Check out the latest talks, interviews, and articles from Megan Bruneau. For hundreds more, check out her author pages on Huffington Post, Forbes, MindBodyGreen, Thrillist, Thought Catalog, Gaia, Entrepreneur, Verily and Quartz.
“I met someone else.”
I’ve been on the receiving end of this statement so many times, it’s almost comical. I’m at the point where I can predict my reaction with tragic accuracy: It begins with my heart dropping like a plane that’s hit an air pocket. Then I feel like I’m going to throw up for about five minutes — during which I frantically text my group chat, familiar tears welling
Read MoreIn my 20’s, I hoped the proverbial “baby clock” just hadn’t kicked in. I’d always felt ambivalent about having kids, and this awareness was disconcerting for me. Not yearning to one day be a parent as my friends and clients did left me questioning my makeup – and my worth. So I desperately hoped something would shift inside of me. Life is seemingly easier when we want the things we’re “supposed” to.
But said “clock” has yet to turn on, and despite my extensive training in psychology and my non-conformist mindset, I still feel ashamed of my ambivalence at times. Logically I know there’s nothing wrong with me, and voluntary childlessness is on the rise; emotionally, though, I fear others will perceive me as cold, less attractive, or “flawed.”
Read MoreMegan Driscoll is the founder and CEO of EvolveMKD, a public relations and social media agency in New York City. She’s grown her business from one employee (herself) to 19 in two and a half years. But Megan’s success came out of a “bad breakup” at her previous company. Listen in to hear her advice on building an agency, outsourcing PR, using fear as a motivator, negotiating the conflict of being a woman who doesn’t want children, and more.
Read MoreYesterday I returned from flying across the country to visit a dude I met for a few hours in Vegas. It was…less than ideal (shocker!); but hey, I think life is a collection of experiences and one day these’ll all go in a book. And today, as I sit with an oh-so-familiar hangover of disappointment, rejection, and shame, I call on the resources that keep me resilient in the face of #feelz
Read MoreI had an awesome conversation a couple weeks back with Orlaith Rosey from the Mindfully Fit Podcast. We talk disordered eating, how fucked-up societal expectations contribute to anxiety and depression in women, how perfectionism manifests in your “healthy” lifestyle, and more. Bear with me for (or skip) the first 5 mins or so (I was either nervous, excited, or my coffee hadn’t kicked in yet…) – shit gets good after that. If you enjoyed my interview on The Healthy Maven’s podcast, you’ll be into this one! I don’t know how to embed, so click on the screenshot below to be taken to the episode :).
Read MoreDanielle LaPorte has mastered the art of building and scaling one’s personal brand: The inspirational speaker, writer, and entrepreneur created a top-ten iTunes app, a yearly planner system, and an international workshop program with licensed facilitators in 15 countries from one of her bestsellers. Her site, which offers everything from content to candles, draws millions of viewers each month and brings in more than $4 million in revenue each year. And most recently, she’s released her third book, White Hot Truth – which is a refreshingly amusing beacon of spiritual wisdom (and humor) in a fog of oftentimes redundant, impractical self-help reads
Read MoreFirst, a huge thanks to Thrive Market for bringing us this episode with Danielle! If you’re a listener, go to www.thrivemarket.com/factor for an additional 25% off your already 25-50% discounted groceries, a free 30-day trial, and free shipping.
Second, we’ve got an awesome episode up today with spiritual guru, inspiration speaker, writer, entrepreneur, and personal branding badass, Danielle LaPorte.
Listen to this rich interview filled with Danielle’s personal story of challenge and “failure” – being fired from her own company – as well as her advice for protecting oneself when building your company, dealing with haters, and building a successful brand.
Read MoreLauren Berlingeri and Katie Kaps have made it their mission to help people “get high” – but it’s not what it sounds. The team birthed HigherDOSE, the company that’s making infrared saunas mainstream (“DOSE” stands for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins).
In our interview for The Failure Factor, the women explain how they originally intended to install infrared heating systems in yoga studios – without much success: “We started presenting to investors without really having any data to back up how it would work, or any proof that New Yorkers would like that sort of thing.” Kaps explains. “The best advice we got from investors was ‘prove out the concept.'”
Read MoreI had the pleasure of being interviewed by the fabulous Ian Trottier of Wynwood Radio. We talk perfectionism, heartbreak, entrepreneurship, and my hometown of Kamloops ;).
Read More“Everything is great with Josh… except our sex life.” My client Leah explained. “It’s like night and day compared to my last relationship. I actually feel valued and loved for once, but things are so vanilla in the bedroom. Maybe it was because my ex and I were so volatile — and I feel badly saying this — but our sex was sooo much better. I don’t want to hurt Josh’s feelings, plus I’m afraid to tell him about the kinky shit I’m into because I worry it’ll freak him out.”
Read More“How do you do it, Meg?” a recently-single girlfriend asked me. She’d just been ghosted (a painful initiation back into the dating scene after nearly a decade) and was understandably discouraged by the process.
“How do you keep putting yourself out there after being burned over and over again? How do you spend so much time alone? How do you have the confidence to go on so many dates, then deal with the frustration and pain of it all?”
Read MoreAs I sit in the waiting area of the Primary HQ, my attention is diverted from the brightly accented office to an interaction taking place on the other side of the room: A smiling, casually dressed woman has one knee on a chair she’s rolled over to her male colleague’s desk. Holding her laptop by the base with one hand, she uses the other to point to something on the screen of his desktop computer. I can’t hear what she’s saying, but her demeanor radiates warmth and presence. What a lovely exchange, I think to myself. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if she were one of the founders?
Read MoreThe Failure Factor is back! Awww yeah! We’re kicking things off with Lauren Foundos, who spent a decade on Wall Street before starting Forte, a boutique fitness streaming platform.
A first-time founder, Foundos stresses spending wisely, building authentic partnerships, detaching from an expectation of what the company will be, and several other nuggets of wisdom you won’t want to miss. Check out the interview to hear Lauren’s inspiring story, and advice on how to optimize your starting-up success. And find interview highlights here on Forbes!
Read MoreBy Davida Kugelmass). I live and breathe wellness, but I also can recognize that perhaps sometimes I’m too “in it” to really have any perspective on the impact of my own business, both good and bad. So I filled my feed with people and messages that lifted me up. And somewhere along the way I discovered Megan. I appreciated that Megan was having conversations about health, wellness and happiness that no one else was having. She forced me to question my own behaviors in a positive way. She made me more aware and added this much needed perspective that I’d lost in getting so wrapped up in this industry.
This is why Megan is on the show today.
Here are some topics we tap into in today’s episode:
Megan’s own history with eating disorders and body image
The negative implications of the wellness industry on young men and women
Social media and advice for influencers and consumers on how to be a more critical voice
Privilege in the wellness industry and why we need to be acknowledging it
Health at every size and what that actually looks like
Where the wellness industry is going
“Considering your family history, I think you ought to consider antidepressants,” my doctor stated, her tone gentle yet firm as I sobbed sdfin her office.
My mood had been a battle for as long as I could remember, but lately it had become particularly unbearable. Every morning I awoke to inexplicable heaviness and lethargy – a depression thick with anxiety, guilt, and futility. I’d always felt like a bit of an outsider, but this was extreme. I felt disconnected from reality – like those dreams where you’re trying to scream or fight back or run but are paralyzed. I’d been exhausted for months, taking naps on the yoga mat in my office or the front seat of my car during lunch. I couldn’t concentrate in my sessions with clients and felt like my brain was operating at 20%
Read MoreOnly in recent years have we finally begun to acknowledge the connection between diet and mood. Can you believe I went through seven years of post-secondary in psychology, and there wasn’t a single lesson on nutrition for mental health? Fortunately, I had always been interested in nutrition (a silver-lining byproduct of a decade-long battle with eating disorders) and how what we eat affects our mental health
Read More“Do you think I could have a brain tumor?” I asked my nurse bestie while we waited inhe chairlift. My head had been throbbing for the past fifteen minutes and, being one of those incredibly lucky people who never gets headaches, my inner hypochondriac was having a heyday.
She rolled her eyes and assured me I didn’t have a brain tumor (but I mean, how did she know for sure…?), and we later discovered the reason for my unusual pain: unbeknownst to us, her brother had made decaf coffee that morning. And that was the moment I could no longer deny my dependence on caffeine to be a functioning human
If we did this more often, we'd be happier, less regretful, and closer to our truth
Read More“Are you getting help?” the emergency room physician asked, his voice stern yet his eyes soft with pity. I wondered if he had a daughter.
“Yes,” I lied, averting his concerned gaze. My shame was compounded by awareness of my naked body, visibly starving through the slits of the humiliating blue hospital gown. “I’m seeing a therapist.”
Hours earlier, I’d bussed myself to the hospital after throwing up blood and feeling scared my eating disorder was going to kill me. I’d sat in the waiting room alone, too ashamed to tell my boyfriend at the time why I couldn’t meet up with him that night. I have too much homework, I’d told him
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