Latest / Something Extra / Finding True Beauty and Balance in Leadership w/ Erika Johnson

Transcript

Finding True Beauty and Balance in Leadership w/ Erika Johnson · Something Extra

• 0:01
  Erika Johnson: So beauty is surface.
• 0:03
  Erika Johnson: It's skin deep, and we all need to understand that it doesn't matter how
• 0:06
  Erika Johnson: much Botox filler, ice facing we're going to age.
• 0:09
  Erika Johnson: So you need to find beauty from within and
• 0:13
  Erika Johnson: exude that.
• 0:14
  Erika Johnson: You know?
• 0:14
  Erika Johnson: Beauty is, bringing someone behind you and and encouraging them.
• 0:18
  Erika Johnson: Beauty can show up in so many different ways.
• 0:21
  Erika Johnson: It's not just vanity.
• 0:22
  Erika Johnson: And being around these women who are drop dead gorgeous and then you see
• 0:26
  Erika Johnson: that we all have our insecurities, but then just persevering, pushing and
• 0:30
  Erika Johnson: encouraging each other through that, you know, that's beauty.
• 0:36
  Lisa Nichols: It takes something a little more to lead with impact.
• 0:40
  Lisa Nichols: I'm Lisa Nichols, author of Something Extra, and this podcast
• 0:44
  Lisa Nichols: was inspired by our daughter, Allie, whose additional chromosome has shaped
• 0:48
  Lisa Nichols: how I see people in leadership.
• 0:51
  Lisa Nichols: Each episode features conversations with inspiring leaders from around the world
• 0:55
  Lisa Nichols: about what truly defines how they lead and serve others.
• 0:59
  Lisa Nichols: If you enjoyed today's conversation, please consider leaving a five
• 1:03
  Lisa Nichols: star review.
• 1:04
  Lisa Nichols: It helps more people discover the show.
• 1:07
  Lisa Nichols: And if you'd like to go deeper, my book, Something Extra, is available on
• 1:11
  Lisa Nichols: Amazon and through other major book retailers.
• 1:16
  Lisa Nichols: From the world of national gymnastics in the Miss Missouri stage to the front
• 1:20
  Lisa Nichols: lines of community revitalization, Erica Johnson is a Saint Louis
• 1:24
  Lisa Nichols: powerhouse dedicated to building a healthier, more equitable future.
• 1:28
  Lisa Nichols: She is the founder of Juice EJ, a wellness brand born from her
• 1:32
  Lisa Nichols: family's personal health journey.
• 1:34
  Lisa Nichols: Please join me in welcoming an entrepreneur and advocate who proves that
• 1:38
  Lisa Nichols: true beauty is found in the legacy we leave for others, Erica Johnson.
• 1:43
  Lisa Nichols: Well, Erica Johnson, welcome to the Something Extra
• 1:47
  Lisa Nichols: podcast.
• 1:48
  Erika Johnson: Thank you for having me.
• 1:50
  Erika Johnson: It's a pleasure.
• 1:51
  Lisa Nichols: I am so excited to make this happen with you.
• 1:54
  Lisa Nichols: And you and I met recently
• 1:56
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 1:56
  Lisa Nichols: At the Sofia Awards.
• 2:00
  Lisa Nichols: And, Erica I mean, what an amazing organ.
• 2:03
  Lisa Nichols: I left there so inspired at what Dawn Price has built.
• 2:08
  Erika Johnson: Absolutely incredible and just such a room of dynamic powerful women.
• 2:12
  Erika Johnson: It was just an honor to be a part of it.
• 2:14
  Erika Johnson: Absolutely.
• 2:15
  Lisa Nichols: I agree.
• 2:16
  Lisa Nichols: I agree.
• 2:17
  Lisa Nichols: And for those listeners who don't know,
• 2:20
  Lisa Nichols: the Sofia project, they are mentoring, I think Dawn said, about fifteen
• 2:25
  Lisa Nichols: hundred inner city girls right now.
• 2:27
  Lisa Nichols: They pair them with mentors.
• 2:29
  Lisa Nichols: And so many of the girls were participating that day, and
• 2:34
  Lisa Nichols: I was so impressed.
• 2:35
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 2:36
  Lisa Nichols: Absolutely.
• 2:36
  Lisa Nichols: Their speaking skills and their presence.
• 2:39
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 2:40
  Lisa Nichols: Absolutely.
• 2:42
  Lisa Nichols: And I was just thinking to myself, we need more mentors.
• 2:45
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 2:45
  Erika Johnson: We do.
• 2:46
  Erika Johnson: Especially here in our great city of Saint Louis.
• 2:48
  Erika Johnson: So, you know, you and I, it's an honor to be able to be
• 2:51
  Erika Johnson: a part of it and see how we can further get involved.
• 2:53
  Erika Johnson: So
• 2:54
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 2:55
  Lisa Nichols: No doubt.
• 2:56
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 2:56
  Lisa Nichols: And it's just so funny because you and I were sitting at the same
• 2:59
  Lisa Nichols: table, Erica.
• 3:00
  Lisa Nichols: We never met before, but there was an instantaneous
• 3:04
  Lisa Nichols: connection.
• 3:05
  Lisa Nichols: And, you know, I think I think a lot of it's our faith,
• 3:10
  Lisa Nichols: and I wanna talk about that, because I know faith is important to you,
• 3:14
  Lisa Nichols: and it's everything for me.
• 3:16
  Lisa Nichols: So, we'll talk about that.
• 3:18
  Lisa Nichols: But, you know, let's let's let's dive on in.
• 3:21
  Lisa Nichols: My goodness.
• 3:22
  Lisa Nichols: I I was I was as I was preparing for today's interview,
• 3:26
  Lisa Nichols: I'm thinking, you know, you've gone from gymnastics to journalism
• 3:30
  Lisa Nichols: to pageantry to entrepreneurship.
• 3:34
  Lisa Nichols: You have done a lot.
• 3:35
  Lisa Nichols: You're like a renaissance woman.
• 3:37
  Erika Johnson: I am a serial entrepreneur.
• 3:39
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 3:40
  Erika Johnson: I am.
• 3:40
  Lisa Nichols: You are.
• 3:41
  Lisa Nichols: Well, let me ask you this, and then I'm gonna ask you about each
• 3:44
  Lisa Nichols: one of those things.
• 3:46
  Lisa Nichols: You know, what is the thread that connects all of those things
• 3:49
  Erika Johnson: for you?
• 3:50
  Erika Johnson: Right timing.
• 3:50
  Erika Johnson: God's divine timing.
• 3:53
  Erika Johnson: I would say every single venture that I have had has
• 3:57
  Erika Johnson: been just anointed, and maybe I met someone or there was the right
• 4:01
  Erika Johnson: circumstance and, you know, it just presented itself and took off.
• 4:04
  Erika Johnson: So
• 4:06
  Lisa Nichols: That's that's amazing.
• 4:08
  Lisa Nichols: Well, you were a young gymnast.
• 4:10
  Lisa Nichols: I know that you trained for, like, ten years, you know, at a
• 4:14
  Lisa Nichols: very high performing level.
• 4:18
  Lisa Nichols: Tell me about how that shaped you as a young girl, and then I
• 4:22
  Lisa Nichols: would love to hear from you, Erica.
• 4:25
  Lisa Nichols: What are some of those character traits that you learned through gymnastics
• 4:29
  Lisa Nichols: and and working that hard that you still carry with you today in what
• 4:33
  Lisa Nichols: you're doing?
• 4:34
  Erika Johnson: Absolutely.
• 4:35
  Erika Johnson: So, you know, I feel like any individualized sport is
• 4:39
  Erika Johnson: gonna really just shape you and mold you because you're accountable to yourself.
• 4:43
  Erika Johnson: There is no one else to blame if you fall short.
• 4:46
  Erika Johnson: It's literally on your own shoulders.
• 4:48
  Erika Johnson: So, I trained for ten years under Scott and Debbie Cusimano out
• 4:52
  Erika Johnson: at Jim Quarters Gymnastics Center where I competed nationally.
• 4:56
  Erika Johnson: And I would definitely say the friendships, the relationships, the
• 5:00
  Erika Johnson: discipline,
• 5:01
  Erika Johnson: just my level of ambition to persevere through pain and injury has definitely
• 5:06
  Erika Johnson: shaped me to be the woman that I am today.
• 5:09
  Erika Johnson: So I'm very, very grateful to them for their love.
• 5:11
  Erika Johnson: I mean, I trained so much.
• 5:13
  Erika Johnson: They became my extended family, you know, at five years old,
• 5:19
  Erika Johnson: between five and and and I'm sorry.
• 5:22
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 5:22
  Erika Johnson: Five and and fifteen.
• 5:24
  Erika Johnson: That was just such a big instrumental part of my life.
• 5:27
  Erika Johnson: And eating with them, I had to to do my homework at the gym.
• 5:31
  Erika Johnson: It was four hours a day of training, and, you know, you're traveling
• 5:35
  Erika Johnson: with the team.
• 5:36
  Erika Johnson: So it just it literally becomes your extended family.
• 5:38
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 5:39
  Lisa Nichols: I'm I'm glad that you mentioned that because I was gonna ask you, how
• 5:42
  Lisa Nichols: many hours a day did you train?
• 5:43
  Lisa Nichols: So you went to school.
• 5:45
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 5:45
  Lisa Nichols: And then you went to the gym, and you trained for four hours.
• 5:49
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, how many days a week, Erica?
• 5:51
  Erika Johnson: Monday through Friday, four hours.
• 5:53
  Erika Johnson: And then Saturday, I trained from nine to one.
• 5:57
  Erika Johnson: And then I did private lessons after that.
• 6:00
  Lisa Nichols: My goodness.
• 6:01
  Lisa Nichols: What were your dreams?
• 6:02
  Lisa Nichols: Were you hoping to go to the Olympics?
• 6:04
  Erika Johnson: I did.
• 6:05
  Erika Johnson: I really wanted to.
• 6:06
  Erika Johnson: My family really wanted that for me.
• 6:08
  Erika Johnson: God had other plans, and I don't, you know, ever disagree with that
• 6:12
  Erika Johnson: plan.
• 6:13
  Erika Johnson: I had some injuries that really just became debilitating.
• 6:16
  Erika Johnson: I I still deal with the back injuries to this day.
• 6:18
  Erika Johnson: But, again, just the relationships I fostered, I'll have forever in the
• 6:22
  Erika Johnson: memory.
• 6:23
  Erika Johnson: So
• 6:23
  Lisa Nichols: That's so beautiful.
• 6:24
  Lisa Nichols: Well, tell me about those injuries.
• 6:26
  Lisa Nichols: You know, what did that I mean, because let me ask you this.
• 6:30
  Lisa Nichols: Because a lot of high performing individuals, a lot of times, tie their
• 6:34
  Lisa Nichols: identity to what they do and their performance.
• 6:37
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 6:37
  Lisa Nichols: It's kind of a performance.
• 6:39
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 6:39
  Lisa Nichols: I've had to I've had to, unravel some of that myself,
• 6:43
  Lisa Nichols: you know, as I've gotten older.
• 6:45
  Lisa Nichols: But was your identity tied to that at all?
• 6:48
  Lisa Nichols: And if it was, what did that moment feel like, Erica, when you were
• 6:52
  Lisa Nichols: when you had the injury and you had to step away?
• 6:55
  Erika Johnson: You are tied to it because it is it is such a big part
• 6:58
  Erika Johnson: of you.
• 6:58
  Erika Johnson: You know, I remember being so young and, like, my Halloween
• 7:03
  Erika Johnson: candy was was almost monitored and micromanaged.
• 7:06
  Erika Johnson: And, you know,
• 7:08
  Erika Johnson: when you cannot do something that you see as your whole entire future,
• 7:13
  Erika Johnson: it's, it plays on your mental.
• 7:15
  Erika Johnson: I feel like we see this a lot with, you know, athletes, especially, like,
• 7:19
  Erika Johnson: the NFL players because, you know, in reality, a lot of them come
• 7:23
  Erika Johnson: from, you know, just poverty,
• 7:27
  Erika Johnson: driven circumstances.
• 7:28
  Erika Johnson: And so that's their way out, and an injury is everything that that could
• 7:32
  Erika Johnson: ruin their future, their their financial future.
• 7:35
  Erika Johnson: So it is very hard to begin to identify as
• 7:39
  Erika Johnson: as something else when that's all you really know for an extended period of
• 7:42
  Erika Johnson: your life.
• 7:43
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 7:44
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 7:44
  Lisa Nichols: I I I agree.
• 7:46
  Lisa Nichols: I've I've seen the same thing.
• 7:48
  Lisa Nichols: And like I said, I've had to do my own internal work as
• 7:52
  Lisa Nichols: I've as I've, gotten a little bit wiser.
• 7:55
  Lisa Nichols: You know, that it's not I said your identity is not what you do.
• 7:58
  Lisa Nichols: It's really who it's not that's not who you are is what you do.
• 8:02
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 8:03
  Lisa Nichols: And I think that, is an important
• 8:07
  Lisa Nichols: journey to go through.
• 8:10
  Lisa Nichols: You know, what helped you let let's talk about this because I know,
• 8:14
  Lisa Nichols: like, in, twenty twenty two, your dad went through difficult health
• 8:19
  Lisa Nichols: journey.
• 8:19
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 8:20
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 8:21
  Lisa Nichols: And and, again, God used that, right, to kind
• 8:25
  Lisa Nichols: of alter and even what you're doing today.
• 8:27
  Lisa Nichols: Can you take us into that season?
• 8:29
  Lisa Nichols: And just what caregiving in that season,
• 8:34
  Lisa Nichols: you said you kinda felt like you lost yourself a little bit.
• 8:37
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 8:37
  Erika Johnson: I did.
• 8:39
  Erika Johnson: I think anyone who has has cared for a loved one to that extent
• 8:43
  Erika Johnson: can relate because your needs become the back burner.
• 8:47
  Erika Johnson: So working out, just just the simple things, keeping your
• 8:51
  Erika Johnson: house cleaned and eating right.
• 8:53
  Erika Johnson: You're you're in survival mode at that point.
• 8:55
  Erika Johnson: And myself, my family, we were just trying to survive.
• 8:59
  Erika Johnson: My dad was diagnosed in twenty twenty two with amyloidosis, and
• 9:03
  Erika Johnson: there is not a lot of medical data on the type that he had.
• 9:07
  Erika Johnson: He had, severe amyloidosis that attacked his heart, liver, and lungs,
• 9:11
  Erika Johnson: which is very rare.
• 9:12
  Erika Johnson: Typically, it, identifies in one vital organ, so
• 9:16
  Erika Johnson: you can only do two transplants at one.
• 9:18
  Erika Johnson: So he ended up getting a heart and a liver, and then they treated
• 9:22
  Erika Johnson: the lungs, but it was just such a long recovery process.
• 9:25
  Erika Johnson: He had to learn how to walk, talk, swallow.
• 9:29
  Erika Johnson: I mean, his fine motor skills were completely gone.
• 9:31
  Erika Johnson: He couldn't even brush his teeth.
• 9:32
  Erika Johnson: So it turned our family just completely into his caregivers.
• 9:36
  Erika Johnson: And so, again, just I did lose myself for a bit, but
• 9:40
  Erika Johnson: I found myself as well.
• 9:42
  Erika Johnson: So it's it's the blessing that he's here.
• 9:44
  Erika Johnson: I my faith never faltered.
• 9:46
  Erika Johnson: My my family's faith never faltered.
• 9:48
  Erika Johnson: Even when people were saying, we've never seen this.
• 9:51
  Erika Johnson: We don't really know.
• 9:51
  Erika Johnson: He's a case study.
• 9:53
  Erika Johnson: You know, just be prepared.
• 9:55
  Erika Johnson: I didn't allow my mind to go there.
• 9:57
  Erika Johnson: Mhmm.
• 9:58
  Erika Johnson: I believe in God.
• 9:59
  Erika Johnson: I also believe in in the universe.
• 10:01
  Erika Johnson: And so every day, you know, I fasted.
• 10:04
  Erika Johnson: I I will talk about it now.
• 10:05
  Erika Johnson: I I privately fasted for the public reward, but I also
• 10:11
  Erika Johnson: did my three six nine method in my journal.
• 10:13
  Erika Johnson: So every single day, I would write my dad's gonna have a successful heart
• 10:16
  Erika Johnson: and liver transplant, and I didn't allow any negative thought, any negative
• 10:20
  Erika Johnson: person into my ether during that time.
• 10:23
  Erika Johnson: And today, he is back golfing and happy and healthy.
• 10:26
  Erika Johnson: So yeah.
• 10:27
  Lisa Nichols: Wow.
• 10:28
  Lisa Nichols: Thank god.
• 10:29
  Lisa Nichols: Thank god.
• 10:29
  Lisa Nichols: Well and I'm just thinking, you know, Erica, as you were saying that it
• 10:33
  Lisa Nichols: attacked his heart, his liver, and his lungs.
• 10:37
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 10:37
  Lisa Nichols: And people are like, we've never seen this before, but that didn't stop
• 10:41
  Lisa Nichols: God.
• 10:43
  Lisa Nichols: That didn't stop God.
• 10:43
  Lisa Nichols: This is like God's like, I got this.
• 10:45
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 10:46
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 10:46
  Lisa Nichols: So,
• 10:48
  Lisa Nichols: but, you know, so you you said you did find yourself.
• 10:51
  Lisa Nichols: And I know that one of the things that you did,
• 10:57
  Lisa Nichols: was, you know, entered the Miss Missouri pageant.
• 11:00
  Erika Johnson: I did.
• 11:01
  Lisa Nichols: I did.
• 11:02
  Lisa Nichols: Tell us about that.
• 11:03
  Lisa Nichols: That was twenty twenty four.
• 11:04
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 11:05
  Erika Johnson: That was twenty twenty four.
• 11:06
  Erika Johnson: I actually won the Miss Missouri USA People's Choice Awardee, and
• 11:10
  Erika Johnson: it was just it it almost reminded me a lot of my time as
• 11:13
  Erika Johnson: a gymnast because of the dedication and the training.
• 11:16
  Erika Johnson: Mhmm.
• 11:17
  Erika Johnson: I have so much respect for the women that enter into these pageants because
• 11:21
  Erika Johnson: you're just on the forefront, every flaw, every insecurity.
• 11:24
  Erika Johnson: You have to really know who you are, trust yourself, love yourself through it
• 11:28
  Erika Johnson: all no matter whatever the judges or, you know, the audience, the people say.
• 11:33
  Erika Johnson: But it was just such a beautiful experience for me.
• 11:35
  Erika Johnson: And, again, so many friendships, so many doors have opened.
• 11:39
  Erika Johnson: I'm eternally grateful for that.
• 11:42
  Lisa Nichols: Was it hard to say yes to that?
• 11:44
  Lisa Nichols: Because I think I think you had a friend, didn't you, Erica, if I
• 11:47
  Lisa Nichols: remember?
• 11:48
  Lisa Nichols: You had a friend that said you should do this.
• 11:50
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, was it was it hard to say yes to that?
• 11:54
  Erika Johnson: She kind of just threw me in it, and she was like, hey.
• 11:57
  Erika Johnson: You we were at her birthday dinner.
• 11:59
  Erika Johnson: She was the former Miss Missouri in twenty twenty two, and she's like, you're
• 12:02
  Erika Johnson: you're doing this.
• 12:03
  Erika Johnson: And I was like, okay.
• 12:04
  Erika Johnson: I was like, do you think I can?
• 12:06
  Erika Johnson: And she's like, absolutely.
• 12:07
  Erika Johnson: So, just having that push, you know, I I love a good girl's
• 12:11
  Erika Johnson: girl.
• 12:12
  Erika Johnson: So Yes.
• 12:13
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 12:14
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 12:15
  Erika Johnson: Falling.
• 12:15
  Lisa Nichols: So So you had a little bit of a push there, but, it turned
• 12:19
  Lisa Nichols: out well.
• 12:20
  Lisa Nichols: And just getting the people's choice award, Erica, come on.
• 12:24
  Lisa Nichols: That was the people.
• 12:26
  Erika Johnson: Thank you.
• 12:26
  Lisa Nichols: Voting.
• 12:27
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 12:27
  Lisa Nichols: It's so amazing.
• 12:29
  Lisa Nichols: So let me because this is,
• 12:33
  Lisa Nichols: I see it in young girls, you know, beauty, outward beauty.
• 12:36
  Lisa Nichols: So many girls are plagued with comparison.
• 12:41
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 12:41
  Lisa Nichols: And then how how is your definition how has your philosophy
• 12:47
  Lisa Nichols: around beauty evolved?
• 12:48
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, it probably evolved even during that time, but talk to
• 12:52
  Lisa Nichols: young girls about this.
• 12:54
  Erika Johnson: Mhmm.
• 12:55
  Erika Johnson: So beauty is surface.
• 12:56
  Erika Johnson: It's skin deep, and we all need to understand that it doesn't matter how
• 12:59
  Erika Johnson: much Botox filler, ice facing we're going to age.
• 13:03
  Erika Johnson: So you need to find beauty from within and
• 13:07
  Erika Johnson: exude that.
• 13:08
  Erika Johnson: You know, beauty is, bringing someone behind you and and encouraging them.
• 13:12
  Erika Johnson: Beauty can show up in so many different ways.
• 13:14
  Erika Johnson: It's not just vanity.
• 13:16
  Erika Johnson: And being around these women who are drop dead gorgeous and then you see
• 13:20
  Erika Johnson: that we all have our insecurities, but then just persevering, pushing and
• 13:24
  Erika Johnson: encouraging each other through that, You know, that's beauty.
• 13:27
  Erika Johnson: So
• 13:28
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 13:28
  Lisa Nichols: That's good.
• 13:29
  Lisa Nichols: That is good.
• 13:32
  Lisa Nichols: How about,
• 13:35
  Lisa Nichols: you know, how about,
• 13:37
  Lisa Nichols: you know, how they see themselves with worth?
• 13:40
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 13:41
  Lisa Nichols: Because a lot of times, you know I mean, let let's just tie it
• 13:44
  Lisa Nichols: all together here.
• 13:45
  Lisa Nichols: Like, what we do sometimes gives us our sense of worth.
• 13:49
  Lisa Nichols: How we look gives us our sense of worth.
• 13:52
  Lisa Nichols: Talk about that a little bit.
• 13:54
  Erika Johnson: Well, you know, for me, I've I've really worked hard to master
• 13:59
  Erika Johnson: detachment detachment from validation primarily because
• 14:03
  Erika Johnson: when you need validation, you're not whole.
• 14:06
  Erika Johnson: You almost have to become indifferent to that.
• 14:09
  Erika Johnson: I am not gonna be everyone's cup of tea.
• 14:11
  Erika Johnson: My look's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea, and I am so okay
• 14:13
  Erika Johnson: with that.
• 14:14
  Erika Johnson: So I think more women really need to become comfortable in their own
• 14:18
  Erika Johnson: skin.
• 14:19
  Erika Johnson: There was a time early in my journey, I didn't even wanna leave the
• 14:22
  Erika Johnson: house without makeup.
• 14:23
  Erika Johnson: And as I as I aged, it's funny.
• 14:26
  Erika Johnson: You take better care of yourself as you get older.
• 14:28
  Erika Johnson: Right?
• 14:29
  Erika Johnson: And I'm like, wow.
• 14:29
  Erika Johnson: My skin is actually really nice.
• 14:31
  Erika Johnson: Like, I have great hair.
• 14:32
  Erika Johnson: Like, why am I not embracing myself as me?
• 14:35
  Erika Johnson: Why do I need these these outer, you know, things
• 14:40
  Erika Johnson: to make me beautiful?
• 14:41
  Erika Johnson: So yeah.
• 14:43
  Lisa Nichols: That's good.
• 14:44
  Lisa Nichols: That's good.
• 14:44
  Lisa Nichols: Well, let's go back to what you're doing today.
• 14:49
  Lisa Nichols: You guys, because of your dad, really, you started on this,
• 14:53
  Lisa Nichols: you know, what is it called?
• 14:55
  Lisa Nichols: Cold press?
• 14:56
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 14:56
  Erika Johnson: Cold pressing.
• 14:57
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 14:57
  Lisa Nichols: Tell us about that.
• 14:58
  Lisa Nichols: It was really how, you know, how has that mission,
• 15:03
  Lisa Nichols: really kinda shaped you and what you're doing?
• 15:04
  Lisa Nichols: Tell our listeners about that.
• 15:06
  Erika Johnson: Absolutely.
• 15:07
  Erika Johnson: So I've been juicing now for going on eleven years, and I was doing
• 15:11
  Erika Johnson: it for myself for health benefits, obviously, being a gymnast, having to always
• 15:15
  Erika Johnson: be on top of my diet.
• 15:17
  Erika Johnson: And then I would do it for family.
• 15:19
  Erika Johnson: They'd be over and they're like, oh my god.
• 15:20
  Erika Johnson: This juice is so good.
• 15:21
  Erika Johnson: And I'm like, are you guys just blowing smoke?
• 15:24
  Erika Johnson: But, you know, when I was doing the pageant, I ended up doing
• 15:28
  Erika Johnson: a charity boot camp, and we rolled out the juice just to see because
• 15:32
  Erika Johnson: the feedback had been so good.
• 15:33
  Erika Johnson: And I've been giving it to my dad while he was in the hospital
• 15:36
  Erika Johnson: waiting on his transplant.
• 15:38
  Erika Johnson: And his doctor was like, whatever you're doing, keep doing it.
• 15:41
  Erika Johnson: He's like, we have been trying to get his numbers to trend, trying to
• 15:44
  Erika Johnson: find a way to get healthy get healthy whole foods into his body that
• 15:47
  Erika Johnson: would sustain him.
• 15:48
  Erika Johnson: And his numbers were looking good.
• 15:49
  Erika Johnson: His energy was looking good.
• 15:51
  Erika Johnson: His color was coming back.
• 15:52
  Erika Johnson: And so I was like, you know, if I can do this for my
• 15:54
  Erika Johnson: dad who's got such a major catastrophic diagnosis, maybe I
• 15:58
  Erika Johnson: should roll this out to the world.
• 15:59
  Erika Johnson: And then we sold out at the boot camp within forty five minutes.
• 16:03
  Erika Johnson: Was not expecting that.
• 16:04
  Erika Johnson: Wow.
• 16:06
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 16:06
  Erika Johnson: I was the host of the boot camp, so my sister just took the
• 16:09
  Erika Johnson: initiative to take preorders.
• 16:11
  Erika Johnson: Mind you, this was smack in the middle of the pageant.
• 16:14
  Erika Johnson: And so I was working with a speech coach.
• 16:16
  Erika Johnson: I was working with my walking coach.
• 16:18
  Erika Johnson: I'm in the gym twice a day.
• 16:20
  Erika Johnson: I'm in this I'm doing all these different things.
• 16:23
  Erika Johnson: I did not have time to start a juice company, but we were because
• 16:26
  Erika Johnson: we had the preorder.
• 16:27
  Erika Johnson: So Nice.
• 16:28
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 16:29
  Lisa Nichols: Oh my goodness.
• 16:31
  Lisa Nichols: That is so awesome.
• 16:32
  Lisa Nichols: I love that.
• 16:33
  Lisa Nichols: I love that.
• 16:34
  Lisa Nichols: Well okay.
• 16:35
  Lisa Nichols: So this is funny.
• 16:36
  Lisa Nichols: So our nutritionist, you know, had said to me, you need to start juicing.
• 16:40
  Lisa Nichols: So I have a juicer.
• 16:42
  Lisa Nichols: Tell us about this, Erica, because I'm like, wow.
• 16:45
  Lisa Nichols: It takes so many carrots.
• 16:47
  Lisa Nichols: It takes so much to just get one little glass of
• 16:51
  Lisa Nichols: juice.
• 16:52
  Lisa Nichols: Yes.
• 16:52
  Lisa Nichols: Give us give us your give us your,
• 16:56
  Lisa Nichols: secret sauce, I guess, if you will, on on how you practically
• 17:00
  Lisa Nichols: do the juicing.
• 17:01
  Lisa Nichols: Okay.
• 17:02
  Lisa Nichols: I'd love for you to talk about that. And then maybe your favorite juicing recipe.
• 17:06
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 17:07
  Erika Johnson: Absolutely.
• 17:07
  Erika Johnson: So I would definitely say anyone who's juicing, whether it's home or it's a
• 17:10
  Erika Johnson: business, you have to love it because it takes
• 17:15
  Erika Johnson: time, you know, the prep cleanup.
• 17:18
  Erika Johnson: We really I don't like to use the word pride too much, but we
• 17:20
  Erika Johnson: really try to exude excellence in how we deliver our products.
• 17:24
  Erika Johnson: So we do not use any additives, any preservatives.
• 17:28
  Erika Johnson: We don't use any harsh chemicals to clean even our kitchen space.
• 17:32
  Erika Johnson: So we're soaking everything in, like, baking soda or apple cider vinegar.
• 17:35
  Erika Johnson: We typically take the skin off of the cucumbers because it's very hard for
• 17:39
  Erika Johnson: the body to digest, same with, the lemons.
• 17:42
  Erika Johnson: So it's it's very tedious.
• 17:43
  Erika Johnson: So that's why I say you have to really, really love it.
• 17:47
  Erika Johnson: A lot of people do it to make money, and let's be real.
• 17:49
  Erika Johnson: We all wanna make income in what we do.
• 17:51
  Erika Johnson: We're doing this a lot for the health benefits primarily.
• 17:54
  Erika Johnson: So,
• 17:56
  Erika Johnson: yeah.
• 17:57
  Erika Johnson: My my favorite recipe too, I would say, is the beat happy.
• 18:01
  Erika Johnson: I like it the most because we have managed to find a way to
• 18:05
  Erika Johnson: make beets not taste like earth.
• 18:08
  Erika Johnson: It's it's some beets, it's some pineapples, it's a few other good good Oh.
• 18:13
  Erika Johnson: Not just things, but that really helps to kinda cut out that beet flavor
• 18:16
  Erika Johnson: and still give you those massive cardiovascular benefits.
• 18:19
  Erika Johnson: So
• 18:20
  Lisa Nichols: So it's called beet happy?
• 18:21
  Lisa Nichols: Beet happy.
• 18:22
  Lisa Nichols: Beet happy.
• 18:23
  Lisa Nichols: Well, I, I grew up in the South.
• 18:26
  Lisa Nichols: I grew up in Kentucky, and so my mom was an excellent southern
• 18:30
  Lisa Nichols: cook, and, she pickled beets.
• 18:33
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 18:33
  Lisa Nichols: And I grew up loving pickled beets.
• 18:35
  Lisa Nichols: Now it's probably got sugar in there.
• 18:37
  Lisa Nichols: Erica, that's not good for you, but, I I'll eat a beet salad
• 18:41
  Lisa Nichols: any day of the week.
• 18:42
  Lisa Nichols: I love beets.
• 18:43
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 18:44
  Lisa Nichols: So,
• 18:45
  Lisa Nichols: I love that.
• 18:46
  Lisa Nichols: So where can you find the juice?
• 18:48
  Lisa Nichols: Do you order online, or where is it?
• 18:52
  Erika Johnson: So we have a store on Main Street, the heart of historic Saint Charles,
• 18:55
  Erika Johnson: Missouri.
• 18:56
  Erika Johnson: So our address is two fifteen North Main Street, Saint Charles, Missouri
• 19:00
  Erika Johnson: six three three zero one.
• 19:01
  Erika Johnson: And then we're also online on our Instagram, so we have a lot of
• 19:04
  Erika Johnson: people that will message us.
• 19:06
  Erika Johnson: Again, like I mentioned, we have not mastered, and we're not really looking to
• 19:10
  Erika Johnson: put any type of preservative in our juice that we don't really ship.
• 19:13
  Erika Johnson: We can't.
• 19:14
  Erika Johnson: It's just so expensive because after five days, any juice
• 19:18
  Erika Johnson: anywhere that you go and you see that's still on the shelf, the enzymes
• 19:21
  Erika Johnson: are already breaking down.
• 19:22
  Erika Johnson: And I I'm not knocking any of these other juice companies, but the point
• 19:26
  Erika Johnson: in cold pressed juice is to really get the nutritional, value of it.
• 19:30
  Erika Johnson: So our Instagram is juice e j by erika j.
• 19:34
  Erika Johnson: So you can always DM us, swing by the store, and, yeah.
• 19:37
  Lisa Nichols: I'm I'm gonna come check it out.
• 19:39
  Lisa Nichols: I'm gonna go I'm thinking I better come get my juice from you because
• 19:43
  Lisa Nichols: I'm just not sure I have the the patience.
• 19:46
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, it it is it is fun, but it is it's detailed, you
• 19:49
  Lisa Nichols: know, and it does take a lot of time.
• 19:52
  Lisa Nichols: Gosh.
• 19:53
  Lisa Nichols: Erica, I've got so many more questions for you, but we do need to
• 19:56
  Lisa Nichols: take a quick break, and then we'll be right back with Erica Johnson on
• 19:59
  Lisa Nichols: the Something Extra podcast.
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• 20:31
  Lisa Nichols: Welcome back, everyone, to the Something Extra podcast with my friend, Erica
• 20:36
  Lisa Nichols: Johnson.
• 20:36
  Lisa Nichols: So, Erica, I have absolutely loved our conversations so far.
• 20:40
  Lisa Nichols: And I know that from studying you and reading about you, preparing
• 20:44
  Lisa Nichols: for this interview today, that you're very passionate about food deserts.
• 20:48
  Erika Johnson: Oh, yeah.
• 20:49
  Erika Johnson: Very much so.
• 20:50
  Lisa Nichols: Tell me more about that.
• 20:52
  Lisa Nichols: We have a lot of food deserts.
• 20:53
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 20:54
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 20:54
  Erika Johnson: Saint Louis has a huge deficit of food deserts.
• 20:57
  Erika Johnson: So before I, you know, obviously, have my juice company, I was doing real
• 21:00
  Erika Johnson: estate, and I was, specifically rehabilitating
• 21:05
  Erika Johnson: Saint Louis City because there are so many just derelict rundown buildings, and
• 21:09
  Erika Johnson: that creates dangers for, you know, our children when you're living next to an
• 21:12
  Erika Johnson: abandoned building and whatnot.
• 21:14
  Erika Johnson: So not only that, really just trying to stimulate tax dollars and whatnot.
• 21:18
  Erika Johnson: But while I was down there, I would notice there was nowhere for me
• 21:22
  Erika Johnson: to really go and get healthy foods as a as a lunch option, and
• 21:25
  Erika Johnson: that frustrated me.
• 21:26
  Erika Johnson: Here I am, like, well, we pay our tax dollars as well.
• 21:29
  Erika Johnson: You know, why is there not an organic section in the snooks or in
• 21:33
  Erika Johnson: the local grocery store?
• 21:34
  Erika Johnson: So, yeah, it's it's it's definitely an issue that needs to be further
• 21:38
  Erika Johnson: addressed.
• 21:39
  Erika Johnson: So
• 21:39
  Lisa Nichols: Well, what do we need to do?
• 21:41
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, what what can we do, Erica?
• 21:43
  Erika Johnson: Advocate.
• 21:44
  Erika Johnson: Advocate and and, you know, write to the right people.
• 21:48
  Erika Johnson: Like myself, I was out rehabbing these these neighborhoods, creating the tax dollars,
• 21:53
  Erika Johnson: fighting for the tax abatements.
• 21:55
  Erika Johnson: At the time, our current mayor of St.
• 21:56
  Erika Johnson: Louis, Kara Spencer, was the alderwoman in the ward where I was rehabbing,
• 22:01
  Erika Johnson: my homes, and she just really went to bat for me in helping me
• 22:04
  Erika Johnson: get, maxed, you know, benefits on on the tax abatements because
• 22:09
  Erika Johnson: these homes were imploding, crumbling at the foundation, and sometimes the
• 22:13
  Erika Johnson: city would only wanna give me fifty percent.
• 22:15
  Erika Johnson: And I'm like, hey.
• 22:16
  Erika Johnson: You know, we're rebuilding this community.
• 22:17
  Erika Johnson: We need we need help.
• 22:18
  Erika Johnson: We need support.
• 22:19
  Erika Johnson: So like I mentioned earlier, just reaching back and helping someone.
• 22:22
  Erika Johnson: So I am just forever grateful to care care for extending her hand and
• 22:26
  Erika Johnson: her resources to help, you know, execute my vision.
• 22:29
  Erika Johnson: So
• 22:30
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 22:30
  Lisa Nichols: Are you still doing that to this day, Erica?
• 22:33
  Erika Johnson: I'm not.
• 22:33
  Erika Johnson: I love, love, love rehabbing.
• 22:36
  Erika Johnson: However, it is very tedious.
• 22:38
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 22:39
  Erika Johnson: And right now with the juice, I find a lot of joy, and it
• 22:42
  Erika Johnson: still is helping.
• 22:43
  Erika Johnson: So
• 22:44
  Lisa Nichols: Absolutely.
• 22:46
  Lisa Nichols: Well, tell me this.
• 22:48
  Lisa Nichols: What what do you think like, when when you're thinking about a
• 22:52
  Lisa Nichols: underserved community, what might people not really
• 22:56
  Lisa Nichols: understand?
• 22:56
  Lisa Nichols: We've done a lot.
• 22:57
  Lisa Nichols: Are you familiar with Lucas Ruggley?
• 22:59
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 23:00
  Lisa Nichols: Shout out to Lucas Ruggley with Love the Lou.
• 23:02
  Erika Johnson: Oh, I would
• 23:03
  Lisa Nichols: love to hear that.
• 23:05
  Lisa Nichols: Amazing things.
• 23:07
  Lisa Nichols: Goodness gracious.
• 23:09
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, I mean, we've there's, the Tabernacle Community Development
• 23:13
  Lisa Nichols: Center.
• 23:14
  Lisa Nichols: How about that, Andre Alexander?
• 23:15
  Lisa Nichols: Do you know him, Erica?
• 23:17
  Erika Johnson: It is.
• 23:17
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 23:18
  Lisa Nichols: Yes.
• 23:18
  Lisa Nichols: Amazing.
• 23:19
  Lisa Nichols: But they're doing a lot of that.
• 23:21
  Lisa Nichols: But what what do you think people might not really understand about
• 23:25
  Lisa Nichols: these underserved communities?
• 23:27
  Erika Johnson: I don't think they understand the need.
• 23:29
  Erika Johnson: You know?
• 23:31
  Erika Johnson: I, for a while, have done charity events with the Urban League where
• 23:35
  Erika Johnson: they have blessed me to be able to use their facilities to house my
• 23:38
  Erika Johnson: charity events.
• 23:40
  Erika Johnson: And the very first year that I did it, I gave away laptops and
• 23:44
  Erika Johnson: propane fire tanks that you would see, like, out on the patios and whatnot.
• 23:48
  Erika Johnson: And it didn't register to me that that's not what they need.
• 23:51
  Erika Johnson: So we need to really identify the need and then execute.
• 23:54
  Erika Johnson: So the years following that, I really prioritized understanding
• 23:58
  Erika Johnson: what they said I took notes.
• 24:00
  Erika Johnson: They needed socks.
• 24:00
  Erika Johnson: They needed, you know,
• 24:03
  Erika Johnson: yeah, basic living essentials.
• 24:05
  Erika Johnson: And so we can't help if we're not doing our due diligence and
• 24:09
  Erika Johnson: and and asking and then, again, executing on it.
• 24:12
  Erika Johnson: So
• 24:13
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 24:13
  Lisa Nichols: That's so good.
• 24:14
  Lisa Nichols: I love what you just said.
• 24:16
  Lisa Nichols: Because I think a lot of times, we assume.
• 24:18
  Lisa Nichols: We assume.
• 24:19
  Lisa Nichols: We assume and presume what is needed.
• 24:21
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 24:22
  Lisa Nichols: But you've gotta talk to people.
• 24:25
  Lisa Nichols: You've got to actually,
• 24:28
  Lisa Nichols: build relationships and understand what the needs are because
• 24:32
  Lisa Nichols: we can't Yeah.
• 24:33
  Lisa Nichols: We're not gonna we're not gonna, hit the mark.
• 24:36
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 24:37
  Erika Johnson: And a lot of times, you know, if we're being honest, if
• 24:41
  Erika Johnson: it doesn't affect us directly, sometimes we become oblivious.
• 24:44
  Erika Johnson: And I think as a people, that's how we better ourselves.
• 24:47
  Erika Johnson: That's how we better the communities that we live in by sometimes going out
• 24:51
  Erika Johnson: of our comfort zone to address these issues.
• 24:54
  Erika Johnson: I have so much love and respect for the Chris Long Foundation, him and
• 24:57
  Erika Johnson: his wife, Meg.
• 24:58
  Erika Johnson: Chris was our former, Rams, NFL player.
• 25:02
  Erika Johnson: He has an organization that I would love for so many people to to
• 25:05
  Erika Johnson: get involved with.
• 25:06
  Erika Johnson: It's called the little I'm sorry.
• 25:08
  Erika Johnson: Not the little bit.
• 25:08
  Erika Johnson: They're the, ed zone, but they partner with the little bit.
• 25:11
  Erika Johnson: And so they have now put lockers into underserved,
• 25:15
  Erika Johnson: schools, and these lockers are incredible.
• 25:18
  Erika Johnson: So they're filled with toiletries, coats, all sorts of things.
• 25:22
  Erika Johnson: And these children don't have to ask.
• 25:23
  Erika Johnson: They can just go into the locker, get what they need.
• 25:26
  Erika Johnson: They don't have to feel embarrassed or ashamed.
• 25:28
  Erika Johnson: They literally can just go and go about their day.
• 25:31
  Erika Johnson: And, you know, Chris has made it his business to make sure that
• 25:35
  Erika Johnson: children are comfortable.
• 25:36
  Erika Johnson: You know, think about children that may not have deodorant or toothpaste.
• 25:40
  Erika Johnson: They're not gonna be confident in school, which means they're not gonna be, you
• 25:43
  Erika Johnson: know, paying attention.
• 25:44
  Erika Johnson: Or if they're hungry, you're not paying attention because your mind is elsewhere, but
• 25:47
  Erika Johnson: he has really made it his business to create a safe space for these
• 25:51
  Erika Johnson: children.
• 25:52
  Erika Johnson: So there's some great organization.
• 25:53
  Erika Johnson: We just
• 25:54
  Lisa Nichols: I love that.
• 25:54
  Lisa Nichols: Good.
• 25:56
  Lisa Nichols: Well and then something that you just said, Erica, just made me think.
• 26:00
  Lisa Nichols: You said Chris partnered
• 26:03
  Lisa Nichols: with a we we've done a lot, technology partners.
• 26:06
  Lisa Nichols: Like, our team has gone and volunteered for a little bit, and we always
• 26:09
  Lisa Nichols: love love the little bit foundation.
• 26:11
  Erika Johnson: Amazing.
• 26:12
  Lisa Nichols: But sometimes, you don't have to do you know, collaboration
• 26:16
  Lisa Nichols: is really important in this space, I believe.
• 26:18
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 26:19
  Erika Johnson: It is.
• 26:20
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 26:21
  Erika Johnson: We, Veroni is is powerful as our partners and and those
• 26:25
  Erika Johnson: who we we we do partner up with, you know.
• 26:27
  Erika Johnson: And, again, it's just asking and and seeing what the need is because
• 26:32
  Erika Johnson: that's how we get things done.
• 26:33
  Erika Johnson: So Mhmm.
• 26:34
  Lisa Nichols: Well, I love I love everything that you've done.
• 26:37
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, you've got such a just a very I can just tell such
• 26:40
  Lisa Nichols: a giving heart.
• 26:41
  Lisa Nichols: And that I'm sure, Erica, you know, a lot of that spans
• 26:45
  Lisa Nichols: from your comes out of your faith and what you believe,
• 26:50
  Lisa Nichols: you know, is how we're to treat one another.
• 26:52
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 26:52
  Lisa Nichols: Our neighbor.
• 26:53
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 26:54
  Erika Johnson: And God doesn't bless us to to not bless others.
• 26:56
  Erika Johnson: You know?
• 26:57
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 26:58
  Erika Johnson: That's how he wants it to be.
• 26:59
  Erika Johnson: So yeah.
• 27:01
  Lisa Nichols: Well, tell me a little bit about your faith.
• 27:03
  Lisa Nichols: Did you grow up in a faith filled family?
• 27:05
  Erika Johnson: I did.
• 27:06
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 27:06
  Erika Johnson: Faith is definitely at the heart.
• 27:08
  Erika Johnson: Grandparents were deacons.
• 27:09
  Erika Johnson: My dad is a deacon.
• 27:12
  Erika Johnson: It's just in us.
• 27:13
  Erika Johnson: You know, we grew up in a Baptist church and then transitioned briefly to
• 27:16
  Erika Johnson: nondenominational and back to Baptist.
• 27:19
  Erika Johnson: However, I believe God comes you know, however you wanna identify,
• 27:23
  Erika Johnson: God is God.
• 27:24
  Erika Johnson: And
• 27:26
  Lisa Nichols: yeah.
• 27:26
  Lisa Nichols: It's not about a denomination.
• 27:28
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 27:28
  Lisa Nichols: It's about a relationship.
• 27:30
  Lisa Nichols: That's right.
• 27:31
  Lisa Nichols: That's so good.
• 27:33
  Lisa Nichols: Well, you know, I mean, you do have a journalism degree,
• 27:37
  Lisa Nichols: and I know that you've had the opportunity to interview some really iconic
• 27:41
  Lisa Nichols: people.
• 27:42
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 27:43
  Lisa Nichols: Ozzie Smith, Orlando Pace, Nelly.
• 27:46
  Lisa Nichols: You know, how have you used your voice intentionally in those spaces?
• 27:51
  Erika Johnson: So I would love to just set it straight.
• 27:54
  Erika Johnson: I actually do not have my journalism degree.
• 27:56
  Erika Johnson: I was thrown into journalism.
• 27:58
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, I can see a pattern here.
• 28:00
  Lisa Nichols: You've been thrown into a a lot of things.
• 28:02
  Lisa Nichols: I know.
• 28:03
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 28:03
  Erika Johnson: Someone said they're like, you're very articulate.
• 28:06
  Erika Johnson: I love your look.
• 28:07
  Erika Johnson: I want you to, you know, try this.
• 28:09
  Erika Johnson: And I did an interview and it went very well, and they hired me.
• 28:14
  Erika Johnson: Oh my goodness.
• 28:15
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 28:16
  Erika Johnson: Getting to work with Ozzy Smith.
• 28:18
  Erika Johnson: Oh my goodness.
• 28:18
  Erika Johnson: Such a humble, humble giant.
• 28:21
  Erika Johnson: And with his wife, Yolanda, I I just love when I have the opportunity
• 28:25
  Erika Johnson: to engage with them.
• 28:26
  Erika Johnson: Neli also doing incredible things here with, you know, St.
• 28:30
  Erika Johnson: Jude's and all of that.
• 28:32
  Erika Johnson: Orlando Pace, another person who's just very philanthropic
• 28:36
  Erika Johnson: doing great things.
• 28:37
  Erika Johnson: So it's it's a it's it's a pleasure.
• 28:40
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, that is awesome.
• 28:42
  Lisa Nichols: Well, tell me about this.
• 28:44
  Lisa Nichols: You know, today we have all these influencers.
• 28:47
  Lisa Nichols: You know, we consider you an influencer, Erica.
• 28:51
  Lisa Nichols: But how what is the responsibility that comes with that?
• 28:54
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, when you've been given a platform like you have Yeah.
• 28:58
  Lisa Nichols: There is definitely influence that's happening and impact that's happening.
• 29:02
  Lisa Nichols: But what is the responsibility that, you also carry?
• 29:07
  Erika Johnson: You know, the term fiduciary, it's like we owe that to our our people.
• 29:11
  Erika Johnson: And we are we've been blessed with that platform
• 29:15
  Erika Johnson: and to misuse it is is just wrong.
• 29:18
  Erika Johnson: So to me, being affluent comes with balance.
• 29:22
  Erika Johnson: And, you know, I spoke earlier about the art of detachment, being able
• 29:26
  Erika Johnson: to confidently detach from situations and circumstances that are
• 29:30
  Erika Johnson: not serving your highest calling, that are not going to be beneficial to you,
• 29:35
  Erika Johnson: understanding that you do not have to say yes to every commitment,
• 29:40
  Erika Johnson: because how can you be a leader if you're not self preserved?
• 29:43
  Erika Johnson: You know?
• 29:44
  Erika Johnson: So really just being intentional with your yeses and and
• 29:48
  Erika Johnson: okay with sometimes having to say no.
• 29:51
  Erika Johnson: But yeah.
• 29:52
  Lisa Nichols: You're speaking my language
• 29:55
  Lisa Nichols: because every yes comes at the opportunity of something else.
• 29:59
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 30:00
  Lisa Nichols: And I I just think I've said this so many times.
• 30:03
  Lisa Nichols: I think, like, for a leader, one of the most important qualities, Erica, is
• 30:07
  Lisa Nichols: discernment.
• 30:08
  Erika Johnson: It is.
• 30:09
  Lisa Nichols: Because there's a lot of good.
• 30:11
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 30:11
  Lisa Nichols: But you want the best.
• 30:12
  Lisa Nichols: You want the the the things that only you can do and the things
• 30:16
  Lisa Nichols: that are, like you said, that are in alignment with
• 30:20
  Lisa Nichols: how you've been called.
• 30:21
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 30:22
  Erika Johnson: Right?
• 30:23
  Erika Johnson: That's my prayer.
• 30:24
  Erika Johnson: You know, a lot of people and I'm not saying I don't pray for
• 30:27
  Erika Johnson: other things, but, typically, the the fundamental base of my prayer is wisdom and
• 30:31
  Erika Johnson: discernment because the wisdom and discernment, you can do so much.
• 30:34
  Erika Johnson: You can avoid so many pitfalls.
• 30:36
  Erika Johnson: So
• 30:37
  Lisa Nichols: Yes.
• 30:37
  Lisa Nichols: I could not agree more.
• 30:41
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 30:41
  Lisa Nichols: This is good.
• 30:42
  Lisa Nichols: Let me ask you a question.
• 30:44
  Lisa Nichols: If someone,
• 30:46
  Lisa Nichols: is listening today and they feel like they've lost themselves
• 30:50
  Lisa Nichols: or maybe they feel stuck or maybe they feel, you know, let's
• 30:54
  Lisa Nichols: call it a wilderness, You know, what what would you want
• 30:58
  Lisa Nichols: them to hear?
• 31:00
  Lisa Nichols: How do they get themselves out of that?
• 31:02
  Erika Johnson: I had someone actually call me for mentorship about this very thing.
• 31:06
  Erika Johnson: I encouraged them to fast.
• 31:09
  Erika Johnson: There's so much power in that.
• 31:11
  Erika Johnson: When my dad was diagnosed,
• 31:14
  Erika Johnson: we treated him over the course of two years with one set of doctors
• 31:18
  Erika Johnson: until my mother advocated and said, you know, hey.
• 31:21
  Erika Johnson: We we need a different set of eyes.
• 31:23
  Erika Johnson: And we got to this other set, and they said, your dad, if he
• 31:27
  Erika Johnson: has what we believe he has, he has three months, maybe.
• 31:31
  Erika Johnson: He's at risk for sudden death.
• 31:32
  Erika Johnson: And so I understood the dire need for to hear God's
• 31:36
  Erika Johnson: voice, and so I immediately went to a fast.
• 31:40
  Erika Johnson: I gave up music.
• 31:41
  Erika Johnson: I gave up food.
• 31:42
  Erika Johnson: I gave up everything pretty much that was of the flesh, and I said,
• 31:46
  Erika Johnson: god, this is my ask in that.
• 31:48
  Erika Johnson: And for him to deliver on something that was, again, just unheard
• 31:52
  Erika Johnson: of, and, I do have to share this.
• 31:55
  Erika Johnson: The day that my dad got his organs, his heart went into AFib, and
• 31:58
  Erika Johnson: they actually had to resuscitate him.
• 32:01
  Erika Johnson: And the doctor came in, he said, we've reached the point of no return.
• 32:04
  Erika Johnson: He said, so if we don't get organs, you guys need to get prepared.
• 32:07
  Erika Johnson: You may have, you know, a day, a few hours.
• 32:09
  Erika Johnson: And I remember sitting at my dad's bedside, and I said, okay, god.
• 32:13
  Erika Johnson: I've done everything.
• 32:14
  Erika Johnson: I surrender.
• 32:15
  Erika Johnson: We got organs that night.
• 32:17
  Lisa Nichols: Wow.
• 32:18
  Lisa Nichols: Wow, Erica.
• 32:21
  Lisa Nichols: So That's a beautiful thank you for sharing that.
• 32:25
  Lisa Nichols: You've done everything.
• 32:27
  Lisa Nichols: You've fasted.
• 32:27
  Lisa Nichols: You've prayed.
• 32:28
  Lisa Nichols: You've scripture tells us that, right, to fast and pray.
• 32:34
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 32:34
  Lisa Nichols: And and just like, god, I've done it.
• 32:37
  Lisa Nichols: Everything that I know that you've called me to do, and the rest is
• 32:40
  Lisa Nichols: up to you.
• 32:41
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 32:42
  Erika Johnson: He may not deliver when we want.
• 32:44
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 32:44
  Lisa Nichols: The timing.
• 32:45
  Erika Johnson: But he delivers.
• 32:46
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 32:47
  Erika Johnson: He does.
• 32:48
  Erika Johnson: The neck of the hour.
• 32:49
  Erika Johnson: So yeah.
• 32:51
  Lisa Nichols: Well, that is where our faith is strengthened.
• 32:54
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 32:55
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 32:55
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, if we could see it, if we could see everything that's that's
• 32:59
  Lisa Nichols: gonna happen, that's not faith.
• 33:01
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 33:01
  Lisa Nichols: It's sight.
• 33:02
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 33:03
  Lisa Nichols: Walking by sight instead of walking by faith.
• 33:05
  Lisa Nichols: So I just love that.
• 33:07
  Lisa Nichols: Thank you so much for sharing that.
• 33:09
  Lisa Nichols: Well, I'm gonna do, like, a really fun little lightning round here for you.
• 33:12
  Lisa Nichols: Just a couple of,
• 33:14
  Lisa Nichols: quick questions, and then I wanna talk about something extra.
• 33:17
  Lisa Nichols: K.
• 33:18
  Lisa Nichols: One word that describes your current season.
• 33:22
  Erika Johnson: Oof.
• 33:23
  Erika Johnson: Light.
• 33:24
  Erika Johnson: Light.
• 33:24
  Erika Johnson: Light.
• 33:25
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 33:26
  Erika Johnson: Mhmm.
• 33:26
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, I love that.
• 33:28
  Lisa Nichols: You wanna elaborate on that at all?
• 33:30
  Erika Johnson: I feel light because, again, I've just I've released.
• 33:32
  Erika Johnson: I've detached.
• 33:34
  Erika Johnson: I am so comfortable with myself and who I am.
• 33:38
  Erika Johnson: I feel light.
• 33:39
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, that's beautiful.
• 33:40
  Lisa Nichols: Love it.
• 33:42
  Lisa Nichols: Favorite way to recharge?
• 33:44
  Erika Johnson: Meditation.
• 33:45
  Lisa Nichols: Meditation.
• 33:46
  Lisa Nichols: Okay.
• 33:47
  Lisa Nichols: Good.
• 33:48
  Lisa Nichols: A person who inspires you deeply.
• 33:51
  Lisa Nichols: My mother.
• 33:52
  Lisa Nichols: Your mom.
• 33:53
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, tell me about your mom.
• 33:55
  Erika Johnson: Oh, she is a rock star.
• 33:58
  Erika Johnson: Yeah.
• 33:58
  Erika Johnson: My mom, you know, really getting to see how she showed up as a
• 34:01
  Erika Johnson: mother, as a woman of God through the tough seasons has just been so
• 34:05
  Erika Johnson: aspirational to me in life.
• 34:08
  Erika Johnson: Amazing mother.
• 34:09
  Erika Johnson: She's a nurse.
• 34:09
  Erika Johnson: She still finds time to give back.
• 34:12
  Erika Johnson: She's involved in church.
• 34:13
  Erika Johnson: She just she gets it done.
• 34:15
  Erika Johnson: So
• 34:15
  Lisa Nichols: yeah.
• 34:16
  Lisa Nichols: That's wonderful.
• 34:17
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 34:18
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, you've got a model, a living model right in front of you,
• 34:21
  Lisa Nichols: Erica, right, in how to to live as a woman of God.
• 34:24
  Lisa Nichols: That's beautiful.
• 34:25
  Lisa Nichols: What's your morning routine?
• 34:26
  Lisa Nichols: Do you have a daily habit or daily routine that you go through?
• 34:30
  Lisa Nichols: We wanna hear it.
• 34:31
  Erika Johnson: I definitely do.
• 34:33
  Erika Johnson: For me, I get up before my feet hit the ground.
• 34:35
  Erika Johnson: I'm definitely giving gratitude to God just for even waking up such a blessing.
• 34:40
  Erika Johnson: I spend some time with myself, quiet reflection.
• 34:43
  Erika Johnson: I've spent some time with my dog, walk him.
• 34:46
  Erika Johnson: I ice my face almost every morning.
• 34:50
  Lisa Nichols: You ice your face.
• 34:51
  Lisa Nichols: What does that mean?
• 34:52
  Lisa Nichols: I've never had anybody say they ice their face.
• 34:54
  Lisa Nichols: Give us give us your trade secret.
• 34:57
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 34:57
  Erika Johnson: The icing of the face closes the pores.
• 34:59
  Erika Johnson: It, like, shrinks your pores.
• 35:01
  Erika Johnson: And it's, it's also known to help with, like, any acne or any,
• 35:06
  Erika Johnson: hyperpigmentation.
• 35:07
  Erika Johnson: So it just keeps our skin youthful.
• 35:09
  Lisa Nichols: Okay.
• 35:09
  Lisa Nichols: So do you put ice on your face, or do you like a really
• 35:13
  Lisa Nichols: cold cloth?
• 35:13
  Lisa Nichols: Or what
• 35:14
  Erika Johnson: is that?
• 35:14
  Erika Johnson: Going to a submerged ice bath.
• 35:17
  Lisa Nichols: Ice bath.
• 35:18
  Lisa Nichols: Oh my goodness.
• 35:19
  Lisa Nichols: I've got a friend that has a cold plunge in her bathroom.
• 35:24
  Lisa Nichols: And, you know, she's like, I do the cold plunge.
• 35:26
  Lisa Nichols: And I'm like, oh, I don't know so much about that, but I know
• 35:30
  Lisa Nichols: the health benefits are Oh, yeah.
• 35:31
  Lisa Nichols: Really good.
• 35:32
  Lisa Nichols: Alright.
• 35:33
  Lisa Nichols: So give your face an ice bath.
• 35:35
  Lisa Nichols: I'm gonna remember that one.
• 35:38
  Lisa Nichols: I know that you are high growth mindset.
• 35:42
  Lisa Nichols: How do you personally learn?
• 35:44
  Lisa Nichols: How do you personally grow, Erica?
• 35:46
  Erika Johnson: I I listen more than I talk, especially in specific
• 35:51
  Erika Johnson: rooms because we're not gonna learn if we're just yapping.
• 35:54
  Erika Johnson: You gotta sometimes be quiet, be that fly on the wall, and observe.
• 35:58
  Erika Johnson: So that and, I don't I I believe
• 36:02
  Erika Johnson: in downtime.
• 36:03
  Erika Johnson: I don't believe in idle time.
• 36:05
  Erika Johnson: So I will take the time to rest and recharge, but, you know, I'm
• 36:09
  Erika Johnson: not gonna fill my my my valuable time with aimless
• 36:13
  Erika Johnson: chatter.
• 36:14
  Erika Johnson: I typically like to podcast or read or get in nature.
• 36:17
  Erika Johnson: So yeah.
• 36:18
  Lisa Nichols: Okay.
• 36:19
  Lisa Nichols: That's good.
• 36:20
  Lisa Nichols: I love that.
• 36:21
  Lisa Nichols: That is a beautiful phrase.
• 36:22
  Lisa Nichols: You believe in downtime, not idle time,
• 36:27
  Lisa Nichols: and there is a difference.
• 36:28
  Lisa Nichols: So the downtime would be your reading of a book or taking a walk
• 36:33
  Lisa Nichols: in nature.
• 36:34
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 36:34
  Lisa Nichols: But it's not just sitting, scrolling through social media Yeah.
• 36:38
  Lisa Nichols: Or scrolling through the television.
• 36:40
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 36:41
  Erika Johnson: I think we we we all do.
• 36:42
  Erika Johnson: We're in the times where social media is so relevant, but I
• 36:47
  Erika Johnson: do believe we have to compartmentalize that into a fraction of the day.
• 36:51
  Erika Johnson: It cannot consume a day.
• 36:52
  Erika Johnson: And that requires discipline to say, okay.
• 36:54
  Erika Johnson: My my five or my fifteen minutes, whatever that looks like for you, that's
• 36:58
  Erika Johnson: it.
• 36:58
  Erika Johnson: That's it.
• 36:59
  Erika Johnson: That's detachment.
• 37:00
  Lisa Nichols: So That's so good.
• 37:01
  Lisa Nichols: So good.
• 37:02
  Lisa Nichols: What are you most excited about right now?
• 37:05
  Lisa Nichols: The Juice Company?
• 37:07
  Erika Johnson: Yes.
• 37:08
  Erika Johnson: I am.
• 37:08
  Erika Johnson: I mean, like I mentioned, we we have the store on Main Street.
• 37:11
  Erika Johnson: We moved from Fox Park, and Main Street is just it's
• 37:16
  Erika Johnson: so much organic natural foot traffic.
• 37:18
  Erika Johnson: There's so many festivals.
• 37:19
  Erika Johnson: It's just a very exciting time to see what this next chapter will look
• 37:23
  Erika Johnson: like for us.
• 37:23
  Erika Johnson: So
• 37:24
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, well, I'm excited for you, and I'm excited to come and visit.
• 37:28
  Lisa Nichols: Well, Erica, this is called something extra.
• 37:31
  Lisa Nichols: I ask every guest this question, and I'd love to hear your
• 37:35
  Lisa Nichols: answer.
• 37:36
  Lisa Nichols: What do you believe is the something extra that every leader needs?
• 37:40
  Erika Johnson: They need balance.
• 37:42
  Erika Johnson: They need balance in God, balance in family, work life,
• 37:48
  Erika Johnson: balance on what they say yes to, but balanced.
• 37:52
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, that's good.
• 37:53
  Lisa Nichols: I've never had anybody say that before out of three hundred and eighty guests.
• 37:57
  Lisa Nichols: So there you go.
• 37:58
  Lisa Nichols: I love it.
• 37:59
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 38:00
  Lisa Nichols: But, you know, I always say, you know, I talk about soul care
• 38:04
  Lisa Nichols: and self care when you can't pour from an empty cup.
• 38:06
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 38:07
  Lisa Nichols: And if you are out of balance, it's the the wheel on
• 38:11
  Lisa Nichols: wheels on the bus.
• 38:13
  Lisa Nichols: One of them is flat.
• 38:14
  Lisa Nichols: It's not gonna be a fun ride.
• 38:16
  Erika Johnson: Right?
• 38:16
  Lisa Nichols: So that is so good.
• 38:19
  Lisa Nichols: Well, thank you so much, Erica.
• 38:20
  Lisa Nichols: This has been so much fun.
• 38:22
  Lisa Nichols: I've enjoyed this time spending with you, and I just know that your
• 38:26
  Lisa Nichols: wisdom and your story, it's gonna help our listeners, and that's the goal.
• 38:30
  Erika Johnson: Thank you so much.
• 38:31
  Erika Johnson: It's been truly a pleasure spending time with you.
• 38:33
  Erika Johnson: I enjoyed the conversation.
• 38:34
  Lisa Nichols: You too.
• 38:35
  Lisa Nichols: Have a great rest of the day.
• 38:37
  Lisa Nichols: You too.
• 38:38
  Announcer: Something extra with Lisa Nichols is a Technology Partners production.
• 38:42
  Announcer: Copyright Technology Partners Inc twenty nineteen.
• 38:45
  Announcer: To learn more about this week's guest, check out the show notes at tpi
• 38:49
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• 38:51
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• 38:55
  Announcer: Thank you for listening to Something Extra.