Latest / The FEEL Podcast: Women’s Empowerment, Emotional Wellness and Self-Leadership with Melissa Crook / Boundaries, Balance & Becoming You: Life Lessons from Cheryl Schultz
Transcript
- 0:01Hello Field podcast friends, thanks so much for being with us
- 0:04today. We've got a new episode here for
- 0:06you with my friend Cheryl Schultz.
- 0:08Cheryl is another one of those wonderful women I've met through
- 0:11my connections at the Fresno County Woman's Chamber of
- 0:14Commerce. So thankful for this wonderful
- 0:17organization and all the spectacular women that it has
- 0:21and continues to connect me with.
- 0:23Today you're going to get to hear from Cheryl.
- 0:25Boundaries, Balance and Becoming you life lessons from Cheryl
- 0:29Schultz. The ways to engage with today's
- 0:32discussion are as follows. Think of those special qualities
- 0:35about yourself, like your character traits.
- 0:38What makes you who you are? What is different about you than
- 0:43from those surrounding you? There's something that each of
- 0:46us brings to the table that is unique and it should be
- 0:49celebrated rather than hidden. We hope this gives you some
- 0:52really meaningful ways to engage and think about how you see
- 0:56yourself, identify yourself. Is there anything you're missing
- 0:59or not celebrating about yourself today as we listen to
- 1:03you, my friend Cheryl Schultz, thanks so much for being with
- 1:06us. Hello field podcast audience.
- 1:25Welcome to this week's episode of today's episode.
- 1:28I should say we got a couple of them following following each
- 1:32week right now on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- 1:35Today I have a new friend with me, Cheryl Schultz.
- 1:38Cheryl and I met through Fresno County Women's Chamber of
- 1:42Commerce. She was one of the first people
- 1:45I met when I joined. We had a coffee together and I
- 1:49just knew she would be such a great guest for this platform.
- 1:54She's going to have a lot to say about all of her talking points.
- 1:58She's lives life so fully, in fact, she describes herself as
- 2:03adventurous. She just went, she went
- 2:05skydiving for her 60th birthday. Doesn't get much more
- 2:08adventurous than that. I love that.
- 2:09Never too late to do and learn new things.
- 2:12She's an animal advocate. She loves animals.
- 2:15She's losing sleep right now saving animals, literally.
- 2:19We'll let her talk more about that.
- 2:22But she loves animals, God, her family.
- 2:24She loves to travel. She's a learner.
- 2:27She's learned Italian in sign language, and she sings in her
- 2:31church with a group where she just won an award that she's
- 2:36just engaged with the community in so many different ways and
- 2:40brings her full. She just has this vibrant
- 2:43personality that really strikes you when she enters a room.
- 2:47So I'm so excited to welcome Cheryl Schultz to the Field
- 2:50Podcast. Hello.
- 2:52Hello, thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here.
- 2:55Oh, I'm so happy to have you here.
- 2:57All right, let's get right into it.
- 2:59And this is something you're having to work with right now
- 3:02with the, with the sleep stuff you've got going on and how your
- 3:05heart for taking care of these animals and others impacts you.
- 3:09But talk to me about prioritizing self-care in your
- 3:12life. What has your journey been like
- 3:15for that with that? That's a great question.
- 3:19It's different every day, My schedule is different every day.
- 3:22And so I've had to learn that there's no one way that I need
- 3:26to take care of myself. I need to allow myself to to
- 3:30give what I need for that moment.
- 3:32So this morning, because I knew I was going to be on this
- 3:35podcast, which I'm very excited about.
- 3:37And my husband's actually watching our five dogs in the
- 3:40other room, so they're not disturbing us.
- 3:42But when I this morning, because I did not sleep well last night.
- 3:46And I honestly believed it was kind of a, for lack of a better
- 3:49way of saying it, like an attack to kind of prevent me from being
- 3:52on this podcast today, which was even more of a reason that I
- 3:56felt I need to go in prayer to cover this podcast and to get
- 3:59this message out for those that need to hear it.
- 4:01Yeah. So, so when I, when I myself
- 4:05care on a daily basis, I'm, I'm a strong follower of Christ.
- 4:09So I spend time in my Bible, I spend time with God every single
- 4:12day. And that's really important for
- 4:14me. But I also walk out time on my
- 4:17calendar, time to take a bubble bath, time to go walk the dogs,
- 4:22time to make a nail appointment, whatever it might be to work.
- 4:26I'm actually writing a couple of books right now.
- 4:27So so to work on my book. So I I literally put those on my
- 4:32calendar because we all are so busy and we just do not have the
- 4:38time if we don't make the time. Yeah.
- 4:41So you have to really make it a priority.
- 4:43Yeah, yeah. I love that have the time to
- 4:47make the time. I talk to women about this all
- 4:49the time. Sometimes women are like, oh
- 4:52gosh, if I put it in my calendar, is that too formal?
- 4:54No, you're worth being formal about if that's what it takes to
- 4:58get you to carve out that time and space for yourself.
- 5:01It's that intentionality that sends yourself the message I'm
- 5:05worth this. I'm worthy of this space.
- 5:07I'm I'm valuable. And I need to make sure I'm
- 5:10pouring my into myself in the way it's going to allow me to
- 5:14show up how I want to, not only for myself, but for other
- 5:18people. I mean, I think that's such an
- 5:20important piece of that. When do you do?
- 5:23Have you always had a concept of that, or was this something you
- 5:27had to grow into over time? Absolutely had to grow into it.
- 5:31I had no clue how to set boundaries when I was younger.
- 5:35I had no clue how to make myself a priority when I was younger.
- 5:39And you're you're very you're totally on point because if we
- 5:43don't have if we don't make ourselves a priority and that's
- 5:46not about puffing myself up and I'm more important than other
- 5:49people. It's not about that.
- 5:51But if I don't get the rest I need, if I don't get the
- 5:53self-care that I need, if I don't spend time with God that I
- 5:56need that quiet time and just have that kind of that peaceful
- 5:59moments that I needed my day, I'm no good for anybody.
- 6:02I can't help my husband. I can't help.
- 6:04I can't be there for my daughter, my grandson.
- 6:06I can't be there to help animals.
- 6:07I can't be there to help the woman's ministry.
- 6:09I can't be there to sing with the best of my ability in the
- 6:12barbershop course. I can't do anything that I'm
- 6:15called to do and I can't really be the person that I'm meant to
- 6:18be. And one of the things that I'm
- 6:20so passionate about, Melissa, and one of the things I love to
- 6:23talk with you about is that I think so many women, we go
- 6:26through more than half of our life serving other people and
- 6:31not fulfilling the call on our own life and, and being who we
- 6:36are in purposely created to be on purpose, live that purpose on
- 6:40purpose. And and so we, we go through our
- 6:44life living for other people, doing for other people.
- 6:47Not that it's wrong to help other people, but you could go
- 6:51through your whole life. I remember I was working in a
- 6:53career, it was a sales career and and I was working with a
- 6:56life coach and he said, Shirley goes, I don't know what you're
- 6:59meant to do, but I can absolutely tell you that your
- 7:02purpose on this earth is not meant to be a salesperson for
- 7:05this company. And that really was like an aha
- 7:09moment where I thought, what am I supposed to do?
- 7:11I'm really good at this. I'm highly successful.
- 7:14But he's right. It's not my calling.
- 7:16It's not my purpose. What is my purpose?
- 7:17And we need to find that. We need to discover that.
- 7:20And that's why we need those quiet moments to be able to
- 7:22figure out what that is because of distraction, all the noise,
- 7:26just otherwise we'll just push it out and we have no clue.
- 7:30You hit on two really important things there.
- 7:32One, listening and quiet so we can be spoken to, so we can hear
- 7:38and feel into and leave space for.
- 7:41And 2:00, just because you're good at something doesn't mean
- 7:45that's your purpose. And I think sometimes we
- 7:48mistake, well, I'm really good at that.
- 7:51So it must, well, maybe in some seasons that's a place where
- 7:54that can show up for sure, but it's not automatic.
- 7:58And I've, I've talked to so many people, so many women, so many
- 8:02college age students who were going after a degree or, or
- 8:08chasing something that others had told them you're really good
- 8:12at that, so you should do this. And they hadn't sat down to
- 8:15really consider. Did that feel aligned to them?
- 8:19And many times later in their lives, they're they're at this
- 8:22point where like, I just don't feel like I'm in touch with who
- 8:26I'm supposed to be. I don't feel like feel like I
- 8:29was made for something more different than this.
- 8:32And so I think it's very important to, if you're good at
- 8:36it, great. Look at your life and see if
- 8:39there's a space or place that fits in, But don't assume just
- 8:43because you're good at it that that is supposed to be your
- 8:46primary purpose. I think that's so important and
- 8:49something that we can get stuck in.
- 8:51So I'm so glad you pointed that out.
- 8:52So good. All right, let's go into
- 8:54confidently setting boundaries. This is not a conversation our
- 8:57generation had growing up. We did not.
- 9:00This wasn't a conversation boundary.
- 9:03What? What?
- 9:03What's a? Boundary.
- 9:05What does that mean? Exactly boundaries where the
- 9:07state line is. I don't, no.
- 9:09Exactly it. Was very geographical for us.
- 9:12It was not something in our lives.
- 9:16And it's really, I would say, a conversation that's really only
- 9:18started coming up in the last 10 years.
- 9:21And so now there's other words for it that many people have
- 9:26adopted. I know some women that were just
- 9:29naturally born with an inclination of what line not to
- 9:34cross with them And what I mean, some people have that knack, but
- 9:38so many of us, because we get that messaging early on that
- 9:42we're supposed to show up for everyone else, no matter the
- 9:45cost for us, because putting ourselves first was selfish.
- 9:49We've had to unpack that and unlearn that and like, no, no,
- 9:52no, no, it it's not selfish. It's actually the way that we
- 9:57can best show up as ourselves for everybody wins when we do
- 10:01that. But it's but we've had to like
- 10:04unlearn and relearn those things.
- 10:06So talk to me about that, that moment where you realize or
- 10:10understood that boundaries or whatever you word you use for
- 10:13that needed to have a space in place in your life.
- 10:17Well, I think it's first of all we need to realize if we are
- 10:20feeling completely overwhelmed or underwater and there's no way
- 10:24that we can come up for air, we probably need to learn how to
- 10:27set boundaries. We probably are not setting
- 10:29boundaries because there's too much going on.
- 10:32I think one of the downfalls of technology and technology is
- 10:36great. I love that we are able to
- 10:37connect this way today. But one of the downfalls of
- 10:40technology is it gives us the false security that we can fit
- 10:43more into our day. And there's still only 24 hours
- 10:46in a day, whether we have an iPhone or a Android, whatever
- 10:51kind of phone we have or whether we don't use technology at all,
- 10:56there's only 24 hours in a day. So we can't jam more in just
- 10:59because we have technology that seems like we can pack it in
- 11:02tighter. And when we do that, when we
- 11:04train pack more in, we get so overwhelmed.
- 11:07We're drowning with commitments and obligations and this feeling
- 11:10of guilt that we can't let somebody down.
- 11:12We have to be there. And I think one of the things we
- 11:15have to do and one of the things I've really had to learn because
- 11:18I was very much that, yes, person, I will do whatever you
- 11:22ask me, I will do. I'm here for you.
- 11:24I will never. And I am a faithful friend.
- 11:26I'm a very loyal, devoted, you know, person that if I tell you
- 11:30I will do something will be there for you.
- 11:33But you, I've really had to learn.
- 11:35There's got to be a line in the sand.
- 11:37I have to first of all, look at this.
- 11:39And sometimes like I just recently, there was a woman I
- 11:42met recently at the chamber and she has, she's looking for
- 11:45volunteers for something. I thought, oh, that sounds good.
- 11:47And then I had to put myself back.
- 11:49I said, oh, I need to find out more about this.
- 11:52I need to pray about it. I need to see if it aligns with
- 11:54my values and my priorities. I need to see if this is really
- 11:57the right time in the right season for me to be doing this.
- 12:01Is it something that is going to suck the life out of me?
- 12:05Is it going to be something that feeds me?
- 12:07It's going to be something that helps me to reach my goals and,
- 12:10and is in alignment with, you know, who I am and what I what
- 12:14my priorities are, You know, so you, you really have to look at
- 12:17all that and then sometimes just have to really say, you know, I
- 12:19would love to, but it's just this is not the right season for
- 12:22that or this is just not the right time.
- 12:24I think where it gets difficult, Melissa, is there are some
- 12:27people, I'm sure you have them because I know I've had them in
- 12:30my life that they do not allow you to set boundaries.
- 12:35Yeah, they, you know, here's your line and they're constantly
- 12:38stepping over that line. There's no way they're going to
- 12:40let you draw that line in the sand.
- 12:41You could draw it 100 times and they're going to constantly
- 12:44cross that boundary. So sometimes you have to be
- 12:47really firm with people and just, you know, some it may be
- 12:51losing a friendship if it's not a healthy relationship, if
- 12:54somebody does not recognize that it's a healthy thing for you to
- 13:00do right, to set boundaries and you would be respectful of their
- 13:04boundaries in return. If they don't recognize that,
- 13:07then it sometimes it means terminating that relationship.
- 13:10And that's hard, you know, especially for, because we love
- 13:14to, you know, take care of people and we have that
- 13:16nurturing and, and I think women naturally and, and I think we're
- 13:18created with a more nurturing part.
- 13:21That's part of who we are, which is a great thing.
- 13:23But I, but I also think that it doesn't mean that we are always
- 13:27supposed to do everything. And another way to look at it
- 13:30truly is that there are gifts and talents that I have that I
- 13:34meant to use, that I meant to share.
- 13:37But there are gifts and talents that you have that you're meant
- 13:39to use and that your audience has and they're meant to use.
- 13:42And if I'm trying to do everything for everybody and be
- 13:45everything to everybody, I'm kind of in essence robbing other
- 13:49people who should be able to do that, right.
- 13:52So we want to share the wealth, let everyone have their little
- 13:55piece of the pie and, and, and know what, where, you know,
- 13:59where we are lined up and what we are supposed to do and where
- 14:02we have to step back and say thank you, but no thank you.
- 14:06Yeah. So.
- 14:07Yeah, that was so many good points are one power in the
- 14:10pause. You know, we talked about of
- 14:13just taking a moment. We had several guests over, you
- 14:17know, glass last couple years talk about some take 24 hours
- 14:20before they will say, you know, I this is a great opportunity.
- 14:24Let me take a look and think about this and and I'll get back
- 14:29to you. If I you know, the end of next
- 14:31week or whatever it is power in the past going home looking at
- 14:36it because I I've run into the same thing.
- 14:38We hear so many great we were. We get to be connected with so
- 14:42many amazing women at the chamber with and they're all
- 14:45doing amazing things. But and I'll come out of a
- 14:49connect event or a meeting like, Oh my gosh, this would be so
- 14:53incredible if I could volunteer there or give my time there.
- 14:55And then I have to go back home and look at my calendar and be
- 14:57like, you know, maybe not right now or maybe I can support them
- 15:05in this way, but maybe not that way.
- 15:08But so being intentional about that and going to what you said
- 15:12there towards the end of. If we're.
- 15:15Doing everything and somebody really was a pastor we had many
- 15:20years ago. Gosh, early 2000s said this to
- 15:23me and she was and and she's like I've had to learn that me
- 15:27showing up for everything as half myself is robbing someone
- 15:32else of showing up for something they were called to as their
- 15:35full selves and. It.
- 15:38Was such a great way shout out to Joy Bradley, wherever you
- 15:41are, Joy for for bringing that to my attention and some and she
- 15:45had to learn, you know, she had to learn that and realize that
- 15:48I'm like, that's really smart across the board to remember
- 15:53that. And then, you know, our a guest,
- 15:55Valerie Rivera said to me one time that whatever you're saying
- 16:01yes to, it means you're saying no to something else.
- 16:05Make sure you're OK with saying no to that.
- 16:08And also make sure it's not you that you're saying no to every
- 16:12time, because then there's no space to fill your cup and and
- 16:16sit in that pause to make sure these things are aligned for you
- 16:20and you're going to show up the way you really want to and be
- 16:23remembered as in these spaces. That's important.
- 16:27You know, there was something that you said reminded me of a
- 16:30word that got spoken to my life last year.
- 16:33And he said, if your hands are so full of all these things,
- 16:38then you have no room to receive the new want to bring into your
- 16:42life. So sometimes.
- 16:43We have to let go of things. So that we can receive the new
- 16:46things that God's bringing into our life in the season, Right.
- 16:49And so it's not a bad thing to say no.
- 16:51Sometimes it's the best thing we can say because it brings us
- 16:54into the place where we are open to then have the time and the
- 16:57ability and the availability to be able to move into something
- 17:00that is amazing that we wouldn't be able to do.
- 17:03Yeah. Absolutely.
- 17:05So good. All right, taking care of our
- 17:07emotional, mental, physical, spiritual health.
- 17:12These are all pieces and parts of our health and of our care.
- 17:17Talk to me about your journey of understanding the connection of
- 17:22those things in terms of your own health.
- 17:28How to? How to?
- 17:29Maintain my my own health in these different areas.
- 17:31Yeah. And how you came to that?
- 17:33Because this is not something we're like.
- 17:36Health is very much taught in a vacuum and in a silo of you go
- 17:40to your PCP and you do the blood work and you do all these things
- 17:44and you talk to you about your physical health, but very rarely
- 17:46do they ask you how. Have you?
- 17:48Been anxious lately? Have you had a move lately?
- 17:52A stressor in your life that is maybe impacting your blood
- 17:56pressure right now or your, your, your heart rate or, you
- 17:59know, I mean, there's that not been those connectivities.
- 18:03We're starting to talk about it and ask more about it now.
- 18:05But historically that's not something we've heard or
- 18:07understanding that if I continue to stop that emotion, it's going
- 18:12to show up in a really costly way later.
- 18:15I've got to make time to feel that move through that process
- 18:19that so it doesn't show up later as a raging headache or an
- 18:22explosion on my husband or, you know, those kinds of things.
- 18:26Yeah. Yeah.
- 18:27Our husbands appreciate that. Yeah, I think I'm very, I'm very
- 18:30fortunate that I actually my my doctor, my actual physician that
- 18:34I see is a naturopath and Western medicine together, which
- 18:38is great. She looks.
- 18:39At. She looks at the whole body
- 18:41right? And she will ask those
- 18:43questions. So tell me about how you're
- 18:45feeling and what's been going on.
- 18:47I've gained weight lately, so what's going on come what's
- 18:49going on in your life? She tries to look at the other
- 18:52elements that contribute to our health.
- 18:54But right, we're very complex beings.
- 18:56People are not just about their physical health.
- 18:59They're not just about their emotional health.
- 19:01We're completely and meshed together.
- 19:05We're completely blended and we have to be able to nurture these
- 19:08different parts of ourselves. For me, like I said, I mean, I
- 19:12start off my morning with reading a bit of scripture and
- 19:15trying to spend a little quiet time, which is hard to do.
- 19:17I mean, sometimes I've literally had to set my phone on a timer.
- 19:21This is embarrassing for 5 minutes just to say for these 5
- 19:24minutes, I'm just not, I'm just going to focus here on I'm just
- 19:27going to focus on God. I'm just going to be quiet and
- 19:29sit for 5 minutes. That's why because we're so in
- 19:32this crazy rat race where we're constantly on the go and we've
- 19:35got appointments back-to-back to back, right?
- 19:37Or we've got other people pulling demands on our time.
- 19:40So, so sometimes I have to force that time and that, but that
- 19:44again, when we give ourselves that, that breathing room that
- 19:48we need, it's like it just refreshes us.
- 19:52It helps to calm us down, which helps with our physical health,
- 19:56right? It helps little mental health.
- 19:58It helps to connect all those dots and to really.
- 20:05Address all and recognize all those different parts of who we
- 20:09are. Just like we recognize, like I'm
- 20:11a mother, I'm a grandmother, I'm a wife, I'm a dog mom, I'm a cat
- 20:14mom. I'm a, I'm a, you know, ministry
- 20:17leader. I'm a barbershop quartet singer.
- 20:19I'm all these different things are all these.
- 20:21I'm a I'm a student, I'm all these different things, but I
- 20:24have to, I can't do all of those at the same time, but I can, I
- 20:28can enjoy each part of that, that aspect.
- 20:32You know, it's like if you look at like a, if you, if you look
- 20:36at some, I'm trying to think like, not a Rubik's Cube, but
- 20:39like a, like a, you've seen these like almost like a, a
- 20:45shape, a geometrical shape, or it has all these different sides
- 20:47to it, right? Yeah.
- 20:49And it's all part of the same geometric structure, but they're
- 20:53all different parts, you know, And so we need to, we need to
- 20:56help nurture each of those parts of our body, right?
- 21:00So maybe it's taking some time to go for a walk, you know, to
- 21:04have that time to exercise, which is great for my health.
- 21:07It's also great for my, my emotional health.
- 21:10It's also help helps my spiritual health.
- 21:12All that, right, Being out in nature, I love to be in nature,
- 21:15you know, going for a bike ride or whatever it might be, you
- 21:18know, having a glass of wine, sitting, listening to some nice
- 21:21music, maybe putting a mask on my face and just relaxing for 15
- 21:24minutes, you know, But all those things tie together to to really
- 21:29help us to feed all those different parts who we are.
- 21:34Yeah. Absolutely.
- 21:35So good. Thank you so much for that.
- 21:37All right, how we can support ourselves and other women in
- 21:41living unapologetically. You show up very naturally in
- 21:46this way. You are such an advocate for
- 21:49women about women supporting women.
- 21:52That's just that's just who you are.
- 21:54Like, that is really obvious from you from the time that
- 21:58anyone meets you in my in my perspective.
- 22:01But talk to me. So talk to me, do you see
- 22:04yourself that way and how what this looks and feels like for
- 22:06you? I, I've had to learn to really
- 22:10grow into this as as I mentioned a little bit earlier, I was
- 22:13really just, I was a people pleaser, which does not serve us
- 22:18well. It does not, we did not serve
- 22:20ourselves when we're being a people pleaser, you know, and I
- 22:23think that to, to recognize, to encourage people to live
- 22:27unapologetically is to really recognize who they are, who God
- 22:31created them to be. What I love about when God
- 22:35creates a person that each of us are completely unique.
- 22:39And I was reading something, I thought this was so fascinating.
- 22:42I was reading about this, that when you have two individuals
- 22:45that we are 99.5% identical, that it's only a half a percent
- 22:51in our DNA, that's different. It's not amazing.
- 22:55It's not. Fascinating, right?
- 22:57That half a percent makes us totally different.
- 23:01It changes our personality, our hair color, eye color, our body
- 23:04type or our, our height or weight, whatever our, our
- 23:07ethnicity, our, you know, everything, everything about us,
- 23:10our personality, everything is different.
- 23:12So we want to embrace that tiny difference, but and really just
- 23:19just let that blossom because that is what makes us so unique.
- 23:24And there are things that each one of us can bring to the table
- 23:28that only we can bring to the table.
- 23:31Yeah. And that's why it's so important
- 23:32to figure out what is why was I put?
- 23:36Why am I here in the season of my life?
- 23:38What is the purpose? What am I really meant to do?
- 23:41Like you said, just because we're good at it doesn't
- 23:44necessarily mean it's what we're supposed to do.
- 23:46Yeah, maybe it was that for that small season, but it doesn't
- 23:51mean forever after. And to figure out what we are
- 23:55and why we are in a particular place at that moment helps us to
- 24:02really understand how we can grow into that next, into what
- 24:07we're supposed to really be doing and to show up as our best
- 24:10self. And when we can do that,
- 24:11especially for those of us that are over 40, you know, if we can
- 24:15do that, we can help the girls that are in their 20s and their
- 24:1930s and their in their teens, even young girls.
- 24:22We can help them to really embrace who they are and to grow
- 24:26into that so they don't have to repeat the mistakes that we've
- 24:29made, you know? I think.
- 24:31That mistakes aren't always bad because we can learn from them,
- 24:35sure, and we can recognize that. And I really do believe my
- 24:40girlfriend has a saying whenever I've gone through a tough time,
- 24:42she says God never wastes our pain.
- 24:45And I love that because sometimes the painful things
- 24:48we've gone through, the mistakes we've made, give us the ability
- 24:52to help somebody else where we would not recognize or be able
- 24:55to relate to them. Right, and have known how to
- 24:57show up. Right, so it gives us that
- 25:00ability to be compassionate and to be able to help them to then
- 25:04level up to the next, you know, thing, the next place in their
- 25:08life, right. So I think that it's so
- 25:10important that we authentically can show up and and there's only
- 25:15one way to do that. And that is to really be true to
- 25:17who you are and be true to your vision and be true to your your
- 25:21values and and true to, you know, like showing up as who you
- 25:25are. I can't be Melissa, right?
- 25:28I could try, I could try and say I'm going to do my podcast, I'm
- 25:31going to do this. I'm going to write a book just
- 25:33like that. I could try, but it's never
- 25:34going to be the same because I'm not, I'm not you, you know, and.
- 25:38You could never. Be me, because you're not me.
- 25:42You spoke to showing up unapologetically for yourself
- 25:45and other women. So well, there was such a
- 25:47complete understanding of that. So thank you for your thoughts
- 25:51on that. And it really what you said.
- 25:53You said something and we talked about this a little bit earlier
- 25:55and this really goes into serving us and knowing our
- 25:58purpose. It's identifying your why and
- 26:01your values and everything you do.
- 26:04This is a big part of that. When you know your why and
- 26:07understand your values, that guide you, that feeds into where
- 26:11your healthy boundaries need to be.
- 26:12That feeds into how you care for yourself.
- 26:15That feeds into you understanding what your purpose
- 26:17is. So talk to me about your journey
- 26:20with your why and your values. Well, I want.
- 26:23To also just mention that I think an important thing for
- 26:26women especially is to accept who we are.
- 26:29We have our imperfections because in my humble opinion,
- 26:36God does not make mistakes. And when he created me with my
- 26:40body type, my hair color, whatever, that's exactly who he
- 26:45created me to be. I always tell people, I said,
- 26:47you know how when you're a little girl, you want to pretend
- 26:49you're a Princess? Well, I am a Princess because
- 26:52I'm the daughter of the king, right?
- 26:53So I need to be a Princess my whole life.
- 26:54I love it. Yeah.
- 26:56But what's so great about that is I can accept and embrace who
- 27:00I am. Not just accept.
- 27:01It's like, oh, I accept who I am.
- 27:03It's not going to get any better.
- 27:04This is just who I am. No, I really joyfully embrace.
- 27:07I'm this person because this is exactly who I'm to be.
- 27:09So I can do all the amazing things that I was designed to do
- 27:13that I was created to do. I can I can show up knowing that
- 27:18I have a purpose. And so that really helps to like
- 27:21inspire me to really, you know, just love who I am.
- 27:26Not with this, not with a, a love where I'm just like so
- 27:30self-centered and focused on just myself, but really
- 27:33understanding that even with my mistakes, even with my flaws,
- 27:36even with my imperfections, my physical imperfections, all of
- 27:39that because our society has such a strong focus on having a
- 27:44perfect hair color, perfect eye color and perfect figure and the
- 27:47perfect clothing and everything is and everything is based
- 27:51around that. But that's such a minor part of
- 27:54who we are. We are, is, is is like what are
- 27:59our dreams? What are, what is our vision?
- 28:01What are, what are, what kind of, you know, what do we do that
- 28:05makes an impact on others? How do we show up and, and make
- 28:09a positive difference in the lives of people or animals or
- 28:12our environment, whatever it is that's important to us, right?
- 28:16So I think. That in doing that and knowing
- 28:18that it's like you really do connect to this is who I am,
- 28:22this is my work, this is this is deep inside of me.
- 28:26This is what I embrace and I hold.
- 28:28I grab onto that joyfully because I'm so bad to know that
- 28:33that's who I am, right? It's not about accepting.
- 28:36Oh well, it's not like a second place or last.
- 28:39You know, I, I got a, a trophy, but it's like it's the last
- 28:42prize or it's not like that. It's not showing up fully
- 28:46knowing that I am special and I have something to bring to the
- 28:50table. And every single woman does.
- 28:53Everyone does. It's just plugging into that and
- 28:56figuring out. And yesterday in a way to
- 28:58church, I told my husband. I said, you know, you know, I
- 29:01love animals. He goes, yeah, I know.
- 29:02I get this about you. We're clear on.
- 29:06That yeah. And I said, but you know.
- 29:09I was thinking about this and I've always like animals.
- 29:12I really think it's who God created me to be.
- 29:14I think I'm supposed to be doing this.
- 29:16It's part of my purpose. I'm here.
- 29:18I would tell people one of my ministries is take care of God's
- 29:20creatures on earth. And I do believe that because
- 29:23not just because I have a lot of pets, but because, because when
- 29:27I was a little girl, I love, you know, dolphins and I, when I, I
- 29:32would rescue stray animals when I was a child.
- 29:34And I just always, I just had this passion to help these
- 29:38animals in need. And so it's really part of who I
- 29:40am, you know, And so I, you now that I'm 64, it's like going
- 29:45back, it's like, Gee, this is probably some, I probably should
- 29:48have, instead of gone into sales, I probably should have
- 29:51become a veterinarian. That would have been great.
- 29:52You know, that would have really aligned with my purpose of my
- 29:55colleague and what my passion is, right?
- 29:57It doesn't, it's not too late. There's other ways I can help
- 29:59and I can achieve that. And I think that's important.
- 30:02For us to know too, yes. Yes.
- 30:05And you spoke so well to that embracing those parts of
- 30:08yourself. And we're going to come back to
- 30:09that in a bit when we talk about accepting the layered aspects of
- 30:12yourself because you have a very great understanding of this.
- 30:16But because you so you align so clearly with your why and your
- 30:20values and how you set up your time and what you pour yourself
- 30:24into, it really helps you to live out of your own
- 30:28expectations versus others is talk to me about because as
- 30:33people pleasers, that's usually something we have to move into.
- 30:36We spend a lot of time showing up in ways that other people
- 30:40want us to expect us to. And it takes some time for us to
- 30:44move into that. You know, I need to be the one
- 30:46defining this. And this comes from identifying
- 30:49healthy boundaries and knowing your why and values and sitting
- 30:52in the quiet and really listening and being in touch
- 30:55with and filling your cup. But he also feeding into what
- 30:59your purpose is. So talk to me about that, that
- 31:02transition into really living out of your own expectations
- 31:06versus others. Interesting you say that because
- 31:09I mentioned that it probably would have been great if I had
- 31:11become a veterinarian when I was a young, like maybe 1516 year
- 31:16old girl. My uncle was a doctor and he was
- 31:19quite a handsome man, if I say so myself.
- 31:21And I just crush on my uncle and so and I was interested in going
- 31:24to medical school and my parents thought, oh, they'd be so great.
- 31:27And we lived in the East Coast at the time in New York, and my
- 31:30parents thought, well, have you go to Brown University?
- 31:32It's this amazing medical school.
- 31:33It's in Rhode Island and Boston, wherever it's located.
- 31:36And so they were going to have me go to school there.
- 31:37And then I saw we then moved to California and when I was living
- 31:42in Southern California, I decided to go to Sonoma State
- 31:45University in the Bay Area because it was a great pre Med
- 31:48school. It was small.
- 31:49It had I think like a maybe 5000 students at the time were like
- 31:54UCLA had like 20,000 students. And I didn't want to be drowned
- 31:57with that many students my first time away from home.
- 32:00So I went to Sonoma State and as I was taking all these pre Med
- 32:03classes, I really struggled it really as much as I love.
- 32:07And I'm so thankful today because I don't agree with some
- 32:10of the direction that I see our medical system go into how much
- 32:13they're controlled by insurance companies, how much how they
- 32:16ignore really taking care of your body and being proactive.
- 32:19It's more just about it's downstream instead of upstream.
- 32:23It's yeah, I just, I don't agree with it.
- 32:25So I'm so thankful I did not go into medicine.
- 32:28So it does not align with who I am or what I believe.
- 32:31And, and I just think it's it's tragic what's happened.
- 32:34But yeah, I, if I had really when I was 15, you know, or 18
- 32:38or 20, if I had embraced what I was really passionate about, and
- 32:41that is really, you know, like animals and taking care of
- 32:45animals, I would have still been able to go into medicine.
- 32:48But from a perspective that really aligned with my passion
- 32:51for taking care of animals, Right.
- 32:52So, and again, not that it's too late.
- 32:55There's other things that I can do in this time in my life where
- 32:57I can still, you know, walk in that purpose of who I'm meant to
- 33:02be. But it's just an example of how
- 33:05we can go through our whole life disconnected from who we are
- 33:09because we were trying to lift up to somebody else's
- 33:11expectations. I got married young to my first
- 33:15husband, dropped out of school. My parents were very upset about
- 33:19that. So obviously I wasn't going to
- 33:20become the 1st doctor of their children.
- 33:23And so that was very upsetting. My brothers didn't become
- 33:26doctors either. So none of us became doctors.
- 33:28And, you know, very upsetting to my my poor Jewish mom, but you
- 33:32know, but anyway, but, but that was that was their dream.
- 33:36They thought that they were trying us help us fulfill our
- 33:40dream. But even then, as a as a
- 33:43teenager, I knew that I was being pushed in a direction that
- 33:47did not sit right with me. It didn't resonate with me.
- 33:51And I think we all have that gut feeling.
- 33:54We all know when something is like this just doesn't, I don't
- 33:57know. You may not know what it is.
- 33:59I may not have recognized I'm not meant to go to medical
- 34:03school to be a medical doctor, right, or whatever.
- 34:06You might not know, but you get this gut and you go, there's
- 34:09just something that doesn't sit right with me and we need to
- 34:11listen. I think that often speaks to us
- 34:15internally like that. We get that that.
- 34:18And I always tell people, I said, you know, I'm a firm
- 34:20believer that the Holy Spirit leads by peace.
- 34:22He guides by peace. If we're feeling angst, if we're
- 34:26feeling, Oh, I should I do this? You need to sit on it and just
- 34:33you be still and you just have to God, you showed me if I'm
- 34:35supposed to do this because I am not feeling peace about this.
- 34:37And if you that peace never comes, then I think we need to
- 34:40walk away and recognize that that is not the the direction
- 34:45we're supposed to go in. You know, and that would if if
- 34:47we would do that, we're a lot younger than more.
- 34:51And I think that's what I'm so passionate about.
- 34:53And that's why I was so thrilled when you and I met because one
- 34:56of my passions is to help women. Hey, let me help you shortcut
- 34:59the process. Don't wait till you're 50 or 60
- 35:02before you figure out who you're meant to be, because you can
- 35:04figure it out when you're way younger and live a life that is
- 35:08so fulfilling. And not that my life has not
- 35:10been fulfilling, but I think I could have achieved so much more
- 35:14that aligned with my purpose. I probably would have got, not
- 35:17got married to people that were the wrong fit for me because
- 35:20they didn't align with my purpose.
- 35:21So it it, it, it connects to every area of our life and
- 35:24everything we do. Yeah.
- 35:27And and you just. Defined so much of the reason
- 35:30and the core reason I got into this I'm like, let's have these
- 35:33conversations. Let's get this information in
- 35:36the in the hands and the hearts and the heads of our young women
- 35:41and and it's so that they have this understanding framework
- 35:46from the get go because because it's so important, you know,
- 35:50things that are more feeling angst and fear that is that's
- 35:55trying to tell us something, you know, that's like.
- 35:59They. Are and trust that, listen to
- 36:02that, pay attention to that. It's there for a reason.
- 36:06I'm so glad you brought that up. So important.
- 36:08Thank you so much for that. Such great examples and so
- 36:11relatable. All right, you've spoken to this
- 36:14already, but we're going to revisit it, accepting the
- 36:17layered aspects of ourselves, you know, all those pieces and
- 36:21parts that make up who we are, the parts we love, the parts we
- 36:25don't. You talk, you know, we just
- 36:26talked about, you know, if I'd known what I or trusted then
- 36:31what I know now, there's some relationship choices I wouldn't
- 36:34have made. We, I, we all have those pieces.
- 36:36I've got a relationship choice that I made in my senior year of
- 36:41high school. But like, Oh no, what?
- 36:44Was I? Thinking and also given where I
- 36:48was at the time and what I knew, I understand that.
- 36:51So I think that you talked about that earlier, embracing,
- 36:55realizing we can learn from those mistakes and I'm really
- 36:58approaching them with curiosity rather than judgment.
- 37:02So we're not shrouded in shame around them or embarrassment or
- 37:05wanting to hide them or not process them and move through
- 37:09them. You've got a really firm good
- 37:11understanding of that. When would you say you got there
- 37:15to that understanding of this importance of embracing?
- 37:20I would, I would sadly have to say it probably was not until I
- 37:24was in my mid 40s. Yeah, yeah, you know, and, and
- 37:30that thinking back, that's pretty tragic that I spent, you
- 37:33know, the 1st 4045 years of my life not embracing who I am, not
- 37:38embracing my my true values, not living in alignment with what
- 37:43was really most important to me. Trying to live based on others
- 37:46expectations, trying to please other people.
- 37:48I mean, when you look back on it, you're thinking, what was I
- 37:50thinking? Right?
- 37:52Why would I try and live my life to please other people?
- 37:55Why would I live my life based on others expectations or what
- 37:58they think is important? Why would I do that?
- 38:00But we are raised in with those expectations so often so subtly
- 38:06placed upon us that we don't recognize that that's what we're
- 38:10doing and we think that we're getting because there is a very
- 38:13fine line. We do want to be open and
- 38:17receptive to ideas. And maybe maybe someone like
- 38:22makes a suggestion like, oh, I never thought about doing that
- 38:26with my career. I'll have to check into that.
- 38:28I never thought about, you know, someone told like when I was
- 38:30writing a book, I was like when I started writing my book, I'm
- 38:33thinking, I don't even like reading books.
- 38:35I listen to audio books because I, I don't sit my attention.
- 38:38Well, just to sit and read unless I want to go to sleep
- 38:41because it kind of puts me to sleep.
- 38:43That's not my thing. So I'm like, why would I write a
- 38:45book? I don't even like to read books.
- 38:47Why would I write one? Well, I'm writing, I'm reading.
- 38:50I'm sorry, not reading. I'm writing 3.
- 38:52I'm writing storybook, which is a gift that my cousins gave me,
- 38:55which sends you like questions every week and you answer it and
- 38:58something you pass on to your family.
- 39:00I'm writing my own life story, which I haven't come up with a
- 39:02title yet. You and I might have to talk
- 39:04about that one. And then I'm writing a
- 39:06children's book. So I'm writing three different
- 39:08books and I'm thinking. And when I was at a women's
- 39:11retreat about a year and a half ago, this woman said, you know,
- 39:15I believe that God has called a lot of you women sitting in this
- 39:17room to do things that or has spoken promises into your life
- 39:22that you have not fulfilled yet. I want you to sit and pray and
- 39:25ask God what those things are. Well, God has spoken many things
- 39:28into my life, many promises, and you and I could discuss those on
- 39:31another call or another copy. But.
- 39:34He has spoken many things into my life that have not come to
- 39:37pass yet, which I'm very excited about.
- 39:41But when I sat there to pray, the Lord said to me, get back to
- 39:45writing your book. And I'm like, seriously, God.
- 39:49What was the answer I was looking for?
- 39:51No, it was not. It was the least the the least
- 39:54expected answer and really what I didn't want to hear.
- 39:57And I was and I had been writing for a couple of years and I was
- 40:01stuck and I was like, Lord, if you want me to get back to
- 40:03writing this book, you're going to have to give me.
- 40:05So here I am arguing with God, right?
- 40:07You're going to have to give me some fresh ideas because I have
- 40:09no clue what to write. I'm totally stuck at this point.
- 40:12Well, the next morning I woke up and it was like.
- 40:14All these ideas and I started writing stuff down and I had
- 40:17chapters that I was able to write from that one
- 40:20conversation. All these things that what about
- 40:23this, what about this? What I was like, Oh my gosh, you
- 40:25know, so, so we have to be open to being to receiving direction
- 40:32and we have to be open to changing direction, you know,
- 40:37because sometimes we have to leave something behind and we'll
- 40:40come back and revisit that. And we have to be OK with with
- 40:43letting go of things. I think that as women, sometimes
- 40:45we don't like to let go of things and that leads to us
- 40:49being overburdened. So, so knowing where we are and
- 40:55knowing where we are in this particular season is important
- 41:00because there are things that we could do last year or five years
- 41:05ago that is not what we're supposed to be doing right now.
- 41:08And so you have to really, that's why that's sitting and
- 41:11being quiet and really figuring out what does that look like.
- 41:15Yeah. Is this, is this something I
- 41:17need to let go of totally at this point in my life?
- 41:21Or is this something I need to be let go of for a time and
- 41:24maybe I can pick it back up again?
- 41:26Yeah. And that's part of, you know,
- 41:28accepting those layers of ourselves because we can't just
- 41:30keep putting things on top of, you know, and you're talking
- 41:33about layers. We're putting layer upon layer
- 41:35upon layer, right? If we eventually we're going to
- 41:37be so burdened down because we have all these things on top of
- 41:41us. And sometimes you go, oh, I need
- 41:43to take this layer off so I can take on this layer.
- 41:47And that's refreshing. And it's easy, right?
- 41:50That that yoke is light. It's easy to carry.
- 41:53So it's not, it's not burdensome, but we start to feel
- 41:56burdensome. That's when we know that I, I,
- 42:00that's a, that's a clear, that's like, that's God's way of going
- 42:03Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, hello, you're.
- 42:04Taking off your batch, you know, so and we need to pay attention
- 42:07to that yeah, 1000% oh, so many good things there I mean, first
- 42:12everything I think is that learning to.
- 42:14You know, for me, I was really age 50.
- 42:17That got my attention and I really started doing the work I
- 42:20needed to do to live as my full authentic self, go on the
- 42:25healing journey. I needed to all those things.
- 42:27And it's hard to to, you know, not look back and be like, if I
- 42:32could have just been in the space then that I am now with
- 42:37this situation and and having to like hold the nuance of I
- 42:42wasn't. And given where I was at the
- 42:44time, I did the best I could. And also this is.
- 42:47Where? I'm at now, so this is.
- 42:49Where I can operate? From and I and I will be the
- 42:52healthiest version and do the best I can from here moving
- 42:55forward and being able to, you know, hold that nuance and
- 42:58acceptance. But I I've loved how you pointed
- 43:01out that we continue to have things to come up because life
- 43:05does not stop so many times. There's so many narratives and
- 43:09culture about and it's getting better, partly because I think
- 43:12our generation is speaking to it so well and so loudly.
- 43:16There is life after 405060708090, however long it is
- 43:22you are designed to be on this earth.
- 43:24There is purpose, there's opportunity to learn, there's
- 43:27opportunity to grow, and there's opportunity to continue to live
- 43:31out the different parts of your life that you were designed to.
- 43:34So continuing to say open to that, receiving that, being
- 43:39excited about that is such a great motivator to continue to
- 43:44show up authentically every day regardless of our age or season.
- 43:50I think also too, you mentioned something that made me think
- 43:53about this and that is that it is OK.
- 43:56There are times in our, there are seasons and times in our
- 43:58life where we need to just have that time to not do anything, to
- 44:03just rest and to be OK with that, right?
- 44:06To be OK with not being busy. Sometimes we stay busy because
- 44:10we don't want to feel emotions. We don't want to, you know, and
- 44:13sometimes we, the emotions that we're, we think we're feeling
- 44:18are not really the emotion. It's more of a reaction to
- 44:21something that triggered an emotion, but it's not maybe
- 44:24we're feeling angry about something, but really the
- 44:26emotion is that we're feeling rejection, you know, So I think
- 44:29that we need to recognize that sometimes we need to give
- 44:32ourselves the grace and really take care of ourselves and allow
- 44:35that quiet, non busy time to refresh us.
- 44:40So that when those busier times come, that we have the energy
- 44:44and the fortitude and the the drive and the motivation and the
- 44:47excitement to move forward with, with enthusiasm and, and with,
- 44:51you know, bring our best selves forward because we are rested
- 44:54and we're in a good place when we don't allow us to have that
- 44:57time. And we all need those breaks.
- 44:59You know, we can't just go, go, go, go, go.
- 45:02You know, Bible, they talk about having a Sabbath, right?
- 45:04Like having a day to rest and like God agreed the worst in six
- 45:07days and he rested. If God needed to rest on the
- 45:09day, I think it's probably a good sign that we probably need
- 45:11to have a day to rest, right? You're saying, but it's just,
- 45:14but really, we need to have that.
- 45:15And in our society today, everything is go, go, go, you
- 45:19know, Oh, I let me see my calendar.
- 45:21I've got appointments from 9:00 to 1:00 and then, but I'm free
- 45:24from 1:00 to 2:00. I'm busy at 2:00, I'm busy at
- 45:274435. But from 1:00 to 2:00 or from
- 45:292:30 to 3:00, I've got a window. I can fit you in there, right?
- 45:32No, no, stop, stop, right? Take a breath, right?
- 45:37Don't. Don't book yourself so that
- 45:39you're so crazy busy. Because there's nothing wrong
- 45:42with having moments to rest in our day.
- 45:45There's nothing wrong with having a Saturday or a Sunday or
- 45:47a weekend. We have nothing on the calendar,
- 45:50right? You don't have to go anywhere.
- 45:53Need that time. And we need to be able to take
- 45:55care of ourselves and to recognize that there are time,
- 45:57there are seasons and times that we have to allow that, you know,
- 46:02in our lives. And I think people in general,
- 46:05but certainly women are afraid to do that because they feel
- 46:07like they're not doing enough. They're not giving enough.
- 46:10They're not being their full self.
- 46:13But again, it's like you're working in this vicious circle.
- 46:15You have to allow yourself to do that in order to be your best
- 46:18self. It's private formula.
- 46:20It is 1000. Percent and some people call,
- 46:23you know, there's sometimes it's referred to as the winter of
- 46:26your life. We need a winter, a time to
- 46:29snuggle in and get warm and get quiet and listen and not move.
- 46:37A lot. Other than in the space that
- 46:40makes us feel rejuvenated and healthy.
- 46:43And it's so unorthodox for our society to take that time to
- 46:49repeal. But also you said something so
- 46:51important. We get so uncomfortable with the
- 46:54uncomfortable and we need to be able to sit with that discomfort
- 46:59and let us know where it's coming from.
- 47:02So because if we don't allow space to move through process
- 47:06identify that heal that it will continue to show up in harmful
- 47:10ways in other spaces. And if that's such and we want
- 47:15to make sure that no one else is receiving the poison from that
- 47:23unhealed space. And so I'm so glad you brought
- 47:26that up. That's such a powerful reminder.
- 47:29And so if you are feeling, I was watching something yesterday
- 47:34and, and it was a show where a woman was really just like
- 47:37scrambling to like, I don't know how to show up right now.
- 47:40I don't know who I am. And she had a new baby and and
- 47:44the woman said to her, why don't you just focus on being you and
- 47:51his mom right now and just enjoy this space.
- 47:55Enjoy this in between instead of feeling like you've got to be
- 48:00clamoring and grabbing for more. Maybe you're more isn't ready
- 48:04for you yet or you aren't ready for your more yet.
- 48:07So why don't you just enjoy this thing that you've wanted for so
- 48:11long you spent so many years waiting for and just show up and
- 48:16be your authentic self in this moment with him.
- 48:20And it was such a good reminder of like, it doesn't always.
- 48:23We have this idea in our culture that a full calendar and not
- 48:27having a full calendar means we're unproductive, right?
- 48:30And being productive is overrated because just because
- 48:35you're productive doesn't mean you're feeding into your purpose
- 48:39or showing up in the way the world needs you to.
- 48:43It just means you're checking things off a list.
- 48:46And if you're just productive all the time with no time to
- 48:49fill your cup or. Quiet or listen?
- 48:51Then what does, what does that productive really mean or look
- 48:54like? And so, yeah, thank you so much
- 48:58for that. So good, so good.
- 49:01Oh, great, great, great comments that you made too.
- 49:04And I think that you know that you meant to something about
- 49:08when you're not processing emotions correctly, you're not
- 49:11allowing yourself that time to heal that they both come back
- 49:14and they are like poison. It's kind of like your emotions
- 49:16are kind of like tires in a in a junkyard, right?
- 49:19They keep surfacing. They don't never really go away
- 49:22until you're completely figure out what was that about?
- 49:26Why did I react that way? Why did I get into that
- 49:30situation that allowed me to get hurt that way?
- 49:32Or in that situation, you know, how could I have done it better?
- 49:37And then when you allow yourself to fully heal, then you are able
- 49:41to step forward. And those don't come back and
- 49:43haunt you. Those, those old hurts don't
- 49:45come back and haunt your present.
- 49:47And we all want to be able to grow because we all are like you
- 49:50said, whether you're 506789, we all have the opportunity every
- 49:54every day to wake up. And my dad used to say every day
- 49:57on the side of the dirt is a good day, right?
- 49:59And so and, and grow and grab on.
- 50:03I used to tell my daughter, you know, life is an adventure.
- 50:05Grab on to every opportunity you can that comes your way.
- 50:09So when you're an old, old woman sitting on your rocking chair
- 50:12and reliving your memories, you'll have a life full of
- 50:14memories to look back on. Don't just be someone that
- 50:18observes other people living their life to the fullest.
- 50:21You go live your life to the fullest, right?
- 50:23Because then are you creating the best life for you?
- 50:27But you're impacting so many others in such a powerful way.
- 50:30Yeah. Yeah, so good.
- 50:32Oh, Cheryl, thank you for all of that.
- 50:34So much good there. All right.
- 50:36This is really, I think really wraps things up really well.
- 50:40But in living out feel, which you do so well, finding
- 50:43empowerment, embracing layers, talk to me about how that has
- 50:47impacted your relationship with yourself as well as your
- 50:51relationship with other people. That is a great question and I
- 50:58love your acting. And by the way, I think that is
- 51:00awesome. Thank you.
- 51:02I think that. You know, we've talked about
- 51:04this a lot. I think it's important that we
- 51:07joyfully embrace who we really are, that we take the time to
- 51:12really discover who we are and we have.
- 51:14We embrace who that is. We may not today like everything
- 51:19about ourselves, and that's okay.
- 51:21It's okay because we can change, we can grow, we can become, you
- 51:25know, better at things that maybe we're not excelling in
- 51:28today, right? But and a very simple example of
- 51:32that, which is not an important thing, but my learning Italian,
- 51:34I've been trying to learn Italian for a decade and just in
- 51:39the last couple of months, all of a sudden I read something in
- 51:41Italian. It's like, Oh, I know what that
- 51:43said, I can just look at it. I know what they're, I know what
- 51:45they're talking about. This is so it, it clicked right.
- 51:48So sometimes it's a it's process and you and you made a very good
- 51:51statement that one of the things that we need to do is is to for
- 51:56us to be able to show up as more for us to be able to connect
- 52:01with others in a healthy way. We have to, you know, know all
- 52:06those things we've talked about, know our core value, know who we
- 52:09are, know what our strengths and weaknesses are.
- 52:11So we know what our gifts are, what we're, what we're meant to
- 52:14share. We know what our our why is,
- 52:16what our purposes, know what our weaknesses are, so that we know
- 52:20maybe what we need to work on, right?
- 52:22Maybe, you know, we're really impatient, you know, So one of
- 52:26the things that I have to always work on with my husband, I'm
- 52:28Italian and in my family, I am not a talkative person.
- 52:33I know that's hard to believe. People are shocked when I tell
- 52:35them that. But in my family, I could not
- 52:38get a word in edgewise with my grandfather.
- 52:40OK, My husband comes from a German family who they're not
- 52:44real talkative and they don't like, they don't talk.
- 52:47So it's more like, here's the talking stick.
- 52:49It's now your turn to talk. And that's just so odd to me.
- 52:53I'm like, I can't, I communicate like that.
- 52:55So my husband and I are always having this go around of me
- 52:59interrupting him, right, because I don't talk that way.
- 53:02We have very different communication styles, but part
- 53:05of me embracing the layers and, and figuring out who I am and,
- 53:10and really wanting to be the best self that I could be, the
- 53:14best Cheryl that I could be is to learn that I need to
- 53:17recognize that I need to be able to and it's not all on me.
- 53:21I mean, he also has to learn this too, but we have to learn
- 53:23how to respect that. I need sometimes when I'm
- 53:26feeling like I want to interject, that I need just to
- 53:29say, you know, take a breath, like I said, pause and allow him
- 53:34to have that time. So he feels valued, he feels
- 53:37important, he feels listened to, right?
- 53:39So my journey impacts my husband because it helps me to better be
- 53:46a better wife, better partner for him.
- 53:48It helps me to show up better as someone when I go to church,
- 53:52that I can better serve others and be compassionate because
- 53:55I've gone through things that other women are sharing with me,
- 53:58some of the stories and struggles that they're going
- 53:59through. And it's like me too.
- 54:01Let me share there with you my story and how God showed up in
- 54:05my life and how I agree to that and how it gets better on the
- 54:09other side. I promise, I promise it always
- 54:11gets better, even if you can't see it yet.
- 54:14Yeah, helps me to become that person where I can show up and I
- 54:17can help those animals. I mean, I've thought about,
- 54:20well, should I go back to work right now or because I'm retired
- 54:22right now, should I go back to work?
- 54:23And, you know, everything's expensive right now.
- 54:25Everyone's struggling financially.
- 54:27I mean, and money's tight for everybody, right?
- 54:28It's just tighter because things are more expensive.
- 54:30And so, but every, every time I apply for anything, it's like
- 54:33the door shut. It's like up here, this is not
- 54:35the door that dad wants me to walk in.
- 54:37But, you know, if I because if I was working full time, I
- 54:40wouldn't have the time to be here today at, you know, 11:00
- 54:43in the morning. Yeah.
- 54:44I wouldn't have the time to drive down to Southern
- 54:47California to rescue a dog that we need to save that so she's
- 54:50not euthanized. I wouldn't be able to take off
- 54:53time in the middle of the week and go see my grandson.
- 54:55I wouldn't be able to do those things.
- 54:58So. I love that the where I'm at and
- 55:02embracing that and accepting that and going this is not just
- 55:06OK, this is this is great. This is a really great thing.
- 55:10This is not just an OK place that it's like, oh, I'm OK for
- 55:13now. No, it's like I'm thrilled where
- 55:16I'm at because it allows me to do these things that I could not
- 55:18do otherwise. Yeah.
- 55:20And then we can when we are able to.
- 55:22Do that, then that's when we can bring that best self.
- 55:24Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, great examples there.
- 55:28And I, I always tell women when I'm working with them, you know,
- 55:31when I bring this framework to them as something to, you know,
- 55:34all right, we're going to give you a framework to help you
- 55:36really live as your most authentic, healthy self, You
- 55:40know, trusting yourself, all those things.
- 55:42I always say this work starts with you first.
- 55:45You're not getting, you know. And so it's so important, those
- 55:48pieces of knowing who you are, embracing your value, your
- 55:52layers, communicating your expectations and healthy
- 55:55boundaries, putting time for yourself in your calendar each
- 55:59day. Don't feel that one to two.
- 56:01Use it as a time to walk around the block, step outside, take a
- 56:05breath, do a meditation, just sit in the quiet.
- 56:09I try to daily. I don't always.
- 56:11I will put my, you talked about timers earlier.
- 56:13I can totally relate to this. I'll put my timer on for 10
- 56:16minutes and usually if it's not too hot, we're in Fresno so
- 56:20we're about to get you home. I will go outside in an area
- 56:23underneath my patio that's in the shade and just sit out there
- 56:26for 10 minutes. Listen.
- 56:28To the birds wrestling through the trees.
- 56:31You know, and just no noise, no podcast, no phone, no music, no
- 56:35phone conversation, just quiet to let everything settle.
- 56:40And so it's doing those things and understanding that about
- 56:44ourselves and and how we can fill our needs because we I
- 56:49think we have to learn over time the in relationships, those
- 56:52relationships aren't there to feel avoid.
- 56:56They're there to be a choice to add to our life and for us to
- 57:00add to their life. When we've done this work with
- 57:03ourselves, we can show up that way in those relationships.
- 57:07And you give some great examples.
- 57:08I get the whole not being the loudest person in your family
- 57:13and people not believing it. That is me in a nutshell.
- 57:16I had to fight and claw to be heard in my family.
- 57:20And so interrupting is a very real thing I've had to work on
- 57:24in communication. Most of the time it's I get
- 57:27excited about something and I want to jump in, but also
- 57:29because I want to make sure I'm heard.
- 57:31And my husband and I've got a lot of back and forth about that
- 57:34over the years. He's just like.
- 57:37Right and. So yeah, I feel like I realize
- 57:41like, Oh my gosh, for for him, it's like I have to listen.
- 57:45I have to let him be seen and heard and, and be and it's OK to
- 57:50listen. I'm going to get my opportunity.
- 57:52He's not going to shut me down. Other people that I'm in
- 57:56communication with, I'm going to get my moment but listen
- 57:59intentionally instead of planning my response and being
- 58:03ready to jump in because that way I can actually respond
- 58:07accordingly or. Do.
- 58:10Do I need to respond or do they just need someone to listen to
- 58:14them in that moment so many times?
- 58:17And so I was like chuckling to myself.
- 58:19I'm like, so relate to that. So relate to that.
- 58:23So thank you. Thank you for that example and
- 58:25sharing that with us. All right.
- 58:28May I share with you a quick? Clip from a blog that I wrote
- 58:33back in October 2023. I told my husband I was going to
- 58:36go on a date with God. It was like have a great time
- 58:38I'll see you when you get home. Great because I really need to
- 58:41just have that time to be quiet with God and I knew with if I
- 58:44stayed home with the animals and there's always the laundry to do
- 58:47and the kitchen dishes, there was always something to do.
- 58:49I wanted to be alone, so I just got in the car and I drove and I
- 58:52just really trying to see where I was supposed to go.
- 58:55And I just. And I was driving along and I
- 58:57got to this beautiful pond. Never had seen this place
- 58:59before. And it just so happened it was
- 59:02in October. So the trees were beautiful and
- 59:04they were reflecting in the water.
- 59:05The water was very still and very calm.
- 59:07And the trees were just like a mirror.
- 59:10Yeah, we've been to Yosemite, you know, like Mirror Lake.
- 59:12It was like that. And so I was just waiting on God
- 59:16there. And the Lord spoke to me.
- 59:17He said, do you see the reflection in the trees?
- 59:19He said, that's how you and I are.
- 59:22You're the reflection of me. You're, you're not perfect, I'm
- 59:25perfect, but you're a reflection of me.
- 59:27And as he was telling me this, a breeze came and all of a sudden
- 59:30the water was stirred, right? And and he said, do you see the
- 59:33reflection of the trees now? And I said no.
- 59:37And he said, that is how it is with you.
- 59:39When, when things are clear in the stillness and quiet, you'll
- 59:43hear my voice. He goes, I don't compete for
- 59:45your attention. I'll patiently wait for you to
- 59:48lay aside your distractions so you can focus on me.
- 59:52And then it reminded me in the Bible.
- 59:54And I said, I read a lot in the Bible.
- 59:55So but in it was reminded me in the Old Testament, there's a
- 59:59story where Elijah was, was waiting to hear from God.
- 1:00:04And there was a great and mighty wind that was tearing at the
- 1:00:07mountains and it was shattering the cliffs and but God wasn't in
- 1:00:09the wind. And then there was after the
- 1:00:11wind, there was this massive earthquake and the earth was
- 1:00:13shaking and but God was not in the earthquake.
- 1:00:17And then there was this huge fire that took place, but God
- 1:00:20was not in the fire and. To the fire there was a soft,
- 1:00:23quiet whisper and that's where he heard God.
- 1:00:26And so it's in that stillness. It's so important.
- 1:00:30You know, I always joke around because Psalm 4610 says be still
- 1:00:33and know that I'm God. And I always joke.
- 1:00:35And I said the be still part's the hardest part of the whole
- 1:00:37verse because, right, it's so hard to be still.
- 1:00:41And what you said is so true. We have to be still.
- 1:00:44We have to take that time to allow ourselves to hear, to
- 1:00:49allow ourselves to just be and to be OK with that.
- 1:00:53And it's hard when you're not used to that.
- 1:00:55It's very hard to be still. But once you engage in that
- 1:00:58practice and you're, you're able to do that, there's nothing
- 1:01:02better because it refreshes every.
- 1:01:04It's like a fountain of water that like refreshes your soul.
- 1:01:07It refreshes your life. It just energizes you.
- 1:01:09It's just so amazing. And there's nothing like it.
- 1:01:13There's nothing that can compete.
- 1:01:14And, and I said, and that is the, the, the biggest thing I
- 1:01:17think we don't see in people's eyes today because they're so
- 1:01:19connected to their phone, they're so connected to their
- 1:01:22iPad, their Apple Watch, whatever, they can constantly
- 1:01:24look at their watch, check their texts, whatever.
- 1:01:26And so it's, it's hard to get away from all the noise.
- 1:01:30But when we do, that's when we can really connect with
- 1:01:34ourselves and our purpose. And yeah, yeah.
- 1:01:38So good. Yeah, absolutely.
- 1:01:40It's that and and I think going back to, you know, that's where
- 1:01:44things really refresh and our and our nervous system settles.
- 1:01:49Like it's a whole piece of it. Like it.
- 1:01:52You know, if you've been going, going, going and you can just
- 1:01:56operate here all day and you might get a lot done, but you're
- 1:02:00not that's that hyper vigilant. Go mode is not a great place for
- 1:02:05your nervous system to stay in. We weren't designed to stay in
- 1:02:08that. And so giving ourselves this
- 1:02:11space to settle and, and sometimes we need to retrack.
- 1:02:17You know, I think one thing I have learned in this is that
- 1:02:19there are days this happened with you and I where I needed
- 1:02:23to, I had settled, I'd listened and I needed to reach out and be
- 1:02:27like, something's come up today with my family and I, I need to
- 1:02:32reschedule this. I need to tend to this.
- 1:02:35And I needed to tend to myself in this.
- 1:02:38And I was, I would not have done that 7-8 years ago.
- 1:02:42I would have like, Oh my gosh, I've got this on my calendar.
- 1:02:45I need to honor Cheryl's time. I have to do this.
- 1:02:47And I, it wouldn't have been the conversation it needed to be
- 1:02:52because I wouldn't have been fully present as much as I would
- 1:02:57have tried. And so, yeah, I just don't be
- 1:03:00afraid to take that space. And you bring up.
- 1:03:03A great point, Melissa, the very first time you and I got
- 1:03:05together one-on-one, we met for coffee and I was rushing out the
- 1:03:09door. I was like, I don't have time
- 1:03:11for makeup. I don't have time to put
- 1:03:12anything fancy. I'm throwing on this sport and
- 1:03:14this T-shirt and out the door we go, right?
- 1:03:16And when I got there, you showed up in sweats.
- 1:03:18I think you're just gonna work out, right?
- 1:03:20And I thought, thank God. Thank God that she can just be
- 1:03:23real. Don't be afraid to be real.
- 1:03:25Don't be. Don't have to put on airs and
- 1:03:27pretend that you're if you know, if your day is hectic and hey, I
- 1:03:30barely got my teeth brushed and put clothes on before I got out
- 1:03:32the door, That's OK. It's OK.
- 1:03:34You don't have to be perfect to show up and be yourself and have
- 1:03:37people in your life that know that that you don't have to be
- 1:03:41perfect, right? Don't, don't.
- 1:03:42If you put people in your life and they expect that every time
- 1:03:45when you show up that you're perfectly quaffed in your dress.
- 1:03:48I mean, I told you I have a house full of pets.
- 1:03:50I have cats and dogs. I'm helping my husband
- 1:03:52demolition thing at our patio this afternoon.
- 1:03:55I'm dressed up for you this morning because I knew I was
- 1:03:57going to be on this podcast, right?
- 1:03:59I normally do not look like this.
- 1:04:00I don't show up like this and it's OK.
- 1:04:02You know, it's fun when I do. I love it because it's like, oh,
- 1:04:05this is kind of fun. I get they dress up today.
- 1:04:07This is cool. But normally I'm in my jeans or
- 1:04:09sweats or my swimsuit and whatever and I'm just there, you
- 1:04:13know, I don't have makeup on. And it's OK because, you know,
- 1:04:16people just need to be OK with just you show up as who you are
- 1:04:19and, and people that the people that are meant to be in your
- 1:04:22life will love you for who you are, not for who you pretend to
- 1:04:25be. Yeah.
- 1:04:27Yeah. That's safe space where you can
- 1:04:30land with for each other. Absolutely so good.
- 1:04:32Thank you so much for that. All right, we are down to the
- 1:04:36rapid fire. Name 5.
- 1:04:39Activities that nourish you 5. Activities that nourish me well,
- 1:04:46I said it's the main time with God.
- 1:04:47That's going to be my number one.
- 1:04:48I start every day that way. So that's my number one.
- 1:04:51I love to enjoy time in nature. I love to enjoy.
- 1:04:56I love adventures. So whether it's going on a
- 1:04:58picnic on an unexpected Dr. somewhere, working with the
- 1:05:02homeless, I've done that before, spending time with family and
- 1:05:05friends. My husband and I went on a drive
- 1:05:07one time and it was so fun because it was some ways we'd
- 1:05:10not gone before. So every time we'd get to a bend
- 1:05:13in the road, like if we had to take a street or or turn right
- 1:05:16or left, he'd say which way I go, let's go left.
- 1:05:18And then the next time he would go, I go, which way should we
- 1:05:21go? Yeah, let's go left again.
- 1:05:22OK. And we got back in the in the
- 1:05:24hills and then we were on this rickety little Rd. that was
- 1:05:27barely find there for our truck to get through.
- 1:05:30But it was an adventure and we've had a great time and it's
- 1:05:33one of our best memories, right? Because we just let it go, you
- 1:05:36know, So that's what we do. I enjoy painting, I watercolor.
- 1:05:41So I do enjoy that at music, like I said, studying languages.
- 1:05:45So yeah, those are things that really spend time with all my
- 1:05:48fur babies, that all those things like nurturing.
- 1:05:51Yeah, so good. All right, 5 words on how you
- 1:05:54want to feel the next six months.
- 1:05:58I had to really think about this one.
- 1:05:59This was I, you know, it's I don't.
- 1:06:02And when I, when I saw this, I felt like I'm pretty, I'm not
- 1:06:06spot on, but I'm pretty good here.
- 1:06:07I can, you know, you sent me kind of an idea of what the
- 1:06:11general outline would be of our conversation.
- 1:06:12I thought, I'm totally good with this.
- 1:06:14This is going to be, you know, pretty natural.
- 1:06:16And then I got this last question.
- 1:06:17I'm like, oh, this is a hard one.
- 1:06:19I really think I'm like, wow, kind of caught me a surprise. 5
- 1:06:24words. I would like to feel, I would
- 1:06:26like to feel joyful in all circumstances.
- 1:06:30That's something hard. So.
- 1:06:32I would like to feel refreshed, which means I'll probably get
- 1:06:35more asleep tonight that I did last night.
- 1:06:37So that's a good thing. I would like to be content, not
- 1:06:41satisfied because I think content is like I'm content
- 1:06:46where I am for now, but there's always great big bigger things
- 1:06:50ahead. There's always more so, so not
- 1:06:52necessarily satisfied because I always want to be not striving,
- 1:06:56but but moving forward to the next great chapter of my life,
- 1:07:01right? But content where I am for now,
- 1:07:03knowing as you said earlier, that sometimes that more hasn't
- 1:07:07happened yet because of something that maybe has to
- 1:07:09happen to us. Maybe it's something that has to
- 1:07:11happen to other people so that they can be lined up and be in
- 1:07:14the right place to connect with us at the right time.
- 1:07:17So sometimes it's the timing issue and I think it's hard
- 1:07:20sometimes to be patient for that.
- 1:07:22So I want to work on that. And then being sure, like sure
- 1:07:26in the sense of knowing that I'm living where I'm supposed to be,
- 1:07:31like walking and where I'm supposed to be at this moment at
- 1:07:33this time. So doing that and then
- 1:07:36accomplished and that would have to speak more to, I'd like to be
- 1:07:40more accomplished in my watercolor painting because
- 1:07:42they're pretty rudimentary. I would like to be more
- 1:07:45accomplished in my fluency and sign language in Italian insight
- 1:07:49reading. I'm taking music lessons as
- 1:07:51well. So I'd like to site read.
- 1:07:53So I'd like to be more accomplished in some of these
- 1:07:55things that I'm learning. I love that though, because the
- 1:07:59accomplished piece, I think, is so aligned with the things that
- 1:08:03you're wanting to be accomplished and are so aligned
- 1:08:05with who you are. They're so aligned with what
- 1:08:08lights you up and what you're about, what you value.
- 1:08:11So I'd love how you've been able to connect those in a very
- 1:08:14healthy way because accomplished can take on a lot of meanings
- 1:08:17for people. But when you align it with those
- 1:08:19things that are part of what you value, that are part of your
- 1:08:23why, that are part of who you are, it can be a really
- 1:08:25beautiful motivator, I think, you know, to continue down that
- 1:08:29path. So and I would should have on
- 1:08:32accomplish 2. One of my passions and one that
- 1:08:35I pray about often is that I always ask God to give me just
- 1:08:38like her open the windows of heaven.
- 1:08:39So I have tons of money because I want to open an animal
- 1:08:42sanctuary that will help animals around the country.
- 1:08:45So I would love that to be part of that accomplished too.
- 1:08:48I would love to see that that vision come to pass.
- 1:08:50I love that. To manifest that, let's go.
- 1:08:53Absolutely, absolutely. OK.
- 1:08:54All right, Cheryl, this has been such a great conversation.
- 1:08:58I knew from the really from the moment I met you like, oh,
- 1:09:01she'll be really, really a great guest on here on this platform.
- 1:09:06She's going to have so much wisdom and and not and resources
- 1:09:11and just really thoughtful, authentic thinking and
- 1:09:16conversation. And I appreciate that so much
- 1:09:19about you. Let women know how they can find
- 1:09:22you, follow you, learn more about you and this will be on
- 1:09:25our resources page at embracinglards.com as well.
- 1:09:28But there any places that people can engage with you?
- 1:09:32I have actually a website, cheryl-schultz.com.
- 1:09:36So, and if they go to that website, they, I in fact, I need
- 1:09:40to go in there and update some of my blogs, but they'll see my
- 1:09:42blogs, they'll see some of my recipes, they'll see some of my
- 1:09:44recommendations for travel and for pets and also ways that they
- 1:09:48can connect with me as well. OK, great.
- 1:09:51All right, thanks so much for being with me today.
- 1:09:53I've appreciated this conversation so much.
- 1:09:55Thank you, ladies. Your challenge to this week out
- 1:09:59of this is I want you to make sure you're taking a moment for
- 1:10:04yourself each day. Give yourself that space.
- 1:10:08You heard Cheryl and I talk about 5 minutes, 10 minutes, one
- 1:10:12hour. It matters.
- 1:10:14Put it in your calendar. Leave that space and time for
- 1:10:18you to refresh, to renew, to listen, to settle.
- 1:10:24I think it's just so much value in that.
- 1:10:27We appreciate you being here with us and listening today.
- 1:10:30Thanks again, Cheryl for this great conversation.
- 1:10:34Like I said, listeners go to embracinglayers.com.
- 1:10:38Check out how you can learn more about Cheryl and all of the
- 1:10:40resources that we have there to support you.
- 1:10:42We appreciate you giving you giving us some of your time
- 1:10:45today. Take good care and we'll be back
- 1:10:47with you soon. Thank you.
- 1:10:54Hello, Melissa Crook here. Thank you so much for joining us
- 1:10:58on the Field podcast today. Finding empowerment, Embracing
- 1:11:02Layers. I hope you found today's
- 1:11:05framework and resources supportive and informative.
- 1:11:09To learn more about all that we offer here at the Embracing
- 1:11:12Layers Network, visit embracinglayers.com.
- 1:11:16You can go to our contact form to schedule me as a speaker for
- 1:11:21your next conference, workshop, or seminar.
- 1:11:24You can go to our book page to order our book, The Jessica
- 1:11:27Garrison, our wonderful and talented writer and author
- 1:11:31authored with my support and engage with this framework in
- 1:11:36written form with your journal or in a book club with other
- 1:11:39women inviting them on this journey with you.
- 1:11:42You can look at our resources page for all of the helpful and
- 1:11:46insightful resources our guests offer and share.
- 1:11:49You can find the schedule for our weekly Together We Feel
- 1:11:53women's panel conversations that we're holding each Monday on our
- 1:11:57YouTube channel, and you can find the links to all the spaces
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- 1:12:41giving us some of your valuable time today.
- 1:12:43We truly appreciate you so deeply.