Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha
Marie Forleo on The Mindset Every Entrepreneur Needs to Succeed in Life and Business | Entrepreneurship | YAPClassic
Fri, 07 Mar 2025
Since she was a young girl, Marie Forleo has been a “multi-passionate entrepreneur.” She never wanted to settle and had a multitude of interests, from hip-hop to spirituality to psychology. After attempting to find happiness at a string of corporate jobs, Marie realized that her combination of interests and skills was a strength, not a liability. She gave up the security of her 9-5 to become a life coach. Now, she has a digital empire that touches millions. In this episode, Marie will share why “everything is figureoutable”, how we can overcome self-limiting beliefs, and how we can live a more productive and stress-free life! In this episode, Hala and Marie will discuss: (01:30) Introduction (02:43) Marie's Childhood and Early Ambitions (03:48) First Job on Wall Street (04:26) Mindset Shifts for Career Success (07:07) Transition to Magazine Publishing (09:31) Discovering Life Coaching (11:51) Building a Coaching Practice (14:31) The 10-Year Test and Dance Career (27:44) Personality Traits and Success (29:50) The Dark Side of Perfectionism (30:12) Career Tipping Points and Role Models (31:00) Consistency and the Long Game (37:57) The Origin of 'Everything is Figureoutable' (44:06) Financial Independence and Early Lessons (48:09) Burnout and the Turning Point (55:35) Time Management and Productivity Tips Marie Forleo is named by Oprah as a thought leader for the next generation, and she is the owner of one of Inc.’s 500 fastest-growing companies. Marie has created a socially conscious digital empire that inspires millions. She’s the star of the award-winning show MarieTV, with over 75 million views, and host of The Marie Forleo Podcast, with nearly 26 million downloads. Marie has taught entrepreneurs, artists, and multi-passionate go-getters from all walks of life how to dream big and back it up with daily action to create results. She runs the acclaimed business training program B-School, the writing program The Copy Cure, and the joyful productivity program Time Genius. Her #1 New York Times bestselling book, Everything is Figureoutable is available now. Sponsored By: Shopify - youngandprofiting.co/shopify Airbnb - airbnb.com/host Rocket Money - rocketmoney.com/profiting Indeed - indeed.com/profiting RobinHood - robinhood.com/gold Factor - factormeals.com/factorpodcast Rakuten - rakuten.com NordVPN - nordvpn.com/PROFITING Microsoft Teams - aka.ms/profiting Active Deals - youngandprofiting.com/deals Key YAP Links Reviews - ratethispodcast.com/yap Youtube - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ Social + Podcast Services - yapmedia.com Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com/episodes-new Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship podcast, Business, Business podcast, Self Improvement, Self-Improvement, Personal development, Starting a business, Strategy, Investing, Sales, Selling, Productivity, Entrepreneurs, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Marketing,Money, Finance, Side hustle, Startup, mental health, Career, Leadership, Mindset, Health
Chapter 1: Who is Marie Forleo and what is her philosophy?
Named by Oprah as a thought leader for the next generation, Marie isn't just another motivational speaker or podcaster. She's a living, breathing testament to the power of believing. And as she puts it, that everything is figureoutable. Marie and I spoke back in 2023 about being a multi-passionate entrepreneur, embracing your good fears, how to hone and trust your intuition, and so much more.
So get ready to learn how you can turn obstacles into opportunities and why Marie's philosophy isn't just a catchy phrase. It's a powerful, actionable approach to life. So what are you waiting for? Let's go figure some ish out with Marie Forleo. So Marie, I'd love to take it back to your childhood. I like to do that on my podcast.
Chapter 2: How did Marie Forleo become a multi-passionate entrepreneur?
And from my research, I found out that you've essentially always been a Jill of all trades since you were a little girl. So can you tell us more about that little girl who later became what you call a multi-passionate entrepreneur?
Yeah. I grew up in New Jersey like you did. I remember distinctly as a kid, when adults would say, hey, what do you want to be when you grow up? I never had one answer. I always had like 17. I want to be a teacher. I want to be a dancer. I want to be a writer. I want to be a businesswoman. I want to be a model. I want to be an artist. It was just like on and on and on.
And as the years went on, some of those answers would change, but there was never just one answer. And I didn't realize that that was even odd or different until really my college years. I remember a lot of people seemed to have a very distinct, definitive vision for what they wanted to do. You know, I want to be a doctor or I want to be a lawyer or I want to be whatever it was.
Chapter 3: What challenges did Marie face in her early career?
And I still had like 15 things that sounded really intriguing to me. And when I started my career after graduating, I went to Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. My first job was actually on Wall Street on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. And I was pumped. I was so excited because it's like the financial mecca of the universe.
Back in those days, this is like the late 90s, there were actually no chairs on the floor. And I'm a person who has a lot of energy. So I was like, oh, this is so cool. I'm going to be running around all day. This is amazing. And after about six months into that job, I was super grateful for the work because I'm the first in my family to go to college.
And my parents, they just busted their buns to be able to even give me an education. And I took that very, very seriously. But after about six months, I started hearing this voice inside that said, this isn't who you are. This isn't what you're meant to do. This isn't what you're supposed to be. And I was like, that's strange.
And I tried to kind of push that voice away, but it kept getting louder and louder and louder until one day I remember being at work and starting to feel sick, like physically ill, started to feel dizzy, like I couldn't really breathe. And I said to my boss, I said, hey, can I just run out and get a coffee real fast? It was at a kind of slower time during the day. He's like, yeah, no problem.
So I left and I didn't go to get coffee. I made a beeline to the nearest church and I sat on the steps and I cried. I cried my eyes out because I felt like such a loser because I knew logically and intellectually that I was so I was so grateful to have work, which included a steady paycheck. It included health benefits. I felt like I was doing good by my family.
But at the same time, the truth was I was miserable and I felt like I was dying a slow death. And I didn't know how to reconcile those two things. The first signal I got from above was actually, it said, call your dad. And back in those days, I still had, it was like flip phone days. So I took the flip phone out of my like dark green jacket. That's what all the traders had.
And I called my dad and I was crying. I was like crying the ugly cry where like there's knots coming out of your nose and you just can't breathe. And I was like, dad, I'm so sorry. I'm a man. And when I finally shut up, and took a breath. He's like, Ree, stop. He's like, you've been working since you were nine years old. I'm not worried about you figuring out how to keep a roof over your head.
But he's like, here's the secret to life. You're going to be working for at least the next 40 or 50 years. You have got to find something you love. And if going to work every day at this place makes you this sick that you ran out and you're crying in the middle of the day at the church, you can quit. You'll do what you did. You'll bartend. You'll figure it out.
But you need to find something you love. And all of that was like such a huge permission slip for me because I realized in that moment, while my dad didn't tell me how to find something I loved, he gave me permission to do so and really reinforce the fact that livelihood needs to not fully, but finding something that genuinely aligns with your strengths and your skills is vital for all of us.
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Chapter 4: How did Marie transition from corporate jobs to life coaching?
All of my friends are getting raises. getting married, starting to build their whole lives. And here I am years after graduation, just wanting to quit my next job. Nothing was making sense. And I felt so terrified. I felt like such a loser. It was awful. And there was one day at work when I was on the article. And it was about a new profession at the time. It's about 1999.
The new profession was called coaching. you have to get that in the late 90s, nobody had heard of coaching. This was like groundbreaking. And I remember reading that article and it was as though a Christmas tree lit up inside of me. It was as though the clouds parted and little angels came out and it was like, oh, this is what you're supposed to do.
But at the same time, I was 23 years old and the mean voice in my head said, what are you Are you kidding me? You're 23. Who the heck's going to hire a 23-year-old life coach? You haven't even lived life yet. You're in piles and piles of debt. You can't seem to hold down a job. This is going to be one more thing you fail at. So I had that going on, but I couldn't deny that in my body,
And my intuition told me that there was something there that I was meant to follow. And I signed up on the spot for a three-year coach training program. I was doing that at night, on the weekends, kept my magazine job during the day. And then I got a call from the HR department and they had a promotion for me to go move up, bigger paycheck, better position, to be a part of Vogue magazine.
arguably one of the top fashion magazines in the world. And that was my fork in the road. Do I stay on the safe path with the paycheck and the health benefits and like a career that people actually understand what the hell it is? Or do I quit and do this weird ass life coaching thing that no one has ever heard of?
I have no idea how to even turn it into a business and it sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud. So I chose that path. I gave up my job and I went back to bartending and waiting tables, which I did all throughout college. And I figured out how to build a coaching practice during the day.
So that's kind of the through line of being a multi-passionate kid, not knowing what that was to kind of getting me to the place where, you know, and I'll pause because I'm sure we have other questions, but we can kind of take it all the way through.
Yeah, I'm going to dig deep on all of that. This was such a great overview of your story and it's super inspirational. So a question that I have for you, let's stick with you being 23 years old, deciding that you want to be a life coach with basically no life experience, right? How did you get the confidence and when did you actually start getting clients?
Did you wait until you were done with the program? And how did you know you were good at it and like starting to build your confidence with it?
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Chapter 5: What is the 10-Year Test and how did it influence Marie's decisions?
So if you actually ask yourself that question, take a breath and feel into the answer, not from your head, but from your body, that is one of the surest ways that any single person can get aligned with their intuition, not their intellect. Your intellect will often lead you astray.
because it's tied to your ego, which is tied to status, prestige, wanting to get ahead, climbing, and it's all rooted in fear at the end of the day. Your intuition is your connection to higher source, guidance, wisdom, natural knowing, like innate powers that all of us have that we're just not taught how to access in school.
And I have to say that as you get more successful, these opportunities are going to become sexier and sexier. And it's going to get harder to say no and harder to say no. And you need to get really good at making these decisions. Let's hold that thought and take a quick break with our sponsors.
Yeah, Pam, when I first started this podcast, believe it or not, I had an all-volunteer team to help me out. But as my business took off, I needed to hire a lot of new people and fast. It soon became pretty overwhelming because I had to sort through piles and piles of resumes, conduct countless interviews, and you know how it goes. Hiring is a pain.
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Just go to indeed.com slash profiting right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash profiting. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. Hello, young and profiters. Starting a small business means you're wearing a lot of hats.
Your personal phone becomes your business phone, and before you know it, you're juggling calls day and night. And when I started Yap, I made the mistake of using my personal cell phone to handle all business inquiries. I had my business and personal mixed up, and it wasn't good for my mental health. That's where Open Phone comes in. Open Phone is the number one business phone system.
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Chapter 6: How does Marie distinguish between good and bad fear?
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Go to shopify.com slash profiting to start selling on Shopify today. Shopify.com slash profiting. I'd love to understand the 10 year, yeah, 10 year test.
The 10 year test. So this was interesting. So after I had said no to the magazine world, had gone on this journey to like, okay, let me figure out how the hell to build a coaching business, bartending, waiting tables about seven days a week and was doing my coaching business during the day.
And so we all know this, like one of the things that any one of us needs to do, or we learn that we have to do is kind of have an elevator pitch or, you know, when someone asks you about your business or what you do for your career, you're supposed to have like a really good answer. And I remember at the bar when people would ask me, so like, what else do you do?
Oftentimes when I talked about being a life coach, it would feel really narrow and limiting. And like, I wasn't telling the full story. Even though I really loved what I did, the truth was I had all of these different other passions as well that I was starting to explore. So for example, I love spirituality. I loved writing.
I loved what at that time, the early 2000s was the new world of digital business. Again, YouTube didn't exist. Podcast didn't exist yet. It was blogs and email and eBooks and like different things that were brand new and mind blowing. And I also loved hip hop. and dance and music. And even though I don't have any formal training, it was something that was such a passion for me.
And I would go to classes here in New York City and I would go to a place called Crunch because first of all, I had a gym membership. They had amazing dance teachers and amazing dance classes and I loved it. And I remember just going to classes so often going like, wow, I've
I actually think this should be a part of my path or part of my career, but it doesn't make sense because I'm supposed to be focused on life coaching. I'm already bartending and waiting tables seven nights a week. How am I going to do all these things?
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Chapter 7: What personality traits contribute to success according to Marie?
When I think of like who I want to be and all these things, I always think of like you are definitely a name that pops up in my mind. And it was great to have you as a role model before I was able to, you know, be a big podcaster and things like that. So thank you. And I'm curious to know what point in your career, like now everybody in this space knows your name. You're really recognizable.
One of the top females in this business influencer space. What do you think was the tipping point when you're like everything started to really just escalate for you? What was the tipping point?
It's a great question. Two things about this. One, I don't know if there was one. That's my honest assessment. And I may not be the best person to decide that because I'm so in it. And if you talk to anyone who knows me, any of my friends and colleagues, they'll let you know, even my team. I'm the most heads down person ever. Like my thing is I just show up, I get it done.
And then I'm either off, meaning I'm completely unplugged and kind of into another space in my life. And then when I come back, I go heads down again. So because I've been doing this now and it's been 22 years, right? So it's a really long time. And I think going back to the traits, one of my best traits is my consistency trait. So when I first started creating content on a weekly basis.
It was through a newsletter, the cheesiest title ever called Magical Moments. It was awesome. That was the best I could do at that time. And I would send out a newsletter every week nonstop. And then actually once I got a puppy, it was the first dog I ever had in my life, Kuma, he's 13 now. When I got him, I couldn't blog anymore because raising a puppy and training a puppy takes a lot of time.
If anyone listening has ever done it, you know it's a lot of work. And I was like, oh, I need to just turn on my computer because I remembered from my teaching fitness days, I was like, oh, I can easily look at a camera. And so then it became MarieTV. And I'm saying all this because the consistency and the momentum that has built over time. There wasn't one moment.
I think it's the long game that has allowed me to create what for me has been a really beautiful experience of business and a beautiful experience of being able to connect with people. There were certainly beautiful moments and I hope that there's many more, but I don't think that there was one that really did it. It was the relentlessness of commitment and consistency that I think has
Help me create what we have today.
It's totally amazing. And it's amazing how you sort of had it as a side hustle, but it was something you were still doing consistently. You had other things that were making you money because that thing wasn't making you money yet. But you kept going at it, getting better at it, learning at it. And it's really all this stuff is a long game. Same thing with me in this podcast.
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