Michelle Mercier Shares her Journey of Resiliency and Going Against the Status Quo

Pamela Bardhi
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of underdog. Today I have an outstanding guest here with me today, Michelle. Who is a total Rockstar and I’m so honored to have her here today. Michelle, what’s going on?

Michelle Mercier
Oh, man, I am so excited to be here.

Pamela Bardhi
I’m so pumped because you are just a total Rockstar and so many realms. Digital speaker, you have your own podcast, you have your coaching. You’ve just got so much awesomeness going on. And like I just can’t wait to get into your story. So my opening question, which is the most loaded question one could possibly ask, is. What inspired you on the journey to where you are today?

Michelle Mercier
That is a very loaded question, man. Like, in hindsight, I’m like, I was probably always meant to be doing what I’m doing. But he took a couple of detours to get here along the way. What inspired me really is that I did a lot of things beforehand, like I have a theatre and music major out of undergrad. So I did that for a stand. I got a graduate degree in nonprofit management and the arts. And then I jumped into corporate for 10 years. But the thing was by the time I kind of moved away from the corporate space. I didn’t really recognize myself anymore, I mean. When you think about the person who came out, with a theatre degree versus somebody, who’s running like a high-powered tech team type situation.

It’s a little bit of a whiplash effect from one personality to the next. So what really inspired me to create my company. Which is called on paper, it’s called creed honesty, Inc. Because I kept hearing this kind of line from women in my life and men about love. I checked all the boxes that I was supposed to check. Why the hell am I not happy, I got the degree, I got the job, I got the kids. The wife, the husband, the pet, the frickin picket house. Whatever picket fence house, whatever that is, but I’m still fucking miserable. And I could relate at that point and that’s kind of why I started my business. Because I wanted to be able to kind of steer my own ship for lack of a better phrase when it came to that.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that Rockstar. So now, the question for you is what did you want to be when you grew up?

Michelle Mercier
President. My parents are probably cringing. It was a toss-up between like a performer and President, go figure given the similarities with that stuff. But I actually went into college wanting to go Polsci. And be a lawyer slash politician when I went in. I’m not saying I’m rolling it out in the future, but my parents are still like my dad. Particulars like going to run for something and I like it. Are you out of your mind? I am too blunt, I don’t know if that’s a good idea for anyone involved. So that was what I wanted to be when I was a younger artist, singer, or performer versus president.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. How amazing but it’s like it’s interesting, though, because the performing space it’s served you well now in your way all that stuff. So what inspired you on your creative path to shift. Because you just said you were in Polsci and then went to.

Michelle Mercier
I was all over the map, I think when you ask a 17 or 18-year-old. To set the trajectory of the rest of their life by the way. The majority of them have no fucking clue what they’re doing. So when I went there, it was very much about what that persona of me looked like according to other people. Like do the responsible thing, let’s be a lawyer. And then I got it and I frickin hated it like I really disliked it. But in between I also jumped, like, maybe I’ll be an elementary school teacher.

Maybe I’ll do this by trying to act like a kind responsible major. But really I just have always been in the core band. That’s not something that’s gonna go away. So and you’re right, it served me acting and singing and performing, like. I can walk on a stage in front of 1000s of people. But I’m lightyears ahead of some people. Because all that training and doing the podcast kind of puts me ahead of the game, which is nice.

Pamela Bardhi
Walk me through that transition of going from, like, poly side to theatre. Because well, I know that there’s a lot of people listening to that. Like they have a hard time with change and transition. When you’re entering to opposite worlds.

Michelle Mercier
Yeah, that’s kind of the story of my life, I’ve always been able to. I’m always pretty equally strong on my right brain and left brain. So even when I was in theatre and doing all that stuff. I was constantly looking at the marketing, I was looking at the sales stuff. So I was always kind of in conflict with myself. If that resonates at all, I really want to be creative, but I also want to make money. And I understand how the two of those can kind of work in tandem but from a changed perspective. I mean, I wish I could tell you the reasons and I like the concrete stuff. But it was college, so, therefore, it’s blurry.

I had pretty severe anxiety in college. And that’s if you’re a woman right around, like 18 1920, if you do have any mental health stuff. It’s rearing its head, so it did for me too, during that. So it’s kind of blurry between that and while in college, so it’s partying. And whatever else was in there, I went so far to my right brain and I wanted to be creative. But then I came out and did all the auditioning. Had an agent and all that stuff, but then I went to get a master’s in the business of the arts. So it’s like, again, like that push and pull between the two things.

Pamela Bardhi
Gotcha. Thank you so much for sharing that because I know what I mean. There are millions of people that suffer through anxiety and depression, like, all the boyfriends. How’d you break through that? Then getting into theatre and the arts? Because that seems almost counterintuitive.

Michelle Mercier
It does. But it’s a good outlet. Why? Because you’re not yourself. You’re not yourself when you’re on stage. Like, you get to step into whatever character you want. I mean, you see a lot of theatre kids, right? They’re the ones who are kind of maybe dealing with the crap not that everyone isn’t. But they have challenges and they I put it into my art, like. That’s what makes good art, is being kind of fucked up sometimes makes us really good.

Pamela Bardhi
I mean, it’s whether you explained it was that it’s an outlet for you. Because I’m thinking about somebody with anxiety. And then the thought of them being on a stage. You breakthrough that, right? Wow,

Michelle Mercier
It’s an outlet exactly for what you said like I could step into a character. That character doesn’t have anxiety, Michelle might, but that character doesn’t. And also, there’s something to be sad about. Singing was my coping mechanism growing up. I grew up in a tumultuous household and I was always singing, because I wasn’t screaming. So I was singing, it was kind of an outlet that kind of followed me through. And it still serves me today, which is fantastic.

Pamela Bardhi
Right? So those outlets are super, super important. When did you start singing?

Michelle Mercier
Oh, God, out of the womb, I don’t even know, probably like kindergarten first second grade. And it was funny because I remember auditioning for a show in junior high and they were like. No, you can’t sing, and then like, I went on to get a degree in it. I was like, yeah, you were wrong, by the way. And it was also kind of my personality. If you tell me I can’t do something. Probably can’t do it.

Pamela Bardhi
I love it growing up, do you imagine you have grown up in kind of a questionable household. And I mean, I don’t know what that structure was like. But like, I know that there’s a lot of people who you know, growing up, they’re in different situations in your youth. What were some of your biggest inspirations and then some of your biggest aha moments?

Michelle Mercier
I’m kind of a rarity in the fact that I started reading kind of personal development stuff early on. So probably like my teenage years, I was reading like Louise Hay types, stuff, affirmation type stuff. I was raised Catholic, I was involved a lot with our church and different things. And I think the people I was hanging around with as well. We’re very driven, very kind of good thinkers, leaders, things like that. So I was fortunate with that, but something inside of me kind of always knew that. I was going to come up and out of it. Like I’ve always for as long as I can remember been the type of person that is recognized that things happen for a reason.

And that you’re being taught as you go through things. Even if they’re super fucking hard. So which again, is another thing that serves me well today and I can trace it back to them. Because sometimes when you’re young and the shits just swirl around you. You don’t know which way is up, which way is down and you have a choice. And that’s as an adult too you can make a choice to kind of move through it. Or you can make a choice to live there and I didn’t want to so I just chose not to.

Pamela Bardhi
That’s amazing that you were looking at self-development books, basically at that age. Because it really doesn’t hit a lot of people until later in life.

Michelle Mercier
Yeah, I mean, I read that when people asked me, what’s your are your favorite books?” I wouldn’t have probably made it through my 20s I feel like from a mental health perspective. And in a good way if it wasn’t for some pretty great books like Iyanla Vanzant is a writer. Who people kind of now know from TV and stuff, but I was reading her. Christina Hassler, the 20, something female. I was reading a lot of stuff to kind of keep my head in the game and keep it in a good place.

Pamela Bardhi
Oh, amazing. And then you mentioned that you went into your Master of Business of the arts, which is so fun.

Michelle Mercier
Yeah, I mean, I went to have what’s called an arts administration program for masters and, you go in and I look at it. It’s literally an MBA for running nonprofits, like, you learn a lot of the same things. I understand you will learn everything from the finances of how to build an organization to our capstone project. You’re going into a full-blown organization and consulting for it, you’re ripping them apart, you’re going through their finances. They’re giving their marketing strategy, they’re everything. Those masters really served me well jumping into the corporate life, as well for what I do now.

Because I can go in with a consultants mentality, because of a lot of the stuff that I learned there. And I got a really well-rounded education on all of the moving pieces of running a business. I was living in Boston, at BU, getting a degree, and also I was working on a musical at the time that I was trying to put up in Boston. But looking back, I was like. What the fuck was I doing? I was interning for Shakespeare on the Common in Boston and the Huntington Theatre Company and partying. Because I’m in my 20s, it was just a really crazy time.

And then in addition to that, my dad had some challenges with alcoholism and mental illness. I was juggling at two alongside my family, so it was just insane. But I am very blessed with it, because I met my husband during that period of time, too. So I’m a big fan of I love him, obviously, he kind of became like that life raft for me. Like in that very anchoring force during that time. Because I was all over the place and I was running a million miles an hour. And when I started with him, he actually lives west of Boston. He just bought in Hudson mass, which at the time, was used to Boston life, like. Lots of stuff to do all the time, culture everywhere.

And I moved out to Hudson with him at the tail end of my grad degree and I was like. Where the hell am I like sidewalks rolling up at 9 pm or earlier? Because it was before right now Hudson has a pretty, pretty awesome downtown and stuff to do. But so prior to that, I was like, what is happening, but he’s really a grounding force. For me, he’s an engineer, very kind of logical-minded. Whereas I’m the dreamer and stuff like that on a lot of levels. So that’s kind of that chapter of my life, from a grad school perspective.

Pamela Bardhi
That’s amazing. And then now transitioning into you mentioned that you were in the corporate world for a while, what was that experience? Like? What were you working on at that time?

Michelle Mercier
Yeah. So I mean, I got a job in the nonprofit world as a managing director for an arts organization here out in Hudson mass. And they lost the funding, so I lost the job. That’s kind of how that works. Sometimes in the nonprofit world, which was fine. Because it was meant to be and I decided at that point, I was like. You know what, I’m like, I need to make more money. I would like a house, I would like, you know, some other stuff in my life. So I jumped over to a company called e dialogue at the time. They were called bat and it was primarily email marketing for enterprise-level clients, so enterprise. I’d like the NFL or I don’t know, supermarket chains, like really big, hefty clients.

So I started there and I kind of worked my way up on that. I am here, I am at this master’s level of education. And I’m starting from somewhere at the bottom, again. Because the nonprofit world sometimes doesn’t translate over people who don’t think, they’re the same thing. But it’s transferable skills across the board and I worked my way up there. And then we were bought and sold quite a few times. I remember a dialogue was bought by GSI. That was then bought by eBay, so I ended up towards the tail end of my almost decade. They’re running the PayPal Europe, email marketing operation side of things.

So I was the person who fixed stuff. I’m a fixer, right. Again, that consulting mentality that comes up comes through. I was in charge of essentially migrating business out of Europe. Over to the United States building up a team, making sure that operations of stuff went well. Then our business unit was bought and sold again. And at that point, a lot of our staff was outsourced and I was outsourced. So I was laid off and I just had my second kid too, so that started a whole new chapter.

My kids are in the mix because they’re medically complicated kids. I was running a high-stress team while juggling appointments at Children’s Hospital. And then the second one came in. He was even more complicated. You know, that’s the next chapter of that and I had a choice when I was laid off. I could have stepped back into the six-figure position and done something similar. But I didn’t recognize myself and also, I didn’t know at the time, but I couldn’t have held a job with what I was juggling with the kids. It wouldn’t have worked, because it’s very 24, seven, and tall. Its tech right doesn’t sleep. So I went out on my own. And that’s kind of what I’ve been doing ever since.

Pamela Bardhi
I love it. There’s so many people who are stuck in the analysis, paralysis, and someone coughing right. What do you do when you’re in that space? Like, how were you just like, you know what.

Michelle Mercier
I think I personally got to the place. And I remember saying to my husband, I would rather be broke than this broken. I was miserable, I was a miserable person to be around. You know and I think also it comes down to kind of defining what you think success is. What do you want your life to look like? Because we forget that we have that ability. And when I walked away, one of the first things I did was I sat down and by all means.

I understand this is a little bit of a luxury, that not everybody can do it too. But I sat down and I kind of sketched out what I wanted my life to look like. And I hadn’t done that and I don’t know how many years. Because we just kind of get locked in like you said golden handcuffs. But putting the emphasis more on kind of the internal parts of you that want to be happy. And want your life to look a certain way rather than letting the external dictate it.

Pamela Bardhi
I love what you said there, though, that you’d rather be broke than broken. Yeah, that’s pretty broken. Because you really can lose yourself. You’re just so caught up in routine, right. And I think this is why COVID shook the world a lot. For the very first time that you were forced to do something. You couldn’t go to work, like, it was like you were forced to change and adapt. Where it’s like entrepreneurs. We were like, it’s a Tuesday. Like, whatever. But everybody else it was like, it was like shaking in that rumble. It was almost like an earthquake.

I like to call it right but like in the world, and it’s like, the very first-time people are sitting there and reflecting, like, Oh, shit. Do I like my life? Is this what I was doing before? Like, first time you’re forced to pull yourself out? Yet go to work, right? And really self-reflect and now I’m reading articles left and right of how companies are introducing the entry back into the workplace. I read an article PwC said that you can start work whenever you want. And whenever you want, we’re gonna make it flex, you can basically work from home two. Or three days a week and just come in the rest of the days and that’s PwC.

Michelle Mercier
Yeah, because you have to realize and I give a lot of talks on this. The fact is that work-life balance doesn’t exist. It’s work-life integration, you have to be looking at things holistically. And also employers need to be looking at their employees as human beings, not human doings. Like, I hate that freakin concept, where you’re just a number. And I think I understand where it comes from. You’re running a huge company or you’re at the top of a pyramid or whatever it is. But you have to remember that these are people. You’re dealing with people that just went through a shit tonne of crisis.

And I like the fact that you just said the pandemic shook everything. I think it was like Ivan Eisner had a BMI or whoever said like, it’s like the great pause. Because if you keep running, which we all have been doing and I’ll have been guilty of. You’re just gonna keep running faster so that you don’t have to confront the other crap. And you don’t have to confront how unhappy you are and you don’t have to look and make a decision.

You just keep kind of Groundhog Day and every day. When you’re forced to a halt, that wrecks some people. Because sometimes the scariest place to be is in your head. And when you don’t have a million activities to fill your day. Yikes. Like that can be some serious time for reflection and you’re right. People are reassessing, I feel like a woman reaches out to me at least once a day. I want to completely wipe the slate clean and change my life. Like that’s a huge thing that you’re hearing from a lot of people right now.

Pamela Bardhi
And yeah, cuz you see it in the coaching space and like, That’s incredible. So you started off as a coach. Yeah and then you got into public speaking. How’d you get into that?

Michelle Mercier
I mean, it’s just kind of a good transition for me anyway, just because I’ve done it from a performing standpoint. But in the past, I’ve run workshops, I’ve done a lot of things. And at the beginning of my company, I didn’t know what I wanted it to look like, I did everything from I sold out documentary screenings with talkbacks. I did public art projects based on gratitude. Like, I mean, I went all over the gamut and you know, the people would be like, where’s your business plan? Where’s your marketing plan? And I was like, No, no, I’m not doing any of that, like I get it and as a business coach, I understand the value of that.

But for me, it was more of undoing the stuff that had been kind of done so I could hear myself think. And then the speaking stuff. kind of came naturally out of that and I’ve always liked speaking. I’ve always liked being on a stage. And I like the impact that it makes as well. Because oftentimes when you’re a speaker and on the stuff that I speak about, because I just tell my stories. Right, and I have some pretty, some doozies of stories. But the thing that’s always struck me as really good about it is my underlying mission. Behind everything is that people feel a little less alone through all this bullshit.

And I can guarantee there’s always somebody in the room who will come up to me and say. Thank you for speaking about what I was thinking. I just thought it was me. Like, cuz nobody talks about it or nobody admits that it’s hard or nobody. You know and I’m, like we talked about at the beginning, like, I’m pretty open book, like, I’ve been through a lot of shit. And I’m perfectly fine speaking to it, as long as I’ve processed it myself. So it kind of gives people permission to say, like, the shots hard with what they’re going through.

Pamela Bardhi
Right. And that’s what I love. I mean, that’s the whole reason I created this podcast so that people know real stories and know, like, hey, this person went through this. So no, I’m not alone, right, or you’re not so powerful. And so impactful and like our listeners, like they’re always looking for stories. Because whether they relate to them personally or they know somebody who is right and like. So with that being said, like if you’d be open to sharing like a couple of your stories. Like the ones that you usually sort of talk about, or one in particular. That always hits home, I’d love to hear that and I’m sure the listeners will too.

Michelle Mercier
Like I said, monstrous upbringing. So a lot of alcoholism, a lot of stuff, like my mom is like one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. And God loves her and I don’t know how she’s still standing and functioning. But as a human being, she’s a good role model for me. So when my kids come around, when I give my talks on resilience. I usually open it up with a talk about my oldest son. And the fact that when he was around one and a half, and again, I was still in corporate during the time. He kind of walked over to me after eating his breakfast. Or whatever and said mum up and if you’re a parent, like. That’s just what kids say when they want to be picked up.

But when I picked him up on that day, he seized in my arms. So it’s like he knew something was coming. I like to believe he could tell and like that started us on. There’s a quote by Sheryl Sandberg that refers to resilience, as a muscle that you build. And I like to joke that it started like one of our marathons because he didn’t just have a seizure. He had swallowing issues where he was aspirating liquids into his lungs. We didn’t know it, he had GI issues he had down the line. He had ADHD and he’s gifted and like, crazy shit. So I had to deal with that and juggle that while juggling a team.

And the expectations of a lot of people. When the second one came out, oftentimes when I’m interviewed. I say he came out and he was like, yeah, hold, your thought that one was bad. Like, hold my beer, haha, like, I felt like, I’m gonna be worse. So and God loves him he came out with a litany of heart issues. He came out with swallowing issues where he would turn blue. A compromised immune system and the list goes on from there. So I had to kind of make a decision, my husband and I remember, as we always. We’re consciously speaking about how we want to go through those situations.

Because we could have easily let all that shit just drown us and it did. At times mean to kids, all of their specialists. And I was building a business because I cut our income in half when I left and he was working full time. So we had the decision to make. I mean, this goes for anybody listening, who’s kind of going through the shit. That you have a decision to make at that moment. You’re going to let it define you. Are you going to just look at it as this as a chapter? Which is kind of how we chose to look at it as well as being very purposeful and intentional. About seeking out the joy when we were walking through it.

Because you forget about that like fun is a thing, right? So my husband and I made a really conscious decision. And I remember it was his idea. So kudos to him to be like, we are going to seek it out. If we have to sit in the hospital, we’re going to seek out the fun in that. And luckily, kids’ hospitals are really good at stuff like that. But you do have a choice, so that’s one of many of my kind of stories in a nutshell of what I’ve been through. So when the pandemic hit, honestly, our family was kind of Oh, here we go again, another bump. But it’s a speed bump, not a barricade.

Pamela Bardhi
Love that. It’s a speed bump. Not what I adore so much about what you just shared. And thank you so much for sharing that, if you’ve purposely sought out the joy. You made up the chapter and not your whole life, which I think is so beautiful. Oftentimes it’s when you’re faced with situations. You just feel like it’s consuming your world and you don’t know what to do and all these things. I just love that you were intentional about seeking out the drugs.

It’s so hard to find the positive when something that’s life-altering. And like you mentioned like you had your outlets for sort of from day one. These coping mechanisms that helped you as on through, I love everything that you just mentioned. Thank you so much for that. Total marks and I love that you’re so human and vulnerable. It’s taken me so long to understand that vulnerability is a strength and not a weakness.

Michelle Mercier
And I think that’s the thing when we are going through really hard times. Or you know or we’re in this shame spot. Like, don’t let anybody know that we’re not perfect. Don’t I mean, I’m guilty of that, too. All of us are on some level, like don’t let anyone see behind the curtain. But what helped me when I started my business is. I was blogging a lot and I would get feedback. And I’d be like, Oh, look, a human experience, like, it’s not just the happy emotions, guys. Like it’s the spectrum.

I had a girl on a speaking engagement the other day, who you know, it was during the q & a period. And she was talking about, like, how she thought something was wrong with her. She’s sad all the time and I looked, I said, like, yeah. Maybe there is like, see your therapist, whatever. But maybe you’re just fucking sad. Because this is hard, like, maybe you’re just mad, like. Those other emotions are just as valid as happiness and joy. And you also can’t just jump from living in shame and hating your life directly to ecstatically living in joy. Like, it’s kind of a stepladder when you think about it.

Pamela Bardhi
Right? And all of our journeys are so different and they hit us at different times. Because we have different experiences. So you compare yourself to another person. I always tell people I’m like, you don’t know what that person has been through to get to where they are.

Michelle Mercier
You know, yeah, and I mean, you know. This is a leader where people will make a lot of assumptions so they’re like, Oh, you must have a perfect life. Because Instagram shows it that way. And I’m like, for fuck sake, people, how can we all realize that, like, social media is the final performance and you don’t see the fucking dress rehearsals? Like, can’t we all wrap our heads around that, like, and that probably from leading. You obviously don’t have any issues?

Michelle Favorite Moments As A Coach

Pamela Bardhi
Like, you don’t have it and I’m like, meanwhile, I’m like, Yeah, I just had a 16 hour yesterday. Where I was carrying 62 by fours. Because my guys needed it for the sporting and now my entire backwards, like, everyone has their struggles. Everyone has their pain, all of that. I just love your story so much. Your coaching world, like I know that it definitely translates. And I have the sense that you’ve not only helped people on a business level. But you also help them kind of all around. What have been some of your favorite moments as a coach like watching the transformations like, what’s your favorite story?

Michelle Mercier
Yeah, my favorite story is, I mean, just my favorite moment in coaching, because you’re exactly right. When people come to me and they fix my pipeline like they fixed mine. And I’m like, okay, we can definitely look at that, I’m happy to do operational excellence. I’m happy to look at your structures and I’m happy to look at your bottom line and all that good stuff. But let’s just acknowledge the elephant in the room. And it could be your limiting beliefs that are in the way as well. So like, I can speak to ap & l as well as I can speak to how your minds work with that money.

But my favorite kind of moments and coaching is when you see them get it and it could be no matter what it is. Like you see the light bulb clicked. And that is always just absolutely amazing to me. Again, as a coach, I’m just the catalyst. Like coaching people have a misconception sometimes, but coaching is like bringing the horse to water. You can’t be like, drink it, like pushing their head in and I can’t make them do anything.

So you know, I provide the support to do it. And then in consulting, you bring them to water, and then, you tell them how to drink. But you can’t make people do anything. So when you see people fully step into their power. Especially I have male and female clients, but shout out to my ladies. When I see them step fully into their power. There is nothing like that. It’s a beautiful thing to bear witness to.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. And that’s what I’m saying as a coach like you would just give all around, which is so amazing. When you watch somebody step into their power. It’s like, oh, that person will never be stopped right once they realize.

Michelle Mercier
You can’t unsee it all of a sudden when you’re like, Oh shit, I can, you know. Hit six figures oh shit like, yeah, then you can speak. In fact the next time you say I don’t know. If I can do this you can say, well, didn’t you do it before? Do it again and it’s so it’s really cool to teach both kind of the tactical and the emotional stuff.

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely love that. And now what I’m hearing and COVID is, like, so many people, like. You were mentioning sort of at the beginning of the interview. That a lot of people are rethinking everything, hey, I want a blank slate. So I’m sure like now you’re busier sort of than ever.

Michelle Mercier
I’m getting there. And I think, you know, I’ve had to kind of put some boundaries on me too. To make sure that I’m kind of dealing with it as well, because like I said, I’ve autoimmune stuff. So kids at home, plus running a business plus getting my clients, through pandemic living. I’ve actually kind of pulled myself back a little. Because when I launched my podcast in July, my world kind of blew up, right, in a good way. I’m not complaining, but it got really hectic really quick. So I’m at the point right now where I’m taking on individual clients, which is fantastic. But I’m being very mindful of myself and my own boundaries, too. Which is nice.

Pamela Bardhi
That’s such a key thing for entrepreneurs, this setting those boundaries and learning. When to say no is like the hardest thing. And I still struggle with it. It’s so hard.

Michelle Mercier
It is especially when you’re a business owner. You want to do well and you want to succeed and you want to see people happy and stuff. But my health has taken some pretty nasty hits over the last like year or so. And I now know, like, I look at self-care and stuff like that is a business strategy. If I’m not functioning, no one’s functioning. Like I’m gonna give some pretty shitty business advice if I can’t function.

Pamela Bardhi
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Like a wellness coach. And she was like, Pam, you know, different types of cars have different types of gas, right? That’s what it is? What is the Ferrari? Does the Ferrari take regular gas? No, do they take a premium and know what type of gas you take? And also make sure your tank is full? Because does a Ferrari operate without any gas? I was like, No, my friend, and now like, What are you up to these days?

Michelle Mercier
I mean, I’m up to a lot. Like I said, I got a lot of individual clients across a lot of different places. I’ve coached people, from breweries and individual solopreneurs to company owners. And I’ve got a lot of stuff going on with that. I’m just trying to kind of reprogram myself a little bit. I just put untouchable day and untouchable day in my schedule, which I don’t know if you practice anything like that.

But some people say that we can’t do it, but I’ve stopped taking meetings every Wednesday. So my schedule is actually kind of clear, so I can breathe. Because oftentimes, especially if you’re a solopreneur, you can’t be expected to think creatively. And come up with new things and stuff if you’re jam-packed. So my focus right now is just putting a little bit of space on my calendar. And being able to breathe, so I can look and see what kind of the next chapter looks like.

Pamela Bardhi
Wow, that’s amazing. That’s an awesome way of setting sort of the boundary. Which leads me to my next question like, the magical Michelle. What would your older self tell your younger self, based on what you know, now?

Michelle Mercier
I think she would probably tell her, you mean like me at like, 60 telling me now, like me and my 20s What I would tell her?

Pamela Bardhi
Whatever you feel

Michelle Mercier
I would like to think of an older version of myself. Would confirm what I’m kind of learning now. Which is that staying in a sense of flow and not trying to force shit to happen, made us very successful. Like, that’s the minute I try to force something I don’t know about you. But the minute I tried to force client stuff in or force. Or like trying to architect my pipeline or whatever shit goes off the rails. The minute I like, take a step back, and I’m like, let’s just go with the flow. Universal provides whatever thing I need to tell myself, it all works out. So I’m hoping the older version will confirm that that’s right.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. Michelle, I love that. Oh, man. You’re such a total force and a rock star was amazing. And the work that you do is amazing. Your podcasts and like all these amazing things now, everyone has got to know. Where to find your awesomeness?

Michelle Mercier
Yeah, of course. Thank you. And thank you for the nice words. I’m loving it. Thank you so much. So you can find me at createhonesty.com. And my handles on Instagram clubhouse and Facebook also create honesty, and then LinkedIn. I’m under my name, so then the resilient entrepreneur is the name of my podcast. If you want to check that out, too.

Pamela Bardhi
You’re So Amazing. Michelle is such an honor to have you here today. Thank you so much.