Rachel MacDonald is a life and blog coach and creator of In Spaces Between, an inspiration-packed site for women seeking big, beautiful, completely fulfilling lives. Her blog is one of my favourites at the moment!

Living in a perpetual state of gratitude and joy, Rachel weaves that same electric energy into her work with one-on-one clients and via the written word in blog posts, ebooks and appearances around the web.

For more from Rachel, head over to her site and grab your FREE copy of her eBook More Magic, All the Time: 20 Ways to Create Your Best Life Ever by clicking here.

Tell us three things about yourself

Hello! I’m a life and blog coach, a wildly-optimisitic, easily-excited Sagittarian, and I live with my amazing husband by the beach in Burleigh Heads in Queensland.

What’s been the biggest health challenge you’ve overcome and what did you learn from this experience?

Thankfully I’ve been pretty blessed when it comes to my health, although I did spend most of my early 20’s partying and drinking a tonne of alcohol, which was followed by days of lethargy, feeling completely unmotivated and eating junk to make myself feel better.

Sugar has always been a weakness for me and I think a lot of the time back in my partying days I’d use feeling tired from lack of sleep and big weekends as an excuse to eat (way) more than my fair share of chocolate, bags of natural confectionary lollies, energy drinks, you name it. I shudder to think of the punishment I was inflecting on my poor body!

Eventually it got to the point where I was sick of wasting every weekend in bed feeling sorry for myself when I knew I could be out living my life, and although I still enjoy a beautiful glass of wine with friends, my weekends are super valuable to me these days and are spent doing the things that make me happy.

What’s your top tip for getting your day off to a great start?

I love doing a morning visualisation to set the tone for my day, either focusing on a specific word (like ‘peace’ or ‘vitality’ depending on the kind of energy I’d like to bring to my day) or visualising a situation I’m working on manifesting in my life.

One of the best things I’ve done recently is delete my Facebook and Twitter apps off my phone because, sadly, it was getting to the point where my alarm would go off at 5am and I’d sneak a quick check? of my social media profiles, which of course jolted my body straight out of that gorgeous alpha state and into work mode immediately.

Deleting them has given me a sense of spaciousness and disconnection that allows me to linger in a meditative state before I get up out of bed and head out the door to exercise. It’s been a total game-changer.

Your brekky usually consist of…

Something I call my Warrior Smoothie – vanilla or chocolate Sun Warrior Protein, a banana, water or coconut water, chia seeds, a handful of spinach and ice.

Which foods do you eat to nourish your body and give you vitality?

A huge variety! Leafy greens; I love green juices and big, nutrient packed salads; almonds toasted in tamari; acai; quinoa; coconut anything; fruit (particularly blueberries, strawberries and mangoes) and when my body needs it, a serving of organic beef or chicken.

Why is fitness an important part of your life?

Because it makes me feel amazing, clears my head and ramps up my energy for the day ahead. I love feeling toned and flexible and because I spend huge chunks of the day sitting at the computer, I’m mindful of moving daily to get the blood pumping and the endorphins flowing.

What is your current exercise routine?

I love mixing things up so I do group training by the beach, FUNC (functional movement – a killer workout!), running, pilates, yoga and when I’m taking it slow, a walk around the national park near my house.

Describe what motivated you to choose your current business or career path?

A desire to guide women to truly OWN their unique gifts and live their dream lives. I still pinch myself that I get to do this every day!

What business or career challenge have you overcome and what one piece of advice would you like to pass on to others?

Leaving an unfulfilling job at the end of last year to step into the life I’d been working towards for quite some time definitely takes the cake as one of the most momentous events in my working career!

As far as advice goes, for all the budding entrepreneurs out there, my advice is to dive in and start before you’re ready because, honestly, there will never be a perfect time. Believe in yourself and what you have to offer, and surround yourself with a solid support crew of people who inspire you to play bigger. I’m fortunate to be part of a community of empowered female entrepreneurs online and I can’t speak highly enough of nurturing those meaningful connections.

Your favourite book or movie of all time is?

That’s a hard one! I’m a massive book nerd and there’s too many to list, but I’m a big fan of The Firestarter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks and May Cause Miracles and Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein.

And lastly, do you have a recipe you’d like to share with us?

NUTTY CHOCOLATE PROTEIN BALLS

Makes 10-12 balls

Ingredients

7 scoops of Sun Warrior chocolate protein powder

1 cup of rolled oats

1/2 cup organic natural peanut butter

4 tbs organic/ raw honey

1/4 cup low-fat milk

3 tbs organic raw cacao powder

Small packet of slivered almonds

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees; once heated, toast almonds on an oven tray until lightly toasted.

2. In a food processer, grind rolled oats.

3. Mix together protein powder, oats, peanut butter, honey, milk and cacao in a bowl.

4. Use your hands to roll the mix into small balls and then roll in toasted almonds to coat.

5. Place in fridge/ freezer to set.