This is Women Road warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.

From the corporate office to the cab of a truck, they're here to inspire and empower women in all professions.

So gear down, sit back and enjoy.

Welcome.

We're an award winning show dinner dedicated to empowering women in every profession through inspiring stories and expert insights.

No topics off limits on our show, we power women on the road to success with expert and celebrity interviews and information you need.

I'm Shelly and Kathy's on assignment.

When adversity knocks, many of us want to hide.

But the trick to prevailing in life is to face things head on.

Grace Redmond is a stellar example of this.

She helps entrepreneurs and high performers break through self imposed limitations to achieve extraordinary success.

Grace has faced some huge challenges of her own and she's won despite four economic downturns, the pandemic, caring for dying parents while running her business, navigating a family addiction, and overcoming a cancer diagnosis, she prevailed.

Grace was named one of the top five women owned businesses in the San Francisco bay area for 2024.

Her staffing agency has been one of the most successful in that area for 25 years.

She's a best selling author and host of the Real Talk with Grace Redmond podcast.

Grace is a highly sought after speaker and mentor who teaches true resilience.

She's coached thousands of professionals through her staffing firm.

We wanted to learn more, so we invited her on our show.

Welcome Grace.

Thank you for being with me.

This is an honor.

Oh, Shelly, thank you so much for having me.

It's my honor to be here with you.

I want to ask so many questions.

Your whole mindset is terrific.

Before we dig into resilience and winning though, I wanted to talk about some of the challenges you've experienced and what got you into helping others to succeed.

Yes, that's a great question.

You know, I've experienced, you know, many challenges, you know, over my lifetime.

And I think one of the greatest challenges was the resistance I got from the people in my life.

Their opinions, their criticism.

I would take that very personally.

And so for me, that was a really big challenge.

To learn not to internalize other people's opinions or their criticism and to really learn to step into my own power and run my own race.

And most of the time those people, you know, were well meaning.

But again, when you're younger and you internalize and you're looking for approval from outside of yourself, that posed just such a great challenge for me until I was able to really step into my own power and Run my own race.

You know, it does take us time to trust ourselves.

I think that when we first get into adulthood, we still have the child mentality where we want to look up to adults, people who have more experience than we do.

And certainly there's merit in that because other people have been there, done that.

But sometimes we sell ourselves short.

Yes, I think we sell our self short.

Often.

Oftentimes.

I think so many of us have such incredible talent, yet we don't see it and we don't believe it because that voice inside our head is telling us otherwise.

Oh, gosh.

Believe that voice.

And it's.

That voice is a liar.

It's wrong.

Oh, man, is it ever.

But sometimes it can be so loud.

I've heard that voice way too many times.

And even when I've said, stop talking to me, it's still there.

But you have to learn to just rise above it.

And certainly you've had so many obstacles, but you kept going.

Yes.

And, you know, as I mentioned to you earlier, when I look back now, I was like, oh, my gosh, that was.

Those were tough times.

However, when I'm going through a challenge, I know it's tough, but I don't allow myself to focus on that because then I'll go down the rabbit hole.

So I really just focus on the solutions and getting through it.

And then once I look back, I'm like, holy cow.

I don't know how I did that, but I did.

And those adversities have really strengthened my resilience muscles.

And so now when I'm faced with a challenge, I really don't feel it as intensely as I would have in the past because I've really cultivated my resilience.

And I recognize that our adversity is.

Are really.

Adversities are really opportunities in disguise.

I like that.

It's true.

It really is.

You can make lemonade out of lemons.

I think adversity does galvanize us.

It makes us stronger.

What is the song?

What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

Yes.

Like, if you made it this far, you know, the next, you know, I'm sure I'll have 25 plus years on this earth left.

On this earth.

They're going to be a piece of cake.

Right?

You've already been there, done that.

It's like, yeah, right.

You know, we've been through a pandemic.

We've been through some interesting times in our generation.

Oh, some really weird stuff.

It's like the pandemic was like something some dystopian Novel.

It was like, what is going on here?

Right.

That, that we went through that and, you know, it was challenging.

And so many things, so many positive things came out of it as well.

Oh, yes.

Now you started a staffing agency.

How did that all evolve 20 years ago?

Yeah, so it's been 25 years that I started the staffing firm and nine years that I started the coaching side of the business.

So I leaned into staffing because I was at a nightclub and I overheard these two kids talking about how one of their sisters just, you know, received this large paycheck for finding a job for someone.

And for me, being independent and being financially independent was, was a big thing for me.

And so I just started applying for different staffing positions in different staffing agencies because I wanted to be financially independent.

I didn't want to have to depend on any.

Well, I ended up, you know, getting a physician.

They trained me incredibly well.

And then I ended up, you know, starting my own firm.

And the reason I wanted to start, start my own firm wasn't just to be financially independent, but at that time I had already been married.

I wanted to have the flexibility to raise my family and also contribute to my family and not have, you know, a cap on my time or income.

So you were very innovative.

You were always looking for opportunities.

Were you always that way, even as a child?

That's a great question.

I think so.

I.

Yes, I was, because I used to get up really early on Sunday mornings when I was 9 years old and deliver the Sunday paper.

And I had my first job at Burger King when I was 13 and I made it to shift leader when I was 15.

Wow, that was a fun job.

Really fun job.

Well, not to mention good stuff to eat, you know.

Right.

And so, yes, I remember one time someone told me, man, you do not let the grass grow under your feet.

And that's true.

I'm constantly looking for new ways to do things.

And something for me that's just really part of my nature on a day to day, on a day to day basis is service.

And, you know, when I get in these groups and they talk about service, for me, that's just innate.

90% of my day is spent in service.

And I think that service has really, you know, helped me learn to be innovative, if that makes sense.

Yes.

And I think that that's what life is about.

I think people kind of get stuck and innovation is really what gets us through.

If you get stuck, you feel like that there's no way out and you need to be able to open that door.

And if you can't open the door, open the window, you know?

Yes, yes.

And I get it, you know, there's times that I feel stuck.

And in those times, what I've learned to do is, you know, take a step back, get in a quiet place.

I mean, if you want to call it meditation or prayer or just silence.

And then I begin journaling.

And so it's interesting what happens once you get into a quiet place and you put the pen to paper.

I gain awarenesses that help me move out of that feeling of stuckness.

And I'm no longer stuck.

Your website says self development is all about progress, not perfection.

I really like that.

Yes.

You also have dare to achieve.

I like that too.

And that really does seem to be something that you've always followed.

I see you were fascinated with self development and success for many years.

And some of your influencers have been Tony Robbins, Esther Hicks, Wayne Dyer, and Napoleon Hill.

I remember reading one of Wayne's books when I was in high school.

This is actually kind of a funny story.

I read his, you're erroneous zones.

And it wasn't until a high school reunion I would read this book in government class and I had my textbook open.

But I was reading this book and I remember government was really kind of boring.

So I'm reading this book and I'd answer the teacher's questions when he'd asked me things.

But I guess the boys were really, really interested, the guys in class as to this book I was reading.

And I guess one day, as I was told at the class reunion, I got up to go to the ladies room and they went rushing over to see what book I was reading and they were really disappointed because they thought it was your erogenous zones.

I love that.

That's so fun.

So you've always surrounded yourself with things you were learning with people who had some tremendous positive influence.

Yes, I mean, since I was 15 years old, like I, you know, stated on my website, which made me the go to person in all of my circles and communities.

And so I've really, although I've only been coach certified the last nine years, I've been coaching the majority of my life, especially in business.

And it just came so naturally to me because I loved learning about the human condition and how we can get better.

And I love how regardless of our circumstances, we can do, be or have whatever we want.

Now, of course, it may be more challenging if, you know, we live in the United States, we have freedom and we, you know, we have.

It may not be as challenging as someone who may not have the freedoms we do.

However, I've read and connected with people who've had extraordinary circumstances.

You'd think that they'd never make it.

And they rise into incredible, amazing creating it.

To create incredible, amazing lives.

It takes perseverance.

Yes, it does.

Stay tuned for more of Women Road warriors coming up.

Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.

I have one question for you.

Do you want to stop worrying about the irs?

If the answer is yes, then look no further.

I've been around for years.

I've helped countless people across the country, and my success rate speaks for itself.

So now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems.

What are you waiting for?

If you owe more than $10,000 to the IRS or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free consultation and get your life back.

Industry Movement Trucking Moves America Forward is telling the story of the industry.

Our safety champions, the women of trucking, independent contractors, the next generation of truckers, and more help us promote the best of our industry.

Share your story and what you love about trucking.

Share images of a moment you're proud of and join us on social media.

Learn more@truckingmovesamerica.com.

Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.

If you're enjoying this informative episode of Women Road Warriors, I wanted to mention Kathy and I explore all kinds of topics that will power you on the road to success.

We feature a lot of expert interviews, plus we feature celebrities and women who've been trailblazers.

Please check out our podcast@womenroadwarriors.com and click on our Episodes page.

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Check us out and bookmark our podcast.

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We want to help as many women as possible.

Grace Redmond says one of the greatest challenges she faced head on was the resistance from people that she had in her life.

Their criticism, their judgment calls.

She had to learn not to internalize other people's opinions and to step into her own power and run her own race.

She focuses on the solutions and how to get through life effectively.

That strengthened her resilience Muscles Grace is a best selling author and host of the Real Talk with Grace Redmond podcast.

She was named one of the top five women owned businesses in the San Francisco bay area for 2024.

Grace is a highly sought after speaker and mentor who teaches true resilience.

She's been sharing her insights with us.

Grace, so what are your biggest philosophies and what do you teach people?

Obviously, self development is huge to you and daring to Achie, what are some of the biggest things that you guide your clients on?

That's a great question.

I do believe that our mindset is key.

I do believe 90% of it, if not more, is mindset.

And I know it's challenging because the way that our mind is created to keep us safe is to focus on the negative things in life or within our environment as a way to keep us safe, you know, but we're not living in caveman days anymore and to recognize that, you know, 99% of the time we are safe.

We don't have to operate from the negativity bias.

We don't have to focus on the negative.

Once we understand that and we can really make that shift of recognizing what is working, we can rewire our brain and, and that's what I teach, that our mindset is everything.

And also the life that we, we're constantly creating our life based on our belief system.

And so that's where we start.

Like, what are the stories?

Where, what's, where are you?

Where do you want to be and what are the stories that you're telling yourself?

And that's where we can begin to close the gap and get you from where you are to where you want to be.

Because there's a belief system there that's created the life that you're living.

And for like, for me, one of the beliefs I had was like, I had to really work hard to earn and deserve success.

So that was a belief that benefited me.

It helped me become successful until it no longer was benefiting me.

When I was burning out.

Did you have a lot of champions along the way or did you have a lot of naysayers that are like, yeah, you're not going to do that?

Both.

Well, I mean, I tell the story and I love telling this story.

When I was 19 years old, I started going to therapy, you know, in secret.

Because at that time, if you went to therapy, you know, it was just taboo.

And nine years ago when I started coaching, I reached out to my therapist.

I had seen her on and off for 25 years, just to say, you know, this is what I'm doing.

I'm really excited about it.

And she said, you know, I'm so sorry, and I don't want to offend you, but when I met you when you were 19 years old, I thought that there was no hope for you.

And offended.

I'm not offended at all.

I actually feel amazing.

And this just really speaks to the human, you know, condition that we can do, be, have whatever we put our minds to.

Absolutely.

I think some people get stuck in the negativity.

It's easy to do.

You go out on social media, negativity is easy.

Everywhere sells.

Because, remember, I mean, there's something called the negativity bias, where our mind is going to focus on the negative, and that's what keeps you coming back, and that's what helps them, you know, get the followers, make the money.

That's why we watch the news.

Oh, yeah.

And with the news, if it bleeds, it leads, you know?

Exactly.

There you go.

Yeah.

Because I was a journalist in my previous life, and unfortunately, they wanted to go with the spectacular a lot of times, because that's what we will.

That's what we want to.

That's where our brain is going to, you know, come back to.

Mm.

Is it a morbid curiosity that makes us do that?

You think that's a great question.

It could be cur.

Yes, I believe it's curiosity.

And it's also somehow it gives us a dopamine hit.

Okay.

And also, I've seen people who are Debbie Downers, basically, they're super negative.

They get addicted to the best stuff.

For sure, because there's, there's a dopamine, you know, hit that comes with it.

And I've experienced it, you know, when I started to do my deep work, because I was, There was a time that I was in victim mentality, that I was in dysfunctional relationships, and, And I didn't know any better.

I just thought that was the way you live life.

That was normal.

And then when I started doing the deep work and I realized, like, okay, this is not normal.

This is toxic.

And I started to set boundaries and move myself out of those situations.

I felt a sense of peace that I thought was depression.

Later on, I realized, like, it wasn't depression, it was peace.

And it felt weird to me because I, I, I wasn't getting the dopamine hits.

Like, I kept wanting to go back to the drama because it made me feel alive.

And then I'd sit, like I said, and start journaling, and I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is not depression.

Like, this is peace.

And a part of me is missing the drama, but I don't want that.

But I had an awareness around it, and I'm like, okay, that's nuts.

Well, it's a matter of taking control.

And when you think about it, when we're children, we don't live with drama.

We have our imaginations.

We are curious.

We're growing.

Everything is new.

Yes.

I love that.

And that's the way I choose to live my life at this point.

And if I'm going to ruminate on something, why not ruminate and use my imagination to ruminate on what I want next, what I want for my family, what I want for my community.

Our imagination is very powerful.

It is.

And we can turn our imagination into reality.

Absolutely.

That's what separates us from the animals.

You know, I'm sure that they have their thoughts, but we are creative.

Human beings are always trying to figure out how to do something better.

They innovate.

They want to do something that's going to make a difference.

That's the way we're wired.

Absolutely.

Now, I see that you talk about strategies for turning adversity into triumph.

Did you want to touch on some of those?

Sure.

And so one of the strategies is, you know, turning adversity into triumph.

I was thinking about this yesterday, and there was a moment, you know, my mom was only 50 years old when she passed away 22 years ago.

And I remember sitting by her bedside, you know, nine months pregnant, about to give birth, administering, you know, the morphine.

Talk about adversity.

And it just felt like just a.

Such a terrible, terrible moment.

And when I, you know, step years later, when I stepped back and I looked at that moment, I realized that her, you know, passing helped me recognize how I didn't want to move forward and how I did want to move forward.

And it also, you know, turning that adversity into a triumph.

I said, yes, there she was, 50 years old, you know, transitioning out of, you know, life, yet she was surrounded by so many loved ones.

Our house was filled with our relatives and loved ones, and they're just coming in to, you know, spend time with her.

And so when I step back, the triumph in that was building resilience, community.

We weren't alone.

She was an example of, you know, for the women in her generation, like, an example of, okay, let me start taking care of myself, putting myself first.

And I think that's where you have to look at the adversities and say, okay, what am I learning from this?

And that's how you triumph.

And I learned so much from that moment, as terrible as it was.

Yeah.

I think if we look deeply enough, even in adversity, there's some positives, and these are lessons and we can take them and we can grow.

And unfortunately, life is always going to throw us something.

There's going to be a curveball one way or the other.

Absolutely.

And that's why I believe it's so important for us to look at.

Look at our adversities.

What was the triumph of this adversity?

Also, yes, we're going through a challenging time, but what is, what is working?

Because what you do is you build your perseverance muscles, your resilience muscles, and you're preparing yourself because there's always going to be adversity, there's going to be curveballs.

And you know, like I mentioned earlier, I handle adversity now much different.

It doesn't take me out where it used to take me out before.

You know, now I'm like, okay, well, let's step back.

What can be a solution?

Where can we reach out for support?

What do I need to do?

And sometimes I don't need to do anything.

I just need to go and maybe rest, lay down, not do anything so I can get out of my fight or flight response, fall into my parasympathetic response.

And that's where the solutions begin to show themselves.

So you have to be an active thinker, don't you, and be open to change.

Absolutely.

And I love the word you use, curiosity.

I'm constantly curious, you know, if.

If I'm faced with the obstacle, I'm like, okay, I'm curious.

Why, why is this happening for me right now?

What am I meant to learn?

And sometimes it's just a contrast to learn of.

Okay, that doesn't work for me.

Great.

Now I know that doesn't work.

Let's move on.

And a lot of people don't do that.

They get what entrenched in all the minutia.

I do not do minutiae very well.

I just move on.

Oh, yeah, me too.

It's like, oh, really?

And of course, especially when you're in business, there's a lot of minutiae every day.

And you know, and again, I.

Not that I bypass things like, I'll be okay.

You know what?

That did not work.

That annoyed me.

That upset me.

Like, I.

I feel what I need to feel.

I don't sweep my feelings under the rug, especially if I'm feeling it in my body, I definitely honor it.

I just don't stay there too long.

That's a good philosophy because you stagnate if you stay in one place anytime.

But in, especially in something like that, you're going to stagnate.

And nothing good comes from stagnation.

I mean, just look at my fridge.

You know, and, you know, there's.

There's so many areas of life that we're working on at the same time.

So, you know, sometimes there, there can be stagnation.

So, you know, there could be a season for this, for this or this.

But I've learned that as I'm focused on one area of life, even the other, even though I feel like the other area is stagnant, there comes a point where they all just start expanding together.

Like, if I'm focusing on my mental expanding, you know, emotionally and mentally, then I want, I feel like really being in exercising, or if I'm exercising, then I really feel like focusing on my mental health.

If I'm, you know, doing my spiritual work, then I really feel like doing the emotional work.

So although at times I felt stagnant in different areas, once I start putting the work in the other pieces, it's like I see like spinning plates, they all start spinning together in rhythm.

Stay tuned for more of Women Road warriors coming up.

Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.

I have one question for you.

Do you want to stop worrying about the irs?

If the answer is yes, then look no further.

I've been around for years.

I've helped countless people across the country, and my success rate speaks for itself.

So now you know where to find.

Find good, honest help with your tax problems.

What are you waiting for?

If you owe more than $10,000 to the IRS or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free consultation and get your life back.

Industry movement Trucking Moves America Forward is telling the story of the industry.

Our safety champions, the women of trucking, independent contractors, the next generation of truckers, and more.

Help us promote the best of our industry.

Share your story and what you love about trucking.

Share images of a moment you're proud of and join us on social media.

Learn more@truckingmovesamerica.com.

Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Takara.

Grace Redmond is an innovator.

She's constantly looking for new ways to do things.

She's committed to serving others that's helped her innovation.

Her website says self development is all about progress, not perfection.

That's so true in life.

Baby steps guide us to our ultimate goals.

We also don't have to live in the negativity bias either.

We don't have to focus on the negative.

When we make that shift on what's working, we can rewire our brain.

Our mindset is everything.

We're constantly creating our lives based on our belief systems.

What are the stories you tell yourself and what beliefs benefit you?

Your belief system creates the life you're living.

It's all about building resilience.

This is how Grace lives and what she's been sharing with us.

She's had her share of challenges, but has always worked toward progress.

Grace was named one of the top five women owned businesses in the San Francisco bay area for 2024.

Her staffing agency has been one of the most successful in that area for 25 years.

She's a best selling author and host of the Real Talk with Grace Redmond podcast.

Grace is a highly sought after speaker and mentor who teaches true resilience.

Grace, what would you say are the biggest obstacles that women in business have?

Obviously, there's stumbling blocks.

There are things that you have to deal with day to day.

But do you think what are some of the biggest obstacles?

And are some of these self imposed?

Yes, some of them are self imposed.

I, I'm just going to be straightforward.

I believe some of the biggest obstacles is we don't uplift each other enough and yeah, we don't uplift each other enough and celebrate each other enough.

I was, I went to an event the other day and you know, I heard a little cattiness behind me and, and that's where I think the challenge is like just really uplifting.

There's enough room for all of us to succeed and it doesn't have to be a competition.

Women have been stereotyped as doing that.

And I've often wondered.

Guys for so many years were always involved with team sports.

They learned to think like a team.

Do you think that's been part of the obstacle where little girls are raised to be more competitive with each other just based on things that say, oh look, she's so pretty, talking about somebody else, oh, she's got such a pretty dress.

Or it's the rivalry, I'm not sure, but it's a, you know, that's what came up, considering I overheard those things, you know, over the last few days.

And I think that's what we need to do.

And maybe some of it is self imposed, just really looking within ourselves, uplifting ourselves.

So then in turn we can uplift others.

There's incredible women out there.

And I'm not, you know, stereotyping, it's just, I find, you know, just based on my experience this last week, what I experienced, overheard is we could definitely uplift each other more.

I totally agree.

There's more than enough room at the table for all of us.

And if we, if we uplift each other, we're all going to make progress.

You know, the networking, it's so important.

Absolutely.

It's very important and it's necessary and we can, we help each other so much and it just, you know, it takes, it doesn't take much to get things off equilibrium, if I'm making sense.

Yeah, absolutely.

On your website you say dare to achieve.

Do you think that that's one of the things people are afraid to do?

They're afraid to achieve?

Because I've heard of some people saying, you know, you, you get in your own way, they undermine a person, undermines his or her success, for sure.

I mean, the only thing stopping you from succeeding is yourself and the stories that you're telling yourself.

And so, you know, dare to achieve can mean anything.

Dare to achieve again, what does success mean to you?

And dare to achieve because I think most of us are more afraid to step into our magnificence than, you know, that's what we're afraid of, stepping into our magnificence.

Is it because we don't think of ourselves as magnificent?

That could be part of it.

And also, what makes me believe I'm so great?

Who am I to believe that I'm so great?

Who am I to think that I'm so great?

We all have that magic.

We all have that talent.

Yeah, well, of course, we're given the message as we're growing up.

You know, you need to be humble.

You don't want to be arrogant.

Right.

But you have to have confidence and you have to believe in yourself.

Absolutely.

That's key because we are created in the image of, you know, our creator.

We all have that magic and we all have different talents and we all have a story.

And that's why I believe the work is so important.

Because once we can like look within and really cultivate that self awareness, we start operating more from, you know, spirit as opposed to ego.

Ego can be very destructive.

It can.

And we have to learn how to work with it at the same time.

Okay, all right, that's my ego.

I appreciate you.

You're trying to help me out here, like, how can we move forward where I don't feel so activated?

But it sure can come up if somebody says something insulting, for sure.

Demeaning.

Which, unfortunately, we run into people who do that, and you have to remind yourself, at least I do.

Oh, okay.

This person's jealous or something like that.

Totally.

And you know what?

I wish I learned this years and years earlier.

One of the most powerful things I learned when I went back to get certified, you know, nine years ago, was the most empowered person in the room is the person who takes nothing personal.

And I was like, what?

Wow.

But I take everything so personal.

Me too.

It's easy to do.

It really, really is.

And so then I learned, and that's something that I teach, you know, my clients, is how can we get neutral, curious and neutral, step back.

And that has been the biggest game changer for me in my life.

Biggest game changer.

I take very little personal.

If I take it personal, I step back, I get curious.

I'm like, okay, what is it within me?

What's going on with me now?

I do hold other people accountable if, you know, I need to.

But I always come back to myself and I say, what is it within me?

Why am I taking this personal?

How do you flip that switch?

Because it's easy to just get seriously bruised, wounded.

Words are powerful, for sure.

And when you realize that somebody is being adversarial or combative or nasty, you're very vulnerable.

And everything you've worked for, especially when you're in business, that's really.

That's like insulting somebody's child.

Yes.

And I play this as a game, so once.

And sometimes my friends are like, aren't you bothered?

I'm like, no, not really.

I get it, you know, and so what I do is someone says something, and then I internalize it.

I take it personal.

Or I feel like, you know, when you feel it in your chest or you feel it in your body.

Mm.

So I'm like, okay, obviously, I just took that personal.

I'm not neutral.

I step back and say, okay.

I get curious.

What could be going on with them?

Why did they throw that shade at me?

So I get curious about what could be going on with that.

I'm like, okay, their dog died, so they're just not in a good place, and they just projected on me.

So it's really nothing to do with me.

It's.

It's, you know, their insecurity, their fear, their judgment.

But then I also have to be transparent with myself, like, okay, Was I showing up salty?

Was I in my ego?

And so I play that in my head and it, I get curious instead of upset and then right away I flip it and it goes away.

Like, oh, I'm like, oh, yeah, consider the source.

I know that person's going through that.

They're just insecure, feeling some type of way and it just falls off me.

But I play that again as a game.

But I've been doing this for almost 10 years.

It took me time to really ma.

You know, I mean, I don't think we'll ever master it, but it's rare that I take things personal.

I feel it in my gut.

Yes.

I don't internalize it, which is good.

Because when you start internalizing all of those things, that's so self defeating.

And you're basically giving in to someone who's negative, perhaps jealous, perhaps just a bully, for sure.

And you know, actually to be transparent, there was that situation like that this year that really, it did affect me.

And so I just, I really had to work on it.

But I also knew that I was ready to elevate into, you know, a different level in my life in business.

And these lessons were coming back around for me to learn them again because I feel like every time we're going to go to another level in our life or business, some of the same lessons circle back around.

And how are we going to handle those this time?

It's logical thinking that's a part of our brain that is hard to grasp sometimes.

We're emotional beings.

Yes, we are.

And certainly women, when they're in business, if they're raising a family, all of that, they have a lot of challenges and it's a balancing act.

It is.

Women are not to.

Men are amazing too, but women are really incredibly amazing.

And they can.

You're right.

It's a balancing act.

They handle so many, they wear so many different hats at all times.

I think we use more parts of our brain.

We just have to.

Right?

I mean, we're mothers and sisters and daughters and wives and entrepreneurs and employees and CEOs and like we wear so many different hats at the same time.

Yeah, that's the trick.

At the same time.

So do you have some pointers for women in business?

I wanted to talk about your book as well, but what kind of pointers do you have for women in business or even who are climbing that corporate ladder?

Sure.

So what I would, you know, for someone considering going to business or who's already in business, I would say you, you have the Choice to create your business in a way that works for you.

And I know right now there are so many different informational, you know, webinars and seminars out there that teach you how to do business.

And all of them are great and there's great points in all of them.

You get to take the pieces that work for you and create the business for a way that works for you.

Take what works and leave the rest.

It doesn't have to be this way or that way.

You get to create your business in any way that works for you is one tip.

And the other tip is you need to have conviction in yourself and believe in yourself.

Yes, the imposter syndrome is going to kick in.

Yes, we're going to have the obstacles, we're going to have the naysayers, we are going to deal with all of those things and just believe in yourself and have conviction.

Because if you have that dream in your heart, it was put there for a reason and believe in you, period.

It's the fire in your belly, right?

Yes.

And too many people let that go out.

I think we all have it as a child, but we lose it.

We lose it and it's.

Why do you think we lose it?

What's your perspective?

I think it's other people.

I think it's, well, the adversity, the obstacles, the messages we hear, not having the champions in our lives.

We do need that.

You can feel so very much alone.

And other people, especially if they don't want to change, they're going to dog on you and say, that's not going to work.

What are you doing that for?

You know, that kind of stuff, internalizing it slowly starts to douse the fire inside of us.

You're right.

And that's why it's so important to believe in ourselves.

And you reminded me, when I started my business, they told me because it was male dominated, 75% turnover rate, that I wouldn't make it.

And here I am 25 years later.

When I got married, they said it's not going to last.

We've been together for 26 years.

When I had my health crisis, they said that I would never be the same again.

And I love how you mentioned that because if we listen to those outside of us, which most times they mean well, they're just, you know, they want the best for us, but we know what's best for us.

Well, we're all individuals and other people can't think for others.

They don't know.

And yes, a lot of people mean well.

And then there are Those who don't.

And I think it's a culmination of all of that.

When we get into adulthood and even growing up, the messages we're given, the marginalization, the pigeonholing, the things that go on.

I've encountered it, you know, when I have, too.

When I was first in broadcasting, there was a boss I had that didn't feel women should be in front of a microphone.

Well, look at you now.

I know.

Well, thank you.

But I was always kind of the kid.

And then even as an adult, it's like, I'll show you.

Really?

Exactly.

There you go.

That's you.

I just love what you just said.

And I'll show you.

Like, tell me I can't do it.

And I'll show you now your book, Can I Live?

Dare to Go from Effed up to Fabulous?

Yes.

I love that title.

Thank you.

What is that about?

I imagine that that's a real page turner.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And so what it's about is just again, you know, when I was 19 and started therapy, she thought there was going to be no hope for me.

And I really have created just an incredible life that I do love.

And of course, nothing's perfect, but I just, I do, I have.

I love my life.

I have a great life, incredible businesses.

And I said, well, how did I get here?

You know, how did I break those cycles?

And so in the book, I talk about the different steps and principles that I used and took to get to where I am today.

And you can really.

You don't have to read it from beginning to end.

You can pick any chapter and you could, you know, read it from back to forward, forward to back, because it's not something you have to read from front to end.

You can just.

Some of people have reached out and said, you know, I just leave it next to my bedside, and in the morning I'll just pick up a page and that page will get me through the day.

And I just.

I had a.

I had a.

It was.

It was great and fun writing it, too.

That speaks volumes.

People are using that as like a daily devotional of motivation.

Yes.

And so that was.

I was like, wow, I wasn't expecting that.

And then also, you know, my target audience audience was obviously was women.

And then I was so surprised when my male friends were reaching out to me, saying, hey, I read your book.

And I'm like, you read my book?

Really?

And they're like, yeah, it was great.

I got a lot out of it.

I'm like, okay, so you just you never know.

It just.

I wasn't expecting that.

So you.

So you never know.

And I think when you put your heart into something and you just show up from a place of love and the heart, things just unfold naturally.

You're reaching out to so many people.

That speaks volumes.

That book is available on Amazon, am I correct?

Yes, it's available on Amazon.

So it's can I live dare to go from effed up to fabulous.

And people can also find it on your website.

Your website's daretoachieve.com Am I correct?

Yes, that's correct.

I love the title.

That's great.

Now, do you work with people remotely or do you speak in front of large groups?

How does that work?

Both.

I definitely work with people remotely.

And if you're in my local area and you're.

You're interested in seeing me in person, I also do in person and I do workshops and also speaking engagement.

So if there's something that you're interested in, we could definitely talk about tailoring, you know, workshop or a top that's specific to your team or to your business.

I bet people leave your seminars and your keynote speaking, just dancing out of the room.

I imagine that people are really motivated.

I love that because that's.

Honestly, I think we are too serious.

And so I do love to just infuse fun, playfulness, and I love to dance into anything I do.

So I hope they do leave like that when I'm, you know, done with my keynotes.

I love your perspectives, Grace.

This is exactly what's needed today.

Oh, Shelly, you're amazing.

Thank you.

You are, too.

I love to feature amazing people because this is going to reach so many women.

And your website, again is daretoachieve.

Com.

Yes.

Excellent.

Well, I hope people reach out to you.

You're going to help a lot of ladies.

Thank you.

And you're amazing with everything that you and Kathy do.

And congratulations for winning the People's Choice Award for 2024.

And I really look forward to continuing to watch your journey expand.

Well, thank you, Grace.

I really am honored that you say that.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

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