Bare Speak

YOLO Business Owner Donna Lee - Manifesting is Real

• Lwilliamson • Season 1 • Episode 1

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0:00 | 38:05

Donna Lee Founder of You Only Live Once Yoga Mats shares her story of surviving a harrowing car accident and how manifesting played an important role in her recovery and the success of her business and hobknobbing with celebrities at the Oscars.

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Thanks for listening to Bare Speak, a space for women who want to feel stronger, more connected, and more supported in their bodies and lives.

I’m Laura Williamson, a fitness and wellness professional with 20+ years of experience helping women move with more confidence, less pain, and more trust in themselves, especially in seasons of change.

*New episodes every other Friday
 *Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurasbarefitness
 *Learn more about me https://barefitnesspilates.com/

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SPEAKER_03

Hey there, it's Laura Williamson, and this is Bear Fitness. We're changing it up these days. No longer are we in the TV studio. We are now in the podcast room. So now we're gonna get Bear and tell it all. We're gonna get all the information. And I have a wonderful guest here with me today. Today, it is Donna Lee. But let me tell you who I am again. I'm your host. I am a personal trainer, Pilates instructor, Reiki practitioner, and I'm a personal cheerleader to a lot. So we're here today. We're gonna talk about some pretty interesting topics, but more importantly, Donna is gonna tell us about her washable yoga mat, which is fantastic. But it's not only about the mat, it's also about Donna. Donna's been through some extraordinary things. She's gonna share her story with us and leave us with her words of wisdom, which are uh awe-inspiring. So this is a great story. You want to stick around for this and find out um basically how she can inspire you to implement some um some cool things into your life to make some things a lot easier. So stay tuned and don't go away. And Donna, welcome. It's good to have you back. Um well, actually, not have you back, it's good to have you here because you and I we've spoken before, so I'm just excited to see you again. Um I'm gonna I'm gonna start before we even get into everything with you. I'm I'm gonna be um I'm gonna dig in. So you and I we met um recently. We met a couple of months ago um at a a conference, a wellness event, and we met, we started talking, and we hit it off. And admittedly, I was a little bit of a stalker because I called you back because the conversation we had was just for me so moving. And you had said something to me um that actually it kind of it was something so simple, but it was a revelation for me. And all you said to me was, you know, stay in the stay present. You know, a lot of our fear has to do with the future, and so I'm starting with that, what you told me, because it it has made such a huge difference for me. And for anyone listening to this, um, you may not realize what it all means now, but we're gonna talk a little bit and get into some things. And and now I want to talk about all things, Donna. Um, can you please introduce yours yourself to everyone and and tell us about who you are and what you do? Tell us about these wonderful yoga mats that that you you have.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I really want to thank you for having me on your show. Um I'm thrilled to be here. Um, yeah, I my name is Donna Lee. Um I invented a machine washable, dryer-safe yoga mat that's also sustainable, um, non-toxic, and made in actually Holy Oak, Massachusetts, so it's in the USA locally. Um I part of my story is I was debating on whether to get a patent or not, and um, I don't know, I got messages from the universe that I needed to do that, and um I did pursue a patent, and I have to be honest, going for a patent is almost like playing the lottery.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

You just don't know if you're gonna get it, so you put throw a lot of money at it, and you don't know if you're gonna get the win. But I was successful at getting my patent, so that was a real highlight of part of this journey that I'm on. Um, and it started in well, it there's many starting points or many milestones to this journey, um, which we'll talk about, I guess, today. Um, but I did start with the idea of creating this mat on January 1st, 2020.

SPEAKER_03

January 1st, 2020. The very beginning of a new year.

SPEAKER_02

Beginning of a new year, and also prior to the pandemic.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. Right before the pandemic. Yeah, before everything kind of just went. Nobody knew on January 1st, 2020. Nobody knew. Right. So let me ask you a question. What why yoga mats? What what made you decide to to do these yoga mats?

SPEAKER_02

Um, so I practiced yoga um for many, many years. Um, I decided I really needed to change my change up my health routine. And I went to a club and um I joined the club in a program called Commit to Be Fit, and it helped you with nutritional um aspects, and then each time we would meet each week, we'd be introduced to a new activity, whether it was Pilates or um Zumba or yoga.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So I always kind of shied away from yoga, but for some reason I felt drawn to it. So from that point I started doing yoga and Pilates quite frequently. And um I remember distinctly, um, I was using the mats that were provided at my club. And they and I was, you know, following like what everybody else does. They use the mat, they then go to um the wipe dispenser and go to clean their mat off. And you know, um my a friend of mine who was in the class as well, um, she's an oncology nurse at Floating Children's Hospital. Okay, and she immediately stopped me and said, Don't use those wipes. And I said, Oh, well, like, what do you mean? How are we gonna get these mats clean? And she said, They're toxic, um, they're full of chemicals, and she's very sensitive to the fact that exposure to chemicals can be harmful to ourselves or our bodies. So um I stopped in my tracks and I'm like, Well, what do I do? And she said, Well, you go get your own mat. And I'm like, Okay, so I went, bought my mat, bought my own mat, and um learned that it would j it just disintegrated in three months.

SPEAKER_00

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02

So I'm like, there's gotta be something better. And the other thing with the mat I was using, it was a typical rubber mat, which are made from like PVC, which is a known carcinogen. And um I'm I'm a sweater, so I need to have a towel on my mat.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

And it was just very problematic, the towel would slip. Um, I just it really distracted from my practice. So I'm, you know, building this idea that there's gotta be something better. And that's kind of how I started off thinking I was gonna do something like this. But um that was probably in 2018 or so. And um, yeah, so it didn't it didn't evolve until 2020, like I said, but um it it was always percolating that I needed to do something like this.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. So I mean, first of all, the mats are beautiful. Let's start with the aesthetics of the mat. They don't look like your typical yoga mat. That's the first thing. And then the quality of the mat is absolutely amazing. So, I mean, they're beautiful and it looks like they'll last a lifetime. Like I mean, me, I would be proud to carry that type of mat with me in my bag and take it with me, and knowing it, knowing I don't have to ever buy another yoga mat. Like this is the one I have, I'm keeping it for as long as I need it. And it let me ask you a question. Can you use it more or less anywhere? Could you take it outside? Because some people like to do yoga outside.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, um, that's the best part about it, is you can take it anywhere. Okay, it it rolls, it folds, um, so it's very transportable. And um you can take it into the forest, you can take it to the beach. I've actually had people that have purchased the mats, you know, notify me that I took it to the beach today, it was better than a blanket. Right. Um, I had another um person that purchased the mat and took it to um a retreat in Poland and they were in the woods and raved about how great it was. Um, you know, it's padded, it's it's durable, um, and it just gives you every it checks all the boxes of what you want.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, okay. So we know you're talented, and again, if you could see these mats, you're gonna you're going to see them. You're you have to see them because they're so fantastic. But I want to also dig in because you told me another cool story where you ended up at the Oscars. I did. Um, so I I need I need information. I need dish. I you you were with Big Poppy. We're gonna start with him because you know he's loved here, we love him. Right. We we heart him. Right. So he and you were with Viola David, like again, everyone can see the pictures, they're fantastic. Yeah. How does one end up hobnobbing with those in Hollywood? And and and how how can how can we can we do that? How what yeah? Tell us about that. How's that?

SPEAKER_02

So I think it comes back to um the practice of manifesting.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um, so the I referenced uh January 1st, 2020. So I actually um took a manifesting class. Oh um that I follow a spiritual coach. Okay, and she offers a class every January 1st. Um it's 21 days, and um it's just a manifesting class. So you you go into this program manifesting whatever your heart desires. So for me that day was a yoga mat. Um, and I had no idea how I was gonna do it. I didn't know what the materials would be, and um, you know, my first prompt on that day was what about this manifesting that you're about to experience brings you joy.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So that's your first prompt, and you relate it back to whatever it is you're manifesting, so it was my mat. And I felt that the joy I felt was sharing it with others, you know, giving a a healthier alternative of a mat. And again, I don't know how I'm gonna do it, I don't know what the materials are, and I kid you not, on the 22nd day it all came to me. And the top layer is Turkish towel, the middle layer is a it's called a single-sided fusible foam, and then there's a paper thin, non-PVC rubber um paper thin, and they use it on sailboats, so it literally will go nowhere.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

And how did I how did I determine that? I don't really know. I manifested it to be honest. So I then ordered all my materials. I know how to sew because my grandfather from Europe was um a furrier and a tailor, so we were commissioned in my family to all learn how to sew, and I'm so grateful. And I made my prototype and I said, you know what, I think I'm on to something. So getting back to your question about going to the Oscar. I you manifested going to the Oscars. I did. Okay. So I realized now that I have this mat that I've come up with and I'm thinking of manufacturing it, I was told I had to find influencers. So there was an yoga expo that happens every uh January in Pasadena. And I went and it wasn't well attended because of COVID. And then honestly, my whole plane trip out to California was about um I need to I need to find my I need to find um influencers. I just need to, and I just kept repeating that over and over and over again on that six-hour plane ride. So I get to the expo, which again it wasn't well attended because it was during COVID. And then a few days later, and I know them the universe said to me, just hold on, Donna. I mean, you didn't you weren't really that successful at the expo, but I'm really gonna blow your mind with this one.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So I wind up at a Kempton hotel in West Hollywood. I went into a little um boutique shop there that was rented out to um somebody that supports brands, new brands. I got to talking with him, and um, you know, the coincidence was his mother grew up in Worcester, so he's now out there in LA. And he said, you know, um, I love your story and um I do the swag bags for the Oscars, are you interested? And again there was no appointment that was made. I just showed up. And um I said, Well, well, yeah. And I was kind of a little naive because I wasn't really sure what this was about, you know, like what does this entail? And I said to him, Do I have to go to the event? He said, Well, well, yeah, you gotta come and meet the stars and hand up the mat.

SPEAKER_03

How horrible.

SPEAKER_02

Going to the event. Right, right. So um I had six weeks to then manufacture 120 mats and get them shipped out to LA for this two-day event. And um I gotta be honest, I was nervous as heck because I'm like, oh my god, I'm gonna meet these stars, and I just had to repeat to myself, you know, they're just people. They're just people, you know. So um, so I I got everything done, I got out there, and um, it was at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. And like the few weeks before that, of course, I rented Pretty Women and I had to watch it over and over and over again because that was the hotel I was staying at. That's awesome. I love it.

SPEAKER_03

I love it. That's so fantastic.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so it got me in the mood.

SPEAKER_03

So I I want to touch on something before we we talk about um a very um important incident in your life, yeah. Um, which is actually part of your story. Right. Um so the audience doesn't know that you were in a pretty serious car accident. And but before we talk about that, I I just want to throw out, you know, for those listening to this who are sitting somewhere thinking, what is this manifesting thing? What is what is she talking about? What is all that about? Um I'm gonna because the m you're gonna tell us a story and you're gonna it's gonna come up again. So I just I want to address potentially what could be an elephant in the room for those who aren't familiar or aren't used to it. Um so before you tell this story, can you explain what this all means for you to manifest things? You know, I think for me, when I hear manifesting, the first thing I think about is the book, The Secret. Yep. You know what I mean? That's the first, and it was a bestseller, I don't know, maybe a decade or so ago. And that was pretty much a big deal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It was a turning point to introduce people to manifesting. Okay, yeah, I think, I feel right. So um about the manifest I mean, I didn't really know the power of manifesting until I did it on January 1st, 2020, and came up with this mad idea.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_02

And um honestly when you put the energy into this desire you have, you know, you set an intention and then you kind of let it go.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

And what happens is it it has so much energy, positive energy around it, mm-hmm that it c just continues. Like to even that happened five years ago. And today I'm still manifesting from the intention I put forth on January 1st, 2020. Okay. So that's why I was able to get to the Oscar event. Um and you know, it was funny because my my cousin was with me that day, and when this happened, she looked at me and she said, How does this always continue to happen to you? And I'm like, I just have to believe, you know, I just put the energy out there. And um, you know, even meeting Big Poppy, um Violet David. Yeah, I just got a lot of press from this event.

SPEAKER_03

And there were other actors, I mean, yeah, the pictures. Yeah, I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

One of my favorites was um Eric um Roberts, Julia Roberts' brother. Um he was so sweet, he came up to me and he gave me a kiss on my forehead, and I have a picture of that as well. And of course, that made my Christmas card that year. Because I was like, this is familiar to go on. That's fantastic. It would do the same. Yeah, so um, so in looking back, I mean, all the kind of traction I got was really my energy that I put out there.

SPEAKER_03

Um so I I I have to ask. I'm gonna ask, and and I apologize if this doesn't come out quite the in the the appropriate way, but you had a pretty severe accident. And so I I'm going to ask, how did that even does that or did it even fit in with um your healing, the healing process you went through um with your accident?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, um, I'll tell you what happened. Um, so it this was 2018, it was Father's Day. I had just left a pretty intense yoga practice um at my club. It was a Sunday, beautiful day. I was planning on going stand-up paddleboarding that day, and um honestly I left my um my club and there was a car in front of me and the license plate was from out of state and it said papa, and I had lost my dad in 2000, so I was like, Oh, there's a sign, my dad's with me, you know, and I'm like, Happy Heavenly Father's Day. And then ten minutes later, I'm in a situation where I'm in a driveway. I had backed into a driveway that had a little slight slope, and um I put my car in park. I didn't turn it off, I was outside the car and I reached in and thinking, uh, you know what, I should turn it off. I reached in to turn the button off to the uh turn the car off and it slipped out of gear. So at this point, the car started to roll backwards and um I eventually lost my footing. I was in flip-flops and I went into a brush area, I lost my footing and I fell to the ground. Yeah, and my body is half under the car. So I know um and the inevitable was I was gonna be run over. But um I felt that I felt my dad there, I felt my practice from my yoga that morning just just was like um so comforting for me that I I didn't think anything of it. And I just I remember saying to myself, okay, just get it over with. And I was just so relaxed, and um the front left tire went over my core.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

And um I didn't really think anything of it. I got up, I moved the car, I just, you know, said, you know, that didn't happen. I denied it. And um eventually EMTs came and they were like, How are you walking around? And I'm like, Well, I just came from yoga. So yoga, I think, saved my life that day because I was just so relaxed. And um I did wind up at uh the trauma hospital and um I had multiple close fractures to my pelvis and three broken ribs. And my healing from that, um, you know, I didn't let it get me down. Um, I knew I would return to my practice. It did take a year. I mean, I couldn't walk for a while. Um and I just persevered and I felt that day was a turning point for me that you know what, I have a bigger purpose in life. And uh that fueled some of my uh uh drive to invent this mat. And the name of my company is um R Dashiola, which stands for Remember You Only Live Once.

SPEAKER_03

I love it. But let me ask you a question. You you said something a little bit ago, and you said, Okay, let's just get get this get it over with. Yeah. What were you thinking at the time? What did you mean by that? Just get it over with.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I knew the car was gonna run over me. Uh-huh. Um, and I just kinda I didn't want I didn't feel I could move or make any adjustments, and I just said to myself, you know, okay, I'm this is gonna happen and I'm gonna I'm just gonna have to get through it. Um and honestly, I feel the fact that it went over my core is really Really miraculous. You know, um, it didn't go over my chest. If it did, I probably wouldn't be here. If it went over my legs, I probably would have been paralyzed. But the exact spot where it went over was really uh interesting to me. You know, um, if it's gonna happen, you know, let's make it not as serious as it could be. And um I guess I was just honestly in shock. You know, it had to be shock that I was thinking this, you know. I just I didn't f pa panic in any way. I feel like if I did panic I would had a different outcome. So I do believe, um, you know, between my spirituality and my um yoga practice and what I do to maintain my health, um, I stay pretty calm. You know, I think it's important. And also to stay present. Right. You know, we talked about that.

SPEAKER_03

Stay in the present.

SPEAKER_02

Stay in the present.

SPEAKER_03

Stay away from the future. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Or, you know, and just don't even look in the past, you know. Just keep keep keep keep in the present moment and um because everything's gonna work out the way it's gonna work out. Right. You know, and um so that's that's an interesting question that you asked me that.

SPEAKER_03

Well, uh another something else came up when in in our conversation the last time we spoke. And you talked about setting intentions and how important, um, but not only how important it is, but how valuable it can be in in general, in life, and and what your what your goals are, what you're trying to accomplish, what you hope to accomplish. Yep. So can you talk a little bit about that? Setting intentions, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, and that's another skill that I've developed. Okay. I mean, I've I've read a lot about it, and um I do practice it. Um and I feel that if you set an intention, um, and you it's a it's it's manifesting in a way, you know.

SPEAKER_03

Um that's part of manifesting. But what is it? What is setting an intention? Again, because for a lot of people, this is gonna be new. This is gonna be like, oh, she's talking about manifesting, she's talking about intentions and spirituality. That's not my belief, that's not what I do. Right? But if it is packaged a certain way, I find that people are ready to go. Yeah, they they're ready to understand, so or try to.

SPEAKER_02

So, like even getting back to the mat itself, I set an intention that I was gonna invent a machine washable, dry safe yoga mat that was sustainable um for uh you know the purposes of um introducing a product that is healthy. As I mentioned, PVC mats are toxic. Um because you're you've got to practice if you're practicing yoga, um, it's a healthy practice. Okay. So you kind of have to align with what that is.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So setting an intention is um a lot like I really want to buy a house, let's use that as an example. So um you don't know how you're gonna do it, you don't know even if you have the means to do it, the funding or whatever, you don't know where it's gonna be. But if you have that as like a dream, you know, kind of convert that dream into an intention. And I find it very helpful to write it down.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, so you write it down and you also write it in a way that it's um I'm kind of breaking my rule here, that it is in the future.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

And that you believe and you can see yourself uh whatever that house is gonna be, whether it's gonna be a condo, if it's gonna be in the woods, or it's gonna be at the ocean. You just envision yourself there.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. And then you kind of wrap that energy around it and um you you let it go. And you can't um determine the outcome. You just have to let it happen on its own. Right. Like you can't direct it. Right. And I find that when I do set an intention and when I do manifest, um if I get out of the way, okay, um, something 18 times better than I thought happens.

SPEAKER_03

Um so you you mentioned you're still you're still here, you got through that. Yeah. And so you feel as though you have a purpose. You have a bigger purpose. I mean, we all have a purpose, honestly, let's be honest. Right. But for you, the fact that you literally walked away from this particular incident, um, you knew, you understood there was more. There was something more for you. Yeah. And now today, as you sit here in the studio with me, what do you know that to be?

SPEAKER_02

Um I feel like my purpose is to um since I I do value yoga so much, um, my purpose is to um provide um actually have have people learn from my story. That's one thing. I want to inspire people to um go after their dreams. Yes. Um I want to inspire people to not be afraid. Okay. Um we talked about that a little bit. We did. And fear can really um be a debacle for you because if it it'll hold you back. And it's very hard to overcome fear. It's so hard. But I think if you feel if you feel fear creeping in, you know, you just have to kind of center yourself and um heart centered. Yeah, heart centered. And then just kind of refocus on where you are today. And you may be today may not be a great day for you, but you know that this too shall pass.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

So, um, and you just keep on focusing positive energy towards your goal.

SPEAKER_00

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02

And it will I I I I mean, I'm living proof that it will happen. Um, and again, I I entered this space of manifesting and um setting intentions, not knowing what I was doing. But I finally got to the point where I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna try this, and I've reaped the rewards from it, so I know that it's real. Um and the spiritual person I follow, um, her name is Gabby O'Bernstein, um, and she works for me um in terms of her teachings and how she um travels through life. And she's got a wonderful book called The Universe Has Your Back, and it's it's that was a life-changing book for me. Okay. Where you just hand things over. Um when you try to control the outcome, it it's you're not gonna get an outcome. It's gonna you're just gonna spin your wheels. So once you give it up and give the universe the reins, miracles happen. Like you said, let go. Let go. And you let and it'll try to control it. Yeah, you can't control it. You can't keep checking in and saying, oh, hey, it didn't happen yet. You just have to trust it will.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And that you the timing of the universe you can't control. But once you put that plant that seed, like any kind of seed, it's not gonna germinate right away. Right. It takes time. It takes time.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

But you it it really comes back to really believing and believing in yourself. Right. You know, that you have this power. We all have this power.

SPEAKER_03

Right. Right. And I I look at it as for me personally, I look at it as it's it's like building a muscle, it's like working out. Yes. You know, it it's something that you have to practice. It doesn't happen overnight because we we've been taught to fear so much. Right. Well, what if this happens? This could happen. Oh, don't you know this thing happened to this other person? So, in some way, um there's a lot of fear out there because we've been conditioned that way. Right, right. So it's very difficult to move away from it. So it's not because it's easy. It's not easy, it's not easy, but it's a practice, it's a practice like everything else.

SPEAKER_02

Right. And I also feel that um if you really kind of look at all your fears and do an assessment of it, most of them never come true. Right. They're always worse.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. In our heads. What we make up is going to happen is always worse, at least in my experience, it has always been worse. And then you're like, oh, that wasn't so bad. I thought it was gonna be worse than that.

SPEAKER_02

Another tool in my toolbox is um gratitude. Yes. Um, so if I feel myself going down the slippery slope, you know, the slip and slide, um, I immediately go to my gratitude list.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

Um, and I'm not good at it all the time, but I like to try to start off my day with like three things I'm grateful for. And they don't have to be huge. You can be grateful for the sun shining today. You can be grateful for the glass of water you just drank. Just for waking up and putting your feet on the floor or just waking up. Right, right. You know, it doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be like, you know, um a Hollywood movie. So that's right. It's true. So I feel that that helps kind of pull me back into the present.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

When I when I really focus on truly what I'm grateful for. It pulls me away from um any kind of negative thoughts I have. Because the other thing is once you start thinking negative thoughts or um fear, it it's gonna it's gonna delay and potentially derail your manifesting. Right.

SPEAKER_03

Because now that's negative energy. That's right. And you're throwing negative energy after positive.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

So you almost kind of counteract what you just did.

SPEAKER_02

Right, right. And that's another thing is if you're always thinking negative thoughts and um fear and worrying, guess what? You're manifesting more of that.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, this is true.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, we could talk all day about this, you know, we could we easily. Yeah. Um, but this is I just I wanted people to hear your story and be inspired and have an idea of what they could potentially what they could do for themselves. Yeah and that there are answers out there for them, but there's always hope at the end of the day. Uh you just have to believe, believe in yourself and believe that anything is possible. Anything is, you know.

SPEAKER_02

And it it's yeah. I am, you know, in running being an entrepreneur is um extremely challenging. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. I'm one myself, so trust me, you don't have to tell me. Yeah, it's a it's a roller coaster, but um, you know, a lot of my ideas sometimes I don't act upon them right away. And um, and then I I again I I stop the I stopped the old records going in my head saying what's holding you back.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

You know, and it could be fear, it could be I'm not good enough, it could be imposter syndrome. I think we all kind of go through some of that sometimes.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

But once you realize um and go through your list of like where what are my all my wins so far, you know, and just going back to what those wins are, you know, those should fuel you picking up that phone and making that phone call if you need to make it to um reach out to somebody.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_02

You know, and um I mean I'm I'm a very driven person. I probably um that's not the norm of most people, I think, but I just have a lot of drive and um all these wonderful events I get to going to the Oscars just like kind of refuels me to I can do more, you know. If I did that, what else can I do? I'm kind of unstoppable at this point. What else can you do?

SPEAKER_03

Try, see what happens, right? Right, right. Go go into it with curiosity, yes, and see it as an adventure. Yes, yeah, yeah. Um I love that, yeah. You know, this is this has been it's been so wonderful having you here, and I'm I'm so grateful for you taking time out of your schedule to come here and sit down with me and and talk about this. Um thank you so very much.

SPEAKER_02

And just to tell you there's no coincidences. No, there aren't.

SPEAKER_03

You and I were meant to be a good idea. I I I believe that. I believe that completely. Do you have one last piece of advice, anything you'd like our audience to know before you leave here today?

SPEAKER_02

Um, I think some of my things is um, you know, just be curious. I love that. Um believe in yourself and don't let um any kind of potential trip that you may have in your journey um stop you from moving forward. You know, you just we all have them, you know, life is is is a journey. It is and um, you know, you might be going down a different path than you anticipated, but you know, be open to that, open to um maybe there's a there's another saying that I kind of follow too is sometimes um things don't work out it's because something better is coming. That's right. You're being redirected. You're being redirected. And i disappointment is is is can be difficult and and and can be hard, but realize that disappointment is is is a learning opportunity. Yes, and um I guarantee you something better is gonna come along.

SPEAKER_03

I find it it always does. And if for some reason it doesn't, once again, there's a redirect, but then there's also uh there is it there's a reason for it as awful as it's going to sound sometimes for some who are thinking this bad thing has happened to me. Why? So I can learn something. I I've had enough lessons. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_02

But you don't, you know, a lot of times if you've had the same lesson, it it's telling you something that um maybe you need to make a change. Um so you don't repeat the same oh no, that's a different show.

SPEAKER_03

That's a different show. We won't go to a different show.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Um I think if if I can close with just um believe in yourself and um just show up. Yeah, just constantly show up.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Donna, thank you for being here. And thank you for having me. And to our listener, thank you for being with us. Uh, we'll see you next time for more um tell all stories just like this one. We'll see you next time. I'm Laura, I'm your host, and this is Bear Fitness, and we're bearing it all.