Latest / The Favourite Self Podcast / 19. Olympic Champion Jennifer Jones on Introverted Leadership, Reinvention, and Life After Curling

Transcript

19. Olympic Champion Jennifer Jones on Introverted Leadership, Reinvention, and Life After Curling · The Favourite Self Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Focus and surround yourself with people who support you.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I know you have one or two or five.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Those are the key people in your life.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: Those are the people that matter.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Surround yourself with those people and then put yourself out there because then it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks because you have your people.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: You have your people, your support network.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Just put yourself out there.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Take that step.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: You're never going to regret it.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Take that moment and don't be afraid of change.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Evolve.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Live life to the fullest and have that courage because as long as you have those people, everything's going to be okay.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Favorite Self podcast.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I like to think of it not as your future self or your best self, but your favorite self.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite self that just makes me feel the truest version of me.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: What lights your favorite self on fire?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Carly Ottaway, founder, author, storyteller, and a woman who learned that building a successful life means nothing if it doesn't feel like yours.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is for women who are building businesses, raising families, leading movements, and asking themselves, is this it or is there more available to me?
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: This is your invitation to come back to yourself.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Let's dig in.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: I am so excited for today's conversation because Jennifer Jones is someone I have admired for a very long time, first from afar and now more personally and professionally.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, you might know Jen best as one of the greatest curlers of all time.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: She is an Olympic gold medalist, world champion.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: She's also a national best-selling author of rock star.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: She's a speaker, a broadcaster, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, and a podcast host.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: But what makes this conversation extra special for me is that I've also had the honor of witnessing so many of these evolutions of hers up close.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Jen and I first met in 2022 before she was heading off to the Beijing Olympics.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: And at the time, I already knew exactly who she was because I grew up in a house where curling was often on the TV.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so wild to me that I now get to know the person behind the name, the medals, and the legacy.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And since then, I have watched her move through so many chapters: the Olympics, retiring from competitive curling, writing and publishing her book, launching her website, starting her podcast, and continuing to expand into this next version of her life and career.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, Jen has expanded me in so many ways.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: She has helped me believe that bigger dreams are possible, both in business and in motherhood.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things I admire most about her is the way she is so deeply present as a mom while still allowing her kids to witness her dreams unfolding.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: She does not separate motherhood from ambition.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: She brings her kids along for the journey, and you can feel it and see it in their own evolution.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: In this episode, we are talking about introverted leadership, visibility, identity, motherhood, writing her book, life after curling, and what it means to become more fully yourself in every season.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I can't wait for you to hear it.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome back.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: I have such a special episode and guest for you today with someone who I look up to and admire so, so much.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: This really feels like such a full circle moment for me having you on the podcast, Jen.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: You are just obviously such a legend in the curling world.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: And really what I'm most excited to talk about today is the woman behind the legacy, the leader, the mother, the incredible author of Rockstar, and just the human and the woman that continues to evolve.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I've had the privilege of being able to witness a lot of that evolution over the last few years.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I'm just so, so happy to have you here.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for coming on the podcast.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, like I mentioned, I I've been able to watch over the years.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: We met we met back in the end of 2021.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: I was reflecting on that.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And just meeting with you with first the first time, I grew up with parents in the curling world.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I knew what a legend you are as the goat of curling.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then I got to connect with you like right as you were heading into the Olympics and you know, get my kids to be able to be part of that behind the scenes and just watch and feel like so closely part of that journey.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I've just always admired the way that you show up.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'd really love to start by talking about visibility.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And has visibility been something that's always felt natural to you, or has it been something that you've grown into?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: And what that what has that experience been like?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Visibility is a great way to describe it uh very eloquently.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: I hated being in the public audio, like being honest.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Not hated.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Hated's such a strong word that I guess I should not use, but I it just made me feel so uncomfortable.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I was a very, very shy kid.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, did not like any attention on me.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: I remember when I was little, I would not want to have a birthday party because I was always scared that what if people didn't show up?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I did have friends, but I just didn't like to be the center of attention.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like I don't think I had very many birthday parties because of that.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: I just did not like, I didn't want people to sing happy birthday to me.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't want to be the center of attention.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to blend.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to blend in and do my thing.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then all of a sudden I started curling and we had some success.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: And now my picture's on the front of the newspaper.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, back then that's what it was.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: And but you could kind of get through, you know, just being who you were.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: And in Manitoba, people knew who Jennifer Jones was because I had success.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: But without social media and all of that, you could kind of just go about your business.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: And then it it started to grow.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember Twitter first started, and uh it would have been in around 2014, probably started a little bit earlier than that.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: But one of my teammates got Twitter right before we had headed to the Olympics in 2014.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: I remember asking her, so you have this app and you post stuff about what you're doing?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why would anybody want to know that?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I just it it was just something I couldn't even wrap my head around.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so she had it and she was posting, and sure enough, people did care about what people were doing.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: And you look at where Twitter X is now and Instagram and all of that.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it was just something that was so foreign to me that I just didn't understand why people cared so much about what other people were doing.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it was something that I just never felt comfortable.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I was always, I think my biggest problem, not problem, but is I never want to let people down.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I just, I don't know, I feel a lot of stress.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's just this like when you're when you're constantly being examined and under a microscope and a magnifying glass, it's it was just hard.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like I just always didn't want to let anybody down and I just wanted to be able to be myself.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: But then you kind of fast forward now.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: There's social media, there's all this pressure to be on social media, there's this pressure to kind of reveal yourself.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I think after I had kids, I became a lot more secure in who I was and and kind of got this realization, you know what, I like who I am.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: I really like who I am.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: I I know I'm a good person.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: I would do anything for anybody.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: And okay, it's time.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's time to go on social media.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's time to put myself out there and more so, I think also to control my own story, to let people know who I was instead of them kind of trying to figure out just from watching me on TV.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: And when I curl, I'm intense and I'm focused.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: And but it's probably the opposite of who I am, like in everyday life.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: I remember doing a personality assessment for uh a sports tech once.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, do I do Jennifer like the curler, Jennifer?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Do I do Jennifer in everyday life?
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, Well, it's kind of the same.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not really like I felt like I was these two different people.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think visibility and being out there and putting myself out there and having the courage, and it took me a lot of courage.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: It took a lot of courage for me to do it.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: It helped me show the other side of myself and also create a story for our kids to follow along and to know and kind of put it down in history.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's one of the other reasons I wrote the book.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: But no, when you talk about visibility, it's it's it's definitely been baby steps for me.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: And and like even these people that film Day in a life, I'm gonna do a day in a life soon.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, why would anybody want to know what I do in my life?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, people do, and trying to put yourself out there where you put you you video of yourself without makeup on, getting up in the morning and doing all of those things, and that takes courage.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I'm I'm getting there, which is it's it's good.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: It feels kind of almost like a weight's lifted off your shoulder and you're just free to be authentic and and you kind of get this I don't know, point of view where you don't care as much what other people think, which is kind of nice.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: I love it because you talk a lot and you write about this in your book about being an introvert in a world that really kind of forced you to almost perform a little bit more extrovertism.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Extrovertism, is that a word?
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: But really step into this this more extroverted form of um showing up.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or I I'd love to talk about like your leadership in that.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: We'll we'll get to that.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: But I I find it so interesting with you know, when you you had so much success in this sport and you experienced the full spectrum of being in the spotlight when before like social media was a thing, really, and having the media very much tell your story and create the persona of who Jennifer Jones is, to now being able to completely control your own narrative in that and really show up as who you are.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, can you speak a little bit to that as you know, you mentioned like being an introvert and how that shows up both in your leadership and curling and then how that has also come up even in now and how you're approaching your personal brand?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, tough questions.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, no, I I I definitely am introverted.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so, but my life became very extroverted, very public.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I had to, you know, network and talk to people and become this person that was going to be successful because I believe that it was my role on our curling team to be a leader.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: And that was something that I actually, so we'll go back in time.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: I I didn't really want to be the leader.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like I just wanted to do my thing.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: I never want to make anybody feel uncomfortable or I never want to feel like a boss.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like that was just not my kind of normal feeling.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I had to become when we sat down and said, when we're successful, it's because I'm a leader.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: So I had to kind of wrap my head around that role and what did that mean?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: And that meant I had to be a little bit more extroverted.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: I had to put myself out there, I had to have this confidence.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: And even when I really didn't have a lot of confidence, that was probably one of my biggest downfalls, actually, is that I lacked confidence.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: People never believe that.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because again, how the media portrayed me or how I came across on TV was somebody who was full of confidence, who was not scared of anything.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: And meanwhile, like I had so much self-doubt and didn't really have the confidence that I've I know I needed to have in order to be successful.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I kind of, for me to be a leader, I had to fake confidence, but I had to be able to look at my teammates in the eye and I had to look confident.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: I needed them to believe that I believed in them, which I did, but also that I believed in myself and that if they put the rock in my hands, the last rock in my hands, that I was going to do everything in my power to be successful.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so I really worked on that, making eye contact and showing them, making sure that I showed up and I was where my feet were, as we say, that I was completely present instead of like thinking, oh, I'd just rather go and be off by myself.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: I had to be engaged and I had to be involved.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I look so much nowadays with people on their phones all the time.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how many times do you go into a meeting and everybody's on their phone and they're distracted and they're not really listening to you?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: But when you have that full engagement and people are looking at you, you know you're part of a team and you feel so powerful and so strong.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I always challenge everybody to be that person, be engaged, turn your camera on if you're on a Zoom, look at people, feel that you're really present.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of how I became a leader is that I showed confidence.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: I tried to be there for my teammates, tried to show them that I was confident in them, but also confident in myself, that I would be there for them no matter if we made a mistake or if we were successful, that we always had each other's backs.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: And that the introvert in me, that was something out of my comfort zone.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: But it now it almost feels natural.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's become a part of my everyday life.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: But I still have to protect, I would say, my introvertism.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna go there.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that like when I'm in the public eye, like I still need that time to myself.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh like when we were at big events, we would always get our own rooms when we could later in like like for a world championship or actually the Olympics, you can't.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: So you're all room together.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: But I needed that quiet time.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I needed to refuel, and any introvert introvert will know that you need that time where there's just quiet and silence.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: And so I protected that a little bit to make sure that I could have that.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: But no, leadership is not something that I wanted to have.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: But then when I had it, I realized that, you know what, it's something that I believe I was really good at.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I was compassionate and caring and tried to lead by example.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, if my teammates were on the ice, even if it wasn't me, I'll name Dawn in particular.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: Dawn would not leave the ice until she made certain shots, but I also wouldn't leave the ice until Dawn made certain shots.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: I never ever wanted anybody to feel alone because that's my worst fear is feeling alone and you don't have people around you that are gonna support you.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I always had my family, and then all of a sudden now I had this team and this community of people that were gonna uplift you because you formed such a tight-knit bond.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that was the leadership style I wanted to have, is that we were always there for each other.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: That was great.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and really that was finding your leadership style that would that still felt authentic to you and kind of the difference between, I guess, like the quiet, maybe more behind the scenes leadership versus the loud, you know, more kind of confronting leadership, which is so fascinating to me because I feel like that's exactly like you said, what you see on the ice or what you see on TV, but it's not actually the leadership that's going on behind the scenes.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sometimes I think you have to have both.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like when we were curling, we were on a time clock.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Decisions had to be made, they had to be quick, and that was my job.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like I had to be that person that would kind of show us the way.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: But then off the ice, I feel more um, like I was more tender is the word that comes to mind right now, but just more come, just more caring and and trying to um always support, support our team and and and really allow everybody to be authentically them.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that was something that was very important to our team is that we were very different people, but we respected and appreciated the authenticity of that, like how everybody brought a different perspective and a different view of things.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's why we were successful.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so I always say if I was gonna form a great team, whether it's in business, sports, or whatever, it's easy to surround yourself with people like you because well, hopefully you like yourself and you know it's just feels easy.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's not there's no confrontation, it doesn't feel hard.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: But when you kind of surround yourself with people who are different, you share on all these amazing perspectives and views and and things that you never would have seen had you not seen it through their eyes, because they see things differently, and it makes you so much stronger and bigger than you could possibly have been.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I I believe it's allowed me to enjoy more parts of life than I probably would not have enjoyed if you didn't allow those people to kind of shape you in your life and your perspective.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I really admire the way that you see people.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's such a superpower of yours.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I, and that became so clear reading your book, just the way that you share the stories of other people's superpowers and, you know, in the team building, especially, how it all comes together and just like the community feel of it, like so much powerful storytelling.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it really gave me a whole other appreciation for the world of curling too, and just what a powerful community it is.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: How would you say that you have maybe taken some of those pieces and brought them to kind of your online presence and building a community there?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Can you speak to that a little bit?
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, even just as you as you're evolving beyond just Jennifer Jones, the curler, into more business and and business ownership and entrepreneurship and speaking and of course publishing your book.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: What has that evolution been like?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, it's it's it's been it's been great.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I do believe I'm very perceptive and I can really read people and and know if they're sad or upset and kind of what they need.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: But I believe as a society, we owe it to everybody to do that.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I know some people can't see it, and I get that, and I understand that.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I've learned along the way that it's small acts of kindness that are always gonna make you they energize me.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: When you see a little thing that you can do for somebody and it lights up their world, well, it it also lights up your own.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just, I think it's physiological.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Just seeing joy and happiness in somebody brings joy and happiness to yourself.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I believe that those small acts of kindness, when I when I first started out as curling, I curled because I loved it.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: I curled because I wanted it to give me confidence.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: I curled because I wanted to be a part of a team, and then I happened to be okay at it.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: And then we had success.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: But it was the curling itself and being a part of a team that actually gave me my joy, not the winning.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: The winning was great, don't get me wrong.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like it was like little icing on the cake, but it was just being a part of something so great.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: But what I didn't realize, I think really until later in my career, and especially when I retired, is that people looked up to us, that we were role models.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: And wow, like I still like I get goosebumps.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I still can't believe that you could impact somebody's life in that way just by doing something that you love to do.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a big obligation, not in a bad way, but it's a responsibility that I never took lightly.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: That we were these public figures and people were gonna look up to us.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so if a fan wanted an autograph, I would always give an autograph.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: I would always.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I would stay till the very end.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: I remember sometimes I would have to go and do media because they were on deadline and I didn't want to like stress them out.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: So go off and do media.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: But I would promise everybody I will be back to sign the autograph because it's just a small act of kindness that would make somebody's day.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: And you hear all the stories along the way from fans when I retired.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the something that I cherish the most and that I value from my curling experiences, and that's really shaped me as a person and shaped me as a parent, as a leader, as a business owner, is that how we treat people, how we show up for people, how we show up for our family, our friends, our teammates, our colleagues, how we do that is how people are gonna remember you.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: They're not gonna remember the success you've had or the paper that you've written.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna remember how you worked with them, worked together as a team, how you uplifted them, how you brought out the best in them.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: And and that has given me a lot of um joy in my life.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's really what I want to give back as well is just try to help everybody feel their very best about themselves.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll use dance for example.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm a new dance mom, fairly new in the dance, in the dance world.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know a lot about dance.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: I know that I enjoy watching it, that I think the athleticism is unbelievable.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: But our girls will finish a dance, and every single time I come off and I'm like, that was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: Because it was, in my view, it was one of the most I just loved it.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: I thought they nailed it, I thought they did their best, they smiled, they had joy.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'll hear some other people, well, they didn't do this right and they didn't do this right.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: But it's about can we shape that story?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: But for me, through my eyes, it was perfect.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: And and I know that we can always be better.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: And that's something that I've always worked for in my career is trying to push the limits, trying to see where we could take it.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I do believe that we helped grow women's curling and and push kind of the level of skill in when women's curling.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: And that means a lot to me.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: But in the moment, if you're doing what you love to do and you did your very best, does anything else matter?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: Why can't we?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: We should remind everybody of that.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like, remind, did we try our best?
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Did we do our best?
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: People are gonna make make mistakes.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I think curling has taught me being around so many different people.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um and just trying to be there for them, being kind.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if somebody looks beautiful in a day, tell them they look beautiful.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: Or if they, you know, like you can say to a mom who's racing to pick up their kid and it's like, don't worry, you still have 30 seconds, you're on time, right?
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, like all of these moments of we just try so hard to be so perfect.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: And if everybody around us can remind us that perfection is is really not needed, it's just your very best.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're if you do your very best every day, that's all anybody can ever ask of you.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, so I go to these dance, I don't stop smiling the entire dance competition.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like I just think it's you see these kids putting it all out there, and I just think it's so awesome.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm so proud of them.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like getting up on stage and performing is hard, and you go, you do it to the very best of your ability.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing, right?
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: I love that advice.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: And you heard it here from Olympic champion, world champion, you know, I think that's so important.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: especially for parents of kids in sport.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's really cool to have kids that are playing sports that weren't your sport.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you were an athlete, it gives you a whole other perspective.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: So like my my daughter, we were just talking before we recorded about how we're stepping into the soccer world.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a softball girl.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's a whole other world to me.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: But I actually think it's really cool because I get to learn it and experience it through her rather than feeling a little bit more like I have the expertise and authority that I have to then like almost come from more of a coach perspective, which I don't want right now.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like maybe one day that will be the experience.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: But right now, no, I'm the the parent and being able to distinguish but I I just want to recognize first of all like how this it really is rooted in the core value of presence that you've always shared and something that you've always inspired me with to especially in motherhood and in business.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I've witnessed this with you firsthand.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen you play live.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: I've had the privilege of seeing the fans come up and how engaged you are after the game and talking to everyone and also watching you on your book tour.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: And again like seeing the the time and energy that you spend into every put into every single conversation and it really shows and it shows in the impact that you have in the relationships that you've built.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think that that exactly what you said like I mean you have so many accolades your your long list of accomplishments and really remembering that like what people remember is that you actually just took the time to you know chat with them after the game or at the book tour whatever that looks like is what matters most.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think so I do like we'll talk about parenthood too but I'm so curious for you like as someone who has the coaching experience who has you know daughters in competitive sport and then for you that has been on literally the biggest competitive stages in sport, you know, what is that like when it comes to what advice would you have for other parents?
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: I just to kind of go on that a little bit more like what would you share with them in terms of how they can best support their young kids in sport especially well you know what's interesting and people find this really odd about me is I'm actually not very competitive.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: Which like we can play a board game and I'll probably make it so you win.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'd rather the person I'm playing win than myself.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like I just I'm competitive and curling that is I am I will admit that.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: But I think for me I grew up in a family where and my dad's passed away and I was reflecting because it was the anniversary of his dad's recently and I always think about him and I reflect on him and what I'm grateful for.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: And even in the moment I don't think I really fully realized but my dad showed up my dad showed up no matter what and he showed up for his granddaughters before he passed away he would go and watch dance he would go to gymnastics and they were little then and were they very good no no they weren't at that time like you know they're learning how to do a front roll and there's my dad cheering for them and sitting there in the stands for two hours and cheering and not one moment would go by where he didn't have a smile on his face.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: And that was my childhood.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I took that for granted because I just assumed that everybody did that.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if I would be curling and my dad was a curler I played softball too I was a baseball girl so softball and like you know and my dad was an umpire um and I was a pitcher and my dad was a pitcher.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: So let's say I was pitching and I might have had a bad pitch and cost us the game my dad would never talk about it.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: He's like great performance out there today um you know if there's anything you want to practice just let me know.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like it was never about the outcome it was about how I felt if there's anything like I was the one that would have to go to him to ask if there was some kind of advice I wanted or even curling like they just showed up and it's so simple to me is all parents need to do is show up show up and like smile and live vicariously through your children.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: I always say when we were little we believed that anything was possible.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: Our kids believe that anything is possible.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Our kids believe that they could be the prime minister of Canada they could win the Stanley Cup they could go and win FIFA they could win the Olympics.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: They feel like there's nothing stopping them as kids we believe that.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: And as we get older you know real reality kind of sinks in people remind us of our realities and how we're limited or you know I might have a dream of playing volleyball but my parents didn't specialize me young enough so I don't get those opportunities and so all of a sudden you kind of have these feelings of I might not make it.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: But right now as a parent live vicariously through your kids where anything is possible.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: Show up smile and realize they're doing it for the joy of doing it.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: And when when they lose and if they are a little bit sad that they lose or if they're on the dance stage and they miss their turn or something that I'm not even sure what it is, I didn't even notice because I was just feeling the joy of them doing that.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: And remind them of those joys like how lucky we are to do that.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: You're doing it with your friends.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: You did your did you do your best?
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Did you try your hardest the answer is yes that in itself is more than most people can say because most people aren't willing to put themselves out there.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: So if you can put yourself out there and try your hardest and be willing to try to go and work and improve and just continue to do it that's I don't know just show up and enjoy it.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Live vicariously through them and I do believe and I'm probably now in the minority of way people I don't believe we should specialize our kids too young to like let them find their path let them try different things.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like this year Skyla had to give up hockey my youngest had to give up hockey because she wanted to dance more and she was going to miss too much hockey and we don't like to let a team down.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: So she decided she liked dance better than hockey but she tried all of these things and I I remember playing volleyball in high school and I loved it.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: First time I tried volleyball would have been in grade six or seven like we weren't very good back then.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: But now kids are specializing in grade four.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: So you don't have all of these opportunities to try different things and I I don't know I think you should try until you reach a certain age love it.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're a parent don't look at the outcome look at the effort and if your kids putting in enough effort then celebrate that congratulate them.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: If if they're not putting in the effort then ask yourself why why are they doing it?
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: Are they doing it because you want them to are they doing it because they want to be with their friends is there something else that they may love more then maybe focus on that because all you want I think most parents all they want is for their kids to be happy.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's all I want and for them to have the opportunity to thrive and be their very best but be happy right that's that's all I want right yeah I think that's so powerful and just remembering what a mirror you are for your kids and that you get to reflect back just their effort and you know encourage that and just remember to catch yourself because I think where it goes wrong and where you see you know you witness that a little bit on the field or in the stands is when parents start to feel their own insecurities come out.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it's actually like their own insecurities whether that's maybe they don't even recognize it or have the awareness of like what triggered them in sport or whatever that looks like and just really I I think that's so important and such a powerful perspective what they're saying it comes from a really good place because you want your child to be happy.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: You want them to be successful because it will make them happy.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: You want them to still be a part of the team like all you dance or hockey.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: You have to certain school if you have to be at a certain skill level in order to make the teen so I think sometimes parents are like trying to push their kids because they know they want this and we're realists we know in order to achieve this, well you have to be able to do certain things but just let it authentically unfold and and and let them be the ones to ask you for say, you know what, I think I need extra skating help or I need I need to help on my jumps and turns.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then as a parent let's figure out how to help them solve that problem.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: Instead of pushing it for them.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because I do believe a lot of times it comes from a very good place.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's just the way it's kind of worded but I I don't know I think at the end of the day if you can just live vicariously through them you're going to instantly feel joy because kids just love they love that doing what they're doing for the most part.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I think it's so permission giving and um really just letting parents just be the the parent and you know have take that step back.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: They're not the coach.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I always remind myself like they're they have a coach.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need to fill that role I get to I get to be the parent.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: Since releasing my book Coming Home one of the things I've heard again and again is that it feels like a mirror.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: Women have told me it felt like having a late night conversation with a friend that it really helped them see their own courage, their own heartbreaks, their own hopes and the parts of themselves still waiting for permission.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly that's exactly why I wrote it coming home is for the woman who is building a business, a family a life, a dream and looking to do it in a way that actually feels true to who she is.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's a book about healing, storytelling, motherhood, ambition, identity and the courage to build your own path when the one in front of you doesn't quite fit.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've been craving a reminder that you are allowed to want more become more and still come home to yourself in the process, I think you would love coming home.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can grab your copy through the link in the show notes.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I would love to actually you mention how you know as we get older we kind of lose sight of just like that big dream, like anything is possible kind of mentality but you are someone that that is very much like rooted in kind of your life mantra and um especially like the why not me piece that you write about in your book and I know you share a lot about on stages.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: Can you speak a little bit to that and what how you share or how you give advice to others to continue to believe anything is possible and really dream big, um especially when they're feeling like they've you know maybe taken a few hits and they're and they're really feeling like okay is this actually in it for me is this possible for me no and it you know I don't think it's something that actually came naturally to me.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: It was really the why not me saying that one of my sports psychologists had told me it's like we always think why me when something goes wrong why me all the time and it's like but why not you?
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't have to be when something goes wrong.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's like why can't you achieve all of these things?
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think for me and you're right um not to say it always happened like when I was a kid I when I was a kid I didn't really have a lot of dreams because I was so insecure and so um just didn't have a ton of confidence I just really wanted to get through the day and just I think I dreamed of actually feeling like I would fit in like that's really was my dream.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then you kind of achieve that and you've you gain this confidence and you feel different things.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think for me being able to chase a dream, being able to have a vision and a plan and something in place where I was constantly trying to to reach benchmarks like I need benchmarks.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: I like benchmarks I like to try to you know baby steps.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need to have this big you can have a big dream and this big vision but for me it was baby steps and feeling like and even in business you know you have a you might have an annual plan but you'll have quarterly objectives and you try to like achieve those and it always makes you feel like you're moving forward.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: And somebody said to me very early on in my you know adult life early 20s which feels like yesterday but it's not but that's a good thing that it feels like yesterday um is that you should celebrate your successes, the little ones it's easy to celebrate the big things.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's easy to celebrate graduating from law school.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's a big moment in life, right?
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_01: You everybody comes around but celebrate getting through your torts exam because torts was very hard for you.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like celebrate those little moments celebrate going to the gym when you really don't feel like it when you get back from the gym and you've gone and you did 20 minutes 20 minutes is better than zero minutes.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: Celebrate yourself maybe don't have like well you can you just went to the gym maybe can have a blizzard or you could just you know just even say out loud, you know, I'm proud of you.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like those things will actually like I believe it's physio like it'll give you joy.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: It'll give you the endorphins to feel that you're successful.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_01: Don't always look at the big pictures because I can guarantee you that every single day there's something that each one of us can celebrate whether it's as a mom showering before your kids go to school like actually getting up early enough and getting ready and like you know doing these things, getting a lunch packed that they'll never going to eat anyway but getting that lunch packed, you know, and like maybe getting a fruit and vegetable in there well done.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know like all of those little moments getting to school on time and just celebrate those.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: And if you can celebrate every day then you feel like you're kind of moving those those pillars and so it allows you to continue to dream and I and I think for me why not you just made anything seem possible.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody told me a very long time ago I mean it's just kind of cliche but we only get one shot at life right I mean it doesn't seem real when you're young because you feel like you're going to live forever but you do only get one shot at life.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so let's let's enjoy life let's live life to the fullest let's enjoy the little moments that life has to offer and celebrate then you know we've had so much rain over the last little while and it was sunny yesterday and I went and sat outside for 20 minutes just to celebrate the fact that there's sunshine right celebrate the sun celebrate the sun like you know and or you know I I felt really behind in life and I had a day where I got through everything.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: My husband Brent came home that night and I said I am feel like I'm so much more caught up and we celebrated it.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: He's like way to go and like we talked about it because we kind of almost take that for granted I think as we get older when you're younger your parents are proud of you all the time a way to go on your math test or way to go for reading that book way to go you brushed your teeth today like you know all of these little things we celebrate but we slowly stop because they come expectations so I think we've got to flip that philosophy and say let's let's uh let's celebrate those little moments you know and and appreciate ourselves appreciate the others around us never stop dreaming always you'll get one shot at life try to live life to the fullest try new things don't keep doing the same old things I retired from curling and I said to people I probably will never curl again people thought I was crazy don't you love curling?
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think I love curling as much or more than anybody.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like I love it.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: I love the feeling of it.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_01: But I have spent my whole life curling I only get one life so I don't want to spend all my time doing that I want to try different things and the and I think if we can embrace change embrace evolution and like just evolve constantly evolve then we'll always dream because there'll be always be something that we want to try next and try different and so my advice would be celebrate the moments and then don't be afraid of change.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: Constantly try to evolve and and push yourself by pushing yourself you keep yourself young you still feel like you're in your 20s which I do which is a great feeling and you just kind of just keep keep kind of living life to the fullest.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah and you are absolutely someone who lives life to the fullest I have witnessed it behind the scenes I've joked with your husband about with Brent about just how much you know I feel like you have such a cool bucket list of all the things that you have been able to do the big and little and you know do with your family and all the experiences and the travel that you've created that I know has created a very full life and full schedule.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: But I I really want to pivot we'll we'll get into motherhood a little bit more too but I want to talk about the book and really how it because to me it felt like it was that big bucket list dream for you that of course you know maybe you didn't relate to like being the writer initially but but you have you knew you had this story to share this incredible powerful story.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: And of course you're gonna write this book when you when the opportunity came to you can you speak a little bit about even just actually what was the most vulnerable part of writing or publishing the book for you in that process or what was something that was maybe unexpected that you really had to push yourself through.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah no and it writing a book was something I always said I wanted to do.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: But then when the time came it was like it's a book about me.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like I hold Stuff about me very privately.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: I don't share a lot of private things publicly my struggles you know with having babies or whatever it may be like they were all very personal to me.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the hardest part for me was being vulnerable.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: If if if I was going to write the book and put my story out there, it couldn't be 50% of the story.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: It had to be the story it had to be about what shaped me what was hard.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted people to understand that they're never alone like we all face challenges.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_01: People were very surprised most people are very surprised to know that I don't have a lot of confidence right but then I think it relates to people that maybe feel that way about themselves and it's like look I didn't have a lot of confidence I found a way to be an Olympic champion right or to do these things.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so I that was definitely the hardest part for me but if I was going to do it I wanted to put myself out there.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: It was a lot of work and it was in a very short period of time.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I think for me another struggle was making sure that I didn't forget anything and I know I did like I know there's parts that I would have oh I I should have done that and I didn't want to leave anybody out.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings and so I think that was a lot of pressure on me as well to make sure that I did it justice.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_01: I did the people in my life justice and and the stories but I also wanted to shape my own story for for the girls for them to read part of it was because the media as I learned um controversy sells more than maybe a little fairy tale story.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: Lollipop lane doesn't sell as well as you know something that's a little bit more controversial.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: So I didn't believe that the story was told truthfully and so I wanted to make sure that I got my story my story out there and um and how I felt and how we went through a lot of things and I think for the kids so that they know like I mean I want to be around forever but one day I'm not gonna be around and they'll know the full story.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: They're around for a lot of it but they weren't around for all of it.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_01: So that was another another reason and it was nice to be able to tell my story from my perspective.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah really again coming back to that piece of reclaiming your narrative and what a beautiful gift that you get to share with your kids.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe there's another book if you know you're feeling like some pieces were missing maybe there's more I think there might be you never know like yeah I would I would love to do one a little bit more about my story but more on maybe leadership or something that um yeah just could help people maybe shape their lives.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: Was there anything in the book that you like felt tempted to edit out or you were just like hesitant to share and and kind of push especially because you're sharing these personal parts of you that yeah felt like it gave you the visibility piece of it again coming back to that that was that felt really hard for you.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: Really anything that was vulnerable obviously our team change was a very public and I mean it was a very vulnerable time in in my life um that was that was difficult to share my pregnancy having a baby trying to figure that all all out with while curling and talking about that and I never wanted Isabella to feel that we didn't want her because we wanted her 1000%.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like she was the biggest blessing.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'll never forget when I finally read that little stick and it had like pregnant on it like it was the best day of my life.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so I wanted to make sure that it was never worded in such a way where she would ever feel it was it wasn't something we wanted because of other circumstances that were happening around it with people didn't believe that I could curl and compete at the same time as having a baby.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so I I think um I wasn't sure whether to share that story because I didn't want her to ever feel a certain way but I think I think we did it justice and she knows how much she's loved and that she was wanted and because it was it was planned and everything was planned.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I just I think I was I was just nervous about making sure that um that the girls I don't know that they weren't harmed in any way.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know the protective side protective mother but then not like you said protective of your own relationships as well that can I mean you've experienced firsthand and you also have experienced the the trolling and the negative side of putting your story out there as well.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I can only imagine you know it's not like this is the first time that you were doing this like you've you've experienced again that full spectrum but thank goodness you put that out there because I think of that and and what a trailblazer you were and are in sport especially though at this time you know when motherhood was something that almost like you had you felt like you had to hide or or that you were going to be viewed a certain way or that you couldn't continue on.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean you are such a force like you got to read the book to really understand what Jen experienced in that in that time in your life but now your daughter's get to see that and and you're that proof of possibility for them of how they never have to choose between motherhood and their biggest dreams and you know one supports the other and I think it's yeah it's incredible what you've created through the book and and sharing your story that way.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_01: And and I do like they do believe and that's one thing that I always feel like we've done a we're success, successful parents because I look at them and they believe anything is possible.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: They believe that there's nothing they can't achieve and they want they can't wait for life's next adventure.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_01: They're not scared of doing new things and I and that's because of of watching us live and and the life that we've lived and maybe it is unconventional for some people but they feel the love and that's all you can really ever ask for your kids, right?
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_01: Is that they feel loved and and and the story is there.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_01: And and then I look at all these other women in sport um it's interesting because you can see the evolution from when I first started to now who like a lot of women would give would would have would give up sports once they had babies.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: You'd go to the Olympics and if you were nursing there was no ability for you to nurse in the village.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_01: You couldn't bring your baby in the village and trying to get out of the village.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: And that's one thing that people didn't understand.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_01: They're like well just go to them.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well to go to them in Olympics like the transportation and trying to figure out logistics and getting your baby to places and it's not like for anybody who's nursed before it's not like okay it's going to happen at this exact time and we're going to like it just doesn't work like that.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_01: But now as a Paris they do allow nursing moms to have their their kids at the Olympics.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: So you can see the evolution of how things have evolved to allow women um to do both.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think it was very interesting for me because my husband was also competing at a high level at the exact same time and the differences of people's opinions we'll say and the scrutiny that he got compared to what I got was not even it's not even the same sentence.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like he got none.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: So and I got quite a bit um so it's it's quite interesting to me.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'd I'd love to talk about the identity shifts that you've experienced.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about identity a lot on this podcast and I mean you have and continue to wear so many hats and step into so many roles.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just curious if there's like one specific identity shift that stands out for you, whether that was you know becoming mother and curler, becoming an author, um being a lawyer like that you could speak to that felt maybe like the biggest shift for you and how did you navigate that?
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe it's post-curling maybe it was retirement and stepping more into like speaker personal brand.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's a couple for me um you're totally this is on the spot.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I did not know this question was coming.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I I know I'm gonna like look back and think oh I should have said something different.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_01: But I think what comes to me right away I definitely identity like identify as being a mom but not like but a mom a mom that wears many hats like a mom that I don't know just I want to inspire the the girls to be anything they want to be so this this mom who encourages but then wants them to thrive on their own.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: So like I identify with being a mom for sure but I also think for me I identify with being a leader.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_01: And that's not something I think I would have said many years ago but that's where I feel authentically myself like which again is very weird for me to say because like I when I'm on stage giving a speech I like I just feel lost in the moment like I and I can see like especially when the crowd's engaged and you can feel like they're listening and things are resonating with them and you feel like oh maybe I'm making a difference like that is that fills my heart that that fills my soul like when you feel like you've made an impact.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I think for me identifying as being a leader and then a mom in that caring space where that you know just a supportive mom I'll say yeah I love it.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm interrupting this episode real quick to tell you about something super special coming this fall I am so excited to officially introduce the favorite self retreat a one day in-person experience unlike anything we've ever created before.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_00: Together we're going to uncover and rewrite the old stories keeping you stuck, reconnect with the gifts and parts of yourself that you may have lost along the way and help you step into what's next feeling clearer, more grounded and safe to be fully seen.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been loving the conversations on this podcast around identity, visibility, becoming and reconnecting with your favorite self, you are going to love this experience.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can join the wait list now through the link in the show notes to be the first to receive the date location full details and early access to tickets.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, back to the episode.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then in terms of kind of circling to the the shift of Jennifer Jones beyond the curling rink beyond the ice what what do you think has been the biggest shift for you in that and and how do you define success now in this season of life and business and all the things I think that would probably be the biggest change for me is what are my benchmarks now?
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like I do love goals and benchmarks and when we were curling it was easy.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's like okay this is where we want to get to we'll break it down we'll have little goals we had performance goals nutritional goals whatever may be you have goals it's easy.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_01: And now I retired and I still had dreams and goals um but they were just different and and harder to measure success on, I guess you could say like it was easier to measure success in benchmarks.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_01: But I have like I've tried to break it down so that I can feel good about things.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like I had a goal of writing a book and I got that done.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_01: So but when I was writing the book I had goals of doing certain chapters by certain days so I could really measure my benchmark.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_01: I had a goal of being on TV and broadcasting.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I've achieved that but now I want to be maybe I can get into other sports.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like obviously curling was a natural fit because I know curling but I really do enjoy that part of things.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: So now maybe now I'm kind of trying to expand that and maybe try to get into a different space and and just a goal of growing my brand into a point where you know I can I can become a leader and talk about it and maybe potentially help and mentor other people and and trying to get over their insecurities.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a little bit different to measure but I've tried to make it again I have like five year goals and then I try to break it down to measure that success.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_01: And with our business our weed man business um weed man squido here I should say business is that we try to you know we have that one's a little bit easier you have revenue targets you have targets that you're trying to achieve where we want to grow it to we have customer satisfaction targets which is big for us.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_01: We want to make sure our customers are happy and because I think that should gives us joy to be honest.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_01: It actually bothers me if somebody is not happy or we'll get like a a review that's not good.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_01: But then we realize it might not be a review for us.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's like for somebody else.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so you try to like rectify all of that.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_01: So we're really big on making sure our customers are happy because I think it actually brings us joy.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's like being a part of a teen and you just feel like you're letting your team down if everybody's not happy.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it's good.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like I love that part.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_01: So measuring success again is having these for me longer term visions, breaking it down whether it's monetary, whether it's you know personal feelings like for me with the kids I want to make sure that they're happy and they're feeling good.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_01: We're entering teenage years.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_01: I want them to feel positive about themselves.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_01: So that's kind of my mom goal.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_01: And if that's happening then I'm feeling like I'm working well there and then I have like my kind of business entrepreneurial grow goal of like my speaking and all of that and where I want to take that and try to measure that from just how I'm feeling how it's going and then I guess how many how many I'm doing and then from our weed man mosquito hero business again it's just more bringing it down into like we have four different kinds of pillars that we're trying to achieve success in and making sure that we actually talk about it regularly to see if we're on track.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_00: I love that we have a little bit of time here.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_00: I I really wanted to come back to you know what it's what it's like now showing up on social media, you know, with the book and and you've shared your story in so many ways and really reclaim that authorship you have the website that we were so thrilled to be able to work with you on and launching that into the world and having this home base for your personal brand.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think has surprised you the most when it comes to how you show up online on social media and what's been like the biggest challenge there that you've had to work through yeah I I I never thought I'd ever be on social media.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like I joined Facebook during COVID so my kids could talk to their friends.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's so and Facebook's been around forever.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I just never thought I would be that person because I was so private and so personal.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually been very liberating and very freeing to be able to share your story, tell your story, just put yourself out there and not that you don't care because I still do care what people think as much as you say you don't I care less we'll say I care less.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_01: But I just it's very freeing trying to create a a a brand where it represents who I am as a person.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_01: I love that because I think it shapes who you are my kid my kids can see that and I I'm proud of that.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm proud of of who I am and so now it's kind of out there.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_01: Launching the website was something I was I was like why would I do that?
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_01: And then you know wrapping your head around it and it and just seeing it and I I I love the way it looks.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I I never it's something that I never thought I would do but I found it very liberating and freeing and it just it actually brings me I never thought again I'd say that I find it fun to kind of think of things to put yourself out there.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_01: I love people's reactions.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to get better at communicating with people because I read them all and this is this is my own personal problem.
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I read all the comments and I know I can just like them but I always think well that doesn't it's not as deserved they they deserve more of my time than just a little thumbs up.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know I want to give them a comment I want to talk to them I want to engage but then I'll get sidetracked with driving the kids and that's my problem is I drive too much.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm driving everywhere and then you don't I can't do that while you're driving.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm that's one of my goals it's one of my goals is to try to get a little bit better at that and trying to figure out because I do like engaging.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_01: I like people to feel that I care because I sincerely and authentically do care and I want them to feel that I don't want to just give a thumbs up.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want a thumbs up I want somebody to actually respond to my question if I put something in there I don't want just a thumbs up so I'm trying to figure that all out but it's been it's been good.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm glad I did it I love I feel I think I think by going on social media it's actually made me more confident and not less.
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's given me because I feel good without with with what's out there I feel like I'm sharing my story.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not allowing other people to do it for me.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_01: And it just it's changed me as a person.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: I feel so much better about myself and so regardless of everything else it's given me a lot um a much more positive self image I guess like I feel better about me because of all the things that we're doing which crazy crazy I think that's so cool and I also just want to recognize that you have a large audience you get a lot of engagement you get a lot of comments and you know it's a lot of time and energy to spend commenting and replying as much as like you want to but I think you do it also in other ways you know when you're you show up on stories and you talk to the camera and you answer people's questions in a live and you you're you're still engaging you're you're showing them that you're paying attention but yes like the reality is that maybe you're not able to answer every comment because you are driving your daughters to dance and you're being present there and you're focusing on that.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think you you know do you're you're such a a leader in that and how you segment your time when exactly like you said, you're not the parent that's a dance head down on your phone.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_00: When you're with your girls in that moment, that's where your time and energy is and there's only so much of us that we have to give as well.
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_00: So you give so much in terms of the content you're creating and the way you show up and um you can tell you can feel it in the community and how much they love following along with what you're doing.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_01: We always say be where your feet are right.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_01: So when I'm with my kids I'm with them.
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_01: When I'm driving obviously you cannot do that.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_01: But I I I just I just want people to know that I really do care.
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I love when they comment.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_01: And but it's a problem I have like I said I I it's like I I can't do anything halfway.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_01: I have to do it all or none and sometimes none halfway is probably better than none.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm working on that.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's something I'm working on like I'm a it's like that 20 minute workout that you mentioned right so like the comments and you know what it still shows other people even if it's not their comment they see that you commented they see that you're that you're there and and and reading the comments.
• 57:29
  SPEAKER_01: I read them I read them all thank you.
• 57:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 57:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I I did just want to circle back to motherhood before we kind of wrap with a couple questions and um really just ask you you know a little bit about what it's meant for your kids.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_00: We we talked about this a little bit but what it's meant for them to to witness these big wins that they've gotten to experience with you both through the sport and have this front row seat to that but also you know the other outside of that with the book and other really cool things that you've been able to do but they've also witnessed your losses and not even just in in sport but like the hard times and the transitions too.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just so curious if if you could reflect on kind of from their perspective and what that's been like for you and for them navigating that together.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_00: I love that they're there.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_01: It always gives me good perspective um I think they've given me this just I always thought I had good perspective.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's something that I always felt like I was strong in is that curling wasn't the be all or end all, but the girls have definitely accentuated that like you know so I'm when I'm on the ice win or lose I'm okay right like I've got this incredible family and these kids and it's amazing.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_01: But they're so proud of me.
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_01: I always thought I always thought that they'd feel pressure because of what Brent and I have done like we've both gone to the Olympics like there's lots of things and they're just so proud and I'll go and I'll talk at the girls school and they're so proud.
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_01: They're just they bean with pride and I think because they see how much hard work and then they'll say to me when they're working on something that's tough or challenging whether it's a school project or something it's like just one step at a time mom right we can do anything and I'm like yeah because that's what I say like when we're on it just one step at a time we can do anything we can we can I and I think the hardest one for me and it wasn't even a loss because they know for me that a loss yes it's it sometimes it makes me a little bit sad but it's okay like it's okay I tried my best and that's what I always say did I try my best yeah mom tried her best and it just didn't work out and that's okay.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yes it still feels a little bit sad and that's okay because if we didn't care why would we do it right?
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_01: So it's okay to feel sad but as long as I have that perspective but when I retired from curling and they came on the ice and they begged me to change my mind and the TV cameras were on and so they asked me so is this it for sure and they're looking at me please change your mind so it was like this hard moment um and it was all because when I talked to them you can't give up on your dreams mom.
• 1:00:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I and that actually made me so happy in that moment because they believe that dreaming is what life is all about right so I believe them watching our curling seeing the losses has given them has helped them in in their endeavors seeing the wins and seeing that you can succeed that dreams do come true but then also know that we're a family we believe that we should chase dreams and you shouldn't give up easily on your dream.
• 1:00:46
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like I wasn't giving up I was just done like I had different dreams right but like for them in that moment they didn't want me I think they felt part of me was giving up my dreams for them and that's something that we talked about after it's like yes I want to spend more time with you but that's what I want.
• 1:01:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's not because of you it's because that's what I want.
• 1:01:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I even look at social media and I think it's been really good training for them as they enter that world and of social media because sometimes people won't be kind.
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's just a part of the world and the girls will read it sometimes and they'll say doesn't that make you want to cry or like that that's so mean.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like yeah it is but you know what I don't know that person and that person doesn't know me and I can't let them hurt me because they don't know who I am.
• 1:01:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's just words on a paper there it they they don't even have any meaning really behind them because there's no context right and so we've talked a lot about that.
• 1:01:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I say so if somebody writes something crazy about you or something mean about you, you don't necessarily have to take it as fact.
• 1:01:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's not it can't hurt you the way you think it can.
• 1:01:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so because I know that's going to be a reality for them.
• 1:01:59
  SPEAKER_01: It just happens and so it that part's been really good too.
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like the whole just being in the public eye and what we have to figure out has given them they're very polished.
• 1:02:09
  SPEAKER_01: They shake hands they look at people's eyes like even when they're little kids because they just mirror us right so they're I think that there's been a lot of a lot of great lessons along the way.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to watch what them continue to accomplish amazing things and eventually become prime minister and then just change the world because of what they've been able to experience you know with you.
• 1:02:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's really incredible.
• 1:02:34
  SPEAKER_00: It makes me very emotional like hearing you share that I think you know it's what any parent dreams of and hopes for.
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_00: So um yeah I love that now we get to see what what they're up to and all the cool things that they're doing and that's only gonna continue and ugh this is this was so so fun.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_00: Jen I just so appreciate you being here.
• 1:02:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I'd love to maybe leave it on you know for someone listening who is building a brand around their story but maybe they feel a little more nervous or hesitant or introverted when it comes to showing up and putting themselves out there and being more visible and stepping into that leadership role what what what kind of words would you leave them with?
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_01: What advice would you give them just focus and surround yourself with people who support you.
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I know you have one or two or five just those are the key people in your life those are the people that matter surround yourself with those people and then put yourself out there because then it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks because you have your people you have your people your support network just put yourself out there take that step but it's it's you're never gonna regret it.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's just take that take that moment and and uh don't be afraid of change.
• 1:03:48
  SPEAKER_01: Evolve live life to the fullest and and have that courage because if as long as you have those people everything's gonna be okay.
• 1:03:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's so true.
• 1:03:58
  SPEAKER_00: So true find your believers and Jen I have to ask what does your favorite self feel like in this current season for you?
• 1:04:07
  SPEAKER_01: My favorite self these are tough um my favorite self is in right now is just living in the moment making sure I am where my feet are I've needed a couple of reminders lately because it's very very busy and I, you know you feel like you're just trying to get through the day.
• 1:04:24
  SPEAKER_01: So be where your feet are make sure you enjoy the moment make sure that tomorrow you can look back on yesterday and you knew exactly what you were doing and how you felt and what it smelt like because you took a moment to be present and be there.
• 1:04:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's where I am right now is just remind myself be where my feet are.
• 1:04:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of a downtime for me over the summer.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it's take a breath refuel spend some quality time with my with my family and and just be authentically me.
• 1:04:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 1:04:54
  SPEAKER_01: And what's the best way for people to connect with you and follow along on your journey we'll put everything in the show notes but yeah you can follow me along at J Jones curl on Instagram um at Rockstars Curl our podcast make sure you check it out.
• 1:05:09
  SPEAKER_01: My husband and I do it apparently I think it's funny people find it funny so you can listen along and and my website um make sure you check it out.
• 1:05:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes definitely check out the podcast it is hilarious the banter between Jen and Brent and just sharing all their stories and wisdom and absolutely get your copy of Rockstars.
• 1:05:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's so good.
• 1:05:30
  SPEAKER_00: And um you can do all that through Jen's website her beautiful website thank you so much for being on the Favorite self podcast this was such a pleasure and a privilege to have you and I'm so excited for all the feedback to come from this episode.
• 1:05:44
  SPEAKER_00: If something really resonated with you be sure to share it with us.
• 1:05:48
  SPEAKER_00: We would love to hear from you and we'll see you next week.
• 1:05:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:05:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Favorite Self podcast.
• 1:05:54
  SPEAKER_00: If this episode stirred something in you there's a reason for it.
• 1:05:58
  SPEAKER_00: You could take a moment to share with a friend someone who's also building something brave that would mean so much to me.
• 1:06:04
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• 1:06:06
  SPEAKER_00: It helps this message reach even more women who are ready to lead differently and before you go remember this your favorite self is already within you waiting to be heard.
• 1:06:17
  SPEAKER_00: See you next time