An Inspired Chat with Natalie Pace of Santa Monica

We recently had the chance to connect with Natalie Pace and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What battle are you avoiding?
What battle are you avoiding?

This is so interesting because I really am avoiding something right now. A few phrases keep coming up. One is, “The battle you win is the one you don’t show up for.” Another is that fire requires oxygen to burn. Don’t give it any oxygen and it dies out. And the final one is something that I heard Carrie Underwood say. With regard to social media, she says that she posts and then ghosts. In other words, she doesn’t read the comments.

The battle I’m avoiding right now is a rather distant relation (no one remotely close to me) who decided to start a confrontation by calling me a nasty name. It feels very much like playground bullying, and it’s easy to try to compartmentalize this, and then go into the mode of doing all those things you know you’re supposed to do to erase it from your mind. It’s also easy to have all of the emotions that come along with being attacked flare up, even with all of the attempts to arrest and imprison them. Hit back. Insult back. Feel bad.

Though I also really love Michelle Obama‘s advice, “When they go low, we go high,” I’m choosing to follow the oxygen theory. I don’t need to give it any oxygen. It’s not worth my time. The person is trying to get my attention by insulting me. The insults are not warranted. There is no need to pay attention to a bunch of lies. The liar is trying to start a fight for reasons that reveal more flaws and damage in his character than in mine. I know that with the mindfulness practice of the wisdom aphorisms, in two days I will have forgotten the affront.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I began this journey of adding a splash of green to Wall Street and transforming lives on Main Street as a young single mom who was struggling to make ends meet. The conventional personal finance wisdom of cutting out avocado toast and cafe lattes was completely irrelevant in a world where half of my income was going to housing. I knew that there were solutions. I just couldn’t see them. So, I uncovered stones, talked to some very smart people, made brave choices and have never looked back.

What makes my brand unique, special and interesting?

I’ve been ranked a #1 stock picker by an independent agency (TipsTraders) above over 835 A-list pundits.

The forewords to my books were written by a Nobel Prize winning economist and a MacArthur Genius Award winning economist — enthusiastically recommending my strategies.

After transforming my own life, I systemized my budgeting and investing strategies and have been helping hundreds of thousands of others do the same.

My book, The ABCs of Money, remained in the Top 10 of its vertical on Amazon for over 3 years, with over 120,000 downloads.

My passion project, EarthGratitude.org, features sustainability leaders from around the world, including The King of England, Elon Musk, Sia, Ed Begley Jr., H.M. Queen Diambi, Dr. Paula Kahumbu (star of The Secrets of Elephants on Netflix) and more.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
What an interesting question! This question ircles back to the first question about what battle am I avoiding. Words are powerful. Lies are powerful. Sometimes people don’t know what to believe. Sometimes people, even loved ones, can be influenced by calumny. Should you defend yourself and make your case, or just wait for time to reveal the truth, which she always does?

However, mendacity is not the only thing that can strain relationships. I think of the bond more as chewing gum — flexible. Sometimes it can get stretched quite thin, but it is still the same wad of love. Sometimes the intimacy we have with friends, family and even colleagues gets strained, not because there’s any good reason for it, but simply because one person is hurting and displacing their anger. In that scenario, it’s important to protect ourselves. However, in my experience, it’s also a good idea to keep the love flowing and wish healing and reconciliation on the other party.

As a result of that strategy, loving unconditionally but protecting myself when need be, I have been able to keep people in my life, while also having certain periods where the relationship wasn’t as close. I’ve even been able to rebuild a trust that had been completely shattered. That takes time. However, it’s very rewarding when a long-term investment like that in somebody pays that kind of dividend.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering and setbacks teach us humility, resiliency, empathy, and honestly, they are the only way that we really grow. If you think of a successful athlete, imagine how many strikeouts there are for every home run. And every time we do swing and miss, hopefully we take away a little tidbit of wisdom that informs more wins and fewer losses going forward.

On a more personal note, suffering began my career. I was a struggling, single mother, who was so overwhelmed by the bills that I couldn’t pay that I was desperate for real solutions. I began looking under rocks, asking everybody I knew, and searching relentlessly. While I did not know whether or not I was going to succeed, I began the bold journey of teaming up with another single mother to reduce expenses and free up a little time, which actually allowed me to launch the career in life of my dreams. Looking back it takes on a mystical quality because the game-changing choices (that so many people were telling me NOT to do) worked SO WELL. However, at the time, it was easy to see why people give up or take desperate measures that get them into more trouble, like having blind faith in a sure-shot scam to save the day. (There’s that empathy kicking in.) That’s why I remain passionate about my Thrive Budget and easy investing solutions, so that others can live a richer life, with less stress. There are solutions to the challenges we all face. They just aren’t found in the mainstream, and they go against the status quo.

I can honestly say that every single time I’ve had a setback or a strike out, it has always led to something better. However, that’s also because I’m always walking towards a goal. I have beautiful dreams that I’m trying to realize. I don’t let the disappointments overwhelm me. I don’t sit in the mud of my despair for very long before I wash off and begin moving forward again. Feel the feelings, honor them and then focus on goals and the actions that might make them real…

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Sustainability. The Power of 8 Billion: It’s Up to Us. Community building. Living in harmony with our home planet. How each of us can save thousands of dollars annually with more-informed choices. Eliminating plastic. There’s #NoExcuseForSingleUse. Regenerative agriculture for nutrient-dense food, healthy soil and CO2 drawdown. I also have a goal of reducing my personal CO2 footprint by 1/3 each year.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
She spent most of her adult life adding a splash of green to Wall Street and transforming lives on Main Street. Of course, if my easy pie chart system for investing wins a Nobel Prize then I’ll be over the moon. There are those big dreams revealing themselves. (My strategies are enthusiastically recommended by a Nobel Prize winning economist and time-proven now since 1999, so it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility!)

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Image Credits
Photo credits: Marie Commiskey, Brian McLernon.

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