WEBVTT - Finding Your Personal Power with Rhonda Ross | TBT 0:00:01.600 --> 0:00:04.760 On this week's episode of Cultivating her Space. 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:07.760 You have to first know that it's not bad luck 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:10.920 that you're in the position you're in. The world is 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:13.680 not against you. Matter of fact, the world is for you. 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:17.640 The universe has got your back. Once you can do that, 0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:21.280 then all the practices open up. 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:26.440 Today's episode is sure to provide you with motivation, inspiration, 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:30.680 or a fresh perspective. If you have any AHA moments 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:34.600 or appreciate anything from this episode, please leave us a 0:00:34.600 --> 0:00:37.520 review to let us know we're on the right track. Also, 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:41.960 we release episodes every Friday, so be sure to subscribe 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:46.760 on iTunes and visit cultivatingheirspace dot com to access our 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:52.080 exclusive after show and other bonus content from the Patreon tab. 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:57.480 Welcome to Cultivating her Space, a podcast dedicated to uplifting 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:02.000 women like you where you're goss yes, Doctor Dominique Broussard, 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:04.760 a college professor and psychologist. 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:08.400 And Terry Lomax, a techie and motivational speaker. In a 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:13.480 world where black women are often misrepresented and misunderstood, please 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:18.240 join us as we initiate authentic conversations on everything from 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:21.640 fibroids to fake friends and create a safe space where 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:22.720 black women can just. 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:30.440 Be Hey, lady's doctor dom here from the Cultivating her 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:34.480 Space podcast. Are you currently a resident of the state 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:39.840 of California in contemplating starting your therapy journey? Well, if so, 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:44.759 please reach out to me at doctor Dominique Brusard dot com. 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:50.320 That's d R D O M I N I q 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:55.920 U E b r O U ss ar D dot 0:01:56.080 --> 0:02:00.960 com to schedule a free fifteen minute consultation. I look 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:02.040 forward to hearing from you. 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:06.680 All Right, lady, Today we have a very special guest 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:11.200 in Cultivating her Space. This guest shines right like a diamond, 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.840 and she can teach us a lot about finding our 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:17.040 value when we're all alone, which is very valuable for 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:21.120 all of us. Right. Ronda Ross is a personal power expert. 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:25.560 She's determined to shine her unique light even in an 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:29.200 already bright sky. An already bright sky is the term 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:33.160 Ronda uses to describe a world where those around us 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:38.000 are thriving, sometimes making us feel overlooked or left behind. 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:41.239 It's also a world where those around us seem to 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:44.480 be asking us to either dim our light or focus 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:48.839 it on them. Ronda was born in an already bright sky. 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:53.440 Her mother is music and fashion icon Diana Ross and 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:58.280 her father is Motown founder Barry Gordie. But Ronda has 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:02.160 found the power to not get law and her family shimmer. Instead, 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:06.800 she has carved out an authentic and shining life for herself, 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:13.639 full of integrity, love, fortitude, and joy. Ronda is now 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:18.679 an international singer, songwriter, Emmy nominated actress, and an inspirational 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:24.160 speaker who teaches us to love ourselves unconditionally, take responsibility 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:28.519 for our lives, and shine our unique lights even in 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:34.920 an already bright sky. Oh what a beautiful bio. Ronda, 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:40.720 Welcome to cultivating her Space. Thank you. 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:41.880 I'm so happy to be here. 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.400 Thank you, thank you, You're so welcome. 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:49.480 Yes, we are so excited to have you here. And 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:54.720 so we are going to get started with our quote 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:58.600 of the day now, Rhonda. Our quote will or this 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:02.520 quote will sound incredibly familiar to you because these are 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:08.560 your words. So our quote of the day. We have 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:13.760 everything we need inside of us, every single thing for 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:18.440 every single challenge. Now I'm gonna say that one more 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:20.600 time for the people in the back, because I need 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:26.359 them to pause and write this down. We have everything 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:33.800 we need inside of us, every single thing for every 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:41.720 single challenge. RNDA, Who I mean that quote of the 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:48.680 day is just like, it's only a small sample of 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:53.880 all of the inspirational words that you have been sharing 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:58.520 with folks. And so with this particular quote, what was 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:03.000 the inspiration? What came up for you? What comes up 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.000 for you now when you hear it? 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:10.120 That quote came out of these last two years of 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.680 the pandemic, because I think many of us have been 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:19.000 hit with things that we never expected. Not just physical 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:21.960 things like being locked down or we were never locked 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:26.440 down before, or having our children school from home that 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:30.840 we'd never done before online, et cetera, et cetera, but emotionally, 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:35.480 the fear, the anxiety, the loss, the grief, all of that. 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:40.280 I think we have found ourselves in positions we've never 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:45.280 been in before. And what I believe I knew before 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.000 the pandemic, but I really saw in the last two years, 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:51.520 is that inside of us, we each have. 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:57.119 A well of spirit of energy. 0:05:57.200 --> 0:05:59.880 I call it the force within that will give us 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:03.080 everything we need, just like that quote will guide us 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:09.120 and heal us and soothe our hearts and calm our minds. 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:15.920 And our job is to recognize it, to harness it, 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.600 and to allow it to do its work because it's 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:22.480 there for us and it's in every single one of us, 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:23.640 every single one of us. 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:25.960 That is so beautiful, and I want to get into 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:30.120 how you found that internal light within yourself. So can 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:31.800 you talk to us a little bit about your origin 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:35.440 story and what was the journey to becoming the Rehnda 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:36.640 Ross that we see today. 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:40.280 Yes, my origin story, I love that so much. As 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:44.040 you mentioned in the introduction, I was born in a 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:49.680 very bright sky. So my family and extended family and 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:54.560 friends of family, my mother being the biggest of them, were. 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:58.920 Superstars in a very bright universe. 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:03.840 And when you were born into that, it can be 0:07:03.920 --> 0:07:07.560 a challenge to figure out where is my light? 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:10.120 And what do I do with my light? And does 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:14.680 anybody care about my light? And what's the purpose of 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:15.160 my light? 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:15.840 Right? 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:20.880 Luckily, I was raised by a mother who constantly constantly 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:25.280 told me and my four siblings, you do have your 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:30.880 unique light. It matters, and it's yours to do with 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:32.880 what you want to. You do not have to live 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:36.200 off of my light. So luckily I was raised with 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:40.120 that understanding, but still finding it was still a journey. 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:44.360 So I had found that pretty much three things can 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.640 happen when you're born into such a bright sky. 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:51.920 And I did all three. I bumped into all three 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:52.240 of them. 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:56.200 One of them is that you can abandon your power 0:07:57.000 --> 0:08:03.200 by being embarrassed, an embarrassment of riches, right, being embarrassed 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:05.040 by all the light that's coming at you, all the 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.120 light that's around you, all the light that you were 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:07.520 born with. 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:08.640 You know what's that saying? 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:11.160 You know, he was born on third, but he thought 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:12.640 he hit a you know, he had thought he hit 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:14.600 a triple. You know, well, I was very clear that 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:16.760 I didn't hit a triple. I was very clear that 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:20.960 I was born on third, and there was something difficult 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:25.360 for me to accept that. And what happens is you 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.080 make these limiting beliefs. You come up with these limiting 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:29.760 beliefs that says no, no, no, no no, I don't 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:31.680 want any more, no no, no, no, no, no success 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:34.480 for me, please, no no no, no, no no, no 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:39.240 no love for me, please, because because you've gotten so 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:42.000 much already and you were born on third. So that's 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:44.080 one thing that can happen when you're in a very 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:49.199 bright sky. Another is that you can not know the value, 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:52.720 as I just said, not know the value of your 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:55.079 light or not know exactly where it is, where is 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.120 your lane, what is your thing? And it's really tempting 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:03.920 to fall in to doing other what the exterior people 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.240 expect you to do and expect you to be, instead 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.839 of finding what is truly your north star, what is 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.559 truly your calling. It's really easy to fall into that, 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:17.480 and I was challenged with that to some extent as well. 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:22.679 And then thirdly, when you are surrounded by superstars and 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:26.439 thriving people and people you love on top of it, 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:31.920 it's very simple to feel that your light should be 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:37.640 used in service of their light instead of for yourself. 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:39.760 It's easy to. 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:44.720 Fall into that too. So what I found for many 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:48.360 years is that I was struggling with this already bright 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:52.680 sky scenario. And it was when I was late twenties. 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:59.360 I was at my lowest. My light was dimmed, close 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:03.240 to going out. I was tired, I was discouraged. I 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:06.600 wasn't showing up as my brightest self. I wasn't showing 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:09.199 up as my best self, not in any area of 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:11.240 my life, not my work, not in my art, not 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:14.719 even in my marriage. We were struggling to conceive, we 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:18.280 were dealing with infertility for five and six years, I 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:21.959 felt like everything was stagnant and everything was dark. And 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.920 that's when I started to realize that I had to 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:33.839 illuminate myself. I had to reach inside and harness my 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.480 personal power, that power to shine and that power to 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:40.800 light up a room, and that power to know that 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:44.800 I have a specific and an important and unique light. 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:49.760 And I started crawling myself back from that time, reading 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:54.319 everything I can read about power, about personal power and 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:57.640 looking at all the everyday ways that we abandon it 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.120 and give it away without even noticing we've given of 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:03.280 the way, and all the everyday ways that we can 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:06.040 reclaim it. And that's where I am. 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:13.520 Now. Wow, I just need to take a moment and 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:22.400 soak that in because yeah, like oooh, that is such 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:28.439 a powerful story. And I know, like I have like 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:31.760 like a ton of questions that are coming up from 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:37.959 each different part that that you shared, and but I 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:43.880 want to focus on that personal power right and you 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.839 started you you defined personal power and what that means 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:53.280 to you. But for someone who's listening and they're in 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:57.280 that dark place right where you were in your in 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:03.720 your late twenties, what exactly can how can they tap 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:09.160 into their personal power to come out of that dark place, like, 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:10.559 what does that look like? 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:15.480 Yeah, the first thing that I think has to happen 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:22.319 is that you have to realize how you have to 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:24.480 be responsible for your own life. Is what I was 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.959 going to say, your own predicament, your own situation doesn't 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:31.600 mean you're at fault. Fault and responsibility are two different things. 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.959 Fault is who did it. Responsibility is who can get 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:38.160 you out of it, whatever predicament you find yourself in. 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:40.120 So that's the first thing. 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:44.120 When I was in that dark place, I did not 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:47.280 know at first that I had the ability to pull 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:48.040 myself out of it. 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:50.040 I was blaming everyone else. 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:53.719 I was blaming everyone in my life, my agent, the 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:56.080 casting agency, you know, nobody was giving me a job, 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:59.840 and my husband was doing this and you know, blaming 0:12:59.880 --> 0:13:02.599 it everybody. But the first thing is you have to 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:05.280 realize that the buck stops with you. I wrote a 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:10.480 song called Nobody's Business, and chorus goes, ain't nobody's job 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:14.080 to make you happy, nobody's job to pull you through. 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:18.760 Ain't nobody going to give you sunshine that light's inside 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:23.640 of you. Ain't nobody going to seek your freedom? Your 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:27.080 heart will lead you through. You're the one to choose 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:31.959 how you're feeling. Ain't nobody's business. If you do, it 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:36.880 is really our job and our ability, our ability to 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:38.320 pull ourselves out. 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:39.079 So that's number one. 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:42.600 Once you admit that to yourself and accept that, really 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:47.200 accept the responsibility for your life, then there's a myriad 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:49.240 of practices. 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:52.600 Then you get better at self care. 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:57.199 Then you can get better at boundaries, right, Then you 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:00.400 get better at communicating your needs. Then you can better 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:06.000 at really investigating your own feelings and thoughts and untangling them. 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:09.000 Then you can do all the work, but you have 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:12.640 to first know that it's not bad luck that you're 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:15.520 in the position you're in. The world is not against you. 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:19.200 Matter of fact, the world is for you. The universe 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:22.000 has got your back. Once you can do that, then 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.280 all the practices open up, all the practices open them. 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:29.840 That is just amazing. I got emotional you were singing. 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:32.400 The lyrics of your song are so powerful, and I 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:35.120 just appreciate all the gems of wisdom that you've already 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.440 dropped around. I love how you made the distinction between 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:41.320 faults and responsibility. Who you can put a whole sermon 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:43.560 on that, because I think it's so important for us 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:46.720 to realize that even though we didn't cause this situation, 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:49.400 like we are, we can be the hero of our 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:50.080 own stories. 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:52.120 And so I love to touched on that we have 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:54.640 to be We are the only ones who can be 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:56.600 the year of our own story. 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:00.760 Yeah, that's just so powerful. And thinking about self boundary, 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.840 you talked about communicating your needs. One thing that really 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:06.400 stood out to me. And I know we're going to 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.640 touch on other topics here, but I think about pressure, right, 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:13.120 I think about expectations from family, from friends, and I 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:15.480 think that many of us have faced that in our lives. 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.440 But you definitely seem to be the expert on this 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:22.680 because of just how bright the stars were and your 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:25.760 sky and thinking about how you navigated that. Can you 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:29.520 talk a bit about the comparison game and any insight 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.280 or wisdom that you can share with us around comparing 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:36.320 ourselves because our efforts and success it's all subjective, right, 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:41.520 But when you have folks that are thriving, that are superstars, 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:44.320 like around the globe, they're well known. You're trying to 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:46.600 find your space in the world. How did you battle 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.440 or how did you face comparison in that journey? 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:54.240 That was a challenge for me because my mother specifically, 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:57.840 you know, is so loved, just so loved around the world, 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:04.800 and so many of her fans would love a second coming. 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:08.680 They would love Ronda Ross to be Dina Ross junior. 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:15.600 And it's something that I have tried to both fight 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:20.120 against but also found myself falling into. Sometimes there's really 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.880 a mix, you know, but mostly in terms of the 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:28.280 comparison game. I realized there is only one Dinor Ross, 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:31.880 and anyone trying to copy that woman is going to 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:38.280 get their feelings hurt. So I knew that I can't 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:42.760 be Dina Ross. But I also it took me some time, 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:46.760 but I also discovered there's only one render Ross, and 0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:49.000 I can be her really well. 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:50.560 I get that woman. 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:54.560 I know how to do that, and so the goal 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:59.880 for me was recognizing the value in that and not 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:03.800 feeling like I had to be a certain way to 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:08.359 be loved or be accepted. So I really, I really 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:12.720 had to find my truth. I think everyone has to 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:14.920 do that. I don't think you need to have Diana 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:19.760 Ross and Barry Gordy as your parents to recognize the 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:25.840 challenge the value in find in finding your own north 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.800 Star and finding out who you are and what makes 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:31.760 you tick and what makes you want to wake up 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:36.600 in the morning, and and and finding your lane. That 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:39.520 was really a thing for me, finding my own look 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:43.280 on the stage, you know, as a singer, I really 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.720 felt for a long time people wanted to see me 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:49.720 a certain way. And in my case, I love my mother, 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.160 I love what she has created in her life. 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:56.960 I love my father. I think Motown is an incredible achievement. 0:17:57.400 --> 0:17:58.000 I mean all of that. 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:00.440 So I didn't want to push against the way that 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:02.399 a lot of children of might want. 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:02.880 To fight back. 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:05.560 I you know, I'm not that Well, that was not 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:06.480 my thing either. 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:11.080 Right, I'm I'm thrilled and honored and blessed to be 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:14.680 from that from this bright sky. The only question is 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:17.480 how do I still shine? So yeah, So that was 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:20.840 definitely a challenge for me to find that, and still 0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:24.040 is a challenge. I'm always kind of looking forward. You know, 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.160 I'm a grown woman with a career and all kinds 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:31.400 of stuff, and I still get calls, you know, either 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:34.880 for my mother, you know, oh hey, you know, can 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:36.720 you ask your mother to do such and such? No, 0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:40.760 you can call her manager or asking me to do 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:44.639 things that are clearly based in just the fact that 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:47.159 I'm her daughter. I mean, it's still it's a constant 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:51.360 it's a constant work, you know, it's a constant work. 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:54.440 And again not and not to fall into it, you know, 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:58.280 not to you know, just to constantly remind myself of 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:00.960 my own value and and what I have to say 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:01.960 and what my message is. 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:13.000 Well of your message, your latest venture is amazing. A lady, 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:17.760 if you are listening and you have not subscribed, I 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:20.919 need you to go on ahead right now and subscribe 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:25.879 to the Force within. Oh so, Rond, but can you 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:28.840 tell us more for those ladies who haven't subscribed yet? 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:33.800 What is the force within? So? 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:38.560 The Force Within is a column a series of articles 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:41.680 that I've been writing, and they're findable on my website. 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:45.240 My website is Theerhonduross dot com t h E r 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:48.400 h O n d A r O s s dot com. 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:53.600 And it's a series of articles about personal power, how 0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:58.399 to harness it, what is it, how to recognize it, 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:01.880 how to trust it? And I use my personal life 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:06.600 and my personal stories as launch pads for the lessons 0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:10.800 that I've learned. And I'm thrilled about writing this article 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:13.080 of these articles because this is. 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:13.640 What I love. 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:15.800 This is what I talk about with my friends and 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:18.240 my family, and this is what I do. 0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:22.440 And you can't have a conversation with me without me 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:28.119 trying to help you recognize your power. So I'm thrilled 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:30.639 to be able to be putting pen to paper and 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:33.159 doing that. You know, I'm also writing a book right now, 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:35.720 So then the book is about all of this that 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:39.560 we're talking about, you know, finding your power in an 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:41.920 already bright sky, and so that's what I love. 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:44.760 We need this more than ever right now. So this 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:46.800 is so timely. We're so grateful for the work that 0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:49.320 you're doing. And if you could tell us a bit 0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:54.560 about one of the topics that's been most challenging for you, 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:57.159 if you've been like diving in and writing about it, 0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:58.200 what topic would that be? 0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:01.040 Oh, there's a lot of them. 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:06.280 Which no, really, this has been I mean these two years, 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:08.640 and if I were to be frank, I even feel 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:10.920 like the second year was harder for me than the first. 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:14.320 Somehow, this past year was challenging. 0:21:14.440 --> 0:21:17.440 So what I think the thing I've been writing the 0:21:17.520 --> 0:21:20.359 most about that I would say has been my biggest thing. 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:23.040 The reason why twenty twenty one was so challenging for 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:26.240 me is because I dealt with anxiety for the first time. 0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:30.000 I don't remember dealing with anxiety in my life before. 0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:35.159 And there was just something about what went down, you know, 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:38.440 between all the mandates and all the stuff, all the 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:44.199 competing news stories, and I'm not even a big news watcher, 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:48.840 but it just made me feel It made me feel powerless, 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:51.639 and I felt like I really had to do my 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:57.520 work daily, daily, daily, to get myself back in my power, 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:05.240 to calm myself, to untangle my fears, to soothe myself, 0:22:05.280 --> 0:22:07.560 all the self care things that we know, journaling and 0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:11.720 meditating and walking and eating well and sleeping. 0:22:12.440 --> 0:22:15.080 I'm really not a television watcher, and I'm especially not 0:22:15.160 --> 0:22:17.560 a news watcher. I get my news. I try to 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:21.320 get I try to get the actual news and then 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:23.320 leave all the talking heads somewhere else. 0:22:23.400 --> 0:22:25.639 Like I don't exactly I don't deal with that. 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:28.359 But something about two thousand and one, even more so 0:22:28.520 --> 0:22:32.119 than twenty twenty. Strangely enough, twenty twenty was scary. Of course, 0:22:32.280 --> 0:22:34.680 we didn't know anything about the virus, and we had 0:22:35.119 --> 0:22:36.440 these lockdowns and all of that. 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:37.240 That was scary. 0:22:37.359 --> 0:22:40.880 But for some reason, my anxiety really spiked in twenty 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:43.800 twenty one and that was my first time. So I 0:22:43.960 --> 0:22:45.840 really I've been writing a lot about that. If you 0:22:45.920 --> 0:22:48.359 go through the articles, you'll see there's a whole bunch 0:22:48.440 --> 0:22:53.440 about anxiety and fear and getting your head around that, 0:22:53.600 --> 0:22:56.840 and getting your heart around that, and protecting your heart 0:22:57.400 --> 0:23:00.879 and head and protecting your mental health. You know, I 0:23:01.040 --> 0:23:04.520 really feel that. I think many of us were more 0:23:04.640 --> 0:23:08.680 damaged than we realize of all ages. And I still 0:23:08.720 --> 0:23:10.840 think we have a lot of healing to do around 0:23:11.240 --> 0:23:14.400 what we went through and to some extent what we're 0:23:14.400 --> 0:23:17.960 still going through, both with COVID and now with Ukraine, 0:23:18.119 --> 0:23:21.600 And it's just a lot coming at us at all times. 0:23:21.840 --> 0:23:23.680 You want to be of help, you want to be 0:23:23.760 --> 0:23:26.480 of service, you want to be protected, you want to 0:23:26.600 --> 0:23:29.160 make sure you got what you need if things go down. 0:23:29.280 --> 0:23:31.680 I mean, it's a lot of stuff. So I write 0:23:31.680 --> 0:23:33.879 about that a lot. It's been a lot about anxiety. 0:23:36.720 --> 0:23:39.200 It's so timely, and like you said, there's so many 0:23:39.320 --> 0:23:43.199 people that are definitely able to relate to that because 0:23:44.840 --> 0:23:49.240 in my practice, I know I've heard so many people 0:23:50.119 --> 0:23:54.679 develop that anxiety or recognize that they're having a different 0:23:55.200 --> 0:23:58.840 they're experiencing anxiety in a different way. Because of the 0:23:58.960 --> 0:24:03.040 world that we're living in now, and so I am 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:08.040 so appreciative of your work and what you're doing. And 0:24:08.240 --> 0:24:14.440 so what is one topic that you are excited about? 0:24:14.560 --> 0:24:17.680 So we talk about the challenges, but it's equally important 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:21.040 to focus on the joy. So what is one thing 0:24:21.119 --> 0:24:23.359 that you are excited about writing? 0:24:23.880 --> 0:24:26.840 See the smile on my face. That smile is for 0:24:27.040 --> 0:24:30.080 my son. I have a twelve year old boy who 0:24:31.280 --> 0:24:34.400 he's just my best friend. This is it's getting ridiculous, 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:37.320 Like we're just you know, I heard somebody say once, 0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:40.000 I heard the mother say once, I love my daughter, 0:24:40.359 --> 0:24:44.879 but I'm in love with my son, and I can 0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:45.600 relate to that. 0:24:46.240 --> 0:24:49.520 I love that boy. Like it is ridiculous. So we 0:24:49.640 --> 0:24:50.840