The Bite Size Podcast with Lorayne Michaels

Beyond the Checklist: Embracing Purpose Over Perfection

• Lorayne • Season 2 • Episode 43

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Facing a milestone birthday can bring unexpected clarity, as I, Lorayne Michaels, discovered when approaching 40. In a raw and honest reflection, I share how this pivotal moment urged me to reassess my life's authenticity and purpose, both personally and professionally. Feeling the weight of constant content creation, I made the radical decision to delete my social media and website, choosing to realign with my core values and faith. This journey is not just about letting go but about embracing a life that truly mirrors who I am and aspires to be.

In a world filled with noise, finding a quiet space for reflection can be transformative. I reveal how journaling became a lifeline for managing my racing thoughts, offering a therapeutic outlet for self-expression. Inspired by this practice, I launched "Bold Beginnings," my coaching program, and my own line of journals now available on Amazon and Etsy, designed to inspire others on their path to well-being. As we navigate life's challenges, I remind listeners of their unique purpose and extend heartfelt wishes for a joyful and safe Halloween.

Where you can find me:
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Email Me: LorayneMichaels22@gmail.com

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Bite Size Podcast. I'm your host, lorraine Michaels, former EMT and nursing assistant, now business owner and wild entrepreneur. I walked away from over 15 years in medicine to pursue my passion and my God-given talents. Now I get the honor of helping other women discover their passions and purpose. If you're feeling stuck in life, unsure where to go or what to do, welcome. If you're exactly where you want to be great, you're welcome here too. If you have faced any kind of hardship or setback, you have found a safe place here. In other words, no matter who you are or what you've been through or what you're going through, this is the space for you. On the Bite Size podcast, we'll discuss life, business and faith. There's something for everyone. So grab a cup of coffee and something to take notes with, because there will definitely be things you won't want to forget. Definitely be things you won't want to forget. Thank you so much for coming back. Thank you for those of you who listen each week for coming back to hear what Lorraine has to say. Today's episode is going to be a little bit different. This is not. I don't have an outline. I don't have these four simple steps. I don't have my best tips. I don't have a guest, it's me, it's authentic Lorraine.

Speaker 1:

Today is October 30th, the day before my birthday. Tomorrow, thursday, october 31st, is my 40th birthday, and so I have had such crazy revelation and transformation. I mean the last, last gosh 10 years, but really within the last couple of days, I've just had this awakening, this realization. You may or may not know I don't know if you follow me on the socials but there are no more. I, um, I slipped up on Friday and I made some bad choices and I decided I was going to drink. I drank for all the wrong reasons. There's never a right reason to drink, fyi. Um, it's a bad idea, no matter what. It's poison, and so it's never a good idea. Um, I don't even care if the American Heart Association actually they have taken back their statements about having a glass of wine is actually healthy for you. It is not. If you look into that, there are studies that show the American Heart Association redacted their statement. It is not healthy for you to drink wine. Redacted their statement. It is not healthy for you to drink wine. Alcohol is poison. But anyways, in a moment of weakness, not even weakness, I'm not going to say that that's a cop out, and that's an excuse.

Speaker 1:

I fully accept responsibility. I was in complete control and I knew what I was doing and I decided to have a glass of wine, have two glasses of wine, take a shot, whatever else it was. I was with my best friends up in Tennessee and I decided to drink and it was a mistake but it led to, I guess, an awakening. It led to me just really getting down to the bones of a couple of things, which led to me deleting all of my social media, deleting my website, and really, at the time, I was like this is it, I'm done. Throwing in the towel, put a stamp on it, expiration date, done with all of this my business, my podcast, coaching, speaking, all of it. I was like I'm just done. And here is the revelation that I have had. Here is what I want to share with you. Is what I want to share with you.

Speaker 1:

I felt like I was not being my authentic self. I was not living true to who I am, what I say. I just wasn't. Instead, I felt like I was becoming more like the world and less like Jesus, and that is so much of what I talk about is to be like Jesus, to figure out your God-given gifts, talents and abilities and to lean into that and to lean into the strength that God has given you and to live out your purpose. And I wasn't friend, I was talking about it, it.

Speaker 1:

But my time with Jesus was becoming less and less because I was so focused on what my day had planned. I was focused on the meetings, the podcast, um, the whatever events were coming up. I was focused on writing content, creating content, creating swipe posts, making sure that I recorded everything I did so that I can just trying to keep up. And in the back of my head, in every aspect of my life, was can I make content out of this? Should I write this down? Should I make a note of this? Should I take a picture of this?

Speaker 1:

I was living so inauthentic because I was so worried about could I use this for my business, rather than living in the moment. And some of you might be like Lorraine sucks for you, like I don't have that problem. But some of you might be able to relate. Some of you might be like, yeah, that's me too. It is exhausting. And so I had a moment.

Speaker 1:

Obviously I was inebriated and I was like F, this, f, all of it. I'm not seeing the results I want. I'm so focused on making money, I'm so focused on all the things that the world is telling me to focus on, and I don't even know me anymore. I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing and I said delete it, forget it, get rid of it. Who cares? Will anyone even miss me? Will anyone even notice? Who cares? I don't? And all the things that were once seemingly important to me had no importance anymore. Everything that had a grip on my decisions I let go of and I was like I don't care. If it's meant to be, it'll be.

Speaker 1:

If I'm supposed to be in the limelight which, by the way, I have never wanted to be in the limelight like I I would rather be backstage behind the scenes helping people like, not like this. This would be my ideal setting or life, if you will. Like nobody knows anything about me, couldn't you? Couldn't tell anyone like oh, yeah, you know. Like, oh, that's Lorraine. Like, nobody can pop off and tell anyone anything about me. However, if you know me, you know me. If you know me, you would know that's Lorraine. She's super, duper, generous. She's the most loving, caring, authentic person, the most nonjudgmental person but you wouldn't be able to know anything Like.

Speaker 1:

I just don't want my whole life to be on social media. I don't want everybody to know what I'm doing at all times, I just don't. But I have such a huge heart for people Like I want connection. I want, if you know me and, if you have my phone number, if you have a way to contact me, by all means, if you ever did, I would welcome you with open arms and I would help you, no matter what, no matter the time, day, person, unless if you're an ex, like I would help you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so, anyways, I was like I'm done. I'm done with all this, I'm done with and it's not that I was pretending, I wasn't pretending Like I'm super authentic and, um, you know I love Jesus, but I cuss like that's, that's not something I'm proud of, that's something I'm continuously working on, um, but not but cause, that's a fact. And and it was just exhausting and overwhelming and I felt like I was, like I said, I was becoming more like the world and less like Jesus, and I don't want to be like the world, I want to be complete opposite of the world, you know. Hence, today I chopped my hair. You can't see me because I am not recording this via video because I shut that down. But if you're one of the few who listen to my podcast, I love you. I chopped my hair off and I dyed it and I feel free. I feel free because I don't have to get up and think about what content I'm going to create, what video I'm going to post, the algorithms and the hashtags and who I tag all of that I don't care. So I have been listening every once in a while.

Speaker 1:

I found her, I think, through Lori Harder, carly Burr she has spoken about she does. She has a podcast, I think it's called Taking Life Offline and that's exactly what it was about. It's all about being offline and not having a social media and how I mean she went off of social media. I think it's been nine years for her. I don't know. I just kind of I heard an episode and then I started binge listening to it. But she has a newsletter called the Offline Diaries and she, she's so cool. I love her. I hope to meet her one day. I love her. I hope to meet her one day. I don't know how, because I'm not sure if I'll be going to events again At this point. You know what.

Speaker 1:

I'm just taking it day by day and I'm not living selfishly. It's not like YOLO whatever feels good, do it, no, no, no. It's getting back to me, getting back to Jesus, like I have been diving into the word more so now, and really listening and being still and just enjoying my quiet time and not having an agenda and baking, and being with my dogs and just being available for my family, whatever that looks like, and not having to show up for the world, and so that's where I'm at today. So, friend, if you're listening to this and you're struggling, you're struggling with keeping up with the Joneses, you're struggling with your consumption of social media and you're struggling. You're struggling with keeping up with the Joneses, you're struggling with your consumption of social media, you're struggling with your business, you're struggling with the things that the world I was gonna say lean into your heart, but it says in the bible that the heart is deceitful.

Speaker 1:

So don't lean into your heart, because your heart will lead you astray. But I would lean into jesus, lean into the word. And what does the word say? The word says the path to heaven is narrow. It's not wide. I don't want to go on the wide path that's open and everyone's on it.

Speaker 1:

No, no, friend, I don't, because that was the path that I was on and it was so unfulfilling and it was so dirty and sleazy and just filled with confusion and hate and misguided information. No, I want to go on the narrow path. I want to be as close to Jesus as I possibly can and I want to do his will, not mine, and so that means shedding everything of the world and being quiet before the Lord, and so I'm going to keep the podcast because I don't have to get on video, I don't have to worry about what I look like. Look like I can just show up and hit record and then post it and whoever hears it hears it. There's no way for me to broadcast it. I'm not going to clip out the best piece that I think is going to go viral. I'm free from that. Nope, there's no way for me to post and be like don't miss this episode, you'll find it If you're hearing this. There's no mistake of you hearing this right now Because, literally, I have not posted about it, I have not talked about it, I have not shared it.

Speaker 1:

You found this because God wanted you to hear this and I have no idea how you did, and I love it. I love it. It's so freeing, it's so authentic. You know, and I love it. That's how it's supposed to be. So, whoever you are, wherever you are, I pray that the lord finds you just as you are today, in this moment, as you're driving or as you're listening to your kids play while you're simultaneously listening to me. Whatever it may be, whatever it may be I don't even know why I said that Whatever it may be.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, friend, for listening and I just pray that, whatever you're going through, however you feel, I want you to know that the Lord hears you, god loves you so much, just as you are right where you are. And if you're feeling the overwhelm of the world, the stress and anxiety of the world, friend, can I just tell you and give you the freedom to let it go, to release it, to surrender it to God, and he'll guide you and whatever is supposed to happen will happen if you put your trust and faith in Jesus. Because that's what I did I let it all go and I don't care and I don't want to be like the world and sometimes sometimes I know that's scary and sometimes you might be like I can't. I can't let it all go Like it is my job, it provides for me. I get it. I get it, but maybe journal about it and journal and ask God what can I release, what can I let go of? What can I start to slowly shed so that I don't look like the world and I look more like you? And so, father, I just thank you.

Speaker 1:

I thank you for these women or even men, whoever's listening to this. I thank you for the human on the other side of this microphone who is listening to this, who is wondering is there more to life than this? Is this my lot in life, god? I just pray that you hold them dear, god, that they feel your holy presence, lord, and I pray that you give them wisdom to make the next best decision, not the next best decision in flesh, but just out of spirit. Lord. I pray your Holy Spirit fills them. I pray, god, that whoever is listening to this knows that there's a divine purpose for their life and that you bless them. You bless them abundantly and you give them discernment of the next step to take and they take it in faith. And I pray all of this in your precious name, amen. Thank you, friend.

Speaker 1:

I hope that you come back for another episode and, um, I still have an email. So if you are hearing this and you want to drop me a line, you can email me at Lorraine L-O-R-A-Y-N-E Michaels, m-i-c-h-a-e-l-s. 22 at gmailcom, because I don't think my bold beginnings email is any longer available because I got rid of that too. I just shed everything. I was just like be gone, be gone, be gone.

Speaker 1:

Anyways, you can still buy my journals on Amazon or Etsy. Just look it up with my name. You can look it up on Etsy at the Bold Beginnings. You can look it up on Amazon. Same thing the bold beginnings or my name Lorraine Michaels. The journals are such an amazing tool to use. I use them all the time. That's one thing that I have stuck to, because it helps me get out my thoughts, because my thoughts are always running. So that is that. I love you and I hope you have a fantastic day, and I'm just shaking my short hair. That's amazing. Have a fantastic day and if you go out trick or treating, be safe and remember you are divinely created for divine purpose and there is no mistake in you.