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Strong Minds Strong Organizations · Authentic Living

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Welcome to authentic living with Roxanne, a place where we have conscious conversations
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about things that really matter in our lives.
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And now here's your host, Roxanne Derhodge.
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Hi, everyone.
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It's Roxanne.
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Thanks for tuning in.
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This week, I have a special colleague that I had the privilege of, meeting in, New York last
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December.
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Her name is April Lewis.
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Hi, April.
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How are you today?
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Hello, Mark.
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I'm well.
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How are you?
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Good.
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You're a busy lady.
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She was speaking this morning and now it's kind of each out an hour out of her time to be able
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to spend this time with us today.
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April and I met, actually, we both were privileged, to share the stage with Les Brown
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in New York.
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At the get hungry conference, in Long Island where it was a privilege to be able to, spend
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that time with her.
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And she has done an ama lots of amazing things, and we have a lot more commonality that I had
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recognized on Telegis recently where I the time to really look at her website and and listen to
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her speaking, on her website which you need to check out.
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So I'm just gonna read a bit of a bio on April and April's gonna share with you the things
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that maybe are most important that maybe I've missed.
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So April's a highly sort of transformational speaker and a corporate wellness trainer.
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She's founded the Lewis Academy of For Well-being, where professionals learn proven
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principles to enhance quality of life, productivity and improve effectiveness.
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She her background is varied.
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She's as a student, She's been a professional athlete.
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She's a veteran, which is a powerful story when I've heard her story on stage.
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And She positioned herself as a change in agent in the wellness and mental health industry, the
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same industry that I'm in.
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She works with entrepreneurs and corporations to gain clarity and focus while helping them
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establish and set necessary goals for progression.
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She's all about movement.
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She provides a fundamental tools to overcome any mental barriers which we all have them
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periodically, and that may get in the way of, enhanced productivity and decreased
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performance.
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She is also a best selling author of the book, the missing piece in forgiveness, overcoming
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the the impossible.
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I was gonna say the obstacle, the impossible.
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And we're we're, you know, the story that she shared that I heard is when she lost, her
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husband, while they were serving their country and all the unfortunate things that comes from
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you know, serving, in in the armed forces.
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So April, I haven't done all of this justice, but, what an impressive, biography.
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Thank you very much, Roxanne.
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Thank you.
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That does, prompt it up.
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Yeah.
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So is there anything that I I haven't read.
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I know I haven't read everything.
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Anything that you think that, the listeners should should know about you, that I haven't
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shared in your bio.
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Well,
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the main thing is what you said, I do.
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My presser T is mental health.
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I has worked with individuals in organization to break down the mental barriers that's
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keeping the workforce or the individual from being a high performer.
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And the way that I do that is really doing assessment, understanding where they are in
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contrast to where they wanna be, and it's simplifying the process to get there.
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Most of the time, people don't take step.
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Don't take that very next step because they are overthinking everything.
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They have a lot of noise in their head.
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Or the fears that are in their head, about dipping their head.
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But once you gain clarity, which you mentioned, on where you wanna go, all you have to do next
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is determine what's the next thing that I need to do.
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When you're kinda transformed your life, transform your performance, you can't eat the
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elk in its entirety, you eat it one bite at a time.
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So I work with people, and I work with corporate effective teams doing just that.
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What is the very next step that we can take to get to where we wanna be and how we wanna be
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there?
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Now you have Been through, massive things, I'm gonna say, from remembering your story.
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So I I I I want you to share that because that's, you know, April I followed April on
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stage, which was not a good thing.
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But the just being captivated by her story because she's been there.
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She's been there in every realm and, now has come out the other side and being able share
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this with the world.
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Tell them a bit about your story, April, because I, you know, I was struck, just
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listening to you and kind of where you were where you got to and how you came out the other
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side and how that kind of informs what you do today with, with executives.
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Absolutely.
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Well, one of the things that I live by, one of the statements that I live by rather is that we
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teach best what we most often need to learn.
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And the reason I found myself in mental health is because that is where I was after I got a
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phone call that changed the trajectory of my life.
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That phone call came in on February 27 2006 when I got the call that my husband had been
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killed in Iraq.
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At the time, both of us were in the military.
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We both were serving our country, and he was serving it in the capacity that he absolutely
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wanted to, to be an infantry in a fraud liner for the United States army.
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And with that calling that he answered, he was no longer here after February 27th.
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That day is what I call the day that I died, but the day that I started living.
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And then the book that I wrote, the one that you the missing piece of forgiveness is I
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titled it, my segment, like, after death.
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Because if it were not for that tragedy, I would not have started my life, found my voice
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to do the work that I'm doing now.
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After Duane transitioned, I completely lost my mind.
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I you worked with a lot of patients with PTSD.
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I'm still battling through PTSD personally.
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I went on a spiral downward that I didn't even know was possible, as smart as I would, of the
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strongest I was, ever being in the army, you know, with part of the the job air quotes, but
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you don't get ready to get that phone call.
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You don't get ready to hear that your first love is no longer with you.
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And I just went downhill.
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I completely lost my faith.
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I came addicted to drugs, and my behavior was dysfunctional I was insanely angry.
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I was angry at myself.
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I was angry at my husband.
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I was angry at god.
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I was angry at anyone that looked happy.
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Because I was so miserable and so broken.
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And in that broken is, it took me 9 years to realize that I'm not gonna be here forever.
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And in those 9 years, I was completely functional on the outside.
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A few people knew the depth of my pain in the depth of my sorrow.
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Most of them were my friends that I was in North Carolina, Fort Bragg at the time.
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But my family didn't even know how disruptive my lifestyle had become because I was so hurt.
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And in those 9 years, I just inched my way through the day.
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I put the mask on.
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I was a high performer.
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You know, I didn't let anybody keep my weak side, and then I moved to South Carolina to
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start over.
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And in that move, I ended up on the campus, Midness, Midland Technical College, and I went
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in the human services program.
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And that was in 2007 when I started not healing.
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In 2016, when I released my story in a book, is when I can say that I was healed.
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It's now 2018, and I can say that I'm home because you know there are stages to grieving.
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And there is no order for those stages.
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There is no time limit for how long you'll be in 1, and some of them may come back if you
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don't work all the way through.
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So that's why mental health is so near and dear to my heart because when I lost my mind, when I
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lost my ability to focus, when I lost my ability to make our decision for myself, but
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knew that I still wanted to be here.
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And I'll stop right there and say, me wanting to be here.
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I had suicidal thoughts like a lot of people that go through a state of breathing.
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There was this one time I was sitting on the side of my bed, and I thought about killing
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myself.
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And when I had that thought, I felt a sense of relief, and you probably heard it from your
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clients when they think about it before they act on it, it feels like that's the answer.
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If I leave here, I won't feel any pain.
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Well, I had that feeling, and then the very next thought that came across my mind was the
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image or the image, not even a thought.
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I saw my mom leaned over my cat.
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And through that vision that I say god gave me, I snapped out of it because my love for my
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mother was stronger than my desire to kill myself.
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And that's what kept me in the game.
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And I said, April, if you're gonna be here, you have got to get your life back.
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So I started my personal transformation step by himself.
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It would have been beautiful if I could have transformed the whole April Lewis and come with
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back to that state of happiness and joy, but she was no longer here.
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She was now a broken widow, dealing with the Bible, dealing with addiction, dealing with
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anger, and now dealing with PTSD.
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So step by step, I started my mental transformation.
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And it honestly has been a journey.
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It's a journey that I'm still on but it's a journey that now I go through it in gratitude
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because I know that I've come so very far.
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And as long as I stay present in the moment and keep my thoughts clear and positive I can get
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through anything.
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Wow.
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You know, I in my tenure have dealt with a lot of people with, with complex PTSD.
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And The first thing is just having them know that they survived.
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Right?
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Like, like, you're breathing, you're seeing, you're hearing some basic, basic things, right,
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because oftentimes people are so stuck with every possible symptom there is.
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Right?
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Right?
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And they want to quiet the white noise.
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Which is basically what you were saying because it becomes so overwhelming that you can't even
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hear your own voice.
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Yeah.
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Right, which is kind of what you're describing.
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And it it takes so much, strength, but I I I'm gonna ask you this question because I can tell
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you I've experienced, but I wanna honor what you're sharing.
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Connection is key through it, but oftentimes people feel so, alone that they recreate
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aloneness instead of leaning towards connection, they kind of step away and they
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they they kind of, you know, literally fold up in their body language.
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What helped you that that vision of your mother while how powerful and I, you know, often see
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it's something bigger than you and I always.
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Did you cut out people in your life at that time?
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Oh, yes.
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I became so isolated.
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I I knew then that I could no longer serve because my mind was too far gone.
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So my military career had to end at that moment.
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I became distant from anybody that was happy because in my misery, I didn't wanna see it.
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In my misery, I thought that it was temporary.
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I, you know, I even changed the light to quit on my car to say one light, why not?
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Because when I sat there and I leaned over to Katherine and I'm looking at Duane and I'm
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looking at this man who we have all these unspoken words and that will never get to safe
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with each other.
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I literally asked myself, what does it matter?
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What does any of this matter?
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If this is where we're gonna end up, what's the point?
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So I was mad.
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And I did not wanna be around anybody.
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And what I did, I started connecting with people who were in the same state of mind that
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I was operating in.
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So people who were just at a low vibrational frequency at that stage in their life.
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I wasn't talking about anybody that was speaking positively.
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I wasn't around anybody stuff lifting.
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I knew that's where I should have been, but I didn't wanna be there because I was anchored in
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anger.
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You know, and I was and even in that the victim mindset, people say that, oh, don't have a
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victim mindset.
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But at that moment, I wasn't victim.
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At any given moment, we are victim.
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The thing is not always staying in that place, realizing how can you be victorious after
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you've been a victim to something either that you've done to yourself or something that,
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someone else did to you.
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So, yes, I definitely isolated myself.
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I did not connect with my spiritual leaders.
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I wasn't as close with my family.
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I was around a group of people that Let me have that moment.
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They didn't think about bringing me out of that moment, but they let me have it, but for the
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most part, I was by myself which is the worst place that you can be when you're grieving
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because like you said, the white noise, it's louder.
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The conversations that you have with yourself get louder So connectedness is critical now.
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I realize more than ever, even if it's just one person, you need to be connected to someone
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that's gonna recognize when you're down and stay with you and help you pull yourself up.
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The people that you probably, I'm gonna assume, and I'm just talking from what has been shared
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with me, they connected to something that maybe was also pain related and they weren't seeing
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as clear.
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So I'm just thinking when you shared, they probably didn't give you any clarity.
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They probably just said, yeah.
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You're you're right where you need to be.
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Oh, yeah.
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Oh, yeah.
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The way it's the air quote advice that I was getting from people was nothing that I need
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people do the best that they can, but honestly, back then, when you think about it, we would
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hear on the news, 100100 of soldiers that are getting canned.
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We heard it.
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I remember was in the army at the time.
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I remember 911 like it was yesterday.
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One reason is that's that's my husband's birthday.
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So on his birthday, We were sitting in the barons at Fort Lee, Virginia, and all he was
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talking about and thinking about was going to war so he can get there.
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Right?
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That's what he was saying.
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And who knows how to respond when someone, twenty something year old said, oh, my husband
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has been killed in Iraq.
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They're over 3000 fallen soldiers from Operation Iraq Freedom, and it's still baffling
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to me and other people that might your way with 1 of the 3000.
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So it's it's a hard thing to try to cope with And for someone to be a friend of, you know,
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the victim at that time, they just don't know what to say, but you allowed.
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It just allowed me to be in that state of the pain.
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Now at the time, I don't have any regret.
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So I don't have any regret because I wasn't ready to come out of it.
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But looking back, I wish that I would have chosen to save myself sooner.
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You know, I don't I don't believe that we go through anything just for the sake of going
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through it.
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So I even hate to that I wish, but, you know, if I if I can work with anybody or say
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something to someone who may not offer being lose their child or lose someone close, the
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sooner you can get to connected to someone that's gonna speak positively and speak life
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and you would help you heal the better because I did not attempt to heal, I just self
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medicated by staying high.
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Mhmm.
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Mhmm.
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That's hard to connect when you're high.
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Right?
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Because you might you might think the thoughts and you might wanna feel better.
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And then you think, well, oh, here comes a bad thought.
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Here comes a bad emotion.
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Let me take that, you know, whatever that is to make me feel better.
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Then before you notice you're in an altered states and then you go to the same same cycle
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again.
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So somewhere in there, it has to be a crevice or a crack of some sort that's, you know, says,
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Hey.
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There's something different.
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So what what what was that sliver that helped you start to recognize, okay, April, like you
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said, I'm a victim.
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I felt all these things.
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They're real.
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I'm a twenty seven year old or twenty something year old that doesn't have a husband.
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I've given to this country, which is a, you know, what a service thing that you both did.
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Something happened that made you come out of it.
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What was it?
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Ironically enough.
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It there wasn't
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a true pinpointed defining moment, but what let me know that I was going to be okay was when I
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was able to get out of bed in the morning consistently.
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Okay.
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The bed, Jim Rome, car did the battle of the mattress.
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A lot of people struggle with waking up in the morning because it's just bad habit or you're
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not looking forward to the day.
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It was truly how my distaste for the new day manifested itself.
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I did not wanna get out of bed.
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And when I found myself able to set my alarm clock for a certain amount a third time, and I
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was able to get up and actually start my day.
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And when I looked back and saw that I was doing it, That let me know, April, you're on the
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right path.
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You were absolutely healing.
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So it wasn't a one hit boom.
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This person said this or this activity it was when I realized I was getting out the bed,
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which means that I was telling the day that I'm still here, that I'm not gonna give up on
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myself.
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I'm gonna keep going.
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And even this morning, I shared in my speaking engagement, I started making sure I made my bed
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up every single morning because what I had to do was tell myself you are no longer resting,
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you're no longer sleeping.
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You are now in this day, so I am religious about making my bed up.
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Now there for crazy days that happen when I don't, but it's I'm about 99.8%, you know,
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positive hit on making my bed up every day because that little thing right there
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catapulted me into my transformation.
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It's not interesting.
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I was just hearing that recently, I think it was James Quicke or somebody that talked about
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that, right, because the context of rituals are so Right?
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Because, of course, when you're in that deep space, you know, anxiety, depression, you know,
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suicidality, you know, anything that because those are real.
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The body and the brain's trying to process all that stuff.
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And it's like, I often say my analogy, and I don't know if this makes sense to April is It's
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kinda like if you had a piece of food stuck in your throat right now, it didn't matter what I
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was saying.
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You're not gonna be able to do anything until you clear that piece of food.
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I use emotional, you know, trauma or or, post traumatic stress or grief like that is I can't
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hear that a damn thing you're saying because I'm stuck.
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Claire me first.
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And then I can't
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hear you.
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Yes.
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I didn't mean to cut you off, but that is the perfect analogy.
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You cannot, which is why when I'm working with people and I'm working with organizations, it
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sounds good to say, oh, I'm increased your bottom line and, oh, I can help you do this.
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And I will get you there, but then the key is the blockage.
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What's stopping your organization and what's stopping you from going from where you are to
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where you desire to be is what's stuck.
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Like you said, stuck in your throat, What is it in your mindset that's keeping you here and
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keeping you from hearing from other people and keeping you?
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Because people who are broken We often look out looking for answers.
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Like me, people always ask me, how do you have so much wisdom?
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How do you have so much sense?
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Well, in my quest to heal myself, If anybody wrote a book or did a video or did a speech
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that said that they can help me, I listened.
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I read.
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I listened to podcasts.
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I went out thinking the answer that would get me out of that darkness, and it led me back to
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myself.
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Mhmm.
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The journey of going out, we're looking for everything I ultimately had to come back in and
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forgive myself.
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I had to come back in and fall back in love with myself.
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I had to come back in and set a vision for my life.
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And then surface to the out that world.
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Absolutely.
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And it's you know, when you're when you're not slippery slope, it's hard to see even a small
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thing like making your bed.
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Yeah.
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Oh god.
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Yeah.
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That's like moving a marathon when you're depressed.
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Right.
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Exactly.
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It's like, you know, and then when you get into that small ritual, like the first time you open
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your eyes, right, the first couple of minutes are so key And, you know, when you hear about
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it, if you think about it in the military, what is it that they make you do?
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Make that bad.
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Make that bad.
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I don't care what's going on with you.
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Very best you can do.
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And because that sets the context for what I'm gonna do, I am capable of something.
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And then one thing leads to another, it leads to another.
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And if you kinda think about a lot of us, right, you know, what is the first thing we do?
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We use our phones as alarm clocks.
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Not a good idea.
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Right?
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Get an alarm clock or put it in the other room.
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Right?
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And then we check things.
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We we well, all of a sudden, we check it.
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So that our day already start to get run by other people versus kind of setting the
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context.
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A small little steps that you can do.
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Make your bed, you know, pray, meditate, you know, whatever it is to be able to set that
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stage for.
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I'm capable of doing these basic things.
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Mhmm.
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And then it
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becomes easier day by day.
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It's not an epiphany like you said.
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It wasn't anything huge I do this damn thing.
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And I'm on my way.
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Absolutely.
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And I love the word that you said that I'm capable of doing that because when you're down
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and for anybody that listening to this right now who may feel like they aren't gonna come
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out of the place that they're in.
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It doesn't have to be as tragic as losing your husband.
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I lost my dog January 24th this year 2018.
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And I was in my bed for 5 days for 5 days.
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I could not get out of my bed.
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I could not eat I did not wash myself.
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All I could do was sit there and look at every picture and every video that I had of this
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sweet poodle.
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She was with me for 11 years.
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I got her right after Dwayne.
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So you see that opened up a one all over again.
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And so the are you capable to do something as simple as making your bed?
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Open up your blinds in the morning.
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I open up in the windows when I start my day.
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Are you capable to pick up the phone and call someone and say, hey.
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I'm going through right I don't even know how to put this in words, but if you can just talk
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to me, you can just pray with me.
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If you can just read a scripture, read something positive, do something to come out of
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that space, And once you really get a morning routine set, you absolutely have a different
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like that.
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I know.
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This is almost 15 years of parents that I'm talking from when you get that morning routine
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set, you're rocking and rolling because, like you said, you know, that you're capable of
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doing anything.
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My morning routine, I like to give.
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I like to turn on something positive, inspirational.
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I go for a walk, and I call in my gratitude walk because either I'm just giving thanks for
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everything, or I'm just listening to the sound of nature, but I'm grateful for that.
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And then I come back in as a spiritual or in motivational stuff is playing in the here.
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I do some stretching.
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Some days, if it's full, you know, but, literally, it's just to wake my body up and all
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this is after I make my bed up.
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Right?
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And then I go into the day.
23:47
I have my coffee and I eat it to the day, but I do not check social media.
23:51
I do not check my email I have a prophetic word, a spiritual word that I get every day.
23:56
I don't even read that until after I'm ready to have my coffee and start my day But to your
24:01
point, once we get inside that device, everything that's in there waiting on us is
24:05
gonna be it's gonna come into our sphere.
24:07
So it can be a bad email.
24:09
It could be something crazy in your news feed.
24:11
You can't let it in.
24:13
You have to anchor in your day and do things that serve you will.
24:16
So you know that you are capable to go forth and be a high performer positive person for the
24:22
rest of the day.
24:23
Absolutely.
24:24
And, you know, it's I think with social and the internet, it's pilfered or time and such a
24:31
kinda creepy way.
24:32
Right?
24:32
We're not really aware.
24:33
And then you kinda if you were to really kinda do an audit, if you let it kinda run ragged,
24:40
It's stealing a lot of things from you all the time.
24:43
Right?
24:44
And before you know it, you read about something that Trump did today or something
24:49
that's happening in DC where you are or, you know, somebody, you know, another there's a lot
24:54
of things going on in the world that are very, very significant, but you interact with the
24:59
world when you're ready is key.
25:01
Right?
25:01
So build yourself up.
25:03
Unfortunately, there's there's phenomenal things in the world But if we get defined by
25:08
the negative, first of all, especially when you've coped with a loss like you're talking
25:13
about, It's almost like you're siphoning out before you're putting in the gas.
25:17
You need to put in the gas first.
25:19
Right?
25:22
So now with with you, tell me how you translate that out to executive teams and how you use
25:33
these these these lessons, which are significant for all of us, whether it's a
25:37
downsizing, a merger, an act you know, it's it's all changed.
25:41
Right?
25:41
How do you work with teams to achieve the same kind of shifts.
25:49
I let them know that their greatest asset is their workforce.
25:52
And when I'm working with them, I listen first I listen to the pain point of the organization.
25:57
And a lot of times, if they don't know what their pain is, they just know the the byproduct
26:02
of it.
26:02
And it's Oh, you know, we have low productivity.
26:05
I have absent fee as an issue.
26:07
So you're saying if you're talking about executives and how you applied the concepts
26:12
that you've learned in your life.
26:14
And you're just in the process of talking about some of the simple application things that you
26:19
do with people.
26:20
So share with me some of those things that you do.
26:24
The first thing is is truly affecting the state of the organization.
26:28
It's I like to do a discovery session and in that assessment with the leadership team, I get
26:34
clear on what they perceive the pain of the organization to be.
26:38
And then it's really the same when I work with an individual.
26:40
What's what's hurting you right now?
26:41
Where are you not happy?
26:42
And in an organization, you find often That is the low productivity.
26:47
It's the absenteeism.
26:48
It's low morale.
26:50
Ultimately, your workforce is not being a high performing workforce.
26:54
Something, whether it's systems, whether it's processes, or whether it's teams that are not
27:00
adequately, assigned that's keeping you from being excellent because all organizations
27:05
really wanna be excellent.
27:07
And so we determine what is the same way I do with individual, what the blockages are,
27:11
determine what the blockages are within the organizational flow.
27:15
Every organization has a flow that from whether it's in health care, whether it's in higher
27:20
education, whether it's the direct sales, whatever the case may be, there was a process
27:24
that we within the organization.
27:27
And oftentimes, we put teams within that process without them fully understanding their
27:32
respective role.
27:34
And then the next layer behind that is if this person well equipped by way of within
27:40
themselves qualification or by way of the resources that they need in this organization
27:45
to be a high performer.
27:46
So we go through that cycle and we do the assessment, and then we start looking at the
27:50
processes.
27:50
And then I'm gonna make a recommendation.
27:52
So we collect and we come up with recommendations on how we can do test run.
27:57
And I really focus on the test run because organizational change does not happen
28:01
overnight.
28:02
So if you let people know that we're in the process of improving our operation, We are in
28:06
the process of implementing the techniques and some strategies to become a high performing
28:11
operation.
28:13
They're more receptive to the change.
28:15
Because change management is critical and stress management is critical, and people like
28:20
to do things the way they've always done it.
28:22
And so when you have a outside consultant coming in, we as consultants have to be sure to
28:27
meet our clients where they are, but ease them into the process of transformation.
28:32
And it worked exceptionally well because when people reach out to me with the, executive
28:37
leaders reach out to me They are ready.
28:40
They're at that point to do whatever is required and what it takes to really go from
28:45
good to great.
28:46
So you're looking at a platform.
28:48
You're understanding the internal and external pressures.
28:52
And then you're understanding the teams within that context And then you're figuring out what
28:57
are the, you know, stop gaps or the blockages like you said.
29:00
And then you're strategically working individually with the teams and maybe even
29:06
executive coaching to the individuals that had maybe have some conflict or skill deficits to
29:13
kinda get everybody ready And at the end, do you, get everybody back together again?
29:18
Do you do it collectively at the beginning?
29:21
Kind of do pre pre assessments?
29:24
Kinda get all the data, then deliver, and then do a post kind of victory dance, I should say.
29:31
Absolutely.
29:32
And I like to do it broken down.
29:33
I like to do it with the team and then just the executive leadership.
29:37
So the executive leadership respected is always gonna be different from what I call abuse on
29:40
ground workforce.
29:41
So I like to speak with both of them separately, whether it's in person into
29:46
somewhere locally where I traveled to them or we do it virtually.
29:49
And then we have a look back.
29:50
And on the look back, we see based off that initial conversation, This is what's said to be
29:55
the issue.
29:56
Where are we right now?
29:57
And it's always beautiful when you see statistically, they're gonna increase and
30:01
increase If the organization is sales driven, it's always amazing to see they've increased
30:06
their sales.
30:06
They decrease their absenteeism.
30:08
You can fit you know, morale those soft hills are up often hard to measure, but you can feel
30:14
the impact of it.
30:16
So when I have the small focus group of the team, and they say I absolutely felt like
30:21
coming to work today.
30:22
I was more productive.
30:23
I was able to take the list by the way about the way I teach them how to categorize them to
30:28
do it so they can act on it.
30:30
They get more done.
30:31
So I do come back in and we look at it, and we assess the courses on the client, how long do
30:36
you want the relationship to last?
30:37
A lot of times, you know, budget drives it, the need drives it, all that good stuff, but I
30:42
always do a look back because and you'll know this when you're working with individuals and
30:47
organizations, it's all about the value that I'm able to bring you and the results that
30:52
you're able to see.
30:53
So I wanna see that it's working, and if not, let's tweak it.
30:57
What do we need to do different?
30:58
It's the same way in life.
30:59
You know, someone's gonna listen to this and then they say, oh, if I make my bed in the
31:03
morning, I'm gonna not be depressed.
31:04
That may not be just what you need.
31:07
You may also need to make sure you sit outside and get some sunlight.
31:10
You may need to call your mother in the morning, so it's gonna be different, but you
31:14
have to do that test for her.
31:15
Let me trying it.
31:17
Taking that first step and trying something is more than sitting in the same place basing in
31:23
complaints because that's easily done.
31:25
But it'll get you nowhere fast.
31:27
Absolutely.
31:28
So some movement at all and adjusting accordingly based to what you're learning
31:32
because there's always gonna be ongoing variables that might impact the the the finish
31:38
line, that quarter mile.
31:39
Right?
31:40
It's like, what's what's tripping you guys up along the way?
31:43
And then getting to know people, I would think a lot of times a lot of what happens is it's
31:49
the element of trust and respect that gets lost when there's changes.
31:54
And, you know, a lot of the higher level C suite individuals may not recognize you know,
32:01
that what small things are important to the boots on the ground kind of people.
32:04
Right?
32:04
The boots on the ground kinda people wanna feel, hey, I'm cared for you know, I have a
32:09
voice and what I do is gonna make a difference, but let me know that in some way, the people at
32:16
the C suite may not recognize that something as simple as a hello in the morning or, you know,
32:22
when you see someone in the cafeteria acknowledging them, basic little things like
32:26
that that disconnect often happens.
32:29
I I know you've probably seen
32:30
it by, you know, you should go for
32:32
then before you know what, people that are connected, people don't need jobs.
32:35
They need managers.
32:37
Yeah.
32:38
Absolutely.
32:39
Absolutely.
32:40
You it's almost like you were inside one of my sessions, especially with the same good
32:44
morning.
32:45
It's so many times I've heard team members say, my leader, my supervisor doesn't need to speak
32:51
to me.
32:51
They come through the door with an attitude.
32:53
And it's beautiful as it is to say, oh, we're changing the culture of this organization
32:58
cultural change starts with the individual.
33:00
That fight for my organization, the academy, the Ayla with Academy, my tagline is strong 9,
33:05
strong organization.
33:07
Because the mental strength is what's gonna make the organization stronger.
33:11
The mental strength of the individual, you cannot change collectively if each individual
33:17
does not play their part and something is simple as a good morning, something is simple
33:21
as talking to someone outside of a work topic, makes a huge difference because it's
33:27
relationships.
33:28
It's a working relationship.
33:30
Corporations are often with each other more than they're with their own families.
33:34
So let's get to know each other.
33:35
I'm not saying, you know, you don't need a best friend at work per se, but you definitely don't
33:39
need an enemy.
33:40
Oh, exactly.
33:41
And you just need to know you know, if you're my executive, I need to know that, hey.
33:47
What what she really like?
33:49
Right?
33:49
Like, I mean, I know I have to work for you But, you know, what she really liked?
33:53
What does she kinda do for fun or not that you need to share everything about your life, but
33:58
the the the element that I talk about in my brand the authenticity that's needed so that I
34:03
can know, you know what?
34:05
April's just like me.
34:07
Right?
34:07
In so many ways, and she's a good person and and she listens and she respects me.
34:13
Oh, now she needs X Y Z done, which is like really, really lots for the next quarter.
34:18
But you know what?
34:19
She's got my back.
34:20
I've got her back kind of thing.
34:22
So it's everything that becomes an interplay, that we all need, really, if you think about
34:27
it.
34:27
You know, I'm sure with you in the military, you, you know, got exposed to a lot of things,
34:32
but at the end of the day, we really want to feel like we're making a difference in whatever
34:37
capacity we're working.
34:40
Absolutely.
34:41
Yeah.
34:41
If you get the mail on the head, we are all human being And ultimately, we're human
34:46
becoming.
34:47
We are becoming the better versions of ourselves each day.
34:50
All of that sorts of making a choice.
34:52
You have to choose to want more, to do more, to be better, and then that transcends out into
34:58
your life.
34:59
It transcends through your team, and it transcends through your corporation.
35:03
When we take this big divide between the individual and the organization out, when we
35:08
shrink that divide, that's where you have high performance because we are one You are one
35:14
person, and at that one person, yes, you may be a chief executive officer, or yes, you may be a
35:19
supervisor, or yes, you may be you know, a customer service representative for this bigger
35:24
organization.
35:25
So let's bring it in as close as we can and get on 1 accord without sell first.
35:30
Like I said, we're in alignment with our troops.
35:32
We're in positions that 3rd month well, and we can perform well.
35:35
And then we get on one accord with the organizational mission.
35:38
And that is how you go from good to great.
35:41
Yes.
35:42
Small to big.
35:42
It starts small.
35:43
And then before you know what you kinda get out of the way and the big takes care of itself,
35:48
April, it's it's been a pleasure.
35:50
I mean, how you translate, you know, something that adverse.
35:55
And I often say that adversity, you know, we have a choice.
35:58
It it sometimes doesn't feel like we have a choice, but, you know, my dad always says, you
36:03
know, everything happens in this life for a reason.
36:05
And you know, as as hard as it sound like you lost, you know, someone so significant that
36:11
you've taken that and you've, you've created a gift that that's allowing you to teach people,
36:17
you know, that worse starts with you.
36:21
Bad things happen to all of us, unfortunately, in life.
36:24
But it's kinda what you do with it, you know, that to make sense of it that helps us to move
36:29
on and then go out and help others because how many people when you're on that stage that day
36:35
could relate my goodness, like so many people have been through pain, have felt alone, and,
36:43
wanted some reason to kind of take that step, but sometimes we're lost.
36:47
So I could tell by the what what I'd seen when you touch people, that day on stage.
36:52
Absolutely.
36:53
And we are all in this thing called life together.
36:56
Pain does not discriminate, hurt does not discriminate, loss does not discriminate, it
37:01
does not matter how much money you have, how much pain, much recognition, how much education
37:07
you had, life is gonna happen.
37:10
The only thing that we have to worry about, focus our energy on how are we going to
37:15
respond?
37:16
That's it.
37:17
Your response to life is what's gonna make or break you in your performance and in your
37:22
happiness.
37:24
Wow.
37:24
Couldn't have ended on a better note.
37:26
So tell everyone, where they can get a hold of you for people ever wanted to consult with you
37:32
if they wanted to invite you to speak at their organization, you know, I know you're in the
37:37
US, but we're always looking for great people up here, you know, to speak on these things.
37:41
Why don't you share it with everyone listening where they can get a hold of you?
37:44
Absolutely.
37:45
I am found at apriluis.com, that's l e w I s.
37:49
You can email me directly at april@apralewith.com.
37:54
I would love to come in and work with you as an individual work with your team, whatever I can
37:59
do to 3rd.
38:00
I'm available as needed.
38:03
And that's true internationally as well.
38:05
So aprilulics.com, and you can that would be there.
38:08
Awesome.
38:09
So thank you again, April for spending this time for everyone.
38:12
Getting connected is key.
38:14
Like I've said, you know, in my authentic living with Roxanne.
38:18
So if you're interested in in getting a little bit more connected with it, with it yourself or
38:22
with your teams, or just at work, you can go to my website at Roxanne forward slash blueprint
38:30
where you can get a free course on how to get more connected to yourself.
38:33
So take care, and we'll chat with you again soon.
38:36
Take care, April.
38:37
Thank you, rock band.
38:38
Have a good one.
38:39
Okay.
38:39
Bye.
38:40
Thanks for tuning in to authentic living with Roxanne, creating the space for positive,
38:46
healthy change.
38:47
Roxanne is a keynote speaker psychotherapist, and coach to work with Roxanne, visit
38:53
rocksandurhaj.com/blueprint.
38:57
We'll see you next time.
38:59
Unauthentic living with Roxanne.