You Are Already a Trailblazer in Your Own Story

What does it truly mean to shatter a glass ceiling? Rachel Patton's song "Broken Glass" sparked a profound realization during a morning drive with my toddler. For years, I believed trailblazers were only those making headlines as the "first woman to..." in their industry or field. This limited perspective prevented me from recognizing my own revolutionary acts.

The truth is more personal and powerful: trailblazing happens when we choose paths different from our families, communities, and the expectations placed upon us. When I left my corporate career during the pandemic to pursue yoga teaching—something I'd saved for since college—I encountered unexpected resistance from those closest to me. This wasn't just a career change; it was a conscious decision to break generational patterns of hustle culture that defined success in my family.

Growing up with women who prized executive positions and burning the midnight oil, my shift toward intentional living, presence, and redefining success represents a different kind of ceiling-shattering. By choosing authenticity over conformity, we all become revolutionaries in our own stories. Think about your own journey—the times you've chosen differently, despite pressure to maintain the status quo. These choices matter profoundly, even if their significance is measured in the quality of your life rather than public recognition.

Your authentic self is your greatest gift to the world. We need your unique perspective and courage to chart your own path. Join our community at ModernZen Collective as we explore holistic practices for joyful, purpose-driven living. Subscribe to our podcast and connect with like-minded individuals who understand that sometimes the bravest act is simply being true to yourself when everyone expects something different.

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Chapters

• 0:13 Welcome to Modern Zen Collective
• 1:07 Morning Reflections with Toddler
• 1:46 Redefining Glass Ceiling Breakers
• 3:56 Becoming Our Authentic Selves
• 4:28 Episode Closing and Membership Invitation

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:13

Hi, I'm Lizzie and I'm Nikki. Have you ever felt that your life was missing purpose, joy or deep connection? Welcome to the Modern Zen Collective podcast, where we embrace holistic living for a joyful, purpose-driven life.

Speaker 1: 0:29

In this podcast, we'll explore holistic practices, consciousness expansion and spiritual alignment. We will dive into personal development practices that connect mind, body, spirit and share secrets that ancient cultures have known for centuries. Together, we aim to guide, educate and connect individuals eager to transform their lives.

Speaker 2: 0:49

Join us weekly on the Modern Zen Collective podcast and elevate your mind, body and spirit. And now on to today's episode.

Speaker 3: 1:07

So this morning I was on my way to my mother-in-law's house to drop off my son, jackson, who's two and a half year old. She's so sweet and she helps me out and watches him on Thursdays for me, which is a huge help. I'm sure you other moms know if you don't have someone helping out with that toddler it is so hard to get anything done, anything. It was. We were listening to some music on the way there. Sometimes we listen to podcasts, sometimes we listen to Healing Hurts music, but today we were just bumping out to some tunes and having some fun and this song came on called Broken Glass, by Rachel Patton, and I used to love this song. I hadn't listened to it a long time and I was singing along and listening to it and it's just one of those really inspirational songs that talks about shattering the glass ceiling and dancing on that broken glass and doing it even though you've had people trying to stop you and tear you down and all these different things. And it just got me thinking about that glass ceiling and, as a woman, how we think about it or how it's portrayed to us and for me. I'm not sure how you all see it, but I often think of people women in particular who are shattering glass ceilings, as trailblazers or people who are the first doing something. And I think I've often felt like that wasn't me, because everyone's already done the thing already and I'm not a trailblazer or a glass ceiling shatterer. And then I realized that being a trailblazer doesn't necessarily mean being the first in the world or the first in the industry or the first of this or that. It's about trailblazing in your own community, in your own family, within the people that you touch and the people you've come from, and doing something different that follows your true, authentic self, something that's hard, that doesn't follow the norm that you have been around and you've experienced and maybe you feel pressured to conform to. And I know that when I left corporate during COVID and then started my yoga teacher training something that I've wanted to do since college I had been putting money aside since college. That's the only reason I could do it is because I had all the cash already saved up specifically for yoga teacher training. So you know, the universe presents you the opportunity when it's the right time.

Speaker 3: 3:59

And when I transitioned into my yoga teacher training and really leading into that yogini and yogi lifestyle, shifting how I see the world, my perspective, opening my eyes to different things I hadn't seen before. I met a lot of resistance within my family and from people that I thought would always support me. And then it was interesting because people who I didn't think would support me were so happy for me. So I only tell you this little story to say you know, that could be considered trailblazing for me and my own family is stepping back from the go, go, go, the push, the hustle, the need to always be the leader, like right, working on that track, to become that C-suite executive, to be the big decision maker, the one who's burning the midnight oil and burning the candle at both ends. You know the saying. That's literally all the women in my family, and it's wonderful. It's a great thing to learn how to be independent and learn how to get things done and be efficient and productive and work with all these different people. However, it doesn't leave a lot of room, you know, for relaxation or being around with your family.

Speaker 3: 5:18

I was raised by nannies and so, for me, moving into this slower lifestyle, this more intentional way of living, really leaning into who I am and how I view success instead of how I was taught to view success. That's shattering the glass ceiling in my own way, in my own family, and changing the trajectory of my children's lives, of my future generations to come. Don't view ourselves as that person, but I know, if you think back on your past three years, five years, 10 years, 15 years, your past lifetime, that you have done things that have been outside of the norm, that you have decided to chart a new path and do something different than how you were raised or how you see people living around you, and so just think about that time and know that you are a glass ceiling shatterer. You are a trailblazer. You are by living your true, authentic self and choosing for yourself what your life looks like each and every day.

Speaker 3: 6:35

So thank you so much for joining us on the Modern Zen Collective Podcast. We're so happy to have you here. You're so special, you're so unique and we're all also one. So it's wonderful. Lean into your uniqueness. We need it. We need your authenticity every day. Love you guys. Thanks for listening. We'll your authenticity every day. Love you guys. Thanks for listening. We'll see you on the next one.

Speaker 2: 7:08

Don't miss out on our journey to living an authentic, purposeful and joyful life. Join our membership and subscribe now to the Modern Zen Collective podcast on all major platforms and take the first steps towards elevating your mind, body and spirit. For all resources mentioned in this episode and to connect with us and our conscious community, check out the episode show notes for all links and our current offerings. See y'all next time.