Latest / Momtalk Maryland / The Power of 7 Words: Wini Alexander's Journey to Purpose

Transcript

The Power of 7 Words: Wini Alexander's Journey to Purpose · Momtalk Maryland

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, and welcome to Mom Talk Maryland.
0:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Claire Duarte, founder of the Columbia Mom.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: And this is your spot for real conversations, local love, and a whole lot of community.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: Whether you're folding laundry, running errands, or hiding in your car for some peace and quiet, let's dive in.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm so excited.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: I have Winnie Alexander here with me.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: We are kicking off essentially like my, you know, the first podcast of quarter four.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: I had the pleasure of meeting Winnie um earlier this spring.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: And um you're one of the, I mean, we'd been talking to several people at the Happy Hour event prior to the um leadership event that we were attending the next day.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: And we just totally nerded out.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
0:41
SPEAKER_00: I I was obviously fascinated by your business, and I, you know, um was so um excited to hear about like what you've built.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: And like I said, I I really do consider you someone an expert in your field.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: And um one thing that I think is really interesting, again, like on this podcast, we talk about a lot of different things.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, I have people on here, whether they're local business owners, we're talking about upcoming events, we have philanthropists, um, you know, nonprofits, uh, small business, you know, people from all different industries, right?
1:12
SPEAKER_00: And I one thing that that I personally nerd out that I think is kind of central to all those things, is I love people's origin stories.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: And um, I just find that interesting and really fascinating.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: And while you've been in your field for like 20 plus years, you know, I think what's also uh interesting, even though you have a long time standing there, there was a point where you did make a big transition.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: And um, which I can relate to a lot because even though I'm only a few years into mine, I also took a big transition and a big change, a big risk.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
1:48
SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: And even though many times I still feel like I'm still like a very much a baby at this stage, but you know, you are a testament to like, you know, evolutions, you know, happen, and um you know, you've got you've done some really cool things um with your business, and um I'm I'm fascinated by it.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: You there are a lot of things that I, you know, have done a little bit with my own business, but I want to, and that I know that I want to step into more of.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: So um, that's why I'm excited to have you here because whether people can benefit from your business or yourself, or just you know, if you're listening and you're a mom or woman or entrepreneur or just whatever, like you know, I think um you have something really unique and awesome to offer, whether it's, you know, like I said, other businesses, other clientele, or just your story.
2:31
SPEAKER_01: But anyway, let me pass it back to you.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
2:33
SPEAKER_01: So, how did my seven words uh start actually?
2:36
SPEAKER_01: First of all, I want to say thank you so much for inviting me to be on the podcast.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: It's so excited.
2:41
SPEAKER_01: I have been on other podcasts, but it's all been virtual.
2:44
SPEAKER_01: So this is the first time.
2:45
SPEAKER_01: Yay!
2:47
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and I love it, exactly.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: And she was she already knows that like there's so many uh bumps, and and it's I love recording in person too, but it's it's a setup, it's a process, it's a process.
3:01
SPEAKER_01: It's all good, though.
3:03
SPEAKER_01: So, my seven words actually started in 2011.
3:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I was working for a private company that um had contracted through the airports up and down the east coast, and I was a consultant and a trainer.
3:18
SPEAKER_01: So, what I would do is I would be assigned specific airports um for up and down the east coast, far as far over as Texas, and um I would teach customer service and also have one-on-one customer service conversations with the employees.
3:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: Now, not the airport, but the concessions.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that makes sense.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: Right.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: Yes, right.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: So you're not training the airport.
3:40
SPEAKER_01: Not the airport employees, right, right, right, right.
3:42
SPEAKER_01: But the concessions within the airport.
3:44
SPEAKER_01: And I loved it.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: I got to travel all the time from Massachusetts all the way down to Florida and again over in Texas, Houston, at George Bush uh airport.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: Well, right.
3:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
3:57
SPEAKER_01: So I totally love that.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: And I did that for eight years.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:01
SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of where, actually, not where I started with the bug.
4:06
SPEAKER_01: Let me just go back one more time.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: Y'all, you that's right.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: We gotta peel back the layers.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: Just a little.
4:11
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
4:12
SPEAKER_01: So I actually started when I was in retail.
4:15
SPEAKER_01: Because I was a retail manager.
4:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:17
SPEAKER_01: And at this particular time, I was working for Brooks Brothers and uh Brooks Brothers for four years.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: So I was doing my job, and then this position came up, and I was asked if I wanted to do this particular position.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: It was a district training manager.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
4:35
SPEAKER_01: So I would go to the different uh stores within the district and do customer service training.
4:43
SPEAKER_01: And I was just like, oh yeah, this will be really cool.
4:45
SPEAKER_01: So I ran to New York and amongst other people who were also gonna be district managers in their district, and we all got trained and understood what the what the actual role was and all that.
4:58
SPEAKER_01: Right, right, right.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm like, this is so cool.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: So me being me, eventually what I did is I wrote a letter to the CEO of Brooks Brothers.
5:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
5:11
SPEAKER_01: And I said, you know, I love this whole district training um role.
5:17
SPEAKER_01: Can I just do that full time and not do be a store manager?
5:22
SPEAKER_01: And they were like, yeah, no.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: You have to do both.
5:26
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay, fine.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: So I got to travel doing the district training role um all the way to Puerto Rico.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: So anytime that there were stores that they were opening, I would go to those stores, California, Arizona, like everywhere.
5:39
SPEAKER_01: And I would do training.
5:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
5:42
SPEAKER_01: So that was like really cool.
5:43
SPEAKER_01: Got to Puerto Rico, did training there, uh, was there for a week, pretty much mostly on the beach because they were still sort of building.
5:53
SPEAKER_01: So you're like, well, if I have to, right?
5:56
SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, oh yeah, this is cool.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, that's awesome.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: So that's where I really realized that training is fun.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: And let me just tell you one thing.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go back even further for just a second.
6:07
SPEAKER_01: So I have a daughter, and before my daughter, I wanted to be an actress on Broadway.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: Like that was my thing.
6:16
SPEAKER_01: Like I'm gonna, because I was in drama, you know, all of the things, right?
6:20
SPEAKER_01: And then my daughter came along, uh-huh and I was like, darn it, I cannot do that now.
6:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I have a kid, and I have a husband, like I you know, all those things.
6:31
SPEAKER_01: So then I started thinking about it.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: Why can't the training stage be my stage?
6:39
SPEAKER_01: Oh wait, I do whatever I want.
6:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: I control it.
6:47
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, wait, okay, just quick pause.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: It's so funny you say this.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: So I mean, I also I mean, I wasn't always in drama, but in high school, I did musicals.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: And like I it wasn't one, it wasn't like, oh my god, I have to do this.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: It was like a friend of mine encouraged me to like try out because it was like I did soccer in the fall, so I didn't have like a thing in the spring.
7:09
SPEAKER_01: So she's like, just come on, whatever.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: And um, and I hadn't done them before, but it's so funny you say that now because that's where I got my taste of it.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't think about that until you just said that because I was like, I also love being up on the stage.
7:24
SPEAKER_01: I think we're we're what is that word that we are?
7:27
SPEAKER_00: Well, very extroverted, very much so like there's so well, there's a lot of words.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: Like charismatic, um, creative, of course, like all those different energies.
7:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's who we are.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
7:40
SPEAKER_01: So I loved it.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I do basically.
7:43
SPEAKER_01: I really put myself into it.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: When I walk away from a training, I am spent because I put everything out there.
7:52
SPEAKER_01: Whether it's a two-hour training, whether it's a four-hour training, whether it's a six-hour training.
7:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
7:58
SPEAKER_01: And I've done all of them.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: So well, and I've just from I mean, clearly I haven't sat in on like one of your trains.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: I can just tell that you're not one of those people that you're not just like going up there and it's not just gonna be a dry, like, you know, cues.
8:12
SPEAKER_00: Right.
8:12
SPEAKER_00: Like it's not like, yes, I'm sure a lot of I know that a lot of the work that you do is like, I don't want to say just administrative or informational, but like that's sometimes just the nature of the beast of some of the material that you have to do.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: But I know that your delivery and you know, again, over four to six hours, like I know that you have bring a lot of dynamics.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: I have to.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: And one of the things that I do tell my audience prior to me actually starting the training is that I need you all to vibe with me.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
8:41
SPEAKER_01: Like, I am not that person that stands up and does lectures.
8:45
SPEAKER_01: I am not a lecturer.
8:46
SPEAKER_01: No, so I will turn something into a skit in a minute.
8:50
SPEAKER_01: You have to clear, let's do this.
8:51
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna be this person, you're gonna be that one so that everybody sees it.
8:55
SPEAKER_01: Because people, especially professionals, they're just like, oh, it's gonna be one of those, you know, blah, blah, blah.
9:01
SPEAKER_01: However, when I turn the tables, they're like, oh my gosh.
9:05
SPEAKER_01: And then at the end, they're like so super excited.
9:08
SPEAKER_01: This was actually fun.
9:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, you think so?
9:10
SPEAKER_01: Right.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: And like I told you it would be.
9:12
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
9:12
SPEAKER_01: I am not that boring person.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: No, I know.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: And I love what I do.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: And I love that you say that too, because I can think of, I think we all can think of like, I know we're talking a lot about just like trainings and things like that, but just in general, like whether it's a conference, we all know those moments of like uh those those sessions or the speakers that stood out because they were so animated, and like whether they forced you on your feet or like sometimes just sometimes just even as if all the speaker does, if if all they do is just increase their volume a little bit, you're already grabbing my attention just by like commanding your voice a little bit more.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: Like, and that's only just part one of things that you can do.
9:53
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
9:54
SPEAKER_00: And um, and I love those ones, like you know, because everyone says, like, what the after-lunch sessions are always the hardest, you know what it is?
10:01
SPEAKER_00: They are, like no matter what.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: But um, but I think, you know, one I think why like we vibe again.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: I I'm so big on vibes.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm so big on vibes.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: Like, sorry, and this is the other thing that we do in the park.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: We um on the podcast, like we're we I go, we go on tangents, there's not like a step one, step two, you know.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: I love to, we're just going with the flow.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: But like, you know, for instance, like I would say, I'm big on like uh vibes with like ambiance too.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: Like when I go to restaurants, like, you know, I love good ambiance.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: Do you know what I mean?
10:33
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's important.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: That's you know, ambiance is kind of is more associated with like a place, an environment, but vibes with people, right?
10:41
SPEAKER_00: And there's vibes that we give out, there's vibes that other people give out, but then at the end of the day, when you're commanding a room, we're sort of in control of like we get to set the temperature.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: You get to set the temperature.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Because you otherwise, if like you know, what leader are you if you're just standing up there and letting those the room's vibes control you?
11:03
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
11:03
SPEAKER_01: You know, and that's not a good thing.
11:05
SPEAKER_01: So just because you just said what you said, I have to tell you a really quick story.
11:09
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm all about the stories.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: And I do tell people that I'm about the stories.
11:12
SPEAKER_01: Yes, okay.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, yes.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: So um, I went to this job interview thinking that it was gonna be like a one-on-one, one-on-one three, something like that.
11:22
SPEAKER_01: I walk in, I sign in, blah, blah, blah.
11:25
SPEAKER_01: And the lady says, just down a hall to the left.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: Go down a hall to the left.
11:30
SPEAKER_01: I walk in, and oh my, I hear all these people.
11:33
SPEAKER_01: It is an auditorium full of people who are also applying for the same position.
11:41
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
11:43
SPEAKER_01: So I was like, I heard it before I actually saw it.
11:46
SPEAKER_01: And I think someone opened and I went, oh my God.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so how do I do this?
11:50
SPEAKER_01: Right.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: So I walked in and I said, Good morning, everyone.
11:55
SPEAKER_01: How are you all doing today?
11:57
SPEAKER_01: And they were like, oh, great, we're fine.
11:59
SPEAKER_01: Right.
12:00
SPEAKER_01: They thought that I was one of the people that worked there already who was gonna be doing the interview.
12:06
SPEAKER_01: Right?
12:07
SPEAKER_01: Right?
12:07
SPEAKER_01: That's that's what it is.
12:09
SPEAKER_01: It got quiet, and they're like, oh my gosh.
12:11
SPEAKER_01: So I walked around, I found a seat, and I sat down, and I remember the girl next to me, she was just like so nervous.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: Like, oh my gosh, this is someone who's like watching us and listening.
12:22
SPEAKER_01: And I'm thinking, if you only knew.
12:24
SPEAKER_01: Right, right, right.
12:26
SPEAKER_01: I know I didn't get the job because I was overqualified.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna say, Which was hilarious.
12:32
SPEAKER_00: Well, as soon as you said that, when you because you when you think about it, right?
12:35
SPEAKER_00: Like the higher up you go, you're not competing with a hunt.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: You're competing with a tiny handful of people.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: When there's that many people, that just tells you what type of job it is.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: Right, which makes sense.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: You know, um but it's so funny you say that.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: Um that right there told me I can switch on a dime and change the atmosphere in the room that I'm gonna step in.
12:58
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: And here's another thing that I think you and I kind of like uh are very similar in that like I people, you know, tell me all the time, like, oh Claire, you're so extroverted, like you can do all that, blah, blah, and I can't, you know, I have a lot, I feel like, you know, as an extrovert, I have a lot of introverted friends.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: Like they fli they say that they flock to me because they I help them get out of their shell, right?
13:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: So I I feel like I hear that a lot, but I was like, the reality is I don't I have a lot of the same inner thoughts and feelings as those same people.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: It's not that I'm that much better than them.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: Right.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: I also I think one thing that I've forced myself to become better at is I've forced myself to flex those muscles a lot more.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: Things like I don't doesn't mean that I don't have fear.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: Right.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: Like in the I when you were explaining, like, I wasn't kind of picturing like what I would feel like because I would like I would feel that split second, but then then there's like a moment of like, okay, like I can let that consume me, or I get to take charge and decide.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: Right.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's just where you and I like we've learned at some point, whether it was, you know, ourselves forcing ourselves to or just our environments, you know what I mean?
14:15
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes kind of being a mom, it's like I I have two seconds to make a decision, you know what I mean?
14:19
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: And um I've at least for me in like a lot of these situations, whether you're in different rooms, is like um I hate the feeling of feeling like ang, you know, feeling anxious and self-conscious that um, you know, whether it's uh a fa I would never say it's a facade, but sometimes that is the armor that I put on of like, no, I'm gonna step into power, right?
14:41
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we're stepping into power because maybe we don't always believe it's fully in us yet, but if I could step into it, then it can kind of grow around me a little bit.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: I know that's kind of a funny way to say it.
14:52
SPEAKER_01: No, I understand.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: My secret weapon is prayer.
14:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
14:55
SPEAKER_01: So before I ever go into a room, I usually get there early before anyone else does, and I say my prayer.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure.
15:03
SPEAKER_01: Because I need that centering.
15:06
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
15:06
SPEAKER_01: No matter what I do, yes.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: Whether it's training, whether it's a podcast, whether it's acting, whatever it is.
15:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:14
SPEAKER_01: I always do that.
15:15
SPEAKER_01: Question.
15:16
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: Do you now?
15:17
SPEAKER_00: Because some people are different.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: Do you just kind of go into your own prayer zone, or do you have like a specific prayer that you like repeat?
15:22
SPEAKER_00: I'm just because I know some people are big on like affirmations and mantras, and I didn't know if there was one that like you like because it kind of gets you in the zone, or you just kind of like a free zone.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: That's an interesting conversation.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
15:34
SPEAKER_01: I I just pray that um and I'm a before I tell you that the story.
15:40
SPEAKER_01: Before I tell you, answer your question, I'm gonna tell you the story.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: So I was in Houston, I had about 10, 12 people in the room, and it wasn't a very large room.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: But there was one person in the room who was very disruptive for no reason at all.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: And like kept challenging me.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: And I was just like, I don't understand this.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: And I this was before I could come in and, you know.
16:03
SPEAKER_01: So I kept doing it, and I was just like, I am, and I could see everyone else is miserable because they're just you could feel the shift in the atmosphere.
16:11
SPEAKER_01: Right?
16:12
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, no, this can't happen.
16:15
SPEAKER_01: So I gave them all an assignment and I said, I'll be right back.
16:18
SPEAKER_01: I went to the client and I said, I have a person here in the room who is disrupting the room.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: I would like you to call her man, his manager, and have him escorted out.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: And she was like, Oh my goodness, Winnie.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I need that to happen.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: As soon as that happened, the whole atmosphere shifted.
16:35
SPEAKER_01: It's like, it's like an infection.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: It sounds, I don't think it's a big thing.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: It totally is, or rotten apple.
16:40
SPEAKER_01: But you put it in a in a bunch and then everything else.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
16:44
SPEAKER_01: I was like, uh-uh.
16:45
SPEAKER_01: I came too far for one person to disrupt this.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: No, because it's not because here's the thing it's not about like, yes, like you need to be good, but the reality is it's like it's affecting them, but if it affects you, then you can't create the experience for everyone that people need.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
17:03
SPEAKER_01: So it's yeah, it's all about the whole thing.
17:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:07
SPEAKER_01: So from then on, I was like, I something needs to happen within me.
17:11
SPEAKER_01: So I always make sure, I always make sure that I say a prayer and I just ask God to just go before me.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
17:19
SPEAKER_01: Clear out all the mess.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
17:22
SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna walk in my authority.
17:24
SPEAKER_01: And I do that every single time.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: I love that you say that.
17:27
SPEAKER_00: And I'm, you know, I do remember you telling me about how deeply entrenched you are in your faith.
17:32
SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, I feel like one thing I've been doing this summer, I've I've um been getting back into reading a little bit.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: Like again, as a mom, you know, I feel like, and running a social media-based business.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: I feel like I've just it's been hard to like literally read and running around, but I got I finished two books this summer.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: They were a hundred pages each.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: They were very like quick, easy reads, and I'm in on I'm on my third right now.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: And a lot of it is on um, they're not fiction, it's like manifestations, visualizations, um affirmations.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: Affirmations, all of these things, and I'm nerding out hard in it.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: And one thing that I think so I took this one online course this summer.
18:10
SPEAKER_00: I've been doing like, you know, doing a lot of like personal and business development this summer.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: And one thing I noticed the the girl set at um, because it's like, you know, a series of videos, right?
18:19
SPEAKER_00: Before the in the very first video, she was like, I want to set an intention.
18:23
SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't a prayer, like she was very faith-filled too.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, like prayer-like elements in it, but I was like, huh, that's interesting that she before she got started, she like she did she did her introduction, but she was like, you know, like setting an intention.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: And like that really hit me because in my brain, I was like, not like a in a non-believer sense, I was just like interesting.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: Like why I wonder why she would want to or choose to like set intention.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: But I remember she like you kind of like, you know, when people sort of like glow a little bit, like she just you you could see she just looked and felt effervescent.
18:56
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Like she was smiling as she was saying, she just looked so full of and I just remember thinking, I was like, that's so sweet.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: But I was like, you know, we're talking about like I don't know, different marketing things, digital, I don't know.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: And I was just like, that's interesting to kind of place that here.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: Again, it wasn't like all about God necessarily, but it was just anyways, it it struck me.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: And I thought that was really interesting, and I but I and I really liked it, and I was like, that's something really neat.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: So then when I've been working on my own materials, I was like, I I want to start setting an intention for things like that.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
19:28
SPEAKER_01: And then here's what's gonna walk in it boldly.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: And so here's what's crazy.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: So I told you I finished those two books.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: I'm on my third book.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: So I'm on my third book of a different author, but I'm also listening, I'm also have one on audio that I'm listening to.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna tell you the name of the it's called um The Magic of Manifesting.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: Um I was trying to find the author because I didn't want to buy oh, I'm not gonna say that right.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: Ryu Shinohara.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: Whatever.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: I'll put it in the notes.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, anyways, and I've been listening to it audio.
20:01
SPEAKER_00: It's funny, I used to be so good at audiobooks um prior to kids.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: Like I could fly through books.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: Now I think with kids it's like um you smaller pockets of time, you know what I mean?
20:11
SPEAKER_00: But last night I was cooking and I was like inside and I was like, you know what?
20:15
SPEAKER_00: Let me turn this on because I had like 30, 45 minutes.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: And the chapter I kind of you know it's one of those things that sometimes like because you're stop and go, it's easy for me to forget a little bit.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: But in this chapter that they that he was talking about, he was talking about intentions.
20:29
SPEAKER_00: And he was um and what I think I really like about a lot of these books that I'm reading, because some of them, when we're we're talking about universal principles and things like that, um not that I say like some I think sometimes these universal principles might like, I wouldn't say reject God, but just stay sort of like a little bit more fundamentally neutral.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: But what I like about all these books that I'm reading, it's this beautiful way of like accepting, you know, you know, talking about like the universe loves you and wants abundance for you, but also kind of bringing like God and spirituality.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: Like they're it's not rejecting either or saying wishing it all in so exactly in it's kind of this really beautiful way.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, what's been really I've been feeling myself pulled back into my faith, and I've been really enjoying it because of the clarity.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: And anyways, he talked um, it was so cool him talking about intentions, about um setting um, you know, you know, everything from like setting an intention for your day and taking quiet time and peace um to have those moves.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and like you know, how it can be applied to, like I said, whether it's like before you lead, before like whatever.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: And um, and I just thought that I want to go back and relist, because on like a book, like I want to write down like some of the steps that he was saying because it was really cool.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, there's a that was just such a funny moment that I was just listening to that ask yesterday that you said.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of like, I'm like, I don't know.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: I I I I believe there are no coincidences in life.
21:58
SPEAKER_01: Like I you know what I mean?
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Really quick.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna take a plug for next.
22:02
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
22:03
SPEAKER_01: So there's this movie called Ripple.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever seen it?
22:07
SPEAKER_01: Well, now I have to.
22:08
SPEAKER_01: You totally have to.
22:09
SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna tell you why.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:11
SPEAKER_01: Because you know how we talked about like there's quote unquote, like when things pop up and you're like, that's a coincidence.
22:19
SPEAKER_01: Right.
22:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:20
SPEAKER_01: So that's kind of where that is, Ripple.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: So if I hadn't met you when I met you, I would not have been here.
22:29
SPEAKER_01: You see what I'm saying?
22:31
SPEAKER_01: And then you do something with someone else who uh who knows me.
22:34
SPEAKER_01: And then I know.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: I see, I I like I like I got chills.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: Like I fully in my heart, fully believe that.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: And I don't care whether it's in the universe or God or the two of them, it doesn't matter.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: It's not random.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: It's just I fully believe that in my heart.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: Like the reason I even met you is because um I did like it's just so so funny.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: That same lead up.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: Like I took the courage to run my own workshop by myself.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: A friend of mine saw that.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: He referred me to another friend who I did a panel with, and that's when I met our mutual friend.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: And that's how I got invited to her conference.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: How I met you know what I mean?
23:12
SPEAKER_00: It's just ripples, no coincidences.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: Like, I just I think it's I find it so beautiful.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: And um, it's kind of like one thing that I've sort of been practicing myself is just kind of like handing back over what I think when I think I have the reins on my life, and just reminding myself that the universe and God has my best interests at heart and that I don't have to squeeze so tightly.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
23:38
SPEAKER_00: I it's it's like I still I still need to show up and put my best foot forward and work hard.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: But knowing that I don't like, like what I heard saying this, and it's like when you say like, I wish, I wish, I wish, I want, I want, I want, I hope, I hope, I hope.
23:52
SPEAKER_00: When you do that, it's like you're repelling, you're pushing it further away.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of this beauty of releasing and letting go.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: You can still want those things, but I'm realizing the the tighter that you try to control your life and for out of fear of whatever, or because you so desire something, it can just kind of like push it.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, tangent, but anyways, that's just kind of the place of life that I've been at, and there's something really peaceful about it.
24:21
SPEAKER_01: So then you're you're gonna go, whoa, when I tell you this, the story of how my seven words started.
24:27
SPEAKER_01: Oh, perfect! This was like so cool.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: Okay, yes.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: You're coming around.
24:31
SPEAKER_01: Yes, exactly.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: I was at my Miami Date Airport.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm used was usually there for like a week.
24:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:38
SPEAKER_01: So um I was back in my room, taking a nap, chilling.
24:44
SPEAKER_01: I think I was probably done for the day.
24:46
SPEAKER_01: Um so it was between being awake and being asleep.
24:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that like twilight-ish moment.
24:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:55
SPEAKER_01: And I heard very clearly my seven words.
25:02
SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
25:03
SPEAKER_01: And I was I kind of like woke up and I was sort of groggy or whatever.
25:07
SPEAKER_01: And I and I wrote it down on the little paper that they have on the you know, the stand my seven words.
25:15
SPEAKER_01: And it was training and coaching.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: No, coaching and training is how it was.
25:20
SPEAKER_01: I was like, that's a business.
25:23
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, What?
25:26
SPEAKER_01: So I wrote it all down, and I'm I'm thinking then I'm thinking of other things.
25:31
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
25:32
SPEAKER_01: The next day, I literally called the I how do you get an EI in?
25:38
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
25:39
SPEAKER_01: Did it while I was in the hotel room.
25:42
SPEAKER_01: Got my EI in right then and there.
25:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:46
SPEAKER_00: That's how it started.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: Like literally.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes, like, well, and I also think from the things that I'm reading, we have like God will speak to us, right?
25:55
SPEAKER_00: We know that God will speak to us.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: And totally like they'll he'll speak to us in the moments that we need anonym for, right?
26:02
SPEAKER_00: Right.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: But what I'm also kind of learning is like the more that we can find ourselves in you're just you're thinking, well, I was just taking a nap and I was slowly waking up, right?
26:12
SPEAKER_00: But there's in something because you had some softness, some quietness, some peacefulness.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: And I'm realizing like I've been trying to practice putting my phone down more, not just yes, I need more separation from my phone.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: We can list a bunch of reasons why.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: Right.
26:31
SPEAKER_00: But it's tapping into this actual, like, not that we need to be like we it's impossible, we can't, we're not Buddhas, we can't just sit around and meditate all day.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: Like we're human beings, but you know, the more that we are in that space, the more it allows clarity.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: Clarity, the universe and the God to come into us, come into our lives.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: Not that we're gonna get secret messages all day, every day.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: That's not the point.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna constantly get like, you know, that many gifts, but it's it's amazing what can come from those moments of peacefulness and quiet.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: And it takes, um, I'm realizing that the you know, takes we need to not always just electronics, whatever, but that's one example that I know that I have in my life that when um I start to quiet those noises, um you'd be surprised.
27:23
SPEAKER_00: It's crazy.
27:24
SPEAKER_00: I because I, you know, like I said, I said earlier, I suffer I suffer from uh shiny object syndrome um and and lots of ideas, but then I have to remind myself the when I whether it's a quiet moment like that, and I don't you don't necessarily have to be in a full meditative mode or necessarily prayer mode or even sleep mode, but it is this idea of just kind of letting letting go.
27:50
SPEAKER_00: It's like those same prints that's what I've learned.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: There's so many things that just line up, like of just letting the mind quiet down, quiet the noise, quiet the anxiety, the fears, the controls, the the high intensity, and just letting something calm down.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: And that can it, it's so amazing what can come from those little moments.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: And um it's just it's been really fun to play with.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: So now that I'm I wouldn't say I'm getting addicted to it, but I'm realizing like, wow, the clarity that can come, you know.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: So now I tell myself when I really like I'm trying to figure out what I want to work on in a couple areas of my life and my business.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: And I know that like if I'm frustrated that I don't have the answer, it's because I haven't taken the time to do that.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: And I used to think I just needed to like work harder and and do more.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: And one of the other things that I've learned from this summer too is that like you don't always have to work harder.
28:45
SPEAKER_01: Like, yes, we are all having to be more strategic.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: Because you don't want to be that person that just works, works, works.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's the thing.
28:53
SPEAKER_01: If you're just going like this in a in a in a constantly grinding circle and it's going, going, going, but you're not really moving ahead.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: Because you're never gonna you're never allowing yourself to even be in that space.
29:05
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
29:05
SPEAKER_00: And we all need to be in that space.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: There's a whole nother conversation.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I was gonna say it is like, you know, it's like I say podcast number two.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: Oh I know, and you know, there's a I mean, look, we we are grinders, we obviously all have to be, but you know, um, I'm just reminding myself, it's it's not that, you know, I'm like the message isn't like, oh, don't work and things are gonna be easy, and you know, but it's like the just the merit in and this in slowing down.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, so this is what like I'm learning, like, you know, we hear these things all the time, and like I'm seeing how this can apply in real practice.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: It does.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: Whether it's in your personal life and business, I'm like, that's I was like, that's the secret, that's the key, and that's what they mean by slowing down.
29:45
SPEAKER_01: So well, so after writing that down, right?
29:49
SPEAKER_01: So I am going, I have my phone here for a reason.
29:52
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
29:53
SPEAKER_01: So I wrote it down, and oh my god, there was a paper that said uh, it was like to write down your goals for the for the next year.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: And of course, I can't find it now because I had it up.
30:08
SPEAKER_01: Um actually, nope, here it is.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: It was called.
30:11
SPEAKER_01: It was called My Getting the Life I Deserve Pledge.
30:16
SPEAKER_01: Right?
30:17
SPEAKER_01: So you put your name, uh-huh, you're first starting January 1st, 2011, right?
30:22
SPEAKER_01: I will focus on making the steps to achieve my goals.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: Ever since 2009, I've known that I want to start a part-time business and lose 20 pounds, you know, always to pounds.
30:37
SPEAKER_01: Well, of course, of course.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: Nothing wrong with that.
30:39
SPEAKER_01: So it says start a web business, and in parentheses, my sevenwords.com.
30:45
SPEAKER_01: Because I had I'd heard that, right?
30:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
30:48
SPEAKER_01: So I actually started it.
30:50
SPEAKER_01: So I I had this paper and I was like, oh yeah, this is what I'm gonna do.
30:54
SPEAKER_01: Time went by.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: It always does.
30:57
SPEAKER_01: I don't know where I put the paper, and I hadn't even think about the paper until six years ago.
31:04
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
31:06
SPEAKER_01: And I was like cleaning, looking for some stuff, yeah.
31:10
SPEAKER_01: And I came across this box of papers.
31:14
SPEAKER_01: And I went, oh my gosh, I remember this.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: Like I all of a sudden it just like hit me.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I got chill bumps, everything.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, it's time.
31:27
SPEAKER_01: Like I felt it.
31:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:29
SPEAKER_01: Like it's time.
31:30
SPEAKER_01: I had totally forgot it.
31:32
SPEAKER_01: How could I forget that?
31:33
SPEAKER_01: That is so cool.
31:34
SPEAKER_01: And so that's when I was like, okay, time to work it.
31:37
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I started doing: setting up the structure, doing all the things that I was supposed to do, Googling when I didn't know.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:45
SPEAKER_01: All of those things.
31:47
SPEAKER_01: Finally got it all together and started my seven words.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: That is so cool.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: And that's another thing, too, that like um success is never linear.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: It's never like, like you said, like you that those words came to you forever ago.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: And that's and that's kind of a then you I almost like it.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: I have these moments like, well, then why did God feed those words to me?
32:11
SPEAKER_00: Because we weren't ready.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: But but it's like that's but that's my point.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: It's like you feed those words to me.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: And you're like, oh, knowing that I was ready, but also not ready.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: Not ready.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: Which is so funny to me that I'm like, well, why did you plan it?
32:22
SPEAKER_01: Because you have to go through specific experiences in your life in order for you to do the things that he told you about that was coming to you.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: So it's so in that moment, it was literally planting a seed.
32:36
SPEAKER_01: Totally.
32:37
SPEAKER_00: Knowing that this wasn't a seed like you know, there's some crops that will like that grow super fast and that you'll be able to cultivate and and harvest right away.
32:47
SPEAKER_00: This is like an oak tree that will take you know, it's gonna be underground and teeny tiny for years and and maybe even dormant.
32:56
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
32:57
SPEAKER_01: Right?
32:57
SPEAKER_01: And let me tell you, had it been for the next week, let's just say, oh yeah, I got all this, I'm ready, da-da-da.
33:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it would not have worked because I needed to go through the things that I've gone through in order to be able to stand up in front of people.
33:13
SPEAKER_01: There was a time in my what was I like, in my 30s, 40s, and I you you had to tell me ahead of time if I was gonna be the person that had to speak.
33:25
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I can do it, but I need to write it all on little cards and you know, do the whole thing.
33:32
SPEAKER_01: And because I was, I don't know if I was terrified or very just ner anxious.
33:38
SPEAKER_01: I think anxious was more than that.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: And I think like I can relate to that too of like being sort of younger in your even though you'd still been in that space of like, I don't know, for me, I find myself like struggling with imposter syndrome here and there.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: And I think when you're it's it's like it's anxiety and also not because like you know how to do it, but like you're like, can I really sometimes that that other voice tries to say, oh, you're not good enough.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you're like, like I've done this before, but you're gonna mess up now, and like all these things.
34:09
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like, and now I'm in a totally different space.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: Like 64.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: That's I'm rocking it.
34:17
SPEAKER_01: Don't even look close to it so I'm just like, oh yeah, no.
34:24
SPEAKER_01: My whole mindset is very different now.
34:27
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, yeah, very different.
34:29
SPEAKER_01: And I because life is precious.
34:31
SPEAKER_01: We don't know how much time we have.
34:33
SPEAKER_01: No, so we need to make sure that we do all the positive things that we are meant to do.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
34:38
SPEAKER_01: And if like I even the the the what's his name downstairs?
34:42
SPEAKER_01: The security guard.
34:43
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yes.
34:44
SPEAKER_01: Sweet.
34:45
SPEAKER_01: So sweet.
34:46
SPEAKER_01: Just started talking, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
34:48
SPEAKER_01: He's telling me his whole life story.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: But the thing is, he's like, you know, and I we were talking about something, and I said, Oh, yeah, I had to pray about that.
34:56
SPEAKER_01: And immediately he was like, Oh my gosh.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: It was almost like giving him permission to say, Yeah, I pray too.
35:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm a Christian too.
35:05
SPEAKER_01: And you know, but it's cool.
35:07
SPEAKER_01: I know.
35:07
SPEAKER_01: You know, but everybody, I don't know why people do what they do, but anyway, we're all individuals, and we're all special, yes, and it's all cool.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: I know.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, sometimes I'm walking and I might say hello to someone or talking to someone or open their door for someone or whatever.
35:21
SPEAKER_01: And I remember last year I was working at Morgan State as an HR training consultant.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: Right?
35:28
SPEAKER_01: And um, I came up to the door, and this other lady came up to the door, but she had like a hood or hat on, so I didn't see who it was.
35:35
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Oh, I said hello.
35:37
SPEAKER_01: And she turned around and she's like, Miss Winnie.
35:39
SPEAKER_01: Oh, and I was like, Oh my gosh.
35:42
SPEAKER_01: So we started talking, and for something I could feel that something was heavy on her, and I just gave her words of encouragement.
35:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and she just the tears were just like, and I was like, Oh my, I didn't mean to make you cry.
35:56
SPEAKER_01: She was like, I needed you at that moment.
35:59
SPEAKER_01: And you don't know how many times I had those moments with people, whether I know them or not.
36:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I'm grateful for that.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's really so well, and that's where I think you we're you and I, we're we're in these positions in life where like I think our gifts are to give back to people, whether it's teaching or in these positions that um I feel like not everybody has has the strength or the skills to get up in front of a lot of people.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: And so I I agree, I I don't take that lightly.
36:31
SPEAKER_00: I I I really do feel like it is a gift that I get to do, and I'm honored that I get to do it.
36:37
SPEAKER_00: Because I I enjoy it.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: Yes, but it it is um like we don't do it for the praise or for those moments.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: Those moments are like the the cherry on top, like that's so sweet, and then that's wonderful, but I I really do feel like so genuinely wholehearted, like wow, like I'm in awe of that.
36:56
SPEAKER_01: And you know you saying that reminded me, I mean I say this was like a couple months ago, right?
37:02
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know, for some reason I was just feeling down.
37:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
37:06
SPEAKER_01: And I was trying to push through and I said, let me look on LinkedIn and you know, blah blah blah, looking for some jobs or whatever.
37:15
SPEAKER_01: And all of a sudden, I ended up at my own page, and I felt like like I f I felt and heard look at your recommendations.
37:29
SPEAKER_01: And I was just like, uh, let me go here and look at my recommendations from way back when to now.
37:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
37:37
SPEAKER_01: Do you know that every single person like every recommendation was very similar?
37:45
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
37:45
SPEAKER_01: And I started crying.
37:47
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
37:48
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Lord, thank you.
37:50
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm being consistent as the person that I'm supposed to be, giving to others, encouraging others.
38:00
SPEAKER_01: I love doing that.
38:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
38:01
SPEAKER_01: Like it it just makes me feel good too.
38:04
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm not trying to be like, oh, here's a sad person, let me make myself feel good.
38:07
SPEAKER_01: No, no, you know what I mean?
38:09
SPEAKER_01: And it was just like, I said, this is a great, a great way to like encourage yourself, yeah, and to know that you're still on the right path and you're doing the right things.
38:20
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
38:21
SPEAKER_01: So this my first one was way back in my airport days.
38:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
38:24
SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, going all the way to now.
38:29
SPEAKER_01: And it's just, it's amazing.
38:31
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
38:31
SPEAKER_01: You're like, what an above.
38:33
SPEAKER_01: But I'm grateful that my character and the person that I am shines in a way that people it it changes them for the positive.
38:44
SPEAKER_01: And it reaches them.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
38:46
SPEAKER_01: I remember going to a conference.
38:48
SPEAKER_01: This was, I think, when I was in retail years ago.
38:51
SPEAKER_01: And um, this lady was on the stage.
38:54
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, wow, I could be on the stage.
38:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, right?
38:58
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
38:59
SPEAKER_01: So um, she told a story about this salon owner who did her hair.
39:05
SPEAKER_01: And so she, the lady was depressed and everything, and she went in for her appointment, and she said, This is what I want, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
39:15
SPEAKER_01: The salon owner, the person who was doing her hair, they were having a conversation, and she started speaking life into her.
39:23
SPEAKER_01: And the lady started crying, and she said, What you don't know is that this was gonna be my last style for my hair.
39:35
SPEAKER_01: And this was gonna be my last day.
39:38
SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
39:40
SPEAKER_01: And that story has stuck with me ever since.
39:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
39:44
SPEAKER_01: And even now, I could almost like it.
39:47
SPEAKER_01: I know I can feel that.
39:49
SPEAKER_01: And I was just like, wow, it just it was so clear.
39:53
SPEAKER_01: She was gonna like crank herself out.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: And I was just like, oh my god, no.
39:58
SPEAKER_01: Right, right, had it not been, and she wanted everything, her make like she wanted everything done so she would be ready.
40:05
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: And I I I just it threw me again.
40:09
SPEAKER_00: This is where wholeheartedly, no coincidences in life.
40:13
SPEAKER_00: None, none.
40:14
SPEAKER_01: You can't tell me, like, oh, like you just no, no, and that was many years ago, and to remember that story, that's how much it hit me.
40:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that you don't know what people are going through.
40:28
SPEAKER_01: No, you don't.
40:29
SPEAKER_01: And a kind word or a gesture can change someone's whole outlook.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: It really does, it really does.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, one thing, I mean obviously I love these podcasts because I love getting these moments to go deep and to talk about things that, you know, you know, social media, it's it's all these short clips, right?
40:50
SPEAKER_00: So kind of like we get to go deep here.
40:52
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, like when I started my platform, and yes, I do lots of kinds of different things.
40:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm showcasing my life, and they're all the little snapshots, and at the end of the day, what social media isn't really real because we're, you know, we're all fabricating things to a degree.
41:05
SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, I started my platform with a desire of like the way I've talked about it in the past of like I I was coming from a place of wanting more, but one thing that was very central for me was needing more connection.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: And connection in in many different ways.
41:23
SPEAKER_00: Right.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: But where I think you and I have always been kind of drawn together and very similar is just huge, like we are human beings.
41:32
SPEAKER_00: We are meant to be with each other.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: Right.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: We're not meant to be alone.
41:37
SPEAKER_00: Right.
41:37
SPEAKER_00: And and you can apply this in a ton of different ways, whether it's whether it's motherhood, like you know, alone in motherhood and business and in faith, in in whatever way, you know.
41:48
SPEAKER_00: So just this idea of we talked about vibes earlier, but I always, you know, and I kind of we're talking about connecting with one another.
41:55
SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right.
41:56
SPEAKER_00: And connection, I think is so important to obviously on a day-to-day basis, but in in business, in coaching, and I think, you know, that's kind of the beauty of what you get to do, is you know, because it's so important to find ways to connect with one another.
42:14
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
42:14
SPEAKER_00: And you get to do that with your words.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know what I mean?
42:20
SPEAKER_01: And it's so, it's so I feel fortunate.
42:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, so there was a company called Pace several years ago, and I was doing I was a consultant or coach in this particular company, and it's it was all remote, everything was remote, and it was great, you know?
42:39
SPEAKER_01: And so I had a couple of groups of people all over the United States, and you know, I had my groups, and then I lost another group, everybody quit, and another one that finally the company decided to fold anyway.
42:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and um the one group that I had that I took over from someone else, we are still meeting every we were meeting every Tuesday evening um a month.
43:08
SPEAKER_01: Then we were like, okay, how about two times a month instead of four times?
43:13
SPEAKER_01: And we're like, okay, fine.
43:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that that's cool.
43:15
SPEAKER_01: Yes, and so it's been five years, four, four or five years, I think.
43:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and one lady's in California, one is in uh Tennessee, and one's in Georgia.
43:31
SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, so I have three of them, three women, and we talk through a lot of things.
43:35
SPEAKER_01: Wow, yeah, and it's just a group, a group of women from different backgrounds, different areas, and we have conversations only one hour, uh-huh, and that's what we do.
43:46
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
43:47
SPEAKER_01: Yes, and so that is so cool.
43:49
SPEAKER_01: It really, really is and then I've been trying to start another one like on my own.
43:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, just putting it out there and saying, hey, um, I also want to do a wellness.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
44:01
SPEAKER_01: Uh group.
44:02
SPEAKER_01: I wrote up everything for that.
44:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, well the wellness woman.
44:06
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I like that.
44:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:07
SPEAKER_01: For women ages, what did I say, like 30 to 40, something like that.
44:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: And we talk about wellness.
44:16
SPEAKER_01: Right.
44:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, because a friend of mine's daughter is going through some health challenges.
44:21
SPEAKER_01: And these are things that we need to talk about as women.
44:25
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, yeah.
44:26
SPEAKER_01: And just have a conversation.
44:27
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not talking about hours.
44:29
SPEAKER_01: Let's get together for an hour.
44:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:31
SPEAKER_01: And I don't care where you live.
44:32
SPEAKER_01: Right.
44:33
SPEAKER_01: And we all just virtually get together.
44:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:36
SPEAKER_01: And maybe once in a while we might meet up in person.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: But talk about those things.
44:41
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm a breast cancer survivor.
44:43
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:44
SPEAKER_01: You know, and I didn't know a lot.
44:47
SPEAKER_01: I just remember, okay, let me look it up in the internet and this and that.
44:52
SPEAKER_01: But I uh my faith brought me through it.
44:54
SPEAKER_01: Right.
44:54
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
44:55
SPEAKER_01: Right.
44:56
SPEAKER_01: And and now that I'm where I'm at physically and health-wise, I don't mind talking to other women.
45:04
SPEAKER_01: Right.
45:04
SPEAKER_01: And but even then, like after everything happened, I remember the she wasn't a nurse, but she's the person that goes around and makes sure everybody's okay.
45:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:12
SPEAKER_01: I forgot where they're called.
45:13
SPEAKER_01: Right.
45:13
SPEAKER_01: And she's like, you're always happy.
45:15
SPEAKER_01: She's like, you have a smile.
45:17
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, oh.
45:19
SPEAKER_01: Because I would see women just crying and like devastated.
45:22
SPEAKER_01: And I met a woman and yeah, you are.
45:24
SPEAKER_01: You still are.
45:25
SPEAKER_01: And you're important.
45:26
SPEAKER_01: Right.
45:27
SPEAKER_01: And that means a lot.
45:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:29
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
45:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:30
SPEAKER_00: Well, and it's it's finding our own inner beauty and our own inner strength.
45:35
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
45:35
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
45:36
SPEAKER_00: Because nobody else can take that from us, no disease, no person.
45:40
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
45:41
SPEAKER_00: And um, and that kind of just goes back into kind of like one of the first things we said about harnessing our own powers.
45:47
SPEAKER_00: We can either be let ourselves be powerless, which I think is kind of like I think powerful.
45:53
SPEAKER_00: Powerful, right?
45:54
SPEAKER_00: I think growing up, like as a kid, you know, it's so like you know, we're I think as a kid you're used to feeling like self-conscious and like and sheepish and like uh but I think like I hate, like I felt like I was like, I went 18 years of my life just like I hate feeling like that.
46:09
SPEAKER_00: I hate feeling small, I hate feeling like not good enough that I was like, so even in the moments where like I didn't feel good enough, I was like, you know, nobody else has to know that.
46:20
SPEAKER_00: Right.
46:20
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
46:21
SPEAKER_00: Like if that means I have to fake it for a little bit, fine.
46:24
SPEAKER_00: But you know, I get to choose I get to decide how I want to walk into a room.
46:28
SPEAKER_01: You know how I did that?
46:29
SPEAKER_01: I gotta tell you this.
46:30
SPEAKER_01: There goes another story.
46:33
SPEAKER_01: Going into ninth grade, I was determined I was gonna be a little bit more um important to myself.
46:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
46:41
SPEAKER_01: Right?
46:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
46:42
SPEAKER_01: So I did this whole, I did this whole thing.
46:45
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay, this is this is this is my workbook.
46:50
SPEAKER_01: As I'm walking from class to class, I'm gonna say hello to people.
46:56
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I love this.
46:57
SPEAKER_00: Little Winnie.
46:59
SPEAKER_01: Ninth grade.
47:00
SPEAKER_01: What are you doing?
47:01
SPEAKER_01: Like 14.
47:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, right.
47:04
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, this is what I'm gonna do.
47:05
SPEAKER_01: People are gonna get to know me, and I'm gonna get to know them.
47:08
SPEAKER_01: That's what I decided.
47:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
47:10
SPEAKER_01: And I did, and it was so funny because at one point, and I did it every year, yeah.
47:16
SPEAKER_01: People, who was that girl that said hello?
47:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
47:19
SPEAKER_01: Didn't she just say hello yesterday?
47:22
SPEAKER_01: Right, right, right, right.
47:23
SPEAKER_01: Because you know, when you're going through classes, I know, I know.
47:26
SPEAKER_01: You know, but it was I thought that was like the coolest strategy.
47:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it is, and like how sweet that like young Winnie, like, even thought to do that.
47:36
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
47:37
SPEAKER_00: Because I feel like, you know, I think, you know, when you're a teenager, you're so like it's so easy to just feel like so self-conscious of like you're like, you feel like you're looking, right, you know?
47:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think like those experiences are like, you know, why like it kind of helped me come out of my shell later on in life, and you know, and I'm like, it just it feels so wonderfully freeing to just be yourself and be and be okay with yeah, and be loud and we're not worry about what other people think.
48:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that took a while, but once I once I locked in on it, I was like, I'm gonna be who I am.
48:09
SPEAKER_01: I changed the spelling of my name because my this was ninth grade.
48:14
SPEAKER_01: It was used to be like Winnie the Pooh, W-I-N-N-I-E.
48:18
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, no, I need to be cool going into high school.
48:22
SPEAKER_01: Right.
48:23
SPEAKER_01: So what can I do?
48:24
SPEAKER_01: So I spelled it W-I-N-I, four letters.
48:27
SPEAKER_00: I like that.
48:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm like 14.
48:31
SPEAKER_01: Right?
48:32
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
48:33
SPEAKER_00: I know we think we know the world at that age.
48:36
SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
48:36
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's some beautiful life buzzing out of it.
48:39
SPEAKER_01: And I'm telling you, that strategy even works for me when I go networking.
48:42
SPEAKER_01: When I'm in a room and I don't know anyone, okay.
48:45
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
48:46
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna know me before it's it ends.
48:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you and I almost got into a scuffle at the food table.
48:53
SPEAKER_01: Not really.
48:54
SPEAKER_01: But it's my funny, yeah.
48:57
SPEAKER_01: And you were like, I was like, I don't know about her.
49:01
SPEAKER_00: But that's just so like, you know what I mean?
49:03
SPEAKER_00: And that's what's hysterical about just like human beings.
49:06
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
49:07
SPEAKER_00: And um, and that's just how it goes.
49:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then we just started talking and we were like, oh my gosh.
49:12
SPEAKER_00: And then we were like, and then it just kept like getting bigger and bigger.
49:16
SPEAKER_00: I know.
49:16
SPEAKER_00: It's so funny, it's awesome.
49:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, well, listen, as we are starting to wrap up here, I've first of all, like, I hope um everyone listening has enjoyed this as much as we have, as we've kind of gone all over the place.
49:29
SPEAKER_00: But um, where can people go to just real quick, like tell us just um a little bit more about some of your services, some of your offerings, where they can find you, where they can look you up, all of that.
49:40
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
49:41
SPEAKER_01: So mysevenwords.com, the seven is actually the number seven.
49:45
SPEAKER_01: Number, yes.
49:46
SPEAKER_01: Um you can go to my website.
49:49
SPEAKER_01: I also do uh personal coaching, um, consulting, business consulting as well, and the professional development training, yeah, customer service training.
49:59
SPEAKER_01: So if you're an organization and you need some training for your leadership, yeah, or for your staff, you can call my seven words.
50:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
50:08
SPEAKER_00: And and let me say too, because you were already sharing, I mean, you've you've been doing this for, like I said, I mean, 20 years, but kind of 20 plus, right?
50:15
SPEAKER_00: Because you've you really do full scope.
50:16
SPEAKER_00: This isn't just like um, yeah, I think you you can kind of do it all in the sense of like, you know, you can do the small group, like you mentioned, these like little virtual groups, but you do you do conferences, you do trainings, you do workshops, you do retreats, but you also do like C-suite level, like you know what I mean?
50:34
SPEAKER_00: You kind of do the full scope.
50:36
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, you can really cover a lot of areas.
50:39
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.
50:41
SPEAKER_01: Um, when I was at Morgan, I did leadership training there, um, supervisors and managers and created, you know, the the whole bundle.
50:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
50:50
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
50:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and I know that you also like, I mean, you have uh obviously a ton of materials and you work with tons of different organizations, but you also have a like you you customize.
50:58
SPEAKER_00: Customize, yes, that's what I do.
51:00
SPEAKER_01: It's nothing is off the shelf.
51:01
SPEAKER_00: Right, exactly.
51:02
SPEAKER_01: Literally, yeah.
51:03
SPEAKER_01: So if it's something specific, they tell me the client will say, We want this, this, and this, and I I definitely do that.
51:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, love it.
51:10
SPEAKER_01: Which is perfect.
51:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
51:12
SPEAKER_01: Because you get what you want.
51:13
SPEAKER_00: I know, there's no one size fits all, and you can and you can make it work, but at the same time, like I said, you've you've have so much experience in all these different areas that you've done for years.
51:22
SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much, Winnie.
51:25
SPEAKER_00: It was so wonderful to chat.
51:26
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, be sure to follow her on those channels, obviously, even LinkedIn too.
51:30
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
51:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, what's your preferred mode of communication?
51:33
SPEAKER_01: Hmm.
51:33
SPEAKER_01: Well, if you're on LinkedIn, definitely on LinkedIn.
51:36
SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's Winnie W-I-N-I Alexander.
51:42
SPEAKER_01: Um I'm also on Instagram as well.
51:45
SPEAKER_01: And I'm on Facebook, but I'm not Facebook friends with anybody.
51:50
SPEAKER_01: And I don't need to be able to do it.
51:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's like my post low there.
51:53
SPEAKER_01: I know.
51:53
SPEAKER_01: It's a whole different world.
51:56
SPEAKER_01: Um but yes, definitely.
51:58
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
51:58
SPEAKER_01: And I'm certainly like is your email.
52:00
SPEAKER_01: My website.
52:00
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
52:01
SPEAKER_01: My email is info at my seven words.
52:04
SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
52:04
SPEAKER_01: Wonderful.
52:05
SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much, Winnie.
52:07
SPEAKER_00: It was so great to chat.
52:08
SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.
52:09
SPEAKER_01: This has been lovely.
52:10
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
52:11
SPEAKER_00: We like to we we like to have fun.
52:13
SPEAKER_01: Totally.
52:14
SPEAKER_01: I can see that.
52:16
SPEAKER_01: Well, cheers.
52:17
SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you.
52:19
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Mom Talk Maryland.
52:23
SPEAKER_00: If you loved it, leave a review, share it with a friend, or tag me at the dot ColumbiaMom on Instagram.
52:29
SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hear what you think.
52:30
SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode.
52:33
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep showing up, keep supporting local, and keep being the incredible mom, woman, human that you are.