Adrienne Rivera Interview Transcript
Nancy Rush:
Welcome, Adrienne. I'm so, so excited to have you here today, and I love what we're going to talk about. But let me introduce you first by reading your bio.
Adrienne is the founder of Breath of Gold and world-renowned breathwork facilitator, trainer, and spiritual business coach. She leads one of the top trauma-informed breathwork certification programs in the world and specializes in helping entrepreneurs and business leaders achieve greater success through breathwork. She is also a best-selling author, speaker, and the creator of the Breath of Gold Journal and Oracle Deck. She's known for her intuitive guidance, uplifting energy, and her belief that the answers we seek are always within the breath.
And yes, I can speak to your uplifting energy. I always love getting an opportunity to be in conversation with you. Thank you so much. I'm so looking forward to this.
Adrienne Rivera:
Yay. Well, let's jump into the questions.
Nancy Rush:
So one of the things that you... by the way, you have some amazing questions here. So breathwork obviously is your bread and butter. You've been doing it forever. You're extremely good at it. Tell me how you use it with your clients to help them get even greater results.
Adrienne Rivera:
Yes. So what I think would be really interesting to talk about is breathwork for business, because many people are drawn to breathwork when something happens in their life. Maybe they lost a loved one and they want a healing tool like breathwork. And the thing about business owners is that we have to run a business and also live our lives. And that requires us to be in alignment.
So I have clients do breathwork once a week, circular connected breath — the ones that I support with the business. And that is for them to one, get business clarity, connect into the vision of their business, but also to have a refresh for themselves personally. I believe that if we don't take time to heal and to process the things that are going on personally, it can spill into business, and that can be challenging and not preferred.
So it really supports this foundation. One thing that I think is really in particular important is "be, do, have." We must be the person, then do the actions to then have the results that we want. And I think most people, when they've manifested something, maybe it's the first time hitting a certain income goal, they think back to how long they've been trying to hit that income goal and looking back, you can see, "Oh, I wasn't ready for that." Like all the reasons. You see all the reasons that you weren't ready. And so what if you felt ready? What if you could see the vision of what that version of you looks like? And that is what's possible in breathwork. It feels so palpable.
And they've done studies on this. The body doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's imagined. And breathwork activates the creative parts of our brain so that we can gain that clarity.
I just had a breathwork session that I did personally with the girl who leads me in breathwork on Monday. And it was after leading a retreat in this amazing house near where I live in Reno. I just rented an awesome Airbnb, like six bedroom pool, like huge place. And it totally got me thinking, like, maybe I should move to that area. What would the version of me be like? And I got to go on runs there in the morning. And it was so incredible. And I could see the versions of me that were not wanting that yet. I think there's like, are you ready for it? But are you wanting it? And I think sometimes we love parts of our lives and we're not ready to graduate. We say we want something new, but we really like the comfortability of where we are and change is scary.
So breathwork can support us to navigate that change, get clarity on what we want. But one foot in desire, one foot in gratitude for all that we have.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah, I think that's lovely. And I'm so glad that you brought this up about utilizing breathwork as being an integral part of actually being in your business. One, to create a deeper connection with the business, which I think is so fantastic. And two, to just really literally have people, you know, take the time to actually slow down a little bit, you know, and really kind of come back to themselves. Because I do think that many of us in business, we tend to like run, run, run from thing to thing. And so I love that you're introducing this as like a necessity rather than just an option, right?
Adrienne Rivera:
Yes. I do not see it as optional. Many people don't do it, but I think that that's because they don't know about it. And then once you do it, you'll realize why it's so important. And of course, people have other tools. There are other tools out there like yoga and meditation and being in nature. But there's something different about breath. Breath, especially circular connected breath, moves emotion. It gets us in touch with ourselves. It shows us who we are.
And especially in the entrepreneurship world or the coaching world, a lot of it is just what other people are doing. And it gets in your head. I know for myself, it got in my head for a while. I'm like, "Oh, this is what's popular. I should want that too for myself." And then breathwork reminds you, "Well, that's not your authenticity. That does not actually align with who you are." So I think it's really important to be yourself.
I once saw this thing and it said like, "Do you know the frequency that's the highest?" And I thought like, of course, love. They're like, "No, actually authenticity vibrates higher than love." And I was like, "What? That's crazy."
Nancy Rush:
That is crazy. I know. And it's just like, okay, you know, you think you need to be fitting in with all this other stuff, but really if... if the highest vibration possible is authenticity, that is going to attract the best clients. That is going to attract people that you love working with.
I know for myself, like if you're someone who leads retreats, like I do, it's important to be yourself because then you attract people that resonate with the true you. You don't have to feel like you're putting on a mask or doing something a certain way. And there are clients for everyone. And people are begging for the real you. They're begging for your authentic truth. And sometimes we don't even know because we're so conditioned by observing and scrolling. We think we know. So yeah, it's a coming home tool.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah, I love that. You know, it's interesting because in the back of my mind, I'm like, okay, I've done breathwork before. And I wonder if it's the type of breathwork that I did because I didn't have like this really amazing experience.
Adrienne Rivera:
I think it's the type. Yeah.
Nancy Rush:
And so I'm kind of curious, you know, for those of us that aren't like as familiar with breathwork, you know, what... we talked a little bit about the power of like why you bring it into your daily practice and that sort of thing. But what does it open up for us in terms of like, I know that you said that this... it helps us create a greater connection with ourselves and our authenticity, which is totally true. But what beyond that does it open up for us?
Adrienne Rivera:
So much. And I do really think that the type of breathwork matters. I found yoga before breathwork. And I remember doing like a little bit of alternate nasal breathing, things like that, box breathing. I'm like, "Okay..." that's great. But like, I was not motivated to do any of it because it didn't feel life-changing.
Circular connected breath — how that looks, it's the main style that I love, lead, and teach. It's breathing in and out through the mouth in a circular connected way with no pause at the top, no pause at the bottom. And you all will get to experience just a little taste of that later. But it really activates the creative parts of our brain. It quiets the prefrontal cortex, so that monkey mind where we're trying to analyze. Nothing great can be manifested from the mind. I truly believe it's the heart, it's the body, it's that connection.
And also it activates our emotional body. So when we think about crying, we cry with mouth breathing and breathing higher into the chest. The next time you cry, try to breathe through your nose — it's not possible. And so in a way that connection, whether you cry in breathwork or not, which crying is a very common release, you are connected to your emotions, which is your truth. And that's why I believe it's so powerful.
And of course, the guidance, the music, I think those two make a huge difference — how well the space is held, your environment. You know, if you're just kind of listening to something happen, but not really surrendering to it, lying down ready to receive something, I don't believe anything powerful will happen. But if you believe something powerful could happen, and you get out of your own way of like, "Okay, I've done breathwork before. It wasn't powerful." I do think that you can find the type that resonates with you.
Nancy Rush:
That's lovely. And, you know, it's interesting that you brought this up. And I'm actually glad that you said it is that, you know, emotions like crying can be a natural release during breathwork. And I've been participants in other breathwork sessions where people have gotten really emotional. So what would you say to the person who doesn't really want to get emotional, doesn't really want to feel that depth of feelings? You know, I think for some people that's really scary, right? It's like that they'll have those emotions come up, which I'm like, "Yes, that's fantastic. We'll let it come up and out." But then I think they're afraid that they're going to get swept away in it. And then it's like, right?
Adrienne Rivera:
Yeah. Right. So the bigness of emotion can be very scary. And for a long time, I felt that. I felt like I was terrified to feel my emotions. And really what that was was fear of intimacy, which I like to break down to "into me you see." And it's like to really be seen. Oftentimes, we push away the thing that we want most. So for me, that was like, "I want to be seen. But no, I don't want to actually be seen. Ah, no, no, no, no, no."
And I think that for anyone who doesn't really fully want to feel, they're intimidated by their feelings. But really the thing that they want most is to feel. They want to feel the abundance of love. They want to feel... they just don't know if they can handle it.
So the biggest thing is obviously breathwork is optional. You don't ever have to release any of these things that you're afraid to cry about. However, if you choose not to release them, I do believe that that's going to keep you smaller, keep you stagnant, and you cannot reach your full potential, in my opinion, if you have things in the junk drawers and you're just kind of not looking over there.
Get support. My biggest advice for you if you're in that space would be have someone that you really feel can hold the space for you, and a one-on-one session would be amazing because you can really feel held. And if you're nervous you can talk about it with a breathwork facilitator beforehand. There is a surrendering that happens when you feel held. If you feel like you're kind of in a group and everyone's crying but you're like "oh I don't really know if it's like safe, like a safe environment" you may not let yourself go there. But in a one-on-one session with a trained expert I do think that it would be life-changing for you.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah. Yeah. It's a good point. The breathwork stuff I've done has been in group sessions and I really watched some people like really get very emotional. I was like, "Not so sure this is for me."
Adrienne Rivera:
Yeah. Some people are a little more private, you know, you might want a one-on-one, you might not want to all cry together. And I also believe that the setting matters, how many space holders matter. This is a lot of what I like to train my facilitators on — having enough people supporting in the room so that people feel held, because otherwise what happens, let's just say it's one facilitator and there's even just ten or 20 people and you have no extra support. People will become default space holders, which means that they're so nervous about the people crying that they're almost like sending empathetic love to these people and they're not thinking about themselves because they don't feel like the whole space is held fully.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah, you made a good point about this really coming home into our authenticity. And I do feel like for us, in order for us to be truly authentic, we really do have to kind of become best friends with all aspects of ourselves. You know, because if we don't, it's like we're still kind of holding a portion of ourselves back. And I know that for myself, it's been a journey of like really, truly stepping into who I am. But at the same time, it's so liberating because it's like, "Take me or leave me." You know, it's like this is who I am. And it's a relief not to have to pretend to be some other way.
Adrienne Rivera:
Such a relief. I know I was just leading my facilitator student call this morning. And one of my students said, "I'm 47 and... not 47. I declare no more masks. I'm sick of masks. Well, you know, 47 years. That's a long time to be okay with that."
And so I love this topic of authenticity. And I think that something that's so important is knowing that we're always evolving. Like who I am right now as my authentic self will be different than who I am even in a month with all the breathwork that I'm doing and all of the school of life, what I'm learning through my experiences. It does shift values. And sometimes we get opportunities where if it weren't for that opportunity, we would not know, "Oh, that was not for me. I thought I wanted this, but oh, that's not great."
Like, for example, you know, I once thought I wanted a balayage. I'm like, "Oh, that might be nice. Like, you know, highlights or whatever." And then it was like a three-hour experience. It smelled like really bad. Like, I don't know. This seems like maybe not so great for a breathworker. All these fumes like I think this is against my values... and... And for me, that was the best blessing because I didn't like the experience. And I was like, "Geez, I have to go back like forever to maintain it like I just... you know like I have... I want to go swim in the pool I grew up as a swimmer I want to do things that are fitness I want to be in touch with my body I don't want to have to think so much about the aesthetics" and for a while I thought that I did and I think that you know of course it's fun to dress up sometimes but finding to what extent sometimes takes some trial and error and you know sometimes we do things for other people right to look a certain way there's nothing wrong with that. A branding shoot does go a long way. I have found success in that, but also people buy you, I found, when you are you and you just share. I feel a lot of permission.
I hired a stylist for my event. And every Zoom call we had, she would wear no makeup and she'd be there with her baby. I'm like, "Great. So what I'm learning from you is that I don't have to do this always because that's not sustainable. We do it sometimes for special events, but just to have that permission." And I think a lot of times we think we have to be something we're not to be enticing for clients, whereas we can be the permission slip of "be your human self, have fun, say words that mean something to you, and you will call in the right people that vibrate at that level."
Nancy Rush:
Right. And it's great that you brought up fun, because I think that so many people in business are not having fun. They're stressed out. They're overworked. They're unhappy or unfulfilled in some way. And so I totally agree with you. Any way to bring some more fun back into things is 100%, right?
Adrienne Rivera:
Right. Totally. Yeah. And there was a period of burnout that I went through in my business and it lasted like four months. And I thought it was like any day I'm like, "It's going to be tomorrow, like I'll be fine tomorrow." And it was like a long time. And the thing that got me out of it was creativity. That was like amazing. If I would have known that all I had to do is be creative, I would have been out of that phase for like... it would have taken a day. But I was so focused on the external, so focused on business, the doing that, of course, there was no excitement anymore to do much during that phase. And I needed to take some self-care time. But oftentimes people think self-care is just taking baths and doing nothing. But I do think that we need to find that creative spark, which breathwork gives me a ton of.
And another tool that I have found a lot of support with as a business owner in particular, but I think every human should do it, is The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. And that gets you writing every morning, gets you in touch with your intuition. You take yourself on artist dates, which can be really stretchy for yourself to like have the luxury of an hour, even just an hour to do something creative just with yourself. And maybe the challenge is to not have your husband. For me, that was the challenge. "Wait, you can't come to this, it just has to be me. It has to be a solo date." And that was really what I needed. And I've done it ten times in my life. And every single time I do it, it is like a catalyst for my business. And sometimes I'm not ready to do it because I'm like, "I don't really know. Like, am I really ready to like hold all the abundance that I know is possible when I turn on that faucet?" You know, like sometimes you're in a business phase where you're building systems or training team members.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah. Yeah. I have found that too, that the creativity is really key. And when I don't feel creative and I don't feel inspired, that's almost always a sign that I need to go do something else and not push harder. You know, it's like bring something else in, take my... and maybe even God forbid, take a day off. You know what I'm saying? Just to kind of like recalibrate.
One of the things I wanted to ask you to kind of redirect slightly is, you've created a pretty successful business for yourself. And so I'm curious what advice you would have to people out there to kind of like create this balance between sort of like work and our personal life, but also how can we approach the business in a different way so it doesn't feel quite so like doing and mechanical? Hopefully that question makes sense.
Adrienne Rivera:
Yes, totally. Well, definitely be your authentic self because if you're not, you will burn out and get support. Hiring team. I kept my team small for a while. I really was like, "Oh, you get into that point where you're like, if I start hiring too much, then the profits dip a little bit." But I think it's the opposite. It's hiring the right people that will support the business. And you as a business owner, I know having an executive assistant has been like life changing that I feel like for everyone building a business, they need to have that right hand person. You know, it's not just about the doing, but it's about, you know, making sure that your plate is supported.
So, yeah, those are a couple of tips that I would give. I think thinking long term is really key. In the beginning of my business, I thought really short term. I was like, "Oh, let me do this little cash injection thing and make a few thousand dollars in a day." And that is great. But what I've really thought about is what do I want to be known for? Does it make sense in the customer journey? Am I just throwing spaghetti at the wall or is this intentional?
So I think thinking ahead, thinking about the long-term game, thinking about being intentional and staying the course, which is hard for someone like me who is very multi-passionate, creative. I'm a manifesting generator in Human Design. So I got a lot of things that I love. And I got to a point in my business where it felt like, the word coming through is like I popped in a way where it was like, I stuck with it and then I saw the rewards. I was like, "Oh my goodness." And it was so exciting because I know people who had similar businesses, started around similar times, but what happened was they changed directions. They didn't stay the course.
And I had this moment of like, "Oh my goodness, like people..." like for example, even recently, this is still happening to me. At the retreat that I led, someone came from Virginia. And they're like, "Oh, by the way, this random girl in my town said to say hi to you. She knows you. And she's been on your summits and all of that." And that was just another confirmation. That's the example that's coming through right now. But a moment where you realize, "Oh, you are a leader in your industry." And to be a leader, you have to stay the course.
And it gets boring sometimes. It's like a relationship. Usually around the seven-year period in romantic relationships and also businesses are where burnout happens, second-guessing happens. You maybe want to start a different path. It just gets a little bit comfortable. And that comfortability is what we think we want. But sometimes it feels too scary. Like, "Oh no, like I need something unstable." And that's because our nervous system is usually wired for a little bit of instability. We want something exciting. But really, I think we can create a lot of excitement in our lives and then have the business be stable. Like, why is it that the business has to be this source of excitement? I think that that usually happens when our life is out of balance.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah. I think that it's fantastic that you brought up this idea of intentionality. So I know that for me, when I started this company, it's been almost three, three and a half years ago. I had a vision of what I wanted to create, but I wasn't super clear about my intention. And so I actually did exactly what you're talking about, which is over time got very, very clear about what it is that we're up to. What are we putting into the world? Who do we really want to serve? And then committing like beyond anything, like nothing rocks my commitment to the business. And even though, you know, I may or may not see the exact level of success. It's like you said, you just stick with it because it will come to fruition. But having that intentionality and that commitment is such an essential part because I see so many people where they're like, "Oh, I just need a different marketing strategy or, oh, I just need to change the way I do sales. Or, you know, I need to do some advertising or something." It's like, that's all good and fine, but that's like just a small piece of it, you know?
Adrienne Rivera:
Exactly. Yes. Yeah.
Nancy Rush:
So what do you think makes somebody successful in the coaching industry? Like what would be the things that they... you might identify for them that they could be like, "Yes, I'm on the right track."
Adrienne Rivera:
I think that with how things are transforming, now more than ever... like we've always needed this, but I'll share why now more than ever, we need to have a somatic-based tool that gets results. And breathwork is the best one that I've found. It's the easiest, it's the most transformational, especially online. People are breathing themselves, so they're going to get a deep experience, whereas if it's like Reiki or energy work, they may not feel it as much because it's distant.
I feel that people are really craving experiences more than ever. And I don't want to say the coaching business is fading out, but I have seen what ChatGPT can do. And you can have it be your business coach and be your business plan and be your copywriter. It can do everything. So I do think that to some extent, it can replace many team members. It can replace the need for some education, depending on what you're trying to learn and how qualified you need to be in that area of expertise. But when it comes to therapy, I think that therapy — I'm not going to say it's phasing out because people are still going to want a human being — but a lot of people are going to choose a robot because it's easier to think that a robot is not going to judge you. It's easier to think that, you know, it's like the robot, you can train it to be perfect for you. Whereas like, "Oh, what if I hire this coach? And like, then I don't like them. Or like, oh, what if I pay so much?" People feel that way.
And so I think that in this day and age, with people turning more towards robots, at the same time, people are going to really be craving human experiences, not necessarily human coaching, but like human experiences, something where they feel empowered. They feel like they're part of a group. They feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves. And I think that people are really on a quest of like, "Why are we here?" I keep on getting clients like this for breathwork of like, "What is the meaning? What is the purpose of this?" And they're really deep on the spiritual path.
So I think that if you want amazing clients to work with, and you want people that value experiences, I would recommend... highly recommend getting breathwork certified, adding it to your business. Of course, is what I do. You don't have to go through me. You can do your research. There's amazing programs out there. Yes, we are amazing. But I do feel like people want experiences and transformation. And I have been a coach of many different sorts. I was mainly a business coach for a while. Before that, I was a fitness coach. And time and time again, every single client testimonial was like, "You know, the coaching really helped me. But like, it was the breathwork that really transformed me." And so I think that's because we're giving them the gift of remembering themselves. It's less about what we say and more about what we can activate within a client.
Nancy Rush:
Totally. I find that in my work too and it's, I agree with you I think people are looking for the experience they're looking for authenticity first of all and they're looking for the experience and that they want to see. But I think before it felt more transactional to me and now it feels more like experiential and the other part of it too was you know we talk about being who we are authentically I do think there are more people out there that are seeking the spiritual side of things and I believe they're bringing it into the business world which I think is a big thing right, right because it needs to be both.
Adrienne Rivera:
Yeah totally it has to be both and so, and I love that people are being more open about it now whereas before it was kind of like you kind of like left it all in the closet and didn't come out of the closet with that part you know.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah the spiritual closet there's people still in there let's just let them all out of the cages you know but it just brings this softness I think into business where the business the transactions are more genuine and they are more from the heart than they are transactional and I think that's a really essential piece of sort of what I look at as like the ascension of business is that it's supposed to be that way, right?
Adrienne Rivera:
Yes. And I can think back to a few business courses that I did early on in my coaching career and I like really wanted to follow it. It's like, "Okay, do this on Facebook or Instagram, like X amount of times, X amount of days." Like, you know, it was like a formula, but it was missing so much of me. It was like, "Okay, check the box. I did the strategy." Whereas with breathwork being my best business tool, it's like, where do I feel expanded? Where are my clients at? It feels like this higher level ability to connect in and... have something that's unique. And in a world of all ChatGPT, you have to sound unique because even people's ads, I'm like, "Oh yeah, I can tell that's ChatGPT scripted," like things like that. Not saying we shouldn't use it. I use it to some extent, but I do think that people want you and they want that human touch and to not lessen the importance or the value of that human touch.
Nancy Rush:
Right, totally. Yeah, we were introduced to ChatGPT, I don't know, I guess it was last year, or just using AI in general in the business to help look like support us in the marketing and that sort of thing. And honestly, it was a little bit life altering because at first I was like, "AI is the devil, I'm never going to use it," right? And then as I saw kind of the application of it, I was like, "Wow, this is like this is a... saves a ton of time."
What's interesting is when I go in and I work, whether it's Claude or ChatGPT or whatever, I am always 100% intentional about what I'm bringing into it. And then thinking of it as a co-creative process, because I can tell when I just... I'm like, "Let the AI do it" and that there's none of me in it... then for me that's not authentic. It's... sometimes it's a bit of a dance.
Adrienne Rivera:
Yeah like giving it that human element or going back and forth and that's how I use it as well you know it's like "that's not what I was wanting" or "that doesn't sound like me" or "let me, let's try this again" and being patient with it. Even though it requires patience it will be way less time than you know going back and forth with an actual copywriter at times and things like that. And I think there's things that it can take off of our plates so that we can be more in connection with clients. Like I think to myself you know there was a period of time where I wasn't seeing very many one-on-one clients and now I'm like getting requests for that for one-on-one breathwork and with all the time saved from you know the busy work and even the copywriting you can really be in deeper relationship with people so I think it's about your values and what matters which is being in relationship with people being connected and using it for the things that maybe don't matter as much like copywriting or planning or you know data entry things like that that I think no humans should waste their time doing.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah we just did, I just recreated our content calendar for the next six months and I tell you I've done it all by myself before and then I've done it with AI and the AI made it so much more efficient because I still had to go in and straighten some certain things out but it was like it just like in minutes rather than hours of you know, we're very intentional about the content that we put out because we really want it to serve for the highest. And so I was like, "Oh, ChatGPT gets me. I love it."
Adrienne Rivera:
That's awesome. I love that. It sounds like you've trained it well too.
Nancy Rush:
Exactly. It definitely is all in the training, but it's... Funny, I have to laugh to myself because sometimes I feel like I'm talking to an actual human being, you know?
Adrienne Rivera:
Oh, yeah. I mean, I've used therapy and I'm like, "This is way more validating than many humans have been."
Nancy Rush:
Yeah, it is. Yeah. Yeah. So what would you say if somebody, you did mention a little bit earlier about how you kind of scaled your business over time? And I'm curious, what would you say are some of the key things people can do to make that scaling process easier and less stressful. Because every time I think of scaling the business, it feels very heavy and arduous.
Adrienne Rivera:
Yeah, I would say make sure that your life is balanced. So do things for fun, have fun, prioritize that. When I work with my clients, I have them be really intentional with time because time is... it tells the truth. How much time is in the calendar will get you grounded in reality of what you can actually handle.
So my calendar, it's interesting. I in a way, aim to have no white space. But hear me out. So I start with sleep. And this is how I tell my one on one clients for business coaching to do this, too. It's like, how many hours of sleep do you want? Put that in your calendar, like as if anyone could book a session with you at any time of the day. So it's like now the sleep is like prioritized. That's important because if you're not well rested, you can't do much.
And then second would be like your self-care. So I put in like my massages, my meals, like having enough time to actually take a break and have a lunch and not be rushed from one thing to the next. And then running in the mornings is important for me. I have that on my calendar, quality of time with my husband is important. So I have that in the evenings blocked off, like dinner time, things like that. And weekends for backpacking or being in nature. And then you look at the calendar, you're like, "Oh, okay. So like, there's not really that much white space." And then you think about like team meetings, right? And you get all the meetings in there. Then you think about delivering to clients programs. Then you put all that in there. And you can see it's very much like you first, sleep, self-care, then business, but also family things.
I know I have a lot of moms of like most people in our program are like moms of four. And now they're getting certified because they're ready to do something for them again. But this goes with your kids to like put in the calendar, like, "Okay, driving the kids to gymnastics" or whatever it may be, because then it gets you really grounded with reality, to have a wake up call usually where it's like, "Okay, I need to hire someone or two." I've had that before where one person leaves and then it's like, "Okay, actually, I think they were maybe doing multiple roles. Let's hire two people now."
And so you deserve to be supported. Having the groundedness of knowing how much time you actually have in your calendar and building your lifestyle first, I think matters a lot. And thinking about what type of business you are getting married to because you are getting married to a business. And if it's successful, well, you better like what you're doing for a long time. And I like to think about like, what do you want five years from now? Think about that vision. Where do you live? Who do you live with? And is your business model sustainable for that?
I know I have clients that really love doing everything virtual. They never want to do it in person. And that's great. I have people who they never want to be on social media. They just want their community in person. Like whatever it is for you, you can have a mix. I like to have a mix where most like the 1% of the time we meet up in person for a retreat or something like that, that feels really fulfilling for me. But there may be a time where I have kids where I'm like, "You know, I don't want to host anyone. I don't want to host any in-person events." And that's okay, too.
So I think that we got to think forward and certain types of business models may not make sense for the desired lifestyle. For example, like a lot of people say, "I want to speak on stage. I want to travel around the world." It's like, "Well, is motherhood in your path? And like, what kind of child do you want to raise? Like baby on the road? Like, are you touring the US or wherever you're at?" I think that your lifestyle matters first because there's so many ways to make money. Like making money is very easy so choose the path that is designed for your lifestyle because it'll be most sustainable.
Like even now I know someone who teaches her clients how to buy businesses like they don't even have to do it they just have the money they buy a business and then somebody else runs the whole thing and they just make the income and do the books right so you don't really have to do much nowadays there's many ways to make money and don't let that be a shiny object though don't change the course like find one commit because I'm so glad I wouldn't have been able to scale Breath of Gold if I didn't commit for years of doing the same thing doing the same summits year after year sometimes multiple summits every year and really just building the community I think that's really key.
A lot of people I think they try to scale with too much strategy without thinking about the people. They think, "Oh, my email list is big enough." It's like, "Well, what have you done to keep your audience connected to you? Are you sharing openly? Are you sharing vulnerably? Or is everything just automated and the team is doing everything that you're not in the business?" Through that four month burnout phase, I was perhaps leaning on my team too much and not sharing enough. And I saw a dip, you know, like less engagement in my email list and not as great responses. Whereas when I'm excited and when I'm sharing and there's some spontaneous emails in there, "Oh my goodness, this just happened." The email list feels like they're in relationship with me. They're like, "Wow, I know that she got married. I know that she, you know, bought land. I know that she did all these things and that's cool." So you kind of want to bring them into your life. That's my opinion on that.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah, no, that's really fantastic. You talk about that. I was just thinking I had a client one time I said something, we were in a one-on-one session and I said something about, I said something about my husband or something, I don't remember. And she asked me afterwards, she was like, "Why would you," like she thought that I should not have been talking about it. And I thought, yeah, it was kind of interesting. She wasn't being critical. She just was honestly like, "Why would you bring something personal into the session?" And what I said to her was that, this is part of who I am is that people, they do want to know who I am. They do want to know what my life looks like. And it doesn't mean that I have to do everything. It doesn't have to be deeply personal, but I think when we show up with vulnerability, we give others permission to show up with vulnerability. And I also think that it's more for me of like coming from the heart, you know? And so in, in our content, like you, you know, we do share those vulnerable moments and we do share like what's, you know, what's happening. Because I just think it makes us more real. And it's a lot more fun and interesting to get to know somebody than to not.
Like I think of mentors like years ago where it was like, you knew the mentor, but you knew them professionally. You didn't know anything else about them. And one of my mentors right now, she's beautifully transparent. Of course, private to a certain degree, but like she just got engaged and you know, there's so, it's like, it's fantastic. And I just love that part of her that brings all of her to the table rather than just this little sort of like facade, you know?
Adrienne Rivera:
Right, right. I have found that for sure to be the case. And even with therapists, right? It's like you, like my first therapist, I... we were like very different age range. And I thought this person has never been through what I've been through. And it was like this really big thing, whereas if they had just said, "I have been there before, I remember what it was like to be in that phase of life" or whatever, that would have been like, "Okay, I can feel safe," which is why I kind of was alluding to earlier, people haven't always felt safe with humans. That is why they're going to go to robots to do a better job. If they're afraid of judgment, a robot will not judge. They're trained to just give you the response based on what you can handle and apologize if it needs and move on.
Whereas humans, sometimes things can be a little bit more sensitive. But I think that there's a beautiful opportunity for us right now of like people are wanting deep connection. People want to know their coaches. They want to know their mentors. They want to feel inspired. They want to feel connected to someone's energy... so being you is all you need to do it's pretty easy you just have to give yourself permission and sometimes that's hard you know sometimes we have to you know we think what people want is different than what they actually want and even if you're different than your clients they're going to love you for who you are for example my retreat that I just led in this amazing bougie house and everything you know we had some fancy people and you know I'm talking about how I my first retreat was a camping retreat and how like the ants were on my toes and that was like the ants were my angels and this one girl her face was like "don't worry I understand you I know you want the bougie retreat that's why we're here."
And so like they just loved it. And I had so many stories that they were just like, "Hey, Adrienne, this is ridiculous and I love you for it." And, you know, of course, I know when to be bougie and I know when to have fun and, you know, be spontaneous. And I think that if I were to hide that part of myself, there would be a missing link. And, you know, I think anyone can appreciate differences in who you are and what makes you you is fascinating.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah. Yeah, I had a, you're bringing up a memory for me in that years ago, probably, I think back in the nineties, I did a session with Sonia Choquette. And I remember her telling me, she says, "Well, you need to remember that you're a peach." I'm like, "What are you talking about?" And she's like, "No, really, you need to know that you're a peach. Some people love peaches. They're juicy and sweet. And some people hate them because they're fuzzy." And she, the bottom line was she was saying to me is you're not for everybody. And that just sort of like hit me like lightning. I was like, "Oh my gosh, I don't have to be for everybody. I can be for exactly for whom I'm meant to be for. And I don't have to be anything else." And I have carried that with me all of these years. So if Sonia ever sees this, thank you, Sonia. But—
Adrienne Rivera:
I love that.
Nancy Rush:
But it's just, it's so true. I just see so many people trying to kind of like be something that they're completely not because they think that they need to. When in reality, I think most of us just want to be seen and heard for exactly who we are.
Adrienne Rivera:
Yeah. And I think sometimes putting on the blinders for what we're seeing and going within more, like using breathwork, can remind us of that. And it's like this constant, like you're dating yourself. You're getting to know, what do I like now? What's new? What do I want to try? Trying new things and doing more of what you love, more of what lights you up and knowing that it's never too late. I've been taking dance classes and that's been really fun. Like it's never too late, you know? And just that was after my wedding. And it's been like years of just like, "How have I not known that this is such an important part of who I am? I could never compromise this part." And I find that fascinating because shamans, if you go to a shaman when you're sick, the first question they ask is, "When did you stop singing and dancing?" As if when you stop celebrating life and celebrating who you are and moving your body in that joyful, celebrative way that you will get sick. And I do believe that that's part of it as well.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah. Yeah, you know, I think vibrancy can be felt. It's a frequency. It's an energy. And breathwork supports with moving that stagnation. I do believe that, you know, things that are not processed can bring stiffness to the body. And that limits our expression of self and that really dims our light in a way.
Adrienne Rivera:
It's 100%. It does. And I love that you used the word vibrancy because that's exactly it. Like I know when I'm in the zone and I'm like fully aligned and I'm excited about what it is that I'm creating or who I'm working with. And then when I'm not, and when I'm not feels really icky. So yeah, I love that we have tools like breathwork to bring us back to ourselves. That's so fantastic.
So to that point, we're going to be segueing here into a guided exercise that you're going to do, which I have done them before with you. I love them. It's fantastic. But it'll give people an experience of what we're talking about here, like utilizing breathwork. And then to close, though, I would love to have you talk a little bit about your free gift, and then I'll share what we're going to be doing.
Adrienne Rivera:
Yes, of course. So I have a free full circular connected breathwork journey that is live that you can do with me. Would love to have you. And it'll be on Sunday from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. And once you join that, there will also be a bonus gift if you wish to opt in for a month of breathwork with me, which is awesome — four Sundays in a row and also all of our recordings. We have over 300 recordings. It's been amazing. It's been years and years of consistency. That's how you scale your business, consistency.
Let me ask you, out of those 300, how many Sundays did I want to show up? Probably 150. But you find the resilience, you find the commitment, you find the strength. And at the end, you see the results and you're like, "Oh, thank goodness I did." You know, it's okay if you don't feel like doing things is what I've learned in life. Do it anyways. You will feel better by the end. Just like working out.
Yep. So, yeah, the free gift is, you know, a breathwork session. If you want the bonus free gift, the second page will take you to a month of free breathwork with me. And I would love to have you experience that.
Nancy Rush:
Oh, that's such a wonderful gift. That's super generous, and I love it. Give people the actual experience of what you're talking about.
Well, we're going to be offering a two, three-hour guided immersion, and it's not really a training per se. It's more of a sacred space where we're going to be walking people through the whole seven pillars of building a purpose-driven, soul-led business. And then from there, what we'll be doing is we'll be inviting people into a one-on-one session, a free one, where we'll basically look at their business. We'll look at kind of what's going on in their life, where there might be some things that are limiting or blocking them in some way. And we'll be bringing some amazing guidance and illumination for all of that. So that's what we're offering.
Adrienne Rivera:
Beautiful. Awesome. Well, Adrienne, this has been great. I love your energy. I just love it. And I'm so happy to be able to share you with the world. So thank you for being here.
Thank you, Nancy. And I hope to breathe with you all more soon.
Nancy Rush:
Yay. All right. Thanks.
