Take Charge with Julie Morris
Nov 22, 2019
Welcome to Take Charge!, a series of interviews with some of our favorite health and wellness thought leaders. Each post features advice on topics like longevity, nutrition, exercise, and physical optimization. You'll also receive guidance on how to follow through with your goals and work through feelings of fear and doubt. Plus, we compiled the best tips in this free ebook - click here to download it.
Today we're featuring Julie Morris, a passionate wellness advocate who believes we can build a better quality of life through what we put on our plate. Considered a pioneer in the realm of superfood and nootropic cooking, Julie explores the world’s most powerful plants through her work as a natural food chef, New York Times bestselling author, and founder of the superfood education center, Luminberry. Her new book, Smart Plants, is a deep look into how to optimize brain performance using a special collection of natural foods.
Whitney and Jason met Julie in 2010 through the Natural Products Expo. Her sweet spirit and joyful laugh are contagious and her wisdom about nutrition is impressive. Below she shares valuable perspective on topics like working through self-doubt and fear, creating positive productivity and daily momentum, focusing on nutrition instead of calories, prioritizing travel, and using customer feedback effectively, along with her secret to success.
Julie's Tips on How To Take Charge Of Your Life:
-
Julie believes the pursuit of a long, happy life is strongly supported by holding a “more plants” credo. She says, "The further we veer from the natural world the more problems we will inevitably run into. Eat more plants, grow more plants, live with more plants, spend more time amongst plants. Plants support wellness on every level: physically, mentally, and soulfully. In my life, plants are a definitive priority: I incorporate a wide variety of plants into my daily diet, I garden regularly to get my hands in the dirt and help things grow, I put copious plants inside my home to connect with the outside, and a large part of my recreation time is spent in nature."
-
As a massive believer in the power of micro-goals, Julie has found that "every big, far-flung dream is really just a collection of small, totally doable goals. I work on a lot of long-term projects that can take months or even years to complete. Each has a lot of moving parts that have the potential to be utterly overwhelming if looked at all together. So to keep sane and motivated, my simple secret to success is “morning lists.” At the beginning of each day, I create a fresh goal sheet with a list of all the small things I want to achieve that day – nothing long-term allowed! This provides a real sense of internal momentum even when the progress is hard to see from the outside; it forces me to recognize I am in fact getting things done. Plus, the satisfying dopamine surge from crossing things off my paper list with a fat inky pen never gets old.
-
Anxiety is something Julie intimately familiar with. "I understand the destructive and paralyzing thoughts that can accompany the feeling of being out of control. During these times of deep self-doubt and fear, the most important tool I have is asking myself “what’s something positive/productive I can do?” … and then double down on pursuing that activity with my very best effort. For example, after a lucrative career opportunity fell through last year and sent my stress levels through the roof (and my confidence plunging), I just dug my heels in and worked on retesting recipes for my new book, pouring as much care and creativity as I had into the process. The small success of engaging in a productive activity acts as a mental reset and is a great remedy for getting back into an “I got this” mindset. In other words, "doing" can be a great remedy for (over)thinking."
-
The best way to achieve sustainable and healthy physical condition: Don’t count calories, count micronutrients. Micronutrient quantity is the crystal ball into how healthy a food really is, and what it can do for your body and wellness as a whole.
-
Being a great listener is Julie's best advice for learning how to make money by sharing your knowledge and passions. "Never miss an opportunity to understand your audience/customers better. Whether I’m talking shop with a friend, reading a customer email, or taking questions after a presentation, I’m always listening to what people respond to and why. I even have an ongoing document on my computer entitled “feedback” where I jot down what people have said (both good and bad). This has enabled me to pick projects and create work that my customer base seems to genuinely want ... and will hopefully buy."
- Julie a work-first, play-later person. "If I’m not careful, it’s easy for me to forget to stop and smell the roses. The only way I can ensure the trips I crave actually happen is by financially committing to them far in advance, through purchasing a ticket or making a reservation. Once it’s paid for and on the calendar, it feels immobile, and I’ll schedule around it ... and the carrot of upcoming playtime is always a great boost for the psyche, too."
Want more tips to help you take charge of your life?
Click here to receive a free ebook with advice from health and wellness thought leaders who want to help you thrive. Uplevel and get more consistent with a balanced diet, impactful fitness routine, and positive mental health practices. Find the motivation to achieve your goals and release feelings of doubt, fear, stress, and anxiety. Gain clarity, a sense of purpose and the drive to follow through so you can take charge of your life like never before!
Get more from Julie on her website, Instagram, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Twitter.
disclosure: when books and other resources are recommended, we may use affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something after clicking on it, we may receive a small financial commission (at no additional cost to you). This is a great way for you to support us, so thanks for trusting our recommendations!