Behind The Mic: The Abundance Journey with Elaine Starling

Amplifyou Intro/Outro: 00:00:03

This is Amplifyou Podcast about you discovering your message and broadcasting to the world. If you're a coach, author or speaker, you'll want to tune in. If you're looking for the best return on your time investment, to get your message out to the world in a bigger way, we're giving you full access behind the scenes look of how we're running our podcasts, how our clients have found success, and what you can do to launch your podcasts today. The world needs your message. I'm Michelle Abraham, the host. Join my family as we unleash your unique genius and find the connections you need to launch your venture today. Join us and let's get amplified.

Michelle Abraham: 00:00:44

Hello, hello Amplifyou Michelle Abraham, your hosts here today with my guests behind the mic interview with Elaine Starling from The Abundance Journey podcast. So Elaine, how are you doing today?

Elaine Starling: 00:00:56

I'm doing great, Michelle, it's so wonderful to join you.

Michelle Abraham: 00:01:00

Oh, well, it's so great to have you. And it's so been so much fun to see you launch this podcast over the last few months. So you came to us with some amazing ideas and flushing them out. And then it was like as I can see your wheels turning each time each time we were getting closer and closer to like where you landed with your podcast. So I would love for you to take us on that journey. What inspired you in the first place to start a podcast?

Elaine Starling: 00:01:24

Well, I really wanted to be able to reach out to people and talk to them about this abundance journey that they're on. That's what life is actually all about. It's a journey of abundance. And so I wanted to be able to speak with people about some of the insights that I received, I was really blessed on Tuesday 2005 to have a stroke. Because during my stroke, I had a conversation with our higher power. And I got a complete download about how everything works. And then I was told I had to share it. And so one of the ways I love to share these insights that I received is through the podcast, and by also chatting with other people who have some really cool experiences of their own. And then at the very end of each episode, I activate abundance. There's a process that I use, I teach all my clients to use. And it really makes a massive difference in your life when you remember to act by abundance. Activate abundance x

Michelle Abraham: 00:02:17

five, and this also works better if you activate it first and

Elaine Starling: 00:02:21

activate it first. Yes.

Michelle Abraham: 00:02:24

Awesome. That sounds fabulous. So can you take us through a little bit of like what that sounds like on the end of your podcast?

Elaine Starling: 00:02:30

Yeah, absolutely. There are five steps to activate abundance. And the very first thing you want to do is celebrate in advance. I love celebrating an advanced like I get to chat with Michelle, how cool is that? This woman is so awesome. She's rocking, she knows podcasts down the ground, she understands everything there is to know about the technology, the special techniques, how you can grow your audience how you can structure your podcast. So it's really effective. And I just love hanging out with Michelle, she's really cool. She's really fun. And I always learn something. So I want to celebrate in advance step to acknowledge something you learned, you're going to acknowledge that you're learning the activate abundance process right now, because I'm on step three, appreciate appreciate the difference it can make in your life. Because when you start using this technique, it changes everything. I'll give you an example when I'm done doing the five steps, because I really want to show you how you can use this in every situation in your life. And it really opens things up. So step four is to activate abundance by actually picking a trigger of when you're going to remember to take an action step, or you actually put it on your calendar. And you're like, Oh, this is really important. It's got to go right here. And I'm going to make sure that I do this. So that's how you activate the abundance. And then you celebrate again, because you're making progress, you really move things forward. And it shifts everything. So let me walk you through an example of how I use the activate abundance process. One time when I went to the DMV, you wouldn't think that that would be a normal place to activate abundance with

Michelle Abraham: 00:04:05

you. All right, no, definitely not.

Elaine Starling: 00:04:06

I usually tend to either who loves going to the DMV? Not me. So I don't think anybody really loves it, including the people who work there. So I showed up, and I live in California, and we had a new ID that was coming out. And so all the old driver's licenses, all that stuff expired, and you had to have certain documents that you had, and it was very confusing and a bit overwhelming. So I came in, and I celebrated an advanced by saying, you know, it's really the strangest thing. I'm so happy that I get to collaborate with you in figuring this out. Because I always attract the best people who are so sharp and who know how to figure things out. And I'm so delighted and I acknowledge something about her because you get this system and I have no clue how this works. I think I did it right. I really appreciate the you can help me fill in the gaps if there's something that I didn't get right. I so appreciate that, here's my stuff. I activated her. Here's all my stuff. Let me know. Is there anything that I left out? No. Awesome. Thank you so much for making this an incredible visit to the DMV, you are such a great role model. And I really appreciate everything that you did today. Thank you. It was the fastest, easiest trip to the DMV ever. And how often does she received that kind of treatment? Probably.

Michelle Abraham: 00:05:25

You probably meet her D her we?

Elaine Starling: 00:05:28

Yeah, because you're acknowledging and appreciating the person that you're speaking to. And you're sending a signal to your subconscious mind, oh, this is something cool for me to pay attention to, this could really work for me. So you're kind of opening up that peripheral vision of opportunity. And so often people are like, okay, opportunity has to show up right here right in front of my face right in front of my eyes, or it doesn't count, but most opportunities in your peripheral vision. So if you can open yourself up to that, you get a way more opportunities than you ever imagined.

Michelle Abraham: 00:06:01

Wow, that's so good. Yeah, we're like some people like have a little dark cloud over them like they can, like go umbrella up. And maybe it's the umbrella that's blocking. I imagined them wearing like an umbrella hat or something. Blocking the peripheral view. That's awesome. Wow, that's so cool. Yeah, I can see how you made that trip to the DMV. So much more enjoyable, so much more fun.

Elaine Starling: 00:06:25

It was more fun for her and it was more fun for me. Yeah, it's a twofer. And I find that when you use that activated on this process all the time in every conversation, in fact, you use it on yourself when you're thinking about a project you're about to work on. And you know, the normal response is like, Oh, yeah. Right. But instead, if you celebrate in advance, this is going to be way easier than I thought, I'm gonna find some great resources, this is gonna be a lot of fun, I can't wait to get started. And you acknowledge something that is making a difference for you appreciate the difference that it makes, right? And you go through the whole process on yourself, you get yourself into a state where you can be far more productive and way more effective. So just

Michelle Abraham: 00:07:10

awesome. I love it. I'm going to use that technique when I start my Texas. My tech stuff, right, that's good week, and we were in sorry. That's so cool. And so now you incorporate that into your podcast. And we'll also have a new podcast who you're looking for our guest,

Elaine Starling: 00:07:31

I'm looking for people who don't mind, a spiritual side to things. They typically are entrepreneurs, and they're trying to make a difference for a lot of other people. And they can have all different kinds of backgrounds. I'm not limited in any one area. But since I'm talking about spirituality, and how you are actually in partnership with the divine, they have to be comfortable with that kind of language. And as long as they can flow with that. Absolutely fabulous because I find that no two people define abundance exactly the same way. So I always want to get into what's the why story behind why this person does what they do and why they're so passionate about it. And then what's their definition of abundance? You know, what, how does that what does it show up as in their world? Because abundance is all around you all the time. And the biggest reason why you might be missing out on abundance is because you don't notice it, you're expecting it to have a specific definition, instead of being open to all the different things that could be.

Michelle Abraham: 00:08:32

And how do you define abundance? Well,

Elaine Starling: 00:08:35

I find that abundance really comes from the heart. It's an emotion, and it's how I'm showing up. When I show up as abundance all of a sudden I receive abundance in every conceivable way. So I have a very different a different Excellent yeah, a different view on what abundance really means.

Michelle Abraham: 00:08:54

I love it. Yeah, that's a really that's a really good, really good explanation of it. Actually. It's a more of an energy and a fee. It's more of a feeling right. And it's more of a being really it's what it it's a being.

Elaine Starling: 00:09:07

It is can I share one more story thing, everybody? Okay, so it was really interesting. When I was having this conversation with the divine. I felt like I was in this most massive waterfall of exquisite love. Just like Niagara Falls of unending, such uplifting and empowering love. And it was just magnificent. I had a great conversation that came back, no damage at all. Like, okay, what just happened here? And I really wanted to have that again. And so I did all this research and I watched all these videos online and you know, here's how you get these downloads, here's how you connect and be allow, you just have to allow, and there you're just talking about allowing I was allowing my little heart out and I would get you know dribs and drabs and they'd be good every time I got it. But it felt more like a personally plugged up watering can than Niagara Falls, you know, this was not the same experience by any stretch of the imagination. So finally, I'm like, Why isn't this allowing thing working for me? What's wrong with this picture? And I immediately got the message. What's the image that comes to mind? When you think of the word allowing, and I instantly saw myself behind a door with the chain on the door, and I'm peeking out the door and the divine. And I'm really anxious. It's like, I've got my hand braced on the door, so I can slam the door shut, so I get anxious. Oh, yeah. And it was because allow is a mind word for me. And my mind cannot grasp the magnificence and the extent of the Divine. It's just it does not compute. And so that makes my mind really anxious and uncomfortable. Because my mind wants to control everything. So allowing is a control mind based word for me, it can mean totally different things for other people. But for me, it's a mind word. I'm like, okay, obviously, that's not gonna work. So I need a heart based word that really describes the kind of relationship I want to have with the divine welcoming. Mm, I took the door off the hinges and chuck the door, because now I will come to Dubai.

Michelle Abraham: 00:11:18

And you put that in the welcome mat? Absolutely. I

Elaine Starling: 00:11:22

don't have to control anything. I don't have to understand it ahead of time. I don't have to, you know, have any rules or regulations around it. I can just welcome. It's never my best. Good, right?

Michelle Abraham: 00:11:33

Yeah. Yeah, I love it. This is funny that thing for a second, like just that, that one little shift be such a huge difference. It's really, you felt the Niagara Falls, then?

Elaine Starling: 00:11:46

Absolutely. It's really interesting. I sit for guidance pretty much throughout the day. And part of what I love about sitting for guidance, and also using the activate abundance process. It gets me out of my own way. You know, so often you get tied up in knots going, Oh, but am I going to do a good job on this interview? You know, are they going to like what I have to say? Is this gonna be? Am I using the right words, you know, all this stuff? And since I do it as a video show, as well as an audio show, it's like, oh, no, am I having a bad hair day, right? You go there. Instead, when you use that activate abundance process, and when you get out of your own way, and you really come from the heart, that's when you connect with your audience in a much deeper, richer way, so that they can actually have a transformation. And unless you're willing to go there, you're just a talking head.

Michelle Abraham: 00:12:38

Yeah, that's fabulous. And so do you provide that transformation? Or do you feel like your listeners are getting that transformation when they're listening to your podcast?

Elaine Starling: 00:12:48

Absolutely. Now, I want to clarify something, because one of the other key messages that I received from the Divine is that each of us is responsible for our own transformation. Now when I take people through the abundance journey program, it's a six week program. And each episode is an adventure. And I explain look, I'm in the jeep with you, I'm going over the same speed bumps on the same potholes. And I'm going to the same scenic overlooks. And if you decide you're going to put a blindfold on and stay, you know, turn your back to the view, there's nothing I can do about that that's on you. You have to be willing to see it, you have to be willing to do something, you have to be willing to notice the difference that's showing up. So I coax people, I coach them all the time. And I show them. Here's a transformation. It's on you What do you want to accept it or not? So I do get it like right there front center in their face, so they can choose to accept it or not. But I refuse to take responsibility for your transformation because that's how I'm you.

Michelle Abraham: 00:13:51

Right? Yeah. Amazing. And I love the way you explain that to you. That's really his. That's a great analogy. Elaine. This is so good. Sony great Sony great explanation. So today, I would love to go back to your why. So why did you start the podcast in the first place?

Elaine Starling: 00:14:09

You know, I started the podcast for a few different reasons. I really wanted to be able to communicate some of the messages that I received from the Divine. Because it's very important to me that people understand what's going on. I gotta tell you, it was kind of funny. It was miraculous experience. It was really beautiful, amazing conversation. But I got a little pissy, just like, seriously, you couldn't have told me this, like how many years ago? This would have made my life so much easier, so much better. Why the hell did you keep this a secret? Why don't you just tell everybody and I got this message back great. You get to figure it out. And you get to tell everybody what it does sort of backpedaling a little, but it took me a while and I was able to actually put together the whole process which is the abundance journey. And there are four different quadrants that you go through through and you're continually growing. So after a while you discover it's actually an infinity symbol that you're moving through. And the way you move through it, is you use the activate abundance process. And there are a few other processes that I cover as well. But I really started the podcast so I could share those insights that I received. And I love collaborating with other high vibe like minded people who really want to serve. And so this is a great opportunity for me to connect with that kind of person. Because I find that the sum, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I always get that, that description wrong. But it's so wonderful when you connect with people like that, because they just elevate everything.

Michelle Abraham: 00:15:46

Right? Yeah. Especially if you listen both be on the same vibrational level or high vibrational level, so much more that you can do with the messages that come from that conversation. Yeah, wow. That's a great, that's a great WHY. And you were also told that you need to share this message with everyone. So yeah, platform for that. Thank you universe. Very cool. What's been the most surprising things is starting your podcast? Oh, man,

Elaine Starling: 00:16:16

how much fun it is. I absolutely love doing podcasts. And I love chatting with people, they always have so many great ideas to share. Now, one of the things that has helped me a lot with my podcast is that I have a specific structure, I have certain questions that I asked in a specific order. And that just gives me some comfort, comfort that I know what's coming next. And I also always let my guests know what to expect and kind of where we're going to go. And I want to make sure that it's a huge, hugely valuable experience for the guest as well as for the audience. And so I do some things that are a little unique to try to make it special and memorable and valuable.

Michelle Abraham: 00:16:58

Right? Yeah, we've positioned that a little bit, you know, differently than the next podcast on the block, right. And you've seen some great success with your podcast so far, which is really cool, because you just launched it not that long ago, you've already seen some great things and some exciting numbers are happening. And I think your podcasts already in the top 5% of podcasts out there. And according to listen, nose sees you know that.

Elaine Starling: 00:17:21

I did that. And I thrilled to hear that wonderful news.

Michelle Abraham: 00:17:26

Super exciting. So your show is growing? Uh, you're loving doing it. But what advice do you have for people that are sitting at home thinking about it still,

Elaine Starling: 00:17:36

I want you to sit back and think about how you would interview somebody what kinds of questions you would ask so that you could help them. Because you can make a massive difference in their life, you can really help them with something that they've been struggling with for a long time, you can help them look at a situation in a new way. So what kinds of questions are you asking them so that you can serve them? And you can look at those questions and think a little bit about why is that particular question. So important? Like I love to ask about my when I'm interviewing somebody, I like to ask my guests about their why story? Why are they so passionate about what they do? And often they'll share a story about some pretty extreme struggles that they've had in their life. And you know, it puts us in alignment. When you share your stories of struggle. One of the things that's really interesting, a lot of experts think, oh, no, I can't go there, I can't be vulnerable, I have to be the expert. But being the expert and trying to put yourself up on this pedestal separates you from the audience really fast. You want to have a connection and commonality with your audience. So when you look at the kinds of questions you need to ask in order to serve, and then you explain why those questions are so important. You start to have a structure, a framework that you can use for your podcast, right? Try it out and interview a couple of friends and see how it goes. You'll be surprised,

Michelle Abraham: 00:19:04

huh? That's a great, you know, and it reminds me to what you were saying about, you know, taking the the Jeep journey, sitting in the jeep, you're the guy, and if they put blindfold on, but if you if you actually, you know, see the journey that you're going on, then that can really be a powerful, powerful thing. And it can really, I think, help people get over the fear of starting their podcast to knowing that Yeah, you don't have to be the expert. You just have to be the guide. bringing people along on your own journey is and you're exploring as much as they are as well, right. And it's right, those podcasts that have that kind of tonality, instead of it being you the expert who is trying to convey all the messages those ones run out of Oh 20 episodes fight, right. Do you run out of things to be the expert?

Elaine Starling: 00:19:56

Absolutely. I think I think about your favorite book or your favorite movie. They're the hero or heroine, they hit a roadblock, they stumble and fall. And they have to figure out how to get over it and, and get around it. And that's what your audience wants to hear, too. It's not that they're rooting for you to fail. They're in for you to succeed. But they hit roadblocks, too. So what are the common roadblocks that people tend to run into in your area of expertise? And how do they recognize those roadblocks for what they are? And what are some of the great techniques they can use to get around them or over them or through them or dissolve them or whatever? Right? That's, that's really compelling content.

Michelle Abraham: 00:20:38

Absolutely. sharing and sharing vulnerably sharing your journey, so great. And you know, we can see that in the statistics of podcasts up, look across the board, you've got like the celebrities that say the same thing on every show. We've got the everyday people that come on and share their journey. Those shows tend to do better actually, than the celebrity ones. Not because the celebrity ones aren't fabulous, but it's just that oh, yeah, I know he'd have someone on the show. So I'm gonna go to this person who I don't know, if I know what they're all about, right? Yeah,

Elaine Starling: 00:21:09

there's also another reason why I do my podcast that I want to share. I don't know if you've ever heard of the woman, Lynne. McTaggart Ji is an American who lives in London, and she's a journalist. And she was highly skeptical about all this energy stuff. And she was gonna blow the doors off of that nonsense. And she started doing all this research. And she's like, Oh, wow, there's a lot going on here. She's written a ton of books. And one of her great books is called the power of eight, I highly recommend you read it if you haven't read it before. And she talks about intentions and having a group of eight people come together to have a common intention to make a difference in the world, or to just improve one person's situation. So I was really interested in I signed up for her training, and I started my own intention group, and we meet every week. And we've had amazing success, just amazing. One woman had a daughter, who was going through IVF. And it was the last time she was going to be able to get treatment. So we did an intention for her that she would have a strong, happy, healthy baby. And we got to see her baby bump later. And then we got to meet her baby. Oh, my gosh, we've had people who were really sick. And we help them recover quickly, miraculously, where the doctors are like, What the hell, you don't need chemo anymore. We don't understand what's going on. So there is something to this energy work. And the way I approach my podcast, the abundance journey, I'm embedding a lot of energy in that podcast. So whether you believe it or not, doesn't matter. I know that it's happening. And it's going to make a massive, massive difference for the audience, it's really important to me, that I give you access to this energy that can lift you and support you, and encourage you and empower you and just make you feel so loved and valued and appreciated. That is the goal.

Michelle Abraham: 00:23:05

Cool. And I see that already happening. People are being magnetized to your podcast. So very quickly. And it's interesting to see some some do have that magnetism to them, some don't. So it's very interesting to see that and I'm sure that's why it's you got that infused in there. You've done a great job of that. Yeah. And obviously, you're just a fantastic host, and you've got so much love and energy to give on your show. So thank you for that. Yeah, for sure. So I would love to ask you just a couple more questions about Sure. How you where do you what are your future? What do you think about podcasting? Like, so where do you see this podcasting going? What is your hope for your audience? When the podcast we kind of just touched on that but love for you to?

Elaine Starling: 00:23:50

Yeah. Yes, I have big plans. Because I know that abundance is your birthright. And I know that you're on this thing called an abundance journey. That's what your life is. It's a journey of abundance and abundance shows up in all different kinds of ways. So just being open to it and open to the concept. That's what the podcasts and videos are really all about is so that people can get a taste and start to get a feel for the abundance that is there for them. When they gain enough courage and they're curious, so they want to know more, they want to expand more, they can join me on the abundance journey, a six week course where you actually get to understand the behind the scenes of what's really going on here how it all works. Nothing's broken. Nothing's wrong. And the beautiful thing about this experience is all of a sudden you understand the blessings that are present in every moment, especially those moments where you used to go, Ah, no, it's a nightmare. Ah, no, actually, it's a blessing. And now you know how to find the blessing. So my vision is to empower people to live the life of their dreams. and experience abundance in every moment.

Michelle Abraham: 00:25:03

So cool. Lovely. And and you're so far on your on your journey and with your class and you have another class starting soon or how does that work? Or how can our listeners find out more about that? Yes, I

Elaine Starling: 00:25:16

do the class quarterly and the next class because we happen to be in July right now at the end of July. I just finished a class. The next class is going to be in October. So yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun. I'll be doing them in the future in the first month of each quarter. So January will be the next one and then April. Yeah.

Michelle Abraham: 00:25:37

Awesome. So in order for people to find out more and to reach out to you where do you want them to go?

Elaine Starling: 00:25:42

Please visit be abundance journey.com Okay,

Michelle Abraham: 00:25:47

awesome. And guys, make sure while you're over there, make sure you go and check out aliens podcast. We've heard so many great things about it on this behind the mic interview. And make sure you go give her some love writer I review because podcasters love reviews and subscribe to her show. So you too can learn more about the abundance journey yourself. So Elaine, I want to thank you so much for joining us today on the behind the mic interview at amplify you I would love to let you leave us with some final words of wisdom. For anyone out there today.

Elaine Starling: 00:26:20

You know the secret to all of this. You are abundance. You really are. And there are so many people out there who benefit from having you in their lives. Be more of you. And we all benefit. Who else?

Michelle Abraham: 00:26:37

Oh, that great one. I really thank you so so much for being with us. You heard it guys. You are abundant. Your abundance abundance not abundance. I love it. Thanks, Elaine. So much. Thanks for being here. FLV family. We'll see you again next week. Take care.