Episode Summary

In this heart-centered episode of The Becky Beach Show, Becky chats with branding expert, poet, and business mentor Amber Lilyestrom about what it really means to stay authentic in a world where AI is shaping content creation and digital communication.

Together, they explore:

• How to use AI tools like ChatGPT and Canva without losing your unique voice
• Why personal storytelling still reigns in email marketing and brand building
• The real reason productivity isn’t always the goal — and what matters more
• How to build a business that supports your values, family, and freedom
• The power of poetry, presence, and “right-sized” success in entrepreneurship

Amber also shares a moving poem from her new book Little Big Beautiful Things, offering a powerful reminder of the richness of life beyond spreadsheets and scale.

If you’re a digital creator or coach navigating content overwhelm, tech tools, or the pressure to “do more,” this episode will help you reconnect with your purpose, your people, and your power.

🎧 Listen now and rediscover what it means to lead with heart in the age of AI.

About Amber Lilyestrom

Amber Lilyestrom is a transformational brand strategist, business mentor, keynote speaker, and author who helps visionary women build life-led, soul-aligned businesses. With over 20 years of experience in marketing and branding—including a decade-long career as a collegiate sports marketing pro—Amber has guided thousands of entrepreneurs in turning their dreams into thriving six- and seven-figure businesses.

After a life-altering near-death experience during childbirth in 2014, Amber left her corporate career to create a business on her own terms—one that allowed her to raise her family, honor her values, and serve others at the highest level. Today, she empowers her clients to scale what matters most with aligned strategy, mindset mastery, and energetically supportive systems.

Amber is the author of Paddle Home, Master Your Money Mind, and the upcoming poetry collection Little Big Beautiful Things. She hosts the Homeward podcast and is the founder of IGNITE Your Dream LIVE. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, SUCCESS Magazine, Mindvalley, and more.

She lives in her dream home on a lake in New Hampshire with her husband, their two children, and their beloved cats.

AI-Generated Transcript

Becky Beach: Hey, welcome to the Becky Beach on Becky Beach and today’s guest we have Amber Lilyestrom of AmberLilyestrom.com. Thank you so much for being here today, Amber.

Amber Lilyestrom: Hey Becky. I’m so happy to be here with you. Oh, yeah. I’m just so excited about our topic. Today. We’re gonna be speaking about how to be authentic and the times of AI.

Becky Beach: I’m sure a lot of business owners out there are having some of the same trouble. Because there’s all these AI tools out there and how can you still be authentic to your audience?

Amber Lilyestrom: Mm-hmm. Can I ask you the question, Becky? What are your, what are your favorite AI tools? What are you using in your business right now?

Amber Lilyestrom: I’d love to hear.

Becky Beach: Oh, sure. I like to use ChatGPT. Today I actually made a video for a client. I did a VIP Day. And during the, the VIP Day I helped her make her Facebook ads and show her how to do Facebook. And, uh, again, it was like really cool. I could take her photo and I could turn it into a video using Midjourney.

Becky Beach: So that’s also a really cool, you know, like AI app and also like to use Hedra.com and that could actually, you know, give you an AI voice in addition to an AI created image. Yes, I know I just like a lot of different AI tools.

Amber Lilyestrom: I love it. I’m more of a ChatGPT person and I actually use today Canva for design for a client who we were just playing.

Amber Lilyestrom: And actually it was really cool and she’s making a des a new logo for her land. She’s got this new like brand she’s creating there and I just gave it a little description and it made like five different logos and they were actually good. I was really surprised. I, I was, I mean, I actually took one of them and I started kind of working on it from the, the foundation.

Amber Lilyestrom: So we said this before we hit record, but. My approach with, with AI is using it as a tool that can help me to do things that more quickly. A and then, you know, also it is like a, an inspiration, right? So like you, you said this earlier, right? If I’m writing something, like we both write our own content, but if there’s something that we’re getting stuck on or I need a little idea on something, like I will plug it in.

Amber Lilyestrom: My favorite is to take an email that I’ve written mm-hmm. Because I always struggle with the, with the subject line. And I give, I put it in and I go, give me some subject line ideas, and then it’ll take from mine. Okay, try this, try this, try this. And then usually this is what I, I get mad at the robot and I say, these are all terrible, but then it gives me an idea that I can take off of that.

Amber Lilyestrom: So it’s like an i ideation tool, um, that I’ve been enjoying having access to. And I feel like it’s, it’s actually pretty, pretty remarkable to have this kind of technology available to us.

Becky Beach: Yeah. Yeah, it’s incredible. So yeah, tell us more, more about yourself and your business. Like I just wanted to get started with the topic, you know, ’cause that’s what a lot of people have been wanting.

Becky Beach: You know, just me to talk about the topic. But I like to go into the person I’m speaking to as well, like share about your business.

Amber Lilyestrom: Yeah, so I am a business mentor for entrepreneurial women mostly, but I do work with a few good men as well. Um, I have been in business for 11 years and I, I primarily work on the, the marketing, the.

Amber Lilyestrom: Sales strategy, you know, the, the offer and positioning structure for people. I think I have a real way with understanding human psychology and, and preferences. Like understand, helping you figure out who your person is and then how they think in order to. Um, speak directly to them for whatever your offer suite is.

Amber Lilyestrom: I also really love working on the mindset side of things and helping people get unstuck in what’s keeping them from actually showing up in their content and bringing more of themselves forward. Um, and it’s just been really fun. It’s been a, a fun career path. I have a podcast called Homeward. I have, um, I [00:04:00] am an author, so I’ve written a couple books.

Amber Lilyestrom: I have Paddle Home, which is a poetry book. Oh, and then this is my second poetry book. Which is, um, called Little Big Beautiful Things. This is coming out on November 18th.

Becky Beach: I didn’t know you wrote poetry. That’s interesting.

Amber Lilyestrom: I did, yeah. I’m a poet and so amazing. I, I’ve also written a mo a Money Mindset book called Master Your Money Mind.

Amber Lilyestrom: So I’m a writer and um, yeah, I’m a mom of two kids and my husband and I are both entrepreneurs here. We live on a lake up in New Hampshire, and we’re really grateful we get to do really important work in the world.

Becky Beach: oh yeah. I just really, really liked that. I first met you, I went to Amber Housley’s event.

Becky Beach: And you were a speaker, I think a keynote speaker. And I just really, really liked the way you, you were speaking about, I think it was like, um, mindset in, in, in that, I can’t really remember the topic, but I just. I, I just couldn’t, couldn’t keep my eyes off you. You thought you’re such a great speaker. And then later I end up joining your program.

Becky Beach: Like yeah, she has a program. Uh, it is like ignites your business. Mm-hmm. And you might think it’s a membership, but it really isn’t. You just pay one time and then you get unlimited calls with, with Amber. It’s just such a great program. I’ll, I’ll put that in the show notes if you’re interested in checking that out.

Amber Lilyestrom: Thank you,

Becky Beach: Becky.

Amber Lilyestrom: It’s so fun having you in there. And I think. You know, the way that we’ve structured IYB, which we actually just rebranded it to call it Homeward, the Sovereign Business Sanctuary. Oh, okay. Um, is, I mean, say same, same thing. That’s a very new change is to really create a space for women to come and have regular support.

Amber Lilyestrom: And, you know, for me as a coach and a mentor, it doesn’t matter if you’re in my, my, my One-to-many program or you’re in one-to-one more intimate coaching with me. It’s like you’re my client. And so when you ask a question, right, you could attest to this. I mean, I’m coaching Becky, I know you. I know what you’re doing in your business.

Amber Lilyestrom: I ask you questions specifically about you and what you are doing, and I know because I know you. And I think that that relationship piece for me as a coach is like one of the greatest treasures of my. Profession. It’s like getting to really see people and getting to really witness people and walk with them on the journey.

Amber Lilyestrom: And, and I have this privilege of getting to work with clients for a long time. I have clients in my high-end mastermind that have been with me for six, seven years. Um, I’ve been working with one-to-one coaching clients, Sam, similarly, five, six years in different instances. And I just, I take that very seriously, you know, in terms of like getting to be part of their team and what they’re doing and helping them in their mission and their work in the world.

Amber Lilyestrom: Which directly supports their family, which directly creates the experience. And this is like what it’s actually really, really about for me. If we like boil it all the way down, that picture on the wall behind you of your beautiful child, of your son

Becky Beach: Oh yeah. Yeah.

Amber Lilyestrom: Is like to me, what. What it’s all about.

Amber Lilyestrom: It’s that like the coaching work and helping you build a business that you really love, that helps you have, you know, financial success. But most of all, it helps you live your values and what’s important to you so that you can be a present mom and be with him and not miss his childhood, and not miss the moments you don’t get a replay on.

Amber Lilyestrom: And so like that’s really what it’s all about for me is. Um, the kids, you know, and, and helping their moms and helping their moms live really joyful, abundant, present lives. And that’s the thesis, you know, of what my work is about.

Becky Beach: Oh, right, man, that is just so touching. Yeah. ’cause like my business, I could, um, I can put my kid in private school, like I make enough for that and I can pay for this house and all my bills and I can afford to go on vacations.

Becky Beach: Like I’m gonna go to the south of France next year and yeah. So it’s just, just such an amazing way I get freedom. I can just, just book. Times whenever I want, I can just take off my work whenever I want to. I want to answer to anybody. So if anyone out there is listening, they would like, uh, this, this kind of, um, like a job you could definitely check out Amber’s program or even my program at my program at BusinessBeachClub.com.

Becky Beach: So, ’cause there, there is definitely hope out there for anybody that’s wanting to start one of these businesses where you can stay home with your kids. ’cause you know, kids like Amber said are like so important. Like, I just, I just love my little boy and I just love spending time with him.

Amber Lilyestrom: It’s everything, you know, it’s really everything.

Amber Lilyestrom: I have a 3-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter, and I love, um, that my business is 11, my daughter is 12. Mm-hmm. And you know, that was the whole reason that I started this whole thing. It was like I realized quickly I’m not gonna get a do over on my daughter’s childhood, on her first steps, on her first words, on all these incredible going trick or treating like all these things that are so important.

Amber Lilyestrom: To me, and I just, I don’t wanna miss it. And so I had to push myself, you know, I had to push past the comfort zone. And I think this is a good segue with what we’re talking about. I had to put myself out there. I had to be what? Like we call, I did a reel about this today, like being cringe and feeling like, ugh, you know, what are people gonna think if they see me saying I wanna do this?

Amber Lilyestrom: Or, you know, just like all the things that you think in your head that you’re telling yourself stories about, uh, you have to walk up to them, you know, you have to face them. And push yourself beyond it because the reward on the other side of it is so [00:09:00] worth it, you know, in the end, like you just said, to what your lifestyle is like because you’ve chosen to create your own career in this way based on the values of what’s most important to you.

Amber Lilyestrom: And so the, the way that you do it, and I think you do this so beautifully, Becky, is by just literally being yourself. And showing up as you in, in the way that you are exactly as you are and bringing more of yourself forward. And I love when I see you share your singing. And I love when I see you share about your cat.

Amber Lilyestrom: Um, and ’cause you know I’m a cat lady, like you and I love when I see you sharing these behind the scenes things of your life. Because what it says to me is like, it gives more purpose. I can like see the purpose in the business. I can see how these things go together. I can see you as a whole person. And I think in 2025.

Amber Lilyestrom: With all of these, like, I mean, like you said, we could literally take a photograph and AI can like bring it to life. You know, we can, AI makes these videos. I mean, we were watching something the other night and my daughter now, I mean, it’s so cool. Her brain, she’s like, that’s ai, like [00:10:00] my daughter can identify watching a video, even though it looks so realistic.

Amber Lilyestrom: She knows in a second if it’s real or if it’s ai. And, and I, I mean, I feel the same way most especially with writing. I think because I’m a writer and I, and I, I can hear a person’s voice in their writing and then when I read an email and I’m like, that’s jam, GPT, like, I can hear that it’s not the person writing it.

Amber Lilyestrom: And the cadence of how Chat does it all and all that. And I, and I think it’s, I’m, I’m gonna be honest, this is like a little bit of a heartbreak thing to me. I like that chat GPT is giving us, helping us to be more efficient and that it’s helping us to be more, um, for, there’s some people who really need it, who maybe don’t consider themselves to be writers, and it’s really helpful to them.

Amber Lilyestrom: And so I don’t, I’m not saying it for that reason, but for those that are like writers. There’s something so profound in hearing the, the voice, like the actual authentic voice Yes. Of that creates a real connection point. And the, the thing, and I’m curious if, if you have thought about this, Becky, it’s like I ask the question often, like, what are we, why?

Amber Lilyestrom: Why do we have to be so productive? Like, I know AI helps us to be productive, but I wonder sometimes like. What for, like, what is the main premise of why we wanna be so, so, so productive? We wanna create so many things. It’s like, is that the healthiest thing in the world? That’s a like a philosophical conversation that I often have with myself about this.

Amber Lilyestrom: What are your thoughts on that?

Becky Beach: Well, it’s just because I, I’m always getting ideas. Like, I just watched the Canva keynote, you know, and, and they said all these Canva features, and I’m like, wow, I can make a course on that. I can make a course on that. It just kept in my head, all these ideas buzzing around, and then I, I did a poll in my business speech club group asking them what kind of course they like to see first.

Becky Beach: I’ll just get all these ideas and, you know, I, I just love to create and make things and I just can’t help it. I’ll just come up with things and I’ll spend some time doing it, like a couple days. I can turn out a course. And, um, yeah, so just some people like me that just enjoy creating and there’s other people that just want to focus on one signature program and that’s all.

Becky Beach: They just promote that constantly. Yeah. But, yep. But for me, I, I like, I, I just have more fun making new things and I have so much to show for it. You know, I have about 2000 products online I’ll listed in different stores, and I, I just can’t stop creating.

Amber Lilyestrom: I know. I love that. I love that about you. And that’s your art form, right?

Amber Lilyestrom: That’s the way that you think about it. And I think what I’m getting at is like the philosophical piece of. People trying to optimize to the point that they’re like not part of it anymore. And you just illustrated so beautifully because you’re like, I just really love it. And then I’m asking my actual human clients what they value and what they need, and then I’m like creating that.

Amber Lilyestrom: And it’s like that. It’s that feeling of like really being connected and heartbeat to heartbeat and human to human. And I think. That’s the thing we have to remember in this moment and not get so swept away by like, these tools can help you do this and that’s great, but like, let’s let them remain tools.

Amber Lilyestrom: Yeah. Not take over Right. The, the most important parts of like our humanity that comes forward for this type of connection. That’s, that’s the point that I’m making. Yeah.

Becky Beach: Yeah. I so, so agree with that. ’cause we can get really caught up in AI tools and. You know, there’s even, like I, I came out with this course called AI faceless, you know, product marketing recently, it just a little masterclass.

Becky Beach: It was an hour and you know, during the, the course I just talked about how you can use these AI videos and AI voices if you aren’t just afraid to be on video. ’cause there’s a lot of people out there that’s true wanna, you know, market their business and with anonymous and faceless ’cause they’re just afraid to be on camera.

Becky Beach: Like, what are your thoughts on that?

Amber Lilyestrom: Yeah, I mean, I think it really comes down to, um, it’s person to person. And I think you’re right. Like I actually can think in my head. I have um, at least one client right now who is in a corporate job environment, but it’s a kind of an abusive situation and she wants to get out of it, but she also really needs to financially.

Amber Lilyestrom: Uh, [00:14:00] be paid there. And she, her business isn’t at the level yet to like Right. Make up for it. And so we’ve had to come up with strategies for her to do things where she can still kind of do the, and both, and not like, have the whistleblower thing going off with that. So I think in, that’s like one kind of niche example, but I also think what you said, like there are, there are some people that are like.

Amber Lilyestrom: Authentic to me is actually never showing my face on camera. You know, like, that’s just, that’s like not a thing that I’m, I’m actually, and, and so to me I go, well that’s, that’s really aligned because you really are, you really know what it is that you’re, you have a boundary around. And I, I deeply honor and deeply respect that.

Amber Lilyestrom: And so I think this is the thing where the tools are very helpful. So again, it’s like, it’s such an individual journey. Um, but I think for, for myself, it’s like. Sometimes it is easier just, okay, AI help me do this thing. But if I’m honest, when I look at it, I’m like, that’s just not my voice. Right? It’s just, it’s [00:15:00] not my voice, so I can’t use it.

Amber Lilyestrom: And I have like in the past, like when it was newer and I look back on that and I’m like, Ew, that wasn’t really my voice. Like that didn’t really, that didn’t really feel good to me. So it’s like a personal checks and balances opportunity to then make adjustments accordingly from there. Yeah.

Becky Beach: Yeah, because, um, with the, the chat GBT, you can, you can make like A GPT for those that don’t know, it’s like a specialized bot.

Becky Beach: You can, you know, give it like, like snippets of your writing. But, you know, still, like I did that for my, I, I call it the same Becky bot and I just don’t use it anymore because like, I gave it snippets of my writing and then it just sounds too funny. ’cause yeah, sometimes I, I do inject humor, but not every time I’m writing, but I guess that I’m like super funny.

Becky Beach: So it keeps making all these funny. Off the wall jokes in the writing. I’m like, that doesn’t sound like me. I’m not con constantly funny. There’s some times where I will be funny, you know, if I’m making a point, if I just wanna inject some humor. But it, it is just totally all about humor now. You know?

Becky Beach: That’s, yeah. It’s like happen,

Amber Lilyestrom: the human algorithm is not predictable in the same way.

Becky Beach: Yeah. Yeah. Really?

Amber Lilyestrom: Yeah, and I, I had one too. Well, I tried to make one and I was gonna give it to everybody in, um, Homeward. I just, it, it’s not, it’s not that great. It’s not that great. I was like, I would rather actually just train them to, to train their own GPT rather than like come into one that I own.

Amber Lilyestrom: I’d rather have their GPT like be more skilled for them than have this one that they’re gonna kind of go through. And that was like a thing that a lot of coaches were doing, right? It was like. My million dollar, la la, la GPT, um, and I actually bought one at one point ’cause I was like really curious and I hadn’t had the experience and I didn’t really know how to do it.

Amber Lilyestrom: So I do that. I don’t know if you do that sometimes Becky, but like sometimes I’ll buy something ’cause I’m like, oh I just wanna learn, you know, how someone’s doing something. If I don’t have any context for it, you know, I really wanna see it and get ideas and, and get that learning. ’cause I’m voracious. I love to learn just like you do.

Amber Lilyestrom: And so I was in it and I remember using it for a little while and then very quickly my human algorithm was just like. Oh yeah, my, I wouldn’t write like this, like, oh, mine wouldn’t do it like this. Oh, I wouldn’t create offers like that. Yeah. Okay, cool. Like great. I, I have no regrets. I’m glad I bought it and now I know.

Amber Lilyestrom: And now I don’t need to do that. Yeah,

Becky Beach: yeah, yeah. You know, sometimes I’ll use like the AI to help me write emails. ’cause I send emails every morning. I have like four different businesses now that I’m running emails for. And, uh, and so I just, sometimes it just takes so much time to rally these emails so that that’s when I’ll, I’ll turn to the, the chat, GPT and just ask it like, what could I write about today?

Becky Beach: Like, I wanna sell this product. Like, here’s like a story I like to share in my email today. Like, could you maybe connect my story to the product I’m selling? Love it. I like to do story selling. Like, like for instance it this morning, like I wrote this email about Brian and I going to Trunk Retreat last night.

Becky Beach: Then I was saying, and I wanted to promote my Halloween sale. I’m doing a scavenger hunt in my BeckyBeach.AI store. Ooh, fun. Find pumpkins. Oh, yeah. I thought it would be a cute idea. And then I said, speaking of Halloween, fun. You know, here’s like my, my scavenger hunts. I kind of interjected that, like a transition sentence into the, the products.

Becky Beach: That’s what, what I’ll do. And, uh, so that’s what’s really, you know, get driving sales because I’m also sharing about my life and being authentic and talk about myself, you know, my stories. But then I also could have the AI help me into the, the sale as well.

Amber Lilyestrom: Hmm. That’s really cool, Becky. I love it.

Becky Beach: I noticed in your emails you also talk a lot about yourself too.

Becky Beach: Like what, what do you think the benefits are to, to talking about yourself and sharing your story and your emails?

Amber Lilyestrom: I think it’s like the most authentic thing and most, um, credible offering that I can give because it’s my actual lived experience. And so, you know, the work that I’m offering is really personal and it’s also really personalized.

Amber Lilyestrom: Like, let’s just be honest, you know, as a business coach and mentor, they’re hiring me for my experience. They’re hiring me for my perspective. They’re hiring me for my intuition. They’re hiring me for my instincts. Mm-hmm. They’re hiring me for my perspective. [00:19:00] Right. So if I’m not sharing that, then I’m not really giving them the, the vibe, you know, I’m not really giving them like the, the sensation of like, what it’s like to work with me and to kind of know how my, how, how I work.

Amber Lilyestrom: And so I think it’s the most powerful way to actually translate that, you know, and to make the connection with people. And what I find often when I ask people. Like, what? Why me? You know, like, why did you choose me? Of all the business coaches online. Yeah. Um, what was the reason for it? And usually the, the answers are usually pretty consistently the same, which I think is cool.

Amber Lilyestrom: Um, and it’s a, you’re so real. I feel like you’re very real. BI feel like you have achieved the kind of success in the, with the values that I have too. IE like, you’re a mom that is really present with your family and you’ve achieved a lot of success in your business. It’s the, it’s that, and both piece.

Amber Lilyestrom: It’s not like just my business and I don’t bring that part in. Like, that’s a really important part of my value system. It’s baked into my cells, right? And, um, and it’s like they just, they, they have fun. They’re like, you don’t take yourself too seriously. And you’re, and, and now I’m really talking about helping women build right-sized businesses, helping them scale what matters most.

Amber Lilyestrom: Um, right size is like a term that’s applicable to the person, you know, right size for you. Might be different than me, might be different than, you know, Joan over here. Um, but what matters in that is that it’s right sized for you and it’s custom to the life that you are living. And that to me as a poet, you know, at the root of it is the most important thing in the entire world.

Amber Lilyestrom: It’s like I want my clients to enjoy their life. You know, I had a near death experience when my daughter was born. Oh gosh. Um, I really had this like transcendent moment of realizing that like, life is, is fleeting and, and it’s a gift, you know, it’s a real gift to get to be alive. It’s a real gift to have an, a body that is able in the way that it is.

Amber Lilyestrom: It’s a real gift to have children. I’ve gone through infertility and struggles with all of that and a lot of like loss and pain and, and so I really look at like these things in my life as profound blessings. And, and I’ve lived through a lot of really hard things, and so I want to, I wanna hold that with women.

Amber Lilyestrom: It’s like, you are the gift. Your life is the gift. Now let’s do something with it that feels meaningful to you. Uh, because what, if not, then what’s the point? You know? Like, what is the actual point of being here? Like, we’re on the dance floor, let’s dance. You know? Oh, I

Becky Beach: love, love that, love that you said that.

Becky Beach: ’cause you know, there’s all these entrepreneur influencers like Gary V, that he’s all about hustling and there’s those. Bro marketers that say, oh, we gotta hustle, hustle hard. Like, and it, that, that’s in the grain in the culture. But you know, as a mom, like we, we don’t wanna hustle. We wanna just, just have something I know, you know, we just wanna have a business where we can grow and thrive and actually have freedom.

Becky Beach: Gosh, like, we don’t want hustle.

Amber Lilyestrom: I don’t, I don’t want to miss it. I don’t wanna, I don’t want, you know, somebody said to me, what are you dreaming into? And I’m like. Right now my parents are still alive. Um, they’ve had some health challenges in the last year. It’s been really intense and they’re doing okay, and I have young children and I’m like, this is it.

Amber Lilyestrom: Like I, this is the point. I, I feel so grateful that I have work that I love, um, that I, I mean really, you know, it’s like, I know I sound a little Pollyanna right now, but. When you’ve gone through really hard stuff in life, which probably a lot of people listening to this, you’ve had your own version of that.

Amber Lilyestrom: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I think that is like what refines you. It like, it reveals the sculpture in the stone. It like chips those pieces away so that more of your true form can come out. And that’s what I’m living, you know, like that’s really where I’m at. And I, and I have this, this feeling, and I wonder if you feel this too, Becky.

Amber Lilyestrom: It’s like. And I don’t know, I’m 44, so it’s like, as I’m getting older, I just feel this like sacred responsibility to like, take care of people, you know, and to help people and like to be in my calling of like, what, mm-hmm. What I’m here to do. And it’s just, it’s very, very clear that this is what I’m meant to do and I just, I take it seriously.

Amber Lilyestrom: Like, I think when I got into this, I felt a lot of pressure of like, I need to make all this money and I have to have all the success and I have to do this stuff to like be relevant and to matter and all of that. And what I’ve discovered through all of this, like that’s just, that’s not anything. What it really is, is like sitting in this chair, having this conversation with you today, like, this is the most important thing that I could possibly be doing right now.

Amber Lilyestrom: And I really, I really mean that. I take that very seriously.

Becky Beach: I love that you said it means a lot to me because I know how busy you are and, and how, how you probably had a lot of other, um, podcasts to be on, you know, and you chose mine like that. That’s just made me feel so good.

Amber Lilyestrom: Oh, Beck, yeah, of course, of course.

Amber Lilyestrom: I’m on. Thank you for having me.

Becky Beach: Great. Well, this is such an amazing conversation. Um, let let us know where we can find you. Like I know you’re active on your Instagram and on your website, like share your, your [00:24:00] Instagram, everything.

Amber Lilyestrom: Yeah. Okay. I would also, if you’re up for it, could I read a poem too for my new book?

Amber Lilyestrom: Oh, I

Becky Beach: love that. Yeah. I, I wanna, I wanna get your, your poetry book, what was it called, paddle Home or what? Yeah,

Amber Lilyestrom: so my first one is called Paddle Home, and that’s on Amazon. You can grab that now. Oh, and I’ll put that

Becky Beach: right away. Yeah.

Amber Lilyestrom: Yeah. And then my new one, which you are seeing, the proof, this is like Hot off the press, um, it’s coming out on November 18th, is called Little Big Beautiful Things.

Amber Lilyestrom: And so those will be on my, um, and you can go to amber lim.com/books, and my books are all there. Um, but let me read this poem ’cause I feel like this touches a bit of what we’re talking about and it’s kind of a, it’s a fun one. So this poem is called Cajillion Air. My 80-year-old self sits by the window with a cat I do not know yet.

Amber Lilyestrom: In her lap, she looks at the same trees. I danced around with my children when they were small. The same trees that I have grown, that have grown and dropped 1 million leaves since. Mm-hmm. She sips from the mug. Her best friend gave her the one with the ridges and the faded [00:25:00] red and orange paint. She covers herself in the blanket her son gave her on her 44th birthday.

Amber Lilyestrom: Softer now than the day his three-year-old hands proudly unwrapped it for her. Ooh, always makes me cry. Isn’t it a wonder that the most valuable things we own don’t land on a spreadsheet? Isn’t it a magical thing to know that our days are plated in gold? The moment we awaken this enduring tr to this enduring truth, we become instantly richer than we’ve ever known.

Amber Lilyestrom: Wanna be a gajillionaire. Look around your life, your breath, your bones, take in your limitless inheritance. You already are.

Becky Beach: Oh gosh, that, that’s so deep, man. Because it really makes you think, ’cause everybody’s thinking, you, oh, I need to make more money. I need to be more successful. What, what is that like?

Becky Beach: What price, like you hear about these? People that win the lottery and then they end up being penniless in the, in the football years or even months. Exactly. Wife leaves ’em or, or who knows what will happen. Like I always hear horror stories of lottery winners ’cause they get all this money at once and they just don’t know how to, you know, manage it.

Becky Beach: And same with a business owner. Like if you scale too fast, like I, that’s what I, I’m trying to, I’ve been scaling like a lot faster than I intended to. And now I have, I need to really hire a support team because I’m having to do all this support myself and

Amber Lilyestrom: Yeah,

Becky Beach: taking a lot of my time up.

Amber Lilyestrom: And I think, I think this is like, it’s so beautiful that you said that because it’s sort of like this moment where you get to go, do I want that?

Amber Lilyestrom: Like, how much is enough? Like what is the threshold of enough? Mm-hmm. And, and what, what do I wanna hold with in the season that I’m in? It’s why my business is built the way it is. Homeward can continue to scale and that place is easy to scale. ’cause I don’t have to really do anything more than show up and continue to coach.

Amber Lilyestrom: But with my, my Elevate, my Mastermind and my coaching programs, I have a limit and I know what that is. And I’m not trying to transcend that limit. I’m just enjoying the work with the clients in the way that I’m doing it. And my business is set like that. And so there’s still places for growth and scale, but I also like know what I want to do financially and I’m clear on that and my business does that.

Amber Lilyestrom: And it’s just like, that’s a really. It’s a really cool thing, specifically in the season that I’m in with young kids, that I am working 20 hours or less a week because I just, I, I wanna be over there. I wanna be in my house with my kids, doing stuff with them, going on adventures and stuff and yeah. Um, that’s the cool part that we can design it that way, you know, it’s a, it’s a real amazing thing.

Amber Lilyestrom: That we can build these businesses to fit our life and to have the kind of freedom you were talking about earlier. So I love that Becky. Beautiful.

Becky Beach: Oh yeah. It’s just, just so, so amazing that like all the life we can, we can build together, you know? And just. Just be with our family, not think about the hustle because I, I’ve set up a lot of, you know, evergreen funnels that, that just drive sales while I sleep and I’ll wake up till these sales notifications.

Becky Beach: ’cause I just don’t wanna spend the time marketing all the time and, you know, getting on sales calls, like I seldom get on a sales call, probably just have one call a week. And that’s, that’s my membership coaching program. Other than that, like I just try to take it easy and maybe work on a new product, or I just don’t wanna have to be bombarded with all this stuff I gotta do.

Becky Beach: So like you so good. It’s like gotta create your own business, like how it works for you. Like there’s no cookie cutter business. You know? Everybody has their own direction and so you can’t really compare yourself to others. Like, I can’t. Compare myself to Amber. You know, at first I was Amber. I was comparing myself to you saying, oh, Amber Amber’s just so further along, you know, she’s like so much more successful.

Becky Beach: Like, she’s able to limit this beautiful lake house, you know? But I’m, I’m kind of near a lake, maybe, maybe like a mile away from my life, but I can’t see it outside my window. I. So I was like trying to, you know, like, I was like, wow, she’s just so amazing. She has like so much more than I do.

Amber Lilyestrom: Aw, I love that.

Amber Lilyestrom: And I think it’s such a human thing for us to do that. And then what, what’s the flip of that? Then you, you actually start to realize like, well, what’s good about my life? Like, what do I love about what I’m doing and what’s my design? And I often think like. Where I live is truly, it’s my dream of dreams.

Amber Lilyestrom: It is extremely magical. Mm-hmm. And then there’s sometimes where, like I go to my best friend’s house down in Virginia and a, like her winter, I live in New Hampshire. And so it’s really, it’s getting cold now. Like it’s cold, it’s gonna keep getting colder. And I really like winter’s a little tricky for me.

Amber Lilyestrom: Um, I don’t embrace the winter in the way that a, a lot of people that live in the cold do. And so I think about, oh my gosh, she has flowers in March and I’m not gonna see a flower until like May. Yeah. And then I think about, like, I have no closets in my house ’cause we live in a cottage on the lake that we’ve like built onto, but mm-hmm.

Amber Lilyestrom: We don’t have a lot of storage and she has like so much storage and all these bedrooms and I’m like, man, I’m never gonna have a house. That big. So you can always think of something that you’re like, that would be really cool. And what I do with it is I go, I love that so much. And that’s so amazing. And also like.

Amber Lilyestrom: I still choose this ’cause this is my world and I love it so much. And so I think like, you can do that, you know, like we can all do that. Um, and then here’s the other piece. If it really feels that inspiring [00:30:00] to you, we’re, we’re gonna spend the whole month of March in Florida this year. Oh. And so I’m really excited.

Amber Lilyestrom: That’s like a really big thing for us. It’s like, that’s like you’re going to France thing. Like that’s for us. Like, we’re gonna go to my favorite place on 30 A and spend a month there. Um. And it feels like a real gift to give to myself and my family and like to be at the beach for that much time and to work from there and you know, have the whole family down there.

Amber Lilyestrom: And our pet sitter will be here taking care of the house and, oh, I think that’s great. You know, like, that feels like a really expansive thing. So, so it’s like, okay, well. If I just keep having this hit that, like, I don’t wanna spend the whole winter here, then what would I do? And so then I get to go create that.

Amber Lilyestrom: So maybe you’re like, I’m gonna spend a week at a lake house in the summer. ’cause that feels exciting and expansive to me. And I get to go have that experience and then we get to look forward to it, you know? Yeah.

Becky Beach: Yeah, that sounds like so much fun.

Amber Lilyestrom: Yeah, it’s gonna be good. I’m just

Becky Beach: really excited, like everything you got going on, like, I’ll make sure to put all your links in the show notes.

Becky Beach: So, um, everybody go to BeckyBeachShow.com if you’d like to connect with Amber. I’ll have her book, her Paddle Home poetry book. That’s just, I’m gonna immediately get that after the call and then we’ll put on her, um, Instagram and then her website. So, so Amber, do you have any last words for our audience today?

Amber Lilyestrom: I just think, you know, you are the greatest gift that you can give to your community and your audience. And so, um, doing that in whatever way is the most you keep on doing it. And also, I just wanna say thank you to you, Becky, for all that you do and for the opportunity to be here on your show. And I just, I really appreciate your uniqueness and the way your heart works and the way your genius brain works.

Amber Lilyestrom: I’m all, I always learn from you when I hear you talk about things that you’re doing, and I’m always so fascinated. And, um, I think you’re such an inspiration. So thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be on your show today.

Becky Beach: Oh, oh, great. Thanks so much. Have a great day everybody.