Crucial Keys to Happiness and Success | Interview with Michele Caron on The Sheri Kaye Hoff Show

In this episode of The Sheri Kaye Hoff Show, Sheri interviews Michele Caron, diving deep into the essential aspects of achieving true happiness and success. Michele explains why most people focus on the wrong things and how shifting priorities can transform your life. Instead of managing time, she emphasizes energy management as a more powerful tool for achieving your goals. They explore the idea that goals don’t create happiness but serve as a pathway to learning how to be happy. Michele also shares that you don’t need to know exactly how to heal, grow, or change; instead, the key is offering yourself love and compassion. The conversation highlights that all your external relationships—whether with people, money, or your career—are a reflection of the relationship you have with yourself. This insightful discussion will leave you with actionable strategies for living a more balanced, joyful, and successful life.

Transcript

[00:15] Welcome to The Sheri Kaye Hoff Show,
[00:17] where we focus on living joyfully every day and cultivating heart and soul-based success. You can find The Sheri Kaye Hoff Show at SheriKayeHoff.com. That’s SheriKayeHoff.com.

[00:39] I’d like to introduce you to my guest today. Coach Michele Caron is the founder of MyLifeCoach.com and has been an executive life coach for over 20 years. She left her corporate career after 9/11 to create a better world, knowing she had a responsibility to help shape it.

[01:01] Little did she know that MyLifeCoach.com would become Google's #1 life coaching site in the world within a few years. Michele has focused on coaching executives, business owners, coaches, artists, and other leaders to live fulfilling, successful lives by aligning with their true selves. She resides along the shores of the world’s longest freshwater beach in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada. Michele’s newest adventure is learning to ride a motorcycle, but she enjoys biking with her rescue husky-border collie, Mitzi, even more. You can learn more about Michele at CoachMichele.com.

[01:55] Hi Michele, it’s so amazing to have you here today! I’m excited for our conversation. How are you, and tell us where you are in the world right now.

[02:06] Sheri, thank you! I’m thrilled to be here. I’m currently in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, which is where I live. It’s the longest freshwater beach in the world, and we have mountains and forests here. It’s a beautiful place to live. I wanted to live somewhere that felt like a vacation, so I work from home and talk to people all over the world. I’m incredibly fortunate to live here, and I’m so happy to be speaking with you today.

[02:53] Oh, me too! We’ve known each other for a while, so I’m excited to dive into our conversation. One of the things you say is that most people are focused on the wrong things. Tell us more about that.

[03:10] Yes, this is such an important concept. Most people focus on their careers, making money, and achieving goals. While those things are important, I remind people that relationships are what truly bring fulfillment in life. I often talk to successful people in their 50s who wonder why they aren’t happy or fulfilled, and the missing piece is often the people in their lives. Beyond relationships, we also tend to focus too much on things we can’t control. Real mastery lies in where we place our emotional focus. Once we learn to manage both our mental and emotional focus, everything in life starts to align better.

[04:45] I love that. Can you give an example of what struggling with emotional control looks like?

[05:01] Sure. A common example is in the workplace. You want to do well and be liked, but worrying too much about what others think can cause you to lose sight of being yourself. I teach my clients to focus on what they can control: what they think, feel, say, and do. Everything else, like others’ opinions or external outcomes, is beyond our control and should be left to the universe or a higher power. When you focus on your own right actions and your authentic feelings, things start to go more smoothly.

[07:04] That’s so true. I consider myself a highly empathic person, and I used to struggle with feeling the emotions of others, which threw me off balance. What advice would you give to empathic people who are easily affected by their surroundings?

[07:32] First of all, being empathic is a wonderful asset. It allows you to sense your environment deeply, which can make you a great coach, as it has for you. But it’s important not to take things personally. If someone else is upset, even if it seems related to you, it’s not necessarily about you. A great way to manage this is to become more aware of your own energy. Visualize yourself expanding your energy when you wake up in the morning, creating a sense of awareness of your own boundaries. You can be compassionate and caring without absorbing others' emotions. This awareness helps you stay centered and present, which ultimately makes you more helpful.

[10:00] Excellent points. This ties into energy management, which you say is far more important than time management. Can you explain what that means?

[10:24] Absolutely. Many people come to coaching feeling overwhelmed and say they have no time. We often look at their schedules and see they’re packed. However, the real issue is energy management. We have four types of energy: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. If we take care of all these energies, we find we have more time because we stop wasting it on actions that drain us. When we manage our energy, everything feels more aligned and time seems to expand.

[12:20] I completely agree. Time is fluid. Something that should take two weeks can take a weekend when you’re in the right flow.

[13:20] Exactly! When you’re acting from alignment, you can accomplish amazing things in what seems like no time at all.

[13:51] You also say that goals don’t make you happy, but they are a vehicle for learning to be happy. How can people shift their mindset around this?

[14:17] It’s important to understand that happiness comes from the process, not the outcome. Goals are wonderful, but they’re meant to teach us how to be happy in the journey. You need to place value on happiness now, not after achieving something. That’s why your book Keys to Living Joyfully is so genius—it reminds people that happiness comes first, not last.

[15:40] Thank you! That book was born from my realization that even after achieving something big, I didn’t feel the overwhelming joy I expected. I realized I needed to make a shift in my mindset.

[16:36] That’s such a valuable insight! It’s essential to enjoy the process because life is a journey. There’s no ultimate end goal.

[17:08] Absolutely. My son, who runs ultra-marathons, and I talked about how there can be a sense of loss after achieving a big goal. It’s important to make that mental shift, just like he has.

[18:01] He’s lucky to have you to guide him!

[18:22] Thank you. Another concept you mention is that you don’t need to know how to heal or change—you just need to give yourself love and compassion. Can you elaborate on that?

[18:23] Yes, this is crucial. We don’t always know the exact steps to take in healing or growth, and that’s okay. What’s most important is giving yourself love and compassion when challenges arise. Your body, mind, and spirit know what they need to heal. By offering yourself comfort and care, the path forward often becomes clearer.

[20:01] That’s beautiful. A great reflective question would be, “How can I love myself through this?”

[20:28] Absolutely. Your relationship with yourself affects every other relationship in your life. If you can cultivate a loving relationship with yourself, it reflects positively on your relationships with others, your career, your money, and even your body.

[21:56] That’s such a powerful concept, but what do you say to people who think self-love is selfish?

[22:21] I believe taking care of yourself allows you to show up more fully for others. When you’re your best self, you can contribute more to the world. Self-care isn’t indulgent—it’s essential for being the healthiest and most present version of yourself.

[23:13] That’s a great point. So much of our resistance to self-love comes from old stories, but when we shift our mindset, it’s incredibly powerful. I know you have a freebie for our listeners—can you tell us about it?

[24:13] Yes! If you visit CoachMichele.com, you can download my 99 Intentions for a Great Life guide. It’s filled with small things you can focus on to bring more happiness and fulfillment into your life.

[24:52] Wonderful! As we wrap up, what’s one thing you’d like listeners to take away from this conversation?

[25:09] The number one thing is to prioritize your happiness. When you focus on being happy and healthy, everything else falls into place. You’ll find that achieving your goals becomes easier and more enjoyable.

[25:58] Thank you so much, Michele, for joining me today! I know listeners will get so much value from this, and I look forward to having you back again soon.

[26:11] Thank you, Sheri! It’s been a pleasure, and I look forward to our next conversation.

[26:16] You can find The Sheri Kaye Hoff Show at SheriKayeHoff.com.