Designing a Life You Love: The Five Pillars of Workplace Happiness with Melissa St. John

In today's episode Melissa St. John, CEO of Relocation Strategies, joins Jill to unpack the truth about workplace happiness and employee engagement—and why a shocking 75% of employees feel disengaged at work. 

They dive into the five pillars of workplace happiness, showing how aligning your passions with your strengths, embracing adversity, and cultivating meaningful connections can transform not just your work—but your life. 

Whether you’re a leader building a thriving team or an individual seeking more fulfillment in your career, this episode will inspire you to stop settling for “fine” and start designing a life and career you truly love. 

Connect with Melissa via the links below:

LinkedIn

Relocation Strategies

Hire Melissa to Speak

Chapters:

00:00
Introduction to Workplace Happiness

03:16
Understanding Employee Disengagement

09:16
The Impact of Office Environment on Productivity

16:17
Choosing Your Career Path

24:26
The Five Pillars of Workplace Happiness

46:16
Embracing Adversity and Building a Support Network

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Transcript

Jill O'Boyle (00:03.129)
Well, hello friends and welcome back to another episode of Your Life, Your Story. Rise up. I am your host, Jill O'Boyle, and I am so excited that you are here today and taking the time to listen to this podcast. I know that you have so many options in this podcast world. So the fact that you landed here is just a joy in my heart. So thank you for being here. So today, what I would love to do is to open up with a question.

Melissa St John (00:09.015)
you

Jill O'Boyle (00:33.015)
And that question is, have you ever felt stuck? Like your job is just draining your energy instead of fueling it. And so if you answered yes to that question, I want you to know that you're not alone. Like our guest today is gonna share with you a incredible statistic. And that is that 75 % of employees are disengaged currently at their work.

75%. So today you're gonna have the pleasure of hearing from Melissa St. John, the CEO of Relocation Strategies. She brings over 30 years of experience in interior design, space planning and workplace strategy. Melissa is recognized as a thought leader.

She's recognized as a thought leader and an advocate for women in business who has transformed her firm from a move management company into a full service design and project management consultancy. So known for her contagious energy and passion for workplace happiness, Melissa frequently speaks on leadership, growth, and employee engagement. She believes that when you align your passions with your strengths, work stops feeling like work and starts feeling like fulfillment.

So today we're gonna dive into her proven five pillars of workplace happiness, how your environment, your relationships impact your day-to-day joy and practical steps that you can take to truly choose you in your career. So without further ado, Melissa, welcome to the show.

Melissa St John (02:13.518)
Thank you, Jill. I'm so excited to be here. I'm so excited to get to know you better. I've really enjoyed learning and listening to your podcasts and what you're doing, and I think it's amazing.

Jill O'Boyle (02:18.368)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (02:25.137)
Yes, well, I'm excited to dive in as well. I always believe in like divine connections. And so I love that we had a mutual friend and I got to sit next to you at a women's networking event. And so as we the conversation just generally unfolded and you were like, I would love to come on the podcast. And we talked about what you might talk about. I'm like, OK, you you speak like what I love to speak about. Like, so this is going to be a great.

conversation for the listeners. know there's a lot of high achieving women that listen to this podcast. So I'm just excited for myself to grow and learn with you today as well as the listeners. So I want to go back to that statistic. Like when you sent that over across email, that 75 % of employees are disengaged at work. just like, I mean, I was just taken back. And so I want to talk about like, my gosh, this is huge.

So talk to me about the statistic. How did you come across it and what did that mean personally to you as you kind of read that?

Melissa St John (03:30.894)
I've been trying to expand my knowledge base, not just to know what I know, but I've been going to, I've gone to SHRM, Society for HR Managers. I've gone to the Indiana State Chamber HR conferences, just trying to learn more about what are HR people dealing with. And it was shocking to me. So it is the highest number it has ever been in the history of work. And I just really wanted to dive into that as to why.

Jill O'Boyle (04:00.557)
Yes. Yeah.

Melissa St John (04:01.549)
And how do we fix this? And we as human beings don't want to be unhappy. We don't want to be disengaged. mean, and so I just, it perplexes me and I just really need to understand the why and then how to fix it. How can we fix it?

Jill O'Boyle (04:15.211)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yes, yes. So in your own kind of career journey, was there something that made you so passionate? You know, because I can tell that you're passionate about it, like the why I am too. I'm like, and I know we're gonna get into a little bit of that, but was there something about your career journey that made you passionate about just helping others and seeing this need for happiness in the workplace?

Melissa St John (04:39.853)
So 1000 % I'm giving credit to my dad. And my dad was, I tell people, a shrink. Okay, so I grew up my whole life with free head shrinking. I say that very jokingly, but when my dad was raising me, well, I have a mother as well, but my mom's not a shrink. So anyway, my dad would.

Jill O'Boyle (04:51.82)
You

Jill O'Boyle (05:00.589)
Mm-hmm.

Melissa St John (05:01.757)
sent me down at a very young age and he would say what gets you excited what makes you tick what do want to do you know today or you know and I would I'd say you know what I want to take painting lessons so he drove me out in the country to Gladys Flynn's house and I had painting lessons and you know what that made me happy and you know what my had brothers I had a sister

They did other things. My brother played the saxophone, but he always, always was very interested in what gets you excited, what makes you happy. So when it came time to choose a career, we went through all the things that could possibly be done that I would be passionate about. I would be happy. I'd go into work every day and it would not be a job. So I have to say, I am so beyond blessed that my dad...

Jill O'Boyle (05:31.833)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (05:48.941)
Yes.

Melissa St John (05:50.368)
embedded that into my brain and I thought it was normal. I thought all dads said that to their kids. And so when I went to go pick out my job, he was like, well, why don't you shadow a couple places and see if you like it? And so we had a family friend and they were interior designers. And I went and I worked in their store for a day and I said, my gosh, they love colors. They love workplaces. They love talking to their clients. I'm like, that's what I want to be. And it was so easy because I'm a

Jill O'Boyle (05:55.459)
Sure.

Melissa St John (06:18.881)
you know, design mind. like space, space. I'm very spatial. used to, you know, arrange my room. And so that's what I went to school for. And I went to Purdue for interior design. And again, I probably walked up and down the, you know, the halls and the streets of Purdue. And it felt like, you know, nine out of 10 people there were guys in engineering. And I hear I'm taking interior design, but they did have interior design. And that's what I wanted. So that's what I did.

Jill O'Boyle (06:26.873)
Wow.

Jill O'Boyle (06:46.701)
That's incredible. And what a blessing to have a mentor like that, a mentor that is your dad, to guide you into thinking about what do you, Melissa, personally love to do? What you, what lights you up? You know, I wish so many more people would take that path, know, versus the, hey, I did this, you should follow my path, right? You should do this because that's what our family does, or.

We had the family business you should follow in the footsteps. I think there's so many times. What's that?

Melissa St John (07:18.081)
guess what they pick it for the money they pick it for the money that's what you didn't mention because I'm telling you a lot of people with their kids they'll say what what makes the most money and and you know what that doesn't necessarily mean they're gonna be happy so

Jill O'Boyle (07:23.105)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (07:34.211)
That's right.

Melissa St John (07:37.194)
I chose what was passionate about and guess what? The money comes. If you're happy and you're doing great things and you are changing people's lives and their workplaces, the money will come. But I will be honest, I was very thin and starving. I was a starving artist because I feel like the first few years I had no money and I charged everything on a credit card. I remember my parents were so mad at me because I went and bought a new bedroom set from Kittles and they were like, what are you doing? And I'm like,

Jill O'Boyle (07:40.856)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (08:05.589)
I have to have a bedroom set that's nice. And they're like, can afford that. And I go, I know I can't. But I did marry an engineer and he had a good time.

Jill O'Boyle (08:07.191)
Yeah. Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (08:11.641)
you

Jill O'Boyle (08:16.173)
There you go.

working out. Here's all my debt, honey. Here's my debt.

Melissa St John (08:20.669)
So, he was an engineer. So, it's a story. But anyway, you do need to have a little help. And if you're going to go after your passion, you do have to think about how is it going to feed you. So, I knew that once I got married and we had two incomes, I'd really be able to follow my passion. So.

Jill O'Boyle (08:25.913)
no, I love that.

Jill O'Boyle (08:34.297)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (08:42.807)
I love that. One of my coaches when, a years ago, she said, follow the breadcrumbs of joy. And I've always had that visual of like, honestly, it is like when you follow the breadcrumbs of joy, the doors just do keep opening for you. And it may take a little bit, but if you're passionate about what you love, know, money can't buy happiness, but the fulfillment will come.

Melissa St John (08:50.945)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (09:10.199)
the bride will come and maybe that spouse that can also help you along the way too. Like that's excellent.

Melissa St John (09:14.893)
Yeah, and that's, mean, again, I believe that marriage, know, you're a team and, you know, that's what it's all about.

Jill O'Boyle (09:19.585)
Yep. That's right. That's right. So let's talk a little bit about your company relocation strategies. So you help organizations kind of rethink their workplace to truly meet the needs of their staff. So you talk about physical office space, like talk to us a little bit about how that impacts, you know, the productivity, the engagement. We talked about that statistic of being disengaged at work. So I would love

to hear how you bring this all together in this realm of happiness at work, productivity at work, your mood at work.

Melissa St John (09:57.966)
Sure, so I feel like if I had a little marker board, I would draw you an equation like I'm a professor because I've done so much research on this and the only way that I can, I feel like visually that I could explain this, not like I'm writing this on a marker board, is employee engagement plus productivity plus innovation equals profit. And so,

Jill O'Boyle (10:02.84)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (10:23.255)
Hmm

Melissa St John (10:25.521)
I have seen companies that if they work on their employee engagement, then people become more profitable. And if they become more profitable as a company, they're going to be more productive. All these things are intertwined. It's like a math problem. And if you take one out, it doesn't add up. So the workplace...

Jill O'Boyle (10:44.033)
Mm-hmm. Mm.

Melissa St John (10:46.717)
is so important. It's the foundation of our culture, okay? And where you work and who you're with and what you see and just, you you think about all the senses and how, you know, let's say yes, it's still the number one cause why people quit is the boss. Well, I can't control that. I'm not a boss consultant, but I can help with the space.

Jill O'Boyle (11:06.477)
Right.

Melissa St John (11:10.825)
And you know, when people walk into a space, they make 11 impressions in seven seconds. So if you as a company are trying to attract people, you know, there's a term out there, it's called ghosting. They walk in and they're like, my gosh, this place, it's dark or it smells or the carpets already and the waiting room chair has a rip in it or whatever. mean, that turns people off and some people just ghost and they just walk right out. So it's even like, I mean, I don't mean to bring dating into this, but it's like dating.

Jill O'Boyle (11:19.619)
Mmm.

Jill O'Boyle (11:36.002)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (11:40.832)
You make 11 impressions in 7 seconds. So if you want somebody to come in and interview at your company, you have to have a space that's nice. You have to have it clean. You have to have it well lit. So we want to help with all of those things. And again, I'm not selling employee engagement. I feel like what I'm doing is I'm solving the problem of getting people to want to go into the office, go into work, have more happiness.

Jill O'Boyle (11:48.95)
Ow.

Jill O'Boyle (12:02.241)
Mm-hmm.

Hmm

Melissa St John (12:07.659)
And that's the physical office space. So that's what my firm does with the design. We help with the arranging of furniture. We help with, you know, adding walls or tearing down walls. And it's just it's so fun because I love love to get the quote at the end of the project where the CEO, the CFO, you know, I even sent a survey out to a lot of our clients and said, after we worked with you, what percentage did your employee engagement and productivity

Jill O'Boyle (12:10.553)
You're right.

Jill O'Boyle (12:31.192)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (12:37.583)
go up and our average number, Jill, is 25%. That it went up because we made their space.

Jill O'Boyle (12:38.968)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (12:43.349)
Wow, that's incredible!

Melissa St John (12:46.861)
We made it what they needed it to be. It's a reflection of their business. It needs to inspire people. It needs to motivate people. It needs to be healthy. It needs to, you know, well-being. A lot of people are saying, you know, plants make people feel more, you know, at home. And I'm going to throw some words into you. And again, I wish, again, I'm writing it on the market board, but I want you to think of residential.

Jill O'Boyle (12:50.253)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (13:04.483)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (13:08.076)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (13:13.601)
plus commercial, what are those two together? The word is called res-i-mer-cial and what that means is we're trying to bring more at home.

Jill O'Boyle (13:15.545)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (13:20.089)
Mmm.

Yep.

Melissa St John (13:23.763)
into the office. Looking behind you and you have, I can see plants, I can see natural light, I can see calm cool colors. That's residential and you know what it makes people feel at home. So after everybody went home for covid, they didn't want to go back to the office because it was cold, lights were bright and there were no plants and there were no soft cushy seats and all the young people just sitting on their sofa crisscross applesauce doing their laptop and they're like there's no sofas around here

Jill O'Boyle (13:36.747)
Huh?

Jill O'Boyle (13:40.149)
to the office.

Jill O'Boyle (13:46.936)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (13:53.781)
Everything was just hard.

conference tables. And so, you know, we even at our office, we took our, our conference room, we took the conference table out all the conference room chairs out and now we call it our living room, because we put in a big L shaped sofa with an ottoman and a TV and a lounge chair. And you know what, it can be both like a review room, just a meeting room, it can be a, it could be a nursing room, it can be a quiet room, you lock the door, but you might disturb but

Jill O'Boyle (13:56.162)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (14:08.067)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (14:21.229)
Wow.

Melissa St John (14:24.469)
We just need more resomershal and that makes people feel comforted. You know what mean? Like they're not back in the shock of, know, I show picture. Yeah. We're like to say, you don't want to be there. You don't want to be there. And if you don't want to be there, you're disengaged.

Jill O'Boyle (14:26.217)
Mm-hmm. I love that.

Yeah, yeah.

Yes. Yeah. That stale office environment. Yes. Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (14:42.583)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (14:46.339)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (14:46.411)
And if you're disengaged, means you could get a text that day and it says, Hey, I'm a headhunter. I'm looking for so-and-so and I'll pay you 10 grand more. How, how many times do people go click? I'm gone. They go resign that day because they're having it. So as employers.

Jill O'Boyle (14:58.539)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Wow.

Melissa St John (15:04.639)
as coworkers, as a country, I mean, people have to want to work and be in an office. It's not healthy for all these people to work from home all the time. understand, I understand part-time. I understand hybrid. Hybrid, think, is the best thing ever. And the number one question I get, Joe, is do you think we're going back? Do you think everyone will go back into the office?

Jill O'Boyle (15:16.419)
all the time. I agree with that.

Melissa St John (15:30.857)
It's absolutely not. People love hybrid. I love taking the day and just, I'm in my pajamas all day and I'm going to do bang out typing work all day or research all day because I need quiet. So that's, mean, it's one and one. I seriously can do like a four hour podcast.

Jill O'Boyle (15:32.321)
I think, yeah, I agree. I agree.

Jill O'Boyle (15:38.786)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (15:42.509)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I think it'll.

Jill O'Boyle (15:49.782)
I I love, get fired up about this stuff too because I also think like that is also allowing your employers to just feel some ownership and accountability that you're gonna trust that, hey, I am at home but I'm accountable to get my stuff done in the timeframe of a work day, even though I might throw in laundry during lunch, right? Like you're giving people that flexibility.

Melissa St John (16:03.18)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (16:17.251)
But I also agree with you. I, you know, my husband and both own, you know, two businesses. And so we both work out of our, out of our home, but from coming from corporate, you know, I was in corporate, you know, up until the last three years of when I started this business, there are, I am very external, like outgoing person. And so like, I have to make those intentional networking things. I set up coffee because just staying here isolated in my house is, no good for anybody.

Melissa St John (16:46.101)
It's not.

Jill O'Boyle (16:47.063)
It's not gonna be good for my clients either.

Melissa St John (16:49.869)
But you're also bringing me into your home through this technology. So you're not really sitting home alone, but just from meeting you at that women's networking, you go out and go about and go places. And so you are a hybrid worker.

Jill O'Boyle (16:52.619)
Right. That's right.

Jill O'Boyle (17:04.865)
Right, right. Yeah. Yeah, I like that. I'm going to start using that. I'm a hybrid worker. So let's let's talk about. Yeah, let's talk about choosing you. So in your bio, you mentioned like choosing you like do what you love. Don't settle like I love how your dad kind of engraved that into you from just that young age. So how how do you help? Let's help the listener right here. How do people even start to figure out?

Melissa St John (17:07.681)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (17:11.627)
You are. are.

Jill O'Boyle (17:34.061)
what they're passionate about, what are the things that they love, what could be a career path for them if they're feeling completely stuck right now. What's some thoughts that you have?

Melissa St John (17:43.978)
Sure, And I will give you the best advice that I was ever given in my whole life. when it was time for me to switch jobs.

Jill O'Boyle (17:50.328)
Mm-hmm.

Melissa St John (17:56.682)
When everyone knows when you're like, okay, it's time, I need to do something else, I need to pivot. I sent out resumes and I applied to some jobs. And I'm not bragging, I'm just saying fact, but this was a long time ago. This one, there was tons and tons of jobs out there. But anyway.

Jill O'Boyle (18:12.755)
Right

Melissa St John (18:14.509)
I got three offers, okay, I got three offers. And they were very, very different jobs, okay. One was an interior design firm, one was working at a furniture dealership, and the other one was working at relocation strategies. And I was so torn, I did not know how to make a decision. And so this is the best advice I ever got. I did not get this from my dad, I got it from a therapist, because I went to a therapist and said, I need help because I just am so confused.

Jill O'Boyle (18:35.137)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (18:39.455)
She said, what I want you to do, and I say this in my public speaking, is I want you to go lock yourself in a room, no technology, no noise, and literally plan like an hour. And I know that's a long time, but literally take paper in there and I want you to journal for an hour of uninterrupted, and you're gonna have one page.

Jill O'Boyle (18:45.933)
Mm-hmm.

Melissa St John (19:00.991)
of all the things that make you happy. All the things that make you happy. mean, you know, for me, you know, it was art, it was people, was, you know, go down the list and then you're going to all things that, that, that frustrate you. Like I'll tell you for me, I don't like mosquitoes. I don't like hiking. I don't like bugs. mean, like, I don't want an outside job. So you're thinking of all the things that, make you frustrated or angry and all the things that make you happy. Then she said in your last job, I want

Jill O'Boyle (19:03.299)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (19:18.169)
Same.

Melissa St John (19:30.898)
you to make a list of all the things you love that you did at work, all the tasks that you loved. You know, I'm like, well, I really liked it when I had appointments with people because I'm a people person. I liked when I could do this. I like and then all the things you didn't like about your job. But literally what you're doing is you're you're pulling it out of yourself. And then once you take a list of all the things that you love that you love, you know, for me, it was, you know, it was art, was people, it was

Jill O'Boyle (19:35.373)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (19:41.592)
Yep.

Jill O'Boyle (19:49.943)
Mm-hmm

Melissa St John (19:59.03)
talking. I get paid to talk. I need a job that I can talk. You know, I can't sit and be an entry person all day. And so then the tasks that I loved and just went through and then the last part of it were like, what are your bonus things? And you know, for me, I ranked the bonus things. And you know what the bonus things for me were? The boss.

Jill O'Boyle (20:02.253)
Right.

Jill O'Boyle (20:06.145)
No. Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (20:17.23)
Mmm.

Melissa St John (20:25.505)
The boss was one. And then number two, it was where was I at in my life? What do I need? And do you know what I needed? I needed flexibility.

Jill O'Boyle (20:32.792)
Mmm.

Yep.

Melissa St John (20:36.831)
And so you know what, I had to choose a job. And so I had heard, not going to mention who it is, but I heard that that interior design firm that I was going to, they had a time clock and they would check people in and check people out. And it was very stringent on where you were going, what you did. And then the other place, it was more of a commission. It was at a furniture dealership. And I was like, I am a single mom and I can't be yanked and pulled. And what if my kid is six? And that was like my bonus list.

Jill O'Boyle (21:00.087)
Right.

Sure.

Melissa St John (21:06.847)
And if I can have all these things and the bonus list, I needed flexibility. So I chose Relocation Strategies as the job. And this was 18 years ago. I took a job at Relocation Strategies. People like I started the company, but I didn't, Jill. I worked for my boss. I love Tim.

Jill O'Boyle (21:11.796)
Great.

Jill O'Boyle (21:23.383)
Okay.

Melissa St John (21:25.835)
He was so kind and so generous and gentle and teaching. And he said, you know what, we don't keep time sheets here. He goes, I trust my employees. He goes, you go do what you're supposed to do. Come back. You know, I pay you. He was old school and you know what? had a contract with a client. David Bay's never even had a contract. He handshook with everyone. And so I was blown away. never met anyone like this, but I was like, I got my bonus list.

Jill O'Boyle (21:42.454)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (21:46.618)
Wow.

Jill O'Boyle (21:50.841)
Love that.

Melissa St John (21:55.532)
I got the list I love. I got the tasks I love. This is it. So I didn't even hesitate. And then lastly, you know what? People ask me the number one question is what was the money from those three jobs? I was like, you know what? The money was similar. You know, a similar, there was one that was way, way more. They were similar, but.

Jill O'Boyle (22:00.459)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (22:09.591)
Yeah, right.

Sure.

Melissa St John (22:15.245)
I was so happy. I took this job almost 19 years ago and I was so happy and I thrived and I loved what I did because of those lists. Those lists. And I call them my non-negotiables. And long story short, which I don't know if you knew this, but he asked me a year and a half later to buy his business.

Jill O'Boyle (22:26.008)
Yes.

Yep.

Jill O'Boyle (22:38.285)
That is incredible. my gosh, talk about an amazing opportunity.

Melissa St John (22:40.555)
Yeah, the world would have thought I would be a business owner. People all think I grew up and I wanted to do this my whole life. No, I know my parents never said you need to be a business. My parents were business owners. My mom told me not to do it. My mom was like, no, don't buy it. Don't buy it. She goes, she's a school teacher and she's like, don't buy it. It's too risky. It's too scary. It's too dangerous. was mom with two little kids. I was divorced.

Jill O'Boyle (22:47.801)
No, right.

Jill O'Boyle (23:05.785)
Hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (23:10.137)
Okay. Yeah. Good.

Melissa St John (23:10.347)
I was depressed. So I just pushed, I pushed all my chips in, Jill, pushed them all in. I got a home equity credit on my house. I paid him a deposit and boom, my mom about had a heart attack.

Jill O'Boyle (23:15.969)
Yep. Yep.

Jill O'Boyle (23:23.563)
I bet she did and good and good on you to to go in deep and really think about what is the best interest for me? Not what my parents say, not what my friends say, not what anybody else says. How do I feel about this decision? Because I think what so many times what I have found is people do know exactly what they love. They do know what they would do and they let the opinions of others and fear.

and security and safety rob them from that joy. So amazing. And look, how long ago was that for you?

Melissa St John (24:02.317)
It was in 2007 that I bought the business. All this that I've learned through the years, I've been so thirsty to learn and I have to throw this statistic in there that if people do like their office, they are 33 % more engaged.

Jill O'Boyle (24:04.781)
Yeah, and you're still going strong. Here you are.

Melissa St John (24:24.205)
I have all these statistics. I have my little cheat sheet here because I have PowerPoints. I've done this presentation. And it's just shocking to me, but it's all interconnected. I literally went and took public speaking classes because I wanted to create a speech that was all about workplace happiness and how it combines all of this into a little nugget because it's not just the workplace. It's doing the things you

Jill O'Boyle (24:33.593)
It is.

Jill O'Boyle (24:45.965)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (24:52.889)
all of it.

Melissa St John (24:54.359)
It's doing the people you work with, the boss. It's all combined and if you can have all that and your little bonus list, you're set. You are set. There's no reason why you're not gonna just knock it out of the park.

Jill O'Boyle (25:01.625)
Thank you. Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (25:08.247)
Right, exactly. So let's talk about this public speaking. So one of your things that you go out and you talk about and do some speaking on is these five pillars of workplace happiness. So you say it's a happiness formula and five digestible steps. would you mind walking us through what is this happiness formula? Everybody that's listening right now, get out your journals.

or come back if you're driving and sit down and probably write these down. I've got my notebook right here. I'm ready to go.

Melissa St John (25:42.048)
Again, this is me just making this up because again, I've done a lot of research and I've just combined all these things. going back to my dad, again, you have to understand how do you know what your strengths are? So I don't know how many of your listeners, I don't know if you have done your strength finder test. I literally have every one of my employees get strength finder tested because I want them to know and I want to know.

Jill O'Boyle (26:00.552)
Mm-hmm, yes.

Jill O'Boyle (26:05.603)
Good for you. Yeah.

Yep.

Melissa St John (26:11.135)
and how we all work together is based on their strengths. So I mean, I have someone in my office, she has three categories of strategy. Guess who I have helped me with my strategic plan? Her. I have one employee on my list. So I'm saying the number one formula, the number one is to unleash your strengths. So meaning like, A, you got to know what they are. But then how do you use them? How do you use them?

Jill O'Boyle (26:23.127)
Right, of course.

Jill O'Boyle (26:37.058)
for

Melissa St John (26:40.269)
So again, I have my employees all using their strengths because I know what they are and I tell them, they get all the results and I say, you know what? You are a relationship builder. You have three checks. Like there's 32 strengths. And I think it's one out of 33 million people is gonna have your same top five strengths. That is how unique we are. And I know you live in Christianity and...

Jill O'Boyle (26:45.688)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (27:02.561)
Mm-hmm.

Melissa St John (27:07.725)
God and I believe firmly that God made every single person different so no one has the same strengths maybe one in a million whatever it's a humongous 33 million one out of 33 million have

Jill O'Boyle (27:14.499)
That's right.

Melissa St John (27:20.779)
the similar top five strengths. They may not be in the same order. So I have an employee that she's a relationship builder. Well, guess what? I love putting her out with the client and she sits with the client. What do you need and how she loves that and it makes her happy. So I have someone who's not as much as a relationship builder. She wants to sit at the desk and she wants just crank out drawings and do the AutoCAD and do the layouts. So again, number one, unleash your strengths. Number two,

Jill O'Boyle (27:22.445)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (27:30.253)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (27:35.064)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (27:50.039)
Love it.

Melissa St John (27:50.656)
Number two, the second one is once you know your strengths, blend it with your passion because there's a difference between strengths and passion.

Jill O'Boyle (27:59.277)
Mmm.

Melissa St John (28:03.241)
So when you know your passion, like so for instance, I have two or three charities that I'm passionate about. I am passionate about women's charities. I'm passionate about the Heart Association. I'm passionate about, so when I think about these passions, how can I combine? So you know what? I sign up. I'm walking in the Heart Walk. I was the highest raising fundraiser and gathering people to walk in the Heart Walk. So I did that for many years.

Jill O'Boyle (28:17.601)
Mm-hmm.

Melissa St John (28:33.195)
and now I was on the executive leadership team for the heart ball. you know, so combining with your passion, whatever your passion is, you know, I bring people into my office and they work for me, but I'd say, what is your passion? And I literally had somebody say to me, I love baking, I love cooking. And I said, you work here, how can we incorporate that into your job? And so I literally said to her, I said, why doesn't relocation strategies pay you to do all

Jill O'Boyle (28:37.763)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (28:47.224)
Mm-hmm.

Melissa St John (29:03.135)
birthdays for everyone where you make the cake you make this I go when we have lunches we have strategic planning why don't I pay you to cater it all in and you bring in your best you know your best desserts your best food and you should see her light up like a firecracker how much do you think she wants to come into work every single day and contribute and be a part of a team because she's incorporating her passions into her work

Jill O'Boyle (29:05.63)
Jill O'Boyle (29:25.335)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (29:32.547)
Right, I mean, and you're doing what she loves, right? You're paying me to do what I love? What?

Melissa St John (29:38.904)
Yes, yes. And so there's someone else I work with and you know, she makes candles and I'm like, well, you know what? go, my son is getting married. It was in May. I go, can you make some really cool candles? And I'll buy that from you for his wedding gift. You know, so do you see how I, I as the boss try so hard to just

Jill O'Boyle (29:54.701)
Wow. Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (30:01.858)
love that.

Melissa St John (30:01.921)
have everyone feel, and again, when I say the word feel, know, touchy-feely, I'm glad your listeners are women, but my dad taught me that it's so important to have people be connected and to have value and to have, another word is psychological safety, you know? In my office, I have the psychological safety where somebody can say, I think we should do this. And you know what, if I don't agree, I say, well, tell me more about that. Tell me why, give me reasons.

Jill O'Boyle (30:08.377)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (30:19.32)
Yep.

Jill O'Boyle (30:28.951)
Yeah, right.

Melissa St John (30:31.855)
not going to say no. So the psychological safety, they all know that their opinions matter. And so again, I say the number one reason people quit is the boss. I think that there's a huge part of the disengagement because people don't listen to them. So they can't be heard. They don't have their passions. So unleash your strengths, blend with your passion. Number three, this is super easy. Who you work with.

Jill O'Boyle (30:37.717)
matter. That's so important.

Jill O'Boyle (30:48.247)
Yep. Yep. Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (30:53.579)
Mm-hmm.

Melissa St John (31:00.349)
is so important. Who you work with, who. And so again, do you have coworkers? Do you have teammates that you guys talk about your weekend, can talk about, you know, a situation that you're having? Do you have a bond with someone? And so if it goes back to, I'll give you a statistic, if 50 % of Americans right now, if their boss will let them, half of Americans

Jill O'Boyle (31:01.017)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (31:08.874)
Ahem.

Jill O'Boyle (31:15.017)
Mm-hmm. Right.

Melissa St John (31:26.901)
are not going in full time. They may even go in one day a week, they may go a day a month, but 50 % of Americans are not going in every day. And so do you want to correlate that with, again, this is Melissa's hypothesis, but 50 % of people are introverts, Jill. Did you know? So.

Jill O'Boyle (31:29.844)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (31:34.551)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (31:38.753)
I like it.

Jill O'Boyle (31:43.828)
Mmm, yeah, I believe it.

Melissa St John (31:46.56)
I have a friend Sue, she is an introvert, she has worked at a very large global company for 30 years and she works from home every single day and I said what do we have to do to get you to want to go into the office? She goes, I hate people.

And I go, you hate people? She goes, I hate people. She goes, I don't want to go in. I said, well, do you care about training the younger generation and like doing a brain dump and helping them learn what you know? And she says, I absolutely don't. So I'm like, okay, she's unsavable. So again, you really have to wonder, you know, we got five different generations working in the office space, know, generation Z, they want to go in because they need community.

Jill O'Boyle (32:18.093)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (32:33.081)
They do, yes, yes.

Melissa St John (32:34.221)
During COVID, there were so many young people that were so depressed because they were at home and they only had a one bedroom apartment and they were so lonely. They needed community. So they want to go in. And I remember talking to a young person. When I say young person, she was like 24 and she goes, we haven't gone in the office for two years. I've been working from home. And she's like, I kind of want to kill myself. She was, hate my life. And you need to find a company that you can go in and have your.

Jill O'Boyle (32:42.371)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Melissa St John (33:03.021)
connection, collaboration, you're learning. People just are thirsty for that unless they're my friend Sue and they hate people. If she's listening, she's going to kill me. But are people like that? But you know what? That's OK. Let them be. Let them stay at home, ponytail and no makeup every day and sweatpants. And you know what? She's happy as clam. That's fine. But I think the rest of the 50 % of us

Jill O'Boyle (33:03.245)
Yes, yes.

Jill O'Boyle (33:19.641)
Yeah, let them be. Yep.

Jill O'Boyle (33:27.351)
Yeah. Okay.

Melissa St John (33:31.742)
need people and so that's why people say are we going back to the way it was well if you make that person if you make sue go back to the office five days a week if you make her go back three days a week she's winning so you got to have metrics i don't want to get into metrics we got to have kpis and metrics that sue is you know making her calls and doing her

Jill O'Boyle (33:32.706)
we do.

Jill O'Boyle (33:41.965)
You don't have Sue. That's right. Yeah.

Yeah.

Melissa St John (33:53.166)
sales transaction, she does customer service for a large global company and you know what she has a headset and I'm like I feel bad for her because she hates people but she's sitting at home and she's doing her job and typing. So again understand your people. So who you work with is so important and if you work with a Sue you just have to love them anyway. You just have to say it's okay Sue I still love you you don't have to come in. Okay unleash your strengths blend with your passion who you work with is essential.

Jill O'Boyle (33:53.305)
Sure.

Jill O'Boyle (34:00.378)
was just gonna say that she's in customer service.

Jill O'Boyle (34:09.376)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (34:18.873)
Yes.

Melissa St John (34:21.773)
And then number four is embrace adversity. Embrace adversity. I tell a story about racing. Like my dad was an Indianapolis 500 fanatic. We never ever missed the Indy 500. I always went. I've gone to over 40 some races and I have so many stories. They're wonderful. But when I saw Lynn St. James go out onto the field as a female, I lost it.

Jill O'Boyle (34:25.081)
Hmm.

Melissa St John (34:51.661)
I was like, oh my gosh, I'm like, dad, it's a woman. It's a woman. And that's what I mean by adversity is don't be afraid to do something that no one else is doing. Like, why do you have to follow inside the coloring book, inside the lines? No one says that you have to. You know, the way that I've evolved my company from the way that I bought it from David, it's not the same at all. have completely.

Jill O'Boyle (34:56.633)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (35:04.088)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (35:11.331)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (35:19.647)
Embraced adversity. I've tried things they failed. You know, your listeners are women but guess what? I love this quote. Well, it's a Wayne Gresskey quote. It's also Michael Jordan. you know, he made the most shots in the NBA, the most free throw shots. And you know why? Because he took the most shots. Everybody says that quote, but I'm not afraid to take the shot. Embrace adversity. Do things that people say you can't do. If you feel passionate, embrace adversity. And I have a whole list in my speech.

Jill O'Boyle (35:36.85)
Mm-hmm. Right.

Melissa St John (35:49.134)
adverse things that have happened. But I'm telling you what, people have their own adversity in their life. And if you want to stay at home and you want to hide and, you know, not try new things or different things, I mean, that's your choice. But I'm trying to give you the keys to have workplace happiness. And then lastly, again, this is this is a race theme as well. Because again, I'm an Indy 500 girl, but

Jill O'Boyle (35:49.816)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (36:04.707)
That's your choice.

Jill O'Boyle (36:08.653)
Yeah. Love that.

Melissa St John (36:19.339)
The last pillar is to surround yourself with a race team. And what I mean by that is you have to have your people. And when I say your people, I don't care who it is. I mean, it's a group of people that are going to pump up your tires when they're low. They're going to run around your car. They're going to put gas in your car. They're going to clean your windshield. They're going to give you a drink and then you go off in that car and you race.

Jill O'Boyle (36:30.669)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (36:35.993)
you

Melissa St John (36:47.841)
You gotta have your whole race team. And so something I did years and years ago, this was almost 18 years ago, I developed a little race team and I called it Dream Big. And there were four of us. And we met once a month for four years. And you know what? That group of people were my oxygen, they were my therapists, they were my cheerleaders. And you know what? We were all accountable to each other.

Jill O'Boyle (36:50.263)
Yes, love that.

Jill O'Boyle (37:08.067)
Mm-hmm. Yep. Yep.

Melissa St John (37:17.515)
So whoever that is, and again, I'm not telling you how to pick that team, race team, but you know, it's just so important to have your people, you know? I'm not gonna tell you what happened yesterday, but I had something that I was not happy about that happened yesterday. I called someone on my race team and I said, please talk me off the wall, talk me off the edge, because I feel like jumping right now. And this person who's on my team, she's like,

Jill O'Boyle (37:19.214)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (37:27.609)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (37:39.139)
Yep.

Melissa St John (37:45.25)
just take deep breath. She's like, tomorrow's a new day. And you know what? Everyone needs that. And you know what? It shouldn't be your husband. shouldn't be your husband. Why? Men don't want to hear all the baloney that happens all day. They literally don't. They might say they do, but they don't. Like, have you ever noticed telling your husband a really long story at work and halfway through they're looking at the TV or they're looking somewhere else?

Jill O'Boyle (37:50.723)
You do. No, no, yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (37:58.105)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (38:10.713)
They're like, they've lost it, yeah.

Melissa St John (38:13.485)
So you have a race team that really can support you. whether it be business, personal, a prayer group, whatever it is, but I just can't stress enough that that race team is going to help everybody come together. And everyone has different situations. And I'm going to weave in a Christian. I know you're going love it. Ready? I wrote a website for my daughter who passed.

Jill O'Boyle (38:15.949)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (38:25.689)
I love that.

Jill O'Boyle (38:35.105)
Yep. Yeah.

Melissa St John (38:42.623)
in 2001. And I wrote her whole story and she had heart problems. So that's why Heart Association is my cause. But what I wrote at the bottom of this website, and it's still up, it's it's adeline.homestead.com. But what it says at the very bottom is it says, it's not if you carry a cross, it's when you carry a cross. You need to help others carry their cross.

Jill O'Boyle (38:44.601)
Mm.

Jill O'Boyle (38:48.409)
Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (38:55.545)
Mm.

huh.

Jill O'Boyle (39:04.089)
Hmm.

Melissa St John (39:12.513)
And do know why? Because so many people helped me carry my cross when I was a mess, when I was a hot mess and my daughter was getting open heart surgery and she didn't make it and people babysat and they brought meals. And I just have to tell you that changed my life. And do know why? Because now I go and I take meals to people and I pray for people, but I don't know that I really got it before that. So that whole thing about

Jill O'Boyle (39:17.113)
Mmm.

Jill O'Boyle (39:28.333)
Yeah. Love that.

Jill O'Boyle (39:34.755)
people.

Jill O'Boyle (39:38.925)
Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa St John (39:42.124)
You know, it's not if you will carry across, it's when you carry across. I promise you, Jill, everyone will carry across. you look around and see who's helping you and you think to yourself, did I help them? Did they help me? And you're not doing it just to have someone help you, but it's just, that's why we're here. I believe that's why we're here. We have to help others and they will help you. And it's all a circular situation.

Jill O'Boyle (39:44.875)
when

We will.

Yep.

Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (39:59.394)
Yeah. Right. me. We do.

It is. Yeah.

Melissa St John (40:09.495)
But I do think that God is really wanting us to all love and watch out for each other.

Jill O'Boyle (40:15.481)
100 % 100 % I mean just relationships in general just all these real, you know communication relationships and loving one another Being generous like I love I love that you I did not know that about your daughter and so

Melissa St John (40:30.829)
I didn't want it to be all about that, but it's a part of who I am now because that drastically changed my life. I I was living a very nice life. I mean, I was living a very nice life and perfect little house to, you know, boy and a girl, a husband, you know, good career. had a good career. Everything was just a happy little white picket fence house. And then, you know, it's just, you just don't know what comes tomorrow.

Jill O'Boyle (40:33.589)
that yes

Jill O'Boyle (40:38.944)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (40:43.194)
Sure

Jill O'Boyle (40:57.027)
Hmm.

Melissa St John (41:00.787)
and you need to be prepared to be able to help someone else get their cross because it's going to be your turn.

Jill O'Boyle (41:02.903)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (41:07.481)
Yeah, oh man, it's so important. We could talk for a whole nother four hours on the power of community and relationships as well, because it's something that I get so passionate about. Even just like the other week, a lady wrote on our neighborhood Facebook page, she was like, would any women want to get together and just form a prayer?

Melissa St John (41:13.997)
Yeah. Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (41:34.648)
just community of women coming together and praying over our children. She's like, just in this craziness of our world right now, would anybody be interested in something like that? She just put it out there and I was like, yes, sign me up. Like I, I worry so much about our children, but we just met the other day and we're just going to meet like, you know, once a month and come together. And I was like, ladies, you know, like this is more than just praying for our children because what this is going to be, like you said, your race team is like,

Melissa St John (41:39.841)
Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (42:04.769)
we're all going to have to carry our cross one day. There's going to be something coming along and I'm going to have these core community of women that are right here in my neighborhood that I've lived here, what 11 years and some of them I didn't even know, you know, and they're going to be a woman of faith that I can call up and say, this happened to my kid today or this happened to me today or this happened to husband today. And so I just love that. I love that. There was a podcast I was listening to as well to talk about your, your race team.

Melissa St John (42:17.185)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (42:24.897)
Yeah. Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (42:33.657)
It was either I think it was the Paul affair show, but I hope I that was her or Mel Robbins I don't know one of those but they were talking about the value of friendship and The episode was so great and I was talking about you need like five types of friends For like when you were you know about to offload on something that happened like you want to call up that friend That's not gonna just be like taking Melissa side. She's actually gonna listen to you. She might challenge you a little bit to think differently

Melissa St John (43:01.419)
Yep. Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (43:03.161)
So that episode was like, I was like, that's really good. Like you need a challenger in your friend group, the one that's going to challenge you. You need that compassionate one, that empathy one that will at those times, you just need them to just listen. Right? Like, so when you, when you build that race team, I think you were kind of alluding to this, like make sure that those teams are like all different strengths that you can call on. Yeah.

Melissa St John (43:14.459)
my god, you're nailing it, yes. Yes.

Melissa St John (43:26.797)
Yes, yes, you nailed it, you know exactly because you have different situations, you you just do, you're right. And when you need somebody just to agree with you, you know who to call.

Jill O'Boyle (43:39.591)
I know. I'm like, I really just need them to be on my side. Like, you know, they're gonna, they're gonna stand up for Jill, whatever she says, and that's what I need today. I just need that person.

Melissa St John (43:45.794)
Yep, they're gonna be just a really empathetic listener. And again, I'm just saying you really have to protect your spouse to not have to hear all of that. They can hear some of it, but I'm just saying they're not wired that way. They're just not wired that way. They're just not. I love my husband. I know.

Jill O'Boyle (43:58.147)
Yeah.

No, they're not.

Jill O'Boyle (44:05.529)
There's so many times, me too. But I'm all about the details and I'm like, I can just see when I'm telling him the story, I get all into the, all of it and I can just see he's like, deliver the baby. Like, okay, what happened now? Like what's the end result?

Melissa St John (44:19.541)
that's funny that you say deliver the baby. Do you know what my husband says to me? He says land it like it's a plane. Land it, just land it. You're talking too much. Land it. Wow. So before I forget, I do have to tell you my favorite quote of all time is, okay? And of course it's from Linsay James, okay? You ready? And by the way, I did get to meet her in person and I got a picture with her and it was amazing. I think she thought I was like.

Jill O'Boyle (44:24.215)
Like, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (44:36.961)
Okay, I wanna hear it.

Go.

Jill O'Boyle (44:46.339)
That's awesome.

Melissa St John (44:47.949)
crazy, crazy grouping. Oh my gosh, can I get a picture? So this is her quote and I literally have it on a post-it on my computer because I love this so much. She says, I mean, and again, have you been to the NB500? Okay, but I want you to imagine.

Jill O'Boyle (44:57.891)
Mm.

Jill O'Boyle (45:01.719)
I have not. Isn't that crazy?

Melissa St John (45:06.657)
You're watching these car drivers and they're going around. Okay, they're going around and the ones that drive slow. Okay, I'm not going to mention any names because I'm thinking of someone who I was like driving so slow there. They just want to finish the race because they're just driving slow and you know why because they're trying not to get the crash. They're trying to just because if you finish you you do get money and you get recognized. But anyway, so Lynn St. James said she says if you're not if you have never crashed.

Jill O'Boyle (45:15.341)
You

Jill O'Boyle (45:24.216)
Mm-hmm.

Melissa St John (45:36.536)
you're not driving fast enough. That goes back to embracing adversity. So anyone that knows me, I drive fast and I've crashed a lot, but that is how you move forward. Because again, that person that drives around the racetrack as like a little turtle, they're just trying to get done. I'm like, okay, you are so chicken and you are so not retaining me. You need to get around and go.

Jill O'Boyle (45:38.579)
Mm-hmm. It is.

Jill O'Boyle (45:51.618)
It is.

Jill O'Boyle (46:00.41)
Yeah. No. We've been there!

Melissa St John (46:06.701)
first place that's why it's so exciting but not only one hurt but again one of my strengths is competitiveness so you can see why I love watching the race but again it was burned into my brain by my dad this is what everyone in Nautilus does we're doing it we're going everywhere

Jill O'Boyle (46:10.135)
the race, right? We want to see the crashes. We want to see the fast ones win. Right.

Yeah. Yeah. my gosh.

Jill O'Boyle (46:27.297)
Yeah, yeah, I love it. I will make it one day. I am like, I cannot believe it.

Melissa St John (46:29.005)
So, and I got into, I got into, I sat next to Doug Bowles, Doug Bowles, the speedway. And again, he thought I was a crazy lunatic because I was so excited to meet him. And I told him, you don't understand. We love the Indy 500 so much.

Jill O'Boyle (46:45.133)
Yeah, no, I love that. I love that analogy and that quote and you're so right. I mean, if you're gonna stay in the safe zone and live your life just always safe and secure, like it's gonna be harder. I do believe like that's the, I think even Jesus calls us to do that, like have unshakable faith. Like he's gonna call you into some things that's gonna feel really uncomfortable, really scary, but he's gonna ask you to take that step and when you do like,

Yeah, you might crash, you might fall, but you're going to learn, you're going to get back up. I love that. was just listening to another episode with Sarah Blakely, who I love with, you know, founder of Spanx. And she showed a picture of when she started out, all the pantyhose in the line all looked exactly the same. They all had the same branding. It was nude. It was white. It showed a lady's leg on the front and just nothing stood out. So it's like, how do you choose when they all look the same?

And she was like, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to make my, my pantyhose cover red, bright red. And it showed a picture of hers. And I'm like, your eye is just immediately drawn to the red. Like, and so just like going back to what you were saying, like, don't be afraid to like color outside of the lines, get a little messy, be a little bold. Like I love that. Love it. So yeah. All right. So this was excellent. This was so, so good. I thank you for these five pillars. And like you said, they're, they're super digestible. Like

These are things that I look at and I love and I think, you know, number one, unleashing your strength. Like, I love the example of what you did or whoever told you to do that. Like the power of writing things down. I'm a big advocate of journaling because I forget stuff too fast too. But like it let you get out of your head onto paper. Like what are the things that I love? What are the things that frustrated me? What are the things in my job that actually I enjoy and what is

Melissa St John (48:10.784)
Easy.

Jill O'Boyle (48:39.949)
drives the hell out of me. Like knowing, like being able to see that and like creating a little roadmap for you is huge. I did that as well. Like when I was so stuck in my burnout days and I knew God was calling me to something different, but I was like, what? You I think sometimes we get so stuck on our roles and our identity. Like I was a project manager. All I've done my entire life was project manage and plan events. Like what could I possibly do? And like you said, I would have never saw myself sitting here.

having a podcast, doing life coaching, speaking on stages, never in a million years, but I challenged the adversity. got outside of my little crayon and decided to just lean in like to what did make me actually successful in my project management career. Was it that I was checking off a good to do list? No, I can do that pretty good, but it was communication, right? It was the gift of discernment, listening to others.

so I always say had a revolving door and I was always burnout because I was never getting my work done. Cause I was always the advice giver. Like Jill, let me pick your brain. Jill, let me pick your brain. you know, but that was, and, that was the part that I loved. Like I love that when people knocked on my door. Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa St John (49:48.813)
So you need to give people advice.

Melissa St John (49:55.714)
That's perfect. You're like the pinnacle example of doing exactly what you love. And I know it can seem overwhelming to some of your listeners, but just, I had a boss who said to me, you know, how do you eat an elephant? It's just one bite at a time. You just one bite at a time. You just have to do digestible things every little day to try to.

Jill O'Boyle (50:11.565)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yep. So true. Yeah.

Melissa St John (50:19.723)
to build and then you will eat that elephant and it'll be done and you'll be like, my gosh, I got it done. So it's, I couldn't be happier where I'm at right now. I just.

Jill O'Boyle (50:25.408)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, it's.

Jill O'Boyle (50:33.112)
Yeah.

Melissa St John (50:34.155)
I love what I do. I'm doing the public speaking for fun. I donate my speaking a lot. I I donate on International Women's Day. I've spoke like past four or five years. I've spoken to the Purdue Women's Group, the Indy Chamber Women's Retreat, the One Zone Women's Retreat. I I love doing it. I love doing it. So feel free to contact me. my website...

Jill O'Boyle (50:41.848)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (50:47.779)
credible.

Jill O'Boyle (50:55.01)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (51:00.086)
Yes.

Melissa St John (51:01.045)
My speaking is melissasaintjohnspeaks.com. And it's just, it's been very fulfilling and it's really my give back because I love talking to young women. I like talking to any women and by all means men can join as well because all these things are not female oriented. They're anyone oriented. But I just think that...

Jill O'Boyle (51:05.049)
Perfect. Yes.

Jill O'Boyle (51:12.601)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (51:18.093)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (51:22.999)
They are, yeah.

Melissa St John (51:26.625)
Like I said earlier, I just thought that all dads told their daughters this and the more and more people I talked to, they don't. Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (51:33.154)
They don't, they don't. So what a blessing for you. So, well, thank you. This was such a joy to just learn more about you and just, you're just such a light. And I could see that the day I met you. So I'm drawn to the light. I'm drawn to people that I can just see have a heart for just serving others and encouraging others. And so I know the listeners today are gonna be encouraged for any of you that do feel.

Melissa St John (51:49.409)
Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (51:59.308)
stuck in your career, feel stuck in life, are looking for just ways to combat burnout and find happiness and joy. Of course, that's what I coach on, I speak on as well, but please don't dismiss our conversation today and notice that Melissa here has been through a lot as well and she dissected all of these steps for us. So reach out to Melissa. I'm sure you'd be open to just having a conversation with anybody.

And if you are an organization or business woman that once needs a speaker to come into your organization, like reach out to Melissa as well. So I so appreciate you. I thank you for joining me today.

Melissa St John (52:42.763)
You're most welcome. Thank you.

Jill O'Boyle (52:44.875)
And is that the best place, Melissa, for them to reach out to you is just at that website or is there a better place to follow you on social?

Melissa St John (52:50.605)
mean, that really is my speaking website if they wanted to speak somewhere. But I am on LinkedIn, Melissa St. John. I'm on LinkedIn daily, because that's kind of my roadmap. I connect with people. I mean, I'm doing commercial office spaces where we're helping people with surveys. I didn't even talk about that. But really figuring out what do people want and need.

Jill O'Boyle (52:53.655)
Okay.

Jill O'Boyle (52:58.201)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (53:02.157)
Okay, sure.

Jill O'Boyle (53:15.373)
Yeah. Mmm.

Melissa St John (53:18.633)
once you listen to your people and you get those surveys back, then you can implement some changes in the office. the lighting's bad or this area smells outside the kitchen. So we just did a survey for AES for nine floors and 17 different departments and gave them a full loan report on kind of like what everybody said and no one's names are on it. It's all, you know, yes.

Jill O'Boyle (53:25.538)
Right.

Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (53:41.843)
All anonymous. Yep.

Melissa St John (53:43.917)
So, but that's the thing, if you're the leadership, you don't wanna pick on someone and say, Jill said this, I'm gonna fire her. So there's psychological safety there, but that is relocationstrategies.com and have all of our services on there. But again, you can see how it's all combined. It's like where you work, who you work with, what you're doing, who you are, your race team, embrace, it's all connected and.

Jill O'Boyle (53:49.303)
Right?

Yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (53:57.816)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (54:02.711)
It is, yeah.

Jill O'Boyle (54:11.02)
all connected.

Melissa St John (54:12.193)
I just, my wish for your listeners is they can find peace and find what they love and be in a workplace that is happy and engaged and productive and profitable.

Jill O'Boyle (54:17.795)
Mm-hmm.

Jill O'Boyle (54:22.724)
Yes.

Absolutely, absolutely. Well, awesome. I'm gonna include all those links. So LinkedIn profile and then I'll have your relocation strategies and your motivational speaking website in the show notes below. So be sure to check out those and get in contact with Melissa. All right, well, thank you. Until next time everyone go out, make it a great day, be you, love life and rise up.