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Surviving the Side Hustle
Welcome to "Surviving the Side Hustle," the ultimate podcast for balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with maintaining mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
Hosted by Coach Rob Tracz, an expert in helping driven professionals achieve 'personal development for professional success,' this show is more than just storytelling—it's a masterclass in thriving amidst the entrepreneurial grind. Each episode features candid conversations with leaders who are rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship, sharing their unique stories, the creative solutions they're offering, and the everyday challenges they’re overcoming.
Whether you’re a side hustler looking for your big break or an established entrepreneur seeking fresh perspectives, "Surviving the Side Hustle" provides valuable insights that resonate with the movers, the shakers, and everyone in between.
Feeling burnt out and sidelining your own health? This podcast empowers you to overcome stagnation, build resilience, and optimize your life and business. We dive deep into your goals, identify obstacles, and share strategies to boost your energy, improve your strength, and keep the entrepreneurial grind enjoyable.
Join us for inspiring stories, expert insights, and practical advice to help you look good, feel good, and do great things at every stage of your entrepreneurial journey. Let’s not just survive the side hustle—let's master it.
Surviving the Side Hustle
E113 - From Speech Pathologist to Author: Emily Erstad's Journey of Self-Discovery
What happens when you leave everything familiar behind to discover who you truly are? Emily Erstad, speech language pathologist turned hospice executive director and author, reveals the transformative power of intentionally embracing discomfort.
Emily's remarkable journey began with a spontaneous move from the Midwest to Montana during the pandemic, followed by randomly selecting Tucson, Arizona on a map and simply showing up. These bold decisions became the foundation for her leadership philosophy and her book "It's Not That Deep," which explores emotional intelligence as a practical leadership tool rather than just a theoretical concept.
"We spend a lot of time talking about what emotional intelligence is, but we never talk about what to do with it," Emily explains, highlighting the gap her work fills. Through personal stories and practical strategies, she guides readers through professional chaos while maintaining authenticity and purpose.
The conversation delves into the critical relationship between vulnerability and leadership, with Emily distinguishing between transparency and true vulnerability. She argues that once you know your core self, showing people who you are becomes natural and opens doors to connection and opportunity. Most importantly, this journey begins with trusting yourself—perhaps the hardest part but essential for effective leadership.
For anyone feeling stuck in a cycle of people-pleasing or running a race with no end, Emily offers this powerful advice: "If it makes you happy and you're inspired, it's worth your time. Do it for you. Don't do it for everyone else, because if you're empty and uninspired, nobody else around you is going to be inspired either."
Ready to step outside your comfort zone and discover the leader within? Listen now and find Emily's book "It's Not That Deep" on Amazon or connect with her on Instagram @its_not_that_deep_author to continue your journey of self-discovery and growth.
What's going on, guys, and welcome back to another episode of Surviving the Side Hustle. I'm really amped to kind of dive in and have a conversation because today we have Emily Erstad on. She is out in Arizona and she's an interesting guest to have on, so I'm looking forward to kind of diving in. Because she is a speech language pathologist, she's the executive director of a hospice and a published author. I'm really excited because she's the regional operations strategist, passionate about bridging the gap between emotional intelligence and leadership to build profitable and passionate healthcare teams. She's been experienced managing the chaotic environments of rehabilitation and hospice, which gave her the experience to master emotional intelligence as a leadership skill. So we're all about leadership, we're all about skills, we're all about communication and connecting, so I'm excited to have you. Welcome to the show, emily. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:I'm doing great Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I'm excited to kind of dive in. I'm doing. Great Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I'm excited to kind of dive in. So I'll let you kind of take the reins to kick things off, to kind of share a little bit about who yourself a little bit more than just the went to school to be a speech language pathologist and then during the pandemic I went through some life changing events, as we all did, and took a travel job to end up in Billings, montana. And in that time that's where I started to blog and really actually just confront a lot of hard truths about myself and really learn who I was as a person. And it was kind of a dramatic move. You know, if you know about people from the Midwest, we tend to stay in the Midwest and then if we leave we're like what in the world are you doing? The Midwest is one of my favorite places to visit, but not somewhere I want to stay, you know, just stays the same all the time. And so moving to Montana was really eye-opening. It was like wow, there's different types of people and different ways to do life, and all that on top of a pandemic, when I feel like we were all already negotiating such a changed life.
Speaker 2:And so, after living in Montana for a bit, I just randomly picked out Tucson, arizona, on a map, showed up and then which is the first step guys show up.
Speaker 2:So I showed up, had no clue what I was doing and just constantly found myself in really great opportunities and decided that I wasn't going to be scared and just take the leap. And so I kind of started my management career and, like Rob said earlier, I did outpatient rehab and then also saw patients on the side still do to this day and then kind of tumbled into hospice, which was definitely not where I saw myself going and it's been really inspirational, it's been really hard and it's really taught me a lot about who I am and who I want to be as a leader and has really sparked an inspiration and a passion for me to connect with others, to be like what's your story and what's your perspective and what have you learned? Because I always say, like you know, I love to think I mastered emotional intelligence, but let's be real, as soon as you think you have it figured out, you probably don't.
Speaker 1:And so I think just maintaining that humility and that posture of learning through your life is just so important the job I'm in now as a regional strategist and getting to work with hospice has really gotten to give me opportunity to learn about myself and my staff and exercise some of the skills I've worked really hard to develop in my 20s. Yeah, so thank you for sharing that information. It's really great to connect with that. And leaving hometown is never kind of like an easy thing to do, but then traveling and just kind of picking somewhere random, that's very courageous and courageous. And it's very amazing too because it shows you a lot of resilience and you're really out there doing the hard things like putting yourself in situations, taking on challenges, accepting opportunities and working left and right. And working in hospice definitely is not an easy thing too. It's highly emotional and it's just speaks volumes to see how you're able to kind of handle and create and continue to move forward. And I would love to kind of dive into where did the book fall into play on this whole story?
Speaker 2:Totally so. I started blogging while I was in Montana and really enjoyed that and didn't really it's interesting I didn't really think I'd ever write a book. I've always been called to connect with people and always felt the need to like I really get inspired by other people's stories. But I'm also a really deep feeler, thinker, always have been. My emotions have been way too big for me to handle my whole life. Um, so I it was kind of a healthy way for me to get my feelings out without completely overwhelming my communication partner with like the 7,000 things I was talking about. Um, so it started as a blog. It was called uh, leaving me speechless up in Montana, cause, get it speech pathologist and um, and kind of left it at that, like left Montana, left the blog there.
Speaker 2:I really had myself a time in Montana, came to Tucson and I was like okay, stopped writing, just stopped. I don't know why. I just didn't do it anymore. Took a job as an executive director before this one my first hospice and just really had a spark to write. So I was driving to Tahoe with my husband and I got in the passenger seat, took some Dramamine because I get really car sick and wrote the book in five months. I'm just powered through it and I don't know what the heck got into me, because I always like writing research papers in grad school. I freaking hated it, but this just felt like something I should do. So no strategy behind it, guys, which maybe that's good, maybe that's not. I've had to learn the strategy along the way. It's a learn scale. It's not something I typically do. You'll learn I'm just a bull in a china shop and here I go talking fast. I'll slow down.
Speaker 2:But so when I wrote the book, it was interesting because I just it was just live streamed thought and I kind of went back and read it and I was like wait, this is like really cyclical, this is actually making a lot of sense. Maybe I should do something with that. So just self-published it and threw myself out there and kind of gave it to my employees and some of my coworkers and a bunch of people that you know I've connected with here in Arizona and they're like you should probably do something about this. And then I didn't, and I so I published it last September. Uh, and I just thought to myself I don't know if I was ready to put all my thoughts out there like that, like I didn't really think about how vulnerable it is to put your live stream of consciousness on a piece of paper on Amazon, uh, and that caused me to pause and I just I'm a big person and, like one of the chapters in the book is timing, is everything right, and so sometimes you can run really, really fast, but the timing's just off.
Speaker 2:And so I took a break and one of my good friends, she was like you know, you put a lot of time into this book. Why don't you invest, like invest in it, like spend time talking about it, you know? And so I did the Instagram thing, as many of of us do as we talk, and it just wasn't clicking. So here I am podcasting and it's really inspired me. I've been writing my second book and I have a third book in the works and it's just kind of been a career of passion, which is unlike me, because everything else about me is very strategic, so it's kind of cool to get to have both sides. Did that answer the question?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I love that you shared too. You kind of just like dove right in figuring it out as you go, as many solopreneurs and early stage entrepreneurs, individuals who are like moving from a hobby into a side hustle kind of thing. It's like, yeah, we don't really know exactly where the business is or how to do it, we just doing something we enjoy and now we want to start making money with it. So a lot of people just try their best to figure it out as they go, and so I admire the efforts and steps that you're taking to kind of go and put forth and it sounds like you've got a series in your head and you're ready to kind of get this rolling out to the world. So it sounds like you've got a lot of positivity around the book currently and it's just going to continue to go. So I'm excited to kind of hear a little bit more. So can you dive in?
Speaker 1:So you said one of the chapters there was about the timing and how. Timing is pretty much everything and I love that too, because that's pretty much everything. Like you would have a perfect product and you could have a perfect plan for everything, but you might not, might not be the right time for it to launch, or timing could be off slightly and that's going to affect a lot of things. So where else in life has timing really kind of showed up, because it seems like timing is like crazy with you, because you just kind of jump in and run and switching gears nonstop.
Speaker 2:Nonstop, that's yeah, yeah, that's a good way to put that. I am nonstop all the time and it's a blessing and a curse, as most entrepreneurs are right. And so timing has pretty much been the story of my life. You know, I think I've always like the topic I've been just talking about a lot lately is vulnerability, which is my least favorite thing to talk about, and so something I'm choosing to talk about and I think timing coupled with a goal and intention is always important, right, and then respecting the timing, and so there's a chapter of that in that book and like, what does my timing look like? I don't know. Most of the time, I learn about it in hindsight. I can't say I do things and think, oh, this is going to work out, or oh, because you don't know. And once, like I always say like once you think you have it figured out, you probably don't, and that's what's horrifying and very disappointing for all of us, you know. So what I had to do, like I said, like publishing my book last year, like I thought that was the time I was pumped and it wasn't, and I was like, oh well, ok, and so it's interesting because it gave opportunity for feedback, right, which do we love? That I don't know which reps right back into that vulnerability piece.
Speaker 2:It's called it's Not that Deep and it's talking about navigating emotional intelligence right and navigating leadership with emotional intelligence. And I think frequently we spend a lot of time talking about what emotional intelligence is, but we never talk about what to do with it. Like we could probably talk till we're blue in the face about, oh, I have all these feelings and where do they belong and what's going on. But like, what are the strategies? And so the reason I mentioned that is, there's timing is everything is the chapter, and using the timing to direct your energy, don't get defeated, redirect. And so and I mentioned that because I wrote it's not that deep felt really proud about it, got it out there, and then one of some of my friends were like this is really great, but like you're deep, I was like, so this makes no sense. That I was like, yeah, but that's the point, right, like it's an oxymoron on purpose, like you only get to say it's not that deep after you've been through it, right, that's the only time this makes sense. And so then sparked the inspiration for my next book, which, hey guys, here's a secret, but no, it's called In Too Deep and it's talking about, like, how do we get here and where? Like, what do we get lost in the sauce about, you know? And so if I hadn't released that book, I wouldn't have had people ask me the question and I wouldn't have been inspired to write a second book.
Speaker 2:When I published the first book, I was like one and done, I did it right. And now I'm like I guess I'm writing another book because, well, life right. And so what I'm really loving about it now is it's really challenging me and my leadership, whether it be at my personal job, in my entrepreneurship, in my whatever to really embrace vulnerability. I come across as a very extroverted, bubbly person, but I would say I tend to be more introverted and don't trust very easily, and so I kind of went after vulnerability, like I need to talk about this, because if I'm feeling this much resistance, there's probably something there that other people are feeling too, and so, instead of talking about how hard it is, I want to talk about it as how do we use it to level up, how do we use it to build stronger connections and how do we use it not to only level ourselves up but help others along the oh man, yeah, and like you've got so much going on.
Speaker 1:So like, how do you juggle the ideas of creating the new book and working that out, and and how do you like, yeah, how do you stay focused on all of this stuff and being able to continue moving forward and showing up every day for for your job and everything else at the same time?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. Sometimes I don't know. Some days I'm like I'm freaking nuts, like why do I do all of this? I think we all hit that spot too, where we're like, okay, why am I doing this? And I think it's just.
Speaker 2:It took a lot of coming to the terms of who I am and really knowing who, who. Who am I and what do I want, and what are my strengths and what are my weaknesses. And once I identified what my weaknesses are not even weaknesses, maybe just things you don't want to do Like I was notorious for forcing myself to do things I didn't want to do for the sake of probably people pleasing, I don't know probably proving something to myself that didn't matter anyway. So I just had to, and I still struggle with that, if I'm honest. But it came to who am I, what do I want? And it's very simple. It came to who am I, what do I want? And it's very simple. Not easy, you know, it's very simple to say it, but like to do that work. I mean, I don't know if the strategy of moving across the country by ourselves the best opportunity for that, but I did it and it did work. It was really rough, though, if I won't lie, but I think really confronting those hard truths about myself and knowing who I wanted to be, because once I figured that out, I could decide where I wanted to put my energy.
Speaker 2:Because I think you'll read a bunch of leadership books about time management and this, that and the other Like. What does that mean, though? And it's like is it good time management if you're doing things you hate? Like, why are we doing that? Like, is that time management? Do I love every part of my job and everything I do every day? No, but do I try to balance it with things that I love and bigger goals, and be very intentional with the things I'm doing to relate to those bigger goals? Yes, so time management isn't just blocking your calendar. Time management is being really intentional with who you are and where you want to go, and then choosing things that relate to those things.
Speaker 2:So it doesn't feel like work. I will admit and my mom tells me all the time I'm probably a different caliber and run way too fast and probably more fast than most people, and it can get me in trouble. I would agree, but I also think it can look like different things for different people, and that sounds so wishy-washy, but like if there was a playbook for life, don't you think somebody would have it by now? Like nobody has this figured out. So just do what works for you and how do you know if it's working Time. And that stinks. But I think, at the same time, surrounding yourself with really strong people that can give you really honest feedback that understand your intention. There's nothing worse than someone giving you feedback that doesn't know who you are and it really can confuse you, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and people give a lot. Of people love to give feedback and they don't necessarily give good feedback sometimes, so that can be challenging too, like a whole nother level to it. Um, but so what? I'm what? I'm listening to you here. I hearing like this through line of awareness and reflection, and you said it that yourself. Like I know it too because I've gone through a lot of like self work on myself, digging deeper, self-discovery, um, and kind of asking those harder questions and it's, it is really uncomfortable, um, maybe to the I never moved across country, so maybe it is similar to that. But like, how do you, how do you get into that If someone's listening to this and like you know what? Yeah, maybe I do need to kind of dial in a little bit, but they're a little afraid of the vulnerability aspect, or maybe they're afraid of who they actually are if they dig in deep into it. So do you have any advice on maybe like getting started on that self journey of figuring out more about yourself?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you hear this all the time, but let me give the why behind it. Journaling and not journaling every day, like I think everyone's like. We have to journal every single day all the time. You know, journaling can look like thoughts in your notes, journaling can look like a couple bullet points. Journaling can be once a week. Journaling can be once a month. Journaling can be once a year Right, but I think having that record to look back on has been something super beneficial to me of it's very centering, because your world is constantly evolving and as soon as you figure yourself out, you're going to change and that's kind of the funny part about that, right?
Speaker 2:So I think, getting really comfortable with change. So what I'm hearing is and maybe I'm misinterpreting change is uncomfortable, correct, but you're already doing it. So I would say do it intentionally and it doesn't have to be moving across the country If it is more power to you. But it could be a solo camping trip, it could be a solo travel trip, it could be just traveling. In general, I can't recommend enough getting outside of your comfort zone and doing something you wouldn't do before and that's going to look a lot of different, very different, for a lot of people and it could be. You know you go into the next town over and stay in the night Like it doesn't have to be outrageous, it has to just be intentional and you knowing why you're doing it. I mean you have some friends, make a new friend, get their perspective. You have an estranged aunt that lives in Kansas. Go visit her and learn about her life, like whatever that is.
Speaker 2:I think it's just getting out of your own head and understanding you probably don't have it figured out and if you're feeling defeated, be thankful you don't have it figured out, because then there's more opportunity to go figure it out, and that's what I would recommend. I don't know, at the time I was at in Montana like I was probably the lowest low of my life, if I'm honest, and that was the only. It didn't feel like a relief, it felt like an escape, you know, like it felt like something I had to do because if I stayed where I was at I wasn't going to do so well, and so I would recommend not getting to that point because that's a really hard reality to face. But if that is you and you are there, don't be afraid to change scenery, because you'd be surprised at how much that can offer you enjoy the celebration and the excitement that goes through when you, when we are celebrating and such.
Speaker 1:but really growth comes from the challenge, not the celebration. And you take on the challenge by doing things that are a little uncomfortable. And it doesn't need to, like you said, it doesn't need to be super crazy, um, but something that pushes you a bit Um. With a lot of my clients I do. I don't know if you've ever done like cold plunges and cold showers. That's an easy thing that I think of. That's like, yeah, that's uncomfortable but it's also not going to kill me. I don't have to do it forever, but it introduces some discomfort into my life.
Speaker 1:And then I feel like the more that you take on those uncomfortable challenges, the more resilient you become, and that gives you the room to then be able to kind of reflect and then journal and strategies like that. So I love it too, because I'm a big fan of journaling. I think it's great. It helps me to kind of slow down my thought process, because I feel like my brain goes a lot faster than I can talk and think and that allows me to kind of slow down and then helps me reflect because it gives me the ability to look at the perspective that I was looking at in that time period. So I love those two, those pieces of advice you just shared about moving and challenging yourself in the journaling as well. Powerful stuff, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think it's cool too, because I think we're all so scared of the challenge that's coming, or confrontation. But something I really realized is those are just opportunities to really figure, show your core and figure out who you are. And so, if you are in a very comfortable space that isn't challenging you, figure out how you're going to challenge yourself. That could be going to the gym once a day, that could be meeting a new friend, it could be going to a happy hour that you would never freaking dream of going to, whatever that is, and then reflect on what that did for you, and I think small steps are probably better. I also caution, because you have to.
Speaker 2:I am extreme and I was in a very survival mode for a really long time. It took me a long time to regulate myself and be like, okay, we don't need to run all the time all with all directions, like this is chaotic and it could come across that way if you didn't know me right. And so I think, do all the things, be diverse, live life to the fullest, just be intentional and have a direction.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I love that and I don't know what.
Speaker 1:I don't know where I picked it up, but I heard it somewhere along the line that I guess the emotion, or maybe the sensation of excitement and nervousness, is essentially the same thing and it's just how you interpret the situation and where you're at.
Speaker 1:And for some reason that's kind of stuck with me, whether it's true or not, and that led me to kind of diving into the world of speaking and becoming a speaker. And I remember my first like paid speaking gig was very, very low and essentially lost money on the opportunity because of, like gas miles and travel time and such. But I was so nervous and excited and that just being able to reflect on that and how much it helped me grow and move and change. And now when I speak on stage in front of like hundreds of people, it's really exciting for me and I know to myself like okay, this is another chance for me to get in front of new audience, new people, and share my story and challenge myself. And and unless I don't like, if I don't reflect on it later, I feel like it's almost like wasted. So I'd love that whole idea for reflecting back on the challenge and such.
Speaker 2:Definitely. Yeah, you don't want to just like torture yourself without any recollection of it, right, like nobody wants to be uncomfortable. So if you're going to do it, do it intentionally and like let's not get weird here. You know, and I think that's kind of part of it too, something I have to do I always say gas and brakes, and I have a lot of people in my life that are brakes, because I am just all gas all the time and but directing it and driving in like one direction is very helpful. And, like I said, you know, in this, this book might relate to people that aren't all gas. Right, you might be brakes and that's probably out of fear. And if it's fear, I mean, what's the worst thing's going to happen? You're going to fail, you're going to learn from it and you're going to try again. You know, and I think when you get to that right reality of like the worst thing that happens is I learned something from this and like that's not a loss at all.
Speaker 2:You know, and I'm in a season of life where I'm learning to pause and really observe and use the skills I've developed to kind of understand my environment and give time for other people to show up, you know, and show me other things that I might not know. And so you know, maybe you're more of a reticent person and you're more of an introvert. That has had that time and has that experience, you probably have a lot to offer. You know, I obviously come across super bubbly and extroverted and I'm all out here, but that's not my natural tendency. You know, you're not going to catch me wanting to run to the bars and go do happy hours or do marketing. I do it because it's needed. I don't do it because I love to do it, and so this is a learned skill that I've come to love because I feel like it's offering me an inspiration. So that thing that you're scared of is probably more of an opportunity and it might cause, like that similar confusion that you're talking about. The things I've been the most scared of have been the things that have benefited me the most, and I think that's kind of a crazy lesson to learn, and even surreal to say that right now, because there's a lot of things. I'm not a very fearful person, but I'm not a very trusting person, and sometimes the two can be confusing, you know.
Speaker 2:And so if it's the trust that you're fearing, dive into vulnerability, and you don't have to be vulnerable with 110 people, just be vulnerable with yourself. You know, and I talk a lot about like the spectrum of transparency versus vulnerability, and I think it's important. Once you know who you are I talked about my core earlier you can show people who you are. You have nothing to be ashamed of, you know, and when you start showing people who you are, it opens doors naturally and that energy goes in a really positive direction because, instead of being stuck in your head, you're able to put the energy where it should belong, which is outside of you.
Speaker 2:And that's really beautiful, right, and it doesn't have to be like really intimate emotional conversation, it can just be. This is what I love, this is what I do, just like we're talking now. I mean it could be vulnerable. I think this is probably more on the side of vulnerable, but with practice it becomes less right and you build more trust. And it doesn't have to be trust with other people, it can be trusting yourself, which is probably the hardest part, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I agree. I feel like and to bring it back to the whole leadership idea, I feel like if you don't trust yourself, and it's going to make it other make it very difficult for other people to trust you, and if you're trying to become a better leader, you're only going to be able to go so far, right? If others can't trust in you, right?
Speaker 2:100%, exactly, I mean if you don't know where you're going. How are they going to know where you're going? You know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, no one's going to want to follow you if you don't know where you're going and where everybody's trying to get to. But I would love to bring it back to the book. So you said the your first book took you, like what'd you say, five months to knock out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I didn't release it right off the bat. I did proofread it, but, yeah, yeah, about five months, I think, um, and really. So I've started writing it in February, published it in September. So, yeah, I guess we did just whip that sucker out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Um yeah, it was awesome. It was no-transcript, I would say. The book's kind of a combination of, like that poetic, really getting deep in your feelings but also giving you strategies to move out of it instead of staying in it. And so that's what, like I wanted to do is like kind of talk about my lessons I'd learned through all these crazy scenarios that not a lot of people get to experience before they turn 30. Right, and so it's just each chapter of some of the battles I've faced personally and professionally and what I've done that's helped me. I think part of that strategy base is just because of my background as a therapist. I can't help myself, but I feel like we talk about emotional intelligence a lot. We need to figure out strategies, how to use it to level up.
Speaker 1:And so, speaking of the book some more. Who's the perfect reader for your book?
Speaker 2:uncomfortable and uninspired. Right, if you're sitting there and you're like gosh, I just don't know what I'm doing, I don't know where I'm going. I've lost myself, I've lost my identity. I'm at work and people say I'm too much and I'm trying to connect and I'm oversharing. People don't know what's going on or I'm so focused on the end goal I don't know who I am anymore.
Speaker 2:Imposter syndrome, like check the boxes right, Living in hindsight, anybody that's not focused forward and is feeling like they're circling the drain a bit, and I feel like that's kind of a harsh way to say it, but that's how I I feel, like that's how I felt, where I was, like I just keep feeling like I'm running this, this race that has no end, you know. And so that's where, like I said, I wrote the book, because I wanted you to give yourself permission to not have to do that. In the book we talk about it's called a roller coaster, you know, and you get on the roller coaster and it has its high highs and its low lows and every time you get on you're loving it, but after a while you're like I think I'm going to puke, like you can get off the roller coaster. You can get off the roller coaster and watch it from the sidelines, like and knowing when that fits your life. So those are the kind of people that I think would really love the book.
Speaker 2:It's a short read, it's an easy read. It's very metaphorical I love to speak in metaphors because I feel like it just gives you that visual and that feeling and someone that is maybe not an avid reader you'd still love it because it's quick and it just gives you a lot of food for thought. And if you want to start journaling, this is probably a great book for you because it's going to give you some strategies to start. Um. Or if you're really thick in your in in into journaling and you feel like you're stuck, probably going to give you some good perspective. Uh, maybe the people that don't have a network to gain perspective from this book would be good for you too.
Speaker 1:Wow so. So you've got a lot of different stories, so it's basically a compilation of a lot of different stories or chapters of your life, and you also have exercises to kind of run people through to help develop more awareness for themselves.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah so like, yeah, it's pretty cool. Actually, the more I took a break from reading it because I don't know, it's like when you do something yourself, you're a little bit more critical, right? And so when I read it again, yeah, it just talks about. I think, really all I'm doing is identifying it with language that makes sense to people that are probably in their early professional years. I wouldn't say anything. I'm saying isn't something that somebody hasn't said before.
Speaker 2:I think I'm just labeling it with language in a way that makes sense, that feels relatable, so that you're not feeling like it's a dry read. You're like I just want to get to the part, the good part, you know. No, I think, because I have books like that where I'm like I just need to get to the end because I've already started the book. So my goal was for it to feel like that more. Like if you read the poetry books, they're very, you know, like poetic and they really pull you in with that visual and like I loved that. So that was my goal. I was like how can I couple that emotion that I feel when I listen to Bon Iver and Hazlitt and put it in a book? But then let's not stay there, let's like move on and talk about where we're going, which inspired the series so.
Speaker 1:Oh man, awesome. I'm excited to uh to check it out myself and for those listening, if they're interested in checking it out, where do they go? How do they get the book?
Speaker 2:Totally. It's on Amazon, just search. It's Not that Deep, probably the easiest. I can give you the link as well. We can put it on here. It's a really long link, so just remember, it's Not that Deep. Or my Name Emily Erstad. If you put that in the search bar it'll pull up and I hope you guys love it and read it. I love to connect. So, if you guys do, at the end of the book there's two ways to connect with me. If you read it, I love to hear how people either connected or didn't, or had a different experience. Don't hesitate to reach out.
Speaker 1:Cool, sweet. So just quick, easy search on Amazon. It's not that deep, should be pretty simple to get to. And if not, how do people stay in touch with you if they're interested in hearing about when the next book come out or what else you've got going on in life?
Speaker 2:So look now, because it'll change in two weeks. It's going to the domain should be eepublicationsllccom, but I'll have him put the link in the bio as well. And then I do have an Instagram. We'll put the link in the bio. It's at. It's not that deep underscore. Author. Feel free to reach out. I'm not going to lie, I've been a little lazy on there lately, but I have a link tree. You'll know where I'm at there. I've just been deep in thought, no pun intended, so just writing another book. So that's where my energy is going.
Speaker 1:But yeah, Love it Well, emily. Thank you so much. I know it's a crazy schedule. It's tough to always get time to hop on and share, but I appreciate you sharing your experiences and your insights and I'm really excited for everybody to listen to this episode and listen back again and grab a couple copies of your book as well, and looking forward to the new one when it comes out, which will probably happen in like a week, I guess.
Speaker 2:Maybe two. Totally, yeah, thanks for having me. It's been a real pleasure.
Speaker 1:Of course. But, emily, I'm sorry, but before I let you roll, I've got to ask you if you were to boil everything down from the different experiences that you've learned, the different life lessons and whatnot, and you were to package it up into one piece of advice to kind of share with the younger version of yourself. What would that piece of advice?
Speaker 2:be. Do it. If it makes you happy, it's worth it. If it's, if it makes you happy and you're inspired, it's worth your time. Do it for you. Don't do it for everyone else, cause if you're, if you're empty and you're uninspired, nobody else around you is going to be inspired either. So I think that's a really nice way to tell myself to stop people pleasing, but I love that.
Speaker 1:I love that. I wish I wish I would have heard that for my younger self as well. It's a powerful lesson to learn to lean into yourself and make sure that you're doing the things that do make you happy. I feel like we're in a world nowadays where there's not enough happiness and people are constantly feeling like they're just people pleasing. So I love that piece of advice. Thank you for sharing and thank you for hopping on today. I really do appreciate it and this is a powerful episode. I'm excited.