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Are you prioritizing the most important and valuable components in your life? When you do, you’re committing to cultivating a well-rounded life that will propel yourself forward in every aspect of your world.

Welcome to So, Here’s the Thing! In episode 72, Geomyra Pollard joins us to discuss what it means to have a well-rounded life, how you can achieve it, and how to determine your priorities!

Get to Know Geomyra (1:00)

Geomyra’s Well Rounded Life (3:18)

Approaching Saying No to People (7:24)
– Set boundaries
– Prepare referrals

Questions to Ask When Approaching Decisions Based on Priorities (12:11)
– Does it bring you joy?
– Will you be able to serve and show up?
– Does it get you closer to your intention or goal?
– Will it matter down the road?

Unpopular Opinion (18:01)

Links
@coachforcreatives
Geomyra.com
A Well-Rounded Life Podcast

Review the transcript for this episode below >>

Laylee Emadi 0:05
Welcome to so here’s the thing where we share candid conversations that lift the veil on what it takes to find success, even if that means sharing a few unpopular opinions. I’m your host Laylee Emadi, grab some coffee or cocktail and let’s get real.

Laylee Emadi 0:22
Hey friends welcome back to the show today we have the lovely Geomyra Pollard joining us She is an incredible coach who has this amazing mission to help creatives create and live their lives with great passion and purpose by creating a well rounded life and I am so excited for her to share her best tips on cultivating that well rounded life with us today. I’m gonna let Jumeirah tell us all about herself all about how she came to make this her mission, especially in the creative industry. I’m so excited to hear a little bit more about your background and why this is so important to you.

Geomyra Pollard 1:00
Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. I’ve been wanting to chat with you for ever since we met at creative at heart and I love your show and love you and all the energy. So it is truly an honor to be your guest today in to chat with your audience. Hi everybody, I am Geomyra Pollard I am at coach for creatives currently on Instagram, I coach people who, as lately said are on a mission to live a life that is well rounded, well lived and intentional. And so I used to be a wedding planner. So I’m still tied to the wedding industry. I did that for about 12 years before I became a coach. And so in my time in the wedding space, I saw myself in my peers feeling burnt out trying to juggle all the things. Business, some people still were not in the fives, their spouses or children still trying to hang with their friends and live a life. But it was, you know, we felt like we’re on a hamster wheel trying to manage all the things. So I know someone listening is in that space, trying to manage all the things but I have to sat back and I’m like, you know, there has to be a better way. And so what I started to do is to educate myself and trying to find resources and tools for people to live a life that fits where they ultimately want to be. And so over here under the living well rounded brand, I provided the resources, the tools, the tips, I have a podcast called a well rounded life podcast. And there is will you will find the inspiration in the things you need to cultivate your version of your well rounded life.

Laylee Emadi 2:38
I love that. I mean, I think all of us who are small business owners can relate to that I also can relate to the whole wedding industry burnout, I photographed weddings for a while, and I stopped doing that in 2019. But I remember it is I mean, it’s just so hard to balance everything regardless of what industry you’re in, for sure. But I know that this is such a needed resource that you’re providing for people. So that’s amazing. I would love to hear just like jumping in what does a well rounded life look like to you? Like when I hear the phrase cultivating a well rounded life? My mind kind of goes a few different ways. And I’d love to know like what that means to you?

Geomyra Pollard 3:18
That’s such a great question. And I love how you ended it with what that means to you. Because, you know, I was telling you, my husband and I always have conversations about, well, what is a well rounded life like what’s the definition and the first thing that we say over on this side is that we do not believe in the term balance. And I say that all the time that you can never put your children, your family, your spouse on the same level as your business. I’m a mom of two children, I have a husband I’ve been married to for almost 13 years at this point. And even though I’m very driven in my business and my mission, there’s no way that it could ever take place. take its place over my family. And so it’s still a priority to me my business and hanging out with my friends and my health and all those things. But the goal is how do you make all of those things work cohesively and in rhythm and in sync so that it fits your lifestyle. So my version of a well rounded life and your version of a well rounded life are going to be completely different because of a few things. Number one, we are in different stages of our lives like some of us have children, some of us don’t, some of us are single. So when we’re sorry, some of us have a nine to five and a side hustle and some of us are, you know, so everybody’s pie graph is going to look different everybody’s distribution of what takes precedent is going to be different. And so what I always encourage, you know, my students and clients to do is to figure out what are the things that are top priority for you just top priority, write those things down. So if you want to make sure your health is a priority, and you want to do more working out, if you want to make sure your faith is at the top, you know, make a make a note of all the things and then we figure out how do we make all these things work together. What do you need? To say no to, in order to make room on your plate for the things that you claim are a priority to you. And so it also means getting real with your time, my husband and I had a conversation about, he’s like, Oh, I want to do this, this and that. And I need to make time to get back in the gym, you know, we all gain the COVID weight. But I’m like, well, we’re watching TV right now. And so you can’t say, it is a priority to you when you don’t make room in time to do those things. And so, to sum it up, a well rounded life is whatever makes you feel like you are where you are supposed to be. It is where you spend your time and energy. And it is what brings you the most joy. And also from a business perspective to and a faith perspective, for those that are you know, like faith based. It’s also where you feel like you’ve been called to serve in where your purpose and your passion lives. And so for me, I know, I’ve been called to serve clients, I know, I’ve been called to take care and serve my family. And I’m also learning it is super important to take care of yourself. And so I got to figure out how to make all these things work together. And so, you know, you do that by making the time saying those big fat nodes and setting boundaries, which is so key, and I can speak all day about boundaries. So I’ll just leave it at that.

Laylee Emadi 6:21
I love that. Yeah, I feel like boundaries are the thing that I teach and reteach and reteach. And that thing that I really learned over and over again, because it is something that I think takes consistent, you know, effort and, and a lot of revisiting for sure. I love that you mentioned, you know, saying no, and making sure that things that you are taking on are priorities and really serve your, like your end goal or your admission or whatever. And I would love to hear like, what are your best pieces of advice for how to say no, I mean, we’ve talked about this on the show a few times. We’ve talked about boundaries a lot. But I feel like that’s still something that no matter how many times I hear somebody’s perspective on I want to hear somebody else’s like I always want to hear how do you say no? How do you decide what to say no to? And how do you do it in a way that, you know, for all of us out there that are like people pleasers and really want to make sure that we’re not burning bridges. And we want to make sure that people know that we appreciate. And we would say yes, if we could, but we can’t say yes to everything. Like how do you approach that

Geomyra Pollard 7:24
Fantastic question. And so the thing I’ve learned as I gotten older, just had a birthday. So feeling old, is that you will learn from your elders and people that you ever hear like older people, they’re very straight blunt to the point and they just don’t care, you kind of have to have this approach where your time is of the essence. And we all are trying to make time to do all the things we want. And I always say you can always tell someone, not right now, it doesn’t have to be a hard No, you don’t have to feel like a jerk about it. But just be transparent and say, Hey, right now I have this really big project, or I need to focus on myself, or I just don’t have the capacity right now to serve you in the manner that you deserve to be served. And so I’ll tell people that all the time. Like, I really wish I could say yes to you. But I know I’m not going to give you the best of me if I do say yes to you. And it’s just just not my full capabilities. It’s just like, I’m not gonna just be sloppy with it. So I just think that if you tell people, you’re not going to get the best of me, if I show up for you right now. And you deserve better than that. That’s the first thing. And then always say you can circle back, you know, there’ll be people that will ask me to do things, and I’ll say, you know what, I can’t do it in April, but I may have more space in June. But if you know you can’t serve them, or you don’t want to serve them, maybe have another resource for them, maybe do another referral, maybe have another backup when I couldn’t do a wedding, you know, someone would ask do an inquiry for a wedding. And I was either booked or I just didn’t think it was a good fit, I would send the lead to someone else to still take care of the person. But now I didn’t feel tied down to a client that wasn’t a good fit, or something that was going to be a time suck. And so I think what boundaries, you just have to remind yourself that the more you say yes to the fluff in the noise in the distractions, that now means you are putting off your dreams, you are not taking care of the people that deserve you and your time and you’re just not serving in a way in which you’ve been called to serve. And so it’s a distraction. And we need to eliminate that if you want to propel yourself to the next level.

Laylee Emadi 9:39
Absolutely. I love the concept of referring people and just letting that kind of speak for itself. I think that’s awesome. I totally agree as well. And I think that the whole age thing of it has a lot to do with it as as I get older. I really hate saying that.

Geomyra Pollard 9:55
As I get older. I always say birthdays are blessings, because so didn’t make it to the next birthday.

Laylee Emadi 10:01
That’s true. That’s definitely great perspective. Yeah, I’m over here like, Okay. Good perspective for sure.

Geomyra Pollard 10:09
Girl, I’m older than you. So you’re fine

Laylee Emadi 10:12
I do think that there’s something to be said for. I mean, I do still care. Like, I still want to be kind. And I still want to appreciate people’s inquiries and things. But I don’t know if it’s it’s age, or just experience of the practice of saying no, but now I’m like, nope. I mean, in my head, I’m still really kind via, you know, wherever I, I’m telling somebody that No, but I do think that like practice makes, you know, progress in this particular area. And so I do think that it’s worth like, pushing through that discomfort and utilizing all of the things that you just shared with, with everybody how to approach it in a kind way, but also like, really holding yourself accountable to that boundary and saying no, and then getting that practice under your belt, I think helps a lot.

Geomyra Pollard 10:59
Yeah, I totally agree. And to your point, experience will teach you the importance of just being like hell no, like straight up. Because we learn you learn from your experiences that it will only end in disaster, if you do take these events that just aren’t serving you. And you do these projects that drain your energy and your time in all the things. So experience is key here too.

Laylee Emadi 11:26
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I’ve definitely fallen prey to that myself, where you say yes to something you shouldn’t. And it’s just, it’s just the absolute worst. And the first thing that you shared, you mentioned that, you totally recognize that, you know, well rounded means something different to everybody and kind of learning what your priorities are. And I would love to hear a little bit more about like, how can people really determine I feel like so many people think about what their priorities should be versus what their priorities actually are? And I think that’s where people fall into the trap of like, Oh, I want to lose weight. But I’m sitting here watching TV, because they feel like they should prioritize their health, but they’re not. How do you find the balance between like the should and the actual, like, what are my priorities?

Geomyra Pollard 12:13
That’s a great question that no one’s asked me before. But just off of, you know, that alone, I think we maybe should ask ourselves a few questions. So one, does it bring you joy? You know, like it, you know, when does it bring you joy? That’s, that’s something that’s important. Will you be able to serve and show up? By saying yes, or doing all the things there? Does it get you closer to your intention? Will it matter down the line. So for example, when you’re like, Oh, I should work out Should I, if you don’t, then it will matter when you’re looking at the scale or when you haven’t met the goal, or you haven’t, you know, done all the things. And so you really have to, I always like to do literally pen to paper, and write out if you look at your life, what are the things in your life that are super important to you. And if you want to be healthy, you know, it’s really like working out may not be the thing, but at the end of the day, the underlying thing is you want to be healthy. So you do need to make time for it. And so I always say you, it may on the surface look like one thing, but underneath of it, it’s a deeper level and thing there. I think when I think about like hanging out with my friends, it’s not just about hanging out with friends, and like kickin it and drinking wine and all the things. The underlying thing for me is it’s community, it’s fellowship, it’s also being me, and not a mom or wife or business owner, it gets me back to being me like Jumeirah, the friend, the person that’s fun and on all the things and so I just think what people have to do is to ask yourself a few questions on, you know, like I said, joy, will it serve me get me closer to the goal? Will it matter later on if I showed up? Or if I or if I didn’t show up? And then from there, you can say yes, no, put it on the list, take it off the list, but at least you can gone through some type of, you know, checklist system before you just, you know, start putting random things on there and psyching ourselves out to think yeah, it’s important than I’ve finished this Netflix series, but yet you’re complaining that you don’t have the money to launch that next project or to pay your bills even because you didn’t make a move.

Laylee Emadi 14:33
Oh, I love that tough love. I’m I’m here for it. And I think I really enjoyed that question that you asked, Will this matter later? Because I think that that’s something so many people miss like we miss that question of we get to the joy we get to the will is move me forward, but we don’t ever get to will this matter later? Or maybe some people do maybe that’s just me that I forget to ask myself that but I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m not the only person that misses that question like,

Geomyra Pollard 15:03
No, I’m raising my hand because sometimes I do the same. It’s okay.

Laylee Emadi 15:07
it is it’s so hard to get past the now. Right. And so I think that like, sometimes, like you mentioned hanging out with my friends, I feel like I, a lot of times they put that on the back burner, because I’m like, that doesn’t move me forward right now. But later, am I going to be burnt out? Because I didn’t take a break later? Am I going to wish that I had cultivated those relationships a little bit more? Probably. So I love that question. That’s gold, I need to write it down and put it on a sticky note on my computer.

Geomyra Pollard 15:33
Yeah, to your point, I always tell people, like if you don’t nurture your relationships and friendships, and that you are missing out, because if you’re a busy mom, and you’re listening, and you’re like, Oh, I shouldn’t be hanging out with my girlfriends or catching up with them, you know, without the kids or even a playdate or whatever. If you don’t make time, at some point, those kids are gonna grow up, there’ll be out the house, and then you have no friends in it, nothing to show for, you know, what you’ve done over the years, besides, like, the kids are great, but now you’re, you’re lonely and you don’t have anyone to go to the movies with or go do anything with because you didn’t take the time. And then from a vendor perspective, you know, in the wedding space, it’s like, Did you take time to nurture those relationships, because at some point, you may need those people for something, they will be a referral source. But if you just do like a hidden and quit it type of thing, like, Oh, I’m gonna do this, check it off the list. But you really don’t take time to nurture it, things don’t grow, and you won’t grow. Because you are just you have a one track mind. And it’s, you’re laser focused on one thing, when the reality is you can spread yourself around intentionally. And I think that’s the key, you can, you can do it. But I do want to encourage someone to make time, you know, especially after COVID, like, make time to catch up with that friend make time to catch up with your siblings. Because I know a lot of us haven’t even seen our family, but carve out time for those people that you have not spent some time with, catch up with them see what is going on in their life. And you may be surprised at how much fun you had connecting with them again, or how much your soul mate may have needed that after this crazy year that we’ve had.

Laylee Emadi 17:17
Yeah, I totally agree. And I know that you and I are both going to be at creative at her in July of this year. And I’m so excited because I think that that’s something that we all have missed in these past in the past like year, year and a half of not being able to really like in person cultivate those relationships. And I try really hard to do that. Now virtually, but it’s just it’s just so much easier in person. So I’m really excited to see you there. literally can’t wait. Okay, so I always have to end every episode. This was so much great content, by the way, like I’m so I feel like we could do like two more episodes and really dig even deeper. I love it. But okay, so what is your unpopular opinion, if you have one on a cultivating a well rounded life?

Geomyra Pollard 18:01
I think the unpopular opinion is it’s not possible to do it all. I think it is possible to do it all, but not all at the same time. So you can be an amazing wife, a dope mom, the best friend in the world, you know, killing it in your business. But maybe sometimes some things have to take a backseat. Or you may not be able to nurture it as much in that season. If it means you need to put your head down and your business and work a little harder. And I’m just gonna, you know mentioned when creative at heart, I remember the last time we were at creative at heart, I had to tell my my family like hey, I’m a keynote speaker at creative at heart, I got to work on this presentation. But I promise you when it’s over, we’re going to have fun and take a vacation. And we did so they gave me grace and allowed me to show up in work so that I can serve my audience knowing that later on, I took great care of them and it was worth it. So I was able to serve all the areas that were important to me, but at a different time and in a different manner versus trying to do all the things at the same time. You know, be there for them hands on 1,000% where I had to call in help like hey, husband, you might need to step up. Hey, Assistant, I may need your help here until I can be more present. so unpopular opinion is that you can’t do it all but you really can just not at the same time.

Laylee Emadi 19:33
Oh my gosh. First of all, we’re soulmates. Second of all, I if you are if you’re listening to this and your Academy member or any of my course members, you’ve heard me say that exact line and I’m like it was over here like yes, I always say you can do it all I don’t care what anyone says you can do it all you just cannot do it all at the same time. And I when I realized that, I feel like it changed my life and it sounds like it’s such an important thing for you to also realize

Geomyra Pollard 19:59
Absolutely, because those things are important. Like, I’m never gonna say that you like we mentioned the friends and my business and my husband like, I like my husband a lot. Love him, but that’s my best friend. And I never want him to feel like he’s being slighted because I’m trying to grow this business because I will say in the beginning of me being an entrepreneur, it was crazy, because I was up at two in the morning would come home, and he’s like, Hey, we’re gonna hang out, are we gonna? So then I had to learn relearn and train myself. How can I make him feel special needed, appreciate it, but still show up for my clients. And I had to do better with time management, being more productive and finding the tools and resources that helped me make time to show up and serve and you know, be more present as well.

Laylee Emadi 20:47
Yeah, absolutely. I can totally relate to that. And I think probably a lot of people listening can too. Well, that’s amazing. Thank you so much for your time today. And I know everyone you already mentioned where people can find you on Instagram. But also make sure to check out john Myers podcast. You’re just incredible. I love love getting to talk to you. And I’m so excited I get to see you face to face in July.

Geomyra Pollard 21:07
Thank you. And thank you for the time this was great. And I love all things living well rounded. But yes, I’m a coach for creatives on Instagram, and then simply Geomyra.com will take you to all the things that we have in the works, which I’m super excited about. So come hang out with me over on those two platforms

Laylee Emadi 21:27
For show notes and resources mentioned on today’s episode head to so here’s the thing podcast.com and if you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love to read your review on iTunes. Thanks so much for listening and I’ll catch you in the next episode.