Poop, Self-Help & Letting Go with Angela Jamieson

In this special episode, I welcome back Angela Jamieson to talk about her unusually titled book, Using No. 2 to Get to No. 1: The Shockingly Insightful, Full-of-Crap Self-Help Book.

Yes, the book really does connect poop and personal development — and, as Angela explains, that is exactly the point. Through humour, digestive metaphors, personal stories, and very relatable observations, Angela explores how letting go is not only something the body does but also something we often need to do, emotionally, mentally, and in the way we approach life.

Angela shares how the idea for the book first appeared many years ago, why it took time to become what it is now, and how her own experiences with family, work, parenting, loss, self-help, and everyday human awkwardness shaped the final version. The conversation touches on everything from toilet paper rationing and international toilets to comparison, people-pleasing, conscious choices, and why no one else’s personal development formula can be copied exactly.

We also discuss the link between the book and Angela’s work around relaxed productivity — especially the idea that life does not always need to be approached with more pressure, more achievement, or more seriousness. Sometimes, the most useful insights come through laughter, honest reflection, and remembering that we are all human.

This episode is a funny, grounded, and surprisingly thoughtful conversation about self-help, connection, letting go, and learning to trust your own internal diagnostics.

Angela’s book is available through major book retailers, including ebook formats, and the audiobook is expected to be available through Audible.

About: Angela Jamieson is a former engineer turned Relaxed Productivity Advocate, speaker, publisher, and bestselling author. She helps busy professionals get more done by doing less—but smarter. She's recently published Using No. 2 to Get to No. 1, the cheekiest self-help book you didn’t know you needed. 

Connect at: LinkedIn, IG, Website, Aimee Bronson

Transcript

Introducing Angela Jamieson’s book

Regina Sayer 0:00

Thank you again for joining us on Wisdom Without the Guru. This is another special episode, another book episode with a former guest, Angela Jamieson. Now, this book is all about poop and personal development. And yes, those two terms are definitely going hand in hand in this interview. I will not say any more, I will leave it at that. But having said that, I actually have read this book. I had started reading it before the interview, and I've actually finished it since then, and I do recommend it. For me, it was a good reminder about a lot of things that I already knew and just needed a little jogging of my memory. And I think that it's also beneficial for people who may never have delved this much into personal development. It's an easy and humorous way at understanding concepts and also looking at your life. I must apologise because I don't know what happened, but for the first 10 minutes of the recording, something bizarre was going on. We actually at some point had to stop the recording, hope that the first part of it was saved and continued on. So please bear with me. I sound muffled and somewhat, sad to say, spitty speaking. So if you can just get through the first nine or ten minutes and get to the rest of the episode, I think that it's a hugely beneficial episode and will give you a good insight into the book and help you decide if you think that it might be something that you or somebody that you know can profit from reading. Okay, so with that, enjoy the show.

Regina Sayer 1:50

Hi everybody, and welcome back to a special episode of Wisdom Without the Guru. So in this special episode, we're going to introduce you to the book with the unlikely title Using Number 2 to Get to Number 1 - The Shockingly Insightful, Full of Crap Self-Help Book. Yes, you heard it right. So this book was written by my former guest, Angela Jamieson. And if you haven't listened, go back to the episode with Angela, where she shares her life's straddling cultures, working in a male-dominated, high-powered engineering field, experiencing life on four continents, raising a family, and then when her father passed away, really questioning what was truly important in life. So her experiences and searching for answers have accumulated into advocating and teaching what she terms relaxed productivity. In addition to all of that, as proof that we are indeed multifaceted beings, Angela decided to also explore the path of romance writing, and she is the successful author of around 20 well-loved contemporary romance novels under the pen name of Aimee Bronson. But the book we're discussing today is no romance novel, but it is certainly filled with humour and insights that even the most logical of us can resonate with. In this easy-to-read self-help book, Angela reminds us that letting go isn't just for the bathroom, it's for everything that holds us back. So without further ado, welcome back, Angela.

Angela Jamieson 3:22

Thanks for having me back. What an amazing introduction.

Regina Sayer 3:26

Well, I have three chapters into your book, and I was laughing the first one the way through the first one. Some of the metaphors that you use, it gets somebody in the mood because it gets them laughing. And then you start reading further because you want to know what the heck is she writing about this for.

Why poop and personal development?

Angela Jamieson 3:43

Exactly. And I think that's why. I mean, that's always the first question is why did you write this book? And so that's the first chapter why I wrote the book.

Regina Sayer 3:55

As a little intro to the book, I think you actually was thinking about it like 10 years before you actually wrote it.

Angela Jamieson 4:02

Yeah, I told a colleague the title probably 20 years ago. So yeah, I think my daughter was probably one. So yeah, I had the title, I had the concept, and it was just like life got in the way.

Regina Sayer 4:16

But then you also said that I think you changed also the concept a little bit, or was it always the same? As those 20 years went by, we got more, you know, savvy to life.

Angela Jamieson 4:25

Yeah. And I think that's what in the end, you know, so I I didn't want to beat myself up for taking so long. And when I looked back, it's like everything happens with perfect timing because in the meantime, I've had three kids. I've had more life wisdom. And as I was going through life, I was thinking, okay, this is a chapter in the book. So it was just collecting more and more stories as I went along.

Regina Sayer 4:51

Yeah. Okay. What was the ultimate aha that sort of got you started on the idea of this book?

Angela Jamieson 4:58

The ultimate aha is just seeing how as I traveled the continents, as I worked in different offices with multi-cultured people, that the digestive system is something everyone can relate to. You know, we talk about gender differences or political or religious or any other difference you can come up with. You talk about, you know, oh, last night I ate something really bad and I'm I can't come to the office. Everyone goes, gotcha. You know, I understand and stay home. I remember as a young expat, we would be standing around people, you know, earning more money than they should have, having amazing holidays. And then we'd come back and we'd talk about our holidays, but it was just kind of like a, well, that's nice, you know, you hiked Kilimanjaro or you were in Australia in the outback. And so they're nice stories, but you weren't there. You couldn't experience it. But someone talks about, I ate some bad street meat and I was out for three days. You like, yeah, okay, I can feel that one. And I really love the concept of really connecting with people. So as I went through life, and you know, I do tend to sometimes bring it up in conversation. I do think it's very tasteful way that I do it. But my husband goes, Oh, you know, there's Angela bringing it up again. Just can't stop talking about it. But it's to enable that connection with the other person. So that's the bottom line.

Regina Sayer 6:35

But how did you sort of make the leap between okay, I can't say it any better, between poop and self-help?

Angela Jamieson 6:43

It's in the why chapter in terms of when I grew up on the acreage. So I grew up on an acreage and we had a septic tank that always got plugged. And my dad thought it was our use, excessive use of toilet paper. Even though I was trying to be a good girl and use just what I needed, he eventually got to the point of rationing our toilet paper. So we got one square for number one and two squares for number two. And in those days, he was landscaping our yard and we have 10 acres. And we had to find him because he had the only role in his pocket and tell him what we're doing, and then we'd have to run back into the house to actually do it. And sometimes, you know, number one, you'd end up out there somewhere in the grass. Those are also good life skills, though, by the way. But when you got to do number two, you gotta be at a toilet, preferably. I think that was just the whole awareness of going to the bathroom was just really high from a young child. It wasn't that I was traumatised because, you know, as a child, you just accept how your parents parent you. You just think that's normal until, you know, you maybe mention it to someone in your later years and you go, Oh, that wasn't normal. You know, and I might be also the only person who has heard their parents argue, and my mom was saying, You don't understand female anatomy because she wanted more squares. He also rationed it for her. And then suddenly the toilet rolls were back. And, you know, I own the same acreage, and we've never had an issue. So I'm not really sure what was going on in those early days. But uh, yeah, it's a super high awareness of toilet paper usage. My dad has since passed. Every time I use toilet paper, I send him a thought like, sorry, I'm not using just two squares anymore. You know, I think he's giggling somewhere on a cloud.

Regina Sayer 8:49

Yeah, Angela, I'm thinking you should write up a follow-up book that's something about... because my time that I've spent traveling as well, you have all different types of toilet paper. You've got some of what I call the John Wayne toilet paper, which is the really gritty

Angela Jamieson 9:04

like denim.

Regina Sayer 9:05

And then when I remember when I first came to Paris years and years ago, not having much money, I stayed in a relatively cheap hotel. Well, it was cheap, not relatively. And I remember that, you know, they had these like greasy, weird squares of toilet paper. I mean, if you were traveling maybe 20 years ago, you would realize also that in some of the you know lesser priced hotels you have these not so top quality, you know, four ply.

Angela Jamieson 9:32

Four ply. That's very generous. You know, it's I remember the kind that disintegrate upon moisture of your hand, you know, that's just like, oh, this is not going well.

Regina Sayer 9:45

That's why I'm thinking you should do a a follow-up to this book.

Angela Jamieson 9:49

Maybe. As you read further, I talk a little bit about toilets, the different kind of toilets, which I don't know in where you you're at, whether you've got the ledge toilets that they have in the Netherlands. Yeah, we call them the examination plate. And as I did some research into it, that's exactly what it was for in the old days, is that you it's got a ledge in it. You do number two on the ledge, and then when you flush, there's a little lip that you just gotta pray that number two gets over and gets into the plumbing. It was, I guess in the old days, so you could see what was coming out of you, but they're super unpopular because, okay, number one, they stink. And number two, who really wants to see their stuff so closely these days? I mean, it's very uh it's you know, you can diagnose yourself if you see like worms or corn or whatever, but they are just not what modern people want to look at anymore.

Regina Sayer 10:54

Yeah, living in Singapore. No, I've I've had the the squat toilets, you know.

Angela Jamieson 10:59

Oh yeah, I've had that living in Asia too. And there's also in France, very popular having squat toilets because it's a very natural, yeah, natural way to eliminate.

Relaxed productivity and taking life more lightly

Regina Sayer 11:12

All right. So all these weird and wonderful international toilets aside, does this book also link into what you're doing with uh what is it called again now? Forgotten.

Angela Jamieson 11:24

Relaxed Productivity

Regina Sayer 11:24

Relaxed productivity. I'm having a lapse of memory. I need to be more relaxed.

Angela Jamieson 11:29

No problem at all.

Regina Sayer 11:30

this is proof of the pudding. Relaxed productivity. I just stressed there for a moment. Because we lost our recording. So anyway, so how does this link, this book, if at all, link with relaxed productivity?

Angela Jamieson 11:49

Well, the concept of it existed far before relaxed productivity. So as I finally got to writing it and you know, I'm doing relaxed productivity, it does fit in in the way that I want people, busy professionals, to see the logic and slowing down and just taking life a little bit more lighter and having more fun. So this is kind of case in point as well. Let's, I'm having fun by writing this book and hopefully bringing more fun and laughter to other people and connection. And also just, I mean, it's not a very scholastic book, you know. So, you know, just reaching for the chill out, reaching for the letting go of everything we're supposed to be doing in life, you know, achieving and going for more money, more fame, more fortune, whatever fortune and money is the same thing, but just being ourselves and really going for true connection.

Regina Sayer 12:51

That's actually something that I thought was pretty good about the book, the the three chapters I've read so far, is that it is very relaxed and it's not speaking in a very technical way. So, you know, it's not something you sort of like, okay, this is a study book for self-help. You know, I have to do this this way. It's not laid out at all like that. Can you talk about how you decided to structure the book? Because I think it's quite interesting also with the final flush part.

How the book is structured

Angela Jamieson 13:18

Yeah. Um I've gone through so many ways of putting this together. And it's this is probably the fourth format that I've decided on. And, you know, it's in five sections eating, digesting, pooping, affogato, and cleaning up. Because probably by the end of it, it started becoming kind of like a meal. So affogato is, of course, that beautiful espresso and banana ice cream dessert, and then cleaning up, doing the dishes. So yeah, I don't really know how I got to this, but I wanted to have a structure. And you can see there's there's overlaps between the eating, digesting, and pooping just because there were so many concepts that apply to all three or the overall system. And so that was what I was struggling with all along. But I just decided to say, screw it. I'm just gonna put it together in the way that that makes sense for me at the time. And what if people can deal with it?

Regina Sayer 14:21

You said earlier that you were thinking about busy professionals, but I mean, from what I can gather, it seems like anybody can really profit from this book. But who did you really have in mind specifically when you were writing it? Was it mainly busy professionals or just everybody in general?

Angela Jamieson 14:37

Yeah, not specifically busy professionals at the time. I tell a lot of the concepts through personal stories. So, in a way, it's slightly memoir-ish and also something that my kids could read. So it's, yeah, I guess it's a combination of everything. This book is kind of personal development through my observations of my digestive system. So I clearly state in the beginning, I'm no nutritionalist, I'm not an internal doctor or gastroenterologist. I'm just telling you, as a layman and expert of my own gut and encouraging other people because they are experts in their own gut, that also relates to personal development. What works for you might not work for me, and vice versa. So that's why you can never really accept anyone else's advice as your own until you try it. And I think people need to understand that they are so unique in everything. So it's in the food you digest. The story in there is my neighbour cannot eat lettuce. And I always thought lettuce was like the most benign thing in the world that, you know, if you're feeling really sick, you just, you know, suck on some iceberg lettuce, which just gives you nothing. But she can't even eat it. And I unfortunately witnessed when she couldn't eat it. So it was everyone digests things differently. So your thoughts in a same exact same situation that maybe I was in, we can come away with different things. So as you can see, there are so many parallels that actually when I looked at the book, I was like, there's so many self-help concepts in here that people can test out for themselves. I think I have, you know, the bestseller book right now in self-help is Mel Robin's Let Them Theory. I have a let them sentence, you know, and which was written before the book was released. But it was one of those, yeah, there's so many ideas in this book for people to take away and decide for themselves what works for them.

Regina Sayer 16:45

As you were writing it, were you also discovering some things as well for yourself?

Angela Jamieson 16:50

Yeah, for sure. And as I was learning, then more ideas came. I really dove into personal development when my father died. And I realized, you know, as a busy professional, what was I doing with my life? Because he was suddenly gone. And I was just thinking, one day I am going to be suddenly suddenly gone. What am I doing? What legacy am I leaving? That made me quit my corporate job and made me focus and search for my own meaning. And through that, as I read more, as I learned more, I saw these parallels emerging through it all. So yes, I guess the time that I took to get it actually done was very beneficial for the reader because it's just that much more, that's that much more richer. Even my own personal development, you think about some of the biggest names on the planet in personal development, they've got aspects of their life that I don't want. They have history that I don't want. So I don't want to do exactly what they've done in exactly the same way because it's not me and I don't want their result. So it's, you know, testament again to we need to just, if something interests you, give it a go and find out for yourself whether it works for you. If it didn't, then pivot and try something else. Because just because it worked for someone else doesn't mean it's going to work for you. Or just because it didn't work for someone else doesn't mean, you know, you might be wildly successful at that method.

Regina Sayer 18:27

Yeah, I think that's really a hugely changing of perception that you just brought up there. Because I think so many people follow people like Tony Robbins and think, oh, I want to, you know, I want to be just like Tony Robbins or Brené Brown or, you know, some of the other leaders in in mindset change, etc. And um it's true, you know, not everybody can be the same. You're not living in the same place, you're not living in the same circumstances, you're not married to the same people, you don't have the same kids, you don't have the same colleagues. Everything is so hugely different. So to think that we can have exactly the same thing, I think is is a fallacy right from the start. So I think it's really good that you point that out.

Angela Jamieson 19:10

And it's just like social media. We don't see what's going on within their closed doors. We just see their outside persona. But we are comparing it with our insides. So it is an unfair comparison. We're comparing their outsides with our insides because we can't see ourselves any other way. All the struggles you're going through, they have them too, just a little different, and they're not telling you about it. What I've also found is that most of our troubles come from ourselves, the way we think about ourselves. So if we can just let go, let go of all those expectations, you suddenly immediately feel better.

Being right, people-pleasing, and parenting differently

Regina Sayer 19:54

What was the hardest thing for you to let go of?

Angela Jamieson 19:57

It flips on the day. I have to always check myself in terms of do I just want to be right? I think that's a big one for a lot of people, just because of the education system we've gone through, we are rewarded for being right. So when we're wrong, well, it doesn't feel good. But there's been situations where we would rather be right than actually have a good outcome. You know, when you're arguing with someone and you just want your way to be right, but then you go, okay, let's do it your way, but you're secretly hoping that you fail because you just want to be right. You know, those kind of things that don't make sense, but we all do. I think that's sort of a result of our schooling. I think people pleasing is also another big one because we grow up trying to make our parents happy. So it's really informed me how to raise my children. So I will say, when they ask me my opinion, I'll say, what do you feel about it? And we talk through it in terms of from their lens instead of me putting my opinion on it. Although if it's something really big, so I can't help myself sometimes. But I also have to accept that, and I tell them this, I said, I am not going to be here for the rest of your life. So you can't look to me for approval. It's like, do you, is this what you want in your life? Because you're the only one who has to live with you forever. So that has really informed how I parent my kids. And I do have to like close my eyes sometimes as to what they're doing and just help them when they come to the realization that what they're doing is maybe not for them.

Regina Sayer 21:41

And yet it'll be harder the older they get.

Angela Jamieson 21:45

I know.

Regina Sayer 21:47

As I sit here with my 18 year old.

Angela Jamieson 21:50

Yeah. We think that the younger years are so difficult, but that's when they just have physical needs. And when they get older, they have, you know, mental inside. Emotional and psychological needs, and it's like, oh my God, I'll change your diaper.

Regina Sayer 22:06

Metaphorically.

Angela Jamieson 22:07

Yes, we will not do that for adult children. Thank you. I always tell them I had you so that I have people to change my bedpan when I get older. They somehow don't like that. But maybe, you know, that will fire them into earning enough so that they can hire someone to change my bed pan.

Regina Sayer 22:28

Okay. So are you going to read us any parts of this book?

Angela Jamieson 22:32

Well, yes, I have a short one that I can read. And you know, you asked for the final flush. I just put a final flush at the end of all of the chapters as a summary. Okay, this one is called the cheese incident. So sometimes we do pause, reflect, and then with full awareness, proceed anyway. And that's okay, because you've done it consciously. It's part of the human experience. We're allowed to make bad decisions, we're allowed to wallow in pity, we're allowed to treat another person badly, acting from our emotions. But you have to deal with the consequences. Like the time I went to visit my friend in France and encountered the most spectacular cheese platter I had ever seen. Now, I am mildly lactose intolerant, not enough to be life-threatening, but enough that dairy and I have a complicated relationship. And yet here I was in a picturesque French village, sitting at a long wooden table filled with crusty baguettes, perfectly aged wines, and at the center of it all the most beautiful block of twenty two-month aged Comte cheese that my friend's local cheesemonger had made specifically for her birthday. I knew what I was getting into. I paused, acknowledging the potential consequences, and then I ate it anyway. Slice after slice, bite after bite, I let that nutty, creamy, perfectly aged masterpiece take over my senses. It was glorious. I had no regrets. Well, at least not in that moment. The aftermath, let's just say I paid for it in terms of stomach pain, but I can honestly say it was completely worth it. And that's the difference. I knew my fate and accepted it. I had made a conscious choice and I was happy to live with the consequences. That's what separates regret from ownership. When we move forward in full awareness, we might still face the repercussions of our actions, but at least we do so without resentment or self-recrimination.

Regina Sayer 24:47

There you go. So I'm sure that you have a lot of different life instances you could have pulled from. So how did you go about actually choosing the ones that you put in the book? Because you seem to have a plethora of them that you can refer to.

Angela Jamieson 25:01

Absolutely. And there are so many more that didn't make the book. But I didn't choose some of them because maybe it made someone look bad or made me look too good. Because, you know, I did learn from it and then therefore I won something or something, you know. I didn't want that either. So it was, I just wanted to be pure personal development, things that people could relate to. I think, you know, the story I just told, I'm sure everyone can relate to.

Regina Sayer 25:42

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you could.

Angela Jamieson 25:44

And actually, since publishing this, a lot of people, readers have told me this is stuff I wish I knew decades ago. So they're going to give it to their high school graduating, you know, child or university graduate child as their gift, which I hope they get, you know, a little bit more than just a book. But, you know, it's it's life lessons they say they wish they learned a long time ago. So that's the biggest compliment.

Regina Sayer 26:11

From my point of view, from reading it, I mean, I've been kind of doing this work for a while as well. So for me, even reading it, it's sort of like, okay, yeah, I knew that, but I just needed to be reminded of it. So there's that perspective as well as to like who your potential audience could be, even though you are still into maybe you've done a lot of self-help work, etc. I think it's a book also that you can read because uh, first of all, it's funny. Secondly, it relates very well in the different metaphors to a lot of different things, but also it's a reminder. I think it's a reminder of things that maybe you knew, but you just had sort of like swept underneath the everyday carpet that we get lost under.

Angela Jamieson 26:54

And I'm glad you brought that up because I think as I was going through my personal development search, I remember I read so many books, but then I couldn't exactly remember everything. You know, you just know the feeling, oh, this did change my thinking in this respect. And I don't know if it's the same in Belgium, but in the Netherlands, they have a birthday calendar that they put in their toilet room. They have this custom that they see whose birthday it is, and that person has to provide cake at their house that night. So it's like you know where you're getting your dessert that night. So I've used that concept and I've provided a printable from the book. The link is in the book, that people can print out. And for each of the eating, digesting, and pooping areas, they can put the idea that they want to work on on that sheet. You can put it up where you do your number two every day so that when you sit down for, you know, not too long, you should not sit very long, people put those phones away. You should read that piece of paper that will remind you of that concept. And because we eat, you know, many times a day, there's also concepts you can relate to eating and that will remind you how to live a better life in the way that you choose for all those ideas that are in those different chapters.

Regina Sayer 28:19

What do you think is actually the hardest thing for people to come to terms with that you covered in the book?

Angela Jamieson 28:25

The hardest thing I think is also the easiest thing in a way, but it's to remember how wonderful and unique and amazing you are. I think we're forget it so easily. We go into this game of comparison, thinking that everyone else is better than we are, when in fact there is no one like you. Even twins, they're such different people. And without your energy in the planet at this moment, or in your circle of friends, or in your family, no matter how worthless you think you are, you have an energy imprint that would be missed and lost if you weren't there. So I think that's the biggest thing that people consistently forget. And when you remember that, it's like everything bad in your life just pales in comparison.

Regina Sayer 29:26

I think that's something that's very good for somebody who may be depressed or going through a hard time to remember.

Angela Jamieson 29:34

Yeah, they cannot see it.

Regina Sayer 29:35

Yeah.

Angela Jamieson 29:36

When you are depressed, it's like you are constipated. Nothing is moving in terms of energy. And so you really need to get yourself going in all the ways that you would get your gut going. You know, move a little, find some mental fiber to chew on, add some vitamins or good things in your day, like things that bring you joy, people that bring you joy. Just do all these things to get yourself going again. There's another, there's a chapter in there too.

Regina Sayer 30:09

Okay. So in terms of the book, where can we find it?

Angela Jamieson 30:12

Amazon, of course. You can find it there. No, it should be anywhere that you can buy books. You can just order it, and ebooks are everywhere. I've published it wide, so it is all over the place. But bookstores, they won't necessarily order it, but they can order it in if you ask.

Regina Sayer 30:33

Okay. And there is a Kindle version available. Because I have that. Yes. And do you have it? Is there an Audible version available?

Angela Jamieson 30:40

An Audible one is coming. Probably by the time this segment airs, it should be available. So that will be on Audible.

Regina Sayer 30:48

Are you the one reading it?

Angela Jamieson 30:50

I am. As I was going through some studios asking, you know, how much will it cost to record this book? Which it is crazy expensive. But one of the guys said, Oh, I've got this great voice actor that can do it. He's new on the scene. And I was like, Well, it probably won't come off very authentic when in the intro it says, I am a Chinese female human. No matter how wonderful his sexy voice is, it just won't be authentic. So even though I do not like my voice in terms who likes their voice really, but I just decided I'm gonna do this myself in terms of read it myself, because that's who I am. You know, and it's my book. And the readers can hear my scratchy voice reading my book.

Regina Sayer 31:38

And are you laughing when you read it as well? That'd be a different way to listen to an audible.

Angela Jamieson 31:44

Yeah. No, that's I don't think I laugh. Because is it imp impolite to laugh at your own stuff? And I think I don't know.

Regina Sayer 31:52

I don't think so.

Angela Jamieson 31:53

I think it's because it's my stories also, yeah. I'm just telling them.

Regina Sayer 31:58

Okay. What do you think are the main takeaways from the book that you want people to really, really hone into?

Angela Jamieson 32:09

Okay. Well, I think there's a couple. The first one we've already talked about is how amazing and unique you are, and how yeah, there is no one like you. So that is one. The second one is connection, how the digestive system connects us all. And I've given a few examples in in the book. For instance, our sewage systems are tied to each other. So yeah, the quote for that one chapter is how nice it is that my poop is meeting your poop somewhere in a tank. But also that when you are born and when you are taking your last breaths, your digestive system is the big diagnostic that health professionals look at to see your ability to thrive. So it is deep. There is deepness in understanding your digestive system. And that, even though we do it very alone, it's just like being born and dying. It's a universal thing that's going to happen to all of us, but we do it completely separately. So it's the whole connection piece is really big for me. And then when I was done the book, and you know, you can read the last sentiment in there, but it was also sort of a love letter to my mother, who has dogged me for years about my digestive system. Are you eating enough? You sound constipated, blah, blah, blah. You know, and all of that stuff is like, mother. But it really does mean love. When you care for someone's digestive system, that means you really love them. So in the end, it was like a thank you, mom, book that really emerged for me as I wrote it. It was a bit of a surprise, but it's so clear now that whoever cares for your digestive system and the people that you care about, they're your closest people.

Regina Sayer 34:10

So the whole time you're you're speaking, I'm thinking about whoever cares about your emotions, they're the closest people. I'm always inserting digestion with emotions and mental health and well-being. Yeah.

Angela Jamieson 34:22

Hey, I've got you trained now.

Regina Sayer 34:24

Y eah, you do. Imagine what I'll be like by the end of the book.

Angela Jamieson 34:29

I know, you're gonna be a monster. You're gonna start talking with your friends. Yeah. Your friends are gonna go, oh, I wish you never read that book.

Regina Sayer 34:40

Uh, it's funny. Okay. So in terms of connecting with you, you have a website?

Angela Jamieson 34:45

I do. It's just my name.com. Jamieson is within I-E S O N dot com. So it's easy to find me. I'm very active on LinkedIn. And then I try to be active on Instagram and Facebook when I remember, but you can still connect with me there.

Relaxed productivity, courses, and community

Regina Sayer 35:02

Okay. And I think you also have some groups that you do the relaxed productivity courses with as well. If anybody's interested after they've read the book, following through.

Angela Jamieson 35:13

I do have an online course called Relaxed Productivity, which is four weeks of just laying out mind, body, and spirit, how you tie those into relaxed productivity and gives you the science behind it. Because as an engineer, I look for the logical connections, things that make sense to me. Science is constantly evolving. So we are constantly learning more, and this is kind of the latest stuff. When I first ran that course, people were saying, we want more of this. We want to talk about this more, which was amazing, but made me start the Relaxed Productivity membership, where we get together twice a month, people bring their real life problems, and we put together this the way that I have created of the way of thinking, which alleviates their stress immediately. It's really fantastic to see. And the members have used terms like this is life-changing, which I love, but I also understand because it was life-changing for me. So I love my membership. We've been going for over a year now, so that's been fantastic. And yeah, I'm always looking to build that membership and getting to know people. Uh, we've got an international crowd. So it's it's lovely. Twice a month, no big pressure, don't have any homework. I've got suggestions that I give out every week. But um, we're busy professionals, so I'm not gonna make you do a whole lot, but I'm gonna, you know, keep your brain thinking the right things and the right ways. And again, it's not telling people what to think, it's telling them how to read their own diagnostics so they can figure it out themselves. Everyone's different.

Regina Sayer 37:01

Yeah, that's good because if you're handheld, you don't learn anything.

Angela Jamieson 37:05

No. And I think what the members like is it's almost become a mastermind now. I had one month where I was battling something and I brought it to the group and I said, you know, because it's easier to suggest something for someone else than it is to take your own advice. And when I talk to my husband, he's like, wouldn't you say to your person to do this and this? And it's like, I know, but it's a little difficult. So I get it too. And we all need that support and we all need that masterminding. So it's it's been a really great group to be a part of. And we all think together. So that's that's been wonderful. And it's it's small and manageable right now. So I'm enjoying it.

Regina Sayer 37:49

And have they all read the book?

Angela Jamieson 37:51

One guy says, I don't read books, I'm waiting for your audio. Most of them have. There's just one holdout, and that's fine. I don't demand people read my stuff. But we go through it anyway.

Regina Sayer 38:03

You know, I think it's a good reference point, I think.

Closing thoughts

Angela Jamieson 38:07

Yeah. In the month that I launched it, we did talk about all the things like big learnings from your gut. So that was the month topic. But it always comes up. Okay.

Regina Sayer 38:19

So all of the links to connect with Angela will be in the show notes. And you heard her. You can go to anywhere where you buy your books and you can look for that book, no matter what country you're in. I'm in Belgium and I found it. Yeah. So please do reach out if there's anything you want to connect with Angela about. She is on LinkedIn as well, and I have seen that you are quite active on LinkedIn. The book, it might have a funny title, but I think that it's actually it's quite serious, and it's something that um a lot of us who in the this day and age of work, we completely forget. We're so wrapped up in it. And it's not just work, it's it's kids in school, kids in in university, you know, so wrapped up in going to work to be so that they can actually go to university, or the ones that are just lucky enough to only study, but still all the multiple things and how life is just seemingly to become more and more complicated. We need to make it less complicated for ourselves. And I think that this book is a good strategy.

Angela Jamieson 39:22

Well, thank you.

Regina Sayer 39:24

All right. If you have not listened to the episode about Angela's life, please go back and listen to that as well, because that gives a little backstory to what we've talked about here, although it's we've come brought up a couple of points. And please leave a comment in the show notes as well and our feedback on the show if you enjoyed it. And if there's anything that you've got out of reading the book that I sure would like to hear it as well. Thank you, Angela.

Angela Jamieson 39:49

Thank you for sharing. Thank you so much for having me. It was so fun. It's always fun talking to you.

Regina Sayer 39:54

Well, thank you for writing a book. I'm on to chapter four now. I promise not to sit in the toilet and read it though.

Angela Jamieson 39:59

Okay, thank you. Thank you. That would that just gives me nightmares. I always tell my kids, get out of there. You're gonna start knowing what hemorrhoids are.

Regina Sayer 40:09

Okay, before we close, I'm just gonna say this. When I first met my husband, he had a special toilet for him. He had a toilet and there was like piled high in the corner were all these magazines. So he used to go in there and read, you know, the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times or whatever it was he was reading. You know, he would go in there and it'd be a while. I'd be like, hello. Read those magazines somewhere else. I don't know. I think it must I'm not sure if it's a guy thing because the some people that I worked for before, you always knew when they were going to the toilet because they would walk out with the newspaper tucked under their arms and say, Okay, I'll be back in a while.

Angela Jamieson 40:47

So bizarre. Like, who wants to read in that? I just do not understand.

Regina Sayer 40:52

Anyway, with that, I will close the podcast.

Angela Jamieson 40:57

See, we can all relate.

Regina Sayer 40:59

Yes. Thank you, listeners, and thanks again, Angela. Until the next time. Bye, everybody.