My Next Journey/Career Focus

“I still want to be known as the connector, and I will do that in every way possible.” —Heather Nelson 

Life doesn't happen to you, it happens through you—and sometimes, that means rewriting chapters that no longer serve our soul's most authentic script. 

And in the quiet moments between hustle and hope, we find that reinvention isn't just possible—it's our most powerful act of self-love. 

Get ready for a no-holds-barred conversation that's part personal revelation, part life manual as Heather shares her next journey—from walking away from event planning to embracing a surrogacy journey that'll make your heart explode. Dive in and discover the messy world of career shifts, personal growth, and radical self-discovery in this week’s episode! 

Connect with Heather: 

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Episode Highlights:

00:50 Retreats Update

04:29 Podcast Updates

06:08 Consulting Business and Events Planning Updates

08:25 Personal Life and Family Commitments

12:08 Surrogacy Journey

15:44 Self-Discovery and Clarity

Transcript

Heather Nelson: Welcome everyone to this week's Life Conversations With a Twist. Guess what? This week, you get to hear from me, me, me. I have so many updates and things to tell people, and I can't wait to have this solo episode. So, oh, lots of things. I wanted to pop on and just give everybody a little update on me. I've been posting little teasers here and there on social media, and I thought I should probably just do a solo podcast and tell you all about what's going on. I've had a lot of time and reflection on what I want my life to be. I know this sounds really crazy, but as most of you guys know, I host podcasts or retreats. 

Alicia Parks and I have been doing retreats for, oh, my gosh, we've done two overnights and three days, and they are so freaking amazing. Not only do I love hosting them, but I love being an attendee of them because I've learned so much about community. I've learned so much about what other people are struggling about, and I've also learned so much about myself. I really do take those opportunities to grow, and it's sometimes hard when you're hosting a retreat and you're holding space for so many other women. But I also go through my own journey at each one of these retreats. I did come on and record after our last overnight retreat. So if you want to go back, you can listen to that experience. But I've had a lot of clarity. That was one of the things that I was working on this year. Clarity of what I want to do with my life, what I want to focus on, what brings me joy, and I think I have it dialed in, or at least I have a lot more clarity than I did a year ago. So I wanted to come on and just give everybody an update. 

So as I mentioned, we just had our last women's retreat, that was back in April. And man, those retreats are just so inspiring for me to see women get out of their normal environment, and to be in this controlled space where we're empowering them, we're inspiring them, we're breaking down boundaries. We're leaning into them themselves. There has been so much clarity, so much crying, so much truth, so many things that have come out of these experiences that it really, truly makes these experiences worth it. I joke around with Alicia all the time. Retreats are literally like another business. It truly is. So when someone says, I have two businesses. I technically have three because a retreat is literally like a business. We're running it like a business. We have to have income coming in, income coming out. We have to book retreats. There's a lot going on. And to be super honest and transparent, there's been times where I'm like, is this really what I want to do? Is this really where I want to spend my time? I'm still kind of navigating that. But after I leave these retreats and see the impact that it makes on these women's lives, we will continue to do this. 

So coming up really soon, we will have another full day retreat in July, and then we will also do another overnight or in October, so somewhere in Sonoma County, but it will be very beautiful wherever it is. We've really gone into some of these really key components to these retreats, whether that's a speaker, or an experience, or a chef that has curated this very beautiful experience, so we're really excited for what's to come. But we just got a video from one of our retreat guests, and it literally made me cry, and it made me realize how many women are out there struggling with the same things. They're sitting at home, they're moms, they're entrepreneurs, they're dealing with grief, they're dealing with running a business, they have so many things coming at them that when you take them out of the environment and let them be, so much power is behind that. And I even had it for myself. 

One of the things that I and most of you guys know I have set and strike, which is this beautiful labor company that my husband and I do, and this is a business that is thriving. There is so much potential there, but I have totally not done anything with it because I'm so busy doing all these other projects. So sentence strike will be a huge focus moving on this year. I just have admin support, we've taken on way more jobs than we have in the past, which is super exciting, and I plan to do more sales and partnerships around that business. So that will still keep me involved in the events industry, because that's the one thing I don't want to let go, is my connections and the community that I've built, and so that will give me a little bit of that. Also, I'm still going to be an entrepreneur and make good money doing it. So set and check will kind of sit there and be the podcast, and talk about the podcast for a minute. I freaking love this podcast. I literally put out in the world every single day that I want to be the number one podcaster in Sonoma County. The world would be great, but I'm going to focus on Sonoma County right now. In order for me to do that, there's so many things that need to happen. 

This year, I've hired a team, and I have goals to be on more podcasts, which I just got done recording on another podcast. So I really want to focus on that, and I want to have bigger and better guests. I really just want this to make so much of a bigger impact in the world that I need time to focus on it. So that said, we have our podcast. So the podcast is not going anywhere. It will continue. It's going to grow. It's going to be this beautiful thing. I'm really excited about what's to come. And then the retreats, I told you guys, those were still going to continue. Those are, again, all things that I'm passionate about. 

I want to talk about The Connection Hive for a minute, which is my consulting business. I freaking love this business so much. I have been so honored to be a part of teams, businesses, to see them grow and succeed. I get so fired up when I'm meeting with somebody, and I get to tell them what they need to do to grow their business and the ideas that generate. And I love doing that work, but that work is a lot of work for me to sit down and give my energy. I do love that, and I will be doing some one on one consulting work around that. But really, just being a consultant like, they can take my time and I will give them the advice, and then they can take it or leave it. So they are going to like it, that is still going to continue to. But with The Connection Hive, I've done a lot of events. 

I'll talk about events for a minute. I've been in the event industry for over 25 years. 25 years, I've been doing events in some capacity, whether that's planning them, rentals, working for a venue, selling a venue, consulting for venues, working them, planning them, assisting with them, all the things I am putting this out there. I'm officially retiring. I am retiring from all things, events, even being on site for events. I love the work, but I'm not passionate about it. If I can be very transparent and very honest that it is something that does not fuel my soul anymore, and so I am taking that away and putting my focus and time, this is really what it is, time and energy into creating a beautiful course that people can buy to learn my experience and my advice around growing their business through business development and client relations. So that is going to be a huge shift in my business. Again, that is something that I need the time for. It's not going to instantly make money, but it will give me the time that I need to be able to grow that. I just want to clear the air because a lot of people are like, wait, what are you doing with your career? What are you doing? That's what I'm doing. That is going to be my new focus. I had to do some work. 

So in this process of this retreat and understanding where my business is, one of the things that has been very clear to me is I need to slow the F down. Since I've had a job, I've always had more than one job. I've always been a hustler. I've always worked a lot. I have this work ethic from my dad, which I absolutely love, and it puts me in really beautiful opportunities. But I am tired. I am mentally tired. I'm physically tired, and it is taking a toll on my relationships and my marriage, and then with my children, and I have been very clear that I need to slow down. I don't want to work as much. I don't want to work long hours anymore. I don't want to feel like I have to check emails to respond to people in a timely manner. I just need to slow down. And this is something that I am not taking lightly, and it's hard to say this, and it's scary to be honest as well. Because financially, that's a scary thing, but I have to do it. I literally have to do this for myself. I have to do this for my family, and I have to do it for the people around me. And I know that by doing this, it's going to open so many more doors and opportunities that I don't even know about yet, so that is something that has been very clear to me that I need to focus on. 

I also have a son that's about to go to middle school, and I have a daughter about to go to high school, and those are two very pivotal moments in their life that I want to be more present at. I want to make sure that I'm picking them up from school, that I'm involved in things, that I am there to support them. And this, again, is something that's very important to me, and something I'm shifting and making happen. All of this clarity that has happened has been a lot of work. It's been a lot of reading, it's been a lot of podcasts, it's been these women's retreats, I'm going through couples therapy with my husband, it has been accumulation of all of these things that have brought it to this point, and so I just wanted to, one, I believe what you put out in the universe is going to come back because I have full proof in that, that it happens. People ask me a little bit about what's going on. I've also completely changed how I'm working out. As most of you know, I'm a big orange theory person. I was going at 6:00 am and getting up at 5:00. I love the workouts. I love the unknown of how your workout is going to be. I love accountability. I love all of that, but I've found that it's not fulfilling for me anymore, and it's not physically showing in my body what I want my body to look like, and I've been hearing so many people at my age, yes, I'm almost 43. I need to do more weights, and I want to do more outside walking and hiking with friends, or outside movement. And so those are some things I'm focusing on. And a lot of people have seen me posting about that, but that was something else that I needed to focus on. I literally feel in the next six weeks, my whole life is about to change. 

I have a couple projects that I'm wrapping up right now. I have a couple events that I just wrapped up or about to wrap up, and come June, mid June, my life is going to change. I'm so freaking excited for it. I'm so excited for what's to come. It literally fuels my soul. I don't want to be stressed anymore, and I just want to be more present. And I want my brain to chill out. So those are the big announcements. Those are some big announcements, but not as big as this announcement. And if you're close to me, you already know about it, but a lot of people don't know about it. I'm going to be a surrogate again. I'm taking and going down my second surrogacy journey, and I'm really excited. I've been really quiet about it, not for any reason, really. Except for that, I was just so busy. But if you're a friend in my life, or obviously my family, you know that this has been in the works. I always said that I would be a surrogate again for my last family. Unfortunately, she does not want to have another child. Maybe in a couple years, but I'm getting older, and I feel like my timeline is closing in. When you go through an agency, I think the time cut off is 43, 45 so I'm pretty much right there. 

I was fortunate enough to be connected to these two beautiful men in San Francisco through some mutual friends. And I was like, what the heck? Let's go to lunch. Let's meet, and let's see. And I instantly fell in love with them. They have another surrogate, a baby through another mom, and they want to have a second child. And I said, yes. So this is about a year in the making. We met almost a year ago for lunch, but this process does take a while, and contracts are signed, and my transfer date is scheduled for May 21 which is literally three weeks away. Three weeks away, and I'm so excited. I'm so excited for this journey. As most of you know, I love being pregnant. I love giving birth. I think surrogacy is such a beautiful thing. My last journey was, most people knew about it. I was pretty vocal about it. I also had a podcast, but not to the level that I am now. And so I am going to take this journey, and I am going to educate and inspire surrogacy. I feel a calling for it. I feel every interaction that I've ever had with anybody about surrogacy. They have tons of questions. They want to know all the things so I'm going to take people on the journey. I'm going to take them through what it's like to be a surrogate. 

I'm going to start a YouTube channel that every week, I'm going to pop on and give an update and educate people on different topics. I have a list of topics that people ask me about on the daily, and so I will dive deep into those questions. And again, be a place of education and inspiration. And of course, giving my journey and my perspective. But I really want to normalize surrogacy. I want to squash all the reasons and thoughts that people have around it, and I really want to create this beautiful idea around surrogacy. So I will be starting a YouTube channel. I am going to be more active on social media to take you guys through some of the daily things that I will be going through, such as hormones, the transfer date, maybe some conversations that have come up, how I'm feeling, some of the interactions with the parents. I just really want to bring you along the journey again. I'm making it. Hopefully, that is a good journey, and it's smooth as the last one, and smooth as all my other, all my other pregnancies and births have been. 

And then I'm also going to do a little series on the podcast where I interview people who are part of the surrogacy world, whether they were a surrogate or they were family who had a surrogate. Or I would love to get my parent and the parents who I'm giving baby to be on it. If they'd be willing, I might have my husband on to tell his experience. And I would love to have maybe a fertility clinic. There's so many ideas around that. You'll probably see on this podcast a little bit more around surrogacy. I don't want to completely change what my podcast is about, but I do want to sprinkle in some of these conversations, so lots more to come. I have to plan this out, which has been crazy. But I have to give credit to somebody who came into my life who said, I think that you need to document this journey. And I've been a social person. I'm on social media. Obviously, I have a podcast, but this is going to definitely go out of my comfort zone a lot, but I want to do it for the better of the surrogacy community, and so buckle up, and I hope you follow me. I hope you enjoy it, and you share it, and do all the things. 

So I just wanted to come out and give a quick update. I have a lot of huge event changes happening in my life, but I'm so excited again for it. I'm excited for a change. I'm just excited for this next chapter in my life, I feel very inspired and called to. And yeah, I hope you guys all again come along the journey, continue to support me and find ways to connect me to others and vice versa. I still want to be known as the connector, and I will do that in every way possible. And yeah, so lots of good things. 

Thanks for coming to my April 2025 TED Talk. It's always cool to listen back to my journeys over the years. But again, thank you for continuing to follow me, listen to my podcast, share my podcast, and support me in this. I truly love doing this, and I think I found my calling, so stay tuned. So much more to come, and I will see you all next week.