If your default setting is “I’ll rest when I die,” this episode is your wake-up call. 

In this solo episode of QueenMode, Dr. Ana Castilla — orthodontist, author, and 8-figure founder — breaks down why your health and energy are actually your greatest business assets as a woman entrepreneur. She shares the story of ignoring her own symptoms (including chest pain and an ER visit) in the name of productivity, and the moment she realized that neglecting her health wasn’t sacrifice…it was self-sabotage for her team, her patients, and her entire business. 

This conversation is for women founders, CEOs, and small business owners who are tired of running on fumes, trapped in hustle culture, or feeling guilty for wanting to take care of themselves. 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

• Why energy—not strategy—is the real engine of your business 
• How ignoring your body shows up as bad decisions, burnout, and lost profit 
• The hidden ways hustle culture trains women to glorify self-neglect 
• Why women entrepreneurs face extra challenges with health (caretaking, bias, medical gaslighting) 
• How to start tracking your “health KPIs” like you track revenue and leads 
• The QueenMode Minimums: simple, sustainable moves to protect your sleep, energy, and sanity 
• How to reframe self-care as a leadership obligation, not a luxury 

If you’ve ever told yourself, “I’ll focus on me when things slow down,” hit play on this one. 

Connect with Ana 

📲 Instagram: @dranacastilla and @queenmodepodcast 

🎧 Follow QueenMode so you never miss an episode 

💌 If this episode hit home, share it with a fellow Queen who needs the reminder that she is the most valuable asset in her business. 

If I told you the most valuable asset in your business isn't your offer, your funnels, or

even your team, but your body, would you actually believe me?

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We glorify 16 hour days, iced coffee for breakfast, and I'll rest when I die, like burnout

is a badge of honor.

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But here's the truth no one puts on Instagram.

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The day your health collapses, your business does too.

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In this episode, we're going to talk about why energy, not strategy, is the real engine of

your empire.

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Why women entrepreneurs are especially at risk and how to start treating your health like

the billion dollar asset it really is.

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If you've ever told yourself, I'll focus on me when things slow down, this conversation is

your wake up call.

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What's up Queen?

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I'm Dr.

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Ana Castilla, orthodontist, author, speaker, unapologetic dream chaser, and yes, I took my

business from flatlining to an eight-figure exit in just eight years.

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But spoiler alert, I didn't get there by playing a safe.

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I broke rules, I made bold moves, and I became the woman my younger self was waiting for.

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Queen mode

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is your weekly dose of fear strategy, unfiltered truth, and mindset shifts that will have

you leading, growing, and living like the powerhouse you are without burning out or

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selling out.

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So if you're done playing small and ready to rise, welcome home.

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In my journey as an entrepreneur, I've come to understand that life and success are all

about energy.

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Energy is what fuels creation.

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It's what powers our businesses, our relationships, and the moments that make life

beautiful.

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And you can't have energy without a healthy body and mind.

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Now, if you're already thinking, yeah, yeah, I know I should take care of myself.

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Stay with me.

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I'm not talking about spa days and green juices as a personality.

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I'm talking about your decision making, your risk tolerance, your creativity, and

ultimately your profit margin.

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Your health is your greatest asset as an entrepreneur because it is the fundamental driver

of your ability to perform, be productive, manage costs, and sustain a long successful

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career.

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Optimal health provides the energy, vitality and stamina to work hard, focus, make sound

decisions, even under pressure.

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Seriously, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you better get ready because you

will have to be a life athlete.

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Being not sick is not enough.

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You need to be strong.

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You need to be able to thrive at your level with your body.

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in your season of life.

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And if you like numbers, let me put it to you this way.

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Nothing will cost your business more than you, or your team for that matter, being

unhealthy.

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Poor health can be a significant financial drain through high medical bills, increased

insurance premiums, loss of productivity, and loss of income due to illness and sick days.

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Put that on your P &L.

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And it's not just your body.

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The mind-body connection is a real thing.

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For most of my young adulthood, I thought these two things were different and separate.

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I thought everything was mind over matter.

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And I used this phrase to give myself permission to abuse my body and work it into the

ground.

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I thought that what mattered was my willpower.

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And if my mind willed it, I could just push my body through anything.

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But make no mistake, your body can and will affect your mind.

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Ever been hangry?

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The mind-body connection means your physical health directly impacts your mental and

emotional state.

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Recently, someone asked me what was the biggest factor that led me to being successful in

my business.

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And of course, I have worked hard.

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I have worked really hard.

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but lots of people work hard and don't find success.

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I don't know what the one thing is, but I do know this, being able to manage my mental and

emotional state in the face of challenges is definitely in the top three reasons that made

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me successful.

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let's talk about why you want your business to succeed.

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Yes, you have your mission.

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You want to help other people, but you also want the success for you and for your family.

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Well, without health, you won't be able to do either.

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You won't be able to help others or enjoy the fruits of your labor.

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You are the most critical piece of equipment in your business.

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Your ideas, your leadership, your creativity, none of it can exist in the absence of

health.

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And if you're listening with a chronic condition, disability, or a body that doesn't

always cooperate, this conversation is still for you.

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This is not about forcing your body into someone else's version of healthy.

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It's about partnering with the body you actually have.

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so you can have the most energy and stability available to you.

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Prioritizing your health is not another thing to squeeze into your busy schedule.

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It is a core business strategy that safeguards your capacity to build the life and

business you envision.

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As entrepreneurs, we measure everything.

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We track our numbers, monitor key performance indicators, and analyze data so we can make

informed decisions.

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We know that what gets measured improves.

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But when it comes to our health, our most important asset, most of us measure once a year.

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an annual checkup, a quick set of labs, maybe a conversation that lasts 15 minutes.

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That's it.

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It's easy to do.

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You have a busy schedule, intense work demands, financial pressure, and even social

isolation.

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It can feel like there's a lot on the line and your workout can wait till next week.

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You know, after that all-important deadline.

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And if you're juggling a business and kids or aging parents or a partner,

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or a second job or all of the above, you might be thinking, Ana, I barely have time to

shower, let alone go lift If that's you, is especially for you.

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Because you know what?

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There will always be something.

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Just like there was never a perfect time for you to start your business, there will never

be a perfect time for you to get healthy and strong.

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And hustle culture doesn't help either.

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That belief, so often prevalent in the startup and entrepreneurial world, that success

requires relentless pursuit and sacrifice has caused many of us to put our health last and

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even be proud of it.

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I fell into that mindset for a good while.

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I remember my husband used to tell me, you need to rest.

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And I would respond, I will rest when I die.

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Now you've learned how dramatic I can get.

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But seriously though, it's scary how many of us will easily overlook our health and

wellbeing because we think that somehow health will get in our way.

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And you can't blame it all on hustle culture either.

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Entrepreneurs have, shall we say, certain personality traits?

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Give us a personality test and it will often come back with high scores on risk-taking and

persistence.

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The drive for success often leads entrepreneurs to prioritize short-term business demands

over long-term personal sustainability, and we end up viewing health as a luxury rather

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than a fundamental asset for effective leadership

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and decision making.

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If you're realizing as you listen that you've been ignoring your body, there is zero shame

in that.

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You've been trained to.

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This episode is not about beating yourself up.

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It's about giving you better data so you can make better decisions.

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But it's a slippery slope and risking your health is not worth it because your health is

not just for you.

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What I found out is that as a leader, a lot of people are counting on your health, even if

you don't care about it.

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I want to tell you a story about a time I put my health at risk.

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It was February 2021 and we were in the thick of the COVID vaccine craze.

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And as a healthcare provider, the vaccine was required and I was more than happy to do

what I needed to do.

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I had signed up for a two dose series and had already taken the first dose.

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The first dose did not sit well with me.

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And I developed a horrible rash on my upper arm around the injection site.

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It was annoying, but I was busy.

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I didn't even bother to bring it up with anyone.

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Not my doctor, not anyone.

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I just kept doing my thing.

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And then it came time for my second dose.

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I got my second dose on a Friday and by Sunday, I felt so sick.

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I wanted to stay in bed all day.

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And trust me, that

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is a lot coming from me.

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I was having a bad reaction to the second dose as well.

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The next day, which was Monday, I didn't feel much better, but I had a full schedule of

patients waiting for me.

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I couldn't just call out.

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and though I felt terrible, I smiled and saw patient after patient after patient.

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On top of everything else, I had flown my brother and my sister-in-law into town for a

photo shoot as my sister-in-law is a photographer.

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I was determined that this was not going to get in the way of my marketing.

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By midday on Monday, I pulled my husband, who works at my office, into a private room and

told him, okay, this is going to sound so weird, but I almost feel like I have angina,

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which is the medical term for chest pain.

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And of course he responded with kindness and recommended that I go lie down somewhere.

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But I took one look at my busy patient schedule and said, no way.

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I have to get back out there or we're seriously going to fall behind.

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And that's what I did.

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I went back out there to continue to see my patients.

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About 30 minutes later.

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My brother, who had been busy filming the office in action while my sister-in-law took

photographs, came up to me and told me, hey, I'm so sorry, but I'm gonna have to fly back

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home.

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He then proceeded to tell me that one of his team leads had had a heart attack and he

needed to go back to manage his team in her absence.

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my God, I responded.

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And he said, yeah, it's crazy, she's only 47.

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And then I thought to myself,

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I'm in my 40s too.

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But I pushed that thought to the side faster than a New York minute.

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I thought to myself, you're not overweight, you work out and you eat healthy.

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There was no way I was having a heart attack.

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And by the way, heart issues don't care what size you are.

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Health is not a dress size.

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It's your inner reality, your labs, your stress levels, your recovery, your resilience.

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And then the chest pain went away.

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I was good.

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Or so I thought.

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That evening in the middle of the night, I began to have chest pains again.

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My husband Eddie insisted, let's go to the ER.

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It was around 3 a.m.

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and I was in a hotel room because the electricity had gone out in my home due to a winter

storm.

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We had booked a couple of rooms at a hotel in Portland near the airport so my brother

could catch his flight in the morning without running late due to the snow.

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So there I was at the ER on Tuesday morning at about 4 a.m.

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The ER room was packed.

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But you say chest pain and it's like having the go to jail card in Monopoly.

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Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

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They got me in super quick.

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I was scared at first, but after doing an AKG and some other tests, they told me they

couldn't find anything.

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They told me everything seemed fine.

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but they were waiting for one more test.

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So back to the waiting room I went and by this time it was like 6 30 a.m.

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and I was sitting in an ER waiting room near the Portland airport while my practice was in

Salem over an hour away.

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My first patient was at 8 a.m.

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and my entire team was waiting for me.

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So what did I do?

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I left.

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You heard that right.

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I ran away from the ER, hopped in my car and convinced my husband it was okay to leave.

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After all, they told me they couldn't find anything.

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I had a full day of patients and a full day of consultations.

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No other doctor worked in my office at the time, so I was going.

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About 45 minutes later, while I was still on the road, I get a phone call.

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Where did you go?

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I could hear the nurse on the other end.

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Sorry, I responded.

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I had to go to work.

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Well, I'm calling to let you know that you have elevated troponin levels." And I said, oh,

okay.

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Do I like me to reschedule?

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And she said, ma'am, your levels indicate you may be having a heart attack.

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That moment was so surreal.

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I felt like I was getting punked for those of you old enough to remember that show.

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and still the gravity of it would not sink in.

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Are you sure?

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I responded.

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I have to go to work.

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And I think she lost her patience with me because she then said, no ma'am, you have to go

to the nearest hospital.

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Well, I don't want to bore you with the details, but it wasn't a heart attack.

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What I had developed was acute pericarditis as a side effect of the COVID vaccine.

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Not a heart attack technically, but it certainly mimics a heart attack and it can quickly

lead to a series of other heart issues, including heart damage.

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Now this happened through no fault of my own.

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It was just a bad reaction to the vaccine.

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And I want to be clear.

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I'm sharing my experience here, not making a statement about vaccines one way or another.

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The real story here is how deeply conditioned I was to ignore my own body's alarms in the

name of productivity.

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I'm telling you this story because when I look back, I cannot believe I was willing to

gamble my life over a productive day at work.

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And here's what really hit me.

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It wasn't just my life I was gambling with.

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I ended up in that hospital for almost four days.

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And during that time, my practice completely shut down.

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Without me there, there was no one to see patients.

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And without patients, most of the team was not needed.

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So almost everyone got sent home for the rest of the week.

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Only a few stayed behind to reschedule all those patients.

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That week was my wake up call.

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This was the moment I realized my health was not only important for me personally and for

running a tight ship.

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My team and my patients literally depended on me being healthy.

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Payroll, schedules, care, all of it was affected by what was happening inside my chest.

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I had been telling myself I was sacrificing for the business, but the truth was I wasn't

just sacrificing myself.

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I was putting my team's income, my patients' care, and my entire business at risk.

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That's when I stopped seeing health as something I would get to later and started seeing

it as a core leadership responsibility.

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Now I want to dive a little deeper and discuss how keeping up with our health can be extra

challenging for women entrepreneurs.

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we often face increased pressure due to societal expectations around family and care

responsibilities.

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It may be 2025, but women are still doing most of the housework and childcare, even while

working or running a business.

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Additionally,

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Society has conditioned many of us to believe that we are good mothers, good wives, or

good daughters only if we put ourselves dead last.

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entrepreneurs.

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Sometimes even leading women.

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to exit their businesses altogether.

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and even when we do seek medical attention, women often have to tackle systemic issues

like medical gaslighting, bias in research, and underprioritization of our symptoms.

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I have experienced this firsthand.

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A year and a half ago,

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I sought out a doctor because I was losing range of motion and flexibility in my right

thumb.

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What did my physician say?

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He said, I was just getting older.

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That comment not only infuriated me, it kept my thumb from getting the proper treatment,

and that initial loss of flexibility progressed into a severe case of trigger thumb for

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which my doctor later wanted me to have a hand surgery that wouldn't even fully correct

the issue.

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I was given no other options, not even physical therapy.

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Fortunately, I had the courage to advocate for myself, though not without feeling the

usual fear

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of negative perception and worry about being perceived as difficult, aggressive, or

demanding, I did my own research and was completely healed with stem cell therapy.

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So if you've ever felt dismissed, minimized, or brushed off when it comes to your health,

you are not alone and you are not crazy.

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And if you're realizing you've gone along with it, minimize your own symptoms or told

yourself,

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It's not that bad.

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There is no shame in that either.

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We've been socialized to override ourselves.

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But here's the thing, Queen.

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No one is coming to save us.

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We have to be the ones to take the lead on our health.

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And as I said, health is not enough.

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If we're going to go after our dreams and build our empires, we need to take charge of our

health and vitality so we can thrive.

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Because you can't build an extraordinary business or life from a body running on fumes.

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So how do we do it?

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How do we put our health first so we can build the business and life of our dreams?

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I'm about to give you 8 ideas, not 8 commandments.

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I don't want you doing all 8 by Friday.

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I want you to pick one that feels most supportive and go all in on that for the next 30

days.

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Here are 8 ways you can start doing this today.

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1.

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Focus on drinking water.

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Always have water with you and always be drinking it.

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This is not a should, this is a must.

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I know you've heard this so many times before, but there's a reason for that.

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Headache?

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Dehydration.

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Low energy?

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Dehydration.

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Doll skin?

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Dehydration.

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This is a great starting point and it's almost free.

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Number two, sleep seven to eight hours every single day.

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This may be the most difficult thing for entrepreneurs to conquer because we are often

trying to squeeze the juice out of every minute of the day.

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But hear me when I tell you the 10 hours you work after barely sleeping are not the same

10 hours you work after being fully rested.

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Those are two very different 10 hours.

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The latter is more productive, more creative, and more resilient.

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Sleep is an investment that pays major dividends.

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it was enough.

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It is not.

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Ladies,

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you have to do resistance training.

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We start losing our muscle mass at age 30.

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30, the muscular system is an endocrine organ that influences your metabolism, growth, and

energy.

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Additionally, low muscle mass is associated with decreased longevity.

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This doesn't have to mean a fancy gym.

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I work out at home myself.

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This can be bands,

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Body weight, dumbbells in your living room, whatever works for you.

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Number four, keep track of your health KPIs.

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In business, we would never make decisions based on outdated or incomplete data.

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Yet that's exactly what we often do with our bodies and our health.

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We go to the doctor once a year and get our blood pressure and our O2 set levels, but

never go beyond that.

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What about your hormone levels?

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What about your HRV?

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And in today's era of wearable devices, there is no reason not to keep tabs on your

numbers.

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I said it before and I'll say it again.

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What you measure gets respected and you can't optimize what you don't measure.

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Number five, be the CEO of your own health.

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Entrepreneurs often describe themselves as the CEO of their business.

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But what about being the CEO of your own health?

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That means building a personal health board of directors, doctors, nutritionists, fitness

coaches, and wellness experts who work with you, not just on you.

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It means using data, not fear to make choices.

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And it means remembering that your health is not a cost center.

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It's your greatest investment.

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what you have access to right now and build from there.

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Number six, practice stress management.

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Integrate mindfulness techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or yoga into your daily

routines.

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Even a few minutes.

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can reduce anxiety and improve focus.

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However, I'm going to be the first to tell you that a few minutes per day is not a great

long-term plan.

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This is your mental health we are talking about.

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It is a top priority.

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And as Tony Robbins says, the real chokehold in any business isn't a lack of skills, it's

the psychology of the owner.

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I meditate 25 to 50 minutes per day and never stop investing in my personal growth.

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That didn't happen overnight.

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It started with five minutes.

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Number seven, set and enforce boundaries.

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Clearly define work hours and personal time and learn to say no to non-essential

commitments.

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Turn off work notifications during personal time and use email autoresponders

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to manage expectations.

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If you don't protect your time, no one else will.

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One simple boundary can buy back more energy than another cup of coffee ever will.

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And number eight, separate self-worth from business success.

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This one's a toughie, and I promise you I had to overcome this myself.

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But it is critical you recognize that your personal value is separate.

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from your business achievements.

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Practicing self-compassion and having interests and hobbies outside of work can help

provide you with some balance.

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When my practice was still in the red, my life coach recommended I take ballroom dance

lessons because she knows how much I love to dance.

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I resisted her so much at first because I thought to myself, I don't have time to go

dancing.

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My business is not profitable.

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But in the end, I listened and I can't tell you how much joy it brought me and how many

wonderful people I met.

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If that list feels like a lot, take a breath.

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You are not meant to master all of this at once.

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Let me give you what I call the Queen Mode Minimums.

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If you do nothing else, start here.

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Drink water all day.

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Actually finish the bottle.

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Don't just carry it.

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Guard your sleep like it's a million dollar contract.

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Set one boundary this week that protects your energy.

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And book one health-related appointment you've been avoiding.

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Labs, a follow-up, a specialist, whatever your next step is.

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brain can picture this, here's what an energy-conscious day might look like for a real

woman with a real life.

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You wake up and drink water before you grab your phone.

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You do five minutes of stretching while your coffee brews.

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You decide ahead of time what time work ends today, and you actually shut down the laptop.

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You take 10 minutes in your car between appointments to breathe instead of scroll.

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You go to bed 30 minutes earlier instead of watching one more episode.

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Is it perfect?

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No.

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Is it empire building?

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Absolutely.

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Queen, I want you to hear this.

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You are not too busy to take care of yourself.

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You are too powerful not to.

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Your business doesn't just need your strategy, your hustle, or your brilliant ideas.

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It needs you.

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Clear, grounded, energized, and fully alive.

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Every glass of water you drink, every hour of sleep you protect, every boundary you

enforce,

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Every time you advocate for yourself in a doctor's office, those are not small acts.

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Those are leadership decisions.

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Those are empire building moves because you are not just building a business.

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You are building a life.

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You are modeling what's possible for your team.

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your clients, your family, and every woman watching you, wondering if she's allowed to

take up space and take care of herself too.

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So here's your Queen Mo Challenge.

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Before you add one more thing to your to-do list, add one thing to your health list.

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Book the appointment, fill the water bottle, go to bed earlier, lift the weights, sit in

silence for 10 minutes.

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Whatever your next aligned action is, take it.

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next month, not when things slow down, today.

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Because energy builds empires and your health is your greatest business asset.

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Thanks for tuning in Queen.

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I hope today's episode gave you the clarity, courage or confidence boost you needed

because building a powerful business starts with believing in you.

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If you loved what you heard, don't forget to hit follow so you never miss an episode.

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And if this podcast moved you, inspired you or made you think, share it with another

powerhouse woman who needs to hear it.

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Your reviews and shares help more Queens rise.

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And if you want more tools, resources, or just want to connect, head to dranakastia.com or

find me on Instagram at Queen Mode Podcast.

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Keep showing up, keep leading boldly, and remember, you were born to rain.