The Gratitude Blueprint

This week on The Conscious Consultant Hour , Sam welcomes *Waleuska Lazo,* an expert on emotional healing and habit formation, who is fascinated by the power of *gratitude to transform pain into wisdom* ( https://www.waleuskalazo.com/ ). *Waleuska Lazo,* creator of the twenty-eight-day online course Five Minutes to Greatfullness (FMTG) ( https://fmtg.us/ ) , is a passionate, expressive serial entrepreneur mother of two. Born in Nicaragua, Waleuska immigrated to Canada with her family as a teen. She earned a bachelor of arts and a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Toronto. In 1995, Waleuska cofounded Embanet™ ( http://ec.cratco.com/our-services?doing_wp_cron= ) , a pioneering e-learning provider of higher education solutions and services, with her former husband and another business partner. They sold the company in 2007; now it is part of Pearson PLC. In 2009, Waleuska cofounded Magnum Opus Development Group, a real estate construction firm. In 2011, Waleuska founded DreamCatcher Print, a small independent press through which she has published a series of books about real-life heroes for young readers and books on personal transformation for adult readers. Titles include ** *The Gift of Bravery: The Story of Eli Cohen* ( https://amzn.to/2UniwZ2 ) , ** *Confessions from a Mom to Her Child* ( https://amzn.to/36cS5YI ) , a memoir, ** *The Best Worst Thing that Happened to Me* ( https://amzn.to/2TDe7RK ) , and *The Gratitude Blueprint* ( https://amzn.to/3xo2Kfg ). Waleuska is a HeartMath certified facilitator, having successfully completed a six-part course on facilitating processes for stress, anxiety and self-regulation and passing the exam. Currently, Waleuska splits her time between homes in Hollywood, Florida, in the United States, and Toronto, Ontario, in Canada. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. Tune in for this enlightening conversation at TalkRadio.nyc ( https://d38rqs2egh08o4.cloudfront.net/link_click/ilYzJ8rZ5f_anbRp/a501213311e1aba3e4402fbf47de74d1 ) or watch the Facebook *Livestream by clicking here* ( https://fb.watch/v/uKVXsXwk/ ) *.* SHOW NOTES ---------- SEGMENT 1 Opening the show, Sam reads an excerpt from his book Everyday Awakening. In this except, he explores how we can stop allowing fear to cause us to miss opportunities. The key to this, he reads, is to just ask ourselves what we would do if we did not have fear, or in other words, seeing where fear is holding us back. This won’t eliminate the fear, Sam elaborates, but it can allow us to make the small steps we need to take in order to achieve what we want or need. Next, Sam introduces his guest for the week, creator of the twenty-eight-day online course Five Minutes to Greatfullness, Waleuska Lazo. SEGMENT 2 Returning to the show, Sam inquires how Waleuska went from being in criminal justice to her current career in self help. She explains how she wanted nothing more in the world than to be a criminal lawyer but, due to some setbacks, was unable to pursue this career. However, greater than her desire to become a criminal lawyer, was her underlying passion for helping people. She went on to co-create a company called Embanet ( http://ec.cratco.com/our-services?doing_wp_cron= ) , a company that brought online education to people who want to pursue higher education. Eventually, she sold her company. She describes that after a month of not going into an office, she found herself questioning her existence. Furthermore, she had to deal with a painful journey with an undiagnosed illness. These obstacles eventually caused her to embark on a spiritual journey, which led her to create her twenty-eight-day online course Five Minutes to Greatfullness. SEGMENT 3 Sam brings us back to the show by asking Waleuska what she believes was essentially the source of her unhappiness in the past. She admits that perhaps she focused too much on the external world and neglected to practice mindfulness. When she hit rock bottom, as she mentioned in the last segment, she found herself turning to writing as a method of healing. They talk about how Waleuska had actually been involved in self help earlier in life, but the side of self help that focuses on financial gain and the external world. However, following her spiritual journey, she returned to self help but instead of focusing on the external world, she focused on the internal. She realized that helping others this way is how she felt the most fulfilled. SEGMENT 4 Following the final break of the show, Sam asks Waleuska what people should expect from her book The Gratitude Blueprint, and the difference between the book and the Five Minutes to Greatfullness course. She explains that, while similar, the course holds people accountable in a way the book cannot. However, she brings up a special deal: for anyone who buys the book on her website, they can also register for the course for free this September and November. They then talk about some of her other books, including her memoir. Changing topics, Sam asks Waleuska how she believes gratitude can help people deal with the trauma of the past year with the COVID-19 pandemic. They close the show by letting listeners know where to find her on waleuksalazo.com. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-conscious-consultant-hour8505/donations