The Power of Resilience- From Losing all her Income to Living an Abundant Life with Melissa Martin : Episode 261

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The Power of Resilience

Have you ever felt over-the-moon excited about a coaching program and then immediately told yourself it would be financially irresponsible to invest in it? Do you experience anxiety when it’s time to pay the bills? Or do you dream about a luxurious life but immediately tell yourself you can’t have that because you’re not the kind of person who makes that kind of money?

Money is an integral part of our lives, but too many of us let it limit our potential instead of empowering us. Today, my dear friend and sister from another lifetime, Melissa Martin, is joining me to share her financial story of going from broke to boujee.  

In this interview, we’re going to dive into the four stages of resilience Melissa encountered and how they prepared her for the life she’s living today. You’ll also learn how choosing to see three different versions of yourself can help you ascend and make better decisions — financially, relationally, mentally, and professionally!

I’m really excited for you to hear this conversation and receive all the golden nuggets of truth that Melissa has to share. So, let’s get to it!

Who Is Melissa Martin?

First of all, Melissa literally embodies resilience. We met in a Mastermind a few years ago and were immediately friends — our souls had a contract long before we ever met. Since then, we’ve encouraged and inspired each other to reach new heights. 

Today, Melissa is a coach, course creator, and podcaster who helps ambitious women gain the tools and confidence they need to face their fears head-on and step fully into the life they’ve always dreamed of. Since building a seven-figure empire in network marketing, she is committed to coaching women in network marketing to easily attract new leaders, reach their next rank, and earn more income! 

Wherever you are in your financial journey — jobless, rethinking your purpose, or starting a completely new chapter — Melissa Martin is going to help move you through it with bold courage as she shares her story of resilience and resourcefulness. I think you will be inspired by her journey from broke (and basically homeless) to moving across the country and building a thriving business from the ground up! Let’s get started, sister!

Resilience – How to Go from Broke to Boujee

Resilience is something we need in all of life — emotionally, physically, relationally, and professionally. Resilience is the foundation that allows us to ascend. Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, but it is always teaching us something. The Universe is so abundant and generous that all we just have to do is be alert, willing to receive, redirect accordingly, and do something with what we’re given. In other words, we just need to be resilient.

Melissa shared that her first memorable experience of building resilience happened as an early teenager. She then realized that her parents, whom she had put on a pedestal, were human and sometimes behaved from a place of woundedness. Gradually, she chose to heal the wounds in herself that reflected her parents and learned to independently navigate the world.

The second time Melissa remembered learning to navigate the world with resilience was when her older sister died just days before Melissa turned 21. As Melissa grieved losing her sister and shortly thereafter breaking off an engagement, she said resilience felt a lot like building a muscle.

“[Being] resilient in these moments in life, [were like] building this muscle of like, ‘Okay, what’s next? How can I get up from this? And how can I move forward? And, what am I here to learn?’ The experience [of] navigating through the loss of my sister taught me so much about the perspective of dealing with and [creating space for] what’s important.” – Melissa Martin

Fast Forward to 2012, when Melissa found herself suddenly jobless after having become the top earner on her sales team. Throughout the 15 years she has been in the financial industry, Melissa had placed her identity in her high performance and success. Due to the company restructuring, she lost her job. Even though this sudden change had nothing to do with her performance, she felt like everything in her world was falling apart. 

This was when she said she had her third encounter with resilience. 

“I was contemplating filing for bankruptcy and felt myself at ‘rock bottom.’ And I think it’s in those moments where we have opportunities to recognize redirection, right? … [It’s] like, ‘Okay, I thought that this was the path I was going to go on, but I’m being redirected somewhere else.’” – Melissa Martin

After applying for jobs and being turned down every time, she decided to lean into the “no’s” and love herself. She discovered that she was in a place where she really didn’t love her body and had a lot of shame around her sexuality. So, she trained for and entered a fitness competition because she thought it would make her feel good about herself.

As Melissa trained and competed, like me, she was introduced to supplements and the network marketing world. It wasn’t long before she built a thriving network marketing business. 

Eventually, she realized that even though she had abs and had built an impressive empire in network marketing, she was still in the same place — unhappy, disconnected from her body, and not living to her fullest potential in relationships. Melissa said her life finally started to shift when she recognized that she was the one that needed to change.

“It wasn’t until I looked around and said, ‘Well, I’m the common denominator,’ … and started to do the work [that] everything started to really change. I healed my relationship with money. I started to heal my relationship with my body — and for anybody that’s [receiving today], when you’re going through the [work], it doesn’t feel good, but when you get on the other side, it’s so worth it!” – Melissa Martin

In 2019, Melissa had her fourth experience with resilience. The network marketing company that she had been building for seven years and was over a million-dollar earner in, restructured. Once again, she lost all of her income. And six months later, she ended her marriage. Melissa said, at that moment, she felt like all that was left was a soul decision:

“All I was left with was me and my soul and a decision of, ‘What’s the choice, sister? Like, where are you going to go? And [how] are you going to grow from here?’ And so I did what any sane, single 40-year-old woman would do. I sold all of my [stuff], drove across the country, [and] moved to California with like a thousand dollars in my bank account. I started over, and 2020 was the best year ever!” – Melissa Martin

For Melissa starting over was the first time she felt complete and fully in energetic alignment with her desires and gifts. She was able to express herself more fully and fall in love with herself. Less than a year later, Melissa moved to Atlanta and began to see why she went through so many “rock bottom” moments.

“And here we are [today], it’s 2021, and I moved to Atlanta. … I am in a boujee, high-rise apartment in downtown Atlanta. I’m obsessed with my views. … I’m in love with my body. I’m tapping into my sexuality. I have these amazing women in my life. My business is thriving, and it’s like, ‘Yes, this is why I went through all that so I can have this [magical life].’ … That’s the short version of resilience.” – Melissa Martin

Isn’t that how life is? So mysterious but always working for our best interest if we keep seeking the lessons in life?! That’s what resilience boils down to — believing that the Universe is working things out in your favor even when they make no sense while partnering with whatever is going on in life. 

Lovely soul, just like Melissa, you have everything you need to heal and create the most magical fucking life. You just have to keep getting back up!

How to Make the Best Decision for Yourself

Part of healing and leveling up is making good decisions but also holding a space of compassion for yourself as you venture into new territory. Right? I mean, when we’re healing and choosing to make new decisions, we’re stepping into a version of ourselves we’ve never been. That means we’re making decisions we’ve probably never made. But this is an important part of ascension and something Melissa navigates beautifully by seeing three versions of herself. 

“[As I was healing my fear around money], I ultimately had to come back to a decision time and time again. … [Every time I had] to remind myself of the decision that my higher self [was] choosing. [And, here’s something that helped me,] I believe that we have three versions of ourselves. We have our past self, our current self, and our future self.” – Melissa Martin

Melissa described your past self as the one that wants to keep you safe and keeps a log of your past mistakes to guide future decisions. Your current self is the version of you making decisions at this moment. This self is often torn between staying safe and taking risks to step into your full potential. Finally, your future self is your highest self and fullest potential realized.

Melissa said if we really want to experience real transformation in our lives, we need to acknowledge our past self for trying to keep us safe but make decisions from the perspective of our future self.

“[Our past self] creates safety and predictability, which our current self loves. So when it comes to making decisions or reacting to things, nine times out of ten, we’re reacting based on our past experiences. However, if we want to experience real change in our life, and feel real empowerment, we have to think from the perspective of … our future self.” – Melissa Martin

Your past self will feed you feelings of fear, and your future self will feed you feelings of excitement and potential. That’s why when you start making decisions that align with your future self, they often feel both scary and exhilarating — you’re triggering your past self and your future self. 

Melissa said when she was at “rock bottom,” her past and future self were in conflict. 

“[Making decisions from the perspective of my future self] looks like not scrolling indeed.com at 2:00 AM, eating ice cream, looking for jobs. It means going to sleep, doing self-care, and then working on my business — saying, ‘No, I’m not going back to the corporate world. I’m not going to fall into the energy of scarcity around money. I’m going to alchemize my gifts and serve even bigger and trust that the Universe will deliver abundance to me.’” – Melissa Martin

The better you can differentiate between the voices of your past and future self, the more powerfully you will be able to ascend into the highest version of yourself. Remember, it’s okay for new decisions to feel both terrifying and life-giving. Just because fear accompanies a decision doesn’t mean it’s wrong — it might be confirmation that that’s the decision you need to make!

Why You Need to Listen to This Melissa Martin Podcast Episode Right Now…

Oh my goodness, sister, the wisdom Melissa shared today was absolutely enlightening! Once again, I couldn’t fit it all into this blog post without writing a book, so make sure you listen to the full interview. In the interview, you’ll hear about the five steps to re-writing your money stories so that you can welcome all the wealth you dream of and how understanding the five stages of grief can help you heal your relationship with money!

If you happen to be in the thick of it right now or you’ve hit your “rock bottom,” I want you to receive what Melissa said when I asked her for her closing thoughts:

“There is something here for you [in your ‘rock bottom’ moment]. It is happening for you. It is preparing you for something bigger. I know that it doesn’t feel that way, … but my invitation to you would be to sit with it and have that conversation with your higher self and trust that she knows the way. … That doesn’t mean the answers that come through are ones that you will particularly like… but if you can honor that truth … and just start taking one step [forward] every single day, girlfriend, magic is going to happen.” – Melissa Martin 

Divine Goddess, whatever you’re going through right now — a relationship ending, being jobless, or rethinking your life’s purpose — I want to echo what Melissa said. There is something for you here. Instead of fighting it, lean into it. Make decisions from the perspective of your highest self, and trust that the Universe is on your side!

Before I go, I want to tell you about something really exciting that is happening! Enrollment for my popular program Ascend, is opening later this month (February 2021)! If you’ve been looking for a group of women and a collection of soulful trainings to accompany you in your ascension journey, you’ve just found it. 

I created Ascend with the vision of giving women a safe container of community and growth for everything woo — from sexuality, childhood wounds, clearing chakras, re-writing money stories, and shifting from toxic masculine energy to vibrant feminine energy. If this sounds like something you’ve been looking for, hop on the waiting list to be the first to know when enrollment officially opens!

If you were inspired by Melissa’s story of resilience, make sure you connect with her on Instagram and check out her podcast, Boldly Courageous. And if you’re ready to grow your network marketing business with authenticity and ease, Melissa’s course, Ignite, is just the thing you’re looking for!

As always, thank you for joining me today. If you received anything from today’s message, please pass it along to someone who would be encouraged. Just take a screenshot of this and share it on Instagram. Tag us both — Melissa, @themelissamartin, and me, @iamtaylorsimpson — and let us know what your biggest takeaway was!  

Until next time, don’t forget to choose happiness because, well, why the fuck not?

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: