Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 290. Go With the Flow: WNBA Player Monique Billings On Intuition & Owning Your Why

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290. Go With the Flow: WNBA Player Monique Billings On Intuition & Owning Your Why · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: There's a mantra that I like to live by. It's
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: called flow and in the F is focus L live
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: and the energy, OH, outcome, detachment and w's work.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Hey, Hey, Emily, a body here. You are listening to
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: episode two hundred and ninety of Hurdle, a wellness focused
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  Speaker 2: podcast where I talk to inspirational people about everything from
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: their highest hies and toughest moments to essential tips on
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  Speaker 2: how to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life.
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: We all go through our fair share of hurdles.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: My goal through these discussions is to empower you to
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: better navigate yours and move with intention so that you
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: can stride towards your own big potential and of course
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: have some fun along the way. For today's episode, I
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: cannot be more amps to bring you my chat with
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  Speaker 2: Monique Billings. She's a player for the Los Angeles Sparks,
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: which was announced legitimately in the days leading up to
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: this conversation. Previously, Monique played for the Atlanta Dream since
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  Speaker 2: twenty eighteen, and she's coming home. She's coming back to
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: where she grew up. We had the chance to chat
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: when we were both in San Francisco for Athleta's corporate
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: conference Athleticquest. Monique is a member of their Power of
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: she collective and truly the whole experience and recording this
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: with Monique in my hotel room was truly one of
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: a kind. It was such a special opportunity not only
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: to join in community with so many people who prioritize
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: movement and overall well being, but also to flex my
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: keynote skills and then moderate a panel that Monique was
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: on I sat on stage with I'm going to name
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  Speaker 2: these quickly, Monique, Heather O'Reilly, who used to play on
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  Speaker 2: the US women's national team, an olympian, katie's Afaris, who
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  Speaker 2: is a triathlete also an Olympic medalist, and then Natalie
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  Speaker 2: Coughlin Hi, an Olympic medalist as well a former pro swimmer.
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  Speaker 2: So much amazingness on one stage. I've never been surrounded
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  Speaker 2: by a more decorated group of women, and I was
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  Speaker 2: in awe of them.
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  Speaker 3: But I digress back to Monique.
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  Speaker 2: Like I said today, she is a player for the
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  Speaker 2: Los Angeles Sparks, but she's also, without a doubt, one
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  Speaker 2: of the most down to earth humans I've had the
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: pleasure of ever sitting down with in our chat today,
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  Speaker 2: she talks about getting into basketball at a young age
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  Speaker 2: thanks to the encouragement of her father, and how she
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  Speaker 2: has carved out this path for herself where sport doesn't
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  Speaker 2: define her, which I really really admire. I appreciate her
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: sentiments of what keeps her grounded, including her faith and
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: her bigger wellness practices like yoga and affirmations. And then
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: on that note, how we speak to ourselves. Monique offers
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  Speaker 2: up some really solid advice on how to cultivate a
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: positive inner dialogue. Make sure you're following along with Hurdle
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: over on social It's at Hurdle Podcast.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: I myself am over at Emily a.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Body, And if you're not yet subscribed to the weekly
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Hurdle newsletter, I would love for you to get so
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: much of the same things you love about the show
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: directly in your inbox every single Friday. Tips, tricks, my
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: favorite picks.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: Wow, I did not intend for that all the rime,
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: But I'm.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: Talking what I'm reading, what I'm watching, the gear that
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: I'm loving, quotes, prompts, you name it, the link to
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: subscribe in the show notes. It's absolutely free.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: And with that, let's get to it. Let's get it's
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: a hurdling Today. I'm sitting down with Monique Fillings. How
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: are we doing.
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  Speaker 1: I'm fabulous, excited to be here, fabulous. We love it.
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  Speaker 2: Big week for you, Like right off the bat, I
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: want to do a how are you feeling really moment.
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  Speaker 1: I really think I'm trying to figure that out. I'm grateful,
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  Speaker 1: I'm excited, nervous. You know, there's a lot of big
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: changes that are going on, but I'm just trying to
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  Speaker 1: stay grounded, trying to stay present.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So for those that are just getting in the
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  Speaker 2: loop here, we're going back to La.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, your girls going home, going home.
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  Speaker 3: It's about time. Yeah, I think so too.
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  Speaker 1: Sixty seasons in Atlanta, It's been a beautiful journey there.
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  Speaker 1: Never thought I would actually like coming from California. I
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  Speaker 1: never thought I would be like a southern girl and
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  Speaker 1: just love it out there. So I'm definitely going to
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  Speaker 1: miss it. It's bittersweet, but I'm really excited to be
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  Speaker 1: coming home.
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  Speaker 2: What's the most difficult part for you about not necessarily
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  Speaker 2: knowing what the future holds within your career.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I'm a planner. I like knowing, like Okay,
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  Speaker 1: this is the market I'm going to be in. I
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  Speaker 1: know this person in this city we're going to. This
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  Speaker 1: is my schedule, I'm my playing schedule. Like just having
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: it all figured out, and so that two to three
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: week period and free agency where you don't know is
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: stressful because like people will be hitting you up like hey,
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  Speaker 1: we're you going to be this summer? What are we doing?
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  Speaker 1: And I'm like, I don't know. I'll get back to
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  Speaker 1: you soon. So I think just the uncertainty.
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  Speaker 2: Of it, what do you feel most excited for when
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  Speaker 2: it comes to going back to the West Coast.
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  Speaker 1: Honestly, my mom and my sister coming to my games.
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  Speaker 1: I went to UCLA and my mom, my dad, and
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  Speaker 1: my sister were able to come to all of my games.
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  Speaker 1: My dad passed two years ago, and so when I
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: think about just how they were all able to come
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  Speaker 1: to my games when I was at UCLA, I just
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  Speaker 1: realized how much I took that for granted, like I
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  Speaker 1: thought it was going to be for everything, and so
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  Speaker 1: now being able to come back to La, my mom
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: and my sister being able to come to my games,
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  Speaker 1: it's just going to be really special and something that
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  Speaker 1: I think with more maturity. Now, I'm just gonna really
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  Speaker 1: not take it for granted this time around.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I hate to jump in on this tip, but
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: because you brought it up, let's talk a little bit
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  Speaker 2: about your dad. What's it been like continuing on in
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: sport now that he's passed.
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  Speaker 1: Well, honestly, I feel like I just want to honor
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  Speaker 1: him through sport. He's the one that got me started
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  Speaker 1: in basketball, and before he passed, he told me you
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  Speaker 1: need to keep bootstopping through life. So you know, I
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  Speaker 1: just try to take that approach with everything that I do,
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  Speaker 1: whether I'm on the court off the court, I know
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  Speaker 1: he's proud of me. I'm walking through doors that God
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  Speaker 1: is opening and it's like I can like feel him
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  Speaker 1: smiling down on me and just his presence with me.
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  Speaker 2: So it's been okay. Yeah, it's been okay. I mean
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  Speaker 2: never easy to navigate the loss of a loved one,
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  Speaker 2: of course, and especially someone who is so instrumental into
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  Speaker 2: getting you to do what you do to I know
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  Speaker 2: that was at a young age that he came to
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  Speaker 2: you and was like, I think you should try playing basketball.
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  Speaker 2: What do you remember about that time?
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  Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, I mean basketball was never on my radar.
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  Speaker 1: Sports was never on my radar. I'm like the girliest
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: of girlies. I'm trying to be on a runway and
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: heels and address like that has always been my vibe.
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  Speaker 1: You're six three, yes, six three, but heels probably like
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: six six six seven. But yeah, he came to me
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  Speaker 1: one day asked if I wanted to play, and I
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  Speaker 1: was like, not really, but like I wanted to make
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  Speaker 1: him happy, so I tried it. I was five years
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  Speaker 1: old and then, you know, no looking back. So yeah, at.
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  Speaker 2: Five, did you feel a sense of excitement for the
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  Speaker 2: game or was it just this thing that you felt
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  Speaker 2: like you were supposed to do.
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  Speaker 1: I didn't feel like I was supposed to do it.
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  Speaker 1: It was just the thing that my friends were doing.
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  Speaker 1: We were all just kind of there. I don't remember
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  Speaker 1: much of it, but when I see myself, like on
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  Speaker 1: video from when my dad like filmed during that time,
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  Speaker 1: like I was just enjoying it, like not knowing what
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  Speaker 1: I was doing, super awkward, no type of skill, but
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  Speaker 1: just having fun.
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  Speaker 3: Were you tall from a young age as well?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, okay, so we knew sports were like in the
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  Speaker 2: future in some capacity.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. I did not appreciate my height when
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  Speaker 1: I was young, but now it's like my superpower.
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  Speaker 3: Oh I love it. I love superpower.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So when then did you have a broader understanding
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  Speaker 2: that you were going to really run with sports.
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  Speaker 1: I started getting recruited in eighth grade, and I'm like,
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  Speaker 1: first one in my family to go to college. I
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  Speaker 1: was just always so in the moment, I'm so grateful,
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  Speaker 1: Like my mom and my dad really just kept me grounded,
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  Speaker 1: like day to day. So when I started getting recruited,
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  Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, like, I can go to college and
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  Speaker 1: get a scholarship and get my education paid for through sport.
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  Speaker 1: Like I didn't even know that was a thing. And
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  Speaker 1: I was highly recruited, so I had a lot of
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  Speaker 1: options and so that was an awesome process being able
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  Speaker 1: to choose where I wanted to go and from there
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  Speaker 1: I was like, oh, wow, like this basketball thing is
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  Speaker 1: going to take me some places.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, some places is an understatement.
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  Speaker 2: Also so beautiful talking about you being the first one
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  Speaker 2: in your family to go to college. When you made
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  Speaker 2: that decision not only to go to college but then
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  Speaker 2: obviously also accept a scholarship and play, what was that
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  Speaker 2: like for your family?
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  Speaker 1: I would say they were super proud of me. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: like I said, being the first one, like the trailblazer,
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  Speaker 1: And I think it was just a moment of all
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  Speaker 1: the hard work paying off, all the tournaments that we
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  Speaker 1: went to every single weekend, you know, as a family,
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  Speaker 1: those special moments, it just kind of like paid off.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Also, being able to go to college not all that
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: far from home was something that was helpful in my
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: backyard exactly exactly. So when you get into this scene,
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: talk to me about being a college athlete and what
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: that looked like in practice for you.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: They kept us booked and busy in college, Like from
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: the time you wake up, it's okay, you have an
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: early practice, so you got to get food, go to practice.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: After practice, get some more food, get some recovery, ice
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: bags on your knees. You're walking to class with those
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: ice bags on your knees. Class for hours, maybe like
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: five six hours of class. Then you have tutoring and
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: all those different things other activities that you have like
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: with your team, and then it's late night you can
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: go to sleep. But tomorrow, like you do it all
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: over again.
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: Is the ice bags on the knees like common knowledge?
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: Like was I supposed to know that y'all were icing
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: your knees walking to class.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: No, people would probably look at us like what are
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: they doing? And it's like, yo, I just got out
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: of a three hour practice, like, please don't look at me. Crazy?
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: Is it's also a tall woman thing.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: I think it's just an athlete thing. Okay, yeah, tall
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: short like you got to mean? Now? No, I have
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: no the ice on the knees. I'll tell you get
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: about tim more fifteen more years on the knees could
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: use them.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: I feel like I'm in my mid thirties now and literally,
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: like within the last year or two, all of a sudden,
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: my knees were like speaking and we were never speaking before.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: We were just like, you know, coexisting.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: You got to speak back though with the remedies.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: You know, stop speaking. It's so awful.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: Okay, So, but then in college things take another turn
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: because it's not just like, oh, we're going to play
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: college ball. It's like, oh, no, we're going to take
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: this somewhere else. Did you what did you major in college?
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: Sociology?
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Okay, so when you thought about life after college, what
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: did you think of at first?
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: That's such an interesting question because I don't even know
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: if my mind was there, like I think back, Like
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: like I said earlier, I've always been just so present,
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: so grounded. Shout out to my dad for that because
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: he always just like kept me in the moment. And
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: I think that goes back to faith about just like
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: not worrying about the days ahead of you, just being
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: in the day that you're in. So I didn't have
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: a plan. I knew the things that I liked. I
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: liked I like fashion, I like food and culture and
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: all these different things. I didn't know what I would
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: do with that, and I definitely didn't think I was
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: going to be a professional athlete.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: It's just so interesting to hear you talk about being
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: so in the moment, because when we started chatting, you
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: were talking about how you wish you could be better
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: at planning, Like you wish that you had the bandwidth
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: or the opportunity despite whatever else is happening with everybody
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: else's decisions, to plan for yourself. So to hear that
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: back in college you were like, Oh, I'm going to
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: figure it out.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: I'm very much a go with the flow type of person,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: and I think that just comes with the lifestyle, just
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: because with basketball, I don't think a lot of people know,
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: but a lot of WNBA players play overseas. I've played
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: in ten countries, and so when you have an option
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: to play overseas, it could be like a team calls
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: you from I don't know, let's say Turkey. A team
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: from Turkey calls you and they're like, hey, we want
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: to pay you X amount. We want you to come
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: for however long. Let's say a month. Can you leave tomorrow?
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: And it's like anything else that you planned in that
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: time period is like out the window. It's like, I'm
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: gonna go get this bag. You got to tell your
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: friend's family. I'll see y'all later. We'll plan something later,
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: and I gotta go.
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: How does that feel like?
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: In I asked this in there's like an accepting of
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: this is how it needs to be, but also does
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: that come with frustration about that this is how it
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: needs to be.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: As far as like playing overseas, I guess.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: Playing overseas and that like you have to go there
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: to get the bag. I mean, this will get into
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: a much broader conversation about women in sports and paying
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: and media time and all that stuff.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: But so I'm a very optimistic person. I always like
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: to see like the bright side of things. For me,
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: it was never a have to. It's I get to
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: And it's been the most enriching, beautiful experiences I've had
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: in my life thus far, living in all of these
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: different countries, being able to travel, I have, i say,
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: chosen family people all over the world that I'm in
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: that are in my network now just from playing basketball,
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: Like those are priceless moments. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Yes,
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: we do want to be obviously paid better salaries in
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: the WNBA, and I do see that coming and on
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: the way in the future. But yeah, it was never
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: I have to.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: For me.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: It was like, Ooh, I get to go here, I
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: get to do this, Like this is dope, and that's
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: just me. Everybody's different.
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: But you know, it's interesting because I really appreciate that
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: mindset and it shows obviously such a growth mindset and
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: that this view of opportunity. I have had the chance
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: to talk to so many women on the show, and
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: it's not a shared mindset by any means. It's like,
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: this is what I need to do for my family,
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: and it can be really difficult to step away. Do
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: you remember when you first accepted an opportunity to play overseas.
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: What that was like for you totally?
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: So I was in college and started learning about like
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: WNBA overseas. This was my senior year when I knew
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: like I was good enough to get drafted. I was
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: being recruited all of that. So I was talking to
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: potential agent at the time. They're telling me about like
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: overseason my options. They said China, South Korea best places
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: to go. That's where the bag is. So I was like, oh, okay,
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: I need to get to China or South Korea. My
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: rookie year, I got an offer to go to China,
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: which is unheard of for rookies. So it was beautiful
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: being able to go there for four months, had a
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: good season there. A week after my season ends, I
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: come home chilling for three days. South Korea calls and
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: they're like, hey, someone got hurt. Can you come pick
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: up this contract? We need you for six weeks. So
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: that's what I was saying. Like with the planning, like
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: at the time, I'm like, ooh, I'm going to take
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: a trip here, I'm going to do this and that,
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: and then it was just like no, I'm going to
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: go to South Korea for a little bit.
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: I am just seized.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: South Korea called the whole country was like, yeah, unique,
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: we're gonna need you now, right they called them, said
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: pull up, yes, sure of course I'm going to pull up.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: So awesome.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: Before this point in your life, had you done a
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: lot of international travel, No.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: I think. I mean I've done a couple trips, really
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: really blessed. Just by going to a power five university,
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: I was able to go to Australia, I went to
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: Poland the Bahamas just through playing at UCLA, but never
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: won on any trips on my own.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: Okay, And so I remember when I spoke to Neco
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: Gumakay and she talked to me about how lonely that
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: experience was for her.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: Did you share those sentiments at times?
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: But I am the type that I'll just talk to anybody,
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: like I end up meeting people overseas and making friends.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: That's been the best part for me. Like basketball's cool,
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: I enjoy it, I have fun, But for me, it's
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: like meeting people. I have stories for days on just
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: like being in different places, different situations, and then ending
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: up at a locals house in whatever country and.
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm waiting for one of these stories right now.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Okay, let me give you a cook one. Okay, I'm
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: going to Budapest. This was a year ago. I was
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: in Turkey playing. I'm on a plane having small talk
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: with this I really nice, like older man, and he
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: was like, I know this is really forward, but I
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: want to invite you to dinner with my family, my wife,
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: my kids, like we would love to host you. And
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: I'm looking at him like your wife, your kids, Like
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: what are you talking about? Like yeah, I doubt all that,
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: but whatever. So we exchanged information. I'm debating and like
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: I don't have it socials like I don't know this man,
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: you know, but something in me was like just go.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: So I'm staying at Airbnb. I had like a little purse.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: I put like a little knife in my purse.
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: Just in day.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: I'm like, you know what, I don't know, sent people
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: my location and I went amazing experience. He did have
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: the wife, he did have the kids for real, you know,
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: And yeah, I had dinner with them and I was
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: just like chilling with them and getting to know them.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: They were getting to know me, and it was just
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: a really beautiful experience.
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: Were they originally from there?
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: The wife was from there. She's Hungarian and then he
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: was from Italy. Wow, and he was a chef, so
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: he chefed it up. And I'm still like in touch
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: with them, like they he texted me the other day
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: and was like, hey, me and the family just wanted
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: to say Hi, I hope you're well.
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: So I love that. Have you always been an outgoing person?
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: I would say, so, yeah, Do you think that is
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: something that was learned behavior from what was around you?
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: Or like where does that come from?
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: That's a good question. I don't know if I've ever
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: thought about that. I mean, yeah, maybe you ever like so, like.
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: Do you remember when you were younger?
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: Were you always someone who was extroverted, like down to
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: be in front of people, like or yeah, it's so funny.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: I don't even know if I will call myself extroverted.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: I'm kind of like introverted extroverted, Like I'm very seft
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: spoken to myself, but I'm a broadcaster and I you know,
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: I can speak in front of a crowd in front
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: of people, so it's kind of a weird dynamic. But
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: I just love interacting with people, getting to know people.
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: I love that.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: I love that and like what cool stories you have
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: from being okay, being open to the you know, the
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: things around you totally. So you get this offer to
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: go abroad and you do it and you come back
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: and now we need to talk about getting into the WNBA.
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: Talk to me about draft day.
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, so many just emotions that come with
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: draft day. Not again, not knowing where I'm going to be.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: I had my agent there, I had my family there.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: When my name was called and I was going to Atlanta,
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: totally was not expecting that, and low key I'm like, uh,
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: where's Atlanta? Like I have no idea. I'm from Cali,
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: you know, so I know like Atlanta is a major city,
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: but like I didn't know exactly. I didn't know much
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: about it. So getting drafted there at first, there was
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: a lot of uncertainty for me because I'm just like,
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: I don't know anyone here and I just don't know
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: how this is going to be. But in hindsight, best
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: thing that could have ever happened to me.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: What about Atlanta did you fall in love with?
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: Off the court? I would say the culture, the culture
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: of just young individuals that are getting after it. Like
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: I can relate to that because I'm in the same
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: type of boat and seeing a lot of black excellence
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: and black success there was awesome. And grow up in
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: southern California, you only see that in pockets, but in
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: Atlanta it's in abundance. You see it everywhere. So I
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: think off the court that and then on the court,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: just opportunity as a rookie, like I had a good
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: amount of playing time, I was able to kind of
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: solidify myself that year. That was actually my favorite year
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: of basketball. We made it to semi finals. Yeah, it
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: was just a great year.
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: What would you say, aside from being surrounded by so
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: much black excellence, also differentiated Atlanta from Los Angeles.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: I would just say the culture, Like the food scene.
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: There's so many different I would say like pockets in Atlanta,
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: Like there's low key areas, there's more mainstream areas. In LA.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: A lot of people talk about like the superficial aspects
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: of it, and there's that's definitely a thing. You have
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: to kind of know people or just be in different
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: circles to not find that. But I think Atlanta is
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: just like just a breath of fresh air for me.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so when you get drafted, put me in your shoes.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: I think it was just like an outer body experience
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: for me. When I go back and watch the video
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: when they called my name, I'm not going to say
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: I don't remember it, but it just happened so fast.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: You're just like, oh my gosh, Okay, let me just
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: look cute on this camera, because I know there's cameras.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: I know people are taking my picture, Like, let me
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: just look Okay. I definitely a sigh of relief. It's like, Okay,
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: I'm good. I know where I'm going. Yeah.
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah, And did you at first?
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: I mean, you had already been abroad at this point,
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: but moving away from LA were their feelings that went
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: hand in him with that.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, leaving my family. I had a boyfriend at the time,
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: leaving him, Like all those feelings and emotions, Like when
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: I got to the airport in Atlanta, I cried, Yeah,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: like waiting for my bag. I just sat on the
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: seat waiting for my bag and I just cried. But
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: got my bags and then I was like, Okay, I'm
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: ready to start this new chapter.
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: Let's talk a little bit about how it feels to
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: try to mean a personal life when you are constantly
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: on the road going to and from games. Also still
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: traveling internationally. How does that feel for you?
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: It's all about balance for me. That's at the title
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: of my book, Finding Balance. It's just finding the things
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: that I can do to make me feel not burned
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: out from basketball, being able to have my social life
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: and the things that make me feel like my highest self.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: So I would say my social life is pretty strong,
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: super intentional about who I allow into my space, what
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: I'm doing, where I'm at, Like, I am very specific
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: and particular about everything. But I love that because I
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: think it just keeps me focused and being able to,
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: like I said, keep that balance.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: Two things to double click on first and foremost, balance
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: and boundaries. For someone who hears you say I'm really
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: good with my boundaries and they're like, how do I
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: get better with my boundaries?
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: What is it that you tell them?
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: Well, I think you just need to assess what you're
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: feeling inside when you're in certain situations, what makes you
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: feel good, and it's like, Okay, I like how I
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: feel right now, Let me do more of this, let
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: me add more of this into my life. But also
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: listening to yourself when you're in situations that don't feel
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: so good and it's like, ooh, I don't like how
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: I'm feeling. My spirit is kind of all over. I'm
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: not grounded right now. What do I need to do
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: in the future to not put myself in this type
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: of situation. So I think it's just going within, listening
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: to yourself, evaluating, and then making decisions that will help
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: you in the future.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: It's so interesting you say that knowing that after our conversations,
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: I at eight something, You're going to yoga, and this
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: is something that you know that maybe sleep could be nice,
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: but also going to yoga is going to make me
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: feel good. My future self is going to thank me
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: for the fact that I did something like this. And
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: I think that in practice, until you get to a
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: point where you are exercising your boundaries, doing something like
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: that can seem pretty daunting. It can feel overwhelming. It
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: can feel like I don't know how you. I can't
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: understand how you're able to execute this routine.
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: I think, well, for me being on the yoga mat,
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: that's my meed time, and I think everyone needs to
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: find what their meed time is. So no matter what
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: that looks like, like that's me putting my phone away
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: kind of just separating myself from everything, and again that's
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: me going within. That's my time for that. And so
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: I think it's important to find what works for you.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: An eight pm yoga class might not work for everybody,
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: but there's something that will work for you. It's all
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: about trial and error.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: It's all about trial and error. The other thing that
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: I wanted to double click on, of course.
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: The book. The book. What made you decide that you
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: wanted to write a book?
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: So I am so passionate about wellness and experiencing that
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: in my own life. I want my peers and other people,
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: fan supporters, just everyone to be able to experience what
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: wellness feels like, truly feels like. I was telling my
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: manager that and he was like, you need to write
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: a book. At the time, I'm twenty four. I'm like, yo,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: twenty four year olds don't write books. Like, I'm not
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: trying to do that. But you know when you get
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: that nudge inside when spirits like, yo, this is what
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: you need to do. So I was like, okay. I
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: at the time was playing overseas in Russia. It was winter,
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: so I had ample time to write this book. And yeah,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: it was a beautiful process. I dedicated like my nights
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: to writing, and so I would come home from practice
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: or whatever and I was like, Okay, I'm gonna write
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: for a couple hours. And so yeah. During that process,
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: wrote the book and then went through getting an editor, illustrator.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: All of that self published, no ghost writer. So yeah,
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: two years later, looking back on it, it's opened a
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: lot of doors for me, helped a lot of people,
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: which is the most important important part for me.
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: What did you learn about yourself in that process?
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: I learned not to doubt and not to overthink, because
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: when you're called to do something, you just got to
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: trust that that's your calling. You gotta answer it and
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: you have to have tunnel vision when it comes to it.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: And there was a lot of times in that process
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: where I did not have tunnel vision. I'm like, is
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: this really my calling? Like I said earlier, I feel
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: like twenty four year olds don't write books. That's so
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: not true. Anyone can write a book if you have
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: a story that you need to tell and that pulling
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: that is inside of you. Of like I want other people,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: like I said, to experience a good thing, a positive thing.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: So I would just say, like, trust your path, trust
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: your purpose, trust your path, don't overthink it, and keep
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: good people around you who will remind you that you
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: are on purpose. That was big for me during that
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: writing process.
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: Who were those people for you?
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Definitely my manager, Chris Brown. Shout out to Chris because
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: he was the one that pushed me into writing that book.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: My mom, my sister, just my close ones.
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: Taking a break from the show today to talk to
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: you about something that truly has changed my life and
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: how I feel in my body.
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: Listen, taking care of your.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: Health it isn't always easy, but it should at least
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: be simple, and that's why for the last five something years,
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: I've been drinking ag.
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: One every day, no exceptions.
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: It's just one scoop mixed in water once a day,
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: every day, and it makes me feel energized and focused
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: and strong and candidly really ready to take on the day.
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: That's because each serving of ag one delivers my daily
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: dose of vitamins, minerals, pre and probiotics and more. It's
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: a powerful healthy habit that's also powerfully simple.
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: Listen. I noticed a long time ago that I need
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: more nutrient support than I used to.
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: Especially with training and traveling, working out, having long days
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: I need all the help I can get, but AG
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: one it covers my bases with high quality ingredients like
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: pre and probiotics, adaptogens, antioxidants, and whole food sourced nutrients.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: I know if I drink it daily, I'm going to
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: feel that extra boost. If there's one product I had
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: to recommend to elevate your health, it's ag one, and
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: that is exactly why I've partnered with them for so long.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: So if you want to take ownership of your own help,
• 28:21
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• 28:24
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• 28:28
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• 28:33
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• 28:39
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• 28:42
  Speaker 3: Go ahead, check it out.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: I really resonate with the sentiments you shared about questioning,
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: albeit briefly, your why right.
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: You were a like, is this really what I think
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: that I want to do?
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: And I think there's room for like a broader discussion
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: on that right, because I've been really big on this
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: mantra lately, where there's a why, there's a way. Knowing
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: that if you have a reason to do something. Then
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: you're going to figure out how to get it done,
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: even in the moments that it feels inconvenient, even on
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: the days where yoga is at eight o'clock, right Like,
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: you're going to figure out how to get done. But
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be moments
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: where you might think like yeah, yeah, right right, And
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: I think yes, so much insecurity for you, outside of
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: writing the book, talk to me a little bit about
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: other things that you're passionate about that you have a
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: strong why for.
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: I think that is something that is constantly evolving for me.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: So in this moment, I would say, my why is
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: to be what I didn't have when I was growing up.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: And that's just an example of strong black female who
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: is an athlete but also embodies beauty femininity. You know,
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: when I was young, I looked up to Tyra Banks
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: and I was like, that's who I want to be
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: like when I'm older. But I didn't see the athletic
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: side as well. Like I'm athletic, my body type is athletic,
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: I am strong, and obviously being a basketball player, I
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: embody those things too. And I never saw both of
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: those things. And so, yeah, at this point in my life,
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I want to show that it's possible to
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: be both. You don't have to separate being an athlete
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: a woman's athlete, from being feminine and beauty in those things.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: So that's what I'm trying to do in my career now.
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: I'm like trying to draw parallels between you and any
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: of the other WNBA players that I've interviewed, And you
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: do give off like such a different vibe and energy.
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: I mean you're very you are like you present super
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: soft in like a way that's like very like welcoming
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: and calming.
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: Oh thank you, that's such a nice yeah.
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: But I think that that's an example of like who,
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: how do you want to be perceived? And what are
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: you doing when you sit down with someone and like
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: speak with them and give them your energy?
• 31:07
  Speaker 3: Like why are you a certain way?
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: And if you're not the way that you're hoping that
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: you're presenting, what's preventing you from being that way? I
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: think so often we have these assumptions or misconceptions about
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: what might happen if we be ourselves.
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: And if you're worried.
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: About being who you really are, then I would go
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: as far as to say that you're surrounding yourself with
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: the wrong people.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, I think too. It's okay to not be
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: for everybody. I'm not for everybody, like my self, spokenness,
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: my faith is big for me, Like I know that
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: I'm called to be the salt light and sweet fragrance
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: of the earth. That's not for everybody, and that's okay.
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: I don't feel like I need to prove anything to
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: anyone or be something that I am so comfortable in
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: who I am and how I show up, and I
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: know that that confidence makes a lot of people uncomfortable.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: But I have to understand, or I've come to understand,
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: that a lot of people just project people don't like
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: who they are inside, so they're gonna hate on someone
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: who does like who they are inside. And I think
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: I've gotten to a point where I don't allow that
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: to hurt me anymore. But when I was younger, I
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: would say it definitely bothered me because I didn't understand,
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: like I don't talk mess about people. I'm in my
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: own lane, doing my own thing, Like why is so
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: and so hating on me? But it's just a part
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: of the process of when you know who you are,
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: Like that's gonna come.
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: Do you remember the turning point or the hurdle moment
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: that maybe you got to a point where you understood
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: the benefit of what you just said, where you stopped
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: caring so much about what other people think.
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's always been a process. I don't
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: think it was just like one moment, but I think
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: there were a lot of moments that I've collected, starting
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: I would say probably in like elementary and then high school,
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: middle school, and then high school. Like there's just all
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: these moments that have led me to where I am
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: today where I can confidently just walk and have peace
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: and just know like this is who I am, this
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: is how I'm showing up.
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: So Yeah, for someone that struggles embodying the confidence that
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: they know is deep within, do you have any tips
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: for them?
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: I would tell that person to find what they admire
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: about someone who they deeply admire, maybe it's a celebrity,
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: a friend, and then try to embody those qualities, like
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: what about that person makes you feel good when you're
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: around someone and their or their energy, their spirit, Try
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: to embody those things.
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: I feel like you're going to have a good answer
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: to this, and I'm sorry if I'm putting you on
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: the spot, what are your biggest values?
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: Biggest values my faith, being a Christian, my family, living
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: on purpose.
• 33:48
  Speaker 3: Elaborate on what it means for you to live on purpose.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: Living on purpose for me is being true to myself,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: walking in my authenticity, and like I said earlier, being
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: a light that's walking in my purpose.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: I ask you what your values are because I believe
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: that when you can concretely articulate what it is that's
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: important to you, then it's no surprise to me that
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: you feel good standing in your confidence, that you feel
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: good upholding your boundaries. And so for others, it's a
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: point of frustration when they can't execute these things because
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: they haven't taken the time to do the work to
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: solidify who it is that they are.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: It's a practice, like, yes, just how I started playing
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: basketball at five years old. I'm twenty seven now. It
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: has been a practice. I didn't come out the gate
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: getting buckets, you know, dropping dimes. It's a process and
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: you just have to give yourself grace because it's still
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: a practice for me, Like I'm saying all these things,
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: but I am challenged daily in Okay, this person just
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: irritated me. Am I going to show up in the
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: way that I know I'm supposed.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: To show up?
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: Or am I going to go lower than how I
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: know I'm supposed to show up? And so I'm constantly
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: challenged in that and sometimes I pass the test, sometimes
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: I don't. But it's like, I just have to realize that,
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: take a second, reground myself, give myself grace, and just
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: keep going.
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: In the execution of what you just described. How do
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: you get to a place where you don't get down
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: on yourself for actions that maybe you aren't so proud
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: of when you reflect.
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: That's a practice too, I would just say, learning how
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: to give myself grace, learning how to talk to myself
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: like I would want a friend to talk to myself,
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: because it doesn't feel good when you're just tearing yourself down.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: And lately I've been really trying to focus on choosing
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: the right thoughts, choosing thoughts that are empowering for me,
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: and understanding that my thoughts create my reality. So if
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: I'm speaking negatively to myself, thinking negative things like that,
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: stuff is going to show up in my life. But
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: if I am empowering myself, speaking life into myself, that
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: stuff is going to show up too, And so it's
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: kind of just like a switch that you have to flip.
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: And I'd be flipping that switch all the time because
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: I'm human, Like we're all human. We go through those
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: negative emotions and things that don't feel so good. But
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: you have to just practice and learn how to pull
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: yourself up, just like you would want a friend or
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: a family member. It's like giving yourself a huk.
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: Energy attracts like energy, let's put it into practice, right,
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: So you're telling me that you have been consciously choosing
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: thoughts that lift you up exactly?
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: Hi, Yes, okay, we're making it. Got for care, exemplify
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: that for me.
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah. So last night, I've been traveling a lot lately.
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: I'm exhausted. This has been a big week signing with
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: the Sparks, Like it's been hectic, beautiful. I'm excited about it,
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: but just like a lot. And so yesterday I was like, dang,
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: like I haven't had me time, I haven't been able
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: to do this. But then it's like I had to
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: change that because I'm like I prayed for all of this,
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: Like my dreams are literally happening, Like, let me just
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: enjoy this because these moments aren't gonna last forever. And
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: I literally felt a shift in my body and then
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: I just felt like just I don't know how to
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: explain it, but just so much more positive in that moment,
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: shifting my thoughts, changing the negativity from Dang, I'm tired,
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: I'm irritated, I have to stay up late, I'm packing.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: But it's like no, I get to like, I'm packing
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: clothes that were sent to me by athleta, you know whatever,
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: and just all these opportunities and it's like wow, like
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: this is the life.
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, And as you say it like that, I can
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: even envision or visualize this to be an exercise that
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: someone who may not really be good at this just
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: yet can do on their own. So if you feel
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: or you know, think a negative thought, ye recognize their
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: negative thought. Write that negative thought down. Then maybe there's
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: another negative thought that comes with that negative thought.
• 37:52
  Speaker 3: Write that down too.
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: To the right of that, ask yourself, how can I
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: reframe this to work for me?
• 37:58
  Speaker 3: What is it that my opportunity is.
• 38:01
  Speaker 2: Now that I've recognized what is which is the first
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: step to changing anything, right, then what can I do
• 38:07
  Speaker 2: with this circumstance and that doesn't mean that you know
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: overnight you're going to be able to reframe and maybe
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: put a positive spin on all of your thoughts. I
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: think there's some statistic and I'm going to get it
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: wrong now, but it's I mean a majority of our
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: thoughts are negative every single day. So we have then
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: the opportunity to decide how we react to those thoughts,
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: knowing that we are not our thoughts.
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: And I want to add, like, people don't have to
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: be fake about it. Don't just say something just because
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: you're supposed to say it. And I'm saying that with
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: quotations because having a positive mind. Everyone wants to have
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: a positive mind. But it's like, I don't want people
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: to have to fake it or feel like thang. I'm
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: saying these things, but I'm not really feeling it. It's
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: just about finding perspective.
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: This is how I feel about the power of like
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: affirmations or mantras, like I'm a very like, realistic but
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: positive mantra person, like I can I will do good,
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: Like I just think about things that feel accessible to me.
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: If thinking like really grand is something that feels right
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: for you, I am not the person to tell you
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: not to do it. But I know that for me,
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: the way that positive affirmation is and mantras work is
• 39:13
  Speaker 2: it's like, let's keep them in a wheelhouse that actually
• 39:16
  Speaker 2: feels accessible.
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: I like that.
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I like that a lot. You mentioned packing up
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: your athletic suit case. You are an Athleta ambassador. Talk
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: to me about what that journey has been like for you.
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: So surreal. When I was a rookie, I wrote down
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: brands and companies that I would want to work with.
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: Athleta was on that list, and I was presented with
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: this opportunity a year ago. And so yeah, being one
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: of their athletes is just mind blowing because I wrote
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: it down, but I didn't know it was actually gonna happen.
• 39:45
  Speaker 3: What else have you written down that's happened for you?
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: I feel like we got to dig into that, man.
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: I mean, I've worked with so many cool brands and partners,
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: Like last year, I think in March, I wrote down
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: I wanted to work with Hyundai. Got that opportunity last November,
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: which was super cool. Wrote down. I definitely wrote down
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: that I wanted to go to LA or play for LA.
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: That's happening now. I wrote down I wanted to buy
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: a house, and I was kind of specific I wrote down.
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: I was like, I want to buy a house with
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: the pool. Bought the house with the pool. Yeah, so
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: I've been blessed. I've been blessed. You know.
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: I really do think that, like vision boarding or manifesting,
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: is probably one of those practices that has so much
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: resistance around it. I think it's like one thing to
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: write down a positive affirmation, but it's another thing to
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: put on the wall, like here's my photo, here's Oprah,
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: and like Oprah and I are gonna have a sit
• 40:40
  Speaker 2: down together. Like that just feels for some to be
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: quite inaccessible. For you, when you were doing this exercise
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: of writing down things that excited you or that you
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: wanted to happen in your future, were there any parameters
• 40:54
  Speaker 2: around it.
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: That's a good question. Yeah, maybe, But I think I
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: try to just dream as big as I could, and
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: when I write these things down, I am writing it
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: down and I feel like I know it's coming from
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: from God, from within, and it's like, okay, if this
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: is meant to be, like, please present this to me
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: like I'm open to receive it, and me knowing that
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: I'm on the right path. No, matter what, and just
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: trusting that I know that what's presented to me is
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: for me and whatever is not whatever is not for me,
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: it just wasn't meant to be. And that's totally okay.
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: That radical acceptance is also something that takes practice. Yeah,
• 41:39
  Speaker 2: I feel as though in my life lately, I've been
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: working to get to this place where I am okay
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: with accepting things as they come and being a little
• 41:52
  Speaker 2: less rigid about trying to make it all happen for myself,
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: and that I can do the work and put my
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: all into things. But know that the eighteenth follow up email, Like,
• 42:04
  Speaker 2: if you're sending an eighteen follow up email, that means
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: this wasn't for you in the first place.
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, probably not. Ye know.
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: That's so hard though, especially when there's something that you're
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: really going after.
• 42:13
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: There's a mantra that I like to live by. It's
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: called flow and and the F is focus, L live
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: in the energy, oh, outcome, detachment and w's work.
• 42:26
  Speaker 3: Okay, where did this come from?
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: I don't remember. I think a couple of years ago.
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: I might have heard it on a podcast or read
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: it somewhere. But that's how I try to live my life.
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: Just being in the flow, so focus, living in the energy, outcome, detachment,
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: putting in the work. And I feel like when you
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: do that, you're just surrendering and just allowing what's for
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: you to come and just trusting that you're going to
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: be guided, You're going to be protected, you're going to
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: be end up right where you're supposed to be, right.
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: On time, right on time. So now in this new
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: chapter with the Sparks, I.
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: Want to interrupt. This is a new book, even a
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: new chapter. We are in a new book.
• 43:03
  Speaker 3: She turned the page.
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: She closed the popes, Like, in this new book with
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: the Sparks, what would you say is the most exciting
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: thing for you?
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: I am going to reach my potential in this new book.
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: I'm excited because I feel like I haven't even scratched
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: the surface on who I know that I can be
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: and what's inside of me. And that's one scary, but
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: two very exciting. And I just know that there's going
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: to be opportunity there for.
• 43:33
  Speaker 3: Me elaborate, like I'm reaching my potential.
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: Like what in your you close your eyes, you envision
• 43:40
  Speaker 2: your biggest potential, You envision what's meant for you, Like
• 43:43
  Speaker 2: what's on the board.
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: I'm just trusting that there's going to be so much
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: alignment on the court off the court, I am expected.
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: I am believing that I'm going to be the basketball
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: player that I know I can be. I'm going to
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: reach the milestones, the goals that I have. That's what
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: I'm feeling.
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: What is the most difficult part for you right now?
• 44:06
  Speaker 3: When it comes to the game.
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: Overthinking? Like I'm saying all this stuff about not being
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: in your head again, it's a practice. The girl will
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: be in her head sometimes and I overthink and question
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: and man, is this really meant for me? You know?
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: Am I supposed to be doing this?
• 44:26
  Speaker 3: What do you do when those intrusive thoughts come in?
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: When those thoughts come in, one pray to I have
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: a circle of people, my chosen family, who kind of
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: bring me back in and remind me of my light,
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: remind me of who I am, because it is easy
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: to get lost in the saw sometimes like that's real,
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: But I have people around me who help to remind me.
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: And then another thing, I scrolled through my camera roll,
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: I will through my camera role and I'm just like, wow,
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: there's been like through over the years and just remember
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: one who I am remember the places I've gone, opportunities
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: that I have, and I feel like that gives me
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: just a sense of joy and just reminds me of
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: all that I am.
• 45:09
  Speaker 2: You mentioned holistic wellness being extremely important to you. I
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: would love to know, aside from integrating yoga regularly into
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: your routine, what are certain things that are part of
• 45:19
  Speaker 2: your regular practice.
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, my morning ritual. So for me, it's prayer, it's meditation,
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: it's listening to positive sound bites YouTube you know, or podcasts,
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: just fueling myself, fueling myself mentally and spiritually, eating the
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: right foods, foods that my body likes. And it's not
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: always the super healthy option, like sometimes I'm going to
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: eat a donut burger, But for the most part, for
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: the most part, I am super healthy and discipline with
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: my diet. Yeah, I would say those are my biggest practices,
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: All about just listening to yourself and what you want,
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: what you like, and what makes you feel good, what
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: fuels you that helps me in my holistic wellness.
• 45:58
  Speaker 2: Do you have like certain podcasts that you lean into regularly,
• 46:02
  Speaker 2: or certain YouTube accounts that you go to.
• 46:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, elaborate.
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: Okay, podcasts in Hindsight. He's amazing balanced. Black Girl is
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: my good friend. Hey yeah, I like her podcast. Jay
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: Shetty's podcast is cool Ed Milette. Those are a couple
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: of my favorites that I'll go back to. Mark Manson
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: just came out with a podcast. I really like his
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: podcast too. YouTube wise, what am I listening to? There's
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: a prayer channel on YouTube. I think it's called like
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: Living for a Purpose. So when I wake up in
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: the morning, like, that's what I put on when I'm
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: getting ready. Those are essentially my affirmations. It's like prayers
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: and Bible versus. So I feel like that is something
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: that really feels me too.
• 46:45
  Speaker 2: Question Mark Donut Burger, Yes, elaborate on that as well.
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: So I'm going to give a shout out to one
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: of my favorite restaurants in LA It's called oh My Burger,
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: and they have a burger it's called the Luther's Two
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: Krispy Kreme Donuts. It's burger patty cheese, bacon, and then
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: you've got to get the side of fries, which is
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: the garlic fries, and then you've got to get the
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: peach cobbler milkshake.
• 47:09
  Speaker 2: The array of flavors that just like, hey, I am,
• 47:12
  Speaker 2: I'm having a moment. I'm gonna be in LA in
• 47:16
  Speaker 2: March and then in May.
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: So it's ten minutes from the airport too. This is
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: gonna happen.
• 47:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So you're saying there should be a line at
• 47:22
  Speaker 2: this spot and not the in and out drive through
• 47:24
  Speaker 2: right before La.
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. For sure, for sure, But actually no,
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: because well I don't want to gate keep. But you know,
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: if there's a line at my spot, then you know
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: that's kind of messed up.
• 47:35
  Speaker 3: That's kind of messed up.
• 47:36
  Speaker 2: But you tipped everybody off right, right, you're not gatekeeping anything. Okay,
• 47:41
  Speaker 2: So we have the occasional doughnut burger, but bigger than that,
• 47:45
  Speaker 2: we're talking about foods and things that fill us up,
• 47:48
  Speaker 2: that help us feel our best self to go throughout
• 47:51
  Speaker 2: the rest of the day.
• 47:52
  Speaker 3: Clearly, morning routine super important to you. Do you have
• 47:55
  Speaker 3: a wind down routine?
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: I do, so I have a morning routine. For me.
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: It's good to have like a midday rest. I love
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: a nap, but even if I can't take a nap,
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: just taking some time off my phone and maybe just
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: just being still for a little bit and then yeah,
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: in the evening. I give myself a little bit more
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: flexibility when it comes to my evening routine just because
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: it's not as easy for me to plan where I'm
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: going to be or if I'm on the road traveling,
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: so it looks different. But definitely again trying to be
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: off my phone, trying to have good habits, so whether
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: that is meditating or reading a book. I've been trying
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: to implement that in twenty twenty four.
• 48:36
  Speaker 2: So yeah, you're giving me an opportunity to ask you
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: what's the why behind wanting to integrate reading more often
• 48:44
  Speaker 2: into your routine.
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: Man less screen time reading and for me physical books
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: like I got to hold the book. I don't want
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: to be on a kindle or anything like that. But
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: knowledge is power, and if I know, like there's places
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: that I'm trying to get to, then I know that
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: my mind I need to put my mind to work.
• 49:02
  Speaker 2: So this is a great example of having a why
• 49:04
  Speaker 2: for a goal. Right, So, like say, if your goal
• 49:07
  Speaker 2: is do you have a specific amount of pages or
• 49:09
  Speaker 2: like a book goal, you're trying to.
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: Hit twelve this year?
• 49:12
  Speaker 2: Okay, so great example. You know that you want to
• 49:14
  Speaker 2: read twelve books over the year, you have this strong
• 49:17
  Speaker 2: why rooted.
• 49:18
  Speaker 3: In who you want to be. Also less screen time.
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: Like so many things, someone may have the same goal,
• 49:24
  Speaker 2: but their why is because they quote unquote feel like
• 49:28
  Speaker 2: they should.
• 49:28
  Speaker 3: That's not a good why.
• 49:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, So this is a really good example of
• 49:33
  Speaker 2: like setting a goal and knowing exactly what the root
• 49:37
  Speaker 2: is that you want to go for.
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 49:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, So moving forward for you. So the house is in.
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: La that you know the house is in Atlanta.
• 49:45
  Speaker 3: Oh my goodness, what's happening in the house.
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: So it's an investment property. Okay, Okay, it's getting rented out,
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: so it's making money.
• 49:53
  Speaker 3: It's making money. Are we going to buy another house
• 49:55
  Speaker 3: in LA.
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: I mean that's definitely the plan. Definitely the plan.
• 49:59
  Speaker 3: Definitely the plan.
• 50:00
  Speaker 2: And what would you say has been one of the
• 50:04
  Speaker 2: most difficult moments of your pro career?
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: Most difficult moment for me. I just feel like I've
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: always been an underdog, Like even since high school. I
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: feel like I've been slept on, always having to like
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: prove myself, have this chip on my shoulder. But I
• 50:20
  Speaker 1: also feel like that has allowed me to make it
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: to where I am today because I have to outwork
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: people and I'm not going to say, I have to
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: prove myself, but I can never be comfortable.
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: I can never be comfortable. What do you think that
• 50:37
  Speaker 2: lack of comfortability does for your game?
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: I would say it just always makes me want to
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: get to that next level. Like I'm not complacent. I
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: know that if I do something well, maybe in a game,
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: celebrate that for the night, but then the next day
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: it's like back to work. Like I never just want
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: to be content or just stuck in one place of Oh,
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: I'm good. It's like, no, I know that there's warn
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: me like, yeah, I'm in a good spot. Maybe you're
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: in a good place and I feel good about my
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: performance or where I'm at in my life, but there's
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: more to get done, there's more ceilings to shatter.
• 51:10
  Speaker 2: You feel as though you've always been an underdog. Has
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: there been like a conversation or interactions that you've been
• 51:16
  Speaker 2: a part of where that has been told to you
• 51:18
  Speaker 2: as well.
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: No, I would say it's more shown instead of told.
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: Being slept on for different opportunities.
• 51:26
  Speaker 3: Oh, I feel like there's something there.
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: There's a lot there. There's a lot there, but it's
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: a part of the journey.
• 51:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, part of the journey. Wow, she's so kind.
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: She's like, yeah, I just don't need to give this
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: any energy, you need to give any air.
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's a.
• 51:43
  Speaker 3: Really interesting point, right.
• 51:44
  Speaker 2: That's another example of there's just so much power in
• 51:46
  Speaker 2: the perspective. It's like you recognize, like, Okay, maybe I've
• 51:50
  Speaker 2: been slept on for this, but like I'm not going
• 51:52
  Speaker 2: to give my energy to that anymore.
• 51:53
  Speaker 3: Like I'm focused on what's coming next, exactly.
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: I never want to be like woe is me or
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: look on and look at outer things that I can't control.
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: I can't control being stepped on. I can control the
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: work that I do. I can control getting to a
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: place where I feel good and knowing that I'm putting
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: out my best work, knowing that I'm showing up as
• 52:12
  Speaker 1: my best and if people continue to sleep, I feel
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: good about what I'm doing. Getting to that point.
• 52:17
  Speaker 3: Oh, it's so valuable.
• 52:18
  Speaker 2: It's such a good place to be because you are
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: showing up and putting on so much work. What would
• 52:24
  Speaker 2: you say might be a little bit different about your
• 52:27
  Speaker 2: game compared to someone who may not have that.
• 52:29
  Speaker 3: Let's say that dog and I'm like that.
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: Oh, extra work is going to eight pm yoga class
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: it's eating the right things. It's more than just the
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: stuff that's on the court. It's watching film, it's mentally
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: preparing myself. It's being diligent about how I'm spending my
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: time on the court. It's making sure I'm getting the
• 52:50
  Speaker 1: reps so I feel prepared. And that confidence comes from preparation.
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: So it's just being super disciplined and just diligent in
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: my routines.
• 52:59
  Speaker 3: What excites you right now?
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: I am excited about opportunity.
• 53:05
  Speaker 3: Opportunity.
• 53:07
  Speaker 2: When someone comes to your Instagram page, they see this
• 53:10
  Speaker 2: WNBA player also an athletic ambassador with so many followers.
• 53:15
  Speaker 2: When you look in the mirror, what is it that
• 53:17
  Speaker 2: you see looking back at you.
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: I'm really happy with who I see in the mirror.
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: I feel like when I was a young girl, this
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: is who I envision, This is who I want it
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: to be, and so being her is just like, oh bang, okay,
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: we're here. Let me continue to envision, like what's next?
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: Where are we going next? When I look in the mirror,
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: I feel encouraged and empowered.
• 53:38
  Speaker 2: Oh wow, that's really strong stuff. How does it feel
• 53:42
  Speaker 2: to say something like that?
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, in the most humble way possible. Like, I
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: don't want to come off like cocky or pretentious or
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: anything like that, but saying that, it's it's real, Like,
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: I just feel like I'm living in my truth. I'm
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: living in my power, and I have so much more
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: room to grow and to continue to become. And so
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: that's also what's excites me. There's just so much more
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: that I can reach for.
• 54:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right now, you have an opportunity to offer yourself
• 54:15
  Speaker 2: a piece of advice. Let's go back to the beginning
• 54:19
  Speaker 2: of your professional career, knowing what you know now, going
• 54:23
  Speaker 2: through the highs, the lows, the hurdles that come hand
• 54:26
  Speaker 2: in hand with being fresh on the scene. What do
• 54:28
  Speaker 2: you tell yourself?
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: Rookie Monique was trying to rush and trying to race
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: to get to where I am now, and it's gone
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: so fast. I would tell her to enjoy the moment
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: by enjoying the view on the way up the mountaintop,
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: not just when you get to the top of the mountain.
• 54:45
  Speaker 3: We love it.
• 54:47
  Speaker 2: For those that don't follow along with you just yet,
• 54:50
  Speaker 2: tell us, give us the info.
• 54:52
  Speaker 3: How do they keep up with you?
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Instagram, Twitter, all that good stuff.
• 54:56
  Speaker 2: Monique Billings, Monique Billings I'm over at Emiliabadi and at
• 54:59
  Speaker 2: her podcast.
• 55:00
  Speaker 3: Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.