SPEAKER_03: 0:21

What's up, everybody? It's your girl Lish Speaks, and welcome back to another episode of my podcast, I'll Just Let Myself In. It's the podcast where we don't wait for an imaginary permission slip or some invitation to a seat at an imaginary table. We let ourselves into our God-given doors. Y'all know how I like to do here. When I do have a guest, and it's not a solo episode, I like to have people on the couch who embody what we do here. I'll just let myself in. I like to bring you guests who will help to inform uh your idea for yourself, your vision for yourself, and help you see that you're one or two decisions away from being exactly who you want to be. And I feel like the guest I have today is pretty perfect for what I do here because not only has she done this in her own life, she's written a book about how you can do it too. Ladies and gentlemen, on the couch today, I have a business owner, an author, an influencer, a mom, uh, a daughter, and a person who has written a book called Give Me a Year to help you do 12 new things. Shonda Scott is here with me. Welcome to the couch.

SPEAKER_00: 1:28

Thank you. Thank you, Lish. I'm happy to be here. I love that introduction.

SPEAKER_03: 1:32

So, Shonda, you are here uh on a bit of a press run, a very impressive one. Do say so myself. Uh, how's it going being in New York City promoting your new book?

SPEAKER_00: 1:42

It's wonderful. Uh, it's a pro we're doing a book tour. Yeah. Started in Oakland, California, where I'm from. And so I said that's where everything started. So that was a launch. And now we're in Brooklyn doing uh the same thing, the cocktails and conversations, our mocktails and conversations around the book. So I love New York, but this trip, New York owes me nothing. It's been just a fabulous uh opportunity for me to tell the stories about the book with diverse groups and different areas, uh, coffee houses, bookstores, you know, podcasts. Um just really excited. And just every place that I've wanted to market the book has opened up in New York, and it's been a great opportunity.

SPEAKER_03: 2:27

I love that. I love that. I think that, you know, as you tell your story in the book and even on some of the other interviews and podcasts that you've done, it helped me to realize that it's really never too late. You have this thing where you say from 18 to 80, you know?

SPEAKER_00: 2:43

From now I'm saying eight to eight.

SPEAKER_03: 2:45

Eight to eighty. I love it.

SPEAKER_00: 2:47

And the young eight-year-old convinces mom to buy the book for them. And it's really a chapter in the book that tells you how you can even do 12 new things with your your children.

SPEAKER_01: 2:57

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 2:58

Which is good because the earlier that we begin to embrace change and look at it as something that can be fun and exciting and pivot, and our pivot is our growth, the better we are as far as being open to how God wants to use us and opportunities. So, yeah, I'm like eight. That's a great time to start because what happens is that that's the time when you are always changing or embracing it. But that's also the time where I think we start turning to the fear, riding in the fear or feeling like we shouldn't change because now we've can people have conditioned us that change is something bad when change is happening around us all the time. All the time.

SPEAKER_03: 3:35

No way around it.

SPEAKER_00: 3:35

The only thing we're not changing, right, is our mindset, you know, and so that's the only thing we can control too is our is our mindset and change.

SPEAKER_03: 3:43

That's good, that's good. I think about you know, some of the things that you've done that have been new, everything from hiking to swimming in the ocean, all sorts of stuff. Uh, what has been the thing that you feel like has been the most transformative for you in writing this book? Swimming in the ocean.

SPEAKER_00: 4:01

And I'm a swimmer. That's through me, because I really went in, like, I went in thinking that swimming in the ocean was just gonna be this a breeze, this luxurious exercise. And even in the water, I was trying to get in that mindset. And uh, I had someone with me that's called a swim angel that watches you on the swim, and there's somebody who's done this swim before. So this swim is you're swimming miles in the ocean, which when you look at what the bodies of water and you don't see any land, the ocean miles seem like forever. Yeah, scary. It's not like walking two miles, it's not like even driving two miles. So, so in that in that whole swim, I was challenged just to get to the swim that I actually executed for swim across America for pediatric cancer, and my family has a cancer foundation. And so, near and dear to me, because I had a cousin that died of cancer when she was 29 years old. So, swimming became my walk for somebody's for cancer. Swim is what I do. So I thought this was gonna be this swimming in the pool, I swim in the ocean, I'm a swimmer. It brought out so much of my own challenges, you know, in thoughts and fears in the water that I didn't necessarily know I had still or even had. And it also made me think, well, I'm gonna ask God, is God I jumped right in, which is a first chapter title of the first chapter, into this event. Well, you I need you with me because if this is not what you want me to do, this is a dangerous activity now that I'm in the water, you know, training for the swim. So in the process, me when I first jumped into the water, I thought, okay, maybe this is it. That's the new thing. I I did the jump in, I got a few strokes in. We got the video, we can show a clip on social media. Nobody will know I didn't do my whole thing that I planned. It still looks like, wow, you're an ocean swimming. But it but it may push me to like get closer to God in another way, because even if you believe in God and you have faith in God, you still are supposed to be getting closer to Him. And then so things like these new things draw you to your faith in ways that you don't necessarily expect.

SPEAKER_01: 6:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 6:06

So I'm not thinking that the swim is gonna be that because this is something I do very well. I'm a I was a competitive swimmer, a lifeguard. But it did, it challenged me the most because it challenged me mentally, physically, and spiritually.

SPEAKER_01: 6:19

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 6:20

And by the end, I didn't even talk about in the book, by the end, it was one of those things that when you get past challenges on the other side of these blessings that supersede any of the dark or challenging times that you had. And I felt so accomplished after that. People were like, I'm proud of you. I'm like, I'm proud of me. And I'm not one that always said, I'm like, I'm proud of you.

SPEAKER_03: 6:42

Yes, yes, I love it.

SPEAKER_00: 6:44

That was one and done.

SPEAKER_03: 6:45

She's like, did it check? Right, right, right. I did that. It's no longer new. So that's good. And I think, you know, when you talk about your faith and and having to call on God to help you, uh, I am a woman of faith as well. And when things get difficult and dark, I often pull on the things that I learned from childhood, uh, even songs. I was gonna say it had to be a song. Gospel songs from childhood, scriptures, things that my mom taught me, things that I learned in church. And I heard you talk about your grandmother who passed away uh at almost 104. Right. And how many things her and your mom instilled in you, and how sometimes some of the things you you said, it's not even natural to me. I know it's from them.

SPEAKER_00: 7:31

Right.

SPEAKER_03: 7:31

So, what are some of the things that you had to call on when new things have frightened you or made you maybe insecure that you learned from the faith of your mother and grandmother? You mean call on like other than Jesus? You mean like some of the practices?

SPEAKER_00: 7:48

So for me, it's uh getting deeper in the word. Um, it's me being realizing I need to like maybe fast and pray or just be it more committed. Like I tell uh I was on a podcast with the Pastor Lee's in in California, and I was telling him that for me, when the times get dark, I draw closer to God. And that's like my my yeah, that's how I get through. And so that was part of what God revealed to me when writing this book. The reason why I was writing the book is because so many people wanted this guide for them to do their 12 new things lifestyle. But then the beeline in the book God showed me was that this you telling your stories and how you went through different things or how you've done exciting ac act adventures, but then even how you had challenges and got to the other side be by because you did something new and different and what the outcome was. That's helping another generation understand that us telling our stories lets people know that it didn't just happen like a blink of an eye, how I got how you got to whatever goal or success you wanted to achieve. There was a process, and the process doesn't change. I don't care if AI comes or whatever comes, the process is still the process. It takes nine months to still have a baby or however long it takes to develop a healthy baby, you know, all the things that are still the process. But since our younger generation, so many things are so quick and come that in their minds they could feel like when they get into this process as they get older, that that's just them, this dark place. That's where they're supposed to stay. But not knowing that no, you keep going through step by step, you lean on, you know, not your own understanding, and then you get okay, you get to that other side. You see that little glimmer of light in that dark tunnel, and that's where you have that hope. And so part of what the 12 new things does too is that it gives you joy, even in the midst of chaos in your world, or even things that are happening because you want to do this fun activity. It was fun for me to do the swim, but it was challenging too. But I wanted to now what my parent mom and my family has always instilled in me, I'm not a quitter. So in my mind, it was not an option for me to stop, even though I can understand how somebody would stop. And I was trying to convince myself that okay, this is enough. Yeah. But as I prayed in the water, and I talk about in the book, you know, I realized the spiritual connection that I have in the water. You know, there were things that I was focused on that made me, it centered me. And so for me, as an example, using myself as the example is that may give you the clarity for opportunities that that I can't explain. All I can say, if you do this blueprint, you clear your mind, you clear your blocks to be open to how God wants to use you. And that part of it, I'll never take credit for because that part of it is beyond my own understanding. But I know that in my examples and whatever I experienced, I know that that shift in your mindset opens you up. And that opens up meaning that you're not the same, maybe not stubborn anymore. You're not, you're not closed, you're not blocking your blessings, you're not with what you're doing. Yeah. And because it's nothing to do with anything external. The external world just shows you what you need to work on internally.

SPEAKER_03: 11:11

Well, that's right.

SPEAKER_00: 11:12

Or just make you pause, you know, that this not the time, or make you just kind of pause enough. Like now I do a pause and redirect. Like it makes me like if something's going on that's just not clicking, instead of me getting like worked up or upset, trying to figure it out, trying to figure out like maybe it's just for me to take a beat.

SPEAKER_03: 11:28

Well, how long did it take you to get that? Is it coming for you? I was about to say, is it is it coming for me?

SPEAKER_00: 11:35

Well, I you know, I've been doing the 12 New Things Journey for a few years now, but that's why I said give me a year, because I in the book, each chapter is a different subject, but each chapter has prompting questions and things to help you document.

SPEAKER_01: 11:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 11:48

So we're work I'm working on a journal so that you know it goes with the book so people can really be encouraged, and I talk about in the book, to document so you can see because oftentimes our transformation isn't as a big of a shift as we think it is, it would look like. But it's a huge shift. Yes. It's a huge shift, but you just won't see it like in a moment.

SPEAKER_03: 12:13

It might take it reminds me of that thing that people always say that if a plane's nose is like a half an inch in a different direction, you'll end up in a whole different city. And it reminds me of that, you know, or how people say, well, if the sun was one inch away, we'd freeze, and if it's one inch closer, we'd burn. I don't, I'm not saying it right. So scientists don't include my own. But it's like a building.

SPEAKER_00: 12:34

If a building's off by a certain uh, you know, microsoxcopic amounts, it could be a huge shift in the safety, life safety.

SPEAKER_03: 12:43

Yep, exactly. And I think about that with us, you know, as people, there are such small changes that we can make, or one decision that we can make that can literally change the trajectory of our lives. And sometimes we don't make decisions because of fear. One of the reasons that I started this podcast and named it, I'll just let myself in, was because I noticed fear holding me back from something that I wanted for a long time. I've always wanted to be in media, even when I was in other industries and doing well in those industries. I would be at events and I would see the person covering the event, and I would always say to myself, if I wasn't doing this, I'd be doing that. Literally. I would say it all the time. I would look at people like Debbie Smith or like Danielle Young or Gia Peppers or Scotty Beam, like people who are like in my age group or people who are slightly older than me, but like, and I would just always say, Man, I wish I could do that. And then one day I was like, You can't.

SPEAKER_00: 13:37

Why not? You can't. Especially with the internet.

SPEAKER_03: 13:41

I call it, you know, the great equalizer in some ways. Obviously, different people have different advantages. But the internet is the great equalizer. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 13:51

The internet, the internet, and even the pandemic and how it ended up being. That was like, I said there's like pandemic blessings, things that even in that horrific time were blessings to people because I mean equalizing. And and yeah, so that's my biggest pandemic blessing. Okay, I got a story about that about my brother in the pandemic. Same, same kind of story.

SPEAKER_03: 14:13

Yeah, it's a beautiful thing. And so I really appreciate this book wanting to encourage people to try new things. Uh, you had this movement since 2018, if I'm not mistaken.

SPEAKER_00: 14:24

So I I wrote an article that planted the seed in it in 2017. 2017. And then 2019, I started this social media campaign, and I was a social experiment where I would do something new and different each month to embrace change in fun, exciting ways. But it was all around the premise of if you want to see change in your life and in your world, and the article they wanted me to talk about business in your business, then the change starts with you. Yeah, the only change you can control is your change in your mindset. And that's the one thing that most of us do will not control, will not change. We'll keep it the same, where everything else around us, including our physical being and all the things, are changing, but our mindset is the only thing that's supposed to stay the same, and that's the one thing we have control over. So this made it, but change since change is challenging and also is anxiety-ridden. I was doing something to say, make it fun and light, and let's see how that works in life. Like, you know, at least once a month it can be fun. Yeah. But even in that fun, I'm telling you, you still will be challenged. But so it just is, but the part of it is just shifting your mindset. It doesn't have to be jumping in the big blue sea ocean. My first new thing was taking a different route to work. And that just changed me, my perspective on how I saw where I lived. Yeah. And my where I live, that was a more scenic route. So I wasn't in traffic. So when I showed up to work, I was like more centered and at peace. I really was getting taking the time to just quiet in when I drove, so I stopped listening to music and I was listening to audiobooks and different things. So I was coming to work in my mind in a different place, but that was that subtle shift. So the shifts can be the activity can be big or small, but the shift is similar because it's just you, the main point is changing your mindset. But I do say in the 12 years you need to do something big just to celebrate you and just to give yourself permission to do whatever this thing is that you've been holding back for what time to do. Do it in your first 12 months, you know.

SPEAKER_03: 16:30

So that's good. When you think about mindset, um, especially particularly for black women right now who are experiencing mass layoffs, um, something that we haven't seen, I don't think ever in our country, but definitely not in many, many years. Uh people may be struggling with fear, anxiety, worry. Um how would you encourage someone to have a mindset that is faithful and positive in a climate that is scary?

SPEAKER_00: 17:00

So for me, like what as back to my feeling that whenever things get dark, I go draw closer to God. When things are, and this is a training I probably just have had, I don't know, even in business, because you have to pivot so much in business, especially um, you know, any no matter what your demographic is, you have to be able to pivot. And so for me, when times get the darkest is when you I feel like we're at a point where we have done everything. Now try Jesus. You know what I mean? It's like so we're at the point where this is where your you have to lean on your faith, and you have that beyond your own understanding part. And and it's like, what else do we have to do? What else do we have? Because for me, I just don't just can't walk in life because I've been talking to God, like, no, this is not even making sense. This is not anything like what we said it's life would be. Now, nothing that ever said it was gonna be rainbows and butterflies. Yeah, but like I said, like I say, I should say, is that you can't have a rainbow without rain.

SPEAKER_04: 18:09

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00: 18:09

And when you think of how beautiful a rainbow is, and you think about the only way it can come is through a rain, a storm or water rain coming, then the rain in our life, there's going to be a rainbow, and that's the getting through part. Yeah. And that's what I hope that, and that's part of my prayer because I wrote this book. The book I wrote at a time when I needed to heal me, because I was at a point where I felt really disappointed about something that didn't come through that I had and that all was lined up, it was all there. I mean, it was right there, and God shut the door.

SPEAKER_01: 18:40

Been there.

SPEAKER_00: 18:42

And this book came from me right needing to heal me and writing and the writing and telling the stories. Um is the part of me sharing, is that it also inspires others to know that this is the other side of how these things could be challenging, but there's this blessing on the other side. And and part of that is that I uh and for the not for just young people, for all people, I think that's the st the storyline that I hope people get out of the story, out of the book.

SPEAKER_01: 19:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 19:14

And I believe that, you know, being resilient um in difficult times is so much more mental than it is physical.

SPEAKER_00: 19:24

Oh.

SPEAKER_03: 19:24

You know, it is getting to that job that you may not love at the moment is a mind thing because that's going to help you get to a job that you will love or start a business that you will love. Um, you know, doing the thing you don't want to do. Right now, one of my major focuses is my health. And when I tell you every day, now mind you, I live in a building with a beautiful gym. Beautiful gym. It's right downstairs from my apartment. It it overlooks the water. It's beautiful. And you walk by a dollar.

SPEAKER_04: 20:00

I don't, not anymore.

SPEAKER_03: 20:02

Um, but it is a struggle for me to get there sometime. Most times, you know, I will get up. I have this thing I do now where I get up and immediately put my gym clothes on. Even if I'm not able to go to the gym for a few hours, I'm like, at least if I have on my gym clothes, uh the likelihood of me getting there. And it is still a struggle. I literally have to pray and say, God, help me to want to do this. And mind you, I want the outcome. Right.

SPEAKER_00: 20:26

Really bad. Right. We all do. But that difficult in between when we done it.

SPEAKER_03: 20:30

In the process of doing something, it it is my mind. It is not my body. I'm not going to the gym to, you know, run 50 miles and punch a bag for 30 minutes. I'm going to do a regular, normal workout. It's not even the difficulty of the workout that that gets to me. It's my mindset about how hard it's gonna be or how I'm gonna feel. And I've realized that a lot of times when something powerful is there for us to either achieve or receive, there is an enemy, but it really sometimes just ourselves. Something in us that is afraid, something in us that is afraid of being successful, um, that wants us to stop. How do you overcome your inner voice?

SPEAKER_00: 21:18

So part of for me, it's and you saying that makes me is that I want the blessing on the end more than I don't want it. So that is mostly what encourages me in those times because that's I'm the same thing. I have another 12 new things challenged for my fitness, and now I have a goal of what I want it to, what I want it to be and what I want to do in it. And so, but it was the same thing. I don't want to the pain of the working out and going, and it's always something, and it's always something to schedule, just yeah, and it's always something you can convince yourself is the block. But because I'm operating in this 12 new things mindset, and I'm all and I want to be, you know, practice what I preach person, like I'm not gonna be a hypocrite about it. I'm like, okay, you gotta be pushing you. If you're saying these things, even in your challenges, you still have to push you. So part of what it does too is it gives you something else to focus on. Yeah that gives you that joy because that joy and that hope is what helps motivate me. Yeah, like if I can have a glimmer of hope and joy, then I can kind of hold on to get through the pain. And then like you feel like when you work out, the you really feel better after.

SPEAKER_03: 22:32

A thousand percent.

SPEAKER_00: 22:33

And then just remembering that, like, I'm gonna feel better after. So it's all that coaching, inner coaching of myself. Like, I'm gonna feel better after. So I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_03: 22:40

One of the things I say to myself is you've never regretted going to the gym, but you've regretted not going. Right. I tell myself that. I said, You've never regretted it. Anytime you never go on, you've never been like, that was such a waste of time. But when you don't go, you know, you feel it, you see it.

SPEAKER_00: 22:57

And all of that is work, like that self-talk, the writing it out. I mean, I literally have to do those kind of exercises in the morning faithfully. Like I have to put it on my schedule, like the gym, this date on my schedule. It's on my calendar, like a calendar invite. Yeah, yep. And then you know meeting right. So it reminds me, okay, you gotta go. I like I do. I have my bag somewhere, I'll have my things. Like we have a gym at our office, uh, just all the things. But when I'm like zeroed in and committed, yeah, I can I can stay on it.

SPEAKER_01: 23:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 23:30

Because I really want the outcome. Like I'm excited about the outcome. Like I want it to look like this. And I'll see people, I'm like, yeah, that's I'm I'm yes. Michelle Obama arms. Oh, yeah, I'm all on that.

SPEAKER_03: 23:40

Now, a certain way, I want to live.

SPEAKER_00: 23:43

Right.

SPEAKER_03: 23:43

You know, I want to be here.

SPEAKER_00: 23:45

That's true.

SPEAKER_03: 23:45

You know, I don't want to um, and I feel like this is so important. So many people leave this earth prematurely because they won't do a new thing.

SPEAKER_00: 23:57

Right. They refuse to change.

SPEAKER_03: 24:00

They refuse to change. They refuse to try something different, try a different approach. Right. You know, so many people, um, and I mean this in so much love. My audience knows we self-medicate with whether it's with food, whether it's with drugs, whether it's with alcohol, whether it's with, you know, work being a workaholic, because all of it is medication, right? Um, and and a lot of times there are other options, things on the other side that we could try that would help us better. Not just help us differently, but even better than those things where we're afraid because we like the we like the crazy that we know.

SPEAKER_00: 24:38

Right. You know, and then some like that's why the part about when it gets dark, I draw closer, is that I absolutely understand how people self-medicate. I absolutely understand how somebody doesn't want to have to go through the process. Because it's not, since we've been conditioned to think something's supposed to be easy or cute or aesthetically pleasing. Right. Right. When it's not in your mind, you can see why someone can feel like, I don't want to do this. This is not fun, it's not, it's not. Yeah, right, right, right. It it hurts mentally and physically. It's I'm sad and I gotta get through it. But it's the that's why I want to tell stories to show like in hindsight, like what this was when that was in that moment, and and I and what it is on the other side, because when you have enough other sides, you feel encouraged. Or when you hear someone's story and you might be going through it and you're in the dark part, you're like, oh, but if they didn't do this and keep going, if they didn't just stay on it, then they wouldn't have gotten to this other side. Like, I want to get to that other side. And so the more we share our stories of our challenges and the hard times and the difficultness, the more it's relatable to other people because everybody's going through something at some point. And and they can understand that that was a difficult time. And like I said, the hardest times that I document in this book are actually, it may be a sentence in the book, it's a bleep in your life. And it's like it has not even the relevance and weight that you may have felt going through. So when you think of it that way, you're like, all this, and that's even in the Bible, you know, where it's like all the suffering and pain you went through, the blessings are gonna supersede that. So all of that, and that's how it happened in life. Exactly, all those things. And something that you can be working on for 10 years, 20 years. If you get it in 30 years, you are just as happy as if you got it in three days, and you forgot, you're like you remember what you went through, but you don't remember like where it just has you down and out. You like going on and having a good time. Just like we talk about Mandela's life. The success he had, he had after 72 years of age. Yes. Now you think about all that he went through to 72, but what we remember from 72 to I think he passed at 90, that superseded all the other stuff. You know, it's almost like in his story, all that he struggled before then is a bleep in his whole lifestyle.

SPEAKER_03: 27:09

And it also makes his because I had the opportunity to visit his home and go to Roman Island and all that in South Africa. And you know, I hate that all that had to happen. Right. Um but it makes his story that much more powerful to see that he could rise from those conditions and become who he became. And I think it's so much uh the same with us. The hard things that we go through are are be they become our proof that God is good.

SPEAKER_00: 27:39

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03: 27:40

Because he got us through. Um and so I love that. I think that's that's fantastic. Uh, you've had several businesses, you have family businesses.

SPEAKER_00: 27:48

Right. I'm a fourth generation entrepreneur.

SPEAKER_03: 27:50

Come on, fourth generation entrepreneur. I am a first generation entrepreneur. You know what? Second. I'm gonna say second because my mama did have a business of her own at one point. Um, so I'm gonna say I'm a second generation entrepreneur. Um, but first to do it the way that I have d been doing it. Right. Um, and so I'm gonna selfishly ask you uh, what advice would you give a young woman, black, white, whatever, demographic young woman who is in the climate that we are in, um, trying to build something right that is new, that is different, um, and that wants to have real personal impact, not just financial impact, but also wants to be smart and have financial impact on her life and others. What type of you know, information can you give somebody like that? I'm asking for a friend.

SPEAKER_00: 28:42

Well, tell your friend, I said. Uh so I for your friend, one business is business. So I always tell people, there used to be this mindset, I'm not in it to make money. I'm like, well, then don't go into business, just do a hobby because it's business. It's like you have to be shrewd in business because it's about money. You can lose a lot of money and you can make a lot of money, but it is about money. So that has to be. So I'm glad you added that in because even if you have a passion and you want to do it as a business, you have to balance that.

SPEAKER_03: 29:15

This is a passion, but it's not you can't tithe off zero.

SPEAKER_00: 29:18

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03: 29:18

Because everybody wants to be so deep in spiritual, but it's not, it's not about money, it's about God. I said, um, there's a 10% option going on here, and I need to be able to give it a good, I need to be able to give it.

SPEAKER_00: 29:35

No way to come in. Right. Oh, let's get on your word. Yeah, thank you. Because you're right.

SPEAKER_03: 29:40

Businesses need to be lucrative and it needs to.

SPEAKER_00: 29:42

And you have to have the mindset that I'm in it to make money, because I'm that's why I'm in business. Because otherwise, it's not a business, it's a hobby. You know, are you? I mean, sometimes you don't make and sometimes you don't make money in business. It's another lesson you have to learn, but you have to be in it to make money. Um, as a woman in this climate, so Me in the business perspective is I always tell people, I don't see me walking into the room. You see me. I don't know what I'm I'm coming in the room as me. Like so there's certain things in business that it doesn't matter the demographics, it doesn't nothing of that matters. Take that out of your formula, because oftentimes that becomes our block. You know, they did this because of this, they did this because I was that. Well, okay, well, that's you. That's who you are. I don't like I said, I don't see me. When I'm in the room, I'm not looking at me. I'm looking out inward out. So that was part of that's the premise that I still stand on is that if you want to see change in your life and your world, then it starts with change in you. If you want to see change in your business and everything, you always have to come back to you. So if it's hard and difficult, you got to see where you need to pivot. You got to see how you change, need to change differently in your approach or or change the model of your business or change, you know, like in this climate, um, there's a lot of things going on that could be a good uh avenue that our business can grow in. There's a lot of things we may have to pivot from because now that area is not gonna be as lucrative as it as it was. So part of the convit could conditioning yourself to be embrace change is also embracing the pivot. And that's what the pandemic opened us up right in that moment. And I want people to remember like that is where it was firsthand. God was like, you guys gotta be able to pivot because life is changing with or without you. That's just it.

SPEAKER_01: 31:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 31:31

So if you want to see results, then the only change you can control is you. So that is yeah, that crosses, you know, all things gender, race, and all. And for women, I I feel like it's important to, because as a woman, I know there's some things that because I'm a woman, it's been a blessing because of how I can be in a room full of men and you know, and that and our dynamics. And because and then sometimes be because I'm a woman, it might be a more it might be a challenge. So it just makes me go a different route. Because it's like, well, if this is a goal or if this is what God told me was gonna happen, then what am I supposed to do? And that's where my faith comes in because I want to have the guidance. I literally go and you there's been opportunities, and I always tell people, if you want to increase your faith, start a business.

SPEAKER_01: 32:19

Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 32:20

Because you go, there's been opportunities that I was going after. This is it, this is it, this is it. And something else came that I wasn't, and it made me know that I couldn't give anybody but got other than God credit because I didn't even see that client as an opportunity. It's one of the clients we've had has been our longest client. It wasn't one, it was a pastor that called me, and it wasn't about anything uh church related. It was just that was who they were, but it was ironic that a pastor called me about an opportunity that ended up being uh the first contract that I got, and it was in the first year that I started my business, and I was like, okay, God, you told me to start this business. Um, and at the time, my son was young and I was a single mom raising him, but I always was committed that whatever, however, my family raised me with two parents, that was a lifestyle he was gonna have because he would not be sacrificed by my decision to want to have a child and not be married. But so that wouldn't be fair to him. So God had told me, even in the midst of that, that you know, I was trying to do the safe course, like start a business. You're gonna start this business because people were coming to me and wanting me to do it, and I had the family history to do a business, but I was blocking myself because I thought I wanted to be safe for him and have right and know these things. So it was a year, and I didn't get a contract, and the ones that I thought were coming through didn't come through. So I'm like, okay, God, we're at the end of whatever I had reserved to do. And what and you said to do it, what am I supposed to do? And so that's the pastor call that ended up being the client that was a small contract that ended up being one of our largest contracts, that now is one of our longest companies that we've partnered with and done a lot of great work for our community. And um, and it's a you know, that is a billion-dollar con not a contract for us, but a billion-dollar program that we managed to help bring back hundreds of millions of dollars back into our community with businesses that look like the community working on these major infrastructure projects. But it all started from just, you know, yeah an opportunity that I that came that you take and you take those seeds, you water them, and then you don't know where God's gonna have them grow. So but for women, I feel um in this time, these type of times are when we have to look beyond the circumstances. Because that's where we get stuck. So I still say that, like even in this what's going on in this climate, these are the times we still have to look within to see what God wants to do with us. And then that's the time when you see the blessings because you're just like you're blown away.

SPEAKER_01: 34:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 34:59

Cause you're like, we're still making it, and the world is falling apart, and things are crumbling around us, but we're still making it. And that's why God wants to show up and bless you and your business and opportunities so that you can be a blessing to others, and then they can see that example, and then that example's shared. But you gotta share the struggle, you gotta share the sad times, you gotta share the hard times as well as the blessings on the other side and all the glory so that people have like that balance of what really is the process and then the blessing on the other side.

SPEAKER_03: 35:32

I love that. You have to show up, you know, and I think it reminds me of the scripture that says, Um, behold, I'm doing a new thing, do you not perceive it? There's a perception that we have to have of what is going on around us that will help us to um to fight. If your perception is that uh everything is so bad and the world's, you know, everything nothing works for me, like you said, because I'm this, because I'm black or because I'm a woman or because whatever, you will take yourself out of the runnings for success before anyone else does. Right. And so one of the things I'm gonna take away is when I walk into the room, I don't see me. Because I think if I could just be very vulnerable, that's probably a handicap for me. I am seeing me, what I think they see. I don't know what they think. You know, quite frankly, you know, I don't know that you don't care. Yeah, right. Right. It doesn't matter. I mean I got here, you know. My follow always says no one gets to the top of a mountain by accident. If you got in a room, you belong there. If you got in a deal, you belong there. You've worked, you know, and my dad's the same philosophy. And it has it has helped me so much with my confidence. My husband always says, You're so audacious. I'm very audacious. If I find out about something, I'm going to send an email, I'm going to ask. All you can tell me is no. Right. I've gotten some of my biggest interviews and opportunities from just being audacious. And I think, wow, how much more audacious would I be if I felt that way? So you just gave me something today.

SPEAKER_00: 37:02

I gave you that permission and confirmation.

SPEAKER_03: 37:03

Like, man, you gone, you definitely gave me something today. Okay, I want you to pick up the book. I want to make sure we show the book on camera. All right. So when you talked about this challenge, this online challenge that you started, how did you decide, okay, this needs to be a book, not just an online challenge? And then you took it from the 12 new things to embrace and change uh to live your best life to something as catchy as give me a year.

SPEAKER_00: 37:30

Give me a year.

SPEAKER_03: 37:30

How did we get there?

SPEAKER_00: 37:32

So I I got here, not on my own. I got here because I was doing the the social media challenge and it was fun, it's whimsical, and I was having this good time. By the end of my birthday's in February 2019, that's what I started.

SPEAKER_03: 37:47

When's your birthday?

SPEAKER_00: 37:47

Uh 16th.

SPEAKER_03: 37:48

Mine's is February 25th.

SPEAKER_00: 37:50

Oh, we're close. So um, so then I 20, so then 2019, then by 2020 February, I said, oh, this is a lifestyle. It's just not a social media X, you know, experiment. This is really a lifestyle of mindset that you have to have all the time for this type for your for our lives. And then the pandemic hit that just really gave the confirmation. 2020 March, it was like I people were calling, like, oh, we are sheltered in place, stuck, we can't go anywhere. What new thing can we do? They're sharing new things, they're doing adventures in their own backyard because you couldn't leave too far from your house, and even when you could leave, you couldn't really travel. So people were finding new adventures, and it was that it was so relatable to so many people. And so people started asking me about this guide. And then it became really clear when so many men, because I didn't even realize they were even thinking about the book or 12 new things in that way. They're like, So where's the book? Where's the guide? I'm like, just do it. And they're that I there, and so that planted the seed that when I was in the moment where I needed to heal me and write, I said, I'm gonna write the book because that there's something too, a guide, and then the personal stories and giving examples and having it for people to have and giving them exercises. I'm like, that's the kind of books I like to read too, because some of the books that have inspired me, I talk about in the book, like uh that where I do these different, you read the book and they give you exercises and you kind of do fun things. You might do a vision board in one chapter, you may do, you know, all the write all the things you want to do and kind of prompt you to crafting and how I write it, it crafting your 12 new things journey for your first year. But I still want some whimsicalness to it. Like don't be, oh, this month I'm gonna do this, this month I'm gonna do that. Because the rigidness is the same thing as being the block, right? And but part of it is that God's gonna make it move anyway. Either it's gonna not turn out that month, you have to move it, you have to figure out something else, or someone will come up to you. So once you start telling people you're doing this whole 12 new things journey, they're gonna come up with new why don't you try this, even if they're not doing it. They're gonna try this. What are you gonna do next month? And then they have you, you know, staying on course. They're I just call them like they're your count accountability partner, even if they're not doing the journey with you. So that's that's how it all came about. And then I had branded and got a copyright 12 new things, and that's my whole branding concept, and that's what I thought I was gonna have, the book titled, and that was the working title. And then um, when my publisher and I we were meeting and had like a think tank about the name, someone threw out give me a year, and I was like, That's it. Give me a year. 12 new things to embrace change and live your best life. So the 12 new thing part is still in the title, but give me a year is that the hook that gets you. Yes.

SPEAKER_03: 40:34

And I one thing I love about that, and this is what I want my audience to do. This is something you can literally say to yourself in the mirror. Go in the mirror and tell yourself, give me a year. Give me a year.

SPEAKER_00: 40:46

And watch how I come back.

SPEAKER_03: 40:47

And watch and watch how I come back. You know, I want to start a business, give me a year. I want to lose this weight, give me a year, I want to get closer to God, I want to have more fun, right? I want to see new things. Give me a year. I love that. And it's something that I think you know, a lot of people can really benefit from. I have two questions left for you. One that I always end with, but before we get to that question, I want to ask you if there was one thing that you wanted people to walk away from with this book, from reading this book, one thing you want them to walk away with, what would it be?

SPEAKER_00: 41:19

Committing to doing the 12 new things journey and sharing it.

SPEAKER_03: 41:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 41:25

Be it a review or just you know, with your family and friends, because there's different ways you can share. But the commitment.

SPEAKER_01: 41:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 41:32

Because you have to commit to once a month for a year, not once a month, I did this new thing, and it's like it's a whole year. But it's only once a month. So you can, you know, that's not a big deal. It's like a year, yeah, that's a year, but once a month, that's doable.

SPEAKER_01: 41:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 41:49

And it's and it's so that's like the bait that gets you to do it because it's fun and exciting, it's light. But your transformation that you'll see in that year, that's why I have we're getting the journal to people to get through to start just documenting it so you can see like that.

SPEAKER_03: 42:04

And you have a community as well, right? That people can sign up for it. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 42:08

12newthings.com, everything. Thank you for that. 12newthings.com, the number 12newthings.com is where everything lives. Yeah. Some of my stories, some videos, you know, people have shared some of their stories uh to inspire others. My son did jumping out of an airplane. He's like, Mom, we could do this as a new thing. I'm like, no, I'm not doing that one.

SPEAKER_03: 42:27

I have a friend that says that the Lord wanted us to fly this guy, he would have gave us wings. Like, I'm not jumping out of no airplane. I'm like, Okay, I should have done that when I was younger. Right, right. I've aged out.

SPEAKER_00: 42:36

But that's something I felt like I used to tell my grandfather he was afraid of flying. And he, when he was, he ended up passing like in his late 90s, but he was 80 at the time. And I said, Well, granddaddy, when I'm 80 years old, I'm be jumping out of airplanes. Like you lived on this life. What are you afraid of? He said, and I now that I'm getting older, I realize why he's like. Uh yeah. But I might. That could be something that I could later I could just say, hey, I'm gonna do it. But for now, I told my son, that's your new thing, that's not mine.

SPEAKER_03: 43:06

That's good. I asked a question to end off the show, and I think you're a perfect person to answer it. You talked about having a grandmother that lived to 104, a granddad who lived to his 90s. These people created a legacy for you, uh, it's in you. Uh, but in the grand scheme of things, what do you want your legacy to be?

SPEAKER_00: 43:24

I want my legacy to be one, I think it's wonderful to write a book or tell a story or something because I realize that that will live well beyond you. So my legacy and what I do in my work is always about collaboration and community. Yep. So one, I want it to be where what I've done has planted seeds in others to have fulfilled their blessings. And I talk about that too. Like my team, my company, 360 Total Concept, my team has helped me manifest my dream as far as how the vision I had for the company. But the vision I had for the company wasn't just for me to be in business to make money, it was also to create a world where people would grow and develop, love what they do. We have an impact on our the communities that we serve and the work that we do, that we are part of projects that will be here hundreds of years later, you know, building buildings, building railroads, building, building, you know, infrastructure, you know, rail systems, things that are being built for not just us, but benefit for us, but for generations to follow. So I try to I have that mindset internally with my family and the seeds I plant, but then also with my business, but then also in my community. I'm always thinking about community in in everything that I do, like the bigger community. How does this decision that I'm making help and impact and serve others? And the book has been a perfect artistic opportunity for me, yeah, expression for me to do that. Because I was another thing that guy showed me, like this will this is something that you're telling your story in a documented form that's available all over the world. Now it'll be an audio book uh that I recorded in the beginning of the year, and then it's on, you know, kendos everywhere that can live and the stories that you're telling and the examples that you're giving um will live well beyond, you know, me generations that follow me and beyond. Because I'm I'm in the thinking now of the importance of planting seeds for the generations that follow us because whatever is going on with that generation is a reflection of what we did well and what we didn't do well. That's good. So we can't blame them or we can't say what they're doing is just them. It's like they're a reflection of us. Yep. Like we're a reflection of the generation that was before us.

SPEAKER_03: 45:49

Yeah, that's really good. Well, you are well on your way to leaving that legacy. And um, I just thank you so much for being here and for writing this book, this manual, this guide for us to give ourselves a year. Uh I love ladies and gentlemen, I want you to pick up, give me a year. I want you to, yeah, let me hold it. Literally. I want you to pick up this book. Um, so many great quotes, blurbs, so many people of influence love this book and this author. Um, Miss Scott, I thank you so much for being here. And I'm just praying that as you continue your book tour, I know you have a book signing today, and you got many things that you've been doing, you'll be traveling, that uh you'll continue to be covered and blessed because what you're doing is a blessing to so many people. So thank you so much for being here.

SPEAKER_00: 46:37

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_03: 46:39

Thank you so much for watching another episode of I'll Just Let Myself and Witch a Girlish Speaks. If you have listened on Sirius XM channel 140 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on a Monday night, we thank you so much for listening there. If you are watching on Holy Cultures YouTube, we thank you for watching there. And if you're watching on my YouTube, we thank you so much for watching there. Now, I want to encourage you to subscribe. Our analytics let us know that about 70% of the people who watch this podcast regularly are not subscribed. Now, I'm gonna charge it to your head and not your heart. Maybe you don't know you're not subscribed. Maybe I'm just showing up on your for you page or showing up as a mention for you. But I want to encourage you if you have watched this podcast and enjoyed it, to please subscribe and share. And I'll see you back here, same time, same place next week. Peace.