Bernie Borges [00:00:00]:
Danielle Davening Limon, welcome to the Midlife Fulfilled podcast.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:00:06]:
Hi, Bernie. I’m so happy to be here.
Bernie Borges [00:00:09]:
I am so happy to have you here. I’ve been looking forward to our conversation. This is gonna be a little bit of a different Midlife Fulfilled podcast episode. First, let me introduce you to, my listener, give you a little bit little bit of background. You are an expert freelance creative professional. You help mostly entrepreneurs as well as small and biz Midlife fitness, and you focus on helping them grow their biz business through brand strategy. You’re an expert front end web developer. You’ve worked with me for many, many years, on my website and other websites that we’ve worked on together.
Bernie Borges [00:00:50]:
You’re an expert in WordPress. You’re a UX designer, and you’re also an orchid collector. I love that. So, what I wanna discuss with you, Danielle, as you know, we’ll set this up for the listener here, is I’ve been coaching you now for several months and enjoying every minute of it and really just kinda wanna talk about the experience, you know, and invite you to be a little vulnerable and kinda, you know, talk about your experience and kinda where you’ve come from and where you are now and maybe a little bit about, you know, where you think, you might be headed. So with that, why don’t we begin first with, the fact that you’ve been through the Midlife career reboot workbook? Maybe you can frame that up a little bit for the listener.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:01:40]:
Yeah. Well okay. So thank you for that for me. So, yeah, it was a little it was interesting because not only did I get to, go through the workbook as as, like, an end user, but I got to help you put it together. So I got to see some of the background stuff that went into it, which was really interesting. So what was helpful for me was breaking down something that felt so much bigger than it was. I needed the, this, the simplification of the process in order to actually do it. I think that’s I I think that’s what we do.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:02:20]:
You know? We we build these kind of big barriers, these big walls, and at the end of it, it’s not really that big of a deal. But it was probably the beginning of a larger trend for myself in kind of demystifying and breaking down these barriers. But that was definitely a useful tool.
Bernie Borges [00:02:43]:
And something that I remember from the the earliest conversations that were connected to the workbook was the fact that you are a brand strategist. You help entrepreneurs and businesses really build their brand digitally, you know, to to communicate to the world. And then one of the things that you and I did together was to really build your brand on your LinkedIn profile, not from the standpoint of design, because that’s your expertise, but from the standpoint of just the messaging. Right? Do you remember that exercise? And maybe you can comment on that a little bit.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:03:19]:
Yeah. Absolutely. And I just wanted to say first too, like, this is a process that I’m able to take other people through, but for myself, it becomes a completely different animal. And I think we we all kind of do this. Like, we can we can give advice, and we can see things very clearly for other further individuals or other groups. But when it comes to our own stuff, it just it becomes this big mess of tangled ideas and things like that. So so going through that process with your guidance allowed me to really kind of focus on who I was serving, which at that time, I didn’t really have a clear idea even though it was very much in front of me, but I couldn’t really articulate it. And, and I’ll say also, I think that this exercise is an ongoing one for me.
Bernie Borges [00:04:12]:
Sure. Sure.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:04:13]:
It’s it’s an evolving thing. And I’m learning more about what I do, even though I’ve been doing it for a long time. I’m learning more about what I do and how how it’s valued by others. Right? So and that was kinda like the first stage.
Bernie Borges [00:04:31]:
Yeah. The other thing that I remember very vividly is you were very reluctant to post on LinkedIn, add comments on LinkedIn, really just engage on LinkedIn. And I remember that once we updated your profile, your LinkedIn profile, then you felt more confident. You felt like your profile truly represented you in a way that you felt really good about it. And then you started to make those take those steps to start commenting and engaging. But it still it still took a little bit of getting outside of your comfort zone. So maybe you can speak to that a little bit.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:05:11]:
Yeah. That was I think it had to coax me a little bit because it’s not my natural state of interaction, and that wasn’t my natural, venue of interaction. And I think through the process of going through and updating things, and it was it was, yes, there was kind of, like, the visual process of updating things and going through it, but there was a mental process that went behind it as well. One that I didn’t expect to happen, it felt more like it felt like something that actually represented me. And it actually felt like something that I could share with other people and it be an extension of who I am and what my business does. So but the mental process of it was also, and I I don’t know if you remember this, I’m sure you do, is just the the kind of mindset shift that has to happen that had to happen for me at least.
Bernie Borges [00:06:18]:
Mhmm.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:06:19]:
That instead of looking at myself as promoting myself, which felt unnatural for me, it was being available and being of service. And those were those were concepts that I could that resonated with me a lot easier. They felt more natural.
Bernie Borges [00:06:39]:
Oh, Danielle. I remember that vividly because it was one one specific coaching call we had where that was a humongous light bulb for you. I remember it vividly. And and I re remembered so vividly that that your reaction was around this concept of I almost felt like I was, reprimanding you because I said, Danielle, you’re depriving those who need you of your service if you are not actively engaging in putting yourself out there. And that was a revelation for you. I remember it.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:07:13]:
Yes. Absolutely. That was that was the the first well, maybe maybe not the first, but it was among the first couple of dominoes to fall in this in the in, you know, the the kind of trend that’s been that’s been happening since since we’ve been working together on on this particular stuff, on this particular thing. So, it’s yeah. It was. And I think that’s a, you know, being flying solo for as long as I have and kind of being in this bubble, you you just kinda get stuck in this way of thinking over and over and over and over again. And it’s really hard unless something something external challenges you on that. It’s really hard to to to manufacture or bring that challenge up organically within yourself if you’re just, you know, operating in that bubble.
Bernie Borges [00:08:06]:
Right.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:08:06]:
So I think that having that external challenge, AKA Bernie, forced me to to look at things differently than I had.
Bernie Borges [00:08:21]:
Yeah. Yeah. I think the next step after that sort of revelation for you was the concept of then forming the habit of going to LinkedIn on a daily basis, going through your stream, and looking for opportunities to engage. So maybe you can speak to that about how, again, on the mind mindset point, it wasn’t just the mindset of you really don’t wanna deprive those who need you. That’s part of the mindset. But then you also have to be in the habit of making yourself available. Right? Do you wanna speak to that?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:08:56]:
Absolutely. Yeah. There was well and in the workbook, there’s there’s literally, like, a check where you could check it off, which is super satisfying, you know, to be able to check stuff off like that. Yep. And I have it in my calendar as well. So even if I’m not, you know, pressuring myself to to do the thing that feels uncomfortable, you know, which might be posting or making myself vulnerable in some way every day, You know, I do set challenges up for myself. And so it becomes it becomes again, taking down that barrier and simplifying the process, it doesn’t feel like this big scary thing anymore. And so this venue that I couldn’t identify with before is now through this experience, I see opportunity where I wouldn’t have seen it before.
Bernie Borges [00:09:47]:
What do you mean by that?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:09:49]:
Well, so, like, I’ve I’ve met a couple of people, including, you know, the the person that I’m working with on my fitness, met them through LinkedIn, I would not have even considered that before. Not even the venue, but I wouldn’t have necessarily even considered maybe coaching before Mhmm. This experience.
Bernie Borges [00:10:11]:
Mhmm. Okay. Now another another point in our coaching sessions that was, something that I recall was wasn’t so much a conversation, but it was an observation that I shared with you. And and I said because every time we meet, just like right now, we’re on video, we always met on video. And I said to you, I said, Danielle, you look more confident than I’ve ever seen you look before. It was it was in your body language. It was in your face. I mean, it was just so obvious to me.
Bernie Borges [00:10:42]:
And so my question for you is, did you even realize that your confidence had had grown?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:10:49]:
You know, I don’t think I really realized it until until you said that to me. I think I felt I I was feeling more confident or more kind of like I had a lot more energy. I had a lot more excitement about things, but I didn’t realize it translated to confidence until you told me.
Bernie Borges [00:11:10]:
Okay. Yeah. It was so obvious to me. It was so obvious to me because we’ve been, you know, having these coaching calls week after week. And and on that particular day, I just noticed it. And and not that it was only that day. It’s it was like from that moment forward, I just noticed it.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:11:27]:
Yeah.
Bernie Borges [00:11:28]:
Let me let me transition a little bit because our conversations transitioned a little bit. We didn’t get totally away from the the career aspect of our coaching, but it did become a little more holistic, naturally. The conversation just kinda went to, you know, diet and exercise. Now, I know you’re a vegan, so you’ve got, you know, a very healthy diet. But on the exercise side, you know, I chose to, you know, crack the whip a little bit and kind of, you know, suggest a few things to you. Why don’t you maybe speak to the impact that that those conversations are having on you?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:12:06]:
Yeah. I I remember that, and I don’t remember what what kind of, like, made that shift in our conversation. But I think it was, you know, me going through some some, you know, health stuff. And so that was a topic. And also knowing that your, you know, your experience with fitness and how it’s impacted you, and you’ve always been very willing to share that, which I’ve appreciated. Yeah. Developing developing the habits that I’ve developed in the past little while, I kind of I think of them as cornerstone habits. And that’s something that if I do those things, other good things are easier to do or other good habits are easier to do.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:12:58]:
So so it started with and I remember you checking on me on the with this. It started with just, just moving my my weights into my office. So that way, they were visible and accessible and easy to get to. And so I finally do have my treadmill in the office now so the way I could take breaks. And it’s something that has transformed even just the small amount of time that goes into it each day, which is not all. I I don’t think I do more than 30 minutes a day. But even that small amount has impacted my my energy levels, my focus, my, and I think it makes me more how would I put that? It makes me more flexible in my mind too.
Bernie Borges [00:13:59]:
K. Okay. And from a habit standpoint, what are you doing differently? If you look back, say, I don’t know, 3 months, give or take, before you were in the mindset of integrating exercise, like making time for exercise. Because Yeah. You know, I remember part of the conversation was that it’s not that you were unwilling to do exercise, but you couldn’t find the time. And and I jumped all over that and just said, okay, well, let’s figure it out. Right? Yes.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:14:28]:
Yeah. I gave
Bernie Borges [00:14:29]:
you some suggestions on how to find time. So from a habit standpoint, how are you doing that? What’s your habit to to make the time, find the time, however you wanna characterize it?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:14:39]:
I so, yeah, I think that was that was absolutely and it was, I mean, that’s always the worst excuse, right, is I don’t have the time because there’s always there there is always time for things. But it it was a matter of prioritizing, though I remember that was something that you repeated to me a few times. It’s a matter of prioritizing things. So, like, currently, in the mornings, I’ll I’ll do, you know, 10, 15 minutes of just, you know, light cardio, and I’m not the huge hugest fan of cardio, but I’ll do it in the mornings. I’m most mornings, I look forward to it now, just because I wanna be done with it, and it feels good to be done with it. So that usually happens in the morning. And then throughout the day, you know, if I’ve got 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there, that I’ll pick up the weights or do some squats or, you know, whatever whatever it is. And it’s, yeah, it’s it’s definitely on the days where I haven’t prioritized it, when I haven’t done it.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:15:43]:
I feel it in my body. I feel it in my energy. I feel it in my focus. I feel it just all over. So it’s definitely something that helps tremendously. It’s it’s huge.
Bernie Borges [00:15:56]:
So I I mean, that’s music to my ears because that’s really where you want it to be. Right? You want it to be you said you look forward to it partly because you you wanna be done with it. And you’re still you’re still doing little weights here and there, a little other cardio or whatever here and there because it contributes to your focus and your energy. And like you said, when you don’t do it, you feel the difference.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:16:21]:
Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. And the cardio the cardio is a part that I don’t like. I I like lifting weights. And I’d like to, you know, when when I do get to the gym, which is not often enough, I like to do I like to lift heavy weights. That that feels that feels exciting to me. But I’ll settle for my little, you know, 5 7a half pounders here.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:16:44]:
And, yeah, that’s the so so I kind of you know, if I do the cardio in the morning, then I’ll I’ll get to do the fun stuff, which is Right. Great.
Bernie Borges [00:16:54]:
So a question I didn’t ask you at the beginning of our recording is, because, you know, this is the Midlife Fulfilled podcast. So what what decade are you in age wise?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:17:05]:
I I well, I could can I say my age? Is that okay? If you
Bernie Borges [00:17:09]:
want to. Absolutely. If you want to.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:17:11]:
Alright. I’m 41. So I’m in Okay. I’m I’m in my early forties.
Bernie Borges [00:17:16]:
Okay. Alright. And so what would you say to, someone out there that’s, you know, in that age range? I’m not saying they have to be in their forties, but, you know, someone who’s a Midlife fulfilled podcast listener who maybe is, you know, dealing with similar issues, not exactly the same, and they haven’t been through kind of a coaching experience. Now that you you’ve got 2 coaching experiences. You’ve had one with me for months and then a new one that’s a different style of coaching, business coaching. So, you know, what what would you share with someone who hasn’t been through something like that?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:17:53]:
Oh, that’s a good question. I think that for someone who hasn’t had a coaching experience and for somebody who might be and I think we’re kind of constantly in some kind of transitionary phase. Right? There that I didn’t know I needed it, and I didn’t know that I needed what we were doing, it being more of a holistic approach. And as soon as we started kind of focusing on on the life stuff and this became a life coaching scenario, I I didn’t realize I needed that, but that was the spark. That was the thing that kind of set. And I’m not saying that the other stuff didn’t matter, but, clearly, I that was the that was the stuff that resonated with me and had a bigger impact. And it snowballed into into a lot of other things that because it was all connected. You know? The the the 30 minutes a day, that that small task can affect everything, and it just made it much easier to to handle the big stuff.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:19:07]:
And so the small stuff didn’t seem so so, insurmountable.
Bernie Borges [00:19:13]:
Mhmm.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:19:13]:
So I think starting with the life coaching for me was more of a imperative, and I don’t think I realized that before. I mean, hindsight, I can identify it now. But I needed to get into that mindset of looking at my habits and looking how everything was connecting to it.
Bernie Borges [00:19:36]:
And and I agree. I agree. Everything is connected. And, so so I’m thrilled to to see the the confidence. Not only the confidence that, you’ve developed and you’ve grown, but your mindset shift along the way. And you said something earlier that I just wanna put an exclamation point on it, and that it’s it’s an ongoing evolution for all of us, myself included. We never stop growing and, you know, being in need of growth and development and and, you know, the the things that feed us and just make us better, happier, more fulfilled, you know, all of the above. Just to kinda begin to bring things to a wrap, what which, you know, I’m not asking you to predict the future or look at a crystal ball.
Bernie Borges [00:20:22]:
But, you know, now that you’re several months into this and now you’ve entered into a coaching business coaching relationship in addition to what we’ve been doing in the life coaching area, You know, how how do you kinda look at the future? You know? What’s your kinda perspective on things?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:20:41]:
Oh, I’m excited. I’m very excited about how where my business is going, where what my trajectory is even though I don’t necessarily have a super clear I’m forming a clearer picture of it. I think that I’m just ready for some shifts. I’m ready for some challenges. I’m ready for some new stuff, which is not something I don’t think I would have said a year ago. I think I would have been, how do I how do I just stay in this comfortable spot for, you know, the next 20 years? Like, I had done, I mean, almost the previous 20 years. So I think that I just I see a lot of growth, a lot of building, a lot of a lot of, overcoming any kind of, like, existing existing barriers because there’s still stuff. Right? So I’m I’m just really excited about the future.
Bernie Borges [00:21:41]:
If if I can, tell you what I’m hearing, you say. Almost like we’re having a little coaching session here recorded on the podcast. What I’m hearing you say, and I think we’ve discussed this, is that you are comfortable getting uncomfortable because you’ve begun to experience that. And you’ve realized that it’s totally doable. It’s it’s surmountable. You know, you you can overcome it if overcoming is the right way to look at it for you or deal with it or maybe even enjoy it. Like, getting outside your comfort zone is not as bad as you thought it was.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:22:20]:
No. Not at all. No. I think this is why, you know, it’s it’s exciting because then it doesn’t I I don’t know how else to explain it, but it’s you’re absolutely right. Challenges are fun. They’re not they’re not daunting.
Bernie Borges [00:22:40]:
That’s great. Danielle, where can the listener who’s connect who’s who’s watching and just wanna connect with you and, you know, just connect with me. Right? Because you’re out there. Right? And so how can people connect with you?
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:22:54]:
Absolutely. So, you could go to my website. It’s ddlimon.com, or, I’ve got a new site up that I have I work with some other, talented creative professionals, and we have kind of a collective called webbed up dotcom. And that’s webbedup, webbedup.com. Those would be the best places to get into oh, and then LinkedIn, of course. Don’t
Bernie Borges [00:23:26]:
forget LinkedIn.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:23:27]:
You can find my, my the the link to my LinkedIn on my website, dude ddlamondot
Bernie Borges [00:23:34]:
com. Fantastic. Well, I’ll include your LinkedIn URL in the show notes.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:23:40]:
Thank you.
Bernie Borges [00:23:40]:
It’s really Anyone can just click on that And so, fantastic. Well, Danielle, I think you know, because I’ve told you that I thoroughly enjoy our coaching sessions. I enjoy them immensely, and I and part of why I enjoy it is just seeing the growth in you, and, it’s just it’s a whole lot of fun. It’s a whole lot of fun. And thank you for joining me on this episode of the Midlife Fulfilled podcast and, you know, being vulnerable and willing to openly share. Really appreciate it.
Danielle Devening-Limon [00:24:12]:
Thank you so much, Bernie.
