HOW TO DE-CLUTTER YOUR

RESILIENT WOMEN MAGAZINE

HOW TO DE-CLUTTER YOUR MIND AND ACHIEVE YOUR MOST FULFILLING GOALS

Jessica Malone Lifestyle Design Strategist Meet Jessica, She's a lifestyle design strategist who was recently featured in Forbes for the amazing results her clients report. Her passion is helping high-stress individuals lead the life they truly desire by removing mental clutter in their spaces, finances, and habits.

Jessica leveraged the power of decluttering to get back in touch with her gifts of resiliency, motivation, compassion, and strength.

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Kim: Everybody, get your ticket, because it's only going downhill from here. Jessica. Who are you?

Oh, gosh, that's a big question. But I would say that you know, the quick facts are born and raised in Texas. I'm from Dallas, originally grew up in the suburbs in Frisco. And so I had spent the majority of my life, you know, just kind of doing what I thought was expected. Go to school, get good grades, get a good job, have a retirement fund that's growing.

And I'm an only child. So, you know, me and my parents, we were the Three Musketeers. If they said I should do it, I did it. You know, And so I was just a very obedient child. But also, I became this really successful high achiever.

But in my Mid-Twenties, I just reached a point where I felt like, okay, I've done all of these things, I've checked all of these boxes, but like, I don't feel fulfilled. I'm not, like, so inspired by the life that I am with. That's when I just started on this journey of self-discovery, which at first was becoming a food blog but it led me down this greater path of figuring out, well, what do I really want to do? Which then I turned into a blog about minimalism. And minimalism brought me to where I am today, decluttering my life, sharing it with the world, and then I turned it into a coaching business. And that's where not your average fro has brought me. You've gotten rid of everything in your place. You've gone minimalist, you've made it public. Now you're not going to use the degree that your parents helped you get yeah. What was that conversation like?

So it's a really interesting story. When I left my corporate job, I also left to go live out of a van as well as launch this entrepreneurial endeavor.

My dad has been an entrepreneur my entire life, so he's always kind of coached me. And he's been in sales for the most part, so I think it's not a surprise that I'm doing this. I'm really walking in his footsteps in that sense.

But my mom, she, of course, wants me to have security, you know, to have a roof over my head and to be well-fed. And so I think for her, as much as she loves what I do she also knows, there are a lot of ups and downs.

They were very interested in me keeping my job. They really wanted me to, but they also knew that this is what I truly wanted to do.

Kim: What do you do?

So I coach high achievers to declutter their life so that they can build better habits and achieve their most fulfilling goals. The thing about A lot of high achievers, is that we are very successful on paper.

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Or to the outside world. We have accomplished so much. But when we're at home in our quiet moments, there's so much that we longed for and so I really help high achievers declutter the things that are tied to so that they can really make room for the goals that are most important to them.

Kim: Okay, so what does that look like? So walk me through this.

We start by understanding their perception of the world and in what way is it cluttered and keeping them from what they truly want. So for the high achiever, clutter is almost always tied to the expectations of others, mostly their parents. But it can also be industry related, from friends, or social media.

And for a lot of them, that's where they've put a lot of their worth. So there's a laundry list of things that they want to accomplish, but in their mind, they don't think they're capable of doing it or that it's valuable. If someone hasn't already validated it for us, then we really don't see it as an option in our minds.

And then I take them through a process of identifying, you know, when these thoughts come to mind. As well as, decluttering and optimizing the physical environment, as it's a reflection of our inner environment.

So every room in your home is tied to a different kind of aspect of your life. And we start their decluttering process in that particular space and that's where they go through and do some journalling. Through journalling, I can get this kind of picture of what's happening in their mind, but also to help them organize their thought patterns.

Kim: And when you started down this journey yourself, what were the studies or the thought leaders within that space? Who did you learn from?

Yeah. So I followed the minimalists at first. When all of this started, I was just reading books on mindfulness and Amazon recommended a 21 day minimalism challenge. I didn't know anything about minimalism, but I was like, You know what? I'm pretty miserable. So like, if this works, then fine, you know, I'm cool with that. And so I got into minimalism that way, then started following the minimalists. And there's a concept that I share called The Clutter Cycle, and it's that cycle of clutter thinking that creates a cluttered action that creates a cluttered environment. And over the years I didn't even realize that was like, that's like something that happens just generally it's tied to human behavior that thought action results. So my program really focuses on shifting your thoughts to create new actions and new results.

Kim: First of all, why should we learn from you? And then second of all, why should people do this?

I think my favorite thing is that my heart is so deeply ingrained in it. I practice what I preach. Everything that I teach I've done. I went through decluttering two and three. I was and I did the journalling and I shed tears and I let things go and then realized like, oh my gosh, maybe I didn't want to leave with that guilt. And it changed my life. I too was in this place of feeling like there just has to be more to life. You know, it helped me lose weight. I dropped down to over 45lbs since I started this whole journey. I left my job, launched a business in France, got back into playing the piano, my piano. So I think "Why Me" is just like, I really believe that this can change your life because It happen in my life. And now I've seen it happen in the lives of so many other people.

When it comes to the science behind it; the "who I should do this?" I like to use a sort if metaphor; when you're moving to a new house, a new apartment, a new house, whatever. Right. It's totally empty. And that emptiness reflects a level of possibility. You start dreaming up all the different things that you can do with that space, right? And so I think about our lives in that same way.

So we all have a lot of that we have carried with us mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, etc., over the years. And by letting go and creating a little bit of space, wherever that may be, you finally get that sense of possibility. Again, things feel like, wow, I really could do anything.

You don't have to get rid of all your stuff in order to adopt this methodology, this perception, this belief.

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Kim: Could you share with us a moment in time that without resilience, you would not be sitting in that chair having this conversation?

Yeah. So this is something I only recently just started talking about, actually, but a couple of years ago, back in 2020, I left my job and as the planner that I am, I had saved a ton of money. I actually got severance from my company, like all the stars really aligned. And so I had a lot of cash that I was sitting on top of and I thought, Okay, this is going to last me at least a year. but that it was that felt like my make or break moment. If I had given up, then I don't think I would have picked it back up. But I felt like, you know, you did this because you really wanted to test yourself and challenge yourself and have an experience that shows that you can trust yourself. They say sometimes people give up right before it's about to get good. And I feel like I had hit that point, but something told me to just keep going.

Kim: So I'd love for you to close this out with a quote, something that you've always loved.

One quote I heard earlier in my entrepreneurial journey was "everything is created twice. First in thought and then in kind." That resonates with me and I think also has guided a lot of my coaching program. Just remember that whatever you think will come to fruition day, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually. So focus on the thoughts that you create amazing.

My fiancee and I, we had gotten into a business deal that we thought was going to help us have even more cash. And the guy ran off with our money, which was about seven and a half months worth of living expenses. And within a year of starting that journey, I was down to my last thousand dollars. And I really thought about giving up. And I think that was probably my lowest year since I've left my job because it made me second guess everything. Watch the interview now! youtube.com/c/KimTalks

But I stuck it out and saw my dream job through, And 30 days later, I was featured in Forbes. I booked three clients. And then a few months after that, I had to select my first celebrity client. So it was like a whirlwind, Connect with Jessica Instagram: @nachoaveragefro Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jessmalone/

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WHERE'S KIM BEEN?

The51

The51 is a Financial Feminist™ platform where current and aspiring investors (particularly women* and gender-diverse* individuals), come together to democratize access to capital for women and gender-diverse founders. Had a great network at the Rooftop YYC. Connecting with other business women and learning.

ROCKING R RANCH

At the Rocking R Ranch chatting with President of the southern Alberta BBB with Mary O;Sullivan Andersen For the upcoming show Discover Calgary on ResilientTV.com and seen on Telus Optik

THE DREAM LIFE IS REAL LIFE PODCAST

Fun being the interviewee at times. Great interview with Hanna from the Dream Life is Real Life podcast.

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A NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATION LED BY AN INCLUSIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The first Play On! Street Hockey Tournament was held in Halifax in 2003. Since that time, a total of 170 Play On! Events have been held in 37 communities, involving over 400,000 participants and over 2 million spectators, volunteers, and officials. The event set the Guinness World Record for largest street hockey tournament in 2013, involving over 42,000 players in its largest season.

HERITAGE PARK

Visited Heritage Park, a living history museum located on 127 acres of parkland on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir, along Calgary's southwestern edge. PODCASTING 411

July Podcasting 411 class was awesome!!!!

Get ready to learn in-person Sept 23 at the Calgary Petroleum Club and look for the online program in October.