Episode 41: Why listening to your intuition can lead you to a life beyond your wildest dreams with Melissa Camilleri of Compliment Inc.
Episode Description
Sometimes our life’s work comes to us when we least expect it. We never really know when a creative side venture, something we do for free, or a service we are providing others might turn into something bigger. That is why, I believe, it is so important to follow our “gut instincts” when our inner voice is telling us to follow an inkling.
Today’s guest, and mother of two boys, Melissa Camilleri, was an English teacher when she began her unique entrepreneurial venture “Compliment, Inc”., which inspires customers to give out kind words as gifts. This lifestyle brand also sets aside five percent of all their product sales to the Compliment Scholarship Program. Her gifts not only spread joy, but she has created a profitable brand around education with the intention to fund girls who dare to dream big and break the cycle of poverty in their families.
When Melissa started making jewelry for her High School students, which started off as a college scholarship fundraiser for her students, she would make sure to include a compliment within each small gift. She quickly realized that the students were holding on to those compliments in their backpacks and binders, and they were positively affecting them in many ways. Word of her “compliments” spread like wild fire and she could barely keep up with her orders. Soon Melissa realized there was a need in her community and that she genuinely could be the person to fill it with her own unique gifts. This is what led her to make the scary decision to quit her job in 2011 and pursue entrepreneurship full time. Now in 2019, Compliment has grown to be an online destination for people seeking “gifts that uplift”, and give back.
Melissa has faced many scary decisions as a mother, including divorce and quitting a job she thought she would be in “forever”, but believes listening to her intuition is what led her to where she is today. Even with two little ones in tow Melissa now is also the founder of the acclaimed 21 day Insta-course (helping others gain massive exposure on Instagram on a shoestring budget) plus may other workshops and trainings where she helps people find their unique gifts and talents, and spread their messages to the world.
Take-Aways:
[06:43] Life took her through many twists and turns, and when she felt like she hit rock bottom, things whited in ways she never could have expected.
[09:25] Choosing to eventually leave the classroom was one of the hardest decisions of her life. She was met with a lot of outside pressure.
[13:18] Once a teacher, always a teacher. Melissa feels like she is still a teacher even though out of the classroom now.
[16:46] When she sought out therapy at one of her lowest points before starting her business, she was told that all the important answers truly lie within all of us.
[19:26] Melissa suggests relying on your core circle of trusted friends for advice/support.
[22:45] She finds little moments happens when her kids both fall asleep in the car after I’ve been driving and doing errands to meditate and be still.
[31:13] Why making the terrifying decision to quit something can change your life profoundly.
[37:45] How asking for help and outsourcing helped her business grow.
[42:57] Why finding ways to have passive forms of income in your business can help you twofold in scaling it.
[55:50] Melissa reflects on what being a soul mamma means to her and why she only works three days a week.
Memorable Quotes:
“It took me a long time to come to grips with figuring out what my identity was if I wasn’t in the classroom.”
“This decision was not actually about anybody except for me and doing what’s best for me, my family and my life. And at the end of the day, that’s who I answer to.”
“It really saved me (during the low point in my life) having somebody to reach out to and say; ‘you have the answers inside of you.’ ”
“When you have children, you’re responsible for other lives and so you want to be, you want to be okay with taking risks, but calculated risks.”
“Make sure you are listening to your heart and then making little baby steps every day toward what you know is right for your life and your family.”
“They’re not going to be in diapers forever. You’re not going to have to carry them forever. They’re also not going to save these cute things forever so I really try as best as possible to be present in the moment wherever I’m at.”
“It’s called social media because we’re supposed to be social on it and not just create these veneers of what things are.”
