Career Advice

Interior Design: Moving Corporate Stress To Holistic Harmony | Ep #146

June 4, 2024

Interior Design: Moving Corporate Stress To Holistic Harmony | Ep #146 In this episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast, host Shannon Russell sits down with Lisa Morton, a veteran in the interior design industry with a fascinating career journey. Lisa began her career designing opulent interiors for multimillion-dollar private jets, a dream job […]

Volunteer your way into a second act
Now Trending:
I'm SHANNON!

The Second Act Success Career Blog features articles to help inspire you as you navigate your career journey. Plus, you'll find show notes from podcast guests who have shared second act success stories. My hope is that these quick reads will offer advice and comfort knowing you are not alone on your path towards second act success. xo - Shannon

hello,

Let's Connect!

CONTACT ME!
Must Read Career Advice
Is Your Side Hustle Ready for full time?

Interior Design: Moving Corporate Stress To Holistic Harmony | Ep #146

In this episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast, host Shannon Russell sits down with Lisa Morton, a veteran in the interior design industry with a fascinating career journey. Lisa began her career designing opulent interiors for multimillion-dollar private jets, a dream job that ultimately led to severe anxiety and burnout. Lisa candidly shares how this challenging period inspired her to pivot towards a more holistic approach in interior design, focusing on wellness and Feng Shui.

Discover how Lisa’s personal struggles with mental health and wellness guided her to create spaces that support and nurture. Learn practical tips for transforming your workspace and home to enhance your well-being and productivity. Whether you’re looking for a career change or simply wanting to make your living environment more harmonious, Lisa’s insights into holistic interior design will inspire and empower you.

Lisa is the founder of Pure Living With Lisa Morton and host of the Feng Shui Living Podcast

Tune in to hear Lisa’s incredible second act success story on Episode #146, from high-stress luxury jet design to creating serene, supportive spaces that promote health and happiness.

Interior Design: Moving Corporate Stress To Holistic Harmony | Ep #146

Interior Design: Moving Corporate Stress To Holistic Harmony | Ep #146

 

SHOW NOTES:

Connect with Lisa Morton:
https://www.purelivingwithlisamorton.com/
https://fengshuiliving.buzzsprout.com/
https://www.instagram.com/purelivingwithlisamorton

 


You belong in the Career Clarity CollectiveFiguring out what you want in your career often feels like a full time job, BUT you don’t have to do it alone! If you feel miserable at work and need a change, join like-minded women in this membership. You’ll get access to group coaching, masterclasses, and community.  https://secondactsuccess.co/membership

 

Grab my FREE Level Up Career Journal to help you plan your next career move!
https://secondactsuccess.co/careerchange

 

*TAKE THE QUIZ – Discover If Now Is The Right Time To Change Careers

 

JOIN THE NEWSLETTER:
https://secondactsuccess.co

 

WORK WITH SHANNON:

*Book a FREE Discovery Call with Shannon

 

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST:
Don’t miss an episode! https://secondactsuccess.co/podcast

 

LET’S CONNECT!

Instagram – https://instagram.com/secondactsuccess

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/secondactsuccess.co

TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@secondactsuccess

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/second-act-success/

Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/@secondactsuccess

 

Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Interior Design: Moving Corporate Stress To Holistic Harmony | Ep #146
Episode - #146
Host: Shannon Russell
Guest: Lisa Morton
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] Lisa Morton: I was worried about having a heart attack. I literally would sit in meetings and I remember one time sitting there. Thinking, my heart is going to be out of my chest, I was worried the person next to me could hear it.

I went to the doctor, and she's like, No, honey, I think this is anxiety. I'm like, who knew? So, it was such a hard, hard couple years. But it put me on this beautiful path and led me to new work and new opportunities. And it's just been amazing. So in the end, it was a good thing.

[00:00:30] Shannon Russell: Hey, you, are you feeling stuck, desperate for a career change or thinking of starting a business, but you're just not sure how to make your first move? I'm television producer turned career coach, Shannon Russell, and this is the second act success career podcast. This is where you will not only get the career advice you've been craving, but you'll get tips from career and business experts.

along with inspiration from others who have made a career transition to find second act success. Let's get [00:01:00] started.

Hey there. Welcome to another episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast. On this episode of the show,

I will be introducing you to Lisa Morton.

Lisa has been in the interior design industry for 20 years. She's had a focus on holistic interior design and Feng Shui for the past 10 years. But guess what? She began her career designing interiors for multimillion dollar private jets.

That job was a dream, but it burnt her out after feeling anxiety, she decided to leave that job and head out on her own. She then opened her own holistic interior design business and hasn't looked back. In our conversation, Lisa gets a really candid about the mental health and wellness struggles that really led her to find this invaluable approach to arranging your space for support. Let's dive in. You are going to love Lisa Morton and this is her second act success [00:02:00] story.

[00:02:01] Shannon Russell: Lisa, welcome to the podcast. I'm so happy to have you here. Thank you for having me. It was so nice to meet you at PodFest in Orlando this January, and we hit it off. I learned about your story you're just a perfect person to come talk about your second act success.

So I can't wait to dive into it. Why don't you tell me where your career began and it began with interior design. Is that right? Yeah,

[00:02:26] Lisa Morton: yeah, I went to interior design school and I started doing , residential design. I spent several years doing design of private aircraft interiors, private jet interiors, which was super fun.

I got to travel the world and use outrageous materials and it was just really wild and really cool.

[00:02:41] Shannon Russell: How did you land in that? Because that's such a different type of interior design. Right?

[00:02:46] Lisa Morton: I never would have expected that, but I actually lived in a city where there was a really high end completion center, entirely custom.

We would do special aircraft for people all around the world, like really, really beautiful details. Mother of Pearl is an [00:03:00] everyday thing in a tabletop, right? And, onyx details and really beautiful things. so I

.Kind of fell into it. I just happened to live in a great area. I was looking for a job.

They needed a designer and it was a learning experience because they don't teach you anything about aircraft design in design school. I generally knew design principles and everything. The type of materials and everything. it was a lot, but it was so fulfilling and interesting. And, I definitely learned a lot

[00:03:30] Shannon Russell: and learned a lot

[00:03:31] Lisa Morton: about myself.

[00:03:32] Shannon Russell: now I'm just curious, are you working, like, is someone hiring you for their private jet or are you designing and decorating these for the company? I worked for the company. Yeah. Yeah. I

[00:03:45] Lisa Morton: have since done a little one off here and there for people, but I did work for the company and it was a great experience.

Don't get me wrong, but it's a very, very, very high stress, right? You need the answer. Not three days from now. An [00:04:00] hour ago. Yeah, right. And dealing with a lot of natural products, natural materials, woods, granite stones, marbles, their natural products. And some people don't always remember that.

Right? I had a gentleman once. He's like, I want this stone, but I want it 20 percent lighter. And I'm like, It's a rock like it's from the earth it's not man made so we can explore and see what we can do But I can't 100 percent guarantee. It's going to be exact 20 percent lighter

[00:04:27] Shannon Russell: Okay, that's some pressure and especially if these people have money and they're expecting it to be the way that they want to

[00:04:34] Lisa Morton: yeah

[00:04:34] Shannon Russell: 50 million dollar interiors

[00:04:37] Lisa Morton: it was wild. So it was great but I discovered I got to a point where I was severely struggling with anxiety and stress and I didn't know what was wrong with me. , like being a child of the 80s and 90s, we did not sit around the dining table and talk about stress reduction techniques, right?

Not at all. So I went to the doctor because I was worried about having a heart attack. I literally would [00:05:00] sit in meetings and I remember one time sitting there. Thinking, my heart is going to be out of my chest, I was worried the person next to me could hear it.

I went to the doctor, and she's like, No, honey, I think this is anxiety. I'm like, who knew? So, it was such a hard, hard couple years. But it put me on this beautiful path and led me to new work and new opportunities. And it's just been amazing. So in the end, it was a good thing.

[00:05:27] Shannon Russell: So did the doctor give you some techniques that you could take with you back so that you could continue your work? Yes, and no, you know, ,

[00:05:33] Lisa Morton: I'm kind of like, I'm gonna fix it, right? I'm gonna fix it. I'm gonna figure out what's wrong. And so I started doing yoga.

I started meditating. I went on walks daily in the park. I listened to really calming music. I altered my diet. I went to therapy. I mean, I did everything I could possibly do. but there was a point I just had to be able to be happy. I had to leave that job because I was, miserable. it got really.

ugly at times. I remember [00:06:00] hiding in the closet, having a panic attack and trying to figure out how I'm like, you know, you look after a panic attack, you feel, how am I going to escape the closet and get back to my cubicle or get to my car? it was rough. you know, I ended up leaving, but , it was a great opportunity to start new and start fresh with those tools that I had to support me with the meditation, with the yoga, with the nutrition that I, wasn't aware of, that was a good

[00:06:27] Shannon Russell: thing.

So, I love that you listen to your body because so many times, especially women, we'll just work through it. We'll suck it up. That's just the mentality that I think you and I grew up on, is just suck it up and keep going and you're just on your path and this is the path you chose, so this is where you are.

And you listen to yourself and said, I don't want to feel this way every day for the rest of my life. That must have been scary to leave this, really glamorous dream job of yours. You know it.

[00:06:59] Lisa Morton: I [00:07:00] mean, I'm not gonna lie, there was a lot of shame and embarrassment for years that I held on to.

And I'll probably just say, I feel like I let that go in recent years now. it hung on for a long time that I couldn't cut it. Right. And I had to learn how to process that I wasn't strong enough. Right. But I knew I wasn't okay as I was and things needed to change. Plus at the time when I really was struggling the most, I had just gotten married,

he was trying to help me and it was interesting.

[00:07:29] Shannon Russell: And was it a male dominated field? I'm just curious.

[00:07:32] Lisa Morton: Oh yes. I mean, of course, there was very few women. and so it was definitely a male dominated and they didn't always think the best of our department, although we were what every you visually saw.

Right. True. They, they did not always have the most respect for the design department, so that was interesting.

[00:07:53] Shannon Russell: Well, so you decided to take this leap, and you had your husband's blessing, I'm sure, of just get yourself well. You'll [00:08:00] find something else, and then What was that process like kind of, because it's always interesting to think about, and I've read a lot about this recently about grieving the career that you left.

And it's true if you think about it, like sometimes people are missing their coworkers or they're missing their routine. And, you might not love everything about the job that you left, but there's things that you are going to miss and you're going to grieve in your own Did you have any of that?

And how did you kind of Find your way through to your next act. Yeah, yeah.

[00:08:33] Lisa Morton: The people, that's always a hard thing. If you connect with people and then you leave, it's so hard. and that was a big thing for us. We actually had a major life change and relocated to a different city. After I left my job, my husband got this great offer and it was just one of those, this is a great fresh start.

We both, my husband and I, Our natural kind of workaholics. We like to stay busy. We don't have Children. So we just like to go and do it all. [00:09:00] And this was a great opportunity for us to have a reset and also just to slow down. Right? So it wasn't as hard as maybe if it had. I stayed there, but we moved to a new city and then I started my it was actually interesting.

This was to 2010. And the economy was not in great shape and I couldn't get a job. I could not get a job in this city. I thought I had a good resume, good education, good training. I couldn't get a job. It was just, there was nothing.

It was scary. so I ended up starting my own business, doing my own thing. I knew I always wanted to do my own thing. I didn't think I was quite there and moving to new city. You don't know where the contractors, you don't know that design community, where do I source things from, but I just.

Dove in and my husband's very entrepreneurial. So he's always been supportive of this. And I dove in and started my own business doing residential design. it was so funny. I always said, nobody's going to advertise for me, [00:10:00] me really. So I would go through and find every networking meeting within like, a huge range and I would make myself go to three every week.

Whether it's just a networking, whether it's a social hour, it's something, and walk in and know no one. But take my business cards and it paid off. Definitely, it gets hard, ? There's a point you're like, Oh my gosh, I've been to so many of these. Hi, I'm Lisa.

[00:10:25] Shannon Russell: ,

You knew you were starting over fresh and this is the only way to really get your name out there.

So that was a really smart strategy.

there's a lot of pep talks in my car before I walk in. Yes. Yeah. I bet. Oh my gosh. And so then you just slowly started getting client after client and working on homes. Yeah, you know, I never once

[00:10:47] Lisa Morton: advertised it. I'm a big believer in word of mouth so I have a great story if you don't mind Yes, please one of my favorite clients one of my biggest projects was I did a talk at this public library in this [00:11:00] small little town out of ways here They asked me, I'm like, sure, I like doing this kind of stuff, I love sharing about design. And so I talked about design trends, and I think I got into some color psychology and stuff. Not a big deal, I wasn't expecting anything from this.

I'm like, maybe somebody might know somebody. Two years later I receive a phone call, and I go to this woman's house. She produced my business card and all the notes she had taken during my talk and faked this for two years and called me. Wow. So you never know . That's incredible. we worked on that home and we got a, basically every room, but one basement room and it was a huge project.

It was an enjoyable project. Bonus points because she was a retired, home ec teacher, or family consumer science, and the whole crew would show up to work on stuff and she'd have baked goods.

Yeah.

[00:11:50] Shannon Russell: You get

[00:11:51] Lisa Morton: some really, really great people sometimes.

Ugh. Yeah,

[00:11:55] Shannon Russell: and that's all from giving a free speech at a library. Right. Yeah,

[00:11:58] Lisa Morton: that's

[00:11:59] Shannon Russell: it. And being [00:12:00] yourself and having someone see that. Mm-Hmm. .

[00:12:02] Lisa Morton: Yeah. How incredible. Yeah. .

[00:12:04] Shannon Russell: And how did you feel at the time, just overall health? you're now your own boss, you're running your own company. How was it compared to working at your last?

I think

[00:12:17] Lisa Morton: it being a solopreneur, There's always stress, right? There's always something, but that was more for me getting systems in place, learning things I didn't know, learning about bookkeeping and, all those things that when you start a business, you have to do. fortunately I had great support doing all that.

So, it was a different type of stress, but nowhere near the intensity. with the airplanes, it was like a 30, 000 small carpet piece. So when you're thinking of the grand scheme of things, it, working in a residential space, it's different. I did mostly residential, a little commercial.

when I started dipping my toe into that holistic design space and everything, I started taking on some yoga [00:13:00] studios. I've designed a bunch of yoga studios. Holistic health clinics, alternative clinics and things like that, that really understand value this holistic approach to creating a space to put your body at ease so that was really fun.

[00:13:14] Shannon Russell: And that stem from you getting healthy and getting into yoga and meditation. Okay. So that's so

[00:13:20] Lisa Morton: interesting. So it got to this point where I was like, Hmm, I will really want to marry my work with my passion. my yoga, and meditation and aromatherapy and color therapy, and I learned all these things to help myself, I remember when I was going through my struggles, I tried everything.

I'm like, I can't figure it out. I can't figure out, but the last piece of the puzzle for me was my home. so funny. I look back at my home at the time. It did not support me. I had the wrong colors. I had the wrong textures. Things were set up, not to support someone who was stressed out.

I literally [00:14:00] had red in my bedroom. And I wondered why I was anxious and like, couldn't sleep. Like I look back now, I'm just like, okay, I always look back and laugh, but so yeah, the getting into the whole holistic approach was fascinating. And that really opened my eyes to all the possibilities.

[00:14:18] Shannon Russell: Did that change your business? you started getting into holistic design, where did that take your career at that point? You know,

[00:14:27] Lisa Morton: not everyone is always on board cause they don't understand it or they don't think it really works. so I immediately started studying holistic design.

Right when I started my business, I started doing work. And even though I wasn't maybe intentionally implementing something, I was just, I'd always think about it, right? I'd work with a client. Okay. She needs to rest and relax. These are the good colors for that. Let's focus on how we can arrange things. and then that's where my curiosity of Feng Shui started.

[00:14:56] Shannon Russell: , there's so many of us that hear it and we know kind of what it is, tell [00:15:00] us about it and how you can implement that into a home.

it's

[00:15:04] Lisa Morton: an ancient art and science of arrangement that's over 4, 000 years old. And a lot of people instantly just kind of think it's like superstition, but it's like centuries of study and research. And it's fascinating for me to experiment with these things over the years. I mean, I can tell people things, but my own experiments have been mind blowing.

So when I work with a client, I go in and we look at their home. We look at their space. We look at each room, how it's laid out, ? The shape of their home, the lot of the land, what's surrounding it. And then we also look into your goals, what you're looking to do, what you're needing in life, what you're, where you're struggling, right?

And then we can. Modify your home. And a lot of people think also it's a big investment. Like we have to remodel your home. No, oftentimes there's little things that we can do to direct the energy. And it is fascinating. And I have become. [00:16:00] Obsessed with it. I did my first training and I studied on my own one on one with a, feng shui consultant that I knew, for a while.

And then I did my first training in 2014. I became an advanced practitioner. I practice interior alignment feng shui. I did my advanced training in 2018 and this year I'm becoming a master teacher. So My heart's so full. I'm just so excited. This is something I've been wanting to do and trying to do for several years now.

And it just, things happen in life and it's not meant to be, and this is the year it is meant to be. I'm thrilled to be able to share this with other people and teach them how to do consultations and help even more people, because I think it's needed. People need a home. Where they can drop their shoulders.

They can take a deep breath because at the end of the day, you need that. It's not just a place to go and crash on the sofa, and watch TV. We need this space to revive

[00:16:55] Shannon Russell: our body. So you will be training other interior designers [00:17:00] to add this?

[00:17:00] Lisa Morton: Designers or even, there's therapists.

There's so many people that get into feng shui, which is fun because they can take it in different directions.

[00:17:07] Shannon Russell: it's actually adding to you So if someone wants you to help work on their home You have this added level of what you're going to bring to that project and whether you truly believe in it or not It's going to help and they're going to feel it when they're in there Yeah,

[00:17:24] Lisa Morton: i'm always like what do you have to lose you may think it's woo or weird What do you have to lose?

Whether we're going to turn the chair to go this direction or that direction can make a huge impact in how your body feels in your space. And why not try it? . what's interesting is you'll get concrete result, which is powerful. We have these nine energy centers that I work with nine energy centers of your home, kind of like the chakra system of your body.

If you're a yogi, we use a blog on map with these nine energy centers and you have a specific area of your home connected to wealth and abundant. You have a specific area connected to your health, which I worked a lot on recent [00:18:00] years, clients, you have an area connected to love and relationship.

So whatever you're looking to do, we can. Enhance that space. so here's something cool., your body and mind can't tell the difference between what's symbolism right? Symbolism in your home. reality, So if you're walking into your space. And you see something to inspire you to be motivated every day, your body's going to be like, Oh, is it symbolism? Or is it reality? Either way, it's going to think it's reality, So that's where symbolism can come in.

So powerful. If you're looking to make money, we bring in symbolism to make you feel wealthy and to Prepare your body for that. If you're looking to find the love of your life, we set up your bedroom to bring that, to prepare, to make your body feel that you're already in that energy of having a partner, having that dream mate that you've always wanted.

[00:18:52] Shannon Russell: Sounds so beautiful and so Inspirational to especially my audience here of women who are [00:19:00] transitioning or looking to make a change to make themselves happier, whether it's in work or in life. So I think really what you offer is something that so many of us can use and utilize to get us there a little bit faster and in the right way.

[00:19:15] Lisa Morton: I would say a lot of my clients are going through something big and that could be divorce, illness. loss of a family member, there's a lot of heavy things. There's also a lot of fun things, which, starting a new business, right? Leaving a job, going to someone, starting a your career, moving, building a home, starting a family, all these good things, which is really fun.

Fascinating, to get to work on that whole spectrum, but going through life changes, they're stuck, they're ready for something new and something fresh. And we can get that happening.

[00:19:49] Shannon Russell: Do you have two to three tips of what someone who is really wanting a career change or to start a business, just that, that move into something that's more fulfilling [00:20:00] that maybe they can do at their desk, for example, or in their home to help get them in that right mind space, body space.

[00:20:08] Lisa Morton: Definitely. Well, I'll say this one thing I discovered during COVID. I was helping people set up home offices, right? And laying out to follow feng shui. And I ran into so many people that were sitting at the dining table working and their kids are over here during school and dinner is being made over there.

And you really need that dedicated office space. ? It doesn't have to be beautiful office. It could be a nook. I had a couple of people we worked and made little offices in their closet, right? So you can have that peace and quiet. It also will help you when it's time to turn off at the end of the night.

To start your day to turn it off. Here's something I always tell them to do. Set up this routine, set up routine. So you walk in youroffice every day and say I walk in. I open the blinds. I turn on the lights. I light a candle. I move this move that and pull out my chair and sit down and work at the [00:21:00] end of the day.

I push my chair in. I pick up whatever things blow out my candles, turn out the lights, close the blinds, close the door. When you set up those routines, it automatically cues your body. So when you walk in, you're like, Oh, I do this, this, this, this, this. I work. And then at the end of the night, I do this, this, this, this.

And I'm done. I go enjoy time with my

[00:21:21] Shannon Russell: family. I love that. And if you look behind me, this is the office I built myself. Just about a little over a year ago, because it was the same thing. I felt like I was working on the couch, I was working here, my husband's working at home and I said, no, I'm running two businesses and I have my podcast.

I need to have a space. And it is. Just exactly what I needed. And then I can shut the door and I can go be mom and wife, but I, love that idea so much and I want to, I'm going to start implementing that and just get into more of a routine, but it is like, you just feel like you can let your shoulders down and just breathe easier when you have that dedicated [00:22:00] space, that's yours.

[00:22:01] Lisa Morton: Definitely. Definitely. I also am a big fan of plants. Of course. love plants, plants in Feng Shui. We have a five element system that we use and they represent the wood element. Which symbolizes onward and upward forward growth moving onward, getting those goals, reaching towards those goals and things.

So something else I'd like to recommend is getting a plant. If you're starting fresh, you're starting a new career, go to the store, go to your great favorite plant store, right? And pick out something beautiful. We always want to look for something with soft rounded leaves. Okay. That's better feng shui. avoid any cacti.

Sorry. Cacti are cool, but they're not good feng shui and get this plant with the intention of it supporting you and growing your business. Put it on your desk, water it, care for it. If it becomes spent, it's life is done, transition to something new, move on from it. Please don't keep a spent plant on your desk.[00:23:00]

But it's a great way to really symbolically, tell your body, tell your space, the energy of your space, I am ready, let's move on, let's grow.

[00:23:11] Shannon Russell: That's beautiful, Lisa. Oh, I love that. so tell me more about, like what you do with clients now and about your business now. And I know you also have a podcast as well.

So tell us about what you offer people if someone's listening and they want to work with you. Sure, sure. So I have my podcast. I

[00:23:28] Lisa Morton: recently It's called Feng Shui Living and you can find it anywhere you find podcasts. I also have it on YouTube, so you can find it there if you'd like to be more of a video person.

it is just so much fun and actually right now I'm doing a series, a three part series on Feng Shui for Financial Abundance. That's super fun. I tell you about symbolism. I help you find that wealth and abundance corner in your home. it's really good. but I also do one on one consultation. So what's great is I can learn so much about [00:24:00] your space without even being in it, which just looking at the plot of land.

Looking at the floor plan, talking to you, asking a million questions, but it's amazing. So I do a lot of virtual work, which is so fun for years. I didn't understand how I could do this, but it just works so beautifully. And I'm like, I got to work with people all over. And it's so fascinating, different cultures and interests and styles and families and wherever they live, you know, it's really fun.

I also do distance space clearing. So we kind of shift the energy of the space. And then what's really fun is I'm moving into this education role. I believe that everyone deserves a space to, feel good, no matter your income, if you can afford a full Feng Shui consultation or whatever. So my, My goal and goals that I've been working on is to create options for everyone.

So the podcast is free, go get some free information. I also do a free Feng Shui audit, so you can apply to get on the podcast and join me for a Feng Shui audit. It's a great way to get some, information and steps to take. And [00:25:00] then, I have some mini courses and then I will be training Feng Shui consultants.

Once I finish my master teacher training this summer, so I will have my first training session in February. Fall. It's a great opportunity. If somebody is looking for a new career, you gotta help people and you don't have to be in the interior design field. There's so many people that get into this work.

They just want to help people. And it's, fascinating and you can do it from home. You can do it from home. I love it. my dogs are laying at my feet half the time or, jump up and it. I'll take a break, schedule my break and go out and go on a walk for 20 minutes and come back and work and working from home.

I think there's something great about community. I will always say you need support. You need community. If you are a small business owner, cause It's something I really believe in, but there's something great about working at home all by yourself.

[00:25:50] Shannon Russell: There is. There is. And you can still connect. We met in person at a conference, but then we can talk online and we can, introduce other people that we know and [00:26:00] support each other.

And there's something so special about that. And it's such an intimate relationship too. And it's a friendship and, you don't have to be in the same city to see each other. Exactly.

[00:26:09] Lisa Morton: Exactly. I don't think a lot of people who work for big companies, I don't think they realize the connection these especially small business women can create and it's powerful.

And. days of women being catty and not so nice, that's gone. I just meet so many women who are so supportive of me and I'm so grateful and I just want to support them. And especially younger. I have a lot of younger designers. Fresh out of school. I just had a girl who's graduating and he had to interview me for something, and, I'm just like, I just want to help as much as I can.

I think just. Small business women. it's a really cool place to be.

[00:26:47] Shannon Russell: I don't even have to ask the question because I can see how happy you are. And don't want to say stress free cause we always have some level of stress, but like, you're feeling good within yourself, that you're where you need to be.

Is that right? [00:27:00] 100%.

[00:27:01] Lisa Morton: And it was so funny. I just listened to your episode with, the aromatherapist and which was fabulous. And, I think she said in that podcast episode, she said something about, you think you're supposed to be here when you're younger and because that's what you're told that, like I grew up on a farm in Iowa, right.

And everybody was like a teacher, my dad was in our family farm, and I'm this. You know, interior design was weird enough, let alone holistic design and feng shui. And I didn't know even know there were possibilities, right, until I was older, until I really opened up. And I'm like, what, what do I love?

What makes me happy? And there's definitely, some questioning and I remember even being nervous, are my design friends going to think I'm weird? but they were most supportive because they were like, you were following your passion and you're good at this. You need to do this, girl. Yeah.

So you never know. It can be surprising. Sometimes the people you least expect [00:28:00] to support you are your biggest fans.

And you want to be supportive and you want to see someone else who's kind of breaking that mold and say, wow, well, I can do it too. It's inspiring.

[00:28:10] Lisa Morton: Yeah.

Okay.

All right, it's time for our five fast Qs of the week. Here we go.​

[00:28:18] Shannon Russell: Name one thing that these different chapters in your life have taught you.

[00:28:22] Lisa Morton: Oh, wow. These are good. Okay. Okay. One has taught me the importance of being grounded, Getting grounded every day, because I'm always kind of a fast thinker too, sometimes a fast talker, and it's important for me.

I'm a happier, better person when I take time to ground myself every day, whether that's through a couple yoga poses, through breathing exercises, or just getting outside and walking, and just like being with nature.

[00:28:50] Shannon Russell: Would you recommend taking a leap into a big life change to your best friend?

Yes, of

[00:28:56] Lisa Morton: course. There's so many possibilities in life.

[00:28:59] Shannon Russell: [00:29:00] What is one piece of advice that you would give to someone who is about to start their second act?

[00:29:04] Lisa Morton: Ooh,

I don't want to get heavy. Sometimes when you shift into a different direction, there's gonna be those people who aren't supportive and it can be crushing. Those people who you think will always be there and they're like, Hmm, right? So that's okay. Those people aren't meant to be along with this part of your journey.

You can still meet them for coffee once in a while or something, right? Or stay in that lane, but like, don't let that drag you down.

[00:29:36] Shannon Russell: Does that make sense? Absolutely. I completely agree. I always say to think about your goals, keep them close to your chest before you really tell other people, because you want to be confident that you're making the right decision.

This way, no one else can sway you. So I like, right. Yes. Yes. Yes. That's what you said. Like have those people in that lane and just keep moving forward [00:30:00] in your path.

[00:30:01] Lisa Morton: Yeah. Yeah. And don't be brought down just because they don't love the idea, that's okay. That's their opinion. That's their journey, their path in life.

Yours is going to be different. Absolutely.

[00:30:13] Shannon Russell: All right. So what does the next act look like for you?

[00:30:16] Lisa Morton: I'm moving into this role of teacher educator and I'm so excited. I am thrilled to be able to teach other people how to do this. I have plans to also start educating in the holistic design space because I think the design community, the traditional interior design community needs this too because that's the future of design.

No doubt in my eyes. It's still beautiful things, right? It's fun to surround ourselves with things we love and beautiful things, but this connection to nature, we've discovered, we've learned how important it is to have nature around our body, to have that connection to the cycles of nature. So I never in a million years ever thought I'd be kind of like a

[00:30:58] Shannon Russell: teacher of sorts, but that's where [00:31:00] I'm headed.

You're teaching something that you love that inspired you. And that's It's empowering. Yes. That's changed

[00:31:06] Lisa Morton: my personal life. So

[00:31:08] Shannon Russell: it's exciting. It's a great next act to move forward to. So where can my audience connect with you? Nice. So while

[00:31:16] Lisa Morton: I have my, podcast Feng Shui Living, you can go to my website, purelivingwithlisamorton.Com. And I just created a brand new freebie, which I'm having so much fun. It's a home scorecard. Nice. That's you can go and like, just do it. It's super lighthearted, just fun. And just see kind of maybe where you're at with your home and where you can improve. , you can grab that on my website.

You can find me on social media @purelivingwithlisamorton. And yeah, keep checking back, because I have all kinds of new stuff coming out this year.

I'd been doing the same thing, consultations for so long, and then, like, okay, it's time for this new chapter, new step.

And so I did all this prep work and now this year things are coming to fruition and I'm just like on cloud nine.

[00:31:57] Shannon Russell: Oh, I love that for you. Well, I'll [00:32:00] link to every way that everyone can connect with you in the show notes. And I'm just so happy to share your story with my audience. And I love everything you're doing, Lisa.

And I'm so happy we connected on our friends and able to support each other. Definitely.

[00:32:15] Lisa Morton: you are an inspiration to me. I, respect so much of what you're doing and your approach to everything is beautifully done and so thoughtful. And so you inspire me

[00:32:25] Shannon Russell: all the time. Well, right back at you.

And that means a lot to me from your design expertise. Thank you so much for being here. Thanks.

Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to Second Act Success. To view show notes from this episode, visit secondactsuccess.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell and this [00:33:00] is Second Act Success.

 

Previous posts:

From Foreign Service To Fitness