In this week’s episode of The Amberly Lago Show, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with the inspiring Snez Veljanovska, where we dove deep into the themes of mindset, resilience, and the journey of self-discovery! Get ready for some powerful insights and valuable lessons that will ignite your own growth and transformation!
Here’s what you’ll take away from our conversation:
The Importance of Facing Challenges Head-On
Snez shared her experience of hitting rock bottom multiple times, with the third time becoming a true turning point. Instead of looking for a way out, she chose to find a way through, confronting her fears, shame, and guilt! This shift in perspective was essential to her journey of healing and recovery. Her story is a powerful reminder that the only way to move past our struggles is to face them directly.
Reinventing Your Identity
As a former professional athlete, Snez spoke candidly about the struggle of losing her identity after her sports career ended. She emphasized the importance of not tying our self-worth to roles or achievements, but instead embracing who we are at our core. This is a valuable lesson for anyone who’s ever felt uncertain of their identity after a major life change. You are so much more than what you do!
The Power of Mindset and Support
In our conversation, we discussed the impact of surrounding ourselves with positive influences and the importance of seeking support. Snez shared how having a coach or mentor has been transformative for her, often reminding us that sometimes we need someone to believe in us before we can believe in ourselves! This episode encourages us to invest in our personal growth and to lean on a strong support system.
I encourage you to dive into this episode and reflect on these takeaways! Whether you’re navigating tough challenges, redefining your identity, or aiming for a mindset shift, there’s something in this conversation for everyone.
Tune in now, and let’s spread a wave of positivity and growth together! Don’t forget to share your thoughts and tag us on Instagram, your feedback means the world to us!
Follow Snez:
Explore the transformative Unstoppable Life Mastermind and discover how you can become unstoppable in your own life!
Ready to dive into Joy Through the Journey? Grab your copy from one of these great retailers:
If you are ready to leave your mark by discovering your message and sharing it with the world, you’ve come to the right place!! Let’s work together to build your influence, your impact, and your income! Join the tribe you have been waiting for to activate your highest potential and live the life you deserve! Join the “Unstoppable Life Mastermind!” and let us know you are ready for greatness! Read the “True Grit and Grace” book here and learn how you can turn tragedy into triumph! Thank you for joining us on The Amberly Lago Show: Stories of True Grit and Grace! If you find value in today’s episode, don’t forget to share the show with your friends and tap that subscribe button so you don’t miss an episode! You can also head over to amberlylago.com to join my newsletter and access free downloadable resources that can help you elevate your life, business, and relationships! Want to see the behind-the-scenes and keep the conversation going? Head over to Instagram @amberlylagomotivation! Audible @True-Grit-and-Grace-Audiobook Website @amberlylago.com Instagram @amberlylagomotivation Facebook @AmberlyLagoSpeaker
Transcript:
Amberly Lago:
Welcome to The Amberly Lago Show, Stories of True Grit and Grace. Thank you so much for tuning in to The Amberly Lago Show. Today, I have a special guest who has flown in from California, the one and only Snez. I’ve had to practice her name. Say it again.
Snez Veljanovska: Snez.
Amberly Lago: Snash B! See, you say it so well with that beautiful Australian accent. But I need you to grab your notepads and your pens, because if you are ready to shift your mindset, really uplevel your life and your business, increase your confidence, break barriers so you can really thrive in all aspects, in all areas of your life, I have the perfect person here with us today to share exactly how to do that. So thank you so much for coming and thank you. Also, I just have to say thank you for bringing me two of the cutest pairs of jeans that you even got my right size. Y’all, she brought me a gift. She brought me some jeans.
Snez Veljanovska: Thank you. Yeah, you’re welcome. I didn’t even know. I just guesstimated and it was perfect.
Amberly Lago: I’m so excited, so excited about that. I’ve been so excited to get to talk with you and I know that everybody listening is going to so love everything that you have to share. And I was telling you before we started recording that I am super excited, especially after stalking you, that I was like, oh, we have so much in common. Before we start, I would love for you to share. You have said that you’ve hit rock bottom three times. Yep. And the third time you were like, this is it. I’m done. I’m going to do something. There are so many people out there that are going through struggles that they may be at their rock bottom right now. What was the first thing that you did? First of all, what was that rock bottom like for you? And how did you start to climb out of that rock bottom?
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah, for sure. So the first time, I think I thought I did and I was looking more so for a way out. Second time, I was like, same deal, looking for a way out. And you can’t, you can’t. On the third time, I looked for a way through. That was honestly the biggest difference.
Amberly Lago: Wow, I just got goosebumps by the way.
Snez Veljanovska: And that’s all it is though, because on the third time I was like, you know what, I just keep trying to get out of this. And I realized in a moment, and the first thing was truly like awareness and acknowledgement that that is what I needed to do. I actually needed to face it and go through it and understand that I was just not in a good place mentally. And this is the hardest part is when you fully understand that you’re not in a good place mentally, you have to go to that place. and go, gosh, it’s dark. It’s painful. It hurts. It’s all these things. No one gets it, as you think, right? You’re like, I just got to go through it. And that was what I did. I went through it. I really put myself in the deep end with it. I really faced my fears, my shame, my guilt. I faced all of the negative emotions that I had. And I knew that I would feel a little embarrassed at first, and ashamed because I mean I was a professional athlete.
Amberly Lago: I know you were a professional athlete so you went through nine surgeries with your knee and being a professional athlete did you find that you had to almost reinvent or take a look at who you were because I know that when I was, you know, in the fitness industry and I was doing infomercials and in shape magazine and health magazine and on the label of vitamins companies and After my motorcycle accident, I had to like take a look at, I felt like I lost my identity of who I was. Do you feel that you had to do the same, like kind of reinvent who you were?
Snez Veljanovska: For sure. And I think we always get lost in either people, relationships, our job, whatever. Like we just get lost in it and we start to identify with that. When we’re identifying with a relationship, with a job role, with a sport, you become it. Like, hey, this is my name. I’m a soccer player. yeah like but you’re not i’m just a person who plays soccer i am this who does this and i think we get caught up in that so for me it was like i did lose my identity in that a lot of this stems from like below that right it’s like where does the not good enough of just being who I was at my core. Where did that come from? And that has to come from like a childhood. And I just didn’t have the true support from my parents that I wanted, because as a female, 25 years ago playing a boy sport, right? A male dominant sport was not really accepted. Wow. Right? Women didn’t make money. Not like they do today. They definitely weren’t making then. And I was lucky if I got paid anything. I truly did it because I loved it. And I just wanted the support from people around me who I loved to understand that. But they were like, but you’re playing, you’re never going to get paid. So then you start to go, well, now this is bringing up, well, and what I’m, you know, you don’t love me enough. to allow me to be who I want to be and do what I want to do because I’m damn good at it. And they just didn’t have that. So for me, it was very much about like, I’m going to prove them wrong. And so I had a little chip on my shoulder going, you know, I’m going to keep playing and keep playing. I don’t care if you don’t come to one game. And so I did. But little did I know that I was going, I still carried a lot of that. I’m not good enough. I’m not good enough. And so I identified with the sport, identified with that feeling. when I lost the sport so second ACL is what kind of made me realize you know what maybe maybe my time’s up and I can go to other things you know I had I was fortunate enough to have that drive to at least want to go to university at the same time as playing I had jobs while I was playing so I had ambition regardless yeah and I developed that and I didn’t want to be the player that once they retire They’re going, what do I do now? Yeah. So that’s why I did other things.
Amberly Lago: And the good thing about that was good for you for understanding that though, that you didn’t, that you knew that and that you did something about it. Cause a lot of people don’t.
Snez Veljanovska: No, no. Well, and that’s because they’re so invested and that’s great that they’re invested, but you, you know, again, when you’re not getting paid much, you don’t have a choice. You’ve got to live. And I was like getting into my early twenties and I knew that if I wanted to travel, if I wanted to buy things, if I wanted to go anywhere, needed to make money.
Amberly Lago: So, and you know what, that was the same for me when I was a professional dancer, I, always had gigs, but I always had a side hustle. So I could, I knew I had some sort of income always coming in.
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah. Yeah. Makes a big difference. And so like, when I, when I decided that I was going to stop, I was like, well, who am I now? You know, like, I don’t even know what I’m really about. And so.
Amberly Lago: Is that what led you to rock bottom is when you were going through that?
Snez Veljanovska: Two parts, right? So usually you will put your purpose wherever else. So I then put my purpose in a relationship. And that was actually what drew me to my lowest point because deception came with it, right? Lies came with it, which brought up the same feeling. Am I not good enough for the truth? Am I not good enough to be told really how someone feels? Like, why do they have to go and cheat on me just to kind of make that apparent? So then I had to go down that. So for me, it was like, it always came back to that feeling. I’m not good enough because I’m not good enough for love. I’m not good enough for honesty. I’m not good enough for all these things. And I started to realize that I was relying on external validation to understand if I was good enough. So. I came over to the States and I lost everything. And what made me hit rock bottom is losing everything. I lost the relationships. I lost my money. I lost friends. I lost everything. I lost my sport. I lost my capability. And it was like on my last point, and I remember driving down a freeway. I don’t even remember what freeway was. I was driving at about 110
Amberly Lago: Was this in LA? Did you come to LA first from Australia?
Snez Veljanovska: Yes, I came straight to LA. I knew maybe one person. I had a job and I lost the job because of whatever reasons at the time. There were so many things that I was continuously losing, but I didn’t realize I was losing it until it was gone. I was one of those, and I was driving down this freeway, it was 110, and I remember the numbers just going higher and higher on the screen. It was like 100, 105, 108, 110, 112. And my friend from Australia, she calls me, and I never pick up the phone when I’m in that dark place. Like, you’re just looking for the way out. Again, I was looking for the way out. I was looking for my car to go over something or hit something or whatever. Like I wanted that to happen. I truly wanted that to happen. And she calls me, I see her name pop up on the screen. I’m like, you know what? One last call, right? One last call. I pick it up. She goes, what are you doing? I was like, I’m driving. And she goes, and then she just started asking me, what’s around you? What do you see? What do you feel? And I’m like, I mean, it’s fast, you know, like just the simple things, right?
Amberly Lago: That like makes me tear up because
Snez Veljanovska: She saved your life. She did. Yeah. She saved my life. And she was one of, you know, I, it was crazy is about eight years prior. I saved hers. Wow. Yeah. So when she asked me all these questions, like, why are you asking me dumb questions? She goes, how fast are you going now? And I’d slow down all the way. I’d slow down. And I drove back to my apartment and I got a phone. And the very first thing I said, didn’t say anything to anyone else called my next, my other best friend. And I said, I need help. That’s it. I just need help. Ironically, the therapist that I found was down the stairs of my apartment, up the stairs of the next building, and he changed my life.
Amberly Lago: Wow. But that took such an awakening and such courage to say, I need help, especially when you’re tough and you’re an athlete. You’re not like for me, the thing that changed my life because I was also like suicidal and it was one phone call that I was like, I need help. Yes, I need help. And so I encourage Anyone who is like really challenged right now or they’re having those feelings to ask for help because it is life changing. It is truly life changing. Yeah. And I love that you bring up that you went to therapy like, you know, a while ago that was like, oh, you don’t want to talk about it. going to therapy now I’m like oh no I have a therapist I have a coach I have a mastermind I’ve got a sponsor I’ve got like I need it all I need it all so I love that that you share that and I also love that you talk about the importance of mindset and And again, we were talking before we started the interview, I was like, oh yeah, I talked about mindset and how important it is. And I got a lot of haters that came out of the woodworks when I started talking about how mindset is what helps me get through pain. But can you talk about, like, how does someone start to shift their mindset? So, okay, for example, if you’re working with somebody and they have a negative mindset, what is the first thing you start to share with them to help them get a more, to shift their mindset, to get a more positive mindset?
Snez Veljanovska: Well, first I try to help them understand what they have, right? Like, so we kind of, everyone understands. And how do you do that? Through gratitude, for sure. Like, I’m like, what, what’s good in your life? Like, tell me one thing that’s good. And they’re like, there’s nothing good in my life. Like one thing, you have to find one thing. I didn’t care what it is. And they’ll mention something like, well, you know, like I’ve got a pretty good home. Okay, great. What else is good in your life? And they’ll tell me another thing like, okay, what else? And I’ll just keep going down the list until they’ve labeled every single thing that’s good. And then I’ll be like, why are you so focused on the bad? because that’s where you’re at. Like you have such a closed mind to what you don’t have in your life or what you aren’t yet that you don’t even allow yourself to open up to opportunity. And then I’ll tell them you’re in your own way. You truly are. You’re standing in your own way and you will always be, you’re going to basically be the bottleneck in whatever journey you want to go on or whatever success you’re trying to find. So I always say this to people, you know, Like a lot of the time, it doesn’t matter what it is that you’re looking for. Once you get it, you’re going to want something else anyway. It doesn’t really matter. So for you to shift your mindset, one, you have to have an open mind. Yeah. You just have to have an open mind. Like what is possible? Like there’s an endless amount out there. We can have whatever we want. That’s the crazy part. Anything you want, you can have anything if you actually believe it to be true. And what I love about like Steve Harvey, when he says this, he goes, if you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand. Like that’s it. But people don’t think it’s possible. They’re like, nah, that’s not me. No, I can’t change that.
Amberly Lago: I’ll never think that way. It’s so true though. Ever since I was a little girl, if I could see something happening, it would happen. And I know that to be true. And I mean, from, for instance, if I could, I was a dancer and if I could see myself doing five pirouettes, I could do five pirouettes. If I couldn’t, I couldn’t do it. And still to this day, I had a sticky note on my computer of my next book, Joy Through the Journey. And I had that sticky note on my computer. So I saw it every day. It was on the back burner. But I also knew I was like, I want Wiley Publishers. I want them to publish my book. Lo and behold, I get an email from Wiley saying, Hey, we’d like to do a book deal with you. Dang. It’s like, if you can see it, it is powerful and you can have it. What would you say to somebody who is having trouble believing that? How do you encourage them?
Snez Veljanovska: I think that it’s so important to have a coach or someone in your corner, okay? It doesn’t matter who it is. If it’s not a coach, it’s a mentor. If it’s not a mentor, it’s a teacher. It’s someone that can be in your corner that wants the best for you. You have to just believe in their belief in you. You’re not going to believe in it. You’re just not.
Amberly Lago: You know what? That’s so good. You are so good. I really believe in that, what you just said, because I think sometimes we need people to believe in us before we can believe in ourselves. We need that encouragement, that belief in us. And that’s what can change our life. And so I love that here you coach so many people. You’ve got your own, you know, athletics coaching community. It’s huge, but you still have a coach. I still have a coach. I have my own mastermind, but I run my own mastermind. I think that’s so important. And I think that when people invest in themselves, it helps them to feel more worthy because they’re saying, Hey, I’m worthy of investing in this.
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah, it’s definitely a worth like when you’re putting, especially when you’re putting money behind you, right? You know, you know, you’re going to do it for starters, because you go, okay, well, I’m going to, I’m going to invest in myself, which means that I have a bit of that belief there. I’m still like skeptical, but I have a little bit of that belief there. So I’ll take the action. And then whoever it is that you’re investing with, they’ll go, here’s the path. Walk the damn path, but take action, right? Obviously, we have to understand that execution is absolutely critical. Believing in something and doing nothing is pointless, right? Because then you’re just hoping that the fairies are going to come in. You have to understand that you have to take action. You have to make moves. Whatever it is asked of you, you have to go and do it. It’s kind of like at the gym, right? If you’re at the gym and you have a trainer, and you’re lifting 25s and the trainer goes, come on, try 30s. And you’re like, oh, I don’t know. You’re like, yeah, yeah, you can do it. All it takes is that, you can do it. The two most powerful words in the world is show me. Come on, show me. And you’ll be like, okay, I got it. And then they’ll be like, I just want to show them that I can. So anytime I would see anyone throughout my whole, like I’ve been in fitness for 20 years. Anytime I saw someone that like doubted, 20 years. That’s what I thought. I started really young. Anytime I saw someone that was like doubting if they could lift a weight, I’m like, come on, just try, show me. and then they would just try it, and then we would do it. Because they were like, well, she believes in me, and now she’s challenging me, and now I want to prove her wrong, so then should they go and do it?
Amberly Lago: Well, I love that, but I have to say, I often get the most motivated when I have somebody say, oh, you can’t do that. Yeah. I’m like, oh, really? I’m going to show them I can do it.
Snez Veljanovska: You know what I mean? They’re definitely not advocating for you. That’s for sure. And we need those people, though. We want those people to say, I don’t think you can. And you’ll never meet anyone that’s doing better than you. I will honestly say that to you.
Amberly Lago: You are exactly right. And that’s why it’s so important to surround yourself with the right people on that topic. How important is it to you to make sure that you’re surrounding yourself with the right people?
Snez Veljanovska: Uh, it’s funny. I actually saw Gary V post this thing today and it’s of a ripe orange and it’s next to another orange and it’s ripening the orange next to it. But the ones behind it are really good. They’re fresh. You put yourself next to shit. You’re going to turn into shit.
Amberly Lago: Uh huh.
Snez Veljanovska: That’s just how it is. For me, I know that if my circle isn’t like in line and wanting me to win, understands the vision, understands that they got to kind of keep up with their own core values and that everybody’s got to be doing what they’re doing, obviously not 100% of the time, but up there, like it’s so important because if we want success, you have to surround yourself with success. And if you want to be average, then cool, but stay around average and be okay with that. I think it’s one of the most important things in life is to know who is in your circle, who are the closest people to you. What are you listening to?
Amberly Lago: Yeah, it makes all the difference when you uplevel your circle. And that is why I think it’s so important to get in the room to the right events, to the right masterminds and surround yourself with the right people. And I mean, we were talking about this and it’s like, Yeah, like just being at the Fit Body headquarters and meeting our friend Bryce Henson was like amazing and all the things that we’ve done together. You never know what amazing things can happen when you get in the right room with the right people.
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah. And I want to add to that though, because so many people are in the right room with the right people, but they stay quiet. Yeah. And that just annoys me because it’s like, if you’re going to be there, you’ve got opportunity at every single person. Just go up to them, meet them, say hi, see what they’re all about, ask them questions, but everyone’s so shy. Oh man, like not me.
Amberly Lago: No, not you, but not me. I was talking to other people in here. I was like, oh, you need to stay and watch her interview. She’s famous. Like, I don’t think he believes you. I’m like, I’m not, I’m not afraid to. Yeah.
Snez Veljanovska: to go and talk to people. And that’s why your, but that’s why your audience, your masterminds, this is why they’re successful because look at who they’re looking at. They’re like, okay, I got to model her. You know, you’re willing to speak to people. You’re willing to show up for people. You’re willing to ask questions. You have a very welcoming nature. People in your mastermind will adopt that because that’s what you are.
Amberly Lago: You know?
Snez Veljanovska: Thank you. Yeah. And I think that that’s what, and that’s why I love when I, when I get to be in a room, I’ll be quiet at first and I’ll observe. I’m like, who’s the person I need to go and meet. And then I’ll just go up to them. I’m like, Hey, I’m, I’m, this is who I am. And you know, I think that we, we miss opportunities because we’re like holding back. We’re like, well, I’m just, I’m just nobody, or I’m just this. And that’s again, the insecurity that comes back to the mindset. Just do the shit that’s uncomfortable. Yep. Just do it. Put yourself in the right room, go and meet that person, introduce, collaborate, network, call them later, go out for a coffee. You’re done. You’re good. You’re going to make that connection. Yeah. And you just don’t know that through that connection could lead you to another. This is what we talked about before. It’s the ripple effect, right? You drop, you drop a, you know, just one drop of water. You just don’t know where it’s going to go. It’s going to end up somewhere, but you have to believe in what am I going to do today? Who am I going to meet? What impact can I make today? If I knew that in a hundred days, 200 days in a year’s time, I would be in a very different position. What would you do today? It has to be something like that.
Amberly Lago: Yeah. But you know what? There are a lot of people that they don’t even feel like they’re worthy enough. They’re like, Oh, I mean, I, I just, collaborated with somebody who’s sending me a lot of amazing gifts for the swag bag. Oh, what camera am I looking at? For the swag bag for the next event. Nice. And I was like, well, let me give you a VIP ticket to the event. Thank you for sending me all this swag. And they were hesitant about it. They were like, Oh, I don’t know. I just don’t know if I’m right to be in that room. And I’m like, No, take the chance. You are worthy of being in the room, especially the rooms that I create, like we all come together. What do you say to somebody who is like, they don’t feel worthy, how to get over that mindset hurdle and think, I am worthy.
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah. Well, for starters, I think it’s amazing when people are givers, right? Like this person. And if you’re a giver, you also need to understand that it’s okay for you to receive. It’s a way of accepting gratitude. I think people want to give, give, give, but they never want to get back. But that’s how it is. Give, give, give, get back. and then continue the cycle. But when it is given back to you, you have to be open to receiving it. Now, yes, some people don’t want to, or maybe they don’t feel worthy of it, but this is why personal development is so incredibly important. And personal development is body, mind, and soul. Right? Without your mind connecting to your body, your body connecting to your soul, there’s never going to be that correlation. You have to understand that you’ve got to do personal development. That is the physical work, right? Whatever you like to do for physical work, if it’s sport, if it’s fitness, if it’s the gym, if it’s whatever, physical work is always going to be important. You have to understand that your body needs nourishment. Do nutrition. Prioritize what you’re feeding your body. Because what you feed your body, you’re also feeding your brain. So understand that there is that correlation. And then when it comes to your soul, you have to do something that understands that there is some form of a higher power, like a greater source out there. And whatever your belief is, whatever your faith is, whatever that looks like for you, tap into it, practice it, and understand that there is always going to be something bigger than us. Always. Like we’re just here. You know, like every single person is here for a purpose. But then sometimes people just are here to exist. Once you understand you’re not just here to exist, you’re here to live out a purpose, you understand that there’s something bigger than you. So you’re never going to feel insecure if you are on your path. if you’re actually going, this is what I’m made for. This is how I’m meant to do it. And you show up confidently at that. Like I’m confident and people think that I was just like born this way. I was like, no, I created it. Everyone that has confidence created it.
Amberly Lago: And constantly works at it because in my experience, confidence can get kicked right out of you and it’s up to us to constantly rebuild it and work on it and do that before we need it. Yes. You know?
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah. Yeah. And I, you know, it’s kind of with your book with the joy and the journey. Like when people talk about joy, and I always say this, like no one should ever chase happiness because sadness follows, right? But when we’re chasing joy, we’re looking at what kind of lessons did I learn in this? Yes, there’s some pain there, but what’s the purpose in the pain? There’s some struggle there. What’s the strength in that struggle? That’s what people miss, but that’s the joy.
Amberly Lago: That’s so good. Mic drop on that right there. Mic drop on that. Well, um, I, I just love everything that you’ve had to share. And I have a whole list of questions and I haven’t even looked down at all, uh, from these questions. Um, but there are a lot of people that come to you and they do want to transform their bodies and their lives. Yep. What is the most common question or struggle actually that you have with new clients that come to you? Is it weight loss? Is it muscle gain? What is it?
Snez Veljanovska: A lot of people have tried something before and it’s failed and they just want to feel good in their skin, right? Like it’s not necessarily about the weight on the scale for them. It’s more about like they want to love their body. They want to look in the mirror and love what they see. Now, is that specifically a number? Not really, but it doesn’t mean less body fat. Yeah. Right. Like that’s one of the biggest things that we should be chasing is more muscle mass, less body fat. That’s how you’re going to run away from illness and disease. Now, most people come to me because their struggle is I’ve tried everything. Nothing works. I’m like, you haven’t tried me though. So you haven’t tried everything.
Amberly Lago: Yeah. Cause you’re known as the no BS coach. And once people find you, they’ll never need another coach because you make the change. And I think a lot of that is because you start with a mindset.
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah, so yeah, and that is my mission. My mission is to be the last coach that people need. So I don’t want them to leave any of my coaching with another question. I want them to know their body. I want them to know their mind. I want them to know their weaknesses more than anything so that they don’t regress. Because regressions are huge. People try something, go back to the start. Try the next thing, go back to the start. Because we live in a world of misinformation. There’s so much out there. You could try every diet under the sun, It’s probably not going to work. no matter what fad you chase, it’s probably not going to work. People don’t understand that they need to be chasing sustainability. That’s really what’s going to help them continue the path. So once, once people come to me, they’re like, well, I’ve tried everything. Okay. Well, you know, have you just tried, you know, balanced eating, like just eating a balanced diet? Have you ever tried really understanding why you go to some of this emotional eating that you do? Like, let’s, let’s tackle that. Right. Let’s talk about the binge eating. Let’s talk about the stress eating. Let’s talk about all these cravings you’re getting. Cause those are coming from something. Most of the time, they’re coming from a trauma or a trigger. We don’t realize how much we emotionally eat because that little inner child. That little inner child did it. It was a reward or it was a punishment when you’re a kid. You know, you be good, we’ll go get some fast food. If you’re bad, you’re not eating. All right, if you don’t eat that, you’re not eating at all. Like there’s just too much of that when we’re younger. And then once we have the freedom to choose as an adult, rarely do we make a good choice.
Amberly Lago: Oh yeah. And I mean, growing up, I always thought you have to clean your plate. Like it was such a scarcity mindset of you need to clean your plate. You’re lucky that you have this food and so you need to eat it all. And we would have to sit there until we ate all our food. And I was like, I don’t want to raise my kids like that. I don’t raise my kids. I didn’t, haven’t raised my kids that way, but yeah.
Snez Veljanovska: It’s crazy when they do that. Cause it’s like, how do you expect people to have a good relationship with food if you’re going to talk about it like that? Yeah. You know, like food is a nourishment. That’s it. It’s just a nourishment. It’s, it’s, how do we, how do we understand nutrition in a way that’s like, I want to eat to fuel my body for the job that I do, the way I live my life. what I need to actually do, my goals. That’s it. You should be using it for the body you want, not the body you have.
Amberly Lago: Exactly. And you know, I look at it as nourishment. And I mean, even when I go, so I travel a ton for speaking and I always take my own food with me. I take chomps. I take, I’m not affiliated. You brought some grapes with you here. Oh yeah. I was like, I love grapes. Well, you know why I brought grapes is because grapes, For some reason, if you’re going to be speaking, grapes allow you to speak and not have a dry mouth. That was what one of my coaches taught me in the very beginning. But yeah, I always have food. I always take nuts. I’ve got nuts in the car. I take my protein powder and I take my supplements. I take my wellness shot. I still take the Trulene wellness shot, which I love. I take my gut health stuff and I look at it as nourishment. And I want to feel good and do good. And the better I feel, the more good I can do in the world. And so it’s very, it’s not just about how you look, but it’s how you feel. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Um, what is, uh, your morning routine look like? I’m curious because you, I see all your videos and y’all, she’s got some guns on her. Your your body is amazing. Thank you. But what is your morning routine? What does that look like?
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah, so I wake up at the same time every day, Monday to Sunday. So that’s 5am. I love waking up at 5am. There’s a guy that I followed from for a very long time and he had an Instagram called before 5am success. I remember that. He’s Australian. And I loved his stuff. And I was like, okay, so does that mean I have to wake up at 5am or before 5am? And he basically says that like to be, you know, the whole idea is to get up, um, and, and get to work. So I always wake up at the same time. I always get at least 20 ounces of water. And that’s because I want to rehydrate my body and my brain. And then I will do 20 ounces, 20 ounces. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Amberly Lago: I tell the guys 16, I’m going to up it now. I got to up it to 20 ounces.
Snez Veljanovska: Okay. And then, um, I will do some journaling. I’m big on journaling. Um, and I love to make sure that my mind’s in a good place because I want to understand that I have to share a good message for the day, right? And I like to be, you know, I want to be current as well. So I want to try and share something that maybe I’ve been thinking about, something that’s kind of like sitting on my mind. And I also don’t want to carry on anything negative from previous days. So I’ll journal about it. I’ll then read something. I love reading. What do you read? I love reading the Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday. Oh, okay.
Amberly Lago: And so he is all about- I’ve read Daily Reflections. Love it. So I was like, okay, what is this one? I got to write that down.
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah, yeah, you do. It’s an incredible book. It’s all about ancient philosophy. So we’re talking way back when. Yeah, it’s all ancient philosophy. And so every single day, it’s something from Seneca or Marcus Aurelius. Yeah. And so it breaks down what they’ve said and then what they mean. And you kind of gives you a lot of ideas about like, wow, like what life was like and how it can still be applied. I’m going to order that. Yes, please, please do. So, um, I, I read that every single day and I don’t miss, and then I will go and share typically something on, on social media. So I’ll share a message and some of them are hard hits. I’m not going to lie. Like I’m not, I’m not like someone that’s going to sugar coat anything. I’ll just say it how it is. If people aren’t eating right, I’ll tell them you’re just not, you know, you’re not, you’re not doing it right. Right. Like, I’m not going to kind of like be like, well, you could try this instead. I’m not like that. I just like to say it how it is. So I’ll share a message and then I’m off to the gym to do a workout.
Amberly Lago: I love that. And I am so I’m the same way. Like when I coach, I’m not one of these coaches that’s like, well, let me ask you some questions about that. It’s like very like, no, don’t do that. It’s not going to work. Do this. Yes. Yeah. You know, but I do, I have to get straight to the point. I don’t want to beat around the bush. I want to get straight to the point and get straight to results.
Snez Veljanovska: But that’s what good coaches do though. They, they keep you away from the shitty things you’re doing or they keep you away from the bad plan that you have. That’s why you said don’t do that. right? That’s not working and it won’t work because it hasn’t worked. Yeah. Let’s do this instead.
Amberly Lago: Yeah. And I only know because I’ve done it and failed at it and I don’t want them to fail at it. So let me give you the shortcut, you know? Yeah. So yeah, I always love to hear, um, what somebody else’s morning ritual is like, and mine is very similar. Now I’m going to up my water intake for sure. 20 ounces. Got to do that. Uh, yeah. And what is your legacy?
Snez Veljanovska: Well, I mean, I would love to try and save as many people as I can from themselves. Right. So I think a lot of the time, like we started at the beginning of this, a lot of people don’t know how to get out of a bad place. Right. And unfortunately, I’ve lost people to that. One very, very important person I lost last year and I didn’t even know that they were suffering to the degree that they were. And I really wish that I can bring as much awareness to as many people as possible that they can get out of it, but not just get out of it, right? They can actually thrive because of it. So that’s really what I’ve done now. I love my life. I love everything that I do. I’m super grateful. And I continue to grow because I know what the opposite’s like. I know what it’s like to be down there. And so I want people to remember and to know that if I can do it, they can do it. I’m no different to anyone else. It’s just my mindset. It’s really that.
Amberly Lago: Well, you are doing that and how you show up and inspire and motivate and offer so much wisdom through your journey and all you’ve learned along the way. And, you know, you’ve shared that, you know, we we heal and then we help others. And I do believe that. And I do believe that you are helping so many out there. Can you share with listeners today, the best way for people to get involved with your coaching program if they want to learn more about nutrition and change their lives by changing their nutrition and really nourish their body. Your programs that you offer, what’s the best way to find you?
Snez Veljanovska: Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram. It’s at snezv, which is S-N-E-Z-V. I’ll probably be one of the main ones on there. You can also find me on my website, snezv.com. That’s where you can actually learn about the people that I’ve worked with. You can see some of their stories. You can also get an experience of what it is that I actually do. So building mental fortitude, building understanding around nutrition and what your body needs for you. That’s huge for that. Now, everything I do is very custom. It is all going to be between me and the person because I don’t like to have a one size fits all. I like to have an approach that’s just for each individual that I work with. And that’s where you can apply. You can also reach out to me on Instagram. That’s the best way to find me. Oh, you’re amazing.
Amberly Lago: Thank you. Thank you so much for flying in. Wish I could get on the plane with you and go visit California. Thank y’all so much for tuning in to the Amberly Lago Show. Make sure take a screenshot of this and tag us on your Instagram because when I see that, I share it in my story. Let’s create that ripple effect and really impact people in the most positive way possible. And just thank you so much for being here. being on. Thank you all for tuning in and we’ll see you next week.
