This week I am thrilled to bring you my interview with Melissa Ambrosini and her Legacy Project the best-selling book Mastering Your Mean Girl. Melissa is the host of The Melissa Ambrosini Show podcast, an entrepreneur, speaker, self-love teacher and advocate for living your dream life. There is no doubt that this girl walks her talk. From her daily insta-stories sharing her self-love rituals to her new podcast reminding us all that love is sexy, healthy is liberating and wealthy isn’t a dirty word!

In Mastering Your Mean Girl Melissa provides a practical plan for creating your own version of a kick-arse life. One that’s designed to propel you out of stuck-ness and into action, this is a must read if you’re ready to let go of your inner Mean Girl (or bad boy) and start living the life of your dreams.

Melissa has been on an incredible journey of self love, self acceptance and deep healing. To truly appreciate the wonderful work this woman puts out into the world you need to know a little about her own personal journey. She is now the embodiment of living a life where love leads the way, but it hasn’t always been like that. So let’s start at the beginning of her journey to mastering her Mean Girl.

Q&A

Can you share a little about your journey to wellness and self love?

In 2010 I hit rock bottom, ended up in hospital and my entire life path change. Before this incident I was a professional dancer. I danced at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. I was an actress and TV Presenter and loved being on stage. I loved performing and that feeling of being free and totally in the moment on stage. But towards the last couple of years of that career I ignored the many, many warning signs that were telling me to slow down and look after myself.

I was living a life that wasn’t true to me. I was partying and drinking and not nourishing my body. And I was surrounded by not very nourishing relationships. In fact, I had no idea how to nourish myself on all levels. I thought a Starbucks grande mocha latte was healthy because it was made on low fat milk. My whole ethos was work harder, work faster, make more money – they were my mantras. It always felt out of alignment. And it took a really heavy wake up call where I ended up in hospital with a whole host of of health issues from adrenal fatigue, thyroid issues, to auto-immune issues. But the last straw for me was contracting the cold sore virus. I had never had a cold sore before in my life and because my immune system was so run down the severity of the virus sent me straight to hospital.

While I was in hospital a dear friend sent me a copy of Louise Hay’s book – You Can Heal Your Life. I had never read anything like it, but in that moment I realised I had absolutely no self-love. It was an incredibly dark time, but there was a small glimmer of hope. I decided to stop struggling, forcing, pretending to be someone else. I decided to exhale and that’s when the work really started.

I immersed myself in the worlds of inspiring teachers – Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Louise Hay and Marianne Williamson. From there I studied life coaching, holistic health coaching, yoga teacher training, energy healing, meditation and so much more. I completely immersed myself in the personal development world and became deeply committed to working on myself.

I then started a blog where I shared my experiences, what I was learning and going through. Then I began coaching one on one with clients and launched my first e-book and it all organically grew from there.

Can you explain exactly who or what your inner Mean Girl (or Bay Boy) is?

Your Mean Girl is your ego. You can also call it your inner critic, smaller self, shadow self, resistance, or fear… you can call it whatever you want! But essentially it’s that sneaky voice inside your head telling you, you’re not good enough, smart enough, skinny enough, pretty enough and worthy enough. She’s that part of you that keeps you stuck in fear and stops you from choosing love in every situation.

What inspired you to write Mastering Your Mean Girl?

I knew this was a conversation that was life changing and I just had to share it. Personally, I experienced an inner knowing and an absolute certainty that I was ready to write it. The words were ready to fall onto the page. It was choiceless whether I wanted to write it or not. It came through a divine source that said, “Sit your butt down and write.” “You have to do this. You have to show up because this is so important.” I knew I had to do it.

When did inspiration strike? Was it at the beach, in the shower?

When I decided to write I actually went away. I find it challenging to write in my apartment in Sydney so I took myself away on a creative bender. Before that though I had done a outline. So I had the basic structure of topics, chapters and headings, so when I actually sat down the words poured through me. It was a beautiful experience.

I know around the time of writing Mastering Your Mean girl you lost your best friend. Did her passing inspire you even more?

Definitely! We had many conversations about this before she passed and I felt like she really handed me the torch saying “Go do this girl.” There were times it felt very challenging. I thought: seriously how can I do this? I can’t even get myself off the floor because I was in so much pain, I’m was hurting so much. But having her in my ear whispering “You can do this, you can do this”, was really quite powerful.

I imagine that was an incredibly visceral experience for you?

Definitely! There were those moments where I didn’t want to do it for myself when I didn’t have the energy, but then I would think about doing it for her, for my tribe and for the women out there who are struggling and need my support.

I know this book has brought a lot of your unique talents to life. In what way does it give you personal fulfillment or a sense of purpose?

Everyday I get emails and social media messages from tribe members and people all over the world who say the book has touched and changed their life. I’m just so grateful I can facilitate a tiny part of someone’s transformation. It’s incredibly rewarding.

Has there been one particular transformation or story that stands out for you?

They’re all freaking goosebump worthy/ spine-tingling stories! Like women who have healed from incurable illnesses. Developed the courage to leave toxic relationships after 17 years. Women who have called in their their soul mate. Women who have finally had the courage to overcome their fears and launch their dream business. Women who finally got out of debt. And women who finally fell pregnant after years of trying. I read all of their stories (still do) then turn to my husband teary eyed and gobsmacked at what I get to do in the world.

What’s been the biggest highlight since publishing the book?

Meeting everyone on my book tour and hearing stories, and reading their messages and emails of transformation. Those are the highlights.

How do you believe your work serves a higher purpose on earth?

My work is all about inspiring women to unlock their full potential and live their dream life. Everyone wants a bit of that don’t they!? 

I know that you’re a massive fan of having a strong routine. Do you think those daily habits are what enable you to do this work?

Absolutely! I will give you my top secret: I am incredibly organized. I always have been. I now use the calendar on my Mac and iPhone so everything is synced and organised. I used to use pretty handwritten calendars but with the fast paced world we live in and things changing all the time it looked like my 4-year-old nephew had gotten into it! I would open it and get so overwhelmed by the dog’s breakfast that it looked like. That’s why digital calendars are so amazing, so neat, you can move things around, invite people to meetings and events. It’s so streamlined and organised! I don’t know how someone not using it can function. My whole team can see my calendar, know where I am, what I’m doing and where they can and can’t schedule meetings. I have a shared one with my husband, so we know where each other is and what we’re doing. So much easier. Get your calendar sorted, that’s the first thing.

And I have an amazing to do list system, which I think is imperative. I used to have my ‘to-do list’ on Post-It notes all over the house which overwhelmed me. But when you put in a system with a good structure, you set yourself up for success.

What great lesson or lessons have you learned so far in business?

I can’t do it alone. (Well, I can but delegating and getting the right team is a big help!) Also, hire on culture, not skills. Skills can be taught, passion and culture cannot be taught no matter how much you drill it into someone, if it’s not in their heart, it’s just not. And the more you give, the more you get.

What’s the greatest lesson you’ve learnt so far in life?

That we have this incredible internal compass (our intuition) that will always lead us in the right direction.

Do you spend much time in creative thought, visualising how you will continue to build upon this incredible legacy you’re creating?

There is a part of me that thinks, ‘yes let’s move into the future with full steam’, but the other part says let’s just be here, in the moment, and enjoy right now. If we don’t, we miss the magic right in front of us. I don’t want to miss that. A lot of my business in built on intuition.

Melissa with another YLP interviewee Sarah Holloway of Matcha Maiden

How would you like to be remembered?

When I leave this body, I want people to think about me and say: WOW! She really inspired millions. She’s one of those people that made you feel like you’re the most important person on the planet. Melissa was a beautiful, positive energy to be around that was contagious and made me want to be the best version of myself. She inspired me to live my best life, unlock my full potential, to choose love over fear. If people said that I’d be pretty happy 😉

If you could give just one piece of advice, what would it be and why?

Choose love over fear. In every moment we’re making decisions either from fear or love. If you can remember to always choose love, then you’re going to be sweet sista.

A few of my favourite bonus questions with Melissa.

Who or what is your favourite:

Musician: My husband! Nick Broadhurst

Author: One of the first books I picked up was ‘You Can Heal Your Life’ by Louise Hay. I read it at such an important time in my life when I had hit rock bottom in 2010 so it was very pivotal for me. Another one is David Deida’s “Dear Lover”. I have so many, but these ones are just so poignant in my life.

Breakfast: I have a drink called a ‘Fatty Latte’ from my eBook The Glow Kitchen. Basically, it’s tea with good quality fat: MZT oil, ghee, grass fed butter, blended with cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, vanilla, stevia, all sorts of delicious yumminess. That’s usually what I have.

Mantra or quote: Choose love over fear.

Purchase Mastering Your Mean Girl and find out more about Melissa:

Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Pinterest

•••

Thank you for being here and consciously choosing to explore the different ways that ordinary people are living extraordinary lives by serving a higher purpose through their daily work. Everything we do here at Your Legacy Project is designed to inspire and empower you to live your legacy and bring your unique talents to life.

I’d love to know are you a heart centred entrepreneur? Or do you desire to be one? What is your greatest aspiration for your life?  I’d love to know what your desires are and how we can support you in bringing them to life!

Hundreds of people visit this site each week and you’ll never know the difference you can make in the lives of others by sharing your own personal experience. Please share your comments below I can’t wait to read them.

And remember, Live With Purpose.

Brooke