The Power of Storytelling - Episode 25
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Welcome back to The Power of Storytelling!
Amber and Melissa - thank you for sharing your stories, your words, and your journey with all of us.
This month’s episode reminded me that our greatest lessons and teachers are often the more difficult experiences from our past, and it’s often those difficult times that mold and shape us into becoming who we are meant to be. Those experiences can serve as triggers or motivators, and it’s up to us to decide what we’re going to do with them. They can either be used to fuel us and propel us forward, or hold us back. What will you choose?
It’s truly my honor to share the stories and provide the space here to share a little bit more about the change makers behind these words. I encourage you to check out Amber and Melissa after you listen to this week’s new episode.
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seek The Joy Podcast.
Amber Camille Liggon is a former business executive who was driven by ego and status. Like many ambitious millennials, she went to college, had corporate success, and made great money. Until one day she was fired from her six-figure job. With no savings and $120,000 in student loan debt it wasn’t long before her money ran out and Amber was facing homelessness.
In this week’s episode Amber shares her journey growing up in an abusive household, wanting to blend in, and ultimately - hitting rock bottom to find herself. She lost her high paying job, and when she couldn’t find a new job she lost her job, her friends, and most of her belongings. She had to sell everything in order to pay her rent, and at one point she was almost homeless. She realized that she had so much less than she thought she had. Ultimately, it was just Amber and her mess - and it was time to clean it up.
As Amber shares in this week’s episode, she found podcasts, and everything in her life changed. As she listened to other people’s stories of failure and success she realized she was not alone. Over time, she studied these stories and identified the common tools and techniques that would lead to a better life. Amber shares with us, “Podcasts saved my life by giving me the answers I need to become a better person and live up to my full potential.”
One year later, Amber turned her life around and her career. Today she works as a coach, consultant and podcaster spreading her message of compassion and vulnerability. Amber’s mission is to do more good for more people and each week she shares her message on her podcast, Amber on Podcasts.
“I was focused on the wrong things, and losing everything was the only way I was able to realize my shortcomings. I did what any desperate millennial does, I searched the internet for answers and when I didn’t find the answers there, I started listening to podcasts. I listened to other people share their stories that were similar to mine. Stories of trauma, neglect, abuse, loss and failure, of evolution and triumph. It was like the sky opened up and this big bright light shined down on me and said, here are your answers, this is what you need to do! So I listened and I learned, and I realized that I wasn’t alone.”
Melissa Bates is a Certified Health Coach, Certified Eating Psychology Coach, and Personal Trainer that was put on this earth to help other females Rock The Hell out of their health while maintaining an enjoyable lifestyle. She’s a 34 and a Food Loving Bad A$$, and in this week’s new episode she shares the story behind how she became a health coach.
When Melissa was in 11th grade she developed Bulimia, in response to pressures she was feeling around her to become a better and faster athlete, and more “beautiful.” In her senior year of high school she stopped throwing up, and instead became a hard-core dieter, and this stayed with her until she was 32. Melissa transitioned from dieting into chasing the body-building dream, and once she was deep in that world she got sick, and eventually she was diagnosed with IBS-C. She had to stop her body-building career, and instead train her body to eat and digest food again.
Through trial and error, she’s have finally figured out how to live her healthiest life and love her skin inside and out. Intuitive eating gave Melissa her life back because it gave her the power to see that she is more than a body, she is more than the food she eats, and she’s more than how many hours she puts in at the gym. It taught her to appreciate her body, too. Today she’s about a size 14, and before there’s no way Melissa would have been comfortable or confident in her body. She’s more confident now than she’s ever been, and she owes that confidence to taking the time to heal herself.
In addition to her 1:1 coaching, Melissa hosts a weekly podcast called The Wellness Wolf that talks about all things Intuitive Eating, Mindset, Movement, and Empowerment. At the moment, she’s creating a new 12 week group program Called “Revamp, Recharge, and Reclaim You” for business entrepreneurs that feel stuck and lack confidence in their nutrition and business. It is geared to build solid foundational relationships within food, body, and mind in order to fully step into their confident self and excel in their business!
“I know how much power I got from healing my relationship with food, and I feel like a lot of people don’t understand how suppressed you are when you are struggling with that relationship. When I was able to heal my relationship with food I was able to not only show up for myself, my business, and the beautiful people around me, but I also earned this new energy for life! I feel like the sun is inside of me, and it’s shining out to other people.”
To learn more about Amber check out her podcast, Amber on Podcasts where she releases a new episode every Thursday and on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook and on her website at www.mytalkingdollars.com
To learn more about Melissa and her coaching services visit her website www.melissabbates.com and on Instagram @thebizwolf_ and you can find her Podcast The Wellness Wolf here
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