How to Protect Your Energy as a Freelancer with Arlene Ambrose

Are you creating a business that supports your well-being, or one that silently drains it?

In this episode of The Talk Freelance To Me® Podcast, host Ashley Cisneros Mejia sits down with registered nurse, wellness educator, and creative entrepreneur Arlene Ambrose to talk about the intersection of health, creativity, and freelance sustainability. Arlene brings her deep clinical background from emergency rooms and rural healthcare into an eye-opening conversation about stress, seasonal work rhythms, and the importance of building a business that doesn’t ignore your body.

This conversation is a must-listen for any freelancer feeling the pressure to keep pushing, producing, and overdelivering. Arlene’s perspective is a reminder that rest isn’t a reward … it’s an essential part of the work. 

ABOUT ARLENE AMBROSE

Arlene Ambrose is a Canadian-based health writer, registered nurse, and well-being educator. She has expertise in emergency room nursing, post-anaesthetic recovery room care, and travel nursing. She's knowledgeable in several fields of health but is particularly passionate about slow living, self-care, stress management, and lifestyle medicine. She views these as powerful strategies for preventing and treating chronic illness while promoting overall well-being. Follow Arlene on Instagram and sign up for her newsletter, A Moment of Pause. 

Full show notes here.

Chapters

• 2:07 Meet Nurse and Health Writer Arlene Ambrose
• 4:14 Integrating holistic and medical care; self-care basics
• 8:42 Early signs and impact of stress; stress is not always bad
• 13:08 Physical symptoms and personal stories about stress
• 14:37 Strategies for recognizing and managing stress
• 16:41 Cultural attitudes toward work, rest, and stress
• 18:43 Mindset shifts and daily practices for creatives and freelancers
• 21:14 Productivity vs. rest; Pomodoro technique and creative flow
• 24:57 Shifting beliefs about rest and productivity
• 27:06 Structuring a freelance business; niching down and finding alignment
• 29:35 Building a personal brand vs. client work
• 32:28 Seasonality in business and health; planning for busy and slow periods
• 36:12 The importance of intentional work and avoiding busywork
• 41:15 Faith, mindset, and resilience in freelancing
• 47:00 Building community and trust through content and social media

Transcript

Arlene Ambrose: 0:00

There's something called the default mode network in our brain. When we're resting, it's not that we're not doing anything. Even five, 10 minutes, that default mode network is. Helping you tune into your creativity, helping refresh your mind, helping you grow. That's what's actually happening when you're resting.

Speaker 2: 0:29

Welcome to Talk Freelance to me, the podcast for women freelance writers, 10 99 independent contractors and solopreneurs. I'm your host, Ashley Cisneros Mejia. For more than 20 years, I've worked as a journalist and freelance writer. Today as a mom of three kids, I'm passionate about helping other women leverage the freedom that freelance offers on top freelance. To me, we're all about the business of freelancing. If you want to learn how to monetize your talents, make money on your own terms, and design a flexible work life that actually works for you. This show is for you. Before we get started, don't forget to follow us on your favorite social media platforms. Review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen, and don't forget to share this episode with a friend.

Speaker: 1:16

I'm excited to introduce you to Arlene Ambrose. She is a wellness educator, a registered nurse, and a health writer based in Canada. Arlene has more than 15 years of experience in high stress medical settings, from emergency rooms to flight nursing. She now uses that expertise to help women slow down, manage chronic stress, and live more intentionally. In this conversation, we talk a lot about stress, seasonality, and setting boundaries and thinking about what we really want, and focusing on that Arlene's story is full of wisdom, especially for those of us who wear multiple hats and carry a lot on our shoulders. Let's get into the episode.

, Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 2:06

how are you today, Arlene?

Arlene Ambrose: 2:08

Hi, Ashley. I'm so good. Thank you for having me here.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 2:13

Thank you. I was telling you before we started how I was re-reviewing your Instagram and your content about self-care, about pouring into ourselves, about giving ourselves permission to just exist as humans and not just thinking of ourselves as productivity machines has really been impactful to me. I know your background is really interesting. And that you had this background in clinical nursing, and then you're also this amazing writer. Can you tell us how you first started blending those two worlds?

Arlene Ambrose: 2:46

Yes. I've always been creative and when I was first going into school deciding what to do. I was at a crossroads between journalism and going into the healthcare field, and at the time I didn't really have anyone specifically in my family who was creative. I was also on my own in Toronto, so I just, I loved both. I loved both, but I felt like I had to go more into the healthcare field, into nursing for. A stability financial viewpoint. Um, but I always created here and there throughout the whole thing. And it's personally helped me with like my hard days or going to work, et cetera. And it just, I didn't think it was something that I could do as work. And then one day I was teaching. And one of my students, I don't know how we got on the topic, but she worked at a, at a facility that did art therapy and different types of creative therapy as part of their healthcare model. So she invited me to come. I was probably talking about something creative and she invited me to come. And then I think for the first time, it solidified in my mind that you can. Do something creative that is attached to health as well, because we're whole beings, right? Mm-hmm. I got started with that art therapy, and then I took a little course on poetry therapy and just also seeing. When my patients came in and they had different things that come in, stress, heart attack, different things, and we would treat the clinical aspect. But talking one-on-one, like I knew that there's an emotional aspect as well that we don't cover at all in the healthcare setting, and I just felt that that was a gap. So I. Started to dive into that more and wanted to just bring the two together.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 5:17

That's so interesting. So are you doing any of the nursing anymore or have you just moved all of your, your work to writing and coaching and helping people in this way? I

Arlene Ambrose: 5:31

definitely do nursing still. Okay. Because I love. Both.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 5:37

Yeah,

Arlene Ambrose: 5:37

both. And the way I was torn, because I saw how much the medical side neglected the holistic side of things. Mm-hmm. But I've always worked in emergency, in the emergency room or surgery, or rural and outpost. I do a bit of flight nursing. Mm-hmm. So. Those things, I feel absolutely, like if you have some catastrophe happen, you need medical care. Right? Not the holistic side, but medical care. Right. Same with surgery. So in that way I like working in those settings. I also working in rural, I go on lots of. Indigenous reserves here in Canada where they don't necessarily have a doctor. It's more rural underpopulated, under staffed facilities. So I do that nursing aspect, and then on the other side, I still do my writing and workshops in that way. So I'm able to keep both.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 6:58

That is so cool, and just that integration when you're talking about like Whole Person Care or that holistic approach to care is so interesting to me , when I was looking at your content, about just the gentle nudges and gentle encouragement to drink water and to relax and to move, and just those basic things , if we gave ourselves permission to do those things, how much disease, we could maybe stave off or prevent entirely, there is such a. An integration between those two things. But oftentimes, I think depending on where you live in the world, there's such an emphasis on working on money, on paying bills, and we neglect all of that self-care.

Arlene Ambrose: 7:40

Absolutely. And so much of it is round in what I see, like it's one thing. I went through a coaching program and I did the little things, started drinking. I was not taking care of myself as a health profession. I was just, yeah, very much a work type of person. So when I first stepped, found out about self care, it was through somebody who coached me and doing the little changes, but then I opened my eyes more to see. Every day people are coming in, they're having heart attacks, they're having strokes, they're having mental breakdowns, and it's related to stress. It's related to stress, it's related to other things. So that was just really an eye-opener for me.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 8:36

That's so good. You were talking about stress. As being related to some of these other issues, what are some early signs that we can look out for of stress when it's starting to, 'cause I imagine a little bit of stress is you can't really get away from it, right? But when does it start to sabotage? When does it start to get to a level that it could be dangerous for our health?

Arlene Ambrose: 9:02

Okay, so the first thing I wanna say about stress is that stress is not bad. I often get comments and questions with saying like, how do I stop stress? Mm-hmm. And so the first thing I wanna say is, you don't wanna stop stress. Stress is not a bad thing. Stress is what helps us to get up in the morning., it points our body and our mind to what needs our attention. So any level of activity that you do is gonna cause some level of stress. It releases those hormones so you can get things done. So I think that's the first misconception I want people to know that stress is not bad, stress is needed, and when stress. Becomes a problem is when it becomes two things, which is chronic and unmanaged. So chronic stress is if you're dealing with something for a month or more repeatedly and it's getting worse, there's no end in sight. That's chronic and unmanaged is when you're not doing, you're not implementing any tools to. Manage and heal your stress. So I would say that's the first sign. And one thing that I gathered from people replying to me, questions that I asked. Yeah, a lot of people do not know the signs of when they are stressed. Mm-hmm. So they are not implementing. Stress prevention strategies because in their head, we are so good. Like we're so good at going and dealing with things that they're not recognizing when they're stressed, and it's different for each person. So I would start with. Taking some time out to recognize when you're feeling different, when you're feeling stressed, what is actually happening in your mind and body, your sleep patterns, your having increased. Dread and anxiety going to work and doing a project. I'm not talking about, oh, the days we just don't feel like doing something but absolute dread. Your heart palpitations, you're feeling nauseous, you're feeling sick. I, and like for me, what happened is that I was going through a stressful period in my life and I started. Breaking out, basically having this like allergic reaction where I, like I couldn't breathe, but I, I never attributed that to stress.'cause it was, it was such a odd thing. I went to the doctor. My inflammatory markers were up. This happened two separate times in my life. My face got swollen, so it's triggering that inflammatory response, which could be, some people have gut issues, some people break out, they have redness on their skin, their like, how bowel movements are different. Yeah. Maybe you're constipated or you have diarrhea, so. That's how that shows up. So anyway, I went to the, I went to the doctor says, everything is fine. I think you're just stressed. My face was a balloon. Mm-hmm. And I couldn't believe it. And then the second time that I had a, like I was very stressed, like severe reaction was the same thing. I broke out but couldn't breathe. And from my previous interaction, I knew that, okay, this is because of stress. And when I started just taking time to unwind and take care of myself, all of the symptoms went away. And Ashley, I was just like flabbergasted. I'm like, I can't. So I'm like, I am literally, I'm allergic to stress. I have to tell the world. So that's an extreme tho. Those are extreme examples. But things that are happening in your health that are undiagnosed, those things could be related to stress. So whether it's like you're holding onto emotions that are not processed. Mm-hmm. Whether or not you're in environments that are not chronically, not right for you, changes in your mood. Increase forgetfulness. That happened as, as well. I couldn't remember a lot of things 'cause I was stressed out. So what I would tell anybody is that take some time, get a journal, and be very intentional about tracking what is causing you to have a stress response, changes in your mind, changes in your mood, and changes in your body.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 14:24

That's so good. That's so good. And I think in many cultures there was, and I don't know, I think in some ways after COVID or in these post COVID years, some of it is, I just remember feeling like before COVID when I was in my twenties and working, I remember people would come to work sick and it was almost like a badge of honor that they like, oh, look at Ashley. She's pulling through. She's so committed. Just. Not listening to our bodies, and almost just that ability to grit your teeth through it and get the work done was almost lauded and admired as, oh, this person's so tough or so committed to the project, or so hardworking, or so loyal, or all of these ideas. And I think that with stress too, there's so many of us that we are just onto the next project, onto the next deliverable, onto the next workday, whatever it is, and we are not stopping to assess and reflect and say, am I okay? How am I feeling? Like. Why am I now drinking two espressos a day when I used to just have one? Maybe that's an indicator. Why am I staying up at night and snacking when I really probably should be sleeping at that time? And we don't really give ourselves that space sometimes, I think to even notice, like we're just continuing. When I'm thinking about people in our space, freelance writers, when we're thinking about our deadlines and a lot of times. Some, like even me included, sometimes I will get more energized. It's the procrastination. Or maybe, 'cause I know the deadline is looming and that will get my butt in gear. Maybe that's the good stress that like nudges me forward. What? Yeah. What for writers and people like us where that's the nature of our work. We have a hard stop at something, something has to get done. What are some mindset shifts or daily practices that creatives can use when we feel like we're just stuck in this go mode?

Arlene Ambrose: 16:34

So the one thing is that I think that sometimes people fear rest. Because they think that you're not doing anything. So productivity and rest are not necessarily opposite, but they are the a different side of the same coin you had, you have a deadline and you talk about. F feeling that time where you're energized, which is stress, which is what pushes us and moves us forward. You have your deadline. You are working backwards. I love creating. I can't band board.. Especially when I have multiple, I use it mainly if I have multiple projects on the go and I need to keep track of what's going on. So just for reference, I don't, I just use sticky notes. I don't use like a. Necessarily the physical board. Sure. But I would take sticky notes and I'm putting down all the tasks that I need to do. I usually just stick on the wall, so yellow sticky notes would be like, okay, I need to get this by this date. Mm-hmm. I start sticking them on, and then I will take red sticky notes and the red ones are basically what I need to do right now. I had, if you have a big task, you're basically just breaking it down into little steps and then doing that one or two things in the day or in the allotted timeframe. So that's one thing. So just going back to. What I was talking about, productivity and rest being mm-hmm. The different side of a coin. So when you're productive, of course you are going, there's times that you're going to have to work. Hard and get things done. And I think that's another misconception they think, I think people think, oh, if I take care of myself, if I rest, it means that I'm not, I'm just like laxing and missing deadlines and not doing work and centering around. Absolutely not. Something needs to get done. I work hard. I might have to spend hours and hours doing this project. But the thing is that, you know that there. There is something on the other side. So one mindset shift. Mindset shift is knowing just because you are working on this project and you're putting all of your energy and time into it, is not feeling guilty because you are not resting like you have a deadline to meet and you wanna show up in your work. As, as best as possible, it's representation of yourself, but also knowing that on the other side of that is that time where you're going to rest. And even within the project, it might be taking just five or 10 minutes. There's that Pomodoro. Yeah, , you're working for half an hour, then you take five minutes to reset. There's something called the default mode network in our brain. So we are productive, we're getting the work done, and then when we're resting, it's not that we're not doing anything. I think some people think that it's a waste of time, but even those five, 10 minutes, that default mode network is. Helping you tune into your creativity, helping refresh your mind, helping you grow. So that's what's actually happening when you're resting. So if you're just productive all the time, it's going to be harder to complete your work because there's this, there's a resistance, right? Because you, if you don't incorporate that rest, you're not gonna get into that. Creative flow to put everything together. So that's, I know I said a lot of things. Yeah, that's so helpful., But that's, what I would say you need to make, meet a deadline, of course. To go for it. Don't. Feel guilty about it. It needs to get done, but also take those short breaks because it's resetting your mind. Get up, stretch ta task, switch color for a bit, do something else, and then come back to what you need to do. That's so good.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 21:49

That's so good to see it. To re, to shift that. Way of looking at rest of not, not having any value because you're not producing anything or that it needs to be something that you earn or that it's like a luxury or, I don't know, like you're being lazy. Like those are all things that I've had to take those beliefs and set aside and retrain my thinking because I was definitely, I feel like that's, I don't know if it's just my culture or. Being in workplaces where that was celebrated, but just feeling okay, you're gonna nearly kill yourself and then you deserve rest. And it's, no, it's not. That's not the way that we should be looking at that. So thank you for that. That correction. I know you do a lot, you do your nursing things, you write, I know you teach, you help people. Can you talk about more about kind of the ways that you structure your business, those different. Offerings. And then what advice would you give to other freelancers who are listening to this who might want to do something education related what with whatever their niche is.

Arlene Ambrose: 23:03

So first of all. Take from experience. You can't do everything at once. Good. Something is definitely going to suffer. So I do a variety of different things and it's more. Also as not, I know not everything is going to be fruitful the same way. That's also me checking for what feel most aligned, what works for me, and whittling it down So. For someone who is starting their business or going into freelancing, you might cast a wide net at the beginning because you're trying to identify the thing that you like. Maybe the thing that comes. Easy and most effortless to you. And then there's also the thing that is going to make you money. And they don't have to be the same thing. They're not necessarily the same thing. And what I found when I first started, I was writing, I was coaching, and I was working with a mentor, and I found that trying to turn everything into. Income didn't work for me. It just didn't feel aligned. Some things I wanted to do because I just wanted to get a message out there to create and to build a community. And then there was another aspect where I was less attached to the thing creatively and more. It was more of, okay, this is what. Brings an income or a yields the most things. So the first thing I would say is to separate those two and it's perfectly okay. Like in my eyes, what helped me is still having the nursing like going still. I work as a contract nurse. It's still., Independent in a way. So I'm making my own schedule and dealing with my finances and stuff like that, but it is more of a concrete source of income and then having different pockets as adjacent. So really being able to separate those things for yourself. So my strategy. Is that I'm always pin, I always ask myself, what are the things that you come back to? Mm-hmm. I've tried a lot of different things and I ask myself that over and over again. What is the thing you come back to? What is the thing that you come back to? What is the thing that's most viable? And it's always writing and it's always healthcare like. Some aspect of health. So those are the two things, and just niching that down.'cause again, , I've tried doing everything. It doesn't work. What I've done is, so for example, I started writing on Medium. I have my Instagram creating content. I use those. As community building and visibility strategies. And so what happens is I'll have people finding my article online. I will link below. This is my Instagram and this is where to find me, which is my newsletter. You have to have. One goal. Mm-hmm. When I initially started and I was like working with a mentor and I was like, I don't know. I ha I'm doing so many things that I, yeah, don't know what my end goal is. And if you don't wanna create busy work, right? Where you could be doing a lot of things, but not getting anywhere and not getting anything done, just exhausting yourself for no reason. I've done that. So you have to be intentional. And working with this mentor, she said, you just have, this is when I was coaching. She said, you just have one goal to get people on the phone with you, to get people on your mailing list, get people on the phone with you. Everything you do leads back to that one goal. So that's what I would tell. Oh. Anyone who's freelancing and they're doing a variety of different things, what is your one goal? And there are two sides to that. One I believe should be in regards to your client, which is you're working with clients and you're getting income or having. Some source that way. That's one. And the second part should be your personal brand. Because what happens is that client might not be around or will not be around forever. So I've learned not to just solely rely on getting things and work from this. One client or these few clients, but you also need to work on your personal brand where people find you. You're not necessarily looking out all the time, but people can find you for your services. So that is that part where you're doing other things. So I'm jumping around, but back to writing on mediums. People will message me on Instagram. I had a girl message me. A few days ago, and she said, Hey, I found your article on Medium, and then I went down the rabbit hole and I,

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 29:12

wow,

Arlene Ambrose: 29:13

I signed up for your newsletter. And then, so now I'm on Instagram. So everything you are in charge of funneling people where you want them to go. So when you're. Click putting links in your bio or wherever you want it to be, as seamless as possible. You don't really wanna send people to 50,000 different places, right? You wanna send them to where you want to send them. So those two things are my Instagram because I'm able to interact and it gives me an idea of what people are searching for. My audience is very. Niche of women looking for self-care and for rest. So then you do have that audience should you decide that you wanna do a workshop later or a digital download, or a brand comes to you and they're like, Hey, we noticed that you have this audience of engaged people we wanna work with for this. So that is my, I. Strategy, which is twofold, that building my brand audience and a group of people, that, and going back to you, you don't necessarily have to sell, be trying to sell to everybody all the time. I want to create that authenticity of people who value. My work, my words, so that they will essentially, whatever you decide to do, whatever project, they're with you along the way. And then the second half is the actual work, like pitching to pitching different article ideas. I did a workshop, I did a speaking engagement on stress management from somebody who just found me on Instagram from a post. Oh, those are some of the ways that I found find work as well, is you don't know who is watching. Mm-hmm. So even though people are not necessarily interacting with you saying anything. The, they're there watching. Yes. You don't know when. You don't know. When will be the day that someone's, Hey, I need you to do a talk, or I need you to write this article for me, or whatever.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 31:54

Beautiful. I love that advice. I think that's so important.'cause a lot of times we get into this mindset of putting the client first, which is great. You want to honor that client, appreciate that client, do your best work for the client. Think about ways that you can really help them achieve their goals, but not neglecting ourselves. That I feel like that's a theme. Just not neglecting ourselves and our own self care, not deflect, neglecting ourselves in relation to our business and our. Personal brand and understanding that we have to still have our own, , our own thing going aside from the clients when they need us. So I appreciate that. I noticed that you'll also talk about seasonality, both in business and in health, and that's something that really speaks to me too. I think this summer my kids are getting out of school here in Florida, and this is the first year that I'm giving myself permission to scale back a little bit while they're home. Because in previous years, I would continue forging ahead, like nothing had changed. And then I'd get frustrated. They'd get mad because I'm snapping at them to be quiet while I'm on the phone. And I'm just thinking, why am I working against the tide? Why am I not working with the waves? And I, I love when you were talking about seasons. Can you talk more about that, about how you incorporate that idea, how we might be able to do it to avoid burnout?

Arlene Ambrose: 33:19

Yes. So the first thing I wanna say is that get this book, everyone read this book? Okay. It's called Flow Productivity by Carl Newport. Okay. And it talks about that, how, and I've experienced this, where if you can have. Focused time, un uninterrupted. Just time. Maybe it's like for three months. And then you get, you write a whole book in that time. Yeah. You create so many things in that short time, and I've experienced this where I've been really focused and I, I'm distracted and even in my newsletter I've. I wrote like a year's worth of newsletter in that time, and I preschedule them. I. When I'm in that time, my posts, for example, I'll write three months worth of content in that time and I will schedule them. I'm a big proponent on scheduling ahead, so when you see something come out, it's not because I'm writing it right now, it's because during that seasonal time I would have created a lot of things. So then when I am ready to go. Now to the next project. I'm writing an article. I have to meet the deadline. I'm really only working on that. Everything else is running in the background because during that previous season. I covered enough. Yeah. And then , when this article, this deadline, this project is done, then I'm looking ahead at what is next. And I talked about before about busy work. Just because you're doing lots of work doesn't mean that you're getting lots of work done. So it's much better to be intentional about what you are doing. Versus trying to do everything at once. There's another book called The One Thing, who Is It By? Oh, by Gary Keller. And it it, same concept, talks about you really can only do one thing at a time. So this idea that. Of multitasking and doing a bunch of things like, yes, you're getting it done, but your mind is scattered and you're getting it done slowly. But if you do one thing, get it done, and then do the other thing and get it done. When all your focus and attention is on it, you're actually getting more done and then you can rest for the rest for more time. I wanna give an example of, yeah. Is that I was on a contract, this is a nursing contract, and so these, usually I'll do two or three months at a time. I'll do a contract and then maybe I'll go to a writing assignment. So this is the seasonality of things and I decided to get busy again and I was like, oh, maybe I can. So this is in Canada, and I decided like I'm gonna start going to New York and travel nursing there and Oh

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 36:50

cool.

Arlene Ambrose: 36:51

So I started that and I basically forced that to happen I think before its time. And it was busy work and I did it, but I ended up spending. So much time and money and energy during that time. So it ended up costing me, ended up costing me energy. It ended up costing me money, so I didn't make anything. I actually lost and then I came back and I was absolutely exhausted and I had less money than before and I was like, I can't believe it.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 37:31

Yeah,

Arlene Ambrose: 37:32

I just, I just did so much work and I didn't really get anywhere and I could have stayed in the spot because I was getting, especially as a freelancer or contract worker, your work is not steady, right? You're always in the back of your mind. You're always thinking of the next thing. Yes, where am I? Where is that income going to come from? So I jumped ahead and I got a little bit frantic and I did that, but I ended up losing, right? And I sat back and I said, wow, like I could have stayed here, gone slow and steady. Maybe I would have been out of work for a month or so, or not have. Things coming in, but I still would've been in a better position than doing all of that busyness that I was doing. So that's just another example of seasonality. You really do have to plan. Look at your year, look at the things that are coming up, look at you, talk about your kids coming home, being home from school, and it's like. When planning, that, okay, this is going to happen. Yeah, so you start planning for it. Okay. So from January to however long, I'm going to go hard working, getting projects. Going above and beyond. That's okay. I think, again, when we talk about rest, people think that you can't work hard, which is not the case, right? You work hard in seasons when you need to. Absolutely. So you go hard during that time and, okay, I have these three months or whatever where maybe. I'm gonna take on a different project or it's going to look different, or I might have a less income, so I have to plan from before and go from there. So that's what seasonality is. It's planning, it's being very intentional. It's knowing that. Just because you're working less doesn't mean that you're producing less, which is another misconception. It's much, it's much better to work focused and intentional and getting the work done than just doing a whole lot of, I don't wanna say nothing, but things that don't yield as much. Yes.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 40:13

So good. Those reminders are so good because I think there's so much noise too where we're thinking maybe we're not necessarily even trying to keep up with the Joneses, but we're just aware of what the Joneses are doing and what other people are doing. And so maybe we're thinking, oh, this writer is hosting a writer retreat. I guess I should host a write. That might not be what's for our business what, what our goal is. It may not be even what we wanna do. And so being just more aware of what is our goal. Again, I love how you highlighted with your mentor, it was the email signups and like that was the metric. And so if it's not helping you achieve that specific goal, then we can set it aside. Maybe it's a nice idea, maybe it's even interesting, but maybe it's not for right now. So that is so. Such a good reminder. I think we all need

Arlene Ambrose: 41:07

see, like you have to, like literally every day I'm asking myself, okay, what is the end goal? And what I ask myself this very often, what can I get rid of? I'm always looking to get rid of something in my schedule because it needs to be very intentional. So I always ask myself, okay, I'm doing this. Project, I'm gonna work on this, but why is it necessary? Yeah. Not so, and there's some like fomo I guess, like you talked about, there's some fomo, you're like, oh, people are doing this. Yeah. But really it's, it's a mindset shift saying that. You can do like you can do that, but you don't have to do everything all at once. And you're also on a different path and on a different step than somebody else. You have a different capacity and so you have to work within your framework and you can do everything that you want to, but maybe not all at once.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 42:20

Yeah. That's so good. That's so good. I think we need it. We need those reminders because I think, especially sometimes in the world of freelance, I feel like there's been so many conversations about everything about the sky is falling because of what's happening with the economy or ai, and it's stealing our jobs and we're all gonna be erased and all of these things. And sometimes we just have to really. Turn all of that off, turn all of the noise off and ask ourselves, am I, well, how do I even feel about this? What do I even want? Because sometimes those other ideas of what we should do or what other people are doing, they get in our mind and take us off track. And then, like you said, we get caught up in the work that. We're doing, so it feels like we're moving, but yet we're just, maybe we're just treading water. We're not getting anywhere at all. At all. Like certainly at, yeah, just doing little circles. I love that. And even your space, your Instagram, I feel like there's a through line of your faith, of your personal faith, and I just, it's such a refreshing place because it doesn't feel. I don't see the scarcity feeling. I think some freelance spaces, it's very much of, yeah, fear-based, like maybe there won't be enough or we won't have enough time, or we won't have it, and it's like we really need to unsubscribe from those ideas because it's not helping us. Can you talk about that, about how your faith might play a role or just in your belief in yourself and in what God has for you and your and what. The positive things that will come to be. Absolutely.

Arlene Ambrose: 44:07

I gave this example of stepping into this fear and then going to New York on this contract, and then it costing me more. So I've seen time and time again that. A way is provided for me personally, and there are times where, especially with this work where we're contracting and freelancing, anxiety can be quite high. And it's this talk of one. I've never been let down by God. That's who I believe in my faith. Even times where I've been out of work for months, just when I'm like, oh, I'm gonna be on the street. This is my life. Not going to be, but like your mind's. Yeah, and I think I am. I come from an immigrant family. I'm the eldest daughter. Oh, I don't have. As much capacity of not having, not having my next step and not, I'm like, I need to, yes, people are relying on me.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 45:32

Ah,

Arlene Ambrose: 45:33

yeah. I don't have time to play around. So there's also that. But I've never had an issue like I might be. Out of work. But even that, I'm not really out of work. Like when I think about it, I couldn't go and do something else. Like you really, I could, if you could think of even something that you could do, like you could maybe apply to a physical job even though you might not want or, so a lot of it is too, in our head, something's always pulled through. And it's not always, sometimes it's people finding me, and I do believe that is a faith thing where you beat, beat the odds where you're like, Hey, I, I, I don't know if I am qualified for this job, or I feel like this is a little bit out of my reach. And then I've had people say, I'm gonna, yeah. Uh, no, I still want you to come and do this project, or I still want you to do this work. And I do think that is based on faith for me. And also I think your personality and your characters, like you just connect with some people and they don't know why, and they're just like, I just have a feeling and. Yeah, there's a lot of that as well.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 47:03

As you were speaking, I was thinking about your Instagram community and how you were talking about that you create like this space where you're sharing this message that you feel like you wanna express, you wanna get out into the world. And when those, and you created this following a people who they might feel like they actually know you, even though they may have not have met you ever in real life yet. But when you do have a offering, I'm sure that they're like, yep. It's like a no question process where they're like, whatever Arlene is having, if it's a workshop or some offering, they probably are already 95% of the way bought in because you've created that content. They see what you're about, they trust you, they like you, they're, they feel that comfort. So I definitely could see how that works too.

Arlene Ambrose: 47:50

Absolutely. The other. Aspect of that is when you do have your list, sometimes I do get people messaging me saying, Hey, when are you gonna create a next workshop? Or are you gonna, are you gonna create a workshop on X, Y, Z? They'll tell me the topic. And I always find that very interesting because again, going back to season, sometimes I'm not in the space where. I'm able to post a workshop right now or upcoming, but I know that, and it, I know I've said this already, but you don't know who is watching people sometimes when people are not responding. And then there was a time where I had a different Instagram I had, I was writing and then you feel, I'm like. Nobody is reading this. Nobody is. And you get rid of everything and people notice when you're missing.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 48:54

Wow.

Arlene Ambrose: 48:55

And so you just keep that in mind, even if it's just one person. Yeah.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 49:04

So good. This is so good. Arlene, thank you so much for all the wisdom and these beautiful reminders that I think that we really need. We're coming into the middle of the year now and I can't even believe that, but just good reminders for us to take into consideration and just how we approach our work and our life. Where can people keep up with you? Learn more about your work? And what can we look forward? What are you working on? Is there something that we should stay tuned for in your world?

Arlene Ambrose: 49:39

Yes. So on socials, you can find me most active on Instagram at the Arlene Ambrose. You can also sign up for my newsletter. All the links are on my website, arlene ambrose.ca. You'll find the links. And what I am working on next, I would love to create a book. Another, I would create a bestselling book. Yes. I think my writing perspective is a little bit different. I, I pitch and I create and I send. Different articles to publications and stuff, but I do have this poetic type of,

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 50:38

yeah,

Arlene Ambrose: 50:39

that's not really structured, doesn't fit in anywhere. And so I would like to create, create my own thing. So that's what I am working on.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 50:57

That's super exciting. So everybody go and follow Arlene so you can be notified when this beautiful work is available. Thank you again, Arlene, for being on the show. I really appreciate it.

Arlene Ambrose: 51:09

Thank you so much for having me.

Ashley Cisneros Mejia: 51:13

And with that, we've come to the end of another episode. Please make sure you hit subscribe and give me a five star review on your favorite podcast app. Check out the show notes and grab my free guide to help you diversify your freelance business. It's called. If you do this, try that 220 plus smart ways to diversify your freelance services. Until next time, this is Ashley Cisneros Mejia. Don't forget, we all get this one precious life. Don't constrain yourself to a box that you were never meant to fit in. It is your right to profit from your own creative gifts. Our music was composed by Donna Raphael of World Instrumentals Talk. Freelance to me is a product of Fenix Creative Studio.