Angie Colee (00:03):
Welcome to Permission to Kick Ass, the show that gives you a virtual seat at the bar for the real conversations that happen between entrepreneurs. I'm interviewing all kinds of business owners from those just a few years into freelancing to CEOs, Heming nine figure companies. If you've ever worried that everyone else just seems to get it and you're missing something or messing things up, this show is for you. I'm your host, Angie Colee, and let's get to it. Hey there, and welcome back to Permission to Kick Ass with me today is my new friend, Simone Milasas. Say hi.
Simone Milasas (00:38):
Hey, Angie.
Angie Colee (00:39):
She's showing up in her beautiful polka dots and the bright red hair, and I am just already in love. I can't wait to talk. So tell us a little bit more about your business.
Simone Milasas (00:48):
Well, I work with a company called Access Consciousness, and I've worked with Access using tools of access like the last 21 years. And basically I came across Access at a festival, at a Mayan Body and Spirit Festival in Sydney, Australia. And I had my own business at the time called Good Vibes for You. And I was doing, you know, merchandise and I had t-shirts and stickers and magnets and everything with different sayings on it that I perceived could maybe wake people up and change the world. And when I came across Gary Douglas, who's the founder of Access Consciousness, and, and listened to him speak at a seminar, I just went, oh, oh my goodness, this is what I've been looking for. These guys, uh, have these tools and ways of creating change in the world and creating change in, in people and yourself that I'd never heard before, but yet seemed so familiar. So me being me, I was like, you know, within six months I found myself in Houston, Texas going to a class there, and I was like, okay, I need more. I want more. And here I am, 21 years later and I'm facilitating a lot of the advanced classes of Access. Was the worldwide coordinator over for 18 years, took it from four countries to 175 countries. Like Oh wow. It's just, it's been amazing. And, and to me it's like, this is just the beginning.
Angie Colee (02:10):
That's incredible. I love how it just started from something that you were doing for yourself, like you wanted to go to this festival, uh, and you just discovered something that wound up becoming 20 year plus. That's incredible.
Simone Milasas (02:25):
Well, actually, Angie, the, the first way that this started for me too was I was living in London, you know, being Australian, doing that London thing, living with, you know, Kiwi South Africans and, and Australians in a three bedroom house with one bathroom. Oh, wow. It was, I, it was 21 people, by the way, 21 people, um, one bathroom. And I never noticed that I had to wait for the bathroom. But what I did notice is I required space. So one of the things I used to do was in London, I used to get on one of those big red, uh, you know, double deck of buses, Uhhuh . And I'd sit at the top in the front and with a, you know, a notepad and I would just write and I would write like just what was going on for myself. And, you know, I didn't have much money.
Simone Milasas (03:06):
So I remember at one stage I went from one end of London to the other and I watched as we went through all these neighborhoods and it was like, you know, the Jewish neighborhood, the Pakistani Indian, you know mm-hmm. wealthy, you know, poverty black, like all of this. And I remember looking out the window and thinking, nobody seems happy. Like it didn't matter, you know, what religion they were, what the color of their skin was, how much money that they had or didn't have. I was like, where's the happiness? So mm-hmm. , when I was sitting on those buses, I used to ride out. What could I create, what could I choose that would inspire people to choose happy? Mm-hmm. . And that's how I started the Business of Good Vibes for you. And cuz it was, it was like this whole energy of like, what if we could exchange these good vibes with each other and these inspiration to each other? So that's where I was coming from. I was like, you know, had this whole concept of changing the world by merchandise and maybe grabbing people by the shoulders and shaking them and saying, don't, you know, there's something different, you know mm-hmm. . And then I met Access Consciousness and was like, this is everything that I've been asking for. So, yeah.
Angie Colee (04:11):
Well, that's incredible. I wrote down an underlined several times, choose Happy, because I think that was a revelation for me both in life and business when I realized that that was a choice, not a destination. Like, I don't know if, if, if it's blowing your mind and you're listening to this, you're welcome. But like, I remember sitting there thinking for many, many years that I will be happy win when I do this, when I achieve this, when I'm recognized for this, that's when I will cross the magic finish line into Happy Land. And hey, guess what? When you cross the magic finish line, you're still alive and there are still things to do. Yeah.
Simone Milasas (04:47):
You get to wake up happy. I mean, I, the two things I see a lot of people do is go, oh, when I have money, I'll be happy. Mm-hmm. , you know, when I'm successful. And, and also, oh, when I find the one and I'm like, seriously, I'm like, you know, that's not gonna make you happy. If you are looking at an outside source to make you happy, whether it's a relationship of personal money, then you'll always look at, at an outside source to make you happy rather than No, you get to wake up and be like, I'm with me and this body, and how much fun can I have today? And you get to choose happy. It's just the way it works.
Angie Colee (05:19):
Yeah. And that's freeing in a sense to me too, because that puts happiness not always just out of reach until I get there. And then if I don't get there or I change courses, for some reason I'm a failure and I have crapped all over my own happiness. Right. I get to decide, today is not a great day, it's rainy outside, but you know what brings me a little bit of joy? Snuggling up under a plush blanket next to this fake fireplace with a big mug of hot chocolate. I'm going to be happy in this moment with this tiny little thing that, hey, it, it doesn't cost me a whole lot of money to do all of those things. Isn't isn't that funny that I've got a moment of joy from that?
Simone Milasas (05:57):
Yeah. It's just choice . Mm-hmm.
Angie Colee (05:59):
, uh, that was just life changing for me, especially when I, I remember speaking to an entrepreneur friend of mine who had always had this idea of make a million dollars a year, and he was totally shocked by how disappointed he felt when he got to that. And suddenly all of his problems weren't just magically fixed. Like, I hit that million dollar goal and I still gotta get up and continue and figure out what the next goal is somehow like,
Simone Milasas (06:27):
Yeah, money is, money is not the answer. Like, you know, I, I have a, a sort of similar story, I guess except a little bit flipped is, uh, I was, I was, I was so in debt, like I created myself to be this financial mess and I realized I was 187,000 Australian dollars in debt and I started using some of the access tools to change my money situation. And I remember, you know, being in my office one day and I'm sitting there and I'm looking at all my accounts and I'm looking at, you know, my bills and everything like that. And I sat there and I went, oh, I'm out of debt. And for years I've been in debt. And then I sat there and went, I'm out of debt. And I was in my office and I went, that's it. I was like, like, I honestly was like, why isn't there fireworks? Or why isn't this marching band that comes in and congratulates me? And you know, there's someone's popping champagne. It was like boring
Angie Colee (07:18):
When you more confetti from the ceiling, why isn't there an announcement over broadcast radio? Come on,
Simone Milasas (07:24):
. Exactly. And but Angie, I noticed that I was more comfortable being in debt, and that's something I really discovered as well is Mm. You know, when I had, when I was not in debt, I was like, wow, this is boring. And within two weeks I found myself being back in debt and I was smart enough to go, okay, what do I love about being in debt? And I realized I knew it, I knew that energy, I knew what it was, like, I knew what it was like to, you know, really quickly rush to make money to pay the bills or do that. I didn't know what it was like to have money. So at that moment I went, okay, I'm gonna discover what it's like to actually have money mm-hmm. , like, just receive it. Hmm.
Angie Colee (08:02):
I I think that's really interesting how comforting it can be to be stuck in a very negative thought pattern, negative action pattern. And I've definitely known people where that's, that's kind of the default mode. Not like they consciously choose to suffer, but they don't know that they can choose something different. And if and when they did, it's kind of like the lotto curse, right? I'm sure you've heard of that. I think we all have by this point. Mm-hmm. , but, you know, somebody gets a certain, a windfall of money and they've struggled with money all their life, and within a year or two, all that money's gone and they're in a worse position than they were before the windfall almost. So that's, that's interesting to hear you talk about that mindset. And when, you know, bored of, I'm bored with having money, I go back into the default mode. That's really an interesting, fascinating concept to me.
Simone Milasas (08:47):
Well, I think a lot of people use no money as the source of creation. Like, you know, like if you, you know, if you had a million dollars in the bank account every January, what would you choose? Yeah. And it's like, like, what if we didn't use that no money as like the motivation? It's like mm-hmm. , what if we actually had money made it way easier? And then you choose what is it you wanna create? What is it you wanna choose?
Angie Colee (09:07):
Yeah. And that, that was an interesting concept to me too, because I, I was several years into my entrepreneurship journey before I had a guy ask me a very thought provoking question. He goes, how would you run your business differently if you had a $50,000 a month trust fund? And I realized how risk averse I was, like, how I didn't want to invest money in the business because I was so scared of losing it, of becoming indebted, and that that was a different energy, a different behavior from going all in on something and trusting myself to figure it out and get to where I wanted to go. Like that was a real eye-opener for me. Did you have a moment like that that led to this being out of debt?
Simone Milasas (09:46):
Um, look, I just, I just knew that I had to start looking at it because I was avoiding it. And, and I really, and I had to sit down and actually have a look at what I was creating with money and what my point of view was about money. But just as you said that too, my assistant yesterday, her computer blew up and she was so stressed about it and she pinged me and I said, Hey, what if I buy you a new computer and we work something out with this? And later that afternoon she pinged me yesterday and she said, I'm so grateful. She said, you know what? In the morning I was so stressed and I, and I was going to the computer shop with this energy of like, oh my God, my computer's broken. What am I gonna do? Like, and this more scarcity and lack mentality?
Simone Milasas (10:28):
And she said, mm-hmm. , when you said that, that you'd pay for it, she said, I noticed that. I walked in and she said, and I was smiling and my shoulders were back. And I was like, I, I could receive anything I could receive that the computer could be fixed or not, or whatever. And she said, I want more of that. Mm-hmm. . And that's one of the things I realized too, is when you actually create money, you receive money. You do have more of that. You, you do open up this choice, but, but it's not like money gives you choice. Money does give you choice, but you choosing money gives you more choice. It starts with you. And you are the one that has to start choosing what it is that you aren't going to have as your life. Are you gonna be in debt because you know it? Are you gonna have just enough money because you know it? Or are you gonna start to discover what it's like to be hugely successful? Like nobody, you know, like you've never imagined before? That's your choice. And a lot of the times it takes more courage to reach into that level of, you know, I'm gonna actually, you know, explore the success. I'm gonna s explore what that's like to expand everything. You know,
Angie Colee (11:30):
I love that. I, I think it's a much more expansive way of thinking through things than we're used to. And I like to talk about it as often we don't even realize that we are in a certain alternate reality from everybody else that's around us. Like we all have a perception of reality that is skewed by our own particular life circumstances, our beliefs, our outcomes. Um, and if we don't choose to see, I, I love this power of choice thing because too often I hear this, uh, well, I didn't have a choice wrong. I mean, you always have a choice as long as you're living, doesn't mean all of the choices are pleasant or enjoyable, but there is always, always a choice. If I move into an apartment tomorrow, I can move out the day after. It's gonna involve a lot of, uh, payments and probably a sore back from moving a bunch of furniture two days in a row. But choices that are made can be unmade. So what if you chose that despite the circumstances, despite your background, despite your money or lack of money, that this was a path for you that you want to explore, that you wanna be open to? How much more empowering is that than just looking at everything around and, and claiming that you're a victim of your circumstances? I, I,
Simone Milasas (12:45):
Hmm. Yeah. I mean, I remember being told by my parents, you know, and they, and you know, immediately they were both, you know, world War ii, dad was from Lithuania, escaped during World War ii, ended up being a stowaway on a boat and landed in Australia. My mother was from Scotland, came to Australia when she was 18, you know, one of those who paid 10 pounds for the boat thing. So, so the way they grew up was different. But here's the thing is how many people start to buy their parents' point of view and mm-hmm. , you make that your point of view, but you've got a different life, you know? And to them, when I left school, et cetera, they were like, you su should get a good, safe job. And I remember them sa saying, what's a good, safe job? And they were like, mm-hmm. ,
Simone Milasas (13:25):
You know, why don't you get a job in a bank or something? And I, I was so naughty, like, so petulant, and I went, I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than get a good, safe job and, and, you know, being the naughty like, you know, petulant child. But it was, but it was true. It's like at, at, for me, it's like I had the world as my oyster. I mean, I, the first thing I did was I traveled the world Yes. You know, three, three months after school. And I told everyone I was going for six months and I went for three years and just kept working and traveling around the world because I wanted to see the world. They didn't wanna get a good, safe job. That was not me. Mm-hmm. . So I think a lot of the times, how many people choose something based on, you know, what somebody else is telling you.
Simone Milasas (14:06):
It, it, it should be like, I remember having a conversation with my stepson, and he was 14 at the time, and at school there was saying, what do you wanna do when you leave school? These are the subjects you have to pick. And he was so stressed out about it and I said, Hey dude, you can choose these topics, right? But just know you can change your mind at any time. If you leave school and you don't want to have anything to do with this, that's okay. You go to college or university, you don't wanna have anything to do with it, that's okay. Like, you can always change your mind. But the mindset is not that. I remember being at school and they were like, what do you wanna do? And I was like, I wanna travel the world. That wasn't an answer that was acceptable , you know, so it's like, but what if you stopped trying to be acceptable and started choosing what works for you?
Angie Colee (14:49):
Yeah. Or there's like, like this subtle undercurrent or pressure to judge yourself. If you do go to school and you major in something and then you decide later on that's not for you. Like there's, there's folks out there that will tell you that, why did you waste your time? I don't think any of that time was wasted. Like, no time spent trying to better yourself and trying to figure out what's best for you is ever wasted, even if it winds up not being the path for you. And I just wanna set that judgment on fire. If it were a physical thing, I would watch it burn with great joy.
Simone Milasas (15:20):
Yeah. What if he never judged you again? And you always asked, what awareness did I gain with this choice?
Angie Colee (15:26):
Yes. Right. Even the hard choices that you have to make, what did I learn from this? What did I gain from this? It's fantastic. And I love, like, we actually have that little bit of rebellion in common. I'm sure that you couldn't tell based, based on the name of the show, .
Simone Milasas (15:39):
Exactly.
Angie Colee (15:40):
I wanted to be a musician. I wanted to write things. I was always good, like writing little stories when I was younger, just being an observer of life and, and writing all of my family members into various little books and scripts. And I remember my parents and they did it from a place of love and care. Right. So I don't have any resentment toward that. That was their worldview. They didn't know anybody that did writing or music successfully. They were worried about my future. They knew that starving artists were a thing, people that were suffering that followed the stream and couldn't make it. What they didn't know was how stubborn I am. Uh, and how I was like, all right, well these kinds of writers tend to be broken, like struggling amongst themselves and dealing with kind of jerky people in the industry. And those writers over there are making a lot of money and they seem like they're having fun.
Angie Colee (16:23):
I wanna, I wanna do that one. I'm gonna go make money with those guys over there. So I was the first person in my family to decide that I wanted a creative career, and I was gonna find a way to make money to do it. And then I went and did it. And I didn't have to have their approval. I didn't have to have their buy-in or their support on that. And I also knew that if I went and got a, a lawyer gig, like they wanted me to be, they wanted me to become a lawyer, it's like, dad, can you see me in panty house? Can you see me? Honestly not mouthing off to a judge when they tell me like, sit down Miss Colee. And I'm like, y you know where you can sit? They're like, yeah, contempt, you're going to jail . That's not a good career for me. Yeah.
Simone Milasas (17:00):
But, but Angie, the thing that I like about what you just said too is that you chose for you mm-hmm. because how many, I can't tell you the amount of people I've spoken to or in classes, et cetera, and their families want them to choose something that they can put into a box. Yeah. Right? And the second that you start choosing outside of that box, it's like, it makes your family uncomfortable. Mm-hmm. . So then so many people, like not even cognitively start to go, oh, hang on, that's the wrong choice. Choosing for me is the wrong choice. I should choose what works for my family. Yeah. So that they can compartmentalize me. And it's like, no, what if, I mean, you, me, we went, mm, no, that's not happening. And I, I will admit I did it with my hands on my hips, you know, stu stomping one foot for sure, you know, for quite a while.
Simone Milasas (17:48):
And then, then my brother said to me not very long ago, like, my dad's passed away about 10 years ago now. And my, um, my brother said to me, you know, you're living a life that dad would be so proud of. Oh. And I love that he said, because you're choosing for you. Because dad was always like, please choose for you. He said, I'm here, I've got your back. You know, but you need to choose your life. Whereas my mother was always like, you know, I can't believe you're choosing that. That's embarrassing to me. What am I gonna tell my friends? She was such a. And, and so I had that and I had my dad. So it was like, you're like fighting for fighting like one of your parents. And yet the other one's going, Hey, what works for you? Choose for you. And it was this conflict. It's like, how many people, they don't want the conflict, so they just settle for what they've decided their parents want. And, and it's like, no. It's like, it's not too late. It's like, start choosing one of these that works for you.
Angie Colee (18:40):
It's never too late. As long as you have a breath left in your body, you could start a new, that's the beauty of being alive in the time that we are. It's, we're speaking across borders. Like it's still just fascinating to me the magic of the fact that you and I are sitting here face-to-face in different countries in different time zones. Like what's, what kind of magic is this? Do you know that you don't have to buy a building to start a business anymore, guys. Like, you could just go to your local government office and say, Hey, I'm starting a business and pay 'em something like 30 bucks, 50 bucks and, and have a business. It's as simple as that. I mean, it's, it's a little bit harder than that. But that's what you need to do to start a business, decide that you're starting a business. Go file the paperwork and you're in business. It's amazing.
Simone Milasas (19:22):
Exactly. And you also don't need money. Like, that's the one thing I see people do all the time. Oh, I need X amount of money to start a business. No, you don't. I mean, no. Years ago it used to be, I need a business card and a website. Mm-hmm. . And that was the, the, the justification. I need to do that first. No, you don't. Like you said, Angie, just start, it's like money can come from so many places as well to support you and to create something different for you. But just start
Angie Colee (19:48):
Mm-hmm. , I love this cuz I feel like we're taking this concept of money and value and just like turning it on its head. And another thing that opened my eyes a while back, cause I was always very money conscious, right? I grew up the, the eldest of three kids of a single mom. Money was always a struggle for us. And it's always been something that I was never quite convinced that I could get. And so I had that one mentor turn things on. Like, if you had this, this trust funds, how would you operate differently? Oh, I would operate ver I would take wild crazy risks. I would put myself out there. So that was a journey in itself. Another journey in itself was realizing guys, money, money is made up. Right? You re you recognize this, right? You can't go out to the backyard and like pick money off a tree.
Angie Colee (20:31):
You can't eat it for sustenance or survival. Right? The, we as a society have agreed collectively that money is a thing that we all need. Where it literally is just like bits and bys that are floating over our heads right now in the ether. It's not even tied to real actual currency and, and gold standard anymore. So like, if it's made up, do you think you could make more? I think so. Mm-hmm. . And there are so many, so many opportunities that like if you've decided that you need to go to this like, traditional route that you close yourself off to, like, I love this help you, I'm a I'm an adult Disney nerd. I'm one of those annoying people, but do you know that it is somebody's full-time job to blow things up at Disney World to just make things explode at Disney World all day every day? That's a job. That's a thing people get paid to do. And you think that you can't go do the weird thing that you wanna do and make a career out of it. No, you can totally do
Simone Milasas (21:28):
It. And you know, one of the things I I love to mention too is that money follows joy. So when you're choosing what's joyful for you, money ends up showing up. And I, and it's not a how it just does. Yeah. Like it ends up following you when you're choosing joy and you're choosing happy money comes.
Angie Colee (21:45):
Yeah. I, that's another concept that I think has been internalized, especially in capitalist society, which is that if you start a business, there's a certain amount of slog and grind and hustle and suffering to get that money to come in. Like it, we really, really resist this idea of ease of things coming to us with ease. Um, and I've seen so many people, especially students that I work with, like coaching clients that I work with, who think that if this comes easy to me, if this is a natural skill that I have, and if I have a lot of fun doing this, this is not something people will pay me for. So I need to focus on something else that's much harder. Have you seen that with the people that you work with? Oh
Simone Milasas (22:25):
My God, yeah. One of the tools I always talk about too is that, you know, what are you great at? Because whatever you're great at you usually think is useless. Yeah. And you think everyone can do it and it's not true. It's like, like if you are great at connecting, you're great at talking to people and making phone calls, you're great at that. And it's like mm-hmm. claim own and acknowledge it. Like you're brilliant at it. Rather than, like you said, looking for, you know, what you think is, uh, is difficult. Like one of the things that I would look at in business is to me there's three energies you require and one is creator. Um, you've got creator, connector and mover. And the creator is that person who has a brilliant ideas. You know, if anything like me, I come outta the shower, like the big joke is everyone I work with, I go, oh, I was just in the shower and I have a billion ideas.
Simone Milasas (23:07):
You know, and then love and then the, yeah. The connector is the one who will just connect everything is the one who will tell everyone about the product, the service. You know, the sort of person who walks into an elevator and is like, hi, you know, or we'll just talk to anyone. Right? And then the mover is the person who has the awareness of what is required to choose today in order to create that future. So they're the three energies I would look at that you require create a connector mover and then there'd be foundational, which means that you're good at all three. Mm-hmm. . And a lot of times a foundational person is good at sort of having this aerial bird's eye view and then going, okay, at the moment the business needs to connect or it needs the, the creator or it needs the mover.
Simone Milasas (23:46):
Like, you know, having the awareness of that. And whenever I talk about this and you hear people go, like if you're listening to this and you're thinking, oh connecting is the coolest one, that's what, that's what I should be. You know, you, that's probably the one that you're not the best at because you are thinking that that's the best one. The one that you go, me, anyone can do that. The creator, anyone can have ideas in the shower. No, it's not true. I remember my ex used to say to me that he thought he showered wrong cuz I'd come out and be like, blah, blah, blah. And he'd go, I just shower. And I was like, but he wasn't, he didn't have this creative, creative capacity as I did, but he had other capacities. Yeah. So don't judge yourself of what you're not great at and start asking, okay, so if a business requires these energies, then who or what else can I add to the business? Rather than looking at what you are not doing, it's like mm-hmm. , you know, do what you can do, do what you can do great. And then add something else or someone else so that you can have the ease of the business.
Angie Colee (24:46):
Oh yeah. There's something out there that you are uniquely great at that everybody else admires you for. And in fact, that's a great place to start. If you're wondering what's really special and unique about you that you can offer, there's probably already people in your life that are nudging you toward that and going, Hey, you're really great at like telling stories. Have you ever thought about blah, blah, blah, blah? Or, Hey, I'm working on this resume, can you help me with that? There are already people in your life who have noticed these talents and skills of yours and these, and when you're lighting up and they're like, Hey, you're good at that. Can you help me with that? So that's a tool to pay attention to. And I'm not necessarily saying you should start a business based on somebody going, can you help me with this?
Angie Colee (25:23):
But those are signs, those are clues that might be pointing you in a good direction that could help you if you are feeling overwhelmed, uh, and unclear on a potential bath. I love that. And I, you know, I think that ties into joy. And one thing that I wrote down that I wanted to circle back to was this idea of avoidance and resistance. Because I used to avoid feeling avoidance and resistance for the longest time and just be like, no, those are negative feelings. Those are bad feelings. Get them away from me. I just wanna live in ease and joy and simplicity all the time. But I've discovered, the further that I've gotten that avoidance and resistance are usually signals for me to pay attention to You. Have you had a similar experience in your personal growth?
Simone Milasas (26:03):
Yeah, absolutely. There's, uh, funny that you ask about that because some of the, I ask myself questions all the time because I think questions, I mean questions basically open up to something different. Yes. You know, whether it's with yourself or somebody else, et cetera. Like an answer just goes and stops in the tracks. You know, when someone goes, oh, well it doesn't get any better than this. Okay, so you've just said it doesn't gain any better than this rather than, you know, well how does it get any better than this? So I think asking questions is imperative. Yes. And some of the questions I would ask myself at the moment is, you know, what am I am, am I avoiding something with this choice? Or what am I avoiding? And then two other ones that go with it for me is what am I defending with this choice?
Simone Milasas (26:48):
Because anytime you're defending something too, you're sort of hiding from what else is possible. You know? And like I said before, it takes a lot courage to lean into what you have not chosen yet. Um, and then the third question that I, I've played with a lot is, you know, what am I trying to prove with this? Cause I think a lot of us spend time trying to prove something rather than just be it. Mm-hmm. like, what if you never had to prove yourself to anyone and you just be it. So, and, and when you are trying to avoid something, defend something or prove something, there's this sort of clunkiness about, you know, how you talk or how you move in the world. Whereas when you are not avoiding anything, you're willing to receive all energies, which is everything. It's like, you know, it's, it's from something not working out, you know, it's like losing money.
Simone Milasas (27:37):
It's like, you know, having a day or any of these things because what if you didn't judge it, but you went, well how am I gonna handle it? You know? Yes. How am I gonna deal with it? So you didn't avoid it, you sort of went, you know, into it like, you know, headfirst sort of thing going, okay, so how am I gonna handle this? You know, maybe you stumble and fall, but you, you get back up and you dust your knees off and go, okay, what awareness did that gain? Let's move forward. But you're also never trying to defend yourself. You're never trying to defend your choices. You're never trying to, you know, justify something and then also never trying to prove, because some people don't get what it is you're choosing and that's okay. Mm-hmm. , it's like, can't please everybody. So just, you, you may abso actually end up offending people based on you make them uncomfortable.
Simone Milasas (28:24):
Yes. But what if that's okay too? Like there was, um, what's that woman's name? Brene Brown. Mm-hmm. . And there's one of her shows she mentions, which I love that, you know, when you're on stage, you're going to be judged. Yeah. And I've had so much judgment, vilification everything. And I remember the first time I got really harshly vilified by media, I was in Italy and I was like, woke up and I was like, oh my god. And I was a mess for like 30 minutes. And then I went, hang on a second, I know exactly what I'm talking about. Like it was mm-hmm. , my, the second I wrote called Getting Outta Debt Joyfully. And some guy had written that it was like this, you know, snake oil. Like I was trying to, you know, convince people of something that wasn't real. And what ended up we found out later was he hadn't even read the book, but what he started and the way it was media, as media did just picked up on it and went with it. But, and then my PR agent said, Hey, there's a lot of people that wanna do interviews. And I said, I'll do it. And she said, they're gonna vilify you. And I said, I don't care. Yeah. I know what I'm choosing, I know what I'm talking about. I know this works. Mm-hmm. . And she was like, you're amazing. And it's like the people who hear it will hear it and the people who don't won't. So don't stop yourself from anyone. Yeah.
Angie Colee (29:36):
Right. And why would you try to convince somebody that you've got something worth listening to that could really help them if they've decided from the outset without reading the book? Oh my gosh, I know that, that they've, this doesn't work. This is snake oil. Oh my gosh. That's like, yeah. Standing outside a five star restaurant or Michelin starred restaurant and like smelling the smells on the air and deciding that this place doesn't deserve the Michelin start. I haven't even been in, haven't spoken to the chef, haven't even put a fork in my mouth No. Of food. But that place is not worth your money. I know what I'm talking about. What
Simone Milasas (30:12):
What? I know. Oh my God. Good. A good analogy, Angie. Yeah. . Oh
Angie Colee (30:16):
God. The audacity of some people that just wanna spout off at the mouth and have something to say and, and look, ugh, that Right. And, and if it's integrity with, in integrity with you, I'm glad that you mentioned that. Like you knew the purpose, you knew why you did that, you knew who you wanted to help and who this book was for. So everybody else, okay, cool. This is not your cup of tea. There's probably something else out there that can help you or you've chosen to suffer and, and don't see any opportunities. And I can't really help you with that because I can't live your life for you. I can only show you what I've learned. And if you're ready for that great, like, choosing to take that stance is so empowering and it actually lets you have a little bit of fun with those guys. Like, I love the fact that after this, the, the PR agent's trying to warn you that this is gonna be a firestorm and you're like, bring it on. I
Simone Milasas (31:06):
Like fire. Yeah. .
Angie Colee (31:10):
Oh man.
Simone Milasas (31:10):
I mean, not seeing the fireplaces that I am. Yeah. .
Angie Colee (31:14):
Oh yes. Well, I mean, everything that I have is red, including my hair, my, all my website colors. So like, I, I used to be a firefighter. I was a firefighter for a couple of years. Another impulsive thing that I did just because people said I couldn't,
Simone Milasas (31:26):
I love it. How can you be a firefighter? What did you do? Let fires just
Angie Colee (31:31):
? Well, for one, I was actually, uh, I discovered I had claustrophobia because of that training. So when I put a face mask on and it covers my entire face, panic, straight up panic. Like I really, I worked extra hard to be able to compose myself in those situations and not straight up panic. Right. One thing I'm really good at cutting open cars with hydraulic equipment. So like, if you let me destroy things with hydraulic tools all day, that's, that's my happy place. Um, but I was not a good search and rescue person. And it was also like, I went into it for the, ooh, let's see what this thing worked. Like, what the inner workings of a department are, what going on calls is like. And then once I learned everything that I wanted to learn, I was kinda like, cool, what's next? I'm done. So yeah. Yeah. Like there are other folks that are like, they love that joy of helping people. Not to say that I didn't love helping people. I did, but like, they're career lifers. They're heroes. They're really fascinated with this stuff. And I was like, I'm in it for a season and now I'm done.
Simone Milasas (32:28):
Yeah. I've done so many different things. And I remember going for an interview at one stage and the guy looks at me and he goes, you do realize that your resume doesn't look that good. And I was like, what do you mean? And he went, look how, how many jobs you've done? Yeah. And, um, and I was like, yeah, but I was done. I was like, you know, I, I did something. And I was like, I'm bored now. Okay. I'm outta here. Yeah. And I'm grateful that I chose that. And my resume looked like cuz I was just like, well, I'm, I'm choosing what works for me.
Angie Colee (32:55):
Oh, I'm so sick of that conversation. I really wanted to die in a fire. We're just gonna keep going back to fire. Uh, the, like, your resume doesn't look great because you tried out different things. Heaven forbid we try out different things to see what we like versus having things figured out the moment we're born. Like what's, what kind of impossible standards are we setting for people that you have it somehow figured out magically when you're a teenager? Oh, ugh.
Simone Milasas (33:18):
Hey, I mean, I'm in my early fifties, maybe I still haven't worked out what I wanna do when I grow up. You know? Right.
Angie Colee (33:24):
. Right. And the world change. The world is moving away from resumes guys. And you can be super creative with your resumes too. Like, I got my first writing job, not because I already had a job with experience, which tell me how that logic makes sense. Uh, but by telling people I want this writing job because look at all of the writing things that I've done over the past. I, I sold credit cards at Home Depot so I know how to construct a sales argument and tell a really good story. I worked as a bartender in this restaurant so I know how to write a sandwich board and a menu in a way that appeals toge. Like I glommed on to every tiny bit of writing experience that I had ever cobbled together in my life and made that the star of my resume. And they went, wait, wait, you were, you were a bartender and a firefighter and you sold credit card. How do you, what, how does this connect to being a writer? I'm like, well, as you can see, , I found a way to write in every job I've ever had. Mm-hmm.
Simone Milasas (34:19):
Love
Angie Colee (34:20):
It. Basically talked my way into it. I didn't have any qualifications other than what I decided I needed to be qualified for. And that worked and I was able to leverage it and leverage it and leverage it and get more and more skills and get toward where I wanted. Just through sheer what, what some of people like to call stubbornness, but I like to call determination.
Simone Milasas (34:38):
I like that. Yes. And talking to where people can hear you gave them what they wanted to hear.
Angie Colee (34:43):
Yeah. I, I just show that like, I feel like so much of life is just being good at relationships and good at solving problems. And if you can develop those skills, cuz they're skills, right? Some people are naturally better at them than others, but they're skills that can be developed. But if you can figure both of those things out, you can figure out just about anything on this earth. I love it. I love it. So this has been fascinating. I love it. I feel like I could talk to you all day. In the meantime, tell us more about these books and where we can find out how to work with you. Give
Simone Milasas (35:11):
It to me so you can go to, you can Google my name. It's brilliant because I've never met another Simone Milasas so I have agood name for Google. So it's simonemilasas.com. Um, m i l a s a s is the last name and I have three books. They, um, uh, getting Outta Debt, joyfully Joy of Business and also the Relationship. Are you sure You want one? Which I wrote with my ex. Ooh. Uh, I am working on some more books and I have have a lot of classes, a lot of online classes, live classes, et cetera. But you can find out more at my website or also accessconsciousness.com if you wanna find out more about the tools of access. It's like, go there, there's like thousands of facilitators all around the world. So yeah, choose what works for you.
Angie Colee (35:55):
Yeah, I'm gonna make sure they have clickable notes in the sh like clickable links in all of the show notes. They'll be able to go check you out. I hope they do because this has been so wonderful, such it is the end of my recording day and I'm so glad that this is the one that I end on. It feels like such a well, chef's Kiss. Hi note . Fantastic. Thank you.
Simone Milasas (36:13):
Thank you so much Angie, and thank you so much for having me on here too. I really appreciate it.
Angie Colee (36:20):
That's all for now. If you wanna keep that Kick Ass energy high, please take a minute to share this episode with someone that might need a high octane dose. If you could do it, don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Permission to Kick Ass podcast on Apple Podcast Spotify and wherever you stream your podcast. I'm your host, Angie Colee and I'm here rooting for you. Thanks for listening and let's go Kick Ass some mask.