Starting your creative entrepreneurship journey will require a lot of you and your leadership. The work, time and money (that you may not have in the bank just yet!!). Money is a big topic, even for those who have it in excess! However, the right money mindset will pull you out of debt to the career and life you dream of and deserve.
In this episode of The Pollen Podcast, Lissette Calveiro shares her creative entrepreneurship journey from being a struggling Instagram influencer with debt to a thriving influencer marketing consultant. She talks about building a positive money mindset as an employee and an entrepreneur, including practical tips for asking for a raise (because you deserve it!).
Listen to this episode to learn how a positive money mindset can help your creative entrepreneurship journey!
Create your own creative entrepreneurship story of clarity, professional confidence, and profit. Join Diana’s 90-day group course Camp Clarity and learn everything you wish you already knew, like how to land dream clients, harness the power of social media, and make the money you deserve. Learn more here.
🔥Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:
Learn how rejection from your "dream job" might be a redirection to something better.
Get practical tips on how to request the raise you deserve.
Learn the money mindset that got Lissette out of debt — what she had to do, how she had to think, and how she leveraged her assets.
📘Resources
Achieve the life, career, and clients you’ve always wanted (and fully deserve!). Sign up for Diana’s Camp Clarity Course now!
Take a week off and join the first Diana Davis Creative Retreat in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, from August 29 to September 1!
Attract your dream clients with my free masterclass!
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Access other courses from the Diana Davis Creative
Learn more about Lissette’s work at Influence with Impact.
Read New York Post’s article on Lissette: My quest for Instagram stardom left me in financial ruin.
Lissette’s Influence with Impact: The Mastermind masterclass.
Try out the Financial Gym, just like Lissette!
🎧Episode Highlights
[05:06] Get to Know Lissette
Lissette describes herself as a lifelong learner full of energy and sunshine.
She loves human connection and communicating with people.
Lissette started her career in public relations out of her love for telling stories.
She has always worked in communications because she genuinely loves communicating with people.
[06:47] Lissette’s Instagram Journey
‘People see [your] Day 10,005 and don’t realize where you started.’ - Click Here to Tweet This
Lissette’s Instagram journey was unintentional. She made content for her personal use.
She enjoyed the process of creating content.
In 2013, she started a blog called ‘Don’t Cry Over Spilled Green Tea.’ It didn’t have consistent themes, but she told stories about her life in New York.
Over time, Lissette wondered why no one wanted to pay her anything. She realized she did not have a personal brand. She didn’t even know who she was.
[09:41] Building Lissette’s Personal Brand
Lissette then decided to change her approach and create more personalized content. She spoke from her heart.
In 2018, she wrote an article about her struggle with spending more than she earns to keep up with an influencer’s life. The story got picked up by The New York Post and went viral.
Afterward, Lissette's following began to grow from 10,000 to 30,000. As of this recording, she has 80,000 followers.
She believes this growth resulted from aligning herself and being clear on who she was.
[12:24] Authenticity is Everything
Be comfortable with taking control of your story.
Lissette recommends keeping a deep journal to write about who you think you are.
You will stand out by showing up as yourself. People will do business with you because they are attracted to your story.
[15:52] Rejection and Redirection
It is essential to recognize that events from your childhood come into who you are now.
Throughout the years, Lissette’s plans have been rejected and redirected.
Rejection is redirection. You have to have a little bit of openness.
‘A lot of the things that we were doing, or that I was doing along the way of my career was just me constantly innovating with myself, but I definitely thought I had a plan.’ - Click Here to Tweet This
[25:17] The Science of Astrology
Lissette is obsessed with the atmospheric sciences and believes that it explains so much about how we live.
She believes that we are all energy balls of molecules.
[28:41] Moving Back to New York
Lissette first moved to New York in 2013 but moved again because she had difficulty juggling her savings and emergency fund.
Eventually, her agency asked her to set up their office in New York, so Lissette asked for a raise to offset costs. When she didn’t get it, she looked for another job.
She moved to a job that offered $65,000.
This moment changed Lissette’s money mindset. She pushed for the salary she knew she deserved, and asked for raises and bonuses.
[33:11] Asking for Raise
First of all, talk about it. If no one’s talking about it, ask other people.
Remember that it is never about other people. It’s about the management that does not equitably pay everyone.
Advocate for yourself. Know the value you bring to your companies and clients.
Do not fall trap to the idea of having to overdeliver. Be comfortable understanding that you deserve this amount of money.
[35:59] Starting as an Entrepreneur
Lissette never thought of becoming an entrepreneur. She thought it was too much work and liked being part of a system. Eventually, she decided to shift from side hustle to full-time.
She saved up three months of emergency savings just in case she had $0 coming in.
As a freelancer, she made sure she worked on her money mindset. She joined manifestation groups and constantly worked to keep a healthy perspective on money.
Lissette describes her first full year of entrepreneurship as a question mark. Then, the following years are about refining everything.
"But try things that feel good. And then you'll find the things that you actually want to spend your time doing." - Click Here to Tweet This
[42:21] Getting Out of Debt
Lissette’s initial money mindset was, ‘make more money, spend less money.’ However, she learned that there’s more to it than that.
There are systemic things preventing people from getting out of debt.
Look at your finances. Build a spreadsheet stating all your monthly payments, your earnings, and where it's coming from.
You will not know the problems you’re in with money if you do not have a system.
In 2018, Lissette finally hired a financial coach, The Financial Gym. She shares that it helped her become accountable for her budgeting and milestones.
[45:55] Building Your Money Mindset
Despite paying off her loans, Lissette still felt guilt around money. She started doing money manifestations, joining masterminds, and taking courses.
Money is energy, and people are energy.
As our energy evolves, so does our relationship with money. That relationship develops and never fully heals. It won't be perfect.
How you spend money changes once you think about your relationship with it.
[55:31] Lissette’s Final Words
For Lissette, creativity is problem-solving. It is seeing things differently from a different perspective.
She is currently reading two books: The Mountain Is You and Untamed.
She would focus on wellness energy if she could create anything without thinking about anything else.
If she could create for others, she would make spaces where everyone could connect.
About Lisette
Lissette Calveiro is a New York-based influencer marketing consultant to Fortune 500 brands, social media content creator, and business coach for influencers & personal brands looking to master social media from "a more human lens." She is also the founder of Influence With Impact, a consultancy that supports influencers and personal brands in turning their social presence into a balanced business with community impact.
Before Influence with Impact, Lissette worked as the Director of Influencer Marketing at Ogilvy with more than nine years of experience across the industry and as an established influencer and content creator.
Enjoyed this Podcast on Authenticity and Money Mindset?
Money matters can be scary, but they're nothing to be fear.💲💵 In fact, a good perspective on money brings more positive energy around it. So, start manifesting your way with money!
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Transcript
I like to say my first full-time year in entrepreneurship is the question mark year. It was like, “What the fuck is going on?” And then you work on refining everything. So if I had to do it again, panini or not, it would just be having that openness of like, just try a bunch of things. I feel good, right? I don't want you selling out. But try things that feel good. And then you'll find the things that you actually want to spend your time doing.
Diana Davis: Welcome to Pollen, the podcast for creative entrepreneurs. I'm your host, Diana Davis, multi-passionate creative, business coach, Gemini, manifesting generator, macha drinker, and travel junkie. I'm also the founder of Diana Davis creative, where I went from a six-figure photography business to coaching creative entrepreneurs like you. If you want to have a career and a life you love, you're in the right place.
On this show, I'll be coaching on all things creative entrepreneurship, and you'll hear stories from fellow creative entrepreneurs that will show you it is possible to do life the way you want to. They'll share the nitty-gritty of their journeys, like the real shit, and how they are doing it differently. I'm stoked to have you along on this journey. Let's go.
Hello, Pollen listeners. We have a really special guest today. Lissette is here. How are you, Lissette? Thanks for joining us.
Lissette Calveiro: Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be chatting with you.
Diana: I love how we met and how we've kept in touch. I think that's always so expansive for people to hear how connections are made. So a little bit really quick of our winding path together. Shout out to Just Blazer who we actually, were you a coach before that, like truly a coach before that program?
Lissette: Yeah, I had actually done the ICF Certified Coaching, which you're saying that?
Diana: Yes, you're a certified coach. I learned this last week. That's rare in the game. I'm not gonna lie. So like props to you. So you are a certified coach. We both joined Just Blazers program, Empower, to create our group programs. Was that the story for you?
Lissette: Yep. Exactly. I just needed to figure out a way how to like not only use my time on one on one clients.
Diana: Right, right, trading time for money. So we join this program, we both kind of kill it. Not gonna lie. Like we both kind of killed it in the group of like, 50 people. It was like, you, me, Marina, like these kind of Tara, you know, this awesome group that connected? And then I've had Lissette into guest coach for Camp Clarity a few times on brand partnerships and all of that, and her program is Influence to Impact, correct? And how we've now we're in the same city, which yeah, depending on which episode you've listened to. I will not be in Denver very much longer. But while we like actually met in person just a couple of weeks ago. So yeah, that's our winding path.
Lissette: So cool, though, because I feel like when you moved to Denver, I kind of already knew that I was moving to Denver, but I hadn't said anything. And you were one of probably the first people I told via DMs, I was like, no one really knows this. But by the way, I'm going to Denver.
Diana: I was surprised I'm not gonna lie. I was like, holy shit because you were also we were both in New York City during the pandemic, which we never met in person in New York City because that's not what you do in New York City. Yeah. And I remember you making that post of like, sticking to it, like sticking in New York City and not leaving and like taking a lot of pride in like, you know, being there during the pandemic and really being loyal to your city. Yeah.
Lissette: So I was dating a partner who was born and raised in New York. So he was like, I'm never leaving. And then thankfully, it wasn't just the pandemic, but the being there and being in a different mindset. When I first moved to New York, I know I was similar to you, but I had a corporate job and I was a hustle girl bossing my way. And then I realized, like, I don't care about that stuff anymore. Of course, I love what I do for a living, but I don't work for a living, you know? And that was a big reason why I was like, New York is not a good place for me.
My partner's compromise was we moved to Queens. Shout out to people from Queens because I would honestly live there if I move back. So sad that I didn't live there sooner. But when we moved there, he was like, Yeah, I also feel this now I want to go and I was like, great.
Diana: Yeah, I love that. Okay, let's dig into it. We're going to save your astrology and I found out also last week you're a low-key astrology expert.
Lissette: More like an enthusiast.
Diana: Yeah, okay, enthusiast. Got it. No, she's not going to be paid for this. Y'all please reach out to her to get your turn right. But we're gonna save her astrology until the end per usual. So if you can kind of, you know, tune into her vibe and guess correctly. Let us know on Instagram if you guessed it, but I want to know: Who is Lissette?
Lissette: Okay, great question. And it's funny because I have to like hold back from making astrology jokes because I literally speak in astrology. But Lissette, is a lifelong learner full of energy and sunshine, I am definitely a high-energy person. And I've always worked in communications fields just because I genuinely love people. I love communicating with people, to people. So I actually started my career in the public relations space, and really working with media publications to help tell stories.
Eventually, that evolved into social media because we realize no one's reading anything anymore. And people are just on the internet. And that's kind of what catapulted me into being so involved in all things social media. What you see online, if you go to @Lissettecalv, there's, of course, a lot of me as a personal brand and the business side, but at my core, I just love human connection. And I just so happened to use social media to do that.
Diana: Yeah, I love that. I have another question. But I don't want to forget this one, when like, you're kind of a big deal on Instagram, like, Y'all are gonna look her up. And it's like, holy shit. She's one of the big people on Instagram. And what I love about you, is that you're doing it differently. So you are truly influencing in so many good ways. You know, and like making impact, which obviously, is your program and your company. So I love that about you. And I'm obsessed with following you. How did you start on Instagram? Was it one of those things where you were on it in 2017, and blew up because the algorithm wasn't a thing yet, or what was the deal?
Lissette: I actually love telling this story, because I think to your point, people see day 10,005 and don't realize where we started. So I actually started on Tik Tok in 2011. Because I thought it was a photo editing app. So I had probably dozens of selfies and random photos of things that I thought were just private just for me to see, until someone — I was in college in 2011 — said, “Your Instagram photos are so weird.” And I was like, What do you mean, you can see that? My Instagram started by accident. And the beauty was I actually started then in the workforce in 2012, we had already been exploring the idea of working with bloggers to tell stories, right? So working in public relations, you're working with media, most of the time — magazines, television shows, and we said “What about bloggers?” and the moment that I started to see people taking these influencers and bloggers more seriously, this was more blogger era YouTube era, I said, “Well, I have to do the same thing.”
So, I actually then started a blog in 2013. And I put a lot of energy behind my blog for a few years, at the same time, Instagram was still just kind of like, here's my life. And even the blog itself. It used to be called Don't Cry Over Spilled Green Tea. And it was just me and my life living in New York and doing things right. So it didn't really have any sort of consistent theme, story, no one really knew anything about me more than I did this today. Right? So curated, and then something really shifted, I actually became more in love with photography, right?
Photography was always just a hobby, something I did for fun. There's that Instagram era if you've been on Instagram for a while, you know, around 2015 to 18 where photography, you know, the more edited something was, the more crazy the photo was, the more followers you were gonna get. So started to really enjoy the process of just creating photos. I would say that's the period of time where I did start getting a following. But I still didn't actually have a community. I just had followers. And that's important for this story because, again, I was just doing what I thought needed to be done. So the cool photos, traveling to all the places that I thought I had to go to, wearing a different outfit every day and telling you who it was from and sharing a link for you to shop. There was no story. It was just a collection of things and trends really that belonged to other people.
So, I did that for a while and I was like okay, I'm still working on the brand side, right? Nine to five I'm working with influencers. I'm paying them 1000s of dollars and don't understand why no one wants to pay me anything. And then I realized like, well, if I was a brand I wouldn't hire me because I don't even know who I am. You can't, you don't know anything about me if you go to my page. So it really started to change for me. I honestly remember 2018 as the year and I remember I did this post that basically said enough is enough. Like what am I doing here? I've been basically just creating things I thought needed to be done. I've been following the trends that I thought needed to be created, but you have no idea who I am.
I started then to create more personal content and not just like about me, but content that feels true to me still no plan, but just, you know, speaking up from my heart, my own little heart. And one of the stories I told was that I spent a lot of money trying to emulate what other influencers were doing. I booked flights I couldn't really afford, you know. I worked in public relations. So I wasn't making more than $50,000 at any point by now and basically had admitted that you know, I spent a lot of stuff on my credit cards, thankfully, I've paid it off. But that was the story.
That story got picked up by the New York Post. And if you know, the New York Post, they always scandalized things. So this entire article was about how I got out of $10,000 of debt. But the clickbait title was this influencer, you'll never believe what they did just for followers. So that story went mega viral. But what was lovely is that, you know, this is also a lesson in going viral. At that point, I had already been telling my authentic story, I had already been formulating who I was as a personal brand. So I went viral, and people stuck around, that was a big growth moment for me. I went from about 10,000 followers to about 30,000, which at the time was a lot of growth. And it happened because people went and liked what they saw and wanted to stay. So going viral worked in my favor there.
That was the big, big growth spurt. And then I would say, I've consistently grown the same over time. I think as of this recording, I'm about 80,000 followers. But it's been kind of consistent, I haven't really seen another one of those big blow up moments. But it really does happen because I started to align myself with really being clear on who I was for so that as I created content, it reached the right people, the people who saw it by maybe a post of my going viral stuck around. And you know, with reels, you can go viral more often; different levels of virality. And that has really helped me grow till this day on social.
Diana: Yeah, that's so incredible. And just like snaps preaching over here, because this is what I'm so passionate about. Because I work with so many personal brands and so to you. It's like authenticity is everything. Yeah. So if you were to give a few tips for people around that, what would you say?
Lissette: So when it comes to authenticity, I feel like it's a buzzword, right? Like we're like, be authentic, what the heck is being authentic? You can't be authentic if you don't know who you are, and don't own who you are. I always like to think about 8 Mile. I've only watched it once. But literally this sticks with me every time like that ending, sorry, spoiler alert, where Eminem is just like, You know what? I'm just gonna rap about things people want to say about me and like, own it, what are you gonna rap back at me? Right? So that's kind of what you have to feel comfortable doing is like, if I know, and I own my story, and I take control of my story, no one can actually take that away from me, and then showing up authentically does become easier does feel like I'm just here to show it's not about showing up authentically, it's like I'm showing up, you know, and that happens by you taking control of your story, which is something that really shifted for me around that timeframe I was talking about.
This can be as simple as a deep journal on who the heck you really are. What are some milestones? What are some challenges, if you have the luxury of working with a coach who can help you through this, of course, that is the best kind of speed route to this. But it really takes you owning who you are. And then whatever you want to create about because let's face it, we build businesses, we build social platforms because we're interested in something, you know. I want to make a fashion account. I'm interested in fashion, but you stand out when you then sprinkle in that story that you worked on.
You know, I have a client who was all about colorful clothing, and it didn't actually start helping her grow until she started interjecting with, “Do you know why I dress colorfully? Because I spent so much time in my life hiding.” And I realized, “No, I don't care what people have to say about me. I want to be bold. I want to stand out. I want people to call me a New York Skittle, you know, she's so colorful. So really wanting to make sure that whatever you create a bow has a little piece of your story, because that's what then helps it feel a little more authentic. Remi, who is a creator that does those realistic try-on hauls, you know who she is not because she's a fashion creator, but because of her way of showing up. And that only comes from her owning and saying, “Hey, these clothes I want to shop? I'm annoyed they're not making clothes for me. What the heck, let me try them on and just tell the world about it.” So go back to that story. If you're thinking of wanting to shop more authentically.
Diana: I love this so much. It's so so true. And I learned that coming from Montana as a photographer, there were maybe like ten of us really well known doing this thing. And that was intimidating. You looked at someone and you're like, “She's doing what I do, I can't do it now.” And then you get thrown into New York City. And there's like, 20,000 of you doing the exact same thing. So it's like, either you need to stand out by being you because there's always going to be someone better than you. Always someone more popular than you, you know, all of that. You have to stand out as you just by showing up as yourself and people hire you because of that they're attracted to your story or your personality, or the fact that you love astrology, or the fact that you love Queens, you know, all of that. So what I want to dig back into is, can we start at the beginning? Like, who? Who was Lissette as like a child? Like, where did this start? That's so fun.
Lissette: What, are we doing inner child healing right now? But basically, you know, what's funny is again, I actually just went down memory lane recently because my mom loves to randomly send me photos of my youth. And I always had a little sass. I'm always just like, super loud, looking at the needs photos, right? But like, I just look loud. I've got my hands flailing in the air and wearing a funky-colored outfit with a crown on my head. Like, I was that girl that the cousins are like it's Christmas, go perform for the family. And that’s me, again, like I just loved, like making people smile and entertaining. And I really thrive being around people. When it comes to like schoolwork, I was also always the girl who was like an overachiever, yet still part of the cool kids. I wasn't the annoying overachiever, somehow everyone accepted me into their social circles. But I was student body president for two years in a row like who does that, you know.
So, little things that I feel like today, they still match like that list that is still the same energy. But it was always like I am someone who's not afraid of standing out and speaking up. And that is one big reason why I even created my company the way that I did it was because I realized like everyone has all this negative stuff to say about influencers. What would an actual influencer look like? And what is actually influencing mean? And what does it actually mean to impact people online, right? Because we're all talking about influencing. And so essentially, I was just challenging the stigma of what the heck is even an influencer? What is influencing with impact, and I feel like that's who was that was as a child, always, not raising her hand to give an answer, but raising her hand to ask a question, and to challenge our thinking. I was like, the annoying school kid who was like, how is that? How do we know that? You know, like, What do you mean by that? And that's who I still am today.
Diana: I love that. Raising the hand to give an answer versus raising the hand to ask a question. That's really powerful. Like, I want to hang that on my wall.
Lissette: Yeah. Which of the two are you, you know?
Diana: Yeah, that's so important. And it's so amazing how stuff from our childhood comes into who we are now, do you feel and I could answer this for you of what I see. But do you feel like that comes through now for you?
Lissette: Yeah. And that's just the things that we've even talked about here, but so many other just internalized things. I absolutely love doing the work these days, this was hard to start doing as I'm sure you can relate. But when I find a new trigger, right, I'm like, “Ooh, where did it come from?” Right? And I'm excited to like, get to the core of where the heck did that come from. And somehow, it always ends up like me screaming in a mall. But it's really fun to just see how, first of all again, when you think about yourself as a child, and I'm sure you agree with this, like, there's so much innocence to you that the person you were at that moment is the person you want to be today, or you still are today. You've kind of lost that along the way? So it is nice to reflect on these things. And again, like find the triggers, heal the moments so that the bad stuff that we experienced when we were younger, doesn't carry on in a negative way.
Diana: Yeah, and I feel like we don't maybe, not necessarily even lose it like it's away from us. But lose it because so much shit is just stacked on top of it. Like the societal stuff and the expectations and who we think we need to be and yeah, all of that and so, so true. So Okay, where did you grow up?
Lissette: Miami, Florida.
Diana: Okay, so we went from Miami. We went to school in Tallahassee, okay. And we got into kind of the PR realm and all of that. Is that what you went to school for?
Lissette: Yeah. Which is another funny story. Actually. My life was full of pivots, even though I like to always have a plan. And what's funny is I grew up wanting to be an astronaut, like seriously, this wasn't a kid's dream, like I went to space camp at Camp Canaveral, like I really wanted to be an astronaut. And then I started to have recurring nightmares of me dying in space. And I was like, I'm gonna switch. So I switched to meteorology. And this was through my spring senior year of high school, I was going to be a weather woman on TV. And the thing that happened was, and you know, we say rejection is redirection, I applied and really thought I was going to get into Cornell University, which has the best meteorology program in the country. I had the best letter of rec, I was number four in my class, you know, like, I was gonna get it. And I got waitlisted. I was like, my entire life plan, like the 5,10, 20-year plan I had, crushed. So I thought in that moment, I'm not good enough to be a meteorologist, like, what am I talking about?
Then, the next thing that crossed my mind was, well, I wanted to be a weather woman. What if I'm just a news woman, like a news anchor, and I had been in, I was actually the school newspapers editor in chief for three years. Again, that's just who I was. And I said, I should just be a journalist on TV. And I remember this is again, just like the beginning of my spring semester of senior year in high school. So I'm trying my hardest put myself in all the right places. I went to a conference for young journalists. And these anchors said, “Oh, honey, you don't want to be a news anchor, because the way they treat women is awful.” And I thought, that dream is now crushed, like, what am I going to do? So literally, I was spending this time just like, I have no idea what I'm going to do. And the last resort, the last little moment, the fact that I remember this so vividly. It's more than 10 years ago, but it's like, it was such an impactful moment in my life. This girl comes on Career Day, and she's talking about being a publicist for Disney. I was I never even went to Disney, by the way. And she's talking about how you know, “I want to be a journalist.” But PR is like the other side of journalism like we're planting the stories. So if anything, you're the original journalist, and I was like, I'm doing that.
So, I signed up for that major, I had to get accepted into the School of Public Relations. So that took a little bit when I graduated, and I said, I studied PR, I’m doing PR forever, new 10 year plan inserted, right, like, in the next 10 years, when to be the vice president of an agency and like, bam, you know, as that happened. But then again, I ended up not doing PR forever. But for me, I think the lesson was always the redirection that you're given along the way, you do have to have a little bit of openness. I definitely had the thinking of someone who was like, I'm doing this, and this is my plan, don't mess with it.
Then when things would happen, I would be reminded that nothing is leaner. But one fun thing about PR is I keep saying that very general. But my first ever work was in politics. I was actually doing press for the Florida Senate, and I really thought I was gonna stay in politics forever. And then realize, like, it's getting really dark here. I'm gonna go to another field. So a lot of the things that we were doing, or that I was doing along the way of my career were just me constantly innovating with myself, but I definitely thought I had a plan.
Diana: Yeah, that's wild, a weather woman.
Lissette: I know. I'm like, when you if you really know the story, you're like, what? I watch the Weather Channel, like, on, all day every day.
Diana: Okay, are we still obsessed with like, because you obviously like science?
Lissette: Yes, I actually still, it's funny why I say I'm a lifelong learner, like, I am obsessed with science, space. I cried when I watched the SpaceX lunch, you know, like, I'm still that girl. But it's also a reminder that like, you can love something and it doesn't have to be your work. So you know, when I moved to Denver, and I saw rolling clouds one night, I'm like Justin, do you know what cloud types those are? Those are like, you know, and I'm talking to him about like the vortexes and how the Great Plains is Tornado Alley, and it's right there, you know, so like, I'm still such a nerd. But it's just like me at home being a nerd. And there's so much joy in that versus having to like, make a job out of it.
Diana: Yeah. Do you bring that into your content at all?
Lissette: Never. Because it's just for fun, you know? So sometimes I'll share things like big things like agains, SpaceX. I was like, Oh my God, look at this great innovation but like, no, because again, some things just can be kept here not kept to yourself because of privacy. But like for fun. It's like my own little thing, you know?
Diana: Yeah, yeah. Okay, so we're gonna diverge just for a second because I really want to know this. You are into astrology. And I know last week seeing you in person you said your mom was really into astrology. I want to hear a little bit more about that because I'm so curious because my parents are more “woo-woo” than I ever imagined. They follow the Farmers Almanac; they follow the stars for different ranching things like, you know when to cut hay, they'll like follow what the stars say. So I'm so curious, and we have that kind of in common. And then I'm curious with the scientist version that you are, how do you how does the scientist version feel about astrology?
Lissette: Oh, great question, which I'm so glad we're getting into because these are things that no one would ever really know about me. So you gotta listen to this podcast, or finish listening to it first. So the fun thing is that, yes, astrology was something that I was raised with. And I told you my mom's story. But my grandmother, I knew every day, we had to listen to the horoscope by Walter Mercado, who was this personality on TV. Like you listen to every single horoscope and you're just in it. It's part of like, how I was raised, my mom would recharge your crystals whenever there was a full moon but not on the eclipse though, because that's too chaotic. And just like really instilling this enthusiasm for the stars.
I actually think that it goes hand in hand with how much I love the atmospherical sciences, right? Because like, asked me about biology, and I got a D in that. But when it comes to space, weather, and time, like I am obsessed. You can catch me on a good day and I'll talk about the multiverse for hours. And I think that they go hand in hand. Because at the end of the day, there is if we're thinking like a scientist, right, repeating experiments, astrology is always just as accurate as something inside a lab. Right? And of course, some people will say, Well, you're just associating things that you know, like you're making the correlations. But there are things independent of us that are happening right to your point, like the way hay grows, and the way that the market crashes or finds itself in a bull market because of the moon cycle. Like all these things have been historically recorded.
When you think about the life sciences, like the actual geological sciences, how tides work, right, the moon has such a strong gravitational pull, that there is a low tide and a high tide, you see it with our eyeballs. So you can't tell me that us who are proven to be made of water and made of molecules aren't also being pulled and being settled, you know, when there's different things happening in our atmosphere, and even some planets, right, like we talked about Jupiter being like the planet of abundance and good fortune. It's also the biggest planet. So yeah, if Jupiter is closer to Earth, I'm really hoping that that area of my life is going to grow. Because I do believe that at the end of the day, we're all just energy balls; we’re all just molecules. And I know that that sounds so “woo-woo” and crazy to people sometimes. But I really do believe that, uh, to go hand in hand. And when you look at a lot of history, I'm also a history nerd, like you can see how a lot of the not just founding fathers in politics, but the founding scientists, right? The ones that we hear about the Da Vinci's of the world like there's evidence that they use astrology leaned into astrology, the way calendars are made leans into astrology. So astrology, to me is just the study or really the reflection of time cycles, and how we interpret stars. Like we know stars exist, so you can't tell me an astrology quote, does it exist? Because it's there? We're just interpreting in a new way.
Diana: Yeah, this is such a fun conversation. Oh, my god. It's so juicy. Okay. All right back on track here. Everyone's going to be drooling over that. I love it. How do we get to New York City?
Lissette: Yeah, my dad used to work in New York City in a tourism company that would go back and forth from Miami to New York. It was specifically for Cubans. I'm Cuban. It was literally called La Cubana. And my dad would just bring me every now and then. I fell in love as a little kid, you know, the glamor of New York City and all of it. The first time I moved to New York City was in 2013. And I actually didn't last more than a year because I was literally fresh out of college broke. So I could not afford to live in New York past my savings and the emergency sinking fund that parents like, come save you once and then never again. So I used up that. And then I actually moved back to Miami and I pledged I'm going to move back to New York, but I'll only move back when I make a certain amount of money. And my personal limit or my personal kind of goal was that I would be making $60,000. That's what I thought in my head is like the bare minimum I needed to survive in New York. And flash forward like this is definitely probably not even the case now. Like, you got the way New York is expensive right now, it's definitely a lot more or if you're moving with a partner, roommate, friend, but that's when I thought I needed, and I remember, I was working at an agency in Miami, they were opening a New York branch and wanted me to help start it.
At the time, I was like, very cool. But then this was kind of my first interaction with like advocating for myself, I had never asked for raise ever in any job I had, whatever salary they gave me, I was, like, grateful to be there. And when I was moving to New York, I said, alright, you know, my goal was I want to make 60k. So I said, make 50 now, and I would like to make $60,000 because that's what I feel like I need to live in New York City. And they said, “Oh, no, you're keeping your Miami salary.” And I thought that's insane. Because the cost of living is gonna go up. So I need this extra money. And immediately after realizing that they weren't giving that to me, I went online and looked for a job. And it took me about a month, but I ended up getting a job at an advertising agency and moved with them. But it was definitely career-driven, would not have moved there. If I didn't have a job. That was just my thinking at the time. And yeah, I stayed there until I felt energetically pulled somewhere else.
Diana: Yeah. Was that job that you found $60k?
Lissette: It was $65k. So that as nice. And I remember when they were even giving me the offer, it's just insane. Because I was that person who didn't even know I can ask for more. But when I first got the job offer, they had said, it's 60, it's 60k. And I said, “Do you have any other? Like, do you have any other benefits? Anything you can give me like a subway pass or extra vacation time?” And they basically said, “No, we don't do any of those programs, but we can give you 65.” And I was like, I should just ask for 60? I should ask for 70! Like, what am I doing? You know, so I realized like, Okay, you're asking for the wrong thing was that. So I moved, I mean, my 65 with like bare minimum benefits. And I did actually get a promotion within it was six to eight months. And the promotion came with a really nice salary increase. So that's kind of when I started playing with salary asking for more, I also started asking for bonuses, like, hello, all these things that existed that I just did not know. And it really helps me because again, I had been in credit card debt, just like spending above my means. I'm like things you do when you're in your mid-20s. And that was kind of happening. So I knew I needed to outearn what I expected to be able to pay things off. So that was definitely something I started taking advantage of.
Diana: Yeah. So powerful. I guarantee you, a lot of the people listening right now are still going to be the people who are like, I don't even know how to ask for a raise. I don't know how to advocate for myself. I didn't know I could XYZ. I know, we're both entrepreneurs at this point. And I had a lot of issues getting a raise at timing. I was also making 60k with absolutely no benefits. I was a perma-lance, which is just a scam. And yeah, I started advocating for myself, but it was awful. Do you have any? And also, no one talks about the money they make? So you're like, Is 45 an hour crazy? Is that what my art director is making? Like, yeah, you know, do you have any tips for those people?
Lissette: First of all, talk about it. And if no one's talking about it, ask each other. I remember it took me so long to start realizing, “wait, other people are making more money than me?” And it's never about the other people. It's about the management that doesn't, you know, equitably pay everyone so you shouldn't be embarrassed, ashamed. I remember a male friend of mine was like, I'm really embarrassed to tell you and I was like, it's not your fault. I'm not holding this against you. And when he told me I was like, “Yep, 10,000 dollars more than me.” And we have the exact same experience. In fact, I have like a year extra, you know. So when you start talking about it, you start realizing when you realize, you then usually have that new gauge, you're like, alright, well, I want to get to this without knowing that I think it's hard to ask because you have no idea what you're even asking for. You can of course also use now a social media, so many more people are being transparent about their salary, take advantage of that. Look up articles, look up, don't just go to Glassdoor because sometimes those are written by the company themselves. So go look at what other real people are saying.
Then, my real big thing for asking for more and advocating for yourself is understanding where you win. And I say the same thing as it relates to coaching, influencers, all of that it's all about knowing what value you bring to these companies or to these clients. I don't want you to fall in a trap of having to over deliver, but I want you to be comfortable understanding, hey, I do this for you, therefore, I deserve this amount of money. And I knew every time I was getting a raise or having that, you know, meeting with your manager and that was going to come up. I had a list of at least five things that I was doing. At least five reasons why I deserved more money, and I asked for beyond the world. Did they give me that? No. But if I only asked for a subway pass, all they're gonna give me is five thousand dollars. If they ask for a $20,000 raise, I might get 15. And in fact, I remember one time I asked for 20, they gave me 15. And then they gave me a $5,000 bonus because sometimes the money or the things that they can't totally hit will come from different places. Alright, let me give you a month's vacation instead of two weeks. So really just ask for the big, scary number. And remember that the person you're usually asking is not even like it doesn't affect them, for my manager to go to HR and ask for what I asked. Does it affect them? So I'm going to tell them straight up, you know?
Diana: Yep, totally. I love that. Yeah, it's so nerve-racking, I think for all of us to ask for a raise. We're just like, in our heads wanting to people please, wanting everyone to like us. So we can’t ask for a raise. So you're in the PR. You're starting this blog. How do we quit? How do we go full-time? What does that look like? I also want to talk about debt.
Lissette: Yes. So my full time entrepreneur journey. The funny thing is, I was that girl who always said, I'm never going to be an entrepreneur, I will never own my own business. That sounds like so much work. Like I really liked being a part of the system. Okay. And I was, you know, seeking the titles. I was just about ready to get that Vice President promotion. And another fun story is my last job was director of influencer marketing at Ogilvy, actually got rejected from Ogilvy in 2014. So it was funny when they came back around and said, “We need you to like lead this new department.” I was like, Huh, you rejected me a while ago, but I guess didn't happen for this reason. And I remember I was saying, I'm never doing that. And what happened was in 2018, so just for timeline purposes, I quit my job in December 2019. So over a year, before that, I had already started earning money from working with brands and a few freelance clients that I was providing consulting services for, as someone consulting and all the things I knew how to do: influencer marketing, social media management, like that's the stuff I knew how to do. So I saw myself the opportunity to earn this extra side hustle income.
When I figured out my taxes in 2018, I had earned a whole $6,000 that year, you know, from my side, hustle, and I was so proud about it, right? I was like, I can make money. And then in 2019, I really kicked it up a notch. And then I realized in 2019, I was on track to surpass that first New York salary. So that was a little moment that I posted about and I was like, huh, I just made $65,000 on my own. So in my head, I thought if I could survive in New York, without you know, on $65,000, and I'm making $65,000, right now with a limited capacity, right? Because when you're working a full time job, and you have a side hustle, you're still not even remotely close to the amount of power you have, right? You're just using the little hours you have after your day is over.
So, if I can do it with the little hours I have left, what would life look like if I just did this full time, like I had no plan, no business plan, nothing. This is where my rising sign comes in. I had no plan and I was like, I'm just gonna go do it. December holiday time, let him talk to my boss, and I said, I'm gonna go do my own thing. Like, I didn't even say what I was doing. Because I had no idea. I was like, I know I can make money working with brands that have built this community, and I know that I can keep consulting, so I'm gonna do that and see where it takes me. I don't know. And my exit plan definitely had savings. So I saved up three months of an emergency fund in case I had $0 coming in. And again, I had already been consistently making a bare minimum living in New York salary. So to me, those were my personal boundaries where I could feel I don't like using the word safety net, but the similar concept, you know, where I thought, yeah, I think I've set up a good space for me to go run and do this.
Of course, as we know, the panini arrived in March of 2020. And my first ever client, my biggest consulting client, was a travel company; it was a cruise line. So we were launching a new cruise in New York City, in March 2020. So of course, it gets canceled and like all this revenue, I counted on, what is going on. I had already had that coaching certification. So I was like I'm gonna start coaching again because I used to really not like it and I have stories on why but I was like, I guess I'll start coaching again, gotta do more brand partnerships. And then thankfully, I would say I worked on a lot of money mindset stuff when I first quit my job because I knew that without working on it, you know, I did some manifestation courses to be magnetic as the person whose course I join as I gotta make sure I take care of my money mindset because otherwise, I'm going to freak out. I'm going to fall into not just scarcity but like full panic attack about money and take whatever comes my way, and I did not want to do that, because I knew that that would suck my energy.
So, luckily, I would say, and we're looking at timelines, right, I started consulting, the good thing, sadly, was that a lot of the agencies ended up laying off a lot of talented people, because of the pandemic, they just didn't know they could afford full-time employees. So consultants had a pretty nice 2020. And I was one of them, where I was invited back to do a lot of projects for old clients — not in travel. I was able to produce a lot of content at home, I know you've done the same, just brands, who couldn't then do anything at a production studio anymore would send me their stuff and hire me to produce content at home. Easy. And then of course, in May, I decided, well, if I don't like one on one coaching, what does group coaching look like? Launch that, right? So I was really able to experiment. I like to say my first full-time year in entrepreneurship is the question mark here. It was like, “What the fuck is going on?” And then you work on refining everything. So if I had to do it again, panini or not, it would just be having that openness of like, just try a bunch of things that feel good, right? I don't want you selling out. But try things that feel good. And then you'll find the things that you actually want to spend your time doing.
Diana: Totally, I call that the sandbox here, like playing in a sandbox, my first couple of projects as a full-time photographer, like I was shooting bar Mitzvahs, cuz like wait, what am I doing, but I needed to do it to know that I didn't want to do it. And it was still like $1,500 in my pocket when I'm trying to make it work. So, I love that. So, I know you influence a lot about money, you're very open with money. And honestly, there's a lot of money talk on the internet, with coaches right now. And some of it can be really triggering to just be blunt, like showing the calculator of making hundreds of thousands of dollars a day, you know, is it inspiring? Or is it a comparison? Or where's that supposed to put us but I really, no matter what the answer is to that, I really admire the way you show up and talk about these things, because it makes it very relatable. And people feel like expanded by you. Maybe instead of being triggered by you. I'm sure there's a few people who get triggered. But I'm curious when you got out of this debt, which you talk a lot about, what were the resources you had support-wise? Did you have a financial trainer? Like, you said, you joined to be magnetic for manifestation. Like, what were the things that helped you through that stage?
Lissette: So I was actively trying to get out of debt pretty much earlier, I'd say 2017 was the big year. And the only thing and I know this sounds — so the answer is you make more money, spend less money, right? Like it is kind of basic. But yes, I totally honor that there are systemic things in place that prevent people from getting out of debt. But the thing that was happening in 2017, for me, was I had to literally start looking at my finances and figure it out, I had to figure out where can I earn more money, I was doing dog sitting, selling my clothes on Poshmark, like trying to take you to know trying to work with brands trying to do whatever it took to out earn myself, of course living as frugally as possible. And the beauty was that when, around this time I already had built a following.
So, other things that I maybe still want to do didn't want to pay for, I could use my social influence to potentially, you know, do trades and things like that, which is another different type of conversation because people didn't really notice that I was in debt because I had that I still had the perfectly curated feed, you know, so I was really trying to do those two things. And the only thing that really, I would say practical advice was, is take a look at your finances. I built this spreadsheet that actually still give out as a freebie for anyone who just needs a personal money tracker. I built this spreadsheet that basically said, here's all the monthly payments you do anyway, because I didn't know I didn't know the subscriptions I was even on now that there's apps for that. Here's all the money you're earning and where it's coming from. And then really calculating how much money did I actually have every month, I had never done that. And that was the problem. Even with my credit cards, everything was on auto pay. I don't even know how much money I owed. I just paid. It was okay. And minimum payment, of course. So with all that kind of setup, you don't actually know the problems you're in with money and I think it was definitely some sort of shame avoidance about money that led me there.
So, after kind of doing that and getting out of debt, I shared my debt story. And that was really scary for me because again, no one knew no one expected it and because it went viral. That truly was the worst case scenario. So, it's like the worst but best case scenario at the same time. And I was like I didn't think anyone would care about this. Like I'm just a little influencer with 10,000 followers. I'm not anyone else but the thing is so many other people were thinking about it and so many other people felt seen by it, which is one of the big reasons why it didn't go viral and why so many people want to keep talking about it.
That was really the moment when I started opening up about finances and money. That's when I started being more proactive about getting support around money. Because that scary moment made me realize, oh, man, and I'm still a little triggered and crying about this, and like freaking out about this, I should probably figure out where it's coming from. I did after 2018 have a financial coach, the Financial Gym, it's actually based in New York, and all they did was really hold you accountable to the budgeting and to milestones. I still had student loans. So they helped me make a plan to pay those off. And that's what I really kept doing for the next few years. And then again, every time I feel like I've done it, you know, like, I paid off my student loans. And then I was still feeling like guilt around money, like feeling weird about money.
I wasn't making all the money I was making because of as much money as I could be making, because I still felt a little shameful about money. So I then started doing a lot of money manifestation things when, such as in hiring people to help with that, or joining masterminds and courses on the topic. And that really did help me and I would say even today, you know, I was just a few weeks ago in a money program again, because I always feel like hmm, what is there to work on this time? And I realized that the last thing I just worked on was that I still am a little afraid of sharing my wins around money. And it's because, you know, long story short, it was so internalized, you know, you don't share that, like people can take it away from you. And that was told by my family all the time, like you can't share how much you make because people will send you bad vibes. Because my mom says, “mal de ojo” which is like, they send you the evil eye and they send you bad energy if you talk about money. And when money has bad energy, it can go away. So like that was literally living in my head. And I'm like, “what?” So then I went back and I was like, “Hey, I make half a million dollars right now.” Like, sorry, like walk, drops phone and walks away. And it felt okay, that was like, awesome. Like, I get to feel that, say that, still feel awkward about it, figure it out. So really, the money conversation never dies down. Like you always have something to work on. Because the thing is, money truly is energy. And if we're following what we talked about in the beginning, we are also energy. So, as our energy evolves, so does our relationship with money. It just evolves, it never fully heals, or it's never fully perfect. Even if you are a millionaire, like you're not going to be there. You're constantly evolving.
Diana: I love that. Yeah, I would have thought that limiting beliefs around money, I was gonna say you have to be humble. Like, that's what my parents were like. Yeah, you know, we want to be humble. My dad said last summer, like I would never want a million dollars. And I was like, what? Why? If I gave you a million dollars right now, you wouldn't take it? And it's like, “No, those people. It's like, I don't want to be those people.” And so it's so interesting. The cultural differences, right? Like literally bad vibes are living like that. Stories living in your head, which is so wild.
Lissette: Yeah, like I was legit scared that someone was gonna set like, literally hex me if I talk about money.
Diana: I love this. So inspiring to see both of us, right. And many people listening, many people aspired to be this, and we're all on different steps of our journey. Right? But like, from going from so much debt, both of us because we have some stories to the 60k living in New York, where I was putting so much on credit cards, I remember paying like $350 for Sleep No More, which is that play in Chelsea, you know, if anyone knows, you know, and for New Years, and I paid that off for like six months, because I was like, it was just stacking, stacking, and stacking and I wanted to live my New York Life and I was also just divorced and kind of like I need to live life and money doesn't matter. And it's not coming in. So I'm just going to put it into debt, which was always a tool we can use for sure. But yeah, it's just so inspiring to know like, this is possible. And that's what these conversations are about is about expanding other people and going, “Hey, you can go from $30,000 of debt making 60k to half a million dollars.”
Lissette: And that's the reason why I love talking about it. I'm talking about all aspects of it right? Because even saying the half a million dollar thing, it's like, Oh, but wait, I have like two full time employees on salary and benefits. You know, so all these things that you don't really hear a lot of coaches say you hear like, here's how I make a million dollars every year you know, like, okay, and like what else happened? I like talking about when I feel burned out because it's not a requisite, like a requirement of making more money. Need to be stressed out. But likely you will go through that because you haven't put in boundaries in place. So you're just like, ah, opportunity! More money! And then you burn out. So all these things I love talking about because I just feel like it normalizes that journey. To your point. I didn't know honestly, when I was in debt, I'm sure you felt the same. I just thought I'd always be in debt. Like, that's just my life forever. So I didn't even know that there was going to be another way of living.
These days, like, I can't, I can't even like fathom being in debt, you know what I mean? Because you also know, like, the things that you were putting yourself in debt, or at least myself, they weren't things I really valued. More so they were things I just thought I had to do, like, “Oh, I gotta go to this thing. Gotta go to this restaurant.” I'm just going to put it because I thought I had to do it. It would feel better. Like when we buy a house like you're gonna be in debt again. But it feels good, because I'm like, “Man, I really value that putting a roof over my family's head.” So I think the way you even like to spend money changes once you think about that relationship.
Diana: Yeah, the energy behind it. And even like, my first coach, in February of 2020, I put on a 0% APR credit card. And I consider that like an empowered version of debt. I was like, Okay, this is what it takes. It's almost like a business loan. But it's going to take, I'm going to open a new credit card, so I'm smart about it. I also use the Financial Gym, I still use them. I love them, shout them out. And yeah, doing it in a smart way where I could pay that off over time without interest or whatever. And like you're saying it can be an empowered decision. It's sort of like eating, it's like, what are you putting into your body? Is it an empowered decision? Are we like mindlessly eating Cheetos? If we're eating Cheetos and like enjoying each one and really savoring that, cool. But if you're being in debt, just kind of mindlessly spending money, things you don't even like, that's another conversation to dig into. But yeah, okay.
So, wrapping up here, so much goodness, holy shit, there might need to be a part two someday. So my question is, what are you doing now? What are you working on now? How can people tap in with you connect with you, work with you, all the things?
Lissette: Amazing. So everything that you need to know will probably be announced on @Lissettecalv. So social media is home for me, that's where I connect with people the most. And I also do pride myself on saying, you can also just binge my content and get a free mastermind, like you don't actually have to join anything. You don't have to pay me for anything. But it is there for you the things that I have in place. I mostly work in group settings, the only time I work with people one on one is for strategy. And as you have kind of heard me allude to earlier on, I just think that coaching is so much more transformative in groups. So that's usually what I prefer doing. Yeah. But then I know some people just like to pick your brain. So that's for you if you want it.
I do have a mastermind that's really more catered to what I call influencers and people of influence. So it's people who are looking to build their personal brand to then build your business, but with a focus on brand partnerships and content. So if that's something that floats your boat, or something that you're really interested in, seek us out, we launch two times a year. But otherwise, there are so many things to plug into that you can DIY, you know little courses that you can do, take on your own in the realm of social media or influencer marketing.
Diana: Yeah, I love that. And I know like your freebies alone are so so valuable. You don't hold anything back. You have so much knowledge and all of this stuff. So much strategy, so much mindset around it. So absolutely. We'll link all of that in the show notes. All right, the moment everyone has been waiting for. What is your astrology?
Lissette: Ah, I'm a Virgo sun, a Gemini rising, and a Taurus Moon.
Diana: Okay, so give us just a quick synopsis of like, how you see this playing in your life?
Lissette: Yeah, the Twitter version because you know, and Diana knows, I could be here all day, we could just do a whole podcast. So the Virgo you know, when you think about Virgos I feel like it's the practical, organized, sometimes judgmental person and I think that that's definitely at my core who I am. I'm super, I like to be organized. But the rising sign of Gemini is such more of like a free thinker, a total socialite, great communicator, and I feel like you know the idea of your rising sign being the thing people sometimes think you are like that kind of tracks because I think I when even when I'm like masking you know, like I really feel like that person more.
I like to think that I am a go-with-the-flow, really fun, energetic person. So I see both of these things manifest themselves a lot. And then in terms of my Taurus Moon if you know things about Taurus, As you know, it's like self-care queens and kings. And I definitely love to recharge and like to process emotion by myself with the luxury. So I am definitely a secretly bougie person. And for anyone who's into astrology, my moon is my 12th house, which is like that secret house, my shadows. So that is me. Definitely manifest perfectly.
Diana: I love that. So fun. I wonder how many DMs you're going to be getting?
Lissette: Talk to me all day.
Diana: Lightning round. Listte, was that what creativity mean to you?
Lissette: To me, creativity is problem-solving. And problem-solving doesn't just have to be like, how to or this that but like, seeing things differently in a different perspective.
Diana: I love that. And that kind of goes into your scientific stuff, which I learned about you today.
Lissette: I feel like you've actually learned the most random but like relevant things about me.
Diana: I love it. That's what we're here to do is like excavate. Do you have and if you do, who is it an entrepreneurial crush?
Lissette: Yes. I love Rachel Rogers. She started We Should All Be Millionaires, The Club. Hello Seven, The Club. I'm a member. I've been a member for two, running on three years now. And why she's my crush is just I think the way she's built community is so badass. And what I love about her programs is that they're unapologetically her. It's her style. You can't replicate it, you know, so really appreciate her and love how she built her business.
Diana: Yeah, her podcast is incredible. Like her CEO mindset is just incredible. She also holds nothing back, which I really respect. Okay, what are you reading or listening to? It could be awful. It could be amazing. Or if you have something that like you have to tell people about? What is it?
Lissette: I want to tell you about two books. I'm in book season. And I had just finished reading The Mountain is You. I'm totally blanking on the author, but you can look up The Mountain is You. And it actually came at the right time because I was on the cusp of transformation, and that book totally kicked me in the ass and said it's time. So that book is really transformative if you need a little bit of like a gut punch. It is not a “frou frou woo-woo” spiritual book. It is like this is life and it's time to go. Then, of course, I start reading Untamed. So I’m currently reading Untamed, which I feel like is another gut puncher but I'm loving it only about a third of the way through so no spoilers but I'm excited to finish.
Diana: Oh my god. untamed is like the book of 2020. I'm so excited for you.
Lissette: I know my friend was like, how are you alive and haven't read Untamed? So she literally mailed it to me and was like, start now.
Diana: Yeah, it's just great. Glennon is amazing. Okay, last question. If money, time, resources, none of it mattered. You could do anything you wanted. No judgments, no eyeballs, just you doing what you want? What would you create just to create?
Lissette: What I would create? What's interesting is like, what do I create for myself versus what I'm create for others might change a little bit. I think what I would create for myself is a lot of things around like wellness. energy, like just creating like if I had an unlimited bucket of money, just like a cool zen place to come home to, to learn from. I’d probably invest all my money, just keep learning. And then I think what I would create for other people is just more spaces where they could connect like I wouldn't even care about making money from it. I just love creating spaces and having people meet people.
Diana: Yeah, now I can't unhear space spaces. I think you should have a planetarium in your home.
Lissette: Oh my god. I— You made that connection for me because outer space and people space. That's where we all connect. So stay tuned might just make another channel just about space.
Diana: I'm here for it or just under the same umbrella. Just a little highlight. I love it so much. Lissette, thank you so much for telling your story. And I can't wait for everyone who doesn't know you to connect with you. I can't wait for everyone who does know you to freak out and be so excited you're here. And per usual listeners, please, please, please, please, please share this episode on social and let us know what landed. Let us know if you guessed her astrology. Let us know if something resonated with the money stuff, whatever it is, it's just such a gift to know what you're hearing from us. So, rate, review, save, share all this stuff. And yeah, with that, thank you so much for your time and energy today.
Lissette: Thank you. This was great.
Diana: All right, over and out.
