Master Your Bliss Life

Narrator: 

You’re listening to Master Your Bliss Life. Join Kiera Masters and Lia Bliss as they dive into the magical, mysterious, and mundane elements of life, helping you to master your purpose and find your bliss.

Kiera:

Let’s get it done.

Lia:

Got nothing else to do, might as well get on the podcast.

Kiera:

We can work after.

Lia:

Who needs to work?

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

This is our work.

Kiera:

This is our work. It’s great.

Lia:

This is our work. It’s obviously snowy season because my hair is pulled up up. And I went wintertime red.

Kiera:

And I’m in a beanie.

Lia:

Embrace the ginger. Kiera’s in a beanie. We’re just feeling cozy today.

Kiera:

It’s a no hair wash day, so.

Lia:

It’s hibernation girl season. I don’t need to wash my hair.

Kiera:

No.

Lia:

I’ll wash my hair next week. It’s fine.

Kiera:

It’s fine.

Lia:

It’s fine I’ll wash my hair next week.

Kiera:

There are so many different things we can do, you know? With our greasy hair. Like wear a beanie for a week. It’s fine.

Lia:

Yeah, it’s better for your skin.

Kiera:

Yeah. And your hair.

Lia:

And your hair. It’s better for you.

Kiera:

Wash your body please.

Lia:

Wash your body every day, do not wash your hair every day.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

And if you want to go longer, if you suffer from like an overly oily scalp, what you can do to help – because the reason you’re hair is so oily and that it’s over producing on your scalp is that you’re stripping it of the natural oils because you’re over washing your hair. What you can do, wash your hair once a week. And so if you wash your hair on a Tuesday, Friday wash your hair with just conditioner and manually exfoliate. So shampoo is going to use chemicals to strip the dirt and oil out of your hair. That’s why it works. If you do your second hair wash of the week as a manual exfoliant, where you’re literally in there with conditioner like physically scrubbing the dirt out. And then your rinse it. Yeah, it’s not going to last you three days. It might only last you two days. But if you can keep that up and just dry shampoo it, then you will have less oil hair over time.

Kiera:

Train your hair.

Lia:

Train your hair. I did go to a hair school. I am a certified professional. So I know stuff.

Kiera:

She knows a few things.

Lia:

I know a few things about everything. But, speaking of school. Ok, this is the craziest thing that happened to me. Let me pull up my reference. So, storytime. Once upon a time there was a girl and she was me. We love the stories that start like that. Once upon a time there was a girl and she was me. And when I was in high school, so I was 17 years old. At the time, the editor in chief of Seventeen magazine, her name was Atoosa Rubenstein. Ok? Editor in Chief of Seventeen magazine. My favorite magazine. I was obsessed with magazines. I wanted to go into fashion writing. I thought that Cofessions of a Shopaholic and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was going to be my life. That was my goal. That was what I wanted to do with my life. Straight up. And I love that for me. And it’s still a little bit true. And writing is still so prevalent in everything that we do all the time. So when I was 17 years old, I emailed the editor in chief at Seventeen magazine. And I said, “Dear Atoosa, my name is Lia Bliss and it is my dream to have your job one day. I want to get into fashion journalism, I want to get into writing, I want to do this. I’m currently the editor in chief of my high school newspaper. Any insight you could give me on how to move forward in my career would be greatly appreciated.” Right? I’m a senior in high school. Everyone’s on your ass about, What are you going to be when you grow up? And you’re like, I don’t know what I want.

Kiera:

You knew.

Lia:

I knew, but also, did that come to fruition? Absolutely not. But, I emailed her. Two days later, I got an incredibly personalized email back from this woman.

Kiera:

Wow.

Lia:

It was like, “Lia that sounds so incredible. Good for you.” She was pretty young. I mean, this was what, 15, 16, 17 years ago? And so she was… let’s see. She’s 50 now, so she was  just a little bit older, like 10 years older than I am now, as the editor in chief of Seventeen magazine. Incredible. She went on and became the Editor in Chief of CosmoGirl. Really, really cool career. Well, she sent me this email that said, “That’s incredible, that’s so inspiring.” She’s like, “Here’s my advice. It doesn’t matter… you don’t have to only pursue journalism. But as long as you write every single day and you maintain that skill, and you keep it up, and you keep the love for it, and you always are chasing the opportunity to write and better yourself, that’s how you’re going to find success.” And of course my 17 year old brain exploded.

Kiera:

Yeah I’m sure.

Lia:

Obsessed. Obsessed, obsessed, obsessed. I was so pleased. And obviously, 17 years later I still remember that and it’s still incredibly impactful. So I, um, if you don’t know, besides the podcast, I’ve referenced my book many times. I wrote a book. We write on LinkedIn constantly. I am in the works of being… it’s like on the DL right now… but looking at being like, starting to write in and being featured in magazines. Which is like a whole new realm of possibility that I never even could have come to understand at 17. So I was talking about magazines, and I was like, Oh we should look up some magazines. Looked up Seventeen magazine on LinkedIn, cuz that’s where we do everything. I was like, I should look up Atoosa. She’s like… I still remember that, I should look and see what she’s doing now. Unbeknownst to me, after she had had all this success and fame, she ended up retiring at 35.

Kiera:

Oh, wow.

Lia:

And said because – and she has a Ted Talk about it and it’s really cool – where she talks about like, I had every perceived level of success. I had these amazing jobs, I had a relationship, and the house, right? The penthouse on Park Avenue and the this, and the that. And like, I was… on the checklist of what makes someone successful, I had done it all. She said, I was so unfulfilled. I had everything on the outside and I had nothing on the inside. She was so… so she just has… she’s been out of it. She’s been, she like, she self-elected to disregard and step away from the limelight, from all this glitz and glamor, and has really just been working on herself for the past 10 years or so. So I found her on Instagram. She only has a few more followers than me. Like, not many. You’d think millions.

Kiera:

Right.

Lia:

And so I sent her a message and I said, “Hey sis, back in 2006 I sent you an email asking your advice on how to break into the world of journalism and magazines. You sent me back a personal email with great advice and encouragement. As a high school senior, that was the most impactful email I’d ever received. Wanted to update you. Years later, I’ve never forgotten that email. And while I’m not working in journalism, your advice to never stop writing stuck with me and now I’m a published author. Thank you again for your insights and inspiration.”

Kiera:

And she responded.

Lia:

Moments later…

Kiera:

Yay!

Lia:

Moments later she messaged me back, and she said, “That’s amazing, thank you for sharing that. I’m so happy for you. Now I am working on coming out of my self-imposed bubble and having the courage to write a book. Role reversal. I will remember this exchange and use it as inspiration.” Chills.

Kiera:

Whoa.

Lia:

Chills. You never know who you’re going to inspire.

Kiera:

Nope. The people who inspire you, you could end up inspiring them. Look at that.

Lia:

Insane.

Kiera:

It goes full circle.

Lia:

So every 16 years I’m just going to touch base with her. We’re besties now. She lives in New York. I’m going to New York. Maybe I’ll call and say I’m in town let’s hang out.

Kiera:

You should.

Lia:

I should while I’m there.

Kiera:

Yeah, so Lia’s going to New York next week. It’ll be…

Lia:

Yeah, I’ll come back and do a full report and we can talk about travel tips. We have talked about packing tips. I’m going for three days, I’m taking one backpack/dufflebag.

Kiera:

So for you guys that have listened for a while now, you already know that Lia is a planner. A very strategic planner.

Lia:

Planner. Packer.

Kiera:

When it comes to packing outfits, your calendar schedule, your trips.

Lia:

Yes. I’m a planner planner.

Kiera:

Planner planner.

Lia:

I’m a super planner.

Kiera:

She is a super planner. It’s kind of her super power.

Lia:

And it’s part of my super power. But also like there’s so much to unpack with all of this. Like, ask, find a mentor. Just 17 years old kid from some podunk, little nowhere town in Utah, emailing the Editor in Chief of a national magazine. Like, your heroes are completely accessible. And that’s what is so incredible. And we’ve been talking about upleveling the people in your life. Kiera, you’ve been attending these women’s groups and these conferences, and I’ve been really, just like, I’ve shifted focus. There’s not – we don’t talk a lot about my boyfriends anymore.

Kiera:

No!

Lia:

For a reason. Because I had one of my darling close friends, he was like, “Lia, if you spent 80% of the energy that you spend on just like your wild romances, and you put that towards you career or your goals… how far would you be?” I’m like, Well, on the one hand, finding a forever lover, finding the man of my dreams IS a goal.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

But, you can’t have everything all at once. And I’ve said this before… I’m so so happy with where I am right now, and my relationship status is very solid. I do not have a boyfriend. But, I’ve got everything I need. So, now I can take that energy and focus it somewhere else. Because you can spend energy doing that. And one of those things is elevating the people around me, both romantically, socially, and with my career. And anybody at any time can just choose to start raising their expectations of the people that they’re around. I heard a podcast the other day where the woman was like, “Imagine that you invite someone over to your house, which is your life. Right? They’re in your life. They’re in your house. And 10 years go by, they’re still in your house. Which is perfect, we have people in our lives for years and years and years. But you’ve updated. You’ve changed. Your house is changing and evolving and growing and upgrading and upleveling and you’re doing things. And you all of a sudden turn around and you look, and that same person is still there sitting on the couch, eating Cheeto Puffs, and they haven’t… They don’t, they no longer match the energy of your new house. Or your new life.

Kiera:

Yeah. I’ve seen a commercial like this recently where she’s like, she has a roommate. And she’s sitting there and she’s… I think she gets an email about a new job offer or something to like relocate? And she looks up, and she looks over at her roommate, and she’s just like eating Cheetos, dancing to music, with like in her pajamas…

Lia:

Sloppy?

Kiera:

Just no life together, right? And she’s like, Ok. Clicks accept.

Lia:

Right?

Kiera:

And it shows her journey to her new place and like upleveling, right?

Lia:

Upleveling. And it’s not that all of a sudden you’re too good for your roommate dancing to Taylor Swift eating Cheetos.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

You’re not too good for them. And it was put in such an excellent way, that it’s like, as you keep upleveling your life. Right? You are taking the steps necessary to master your bliss life. And as you climb that ladder of success, however you’ve personally defined it, there will be people who get left behind. And this podcast said, But it’s not that you left them behind, it’s that they didn’t come with you.

Kiera:

With you. Mm hmm.

Lia:

And so, that’s just going to be the natural evolution of people. If you were on a rocket ship to the moon, some people are in a hand cart. And they can’t keep up with you. And that’s ok. You still love them, you still accept them. There’s no bad blood or hard feelings. Because I look at some of the people that I went to high school with. I love and adore them. If I saw them, I’d be very happy to sit back and reminisce. But do they have a place in my day to day life? No. Because we’re in different places. That’s why I date a lot of like older men. Like in their mid to late 40’s, even though that’s like a 10-15 year age gap for me. It’s like…

Kiera:
That’s ok.

Lia:

It’s ok because I have been so hyper focused for the last 10 years on upleveling, and upleveling, and upleveling. It’s like, unless you have also had this kind of like, just aggressive tenacity towards personal growth, there’s not a lot of people in this age range, like in their early 30’s, that I’m like able to relate to.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

There are.

Kiera:

There are. You just haven’t met them yet.

Lia:

And it’s not just age, it’s situation. I always say I could meet a guy who’s… let’s say I meet two men and they’re both 48. Right? Completely within the realm of possibility for me dating them. One of them is 48 years old, his youngest just moved out of the house, he’s now an empty nester, and he’s looking for a life of adventure. You know, he’s hit his stride in his career, he’s doing really well. Things are happening and he’s really trying to live that empty nester, single, bachelor lifestyle.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

It’s like, that is so awesome. I have an 8 year old.

Kiera:

It doesn’t align with me. We’re not…

Lia:

Yeah. We’re not in the same place in our lives. He’s 48, I’m 33. We’re not in the same place. I could meet a guy who’s 48 who has young children. Who just purchased a house. Who is still taking strides in their career. And it’s like, Oh yeah we’re in the exact same place. The day to day’s similar, the desires, the lifestyle is all similar. And so it’s like, yeah, both of these guys are 48, but I know which ones that I’m going to be much more in alignment with.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

And that’s not just romantically. That’s, I mean, our friends Lisa and John, they have… their youngest is the same age as my son. But their oldest is like 15.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

And they’re quite a bit older. And Kiera, you’re older than me by five years.

Kiera:

Yeah. And I have a three year old.

Lia:

Yeah. And so like, you can ask me parenting things because…

Kiera:

Four years ok? Four.

Lia:

Oh, four years older. Three, four, whatever. But, it’s just a number. Because we’re at the same place. And that’s really what we’re getting at here.

Kiera:

Yes.

Lia:

It’s really all about finding people with the same tenacity, the same drive, the same goals, the same life situation. But then maybe one level up.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

Never be the smartest, most successful person in a room. And you don’t need to always be inspiring, you can also be inspired.

Kiera:

Inspired.

Lia:

And we need to start placing ourselves in situations, actively reaching out and searching those situations. I had to actively search out this woman two times in my life to get the insight, to get the inspiration. And then reconnect. I mean, we’re probably not going to be best friends and that’s fine. It would be cool. Atoosa call me. But, you have to go find the people doing the thing that you want to do, reach out, and figure out how you can insert yourself into their lives to some degree or another.

Kiera:

Yeah.

Lia:

But, with the example of this woman, this editor in chief, just because you’ve achieved all of the markers of success, doesn’t mean that you’re successful. Because I like cars and I like money, but what’s the point if I’m not happy?

Kiera:

Exactly! You’ve got to make sure that you’re happy in what you do. Like we said, so many people are in these jobs where they’re like super, super, super successful and everyone looks up to them. But little do they know they’re not happy with what they do.

Lia:

Yeah.

Kiera:

I’d rather make less money and love what I do, than make shit tons of money, not know what to do with it, and be miserable.

Lia:

Miserable. Yeah, because, I mean, money doesn’t buy happiness… people obviously don’t know where to shop. Let me help you. But there are things like your relationships. Which is why you can’t hyper focus on just one thing. Balance is so important. You have to build strong relationships with people who love you. You have to work on building a relationship with your money to give you the freedom to spend time with those people who love you. To do things that lift up your soul. You have to focus on your career so that you can set yourself up for a life of wealth, joy, and ease. And all of these things.

Kiera:

Yep.

Lia:

So. That was my crazy amazing story.

Kiera:

And I love it. Was this just yesterday?

Lia:

This was yesterday, yeah. I screamed.

Kiera:

Incredible.

Lia:

I screamed. I was on the phone with my friend Claire, who I work with. Screamed. So, it was fun. It was a good time. But, good time. Alright kids.

Kiera:

You guys have a wonderful day.

Lia:

Any other thoughts before we go, Kiera?

Kiera:

No.

Lia:

Alright. K, love you forever. See you soon.

Kiera:

Bye.

Narrator: 

You have been listening to Master Your Bliss Life. Make sure to check out the show notes for any relevant links and follow Kiera and Lia on Instagram and LinkedIn.