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Is Your Career Stealing Your Personality? · The Inspiring Real Life

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the IRBL podcast.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I am so excited that you're here and that you're listening.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to be here.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: For those of you who are new to the inspiring real life media company, two years ago, I was driving around doing a little preliminary Christmas shopping and I was walking into Trader Joe's and I had this thought.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, where did all the good magazines go?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: I was an avid reader of the American Girl Doll magazine growing up, and I loved all of like the fun ideas for like slumber party get togethers, things I could do with my friends.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And what I remember from that magazine, and even like 17 a little bit later, was I was so inspired to go create and do something and like get together all of my little cute besties and just have a fabulous time.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now when I consume content, I feel like absolute trash most of the time when I put down my phone.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Why is it that something that I turn on to like have a good time, wind off, let a little steam, maybe get some info for some ideas.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: I close my phone and I'm like, well, shoot, my house doesn't look like this.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have that thing going on.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: I am, and I just put away my phone and I grumble.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Side note, the brick has been my very best friend because it allows me to turn off my phone.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, I digress.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: We all know the feeling of not feeling like you're enough when you get off of social media.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great plight.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I was like, what happened to the content that when you were consuming it, you were like, Yes, I am gonna invite my five girlfriends over, and we're gonna watch a movie and we're gonna have a slumber party.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I started ruminating on that thought for like a couple of weeks, and I posted something to TikTok, and I was like, I want to create a magazine for all the normal women out there, and it exploded like overnight.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I kept posting videos about it, and people were like, I wanna write for you, I want to help from you, and like I wanna help you.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And like it was just this mass amount of women that were like, Oh my gosh, yes, where is that type of content?
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: I ended up meeting two amazing women through this whole process, and they started helping me produce a monthly magazine.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you, that was hard.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't pay anybody, it was a passion project.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: So getting people that wanted to help me, you know, write articles, so it wasn't, you know, the two or three of us writing the same articles every week, getting content and photos and like running social media for it so that people knew to even, you know, look there.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we were charging a small amount, which I think was a barrier for some people, and it was on Patreon.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And when you think magazine, you want an actual printout.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So we ended up just really struggling because it was so much time and effort, and none of us were getting paid to do it that it kind of fizzled out and it wasn't working well for us.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: So, in the back of my mind, I always was like, I think a podcast would be great because so many people don't read magazines, they don't have time to.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's a lot to thumb through even like 50 pages of something, even if it's cutesy.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody loves a good FaceTime or a phone call with a bestie while you're driving, if you're grocery shopping, you know, maybe you're walking your dogs, whatever it is.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe this will feel like a FaceTime with a bestie.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like you can submit questions, we'll go over them, we'll talk about relevant topics.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: That was how I decided to go the podcast route instead of the magazine route.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because in reality, if I'm writing this for real, normal women, we are so busy.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Normal, real women don't have time for another thing, even if it's self-care.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: For those of you who don't know me, hi, my name's Hannah.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been married for four months.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: My wonderful husband Steven.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: We both came into the relationship with two dogs, so we have four little doggies.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's what happens when dog people meet and fall in love.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: They have a house full of dogs.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I am a registered nurse.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, this chair.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a registered nurse.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: I have been a nurse for five years.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: I graduated during COVID, and when I graduated, the day I walked on to the day I walked on to my very first nursing unit, I was like, oh, like you get the pit in your stomach and you're like, I think I've messed up.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: That was me day one of nursing.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I don't think I like this.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, clinicals were like four hours and my friends were there, and then I missed some of the clinicals because like beginning of COVID, whole thing.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, I was like, this isn't for me.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so basically, since I started nursing, I've been looking for a way out.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I had started content creation back then, but I was too nervous of what people would think.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: I ended up getting my private pilot certificate because I was thinking about becoming an airline or a little PJ pilot, you know, pilot Barbie action.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I do have my private pilot certificate and I ended up getting sick um and had some massive headaches that were causing vertigo, so I ended up getting medically grounded for a time and I just it's it's expensive to fly.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now that I am no longer going to do it as a career, I just have not been able to like allocate the money there.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: But I say all that to say if you are someone that does not love your job, but you don't know how to get out of it, this is a spot for you.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna tell you you have to do something wildly drastic.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: I will help you figure out ways to deal with your burnout, steps to make your life more enjoyable, and realize that 40 hours a week is not your entire week.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so, how do you live the rest of your week well?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: But then also, how are you gonna take steps to eventually leave that job?
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: You do not need to be in a job that you hate for the next 45 years.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'll say it again.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to be in a job that you hate for the next 45 years.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm working through it along with you.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: I understand, it's terribly scary.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's where this whole kind of concept for this podcast and wanting to feel inspired.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: I believe between like social media, the time we spend on our phones, a lot of us, our dollar isn't stretching nearly as far as it used to, and so many of us are in jobs that we maybe don't love.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was like we need something for us normal gals.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because as I have been blessed to quit my job because my husband and I are starting this business, I have another business and I'm excited to hopefully get to announce soon, and then also wanting to create content full-time.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: When I look at the lives of women when I was still working and all the time and that they were able to do all most of these content creators are making so much money that they don't need to have another job, and they have all the time in the day for bougie workout classes, doing stuff with their kids, you know, cleaning their house, going to meetup, tying on all their clothes, just filming a video and editing it takes an amazing amount of time.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: These influencers are working hard for what they've got, but they're not chained to the nine to five schedule.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so I used to see that online and I was so discouraged because I was like, how does everybody else have all these times?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because a lot of these women, unless they're telling you they're working, they're probably not.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And if they are working, they're super women.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: I just I really have such a heart for women feeling included and like they're part of the club.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: I was, I really struggled in most of my life with feeling like I fit in and have a really solid group of friends, and then you add social media and COVID.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like so many people are just in their tight new little clicky groups, and they stay at home and we scroll on our phones.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: When we scroll on our phones, we're seeing people at brand events and with friends and they're out doing stuff.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I just used to sit, and sometimes I still do, sit and think, why isn't that me?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: What is wrong with me?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Why can't I have that life?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of that life is a, and yeah, I know you know this, but it's a highlight reel and it's fabricated, and a lot of people struggle way more than what we post online makes it look like.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to strip away all of the fancy glittery lights and all of the things that we hide behind and be really real with you and hopefully get some other really real women on here and build a community of women that love.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is my mission for this.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to build a life that you absolutely adore and love, but never lose the spark in the dream.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Girl, go after it.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: But going after a dream doesn't mean you have to be discontent and hate your life where you're at now.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to adore your life and not be robbed of joy by comparison.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna be a comparison-free space.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: We celebrate each other, and with that, let's get into the topic of our very first IRL episode.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so let's start with something good, bad, and ugly that I think a lot of us relate to.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Your career is your identity.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now you're sitting there thinking, I'm a stay-at-home mom.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Being a mom is your career.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: You're working for whoever is helping support you so you can stay home with your kids.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's not an easy job.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you're an attorney, girl, you're working for that bag.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a nurse, a teacher, you're working hard.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is that you do and you're bringing home money.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Girl, you're working for your I was driving to the hospital one day a couple years ago.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And if this is you, I'm so sorry to pick on you.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: But this nurse had a bumper sticker and it was like nurse life or something.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, dude, what does that even mean?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: You're a nurse.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Is your entire life being a nurse?
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: We all know the people that make their job their personality.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Girl, I am so glad that you are so fulfilled in your job, and maybe it's the fact that I never loved a job that much, so I have like never felt that way.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: But you make it your entire identity.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Girl, what are your hobbies?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: What do you do for fun?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: When someone's bumper sticker says quilting queen, I'm like, oh yeah, let's go.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's cool.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like, have more about you than whatever your job is.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: But it's so hard when your job or your kids or whatever it is you're doing demands so much of your time.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's what you talk about, and like that's what you become.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's like the biggest block of time, I think even more than sleeping, is being at your job 40 hours a week.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're not doing really anything else for 40 hours every week.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what if you hate your job?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, this was me.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Hating my job became my identity.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: I came home from work and I cried.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: I cried in the car, I cried in the shower, I would cry on the way to work, and if you hate your job, you're really not alone.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a lot of us.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it can be very soul sucking.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Think about like when you go to a new hair salon and the gal that's cutting your hair, it will naturally come up.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you do?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's what we all ask each other.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, I'm a nurse, and you're like, I hate it, I love it, you know, whatever it is, like that becomes our identity, and that's what we always ask each other.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Is like, and I'm that's nothing wrong.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's learning a very easy thing that's public.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: We let our jobs and our careers become our identity.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: My in-laws will come into town, like, the first question everybody asks is how is work?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Work is work, work is paying for my bills, so I can do the vast other life that I have.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: We let ourselves be tied so closely to what we're doing or to what we wish we were doing.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I encourage you this to have a good answer ready when people ask you what you do, because you will get asked that an endless amount of times.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: You will get asked what you do an amazing amount of times in your life.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: So have a great answer that leads to a conversation, but also have a great question that you can ask other people.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, how has your life been recently?
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: What are you loving in life recently?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: To really get to know people and like if what they love is their job, it'll come up.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: But it also like keeps things positive.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And if they want to tell you about this great trip they went on, that's what they'll tell you about.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because your identity might actually be something way different than what your job is, but we get boiled down.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: But as people, we like boxes.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: I like to put other people in boxes.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Boxes are neat and tidy, and everything has a home on its shelf, so it is so much easier to put people, things in boxes.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's so much easier to look at Susan over here and say, Susan is a respiratory therapist, Susan fits there on my shelf, and Jamie is an defense attorney.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Jamie goes there, and Sharon is a hairdresser, and Sharon goes there.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and that's how I identify these three women until I maybe get to know them better, but like those are their defining things.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, let's say Susan loves to travel for as cheaply as possible and can tell you where all the best hostels in Europe are.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, travel hostel is Susan, and then Jamie is an avid quilter and has won multiple state fairs in quilting.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, Jamie quilt.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: And Sharon has a really expansive rose garden that she tends to every day, and she knows all different varietals of roses and would love to come over and help you build a rose garden that you love.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's so much more interesting than respiratory therapist, attorney, and hairdresser.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: That is vacations, quilting, and rose garden.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Your identity doesn't have to be your job.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: When I figured out the things that I like to do outside of work, it made going to a bedside nursing job that was hard so much easier.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because nurses mainly work 36 hours a week, but for 36 hours a week, I was nurse Hannah.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then for the remaining hours of the week, I was needlepoint Hannah, content creator Hanna.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: I was Rose Garden Hannah.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: I was baking Hannah.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: I was traveling Hannah, junk journaling Hannah, do my own nails, Hannah, and mostly wedding planning, Hannah.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: But I was so many other things than just nurse Hannah.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: So whatever you find yourself, first thing you have to do is remove your own self from your box so that your career doesn't have to be your identity.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And suddenly, I say this from experience, it removes such a level of burnout and gives you such a clear head.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And you feel like you can take a deep breath.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because, like love, or hate your job, you are more than your job.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Even if it's I'm a doctor going through residency, I work 80 hours a week, I have to sleep some, and all I can do is shower.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is hi, my name is Kate, and I love my skincare.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because that may be only time you have time for right now, but think of the small things.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: I love my everything showers when I get home from the hospital, and I definitely do my skincare every single morning before I go to work, and that is something that makes me so interesting.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, suddenly, Katie, that's a lot more about you than you're just a resident.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: And even if you don't have a lot of time, that's something about you.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you are a stay-at-home mom and your spouse is in residency, so it's basically like you're single parenting.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, cool.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, every Wednesday night you go to Bible study and you love hanging out with those women.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's something that defines you.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: I get up and I do workouts in my living room every morning before my kids get up.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so you're the home workout gal.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: You have a great group of friends.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: So now we've removed your primary label and you are thinking about all the facets of things you like about yourself.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's fabulous.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: I love that for us.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love that you have now just probably in your mind identified a couple things that you love to do.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a lot of time and you don't have a lot of money, maybe you love taking a walk every day.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: You walk up your street and back down your street.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you have time to think, listen to a podcast, maybe when you're listening to me, listen to an audiobook.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's something about you that isn't just your job.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're learning to love the life we're in and be content with where we're at while we're still dreaming about things that can come.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: I I contend that you can be content and want more.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because contentment is being happy with where you're at.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think a very functional definition of contentment is your joy is not being robbed by wanting something else.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: You like, I would dare say, even love where you're at now and you enjoy your daily life.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like I am very happy here.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: I can say that.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: I, however, have a dream to own and operate a very big business that I would love to see in Target, in Whole Foods, and other places.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: But I am very content to be trying to work on my content creation, getting a podcast off the ground, and spending my time with my husband and my dogs.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: I work very hard, but I'm very content in that life.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then I have all my hobbies and all my other things that define me.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're working on Joy this week, think about all the other things besides the job that you hate or even the job that you love that make you you and that you enjoy doing.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't feel like you have hobbies, because I know several moms that feel that way, what can you identify in your schedule as a spare 25 minutes?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe it is just that I really enjoy my skincare, and maybe I put eye map patches on every morning.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe while my kids are napping, I am able to steal a quick moment to watch a favorite show or have an audiobook on while I am sweeping my floors.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Just find those little moments and redeem those little moments and turn them into something that makes you you.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, thank you for listening to the very first ever IRL podcast, and I cannot wait for you to pick up and listen to or watch the very next show.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you have any questions, leave a comment below.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: I would love it if you could subscribe, like, share, do all the things.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Brand new podcast.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this, please, please, please leave a little review, send it to someone.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: That would be a massive way to support.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and with that, thank you so much.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Bye bye.