Melissa Llarena is a bestselling author, imagination coach behind the Fertile Imagination to Networking Success Group Coaching Program, consultant, speaker, and contributor to ForbesWomen articles that have garnered over 4 million views.

She is also the podcast host of the Mom Founder Imagination Hub, featuring guests like GaryVee, Beth Comstock, Suzy Batiz, David Meltzer, and hundreds of other unconventional thinkers. Melissa has been featured in the WSJ, Business Insider, Fox Business, CNN Money, The Huffington Post, and other publications.

Melissa holds a psychology degree from NYU, an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and a Transformational Coaching Academy certificate, and is training to become a meditation practitioner. Melissa resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband and three sons (one singleton and a set of identical twins).

Key Moments

[03:54] Coaches busy moms in entrepreneurship, manages motherhood.

[07:32] Energy is essential for ideas to succeed.

[11:56] Helping individuals communicate and sell their worth.

[14:01] Queens accent readied me for motherhood.

[18:07] Podcast sharing health scare, recovery inspiration story.

[20:12] Boss suspects job hunting due to poor performance.

[24:16] Embrace global diversity; learn from shared challenges.

Find Melissa Online

https://www.fertileideas.com

Shop the book: https://bit.ly/fertilebook

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mom-founder-imagination-hub/id1308269140

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissallarena

https://bit.ly/imagineaplan

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Transcript Provided By Castmagic.io

Seth [00:00:00]:
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Intro Voice Guy [00:01:40]:
You’re listening to Entrepreneur’s Enigma, a podcast about the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial journey. Every week, your host, Seth Goldstein, interviews entrepreneurs from all walks of life about their entrepreneurial journeys. From store owners to fortune 500 CEOs, we all have stories to tell. So sit back and join us for the next 20 or so minutes while we explore the entrepreneurial world.

Seth [00:02:15]:
Hey, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Entrepreneur’s Enigma podcast. Today, I have an amazing guest. They’re all amazing, but I have a really amazing guest today. Melissa Lorena. Right? I got that right? I got it right because I I had to ask at the beginning because there’s 2 l’s in it, and it’s oh, it throws me off. She is a powerhouse. Number 1, she’s a mother of 3 boys.

Seth [00:02:38]:
Now I I that alone, she deserves an award. 2 of them are identical. Yeah. Let’s let that sink in a little bit. Like, 3 boys alone Mhmm. Is enough. It’s almost too much. And 2 of them look like each other.

Seth [00:02:55]:
I mean, I’m sure they all look like each other, but, you know, 2 are actually, like, clinically identical twins.

Melissa Llarena [00:03:01]:
DNA level. Like Mhmm.

Seth [00:03:02]:
Oh oh my I cannot I I oh my god. I have one boy, and I’m like, he’s more than enough. 3 boys. God bless you. 2 of them are identical. Wow. And she’s a mom founder. She’s a best selling author, business strategist.

Seth [00:03:16]:
Like I said, boy, mom, twin mom, wellness junkie. She loves keeping rice I see in her, in her LinkedIn buy over here. You know, who doesn’t like keeping rice? It’s yummy. Better than better than regular rice. You know?

Melissa Llarena [00:03:28]:
Yeah. And I, you know, make it healthy. Add some chia seeds and quinoa. Oh. I know.

Seth [00:03:33]:
Oh, make it fancy. Exactly. And you’re a podcaster, and you have about as many podcasts as I do under the wing. 250 episodes and count and counting. So it’s probably more since you up you probably have to update to every week.

Melissa Llarena [00:03:44]:
254 today. Mhmm.

Seth [00:03:46]:
Oh, I think you’re actually actually ironically, I think you’re actually 254 of my podcast.

Melissa Llarena [00:03:51]:
Synchronicities.

Seth [00:03:54]:
Whoo. Exactly. So you help I’ll go ahead and have you tell describe people to what you did, but you you have a fertile imagination 9 week group coaching masterclass. You help busy moms be entrepreneurs. You do a lot of things and you’re a boy mom. I don’t know how you do it all. I mean, I can better, like I said, I can better handle 1. So I’m always in awe of moms in general because, you know, dads help, but, you know, only so much.

Melissa Llarena [00:04:25]:
That’s

Seth [00:04:25]:
true. After all, that’s 4 kids, you know, if you really think

Melissa Llarena [00:04:28]:
about it. So

Seth [00:04:29]:
so how are you doing?

Melissa Llarena [00:04:31]:
I am good. I am, you know, just, just, hanging out here in my twin’s room, looking at Pokemon wall art and, seeing unmade beds here. You know? It’s very typical. Very,

Seth [00:04:45]:
broadcaster studio.

Melissa Llarena [00:04:46]:
Yeah. Very motherhood in the real, I would say. I think, it’s coming up my book birthday, though. So I will say I’m a little bit in that

Seth [00:04:54]:
year. Right?

Melissa Llarena [00:04:54]:
Yeah. I’m in a celebratory mood mood. Halloween is my book birthday, because when else do we use our imagination to its fullest. Right?

Seth [00:05:02]:
Yeah. Halloween. So the book let’s talk a little bit about the book. The book was called what was the book called? I I don’t know. And yeah. Although you sell it, you tell me what the book is called because I’m on the side of this. Oh, imagine.

Melissa Llarena [00:05:15]:
So I wanna show it to you if you’re watching this in the video. Video. It’s purply. There’s a benefit to watching the video. So it’s called Fertile Imagination. It’s a guide for stretching every mom’s superpower for maximum impact. So I’m really, really committed to the word imagination because I feel that we tend to focus on our kids and building out their active imagination.

Seth [00:05:38]:
They have imagination.

Melissa Llarena [00:05:40]:
Yeah. And they do, and they can be our teachers in that realm. Right? But I feel that

Seth [00:05:44]:
Stars die are at 20, I think. Yeah. Our imaginations turn off.

Melissa Llarena [00:05:48]:
Yeah. Yeah. So it’s it’s almost like the first time that you’re told, like, no. Your idea is too big. Like, that’s when you start, like, cowering and just saying, oh, okay. I’m not gonna share my ideas. But ultimately, you know, if we want to model what it looks like to use our imagination and make it work, so that’s the key to my success. Like, how is it that I’m a mom and a business owner and a podcaster and an author?

Seth [00:06:09]:
And She keeps tying those she keeps bearing the lead.

Melissa Llarena [00:06:11]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Seth [00:06:11]:
A mom of 3 and 2 and and 2 of them are twins. I I you keep bearing the you’re a mom. That doesn’t give enough just I’m sorry. That doesn’t give enough just.

Melissa Llarena [00:06:19]:
Full full context here. So in terms of in terms of 3 boys, they all, by the way, are into Brazilian jujitsu. So I’m not just a mom. I’m like a survivor of, like, constantly being in a headlock and telling them I am tapping out. So there’s even more to me. You don’t even know the you don’t even know the experience.

Seth [00:06:38]:
Mom. Yeah.

Melissa Llarena [00:06:39]:
Yes. Yes. And so, you know, you’ve gotta you’ve gotta model it. So I am a toughie. I am a toughie. I don’t do BJJ, but I can hang with the best of them, and I think that’s what it takes. It takes, you know, thinking creatively, being on your toes to navigate it, balance it all. Can’t say balance is real for me.

Melissa Llarena [00:06:57]:
I’m quite lopsided, I will say.

Seth [00:06:59]:
A 100%. Tired of the kid off of imagination on how to tire the kids out.

Melissa Llarena [00:07:04]:
Yeah. And

Seth [00:07:04]:
you can ask you some time to ask you other things.

Melissa Llarena [00:07:06]:
Yeah. Absolutely. So, I mean, you know, how do you tire kids out? First of all, you need energy yourself because Oh

Seth [00:07:12]:
my god.

Melissa Llarena [00:07:13]:
You gotta start it. It’s like you gotta start the party. Right? So that the party happens, they get exhausted, and then they could go to bed before you. So there’s a fine art there. And it’s funny because in the book, for imagination, I talk about that. Right? And so everybody’s like, oh, I don’t have the energy to. I don’t have the energy to maintain or build a business. I could barely get up out of bed on time.

Melissa Llarena [00:07:32]:
Well, it requires extra, and that extra is something that you have to self generate. It’s almost like you’re in a car and you’re running and you need that, you know, active energy ongoing. And if you don’t use it, you do lose it. So I think, you know, just like a starting point, when I interviewed on my podcast, James Altucher on the mom founder imagination hub, he himself told me he’s like, you could have the best ideas in the world, but if you don’t have the energy to get out of bed, ain’t nothing happening that day. And so that’s something that I talk about a lot. And as a boy mom, I live it. I live it. I breathe it.

Melissa Llarena [00:08:06]:
I am it.

Seth [00:08:07]:
On your LinkedIn, you’re it’s you smiling, holding a cup of coffee. And I just and my brain went there. I’m like, yep. You probably coffee’s a good friend of yours.

Melissa Llarena [00:08:17]:
You know? So Coke is illegal. Right? And so that’s my alternative. I don’t do cocaine.

Seth [00:08:24]:
We’re gonna take a quick break, hear from our sponsors, and get right back to the show.

Melissa Llarena [00:08:27]:
But I do do caffeine. And so that’s my thing. You know? It’s it’s how I start out my day. And, honestly, it’s it’s the first sip before I go to the gym. So I do go to the gym, 5:30 AM class, 4 times a week. Yeah. Oh my god. Yeah.

Melissa Llarena [00:08:44]:
Yeah. Well, I need the energy. I need the energy.

Seth [00:08:47]:
Need to do you need to do something for yourself first is I think what it really boils down to. Yeah. Get up, have some coffee, get your butt moving, then come back and then really get your butt moving.

Melissa Llarena [00:08:57]:
Yeah. Absolutely. Mhmm. And and for me, it’s like I I need it. I I need it. Like, I need you know, you brush your teeth every day. You eat every day potentially unless you fast or whatever. And it’s kinda like, well, alright.

Melissa Llarena [00:09:09]:
Well, I need to move my body, activate my muscles, and, you know, have

Seth [00:09:14]:
that brain up, honestly. People don’t think that going to the gym Mhmm. They don’t think that when you go exercise, you’re you’re only waking up your body. You’re waking up your brain.

Melissa Llarena [00:09:21]:
A 100%.

Seth [00:09:22]:
Has to make sure you don’t fall off the treadmill.

Melissa Llarena [00:09:24]:
Yeah. Yeah. My god. That’s a nightmare. I was thinking about box jumps, actually. I was talking to someone at the gym today, and we’re like, yeah. We’re afraid.

Seth [00:09:32]:
Not gonna wait for that? Jeez.

Melissa Llarena [00:09:33]:
Yeah. You fall on your face, and you break some bones. You know? Yeah. Not a look. It’s not a look. And, definitely, we’ll stop you in your like, if you’re trying to build a business or do anything that day.

Seth [00:09:42]:
Yeah. That’ll that’ll that’ll put damper on the date to say the least.

Melissa Llarena [00:09:45]:
Yeah. That’s a down. Entrepreneurial down. Mhmm.

Seth [00:09:47]:
Exactly. So Melissa is a good has a good pedigree as well. You went to NYU, I see here. Then you went to Fordham Law, so don’t mess with her. She knows her law.

Melissa Llarena [00:09:56]:
Well, one semester too many.

Seth [00:09:58]:
At Dartmouth. So you know you’re you know a thing or 2.

Melissa Llarena [00:10:01]:
Yeah. Yeah. So here’s the whole thing. Like, I had this divine plan. Right? I was like, okay.

Seth [00:10:06]:
Everyone does.

Melissa Llarena [00:10:07]:
Here I know. Here’s how it’s gonna work. I’m gonna get my education, bust my butt, and make sure I get out debt free, which I resolved all of that, which took a lot of work upfront. And Did that.

Seth [00:10:18]:
Yeah. Wow.

Melissa Llarena [00:10:19]:
I did that. And then basically Wow. Wow. Fordham. Thank you. But minus Fordham. So Fordham, that was something I was cutting a check for myself, and I quit in the 1st semester because it sucked, and it made no sense for me personally. Like, I literally was that one l student who was asking everybody that was in their 2nd and 3rd year.

Seth [00:10:39]:
Semester. Too many law schools. I like that. Yeah. Yeah. You do this. Hey. That’s that’s good enough.

Seth [00:10:44]:
You got you got a semester on your ballot. You learn enough how not to get yourself sued.

Melissa Llarena [00:10:48]:
Pretty much. Yeah. Pretty much. I know how to ask the right questions.

Seth [00:10:52]:
Yeah. A lot of you and I find out a lot of you go to law school and never use it. It but it’s good it’s good basis for business. But if you can get it done in 1 semester, by all means, save the money.

Melissa Llarena [00:11:04]:
I got the baby, JD, like, Kardashian. He has a baby JD, whatever that might mean. But, hey, if the Menendez brothers get out, then I guess it’s enough.

Seth [00:11:15]:
There you go. Exactly. Exactly. So you wrote the book. You you’re you’re you actually went you went back to your alma mater and you were an adjunct instructor for 6 years.

Melissa Llarena [00:11:25]:
Yeah. It was so And

Seth [00:11:26]:
my new that’s kind of fun. It was amazing. And instructors are the are such a thankless job, but, because you’re an instructor. You’re adjunct. You don’t got all the benefits of being a full professor. Yet you’re doing the work of a full professor. I mean, you get a nice little hat tip on, LinkedIn. That’s about it.

Seth [00:11:47]:
Yeah. Yeah. It was Italy Squad.

Melissa Llarena [00:11:50]:
Oh. Oh, yeah. I mean, I remember my You do

Seth [00:11:52]:
it because you wanna do it and you wanna inspire young minds.

Melissa Llarena [00:11:55]:
Yeah.

Seth [00:11:56]:
Bless for the pay.

Melissa Llarena [00:11:56]:
And I wanted to know how people were selling themselves, like, at the university level. Right? So, like, it’s all about selling yourselves. And that’s what I do in that program. Like, the photo imagination to networking success. It’s like Yeah. Helping mom business owners sell themselves. You know? Like, if we’re if we’re humble, it’s a great quality in terms of the way that you, you know, relate to human beings. But you have to know your worth, and you have to communicate it because otherwise, you will not get compensated your worth.

Melissa Llarena [00:12:24]:
It’ll be impossible. Ain’t no one tapping you on the fold on the shoulders saying, hey. No. I wanna pay you more. Please more. Please. Like, no. That’s not a thing.

Melissa Llarena [00:12:32]:
No. No. And in business, either

Seth [00:12:34]:
do that.

Melissa Llarena [00:12:34]:
With pricing either. Like, you have to price yourself adequately, and that’s also why you would have

Seth [00:12:39]:
Oh, that’s so tough.

Melissa Llarena [00:12:41]:
Yeah. For sure. And you’ve got to own it.

Seth [00:12:43]:
Both genders. Both genders. I mean, like, you know, it’s not, you know, but I feel like women are scrutinized more, which is not fair. In my opinion, that is smarter of the 2. And it’s more in my opinion. Because they the whole intuition thing that us guys are us me heads don’t have. You know, we we don’t have the intuition. Women have the intuition that that that that should get them more, in my opinion.

Seth [00:13:06]:
But I’m a rare breed of guy, I guess. I was raised by a single mother. You know, she raised me right. So thank you, mom.

Melissa Llarena [00:13:13]:
There you go. This is an episode for all thanking of moms. Right? I think you’re Oh,

Seth [00:13:18]:
we seriously. I mean, I could I couldn’t raise my kid on my own. No. I’m not. We kill each other. If you’d probably kill me first.

Melissa Llarena [00:13:23]:
You’d kill each other. It would be a Oh,

Seth [00:13:25]:
he’s he’s my personality. He looks just like my wife, but acts just like me. Oh, wow. I always say, god forbid, there’s 2 cests in the world. Well, there’s 2 cests in the world. So that’s always fun.

Melissa Llarena [00:13:34]:
Wow.

Seth [00:13:35]:
Yeah. Isn’t that right? So who are your kids like you? Are they, like, your personality is oh, so the hence the headlocks. I’m having you in headlocks.

Melissa Llarena [00:13:43]:
Yeah. I mean, but I’m not like a headlock person. I’m more like a I will like, my voice, you know, per has protected me, And and my my language and my messaging and my directness, like because because I was born and raised in New York, you know, I’m very, like,

Seth [00:13:58]:
a pro York. You if you don’t if you can’t hear the accent, it’s a New York accent.

Melissa Llarena [00:14:01]:
It’s a New York yeah. It’s a New York Queens accent, and I will say it it readied me to be a mom of 3 because I always thought to myself, okay. So if I have 3, I only have 2 hands. So I could hold 1 child, 1 child, but my voice serves as my third mode of

Seth [00:14:16]:
You’re the older one. Like, don’t touch that.

Melissa Llarena [00:14:18]:
Exactly. Or step back, you know, traffic, whatever. So, I mean, that’s how I’ve compensated for, you know

Seth [00:14:24]:
I don’t think I don’t think anything prepares you for twins.

Melissa Llarena [00:14:26]:
No. No. I Then you

Seth [00:14:28]:
have 2 in your hand. You literally have 2 in your hand at the same time because they’re the same age.

Melissa Llarena [00:14:32]:
Yeah. It’s it’s sobering, I would say. And I write about sobering. I love it. I I write about it in the book. So, like, in the book, I talk about that 1st year when I had the identical twins. And the funny thing is that, you know, different Who’s older?

Seth [00:14:45]:
Is the is the is the single older?

Melissa Llarena [00:14:47]:
The singleton is 13 years old, and the twins are 10 years old. So 2 10 years old.

Seth [00:14:52]:
So you had a little bit of a helper.

Melissa Llarena [00:14:55]:
No. No. No. No. No. No. That’s not how it works, Seth. Like, it’s not how it works.

Melissa Llarena [00:14:59]:
Anyone listening that has, like, more than one human that they care for that are, like, little people still, yeah. That’s not how it works in my house. I don’t know anyone’s house.

Seth [00:15:08]:
I am I asked my kid to do anything. He’s like, no. Can you get it from me? I’m like, no. Go get it yourself.

Melissa Llarena [00:15:13]:
They disrupt calm and quiet constantly.

Seth [00:15:16]:
They do.

Melissa Llarena [00:15:17]:
Like, this is like the goal. Right? So every single morning, I’m feeding my 3 little boys, and it’s just like, oh, who’s gonna come and just agitate the situation? You know, who’s gonna go and, like, smack someone outside the neck, you know, for no reason at all. This is true.

Seth [00:15:29]:
And it’s because because they felt like it.

Melissa Llarena [00:15:31]:
Yeah. It’s I don’t even know what it is, but and, ultimately, they get in trouble. We have a thing. This is a ritual at this point. You know? Like, some moms want a ritual of, like, candles, scented, you

Seth [00:15:40]:
know, stuff. Even worse because they’re starting to become men. Yeah. And they and they under their headroom or backsides, they really don’t. I Kind of guy with an 11 year old right now. It’s kind of cute to see him try and figure out how to be more of a teenager.

Melissa Llarena [00:15:54]:
Mhmm.

Seth [00:15:54]:
And he’s in you know, he’s doing a good job in school, but, I mean, he’s a little bit of an unclehead.

Melissa Llarena [00:15:59]:
Yeah. Yeah. I can see that. I can see that. And I think there’s there’s a lot of reason for it these days for, like, the young boys to feel like they don’t have to grow up as quickly or whatever. But, it’s funny. Like Young

Seth [00:16:11]:
boys don’t grow up as quickly ever, I don’t think.

Melissa Llarena [00:16:14]:
No. I mean, just like historically. I don’t know if that’s like a evolutionary kind of thing, but ultimately, I I had my husband and my son do, like, a rite of passage. Like, they actually went to Spain. They did the Camino de Santiago, and it was, like, 60 miles of roughing it. Yeah. With backpacks on their back, and that was orchestrated by me.

Seth [00:16:37]:
Loved it. I started looking back, he’ll love it.

Melissa Llarena [00:16:39]:
When he’s 35, he’ll love it.

Seth [00:16:42]:
Yeah. Exactly. Because I from 35 is appropriate when he’s about to do it to his kid.

Melissa Llarena [00:16:46]:
Exactly. Right? It’s like, I guess, it’s haystack.

Seth [00:16:48]:
Your husband’s gonna take it to the twins at the same time. Oh, god bless your husband.

Melissa Llarena [00:16:52]:
Oh, yeah. Well, I don’t know. Me and my husband are like, maybe we’ll all go. It’ll be like a family thing. I have

Seth [00:16:57]:
to Oh, that’s not fair. No. He can’t flip that on you. That’s not fair. That’s not no. He can no. No. No.

Seth [00:17:01]:
No. No. No. No. That’s his thing.

Melissa Llarena [00:17:05]:
Mhmm.

Seth [00:17:06]:
He’s gotta continue that for the other 2 kids.

Melissa Llarena [00:17:09]:
That’s not his thing. It was my thing. I made it up using my imagination. Okay? Back to back to the book, my imagination, my expensive thinking was, like, I want my kids to, like, grow up and go and leave the house and also be, like, resilient. So these are all these things that I want for my 3 little boys. So I’m like, I need to orchestrate, come up with

Seth [00:17:31]:
a scenario. Go on. Maybe you can go on the next one. Maybe you can go on the next one.

Melissa Llarena [00:17:34]:
I’ll go. I just wanna go visit the little cute towns. Like, that will be a priority, though. Like, the little You

Seth [00:17:38]:
do that, and then let’s just you guys go rough it. I’ll be down here, you know

Melissa Llarena [00:17:42]:
And they can carry my thing. Pack. They can carry my backpack.

Seth [00:17:46]:
You can carry my backpack. Give it to your 13. You know, put it on the front. Exactly. So so so you’ve been an entrepreneur for a long time. What is the best thing about being an entrepreneur in your mind?

Melissa Llarena [00:17:56]:
You know, I would say, and I don’t know if this is the most profitable approach, but I think it’s being honest, being able to say what’s on your mind for real, for real. No BS.

Seth [00:18:05]:
Make it a queen. Yeah. Make it a queen.

Melissa Llarena [00:18:07]:
That could be it too. But but for real, like, I’ll give you an example. So on my podcast this week, I’m doing these, like, mini episodes. Right? I’m calling them minisodes. And I had a conversation with someone who heart who had a heart attack 10 years ago. It was like a career stopping heart attack, and it took him 10 years to resuscitate, to, like, get better and get back in a position of he could go and go for a job, let’s say. Right? So on my podcast today, I was like, you know what? It’s my podcast, and this is like a health scare that I wanna prevent amongst communities that, you know, listen to my podcast, mom found it. So I was, like, able to because I own my podcast, podcast, right, at this moment.

Melissa Llarena [00:18:50]:
Just communicate that and just put that out there and just be like, hey. Like, this is really important. Like, let’s imagine And

Seth [00:18:56]:
heart attacks manifest differently in women than doing men.

Melissa Llarena [00:18:59]:
And they’re they’re what is it? I don’t know if it’s undiagnosed amongst, like, you know, menopausal women or something, but there’s definitely something going on in terms of the gender. No.

Seth [00:19:07]:
But it isn’t like, men are a cluster chest and the it’s like the stereotypical heart attack men get. Women have, like, a back pain. It’s like it’s like

Melissa Llarena [00:19:15]:
Oh, god. Don’t say that.

Seth [00:19:17]:
Exactly. But it’s so my it’s so different from what I hear that, like, a lot of times, that’s why it’s such a deadly thing in women. It’s deadly in everybody. That’s why it’s so deadly in women is because they can’t you can’t tell.

Melissa Llarena [00:19:28]:
Yeah. And that’s the best part about being an entrepreneur. Let’s just imagine that you’re trying to create a profitable business. You’re trying to communicate communicate a consistent message. You can do all that and and have these moments where you’re like, wait a minute. I don’t like something that I’m seeing in the environment, in the market, in my sector.

Seth [00:19:46]:
And you can change it.

Melissa Llarena [00:19:47]:
Yeah. By, at minimum, like, using your voice. There’s so many people that work for other people who are so scared to, like, make a change on LinkedIn, their headline. It’s like the end of the world. Oh my goodness. If I change my LinkedIn headline, what is that gonna you know, is my personal realize

Seth [00:20:04]:
that how do people don’t even notice it? Or they or they notice it, they get an alert, and they say, oh, good. Congratulations on your new headline. It’s like, oh, come on.

Melissa Llarena [00:20:12]:
Yeah. And chances are if your boss assumes that you’re looking for another job, it’s not because you updated your LinkedIn. It’s because you might be, I don’t know, doing things that you’re not supposed to or not delivering on your KPI. Actually looking for another job. Like, you know. Yeah. And and he himself or her her themselves. Right? So it’s kinda like, well, what are you doing on LinkedIn? Just saying.

Seth [00:20:30]:
Exactly. So on the flip side, what keeps you up at night besides your 3 boys and your husband?

Melissa Llarena [00:20:34]:
I think for me, it’s about the legacy. I think for me, it’s like, okay. So I have this ability to say whatever I want, quote, unquote, for now. Right? Because, obviously, even as an entrepreneur, if

Seth [00:20:44]:
you have never gonna stop. You’re a New Yorker. What? You’re always gonna say you’re always gonna say what you wanna say.

Melissa Llarena [00:20:48]:
True. But as long as I’m

Seth [00:20:49]:
as long as my Philadelphians can

Melissa Llarena [00:20:51]:
do that. Long as I’m compensated for it, I’m okay. But Mhmm. But it’s important. Right? So I don’t wanna just do work out there in the air and not get compensated, right, for it. Yeah. So that equation is going to influence my next chapter, and that’s what keeps me up. So right now, for example, I’m like, great.

Melissa Llarena [00:21:09]:
I delivered. I got a number one Amazon best selling book, photo imagination. You know? And for me, that was one big goal. So I accomplished it this Halloween. It’s gonna turn 1. So now what’s the next step?

Seth [00:21:22]:
4th baby.

Melissa Llarena [00:21:23]:
Right.

Seth [00:21:23]:
What’s 3rd baby, but if you count your husband as a baby, then it’s 4.

Melissa Llarena [00:21:27]:
Fun fact, Seth, and anyone listening. So for me, it took 36 weeks to create 2 humans. It took me 2 years to write a book. So right now birthing

Seth [00:21:37]:
a human? No. It’s like birthing a human. Like, I’m not gonna I’m not gonna say I’m I’m saying it’s like yeah. I’m gonna pull that one back.

Melissa Llarena [00:21:44]:
You can you can say it on there.

Seth [00:21:46]:
I’m a dude. I can’t die. I’ve never left the birthing anything. So yeah.

Melissa Llarena [00:21:49]:
It’s pretty extraordinary, the writing a book piece of it. Like, it it is And

Seth [00:21:53]:
it’s published holding in your hands, like, holding your baby in your hands. Like, wait. I made this.

Melissa Llarena [00:21:57]:
I know. And and you could And the

Seth [00:21:59]:
best thing about book is it doesn’t talk back.

Melissa Llarena [00:22:01]:
The book doesn’t talk back, but your audience, your listeners, your readers do. Right?

Seth [00:22:05]:
They do.

Melissa Llarena [00:22:06]:
They do. You hope they do. Good, bad, indifferent. It’s like, oh, I don’t like that sentence or I was offended or whatever. So there is no

Seth [00:22:13]:
the con the worst is when it’s published, and it’s like you missed the comma. And someone tells you about it, and you’re like, I can’t fix that.

Melissa Llarena [00:22:18]:
Oh, I don’t want I don’t wanna hear anything about that. Yeah.

Seth [00:22:21]:
Don’t tell me I’m

Melissa Llarena [00:22:21]:
It’s like too late.

Seth [00:22:22]:
Mistakes.

Melissa Llarena [00:22:22]:
It’s it’s, like, too late at this point. It’s like, alright. I I you know, whatever.

Seth [00:22:26]:
It’s done. Maybe next edition, I’ll fix the comma. Whatever. Okay?

Melissa Llarena [00:22:29]:
If I feel so inspired. Right? But what keeps me up is that. It’s like, okay. What’s the legacy? Am I doing what is in alignment with my strengths and my passion? Because here’s what I know about being an entrepreneur for the last 13 years. If I am not willing to have sleepless nights and go hardcore persistent on something, then it’s not gonna happen. Like, the book, I made a decision to write the book for moms specifically only because if I had opted to talk to marketing executives who were my clients before

Seth [00:23:00]:
Yeah.

Melissa Llarena [00:23:01]:
I would not have had the endurance and the desire and the enthusiasm.

Seth [00:23:05]:
Their mother has written a book for marketing executives. Like, you know, it’d be in that book. It might be good, but it would be another book.

Melissa Llarena [00:23:13]:
It’s beautiful.

Seth [00:23:14]:
Niche down, and it’s special.

Melissa Llarena [00:23:17]:
Yeah. And I could talk about it on so many layers. Right? Being a mom myself, having a mom who has mental illnesses, you know, and then having children, you know, the way that I did, which was pretty hardcore. You know? Yeah. Pretty hardcore. And anybody that reads the book, you’ll understand exactly what I mean about hardcore birthing.

Seth [00:23:38]:
By the book. By the book. By the book.

Melissa Llarena [00:23:39]:
Book. Oh, yeah. You gotta read it. You gotta read it.

Seth [00:23:42]:
Mhmm. Exactly. And, alright, final question. What is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?

Melissa Llarena [00:23:48]:
That I carry with me all the time.

Seth [00:23:50]:
I as woo as you wanna go on this?

Melissa Llarena [00:23:53]:
Let me think. What did I well, I always like wearing something that comes from another country, to be honest. Oh. If my earrings are from Mexico, my dress is from Australia, my ring is from New York, and I’m cognizant

Seth [00:24:06]:
different country. I love it.

Melissa Llarena [00:24:07]:
Well, the u New York is not New York. It’s a different country. But Mexico

Seth [00:24:10]:
No. New York’s different country. Australia. No. I’m I’m from Philadelphia. I look in New York. I’m like, you guys are a different country.

Melissa Llarena [00:24:16]:
Feel like it. It’s the melting pot. You know? There’s a lot of countries where everybody looks like it. But, but, yeah, like, that for me is what it’s special because for me, I feel like the world is so big. It is so big, and that’s also why, you know, use your imagination to think outside of the box and think outside of your boundaries or borders too. Like, there’s so many similar people going through the same challenges as you from a US perspective versus in Norway versus in, Tanzania versus in wherever, South Korea. So it’s just up to you to be cognizant that, you know, there’s other people solving similar solutions in probably cheaper ways from which you can learn and people you connect with. So that that’s the thing I carry with me.

Melissa Llarena [00:24:58]:
I always have something that’s from another part of of the world.

Seth [00:25:02]:
It kinda keeps you centered. I I like that. So, where’s your where’s your word in your whole online? You hang out on LinkedIn the most? Like, where where are you hanging out the most online? LinkedIn. When you have time.

Melissa Llarena [00:25:13]:
Yeah. You have time. LinkedIn is that’s my that’s my heart and soul, which is really weird. Right? It’s like LinkedIn heart and soul. It’s like the most sterile place to be, but I am just so curious about

Seth [00:25:24]:
people. Sterile. It’s only as sterile as you make it.

Melissa Llarena [00:25:26]:
That’s true. And I like learning about people, so I feel like it gives me the more, like, a a more expansive sort of perspective on where someone is coming from. So LinkedIn, find me on LinkedIn. I am on Instagram. But, more than that, right now you’re listening to a podcast. Just go head on over to mom founder imagination hub. I’m on this channel. I’m everywhere.

Melissa Llarena [00:25:48]:
You know? Yeah. So follow me there on my podcast. As I mentioned

Seth [00:25:52]:
all in the show notes. Absolutely.

Melissa Llarena [00:25:54]:
Everything is in the show notes, and and buy the book. The show notes will

Seth [00:25:57]:
have it. Book. Absolutely. Yeah. Buy it on Halloween. Yeah. Celebrate with Melissa.

Melissa Llarena [00:26:02]:
Absolutely. It’s all about your imagination. So, I am very proud of it. I’m excited about it.

Seth [00:26:08]:
Awesome. Well, guess what? We’ll see everyone next week.

Melissa Llarena [00:26:12]:
Thank you. Bye, everyone.

Intro Voice Guy [00:26:14]:
That was a great show. If you’re enjoying Entrepreneur’s Enigma, please consider giving us a review in the podcast directory of your choice. Every review helps us reach new listeners. If you like Entrepreneur’s Enigma, consider the other shows on the marketing podcast network at marketing podcast dot net.

Seth [00:26:49]:
Goldstein Media hopes you have enjoyed this episode.