When writer, speaker, and podcast host Michelle Maros quit her corporate job over a decade ago, she had no idea she would become one half of a successful mindfulness and meditation duo with her mother. With the recent launch of her book Dear Friend, Maros underwent the difficult yet rewarding task of looking back on her life, and drawing from her many years of creating inspirational content for her devoted followers.
You may recognize Maros from Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, which she co-hosts alongside her mother, Barb Schmidt (aka Peaceful Barb). This heartfelt, inspirational podcast is about navigating life’s messy twists and turns, tackling everything from grief to loneliness to mental health. The mother-daughter duo also founded Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving mental health and wellness through educational programs and online resources.
“It’s always been our intention with my mom to share our lived experiences, share what we’ve been through, share what has helped us move through difficult moments,” Maros says.
In the foreword of Dear Friend, written by Schmidt, she shares how she was committed to parenting Maros with a focus on emotional support and mindfulness from the start. From writing inspirational messages on her bathroom mirror to creating handmade feeling charts for identifying emotions, Schmidt ensured Maros grew up with a strong foundation for emotional wellbeing and self-awareness.
One ritual in particular would continue to shape Maros’ adult life, and inspire the premise for Dear Friend. “Growing up, my mom would read a passage in a book or a poem that was inspiring to her to set the tone for the day, and that really stuck with me and planted the seeds for this book,” Maros says.
Dear Friend is a collection of 366 daily notes of encouragement, inspiration, and reflection written from the perspective of a caring friend. In her introduction, Maros writes that she hopes the book is both a gentle guide for daily connection and a tool to rely on in difficult times.
“It was really my intention for the reader to feel like they could have a space where they could open it up and get a message that they need, or maybe they didn’t know that they need, to help them move through their day…and just to feel like they’re not alone,” Maros says.
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Creating a book with 366 entries was no easy task, but for Maros, it was a long time coming. During the writing process, she drew from a huge collection of her inspirational blogs, newsletters, and social media posts, which she started writing more than a decade ago. It was the summer after she quit her corporate job, and Maros’ only plan was to return home, complete her training to become a registered yoga teacher, and figure out her next move. At the same time, her mother was looking to turn her years of experience running mindfulness and meditation workshops into something more structured.
“She was like, ‘Hey, you’re home for the summer. You have a journalism degree. You like to write. Do you want to help me while you’re here?’” Maros says. From there, Maros and Schmidt co-founded Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life. The duo has been working together ever since, and are currently writing a book together.
“Being able to work with my mom has really been a gift,” Maros says. “We’re not perfect…she irritates the life out of me often, but we do have a good relationship. Working together and being able to travel together, especially now as an adult, I think is really special.”
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Since that first summer working together, the pair has grown Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life to reach millions of people around the world, including a devoted following of 3 million people across their social platforms. In addition to the non-profit and the podcast she shares with her mother, Maros is also a successful keynote speaker, touching the lives of more than 60 million people worldwide. But her journey to this point wasn’t without doubts.
“I had a lot of doubt,” Maros says. “I was still in my 20s at that time, so I was like, does anyone really care what I have to say? Does anyone take this seriously? Can this actually be a career where I could be sustainable and successful?”
For Maros, seeing the impact of her work answered those questions. Her audience demographic runs the gamut from listeners her own age to her mother’s age to teenagers. Connecting with these people—the ones who read her blogs, like her posts, and subscribe to her newsletter—and hearing how her words resonated with them finally gave her the confidence in her career she’d been seeking.
Throughout her years of sharing online, Maros has noticed that people seem to deeply connect with the posts where she shares about the messy, uncomfortable parts of life, even though most of her content has a positive, uplifting tone.
“I’ve actually started to really like sharing some of the messier or the more uncomfortable moments, because it’s really brought people into my sphere…we can connect and talk in a different way, in a more vulnerable way,” Maros says.
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This month on their podcast, Maros and Schmidt have been discussing the unique stressors that can arise during the holiday season. From managing financial stress to social pressures to dealing with grief, loneliness, and disappointment during the festive season, the duo offers practical guidance that followers can apply to their own lives, with strategies for slowing down and staying grounded.
“Whatever you’re doing this holiday season, it doesn’t define who you are or your ability to be loved or have friends or have family,” Maros says. “If it’s not the happiest time of year for you, that’s okay. You can make your own rules. You can do your own thing.”
For Maros, this will definitely involve meditation—something she describes as a daily “non-negotiable” for her.
“I like to get up in the morning and sit with myself in silence, to connect with myself, to kind of set the tone for the day… it really brings me back home to myself.”
But she’s aware that not everyone knows where to start when it comes to meditation. In her work, she strives to share how simple it can be to find moments of quiet, stillness, and reconnection in your everyday life—and it doesn’t have to be overwhelming or time-consuming.
“You don’t have to put in a ton of time with these practices to get the benefits. You can close your eyes for a minute and breathe before picking up your phone when you wake up in the morning,” Maros says. “Those small moments can really impact the rest of the day…and you’ll start to see results.”
Dear Friend is out now. Read more about Michelle Maros on her website.
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