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There Is Enough for Everyone: Abundance, Fear & Why Women Open Doors for Each Other With Lori Michelle
37 Plays1 month ago
There Is Enough for Everyone is a conversation about connection, fear, and what happens when women choose abundance over competition.
I’m joined by Lori, a jewellery designer I was introduced to by someone we both know — and felt instantly connected to. We talk about her move from America to the UK, how fear shows up when you’re evolving, and why fear doesn’t always mean stop — sometimes it means grow.
We explore why women who work for themselves are often the ones opening doors, bringing someone’s name into the room, and creating space for others. This episode is about trusting that there’s enough to go around, sitting with discomfort when it comes, and taking risks instead of staying still.
It’s a reminder that growth is shared, abundance is contagious, and what goes around really does come around.
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Transcript
Introduction and Initial Connection
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello there, i hope you've had a lovely week. I have a really special episode for you today. I'm speaking to Laurie Michelle from Love Laurie Michelle Jewelry. We got to work together recently and really connected.
00:00:12
Speaker
And I'm certain you'll really enjoy this conversation. It's about starting over, creativity, purpose and anything in between if you enjoy what I do please follow subscribe rate review and tune in for new episodes every week we obviously worked together recently and connected and it was actually it was such a lovely shoot that it doesn't feel like work it felt like you know a get-together a lovely conversation and basically me admiring your jewelry furniture i love to hear that And I loved your attitude, which was very open because you moved to the UK recently. There's like a lot of expansion in your energy, which is beautiful. And that's something that I'm really attracted to and something I love talking about, you know, seeing or seeking opportunities and possibilities actively.
Building Connections and Staying Positive
00:01:07
Speaker
It's about, you know, training your eye. What am I going to focus on? I love to hear about your experience, you know, moving here, how you found it. How you're finding being creative in this new space. Thank you. All the things you said were so kind to hear. I sometimes feel that what I do as a designer can feel very closed off. I'm kind of in my studio with my head down, creating and making. Part of moving to a new place kind of forces me away from that, which is a good thing. i guess I've been in London about a year and a half, it'll be It'll be two years this spring. You know, I'm an American coming from the U.S. and had moved around a little bit in the U.S., but, you know, I don't have a network. I don't have family here nearby. So it really does force me both through my work and through family to kind of seek other creative people, seek other small businesses, and to go out of my way to a network and connect so that I can start to just build a network of friends. And, you know, i guess one of the things that's nice about working with you is that I would love it if we, you know, grabbed a coffee in the future. Like we've worked together and there's a transactional aspect to that. Of course, you know, you're modeling jewelry and I'm paying you for your work. But I do feel like I agree with what you said about the openness and the
00:02:25
Speaker
feeling the good vibes and the creativity. And, you know, I'm happy that you asked me to talk with you today. And but I also consider you a friend as well. Thank you. London is is a great city for that. I think it kind of has a bad reputation in some ways of being cold and full of hustle. And, you know, people are are busy working. And of course, all of that is true. But I do think that you can find and and easily make connections here if you're looking for it and and keep an open open mind and an open heart about it.
00:02:53
Speaker
We met through someone else who sent me your post talking fair models and then also your message saying, oh, I'd love to speak maybe on the podcast as well. And it's something that I'm finding this week in general people.
00:03:07
Speaker
I'm getting so many, i don't like that word, referrals, because it sounds very formal and business and corporate. I'm getting people being forwarded to me, like, oh, this is a very interesting person and this is very interesting person. And my mind is blown because you're seeing almost like a different side of people. People are so open.
00:03:26
Speaker
Because in the past, I had a very different life in a way, almost. My vision was quite focused on negativity rather than positivity. And you see the difference when you decide to focus on openness, on creativity, on positivity.
00:03:44
Speaker
You see doors opening for you. You see people you know extending their hand and be like, yeah you know let's yeah, let's do something together.
Support and Abundance in Small Business
00:03:53
Speaker
It's such a beautiful thing to see.
00:03:54
Speaker
And also you're a part of this experience as well. I think there's definitely something to that. I'm glad that we connected through Lauren Ray. She's a wonderful person. And, you know, all three of us are are women in small business, if you kind of want to put it in a box. But I do think that women who work for themselves are really good, at least what I've been finding, really good at bringing up the names of other people when you're in a small room or a place of connection.
00:04:26
Speaker
You know, just to say, oh, I've got this great friend that's a model. Or, oh I know this business coach who's really great at what she does. Or, oh, I worked with this jewelry designer. You know, sometimes those connections happen really quickly because I just met Lauren maybe half a year ago.
00:04:42
Speaker
You know, she's been very quick to connect me with people. And I think that's how like how we grow as artists and as people and especially in a creative space just to bring someone's name up in a room where you don't have to you know she didn't have to send you that post or take the time to connect us but I think when that is done for you or for i we want to pay that forward right so if I'm working on something in the future and someone's looking for a model. Like, I have no hesitation to bring up your name or someone's looking to work with a coach. Not everybody easily does that. And I think that when we do, we leave ourselves open to even more good things coming our way.
00:05:20
Speaker
There is some gatekeeping sometimes. People like to keep their contacts and things to themselves. But i also feel like being open is a sign of being quite confident in yourself and your own capabilities and also happier.
00:05:33
Speaker
And I'm using that word on purpose because if you're happy, you want other people around you to be happy. Your mood reflects how you feel about other people. I know what you mean, that there are there are people that you come across that just, you know, don't want to share or don't want to help advance other people, but...
00:05:49
Speaker
There's enough to go around for everybody and more is more. And I think sometimes when we share our leads or share our intel, I guess, for lack of a better word, that makes it sound kind of kind of strange. But you know what I mean? When we share what we know, we all lift each other up together. Looking around at the news in the world today, like there's no room for, you know, keeping everything for yourself.
00:06:12
Speaker
It's just not healthy.
Fear as a Motivator
00:06:13
Speaker
If you think about it on a universe level, right? If you create opportunities for other people, more opportunities also created for you. You give out more and you get more. It's not a you know selfish thing. It's just when you're abundant, your energy is abundant.
00:06:29
Speaker
Everything about you speaks abundance. And it's a beautiful thing. My mom always told me growing up, what goes around comes around. And it's such a silly saying, but she's right. i think the universe has a way of giving us back what we put into it.
00:06:44
Speaker
Sometimes I think the giving back part can take years. You know, sometimes an old contact from my past will kind of come out of nowhere and resurface and repay a favor maybe that, you know, I did for them years ago. And so I i do think that somehow the universe keeps score. that The universe has a little black book. I wanted to ask, you know, when you moved here because of your business, was there fear?
00:07:07
Speaker
Oh, yes. Lots of fear. And there still is fear. You know, and I think fear is sometimes a very motivating factor in what we do. You know, how can I overcome this? How can i still operate and be... who I am, even though I'm in this new place where I don't know anybody and i don't necessarily have family or friends to kind of fall back on.
00:07:30
Speaker
But for me, i think fear really is a motivator. There's different types of fear and different levels of fear, for sure. You know, there are a lot of differences between living in the States and living here in London and the UK. But at the same time,
00:07:43
Speaker
One of the ways I kind of calmed some of my fears was to remind myself that, you know, there were a lot of obstacles that I didn't have to face. You know, i didn't move to a place where there was a language barrier, for example. There were a lot of similarities between where I used to live and where I am now. So I think sometimes I remind myself that, number one, things could be scarier, right? It could be harder. There are people who have made moves that are that are much bigger or much more changed than what I've faced.
00:08:10
Speaker
You know, when were when we're scared, we also see a way to challenge ou ourselves. Like, let me take this fear and channel it into how can I make this work? How can I make it work better for me? While it scares me to try and reach out and make connections and maybe face failure or rejection, I would rather have those chances and and fail than to not have them at all. So I think it's sort of like a way of... reframing what I'm scared of into like how can I make this push me to do better what does fear feel like for you in your body when you get that sensation and then what do you two actively to be like that's fine but I need to do something I need to be active for me seers is kind of like a paralysis I feel stuck and like my heart beats fast and it's like what is the next step how do I move forward
00:09:02
Speaker
How do I get out of that state of paralysis where usually in my case, it's like there's so many different directions that I could go that I don't know where to focus. And so the fear kind of paralyzes me into like a state of, well, I don't know which direction to go, so I'm just going to do nothing. It's not a good feeling, right? Like we've all been there where you just feel like you can't even put one foot in front of the other. But I think that is usually my solution is to just start with the smallest, easiest thing and like get the ball rolling, whether it's just hitting send on an email or reaching out to someone to schedule a photo shoot or trying to connect with another local business. Taking the baby steps sort of reminds your body that you can move forward and you don't, you're actually not paralyzed. It's just in your head. I try to just start with the small things that are easier
00:09:52
Speaker
I feel like once I'm in motion, my body remembers, okay, you can get yourself out
Growth Through Discomfort
00:09:57
Speaker
of that place of paralysis. And then I think once the ball starts rolling, it's like the momentum keeps going and it feels actually harder to stop than to return to that state of paralysis.
00:10:07
Speaker
We should not be afraid of fear. Maybe some people don't have fear and like probably there are a few of them that exist and they they would just go into any situation and they're like, no, no, I don't perceive fear as such.
00:10:20
Speaker
But then for us mortals, fear exists and it's very real and it's also okay for us to coexist with our fear you said something very interesting how do you see fear as a motivator i think sometimes we or i shouldn't talk as we like i think i should be motivated by other things right we should be motivated to make money so we can pay our bills we should be Motivated to make art so that others see us as creative and making lots of output. Sometimes fear as a motivator is one that comes from within us, right? Like no one else is creating the fear for us.
00:11:00
Speaker
I mean, there are, of course, situations where... We are put into a state of fear by others. But if you put that aside, a lot of the things that we're scared of are, i don't want to say self-made up because they are real. But we create these situations in our head that make fear feel more scary than it might be. You know, like no one is necessarily putting the pressures on us. We're putting the pressures on ourselves.
00:11:24
Speaker
I think I just have to remind myself that, you know, if I'm creating this, then I can overcome it, right? If we created it, we can squash it. It's a product of our doing. If we did that, then we can move past it ourselves as well.
00:11:37
Speaker
It's funny because sometimes I have these fears over the tiniest little things. Not even fear. Sometimes it's as small as, oh, I really don't want to do this. Because I'm so comfortable, right? Because we do get comfortable in our apparent comfort. Let's say we're doing something that we know we're very comfortable in that situation. And there's a situation we're facing that's newer, that involves some risk. And the risk is we haven't had the situation before.
00:12:07
Speaker
So it feels like, oh, there is uncertainty there. There is unpredictability because I haven't experienced this before. Sometimes could be something as small as going out to a new place with new people.
00:12:20
Speaker
could be as small as that because you don't know what the result of the situation will be. You don't know if you'll have fun. You don't know if you'll meet interesting people or if you'll have a horrible time. Your nervous system is like, well, I need to protect you from this, right? Here you are. There's some fear. So you stay put because there's a lot of unpredictability involved.
00:12:41
Speaker
But if you don't have new experiences, you're losing out on expansion possibilities and meeting new people and all of these beautiful things that are involved in growing.
00:12:53
Speaker
Staying put in our comfort zones all the time, it's not a healthy thing to do, and it's it's never going to move your life forward or help you progress in whatever it is you're trying to progress in, whether it's a relationship or your work. If we just sit and stay in our cozy places of comfort, nothing ever moves or changes or reveals more about ourselves.
00:13:17
Speaker
But I do think there are times in my life where I have said, okay, now is a time where I actually want to stay in this zone of comfort for a little while. Like for when I first moved, you know, there was a lot of time spent being forced to try new things and do new things. And so there were moments where I said, okay, i need to return for a little bit to what I know and love and does make me comfortable. But then there are times when you have to force yourself back out of that to say, okay, I've you know rejuvenated, I've recovered, I've filled my cup, as they say, and now it's it's time to venture into the territories where you are scared or you haven't been there before and you don't know what to do or how to act. And I think those are the moments when... you grow and you change and you learn something. And yeah, back to what i was saying before about failure, like it's okay to go out of the zone and fail and know that, okay, next time if I do this again, here's how I could do it better and do it in a more comfortable way.
00:14:21
Speaker
We aren't meant to just stagnate and stay in one place that's Similar and comfortable to us because then, you know, I think it's easy to look back and say, okay, I'm the same person I was three years ago or five years ago. Instead, when we get out of those comfortable areas that we know, that's that's when you look back and say, wow, look how far I've come in the last however long you want to look at I'm imagining life force as energy and it requires constant movement.
00:14:51
Speaker
And if you're not moving, it's almost like it slowly starts rotting. And that's you, right? And also I've had this before where I've had periods where I wasn't progressing. In a way, it feels like you're slowly dying because there's no progress.
00:15:05
Speaker
Nothing's happening. And life is about growth and expansion. So if you're rejecting that for yourself, it's a horrible feeling.
Reconnecting with Creativity
00:15:14
Speaker
There's certainly times in my life where I've felt like that, where, you know, you're kind of turning around in circles, but you're not making any progress and you find yourself kind of back where you were, you know, recently. And I think that reminding yourself it's okay to be in that for a little while, but that when you start to feel that feeling of this path or this direction feels dead to me, or I've done this before, how can you encourage yourself to get out of it and to find a new path or
00:15:44
Speaker
path that maybe you started to explore once before and didn't finish exploring. You know, that's what leads to discovery and innovation and more creativity and It's normal to be in both, but the more we can push ourselves to find the places where we are progressing, think the better we are just as a species, as humans.
00:16:05
Speaker
I mean, the world wouldn't be as it is today without progression. I feel like the world generally is quite open to that, at least what I'm seeing. You know, it feels like we're talking about these things more and putting a name to it. You know, even just the discussion that you and I are having now is and is a great example of that.
00:16:21
Speaker
If you look back, you know, a number of years or even generations, I think. Like when I look at my parents, I think a lot of those feelings were suppressed or not discussed, kind of swept under the rug. And we didn't put words to what we were feeling or doing. We just kind of existed. And I do think that newer generations, especially when I look at my kids, I think We work really hard to like name the hard feelings and name things that aren't working and work together to try and figure out ways to fix them. Obviously, we all do feel disconnected sometimes. So when you do feel disconnected from your creative side, from your artistic side, what do you do to reconnect?
00:16:59
Speaker
oh That's such a good question. It's a one that I wish I had like a very easy, direct answer, because if I did, i'd probably sell that and just, you know, no, I'm kidding.
00:17:12
Speaker
i think it's it varies and I think it's varied at different times in my life. The simplest, most straightforward answer I could possibly give is go for a walk. Go touch some grass or pick up a leaf. Like for me, just being outside and being in nature is such a rejuvenator. Resets my nervous system. It resets my brain. it gives me space and time to think. And for me, when I walk or i like to run, I I've been using running as an excuse to sort of explore London. But whenever I come back, I find myself, oh, I got to do this thing. I'm going to do this thing. i you know, i have this burst of like productivity. And I think it's just from being out in the world and letting sort of outside forces work their magic on me, you'll read or hear that from anyone anywhere because I think it works. And other than that, when I lose my creative spark, I think sometimes like, you know, I kind of was hinting at this before and what we were just talking about, but like let myself sit in that for a little bit and say, okay, it's okay. I don't have to be creative in making magic every second of every day or even every week. I think sometimes when I sit with it, it being, you know, my inability to solve a problem or come up with a new jewelry design or whatever it is, when I let myself feel that and kind of go through the motions of being in an uncreative phase, it's like a reminder that that's normal and that's okay.
00:18:34
Speaker
And then I've always come out of it. like everybody always comes out of it. Eventually you find that spark, you find the thing, you know, it could be a meeting with somebody that you weren't going to take the meeting, but then you do and and you find a spark or you take a trip that you weren't sure you could afford, but you go anyway. And you, you know, you find some little shop that inspires you or you eat a new food or You know, whatever it is, i think it's okay to go through the periods where nothing is happening and your brain feels like it's fried. And then you know that you always come out the other end with with something. And for me, it's a person or it's a trip.
00:19:12
Speaker
walk around the city to see what comes my way. And London is very handy for walking because it's flat, mostly. But it's so interesting when you say sit with it because we were talking about fear and how you you might be uncomfortable with fear.
00:19:26
Speaker
It's an emotion or a feeling that it's okay to have these things, right? It's normal. And then when you normalize something, it becomes less scary.
00:19:37
Speaker
If you were to look back at great writers or artists, musicians, anybody you admire who you think has this amazing output of work or a body of creativity that you admire, like... They aren't always doing and making and creating. It might seem that way because I think we're all so connected with social media. there's There's just new stuff appearing all the time. And i have to read this. I have to do that. I have to see this thing.
00:20:03
Speaker
And so we think that everyone is always just churning out creative, amazing brilliant work at all times. But I think if you really stop and look back, whether it's creators from the past or people today, like, you know, there's always an ebb and a flow to things. I personally, you know, follow the work of a lot of different people that disappear for a little while. oh where did she go for the last two months? I don't know. She was filling her cup and now she's back. And that's okay. It's it's okay to miss a beat or to take a season of
00:20:35
Speaker
rest and relax and then come back. It'll be there. It always is.
Social Media's Impact on Creativity
00:20:40
Speaker
Let's talk about social media overwhelm because whether you're the consumer or the creator, it's equally overwhelming.
00:20:49
Speaker
So, you know, as a creator, if you have a brand, if you, anything that requires you to be on social media, you might feel like you always need to be churning out, you know, material. And when you're a consumer, you literally just have that material thrown out at you.
00:21:04
Speaker
So then just because of the influx of information, it can get extremely overwhelming. How do you deal with that in both scenarios? With social media, the way it has changed, I think, over the last decade since we've been more immersed in it,
00:21:22
Speaker
It has had a really profound effect, I think, on the way that people use it. I have always been a big Instagram user and have shared on there for many, many years. And I think when we or when I started there as an artist, it felt effortless. You know, I would just post something and it wasn't perfection. And I would get, you know, tons of response. People say, oh, I love this necklace. I want to buy it. How can I get it? And it was like, oh my gosh, this is magic. Is it really, is marketing this easy? and then times change and now it feels like this churn of like, oh, I have to post something. I'm not even really connecting with, necessarily connecting with the right people there anymore. i think we have to constantly be asking ourselves, like, is this still serving me? Is this still relevant in my life the way that it was? You know, if I were to pick on Instagram,
00:22:10
Speaker
As an example, i don't think it's doing the same things that it was, you know, five or 10 years ago for a lot of creators. I think it's become pay to play. And, you know, you have to buy the ad to get the return. And and that's fine. That's the way that marketing works. But...
00:22:27
Speaker
When we kind of all got on that platform under a certain different pretense, now that it's changed, it's like we we have to still question what we're doing. I don't know if you've come across this, but I read a lot of article buzzwords, things popping up in my feed for 2026 that all mention like return to analog and return to this personal connection and doing things maybe a little more offline.
00:22:53
Speaker
And so I'm kind of trying to explore that in my work, but also in my consumption. You know, maybe it's actually better to grab coffee with one person than to join online connect or Zoom where there's hundreds of people in the room.
00:23:06
Speaker
ah you know, it feels a little more tangible to make that one connection. There is something to be said for backing off a little bit on social media and finding what does serve you. I have a friend from D.C. that we still write each other letters. We're on about a once-a-month pace where she sends me snail mail and it takes royal mail a month to get it to me and then I write her back. It's become a ritual that I really cherish because...
00:23:32
Speaker
I not only have to go to my local shop and pick up a card, which I like to find a card that's made by a local designer and usually has some sort of like cheeky British phrase on it that she will get a kick out of. And then sit down and I make my cup of tea and I write to her. And I know I sound like an old lady saying this, but like it's very enjoyable to me. Like I look forward to writing to her and to receiving information. a real piece of mail that's not just ah a throwaway flyer. And so I know that has nothing to do with social media, but in a way it does, because I think we're all looking for this connection that's maybe outside of the quick like or the comment for comment kind of stuff that like really feels somewhat silly at times.
00:24:15
Speaker
I don't know. Honestly, i I say all this and then I i also have times where just, man, I love like finding a new artist and that I love. And if they weren't putting things on social media, then I never would have found them. So it's really a catch 22. And I think, you know, like question yourself, constantly question, like, what am I doing on here? Am I consuming more than I'm creating? am i finding meaningful connection here.
00:24:37
Speaker
You know, I have a funny story about letters because even 20 years ago when I was in high school, it was quite old-fashioned still. And imagine now. So I moved to a different city and a friend of mine from that time, I went back a few years ago and she showed me a letter that I'd sent her. And she was like, you used to send these to me all the time.
00:25:01
Speaker
And then there they were in German. Because I was studying German and I was writing to her in German and she doesn't speak German. And she's like, do you remember these things? But it's also so funny because now you have this physical proof of absurdity. Never mind. But, you know, you have this beautiful memory in physical form because of letters, right?
00:25:21
Speaker
It's not the same when you, oh, do you remember when you messaged me on Instagram? It's not the
Balancing Digital and Physical Connections
00:25:25
Speaker
same thing. It's not the same thing. And then it's like a memory to carry through the years.
00:25:31
Speaker
It is, too. And I bet if you looked at your handwriting and what letter or piece of paper that you wrote it on, like it it brings all of that back. You're right, the like tangible nature of a piece of paper that exists But how nice that she saved it and was able to like have that little memory that you never maybe would have thought of again. Yeah, I totally forgot. But also because, like you said, we are sensory beings, so we need to touch something, feel something. You can smell the paper after all this time. You smell it and it's like, oh, there's a sensory element to it, which is not there for social media. But again, I love social media because that's where we met. you know That's where I met Lauren.
00:26:14
Speaker
It's about a good combination, right? Let's not lose, you know, the old and the physical. Let's not lose the physical because we need that. And we need the sensory. Otherwise, the senses get like disused.
00:26:28
Speaker
They're dulled. So we need both. So we can keep meeting people that inspire us through social media. So it's like a lovely combination of both. There is a balance. And i think too, like remembering that there are, for the most part, human people behind the accounts of the people that we connect with. I mean, there's plenty of bots. That's another discussion. That's a whole other podcast. But it's finding the initial connection and then taking it a step further. How can we use the digital space as a way to explore and connect? But if we never leave that space behind with people that we come across, then it's just like we're all existing in an online world. And and there's so much more that you can do. This is probably will come as a surprise to people, but I spend a lot of time on threads because I like to write and I've connected with, in fact, I connected with a woman on there. So lovely. She did a photo shoot for my jewelry previous to the one with you. And I, you know, i didn't know her before that we connected on threads and we chat and we met in real life. So I do think that those connections are possible if we seek them out.
00:27:34
Speaker
I love threads because of the writing element. I like that you can read people's thoughts and it's Very intimate in a way. It is. And I think we've gotten very used to visual everything. You know, it used to be that you could read the news and there were no videos embedded in anything. And now it's like you go to most news sites and it's all video. And I, you know, love to consume things that way. It's very easy and very visual. It can be amazing, but at times it's nice to take the visual out of it. And then you really are forcing your brain to read the words and
00:28:06
Speaker
It is intimate. You're right. It's a good way to put it. When we're talking about all this social media and physical contact with people, years ago, the prediction was that human beings would live in virtual reality in the future. But nowadays, you can see how actually it will be in person. Everything that's precious will be in person because that in-person contact is becoming more and more important.
00:28:31
Speaker
And you can see that. And it's so beautiful, actually, because it was kind of a scary concept, right? Everyone will leave a live behind these virtual reality glasses and never have contact with another human being.
00:28:43
Speaker
Now, actually, with AI coming in, you realize that's not the case. We will be having you know physical contact with people. We will be having in-person events, and that will be on the forefront. And I like that.
00:28:57
Speaker
It's optimistic. I think it is optimistic.
Conclusion: Optimism and Human Contact
00:29:00
Speaker
I don't think humans are really meant to exist without human contact. I don't know if you ever read or see those studies where scientists study longevity and people in their old age. We live longer when we have human contact or when we have a network of friends and neighbors and a community because we care enough to keep living, right?
00:29:21
Speaker
Such a beautiful way to look into the future. It's not scary. It's optimistic. It's full of opportunities because human contact, human element also so means there will be so many different ways for people to connect in person.
00:29:36
Speaker
Agreed. I think we all need more optimism about everything, right? We could use optimism as the driving force going forward.