Gabrielle Bonneville is the co-founder of Momentom Collective, an artist residency for entrepreneurs featuring co-training and co-working in exotic locations around the world—

Including Bali, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Prior to founding Momentom Collective, Gabrielle worked at the United Nations promoting human rights.

In Gabrielle’s episode, you’ll learn:

• How to surround yourself with inspiring and uplifting people – create a kickass community!
• Tips to manifest the life of your dreams
• The keys to profound introspection and authentic self-expression
• And so much more…

Major themes in this episode:

1. Introspection is the key to self-actualization.

In order to fulfill upon your dreams, you must first know yourself so that you can know what your dreams are. The more in touch you are with yourself, the more you will be able to attune to what satiation feels like for you in terms of aligned work, relationships, hobbies, etc. So how do you come to know yourself?

Gabrielle says for her, the pathway is introspection. Introspection can look different for different people. For you, it may be…

• Awareness of breath
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Psychedelic journeys
• Creative outlets

“Whatever form connecting with self comes in for you intuitively and excitedly, do it for a minimum of twenty minutes a day,” Gabrielle recommends for maximum results.

2. Credibility starts in your immediate network.

In just a few short years, Momentom Collective has impacted thousands globally and become a household name among aerial artists, entrepreneurs, and travelers.

Gabrielle credits the success of Momentom to the quality of her internal community. At each residency, community is at the core of their values. Momentom welcomes artists and travelers into their residencies on an application basis. A hand-curation process ensures that each individual is in alignment with the intentions of the broader community, while maintaining an intimate environment that fosters meaningful connection. Word spreads among visitors, which in turn attracts more visitors.

While many of us think the best way to create community is through an active social media presence, Momentom reminds us that in-person connection and word-of-mouth advertising can be just as effective, if not more.

How can you create more emphasis on in-person connection in your brand?

3. Who you surround yourself with matters.

You’ve probably heard you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. But are you living by this?

Pay attention to how you feel when and after you spend time around others. Do you tend to feel drained after spending time with certain individuals? Does maintaining any connection feel like “work”?

Don’t expose yourself to others who consistently drain you.

Practicing self love means not jeopardizing your well-being by spending time with those who drain you. It can be hard to hold a firm boundary around access to your energy, but it is much better for yourself and those involved. Sometimes, by keeping others around who do us harm—advertently or inadvertently—we are enabling them.

If you really value a connection with someone whose presence seems to dull your light, have a conversation with them. Be honest and give them feedback about your experience of connecting with them impacts you. Remember to own your experience; the conversation may be delicate so how you approach it can influence the outcome. Don’t levy blame. Use “I” statements rather than “you” statements, and use specific examples. You might say, “when you do ___, I feel ___.”

Honesty can go a long way in improving any relationship. However, if honesty still doesn’t work, you may consider distancing yourself from this individual. You can still love and support them at a distance that honors your own well-being.

It’s just as important to fill your circle with those who uplift you.

Gabrielle says, “Surround yourself with the right people. I have a desire to be surrounded with business entrepreneurs, energy healers and artists. Build a team around yourself that is so bomb.”

Aim to curate a group of friends who uplift, inspire, and encourage you. The presence of these people in your life will nurture you and facilitate your growth.

Cat Kom is the founder of Studio SWEAT, an online fitness streaming service and community of thousands of users from around the world. Studio SWEAT features cycling, bootcamp, yoga, pilates, HIIT and other kinds of high intensity workouts.

In Kat’s episode, you’ll learn:

• Why it’s essential you honor your intuition—even if it doesn’t make logical sense.
• How to create success as a woman in a male-dominated industry.
• How to stay grounded in the midst of fierce competition.

Key lessons from Cat’s episode:

1. It’s Never Too Late to Seize Your Dreams. Cat’s success in the fitness industry is inspiring not only in its own right, but because it followed a long career in the corporate IT world. Cat chose to work in the tech industry because it was a viable way to support herself and her newborn as a young mom in college. She climbed the corporate ladder and found traditional success—a high salary and a prestigious job title—yet she felt something was missing.

Her intuition was getting louder and louder, calling her to her passion of fitness. Though it didn’t make logical sense, Cat decided to take a leap of faith into the fitness industry. It was challenging at first, but through hard work and perseverance, Cat was able to make her joy passion her source of revenue.

If you’ve ever told yourself “I’m too old,” or “It’s too late for me to start a new career,” think again. Cat’s victory shows us anybody can start over in a new industry, no matter how old. It’s never too late to seize your dreams.

2. Don’t Let Your Gender Hold You Back. As a woman in the fitness world, Cat was outnumbered. The majority of the figures in the space were men by far, about 3:1. While this was certainly intimidating for Cat, she didn’t let it stop her. Instead, she developed thicker skin. “I became a bulldog. You need to stand your ground and not be intimidated when your ground needs to be stood.”

Are you a woman in a male-dominated industry, or a man in a female-dominated industry? While gender norms can be discouraging, they are only norms until somebody changes them. Be the change. Be a trailblazer. Stand your ground.

3. Don’t Let the Competition Change You. When you’re up against fierce competition, the pressure is real. It can be hard not to compare your brand to theirs, or not to check in on what they’re doing and try to one-up them. But it’s important to your sense of well-being and the integrity of your brand not to.

Cat says, “Believe in the value of your service. Stay on your course and continue to provide an amazing service at a fair price point. If you just try to constantly react to everything around you you start to make decisions based just on money. You have to think about it from the customer’s standpoint—continuing to serve them well. The money will follow if you do that.”