Woman of Influence with Julie Solomon

Episode: The Power of Noticing What’s Already Yours

Date: December 10, 2025
Host: Julie Solomon

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking solo episode, Julie Solomon discusses the transformational "power of noticing what’s already yours." She explores the deep gap between chasing happiness and savoring it, shares personal struggles with gratitude and success, and details how realignment to stewardship radically shifted her experience with her business, relationships, and joy. Julie provides listeners with practical tools for moving from performative gratitude to true, embodied gratitude and presence—and shares how this shift transformed her business and personal well-being.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Meaning of Happiness: Noticing, Not Chasing

• Julie opens with the mantra:

  "Happiness is wanting what I already have." (02:19)

• She reflects on how contentment is often eluded not because of lack, but because we overlook practicing gratitude for what is already present.
• A statement from a friend resonated deeply:

  "It's not good stewardship to complain about what God has already given you." (02:48)

• She admits to times where, after achieving long-prayed-for blessings, she immediately shifted focus to the "next thing"—falling into the trap of measuring life by what's missing.

2. Routine vs. Practice: Embodying Gratitude

• Julie illustrates the difference:

  "Routines are predictable. But practices are what are alive." (05:50)

• She describes drifting into routines that were more about control and performance than about surrender and real relationship—with herself and with God.
• Major shift came from surrendering control and genuinely practicing gratitude as a lived experience, not a checklist.

3. Honest Self-Reflection: The Idol of Business

• Julie’s transformation began with a powerful journaling moment:

  "You've made your business your idol." (08:09)

• She recognizes her tendency to make her business the center, confusing growth with God, and equating stewardship with control.
• When she shifted (putting God at the center), every area of life—marriage, parenting, nervous system, business—began to feel lighter, deeper, and more effortless.

Three Clarity Points in This Recalibration:

• Gratitude as Stewardship in Motion:
  Not just saying thank you, but tending to what’s here with reverence.

  "It's not good stewardship to complain about the very things you prayed for." (09:13)

• Joy and Jealousy Cannot Coexist:
  Shifting from comparison to gratitude restores peace.

  "You can't argue with God about who God chooses to bless." (09:53)

• Happiness Is Proximity:
  Not a destination, but a presence you live in, built through practice and communion.

  "Peace was already here, I just wasn’t present enough to see it." (11:31)

4. The Three Stealers of Gratitude: Money, Property, Prestige

• Key realization:

  "There are three things that will steal your gratitude faster than anything else: money, property, and prestige." (13:33)

• Julie gives a vivid house renovation anecdote to show how chasing prestige and trying to "prove herself" through property led to ego-driven decisions and stress.
• Later, she shifted to stewardship from striving, asking:

  "Do I want to spend from pride or invest from peace?" (15:14)

• With stewardship, decisions brought peace, not perfection, detaching her self-worth from net worth and external validation.

5. Practical Daily Tools for True Gratitude and Presence

Julie offers her personal practices:

• Reverse Gap List (Night):
  Write three things you have now that you once prayed for.

  "Your nervous system shifts when you look backward at the gain instead of forward at the gap." (17:34)

• Proximity Prayer (Morning):
  A quick prayer:

  "God, please recalibrate my eyes today to see what's already here... it's not about what's next, it's about what's now." (18:35)

• Catch Someone Doing Something Right:
  Daily text someone with genuine appreciation—no agenda, just gratitude.

  "When you speak gratitude over others, you start living gratitude within yourself." (19:05)

6. Embodying the Shift: From Forcing to Flow

• Honor a day of rest—no work, social media, or email on weekends, creating space for peace.

  "My business has not slowed down. It has actually grown because I'm no longer in this place of forcing it." (20:16)

• Early rising not to get ahead, but to enjoy stillness.
• Removing business apps from the home screen on weekends reduces distractions, making room for devotion over discipline.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You start to measure your joy by what’s next instead of what’s now.” (03:40)
• “I wasn’t actually practicing gratitude. I was performing it.” (05:32)
• “When you believe you own your success, you also believe you’re responsible for maintaining it. But when you remember that everything you have has been entrusted to you, you get to breathe again.” (08:38)
• “Joy and jealousy cannot coexist.” (09:29)
• “You can’t argue with God about who God chooses to bless. You can only ask God to help you steward what’s yours with integrity.” (09:53)
• “Happiness is proximity. It is not a place you arrive at. It’s a presence you live in.” (10:30)
• “Gratitude pours like a steward, but pride clutches like an owner. Ego will protect and chain you. Stewardship releases and receives.” (16:50)
• “God doesn’t need me to hustle harder. God needs me to trust deeper.” (21:12)
• “Maybe happiness isn’t about arriving somewhere new. Maybe it’s about coming home to what’s already there—to the blessings that have been waiting for your attention, to the prayers that have already been answered, and to the joy that’s already alive inside of your now.” (21:37)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Reflection: Happiness is wanting what I already have (02:19)
• On "Performing" Gratitude vs. Practicing It, and Surrendering in Business (04:45 - 08:08)
• Julie’s Journaling Breakthrough: Making Business an Idol (08:08)
• Three Lessons Learned in Recalibration Season (09:13 - 11:31)
• Pitfalls: Money, Property, and Prestige (13:33)
• Fixer Upper Anecdote: From Ego to Stewardship (13:45 - 17:34)
• Julie’s Daily Gratitude Rituals (17:34 - 19:44)
• The Fruits of Realignment: Growth, Rest, and Trust (20:16 - 21:37)

Conclusion & Closing Reflection

Julie closes the episode by inviting listeners to practice noticing and stewarding what’s already theirs, rather than striving for what’s next. She encourages integrating gratitude into daily life—not as a performance, but as a foundation for leadership, peace, and sustainable success. She issues a heartfelt invitation to her "Unscripted" retreat for women looking to deepen these practices, and reminds listeners:

“Happiness isn’t out there in the next goal or the next launch or the next season. It is right here and wanting what you already have.” (21:47)

For more insight and deeper connection, Julie invites listeners to join her retreat, newsletter, and ongoing community, fostering alignment in message, leadership, and self.

Recommended for:
Women entrepreneurs, coaches, and creators seeking sustainable leadership, greater peace, and deeper fulfillment—without burning out or losing themselves to hustle culture.