In this episode of the VulnerABILITY Podcast, Marisa chats with Laura K. Roe, yoga/meditation teacher, author, and mother of two, about embracing imperfection, balancing different areas of 'work' alongside motherhood, and learning how to give yourself permission to pursue your dreams. 
Highlights From The Episode:
[6:10] "I think yoga helped me get brave and keep following my heart."

[6:20] "We don't really have linear journeys."

[6:30] "A lot of times when you're trying to figure out what type of writing you want to lean into, or, you know, what's going to pay the bills versus what you love... it's a back-and-forth journey of taking sometimes weird jobs and trying to figure it out along the way."

[6:50] "From our websites, everybody looks amazing but it's awesome when you can dig into someone's story... There's still that backstory of that struggle and I think it's that struggle that really makes us... who we really are and really makes our craft what it is."

[7:45] "Developing characters is not something that you can just drop into easily."

[8:05] "If I'm in my fear and I'm in my head, and I'm worried about what you think or what everyone else thinks, then I can't do that brain dump... First drafts are always crap."

[8:35] "If I give up on the first draft or the first book, that may or may not succeed, then I'm not really learning my lesson. Which is repeat owning your craft."

[8:50] "It's not about winning or losing, it's just being brave and showing up to be seen. And having no control over the outcome. And that's like loving someone without expectations. It takes a lot of courage and it's strength."

[9:10] "I stepped out of my strength when I gave up on my fiction when I listened to other people who said, 'You can't be a mom and do this,' or, 'You need to stay with this full-time editing job.'"

[10:00] "Artists do what they need to do in order to have that stability to keep pursuing their art."

[10:30] "It's really about figuring out what you're passionate about, what you care about, what really feels right. And it doesn't mean that it's going to be linear, or easy, or perfect. But it's really just saying, 'Yeah, I want this for myself. I want these things for myself.' And leaning into the fear."

[11:10] "This podcast was actually born of the challenges, saying, 'Let's do this live with minimal editing and be really raw about my experience and the people that I bring on the show. And that's leaning into that fear."

[11:40] "I think that's what vulnerability is - leaning into that fear and discovering that on the other side of that fear is who you really are."

[11:50] "Where there is fear there is not love."

[12:10] "If I lean into my feeling and I'm really anxious and fearful, then I'm outside of my center... That's when I need to take a jog, or a walk, or clear my head."

[12:40] "Outside voices not supporting you - they are the voices to not talk to about your dreams. Full stop."

[13:00] "Acknowledge that when you get quiet and meditate, or if you're running or biking, there's something that happens... You start really embracing the vision."

[13:35] "You're not too old, you have something to say, and there's enough time."

[14:15] "I notice that if I talk about the anxiety and I talk about the fear, it revs up. And then I get further away from what I'm trying to do."

[16:45] "We can actually accomplish a lot more than we think... and we also need more support. So finding ways to get support and ask for it - and to know that we deserve it - it's just all part of our journey."

[19:45] "When we're centered and fulfilled, we're better parents, we're better spouses."