We were lucky to catch up with Meghan Thomas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Meghan, thanks for joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
I have been an entrepreneur ever since I graduated from college, my first business was a very successful wedding photography business and I thought that the more money I made the more successful I would be and which of course would also mean my level of happiness. And in my biggest season ever I was really struggling with my health and well being it was then that I made a decision that I had to make some drastic changes to how I was running my business which was taking up a big part of my life. I started doing yoga and practicing mindfulness techniques like meditation to try and calm my mind (and nervous system) which in turn sent me down a completely different path. I phased out my wedding photography business and launched a career in the wellness field offering others safe spaces to nurture and take care of themselves. I have learned that my definition of success has changed over time.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
In the last question I shared how I find myself in the healing arts, out of my own need to nurture and take care of myself. Over the years this work has expanded, I am the host of the Emotional Expedition Podcast. I believe that emotions and trauma get stuck in the body and it is our job to let them out. I help people to identify what it is they are feeling, give them permission to feel their feelings, and then release them. I do this through local and virtual events like: Sound Journeys, Sacred Cacao Ceremonies, Breathwork Classes, Yoga Classes, Forgiveness Meditations, Single Day Retreats & Overnight Retreats.
I am most proud of the space that I hold, that allows people to feel safe, seen and heard. A place that allows for true deep healing, I believe vulnerability is a superpower and I help others to feel safe being vulnerable.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
So much of the work I do now is influenced by the areas of my own life that I have struggled in. I didn’t come to hosting a podcast on emotions because I grew up knowing about emotions. I came to it because I found myself as an adult struggling to identify what I was feeling and how to understand it. It was born out of my need to learn and grow, and once I found myself learning things I couldn’t help but to notice how many people around me were struggling with the same things. I teach from a place of walking along side, and still in my own journey of learning as well.
It was really hard to walk away from a successful and financially abundant photography business to completely start over in a totally new field. I had forgotten just how hard it was to start and launch a business. And just when I thought I had things figured out with a big part of my income coming from retreats, covid hit and once again changed how I was working. It was a hard time to completely redesign from doing everything in person to transitioning to teaching virtually. Some of the things I do translated well and others did not.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
Yes, all of it. I am very grateful for my photography business it taught me so much about running a business and working with others. There are so many skills that, that business taught me that have carried over into my current business.
My biggest lesson that I learned early on in my entrepreneurial path was collaboration & connections over competition. It is easy to compare yourself to others and want to compete but I truly believe there is enough room for all of us. A rising tide raises all ships.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://meghanthomas.com
- Instagram: emotional_expedition
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084118154969
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsuvjUErNTOPLx15hfKF5zg
- Other: Emotional Expedition Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HzWWf3fWkS20trOMhEd9O?si=c69c1155fb074573
Image Credits
Photo credit for ALL of the images: Loving My Company