The Morning Upgrade Podcast Featuring Erica Ballard

Welcome to episode #174 of the Morning Upgrade Podcast. In this week’s episode I spoke with Erica Ballard, a spiritual life coach.

Top Talking Points

• How she maintains an intense morning routine everyday.
• How she bounced back after being laid off while on maternity leave.
• Why focusing on emotion over outcome turns manifestation into steady progress.

Resources & Links

Connect With Erica at EricaBallard.co.

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Transciption

Ryan Cote:
Welcome to the Morning Upgrade Podcast, where we feature casual conversations with entrepreneurs about personal development and growth. Erica, welcome! How are you?

Erica:
Good, thanks! How are you today?

Ryan:
Good! It’s a very warm, humid day here—about 100 degrees. I’m in New Jersey, and I forgot how humid it gets on this side of the country. I’m used to the dry heat in Denver.

Erica:
Yeah, humidity definitely makes it tougher. But seasons are nice, so that’s a plus.

Ryan:
Let’s start with you. Introduce yourself—personally, professionally—whatever you’d like to share.

Erica:
Sure! I’m Erica, a life and spiritual coach. I focus on helping people “make the work work.” My goal is to help people—usually ambitious women—make the internal shifts they desire in a way that works with their biology, their energy, and the universe.

I’ve been coaching for about eight years, before coaching was trendy. I started in the health and wellness space, then gradually moved into mindset work because I realized that’s where people were getting stuck. And through all of that, I’ve had to do my own deep work too.

Ryan:
That’s really interesting. Let’s get into your morning routine first. I know from reading about you that you had a job loss while pregnant, which led to your deeper journey into personal development. I want to dig into that story next, but let’s start with your routine.

Erica:
Sure. My morning routine might sound intense, especially for moms, but I built it gradually.

Every morning, I meditate for about an hour and then journal for 5 to 15 minutes. Meditation helps clear my head and set my intentions. It connects me to what I believe is true and opens my heart. The journaling comes after because sometimes I get insights during meditation, or I just need to get thoughts out of my head.

The purpose is to start the day grounded, showing up as the person I want to be.

Ryan:
I love that. I journal too. Curious—do you write a full page or just go with whatever comes?

Erica:
Sometimes it’s just a few lines. And I have to say, I’m really impressed by AI. There’s a lot of hate for it in the personal development space, but I think it’s an incredible tool to amplify what we’re already doing. I’m not looking to replace human connection, of course. But AI offers tweaks, insights, and reflections I didn’t have access to before.

Ryan:
Absolutely. These tools are here, and we can choose how we use them. Okay, now back to that career transition. What were you doing before coaching?

Erica:
This usually makes people laugh, including me. I worked in public health for about a decade—everything from HIPAA to employer-based wellness. I even got my master’s degree from Tufts. Then I transitioned into nutrition and health coaching.

Eventually, I moved from Indianapolis to Colorado and started a stressful business. I had kids, and then during maternity leave, I was let go. That moment pushed me fully into personal development work.

Ryan:
Right. You mentioned that moment really changed everything. What exactly did that journey look like? What did you do differently after being let go?

Erica:
Yeah, getting let go while on maternity leave was tough, but I had been preparing for that moment for nearly a decade. I had read all the self-help books, studied spirituality, neuroscience—you name it. I’d been meditating and working on rewiring my brain, connecting with my subconscious, and learning to trust and surrender.

But up until that point, the work hadn’t really “worked.” When I was let go, I felt surprisingly peaceful. I had been building these practices, even if not perfectly timed—sometimes meditating at 10 a.m. because newborns don’t care about 6 a.m. routines!

I realized I finally had enough of the language and tools to truly process it differently. That’s when things shifted.

Ryan:
What changed for you internally? How did you know the work was finally working?

Erica:
Great question. It wasn’t about the external results. It was about what disappeared. I wasn’t frustrated anymore. I wasn’t constantly chasing or snapping at people. My brain quieted down. I could be fully present whether watching a show or playing with my kids, I wasn’t thinking about 17 other things.

That was the first major shift: the removal of constant stress and worry. After that, all the good stuff came clients, work, friendships, opportunities. But by then, those things felt like bonuses. What I really wanted was presence, peace, and trust in myself—and I got that first.

Ryan:
That’s powerful. I know you often talk about trusting your work and shifting from chasing to attracting. Let’s tie that into manifestation. What are the key pitfalls people should avoid?

Erica:
Sure. A lot of people think manifestation is just meditating, journaling, and visualizing and that’s part of it. But a common problem is focusing on the thing, not the feeling.

We want that job or client because we want to feel secure, successful, inspired, etc. So the real mission is to tap into those feelings now and use them to guide your path.

And yes, action is absolutely part of it. Those are the nudges I talk about—like “call this person,” “take that step,” “write this down.” But if you’re really trusting, you usually only get two or three steps at a time. You do those, and then the next ones appear.

Sometimes that step is tactical, like writing a business plan. But you don’t always know why you’re doing it beyond trusting the process. And as things shift, your plan may too. That’s how it works in the quantum and spiritual realms.

Ryan:
So it’s a mix of being and doing?

Erica:
Exactly. Manifestation is both. The “doing” often comes before the physical results show up. It’s like the universe asking you to do your 10%—ask the question, make the move—while it handles the rest. It’s 90% the unknown, and 10% your willingness to act.

Ryan:
That’s a great perspective. Random side note—I was thinking the other day how we only use 10% of our brains (or whatever the number is). What if we focused on expanding that instead of building AI as our external brain?

Erica:
I love that thought. I think about that too. What’s fascinating about AI is that it reflects our collective consciousness it can show us what we’re thinking, create feedback loops, and help us evolve. As long as we use it as a tool to amplify our inner growth, I think it’s an amazing resource.

Ryan:
Absolutely. Final question for you: What’s one core truth you live by that you’d want to share with listeners?

Erica:
One truth I live by is that you are not broken. You never were. The version of you that you’re becoming already exists you just have to meet her. Trust yourself, slow down, and do the work that connects you to who you already are.

Ryan:
Beautifully said. Where can people learn more about you or connect with you?

Erica:
You can find me at Ericaballard.co. I share resources, coaching offers, and more about my journey and methods there.

Ryan:
Thanks so much for being here, Erica. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Erica:
Thank you, Ryan. This was a joy.