Mother's Quest Podcast - Ep 09: The Soul-Fueled Truth with Amber Lilyestrom

Ep 09: The Soul-Fueled Truth with Amber Lilyestrom

01/26/17 • 58 min

In this interview, I am excited to share a deeply personal and reflective conversation with Amber Lilyestrom, a transformational branding and business strategist, writer, speaker and host of The Soul Fueled CEO Podcast. Amber has also been a coach and champion for me as I’ve created Mother’s Quest and leads a community of soul-fueled CEO’s that has become an important source of support.

From the moment she answers my first question, you will experience how Amber brings this combination of simultaneous vulnerability and crystal clarity. She brings those gifts along with her own trial and error experiences as an entrepreneur and mother to help visionaries, leaders and what she calls “disruptivators” turn their passions into heart-centered brands and thriving businesses.

It was the birth of her daughter, and becoming a mother, that caused her to proactively design her life and business after working for 10 years in collegiate athletics marketing for her alma mater, the University of New Hampshire. And, it is her desire to seize life, new experiences and new opportunities that led her to become Mrs. New Hampshire 2016.

In our conversation, Amber shares how speaking our truth allows us to live joy-filled lives. She opens up about her traumatic experience as a childhood survivor of sexual abuse, how that event shaped her relationship with her mother, and how it also shaped her own journey in motherhood and business.

I loved hearing about how Amber lives her E.P.I.C life by coming home to herself and therefore coming home to the ones she loves. I left the conversation grounded and ready to let go of judgment, to live my truth and to design my life.

Topics discussed in this episode:

How Amber’s entrepreneurial mother influenced her life
The profound importance of speaking your truth and how Amber is helping other survivors of childhood sexual abuse through sharing hers
How Amber's near-death experience during the birth of her daughter inspired her to live her life differently
Having the courage to have hard conversations
Helping women “come home” to themselves
Letting go of judgment and pursuing something for the fun of it
The Law of Attraction
Weaving intentional actions for yourself into your life in order to be your best self

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Emerging Women’s Power Circles, where I connected with a circle of champions and supporters during the time I was launching Mother’s Quest http://www.emergingwomen.com/power-circles/
Amber’s interview on The Mighty Mommies Show Podcast with Whitney Lang:http://www.whitneylang.com/podcast-blog/2017/1/7/heart-centered-momming-with-amber-lilyestrom where she shares the full story of the birth of her daughter
Amber’s podcast, The Soul-Fueled CEO
The Soul Fueled CEOTM Academy
Amber’s website to sign up for email updates and find her social media handles www.amberlilyestrom.com
Haven New Hampshire, an organization supporting men, women, and children affected by domestic and sexual violence: http://havennh.org/
Abraham Hicks

Do you enjoy this podcast and want to support more meaningful conversations such as these? Visit the Mother’s Quest Patreon Page to become a regular patron or visit this link - www.mothersquest.com/be-a-supporter to make a one-time donation.

Topics discussed in this episode:

How Amber’s entrepreneurial mother influenced her life
The profound importance of speaking your truth and how Amber is helping other survivors of childhood sexual abuse through sharing hers
How Amber's near-death experience during the birth of her daughter inspired her to live her life differently
Having the courage to have hard conversations
Helping women “come home” to themselves
Letting go of judgment and pursuing something for the fun of it
The Law of Attraction
Weaving intentional actions for yourself into your life in order to be your best self

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Emerging Women’s Power Circles, where I connected with a circle of champions and supporters during the time I was launching Mother’s Quest http://www.emergingwomen.com/power-circles/
Amber’s interview on The Mighty Mommies Show Podcast with Whitney Lang:http://www.whitneylang.com/podcast-blog/2017/1/7/heart-centered-momming-with-amber-lilyestrom where she shares the full story of the birth of her daughter
Amber’s podcast, The Soul-Fueled CEO
The Soul Fueled CEOTM Academy
Amber’s website to sign up for email updates and find her social media handles www.amberlilyestrom.com
Haven New Hampshire, an organization supporting men, women, and children affected by domestic and sexual violence: http://havennh.org/
Abraham Hicks

Previous Episode

Ep 08: Empathy, Acts of Kindness and Climbing Mountains with Erika Greff

In this interview, I am excited to share a thoughtful and honest conversation with wife, mother, freelance television anchor/reporter, volunteer for philanthropic causes and entrepreneur, Erika Greff.

Erika lives in the heart of New York City with her husband and two sons, ages 13 and 12. I came to know her over the summer, when we were both grieving for the loss of our mutual friend, Leslie Fischer. Erika and I talk about how her boys comforted her the day of Leslie’s funeral and wanted to take positive action in Leslie’s honor that day.

In our conversation, she shares the ways in which she and her husband have encouraged her sons to focus on empathy, gratitude and daily acts of service, which her sons document on a website they created called budgetphilanthropist.com.

We also discuss how Erika has found herself at a career crossroads, after 18 years as an on-air correspondent for PBS’s Nightly Business Report. And, how freelance journalism has given her an opportunity to engage herself and her boys in conscious decision-making about the projects she pursues.

She gets honest about her new entrepreneurial passion, a media company to inform children about the news in their world. And she shares how she perseveres through frustration to find the path to her vision, even going mountain-climbing with her boys to symbolically face the fear of failure in her new venture.

I hope you get inspired, as I did, about consciously instilling the values of kindness, empathy and acts of service in your children. And that you realize you are not alone if you too are struggling to make a new vision become real.

I feel enriched by the generosity Erika so freely shares and excited to explore the resources she recommended to become a “financial grownup” and to cultivate daily kindness in my children. I am grateful she and I have connected and I know our friend Leslie would be too.

Topics discussed in this episode:

How Erika’s parents taught her that self-esteem is about the things you do, not the things you have
The way Erika’s children practice and document daily acts of kindness
Driving in the car and bedtime as great opportunities to connect with your children
Involving your children in decision-making about your own life and career
The challenges of pursuing a new venture and working through fear of failure
The concept of a favor bank – help other people and they will help you in return

Resources mentioned in this episode:

The Budget Philanthropist – the website where Erika’s son’s chronicle their acts of kindness.
The specific blog post where Erika’s children reflect on how they supported their mother the day of Leslie’s funeral
How to Be a Financial Grownup by Bobbi Rebell
Random Acts of Kindness – Become a RAKtivist
Episode 00 of the Mother’s Quest Podcast where I reflect on the Mother’s Quest Mantra inspired by Leslie

Next Episode

Ep 10: Choosing Gratitude and Glitter with Nancy Netherland

I am thrilled to share this heartwarming conversation with Nancy Netherland, a healthcare advocate and a self-proclaimed mom-ologist with on-the-mom training in infectious disease, hepatology, rheumatology, gastrointestinology, and glitterology.

Nancy is also a healer and an artist. She is a mom to two mermaids ages 9 and 10 and works as a writer and data strategist for non-profit and safety-net healthcare entities. In the past five years, she has helped secure over $100-million in grant funding, influenced international policy, and provided research for publications and speeches presented before the UN, WHO and the US Congress.

In our conversation, we explore how Nancy’s parents instilled a sense that anything is possible, something she has needed to draw on as she faced the loss of her husband and the serious, chronic illnesses of her daughters. She shares how she and her girls cultivate generosity and pay that generosity forward through something they created called “gratitools.” And, we talk about how she has developed relationships with other parents of sick children, despite their vastly differing viewpoints, a message deeply needed during today’s divided times.

I was moved to tears by Nancy and how she consciously chooses gratitude to ensure she and her children experience joy and laughter in the midst of adversity. I hope you will join me in saying yes to Nancy’s challenge... to find the magic not only in the everyday, but especially in the midst of something hard.

Topics discussed in this episode:

How her parents influenced her childhood by teaching her that anything is possible
Resiliency and mindfulness during traumatic events
The importance of creating magic in our lives
“Gratituding” as a verb
Her favorite book “Man’s Search for Meaning”
Advocating for your children’s health
The importance of community, especially as a caretaker
Building deep relationships with people of differing viewpoints

Resources mentioned in this episode: