Latest / Story Scaling / Fighting the Idol of Stability in Business with Liz Gonzalez

Transcript

Fighting the Idol of Stability in Business with Liz Gonzalez · Story Scaling

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_05: Welcome to Storyscaling by Podcastvideos.com, where creators share the truth behind the content, the grind, and the growth.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_05: Well, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends of family I am bang of podcastvideos.com.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_05: And you are watching Story Scaling.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_05: I want to thank you for watching these episodes, you all.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, sincerely, we've been able to sit down with some amazing people and have some great conversations.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_05: And it feels like it's of value to you all, and that's why we do what we do.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_05: So thank you for watching.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_05: If you haven't already, please like and subscribe right now.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_05: Stop.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_05: Press pause.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_05: Like and subscribe.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_05: I'm not going anywhere.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_05: Um, share this with a friend.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_05: If there are people that you would like to see on the show, please let us know, and we will continue to make this conversation, you know, go forward for you.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_05: Today's a special day.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_05: Now that that's now that that's out the way, today's a special day.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_05: We have a I'll say a friend, you know?
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_05: We have a friend in the building.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_05: We have a friend in the building by the name of Lazig, Liz, Liz G, all the things.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_05: All the things.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Lizard.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: All of them.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_05: Liz, thank you for joining us.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm honored to be here.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm honored to have you.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_05: You're one of those people that when you talk to, it feels like you know you.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_05: Like the person, even if it's just meeting you.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, I remember the first time we chopped it up.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_05: I'm like, dang, you know, it feels like we go way back.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_05: When we really went back 17 minutes, like it, you know what I mean?
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_05: But you just have that personality and that presence about you.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_05: And so I'm honored that you're here with us.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_05: So we're gonna go into the bio.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_05: And this is what the streets are saying.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, about Liz.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_05: Are you ready?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Let's hear it.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's hear it.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_05: It says today on Story Scaling, we're sitting down with Liz, the creative force behind Liza G created, based right here in the heart of Northwest Arkansas.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_05: Liz isn't just taking pictures.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_05: She's building a brand rooted entirely in the truth.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_05: In a visual landscape that often is obsessed with high gloss, artificial perfection.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_05: Her aesthetic is a brilliant rebellion, moody, fresh, bibeat, with a vintage charm that prioritizes real authentic moments and candid laughter over stiff manufactured poses.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_05: But what makes Liz a powerhouse in this industry isn't her eye for a great shot.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_05: It's her deep understanding of modern brand architecture.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_05: With a strong background in marketing and social media, she understands the mechanics of how visual storytelling actually drives connection.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_05: She knows that the hardest part of her job happens before the shutter ever clicks, breaking down the clients' insecurity so they feel relaxed, safe, radiant, and completely themselves.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_05: Fueled by love for fashion, deep community connection, and a reliable vanilla latte.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_05: Liz is an artist who understands that true influence comes from uplifting others and capturing moments that are as timeless as they are unique.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_05: Ladies and gentlemen, Liz G.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: I want to steal that for myself.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_05: That's huge.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: I feel so sweet.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_05: Liz, like the one of my favorite things on this show is I like to give people, especially creatives, you know, their flowers, you know, because this is the stuff that you're doing.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_05: Like I didn't have to piece nothing together.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_05: I was like, you know, I see this, I see this.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's so cool.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_05: When when you when you hear this, what is the first thing that sticks out to you in your mouth?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is wild that we're here.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think I yeah, I just I think back to little Liz wanting to do so much more than like what was planned for me.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And just seeing how far I've come and that people recognize it is just such a cool thing.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, it's just so humbling too.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's it's the coolest experience to like be seen and recognized because like one of my biggest things is to try to make people feel seen and like go after the one.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so I I could cry.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_06: That's all right.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_06: Liz so kind.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_06: Tears have been shed on this show.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_06: Like, it's all good.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_06: If we gotta call Liz, it is what it is.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but thank you.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: That was so kind.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, like I said, honored to have you and and grateful for the love that you pour into the community.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_05: People can actually feel that, you know.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: That is a goal.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: That is a goal.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_06: Take us back, Liz.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_06: Like, let's let's let's go.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_06: Baby Liz.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, like take you talk about little Liz.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_06: Like, take us back to baby Liz.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_05: Like, where are you from?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_05: What was your upbringing like, who was in the house, you know, kind of walk us through, you know, like what did you think you was gonna be?
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_05: Like, let's go, let's go there.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: She's a nut.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_05: And then we could we could catch up to today.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so born and raised in Springdale, Arkansas.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and I grew up in, you know, a family of like four.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it was my mom, my dad, my brother, and me.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_04: Yep.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my brother's older.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: He was the one that like I would try to chase after and try to be.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: He was such a good kid.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: He was always like doing everything right.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: He was in sports, he was artsy, and like I was like, oh, I want to be you.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but at the same time, I was such a black sheep of my family.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: I very much take after my dad.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my parents got divorced when I was in second grade.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm so grateful.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't always like this, but I'm very grateful that my parents are like pretty good friends.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my dad's remarried now, but they yeah, they really held it together for me and my brother.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was really cool.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: But I grew up with my mom.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: My dad moved to California.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I was about fifth grade, but me and my mom did not get along.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: I need to say this like out front, me and my mom are best friends now.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like love my mom so dearly, and she supports me and everything.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but in the upbringing, it wasn't really like that.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: We wanted to do acting.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to be, you know, taking photos and all the things that don't pay the bill.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: And meanwhile, my brother's like going into business and accounting and all that.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, oh, okay.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: I suck at math.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, yeah, so little Liz was always active, like always in sports.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think I was doing like seven sports at one time, and then got to choose.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I I chose, um grew up in like softball, volleyball, and was on the debate team, um, did forensics and like thespian and everything like that for theater.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so started competing.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I did a lot of stuff like background-wise.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that was kind of my like I I always loved school.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, was constantly striving to like get A's.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: If I got a B, I was the kid that cried.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Cause again, I was just trying to live up to that shadow that was like my big brother.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, so it was it was a lot of like trying to figure out who I was while also comparing myself to a lot of people.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And at a young age, I don't think I realized how shaping that could be.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so into my like adulthood, it wasn't until I think quite literally like my second year of college, sophomore year, when I actually started to discover who I was and who I wanted to be.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for context, I like I said, grew up in acting and theater and all of that.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I was supposed to be in, I feel like I'm just rambling.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_06: No, let's go.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_06: Let's go.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let's check everybody, keep keep going.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was supposed to be in an advanced theater class to prepare you senior year for auditions and stuff like that for performing art schools.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And somehow my schedule got messed up, and I was put in an advanced film class um with Travis Sherman at Harvard High School.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: And if you know Travis Sherman, he is he's like a great teacher.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: He is hard on you.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like he's oh my gosh.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the first day I showed up, I argued with my counselor.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I don't know film.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, I like movies, but haven't done any of that.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm supposed to be in theater.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna get a shot.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if I don't, you know, get in it.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And um I was in his class and I remember the first day he like walks by and he's like, Who the heck are you?
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Who are you?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and so it was just it was immediately like you know, yeah.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um and he made a deal with me.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, if you try to write like one of your like, you know, scripts that you're writing for theater, like playwright for a screenwrite, I'll like consider letting you go to like the advanced theater class.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: And because it was at the same time, and it was literally like a door away.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was mad as heck that I was like sitting in advanced film, and you have to be like signed off to be in it.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, what am I doing here?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, truly a mistake.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I started doing I went to a competition with them and they traveled a lot.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Harbor Film was amazing, it was such a cool program.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so I went and one of the things that I wrote won.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh, this kind of feels good.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: But it was cool to see something that like I spent time on and like converted like you know, playwright to a screenwrite.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, and it it like was performed in front of me, and I wasn't acting in it, and I was like watching it happen in front of me, and it was this really cool new thing that I had never seen.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I loved directing, like in theater.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: I loved helping other actors like figure out like, okay, what's your background, what's your character feeling in this moment?
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I loved it with screenwriting, and so I started writing more, and then next thing you know, I'm kind of like not forgetting about theater, but forgetting about the advanced class and just doing things on the side, and I was traveling with the film team.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I loved it.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: I would act um in several things, they're terrible.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Don't look them up, don't try to find them.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_06: So are they on YouTube, Liz?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, for sure.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_06: If we needed to see those, could we link link that right here?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: The stories were good and the filming was fantastic.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: It was by a girl named Amber Carnish, and she like works for Walmart now.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: She's incredible.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but the the acting on my part, no.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_05: You have to start somewhere.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, we had to start somewhere.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so then when it came time to colleges, um, oh man, it's so embarrassing.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: I went and auditioned.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: We did like a Thespian Fest, is what it was called.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you auditioned for performing arts schools and like Little Rock, and it was all of these schools from all over that would come and like have representatives from there and watch you audition.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: I bombed the audition.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: I was so nervous.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: I was not prepared.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: And like looking back, I know it's exactly what needed to happen.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: But oh my gosh, I choked.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like it was so bad.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember my roommate still makes fun of me for this, but like I had to sing a song and like made up the words, made up the words to like a very well-known song.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I had to do like a monologue or whatever, totally made that up.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: And like the judges are just sitting there, like, we know this girl is just pulling this from somewhere.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was so bad.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it was crazy because I won scholarships for like the passion of it.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, absolutely.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_05: That's real.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's so funny.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's real now.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I got like performing arts like scholarships, yeah, but no offers from school.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, oh, okay.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: And auditioned for Roosevelt Performing Arts, got into that.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it was very expensive.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, and then uh, you know, Travis, he we call him Sherm Dog.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Sherm Dog.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to Sherm Dog.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he was so kind and he he like sent in several um, I guess like audition tapes or things like to film schools and reels and things like that that I had been a part of, and I got into several and it was awesome.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, okay, mom, like this is what I'm doing.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do it.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: And she goes, Oh, absolutely not.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, No, you're getting a real job.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: I was devastated.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I made a deal with her because my brother, he went to San Diego State and he did not like it.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so then he transferred to Arkansas.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so my mom's like, You're not doing what your brother did.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh, okay.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: So she started me at Arkansas, and it was basically like, okay, you need to go to Arkansas, or you gotta figure it out on your own.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Send me the deal that I'd go to Arkansas for a year, and if I would like genuinely try, and if I did not like it, then she had to support me where I went.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And she was like, okay.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I think she was very much like, you're gonna love it.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And went, gave it my all, joined a sorority.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out Alpha Kai, Mega.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Love them.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I told her I was going for business law and I had auditioned for the Masters Theater Program.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: So that was really what I was going for.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: As a master for fine arts.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I got into that program and was doing business law on the side.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_05: Hated it.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Hated it.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: B law was all Oh my god, it was terrible.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_05: I didn't even do it.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_05: I just had some friends that was like, bro, this is yeah.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to be El Wood.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I'd get to wear like cute little pink outfits of like go into court.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it was no.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I literally dropped out without her knowing.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was we were signing up.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: I finished out freshman year.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I signed up for or I was signing up for my sophomore classes.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it was like 10 p.m.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: at night, and my roommate's sitting on her bed, we're all signing up and everything.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I just hit unenroll.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, wow.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: I like, I fully just like, I feel like it blacked out, hit unenroll.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, are you sure?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yes.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's like you're no longer a student at the University of Arkansas, like, please go see like office first thing, blah, blah, blah.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, gave me all these directions, and I was like, Oh, and I just like felt like I was gonna throw up.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: And my roommate Kelsey, she's like, Are you okay?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, and you call my dad.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I called my dad, who's in California that night?
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: You called Yeah, like literally, probably at 11 after having a crash out in my dorm.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: I called my dad.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's probably like 9 p.m.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: in California.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, Hello.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I told him I want to move to California, and he's like, Uh, okay, like when.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: And he'd been trying to get me to move out there for years, but I was like, no, my life's here.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and I told him two weeks.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, two weeks.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna make it happen.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: And um, were you close as your dad at that time?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, me and my dad had kind of like a falling out.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, just because like, yeah, life stuff and like hard stuff and like feeling like he wasn't there.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: But like as I'm older now, he was there so much.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and he's always been like super supportive.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um but yeah, we really healed that relationship when I moved out there.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: But he's like, okay, like bring it on, let's do it.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like he starts looking at U-Hauls and everything.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I was supposed to go to um, or like I had interviewed for it's called Beach Camp with Buschurch as a leader.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And uh one of my guy friends who was an intern at the time, he's like, I think he'd be great at this.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's eighth grade girls.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh, sorry, can't I move to California?
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, What?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: And the minute like I hung up with him, this is about like a week later.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: So we're like at the one-week mark, right?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm selling off stuff trying to make money, like to try to pay for the U-Haul or something like that.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: And um I I get a call from U-Haul, and they're like, We double booked your trailer.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, What?
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: What do you mean?
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: And the date that they could get it to us was the day I would arrive back from beach camp if I were to go.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, okay, it looks like God wants me to go there.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I went and um yeah, got back and it was just an incredible experience.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, actually thought about staying in Arkansas.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, maybe I need to be here and like work more in the church.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I just felt such a pull towards California.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So packed up the U-Haul with my dad.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: He's so gracious and drove with me across country.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, moved me to California.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: It was the loneliest I think I've ever been in my life because I didn't know anyone.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and he was working constantly, so he'd be going back from LA, San Diego.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was just in San Diego by myself.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I deleted all my social media because I didn't want to have FOMO from everyone back to the show.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_05: For sure, yeah.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and hard reset.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was crazy.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just go to coffee shops and like talk to strangers or sit on the beach and like just like talk to random people and just make friends that way.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it was wild.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then I found out um I actually won the Lucille Baldwin um scholarship for a University of Arkansas, which was crazy.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it was almost like it was quite literally full ride.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize that some professors that I had there had submitted a lot of my work, and I had done um a screen or not a screenplay, but like a playwright um for a senior like like a senior class like thesis or whatever, even though I was a freshman, but my play got chosen and so we performed it, and I guess it won and I had no idea.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_05: Wait, wait, go back.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: I know, I know, I'm all over the place.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, I'll follow you.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_05: I'm just like, so you so when you unenroll, is the intention to go back to school in California?
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was planning to like fully move to California and I was like, I'm gonna take a semester off.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: My dad convinced me to do that.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's important, sorry.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: And um then I was like taking a semester off and was planning to like tour schools out there and finally choose for like me, yeah, where I want to go.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: My dad's like, I'll figure it out, we'll we'll get you there.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I could do scholarships, like I was already on a lot of scholarships, the UV, but yeah, I guess there was this like thing that my professors had sent in my writing and my resume.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_05: And you had no idea.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: No idea.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I oh my gosh, I even worked the Bentonville Film Festival as an intern on the night of the awards ceremony and had no idea.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: And people were like texting me and they're like, hey, like this happened, like, why weren't you there?
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I didn't, I didn't oh, because like I ignored it.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like I got the invite.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: I fully got the invite, and I was like, Oh, I'm leaving the school, it's whatever.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: And found out that I won the Lucille Baldwin, like she has this really cool uh scholarship that she gives away.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's almost full ride for the theater program.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so I found that out and I was like, oh my gosh, I made a mistake.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And the day that my grace period ended for the U of A, I was um touring, I think like the 10th school.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was a Zuspace Pacific University, it's a private Christian school, and I was like, there is no way in heck that I'm gonna end up here.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: And the moment I walked on campus, I got that email that was like, your grace period's ended.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Dad, I'm gonna have a panic attack.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: And we just like got out of the car and started walking, and I felt so at peace.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Every campus that I toured before that, I was like, I don't belong here, this is not for me.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: And they were great schools, yeah, awesome schools, um, film schools, like theater schools.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: And when I walked on Azusa, something just felt like it clicked.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I had so much peace like in my spirit about it.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, and I I ended up putting in, you know, a submission like application and everything.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then my dad's okay, so like, do you want to do theater?
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I think I want to do film.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so I ended up putting in an application, didn't hear from them for like months, and I was like, God, I didn't I didn't get in.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: And they had like a really pretty hard program like to get into.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was such a God thing and such god timing because I think it was like a month and a half later, I finally heard, and that's like unheard of.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: You normally hear within a few weeks, you know?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: And a month and a half later, they like responded and they're like, Hey, we wanted to bring you in for um like a interview, like a Zoom interview or whatnot, and you know, deliver some news.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, crap, they're gonna let me down.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Easy.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um they gave me one of the biggest scholarships to get in.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it was so cool.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it was based on again, like just resume application and work that I had done.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a really cool scholarship.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: It was like the biggest one that you can get as a transfer.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, that is so God.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's not me bragging on myself.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: That is like that's God's time.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, dang, like, this is where I'm supposed to be.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was even more than like, because private schools are expensive, and it was like more than what I had in my hand that like I thought was what I needed, and like he just provided even more.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, dang god, you are so cool.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Went to that school, loved it.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I graduated in 2020 though.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: So film got fully shut down.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: All my jobs got shut down.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: I was planning with some friends um to open like a or like start and launch like an indie film commercial company type thing.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, all of that got shut down.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: I put a ton of money into it myself, bought the LLC, like everything, and just like literally was on spring break in Yosemite rock climbing.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: And we get back into like service and the world is ending.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we're like, oh, okay.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: And like it was just kind of a moment where everything just stopped.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: And like it was like everything I don't know, everything was going slowly.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: So well.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: And in my eyes at that time, I was like, dang, like, this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm making it.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: I had professors like in my ear telling me, like, you actually have like the determination and the skill set like to make it in this industry.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that's like not something that we tell many people.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like on cloud nine.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: And just like, dang, like, I can actually do this.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: And there was a part of me too.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't mention this and I wasn't going to, but I think it's important to.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um if you know me and you know how I grew up around here.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest thing that was like my peak, what people said is I won two Emmys, um, like student Emmys for screenwriting.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when I was at Harbor, one of the films was submitted and we made it to um student Emmys like division or whatever, NATA's, I think.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like an Emmy Emmy.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I wasn't the only one.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: It was like there were, I think there were three people that won that year, but we were the first of like our to put like kind of Arkansas on the map for the three people from here?
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So the girl that like I would work with constantly, um, I think there might have been four.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Forgive me if I'm messing that up.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, Travis had submitted um some of our work to, I guess, like the student division, and shocking, we won.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: And we got to go to Branson and like go to like the regionals.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so everyone, when they found out, I was in college, but it was for something that I did in high school, right?
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so when everyone found out, like I would be stopped.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: People would be like, oh, oh my gosh, like what's next?
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like you've peaked, or like, what do you do now?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And like they meant that as a compliment.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: But for someone trying to figure out what they are and what they want to do, I was like, oh my God, I have to get to the next level.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what's after a student Emmy or real, like a big Emmy, like telly?
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so it was just this like constant thing living in the back of my mind.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so when it came to film school, even though it was like a private university, people are like, oh, like there's other film schools.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I was like, this is a good school.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they had all of our professors for like adjuncts.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: So they were still working in the field.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, great mentors, amazing internships, like offered, and also surrounded by just like talented people.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like I have, you know, classmates that are making music videos for Justin Bieber now, and like massive followings on YouTube and like working with industries like Google, AI, like all types of things.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you're being told by like material, like you can do it, you're gonna make it, and then everything just gets pulled out from under you because of COVID, it's like you're mad and you're confused, and you're thinking, God, what the heck?
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so I just it was a complete undoing of who I was and where I thought I was going.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I took a step back, now looking at it, I truly see COVID as such a blessing in disguise, like in terms of my life um and the timing of it, because it's wild.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: I had I feel like God speaks to me through dreams.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is gonna sound woo-woo, but I really do think that he speaks to me through dreams and like just visions in the dreams.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I felt I I can so clearly see it where I was just sitting with him and having a conversation.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, God, like, why would you do this?
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like you set me up like for success, everything was going right.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and he's like, You forgot who you were.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, What do you mean by that?
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just I wrestled with that constantly, and I just kept hearing you forgot who you were, and you forgot whose you were.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: And the whole reason Yeah, the whole reason I got into film was not to make like Christian films.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: That was never my goal, but I wanted to tell stories that had an underlying theme of who Christ is in our lives.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, to to give and make things in this world that speak to people who might not know Jesus, um, but without like shoving it down your throat.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think I've realized every single story, no matter what it is, has some underlying theme of a biblical story.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: It was the greatest story ever written, in my opinion.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like all we do is pick and choose from it and like create other stories.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so when it came to that, I was like, God, what do you mean?
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've I've been treating people well, I've been living well, and he's like, Have you?
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I started to think about it.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: And even though I mid things with good intention, I think my senior year, I was such a yes girl and became so into like, how do I make it, how do I make it, how do I make it that I think I lost the part of myself that really saw people around me.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there were things that I said that were hurtful when I meant it like, hey, let's get it go on, like, let's get a move on, but I didn't see how the person who they were.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: I just saw them as like, this is your job.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: You need to get this done so we can get this made.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: And when I started to take a step back and those glasses kind of came off, God really reveals that I had created such an idol out of film.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that was when like once I started like piecing together little things, the more the conversation would go with God.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, okay, I fully, I fully like created an idol.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: You're right, like you stripped it away.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I need you to fully remove it from my life until I'm ready to like have it back in my life.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, even if that means I never do film again or ever touch a camera again, take it away.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it was the hardest, most humbling prayer.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I even heard him say, like, I feel like he said he was proud of me because I had so much favor when I was in film and when I was doing like photography and everything, like so much favor.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not me.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: It was like, yes, I have a talent, but it was it was aligned with God.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's it's fully coming down from him.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, talent will only get you so far.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_05: Like some of his stuff you didn't have anything to do with.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_05: Like it was no.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, that was impressive.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: You need to know what I was doing.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it was like his hand was so on it, and it was so clear that he was like, if you keep going in the film industry and you stay in California and you keep pushing, you will make it and you will be so successful, but my hand will no longer be on it.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that was where Wherever I live.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: I broke down.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: It hit me so hard.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I still have children.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I got me too.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_06: I'm clearing them.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_06: I'll be like, goodness gracious.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: I the Lord has so clearly spoken to me in moments, and so clearly arguing me too.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then like so clearly at the same time, like pulled back and been silent in moments where I've needed to wrestle.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that is it has become a huge, if maybe not the biggest part of my story, and realizing where God has put his hand and taken it away.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: And like, it's just crazy.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like, fast forward to years later, right?
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's like six years ago.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in 2025, you know, I'm working for downtown Bentonville Inc., loved them, loved that job.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was the most incredible job.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: I worked some really toxic jobs before.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so working there, it was so healing and creative.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like I got to be openly creative again, like without boundaries, because it was something that I was told, like, you're kind of building this as you like want it to be, because we haven't had this before.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it was great.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then it was great until it wasn't in the sense of like I really struggled with that too.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: Cause I was like, God, like your hand was so clearly on this, like the way that you gave me the job.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: I worked for another job for a day because I took it, it was full time, and I was interviewing and I was unemployed for six months, and I took this job, um, and I worked it for a day, and I was like, oh shoot, this is not where I'm supposed to be.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I called um Dana back because she was communications director at the time, and I called her back and I was like, Hey, is there any possible chance that you guys are still interviewing for this social media manager that was part-time?
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, it's not what I need, like like financially, like because I was living alone, couldn't support myself, like eating ramen noodles daily, regularly lunch and dinner, sometimes skipping lunch, like it was it was just bad.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I was like, God, like I just don't need to be in this job.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it was full-time, great benefits.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I don't need to be here, like what the heck?
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: And we interviewed, and she's like, Oh my gosh, how soon can you come in and meet, you know, our executive director?
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: Met him, they gave it to me on the spot.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, God, that is you.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so for years I felt his hand fully on it.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: And this is gonna give me chills because this is recent.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but back in like May of 2025, I really started feeling like something was shifting.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I wasn't, I wasn't happy anymore in the sense of like, God, I don't feel purposeful anymore.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like in the sense of doing things for you.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just, I'm just going through the motions now.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I was um, I was getting really depressed because it was just work, work, work, no time for friends really.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my roommate's calling it out in me.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, this is not you.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I really struggled at the end because I was like, God, like, this is where you wanted me.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this was your favor.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you have given me opportunities and I have got to meet the coolest people like that never in a million years would have dreamed of.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: And all in here, like in NWA, I was like, what?
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: And got to build such a cool brand with them and be a part of big things.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I felt like God, um, I felt like I just had this picture of me like sitting in a desert, leaning against a rock.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's like dark as heck, there's stars or whatever, but like that's the only light.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, there used to be a fire here.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like I used to be like warm and feel your presence.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, if you would just turn your head and pivot, you would realize that the fire has moved and you're supposed to move with me.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it reminded me so much of Exodus, where you know, they're following the pillar of fire and they're complaining constantly that God's not providing, but literally, he's providing light, he's bringing light from Refidim, like the rock, like water.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I was just like, dang God, like, okay, like I'm terrified to move, and I don't know what that move means, but I feel like it's quitting my job.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't have anything lined up.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: I had some opportunities that had been presented, but nothing solid.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I was just like, okay, God, like you've had me take leaps before, but this is gonna be a big one too.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because from the outside world, everyone was like, You're doing the dream job.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: You are so happy you have like, you know, have a great role at your age.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I'm really not.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really not happy anymore.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I felt a part of me just being eaten away.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so made the leap, quit, had nothing lined up, was sitting in coffee shops, just like talking to old mentors and trying to figure out like, okay, God, like what do you want me to do?
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I felt him like start your own business.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, absolutely not.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, no, no, no, no, no.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: I need reliable, like financial stability.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: I need, you know, I need to be how like I need to have benefits, I need to have insurance.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, no, God, I'm good.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't, I don't want to do that.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: And every single person that I'd meet with, I would never bring it up.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: They'd be like, you should start your own business.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: It was like, shut up.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I finally felt like God was like, okay, you say you need all these things, but I am these things.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Again, again.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, I'm like yelling in the back, not good.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh my God.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, what do you mean?
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: And there was such another idol of stability and financial stability and an idol of security that I think branched into all these other things.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, oh shoot, that was humbling.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: One.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: And two, like, okay.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so I have a gracious roommate who's like, oh, you don't have a job.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, okay, like, we'll take care of rent.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we're gonna figure this out.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and she is such a solid human in faith, like, as well.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so she always wanted me back to truth when I would see just like red and darkness.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: And um shout out to the roommate.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, shout out to Emma, she's great.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but no, I I took the leap and truly God has been every every part of it.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I tried my own business years ago when I was like unemployed for six months and it crashed and burned.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it was everything that I thought it needed to be.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it just, it was terrible.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so this time I was like, God, I'm not, I'm not in control.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like you are my CEO, you're my CFO, you're my board president.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: I am a mere vessel.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like, teach me what you want me to do.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it combines every skill that I've learned from coffee shop jobs to being on film sets to um doing social media and stuff that I did like at downtown, graphic design, um photography.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: And like he has just fully brought that back, like full fledged.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it has been so cool.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I have it hasn't taken off yet, but I've been working with an old mentor in California as well to try to bring a film to Arkansas.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so film has come back.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just been the coolest, coolest thing to like be a part of and see God move.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I have done no advertising on myself.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, he is literally bringing these people to me, and they are the coolest clients.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, they're so they have such a passion, and that's what I do now is like I want to tell the stories behind like these small businesses, and I realize that that's like their baby.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like, not a third-party agency where they're just like all about money.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, no, I want to tell your story and I care about what you have to say to the world.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so I've been so grateful to be able to turn people down that just don't align, but then also point them in like a good direction, but then take on people that have like been such a cool challenge, like in the best way, like of like, oh, I've never done advertising or like social media for a gym before.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like, that's crazy, and that's like fun, and like, yeah, everything from restaurants, um, like clothing brands to art shops, shout out the iris.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and like the gym, like follow all of them, please.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: But there's such cool people behind these vispses that you drive by every day.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so getting to tell that story now to the public is just, yeah.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: So that is little Liz all the way to testimony to some of that Bruh Liz.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_06: I'm over here, like it's a tear right here.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I'm I'm I'm sucking it in.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_05: You know, it has not fallen, but I'm just like, hey, yeah, there are so many things.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_05: Um you seem over here like like getting chilled.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_05: I'm just like, there were so many things in your story, which thank you for sharing that, you know, and thank you for being just a faithful steward of your story and your influence.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_05: Because we don't share that sometimes.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_05: Like we overcome by the oh Lord, I'm gonna butcher this, but it's by the the word of the Lord, power of our testimony, but something.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_05: We gotta talk basic.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_05: You know what I'm saying?
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_05: And so, because you never know how something you say can resonate with somebody else.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_05: But yeah, you know, this morning, I was in my devotional talking about Exodus and reading this morning, literally.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_05: So, so it I think yesterday I was I was referencing something you said, and this morning I was literally reading where Moses said, I will not go if you don't go with me.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_05: You know, and I just hear in your story this theme.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_05: There was a theme of really being in tune and tapped in with God.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_05: I think first and foremost is so important.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_05: And for us as people of faith, sometimes we don't be on that.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_05: Like we don't be doing that.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, a thousand percent.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_05: Like we be really on our own thing.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_05: And yeah.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_05: No, I was just talking to my mom not too long ago, and we were talking about how if you take God at His Word and you do what He says, then He's responsible for the outcome.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_05: But if you do what you want, then you're responsible for the outcome.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_05: And so like ten times out of 10, if you're doing your own thing, it's gonna be crumble at some point.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_05: You know what I mean?
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_05: Whether that's at the beginning or whether that's six months down the road, it's going to come to a head because you just went over there and did your own thing, you know.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_05: And you know, I'm also hearing this idea of like, man, we similar story, almost to a teeth.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_05: I had the trappings of worldly success.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_05: Music and stuff was going good, had some bread in my pocket, had some notoriety.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_06: I knew it.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_06: Like, yeah, yeah.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_05: But it's like, man, you made idols out of these things, and like your soul is probably in the most debt as it's ever been.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_05: Like, you know, depleted from a soul standpoint.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_05: And what good is it to gain all of these things and you know, kind of lose yourself and so true.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_05: So I'm grateful for everything that you shared.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_05: And it's it's such uh an encouraging reminder.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_05: I'm curious when you talk about stepping out on faith.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_05: I have a friend of mine who's been in the entrepreneur fair.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_05: I don't know, 30 years.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_05: And he fought it for seven.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_03: Dang.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_05: Literally.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_05: He's like, you know, because at that time when God told him what he told you, start your business.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_05: He had a job that he was at for a few years, a family, kids.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_05: He was like, I'm not gonna do it.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_05: And he said he fought that for seven years.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll have to leave it.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_05: You know what I'm saying?
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I would have done it too.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_05: And so he finally jumped out the boat and started his own business.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_05: And, you know, him and his family are doing well now.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_05: But when I was first kind of starting my entrepreneur journey, I asked him, I'm like, man, so what is it like?
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_05: And he said, I want to be clear.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_05: The floor for me and the floor for you is the same.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_05: You know, you're 30 minutes in, I'm 30 years in, and it isn't the same.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_05: You know, you step out on faith, and it's like you jump out the boat, and if you jump out the boat, you hope you can swim.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_05: And if you can swim, you hope you find land.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_05: And if you find land, you hope you find water.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_05: Like, keep going.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_05: And he just kept going.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm like, and if you find food, you hope it isn't poisonous.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_05: And if it's poisonous, you hope you can nurse yourself back there.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_05: And he just, and I'm just looking at him like, and he's like, So, all of that to say, step out on faith.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm like, oh, bro, like, what?
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_05: You know, so yeah, so for you, you know, you've been in this experience for you know a little while now and and you've seen some different things.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_05: But I'm curious, for I'm curious about two things.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_05: First thing, how do you go about starting your own business and putting yourself out there?
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_05: If you whether somebody wants to do film, photography, comedy, anything, like what would you say is like, man, keep this in mind if you can start your own thing.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: So personally, I think the greatest thing that you can do, one, is like follow God.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: That is, I've had a lot of people ask me.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, oh, I I want to get into this.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how do I how do I do this?
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, to be completely honest, like the best advice that I can give you is surrender to God, whether you're a Christian or not.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: And like, I know that there's a lot of um, I promise I'll answer this question.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_05: No, we're good.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: But I know there's a lot of like controversy with the word Christian, especially in Bible Belt and stuff.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm someone who has been very hurt by the church and like still healing from that years later.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I just want to say, like, genuinely, like when people, even on film sets, like you were told, like, don't tell people that you're a Christian, even from a private Christian school.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, what?
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I literally watch people get fired because of their beliefs.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it was crazy.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was, I was like this scared little one, but I'm reminded too, like, if you deny my name, you know?
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, I'd be on film sets and people like directors, they were scary too.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: They'd be like, Why are you so bubbly all the time?
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: Why are you just like so happy?
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh, here it is.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I I love Jesus.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, All right, fine.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you can stay.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I I didn't like shove it down their throat or anything, but like that's what I tell people is like, look, I love Jesus.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: Whether that means, you know, Christian to you, whether that means Baptist to you, like I I identify by just saying I love Jesus.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so when it comes to running a business, the best thing that I can do is my business meetings are with God.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_00: Everything's surrendered to Him.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm nervous or anxious about something, it's like you literally all is go back.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me, tell me.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: Business meetings with God.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, daily.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: I try daily.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_00: I don't always make it in the morning, but I try to daily because at the end of the day, like, even if I'm in my car driving, I'm like, okay, God, like, this is yours.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, even driving in this podcast this morning, I was like, God.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, whatever you want me to say, like let it be said so that if even one person hears it and you speak to them, my job is done.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and so I I try to surrender it all.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm like, okay, God, like financially, I don't know what the heck I'm doing.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, give me the mentors that I need, give me um, you know, the right connections.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I trust you.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_00: And something huge that has really helped me in staying faithful, but also just brave and courageous in it, is that if God brings you to something and puts something on your heart, He will absolutely follow you.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_00: And like it has nothing to do with you except your obedience.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so, oh my gosh, I got scammed bad by insurance for like just a life insurance, like health insurance.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I got scammed bad and like owed thousands.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_00: It was really bad.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, God, what the heck?
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I was like, I thought we were doing well, like I was doing everything right.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_00: I went through all of the right motions, and this insurance company was legit, and they just they got me.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_00: They did it under the table.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, God, why would you allow that to happen?
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm literally months into starting this business.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I was doing everything right.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_00: I've been following your rules, I've been trying.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, nothing.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: Silence.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just like, okay, God, like, and it just became more of like you were talking about stepping out of the boat.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: I had such a picture of like just like on the water with God, and I'm walking and we're vibing, and I'm like, oh, everything's sunshine and rainbows, like walking hand in hand with you.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: And the second the wind starts to blow, things are coming at me, I look away.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's the second I start to drown.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: And Emma has been, Emma's my roommate.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she's been so good at like reminding me, like, have you kept your eyes on God?
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, girl, I don't want to hear that right now.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, let me cry.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it's been so good to be pointed back to truth because she's so right.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_05: Like, no matter what happens, I mean eyes on you.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: And like, I'm gonna be so for real too.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: When you start a business, it is not easy.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_00: And people have said to me, they're like, Oh, it just feels like it's falling in your lap.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, no, it is it is constant obedience.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I have got I've got more anxiety in ways that I've never dealt with in my life.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in the sense of like, my thought patterns are just so different now because it it's owning a business and starting a business and being an entrepreneur is so different than anything I've done, even though there's seeds that have been planted throughout my life.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm also recognizing and trying to like get help from the resources around me.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've like signed up for therapy.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even care to say that therapy's good.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_00: Period.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_05: You deserve to be heard.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's like I want, I want resources and like ways to like help the patterns in my mind, but also still surrendering it to God.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, and like genuinely, like I think the closest you can get to God is like He, He's a friend.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's not religion, it's a relationship.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so, in spending more time with him, even as him as my boss, like as my business mentor, like, okay, God, like, where do you want to go next?
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like, show me or reveal to me, or send people to reveal to me.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's like the greatest thing that I can say.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: Any decision that I've made with this business, even to like the point of like, do I buy this social media service?
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_00: goes to God first.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's like a hard no, and it's when you get hit with insurance bills like that.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, okay, maybe not.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: But then there's other things that I feel like are laid out, but I also say this in the sense of like, there's there's a line in a song, and I can't remember the song right now.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think it's oh, I'm not gonna okay.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_00: But it's um, don't allow me to build back what you have torn down.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: That is not me.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: That is a song.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'll find it.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_00: But when I heard that, I pulled over the car and was just weeping because I was like, dang god, like that actually reminded me like when I started looking at it, I was like, oh, I'm trying to solve this the way that Liz would solve it.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm seeing all these problems and things in front of me that you've never even put in front of me.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, that's crazy.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so the biggest advice that I say is one, follow Jesus.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um like, yeah, talk to God about it.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, whether you believe or not, like talk to God.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like He wants to know you.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then the second thing is um there's like this visual of like this man pushing a rock.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and he's constantly pushing the rock.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think I told you this, and we'll be like, ooh, we've been yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like he's pushing the rock and like constantly just like, okay, like God, like you've told me to push this rock.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then Satan comes in, he's like, Okay, well, shouldn't you have moved the rock by now?
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, Oh, you're right.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like years later, like this is like say 15 years later, every day he's woken up and pushed this rock.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_00: And Satan comes and tells him that, and he starts placing doubt in his heart, and seeds like are being planted, right?
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so seeds are being planted.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that Satan has done that to me so many times.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_00: But the beauty of it is when God comes back, it's like, I never told you to move the rock, I told you to push it.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_00: Never told you to move it where it needs to go.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'll do that.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: But look at your arms, look how strong you are now.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_00: Look at your like legs, like how like every day pushing on a rock has strengthened your muscles to face whatever I actually am going to call you to.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think about that too, with the business of like, okay, God, today, what is my rock?
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_00: What can I be pushing on, but like not move?
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because I recognize that you move it.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think that that is just huge.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, and just like constantly having to humble yourself.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know everything.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_00: I even called, I was having a crash out the other day, um, like learning more about taxes.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I went to old Navy and was just walking around.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I felt prompted to call um one of my old mentors who she she was one of my mentors in church, like growing up.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: And um, she has an incredibly successful business.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, shout out to Restore the Home.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Lauren Smothers.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I called her and she answered like on the fifth ring.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, What's going on, girl?
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm in the car rider line.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I share this because she has had her business, I want to say like 10 plus years now.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: And she was in nursing, and you should have her on this podcast.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: She's cool.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to her.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but she she quit nursing, which was a very stable job, and like started an organizing business.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, I don't know where this is gonna go.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's huge.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_00: She's in magazines, she's been all over NWA, all over like multiple states, and like she has remained humble and so welcoming and open to every entrepreneur who comes her way.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I was asking her a question, and she's like, I'm gonna let you in on a secret.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_00: People who have been in this 10 years, 20 years, 10 months, they have no idea what they're doing.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_00: But daily we're figuring it out, and she's like, we don't know all the answers, but we learn from it and like we just keep going step by step.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_00: But she's like, You can talk to me and I will tell you everything that I can.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_00: But she's like, I also am not afraid to say I don't know.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was a huge lesson, especially in comparison.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_00: And especially with someone who's starting out versus yeah, like your friend who's been in it for years and like successful now, is to recognize, like, oh, exactly what he said.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_05: We are all on the same they got they crossed and they carry in it and they don't know what they're doing and they're figuring it out.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it truly is the same level.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like, oh, I'm here because you're you're new, you know?
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's truly like we're all in this together and we're figuring it out.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so thankful for a community like NWA who is not there's a few of them who are a little cutthroat, but like for the most part, everyone I've spoken to is like, I want to learn from you, or how can I help you?
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's really cool.
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_00: Friends, make friends, yeah.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_00: But like genuinely like want to know the person too.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_00: It is, I will say, it hurts my heart sometimes when people are like, Oh, let's get coffee, like and everything, and they act like they want to know you as a friend, and then it's just constantly like, tell me how to do my business or tell me how to do exactly what you're doing.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, and I'm a four, and I'm emotional.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, I don't feel sweet.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I think if you genuinely like there's people, you'll find your people.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know, yeah.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_05: No, man, that's like look, I'm over like you didn't stick us through every emotion.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, before we get off of here, I want to hear from a social media standpoint.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_05: And when we were growing up, it wasn't as pronounced and as much of a need as it is now.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_05: But, you know, a lot of people will say if you want to have any remote success, then you have to put yourself out there digitally.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_05: Do you have any advice, any tips, any insights on how to push market, promote yourself?
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think the best advice I can say is don't compare.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's huge.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: Be you, because I know that sounds so like so Pinterest bored, but truly, like what I've noticed is people care way more about authenticity than like auth.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the word?
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_05: I say authenticity.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, what do we mean?
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, no, no.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like genuineness.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um but they they do, they care about the people behind it.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, even with my clients, I tell them, like, some of them are like, oh, I don't want to show my face.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, you're the owner.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you started this.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I think people want to know, even if it's like a photo on your website, like this is who you are, this is your story.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: And not saying that, like, oh, story sales, like, no, that's not what I'm saying.
• 53:58
  SPEAKER_00: But like, people care about what they're buying and who they're like working with.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if they know you as a person, they're much more likely to like work with you.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so when it comes to social media, I feel like there's so much fakeness and so much, like, even I've been called out for it.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_00: People like, not even like intentionally, but they're like, oh, you look so happy, like life is going great.
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, having an anxiety attack.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really struggling, bro.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_00: And like, how do you admit that?
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like last week and started looking at my socials and even seeing like the stupid little engagement meter, it's like, oh, you're down like 20% on your own engagement.
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, How do I keep up with all these other influencers and girls and stuff like that?
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just like, I don't need to worry about that.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_05: That's right.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need to worry about that.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna do me.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna take care of what is placed in front of me.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so don't compare yourself to the numbers.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_00: Don't compare yourself to the people who are doing it really well out there.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, celebrate them, celebrate what they're doing and celebrate what you're doing.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_00: Cause like every little win is a win.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't, it doesn't matter about the likes, it doesn't matter about all of that.
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I say when you're trying to promote yourself, just be you, like be real and you'll find the right people because not everyone's gonna like you.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_00: I can tell you for sure.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_00: I there's people out there that are like, oh, she's too bubbly, or um, she's you know, and I've also had a lot of people come up to me and they're like, there's no way that like you're that nice.
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Thank you.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_06: Hey, she is, bro.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_06: She really liked that, bro.
• 55:27
  SPEAKER_06: Off camera.
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_06: But all camera, get off list, bruh.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: But I've done that same thing.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_00: Two of my really good friends, like one of them, like, shout out to another influencer like um Olivia Garwood, like, I'll live my life.
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, she's a big influencer in this area now.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then Emma, like core, like who's my roommate.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like, when I first met them, I was like, there's no way these girls are that nice and that pretty and that fashionable and kind.
• 55:51
  SPEAKER_00: And they are two of the most incredible people that I know.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_00: And like it's genuine.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm telling you, follow them.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_00: But that I think it's just like we're all in our own heads.
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, when it comes to promoting you, get out of your head, see yourself for like the worth that like you actually like hold, like you are worthy of it.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_00: And like, yeah, I don't know.
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's my greatest advice.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still learning.
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_05: No, that's it.
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not there yet.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_05: I love it.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_05: I love it.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_05: Liz, this was like, it felt like a healing conversation, it felt like a splash.
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_05: You know, how we talk about being in the desert leaning on that rocket's water just hit, like so.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_05: I I appreciate, you know, just your intentionality.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you know, I appreciate your ability to see others and really your self-awareness.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_05: It is such a rare trait, I think, these days, mainly because we aren't really taught to sit with ourselves.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_05: And you know what I mean?
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_05: Like, we're almost encouraged to covet or look up to other people or be somebody else, you know.
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_05: So I mean to hustle and like blah, blah.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_05: So it is really refreshing when you sit next to people who are thoughtful and insightful, you know what I mean?
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_05: And and you're able to give because of what you've received.
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_05: Like, you know what it's like to go your own way and be lost.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_05: And so you can you can tell somebody like on to that.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_05: Um so so thank you for joining us.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_00: And likewise to you, like literally, even just sitting with you over at Heroes Coffee, I could just tell.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_00: Authentic, cool.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to hear more about your story.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_05: We got a lot of overlap, that's for sure.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_05: It's a lot of similarities.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_05: Please, you know, so what what's next?
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_05: Where can we follow you, support you?
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_05: Uh plug everything right there.
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_00: Plug, plug.
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, follow me on social media, pretty please.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a silly goose.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I'm on so Instagram, Liza G Photos.
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um if you want to reach out about photography or marketing, LizaGphotos at gmail.com.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm working on a new website, so I'm super excited about that.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_00: Fully rebranding just because completely changed my LLC and all that.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_00: So working on a rebrand right now, but I'd say like the best place is like probably Instagram and Facebook, I'm hard to find.
• 58:07
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of Elizabeth Gonzalez out there.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want to find me, you can find me.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, and then I'm also always in coffee shops.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, if you see me, truly just come say hi.
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love a conversation.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_00: I look really upset when I have my headphones on and I'm like concentrating, but I promise I'm happy inside.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm vibing.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_00: Unless it has to do with taxes.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_01: Leave me alone.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_05: Liz, I appreciate you.
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you so much.
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_05: Make sure to follow her, make sure to tap in with her.
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_05: She genuinely is how you see on this uh show.
• 58:37
  SPEAKER_05: And so Liz, we'll do this again.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
• 58:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_05: Perfect.