Bonny Snowdon 00:06
Hello, I'm Bonny Snowdon, ex corporate person, a mother turned successful artist entrepreneur. It wasn't that long ago though that I lacked the confidence, vision and support network to focus on growing my dream business. Fast forward past many life curveballs, waves of self-doubt and so many lessons learned and you'll see Ignite, my thriving online colour pencil artists community, a community that changes members lives for the better and gives me freedom to live abundantly whilst doing what I love and spending quality time with my beloved family and dogs, all whilst creating my best artwork with coloured pencils, and mentoring others to do the same. But this life wasn't always how it was for me, it used to only exist in my imagination. I've created the It's a Bonny Old Life podcast to help increase people's confidence, share mine and my communities experience and hope through fascinating personal stories, champion the other amazing humans in my personal, professional and membership community, and create another channel through which I can support others to realize their dreams. If you're a passionate colour pencil artist, or an aspiring one who's looking to create their best work, and a joyful life you love, you're in the right place. Grab a cuppa and a custard cream, let's get cracking.
I was really excited to talk to my next guest Mel. She's a clinical herbalist living in the foothills of Mount Hood in Oregon. I had thought we'd be talking all things herbs, but actually we had an amazing conversation about our minds and bodies, and how we can keep them healthier. Plus, I couldn't not ask her about her fascination with VW's. Enjoy. Hi, Mel?
Mel 01:39
Hi, Bonny, how are you?
Bonny Snowdon 01:41
I'm doing really, really well. I've just had a yoga session.
Mel 01:45
So you're like high off of that.
Bonny Snowdon 01:48
Just sort of, hopefully I'm calm.
Mel 01:52
That sounds so nice. You've actually just spread that to me right now. So thank you. That is beautiful.
Bonny Snowdon 02:00
Yes, I've been so looking forward to chatting to you. We're just going to jump straight in now.
Mel 02:07
Let's do it. But before we do, I read your story article today. And it was just so great to read it, like I resonate in so many ways. I'm only a mother of one. But definitely I've had my downsides where I'm like, "Crap, I got to make this work" And your name is my mom's name and I dream of living in a town called Snowden's vibe. Like, there's a lot of great connections here.
Bonny Snowdon 02:32
Goodness. Oh, I love that your mom's name is Bonnie. That's brilliant.
Mel 02:37
Yeah, absolutely. I love it, too. It's beautiful.
Bonny Snowdon 02:40
You know it's funny that, that article came out on Monday, all sorts of things come up, don't they? And I read it. And I was like, oh my god, this is amazing. And then I was like, oh my god, I can't share it.
Mel 02:51
Insecurity?
Bonny Snowdon 02:52
Imposter syndrome. What will people think? Oh my god. Don't we do that? Like, what is it? Why do we do that?
Mel 03:03
It's we live in such a judgy society. And social media is scary. And when we put ourselves out there, it's scary. Because somebody inevitably is going to be like Moran. But does it really matter? Does it really matter? I'm working on this in the big picture of things for my own internal self as well. Just like releasing that fear of judgment so that I can do what makes a difference in this world and what I have gifts for, and it's been pretty powerful work, connecting with it recognizing it and then saying, but why? Like, what is that fear therefore? What is it keeping me safe from?
Bonny Snowdon 03:45
Exactly that and it isn't, is it? It is our ego keeping us safe from bigger and better. And I think when you start doing that inside work, because I've done a lot of internet work. But things still keep on creeping back and I was talking to my coach this morning. She went, these are your lessons. That's all it is. These are your lessons, they crop up. And you go oh, a little reminder. Yes, actually, I'm really happy to share it and then ban and then of course, people are just so lovely. Yeah, it's quite exciting. Quite exciting to see it.
Mel 04:20
Good. Are you getting like people reaching out?
Bonny Snowdon 04:26
I've got another article going in I think it's the Mail, on Sunday. I don't know, it's got a very big weak readership. And then I've got some other places some quite big magazines that are interested, it's a bit scary, but it's fantastic.
Mel 04:39
It's so wonderful. Congratulations. I'm so happy for you. It's beautiful. Love it.
Bonny Snowdon 04:47
I mean I have been so looking forward to speaking to you because I just love what you do. And I've been going over your website again today and you've got all of these little things that people didn't know about you and the fact that you built a VW and all of this stuff. Here's me wanting to talk to you about your herbs and all this sort of stuff and I'm like, oh my goodness I want to talk about when you went backpacking and all of that kind of stuff and building your VW van up and off you went sounds incredible.
Mel 05:24
We can talk about whatever you watch. I know. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, like, oh, gosh, stories, you know, stories connect. I'm like I'm only 44. Like, I feel like I'm still young. And man oh man, have I got some stories in 44 years of life. I joined Katherine's and Kina's NBA this year, and a lot of the women in there are younger than me. And, I'm listening to their stories, and some things are resonate, and some are older than me, which is great. But I'm just like, man. Like one of my accountability groups is a bunch of women that are like late 20s, early 30s, and I'm just like, boy, the stories I can share with these young women, and they wouldn't quite comprehend likely, but who knows, maybe they would be. Just reflecting when I'm like, wow.
Bonny Snowdon 06:14
Yeah. Amazing. Well, let's start with you. Just introducing yourself telling me what you do on a day to day basis. Because that in itself honestly it blows my mind. And it's absolutely fascinating. And I'm itching to join one of your [Inaudible] because it just sounds fantastic. And then we might get on to the building the vans and the cars.
Mel 06:37
Cool. Yeah, let's play with it and roll with it in whichever direction you want to take it.
Bonny Snowdon 06:43
Amazing. Yeah, so off you go.
Mel 06:46
Great. Here we are. Hi. Am I talking to your audience? Wait.
Bonny Snowdon 06:50
Yeah, we've been talking to our audience right from the beginning.
Mel 06:53
I love it. Awesome. Well, I'm Mel, I'm a clinical herbalist. I am a mom, I live in the foothills of Mount Hood in Oregon. And I have an incredible passion to teach other moms how to use plants as medicine in a safe and effective way. And the reason I say it that way is because today with social media, I see an abundance of things out there that aren't so safe. And it leaves moms a lot often, like very confused and, like overwhelmed with all of the information. Who do you trust? Who do you not trust? Is this safe for my kids? How in the heck do I get them to take it because if you've ever tried most natural remedies, they're gross? And getting kids to take yucky things just it's a battle. And it's no fun. And if they aren't going to take the herbs, the herbs aren't going to work. And really, like that's just a very tiny nutshell of what I do.
But I do this, because I have this deep, passionate love for the planet. And this is one way that I think we can all come together collectively, and do better for this precious Earth that we have abused in insane ways over the last 200 years. And if we can all start using plant medicine, I'm not anti-pharmaceutical, there's definitely a time and a place, but it's overused and abused and misused and that kind of stuff. But if we can all start using more plant medicine, one, we get this peace and connection to nature, we get deeper connection to our family, because we're going to be teaching them about this like it used to be for 1000s of years. And we're all doing better for our planet. And that's really the root of it all for me. So I get very giddy about the subject. And super excited about it.
Bonny Snowdon 07:59
Okay, so what made you start? What actually sort of ignited that passion for what you're doing now?
Mel 08:49
You know, it started in the late 1900s, as I like to say and I was a backpacking guide and wilderness therapist, I went to school for environmental and experiential education because I wanted to connect more people to the wonders and awe of nature. Like I thought it was amazing. And when I was being paid to walk people to these beautiful sacred spaces, I found they were carrying backpacks and camping gear full of toxic nasty crap. And in there, all the yucky stuff diet and whatnot. And it really chapped my hide. Number one, it was not only polluting their bodies, but it was polluting our planet. And then I started like thinking about it like, gosh, wouldn't it be nice if there were a first aid kit that was natural and everybody who loves to get outdoors first aid in like bag or whatever. And I had this dream way back then and I started buying books and making people's recipes and handwriting my labels and Modge Podge and things all over. And it was working these things were working to everybody I handed them off to and I'm like, Whoa, this work. So why does this work and then I started diving much, much deeper into the study of herbal medicine and I grabbed more books, I went to more conferences, I started going to an herb school where I learned about the plants that are outdoors, which ones grew around me how to harvest them at the peak of their medicinal properties and how to make great medicine with them.
Which made me then like, wait a second, how does this work with the human body? What's going on? What's the real science behind it? Let's get past the woo woo hippie kum ba ya stuff, let's really get down to the nitty gritty of how these plants can heal people. And so I started studying clinical herbalism and learned from amazing doctors and naturopaths and nurses and all kinds of brilliant healers. And ultimately, I ended up opening my own apothecary tea and smoothie shop for a while I had an herbal product line for 12 years where I sold in naturopathic physicians offices and health food stores across the US. And I got those first aid kits in REI, which is the largest outdoor adventure supplier in the US. So that was neat, like an 18 year manifestation. And I love doing that. But honestly, Bonnie, I burnt myself out. And I had to really check into my why of what I was doing and realize that I do this because I love sharing herbal medicine with people. I love doing better for the planet. I love making that connection to nature. And really, I was just working myself to the bone, making very little to no money on this successful product line. Because I didn't start it as a business person. I started it to heal the world. And then I had to reflect like what really makes me feel joy. And I've always been a teacher at heart, I love to share and show and inspire. And so in like 2018 I started diving into the online education world, which was really intimidating for me, because I'm like, all I want to do is be outside with the plants. I don't want to touch technology. And you know, thankfully, I have gone the long road of learning many back end things of what it takes to teach online. And here I am today. And that's what I do. I teach online and I help families use more plant medicine and I love it.
Bonny Snowdon 12:30
Oh, that's brilliant. I am completely with you. There are certain things that I go to for like a headache and stuff like that. But the more I'll go to the chemist and buy them. But I do tend to go down that more natural route, alternative medicine look for different ways of being able to heal myself, I guess, you know, and food is just so important. I struggle. I'm overweight, I've got joint tissues. And I know that when I put the right foods into my body, my body feels so much better.
Mel 13:15
Amen. You've nailed it right there.
Bonny Snowdon 13:20
Got some sandwiches. I had some sandwiches today and honestly, I feel I really don't think I should have had the sandwiches. It's that certain foods just aren't amazing for me.
Mel 13:34
It isn't for you and everybody Bonny. You and everybody.
Bonny Snowdon 13:39
I do think the more and more people are starting to kind of go hang on a second. I really don't think that all of these things, the additives and all of that kind of stuff that are in food and whatever they're really not doing me any favours. And I think a lot of people are waking up to the fact that it's where the big money comes from, that the sugar in there, how we're told that you shouldn't eat fat, or you should eat fat now, or you shouldn't have. Like when the margarine were created back in the in the 80s or 70s or whatever. And now we realize that they're like one chromosome away from plastic and it's like, oh my god, we thought that was healthy. And it's just, it's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. So what you're doing I think is absolutely wonderful.
Mel 14:31
Thank you so much. And you nailed it right there like it is the food and this is one thing that I feel is kind of my job. It is just shifting those thought processes and patterns because we have been trained and like literally psychologically tricked into eating and wanting these foods and into looking for that instant fix pill. And oftentimes people will come to me and say, "Hey, Mel, what Herb do I take for this?" And I'm like, "Well, I don't know." And because I don't know what else you're putting in your body, I don't know your health history, I don't know the energetics of you, urge do work differently for every single person. And if you are a person seeking true, like real, lasting healing, herbs can be an incredibly powerful ally. But if you're going to continue throwing the foods that are causing inflammation in your body into your gut, think of the word of inflammation, there's a flame in there, there is a fire, and you are taking those foods that don't agree with your body that your body's like, hey, I don't like this, I'm going to make you hurt in the joints, hey, I don't like this you're going to be constipated or have diarrhoea or what have you.
That's your body communicating with you. And we learn to just mask it with drugs, and pills and what have you or just ignore it, and wonder why we're in poor health. Why we don't want to get up and do anything why our brain is foggy, why we can't function in any way that we certainly desire to. And we blame it on old age, or we blame it on whatever we want to blame it on. But if you really want to take control, those foods are logs and you're throwing them on the fire. And that fire is becoming a huge bonfire. And then you take these herbs because somebody said these herb's great for inflammation. And that herb is like this little squirt gun trying to put out your bonfire. Going squirt, squirt, squirt, squirt, bonfire you going out squirt, squirt. And it can't do anything really it can't. It's like well, hey, man, if you're not going to help yourself, I'm not going to help you either. And then when you do decide to stop putting those logs on the fire, the fire's going to die down. It's going to smoulder, and it's just going to be like, okay, I'm still kind of here. And that's when you bring the herbs into the picture. And those herbs become that giant fire hose blasting the fire out.
And you stop feeling joint pain and inflammation, you lose weight with ease and simplicity. Your brain works incredibly well. You have energy, you smile, and your skin is vibrant. Like, it's amazing. And I'm also with you because it's very hard to do that. In our society here in the US, like, where do you find healthy food, you have to go to the most expensive health food stores or to the farmers market. And then you have to take the time to prepare your food. Everything else is a giant billboard of amazing looking pizzas and cheeseburgers and things that we all know don't feel great in our bodies. But yet, there's brilliant scientists out there that are like, how can we make this more psychologically addictive? Sugar is more addictive than crack cocaine. That's insane.
Bonny Snowdon 17:56
Anyway. It is insane. And you know, I've struggled with my weight all my life. And I'm the happiest I've ever been. I've had sort of like a health overhaul thing. And actually, I'm pretty healthy. My heart is healthy, my lungs are healthy, my kidneys and liver everything's healthy. But obviously, there's this big strain on my body because I am very overweight. And the problem with me is I want to do more exercise. I said, I've just done this yoga session. Well, I didn't literally just lie on the floor for an hour. But I did very little in an hour. And I was so tired. I was like I was sweating. I was like oh my goodness, let's lift my leg up a bit and you know, roll around a little bit. And clearly stuff that my body's not used to doing. And it just goes to show those very little movements and everything have a big impact. And I really struggle to like walk long distances or anything like that, because my joints and then of course my weight exacerbates my joints, all of that kind of stuff.
I stopped dieting, but probably about eight or nine years ago went the other way and I was like just sort it all. I'm just going to eat what I want to eat. I do love food. I know when I eat like I've just had this big lunch today and I was like I feel really sluggish and then I wish I hadn't had those and I wish I'd just stuck with a piece of fruit or something like that. And there's a lot of psychological stuff going on. And you were saying that in taking the right sort of plant the right herbs and everything like that and stop putting the other rubbish into your body. How does it have an effect on helping you lose weight? Is it regulating hormones? What is it that it does?
Mel 19:57
A whole transformation in everything. One, there's so many ways in which it can change drastically, it's going to affect the hormonal balance and regulation, your gut, your gut health is the root cause of most chronic disease, inflammation imbalances, and whatnot. So if we can dig to that root and heal the gut. I have helped people get rid of autoimmune disease symptoms, I've helped people get off diabetes medications, and I’ve helped people lose 12 pounds in six weeks, by healing the gut. And I mean, when you get that energy back, when you can create that psychological shift, and you can start walking more. And you can take just a few like a short walk, you know, start with a quarter mile a day, and eight, the mile a day, whatever, you can do 5, 10 minutes. And just keep doing that commit to your five minute walk, commit to your 10 minute walk and watch how all of those different transformations can happen.
Also, our gut and our brain are directly connected. And there's a lot of neurotransmitters and chemicals and hormones that are happening and passing back and forth between them, like serotonin is made in your gut, our happiness drug, so it's dopamine, and all kinds of other great hormones. And when you can take care of that, everything turns around. And as I talk about this, Bonny, I'm with you. I have also struggled and been on the weight roller coaster all my life. Honestly, right now, I'm not in my prime shape. Last year, I closed down that business that was causing extreme amounts of cortisol levels, and I lost a lot of touch with like me and my why and what I do and taking care of me. And it showed really quickly, like I'm, not content fully with how I am today, and I know what to do. Like, I'm trained to help people do these very things. But you're absolutely right. It's a psychological thing. And there's something in a subconscious programming back there that's like, something's going to keep me safe, because you're comfortable and safe when you're covered in layers of fat, because then nobody can really see you, or something along those lines. And it's also the psychological addiction that these brilliant food scientists are there to create for us. It's a big trap.
Bonny Snowdon 22:29
It is. And you know, that what you've just said about this psychological thing that it's almost like I think that's one of the things I think if I dug really deep, that's probably one of the things that is keeping me how I am. I'm actually really happy with who I am. I love who I am. And I'm very happy in my own skin. I don't recognize the shape I am. When I look in the mirror, I'm like, hell. So that's always a bit of a shock. But I do wonder if it's me keeping myself safe, because I don't want to show up in a place that is going to I don't know. I wonder. I've been single for six years I think I've been single, and I'm the happiest I've ever been, I have to say, I am so happy. I'm not saying I'm not attractive. I know I've got a beautiful face. But I wonder if deep down, I'm keeping myself in this shape. Because I don't want to attract anybody to come and ruin what I've got now. Which is silly, because it could be even better. But I'm so happy where I am now. But your mind does weird things.
Mel 23:56
It is a powerful transformative thing. You're so right. And I'm doing this work myself. Like I mentioned, I'm just beginning to really dive into some subconscious reprogramming for myself for various blocks and things that I just recognize are keeping me from being the awesome that I can really be for this world and making the true impact that I can. And I've been like I need to do the same work for like, why I'm not allowing myself to share the things. I know the things I know what to eliminate from my body. Do I do it all the time? No, it's hard and gosh, but why? Like what is really triggering that and now after reading your story that I read this morning, I can understand where you would be doing it to protect yourself. It sounds like it was a pretty traumatic past relationship. And so your subconscious mind might just be like, no look, I mean, we're happy right? Now we're successful, we aren't relying on a man and everything is great. And don't ever go back to love because that's damaging. Today I'm going to cry on your show.
Bonny Snowdon 25:13
And that's exactly what I was just about to say, oh my God, you're going to make me cry. I think that is something that is definitely an area, I think that I want to explore a little bit more, because I've got the most amazing coach, and she's helped me through all of the stuff that has happened. That is one of the things. But then on the flip side, I am so happy. I've got my three children here. I mean, they've grown up, they're 18, 22 and 23. I've got my four dogs and my cat and I've got my family, my sisters, my brother, my mum and dad, they're all around. And I'm so happy. Sometimes you meet these like girlfriends who are sort of like in a same sort of situation, and they've divorced or whatever. And they're like, we're going to get online dating and Bonny, we need to get you a man. And I'm like, no you don't. Honestly can't think of anything or anything worse, because obviously, being in a loving relationship is amazing, but it's just not even near my radar.
Mel 26:18
Something's going to flop in your face whether you like it or not. I don't need that. That's why I was single, I don't know the relationship. And now I'm almost 13 years deep with the guy that I was like, Don't get attached to me because I'm leaving.
Bonny Snowdon 26:34
Yeah, I guess. They just sort of turned up. But being happy in yourself being so comfortable that I can say I don't need anybody. And if somebody came along fine, but you know, I'm really happy.
Mel 26:54
I am really happy that you are happy. It sounds like you really deserve it on your journey. And I want to propose this to you and your subconscious mind body. You know what, if you take care of your body, you'll be happier longer with those people you love with those children of yours with those your family and your pets, saying this also to myself?
Bonny Snowdon 27:18
Do you know and this is you're absolutely right. Because that is a conversation that I've had with myself a conversation I've had with my sisters. And that's why I started doing the yoga. You know, I've had these health checks and everything. I'm trying to put good stuff into my body. But sometimes I'm just like, give me a sandwich. Yeah, I get I totally get that because, you know, I do want to be here for another. I mean, I'm 52 it’d be nice to be here for another 50 years. Right? I mean, being healthy as 102 year old, but yeah, I do want to be here longer than that. That is you're absolutely right.
Mel 28:07
Maybe your coach can work with you on digging into that subconscious, like, Okay, what's keeping me from it? Is it that fear of somebody falling in love with you, and then being abusive, and in a really bad scenario, and then releasing that fear, and opening up to how beautiful it's going to feel when you feel light and fresh? And you can move your body in those yoga positions, or if you like, dancing, dancing is one of my favourite things. And I I never do it anymore. I used to dance all the time. And like, that's what I'm working on for me right now. Like, hey, like move your body and feel great and light. And I know that with the work that I do in this world, the better I take care of me physically and mentally, the more impact I'm going to make on momma's and people and the planet and my daughter's nine. I want her to see that we can make these changes and transformations and that we can do what we want any darn time we want. And I want to be there for her as she continues to grow and become the human she's going to be she's watched me go through a lot of trauma since like the last six years have been a pretty traumatic time in life and I see where it's impacted her. And I'm like, Oh man, did I ruin her. Why because all parents may think at some point in time, but I know she's also only nine and we can shift a lot for her and the best way to do that is to have her watch us lead by example.
Bonny Snowdon 29:57
Absolutely, we do affect our children whether we like it or not, they are effective, because it's like, osmosis isn't it? Whatever goes on, they kind of absorb it all. And I guess seeing the bad times as well as the good, just it kind of, I don't know, whether it grounds them or, or just allows them to see that life isn't just bed of roses, it's got its ups and downs. But actually, if something terrible happens, you can pick yourself back up and you can move on. Me as my little close knit family we're doing really well. Because it wasn't a nice time at all. Of course, they lost their dad, and they're doing brilliantly, they're doing absolutely brilliantly. So I'm guessing your daughter, I don't know what traumas you went through, but I'm guessing she will have picked up on that, but then she'll see you doing better and better.
Mel 30:59
Yeah. And I've been very open with her recently, like, talking with her, because part of our trauma was we lost a home in 2017 that we thought we were going to be in forever. A beautiful home on 10 acres in the mountains, like really incredible. It was also where we made a lot of money from and suddenly we lost all of our money, and we lost everything. And I still had my business. And I was working 80 hours a week to try and make it happen. And we move five times in two and a half years and I was crying pretty much every day through that time. She's a very sensitive and emotional, young girl. She's a cancer and her emotions are right out there. And she feels those things. And she picks up on it in a major way. And so we talked about moving to my dream farm, there's this hunk of land that I'm going to create being mined sometime in the next three to five years. And it's 45 acres on this beautiful mountain river and all organic pure land and I want to have a small Herbal Farm Sanctuary educational space there. Anyways, we talked about moving there and what a dream it would be. Right now where our house is, is beautiful, too. I'm on a different mountain river and I walk out my door and walk along the trail on a river and see eagles and our yearly nesting pair of ducks in a tiny little pond behind us.
And my best friend Hank, the Great Blue Heron is out there. I'm really blessed. But I still want this other place. And we still live in this fear of losing the home, because we don't own it. And it's this house lessens fear. For a period of time during that two and a half years we were in a tent in our friend's yard. That was hard. I've lived out of backpacks and tents intentionally. I've lived in automobiles on the road intentionally before there was a cool hashtag for van life. And that was awesome. But when I was doing it with my four year old daughter and our three dogs, that was traumatic, it sucked, and it made me develop feelings of failure of what the hell did you do? Oh my gosh, you're so irresponsible, or you made the dumbest decisions. And I kept telling myself, all of these things. And I'm like, but wait, I did what I thought was best at the time.
I certainly wasn't meaning to put my family through such a thing. And anyways, that was traumatic for her. And now to this day, when we talk about moving to another place she breaks down and she's like, I don't want to move. We're staying right here. And so I have to talk with her like, "Hey, listen, I know what we went through in those times of life was really tough. It was really tough on me. And I know you watched me go through some really tough stuff. But if we make this move to the farm, we're doing that because it's our dreams that we're making come true. And it's going to be a positive move. We're going to be proud and we're going to be celebrating that. Oh my gosh, we've manifested this incredible place that's going to give us freedom to roam and play and all the pets you want. She's a huge animal lover. So just working through that with her and it's great to share where I'm at and share with her that yes, that was traumatic for me too. Yes, I'm trying to heal from that and we can grow from that. And to understand that you don't control really a darn thing in our lives. But we do, you do when you do.
Bonny Snowdon 30:59
I think with these sort of past traumas and everything, as awful as they are people say, well, there's always a silver lining. There's never a silver lining with anything that's really traumatic because it that just makes it seem so trivial. But I do think it leads to strength and amazing stories later on in life. And the reason why you end up doing something.
Mel 34:57
Yes, I fully agree. And that whole time I was like, where's the lesson? What am I learning here right now?
Bonny Snowdon 35:24
The Tony 10 with all of you dogs.
Mel 35:36
Yeah, exactly. And I've known that. I've been through quite a few other barrels of shit in my life prior to that, and manifested my way out of it. And I grew up with a single mom working three jobs. And we were broke throughout my whole childhood. And then there were times in my life where I was the kid that made money. And it was great. And I loved it. But now my version of money is different. And money becomes such a sensitive topic. My family, I love them dearly, and they hate people that are rich. And I'm like, "Does that mean you'll hate me if I ever get there? I hope not. Because I'm a really good human. And if I have money, I can support more great causes. And that's been a major block for me, that relationship, that openness, and it goes all across the board in my industry, like healers, and plant people. It's the people's medicine. Yes, it certainly is. But I've also got 20 years’ experience learning this stuff, and I've paid several 1000s of dollars to gather my education, and I love to share it. I share lots of information for free. And I share even more with those that work with me. Just working through that process and social media. People are like "I can't believe you charge for this." I'm like, "Really? Okay. Go for it."
Bonny Snowdon 37:06
I was talking to somebody today, we thought it was a British thing, the money side of stuff. We don't talk about money. And it was interesting, I have seen this trend on TikTok last week, and the week before. Trends change so quickly on TikTok. But I saw this trend, and it was basically, artists, and everybody's talking about musicians, yoga, whatever. And they were listing how much they've made in a month. And they go commission work, originals, selling this or selling prints or whatever, and they would list how much they earned in a month. And some people were like, "That makes me feel really uncomfortable." And I was like, this is actually great. Because you can see, it's not easy, but how you can actually make a living from doing something that 20 years ago, people will be like, "Oh, no, you've got to go to university and if you want to get a really good job, you have to be a lawyer or a doctor. Now you can be whatever you want to be and you can earn whatever you want to earn.
Mel 38:13
Isn't it beautiful? That we're all waking up to that?
Bonny Snowdon 38:18
It's amazing. And you can.
Mel 38:21
Yeah, you're a perfect example
Bonny Snowdon 38:25
But if you have the mind-set, you have the mind to, you have the perseverance and the passion. Clearly I couldn't go off and be 100 meter sprinter. I just want to have it and I couldn't be a ballerina or a gymnasts. But then maybe if I had a passion for it, I might put the work in and who knows. But I think if you have a passion for something, I think you can make anything happen. And the bravery to get over those steps of starting a business and putting yourself out there.
Mel 38:58
Your judgment.
Bonny Snowdon 38:59
Oh, my God. Yeah. I still do have it, but I just sort of battle my way through. But if you have that little bit of bravery just to go, do you know what I'm going to do this. And it's not a big headed thing, or a flippant thing or anything like that. It is basically the self-belief that, why can't I do it?
Mel 39:22
I think that's so true. And I think you spoke at the big headed thing. That thing is something that has kept me back for a while being in fear of my herbal colleagues judging me for using my voice and my rather boisterous presence and using it to talk about what I'm passionate about. About plant medicine and educating people. A lot of people in my field are very quiet and very reserved, and that's great. Their gift is in there. I am not quiet and reserved. Yes. I'm afraid of being judged on social media, but I feel like I don't know if it's just hitting the 40s. Can I curse on your podcast? I call them, that I don't give a fuck 40s. You just get to that point when you're like, "Oh, that shit doesn't matter." All the things we worry about as young women and all the societal pressures we are forced to adhere to, and those kinds of things. So I still am consistently working on this fear of saying something wrong in the herbal field or doing something wrong, or my herbal colleagues that I really look up to and respect being like, "Who the hell is she?" And thankfully, one of my dear friends is a naturopath and she used to run the herbal programs at the Naturopathic College in a city near me. And I was always at those herbal programs. She invited me to teach, which was like. "Holy cow, me? And I would always be in those halls and be in awe that I was in the naturopathic college halls because I didn't graduate college or high school. I was a straight A student, I was super athletic, and I dropped out. And I felt feelings of inadequacy for many, many years because of that.
But I did it because I was bored as all hell. And I didn't like the system. And I think that's what I like about what's happening now. I didn't do that, because I'm not good enough. I did that because I'm a rebel. Because I can pave my own path. And it was great talking with this naturopath, friend of mine, because she's one of those people that would always come up in my mind when I'm like, oh my god, what if I say something wrong? Oh my god, what if I teach something wrong? Because the level of herbal education I have is far beyond the Instagram herbalists and there's some big deals that you can say wrong in the world of plant medicine and I want to be safe, I want to be wise and all this stuff. Anyways, I was having a chat with her and I was expressing these feelings. Turns out she's got the same feelings of who am I? And adequacy and so on and so forth. And I'm like, "But you're a doctor." She says to me, she's like, "Mel, you have put in the work. You have studied this for years, you have run multiple businesses in the herbal field. You are a mom, you are who needs to be out there doing exactly what you're doing." It's so right and I know these things, but still that subconscious mind goes into this like, "Oh, be fair. Be scared. Keep small."
Bonny Snowdon 42:43
Yeah. It's crazy, isn't it?
Mel 42:45
Yeah. We're so funny. It's so funny.
Bonny Snowdon 42:49
I know. It's a lot of madness. I really want to know about the VW.
Mel 42:57
I was like, are we going to get through it? Or just going to be chatting? Yeah, I grew up a Volkswagen freak. So my first car was a 71 super beetle, and I named it Irby, the Bedbug. I did not know I was going to become an herbalist at that time. It was because I was a miniature Stoner, honestly. And I was like, Oh, the Bedbug, funny. Anyways, it was this cool little car. And my father is an aircraft mechanic. And so when I was really little, I grew up helping him restore motorcycles, boats and handing him wrenches and stuff like that. He pretty much vanished from my life around the age of nine or so. Another trauma. Anyways, I loved my car, and it broke down. And so I tried to get my big brother to help me and I tried to get my mom's husband at the time to help me. Neither of them could help me. So I grabbed the Idiot's Guide to Volkswagens, and I rebuilt my first engine by myself when I was 16. Because I'm stubborn and determined. I took this whole engine and was like I'm going to make this work, because that's what I do. And that was awesome. Kept that car for a few years. And then fast forward a little bit later, I had taken my first trip from Atlanta, Georgia out to Oregon to visit my older sister and her now husband, still husband, they've been together forever. And I flew myself out to Oregon at the age of 18. Because I worked for an airline that could fly anywhere for 25 bucks and fell in love with it.
I was like, "Oh my gosh, it is amazing out there and I'm going to move there. I went back home, met this guy, we started dating. He was super ratty at this super cool old 77 Buick Skylark that he had restored. It was just beautiful and we fell in love and had all the adventures. And I'm like, "Well, I'm moving to Oregon." And he was like, "Well, I am too." He ended up trading in that beautiful 77 Buick Skylark and we got a beat down rusted 78 Volkswagen, Westfalia. A 76 excuse me, I was born in 78. A 76 Volkswagen Westfalia that was beat to the ground, we got it out of the junkyard and we ended up rebuilding all of the mechanical stuff from the ground up. And we did all the work together aside from putting in the transmission because it was too big and heavy of a job. And then we took that bus and we drove aimlessly across the country for six months. Broke up when we got here. But we remained friends for many years. He's actually unfortunately no longer on this earth anymore, but wonderful human being. And we left Atlanta and drove up to New York because he was from Long Island, New York and stayed with his family. And we drove to my family in Pennsylvania and down in Nebraska. And then once we got to Colorado, we took all dirt roads from Colorado out to Oregon for the rest of the time.
Just like meandering these back mountain roads. It was super-duper cool. We would do the friendly Volkswagen wave to everybody we went by and met some friends out on those dirt roads that were in other Volkswagen buses, and they were just like caravan to the next cool destination. It was amazing. That was summer of 1999. And one of the best summers of my life. And I've always been a Volkswagen model collector. Though they're just sitting in a storage unit and in some bins right now. But one day, I will have my 1958 23 window Deluxe Microbus and it will be beautiful. I'll just drive it on Sundays or whatever. And I guess it's a sign of my stubborn, adventurous, determined spirit. Just like I want to do something, all right, let's go jump off a cliff and do it. I got to make it happen.
Bonny Snowdon 47:10
I love that. And then you look at the cars now, you open the bonnet and it's just like you I think you call it the hood, don't you? And you can't even fathom what's in there.
Mel 47:25
I talk to computers.
Bonny Snowdon 47:29
My car says hello to me when I get in it.
Mel 47:31
That's so funny. Now I'm like, well, I'm not doing all that work. If I had a hobby car in a garage right now then maybe, but it was fine. It was great. And it was just like that empowering kind of thing as a young woman, like I can do anything I want. All I have to say is I want it. Oh, did I just relearn that lesson that has been in my life forever? I think I just did. This has been a great healing show, Bonny.
Bonny Snowdon 48:05
It's funny, isn't it? Because, I haven't actually chatted to anybody. And I always feel a real connection whenever I chat to anybody on here. Some people I've known and I have met before and everything, and they are friends of mine. And other people I've never met in my life. And we've shared email or messages or whatever. And then you get this massive connection. And I'm just sitting here thinking, I wish to live next door, I'd be popping around now for a bit.
Mel 48:33
One of these days, we'll travel. That's one of my goals, just to be able to travel with my family more often. And it's great making these kinds of connections because I can travel. I'm like, "Bonny I'm in your area."
Bonny Snowdon 48:45
I was saying I've got a brilliant friend. I've just been out in South Africa with her. And she's coming back to the UK. And we keep on saying as a bit of a joke, we should get like a bit of a tour bus and go. And just because I can just pop around people's buses and just turn up. Wouldn't that be amazing?
Mel 49:06
Yes, it absolutely was. That was what I did when I was in that Volkswagen bus. I did that kind of nomadic lifestyle quite a bit. And that's what I love to say, I did it before there was a hashtag for Van life. And now I talk to my partner about wanting to do that. He's like, "Oh, we need this big fancy schmancy super van." And I'm like, do we? Because I did it at a Volkswagen bus. I get it, we have pets and a kid and all that stuff. But that is one of the things I'd love to do again with my family. Just cruise around and go wherever the wind blows.
Bonny Snowdon 49:43
Sounds amazing. I could talk to you forever. I say this an awful lot. When you have a little bit of space to be able to think about things and that's what I've been able to do when I was away 10 days in South Africa. And I had the space to be able to read books. I had the space to be able to think about stuff. And I've been reading this amazing book called Buy Back Your Time. And it is a really great book. And I was reading it and all of the things he was saying, were all of the things that I thought I was putting into place. And then I realized I wasn't. Obviously, I have a business, I have a team around me. And I just realized that, I've got the most amazing customer service person, Lucinda. She does all the emails and everything like that. So I was getting up at seven o'clock in the morning, I was going straight onto my laptop, I was going and doing emails. She must have been thinking, Bonny, will you just stop it. Doing all of my emails, and I was doing this and I was doing that. And reading this book reminded me that I don't have to do all of those things. Because I've got amazing people to do them. And I can do the stuff that I love doing, that I'm good at doing. And that brings me joy. And that is drawing, teaching and talking. And the podcast is amazing for that. Because I get to talk to these incredible people like you. And get so much from our conversations.
Mel 51:09
I love that, Bonny. You're a few steps ahead of me in your business success. And one of the things I'm working on is building that dream team actually. It all seems to be rapidly manifesting, maybe we'll see, in ways that I didn't anticipate. But one of the primary reasons is because I want to get to that part. I'm a workaholic, I am an excessive, like, I got to get in and do it. Nobody's going to do it better than me, blah, blah, blah. That's not smart. That's not going to lead me to spending more time with my daughter and traveling and doing the things that light me up. And realizing that in my business, my ultimate goal is where all I do is get on my podcast and connect with great people. I love that part. I teach classes, I love to teach and play with herbs. That's it. Pass them off to everybody.
Bonny Snowdon 52:10
Oh, my goodness, so I came back and I made the changes straightaway. I was talking to my coach this morning. And she was like, "Oh my god, Bonny that's amazing." I came down this morning and fed the dogs. I sat and read my book. I've now bought some more books, actual physical books, rather than audio ones, or Kindle. I sat and read my book, had a cup of hot lemon water, which actually I'm starting to really like. And then I go down into my garden. And so I've got fake grass, and I've got stones and everything, but I live in the middle of a field. So I open the gate, we walk out into the middle of this field, and I take my shoes off, and I walk around on the wet grass. And it was just lovely. Susie was laughing, though, she was like that is the best thing. Because you get all of that connection, and you ground yourself and everything. And I'm like, this is my new routine. This is my new morning, me. Rather than getting out of bed, straight onto email, straight onto social media. I'm going to have an hour of just no technology, waking up, reading something really good.
Mel 53:23
I love it.
Bonny Snowdon 53:24
And I'm going out into nature. So that was a decision that I made when I came back. And not getting involved in other people's jobs.
Mel 53:33
I love that so much. And I'm aspiring towards that. And I'll have my days where I do the like, let me just start this day with just me. And Holy Cow I am so much more productive for the rest of the day. And that dream team is really critical because what I've been finding the past couple of months is, I've got some team people but I'm spending all of my time managing and retraining and reconstructing all of these pieces of the team and I'm like this is not where I'm supposed to be.
Bonny Snowdon 54:11
Honestly buy that book. It's a good. I can't even remember his name, Dan Mattel, I think it is. Buy back your time. It is an awesome book. And the good thing about it is, he doesn't just sort of waffle on about stuff. And then at the end of the book you go, "What am I supposed to do?" He gives you instructions. He says do this. And then he repeats it again. Do this and do this. It gives you examples. It's a really great book, really great.
Mel 54:41
I love that. I will definitely look into it. I'm excited because I'm actually having a second talk with a woman that I accidentally connected with. She had posted in an herbal community saying, I'm an operations and systems kind of person and I'm looking to work and something that means a lot to me. And I know I'm going to take this pay cut for a while, but is anybody out there looking for somebody that likes systems and processes and I was like, I'm not ready to hire. I'm in that like, chicken or the egg state with my hiring of somebody to be more of a project manager and integrator and we had a delightful conversation yesterday. And then there's a lot of change happening with my VA teams that are overseas and one of them that we really liked working with one person is going off on her own. And it may work out that I have my little team of three other people other than me.
Everybody with a vested interest in the success of what I do, understanding that me having all of my energy and my job is really important for everybody to succeed. And when I'm busy juggling teams, and being frustrated, because people aren't listening to what I'm requesting, or I go to my slides that I had to be done, and they're like, completely sloppy and have to redo them and I'm just like, why am I paying you? Anyways, second conversation with this delightful potential project manager, she doesn't have all the tech stack background that I work with currently, but I learned it, and I can teach it. And whether it's the right person with that right alignment and desire to help the world in the ways that I desire to help the world could be a beautiful fit. Anyways, that's what I'm busy manifesting.
Bonny Snowdon 56:43
Watch this space. No, I think that sounds amazing. And having a great team around you, is amazing, because it means that you can do the stuff that you love to do and that you're good at. Yes, I can answer emails to people. I'm rubbish at trying to manage my diary. For example, we booked my son's car in to be MITed all booked in for Monday. I wake up and drop it off on Tuesday.
Mel 57:12
Yeah, I'm terrible at that stuff, too. I'm like, I need somebody that can take my bazillion ideas and be like, that's great, Mel. But we're going this direction. We'll set that idea over here.
Bonny Snowdon 57:24
You need my Lucy. You need my Lucy. She's like, that's really great. Brilliant, Bonny, let's just park that. Let's just do what we said we were going to do.
Mel 57:35
I am looking for that person. And I was very vocal in that with our call yesterday. So today's a second call. And she's like, I'm really flexible. And I'm just eager to do something that means a lot to me. And she's like, I've been listening to your podcast, and I see your TikToks. And I see all these things. And I love what you're doing. And I'm like, do I just take the leap and let go of my teams that haven't been making me happy and make a big team shift?
Bonny Snowdon 58:02
I would.
Mel 58:03
Thank you.
Bonny Snowdon 58:09
I don't know. Well, on that note, I could speak to you all night. I really could. I've got a live stream in an hour.
Mel 58:18
I do too. I got to go teach my students in an hour. So thank you, Bonny. It's been really great.
Bonny Snowdon 58:24
Oh, gosh, thank you. And I would love to talk again. It's so lovely to connect with you. You're like a bundle of energy. It's wonderful. And when I was feeling very relaxed and everything and when we first started and a bit sort of sluggish, you've actually made me feel really energized for my live stream. So thank you for that. It's been absolutely wonderful talking to you. Thank you so much. And I am going to go and have a look at some of the courses because I so need help with food and losing weight and everything. So I'm going to go and have a look and maybe I'll catch up with you over email or something.
Mel 59:02
Yeah, definitely reach out to me personally, because I can guide you pretty well in certain meetings.
Bonny Snowdon 59:08
Brilliant, I'll do that.
Mel 59:09
Thank you, Bonny.
Bonny Snowdon 59:10
Thank you so much, Mel.
Mel 59:12
Have a brilliant day.
Bonny Snowdon 59:14
You too. Bye.
Mel 59:14
Bye.
Bonny Snowdon 59:14
I really hope you enjoyed listening to this episode of my It's a Bonny Old Life podcast. If you did, I'd be so grateful to you for emailing me or texting a link to the show, or sharing it on social media with those who might like it too. My mission with this podcast is all about sharing mine and my communities experience and hope by telling your fascinating personal stories, championing the other amazing humans in my personal, professional and membership community, and to create another channel through which I can support you to realize your coloured pencil and life dreams. If you haven't done so yet. Please help me on my mission to spread positivity and joy throughout the coloured pencil world by following me on my socials at Bonny Snowdon Academy, or by getting on my list at bonnysnowdonacademy.com, and remember, I truly believe if I can live the life of my dreams doing what I love, then you can too. We just need to keep championing and supporting each other along the way in order to make it happen. Till next time.
