Grief and Rebirth - Irene Weinberg | Marni Battista | Expression Of Your Soul

Would you like to create a life that can become a true expression of your soul? Meet Marni Battista, who is an entrepreneur, a transformational coach, an author, and a podcast host who has a master’s degree in education and certifications from the International Coaching Federation and the Hoffman Institute.

In 2012, Marni founded The Institute for Living Courageously, which helps women in midlife figure out how to reinvent the next chapter of their lives without sacrificing what they’ve already built. By using research-based interventions and experiential techniques that foster deep, lasting transformation, Marni helps women overcome burnout and overwhelm to create fulfilling, intimate relationships and meaningful lives.

In her book, titled Your Radical Living Challenge: 7 Questions for A Meaningful Life, Marni shares her own story and struggles to live a life of purpose and fulfillment and what she learned along the way, which provides a roadmap for others.

Give a listen to find out about the remarkable story of Marni’s own life’s wakeup call, how she healed a back injury through forgiveness, the 7 questions to a meaningful life, why it is important to “go deep” to design a life you love, and more!

Take the quiz and discover how you can begin your path to a meaningful life. If you’re ready to start living NOW, this episode is your kickstart.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL HEAR ABOUT THINGS LIKE:

  • The 7 key questions that bring more meaning to a person’s life.
  • Why it is important to untangle “the knots” and “the shoulds” that keep us stuck in our lives.
  • Avoidance behaviors that people employ in their lives.
  • How Marni healed her badly injured back through forgiveness.
  • The unique process that helps women attract high-quality relationships effortlessly.
  • 7 core spiritual questions that empower a person to make better choices in her life. 

SOME QUESTIONS IRENE ASKS MARNI:

  • How did you discover the 7 key questions that bring more meaning to a person’s life?
  • How do you help a person to decode her destiny?
  • How does a person’s personality type shape her future? 
  • What is your wise guidance to high-achieving women when it comes to dating?
  • Why is going deep during the healing process the key to designing a life a person loves?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

✨ Grief & Rebirth Resources and Healing Tools ✨

Welcome to a space for finding healing modalities, inspiration, and growth. Below, you’ll find some of the most important resources to help guide you through your journey. 

💖 Get ‘They Serve Bagels in Heaven’ audiobook FREE on Audible when you sign up as a first-time user with our link and discover Irene’s beautiful story of love, eternity, and life’s cosmic significance.

📖 Get Your Copy Here: https://amzn.to/4dG4l4w

🥯 Grab Your Hard Copy of ‘They Serve Bagels in Heaven’ Now!

📖 Get Your Copy Here: https://amzn.to/3XrE995

📚 Good to the Last Drop! Embracing Your Life’s Third Chapter

Embrace your third chapter in life with this empowering anthology now available on Amazon or Bookshop!

📖 Get Your Copy Here: https://amzn.to/3VJgEa5

🛍️ Curated Collection of Irene’s Recommended Healing & Self-Care Books and Essentials 

🔗 Check it Out here: https://kit.co/GriefandRebirth

📚 Grief & Rebirth Bookshop

👀 Find your next source of healing, inspiration or spiritual wisdom at our online bookstore, featuring books from our Grief and Rebirth guests! 

🔗 Explore Here: https://bookshop.org/shop/griefandrebirth

🎧 Grief and Rebirth Podcast Website

Tune in for inspiration and stories of transformation.

🔗 Listen via GriefandRebirth.com 

🌟 Stay Connected with Irene on Social Media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irenesweinberg/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IreneSWeinberg/

X: https://twitter.com/irenesweinberg

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@irenesweinberg

🎥 Watch Irene’s Spiritual Awakening Story

✨ Hear about the spiritual journey that led Irene to create the Grief & Rebirth Podcast.

🔗 Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0mJWKfg5PM

🎙️ Become a Guest on the Grief & Rebirth Podcast

🕊️ Are you a grief or trauma specialist, psychic medium, charitable organization, healer, or individual with a story of loss and healing? Irene invites you to share your voice and story with our global Grief and Rebirth community.

🔗 Submit Your Application Here: https://ireneweinberg.com/be-on-the-podcast/

🎥 The Live Your Most Evolved Life Summit Replay

✨ Access inspiring on-demand talks that will elevate your soul on your journey to ascension.

🔗 Watch Here: https://ireneweinberg.thinkific.com/courses/all-access-pass-summit-replay-2023

📰 Grief and Rebirth Newsletter

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Grief and Rebirth LLC may earn commissions from purchases through the links above. Your support helps us continue providing resources and valuable content for your healing journey. We only recommend what we’ve personally used or believe will benefit you.

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Create a Life That Can Become a True Expression of Your Soul

Would you like to create a life that can become a true expression of your soul? Be sure to read my interview with Marni Battista, who is the Founder of the Institute for Living Courageously. You’ll hear about Marni’s true life, her wake-up call, and this incredible accident skiing that Marni had that broke her back in seven places and how she healed her back through forgiveness, the seven questions to having a meaningful life. My favorite is that you’ll discover Marni’s unique process for dating with dignity, which helps women attract high-quality partners into their lives. There is so much more in this interview with Marni. Come join us.

Grief and Rebirth - Irene Weinberg | Marni Battista | Expression Of Your Soul

I hope this finds each of you very well. I’m speaking to you from my studio in West Orange, New Jersey. I could not be more delighted to have the pleasure of interviewing Marni Battista, who is an entrepreneur, a transformational coach, an author, a podcast host, a wife, and a mother. Marni has a Master’s degree in Education and also has certifications from the International Coaching Federation and the Hoffman Institute, which focuses on transformative adult education, spiritual growth, and leadership.

Proven Techniques to Foster Self-Worth and Transformation

In 2012, Marni founded the Institute for Living Courageously, which helps women in midlife figure out how to reinvent the next chapter of their lives without sacrificing what they’ve already built. By using research-based interventions and experiential techniques that foster deep, lasting transformation, Marni helps them overcome burnout and overwhelm to create fulfilling, intimate relationships, and meaningful lives.

In her book titled Your Radical Living Challenge: 7 Questions for Leading a Meaningful Life, Marni shares her story and struggles to live a life of purpose and fulfillment and what she learned along the way, which provides a roadmap for others. Marni and her inspiring work have appeared in the LA Times, the New Yorker, the Dr. Phil Show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, and more.

Marni lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I have to say I’ve skied there. It’s beautiful. I’m looking forward to talking with her about the remarkable story of her life’s wake-up call, how she healed a back injury through forgiveness, the seven questions to a meaningful life, why is it important to go deep to design a life you love, and more for what will surely be an inspiring and uplifting interview about creating a life that can become a true expression of your soul. Marni, welcome to the show.

I’m so excited to be here.

Discovering the Seven Key Questions for Life

We’re going to have a wonderful interview. There are so many things that you do that can help people. I’m happy to have you here. Everything you do centers around these seven key questions about what you do. I have three questions I’m going to combine because I know you can address them all. The first is, how you discovered those seven key questions that bring more meaning to a person’s life? As far as these questions, how do they empower a person to make better choices for their life? That filters into your wake-up call and how you recalibrate your life by applying those seven key questions. Let it rip, Marni.

Numbers 1 and 3 are tied together. In 2019, my dad died from cancer. I always joked that he wasn’t planning to die that weekend because he used to check himself in. He was very positive. He used to say it was like a staycation and the food was great. He wasn’t planning on it. I went to visit him and be with him. As he started to decline and became less responsive, he started mumbling about his credit card bills and work emails. He was tapping on his phone, trying desperately to get in there and check things.

I had this fleeting thought at the time, Irene, of, “Is this what you care about at the end of your life? You’re worried about your bills.” I just filed that. Is that what I want to be thinking about at the end of my life? That following September, it was the Jewish High Holidays. I went to the service. The Rabbi asked in his sermon about these seven questions. He said that the story is you go to the gates of heaven and you’re asked before you get your bagels and coffee, “Did you lead a meaningful life?”

I was like, “Did my dad lead a meaningful life?” He had so much regret, which he did more and made more, and all of these success parameters growing up in Great Neck, being around a lot of affluent people. I thought the real question is, “Am I leading a meaningful life?” I started to do research on these questions. Months later, I found myself in Whistler, Canada, on a ski trip. I was heading down the mountain with a friend in a neon orange jacket. We came to this crossroads. One was a cat track and one was a double black diamond.

It was a beautiful day. I got new ski boots. I was feeling sassy. I had that moment of thinking I should go this way, but I followed her. I landed flat on my back and flew in the air. You talk about flying in the air in your car accident. I realized that is a metaphor for my life. I’m following whatever I think the rules are. Society says we’re supposed to climb the ladder to nowhere. I’m not listening to myself and racing down. While I was lying there, I thought, “This is something that is going to change my life.”

I relate.

It’s a little different from your story. I wasn’t bleeding. I tried to stand up and thought that something was wrong with my back.

Your back was broken.

My sacrum was broken in seven places. I returned home and I couldn’t move for 9 to 10 weeks. I remember thinking, “If I’m not doing, serving, fixing, or doing anything, who am I?” I built my whole life from this place of go, do, be, fix, care for, achieve more, and never satisfied. I went to the doctor and did what I was supposed to do. He said, “You’re healed.” I had so much pain. I couldn’t walk, Irene. I said, “I can’t be healed. I’m in pain.” He was like, “It looks good to me. The CT scan shows you’re healed. See you.”

You were still in pain.

I couldn’t walk without pain. I thought, “Is this going to be the story of my life?” That’s when I started seeking out different answers. I found this person whom my mentor suggested. I talked to him. He said, “You’ve broken these seven places in your sacrum because your sacrum is the foundation of your physical self. You built the foundation of your life from your neck up. You haven’t looked at your emotions and soul. It needed to break so that you could rebuild.” At that moment, Irene, I was like, “7 breaks, 7 questions.” That was when I realized that I had to start creating a new paradigm for what it looks like to live a successful and meaningful life.

Grief and Rebirth - Irene Weinberg | Marni Battista | Expression Of Your Soul

What are those seven key questions? Could you tell us what they are?

I can. I took them. I did this research. They’re from ancient Talmudic texts. I modernized and universalized them. I changed the order. I always like to say that because I don’t want to do copyright infringement on whoever wrote the ancient text. One is, did you seek wisdom? Were you authentically you? I encourage people who are reading to think about this in the context of your life.

Many people walk around in life with masks on. They’re not authentically themselves.

Were you radically honest with yourself? Did you busy yourself with creation? Did you make time for your spiritual life? Where you hopeful? Do you recognize the blessings? In my book, I dive deep into what all of those mean. That has become the focus for how I create and center back into what it looks like to lead a meaningful life, especially because there is more chaos in all of our lives.

I look at these seven questions, and it sounds to me that if you can answer each of those questions honestly, it leads to tremendous gratitude.

Gratitude and agency. Many of us go in our life. I know when you shared your story, everyone’s like, “Why don’t you feel sorry for yourself? Why aren’t you in a puddle on the floor? How can you go on?” I love that you shared your story with me because that’s living a radical life. Radical isn’t reckless. Radical is saying, “I have agency for my life.” If everyone says I should be sad and grieve and I shouldn’t be joyful because I have loss, chaos, and people are dying and suffering every day. That’s a radical life.

I believe the most courage it takes is to find joy in the face of chaos. That’s the source of our power. These questions empower us to have agency and create success in ways under our control. As we all know, if you’re resonating with grief and rebirth, things have happened that were out of your control and weren’t the way you intended your life to go. When you start focusing on answering these questions on a daily basis, this is the act of living. That’s what brings you joy and meaning.

Untangling Life’s Knots and Avoiding Stuck Behaviors

That’s beautiful, Marni. I know you also talk about those questions to help untangle the knots or what you refer to as the shoulds that keep us stuck in our lives. You also talk about avoidance behaviors people use to stay stuck. Please review. Tell us about that.

It’s interesting. I’m working with people, and this ties well into, “Are you radically honest with yourself?” Most people, in the Ten Commandments sort of way, are pretty good at not stealing, coveting, or lying. When it comes to how we show up for ourselves in our own life, I see avoidance as the number one way in which we’re not honest with ourselves.

I’m going to share some of these from the book because they’re subtle. You would be like, “Marni, Irene, I’m not avoiding anything.” Here’s some, rationalizing, creating a silver lining no matter what happens, ignoring, pretending, not speaking up, tolerating, overcleaning, overeating, over shopping, keeping score, being vindictive, being righteous, judging others, adrenaline seeking, and attention seeking. There’s a whole list.

It’s not to make you feel bad about yourself. This question says, “If you’re going to be you, and you’re going to be radically honest, these are the things stealing your joy. These are the things preventing you from connecting. These are the ways you are unable to see the blessings and joys in your life.” When I work with people and they start answering these questions, the beauty is they say, “Now I understand why nothing is working for me.”

You can create a life of joy, meaning, and fulfillment. Share on X

What about the nots and shoulds?

They go hand in hand.

They’re avoidance behaviors also that keep us stuck.

Let’s take one as an example, n  ot speaking up or pretending. If you were going to draw a straight line, they would meet because I shouldn’t put my needs before someone else. I shouldn’t speak up, or I’ll probably get fired.

We all have them. A lot of people say, “Don’t should on yourself.”

Often, the way we compensate with our shoulds is by avoiding all those things. It’s like, “I should,” and then we just scroll on our phone. We doom scroll, watch ten hours of TV, and drink an extra two glasses of wine, whatever it is to numb. The thing is that these shoulds are rules you were living your life by that were prescribed by other people.

When I do this work and I ask people where their shoulds come from, especially when they’re our age, 50s or 60s, or whatever. I go, “Where did you learn this?” They go, “My mother.” I’m like, “What year was your mother born?” They were like, “I don’t know. 1940.” I’m like, “Where do you think your mother learned it from?” “Her mother.” “When was she born?” “1900.” I’m like, “You’re following rules that were prescribed to you that you’re not even questioning.”

They’re outdated. People don’t live that way.

We believe their rules. Whether you’re rebelling against rules for the sake of being in a rebel or you’re a people pleaser, a good girl, or whatever it is, my invitation is to start questioning them. There might be some that you go, “I don’t feel like this is a should. This is a choose-to and want-to. This feels right for me. With this one, I still hear my mother’s voice in my head, and I hear that from a lot of people.”

You have these integrated, proven, research-based interventions, and experiential techniques to break through all of those recordings. You use them at your Institute for Living Courageously. Tell u how does this foster self-worth and lasting transformation. How do these techniques work? How do you employ them?

One of my favorites is that I had a coach who worked with me, and we decided to name them Your Little Who. The reason we call them Your Little Who is that they’re the parts of you that were younger that had to survive, and developed certain beliefs and patterns. A lot of people go to therapy, or they do work, and say, “This is my emotional child.” They create awareness of it, and that’s it. They go, “I learned this pattern because my dad was an alcoholic. I always want to make sure everyone’s happy.” They have this assumption that because they know about it. They can heal it or change their behavior. That’s not true.

One thing that gets skipped is going back to the first time you remember having this felt sense in your body of, let’s say, people-pleasing. I ask people, think of a pattern that’s alive in your life today and say, “How old was I the first time I remember that?” Rather than having that awareness, the invitation is to imagine you could close your eyes, keep them open, or write out this dialogue if you’re a journaler. Have a conversation with this version of yourself. Acknowledge and validate the experience that part of you had and is still trying to protect you from.

When you go in and have a conversation with your little who, I do it and say, “Come on, sit on my lap,” even if she’s fourteen. You can have a 20-year-old little who, a 30-year-old, a 10-year-old, a 4-year-old, precognition, birth, or early birth little who’s. My favorite way to do this is it’s okay if you don’t know what to say. You’re talking to her.

The thing is when we don’t validate our experience, and most people go, “You shouldn’t feel like that, you know better than that.” We’re not allowing that part of ourselves to get the unmet childhood need met. When we do that, we rewire our neural pathways. We tell that little part of ourselves, “You don’t have to protect me anymore.” That’s when you educate it about who you are.

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I always say to people, “There are areas in your life where you are crushing it.” You go, “It’s okay. At work, I don’t people-please. I’m very confident in that area of my life. I’ve got you. I’m reading Irene’s show, reading books, and doing healing work.” I’ve got you. You have this dialogue. What would it take for you to start to trust me again? Talk to your little who. Hear them, acknowledge them, and assure them. That will start to create inner psychological safety so you can develop new ways of being and behaving and untangle all those knots.

Marni, how does personality type shape a person’s future? It fascinated me that you talked about that. Is the future different for an extrovert than an introvert or a highly sensitive person?

I’ve made up my little archetype. What I’ve realized is that because of these patterns, we develop identities. I call them personality types because they are probably 50% at least acquired. The other 50% is probably part of the essential self of who you are. The study of epigenetics shows that 50% of our personality traits are acquired. This quiz that I have allows you to identify what archetype you are.

It points out the 50% that’s acquired that you could start to shift so that you can become what I call a creator in your life, which is an ongoing iterative way of living your life according to these seven questions where you’re designing a life of meaning and fulfillment for you. It’s important to know what type you are and where the gaps are so that you can start to become a creator through healing and adjusting those acquired personality traits and expanding that 50% into what is truly you.

That’s beautiful. It’s called a delete or an edit for your life, I would think in a way.

It’s an upgrade. I always say, we upgraded our phone, sheets, and kitchen. Our identity needs to get an upgrade.

Your Radical Living Challenge: A Roadmap to Transformation

It’s true. You and I are both living proof of that. I want to talk about your book for a few seconds. It’s Your Radical Living Challenge: 7 Questions for Leading a Meaningful Life and you share your story and struggle to live a life of purpose and fulfillment in what you learned along the way. Tell us about this roadmap and the unique approach to personal growth you present in your book that transforms a life from inside out.

Grief and Rebirth - Irene Weinberg | Marni Battista | Expression Of Your Soul

After that ski accident, it was the pandemic, which was crazy.

With the ski accident, I know you eventually healed your back through forgiveness. Segue right into that.

I will tell that story. It’s perfect timing. It was a pandemic. For a lot of people, their adult kids came back home. I was in the lull of family. I was upstairs. I couldn’t move, but they came up. They brought me trays. We watched TV together, but then they left. Once everyone realized it was going to go away in six weeks, everyone went back to regular schedule programming for the most part.

I couldn’t work. My kids were gone. My husband, who was wanting to get out of Los Angeles, had been waiting and counting the days until those kids left the house. I was so frustrated because I didn’t want to leave. I was mad at him for bringing the situation up. I didn’t want to talk about it. I couldn’t walk. I was a mess, Irene. What happened was I realized that part of it was that I was afraid to change. I didn’t know how or what was next.

I started searching on the internet. I was like, “Emptiness coaching.” I was Googling everything as one does. It was just not me. I was getting things like I didn’t lose anything. I was in grief. I didn’t get a divorce. I didn’t need a hobby. I didn’t need to learn how to play pickleball. I was knitting. I had lots of stuff going on in my life. I couldn’t find a way into what was my next chapter. That’s when I discovered the design thinking model that comes out of Stanford University.

It’s the model by which products are developed. All design consultants use this model. I thought, “What if I adapt this to my own life?” I put the seven spiritual questions as the background of it. I think of the ideal life that I want to live as the product. I get clear on the user of that life, which is me. I adapted that design thinking process to my life. That’s when magic started to happen. It is how I ended up coming up with the idea to write the book. It’s how my husband and I decided to go through the process of ultimately selling our house in Los Angeles and living in an RV for a year.

That’s an amazing story all by itself, which I was reading in your book.

I figured out who I am and what blows my hair back. Doing that process created joy in itself to where we ended up landing in Steamboat Springs. I was just writing an article about it. First of all, I didn’t know that Steamboat Springs even existed. When I made my list of places to retire or where I wanted to go, I thought of the usuals, Florida and Arizona and also the desert in California.

The reason why I love this process is that when you get clear on who you are in your upgraded identity, there are things that are buried so far below the surface about what lights you up that you cannot simply think about from the neck up or looking on the internet. I uncovered through the process the exact right next life for me. I changed my business and orientation. I fired everyone. I simplified it. I moved to Colorado. Everything changed in my life.

When you truly get clear on your upgraded identity, things buried far below the surface reveal what really lights you up. Share on X

That took a lot of courage.

That’s why it’s the Institute of Living Courageously. I walk everyone through this life design process. The thing that’s great about it is that we can’t predict what’s going to make us happy. We don’t know what that looks like. We don’t know, so we don’t do anything. This model allows you to tiptoe into exploring things. You don’t have to blow up the life you have.

This isn’t reckless living. It’s radical living. It doesn’t have to be a big thing like selling your house and living in an RV. It’s small things. I’ve seen my clients decide they were an introvert for their whole life and be like, “Am I?” They question that assumption. They join a hiking group and start revisiting spirituality in a way that works for them and having a community in that. Start expanding your life rather than having it get smaller and smaller as you age.

Healing Through Forgiveness: A Personal Journey

Tell us about how you healed your back through forgiveness. The doctor says you’re healed but you’re still in pain.

Part of the process in the design thinking model and one of them is, “What were your peak experiences in your life?” My husband and I were asking these questions, which I will ask you in the book. We I sat down and made this big list. We both did it separately and then compared them. They were the same kinds of things. I was like, “These are all these vacations we’ve gone on like in nature.” We both had this big epiphany like, “Why are we only doing peak experiences on vacation? Why are we not making our lives a peak experience?”

We were ideating and came up with this crazy idea. “Let’s rent an RV or a van for two weeks. We’ll go on a little vacation. We’ll explore. We’ll see if we like it.” We rented the little Sprinter van and went to Utah. I was leading a retreat. There was a labyrinth there. I had put my clients through this forgiveness process. After it was over, similar to your story, I got a voice that wasn’t my own. It said, “Walk the labyrinth.” I was like, “I have a brace on. I can barely walk.” “Walk the labyrinth.” I told my husband before we left, “I’m walking this labyrinth.” I did this Ho’oponopono forgiveness process, which is, “Thank you. I love you. I forgive you.” You can look it up. It’s got these three things in it. First of all, saying I’m sorry when you want to forgive someone is hard. I was like, “I’m sorry. You should be sorry.” I start this process with the girl, my friend in the neon orange jacket who I followed down the ski hill.

“If I hadn’t followed her, I wouldn’t have gone through this.”

I had a whole good story because right before we left, her husband said, “Jackie, don’t be selfish. You’re so selfish.” I was like, “See, it’s her fault.” I started saying, “Thank you,” and tears started coming out. “I love you.” I can’t believe I’m walking. I’m not feeling anything. There was no pain. I had this whole thing for my brother. I was bawling. That was so intense.

I came back, go about my day, and got in the RV. We went to Zion National Park in Utah. There’s this big famous hike called Angels Landing. I told my husband, “I want to do this hike.” My husband was like, “Are you on crack? You can barely walk.” I was like, “I don’t know if something’s changed.” He was like, “What’s changed?” I’m like, “I don’t know. Something’s changed. I promise you, if it hurts, I will stop.” Irene, I made it to the top.

My pain was gone. I remember there are these ladders that you hold on to. This guy was above me. It was COVID times, where we weren’t touching people. This guy reached out his hand and said, “Let me help you.” I was like, “Surrender. Allow yourself to get help and keep climbing.” I did. It was amazing. I was pretty much pain-free after that.

Designing Your Dream Life with Dating with Dignity

What a blessing. Everybody wants to go to your site and work with you. Tell us about your design, dream life, and dating with dignity. I want to ask you about that. Also, your mindset, performance coaching, and anything else you’d like to share with our audience.

When I first started my business, I focused exclusively on dating. I tried to help people, but what happened is that, honestly, when you do my model and method, it’s the easy part. They would do my work and meet their guy. They’d go, “I figured out who I am and how to use the product. Do you know what else? This doesn’t work. My business, career, and where I live aren’t working.” I had clients that would stay with me for years because we’d completely give their life a full body makeover.

The soul of my business has always been helping women live a life beyond what they could have dreamed. I’m also good at making dating be the starting point. If you’re single and you’re like, “I’ve done everything, and it doesn’t work for me.” It’s a great first place to start doing this internal work. Once you do it, you just follow the method. It’s a matter of time before you meet your person.

Speaking of dating with dignity, what is this unique process that helps women attract high-quality relationships and opportunities effortlessly? A lot of people are going to go effortlessly. What is your guidance to high-achieving women? That’s a big challenge for women who are high-achieving when it comes to dating.

The thing is, what you believe and what you put your attention on will grow. If you believe there are no good men, men are intimidated by you, and nothing works for you, then it will. If you want to argue for your limitations, I will let you win that fight. If you’re coachable and you’re open, let me show you the secret key to where all the great men are. That is to do that work of healing and releasing that part of you that uses those beliefs as a protective measure because you’re afraid to get your ass kicked.

What you believe and focus on will grow. Share on X

You’re so right about that.

Everyone who comes to me like, “You don’t know. It’s the worst for me. I live in the smallest town. I live in the biggest city. I make way more money. I’ve been married seventeen times. No one will want to be with me.” We need to release that and then do that work in that empathy phase of finding out who you are. I have an amazing process where I help people write their profiles in a very unique way so they can be very discerning without being picky and help you get your photos. I have a method where it feels effortless.

Do you help them get online to meet people?

I do online and offline. Both are important. You want to have a diversified dating portfolio. Don’t put it all in the stock market.

You tell people how to handle the different responses that come through and all that.

I help you with your communication.

You’re a coach for the romance.

What’s crazy is when I go in somebody’s inbox, if they’ve been dating online and it’s been a fail, I can be like, “That’s why that didn’t work.” I interviewed a client of mine who’s a success story. She was like, “Do you know what my biggest takeaway was, Marni?” I said, “What?” She said, “I thought I was doing it right, and I was doing every single part of it wrong. I have a spreadsheet because there are so many guys that I’m interested in that are treating me so well. I’m having so much fun. I feel like I’m the contestant on The Golden Bachelorette. I get to choose. I can’t believe I’m 60 years old and having the time of my life.”

Marni, do you have a special offer for our audience?

I do. Besides going to get my book, which you can get at any bookstore, go to RadicalLivingChallenge.com to get it. I have this quiz about your personality type. It’s DecodeYourDestinyQuiz.com. You go there and answer. It takes less than 30 seconds. I will give you a full report of the 50% that’s required and show you where you need to grow. If you want to have a conversation with me about it after that, there’s a way to book a conversation.

Embracing Healing and Creating a Life You Love

You’ve answered the question of why someone should go deep through the healing process to design a life they love on their terms. It’s about untangling the knots.

What I want people to know is when I say beyond your wildest dreams, that’s the beautiful part. You could have never imagined before your accident that first little whisper you got, what the experiences you would have in your life, the impact that you would make, and the people that you would touch. It’s beyond what you could have consciously dreamed up and imagined. It took a tragedy.

We all have tragedies in our lives. The opportunity is to rise up. That is what makes a meaningful life. “Did I rise in the face of challenge?” I say this in my book again and again. Create and be the person who is advocating for the mission of our soul because it is right there in front of you. I encourage people who are reading to understand that the window is open right over there. What you’re doing is you’re like the fly that buzzes against the closed window.

The mission of our soul is right there in front of us. Share on X

You keep knocking your head.

Over there, there’s a window and that’s beyond your wildest dreams. Whatever’s happened to you, even though it’s crappy, Irene and I both believe it’s happened for you. Open your eyes, read the book, and walk through the window or door.

Finding Joy and Recognizing Blessings in Life

What is the Marni Battista tip for finding joy in life? How is it connected to recognizing the blessings in your life?

I’m speaking at my synagogue. I’m doing a little sermon, which is a full circle moment. It’s this. We don’t have to do big things to find joy. If you take a moment and look out the window, you can savor the coffee as you hold your mug and take in that amazing first drink. As you take your first breath in the morning, you experience childlike wonder for the basic things in our life and feel that at the level beyond gratitude and appreciation, but at the soul level. That’s my invitation.

The big things are amazing, but we have an opportunity to revel in the blessing that we get to be alive, take another breath, and wonder at the most amazing things that are around us. We can hold that and the chaos and the pain that’s in the world. My tip is that they can coexist and then feed the one that feeds your soul, which is probably going to be the blessings.

Marni, that is beautiful.

Thank you.

I want to thank you for all you do to help people transform from feeling stuck and unfulfilled to radiating confidence and purpose. How inspiring and truly wonderful that you help them emerge as the architects of their own lives, unapologetically authentic and fully empowered to create the future they’ve always dreamed of. I thank you from my heart for this special interview about creating a life that will become a true expression of one’s soul.

Thanks.

My pleasure. It’s been so great to have you here. As I like to say, to be continued. Thank you, Marni. Many blessings.

 

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About Marni Battista

Grief and Rebirth - Irene Weinberg | Marni Battista | Expression Of Your Soul

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Marni Battista helps women in midlife figure out how to reinvent the next chapter of their lives without sacrificing what they’ve already built. As an entrepreneur, author, transformational coach, podcast host, wife, and mother, she knows firsthand the pressure of trying to “have it all.”

With her trademark straight talk and humor, she helps women say “screw the should life,” to overcome burnout and overwhelm and start living a life beyond their wildest dreams. Marni’s book, Your Radical Living Challenge: 7 Questions for A Meaningful Life (Hay House, January 2025) shares her own story and struggle to live a life of purpose and fulfillment, and what she learned along the way, providing a roadmap for others.
She and her work have appeared in the LA Times, The New Yorker, the Dr. Phil Show, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, and more. Find out more at marnibattista.com.

Grief and Rebirth LLC is an affiliate and we may earn a commission from purchases made through recommendations of products and services mentioned on this website/email. This commission helps to support the podcast and allows us to continue providing valuable information and resources to our audience. We only recommend products and services that we have personally used or thoroughly researched and believe will be helpful to our community. Thank you for your ongoing support.
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