BTT EP 5
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[00:00:00] Hey, hey. Welcome to between the Tabs. This is my Mood Board podcast, where creativity, growth, business, and the real life happening between it all goes down. I'm your host Kleidi Jeen, and we're gonna talk about the stuff that lives between work and who we are, and we're gonna do it in four parts. So grab your drink, grab your snack, and let's hop into part one.
Is anyone else out there in their forties starting life and business like from scratch? Anybody? Hello? Is this thing on? Oh, because if so, let's start a group chat.
'cause Whew, child, honey. Also put on top of that I have two kids under 10 and very minimal support. For a long time guys like I was drowning and then, at the end of 2024. A whole eye [00:01:00] disease enters the group chat. I went to the hospital and everything because the pain was so serious, and now I have like a precursor to autoimmune disease type eye disease. So there's that.
You know what, I'm really thankful for that moment because after that, what happened? What came was better boundaries. Seriously actually honoring my capacity, like my life depended on it because it actually does. And it's really funny because I have all these trainings and certifications and experiences and I do work with people one-on-one to help them take care of themselves better, to help them with their capacity load and figuring out how to make their lives look more like how they want them to look as creatives.
But I was not for the past few years, I was not actually doing that for myself. Again, I told you in a previous episode that life got really sedentary for me. [00:02:00] I wasn't taking care of myself physically. Bending over backwards, doing everything for the family with minimal support, trying to start up a business without support, like I was burning candles at all ends, not just both ends, like top, bottom, side to side, everything.
And so I was not actually honoring my capacity. It was harder for me business wise to be successful because I wasn't practicing what I preach, but. Now I am. Now I am. And if ever now things seem to get out of alignment, if ever things seem to get out of balance, if ever it seems like I am crossing over the threshold of my actual capacity, I will shut things down.
I will stop. I do not care. I will stop. And so I am trying to show you, give you a little behind the scenes of what it feels like to run a business, that you want to be successful, and that you're working really hard towards making it look like how you [00:03:00] envision it looking like, but also taking care of yourself at the same time.
I am a strong believer in the ability to have a successful business without sending yourself to the hospital doing it. And so that's what we're here for. That's what the Soft Sundae Studio is all about. So, speaking of boundaries though, I rather liked the challenge of implementing boundaries with my kids.
I really liked that because what it did for me was, it opened my eyes even more to the fact that boundaries don't have to be rude or mean to be effective. They just have to be clear and they can also be kind and still be effective and, and with capacity, you know, we talk a lot about capacity.
A lot of creatives are talking about capacity, and I think it's a really good thing. And with capacity, I just don't push. I just do not push and push and push. I just can't do that anymore. I could truly end up having a heart attack or getting a [00:04:00] full on autoimmune disease if I do that. And I have seen, I have worked with, I have talked to personally, I've seen, you know, more famous people, I've seen lots of young black women go to the hospital with exhaustion and then come back out and keep doing the same thing over and over again.
And those women were in their twenties, they are in their twenties. A lot of them who I have witnessed doing this and i'm here to tell you, when you get older as the decades pass and you're operating like this, it becomes really a threat to your health. It really does, I am a living embodiment of that having had happened.
So if I feel super tired or like I can't go anymore, I don't, and I still get my work done. I'm still focused on my vision. I'm still very clear on it and I still do the work. Taking care of yourself does not mean that you have to forego your, your dreams, your plans, your goals, the things that you wanna be successful [00:05:00] at.
It just does not mean that. So what I invite you to do is check out my free offer. It's called Erasing Self Erasure, and this is a great place to start with shifting how you were conditioned to think of kindness towards something more honest, where you're not overcommitting yourself for the sake of being nice, and you can actually have more energy to do the things that matter to you.
And you can get the link for this in the show notes. Again, it's called Erasing Self Eraser, and it's totally free.
Now let's move on to part two. Do you know what Paris needs more of? Pink, bright colors. Paris is not very much of a colorful clothing type of town, if you know what I mean.
Yes, there's people who are stylish. And I will argue as a person who lives here, that that is actually that's actually few and far between. Like everybody in Paris is not stylish. Most people are not, most people are going to work. They [00:06:00] just have on regular jeans and t-shirts, they just dress like really regular things might fit better.
I don't know. Paris is not as stylish as I think it gets the reputation as being just my honest opinion. And so, yeah, it's not, it's not a color town. Like don't come here in your bright outfits and your and bright hair thinking that, oh, it's just gonna feel so good. People will be staring at you and looking at you very strangely.
I remember, I remember when I used to live in the 17th imo. No, I was in the eighth. I used to live in the eighth of rmo. And it's a very kind of posh, Cartier of Paris. And so I had bought these two jumpsuits from Monki after I had my first child. And because they were comfortable, you just put on the one piece and you go, and I was able to go to work easily, but they were also super colorful and had cool designs and they were delightful. They delighted me [00:07:00] and I was just really excited to wear them. And so I wore one to work one day, and as I was walking to the metro to go to work, this, this guy, this older, you know, stereotypical Parisian guy with. Coat and sweater and pants and shoes, all the same shade of burgundy.
He looked at me so shocked. Like I was a walking egg or something like that. And it was just because I had on colorful clothing in the eighth undies Mo. So like don't get it twisted. Don't let these people make you think that you can come to Paris and like get super creative with your style and feel very accepted and comfortable and a sense of belonging because that's not how it works here. Actually when it comes to style and like colorful, delightful creative style, I think London is more close to that, even Milan as a close second. But definitely London is the place you wanna be for being quirky with your style, being very [00:08:00] self-expressive and it, and it being okay, like not being a big deal.
Anyway, correct me if I'm wrong, that's just what I have experienced in my travels and, living here in Paris.
So that takes us to part three, and here is where I wanna ask myself something and ask and ask you something. If I weren't doing soft sundae. What would I be doing?
What would I be doing? Like I know that you are probably a multidimensional creative, just like I am. So if you weren't doing the thing that you're doing now, like what would you be doing? And so I wanted to ask myself this out loud for you. Just, as. Resonance with, if you're thinking that kind of way as well.
So one thing that I was doing research to pursue, , let me see, when was this back in about maybe 20 21, 20 22, [00:09:00] was becoming an online secondhand retailer. It's one of my top values to buy secondhand wherever and whenever possible. I really. I am a strong advocate for that, just to not create more waste.
You know, clothing waste is a huge problem. Fast fashion waste is a huge problem and a huge burden on our ecosystems and our environments around the world, and they are disproportionately polluting, areas, where black and brown people live, like in Nigeria, and I believe it is Chile or somewhere in the desert in South America, there's just piles and piles and piles of clothes.
That Zara just created like six months ago, that are just polluting different areas of the world and I just don't want to be a part of that. I don't want to promote that or add to it. So I'm a really big advocate for buying secondhand where possible. It also becomes like [00:10:00] a beautiful and fun process or, even a hobby, because you can find so many just.
Luxurious, gorgeous, beautiful pieces, without having to have them be manufactured brand new, like, rivers being polluted, going through the cotton bleaching process or, or things like that. It just doesn't have to be there where there's so many choices and options secondhand where we just don't need to buy anything brand new, at least clothing-wise, like underwear.
Yes. Maybe even workout clothes. Okay. But yeah, there's so many options, so many beautiful options. So anyway, in Europe, the secondhand clothing market is expected to reach 35 billion US dollars by, the end of 2026. And by 2034, it is expected to reach 75 billion US dollars. So it's very much a growing market as well.
And I just [00:11:00] love fashion and I love style, but I detest fast fashion and creating more waste. So, I don't know, maybe one day this is still in the carts. Maybe I'll try this out one day. But I don't know. What about you, you multi-dimensional genius you like, what is something else that you've been thinking about, doing as well?
Just, just wanna spark that question because I think it's really interesting to see how creatives think what drives them and, what businesses, you know, we think of creating in order to solve different problems in the world and like in a beautiful way, in a beautiful and fun way.
So that takes us to part four. Our last part of this episode, and I don't know, it's Wednesday. It's Wednesday, it's Hump day as they say. And you know. We gotta coast through the rest of this week, like on a high. What do you think? Like what's gonna keep us coasting through the rest of this week with a little smirk on your face, you know?[00:12:00]
Well, for me, something I wanna share that I have been having fun with and that's been giving like serious actual results. First of all, let me just say I am not into biohacking, but. Honey, like some vitamins that I'm taking are really literally changing my days, really changing my day to day. So now every morning I take, vitamin D three, K two, I take that in a small little capsule and then I take a, a drinkable, it's like the little tab that you put in water and it.
Dissipates and you drink it. And that vitamin has magnesium and it has like all the B vitamins. And so I take that after I take the vitamin D. And K. And then for breakfast, two or three times a week, maybe even four times a week, I have bone broth.
And I usually put an [00:13:00] egg in it and, some seaweed sometimes. And I have that as my breakfast. And then I have my coffee. And so guys like doing this in the morning. Oh. And along with my new step aerobics routine, four or five times a week. Whew. Like changing my life over here, changing my life.
I wasn't looking for these results. I was, I'm just trying to take better care of my physical body because I just kind of let it rot honestly, for the last, year and a half to two years. So it's just about that, like just taking better care of myself. But what I noticed here. Is that I used to desperately need a nap every single day.
I had to have nap time as my rest time . No, look like I'm not against naps at all. I have been taking them since I was in high school, maybe even middle school. So it's not that. But taking these vitamins every morning and doing a little exercise. I don't even need the nap anymore. Even if I try to take a nap, it's not [00:14:00] happening.
So I find other ways to rest now. I'll go for a walk or, or I'll just sit or do some yin yoga type stretching or something like that to give myself a break. So I still take the break. I still take the rest guys. That's very, very important. We're not gonna skip over that. If you ever work with me, like we are not gonna skip over that, but we'll find a way to make it work for you.
Okay? So I still rest, but the rest is not happening through a nap. It's just a really interesting change that's happened, that I've noticed since I've started this routine. Also like with perimenopause, either here, can't tell or coming one thing that I do need to work on figuring out is the sleep thing.
So maybe I need to take the. I think it's magnesium glycinate before bed. I know Ash ashwagandha is supposed to help, so I'm still working on the sleep part, because I haven't been sleeping well starting about a year ago. But, my bed routine is on fire. It's tight. It's great.
I do fall asleep easily. And just to share [00:15:00] that with you, to get you through the rest of your week as well. I do a recap of my day and my successes. So I don't do a to-do list ever anymore. I do a done list. So I create that list before I go to sleep, and I read like a juicy novel.
You know, just something, it has to be fiction. It has to be a nice novel and I go to bed and I, usually can't even get to like 12 pages before I start drifting off. And so that's my bedtime routine. Just to share because it works really well. Might not work for you, might work for you, don't know, just wanna share to help you get through the rest of your week.
Coasting. And so that's it. Maybe you can share with me how you are gonna coast through your week by doing something that takes care of you so you can show up fully for yourself with the energy you need to execute those creative ideas and express your creativity. And that's it. I will meet you the next [00:16:00] time we're surfing for the dopamine hit between the tabs a k a next Wednesday.
Bye bye.
