Overcoming Challenges with Andrea Blindt

Jillian

Hello and welcome back to the Mindset podcasting. Today we're talking about overcoming challenges. My guest today, Andrea Blunt, she had a lot of challenges in her life, from growing up with abuse to being adoptive to losing her twins after they were born. She has had to overcome many struggles, but she has been able to do that and now she helps other women do that too. Andrea is a Registered nurse, holistic, Health practitioner, fourtime international bestselling author, inspirational speaker and life and mindset coach who empowers others through her own personal healing journey. She makes healing an inside job and guides her clients as they discover ways to strengthen their body, mind and heart. This allows them to reclaim their power, advocate for what is in their best interests and learn the tools needed to make decisions that are in alignment with their beliefs. Andrea believes that when people are informed, supported and empowered, they are better equipped to make health decisions. She has been featured in Authorities, Medium Magazine, Bustle. She finds Mel Healthline, National Health Radio and multiple other publications and podcasts. She lives in California with her husband and four beautiful children. She loves being in nature, reading, writing and inspiring others to create a life they love. So if you have been experiencing any challenges in your life, any setbacks and you have been wanting to break through to the other side, listen to this episode as Andrea gives amazing tips. Hi Andrea, how are you today? I'm doing great, how are you?

Andrea

I'm good. 

Jillian

Thank you so much for being on the podcast today. To start, I know that you have a very incredible story that I read about. I would love to hear your story and how you are able to turn it into the business that you have now.

Andrea

Thank you so much for asking that question. So for me, really, my story started with a very challenging childhood that was full of abuse and limiting beliefs that led to a young adult life that also had limiting beliefs, a lot of trauma. I ended up having multiple autoimmune disorders, medical challenges, infertility, and then I delivered twins and they died five days after they were born. And so after that happened, it was like all of those really bad beliefs that I had about myself and my self worth, they just were reaffirmed. Through all of those like situations, I felt very alone. I was depressed, just felt broken and hopeless. And so as I began healing my own life, I decided that I didn't want anyone else to ever feel that way in their own life because none of us are immune to challenges or struggles in life. And I believe that we can spread so much love and hope by sharing our stories and really igniting hope in other people's lives. And so with that, I birthed my business growing miracles. And that is my goal, to connect with others and just let them know that they are not alone, that I see them, and that even if my voice is the only one sharing them on right now, I am here for them. And I will hold a light for them until they are ready to hold their own light.

Jillian

That is beautiful. Just taking your life experience and turning it into something that will help people is fantastic. It's good to know that you have somebody supporting you who has kind of been there through really hard times and has been able to come out the other side.

Andrea

Yes, absolutely.

Jillian

So what has helped you be able to navigate all of these challenging news and setbacks that you had?

Andrea

Yeah, for me it was having hope that life could change. And for a lot of my challenges, my hope was so small, it was as small as a mustard seed. And with that hope, even that teeny tiny hope that things could one day get better, it carried me through those hard times not knowing how things would get better, but at least believing that it could. And as I believed it, I started looking for proof in my life of how hope could expand and how things could change. Little slivers of hope in the day, and that hope grew and grew and grew. And just being aware of how I wanted to feel and what type of life I wanted to create allowed me to really step into the life that I live today. And that's one that I absolutely love and I'm grateful for.

Jillian

Yes, just a little bit of hope is all we need just to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But there is more to what we're going through right now. Yes, I know you also use a lot of vision boards, affirmation, self awareness to help you on your journey. And how can we start incorporating these into our lives now?

Andrea

Yeah, so you can start incorporating them immediately. It's so fun to do. The first step is just really becoming aware of what you want and what you would like to feel daily, how you want to feel right now. So if you want to feel happy, how can you get there and if you don't know? Because for me, I didn't know how joy or happiness looked because I didn't experience it very much in my life. I started looking for joy in other people. And you can do that by looking online or in magazine for pictures. Find pictures of people who look happy. Cut it out and stick it on a board in front of you. A picture frame. You can use a picture frame and just cut out things that make you feel good or excited. If there's a vacation you're hoping to go on, cut out that place that you want to visit and put it on your vision board. If you are hoping to get pregnant and become a mother, I love to tell my patients to cut out a picture of a positive pregnancy test or a maternity photo of someone's tummy, because that becomes our focus. And when we're focusing on what we wish to see in our life, it's easier for us to acknowledge it when it's there, instead of looking past it at all of the icky stuff that we are used to experiencing. So that's one super fun, easy thing to do. And then just know, I want to give you permission that you can change that vision board anytime you want. So if you decide, you know what, I thought I wanted to drive this car, but actually I'm not liking that car anymore. That's on my vision board. Pull it off and put a different one on it's yours. And just like, life changes every day, soak in your vision and that's okay. So have fun with it. Give yourself permission to play around, explore, and recreate anytime you want.

Jillian

Yes. Oh, that sounds like so much fun. I do one at the beginning of every year, and I have to have to say by the end of the year, some of those things I'm like, oh, I don't really want that anymore.

Andrea

Yes. So pull it off or cover up, that part of it, and you can always look back. And I take pictures of my vision boards every year because I modify them regularly. So as you modify it, you can also see how much your dreams have evolved and your hopes.

Jillian

Yes. And it's something fun to look at every day. If you're in a bad mood or anything, remember what you're going for, what your goals are.

Andrea

Absolutely.

Jillian

I know you also talk about rewriting our future, so how can we start doing that?

Andrea

That's one of my absolute favorite things to do. And really, we start rewriting our future the moment we become aware of the soundtrack that's running through our minds, the focus that we're focusing on, and decide to shift it into a more empowering one that is rewriting your future. So creating a vision board, you're rewriting it right then, because instead of focusing on this mountain of struggle that you're facing or the job that you hate, you're focusing on a vacation that you're going to go on, or the happiness that you know you're going to feel. And so just really become aware of what's happening in your mind and tweak it anytime you want.

Jillian

Yeah. Focusing on those negative things are just going to bring us down more. So trying to focus on what positives you do have. I know you are also a nurse, so why is listening to our intuition and advocating for ourselves in a medical setting so important?

Andrea

Yeah, I love this so much, and it's something that I'm very passionate about teaching others to do. I think so often in society, we don't want to ruffle feathers, and so we don't always speak up for ourselves, or we're taught that if we don't agree with a provider that we're not being respectful of them. But I want to remind everybody that you know yourself better than anyone else in the world. And so if you have a symptom or you're not receiving the results that you want, keep letting people know. And if that doctor or provider person is not meeting you where you are and giving you the support that you need, that's okay to say thank you. And then go look for someone who will support you. Because I promise you, there are thousands of people in the world who are willing to sit with you, to hear you and acknowledge the symptoms you're experiencing or the struggles you're facing and who are committed to supporting you as you move through them and step into a life of peace and harmony and health. And so just use your beautiful voice, because you are totally worthy. And if you feel like something's wrong, then get that support that you deserve.

Jillian

Yes, I've had that experience, but the doctor just wanted to keep treating the symptoms. And I'm like, but why is it happening? And we weren't digging into why.

Andrea

Yes, it happens very regularly to people. And I think as providers, we get so sensitized seeing people all the time, and it's very easy for us to prescribe a pill or a remedy to cover it up because time is limited, or we think that's easier for someone to take a pill every day than it is to really sift through and see what's actually contributing to a symptom.

Jillian

Yes, definitely. It's been my experience, unfortunately, with a lot of doctors.

Andrea

Yeah, it's very common.

Jillian

So I would love to know your top tips that you have for stepping into Love Worthiness and empowerment.

Andrea

Oh, I love it. So I would say my first tip is one to believe that you are lovable and that you are worthy. Because when we have that belief that comes from our core, we are empowered in life. We don't need anyone else to tell us that we're loved or that we're worthy. We just know it, and that strengthens us, and it makes us a magnet to everything we want in the world. It magnetizes us to people who will complement us and remind us of what we already know, which is that we're lovable and that we're so worthy and capable of achieving anything. And so really, really get it for yourself. I think it's something that so many of us don't have, but that's the same as that little teeny, tiny seed of hope that if we can even imagine being lovable, that belief can grow. And the more it grows, the more it can spread and illuminate into the world. So start there. If you don't believe you're lovable, I'm going to tell you right now, I believe you're lovable. So that is the truth I hold for you. And I just love to remind people, you know, think of your best friend and the words that you would say to them, and then imagine yourself. Most of us are not speaking to ourselves the way we speak to our friends. We are very critical. We're harsh. We don't have patience or compassion, and we're not doing ourselves any services, and we're not showing ourselves that we're loved or worthy when we do that. So you can check yourself by becoming aware of, oh, man, I'm having a hard time. And maybe your inner dialogue says, well, of course you're having a hard time because you're dumb. You screw everything up. Well, would you tell that to your friend who came to you and said, oh, my gosh, I'm having such a hard time? No, you wouldn't say, because you're dumb and you screw everything up. That would be horrible, and they feel crappy, and you probably would be their friend very much longer. So don't tell yourself that either. You would probably say, I'm really sorry that you feel that way, and sit with them and maybe point out proof of how they don't screw everything up. We don't have to fix the problem or find solutions. But if you can find one little pebble of truth and proof and bring it into awareness, like, hey, remember when you made breakfast today and you poured your oatmeal in the bowl? Yeah, you poured it in the bowl, not in the counter. So you didn't screw that up, did you? And as you start to point out those little proofs of, yeah, you're right. I don't screw everything up, the narrative gets to shift, and that changes your entire world.

Jillian

Yes. I never think of the little things we do all day long that are just so ingrained, and we just go through the movements that we're doing them really well. So we're doing something a lot of things really well.

Andrea

I mean, the fact that you can walk down the hallway without tripping or falling, that's pretty darn good. And you learn how to open a jar. I mean, babies don't know how to open a jar. You learn it through strength and repetition. But it's easy for us to dismiss all of those small achievements because we're focused on the big achievement or we're focused on what we can't do instead of the 9 million things that I can do.

Jillian

Yes, always we like to focus on the negative and not the positive. So having that mindset shift will help a lot.

Andrea

Absolutely. Yes.

Jillian

I love what you're doing in the world and all that you're bringing into it. So if anyone wants to connect with you more, how can they do that?

Andrea

Yes. So people can connect with me on Instagram. It's at Andrea Blindt. That's Andreablindt. You can follow me there, send me a message. You can also jump onto my website, which is linked on Instagram, and see all of the services that I provide. I have a free connection call. So if you want to connect with me and just see if I can support you on your journey or you just want to connect and have me listen to you and see you and cheer you on and give you love, then you can do that too. Lots of different ways to connect with me, work with me. I also have some books that are out, those are available. And in the fall I will have my big solo book coming out and that will dive into limiting beliefs and mindset and really creating the life that you want to live.

Jillian

I'm looking forward to reading that. I love self help books.

Andrea

I do too.

Jillian

Thank you again so much for being on. I will make sure all those links are in the show notes. Awesome.

Andrea

Thank you so much.

Jillian

What a great episode. Andrea gave us such amazing tips. I know we have all had challenges in our life. We've had to overcome things and reframing your mindset around those things to overcome them. To live the life that you want to live is hard, but with her great tips, we are able to do that. I love the idea of using a vision board to be able to see what you are reaching for every single day, to see your goals, to see what you're working hard for every single day. I'm definitely going to be making a vision board soon because I don't have one. I just been writing down my goals, but I would love a visual aspect to put up so that I could actually see it every single day. And her amazing tip about rewriting your future, because our future isn't planned yet. We don't know what's going to happen and we get to change it, we get to be in control of it and I love that so much. So this was a great episode. 

Jillian

Your podcast tip of the week. Podcasts are getting shorter. The number of shows over an hour long are actually becoming less common. The average length of an episode is about 37 minutes now. So truthfully, I don't know about you, but I don't have an hour to listen to a podcast episode. If I do want to listen to it, I have to break it up into chunks because podcasts are a multitasking medium. Most people want something they can listen to, like on their drive to work, while they're doing a walk or while they're doing chores. And most of those things take about 20 to 30 minutes. And I think that that is really the sweet spot for the length of an episode because truthfully, only two thirds of listeners will actually come back to listen to a podcast episode if it's longer than that, so that's it only two thirds. So some are only going to hear half the episode and then not come back or if they see how long it is, be like, oh, I don't have time to listen to that and not even download it. So I would suggest keeping your podcast short, sweet, but definitely packed with value. 

Jillian

An update for you. So I have been adding on to my team. My team is growing, my business is growing and I'm so excited about it. A little overwhelmed too to be honest. Now I have someone who is doing transcription for me. I also have somebody who is doing show notes and writing social media captions for some of my clients. So as I grow, I realize I need to add on because truthfully, I can't do all the work all the time. I would be working like 80 hours a week and really burn myself out quickly. And I realized in order to grow my business, I need to hire a team. So I am actually forming an agency model. So I am going to be stepping away from some client work. I will still be doing some client work because I do love my clients and the ones who have been with me forever, I do want to continue to help them. So what I have learned is that I need to hire early before I need somebody to actually do the work. Because when you are overloaded by work, you don't have time to be hiring and training people. So I need to do that early. So I actually did that before any of my new clients started. I got some people set up and now we are rolling and it's going really well. Knock on wood. Hopefully it continues to go really well. I love my team members. They are great, they are efficient, they are organized, they are on time, I never have to worry about anything. They are amazing. So make sure you're hiring people that you know will do the work you trust and that you actually like as people because it makes it so much easier to work with them. So thank you so much for listening. Please go rate and review the podcast. I would really appreciate it, and I will talk to you next week.