I’m so happy to be doing this interview with Amanda! I am speaking with Amanda who is the Founder of Full Plate Full Cup. I had the best time interviewing her. Enjoy!

How are you doing? so excited to talk with you...I woke up early so I could have my coffee before our talk. Ahaha... I woke up early because I have two pre-school children.

Today we are going to talk about Full Plate Full Cup, how you started, and the whole evolution.

You went to Columbia University, and you got your Executive Coaching degree from NYU. When you were at Columbia did you always know that you wanted to go into Executive Coaching, or was it more like I will figure it out later...

Yes, well my path was anything but linear. I went to Columbia University and honestly I did not know what I wanted to do, other than I wanted to be in New York City.

I wanted to impress all the people by getting into an Ivy League School, and I did not think much beyond that. When I got to New York I was really into partying. At that point I decided I wanted to work in the Nightlife and Hospitality Industry.

I literally looked around to see who was doing the most in that particular industry, as well successful, and it was Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg.

They are the owners and founders of TAO Group. I was 19 years old, and I sent them an email to be their intern. I turned that into a 12 year career where I rose up the ranks to become a Managing Partner.

For Coaching... while working at TAO Group I had a stress induced health crisis, and had to have open heart surgery at 28 years old. Oh my gosh... Yes! my heart was skipping every third beat.

I then took a year sabbatical after my open heart surgery. During that time I became a certified yoga teacher, meditation teacher, and I got certified as a Holistic Health Coach. I then got certified to become an Executive Coach about five years later. And I saw that need from working with start-up companies and seeing these brilliant hard working people that do not know how to take care of themselves in a holistic way.

So I had this vision  of putting together all of this 'woo-woo' holistic stuff I was already trained in, then becoming an Executive Coach, and then somehow fusing these two things together.

I could see as a working female executive mother it is hard. Yes, the struggle is real. I know when I was climbing the corporate ladder as a Revenue Accountant for a Top 10 company. You feel guilty to even go to the bathroom, so I could not drink enough water especially when there was a project that was due.

Now people are coming into the consciousness of whole body, whole mind. But in the corporate world it is not praised at all. Did you find any push back in the corporate world... Well, yes and that is the concept of Full Plate Full Cup.

How do you manage the heavy workload, huge responsibilities, and also keep your cup full. Managing your stress levels, and taking care of yourself.

With my method...I can bring as much, or as little 'woo woo' as is appropriate for where you are at. So I can meet people where they are, and that is a key component in my method.

I have worked in offices that are majority male, and some of the concepts that are beneficial to everyone are going to get knocked down. I am not going to walk into a room and say ' take 10 minutes to connect to your root chakras, and open your third eye'. People are going to look at me and say that this is bullshit.

Yes! and I was going to say... I love your posts because they are so realistic. Because if you are more analytical you have a grounding. It is more realism mixed with the spiritual. If you are busy, stressed, running around, and you read some of these inspirational posts they can sometimes make you angry. It is like they do not grasp what you are going through, they do not grasp it. Your posts on Full Plate Full Cup is raw, real, and matter of fact. It is here it is, and do with it what you want.

Yes, I can relate to those corporate deadlines, a thousand emails, or having to present to boards. I lived the tangible, and I know it. That is how I can be there for those people that want to show up for their co-workers, or be anxious in their lives. So they will have to use breathwork and close their eyes and get out of fight, or fright mode.

Yes! I know that I have to remind myself to breathe when I am in those hurried periods to meet deadlines. What made you decide to leave the corporate world and embark on doing Full Plate Full Cup full time...

Honestly, this has been my calling for a very long time.  Before I had my surgery... I always knew that I wanted to work with, and help people. This was the only thing that lit my heart on fire. I knew how to help people that were struggling in the ways that I was.

And I could do it in ways that could be beneficial to them, and change their lives forever. But let's be honest - I have children, I have bills, and my husband is an entrepreneur as well. One reason that took me so long to do this is that I had a life to pay for.

I am not a risk taker, I had to know that my needs would be taken care of. When I work with my clients, I ask my clients what is their financial responsibility right now. How much do you need to make each month to meet your responsibilities.

I will structure their time to work on their passion, vision, so realistically look at how much time they have to devote to their passions. So in a certain amount of time you will be able to quit your job, and devote full-time to your passion, vision.

I think that is so important to put out there. People can get caught up in the Wellness, and living that American Dream. But we are doing people a disservice, to tell them you just manifest and instantly overnight you will have your own successful business.

So my last question is how do you personally stay grounded...

First of all I have had a meditation practice since 2013. I knew that I needed to get my stress, and anxiety levels under control.

I truly believe that meditation helps you in the moment as well as over time. So having an over decade long daily meditation practice has transformed me from the inside out.

I meditate every single day, and that can be anywhere from five minutes to twenty minutes.

The other thing is that I truly seek Joy. I recommend Journaling, it is a good way to connect with Joy. It is an emotion, you feel it. You can notice things in the course of your day that bring you Joy.

Go on a walk with a five year old child, and notice how they notice the small things and that brings them such Joy. Walk with your eyes up, heart open, and notice what is around you that brings you Joy. Joy is a gift, I always reflect on the Joy that you have in your life.

Full Plate Full Cup is now offering group and one-on-one coaching, and workshops for teams and individuals. And I also have a co-founder... so I have a big announcement coming September 7th. You can expect courses and in person events, and then working on a couple of products. Along with the goal of helping ambitious individuals unlock, and have more Joy.

You are just ending 2022 with such a high, and thank you so much Amanda for your time.