Elizabeth Canon
Coach for women entrepreneurs
@elizabethcanon_
www.ageofe.com
I always start my day with...
There is no always! I like to start my day early, before the rest of my house. I have little ones, which means I never know how much time I'll have before tiny footsteps find me— so I do the things I love to do alone first, in case I get interrupted. This looks like getting a glass of water and sitting with my journal on the sofa. I write out my day as if it already happened, which tricks my mind into thinking it did. It's not that it always turns out the way I write it, but sometimes it does, which feels like magic. I also find that this practice encourages me to be more intentional about my day, which makes everything go smoother. I pay attention to the things I want to happen, but also how I want to feel as I go about my day. This is something I learned from my coach and is a practice I love. Then I pour 2 T. olive oil and squeeze half a lemon into a shot glass, which maybe helps my digestion all day, but definitely makes me feel I'm off to a healthy start. As I make a coffee, I put on a song and dance a prayer in the kitchen as a way to connect with how I want to feel that day. My kids often saunter in with sleepy eyes for this part. They're young enough that they often join in. Then it's onto making breakfast, packing lunch and getting the family out the door. Once they're gone I have another coffee in peace and usually go to the gym before I start my workday at 11am.
Where were you raised? Has the landscape of that place influenced your work in any way?
I was raised in upstate New York, about an hour north of Manhattan. I would say most of the places I have lived influence my work in some way. Growing up, I always loved the city and moved there the day after I graduated college. New York is a city that people move to from all over the world to "make it". This creates a culture with an extremely high work ethic. Plus, it's a vertical city so most people pick a career and they climb, climb, climb. I did that too, for a good long while when I built my first business as an entrepreneur. But then I reached a point where I felt like I had also built myself a pressure cooker. My business was successful on the outside but inside I was missing a sense of deeper satisfaction. It wasn't until later that I realized why. Actually, I had to move to a city that is expansive, where people don't pick a lane, they spread the F out. It's so common in LA for people to pursue many interests and have various projects going at once. That was new to me, and it gave me permission to re-evaluate a lot of assumptions I was making about my life and what success meant. I think that happens for a lot of people, in order to grow, you have to leave what you know behind—at least for a while. This has influenced my work because I now run a company that helps other women entrepreneurs learn how to grow their companies without sacrificing what matters most in their personal lives.
What was the last thing you fell in love with?
My husband, again, after being together for nearly 17 years. He has a corporate job, but has always been an artist. I've watched him over the past few years take his art more seriously, making time for it amidst a very full life—full-time job, two kids, health commitments, his single mom lives across the street, etc— there are a lot of demands on him. But he has decided his dreams are worth pursuing and recently did his first public art show with Saatchi Art. It was so impressive and inspiring— I was moved to tears. It's so vulnerable for an artist to put themselves out there and I think it's incredible to watch someone decide for themselves that their dreams matter.
We have 24 hours in your city... one recommendation.
Go put your feet in the sand somewhere!
What do you love most about yourself?
I love that I am brave enough to forge a life that truly belongs to me. I love that I have overcome self-consciousness enough that I don't take myself so seriously and laugh at myself often and publicly. I love that I birthed my daughter, Valentina, standing on the bathroom floor, staring at my own eyes in the mirror. I love that I clean up my messes—in relationships, in business, in life, constantly. I love that I am in a profession where my own personal growth is a requirement. Oh my God, I could go on—which is cool, because I didn't always feel this way.
What did you do for your last birthday?
Not memorable. Likely a local beach day, a stop by my favorite store, Sunroom, and an al fresco dinner with the family with a couple good cocktails.
What book are you reading?
None! I'm writing one.
If you could click your heels and be anywhere, where would it be?
Italy. Always and forever.
How do you recharge your creative battery?
Tea. Dancing. Hugs. Body work. Travel to inspiring places. Voice messaging with dear friends. The beach. Any big nature. Or small nature (like watering the grass in my backyard). A burger, fries and a coke. Running an errand I love and chatting with someone I encounter along the way. Shopping at my favorite store. Following any spark of inspiration, cooking a meal, mailing a letter, waking up early, etc.
What’s on your Bucket List.
I don't really have one. More like things I want to do in the near future. I find that if I keep doing the things that call to me, right now, then I fall in love with my life and feel alive. When I postpone things I start to feel disempowered, so I don't tend to do that. It's not that I feel rushed to do something, but if there is something that is genuinely important to me, I at least want to be in the planning and preparation of creating it.
All photos courtesy of Elizabeth Canon
