Shownotes
Tune in to this insightful episode the Marli Williams Podcast, where I sit down with Anna Blossom, a renowned medium and intuitive business coach. Discover how Anna transitioned from a high-powered career in the fashion industry to becoming a medium and intuitive coach. Marli and Anna discuss the significance of intuition in business and personal development, exposing the often overlooked benefits of following your inner guidance. You'll hear stories about breaking free from societal norms, integrating intuition into everyday decisions, and learning to trust yourself beyond logic. This episode is designed to help you see that your intuition is your secret superpower and is filled with practical tips and exercises to help you connect with your intuition and use it more in your life and business decisions. Tune into this episode and explore the potential of living a life driven by authentic, intuitive choices that are aligned with who you truly are and what you want.
Anna's Bio:
An intuitive coach, medium, speaker and facilitator, Anna coaches leaders around the world and has been one of the top rated intuitives in Portland and #1 medium on Google & Yelp since 2019. An early influencer in the sustainable fashion industry, Anna Cohen worked in New York, Italy, and Portland as a fashion designer and creative director. She founded her namesake line to critical acclaim in 2005. Her work has been featured in top industry publications including two covers of Women’s Wear Daily, Vogue, Elle France and NY Times as well as in museums, books, television and film. Intuitive by nature, Anna’s work incorporated healing and balance into the apparel industry and blossomed into the coaching and mediumship work she does today. Learn more at http://www.blossomintuitive.com
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Transcripts
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Marli Williams [:Everybody. What is happening? I would love to welcome you back to the podcast where this week I am hanging out with my friend, Anna Blossom, who is a medium and intuitive coach. And we really dive deep into what is intuition, and how can we use it to fuel our life, our leadership, our businesses? How can we lean in and really trust that our intuition is our superpower. It is the thing that if we allow it in and we learn to listen to it, can really guide us forward. It can help us make decisions, and we explore all of that and more in this incredible episode. So I cannot wait to dive in with you today. Let's do this. Hey, everyone.
Marli Williams [:What's happening? I am super stoked to welcome you to the Marli Williams podcast where we will explore authentic leadership, transformational facilitation, and how to create epic experiences for your audiences every single time. I am your host, Marli Williams, bringing you thought provoking insights, expert interviews, and actionable strategies to unlock your potential as a leader, facilitator, and speaker. Thank you for joining me on this journey of growth, transformation, and impact. Let's lead together. The Marli Williams podcast begins now. Let's dive in. I'd love to welcome you back to the Marli Williams podcast where today I am hanging out with my good friend, Anna Blossom. We actually went to Palm Springs together, had an amazing experience at the alt summit, and I got to know Anna a little bit more.
Marli Williams [:And she is an incredible intuitive coach. She's actually a top rated medium here in Portland. And, ultimately, she supports leaders and teams to really help them use the skill of intuition to, like, expand their creativity and expand what's possible through coaching, teaching, facilitation, and speaking. So I am so stoked to have you on the podcast today. I know we've been talking about doing this for months and it's happening. We're doing it. And I love to open it up by having you share a little bit about your story and your journey of what brings you to the work that you do as a medium, as an intuitive coach, and I'm sure that it's been an interesting journey to get to where you are today. And I think that that's, always fun to hear what brings people to the work that they do.
Marli Williams [:And clearly, this is the work that you are meant to do, the work that lights you up. And so, again, so grateful to have you here and love to kick things off with your story.
Anna Blossom [:Alright. Thank you, Marli. I'm so excited to be here. Love the invitation, and I'm excited that we've been talking about it for months. And now here here it's happening, and I love your show. I love how you connect with people and Mhmm. Help support people on their journey. And I just feel like it's a really exciting thing that you're doing.
Marli Williams [:Thank you so much for that. I appreciate it.
Anna Blossom [:Of course. So I was not always a medium. No? Or maybe you were. When I was a kid, I could feel maybe around 8 years old, I could sort of feel, I guess, what I would call hot spots in people's bodies. I could feel where there was tension or pain, and I would just want to go and touch their body and help them heal. And it it was happened too. But I didn't know how to talk about that or that that was a thing that I could explore. There just wasn't a lot of language about that in our culture.
Anna Blossom [:Even really creative, awesome parents who were very supportive, that just kind of got lost in the mix, and fashion kind of swept me along. I learned how to sew when I was pretty young, and my grandmother taught me, and I just was very creative in that area and ended up going into the fashion industry and had quite an incredible experience in that. Always being quite intuitive, I would sort of sense when the doors were opening for me, and I would walk through them. I just knew when I walked on the campus of FIT in New York City that that was it was like waking up from a dream when you don't remember something that happened in your dream, or that you even had this dream, and suddenly, something you see or smell or hear triggers this whole memory. That's what it was like. It was so clear to me that that was what I was supposed to do. And so that's how my fashion career went. And I spent 2 years in New York going to school, and then I went to Italy and got to work in high fashion.
Anna Blossom [:I was there for 4 years and did design work for Max Mara, Patrizia Pepe. These are pretty high end brands. I did designed, handbags for guests. They did their handbag design over in Italy at that time.
Marli Williams [:Wow. That's amazing. What a cool experience.
Anna Blossom [:Yeah. And we don't know Patrizia Pepe here so much, but they're a beloved brand over in Italy and in Europe and beyond, but not so much in America. Some people know about them, but anyway, amazing journey. And I came back home and waiting for paperwork to come through so that I could actually have my working papers to actually work for real in Italy. And I was waiting and waiting. And eventually, I got this phone call from the head of education at Holi Moura, which is where I went to school. And she said, we just need 1 more person to run this pilot program. Because I had left school to stay there because it was really
Anna Blossom [:Wow.
Anna Blossom [:Actually have a career there. You kinda need to stay. It's to even get in there at all and have an inroad is amazing. So you kinda have to stay. And so I had been kind of pushing the educational world to run a final year in Italy. And so 2 years later, they did. And I ended up having this dream, and this I'm telling you this story because it relates to how intuition plays such a powerful role in guiding us. And I had this dream that I was in a clearing and surrounded by trees with all this huge crowd of people and loved ones who loved me.
Anna Blossom [:And they were all sending me this warm light and energy because I had decided to go back to school Because I was kind of poised. And I woke up, and I told my mom this dream. And she said, okay. I'll help you write your letter of resignation. And I did that. And it was through that process that I started to I returned back to healing part of myself because I just didn't know how that was fitting in. I'd I'd never looked back. I was aiming at the moon, and once I made it, I was like, oh, wait a minute.
Anna Blossom [:What am I doing here in this industry that can be so toxic? And what happened to that healing part of myself? And how can I bring that in? And so that whole last year of school was just about figuring that out. And so I
Anna Blossom [:Figured out how to bring fashion and sustainability together in a way that was not being done. And I can't realized in Italy, I couldn't do this as a young person, as a woman, and as a foreigner. So I came back to the States and worked for a splash at Adidas for a little bit, and then I started my company. And this was Anna Cohen. I didn't have time to think of any other name. It was just like going, I I would love to tell you more of that story. But it was an incredible journey because the world was ready for that message at that time, which was the beginning of my healing, you know, bringing the healing back in. Fashion plus Sustainability.
Anna Blossom [:And it was like covers of women's wear daily and New York Times, Elle, books, television, film, all of it. Wow. Because no 1 had been really giving that message of sustainability through a beautifully designed package that was high end, and it was just a really beautiful carrier for the message. So my work, there's sort of like this arc to come back to this healing part of myself, and then a part of my work, I would say. And then toward the end of that, I just kept doing more work for entrepreneurs that were trying to launch a vision, and helping them with creative direction and business consulting. And because I had been through all of that Right. Right. And it just became more about the healing and less about the product design.
Anna Blossom [:And eventually, I realized in this sort of simple way, Simple. I don't know if that's really makes sense, but that I was a medium. I just had no idea. But I felt like over a 7 year period of time, I was sort of, like, feeling less engaged, even though on the outside it looked amazing what was happening. I was really drawn to something more was coming, something different. And I kept on feeling my intuition was growing, but I couldn't quite figure out how. And then 1 day, I just got this very mundane information, and I don't usually get mundane concrete information. And it was like, okay.
Anna Blossom [:Something is happening here. It was like a wake up call, and I knew that I needed to say yes to this at this time. And so I of course, this is the way intuition works. I already had a lunch the next day with my aunt, who is more involved in all of that. And I talked to her about it, and she knew the right place for me to go. And within 3 days, I was at my 1st mediumship meetup group, and I was shocked by how accurate the information was. I couldn't believe how incredible this was. And so this I was just very clear.
Anna Blossom [:This is what I'm supposed to do. And again, this
Anna Blossom [:is how it works
Anna Blossom [:in my life. And so then I studied intensively for 2 years or so, and then started my practice. And I started working with people 1 on 1 as a medium first. And that grew quite quickly and got to pretty sought after, and it was really amazing. And and I didn't come out as a medium actually at first because I had this whole public persona, and I wasn't ready. It was sort of vulnerable. And so I waited until I really had built up my practice, and I went by Anna Blossom because Blossom is my middle name. Instead of Anna Cohen, which is my first and last name, for my fashion, all my fashion stuff.
Anna Blossom [:And so I built up this whole other business, and then I came out as a medium. And I was pretty surprised by how much support there was everywhere. I got no at
Anna Blossom [:all, which was really amazing. And then I started doing more and more of this work. And so I've been doing this for about 8 years. And over the last 4 years or so, it started to come full circle and back into the bringing the business side back into this work. And so starting to help leaders and teams integrate intuition into what they're doing. And so this is what I've been doing the whole time, but I it was, you know, how it is.
Marli Williams [:Exactly. It's like we have to go on that whole journey. And then sometimes, like you said, it it all comes around and it all comes full circle and it's like you in a way are integrating all of the parts of you, your knowledge around business, around product design, around healing and mediumship and using your intuition. And now it's like it's almost like the fullest expression of that using I wanna say this to you and to anybody out there listening, Like, so often when we shift careers or shift gears, we can make the past wrong, or we can tell ourselves a story of, like, look at all the time I wasted doing this other whatever job or thing that wasn't really in alignment. I wanna say that that was not in the way it was on the way. And this idea of like every single thing that you've done has prepared you for whatever version is next. And so I just think it's just so important to not, I'm not saying that you did that at all, but I think, like, that's why story is so powerful for people listening to this. It's like, oh, wow.
Marli Williams [:Like to go from, like, epic person in the fashion industry, it could look like and then all of a sudden or what I'm like doing this, like, intuitive mediumship thing. Oh, look at all the time I wasted doing something that I didn't really you know, because you love that. That's still a part of who you are, and it's a part of, like, what you even bring into the work that you do right now. But everything and all of those experiences, I think about it as this, like, unique constellation that only you can bring. Like, there's thousands of mediums, but, like, you bring this unique constellation of the fashion industry and sustainability and nature and, like, you know, all these things. It's like, what makes you you and, like, what's your unique brand of magic? It's your past. It's your history. It's your passions.
Marli Williams [:It's everything. And so I love you sharing that story and what has brought you to the work that you do today. And it's fun to see. It's like, again, it's like the integration of all of you.
Anna Blossom [:Yeah, I would love to also just offer in addition to that, that when we invite our whole selves, instead of pushing away any part or having judgment about any part, that allows us all to be more present and happy in general. And so we give that we give other people around us permission, even if it's totally unconscious, to show up authentically.
Marli Williams [:Yeah. And how many people, you know, like, might be in a a more traditional career, let's say, and get this pull or get this call to be an intuitive, a medium, a coach, a healer, a guide, a speaker, you know, something else. And they push it down or they say, there's no way I could do that. I'm not qualified. I'm not skilled. I don't have what it takes. I don't have the experience. Like, all the stories we make versus when we get that call, you know, part of honoring our intuition.
Marli Williams [:It's like it's speaking to us all the time. And are we willing to listen? Are we open to honoring our intuition and saying, thank you? And if that voice is showing up, if those messages are showing up, if you have that feeling that you're meant for more, there's a reason for it. Like, it's not an accident. And how many people, like, we try to shut it down or turn the volume down or don't listen to it. We don't honor it. We're, like, I should be happy with what I have. I should be okay where I'm at. Life isn't that bad.
Marli Williams [:Things are okay. You know? So I really am excited about having this conversation with you because I think intuition is like a superpower that we all have access to, that many of us have never been taught what it is, how to listen to it, and then exploring some of the things that, you know, what stops us, what gets in the way, and what is possible when when we do. And so as you're sharing, like, I feel like I have so many moments in my life that really invited me to trust my intuition beyond logic, beyond reason, beyond all like, it's like, oh, well, that doesn't make sense. Well, it makes sense to who. Right? And I remember 1 of these stories I have been living in Bellingham at the at the time. I went to grad school there. I was there for 8 years and I was working at the university full time. I went to grad school for student affairs administration.
Marli Williams [:I was working in the field that I went to grad school for, working with college students, and I got the call. Like, I got the like, there's something more. And I remember there was a email that I got that said, like, pioneer nation. It was an event in Portland put on by this guy named Chris Guillebeau. And it was for on creative entrepreneurs. I was working full time at the university at the time I got this email. And I remember, like, getting this email and then, like, going to the website and reading the website, like, over and over and over. And I'm like, but I'm not an entrepreneur, and I'm not a speaker, and I'm not a coach, and I'm not all these things.
Marli Williams [:But, like, there is something in me that, like, I feel like I need to be there. If this is what I wanna do, it's like I wanna surround myself with these kind of people, essentially. I remember emailing or calling somebody from the website saying like, I work full time. I'm not an entrepreneur. Like, is this for me? Or like, can I come? Or, like, asking someone's permission, you know? And they're like, if it resonates with you, show up. And it's like, how many times do we get this hit of, like, oh, that event, that conference, that workshop, that thing that's like the 1 of the stoke quotes that I love is as pay attention to what captures your attention.
Anna Blossom [:I love that.
Marli Williams [:It's like, can I pay attention enough and lean in and say, oh, this feels edgy and stretchy, but it also feels right? It's like outside of my comfort zone, but it's like I need to be there. And how many times have myself people out there listening, do we talk ourselves out of it because, well, that doesn't make sense. I'm not an entrepreneur. I won't fit in. I won't belong there at the medium group meetup thing. And ultimately, I signed up. I said, yes. I went to this event and that, I mean, in a lot of ways was a catalyst for me because I got to hear people's stories and I got to learn and that, like, yeah, this is the direction I wanna go ultimately.
Marli Williams [:And I I've had so many other moments along the way where, you know, when I moved from Bellingham to Portland, it was like, why people are like, well, why are you moving to Portland? I and I just said, it's time. It's time.
Anna Blossom [:Yeah. You can feel it.
Marli Williams [:I could feel it. I went to an adult summer camp and we did a tarot card reading because I was like, well, if I wanna create an adult summer camp, I should go to 1. We're sitting in this field and I pull this card and it's it's a little kid behind bars, but the lock on the bar on the, like, jail cell kind of thing is open. Like the lock isn't shut.
Anna Blossom [:Okay.
Marli Williams [:And for me, it was just like, I'm not stuck. And I get to go, you know, it's like, I remember feeling just this intuition, like, it's time. But logically, like, I thought I was gonna live in Bellingham forever. So I wanted to share, like, a few of those stories. I'm like, wow, there's just so many moments, so many moments in our life where we can choose to listen or shut it down. So, I'm curious for you when we talk about intuition, like, how do you define it? How do you
Anna Blossom [:It's the experience of knowing beyond logic, of feeling with our whole so there's an entire sensory system that is for our intuitive senses. So you've heard of clairvoyant. Most people have, which is clear seeing. There's clairsentient, which is clear feeling in the body, which is like when you feel waves of energy or goosebumps or cold chills, or you feel somebody else's pain in their body, that's clairsentience. There's clear cognizance, which is clear knowing. There's a bunch of them. And so there are all these other sensory parts of our system. If we lean into them and we learn about them, we strengthen them.
Anna Blossom [:So just like our muscles, if we use our intuition, it strengthens and grows. And if we don't, it atrophies. And so it's a skill anyone can use and that we all have. And it's been essentially underutilized, and we just don't have a lot of education about it. And I think historically well, there's so much history, but there's been a lot of fear around allowing ourselves to listen to that. There's a lot of that that comes culturally or from religious backgrounds. Though I do work with lots of people from all kinds of religions, which is cool. There's been a lot of fear around actually listening to that.
Anna Blossom [:And there's been witches were tortured long ago for doing using those skills, or what we call witches. But we have a quite a history here. And so it is safe now to lean into this, and it is actually incredibly beneficial. It helps people like in a work environment, it helps people feel heard, seen, invited to be there authentically, even just 1 workshop. It just really helps people feel like they're really invited to truly be present, and they're really valued. And guess what? When we actually lean into using that, we are far more efficient, and we're far more happy.
Anna Blossom [:Mm-mm.
Anna Blossom [:Because, you know, you about a structure or let let let's say we have a plan. And this plan we're put building, we're putting it together. And then as we move through this plan, we recognize some things have shifted a little bit. Now if we feel like we have to stay with that plan because it feels safe, or because there's not we don't think it's safe to change that, or we don't think there's room to change that plan somehow for whatever powers that be, or that isn't part of the culture of the company, then we stay with that. But that it's less of a fit for what's actually happening at that time. Mhmm. Actually, it starts to play out. If we're listening and we can shift gears even slightly, when we're listening, we can actually we're reading essentially the energy of what we're engaging with.
Anna Blossom [:So for the end consumer, we're engaging with them and inviting them. We're we're really serving them. So how can we better serve you? Okay. I'm feeling that maybe we shift this a little bit this way. And then as we continue to go along, that's actually gonna be far more of a fit, and it will inspire that engagement and be felt. So when that Zoomer actually picks up that item or that service or whatever, they're gonna feel an energetic draw to it because of that intention and that connection. So I'm kind of going beyond what into I mean, what is intuition? It's sort of like a a long description of that, but that's kind of in practice.
Marli Williams [:Yeah. What it looks like.
Anna Blossom [:Yeah. What it looks like. And then I would say also, in your own life, in a sort of low hanging fruit way, say you're in front of the refrigerator, and you're trying to pick which snack to have, and you're looking at the strawberries, and you're looking at the grapes, and you're actually if you can take a moment and feel with your sensory system which 1 is most aligned for the highest good for my body and for how I'm gonna serve the world, That energy that went into producing that fruit, all of the life that is in that, people that picked that and the intentions. I mean, you're feeling all of that without knowing. You don't need to know all the consciousness or all the conscious pieces of that, but you just feel what feels good and what doesn't. And I would say also with intuition. It's really important, and there's a lot of sort of cultural ideas about how we use our intuition for things that are fearful. So like, oh, my intuition is telling me that's not that that feels dangerous.
Anna Blossom [:And that can happen, but I feel like if we're really attuned, we're less likely to even notice that because we're focusing on what feels in alignment. Mhmm. And there's a part of our brains that is been around for a long time, and it's really searching for everything that is a threat. And it's just there. It's the majority of our focus, but it takes practice to rewire that and just begin to continue to focus on the things that are feeling good. And so that's why I give that example of the low hanging fruit of going to the refrigerator or going on a walk and listening to where to go, not where not to go.
Marli Williams [:Yeah. And it's like, where are we putting our attention? Right? Is it like that the fear based Totally. Yeah. Versus, like, the possibility. Like, where am I going and what is of highest and greatest good for all, myself included. Right? And I love what you said about our intuition really being this muscle that we can grow, we can nurture, we can cultivate it, but if we're not using it, it's like, we don't use it, we lose it. And I think we're all born with it.
Anna Blossom [:Mhmm.
Marli Williams [:And yet we live in this. Most of us live in a world that's like we make very, like, logical decisions or, you know, don't tell me how you think or tell me how you feel. Tell me what you think about. You're in a creative marketing team or whatever and people you're creating a product. I was like, I don't care how you feel. So it's like, how do we create? And that's a big part of the work that you do is create company cultures that honors, like, something about this doesn't quite feel right or, you know, and I've read studies even in the medical industry where, you know, a nurse might see a patient and, like, all the vital signs are okay, but something doesn't feel right. Something seems off and they go to the doctor and they're like, well, show me on paper the vital signs. Well, they look fine.
Marli Williams [:15 minutes later, they're septic because when someone is septic, they look fine until they're really, really, really not fine. But that intuition, have they addressed it 15 minutes ago, would be an easier sit so it's like, you know, in the medical industry when it's like, show me the facts or, like, in industry is show me the facts, where can we build value our intuition just as much as the quote, unquote facts. And I think that in our businesses, in our life, cause we can look at what the facts are. I have this job and I have this paycheck and dah dah dah dah dah. But I feel like I am meant for more. I feel like I meant to heal people. I feel like I meant to coach and guide and support people in a different way. But the facts are this pays my rent.
Marli Williams [:And, you know, people it's like, well, what about insurance? It's like, you will figure it out. I pay. I'm a self I'm an entrepreneur. I'm self employed, and I pay my insurance. Do I like doing it? No. Do I do it? Yeah. Like, would I rather pay my own insurance than have a soul sucking job? Yes. Like, and this, you know, Marie Forleo's quotes, like, everything is figureoutable.
Marli Williams [:And I think when we follow our heart and our intuition and this knowing, I think it is part of, you know, Joseph Campbell and the hero's journey is like when we follow our bliss, doors will open where there once 4 walls.
Anna Blossom [:Oh, yes.
Marli Williams [:I think it does take a certain amount of courage to honor it, to listen to it, you know, to like, we both left really successful careers. Yep. People, especially the college I worked at, it's like the golden handcuffs. Right? It's like, why on earth would anyone leave this job? Mhmm. And it's like, because I want to, you know, like and I felt the call and I felt like I was built for more and I was meant for more. And could I potentially stay here forever? And, like, I think this idea of disease in our world is because many people are stuck in those golden handcuffs of whatever it is. And, like, they might not even be gold. They might be silver.
Marli Williams [:They might be copper. They might be even, like, rusty handcuffs. You know? Like, it's, like, comfortably uncomfortable. Like, they're in a not great relationship and not a job that is sucking their soul out of them. Like, maybe they're living in a town where they're not fully accepted for who they are, but they feel stuck, you know, that just all of these places where people are feeling a sense of being stuck where they are, and if we're able to slow down. And I think that when I lead retreats and we both lead retreats and getting people to step out of their everyday, like, out of the noise, out of the overwhelm, out of the distractions that are really keeping us from that knowing. And so when people, you know Yeah. And I was gonna say, like, well, what do people come to you for? And if they are in this really stuck place, how do you help them reconnect or tap into their knowing and start to build this relationship with their intuition? What does that look like?
Anna Blossom [:So usually, the way in the door with me that often is the pattern is that people book a session 1 on 1, a a mediumship. I I don't actually call it mediumship because it's a combination. I do mediumship. I do intuitive reading of energy intuitive psychic energy reading, all different ways of talking about the same thing. I actually help facilitate healing also in the body or in the when you were talking about constellation, I work with families family bloodline healing, someone who's ready to manifest an animal. And I know nothing about people. I don't wanna know anything about them, and I set them up to not tell me anything before we start our session. And then the way that it works is that we build trust immediately and deeply because I'm able to know things about them and their family and their loved ones in spirit that are oftentimes, it's ways that people have never been seen before.
Anna Blossom [:And it's so incredibly validating. And it's like we bypass through that process many layers of guarding and protecting, and we're just go straight to the nectar of their spirit. And so we're we're working at that deep level. And then from that place, people are ready to go there again, to be held by that process. And when I'm doing my coaching, it's not that same process exactly. I'm I'm really engaging in
Anna Blossom [:a different way. And when I'm working with organizations,
Anna Blossom [:it's a another level depending on, you know, what is the need and Yeah. Sticky points. But I think the creating this intimate container of trust through, there's just no way I could know those things, and I do. Right. So without a doubt, can trust me, and I then help bring healing. And so I would say that's the way that I starts. And it's not just me. I'm saying me, but I'm really working with their spirit teams.
Anna Blossom [:And this is, like, language that's tricky for organizations a lot of times. But those oftentimes, the way that I have worked with them is that their leaders have come to me. And then I talk to them about what I do for organizations, and then they bring me in. And that's what happens. And so that's how this is growing. It has grown in this way. And so a lot of times what happens in those sessions, if I recognize that someone is stuck or there's a a stuckness, like they're kind of wanting change, knowing they want this, and having a really tricky time bumping up against these structures that they're basically, what I see is these internal under the surface sort of energetic operating systems that we all have. And some of them really are pretty strong and are getting in the way, and we just need some help to dislodge ourselves from those, to look at them, to bring them to the conscious level so that we can transform them.
Anna Blossom [:And that's a lot of the work I do, especially in my and that usually happens, you know, after a first session where the trust has been built. And then we see and I trust that process because when it comes up in session, I know that's the direction. You know? Yeah. I sort of require that before I do coaching with anyone, 1 on 1. Right.
Marli Williams [:A 100%. Yeah.
Anna Blossom [:In a team environment, it depends on what's needed. Sometimes there are teams that are sort of operating in silos, and they're needing some support to integrate. And so through introducing an intuition to them and how to use that and how to connect around that, we can start to build what it looks like to be in a bigger team, and begin to explore from a deeper level, a heartfelt level, what we want that to look like, so that we're not just doing this because it's a top down because it's a directive. Does that make sense? It's because it's truly something that we want, and that everyone can relate to. And then also helping leadership sort of take responsibility in a really authentic way for the learning that they're doing. Because we have this of not taking responsibility of saying you know, not really apologizing, you know, just go forward. This is what we needed. You know what I mean? And it's like, oh, wow.
Anna Blossom [:We're seeing that. We're learning here. And thank you for being on this journey with us. We really want you to feel valued for the amazing work that you're doing. So come and join us on this journey. And so that's you know, I help with that kind of language and shifting the narrative a little bit. It really helps lay level the emotional playing field for everyone. Yeah.
Anna Blossom [:So that those sort of hierarchical things that are there, those structures that are there are not as much felt because we're connecting human to human. So then we can have a easier time voicing our needs, even knowing what they are, having space for recognizing what our needs are, and then following them, getting them met.
Marli Williams [:Right. It's like, you know, yeah, creating, I think, in both cases, an energetic safety net might not be the right word, but it's like, it's safe to feel how you feel and express it. And again, where I think so many people are repressed. We repress our feelings, we repress our knowing. And again, this idea of our intuition and how we really don't necessarily live in a society or a cultural structure that really, really honors that as a gift, as a skill as like, you know, there's no classes and elementary school, high school on like, what's your intuition? And how do you listen to it? You know what I mean? Like, or even maybe in college when if you like opt in for like a spirituality class, maybe. But like it's just not something that I think we really value and value in leaders and in leadership to say, like, something doesn't feel quite right. And for that to be enough to say, great, let's talk about it versus like, well, you're crazy. We're doing this anyway.
Marli Williams [:And like where in our lives and I really wanna invite people into their own world and their own reality of like where in your life, 2 ends of the spectrum. Where in your life can you think of a time where you really honored yourself and you honored your intuition when you had a decision to make? Or you made a choice that didn't make sense, but you felt like that was the right decision and you honored that. And maybe just like notice what the impact of that was or the result of that was. And then on the other side of the spectrum, thinking about maybe a time in your life right now or a time in your life where you had a feeling about something and you didn't listen. Or again, even in your life right now, like, maybe you have a feeling on your heart that's like, I know I meant for more. I know this job isn't right, or I know this relationship that I'm in isn't really serving me. How much can you honor you and honor yourself and like tune in and listen to that? And I think 1 of the biggest challenges for me and like I think 1 of my life lessons or journeys, like the like, 1 of the lessons that I'm having to keep learning over and over again is can I honor myself and can I disappoint another person to be true to myself? And I think that is when it has been the most challenging to, like, leave a relationship that wasn't working because I felt like my whole body was saying no. But logically, I was just trying to talk myself into it.
Marli Williams [:And meanwhile, I was anxious and I couldn't sleep and I wasn't eating and like all these things and my intuition is really fierce is really strong and if I don't listen to it, it it can be destructive If we don't honor it. I remember feeling this like stabbing pain in my back, that like I was stabbing myself in the back. Like I was self sabotaging. Like that was the hit that I got was like, this isn't working. But I was so scared to hurt someone else and let someone else down and feeling like this person trusted me. And now I'm like gonna break their heart and it was unbearable to choose myself and honor that.
Anna Blossom [:Yeah. And, you know, if I were working with you at that time, I would have just really gotten curious with you about that resistance. What is that fear? So you can ask yourself anytime. Am I making this decision because of fear or because of love? And you always wanna go for love because fear is never ever going to serve you or anyone else in the best way possible.
Marli Williams [:Yeah. And I got to that place where I was I was staying because of fear Right. Out of fear of, like, letting everything fall apart.
Anna Blossom [:What was the catalyst that helped you make that transition?
Marli Williams [:It took a lot longer than I think I I wanted it to, and I just couldn't, like, live that way anymore. I was, like, literally kind of, like, destroying me. It was a slow journey to, like, I would get all these intuitive hits. It's time to let her go. She needs to be on her own. Mission accomplished. Like, my mission was to, like, support her in getting out of a bad situation. But I heard this, like, I had never heard a voice like that.
Marli Williams [:And it was like 3 days after she got moved in. And I was like, there's no way. Like, what kind of like WTF like universe?
Anna Blossom [:But what did that teach you? I mean, in the end Yeah. Such a lesson about listening.
Marli Williams [:Lots of learning. Like, so many lessons and so much growth, and they were lessons that I needed to learn around. And I think that, you know, some of the kind of this, like, well, what gets in the way of our intuition for me? I think it's the people pleaser. And I noticed that I was wanting to be the hero and be the rescuer and all these things. And that big lesson that was really hard to learn was like, this is a pattern that isn't working anymore. Like, it's worked for you up to this point, but it's not gonna keep working. And so it's like, this is showing up right now to break this pattern.
Anna Blossom [:Did you feel like it really broke
Marli Williams [:Oh, yeah.
Anna Blossom [:Pattern all the way?
Marli Williams [:Oh, yeah. Like, I was like, that does not work.
Anna Blossom [:And this is a perfect example also. We were talking about career stuff earlier, but also life journey, life lessons. So if you were to disregard that part of you or feel bad about that journey, that would not serve you. Instead of looking in that way to that past version of yourself, honoring her, honoring that journey and that amazing growth that happened, and that she can then show up beautifully for you now. If we push parts of ourselves away from the past, we're not allowing them to bring value and bring influence into where we're going now. We're too afraid. And so then we continue to make the mistakes or learn those lessons again.
Marli Williams [:A 100%. And I I think that, you know, you said, like, well, what's the catalyst? There's a quote, and I sometimes mess it up. But it's like, when the pain of staying the same exceeds the pain of change, then we will change.
Anna Blossom [:Wow. That does make sense. But wouldn't it be much better if we just go for what feels good?
Marli Williams [:Right? But it's like, it was so like to stay the same because leaving felt impossible, staying felt impossible, but it was like, and I think you're so right. And, like, for so long, I made myself really wrong. Like, how could I have done this? I should have known better. What was I thinking? Da da da da da da. And it was just like, I've really gotten to this point where it's like, this is the whole, like, a mistake is only a mistake if we don't learn and grow from it. And so it's like, it's all again, it's not in the way. It's on the way. And like every experience we have is really, I mean, meant for our growth and our evolution.
Marli Williams [:And it was like as uncomfortable as that was, like, I had to go through that to get to where I'm at in my relationship with myself. And 1 of my mantras that I developed through that was when I choose me, others get the best of me.
Anna Blossom [:Yeah. So does the rest of the world.
Marli Williams [:And the rest of the world. And I really want this to land for people around like, what does it mean to honor yourself and your intuition? It's like, can you choose you choose to honor the wisdom in you? And when you do like, again, we live in a world that's like that is, I think I grew up thinking that that was selfish. Because, again, there's people pleasing and doing everything for everybody else and, like, taking care of everybody else's needs. And that's the right thing to do in this, like, kind of martyrdom. Like, look at me and look at how great I am. And choosing ourselves can feel like, yeah, selfish, but it's actually like the greatest gift that you can give the people that you lead, the people that you love is like you choosing you, and then others get the best of you. And like you said, and the world gets the best of you when you show up for you in that way. And I just think this again, how can we honor ourselves and our intuition in this way and see it as a practice.
Marli Williams [:It's like, what do I want? What kind of ice cream do I want when you're at the ice cream store? And it's like, or what what do I want for dinner? Like, all of these decisions we make on a daily basis? Can we I think there's a can we slow it down enough to listen and tune in?
Anna Blossom [:It's interesting because initially, I do feel like it does require slowing down to a certain degree. It requires slowing the trigger reaction down. However, intuition is immediate can be immediate. Also wanna say it's not a barrier
Anna Blossom [:to Oh.
Anna Blossom [:When you have to slow, because that can feel like a barrier. Do you know what I mean for people? And so it's like, I'd like to look at the where the pattern where there's, like, a trigger in the pattern of behavior and try to trace back to I do this in in my energy work, sort of trace back to where that decision is made to take that pathway that's the practiced way we make decisions. Say someone is trying to change a behavior. I'm looking back at where that happened. So this week, I had a client in who I felt something in her lungs or someone connected with her in spirit with lungs, and she said was her. And she said that she was struggling with smoking. So I had felt into it, and I was like, okay. So actually, what I'm feeling is the root of this is anxiety.
Anna Blossom [:Do you struggle with anxiety? And so she does. And I could feel that it was actually in her fingers. Of course, it started in the brain, this flip of a switch of wanting to soothe. And then I feel that actually if she had a fidget something and I actually had a I have these stones here that a client gave me, and I just picked 1 up. And I would have been working with her grandmother in spirit before that. And she was like, oh, you need this. And she took it home with her. And that was to be her special thing that she could hold and fidget with, and maybe something else too.
Anna Blossom [:But that we sort of planted a flag in her energy system and her awareness so that when flip that switch would be flipped normally, that she would instead go down this pathway to pick up that item or to recognize that soothing breaths would help her. Like, this is the place where we wanna make that change. And we could did some energy work too. So I know that that will be changed for her because that's just how this stuff works. But it's just an example of a way to understand how you can change your patterns. She was ready for that, and that's why she was sitting there. My agreement with the spirit world is that you bring them to me when they're ready. Mhmm.
Anna Blossom [:And they just arrive. And it's amazing because they're ready. And so if somebody's not ready, I don't it's not time yet.
Marli Williams [:Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And so it's like for people out there listening, it's like if you are at a place where you're like, I'm ready for growth for change for something different. And I know that what I've been doing is no longer working. Listen, tune in, pay attention to that. And I appreciate what you said. It's like sometimes it requires us to slow down so we can turn up the volume and listen to our intuition.
Marli Williams [:But also knowing that our intuition is like we already know. We already know. And then what we do is we override it. It's like we override the knowing. So it's like, when that does drop in, can we really like again, the invitation is just to honor that.
Anna Blossom [:I just wanna add, this is so important. A big, huge part of this whole concept of intuition and following it is trust. Because the fear is what keeps us from actually acting on that. So if we sort of rewire ourselves to be able to trust that that information that we're getting is actually accurate and will benefit us and everyone else, and if we get out of the way, then it will actually make things really pretty amazing. I would say that by following my intuition, I am in a career that I absolutely love. I'm way more success I mean, I was very successful before, but I feel so much more balanced. I was in a very an industry that was, like, so taxing in so many ways. And I can't imagine being in a in a better situation.
Anna Blossom [:And that's because I've been following my intuition and listening and meaning toward what feels right and being brave enough to trust it. And when things are not feeling right, quite right, that it's okay to change them. And so I wanna invite listeners to really think about that in your own lives, where you have these opportunities, really, they're invitations and opportunities to say yes to your intuition and trust it because there's a lot of energies at play here beyond your own self. And I can say this with certainty after 1, 000 and 1, 000 of spirit connections with loved ones in spirit who come through with total evidence to prove that they're there. They're they are supporting all of us all the time, and we can't see them, but often we see signs or feel them. All of that is very real. We're not alone. And so feeling that support, just recognizing that there is that support, not only in your family system or in your community, but also recognizing that you have the support of your loved ones in spirit.
Anna Blossom [:That can maybe help you feel a little more safe in saying yes to that thing that your drive that is a drive in you. And also, I wanna say, our hearts send about 10 times more messages to our brains than our brains send to our hearts. And that is a significant thing. So that just just let's take a moment to sit with that. That's big. If we're absolutely and the heart is where intuition is really resides. That's where the wisdom comes from. Our hearts can perceive beyond what we can fully comprehend.
Anna Blossom [:They are always telling the truth. If you want to really trust your intuition, it means sort of dropping into the heart connection. And what you can something called heart coherence that I would recommend for people to do. And there are 3 steps to heart coherence, so we could do that right now.
Marli Williams [:Yeah. Let's drop it in.
Anna Blossom [:So if everyone would like to just go ahead and close your eyes for a moment few moments. Mhmm. Or to take some deep, slow breaths into your heart as if it's like a third lung. So expanding your heart with your inhales, contracting your heart with your exhales. Just bringing your awareness to that beautiful heart of yours, and then begin to bring feelings of love and gratitude and joy into your heart space. And you can give yourself a smile to help you connect with these feelings. Maybe think about something you love deeply, your animal or a person you love or something in your life that you really love and appreciate. Let those feelings fill your heart.
Anna Blossom [:And then you can feel your jaw soften and your shoulders drop. Feel your belly soften and your hips and hands and feet, and recognize that this moment right now is the most important 1. And just love yourself for being here present in this moment. And when you're ready, you can open your eyes. This is called heart coherence and was developed by the HeartMath Institute, and it does all can you feel the difference? Mhmm. It does lots of things to your physiology to help you calm and get safe and connected. So if you want to connect with your intuition, this is a wonderful way to prepare for that. If you wanna make a big decision or a small 1, or just feel more connected to your heart, that is a great way to do it.
Marli Williams [:Thank you for sharing that. It's awesome. And so great to have just like practical tools. And again, when I say slow down, it's like, what was that? You know, 90 seconds maybe. Right? So it's like, giving ourselves that time and that grace, you know, in the midst of all the noise, and all the distractions to like, connect to ourselves and connect to our heart and like, pay attention to the messages that our heart is sending to our brain. I love that statistic that you shared with us as well. And I'm just so grateful for you sharing your your heart, your knowledge, your wisdom. I would love for you to share 2 things as we wrap for today.
Marli Williams [:1 is any final thoughts in addition. I mean, I know you just shared like this beautiful tool. But any final thoughts as we send these listeners out into the world? And then where can people find you learn more about you? I know you have like a super sweet offer. Feel free to just share kind of like, what are some next steps people can take if they're interested in learning more or working with you?
Anna Blossom [:The final thoughts that I'd love to share are just, I know we've been saying this so many times throughout this conversation, but just encouraging each of you, everyone, to trust. Trust the intuition that you have and trust that the world will respond with loving invitation when you follow your intuition. That is the exchange that we're kind of all here to experience. And we're learning as we evolve through our lives how to lean more toward that loving exchange and release the sort of traumas and pain that we also need to go through. They're all part of this package. They lead us toward those opportunities to open. And so just inviting everyone to just feel like you have permission and safety and invitation to do that.
Marli Williams [:Love that. Thank you.
Anna Blossom [:So I write I write mostly weekly. I write a substack, and my substack is called Muses of a Medium. And I love sharing what I do and the cool stories that I get to experience with all kinds of different people and situations. It's very cool. And there's a lot of information and helpful tools that I share as well. So that's a great way to stay tuned and connected with me and my work. And is my company and my intuitive agency. I love to call it that.
Marli Williams [:I love it.
Anna Blossom [:So you can reach me there. And I also you can find me on Instagram, Anna Blossom Intuitive. So my offer is for a 30 minute conversation, which is what I offer everyone in the business organizational space to help sort of discover where the growth points are for your organization and what how I can best and I, you know, I sort of intuitively feel into what's going on for you for your organization, and how we might be able to put together a package that would work best for you. And then that conversation is gratis, I would say in Italian, but free. And then I'm offering $222. I love the numbers, the triple digits off of your first engagement, whatever you do. And then for the 1 on 1 coaching, which is another I coach a lot of leaders all over the world. And that is so cool.
Anna Blossom [:I love doing that because that really makes a lot of
Marli Williams [:The ripple effect. Yeah.
Anna Blossom [:Oh, yeah. So cool. So that is also 222 off of your first coaching session with me.
Marli Williams [:Beautiful. And we'll have all those links in the show notes, so definitely check those out. And thank you for that beautiful offer, that beautiful invitation for people to drop in with you and
Anna Blossom [:Oh, yes. Marli is the code.
Marli Williams [:Oh, Marli is the code. There you go. All caps. And like
Anna Blossom [:like I said, all that will be in the show notes,
Marli Williams [:and I'm so grateful for this conversation today. And as you were sharing, some of my final thoughts are the tagline of this podcast is let's lead together. And this invitation to trust that you are guided, you are supported, you know, and when we lean into our intuition, we are co creating with the universe of like, so often, again, leadership can feel really lonely. And just leaning in to, like, you're not alone. You're never alone. And that it is such an honor to get to support you on your path and just leaning in, like you said, to that trusting yourself, trusting your heart, trusting your knowing, and trusting that you are guided, you are held, you are nurtured, you are supported by the universe and your guides and your ancestors and your loved ones that are here and not here. And I just wanna thank you for sharing your love, your knowledge, your heart, your wisdom with the podcast crew today and those out there listening. Thank you for joining us this week.
Marli Williams [:Thanks for being here. Thanks for listening. As always, I love to hear your golden nuggets. What are your takeaways? What did you hear? What resonated for you? And if you think someone else could benefit from hearing this, feel free to share it. Love it. Like it. Rate it. Review it.
Marli Williams [:All the goodness. So thank you for tuning in this week. Can't wait to see you next time. Thank you, Anna, for being here today and we'll see you next week. Alright, everybody.
Anna Blossom [:Bye. Bye.
Marli Williams [:Thank you for joining us on another inspiring episode of the Marli Williams podcast. We hope you're leaving here with renewed energy and valuable insights to fuel your leadership, coaching, and speaking endeavors. I'd love to invite you to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast to help us reach more aspiring leaders and speakers like you. We have more exciting episodes and remarkable guests lined up, so make sure to tune in next time. Until then, keep leading with purpose, coaching with heart, and speaking with conviction. This is Marli Williams signing off. See you next week.
