289: How 5 Everyday People Transformed Their Lives Through 7-Day Challenges, Inner Work, and a Year of Consistent Growth

In this special episode of The Light Watkins Show, Light brings together five individuals from his online coaching program, The Year of Transformation, to share what really happens when you commit to inner change — one challenge at a time.

Each of these guests started the program feeling stuck, burned out, or simply craving something more. Over the course of a year, they all participated in dozens of seven-day challenges designed to spark personal growth without blowing up their lives. The result? Real transformation through small, consistent steps.

From cold showers and writing poetry to letting go of vices and launching new creative projects, these participants pushed past excuses, embraced discomfort, and discovered parts of themselves they never knew existed. And they did it all while holding each other accountable through a tight-knit community that became like family.

You’ll hear honest reflections on the obstacles they faced, the surprising breakthroughs they had, and the moments they almost quit — but didn’t. Whether it was giving up potato chips, performing stand-up comedy, or learning to forgive themselves, each story shows how powerful it can be to say yes to growth, even when you don’t know what’s on the other side.

This isn’t about overnight success or radical life overhauls. It’s about the “tortoise approach” to change — slow, steady, and deeply effective. If you’re ready to create your own scavenger hunt for the soul, this episode will show you what’s possible when you show up for yourself.

Transcript

BB: “So I was three months into a brand new job after having been in the field of education for 22 and a half years burnt out and I had about three months of vacation between my former job and my new job. And I had gotten into some bad habits of just being a little bit on the lazier side letting myself slide, I honestly, I think I tried to pass it off as I gave myself the okay to kind of slack off because I was burnt out because I was so tired.”

SD: “I had broken my foot and I've been running for over 30 years. Pretty avid runner. And not only could I not run, but I wasn't able to do any physical fitness at all and I didn't wanna make unhealthy choices.”

SP: “I had gone through a breakup. It was a 10 year relationship, and it was like on and off. And then I just was like, oh, I'm done. I need to move. I was waiting on a job I had had applied for this job and I was waiting like two years and it wasn't going through. And I thought, I'm just gonna book a ticket to Spain and go live there and teach English for a year and just so I can really start fresh. And then I saw the little yellow butterflies. I worked with a girl called Grace and she had butterflies on her notebook. And I remember saying, oh, you like butterflies? She's like, yes. And then you came out the next day with your advertisement for the year of transformation. He had a butterfly on it, and I was like, oh, maybe this is what I need to do. So I got a refund from the Spain trip, and I put it towards signing up to this year of transformation.”

[INTRODUCTION]

A little over a year ago, I got the internal nudge to create what I can only describe as a year long scavenger hunt for the soul. I called it the year of transformation. I. And it consisted of dozens of seven day, many challenges that were spread across four, three month long phases with increasing difficulty.

I've spent many years challenging myself in various ways, and I thought there's gotta be someone else out there who enjoys challenging themselves, but I wasn't sure how many people would be up for it. Mainly because, let's be honest, a year is a long ass time to stay committed to something that doesn't pay you a salary. So I knew this was not going to be easy for everyone, but to my delight, about 30 souls answered the call and the adventure began, and these were people from all walks of life with one thing in common.

They felt stuck and they wanted to transform their lives from the inside out without blowing their lives up, without waiting for crisis to force a change. Instead, they chose to show up for themselves in small but consistent ways. And the program presented them with a choose your own adventure approach to growth.

There were challenges like. Taking a cold shower for seven days or giving up a personal vice, or writing poetry, or starting a podcast or having a hard conversation, or performing a five minute long standup comedy set, going offline for a weekend traveling with just a backpack and no plan.

 And so in today's episode. I'm gonna introduce you to five participants who crossed the finish line,

and the reason that I wanna share their experiences with you is to inspire you to challenge yourself in small ways wherever you are in the world. Because most of us want to transform in some way. We just don't quite know how. We don't have a roadmap, we don't have a lot of accountability 

 And so hopefully hearing their story will inspire you to create a scavenger hunt for your soul. And this also coincides with a book that I wrote about the experience called the Year You Transform, , 

which is designed to help you curate your own year long challenge, or even just a month long challenge right where you are. I'll share more details about the book at the end of the episode because it's not available on Amazon or in bookstores, so make sure you stick around for that information. 

For now, enjoy these real life stories with real people who experienced real transformation in small ways.

[00:04:05] LW: All right, on the podcast today, I have some participants from my year of transformation online coaching program. You guys have probably seen me talk about this or post about it, but it's basically a year long program where people who've enrolled in this program participate in a series of seven day challenges.

And the idea is to transform from the inside out. Gradually over the course of a year. When I started this program, I envisioned doing a podcast interview with the people who have gone through the 50 plus challenges throughout the year just to get an idea of, I. Of where they were, when they started, where they were, when they finished, how that approach to transformation looks.

I call it in the program, I call it the tortoise approach to change as opposed to the hare approach. The hare approach meaning get into the best shape of my life. So I'm gonna do this extreme thing starting on January 1st, and then what ends up happening is I end up flaming out by March 1st, and I'm barely even going to the gym anymore because I took on too much, too fast.

Or waiting around for what I call the crisis approach to change, which is, you know, something external ends up blowing up my life. I get an illness, I lose a bunch of money, my partner leaves me or something like this, and that forces change upon me. And so this is the third approach. And so this third approach is what I call the gradual approach to change the tortoise approach to change, where you just do a little bit at a time and without even realizing how much you're changing or transforming after, after these small inputs of, of just stretching yourself just beyond your comfort zone.

You look back and you see, oh my God, you know, the way I see myself, the way I see life, the way I engage with challenging things has indeed changed. So that was the theory when I started this coaching program. This is the first time I've done this coaching program and, and the people who are on the podcast today, Bobbi Stephanie, Pamela Sky, George they started this, probably not knowing how it was gonna turn out either. And so now here we are coming back together exactly one year later after we all started. So yeah, I'm just gonna be asking you all questions to see what your experiences were like. And so the first question to kick things off and sort of to introduce each of you I'm curious to hear what was going on in your life when you decided to join this program.

So, just a quick little synopsis, maybe who you are, where you live, what your lifestyle is kind of like, and, what was going on. What inspired you to want to shake things up a bit. So Bobbi let's start with you. 

[00:07:20] BB: Okay. All right. Thank you. So I was three months into a brand new job.

After having been in the field of education for 22 and a half years burnt out and I had about three months of vacation between my former job and my new job. And I had gotten into some, what I'll say, bad habits of just, you know, being a little bit on the, the lazier side letting myself slide, I honestly, I think I tried to pass it off as like I, I gave myself the okay to kind of slack off in some areas because I had, 'cause I was burnt out because I was so tired, because I was transitioning and I think I gave myself a little too much leeway. And so I, it was my attempt to try and like reel it back in.

I knew there were things that I've been wanting to do, things I wanted to work on that I just wasn't getting around to, and I had every excuse in the book. So this, this was an opportunity to, to reel it back in. I had found your community the previous July, the capitalist insiders community, and was doing a lot of the challenges there and reaping benefits from those individually.

So just the idea of being able to do something on a grander scale with some guidance and coaching really appealed to me at that point in that transition. 

[00:08:26] SD: So I am from the cornfields in Indiana and a year ago at this time, unfortunately, I had broken my foot and I've been running for over 30 years.

Pretty avid runner. And not only could I not run, but I wasn't able to do any really physical fitness at all. And it's been a passion of mine. I graduated from college with a degree in it and I didn't wanna make unhealthy choices to distract myself. So this program seemed like perfect timing and healthy outlet to kinda get through my discomfort and grow maybe in ways that I wasn't familiar with.

And it also just happened to be the, when I met light to sign the contract, it was my birthday. So that jumped out. Jumped out as a great gift to give myself, and I'll be wrapping that up on this Thursday actually will be the entire year of my birthday since we started. 

[00:09:36] SP: So I'm from Sydney and I had gone through a breakup. It was. A 10 year relationship, and it was like on and off. And then I just was like, oh, I'm done. I need to move. I was waiting on a job I had had applied for this job and I was waiting like two years and it wasn't going through. And I thought, I'm just gonna book a ticket to Spain and go live there and teach English for a year and just so I can really start fresh and transform.

And then I had been listening to your podcast since the Pandemic and I had read your book Bliss More. It taught me how to meditate and I'd always listen to all these people inspiring me through your podcast. And I was like, I wonder how I could get on there one day and what would I be able to, what would I have to do to get on there and be one of those people That has an amazing story.

And then I, I was about to go to Spain and then I, I got the job, the job that I've been waiting for, for two years. It got approved and then I, I was like, oh, so what should I do? Should I take this dream job or should I go to Spain and start fresh? And then I went to work and I saw I had to overnight in Brisbane.

And then I saw the little yellow butterflies. I worked with a girl called Grace and she had butterflies on her notebook. And I remember saying, oh, you like butterflies? She's like, yes. And then you came out the next day with your advertisement for the year of transformation. He had a butterfly on it, and I was like, oh, maybe this is what I need to do.

So I got a refund for what I could from the Spain trip, and I put it towards signing up to this year of transformation. And then on my last day at work, at my old job, this little boy, he looked like an angel, like from a Renaissance painting. He was saying to his mom, oh, I like her name Skye. It's like, whose favorite character from a cartoon?

And then at the end of the flight, he came up to me and he said, oh, I found this ring and it was this silver ring on the plane. And I grabbed and I looked at it and it had a little butterfly on it. And I thought, oh my God. Like I'm really making the right decision with this choice to, I don't have to move overseas to have a transformation.

I can do it through this course. And yeah, now I'm gonna be on your podcast or I am on your podcast, so hopefully I'm a worthy person to be on it.

[00:12:16] LW: All right, beautiful. What about you, Pamela? 

[00:12:18] PB: When I started, when, when this was introduced to me, the, the impetus behind signing on was because I just felt like I needed another project because for the last 20 years when I left full-time work, I had been looking for things to fill my life.

So I, you know, did various and sundry things, went back to school took on different types of work just all kinds of things. And then when this came along, I felt like it was an opportunity for me to fill my life up with some interesting, interesting activities. I didn't know what it was gonna be, actually. I just felt compelled to do it. 

[00:12:57] LW: We had worked together before too. You did come down to Mexico City, I think, what, a year before or something like that? And we got a chance to work together in the meditation context. So we had a little bit of a relationship, a working relationship prior to that. 

[00:13:11] PB: Yeah. And really the reason I came to the meditation training was for the same, it was the same I was compelled just like I was to do this transformation because when I went to the meditation training, I didn't wanna do that.

I just thought, I don't, I don't need to do that. That's not something I wanna do. But something in me kept saying, you, you should, you should, you should try this. And it was life changing for me. So that's why I followed my inner guidance when it said you should try this transformation event and has, it has proven to be a wonderful plan.

[00:13:46] LW: Awesome. George, where were you in your life prior to starting this year of transformation? 

[00:13:53] GP: Yeah, so really grateful to be here. I, before I started this year of transformation, I was in a completely different place in my life than I am in right now. I was in a place in my life that felt pretty good. Honestly, I was wanting to continue to put growth and evolution in the first position in my life. You know, I was in a place where, you know, I've been in a relationship that I've been in since I was four months sober. I had you know, a business that I had been running for the last like seven years. And things seem to be going along pretty smoothly. And, you know, I, I won't get into it now 'cause you asked me where I was before, but all that sort of changed over the last year and I'm really grateful that, similar to Pamela. She was just mentioning, I just had that nudge to do this with you because I had done a coaching program with you right before this that had made such an impact on my business and my life that I wanted to continue the trajectory that, that had sort of set for me.

And so I was just getting that feeling inside that I couldn't, I couldn't really let go of. It was like, you know, the, the year of transformation. It was a big investment. So I was like, thinking, you know, should I make another big investment into another coaching program like this?

And as you taught me, you know, part of, the way that our heart works is like, you know, it's sort of those little things that are good for us that we just can't stop thinking about. And I knew this was gonna be good for me because I had done your other program and it was so good for me in my life, and I just couldn't stop thinking about this.

Like, every time you know, I would take a shower, I'd just be out and about. The thought would come into my awareness and I remember eventually I reached out to you and I was just like, I can't stop thinking about this program. I feel like I'm supposed to be there. And we hopped on a call and like I said, I was in this place that, you know, so many things had been going on in my life for a while and had looked the same and all that changed.

And so I'm super grateful that I followed that nudge inside to sign up for the program. Awesome. 

[00:16:01] LW: So just to give the listener a, a better sense of the, this program that we're referring to, It's done in four phases. In each phase, you're responsible for completing 12 seven day challenges. And these are challenges such as gratitude challenge, origami challenge, no complaining for seven days.

Addiction free going seven days without whatever the thing is that you wanna stop doing. Phone free challenge, a sugar free challenge. Phase two comedy challenge. Forgiveness challenge. Purge challenge. Get random people flowers. Challenge hand washing your clothes challenge something called the Backpack Challenge.

Scary, yes. Joke writing challenge creating a book outline challenge. And then phase four, and I'm just reading out some of them just to give you an idea. Apology challenge. 24 Hour Fasting Challenge, cooking challenge, cold plunge challenge. Spontaneous traveling challenge, create a podcast challenge, do a standup comedy performance challenge.

So you all have completed a lot of those challenges. And just looking back, what were some of the challenges that stood out for you in terms of the impact that it had on your life? Sky. 

[00:17:22] SP: Wow. So many, I would say even the ones that seem ridiculous at first, like the cold shower, I was like, what is this gonna do for me?

Just freezing my butt off? But what it taught me was resilience. And then like the rest of the day, I would just feel like I could handle anything, any uncomfortable situation, any stress. Like I've had a cold shower, even like it was pouring down raining. I'm like, oh, that this is fine. It's beautiful.

It's better than being in the water. yeah, that, that's probably had the most change, like a ripple effect. And I still have a, a cold end to my shower till today because I feel like it's such a beautiful way to remind me of just accept what comes and I can, you know, make me more resilient and. Better able to, to be present in the moment for the rest of the day.

Stephanie? 

[00:18:21] SD: I started off with origami and I'm gonna copy you about resilience. Sky. I had an entire graveyard of my little creatures. But I think that was probably one of the first challenges that I learned to really slow down and be aware of what I was doing. And then I, one of them that I did was at an airport and I actually had like a crowd of people watching me create this origami.

I wish I would've done a few more prior to that one 'cause it was my second one and I was sweating. But, yeah, I think it's, it's just something that I would not have done on my own. And once you learn to do it, it's, it's fun. It can be a good conversation topic. 

[00:19:15] LW: Uh,

Bobbi any challenges that st stood out for you?

I know you were really big into the origami as well. 

[00:19:20] BB: I love the origami. I actually bought, bought a whole big pack of paper to keep doing it as a sort of a meditative practice long term. But I, I think Skye said it well. There were some challenges that I was just like, okay, I'm gonna do it. But I don't really quite understand like how this is gonna help me. I was very focused on me and where I was trying to, at least I thought I wanted to get to. But it was interesting as the four phases went on and some of the challenges kind of built off of one another, and then it was like, oh, okay, I see we're taking those small steps 'cause I'm, I'm big with the small step concept of, you know, working toward a huge change through small steps. I was like, okay, this is what we're doing. We're taking those small steps to get there to build that, you know, part of it's the resilience part of it is to build the the capacity. And to, I think for me, one of the biggest things with all of the challenges was understanding that a lot of times I was my own hurdle to get over in one capacity or another.

But there's a lot of things like the gratitude challenge and the sincere compliments challenge and the forgiveness challenge. And that really resonated with me. And I've actually, this might sound a little silly 'cause this is my OCD side. I have actually made to do items in my calendar for once a month to make sure that if I haven't already done one of those things, I want to continue to do that. 

For me, it was impactful internally, but also I could see the impact it had on others as well as I was doing those particular challenges. 

And you know, like a lot of folks, I didn't love the cold challenge. I might've actually really disliked it, but I know the, the practicality of it. I know the importance of it from a, from a health standpoint. And so, you know, I've resigned myself to alternating between hot and cold. That seems to be something I can handle as I'm working toward trying to take cold showers.

it's one of those things where you, you start to find ways that I think, 'cause I've done so many challenges now, I, I find myself like. Having conversations almost internally with myself, like, no, you can do this and here's how we're gonna do this, and how, like, almost turning things into a challenge in my day-to-day life now, because, you know, like, this isn't that different than this particular challenge that we did and, and we can do this 

so I, I think in that respect, it's really helped me. You know, again, it's partly that resilience piece, but I think it also lends itself to helping us overcome challenges as they come in all shapes and sizes. And I think it sort of sets us up for that next life change. And as we heard, all of us kind of go through the, where we were with our individual lives at the time and we all had something that we were either working around, working toward overcoming.

And I think it just sort of sets us up to be able to do that. 'cause life is not static. We'll have more of those crossroads.

[00:21:50] LW: Hmm. Wonderful. 

Pamela standout challenges from the year?

[00:21:54] PB: Well, you know, I gave up potato chips.

[00:21:57] LW: Are you still not, are you still not eating potato chips? I 

[00:21:59] PB: haven't had any potato chips since the first phase. 

[00:22:03] LW: Wow. 

[00:22:04] PB: That's wonderful. Because if you knew my addiction to potato chips, I have friends who could tell you stories about potato chips for me. But no, I have not had any. And the other surprising challenge for me, something that I probably never would've ever considered was cold showers.

But I have since I was, I received a diagnosis six years ago, had issues with pain, joint pain all over, and the cold showers for me have reduced that tremendously. And for that reason, I continue to do cold showers, sometimes even twice a day. So, and I don't know that I would've come to that realization without this challenge because cold showers or cold plunges was something that I never even considered.

So yes, that has really stood out for me. And and I'm really happy to, to report that if I go on a, you know, a, a hike if I hike 30 miles a week, but I don't have the pain that I had before, which I had to reduce because, because the pain was so tremendous. So, yeah. And it's a natural pain reliever for me, and I like that.

[00:23:18] LW: Amazing. George, you alluded to the fact that you're in a different place than you were a year ago, and I'm sure we'll get to this, but you're in literally a different location. You're on the other side of the world from where you were. You're no longer in the marriage that you were in when you started this.

What were some of the challenges that you found that sort of helped you get clear about how things needed to change in your life? 

[00:23:42] GP: Yeah, well, you know, when I signed up for the program and I saw, I went to your website and I saw you list out all the challenges, you listed some of them. And that was one of the things that really drew me to this program because you know, I've been sober now since August 7th, 2011, and one of the things that I've done is a lot of the different things that you were suggesting in the challenge.

And I know when I do these things regularly, how good they make me feel, right? Because I'm getting myself outta my comfort zone. And so that way then when I'm sort of fo in a position where I have to find that one choice that's gonna get me outta my comfort zone and, you know, I. I have to do the hard thing, whether it's have the hard conversation or you know, make an apology, you know, for not being perfect.

It's like I was, I was more easily able to do that going through everything that I went through over the last year because I had been in the habit of it because of these challenges. Right. And even like, I'm thinking like the Backpack challenge, it's like the, you know, it's amazing how these type of programs work when you sign up for them.

Honestly. It's like, you know, you, you hear exactly what you need to hear. You get exactly what you need to get, and you know, you just kind of go into it not really knowing what's gonna happen, but you always get exactly what you need. And that's what happened to me. I mean, I went into this obviously not knowing, like you said, I was gonna be living on the other side of the world.

I wasn't gonna be in the same relationship I'd been in since I was four months sober. And so I. The thing is, is that I started, before any of that began happening, this program started, right? And obviously there were things that were leading up to that, but I didn't know any of this was gonna be my life today.

And because of that, I started just going through these challenges, not really knowing, you know, feeling like my life was pretty good. But one of the challenges that I started and I was really excited, I, for some, again, I am sure it's not a coincidence, that when I was looking at the initial list of challenges, one of the ones that really stuck out to me was the Backpack Challenge, right?

Your book Travel Light and getting everything down to a backpack, that always inspired me. So I started doing that before any of this happened. And then, you know, I, I went through a divorce and because of that, like I had to move out of the home. We had bought together and I ended up. You know, being the, the best choice being to move all the way from the United States to Australia Right.

For the time. And because I'd already gotten all my stuff down to a backpack, like I was able to be in a position where that transition was much smoother. Right. And you know, with the, with the, again, the three of the challenges that really stuck out were the scary Yes. Challenge, because I had to make a lot of scary yeses during this time because there was so much unknown in my life.

And you know, also that scary Yes. Challenge helped me to find that as I was saying, one choice that would get me outta my comfort zone instead of trying to hold onto something. Right. That was that. That and be rigidly attached to, for instance, my relationship and you know, end up causing my partner who I was going through the divorce with more suffering.

Like, I didn't have to do that because, you know, I had these sort of, I had this good orderly direction that you had given us in the challenges. And then the last two I want to mention are the hard conversations and apologies because, you know, I had to take responsibility. Like, that was one of the biggest things is, you know, I, I've been meditating for a long time and doing a lot of inner work and I think that, you know, that stuff's really awesome, but I'm realizing more and more is like.

If I really want to have a spiritual experience, it's like I learned in recovery, like I need to go clear away the wreckage of my past. And the truth is, is like the relationship stuff that I went through, a lot of that, you know, was a lot of those situations were situations where I really needed to learn a lesson because of the role, right?

The responsibility that I had in those situations. And this program helped me not displace blame, take responsibility, go have hard conversations, and apologize for my role in those things. 

[00:28:06] PB: Mm-hmm. 

[00:28:07] LW: Beautiful. Yeah. And just for clarification purposes, 'cause I don't want people thinking you have to do these particular challenges.

What happened was you were presented with a menu of, I don't know, 18 or 19 or 20 challenges per phase, and you get to sort of curate your own adventure, which challenges you want to take on, and you're encouraged to take on challenges. Are genuinely challenging for you. So if you don't like cold, then maybe you do the cold plunge.

If you have a hard time saying yes to things that scare you, then maybe you do the scary yes challenge, et cetera. But there's another component to it. So aside from the challenges, which is one thing, there's a whole sort of community component to this where we are having these coaching calls every other week.

You're broken up into pods and with, with a handful of other participants. And those of us who could converge onto Mexico City came for an in-person meditation training, which gave us an opportunity to connect in person.

So talk a little bit about your, experience in the community and how that may have helped you along your process this year? Bobbi 

[00:29:22] BB: Well, I really love the community. Actually, one of the things I'm gonna miss now that the year of this is up and I think there's a bunch of us that feel that way.

I mean, I had been in the Happiness Insiders community before and had a sense of, you know, that community that it offers. But this was, you know, a whole nother level up. Because it was our little group sharing our progress on all the different challenges that we did and, and cheering each other on and, and commenting and providing feedback and I think.

I think it's fair to say many of us have sort of made a lot of really good connections, maybe even friendships in some cases through this program. And supports, as you know, we're going through some challenges that maybe really did truly challenge us. And we, I just found it really, really great to have people, you know, it, it, the coaching calls, but even on the platform itself and through the pods.

I think it was just a fantastic way to, to connect and support one another. And like I said, I'm gonna miss it. 

[00:30:13] LW: Stephanie, did you make any good connections this year? 

[00:30:16] SD: I did for sure. I have to kind of go back and tell on myself a little bit. I wasn't sure what I was gonna think about the connections, but in fact, I was honestly planning on not going to the retreat.

And early on I had reached out to Skye 'cause she had made a beautiful comment about liking to bring people's inner soul out by doing their makeup. And I don't usually wear makeup, so she said, well, I'll be at the retreat in October. And as everybody grew on me and we started having great friendships I reached out to her and she actually did come and do my makeup at the retreat with my hodgepodge of three things I had been given over the last five years.

She made it work and she's really talented at it. So, and I mean, everybody has been just amazing. That's probably one of my. Favorite parts and I hope that I was able to contribute. I know I wanted to kind of be more vulnerable when I joined this, and at first I definitely wanted to kind of stay behind closed doors.

But everybody's super welcoming and it feels like a family. 

[00:31:38] SP: Yeah. Thanks Stephanie. Everyone was so lovely and it was great to meet everybody in person, or the people that could attend the meditation retreat in Mexico. I felt like seeing everybody's faces and hearing everybody's story and what they were going through and the challenges every second week really kept me focused and motivated.

cause I did miss I think one or two because of work, and I, I realized that. I kind of started slacking off. So it was really helpful to remember that we're all in this together. And I loved hearing even Stephanie's feedback. It was so encouraging to me when you reached out to me even Bobbi as well, like in Mexico, and looking out for everybody and making sure that we're having a good time.

And it was beautiful. I think a lot of the time as well. I feel like I, I'm alone. I don't know if this is a common thing with spiritual quote unquote people sometimes where I felt like I'm, it's hard for me to connect on a spiritual deep level in my everyday life. Even some friends that I've had for years that we kind of were not as close anymore.

So it was really nice to meet people that are on a similar journey to me where I am in this stage of my life and that get this sort of thing and that wanna transform, that wanna better themselves, that want to have more self discovery, be more aware. So yeah, it's 

[00:33:14] GP: valuable, very valuable. 

I don't know, you know, how I would've made it through this last year, honestly, with all the changes without this community.

Like, just knowing that there were these people here that, you know, could love me through the things that I was going through, and just a safe place. Really, that's what I'm most grateful for is the community that you've built. Like, because it's a safe space for me. Like, I'm not gonna lie over this last year.

You know, with my relationship ending, like that was my best friend and it would been really hard. And you know, part of it was, you know, I just needed a safe space, a community that could inspire me to keep growing, but also where I could just where down. Right? Because it's a lot of times the breakdown that leads to the breakthrough.

And like I remember on one of the last calls with you, it was just like my, you know, it's like my nervous system felt just safe. And the minute I got on the call, like I didn't even know, right? Because it's been a little while since, you know, I went to the breakup that, you know, there was still some pain that was deep in there.

And the minute I got on the call, it was like, it just all came out and I was able to cry and everybody, you know, was able to just listen and allow me to feel seen and heard and give me the opportunity to feel those feelings so I could heal. And I'm just so grateful for that because if I didn't have a community like this, like.

This experience over the last year would've been much harder and it would've been much easier for me to addict and avoid and distract away from my feelings. And so I'm grateful that this community provided a space where when those uncomfortable sensations arose, I was able to stay with them and felt like I could release them and process them with you guys.

[00:34:57] LW: Did anybody else have a moment of breaking down or breaking through or vulnerability that sort of surprised you during the year? Just in general with any of the challenges, maybe, you know, with whatever was going on out in your life outside 

[00:35:14] SP: With the art challenge? I had a breakthrough breakdown, breakthrough. I just started to paint myself and as I painted myself and while meditating afterwards, and I. I just started crying and crying and like, I woke up in the middle of the night just weeping, and I, I realized that I finally had loved myself or I was like coming to self-love and I accepting myself, appreciating myself, and I found myself like a deeper sense of self love.

And maybe I didn't really have it before. Like, I didn't even realize that I had been missing that. And that's, yeah, it was bizarre. And that's probably the reason why I painted myself something that I haven't done before. I'd always like paint other people or draw other people, so yeah, and it was like a photo that was really up close and with my face and my eyes.

I couldn't really escape myself. That was a really beautiful. Awakening, I guess, realization. 

[00:36:22] LW: Can anyone think of a moment where they realized during the year, wow, this is actually working for me? Was there something that was happening in and around your life where you had that epiphany during, during the year?

[00:36:37] BB: I think, I mean, I, I, I do think I probably had many realizations along those lines throughout, but for me, the, the, the big epiphany came when I was working on the online course, which is sort of my, one of my final create Your Owns. It was a my capstone project, if you will. I, I wrote that course years ago.

Years ago, and. When I left my previous job, I had that three months off that I mentioned. I, I was like, oh, I work on that course during those three months and I didn't touch it. It's just, I've always excuse after excuse after excuse. It's too hard. It's just, I don't have enough time. I don't know enough about the technology.

I, I could come up with a million excuses. And I think in part because it was in that fourth phase, there were no more excuses. I was being very honest with myself about the fact that I was, it was me and my excuses that were preventing me from getting it done. And the technology was not as big and scary as what in my head I was making it out to be.

And I literally created that course in a weekend digital detox weekend. But I, I'm so proud of that course and I'm, so, I. Psyched to do more of them, and I've got an outline for another one. It like, I now, it, it's that momentum that I needed to show myself that not only is it doable, but I can do it.

And you know, it. And it's, it, it, it didn't take as long, it wasn't as big and scary. And, and so that, that's been the piece I've wanted to do to really grow my, my yoga studio businesses is these online courses. And I've been my own obstacle. And, and that was, for me, that was really the one of the biggest epiphanies.

And I'm on a little bit of a roll now, which is really exciting. 

[00:38:18] LW: I, I wanna talk more about this excuses. Pamela, you kicked the potato chip habit. You started a podcast, you created a photo book about your life. What do we get wrong about excuses? Just meaning regular people who kind of have the idea to do do these kinds of things, but we never quite get around to doing them. What is it that we're, what story are we telling ourself and this you can speak to your experience with this that you have to sort of navigate or overcome. 

[00:38:48] PB: Yeah. You know, honestly for me you know, I just found myself procrastinating a lot and just not doing it. Things that needed to be done, it was easy for me to just shove it along because I, I think I said this during one of the calls that if it's not something I'm getting paid for, then I didn't really feel the urgency to do it.

Even though there were a list of things that I needed to do, I had a, I mean, over the last 20 years I've reduced my workload to just two days a week from a, you know, five days, you know, 12 to 14 hour days, to just two days a week. Then just wasting a lot of time when there were lots of things that I wanted to do.

And along the way I did check off some of the boxes. But for those, for, for others it was just procrastination. It was just easy to shove it aside. 

[00:39:44] LW: And Stephanie, I know you had to overcome a desire to quit the program throughout the program which you posted about. How has your relationship with excuses evolved over the year?

[00:39:55] SD: I think for me it's just really powerful to realize, I mean, I can kind of equate it to running a marathon a little bit. You are not always gonna feel like you are not always gonna be excited to get out there and do stuff. And I think that's, yeah, it's just huge that I don't have to, you don't have to be excited about it.

Just start doing it. And a lot of times once I did that, an example of mine was messing around on Canva to write a small little book. And I've always considered myself pretty tech challenged and not very creative. And once I started doing it, I proved myself wrong. And I am looking forward to kind of carrying that motto forward.

[00:40:45] LW: Is there an accomplishment or a challenge that you're most proud of from the year that you, you completed? 

[00:40:52] SD: I was very proud of the book for sure. I think the forgiveness challenge, I'm not sure if I'm most proud of that, but that was something that caught me by surprise. I think a lot of these challenges you might go in with it with a certain mindset thinking, oh, this isn't gonna really benefit me, or it's busy work, or, you know, so something, and you might be shocked what comes out of it, but I decided for the forgiveness challenge, I was gonna start with myself. And I didn't realize I ended up doing all seven days on myself.

I just didn't realize, I think it's easy, at least for me to think that maybe I had forgiven some of the things from my past. But to take the time and be very attentive in writing it out, there's something just very powerful to uncover that maybe there was unfinished, you know, some things left unfinished there and.

I'm proud to make that discovery, I guess, and have learned that I, I mean, I don't know that I would've ever uncovered it honestly if it hadn't been for that. 

[00:42:06] LW: Ooh, I like that prompt too. Skye, what's something that, caught you by surprise? A challenge or an experience that you had?

I think doing 

[00:42:15] SP: a lot, a lot of challenges in such a small time, like 12 challenges in three months. I was like, oh my God, how am I going to do all of this? But I found that to avoid one, I would do another one. And you kind of, they kind of all fed each other. Like even the, the, the children's book that I wrote that was to avoid writing the play.

Continuing to finish the playoff. And then because I finished the book, I was like, okay, now I have to work on the play. 'cause I had nothing else left to do. So it was like, and then it gave me that confidence too, to return to the play and get it done. So, a lot of the things I achieved was in a procrastinating, in a productive way.

Yeah. I, and surprising, I, yeah, surprising that I could do, I could publish a children's book on my own without getting a publisher, without hiring someone to do the illustrations. Like all of these things that I, I would, I was consider myself really unex savvy and. So to, to be able to do this. And now I look at everything, at all challenges as as a lesson I could learn.

So even now, creating my website, I was like, oh, I have no idea how to create a website. And then I'm thinking, oh, I'm gonna take it as a challenge. I'm gonna learn how to do it. It's like instead of going to pay somebody to do it for me, I actually get to learn for free how to do it myself. And I know that I'll feel better after it.

I'll be more proud of it. It would give me more confidence to accept the next challenge. I've also discovered that the more I do, the more I have space to invite new opportunities into my life. So I'm finding like, okay, I've got 10 things to do. Let's get these done as soon as possible, because then there'll be another 10 better, more beautiful opportunities.

Entering my life. So I kind of, I feel like I'm on that sort of path and also honoring what the universe brings to me. By, by completing what I start, yes. And appreciating the challenge that is presented to me so I can grow and improve and evolve as a human being. 

[00:44:39] LW: Beautiful. Does anyone else have a challenge that caught them by surprise?

[00:44:44] PB: Writing poetry? Well, I didn't, I didn't really, didn't think I could do that, but I was impressed with the things I came up with. But yeah, it, it's funny, these challenges, whenever I decided to do them what I needed to complete, it came to me. So with the poetry thing, whatever I would, I would wake up with some idea on my mind.

That's what I wrote about. And the same thing with the podcast or just creating content for social media. Not something that I really wanted to do, but it came to me. And it's been exciting working through the process of, you know, figuring that out and finding out that it's really not that challenging at all.

It's just a matter of learning it and doing it. So yeah, it was a lot of fun. I really had a, a lot of fun with poetry and, and the podcast. 

[00:45:38] LW: Nice. George, how has participating in this program reoriented your approach to challenges in general? 

[00:45:46] GP: You know, for me, this program, well, one of the things is that with the challenges, I, I was able to, I.

Try a lot of new challenges that I hadn't, I hadn't done before. you know, I had done a lot of the, the, the, the certain challenges that were similar to the things I was taught when I first got sober. Like the, you know, the physical movement challenge, the meditation, those sorts of ones. But the ones, some of the ones that really stuck out to me, actually one of the recent ones is the community service challenge.

Right. And that's something that, you know, one of the things that reoriented was just my thinking around community service because, you know, when, before I got sober, you know, I, I got arrested and part of a. The program that I got put on was community service. And so like I'd always, you know, been tried to give back to the recovery community and been in service that way.

But like the idea of going out into the community and just performing some sort of a community service act, like in my case, I, I chose to pick up trash. Like I, I realized you know, that I could reorient my thinking around that instead of seeing it the way that I saw it, right. When I was sort of punished and forced to do that as like this, you know, as I said, punishment that was being forced to do in this case.

Like, I looked at it as like something that made me actually, I looked forward to doing it actually was something like, now I'm like, when I'm walking around because of that challenge, I'm like looking to see where there's trash along the way, especially being here in Sydney and I'm just picking it up and finding the nearest trash can, throwing it out and.

Now, not only does it feel like something I'm not being forced to do or something that I'm being punished to do, it's something I'm looking forward to do. Right? And it could just completely reoriented my thinking around community service and something that really can make you feel really good inside.

It sort of reminds me of that quote, like, if you're feeling helpless, help somebody. And I think that community service can really increase the way that we feel inside. And I never looked at it like that before. 

[00:47:57] LW: I love that. And I would love to hear from you, Bobbi and then from you Stephanie, which challenges do you foresee continuing on, just on your own beyond this this year?

[00:48:08] BB: A lot of them is the short answer. I, I, I already mentioned the, the sincere compliments, the, the thank you letters, the forgiveness, like those are on repeat in my to-dos, just to keep them in front of me. So I continually to do, do those community service that George has talked about. I, I do that.

Locally with an animal shelter that I, that I work with. So I do that on a pretty regular basis and continue, will continue to do that. Obviously meditating twice a day. But the digital detox was a big one. I wanna do that once a month. Because I honestly, that was one I didn't think I'd be able to do.

My old mindset, I was tied to my phone. My old job, twenty four seven, three sixty five, that sucker rang it, it went off. I had to, I had to respond to it no matter what. And since I changed jobs, I, I joke about, I think it's broken 'cause it never goes off anymore. And, but I still have that mindset of I can't ever let go of the phone.

I can't not be looking at the phone. I can't be checking. I, I, it's, that detox really helped me to understand like, I don't need, well, I do need it, but I don't need it in the way that I was thinking that I, I, I did. And it didn't. Kill me to not look at Facebook or Instagram or check my email or my text messages on a regular basis for a whole weekend.

Everything was fine, you know, I mean, I did grow up in the generation where we had the phones attached to the walls and we didn't used to have these things and everything was fine back then too. So like, that's one I wanna continue to work on. The, um, The fasting is another one. I didn't think I, I've always done intermittent fasting, but 24 hours just seemed like a long time for some reason.

And I had to get over that in my head and it, it really wasn't that bad. 'cause I've done 16, 18 hour fast, so it's not that much longer. But that's another one that I'm, I'm incorporating on a, on a cycle now. Usually every 21 days I'll do a, a full 24 hour fast is the cycle that I've worked out with my doctor.

So, you know, there, there's a lot of 'em. Those are just some of the ones that I think maybe surprise me a little bit that I, that I would successfully complete and also then want to do moving forward. 

[00:50:03] SD: Some of these are gonna shock you light at least on vacation, the hand washing of the clothes. For now for probably my workout clothes for sure. I actually have done that when I went to Jamaica. I have to figure out some drying issues. I need to get a little better, but that's all right. I loved the random acts of kindness and flowers challenges. It's just such an easy thing if you take the time to be mindful about it, to do for others.

And I'm kind of a warm weather, cold shower girl. So when it was warm here in Indiana, the cold showers, I mean, I was screaming the first time I did 30 seconds and I, once I got to a minute 32 I can make the three minutes. And I was impressed with, and not only how I felt, but my hair that did, I don't know, the texture of my hair was definitely noticeable.

So, I do have an appreciation for that in the winter. I'm struggling here and with it, but we'll see what happens. 

[00:51:18] LW: Pamela, you seem to be a fairly disciplined person and community was a part of this process, but if you can imagine not having the community component. Do you think that you would've stuck with the program throughout the entire year?

If so, why? So? If not, why not? 

[00:51:35] PB: I think it's because of what you said. I am pretty self-disciplined. Whenever I need to do something, I do it because I need to do it, but I'm not accustomed to having a lot of support in my, 

[00:51:46] LW: my life. What about you, George? 

[00:51:47] GP: Yeah, no, I, I absolutely wouldn't have stuck with it if it was just in a book because, you know, there were many times this year where, you know, because I had a lot of things going on in my life that this program obviously helped me better adapt to those things, but still, because at times it felt, even for me, very overwhelming, I wouldn't have come back to the challenges.

I wouldn't have eventually came back to making those decisions that aligned with this mission to finish this course. I. You know, so many times remember just like kind of getting sidetracked, getting away from the challenges for a week and then we'd have our group call and it was like knowing that that was there and knowing that everybody else was gonna be showing up even though they have may have been going through hard stuff as well.

It inspired me to keep showing up and coming back and then coming back to the challenges and just, you know, so many times, not only would I not have completed this, but you know, again it goes back to like, I don't know how I would've got through the things and been able to navigate them in a way where, you know, I was able to go through all those life changes probably causing and having the least amount of harm caused to myself and also causing the least amount of harm to others and really trying, really be able to navigate the experiences that I went through and, and having the.

The energy to be able to adapt to them because you know of this program and knowing that there was this place for me to keep coming back to it just, I don't think, not only would I would've continued with this without the community component of it, but I also don't know how I would've got through everything that I went through in the way that I was able to without this community in everything that was a part of it 

[00:53:42] BB: I do really well being disciplined and getting things done when I've got people watching me. If it's just me, I can do it. But I can also, like I said, at the beginning of, of the, you know, first with your first question, I can give myself a pass. I come up with all kinds of reasons why, you know, it's, you know, self-care reasons or, you know, it's okay.

Whatever I can, I can give myself, you know, opportunities to, to get around things. Whereas when I've got a group of people that I have to report out to or that are checking in with me or, you know, kind of competing to, to get things done then I'm much better. So, yeah, I definitely thrived here because of the community for sure.

[00:54:22] LW: Uh, Skye, what part of the program made the biggest difference for you? Was it the community? Was it the variety of the challenges? Was it something else? I 

[00:54:30] SP: think the variety of the challenges and so many in such a small amount of time, like. To get them completed. And it's kind of, I guess, yeah, like training at the gym and tearing the muscle and repairing and then tearing it and repairing and tearing it, repairing it, like on repeat.

It's like a, it was a great way to, to build resilience, strength, and c and my, my ability to, to take on more. I think it, like, that's, that's the biggest takeaway. I feel like, I feel now all the things that I'm doing today, there's no way I could've done that a year ago. Like I, I would've been way too stressed out.

And now when I think about all the things that are happening in my life, I'm just like, how am I doing these? Like, who am I? What's going on? Like, how can I, how am I still calm and focused when I. When yeah, it, like, there's huge things. 

[00:55:30] LW: Um,

If you could sum up how you feel now compared to how you felt when you started, how would you articulate the difference?

[00:55:39] SD: I mean, I definitely, I, I am trying to think of a better way to say it, but I definitely feel like a better version of myself, for lack of better words. I just feel like I have touched on kind of all the different sides, from creative to physical, to intuitive, to kindness. Yeah, I just feel very balanced and well-rounded and present.

I think that's probably the biggest, one of the biggest things that I learned from this is being present for myself, for others. With nature when I'm, you know, origami, eating, washing clothes, like yeah, I'm fully present and I mean, I think that is a heck of a gift. I mean, definitely like others have talked about, when we go without our phone, you really notice how distracting you can become, or you might have thought you were present, but when you're very mindful of being present, it's, yeah, I'm a different person because of it for sure.

[00:56:44] PB: There are so many blind spots that I'm not aware of. And it wasn't until about the third or fourth phase that blind spots were exposed, and I feel like I need 10 phases, 10, you know, 10 more quarters to really tap into untapped potential. Because there's a lot there. There's a lot to me that I feel has been untapped.

It was, you know, I'm, I'm grateful for this year and what it has revealed as far as potential for myself, but I just feel like there's so much more. And I think when we first met, the first thing I said to you when I said I finally agreed to coming to the meditation training, I said, you know, I'm ready to go to the next level.

that's always what I'm trying to do is get to the next level. So, you know, I would be grateful for, you know, just continuing on so I can be exposed to more of me. 

[00:57:46] LW: If someone is watching this podcast or listening to this podcast and they're thinking about, oh wow, I would love to do something like the year of transformation, but they're on the fence about it, what would you want them to know based on your experience?

Before either agreeing to do it or not agreeing to do it? 

[00:58:04] BB: Well, first of all, I would, I would say take the leap and do it hands down, no matter. I mean, seriously. I mean it, you know, I mean, we've heard a couple folks already say like, it, it does transform your life. And what's, what's I think interesting is, you know, you, you go into it thinking, well maybe, maybe I'll get this or that out of it, you know, or X or y happen.

But, and for me, like what I thought I would get out of it, I did, but I also got a whole lot more out of it than I could have even begun to imagine. I was stuck in a lot of ways and it, this was exactly what I needed to get unstuck and get moving along again on that journey of life. And to get really honest with myself and to, I.

Start to do some of the things that I've always said I wanted to do and start to live the life that I said I was leading, but wasn't necessarily always leading. So I think, you know, if, if you're listening and you aren't sure if you wanna do it or not, I, I think you absolutely should. If, if you are not sure you should, that's the reason you should honestly, it's, it hands down, you cannot, there's, I don't even, I, I'm struggling with the words obviously, to try to explain the value that's packed into the activities in the community, the challenges in the community.

I don't think any of us are walking away with just what we thought we'd get out of it. I think we all are walking away with that and so much more. 

[00:59:23] SP: Well, I thought about when I first was considering applying for the year of transformation and I felt like I was on the cliff looking at the horizon, and then I.

Wanting to fly into it, but not knowing how, and now I feel like I'm flying. So if you, if you are at that point in your life where you want to widen your horizons, you wanna fly, you wanna thrive and get out of survival mode, that this is the course for you. 

[00:59:51] GP: Yeah. I mean, for somebody considering doing this program, the first thing I was thinking is like, nothing grows inside of a comfort zone, you know?

And for me. I've talked a lot about the things that I've had to go through, but right now I'm feeling pretty good in my life and I credit a lot of that to this program. Like I just released a ebook that's put me in a position to help a lot more people in recovery through recovery coaching. And, you know, I got through that really hard time now into a place where I feel like I'm thriving because of this program.

And, you know, it, it's, it's a lot of, it's uncomfortable, even like the money piece in the beginning. But, you know, one of the things that I've learned through this program is like, if you just say yes without knowing how it's all gonna work out, then that's how the, how sort of all gets organized. And that was my experience.

I said yes. I took the leap of faith, I got outta my comfort zone. I didn't know how it was all gonna work out. It got me through the hardest year of my sobriety and now I'm in a really good place in my life. And I credit that to this program. And I have no doubt that somebody going through this, as everybody has mentioned, will have the, probably the experience that they intended, but probably 10 times more than that because I've seen, and I've watched everybody in this group get to have that experience.

And one of the other things I would say to anybody who's thinking about this program is. Something that I think we don't value enough is having what I call expanders around us, which are people who help us see to believe that the things we want in our life are possible. And being in this group with you and being led by you and everybody else, it helped me see that the things I wanted in my life were possible.

And even going through the hardest year of my life, I was able to create that for myself. And somebody going through this program can have that experience also. So take the leap and get out of your comfort zone and you won't regret it. 

[01:01:38] LW: Amazing. Awesome. Awesome, awesome. I loved hearing all of your feedback and your experiences.

And just to be completely transparent, when I started this, when I designed this, I didn't really know how it was gonna work. I imagined that if, if a group of people went through these challenges together, that it would indeed be transforming, but I wasn't. I wasn't sure about how it was gonna happen and the degree to which it was gonna happen.

And it's been an honor for me to watch all of you go through this and support you along the way and, and answer your questions because when I, when I wrote down the master list of challenges, I felt like I was being divinely guided in that, and I was really just pulling things out that I had personally gone through and thinking of them in ways that could be doable by anyone, any age anywhere in the world.

And I have to attribute a lot of the structure of the course to my experience in the board game industry from, you know, 25 years ago when I was creating board games, wasn't particularly successful in, in terms of, you know, being able to monetize the games, but learned a lot about gamifying challenging things and making it fun and making it accessible and making it foolproof.

And so just hearing all of your reports has been very affirming for me in seeing that the intention that I set out with this program was, was very much realized by your direct experiences. And I just wanna thank all of you for taking the leap of faith with me and, and accepting the challenge is challenges.

And and here we are a year later, which is a pretty remarkable thing. So happy anniversary to starting this, program. And I'm looking forward to continuing to hear more of what you all create and yeah, just, I'm just grateful to be having this conversation with each of you. So any last comments? Anyone would anyone like to express about your experience with all of this? 

[01:03:57] GP: Yeah, I just want to just wrap up by thanking you. Like, you know, I'm so grateful for the work you do. I feel like in my life, I've never really shared this with you before, but. It feels like every time I'm going through something which is regularly you know, just navigating life and learning how to do that better, I click on one of your videos I do a coaching session with you and I get exactly what I need, like, or you'll be talking and, you know, one of your shares about exactly what it is I'm going through.

And it's that I'm just so grateful because it's just, it's made my life so much better. And it's given me so much and I just have so much gratitude for you and your, the work and as you said, like you were divinely guided to do these challenges. And I mean, you know, all of them were exactly what I needed over the last year and.

You know, it made this last year much more easy for me to navigate and I'm just like, I can't put words to how grateful I am for you and this opportunity and everybody in here for being there to keep inspiring me to come back and to keep making decisions that aligned with my mission in life.

[01:05:10] LW: Nice. Anyone else? Would you like to share? Any last words, parting thoughts? 

[01:05:15] SP: Oh, yes. I would like to say thank you to light for being you and being so authentic and I make everything seem very casual, which is great. It doesn't seem stressful even when you're giving us all these huge challenges. Yeah, you're very real and approachable and I think, yeah, it's a great, you are a great mentor and teacher because of that.

I think just even watching you the way you. Live what, how you work, how you post things, how you, and you just make it seem so effortless, which I think it gives me hope that it's doable for anybody. Like anyone can have a, a fulfilling life with purpose. Thank you, Skye. 

[01:06:02] BB: I was gonna add the way the challenges were created, you had mentioned, you know, that your, your intention was to create them so that anybody, anywhere, any age the flexibility that we had in all the challenges to be able to, to tweak them, if you will, to fit whatever we had going on, or, you know, whatever we needed out of that challenge was, was really, really helpful and impactful as well.

So it is, like you said, I think you, you really reached that goal of being able to like, no matter who you are. Any of the challenges you could, you could make work for you, which was really, really nice. And when in doubt there was always the create your own so you could really, truly challenge yourself.

And I echo, you know, what, what George and Sky said, you know, I, I think we all are incredibly indebted to you and, and grateful for this program for you as our, our leader, our mentor. I know I personally have, have grown in ways I didn't expect to. And it's been neat to watch everybody else grow and shine in different ways.

And so just really, really grateful and thankful to you for this opportunity. 

[01:07:04] SD: I just wanna say thank you for showing up and for being funny.

[01:07:10] LW: Thank you. I attribute my joke writing class to the humor. 

[01:07:16] PB: I agree with what everyone has said and I too am grateful and.

I can't really express

how much does is done for me. So I'm just, 

[01:07:32] LW: there's certain people that I've met along this whole journey that I just feel like, you know, there's a special bond and you're definitely one of those people. 

[01:07:40] PB: I appreciate that light. I feel the same way when you showed up 

[01:07:44] LW: at my, at my book launch event. Out of the blue. I was like, wow, okay. She's really, she's really gonna be one of those people along the journey. So thank you for continuing to say yes and for joining this program. You definitely added a lot perspective for I think all the other participants. We appreciate you.

[01:08:05] PB: Thank you all. Beautiful. Thank you all. 

[01:08:07] LW: Thank you all so much. And we'll continue challenging ourselves together. I'm curious to see how this whole thing continues to evolve in, in all of your lives, and obviously staying in touch and, continuing to support you in whatever ways that I can. So thank you all very much.

[END]

Thank you for tuning into today's episode with the participants from my year of transformation program. If you are now feeling inspired to create your own year of transformation, I would highly recommend starting with my book, which is called The Year You Transform. It will give you the entire. Roadmap and all of the considerations for structuring your own many challenges.

You can get the book at the year you transform.com or@lightwatkins.com , and I'll post those links in the show notes as well as on the link tree in my social media bio. . And if you're interested in joining the online version of this year long program, you can get information to do so in the same place as the book.

Meanwhile, if you know someone else out there who's making the world a better place, . I'd love to hear your guest suggestions.

Just send me an email at light@lightwatkins.com. Let me know who they are and how to get in touch with them, and if you want to go further in helping me to make that interview happen, I would very much appreciate you leaving a rating or a review. That is probably the most important metric. For helping a guest accept my invitation to come onto the podcast, which is why you always hear hosts like me, asking listeners like you to leave a rating or a review for the show.

It only takes 10 seconds. It's completely free. All you do is you look at your device, you click on the name of the show, you scroll down past those first handful of episodes, you'll see a space with five blank stars. Just click the star all the way on the right and you've left the five star rating.

And if you want to go the extra mile, write one line about what you appreciate about this podcast and also. Don't forget that you can watch these interviews on my YouTube channel. If you ever wanna put faces to a story, just search Light Watkins podcast on YouTube and you'll see the entire playlist. And if you didn't already know, I post the raw unedited version of each podcast episode 

inside of My Happiness Insiders community, which comes with a free two week trial for all of my podcast listeners, just go to the happiness insiders.com you can start your free two week trial, which will give you access to the entire seven day meditation kickstart to help you get your meditation practice up and running.

And you can join any of the other challenges or masterclasses. And if you find that you get a lot of benefit out of it, maybe you'll stick around and you'll continue to get support and accountability directly from me, as well as join me for a live meditation.

Alright, I'll see you next week for another story about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Until then, keep following your heart. Keep taking those leaps of faith and if no one's told you recently that they believe in you, I believe in you. Thank you so much and have a wonderful day.