Wealthy Life Mentorship: The Inner Work To Internal Significance With Emerald Greenforest

Are you ready to receive the wealthy life that has been waiting for you all this time? Join Jen Du Plessis in this episode as she talks to the Wealthy Life Mentor, Emerald GreenForest, and learn how you can create your own path to wealth intentionally! The founder and lead visionary of Creative Age Consulting Group, an internationally renowned speaker and transformation artist, and most recently, author of the new book, Be Heard By Millions & Live Your Destiny, Emerald is the epitome of a strong woman who has broken through many a glass ceiling in her life and career. Emerald shares her first and biggest breakthrough – a moment of spiritual awakening that introduced her to her internal significance. Every step thereafter is a step towards the wealthy life she envisioned for herself. Join in as she retraces those steps to uncover nuggets of enlightened thought.

—

Watch the episode here

Listen to the podcast here

Wealthy Life Mentorship: The Inner Work To Internal Significance With Emerald Greenforest

I am so delighted to have a beautiful guest with us, Emerald GreenForest. We met at the New Media Summit many years ago. Let me take this opportunity to introduce everybody to her. She is the Founder and Lead Visionary of Creative Age Consulting Group, The Wealthy Life Mentor. She is an internationally known speaker and a transformation artist. She’s an award winner of Movement to Watch. She’s the author of the book called . She’s one of America’s premier experts and the creator of Apple US Top 50 ranked Men on Purpose Podcast. She’s the executive producer of Apple US Top 75 ranked Wickedly Smart Women Podcast, which I’ve been a guest on. She is hired by people to consult high achieving leaders who are called to be the vanguard of the creative age. I know it’s about transformation. Emerald, welcome to the show. I’m happy to have you here with us.

Thank you so much for having me, Jen. It’s a pleasure to be here.

She’s also from a town that I used to live in. My first jaunt to the East Coast. I was born and raised in Colorado and then jaunted head off to New Hampshire. She lives up in New Hampshire, which we’ve had lots of conversations about as well. I wanted to dig in real quick into some breakthroughs that you’ve experienced in your life. We can get to some other pieces here too because for those that are reading, my thought here is that they are thinking about making a transformation from a business world into entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship into adding a cause to their lives. They’re in the middle of it saying, “Do I want this? Can I do this? Am I an expert in this area,” or they’ve come through it and they have a story to tell? I know that you’ve had a multitude of breakthroughs in your life, but let’s talk about one that you’re thinking about right now that says, “That was a big breakthrough in my life and I want to share that story.”

I feel like I need to share the very first breakthrough that I recognized as a breakthrough. There were other breakthroughs probably throughout the course of my life, but sometimes you’re having breakthroughs and you don’t even realize that you’re having them. This was the first breakthrough where I got like, “I have moved.” I used to say that to my second wasband when he would go away. We’d be on the phone and I’d say, “I’ve moved again.” Internally, I’ve moved. The first breakthrough that’s clearly like something is happening internally for me as well as externally is when I had been in what’s now considered the end of my career in the real estate industry. At that time, I was the national chairperson of my trade association representing 1 in 8 homeowners in the country.

I was building with two partners a project with 51 single-family houses, 56 apartments, and an office building. I was consulting to the World Bank and the US Agency for International Development. I had a spiritual awakening. The spiritual awakening was precipitated when I injured myself and then I started a yoga practice because I couldn’t go back to the gym and do the things that I had been doing before because I had this injury. I had this yoga practice that I started. All of a sudden, because I was beginning to align my body, mind and spirit, which is what yoga is all about, I had a spiritual awakening. That awakening was pretty shocking. I was at a yoga class where we were outside in the park. At the end of the class, I was in final Shavasana, which is corpse pose. All of a sudden, my third eye burst open. I could see in my mind’s eye all these golden white orbs of light going up and down a staircase. When I sat up, everyone in the park was a golden white orb of light. It was such a shock to me because I’m a real estate person.

You’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off for years and you don’t have time to do yoga because that’s not in the cards and it is all business.

[bctt tweet=”Be Heard By Millions & Live Your Destiny: A Creative Age Leader’s Guide To Speak, Sell, Serve & Succeed” via=”no”]

I was all business. From that awakening, so much shifted. I ended up divorcing my first wasband. By the end of the divorce process, I decided it was time for me to leave the real estate industry and leave my business partnership behind. I became awake to all of these latent parts of myself that I didn’t even know existed. My author, my healer and my artist arrived. The work for me was to say, “Yes, okay. I am willing to give my time, energy, attention and money into exploring these parts of myself that I didn’t even know existed because I had spent so many years of my life in this box.” The box exploded open.

When did that happen for you? How long ago did that happen?

It was in August of 2001. Since then, I’ve been on a journey of continued breakthroughs, evolution and growth. Part of the process was first indulging myself in allowing myself to explore all of these parts of myself that I hadn’t known existed before and then saying, “How am I serving with this? What am I doing with this?” The call came to serve other people who were experiencing these kinds of breakthroughs initially. That led me to become an online marketer and a speaker. I’ve been heard by millions of people. I have written many books. I’ve indulged in and made lots of art. I love making art. I’ve helped people all over the world. I’ve mentored people all over the world who had either a significant awakening themselves and they required somebody to affirm them like, “You’re not crazy. You don’t need to go to the psych ward.”

Do you think that that awakening for you in the terms that you’re using can be associated with a midlife crisis? Do you think that’s what happens in the midlife crisis? I don’t use that word at all very often. I don’t use that terminology, but do you think that it’s associated with that? Do you think it’s coming into your own? Do you think it might have to do with tenure in a job that says, “It’s not giving back to me? I don’t have that passion.” Is that this type of awakening or do you think it’s that plus?

I think it’s all of the above and it can happen for people at various times in their lives as a result of some traumatic shift? Maybe for the bulk of people that it happens to, it also happens to align with what we would call midlife. A hundred years ago, midlife was 25. Now, midlife is 50, 60. Who knows what midlife is? There may be a big bulk of people for whom it happens during that time but it can also happen for people who can be late bloomers. It could happen to somebody when they’re 60. Who knows? It could happen for somebody who possibly got in a car accident when they were in their twenties.

It woke something up. It’s generally trauma-induced. Some a life-changing trauma will often awaken people to their significance. This show is called Success to Significance and culturally, we are conditioned to elevate success to how society defines success as our goal for a long time. That internal significance piece starts to say, “That’s not what I was born for. I wasn’t born necessarily to be the national chairperson of my trade association.”

Be Heard By Millions & Live Your Destiny: A Creative Age Leader’s Guide To Speak, Sell, Serve & Succeed

I totally get that because that happened with me, no question. That’s why this show was created. I don’t think I’m the only one who’s losing sleep at night wondering what’s next. What am I going to do? I’m not happy. I’m not being fulfilled the way I used to be. I’m certainly happy but not in what maybe I’m doing. I absolutely love that you said that this happened. I’m curious about this. Why did you go into the podcast for men? What happened there that took you down that path?

That wouldn’t cause me to have to go back into this. The healing journey initiated in 2001, but I had a lifetime of experiences with men starting with my dad who was a raging alcoholic and was physically abusive. I had a lifetime of experiences with men. From my dad to boyfriends to wasbands. I have two ex-wasbands, to business partners and ultimately to an experience with my son where he was engaged in addiction issues himself. As a result of that experience with my son, I ended up having another level of awakening. I got clear, I was the single unifying thread in all of these relationships with men who had been either abusive, addicted or I felt alienated from. After this what I call a rite of passage with my son where he threatened my life, it was a very serious experience, but we’ve passed through that now. He’s on the other side of the addiction stuff and I’m on the other side of being in a codependent relationship with him that was built around a lifetime of having these experiences.

As a result of that. I got a calling to do this podcast on men, Men on Purpose. I set aside the things that I had been doing in my business, which up until then had been to help women feel great speaking and powerful asking for money and to help them to affirm their power, value and their voice. I had this rite of passage with my son and I got called to do this podcast. That’s what got me started in podcasting back in January of 2018. What ended up happening was ultimately doing that podcast, which within six weeks it was Top 200 podcast. It was monetizing right away. I had a five-figure client within four months.

By the time I ended my role in that podcast, Men on Purpose, I sold it. It was number 41 in the US in marketing. What it was for me was it was a completely healing journey because I had to shift my point of view where before all I had seen was men as being abusive, addicted or I felt alienated from them. It was on me to shift my point of view and start to look for, see, elevate, celebrate and spotlight men on purpose. It became a huge healing journey for me. Now, it’s in somebody else’s hands, a man’s hands.

I remember you telling me it was being sold. I remember you’ve done it. I imagine that it was very eye-opening to truly find men that were completely opposite. Maybe there were people that were in there that had gone through that same type of transition themselves where they were abusive and now, they get it and surround yourself. It goes back to whenever we talk about the fact that you are the accumulation of the X amount of people that you surround yourself with. How did that transform you? You sought out to pivot, change your point of view, bring on men that you could surround yourself with that were saying, “Not every guy is the same way.” That was internal, but what has it done for you on the external side of things? Have you seen a shift in the way that you function externally in business or with your relationships with men or women?

I’m seeing men as more human beings and individuals. I’ve humanized them as individuals instead of having them out there at arm’s length because of fear. I am much more open to getting to know that person as an individual with their own collection of conditioning as well as a breakthrough. I have a lot more compassion for myself. I have a lot more compassion for other people. I’m much more interested now in looking for where we have commonality as opposed to where we can confront one another. My warrior looking for a fight has diminished significantly. I’m much more interested in how can we collaborate. Where can we weave our threads together, both for men and for women? I’m more aware of the fact that we all have both masculine and feminine energy within us.

[bctt tweet=”Unleash your energy, capture it and direct it in a positive, creative, conscious way.” via=”no”]

Many of the women that I’ve served over the years, I would call masculinized women. We came up in a culture in a society where we had to put it on the man suit in order to be successful. It’s a process. I’m still in the process. What I’m aware of now is that I am in acceptance of the fact that I am continuing to evolve and I will continue to evolve. I’m letting go of attaching myself to any particular point of view and being much more flexible and willing to take on multiple points of view to get to the place where I’m clear. This is where I stand, although I respect and see your point of view.

I can hear that even in your words, moving from warrior to someone who’s more wisdom-associated. It’s more like, “Let me bring my wisdom in and all my experiences to help me make better decisions and moving forward.” I absolutely love that. I’m so thankful that you went through that and I know it can be very challenging. As you’re talking about it, I’m even thinking, “Do I have that?” I’m fortunate because I’ve never been in an abusive relationship. I’ve been married to my husband for many years. There’s nothing there. My father was an alcoholic too, but there’s this draw or magnet toward men versus women in business.

There’s some undertone and there is something that if I go to the woman’s side, then I might not be the warrior that I feel like I am. I’m not confrontational or anything, but if I hang around with too many women, I might get too weak. I’ll go to the men’s hut and hang out with the men because that will keep me on track. It’s interesting that you’re saying that because this is exactly what happens. We are all evolving all the time. Thank you for sharing that. Let’s shift gears a little bit and talk about the business that you have and what you help people do. There are many people that are reading that are in various forms of perhaps putting things together.

While we’re in COVID, they’re stepping back and slowing down a little bit to say, “Is this what makes me happy? Is this what fulfills me? Maybe I need to think about something,” but I don’t know. People listen to me because I’m probably not as smart as I think I am. I don’t know what message. I don’t know any of that. Talk to us about what you would be guiding someone through who’s lost right now and sees a vision, but maybe hasn’t had an awakening? They’re not quite there yet. Tell us what you would talk to them about.

One of the things that I’m offering to people right now is what I call my Wealthy Life Mentorship. What I do with people during that process is I take them through my Wealthy Life Method. I define wealth in a very different way. It’s not just about the money. Money has to be incorporated into that, but wealth in my mind is the sum total of all of the resources that you have available to you. That’s time, it’s your health, imagination, intellect and intuition. It’s the energy exchange that you make with the world, which is the money piece of it and it’s the fun. Are we having fun yet? Are we having fun with our friends and our family and are our fellows on the path? I help people to discern whether or not they’re ready for a wealthy life.

I have a fun little quiz for that. It’s my Wealth Readiness Quiz which you can find at Quiz.WealthyLifeMentor.com. From there, I take them through a process of getting clear on, what is it that you want? What is it that you don’t want? From there, we go deep in to discern whether or not there is something significant that they are being called to create, develop and serve into the world. That would be the first step for people. It’s to go through that process of, are you ready? What’s your level of readiness for wealth and a wealthy life? That’s what I’m offering to people right now. It’s the Wealthy Life By Design Intensive. I take them through that process of exploration and getting up underneath. Part of the work is getting up underneath the conditioning, the societal expectations, the training that we’ve had in our work, home, families, religions, neighborhoods and cultures. It’s getting to the core of what is it that I am authentically here to cultivate within myself and also deliver into the world in a way that will help me to not only be making a significant contribution, but will also be immensely fulfilling.

Wealthy Life: It’s often trauma that awakens people to their significance.

You’re speaking my language because that’s a process I take my clients down to. It’s probably very different than you do. Mine’s all about core values and fulfillment. It’s important that you say about wealth. Just like in this show, it’s breaking through glass ceilings. A lot of people think it’s all the money and it’s all about women breaking through glass ceilings, but it’s not. There are ceilings that we butt up against all the time. It could be a relationship. It could be travel. It could be learning how to build funnels and campaigns. I’m finally breaking through that ceiling. It could be weight gain. There are a lot of things that we do. What you were saying about wealth, it’s important to bring up the point of the book Think and Grow Rich.

A lot of people think that if they get the book and I ponder it, I’ll be rich. That is not what that book is about at all. That’s part of the issue is getting that straight and saying, “What is wealth to you as an individual?” It’s a gratitude walk. It’s a walk down that lane of what makes me feel fulfilled and grand in the scheme of wealth, not in the bank account necessarily. I know that’s part of it, but what makes me feel grand as a person or as a human being. I love that. When people make a transition, when they decide that they’re going to follow their passion, they’re fulfilled, and they now know that they want this wealth, what do you think is a one mistake they make when they go out there? I know you’ve got a couple of different things, but what do you think is number one?

One of the five ways that we ward off wealth and the number one way that we ward off wealth and a wealthy life is we cultivate and fuel worry. This is something that causes many people to stop themselves in their tracks, to lower or dim their light, to lower their life force and their vitality and to keep themselves small. Part of my awakening included awakening to being able to see psychically. One of the things that I see when I see people who are worried is it looks like a dark gray musty, smelly, old army blanket wrapped around them.

Not only is worry a disease-creating energy and thought form to run, but it also is repulsive. It’s repulsive to other people, to money, and to opportunity. When you’re showing up worried, even if you put on that face of, “I’m not worried and everything is fine,” people who are sensitive can feel it. People who are sensitive can literally smell it out. You can smell the worry on somebody. The number one first piece of work is to discern, is this even mine? A lot of us have inherited worry and limiting beliefs.

My mom called herself a worrywart. For her, it came from way back. I’ve done a lot of work on that too to go back and forgive that little girl, and tell that little girl that she’s worth it so that I could receive it in her womb, so that I could receive it and bring it forward for me. Not the worry so much, but other things that she had issues with so that I could release them. I needed to release them. She was always a worrywart because she worried if they would have money because my dad drank. She worried if he would drink and spend the money. She worried if he would come home drunk again. He wasn’t a mean drunk or anything, but she provoked him. That all stems way back. It has to be released. I’m here to say that there are days that I worry. Generally, what you see is what you get here but there are days that I worry. I worry about where my next client will come from. I worry about can I make someone successful. The imposter syndrome is another thing, don’t you think?

It’s all anchored in the vibration of worry. The interesting thing that we need to be clear about and what I’m hearing from you and what I would want to make clear to whoever’s reading this. If you’re reading this, you’re already awake. To some degree, you’re already awake and you’re already in a place where you’re beginning your own self-exploration and you’re open. You may be at varying stages on the path. There’s a variety of stages on the path. What I’m hearing from you, Jen, and what I want to underscore here, and it’s my path as well and I believe probably the path of most of the people reading, is we are incarnated. We came to be the ones who said, “It stops with me.”

[bctt tweet=”Clarity is divinity.” via=”no”]

Our parents did not have the environment, the tools, technologies, awareness or consciousness within which to not only do their work in the world to put money and food on the table and all of those things. Also, to have the time, energy, intention, and capacity to do this hugely deep work. We came to say, “It stops here.” We are the bookend upon which the entire world is being recreated. We’re saying no more of that. We have to clear up that, heal that, resolve that, transform that, transmute that, then what are we creating from here?

That’s why I did the work with someone who took me way back to let it go. It was a release process. It’s funny because after that process, I don’t go back there in my mind. I did when we talked about it, but I don’t go back there in my mind because immediately I used to go right back all the way to pour them. That’s why it’s for me.

The charge got discharged.

It’s done, it’s gone, and it’s given me the latitude to be able to grow my practice very quickly. As you and I were talking in the green room, very quickly during this pandemic, we should get people on board who can take some of these other things off that I was so afraid to hire, “What if I do that and I hurt them?” I was holding myself back. Very quickly, I was like, “That’s it. This is an easy decision to make.” Someone reading this can say, “I need to go through that too.” I know this mindset work for some people. I came in at that way too. I think you did too because you came from that real estate background. I came from mortgage and finance. It’s like, “I’m not going to do all that mindset work and the hard centered work. This is about numbers.” I’m telling you that it’s here to stay. Whether you like it or not, this is the way that the world is moving. The entire world and the entire universe is moving in this direction to open up our hearts, to be able to experience more than we ever thought we could experience. I imagine that this is a lot of what your work is surrounded to get that foundation.

I want to point back to you, Jen, what happens when we transform and transmute. Whether you want to call it mindset, inner work, heart-centered work or whatever you want. It doesn’t matter what we call it. Let’s call it what it is. It’s a transformation of how you hold energy. If you imagine that all of this energy, the life force, your own vitality, your health, your well-being is coagulated in this cloud of worry. Now all of a sudden, you have unleashed that. When you unleash that energy, you can then capture it and direct it in a positive, creative, and conscious way. Now, you’re empowered. You are fueled to create the dreams that you’ve been dreaming while you’ve been in this little bubble of worry. Deep inside, you’ve been dreaming of a more significant way of being in the world. It doesn’t matter what we labeled the process. The point is it literally unleashes power when you go through these processes.

I always explain it to my clients. I learned this from Brian Buffini who happens to be in real estate. He’s one of the top real estate coach in the world. He talks about something very similar. He does it in a different way, but he talks about a soft light bulb, and you want to get in your blankie, and you want to have a hot cocoa or whatever. You want to sit there because it’s all comfortable. The bottom line is its light. You then look at a laser light. It’s the same exact light. It’s just laser-focused. It’s intentional. It’s the light that gets things done versus the warm comfy whatever. If a lot of people are thinking, “I’m comfortable in this worry,” imagine what you could achieve if you got out of that and it became laser-focused and intentional and you work with Emerald to get yourself to that point.

Wealthy Life: Wealth is the sum of all the resources you have available for you

I do have to say whenever two or more are gathered, there is love. At the end of the day, love wins.

As long as we slow down enough. I appreciate the time you spent with us because some of this show has been very tactical. Some have been very spiritual, uplifting, mindset and heartfelt. I love that that’s what where we went with you because I know that you have very tactical application of what you do as well. I want to make sure that I let our readers know that it’s not all this. This is the basis or the foundation that builds on a very solid, powerful and thriving business.

I have what I would call a hybrid business because I’m not interested in hanging out in la la land forever. Somebody said, “You can’t be so spiritual that you’re doing no earthly good.” For me, everything begins in this realm of discreation and recreation, but it’s in service to a practical outcome. I like to say I work with spiritual technologies and practical strategies. Most of the people that ended up being my long-term clients generally are called to be leaders in a very big way in the world and to be heard by millions and to live their destiny, creating conscious change in the world. I have a whole suite of offerings to help them to learn how to do that. To be able to speak, to be able to share their message, to be able to leverage themselves, to be able to sell. All of those things are part of my toolbox because I am both deeply spiritual and very committed to some practical result and outcome for the people who work with me.

I imagine then anyone, wherever you are in this process, you can be inserted into that process or maybe skip some processes that you already have great knowledge on. You don’t need those processes to get through. It might be that you have the spiritual piece down, but it’s the practical you don’t have or vice versa. I know that you’ll be there to help them, Emerald, get through whatever path that they have. As we end our time together, talk to us about a mantra, a quote or a book that guides you. Something that you always go back to that that says, “Do it.” What is it that guides you on a daily basis?

There are two that come to mind. One that I say all the time and I’ve been saying it for years. I have quotes with my name after it and that is, “Clarity is divinity.” When you are clear, then you can take action and you can get the results that you’re looking for. Also, because we were talking about gratitude, wealth and money, I have another one, “Gratitude is the currency of the universe. Currency is gratitude in action.”

That’s exactly it because you can’t be grateful and have great intention, but not take the action to get things done.

[bctt tweet=”Gratitude and action are the currency of the universe.” via=”no”]

In currency, we can direct the flow of our money in action in a grateful way. If you are somebody who’s awakened and called, be grateful for the gifts that you have. Invest in those gifts, in yourself and in the process. Put your money where your mouth is gratefully and say, “I’m so grateful I have the gift of being able to speak, serve other people sell or lead. I’m so grateful for that. I’m going to invest in myself, my calling and my mission gratefully because I am so gifted and happy to be able to nourish, cultivate, and grow all of those gifts to serve into the world.”

I hear you loud and clear. Emerald, it has been a pleasure having you on our show. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. What is the best way for someone to reach out to you?

They can go to Quiz.WealthyLifeMentor.com and get started there. I like to give people one place to go because a confused mind makes no choices. Let’s get them started there. Anybody who’s a podcast listener can listen to the Wickedly Smart Women Podcast or the Men on Purpose Podcast. The first 162 episodes were me interviewing people.

Wealthy Life: Cultivating worry is the number one thing that wards of wealth.

Now that you’ve talked a little bit about what the purpose of that podcast was, I’m going to go listen to the first five or so, and then I’m going to listen to the last five or so and see if I can sense a change in you. I want to see if that happens because I’m a medium as well. I sense people. Mine’s a little different than other people. I sense people who have passed on into a different place. I’m not so good with people that I’m talking to who are living right now here in front of me. I’ll be curious to see how you have transformed. I’m sure there’s undertones and different voice inflections that are going to be pretty interesting to see. I want to say thank you so much for being with me. I appreciate it, Emerald. I am so grateful that I have met you and that you’re a part of my life now. I look forward to us growing together over the next umpteen years.

Thank you so much for having me, Jen.

I want to also tell everybody, thank you so much for reading. If this was your first time because we are a new show, thank you so much for taking time in your day. Please be sure to write us a review, give us a good rating, subscribe and share it with the rest of the world. Don’t keep it a secret. If you’ve been reading for quite some time, we want to thank you for your patronage and we appreciate those opportunities. If you have a breakthrough in your life, some type of breakthrough that you are excited about getting that message out there, please get in touch with me at Jen@JenDuPlessis.com. I would love to talk to you about possibly being a guest on my show to share so that you can change other people as well. With that, I will see you on the next episode. Thank you, Emerald, for being with us.

Thanks for having me, Jen.

Important Links

About Emerald Green Forest

Founder & Lead Visionary of Creative Age Consulting Group, The Wealthy Life Mentor Emerald GreenForest is an internationally known speaker, transformation artist, Be The Change “Movement To Watch” Award Winner, #1 New Release Author of Be Heard By Millions & Live Your Destiny and one of America’s Premier Experts. Creator of the Apple US Top 50 ranked Men On Purpose Podcast (recently sold) and the Executive Producer & Host of the Apple US Top 75 ranked Wickedly Smart Women Podcast, she is hired to consult with high achieving leaders who are called to be the Vanguard of the Creative Age.