Creative Courage: From Fear to Expression - Unleashing Your Authentic Creative Voice" - Transform Tuesday

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Season of Self Love Podcast. I am your host, Nyomi Banks, and I am thrilled to have you join me on this transformative journey. You see, every day we dive into a powerful conversation about self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. This podcast is brought to you by Ask Nyomi and Elevate Me Self Discovery, where we believe that loving yourself is the first step to living a fulfilling life.

[00:00:26] You can expect insightful discussions, practical tips, and inspiring stories. Plus, we occasionally welcome special guests who will share their unique perspectives on self-love and personal growth. So get comfy, grab your favorite beverage, and let's embark on this journey together. Because it's time to embrace the beautiful person that you are. So let's elevate our lives one episode at a time. Now let's get started.

[00:00:57] Hey, my beautiful people. Welcome to another episode of the Season of Self Love Podcast. I am your host, Nyomi Banks, and today is Transform Tuesday. And I am so excited to be diving into our brand new theme for June. Our series is Creativity in Expression, Finding Joy Through Creative Outlets. And yesterday on Mindset Monday, Dr. Will and I, we had the most incredible conversation about creativity as our family.

[00:01:25] Our first form of identity. Our first form of identity. About being walking mazak of experience and about the difference between learning our lessons and living our lessons. And tomorrow on Wisdom, Wisdom will be joined by Terry Whalen, who has written over 60 books and will share his insights about publishing and expressing ourselves through words.

[00:01:48] But today I want to connect these two powerful conversations by exploring something that sits right at the heart of creative expressions. And that's creative courage. The courage to move from the place of fear about sharing our authentic selves to actually putting our creativity out into this world. So our Transform Tuesday topic is creative courage from fear to expression.

[00:02:16] Because, honey, your creativity, your creative voice matters. Your story deserves to be told and the world needs what you have to offer. But before we dive deep into this conversation, let's take a quick break. All right. It's your Gritty Goddess. I'm Mary Bakes here on the Season of Stuff Love Podcast. And we'll be right back. Washington Wellness Institute focuses on healing always. For me, if I look good, then I feel good.

[00:02:45] If I feel good, then I share the good. If I share the good, then I celebrate the good. If I celebrate the good, then I live the good. So I can be paid to be my greatest. But I have to learn the good to be the good. So, what does it take to be the greatest? It's as simple as a free 15-minute consultation. Be kind to yourself and heal always. Hey, it's your Gritty Goddess, Naomi Banks.

[00:03:14] And make sure you tune in every Thursday night to Ask Naomi Bridging the Gap Podcast. Where we talk about everything. Love, sex, relationship, cultural differences, and so much more. By bridging the gap between them all. And we even talk about spiritual uplifting. You need to stop by me and Dr. Tom Mike Mike as well as the BTG group. We have some amazing guests that come to school. You never know. Just make sure you tune in Thursday night, 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

[00:03:41] Go to Ask Naomi.com and tell them Naomi's the Gap. All right, my beautiful people. Well, welcome back. Yes, today is a whole new series for Joan. And that's creativity in expression. It's finding the joy in your creativity. But before we get into this, I want to invite you all to just find a comfortable position. Whether you're sitting or standing.

[00:04:09] And if it feels right for you to close your eyes or just simply soften your gaze. As we ground ourselves before we get into this topic. All right. So right now, I want you all to just inhale deeply through your nose. Feeling your lungs completely. Now, exhale slowly through your mouth. Releasing any tension or fear that you've been carrying about your creative expression.

[00:04:39] Take one more deep breath in. Now, out. Now, I want you to imagine yourself as a child. And I want you to think about. I want to think back to a time when you created something just for the pure joy of it. Maybe you drew a picture. Or made up songs. Or told a story. Or built something with blocks. Or was just dancing in your living room.

[00:05:06] But I want you to remember that feeling of pure creative freedom. When you weren't worried about being perfect. When you weren't concerned about what anyone else would think. When creating was simply an extension of who you were. Now, I want you to feel that childlike creative spirit still alive within you.

[00:05:38] It's never left. It has never left you. It's just been waiting for your permission to come out and play again. Now, I want you to bring your mind to something you've been wanting to create or express. But haven't been because of fear. Maybe you could be writing that book. Or starting that blog.

[00:06:06] Or sharing your art. Or singing that beautiful song. And as you breathe. I want you to imagine the courage flowing through your body. Like a warm golden light. This courage is an absence of fear. It is decision to create it despite the fear. And I want you to honor your authentic expression.

[00:06:36] Even when it feels vulnerable. And I want you to place your hand on your heart. And I want you to feel it beating. This heart holds all of your stories. All of your experiences. All of your unique perspective. The world needs this gift. It needs your gifts.

[00:07:05] And only you can share it. So today I want you to set an attention right now to honor your creative courage today. What's one small step that you can take towards expressing your authentic self. And I want you to take one more last deep breath in. Feeling grateful for your creative spirit and your courage to share it. And when you are ready, gently open your eyes.

[00:07:36] All right, my beautiful people. If you are new here to the Cisina Cifla podcast. It's something we do every day Monday through Friday. Just to get us grounded before we get into our topic at hand. All right, my beautiful people. Well, I hope that that meditation has helped you to reconnect with this fearless creative spirit that lives within us. You know, yesterday in our conversation with Dr. Will, it really opened up something profound for me. He talked about how creativity is our first form of identity.

[00:08:06] How we learn who we are through the process of creating and expressing ourselves. But then somewhere along the way, many of us lost that fearless creative spirit we had as a child. As we were when we were children. See, now we start worrying about being perfect. We start comparing our work to others. We start believing that we need permission to be creative.

[00:08:33] Or that creatively, it's only the talent people. Only talent people can be creative. And then slowly what happens, we begin to become silence. And in that silence, we silence the authentic creative voice that's within us. But my beautiful people, I'm here to tell you today that your creative voice deserves to be heard.

[00:09:02] And it's time to find the courage to express it. You know, I just want to give you a little bit on tomorrow's conversation with Terry Welland. And he's going to share an incredible insight about the publishing world and how to get our stories out there. And he's going to talk about overcoming rejection.

[00:09:22] And I wonder, did you know that chicken soup for the soul authors were rejected over 160 times before finding their publishers? One, six, zero, 160 times before finding their publishers. So let me say something personal with you.

[00:09:45] For years I've had stories inside of me that I was kind of, I don't want to say afraid of telling, but very apprehensive of telling. Stories about my journey, about my transformation, about my healing. And part of me was afraid that people would judge me. And you know, part of me was afraid that I wasn't good enough. But it also, part of me was afraid that maybe my story didn't matter.

[00:10:14] Or even was it, was I even finished with it? Was this the time? But you know what I realized? I realized that the fear wasn't protecting me. What it was doing, it was robbing me of the world that's something unique that only I can offer. Every day that I stay silent was another day someone who needed to hear my story didn't get to receive it. And the same is true for you.

[00:10:46] Whatever creative expression is calling to you, whether it's writing, art, music, dance, cooking, decorating, speaking, or just simply living more authentically. The world needs what you have to offer. So let's talk about creative courage and how to move from fear to expression. First, let's acknowledge that creative fear is normal. It's normal.

[00:11:14] It is a part of our human experience. So when we create, we're making ourselves vulnerable. We are. We're sharing a piece of our soul with the world. And that feels scary. Because in that moment we open ourselves up for what? For judgment. For rejection. You know, Dr. Will talked about yesterday about how creativity requires us to open, to be heard, to be vulnerable, and to be committed to a path of our feelings.

[00:11:45] And that vulnerability is exactly what makes creative expression so powerful. And exactly what makes it feel so scary. You know, some of the most common creative fears I hear are, what if I'm not good enough? What if people judge me? What if I'm not talented?

[00:12:14] What if no one cares? Or what if I fail? Well, but here's what I want you to understand is these fears are actually signs that you are on to something important. The things that scare us the most are often the things that matter to us the most. Yeah.

[00:12:41] One of the biggest shifts that helped me find my creative courage was redefining what success looks like for me. You know, we live in a world where that measures creative success by external validation. You know, from the likes or the shares, the sales or the awards or recognitions.

[00:13:07] But that's not where true creative fulfillment comes from. You know, creative, creative success is about honoring your authentic expressions. It's about the joy you feel when you're in the creative flow. It's about the healing that happens when you transform your experiences into art.

[00:13:31] It's about the connection you feel to your authentic self when you create from your truth. As Aktor Will said yesterday about joy is internal, happiness is external. Joy is internal. Happiness is external. So when we create from a place of seeking external happiness, validation, approval, recognition,

[00:13:59] recognition, we often end up disappointed. But when we create from a place of internal joy, from authentic expressions, we're always successful because we honoring who we are. And I can tell you today when I am speaking on this mic,

[00:14:25] when I take time to create these episodes, when I'm able to share my story, my wisdom, my journey, my trials, my, my wins, my truth. That is joy for me. I believe I shared yesterday that I,

[00:14:54] this is the most ever been, I'm joy. I'm full. As Aktor Will would say, I am overflowing. I remember when starting off the whole podcast and, you know, everything I'm always, I was always about success. About being number one. In competition.

[00:15:20] I always wanted to break a record of being the first to do something. Searching for validation. Searching for awards, recognitions. That has been my life. From everything that I did. I think we all do that. When we go, we work a nine to five, we go in working because we want more money.

[00:15:52] We want to raise. Or we want to be promoted to a higher, you know, I think that's was just in our makeup of our DNA. But what we lose from that sometimes is, sometimes we put a mask on and hide our authentic self. Why doing all of that? And then we're not really being of joy of ourselves. Because we've been taught to search for that. External validation.

[00:16:24] You know, they make happy. They make happy just, just such the perfect place. But I realized in my journey. Oh my God. The happy and joy are really two different things. It really is. And when you feel them. When you have felt them both. You will know. There, there is a difference.

[00:16:54] You know, so, you know, Terry tomorrow, he will walk us. He, he will talk to us tomorrow. Well, I don't know where we'll walk up from. He will talk to us tomorrow about the reality of the publishing world. You know that most books don't make a lot of money. That success often takes persistence and patience. But the authors who sustain long careers are the ones who write because they have something to say. And not just because they want to be famous or rich.

[00:17:23] You know, I thought about that before. You know, and I share with you, I have a lot of stories. I've started writing several different books. The very first book that I wrote, I actually turned it into a screen, play a movie. They actually had an option. That was over 18, 19 years ago. But my very first script was option.

[00:17:49] And it was just, the story was called The Elements of Life. It was the name of the book and the name of the, of the story. And it was loosely off of my life of growing up with three of my very best friends. My sister and two of my good girlfriends that have turned into sisters.

[00:18:16] We've been friends ever since their freshman year in high school and my sophomore year in high school. And 20, 30 years plus later, longer than that, we are still the best of friends. We call each other mothers, mama. They call my mama mama, I call they mama mama. And I remember when each one of our fathers had passed away. You couldn't tell us nothing.

[00:18:45] We were all there as sisters. And, um, yeah, we were on each, each one of everyone's side. When, when D father passed, we was there. When Tiff dad passed away, we was there. When mine, they were there. Right there.

[00:19:16] This just brought something to my mind. But that was the name of my book. That was the book. And that was the script. And like I said, it was option. But that was the story. That was the very first time. And I started writing that story when I was, um, I started writing it at, I think it might be 20, 21. I started writing it pen and paper. And I remember putting it away.

[00:19:44] I put it away and then I get back to it till I was about maybe 30. Maybe 30, 31. And I think I wrote another chapter. And then, um, and then I finished it when I was, I want to say 32. I finished it when I was 32. And then I had met the love of my life.

[00:20:14] And he was a screenwriter. He was a director and a writer. And I remember he said, have you ever thought about turning your book into a screenplay? And I said, nah, you know, I won't write books. Because I had stories to tell. And he looked it over. And he said, you know, I'll show you how to do it. I think he spent like a few hours showing me the, the, um, the formula on how to write a script.

[00:20:44] And from then on, I was, I was on and rocking. After that, I probably wrote six other scripts. Six other scripts in a whole soap opera. Yeah, a whole soap opera. And actually my soap opera had gotten optioned at one time. And then it got turned down because they said that, um, the world wasn't ready for a black soap opera.

[00:21:14] And then fast forward later, here's, uh, Tyler Perry now. And then it's one right now that's on CBS. But look, that was, that was almost 20 years ago. So I guess it wasn't time. I guess I was before my time. But I stopped writing after that. I started living life. But even though, and I can't say I stopped writing after that because I did, I will take, uh, you know, um, paper.

[00:21:44] And, you know, little folders. And I will write different scripts and things and stuff like that. But as for writing books, I didn't start back to writing books to really getting into it until, um, when I was pregnant with my last baby. And I was on bed rest that whole entire time. But I knew it was time to tell a story. I didn't know how that story was going to end. Um, and I still don't know how that story ends. And I remember sharing with Dr.

[00:22:11] Will before is that I was getting so frustrated because I had all of these stories to write. Just of my, my life, um, just of experiences that I've gotten out of that I was able to tap into. And at that time, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't know why I felt that my story needed to be heard. But I just wanted to be heard.

[00:22:36] I don't know why because I was Naomi Banks and I thought I was this famous, you know, adult star. And my story needed to be told cause it just need to, or because people were saying you need to write a story, a book. But then I also remember there was a saying that I've been saying ever since I was a teenager about never judge a book by its cover. It also making my dreams of reality.

[00:23:08] I remember someone telling me that dreams do not become a reality. You dream when you sleep. Them dreams ain't good. And at that time I was like, no, I'm gonna make my dream a reality. And when I used to write it down, I used to write it down with vengeance. I know that ain't good, but yeah. I've been, then that became my motto. And then it went to don't judge a book by its cover.

[00:23:40] Take the time to read the pages in the book. So did I want to become famous and rich from writing? Not at first. I just want to tell my story. Then as I got really into the industry, you know, I've been in the entertainment industry majority of my adult life. But then I wanted to be known for something more than just somebody on film or camera.

[00:24:07] I wanted to, so they're able to see that I am creative. That I'm not a one trick pony. That there is death to me. But then going through my self-love journey. And I can understand that this is a purpose. That is bigger than showing someone the depth of me. My depth. That I'm not shallow.

[00:24:33] You know, there are people out there that need to see your healing story. You have light. The thing is we all are creators. We all come from a creative God in the image of him. So that's what we are. We create.

[00:25:07] I create it through music. I create it through dance. I create it through art. Art was a form of healing for me at some time. I remember being on bear rest. And the only thing that I can do was paint. I painted this big picture with this leather canvas that I created. And it's now hanging up in my wall. Beautiful piece.

[00:25:38] But it's okay for me to create. But now it's about having the courage to share it. Because in each one of these pieces, whether you're dancing, whether you're singing, whether it's artwork, whether it's pictures, even on this podcast, whether you are a speaker, your creativity is a light.

[00:26:07] It's a healing mechanism for someone that will bring happiness and joy to someone. Like I remember starting the podcast off the season of self-love. I was good with ask Naomi because I was, people was familiar with me talking about relationships and sex. See, I was good right there. But now when I'm walking, I'm stepping out of a, a zone with people wanting me to be.

[00:26:38] How is she talking about spirituality? How is she talking about God? How is she talking about self-love? And I remember the very first day of me doing the season of self-love. The thing is, every guest that I come, they come on here and we talk, we do a pre-talk in the beginning.

[00:27:05] And they all say, we love that, that you bring the meditation in the beginning of the show. We love that part. And I have to be honest and share with them, you know how that all began? That began because I was so scared and afraid to speak on such a serious matter.

[00:27:32] Just me by myself, nobody else, no dog pound Mike, Mike, no BTG. Just me, Naomi by myself. And now really sharing myself. No, no sex gimmicks, no nothing. Even stumbling over words. This, let me share this with you all real fast.

[00:28:00] So before I was, I was, I thought about doing the season of self-love, I kid y'all not. So y'all know I had already been taking certification classes for relationship coaching, sex coaching, all that. So I've done all that. But I knew that my lingo or my language wasn't perfect. You know, I have a little slang. Sometimes I get a little twang. Sometimes you hear Chicago with me. Sometimes you hear a little country sound.

[00:28:28] And a lot of times I mispronounce words. And so I remember grabbing this app and I remember joining this class. I kid you not. So I would not stumble over words. And I was like, oh, my God, like I am not going to get this word right. I know what it means, but I'm not. How am I going to get? And this is just the start of my little brain fog, too. And I was like, I'm not going to do this.

[00:28:58] I'm not going to do this until I get it perfect. Perfect. And I remember sitting at my altar. And it's like, no, you need to do this. You need to start this now. Do it for four weeks. You talk about self-love all the time. So I need you to make a section right there. And I did it for my 51st birthday. That October, I was to be 51. So that was going. That was the first chapter of my new book.

[00:29:29] And so I knew it had to be something different. And if you're listening, you're like, what book are you talking about? I'm talking about the book of life. My book of life. The year I turned 50, after my 50th birthday, actually on the day of my 50th birthday, I remember writing a long letter. And it was saying that I was closing the book to my first life, the first 50 years of my life.

[00:29:54] And I thanked all of the characters, family, friends, fans, or foes that were in my life that played a particular world, a particular person or character in my life. And I said, I'm closing this book. I said, some of those characters from that first book will continue on to my second book. And some won't.

[00:30:24] But I thank you for that first book. But now it's time for me to shut this book, turn the page, and start to create anew. And in that anew, that came the season of self-love. In that anew, it came of me sharing the last 10 years of my life. That's what that anew came from.

[00:30:55] It's letting people know that it's okay to transform into who you really are. It's okay to transform into your authentic self. It's okay to show your creative side.

[00:31:23] And then I'm going on, this is our second year, third season. And it feels amazing. We're on 300 and, I think like 320 something episodes. Yeah. And I said, Naeem, you can't be creative with just doing a podcast. Yes. Yes, because I can just talk here every day.

[00:31:53] I have to be creative in the things that I say. Not like I'm faking anything. No. You know, I asked Dr. Will yesterday, and I love the way that he answered when I asked him about his paintbrush. I asked him, how does your paintbrush look? How does your paintbrush look?

[00:32:26] And he said, it looks so many different ways. He talked about starting with finger painting before learning to use his paintbrush. That's such a beautiful metaphor for creative courage.

[00:32:48] You start with what you have, with where you are, and with the tools you are currently possessing. That's how we started with my podcast, with both of them. But really, with the season of self-love. I remember I used to start off every podcast with, good morning, good evening, good afternoon. Today is such and such and such.

[00:33:18] I think I did that for a good 50, 60 episodes. And I remember sitting here, Dr. Will just looking at me like, okay, okay. I guess he didn't know either. We was just in here just doing it. But as we continue to find our voice, so that was me finger painting at first. Now I got my little small brush with me right now. I ain't got my big brush. Yeah, I got my roller. Yeah, I got my small brush.

[00:33:48] Yeah. Because as we continue to go, as we continue to move forward, we could be able to be more creative at more segments. At more series when we continue to grow. But I love the way that he broke it down. And I love that he even said is that once you do get back to that, get to the big pink brush that can do all the tricks.

[00:34:15] He said, sometimes you're gonna have to go back to the finger painting. I love that. I love that. That once, even when you think you have it all, sometimes you gotta go back what you already had. Back to one.

[00:34:45] You know, on tomorrow episode, Terry, he mentioned about him starting writing his magazine articles before books. And he said, you can reach more people with magazine articles because they're shorter and they're more manageable. That wisdom right there told me you can start small again. Start small. Start where you are.

[00:35:14] Start what feels manageable. Washington Wellness Institute focuses on healing always. For me, if I look good. So let's talk about your unique voice.

[00:35:40] Your unique creative voice. You know, it's one of those things that holds us back from our creative expression is thinking that everything has already been done. That everything has already been done. So why write another book about healing, right? Why start another podcast? Why create more art?

[00:36:09] It's all been done before, right? But here's the truth. It hasn't been done by you. It hasn't been done by you. Your perspective. Your experiences. Your voice. Your unique way of just seeing the world. That's never been done before. And it never will be again. You know, I know a lot of people say, well, you know, it's a podcast just like Naomi's.

[00:36:38] No, it's not because Naomi not on it. It's just not. Like how Dr. Will, how he's a therapist. Can't nobody do what he do? Like you, whether you're writing, you're singing, you're dancing. Can't nobody do it like you do. But you know what?

[00:37:07] I want to share something to be very honest. Because I remember thinking that. I used to think at one point in time when I was younger, like, well, somebody already did it and I can't do it because it's already been done. And I remember somebody said, no. They did that they way. But you know, you can do it your way. You know how many. If it was thought about, we will only have one singer. There will be. If you see, you got Janet Jackson and you got Beyonce.

[00:37:36] Beyonce was influenced by Janet Jackson. So there was no Janet Jackson. There will be no Beyonce. Janet was inspired by her brother, Michael. If it wasn't no Michael, there will be no Janet Jackson. James Brown. You understand what I'm saying?

[00:38:01] And so if we really think about that, that it is more than one way. And even if something seemed like it's all the same, there is something unique about each one of them. And as I say, I'm laughing because I remember used to saying that all of these rap songs sound the same. That's because I hear the beat.

[00:38:30] But if you listen to the words that whoever said it, they have their own way of saying it. But I guess maybe that wasn't the right example. Maybe that wasn't the right example. But y'all get what I'm saying. Y'all get what I'm saying. You know, and I don't want to talk about too much with Terry talking about tomorrow. Because I really want y'all to hear that story of him about his writing and stuff like that.

[00:38:57] And that's because if anybody, you know, thinking about becoming a writer or publishing, you know, their work and their books, I think this tomorrow show will be very ideal for you. Definitely ideal for you. I think it was something out of there that I needed to hear from tomorrow. So, and I don't want to keep going into that topic.

[00:39:21] But, you know, but whatever your journey has been, whatever your struggles, your victories, your lessons learned, your unique way of moving toward the world, that's your creative material. And it doesn't have to be writing. Creativity can be in so many different things. As we say, dancing, cooking, singing, art, sewing, designing clothes.

[00:39:48] It is so many different things that you can be creative in. Creating a new game. A new AI technology. You know, something. But what gives you joy? When there is no one watching that you can do joy, I love the dance. I be dancing all day. Yes.

[00:40:14] And even in dance, you can feel a healing, you know, kind of thing in it. So it's like, how do we actually develop a creative courage? How do we move from fear to express ourselves, huh? How do we move from fear to expressions? Well, let me share some things with you. I'm going to share a few of them.

[00:40:42] Number one, start with self-compassion. Before you can share your creativity with the world, you need to be kind to yourself about your creative process. This means letting go of your perfectionism. Embracing the learning process. And treating yourself with the same kindness that you show a friend who is learning something new.

[00:41:14] And number two, as Dr. Will will say, connect with your why. Dr. Will talked about the importance of your intention. Why do you want to create? What's driving this creative urge? And when you connect with your deeper purpose, whether it's healing, connection, joy, or service, it becomes easier to push through the fear.

[00:41:44] For me, my why is helping people to remember their worth and find their way back to self-love. When I remember that purpose, it doesn't matter if I'm scared. I create it anyway. Because the mission is bigger than my fear.

[00:42:14] Let me share, and I think I shared it the other day, but I want to share a story with you all. So a couple of weeks ago, well, actually all the time, I have several different retreat seminar ideas that I've already created to do seminars. And I did one a few years back, and I didn't have a big turnout for it.

[00:42:44] It was spirituality, healing through spirituality and sexuality. And I had a small gathering, probably about 10 people, maybe 10, 15, 20 people maybe. And I was like, okay, the next time I do this, I'm going to do it right. I'll make sure that I have all my I's crossed, all my T's. But in the process of me waiting to do it, I've created several different ones.

[00:43:12] And I was just trying to figure out the right time that I'm going to put it out there, the right time that I'm going to promote it, the right time that I'm going to do this and that. And I remember listening to Bob Proctor one weekend. And as I was listening to him, I remember he was talking about purpose. And he was talking about how he went away for three days, and that's how he found his purpose.

[00:43:40] And I said, wouldn't it be good to just create a retreat off of that? You know, I would use my DVD principles to self-love things and all that other stuff. And I said, I would love if Dr. Will will come on, you know, if he would do something like that with me. Mind you, him and I had been talking about it since last year about doing maybe a day or a night either in Ohio or here in Vegas or somewhere. Well, maybe we can do a seminar or something like that. But we never pushed the button.

[00:44:13] And on this particular, I had set weekend long. I was making that note. So I was like, okay, I can't wait to talk to Dr. Will after we do this recording. I'm going to talk to him about him and seeing him. Maybe we can do something after I come back for my surgery. You know, we could do something in October or something like that, like, you know, 2026 or something like that. I'm doing something. And so as I'm talking to him and I'm asking, I'm talking about, I got this idea and I'm telling him about it.

[00:44:40] He looked at me and he smiled and he said, well, that's what I'm doing. And I'm like, when? He said, I'm doing it in June. Remember I told you about the country club? And I was like, oh, I thought it was for somebody else. He said, no, that's something I'm doing. But I just wanted to make sure that I had everything locked down before I presented it to you because I would love for you to be a part of it. And at that moment, I looked and I saw what I said to myself was thank you.

[00:45:08] First of all, because we both was aligned with the same thing about helping people to find purpose. But also, God knew that I have to surround this woman with people who are going to push her, nudge her, because she will allow fear to be in her way.

[00:45:41] So what I say about remembering what your why is, that why have to oversee any fear. And in that, and I remember he said, well, you don't even have to come. You can just do it on. I'm like, no, I want to be there. I want to be in that energy space with everybody because I have a lot of ideas.

[00:46:07] And I thanked him for allowing me to come into his space and, you know, be there with him. But also, this allowed me to make that next step, make that new step. Because I was still burnt from the first one that I did. But then I had to remember that, that first one that I did, I was nowhere near where I'm at now in my journey.

[00:46:37] Nowhere near where I'm at in my journey. So I said that to share about, first of all, surrounding yourself with supportive people. That are truly aligned in what you want in life. That believe in your purpose. To kind of have the same purpose of you.

[00:47:06] And that is to be a service of others. To be of light. So when you think about that creativity, about joy for you, also think about the joy that you can give outside of that. Think about the joy that you can give outside of you. You know, when we hear those beautiful songs. And how those songs or those lyrics of those songs can change your life.

[00:47:35] Think about what you can do creative. People can look at a painting. And see the emotions in the painting. Yeah. With my middle baby, when she dances. Oh my God. It will bring you to tears. And I'm not talking about ballet dancing or modern dance. Oh, she does that very well.

[00:48:05] But I'm talking about even in her hip-hop dancing. She tells a story through her body. Through her expressions. Through her creativity. And when you understand that we all are built to be creative and to share that with one another. To be in service to one another.

[00:48:36] I believe the world will be a better place. Because people are tapping into their authentic self. They tapping into that creative. Into that childlike of themselves. Or creating their whole identity. And you don't have to start big. Number three. You can start where you are right now. I have a beautiful cousin. Little cousin.

[00:49:05] I didn't know that she can draw art. And just about a year or two ago. She started sharing her artwork. Beautiful. Never doubt that. But her mom told me she just sold one of her portraits a few months ago.

[00:49:33] You just have to start somewhere. You don't need the best equipment. Or the most training. Or the perfect circumstances. You just need to start with what you have already. You just have to start with what you have already. I want to share one more thing with you before we go.

[00:50:02] I was looking at social media the other day. And I'm wondering if I saw that. Because it popped up right up on my For You page on TikTok. And it was. What is his name? Lee. The food. The food. Guy. I don't want to say Jason Lee. Because Jason Lee is a Western guy.

[00:50:28] But he's a. He got famous. He used to be a MMA fighter. But now he. He does food reviews on TikTok. He lived right here in Las Vegas. He used to live right here in Las Vegas. But he no longer. But he does good for the people out there. For mom and pod shops. He does reviews on them. And it's like he has a. A fact. I forgot his name. How can I forget his name? Well anyway. The video that popped up on there.

[00:50:58] Is he was talking. And he had took his wife to. To Turks and Caicos. For his. For her birthday. And he had said he had saw this one video. This young. This young guy. This white boy. That was there. And he had this boat. And he was you know. Talk about the boat. Like he lived on a boat all the time. Like he was always on a boat. And he was showing people everywhere. So he wanted to book an excursion. With that young man. So he said he went on the website. He had booked the. The what's the name. And.

[00:51:28] They had went to the dock. Waiting for the guy. And something happened within the bookings. That they were booked for. I think the week. The next week. But he was like. We're not going to be here. So he called the people. And you know. And and said look. I made a mistake. I thought it was for today. I didn't know that it was booked for next week. The same day. He was like you know. We're only going to be here for a few more days. For my. For my wife's birthday. Is there any way. That we can you know. Be able to get this discouraging. So they said well hold on. Let's call the guy.

[00:51:58] We'll call the guy. And such and such and such. And see what he works. So the guy was like yeah. I can do it. You know. I'll be there in an hour. So he came. And he said well you know what. Look. We don't have the small boat. That you. That you got. We got the. The big boat. And. Keith Lee is the name. Keith Lee. And Keith Lee. He has said that. He was like oh. That big boat was a lot of money. But. As for his wife. Her birthday. We're going to splurge. So we're going to do it. So he said it was him. His wife.

[00:52:28] The boy. I don't remember his name. And then the captain was on the boat. He said he gave them a good time. Took them everywhere. Customer service was great. Nighttime falls. They come. And he tell them. Well you need to call your driver. So the driver can you know. Pick you up. And their phone wasn't working. Their phone were dead. And so he said well you know. I'll take y'all back to y'all hotel. And they was like oh no. That's this. No. I'll take y'all back to y'all hotel. Or whatever. So when they get there. Keith Lee asked him. How much do I. Do I owe you. And he said nothing.

[00:52:57] He said but if you can pay my captain something. Because he does have a family. You know. Or whatever. That'll be fine. But all I want is just some tips on how to become a successful you know. In business and you know on social media. And Keith Lee had told him about all you have to do is start. Start and believe what you're doing and start. And he said I was looking like wow.

[00:53:26] He said you know I have that tattoo on me. He said I saw this guy about two years ago. Had popped up on my for you page. And that's when he was talking about. About not the motivation. But about just start. Start where you at. And believe in yourself and move forward. And he said and that's what I put on my. That's not word for word verbatim. But that's what he was saying. And he said and Keith like that's. That sound like my saying.

[00:53:55] So the boy go home. And he looking at his what's the name. And he see that it was actually Keith Lee that has said that. Keith Lee was the person who he saw two years ago. They said that. So you see how. That was like a. A full circle effect there. So if you didn't get anything from that story is to.

[00:54:26] Start now. The objective is to start. And believe and have faith in yourself. And if you don't know what you are creative in. Have fun with trying to figure it out. Fall in love with what your life is. Whatever it is. Enjoy it.

[00:54:57] We can no longer think about what's going to happen in the future. Live for today. Live for today. All right my beautiful people. My time is up right here. I didn't get to say all that I wanted to say. But I wanted to make sure that I left you with that. Because I have the courage to step out. And share. Your creativity. Whatever it is.

[00:55:26] Because trust and believe. It will be a ripple effect for others. Joy. It will give them joy. All right my beautiful people. So until tomorrow. I want y'all to continue to have an amazing day. And thank you all. If this episode resonates with you. Please like it. Leave a review. Something. All right. All right beautiful. I see you tomorrow. Full Wednesday.

[00:55:55] Have an amazing. Amazing day. Have a good one. Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovering and empowerment. Here at the Season of Self Love podcast. Remember. Embracing self love is a continuous journey. And we're so glad to have you with us. So if you enjoyed today's episode. Please leave us a review. And don't forget to join our community on Facebook at Season of Self Love.

[00:56:22] Connect with like-minded individuals who are also on their self love journey. Now if you have any questions or topics that you'd like for us to explore. We'd love to hear from you. Email us at SeasonOfSelfLove at gmail.com. And let your voice be heard. So until next time. Take a moment for yourself today. And remember. You are worthy of love, joy. And all the beautiful things that life has to offer. Have a good one.