The Fearless Road

12. PART 2 - From Broadway Lights to Botanical Delights: Maria Failla's Journey Through Plant Parenthood and 'Plantpreneurship'

• Michael D Devous Jr • Season 2 • Episode 12

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In this episode of The Fearless Road Podcast, host Michael Devous continues his conversation with Maria Failla, the plant killer turned plant lady and host of the top-rated houseplant podcast, Growing Joy with Plants. They dive deeper into the connection between nature and personal growth, exploring how spending time in nature can help us reconnect with ourselves and find our authentic voice. They discuss the concept of attention restoration theory and how modern life has led to an imbalance between direct and involuntary attention. Maria shares personal anecdotes and practical tips for incorporating more nature into our lives, even in small ways. They also delve into the transformative power of journaling and vision boarding to reconnect with our passions and purpose.

Key Highlights:

  • The Connection Between Nature and Personal Growth: Explore how spending time in nature can benefit mental and emotional well-being, creativity, and productivity.
  • Attention Restoration Theory: Understand the difference between direct and involuntary attention and how finding a balance can lead to greater happiness and fulfillment.
  • Practical Tips for Incorporating Nature: Learn simple ways to incorporate nature into your daily life, such as looking at a plant first thing in the morning, taking walks in the woods, or even just putting your bare feet on the grass.
  • Journaling and Vision Boarding: Discover how these practices can help you connect with your inner self, clarify your values, and reignite your passion.
  • The Ascend Hub: A Community for Growth and Connection: Learn how The Ascend Hub can provide support and resources for those seeking to reconnect with nature and foster personal growth.

Quotes:

  • Maria Failla: "Nature is the ultimate nervous system regulator. We are nature."
  • Michael Devous: "Our bodies, our nervous system, ourselves, crave being in nature, because we are natural."
  • Maria Failla: "Getting into nature, going for walks in the woods... that was a huge thing that I did... nature just kind of lets you be who you are, where you are in that moment."
  • Michael Devous: "Even the act of simply putting your hand and touching a tree, like even for just three seconds, it literally resets your mind."
  • Maria Failla: "Leave your phone alone in the morning, look at a plant, go spend time in nature before you look at a screen... it is such a simple thing that is so hard to do."

Key Takeaways:

  • Spending time in nature can be a powerful tool for personal growth, self-discovery, and reconnecting with our authentic selves.
  • Incorporating even small amounts of nature into your daily routine can have a significant positive impact on your well-being.
  • Journaling and vision boarding can help you clarify your values, identify your passions, and set meaningful goals.
  • The Ascend Hub provides a supportive community and resources for those seeking to incorporate more nature into their lives and foster personal growth.
  • Taking the time to disconnect from technology and engage with nature can lead to increased creativity, productivity, and overall happiness.

Important Links:

  • The Ascend Hub: https://theascendhub.com/
  • Growing Joy with Plants Podcast: https://growingjoywithmaria.com/podcast/
  • Growing Joy with Plants Book: https://a.co/d/aNZsY9L
Speaker 1:

Michael Davout. Hey there everybody, and welcome to the Fearless Road podcast, where we explore entrepreneurial insights, stories and advice on embracing fear, breaking boundaries and achieving goals on the road to success. I'm your host, Michael Davout, and after years of overcoming obstacles and tragedy, I began to wonder how does someone become fearless? Well, that's exactly what we're going to find out. In every episode, we dive into the lives of individuals who've learned to turn fear into fuel, face some incredible challenges and cultivate a fearless mindset while navigating their fearless road. So join me for in-depth interviews with some amazing people where we investigate more deeply the valleys on their road to success, because the valleys are where character is built, foundations are laid and where the fearless are born. Welcome to the Fearless Road Podcast. And now we're back with part two of the interview with Maria Faella. When we left, we were asking the question what it's like to leave Broadway and literally move into the woods.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, first off, I feel like there was a lot of processing of grief in that transition that the Plants really helped me with. You know, I don't know if I would have ever been brave enough to walk away from my career if it hadn't been for COVID-19. So I was very, you know, I was thriving in my in my performing career. I had just gotten off tour, I had gotten into another show in New York city and COVID happened and my show closed three nights, three nights before opening.

Speaker 2:

Um, and this was a show, this was a theater that I had been auditioning for for 10 years, like it was an ultimate dream of mine that I finally booked it. It felt so aligned my idol was the director of the show Like there were just so many things that were like, oh my God, this is it. And then it just got like ripped out from under me and my brain kind of broke. And then, obviously, like COVID-19, that will also break your brain, and I lived in New York City, so that also just is anyone living in New York City like the level of trauma that we just had to process? Living there is it's compounded in y'all's's situation.

Speaker 1:

I say y'all because I'm from the south. We, we had land we can get out and walk. We had 500 square feet.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it was, it was, it was rough and I also was getting married at the time and so we had to cancel our wedding. So in one foul swoop I lost my job, we had to cancel our wedding and rep and we uh had to reschedule our wedding three times. And then we also decided, once I lost my job and I didn't really have a means of income anymore because I had started the podcast as a pure passion project, like I never thought that I would become a. I didn't think it was possible to like make money, like become a professional planty podcaster, like what the hell that's so weird.

Speaker 1:

So, um well, this was pre COVID podcasting. Most of us thought, oh, that's right, exactly, unless you're at like a major, you know, network.

Speaker 2:

you can't really make a full time living out of it. So it was just supposed to be like something on the side for fun that I was doing, um, and so you know, I, I, I say that just you know, to be very transparent and honest, that I, I had a lot of stuff taken away from me at that time which forced me to walk away. It wasn't necessarily that I had this like very empowered brave, brave.

Speaker 1:

you know I'm in the show and I think you know, no, I'm, I'm leaving and I'm very well, and let me interrupt you there because, well, I don't want you to diminish the diminish the bravery that you faced as a result of the circumstances that were presented to you. I mean, everybody has different circumstances thrust upon them, whether by invitation or intention, totally, and that journey we take once we meet that moment, what we do with it from there were forward bad words is still brave and still shows a certain fearlessness. And I think, regardless of how it was presented to you and the circumstances were brought to you for your transition, you still had to make the choices and you still had to live through those circumstances. So please don't diminish that for yourself.

Speaker 2:

No, I appreciate you saying that actually, because I think there were so many opportunities when things went wrong with the, you know, with the podcast, with the book, with this, with that, that I could have like totally given up. And just, you know, I joke that when I, when my show got canceled, I just like drank Aperol spritzes and cried in my bathtub for 60 days straight Like I was a wreck for two months.

Speaker 1:

That was my COVID, yeah, my COVID. I didn't even have a room, I know. I was like okay enough with the Afrol Spritzes.

Speaker 2:

Maria, like you have a you're you're not on a good path, so I did. I was brave enough to be like, to pattern, interrupt and be like okay, this is the, this is what life has given me. What am I going to do with it? Am I going to cry and just like stay unemployed and miserable? Or are we going to like shake things up and my, you know, my husband and I decided to move in with my parents for six months to kind of just like reassess, and then we moved actually to the woods, similarly, you know, to to the setup you have Michael Out of an apartment in New York and into the woods and off we go.

Speaker 2:

Yes, exactly, we moved from 500 square feet to five acres in the middle of COVID. At that point I had gotten my book deal, so I was like, oh, this is going to be great. I'm going to move to this log cabin in the woods and I'm going to write my book in the woods and it's going to be amazing which it was. It was very cool, it was very poetic. So, yeah, so fear has played a huge role in this whole transition. I like to say that entrepreneurship feels like you're walking around with no skin on. You are so vulnerable.

Speaker 2:

You are so exposed, especially when you're the center point of your brand. My podcast was me interviewing people, my Instagram, my socials. My book was a self-help book about my experience of using plants to live a happier life, being so exposed like that in. You know and I'm coming from a career where I played other people I didn't have to play myself, I got to step into other roles.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, yes.

Speaker 2:

There was fear associated with that. I had a lot of imposter syndrome. I had a lot of imposter syndrome. I had a lot of like no one's listening to the podcast because of what I'm doing.

Speaker 1:

Everybody's listening because of the guests that I'm getting and I'm going to jump in here real quick because I, as a former performer myself, I talked to Phaedra about this. I think it was in one of our opening interviews that she interviewed me. So both you and I are talking right now about entrepreneurship, right? This is what the show deals with. We talk to entrepreneurs all the time and this is our listener base. In order to be an entrepreneur, you have to expose yourself and all of you to the world, especially in today's versions of entrepreneurs, where branding is you, you're the brand and the founder story yeah, and the founder story, yeah.

Speaker 1:

We have to be so vulnerable in order to tap into that creativity that allows us to become successful entrepreneurs. And when we do that, when we get into that space and that mindset, we're constantly exposed, as though I struggled with identity, in the sense that I was so used to giving everybody a version of myself that fit their need, that fit their circumstance, that fit that show.

Speaker 1:

I didn't know which coat of many colors to put on this time. I didn't know what to do and Phaedra had told me she's like get rid of all of it. Just try to be the most authentic version of you, without that show voice, without that persona, where you talk like this all the time and it's you know.

Speaker 3:

I didn't know how you were big with the radio voice at the start.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I didn't know how to turn it off. I knew how to. It was just so natural for me, did you?

Speaker 2:

is that what you were dealing with too? I'm assuming that was where you were A hundred percent and I think only after over a year.

Speaker 2:

It took me at least a year of not being in the industry to understand how toxic my relationship with the industry was and how I was this like kind of not, I don't want to say worst case version of myself, cause I'm proud of what I did in the industry, but I was so competitive I had no self esteem. I had negative self-esteem because, especially just getting told over and over again you're too fat for this role, you're not pretty enough for this role, you're not this enough for this role.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, cassie, can you please get back in line?

Speaker 2:

Right, exactly that kind of thing. So it was only after I started actually getting out of the industry and realizing what my real personality was, because I was just so obsessed with the casting directors approving of me that I was just doing anything I could to get approval. That's when I really like. I feel like I got so much funnier, I feel like I got so much kinder. I feel like I've always had this big heart that all of a sudden I was able to expose authentically that I wasn't scared.

Speaker 1:

Well, it comes through in your photographs when you're promotional Very rare, you know this. We see photographs all the time people trying to be funny and look fantastic. You know what I mean. But your photos on your website, the joy and the laughter and the energy that comes through in your eyes, the light in your eyes is so there.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, it's so genuine yeah.

Speaker 1:

Thank you.

Speaker 3:

It's so genuine. Yeah, thank you, it's so genuine. You can tell that it lights up your soul and it shines out of every pore.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, it really does. But I also think nature, if you're a listener and you're going through this kind of identity crisis that I think a lot of people go through, especially if you change industries, especially in the States, where your job is such a large part of your identity, like when you travel talk about Italy like your job is not part of your identity if you're Italian but, like in the States, it is um, you know, spending time in nature. So nature is the ultimate nervous system regulator. Um, we are nature, right? Uh, we, I talked about this in my book, but you know what?

Speaker 2:

Our ancestors, ancestors, our grandpa's grandpa, grandpa, grandpa, the originator of our gene pool, gene line they evolved in nature.

Speaker 2:

They were in the woods, they were one with nature and, as society has evolved, we've gotten completely disconnected from it. However, we crave our body, our nervous system, our cells crave being in nature because we also are natural, and I think a lot of us get. I think part of the identity crisis is we're so disconnected from nature that it's harder for us to connect with ourselves, and so, if you are going through this identity crisis, getting into nature, going for walks in the woods that was a huge thing that I did, like I went for walks in the local woods near my house, near my parents' house, every day, just to kind of be with my thoughts. You know, if I had to cry that day, I cried. If I had to giggle that day, I giggled. If I had to be nothing like, if I just had to walk with a deadpan and just not feel emotions, I could do that. And nature just kind of lets you be who you are, where you are in that moment, and I think through and can I that this?

Speaker 1:

I love that you say this because this is one of the things I highlighted. It's my next question up and you're doing such a good job because you are tapping. You must be tapping into what I was thinking because, ladies and gentlemen, I took about 75 notes from this book. There's so much into this. There's so much in this book. It is so deep-rooted. There's so much in this book, so great. But one of the quotes I I wanted you to tell me about and you know that you've led me into this uh, was on, I can't remember the page. Tell us about the time and the average of Americans spend A indoors and expand on this idea of attention, restoration theory and forest bathing.

Speaker 2:

Sure, yeah, okay, perfect. So that is the story I was getting to Forest bathing has anyone heard of forest bathing?

Speaker 3:

I actually did before I read the book.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and I'm so happy that people at least people have heard about it, because I do feel like some magazines have talked about it. Now it is kind of circling up to the top of culture and I hope that everybody learns about it. So yeah, before COVID, there was a kooky study that was like you spend 90% of your time indoors, americans. And now, after COVID, I can't even imagine what that is and I know for me as a you know, solo entrepreneur podcaster, like I could spend, I could not leave my house for three days. I live in the woods, I work by myself, you know I my office is next to my bedroom Like I could just never leave my house, right.

Speaker 1:

Well, how many of us just learned how to begin doing that in a deeper level, like before. We spent all this time indoors and in front of our computer screens or whatever. Now, with binge watching, netflix, with remote work and everything, how much more of our time is exacerbated?

Speaker 2:

Totally so, um, yeah, and so when? Also, I think burnout is a huge conversation right now. People are so burned out, and so that's where this concept of attention restoration theory really comes in. It's a, it's a concept that is had, that's been published by some scientists. The kaplan's a married couple. It's been talked about about a lot. It's a theory. So, you know it's, it's a theory, um, but it's about the fact, the idea that there's two different types of attention um, direct and involuntary, and our nervous systems need both to be at peace, to be at kind of homeostasis. So direct attention is what we're using when we work from home, or, you know, when we binge watch a Netflix show. It's focused. You have to block out external stimuli to focus on getting the job done. If you're doing emails, if you're on a Zoom call, we're using direct attention right now as we talk.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

It is not limitless. You only have a certain amount of it and it requires a lot of energy. Then there's involuntary attention. So our ancestors' ancestors' ancestors were able to access involuntary attention much easier because they were spending more time in nature. But that's attention that can kind of just like wash over you. Yes, you can focus on something. It's like if you're going for a walk and a butterfly flies across your line of sight, you can take the butterfly in, you can watch it and then keep going. When we were kids and we would lay on our backs and we would watch the clouds pass in the sky yeah, that kind of yeah and pick out patterns.

Speaker 2:

Yes, that experience. So that's involuntary, um, that is restorative, and we have limit, like a limited, a limitless amount of of capacity to do that. And what's happening right now in society is that everybody is using direct attention way more than they should be and not. We have to almost remind ourselves to use involuntary attention because it's not when I read that, like just actually what's funny?

Speaker 1:

because last night I read that section after Phaedra and I had been on a Zoom call and a working call for what? Three and a half four hours.

Speaker 3:

No, not that long yesterday, but yeah, I was exhausted, it was a long day for us both.

Speaker 1:

Mentally, I was exhausted and when I realized that's what I was doing, I had used up my direct attention capacity, or whatever you want to call it, and I needed some of this indirect attention, some of this relaxed, restorative stuff, and I'm, from now on, going to be putting it into practice because I live out here in the woods. I can get out of this space for 15 to 20 minutes, walk in and touch the trees and just give myself a little bit of that back. How can this be and I'm assuming you've. Well, I mean, after the work that you've done and the research you've been working on and talking to people, do you see levels of productivity improving as a result of people practicing this? Have you talked to other entrepreneurs and people that?

Speaker 2:

put this into practice and benefit from it. I think I don't have like level, I don't have like productivity measurement, but I think it's really how you feel. So I can speak from my personal experience. A big part of my awakening, when I was starting to get, you know, um, when I was starting to, uh, really get into plants, was I would sit on my little balcony. I had, you know, basil and chives, I had like a small little pot of herbs and I would just watch do drop from basil leaves, like I would just zone out and watch do drop off my basil leaves, and that was how I would start my morning.

Speaker 2:

And, um, I just think when you give yourself the space for that involuntary attention, you are going to feel better. I mean another, another thing I think about um, you know, we used to go. This is like so um, it's I don't know if it's gross, so pardon me, but I think a perfect example of how, like now, as humans, it's our responsibility to find opportunities for involuntary attention because it's not necessarily available to us anymore. We used to go to the bathroom and not bring our phones, like we used to go read the back, you know, you read the back of the shampoo bottle, or you just kind of like, do your business and zone out.

Speaker 2:

Or people used to say, like I get my best ideas in the shower that's because you didn't bring Netflix into the shower. You know, or used to, but now you're listening to a podcast, You're bringing your phone in and watching something, you're listening to the radio, and you don't have that opportunity anymore and you're fried that disconnect, right, that we're not disconnecting from these stimulation things, these ideas, right?

Speaker 1:

These stimuli, yeah, where, back in the day, you know most of us, if it was stimuli that we didn't like, if it was stimuli, you identified with it what it was and it was commercials and we would pause, fast forward. Or if you didn't have that option because it was pre-DVR, we would mute and turn the TV down, go do something and then come back after the commercial and watch the rest of our program. That was disconnecting. And using this other attention, this other energy, yeah, uh, as a balancing practice and and today we're never disconnected, it's in our hands, we're always hearing it, seeing it, yeah, getting bombarded by, yeah, you can literally you can literally wake up and have no conversation with your like.

Speaker 2:

You can have no rapport with yourself for the entire day. You can wake up because of your alarm clock on your phone. Um, stay on your phone all day, binge Netflix until you fall asleep and, like you've never, you ha, you haven't had one original thought, because you're just stimulated and taking things in and I kind of view involuntary um, like involuntary tension. Or or, to me, spending time with plants, to me they're like one and one of the same is like putting your armor on for the day. It's like putting you know your protection on. Um, yeah, there's another. I don't know if you want to get into this or if you have other chat or a few of other things you want to talk about, but in my book I talk about how you can look at a plant before you look at a screen. In the morning that was like a huge yes, I remember you talking about that.

Speaker 2:

yeah, yeah, your routine I love that for people who are, you know, too far down the rabbit hole where they're like how do I even you know, how would I even go about finding more opportunities for involuntary attention, like leave your phone alone in the morning, look at a plant, go spend time in nature before you look at a screen, before you look at your phone, look at your computer, look at your emails. It is such a simple thing that is so hard to do and you will feel so much better throughout the day if you do that one little change in your morning routine. I promise this is something I've heard back from listeners or readers that they've put it to practice or they've tested it and really felt so much better.

Speaker 1:

Well, and this is this, God you're so good. Next question, which this actually leads right into I was going to ask you about, specifically for entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs who are just starting out out there about tips and tricks and advice. Three tips, tricks and advice. And this mindful practice by the way, you're going to hear it, ladies and gentlemen meditation, mindful practice, getting back in touch with your vulnerability and your authentic self. I mean, we can beat you over the head with this thousands and thousands of times. You're going to continue to hear it on the show Fearless Road podcast, because it works.

Speaker 1:

It's real and each of my guests yes, sorry, each of my guests has put into practice a certain aspect of this mindfulness in order to help their career, and what Maria is sharing with us is crucial to being in touch with your true self, and when you are out of that comes real productivity, out of that comes real creativity, out of that comes real creativity, out of that comes real ingenuity, and that's the gift that she's bringing with the joy of I just forgot the name of it the joy of Growing joy, growing joy, growing joy.

Speaker 3:

Well, and you know we were talking about this in a coaching group I'm in the other day about how important it is when you take a break to get outside in nature, and even the act of simply just putting your hand and touching a tree, like even for just three seconds, like it literally resets your mind. Yeah, so that when you get back in the office you've got this extra level of being refreshed, you've got renewed creativity, you're, you know, you have a little more inspiration and you know just such a small little thing. You know a 10-minute walk and putting your hand on a tree and it just like makes the whole rest of your day a completely different scenario.

Speaker 1:

Well, we used to. I'm trying to remember where this came from and when. The first time I heard it when we were younger we weren't talking the 80s People used to take their shoes and socks off and put your feet in the grass, and my mom used to make us do it put our feet in the grass and feel the grass, and I used to love the feeling of good grass, not Texas grass and I used to love. I used to love the feeling of good grass, not Texas grass.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

But real warm, loving green grass. But you're right, you would be grounded. Yeah, I talk about grounding in my book.

Speaker 2:

I do it every day and I was actually Phaedra when you were saying that. You know, you can literally just go take three deep breaths on your lawn, like put your bare feet on your lawn and take three deep breaths, and then you can go back inside it could be that simple.

Speaker 2:

And, Michael, you had mentioned, you know, meditation, I think. I think in the mindfulness space it can be really intimidating for people who maybe are burned out and are like I don't want to sit alone with my thoughts, Like meditation sounds awful, yes, and I can tell you a lot of people I know who I've spoken to about that and talked about that.

Speaker 1:

They're very sort of like I don't know how to even begin doing that. But this idea of sharing a moment with a plant, which I know sounds kind of corny and weird.

Speaker 2:

But just a few minutes. It's moving meditation. Yeah, it's moving meditation. It's so much more accessible.

Speaker 3:

And to me it's almost like it's an aid, right, Like, instead of contemplative meditation, which is what most of us think of like where you sit there and you kind of try to empty your brain and just have like time. That's really hard for a lot of people, but if you're sitting there and you're doing, I mean, a task that can become mindless. You know, like wiping down your plant leaves, or you know, checking moisture levels or whatever, right Like, it doesn't take a lot of focus to do that, but it's easier to quiet inside your, to quiet your mind when you're doing a task like that. So it it almost assists in doing that. Like when I meditate, which is not often, but like I have to do guided meditations with like I use Headspace app. Me too, I love Headspace Because I can't sit there and empty my brain. There's too much going on and it's hard enough to shut it down to go to sleep, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So I love the Headspace. Well, I feel like I've dominated, oh sorry, interrupted.

Speaker 1:

I feel like I've dominated this conversation a little bit more than Fader. Did you have something specifically you would like to ask Maria? Well, you've read and stuff.

Speaker 3:

you know, I kind of I don't have questions as much as like there's a lot of things that really resonated with me in the book and you know to.

Speaker 3:

To touch back onto the pandemic, you know, when you said you lost yourself, you touched on this in the book and your mother was the one who encouraged you to get outside and go on walks every day.

Speaker 3:

And you talked to and Michael and I were living together at the time and we started doing some walks and then, um, his, his, and then he wound up doing more work, um remotely, and so I was kind of on my own um most of the day while he was working and so I would go out and walk every day by myself and I found this amazing like little nature path. Um, you know very close to the house that I would go out and walk every day. It was about like three and a half, four miles and I would just go and walk and observing the changes in the seasons and just kind of getting back to myself and getting that reset on a daily basis Just really, really resonated with me, because you talked about doing the same thing and also about how it helped you to find your voice again. So is that something that you want to expand on a little bit?

Speaker 1:

And this concludes part two of the interview with Maria Faella. Myself and my sister Phaedra will be back in part three when we discuss a little bit more about what it's like to find your voice again.