Essential listening for anyone who has ever wondered if it is okay to choose a life that simply feels good.

What happens when two people follow each other from a distance for over a decade, meet briefly, and then discover their connection runs so much deeper than they ever imagined? Michelle Waithe came into my life through a series of synchronicities so specific and so unlikely that I still get chills thinking about them. She became my director of operations, then my collaborator, and somewhere in there, my soul sister.

In this conversation, we go everywhere. From the moment she named her foster ducklings after my grandfathers, to her journey from holistic nutritionist to operations director to off-grid homesteader in Northeastern Ontario. We talk about living with type 1 diabetes, what it really means to acclimatize to a life that most people would find deeply uncomfortable, and why joy is not a luxury. It is the whole point.

We also talk about grief, slow living, writing cursive letters, making things with your hands, and what it looks and feels like when you stop performing your life and start actually living it.

Listen Below Or Enjoy On Your Favourite Podcast App

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Youtube

Covered In This Episode

• What two foster ducklings named after Meghan's grandfathers — without Michelle ever knowing — say about a connection that doesn't require explanation.

• How Michelle moved from holistic nutritionist to operations director to off-grid homesteader, and why none of it was a detour.

• What it was actually like to arrive at a completely off-grid property in Northeastern Ontario with no running water, no electricity, three cats, two dogs, and zero regret.

• Why Michelle's body, which has never tolerated cold, fully acclimatized to minus 30 temperatures, and what she noticed about the difference between natural and artificial heat. 

•  A type 1 diabetes diagnosis at 12, years of denial, and what finally shifted when she stopped fighting her body and started understanding it.

• Both of Michelle's parents passed away within a few years of each other, after 62 years together. What she says about their spirits still being present is the quietest and most profound moment in this conversation.

• What happened when Michelle turned the tables and asked the question she'd been holding back for months, and why the answer about hanging art on a wall matters more than it might seem.

• Why Meghan now thinks her so-called pivot to fiber art isn't actually a pivot at all. That the 20 years of building a nutrition empire might be better understood as the long way around, not the destination.

Chapters 

00:00 Welcome to The Courageous Pivot Podcast
07:21 The Duck Names That Changed Everything
09:13 How Michelle Became Director of Operations
12:10 When Work Becomes the Container for Friendship
19:38 Going Completely Off-Grid
28:23 Acclimatising to Cold and the Forest
35:38 Growing Up Joyful
35:26 Living With Type 1 Diabetes
56:22 Losing Both Parents, Finding Their Spirit
01:02:46 The Moment the Art Became Real

NEW SPECIAL OFFER

• FREE + BRAND NEW: The Heart Reset Masterclass – A complimentary short program with Meghan Telpner exploring how to create alignment between your heart and mind, access inner calm, and live from your most authentic self.

• Click here to get 30% off Money Mastery: A wildly practical approach to financial literacy, empowered money mindset, and wealth building for a life of joy and freedom. (Click here if you reside in Canada).

Related Episodes

• EP 028: The Awakening Process: How to Navigate Waking Up Without Blowing Up Your Life — Michelle describes her teenage years as having a veil or a cloud over her joy. This episode is the map for exactly that, what happens when the veil starts to lift and you finally have to reckon with what's underneath.
• EP 039: The Key to Finding Your Way Back to the Life You Actually Want — Because Meghan doesn't call the art a pivot in this episode. She calls it a return. This one is for anyone sitting with that same quiet recognition.
• EP 041: The Fertile Void: Burning Out, Letting Go, and Learning to Just Be with Heather Crosby — For anyone who heard Michelle talk about loosening her grip on the plan, and the relief that came with it. Heather goes there too, deeply. 

More About Michelle Waithe

• Michelle on Instagram  - Where she shares her world, her animals, and the kind of content that makes you want to slow down.

• Holistic Homesteader on Instagram - The homestead account, still finding its rhythm, but well worth following for anyone curious about what it actually looks like to build a life on the land.

Michelle began her career in the field of holistic nutrition, consulting and teaching students at the same schools she attended. Over time, her work expanded into leadership roles supporting businesses behind the scenes, running operations, and building systems that support growth and freedom.

Today, she weaves in Human Design to help individuals and business owners make decisions in a way that truly works for them. Most recently, she’s stepped into off-grid living on her homestead while continuing her work in operations and Human Design, creating a life rooted in freedom and doing things her own way.