Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to the Business Miracles podcast. I'm Heather Dominick, founder of Businessmiracles.com. since 2010, I've been training highly sensitive entrepreneurs and leaders from around the globe to work less while making more impact and income by doing things differently. I'm so glad you've joined me. Listen in and get ready for a shift in the way you view yourself, your work, your life. A business miracle.
[00:00:34] Speaker B: Welcome. Welcome to this special series of the Business Miracles podcast hatching the highly sensitive leadership revolution. You'll be hearing from select highly sensitive leader authors who contributed their real stories of creating more impact and more income to my book different, as found at www.differentthebook.com. in today's episode, I am just really excited. I'm excited to connect with Melissa E. Anders. Melissa uses her highly sensitive strengths that make her a natural writing and life coach to serve and support academics and academic professionals who have a desire to take personal responsibility and do academia differently by moving away from old sink or swim approaches of academic culture to innovative approaches of being supported and transforming through their work together.
Melissa, welcome.
[00:01:50] Speaker C: Thank you, Heather. I'm delighted to be here.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: I am delighted that you are here and I am delighted that you are one of the contributing authors to different the highly sensitive leadership revolution. And I'm delighted in all of the growth that I've seen in you through our mentoring together. Where I'd love to start is to just hear a little bit about what called you to be a contributing author to the book different.
[00:02:23] Speaker C: I felt called because I was a part of the process when it first began with the book development and was privileged to be a part of the community that you pulled together to create the book and get feedback as you were writing it. And it was such a joy to see you in the realization of how you wanted the members of the community to contribute.
And it was just an, of course it was a no brainer to be able to contribute in this way to the community.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: Oh my gosh. I so appreciate that you spoke to the R and D team, so research and development and I really appreciate that because it really highlights, in my opinion, how I, we went about the process of writing this book differently. And it really was not a, you know, push through speaking for myself as a recovering pusher and that being my go to highly sensitive coping mechanism, but instead it really leaning into collaboration.
So it started with, I knew that I wanted feedback and real time input from select members of the business miracles community. And as you spoke to, you were one of those members as part of the R and D team. And then as you also spoke to that, inspiration went even deeper when I realized, like, oh, this collaboration is actually meant to be so much more than and just this R and D team.
[00:04:23] Speaker C: Yeah, it was really beautiful to watch. I remember when I first joined that, like, sub team within the community.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:04:32] Speaker C: I had just, I had joined fairly recently into business miracles, and I was so excited to be just have more time with you and more time with people within the community sort of working on a special project.
And it made me realize how that's important to bring, like, to have a collaborative team and how I remember, because I'm a writing coach, I do a lot of work with people around writing, and it was a different approach and I really appreciated that. With my clients, it's often something that I work with them on is like you, you don't have to do this all on your own. You can create something that's more joyful for you. And if you like to work with others, or if you feel like writing is isolating, then why not take a collaborative approach?
[00:05:33] Speaker B: Yes. Why not?
[00:05:35] Speaker C: Why not?
[00:05:36] Speaker B: Yes.
Which is, you know, the, again, epitome of how we are meant to work differently. As highly sensitive for yourself and your contribution to the book, your story, without giving it all away for those who have not yet read it, your story is such a beautiful expression of intuition and listening to your heart. Was there any trepidation in what you shared as your story, or did it just, you know, naturally flow or maybe anything even in between?
[00:06:19] Speaker C: Yeah, I remember when you called on us and at the time I was working on another project within my own business and it was. I remember the thought that I had was, how am I going to make time for this?
And then I decided that I was going to. And it was so easy, actually. I just, you know, the request for me was around intuition and, like, using my intuition deliberately, which is definitely a skill that I've developed as being a part of the highly sensitive leadership community.
And I decided to follow my intuition with my writing and to use it as a guide. And it was actually really quick and easy because I did that. And so many of the tools that you teach that I love are a part of the book now and can be shared with others.
Help to really clear that fear so that you can connect in with your intuition more easily. That's often the question is, is this in my intuition or is how do I tell if this is guiding me or holding me back? And I find the order form to the universe tool really helps with being able to clear the way. And I'm sure I wrote an OSU before I wrote this segment.
[00:08:05] Speaker B: Yeah, this is fantastic. I so appreciate you speaking to that initial reaction of, I don't think I have the time for this. And then so beautifully speaking to how you actually went about managing that in order to be able to follow what you shared just seconds ago, which was, yes, of course I want to be part of this project.
I really appreciate this because it's so common for us as highly sensitives, and it's such a beautiful example of how we can get tangled in the workings of our nervous system that the first initial hit is, yes, of course. And then there will be that slight start to trigger into the shadows and particularly that highly sensitive shadow of overwhelm time. Timing is often and part of that. And then, as you said, like, you actually turn to the tools that we teach in the leadership training program and that you so beautifully and diligently use and have used to really train your intuition as you also spoke to. And then it was easy. It was easy. And again, very similar to what we were sharing before about working differently. What a great example of exactly that.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: Yeah. It makes me think back to a request like this. If I think about it, like, four or five years ago, I would have been stuck in perfecting, most likely, and also a lot of questioning about what the. Well, I guess that's an arm of perfecting, but questioning what the right thing to write would be.
Whereas I do, I remember I was at my dining room table and I had all the different options of the things that I could write about. And because I had lots of ideas which I used to get overwhelmed by.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:23] Speaker C: And then I just pick one and I went with it.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Great.
[00:10:28] Speaker C: Which is not what I would have.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: Done four or five years ago. So great. So great. Because, again, a question I get often is like, well, what do you mean when you say less effort? You say less effort, more impact, more income. And there's this real sense of skepticism, like, what do you, you know, like, what do you. What are you pushing?
[00:10:48] Speaker C: Right.
[00:10:49] Speaker B: Like, what are you smoking? And what you've just shared is. That's it. That is it. And it is absolutely a training to bring yourself to that place and, and a training process to remain with and to remain in.
But again, such a beautiful example of the result and how you can experience something like being a part of this kind of project.
I'll use the word again, differently. Right.
And then also, again, back to more ease and more effort. So I'm curious if there is an example that comes to mind about how this type of process of more ease, less effort has also translated into your business, the work that you do with your clients. Maybe if there's an example that comes to mind. I really appreciated how you framed, oh, five years ago I would have, but now this was my experience. Anything else that immediately comes to you?
[00:11:58] Speaker C: Yeah. What comes to mind is the writing that I do currently for marketing of my business in the last month, in November 22, 2022. Yeah, we, I don't know why I said we. I wrote 15 posts in LinkedIn that were all like 3000. I think it's, I don't know if it's words or characters. So that's, and I did it with a lot of ease and learned a lot about goal setting as well. And it was interesting to me because I was in a networking meeting with some other business owners and I shared it as a win, and they remarked on the incredibility of that just, that is quite remarkable that you did that. And I thought it was kind of interesting because I, until they mentioned it, I didn't really realize, like, oh, that's actually, I did this with way less effort and way more ease. And it's something that, it's a strength that I'm building on, I think.
[00:13:27] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:13:28] Speaker C: Which is also something that I've learned within the community.
And so that comes to mind as things cross over.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: Exactly, exactly. That is just such a beautiful example because it does really demonstrate how, you know, working with the tools and teachings and focusing on building our strengths, such as intuition, have that direct transfer and translation into our outer actions, such as marketing. And I really, again, appreciate that you spoke to that because also a question that I get like, yeah, okay, this is great. I'm going to learn how to master my nervous system. Yeah, I'll feel better. But what about my business?
And how we work as highly sensitives is holistically, it's all connected and it's meant to be connected. So as you're learning to master your nervous system, you're learning to master your marketing. I also appreciate about your example and story is, I'm going to guess I might be wrong, but that not everyone in the, that room that you spoke of is highly sensitive. I'm sensing that perhaps some of them are of the other 80%, which would make the remarks and reflection even more valuable to be hearing that from someone who's not highly sensitive.
[00:15:00] Speaker C: You are correct.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:15:03] Speaker C: Yeah. And that's something that has been so wonderful about our community, is my comfort that has increased in being able to be a part of different kinds of communities with more ease. And also it's reminding me that after thinking of all of the ways that the community benefits me, so that after the intuitive planning day that we enjoy and work with, I find that that in itself is often a clearing process for me. And I have a lot of creativity that comes through after our intuitive planning day. And a lot of the ideas that I wrote about came through after that intuitive planning day.
Yeah. What used to overwhelm me, that flood of creativity, I was able to manage, account for all of the ideas, ask for help where I needed it, and really use my intuition to stay in process with sharing the gifts that I was given through that clearing and bringing in the inspiration that was meant to be shared.
[00:16:29] Speaker B: Brilliant. Brilliant. Truly a brilliant description of the very, very unique process that I lead the community through when it comes to intuitive planning. And also then going back to being in that networking room, or I don't know if it was a networking room, but with a group of colleagues who are giving you the reflection about the incredibleness of creating those posts speaks to how I often talk about that we practice within the community so that we can go out into the world and be effective and have an impact. And I've seen you really deliberately work with that teaching and that practice and really utilizing the community in that way. So I just love these stories. I love these stories of, you know, it really happening and really being supportive for you to be out in the world is positive impact right there. So I want to give a final question, but this final question is kind of what I feel like we've already been talking about, but I'll ask it anyway, which is, why is the highly sensitive leadership revolution important to you, my daughter? Oh God, I think I could probably cry.
[00:18:01] Speaker C: Oh my God.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: Can you say more?
[00:18:06] Speaker C: Yeah. So my eldest is. She'll decide for herself, but the inkling is that she's highly sensitive.
And the more that I learn, the more that others learn to about.
Here's for me too, what it means to be highly sensitive, and that it is a strength, and that all of us have our strengths, whether we're highly sensitive or not, and that we're meant to work together collaboratively.
And the more that the highly sensitive community works in their strengths, learns how to do that and uses their voice, the more will be able to work collectively to create change.
And because it's not, in my opinion, it's not just us, it's how we interact with others and that we don't contract and that we continue to expand and we as in highly sensitives. And for my daughter, that will mean a very different world for her to be living in. Yes, and I can see it happening already.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Amazing. Amazing. Yes. So beautiful. Thank you so much Melissa. Where can listeners find out more about you and this impactful work that you are doing in the world?
[00:20:04] Speaker C: They can find me on my website at www.melissaeanders.com and also connect with me over LinkedIn at melissaeanders.
[00:20:20] Speaker B: Beautiful.
Thank you so so much for this conversation, for your contributing authorship, for all the ways that you show up in the business miracles community, and most importantly, for the ways that you use the tools, the teachings, and the trainings to be out in the world contributing to that collective. Thank you so much.
[00:20:44] Speaker C: Thank you, Heather, pleasure to be with.
[00:20:46] Speaker B: You and thank you for listening. Until next time.
[00:20:56] Speaker A: Thank you for being a part of this Business Miracles podcast episode and for beginning to dip your toe into the journey of highly sensitive leadership training. If you are ready to truly use your sensitivities as strengths in all parts of your work and life, I invite you to connect for a one on one chat. You will experience being deeply listened to and together we'll get a sense of whether the highly sensitive leadership training programs are the best next step for you and your highly sensitive journey. At this time. Just go to www.claritycall.com to schedule a conversation. We so look forward to connecting with you. Talk to you soon.
