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Speaker 1: Hey y'all, Hello Sunshine.

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Speaker 2: Today on the bright Side, we're joined by Olympic gold medalist, author,

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Speaker 2: podcast host, and co founder of the company Family Maid. Yep,

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Speaker 2: we're talking to Sean Johnson East. She's revealing how she

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Speaker 2: overcame a paralyzing fear after the end of her gymnastics career,

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Speaker 2: the secret to winning Dancing with the Stars, and the

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Speaker 2: key to her loving marriage. It's Monday, September ninth on

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Speaker 2: Danielle Robe.

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Speaker 3: And I'm Simone Boyce and this is the bright Side

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Speaker 3: from Hello Sunshine, a daily show where we come together

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Speaker 3: to share women's stories, laugh, learn and brighten your day.

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Speaker 2: On my Mind Monday is brought to you by missus

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Speaker 2: Myers Clean Day inspired by the goodness of the garden.

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Speaker 3: Happy on my Mind Monday, Danielle, one of my favorite.

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Speaker 1: Days of the week.

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Speaker 3: It's time to start the week off on the right

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Speaker 3: foot with some fresh perspective.

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Speaker 2: What you got all right on my mind today is

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Speaker 2: an article straight from the New York Times with the

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Speaker 2: headline a life review can be powerful at any age.

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Speaker 3: Okay, life review. I don't know that I've heard this

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Speaker 3: term before. Tell me more.

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Speaker 2: Okay, So it's interesting. It's exactly what it sounds like.

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Speaker 2: It's a reflection of your past done through writing. So

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Speaker 2: it started in the sixties to help people at the

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Speaker 2: end of their lives make peace with their legacies.

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Speaker 3: But this article that you found it says a life

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Speaker 3: review can be powerful at any age. So what is

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Speaker 3: the argument for doing this, Let's say now in our thirties.

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Speaker 2: This is why I call you smart, Simone. You read

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Speaker 2: into the details, you journalist. You're right, okay. So new

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Speaker 2: research suggests that people at all ages get value from

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Speaker 2: the process of reflecting on past experiences. The process can

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Speaker 2: actually reduce depression, anxiety, and increase life satisfaction. I know

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Speaker 2: it may not sound it because sometimes it's hard to

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Speaker 2: go back in time and think and assess.

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Speaker 1: But take it from Jane Fonda. She spent the year before.

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Speaker 2: She turned sixty doing life review and she said it

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Speaker 2: actually helped her cultivate confidence. So I heard about this

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Speaker 2: originally from Jane Fonda, but this article changed my perspective

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Speaker 2: about it because I didn't know you could do this

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Speaker 2: with a professional. So some people do it with a

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Speaker 2: therapist or a facilitator. I guess one of the most

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Speaker 2: popular forms is a guided autobiography. Here's the thing that's cool.

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Speaker 2: If you want to get a professional to do it,

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Speaker 2: I'm really into doing this on your own. And if

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Speaker 2: you want to, there's a few books that we can

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Speaker 2: recommend to start this. So one of them is The

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Speaker 2: Handbook of Structured Life, review by Barbara Khit and Writing

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Speaker 2: Your Legacy by doctors Fenson and Richard Campbell.

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Speaker 1: I haven't read those two. That's what comes recommended.

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Speaker 2: The third book is one that I've personally read and

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Speaker 2: feel really connected to. It's called for You when I'm Gone.

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Speaker 2: Twelve Essential Questions to a life story. Rabbi Steve Leader

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Speaker 2: wrote it and he calls it an ethical will, something

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Speaker 2: that you leave behind for your children or your loved ones.

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Speaker 2: And he has twelve questions or prompts. Do you want

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Speaker 2: me to read you with you?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Okay?

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Speaker 2: What do you regret? When was the time you led

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Speaker 2: with your heart? What was your biggest failure? What is

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Speaker 2: a good person?

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Speaker 1: What is love? How do you want to be remembered?

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Speaker 1: And what will your final blessing be?

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Speaker 2: And I actually interviewed Rabbi Leader about this book, and

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Speaker 2: I thought these questions are sort of simple. Didn't you

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Speaker 2: want to make them a little bit more intricate, and

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Speaker 2: he said he made them really simple on purpose, which

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Speaker 2: changed my mind about things.

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Speaker 1: I actually agree with him.

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Speaker 2: When you're writing an ethical will or a life review,

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Speaker 2: it's i think, more philosophical. You want people to share

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Speaker 2: stories more than you want like a precise perspective.

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Speaker 3: Also, an approach that I've used whenever I'm crafting questions

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Speaker 3: in my line of work is thinking about how kids

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Speaker 3: ask questions, because they ask questions in such a simple, pure,

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Speaker 3: straightforward way, and I see a lot of these questions

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Speaker 3: are so basic and so far fundamental that it sounds

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Speaker 3: like my four year old would ask it, like what

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Speaker 3: is a good person?

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Speaker 4: What is this?

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Speaker 1: Exactly?

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Speaker 3: Using the language of children can really point us to

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Speaker 3: the truth. I really love this, this idea of doing

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Speaker 3: a life review. I'm so glad that you brought it up.

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Speaker 3: It's something that I've been thinking about, you know, with

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Speaker 3: our parents getting older, wanting to maximize the time that

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Speaker 3: we have with them and make sure that no stone

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Speaker 3: is left unturned and that we feel like we're just

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Speaker 3: having conversations that are filled with meaning. I know you

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Speaker 3: and I are really passionate about doing that in our

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Speaker 3: own lives. And I've seen all these ads for those

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Speaker 3: card games where it's questions for your parents, and I've

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Speaker 3: thought about, you know, what are the kinds of questions

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Speaker 3: that I should be asking my parents to have a

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Speaker 3: meaningful conversation with them about their legacy.

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Speaker 2: I sometimes think about asking those questions on camera so

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Speaker 2: that my future children can see my parents at this age.

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Speaker 2: I think there's something really special about it. And I know,

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Speaker 2: you know, there's so many things that were told to do,

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Speaker 2: so many.

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Speaker 1: Hacks or tricks or this or that.

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Speaker 2: This is one that I think is really doable and meaningful.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and with the idea of a life review, it's

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Speaker 3: funny like that. A lot of the examples in here

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Speaker 3: are you know about writing your own autobiography or kind

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Speaker 3: of compiling your thoughts and your sentiments about your life

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Speaker 3: and putting it into an autobiography format.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I actually think of my life in movie scenes. I

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Speaker 3: think because I am, I'm a really visual learner, and

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Speaker 3: that also is a philosophy that's helped me center my

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Speaker 3: own desires in my life. You know, the term main

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Speaker 3: character energy is like so corny, but if you think

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Speaker 3: about what it means to like truly take on that

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Speaker 3: main character persona and center your own desire in life

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Speaker 3: and not suppress it like we've been conditioned to. That's

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Speaker 3: something that's helped me create memorable vignettes and scenes.

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Speaker 1: I think that's such beautiful advice.

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Speaker 3: Well, our guest today is someone who's already done all this.

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Speaker 3: She wrote about her life in her twenty twelve autobiography

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Speaker 3: called Winning Balance. What I've learned so far about love, faith,

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Speaker 3: and living your dreams. Shawn Johnson East is an Olympic

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Speaker 3: gold medal winning gymnast who competed at the two thousand

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Speaker 3: and eight Games in Beijing at just sixteen years old,

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Speaker 3: and then she retired from the sport in twenty twelve,

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Speaker 3: just before the Olympic trials. Now her life looks completely different.

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Speaker 3: She's the co founder of the company Family Made, which

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Speaker 3: she started with her husband and former athlete Andrew East,

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Speaker 3: and together they have three kids. They co host their

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Speaker 3: podcast Couple Things, and they share their life with their

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Speaker 3: nearly two million subscribers on YouTube.

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Speaker 2: There's so many things to talk about. All of it

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Speaker 2: is coming up after the break.

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Speaker 3: Thanks to our partners at missus Myers. You can learn

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Speaker 3: a lot about a person by their dish soap. Missus

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Speaker 3: Meyer's collection of household products are inspired by the garden

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Speaker 3: and pack up punch against dirt and grime.

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Speaker 5: Visit missus Myers dot com. We'll be right back, Sean,

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Speaker 5: Welcome to the right side.

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Speaker 4: Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 2: Okay, So, we were so captivated by the Olympics. We

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Speaker 2: interviewed a ton of Olympians, a ton of commentators, and

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Speaker 2: we saw that you recently said that experiencing the Olympics

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Speaker 2: with your kids was better than any gold medal.

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Speaker 1: Did you mean that?

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Speaker 4: Yeah? I did, I really did.

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Speaker 1: You have to tell me why?

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Speaker 6: I feel like I feel like you get really deep,

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Speaker 6: really fast into that. But on a like a lighter

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Speaker 6: side of it, back when I was at the Olympics,

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Speaker 6: I felt like that was the most important thing in life,

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Speaker 6: Like who I was as a person was a gymnast,

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Speaker 6: and all the value I had in myself had to

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Speaker 6: do with performing.

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Speaker 4: Well.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, and it was such an amazing accomplishment and something

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Speaker 6: I'm so proud of even to this day. But being

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Speaker 6: back at the Olympics, sitting there watching with my kids,

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Speaker 6: who mean so much more to me than any Olympical

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Speaker 6: medal ever, will was just really special and to be

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Speaker 6: able to like one, I feel so blessed to have

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Speaker 6: like a life where I could take them to the Olympics.

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Speaker 6: So it's almost like a paying tribute to how I'm

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Speaker 6: able to take my kids there. But it was a

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Speaker 6: very special moment to say, like that is cool watching,

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Speaker 6: but like this is so much better, Like sitting with

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Speaker 6: popcorn with my babies is the most special moment ever.

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Speaker 1: And you got to bring them into your world.

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Speaker 4: I did. I did.

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Speaker 6: I brought my daughter, my four year old, to the

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Speaker 6: all around competition in gymnastics, and we sat and watched

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Speaker 6: the entire thing, and she was actually really into it.

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Speaker 6: She kept referring to Simone as the best, like she

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Speaker 6: didn't know her name, and she saying, Mama, but where's

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Speaker 6: the best?

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Speaker 4: And I was like.

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Speaker 6: What she said, the blue leotard the best. I was like, Simone,

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Speaker 6: It's really funny.

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Speaker 1: She already knows at four years old.

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Speaker 6: I think she's also used to hearing me talk about

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Speaker 6: how Simone is the best.

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Speaker 3: Well, Sean, you were at the top of your game

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Speaker 3: when you decided to leave the sport. I mean you

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Speaker 3: were twenty years old and a star gymnast. You'd earned

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Speaker 3: one gold medal and three silvers at the two thousand

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Speaker 3: and eight Beijing Olympics. Who did you want to become

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Speaker 3: on the other side of that decision to retire.

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Speaker 4: Someone who had value outside of the sport.

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Speaker 6: I truly felt like when I retired, where I was

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Speaker 6: either going to push myself to a breaking point in

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Speaker 6: gymnastics where it just wasn't worth it. I knew my

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Speaker 6: mind wasn't there and my body wasn't there. I knew

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Speaker 6: had I pushed through, it just wasn't going to end well.

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Speaker 6: And I was doing it for all the wrong reasons.

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Speaker 6: And I had this whole group of people around me saying,

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Speaker 6: just finish your gymnastics run, like, just finish, go to

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Speaker 6: the Olympics, try to make the team and keep going

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Speaker 6: because like you're almost.

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Speaker 4: There type thing.

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Speaker 6: And when I retired and tried to protect myself, I

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Speaker 6: was like, I know, this isn't my thing anymore.

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Speaker 1: Do you remember the moment you realized it was? What?

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Speaker 1: When did you not was done?

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Speaker 6: I think Olympic Trials in twenty twelve. I remember walking

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Speaker 6: into a practice one day and we like warmed up

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Speaker 6: and our first event was beam. I don't know why

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Speaker 6: I remember this so vividly, and I remember like getting

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Speaker 6: my assignments from my coach saying you have to do

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Speaker 6: this today, and I remember I got up on the

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Speaker 6: beam getting ready to do like my first assignment, and

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Speaker 6: I just stood there and it was truly like a

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Speaker 6: switch had flipped. I don't know how to explain it

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Speaker 6: other than I felt such peace. I felt a hundred

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Speaker 6: percent sure, and literally in that moment, I was.

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Speaker 4: Like I'm done. Wow, I'm done.

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Speaker 6: And I literally got down off the beam and I

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Speaker 6: told my coach, which I was like, I'm going to

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Speaker 6: go home, which is like one not something you would

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Speaker 6: ever do in our gym. And I literally just grabbed

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Speaker 6: my bags and walked out and submitted like my letter

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Speaker 6: of retirement that day.

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Speaker 4: And it was like, Nope, we're good, We're done here.

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Speaker 6: I knew, Sean, the gymnast was done and that was

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Speaker 6: a chapter that was closing, and I needed to go

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Speaker 6: find what was next.

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Speaker 2: Well, you recently did an interview with l magazine reflecting

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Speaker 2: on that time in your life, and you said this,

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Speaker 2: I only knew how to do handstands. I was paralyzed

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Speaker 2: by this fear of not being good at something or

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Speaker 2: not living up to the Olympic standard that people expected

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Speaker 2: from me. I felt like I couldn't even try new

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Speaker 2: hobbies because if I wasn't automatically good at them, people

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Speaker 2: would be like, well, you're an Olympic gold medalist, you

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Speaker 2: should be. It's so interesting because as unique as your experiences,

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Speaker 2: I think that fear is a very universal feeling, especially

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Speaker 2: when you're making a big transition.

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Speaker 1: How did you get over that fear?

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Speaker 4: My husband one hundred percent.

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Speaker 6: It wasn't until I met my husband that I don't

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Speaker 6: know what it was about him, and I think that's

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Speaker 6: truly why we connected so well.

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Speaker 4: But he's just this guy who can.

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Speaker 6: Make anyone feel like they're on top of the world

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Speaker 6: because he cares so much about who you are as

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Speaker 6: a person. Every single person he meets on the street.

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Speaker 6: He could care less what your titles are, what you've

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Speaker 6: done in life, what your job is. He truly just

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Speaker 6: like wants to know your heart. And when we started dating,

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Speaker 6: he was one of the first people that actually invested

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Speaker 6: in me. He never talked about the Olympics, he never

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Speaker 6: talked about gymnastics, and he made me feel like I

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Speaker 6: had value outside of that. It was the first time

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Speaker 6: where like he would take me, I don't know, to

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Speaker 6: top golf, and I wouldn't feel this crippling anxiety of oh,

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Speaker 6: I need to be really good at this because everyone

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Speaker 6: thinks I'm an Olympic gold medalists and I should be

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Speaker 6: go to everything. He would have so much fun just

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Speaker 6: being miserably bad at things and he just didn't care,

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Speaker 6: and it just unlocked this thing in me where I

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Speaker 6: felt the freedom to start trying things again.

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Speaker 4: Wow.

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Speaker 6: And he would have to handhold me through it for

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Speaker 6: a long time before I felt like I could go

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Speaker 6: do it that on my own. But he truly allowed

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Speaker 6: me to rebuild who I was and just encouraged me

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Speaker 6: through every miserable failure that I had, which was great.

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Speaker 2: Okay, so I want to ask you about your man.

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Speaker 2: You guys were both elite athletes, so you were a

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Speaker 2: top gymnast for seventeen years, and then your husband, Andrew

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Speaker 2: East played in the NFL until twenty twenty two, and

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Speaker 2: you both were transitioning out of being professional athletes at

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Speaker 2: a really similar time. I'm so curious how you supported

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Speaker 2: each other and walked through this.

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Speaker 6: So we did go through it in very like similar

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Speaker 6: times in life phases, but I will say we are

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Speaker 6: just far enough apart that we did feel like a

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Speaker 6: little up a little down. I was transitioning as we

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Speaker 6: started dating and he was still in college, and then

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Speaker 6: we had been together.

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Speaker 4: Probably three or four years before.

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Speaker 6: He went into the NFL, and was in the NFL

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Speaker 6: for four or five years before he transitioned out, So

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Speaker 6: there was a good chunk of time for me to

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Speaker 6: kind of remove myself from the transition of elite athletics

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Speaker 6: and then be able to have gone through all the

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Speaker 6: hard stuff and then watch him have to go through

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Speaker 6: the hard stuff and be able to support him. And

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Speaker 6: I will say it was really really cool being able

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Speaker 6: to kind of ying and yang that together because when

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Speaker 6: we met and he was in his heyday of college athletics,

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Speaker 6: I was kind of at my low. He fell in

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Speaker 6: love with me at rock bottom, which I think is

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Speaker 6: really really cool. So then I just felt like I

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Speaker 6: was on top of the worlds from that moment forward

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Speaker 6: because he would just celebrate anything that I ever did.

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Speaker 6: And then seeing him transition, I was already in love

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Speaker 6: with him and got to kind of help pick him

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Speaker 6: back up and re gather his life together the elite athletics.

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Speaker 4: Having both gone through.

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Speaker 6: It is hard because we're so competitive and we're so stubborn.

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Speaker 1: With each other, oh.

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Speaker 6: With everything, absolutely everything, But it also lets us relate

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Speaker 6: on a deeper level and understand each other on a

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Speaker 6: deeper level.

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Speaker 4: That helped us get kind of get through those times

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Speaker 4: in life.

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Speaker 2: We have to take a quick break, but we'll be

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Speaker 2: right back with Sean Johnson East. And we're back with

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Speaker 2: Sean Johnson East. So Danielle and I often talk about

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Speaker 2: friendship on our show. We even have a friendship advice

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Speaker 2: segment called Asking for a Friend where we bring in

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Speaker 2: experts to help us navigate tricky relational situations. And it

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Speaker 2: sounds like you're something of a friendship expert at this

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Speaker 2: point as well. Can you give us the backstory on

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Speaker 2: your friendship with fellow gymnasts Nastia Luken.

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Speaker 6: Oh, I would say the secret to Nasty and I

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Speaker 6: getting past our breakup was ripping off a band aid.

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Speaker 6: And all of us women have been there where it's like, oh,

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Speaker 6: I just don't know how to say hi or no,

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Speaker 6: she needs to be the first one to say something,

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Speaker 6: or you get paralyzed by this fear of like who's

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Speaker 6: going to make the first move and the way Nasty

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Speaker 6: and I had like rekindled our friendship was both of

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Speaker 6: our boyfriends at the time got so tired of us

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Speaker 6: talking about each other and literally like stalking each other

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Speaker 6: that they were like, you guys need to stop, and

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Speaker 6: you guys need to talk to each other, Like I

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Speaker 6: don't want to hear you talk about each other anymore.

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Speaker 6: And I just kind of took a leap of faith

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Speaker 6: and I wrote a very long email letter just kind

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Speaker 6: of dishing out all my feelings and I sent it

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Speaker 6: to her and I literally wrote in the email, I

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Speaker 6: do not expect you to like say anything in return.

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Speaker 6: I just need you to know how I feel and

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Speaker 6: know that I'm here for you no matter what. If

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Speaker 6: a day comes in your life where you want to

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Speaker 6: come back to this friendship, I am here. And it

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Speaker 6: was so interesting to hear her response, and it was immediate,

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Speaker 6: it was like within minutes, and it was like, I

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Speaker 6: feel the exact same way. I have missed you, and

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Speaker 6: I've wanted this friendship more than anything for the past

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Speaker 6: eight years, but I haven't known how to say that.

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Speaker 6: And I think what I would tell people is that,

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Speaker 6: like Roman Empire that replays in your mind, you're probably

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Speaker 6: both feeling the same exact way, and you're both standing

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Speaker 6: in each other's.

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Speaker 4: Way to like fix it.

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Speaker 1: How long did you not talk?

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Speaker 5: For?

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Speaker 6: So very long story short, Nasty and I were like

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Speaker 6: inseparable best friends when we trained together for the Olympics.

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Speaker 6: We went to the Olympics, we roomed together. We were

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Speaker 6: best friends, but we were also each other's top competitors.

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Speaker 6: I was sixteen, she was eighteen, and there was this

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Speaker 6: immense pressure put on us from the public and from publicity.

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Speaker 6: They basically took the Olympic Games and pitted Nastia versus Sean.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god.

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Speaker 6: And then after the Olympics, the press just ran with it.

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Speaker 6: Every media opportunity, every endorsement deal. It was like her

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Speaker 6: or I, our agents didn't like each other, and at

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Speaker 6: sixteen and eighteen, we just really didn't know how to

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Speaker 6: navigate that. Wow, it was just it just got very toxic,

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Speaker 6: but not from us. It just the world made us

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Speaker 6: feel like we weren't supposed to like each other. It

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Speaker 6: was very odd and it was very hard to navigate

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Speaker 6: and emotional.

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Speaker 3: When you're a young girl who's you know, maybe somewhat impressionable,

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Speaker 3: your first time in the spotlight there's no way that's

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Speaker 3: not going to have an impact on your friendship.

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Speaker 6: Absolutely. So we actually went eight years starting from the

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Speaker 6: Olympics and not speaking. Oh but I don't know how

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Speaker 6: to explain this. Like we knew every single move each

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Speaker 6: other was made in life. I knew where she lived.

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Speaker 6: At one point we lived like down the road from

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Speaker 6: each other, and we knew that. Like we were literally

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Speaker 6: just doing life circles around each other, almost on purpose.

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Speaker 4: And so eight years by we send the email. I

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Speaker 4: was in New York City.

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Speaker 6: We met up for lunch like a day after this

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Speaker 6: email was sent, and it was almost like not like

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Speaker 6: we hadn't skipped to be and it was just in time.

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Speaker 6: I was getting ready to be married. It was I

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Speaker 6: think it was like a two months before my wedding.

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Speaker 2: So was was she at your wedding? She was, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: that's so beautiful. Yeah, I'm so happy you guys came together.

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Speaker 1: I love this story. See it can happen, friendships can

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Speaker 1: come back. Oh my god. Okay, well this is a

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Speaker 1: little bit of a left turn.

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Speaker 2: But you went from winning the Olympics to winning Dancing

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Speaker 2: with the Stars and that show. First of all, I

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Speaker 2: think it's one of the only shows that families can

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Speaker 2: watch together.

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Speaker 1: Still, I really like it.

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Speaker 2: Yes, you like really used the show so well to

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Speaker 2: launch this personal brand of yours. I'm so curious how

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Speaker 2: you went about that, and if you have any refinements

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Speaker 2: or tools that you used or how you thought of

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Speaker 2: it that would be helpful for people listening and us.

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Speaker 6: I would love to tell you that it was strategic,

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Speaker 6: but it was not. I truly felt like in my

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Speaker 6: gymnastics career I was painted, not in a false way,

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Speaker 6: but I felt like they missed so much because my

404
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Speaker 6: gymnastics career was very different than like the stereotypical gymnastics career.

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Speaker 6: I went to public school, I went to prom, I

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Speaker 6: had boyfriends, I had a coach that would take me

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Speaker 6: to Dairy Queen after practice every day. I truly was

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Speaker 6: like a kid who loved what I did as an

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Speaker 6: extracurricular activity. And at the Olympics, they just wanted to

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Speaker 6: paint me as like this machine. Oh, she was just

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Speaker 6: born to do this. She's put in, you know, thousands

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Speaker 6: of hours and so on dancing with the stars. I

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Speaker 6: don't think I had a strategy or a refinement of

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Speaker 6: my brand. I just think they got to showcase how

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Speaker 6: much fun I was having, and so it made me

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Speaker 6: like maybe seem more relatable and not as like machine

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Speaker 6: like to people, because like they would catch me crying

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Speaker 6: or giggling or acting like a fool, which you aren't

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Speaker 6: used to seeing in such a mechanic sport like gymnastics,

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Speaker 6: And so then it just kind of opened the door

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Speaker 6: for me to be a fool in life and have fun,

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Speaker 6: which is good.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think the fun that you're talking about is

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Speaker 2: very evident on your podcast and your YouTube channel. Just

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Speaker 2: a little background, you met your husband during the Dancing

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Speaker 2: with the Star's time, so you guys fall in love.

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Speaker 2: I did you are fools in love? Shall we say?

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Speaker 6: Yeah?

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Speaker 2: And then you start this YouTube channel and you have

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Speaker 2: your podcast called Couple Things, and you recently launch Family Made,

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Speaker 2: which is a platform for young parents. And I am

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Speaker 2: fascinated by family content because all my girlfriends say they

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Speaker 2: cannot even get their kids to pose for a Christmas photo.

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Speaker 2: So I'm so curious how you approach kids and social

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Speaker 2: media and how you're thinking about this.

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Speaker 6: It's an ever changing process because our kids are growing

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Speaker 6: up and we don't ever ask them to be in

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Speaker 6: front of the camera. We don't tell them to pose.

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Speaker 6: We don't like try to include them, if that makes sense.

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Speaker 6: We started doing you too because my husband was on

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Speaker 6: the road with the NFL and I was on tour

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Speaker 6: after the twenty twelve Olympics, and we were doing like

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Speaker 6: family vlogs to almost just show each other what was

444
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,000
Speaker 6: happening in life. And then we happened to like say, oh,

445
00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,400
Speaker 6: this would actually be interesting for people to see how

446
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:23,600
Speaker 6: the NFL works and what we're doing. And then we

447
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,000
Speaker 6: started a family and if you were to have met

448
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,399
Speaker 6: my husband's father when he was here, this is what

449
00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 6: he did. He videotaped every second of his child's life

450
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:39,359
Speaker 6: and made family videos out of it, and it is

451
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:40,199
Speaker 6: just something that was a.

452
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:40,919
Speaker 4: Part of their family.

453
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,479
Speaker 6: Never a YouTube channel, but like he just videoed life

454
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,359
Speaker 6: and he always wanted to preserve that, and so that

455
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:53,440
Speaker 6: was passed on to my husband and we have hundreds

456
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,640
Speaker 6: and hundreds of videos that the world has never seen

457
00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,600
Speaker 6: that we just make for family, and the ones that

458
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:01,919
Speaker 6: the world does get to see. It's kind of like

459
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,919
Speaker 6: we're trying to showcase snippets of our life in a

460
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 6: way that honors our children, never exposes them or embarrasses them.

461
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,480
Speaker 6: Or shows you know, weaknesses, but just shows kind of

462
00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:19,280
Speaker 6: our life through the lens of parenting. More than anything, Sean,

463
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:20,359
Speaker 6: I have a task for you.

464
00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:23,800
Speaker 1: I need you to I need you che You have

465
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 1: so many jobs. What task? Okay, she's a woman for

466
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:27,440
Speaker 1: this job.

467
00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,200
Speaker 3: I need you to invent an app or some sort

468
00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:36,960
Speaker 3: of software company something that helps parents organize our videos

469
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,200
Speaker 3: and photos of our kids. I know, because this is

470
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,760
Speaker 3: the thing I want to be like your father in law.

471
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:45,239
Speaker 3: I want to be that parent who films everything. But

472
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,159
Speaker 3: I just am amassing, like thou, tens of thousands of

473
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:50,760
Speaker 3: videos and I don't know what to do with it.

474
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:51,760
Speaker 1: Same.

475
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,639
Speaker 6: Also, nobody prints pictures anymore. In putting myself Yeah, and

476
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,800
Speaker 6: I'm like, I desperately want like photo books.

477
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:00,639
Speaker 4: But how do you go back.

478
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,720
Speaker 6: Through fifty thousand pictures of my child from the past

479
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:04,320
Speaker 6: five years?

480
00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:07,560
Speaker 4: Yeah, and pick out fifty I don't.

481
00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:08,560
Speaker 1: Know, Sean.

482
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 3: I was listening to your podcast and hearing you and

483
00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,640
Speaker 3: your husband talk about how you have this weekly non

484
00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:18,560
Speaker 3: negotiable date night on Thursdays, and I just think this

485
00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,800
Speaker 3: is such an admirable thing that you both do and

486
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,280
Speaker 3: adhere to, and it's such a great message and narrative

487
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:29,119
Speaker 3: for other married folks to hear. How else do you

488
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,000
Speaker 3: prioritize your marriage while raising kids, Because it's so easy

489
00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,160
Speaker 3: to just allow the focus to be on our offspring

490
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:37,320
Speaker 3: and forget about each other.

491
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:39,920
Speaker 6: It takes a lot of work and it takes a

492
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:42,919
Speaker 6: lot of commitment. It's I don't just mean commitment to

493
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,359
Speaker 6: your husband, I mean just commitment in general. It takes

494
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:50,040
Speaker 6: a lot of discipline. My husband and I do the

495
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:54,240
Speaker 6: weekly date nights, and we have a mutual agreement and

496
00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,000
Speaker 6: we're on the same page in the understanding that if

497
00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:01,840
Speaker 6: we aren't each other's best friends and on the best

498
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:06,600
Speaker 6: possible wavelength as husband and wife, then we cannot be

499
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:11,160
Speaker 6: the best parents. And I think if anybody hears that,

500
00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 6: you can agree with that, because if you are mad

501
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,400
Speaker 6: at your husband, you are not the best parente.

502
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 4: So my husband and I do a bunch of things.

503
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,320
Speaker 6: So we do weekly date nights what we call bevtime

504
00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:25,840
Speaker 6: every single night. So after we put the kids down,

505
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,439
Speaker 6: we meet at the dining table for ten minutes. We

506
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:31,119
Speaker 6: each have a glass of water or a glass of

507
00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:36,199
Speaker 6: wine or something. We have one drink and it's just

508
00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:40,880
Speaker 6: ten minutes to reconnect, debrief from the day, go over

509
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,000
Speaker 6: the next day and just say hi, I missed you

510
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,679
Speaker 6: today and reconnect as husband and wife. We also do

511
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,280
Speaker 6: monthly checkups is what we call them, where we go

512
00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:55,680
Speaker 6: out to coffee and it's a safe space for us

513
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:57,560
Speaker 6: to bring up anything that has been.

514
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,120
Speaker 4: Bothering ooh with like each other.

515
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:03,760
Speaker 6: Or yeah, be like it's you can bring up anything

516
00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:08,040
Speaker 6: and it has to be unemotional, unattached and truly just

517
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:09,040
Speaker 6: like safe space.

518
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:09,840
Speaker 1: I like that.

519
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:16,240
Speaker 6: We also do couples therapy. We do how often we

520
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:20,120
Speaker 6: have been doing. Actually after we had our third kid,

521
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:26,600
Speaker 6: we started this. It's like a sixteen week intensive. It's

522
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:30,520
Speaker 6: like a couple's sixteen week course, but we meet once

523
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:35,320
Speaker 6: a week for two hours individually with counselors.

524
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,679
Speaker 4: That then the counselors talk to each other. Uh so

525
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:40,680
Speaker 4: it's like marriage therapy but separate.

526
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:41,360
Speaker 1: Interesting.

527
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,000
Speaker 4: It has been life changing. Really, it is the greatest

528
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,640
Speaker 4: thing I've ever done. So, yeah, we do a lot.

529
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:48,720
Speaker 1: What is it called.

530
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:53,040
Speaker 6: It's called rock house. Very cool shout out. It has

531
00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:53,919
Speaker 6: changed our life.

532
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:55,000
Speaker 1: Thanks for sharing that.

533
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:56,960
Speaker 4: Yeah, but we do a lot.

534
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:01,320
Speaker 6: We take it very very seriously because we just think

535
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,119
Speaker 6: that marriages are so vulnerable in today's society and culture

536
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:09,720
Speaker 6: that if we don't work very hard every day, you

537
00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:13,159
Speaker 6: can see how easily they can fall apart. And we

538
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:14,840
Speaker 6: don't ever want that to happen, so we put a

539
00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:15,760
Speaker 6: lot of effort into it.

540
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:17,640
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for sharing all of that. That's

541
00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:20,840
Speaker 3: it's all so valuable, yeah to hear. I also want

542
00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,640
Speaker 3: to get your hot takes on a few parenting approaches

543
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,440
Speaker 3: because I know how we run things in our household.

544
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,879
Speaker 3: It all feels like very fluid and it's ever evolving,

545
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:33,439
Speaker 3: and I'm so curious to hear how other parents handle

546
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:40,880
Speaker 3: things so great, first up, gentle versus authoritative parenting both

547
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:42,440
Speaker 3: good answer.

548
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,160
Speaker 4: I mean why people who say they can only gentle parent.

549
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,360
Speaker 6: I'm like, you either don't have a boy or your

550
00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,520
Speaker 6: children are just thank you, yeah.

551
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:57,160
Speaker 5: Thank you, yess looking around to see if anybody here, Caesar,

552
00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:57,880
Speaker 5: I just.

553
00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:02,120
Speaker 1: Feel so seen in this moment. Yes, yes, yes to that.

554
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,479
Speaker 6: I also think every child is just so different, so

555
00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:10,360
Speaker 6: some like my daughter gentle parenting, absolutely, yeah, my son

556
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:16,760
Speaker 6: he's just he just lives wide open. He's so larger

557
00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:19,760
Speaker 6: than life that he needs like clear boundaries.

558
00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 3: Yep, I say, gentle parents say for gentle kids, that's absolutely,

559
00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,800
Speaker 3: it's not. It's not for everyone. Okay, what about screen time?

560
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:29,160
Speaker 3: How do you approach this?

561
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,320
Speaker 4: I mean, I don't.

562
00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,479
Speaker 6: I melted my children's face off with a screen on

563
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,480
Speaker 6: an eleven hour flight. Yes, you can have it for

564
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:45,440
Speaker 6: eleven hours straight. But then at home, I'm like, I

565
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:48,200
Speaker 6: try to say, go outside. Yes, we don't need the

566
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:50,160
Speaker 6: screen in the morning. We don't need the screen at night.

567
00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:52,920
Speaker 6: If I'm home by myself with the kids and I

568
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:55,520
Speaker 6: need a cook dinner, cool, go watch a little show.

569
00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:57,920
Speaker 6: I try to make sure it's like a decent show.

570
00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:03,080
Speaker 6: But everything in moderation totally. We live in a world

571
00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,680
Speaker 6: of screens that you need to teach them boundaries around it,

572
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,520
Speaker 6: that they can't have open access whenever they want, that

573
00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:16,480
Speaker 6: there are rules involved, and that it's not necessary for life.

574
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:19,560
Speaker 3: As well, whenever my son's behavior is getting a little

575
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:23,520
Speaker 3: bit out of control, I do a check to see, okay,

576
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 3: how much TV has he been watching lately, and usually

577
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,760
Speaker 3: there's a direct correlation. They get like over stimulated, So

578
00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:33,120
Speaker 3: easy we do. It's a drug for them. It's the

579
00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:34,960
Speaker 3: closest thing to a drug for them. That's how it

580
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,520
Speaker 3: impacts their brains. But all that to say, like I'm

581
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,480
Speaker 3: not villainizing screens. I use them when I need to,

582
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,680
Speaker 3: but again, moderation. That's the message here. And then when

583
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:48,560
Speaker 3: it comes to the role that sports play in your kids' lives,

584
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:50,880
Speaker 3: what's your philosophy there.

585
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:57,800
Speaker 6: M I think sports are absolutely amazing for children, because

586
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,200
Speaker 6: I think any child with too much for time, nothing

587
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:01,800
Speaker 6: good happens.

588
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,200
Speaker 1: Sean, my mom calls sports the anti drug.

589
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:11,480
Speaker 6: Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. I don't think I don't have any

590
00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,680
Speaker 6: pressure on my children to be good at sports.

591
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:15,120
Speaker 4: I could care less.

592
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,080
Speaker 6: I don't have any pressure on my child to be

593
00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:22,960
Speaker 6: in certain sports or activities. But I think extracurriculars teach

594
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:28,840
Speaker 6: kids discipline, responsibility, teamwork, so many life lessons that are

595
00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:33,440
Speaker 6: so beneficial, and they keep them out of trouble.

596
00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:38,720
Speaker 2: Sean, your memoir came out years ago, and in it

597
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,480
Speaker 2: you wrote and sort of questioned could you find the

598
00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,160
Speaker 2: right kind of success in life? And this was right

599
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:49,360
Speaker 2: after your gymnastic career had wrapped. I'm wondering if you

600
00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:50,160
Speaker 2: feel like you have.

601
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:55,520
Speaker 6: Oh, yeah, absolutely, because I became a mama and a wife.

602
00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,120
Speaker 6: And I'm not saying like that is what my definition

603
00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:04,360
Speaker 6: of successes for everyone, but for me, I feel very

604
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:08,560
Speaker 6: content and I feel very happy, and I feel like

605
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 6: I have a purpose that has a lot of value

606
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:11,800
Speaker 6: to myself.

607
00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,120
Speaker 4: So yes, I do.

608
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:15,360
Speaker 1: I love that.

609
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:19,080
Speaker 2: Sean, thank you so much for joining us on the

610
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 2: bright Side today.

611
00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:22,200
Speaker 1: Sean, You're the coolest. Thank you so much.

612
00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:24,760
Speaker 4: Thank you, sir. Are you ladies, It's a lot of fun.

613
00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:30,880
Speaker 3: Sean Johnson East is an Olympic gold medalist, New York

614
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:34,760
Speaker 3: Times bestselling author, winner of Dancing with the Stars, and

615
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,520
Speaker 3: one of the founders of Family Maid.

616
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:43,040
Speaker 1: That's it for today's show.

617
00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:47,240
Speaker 2: Tomorrow, we're talking to musician, author, and TV personality Cheeky's

618
00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,040
Speaker 2: all about her new show Cheeky Sinfieldtrow and what it

619
00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:53,160
Speaker 2: was like to accept a star on the Hollywood Walk

620
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,800
Speaker 2: of Fame for her mother, Jenny Rivera Klas. She even

621
00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:01,680
Speaker 2: gives us some big sister advice. Listen and follow the

622
00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:05,240
Speaker 2: bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

623
00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:06,400
Speaker 2: you get your podcasts.

624
00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:07,560
Speaker 1: I'm Simone Voice.

625
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:11,000
Speaker 3: You can find me at simone Voice on Instagram and TikTok.

626
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,880
Speaker 1: I'm Danielle Robe on Instagram and TikTok. That's r O

627
00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:17,240
Speaker 1: b A Y. See you tomorrow, folks.

628
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:19,800
Speaker 3: Keep looking on the bright side