Kristen

Welcome to the Close the Chapter podcast. I am Kristen Boice a licenced Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice pathways to healing counselling. Through conversations, education, strategies and shared stories. We will be closing the chapter on all the thoughts, feelings, people and circumstances that don't serve you anymore. And open the door to possibilities and the real you. You won't want to miss an episode, so be sure to subscribe. Welcome to this week's close to Chapter podcast.

I am so glad you're joining me today. This interview is a little bit different than I normally do. I was just intrigued by her bio. And I thought she would be somebody very interesting to have on the podcast we had a great conversation. We talked about her journey to kind of manifest if you will, her dream how she overcame self doubt to make a transition and pivot her experience in Hollywood working for Entertainment Tonight. She did that for several years and then worked for Us Weekly. And we didn't dive so much into that just some into that and then worked on how she began to work on herself and her sobriety. It's a very good conversation. Let me introduce you to her. Kaylee Hamilton is the founder of Kaylee media and the two time Emmy award winning celebrity news reporter journalist and producer Kaley grew up mesmerised by the glamour of Hollywood and the influence of celebrity. Her childhood dream was to meet the people whom the world adored, to speak with them face to face and to connect with them as humans. She didn't want to be them she wanted to know them. Although she was an extremely shy young girl from Colorado, her heart was always set on the bright lights of Hollywood. By having just slightly more self belief than doubt. She could manifest her dream of being a red carpet reporter Kaylee pushed past her fear and made her Hollywood dreams come true. As a celebrity journalist for seven plus years Keeley has interviewed hundreds of Ailis stars including the rock Kim Kardashian, Chris Pratt, Katy Perry and more. And she's done so on the biggest red carpet including the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the Grammys and the Emmys. Kaylee has worked alongside the most talented and hardworking people in the entertainment industry, and has experienced the biggest scenes of TV, digital and print news media, and 2020 when life change for all of us Keeley experienced a live transitioned turned inward to search for guidance. Through the power of media thought leaders experts high value Heart Centre, people found her it was because of podcasts, digital articles, television segments, blogs, virtual talks, and more that Kaley was able to discover not so distant members who expanded her outlook on life and helped her restructure the vision that she believed was possible for the future. And 2021 Kaylee media was established to help mindful heart centred and purpose driven entrepreneurs reach the people waiting to hear from them by spreading the message and increasing the visibility to the power of earned media exposure. We also talk about social media and its impact. We talk about the key things she's done, to get to know herself and kind of change her life really. And if you want support along your healing journey, be sure to grab the journal we talk about journaling on the podcast. I was so excited that she's a journaler you can grab it free at Kristen k r i s t e n, d Boice boice.com. forward slash free resources. We'll also put that in the show notes. So without further ado, here is my I would say insightful, vulnerable conversation with Kaylee Hamilton. I hope you enjoy it. Welcome to the close the chapter podcast. I am so glad you're joining me today for my very important guest, Kaylee Hamilton. Welcome to the close the chapter podcast.

Kayley

Hi, Kristin, thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here.

Kristen

I am so excited to dive into your story because it really intrigued me when I've got the information about yours. Like this is so interesting, because so many people have dreams and even as a young child of things they want to do, but they're scared. They're too scared. They have too much self doubt to dive into it. So let's start from the beginning. What was your dream as a child? How did you really achieve it? And then you had a pivot. So let's talk a little bit about how it all started.

Kayley

Yeah, definitely. Thank you so much for having me. Oh my gosh, well, I grew up a really really shy girl from Colorado. I'm the oldest of three sisters. And I was just really shy, really insecure. You're, and later on down the line I realised Well, I had a really low self worth for some reason. But then there was the other side of me. So I was obsessed and just really mesmerised by Hollywood celebrities, the glamour, the red carpets, who these people were that the whole world was obsessed with. And my mom was like that, like she was into that too. Even my dad, so I kind of grew up around it like after dinner every night, my mom would put Entertainment Tonight on and we'd watch et, when the Oscars were on, we'd all gather on the TV and watch together, I would always buy US Weekly magazines. Every time I go to the grocery stores. My mom, I think maybe it was like the contrast of all these people are like, so fascinating to me, because they're so in their words, and like in the spotlight. And I felt like maybe there was a part of me that wanted to be like that, that I totally stifled and just shut down because I was just so insecure and shy. But I was just always obsessed. And I felt like I kind of through the years, I just fell into it more and more where I was like, I want to be a part of that world. I didn't want to be an actress or a singer. I'd never wanted to be them. But I wanted to know them. I wanted to know who these people were. So I gravitated toward the reporters, the reporters on the red carpets and I was like, those are the people that I want to be I want to be on those red carpets experienced the whole thing, but then actually connect with these people that the world admires, like on a deeper level face to face one on one and see who these actual humans are. So I just built that dream up every single day in my head. And I used things like the entertainment news shows and the magazines, I feel like now looking back, I kind of was like programming my subconscious into feeling like okay, this is meant for me, I know what it's going to be like when I get there just kind of like really leaning into that dream. And leaning away from the identity of oh, I'm really shy. I'm don't like to be the centre of attention. I'm really insecure. I didn't let myself kind of identify that with that as I got older because I wanted the other side of things so badly of being on red carpets and having that job. So I ended up going to college in San Diego. So I was one step closer to LA and Hollywood. And then the summer before my senior year of college, I ended up landing an internship at Entertainment Tonight of all places, number one entertainment news show and it was just like a total dream come true. But it also felt very surreal because you have that side of yourself or you convince yourself that you're so meant for these big things. But then when it actually happens, it like takes your other side of your mind to kind of catch up. So I was like, Wait, is this real? Is this surreal, it didn't feel real at all until I actually stepped foot into the ET offices. I saw the set. I saw them filming the show that I had been watching my entire life. And it was just like a total like out of body experience. And so I worked that summer, head down worked really hard. And I ended up at the very end of the summer working my very first red carpet just as an intern kind of helping out. And I just remember that moment stepping onto that first red carpet. And it was for a movie called savages with like lively John Travolta Salma Hayek like a really great cast. And I was standing on a red carpet for the very first time. And I remember just being like, wow, I am meant to be here. And also, oh my gosh, I can't believe I did this. And so after that I graduated college and ended up working at at four to five years, worked very, very hard, ended up becoming the head of the department and ended up interviewing the celebrities on the red carpets like actually being handed the microphone. I remember the first time I ever did an interview, I've basically blacked out. Like I felt like I had to shove myself off of a diving board, like jump off a cliff. And then I came to I was like, I hope that sounded good. I was so nervous. But uh, yeah, I had the most wonderful time working at ET like, I just felt like all of my dreams came true. And then I ended up having to leave that job because I suffered burnout and we can get into this. But I suffered burnout kind of came back around, became a reporter Us Weekly magazine. So like all of the things that I had consumed, I ended up working for and it was like so magical. But I also learned a lot of things in my 20s of how important self care is and how important boundaries are and not throwing yourself into something to where it's all consuming. So that was also what led me to 2020 which is when I pivoted to leaving entertainment news and starting my PR agency to help people basically utilise the power of the media to be seen and find audiences who need them which is similar to something that I went through and 2020 which we can talk about too, but that's kind of the overview of everything.

Kristen

So I want to dive into this because you said you're shy growing up it and kind of had a lot of insecurities. I think most of us can identify it. There's parts of ourselves that we just struggle with. We don't feel good enough, smart enough, that enough successful enough. I mean, we can fill in the blank. How did you work through that? To be able to feel like I do have worth and value, I can pursue my dreams. So talk about that process for you.

Kayley

I think the first part is like, I was a big daydreamer. Like I loved to fantasise like if I was sitting in class, getting kind of bored, like zoning out at the end of the day, I would fantasise what my dream life looked like to the point where I would start to feel it. And later on, I realised, well, I was like manifesting back then. But it was just, I would really fantasise and lean into what that would feel like, what the dream version of myself who they were, what they were doing, how they felt. And I really just gave a lot of energy to that to the point where I was really feeling it. And like kind of retraining my subconscious mind to become that person. Another thing that helps me is finding expanders, like people who kind of represent or are doing the thing that I want to do, but who also I relate to. So there are shows when I was younger, like the hills where these girls would go to LA, and they were working these events, and they were really, they would work really hard. And they were really successful. And I felt like I kind of related to them. And I just thought like, wow, if they can do it, why can't I do it? So expanders was another thing that helped me. And then as I got older, just really finding the tools for self care and self development. And 2020 was what gave me the ultimate shift. But yeah, it was definitely just leaning into my desire and leaning into like the what if positive, rather than leaning into the what if negative, and letting the negative self talk or the negative things that you might identify with become your reality, just like not allowing it to happen.

Kristen

And so you had this idea of this fantasy about Hollywood Do you feel like because we all kind of we can glamorise Hollywood and their lives, but at the end of the day, they're humans just like us own insecurities, they can appear confident, but really a lot of them underneath that are looking for worse and values through achievement and things like that. So what did you discover about? Did you peel back the layers of figure out? They're just humans like us? Tell me about that.

Kayley

Yeah, definitely. And it was so so interesting, because these people put themselves on such a pedestal being in Hollywood. And then they get so scrutinised, criticised by people on social media. But even before social media, it was like the tabloids and the reporters and the paparazzi. So it was interesting to see like working with the side of the reporters, and Entertainment Tonight is a very like classy show. And they let that's not a tabloid show, and they very much uplift and support celebrities, things like that. But it was interesting to see the people behind the scenes who were probably the most, we all had insecurities. But we're all such fans. So it was kind of like an interesting thing behind the scenes. And then with the celebrities, they're so like, in their purpose and in their worth. And they're certainly ones where it might get to their head. There's narcissism there. But for the most part, honestly, like, I experienced so many lovely people who I got to interview, I could count on one hand, like the not good experiences that I had, every single celebrity that I interviewed was so just lovely to speak to. And they were so grateful that we were giving them the platform to be seen. But a lot of them especially the most successful ones, they kind of rise above the fluff of the glamour and the glitz, and the reporting and the news and the headlines. So they kind of just rise above it. And you can tell it's like they're vibrating on a higher frequency. And they kind of play the game. They know they have to promote themselves, promote their products, do the interviews, all of that. And they do it very graciously. But at the end of the day, and I think you have to be like this to survive, like all of those eyes on you. The successful ones are really do rise above all of that,

Kristen

because they're not the ones I mean, a lot of people turn to addictions to cope. It really faced many of those issues. Would you say?

Kayley

I definitely saw it. I also interviewed a lot of reality TV stars too. And so that's a different type of celebrity. They're very, very transparent, open with their personal lives because that's their whole fame. So they were definitely different from like Brad Pitt's of the world. But seeing that another side of kind of definitely having a gap and needing to fill that gap with the attention I would

Kristen

say, Yeah, cuz I can can be an addiction in and of itself. Yeah, definitely. And is that feeding someone's need that attention, maybe they didn't get in childhood or that unmet need of being seen and known. That becomes the addiction of choice. Maybe that voice is the right word, but subtle addiction. You can see it on social media. It's like, oh, I just need more likes, I need more comments, I need more followers.

Kayley

I now and that always goes back to just reaching out beyond yourself for that fulfilment. And it's, it's what we're like raised to think it's societal. And especially in Hollywood, it's all about like that looks and what you're working on and your success and all of the external things. Only today, am I seeing more and more conversations about like self work and self development and finding wholeness within yourself. And that certainly wasn't a thing when I was consuming Hollywood entertainment stuff. When I was young, it was all about like, the release skinny girls on the cover of Us Weekly magazine and who everyone's dating. Now, this is why I love podcasts, like so many celebrities have launched podcasts to have these deeper conversations. That's another layer that is able to peel back and you can see what they really struggle with, and how they're working on it. And really putting a platform to the importance of self development and self care and finding wholeness within yourself rather than reaching out for all of the outside attention and validation.

Kristen

Yeah, how do you see that playing out over time, because what I see, especially in teens, I mean, social media isn't going away. We know it's not getting bigger, and they're getting a lot of their worth. I mean, they're trying to get a lot of their worth of value by how big they can get a platform or how many people can really chime in on comment on it's in their brains aren't fully developed. It's a real big thing. And in the media, what do you see? What do you see as challenges with it?

Kayley

I think with children and social media, it like gives them the ability to talk about people behind their back. And the people who put themselves on a platform and build like a social media platform. It gives permission almost for people who are consuming that content and young people to automatically judge and judge outwardly and criticise. But also like compare themselves to things like that. I have a little sister, a much younger sister, she's only 12. And I see the way that she consumes media, and it's all about the tick talkers, and the dances and the weird, like you have to do this, or else this will happen or like check this, like just weird things like good things. But they're all consumed. And then she talks with her friends about it. And it becomes kind of a toxic environment, because they're so young. And that's their go to is just talking about. It's kind of like the popular kids in school. Before social media, the kids who weren't popular are talking about the popular ones, the popular ones, like vice versa, just everyone talking about each other. And that is just a breeding ground for just a lot of like judgement and criticism and comparison.

Kristen

What do you say, Okay, this is a good segue into someone that wants to chase their dreams. And social media might be a part of that. Yeah, Leah platform. I'm getting ready to I'm working on a book proposal and you have to build the platform. And yeah, things and I might I just the whole thought of it. Just like, Oh, you got to build your following. You got to put yourself out there. And people are afraid of criticism and judgement. And I've heard people say, Oh, they just they're out there all the time. They just think life is all about them. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, like the criticism people. So what do you say to someone that's like, I'm scared to put myself out there. I'm scared of the criticism, or what people think. Because that's a huge part of chasing dreams where people get afraid of what other people think, and fear of how they're going to look and their image and failure.

Kayley

I don't know. And it's so common, I would say like you are so not alone. And every interview that I've ever heard of the biggest celebrities and the biggest business owners, CEOs, entrepreneurs, every single one of them comes back to this main issue of insane ly hurtful criticism that happens online. And so the first part would just be like, accepting that it will happen, and also realising you're not alone. And realising that all of the other people that you look up to they experienced that as well, but they put up boundaries. And that can be easier said than done. Like I've heard of huge people who are like, I still check comments or I still like google myself. But for me personally, like as I build my platform to I would truly have to set such strong boundaries. is to literally never look at comments. Never if it was a celebrity thing like for celebrities never to Google your name or see what a salacious headline is saying, like, maybe someone from your team can do that. So I would say set very firm boundaries when it comes to that and just realise it's part of the territory. And then also realised like, you know, you've made it when you have haters kind of thing. Like, that's kind of a light hearted way of looking at it, but lean back into your purpose and your mission, like, why is it that you are building this platform, it's to reach the people who need to hear from you. In 2020, when the world shut down, I was no longer doing red carpets, we were all stuck at home. That same like months that everything shut down, I went through a breakup, I was turning 30. That year, it was just one of those years and times where I was like, Oh, my gosh, I have no idea what my future looks like anymore. I don't know, when Hollywood's gonna open backed up, Do I even want to work in the entertainment industry anymore. I'm so sad. And I turned inward. And literally all of these incredible people found me through the power of the media like incredible thought leaders, experts, people who are sharing their story entrepreneurs, they showed up by being on podcasts by doing articles by going on TV. And by really being transparent and telling their story and telling their success stories, their adversities. And I ended up consuming just like all of this inspiration, because these people showed up for me. And because they showed up on these big platforms and had these big platforms and personal brands, they were able to share their stories, their expertise, their tools, for all the things that I needed, self help entrepreneurship, I started meditation practice, I even stopped drinking alcohol, like it really shifted all of these things for me. And I realised, wow, there are so many incredible people outside of Hollywood, who are doing incredible things and sharing the most profound things. That helped me totally rewrite how I saw my future and how I saw my life and how I was living. And so that was the epiphany in me, where I realised there are so many incredible people that need to build up these platforms and need to be seen on bigger platforms in order to reach the people who are just like waiting and dying to hear from them. Which is exactly how I felt in 2020. And I was so grateful that these people made themselves visible on these platforms, because it totally changed my life. And it totally made me want to help other people like them be seen on media platforms through my PR agency. So that's what I would go back to is like leaning into what your mission is, what your purpose is, and thinking about who are the people on the other side of your big platform who were listening to you and reading about you and paying attention to you that you can help.

Kristen

Okay, we got to talk about you gave up alcohol. Do you know how many people I like my client that I'm like, your life would change? And they're like, Yeah, socially and my partner drinks my friend, friend group drinks, what am I going to do? Walk me through it. And you just jump in on this because it's unlovable. I love how did you get to the point where you got you decided, You know what, I need to make a change, and I'm giving up alcohol. Tell me about it.

Kayley

Oh, I love it. Thank you for asking, oh my gosh, it was doing the self work, starting a meditation practice really leaning into self care. And as you do that you like, again, reframe your subconscious. And you start to just like elevate the frequency that you're like, vibrating on, and your brain just wants to make better decisions. And so time went on. And I was practising things that made me feel really good, like meditation, and journaling and a gratitude practice and affirmations and things like that. And pre 2020 me really leaned into alcohol as like, it helps me kind of, I've worked so hard during the week. And then on the weekends, it was like my escape. So I just needed that to balance out like the burnout and the crazy hours and the endless work and the pressure I put on myself and all of that. And so 2020 allowed me to not feel that pressure. It allowed me to have the self care. And then that's when I decided to start my company, my agency and I was like okay, I'm going to be a full blown entrepreneur, I'm going to quit my job. And I have to build out this successful business or else it's my only there's no Plan B there's only plan A and I realised with the drinking on weekends, it was putting me out of commission. Like Sunday Tuesday, my brain fog was so bad. And it gave me such like paranoia anxiety, the after effects just no longer became worth it being a fun social thing on the weekends. And also just like up levelling my whole life and starting a business. I was like there's no way I'm going to be success. is full and do the things that I want to do. If I'm drinking on weekends and then like hungover and it's still lingering throughout the week, like I just don't have the productivity to be able to do that. And so I stopped. And I just totally stopped cold turkey after one weekend of like drinking with my friends. And I was like, I don't want to live this life anymore, just didn't feel in alignment anymore, too. And so I stopped drinking, and I still love to go out be social. And like, I love to dance, I grew up a dancer. But when I started to go out again, I would literally just order soda water with lime. And that's another thing like kind of tricking, it literally helps to trick your like body subconscious into thinking that you're drinking when you're out at a bar restaurant or something by having just a glass physically in your hand. And then that also helps with people asking like, Oh, why aren't you drinking? Like, where's your drink? That looks like a cocktail. It's just a soda water. Easy peasy. And so I started doing that, and things shifted, I was going out less anyway. But wow, did things shift, like, even physically, like, my hair became thicker, there was just like some weight that just like sloughed off that I was carrying from alcohol. And then just my mindset, you just like, get so clear, and you feel so whole and so much more in control. When you don't have any alcohol in your system.

Kristen

People will say, Well, I only drink on the weekends, or I don't drink hard alcohol or I only drink beer or whatever the rationalisation was, you decided you didn't like how you felt the benefits. The cost was weighed out outweigh the benefits, or you decided just to give it up. Now I will say if you may need a medical doctor, if you're gonna give it up, like if you're depending on the severity of how much use you're having to consult your doctor, or get help me if you need Yeah, detox programme. And what I hear from you is that it changed your body's functioning. So your hair started to grow your energy, your brain fog cleared. I'm hearing that. What about socially because people are so afraid I know. Like just socially. Yes, you have your soda water or soda. But emotionally, people are so afraid it might change friendships. I mean, talk about that part, did it change socially for you?

Kayley

It did a little bit when you first start going out without alcohol, it does feel like kind of wobbly. And you feel really like oh gosh, am I going to be weird, like I'm used to feeling this way. But I'm going to be like way more clear minded. And so it does feel wobbly at first, but you really do get over it. And it really pushes you to step into yourself like step into your confidence. And you get that confidence quickly. And it feels really good. And then you get even more confidence when you validate yourself. And you're like, Whoa, I can go out in the same social scenarios, not drink any alcohol and feel so good and feel so in my worth and my power and then go home get like the most beautiful night's sleep wake up early the next morning, be productive, feel so good. Like it's just all feels so good all around, because you kind of zoom out and look at the bigger picture as opposed to just the short term of okay, I want to get a buzz and like have a cocktail, have a drink and like have fun. And then I'm not gonna think about tomorrow. So yeah, it's a definitely a different mindset when you go out. But also, I was also getting older too, like I turned 30. And so yeah, COVID like LH kind of shut down, things were slowly opening back up, I was starting my business. So I was entering a new chapter personally as well. But also I was single, so I was dating. And so I would go on dates, I was on dating apps. And honestly, it was surprising to me when I would say Oh, I'm just going to get this drink and not drink alcohol, the amount of people that actually were supportive and blown away and like almost jealous to where the amount of conversations where people would come to me kind of behind the scenes be like, I wish I could do what you were doing. I wish I could stop drinking alcohol. And I never had judgement on anyone or anything like everybody do you. But it was just interesting how people kind of let their guard down and they're like, oh my gosh, like that's so cool that you don't feel the need to drink and things like that. And so it's just a matter of being proud of it. But you don't have to put it on a pedestal. It's just like, Oh, I'm just gonna order a soda water with lime thanks. And then some people can make a big deal of it. Some people it makes them feel insecure. Some people feel really empowered and really proud of you. And so I would go on dates, not drink alcohol, and then I ended up meeting my current partner, my boyfriend and we went on a date went out to dinner and he does drink but like very very rarely. So I ended up meeting somebody who does not drink and does not drink alcohol like barely at all. So that was actually ended up being something that bonded us which was really special. So you never know how making these big changes. At first glance, you're like, oh gosh, it's gonna like change things and change is good change. just means that you're growing and it can really open the doors for just even more beautiful things to come into your

Kristen

life. There's so true when one door closes, and it's so cliche. Another door opens. Oh, that opens to yourself, like what I'm hearing in your journey. You made a big pivot in 2020. But it was more like you're opening the door to yourself. Like you're like, Okay, well, I love eBay, um, to so many things. I mean, you really changed your life. You gave up alcohol, you meditated your journal like you found yourself and that self awareness is self empowerment, I think is the key to building your dreams. Yeah, I really do. I think it's the gateway. Like if we don't know ourselves very well. We're going to be chasing things constantly, but not really feeling fulfilled, because we're just trying things on. But there's nothing wrong with that. Because I did that to actually figure out who am I? What drives me? And then how do I work through my fears and my shame stories, I tell myself that I can never do it. Who am I? I'm not smart enough. I don't know how to do it. That Well, I ended up going to hang me up. It's like, I don't know how and so that I get frozen. It's like fight flight freeze. It was like, Oh, well, then I just don't know how to do it. So forget it. How do you help people really worked through some of those elements to get to following their dreams.

Kayley

It's really about like unlearning things that you've taken on throughout your life, and unlearning, like those patterning of, for example, with what you just said, and I resonate with this so much, too, is like, Oh, I don't know how to do it. So okay, I'm, like paralysed in fear, it's too much to figure out. That's kind of just like your ego, protecting you. And it's like, okay, thank you so much ego, I appreciate you protecting me, but you're actually holding me back. So let's like restructure this, let's pause, let's not lean into that thought and go down that road. Let's rewind and be like, Okay, I don't know how to do this, but I'm sure I could figure it out. And something that really helped me was like affirmations and writing quotes. And I would have it up on my wall next to my computer every morning when I was starting to build my business. And I would just write things like, get comfortable being uncomfortable. I was like, every little thing, no matter how many red carpet interviews I did, I was always nervous beforehand, always. But it was because I cared. And I got used to that nervousness, I'm like, I know I'm gonna be super nervous. I now I'm gonna, like get a little jittery, but I was getting comfortable being uncomfortable. And so leaning into that when I was entering a new chapter, building my business. Another thing that I wrote down was a quote, I heard where it was like, nobody knows what they're doing. Everybody's just figuring it out. I was like, That's so true. Like, you've put all these people on these pedestals and they've accomplished these incredible things. But like, nobody knows what we're doing until we do like everyone is figuring it out. So just like those little affirmations to yourself. That's what really helped me just ground and put up blinders. So that's something else too, that's important is putting up blinders and not like leaning into the comparison itis of just like comparing yourself to everybody else in your industry, or people who are getting featured in all of these publications and doing the big interviews. That's like, Oh, my God, that needs to be me. And it's like, no, we all have a journey and you have to start from somewhere and that momentum builds up, just stay on your path and like stay very clear in your goals, and what impact you want to make. And most importantly, going back to like the daydreaming I love daydreaming and picturing who my future self is who my like most aligned, most high level self is and just picturing her and then acting as if I am her every day. And then

Kristen

how has journaling? I'm a big journaler I may have a journal. I love my journal. Love it. If people like what I hate journaling, what are you journal? What are some of the things you journal? And how has it helped you?

Kayley

Yeah, gratitude practice, for sure. My boyfriend and I actually just started this, I kind of go on and off. And I was like, We need to get back into this. So every morning, he and I will write down five things that we're grateful for it. It doesn't have to be like, it doesn't have to take you an hour of your morning routine. It's like just write down before anything else. Write down five things that you're grateful for. Something else that's fun is I would write five things I'm grateful for now and five things that I'm grateful for in the future but writing it in present tense as if it's already happened. Like I'm grateful that my client was featured in Forbes this week. Something that we're working toward that hasn't maybe happened yet, so I'd love to do that. I love especially when something hits you were it's really tough and you're feeling like your brain is like scrambling and thoughts are just like shooting everywhere. That feels so good to just close all the technology open. your journal, like find a nice pen. And just like I love to like light a candle and create a really safe, peaceful space, and then write down without judgement, whatever's going through your mind. Like I'm feeling like this, I wish this didn't happen. I'm really scared about this. And it helps to organise your thoughts and it helps to see it clearly on paper. And then it helps you to zoom out and not get like sucked into the dark, deep dark hole of a negative spiral of thoughts. So those are some of the journaling things that I like to

Kristen

do I'm a big journal are big. And if I have a question, I'll like write the question out, and just see where the pen takes me and see what isn't might be, what do you think I need to do next? I don't know what the and I might just say, I don't know. And then all of a sudden, something will come through. And I love that practice. Like writing out questions. I'm gonna start Doha is so hell of that. And tell us as we kind of just summarise everything, what kind of meditation people like, I can't sit still, my brain won't say, like, how do you like what kind of meditation? Do you and how has that been helpful?

Kayley

Oh, my gosh, it feels so nice. I understand why people are like people get scared of sitting in silence are sitting in their thoughts, which I totally understand and empathise with, I think the perfect first place to start is by doing guided meditations. So even just going on YouTube, or even in your podcast app, just search meditation do like, and start small, start with like five minutes and just get comfortable, I like to make it like a nice ritual where it's like I'm treating myself, this feels so nice. Like, you're wearing something comfortable, you're in a comfortable position seated or laying down. And then you just play a nice guided meditation, and they just take you through breath work, and you breathe, and then they tell you kind of what to think about. And rather than, like, oh my gosh, I've just sit in silence, my brain is gonna go crazy. You can really ground and like get out of your head get into your body when you do guided meditations. So I really, really love guided ones. And I love guided ones to where if I'm feeling really good and feeling like I'm really in the mood to manifest or create like a new dream, then I'll do guided ones where they're specific to dream building or achieving accomplishments. And so you drop into that and you picture what you want to achieve, you feel the feelings, and it's really a peaceful thing to do for yourself. And it really helps to ground into your body and get out of your mind. Because all day long, all night long. We're just always so much in our heads. And when you're in your head, you just get into autopilot. And like every day is like the same thing. And then you just become kind of a robot and then you wake up a few years later, you're like, what did I even accomplish? Like I'm still in the same place. There's no intention behind it when you're always always just stuck in like a spiral loop in your head. So that's why it's so important to just like pause, get grounded, get out of your head into your body, and get really intentional with the life that you're trying to build. Yeah,

Kristen

I love that. And I love like, get on YouTube and go. Okay, meditations for anxiety meditations for sleep. Exactly. You can do meditations for depression. You can do like meditations for fear. I mean, you can type in anything, and then it'll come up. So I love that you do guided meditations. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Is there any hover in terms of chasing your dreams that you would want to share? Oh, thank

Kayley

you so much for having me. This is such a lovely conversation. I love talking about this stuff, and you guided it. So while you're so good at having these conversations and interviewing, I would just say for people who want to like accomplish their dreams. And we really help business owners up level their entire businesses and themselves by being seen on big platforms in the media. And it's so intimidating and scary. And I totally get it because I've gone through this before. But it's just remembering like, it's not about you. It's about the people that you're helping and the impact that you're trying to make. And that feels good when you kind of like take the pressure off of yourself and lean into what your actual purpose is. And also just thinking about, obviously, the media is a crowded landscape. And so a lot of people are like, does the media care about what I have to say like, do they care about my expertise? And my other people already talking about this? And the answer is yes. Because the way you see things and explain things through your lens and your lived experience will resonate with the exact people who you're meant to impact and the exact people who it'll click for them because they heard it through your mouth and through your lens. So I always tell our clients that it's just so important to be seen so you can reach the people who need to hear from you. So that's my final thoughts.

Kristen

Thank you so much. Where can people find you? Yeah, they

Kayley

can find me at tailing media.com or Kaylee Hamilton underscore are on Instagram spelled ka y l EY.

Kristen

Thank you, Kaylee so much for sharing your heart, your wisdom and your journey. I really appreciate your vulnerability and transparency, because that helps people connect. And then they can feel like oh, she did that I can make a change. So thank you so much.

Kayley

Oh, thank you, Kristen. I really appreciate it.

Kristen

Thank you so much for listening to the close the chapter podcast. My hope is that you took home some actionable steps, along with motivation, inspiration and hope for making sustainable change in your life. If you enjoy this episode, click the subscribe button to be sure to get the updated episodes every week and share with a friend or a family member. For more information about how to get connected visit kristendboice.com. Thanks. And have a great day.