Make It Happen Podcast

Thank you to everyone that has joined in during this third season of the podcast. A big thank you also goes out to everyone who has been here since the beginning back in August 2019. It’s not clear what the future is for the Make It Happen Podcast but Melanie has some closing thoughts to share with you.

In this episode, Melanie is joined by Adeeba Aqeel, connecting with us from across the pond, to bring a fresh point of view to the Make It Happen Podcast. They talk about the reality check that comes with stepping out into the world as an adult, learning what friends are the real deal, and going after your goals. Adeeba also shares how her relationship to God shapes her view on marriage and independence.

Adeeba Aqeel is a Self-Care & Personal Development Blogger who helps people to embrace who they are, to be more confident and to pursue their passions which she does through giving advice, sharing knowledge, and sharing experiences.

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On today’s episode, Melanie chats with Dr. Ian Brooks, author of Intention: Building Capabilities to Transform Your Story, on what equips someone to commit to themselves and how to deal with obstacles standing between you and your goals. This conversation is pragmatic and helps to show you that the steps for change (in any area of your life) are within your reach!

Ian is the chief executive and founder of Rhodes Smith Consulting, leading transformations of people and organizations for over 24 years. Ian has extensive experience in executive and leadership development, change management, business performance consulting, and communication planning. His new book Intention is a transformational guide that can be used for any type of intentional change.

Connect with Dr. Ian Brooks here:

In this episode, Melanie chats with Morgan Doman on a topic very close to home: people-pleasing. Morgan Doman is a Life and Clarity Coach. She helps struggling people-pleasers gain clarity and confidence to grow into inspired leaders and entrepreneurs.  She has years of experience in the nonprofit sector which has given her a deep-rooted knowledge of how to combine business with values. She is certified by the Human Potential Institute and specializes in embodiment and transformational coaching. She loves to coach her clients to find clarity and then support them into actually taking action to create their best life.

We talk about:

• Morgan’s background with people-pleasing
• What is people pleasing
• The effect it has on our vision of self and our clarity
• Tendencies with attachment styles
• How people-pleasing shows up in romantic relationships
• How it affects social media usage
  

Connect with Morgan here:

In this episode, Melanie speaks with Embodiment Coach, Ashley Perl, all about struggling to feel good, utilizing unhealthy coping mechanisms, and overall learning how to have a better relationship with her body. There is a lot of similarities between Ashley’s experiences and what Melanie has been through. They each share on overcoming disordered eating and their relationships with their bodies.

Ashley is a Self Love and Embodiment Coach, helping women step into their power by embodying their most authentic selves. She blends the power of Breathwork, intuitive movement and somatic coaching to help women break through barriers in their self development + spiritual journeys so they can experience more joy and fulfillment in life.

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In this episode, Melanie talks with Katie of Sort of Spiritual to get the DL on Human Design. The Human Design system has interested Melanie for a while (and if you’re a regular listener, you’ve caught her drop mentions of it) but now there’s an episode! Consider this your beginner’s guide or crash course in Human Design.

Melanie brings you an update on the status of the podcast and what’s in store for the month ahead.

This week Melanie is jumping on the mic to break down her biggest tips for hearing your inner voice and intuition. In a world where we are constantly bombarded by news, media, and others’ opinions, that presents a challenge for your inner voice. It is, however, more than conquerable. Melanie addresses both, how to make space to hear your intuition, and what to do once you can hear it!

This is an insightful episode for anyone looking to check in with their inner voice or build up their self-development tools.

• Cut out the noise
• Dealing with the open space
• Asking others for advice/ hearing others’ opinions
• Focus on what feels good to you
• Slow down and get to know you
• Keep track of your patterns in your life and in the way you think
• Dealing with recurring thoughts

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Astrology for Self-Discovery, the World of Insight in Our Natal Charts, and the Aquarian Age We’re Living with Maxine Luzía

This week we are joined by Maxine Luzía, known for her positive take on Astrology and co-host of the Astrology and You podcast. She and Melanie go into the details about how certain parts of our natal chart impact us in career, self-expression, spirituality, and more. Plus, another thing worth listening for is the influence the larger planet transits have on us right now, which Maxine dives into, and how that is setting the stage for the future.

Some other fun things discussed in this episode:

• Understanding sun sign vs rising sign
  
• The importance of rising sign for expression
  
• Feeling out your natal chart and growing into it
  
• How to find work/career influences in the natal chart
  
• The Aquarian age
  
• Uranus, Neptune, and more spiritually aware humans
  
• Being self-taught in astrology
  
• Finding trust in yourself
  
• The Great Conjunction and setting the stage to go forward
  
• How fixed signs may be affected right now
  

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Melanie dives into the different reasons you may be lacking motivation. People often think of themselves as either being a motivated person or not. As if feeling a constant incentive to go after what you want is a skill you need to be born with. However, it’s not so straight forward because there are several factors that influence the way we feel about ourselves and how we feel about making changes.

Some points touched on are:

• Letting other people decide who we are
• Being out of alignment with ourselves
• Doing what we don’t like
• Rationalizing our happiness and stuck states
• The comfort of familiarity
• How change has to happen before motivation comes
• And much more!

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In today’s episode, Melanie is joined by Hypnotherapist and Rapid Transformational Therapist., April Behunin. Personal development is a favorite topic here on the Make It Happen Podcast and this episode explains how the way we think and talk about ourselves is truly what’s creating who we are and our realities.

April shares her personal history of spending years in a place of self-hate, depression and eating disorders, to arriving at a place of self-love. She tells the magnetic story of how she found Rapid Transformational Therapy, how RTT differs from hypnotherapy, the malleability of the subconscious mind, and how to rewrite our beliefs.

Some topics covered are:

• the difference between RTT and traditional hypnotherapy
• what it's like being under hypnosis
• the 3 step process of a session
• the power of affirmations
• igniting conscious awareness
• her experience with emotional struggles, depression, and substance abuse
• finding self-love
• how her own path to healing began

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If you missed it, listen to the last podcast episode titled: How I’ve Connected With My Intuition, Turning Toward Feeling Over Thinking, and A Simpler Way to Make Decisions. Melanie explains her process for waking up to her intuition along with what her connection to channeling is. It provides a preface for today’s episode.

What you can expect from this channeled message is:

• how we can harness the energy of the energetic new year (astrologically speaking) and the spring season
• what we can do to gain clarity and move forward with our goals for 2021
• if there is anything holding us back that we can now let go of this spring season

Listen with an open mind and you may just receive some insight you didn’t know you wanted.

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In this episode of the Make It Happen Podcast, Melanie opens up about the progression of her spiritual gifts throughout this past year. She dives into very practical ways of developing her gifts through consistent practice. The first crucial step for her was getting to a place of calm so that she could separate her thinking mind from her own wisdom. She also dives into:

• Indecisiveness connected to shutting down intuition
• Feeling stress and anxiety as a result of disconnection to self
• Learning meditation to relieve stress
• Debunking common myths about how meditation “should” be
• Relearning how to feel out intuition
• Not using the brain for decision-making
• Systems and methods for practicing applying intuition
• Creating the quiet space to ask and receive answers
• Intuition versus channeling higher messages
• How to tell if the brain is coming up with solutions or if you’re receiving an answer
  

Melanie fully explains her process of learning to channel in this episode, what channeling is, and who she connects to when she does this. If anyone else feels interested in deepening their intuitive practice then this episode may be really helpful. You’re feeling called here for a reason.

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This week Melanie is joined by her long-time friend, Maritza Lopez. They open up the conversation on:

• Unlearning gender roles in the home and in partnership 
• Masculinity and femininity in personal style 
• The gender and sexuality spectrum 
• Seeing representation to understand yourself
• Identifying with androgyny but not being married to labels
• Creating a safe space to explore
• What’s contributed to their body autonomy and body positivity
  

Mentions:

Soul on Disney+

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This week Melanie is joined by Anya Esma to explore her process around all things personal development. You may know Anya from her YouTube channel where she talks about shadow work, tarot, journaling tools, and spiritual exploration.

Some topics touched on in this episode are:

• how to begin self-development work
• when boundaries are necessary or limiting self-growth
• how we can reconstruct cancel culture
• feeling directionless or unsure of where to put focus
• allowing yourself the freedom to reinvent yourself as you grow
• projecting from a place of self-worth vs an egoic state
• intentional living after codependency

Anya is so incredible! Check her out here:

Melanie is here to bring you some updates along with some new intentions for greater communication and transparency. The Make It Happen Podcast is a place, not just for inspirational stories and tools for self-growth, but a place of honest connection and realness. These days, that’s hard to find. Thus, the reason it’s time to stop skimming the surface and start sharing more depth with you all.

Make It Happen Podcast

This week, Melanie is joined by Cris Lopez for his second time on the podcast! This episode has a more casual approach to it as they talk all about relationships. A big part of the conversation touches on how the pandemic has affected making friends and connecting with people, what quality makes you want to get to know someone else, and the challenges of dating during your 20s.

This week Melanie is joined by Colleen Wetmore, the host of the Dare You To Move Podcast, for a discussion on what they’ve learned about their 20s. Colleen shares from the perspective of now being in her 30s, how she views her 20s and what experiences impacted her the most. Melanie is still midway through her 20s but offers up the experiences she’s been privy to so far.

The 20s are often associated with figuring out who you are and what you want and there’s no bounds to how those lessons take form. Melanie and Colleen chat about how spirituality affects their sense of identity in work, career, and personally. They also talk: societal conditioning around marriage and children, materialism, conscious choices, entrepreneurship, and expectations society imposes on the masses.

The Make It Happen Podcast is back and Melanie is taking today’s episode to give a briefing on what she’s been up to since the last season. She talks about the impact of the pandemic, the physical pain and symptoms she’s been managing, and how she has used this time to give herself grace. The past months were an opportunity to deepen her relationship to herself, connect with her inner wisdom, and explore what makes her truly happy.

Melanie is constantly changing, so much so that she doesn’t stop to appreciate the now and what’s come before her. So cozy up with this intimate chat with Melanie as she brings you into her world.

Make It Happen Podcast

In this week’s episode of the Make It Happen Podcast, Melanie is joined by Cris Lopez.  He is a budding photographer with a big heart and some interesting experiences from his adolescence.  Cris and his family adopted the Muslim culture when he was only 7 years old and made the full move to Saudi Arabia when he was 15.  There are many cultural shocks that came with that.  He also tells how these experiences have impacted his sense of self and his appreciation for life now.

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Tik Tok: cris_album

On this episode, Melanie is back with another solo episode.  After hearing way to many people throwing around the phrase, “I’ve got to get my shit together”, she felt inspired to bring that to the podcast.  It’s overused and often without actual purpose behind it.  So in this episode, Melanie gets clear on what getting your shit together entails and some obstacles you may come across.  It’s a short episode today but it’s motivational and to the point!  

This week on the Make It Happen Podcast, we are joined by Ian Silva, Andrew Tylenda, and Marissa Vianée.  They are the creators behind the multimedia project “The Flu”.  It would be limiting to just call them a band because much of their expression shines through in the music videos and artwork they create to exist alongside their music.

They talk about how they came up with the idea for their band, what their individual methods are for contributing to the project, and what motivates them as creators. Their music videos are silly and fun to watch and they openly share what the hilarious behind the scenes process is like when they get together to film!

Check out music by The Flu:

In today’s episode of the Make It Happen Podcast, Melanie is joined by the incredible Daniel Castaneda.  He is the drummer for the metal-core band Samsara and he has a heck of a lot of stories to share. He tells us about how he got started playing music and what different genres have taught him.  Daniel is a bit of a pessimist so he brings some outrageous anecdotes to share from his time touring with his cynical twist of humor.

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On this episode of the Make It Happen Podcast, Melanie is going solo to explain what it really means to “make it happen”, the impact it has had on her approach to life, how she started her blog and stepped out of her comfort zone, and the way you, too, can develop the make it happen attitude.

This episode of the Make It Happen Podcast is part one of a collection of three episodes Melanie felt called to share with the audience.  She’s solo on the mic today and opening up about her experience labeling herself and the pressure that creates to live by the confines of the label.  She’s opting for a life filled with less self-imposed rules and offering what has worked for her in terms of shedding the expectations that you or your life need to look a certain way.

Mentions:

CBD Oil

Miss Americana on Netflix

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It is episode 6 of season 2 of the Make It Happen Podcast and the inspiring Caroline Franco is a guest today!  She’s a health and fitness guru that is unlike anyone else in the health and wellness space.  Her platform focuses on empowering others with workouts, nutrition guides, and lifestyle tips.  Caroline shares about her insecurities growing up, how that has influenced her brand and business, what having a Roman-Italian family has taught her, the impact of the Mediterranean lifestyle. Plus, Caroline shares her exclusive tips for goal-setting and how to set goals that will last.

It is season 2 episode 5 of the Make It Happen Podcast and Melanie is joined by Colleen Michelle Lewis.  Besides being the queen of pretty yoga poses, she is also a huge advocate for mental health and treating the person not the disease which speaks to the interconnectedness of all aspects of health.  Her perspective is unique because she has a condition called Cystic Fibrosis so, with her knowledge and skillset, she seeks creative ways to make yoga accessible for others with disabilities.  She tells us what her journey finding yoga was like and her detailed experience taking a yoga teacher training. Colleen also offers a guided relaxation technique that is worth trying out!

Hunger, Hope, and Healing by Sarahjoy Marsh

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On season 2 episode 4 of the Make It Happen Podcast, Melanie is joined by Marcie Morlett.  Marcie is the kindest soul who has a passion for creating connections and also runs a kick ass vegan baking business called Happy Moment.  They discuss their personal experiences with boundaries, the transcending nature of relationships as you grow, balancing passion while not overextending yourself, and how to show up authentically as yourself as much as possible.  Marcie is also a huge advocate for mental health and self-care so she shares her approach and some of her go-tos for well-being.

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On episode 3 of this second season of the Make It Happen Podcast, Melanie chats with Elizabeth Shelton. She is the creator of the site Under the Willow Tree, an Akashic Records Reader, and a budding entrepreneur with so many interests.  Melanie first came across her through her vegan food blog but stayed for the insightful posts on self-development that Elizabeth writes.  They excitedly chat about To Be Magnetic self-worth and manifestation work, also the fact that they are both manifesting generators in human design.  Additionally, the two of them talk about personal growth, the grounding tools of sun therapy and nature, and being free to change course when you have a variety of interests.

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In today’s episode, Melanie chats with Mélanie Le Blanc Sturgeon.  She is a huge proponent of body positivity and living a bigger, fuller life post-eating disorder.  The topic may be a bit of a sensitive one for anyone with a history of an eating disorder but Mélanie talks about her experience with clarity and constructive commentary on where things weren’t right.  Topics also discussed are: how to create safe spaces beyond diet culture, rephrasing language, and the societal hierarchy that labels and “diet talk” propagate.  Be sure to follow along with more of Mélanie’s content:

In the first episode of season 2 of the Make It Happen Podcast, we are joined by Teejay Ziegler or, as she is more formally known on social media, the half ass witch.  She tells the story of how she discovered her intuitive talents and how that has branched into a wide array of services to help others connect with themselves.

Teejay is a self-made businesswoman who built her spiritual business in a community with no prior knowledge of tarot readers and has found her audience.  She is the go-to for astro forecasts, deep insight on problems or situations with spot-on predictions, and witchy insight.  In the second half of the show, Melanie gets a Spiritual Gift Activation from Teejay which provides a look into what a session with Teejay is like.

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On the season finale of the Make It Happen Podcast, Melanie is joined by artist, world-traveler, and American turned Canadian: Morgan Donovan.  After only knowing each other through Instagram and writing letters to each other, they finally get to chat face to face and they discuss all things travel, self-worth, standing up for yourself, the value of skills, the importance of paying creatives for their work.

Morgan share what some of the hardships are for female travelers, tips to make travel feasible, and the cute story of how she set off to find herself and ended up meeting the love of her life along the way. Morgan is wonderfully open about the struggles that she has faced and how she has solidified her self-identity in a way that makes changing circumstances, like starting a new relationship and moving to a new country, possible.

Book recommendation: The Overstory by Richard Powers

Melanie chats with the musician and all-around good vibes human, Arturo Velarde.  In this episode, he shares how his love for music started and what keeps it going 10 years later.  He dives into some of his biggest projects (Vacation on Mars, Great Days, Fences/Thieves, and Mona Clay) and how he has grown with each one.  They also discuss the role of spirituality, mindset, and friendships in his life.

You’re going to want to grab a notepad and pen for this episode.  Melanie is joined by nutritionist and badass human being, Alex Coll.  She is the face behind the Instagram account @fitlicity where she shares nutrition, fitness, and healthy lifestyle tips daily.  She describes how she wasn’t always someone who even had an interest in health and now has created a life around what she loves most.

Listen for a breakdown of the pros and cons of challenges, what the difference between a diet and diet trend is, how to create sustainable routines and enjoy the process of change that comes with it.  Plus, Alex tells us her 5 principles for nutrition!

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In this special release episode, Melanie has the mic all to herself.  She opens up about her life-long battle with having her energy suppressed.  Recently she has recognized how much she had been living her life for other people.  As a child she was very extroverted and somewhere along the way she felt like it wasn't okay to be herself.  Melanie shares how she's been working past that and regaining control over her voice.

In this episode, Melanie sits down with the insightful and fascinating Gen Sanchez.  She is one of the most authentic, down-to-earth, and self-aware individuals Melanie has had the pleasure to know.  Gen is an artist, known for her defining series of paintings of naked women, as well as a highly intuitive tarot reader.  Gen opens up about her rock bottom moments of anxiety and depression and how she overcame those.  She shares how she discovered what she calls a sense of “knowing” that she uses to guide her and help others, and how to recognize patterns and signs from the Universe.

Book: How to Think Your Way to the Life You Want by Bruce I. Doyle

For today’s episode, Melanie is thrilled to have her best friend and fellow empath, Israel Rodriguez, on the podcast.  He is the ultimate creative--we’re talking art, music, painting, drawing, writing, and more--but he outlines how he hasn’t always considered himself that way.  Israel opens up about having insecurities as a teenager and how that led to his development of self-confidence.  He opens up about the impact of his parents’ divorce and overcoming self-imposed limiting beliefs.  His approach to life and his ability to see great things in moments and people is inspiring, appreciative, and refreshing.

Book: Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

In this episode, Melanie sits down to talk with the Michelle Mercado, also known by her brand Vibrancy with Michelle.  Let it be known that she is truly a vibrant human!  That may or may not be due to her love for essential oils and energetic gifts, both of which are discussed in this episode.  She shares about the pressure of being a caregiver for her mother from a young age and how that ignited her desire to help others.  Michelle describes everything you’d want to know about Reiki and Melanie actually gets a quick crown chakra Reiki session!  This episode is inspiring, motivational, and, if you listen all the way to the end, it includes a sneaky giveaway you won’t want to miss.

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Podcasts: Highest Self Podcast with Sahara Rose; Wellness Mama Podcast

Gianna is extremely self-aware when it comes to her emotions, her own methods for coping, and she is the first to call herself out.  One of the coolest parts of this conversation is hearing how she recognizes her power to overcome the negative situations and relationships that surrounded her.  She attributes much of that to therapy and actively seeks to be there for herself daily.  Listen for her very raw story and a great little practice she shares for maintaining mental and emotional health.

Book: The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner

 In this episode, Melanie joined the very talented musician, composer, songwriter, producer, and singer (did I miss anything?) Fabian Dominguez, more known as Docta Groove.  They recorded in his bedroom-turned-studio for this interview and chatted all about how his music process so far!  

This conversation is very much a chat amongst friends but Fabian provides a peek into what his personal journey with finding himself has been like and how he finally decided to pursue music as a career.  While his humility shines through, it is the value he places in himself that matters most at the end of the day.  That mindset is truly what makes him unique, inspiring, and has led to his dedication for continuous improvement—plus, spectacular music! 

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Movies: Nowhere Boy; Sing Street

In this episode, Melanie chats with one of her favorite people on Earth, Andrea Bessa.  Andrea is a licensed psychotherapist based in Canada about to revolutionize the field of therapy.  She explains how somatic sensory experiencing works and provides tips on how we can do a version of our own self-assessments.  Andrea is a huge advocate for self-care, allowing pleasure in our lives, and meeting people where they are at in healing.  Her approach to wellness is holistic, empathetic, and genuine.  You're going to love her!

Books: Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine

Healing Trauma by Peter Levine (recommended)

Welcome to the first episode of the Make It Happen Podcast!  In this episode, Melanie chats with Instagram influencer, Leah Boston, about her life growing up, what it was like finding her passion, and how she made the decision to leave everything behind to travel and, subsequently, move to Australia.  

This episode is for you if you’ve ever felt stuck in a place, job, or situation that you don’t like or just want to change.  Leah shares how essential certifiable skills can make all the difference.  She also talks about her tips for mindfulness and what values really matter at the end of the day. 

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Books: The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World by M.R. O’Connor (mentioned outside of recording)

Welcome to the Make It Happen Podcast with your host, Melanie Moreno.

This is a podcast based around conversations with individuals who share their biggest challenges, how they have found their passions, and are living their true, authentic selves.  At the end of the day, we all have different callings and journeys to take but, we are not alone in the experiences we go through.  

Expect personal stories, breakthroughs, realizations, and advice from other humans who are living their best selves.

Subscribe and share the podcast! ♥

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