And I have to say that being part of the group that we were together and premier has been incredibly refreshing to me, because Jack and I are usually part of other groups and where it’s of course maybe I’m one, or two, or three ladies in the room and there is this incredible facade that always is being put up front by everyone else and here everyone is so willing to open up, be vulnerable, be generous with their knowledge, with their tough love, with everything and it’s so very well-taken. Yeah, absolutely. So I can say that I have experienced what the research has found firsthand for sure. Yes.

My next question is directly addressing the correlation between say a woman entrepreneur experiencing huge inflows of cash and her leadership. What are the pitfalls or things that women do or don’t do from a leadership perspective that are keeping them from being able to translate that in actual cash in, and ease, and compensation basically coming their way?

Eleanor: Oh, that’s such an interesting question. And that’s the kind of question I feel like every woman should ask herself. But here’s my answer to that. And here’s what I think it’s going to be different for women and for a man and it relates back to the story that you just told about different sort of groups, like circles of influence. You know, you’re sitting around a circle of influence with predominantly men, and what makes that different from predominantly women. And you talked a little bit about the facade. But what that really gets at is, this is the way that as men become more successful like for a man, it is okay to maximize a status difference. So if they start making lots of money. If they start doing really well, it’s much more acceptable for them to be flashy, for them to show their elevated status, for them to be proud and talk proudly of their accomplishments. There’s, you know, our culture really makes a lot of room for that, we respect and admire that.

As women doing that is much more uncomfortable because of our egalitarian nature, right? And so I think that it is absolutely a block that we, as women have that as we elevate, we’re going to leave people behind, right? And as in our historic role as caretakers and nurturers we are wired not to do that. We’re in this quandary where it becomes, you know, it really becomes an act of release, of letting go, of reexamining I think our identity, and being like, hey, does this serve me anymore? And is it true that by not stepping into the fullness of my power, by not becoming the best entrepreneur I can possibly be, by not focusing on the money and being an example of a self-made woman, multi-millionaire, is that not actually uplifting and helping people around me more than me playing small to make them feel like they are my equal, right?

Michelle: Absolutely. Yeah.

Eleanor: And so to me, I would answer your question that way.

Michelle: Yeah. No, I can totally relate. And I don’t know if this goes in with that or not, but I think it’s a good segue on the topic of an issue of boundaries, whether it be in their business or at home. And where do you see a lack of healthy boundaries typically in women leaders?

Eleanor: So, you know, when I think about boundaries I think about really it’s that intentional saying this is okay with me and this is not okay with me. This is my responsible and this is not my responsibility. And what I have seen is for boundaries as women entrepreneurs and women leaders, there’s a couple of different boundaries. One, I think, is that it’s our superhero complex, you know, and it’s like we will…and I have found myself doing this in the past, you know, with team members who are no longer with me as an example. They didn’t last. But well, because what can happen is, you know, and I’ll give you a classic example, the boundary of building your team and you’ve got some amazing performers. And then you start to see that there are some people who you are maybe carrying a little bit more than you should, or help a little bit more than you should, or not allowing them to show up and perform as powerfully as they need to and you’re tolerating it. And you’re jumping in and doing some of their work rather than allowing others to fail. So I think that’s a core boundary that we, as women, entrepreneurs, need to think about. The boundary of this is my responsibility, this is your responsibility. I will give you support, and I will allow you to fail.

Michelle: And it’s probably part of this nurturing way of being for women in general, as well as not wanting carrying a little bit more for them than you should in terms of the load. Yeah. It makes sense. How about healthy boundaries at home so that you can actually perform and do what you came out here to do, you know, in terms of whether you’re a real estate investor or an entrepreneur in any other field?

Eleanor: So, you know, when it comes to healthy boundaries at home, it really is and it surprises me sometimes…

Michelle: Or maybe it’s not boundaries, maybe it’s support that we just need to voice our need for.

Eleanor: Well, and, you know, it’s so interesting because I have noticed that there’s kind of two different groups of women. There are some groups of women who inside their relationships, it’s very equal. And so they have partners who are very comfortable with taking care of things, with shouldering their share of the burden/greatness of maintaining a home life. You know, there’s that group of people and I would put myself in that category. You know, my husband, we have two sons and my husband is more of a primary person around the home than I am. And for women like me and women like us in a situation like that, if we’re lucky enough to have a great partner, you know, because there’s a lot of women, you know, who’d be listening to the show, for instance, who might be single parents, or they might be widows, or, you know, just for different life circumstances they don’t have a partner around the house. But for those of us who are in this kind of situation, it’s 100% about support, about page support and seeing the whole life as an extension of the business because it is, you know. So there’s that side.

And then boundaries on the other side or support on the other side, sometimes there are honest conversations that must happen between a woman and her partner about what, again, what’s okay with her and what’s not okay with her. What she can cope with, and what she can’t cope with. You know, Michelle, I often find that when it comes to boundaries, my biggest enemy is myself. And my strength can be my biggest downfall because I’m like, I got it. It’s okay, it’s okay. I got it. Like we’ll take on everything. And so, you know, I think half the battle is sitting down and having, you know, is like making that space for ourselves to be like, hey, is everything good? Do we need more support? Do we need to have an honest conversation with somebody? That to me is the beginning of…that’s where the conversation starts with yourself, not necessarily with other people.

Michelle: Yeah, absolutely. And sometimes it may be something like, okay, but this only takes me a few minutes or this, you know, but it’s the headspace that something is occupying in terms of like, okay, you’re the one…perhaps you’re not the one that has to do it or where there’s a defined role that, you know, you take care of dinner, or your partner takes care…but that it’s in your mind and you’re worrying about it, that it needs to be done, that the uniform needs to be, you know, ready for school the next day, and it’s the headspace that it occupies as well that sometimes we don’t acknowledge and we just think, okay, but it only takes me a few minutes to get something done. So why do I need to help? Why do I need the support, but it is headspace and energy that could be used for something else versus worrying about whether it’s being done or whether you need to do it still, and so on and so forth.

Eleanor: I have this mug and it says, “You have the same amount of hours in the day as Beyonce.” I feel like it’s a healthy reminder and sometimes you know, when I backed into a corner like what we’re just talking about, I’m like WWBD, what would Beyonce do? And you don’t get to be the world’s preeminent elite performer. You don’t get to be Beyonce if you are taking up all your time thinking about the kinds of things [inaudible 00:26:19] right? Like it’s a worthy example like there is something that propels that level of greatness, and it’s all time and focus.

Michelle: Absolutely. Yeah. In terms of, yeah…

Eleanor: What would Beyonce do?

Michelle: I’m gonna have to remember I’m like what would, you know, whenever I’m like either worried or thinking about something that I could probably just outsource and get support I’m like, what would Beyonce do? You know.

Eleanor: Exactly. She will never lead you astray.

Michelle: Thank you. Now, in terms of…along these lines of creating ease and grace in our lives as feminine leaders, what are some of the things that you see out there that are depleting women most either physically, mentally, emotionally from the women that you coach? Is it the work life balance issue? What are some of the things that you see out there from just working with ladies?

Eleanor: I think that we set a very high standard for ourselves. And that is that sort of pursuit of excellence is an excellent trait. And there’s a shadow side to it, which is the feeling that sort of restless feeling that it’s never enough. And I think the never enough feeling can absolutely be something that sort of interrupts flow, you know, and interrupts, you know, the ability to kind of navigate growth with ease. So I would say, you know, that’s like a big part of it. I remember a colleague saying that what she wanted more than anything else, were long patches of stillness. You know, and it’s that silence where we can just restore and, you know, especially as entrepreneurs, there’s a big part of our experience that is about building and doing. People use the word hustle, some people don’t like it, but there are times we definitely need to bring a sense of urgency. You know, it’s like the great basketball coach John Wooden said, “Be quick, but don’t hurry.” So there’s a lot of quickness that we’re trying to bring and that if we don’t combine that with rest and set aside the time for rest and stillness, to me I think that’s another huge thing that can deplete us and is actually counterproductive.

Michelle: Yeah, I totally get it. I remember for years having crazy back-to-back either meetings, calls, just crap that needed to be done. And there was no like, not even like a 20 or 30-minute break in between one thing, but it was just going from one thing to the next. The next, the next, the next. You can sustain it for a period of time, but eventually you’re like, “Oh my God, what am I doing to myself? I’m burning myself to the ground.” And yeah, now, I make it a point to have, you know, halfway through the week, a few hours of completely unscheduled time that gives me that possibility to not have to worry about anything around the house, or anything relating to the business and just do nothing. And that’s what I choose to do.

Eleanor: Well, you know, and it’s funny because I relate to your story and the thing is, there was a long time for a long time I didn’t distinguish between putting my business and career first, and putting myself first. And because, you know, especially once I had children, I thought that the time that I devoted to putting my career first, like if I had 24 hours in a day, there was a set number of hours where I put my career first. I thought that was putting myself first and it was not. You know, and they’re two different things. And once I made that distinction, it helped me see the necessity of carving out time for me, but it took me a while to get there. I just kind of thought that career was me, and it’s definitely an expression of me, but it’s not who I am. You know, and I know we’re gonna talk about spirituality in a moment, but there’s more to us than how we manifest ourselves and express ourselves professionally.

Michelle: Yeah, yeah. For me, it was basically this big distinction of recognizing and it goes along the lines of what you’re saying of putting yourself first in that, okay, there are points in time that our business does require me to basically act like a generator of results, but there’s also situations where or more often now, I find myself a much more living in the space of being the creator of opportunities for my business to grow versus the generation of the results. And so, that was something that I equated those as, like being one in the same and they really, truly aren’t. And once I recognized I’m like, okay, in order for me to be the creator of opportunities, I cannot feel depleted, I cannot feel stressed, impatient and short fused because I’m overwhelmed because of the type schedule that I’m following. And so that was I think, my big aha moment when I realized the distinction between those two things. I’m like, okay, I need to live more on the creator side for sure.

Eleanor: That’s fascinating. Can I ask you a question? I’m so curious.

Michelle: Sure.

Eleanor: What impact did it have like on your business when you went from generator, you know, more generator space into more creator space? I’m fascinated.

Michelle: Well, what that did is it gave our team the opportunity to step up to become much more of the generators in our business, and with the results that they were producing themselves came a higher sense of cohesiveness, of faith in each other, you know, as all the team members, I was basically just empowering them by feeling that I was the, you know, the cornerstone, or the main piece of the generation of the result versus handing that off to someone else. At least in the beginning, you know. That was that. Another thing that I noticed is that the quality of our ideas completely improved as new projects, new initiatives, new things that we wanted to do that could accelerate the business. I couldn’t possibly think about those if I was in it on the every day.

And so I think those two things were what has been incredibly game changing for us over the last, I would say, three to four years. It has really made an incredible difference and in just being able to hand things over to a team that actually instead of feeling burned by it is craving it and really giving them a sense of like, wow, you know, there is a sense of this company being self-managing in that we can take care of it, we can support Michelle and Jack in whatever new, you know, vision or project they wanna start. And so it came from me recognizing that distinction between being a generator and a creator and the same for Jack. And there’s moments where we have to jump back into the generator status, you know, especially if it’s something new and you’re kind of like laying the tracks and the infrastructure for the team. But now, we recognize that it’s seasonal, it’s like it’s a quarter. It’s two quarters at most and then we pull back and we go back into more creator mode. And so yeah, it’s been this yin and yang of moving from one thing to the other, but recognizing how basically that space is so invaluable and needed in order for you to be a creator of opportunities for the business and for the team.

Eleanor: Amazing. Yeah, I’m just here taking notes.

Michelle: No problem. Yes. And along the lines of this, so what are some of the things that you do to kind of bring this rejuvenation and bring this ease? Because it’s more than just getting your nails done or going for a hair appointment which those are necessities for women anyways.

Eleanor: That’s right.

Michelle: So how do you incorporate some of that into your life? Does it take a little bit the form of spirituality? You know, what are you doing to feel like you’re getting rejuvenated and filling up your cup not just physically, mentally, emotionally, but also spiritually.

Eleanor: I love this question. And I love it, especially because there was a time when my business was really growing. And I didn’t do this. And what I learned is that I must, it’s not just I, as a person must keep pace with my business, but my growth must outpace my business’s growth in order for me to be in a place where I can draw it forward.

Michelle: Yeah, because usually your business grows, you know, it follows at least for us, it has grown because we as people has grown. It’s been a personal evolution and therefore an evolution for the business.

Eleanor: Yeah, yeah. 100%. So there’s really a combination of four things that I have found, you know, and I take care of myself and I exercise, and I try to eat well, and all of those things and those are of critical importance. But when I think about my spirit, there’s really been four things that I have found that when I practice these consistently it’s actually like scary powerful, it feels like. And so…

Michelle: I’m taking notes now.

Eleanor: Oh my gosh. So the first is prayer. And, you know, and just that’s it prayer. You know, and so I’m, you know, Christian, I believe in God. And so for me, that’s who I am praying to. And so prayer. The second and third, are meditation. And I’ve kept a regular practice of meditation for many years. And in meditation, one of the tweaks that I made and that I realized that the more I was in business and the more you’re dealing with people, and you are navigating relationships, and you’re doing deals, and you are setting goals and, you know, things happen when you’re in business. There were two things that I needed to focus on in my meditation. And one was continuous forgiveness. And the second was ongoing acceptance.

You know, and of course, those are very related to prayer, especially in the Christian faith, you know, the idea of forgiveness and many faiths to be honest. But that’s the idea of forgiveness and acceptance. And so in the meditation when I put those two things together with prayer, very powerful. And then the fourth thing is laughter with people that I love, you know.

Michelle: Yeah, the sense of playfulness. I can see. Yeah.

Eleanor: Yeah. And those four things to me are just so nourishing for the spirit. And, you know, the funny thing is, it actually takes courage to do all of them consistently because of how powerful they are. And what I have found is that when you practice them all together the changes that…you better be ready because the changes as you want it to happen they happen and it’s like…

Michelle: Yeah, very quickly.

Eleanor: …very quickly. You know, and we know what growth is like, you know, it’s like a snake shedding its skin. It’s a litter [SP] being born. It’s not always pretty, but it’s very powerful and always leads to better things.

Michelle: I took notes for sure. Especially on the…

Eleanor: We were the ones always sitting in the front of class, I know that.

Michelle: On the laughter part because we own our own business and we’re business owners we can become so serious and so, you know, with all the obligations, and things, you know, that come with being a business owner that we might forget about the playfulness part. So yeah, that’s definitely one with a little star for me.

Eleanor: Absolutely.

Michelle: Could you share one final piece of advice for women either starting out or that are already successful and that are on their way to becoming leaders or are already leaders?

Eleanor: Yes, I can. Make space to hear yourself, to listen to yourself, and trust what you hear.

Michelle: Oh, wow. I love that. Yeah, I needed that actually. Especially the trusting yourself part, yeah.

Eleanor: Right? I mean it’s, you know, instinct that intuition and instinct when we make room for it is so trustworthy.

Michelle: Absolutely. Now, Eleanor, this has been a fantastic interview. I was so much looking forward. You have incredibly over-delivered. I know people are gonna probably wanna know a little bit more about you. How can someone listening to this right now reach you or find out more about what you do?

Eleanor: Thank you for the opportunity. You know, the best place is to go to my website eleanorbeaton.com, or check out my podcast, “Fierce Feminine Leadership.”

Michelle: Which I Listen to. She’s definitely someone for you to follow and listen to every word that she says.

Eleanor: Right back at you.

Michelle: Yeah. So thank you very much, Eleanor. It was a pleasure having you. Thank you again for honoring us with your presence. And I hope to have you in the future again at some point. Thank you.

Eleanor: It was my pleasure.

Michelle: Bye.

I hope this episode left you feeling inspired and ready to get inflows of cash, inflows of light, and inflows of faith in your life. I welcome your reviews on iTunes. Please leave me a review and help me create an amazing community of women in flow. Thank you as always for sharing your voice by going to michellebosch.com, and joining the conversation about this show. And while you’re there, grab a copy of my “Ten Commandments to Living a Life Inflow.” You can also follow me on Facebook @MichelleBosch, and on Instagram @MichelleBoschOfficial. Thank you very much, and until the next one.