Rita Black: Have you ever wondered if you had a voice, a vision of the world that is uniquely you and you wanna communicate it in some way? Today we’re diving deep into a topic that so many of us grapple with finding our unique voice and turning our dreams into reality. Whether you want to write a book, launch a business, start a podcast, or simply take that next step forward towards a personal goal. One thing is certain, the key to success starts with finding your authentic voice and believing in your ability to make things happen. In today’s episode with Do the Thing expert Stacey Lauren, who is fresh off her recent Ted Talk, will explore how to break down barriers that hold us back, uncover the confidence to express ourselves and develop the mindset needed to pursue our passions. It’s about taking control of your path, overcoming self-doubt, and creating your own opportunities rather than waiting for them. So if you are ready to stop holding back, embrace your individuality and chase the dreams that have been calling your name. This episode is for you. Let’s get started on the journey to unlocking your full potential. So find your thing, bring it with you, and let’s do it.

Rita Black: Did you know that our struggle with weight doesn’t start with the food on your plate or get fixed in the gym? 80% of our weight struggle is mental. That’s right. The key to unlocking long-term weight release and management begins in your mind. Hi there, I’m Rita Black. I’m a clinical hypnotherapist weight loss expert, bestselling author, and the creator of the Shift Weight Mastery Process. And not only have I helped thousands of people over the past 20 years achieve long-term weight mastery, I am also a former weight struggler, carb addict and binge eater. And after two decades of failed diets and fad weight loss programs, I lost 40 pounds with the help of hypnosis. Not only did I release all that weight, I have kept it off for 25 years. Enter the Thin Thinking Podcast where you too will learn how to remove the mental roadblocks that keep you struggling. I’ll give you the thin thinking tools, skills, and insights to help you develop the mindset you need, not only to achieve your ideal weight, but to stay there long-term and live your best life.

Rita Black: Today we are gonna talk about something I love. We’re gonna talk about dreams, finding our voice and the power of community to support us in doing so. And I want to thank you my thin thinking community for being such a powerful place to come to our mighty Worldwide cohort. It’s hard for me to say that word cohort. So thank you for being here. I love the support we give each other all over the world. We have listeners from Japan to south America, from Alaska, all the way to South Africa and all around the globe. We are a powerful community of like-minded thinkers, seeking the best for our health, our mindset, and being confident out in the world fully expressed. I also wanna shout out to my Fall 2024 shifters who just started their journey of weight mastery. It’s such a joy to see all the support and generosity in our new community the coaches and the new shifters. It’s just something magical that I always love seeing unfolding as we get started. So shout out to everybody. I’m glad you’re there.

Rita Black: So today my amazing guest, StacEy Lauren is fresh off of her Ted talk about the power of community. We are going to talk about that, but also dive deep into finding your own voice and pursuing your dreams. So without further ado, Stacey Lauren, founder of Do The Thing community and Podcast is a passionate entrepreneur and go-to expert in online community building. After two decades at Go Staff, she sold her share to pursue her true calling, helping others discover their purpose and achieve their goals. She has grown, engaging communities like Do the Things Singles Challenge and collaboration network to over 6,000 highly engaged members, inspiring thousands to overcome barriers and chase their dreams. Her innovative approach encapsulated in the Do the Thing Formula and I’m Game Framework, breaks down personal barriers and fosters success. Stacey lives by her motto, don’t wait for opportunity created and inspires others to do the same. Through her flagship programs, the Find Your Voice Challenge and the Audience Accelerator system, they have helped countless individuals write their first book, start their podcast, build their business, and monetize their offers.

Rita Black: Hello Stacey and welcome to the Thin Thinking Podcast. I’m really excited to have a conversation with you today.

Stacey Lauren: Thank you. I’m so excited to be here. You came wildly recommended, so I’m like super excited to have this conversation.

Rita Black: Well, so did you we have a mutual friend and are thin Thinking podcast listeners will know, Julie Trainor who brought us together because you helped Julie start her podcast about grieving. And I just did, we just aired that, or we will be airing that podcast soon. I haven’t aired it yet, but it’s so exciting to see her transformation not only with releasing weight, but with then taking that energy and focusing it into doing something that she’s always wanted to do. And it’s I know you tell us about you and how you help people like get going on what they wanna do. Just as, as you know, because I’ve read your bio Stacey is all about doing the thing. So tell us about how you got to do the thing and what you’re all about.

Stacey Lauren: Yeah, and it’s funny, I love that you mentioned Julie. We could start with just her because she started with me right after she released the Wait With You and was ready then to find her voice, which is when she joined my community during my Find Your Voice Challenge. And that’s when she had this podcast on her heart for years. And, you know, got the courage and the confidence after going through her weight loss journey with you getting that result, reaching that goal. Then she was able to find her voice, start her podcast. Now she’s got an amazing community of people where she’s helping them find the hidden gifts after loss. So it’s just really cool. So that’s pretty much what I do is I help people take action on the things they want. But at the core of it is you have to like, figure out what you want, who you are first, you know, before you kind of go in the wrong direction, right?

Stacey Lauren: You wanna be able to really tap into what your own desires are. ’cause what happens to so many of us, especially imagining maybe some of your listeners have been like me, where like you’ve been caring for other people, you know, taking care of families, working, you know, really focused on giving, giving, giving, right? And not really taking time for ourselves. And so that’s when I like to really help people is when it’s like, yes, it’s okay, we have permission. Like now it’s our time to get to know who you are, what you want, and then find your voice and then decide what you wanna do from there.

Rita Black: Yeah. I think that is so critical. How did you come to it? Because how did you come to this? What’s your journey with doing the thing?

Stacey Lauren: Yeah, so I had a business for 20 years. I owned it with my ex-husband. It was a staffing company and it was a lot. It was a lot. We had like 60 internal employees, 600 external employees four offices all over southern California. It was one of the biggest staffing companies in the area. And we got divorced, we built the company together and then we got divorced and we tried to keep it going ’cause I had the, I was the CEO, he was the CFO, so we thought it could work, but two years later and Covid and I was like, yeah, this is not working. So I exited that business and just kind of fell into an identity crisis of like, who am I? You know, like, what am I supposed to be doing? What have I been doing? It was almost like I was living in this fog, you know, of just life, right?

Stacey Lauren: Like constantly going through fires of just trying to push through all the things that can get thrown at you, right? And so all the noise suddenly stopped and I’m just like left with myself and like my own thoughts, you know? And luckily I went to a fitness camp, actually. Funny, we’re talking about what you do, right? But I went to a fitness camp and was really kind of going through a depression time, you know, where I’m like kind of just confused and, and all this stuff. And I just really wanted a kind of like a safe place to heal right where I wanted to be with people that wanted to be healthy, wanted to be active. And it was a group of just amazing women. And that was where I met my book strategist who was like, I actually help people write books.

Stacey Lauren: And I’m like, well that would be cool to write a book,. And at the time I thought it was gonna be a sales book because that’s kind of like my long background, even with my staffing company sales actually drove that business. And so I thought I wanted to help people with that because I see a lot of blocks people have about selling. But at the same time I started dating and realized that a lot of the principles I learned during selling also applied to dating. And I don’t mean like charisma or like communication. I mean like handling rejection, positive thinking, goal setting, and being able to handle all those things. And that’s when I was in my mastermind, I’m talking about the book and all of a sudden I was like, I just wanna help people do the thing.

Stacey Lauren: And they’re all like, yeah, it’s do the thing. And the trademark was available. And so that’s when the start the podcast started. And you would think it was all good from there. But no, I had so many like, kind of like, kind of like issues with just like even putting myself out there because even with my company, like I own this big company, but I wasn’t comfortable like doing speaking or like ever like talking outside the business. I always just dealt with everything really internally. And so when the podcast came, I would have the video off for the first 80 episodes ’cause I just couldn’t even watch my video. And then, and then it sort of just evolved from there. And then from there it’s been an evolution of starting these Facebook groups, really successful on building communities and running these challenges and have been really just having a lot of fun from there. Enjoying helping people take action on the things that they want.

Rita Black: That is such a gift. That’s so amazing. What is the thing that when people come into your group to do the thing ’cause that’s your main Facebook community now is called Do the thing as well. Is that correct?

Stacey Lauren: Yeah, so I have three I have a singles group. Yeah, I have a singles group. It’s started with dating challenges. So I have that one. And then I have a challenge group where I run all kinds of other challenges, but for everyone, not just singles. And then I have my newest baby, which is probably the one you’re talking about. ’cause That’s the one I’m like in love with right now, which I love them all. I’m good. But like it’s, you know, your newest one, it’s a collaboration network because I really, I had a lot of people start coming to me like wanting to collaborate and do things and, you know, we only have so much time. So I was like, I need a space where everyone can really like, help support each other. ’cause I saw that seeking, you know, that need that was out there. And so it’s just a really cool way for me to help connect other people together and help support them and their goals.

Rita Black: That’s fantastic. And I, I think I see that too. We do I have my community and it, it’s amazing because I think a lot of people think of themselves as not a group person. You know, ’cause I get that a lot. Like I offer community and some people are like, no, no, I don’t want it. But when we do the, I do a, what is the shift Weight mastery process live, which is a live 30 day process where everybody’s going through it together rather than doing a self-study version. And there’s magic that happens in that time because so many people are in the bigger community supporting each other. Julie does coaching you know, and we have people come back who have, you know, lost all the weight, have maintained it. And there’s, I just, and I’m, and you were saying something earlier before we turned on the microphone, which is just like, there is this sort of magic like it’s all one mind versus everybody in their own little silos. You got, you have this collective unconscious that is supporting you and you, you can feed off of that. You get, you know, you put something out into the community and you get all this feedback and it, it makes you feel like you are part of this bigger idea versus your small little self in this small little silo all alone with all your limiting beliefs.

Stacey Lauren: Oh my gosh, you said that so perfectly because so many people say they think they’re gonna do it alone, right? Because they already have a support network, already have friends and family, but what they don’t realize is unless they have the same goal as you, it’s hard. You know, they don’t understand it. They could be like, why would you wanna do that? You know, they could say like, oh, eat the banana. I’m, I don’t wanna say banana, but eat the chocolate chip cake. It’s not gonna kill you. You know, whatever it is. I’m talking about your stuff. But like, they’re, they’re like, they don’t get it. Right. You know, and like for me, you know, as an entrepreneur, sometimes I’m working, you know, till midnight if I’m like wanting to like finish a launch, right? But if I’m with like my regular friends that aren’t doing launches, they have no understanding for what it is.

Stacey Lauren: And they might say, why in the world are you doing that? Like, you don’t need this. And I’ll be like, well, I want it. Right? But if I’m with someone like you that gets it, we like can bond over it and we get to encourage and support each other. And so it’s so important no matter what your goal is, to like have a group of people that are, that have the same goal. And whether that is maybe just going to an event and getting it started and, and finding the right people in the right groups that you can join or it’s joining like an actual community that you can stay in and live in while you’re trying to achieve the goal. It’s really, really magical because you’re able to create the space of vulnerability and like you said, you’re, you’re like opening up I call it, I have this thing, I do a dare in my communities where the very first one is, what are your excuses and how are you gonna overcome them? So we’re automatically saying like, what’s gonna get in our way and how are we gonna overcome it? But then we’re declaring it to the group. And because we’re doing it in a group, all of a sudden you’re saying something that someone else is thinking. And I just had someone say this this morning in one of my Zoom calls is they were like, I can’t believe we all have the same excuses. Like, it’s so weird. You know, we think we’re alone, you know, in these thoughts. So it’s really cool.

Rita Black: I love that. And I also love the accountability because when you declare something to a group that, you can say it to yourself all you want, but you can, like you said, always come up with the internal excuse like, oh, but I don’t have the time. Oh, but no, no, I, the money’s not there to this week. But when you say it, you know, we as human beings, we wanted other people to think of us with a higher esteem. And so we, we wanna be our word. We wanna say, well, if I say something, I’m gonna do it. You know, when I make a declaration like that, I mean, it’s just a lot harder to let yourself off the hook once you put it out publicly. And, and it has, it takes on a life of its own rather than living in our mind in that as that idea.

Stacey Lauren: Oh, totally. Yeah. And it, it brings it alive and it, it adds more momentum. And then you get to almost like co-create it with other people. Which is, I mean, that is really fun when you get to do that.

Rita Black: Yeah. Now speaking of like declaring something and doing it, you just did a TEDx talk, which a lot of people I’m sure have thought about, like, would be a cool thing to do. Tell us about that. Like, how did that happen and how, what was the experience of going and, and doing that? It seems amazing.

Stacey Lauren: Thank you. Yeah. I just keep kind of like it’s kind of great when you have your own community. You get to , like I just was saying this today where I was like, it’s so weird that I get to do things that I want and that it inspires the people in my group, you know, to do things that they want because they’re hearing it. Right? And so I love that it kind of adds a layer of extra accountability for me. And one of the people actually that I helped build a community for he just talked about that too. He is a small community. He’s kept it small. ’cause His dreams are like different than the actual, like groups. So he’s meeting with them weekly just talking about the, their goals. And he’s like, just by me talking to you guys about your your goals, it’s helping me do my goals.

Stacey Lauren: And he just got found out that he just got a TV show selected for that. And so I think that kind of answers your question about the TEDx. It’s like, by being with people that are also wanting to do things, it’s making me more accountable to like, do things outta my comfort zone because it does like motivate and inspire them. And so, since starting my community, I ended up doing standup comedy. I’ve done improv. I applied to TEDx like a year ago from the same one that I got into like now. And they said no, and then I just applied again and they said no again for the one that I applied for. They ended up picking me for a different one. But the point is, is like, I didn’t like stop right when I heard the no. Right. I just wanted, I, my idea was important to get out there.

Stacey Lauren: And so that’s really what I would encourage people listening to do whatever that thing is, like you’re wanting to, to do, whether it’s a TEDx or it’s a book or a podcast, or just even meet someone or lose the weight that you want. It’s like meeting yourself where you are and then being able to like go another step. So you don’t need to start at the TEDx or you don’t need to start at the 50 pounds, you know, start at the, the smaller goal and then you’re able to, to push it through. And so the TEDx thing was interesting because I didn’t realize that I was gonna fall into the same like, kind of like things that I was had when I started my podcast, you know, where I told you about the 80 episodes, no video.. Like, I fell into the same thing where I’m like, oh my gosh, this is so scary.

Stacey Lauren: And then I started meeting the other speakers and they’re amazing. I fell into imposter syndrome, you know, like all this stuff. But, but what happened was as soon as I opened the space up for vulnerability, and I was like, oh my gosh, you guys, I am like in massive imposter syndrome right now, like with the other speakers. And then they all like acknowledged me and said, I feel like terrified about doing this. All of a sudden I’m like, I’m not alone. Okay. I feel so much better. And then I kind of got that like feeling of like tapping into my voice again. And so it was really cool. So then I thought it was good. I did the talk, everything was great. And then the talk just came out yesterday. And then as soon as it comes out, I’m like, oh my gosh, I don’t like my makeup.

Stacey Lauren: I don’t like my hair. Like all the stupid stuff that like, doesn’t matter, you know? And I’m standing funny and I pause too much, whatever, all that, like inner critic stuff. Right? So then I did a live in my, I have a small group for one of my communities. And I went live in there telling them all that, you know, just like super vulnerable. And then it just got those thoughts outta my head by being able to say it out loud, but not in the wrong room. Like, you can’t be doing that with people that like, don’t get it. Right. I’m in a room with people that are wanting to find their voice, you know? But if I did it in a runner’s group, I don’t know if it would’ve made as much sense. But because I did it in the Find Your Voice Group, it was great because they got it, you know? And then I watched it today and I actually felt a lot better about it. But the point is, a lot of people will write the book, do the TEDx, create the product, and then they’re scared to put it out there again. Yes. . So that’s what we don’t realize is every phase we kind of have to like push our comfort zone and realize, wait, I’ve already done this before, I could do it again.

Rita Black: Yeah. I totally agree. I mean, I’ve had to as, and my audience knows this, like with technology, for me it’s technology and having to push that because I’ve owned a business now for over 22 years. And every point like when I was hypnotherapist, just seeing people, one-on-one, it was cassette tapes, and that’s was easy. You pressed play and you would record and you would give somebody their cassette, and then it became CDs and then became all these things. I was like, I don’t know how to do this. And I don’t know. And every I, so, so just to the point, like yesterday I did a masterclass on a new platform and I said at the beginning of the masterclass, I said, I’ve never used this platform before. And I had been practicing, but every time the slideshow would like, go away or do something, I was like, you guys, you’re gonna have to give me some grace here on this just in case.

Rita Black: And my, the audience was of course, lovely, but yeah, the moment I said that, it was like giving myself the space to, and then you do something like that, you do it a couple of times and you’re like, okay, I got this one down. Yeah. And now you have to push yourself. So what I am hearing you say, and I think this is a great, a great topic, is you have this comfort zone and you called it a comfort circle. Like you have a comfort circle. Tell me about that. And that’s a group, or it’s within your group, or it’s a concept. What, what is the comfort circle? Yeah,

Stacey Lauren: Thanks for asking. Yeah. It’s basically a comfort circle framework. So for any challenge I do or any kind of like thing I’m working people through, I always like meet them right where they are. So that way it’s not as scary. So there’s a lot of people that like, will listen to a speaker or an author or podcaster or whatever it is, and they’re like, I’ll talk through this visual as I’m showing if anyone’s listening. But basically they’re like all the way, like too far for them to get there. There’s too much of a gap, right? So I just meet people right where they are with the comfort circle, and then they, they do it, and then they get to move, you know? And so because they do it, they’re like, the, the movement becomes compounding and it is magic. So an example with finding your voices this is people that either want to like figure out who they are again, you know, or even start dating or maybe even like self-love, right?

Stacey Lauren: I wanna love myself again, you know, ’cause I don’t even know who I am anymore. Right? To people that are like doing TEDx talks, bestselling authors, doing like really, you know, really big things in the world in terms of activating other people’s voices. And so I’m able to help like all of those people. And that’s because I have the framework of the comfort circles, which is like the first circle is like, okay, I’m gonna, like, I give them a self-reflective dare for this, this challenge. Specifically for an example, it’s like, what is something you’ve done that you’re proud of, right? And so they’re able to type the answer or they could like write the answer, you know? And then they post it in the, the private group. The next comfort circle is they’re doing an audio recording of it, like a voice note on their phone.

Stacey Lauren: And then the next circle is like, okay, now I’m gonna video myself giving this answer. And then the next circle is going live in the group. And then I have more circles now too ’cause I help people build their own communities. But I always, every my brain, I have like comfort circles all over my whiteboard right now. Brain, brain thinks in comfort circles. And I do it for everything, whether it’s selling or it’s community engagement, you know, and how to engage in community. And so everything that I do, I’m always like, okay, what’s the comfort circle for people for it? And it’s so, it’s so cool.

Rita Black: Very cool. Yeah. I love that. So what are the first steps that, you know, you have find your voice, which I love. If somebody was trying to find their voice, what would be the first step that they would take?

Stacey Lauren: Yeah, I, it’s really important that you have some kind of processing tool. So I use, I like voice notes. And I, and I discovered that system because I call it a system, but I discovered it because I was going through a breakdown myself, right? And I had a therapist or coach, a couple different people at the time trying to help me put, put myself back together. And what I, what I did was, I dunno if you’ve ever done this before, maybe with friends or anyone that you’ve worked with, is I’m like literally on my phone leaving a voice note and I’m like, this happened and this happened, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do about this. And okay. And then I’m like, and then I send it, right? And then when they send it back, they’re like, oh, maybe if you did this, or Can you pause for a minute and think about this?

Stacey Lauren: You know, whatever their advice is, like in a micro session. And then there was one time I like did the voice note and I was like, wait, I don’t have to send it anymore. I already feel better. ’cause Sometimes just getting the thoughts outta your head is like all you need. And so, and find your voice. I do it a lot with like, helping them process, but I also have something called a venting voice note that people don’t have to share, but it just gets all the thoughts outta your head. And then I also do it in the other way with dreams. So processing our dreams, because a lot of times people keep their dreams stuck in their head, you know, and then there’s no place for them to breathe or live, like we talked about earlier, there’s no co-creation process. And so whenever I am like brainstorming or I’m doing something about my dreams, I like, again, put it in my phone on a voice note, and then I even access it deeper when I say like, dream Stacey, dream. You know? And it helps kind of like go deeper layers and because with they could do it on their own, but when I do it, it’s in a group because it’s like the magic happens when you’re able to hear other people processing too. And people can type it too, but that’s as old as time with journaling, right? But I, I like the voice notes, but whichever, again, comfort circle. So meet yourself where you are. So that’s really the first step to finding your voice.

Rita Black: I love it. And so people find their voices and they start to think about more. Is that that first step of like, who am I, what am I, what do I truly want? What’s truly next for me? Because we might have a bunch of different ideas and or we might have a bunch of people in our life that are saying, well, you shouldn’t do that. That’s silly. Or that it’s too hard or what have you. But you, your, your group helps bring out the authentic idea or passion that that person might be thinking about. But that, again, subconsciously or consciously, they’re just like, well, I don’t know. How should I do it? And then it starts to grow. Like, it’s like planting a seed and giving it some life. And some of these processes that you’re doing bring that out for people.

Stacey Lauren: Totally. ’cause when you get it outta your head, it, it totally like, whereas most people live in their head, right? And then it just kinda like junks it up. So I do work them through a, it’s like a six step formula inside the group where like it’s called I’m Game. It’s an acronym. And the I is identifying the why. So whenever you have a goal, that’s the first thing we do. And a lot of people know that with Simon Sinek, but we do it in a group. So it’s like, why do you wanna do it? But then you’re sharing it with others, so it brings it to life, you know, like what are you looking to get out of it? And then the m is mindset. And I do two things with mindset. One is, what are your excuses?

Stacey Lauren: What are you wanting to you know, how are you gonna work through your excuses? ’cause When you, when you figure it out in the beginning of whatever you’re doing, all of a sudden you’re able to like, give it the energy to say how you’re gonna combat the excuses. Whereas when you’re in the middle of it and you don’t wanna do it, it’s hard to think. ’cause You’re already exhausted from the energy burn, you know? And then the second piece of mindset I like is I like to bring fun. Fun is a mindset. So I bring fun into whatever it is that I’m doing. And I think that, and everyone can do this at home pretty much. And then the g in game is a goal. I use dares. That’s my fun way of doing a goal. And so with finding your voice specifically, it’s asking yourself a question.

Stacey Lauren: Just getting yourself like we’re, we are like, we are living like a lot of times, I don’t wanna say like zombies, it’s not that bad, but sometimes we’re just living in this autopilot mode, right? Yeah. And we’re able to ask ourself a question. It pulls, it pulls us out. Yes. And then, yeah. And then the A is accountability. And we talked about that earlier. Accountability is amazing when you could declare it and say it out loud, have other people around it. And then my favorite piece is the m which is my people. That’s what my TEDx talk was on, which is you have to be with a group of people that have a shared goal. That’s why I love that you have a community around your program. Because how important is that, like for the people that say they’re gonna do it alone? Yeah.

Stacey Lauren: I mean, that is so much harder, right? If they’re with a group and they’re doing the same thing at the same time, like you mentioned with that 30 day experience, it sounds amazing. I’m like, oh my gosh. Like to have people that are going through those similar things and similar feelings and they’re able to express it in a safe space. I mean, it’s so, it’s so beautiful. And then the last letter is e in game, which is educate. And there’s two parts to educate. One is like learning from others, like people like you listening to podcast books. But the other piece that I love is education by contribution, which is not keeping what you know by itself. Like you mentioned Julie, I love that she’s coming back in your community and now she’s helping others. So you’re giving her the space to now educate by contribution. And she does that in my community as well. And so it’s just amazing when you’re able to feel that fulfillment by being able to help others too.

Rita Black: Absolutely. It’s such a big part of it. I mean, I, I have that baked in when people have progressed to start to teach because they are a coach because they, that is an essential part of owning what they learn. Yeah. That’s great. I love that acronym. That’s a really cool acronym. I like how you’ve and, and people, I mean, our minds work so much better when we have a structure that, you know, feels doable, definable. So that’s fantastic. What have you learned? Like, because you now help people build their own communities and, you know, maybe we have people in the thin thinking world who, you know, it’s like, that sounds good. Like, I probably need, you know, I’d love to get a group of people who are gardeners or people who are a group of knitters or you know, any number of things. How, I mean, I’m, of course we’re gonna share all your information with everybody so that they can find you. But how, how do you suggest to people that they start a group? Like how do they find that courage and then, you know, who am I to build a group? Do you have that? Like, are people shy to get started?

Stacey Lauren: Yeah. I love that you asked that because when I did, I did a start a podcast challenge where I helped hundreds of people, like at the same time start their podcast, right? And the majority of the people are like, who’s gonna listen? What am I gonna say? You know, like, and all that stuff. And so when I started helping people build and activate groups, the same things came up, right? And so I would say, if you already don’t consider yourself an expert, then that’s actually even better. I mean, you could be an expert and have an amazing community ’cause you’re able to tie in your programs and everything within the group. But if you’re not this is really how I started. ’cause Even though I owned a company, I didn’t consider myself an expert in dating. You know, like I had just met my boyfriend and I wanted to help other people meet someone.

Stacey Lauren: So it wasn’t like I was a dating expert. You know, I, I, I’m good at handling rejection, but that’s about my, you know, con the con. So I brought in other experts. So the thing that I love with the group is you’re just curating the space for connection and conversation. And everything in that group comes alive from those conversations. So I build it with a shared goal that’s kinda like the starting point, and then everything comes activated from there. And so that’s what I would recommend is, first of all, think about what your goal would be. Like, what is your goal, your personal goal, like what makes you feel the most alive? And then if you don’t know, then you’re welcome to come and join My Finder Voice Challenge. ’cause That helps you identify more of what your goals are and what you want. But but then from there you’re creating that goal and now you’re like, what do I wanna learn around this goal?

Stacey Lauren: And then bring in experts that actually you can interview and get to talk to them. And so it’s an amazing way to learn about people. I mean, I’ve learned so much just by the experts that I bring in and I get to talk to. And then it’s cool because the people in the community, they like get to hear it in a way that’s like really real, because I’m asking questions that maybe they’re not comfortable enough asking yet because I have the curiosity and the knowledge for it that they, they’re like really interested in learning. That’s what I’ve noticed a lot about what really helps people.

Rita Black: Wow. Yes. I, I agree. Having a podcast or, and community is a great way to, you don’t have to always be the leader. You can open it up and, and engage and have other people step into those roles as well. And it’s exciting to see and, and yes by even having a podcast, I’ve learned so many things. It’s so great.

Stacey Lauren: Yeah.

Rita Black: So tell us what you tell us about all these things that you’re up to and how people can find you. And tell us the name of your TEDx so we can find you and watch that too.

Stacey Lauren: Yeah, it’s so funny. They changed the name Smile. I look and see what it’s called. It is called there it is the Power of community to help you achieve your goals. And yeah, it just landed on YouTube and so I would love you to yeah, watch it and feel free to share it with people. It’s been, it was part of my kind of go through my experimentation process of how I identified so I only talk about the My People piece of the formula ’cause that’s the piece that people don’t really talk about or know. Like most people talk about the other pieces. And so that’s what it’s about. And yeah, I’d love you to come join my Collaboration Network. It’s on Facebook, but you can get to it through do the thing collaboration.com. It’s really great, even if you’re not in business, it’s great if you are in business or you have a podcast or a book or something that you actually wanna promote.

Stacey Lauren: But it’s also good if you don’t, because I have a community full of people that want to support each other and help each other. And like, you can’t really go wrong. You know what I mean? Like, to be in a space like that, plus that enters you into my world, which then gives you access to some of the things that I’m doing. Which which is always really fun. ’cause Sometimes I’m doing like things that I don’t even know what they are now. ’cause The energy comes from the people that are in the group, basically.

Rita Black: Very cool. So Collaboration Network, which is a Facebook group, and the power of community to help you achieve your goals on YouTube. TEDX And you also have a podcast called Do The Thing. And I’m assuming it’s all about doing the thing.

Stacey Lauren: Yep. Yeah, it’s everything from like dating to business, to hiking, to travel. ’cause You know, I, I really wanted to interview people that were doing like really cool stuff. I mean, it’s even leaving a job because that’s doing the thing, right? Like, we can get stuck in the fear of staying or a bad marriage. Like it could be whatever it is, but it’s taking the weight off, you know, it could be any of those things because everything that we have to do in life is like a courage step. And it’s like, it’s, it’s hard when we get out of that comfort zone. ’cause It is very easy to wanna stay safe and do the same thing. But what fun is that, you know.

Rita Black: It is not fun at all. And I love it. I love how you have created this way of helping people move from one space to another, or subconscious mind. Yeah. Just wants things to stay the same. So you kind of, I I love how you have all these little systems to open that up and move people through. It’s very, very cool. Thank you. Well, thank you so much for coming on and sharing sharing all of this wonderful wisdom with us. And you can find the links to the Collaboration Network and to the YouTube TEDx in the show notes, everybody. So please go get more of Stacy. Lauren. Stacy, thank you so much for being on The Thin Thinking podcast. It’s been so great to have you.

Stacey Lauren: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.

Rita Black: Wow. Wasn’t that great. Thank you Stacey, for joining us. And I will have all those links for our listeners in the show notes. So please visit the show notes and get some more goodness from Stacey Lauren. And so I hope you have a wonderful week. Remember that the key and probably the only key to unlocking the door of the weight struggle is inside you. So keep listening and find it. See you next week.

Rita Black: Thanks for listening to The Thin Thinking Podcast. Did that episode go by way too fast for you? If so, and do you wanna dive deeper into the mindset of long-term weight release? Head on over to www.shiftweightmastery.com. That’s www.shiftweightmastery.com, where you’ll find numerous tools and resources to help you unlock your mind for permanent weight release tips, strategies, and more. And be sure to check the show notes to learn more about my book From Fat to Thin Thinking. Unlock Your Mind for Permanent Weight Loss and to learn how to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode.