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In this episode, I speak with Alice who is the founder of Speak To Alice! 

Which is a company that helps to hypnotize creators to stop procrastinating, confidently show up online and charge their worth. 

Having over 5 years of experience as a travel content creator and over 10 years transforming mindsets, Alice knows exactly what gremlins creators face.

So listen on to find out how Alice has been able to travel the world as a nomadic hypnotist.

Listen Below:

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Transcription:

Debbie:

Hey everyone. Thank you so much for being here. I am really excited to speak with my guest today. I’m here with Alice.

Hey Alice, how are you?

Alice:

Hey, I’m good. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’m super excited too.

Debbie:

I am really, really stoked to be talking to you about lifestyle.

Can you tell us about you and why you live an offbeat life?

Alice:

Yeah, sure.

So for me, it has just always been very much a path of learning and progression. When I started my nomad journey which was, wow, I think almost 12 years ago now I was just desperate to know who I was, what I was capable of, what I liked, what I didn’t like.

Growing up, I was always a very good girl and always did what my parents told me and eventually got to the point where I was like, “I can’t do it anymore. I need to leave.” So I just did.

And yeah, it’s been a beautiful journey. I love it. Obviously, it’s always up and down, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Debbie:

That is amazing.

And I like that you took that chance. You left everything behind and now you are a nomad. You still continue to do it.

So can you share what was that moment like? ‘Cause I asked this with a few of my guests like, “Did you have that “Sliding Doors” moment? And if you don’t know what that is it’s this movie with Gwyneth Paltrow where if she chose one way, her life would have completely been different. And then if she chose the other door, it was another, I guess, way that her life was gonna be.

Was that something that happened to you as well?

Alice:

Well, I am gonna totally take that Gwyneth Paltrow moment ’cause I was actually on a train. So I’m gonna take that moment.

Alice:

Yeah, I was on a train and there was one seat free next to me it was super busy on that train that day. And this girl sat down next to me and at the time I was working in the national health service, in the psychological services. And I love my job. I really did, but, I don’t know, there was something in me that wanted to do something different and she whipped out this psychology paper and I got talking to her.

I was like, “Oh, hey, what are you reading about?” She’s like, “Yeah, I started studying psychology, but I’ve just got back from teaching English in India.” And I was like, “Whoa. Just tell me everything.” We spoke for the whole trip and for reals, hands down, when I walked off that train, I was like, “That’s it.”

I quit my job, I sold everything, I broke up with my boyfriend, I left the country within three months because she just completely changed my life path. It was pretty full-on. Yeah. It was amazing. What a great decision I made.

Debbie:

That is crazy.

Alice, you just met this in person on the train that is definitely your Sliding Doors, Gwyneth Paltrow moment.

Alice:

Yes.

And within three months you did all of this.

Alice:

I did.

And it’s mad really because I decided to teach English. That’s how I basically got on the offbeat path, on the offbeat life. And I met a guy there, nothing romantic and he said, “Well, where are you gonna go and teach English?” I said, “I’ve got no idea.” He said, “Why don’t you go to South Korea?” I was like, “Okay, I’ll go there.”

I literally went there.

Honestly, I was an open book at that time. Just whatever was presented to me, I said, yes. And I’m so grateful. I did.

Debbie:

It’s kind of crazy but kind of amazing at the same time. But when you were sitting with that girl, was there a moment before that really kind of made you think to yourself, “I need to make something else,” or “I need to do something else with my life,” or was it hearing her story that really led you to the path that you are now?

Alice:

That’s a great question.

Yeah, there was definitely something rumbling in my tummy. I wasn’t sleeping well. I was just up at night and I remember saying to my partner at that time like, “There has to be something different.” and he didn’t get it. He was like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I was like, “There’s something different. I’m meant to be doing something different.”

And so I really was, I think, in that frame of mind where I was like, “Just show me a sign,” and I got it.

Debbie:

Yeah.

And it’s so funny because I’ve felt that myself and most of the people that I interview. Like, there’s something there that you feel is a different purpose for you – your true purpose. And most of the time, it honestly just feels like we’re zombies, right?

It’s like we’re not really living throughout our true potential. It’s like, we are not really tapping into that. So it kind of feels like you’re half asleep most of your life until you finally find that purpose. And then you start to come alive.

And it’s really interesting how a lot of us who have gone through this journey feel the same way because like once you find it, it’s like, “That’s it. Oh my gosh, I’m a completely different person.” And it has led you to a lot of different places in your life.

Alice:

Yeah.

And it’s true. Like, there is no going back. The minute you step over that fresh hole, the minute you just step out the box and that’s it, the floodgates open and it’s a whole new life.

Debbie:

Yeah.

I feel like I’m doing a lot of like movie analogies, but it’s like taking that red pill from The Matrix. I don’t know if you’ve seen that movie.

Alice:

I’m down with that. Yeah.

Debbie:

Once you take that red pill, you’re never gonna go back. Like, “Do you choose it? Are you gonna take the red pill?” And most of us have, so…

Alice:

Yes. I love this.

Keep coming with the movie quote things. I like this.

Debbie:

I mean, those are really the only ones that I can give you right now.

Alice:

Ok, all good.

Debbie:

So how did that go?

Like, once you decided that you were gonna do this and it was a very short amount of time, that three months, what did you do? You just left your job, you left your relationship. Was it that easy? Like, how did that transition go?

Alice:

Yeah.

You’re not the first to ask that because it is mad. And I think at that point I was just so strong into a decision. It was quite easy.

I remember talking to my parents about it obviously, and I said, “Look, I’m just gonna quit everything and I’m gonna go and do this.” And I remember them saying to me, “We’re so disappointed in you,” which was so hard to swallow at the time. But thank goodness, I still knew that I had to do what I had to do.

And particularly with my partner at the time as well, I did try to convince him to come with me. And he was like, “No, no, no.” And there was just one moment where I kind of thought it and I was like, “Okay, I’ll stay.” And the minute I said it, thank goodness he had the sense to say to me, he said, “Alice, if you stay, you are gonna hate me in one year. If you stay right now, you’re gonna hate yourself. And you’re gonna hate me. You have to go.”

And I called him up like a year later and I said, “Thank you so much.” Honestly, he was like, “Yeah, you had to go and I’m proud of you.”

Debbie:

That is so nice.

Alice:

I’m so glad I’m fully free.

Debbie:

Aw, that’s a good person. That’s a really good person ’cause there’s a lot of partners out there like that would just try to convince you to let go of that dream. And I’m glad that he helped you through that. That was another sliding doors moment.

What if he had said, “Okay, we’ll stay here together. And maybe later you could do it.” That’s pretty nice.

Alice:

It is nice.

Honestly, I want him to explore too, but this is a thing, everyone is on their own timeline. And I think he didn’t start traveling for like another eight years. He finally took the leap, but we’re on our own timeline and you know what feels right to you, it is the right thing I believe. You gotta trust your gut on that.

Debbie:

Yeah.

And that’s another thing like when you’re young and you don’t really have a lot of responsibilities yet, it’s so much easier to get to that point. And I always say this it’s like, “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” If you and that person were meant to be together, you’re gonna find your way towards each other.

But I feel like, we only have one life to live and we don’t know what’s gonna happen. And I feel like if you don’t explore everything that you can explore in this world, like, I feel like there’s so much that you can be missing out on.

And whether it’s experiences, relationships, things like that, that you just never would discover if you just stay in one spot, right? And if you feel that calling, I feel like we have an obligation to do whatever we can to be called to that and to do that, to take that step.

So that is pretty brave of you to do something like that.

Alice:

I guess it is. I’ll take that. Yeah.

Debbie:

So now, how did you do this continuously, Alice? Because I’m sure there were a lot of things that happened in your journey and it may be overwhelming too. When you left, you went abroad, you started teaching. How did that progress to what you are doing right now? Take us through that journey.

Alice:

So yeah, I would say actually like me taking that leap was kind of secure because I had the job teaching English set up before I left. So that helped greatly because I just knew that when I was gonna arrive at the airport, there was gonna be someone there to pick me up, I knew where I was gonna teach.

So that was pretty good. I’m very thankful for that. But yeah, over those years, as I was teaching English, suddenly I was like, “Hang on a minute. I’m in a new country I can go ever I want.” And I started dipping my toes into traveling solo and I remember I took my first trip to the capital alone and it was marvelous. I loved it. I just spent a week exploring all by myself. And I was like, “Yeah, this is it, man. This is perfect.”

And with anything like that, you start to push the boundaries more and more and more. And I started to go to even more challenging places and I really started to rack up quite a lot of stories. I mean, that was my mission from the start. I didn’t want to travel to be comfortable. I wanted to travel to challenge myself.

So I started writing about it. I started writing about the experiences and people really liked it. And before I knew it, I had this travel blog on my hands and I grew Teacake Travels to be like a really inspirational solo female venture travel blog.

And then it got to that point where I was like, “Hmm, okay. I’m gonna quit teaching and I’m gonna be a full-time travel blogger.” And I went for it and it was amazing. I spent a good five years travel blogging, and it was perfect.

And I don’t know, maybe this is just a blessing as well, but literally, one month before COVID hit, I was kind of at that point where I wanted to do even more. And obviously, I was working in psychology services for a long time before I became a travel blogger.

And then I was seeing that a lot of creative people, creators, entrepreneurs, anyone trying to create content, they’re kind of suffering, like, really suffering from procrastination and self-doubt, imposter syndrome, all this kind of stuff. And I was like, “Hang on a minute. I know exactly to deal with this.”

And I decided to combine all my content creation experience with my psychology. And yeah, now I hypnotize creators to overcome all those mind blocks.

I love that when people combine their superpowers to kind of create the next level. Yeah. And I’m really happy that I did that. I love my job. I love where I’ve taken it. It’s always just growing on what you’ve done before and just building on that experience to create what you wanna do. Combine all those skills and passions into something even more kickass.

So, yeah, that’s how I kind of got to where I am today. In a nutshell, I did some pretty crazy, crazy jobs along the way I have to say.

I was doing bare less dancing in Shanghai at one point.

Debbie:

Oh my gosh.

Alice:

Yeah. That was an experience, Debbie, let me tell you. That was so fun. Everything that I’ve done is always been to just challenge myself and see what I can do just to grow and expand. So yeah, I’ve had a couple of interesting jobs.

Debbie:

Well, you’ve definitely lived different lives, within the years that you’ve lived in this earth and that makes you so much more interesting. I’m like, “I can’t wait until Alice…” Like, “Do you have a book about your life pretty soon?” I’m sure.

Alice:

People keep asking me to write a book. I’m like, “Oh, okay. I really should listen to that. It’s a sign.

Debbie:

I know. It’s a sign. It’s like, “Okay, another one, another person telling me I should write a book.”

Alice:

Yeah. That’s true.

Debbie:

But that is incredible that you did all of this. It’s like sometimes you just have those instincts. It’s like right before COVID, you kind of switch things around. And it really works because even now more than ever, people are feeling so much loneliness. Like, you are procrastinating, you don’t know what to do with yourself.

And it’s also a lot of like, your self-talk because as bloggers, as creatives, as freelancers, as business owners, most of the time you fail a lot. There are a lot of failures that go along with this lifestyle. That’s why it’s really not for everybody, right?

And there are a lot of things that are not secure and you become insecure because of that. So that is a really good way for you to put in your way of helping people, you’re not just getting paid, but you’re doing good. you’re helping other people as well.

Alice:

Yeah.

Because we create content out of passion. I know that we love doing it. We really wanna get that message out and inspire people to do all of these amazing things. And there’s so much value in content, so why not get paid for it properly?

And I really love it that you actually mention just a fear of failure. I just put this out on my Facebook page actually a couple of days ago that actually, I find that not many people actually fear failure. I find that more of my clients actually fear success because the thing with fear of failure is we’re quite comfortable with it. We’re quite used to failure, I find.

But actually, to have success, a lot of people worry about that. “What are people gonna think of me?” “Am I gonna be cut off if I earn this amount of money?” So many different thoughts that go with that. Yeah, it’s really interesting. I was kind of having this discussion about the balance between fear of failure and success and how it can really pull us in different directions.

Debbie:

Yeah.

I mean, that’s really interesting because if you think about it, people do change. Not just you, the person who has gone through. I mean, honestly, I think as a person who’s going through success, you come in stages, right? Like, you kind of move into it molds you and it changes you as a person because you do go through a lot of different things.

But for a lot of people who maybe don’t know you, or they haven’t seen your journey, it is a shock and there are a lot of different reactions to it. And not all of them are positive, you know?

Alice:

Yes.

It’s true. I was kind of thinking to myself, kind of saying to my clients, “Have you put out content? Have you been getting negative feedback?” They’re like, “No,” and like, “Put out more content. You need to like put out more content because if people start kind of disagreeing with you, then they’re starting to recognize you know that?

Debbie:

Yeah.

And that’s another thing I think with success, especially if you’re trying to do it in a public way, you need to have thicker skin because you’re not gonna agree with everybody and not everybody’s gonna agree with what you do, what your beliefs are and. But like with anything else, you’re not for everybody.

Alice:

Yeah.

But this is such a big thing that holds creators back. Like, our biggest need as humans is to be connected and accepted. When we start to really like truly authentically put out our points of view, ideas, and all of this kind of stuff, it can be scary.

Debbie:

Yep.

Alice:

Because not, everyone’s gonna agree with that. And it really puts a lot of creators off from actually being their true selves, just writing what they wanna write or filming what they wanna film ’cause they’re really worried about that.

Debbie:

Yeah.

I mean, I have definitely experienced that myself, and there’s a lot of back clash when you just put out your thoughts and your true feelings. It’s so interesting how people talk about authenticity and being yourself, but when you are yourself, you get that backlash, right?

Alice:

Yeah.

Debbie:

I mean, you get love but then it’s so interesting as much as you’re getting love, there’s also as much, it’s kind of an equal way of getting that backlash as well. And that’s why it’s an interesting place to be in ’cause you get love and hate.

Alice:

I love that word, “Interesting.”

Yeah. It is.

And yeah, you’re right. You gotta have thick skin for that.

Debbie:

It’s so crazy.

And honestly for me, Alice, I tend not to go on social media a lot because it’s not just the content that you’re seeing. It’s also like the comments that you’re reading. It’s not technically sometimes the content, but it’s the comments that you see, especially on YouTube or platforms like that, where there’s a lot of trolls. I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be this person ’cause it’s crazy.”

Alice:

Yeah.

And this is a thing, but it is character growth. All of this kind of stuff like you’re learning to trust yourself, you’re learning to set boundaries. it is very good for character growth, I have to say. If you’re an entrepreneur or creator, then enjoy the journey. you’re gonna learn a lot.

Debbie:

I mean, for sure, it’s definitely like you said character growth.

So let’s go to what you’re doing now. You have this business, you’re also a writer and you help other creators and entrepreneurs out, but you are also still a digital nomad. You’re still able to travel and go to different exotic places. How has that lifestyle been for you since the pandemic? How have that changed things and how you’ve been able to be on the road?

Alice:

Yeah.

So when the pandemic started, I was actually back in the UK and I kind of got stuck with the parents for a bit.

At that time, Brexit was looming and I really thought to myself, “Gosh, I’m European. I need to get out.” I just knew that I had to get out and it was difficult actually to leave at that time because there was a lot of judgment about doing that.

People felt very trapped. People felt that you really shouldn’t travel at that time. And I get it, some people are like, “I just have to leave for my mental health.” And I was feeling the same. I was like, “I have to go.”

So I went to Bulgaria first and pretty much just hung out there for a year, building the business, working on things and, touch wood, everything has been fine so far. Obviously, being a digital nomad takes a lot of plan anyway, but now I know we were discussing this before we kind of hit the record button, you have to really plan things way, way, way more now.

And if you ever want some lessons in flexibility, then to get it in this climate, because you make plans and then all of a sudden, boom, you can’t go or a regulation has changed, but so far so good. I’m currently in Georgia, really enjoying it. In a couple of weeks, I’m gonna be in Dahab, Egypt.

Debbie:

Wow.

Alice:

Yeah. Doing my best to keep going, because once you scratch the itch, that’s it.

Debbie:

Yeah.

And nothing stopping you and I’ve spoken to other digital nomads and they’re still traveling. They’re still making it work. So if you definitely have the tenacity, you’re patient, and like you said, Alice, like flexible that you could definitely do this. It’s gonna be a lot harder. It’s not gonna be the same thing.

But do you find it once you get to the country it’s much more pleasurable or because there are a lot fewer people there, like, I mean, but you also go to a lot of different places that most people don’t usually go to?

Alice:

Yeah. That’s the thing, I guess.

I guess it’s a double whammy for me because yeah, I’m not really going to the places that most people would. I mean, yeah, I have to say it is a little bit a blessing. I dunno. I feel guilty just saying that to be honest, because I worked in the travel industry for a good five years. So I really actually feel for these countries because tourism is their bread.

 

So yeah, it’s kind of nice to turn up there and no one else is there, but at the same time, I want those locals to thrive. So it is a bit of a double-edged sword really, I guess as a digital nomad. And looking at my lifestyle, I’m just always trying to go local.

If I’m shopping, I shop local, if I need something, I’ll try and get it from a local, especially in this climate, I just wanna do the best that I can. If I’m traveling in a particular neighborhood, I wanna support that community as most as I can.

Debbie:

Yeah, absolutely.

And honestly, you’re giving something back when you’re there when they don’t have as much tourism. And with smaller areas, local communities that don’t usually even get a lot of tourism, maybe it won’t hit them as much because they’re not really built for tourism, but it still hits them a bit.

Alice:

Yeah.

Debbie:

But that’s amazing that you’re able to do that.

So for you, Alice, let’s move forward to about 30 to 40 years from now and you’re looking back at your life, what legacy would you like to leave and what do you wanna be remembered for?

Alice:

Wow. Like, no one has ever asked me that. I love this question so much. Wow. Okay.

So let’s have a think about this. I think literally on my gravestone, if it gets that point, it’s gonna be like, “She was a badass,” because I just really wanted to push myself. That’s all I wanted to do. Like, my slogan at Teacake Travels has always been like, “Face your fears, push your boundaries, reach your full potential.”

So yeah, on my gravestone, it’s kind of be like, “She was a badass. She went for it.” Because I really do love life and I want to enjoy it as much as possible. Why not? We’ve got this beautiful playground and if we have the means to do it, if we have the motivation to make it happen, then go, why not go for it?

So I really hope people do remember me for that, that I was adventurous and that yeah, I took risks and that they paid off.

Debbie:

Yeah.

And now you definitely have to write your book, Alice, because that will be part of your legacy. It’s like, “I wanna read this story.”

Oh, man.

Alice:

Yeah.

Honestly, it’s funny you ask about this like legacy thing. I was talking to my partner about it for just a couple of days.

I just wanna make awesomeness happen and I love doing it. And yeah, the world is good, because if anyone is listening to this and they’re just like, “I’m a bit worried about the world,” or, “I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know if I can do it,” like, “Come on. You’re fully capable. You’ve got a playground right here to explore.”

Truly, you’re gonna be fine because I’ve been to a lot of countries where I don’t speak much of their language at all. Gosh, there was one time that I was in Bangladesh, for example. And I was on this island and I was walking along and there were these kids that I came across and they were kind of a bit playful, kind of been like a couple of monkeys. I was like, “OK, they’re acting a bit weird.”

What happened was they grabbed my phone, they snatched it out of my hands. And then they just kind of stood looking at me for a little bit. And I was like, “I might being robbed.” And then they started running and I was like, “Wow, I’m actually being robbed.” So I was like, “I better run after them.”

So I’m running across this beach, which turns into fields. And then it turns into a village and I just kind of like breakthrough this fence. And I’m like, “Where are they?” And there’s like these all these beautiful old women in this village, just looking at me like, “Whoa. Who is this white woman?”

And I’m like making all these signs, like, “My phone, my phone,” like freak kids, like doing all this crazy sign language. And then I just burst into tears ’cause I’m just a bit overwhelmed. And like, this lady just grabbed me and she sat me down and she was like, “Okay, okay. Okay.”

Debbie:

Aww.

Alice:

And then before we knew it, like the whole village was there, obviously, ’cause I was like kicking up a fuss. And they started looking for my phone. I could not believe it. Like, they were all rampaging in the sand. They were looking in the sand, they were looking everywhere and they found these kids.

And one of the guys was like dragging this kid across the sand. And he was like pointing at him like, “Is this the kid?” I was like, “That’s him, that’s him.” And I felt bad because they really told this kid off and I could guess they were saying, “Where is this phone? Where’s this phone.”

And my gosh, God bless these people. This guy came up to me and he had my phone, he gave it back to me and he was like, “Is this it?” I was like, “Yes, this is it.” These kids buried this phone in the sand and oh my word. But I mean, I was freaking out because it had all my photos, all my travel needs, everything.

But yeah, this community was just so sweet to me, like really kind. And they had nothing, they really had nothing. They just all looked. I felt like a right posh white woman. I felt honestly like, “Oh, this sucks.” But I was so grateful.

Debbie:

That is amazing because like you go to a different country, you obviously don’t know the language and that’s really overwhelming. And it could be scary at times, especially if you’re solo, if you’re traveling solo. But when you experience things like this, it just makes you feel like it’s not such a big world after all. There’s not much of a difference.

And there’s a lot of people, more people than not are actually good. And that’s when you really realize it like the true, I guess you could say comradery of human beings with each other, especially in communities like that, because they’re so small and they have a lot of pride in who they are and what they represent.

So that’s incredible that they were able to do that. And you experienced that.

Alice:

Yeah.

Because I’m sure other people, a guest of yours said it like, “We’re all human, we’re all people, we’re all human and there’s so there’s so much good in this world.” And they actually said to me, when I left, ’cause they got a guy on a motorbike to come and pick me up and basically take me home as well, “Never talk about this.”

Bangladesh is good but I actually love telling this story because it just really shows that people are really good. I think it’s a lovely story. And I’m gonna tell it, it’s a good story to tell.

Debbie:

Yeah.

I mean, when I used to travel, when I traveled solo when I traveled with my husband, we would encounter that, especially in countries that a lot of the media tells you is really bad is actually where I experienced the most, I guess, welcome from people.

Like, I’ve traveled in places that are like red alerts like El Salvador and in the Middle East where we were invited in people’s homes. Like, they cooked food for us, they shared their stories and they’re asking for nothing, and they just wanna talk to you. They wanna learn about you, your culture and they’re very giving.

Like I said, there’s a lot more good in humanity out there than we can even imagine. Because a lot of times what we just see and what we’re shown is just negativity that’s happening. Honestly, I think it’s rarer than you think, the bad stuff than the good stuff, but it’s not newsworthy. it’s not as interesting. It’s not as dramatic,

Alice:

Exactly.

Debbie:

But yours was a little dramatic though.

Alice:

Just a little.

Debbie:

Like, of course, it had to be, it has to go on your book.

Alice:

Okay, I better start writing this book. Brilliant!

Debbie:

I love that.

Well, thank you so much, Alice, for talking to us today, sharing with us your amazing stories. And of course, like I keep saying, we’re gonna wait for that book.

If our listeners wanna know more about you, where can they find you?

Alice:

Yes.

So if you really just wanna know about the solo female travel stuff, head to Teacake Travels, think of a cup of tea and a piece of cake, and you’ll find me.

If you are interested actually in just completely transforming your mindset, then you’re gonna find me SpeakToAlice.com.

Debbie:

Perfect. Thank you so much, Alice. We really appreciate you.

Alice:

Thank you. It was such a pleasure. I had fun. It was really good. Thanks so much, Debbie.

Debbie:

Me too.

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Listen to Alice’s extended interview where she shares how to eliminate procrastination and money blocks using hypnosis.

What you’ll find:

In this episode, Alice will show you the centuries-old problem of eliminating procrastination and money blocks using hypnosis.

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Follow Alice:

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Show Credits:

Audio Engineer: Ben Smith