June 20, 2024
Listen to our very first podcast episode on The Motion of Gratitude Podcast with host Shannon Missimer!
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We are thrilled to announce that our founder, Emily Montgomery, recently joined host Shannon Missimer on The Motion of Gratitude Podcast!
In this episode, Emily dives into the transformative power of gratitude and how HiLU is helping to combat the loneliness epidemic. Some of the key topics discussed include:
Don’t miss this insightful conversation! Tune in to The Motion of Gratitude Podcast now to hear more about how expressing gratitude can create positive ripples in our lives and the lives of others.
Listen now and join us on this journey to foster genuine connections and transform lives through the power of gratitude.
Links to the Episode:
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"Note: This transcript has been provided to improve accessibility for the hearing impaired. It has been edited for clarity and readability."
Emily Montgomery [00:00:00]:
What's important is getting it out. Well, one of the reasons why video is kind of an inhibitor. Like, does your hair look a mess? Do you have makeup on? Do you have food in your teeth? All these sorts of things. It doesn't matter. We get into these perfectionistic tendencies, right? If I say it wrong, they'll react in a negative way, or we think we're going to make it awkward. Those sorts of things. The evidence and the research really suggest to us that whatever you say with warmth and sincerity is great. Like, that's it.
Emily Montgomery [00:00:29]:
Just say it.
Shannon Missimer [00:00:40]:
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Motion of Gratitude podcast. I hope you're having a beautiful week, and I feel like I've been saying this a lot recently, but one thing that's been so beautiful about having this space and having this podcast is getting to connect with individuals, whether in their personal life, in their businesses. But they're just making choices where they're deciding that there's more to life than going through the motions, and there's more to life than staying on a path that maybe felt like it was the right path, but feeling this urge to go somewhere else. And it's just been such a gift and such an inspiration. And this week, I am so excited to introduce you to a new guest, and her name is Emily Montgomery. Emily, thank you so much for being here.
Emily Montgomery [00:01:24]:
Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here.
Shannon Missimer [00:01:28]:
Yes. So, Emily, what has it been, two weeks? I was trying to think. We connected about two weeks ago, and Emily, she reached out and shared just beautiful work that she's doing. And from the get go, it was one of those things where it's like, yes, we have to connect. I have to learn more. And so I'm excited to share more of what Emily's been building. And obviously, I love really talking and getting into the stories of these beautiful humans who have decided to kind of go in this direction of life and live. So to just give you a very brief overview, Emily was a lawyer and a prosecutor who followed a unique path to become the founder of HilU, a transformative pro social app dedicated to spreading words of affirmation and fostering a community of gratitude.
Shannon Missimer [00:02:20]:
So, obviously, on paper, you guys could tell we already have a lot in. Yeah. Just by connecting last week and having that conversation, it's been beautiful to learn a little bit about your story and to kind of really connect with the vision that you have. And so I'm so excited for you to be here today and before we get into. HiLU. Because I'm so excited to share more of that and really go into what you've been building. I would love it if you could share your story of what took you on this path. What made you go from being this prosecutor and stepping into the space and focus on gratitude and kindness.
Shannon Missimer [00:02:54]:
What really began that journey for you?
Emily Montgomery [00:02:56]:
I know, that's quite the transformation, right? You wouldn't normally think that a prosecutor would become a gratitude founder. But I think that people are really multidimensional, and my journey has really been one of becoming more myself over time. And the start of the story really was that I was in a terrible relationship in my twenties, and I was lucky enough to have one of those moments. And someday I'd love to write a book about other people's moments. Those moments that you remember for your entire life, right? Like, you can remember where you were, what the setting is, the colors around you, and the smells. But I had one of those moments where I was sitting on a white carpet in my mother's house, and I said to myself, this is not my life. I'm somewhere. I had been sleepwalking. I had been sort of in the backseat of the car of my life, and I took a weekend to really check in with myself.
Emily Montgomery [00:04:22]:
I checked myself into a hotel, and I felt that sort of still, small voice that said, this isn't you, so you gotta fix it. So I did. So I started working on myself. I know we sort of made fun of that phrase. And how else do you say it, right? Like going to therapy and being intentional and self observing what I was doing and who I wanted to be versus who I really was at the time. So it's been a beautiful journey, and it's been over ten years now. That's the very beginning.
Shannon Missimer [00:05:09]:
Yes. I love that idea of the book that you're talking about, too, because it's so true. There are these moments that just become ingrained, and you don't necessarily know it at the time, but you look back and you're like, that was the catalyst.
Emily Montgomery [00:05:22]:
That was.
Shannon Missimer [00:05:25]:
That would be a beautiful inspiration, I think, for so many people. But in hearing that bit of really focusing on yourself and realizing that this wasn't your life and actually doing something about it, there's so much courage that comes from actually hearing that voice and saying, okay, now what direction do I go in and what do I do? So with that and getting to that point, where did the idea of HiLU come from? So maybe if you want to share a little bit about what HiLU is. And where did the idea for this come from?
Emily Montgomery [00:06:01]:
Yeah, well, HiLU is short for Hi, I love you. And it was based on my reflections of the last ten years of my journey and looking back on mentors in my life. So what it is, is a platform to encourage people to share words of affirmation and gratitude and other centered kindness with others, more frequently in a formal way, so that they have somewhere that captures them all in one place. So by recording a voice affirmation, you're giving them a container that other people can then fill up and then they can refer back to over time, like when they're kind of having a rough day, can't get out of bed, or maybe not quite as cataclysmic as that. Maybe it's, gosh, I don't really feel like myself or I kind of forgot who I am today and I'm sort of going through the motions..
Emily Montgomery [00:07:08]:
It's been my experience that other people can see the best in ourselves before we can see it ourselves, because we've got sort of all this junk in the way. Right?
Shannon Missimer [00:07:21]:
Yes.
Emily Montgomery [00:07:22]:
The things that accumulate that aren't really our life or aren't us, they're not our true essence.
Shannon Missimer [00:07:29]:
Yes. So there was obviously something personal that came up to say, I want something like this, or the world needs something like this. So can you share that story of where that idea came from? Because it's so true. And I was thinking about you the other day after we had that conversation, and I was voice noting with a girlfriend, and it's something we do all the time. And voice notes have become, like, my new favorite thing. I don't have to pick up the phone just in case life happens with kids, but I could still have an in depth conversation that has feeling, that has meaning, that has depth beyond just texting, right? And she had sent me this voice note, and I was like, gosh, I wish I had a spot that I could keep this because this is something I don't want to scroll back through all of my text to find it.
Shannon Missimer [00:08:16]:
I'm either going to have to remember how long it was with all the things that I save, but it was in that moment where I was like, I would love to be able to refer back to this, in those moments where I feel like I'm failing. WhereI feel like, where I need those words again. So just the thought of all of it, I was like, yes, it's so true. We need those spaces, we need those containers because we're communicating in so many different places that some really meaningful stuff can get lost. So I would love it if you share your story of where that idea came from for you.
Emily Montgomery [00:08:48]:
Yeah, I think it's so funny to me, reflecting on how many things come out of the Camino de Santiago. And if you're not familiar with it, it's a pilgrimage across Spain that has existed for many. Just last week, in fact, one of my friends texted me that he had released a new album that was inspired by the Camino. It's just so many books and pieces of art and music, and all these things come out of the Camino. It's fascinating. So I made the decision that I wanted to do this thing, and I wanted to do this thing because my father had done it. He did a week of it a couple of years back, and so it was sort of percolating in the back of my head.
Emily Montgomery [00:09:45]:
And my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and I started taking a more active role in taking care of him. So the important things in life were really sort of thrust into the forefront of my mind. So I knew that I wanted to do this journey. And I would say that the story about the pilgrimage, for me, anyway, started before I actually got there. So I was part of a group in Boulder of people that work on themselves. Wonderful, wonderful people. And they sent me off and they put together this ceremony where they recorded all these words for me, where they told me that I was on the right path and I was doing a brave thing. And even if I had to quit, if I was lying in the mud, it was okay, and I would be safe, and they would still love me if I had to quit.
Emily Montgomery [00:10:53]:
And just all of these beautiful, affirming words. And I had the inspiration to just sort of grab my phone and record what they were telling me. So I was able to listen to them during my journey. And it was a wild time. You make the intention to do something, and that's sort of like the positive force, and then you always end up having this negative force that comes back at you. You have to budget for these sorts of trips. This is like a really silly example, but I set aside a certain budget, and then it was like, okay, every cataclysmic thing that could happen, happened.
Emily Montgomery [00:11:45]:
I had to replace my AC unit. Not a small expense, right? My windshield broke. Something else, some large expense. It's like, okay. So I had to make the decision again. You have to make the decision again and again to push through that. That was kind of part of why I say the journey started before it started, before I got there. Part of the journey was being sent off, but part of the journey also was a week before I left.
Emily Montgomery [00:12:20]:
One of my mentors from my 20s died unexpectedly. And that was just sort of shocking. And then a week into my journey, the leader of the group in Boulder that I had joined had a stroke. Of course, the first thing I did was pull up his voice recording, where he's reciting me this Robert Frost poem from memory, telling me that I had many miles to go before I sleep and basically telling me that I was on the right path in my life. Only a week had passed at that point, so I had some odd days of walking. And I spent that time really reflecting on these two mentors and the similarities between them and how they lived their lives in a way that they really liked.
Emily Montgomery [00:13:28]:
They sort of warmed themselves by the fire of giving back to others, and that's what drove them. And I also thought a lot about how I have all these beautiful audio recordings. I have this embarrassment of riches in this regard because I've been in this group, because I've been intentionally recording things like that. But how do we get that experience out to more people? Imagine a world where everyone kind of is able to lean more into their highest selves because they're aware of who that is. I didn't know when I was 20 that I was smart and I could do good things with my writing. It wasn't until that mentor told me that over and over and over in an almost embarrassingly repetitive manner, I needed to hear that until I could incorporate that into my own being.
Emily Montgomery [00:14:34]:
It was a voice note recording. And, in fact, I have a bunch of voice note recordings of me sort of thinking through various issues with the app, how to design it, how to name it. I named it there. And it's been a journey ever since.
Shannon Missimer [00:14:56]:
It's such a cool story. And I think one thing that's always so interesting to me is having these conversations. You're reminded that it's in those moments, it's in those experiences that these creative ideas come to life. It's not usually when you're trying to build something or trying to create something that it happens. It's through the living and through the experience where, you know, how much it would touch somebody's life because of how it's touching yours. And I think it's just so beautiful to think about that. And I can imagine the emotions that must have come with that when you were on that path. And to hear you're on the right path, the metaphor of it and the truth of it is just so beautiful.
Shannon Missimer [00:15:39]:
I think it's sometimes confusing, this world that we live in, because it's in experiences like that, that true beauty is created. And sometimes we stay on this known path and thinking that that's going to lead us to who we are. So it's just so beautiful to hear when taking that risk. And even when it seems that everything starts breaking, when it's time to make those big decisions, you go from this clarity of like, yes, I'm going to do this. And then it's like, well, are you sure? Because there's all these things that just kind of get thrown at you. So to hear the beauty of what can come to life from an experience like that is just so inspiring. And to see what you've created because of it, to see the impact of how it can impact other people. And I would love to talk a little bit about that with HiLU because I think right now we're living in a world which is a lot of self affirmation. It's like learning how to, like, I am strong and learning how to speak these words to ourselves.
Shannon Missimer [00:16:48]:
But I think you have a beautiful perspective that you actually shared when we were talking the other day about this other-affirmation. And how do we get into this place of sharing words that can help people to grow, that doesn't feel like feedback all the time, that actually feels like this beautiful space to feel seen. And, yeah, I would love to just kind of hear your thoughts on that because I think we have the self affirmation, but we have this beautiful space of other-affirmation. And how can we do it to really speak to somebody's heart in a way that gets that meaningful thought to them?
Emily Montgomery [00:17:21]:
Well, there's so many words for this thing that I'm talking about affirming the other, which is why I sort of use HiLU as a noun- “to send someone a HiLU”, because there is not a really good word. There's words of affirmation. I often say positive feedback, but people have a negative connotation with the word feedback, which I don't know is totally warranted. I do get it. I wrote a whole list. Verbal appreciation, spoken appreciation, uplifting words, validation, gratitude. And gratitude, I think, is the one that we should sort of zoom into because there's, especially on this podcast.
Shannon Missimer [00:18:08]:
Yeah, let's do it.
Emily Montgomery [00:18:09]:
Yeah. So we've got gratitude, right? And gratitude is wonderful. And it's often that word that we use is often about, I'm grateful for the things that I've received or that are in my life, or I'm grateful for my friends and family, or I'm grateful for my children. But we don't have a word for the practice of expressing that gratitude affirmatively, regularly. And I think that sort of brings up the topic of loneliness and the surgeon general's report in 2022, I think maybe 2023, about how loneliness is actually killing us. It's equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. and it increases your risk of dementia by 50%. It increases your risk of all cause mortality, increases your risk of heart disease, stroke.
Emily Montgomery [00:19:16]:
I mean, everything. It's.
Shannon Missimer [00:19:17]:
Yes.
Emily Montgomery [00:19:18]:
And I think it's so important to keep talking about this because it is a physical malady. There were experiments in the 13th century where babies were deprived of touch and they died. We are hardwired for human connection. And of course, that's sort of a Brene Brown quote. We are meant for this, and nobody knows what to do about that, right? We hear the word, okay, we have a social disconnection epidemic. We have a loneliness epidemic. What does that mean? What do we do with that? And I was thinking this morning, it's like gyms had to be created after the industrial revolution, after people started becoming sedentary. Like when people are working in the fields and in factories, we don't need gyms, right? There's something going on here with social connection, where we need to start thinking about the practices of, how do I go to the gym for my social connection? What is that one thing that I can do on my checklist? I've got the cold plunge.
Emily Montgomery [00:20:35]:
I've got the nutrition. If you are diagnosed with a problem, like, oh, I'm overweight, I want to work on that for my health. You kind of know the tools, right? It's nutrition. It's going to the gym. Maybe right now it's semaglutide. But you know what the tools are in your toolkit, right? Loneliness? Social connection? It's like, I just don't hear enough. Like, okay, I need to physically call my friend on the phone, on the telephone once a weekend, and that will increase my feelings of social connectedness.
Emily Montgomery [00:21:15]:
And that's actually something that I do. I make sure that I don't let a weekend, preferably not a day, but definitely not a weekend go by where I'm not actually talking to people on the phone. And that, I think people that knew me ten years ago would really laugh at that because I was the number one worst. I was like, do not leave me a voicemail. Don't call me. You can text me. I might answer, but it's so important.
Emily Montgomery [00:21:49]:
So how do we create that dialogue around going to the gym for social connection? And I think that sending words of affirmation or sending that other centered kindness and verbal appreciation, whatever you want to call it, is one of those easy check marks. Like, it takes 60 seconds. You can do it. It will make you feel better, and it makes the other person feel better. It's such an interesting thing about our language– not having the right word for that, for the other centered gratitude. Right?.
Shannon Missimer [00:22:29]:
I love that you went into this understanding of loneliness, because I feel that, too. And it's almost because we're all so connected. It's almost confusing to use the word lonely. It's like, how could I be lonely? I've got all these friends on social media. It's so interesting because we have this hyper connection to the world, yet there's not much depth in the connection we're not, really. To me, if I don't have depth, my soul isn't fed. It's a different dialogue.
Shannon Missimer [00:23:04]:
And to think about it that way, yeah. Because when you're feeling lonely and you don't have that immediate connection, you do need tools to go to. I'm the same way. I've learned that motherhood created that in me. When I feel I have to slow down or if there's a lot going on, I've learned that I isolate, and I've learned that it's never the answer for me. And I had to do the same things like, who am I going to walk with this week? Who am I going to pick up the phone and talk to? And it had to be this practice of doing it and then seeing the outcome of, look how much happier I am. It’s not something that's talked about and I think you're right.
Shannon Missimer [00:23:53]:
There's so many people who are walking around this feeling and don't even necessarily know how to identify, or like you're saying, put a word to the feeling of it.
Emily Montgomery [00:24:03]:
But how is it that the 15 to 24 year olds are the ones with the highest rates of loneliness? They are the ones that are in high school with other people. They're in college with other people. They have people everywhere. Their social media networks are saturated. So really, to me, it's a societal issue, and social media really is the junk food of social connection. It gives us the feeling, just like eating junk food. It's like, okay, I'm getting calories, but it's not really food. It's not nourishing my body.
Emily Montgomery [00:24:44]:
Social connection, I think, really comes back to that social media. Some of it is the social media issue. I was in college when Facebook came out.
Shannon Missimer [00:24:55]:
Me too.
Emily Montgomery [00:24:55]:
I know what it used to be, and it is no longer that. It’s not just Facebook. It's all of them. But it used to be about, and I do think we should talk about this more, I guess now that we're older. The 20 year olds don't know this, but Facebook used to not be addicting. Right? It used to be somewhere where we posted photos of parties.
Shannon Missimer [00:25:23]:
Really shared your weekend.
Emily Montgomery [00:25:25]:
Yeah. And we wrote on each other's walls, like, sort of funny things, I guess? We kind of tried to be funny, right. But it wasn't this highly addictive thing that all of the brands were promoting consumerism. And this ideal image of friendship. I open Instagram, and I don't see my friends anymore. I just see ads, influencers, and people I don't know.
Shannon Missimer [00:25:57]:
And if you linger too long on one of them, then you get 50 more. And that's so interesting. As I mentioned to you, we're down in Costa Rica, and this idea of how we used to live in villages, there used to be a doctor that knew you. There used to be a school where you knew the teacher, you knew the parents. It has a village feel down here, and the connection feels different. We've been here for five months, and I feel like if I needed somebody, I know who I would call. The doctor, when we walk past his office, he waves at us from the window in town, it's things I haven't experienced.
Shannon Missimer [00:26:40]:
With the school where our kids are on Saturdays, there's a mother circle where the mothers get together. To me, this is that connection that we're all looking for. But I think what has happened in the world that we live in when our oldest was in kindergarten, as the mother, I would sit in the carpool for an hour. I wouldn't see any humans. I wouldn't interact with anybody. I'd sit by myself in a car, waiting to pick up my child. They would just be put into a car, and then we drive home. Those interactions are just so different.
Shannon Missimer [00:27:14]:
It's absolutely like seeing the disconnection, like what you were just talking about with the facts and statistics. With younger people, it is so eye opening because they are around so many people. Why are they feeling so disconnected? It feels absolutely societal and generational. Like, how do you support this generation in the world that they're growing up in? When I was talking to a friend who's even in school, their papers are being graded by AI instead of their teacher. So it's a different world. It’s such a different world. So to have these human touch points, I think, is what we're coming back to. Having these spaces where you know that you can really connect from a human level and share your humanness with somebody else and have a space where there is this container, and there's this space where, when you get on it, you're there to spread positivity, and you're there to spread kindness and to feel it, and not feeling like you're being sold an advertisement when you go in there.
Shannon Missimer [00:28:19]:
I just think there's so much power to that, and I think we're looking for it. People are needing it.
Emily Montgomery [00:28:29]:
There's something else, too, that I think we need more conversation about as a society. And that is the mode of our communication and that thoughtfulness about how we optimize our well being. We spend so much time optimizing our well being, at least in some circles, of our physical well being. There are choices that you can make that optimize your social and emotional well being. And one of those is the mode of communication. So our voice impacts a receiver so much more than a text message.
Emily Montgomery [00:29:06]:
A lot of people will say, oh, congratulations or I'm so proud of you. And if they have that thought, they will put it into a text message. But using the voice is so much more impactful and powerful. And this is a study by Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley.
Emily Montgomery [00:29:38]:
They studied, in particular, writing a gratitude note versus sending an audio note. If we just think about it a little bit more, be a little bit more intentional about how we're doing those things, I think we can address the epidemic, really, that we're facing.
Shannon Missimer [00:30:01]:
One thing that you had said, too, when we talked is having a voice alone. So having voice instead of the voice and the video, which brings a whole different dimension into it. But so specifically, with the app, you've used just the voice. I think, to your point, there's something so impactful when somebody can kind of just be in that space, not kicking in a visual, but just fully absorbing the sound and the voice. That's what I think of voice notes. I prefer a voice note to a video because I can sit in the sound and the connection of what somebody is saying, rather than, oh, they look like they showered today. All these things that seem to pop up when we get all these other visuals of things. So I think that's so powerful, too.
Emily Montgomery [00:30:48]:
What's interesting about this particular study is that a video message did not have an increased impact over just voice, but the voice was so much more powerful. And I will say also that what's important is getting it out. And that's why I think, well, one of the reasons why video is kind of an inhibitor. Right? Does your hair look a mess? Do you have makeup on? Do you have food in your teeth? All these sorts of things, it doesn't matter. I think we get into these perfectionistic tendencies. We want to be like, okay, what do I say? If I say it wrong, they'll react in a negative way, or we think we're going to make it awkward, those sorts of things.
Emily Montgomery [00:31:39]:
And the evidence and the research really suggests that whatever you say with warmth and sincerity is great. That's it. Just say it.
Shannon Missimer [00:31:54]:
I think of how many times, if I'm doing a video, it's so different. There's this clear thought, and it's like, well, if I ever do a video, you have to add so much to think about, so many more and different things.
Emily Montgomery [00:32:05]:
Then you have to get into, like, do we have filters and all that stuff? This is about genuine, authentic human connections. So the voice is perfect.
Shannon Missimer [00:32:15]:
Yes. I love what you're sharing. It's about getting it out from a heartfelt place. But one thing that you shared with me that I thought was also impactful is sometimes I feel like we don't always know how to share with other people. And you had shared how, obviously, speaking from the heart is the most important, but there was a way in which you could say things that really connects with somebody and allows them to feel seen. And I was wondering if you would mind sharing that.
Emily Montgomery [00:32:44]:
Yeah. So this is a methodology that I picked up from my mentors and from various groups that I've been in. I'm by no means the author of this, but what I have observed really works is if you state what it is that you like about that person, say, I see that you're being really brave. Either a quality, ideally like a quality or something that they've done that is particularly impactful. Then step two would be sharing how that makes you feel and what that brings to you. And I think that second part is something that we often skip over. And then we’re like, oh, I don't know what to say, and then we sort of shut down.
Emily Montgomery [00:33:34]:
So it would be, I see that you're being really brave right now. And when I see you being brave in this instance and you can give some details, it really allows me to feel brave in my own life and think about the ways in which I could push out and be a little bit more courageous. And thank you for being in my life. That third part is thank you. Right? So that's the statement of gratitude. Observation, how it makes you feel, and then thank you.
Shannon Missimer [00:34:08]:
Beautiful. Okay, so let's say somebody's listening to this and they're excited and want a space. They're looking for something like HiLU. So is it something that they would just go on and start recording, or is there a process for them to explore that?
Emily Montgomery [00:34:28]:
No. So it's a web app, so there's no download required. When you get to the homepage of the app, you just kind of hit record, say what you're going to say, hit stop, and then you will share it via your native share tray. So we've really tried to eliminate any barriers, but, yeah, it's really easy.
Shannon Missimer [00:34:55]:
Beautiful. Well, I feel like we can have so many conversations around gratitude and the depth of it. I know you feel very similar just from our conversation of, I think we live in a world where we're encouraged to say that we're grateful, but we're not always encouraged or given the tools of how to feel it. Like you were saying, it's clear to us in so many ways, the tools that we have in which to focus on our physical well being. But the emotional and the social well being is not there. So for me, it's become a necessity. It's become this space of, if I do not support that side of myself, the physical actually suffers. There's pieces where they're so important, and I think if there's spaces where people can feel safe to explore these emotional well being and these social well beings, it's just so powerful and can truly be transformative.
Emily Montgomery [00:36:04]:
It makes you feel really good. And I think that's something to highlight. That by making others feel good, you're making yourself feel good. It almost doesn't matter if you get feedback back or what the other person's reaction is. I think if you can see the act in the context of the entire relationship and know that you are giving back to another person, it goes back to the research around volunteering and doing good in the world. That always makes us feel better. People get sort of wrapped around the pole around, what if they don't say anything back? and what if I say the wrong thing? Your mission is done at the time that you share it, right? Like, you've said what you needed to say and you're not waiting for their eulogy. Right.
Emily Montgomery [00:37:06]:
You're making it a daily or a weekly habit to tell those people what they mean to you.
Shannon Missimer [00:37:13]:
It's the beginning of that ripple, exactly like you're saying. It's like just knowing that you're dropping that rock in the water that's creating that ripple, and you have no idea the impact that it could have. Could be exactly what that person needs to hear that day in order to step into something that they've been scared to do and to be able to support them in that life. And I think sometimes we spend so much time focused on what could go wrong. I think it's a beautiful exercise to say, like, if I share this, what could go right? What could be the beautiful things that come from it? I think starting to think that way, like you're saying, that's just as impactful to us and our thought process to think, wow, I feel good for even sharing that. I think especially in a world that's so fast paced that we can overlook those small, impactful things. Those are, in this world, the most meaningful. Because they're actually giving somebody space to slow down and hear the good things that they're doing in their life. And it's just so beautiful.
Emily Montgomery [00:38:11]:
Well, time is an element, too, right? The things that people said to me ten years ago that really impacted my life, I might not have reacted in a really wholehearted, warm way at the time. But those are the things that they did that changed my life. And therefore, they've earned themselves some level of immortality in that way because they've done the things that have affected my life today.
Shannon Missimer [00:38:40]:
Yes. It's so true. Beautiful. Thank you so much, Emily. I'm so grateful. I don't even like using it sometimes in that statement because there's so much more depth to it. It's just been a very special one to connect with you, to know that you are out there creating this beautiful experience for people and to connect with women who are on this path of purpose. It's just been beautiful in the conversations.
Shannon Missimer [00:39:13]:
And I'm just really excited to be on this journey with you and to see where HiLU goes, because I love it as a noun. Just hearing you say it, it just, yes. Like, who can you HiLU today? Or who can you say, HiLU? I thank you for just sharing this and sharing your knowledge and for stepping into it. It's just a beautiful thing.
Emily Montgomery [00:39:39]:
Yeah, well, thank you so much. I feel exactly the same. I mean, the best thing about creating this app and starting this company has been these conversations, right? Where there's a lonely element to creating a product, you really have to sort of hunker down. But to be able to have these conversations over time has been wonderful. It's everything. I mean, it's why I'm doing what I'm doing.
Shannon Missimer [00:40:11]:
Yes, it is. It's the journey of it all. Miley Cyrus, it’s The Climb. So where can somebody find you if they want to learn more about you personally, about HiLU, where can they find you?
Emily Montgomery [00:40:27]:
Yeah, everything is @teamhilu.com all of the socials are teamhilu as well.
Shannon Missimer [00:40:35]:
Beautiful.
Emily Montgomery [00:40:35]:
And I look forward to seeing everyone.
Shannon Missimer [00:40:38]:
Thank you so much. Emily, thank you for this conversation. I'm excited to go explore HiLU and learn more about everything that you're doing and just excited to be on this journey with you. I think there'll be many more conversations and beautiful experiences. So thank you so much and thank you, everybody for listening. If you find yourself feeling lonely, reach out to somebody in this world and explore. Check out HiLU. It's just a beautiful way to have those spaces that you can come back to and you can either share them with other people knowing that they're going to have them, or it's going to be a space for you where you can truly hear the beautiful pieces.
Shannon Missimer [00:41:14]:
Because I think in this world that we live in, we need those moments. So I hope you all have a beautiful day. I will share all of Emily and the information for HiLU. In the notes so you can check that out as well. But it's been a pleasure to connect and I look forward to connecting with you all again next week.
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