EP29: Your Messy Delicious Pie Life with Samantha Ettus

Oct 5, 2017

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I'm excited to share this Episode #29 of the Mother's Quest Podcast with renowned work/life wellness expert, intentional mom, bestselling author, and so much more – Samantha Ettus.

Sam is the author of The Pie Life and The Pie Life Planner which is a playbook for working moms who want to balance the seven "slices" of a delicious life which includes career, health, relationship, children, community, friends and hobbies. She's also raising two strong independent girls and a feminist son along with her husband in Los Angeles.

Sam specializes in helping people thrive professionally and personally. Since earning her undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard, she's coached thousands of professionals who aim to perform at the highest levels. She's a bestselling author of five books, the CEO of Work Life Love, an entrepreneur, and Tedx and keynote speaker. She has also hosted a weekly nationally syndicated radio show and has appeared on Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, Access Hollywood, CNN and The TODAY Show among others. She's given hundreds of keynotes and led workshops at corporations and conferences around the world.

Samantha and I delve into the subject of how to sustain a thriving personal and professional life at the same time, the importance of keeping at least one foot in the career world while raising your children, and the power of the financial independence and fulfillment that brings, not only to women's lives but to our children's.

By showing our children our enthusiasm in our work, and other parts of our lives, we model investing in a life with not one or two but seven meaningful slices.

We also talk about the other important values Sam aims to teach her children by her example, the importance of honoring our bodies and seeing ourselves as beautiful in any size, to focus on the people who love you, not the haters or the 10% who will always be critical, and to let go of perfection and realize that the most delicious pies and lives are the ones that are messy, gooey, and real.

Finally, Sam shares how she consciously built a community in Los Angeles after relocating from New York, going from not having anyone to put on her children's emergency card at school, to cultivating meaningful relationships, catalyzed by a Yom Kippur break the fast Samantha threw that has now become an annual tradition for a hundred people.

The challenge that emerged from our conversation was to focus on my slice of the pie that relates to building community. As a result of commitments you'll hear me make on the podcast, I've set a date, October 28th, for a podcast listening party of my episode with Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin on the Age of the New Heroine followed by a Q & A with my friend Chelsea Bonini stepping into heroic challenges of her own as she runs for City Council. If you're local to the Bay Area, I'd love for you to RSVP and join us.

I also committed to throw my first break the fast after 20 years of feeling a bit adrift during this Jewish holiday away from my Los Angeles family. I consciously chose to make this a multicultural break the fast and we had children and adults of multiple generations and religions, eating, playing and talking together.

It was a messy and delicious evening, and one that will become a new tradition in my E.P.I.C. Pie Life.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Samantha's upbringing as a competitive tennis player in New York and the influence her mother had on her to become strong and independent.
Sam's belief that women should be financially independent and have careers so they will always have options.
How being fully present in her work helps Samantha to be fully present for her children
The benefit of sharing our enthusiasm for our work with our kids and modeling a fulfilling work life
The Pie Life metaphor and how the messy gooey pies are the most delicious
Sam's commitment to teach and model to her children a positive body image and the belief that we are beautiful at any size
How to plan for our lives, the benefits of a paper planner and a bit about how Samantha created her Pie Life Planner
The importance of letting go of guilt
How Samantha consciously built community after moving to LA from New York
The importance of perspective, how life should be lived in moments, and how enjoying our lives (including making time for things like date nights) set an example for our children for how to live a full life
The challenge I accepted to invest in community gatherings to build connections in my own life

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Mother's Quest Podcast Ep 14: Breaking the Mold and Finding your Worth with Amanda Steinberg
Mother's Quest Podcast Ep 26: Surrender and Embracing Difference with Debbie Reber of TILT Parenting for "Differently-Wired" Kids
Tilt Parenting Podcast Episode 29: What it Takes to Live a Healthy, Fulfilled Life as Mother to a Differently-Wired Kid, with Samantha Ettus
Mother's Quest Podcast Ep 02: Unmasking Motherhood with Katherine Wintsch
Sam's latest book, The Pie Life and The Pie Life Planner
Sam's TEDx Talk – The Secret to Unlocking a Child's Potential

This Week's Challenge:

Commit to meaningful gatherings. I accepted the challenge to say yes to "parties" and had my very first multi-cultural Yom Kippur break the fast celebration at our home. It was an amazing experience filled with friends and family of different generations and religions who came together and helped me deepen my Bay Area roots in new ways.

Another challenge Sam gave is to create a community around the Podcast. I've decided to combine a listening part of a favorite episode, with Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin on Intersectionality and the Age of the New Heroine along with a Q & A with my friend Chelsea Bonini who is stepping into her own heroine's journey as she runs for City Council.

If you have a podcast or love listening to podcasts, you can create a party in your community, build relationships, and cultivate friendships.

Stay tuned for a future opportunity to have Samantha visit the Mother's Quest Private Facebook Group for a Live Q & A and Check-in on the Challenge.

Announcements

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

At the time of this recording in October 2017, we are reeling as a nation from the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas. Like so many other moms, I've felt a range of feelings from despair to rage about the state of our country and fear for my childrens' safety. And I've also felt more committed than ever to use my voice and continue to develop what I've been calling an "activist muscle" to advocate for critical change like gun law reform. This week I made a donation and have been following calls to action from an organization called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. If you want to join a group of powerful mothers advocating for gun law reform, take a moment right now and text ACT to 64433 to get started.

Mother's Quest Circle Pilot

You're a mindful mother. And being present for your children in these years when you're raising them is your highest priority. You're also committed to making a positive impact in the world, something that feels even more important with all the challenges we currently face.

If the description above sounds like you, the Mother's Quest Circle Pilot, launching this fall may be right for you. This signature offering provides inspiration, coaching and community to spark your E.P.I.C. life with intimate in-person reflective sessions over 3-4 months.

Click www.mothersquest.com/mothers-quest-circle to learn and apply. The group starts in October so don't delay if you're interested. Questions? Email me at julie@mothersquest.com

Visit the Website

If you haven't yet visited the website, head over to www.mothersquest.comto explore some of the ways you can get more connected. At the site, you can sign up for our email list (to get show notes delivered to your inbox and our new "Mothers on a Quest" features), click the link to join the Facebook group and press record to leave a voice message for me. You can also download the FREE Live Your E.P.I.C. Life Planning and Reflection Sheets.

I'm rolling out my new coaching offerings and having great conversations with women who are ready to live a more E.P.I.C. life and interested in coaching. If you've had a spark moment setting you on a new path or are at a crossroads but feel unsure, guilty or overwhelmed, I'd love to talk with you about how working with me could help light the way, get you clear about what you want, shift your mindset from fear to faith, and get you moving into action.

I've been there, I'm still on the journey myself, and I'd love to bring all I've learned from a decade of coaching, 13 years of motherhood and all the lessons from my podcast guests to support you. Send me an email atjulie@mothersquest.com or sign up for a free discovery call by clicking this link if you're interested in learning more.

Women Podcasters in Solidarity

After the events that took place in Charlottesville, I'm even more committed to a quest I've been on to understand the roots of racism and bigotry, how it still shows up today, and how I can become a better ally and advocate to fight against it.

I'm raising awareness for myself, and inviting you to do the same, through this special podcast episode. I'm also pledging to donate to an organization supporting the Movement for Black Lives and to invite you to donate too leading up to Giving Tuesday in November. More on this to come soon.

If you are a women podcaster yourself, I'd love for you to make a similar pledge to use the power of your platform for this cause. You can learn more and join the initiative by signing up at mothersquest.com/solidarity.

Acknowledgements

A big THANK YOU to our "patrons" for helping to bring these conversations to myself and other mothers through financial and/or in-kind support:

Suzanne Brown, author of Mompowerment: Insights from Successful Professional Part-Time Working Moms Who Balance Career and Family who provided this week's dedication
Mara Berns Langer
Mallory Schlabach of Marketing Magic for Entrepreneurs
Katharine Earhart of Alesco Advisors
Jessica Kupferman of She Podcasts
Resistance Artist Jen Jenkins Dohner
Genese Harris
Tonya Rineer, founder of The Profit Party
Liane Louie-Badua
Cristin Downs of the Notable Woman Podcast
Erin Kendall of Fit Mom Go
Niko Osoteo of Bear Beat Productions
Erik Newton of The Together Show
Claire Fry
Divya Silbermann
Rachel Winter
Caren and Debbie Lieberman
Cameron Miranda
Fran and David Lieberman
Debbie and Alan Goore
Jenise and Marianne of the Sustainable Living Podcast

Support the Podcast

If you'd like to make a contribution to Mother's Quest to support Season Two of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution http://mothersquest.com/be-a-supporter/

If you would like to "dedicate" an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com

Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.

Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).

Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/