Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tried and True with the Dash of Woo, where we blend rock solid tips with a little bit of magic. I'm Renee Bowen, your host, life and business coach and professional photographer at your service. We are all about getting creative, diving into your business and playing with manifestation over here. So are you ready to get inspired and have some fun? Let's dive in. Hey, hey, welcome back to Tried and True with the Dash of Woo. Thanks for joining me here. I'm your host, renee Bowen.

Speaker 1: 0:30

I have a lot going on this week. I'm going to give you guys a little bit of some information first, and then we're going to just dive right in, because I have some amazing guests for you. So first thing that is a little time sensitive is that I am hosting a live Zoom workshop on Monday, march 3rd, at 10 am Pacific, and it is the social media reset. So it's basically talking about best practices going forward after the ban on TikTok and also on Instagram, because they have rolled out a lot of new features and if you haven't gotten them yet, you're about to. The algorithms have changed across the board. The algorithms have changed across the board. The world has changed across the board. All kinds of things are just different and I've heard a lot of you guys are not seeing any reach. You're definitely feeling kind of like ugh, like whatever, about social media, and while social should not be the only thing that you are using for your marketing, you guys know I'm always talking about that trifecta of really amazing SEO, like on your site, owning your universe, your email list, that, combined with the in-person marketing, that cannot be beaten. If you have any sort of local business right, so like if you're a photographer or creative, that you have like a brick and mortar store, your in-person connections and networking is really important. But even if you are a creative online entrepreneur, that networking online is really important as well. And then there's the third piece, of social media. So when all of this stuff works really seamlessly together, that's when we see magnetic marketing and we don't feel like we're constantly on the hook for it.

Speaker 1: 2:07

So, that being said, social media has sort of like fallen off the wagon for a lot of y'all, and I mean I haven't even done a workshop about this and I think two years. Part of that reason is because I talk about social media marketing inside of my Elevate group like all the time, so I feel like I am talking about it all the time and I do some stuff on. You know just social about it, but I haven't gone deep into a training in a couple of years and it's time. Y'all know I love TikTok. I've been on TikTok since 2019 and it has changed a lot in that time, but it has changed dramatically in the last like three or four months, and especially since this ban in January. The algorithm is a little different, and so I want to talk about what that looks like and some best practices, some of the things that we see changing over there rapidly, so that you know what to do, what to expect and how to implement any of your marketing there, because it is a little different than Instagram. So, anyway, this class is going to be a dual class on Instagram and TikTok. It's going to be meaty, so it'll be at least 90 minutes.

Speaker 1: 3:08

I am a little long-winded, so sometimes I go a little bit over, but I want to leave some time for live Q&A, so if you can join us live, that's definitely the way to do it. You're going to get the lowest price for this as well. I did run a pre-sale for this over Black Friday and you guys got it even cheaper for that, but those of you who are jumping in now, it's only 77 bucks. The price is going to go up once it is not live anymore because I am going to resell this class as an actual class you could purchase, but it is going to be more expensive. So, even if you can't join us live, you should get it while you can at this cheaper price, because you are going to get the replay and all the materials that I provide. So that's the first thing. I will leave that information in the show notes for you guys. The link is there. Just grab it, like I said, asap.

Speaker 1: 3:54

The other thing that I have is that some of you guys might know that in 2021, I started a private podcast. It's separate from this one called calibrate, and it's a paid private podcast. So it is where I put all my hypnosis tracks, activations, meditations. It's just all mindset. It's about calibrating yourself and your nervous system so that you are not reacting to the craziness of life. So I am sort of revamping it, I'm adding to it, I'm adding a bunch of new tracks and you are locked in at the price that you purchase it for. So right now you can get it for $77. I like my sevens these days, and that means whenever I add any more tracks, you're locked into that. You'll never be, you know, charged any other price for that. But over time, as I add more content to it, it will increase in price. So you want to kind of grab it now. Also, this is a podcast that you can link up to your Apple Podcasts, so it's a little bit different in that when you purchase it, you will be able to go into the portal online where I house all of my educational stuff and you'll see it there, so you'll be able to listen to the episodes there. But you can also get your link that you put into Apple Podcasts and then it will show up on your podcast feeds, even though it is a paid, private podcast. So that's pretty cool. Highly recommend this for you guys.

Speaker 1: 5:13

For anybody out there who is struggling with any kind of mindset issue, whether it's overthinking, anxiety, overactive, brain reactive, not being able to get out of fight or flight. Because here's the thing I can give you all the strategies in the world and I love teaching strategies but if you're not in alignment, you're not going to resonate with your audience and you're not going to feel good enough to do it. So this is about getting you feeling really good so that you can do all of these amazing things in your business and your life. So that link is for you below as well. I'm also going to add the link for a workshop I just co-hosted on Monday of this week with three of my other online friends. You can watch the replay. It is only $10.

Speaker 1: 5:56

We went into all of the things for quarter one, 2025. What are the boldest things that you can be doing to get more clients, to make more sales, to run your business more efficiently? And it was really amazing. We went really deep into each of our own topics, mine being AI and sales NLP. So I basically teach you why you want to be selling the way that you're doing, how to sell more effectively using NLP neuro-linguistic programming and how to use AI to make all of that way more efficient. So that is a really awesome thing that you can grab right now as well. All those links are for you guys below.

Speaker 1: 6:33

So let's get into today's guests. Today I'm talking with Willow and Debra, and they are the founders of Today I Noticed, so you can go to todayinoticedcom and find out all about them. It's basically mindfulness for everyone and I love their story. They created this platform fairly unintentionally, which I also love and it has grown into a much bigger platform where they also present workshops and now they have a book and a calendar and they have a really amazing perspective on this whole mindfulness thing and how easy it can be to integrate it into our everyday lives.

Speaker 1: 7:11

I think this is incredibly important because, really, the only thing that matters is right now. Time doesn't exist, okay, it doesn't. So the only thing that actually really exists and matters is this actual moment right now and who you're becoming along the way. So the more that you stop and notice, the more that you are intentional about what you're observing, what you are being present for, the more enriched and more grounded your life is going to be. So let's just jump right into this conversation I had with Willow and Debra. Hey, willow and Debra, thank you guys so much for both of you being here to chat about how this art of noticing can have a huge impact on our lives and also our businesses. But first off, I wanted to just ask you guys like what is today I noticed and how did this all begin? Like, was there a specific moment that sparked this cool idea?

Speaker 2: 8:08

Yeah, I'll jump right in. Today I Noticed is a surprisingly simple mindfulness practice and it's based on the power of paying attention. And the idea, again, is quite simple. You use the three words today, I notice, as a prompt to inspire you to notice the little moments of everyday life, the ones that we often just sort of walk right by or or just they just don't come into our attention. And when you do this it allows you to see the beauty and the joy and the humor and silliness and all those good things that you might not have otherwise. So that's the first piece of the practice, but the second piece has to do with giving yourself a little bit of a creative practice on hopefully a regular basis, and we do that by at some point during the day usually for me it's the end of the day we I and anyone who practices this take a moment to, and anyone who practices this take a moment to just write a sentence or two about something we've noticed and then make a sketch of it, and it's a really great way to have a simple sort of bite-sized creative practice.

Speaker 2: 9:36

And by no means is the idea to be to create some masterpiece. It's really absolutely all about the process of just kind of getting into that flow state and enjoying that moment. All of this what it does is it makes you more engaged in your life, you're more present to it, you're seeing your world in a new way, even though it's a very familiar way, because you're paying close attention. And there are many benefits of this, but two of the big ones are it helps you tamp down stress and anxiety and really it just brings you all those benefits of being present which have to do with, you know, feeling more gratitude, appreciating what's around you, feeling, like I said earlier, more joy.

Speaker 2: 10:32

So I think those are sort of that sort of a summary of the practice and maybe, willow, you want to jump into how it all got started.

Speaker 3: 10:41

Yeah, absolutely, and you know Deb has already used the word sort of simple and easy. Natural is another word that we use to describe this practice, and the proof is in the pudding, because we are both happy to admit that we are wannabe but sort of failed meditators. So we've both gone for long periods of time where we're meditating daily and just you know, getting all of that goodness that comes from it the breath, work, the focus, the calm, the feeling grounded, feeling nourished and nurtured. And then inevitably, for both of us, something happens, whether it's a great Netflix binge or the flu, and we fall off that meditation pillow and the streak ends and it's really hard to get back onto it. I have found, and Deb has as well we cheer each other on and sometimes we just say no, it's just not working right now. So, believe it or not, we have been practicing. Today I noticed mindfulness, for I just figured it out almost six and a half years now. So when I say the proof is in the pudding, it sticks with us, and that's partly because it's natural and intuitive, it's easy and it's also really fun.

Speaker 3: 11:53

And we hit on this idea quite accidentally about six and a half years ago when we took ourselves into downtown San Francisco for a day of seeing some art and just getting away from the desk and shaking things up a little bit. And we went to the Museum of Modern Art and showed up at the front doors and stood there for a while and then eventually realized oh, wait a minute, this museum was closed on Wednesdays. A very small but important detail that we would have noticed had we actually been paying attention that day. And we weren't, and thank goodness, because what we decided to do, instead of just turning around and going home, is take ourselves on a little urban walking tour, an exploration of downtown San Francisco. We were there.

Speaker 3: 12:39

We might as well do something fun, but instead of just getting caught up in our conversation and getting lost in our ideas, we decided we're going to really intentionally pay attention to what's around us in this little couple of hours of wandering around and just having that little exercise or that little intentionality in the back of our brains transformed these next couple of hours and we together, separately, we noticed so many tiny details that we can still call to mind today, and one of them that's, you know, featured in our book is something that Deb noticed, and it was this lovely, sweet older couple just holding hands as they shuffled together across one of these busy San Francisco streets, and just that sweet little moment of noticing made us realize wow, just these three words today, I noticed, really help us become more engaged in our ordinary day.

Speaker 3: 13:43

And that was where we started and we went out the next day. We bought journals, some simple art supplies, started writing an observation, taking note, you know, pausing to notice throughout the day, writing a simple sentence, making some sort of visual mark on the page. As Deb said, there's no artistic standard that we have to meet and that simple act has just brought us so many benefits and we love sharing these benefits that are available to everyone with audiences like yours.

Speaker 1: 14:14

That is so. That's so fun. I love, I love the story. I love that you guys were friends before and then you know like created this brand, you know, and it came from this, this moment of noticing.

Speaker 1: 14:26

It came from this spark of creativity which I think is really cool because you know we and you leaned into it. I also love cause I do. I've spoken about mindfulness and things like that on the podcast. Before you know, I'm a life coach. It's definitely something that is always top of mind for me and for my coaching students I like to remind them of.

Speaker 1: 14:48

But for me, first of all, two things the meditation thing. Yes, I totally get it. So many of my creative clients as well have a really hard time sticking to that practice. Yes, we know it's good, yes, there's great benefit, but sticking with it can be really hard. And then the other thing is, like you know, some people me being one of them I like to just kind of get up and move in the day. Like it's hard for me to get up and go into a meditation, like I'm a, you know, like I kind of like to get up in the morning and like either go for a walk and that could be meditative for me, but usually I'm just kind of getting right to work. So at the end of the day, I already have that practice of what did I actually do today, and so I love that.

Speaker 1: 15:31

You know, mentioning today I noticed, and really not just writing it down, but sketching it, that was. That's a very fun part of it that I feel like brings in this playfulness that a lot of us like even me, as a photographer or anyone who's an quote, unquote, actual artist, visual artist, let's say, listening. That might seem normal, but to a lot of people we forget that no, we don't have to be like this amazing artist. Let's just kind of like play with it and see what, see what that comes, you know, see what we can come up with, and not just journal about it in words.

Speaker 1: 16:08

I think that you're you're definitely using a different part of your brain there as well, which is super exciting to me because, like, I'm very fascinated by all of that. So that was just my little feedback on that. So thank you for mentioning both of those, because I think that that's definitely going to resonate with a lot of people as well. Why do you guys think that we tend to overlook these small moments in our daily lives, especially as creatives and business owners and moms or whatever? Why do you think we don't notice as much?

Speaker 2: 16:39

I think that we know we are all very busy. We live in a very stimulating world. We have information, input, stimulation coming at us all the time and we have lots of things to think about. And I think we all or I shouldn't say we all, we, many of us really just charge through our day thinking about, you know could be what's next, what you know what, if I'm walking down the street, what am I walking to? What do I need to think about to prepare myself, you know, maybe I have some worries about my kids. Whatever it is, we, our minds tend to gravitate, I think, towards our, our worries and our to do's and I think that unless we intentionally try to break that, we become a little bit sort of controlled by it. Our minds can become a little bit controlled about by all of that. So I think that we have to all make efforts to not do that.

Speaker 3: 17:52

And, if I can jump in, I think there's also an expectation that we celebrate, we talk about, we sort of announce the big things and great if it's a great thing, some sort of celebration, it can also be something really difficult. You know, these big things feel like they're worth talking about and that's sort of just a cultural, social expectation. But, to paraphrase Jon Kabat-Zinn, you know, it's the little moments that are worth noticing. They are what make up our lives. I mean, I'm sure I can think of a big thing that's happened in the last couple of weeks for me. You, you know half a dozen little things that have stayed with me the white hummingbird that showed up at my hummingbird feeder. That has felt momentous to me. But simply because I let it be significant, it's a small moment that I I gave it the significance and said look at this and I want to remember it and I want to write about it and draw it. So I think there's sort of a back and forth between the moments as well, how we decide to elevate them or experience them.

Speaker 2: 19:08

Add to that, will. That's such a good point that Willow's making, and kind of back to what you were saying, renee, about writing and drawing. How you know, that's sort of an expanded way of noticing and one of the things it does is it really cements that observation in your mind. And Willow mentioned the little sweet older couple walking across the street. We both smile every time we mention that and we remember it so well. And I think part of that is because, of course, because we were in this intentionally noticing mode, but also because we, you know, we wrote it down and sketched it. It was worth, it was worth noticing. As Willow always says, nothing is too small to notice. And how lovely that when Willow mentioned that little sweet couple, it brings back a little bit of like sort of sweet feelings.

Speaker 1: 20:09

Yeah, because it puts you right back there. You know, it's like you felt it in your body when it happened. So, even just recalling it, even if it's a small thing, like you said it literally your unconscious mind doesn't know that that's not happening right now. It believes that it is, and so we can use that for good or we can use it for stress, which is what I think a lot of people you know tend to do. And that's another good point is that this puts you in a place of empowerment, really, because, like you said, willow, this is, you know, your intention like you intentionally are deciding to notice this and to make it, however small, something significant, and so it does kind of like put you into this place of empowerment, whereas I feel like as an antidote for especially those of us, you know, with anxiety brains, you know overactive brains, and we can sort of like just fall prey to letting it take us down the anxiety highway and just falling prey to the news cycle or whatever, and doom scrolling, and when we really stop just to notice something very small but meaningful, we give it that meaning and so that shifts our entire perspective and your unconscious mind will believe whatever you tell it, so it's a really powerful practice.

Speaker 1: 21:34

I believe that, like you said, it seems small but it's. It's really a powerful thing and can have a huge, huge ripple effect right. So, for entrepreneurs in particular, like those of us who have either online businesses or solopreneurs or trying to start a side gig or whatever that is, or even just those of you who are listening, who have a nine to five, like if you have a really busy life with lots of kids, or you're a stay-at-home mom, even, and you're like drowning in kids, because I remember what that was like too For those of you and us who are juggling multiple responsibilities and stresses how can noticing little things improve our focus? Because I feel like that's a big topic these days, a hot topic of like, oh, I'm over-focused and I'm, you know, like it's really people thinking that they're not focused, but they're over-focused and overwhelmed. Probably right. So have you seen that make a difference? Because I know you guys work with you, do retreats and things like that.

Speaker 3: 22:42

Yeah, well, let me just start with just a couple of you know the benefits and Deb sort of alluded to them in the beginning, but so, yeah, so I'm glad you mentioned workshops, because we do. We work with companies and teams and conferences and groups of you know various descriptions and one of the beautiful things that happens during these sessions we have an interactive module where everyone creates a tin and we didn't mention we call what these sentences and sketches, tins, which of course stands for today, I noticed. So we get everyone to make a tin and it's just, you know, a few quiet moments of pausing and noticing and then writing and sketching, and then we come back as a group and we share these things and you can imagine people are noticing things from every type of observation. You can imagine something that happened a week ago, something in their backyard, something that they're experiencing right now, week ago, something in their backyard, something that they're experiencing right now. But the points of connection and the real it's a palpable joy that people experience when they hear what their co-workers are noticing. And so many times we hear, oh, I noticed that too and yes, that happened to me and thank you for sharing that. I totally get that and sometimes, whoa, I had no idea.

Speaker 3: 24:04

We had one guy this was on a Zoom call and it was a new team, they'd actually never worked together in person. This was in the middle of the pandemic was noticing that he hadn't yet sent out the stack of wedding invitations on his desk and everyone was everyone said wait, you're getting married. You know, they had no idea. So it just creates a very natural, opens a natural door for connection and sort of empathy and compassion, and I mean we need these things more than ever right now. And it can happen on a Zoom call, it can happen around the dinner table, it can happen with kids. This is actually a really great way to connect with kids sort of of all ages. It's a game changer.

Speaker 3: 24:52

When parents are met with you know, how was your day? Fine, what did you do today? Nothing. It is such an easy and gentle way to get beyond that. So we really love talking about that. But to come back to your focus idea just a little more. I mean this is it's a self care practice and when we, when self care goes out the window because we are so busy and so distracted and our brains are in that overwhelm mode, we're not performing at our best, whether it's productivity, whether it's decision making, whether it is simply, you know, connecting with your true values, your beliefs. So this is a really gentle, fun way to sort of reset and get in touch with what you really value and what your priorities are, and you can set yourself the intention of noticing, give yourself a question you know you want to notice what are my values? Okay, today I noticed this is what's important. There are ways to sort of target or direct the focus, and that can really benefit in any type of business or partnership that you're involved in.

Speaker 2: 26:07

Yeah, If I could just add again add to that in terms of benefits for entrepreneurs and people in the creative field. When you live more in the present and take in what's right around you, as opposed to all your thoughts that are spinning and swirling in your head, it has the effect of kind of clearing your mind because you're just right there in the moment and that clearing of your mind really allows you to think more creatively, to be a better problem solver. There are actual actual, there are studies that show that mindfulness can mindfulness can really can help with your focus and concentration, particularly listening skills. So I think the more we can live in the present, the better it is for our work life and as well as our home life.

Speaker 1: 27:18

Like you said before too, I think in the beginning we were talking about how just a simple act of noticing something that does bring you joy, that's like a little. It's like a little gateway drug right To gratefulness Right. So like sometimes and I tell this to my coaching clients all the time like if you're really feeling stuck and you're really feeling like in it and like just kind of on the loop it's, it's going to feel very hard to go from there to somewhere, like I feel amazing. Most of us need to take little steps toward it, and so we always talk about how a gratefulness practice is, that gateway drug to all of that. Even that can even feel really hard to do sometimes. And so just simply noticing something around you that can seem small to you but allowing yourself to really lean into it, can, I think, like kind of give you a little cheat sheet you know to, oh, okay, and if it just sort of like softens you a little bit, it's like oh, you're raising your vibration, is what you're doing. You know we're we're energetic beings and so that can just lift that a little bit higher, and then from there it's a little bit easier to get even higher than that, and so it can like really feed itself in a good way. Um, and it's all about that decision to like you said, that act of self-care, that, yes, I am worthy enough to do this for myself today.

Speaker 1: 28:53

I always talk about non-negotiables, and this is a fantastic non-negotiable that people can add to their. I'm always trying to talk about what is something you can do for 10, 15 minutes max every day that you're not going to let yourself off the hook, for. It doesn't have to be anything big, but something that's going to move you toward the direction where you are trying to go, as opposed to staying stuck, let's say. And this is such an easy, intentional practice to implement. So I'm really excited to hear how some of the listeners are going to do with that. But I think another question that a lot of creatives with very active minds will probably be thinking about is okay, mindfulness is important. We know that it's about. You know we have studies on it that show how it can improve mental health, anxiety, all of these things. I mean it's such a great anxiety fix. Like therapists use it all the time, right, but how do you balance being present in the moment with planning for your future and striving for big goals, you know, so that's like a hot topic, I know.

Speaker 3: 30:01

Well with this practice. It doesn't take away from anything else that you're doing. I mean, it really only adds to it. First of all, it's a totally natural act. In fact, there are studies that show that noticing, the skill of noticing, is something that may have an evolutionary element to it, because the early cave dwellers, the ones who noticed where the prey was or noticed where the predators were well, they were the ones who survived. So there is actually a theory about that being genetically wired for it, and that skill has been sort of passed down since way back when and we love thinking about this mindfulness tool as leveraging something that you know, perhaps we're actually genetically wired for because it is so easy and I guarantee Renee the fact that we've even used the words today I noticed it's now in the back of your brain. You can't get rid of it, it's there, it's sitting there and you're going to come back to it time and again because it is so. It's such an easy, natural framework for practicing mindfulness and, if I may, I'll give you a. We call this a pro tip, right?

Speaker 3: 31:15

So when we first started this practice, deb and I were very diligent about noticing and recording every single day. Now, something that I do is I keep a running list in the notes section notes app of my phone. I'm noticing things all the time. Right, every day there's something that I've noticed, maybe more than one thing Doesn't mean I sit down every single day and write and sketch about it like we did in the very beginning, but what I'll do is I'll collect them in my notes.

Speaker 3: 31:47

So when I do want to have that beautiful, delicious right brain escape, I sit down with my journal, my watercolors, my pens and I pull out my list and I start working my way through them and it's this wonderful creative exercise. Time disappears, you know it's. I'm standing still and racing by at the same time. I get totally lost in this wonderful creative process and I might do three, four tens at a time, just however many. I feel like um. But because I've got this notes um app, I am tracking things that I'm the must. I'm strengthening the muscle, even if I'm not doing the artistic piece in that moment.

Speaker 1: 32:31

Yeah, and you're looking for it. You're like it's really you're integrating the reticular activating system in the brain too, because we're going to find proof of whatever we're looking for, right. So, if you've, you're training. What you're doing is you're training yourself daily to look for you know what you noticed and, like you said, just because even just saying those words, it's like a little implant in our unconscious minds and it's a fantastic little hack, you know, because now you're just creating that habit of like oh, what else can I notice? We like to say the more you notice, because now you're just creating that habit of like oh, what else can I notice?

Speaker 2: 33:08

We like to say the more you notice, the more you notice.

Speaker 1: 33:12

Yeah, absolutely, because creativity also breeds creativity. Right, like to be, oh, I don't feel creative. Okay, well, go out and do something creative, because it's going to breed more of it. It's the same sort of thing, but this could like really help with that too. Like, you know, feeling stuck in and feeling, you know, maybe like a writer's block or creative block, like you said, having that notes, you know, just a running little tins in your notes or wherever, can build upon itself and lead you to the place of, of creativity again, and you don't even notice, like that you're doing it at the time. Right, like, maybe you're like, oh, it's, it's like a little around the back door sort of, sort of a little mind trick, you know.

Speaker 2: 33:58

Yeah, in our workshops we've had a number a number of people say that after we do the exercise of observing and making a tin, that they have never thought of themselves as people who could draw. But they went ahead and, through our encouragement, just jumped in and did the exercise and drew what they were observing and they were like almost surprised, like they could do it, because they found out anyone can draw, you can lift up a pencil, you can draw. And I think that that does exactly what you're talking about. It fosters creativity. Yeah, you break down the barriers of oh, I'm judging myself, I'm no good, I'm not artist. If you just jump in and do it, lo and behold, you're an artist.

Speaker 3: 34:50

And I want to mention, you know, sometimes in our workshops we get asked well, hold on, what if I'm noticing something that's negative, or I'm having a crappy day or this, you know, not feeling great? And there is no rule about noticing things that are sweet or joyful. I mean, we often do that. We certainly don't always do that, and a great case in point, I think, is you know, we started, we were deep into today. I noticed on Instagram, where we, you know, post our tens when the pandemic started, so you can actually see, if you go back to March 2020, you can see our first pandemic posts about, you know, what we were noticing, and having this practice was such a powerful tool for sort of processing and synthesizing what was going on with the world, with life, with normalcy, and you can see it in how we, we were tracking it, with what we were noticing. So by no means is this, you know, it must be something sweet and beautiful.

Speaker 2: 35:55

It's anything that you know you need to, that catches your attention and you want to give a little energy to help you sort of process, whatever it is that is feeling difficult, just by by expressing it, getting it out of your head and onto the paper.

Speaker 1: 36:14

Yeah, absolutely. That's a really good point though, because it's kind of like it reminds me a lot of I don't know if you are familiar with Simon Sinek. I mean I think that a lot of people are. I love him and you know I I talk about him a lot inside of my coaching because I mean I think that a lot of people are. I love him and you know I talk about him a lot inside of my coaching because you know, I really work with creative entrepreneurs to try and hone in on their purpose, you know, and their why, and he says, well, all roads lead to, why, right?

Speaker 1: 36:41

So, like, when you're looking back on these pieces of your life because he has you sort of like, look back on what was to find this golden thread for your marketing and things like that well, you have to kind of go back and see what were some of the things that really made a big impact on your life, and some of them are not going to be. You know, rainbows and unicorns. Like you know, a lot of us have had various levels of traumas or not. Great things happen. And he said all roads lead to, and so I like that you brought that up too, because it is the same in that respect. I think you know all roads will lead to that mindfulness, really, and what it's about is all we really have is this moment, if we really think about it.

Speaker 1: 37:19

You know you get really kind of out there with it. It's true that time doesn't really exist and the future doesn't really exist. It's just right here and now, and if we can really be intentional about our focus in the now, it can have really big impacts on all the things that we were just talking about in general, and I know that you guys see that in your work and your workshops and you guys also have you have a book and you have a calendar. Talk to me a little bit about how this has all evolved and what it's evolved into and how people can find you and work with you.

Speaker 3: 37:54

Here's some here's visuals. Here's our book, which came out at the end of 2023. And this is the 2025 daily desk calendar, which is so fun because it's a it's a 10 a day, you know. Rip it off. So, deb, I've shown the visual.

Speaker 2: 38:10

And just to show you some pages from the book. The book is mostly a collection of our observations, and then at the back of the book there's space to to do your own tins.

Speaker 1: 38:23

Nice.

Speaker 1: 38:24

There, there are quite a few pages where you can give it a, give it a whirl yourself yeah, I'd love to get the, the books from my, uh, my nieces I think it would be such a great gift to send and the calendar I'm a calendar fanatic. I love oh cool, especially actionable. How old are your nieces? They are 10 and 8, eight and five. So, yeah, yeah, I just got back from visiting them this last week and, yeah, I think that they would love something like that because, I mean, I, you know we try, especially like you know what we were talking about before when things get busy, especially if you're a busy parent. You know, my kids are all grown now and you know they're all in their twenties and I think that a book like this is great for anybody of any age, obviously because it's a reminder. It's all about, like, where you're putting your focus, but especially those young brains and how they're still developing and growing, like it's just the neuroscience behind it is really fascinating to me.

Speaker 2: 39:24

Yeah, we want to get their um, their noticing muscles, you know, strengthened, because it's a, it's a great thing to carry through life.

Speaker 1: 39:33

Absolutely, absolutely Okay. So before we wrap up um, what is, what's one piece of advice you guys could give um somebody who might feel, might be feeling disconnected right from joy or inspiration in their day-to-day life, or maybe feeling a little, a little stuck in relation to today?

Speaker 2: 39:56

I noticed Well, I would say really just what we've been talking about.

Speaker 2: 40:01

I think you know we talked about how, a little bit about how you can choose where you put your attention, and where you put your attention really affects how you feel. I mean, if you think about, like doom, scrolling through the morning news versus walking down the street and noticing a stranger smile at you, those have very different effects on how you feel. So I think if you're having trouble sort of accessing a sense of joy, walk outside anywhere it could be a very urban environment, it could be one with lots of nature and just say to yourself what can I notice that's joyful or that's just beautiful or that makes me feel good, and you will find something. It's guaranteed and that will maybe sort of jumpstart you a little bit. And then you know gateway drug I love your phrase that can help take you to a authentic sense of gratitude. Like I might sort of be in a funk, but there's just no way of getting around that. That little pink flower is beautiful and what a product of nature.

Speaker 3: 41:24

And I would build on that and say do exactly what Debra said and either do it with a friend, a trusted friend, or have your friend go out and do their noticing and then come back and share them. And that is what both in business and, I think, in friendship and in every aspect of today, I noticed, that's been something that Deb and I value so much. Having this partnership, whether it's simply about discovering today I noticed and realizing, wow, this is simple and powerful and fun and kind of addictive and exploring that together, and also in terms of this brand that we have sort of accidentally but now very intentionally built, having a partnership every step of the way has been, I think, a huge part of our success and our perseverance, our commitment. Even just feeding the Instagram beast frankly, you know that's a hard thing to keep up with and we have well over 1100.

Speaker 3: 42:36

Today I noticed posts I just noticed this the other day on our Instagram feed and we alternate. You know, one of us posts and then the next one posts and we still we get to experience the sort of surprise and joy of seeing what the other one is posting on instagram whenever it pops up. You know I don't know what deb's about to post and she doesn't know what I'm about to post, so we get to sort of authentically experience the joy of this every time. So yeah, having someone who you trust and value in your noticing adventure, I think is fantastic.

Speaker 2: 43:13

And just speaking from experience with Willow, it's just plain delightful to see what a friend or a friend or a family member is or a colleague is noticing is. Just yeah, friend or a family member is or a colleague is noticing is just it's just fun and and and really a joy.

Speaker 1: 43:32

Yeah, no, it's a. It's a really good point because I feel like a lot of us you know, especially as solopreneurs, right, you're just sort of like if you don't have someone that is helping you in the business, it can feel really isolating.

Speaker 1: 43:43

It can feel really lonely. So just grab a friend, you know, grab a partner in crime and, you know, share that. That's a very, very good reminder for all of us. I started doing something recently that I feel like is sort of in line with today, I noticed, because it is about noticing something that my husband is really good at, right Like so something he's always been really great at, and I think it's just because he's an extrovert and I'm an introvert. This is why it's a little bit harder, but he is.

Speaker 1: 44:12

He's always been that person. As long as I've known him, which is a long long time. If he sees something, actually I think he intentionally looks for it. To be honest with you, like I've realized, if he sees something in someone like it could be like what they're wearing or they're, you know, like maybe their glasses are cool or they're something that they're wearing or something about them, it could be like a cashier. He will, he will tell that person, he will notice and he will, he will compliment them on it and he's not trying to be like cheesy and weird about it, like he literally is just like trying to let that person know he really believes. Like if you see something that stands out or that you know lightens your mood or whatever, tell the person. And that has always been like I've noticed throughout the years.

Speaker 1: 45:01

I've noticed many, many things about someone, but I've always been like a little shy about telling them because I'm such an introvert at the heart Like I know it doesn't seem like I am, but I am and like to just like one-on-one, tell the Starbucks barista your top is really cool, I love that.

Speaker 1: 45:16

Or I love the color of your hair. I did that the other day to a barista and her whole entire demeanor changed. She had the coolest hair color I've ever seen and in my mind I'm like I wish you could pull that off, right, and I'm just loving it. And so, as she's handing me my coffee, she's like you know, just very, you know business-like, and I tell her hey, I love, I love your hair color that just like suits you so well, I love it. She's like softened big smile, like it makes such a difference to do that for people. So I feel like you could incorporate the today I noticed in that respect as well and like make a point to really tell people that they matter or you know that you've noticed something about them too.

Speaker 2: 46:00

Yeah, and think about that connection that you made with her. It could have just been a transactional thing, but you had a little moment of connection with that woman.

Speaker 1: 46:08

Yeah, it's something I'm working on.

Speaker 2: 46:11

I love that.

Speaker 1: 46:12

There's no downside. Yeah, no, I agree, and you know what it makes you feel good too. Like, just in general, it makes you feel good to make someone else feel good. It's about that connection and that exchange of energy, and that is something too. If you are feeling down and stuck and overwhelmed, do something for somebody else. Like this is an immediate little hack to get you feeling good. So, thank you guys so much for being here. I'm gonna link everything below for people, but you said your Instagram. You guys are pretty active there. Is that where you like to connect with people If anybody has any questions or they want to connect with you guys?

Speaker 3: 46:54

Yeah, we're today. I noticed on Instagram is today period, I period noticed today, I don't notice. Yeah, we absolutely love hearing from people there. We also have a website today I noticedcom and you can learn more about the practice and see examples of tins, our workshops, seminars, that sort of thing. So, yeah, we have. We love hearing from people and we love it when people create a tin on Instagram and then tag us so we get to see it. That's always fun and we keep up with a very regular posting practice there. So lots of new and surprising tins. That's awesome.

Speaker 1: 47:35

Fantastic. Okay, well, I will put all of that in the show notes and thank you guys so much for being here. This was awesome. So great chatting with you. This was lovely, thank you. Thanks for tuning in you guys. I really loved that conversation with Willow and Deborah and I hope you did too. As always, let me know your feedback over on Instagram at Renee Bowen. I would super appreciate it. So I love chatting with you guys in the DMs anyway, and if my little bot jumps in, by the way because I do have a little mini chat bot that will jump in on my DMs, it's like a little auto message. Just hang tight, I will see it and pop in there personally as well. But I like to get all my DMs answered efficiently and sometimes people are just looking for information, so it makes it a little bit easier for me, but sometimes I'm on my phone and it happens and I'm like, oh, oh, I'm here, you don't have to automate.

Speaker 1: 48:30

Some of the things that I took away that maybe resonate with you as well are how easy it is to use something like Today.

Speaker 1: 48:38

I Noticed in your daily life how it can be a life-changing experience just beginning to notice little mundane things that can bring you joy and happiness.

Speaker 1: 48:51

And I feel like in today's world, in the climate that we're living in, living through enduring however you want to frame it, I think it's really important, and even probably more important than ever, to double down on the little things that do make us feel good, Because each little thing brings you a step higher in that vibration. You know it's all about raising your vibration over here and coming from a place of abundance and joy, even in the world that we live in and even when you're dealing with a lot of stress. You know, in your daily life and your business, what's one little thing that you noticed today that brought you joy? I definitely was reminded of some things myself, so I hope you take all of the things that we spoke about today into the rest of your week and spread as much love and joy that you can to everyone around you so that you can feel more connected. Have a good one Until next time. Love you, Bye.