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Speaker 1: You have all the resilience, all the strength, all the love,

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Speaker 1: all the power that you need to bounce back from anything.

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Speaker 1: So forge full steam a hit into what you love

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Speaker 1: and what you care about and all the things that

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Speaker 1: make you whole and live unapologetically.

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Speaker 2: Hey, Hey, Emily, a body here.

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Speaker 3: You are listening to episode two hundred and fifty six

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Speaker 3: of Hurdle, a wellness focused podcast. Reconnect with everyone from

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Speaker 3: your favorite athletes to top experts and industry CEOs about

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Speaker 3: their highest highs, toughest moments, and everything in between. We

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Speaker 3: all go through hurdles in life, and my goal through

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Speaker 3: these discussions is to empower you to better navigate yours

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Speaker 3: and move with intention so that you can stride towards

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Speaker 3: your own big potential and of course, have some fun

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Speaker 3: a lot the way. For today's episode, I am sitting

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Speaker 3: down with Lachina Robinson. She is an award winning host

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Speaker 3: and basketball analyst. You've seen her on ESPN, Fox Sports One,

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Speaker 3: NBATV and more. I am so honored to snag some

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Speaker 3: of her time during her what I'll call her busy season.

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Speaker 3: And trust me, if you watch Lachina do what she does,

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Speaker 3: you would be mystify that there was ever a time

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Speaker 3: that she didn't know that this was her true calling.

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Speaker 3: In today's episode, La China talks to us about the

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Speaker 3: what she calls quarter life crisis, which ultimately convinced her

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Speaker 3: that a career in broadcast and communications was right up her.

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Speaker 2: Ally.

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Speaker 3: A former a basketball player herself, La China really struggled

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Speaker 3: with trying to sort out what came after sport for her,

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Speaker 3: and through a really helpful exercise which she expands upon

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Speaker 3: in our conversation today, she was able to learn about

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Speaker 3: her and confidently march in the direction of her dreams.

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Speaker 3: La China offers up some really helpful advice today for

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Speaker 3: anyone who may be going through a difficult season themselves.

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Speaker 3: Also talks really openly about the concept that there are

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Speaker 3: going to be different people in your life that can

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Speaker 3: show up for you in different seasons, and having the

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Speaker 3: grace to accept that someone may not be able to

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Speaker 3: play the role that you'd hoped they would that doesn't

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Speaker 3: mean that they don't care. On that note, she also

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Speaker 3: shares some really big learnings about the importance of showing

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Speaker 3: up for herself, knowing that we say it all the time,

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Speaker 3: that she's got to put on her own oxygen masks

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Speaker 3: so that she can better show up for those that

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Speaker 3: she cares about as well. La China is a woman

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Speaker 3: that is paving the way for so many others in sports,

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Speaker 3: broadcasting and beyond. Talking today about the importance of being

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Speaker 3: a black woman in front of the camera, commenting on

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Speaker 3: a sport that has so many black players, knowing that

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Speaker 3: in order to be her for so many you have

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Speaker 3: to see her, and she's stepping into this opportunity herself,

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Speaker 3: inspiring woman everywhere to do the same.

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Speaker 2: Love this combo. I know you will too.

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Speaker 3: Do me a solid, Share it with a friend, a

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Speaker 3: family member, post it on your Instagram story.

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Speaker 2: I want to see those tags.

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Speaker 3: Hit us up over at Hurdle podcast and I'm over

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Speaker 3: at emily a Body. Make sure you're subscribed to the

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Speaker 3: weekly Hurdle newsletter. It comes out every Friday morning directly

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Speaker 3: in your inbox. So much of the same motivation inspiration

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Speaker 3: that you love from the show, and it's absolutely free.

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Speaker 2: With that, let's get to it. Let's get to Hurdling today.

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Speaker 3: I am sitting down with Lechaina Robinson. She's a host

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Speaker 3: and award winning basketball analyst over at ESPN, along with

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Speaker 3: so many more things.

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Speaker 4: How are you doing today, I'm doing off some Emily.

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Speaker 1: I just wanted to say, it's great to be here

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Speaker 1: with you, especially with that hurdle light fixture you have

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Speaker 1: in the back.

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Speaker 4: It's it's incredible. I'm inspired by that.

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Speaker 3: It's always fun for me to connect to with someone

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Speaker 3: who is in the same industry as me because I

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Speaker 3: feel as though the vibes are high. It's you know

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Speaker 3: what you're doing, I know what we're doing, and we're

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Speaker 3: just here to have a great combo.

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Speaker 4: Yes, yes, yes, it is.

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Speaker 1: It is nice because I think when you're speaking to

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Speaker 1: someone who doesn't understand what our business is like, you

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Speaker 1: just don't know where they're gonna go with answers, energy level,

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Speaker 1: any number of things. But I kind of get the

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Speaker 1: gist of what you would like to accomplish, even though

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Speaker 1: I know the subject matter and things like that change.

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Speaker 4: So that feels good to me. I hope it feels

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Speaker 4: good to you.

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Speaker 1: And I do want to say that I usually don't

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Speaker 1: notice things in people's background, but that's a that's a

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Speaker 1: sign for me that I am My age self diagnosed

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Speaker 1: is starting to get better because I'm actually like tuned

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Speaker 1: into the details of the experience in its entirety.

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Speaker 4: So after that long run, I'm sorry, you're back in control.

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Speaker 2: What I'm hearing here.

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Speaker 3: Is that you're very present for our conversation today, which

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Speaker 3: means a lot to me knowing that you have so

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Speaker 3: much going on, especially like I said, commentating over on ESPN,

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Speaker 3: specifically relevant to women's basketball, which is back in full

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Speaker 3: force right now.

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Speaker 1: How is that going for you? This is my favorite

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Speaker 1: time of the year by far. I absolutely love the

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Speaker 1: WNBA season. I love the summer. Some people complain because

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Speaker 1: they feel like summers they're off season from sport, and

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Speaker 1: I'm like, not. For the last twenty seven years it

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Speaker 1: has not been. I love it. There's nothing more that

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Speaker 1: I would rather be doing than covering the best one

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Speaker 1: hundred and forty four women athletes in the world. And yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's my time. I am Waldwall WNBA. And what's so

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Speaker 1: great is, while I am one hundred percent behind expansion,

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Speaker 1: the difference between covering the WNBA and college women's basketball,

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Speaker 1: which I once covered, was there were three hundred and

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Speaker 1: forty four Division one teams right there are twelve WNBA teams.

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Speaker 1: So my ability to get to know these teams in

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Speaker 1: and out in all the details. I know what they

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Speaker 1: ate yesterday. I mean, I know so much about what's

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Speaker 1: happening with them. So it's this league is very much

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Speaker 1: in line with my passion and who I am. So

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Speaker 1: I'm living the life right now.

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Speaker 3: Living the life right now, especially because as the hurdlers,

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Speaker 3: which is what I call my audience, may or may

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Speaker 3: not know, we've got two super teams this year. So

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Speaker 3: for those that don't know what a super team is,

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Speaker 3: give them some insights so they can be inside baseball

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Speaker 3: with us.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so depends on who you ask, but for the

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Speaker 1: purposes of this conversation, I'm going to cover all bases.

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Speaker 4: So it's super team is basically a team.

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Speaker 1: That has been assembled that has an extraordinary level of talent.

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Speaker 1: Now that could be talent on paper, where your draft

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Speaker 1: picks came from, like the Vegas Aces who have four

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Speaker 1: number one picks, which is just wild. That could be

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Speaker 1: a signal of a super team. It could be New

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Speaker 1: York where you have two former MVPs that just came

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Speaker 1: together on the same roster in Brianna Stewart and John

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Speaker 1: Quell Jones. It's rare for two MVPs to end up

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Speaker 1: together because they made a free agency decision to do so,

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Speaker 1: Like sometimes you get two number one picks that are

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Speaker 1: drafted together, so that could be a super team, and

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Speaker 1: then some fans in their mind just feel like their

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Speaker 1: team is a super team. But that probably does not

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Speaker 1: qualify for the purposes of this conversation. So it's really

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Speaker 1: Las Vegas in New York. They have the two most

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Speaker 1: talented rosters, honestly, two of the most talented rosters in

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Speaker 1: the history of the WNBA. So most people think the

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Speaker 1: championship is going to go to one of those two

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Speaker 1: teams at the end of the year.

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Speaker 2: For sure. For sure.

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Speaker 3: You know, I grew up in Connecticut, so I have

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Speaker 3: a soft spot for the Suns, but I live about

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Speaker 3: a ten minute walk from Barclay Center, so I'm in

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Speaker 3: a pretty good space right now.

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Speaker 1: You've got Stewie, You've got Steph Dolson, you know, originally

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Speaker 1: from connectic Well went to Connecticut as far as the

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Speaker 1: husky side of things, But you'll live in the best

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Speaker 1: of both worlds.

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Speaker 3: Living the best of both worlds, and basketball again a

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Speaker 3: passion point for you because you played growing up. Talk

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Speaker 3: to me a little bit about how it feels now

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Speaker 3: to have been able to turn your passion for the

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Speaker 3: sport into a flourishing career.

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Speaker 2: And I'm just going to compliment you there on that way.

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Speaker 4: Thank you.

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Speaker 1: I appreciate that being very generous today on this what Wednesday.

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Speaker 1: So not everyone is going to go pro. I played

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Speaker 1: college basketball. I think one percent of all Division I

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Speaker 1: women's athletes go pro. So you have to find something

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Speaker 1: else to do when you're leegiate careers over in sport.

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Speaker 1: And it's not an easy transition because for most of us,

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Speaker 1: we've been playing for a very long time.

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Speaker 4: It's become a part of our identity.

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Speaker 1: We were basically our entire lives evolved around basketball for

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Speaker 1: at least the last four years of college, if not

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Speaker 1: before then. So I knew I didn't want to go pro,

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Speaker 1: though I was probably different for most. It wasn't that

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Speaker 1: I didn't have opportunities. I just love basketball for what

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Speaker 1: it was, and then I would put it down and

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Speaker 1: go do something else.

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Speaker 4: Like I was not that young.

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Speaker 1: Girl who went to practice and then when I came home,

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Speaker 1: I was back in the yard shooting and sol the

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Speaker 1: lights went out.

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Speaker 4: That was not me.

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Speaker 1: After practice. I was going to get my nails done.

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Speaker 1: I was trying to hang out the mall. I was good,

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Speaker 1: you know, that was me. So in just realizing what

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Speaker 1: my passions, what my natural interests were, what my makeup was,

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Speaker 1: what my specialties were, I realized that playing pro was

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Speaker 1: not for me, coaching was not for me, And so

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Speaker 1: I started this journ you figuring out how could I

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Speaker 1: still stay connected to sport even though that process of elimination,

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Speaker 1: which is a good thing to have, led me to

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Speaker 1: a place to understand that coaching and playing was not

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Speaker 1: in my wheelhouse.

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Speaker 4: Uh.

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Speaker 1: And I was fortunate enough to I started off in

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Speaker 1: athletic administration, thought I wanted to be an athletics director,

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Speaker 1: and then after having a quarter life crisis, ended up

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Speaker 1: in broadcasting.

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Speaker 3: Ended up in a super calm field. So it talk

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Speaker 3: to me a little bit about the quarter life crisis,

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Speaker 3: because I know for certain that a lot of the

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Speaker 3: people listening to this can really relate to the pressure

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Speaker 3: that goes hand in hand with feeling as though you're

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Speaker 3: supposed to have it all figured.

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Speaker 2: Out at such a young age.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and honestly, Emily, this is kind of the I

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Speaker 1: won't say downside, but one of the challenges of being

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Speaker 1: a former athlete.

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Speaker 4: Is that it's hard to turn that off.

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Speaker 1: You are taught to go one hundred and two, to

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Speaker 1: have everything figured out, to check all the boxes, you know,

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Speaker 1: when you're an athlete, and then when you get into

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Speaker 1: the real world, you realize, okay, this is I've had

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Speaker 1: my entire life planned out to me for me practice,

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Speaker 1: scheduling what to eat, what not to eat, what to.

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Speaker 4: Wear, what, you know.

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Speaker 1: I didn't even have to pick out my sweatsuit or

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Speaker 1: my jersey, like it was already done. And so it was.

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Speaker 1: It was a really challenging revelation to get into my

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Speaker 1: first career and I'm like, okay, this isn't going very well.

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Speaker 1: Like I have learned a lot from sport, but honestly,

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Speaker 1: the one thing I learned from sport, which was probably

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Speaker 1: the most damaging thing, was that you have to be

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Speaker 1: excellent every day. And I realized how unrealistic that was.

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Speaker 1: And so once I got to the other side of okay, girl,

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Speaker 1: you made a mistake in picking your first career. That

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Speaker 1: really wasn't that wasn't it. That's when that that's when

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Speaker 1: that quarter life prices happened. And I not only did

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Speaker 1: I feel lost, but I felt I was like physically sick.

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Speaker 4: I was depressed.

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Speaker 1: I was just like, you know, things, this is this

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Speaker 1: post athletic career thing isn't going well at all. And

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Speaker 1: so only through some self reflection and conversation with people

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Speaker 1: that cared about me and love love me, and quite

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Speaker 1: honestly letting go of this dream I once had of

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Speaker 1: this perfect post collegiate career, was I able to then

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Speaker 1: tap into where I was really supposed to be and

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Speaker 1: who I really was.

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Speaker 2: During that dark time. And thank you for sharing that.

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Speaker 3: Did you talk to anyone in the thick of it

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Speaker 3: about how you were feeling or did you feel as

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Speaker 3: though those feelings were ones that you should keep to yourself.

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Speaker 1: I was talking to people about how I was feeling,

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Speaker 1: but I was most urgently concerned with the physical manifestation

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Speaker 1: of it. I honestly believe that, and I think most

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Speaker 1: former athletes feel like this. I could have pushed through

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Speaker 1: the mental side of it. Right in my mind, I'm like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: I got this. I could do this mentally emotionally, if

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Speaker 1: that was it I would have. I think I would

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Speaker 1: have probably not shared anything with anyone. I would have

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Speaker 1: just been depressed on my own, and who knows where

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Speaker 1: that would have taken me, But it was I was

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Speaker 1: physically like everything that I had been holding in emotionally,

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Speaker 1: all those things were manifesting themselves in my body. And

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Speaker 1: so I was having physical symptoms that didn't allow me

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Speaker 1: to pretend like everything was okay. I didn't have a choice.

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Speaker 1: I had to call my parents, I had to you know,

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Speaker 1: I was going to see multiple doctors. There was just

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Speaker 1: so much going on, which would eventually the doctors were like,

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Speaker 1: you are stressed, like you're depressed, Like these are some

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Speaker 1: things because as you know, and that's not for all

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Speaker 1: all physical symptoms, but in my case, my depression, my anxiety.

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Speaker 4: All those things had started manifesting physically.

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Speaker 1: So I did start to share with quite a few

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Speaker 1: people because I wanted help, I wanted prayer, I wanted support.

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Speaker 1: I thought I was gonna die. I was like, I

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Speaker 1: don't feel good mentally, physically or in any other way.

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Speaker 1: So it was I mean, my friends will tell you

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Speaker 1: to this day, they'll say, I hope I'd never have

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Speaker 1: to go through anything like what you went through. But

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Speaker 1: for me, Emily, it was the best thing, honestly that

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Speaker 1: ever happened to me.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Through line of the show, truly talking about the hurdles

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Speaker 3: and how they help us gain a better understanding of

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Speaker 3: not only what we're capable of, but mostly of the

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Speaker 3: fact that we're able to continue to overcome them as

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Speaker 3: they pop up in our way. So, for you going

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Speaker 3: through this period of depression, if you had to offer

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Speaker 3: a piece of advice for someone who feels like they

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Speaker 3: may be going through a similar situation themselves, some of

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Speaker 3: this really is resonating with them.

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Speaker 4: What do you tell them? Let go? Let go?

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Speaker 1: Most of it for me was as soon as life

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Speaker 1: started to get shaky, I wanted to grab everything I

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Speaker 1: had and bring it close to me. You know, my job,

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Speaker 1: my my friends, my all these things like I don't

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Speaker 1: I don't want to lose. I don't want anything about

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Speaker 1: my life to change. Right when, in actuality, you are

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Speaker 1: brought to those moments oftentime to let go of how

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Speaker 1: you've been living, how you've been thinking, sometimes, the people

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Speaker 1: you've been around, the habits you've had, and it's an

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Speaker 1: opportunity to start new. And I'm not talking about clinical depression,

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Speaker 1: which you know, there's obviously medication, which I believe one

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Speaker 1: hundred percent in So I wasn't at that point and

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Speaker 1: I don't want to speak to, you know, anyone that

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Speaker 1: may be struggling in that way. But for me, it

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Speaker 1: was like it was clearly time for some change in

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Speaker 1: my life. So I would just offer that advice to

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Speaker 1: anyone that, instead of trying to fight to keep everything

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Speaker 1: the same, use that moment.

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Speaker 4: As an opportunity for reflection.

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Speaker 3: For you as you moved through this time, who did

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Speaker 3: you look to for support to get.

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Speaker 1: Through at What's crazy is that the people that I

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Speaker 1: thought were going to be there weren't, and not because

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Speaker 1: they didn't want to. It was because they just couldn't

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Speaker 1: handle it. I was always seen as the pillar of strength.

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Speaker 1: So my mom, for example, who lived in Barbados, she

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Speaker 1: could not handle the thought that I was not okay.

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Speaker 1: So she would say, oh, yeah, you'll be fine, just

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Speaker 1: you know, kind of brush it, okay, bye, gotta go.

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Speaker 1: My dad, who lived very close to me, prayed with

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Speaker 1: me every day, went to my doctor's appointments with me,

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Speaker 1: all of that, so he was a very steady presence.

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Speaker 1: But there's someone that I leaned on from Afar, and

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Speaker 1: that was the late Great Kal who was the NC

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Speaker 1: state coach who, as you know, battled breast cancer twice

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Speaker 1: to come to the disease the second time around, but

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Speaker 1: had just a incredible inspirational journey through her fight with

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Speaker 1: bruast cancer to the end where she was coaching on

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Speaker 1: the sideline with a terminal diagnosis, giving everything she could

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Speaker 1: to the players that she coached, because she said, this

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Speaker 1: is my purpose, like and this is where I would

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Speaker 1: want to be in my final days. And her faith

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Speaker 1: in God was Wow. It literally blew me away. And

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Speaker 1: I was saying to myself, le China, this woman knows she's.

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Speaker 4: About to die.

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Speaker 1: You think you're about to die. How would you want

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Speaker 1: this chapter to end? And how can you learn from

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Speaker 1: her faith and utilize that in your life? And so

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Speaker 1: I really leaned on her a lot from Afar and

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Speaker 1: she strengthened me in ways that I never knew someone

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Speaker 1: could without ever touching me, without ever coming into contact

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Speaker 1: with me. She was definitely someone that helped me through

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Speaker 1: that time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Wow, such a beautiful reflection and also so much awareness

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Speaker 3: when talking about what at the time may have been difficult,

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Speaker 3: the wanting your mom's support but realizing now that she

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Speaker 3: wasn't capable of offering it to you.

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Speaker 2: Did you go through a period of reconciliation with that.

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Speaker 1: I have, and it goes hand in hand with our

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Speaker 1: ability to accept people and meet them where they are.

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Speaker 1: Not everyone's going to be able to fulfill the place,

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Speaker 1: the space, the role that you think they should in

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Speaker 1: your life. They may not be equipped, they may not

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Speaker 1: want to, they may want to and just can't for

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Speaker 1: various reasons. And so my mother's inability to be there

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Speaker 1: for me in that time was tough. But I also

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Speaker 1: have now learned so much more about who she is

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Speaker 1: and her capacity that now I know she did the

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Speaker 1: best she could, and oftentimes that has to be enough

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Speaker 1: for us when it comes to our relationships, friends, family,

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Speaker 1: et cetera. Is we don't get to choose what the

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Speaker 1: people around us are capable of doing and their limitations.

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Speaker 1: We can't you know, their experiences, We can't change those things,

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Speaker 1: the things that have shaped them in their lives, And

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Speaker 1: so all we can do is open our arms for

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Speaker 1: the people who can be there in those moments, but

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Speaker 1: also hold a place of grace in our hearts and

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Speaker 1: in our minds for those that aren't able to show up.

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Speaker 1: And so I got to that place with my mom,

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Speaker 1: and I've done that over and over again in my life,

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Speaker 1: and it's probably one of the best lessons I've ever learned.

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Speaker 3: You know, we hear it so often that saying maybe

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Speaker 3: relevant to dating, but not always if they wanted to,

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Speaker 3: they would, right, And that's not always the truth. Someone

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Speaker 3: can want to show up for you, but truly, as

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Speaker 3: you are articulating so beautifully here be incapable of doing so,

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Speaker 3: and it has nothing to do with you.

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Speaker 2: Yes.

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Speaker 1: And you know, one one way, Emily, that I have

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Speaker 1: really realized how true that is is because there's been

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Speaker 1: places that I haven't been able to show up and I.

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Speaker 2: Have about that. Talk to me about that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, in order to best care for myself mentally, spiritually, emotionally,

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Speaker 1: there have been many a thing that I've had to

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Speaker 1: say no to family members, I've had to decline phone

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Speaker 1: calls from. You know, you learn over time the importance

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Speaker 1: of self protection and self love. You only have this

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Speaker 1: much a set amount of emotional energy every day, and

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Speaker 1: when it's gone, it's gone. And so as much as

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Speaker 1: I used to feel like I could help everyone, be

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Speaker 1: there for everyone, be all that everyone needed me to be,

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Speaker 1: the truth is I don't have that capacity, and sometimes

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Speaker 1: I don't have that desire, and at the end of

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Speaker 1: the day, I have to make those decisions for myself

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Speaker 1: because no one else will. And it's hard to get

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Speaker 1: to that point. But it's also probably one of the

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Speaker 1: best realizations I've had, because I've been able to be

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Speaker 1: better to me and for me, because I have now

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Speaker 1: the ability and capacity to say no and not feel

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Speaker 1: guilt and shame for it.

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Speaker 3: Was there a certain event or circumstance that triggered this lesson,

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Speaker 3: this understanding, this level of compassion for you?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I definitely COVID and even the years

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Speaker 1: of the pandemic and the years leading up to it,

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Speaker 1: my emotional capacity shrunk. While most people felt like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: I'm at home so I can do more, I can

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Speaker 1: be more.

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Speaker 4: You know, your job may be shut down.

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Speaker 1: We were all in very different, varying circumstances, but I

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Speaker 1: think we all at some point felt like we had

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Speaker 1: more freedom in our day to day because there were

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Speaker 1: so many things that were closed or that were unavailable

403
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Speaker 1: to us. I actually felt like I had less capacity

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Speaker 1: because I in my mind was processing so many things

405
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Speaker 1: from this pandemic to I'm now interacting with my family more.

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Speaker 1: Holy smokes, is this a good thing or a bad

407
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Speaker 1: thing to you know, like having you know, just not

408
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Speaker 1: feeling like I could handle very much mentally and emotionally,

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Speaker 1: and you know, going into to COVID a few a

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Speaker 1: couple of years before then twenty eighteen, my brother passed away.

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Speaker 1: We had you know, a couple of family crisises.

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Speaker 4: That year.

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Speaker 1: I had gotten into a relationship that I really wasn't

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Speaker 1: mentally prepared to be in. So there were so many

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Speaker 1: things happening and then the world shuts down. I struggled

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Speaker 1: to feel valuable away from work, right, so it was like, okay,

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Speaker 1: what am I good at?

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Speaker 4: I'm not working? Like what am my use? What's my

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Speaker 4: use out here?

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Speaker 1: So, to make a long story short, that was the

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Speaker 1: turning point for me where I said, la China, when

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Speaker 1: you don't have it, you don't have it, like you're

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Speaker 1: it's okay. And I remember my password and I hope

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Speaker 1: it's not my password for anything else now moving forward.

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Speaker 1: But it was replenish because I realized I was not

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Speaker 1: being replenished by myself, by anyone around me. I was

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Speaker 1: constantly pouring out and never getting anything back in.

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Speaker 4: So I shut down.

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Speaker 1: And what I did is I shut down to ground

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Speaker 1: zero during COVID, and I started to rebuild as the

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Speaker 1: pandemic was over based on things that were feeding me

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Speaker 1: in return.

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Speaker 4: Like that's where my list started, was what kind?

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Speaker 1: And that it sounds selfish, right, like we're always we're

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Speaker 1: supposed to pay it forward and we're supposed to and yes,

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Speaker 1: I do all those things, but I am also very

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Speaker 1: aware of my reserves, and I'm very aware of when

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Speaker 1: I don't have free energy, if you will to give,

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Speaker 1: And so that that kind of was the turning point

440
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:33,720
Speaker 1: for me of let's start this over and prioritize my capabilities.

441
00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, such beautiful sentiments. I love that idea of replenish.

442
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,679
Speaker 3: I'm curious what triggered you to get rid of that

443
00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:40,800
Speaker 3: as your password for.

444
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:45,520
Speaker 1: Everything, because I think there was a year associated with it.

445
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,479
Speaker 1: It was like twenty nineteen, and so I was like, well,

446
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:50,840
Speaker 1: you know, it's not twenty nineteennymore, and I need to

447
00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:52,880
Speaker 1: move on from that, so let me you know, it's

448
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,960
Speaker 1: more like just the typing of it. I probably would

449
00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,119
Speaker 1: have kept it if that number was associated with it,

450
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:02,040
Speaker 1: but I like passwords that are reminders of where I

451
00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:03,199
Speaker 1: want my focus to be.

452
00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:07,359
Speaker 4: But let me just shut up before I get.

453
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:07,720
Speaker 2: Away my passwords.

454
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,000
Speaker 3: I've some of them I've been using since literally I

455
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:14,480
Speaker 3: was fourteen, So I cannot goodby any of the answers

456
00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,600
Speaker 3: on this show, any of my passwords on this show,

457
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:19,200
Speaker 3: because they're still in there. But I love this tip

458
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,120
Speaker 3: of making your password. It's something to actually think about

459
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:24,560
Speaker 3: every time you enter it in to your jmail, your

460
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 3: bank account, et cetera.

461
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,199
Speaker 4: Try it in LA going to.

462
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:31,800
Speaker 2: Okay. So then let's dial it back.

463
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:35,760
Speaker 3: Going back to this time you overcoming this really difficult

464
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 3: moment for you in this transitionary period, How did you

465
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:46,320
Speaker 3: first come to the realization that maybe broadcasting, maybe analyst

466
00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:49,000
Speaker 3: work was the right path for you to go down.

467
00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, So when I was in that quarter life crisis,

468
00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:55,600
Speaker 1: and you know, I say I was moving them in

469
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,960
Speaker 1: the wrong direction. I actually liked athletic administration. It just

470
00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,200
Speaker 1: was not fulfilled all aspects of who I felt like

471
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:03,399
Speaker 1: I was at that time.

472
00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:06,360
Speaker 4: So I ended up.

473
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,720
Speaker 1: I guess my trend is always when I'm going through

474
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,040
Speaker 1: some kind of change of crisis, I shut all the

475
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,080
Speaker 1: way down and built some scratch. So I basically took

476
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,760
Speaker 1: everything that I thought I was supposed to be do

477
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,720
Speaker 1: stand for off of the table and reevaluated. And it

478
00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,720
Speaker 1: started with a three sixty feedback exercise I did with

479
00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,040
Speaker 1: some people around me through a leadership program I was

480
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:32,120
Speaker 1: in with the NCAA, where I just started to ask

481
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,360
Speaker 1: other people, like, what makes me special? When I walk

482
00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:37,160
Speaker 1: into a room? What do you think about? What kind

483
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,040
Speaker 1: of things could you see me doing in my future?

484
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,720
Speaker 1: And you know, what do you think makes me unique?

485
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:46,480
Speaker 1: And it not only built confidence in me that I

486
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,359
Speaker 1: needed at that time, but it also allowed me to

487
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:53,359
Speaker 1: see my strengths from other people's perspectives, and I needed

488
00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:55,800
Speaker 1: that at twenty six years old. You think you know

489
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:57,600
Speaker 1: what you're good at, but you don't even realize you

490
00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:00,199
Speaker 1: do so much more and you're so much better or

491
00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:02,879
Speaker 1: things that you may not even realize, And so it

492
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,560
Speaker 1: was really really valuable and it just started to build

493
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:08,159
Speaker 1: my confidence. And from there there was a lot of

494
00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:12,960
Speaker 1: career exploration. I volunteered, I you know, had coffee with

495
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 1: a million people and had discussions about what I thought

496
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,400
Speaker 1: I should be doing next, and was able to eliminate

497
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,640
Speaker 1: a few things and ultimately ended up with broadcasting. And

498
00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:25,680
Speaker 1: I have not looked back and feel like I really

499
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,040
Speaker 1: haven't worked a day in my life.

500
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:29,400
Speaker 2: Wow, so powerful.

501
00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:32,200
Speaker 3: Two things to zublem, the first being what would you

502
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:36,560
Speaker 3: say was the most valuable takeaway you left with from

503
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,199
Speaker 3: that roundtable experience, which in itself is so interesting and

504
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:41,560
Speaker 3: such a powerful exercise.

505
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:45,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was more of it wasn't necessarily feedback from

506
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:49,280
Speaker 1: one particular person because this was actually done electronically, so

507
00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:51,280
Speaker 1: I knew who said what, But it wasn't like we

508
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,280
Speaker 1: were sitting down and everyone was like, oh, yeah, me too.

509
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,440
Speaker 1: But the fact that almost everyone that I interviewed said

510
00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 1: I was a really strong communicator was eye opening to me.

511
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,560
Speaker 1: I never thought I was a good communicator, and so

512
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:11,040
Speaker 1: I was like really and that yeah, I was, well,

513
00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:11,440
Speaker 1: let me.

514
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:13,840
Speaker 4: Take a look. Where could communication get me?

515
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,199
Speaker 1: So it kind of snowballed from there, but that was

516
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 1: the biggest revelation for sure.

517
00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:20,880
Speaker 3: And then the other thing you said, I had, you know,

518
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,159
Speaker 3: hundreds of thousands of coffees, right. I think that that

519
00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:28,000
Speaker 3: is something that a lot of people would feel like,

520
00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:30,520
Speaker 3: I don't want to waste someone's time or no one's

521
00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:33,480
Speaker 3: going to quote unquote have the time to do this

522
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,840
Speaker 3: with me. How did you get individuals to give you

523
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:37,679
Speaker 3: their time?

524
00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:38,920
Speaker 4: Man?

525
00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:45,000
Speaker 1: I networking has one hundred percent got me where I

526
00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:48,640
Speaker 1: am in my career. I am intentional about speaking to

527
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:52,040
Speaker 1: the importance of networking when I'm talking to up and

528
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:59,680
Speaker 1: coming young professionals honestly persistence and not just persistence like

529
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,040
Speaker 1: I'm going to send you one hundred emails, persistence like

530
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,360
Speaker 1: I'm going to send you an email every month or so,

531
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,000
Speaker 1: even when you don't respond. But I'm also going to

532
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,240
Speaker 1: show up at an event you're speaking at and try

533
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,280
Speaker 1: to shake your hand afterwards. And I'm also going to

534
00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 1: sign up for this professional development event that you're putting

535
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:19,920
Speaker 1: on so I can learn more about you. And I'm

536
00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:25,880
Speaker 1: probably also going to watch everything you're doing and try

537
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,720
Speaker 1: to learn and glean from you. And so it's an

538
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,920
Speaker 1: investment when you really find something in someone that you admire,

539
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,880
Speaker 1: or you realize that someone could be that connecting piece

540
00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,040
Speaker 1: from getting you to where you are to where you

541
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,800
Speaker 1: want to be. And I'm realizing this on this side

542
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:47,200
Speaker 1: of my career, and that you just get busy, and

543
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,400
Speaker 1: so many people take offense when they don't get an

544
00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:53,640
Speaker 1: email back or don't get a response I wanted to

545
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:57,880
Speaker 1: I thought your email was fire and I was really

546
00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:00,080
Speaker 1: going to get back to you. I just have a

547
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:01,720
Speaker 1: million other things on my list. So if you re

548
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:05,160
Speaker 1: send that same email next month, I might have a

549
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,640
Speaker 1: second then to respond. And so it's my mother you

550
00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:10,880
Speaker 1: has this saying. And I talked about my mother earlier.

551
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,560
Speaker 1: She's my best friend, like, we have a great relationship,

552
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:19,480
Speaker 1: but she said to me once being offended as a choice.

553
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,240
Speaker 1: And oftentimes we get in our feelings about the way

554
00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:24,520
Speaker 1: somebody responded to us in a public space.

555
00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:29,320
Speaker 4: Well that was kind of awkward. So what everybody's awkward? Right?

556
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:29,560
Speaker 3: Like?

557
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,400
Speaker 1: Or this person was dismissive, or it could have just

558
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:36,360
Speaker 1: been the moment. And so just being compassionate and again

559
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:41,280
Speaker 1: having grace for people and not letting our personal feelings

560
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,480
Speaker 1: towards an interaction or a lack of response or any

561
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:47,520
Speaker 1: of that getting the way of pursuing something that we

562
00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:49,240
Speaker 1: know is important for our development.

563
00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,120
Speaker 3: Taking a break from today's episode to give some love

564
00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,240
Speaker 3: to my friends at Element, I.

565
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:03,360
Speaker 2: Am finally amping up my mileage again.

566
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,880
Speaker 3: Oh my god, saying that sentence makes me so excited,

567
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:10,080
Speaker 3: And honestly, one of my favorite parts is the post

568
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:14,800
Speaker 3: sweat element that I reach for every single time I

569
00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:18,480
Speaker 3: am a I know this is cute, super salty, sweater,

570
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:22,240
Speaker 3: so I know it is critical for me to replace

571
00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:26,320
Speaker 3: the vital electrolytes I lose through sweat, and that is

572
00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:28,280
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573
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:29,640
Speaker 2: It is so delicious.

574
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:32,560
Speaker 3: It always boosts my energy throughout the day, and it

575
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:35,640
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576
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:39,640
Speaker 3: my body before, during, and after a tough workout. Not

577
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,480
Speaker 3: to mention, it's zero sugar and doesn't contain any of

578
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,640
Speaker 3: the other junk I'd find in conventional sports drenths, so

579
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,720
Speaker 3: I do not have to worry about putting any harmful

580
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,280
Speaker 3: ingredients into my body. My go to flavor, the grapefruit,

581
00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,520
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582
00:31:54,680 --> 00:32:01,480
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583
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584
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585
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586
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587
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588
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589
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Speaker 3: delicious flavors with your purchase today. Offended is a choice

590
00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:35,400
Speaker 3: so powerful, So you make this decision communication, you're great

591
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,520
Speaker 3: at it. Broadcasting and or analyst work seems right up

592
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:44,320
Speaker 3: your alley. Who is the networking connection that really helps

593
00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:46,080
Speaker 3: you make it click to get it going.

594
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:50,560
Speaker 4: Yeah, So there were two very important people.

595
00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,400
Speaker 1: I had been doing the radio for our Georgia Tech

596
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,880
Speaker 1: women's basketball team, where I was working full time as

597
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,440
Speaker 1: an athletics administrator. So I have to get shout out

598
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,560
Speaker 1: to Georgia Tech because they allowed me to work full

599
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:06,320
Speaker 1: time and also pursue my career. But I decided to

600
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:10,080
Speaker 1: go to this professional development opportunity at what they called

601
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:13,360
Speaker 1: NAQUA at the time. It's the National Association of Collegiate

602
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:18,320
Speaker 1: Women Athletic Administrators. And I went because I saw that

603
00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,080
Speaker 1: one of the speakers was a woman named Carol Stiff

604
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:25,280
Speaker 1: who was one of the highest ranking women at ESPN.

605
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:29,040
Speaker 1: She was over women's sports programming. I was like, she's

606
00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:31,160
Speaker 1: probably going to say something that I could learn from,

607
00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:36,200
Speaker 1: and so I signed up ended up going to this event.

608
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:40,200
Speaker 1: And that's part of the intentional aspect, right of like

609
00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:44,760
Speaker 1: seeking out people. Don't just go and then sit down

610
00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,719
Speaker 1: and say, oh, this person is here no young professionals

611
00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:51,520
Speaker 1: out there. Check the agenda, know who's going to be there,

612
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:53,920
Speaker 1: know who you want to connect with all that. So

613
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:57,240
Speaker 1: they ended up having an auction where Carol Stiff was

614
00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:01,480
Speaker 1: auctioning off an opportunity to go to ESPN for selection

615
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:03,720
Speaker 1: Monday for the women's selection event.

616
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,600
Speaker 4: So, you know, here's a little twenty five, twenty six,

617
00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:09,480
Speaker 4: twenty seven. I don't know, you're old in the China

618
00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:11,120
Speaker 4: in the crowd, and I'm.

619
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:15,279
Speaker 1: Like, wow, if I could get to ESPN, these broadcast

620
00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:18,880
Speaker 1: dreams could be expedited really quickly. So I'm sitting in

621
00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:20,960
Speaker 1: the crowd and you know they're auctioning it off. It's

622
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:25,919
Speaker 1: like two hundred three hundred. I'm out, I can't afford that, right,

623
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:30,840
Speaker 1: like on my little young professional check five hundred six hundred.

624
00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,360
Speaker 1: You know, they get up to like seven hundred and

625
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:36,839
Speaker 1: they're like the hand in the back. Mary McElroy, I

626
00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:40,400
Speaker 1: was like, what. Mary McElroy is the woman that hired

627
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:42,759
Speaker 1: me to come work at Georgia Tech. She gave me

628
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,839
Speaker 1: the job there. She was the SWA. She ended up

629
00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:48,319
Speaker 1: winning the opportunity to go to ESPN. So as soon

630
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,839
Speaker 1: as that auction was over, I ran up to Mary

631
00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:52,759
Speaker 1: and was like, Mary, I will pay you fifteen dollars

632
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,920
Speaker 1: a month if you let me buy this front. It

633
00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:58,160
Speaker 1: was a little it was a little more than that

634
00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:00,600
Speaker 1: Aby had like twenty five bucks a month. I was like, well,

635
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,440
Speaker 1: please let me buy this from you, Mary, I please,

636
00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:05,480
Speaker 1: I promise, you know. So she ended up let me

637
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:08,799
Speaker 1: buy buy it from her and installments. So I get

638
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:13,520
Speaker 1: to ESPN's campus and Carol Stiff, who was you know there,

639
00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,560
Speaker 1: introduces me to the woman who is over women's basketball,

640
00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:22,440
Speaker 1: who does all their scheduling. And this woman happened to

641
00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:26,160
Speaker 1: be Her name is Tina Thornton. Bless her heart. She's

642
00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:29,719
Speaker 1: still at ESPN and doing an amazing job there. She

643
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,960
Speaker 1: went to Wake Forest. We both went to Wake Forest.

644
00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:38,600
Speaker 1: So there is that little connection point. I mean sometimes, Emily,

645
00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:43,920
Speaker 1: you know that, it's just that little thing. And she

646
00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:47,920
Speaker 1: ended up giving me my first opportunity ESPN, and the

647
00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:48,680
Speaker 1: rest was history.

648
00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:51,600
Speaker 2: I have Cell's first and foremost.

649
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:55,680
Speaker 3: Secondly, that truly all happened for you in the most beautiful,

650
00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:59,000
Speaker 3: beautiful way. And then I've got to know what that

651
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:00,719
Speaker 3: first opportun unity was for you.

652
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,440
Speaker 1: Well, so I had already been doing, like I said,

653
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:09,480
Speaker 1: the radio for Georgia Tech, and I had done some

654
00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:13,719
Speaker 1: little regional basketball coverage when I was working at Georgia Tech.

655
00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:17,560
Speaker 4: But this was the first game ESPN gave me. It was.

656
00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:24,359
Speaker 1: Madison Square Garden, the Maggie Dixon Classic is what they

657
00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,800
Speaker 1: called it. It was Tennessee Past Summit was still on

658
00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:31,600
Speaker 1: the sidelines versus c Vivian Stringer, so two Hall of

659
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:35,240
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame coaches. The other two teams were Boston

660
00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:41,719
Speaker 1: College and Baylor Britney Griner's freshman year. Wow, how in

661
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:43,640
Speaker 1: the world did I end up on this game?

662
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:48,400
Speaker 2: No, your persistence. Your persistence is what landed you on

663
00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:48,920
Speaker 2: this game.

664
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:50,560
Speaker 4: I knew at that moment.

665
00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:53,920
Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, my first ESPN game is in

666
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,360
Speaker 1: Madison Square Garden in Past Summit and Vivian Stringer a coaching.

667
00:36:58,080 --> 00:37:00,040
Speaker 1: This has to be destiny. That's the only thing that

668
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:05,400
Speaker 1: makes sense, because it doesn't make sense any other way.

669
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,280
Speaker 4: So it was. It was really awesome.

670
00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:13,200
Speaker 3: Oh my god, how truly insane. I think I listened

671
00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:16,239
Speaker 3: to a podcast that you had recorded with Sarah Spain

672
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,040
Speaker 3: and Sarah Spain had admitted that she'd never been in MSG.

673
00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:26,239
Speaker 4: Oh yes, I was like, what what? And I can't

674
00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:28,560
Speaker 4: take you seriously as a basketball fan.

675
00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:32,960
Speaker 1: After that, don't tell me Emily if you've never been MSG,

676
00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:34,400
Speaker 1: because oh.

677
00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:36,080
Speaker 2: My god, well, I mean I live in Brooklyn.

678
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:37,880
Speaker 3: If I told you that I'd never been an MSG

679
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:40,279
Speaker 3: and I'd been a New Yorker for almost twelve years now,

680
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:42,600
Speaker 3: literally someone would have to force.

681
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:43,680
Speaker 2: Me to leave New York immediately.

682
00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:48,560
Speaker 4: Yeah, it'd be an evacuation. But Sarah saying thing, Sarah,

683
00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:49,240
Speaker 4: come on.

684
00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:49,640
Speaker 2: Come on?

685
00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:53,920
Speaker 3: Well okay, so truly wow, Like I still have chills.

686
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:56,120
Speaker 2: This whole story is truly remarkable.

687
00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,400
Speaker 3: Did you know from the second that you walked into

688
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:02,880
Speaker 3: that game, that opportunity that this was the path?

689
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:04,320
Speaker 4: Yeah?

690
00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:06,799
Speaker 1: I knew the first time I put a headset on

691
00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:09,279
Speaker 1: when I was doing radio, I was like, I would

692
00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:13,840
Speaker 1: do this for free. And to me, that's how that's

693
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,480
Speaker 1: the kind of work we should be doing every day.

694
00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:19,680
Speaker 1: Is something that we're so passionate about and so connected

695
00:38:19,719 --> 00:38:24,960
Speaker 1: to and so in touch with the mission that we

696
00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:26,799
Speaker 1: would do that job.

697
00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:27,640
Speaker 4: If it paid us nothing.

698
00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:30,799
Speaker 1: And so since I was going to wake up every

699
00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:33,560
Speaker 1: day anyway talking about women's basketball, I might as well

700
00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:34,160
Speaker 1: get paid for.

701
00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:35,360
Speaker 2: It for sure.

702
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:37,759
Speaker 3: So I want to pivot a little bit and talk

703
00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:41,160
Speaker 3: to you about the challenges that go hand in hand

704
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:44,640
Speaker 3: with doing what you do. Let's start first and foremost

705
00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:50,400
Speaker 3: with navigating the commentary of others based on your commentary.

706
00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,120
Speaker 2: How do you feel about that these days?

707
00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:59,440
Speaker 1: You know, my opinion on this has changed over time,

708
00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:05,040
Speaker 1: because cause that's what I do. I provide commentary as

709
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:08,759
Speaker 1: I'm watching basketball, and I comment on people's performances, and

710
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:11,239
Speaker 1: it's just is what it is. And so as a

711
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:14,680
Speaker 1: public figure, I have to expect the same.

712
00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:17,520
Speaker 2: And my.

713
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,879
Speaker 1: Hope and thought in all of it is that even

714
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:26,319
Speaker 1: if you don't like what I'm saying, you respect it

715
00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:30,480
Speaker 1: because I am someone who will always do my homework,

716
00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:35,560
Speaker 1: someone who will come well prepared, unbiased, and ready to

717
00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,719
Speaker 1: just call the game as I see it. So I

718
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:40,799
Speaker 1: have never had a problem with people that are just

719
00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 1: like I don't like her. You know, fine, you're not

720
00:39:44,239 --> 00:39:47,839
Speaker 1: gonna like this is a subjective field, like I don't

721
00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:49,080
Speaker 1: like Okra.

722
00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:52,080
Speaker 4: You know, it just doesn't feel good in my mouth.

723
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:58,520
Speaker 1: But Okrah still is the light in the shining light

724
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:02,719
Speaker 1: in someone's eye, and that's great, and so you know,

725
00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:04,480
Speaker 1: it's it is what it is.

726
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:08,440
Speaker 4: It comes with the territory. And yeah, social media has.

727
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:12,440
Speaker 1: Made it harder because you got to stay off Twitter

728
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,080
Speaker 1: for a while after you've called a big game facts.

729
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:18,080
Speaker 4: But it's fine. It doesn't bother me.

730
00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then talk to me a little bit about

731
00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:25,239
Speaker 3: how it feels for your appearance to be a part

732
00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:26,480
Speaker 3: of what you do for work.

733
00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:28,200
Speaker 4: I don't like it.

734
00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:31,960
Speaker 1: If I could, I would call a game in sweats

735
00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:34,719
Speaker 1: and not do my hair and be eating popcorn at

736
00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:37,319
Speaker 1: the same time. That's why I loved radio so much,

737
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:39,360
Speaker 1: because I didn't have to worry about being on television.

738
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:41,399
Speaker 1: I could just call the game and focus on that.

739
00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:46,759
Speaker 1: So I don't love it because I am the kind

740
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:49,279
Speaker 1: of girl that would probably never put on makeup if

741
00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:54,719
Speaker 1: I wasn't on television, and so that that's been a challenge,

742
00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:57,560
Speaker 1: and I've had to ride the wave of finding myself

743
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:04,640
Speaker 1: in that way. I leaned very heavily towards what I

744
00:41:04,719 --> 00:41:09,040
Speaker 1: thought a reporter or an analyst on television should television

745
00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:14,000
Speaker 1: should look like early in my career, but as I've

746
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,680
Speaker 1: gotten older, I just don't care. The closer you get

747
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,840
Speaker 1: to forty, You're like, I don't have the energy to

748
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:22,240
Speaker 1: care about what other people think anymore.

749
00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:24,359
Speaker 4: So I'm just gonna do what I want.

750
00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,000
Speaker 2: Oh, I am on my way there. I am on

751
00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:28,879
Speaker 2: my way there, and I hear you. I mean, I'd

752
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:29,960
Speaker 2: be even more.

753
00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:34,400
Speaker 3: Interested to hear especially because you know, as a woman

754
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,080
Speaker 3: of color, as you were coming up, there weren't loads

755
00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:41,080
Speaker 3: of women of color commentating in this space. So showing

756
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:44,120
Speaker 3: up and you know, trying to look, so to speak,

757
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:46,279
Speaker 3: how you felt like you should look.

758
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:48,759
Speaker 2: That probably also came with its fair share of challenges.

759
00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:49,600
Speaker 4: It did.

760
00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:52,279
Speaker 1: It did because I didn't see women that looked like me,

761
00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:56,200
Speaker 1: so there was no variety, right, It was like maybe

762
00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:00,040
Speaker 1: and I didn't watch a ton of sport. Actually I

763
00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:01,880
Speaker 1: watch a lot of sports, but I would say the

764
00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:05,640
Speaker 1: black women I remember were like Robin Roberts, Vera Jones,

765
00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:06,480
Speaker 1: and Cheryl Miller.

766
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:10,000
Speaker 4: That was it. And when I.

767
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:14,839
Speaker 1: Looked around the world at sports broadcasters, I saw white men,

768
00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:16,880
Speaker 1: and then when I did see women, they were white women.

769
00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:18,919
Speaker 1: And I can't look like them. My hair doesn't look

770
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,960
Speaker 1: like that, Like we're not the same. And so I

771
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:24,319
Speaker 1: found myself trying to fit into this box of what

772
00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:30,120
Speaker 1: I thought was most hirable and tried to fit the

773
00:42:30,239 --> 00:42:32,840
Speaker 1: palette of as many people as I could, instead of

774
00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:37,120
Speaker 1: staying centered in who I really was, and I didn't realize.

775
00:42:37,120 --> 00:42:40,319
Speaker 1: At first it felt fine. I was like, Okay, I

776
00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:42,000
Speaker 1: gotta get dressed up. I gotta do this. This is

777
00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:45,600
Speaker 1: what TV personalities do. Until I realized that there was

778
00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:47,440
Speaker 1: Every time it was time for me to get dressed,

779
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,000
Speaker 1: I would do something. I was like, why is this

780
00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:53,960
Speaker 1: taking so much energy? And when we tap into those

781
00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:56,719
Speaker 1: feelings and it doesn't matter if it's getting dressed for

782
00:42:56,760 --> 00:43:01,239
Speaker 1: an event or going to a relative's house or going

783
00:43:01,239 --> 00:43:03,799
Speaker 1: to a restaurant that you really don't like it, You're

784
00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:05,960
Speaker 1: just going cause your spouse wants to be there is

785
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:11,239
Speaker 1: like what is that tension? And being willing to explore

786
00:43:11,640 --> 00:43:15,640
Speaker 1: that feeling and what's really there for you and being

787
00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:18,520
Speaker 1: honest with yourself. And so I was like, wow, I

788
00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:23,160
Speaker 1: don't feel like putting this wig on today. I'm gonna

789
00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:25,160
Speaker 1: just wear my hair in a braid down.

790
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:26,520
Speaker 2: Yeah.

791
00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:29,960
Speaker 1: Or the best thing for me to do today is

792
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:32,280
Speaker 1: to not put makeup on my face because my face

793
00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:35,480
Speaker 1: is broken out or I'm sunburn or this has happened.

794
00:43:35,719 --> 00:43:38,200
Speaker 1: But like, am I gonna do what's best for me?

795
00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:40,319
Speaker 1: Or I'm gonna do what I think is best for

796
00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:42,920
Speaker 1: the television audience. And so those are the battles that

797
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:46,960
Speaker 1: I started to face, and it pricked me, and as

798
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:50,799
Speaker 1: you know, what is my go to scaled all the

799
00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:53,560
Speaker 1: way back down and started to peel the layers back.

800
00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:55,719
Speaker 4: So what are you gonna do about it?

801
00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:58,799
Speaker 1: And I just stepped into who I was and what

802
00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:00,520
Speaker 1: I wanted to be and what I wanted to look like.

803
00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:02,520
Speaker 2: How did that feel for you?

804
00:44:02,719 --> 00:44:06,399
Speaker 3: That act of stepping into who you are and what

805
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:07,759
Speaker 3: you want to look like?

806
00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:11,319
Speaker 4: Oh? Man, it funds incredible.

807
00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:14,839
Speaker 1: People used to say when you wear braids, when black

808
00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:17,680
Speaker 1: women wear braids, they would say, this is your vacation hair.

809
00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:19,120
Speaker 4: And it was like No.

810
00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:21,359
Speaker 1: When I was a little girl, when my mother would

811
00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:23,879
Speaker 1: braid my hair, it was a special occasion. It meant

812
00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:26,440
Speaker 1: you were going somewhere. It meant you were getting dressed up.

813
00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:30,160
Speaker 1: It meant like this, this is a big event. And

814
00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:33,520
Speaker 1: I had allowed society to control some of that narrative.

815
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:37,880
Speaker 1: For me that was very deeply rooted in who I

816
00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:41,840
Speaker 1: was in my culture, who I was in family tradition.

817
00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:47,080
Speaker 1: So it felt great because now I was so much

818
00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:50,319
Speaker 1: more authentically in line with who I was and where

819
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:53,640
Speaker 1: I came from. And to me, that's the best person

820
00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:55,719
Speaker 1: you can show up as on television is who you

821
00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:56,160
Speaker 1: really are.

822
00:44:56,760 --> 00:44:59,080
Speaker 3: Yeah, we spoke about the difficulties that go hand in

823
00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:03,720
Speaker 3: hand with other people commenting on your commenting and also

824
00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:06,719
Speaker 3: navigating your appearance on a public stage. What else would

825
00:45:06,719 --> 00:45:09,560
Speaker 3: you say has been one of the biggest difficulties for

826
00:45:09,640 --> 00:45:10,360
Speaker 3: you as.

827
00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:12,120
Speaker 2: You come up in this industry.

828
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:13,880
Speaker 4: Just proving that I belong.

829
00:45:14,840 --> 00:45:18,759
Speaker 1: When I got into this business, it was okay, and

830
00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:22,480
Speaker 1: this was I'm not speaking specifically about ESPN or any

831
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,879
Speaker 1: network or anyone for that matter, but it was okay,

832
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:28,360
Speaker 1: we need a black woman. Li China would be great,

833
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:31,880
Speaker 1: instead of we need someone else who's really good.

834
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:33,280
Speaker 4: Let's take a look at Lachina.

835
00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:36,319
Speaker 1: Always having to prove that I should be a part

836
00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:39,080
Speaker 1: of it and not because I'm am a token black woman.

837
00:45:40,600 --> 00:45:44,160
Speaker 1: Also having to sell the fact that my opinions are

838
00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:48,799
Speaker 1: valuable even though our viewers may not the numbers in

839
00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:53,000
Speaker 1: terms of viewers may not reflect women and my demographic,

840
00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:56,440
Speaker 1: that there is a population out there that appreciates the

841
00:45:56,480 --> 00:46:00,000
Speaker 1: thoughts of black women, that respects the thoughts of black women,

842
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:03,120
Speaker 1: And there absolutely is a population of black women out

843
00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:05,880
Speaker 1: there that would love to take in more of a

844
00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:09,480
Speaker 1: sport experience, except they can't connect with the people that

845
00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:13,680
Speaker 1: they're watching, and so why not bring diversity into sport

846
00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:16,960
Speaker 1: coverage the way we do with every other aspect of life.

847
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:20,520
Speaker 1: If the WNBA is eighty five percent black women, some

848
00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:23,400
Speaker 1: of the people covering this sport should be black women.

849
00:46:23,719 --> 00:46:27,759
Speaker 1: That's been a tough journey, is proving that I belong

850
00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:29,040
Speaker 1: in this space.

851
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:32,400
Speaker 3: Totally understandable. And now I'm just gonna hype you up

852
00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:35,120
Speaker 3: a little bit. Twenty eighteen, you received high honors as

853
00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:38,400
Speaker 3: a recipient of the Dawn Staley Excellence and Broadcasting Award.

854
00:46:38,640 --> 00:46:42,920
Speaker 3: Twenty twenty one received prestigious Mel Greenberg Award, which is

855
00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:45,120
Speaker 3: annually given to a member of the media or sports

856
00:46:45,160 --> 00:46:49,600
Speaker 3: communications professional who has best displayed a commitment to women's

857
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:51,920
Speaker 3: basketball and to advancing the role of media in the

858
00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:55,480
Speaker 3: women's game. Notably, only the second black woman ever to

859
00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:59,040
Speaker 3: win this award. The other was Robin Roberts. So, hearing

860
00:46:59,120 --> 00:47:02,480
Speaker 3: all of that that, knowing your accomplishments and how your

861
00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:06,200
Speaker 3: voice has impacted the game today, how does that make

862
00:47:06,239 --> 00:47:06,720
Speaker 3: you feel?

863
00:47:09,520 --> 00:47:12,160
Speaker 1: I don't even feel like you're talking about me, which

864
00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:16,080
Speaker 1: is so crazy. So I do think that I struggle

865
00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:19,720
Speaker 1: sometimes with I guess they call it imposter syndrome, maybe

866
00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:21,200
Speaker 1: that I feel like, Okay.

867
00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:22,600
Speaker 2: Is that really be?

868
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:24,080
Speaker 4: Am I doing these things?

869
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:28,000
Speaker 1: But what I would say the most rewarding aspect of

870
00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:31,840
Speaker 1: that for me, I haven't shared this with very many people,

871
00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:35,440
Speaker 1: but as Sylvia Fowles was retiring last year, I did

872
00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:38,160
Speaker 1: an interview with her and one of the things she

873
00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:40,520
Speaker 1: said to me before we were done, she was like,

874
00:47:41,520 --> 00:47:44,480
Speaker 1: you were one of the first people on the media

875
00:47:44,560 --> 00:47:48,920
Speaker 1: side of this that made me feel seen. She's like,

876
00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:51,680
Speaker 1: you made me feel seen, You made me feel appreciated,

877
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,520
Speaker 1: and I could never thank you enough for that.

878
00:47:55,800 --> 00:47:59,719
Speaker 4: And it was like wow, And it.

879
00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:04,200
Speaker 1: Was the the biggest compliment I could ever receive. Because

880
00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:06,960
Speaker 1: absolutely part of the reason why I wanted to get

881
00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:09,879
Speaker 1: into covering the WNBA is because I wanted to help

882
00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:13,759
Speaker 1: to amplify the voices of black women, to give more

883
00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:17,839
Speaker 1: visibility to black women. I know how society looks at

884
00:48:17,920 --> 00:48:21,960
Speaker 1: us in our everyday macro role in this world, and

885
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:25,480
Speaker 1: sport is no different. And so to have this woman

886
00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:28,000
Speaker 1: come to me and say, you know, I made a

887
00:48:28,040 --> 00:48:30,799
Speaker 1: difference in how she felt about her experience in this,

888
00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:37,040
Speaker 1: in this in her professional sports career, was It's like wow,

889
00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:39,319
Speaker 1: and so that's the best part for me. If there

890
00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:43,680
Speaker 1: is an athlete, and even just one is enough that

891
00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:46,400
Speaker 1: says because of you, my story was told or I

892
00:48:46,440 --> 00:48:50,080
Speaker 1: felt seen or I felt represented, that's everything for me

893
00:48:50,960 --> 00:48:51,680
Speaker 1: so special.

894
00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:54,879
Speaker 3: You know, we started this conversation talking about that quote

895
00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:57,239
Speaker 3: unquote quarter life crisis.

896
00:48:56,680 --> 00:48:59,120
Speaker 2: And I love that you have made.

897
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:02,120
Speaker 3: It your mission through the consulting company, that you have

898
00:49:02,200 --> 00:49:05,760
Speaker 3: stretched beyond to serve as some sort of an NCAA

899
00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:10,319
Speaker 3: certified facilitator and career transition coach for women and athletes.

900
00:49:10,600 --> 00:49:13,000
Speaker 3: How does that feel for you to be able to

901
00:49:13,040 --> 00:49:16,160
Speaker 3: give back to women knowing exactly how they may be

902
00:49:16,320 --> 00:49:17,480
Speaker 3: feeling during that time.

903
00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:23,040
Speaker 1: It's so important, Emily. Honestly, I feel like one of

904
00:49:23,080 --> 00:49:25,960
Speaker 1: the most misleading things when it comes to our career

905
00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:27,880
Speaker 1: and our life and our passions, we feel like we

906
00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:32,640
Speaker 1: have to focus in one space when we are interested

907
00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:37,360
Speaker 1: and talented in so many different areas. And I have

908
00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:40,600
Speaker 1: always been intrigued with the student athlete transition, in particular

909
00:49:40,680 --> 00:49:43,520
Speaker 1: for women, because I went through that. I felt like

910
00:49:43,560 --> 00:49:47,480
Speaker 1: in college I wasn't focused enough on my career, character

911
00:49:47,640 --> 00:49:51,400
Speaker 1: community building. I was very focused on academics, very focused

912
00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:53,879
Speaker 1: on basketball, but there was this personal development that didn't

913
00:49:53,920 --> 00:49:57,440
Speaker 1: happen for me, and I want to go back, and

914
00:49:57,480 --> 00:50:02,320
Speaker 1: I wanted to help other women athletes harness their power

915
00:50:02,520 --> 00:50:06,319
Speaker 1: and start to work on their post career aspirations, like

916
00:50:06,560 --> 00:50:10,080
Speaker 1: while they're in school, but also for them to tap

917
00:50:10,120 --> 00:50:13,520
Speaker 1: into all the things that sport has taught them that'll

918
00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:16,560
Speaker 1: be valuable in their next stop in the workplace, whether

919
00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:22,720
Speaker 1: it's goal setting or communication or teamwork and just all

920
00:50:22,800 --> 00:50:26,719
Speaker 1: of the things that sport teaches us as former athletes.

921
00:50:27,320 --> 00:50:31,360
Speaker 1: And so that was the area of ethnic administration that

922
00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:34,680
Speaker 1: I was most interested in. I say, be an athletics director,

923
00:50:35,320 --> 00:50:39,600
Speaker 1: but my heart was to help in that transition. So

924
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:43,120
Speaker 1: creating Stretch Beyond, which has become so many more things

925
00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:45,400
Speaker 1: and it is actually going to become something else this

926
00:50:45,520 --> 00:50:50,359
Speaker 1: year is probably one of the most rewarding things I've

927
00:50:50,400 --> 00:50:51,360
Speaker 1: ever done in my career.

928
00:50:51,880 --> 00:50:53,400
Speaker 2: Excited to follow along with that.

929
00:50:53,680 --> 00:50:56,920
Speaker 3: Someone turns on their TV or goes to their Instagram

930
00:50:57,040 --> 00:51:01,920
Speaker 3: and sees a woman like China that is a sportscaster

931
00:51:02,160 --> 00:51:05,759
Speaker 3: and analyst, a top dog, if you will. When you

932
00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:08,000
Speaker 3: look in the mirror, what is it that you see

933
00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:08,960
Speaker 3: looking back at you.

934
00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:12,160
Speaker 1: When I look in the mirror, I see a woman

935
00:51:12,239 --> 00:51:17,000
Speaker 1: that finally really loves herself. I went through a challenging journey.

936
00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:18,960
Speaker 1: As I mentioned to you, Well, I've gone through a

937
00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:22,680
Speaker 1: couple of them, but definitely the last few years, including

938
00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:25,600
Speaker 1: the pandemic, were hard. And what I came out of

939
00:51:25,600 --> 00:51:27,960
Speaker 1: that with was I needed to love myself more. I

940
00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:31,240
Speaker 1: was so concerned about pleasing others and what other people

941
00:51:31,280 --> 00:51:33,720
Speaker 1: thought of me and what other people think I should

942
00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:38,440
Speaker 1: be doing. And I am so much happier with the

943
00:51:38,480 --> 00:51:40,520
Speaker 1: person that I see in the mirror now that I

944
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:43,440
Speaker 1: know that every decision I make is for my good,

945
00:51:43,719 --> 00:51:46,680
Speaker 1: and that's okay. It doesn't make me selfish, it doesn't

946
00:51:46,680 --> 00:51:49,960
Speaker 1: make me any less of a person. That I was

947
00:51:49,960 --> 00:51:52,279
Speaker 1: put on this earth to do one job, and that

948
00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:55,160
Speaker 1: is to govern this body, in this mind and these

949
00:51:55,200 --> 00:51:58,120
Speaker 1: emotions that I have right here. Everything else is a bonus.

950
00:51:58,160 --> 00:52:01,200
Speaker 1: If I ever get to do anything else, that's a plus.

951
00:52:01,719 --> 00:52:02,839
Speaker 4: But I'm here to.

952
00:52:02,840 --> 00:52:05,920
Speaker 1: Love myself and that there are things about us that

953
00:52:05,960 --> 00:52:08,520
Speaker 1: we just will never be able to change. I used

954
00:52:08,520 --> 00:52:10,759
Speaker 1: to say, Oh, I wish I had this kind of childhood,

955
00:52:10,840 --> 00:52:14,000
Speaker 1: or I wish I had this kind of hair, or

956
00:52:14,360 --> 00:52:16,920
Speaker 1: I wish my feet were beside twelves and of the thirteen,

957
00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:18,560
Speaker 1: I'd be able to find more. Shoot, you know, there's

958
00:52:18,560 --> 00:52:21,719
Speaker 1: always something you wish was different about yourself, your traumas,

959
00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:25,920
Speaker 1: your triggers, your shame, all of that. But in actuality,

960
00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:28,919
Speaker 1: what we have to do with those pieces of ourselves

961
00:52:29,040 --> 00:52:31,200
Speaker 1: is we have to love those pieces. We got to

962
00:52:31,239 --> 00:52:35,040
Speaker 1: bring that in and accept those parts of us as

963
00:52:35,120 --> 00:52:37,800
Speaker 1: who we are and what makes us so special and

964
00:52:37,920 --> 00:52:41,440
Speaker 1: what makes us unique. And when I was finally able

965
00:52:41,480 --> 00:52:43,480
Speaker 1: to do that over the last few years, when I

966
00:52:43,520 --> 00:52:46,799
Speaker 1: look in the mirror, I'm happier than I've ever been.

967
00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:49,520
Speaker 3: Such a light, such a light, truly, well, I'm so

968
00:52:49,640 --> 00:52:53,120
Speaker 3: happy that we were able to do this. Final two questions,

969
00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:56,120
Speaker 3: who should I interview on the show next as a broadcaster,

970
00:52:56,320 --> 00:52:57,920
Speaker 3: as someone that does this, You've got.

971
00:52:57,800 --> 00:52:58,680
Speaker 2: To give me a hot ten.

972
00:53:00,040 --> 00:53:01,000
Speaker 4: Oh Andrea Carter.

973
00:53:01,520 --> 00:53:02,680
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm writing it down.

974
00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:03,080
Speaker 4: Yep.

975
00:53:03,120 --> 00:53:06,880
Speaker 1: She is an up and coming superstar in the broadcast world.

976
00:53:07,480 --> 00:53:10,440
Speaker 1: And when I tell you, Emily, she is going to

977
00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:12,919
Speaker 1: blow you away. I think she's not even thirty. She's

978
00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:16,400
Speaker 1: about to turn thirty. And this young woman is her

979
00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:20,560
Speaker 1: level of focus, mental toughness, her heart for people, her

980
00:53:20,640 --> 00:53:24,480
Speaker 1: talent level, she's generational You're going to enjoy that conversation.

981
00:53:25,320 --> 00:53:27,640
Speaker 2: My kind of woman is a woman that builds up

982
00:53:27,680 --> 00:53:28,200
Speaker 2: other women.

983
00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:31,640
Speaker 3: Right now, you have an opportunity to offer yourself a

984
00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:34,840
Speaker 3: piece of advice looking back on that quarter life crisis

985
00:53:34,920 --> 00:53:35,560
Speaker 3: hurtle moment.

986
00:53:35,920 --> 00:53:39,960
Speaker 2: Knowing what you know, now, what do you tell yourself?

987
00:53:41,520 --> 00:53:42,680
Speaker 4: Relax?

988
00:53:45,640 --> 00:53:48,560
Speaker 1: You have so much life ahead of you. It's okay.

989
00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:51,480
Speaker 1: You've got enough time to make a wrong turn. You've

990
00:53:51,480 --> 00:53:54,279
Speaker 1: got enough time to make forty wrong turns, and you

991
00:53:54,320 --> 00:53:55,480
Speaker 1: are going to make.

992
00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:58,520
Speaker 4: Forty wrong turns. It's okay.

993
00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:03,239
Speaker 1: You have all the resilience, all the strength, all the love,

994
00:54:03,320 --> 00:54:05,600
Speaker 1: all the power that you need to bounce back from anything.

995
00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:09,680
Speaker 1: So forge full steam ahead into what you love and

996
00:54:09,719 --> 00:54:11,839
Speaker 1: what you care about and all the things that make

997
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:16,719
Speaker 1: you whole, and live unapologetically, live the life that's best

998
00:54:16,760 --> 00:54:17,319
Speaker 1: made for you.

999
00:54:17,680 --> 00:54:19,440
Speaker 4: Like China, It's gonna be a fun ride.

1000
00:54:19,680 --> 00:54:23,920
Speaker 3: It's gonna be a fun ride, live unapologetically the China Robinson.

1001
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:25,640
Speaker 3: So happy that we were able to do this. For

1002
00:54:25,680 --> 00:54:28,600
Speaker 3: those that may not follow you just yet, how do

1003
00:54:28,640 --> 00:54:28,880
Speaker 3: they do?

1004
00:54:28,960 --> 00:54:29,880
Speaker 2: So? Give us your velo?

1005
00:54:30,560 --> 00:54:30,840
Speaker 4: Yep.

1006
00:54:30,880 --> 00:54:33,160
Speaker 1: You can follow me on Twitter at La China Robinson.

1007
00:54:33,280 --> 00:54:36,760
Speaker 1: I'm on Instagram at La China Robinson as well. Uh

1008
00:54:36,800 --> 00:54:38,279
Speaker 1: and those are the best ways to follow me.

1009
00:54:39,040 --> 00:54:41,760
Speaker 3: Amazing, I'm over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle Podcast.

1010
00:54:41,960 --> 00:54:44,879
Speaker 3: Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time