Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:00

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Are you a fan of outdoor concerts? They are one of my favorite parts of summer and this summer we were able to enjoy a few of them where we lived, and one of them was Lindsay Sterling and it was epic. You may not be familiar with her and if you aren't, you should check her out. She has this amazing vibe and energy with her music and she's a violinist, but she is so much more and I expected to be entertained. I knew that she was a showman, that she had so much to offer at her events, but I was inspired. I got so much more out of it than I expected and there was three big lessons that I walked away from and I am so excited to share them with you. And it's exciting and interesting that this is the week that I'm going to share them with you because it is technically fall. We are into September. We have passed the equinox.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:53

We are into fall. And yet I am going to be in my hometown this week. I have a one year old birthday. I have a memorial service for someone incredibly dear to me that I'm going to attend. And I have some medical appointments to attend with someone and a lot of things happening. I have a high school reunion to attend. A lot of things happening and it's going to be over 80, like high eighties. One of the days I saw 90 and then my husband informed me it was going to be 88.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:22

It's going to be very warm, so it's kind of fun that even though it's fall, I'm going to be somewhere that's going to be reminiscent of the temperatures that I enjoy in the summertime for the concerts. And it actually rained the night that I was at the Lindsay Sterling concert, which is kind of funny. I was in jeans and boots and a rain jacket because it rained on us, but it was still such an epic concert that it really didn't matter. It was an incredible event and I'm very excited to share with you what I got out of it. And I hope you stay till the very end because last conversation we have around the importance of your voice is a really powerful one. So I hope you get to gain from that and hear that. I'm so glad you're here today. Welcome to the Grit show, where our focus is growth on purpose.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:11

I'm your host, Shawna Rodrigues, and I'm honored to be part of this community as we journey together with our grit intact to learn more about how to thrive and how to get the most out of life. It means a lot that you are here today. As you listen I encourage you to think of who may appreciate the tidbits of knowledge we are sharing and to take a moment to pass this along to them. Everyone appreciates a friend that thinks of them, and these conversations are meant to be shared and to spark even more connections. If you have not been to a Lindsay Sterling concert, you are seriously missing out. I had no idea how much I was missing out until I went to one. I expected her to be an impressive performer. Her music is energetic and amazing, and I knew I would love that.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:06

That was not a surprise. I was so impressed with her stage presence and the depth of the experience. It was almost like having an inspirational speaker and a motivational event as well as a world class concert. It was pretty phenomenal. And I had three takeaways that I'm very excited to share with you. And one of them was she shared her experience of how where she was a year ago, and she had been at the same concert venue where I saw her. I live in Bend, Oregon, and she was at the Hayden Homes Theater here. And she talked about being here a year ago and where she was now.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:51

And kind of that was her point of reference of how much her life had changed in that time. And it really helped me reflect on the fact that it's important for all of us to do that. It's important to take those moments of time to see how far we've come, how much we've grown and how much things have changed. And it made me pause and think about a year ago for me, because a year ago, I had wanted to see her in concert at that same venue we had just recently moved to Bend. Our house was on the market where wed lived previously. It was an adventure selling that home. And we just had an offer fall through. The second offer that had fallen through, and they'd both been above asking price and they'd both fallen through.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:38

So we were kind of discouraged, possibly trying to be optimistic, but had only planned our finances so far. And they were really getting tenuous paying for a place here which was more expensive than where we lived before, interestingly. And we both had come down with COVID Neither one of us, me and my now husband, then fiancee, had gotten through the whole pandemic without it, even though he worked at a hospital, had gotten through the pandemic without having Covid. And we both got Covid right around this time of year. That's why we didn't. Part of the reason we didn't go to the concert last year, the other reason we didn't go to the concert was I was supposed to be at this epic women's event for multiple days that I had to forfeit my ticket for and not attend because I was sick. And it turned out that I had Covid. So it was kind of a rough spot for us financially, mindset wise, discouraged, health wise, we weren't doing so good.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:05:36

Things are a little bit difficult. And as somebody who runs my own business right, as a solopreneur, like those are really tough times when you're out sick for long periods of time and you've invested in this personal growth opportunity you don't get to go to when big financial challenges are happening, like having to pay for two homes and things not moving with a sale that are further elongating how much you're paying for two homes. And those things can be challenging. And I have a fabulous partner. We were able to really stick together and kind of get through that challenging time. But to look at where we are now, happily married, things are going well with my business, things are getting some real traction, exciting things are happening. And interestingly, I had this podcast authenticity amplified I was supposed to be launching about a year ago. I was supposed to be doing all that and things just weren't coming together.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:34

And to look at how much better they've come together now is so exciting. So to see where I was a year ago just makes it so much easier to appreciate where I am now, even as other things are sticky and challenging. So I really appreciate that Lindsey Sterling took that time to have that marker in that set point. So in your own life, if you're able to stop and look at different things that you remember, fortunately for me, it was a concert I missed a year ago. And that artist reflecting on where she was at that concert a year ago and where she is in this better place now. And we were at a concert with drizzly rain and things that could have been a negative, but it was an epic, incredible experience. It really was a great experience. And to be able to see how much things have changed and grown in the place they're at.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:24

So to have that opportunity to pause and have those markers, and I do more now with actually writing things down and journaling and to have that to look back on, I think will be helpful for me as well. So if you have those markers in your own life, to look back, if you remember something from last October, right, last September, something from last summer, to look back and see how far you've come, I think that's a really great marker that she offered as a gift, more or less, that she shared her story and helped me reflect on mine as well. So I think that's a really important lesson I took from that is importance of reflecting back as well as looking forward. Another incredible thing that Lindsey Sterling talked about was the concept of yet I that just because you aren't there, you don't have what you want to have, that you plan on having, doesn't mean you don't have it yet, that it's not still waiting for you, it isn't still ahead of you that you may not realize all you are capable of and you may not have even imagined all that you're capable of yet. And if you've seen Lindsay Sterling perform or you're aware of her, she embodies this fully. Like, I can never imagine playing the violin or the cello. The cello is more my string instrument that I'm inspired by witches of Eastwick. When I was in London in my twenties, and that was the first time I'd seen someone play a cello.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:55

Is that a strange thing to admit? I grew up in a small town. I'd never been to an orchestra. I had not seen a lot of things. So when I was in my twenties and I was in London, it was the first time in a play because I did have an affinity for the theater and had a bit of exposure to the theater. That was the first time I'd ever seen someone play a cello. And I was, like, amazed by this instrument. Like, I'd seen fiddles and violins, but never cello. And it was just this phenomenal instrument.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:27

So for me, this concept of me ever playing in a cello is pretty far fetched. I'd never even seen one until I was in my twenties, right? So playing a cello, just mind blowing. And when I see children play them, I have one of my good friends, her daughter plays the cello. I actually went, I flew to another state for her birthday and got to see her play that on her birthday. And that's just amazing to me that she's, like, in junior high and playing cello, and I didn't even see one until I was in my twenties. So the concept of me even playing the cello is a pretty far fetched concept, right? And so to take that to the next step of playing a cello while dancing around a stage is, like, pretty crazy. It had to be on wheels or whatever else, right? And so for Lindsay Sterling, if you aren't familiar with her, she plays the violin, I hope. I'm saying maybe it's violin.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:17

I think it's a violin. She plays the violin, but she does it while dancing. While I hanging upside down from scarves that are hanging from the ceiling, while doing acrobatics, while swinging from side to side on the stage, while doing all this high energy, incredible stuff that you just wouldn't even imagine being combined with this type of performance. Because even if you have been exposed to the violin from a young age and consider playing the violin, you probably consider being played in an orchestra in a very traditional fashion, sitting in the first chair being your highest ambition. And she just reimagined and broke all of the rules and found new ways to express and entertain and elevate her artistry and her way of performing. And she is an incredible example of new, incredible ways of doing things. I run a podcast network. When I was growing up, there wasn't podcasts.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:18

Women running networks, podcast networks for women, like, doing the work I do, working with other solopreneurs, like, all of this is amazing and outside of a scope of anything I could have imagined, because that wasn't available yet. That path wasn't a path yet. There are so many things I've gotten to do in my life and my career as I've gone throughout it, that I never imagined I would do. And I just went along the paths and found these next amazing ways of doing things. And she's just this beautiful example of that, of how far you can take things when you follow your passions and combine them. And you spend much time with me, you'll find about skill stacking and my way of. You find your unique stuff. Authenticity amplified, right.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:02

That's my new podcast I'm launching. Right? Authenticity amplified, that. You take what's uniquely you and you stack it in incredible ways. And Lindsay Sterling is the embodiment of that. Who would have thought about dangling from scars, from the stealing while playing a violin? Like, she invented new ways of doing things by doing what she was passionate, what she was best at, and taking it to new levels that no one thought was possible. And that's what each of us has inside of us and the ability to do so this concept of yet, like, we're not there yet, we haven't figured it out yet, is just beautiful concept that she really drove home, that I feel each one of us needs to take inside of us and start putting that at the end of our sentences as we figure out our paths and our way of doing things that just not yet, because there's so much more in our path and so much more that we can achieve that we don't even know is possible yet, because we haven't figured out the way. And there may not be a way. There's not a bridge yet.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:59

Which brings me to a hilarious side story from when I was in college. I went to college in Louisiana. And I might have told this on the grit show before, but I went to college in Louisiana and got to study Louisiana state history as part of my collegiate experience, because that's what happens when you go to college in a out of state, not where you grew up. And I do believe it was Huey long. I should know this, right? But I just remember that there was. There is a governor who, like, built bridges and roads in different places so that he would get the funding to then build the roads to the bridges and then put the bridges where the roads were so that he put them in places where they didn't connect yet. And so sometimes, like, you just put the bridges here and you put the roads there, and then later on, you figure out how they go together. So build your bridges, build your roads, and eventually you figure out how they all come together.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:50

And that's a beautiful message that I think was reinforced by my time with Lindsey Sterling when she came through my town and I had this epic experience at this concert with her that I think that is something you can take without having to even be there, even though I highly recommend going to one of our concerts. And the third point that I got from my epic experience at my Lindsay Sterling concert is the importance of your voice. You think this is something that I would know implicitly. I have a podcast network. I have more than one podcast. I use my voice frequently. Yet Lindsay Sterling gave me this beautiful example when I was at her concert that just drove this point home like no one else has for me. And I'm hoping that maybe it will help you see it if I share this story with you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:14:39

So, some of you might have heard of the book untamed by Glennon Doyle. It's a great book. A lot of my friends have loved it and read, have read it and loved it. I enjoy her, but she's not super resonant for me. And so read the book, got little pieces out of it, and things didn't like, especially stick with me. And when I was at the concert, Lindsay Sterling was repeating information from this book. I've read this book. I've had conversations about this book, and yet Lindsey Sterling repeating information from untamed, beautiful concepts that made me surprised that I didn't get them on that level when I first read them or saw them, that they didn't resonate and stick with me and stand out for me ten times more than they did when I first read them.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:26

But she reiterated this concept about the cheetah. That's kind of like the point of the book, or it starts with the point of this book. There's so much more to the book, which could be part of it. Cause I read the entire thing, so I got other pieces. And this is where it began with her at the zoo. The cheetah. The zoo. And the cheetah chasing after a mechanical bunny with raw meat put on the back of it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:51

And this concept of a cheetah being in the cage and, like, I remember that concept, but the concept that Lindsey brought out that I guess didn't resonate or I didn't quite get it in the book, or it didn't stick with me like it should have. I'm really surprised by is the concept that this cheetah had. Did the cheetah know? Did it have in any core part of his being, the awareness of its power, of the fact that it's the fastest animal on earth, and yet it is playfully jogging after a mechanical bunny? You know, the point of all of that is that each of us are raised in a container. We are raised in a cage, whatever that is, whatever construct that we are put in by the world we grew up in, the family we grew up in, the town we grew up in, the judgment, the society, the boxes we are put in that when we're put in that cage, just like that. She just put in that cage. It's still a cheetah. It's still one of the fastest animals on earth that is capable of things that we could never imagine being capable of. It's still that cheetah with all that potential, all that capability.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:59

And yet here it is in the zoo, in this cage, believing that this raw meat on the back of this mechanical thing is all there is, and that this is as fast as it runs, and that this small world is all that it's a capable of. I read that. I read that book. I read that piece. I knew that it was impactful for the author. And yet somehow, when Lindsey Sterling was telling that story and that concept, it, like, hit me in such a different way. Like this concept that, oh, my gosh, the world that I was raised in, the place that I was in, I was always the cheetah, capable of all of these things and didn't know it because of where I was raised and where I was kept in the places that I was in. And it was so interesting.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:17:48

I don't know if for some reason, when I read it, I was just too stuck on the cage and not thinking of the construct. I have no idea. But it was so interesting to me that until Lindsay Sterling shared it, I really didn't resonate with that. That I read this entire book and got some miscellaneous things that I don't want to be embarrassed to tell. The things that I remember from that book that weren't that powerful. I remember that entire story, but did not get that resonant message of, each of us are raised in these environments and not aware of what we were capable of. Like, I got the trapped. I got trapped is what I got from it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:18:24

Instead of our potential, us not knowing who we fully are, and we are always the cheetah that's capable of all of these things yet never aware of it because we don't have an environment in which we can express it. And Lindsay's sterling voice, her telling that, her repeating that piece just hit me so differently so many years after I read the book in such a different way. And it was so powerful. And it was surprising to me because when we think of, like, I love Brene Brown, and I could not imagine that somebody else could repeat a Brene Brown story and it would be more powerful than me reading it directly in Brene Brown's book. So even when I tell that story to somebody or mention those things, I feel like I'm just doing a, you know, trying to spread a little bit of the seeds, a little bit of the sunshine, but not doing anything near the impact that someone like Brene Brown or someone like Deepak Chopra or somebody else that's powerful, or Oprah or somebody with this big, powerful voice, that even if I'm repeating their words or sharing their wisdom or interpreting what I've gotten from talking to them or listening to them, that I'm just giving you a little shadow of it. I'm not giving you anything that's that powerful. And yet, Lindsay Sterling, an unexpected messenger, right? A performer, a violinist, incredibly talented, wonderful woman. Yet that was not what I expected to get out of that performance, was the repackaging of a book I'd read.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:19:59

Years I'd read the book like I'd read it. It wasn't the first time that I'd heard this. And yet it hit me completely differently. And it made me realize how important my work is to help elevate women's voices, right? And to help launch podcasts and to support solopreneurs and their mission driven businesses and that messaging and getting that out, that's why I'm here. That's why you're here. Right? But to realize that my voice, your voice, your mission, even if you feel like at times you're repeating or mirroring or sharing something, you think people know that your voice might be where they need to hear it, or you might be saying it on the day they need to hear it. Or you might be providing the service through your business and the work you do that's giving it to them in the place that's at the right time for them to ingest it. And maybe it was that when I read that book, I just wasn't in the place to hear that part, and I need to hear it again later.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:21:05

And if it wasn't for the fact that Lindsay Sterling was sharing that I may not have received it, isn't that just amazing? Like, I was so impressed with that. It really struck me the importance of that and that even I need that reminder, even though this is my work. And so I wonder if that's not a reminder you need as well about the importance of your voice and your message and what you're sharing in the work that you're doing, that it really does matter, that there's an importance to it. I was very taken with that. And she also did things with breath work and talked about anxiety and all of these pieces that even if they weren't things that I needed to hear, I kept thinking that there was people in that audience that were getting to hear this from her, that this probably was powerful to hear from her. So it's incredible that our voices can share things that an amazingly talented performer and musician is also very inspirational and this passionate messenger for this important information. So, as each of us are doing our work, that we realize how much we really do have to offer and how our authentic voice and us magnifying that can actually make an impact, even if we feel at times that we're sharing something that somebody else said more eloquently that they got a book deal for. But us repeating these concepts and us sharing these perspectives can do so much to impact our world.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:22:30

And I got so much out of that concert and out of that opportunity from Lindsey Sterling, who is a phenomenal human. Clearly right. But it was so exciting that that was not like why I went to that concert that night. I expected to have a wonderful time being entertained, being lit up with incredible music, but there was so much more depth to it, and I just find that incredible. So for our takeaway from this, what is it that resonated the most with you, are you in a place that you are ready to really exercise your voice? And that last piece of conversation just really connected with you because you've been wanting to share more, you've been wanting to say more and put yourself out there, but you felt like maybe you were parroting somebody else or your words weren't going to resonate as much as for someone else that had a bigger platform. If that's the case, then that's your takeaway, right? That's the thing that you need to take and apply is to think about what that message is, it's burning with you. And to start using your voice to really share that and really do something with it, right? Or maybe for you, what really resonated from this conversation was us looking at that yet, that you're not there yet. And so you need to start using that phrase and reminding yourself and to think right now in this moment, when was the last time that you were getting on yourself about something? Was it maybe as simple as the way you're preparing dinner? That it didn't, like, go as smoothly as you wanted to because things are rushed.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:24:11

And to say, like, I don't have the skills to balance all the things I'm cooking all at once yet, but I'm getting there and this will flow at some point. So I'm not there yet. Or I'm working on building my relationship with one of my kids and it's challenging, but we're just not there yet. We just haven't figured out how to break through and talk to each other yet. Or I really care about my partner and I know that we love each other deeply, but things aren't flowing like I want them to and we're just not there yet. We're getting there. We're going to get there. We're just not there yet.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:24:43

Or if you're building a business and you're trying to have everything come together and everything happen and you're trying to figure all the things, you just haven't figured it out yet. If your bookkeeping is stressing you out, you just haven't figured it out yet. If you're wanting to be in a different home with more space for your family to organize, to do the things, like you just haven't figured out how to get into that house yet, they're all a step in a process and you're just not there yet. And to have that reminder, so to think about what is the thing that you need to have that reminder about? Like, what is that one thing that that yet needs to be resonant and to think of it now reflecting back and then start having that be your little piece that you're putting in there so you can be able to remember that and put that in. So you have that yet that you're adding to things. And if neither one of those were the things that resonated with you, then we can go back to that. That markers for our, we've talked about future self and now we had today to have that reflective piece of giving us where we were a year ago and to stop looking at the gap about how far we need to go and to look at how far we've come and to have these places where we have these markers to look back. Like I mentioned, I have a reunion this week for my high school and to the girl that graduated from high school.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:26:00

Never would have imagined the things I've accomplished. So I have a long list of things I can look back over time and look at things I've done and the places I've gone and what I've done in that time. It's probably a little too long of a span of time for me. The year mark is a good thing for me, right? Just look back six months or a year or even five years. But when you're getting, when you're having a hard time looking at where you want to go and how far till you get there to stop and look at how far you've been and how far you've come from other places and in other parts of your life, because right now it might be that you're struggling with one of your kids or that you're struggling with a part of your job or with building your business or with a specific thing at work you're trying to figure out, but look at another area of your life, look at the partner you have. I know that's one place I reflect on, and I'm thrilled and amazed at how far that's come. And like I said in my example, like our health a year ago was in a very different place. So I'm very grateful for where that's at right now.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:26:56

So even as you have other things that you're struggling with, there's other things you've come far in. It's nice to have that marker. So any one of those to take and look at and see how you can actually apply that to your life and really carry that forward, because that's the gift of our conversations, right, is that we actually apply this stuff and I walk forward with it in our, in our world. To actually make a difference. I'm so glad you showed up today and spent this time with me. I cherish it very much and I look forward to seeing you again very soon. I value the time we shared together today. Thank you for making time to be here and to continue taking steps towards growth and bringing more ease into your life.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:27:41

Id love for us to stay connected on Instagram, @shawnapodcasts or @the.grit.show there's even a link in bio at @the.grit.show where you can send me an email to let me know what you thought of todays episode. Hearing from you helps to make the effort that goes into producing these episodes worthwhile. After all. You're why I'm here and since it's been a while since you've heard this, you are the only one of you that this world has got and that really does mean something. I hope you realize that I'll be back again soon and I hope you're following along or subscribed so that you'll know and be here too.