Category: Podcast

All Kids Included with Annie Hoffman

Post author By Marly Q
Post date April 28, 2023
No Comments on All Kids Included with Annie Hoffman

All Kids Included

Can you imagine a world where all kids felt included and safe to be themselves? Just for a moment, imagine living in a world where all kids learned to treat themselves and others with kindness because they saw it modeled in their homes and schools, on TV and movies, video games, stages and theater performances in their communities. If envisioning that kind of world makes you smile and ignites a spark of hope, then don’t miss this short and inspiring conversation with Kindness Influencer and Podcast Host, Marly Q, plus special guest, Annie Hoffman, who’s doing her part to create a world where all kids are included, every day!

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

Upcoming Event

MANkind Summit May 17-19, 2023
www.mankindsummit.com

“Kindness is not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” ~ Andrew Iskander

Listen to this Episode and Discover…

How one South Florida event makes sure ALL Kids are Included in the arts*
How kindness and the arts are parallel driving factors for wellness
How the arts plays a role in reducing stress, for kids and adults alike!
Specific ways that the arts can be used a healing modality and means of connection

About Marly Q:

Kindness Influencer, Leadership Trainer, and Community-Builder on a mission to create a kinder world for over two decades. Through her podcast, she invites listeners to make “Time to Be Kind” each week to receive a spark of kindness, connection and community.

Connect with Marly Q:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/MarlyQ
Instagram: https://instagram.com/MarlyQ
Facebook: https://facebook.com/theMarlyQ
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@MarlyQ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarlyQ
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theMarlyQ

About Our Guest:

Annie Hoffman is the Education and Outreach Manager at the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center, a division of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. In this role, Annie oversees a wide range of programs and initiatives designed to promote arts and culture throughout the community. With her expertise and passion for the arts, Annie has become a well-respected leader in the field, known for her ability to engage and inspire diverse audiences. Her dedication to promoting inclusivity and accessibility in the arts has made a significant impact on the community, and her tireless efforts have helped to ensure that the arts remain a vibrant and vital part of Miami-Dade County’s cultural landscape.

Connect with The Dennis C Moss Cultural Arts Center

Website: mosscenter.org
allkidsincludedmiami.orgInstagram: @the_moss_center

Other Links:

Upcoming Event: MANkind Summit May 17-19, 2023 – www.mankindsummit.com
Join our Kind QREW Free Private Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/kindqrew
Join our Kind QREW+ Paid Membership: https://marlyq.com/kind-qrew
Programs & Courses: https://marlyq.com/programs
Marly Q Speaking, Training & Retreats: https://sparkcsr.com
Listen to Marly Q TEDx Talk “Kindness is your Superpower”: https://bit.ly/MarlyQTEDxTalk

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP 16: World Youth Skills Day with Spirit Cheer Camp
EP 15: Planting Seeds of Kindness with Marlon Hill
EP 30: Welcome Back with Marly Q

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00 Marly Q

Imagine for a moment a world where all kids grew up feeling included and invited in and safe to be themselves. If imagining that world makes you smile and gives you hope, then stay tuned.

**Kind Update about MANkind Summit**

Oh, and one more thing. If you don’t already know, next month we’re hosting our second annual MANkind Summit. If you want to be the first one to know and have the details to this, you better be in our Kind QREW. If you haven’t joined our private Facebook group yet, now’s the time you can find the link to join that over at Marlyq.com forward slash this episode number.

00:48 Marly Q

Hello and Welcome. Thank you so much for making Time to Be Kind with Marly Q and our special guest, PARKer today, she is a friend and a client. We’ve been working together for many years. This is the education and outreach manager at the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center with the Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. It is a mouthful and it is a huge undertaking. And this role that this beautiful woman takes on so gracefully. Please welcome to the show Annie Hoffman.

01:15 Annie Hoffman

Hello. Thank you so much for having me. Marly.

01:13 Marly Q

Yay. Welcome. How’d you like your grand intro?

01:20 Annie Hoffman

I loved it. I loved it. Thank you.

01:23 Marly Q

I see you blushing. I’m going to make her blush a little more, because not only is her job about creating arts in the community or uniting the community around the arts and making it accessible for all, she’s also a board certified and registered art therapist and a licensed mental health counselor. She has spent the majority of her career advocating for and educating about the healing and community building aspects of being involved with the arts. She is passionate about the arts and making it accessible for all, and that passion just lights me up. So again, thank you so much for making Time to be kind.

01:56 Annie Hoffman

Well, thank you again for inviting me to join you today. I’m so excited to talk to you. Anytime I get to talk to you, I just get excited. So thanks, Marly.

02:05 Marly Q

Ditto ditto. And for our friends who are listening and spending time with us maybe for the first time, could you remind us or tell us what’s a PARKer?

02:15 Annie Hoffman

Yes. So a PARKer is someone who performs acts of random kindness and they’re led by their desire well, I’m just speaking for me, I guess, but their desire to do things in community with others and connect with others.

02:30 Marly Q

Yes. That is beautiful. My goal is to have this in the dictionary and have it be like a standard of human behavior. And how you identify? I identify as a PARKer, a person that Performs Acts of Random Kindness. And April is Stress Awareness Month, and I’m curious how you feel that kindness and the arts play a role in reducing stress.

02:54 Annie Hoffman

I think they have a huge role. Kindness just fills you up when you are being kind, having community with other people, connecting with other people, you’re filled up. And that contributes to your overall reduction in stress and it makes us feel better. The arts go hand in hand with that most of the time. I find that artists want to engage with their communities. And when we engage with arts, we are able to do so with others, whether that might be as a spectator or a participant. And the act of creating or the act of being in a space where art is happening, like a live performance that makes us feel connected. And being connected helps us reduce our stress and just makes us feel better overall.

03:41 Marly Q

Yes, absolutely. Are you listening? It sounds so simple, but when it becomes an actual standard and a value and a practice more than anything else, then we really could experience like an elevated sense of wellness, regardless of the amount of stressful events happening outside of you or whatever life throws at you, right? Like just having this be part of your lifestyle. So can you share with us what sparked your interest in the arts and specifically as like a healing modality?

04:15 Annie Hoffman

I grew up with the arts. I learned how to draw and paint and sew from my grandmother and my mom. And it was something that I just kind of remember doing always. I know when my mom would take me and she was going to class or she was going to something, she would take me and I would just kind of be sitting somewhere coloring. And so for me, I think I just always used the arts as a way to express myself and to calm myself, to soothe myself, no matter really where I was. And I found a way to connect with other people through the arts. And so as I first learned about what art therapy was, the minute that I learned about what art therapy was, I thought, oh, this is it. I felt like I was missing something. As going through art school, I felt like I needed a little bit more. I wanted to go in a little bit of a different direction. And then I kind of found my community. And so to me, being an art therapist and working in the arts as an arts administrator and an arts education, it gives me that sense of opening the world up for other people and for myself too. And that’s kind of what I think the arts and healing is all about, is just opening up the door to folks so that they can experience all the benefits that art making, engaging with the arts have to offer.

05:36 Marly Q

I love that and I love how it is parallel to kindness. Right. Because the arts don’t just benefit the artist and the one making the art. Art benefits the spectator. It benefits a participant. And that’s how I feel kindness is as well. It doesn’t just benefit the person that’s performing the act of random kindness. It’s also the person that’s receiving it, someone that might have observed that or witnessed it and it creates a ripple. Right. Can you speak to that?

06:03 Annie Hoffman

Yeah, I mean, that’s one of the things that I love about the job that I do currently as the education outreach manager at the Moss Center is that I build these programs and create opportunities for folks. And so I see that kind of rippling out effect as being shared amongst the community. Right. And the arts have a way of doing that in terms of just bringing people together from all different backgrounds to have this shared experience. And there’s this bonding kind of thing that happens. It’s hard to put it into words, but it’s just such a magical experience that happens. And I’m always so grateful that I get to be part of that. That also happens when I’m facilitating an art therapy group. We have this shared experience where we’re coming together and there’s this rippling of energy going out and yeah, it definitely has that parallel with kindness.

06:56 Marly Q

I agree. Well, I love the Moss Center and what you all do year round. I mean, I’m only a part of this one particular event that we’re going to be hosting next Saturday. We’re going to tell you about that in just a moment. But can you tell me about the year round programming that’s offered at the Moss Center?

07:12 Annie Hoffman

Yeah, I would love to. We have something for everyone. So if you haven’t been to the Moss Center before, I would encourage you to come down. Whether it’s music, dance, theater, you name it. We’ve got so much going on throughout the year. We also have free parking and it’s super easy to get to us. We’re just right off the turnpike. But as we were just talking about that rippling out effect, there’s nothing like being able to experience live arts performances. So it’s part of our mission to help people access the arts. We have several free events open to the community throughout the season. We also have a really great family series that provides opportunities for families with children to experience the arts together. Just this past season, we had Disney’s, Winnie the Pooh and we had a big fun, big top circus on our back lawn. We also have an incredible dance series that brings in some of the top dance companies to our stage right here in Cutler Bay. So if you don’t already follow us on social media, we’re at the Underscore Moss underscore center and you can keep up to date with all that we have going on. It’s a lot that we have, so we hope to see you there.

08:19 Marly Q

I love it. And for our friends who aren’t from South Florida, we will still put these links and the social media handles in our Show Notes page to connect. Because there are also some virtual opportunities that you offer, right?

08:31 Annie Hoffman

Yes, we do. We partnered with some of our local arts organizations. This is our third year now doing it, but we do provide free virtual field trip opportunities each season to students in Miami Dade County. We partnered with the Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami Theater Center, and the Culture Shock Miami through the Department of Cultural Affairs to form the Miami Dade Arts Education Collective. So that’s a virtual programming that happens each season. In addition to those dance performances that I was just speaking about, we usually do a virtual free pre show talk, which sometimes features the artistic directors or choreographers, and those are on our website, our YouTube channel. So we do definitely still embrace virtual, which is something that came out of the pandemic, but it’s sticking around because it helps us connect beyond just our local community.

09:24 Marly Q

Yes, it is sticking around. And this retired recovering event planner made the pivot over to virtual. And I never thought in a million years I would say, wow, like, virtual is here to stay. And at least as a kindness, influencer, and a leadership trainer, a speaker, a community builder, the work that I do, virtual is like the way that I can better amplify this message and really unite people around the world that really want to create a shift in this world to a kinder one, right? And I think you’re doing that work in small ways and maybe ways that we don’t see right away the impact of that. But I do believe in the ripple effect of kindness and the arts and these experiences that you’re creating for all people, right? These are like accessible art programs and I love that. So could you tell us about the all kids included Family Arts Festival? That I’m so excited about it’s next week. I get to Emcee, I get to be a part of the team. I mean, I’ve been a part of the event for over a decade, so I’m bragging here. But this is one of my favorite events of the year. Not only because it is completely aligned with my mission in life, but it is also just a spectacular outpour and representation and embodiment of community. Community coming together to celebrate the arts, participate in the arts, and more importantly, make it accessible and available to all. Can you tell us more about the All Kids Included – Family Arts Festival?

10:49 Annie Hoffman

Yes, I would love to. It just so happens to be one of my favorite events every year, too. I look forward to it. It’s part of what drew me to this job and the Moss Center. So, this is our 17th annual free all kids included family Arts Festival. It’s an incredible day where we invite everyone to come out to experience a fun filled day of inclusive arts experiences for children and families with and without disabilities. As you said, this year it’s on Saturday, May 6, from 10:00 A.m to 03:00 P.M at the Dennis Sea Moss Cultural Arts Center, or the Moss Center for Short, which is formerly known as the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center. It’s the same place. We just have a new name.

11:31 Marly Q

That’s important to say. That’s important to say. The South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center is now the Moss Center. There you go.

11:37 Annie Hoffman

Yes. So we will have sensory inclusive mainstage performances where we have modified light and sound. We also have a quiet room that is staffed by the amazing folks from the Advocacy Network on Disabilities. We have some amazing performances from our local arts organizations, such as the Children’s Voice Chorus. We also have something I’m really excited about. We have an immersive digital based arts installation called Light Waves by South Florida artist Monica Lopez de Victoria. We’ve got great food options. We just have so much to do. So I really hope to see you all there. One other thing to add is that we have put up the schedule already on our website, and we do this as also a way to think about accessibility so that folks can have a chance to look at that schedule and think about how they want to plan out their day. We also have what’s called a social narrative, where you can download that right on our website. And that’s something that kind of goes through what an experience of coming to the center might be like. And that’s really helpful for any folks with sensory sensitivities or anxiety. And all of that is on our website at mosscenter.org.

12:50 Marly Q

I love that some people listening may not have heard what a social narrative is or may not be just familiar with the accessibility features right. That an event could include. Could we dive into them a little bit more? Because I think this is really important and I’m not sure that we highlight it enough right. When we say that it’s accessible, that we provide accessibility for all. Let’s get really specific. Right? I know you mentioned that inside the theater, with the theater performance, there’s the light sensory component to it, but you also have, like, captioning and ASL, right?

13:19 Annie Hoffman

Yeah. That’s great to add. Yeah. So we do have, as I mentioned, we have a sensory inclusive performance. So that means that we’ve made slight adjustments to the performance in terms of light and sound. And we have that quiet room available so that if any point during the performance anyone is feeling a little overwhelmed or they just need a little bit of a sensory break, they can go to that quiet room. They’re still actually able to watch the performance through a window that we have, but they’re able to kind of modify their experience a little bit so that they can enjoy the performance, too. We also have ASL interpreters, american Sign Language interpreters, throughout the entire venue. That day at all of the different things that we have going on. We have audio description at the main stage performances, which happens to be for folks that are blind or have low vision, where they’re actually describing what’s happening on the stage, that happens through headsets. And we have open captions, which is where someone might be hard of hearing. They can actually get on their device and see a transcript of what’s being said, any kind of verbal dialogue that’s happening on the stage. So we’ve really tried to think about these different layers of accessibility so that everybody can enjoy what we have to offer that day. We also always have noise canceling headsets available, assistive listening devices. We also have a braille program and a large print program. So these are just some of the various things that folks would find if they come that day.

14:52 Marly Q

Yeah, different accommodations. Very carefully and kindly thought through accommodations that unless we tell people, unless we share that this is available, some families may just assume that it’s not, right? I can definitely imagine being a parent of a child, maybe that’s on the autism spectrum or that maybe has a particular disability or in a wheelchair or what have you, and I want to go to this event. I’d love to take my child to see a performance, but I feel stressed or I’m worried or there’s anxiety. Right. So to be able to deliberately tell families, hey, at this event, we got you, we’ve created this safe Place. I’ve experienced through the almost a decade that I’ve been a part of the event. Many families and kids that maybe are a little bit overwhelmed, there’s too much going on, and they just go to the quiet room, and a little while later, they come outside and they’re smiling and they’re having a good time, and they want to take a picture with me as the Emcee because they think I’m a big deal, right? I’ll never forget that. I’m going to share.

15:48 Annie Hoffman

Well, you are a big deal, but okay.

15:50 Marly Q

One of my favorite memories at the All Kids Included – Family Arts Festival was this one year. I come off stage, and this little girl, she’s looking right up at me, and she’s like, hi. Wow, are you somebody? Like, with these big eyes. She’s like, wow, are you somebody? And I got down. I kind of whine. I looked at her and I’m like, yeah, my name is Marly Q, and guess what? You’re somebody too. That little girl was like she had me sign, like, her program. I did an autograph. Her mom took a picture. It was like, so sweet. It was one of these memories that I will take with me forever. It’s like, are you somebody? And so are you. And I feel that feeling, that kindness just permeates throughout the entire event. All of the staff, all of the volunteers, everybody that comes together really does come together in kindness in a community building effort. And I really wanted to share my platform and this audience. Even though it’s not only South Florida, I really wanted to let the world know that the all Kids Included family Arts festival happens each and every year in South Florida. And it’s not just this one time event, right? It’s part of a larger initiative from the Miami Dade County Cultural Affairs Department. Can you tell us about that?

17:02 Annie Hoffman

Yeah. So the all kids Included Family Arts Festival is supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs and with support from the Children’s Trust. And it basically is connected with this year long program that the department runs called All Kids Included and that has so many different facets that go on. The festival is kind of our culminating event. We also have a student art competition that runs every year, and at the festival, we have the award ceremony. We also show all of the artwork. We have the winning artwork in person, but we show all the artwork as well. They also do teacher training so that teachers throughout Miami Dade County can have access to learning from some of the best and new techniques, best practices in working with children with disabilities. They run summer camps. There’s an animation camp that they run that is led by a woman with autism every year that fills up every summer. So there’s just so many things that All Kids Included Miami does, and I am just so happy to be part of it and be able to create and work with them to develop all these programs that we have for people throughout Miami. You can find out more about that at allkidsincludedmiami.org.

18:21 Marly Q

Oh, great. We’ll include that link as well. I love that we are just a wealth of resources here, just a little sneak peek at the amount of resources that are available when you connect with the All Kids Included Family Arts Festival. We have a beautiful list of community resource partners that all come together and basically volunteer their time this beautiful day to make available the resources that we have for families with and without disabilities in the community. So I love you and the work that you do and the great team over at the Moss Center. I am grateful anytime that I can be a part of this initiative. And I just want to thank you for making the time to be kind with us here today and tell us about it.

19:01 Annie Hoffman

Thank you again for having me. I love talking about the All Kids Included Festival, and I love getting to work with you on it because you always just bring this positive radiating energy out. So I really appreciate you inviting me on today.

OUTRO

So there you have it. If you live in South Florida, friends, and even if you have kids or not, I invite you to check out the All Kids Included Family Arts Festival on May 6. Connect with the Moss Center and the all kids included Miami initiatives. You can find the links for those details over on my website at Marlyq.com this episode number. So whatever episode number this is, go to Marlyq.com that number.

Oh, and one more thing! If you don’t already know, may is Mental Health Awareness Month, and next month we’re hosting our second annual MANkind Summit. If you want to be the first one to know and have the details to this, you better be in our Kind QREW. If you haven’t joined our private Facebook group yet, now’s the time you can find the link to join that over at Marlyq.com forward slash this episode number. Thank you so much for making time to be kind with Marly Q. See you next time.

Upcoming Event

MANkind Summit May 17-19, 2023
www.mankindsummit.com

Join our Kind QREW Free Private Facebook Group: Click here to Join Now

Podcast

My Someday is Now with Kim Walsh Phillips

Post author By Avejit Roy
Post date April 21, 2023
No Comments on My Someday is Now with Kim Walsh Phillips

My Someday is Now

If you’ve been waiting for “someday” to go all in on your dreams and goals, today’s short episode may be the spark that inspires you to decide “my someday is NOW”! Join Kindness Influencer and Podcast Host, Marly Q, plus special celebrity guest, Kim Walsh Phillips, an MBA-free self-made millionaire who was recently named #475 in the Inc. 5000! Kim is the founder of Powerful Professionals and author of multiple best selling books including her most recent book, The Shift: Scale Your Business and Multiply your Wealth Without Sacrificing You. This brief conversation is filled with wisdom and practical take-a-ways from entrepreneurship and parenting to simple ways we can create a culture of kindness at home and at work, even if you’re super busy!

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

Upcoming Event

MANkind Summit May 17-19, 2023
www.mankindsummit.com

“Kindness is lighting someone else’s torch with your own inner flame.” ~ Unknown

Listen to this Episode and Discover…

You can be a successful entrepreneur and present parent (just not at the same time)
The 1 question you want to ask yourself (and your kids) at the dinner table, everyday
You can stop sacrificing your time, family, and health grinding 24/7 to grow your business
How promoting a culture of love and kindness at work enriches lives and your business
3 ways you can spark kindness, connection and community at work, even if you’re super busy!

About Marly Q:

Connect with Marly Q:

About Our Guest:

Kim Walsh Phillips is the founder and CEO of Powerful Professionals, a business coaching and education company. She’s a bestselling author and has been named “#475 in the Inc 5000” for having one of the fastest growing companies in America. Kim has spoken on stages around the world, co-hosts a top business podcast with American Idol Season One Alumni, Justin Guarini, and has worked with some of the biggest names in business, including Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank and Harley-Davidson.

Connect with Kim Walsh Phillips

New Book: The Shift: Scale Your Business and Multiply your Wealth Without Sacrificing You. https://theshiftbookbonus.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/KimWalshPhillips
Instagram: https://instagram.com/TheKimWalshPhillips
Website: https://powerfulprofessionals.com

Other Links:

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP 24: Drop the Ball with Tiffany Dufu
EP 26: How Dare You Not with Luly B
EP 30: Welcome Back with Marly Q

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00 Marly Q

Someday I’ll turn my purpose into a real business. Someday I’ll take that dream vacation with my family. Someday I’ll start a podcast, write a book, and host my own events. If you are waiting for someday, today’s episode might just be the spark that inspires you to finally decide my someday is today!

00:35 Marly Q

Hello, and thank you for making Time to Be Kind with Marly Q. Have I got a special treat for you today PARKers. Our special guest today is a celebrity. She’s one of the most impressive business women that I have personally met in the past two years. Some of the biggest names in business, including Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank, Dan Kennedy, my friend Mike Mccallowitz, who’s the author of Profit First, and so many others call her their secret weapon behind the scenes. This woman has spoken on stages around the world, including Dubai, Moscow, London, and all around the US. She is the co-host of one of the top running business podcasts, and she’s also the author of multiple best selling books, including her latest brand new book called “The Shift Scale Your Business and Multiply Your Wealth Without Sacrificing You”. I’m talking about the Founder and CEO of Powerful Professionals. Welcome to the show, Kim Walsh Phillips.

01:30 Kim Walsh Phillips

Hello. Thanks so much for having me, Marly. I can’t wait for this conversation.

01:35 Marly Q

Yes, you know I said someday, when I relaunch my podcast, I’m going to invite Kim Walsh Phillips to be a guest on my podcast. Someday I’ll do that. I need to get a lot more episodes out. I need to make sure I have a bigger audience. I need to do a lot more. But someday I’m going to ask this incredible woman to be on my podcast.

01:57 Kim Walsh Phillips

And guess what? My someday is today.

02:00 Kim Walsh Phillips

That’s right. Yay. And I’m coming to you right now from the Bahamas. That’s what’s behind me. I don’t know if you can see that at all, but we are. Let’s see if I put on this nah. It’s not coming through. But yeah, it’s beautiful here. And I picked one afternoon that I was going to take a break and meet with important people. And you are that important person. So I am thrilled to be on here with you today.

02:23 Marly Q

Oh, I love it. And you know who else is super important people? Those listening who I call our PARKers. Do you know what a PARKer stands for, Kim? Can you tell? Our PARKers listening, in case they don’t know?

02:33 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yes. This is somebody who makes sure to make the world a better place by sharing random acts of kindness.

02:38 Marly Q

Yes, that’s correct. So, PARKer Beautiful People is an acronym for people like you, me and Kim, who perform acts of random kindness. And we use our voice and our skills and our talents and our resources to create a kinder world. That’s what we’re doing here today. Thank you for making Time to Be Kind. And let’s get right into it. Before we dive into business, I’ve got to talk to you about motherhood for a moment because you are proof, living proof to me that you can be a businesswoman, you could build your empire, you can serve at the highest level and be a present parent. Can you talk to us about how important that is for you?

03:14 Kim Walsh Phillips

It is very important. And I also know that I can’t do all the things at the same time. I cannot work and be a present parent at the same time. And a piece of advice a friend of mine had given me when I first found out I was pregnant, she was the first surgeon general for the state of Pennsylvania, Dr. Wanda Filer. And she told me, never tell your daughters. She didn’t know I would have two at the time. Never tell your baby that you have to go to work. Like never make it, that you are sacrificing time away from them in order to work. Show them from the very beginning that you are all the things you are a business owner and a mother. Not or not if, not, then, but. And that you get to go to work. You get to go make an impact. So what I’ve done since the very beginning with my daughters is enroll them into the fact that they are part of the impact that I make in the world by me going away from them sometimes and making that impact. And then when I’m with them, I’m fully present in a conversation with them. And I build those moments of intentional real time with them every single day. And some days it’s just picking them up from school and driving them home or being at the door when they walk in or spending time before bed having a conversation. It may literally just be 15 minutes of one-on-one quality time in that day, but enough time that they feel seen and heard and that they matter. And by doing that, I’m able to be all that I am without feeling like I should be doing something else at each time. And that lets me show up in a way that allows me to treat them the way they should be treated and then be more likely to treat others that way because they know that they matter.

04:53 Marly Q

Yes. And I know that by doing that, you are also modeling kindness. You’re modeling being kind to yourself and your calling and your purpose. You’re modeling kindness for them by including them in it, right? So can we talk a little bit about how kindness is a part of your life and your parenthood with your kids?

05:11 Kim Walsh Phillips

Every night at dinner, we have a conversation saying, who did you impact today? Positively impact. And we talk about it so that they are seeking those opportunities throughout the day to create a positive impact with the people in their life. It could be a teacher that they said something kind to a teacher or it could be a friend that they helped them in some way or it could be each other or it could be something they did for me. So we make that conversation part of our dinner every single night and so they not only are being held accountable to making an impact but they’re seeking ways to do it so they have something to talk about each evening.

05:45 Marly Q

Aww! They get to share. And how old are your daughters?

05:47 Kim Walsh Phillips

Ten and Twelve.

05:48 Marly Q

Ten and Twelve. So I love surrounding myself with people who are ahead of my journey, right? So that I can see. I have a two year old and a four year old and I’ve started these conversations already and I do make them part, they see myself and my husband, we’re both entrepreneurs doing our thing and I just love that. So I just wanted to start off our conversation by saying thank you for not just being a role model for me in business but also in parenthood and I just love that. So thank you. And I know that you especially don’t miss softball games and I hear you do a little DJing out there too.

06:22 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yeah, so that’s one of my priorities is that I’m there and present for my daughters when they play softball and their dad is their coach, but I am the DJ at the games. I do all the announcing of the players when they come up to bat, play them each their walk on song and play all the music before, during and after the game.

06:39 Marly Q

I love that. I love that. Talk about making powerful memories, right? So let’s shift over to business because your business is called Powerful Professionals. So I love it. You already have me just at the name, right? Being a powerful professional. Can you tell us more about this incredible business and how you started from just about 30 clients or so and went to what is it, like 1000 or 11,000 clients? Tell us this journey.

07:01 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yeah. And this is all tied in beautifully with the theme of your show. As I was going through this really painful period where I couldn’t make payroll and I didn’t know what I was going to do, I knew I needed to do something different. And I had a young baby at home and I couldn’t go out and hustle like I used to. And so I actually had to start relying upon marketing and automation and webinars to grow my company. And it started to work and I knew when I discovered like how to make it work that I wasn’t just going to learn for myself. I was learning so that I could help other people. And once I figured it out and I was able to grow my company, I sold my company and I knew my whole mission. My entire mission of life is to show other entrepreneurs how I did what I did so that they can do it too. So my whole business is built around the purpose that we are not just created to work. We are created for many things: faith, fitness, family, finances, and fun. And we need to build all of those things. We get to build all of those things into our life in a way that actually works. So my goal every single day is to show people how they can multiply their impact and income without working around the clock so they can still have time for all the other things that are important to them while they make an incredible living doing it.

08:15 Marly Q

Yeah. And how is kindness, like a part of this? Not just for the people that you serve, but also for your team, right? Because your team is super important to you. I’ve heard in your story you even had to pawn your engagement ring in order to make payroll. So I mean, if that’s not a sign of like I care about people and the kind act, I don’t know what is. right? So how is it a part of your business? How is kindness a part of your business?

08:35 Kim Walsh Phillips

There’s a few things. One is that we only have people work in their zone of genius. So we don’t, even if someone’s out of office, let’s say we don’t have somebody else jump in and work on their projects if that’s not what their strengths are. So we allow each person to show up and fully work in what they were created to do. So that’s one way. A second way is every Tuesday at our we call it Town Hall. That’s our Tuesday staff meeting. Where we share you make a difference, where we share one of our clients, what they did, the impact that that had on the world and the team members that were participating on that project so we could show the impact those staff members make. And then we also do team shout outs every week so different team members can put in notes of appreciation for other team members. And we read those aloud every Tuesday meeting. So we’re building intentional kindness into all of our staff meetings.

09:31 Marly Q

Yes. And would you say that building intentional kindness into your staff meetings, into your team each and every week is generating what I call the currency of kindness, right? Something that enriches your life and your wellness, but also brings business to your business, right?

09:48 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yeah. It really, It creates this culture of love and treating everybody with respect and making sure each person matters. And when you are that way, that’s who you attract to you, as we say, right? Your vibe attracts your tribe. So my whole community is filled with amazing people just like that. So, like, at one of our business retreats, you’re finding all people who are just super awesome humans who want to help other people be super awesome humans. So it’s just an incredible community that we’ve been able to create because of that culture that we have.

10:17 Marly Q

And you’re definitely embodying that because you somehow attracted my energy into your world. And I’m like, I am all about it. This is my woman. We must connect. And here we are. Thank you, universe. Just a moment to thank the universe for making this happen, right? Because it was effortless, and I’m just so grateful. I want to talk about your new book because you’re creating things all the time. You create events and programs and running your business in such a way that inspires me to streamline mine as I continue to grow. But talk to us about your book, because the shift, especially this other tagline, how to scale your business and multiply your wealth without sacrificing you, that part right there is definitely a hook.

10:59 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yeah, it’s my entire business model. And I talk about this book being a storybook, a playbook, and a workbook all in one. I wanted to bring it up for you. So a storybook, a playbook, and a workbook all in one. Storybook is that I’m telling you fun stories from behind the scenes so you get to see the journey, and there’s a lot of historical moments that happen, and I share those. Right? And then it’s a playbook because I give you the step by step on how you can do it, too. So every marketing strategy, lead generation, I give you every single one of my slides from my webinar, you get full scripts to use. It’s all included in the book. And then a workbook, because I actually give you exercises that you can follow in order to get done the things that we’re talking about inside. So here we go. It’s the shift, how to multiply, how to scale your business and multiply your wealth without sacrificing you. So we put it all in there, and then what’s really fun is, when you get the book, you get over $3,000 worth of bonuses, all included, that are all yours in order to make that massive impact without using more of your time.

12:03 Marly Q

You’re so generous, Kim. It just flows like you’re like, oh, this is just what I’m doing now. It is an incredible, generous offer, right? And the amount of time that you need to dedicate in order to put this together. So it’s not just another book on your super wildly successful book list that you’ve authored or co authored, but it’s really, like you said, it’s a guide, a workbook to help people get from that someday mindset to the someday is now. And I actually have a plan, a playbook and support of a community to get this going right and create that shift that we’re looking for in our life or in our business.

12:38 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yeah, exactly.

12:39 Marly Q

I love it. I love that I exactly get it. Because I am your people. That’s why I get it. So for our PARKers that are listening, that are interested in the book. I mean, is it already launched? Are we, where can we find it?

12:52 Kim Walsh Phillips

You can go to, TheShiftBookBonus.com you’ll be able to get the book and then you also will be able to score all of your bonus goodies.

12:59 Marly Q

I love that. And then when they’re in your world, folks, when you’re in Kim’s world, you’re going to get access to these amazing emails that will inspire you, that’ll make you laugh. My favorite part of your emails is how you close them and you put your name is already long “Kim Walsh Phillips”. She’s like no, let’s just add.

13:16 Kim Walsh Phillips

I mean, I’m extra all the time. You know that, Marly.

13:19 Marly Q

I so love the extra. I love all of the extra and I receive it. And it really does, you know, serve as a light that illuminates the path for people that are trying to build their business on their calling and their purpose, right? And my business, my calling is to spread kindness. And I will tell you and friends listening, it’s been really difficult and it’s been a struggle for me to figure out how I can build a business with my purpose, right? And using my skills. And you have been someone who has again illuminated the path for me, but has also, more than anything, been like embodiment of it, allowing me to witness and be a part of your events and your programs and what you’re doing. And it’s just such an inspiration to me and thousands, thousands of other people.

14:00 Kim Walsh Phillips

I love that. Thank you so much. That’s so kind of you. Thank you very much.

14:04 Marly Q

Yeah. So I know kindness is really important to you, too. And there’s a quote that you shared with me that I’d like to share with those listening. And if you want it’s, “Kindness is lighting someone else’s torch with your inner flame”, is this your quote? Because I haven’t heard this one before.

14:18 Kim Walsh Phillips

No, it’s not my quote. I found that online when you asked about the quote. And I love it so much because I feel like that’s what we do with what we do as content creators, as coaches, as mentors. That’s what we’re doing. We’re taking what we learn, our experience, and we’re gifting it to others so that they may be inspired, so they may see the light on the path forward. And I just loved it. I thought it embodied all that we try to do.

14:43 Marly Q

Absolutely. And I think that one of the things that I’ve learned from you, again, through observing, through following, through listening, like Clubhouse or your Instagram or your Facebook or all the lives that you do on the challenges, is the power of showing up in kindness, right? Showing up with that energy to me is so obvious, it’s so authentic, it’s received, right? So I think the power and even how you started your business, when you sold your business and started Powerful Professionals, didn’t it start with a webinar a week. Wasn’t that the story wasn’t like a webinar a week and you showed up or a webinar a day. Can you remind me?

15:21 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yeah, I did a webinar 119 times.

15:23 Marly Q

That’s what it was. I was like, this woman did the same webinar and showed up every week, and it was like your most profitable hour. And I’m here listening intently. Like, I can do that. I can do what we have been on.

15:34 Kim Walsh Phillips

We will say, like, how do you do that every week? I’m like, how would I not do it every week? 1 hour a week to fund all of my business. Yeah, it’s amazing. I mean, I think we sometimes get bored of things that work, and we stop doing them. But our marketing is not about fascinating us. Our market should be about fascinating our market, right? And so when we find something that works, we need to keep doing it.

15:55 Marly Q

And how do you keep doing it, even if you do get, quote, bored with the same message or the same program or the same service? right? How do you keep yourself?

16:08 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yeah, I find other ways to get fascination in my life besides my marketing.

16:12 Marly Q

There we go. Good. And you keep the purpose in mind that, listen, I’m repeating this not for myself. I’m repeating this for you and for new people that are listening, right?

16:20 Kim Walsh Phillips

Exactly. Exactly.

16:22 Marly Q

Yeah. And I always think of that. Thank you for sharing that, because I speak a lot at schools, and I do career days, right? Like people don’t usually have a philanthropist come in on career day, right? And I come in, I’m like, that’s what I do for a living. I’m a philanthropist, and I speak sometimes at the same school for a couple of years. And I remember this one time, I was speaking at, I think, a fifth grade class, and I was sharing my Kindness is Your Superpower story and et cetera. And a boy in the class raised hand, he’s like, I heard this story before. You’ve been here before. You always share the same story. That’s what he said. And I stopped and I looked. I’m like, yes, thank you so much for remembering that. You know, I do share the same story, and I have a TED Talk about it called Kindness is Your Superpower. I will link it in the show notes. And I do share the same story over and over again because it’s not about me and my story and how great I think it is. It’s about the act of kindness and how a simple, so simple and totally free act of kindness had the power to shift, to create a big shift in my life and set me on a path that I’m on here today, right? So repeating the same message over and over again, thank you for doing that, for modeling that, and go find other things to keep you the new and variety do it yourself. Thank you for that.

17:35 Kim Walsh Phillips

Yeah, for sure. I love it. I love that story. That was great, Marly.

17:39 Marly Q

Thanks. So, my beautiful friends, I hope that you enjoyed this time that we spent with Kim. Help me say thank you to Kim Walsh Phillips and give her a virtual hug all the way from Bahamas, from Miami to Bahamas. Big hugs to you and safe travels back home. I know you live just outside of Atlanta, back with your family. Thank you so much for what you do every single day to spread kindness in this world. Kim.

18:02 Kim Walsh Phillips

Thanks for having me. It’s such a pleasure to be with you and all the PARKers, too.

OUTRO

Thanks. All right, my beautiful friends, so if today you got that spark of Kindness, Connection and Community to inspire you to make today your someday, we want to hear about it. If you’re listening on Apple, go ahead and rate and review. If you’re on YouTube, subscribe so you don’t miss any of our episodes spotify, you can rate us five stars. And if you are not a part of my Kind QREW yet, make sure that you click the link in our show notes to join our Kind QREW. It’s our private Facebook group. We have well over 300 people from all over the globe. Our PARKers are people who Perform Acts of Random Kindness, who together each and every week, are making Time to Be Kind. Thank you for being that spark. Visit MarlyQ.com forward slash this episode number for all the transcription, the show notes and the links to connect with Kim and get her book today. Thanks for making Time to Be Kind. See you next time.

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Podcast

But I Want to Fly with Michelle Villalobos

Post author By Marly Q
Post date April 14, 2023
No Comments on But I Want to Fly with Michelle Villalobos

But I Want to Fly

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you went all in on your dreams? If you’ve got big dreams and perhaps afraid to take flight, then you’ll love making time to listen to this episode because Kindness Influencer and Podcast Host, Marly Q, plus special guest, Michelle Villalobos, will awaken your inner superstar, spark your courage, and remind you that it’s never too late to dust off your dreams and dive into your destiny. Tune in and be prepared to FLY!

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

“The wound is where the light enters you.” ~ Rumi

Without a clear and compelling vision driving us forward, there will be no progress for mankind. In order to “be the change we wish to see in the world” we must first be able to envision that new world. A world where all humankind is responsible for upholding a standard of kindness towards ourselves, each other and the world we all share.

Listen to this Episode and Discover…

The spark that awakened Marly Q’s inner superstar to step on stage
Michelle’s inspirational journey becoming an author
How inspiration can come from embracing pain, anger, loss and grief
What happens when you befriend your fears
The power of taking responsibility for your life – all of it
The importance of self-kindness first
How having standards and boundaries is actually kind

If you’ve ever dreamt of doing something so big that it seemed crazy, scary or just impossible to achieve, then tune in to this short episode to receive the spark of inspiration you need to start flying today!

About Marly Q:

Connect with Marly Q:

About Our Guest:

Michelle Villalobos is devoted to “activating Superstars to uplift humanity.” She’s an International Speaker, Business Coach and the Founder of Superstar Activator. She’s also the Host of the Awaken Your Inner Superstar Podcast and Author of “But I Want To Fly” – Adventure Book for Dreamers of All Ages.

Connect with Michelle Villalobos

Book: www.ButIWantToFly.com
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@michelleevillalobos
Website: https://superstaractivator.com/

Podcast: Awaken Your Inner Superstar Episode 51 with Marly Q: https://blog.superstaractivator.com/podcast/marly-q/

Other Links:

Join our Kind QREW Free Private Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/kindqrew
Join our Kind QREW+ Paid Membership: https://marlyq.com/kind-qrew
Programs & Courses: https://marlyq.com/programs
Marly Q Speaking, Training & Retreats: https://sparkcsr.com
Listen to Marly Q TEDx Talk “Kindness is your Superpower”: https://bit.ly/MarlyQTEDxTalk

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP 37: LOUD about Kindness with Adrianna Foster
EP 36: Seizing Happy with GiGi Diaz
EP 30: Welcome Back with Marly Q

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00 Marly Q

Have you ever dreamt of doing something so big that it seemed scary, crazy, or just impossible to achieve? Well, this short Episode will inspire you to awaken your inner superstar and remind us all that it’s never too late to dust off your dreams and dive into your destiny.

00:31 Marly Q

Welcome. Thank you so much for making Time to Be Kind with me, Marly Q, and our special guest PARKer today. I can’t wait for you to meet this superstar. Welcome to the show, Michelle Villalobos.

00:42 Michelle Villalobos

Thank you, Marly. I’m excited to be here.

00:45 Marly Q

So before we dive in, in case you’re new to my world, that this is the first time making Time to Be Kind. What is or who is a PARKer? Michelle, can you tell our audience listening?

00:55 Michelle Villalobos

Yes, I can. A PARKer is a person who Performs Acts of Random Kindness. And I heard that term from you, Marly maybe 13, 14 years ago.

01:07 Marly Q
Yes! And now it’s part of the lingo and we’re spreading these acronyms and this lingo worldwide. I have this dream that one day it’ll be like in the dictionary. It’s just a verb. It’s a, you know, it’s a noun. It’s a PARKer, my verb PARK, and all this lingo will be part of our normal language. What do you think?

01:23 Michelle Villalobos

Wooh! I like it. I like that world.

01:25 Marly Q

So PARKers listening. Michelle Villalobos was one of my very first business coaches and really one of my first big clients when I first started my business over 12 years ago. Michelle Villalobos is the founder of the Superstar Activator. She’s an international speaker. She’s a coach. She’s the host of the Awaken Your Inner Superstar Podcast, which I’ve been on. I’ll link it in the show notes. And she is the author of the beautiful book “But I Want to Fly”, which is an adventure book for dreamers of all ages. I’m so excited about this new creation of yours. And I just want you to just dive right in and tell us about the inspiration behind this beautiful book.

2:06 Michelle Villalobos

Great. Okay. So the first thing I think is important to understand is that I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s way, way outside of my area of expertise, my comfort zone. I’ll just show you this is the book right here. So anyone would have thought that my book would be a business book, right? But this, it’s a poem. It’s about a four-and-a-half-minute-long poem. It rhymes. And it came to me in a dream about two years ago. And it just wouldn’t let go of me. The story, the word, the journey that that character goes on. It became, you know, I just couldn’t not follow the path or follow the signs and follow the calling is what it was. So it’s my story. It’s your story. It’s pretty much I think all of our stories. It’s an archetypal mythic journey of breaking down, breaking through, and then finding the blessing on the backside.

3:02 Marly Q

Yes, that’s such a beautiful and succinct way to put that. This you know, because you might look at it and think, oh it’s a children’s book, right? It’s an adventure book for dreamers of all ages, right? And I actually read this book with my two kids, a two-year-old and a four-year-old. And I don’t think you had a two-year-old and a four-year-old in mind for your audience, right?

03:19 Michelle Villalobos

Well, the truth is I didn’t have anybody in mind for my audience. It came to me in a dream and I just woke up in the middle of the night and wrote the whole poem in about two hours, most of it. And then, you know, fleshed it out more, but I never intended it for anybody. It was just a thing that poured through me. And at one point I did text it to my clients. I was like, hey, look at this poem I wrote. And they responded and I was like, wow, that’s interesting that they loved it so much. And I just started to share it with my friends and my family and people. They felt something. And because they felt something, I knew I had something important. And so I just started to let it unfold. And it was a series of just random conversations with people that led me to even find an illustrator. Somebody’s like, you could turn that into a book and you could do a keynote about this poem. And I was like, yeah, I kind of could. And it just, it sort of took on a life of its own. And here it is. And it was a very easy, graceful process, which I think, honestly, in hindsight, you know, I had made a claim for myself a few months before that, that I was going to start creating from pleasure. The reason that happened was because I had a realization that I always wanted to be creative. I was a creative person. I am a creative person, an artist even, but that I hadn’t created anything for myself ever or in many years. I’d only created for money, for clients, for selling. And the realization I had is, you know, I excuse the language, but that I was pimping myself out, pimping out My inner artist wants to create for pleasure. And so I had made that claim. And then I don’t know, I guess it was a few months later. I don’t know the exact timeline. This thing happened and I took on whatever I create with this. It’s going to be from pleasure. It’s not going to be, yeah, maybe I’ll sell it. Maybe I won’t, but I’m just going to pursue it because I want to not because I’m trying to sell something.

05:10 Marly Q

That’s so beautiful. And let’s speak to that because, for our audience, that’s listening that may not know, right? You started off by saying, this is something completely brand new and not something not we would have expected maybe from Michelle Villalobos who talks about business and personal branding. I mean, if we look back to when I first started my business in 2010, my first company, which was an event planning company, and I was running and managing an event and you were speaking and I heard you talk about personal branding and how you need to be, you know, like the face of your business and promote yourself, right? And I’m here in the back of the room eventing like, what is she talking about? It was like this novel idea to me and I was hustling and working so hard. And I’m like, let me listen to this woman. She’s got something, right? I gave you my card. You put me on your list. Back then you were producing Miami’s largest two-day conference for entrepreneurial women, the wildly successful women success summit. Which I was so forever, so grateful to have worked alongside with you. For four years she produced multiple of those events. And I will never forget. I’ll never forget. One day you needed an Emcee, you needed someone to come on stage and introduce you or like stall or something, right? And you were like, Marly you go to do that, you are a natural speaker, go and get the mic. And I was like, no, my immediate reaction was like, no, no, no. Like I’m backstage, I’m behind the scenes. I’m supporting you back here. I’m not going to get on stage and this is your spotlight. I’m not going to steal your thunder. And I remember you laughed at me. Like, that’s so cute. You’re a natural get out there and you’re not going to steal my thunder. Like, do you know who I am? You didn’t say it like that, but basically, you were like, you’re not going to steal my spotlight. If anything, you’re going to amplify the light, get out there. And I remember being super scared. And up until that point had Emcee that had spoken, but I wasn’t selling, you know, my voice, so to speak. I wasn’t selling my voice as a speaker and MC. And from that day, you know, like you pushed me to fly. You pushed me out there and kind of see me or see me as more than I saw myself at that time. And that wasn’t just dozen years ago, Michelle, you have continued to be that, like beacon of light and inspiration kind of like 10 or 20 steps ahead. Right. I have a dream of writing a children’s book. Now that I’m a mom, you come out with one and I’m like, yes, I need to just keep, you know, feeding from this beautiful energy and that from which you create, which is energy richness. I think it’s safe to say you and I both were not operating from an energy-rich place back then. Right?

07:30 Michelle Villalobos
Absolutely not. What I know now from so much personal development and spiritual work that I’ve done is that well, this is what my mentor said, this is her line, her name is NaniLea Diamond. I think you know of her. You do know of her. I introduced you to her. She says, “the energy from which we create guides and determines the energy of what we create”. And it’s so simple and it’s so profound. And because back then I was creating from desperation, fear, pride, needing significance, needing security. You know, there were all these, I was creating everything I created, including that amazing event. And I’m not saying it was all, it was wonderful. And it was from the energy of that proving myself. And now I’m much, much more attuned to what energy am I coming from as I leave anything, market anything, produce anything, sell anything, much, much more aware. It changes everything. Yeah, it’s a game changer.

08:27 Marly Q

It is definitely a game changer. You know, what else is a game changer? Tell me about what happens when you decide to make fear your friend.

08:34 Michelle Villalobos

That’s a line from the book. Yeah, it’s a signal. I mean, it’s here. Let me backup a second because there’s something that precedes the fear, or I hope it does anyway. I would like to bring this forward, which is desire. And desire is becoming just such a big important word that describes a really important phenomenon, which is what I’m calling now. I’m saying that desire is destiny’s calling card. Desire is destiny’s calling card. So first, the desire, like when we tap into real desire, you know when it’s from deep within from our truest self when there’s a desire like that’s really important. And I never thought that was important. I always thought that really honestly almost thought the opposite that if I really desired something I should stay away from it because it was dangerous or that it was impossible or I shouldn’t have real desire. I didn’t want to get too excited about things or too attached to things because then I’d be disappointed like my relationship to my own desire was really kind of messed up in hindsight. And so what this book does as it puts desire first. Desire and dreams, right? And desire is distinct from like, I desire a cheesecake, right? That’s different. That’s a craving. Or I desire, you know, the latest handbag or, you know, those are often cravings to cover up desire. And what I’m talking about is like tapping into your truest desire. What is your heart’s desire? And my heart’s desire has always been to create and share what I create with people. Like, you know, an artist, create live experiences. I mean ultimately the Women’s Success Summit was born of that desire also. So that’s the underlying desire. And so from desire and from honoring our own desire, then what can happen is the fear pops up. And I honestly think that fear can be a friend because it’s a signal that there’s something valuable here that matters. That it’s a signal for, yeah, that it’s significant, that it’s important. And it’s a way to highlight what needs to be done, right? Like, so if V in the book weren’t afraid of crashing probably wouldn’t have made a very good set of wings to fly, right? So that fear became her friend because it fueled her focus towards making an excellent airplane, right? So I gave away kind of that. But that’s that’s how the fear we can turn it around and make it our friend by focusing it and funneling it and fueling it towards something that’s going to serve us and support us rather than letting it stop us.

11:02 Marly Q

Absolutely. I think that that’s also a game changer. When we learn to be aware of fear, when it comes up, right? In all its different ways that it comes up, be aware of it. And rather than allowing it to kind of dim our light or keep us from pursuing that desire relating to that fear with like, okay? I know why you’re here, right? To keep me safe and small and in my little, you know, world where I don’t, you know, risk, right? Risk being seen or risk failing or risk falling, right? I absolutely love the journey that V in the book goes through. I do agree with you that I think it’s all of our story, right? It’s kind of the dark knight of the soul is definitely portrayed there. So can you talk to me a little bit about or talk to us about the importance of like self kindness, right? When you’re talking, when you’re thinking about your desires and your goals and what you wish to achieve. What’s the role that self kindness plays?

11:57 Michelle Villalobos

Well, I think that it’s so easy to not be kind to ourselves and to beat ourselves up and to right like? I know for myself, I’ll speak for myself and maybe it’ll resonate. One of the ways that I would get myself to do things was to like beat myself up or to like force myself or you know, like I never trusted myself enough. I didn’t trust myself enough period. And so because I was almost in like mind games and manipulation games with my own self, like how do I force myself to do this? How do I force myself to do that? You know, and I created a lot of ways of being that were around forcing myself to be ways and do things that I wasn’t naturally, that I didn’t, you know, that were not natural. And so that’s really unkind. And I think that being kind to ourself is about honoring our experience, honoring what we’re feeling when we’re feeling it. That was part of the story too. And it’s my story as well, which was that I had suppressed so many emotions for so long that the minute my heart cracked open even a little bit to feel some pain, it all kind of poured out, It just spilled out. It was very destructive in my life and it needed to happen There’s you know, there’s absolutely zero regret now. Because I know that, that was my body trying to clean out and clear out stuff that it had been holding onto for a really long time and that was kindness. I don’t know that I did it consciously, but I gave myself the space in 2014 when I had my breakdown to be broken for a while to like let myself just break all the way down. I don’t think that you necessarily have to break all the way down to break through like I did. I think that I had plenty of warning signs and red flags that I ignored. And for me, that’s what it took. That’s the wake up call I needed.

13:46 Marly Q

I so understand that you and I, for PARKers listening, Michelle and I are both Virgos. And I think that Virgos have this interesting quality of being a little bit stubborn, maybe a little critical and we’re like the worst critical with ourselves, right? So I really, that does resonate with me. And there’s this beautiful quote that I know you quote often from Rumi. Can you share with us ?

14:08 Michelle Villalobos

The wound is where the light enters you.

14:10 Marly Q
Yeah, right. So what happens when you go all in and accept responsibility, right, for your life, for all of it, right? And embrace all of it, right? Whether it’s pain and sadness and regret, right? What happens when you embrace and accept responsibility for all of it?

14:26 Michelle Villalobos

It’s the ultimate empowerment. It’s the only, it’s the avenue toward true empowerment, different from force, right? From forcing, manipulating, power play, all the ways that we try to manage life. There’s that. And then there’s real power, which is literally just like, I own it, whatever it is. It doesn’t mean I’m to blame for it, but I own it. It’s mine. The example that’s very hard for some people to get. So it can be a little triggering for people. So I want to be mindful, you know, how I express it, but it is the best example that I know, which is I have a friend, a client got pretty serious cancer, you know, like a very advanced aggressive cancer. And she spent months, Why me? Why is this happening? Very, very disempowered and sad and angry. And she had a breakthrough, you know at one point where she basically said, what if I just choose it? What if I just choose it now? I wouldn’t have decided. If you’d given me choices, cancer, no cancer, I wouldn’t have picked cancer. Nobody would. The fact is that I have it. I have it. It’s here. What if I just own it? What if I just say, all right, I choose this path. I choose this. Whatever is happening I’m choosing it. And from that place of choosing it, all of a sudden, her whole attitude around it changed. I mean, first of all, she chose like, if I’m meant to die from this, I’m going to choose that too. Like I’m going to trust whatever is happening here. And what that looked like for her ended up being a huge breakthrough in faith, in empowerment. She ended up, you know, walking away from a relationship that she’d been in for many years. She ended, she made all these changes to her life from this place of, okay, I’m choosing this thing that nobody would ever want. I’m choosing it like I chose it for real. And that changed everything. She was empowered around it. So I’m not saying you take responsibility from a place of like, I’m my fault that I got cancer. I deserved it. I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying that she just chose it because it was.

16:24 Marly Q

That makes perfect sense. You know, the way that I relate to responsibility, because the old me would kind of associate with responsibility. Like it’s the whole, you know, the weight of the world is on my shoulders. I am, you know, the one that needs to come in and save the day or the one to blame or the one at the end of the day. And with events, honestly, like my toxic relationship with events definitely contributed to this belief because at the end of the day, something goes wrong in an event. I’m the one that’s going to take the face, you know, in the blame quote unquote for it. But now in a much more empowered state, when I say that, you know, I’m accepting responsibility for all of my life. I just mean that I am able to respond to all that life throws at me. “Responsibility” I have the responsibility, the ability to respond, right? And that is an empowered state because you have the ability to respond to cancer, to a diagnosis, to a job loss, to the pandemic, to losing your business. You have the ability to respond right? And if you come from it, from that place, then, you know, your new creation or your pivot or whatever it is that you’re meant to do next can actually flow through, right. Rather than kind of staying stuck in old identity right? Can you talk to us about how to avoid like freezing yourself in like old stories that disempower you?

17:35 Michelle Villalobos
Yeah, I think one of the things that we do. I don’t think I know that one of the things that I do is I become very identified with roles with certain roles that I’m, you know, I had a role in high school. I was an excellent student. I was a high achiever. I took on the role of, you know, like up and coming executive, right? Like role of speaker, role of coach, role of author, you know, I’ve always, I think we, a lot of us do this very much identify with what I do as if it were who I am. And so one of the biggest things that I’ve worked on with mentorship and with the personal development and the spiritual development has been disidentifying from roles and understanding that these are roles that I play. These are things that I do. These are not who I am. And that there’s a true center that is beyond all of that. That’s beyond all of this. And that’s very empowering as well to know that at any moment I can choose a different role. I can choose a different way of being rather than getting caught up in an identity or a role that requires me to act certain ways, right? Like that’s what I’ve been letting go of. I don’t know if that was your question though.

18:49 Marly Q

It does because we kind of freeze or box ourselves into these roles and these hats and these identities. You know, you’ve been part of my journey, Michelle It has taken me over a dozen years to detach from the role of event planner. I am a master event planner. I’ve been doing it for 20 years or ten thousand hours of event planning and strategizing and managing, right? And I’m like, and working with you and Jessica Kizorek, the both of you kind of gave me this first like perspective of like, you’re more than that. Like you have so much more to offer. And I’m like, really? I do? I don’t know. But that’s what pays my bills my whole life. Like that’s my bread and butter. And it’s taken me all this time. It took a pandemic and pregnancy and me to be like Ahh!, what am I going to do to kind of detach or decondition from all of the roles, all of the hats now. I’m a new person now. I’m a mom now, I am. And so when I go back out, quote unquote, into the world, do I want to tell people like what I do? Or do I just want to tell people who I am and what I’m passionate about and what I feel I’m called to do? And who I am?

20:17 Michelle Villalobos

You are particular, your mission is, is, is something you can lead with, you know, your knowledge.

20:21 Marly Q

Yes! You’ll be so happy to know that now I identify, I say, I am a Kindness Influencer. I am a Kindness Influencer. That’s who I am. What do I do? Well, now I speak and I Emcee thanks to you. I Emcee now all over, all over the place, right? I speak and I Emcee, I’m doing leadership training and workshops and retreats, right? Which is also something that I’ve seen you model and do, right? And I’m following your retreat blueprint for success as well. I’m on the way, right? But it really took, it really took a pause and it took like Time to Be Kind to me, right? I took a big pause on this podcast. I took a pause to do personal, like healing and development and be able to come back with standards. Well like a different standard of how I treat myself, a different standard for how I treat others, a different standard for how I value time and boundaries, right? Can we talk about the importance of setting boundaries and standards and how that’s actually kind?

20:50 Michelle Villalobos

Absolutely. Well, it’s funny because we’re just now, yesterday was the equinox, I think, or maybe Sunday, but just now we had the equinox, which one of my mentors who I mentioned earlier, NaniLea, the lot of the work that she’s taught me how to do? Is how to align to the seasons and rhythms of nature. And so we have just moved from the season of winter to the season of spring. Season of winter being the season of receptivity in her blueprint, the season of receiving the new message, the new dream, the new idea. It’s where we get bare, just like the trees are bare. We just get bare down to the essentials. And then from that place of the seed germinating underground in the dark months of the winter, now we’re at the beginning of the spring where the seed starts to pop through the surface and that you know, the things start to flourish again. And in the world of us as humans, how that looks is moving into this from the season of listening deeply, being receptive, getting the new message, the new dream, the new idea into the season of embodiment, which is the season of beginning the build. So in the world of V, it’s the season where she gets into the workshop and she starts to make the thing. She starts to plan and envision and create and glue and cut and sew and all of that. And that’s the season where standards and boundaries really start to come into play. Because now we’re bringing something from up here, where it’s in our little world, in our mind. Now we have to create space for it in our lives. And when we create space for something in our lives, we’re going to need boundaries around it. We’re going to need, like you know boundaries around who can give their opinion about the thing we’re building, boundaries around our time, so that we have time to focus on it, right? There’s all sorts of ways that we need to, we get to create the standards and also create the boundaries to make space and make possible the new thing that we’re birthing.

22:43 Marly Q

Absolutely. I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud of how I witness and observe how you have transformed and like alchemized, right? So many things along the path and I’m just here for it. I’m here for all of it. And I want to hear from you. Where can people buy your book? I mean, and what’s your vision for your book? I know you wrote it for your desire for yourself, but now that it’s out, now that I have it, hot in my hand right here. And I am gonna link it to my show notes. Tell us, what’s your vision for the book and how can we support it?

23:12 Michelle Villalobos

Well, okay. So first thing is you can get it and you can watch the video and you can get free tools that go with it at butiwanttofly.com, butiwanttofly.com, which is a line from the book that I pulled. And the picture that I pulled is the line that goes with it. So that’s the cover. It’s interesting that you should ask me this question about what’s my vision for it, because I literally have a different answer today than I did three days ago. And so I’ll share because and somebody.

23:39 Marly Q

You are hearing it first here, people hearing it first here.

23:42 Michelle Villalobos

You. Somebody gave me the exam, the feedback, I think yesterday like, gosh, Michelle, I love how you’re just not afraid to share where you are right in the middle of your creative process. I’m like, well, you know, here I am. Here we go. And he meant it as a compliment. I’m joking that he definitely meant it as a compliment. I took it as such. But what I’m seeing is I love to build events. You know this about me. I love my whole world is I always well, we could do this together. Then I come here and then we’ll do this, you know, have this conversation. Like I love events. I love philosophizing with people. I love going deep and having deep, meaningful, rich experiences. And over the last nine years, well, over the last 15, but in particular over the last nine, I’ve gotten really good at creating, taking people on a journey in a live event. So what I want to do is I want to start leading a, But I Want To Fly journey and experience. It’s like a three hours half day kind of vibe, basically to take people on their own journey toward agh! clarity of vision, purpose, like to walk through, like letting go, building courage, right? It’s a whole experience, you know, laying down, integrating it with breathwork, like a breathwork, you know, somatic experience that will be, you know, some sort of breakthrough for people.

25:05 Marly Q

I’m so excited!

25:06 Michelle Villalobos

That’s what I want to do, and the way I see it connecting with everything is, you know, people come in, they get the book, maybe they come to my live experience. And together, you know, the call to action is essentially if you want to lead your own groups and experiences and workshops and what I’m doing, I lead retreats, I lead this half day thing, I lead a group of people for you know, in a group coaching program, a mastermind, if you want to lead a community, create a culture of people doing something together then I can help you do that let’s have a conversation. So that’s the, that’s how it all ties together now.

25:41 Marly Q

Oh, the alignment is beautiful. The alignment shines. I love it, friends. I will link everything in this episode’s show notes. Michelle, thank you so much. So, so much for making Time to Be Kind, and thank you for all eternity. As many times as I can share it on as many stages as I can. Thank you for awakening my inner superstar and just being such a supporter and a light in my path and my journey. Thank you for making Time to Be Kind.

26:08 Michelle Villalobos

Thank you, Marly.

OUTRO

I know you found that conversation just as inspiring as I did. And I want to leave you with this quote straight from Michelle’s book in case that it resonates with you. “Her heart whispered, it’s time to let go. And her mind shot back. Why? All we need is in this nest. But I want to fly.” If you want to fly too, then I invite you to visit marlyq.com forward slash this Episode number to get all the links to connect with Michelle, check out her book, and to share it. And I also wanna make sure to invite you to join our Kind QREW. Over 300 people have already said yes to being a part of our worldwide community of people who perform acts of random kindness. And I hope that that includes you. Again, easily find the link to join our private Facebook group plus the links to connect with Michelle at marlyq.com forward slash this episode number. Thanks for making Time to Be Kind. See you next time.

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Podcast

LOUD about Kindness with Adrianna Foster

Post author By Marly Q
Post date April 7, 2023
No Comments on LOUD about Kindness with Adrianna Foster

LOUD about Kindness

It’s time to get LOUD about kindness! In this short episode, Kindness Influencer and Podcast Host, Marly Q, spends time with 2x guest Adrianna Foster, Mexican singing sensation and founder of LOUD Women Nation, for an inspiring conversation about the power of authenticity and kindness.

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

“Kindness disrupts the energy of fear and opens up flow for love, abundance and wealth.” ~ Adrianna Foster

Listen to this Episode and…

Realize the importance and impact of authenticity.
Discover the #1 foundational tool for stepping into your authenticity, starting now!
Be reminded of why (and how) kindness is your superpower!
Be inspired by the story of how one simple act of kindness, from a stranger in a bathroom at an event, changed someone’s life and created a powerful ripple effect.
Learn how kindness disrupts and shifts energy from fear to abundance.
Leave feeling empowered to be “LOUD” and step into your authenticity.

If you want a spark of inspiration and the “secret formula” for experiencing greater levels of grace, love, happiness, abundance, and wealth – this is a must-watch/listen episode. Enjoy!

About Marly Q:

Connect with Marly Q:

About Our Guest:

Adrianna Foster is an Authenticity Architect who specializes in supporting women in stepping into empowerment and building a life based on Authenticity through her philosophy of being LOUD: Loving, Open, Unapologetic, and Deserving. She does this through hypnotherapy, public speaking, experiential trainings, and her one-of-a-kind motivational concerts – “Foster Nights” – where she fuses music and consciousness to inspire transformational growth. Adrianna is the founder of LOUD Women Nation, a uniquely curated Immersive membership program dedicated to educate, empower and inspire women through the power of Authenticity. With over 17 years in the music and personal development worlds, she’s worked with thousands of people, guiding them in their own unique journeys back to truth, authenticity, and freedom.

Connect with Adrianna Foster

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adriannafosteroficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loudwomennation
Website: www.loudwomennation.com

Other Links:

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP 04: Why Smile? with Adrianna Foster
EP 35: The King of Kindness with Patrick Morris
EP 32: Let’s Start with Why (and How)

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00 Marly Q

Let’s get LOUD about kindness. Just in case you thought I was quoting J.Lo here, I’m not. But I am quoting another internationally known singer who empowers women to be LOUD. And she’s making Time to Be Kind with us today for a second time. Let’s listen.

00:30 Marly Q

Hello and thank you for making Time to Be Kind with Marly Q and our special guest today, this PARKer is an internationally known singer, she’s a star. You may remember her from Mexico’s La Voz or The Voice singing competition, but you may also remember her from Season 1, Episode 4 of Time to Be Kind with Marly Q. Welcome back to the show, Adrianna Foster.

00:52 Adrianna Foster

Yay! Thank you so much, Marly. I’m so happy to be here. I love the space that you’ve created. And I’m so, so honored to be here.

01:02 Marly Q

Oh my goodness, talking about the space we’ve created. Do you remember our first episode, our first, you know, interview together? It was Episode 4. I just gotten started. I was so scared to put my voice like out there into the world. Do you remember this?

01:16 Adrianna Foster

I do. I do and I am so proud of you. Every time I see you, how much you’ve grown and especially the way that you serve, Marly, that’s, that’s awesome. I’m very proud of you. How, how dedicated and intentional you are of really spreading kindness and serving through your voice. That’s beautiful to watch.

01:36 Marly Q

Oh, I love it. Can we take it back just for our PARKers listening, just in case you’re new to my world, that this is your first time listening to Time to Be Kind of Marly Q or connecting with me. Adrianna, can you tell our PARKers listening? What’s a PARKer? Or, who’s a PARKer?

1:49 Adrianna Foster

Yes. So first of all, most important PARKer is your beautiful son. But I love that you name him like that. It’s like awesome. But a PARKer is a person that Performs Acts of Random Kindness, which I feel that acronym is just beautiful.

02:07 Marly Q

Thank you. I really do think it’s part of our identity, right? And part of the call to action here with the podcast is to unite our community of PARKers. You’re out there, people that Perform Acts of Random Kindness. You are out there. What we need is to come together to build this community so that together PARK by PARK, right? We can create the shift that I believe this world desperately needs. A shift to one that is more kind than of service to one another. And you mentioned my son Jude PARKer, he’s turning five in July. And when we chose to name him Jude PARKer, PARKer as his name, my husband laughed at me. He’s like, you’re naming your kid an acronym. And I’m like, yes.

02:47 Adrianna Foster

I love it.

02:47 Marly Q

Yes. Yes, I am.

02:49 Adrianna Foster

Because you’re the queen of acronyms too. Like everybody knows that Marly is a queen of acronyms. Of course, your son had to have an acronym.

02:57 Marly Q

No, and also really as a guiding like North Star, like as a parent if I teach my kids anything, I have two kids now. I had a pandemic baby now, so now there’s two of them. And if I teach my kids anything, it’s to know who they are. Right? And if you know that I am PARKer, I am a person that performs acts of random kindness. I think that, that North Star, you know, really serves to guide your identity, your behaviors, how you treat yourself, how you treat others. And I think if I only do that, I’ll do a good job as a mom. What do you think?

03:26 Adrianna Foster

I 100% agree. I couldn’t agree more.

03:30 Marly Q

I love it. You know, let’s take people back in case you haven’t heard, you know, Episode 4 and you don’t know kind of how Adrianna and I met. And how we sparked this beautiful, like over a decade long relationship now and all the beautiful projects and the motivational concerts and the things that we’ve been able to launch and work on together and support each other through kind of some dark and difficult times as well. Like how did it start? What was the spark of this beautiful relationship? Can you share?

03:56 Adrianna Foster

I love it. Of course. It’s one of my favorite stories to share because when I met you, Marly,

at a very low point in my life. I had just come back from Mexico from a failed attempt, which I do this because as we go through it, we’re going to understand that it was just perfectly right. It was what my soul needed. Air quotes failed attempt in my career and I was homeless. I had no money and a friend of mine gave me a ticket to go to this event. And then there were so many powerful women and where they were talking about branding and this and that and I just got super overwhelmed because I had nothing I didn’t even have money to buy lunch that day. So I go into the bathroom and I start crying and then suddenly here she comes beautiful Marly with her beautiful light and she saw me that I was crying and everybody else let me tell you everybody else went in and saw me but everybody else kind of like you know, mind their own business and left I felt it feel uncomfortable whatever but you did in Marly you did not I don’t know if you feel uncomfortable but if you did you work through it and you approach me and you said, are you okay? And your smile, your smile girl, that changed my day. And I can say, and I know this is gonna sound very, you know, cliche and whatever, but that literally gave a turn to my life because you totally shifted my perspective. We, you know, spoke a little bit. I felt the received, I feel like I had a friend in the audience that I was not rejected or, you know, seen as less than. And then that completely changed my energy. I came out and I made the most incredible connection. From then on, I started having, I had a job. Three months later, because of that job that I connected in that event, I had a house, I had a car, and everything just started sparking and happening for me. So that moment when you came into the bathroom and you smiled, it was just a turning point. And that is the reason why an act of random kindness can change someone’s life. Look, I’m in goosebumps right now. And we’ve had other situations where the same thing has happened. When I’ve been in my worst moments and God just puts you there, puts you there with your beautiful energy and you shifted my life a couple of times. So I’m just, I’m your fan. Marly, what can I say?

06:04 Marly Q

I am receiving that fully. Thank you. I am your fan as well. And I love, you know, what you emphasized in that super simple story is the, that uncomfortable feeling. I walked into the bathroom and of course there’s, you know, discomfort at seeing another person in pain or crying or upset, right? I think there’s a natural human reaction to be like, oh my God, you know, what’s wrong? And should I say something? Should I, you know, interrupt? Should I just leave them alone? Is that what they need? I think it’s a very difficult thing, right? For, for, and someone that’s just at an event coming kind of in and out of the bathroom, do we want to deal with it? Do we want to like get wrapped up into a longer conversation? So, you know, actually even having kindness with the people that just kind of came and went, right? And noticing, because I did feel uncomfortable, I’m like, oh my goodness, like I just needed to, you know, use the restroom, right?

06:52 Adrianna Foster

Or is it because you were Emceeing that day?

06:54 Marly Q

I was Emceeing.

06:55 Adrianna Foster

You were like, you were even doing your past life event thing. So it was like a lot for you to take in.

07:01 Marly Q
No, but to really be able to see one another, to see another person right where they are and meet them there with kindness, with just presence, with a smile, with something as simple as that, has the power to be the spark and to create a shift in your energy in that moment.In your ability to even like be present and be like, oh, I was just in my mind about, you know, everything that I’m worried about that I don’t have that I lack that I’m overwhelmed that I’m anxious. Right, but this person in front of me, this present moment, this present spark of kindness, what I call the currency of kindness. If you received it, which you did, and we exchanged this currency of kindness, put you in a state, in an emotional state of feeling better right away. And that’s why I call it a superpower of kindness because you went from a place of like, I am crying. I feel like crap. Nobody sees me. I don’t belong at this event to somebody just saw me. Maybe I do belong here. Let me take a breath. Let me smile, wipe off my tears and get back in there. And now you’re in a better state to receive the gifts and the kindness and the quote currency or business that was available there for you to receive. Right?

08:13 Adrianna Foster

The currency of kindness shifted my perspective in that moment in my energy to abundance from fear to abundance and to knowing that I deserved, like you said, being there. And that was not only in that moment, Marly. That created a pivot, right? That persisted after that in many other instances as well. So this is what you do. You bring in, you shift, you disrupt a pattern of energy with kindness. This is what kindness does as well. Disrupts the energy of fear, lack, anger, just poof kindness stops that flow and opens up a flow for love and abundance, and wealth. That’s kindness and that’s Marly Q. In-person.

09:00 Marly Q

Yeah, I love it. So let’s get LOUD about kindness. I love it. Let’s get LOUD about kindness. Friends, I haven’t even told you. I don’t really read bios here too much, but I want you to know that Adrianna, on top of being an internationally known singer and an amazing gifted voice at that, who sang at my 5K PARK Fest, who has sang at my MANkind Summit last year, even though she was in Mexico doing her own concert. She did a zoom-in and sang at my first virtual event. I mean, there’s just so much that I can go on and on, you know, about the singing, but Adrianna does so much more than be a singer, right? She’s an authenticity architect and she’s going to talk to us about what the heck an authenticity architect is, right? But she’s also a public speaker. She’s a hypnotherapist. She’s a corporate trainer. And she’s founded the LOUD Women Nation. And I want you to talk to us about LOUD Women and how we can get LOUD about kindness, because you’ve been working at this for a while, right? Like you said, it wasn’t just a pivot, it’s like this ripple effect that has happened and I’ve loved observing your growth, right? And your continued building of all of your gifts. So could you tell us about LOUD Women Nation and what your awesome acronym for LOUD stands for?

10:12 Adrianna Foster

Yes, thank you so much. I’m so excited. I have so much to say. Thank you for giving me this space. So LOUD Women Nation is, I have to say, it’s my dream come true. And Like you said, it was not born from a spark of an idea. It was born from a mountain of different eras of my life and different opportunities that I had to really become authentic myself and to have a one-on-one experience with the process of people becoming authentic. Authenticity for me, I think it’s, you know, in my personal life, authenticity has been the missing piece that I had for many, many, many years. I built a career, a life, personal, professional, based on inauthenticity for many years. And when it finally erupted and exploded in my face, I realized that, that missing piece, that lack that I felt was the connection with my own truth. And that’s when I was able to realize the importance of authenticity and how it is, at least I believe it is the core for everything that we wanna build in our lives, whether it’s a career, a relationship, anything. We get to be authentic. And when we show up in our authenticity, we not only serve at a greater purpose and in a greater capacity. But we also experience a greater level of grace, love, happiness, abundance, and wealth. It’s the formula, right? For everything that you want. So throughout my life, like you said, I’ve been a professional singer. I’m a professional clinical hypnotherapist. I’ve been doing one-on-one sessions for more than 10 years now. I work with people. What I do is that I teach people how to unblock their unconscious beliefs or their toxic self-worth systems that they learn in their childhood and step into the truth, which allows them to build a healthy life and make choices to design their lives. So this is how the term authenticity architects started coming up, because this is what I do. I teach people how to design and build a life that fits for them, right? Kind of like when somebody tailor’s a dress just for you, like designs a dress just for you, that you wear and you’re like, oh my God, this feels so great. That’s exactly how life can be. And I truly a thousand percent believe it. I’ve experienced it. I’ve seen it. So LOUD Woman Nation was born last year. Because I went to La Voz in Mexico and I had a wonderful incredible time. It was three months of fully immersing myself in what I, one of the things that I love to do the most, which is singing, and not only that but also serving my community, helping other participants there and and watching, right, watching people with so many dreams, be courageous, be vulnerable and step into their voice and share themselves LOUDly, it was just a beautiful, beautiful experience. And it was a little bit of a refresher, right, from my one-on-one clients all this stuff. So when I came back, I just woke up one day in the morning and I said, listen, I need to create a space where I can put all my gifts together. I felt a little scatter. I feel like I’m doing motivational concerts here, mastermind here, one-on-one clients, audios, music, blah, blah, blah. Why can’t I build one place where I can put everything together? I can pull all my energy, my soul, myself into it and serve women into stepping into their authenticity and a place also where we can connect, Marly, where we can find these spark moments like you and I had in the bathroom that we don’t have to go to public bathrooms and events to find these type of spark in between women, women that are going through the same thing, women that want to support you in your path, that want to witness you in your path, and they can also support you in your business, in your relationship, and a very authentic, organic networking platform. So that’s when I decided to create LOUD Women Nation. For me, LOUD Women Nation is a collective of liberated women living life in full authenticity, where they can find all the tools they need to learn how to break their silence, their toxic self-worth systems, regain, reconnect with the purpose of life, which is their truth, their voice, and learn how to express it LOUD, how to show up in full authenticity and learn how to step into this beautiful space of being LOUD, which is also an acronym that means-

14:16 Marly Q

Tell me, tell me!

14:17 Adrianna Foster

Loving, Open, Unapologetic, and Deserving. Learning what true love, unconditional love is, and the act of love that it is to accept yourself fully, to be open to seeing yourself in different spaces that you’ve never even thought that you were possibly, that you could possibly step into, to be unapologetic about your gifts and share them with grace, knowing that every time you share yourself, you serve and deserving to know how to receive, how to contain and create wealth and receive all the beautiful miracles and abundance at the world and life has for you. Once you step into those four qualities, your life will take place the way that you truly desire. So that’s LOUD Women Nation.

15:02 Marly Q

In authenticity, let’s get LOUD. I love it. So I feel that I’ve been on this journey myself of really tapping into the power of my voice. I mean, I’ve been a speaker for a very long time and an Emcee and I get in front of people all the time, but really the podcast really put me out of my comfort zone because it’s just you and I here on this microphone, right? And there’s no script and there’s no like real like teaching or like it’s community building. And I really wanted to create this space for people to genuinely exchange this currency of kindness, of connection, of community and get LOUD about the importance and the value of kindness in our lives, kindness towards ourselves, each other, and this world that we share. Let’s get LOUD about that. Let’s be Loving towards ourselves, each other, and the world. That’s the L in LOUD. Let’s be Open to each other’s differences, right? And what makes us unique and our skills and what we all have to contribute. Let’s be Unapologetic about who you are and your gifts and what you have to bring to this world, right? And Deserving, knowing that you are deserving of all of it and you all by yourself are enough and have enough of a superpower of kindness in you to be as LOUD as you want and make the difference that you want in your home, in your work, in your community, out in the world, in whatever capacity is available to you. You can be the LOUDest you that you can be. And one thing that you say that I love is that there isn’t anything more powerful than a human being who shows up authentically and isn’t afraid or ashamed to be themselves. Can you talk to us about the relationship between authenticity and kindness?

16:36 Adrianna Foster

Absolutely. I feel like kindness is the number one tool that we can use to step into authenticity. We live in a society where both you know our environment, our parents, our peers, siblings, in the first seven years, eight years of our life of our childhood and society, they program us to be a certain thing that we might not wanna be. As we grow up, we start learning how to judge ourselves, how to tame our light, how to shrink so we don’t affect others or how to change who we are so we can belong. And those type of behaviors become very judgmental and it becomes a resistance towards our truth. I deal with people all the time that they come to me and they are super afraid to even say, what would they do if they had the complete freedom and their truth would not even hurt anybody around them? It’s like, I can’t even think about it, right? Because, or people that don’t even remember because we’re so separated from our truth based on our self-worth systems. And the way to step into our truth is to learn how to accept every single part of us, the good, the not so good, the not so pretty. And that requires kindness. Requires that element of acceptance where I’m not gonna judge myself. I’m going to see myself for who I am. I am going to accept my flaws, my mistakes, as well as see and recognize my strengths. And I am going to love every part of myself, every single part of myself. I’m going to love my pain. I’m going to love everything because I believe that there isn’t there isn’t anybody more powerful in this world than a man or a woman that is not afraid of who she is. Right. It’s not afraid of their truth. And I believe like Marianne Williamson says that we are very afraid of our light because in the past we were told that our light was not accepted, was not loved, or that it would disrupt systems or environments. So learning how to have kindness and how to see ourselves in a complete wholeness and love ourselves, that is the step number one to step into our truth. And once we step into our truth, we can build a life that serves that truth. We not only have the capacity, we not only deserve it, but it’s our birthright. To build a life that serves our truth. And that is where fulfillment comes in. So kindness is the element number one. We have to have that towards ourselves. And also that is how we learn how to see others for who they are, how to accept them, how to not take anything personal, and how to understand that when others come in a judgmental way or with anger, it’s because they have pain and they haven’t they haven’t looked at themselves the way that we might be looking at ourselves. They haven’t used kindness to step into authenticity. Make sense?

19:21 Marly Q

Absolutely It makes sense to you. I’m just here like nodding. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Everything you’re saying because I really believe that when we and that’s why I named my kid PARKer to go back to that is because when we understand that that’s our identity. Once you understand who you are, I am kindness. I am MANkind. We are one humankind. Once you understand that’s your identity or standard of being with one another, then it’s really easy to check in and be like, are we being authentic with that or not, it’s very easy to define are we being is that kind or not kind? Right? It’s elementary. That’s why it’s so simple. That’s why children can understand this. And that’s why it’s so important to teach children about kindness. Because once you identify that that is at the core of who I am, then it’s very easy to step into authenticity and not have that judgment, right? Or that self-criticism or that talk, right? Or the limiting beliefs. It’s it really is the foundation and step one. So I love that you are emphasizing that for us today because I totally believe it. And that’s why I think we need to get LOUD about kindness and why you know we’re doing this podcast and why I have overcome many self-limiting beliefs and doubts and self you know all of that, in order to be able to step behind this mic and come back and do it again and keep doing it until you know I feel that I have fulfilled my purpose and calling in life, which is to be the spark of kindness, connection, and community. Thank you so much for being a part of this movement of my Kind QREW from the beginning. I’m so grateful for the invitation to be a part of your LOUD Women Nation as you’re getting it started. And I’d love for you to share with our PARKers listening, how can we connect? How can we learn more about LOUD Women Nation and sign up?

21:03 Adrianna Foster

If you go to loudwomennation.com, you’re gonna find all the information. We have three tiers of memberships, depending on the commitment that every person is ready to do. And I’m constantly doing different types of events, different types of free seminars around authenticity to also educate and bring value, and to teach women that they have the power to build the life that they want. All they have to do is be kind to themselves, accept themselves for who they are, and really also adding this space of like, it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to not be perfect. That’s also being authentic. That’s also being kind to yourself, knowing like, you know what, today I messed up, I made a mistake or I’m not feeling it. It’s okay. Once you are able to connect with your truth, you can regain your power and your graceful power, right? Gracefully because power doesn’t come from rejecting other people. Power doesn’t come from guarding yourself, from closing and stopping yourself from being vulnerable. Power is vulnerability. Power is courage. That is the graceful feminine and this is what LOUD Women Nation is here to teach. So, loudwomennation.com, you can find all the information and I would love to have you there. Yay, I would love to see you.

22:18 Marly Q

Thank you so much for inviting our PARKers. Thank you for making this Time to Be Kind with me again and our PARKers listening. I hope that you continue to answer the call every time I knock on the door and say, hey, you want to make some Time to Be Kind?

22:31 Adrianna Foster

Every time. My heart is always open for you, Marly. And thank you for inviting me. Thank you for wanting to share my voice and for being an advocate of authenticity and LOUD Women Nation. And most importantly, thank you for the work that you do because the world needs more you, world needs a lot of kindness. And especially right now, what you are doing is specifically what human needs, what human beings need. So thank you. Thank you for having the courage to share your voice and be kind to us.

23:01 Marly Q

Ah, thank you so much. I received that and thank you PARKers listening, for being part of this movement and being the PARKers and the change that we all wish to see in this world. Thank you so much, Adrianna.

OUTRO

So what do you say? Let’s get LOUD about kindness? I hope you found this episode as inspiring as I did. Make sure you join our Kind QREW and be the spark of some great conversations over on our private Facebook page. If you haven’t joined us yet, we have over 300 beautiful, kind-minded people that engage in our private group. So join the party! You can find the link in our show notes. Just visit marlyQ.com forward slash this episode number. So whatever number this episode is, you can easily find the transcription, the show notes, the links to connect with Adrianna and LOUD Women Nation at MarlyQ.com forward slash this episode number. Thanks again for making Time to Be Kind. See you next time.

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Podcast

Global Village of Kindness with Dr. Eglee Nunez-Sancristobal

Post author By Marly Q
Post date March 31, 2023
No Comments on Global Village of Kindness with Dr. Eglee Nunez-Sancristobal

Global Village of Kindness

“It takes a village to raise a child”. This famous African proverb rings more true than ever before. That’s why it is a core belief, value and daily labor of love for educators like today’s special guest. Join host, Marly Q and Dr. Egleevelyn Nunez-Sancristobal, Founder and Principal at STARS Global Preparatory, as they discuss the transformative power of educating our youth to be kind global citizens.

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” ~ Helen Keller

Listen to this Episode and be inspired by…

One woman’s dream to create a Global Village of Kindness
How one small school is changing the world one day, one student at a time
The simple power of planting seeds and letting young people take the lead
How young children are being empowered to be responsible global citizens
How kind student-teacher relationships changes lives and gives us all hope
How kindness within school should extend out to parents and the community
How service learning gives young people a voice, self-esteem and confidence that they can help and do something to fix problems they see in the world.

Tune in to this short episode and let’s create this Global Village of Kindness, together!

About Marly Q:

Connect with Marly Q:

About Our Guest:

Dr. Egleevelyn Nunez-Sancristobal is a visionary leader working to create a kinder world for over a decade. She is the proud founder and principal of STARS Global Preparatory in Miami, FL. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Special Education and Teaching, a Masters in Autism Research, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership.

Connect with STARS Global Preparatory

Instagram: www.instagram.com/starsglobalprep/
Website: www.starsglobalprep.com

Other Links:

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP 16: Youth World Skills Day with SPIRIT Cheer Camp
EP 14: The Currency of Kindness with Murray Jones
EP 20: International Youth Day with Coach Cass

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00 Marly Q

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight, but no vision. I’m inspired to close out women’s history month with these impactful words by Helen Keller and introduce you to a visionary female founder who has a big vision of a global village of kindness. Stay tuned.

00:31 Marly Q

Welcome and thank you for making time to be kind with Marly Q. Help me to welcome our special guest and PARKer today, Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal, a super special PARKer in my world. Welcome. Thanks for making time to be kind.

00.44 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

Yes, of course. I love thank you for inviting me. Thank you.

00:47 Marly Q

Yes. So before we dive in, in case you’re new to my world and you’re listening for the first time, Eglee, please tell folks, what’s a PARKer?

00:57 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

It is a person that performs acts of random kindness.

01:01 Marly Q

That’s right. A PARKer is you, me, and we, everyone that we are uniting through this effort, through this podcast, everyone that makes time to be kind on a weekly basis. Once you are a PARKer, you’re a person that performs acts of random kindness. And together, I believe that we have the power to really shift our culture and shift our world to one that is more kind and of service to each other. And I’m so excited to spend this time with you, Eglee, here today and share you with our PARKers listening because you’re a visionary female founder who has been working towards this greater vision of creating a kinder world for well over a decade that I’ve known you, right? And I before we jump into hearing about your story and your vision, I want to tell those listening that Eglee is the founder and the principal of STAR’s global preparatory school in Miami, Florida. She has a bachelor’s in special needs from Nova Southeastern University. She has a master’s in autism from my alma mater FIU, Florida International University. And recently, even like during pandemic times, this woman went out and got a Ph.D. in educational leadership, right? On top of having a toddler, running a school, you know, just a few things. This is a superhero and her together with her team at STAR’s Global Prep are creating kinder humans each and every day. Eglee, can you share with us your vision for STAR’s Global Prep and really what I see as your vision for creating like this global community, this global village of kindness?

02:27 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

Thank you, Marly. That was a beautiful intro. Thank you so much. STAR’s Global Preparatory really started at my heart and really tugging at the need of a global awareness of kindness, of unity, of love. And I think we’ve all felt that way in the last couple of years. And the vision of the global village, which is an actual area in our school, also took months of planning and looking for details that will really, really send the message, not only to the students but as I like to call it, a double message to the parents. So when the parents and the students come to the Global Village, yes, the Global Village is an area where we have literally duplicated in smaller size areas like an animal shelter, a recycling center, the laboratory. We have a planting station. So these are all areas that the students get to go in and experiment with all these areas. But for the parents looking at it, they totally see the double meaning, which means that, yes, our children need to know about recycling. Yes, our students need to know that shelters exist, not just for animals, but in other ways. So it became almost a fresh air when parents would come and parents come and tour and the students go in there because it reminds us instantly that it’s not about me. It’s about globally, these are issues that are going on in the world and how can we make them better. And how can I teach my child what an animal shelter is and why are these animals there? It’s just created so much more than just an area for them to play in and imagine. And it really becomes something. It’s really become interesting. And even for us as the adults, we do our parent meetings in there. We do our staff meetings there. Everybody wants to hang out in there because it really reminds you of what it is to be a kid. And it reminds you to have fun. And we go down the, we have a bubble, we have a slide that goes into a big ball pit. And that’s like the big ending of a service learning area, you know, lesson. And it’s just a really, really cool space to be in.

04:29 Marly Q

You know, I, I’ve been there, right? I’ve been there. Personally, my two kids, I think we’re one of the first kids.

04:34 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

They were the first. They were the first.

04:35 Marly Q

The first. Oh, wow. I love being the spark. I love being the first, right? So I had my two-year-old and my four-year-old go down that slide in the ball pit. I had them play, right? So I love what you said that much more than just a play area, it’s really an opportunity to connect and engage with the whole of humanity of what actually makes us mankind, right? Which is being connected to our sense of kindness and responsibility to be of service to one another. So I want you to talk to me about, to talk to us about your service learning component at STAR’s Global Prep, because I really think this is what makes this school so unique, so different. And honestly, one of the main reasons why I for the two past two years or so have served as a chairwoman of the board for STARs, right? And why I’m involved in growing the school and in this awareness is really because of the intentional design of this extended like-day model. Right, that you have. So can you share with us what that’s all about?

05:34 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

So service learning has been something that I’ve always felt is so important, but it wasn’t until high school that I really understood it. And then thinking back on all these community volunteers that always want to volunteer at our school, I said our kids are really not going into the community and also saying thank you for volunteering at my school, but I want to go help and pass it forward. And I mentioned the word responsibility And that is truly the message, is to teach the students that they have a responsibility. We all have a responsibility. It’s as simple as that. It’s about teaching them what it is that they do daily to contribute to the responsibility of better generations to come and the global, the earth that we live on. So the service-learning is something that we infused into their school day. So they’re here between the hour of 205 to 245 almost dismissal, which is three, they go into the global village and there’s big rims of paper and this big you know cart with all this paper on it, they get to roll out, put on the floor, and begin the process of iPart. So iPart is something that we teach the kids, which is to investigate, to prepare, to act on, to reflect. And then we get to celebrate and demonstrate.

07: 05 Marly Q

We need to pause a moment to let our listeners know this is a non-Marly Q acronym that I want you to learn.

07:12 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

So this is how we were able to explain it because I said how do I explain everything that service learning is to a child and to our parents? So what we do is that the service learning the students pick at the beginning of the school year, it’s a whole year transition, they get to brainstorm as a group and they jot down what they feel are things they want to fix is the keyword that we use at the beginning of the school year. As we evolve, we all get to write down everything we want to fix and they have to as a group agree by about month two because it takes us that long to really go in and say what are the things you want to fix. So we start categorizing in it. And then let’s say they find that recycling is the one that they all agree can be something that they could really impact their community. So then that takes us to the investigating part. Let’s investigate how do people recycle. How do the offices recycle? And then they start to all these questions. It’s teacher-led, but more student based. The teacher kind of plants the seed and lets the students evolve. And then once they investigate and they get all this information, then they start to prepare and come up with a plan. How are we going to have all these offices around this have a recycling bin and have the recycling? How are we going to do that? And then after that once they actually implement the project, they have to reflect what worked, what didn’t work, what can we do more or what can we do next year or next semester because we wanna pick up this project again. So it’s not just a, I’m gonna go today, pick up some garbage at a park and what are we doing tomorrow? No, it’s a whole process, and doing that, what we’re trying to establish is in that person, in that student, that facility, that tool, that ability, that skill set to be able to identify these issues in our community in a kind way, in a graceful way, in a loving way, and working with the resources around them to say, how can we fix this? What can I do? And I think everybody can agree as adults that our students and our children in the generations coming and growing that we see are having a lot of difficulty problem-solving. They’re having a lot of difficulty communicating for a lot of reasons, right? That we’re not going brought out, but and this is why it takes us this long, so many skills that we inadvertently are teaching them when my friend doesn’t like my idea, but I really think they should be. Well, let’s talk about it. How would you talk to someone that you don’t agree with? And it’s just brought on so much more than just a project. And that’s why it’s called service learning because there’s a learning component to it. It’s not just a service component.

09:56 Marly Q

Right.

09:57 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

We’re super excited about it.

09:59 Marly Q

And that’s why its takes so long. It’s not that it takes so long is that it is a daily practice. What you’re teaching and what you’re planting the seeds are is that this isn’t just like this one-time project that we’re going to work on and we’re in and out of this problem. This is a way of being a socially conscious, a global citizen, someone that thinks about what are the problems that exist in my community, right? And empower children, elementary school kids, right? Little kids, empower them with a sense of responsibility.

10:29 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

Absolutely.

10:30 Marly Q

And the way that I break down the word responsibility to me doesn’t mean that I carry the weight of the burden on the world, right? The burden of the world on my shoulders and it is up to me to save the world and solve all the many, many, many problems that I’m passionate about, right? Because if we, if we live in that space, then we are overwhelming our children, right? How can we possibly give and ourselves as adults, how can we possibly take on all the huge burden of all our societal problems? We simply cannot. But what we can do is tap into our ability to respond to the problems that we identify as important to solve. And that’s what I see you’re teaching these kids. And you’re giving them the process and the structure to inquire, right? To think about what questions do we need to ask. Because what’s a problem? A problem is just an unanswered question, right? So what questions?

11:18 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

Absolutely.

11:19 Marly Q

Do we need to ask you’re teaching them this skill. It is a skill. And I love that this is an intentional part of your school design of not just your curriculum, but of the culture of the school and it transfers not just for the students like you said, but let’s talk about like the student parent and teacher relationship, right? And how does kindness in education play a role or trickle out, right? In order to engage the parents in this process as well, and not just the parents, the greater community, right?

11:47 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

And that’s the biggest goal. The service learning component has taught us that the parents are very enthusiastic about their children participating in this type of activity. They want their have this ability to do that, to do this.The moment we then now say, okay, parents, we need you to support us. And that’s where we’re at. And you know Also showing the parents and showing the collaboration that it’s not just your student that’s responsible for this and being able to see the issues that may be surround your family that are important to your family. So that’s the next phase. And we have a lot of, we have a big vision for this. We really do. And I know that it has so many different legs and so many different directions that we can continue to expand on.

But for us at the moment, the students don’t even see it, which I think it just organically happened, don’t see it as, oh my gosh, I have to pick, you know, I have to do all these things. They really are excited about, I can actually help. And I speak in these terms because they’re young, they’re elementary students. So these are the terms that they rebuttal to us. I can actually help, I can actually do this. Because as little kids, as you guys know, you sometimes feel that you don’t have a say. You sometimes feel that you’re not heard. You sometimes feel that what’s important to you is not important because you’re not a grown-up. So this activity, this program, you know, this time, whatever you want to call it, has given the students a voice, self-esteem, confidence. We have students that are deficient in certain subject areas and need more help, that are not a student. But yet when they get into the service learning projects, they’re the best artist that the kids are like, whoa, we didn’t know you can draw like that because we’re making the flyers for the bake sale, let’s say. Or, wow, I didn’t know that you can do that. So it has, and that wasn’t planned, that just happened that way. And it has really shown the adults, and that’s the goal. Witnessing this, because it’s happened to me, it’s happened to the teachers, we’re there hearing and watching, there’s hope. You feel such a sense of, okay, you feel rejuvenated, you feel driven, like, okay. So it’s not gonna always be perfect because education is not perfect as we all know, right? The education fields, but there’s hope. Like there’s still hope in these kids. There’s still, we still have the ability to take it back old school and have these students have a teacher-student relationship that matters that you can remember for a lifetime. I mean, these are the things that I’m hopeful for. And I hope that in the interim, you know, I can kind of sprinkle that be the spark, like Marly says, for others that maybe don’t feel it yet, or have never experienced it. We can now say, wow, this is that was pretty cool.

14:42 Marly Q

You know, you’re touching on something so special to me. And again, why I’m involved and why I try to volunteer and spread the word about the great work that’s happening over at STAR’s global is because I was that elementary school kid, like I was that, you know, nine or 10 year old that felt really really worried and burdened by the problems that I saw in my own home and my community, like on TV and the news, right? When my parents would put this on, rule number one, don’t have your kids watch the news. Please don’t do that. Right? I really felt that as a young girl, I want to do something to fix and to help right? And I felt super helpless. I felt insignificant. I felt unheard. I felt like I needed to grow up. I needed to have money. I needed to, you know, and what can I do? And I had a teacher my fourth-grade teacher, which I share this in my TEDx talk. I’ll link it in the show notes to this episode. If you haven’t watched it yet, please do. Because organically, we’ve been sharing this message of kindness for over well over a decade. Again and I know each other for well over a decade and we’ve been building and planting these seeds one by one, one child by one. And you’re doing the work of creating this global village of kindness, of creating this world where people are kind enough service to each other. This is how you do it by empowering kids, educating them.You have the ability to respond in small ways that make a really big impact. And the more that we teach that not just to our kids, but involve our parents in this process and involve the greater community in like, Hey, this is the most important work that we can be doing.

16:17 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

Exactly. Marly, that’s exactly, exactly how I feel. And I and I’m saying it like that because this is the most important work. You know, as adults, I feel it’s our responsibility to really give back to our kids.We can sit here and talk about, you know, laws and statutes and, you know, all these rules that come up in education. But at the end, the kids still come to school every day. Students still show up. And it’s the ones that need it the most, that never ever miss school. Those are the ones that always show up because they

16:58 Marly Q

100% attendance, 100% attendance right here. I needed it the most. And that parent, I’m sorry, that student-teacher relationship that you just emphasized that is what I want to emphasize that I feel along with your student with a service learning model, along with your super high quality up to date curriculum, along with your student support services, right? The STAR’s global prep is an all inclusive campus, right? With children that are, you know, cognitively atypical or on the autism spectrum or have other kind of, you know, learning delays, right? STAR’s global prep is this all-inclusive campus that and can meet students at the level that they’re at with a foundation of kindness. Because that engagement, that connection with your teacher every day that sees you, that hears you, that is empowering you, that says, hey, you can make a difference, right? Every day, because this is a service learning class every single day that we have this conversation. You just, you give me hope. You give hopefully our PARKers listening some inspiration and some hope that there, there are future kind-minded service leaders being, being educated here and I just love that.I want to be able to wrap up our conversation today with this quote that I know is important to you by Helen Keller. The only thing worse than being blind is having sight, but no vision. Right? Like we must be able to first envision the world that we wish to create. We must first be able to have a vision of a world where all humankind is holding that standard of kindness, kindness towards ourselves, kindness towards each other, kindness towards this world that we share. And in moments where we fall and we fail because we do and we’re unkind to ourselves and to each other like kids are, right? Are we teaching our kids and teaching ourselves with kindness and course correcting with like, no, this is the standard, right? This is how we behave as human beings and as leaders and not just how we learn and how we play, but this is how we give back and are involved as active citizens and global citizens in our community.

19:05 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

And that’s why our school campuses, we have two, are inclusive. And we do have students that are not maybe cognitively at grade level, because how can we teach kindness and how can we be kind and not include all students? So you know, it’s part of our mission. It’s a big vision. But I always and thanks to you Marly. Always take a deep breath and remind myself it’s one day at a time, one student at a time, and really trying to have that human connection and leave that mark and hopefully have that student just remember that like you do with your teacher and a teacher that I remember and look back and say, wow, you know, I want to be like that, or I remember that. That’s the vision. That’s the hope.

19:51 Marly Q

And you’re doing it each and every single day. Eglee, thank you. I know how busy you are. I thank you for making this time to be kind with me and our PARKers listening today.

20:00 Dr. Eglee Nunez San Cristobal

Thank you. Thank you, Marly. I appreciate you. Thank you for what you do. Thank you.

OUTRO

I hope you enjoyed this short episode and are inspired to elevate your own vision for the kind of world that we can create together. Achieving our world where everyone is kind and of service to one another takes all of us. So I hope that you were inspired by the fact that educating our youth to be kind to themselves and the world is one step in the right direction. To connect with STAR’s Global Prep and access this episode’s show notes and transcriptions. We’ve made it super easy for you. Just visit us at MarlyQ.com forward slash this episode number. So whatever episode number this episode is, MarlyQ.com forward slash that episode number. Thank you so much for making time to be kind with Marly Q. See you next time.

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Podcast

Seizing Happy with GiGi Diaz

Post author By Marly Q
Post date March 24, 2023
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Seizing Happy with GiGi Diaz

Surely you’ve heard the wise advice “seize the day”, right? Well, in this episode, you’ll discover simple ways to seize your happiness on a daily basis thanks to Marly Q and celebrity guest GiGi Diaz, certified mindset and branding coach, media personality and founder of Seizing Happy. Tune in for a spark of happiness and learn practical tips to expand your capacity to receive kindness from yourself, others and the universe.

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

“Seizing happy is our responsibility as human beings on this planet.” ~ GiGi Diaz

Listen to this Episode and discover…

What does seizing happy mean?
A refreshing perspective on the word “responsibility”
The importance of considering your own needs and creating kind habits
The ONE question to ask yourself every day to seize happy
It’s actually NOT better to give than to receive

Can you imagine how different your experience of life could be if Seizing Happy was your measure of success, every day? Tune in to this short episode to spark your happiness today!

About Marly Q:

Connect with Marly Q:

About Our Guest:

GiGi Diaz is a certified mindset and branding coach, media personality and founder of Seizing Happy, a coaching organization focused on nurturing the business and the woman behind the business equally.

Connect with GiGi Diaz:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/gigidiazlive
Register for Move, Breathe, Grow Event: https://seizinghappy.com
Use Code QREW20 for kind discount

Other Links:

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP 34: Don’t Quit on YOU
EP 33: Express Lane to Kinder World with Nedal Ahmad
EP 32: Let’s Start with Why (and How)

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00:00
Marly Q Seize the day they say, right? Well, what if seizing happiness was your daily measure of success? Stay tuned because, in this episode, we’re going to spark your quest to seizing happy, Today.

00:00:28
Marly Q Hello, Parker. And thank you for making time to be kind with Marly Q and our special guest today, GiGi Diaz. Welcome to the show.

00:00:36
GiGi Diaz I’m so excited to be here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

00:00:41
Marly Q Oh, my goodness, PARKers you are in for a treat if you’re brand new to my world. We have to start by defining what a PARKer is, because our special guest today is the embodiment of a Parker.

00:00:53
Marly Q GiGi, What’s a PARKer?

00:00:54
GiGi Diaz Somebody who will always, always have or practice random acts of kindness.

00:01:01
Marly Q Yes, doing.

00:01:04
GiGi Diaz And it is in the hugs. I think one of my favorite ways to park right now is just to hug.

00:01:08
Marly Q Yes. Oh, delicious hugs. Oxytocin all over the place. You could do a self hug right now. A little virtual hug. Thank you for making this time to be kind. Yes. If you are listening and you are parking this time out of your life to be with us, I believe that you are a person that performs acts of random kindness. That is my definition for a Parker. That is what we are and what we’re trying to unite and elevate and bring more of, right? And build more of this worldwide community of people of Parkers that are out there being that spark of change that we wish to see. And GiGi does this day in and day out. Let me tell you a little bit about my friend here. We’ve got a celebrity guest here today, people. Yes. GiGi Diaz is a certified mindset and branding coach. She’s a media personality, and she’s the host of chats with GiGi podcast. Like me, she’s a two- time alum of Florida international university. That’s right. A little shout-out there to FIU panthers. She’s also an entrepreneur with 20 years of experience. Yes, she was a teenager when she founded the successful GiGi’s dance academy in Hayalia. Shout out to our roots here. And she’s also the founder of seizing happy, which is a coaching organization dedicated to nurturing the business and the woman behind the business equally, GiGi has led a successful career in broadcast media for over 20 years as a producer and honor talent for big brands like radio, Disney, Telemundo, iHeartRadio, and more. She is an influencer that has worked with major brands, and she is here with us today to share her light, her spark with all of us. And I want to just kind of dive right in and ask you this question, GiGi. What does seizing happy mean to you?

00:02:51
GiGi Diaz I love this question. I haven’t been asked this question in so long. Seizing happy is our responsibility as human beings on this planet right now is to be in a state of seizing happy. It doesn’t mean that you have to be happy all the time. It doesn’t mean that happiness is a must. Sometimes it’s okay to not feel happy, but you owe it to yourself to when you are not happy, when you are not well, to find the way to seize that happiness again, to look for it, to find it, to discover it, to create it, to make it, to give it to yourself. And so, for me, that’s the concept behind seizing happy. It’s wherever you are in your life, whether you’re feeling good or not so hot, you have a responsibility to yourself to be seizing happy.

00:03:35
Marly Q Yes, I love that. A responsibility to yourself to be in a state of seizing happy. Can we imagine how different life would be like, your experience of life, if your daily quest, your daily measure of success was that I seize happiness today? Did I grab onto it even in the days when they were tough, even in the days where I didn’t feel like it? Even the days where we might be, like, in the dark or facing a challenge or stress at work or in traffic, right? Like, how can we seize that happiness for ourselves? That is a responsibility. I love that. You know, I like wordplay. I like to word like to play with words. And for me, responsibility is the ability to respond, right? And when I say that I am responsible for my own happiness, it means that I am able to respond to absolutely anything that life throws at me. I am able to respond to this and seize my happiness somewhere in there, right? Find the lesson, find the blessing, find the joy, right? Because you get to grab it, but you also have to let it go, right? Like the importance of seizing it and letting it go. Right. Can we speak to that and really with the women in your community and how that shows up for them, right? How do the women in your community seize happy?

00:04:53
GiGi Diaz Well, I think that because in seizing happy, our goal is to be able to nurture the business and the woman behind the business equally. There is a dynamic that I find that is so delicious both to practice and to observe the women in my community practice, which is to be able to seize your happiness as the badass entrepreneur, right? Like when you’re in that beautiful, masculine energy of decision making and strategizing and planning and launching and doing, doing, doing and then seeing the fruits and the results of that and then being able to let go of that. For a second and step back and then go and nurture the woman behind the business and to seize your happiness in the softness of community of women speaking with each other about what we’re going through and where we might need some support. And then the softness of being a mom and being the girlfriend to your husband again and being soft and receiving and loving and intuitive and calm and quiet. And I think that in that letting go and picking up process of being the person for the business and the person that’s just the person just the woman. It’s one of those beautiful examples that I see consistently in my seizing happy community. And that is to be able to seize your happiness in the space where you are the person that runs the business. Then let that go for a moment and seize your happiness in the space where you are just the woman behind the business with all these other beautiful soft characteristics that are just as important. So that’s one example that I can give you that I absolutely love.

00:06:22
Marly Q Yes. And I think that being practical. I love being practical and I’d love to know how kindness shows up, right? Like as a practice, right? On our quest to seize happy every day, how important is making time to be kind to yourself? What does that look like on a daily basis?

00:06:38
GiGi Diaz Yeah, that’s such a good question too. I think that we are especially entrepreneurial, women, driven women, the ones that want to change the world and make all the difference, whether it’s as a mom or in your job or we are so tough on ourselves because we know we’re capable of so much. We know we are so able to do and to be and to create that we end up staying so high on that in that space of productivity and doing and doing that we forget how important it is for us to pause and to refuel, right? And so I think in the daily process of seizing happy, whatever space of life you’re in, whether you are in the space of mommying, which is its own challenge, whether you’re in the space of being the great wife or the great partner or the great caretaker, if you’re taking care of your parents or if you’re in the space of being the baddest entrepreneur, bringing in ten more clients this month every single day, I think pausing to ask yourself whether it’s in the beginning of the day or it’s at the end of the day, depending on how you run. We all are magically different. Asking yourself, what do I need right now? Sometimes this is something that I do in the mornings when I have slow starts to my day, which seems to be happening more often lately. And I will ask myself because it takes me a minute to jump-start, right? And I’m not used to that. So I will ask myself, well, what do I need right now before I go take on the world and all the things I have to do or get to do? What do I need? Sometimes it’s just a pause, sometimes it’s a really good breakfast, sometimes it’s to not start for another, like 20 minutes. Sometimes it’s a nap right after I wake up. It’s like I need to sleep a little longer. Ten more minutes. And sometimes when I jump out of bed because I’m so thrilled to, I’m ready for the day. I’m super energetic. I got all the rest I needed and I’ll just jump into it and I’ll just accomplish and accomplish and do and check off all the boxes and I’m like, yay. And then at the end of the day, I’m like, wait a minute. That was a lot of things. That’s the other space when I will pause and ask myself, what do I need right now? Sometimes it’s a walk. Sometimes it’s to turn off all the screens and just turn off my phone and not care about what’s happening. I am not an emergency respondent, so it doesn’t matter if I turn off my phone for 30 minutes. Everyone’s going to be okay, everyone’s going to be fine. Sometimes it’s that, sometimes it’s sitting outside walking my dog. She loves to walk around the neighborhood and pull me through the neighborhood with her. But I think that one of those key elements, like just stopping and asking yourself at whatever time in your day, it feels good, what do I need right now? And give that to yourself. Whatever it is, give it to yourself because you deserve that. You deserve that kindness from you. You deserve kindness from other people also, but you especially deserve it from yourself.

00:09:22
Marly Q Yes, I am like standing ovation. I’m not going to clap so that I don’t make my audio people crazy, but yes, this key question of considering your own needs. Like, what do I need right now? What do you need right now? Like if it was your kid, right? Your daughter, your son, or your best friend, right? What do you need right now, sweetheart? Like kindness, what do you need? And if what you need is that extra rest, what you need is some space to process or to feel or to just be in silence, that’s what you need. Actually giving it to yourself, asking and receiving kindness from yourself. Are you listening, Parker out there? This is key. And it’s such a simple practice, and it really is a practice, and it has to become a habit, right? Because maybe for you and for me, that question now kind of comes natural. I check in with myself every single day. I have two small babies. When I wake up in the morning, they are immediately needing me for something. And I still good morning. What do you need? I need a breath. I just need a moment. I need to drink some water. I need to use a restroom. Whatever I need, actually give that to myself for a moment, and then you can fill your own cup without sacrificing or leaving anybody else thirsty, right? Like you can do it.

00:10:39
GiGi Diaz And I think it’s so important, too, because if you don’t lead by example in giving yourself the kindness that you need and deserve, I think it becomes more difficult to not only expect but request and receive kindness from other people around you. So it has to start with you. It has to start with you giving yourself that kindness first so that you have the strength to request it from others and so that you have the ability to receive it from others. Because sometimes we’re on such a high drive that it’s like, I’m good, I got it, I can do it, I don’t need that. I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. And sometimes most of the time, we’re not. We need a hug. We need some kindness. We need some support.

00:11:19
Marly Q Yes. And even you said something beautiful, right? It’s also about expanding our capacity to receive. US being able to receive our own kindness expands our capacity to receive kindness not just from other people, but get this, friends, from life, from the universe, from the natural flow of energy that we are all like, partaking in that wants to give and receive. One of the myths that I want to just bust right now is that it is not better to give than to receive. And this is a philosophy, a quote, a mantra, something that service-driven people believe, and I used to believe it, too, right? It’s better to give than to receive. Well, maybe it feels better to give than to receive, but it is not better to give than to receive. It is equally important to give and receive. And we can bring this back all the way to, like, biologically, scientifically proven. If I were to ask you right now to just exhale, just give me the longest exhale. You have to give, right? Ready?

00:12:25
GiGi Diaz Give.

00:12:25
Marly Q Because it feels so good to exhale, right?

00:12:27

GiGi Diaz Exhale. Exhale. Exhale.

00:12:29
Marly Q Go ahead, give it to me. Give it. You’re going to have to gasp for air at some point, right? You can’t just give your air. You can’t just exhale because it feels good to sigh and exhale. You have to inhale. You have to receive that breath. The first thing that we did when we entered this life was inhale and receive the breath of life. And the last thing that we’re going to do is give it, right? Give it away. And we kind of live in this disconnection from the natural flow and process of things, where it’s equally important to give and to receive. And when we bring those things into balance first, when you bring your inhale and your exhale into balance, you’re regulating your nervous system, right, and bringing that into balance. But when we learn to give and to receive energy, kindness to one another, you’re, like, enriching your mental health, your wellness, your life, right? In every sense of the word and including your bank account, in my opinion, right? Because if we’re talking about business and entrepreneurship here. You and I have been in business for 20 years. Do you agree that the currency of kindness has driven our business success 100%?

00:13:36
GiGi Diaz Both kindnesses, the giving ,and the receiving kindnesses. Because it is when I am kind to myself and I pause to rest in between my big goals and my big accomplishments and paths that I set out for next levels of success. It is only in that kindness that I can A, rest and replenish that I can refill my cup and B, that I can make space for the creativity and the ideas and the guidance, the intuitive, supreme guidance of maybe what’s next or maybe I’m just going to hang out here for a while. It’s okay if I just stay here for two or three years. I don’t have to necessarily have something next. But it’s in that kindness to myself of pausing that I find what I need next as an entrepreneur. But it’s also in the kindness of giving to others as an entrepreneur, of, hey, I got your back. You know what? That’s something that I can look out for you there. I can support you in that. I can collaborate with you in that this is easy for me. I’ll cover it. And the kindness of being able to receive kindness from others too. When just the other day, and we won’t get into the details, but you and I, when we saw each other recently, you came up to me and you said, hey, I know you have this big event coming up. I got your back if you need anything. And being able to say, yes, I received that. Thank you. If I need your help, I will definitely or to say, you know what? I do need your help. Here’s a list of things. Please pick one. Pick two, Pick three. That kindness as an entrepreneur is also key, has been key to my success, for sure. I agree with you completely.

00:14:57
Marly Q Yes And you and I are both doing the work of showing up in kindness towards ourselves, but also creating spaces and building community for other people. Right? You focus on women entrepreneurs. So tell me, how do you help your women entrepreneurs achieve success with less stress? How do you help these women that wear so many different hats show more kindness to themselves?

00:15:21
GiGi Diaz Yeah. So there’s a couple of different ways that we can do that. And the structures and the programs are the fun stuff. So we can do the one-on-one coaching. We have a group, an online community, all that stuff. But most importantly, the way in which I find that seasoning happy can support these women entrepreneurs to achieve success with less stress is to do a couple of things. The first is to tap into yourself. A lot of the time we see other successful entrepreneurs and we think, man, I want to get to that. And then you want to replicate some form of their method into your business. But the problem is that when you do it that way, you’re giving up the power of your uniqueness and your authenticity because you cannot possibly fit your uniqueness into somebody else’s mold because that mold was especially created for their uniqueness. So teaching women how to discover their zone of genius and entrepreneurship and how to really tap into the natural gifts that make them the unique entrepreneur that they are is one of the first steps that we do. One of the second steps is your definition of success truly yours. This is something that I suffered from, from a really long time, right. My parents definition of success was degrees. So I went and I got two and then a bunch of other certifications. The industry’s definition of success was morning shows and either sports or news and I did all of those things. My definition of success was impacting others and feeling really happy while I teach. That’s my zone of genius. And so being able to tap into that and finding what is your true definition of success? For some people, it is the six figures. But for some people you’d be surprised, it’s not the six figures will naturally come when they’re seeking their true definition of success, whatever that might be. And then the last thing that we focus on is being able to create the custom strategies that you deserve. Right? Like we often get caught up in the business plan. We need to have a funnel and a website and a lead generator and all this other stuff and all that stuff is cool. But do those systems, are they sustainable for you, the lifestyle that you want to lead? A mom of two might want to lead a different lifestyle than a woman with no kids, right? A mom of two with support might want to lead a different lifestyle as an entrepreneur than a mom of two without support. And so it’s being able to customize your business so that it serves you, not so that you have to jump into a pre-built system by somebody else that may be effective but won’t be in the long run. Sustainable for you because it doesn’t match or support the lifestyle that you envisioned when you first said, I’m leading corporate. I want to do this entrepreneurial thing for full time because this is the life I want. Right? So I would say that those are three specific ways in which there are a few others. But those are three very specific ways in which we help to be able to achieve that success with less stress.

00:17:52
Marly Q I think that’s amazing that you’ve created this community and I’ve built this container and space and structure also like a method and like a roadmap, if you will, to support women to make sure that we’re on this quest to seizing happy, right? That we have the space and the reminder to check in and how is this feeling and are we in alignment and are we in flow? Right? Because stress, I always say that stress isn’t the enemy. We’re not trying to conquer stress. Right. So I love how you say it’s with less stress because stress is a natural part of being an entrepreneur. There’s just no detaching from the level of stress that entrepreneurs need to have in their daily experience. However, what is the enemy is lack of awareness to stress. Like, when we are not aware of the fact that we are in a state of stress, like chronically, especially as it relates to our business, it’s a direct reflection of you. Your business is a reflection of you. So if your energy is in this chronic state of stress, your business is as well. And we’re not fueling right, that success. We’re not working to enrich all areas of our lives. So I love that your perspective and your model and your community focuses on the business being healthy, which is important. The woman behind the business all by herself makes sure that she’s healthy too because she’s the one driving the business forward. So important. And, you know, we didn’t mention this until this point, but GiGi here is not alone. She did not come here to make time to be kind on her own. She is currently 30, some weeks pregnant with her first baby boy. And I just feel so happy. I’m seizing the happiness right now in this moment. Right? And that we’re capturing this super special time in your life where we are pausing right. Or maybe right now you’re like, gearing up towards closer to the delivery date and trying to check as many boxes as we can, but being forced by your body to slow down and pause. How are you making time to be kind to yourself and to your business during this super special time?

00:19:54
GiGi Diaz Yes. Thank you for that question because it took some adapting in the beginning, this was an unplanned pregnancy. It totally caught us off guard. And I was actually on an overdrive state where I was like, okay, we’ve got this plan. We’re going to push hard for the next six months to do what we need to do, then we’re going to pause. There was this whole structure to our lifestyle that we were planning, and when we got pregnant, I had to listen to my body. You don’t have a choice. It will be the boss of you. And being able to pause, to connect with myself, and really honor what my body needs and requires to be able to maintain these two lives, because it’s important to remember. And I didn’t realize this at first, even though it’s so obvious my body is keeping me alive the way that it’s always done right, without me asking anything for it to do anything. It’s breathing. It’s pumping all this blood. It’s digesting all my food. It’s moving my legs and my arms and helping my brain think how to answer this question. But now it’s also building a whole another life and nervous system and little toes and organs. And you have to honor the greatness and the magic of the system that we’re in. This bag of bones, right? It’s a brilliant bag of bones that has all of these beautiful abilities and I really had to pause. And the good thing is, and this is why I’m so confident in what we teach, with seizing happy, is that because my systems were already in place in a way that my business works for me, not that I am an employee of my business, because my definition of success is very, very clear, because of the way that I approach. Business is always something that has to feel good for me. It has to feel like it’s in flow. Maybe not necessarily easy, but it does have to feel like it’s in flow. It was a little bit less challenging for me to be able to say I need to pause, I need to restructure and I need to reset what I’m doing, which is one of the things we teach, is the three R system. And I applied that to myself, reevaluate, restructure and reset. And it really helped me to be able to show up on the days when I can. One of those days that I wake up and I’m like, oh, I feel good today. Today we’re going to do all the things and then on those other days when I wake up and I’m like, we’re not getting done today because I’m Sleepy and I just woke up and I’m so tired and I’m just going.To veg out, I’m going to sit outside, I’m going to look at my butterflies. And being able to honor that balance of there’s the business and the woman behind the business, both are equally important. Because if I’m not well, my business can’t be well. And now if I’m not well, my son can’t be well. And so it’s important to be able to just pause and honor that, honor all the parts of you and give yourself what you deserve, what you require.

00:22:22
Marly Q That is kindness. That is the embodiment of kindness. And I know and understand as a high-achieving woman myself, it kind of takes you a little bit off the track. It gives you a little bit of time to get used to. So you’re doing a great job. Very exciting for your next chapter. I am here for all of it and to support you along the way, please tell our Parkers listening or our female Parkers listening in South Florida. Anyway, about this awesome event that you’ve got coming up next week, I will be at it. I can’t wait to be there. Tell us about it.

00:22:56
GiGi Diaz I’m so excited for this event. So this was my baby before the baby came around. I’ve had this event in my heart for so long and finally, it comes to be so I’m pumped. The event is called Move Breathe Grow a 360 Approach to Entrepreneurial Wellness. And this is a half-day retreat style experience for driven women who are seeking sisterhood and support so that they can achieve their big dreams without the burnout. Right? That part’s not necessary. And so we’re going to have three different experience. We’re going to have Move, where we’re going to use movement. We have a ton of father to be able to ground and connect to our inner feminine essence. We’re going to have a second session called Breathe, where we’re going to use our breath to recalibrate our nervous system, to connect with our intuition, to do some visualization, to see what feels good and what’s coming next for us. And then in the third session, which is called Grow, we’re going to have a really interesting networking experience and a speaker panel to talk about business. Because we can do both. We can nurture the body, nurture the mind, and then nurture the business, right? Money is good. We can keep making it. And so lunch is included. It’s going down on Thursday, March 30, from twelve to four in Coral Gables. And you can definitely join us. And I would love to have all of the ladies, all the lady pikers. That are listening right now at this event. It’s going to be so delicious. And all the other info and ticketing stuff is on seizinghappy.com.

00:24:14
Marly Q Thank you. Thank you for sharing. We will definitely include the link to register for Move Breathe Grow on March 30 in our show notes.

00:24:24
GiGi Diaz And we have a special code, right? QREW20 with a dollar discount on admission for everyone that’s listening right now.

00:24:32
Marly Q Yeah, we will make sure to include that code, hook you up with a discount. Ladies, if you’re in South Florida, please join us. I will be there. This is like my Time to be Kind to myself on my calendar. I can’t wait to be there and see and receive the beautiful experience that you’ve created. And I will also be there to give any support that I can while I am there.

OUTRO

Yes. Thank you so much for making this time to be kind with me today. I hope that you will make time to be kind again sometime in the future so that I can interview you as a mom of a boy. We can share mom a boy stories. That would be so fun. I can’t wait. Awesome. See you next time.

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Podcast

The King of Kindness – Patrick Morris

Post author By Marly Q
Post date March 17, 2023
No Comments on The King of Kindness – Patrick Morris

The King of Kindness with Marly Q

Have you ever met someone who embodies kindness so effortlessly that you can’t help but feel inspired?

Well today is your lucky day because we get to meet and spend time with Patrick Morris who is often referred to as the King of Kindness!

Tune into this short episode, to be inspired by our friend Pat as he shares his experiences and insights on what it takes to create a kinder world, and how we can all contribute as “PARKers” in this mission together.

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

“Kindness is a choice, and our brain is wired to be kind.” ~ Patrick Morris

Listen to this Episode and discover…

The power of asking people to help!
Why instilling a philanthropic mindset in children from a young age is important.
What’s the main difference between philanthropy and charity?
How to stay passionate about kindness and philanthropy, without burning out!
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava’s 4 E’s (and a 5th E) to encourage more civic engagement with local government.

Marly Q and Pat’s collective passion for kindness and service shines through this episode and you will be left feeling inspired to make a difference as the King or Queen of Kindness in your own home and community. Tune in now to embark on this quest to create a kinder world, together!

About Marly Q:

Connect with Marly Q:

About Our Guest:

Patrick Morris is known as the King of Kindness for his career in philanthropy, civic engagement, and professional volunteerism for over three decades. Pat works as the Director of Civic and Philanthropic Partnerships at Miami Dade County’s Office of the Mayor, inspiring people to collaborate and bring kindness to the table.

Connect with Patrick Morris:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/patrickgmorris
Email: patrick.morris2@miamidade.gov
Phone: 786-325-2223

Other Links:

Listen to Marly Q TEDx Talk “Kindness is your Superpower”: https://bit.ly/MarlyQTEDxTalk
Join our Kind QREW Free Private Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/kindqrew
Join our Kind QREW+ Paid Membership: https://marlyq.com/kind-qrew
Programs & Courses: https://marlyq.com/programs
Marly Q Speaking, Training & Retreats: https://sparkcsr.com

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP 31: Kindness Matters 365 with Laura Reiss

EP 15: Planting Seeds of Kindness with Marlon Hill

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00:00

Marly Q Have you ever met or spent time with the King of Kindness? How about the Queen? The truth is, neither have I. But in today’s episode, you’ll get to meet and connect with kindness royalty, from South Florida anyway, and be invited to join our quest to create a kinder world together.

00:00:33

Marly Q Welcome. Thank you so much for making Time to be Kind with Marly Q and our special guest today, Patrick Morris. Patrick I call Pat. He’s been my friend for many, many years. I can call him Pat and call him the King of Kindness, like so many people do, not just in South Florida, but throughout the nation. Pat is known as the King of Kindness because he has a career in philanthropy, civic engagement, and professional volunteerism for over three decades. So he knows a thing or two about making time to be kind and the impact, especially as he serves as the Director of Civic and Philanthropic Partnerships at Miami Dade County’s Office of the Mayor. Thank you for making time to be kind with us today, Pat. Welcome.

00:01:17

Patrick Morris Marly, great to see you again. And, yeah, we’ve known each other for a long time. So we’ve been working on this kindness thing together for a long time and super excited to be with you today.

00:01:27

Marly Q Thank you. Me, too. And for our Parkers that might be listening and connecting just for the first time, a PARKer is a person that Performs Acts of Random Kindness. Every episode I’ve got to let people know that I am a serial acronymist and I have my own lingo, and you will be speaking it very soon. So Pat and I are PARKers, and we’ve also been called like, the King and the Queen of Kindness in our own respects. How do you feel about being called the King of Kindness? Let me ask you.

00:01:56

Patrick Morris You know, I find it to be exactly who I think I am friendly, generous and considerate. That’s lessons I learned as a young child. And I would like to think that I’ve passed on to my kids. And when my friends write my epitaph, that those will be three words that will be along with kindness maybe King of Kindness will be on my headstone somewhere. Not anytime soon, but when that time comes, I’ll be proud to be known as somebody who was kind.

00:02:22

Marly Q What a life, right? I have to be honest. I’ve been called the Queen of Kindness, and it always makes me like I haven’t fully opened to receive that. And I guess I still have some healing and look and work to look into that. I’m only the Queen of my home. That’s all I know. I’m the queen of my home and my kingdom, right? But I do like to think I’m the spark of kindness. And that’s what we’re doing here at Time to be Kind with Marly Q is providing a little spark of kindness. And today I’m just so grateful that it gets to be with you, and I want to just hear from you. You’ve been doing this work for over three decades. How did you get started? How did you find your passion for service and philanthropy?

00:03:03

Patrick Morris Well, it sounds funny, but I literally started as a young child. You know! My grandfather started the Irish American Society in Mineola, Long Island. We used to spend Sunday afternoons holding my mom and dad’s hand, going to the Irish Community Center. And part of what was always a part of that was a social piece, and there was a community piece. So I kind of saw that as a young child. You know, my dad was a member of the Knights of Columbus. We always were going to do projects with him when he was, when I was a young kid. I’m the oldest of six. All of our kids in my family did that at young ages. He was involved in politics on Long Island, and I spent many a Friday night and a Saturday or Sunday going to either a synagogue, black church or a church with an elected official that my father was supporting. And I remember being a young kid sitting in a black church in Glen Cove in Long Island and looking at these beautiful big hats that the ladies were wearing in church. And it’s a memory that stuck with me from the time I was a little kid. So being involved in service and doing things in the community has kind of just been something that’s been kind of who I am from a young kid and you know, continued that in high school. We moved from New York to Pennsylvania when I was in high school, and there was an earth and dam that collapsed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Not the first time it happened, which was like, in 1926, but in 1976, I think. And I went as a high school junior with about 20 other kids and shoveled dirt out of people’s basements because the flood, the water had flooded into their basements. And, you know, it’s one of those things, like, many years later now, but I remember that senior citizen, mom and dad, Grandma and Grandpa, you know, basically welling up and crying, saying that if you young people hadn’t come here, I don’t know how we would have got the dirt out of our basement. It wasn’t dirt, it was mud at that point. And so I remember you know, that more clearly than anything about the impact of being a person who, with a shovel and a hand and a wheelbarrow, could make a difference in people’s lives, that’s if we didn’t do it, who was going to do it? And so I think I’ve seen that and talked to friends over the years, like, if you don’t do it, who’s going to do it? And that was always a pretty good reason for me to step in and do whatever it is so.

00:05:17

Marly Q It really sounds like kindness was your identity, and I think that’s so important. I started a hashtag a couple of years ago, and my first product that I put out was called I am Kindness. Like, we can identify with that is at the core of who you are. That is your identity I am kindness. And it’s very easy to identify when you’re being that and when you’re not being that, right? It’s like a standard of being. So I love hearing that in your story and I’m curious Pat. You know! Because focus on a life of service and always being of service to others and putting that energy out on a consistent basis can be exhausting, right? Like, a life of service could be really kind of tiring and exhausting. Can you speak a little bit to that and how you keep going? What keeps you in this work?

00:06:00

Patrick Morris Yeah, it’s funny because, Marly, you may know this, you may not know this, but I was involved with the Make A Wish Foundation for a long, long time before I moved to Florida in 1988. I got involved as a wish granter up in New York, granted a bunch of wishes, incredible wishes, to young kids who had terminal illnesses. I moved to South Florida. I got involved here again. I, you know, became a wish granter. The best title, I think that any volunteer can have to be a wish granter. And, you know, I was never asking for me. I was asking for a young girl or boy in their family who was dealing with incredible difficulties with whatever the terminal illness that they had. I was always asking for them. So it got me very early on as a younger person to understand the power of asking people to help. They weren’t helping Pat Morris. They were helping a young boy who was in New York City to meet Mr. T or to become a firefighter for the day, or we did the first glorious Stefan wish here in South Florida. I did the first Marlins wish for the little boy back in 1996 who was the first marlin for a day. Now they’ve done probably 30 or 40 marlin wishes. But to me, I saw the power of volunteerism and what that meant to that family. I didn’t know that family. I didn’t know that young kid. Most of them I never met again, except for those couple of days where they came into my life and I came into their life. But I saw the power of what that did for them and for whatever it did for them, it did for me ten times more. That feeling that you got from helping somebody at that level is something that I never forget and I never have forgotten. And I get it whether I’m at Junior Achievement at a school or I’m with the Data Education Fund at a school or I’m doing Baynanza in Miami. That piece of volunteering is something that I have always felt you get back ten times more than you give.

00:07:50

Marly Q Absolutely. 100%. I refer to that as kind of enriching your life with the currency of kindness. Right, if we were to have been taught to value the currency of kindness the way that we value monetary currency, we would live in a completely different world, don’t you agree?

00:08:08

Patrick Morris 100%. No doubt about it. Absolutely.

00:08:10

Marly Q What do you think is the difference between philanthropy and charity?

00:08:14

Patrick Morris Yeah, I think I don’t ever use the word charity anymore. Charity is a handout. I mean, that’s what it sounds like to me. That’s what I’ve always thought it was, even before I kind of had this philosophical shift. Philanthropy, obvious, is giving to support a cause. Whether it’s your time that you’re giving, it can be philanthropical time that you give, or philanthropical dollars, clearly, that you give. I know one thing that I started when my kids were little. They’re now 18 and 20. We haven’t done it in a while. When we found money on the street, we found a dollar here or a quarter, whatever, we put it in a jar. And after a couple of months and putting that together, we brought it to the public, figured out how much money we had, and then we donated that to a nonprofit. And so teaching my kids that anybody can be a philanthropist, just like Lauren Buffett or Jeff Bezos at Amazon or whoever it is right in our own community that are amazing philanthropists, like Anna Milton or Joe Fernandez, the folks who give big, big dollars. If you’re giving anything that’s yours and you’re giving it away again, whether it’s your time or your money, you’re a philanthropist. And again, I just go back to it always comes back to you ten times more than you ever give out.

00:09:27

Marly Q Yes, I speak at a lot of schools, right, whether it’s Career Day or just invited to come and speak in classrooms or auditoriums, what have you. And I love being able to tell children, especially elementary school age children, that they can be a philanthropist. You don’t usually get that career option at Career Day. And I come in and say, you know I am actually myself for a living I have a business called Marly Q LLC. But really who I am, I am a kindness influencer. I’m a philanthropist, and so are you. And no matter what you choose to do as a profession or a career in your life. Whether it’s, and I’ll say an entrepreneur, a doctor, a dentist, a teacher, whatever the kids would say to me that they wanted to be, you can be a philanthropist, while doing that. You can be a philanthropist at the core of philanthropy is a genuine love and concern for humanity and being committed to offer your resources, be it time, money, expertise, skills, connections, anything that you have to offer, I think that is philanthropy. So I hope that all of our PARKers listening here today are reminded that you have this superpower. You are the king or queen of kindness in your own kingdom, in your own world. And we all have this power to be the spark of that in our community and ultimately shift our culture and how we treat each other in our homes, in our workplaces, in our schools, in our community, in our churches, out in traffic. Right?

00:10:58

Patrick Morris Yeah. Right. Yeah. I know you said that you’re a spark. I think you’re 15 years later that we’ve known each other a raging blaze of a fire these days of kindness. Not a spark by any means. But, you know, kindness is a choice, right? I mean, you know, you can be nice, you can be kind, but it’s a choice that someone has to make. And I think the thing that is just a fact is that our brain is wired to be kind. And the more we are kinder, the more the synapses fire in a very positive way to make us happier people. Again it’s not something that Dr. Pat is telling you. It’s actually Harvard based research that is an evidence that you could go find that talks about kindness and the impact it has on you as an individual. To me, kindness is always a ripple effect. You do something for somebody, they see it, they take it, and they pass it on. And I always feel that’s happening all around me all the time when I see just random acts of kindness that happen all the time.

00:12:07

Marly Q All the time. And you said it. It’s when we see it, when we are aware and present to it and truly when we practice kindness. And that’s why I even brought this podcast back, was to recommit myself to making the Time to be Kind, to putting it on the calendar, scheduling the time to reach out and connect with people that are kindness influencers, that are PARKers, that are kindness superheroes right, out there. Because there’s a lot of us. There’s a lot of us, and we in small ways, in grand ways, but every day, in some way, we have this responsibility to keep this currency of kindness going. And I’m just so grateful for the work that you do every single day. I know that for the past decades, it’s been kind of using your words from the outside in on philanthropy. And now that you’re working for local government and for the office of the mayor, focused on philanthropic partnerships and how can we create more civic engagement in our communities? How can we inspire people to collaborate and work with our local government and bring kindness to the table?

00:13:15

Patrick Morris Yeah, it’s a great question. Mayor Levine Cava has her four E’s, she calls them, and the bucket is Equity, which goes through everything she does. Economy, which is how do we build a thriving economy that is equitable for all. Environment. She put the first chief Bay officer in place, the first chief heat officer in place. Resiliency is something that she’s enhanced in the office of Resiliency under a guy by the name of Jim Murley. And Engagement is her four E’s. And I say to her that I think she really has a fifth E. It’s called Empathy because everything that she does is with an empathetic heart. And an eye to how can we be equitable about it, how can we engage people, how is it going to help our economy and what’s the environmental ramifications of anything we’re doing? But it’s all through a lens of empathy. And empathy at the end of the day, is, again, it’s that kindness and that night being nice piece of it. And I think that my first time in county government the last two years with the mayor. I’ve known the mayor for over 30 years. So excited to work with her and work under her leadership of the county departments that we work with. But I can tell you that this is a mayor that is open to engaging the community, wants to have the community to everything we do is transparent so the community can see what we’re doing. And there are just a lot of ways, whether it’s on county boards or volunteer opportunities, that are available throughout county government, to get engaged in our community that I think there’s probably no administration that is as open to getting our citizenry into the offices and engaged in our community and super excited. I’m one of the guys on her engagement team who helps make that happen. Whether it’s individuals, whether it’s corporations, again, we’ve got a whole group of philanthropists that are moving to Miami Dade County. They’re business people. They’re philanthropists. How are we helping them get that civic footprint set? Because it’s great to move from another part of the country and make money here and be successful in business. We want you to be equally successful in your civic footprint. And that’s one of the things that I’m engaged in almost on an everyday basis, trying to get folks more engaged in our community.

00:15:37

Marly Q I love it. And you’re doing that right here with us today. Thank you so much for agreeing to make time to be kind with me. Pat, how can people get in touch with you and learn a little bit more as to how they can connect locally?

00:15:51

Patrick Morris Absolutely. Very easily. My cell phone is 786-325-2223 or you can reach me by my email at county in the mayor’s office at patrick.morris2@miamidade.gov. And I’m a quick responder to email, so any questions, I’m happy to answer and help anybody get started in their journey and service to our community.

00:16:17

Marly Q I love that. Are you listening, PARKer’s? Like, we just had the king of kindness give you his cell phone and email address. I mean, really, we have no excuse as to not connect and reach out and get engaged. Because you and I both know the power that exists when local residents and citizens take ownership of the community that they live in and contribute and seek ways to give back, to be of service in some way. And there’s so many different opportunities when you actually become the spark of that engagement, you have the power to do that. Kindness is your superpower, and I hope that this episode has inspired you to reach out and be either the king or queen of kindness in your own way today.

00:16:57

Patrick Morris Absolutely. Thank you, Marly.

Outro

Marly Q Thank you so much. I hope you found that conversation as inspiring and enlightening as I did. Join me and Pat over in our Kind QREW Facebook group where we engage after each episode. If you haven’t joined our Kind QREW yet, you can find the link in this episode’s show notes. Visit Marlyq.com forward slash this episode number. So whatever number this episode is, Marlyq.com forward slash that number. I’ll see you next time. Thanks for making Time to be Kind with Marly Q.

Join our Kind QREW Free Private Facebook Group: Click here to Join Now

Click here to learn more and register: SMARTEST Planning Workshop

Podcast

Don’t Quit on YOU

Don’t Quit on YOU with Marly Q

Did you know that March is the supposed time of the year when most people either forget or give up on their goals? Have you? No judgment here, only kindness. Tune into this short episode to discover three toxic lies that can prevent you from achieving your goals plus Marly Q will show you how to BRAG, reclaim ownership of your TIME, banish BUSY-ness and extend an invitation to learn the “SMARTEST’ way to achieve to your goals.

Listen to this Episode and Discover….

Three Toxic Lies That Will Keep You From Achieving Your Goals
You have Permission to “BRAG”
How to Stop Being Too “BUSY’
A Mindset Shift from Time Management to “TIME” Ownership
There’s a “SMARTEST” Way to Achieve Your Goals

Click here to register: SMARTEST Planning Workshop

About Marly Q:

Connect with Marly Q:

Other Links:

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP 32: Let’s Start with Why (and How)

EP 31: Kindness Matters 365 with Laura Reiss

EP 29: Kindness Heals Loss with Dr. Betsy Guerra

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00
March is the month where most people have completely forgotten about their goals or have fallen off the track towards achieving them. And if that’s you don’t worry, you’re listening to the right episode. Because here we’re about to discover the three toxic lies that will keep you from achieving your goals. Stay Tuned!

00:29
Welcome. And thank you for making time to be kind with me, Marly Q and you today, just you and I PARKer, person that Performs Acts of Random Kindness listening out there. If this is your first time making Time to be Kind with me just know that you are PARKer and we are parking this time together to exchange this energy of kindness, connection and community. So welcome, thanks for making the time today.

00:58
I wanted to record this episode because March is the time of year where so many people have completely forgotten about their New Year’s resolutions if that’s something that they set or they’ve kind of forgotten about the goal that they started. This is the time of the year where most gym floors have started to dwindle down, right? The gym and the yoga memberships have started to dwindle the start of the year and goal getting energy has kind of settled. Right! And if that’s you don’t worry because in this episode, we are going to uncover three toxic lies that will keep you from achieving your goals and many times will inspire you to quit on your goals. And today the message is don’t quit, Don’t Quit on YOU or what’s important to you and your goals. Many times when we’ve fallen off the track on what we set out to do, it’s probably just because we weren’t that emotionally attached to the goal to begin with, right?

01:54
I go through a process with my clients called the SMARTEST Planning Framework. And Smartest is an eight step kind of planning framework to help think through what it is that you want to achieve, right? Whether it’s a personal professional goal, whether it’s an event, a book launch, a product launch, a new business, any goal that you are out to crush and achieve this year, my framework can really help to bring some clarity, which is so important, right? The the address that you’re going to put in the GPS, where are we going? Right? Some clarity on exactly what it is that we’re trying to achieve some confidence that we’re able to achieve that thing, right? And also some like calm and focus and presence so that we enjoy the journey along the way towards achieving it, right? Because what fun is it to, you know, work really hard on achieving a goal, you get there and then you just, you didn’t even get to savor it, right? Or all you experienced along the way was like stress and worry and anxiety and, and angst, right?

02:57
Rather than like this is the process of achieving a goal, right? So for example, in December, I hosted my Smartest Planning workshop for a small group of people. And at that workshop, I declared my goal was I need to start the gym again. I need to start strength training here. I am a mom of two. It’s been about four, if I’m really honest, five years since I had stepped foot into a gym, like with weights and weight training and I was scared, I mean, I kept up with my yoga practice, right? And my stretches and my meditation and all that. But really strengthening my core, picking up weights running around. I have not done that in quite some time and I had a lot of resistance and I had a lot of lies that I was telling myself, right, that we’re probably all guilty of, right? So before I jump into what those three in particular toxic lies, that’ll keep you from achieving your goals. I want to BRAG for a moment. I want to BRAG, BRAG is an acronym for Be Real And Grateful.

03:54
So I want to use this time to BRAG and share that I have been successfully going to the gym 4 to 5 times a week since January 1st of 2023. And the recording of this episode, and I’m wanna continue going because what I’ve done now is moved past the mental resistance. And let me be honest with you, I still have days where I’m like, Oh God! I don’t want to go. But now after I have built a habit, right? My body wants me to go to the gym and move right and feel strong and healthy.

04:27
So if that’s you listening, if you had a personal goal, whether it was to get back to the gym or to start yoga or some kind of like physical health related goal. This is not a time for judgment, this is a time for kindness, right? And a kind of nudge and a kind reminder that you can do it and you can start in a small way and don’t quit on you, don’t quit on what’s important to you, don’t quit on your goals, don’t believe this narrative that you know, it’s National Quitting Day. And in March, everybody just like drops their goals. You are not part of this narrative. And actually, I want to invite you to set a date and come with me and spend a half a day planning with me Friday, March 31st of 2023. I will be hosting my next half day virtual workshop for a small group of people who want to crush their goals, want to achieve their goals. The smartest way, right?

05:19
Smartest, I’m using air quotes here because I’m not saying it’s the smartest planning framework in the world, right? You may be familiar with smart goals or some other kind of planning framework, right? And those are all great. But for me, the smartest way to achieve your goal involves a particular set of questions that you probably never thought to ask. Not only did you never think to ask them, you probably never stopped long enough to ask them. Sometimes we have a goal in mind and we just jump in, right? And like get into the action of doing without really committing to the goal emotionally, mentally and with a plan that actually supports you to get through it when it’s tough. To get through it, when you don’t want to put on the shoes and go out there, to get through when it’s cold outside or raining and you don’t want to go to the gym. For example, just to use that that as an example, right? So let’s jump into these three toxic lies that will keep you from achieving your goals. And if you are guilty of believing one of these three lies just know, there’s no shame or guilt or judgment here.

06:20
The only reason that I know there are three toxic lies is because I believed them. So I am sharing them with you so that we can bring light to these lies and set us free with like the truth, right? The truth that your goals are important, don’t quit on you.

And the first toxic lie that gets us not focused on our goals that that moves us off the track of achieving our goals is this lie that I know what it takes to achieve this goal, right? Believing that, you know, or don’t know what it takes to achieve your goal is a belief or a lie that will keep you from achieving it, right? The belief is it’s good to know and it’s bad to not know. So if you have a goal and you don’t know exactly how you’re going to achieve it immediately, your mind starts putting up roadblocks that you can’t achieve it because you don’t know. And that’s bad that you don’t know what to do or who to go to or how to make progress on this goal, right?

07:17
So that’s the first lie that we like, maybe even subconsciously are telling ourselves you’re not even aware of is that you believe that you have to know, how to achieve your goal in order to get started, is that you? Do you believe that you need to know how you’re going to achieve your goal before you get started? If so that might be a toxic lie that is sabotaging you and getting in the way of you actually achieving that goal and getting started in a small way. Right?

07:42
So we want to flip that I know mentality or that I know mindset into one that’s all I know is that I know nothing. All I know is that I want to achieve this goal, that I have this desire in my heart to achieve it and that’s enough. That’s a great place to start with the clarity of what you know, you want to achieve, but you don’t know how to get it done, that’s okay. Don’t let that stop you from achieving your goal. Don’t let that be the lie that has you quit on your goals. No way, not today.

08:12
The second toxic lie that will keep you from achieving your goals is this lie that we tell people all the time that we tell ourselves this lie of, I’m busy, I’m too busy to pick up that book that I really want to finish or to start or finish that course that I bought. I’m too busy to go back to school or take that class or attend that event that I know is going to propel my career or my business forward. I’m too busy to book that vacation or attend that retreat. Right?

08:42
This I’m too busy is a lie that will keep you from making the time that you need to make in order to focus on your goals. And what I’m here to tell you is that if you feel that you’re too busy to make any kind of progress on your most important goals. I’m here to tell you that you are being busy only doing two things. You are Being Unaware and Stressing Yourself. That’s my acronym for BUSY. You are being unaware and stressing yourself.

09:09
If you ever feel that you are too busy, you’re too busy to focus on your goals. You’re too busy to make time to be kind to you and focus on making progress on the things that are most important to you. You are probably being really busy, being unaware and stressing yourself. And what I mean by that is that instead of being busy with all this outside flurry of things that we always have to do, need to do, should do, must do. And we continue continuously ignore what we truly want to be doing and achieving for ourselves, what we’re telling ourselves. I’m too busy for you and that gets to a point where your soul yourself is like, hey, what about me? What do you mean you’re too busy for me? And it will find another way to express itself and get your attention, right? So if you feel that you are too busy to focus on your goal, know that you’re being unaware and stressing yourself. Because your mind and your heart still wants to achieve that goal. But you’re not giving it the time and the attention that it is requesting of you, right? So I want to invite you to flip that acronym.

10:06
Flip that BUSY acronym and get busy Being Unapologetically Supporting Yourself. Get really busy being unapologetically supporting yourself and watch you not just achieve your goals but watch your whole life and your wellness and even mental health be enriched because now you’re real busy on what’s most important, which is you and what’s important to you and everything else that you can be busy focused on your goals without sacrificing any of your other responsibilities.

10:37
The problem is that we have been prioritizing every other goal, everyone else’s goals over our own goals. And that’s when we get busy being unaware and stressing yourself, right? That’s when it doesn’t feel good when we know that we’re not focused on what we truly desire in our life or professionally. Right?

10:56
So that’s the second lie that we need to banish, right? Is I’m too busy and get busy being unapologetically supporting yourself. Toxic line number three, that will keep you from achieving your goals is I don’t have time. How many of us, if we are being really honest have said I don’t have time. I don’t have time to pick up that class. I don’t have time to, you know, learn the new language. I don’t have time to read that book. I don’t have time. I don’t have time. I don’t have time. I know I have been incredibly guilty of using this lie. And the truth is that we actually don’t have time. So the lie is believing that you have time. I think the Buddha has a quote that says the problem is we think we have time.

11:37
The truth is that time is actually only happening right now in this moment that we’re experiencing together. And my acronym for time that helped me change my mindset and my relationship with time from a place of time and management where I was always just trying to control time and manipulate time and, and, and possess time and, and give time and, and all of that to a place of time ownership where I am clear on the value of my time. And I changed that acronym to be a more empowering one.

12:11
To me. The definition of TIME to me is This Is My Experience. When we begin to relate to the time that we’ve been given on this earth as a gift, I receive this time as my experience, this is my experience. You will begin to make different choices about what you do with your time because you will value it more instead of just constantly giving it away, right? To every opportunity, every distraction, right? That comes our way. We get to own our time more and say this is my experience. How do I want to experience my life? Right? Are you on this earth to just exist and try and worry about time and manage time and obsess over time. Or are we here to experience the time that we have on this earth, however short or long we don’t know. That’s what makes it precious, right? So time, this is my experience. And if you find yourself that you’re using time as an excuse or a lie, the other side of that acronym for me is This Is My Excuse.

13:08
This is my experience or this is my excuse, which one of those acronyms do you want to own today? One of them has the hat of time management. One of them has the hat of time ownership. This is my experience. And when we begin to relate to time differently, then we begin to make time for the things that are actually most important to us. And you will realize that you actually can make time to do all of the things that you say are most important to you.

13:38
I’m wanna to tell you the truth right now. My friends, you and I will never ever have or feel that we have enough time to do all of the things that we want to do, need to do, should do, must do, right? We’re never going to feel that we have enough time, but we know we can feel good about knowing that we always can make time for what is most important in this moment of experience. When you practice making time to be kind and check in with yourself, what are your needs and what is this experience that you wish to have, right? On this given day. You get to create that for yourself, the more that we practice. But first, it starts with changing kind of our mindset and our relationship with time. From time management where you’re trying to control and manipulate time to time ownership where you are in one with it and you’re experiencing it right now, in this moment in time, this is my experience.

14:31
So these three toxic lies of, I know or I must know how to achieve my goal, I’m busy and I don’t have time. These three toxic lives will keep you from achieving your goals. And what we want to do is flip those into empowering statements, right? So, all I know is that I want to achieve this goal. I don’t need to know how yet. I’m busy being unapologetically supporting yourself in the direction of the goals that you see. And I make time because this is my experience and I’m making time to focus on the things that are most important to me.

15:04
If these three toxic lies resonated with you or the truth that set you free, actually set you free today. I’d love to hear about it. Engage with me over on our private Facebook page if you’re not part of our Kind QREW Facebook group yet, what you’re waiting for? Click the link in this episode’s show notes. It’ll be right there for you to click and request access to join us. And we can have a conversation about which one of these three lies have you believed? Are you ready to toss out the door with the truth? I would really love to hear about it, right? And I would also love to invite you to attend my next Smartest planning workshop. It’s coming up Friday, March 31st, 2023. And if you’re listening to this after this date, please still click the link on the show notes because I’m going to be hosting these workshops on a quarterly basis. And you really want to schedule time to be kind to you and actually plan out your goals.

16:01
See, I’ve been planning goals and events and achievements practically all of my life. If it takes 10,000 hours to be a master at anything people, I am a master planner. I have helped myself and dozens of clients achieve their goals over the past two decades, successfully. With clarity, with confidence and with calm and peace of mind that you are on the quest and the right path to get to that goal that you are after, right?

16:27
Whether it’s an event, a book launch, a business, what have you. Any goal, personal, professional, philanthropic this system, this framework works. So, I want to teach you my Smartest Planning Framework and not just teach you, but this is an implementation workshop. It’s a small group, virtual event where we get to roll up our sleeves and actually work in a small group setting and one on one with me to laser coach you through any areas that you might be stuck as it relates to your goals, right?

16:56
You get to pick my brain, I get to laser focus on you and your goal and you will leave this half day workshop with a plan of action, right? And more importantly than a plan of action with the right energy to get you in motion and keep you going towards your goals. On this month of March, we’re not talking about quitting on our goals.

17:16
You will not quit on you and your goals. This is the month where you get even more committed to it. I want to help you do that, join me March 31st. It’s a personal invitation again, I keep it to a small group. So, I am promoting it here on my podcast. You are the first to hear about it. So click the link in the show notes to learn more and sign up today. I would love to have you and I would love to be that kind friend that nudges you on the shoulder and helps to hold you accountable to achieving your goals this year. May it be your year to achieve your goals, the smartest way.

OUTRO

Thank you for making this Time to be Kind with me today. I hope you enjoyed this short episode and found it inspiring. If you did, please feel free to leave us a comment rate and review on your favorite podcast player because it helps us to amplify our message and our movement to spread kindness worldwide. Thank you again for being the spark of kindness visit Marly Q dot com forward slash this episode number for the full transcription and the show notes, plus the links to my planning workshop. Thanks again for making time to be kind with Marly Q. I’ll see you next time.

Click here to learn more and register: SMARTEST Planning Workshop

Join our Kind QREW Free Private Facebook Group: Click here to Join Now

Podcast

Express Lane to a Kinder World with Nedal Ahmad

Post author By Marly Q
Post date March 3, 2023
No Comments on Express Lane to a Kinder World with Nedal Ahmad

Express Lane to a Kinder World with Nedal Ahmad

What if there was an express lane to a kinder world?

Turns out, there IS! In this short episode you’ll be inspired and empowered by Marly Q and Nedal Ahmad when you discover the ONE SKILL we must practice on a daily basis in order to create a kinder world, starting now!

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Dr. Maya Angelou

Listen to this Episode and….

Discover the express lane to a kinder world is practicing ONE skill every day
Learn how kindness and empathy are different
Be reminded how simple it is to make a difference that impacts everyone around you
Use technology to make meaningful connections and elevate wellness
Be inspired by origin story of Heal For Us, nonprofit focused on mental health

About Marly Q:

About Our Guest:

Nedal Ahmad is a social entrepreneur, food executive, founder of the nonprofit Heal for US, mental health advocate, and father of three. He is passionate about sparking mental health awareness and creating meaningful connections to build a sense of community.

Connect with Nedal Ahmad – Heal for Us:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/nedalaahmad
Instagram: https://instagram.com/healforus/
Website: https://healforus.org/

Connect with Marly Q:

Other Links:

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP: 31 – Kindness Matters 365 with Laura Reiss

EP: 32 – Let’s start with Why (and How)

EP: 04 – Why Smile?

TRANSCRIPTION:

00:00

Marly Q If there was an express lane to create a kinder world, would you join me on that lane? Stay tuned as we answer that question with our guest at Nedal Ahmad.

00:23

Marly Q Welcome. Thank you so much for making time to be kind with me. , Marly Q and our PARKer today, Nedal Ahmad. He is my friend, a social entrepreneur, a food executive, a founder of a nonprofit called Heal for US, which we’ll learn about in this episode. He’s a father of three, and he’s a mental health advocate. I’m so excited that you made Time to Be Kind with us today, Nedal, Thank you.

00:47

Nedal Ahmad Thank you so much for having me on. I really appreciate it.

00:51

Marly Q Yes. So I have to tell our PARKer is listening. This is your first time in my world. Let’s tell them what a PARKer stands for. What’s a PARKer? , Nedal?

00:58

Nedal Ahmad Someone who Performs Acts of Random Kindness. I’ve got this on my laptop at all times.

01:04

Marly Q I love it. This is a podcast for PARKers. You listening us right here and making this Time to Be Kind is what I feel really has the power to shift our culture, to actually create meaningful connections and build a sense of community. And that’s what we’re doing here with our PARKer. So thank you for being that. And I have to be honest, we know each other since high school. We’re high school friends, but we became friends way later, like 20 years after high school.

01:34

Nedal Ahmad Took us a minute.

01:36

Marly Q And the spark of that friendship, I would love to just share a few moments of that, because back in August of 2020, I started a Facebook group with our high school. We should say we went to Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School. And I started a Facebook group and started asking people like, hey, do we want to do this 20 year reunion thing that was coming up in 2022? Mind you, we’re in pandemic. I’m pregnant. I’m like, I got some extra time. I’m home. I got some time. Let me start planning this event. Let’s see if this is something that we want to do. And you were one of the first people to raise your hand and say, yes. Count on my support. Count me in. I’ll be on the committee. Let’s plan this thing. And I want to ask you why?

02:18

Nedal Ahmad That’s a great question. I guess the sense of nostalgia. As being a father myself, I feel that I need for a sense of community. The nostalgia, what my oldest will be in high school in a couple of years. And that kind of road down memory lane was really a great one. And I’m so glad I did. I’ve been reconnecting with everyone. We had a blast at the reunion. I’m so glad I did it.

02:39

Marly Q I am so glad. I am also so proud. And I want to just take a moment to thank you and to thank our small but mighty volunteer planning committee that came together to create not just another reunion or another event, but what I think we did was something truly memorable and impactful and honestly, historic. Something that in the history of our high school had never been done, where alumni come back and say, hey, we want to not just plan our reunion, but we want to do it on campus. We want to come back and actually walk the halls again and be able to bring our families and take pictures, and not just for that, but also raise some money and be able to give back to our school. So you were integral in that happening. I was actually going through my own healing journey. There was many times that you witnessed me crying, experiencing high levels of stress, saying, I’m going to cancel this thing, I’m not going to do it. And you and the committee really kept me focused on the why this was important. You helped me through my event PTSD that I was experiencing, and also really helped me to feel that we can create an event, a three day event at that. It was a Friday night, a Saturday, and even a virtual event. We did a three day series of events, and I would not have been able to do that without your support and that of the committee and you all showing up around that time. My husband was having some health issues and I wasn’t able to get there early and set up. And just the teamwork, the feeling of community and how I felt supported with this event was just so beautiful. And I just wanted to take a moment to thank you and the committee, who I hope is still listening. Love you all.

04:23

Nedal Ahmad I sure hope they are too. And the reality is, it was the same for me for different reasons, where I kind of felt isolated at the time. And those little calls and meetings that we had just gave me something to look forward to at the time, and a time where I felt like I didn’t have a lot to. So it was really great to have those connections. And till today, people who I hadn’t seen in 20 years, we’re still talking on a regular basis, yourself included, and I think that’s been really great. So mission accomplished. With what we were trying to do there and what you really put together, which was beautiful.

05:00

Marly Q Thank you. Mission accomplished. My mission is to simply be the spark of kindness, connection, and community. And in a past life, I really took on the full burden and responsibility without realizing that our true power is in extending an invitation to others to park to others, to contribute, for others to engage. And we met for well over, I think it was eight months, putting this thing together. Right? And I know that I don’t just speak for myself and for you, but the whole committee. I think we really came together like friends do, to support each other, and that was the whole point. So yay. And that wasn’t it. I think that was the spark. We also collaborated on my first three day virtual event last year called the MANkind Summit. It was our inaugural virtual event to spark Mental Awareness Now. MAN in MANkind is an acronym. Surprise, surprise!

MAN stands for Mental Awareness Now. And the purpose of that event was to spark mental awareness now and to spark some meaningful conversations so that we can break the stigma around mental health, create amplify some voices, and really try and make a difference in our own personal lives, in those that we love, our friends, our community, and ultimately the world. And you participating as a speaker at that event at the MANkind Summit, which is coming up again, by the way, plug May 2023. You’ll be hearing from it soon. And we were also able to do something really, really special, and that was launch your own nonprofit. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

06:29

Nedal Ahmad Yeah, I love that we were able to collaborate on that despite that week being really insane with the school shooting and everything else. But the summit itself was really beautiful. And I had have this idea, must have been about a year prior that I had been working on this, and I wanted a platform where I could help potentially fund people’s mental health treatment. And having gone through my own kind of issues over the last three years and roadblocks and really understanding that I can’t pour from an empty cup, I kind of had to take a step back and say, how do I really want to do this? At the moment,so right now, all I do is about once or twice a week, I just help people find providers that are within their insurance network. It’s just a way to keep momentum going, even though I can’t take the nonprofit to the place where I need it to be just yet.

07:15

Marly Q But you’re starting it, right? You got to get started. So even though this was something that you’ve had in your heart to do for quite some time, what I love is that we were able to insert you into a platform or an event or a container, as I’d like to say, and just share with people, even before you’re ready, share with people. Here’s what is on my heart and mind and plan to create and to build. And it’s okay to start small. It’s okay that you know the first fundraising check that your organization received was only $300. Right. Maybe in some other metrics that’s like, oh, what are you going to do with the launching a nonprofit with $300? But let’s speak to the value of these small acts of kindness, these small opportunities that allow us to create some momentum and move forward, right?

07:58

Nedal Ahmad Absolutely. Everything has to start somewhere, and it’s usually the smallest acts that have the biggest impact. When you think about our smallest interactions in the street, somebody letting you in when you need to change lanes, that feeling alone is just like a “sigh”, especially in this town that are driving.

08:15

Marly Q I think I just “sighed”, as you said, right?

08:18

Nedal Ahmad And it’s those little interactions every day that really have an impact on our lives. Because with strangers, it’s difficult. It’s not like you’re going to do some life changing event, but really just taking that moment, putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes and just being like, let me just make this person’s life just a little easier today. And it helps a lot, especially when you start seeing it in others. And all of a sudden, hopefully one day we’ll see a much kinder world.

08:44

Marly Q That is the mission that is the purpose of creating this podcast, is really to remind people of that, remind people that we have that power to be the spark of kindness, like I say. And for you, I know that you have kind of a fast pass or an express lane to creating a kinder world. What is that express lane? How can we all PARKers listening like get on that fast lane, on that express lane to a kinder world?

09:07

Nedal Ahmad I personally view empathy as the absolute express lane to kindness. Being able to treat people exactly the way you want to be treated, being the person that you need in a moment where you’re stressed or rushed or any other feeling in between, just taking that time, it can be the smallest thing, but have the biggest impact on somebody’s day. And whether it’s an example, I don’t know.

Marly Q Can you give an example?

Nedal Ahmad An example!! I don’t know, I feel like…

Marly Q

09:31

Marly Q A recent example. Cause I know it’s a daily practice for you and a daily you know for me. If you were like, oh, can you tell us an act of kindness that really inspired you? I’m like it’s on a daily constant basis, right. Present to it. So for you, what’s maybe the most recent act of empathy that you received or that you observed or that you got to experience?

09:51

Nedal Ahmad I’ll give you one that I’ve actually given recently because it’s actually a fun story. I was It’s about last June. I was flying back from Philadelphia. I like to take myself out on trips every once in a while that way by myself. Jazz club, whole nine yards. Had a blast. When I get back, when I’m coming back, I get on a plane. As soon as I walk into the plane, I hear a child screaming at the top of their lung. Now, of course, that always creates a kind of bottle of pressure in an airplane. And as I’m walking towards my seat, that sound is getting louder. And it’s a mother with a two year old, and I’m sitting right next to her. And so she’s obviously mortified because, of course, it’s a man who sits next to her. But little does she know that the man sitting next to her has a lot of experience with screaming little girls and next thing I know, me and this young lady become best friends and this mom’s just mood towards the flight was changed the entire time we ended up becoming friends and staying in contact. It was such a great little interaction. But I know over time, the impact, that just like talking to the kid rather than just the grunting and all the normal things that people love to do on an airplane when a child is surprisingly being a child. And it’s those examples that I like to give where it’s like, it wasn’t really that much effort, but had a really large impact on most of the plane. There was a couple of hundred people impacted on this one because that screaming stopped pretty abruptly.

11:13

Marly Q Amazing. Yes. It could be that simple. That’s simple. And that had a huge ripple effect, not just for the mom who you showed some empathy to and was probably relieved, like, oh, thank you, I’m not sitting down next to a jerk. Right. But also that empathy, that currency of kindness, like, I call it, like, empathy is kindness in action, right? How that affected everybody. Like you said, everybody on the plane received the effect of that empathy that you expressed, received that currency of kindness. Can you tell me how kindness and empathy are different?

11:47

Nedal Ahmad I think the biggest difference, kindness is usually the act. Empathy is more of the intention. How do you want to make that person feel and kind of looking at it inwards rather than just the action.

11:58

Marly Q Yes, that’s such a great we’re going to emphasize that in our show notes because empathy exactly, it’s a deeper frequency almost, I feel, because it does start with the intention, right. In order for kindness to randomly bubble up in your heart, for you to be inspired or influenced to take the action. I think the deeper emotion there, the deeper energy. Emotion is empathy. If we’re connected to it, we’re connected to the humanity of the person in front of you or next to you or behind you. We’re connected to that. That is empathy, in my opinion. When you’re feeling with people and when you feel with people, when you feel connected to other people, then kindness naturally, naturally comes up for you to take the action to help.

12:38

Nedal Ahmad Right.

12:38

Marly Q Do you agree with that?

12:39

Nedal Ahmad Absolutely. I absolutely agree with that. And the more people we connect with, I mean, that’s one of the biggest things that we’ve lost over the pandemic, is that community gathering and really being able to feed off of people’s energy. It’s very different than when you’re in person rather than any other form of contact.

12:55

Marly Q It’s true. It’s true. I’ve had to learn how to kind of bring that energy and that sense of, like, connection to the virtual space where pre COVID I only did live in person, community building events. So imagine, right, the shift over to Virtual well, we’re going to lose that connection. And what I learned, to my surprise, was, no, we could actually use the virtual realm and all these platforms to amplify our ability to connect with more people if we use it in that way. Right. If we’re not trying to use technology to kind of hide behind it and create this distance with people, we actually use it for what it’s intended to do. Well, if the intention is to connect right meaningfully with others.

13:34

Nedal Ahmad Yeah And you know it is a convenient and tool that can connect people. And so long as, like you said, it’s a tool and not something that we’re just constantly hiding behind, where you just not showing your true self.

13:47

Marly Q Right. I’d like to ask you, how does empathy show up in your daily life? What does it look like? How can we practice being more empathetic?

13:55

Nedal Ahmad You know It really is just an intentional thing. And I cited some of the simpler examples earlier, letting someone in when they’ve got their blinker on, somebody who you can tell is in a rush at the supermarket, like, hey, jump in front, man. What is that real? Those little things that don’t actually have a major inconvenience on our day but can transform somebody’s next few hours or rest of their day. Just thinking about it from that, what do I need and how can I provide? It that’s simple. Just how do you want people to treat you? The old golden rule, right? We’ve heard it since we were in kindergarten. Do unto others as you want others to do unto you. It really is that simple. And I think that we’ve kind of lost that a lot over the years, where it’s become really a me culture way too much.

14:42

Marly Q So what I’m hearing is that we need to just practice being more empathetic. We need to reconnect with our mankind-ness, our humanity. What makes us one mankind is our ability to be empathetic with each other, is our ability to be kind and of service to each other, is our ability to solve problems and innovate and create solutions right. And we can only do that when we’re, I believe, connected to who we are as one mankind. And I love that you spend a lot of your personal time just in your own way, being an advocate for mental health and being a friend to so many people online and using technology in this way to support others in their mental health journey. And from a place that you’re in it, you’re still in the journey, right? Not from this place of like I’m on the mountaintop, having achieved enlightenment. And I don’t suffer from any mental health concerns, but somebody that, while they’re going through their own healing journey, is willing and vulnerable and courageous enough to share a bit of it invites other people in to ask questions, to see you as a friend, to trust you with a referral or recommendation to a therapist or a counselor. Right.

15:48

Nedal Ahmad What I found most effective, and particularly for me, as you pointed out, still going through it myself, still finding my own journey, sharing that and making myself vulnerable and open to people has helped them open up to me and be like, well, this is what I’m going through. And that’s where usually the conversations end up leading to, well, let me help you find someone in your network. And so it’s almost been my superpower that I’m not doing it from an enlightened state, quote unquote, or from some mountaintop. Like, I know better. And it’s like, no, man, I’m going through it, too. Let’s do this together. And little by little over time, it’s just created a little ecosystem of people supporting others. I see it also, I’m part of a kickball league. I see it there all the time with, we are the worst team in the league and yet the most supportive and happiest. And people fight to want to join our team because of how nice we are to each other and how much fun we have. And it’s really just that just being open to being vulnerable that way.

16:47

Marly Q And that’s how we shift our culture, the express lane to a kinder world. People, let’s be more kind, more empathetic, more connected with each other. It can be that simple, and that’s why it’s so profound. And we have podcasts like this and events like that in order to remind each other we’re not even here to teach anything. We’re here to simply remind each other of who we are and hopefully inspire and influence each other to think more about yourself and others and this world and how we’re all connected here. And if we come from a place of empathy, the intention every day is to be empathetic towards one another, be connected with each other. I really do believe and agree with you that that is the express plane to creating a kinder world. Nedal, could you please share with our PARKers listening? How can we connect with Heel for us and learn more.

17:33

Nedal Ahmad So you can Follow Heal for Us on Instagram, the tag is @healforus reach out to me directly on my Instagram. It’s @Nedalaahmad. And any way we can connect, I’m always happy to. And any way I can help, I am always around.

17:46

Marly Q You’re such a good friend. Thank you for being my friend. And to all of our PARKers listening, connect with this man. He’s the coolest. So, Nedal, before we wrap up our time together here today, what is your favorite quote that inspires kindness and empathy for you on a daily basis?

18:03

Nedal Ahmad That’s a very easy one. It’s actually a Maya Angelo quote, and I hope I don’t butcher this off the top of my head here, but she says, people may forget what you did or what you said, but they’ll never forget the way you made them feel. And I try to live by that all the time and that’s trying to make myself and those around me feel as good as they can.

18:21

Marly Q I love it. I definitely try to live my life by that quote as well. And I’m sure our PARKers listening really appreciated that reminder today.

OUTRO

Friends, I know you enjoyed this episode of Time to Be Kind. Now the conversation happens over on our private Facebook page. If you haven’t joined our Kind QREW yet, now’s the time. Click the link in our show notes. You can find that along with the transcriptions and the links to connect with Nedal and Heal for Us over at MarlyQ.com forward slash this episode number. Again. That’s MarlyQ.com forward slash this episode number (33), meaning the number of this episode. See you next time.

Podcast

Let’s Start with Why (and How)

Post author By Marly Q
Post date February 24, 2023
No Comments on Let’s Start with Why (and How)

Let’s Start with Why (and How)

In this short episode, you’ll learn “The Why” this podcast exists and also “The How” we plan to create a kinder world together by making Time to be Kind with Marly Q each week!

Join our Kind QREW community – Click here

“We can raise our standard to treat ourselves, each other, and this world that we all inhabit and share, with more kindness.” – #marlyQuotes

Listen to this Episode and….

Learn why the time to be kind is NOW
Discover how simple it can be to start creating a kinder world, today
Learn the real meaning of self-care and the #1 factor that determines your wellness
Be inspired by Marly Q’s story prioritizing self-care and wellness, over service
Be invited to join our movement to spread kindness worldwide

About Marly Q:

Join our Kind QREW community private Facebook Group – Join – Kind QREW

Connect with Marly Q:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/MarlyQ

Instagram: https://instagram.com/MarlyQ

Facebook: https://facebook.com/theMarlyQ

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@MarlyQ

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marlyq

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theMarlyQ

Other Links:

Marly Q Tedx Talk: Kindness is Your Superpower: https://bit.ly/marlyqtedxtalk

Kind QREW+ Membership: https://marlyq.com/kind-qrew/

Programs & Courses: https://marlyq.com/programs/

Speaking, Training & Retreats: https://sparkcsr.com

Other Episodes you’ll enjoy:

EP : 26 – How Dare You (NOT)?

EP: 31 – Kindness Matters 365 with Laura Reiss

EP: 14 – The Currency of Kindness

EP: 04 – Why Smile?

TRANSCRIPTION:
00:00
<affirmative>, you’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. Start with why. Of course I get it. It’s important. You must start with why, but if you’re anything like me, you also wanna know how, who, what, and when. <laugh>, you wanna know the answer to all those questions. So that’s sounds like you and you wanna know the why of this podcast, but also the how we’re gonna create a kinder world, stay tuned.

00: 51
Welcome! Thank you so much for making time to be kind with me, your host and kind guide, Marly Q, kindness influencer, leadership trainer and community builder. That’s what we’re doing here on time to be kind with Marly Q, we are building community.

Why does this podcast exist? It exists to be the spark of kindness, connection, and community in the world. Each and every week. I want you and I to make time to be kind together to simply exchange kindness, what I call the currency of kindness, right?

01:28
If we can exchange the currency of kindness and value that just as much as we value monetary currency, I think that we could really shift our culture and our world into a kinder place, obviously. But I also think that we can enrich our own lives and the quality of our wellness when we make time to be kind and to who, who are we making time to be kind to here? I wanna emphasize the importance of making time to be kind to yourself first and foremost. As a matter of fact, if you’re catching us right now at the launch of our season two, you know, or you heard in my intro episode that I took about two and a half years off or away from this podcast mike, very intentionally to focus and prioritize being kind to myself. I desperately needed the time to focus on my own mental health and wellbeing.

02:28
Transitioning and becoming a mom of two baby boys during a global pandemic, having just experienced my then event consulting business, basically come to a standstill, a halt, and having no source of income, right? Coming into the home while, you know, you’re, you’re experiencing parenthood is incredibly stressful event. And it wasn’t the first time that I had experienced an event like that back in 2008. I experienced a financial crisis, um, that some say was even worse than the Great Depression or have compared it to that in 2008, uh, is when I decided to quit my job and become an entrepreneur. And I just bought my first home. And it was just these series of events that when the 2008 real estate crash happened, I actually experienced bankruptcy and I had to rebuild from this place of having lost everything, right? So I had already experienced that and had lifted myself up and had started a business from that in 2008.

03:28
So when 2020 came around, and albeit it was the first health pandemic I had ever experienced, I knew what it felt like to have rug sweeped under you and kind of be at zero or be at negative, right? With all of your, your finances. And I just took a moment in March of 2020 to kind of sit with that reality that was happening. Hold my belly. I was about just maybe five months old or uh, five months, uh, pregnant at the time, maybe a little less. And I’m like, what are we gonna do? I don’t know how we’re gonna get out of this, but I know why I need to get out of this in one piece, right? I am creating life. I refused to flood my body with stress, hormones and anxiety and worry and fear and everything that we were all experiencing in March of 2020.

04:17
And I really kind of treated and assessed, right? Just made some time to be kind to myself how I was feeling, my reality, sit with it and then come up with, all right, why is this important that I, you know, get back up right after feeling like you’re knocked down? Why is it important to get back up? And for me, it was my, my boys, my husband, my family. There’s no greater reason for me to lift myself back up by the bootstraps, so to speak, and recreate a business from a place of alignment this time a business that I had spent well over a decade building through really hard work and hustle and sweat and tears and blood, sometimes literally, uh, right? Having to be forced by life circumstances and events to stop working, to stop in that direction and give myself some time and some space to let all of that chaos settle in my mind and ask, how can I lift myself back up?

05:09
Where are my greatest strengths and abilities and skills? What have I been preparing for all this time in order to put into action today? And what I came up with back then in March of 2020 was now’s the time. That time to be kind is now and launch this podcast, uh, as a way to keep our community connected in a time and place where we were all forced to be disconnected and be in our homes and have our whole schedule and team interrupted, right? And then how are we gonna come back and, and stay connected? The podcast was my way and I started turning on this camera and standing behind a mic and practicing something that years before I was absolutely terrified to do and really unwilling to do. And if you want to refer back to that story, there’s episode, I believe 26 with Luli b I will link it in the show notes so that you can hear kind of the, the journey from when I first wanted to start this podcast to when I actually started it in April of 2020, and then why I stopped, right?

06:08
29 episodes in why Time to be Kind with Marly Q kind of came to an abrupt stop and I did not stand behind this mic again for another two and a half years. What happened? Why was that time period, the simplest way I can put it is that I was practicing what I’m preaching on this podcast. I was making time to be kind to myself first and foremost so that I can fill my own cup and give from a place of overflow, right? Actually really embodying that and modeling that, not just for you PARKer’s listening or for my community, but for myself, right? And for my children to be able to see their, their mom, their parents making time to be kind to themselves, their own mental health and wellbeing, prioritizing that and making time to be kind to others and extending that kindness out into the community in whatever way you are most called to do.

07:01
For whatever reason, using my voice and putting out this podcast is what I was called to do despite my brain resisting it for many, many, many years. And my own lack of willingness to step out, like into the light and be visible and be seen and become a quote unquote kindness influencer and brand myself in this way was something that really took, uh, a process, uh, a bit of a healing journey and a mindset shift and practice a lot of practice for me to be able to come back on here and relaunch season two as a mom of two, as a mom that takes care of her mental health and wellbeing as a mom that is back at the gym as at the start of this year, right? And, and re having rebuilt my business now Marly, Q L L C, from a place of alignment, from a place where I can share my voice as an inspirational speaker.

08:00
I can share my skills and my expertise and leadership by training with workshops and retreats, whether they’re virtual or in person, right? And also as a community builder, bringing all of my 20 plus years of experience in creating events into my community building effort here with you, with Time to Be Kind with Marly Q, our community is called our Kind QREW. And QREW is with the letter Q, of course for Marly Q. And if you’re part of my Kind QREW, one of the founders, right when we started this Facebook page back in 2020, thank you. There’s over 300 plus PARKers or people that perform acts of random kindness in our Kind QREW private Facebook group already. If you are not part of it, what you waiting for the party after each and every episode is gonna happen in that private Facebook group, you can ask questions, you can give feedback, and we can interact and engage and build our community in there, okay?

08:57
So if you’re listening to this, now’s the time to click the link that’ll be in the show notes to join our Kind QREW community. Introduce yourself. And there’s where we’ll engage. Our Kind QREW is a global online community of people just like you and me who perform acts of random kindness. I call these people my PARKers. PARKers is an acronym for people who Perform Acts of Random Kindness. So there, you have to know this about me already by now. I love acronyms. I’ve been called a Serial Economist, and I love that <laugh> title because I am, I definitely love and utilize acronyms as an educational framework to help us kind of break down what can sometimes be complex or kinda intangible concepts into something that’s practical and we can actually implement into our daily lives to elevate our wellbeing, right?

09: 51
And I believe that the number one factor in wellness, the number one factor that drives how you feel is kindness.

10:01
How kind are you to yourself with the voice in your head? How kind are you with your actions on a daily basis and your rituals or your quote self-care, right? The kind of self-care that has nothing to do with how many, you know, manicures and pedicures and massages, et cetera, right? I Nothing to do with those, even though that is a kind of self-care. What I mean is really the kind of self-care that is rooted in kindness, right? And supporting yourself through this life that’s not easy for anyone, right? So this podcast, the Why of Time to Be Kind with Marly Q truly is to simply be the spark of kindness, meaningful connections, and a sense of community. I invite you into it. You’re here in my home. If you’re watching on YouTube, um, or if you’re listening right on your favorite podcast player, wherever it is, join me here each and every week and then over in our private Facebook group so that we can engage and connect with each other there.

10:54
Why? Because the time to be kind is now. The time to be kind is always now, but right now, more than ever, I believe is the time for us to unite around this simple idea and standard for mankind.

11: 07
We can raise our standard to treat ourselves each other and this world that we all inhabit and share with more kindness. That’s what I hope that this podcast brings to you each and every week, is that little spark that reminds you that there are kindhearted, kind minded PARKer superheroes out there in the world that are spreading kindness each and every day in small ways, in grand ways, in any way, right? We launched season two with Laura Reiss and our episode of Kindness Matters 365. We started with Why? Why does this matter? Because kindness matters 365 days a year. This isn’t just about a nice philosophy that I want you to agree with.

11:50
This is about an actual strategy for living and a skill that you and I can master in order to support our own wellness and wellbeing. Those that we love, those around us and everybody that we interact with, and together as a whole, we can really shift our culture into one that is more kind and of service to one another. And isn’t that what you and I want? That is the why of Time to be Kind with Marly Q. Our vision is a World where Everyone Performs Acts of Random Kindness. Our vision, I used to say that, and I used to say my vision because this was the vision that I had back when I was 10 years old. And if you want to listen to my Ted Talk where I share the story, I will also link it in the show notes. And since I was 10 years old to date, where I’m going to celebrate a big birthday this year, I’ll tell you more about that later in another episode.

12:41
This whole time I still believe in this vision, and I’ve grown to learn that it’s not about me or you, it’s about we and the power that we have to create this world that we all wish to see. A World where Everyone Performs Acts of Random Kindness.. And my mission as a kindness influencer, as a speaker, as a leadership coach, as a community builder here with you right now as your friend, my mission is to simply be the spark of kindness, connection, and community. The one that reminds you of how important it is to practice kindness in your everyday life towards yourself, towards those around you, and to the greater community in whatever capacity you are able to. And to also remind you that no act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted, you can be the spark of kindness today. Because every day is an opportunity to Perform Acts of Random Kindness. #wePARK

13:37
The hashtag for my movement that I started in 2010 together with a small group of people and has grown organically to thousands, maybe countless of lives by now, started with a birthday party. A birthday party where I stood on stage, invited my friends and say, Hey, I wanna inspire you to PARK and I wanna call this movement “wePARK” and we’re gonna start a nonprofit, and we’re gonna start all this. And that all started in September of 2010. So we’re gonna be celebrating a big anniversary this year and a big birthday this year in September of 2023. And you all will be personally invited more on that later. But for now, I wanted to record this episode to really give you the why, to start with why our vision, our mission, and really the how are we going to create this world where everybody performs acts of random kindness.

14:22
How we’re gonna do it is by showing up and being that spark of kindness in your own homes, in your own mind, in your own family, in your own workplaces, in your community, and in whatever way you can extend that kindness out into the world in your small way. It all makes a difference each and every day. That’s what I’m here to remind you to. I’m so, so excited for what we have in store for season two of Time to be Kind with Marly Q, thank you for joining me on this through Facebook group. If you haven’t already, request the access to join by simply clicking the link here in our show notes, and it’s gonna ask you for your email address. Please give us a good preferred email address that you actually open, because that’s where we’re going to be emailing you every time we have our, podcast episodes. And you don’t wanna miss it, right? Our promise is not to spam or to ever sell your information. It is safe with me. So please, go out there, put your actual email address so that we can send you our podcast Community emails. They’ll be inspirational and they will enrich your life with the spark of kindness, I promise.

OUTRO

Thank you for spending this time with me. I cannot wait to see you next week. If you liked this episode, please go ahead and hit a like or a comment, subscribe, review. Do your part to spread this message, because Time to be Kind with Marly Q is with YOU. The only way that we’re gonna spread kindness is by doing it together. So thank you again for being part of this movement to spread kindness worldwide. See you next time!

All Kids Included

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Upcoming Event

“Kindness is not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” ~ Andrew Iskander

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Upcoming Event

My Someday is Now

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Upcoming Event MANkind Summit May 17-19, 2023www.mankindsummit.com

“Kindness is lighting someone else’s torch with your own inner flame.” ~ Unknown

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Upcoming Event MANkind Summit May 17-19, 2023www.mankindsummit.com

But I Want to Fly

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“The wound is where the light enters you.” ~ Rumi

LOUD about Kindness

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“Kindness disrupts the energy of fear and opens up flow for love, abundance and wealth.” ~ Adrianna Foster

Global Village of Kindness

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“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” ~ Helen Keller

Seizing Happy with GiGi Diaz

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“Seizing happy is our responsibility as human beings on this planet.” ~ GiGi Diaz

The King of Kindness with Marly Q

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“Kindness is a choice, and our brain is wired to be kind.” ~ Patrick Morris

Don’t Quit on YOU with Marly Q

Click here to register: SMARTEST Planning Workshop

Express Lane to a Kinder World with Nedal Ahmad

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Dr. Maya Angelou

Let’s Start with Why (and How)

“We can raise our standard to treat ourselves, each other, and this world that we all inhabit and share, with more kindness.” – #marlyQuotes

Upcoming Event

MANkind Summit May 17-19, 2023
www.mankindsummit.com

Upcoming Event

MANkind Summit May 17-19, 2023
www.mankindsummit.com