Story & Lesson Highlights with Melanie Fox of North Phoenix

Melanie Fox shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Melanie, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
What an interesting icebreaker question!
All three, intelligence, integrity, and energy, have held different importance at different times in my life. When I was young, intelligence took the lead. It’s how I defined myself. I was the straight-A student, the one who had the “right” answer or could solve the problem. I loved learning, sharing knowledge, and being recognized for what I knew.
As I grew older and my consciousness expanded, that began to shift. Where intelligence once took center stage, integrity began to take the spotlight. I think it started around the time I read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. “Be impeccable with your word” struck a deep chord in me. To me, it means: say what you’re going to do, and do what you say. So simple and so powerful! It also connects beautifully to the Libra scales: symbols of balance and fairness that remind me how powerful it is to speak with integrity, weighing truth and harmony in equal measure.
These days, energy is the epicenter of my life. Everything is energy, and energy is everything. That understanding has deepened through my study of intuition and sound healing. When I lead a sound bath or connect with a client or collaborator, I can feel how the frequency of our energy shapes the entire experience. The more aligned and authentic the energy, the more profound the transformation. In truth, all three still dance together in my life: intelligence informs me, integrity grounds me, and energy guides me. When they’re in harmony, I feel most like myself.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Soulful Fox was born from a deep desire to help creative, spiritual entrepreneurs bring their purpose to life. I’m Melanie Fox, founder of Soulful Fox, a hybrid business that bridges the spiritual and the creative, blending sound healing, retreat assistance, and intuitive design with soulful business support.
In person, I offer sound journeys and partner with retreat facilitators to create experiences that invite people to relax, reconnect, and rediscover their sense of curiosity and joy, whether through sound, creative expression, or shared experience. Online, I support spiritual entrepreneurs and creative business owners through instructional design, Canva design, gift curation, and strategic guidance to help them bring their visions to life.
What I love most is the connection, creative flow, and transformation that happen through this work. Each offering gives me the chance to connect with people at different points on their journey, from someone experiencing sound healing for the first time to an entrepreneur bringing a heartfelt idea to life.
Every offering, whether it’s a sound journey or a digital design, is created with intention and care. I see my work as both art and science, weaving creativity, clarity, and purpose to create something that truly resonates. Soulful Fox isn’t just a brand; it’s a reflection of how I live: intuitive, creative, and dedicated to helping others express their own gifts with confidence and ease.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was younger, I believed my feelings were something that just happened to me. I’d wake up and assume that however I felt that morning was how the day would go, that my emotions set the tone, and I had little say in the matter. It took many years (decades even), and a lot of inner work, to realize that while I can’t always choose what happens, I can choose how I respond, and that choice is where my power lives. Learning to pause before reacting and to breathe before assuming changed not only how I move through the world but how I connect with others.
I also used to believe the world was happening to me. Now I see it as happening for me. Life isn’t random; it’s responsive. Every experience, even the hard ones, offers insight and opportunity for growth. That shift, from feeling powerless to recognizing myself as a co-creator, has been one of the most profound lessons of my adult life. It’s also at the heart of my work today: helping others reconnect with their own ability to shape their energy, perspective, and experience. Whether through sound, conversation, or creative collaboration, it’s incredibly fulfilling to support others in remembering that they too can choose how they feel and build from that place of alignment and power.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
When I started my first business, Melanie Fox Coaching, I had little more than an idea and a whole lot of enthusiasm. I wasn’t a seasoned entrepreneur: I didn’t have a website, a logo, or even a sense of where to begin. Everything started from scratch. Which meant I had to learn everything from scratch too: website design, business licensing, social media, branding, and more.
At first, I told myself, “I can do this. It’s not so bad.” But by the tenth new platform, the fifth subscription, and the endless learning curve, I thought about quitting. Every. Single. Day. It felt overwhelming and impossible.
What I didn’t realize then was that it was my trial by fire, a necessary initiation. Each frustration taught me something I’d later use to help others. If I hadn’t struggled to make my first Canva freebie, I wouldn’t now be designing professional materials for other entrepreneurs as part of Soulful Fox. If I hadn’t rewritten my first website bio a dozen times, I wouldn’t understand just how powerful it is when words and energy align. And if I hadn’t wrestled with the urge to quit every day, I wouldn’t have the resilience to keep going when no one signs up for a sound bath.
More than anything, I got through it because I reached out for support, for help with the technical pieces and, even more importantly, for emotional encouragement. That journey of leaning on others showed me how transformative it is to have someone in your corner, and it ultimately inspired me to support other spiritual entrepreneurs in the same way through Soulful Fox. I also learned that persistence isn’t about pushing harder; it’s about staying open long enough for the purpose behind the challenge to reveal itself.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies in the spiritual and healing industry is that you must be completely healed before you can offer healing to others. That belief quietly fuels imposter syndrome and keeps so many gifted practitioners stuck in self-doubt, waiting for some imaginary finish line. The truth is, we are all works in progress, healers included (and especially). Our growth is ongoing, and our ability to hold space often deepens through the lessons we’ve learned and are still learning.
Another lie is that there’s too much competition in sound healing. It’s easy to look around and think, “There are sound baths everywhere. How will anyone find me?” But there’s no such thing as oversaturation when you’re in alignment. Every practitioner has a unique style, presence, and approach. Just as no two yoga instructors or musicians are alike, no two sound healers are either. There’s room for everyone when we shift from scarcity to abundance, our natural resonance.
And the third lie I’d like to highlight is that if your calling is spiritual, you shouldn’t charge for your work. Energy exchange is sacred. When both practitioner and client invest, energetically, emotionally, or financially, transformation deepens. Charging for spiritual work isn’t about greed; it’s about honoring the value, preparation, and devotion that go into holding that space.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I knew I only had ten years left, I would stop carrying the weight of caring what others think. It’s something I’ve worked on for years, but there’s still a subtle layer of self-editing: the instinct to filter, soften, or shrink a truth to make it more acceptable. I think many of us do that without realizing how much energy it costs.
I’d release the need for approval and replace it with trust. Trust that my authenticity is enough. Trust that my voice doesn’t have to resonate with everyone to be valuable. Trust that the people who are meant to connect with my work will find it when I’m being fully myself.
Letting go of what others might think creates so much more space: space for creativity, honesty, and joy. It’s where the best ideas are born and where true connection happens. And maybe that’s the legacy I’d want to leave behind: not perfection, but presence. If I had just ten years left, I’d want every one of them to be filled with that kind of freedom.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.soulfulfox.com
• Instagram: @soulful.foxx
• Facebook: @soulful.foxx

Image Credits
Main photo: Sam Barker