The Power of Clarity: Success, Money, and Mindset Shifts with Marie Forleo

23:34And I will tell you, Jasmine, the moment I just sat my butt on the floor and then started just mimicking the stretches, thank God I have a lot of hair, I started weeping, crying so hard because it felt so right. And it was like my soul was saying, you finally listened. And that was the beginning of me kind of starting this simul career as a dancer and as a fitness person, which eventually led to me becoming one of the world's first elite Nike dance athletes. It was a designation that literally never existed. That's a whole other story. But clarity comes from engagement, not thought. I thought for years about whether I had what it took to do dance in any format, in any kind of professional setting.

24:18And I wasted so much time because I let it be a thought rather than actually tested it in real life outside of, you know, doing drinks and shots and college and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And moonwalking on the little one. Yeah, of course, which is always useful. But so that's like the flip side of it. You know, when you start taking those steps, there is an alignment, you will get real world feedback, whether external feedback, or more importantly, internal feedback, that you are on your right path, you'll get information that cannot come from AI, it can't come from your friends, it can't come from social, it can't come from any other source, but you.

24:56Mm-hmm. So we're in full-on storytelling mode and I'm living for it. I'm living for it because it's just landing very different in my soul. And so when we think about these two examples, positive ROI that didn't have at least initially a penny towards you, and then an ROI that maybe was like, it was good, but not worth what it would have been in comparison. So along the way and along our journeys, we're faced with these really terrible things that happen even when we're in alignment. And so you've seen this a lot through B-School. You have tens of thousands of people go through a program to find how to build a business.

25:31And so I think that you have a very keen insight into what makes newish entrepreneurs succeed and those who don't. And we all start in the same way. Oh, this aligned divine calling and we're in alignment. And then what do you get through when these times come? Because they do. And then secondly, what do you see makes or breaks people in the community that actually finish and go on to flourish. So let's talk about the community aspect first and then come back to me and ask me whatever you want. So we've had over 80 ,000 people go through B-School, which blows my mind. And I think the resiliency, the ability to continue to, well, we'll get really tactical.

26:09A lot of folks don't want to get specific at first. This is very, very practical about who their ideal customer or client is, and they resist that so hard. And I get it. When I started my coaching business. I want to coach everyone and their dog. I just, you know what I mean? Like I was happy to work with anybody who would be willing to give me an opportunity to contribute to them. So I got it. And I would always express that. I said, and I remember one of the first times I started really getting traction was when I wrote my first book, which was called Make Every Man Want You or Make Yours Want You More, How to Be So Irresistible You'll Barely Keep from Dating Yourself.

26:43So it was this tiny little relationship book. But because it was specific, solving a specific problem, it really allowed me to start getting traction, which then opened up a whole new world, right? But then when people start off, they often, whatever they're doing, they're like, I'm a chef for everyone, or you know what I mean? I'm going to open a hair salon for everyone or whatever. And that is a beautiful notion. We love that impetus to want to take care of people, but from a marketing perspective, especially now, you know, you were talking about what do I see for this industry and moving forward.

27:18Where we are at in 2025, what I believe is winning the game are very specific problem solution oriented products and services. Very specific. And for most people in the beginning, that is an extremely hard needle to thread. They don't want to leave people out. They don't want to limit who they reach. They don't want to limit their potential. and ironically it's exactly the opposite. So that's number one. I think number two, a lot of times along that same vein, people often choose, and this is coming from a very good, beautiful, honorable place. They'll choose people who cannot afford their products and their services to be their market.

28:00And then they're like, why am I not making money? And then so when we unpack that, so I'm like, so we talk about ideal customer avatar on B-School, it's a very big portion of the first bit of the program. And I'm like, y 'all, I have to tell myself this too. Like underline, highlight, throw confetti at, make it glow. Ideal. Ideal means someone is able and willing to buy. If they are not able and willing to buy, meaning that they don't have the capacity, they don't have the resources, they don't have the time, they don't have the energy, that means they cannot be ideal by definition because they're not going to be in alignment.

28:36And then, of course, we go into all the different very practical, actionable ways that you can still serve a market who may be underserved, who may be, oh my God, more deserving than anyone, but you are able to take care of them through your overflow by having the target, your ideal target for a for-profit business. Again, we're talking in a for-profit context, but you can do so many different gorgeous, creative, heart-centered, generous things when you have that balance right. So it's not an either or situation. It's more of a prioritization situation. And it's more of a strategic execution that allows you to take care of everyone, yourself, your ideal customers, and perhaps an underserved market from a very, very integrous place.

29:23Oh, she left no crumbs. As a repeat, did you all pick up what she put down? ICP, your ideal client profile. If you don't know who you serve, they will not know you serve them. Highly specific products and services for a highly specific group of people. And then number two, give it to me again. Oh, number two, which one? When we went through your ICP and then we went through, you got to serve a market who can buy what it is that you want, despite how best intentioned, despite how best intentioned it is, that your best intentions can be served once you make a profit and then can serve wholeheartedly to a market who might not be able to pay what it is that you have.

29:56Absolutely. See, I picked it up. I picked it up. And there are so many different ways to do it. It's like you don't have to write million dollar checks. Thank you. You can start super small. Thank you. You can test things out. And then I've had this too, because I remember a big part of why I even wanted to start a business was, first of all, for me, there were many different things embedded in that. But one of them was, I was like, I mean, nice things are great. And I do love beautiful things, but I'm not, anyone who knows me personally, like my director of operations sometimes, you know what I know she gets me for Christmas?

30:27Socks. Yeah. Because she'll like see me when we're hanging out. She'll say, why do you have holes in your socks? I'm like, because I don't give a shit about socks. Like I just, I don't, there's a lot of things that are just not high on my list of materialistic stuff. Now here's a question. When she gives you socks, do you feel loved? Oh my God. Yeah. Because she cares so much about me. Do you know what I mean? She's just like, look, and it's so sweet and she's looking out for me and they're always cute and fun. Now, of course I have so many socks, I don't know how to do it myself. But my point is, was that I knew I wanted my business to make a difference beyond just what it could earn for me, beyond the impact that it could make for its customers.

31:01Like I wanted my little ecosystem to be a greater force for good in all kinds of ways. And I remember when I first started asking myself this question, I was like, well, you know, then I was looking around and I was looking for inspiration. And sometimes, you know, for example, like Tony Robbins is a friend and a mentor of mine. And I remember he had like Feed America, you know, and it was like a very and it was so tied to one of his very specific, like core stories about when he didn't have enough food as a child and folks showed up and were extremely generous and he wanted to pay that forward.

31:32And so there's this integrous alignment, right? I was like, but I can't, same thing because I'm a multi-passionate entrepreneur. This girl cannot stay in one lane. It's not how I'm built. It's not my DNA. I was like, but I don't want one charity or like, I don't want one cause. Like, so what I did and I recommend this, I was like, oh, I did campaigns. Like one of the first campaigns that I ever contributed to was a campaign that was aligned with the UN called Girl Up. And it was around empowering all of these incredible young women all around the world that didn't have access to education, not like most of us do here in the States.

32:08And so that felt super aligned with my heart, my soul, things that really lit me up. But it wasn't like I had to build the whole business around the Girl Up campaign. I could do an aligned initiative and activation. And then we've built, I don't know, seven, eight schools with pencils of promise. We've done stuff around water. Like we've done so many different things. Malala. So there was this wonderful opportunity that there's not one right way to do it, you know, and so some people like a one for one model or maybe there's a certain portion of the year where they have a particular sale or like they're literally infinite, infinite ways.

32:46and you don't have to have a ton of resources. You don't have to have a huge platform. You don't have to have anything figured out. But if your heart's in the right place, there are simple strategies where it's like, yeah, you can make amazing money. Every business owner, in my opinion, your business, if you are a for-profit business, you should design your business from the ground up to create financial freedom for you and anyone else you love. That's the potential there. So let's design it intentionally that way. and you can design it to have an extraordinary impact on people who will never touch your business from a customer standpoint.

33:22Does that make sense? Absolutely. So it's like this great creative opportunity to do whatever you wish, but you don't have to have limits and you don't have to do it in a particular way. Okay, so two things. Yes. And I'm gonna say them out first and we can decide where we go with them. Yeah. So to go back to the original was what are the things that we see that get most people stuck? And it was the ICP and then it was like serving a market who can afford. And then we said we could still absolutely focus on very generous endeavors. Yes. With a lot of concentration, the more success we have, the more generous that we can be.

33:51Yes. And then I wanted to focus a little bit on what do you say to yourself when you find yourself getting stuck or what are the similar patterns? But there was another thing that popped up from there too, because I've heard you talk quite a bit about setting yourself up financially and you love talking about money. And I love that you talk about that because it's not so much that I see a lot of female, strong female entrepreneurs really unabashedly talking about it. So maybe that will dovetail nicely. Like what happens when you get stuck? What do you say to yourself? Let's talk about money. First of all, so the stuck bit or the like, I don't know.

34:21I always love to tell people this. It's like sometimes I want to say this very, very clearly out loud. Some people have this notion or have this thought. They might look at you and think like, oh, you might never have any marketing challenges or know how to, do you know what I mean? Because you teach this stuff or social or whatever, you must know exactly how to execute everything. And I think for any of us, if we actually just sit down and get super honest, it is often way easier probably for you to look at someone else's business and be able to apply your genius and your experience and be able to help someone so fast.

35:00But it's often hard to turn that on ourselves. And that's where having colleagues and friends and community and mentor, like that is so helpful. So when I get stuck and I get stuck, I mean, dude, I make so many mistakes. Like, you know, it's, it is, there's places where I'm like really good and my instincts are really great. And there's places like, it's an experiment. Let's try it. Let's see. I go to friends. I go to smart colleagues. I ask for help because I know it is impossible for me to a very large degree to take the genius that I have, which I'm very secure on, and turn it on myself. Very, very difficult.

35:36So when I get stuck, those are some of the things that I do. But in terms of internal self-talk, it's not bullshit. Everything is figureoutable. Like that is my sanity mantra. That is kind of my DNA. And I don't use that mantra or repeat it to myself in that I have to have the answers, just that there is a possibility for a transformation, a solution, a new way to look at something. and it's out there. And then I become like that little huntress that I want to either go find it, I'm willing to receive it, I'm open to pulling it in. Whatever methodology is right for the situation, that phrase, that DNA, that philosophy saves my ass every day.

36:16Not just in business, but in life. I love that. So the two active takeaways, since the show is going to do, we're going to pick up some stuff, actionable stuff is, I want people to borrow your mantra, which is everything is figureoutable. And if you doubt it, you can definitely check out her book. All major retailers that support our small book retailers but if you're a target and Amazon person, go right ahead as well. To borrow that mantra but also to ask and invite for insights from others. Yes, people that you trust. Okay, so if somebody's watching and they're like, wow, that's so brave of Marie, that's big of me.

36:44I can never ask somebody to give me insights. Like I want to go there for that person. I have to overcome objections. What's something that somebody could say? Like help me see the forest or the trees or what do you, well, okay. So let's talk about it in a business context. This is why I think it's so critical that like every stage of the game, I just I love humans. I love good people. And so I try and stay connected just to good people as a legit friend. I think one of the things that's really challenging, particularly in our world, and this is true in any industry, but because I'm in this online world and I've been here for 25 years, I've seen a lot.

37:20I am very discerning because there's a huge difference between actual friends, colleagues, and then transactional folk. I'm allergic to transaction, like legit allergic to it. I have a very strong body truth that runs my life and my intuitive receptors are pretty open. And so I don't have a huge amount of people that I trust emotionally and with the business stuff because I've just seen so much transaction over my career. And it's just not what I'm into. I think they're amazing people. And I want them less best for them, but it's not energy alignment for me. So I have a handful of people that I feel super trustworthy with, where I can give them a call and just be like, Hey, I need an idea.

38:09I can give you there's a friend of mine. He's like, unbelievably fantastic. He's one of my first marketing mentors, a guy named Dean Jackson. and I can like texting and be like, dude, like, I want, can I show you my campaign? Like, do you have an idea? You know what I mean? Like I'm feeling stuck around X, Y, or Z. I'm thinking this, but maybe this, like, what do you think? Like people who I know market with integrity, people who I know know my heart and soul, people who I know we have alignment in terms of like lifestyle values and like the, the important things just to get their hot take or get like, Like, am I missing something?

38:45Like, what do you see in this? Does that make sense? That makes sense. And so I hear, if there's more, please, but I'm going to pause. And it's like, what I hear is evaluate the trustworthiness for this person to speak into your life. And then you have the expertise. And the expertise was part two. Is that the barometer and metric that you use? And then you just ask. Yeah. And then whatever comes back, what's great for me, this is specific to me. Like if they suggest an idea and I, even if I don't use it, it actually almost re-cements me in my own direction. And none of the people that I roll with are like, if you don't do this, it's going to all fall apart.

39:17They're like, maybe try something like, what do you think about this? Does this feel right? And I'm like, oh, not that, but this. But it confirms something. Correct. Good, good, good. And so we talked about the framework of asking for help and then borrowing your mantra. Thank you for sharing it today. Thank you for creating a multi-week New York Times bestseller in different international languages. But who are we to brag? Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. What an impactful book. It has changed so many lives. in our last remaining time together. Yes. Let's talk about money. Yes. I love money.

39:48What's being called? Since you have that strong energy and that alignment, what's coming up for you? So first of all, I think that all of us, myself included, just based on society, just based on our families, just based on the world that we live in right now, we have absorbed and been conditioned into so much conflict and pain and shame and agony around money. We want it. We're told we're not supposed to want it. If you want more, you're so great. Like there's so much bullshit and that's just in us. And it can, in my belief system, it is a powerful tool of healing. And so this is actually a little project slash products last.

40:31It's probably going to be another book at some point, but ain't no rush. I really want people to ask themselves. So when I say I love money, Jasmine, I remember I was out on tour with everything is figureoutable. And it was like, you know, like a Q &A session on tour, and a woman stood up and she's like, Oh, my God, can we talk about figuring out money? Like, yes. And she asked me about her pricing or something like that. And I was like, Okay, well, let's just start with the foundation that I love money. And I just watched like hundreds of people It was like, is God going to strike her down? Like, is she allowed to say that?

41:04Do you know what I mean? And then it was like, and then I heard the crowd shift. They were like, yes. And then I was like, literally, say it right now. Like, I love money. And I made people repeat it. I was like, didn't that feel good? And they were like, oh my God, that felt so good. You don't love it over your values. You don't love it over your relationships. But what would happen if you poured the energy of unconditional love into and onto your financial life? How might that shift it? How you interact with it? How you take care of it? How you respect it? How you share it? How it comes in? How it comes out?

41:40It's just there's this notion that love is the solution to every problem. And if money is one of yours, it's the solution there, too. So I love money. And I love especially talking to women about this because I think it's not necessarily a gendered thing, but just because I have so many women in my audience and that has been the majority of who I've had a chance to interact with over my career. So I've gotten a kind of close up view on how we can all stop ourselves. Like I still have I still struggle with it. Oh, can I ask for that? Am I worth that? Is it OK? That tells me how deeply we are conditioned that it's not.

42:18So I'll pause there for a moment. But I just I want every human on the planet to have a healthy relationship with money because I've seen firsthand how destructive it can be when you don't. The stress it can cause, the anxiety. You know, I'm going through this particular thing with my folks, which I've talked about a lot. It's been a couple of years. Both my parents, God bless them, but they are older. They're in their 70s and they're both in kind of massive decline in different ways at the same time. And bar none, it has been the most painful, difficult period of my life without a doubt. And it's just like, but we all go through it, right?

42:59Loss is a part of life. Struggle is a part of everyone's life. There are so many difficult things that we human beings will absolutely all of us will face and continue to face. It's like what we signed up for, I believe. And so I've just watched firsthand from my own family about how much a lack of handling money creates a level of chaos and fear and worry and stress and disease that I don't believe we have to keep moving forward like this. So that's why I get passionate about it. So what I know it's early and I know there's not a book yet, but like money is figureoutable. Yeah. Yeah. Like pre-titles, pre-titles.

43:37I love I love money as the title because it's so offensive to some people. It is. I know. I know. You have a distinct feeling immediately. I know. And some people get super repelled by it, which is wonderful. And the people that I think that I'm meant to serve are like, wait, tell me more. Yes. Because you know your ICP, honey. You know your ICP. Yes. And it's a celebration. And again, it's about the healing your relationship with it so that it no longer has to ever be a source of pain or shame or worry again. And it's not about a certain amount because everyone, I think, just like, you know, like I love animals.

44:13Like chipmunks are going to eat less, generally speaking, than an elephant, right? They have different appetites because they are different creatures. They have different purposes. They have different ways to walk through the world. And I think money, it's the same thing. You know, like I don't have any biological children, but I have a stepson who's about to get married. And I have other friends who have like a gajillion kids. So their appetite or need for it is going to be different than mine. And so the respecting of all those differences. So there's no prescription in how much. If someone wants to, I'm just going to give loose examples for funsies.

44:44Like I would love to have a business that earns me net, you know,$75 ,000 a year and I want to live really simply. And then there's another person who's their appetite, their genuine vision for what they want to do is like 100x that and they want to build a company in schools and la la la la la. Like, well, that's beautiful for them. I'm going to do pom pom, like high kicks, cartwheels for both of those expressions if their money life was in harmony. And I just feel like in terms of a larger societal thing, people would be so much more empowered around their health care, around education, around not being taken advantage of by predatory institutions or businesses if they had this part of their life in a place where they felt clear and confident and secure.

45:32So as we close, can we do a Babe Ruth? Like you're going to point out into the stands and this is where we want to hit the ball. Okay. What are like the four things that somebody at three or four? I like three. Okay, let's do three. Let's do three things that somebody can do to start preparing for themselves because everything you say is yes, yes, yes. It's the lean in moment. Yeah. So for the lean in moment before the book is written, before anything else is created, point, point and swear. One, I would say to experiment. It is an invitation to adopt that mantra. You don't have to say it out loud because again, I know it can be a very triggering, offensive phrase phrase for some people, just start experimenting.

46:10What would happen if you allowed yourself to say, yeah, I love money. I love it. How would it change? How would your relationship with your money life change? Then whenever you pay a bill, this is something that I started when it was still writing checks, which of course, most of us rarely do anymore. Now we're doing everything electronically, but still you are transacting when you are sending money out in some form. Another mantra, again, because of my ADHD brain. And it's also rooted in neuroplasticity, right? Repetition is a key principle of neuroplasticity. So whatever fires together, wires together, and you literally reshape not only your mind, but your brain.

46:50That's science. I'm not making this up. It's not fiction. It's fact. So repetition works for me and for most of us. Here's what you say. Anytime money goes out, and I know most of us, like we can clench, right? It's like a little like down there everywhere. It's like, oh God, wow, that was a lot. Or, oh, I don't know if there's going to be enough. Here's the mantra. There's always more where that came from. There's always more where that came from. And then I think just, it's not really a practical tip, but it's more of a truth. We've all been sold this lie that there is a limited pie, right? That there is a fixed amount of wealth in the world.

47:30And somehow, if Jasmine, you make more, that somehow it means that I'm going to have less available. That is the biggest, most destructive, most toxic lie. And it is verifiably untrue. If you actually look at data and the amount of wealth, for instance, that existed in the world, let's say 200 years ago versus the amount that exists now, you would see over time that wealth is continuously being created. It's expanding. It's fluid. The notion that it's a fixed sum, that we live in a zero sum world, is one of the most destructive lies on the planet. So if you ever go there with your pricing or you ever find yourself feeling because like you're demonizing someone else because they quote unquote have more, or again, you're in a fear based place.

48:21Like I can't charge that because I'm taking away from someone. You have to know that underneath that is a lie. So to just bring gentle, compassionate awareness to it and to really, really, really educate yourself in reality, I think that's another piece. And again, I know we can't unpack it fully, but it's super helpful. Give me a mantra because I got to complete it. Like I'm like a bulldog with a bone. Well, there's always more where that came from. And maybe it could be there's more than enough for everyone. I'm writing it in my notes. I love it. We might adjust it, but it's at least a good first draft.

48:54I love this. Yeah. Okay. Repeat after me. I love money. I love money. Repeat after me. There's always more where that came from. There's always more where that came from. And there's enough for everyone. There's enough for everyone. Marie Forleo, thank you for being here. Thank you for being on the show. Thank you for sharing your genius. Thank you for proving to us that everything is figureoutable, even on the fly. I held you to the fire and you're like, I don't burn. I don't burn. Where do people go to learn more and stay connected with you? So we've got hundreds of episodes of MarieTV. If you like YouTube, you can just go to MarieForleo.com, the Marie Forleo podcast, anywhere you get your podcast on all the socials.

49:32It's at Marie Forleo. And then M-A-R-I-E-F-O-R-L-E-O.com is the website with all the good stuff. Thank you. For those of you who enjoyed and watched the show, send Marie a DM or tag us on Instagram. Absolutely the things that we do. I'm so thankful that you were here. I'm so thankful that I got to experience you in the city on the one of the five days that you happen to be here before you escape. Thank you. Y 'all, thank you for watching and listening to The Jasmine Star Show.