Punk Rock Personal Development - Sarah Starrs

Elloa Atkinson is a certified life-changing coach, a spiritual teacher, and a student of A Course in Miracles. I'm fascinated by A Course in Miracles as so many of the teachers I admire share its lessons, including Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Gabby Bernstein, and Robert Holden. This year I decided I was going to become a student of the course and for the first 40 days I did, I studied the lessons and worked through the workbook but something just wasn't jiving. I struggled to relate to the tone of voice and for now I've set the text aside. However, the insights Elloa offers in this interview have really opened me back up to studying the course and have given me so many entry points for doing so in a way that works for me. We also dive deep into her personal journey recovering from shame, building a solid sense of self, the power of being vulnerable, and taking radical responsibility for our lives.

Perle is a burlesque dancer who has been named one of the world’s top five burlesque performers by 21st Century Burlesque Magazine three years in a row and she has performed on stages around the world. I was introduced to her work by a Punk Rock Personal Development listener and I’m so glad I was! Perle seduced me from her first word - she’s so warm and gracious. We sat down to chat about her experience healing from the trauma of abuse, the power of affirmations, how she transformed her life with burlesque, and the magic of using words as wands.

Paige Zaferiou is a a pop-culture-loving, positivity-wielding pizza witch. She's a tarot reader, writer, and sacred artist. Always a busy gal, Paige is also the co-host of the Modern Mystics podcast. We sat down to chat about all things mystical, using tarot for personal development, and how we can bring some practical magic into our own lives. Paige has a really down to earth relationship to magic and she has a great sense of humour - I recently saw her do a tarot reading with Pokemon cards! Some people might find this episode a little bit woo woo but it’s grounded in a lot of practical insights and Paige speaks really beautifully about her experience of overcoming depression and creating a magical life.

Sarah Smith is a singer/songwriter and she actually lives in my hometown back in Canada! Sarah now tours the world playing her music and is an inspiration to anyone who wants to follow a dream. She has a lot to share on living without regrets, staying rooted in the present moment, and living confidently in the direction of your desires.

Alexandra Franzen is a writer who’s on a mission to help un-complicate the way we communicate. She’s one of my personal heroes and we talked about so much, including Alexandra’s spiritual beliefs, the concept of being a daymaker and how to be one for yourself and others, her personal motto “today is not over yet,” the time management system she uses to maintain balance in her life, and how to empty the tank so that you give everything you’ve got to your projects and relationships, without running on empty and burning out. Alexandra is so funny and interesting and insightful and I can’t wait to share this conversation with you.

Ashley Wilhite was actually my business coach last year when I started transitioning into life coaching. She built a successful coaching practice called Your Super Awesome Life but last year she decided to shut it down, get a job, and become a yoga teacher. In this time when we’re hearing so much about building 6-figure businesses and how starting an online business is THE ultimate dream and source of freedom, I think it’s so important to start a conversation about why that’s not always the case. Ashley and I are talking about what led her to shut down her business, how she used her values and what she’d learned about herself as an entrepreneur to find her dream job, the personal development she experienced at yoga teacher training, and her advice for anyone who is currently struggling to find their way in their career.

Kate is a is a creativity and empowerment coach who helps women tap into their creativity and find their "why" so that they can live a life  full of happiness and purpose. This episode should be called "What the fuck are chakras?" because Kate gives us a thorough run down on what chakras are, how to experience them in your body even if you're super skeptical, an explanation of each of the 7 chakras, tips for figuring out whether your chakras are out of balance, and some best practices for keeping them running smoothly. If you've ever wondered what your yoga teacher is on about when she talks about chakras or prana, this episode is for you. But this episode is incredibly comprehensive so even if you already have a good grasp of what chakras are and what they do, I’m sure you’ll learn something new.

Ev’Yan Whitney is a writer who chronicles her journey into erotic awakening and exploration at sexloveliberation com. In addition to writing about her sex life, she’s also a sexuality doula—a person who helps facilitate, educate, and hold space for other women who want to step out of sexual shame and into their erotic power. We talked in-depth about releasing sexual shame, reclaiming our sexuality, powerful practices for sexual healing, reigniting your libido, and so much more.

Ana Ottman is a a ghost writer and fiction author who helps female entrepreneurs discover their story and share it with the world. We had a deep, soulful conversation about what self-care really means, how to stop it from feeling like another thing on your to-do list, making time for ourselves  and setting healthy boundaries. This is the conversation that I’ve had so many women asking for and there are so many great insights to dig into.

Louise George leads us through a mini Desire Mapping workshop. Louise is a coach and actress based in London. We’re going to be talking about her story of how she went from working jobs she didn’t love to gaining clarity on her desires and creating a life that she really loves. But what’s really exciting about this interview is also a mini desire map workshop. Louise is going to tell us all about what desire mapping is, how we can find our core desired feelings, and how to use them to gain clarity in all areas of your life. Louise and I chatted about the core desired feelings we’re both currently working with and the little rituals we’ve used to cultivate them throughout our days. This work has been so transformative for me. By finding your core desired feelings you can stop chasing goals and dreams and pinning your happiness on your future happiness because you can start generating the feelings you want right now.

I’m so excited to share today’s interview with Carly Kroll. This feels like a really special interview because I first interviewed Carly on my old lifestyle blog for my Tattoo Talk series. Carly made my most recent tattoo - an amazing portrait of my cat Henry. We sat down to talk about her journey from being a flight attendant to becoming a tattooist, the link between personal development and tattoos, and what makes a tattoo vegan. Carly has a really incredible story and I’m really excited to share our conversation with you.

Gala Darling is an author, teacher, and speaker who has been teaching radical self love — a selection of powerful techniques and tools which help women transform their lives — for close to a decade. She’s shared her story many times online but we are going to be diving deep into what makes Gala tick, her own internal obstacles and resistance, the tools she currently uses for designing her life and deepening her spirituality, how she cultivates an abundant money mindset, and so much more.

Charla Vail is a visual artist who is obsessed with travel and recently spent 8 months travelling the US and hosting meet ups while living out of a camper van. We sat down to chat about what life on the road is really like, what she learned about herself on this adventure, how she practiced self-care while sleeping in Wal-Mart parking lots, and her most memorable memory from it all.

Kitty Cavalier is the queen of seduction and in her work she teaches that seduction is a spiritual practice. That might sound a bit weird and disconnected from what you usually hear when people talk about seduction but I promise, it’s all about to make sense. Kitty is such a beautiful, warm woman who instantly makes you feel seen and heard and seduces you with every word. In this episode she actually makes scrubbing your bathtub sound SEXY so you’re not going to want to miss it.

Jen Dzirua is the founder of GetBullish.com and the annual Bullish Conference. I am a huge fan of her work and her no-bullshit approach to advice. Although the ways we express our beliefs around self-love are very, very different I found I learned so much from our interview. In this episode we chat extensively about designing your life in 2016, how to "have it all" as a parent, business owner, and woman of the world, why she resists the terms "self-love" and "self-care", how she accomplishes her own form of meditation in hotel bars, and how to order traditional cocktails like a pro. This will be my last interview of 2015 and it feels like the perfect one to round out the year.

If you aren't already familiar with Heather and her website, Hiya Tootsie!, get ready to fall in love! She is so full of passion and positivity; it's absolutely infectious! Heather is an East Coast writer, hope-raiser, and dream-chaser based out of L.A. In this episode we'll be talking about how Heather made the leap into chasing her dreams full-time, the tools she used to recover from the trauma and burnout she experienced as a result of her previous career, an in-depth look at the financial side of working for herself full-time, how she is balancing a new relationship with running her own business, and the story of conceiving and launching her first physical product in just 90 days.

Ebonie Allard is a business coach for entrepreneurial misfits and just launched her book Misfit to Maven from ARGH to AHHHH. We sat down to chat about how feeling like a misfit led to some seriously destructive behaviour, how she began to transform her life, the 8 step process she works through with her clients, Ebonie’s best advice for improving your body image, and a lot of other really insightful, actionable topics.

Michelle Bobrow is the founder of personal website The Holistic Wallet. Michelle is a personal finance strategist and she helps the creatively-inclined tap into their left brains and set financial foundations they can stand up and shout from. We're going to talk about what finance has to do with personal development, how to get over your limiting beliefs about money, where to start with getting your financial house in order, and much more.

Carolyn Elliott is a bad bitch with a bodhisattva vow. She's a life coach, a writing teacher, and a legit witch. In this episode we talk about her recovery from addiction, how she got seriously interested in magic (and you can too), why her deepest desires go way beyond a 4-hour work week, the problem with most personal development content, and so much more. Carolyn is not afraid to go really deep and I found our conversation to be absolutely life changing. It might be my favourite interview yet!

Aurora Lady is an art making Feminasty! She's been creating her grrrl-centric art and zines since she put on her first pair of combat boots in the '90's. Her world is dripping with glitter and angry knuckle tattoos and we sat down to chat about how to actively integrate your ethics and beliefs into what you create, whether that's through your business or a trip to your grocery store. She shares her thoughts on being a working artist, how to create a zine, her favourite vegan recipes, and so much more.