Charge Forward Podcast
The Charge Forward Podcast: Dedicated to those who choose to Charge Forward into the Storm when hit with challenges. This is what makes them different and has lead to their success. When in doubt.... Charge Forward!
Charge Forward Podcast
Skin to Soul, the healing journey, Anna DiCarlo of La Belle Naturelle shares her journey of Resilience, Wellness and Purpose
Why do we often forget about Soul or Self?
Welcome to the Charge Forward Podcast and the kickoff of 2025! This January, we’re focusing on health, wellness, and self-care, and we couldn’t think of a better way to begin than with a powerful two-part series featuring Anna DiCarlo, the founder of La Belle Naturelle. Anna is on a mission to redefine skincare and wellness through her holistic, organic approach, empowering individuals to embrace their natural beauty and prioritize their well-being.
In Part 1 of this inspiring series, Anna shares the personal and professional journey that led her to build La Belle Naturelle. From discovering the transformative power of natural remedies to creating a brand rooted in sustainability and authenticity, Anna opens up about the challenges, triumphs, and lessons she’s learned along the way. She dives into her passion for educating clients on the importance of clean beauty and how her journey has shaped her mission to improve lives through thoughtful, natural skincare.
This episode is packed with insights on building a purpose-driven business, maintaining balance, and staying true to your values in a competitive industry. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for your own wellness journey, curious about natural beauty, or just need that extra push to charge forward into the new year, Anna’s story is the perfect place to start.
🎧 Tune in now for Part 1, and don’t miss Part 2 coming later this month!
Want to connect with Anna DiCarlo and La Belle Naturelle?
🌿 Website: La Belle Naturelle LLC
🌿 Instagram: @LaBelleNaturel
🌿 Facebook: La Belle Naturel
🌿 Book Online: https://calendly.com/labellenaturelle1
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🎥 HitLab Studios – Podcast Studio: HitLab Studio
You are the cap for whatever goes on in your store, in your company, in your district, in your household. However excited you are, what you believe is possible, whatever that threshold is. Hey team, jim Cripps here with the Charge Forward podcast coming to you from HitLab Studios here in Nashville, tennessee. Now I have a special guest for you today. She is near and dear to my heart Ms Ana DeCarlo. She is a wife, a mother, a business owner for the past 12 years supplying local people, and even some not local people, with just the perfect service for them. Please welcome Ms Ana DeCarlo.
Speaker 2:Hi, how are you?
Speaker 1:I'm excellent. How are you doing today? I'm good, I'm here, that's right.
Speaker 2:And this is your first podcast. This is my very first podcast, yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, we're going to make sure it's really easy. Okay, and you know, I met you about a year ago.
Speaker 2:God, has it been that long?
Speaker 1:Almost yeah Time flies.
Speaker 2:It really does Okay.
Speaker 1:It does, so you own LaBelle Naturelle. I do. And we'll get to it a little bit later. But you've got another business that you're budding that has been in the works for a while.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, Long time. It's well, I say long time, but you know I've been doing some of it since I was born and then the other. I trained in all the things. So, like you said, we'll talk about it later. I love it.
Speaker 1:Well, and so how would you describe what you do? Because, like, when I describe it to people, it gets really woo, woo and I just really quickly it does, and I have to say, hey, bear with me, I know how this sounds and I know it doesn't sound like anything I would have told you ever before in life.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we'll talk about the first one, the LaBelle Natural, because that one's a little bit more easier to grasp. There you go.
Speaker 2:So that one is strictly just completely natural, organic products that I research, test, formulate, I mean from start to finish. Right. It all happens in my shop, labeling, packaging, everything, um, and then it goes out to people. But that's not what makes it really special. What makes it really special is if you have an ailment or something that's going on with you and you're like, hey, I'm allergic to this, that's okay, I can edit it Like, since everything's formulated by me, let me go ahead and switch it out, um, or leave it out or whatever I need to do to help you. And if I have a product that's not launched yet, which there's been a very minimal of that right.
Speaker 2:But if I have a product that doesn't fit you, I research test, we go through all the things together to see what will work for you. So it's not just a oh, it's sitting on a shelf, let me come in and purchase whatever. You know how that works. Um, you actually get a chance to shop either like that or you can have something customizable for you. So it makes it really unique.
Speaker 1:It does and, um, to me it's almost like and I know this sounds crazy, uh, but it's almost like you're mixing potions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I guess.
Speaker 1:So that's the start of the woo, woo, I guess it is so, um, and we might as well just dive into the woo, woo part of it, um. So I came to you because, uh, part of it. Um. So I came to you because, uh, I really hadn't I don't think I had any preconceived notions as what as to what Reiki was or energy healing, or a sound bed or lymph.
Speaker 1:I knew a little bit about what lymphatic drainage was, Um, but yeah, I don't, I don't think I had any. Yeah, there was no. There was no expectation.
Speaker 2:That's fair.
Speaker 1:And it's life changing.
Speaker 2:It can be Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And, and, as I tell people that, so, um, and I don't know if this person I won't say their name uh on on camera cause they may not want me to but uh, just last week we were having dinner with some friends and their parents came and I mean, I haven't sat and had dinner with them in 20 years. Oh, wow.
Speaker 1:Now we've had conversations but haven't sat down and had dinner with them. But I was talking about the Reiki sessions and because this person was like, oh you know, a feeder always cold yada, yada yada, and I was like funny story about that and of course in the beginning they're looking at me like I'm crazy. Right. And then the next day he's like hey, can you share with me the information for Ms Anna? Yeah, absolutely, I could do that.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 1:So what? And there's all kinds of things that you help solve and that you help people work through. I think it's different for everybody, absolutely. Um, so I guess, what is? Is there a normal for you? Is there a? Is the?
Speaker 2:um, the only thing normal about any of it is that I bring every single person back to themselves. So in a world of distraction, in a world of chaos, in a world of let's pay attention over here, right we're always somewhere else. We forget about this. So I was talking to somebody who happened to be traveling to Nashville. They were trying to buy a house in the Pleasant View area and she's coming all the way from Kansas and she's like I really got to find my holistic people, my community, because I have it in Kansas and here it's really hard to come by, and so I go. Well, funny story, right.
Speaker 2:You always start with that. And I told her, I said you need body, mind and soul to make it whole. And she goes I need that on the shirt. She's like I need you to write that down and put it on a shirt. And I said well, even if it's on a shirt, are you going to notice it? Are you going to look in the mirror? Are you going to notice it? Are you going to look in the mirror? Are you going to read it? And she was like well, you know, she kind of thought about it. And I said the, the pain in your hips. I was like we got to talk about that. And she was like how did you know I had pain in my hips? And I was like well, that's where you're carrying your grief. And then it started rolling into something else. And she's just looking at her friend like wide-eyed, like I don't understand how this woman knew that right.
Speaker 2:So people get scared like, if you say reiki, right, people get scared of things they don't know, so it becomes woo-woo, sure, right, or becomes unexplainable or anything else. But your body language can say exactly what you're feeling, or the way you're standing, or I'm. I'm just really good at reading people but also feeling it at the same time, right. Again, that's where I said I started when I was a little itty bitty kid, cause I would be like mama, those you know that person's leg is hurting them or they're really sad, and my mom was like what are you trying to? Do Right.
Speaker 2:You know, I mean, it was just kids feel that, but as we grow older we forget to continue to feel that everything else takes priority. Yeah, it does.
Speaker 1:Well, I think we just get caught up in the norms, right With what becomes what, what we see as normal is, or what society sees, I was going to say what's normal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, well, it's all about perspective, um, and so I will share mine. So so, team, uh, I go for my Reiki session with Miss Anna and again, I had no preconceived notions. I'm just, uh, there for experiment, there you go, and so she does her thing, and we get done, and she goes do your feet stay cold? And I'm a person that I run hot all the time, like if my wife would let me set the temperature at 58 degrees in the house, I would gladly do it. But, no matter what, my feet stay cold, so much so that for years I would say the entire time we've been married, because I did this well, before we got married, I have a towel at the end of my bed. Now Emily gives me grief because it's not a blanket, it is a towel. It's just because I only need to cover up this part, like the last 14 inches of the bed, because that's where my feet are.
Speaker 1:And so Ana gets gets done, and she goes um, well, I noticed that and, um, I think I've fixed it, and so let me know. And of course, I'm like, okay, yeah, that sounds great. There's no way that she fixed my feet. I haven't covered my feet up since, so it is bizarre, I can't explain it, uh, but it works if you're open to it, and I don't think I was open to it or not open to it. I was just there and willing, and I've referred other people to you with the same problem and they are fixed as well. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I guess, if you remember, like how, how was that on your end, what did you see that?
Speaker 2:So, okay.
Speaker 2:Um, and I'm okay saying this, but you know, I don't know how people are going to perceive it. I guess that's not my responsibility, right? But, um, yeah, Essentially I speak to soul. So, as I'm doing the Reiki session and Reiki is really, it can even be scientifically talked about, right? So energy by physic form cannot dissipate, right, can't go anywhere. It only changes or transmutes, right?
Speaker 2:So when somebody is transferring, like, somebody gets close to you, you can feel them before they touch you, right, you have all those senses. It's just like somebody walking up behind you and you're like, ooh, like I know somebody is back there, right. And you turn around and somebody's standing there, right. Or you walk into a room and you feel, oh, this room is I don't like, this, like something about this I don't like. That's really all energy is. It's that feeling, it's that intuition, it's that knowing.
Speaker 2:Well, with Reiki, the fundamental purpose is just I'm there, I'm giving you good energy, that's it. It can't be used for woo-woo or bad or curses or anything else, right, it's strictly good stuff. And then, when I was doing Reiki for you, what I would see because that was your original question was I could actually see a block at your hips. It was like you were two different people. Almost the bottom half looked cold and not how do I want to say this Not lively Like the. The energy just wasn't flowing. It was like it would come from your head. Go and just stop at your hips and I think you might remember us talking about that, how it was just like you were severed.
Speaker 1:Right, well, and the thing that, um, one of the things that. So I get frustrated with people when people make up the answer, and I love the fact that you know I knew nothing about what you were doing. You could have told me anything on this planet and I would have to perceive it as real or not real. And you said I've never seen this before. I really didn't.
Speaker 2:Before you. I really hadn't seen that before, yeah.
Speaker 1:And so you said you know I'm I'm going to have to reach out to other experts and and see what they say about this. Uh, but you said you know I've I've worked on the energy, moving energy to your, to your feet, and let me know if it, if it worked. And again, this is the first time I'm in for this, you know, and I'm like, okay, sure yeah, well, we and we had longer talks than that too.
Speaker 2:Right, like I mean speaking of you know, just knowing everything about the body and knowing that the feet is, is your root system right? It's what grounds you to the earth, it's your family, it's your lineage, it's everything that goes with there, and I'm like maybe it has something to do with that. Let's talk about that, you know, and it not to we're not going to like go into it, but just knowing that I'm like let's talk about your root system, like how is it, how are you rooted, how are you grounded? Let's talk about family. What does look like for you, feel like for you? And and it did like I remember you didn't want to tell me that everything felt good, didn't you think it was a fluke or something?
Speaker 1:well, you know, you just don't know I mean, there's yeah and, and now I don't even try to explain it, it's just. It's just. You do what you do and I do what I do. And I don't claim to be an expert in Reiki. I don't think I need to be. No, you know. And then, at the same time and I don't know if I'm a more difficult client than than others or not you know, every time you ask what is the purpose? You know, what are you here for? And for me, it's just to continue to get better and and the. I know that can be kind of vague, but I also look at it like you know. This is one of those parts of myself and of the world that I don't have 47 years of experience in. Um, uh, you know, I have less than a year's worth of experience of even thinking about it. So, uh, I don't know what's next.
Speaker 1:Um and you know so I, I mean, I applaud people that have a very specific set of goals to come into it, um, but for me it's just hey, I'm, I'm wide open. It's like let's, let's figure it out.
Speaker 2:Well, and I always like to ask for intent, right Cause some people really do have a goal. Um, I always know what your answer is going to be, but I'm never going to deny you the chance to say whatever you're feeling, right? So I ask you already, knowing but trusting that if you ever change your mind, it's also welcome then to write, and you're not difficult. I wouldn't call you difficult, just knowing already what you're going to say. But in those moments it's like your body's going to give what it needs to give anyway. It's always going to set you up for success, never failure, and energy is going to move, whether you believe it or not, so I don't really care.
Speaker 1:Right, no, I love that because, um, you know, I think you have to be a very special type of person to to be able to do what you do. No thank you. At the same time, I also think it is amazing and fantastic that you know me personally, like I have. One of the things that I do and I know this about myself is I carry things with me longer than I should and you really do go.
Speaker 1:you know, kind of once the session is over, it's gone. And because the first, after the first time we had a Reiki session, I really had that in my brain. I was like, oh my gosh, what a burden this has got to be for her. And then you know the next session, we're talking about it. And you were like, well, you know, after it's, after the session's over, it's over.
Speaker 1:It's over and I mean that was profound for me. I was like, oh my gosh, that's, that's how she does it. Um, so how did you get into Reiki and the holistic side of healing and natural products? You know they obviously they all kind of mesh together, but how did it start?
Speaker 2:So LaBelle came first. Well, technically, the spiritual side came first, but we'll start with LaBelle. Labelle came first because my daughter had chemically induced eczema. Not knowing what it was, I had a pediatrician who decided to help me because not giving her baths and just hoping she grows out of it was not a good enough answer for me. So, being first time mom, you know you want to do everything right and so I signed to my baby you know all the baby sign language and just trying to help her with her leg.
Speaker 2:I had no idea what chemically induced eczema was and it's just the chemicals within anything that sits on a shelf. It doesn't matter if it's natural, organic, pure, doesn't matter. If it sits on a shelf, it has to have a chemical. So, hearing that, I'm like well, would I like. I'm not going to not give her baths right, or I'm not going to just sit and hope that she gets better. So what I didn't know is my pediatrician at the time also practiced holistic medicine on the side with his family. So he helped me to formulate, know how to research, know where to grab information, what to look for, what oils not to use on babies, cause baby skin is different than adults. Um, all the things that we don't think about or we don't know about, he informed me about. And, um, so I came up with my first product, which was a body butter.
Speaker 2:And you know, when I started, a holistic and natural products is not new. Okay, people have been doing it forever. Okay, so we just repeat the cycle. Okay, so me doing that? Um, I knew it wasn't profound, it just happened to help her, right, and so I took her back. It was gone and he was like this is great, what have you been using? And I said, well, I formulated this, he goes. Well, that's amazing, you know. And I said, yeah, now I'm going to work on soap, because that's what I wash her with, right, that makes sense. So, um, started with the soap process. You know, I couldn. All these other places that now have information and I say like that because it's not proper information, it's just information.
Speaker 2:But anyway, I went through and did that and all of a sudden, her legs were great and her skin was beautiful and there was no more issue. Well then I had a friend who was like hey, my son has this on his leg. They can't find anything. They're giving me steroids for it. Can you help. Sure, here have some. And I just kind of did that.
Speaker 2:But then I was giving away so much that it started eating away at our income and at that time we were one household income. So my husband was working but I wasn't. I was home with her because she had a lot of medical problems. She had acid reflux really bad. Husband was working but I wasn't. I was home with her cause she had a lot of medical problems. She, you know um had acid reflux really bad, so when she ate she had a chance of choking on it and it was just a whole thing. She is my worry child, um. But yeah, so I started with that and it just kind of flourished into a business.
Speaker 2:Within a year of starting I was already looking at doing a storefront.
Speaker 2:I went to go do a storefront and I found out that that same daughter had um, had hearing loss, and I was like, well, what, what is, what is this Like, what is? And apparently we had taken her to um a mommy's day out program at a church and we loved it there. But one of the teachers was like, do you ever notice if she's not looking at you, she doesn't pay attention. I'm like, no, I didn't. She's my only child. She looks at me all the time Like there's nothing you know. So, anyway, we take her in super long story short. We take her in. They find out that, yes, she doesn't have hearing in her ears right, she is minimal. They find out that, yes, she doesn't have hearing in her ears right, she is minimal. You have to, like, scream at her for her to hear if she's not looking at you. Well, here she'd been reading my lips and with baby signs she'd been able to figure things out. So she was farther along than somebody who was completely deaf.
Speaker 2:But as they were trying to find a reason for why she didn't have hearing, they found a tumor behind her eye, so neurosurgery was in our path. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:And so when she was three and a half, I was already pregnant with the second one and we found out it was a genetic issue. My husband holds a gene, I hold a gene and that's 25% chance we'll have a deaf child. And of course I was already pregnant and I'm like great, like what is is this one going to be dead. You know, I all these crazy things. At that point we were moving from Murfreesboro to where we are now in Chapman's boroughs, and then I don't even remember the process for that.
Speaker 1:Um, that was the least of your worries.
Speaker 2:Yes, because then I'd had my second child, my, you know, my first was going in for neurosurgery, so of course I shut down my business, and that's where that I was being beaten right.
Speaker 2:Where it felt like I was being defeated and I took a year off of that, Didn't open my storefront because we moved and I had a new baby and I had a daughter that had neurosurgery. And then a year later, I had a new baby and I had a daughter that had neurosurgery. Um, and then a year later I reopened, I had $200 and I said I'm either going to make it or break it. And here I am.
Speaker 1:There you go. And that was roughly 10 years ago, right? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep.
Speaker 1:That's amazing.
Speaker 2:So that was you know, and there's there's times where I feel like it's always temporary defeat until you actually agree that it's defeated. Right, you know it's only temporary. You got to find your way around it, you got to find how to succumb over it or you know any of the things that I mean. I don't care if it's recession. You think about my business. It's been through a recession. It's been through a neurosurgery, it's been through some of the hardest times that you know we've had, presidency wise, or economy wise, or any of those things. I survived COVID, I mean, you know, and I think about all these things I'm like. Well, the difference is I didn't say I agree to it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and you know we used to. For years we said we get to decide whether we're going to have a better year or a worse year. Yeah, Except us. It doesn't really matter who's president, it doesn't really matter who's in charge, it just matters what we care about and what we decide to do.
Speaker 1:Um, you know so, as we unpack that. So you had plenty of reasons that you could have given up. You had plenty of reasons that you could have said, oh, this was the final straw, oh, this means I'm not supposed to do that. And really kind of the spirit of the Charge Forward podcast is people who default to charging forward when others would give up. You had all kinds of reasons that you could have used and no one would have ever thought bad of you or anything like that.
Speaker 1:No but you chose to just put one foot in front of the other. You had $200 to get it started. Um and and here you are, a dozen years later and you're crushing it. Uh, not, I think so. Well, not only well, and you know, your business has evolved even just in the last couple of years, cause you did have a storefront I did. They're in Pleasant View.
Speaker 2:I finally opened one Yep and that was like two months before COVID hit and everybody had to shut, you know, shut their doors to the public, even though I didn't really shut my doors to the public. You're in Pleasant. View my doors to the public.
Speaker 2:You're in pleasant um, yeah, it didn't really matter, but um, yeah, even then it was. And I gotta say, though, that was like probably one of the best years that I ever did financially, because everybody's home on the internet and I'm on the internet and you know it just is what it is. Um, but even after that, because I felt the effects of covet after, um, you know, and everybody started hoarding money a little bit more and, of course, groceries went up, gas went out, everything life went up. Yeah, right, and I'm sitting there, I'm going, but I want to do more, like there is more to what's happening and um, that's where, that's where that's where the spiritual stuff comes in. Um, and I'm like I want to do this, but I don't necessarily feel like people should have to be charged to find themselves or to heal, like I. I this concept cannot come through in my mind how people should, and it bothers the hell out of people. You know this.
Speaker 1:I know Well and it's an interesting concept and somebody who I am through and through. I'm a capitalist and I understand money and I did not understand when I came to see you and you were like this is a donation based and it's still to this day. It still perplexes me. I love your heart and your spirit in it. I have trouble making it make sense in my head, but that's that's why I have my business and you have your business and they're two different businesses. But yeah, a couple of other things have happened kind of along the way, because I think the way that I knew about you which is crazy because your store was less than a mile from my house and interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I never went in there, never knew anything Like. To me, it's just this A building, just a building, yeah. That I never crossed my mind even to walk in the building. And then you moved it. Uh, moved it, moved your shop to your home and for a much better work life balance and for family and for self and all of those things, um, but where I guess we're in the mix of all that, because the way I heard about you was through Michelle. Okay.
Speaker 1:And I think I saw almost like somebody sent a screenshot and maybe you may have posted a screenshot of this board. That was your services and Michelle's services and I think it was four of you, uh-huh. But it's like a blackboard blackboard with all the services on it and I. It may have been you that posted it, but I I saw ozone. Yeah. And I was like, oh, there we go.
Speaker 1:And uh, I'm a big fan of ozone and to some people that's woo, woo and that's hey, that's, that's fine. I've just adopted that. I'm into pretty much anything Woo, woo. But I was talking to her while I was, you know, while you're getting an ozone therapy, that's, you know, an hour long, minimum and I was talking to her and she said something about you and I was like Hmm, and I'd heard your name before, but I didn't know anything about you. And then we met at a chamber event and had a lengthy conversation and I was, um, I was like my wife needs to come see you and you were like, Hmm, she needs to decide that. That's not something you decide. And I was like no, no, no, hey, this isn't. And I think it was hilarious because when she came to see you, your first part of the conversation was like he didn't force you to come here, did he?
Speaker 2:That was the first thing I asked her. Yep, absolutely. You're here on your own free will. Right Blink twice if you need help.
Speaker 1:Like yes, oh, yeah. Well, you know, because I'm the one that, even though my wife is in cancer research so you would think that she's constantly like trying to find the next best thing I'm the one that is very open to different types of healing and those types of things, and so I'm the one that usually finds it. She thinks I'm crazy, and then once I don't die, then then she's willing.
Speaker 2:I guess I'll step my toe in it. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Like, the first time I went and got ozone therapy, uh, I think she thought I was kidding until I was on the way back and of course she's on the internet, you know, uh, and she goes, um, you really did this. And I said, honey, we had this conversation, you knew I wasn't driving two hours to go, not do it. I don't understand. So Emily is kind of grilling me about ozone therapy and so she looks up and there's I guess there's only one clinical study going on in the United States that is ozone based, but there's hundreds across the world and this is, this is kind of 2021. So we're not out of COVID yet.
Speaker 1:I would say we're kind of almost in the thick of it, really. And, um, you know, my experience with ozone was pretty I don't want to say extreme, but awesome might be the right word and um, so that really kind of led me down this path of okay, I'm just going to be open to just about anything, If it, you know, if there's, if there's actual information that backs it up, and um, you know, I don't think if I hadn't gone down that path and had such good results, I don't think I would be open to things like Reiki and energy healing and, uh, all the things. That's fair.
Speaker 1:Um, in that space, who? Who's been a mentor to you?
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, in the spiritual space.
Speaker 1:Well, all of it.
Speaker 2:All of it, okay, um, the LBN part of it is me myself and I, um, I always strive to do better, um, to help somebody that maybe doesn't know they need help, right? Or people that are looking for other options, and I think all options are necessary. Right, you do what you can. There's good, better, best, um, I consider LBN part of the best category, but I'm sure there's somebody out there that's just as you know what I mean. Like, there's, for me, it's not about the competition, it's about who I'm helping, right, how many people can I reach? How many people can I change their minds? How many people can we enlighten, bring back to self Any one of those things? Um, lbn was me myself and I for the spiritual realm. Um, that one's funny, uh, so currently I work with a I like to call us mastermind group, right, because we lift each other up. There's zero competition.
Speaker 2:We each can do what everybody else does, but we specialize in certain things, right? So we've got Michelle, who does a lot of the physical body. She does the ozone, she does Reiki as well. She's able to do medical Reiki. So while she's doing it, she's like oh, your liver, like, let's check on your liver, let's do X, y and Z Right. And I had a client reach out to me and she's like ozone seems good, like it's a clinic in our house, like how good can it be right? I said whoa, whoa, first off, check yourself, you're judging right this is pure judgment.
Speaker 2:you're uncomfortable because it's not in a doctor setting. What's the difference? Just the office like what's actually a difference? And she didn't really tell me and I was like, okay, well, she is a nurse practitioner, so by the state of Tennessee she's recognized to be a nurse practitioner. I said, but she's also a functional medicine nurse, so you have the best of both worlds, right, she can prescribe you Z-Pak, but then also bang it up with all these extra like ozone and herbal remedies and whatever right.
Speaker 1:It's like the best of both worlds.
Speaker 2:Absolutely it is. And then, um, you know, she's somebody that I go to. Um, I have my other close friend she's pretty much like a sister at this point, um, but Christie is her name and she's an emotional coder. So what that is is, essentially, you have emotions trapped within your body and she helps release those through muscle memory, right, because it gets stuck in your muscles and your bones and all that stuff. So she strictly does that, and she does that for donation-based as well.
Speaker 2:And then you have me and of course I do the spiritual aspect. Yeah, you have emotions within the body, but the soul holds on to that as well. And again, energy can never, you know, dissipate. It can only change or transmute. So whether you believe in reincarnation or not is none of my business, I really don't care. But the energy that you are when you die, you don't just disappear. Something happens, right? So, recarnation or not, heaven or not, whatever anybody's beliefs is, it doesn't matter. It doesn't go away. That's the main point, right? So I'm able to see whatever your soul is holding onto. Is it this lifetime? Is it when you were a child and a sucker was taken away? Remember? I've given you that that example several times. So we get to the root cause of what's going on, like, why do you have this fear all the time of making a left turn, or why do you not you personally, but like in general, you know Um, and so I deal with that, that spiritual aspect.
Speaker 2:And then we also have who I call mom. She's not my mom, but I call her mom. She just has to live with it. Um, she's the holistic practitioner of the group, so she went to school for it. She, you know, she wants to eventually go in front of a board and do the whole board, licensure Um. But she does all the herbal inside, right. So whatever you need, if you can't go to a doctor, she can help you. You know she's very knowledgeable Um. But those are our people and we just take care of each other constantly. Um. We have a few other people that we reach out to. You know Emma is one of them. Emma, she's also Reiki Um, but kind of like getting into it more and more Um. But you know, our, our span goes beyond that and I feel like, again, every person is needed, every modality is needed. It's when do you need it?
Speaker 1:Right. Well, and I think it's interesting because you know, the first time that I came in for a session, you informed me very quickly that there were other people that you worked with and that if you thought that I needed somebody different, that you wouldn't hold back on that. And it wasn't a personal thing, it was just that you wanted to make sure that I was where I needed to be, working on the things that I needed to work on. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And um. So I do work with two, two of the ladies in the group. Um, in fact, I have a ozone therapy Wednesday day after tomorrow.
Speaker 2:Awesome.
Speaker 1:And you know it turned out uh, we had some things in common. The reasons we both needed ozone, um. So michelle does a cellular test and my cellular test came back that I had lime and epstein-barr and then aluminum toxicity. So you know, working through that, uh, all having all that fun, um, but I think just in in the world today, uh, it's we, we assume that it's we're going to go in and they're going to prescribe us a pill of some sort a magic pill.
Speaker 2:a magic pill, yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know it's just not. It happens every day. I'm just saying. It's not all. In some cases it may be the exact right thing. I would just default to say, more often than not, it's probably not good, better best.
Speaker 1:There you go, and you know um. Even a good friend of mine who has um is, I would say, not rich, but it does not worry from a monetary standpoint. And I said something to him. He's mid fifties and I said you know, you should definitely go take a look. You know, I think, based on the fact that I've known you for 15 years, I think you have this going on and and he goes well, that's not covered by insurance. And I said, no, it's not. But when you rather be healthy and he goes well, that's not covered by insurance. And I said, no, it's not. But wouldn't you rather be healthy and he goes well? If it's not covered by insurance, I'm not doing it, and I think there's a lot of that out there.
Speaker 2:There is.
Speaker 1:And so did that play into the reason to go donation-based or no. Good Good.
Speaker 2:That didn't go for donation based. For me, it first off, I used to tie my worth to money. If I wasn't bringing enough, enough money in the house, I didn't feel like I was worthy or worth anything, right. So I had both of those components playing in the back of my head, and the more I healed and the more I realized, oh, that is something that was stuck with me, whether it be because my grandmother lived through the Holocaust and also the depression and, you know, if it was generational or if it was the things that were being said to me growing up whatever it was that I had learned money equated my worth, and so it took me a really long time to figure out. That's not how this works. Right, I will always, always be taken care of. I don't care what's going on. I've always have been taken care of and I always will be taken care of. And even though a lot of people may find this woo-woo being a born again Christian and saying, hey, I do believe in God.
Speaker 2:I went to a Catholic high school I've stopped defending myself in that category because I know where my faith lies, and I've had several interviews where they're like well, how can you run a business on donation basis. I said, because I will never be not taken care of. And that's really where my faith is, it doesn't matter. I mean, I've had clients come in. They're like, well, I can't afford you. I said it's donation. Well, yeah, but I still can't afford you. What does that mean? Like, what does that even mean? And they're like, well, you know, I can bring food, great, oh, yeah, I can pay you food. Yeah, whatever donation you want to make, whatever makes you happy, comfortable, I don't care, because you problem, right, if you can't figure out the cost, it's a you problem. Um, of course, monetary is great, I have bills to pay, it is what it is. But that's not what I go into it knowing, right, um, I had a client even come in. She did, um, what did she do? Acupressure.
Speaker 2:And then we ended up talking spiritually afterwards, right, so I'm like man, your hips like they're screaming, you know. And I was like, what haven't you processed through? Like, what grief haven't you talked about? And of course, she started crying on the table, right, we had a lengthy discussion and I had a client come in, literally right behind her, so she had to leave and she didn't pay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I didn't donate. I didn't even think twice about it and I texted her after my my other client left and I was like, hey, I just want to make sure you're okay after our talk, blah, blah. And she's like, oh my God, I forgot to donate money, like I'll have to catch up with you later, and she was all kinds of concerned and I was like, girl, I didn't even remember. Like it is very appreciated, but it's not what I function off of Right. So it was just. Those are the reasons why I do what I do. I always know I'll be taken care of. That's never going to be a question for me. So why not help other people? And if, in the process, somebody wants to give me a million dollars, hell, all of you, you know what I mean. That's fine.
Speaker 1:Well, I will say just in in general, I do think that that is a struggle, um, for a lot of people, and I think you, actually I think you do it from a space where you're trying to remove the struggle from it. Yeah. You're trying to remove that barrier, that somebody says I can't afford that, but I do think it. For some people like it is perplexing.
Speaker 2:It is. I had an argument with a client in my office one time over it.
Speaker 1:I don't have any doubt, because they also. I think it's one of those things too, where if there's no gauge, then some people will will argue with themselves over it, and so it's.
Speaker 2:And that's not my problem.
Speaker 1:I agree it's not your problem, but I do think that that that is. That is a challenge that some people will walk through.
Speaker 2:It is, and I can appreciate that. I've even had people not come to me because I'm donation-based. So they think there's some kind of trick or some kind of manipulation thing going on and I'm like that's okay, because God will only bring me people that are ready for me anyway.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, and that's really how it's been. And I even had a client the other day. They were like two years ago I would never been open to hearing what you have to say. And now I am. I was like right, that's why I didn't see you two years ago. I had a business two years ago. I was doing Reiki two years ago in my shop, but I only did it as if somebody needed it. Right, if I was pulled to do it, um, and I was like but there's a reason why it's now.
Speaker 1:Well, and actually, you, you, you work with a friend of mine, uh, who's also a client, and, um, we were talking about her cause I said I said, hey, you know, you're probably going to get a call. I referred this person to you and you were like, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:When I met her two years ago I knew that I was going to get a call. I referred this person to you and you were like oh yeah. When I met her two years ago, I knew that I was going to end up working with her. I even told my husband that I was like this person right here, I'm going to work with her, and he was like that'll never happen. I'm like it's coming.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah, and it did, and she's having wonderful results. Uh, just, you know, um, who is the I don't want to say the avatar, because I feel like that maybe, that's maybe two pointed Um, who's the client, who's who's who's the right fit for you, and how do they know it?
Speaker 2:So you will always feel a pull for something more right. I tend to appear, people tend to meet me, um, or people that I work with, and they get this poll. There tends to be a conversation that you didn't expect and it could be I've gotten people hooked just by asking them a question, you know. And they're like why, you know I didn't mean to go into that. Or, wow, you aren't my therapist Like why am I telling you all this? And I'm like because, are you ready to come back to self? And they're like funny enough, I've been feeling like I need to do more for myself and you know this and that. And that's really when it is when you have had enough of your own bullshit, if I'm allowed to say that.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:When you finally had enough of that part of it and you're like you know what. There's got to be something more, or I've lost my passion. Where's my passion? Or any of those things of I finally see there's so many distractions, yet when am I? Or all my kids left? Where am I? And that's where, a lot of times, I see people. They're in those down, you know, I don't know what I'm to do with myself anymore. I don't know. You know where my love is for something, where my zest for life is Like everything's mundane and whatever it is, you know, and that's when people tend to come in and we, we really get down to the nitty gritty. As you know, I say things that people don't like, so oh, no, no, that's my favorite part.
Speaker 1:So, um, if you are coming to see Anna because you think she's to, you know, power your behind and make you feel better, um, you will feel better, but it is uh, sometimes it's um, it's not adversarial, but you don't take it easy on people, um, but for the right reasons, like you know, sometimes you'll be like hey, I'm, I'm about to push on you. Okay, great, go for it. You know, because some people are open to it and some people are not. Um, but I think, if you want to get better, if you are in an active pursuit of being the best human being, the best soul you can possibly be, well, then sometimes you, you need an outside force that that asks the tough questions and and and really doesn't let you off the hook, because there's a lot of places in this world that people are let off the hook when they should be pushed for what it is that they're actually looking for.
Speaker 2:Right and my group is really really good. Some people more than others I'm. The more compassionate of the group is what a lot of them will say. Compassionate of the group is what a lot of them will say Um, but you know, we make people take responsibility for themselves and I think over the years we've lost the ability to say um, I'm in this predicament because I made a choice and it's. People don't realize that, like you, make your reality, you choose to be in this position that you're in, and that's even a conversation me and my husband have had. You know, our group we're going in February to Las Vegas. We've been asked to come and do like a conference type thing for a business there, right, oh nice.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I'm super stoked about it. So we're going there to help the employees to speak on what we do to provide services. I'll still be doing donation there. And as we do this and we get to go to different places, my husband's over here going. Well, why can't I go? Well, I mean, I have a job, like we have kids.
Speaker 2:Like what about all this? And I said we made the choice to have kids. You're making the choice to still live this life. And he was like, well, we need money, like we have a mortgage. I said we will always figure it out. We always have, even when we are one income and you know you weren't making that much, like we always figured it out. So you're still actively making the choice to live the way you want to live. I said we have people that can watch our kids. My parents will always show up, you know. So it's a. You're still making the choice and no choice is still a choice and being quiet about it is still acceptance. And we've just gotten away from this of, well, I don't, I don't. I don't want to see that side of it Like I don't like that, I don't like that answer.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I think it's. There's two pieces to it, one. You know, just in general, people are not held accountable these days.
Speaker 2:That part.
Speaker 1:Two, we also sugarcoat it and that and that we don't call people out on it. It's actually considered rude or whatever. Okay, great, I am so rude.
Speaker 1:But only the people that really care about you are going to not let you off the hook. They're going to say the real thing. But I think it's probably the most problematic part of not taking ownership or, uh, being accountable to those decisions or lack of decisions, is is strips us of the control If, if I'm not the cause of all of this, well then how can I be part of the solution? And so by by giving up that it was my choice and that the world just happened to me, well then I'm off the hook on that. But it also kind of strips me of. Well, it's my mess to clean up, and I think people need a hard dose of reality of hey, today is exactly whatever you make of it, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And I think what you do here is great, the charge forward aspect of it, and I know we mentioned it a little bit, think you know. I think what you do here is great the charge forward aspect of it. But and I know we mentioned a little bit earlier but really you are only defeated if you agree to it. I mean it really comes down to that and they're like well, what about the position I'm in? Like I can't help that, I can't find a job that pays this, so that way I can get out of whatever ever.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you me and my mom, we, I come from a family where I lived in a car. I come from a family where we were on the run, like I come from a family that we weren't criminals that sounded really wrong, but like it was biological dad thing anyway. But um, I come from a family that is not wealthy and but we were always taken care of, always. And you get out of those slumps by changing your mindset, by changing your thought processes, by not accepting defeat. Yeah, you may be set back, that's okay. There's a million ways to do one thing, a million different ways. That's why I said all modalities are needed, all things are needed. In general, it's just whatever's good, better or best, yeah, and that's really where my thought is on that.
Speaker 1:I love. It All right. How do they find you online? How do they buy from you? How do they, how do they do all the things?
Speaker 2:Yeah, super simple. Just go to wwwshoplbncom and you can see all the products, you can see all the services offered and you can get ahold of all the mastermind group that I, that I work with as well.
Speaker 1:And um, if somebody like give me an idea of what all the products are, what, what kind of products do you sell?
Speaker 2:Literally head to toe. Everything, uh, from babies, pregnant moms, uh, men, children. I have it all. Um, I even have a pet section, but it's not technically on the site, Um. But yeah, I make it all and if you have any questions, just reach out to me. I'm more than willing to work with anybody on what that looks like. Okay.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, miss Anna, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me and team. So, um, if you have not experienced Reiki, if you've not had a lymphatic drainage uh, whether it's a facial or a session if you are tired of having, um, putting soaps and other products on your skin that aggravate it, that have all types of chemicals in it, you need to take a look. Go to wwwshoplbncom and check out what Ms Anna has to offer. If you're scared about, oh, maybe, making a decision, you need to walk through that. You need to work through the pros and cons and just understand that your future self depends on the decisions that you choose to make today, and you're not choosing to make a decision, is still choosing to make a decision. So, again, check out Ms Anna stuff, uh, shop LBNcom. And thank you so much for tuning in with us.
Speaker 1:Again, thanks so much to the hit lab creative team here in Nashville, tennessee, since custom development and charge forward solutions. Until next time, continue to charge forward. Hey, team Jim Cripps here with the charge forward podcast. I just wanted to tell you thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate everyone in my life, even those that I've never met that are out there listening to this podcast. I've been so fortunate to have amazing people come in here in the studio with me and share their life story. From everybody here at the Charge Forward Podcast and HitLab Studios, I just want to say thank you.