Ep. 34: Lori Mihalich-Levin

In this episode: Lori Mihalich-Levin

Guest Bio: 

Lori Mihalich-Levin, JD, believes in empowering working parents. She is the founder and CEO of Mindful Return, author of Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave, and co-host of the Parents at Work Podcast. She is mama to two wonderful red-headed boys (ages 8 and 10) and is a health care lawyer in private practice. Her thought leadership has been featured in publications including Forbes, The Washington Post, New York Times Parenting, Thrive Global, and The Huffington Post.

Links:

Podcast: Parents at Work Podcast, a podcast for parents who want to thrive both with their families and in their careers. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parents-at-work/id1239258343

Mindful Return: www.mindfulreturn.com

Book: Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave (http://amzn.to/2lZJLm3)

Social Handless:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorimihalichlevin/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindful-return/

https://www.facebook.com/mindfulreturn

https://twitter.com/mindfulreturn

https://www.instagram.com/mindfulreturn/

https://www.pinterest.com/mindfulreturn/

Subscribe:

https://ordinarywomenextraordinarywealth.buzzsprout.com/

Transcript

Janay Harris  0:01  
You are listening to ordinary women extraordinary wealth with Marcy Predmore-McPhee. This is the show where we talk about how ordinary women achieve extraordinary wealth. We interview successful business leaders and entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys, discover what success means to them, and go over the various forms of wealth they've been able to achieve. And we'll learn all the best tips and tricks, you can start applying in your own life and career. While extraordinary wealth comes in a variety of forms, we don't neglect the financial side. And it's so important for women to feel comfortable talking about money. So in this show, you'll also learn how to put your money to work, keep your money in motion, and use your money to enjoy life today, without stealing from tomorrow. Be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you find this show valuable, make sure to share it with your friends and colleagues. And now your host, Marcy Predmore-McPhee, McPhee.

Marcy Predmore  0:59  
Well, I just want to say good morning and welcome everyone to ordinary women, extraordinary wealth. I share so often why I started this podcast, one of the reasons and I hope there's a listening ear out there that can relate to what I'm saying. But I used to think that Marcy was just an ordinary woman worked hard love being a mother, but just an ordinary wallflower, if you want to call it that, in the world of entrepreneurship, I love being a business owner, I truly feel like I have a gift. And you know what, it kept being impressed upon me that I truly am extraordinary. So the reason that we're here today is to introduce my guest, but really want to shine the light on her extraordinary and what she's doing for parents in the world. And so again, if you're listening to our podcast today, we would love it if you would subscribe to the podcast. And also Lori's podcast, which we'll talk about in just a minute. But we would just love some feedback. We would love you to get involved with ordinary women extraordinary wealth, and I would love to shine the light on your extraordinary. So without further ado, I would like to introduce Lorie Mahalik. Levin, she is she has a story that I am so excited to share. Because I think there's so many parents out there who are involved with their business or businesses or careers. They actually come back to what we naturally all love being a mom and dad being a family. But then you've got to get back into the real world. So Laurie, welcome today to ordinary women. extraordinary wealth.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  2:56  
Thank you so much for having me, Marcy. I'm really delighted to be here. You then love, love the focus on the extraordinary because we all truly are.

Marcy Predmore  3:03  
You betcha. You bet and that I just love the word. I love the vibrancy and the energy of it. So Laurie actually is the CEO I'm going to share a little bit about I'm going to share her bio, but she is the CEO and founder of mindful return. So mindful return calm is her website. And it's very much worth looking at. She has courses there. She has resources. We're going to talk about that in just a jiffy. So Laurie believes in empowering working parents. She is the founder and CEO of mindful return. She is also the author of back to work after baby how to plan and navigate a mindful return from maternity leave, and co host of parents at work podcast. She is mama to two beautiful, wonderful little redhead boys ages eight and 10 now and is a healthcare lawyer in the private practice world. Her thought leadership has been featured in publications including Forbes, The Washington Post, New York Times parenting Thrive global and the Huffington Post. She you can actually find Laurie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest under mindful return. Laurie, wow, what about ground and I again, so happy to have you so fill us in on your life and what got you to this place with mindful return?

Lori Mihalich-Levin  4:37  
Ah, awesome, Marcy. So let's see. I live in Washington, DC. And I'd say the most recent massive occurrence in my life has been that my children went back to school five days a week, because they were home with us for 15 straight months during the pandemic and that was easily the hardest year that my husband and I experienced on the planet with them at home. I put the year prior the the hardest year before COVID hit was the first year that I had two kids. That was the year that I definitely went off the rails myself, my husband and I like to joke that one plus one felt like 85 children. And I had returned to work full time after a parental leave. And things were just not pretty. I mean, we were talking earlier about, you know, parenthood crying on the floor, wondering how on earth you're going to make it through the next day. And that was definitely me. I looked around and tried to find resources that could help me through that transition from professional to then Mom to then working parent. And I found so many baby related resources that were awesome and wonderful, but they were focused on the baby, and nothing focused on the parent, I found all sorts of snarky advice, like don't put a picture of your family on your desk at work, or people might not take you seriously or, you know, you might leak on your shirt. And this was not helpful to me. And so I basically set out to create what I wished had existed for myself when I returned to work after my two babies.

Marcy Predmore  6:06  
I absolutely love that. And again, I think so many of us can relate. Going back into the workforce. And as you said, some of those real practical things that do happen, I know I had two weeks off, and came back to work. And I was just somebody would hug me and smile at me just to say good morning, and I was just so not even knowing why.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  6:32  
Well think think about two weeks, I mean, the amount of time it takes a postpartum body to recover when a baby is not able to do in two weeks. And I know that's the average, sadly, in the United States, we are one of so few countries like three countries, globally that doesn't have a paid leave policy. And so you know, people are forced to go back much sooner than maybe would otherwise be healthy for themselves or their families.

Marcy Predmore  6:56  
You bet you bet. That's exactly right. And back in the day, at least when I was having children, that was absolutely it. Most of us were off two weeks. So well, I also wanted to just bring again, mindful return calm is Lori's website. And one of the things that I just love that caught my eye is mindful return is a movement that helps new moms and dads navigate the uncertain terrain of working parenthood. Are you ready to trade your working parent guilt for meaningful, meaningful connection and support? And Laurie, is it not true that so many of us that do come back into the workforce, we kind of feel like we're an island, that we're alone in the emotion in the practical in the gotta go pick up the kids finding daycare finding a nanny? What's that? Like?

Lori Mihalich-Levin  7:50  
Yeah, pyland is exactly the right word, Marcy, I mean, I felt very, very isolated myself, compounded by the fact that I had two babies in the winter in DC. And so I have little incentive to get out and, you know, meet other people. But I feel like we often can get in that feeling of, oh, it's just me, I'm the one who's failing, I must be doing something wrong here that it's not working smoothly. And, you know, I like to say a couple of things. One of which is the transition to working Parenthood in the return to work after having a baby are a process and not an event. And so many of us think that, like, we're gonna go back that first week, we're gonna figure it all out, and then we're gonna be fine, and everything's gonna be normal. And first of all, there is no normal return to once you have a child, as you know. And second of all, we really need to recalibrate those expectations for ourselves. And so I'd also want to focus a little bit on the the fact that workplaces often do undermine and devalue mother voices. And there is a motherhood penalty that is well documented in the workplace. And so some of it isn't in our heads, right. Some of it is a systemic bias against mothers. And part of what I am trying to do with this mindful return movement is to turn on its head, the traditional notion that somehow we lose value because we are parents, and instead, focus on the fact that we gain amazing skills through parenthood that are so useful in our careers, and that you know, what employers really should be wanting to hire parents because we are masters at so many things. And we grow those skills by being both parents and employees and career focused professionals.

Marcy Predmore  9:32  
Absolutely. And I totally have to agree with that. Because so many times again, going back to hearken to my days is you have to learn to be a master at many trades, sometimes all in the same day. And be overwhelming but as you said, you come back into the workforce and you were very good. When you laughed at what you do and now you do have spit up on you Your shoulder, you do have a few things that that bring you back into reality when people see you. So that is so important, I think. Well, speaking of that, there are a few questions Laurie that I just love to ask their foundation questions. For me, they're a bit broad, but I think they really can help people understand where you and I in our different parts of the country and our different realms of the world of being an entrepreneur. But the question, my first question to you, Laurie is, what does success mean to you? Yeah, so

Lori Mihalich-Levin  10:34  
I'm a lawyer, and I love words and the definitions of words. And the first thing that I think of when I think of successes, well, what is its opposite, and its opposite, for me is failure, right? If you just think success and failure. And when I think about failure, I think about the fact that a lot of things that I used to think of as failures, I don't consider to be failures anymore, because I learned something from the process. And so for me, success means learning. And whatever it is that I learned from the last thing, if I am continuing to learn and continuing to grow, so maybe learning and growth, then I am succeeding, and whatever I am doing

Marcy Predmore  11:18  
that I absolutely love that. And again, if you're not growing and learning, you are dying, and that's that statement, but I love success and being learning because success truly is the constant growth of wherever we are, whether it whether it be career, whether it be parents, whatever authors, whatever it may be,

Lori Mihalich-Levin  11:44  
yeah, I'm happy to give a specific example of what I mean, too. So, um, you know, a couple of years ago, I was mom, I was partner at a law firm on a 60% schedule, I was CEO of mindful return. And then I decided to take on another job for an organization that I really deeply believe in, but to be the chief operating officer of this organization. And in retrospect, I look back and say, What a mistake what was I thinking like, what a failure to have taken on a job that I you know, overloaded myself with. And during the pandemic, I decided that three jobs two kids and a pandemic was not something I can handle. But looking back I, I realized that it wasn't a failure on my part, to have misjudged my own plate. It was that I learned what my limits are, I learned what my capacity is, I learned what I am so passionate about, and what is sort of secondary for me. And so it's not a failure. It's just a learning and you know, is saying, Okay, well, I will do that again. But, but it wasn't a bad experience. It was just, you know, another step in the career progression learning process. Absolutely.

Marcy Predmore  12:54  
Yeah, absolutely. And it is a progression. Because a lot of times again, if you can speak to this, don't we so many times come back to work, thinking that we're coming back who we are before we have the children? Haha. Yeah, right. And the next thing you know is you're ready to dive into work, but but you might have the baby at home, or you might have a nanny who needs you or whatever that is, that actually stretches you back. So yes, I remember those days very well.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  13:30  
So expect the unexpected, for sure.

Marcy Predmore  13:33  
Expected? Well, the next question. And again, no right or wrong answer. But I love the question, because it's such a great foundation question. But Laurie, what does wealth mean to you?

Lori Mihalich-Levin  13:48  
I love the question. And for me that the word that comes to mind when I think of wealth is abundance. And when I was in this desperate new moms state, and the only thing I can manage to do was feel completely overwhelmed. I wasn't feeling very abundant. But I ended up taking this online course called The abundant mama project that was designed to help new parents and parents in general, find the abundance in their lives. And so when I was able to reframe my perspective on my day, even though I hadn't slept, and the house was a disaster, when I could frame it in terms of abundance instead of scarcity, that I truly felt wealthy every day, I had this beautiful baby. I had a job that I loved. I have a wonderful partner in life and those things made me feel abundant and wealthy, even though I was sleep deprived and otherwise completely overwhelmed.

Marcy Predmore  14:46  
Yes, it looked and felt good out here. But But right at that moment, it was a little bit heavy.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  14:52  
Yes, exactly. Right.

Marcy Predmore  14:54  
That's awesome. And again, I love abundance because I truly feel like a lot of times again, When I shared this earlier, but I love wealth, because I feel like it's a solid foundation, whatever that means, and abundance truly is part of that foundation. And you know what, as we as we go out the door every day to continue to build our foundations to build our careers. What does a day in the life of glory look like? Help the audience really understand. Again, all the hats that you wear, what is your day look like?

Lori Mihalich-Levin  15:31  
Yeah, so every day does look different Marcy, although to be honest, it's looked fairly similar in my home office for the past year and a half since the pandemic. But basically, I'll give you a play by play of at least some morning, you know, I wake up at 615. I go and take a shower, and my husband starts breakfast. And then I have a ritual of doing yoga on our screened in porch for about 15 minutes every morning, using the Insight Timer app, which I really love and recently became a teacher on so I'm super excited about that. And then, you know, sometime in the middle of my yoga practice, one of my children might come out and start climbing on or under me, and then the other child will need to be woken up to go to school, and will do the whole breakfast, get dressed, encourage everyone 50 times to brush their teeth, and, you know, get out the door routine, my husband and I switch off in terms of drop off and pick up. So if I do drop off in the morning, then he does pick up and I make dinner and vice versa. If he does drop off in the morning, then whatever, whoever's home at night and not doing pickup makes dinner. And then you know, by 845, or nine, I'm sitting down in my home office and flipping back and forth between my lawyer and mindful return hats depending on what the event is right before this call, I had a call with a client and my legal team. And now I'm speaking to you, and then I'm going to be on a American Bar Association webinar next, and then I've got another client. And anyway, so mindful return is primarily a an employer benefit. And employers are, you know, able to sign up for mindful return as a tool to provide to their new employee, new parent employees. And so I'm often on the phone with an employer or preparing a webinar. Gosh, and then the day, you know, around our children go to aftercare. Thank goodness, it's open this year. And around 515 to 545 ish, my husband or I will go pick up pick up the kids. We've got the dinner homework, bath bed routine. And then I usually actually go back online and do a little bit of work from about nine to 1030. And then my husband and I close our day with Insight Timer. Again, we do a guided meditation together, reflect on our day a little bit. I read a few pages of a novel and then I crash. Yes.

Marcy Predmore  18:04  
Oh, sleep hours?

Lori Mihalich-Levin  18:06  
No, seven hours a night, Marcy seven hours a night? Well,

Marcy Predmore  18:10  
that's pretty darn good. Yes, yes, that's pretty darn good. If you can fall asleep quickly.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  18:16  
I do. I'm I got into bed around 11. I'm out by 1115. And I'm up at 615. So I get the seven solid hours. I know that I am a cranky mess if I don't get seven. So that's a priority.

Marcy Predmore  18:27  
Well, I love that. And I just think it's so important for all the moms and dads out there in the audience to really hear that there are people out there that you have to get. You have to be mindful of your day of your schedule, but you have to get focused also on the different hats that we all wear. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, thank you for that. And before we jump into the next question, I had written this down earlier. And I meant to ask it at the beginning. But on mindful return website, it really talks about different courses. And I just jumped over there really quick, but it talks about working dads, it talks about special needs, what are some of the courses that people if they were interested could go and learn just a little bit more about that resource? Sure. Thank

Lori Mihalich-Levin  19:17  
you for asking. Yeah. So the first course that we launched seven years ago was a course specifically for new moms transitioning back to work after parental leave. And that's a four week cohort based program. So you're in it with other new moms who are all going through that stage ticket bar. And we run that every other month. And about two years after launching that we started getting requests from employers to have something for dads as well. And I was very enthusiastic about that because I truly believe that the more engaged dads are early on, the better off we all do, including women's careers. So we have a course specifically for new dads. Same idea cohort based you're in a group with other new dads and it's led by a wonderful dad who took two extended paternity leaves from Bank of America. And we have a course specifically for parents who have children with special needs, as you mentioned. And that's run by both a mom and a dad who have special needs kids. And they realize that rather we mindful return, we're made aware that when you have a child with special needs, your professional trajectory might look different. And you have a lot of therapist meetings and appointments and medical appointments that others don't have to deal with. And so the course is really focused on navigating career and the special needs child. We launched earlier this year, a manager training course. So people who are managing folks who are going out on parental leave, often need a little bit of help figuring out what to do around that you know, how to navigate the terrain of the person going out how to be empathetic, what questions to ask and not ask that sort of thing. So we have that we also launched this year, early on this year, a UK chapter. So we are now also based in London, and we launched an India chapter for moms and dads and India this past week. So we're going global, we've got a Spanish language version of our programs coming out next year. And we have a mindful return 201 level course coming out in January for people who are past the stage of working of returning to work after parental leave, but are still feeling overwhelmed in working parent life.

Marcy Predmore  21:24  
Wow. So fantastic resource. That's why I didn't want to overlook that. Because as I think you're going through everything, a lot of times, you know, one of our daughters. She has our little youngest granddaughter, we have one coming. But youngest granddaughter, she turns one in a couple weeks, and I know a deletion. Yeah, yes. She's just she's the most amazing little girl. And she's so inquisitive. She's definitely going to be a mover and a shaker as she grows. But I know her mom is a phenomenal entrepreneur. But I think she's, you know, she's just juggling. She's trying to figure this all out. And sometimes you just need to talk to another mom or dad that are in that same boat and think, oh, yeah, been there, done that girlfriend. So here's some ideas.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  22:16  
Yeah, there's so much power in that idea of Oh, my gosh, me too. But, you know, I think that's probably the secret sauce within the mindful return courses is that, you know, there is great content and logistical ideas on how to return. But then there's also just that the voices of other moms making you feel like you're not crazy. Absolutely.

Marcy Predmore  22:36  
Absolutely. Well, let's just topic just a tiny bit. And again, I encourage everybody go to mindful, return, calm and just look at those different resources. But we're going to talk just a little bit Laurie, about in the last, you know, 20 years or so of your growth. Let's talk a little bit about mentors. Anybody that actually jumps to the front of the page, that that really helped propel you to where you are, whether it be books person, just a little bit about mentors and how they helped you get where you are today.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  23:11  
Yeah, I love that question. A couple of people come to my mind immediately. One is a supervisor who I had when I went out on maternity leave for the very first time at the trade or trade association, where I worked. And what I remember most. And it's interesting, as I'm thinking about these mentors, I'm thinking that, yes, they helped me in my career, but they also helped me have confidence in my life. And when I first started working for this woman, and I had just started at the organization, and I was feeling guilty that I had a two week vacation on the books. And you know, we were gonna, my husband and I were going to go to Argentina for like the last trip before we had a kid. And I remember saying to her, like, I know, I just started here. And yet I'm taking these two weeks off. And she looked at me and said, You will remember those two weeks and we will not remember at all that you were gone. And, you know, it's sort of that mind shifting philosophy, like forget the guild's focus on what you're what you need to focus on. And then she was so supportive when I returned to work after leave, she said, Take whatever time you need, you know, phase in, if you need to come back two days a week, the first week, and, you know, she didn't have kids of her own, but she was just so supportive. And that really meant a lot to me at the time. And the second person who comes to mind is a partner who was at the law firm, where I worked as a baby lawyer, who literally has become the person I go to, every single time I'm in career transition or not quite sure what to go next to do next. And you know, I've known him for 20 years and I think he's just such a great listener and thought partner that you know, anytime I'm like, Oh, should I leave this law firm? Should I join this? Should I do this program? He is the first person I pick up the phone to call and then the third person is my husband. I He is sort of like my, we call each other, you know, each other's shadow or secret business partners. He's a career coach runs his own business. And, you know, I'm a risk averse Lawyer by nature, and never thought that I was going to ever start a business or anything. I mean, that's not what lawyers typically do. And when I had my second baby, and I said, Oh, my gosh, somebody needs to create these resources for new parents, because they don't exist. And it would life would be so much better if we had them in my husband clipped back, you know, well, what are you going to do about it? And so it was really sort of that impetus to say, Oh, I could do something about it. And it doesn't matter that I'm a lawyer and not a quote unquote, entrepreneur, and you're the one with the MBA. You know, anybody can start something and run with it. So he's been my biggest cheerleader as well.

Marcy Predmore  25:51  
That is so fantastic. And it's so nice when it can be your partner in life. Yes, no, just to encourage you on but also to give you some, some constructive, some constructive, not not criticism, that's not the right word, but just helps you to really see what it is you're asking for. Even if you don't take that next step, then who's going to

Lori Mihalich-Levin  26:14  
Yes, we nudge each other along, and we are each other's accountability partners, which is really awesome.

Marcy Predmore  26:20  
Yeah. And I actually am gonna steal that thought partner, because I have several of those. But I love the word thought partner. Yeah, there's a lot of times in life, it's so important for someone else. We have another business is called Private Banking concepts. And my husband is such an amazing strategist, because he is a thought partner where he can actually look into and not be emotional about what's going on in your world. Sure, sure. So those thought partners are so important when it comes to, again, just taking the next step and growing you or helping you through whatever it is you are growing

Lori Mihalich-Levin  26:58  
through. Absolutely, yes, that's fantastic.

Marcy Predmore  27:01  
And Laurie, I know we're getting close to the end of our call. But I really would like to I know you said Your day is filled from six o'clock until 10 or 11. But tell us just a little bit. I know I am a big reader, and it sounds like you really have a lot of go to Resources. Are there any books or anything that that you could really share with the audience that that might be helpful for them?

Lori Mihalich-Levin  27:30  
Yeah, Marcy, I've got a whole list of books that I love. I am a big reader, although I tend to read in 10 and 15 minute chunks, either while I'm eating some lunch or you know, on the way to bed, yes. But a couple of my go twos for working parenthood, in particular, are bridgid Shelties book called overwhelmed work, love and play when no one has the time. And that book in particular, reframed my view of childcare. She talks about an evolutionary anthropologist who studied ancient women and how their villages there as she called them, allo parents were in engaged in the life of their children, which really taught me that it's quite normal, throughout all of human history to have other people looking after our children and for us to be, you know, parents as well. So that's one that I would put at the tippy top of the list. I am a huge fan of anything Brene Brown has written and I've read all of her books. I know she has a new book coming out. I ordered it and very excited about that. Yeah. Um, let's see what else. Laura Vander cam is a wonderful author on time management. She wrote a book, a book called 168 hours that I really love that is, by the way, the number of hours that there are in a week. And she wrote, in addition to 168 hours on some other books, a short parable, called Juliet's School of possibilities. And it's sort of a wonderful parable about looking at the possibilities in your life and not thinking that you're limited to one particular path, which I really love. I mean, I could keep going, but those are some of the ones that I really love.

Marcy Predmore  29:09  
You know what, and the one thing that I and I, I'm not gonna let this one go, because I also had written this down. Tell us quickly about your parents at work podcast.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  29:20  
Yes, yes. So my husband and I actually co hosts the podcast. It's called parents at work. And every month or so ish, we feature a group of moms and a group of dads in a particular industry or sector and talk about their life as a working parent. So we have done a month focused on working mom and working dad engineers, working mom and working dad actors in the theater, working mom and working dad lawyers. So we really just try to focus on different industries and show what it is like to be a working parent in that industry. The pros and cons of where the industry is at and what might be changing and where it might be headed. It may hope that we can cross pollinate across different sectors, the good ideas because we all get stuck in our own silos.

Marcy Predmore  30:06  
Absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, the one thing I have loved about this new podcast space is just that that cross pollination, as you said, I actually started this one, and it was going to really focus on finance. But I started really hearing people's story. And I felt like that story really needed to get out. And like you said, you and I might not have been on the same podcast route of where our lives are in parenting and careers. But the really awesome part is, someone will probably reach out to me and say, I really want more information on that podcast about, because I get it all the time. So I'm just super excited that we're able to build that connectivity on, you know, just different topics. But on the same foundation,

Lori Mihalich-Levin  31:02  
yes, I love that. And I really love the idea of having women feel more comfortable and empowered talking about wealth, and about success and about money. My husband and I have been taking a year long course called The Art of money by Barry Tesslar of the past year. And it's really opened me up to the idea that, like, there's so much psychology behind how we talk about money, and there's so many hang ups that we have mentally and emotionally. And so I love that you're in the space of promoting more open conversations around

Marcy Predmore  31:35  
that. You bet. And one of the questions and I might have to include it back in but we talk a lot about or we talked a lot about traditions around money, how you grew up thinking about money, and how you think about money today. So I might have to do a specific podcast just on traditions.

Lori Mihalich-Levin  31:56  
Yeah, there's a lot of baggage we carry from the early days about how we think about it. And, and I love the idea that is grownups as adults, we can teach ourselves new stories to

Marcy Predmore  32:07  
absolutely, and I love that. And again, if you're not growing, you're dying. So as as we draw to a close, Laurie, I just want to, you've mentioned several things during the podcast today. And what about a tip of the week, something that you could just offer openhanded and say, here's a gift for you this week. So

Lori Mihalich-Levin  32:29  
I love that. Okay, so my gift for you this week, is to invite you to multitask your shower. And here's what I mean, when you're in the shower. And you know, if you're a parent, this might be one of the few moments when you don't have another individual hanging off of your body. And you're getting ready for your day or you're closing your day, use the shower for yourself. And for some mindfulness. And I have an acronym that I use with myself in the shower it is i s s. And I use it because I want to remind myself to do these three things in the shower. And the first is intention. So set an intention for my day, the intention might be go to bed at 9pm tonight, because you're so exhausted or the intention might be get that one project on that's looming over you so you can stop talking about it, whatever it is. So set the intention for the day, stretch, do a couple of stretches and yoga poses and then savor, I stand there and savor the water. Savor the fact that no one's attached to me. I'm alone for a few minutes. But there's hot water, there's food on the table. We're not chasing toilet paper anymore. You know those moments of gratitude. So I'd say like, for one day this week, just see how it feels for you play around with making the shower, a spot where you can be really present. And just come back to yourself for those couple of moments.

Marcy Predmore  33:48  
I absolutely love that ISS. I absolutely love that. I don't even know if we have to have little ones at home. Not no moments in the shower, or, and the thoughts. That's yeah, that's a great tip of the week. Thank you, Laurie so much. And I just I really would encourage each of you out there that are listening today to subscribe to Lori's podcast, parents at work, podcast, and subscribe to ordinary women extraordinary wealth and we would really truly enjoy having you as a guest. And Laurie, thank you so much for being so real and honest today on the show. Thank you for having

Lori Mihalich-Levin  34:31  
me on Marcy. I've really enjoyed our conversation and look forward to being in touch.

Marcy Predmore  34:35  
You betcha. And I hope everybody just has an extraordinary week.

Janay Harris  34:42  
You've been listening to ordinary women extraordinary wealth with Marcy Predmore-McPhee. Be sure to drop us a line if you're enjoying the podcast. As we always love hearing from our listeners. Let us know what you think by looking us up at ordinary women extraordinary wealth.com or on social media where you can join our private group On Facebook called ordinary women extraordinary wealth. If you'd like to connect with Marcy on LinkedIn, you can find her by going to linkedin.com forward slash i n forward slash Marcy dash Predmore-McPhee. Also, it would really mean so much to us if you would leave us a five star review on your favorite podcast platform. If you found this episode valuable, be sure to share it with your friends and colleagues. And remember, we publish new episodes every Wednesday, so be sure to subscribe. See you next week.