Episode 9: My Why – Breaking the ‘Mum Sacrifice’ Myth: My Journey Back to Travel

 What if everything you’ve been told about motherhood and sacrifice is just a story…one that’s holding you back from the life you truly want?

In this deeply personal episode, Lauren Riley gets real about the moments that shaped her journey; from the emotional rollercoaster of becoming a solo mum to the raw vulnerability of post-surgery recovery. Lauren opens up about the heavy expectations placed on mothers, the quiet fears that crept in when her world changed, and the pivotal moment she decided she didn’t have to give up her love for travel or her sense of adventure—no matter what anyone else said.

You’ll hear how travel became more than just a passion; it became Lauren’s lifeline, her way of reconnecting with herself and modeling possibility for her daughter. She shares the honest truth about what it’s like to balance ambition with alignment, and why she’s so passionate about helping other women, especially mums, break free from outdated narratives and reclaim their freedom.

Lauren also reveals the “why” behind her £22 mini course…why she’s making her hard-won travel secrets accessible to everyone, and how she hopes it will spark a new wave of empowered, adventurous women who refuse to settle for less.

If you’ve ever questioned whether you’re allowed to want more, if you’ve ever felt torn between being a great mum and honoring your own dreams, or if you’re just ready for a fresh perspective on what’s possible, this episode is for you.

Get ready for practical tips, soulful encouragement, and a powerful reminder: you don’t have to choose between motherhood and the life that lights you up. You can have both and you deserve it.

Press play and join Lauren as she shares her heart, her “why,” and her mission to help you design a life of freedom and fulfillment… on your terms.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The business of lifestyle, where ambition meets alignment. Hi guys, welcome back. So we are in my kitchen. For anybody who remembers when I came back from not being in the media and not being on social media for quite a long time, this was where I filmed my very first welcome back video. So it's kind of a spot that's got a place in my heart because it's my home. I'm going to give you on this episode a mini update, life update, because obviously we dropped bombs last week. I am going to explain myself I'm going to talk about travel and freedom lifestyle from a very raw and personal perspective, including motherhood. And I'm also going to like explain why, because it doesn't make a whole lot of sense what I'm doing, certainly from a financial perspective. Because, you know, I'm highly paid as a coach. When I coach people on a one-to-one basis, I am paid thousands and thousands of pounds for my time. And the mini course is like, at the moment anyway, if you're listening to this right now, it's only £22. It's absolutely nothing. And it's like packed full of like gold, gold tips. but there's a reason why i'm doing that it's because i'm really passionate about it i kind of guess i need to explain why i'm really passionate about what happened to me how it ties in and why you guys would want to know and want to do it and yeah i think that's what we will do today so it is a beautiful summer's day i am in england i am at home i if you follow me on instagram it's miss lauren riley you will see so much of me talking about my beautiful little spot as well as obviously talking about travel. I think I've got a big trip going up guys, a really big trip so that'll be really interesting for me to film for you while I'm away. Obviously if you're listening to this podcast you're welcome to hop onto YouTube, my channel there is Miss Lauren Riley as well and then you can obviously watch what I'm talking about. So last week, we'll start with the mini life update. Last week I told you that I had had surgery, we did our no makeup um raw still only six days post-surgery um video and Yeah, so another week has gone past since then. I'm in a totally different place again. Obviously, like I explained last time, there is another seven to 11 weeks worth of healing to go. But in terms of day-to-day getting back to activities, I'm almost two weeks post-surgery. I am able to have a bath. Last night, I took my first bath. Oh my God, anybody that knows anything about me knows how much I'm addicted to water. like surfing and snorkeling and scuba diving and boats and whatnot but baths also absolutely life for me so only being able to shower and not being able to submerge has been yeah not my favorite not my favorite at all but I am back I'm able to have bath I am able to drive now which is just amazingly liberating and yeah but still like let's not overdo it there's still a lot of recovery I've been very this week between last week and this week although I've been doing so well I've been very fatigued I've been like because I felt more myself You know, if you're a parent, you know, you just kind of get on with stuff, not lifting anything because I still can't lift for all that time. But I just got on with stuff, feeling great. And then by the afternoon, I was like, oh, like really hit me. And I had to go like, well, I haven't really been sleeping in the day, but definitely taking it easier in the afternoon. And also life update. I don't know what you think about this, but I've been wearing my hair naturally, mostly from a... like had a reason to do it but i'm actually loving it it's a little bit wild looking um but i just like i'm i'm so into that whole naturalistic approach at the moment so i'm not saying it'll stay forever but right now i'm loving it it also looks like i've just come off the beach or something i think that's why i'm loving it i look like i've just come out of surfing and um yeah so i'm channeling surfing even though i can't do any exercise yet so yeah big trip i think coming up i haven't booked it yet but i've got all the like itinerary pieces in place how i plan my trips is i kind of get it all together take like 24 hours not a long time so i'm not really a planner this is a trip that i'll take in less than two weeks time as well and then i like feel into it if it intuitively feels good to me We're going. So I'm excited about that. But I'll tell you once I've booked it. So, okay. Onto, I guess, my why. Why would I, as a highly paid coach, sell you something that is only £22 currently? Obviously, there's a funnel that sits behind that. Maybe some of those people who come into that, being transparent, will become one-to-one clients. The more you get to know me, the more you get to know my methodology and my wisdom, all the stuff that I've built up over 20 years in travel and 12 years in business. You'll get to know me really well. And some of you will become one-to-one clients. Great, wonderful. But that's not actually why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because I care about this. Like I care like deep, deep into my soul about this subject. So traveling was a way of life for me before I became a mum. So as you've heard from last... episode when i was 20 so when i was 21 so nearly 20 years ago i went to move to ibiza didn't like it from a i'm gonna move there permanently but loved it from a okay this is just Different culture, different area, different temperature. Loved it. And from then on out, I have traveled the world multiple times, like round and round and round. And I just, I love it. It's part of my soul. It's part of who I am. But there was a part of me when I got pregnant, when I decided to have a baby that felt like I had to give up. Gosh, I had a little wave there of like almost, almost going to cry. I felt like I had to give it up. I felt like it was a choice. It was this lifestyle or being a mum. And I came very close to not being a mum. Actually, that's a story for another day, like not from a biological perspective, but from a mindset perspective. And when I was in Barbados, I was living in Barbados, I decided to come home to the UK to try and have a baby. I was very fortunate to conceive and I was was delighted because I didn't know that this was in my cards like I said I wasn't 100% sure when I got pregnant and when I knew I was going to be a mum I was so excited it's like such an adventure as anybody knows who's been through it but there was this heavy feeling there was this heavy feeling and it never quite went away and it was and I actually my first trimester I actually got quite I would say, quite bad post... pre, no, no, it's not postpartum depression, is it? Because I wasn't, I'd not yet had a baby, but first trimester depression, whatever that is, which is something I'd not really experienced before in that way. And I'm not saying it's just because of this. It was obviously hormonal. It was also based on the fact that at the time I was living in Scotland and it was raining all the time. It was very grey. I felt very sick. Yeah, there was lots of reasons, but there was this heaviness around okay my life is going to change and i think that is natural any like because it is going to change right you're having you're having a baby that's it life is never going to be the same again but there's this narrative that people kept feeding me and i didn't realize i was being fed it until it was too late so yeah this narrative was you are giving up something you are not able to live this lifestyle you will be praised henceforth as a mother if you sacrifice if you give up what's important to you then you will get the adoration of others as a parent and that is a narrative that is toxic. it is probably predicated on other people's experiences and it is not helpful now and so many mums believe that that's what makes them a good mum and of course you've got to keep your baby healthy and happy and there is you know it's not an easy job being a mum and anybody who's already gone down that road know that and i'm not here to say well there's this magic pill that makes it easy but i am here to call out those people who tell you that you cannot do something because you're a mum that you so in my case it was travel so anybody whose narrative is you cannot travel anymore because you are a mum it's just not true it's just not true and i'm living breathing joyous proof of that But for a long time, I just thought, okay, it's fine, don't worry, I'll still be able to go on holiday. And there is nothing wrong with going on holiday, by the way. But I thought, I'll have one or two holidays a year, and that'll just have to be enough. And it wasn't. And I know that sounds like a deeply privileged statement, but there's something about travel that just... it like brings my soul to life it lights me up in a way i can't describe experiencing different cultures yeah i could talk about all day long but yeah i believed i had to give it up and i did for a long while well not that long but and when i became a single parent as well when i was very much overnight became responsible financially emotionally practically for this little person on my own the first thought obviously was about her but when i started to turn my attention to myself that was one of my deepest fears is like oh my god this lifestyle where i can travel a lot is going to be even further away and the good news is it's completely accessible to you it is completely accessible and that is why i am so passionate about freedom lifestyle that's why i've developed that mini course that you can buy for 22 pounds even though it doesn't make much sense as a business model for me because it teaches people how to do it in a very bite-sized way very easily and also without I didn't have much money it was needing too much explanation people were coming to me and asking me about like exactly what it was so it's been renamed as how how i travel for almost free and you can too now there's more than just that in there because there's tips about traveling and mindset and all of the things but effectively that's i guess the killer bit is how i'm doing this without much money um and yeah so that was my biggest fear and how i managed to allay it i will go on and do another episode about how i managed to allay it and that's getting even deeper into my story but for now i suppose that's my why i'm trying to keep these bite size because i could make them very very long and i am still post-surgery i am still recovering and also you know i want them to be value-packed and interesting interesting and easily easy to fit into your life because I guess you are like me I'm very very busy um I've had a very busy day today um I wanted to finish recording this for you but I'm gonna have an early night because that's one thing that I'm struggling with a little bit like I said earlier in the episode post-surgery fatigue is the thing that I'm got the biggest issue with at the moment but other than that I'm doing really well next time I record one And I'll be like three weeks. I was going to say postpartum then. That would be nice, wouldn't it? Three weeks post-surgery. And yeah, I'll be even more steps taken to healing. Have a great week, guys.