We Are Meant For More

Sometimes, one of the easier ones to get rid of are the ones that are actually self-imposed. I was guilty of feeling responsible for things that were not mine. I felt responsible for other people's happiness and reaching out to do things that sometimes people weren't even asking me to do. Welcome to the Thrive Her podcast.

I'm your host, Amy Sanders. I'm a fitness and wellness pro, mom, stepmom, second wife, and master certified life coach. I'm here to help you manage your mind so you can uncover the most potent version of yourself and create a thriving life you love. Hello, everyone.

Welcome back to the Thrive Her podcast. I am your host, Amy Sanders, and we're here with another special guest speaker. Her name is Karen Cermento. She is a dynamic success strategist.

What that actually means is she helps high-performing women perform even higher by helping them connect to their sole purpose, helping them connect to the things that actually make them move and thrive. If you are one of these women and you are struggling, like you've hit lots of different income barriers, you've hit glass ceilings, whatever, and you still aren't really loving your life, she's your girl, basically. She's going to help you. She's going to help you figure some things out.

She is the host of We Are Meant For More podcast. And Karen and I actually met pretty recently, a couple months ago, has it been, when we met? We met in the most amazing powerhouse group of women who are doing like awesome things. And so when we met, we're like, let's swap podcasts.

We are totally women with similar missions. And so I'm so excited to welcome her to the podcast. She has a unique take on aligning. She has a unique take on aligning your subconscious mind with your manifestation technique so that it works well for you.

And really, that is her small intro. She has a lot more to say. So welcome to the podcast, Karen. I'm so excited to have you.

And I'm excited for everything we're going to talk about. So welcome, welcome. Thank you, Amy. I'm so excited to be here.

Just looking forward. Oh, thanks. I like to interrupt you. Karen has the most beautiful smile.

So hopefully you get to watch this. If you're not, you might. I have to also watch this because she just gives a light. You look at her and she's just like glowing.

But Karen, let's just talk a little bit about your story, like how you came to where you are now. And let's as far back as you need to go, whatever that story looks, let's give the listeners a little bit of info on you. Absolutely. So yeah, I'll take you back to right around the time where I wasn't glowing so much.

So I'm a nurse practitioner by trade. I've been in the medical field. I've been in the medical field for, gosh, 25 plus years, a nurse practitioner for almost 20 years specializing in cardiology. I still love the career, but I didn't necessarily feel like I was making as much of a difference anymore.

But so about 10 years ago, I hit a really challenging point in my life and it was a really dark time for me. And I began drinking more than any one person should be. So I call that my dark stage or my dark time. And that went on for a while where I just was not showing up powerfully in any area of my life.

And I thought I was. I think I didn't really even recognize it when I was in it until it went on too long and it was brought to my attention. In retrospect now, I think I knew, but I had to be at a point where I was ready to make a change. So basically, my family held this nice intervention.

For me, that I needed to do something differently. And that is what I did. And so I think combination of being confronted by my family in a loving way, but also knowing it was time and I made a decision right then and there that I was going to take care of this, take care of myself, and I was going to start showing up. And I'm a mom.

So there was so much. Shame and guilt around that, which in and of itself is one of the lowest vibrations you can possibly be in. So working through that and all of that journey that came along with it. But over the course of the next few years, so now we're looking at eight years ago, I was starting to come out of it and realize, gosh, there's so much more to me.

There's so much more to life and I could show up so much better. Or myself and for my son. Yeah, that's where, where it started. Yeah.

I have some questions about that, Eddie. So my first question is your family intervention. How did you accept that? Were you thinking, oh, they love me so much.

Look at them. Come have this amazing intervention for me. Or were you like, what the heck are you doing? I'm fine.

Like, walk me through that. It was a mix. It was a mix of a skeptical look on my face. I came, the way it went down, it's actually funny now, but it was not funny at the time.

Sort of. But I came home from work. I had worked all day at the hospital. I can't, because I was still functioning.

So it was like, still go, but it was going through the motions. It was the hamster wheel. It was Groundhog Day. That's why I'd walked, come home from the hospital and everybody was at my house.

So like, it doesn't feel like. Not just your partner and your child. Yep. Partner had passed away, which is also what sparked some of this.

My son's father, my partner had passed away a couple of years prior. So I was on a steady decline and yeah, very dark. So the combination of all of that and then drinking to make that go away was not the healthy way. Yeah.

So I got home from work and everybody was there. Yeah. No, not just partner, not just child. Child was actually taken with a family member to not be at the house.

And mom, dad, my brother, sister, sisters, my brother's wife, in-laws, mother-in-law, two sister-in-laws. Yeah. Everybody. This is a serious intervention.

It's everybody. You come home to everybody. Okay. Everybody.

So you knew something was, it was not a surprise birthday party. So everybody. Everybody had serious faces on and they had actually hired a gentleman to run the intervention. This is a serious intervention.

Textbook intervention. It's like the one in the movies. It was. So I had a skeptical look on my face.

I thought I had all the answers that I'll make some calls tomorrow. I hear everybody. Yep. I need to do something about this and I'll make some calls tomorrow.

And it was like, no, we've already made some calls and we have a plan. And I can't do that. I'm working in the morning, all of the excuses. And all of a sudden it hit me like, this is it.

This is the time. They're very serious. And obviously I've made excuses before and didn't follow through or only temporarily. So wow, this is my opportunity.

And I literally told my work, there's a medical situation. I won't be in tomorrow. I won't be in for a while. And I was on a plane the next day.

Wow. Yep. They found a really nice place for me. And I got sober.

And I really, that was my, A, the decision was a concrete decision. That's from this point forward, I do things differently. And I was committed to that decision. I was committed to my son.

And I never looked back. Yeah. Good for you. That's amazing.

That was like textbook intervention. You weren't kidding about a family interaction. It was. It was textbook.

The guy even so good, so helpful and everything about it. I look back. It really was a classic moment that I'll never forget. And I'll always be thankful for.

Yeah. Okay. So my next question for you, are you still practicing as a nurse practitioner? I am.

Yeah. Actually, I worked this morning. Very little now. So I really have stepped way back from that career.

I do still love it. So I do still have my hand in it. I love cardiology. I love the patients.

I like my coworkers. But I've really focused on my coaching and my business, my personal business. And I really love that. I love it so much.

But I am still practicing as a nurse practitioner. Which I also think is great because you said over and over that you love it. Yeah. You love the people you work with.

You love what you do. And I think there's a lot to say about that it's okay when you're shifting and when things are changing to still do the things that you love, even if it's a little bit less. As you add something new that you love. You love coaching as well.

Great. But that you still have your hand or your little foot in the door. There's nothing wrong with that. I love teaching fitness classes.

And guess what? They do not pay well. But you top off at $30 an hour in class, right? If you do stuff online, you can make more.

But when you're in class, you can make more. If you're in class teaching a fitness class, you're looking at $30 an hour. It's okay. Money, not so great.

But the energy and the fun and everything else that comes with it, amazing. So it's not something that is like hard for me to let go of. And I used to feel like I needed to. And now I'm like, you actually don't.

Like you don't have to let go of those little things that have sculpted you and have framed you to make you who you are. Sometimes you just have to shift gears a little bit, which is what it looks like you've done as well. Yes. And I love that.

You get to have the best of both worlds and you get to decide what works for you and what doesn't. Yeah. Which is also really empowering. So let's dive in to your framework.

So you help women, which was you, right? You were like this high performing, high, like successful woman who had a lot of life things that happened to you that then took you down a different roads as you reconnected to yourself. And you started to shift. Into this whole new realm of the subconscious mind, manifesting all of that.

Can you walk us through what your method is and how we can apply it? Yes. So the very first step is awareness. Actually taking a moment to stop and take a look around at your life, how you're showing up, the things that you're doing in your life, the things that you're doing in two different directions.

The things that. Light you up and that you really enjoy and that fuel you, but maybe even more important or importantly, or at least equally as important, the things that are draining you, the things that you're doing out of obligation, the things that you're doing that you don't want to be doing at all and trying to do more of what fuels you and less of what's draining you. And that's the first step. And then it's making a decision.

I'm going to do things differently. And it's a commitment to yourself, which is also part of it, that personal integrity when you make a decision and especially one to yourself, because I think oftentimes we'll keep our word to everybody else, but we'll let ourselves down because nobody will know. But we know and your subconscious mind knows. So that's a big part of the whole first phase.

Awareness, decision making, accountability. Which is really important. I look at it so often. You said that we know when we don't make a commitment to ourselves, but a lot of times it's easier to commit to somebody else and then break the one that you've made with yourself.

And every time that we do that, I like to look at it as a form of self-betrayal. You're betraying yourself just a little bit. You're not being true and full of integrity. And I'm a huge believer that you got to be like the most integrity has to come.

Like. You yourself, everything that's happening inside your heart, inside your brain, like it starts with you. Be full of integrity for yourself. Could you give me some examples in the listener, some examples of doing less of the things that don't fill you more of the things that do, because as women, a lot of times we take on a lot that we feel like we can't really get rid of, especially moms.

Like we're women, moms might have a partner, family. So how do we? Shift what we're doing that we feel like we have to, or you know what I'm saying? I'll let you talk.

You're the pro. So sometimes one of the easier ones to get rid of are the ones that are actually self-imposed. I was guilty of feeling responsible for things that were not mine. I felt responsible for other people's happiness and reaching out to do things that sometimes people weren't even asking me to do.

So stepping back and taking. You know, of what's your stuff and what's someone else's stuff that you're actually taking on unnecessarily. Nobody's even asking you to do it. And you're reaching out to do things that you maybe didn't even have time for.

That's one thing. And then really listening to your heart and your body when you're going to do something, whether you're asked to do something or you're asked to go somewhere. Those are some of the easier things to let go of. When you want to say no, but you just said yes, being okay with saying no when it doesn't serve you or it doesn't sit right with you, or it's just not convenient for you.

It's when we put ourselves out when we didn't have time for something. So you're constantly putting others' needs before your own. But really tuning into your body when you're making decisions because deep down the answers, yeah, that's huge. Sometimes we don't like to listen to the answers because we feel bad or we people please, or it's, I don't want to do this, but me telling her no is scarier than telling myself that I'm going to figure it out.

So you then say that you can, and really it's not the best thing for you. It isn't. And surprisingly, people really are okay with it. We think they're not going to be or that we're disappointing people or letting people down.

But when you have that, then you're okay with it. When you have healthy boundaries, I think it's just respected and it's an understanding. And the more you do it, the more comfortable it is. Yeah.

You're so right. And it's funny because we think other people are going to think all these things about our answer when really they usually just don't. They're just like, okay. Like we're all too busy with our own lives, but we think that everyone else is thinking about what we're doing or what we're saying or what we're going to do, but they're really not.

Yeah. You're reading my mind because it's so true. We think everybody's like really analyzing everything we say and do, but they're so absorbed in their own lives that they're really not thinking about us. No.

So good. So that's the first step. So you're saying be aware, get honest with yourself, make the decision. And then what's next?

And also part of that phase, be being accountable for where you are now. No blaming anybody for anything, whether it seems like you could maybe blame somebody for this part, just saying I'm responsible for all the results I have right now in my life. It's actually very empowering. So then phase two would be starting to reinvent yourself.

So really getting a crystal clear picture of what you want your life to look like. Yeah. So now that you've figured out the things that don't serve you or the things that are draining you, you've also figured out the things that fuel you, who do I need to be that person? How does she show up?

How does she talk? How does she make decisions? How does she walk, head up, shoulders back? Even all the simple things, just the logistics, just your physiology.

What does your morning routine look like? All of those things and crafting your days. And your new self-image because you can't outperform your self-image. So where it is right now, it's a self-imposed boundary, but you can change that.

So when you start to get really clear on what you want and who you need to be to accomplish that, you start to show up as that person. And then you start to attract different into your life, different people, different experiences, different opportunities. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

I like to think of it as you're stepping into an upgraded or higher version of yourself. Also shifting your paradigm, right? That's essentially what you're doing is you're stepping into a completely new paradigm. Exactly.

And I love that you say, what does she do? Do it now. What if you showed up as the person you want to be right now? Exactly.

Showing up as her now, as if you already have those things, which is part of, I know you and I were talking about manifestation and the subconscious mind. And the subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between what's real or what's imagined. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

So you can act like it now and just put faith out there that it's happening and it can happen. Yeah. Both of us are all in on this, right? We love this stuff.

It's so good. So when you, yeah, you imagine things into your reality, the more you step into that new self-image and start showing up that way, and it's fun. It's totally fun. I like to think of it, sorry, I interrupted you again.

Like, I like to think of it as you just get to decide whatever it is. Like, you get to put a wish out there and it gets to come true. You get to decide, yeah, that actually that is happening for me. And it's, and if it hasn't happened today, it's only a matter of time.

Like, you don't know what the paradigm shift will look like, how long that'll take. But if you keep moving along, it can happen. So how is this? In this space, how has this shown up for you?

What are some things that you've been able to do that you've seen and you're like, wow, this is incredible? I think it's the different opportunities and even Women Thrive meeting people like you, being able to collaborate and also saying yes to things that are scary that before I wanted to stay in my comfort zone. And nothing good, not nothing good, but nothing new or nothing great. Or change doesn't happen in the comfort zone.

And we stay there just because it's comfortable and it may not even be healthy for us. But you stay there because it's easier. So I think the way it showed up for me is new opportunities, new people like yourself, experiences, and that I've said yes to different things that I wouldn't have before. Even when it's scary.

And how has it felt? Oh, my gosh. It's amazing. So even just coming on your show today, it's so exciting.

There's an element of being a little bit nervous. But you do it anyway. And then you feel so good on the other side. Yeah.

It's so much fun. Like the people that we've met along the way, like even the people that you and I have met within Thrive Media, Thrive, it's just been so much fun. Amazing. Okay.

So what's next? So during that phase, that phase two, yeah, reinventing yourself and having fun with it and trying it out and being okay with being uncomfortable. It's okay to, it's perfectly normal to be afraid, but do it anyway. Facing your fears, that's where some of the greatest growth happens.

And the challenge is when you're starting to do things differently. You may have noticed this. Certain things don't resonate with you the same anymore. Sometimes friends or acquaintances or whatever situations no longer interest you or people may, I don't know, fall off the grid naturally because you're just vibrating differently.

And that's okay, too. So embracing all the changes that may come along with what you're doing to take care of yourself. And then the becoming stage. Or unbecoming all the things that you were conditioned and programmed to believe and think about yourself, letting all that go and really embracing the new version of yourself and all the opportunities that are coming to you.

Yeah. Stepping into it. Just stepping into it and unbecoming and becoming. So in your life, this is just a weird question, but I've been like, I always look at it.

I always look at my life as people, as I bring on guests and stuff and start to think about like how things have rolled out for me. And with you, was there a time in your life where things really shifted? Maybe it was more recent than not. I don't know.

But like where things really shifted and you're like, well, this is just different. I feel so different. And yeah, that like becoming or unbecoming is like just in your face. Yes.

I think when I decided at my work to go from. Working full time, just doing the hospital to saying I'm going per diem, which meant a dramatic cut down in my hours and no consistent schedule, no guarantee of hours and going full speed into my business. I opened my own company and I think it was like that burn the boat situation where I said, I'm going to go for it. And you just really step.

Into it. I think that was my moment where I said, I feel like I have more to offer and going for it. So I would say that's when it was, which was a little over a year ago. So it's still pretty recent.

Yeah. How do you. Yeah. Which is exciting.

So how do you feel now having made that decision with how this last year has gone? Where are you now with all of this? It's amazing. And it's a journey.

So I wouldn't even kid anybody into thinking that it was smooth sailing. Because there were so many, lots of learning along the way, learning by making mistakes, which is huge. It's got to, you have to be okay with making mistakes because that's where we learn. And that's when you grow, owning your mistakes and moving forward, not beating yourself up for years about it, carrying it around in a bag, making mistakes, getting the lessons.

And some mistakes were probably costly mistakes. So. Just, it's been a journey. So definitely not smooth, lots of ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Yeah. Amazing. Entrepreneurship is never snoozing. I've been doing it for years and I swear, lots of different avenues of entrepreneurship, right?

And it's, you'd think that at some point you feel like, oh yeah, I've got this. And I don't think you, for me, I've never felt like that. I've had really high highs where I'm like, wow, this is. This is the most amazing thing ever where I went, where all these things are happening, but then it's up and down.

It's, I feel like entrepreneurship shows you every part of yourself in a way that nothing else can, which is also the beauty of it, where you say, I wouldn't train, change it for the world. And coming from being an employee for that many years to this, that's pretty drastic. Yes. Yeah.

All my life. And I love how you put that. The highs are like, wow, I'm doing it. And then the lows are like, oh no.

What? What have I done? Yeah. I'm doing it again.

I'm crazy. Yeah. Even today, we're filming this today. And technically I've had an amazing entrepreneur day, you would think.

But I have felt the highs of the highs today and the lows of the lows, the overwhelm. Like I've had all the emotions just today. Oh, this isn't going to work. Oh, this isn't.

And then the next, and then all of a sudden I get this email and it's amazing. I'm like, oh, this is so much. This is so great. And then I was able to submit two articles into these big publications and I'm celebrating that.

And then I get this other email about something I was unexpected or unexpecting. And I'm like, that is like one thing. And then I hop on, I hop on with you and it's, oh, she's the most beautiful person ever. It's just funny.

The things that we learn through this journey, and it is a journey, but it's also so incredibly fulfilling, especially like the industry that you and I are both in. Yeah. I mean, people's lives change in ways that they'll never be the same. I don't know that you can put a dollar on that.

No, so rewarding. So rewarding. Yeah. So what else would you like to share with us that you haven't already when it comes to just the helping this unconscious mind believe that you can have it now and stepping into this place of manifesting?

Yeah. So two things I would say. To really not let your past define you. I think a lot of times women, particularly, they hold on to the mistakes.

I call them mistakes, but they're just lessons. But we hold on to guilt and shame and we let that define us and hold us back. But rather to see it as stepping stones and let that catapult you that you probably have a greater purpose. I think the more challenging the times.

The more you can do with it, the more you can learn. So that's one thing that I love for people to know is it doesn't disqualify you from doing amazing things. And then when you make that decision to do things differently, to embrace it, full speed ahead and have fun with it and don't have, don't be so it's hatched to the outcomes. So be willing to listen to the intuition, listen to that inner voice.

Because you'll get the messages, you'll get the signs that'll send you in different directions and be open to receiving those messages and saying yes to the opportunities and experiences and just allowing, I love that word. So allowing things to come to you. Yeah. Which I love you say, allowing things to come to you, because when you are allowing things to coming to come to you.

You are living in your feminine energy. And if you are a woman, then that is the energy that's going to be more natural to us. But I think in today's world, in today's day and age, we tend to shift over to our masculine, which is not bad, right? We're going to have both.

We need to participate both. But allowing is more of your feminine divine. It's how we are going to be in an energetic way or how am I saying this? Energetically, we are going to be able to receive.

More when we are allowing to be in flow, when we are allowing things to happen versus the push, the, the heavy push, which is more of the masculine do. And you do in entrepreneurship, you do have to have both, but allowing in all different phases of your life or in different areas of your life is going to work out so much better for you. Yes. And I love that you mentioned that too, that you do have to take action because it would be great if we could just meditate.

And wow, nothing would happen. So that's doing the scary things comes in. Yeah. So you do the things and you're doing the things, but it's the fact that we're having trust and allowing that it will also like, we've done the things we don't need to keep going, pushing.

We can now, once we've done, we can allow. And I guess for me, what this looks like is like when I put an offer out there, I've put the offer out there. And with marketing, you might have to do it. Seven to 12 times for people to know what your offer even is, but okay.

So that's something we understand. So put it out there and then trust that the people who need to find you will, and that's where you're allowing people to find you, allowing people to come in, allowing opportunities to happen, allowing yourself to say yes, allowing yourself to say no. Anyway, I think it's so beautiful that you use the word allow because it's something that I've had to really work on because I love to live in my masculine and it doesn't serve me. So you do both.

So I have to say it probably does. It does in some ways, but yeah, a little bit of both. Yeah, you need both. Like you can't live in, especially as a female, I think it's harder for us if we're trying to live solely in masculine because it's not natural.

And I truly believe what's meant for us finds us. And that goes for clients too. The clients that are meant for you or for me will find us. Those are the ones we can help.

And when things are forced, it's just not a good fit. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. If there's force, rethink it, right?

Yeah. Moves me to the next question, which is how do people get a hold of you? Yeah, probably. Yeah, I think the best way is probably my website.

And that is probably the best place. KarenSarmento. com. Okay.

And Facebook. Yeah, I do a lot on there. Anybody could reach out to me there and Messenger. Yeah.

Absolutely. We'll also, we'll have these links in the show notes too, so you guys can like reach out to her. She's, as you can tell, Karen's like the most beautiful soul. She's just so beautiful.

Oh, and all of the love. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. Do you have any last little nuggets, Wiz, you want to share with us before we sign off? Oh, gosh.

Just first of all, thank you for having me. This was, it was a fun conversation. I really enjoyed it so much. And no, just for people, when you have a little inner knowing that you're meant for more or something greater, that you're getting that message for a reason and it's meant for you.

Absolutely. Yes. Beautiful. Okay.

With that. Thank you so much for being on and everyone else. We will see you guys next week with another episode and we hope you have a great day, wherever you're tuning in from. Bye.

Hey, if you enjoyed listening to this podcast, you've got to come check out my signature program, Thrive Her Academy. This is where we do real coaching and inner work transformation. I teach you how to apply the strategies and mindset tools. We talk about here on the podcast so you can create that life and business that you love.

For more information, go to www. amysanders. co forward slash services. Again, that is amysanders.

co forward slash services.