Take the Elevator
This podcast is purely about elevating people through individual life stories and experiences in the Elevator. In the Elevator, what's key is maybe changing your perspective; having self-actualization; embracing your purpose; and acting on it as we grow from one another. There is a whole different point of view when you look up to elevate.
Take the Elevator
348th Floor: Healing Happens in HOW You Spend Your Time
What if embracing change isn't as daunting as it seems? Join us on an emotional journey as we unpack personal revelations from a challenging illness and explore the profound insights gained during recovery.
Dive into a spirited discussion on balancing life's daily tasks amidst trials and triumphs. We examine how media influences our mood and the necessity of consuming uplifting content to set a positive tone for the day. With a keen eye on gender dynamics, we explore perceptions of control in various aspects of life, emphasizing the importance of understanding and maintaining friendships despite differing views. By sharing our journey from managing burnout to celebrating creativity, we aim to inspire resilience and encourage listeners to pursue their passions with vigor and joy. Get ready for a burst of inspiration and motivation to elevate your everyday experiences!
Look-up, and let's elevate - together!
Hey, it's Jen the Builder and Corey and we're back on the elevator after two weeks of just being down on our backs in the bed. Literally sick, sick, sick.
Speaker 2:I don't know about sick, sick, sick. I think maybe just one sick was enough.
Speaker 1:For you. I don't think you got as bad as I did, thank goodness. Yeah, it was rough and I have a lot to share on the two weeks I had a lot of time to think like, why is my body going through this? Aside from the fact that it's going around? Yes, that's for sure. Everyone we know pretty much has either gotten it or is in it now, but there was something that I took away from it that I'm really excited to share with everybody. But thanks for waiting it out. It's good to be back and in two weeks there's been quite a bunch of different things happening that we'd love to share with you before we get into our topic today and the topic is right around change, resistance to it, what it does to us, and you know we're just going to have dialogue on it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I like what you introduced to me, which was the cost of change. Yeah, so there is a charge that comes with changing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you get to choose what price you want to pay for it Indeed.
Speaker 2:So, jen, I'm going to jump in and start with a few really cool things that happened for me in the last couple of days. One of the things is, we've performed twice back to back on the 14th and the 15th, and we had some pretty amazing people show up. The 15th, and we had some pretty amazing people show up and I'm just sending a shout out to those of you who came out to hear us play. One of my co-workers, art, came out and another co-worker, jen, came out and supported us on the 14th, which was Valentine's Day, amazing Sweet. And then the next night, which was the 15th, some people came out and supported the Shameless Band, and we just really want to say thank you to everybody that came out who is listening, and even if you're not, you know, it's just nice to know that there's people that's willing to support you.
Speaker 1:I agree, and the 15th was quite fun. I was able to go to that one and it's really cool when you're playing at a place that's a restaurant, slash bar, no dance floor floor, but people are up and dancing throughout the restaurant.
Speaker 2:That was really cool. Right, it was. That was real cool.
Speaker 1:I had a great time with that, with that show yeah, it reminds me of years ago when you first started the band and you played at breweries and it was during covid and uh, you were just starting off and I remember it was like almost mandatory for me every time you played to get up and dance. Plus, I loved the music. I still love the music and uh, it just reminded me, man, it's been four years yeah four years, wow.
Speaker 1:And I just had a recall moment when we were at September's in Rialto. I went back to day one and what that first gig was like.
Speaker 2:And then here y'all are here we are um number two thing, uh, number. The number two thing that I wanted to point out is, uh, we had a really good interaction with a family that had two children, that uh, purchased the books and Valentina and Maximus, our new fuzzy furry forest friends, so sweet. That was great, and and not just those two, but we really interacted with those uh two children. That's why I'm bringing it up. But to summarize it, I will say everyone that has purchased a book, which has been great, Amazing, Right.
Speaker 1:I wish I had written all their names down, because we autographed quite a few books. This week.
Speaker 2:Right, I know I did sign one to air, which was a coworker.
Speaker 1:That's a cool name Air Air Jordan.
Speaker 2:No A I R E air Nice, and so a cool name Air, air Jordan. No a I R E air Nice, and so, uh, I signed one for her um this past week, and then we've just been signing books left and right, a lot of books, yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's been a great uh great time, just really fun. And, by the way, if you're listening and you haven't got a book from the Fuzzy Furry Forest, please feel free to go to Amazoncom and order from either Corey L Body that's K-O-R-Y L, as in Larry B-O-D-Y and order a Fuzzy Furry Forest book. Or you can go to Genevieve, who is an author on the Amazon page as well, which is so amazing to finally be able to say and put that out there yeah, like I have a legit author's page to get this.
Speaker 1:Guys, it's so funny, of course. Like, did you create your author's page? I'm like, yes, I did it, I wrote the stuff, but it's not going through. So I changed my image, thinking that maybe my image was too big of a file. And guess what, all this time it was my fault. Yes, the ball was in cory's court. We didn't know he had to officially approve it, because it's a book series that he started right right yeah. So I don't know, cory, when you pull up my name, is it only gonna find sheriff slinky snake?
Speaker 2:or is it gonna yeah?
Speaker 2:so unfortunately, yeah I would look for cory l body, so you can have a choice of getting all three books, which I highly recommend because it is a series it is um, and the one that I'm on, of course, is sheriff's leaky snake, yeah yeah, um, last but not least, I'm gonna address History Month, and not because I have to, but because I want to. You know, I am a person of color, I'm Black, and I think this is a very important time, not just for Black people, but for all races and cultures and creeds. The reason why I say that, guys, is not because I think that everyone should know everyone's culture, but it's nice if we would, or if we do, um, I, I definitely study Filipino culture, I'm married to a Filipina and I study American culture, and I study, um Asian culture and Hispanic culture. Uh, why? Because I live here on this earth with people of all those backgrounds, and it's not just about me, it's about everybody. And how do I interact with people if I'm only thinking about me when I'm interacting with them? So that's my rationale.
Speaker 2:You create your own, or maybe not, but Black History was a success. I created a short film for our company and I was able to showcase it in one of the main rooms and I got a lot of engagement and it was a blast. I had a great time.
Speaker 1:What I loved about the feedback is that everybody I talked to based on your film learned something new. There was something that they hadn't realized about Black History, so that was pretty neat. It was so cool. If I may share, the film was called.
Speaker 2:The Indigenous Spectrum.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I loved it because it went from all the shades of black, yeah, and just people that fit in each shade and what they've brought forth, and now we honor them throughout black history. So, anyhow, that was amazing. I loved watching it. Oh, and then Corey had it set up to where, when you went into the room, it felt like four different theaters, and so I felt like we had our own private screening of the film. That was a neat experience Popcorn, red vines, the whole shaboying-boying.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, very neat. I had a few wins and they're pretty much the ones you mentioned, because when you're winning, I'm winning, and when you're winning, I'm winning. Yeah, so there was, just for for me, a lot of introspective moments where I felt like those were wins, because I had a lot of aha moments, things that kind of left me feeling shafted or alone or confused. I got a lot of clarity on and I think that's what's really inspiring today's episode.
Speaker 1:Right, I know we've talked about change this is not a new topic, but I think this part is and I felt like in my body, like just really tired, fatigued, worn out, I didn't have the energy, I didn't have the desire to really get up and function too much to really get up and function too much. And I just realized like every day I was experiencing major change and it just wasn't one change, it was multiple changes throughout the day. So I know, as a collective here in our country, we're all feeling that. All of us like every day it's something new. You've got to keep up with what's happening with our administration and things that are getting signed. How does it impact us? How does it impact people?
Speaker 1:we know right yeah people, we work with, people, um, in our friend circle and our families. So just navigating that, I think, really took a toll on me. And then, because I am the way that I am, when people come to me I have a tendency to really carry it. So now I'm not just carrying my experiences but other people's and trying to be a voice for them, and I think that's where it just really took a toll. So, corey, can I just share with you all what I came to, and it's nothing like profound, I promise it's not. It's just a reminder that life is not fair yeah, I'm open for it.
Speaker 2:I want to hear these.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, that's what it is. Because I was playing back my dialogue and I recalled, like, when I was talking to people like this isn't fair. You know, I'm really upset because it's not fair, it's not right. And then I realized, you know, life at the end of the day is just not fair. My sentence following that this is my conclusion, and I'll talk about how I got to here is that I have to let life go flow through me, because there's something that happens when there's resistance, and I mean chronic resistance, when we're in that space of resistance for too long. Does that make sense, cory? Oh yeah, do you know what I'm?
Speaker 2:talking about. I believe I I'm on the same track as you, but I just want to make sure yeah.
Speaker 1:so once I've tried everything I could whether it be in conversation, in motion, in movement, in email, in conversation and at the end of the day, this change is happening right. There's no way to change the change, it just is. I've noticed that when I've hung on too tight to this is not how it should be, this isn't fair. It would just break me down, and so I wasn't able to break through those moments, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So that's what I mean by let life just flow through you, because if you have all these walls up and we resist the change instead of making the change be about me, then it weighs too much on me. So what I'm saying is, if I've done what I need to do to make an impact, to let my voice be heard, an impact to let my voice be heard, being in silence and changing my attitude towards the thing so I can flow through.
Speaker 1:It is what I'm talking about yeah I really think that's why I was down for the two weeks, because mentally I was just wiped oh, I just had an aha moment what is it?
Speaker 2:so I think that's probably why I wasn't down then, because what I do and what I did consciously, because you know I was going through a lot of different changes and ups and downs but I look at it and please, guys, don't be offended by the way I say this, because some people may take offense like, oh well, who does he think he is? But's not that, it's just reframing and looking at it from a different perspective. I never run around here saying life is so fair, oh, life is so fair, fair to me, fair to everyone because life has not been one of those things that's going to give evenly to everyone. So I'm never looking for the fairness in life, I'm always looking for what's for me and what's fair for me. Is it fair for me to struggle and have to pay bills? I mean, that seems to be everybody's plight in life. So that's what I'm doing. I just want to look for the easiest way possible to approach that.
Speaker 2:And so when I was being attacked with sickness and challenges and changes in life, I'm looking for the easiest pathway through that and what's fair for me. And when I realize something's not fair enough for me, then I even the playing field and I look for a way to even the playing field. There's tasks at work that I'm required to do on a daily basis. However, in good times I can add more to the plate based on how much time I have and what I'm doing. On a bad day, I'm removing the extras to try to work through it the best way I can. I hope that helps help someone and gives them a little bit of a different outlook at this.
Speaker 1:That's really good. It sounds like a way to center. It's almost like when you have too much negative, you've got to balance it with inviting more positive moments and things to look for Right.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And then when you have good, positive moments all around you, the couple of negative things that come are offset, you know. So I think that's really, really sound advice. Um, now for someone like me, where it can spiral quickly because you're just taking on so much and you get overwhelmed by the negative. In fact, it probably wasn't a good idea for me to open the news right in the morning you know?
Speaker 2:yeah, because that will be a debbie downer for some and the it's uplifting for others.
Speaker 1:You just never know, you know yeah, the expectation right now is there's going to be new news, and if you're not in the mindset to take on anything new because you're still processing what's happening, maybe the wisest thing for me to do would just maybe tune into a song that you know is positive or a podcast that's gonna charge me up or be in good conversation like take the elevator, yeah like that podcast would be great.
Speaker 1:So it just brought me back to the reason why people resist change. Because it's always important for me to understand, okay, why am I resisting this so tough, like what's really happening? Because when I go through that, I have a tendency to not repeat the same kind of experience. Like I really need to learn from this experience so it doesn't happen again, right? So I think for me and a lot of my friends, it's really that loss of control, like a lot of people feel like they're not in control of what's going on. They're not in control of their own lives. Someone else might be, and who really likes that?
Speaker 2:Well, let me slightly give some different narratives. Yeah, I need all the help. I think honestly, jen and again I'm not trying to be offensive I think that's a woman issue. Men are used to someone else being in control, especially when you're talking about employment, you know, dealing with banks, dealing with lenders and brokers and so forth and so on. At jobs or places of employment, you always have someone in control, someone above you, telling you what, what the do's and don'ts are, because women are new to the control game. They think that there's a point in life that they're going to be at the very top of the food chain and be able to tell everybody what to do, and it's not going to ever happen that way.
Speaker 1:And I hope that doesn't land too hard. I think that might land a little funky for some. It's kind of landing iffy with me, if I may I kind of figured that yeah, it's all over my face? I'm sure so, but again, what? What I appreciate about take the elevator is that we've agreed to not always agree to the same thing, right, that's what makes community so important, and I think, especially in this day and age, there's a lot of differences of opinions going on absolutely and I.
Speaker 1:I just refuse right now to end friendships because we have differing opinions oh yeah, you know, it's like no, what does?
Speaker 1:that even mean, I think too. I think maybe, for, because right now the change I'm feeling is not really centered around bills and promotions per se. I think the change really is around relationships and the risk of losing how we're used to experiencing those relationships. So whenever someone feels threatened or someone you care about is threatened, that's for me a loss of control and there's an emotional attachment, right, I think maybe this is more of a female thing and you can tell me, corey, if you go through this, whether it's a job, relationship or routine, we really form deep emotional connections to the way things are, and so when those change, it's like well, no, I, I don't like, I don't like it like that, I like it the way it was. There was nothing wrong with it.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean yeah, I know exactly what you mean and I that's what I was attempting to say in my in. Okay, um, because a lot of times, men are just like you know what it is, what it is and that's what it's gonna be. So I'm not gonna waste time or emotion on feeling this way at this point, because nothing's really gonna change about that. Um, and and I'm going to add this to that as well that's why men carry things so differently than women do. We'll carry 10, 15, 20 years of a burden that it really doesn't belong to us, but we're carrying it because we know if we offload it, somebody else is going to pick that up. And then there's even worse problems and consequences.
Speaker 1:See, I think women are really good at offloading. Yeah, I mean, as a woman, I've carried things, but this is what happens when I carry it for too long, right? So, and that's what leads to the cost of resistance, right, and that's where it really brought us to. So, in the same way that there's emotional attachment when you resist it, the cost is an emotional drainage. So it leads to frustration, it can lead to burnout, even moments of sadness or even depression. You know what I mean, and that's why it's just important for me to say dude, let this go.
Speaker 2:So imagine this Some time ago men's death rate was very, very low, like 40, 50, 60. In that age bracket men were hitting those high numbers in heart attack stroke.
Speaker 1:so forth and so on.
Speaker 2:Those numbers have changed over the years because women are now in the workforce and they're taking on some of the burdens. So you can see the shift in the way things are happening. And when you're used to carrying certain loads, then you just, you know, take that to your grave, whether it be at a young age or an older age, and now I think women are experiencing the same thing. And again, that's what I was kind of leaning towards, not trying to offend anyone no, yeah, great way to explain.
Speaker 1:I'm glad it came out yeah um, so I know that you and I just being very transparent and vulnerable here is we've. You know, we had some relationship struggles the last couple of weeks. Um, because I think you just pointed out really good about moving forward and I was still kind of resisting and standing still, and so there's tension. Imagine what that's like, where you're way ahead of me and I'm still back here Like wait a minute, I haven't figured this out and you want me to move and I feel kind of paralyzed in all of this Right, so that can cause a struggle there. All of this right. So, yeah, that can cause a struggle there.
Speaker 1:Um, and I just went back to when in my life have I resisted change, only to realize later that it was exactly what I needed, and those are the. That's the one question that I just answered and said you know, I've been through many changes and I didn't like some of them and it turned out to be the better thing for me. You know, some people right now might relate to they lost a job only to find, um, a hundred percent autonomy as a business owner, cause it forced them that way you know or?
Speaker 1:you lost a job and it brought you to your dream job, or you had a breakup and you're like, oh my God, how can I live without this person? And you find out that it was actually a breakthrough and you were able to find yourself healthier and be in a better relationship oh, that's a whole nother podcast breakup or breakthrough yeah, that is one we might want to hold on to, that, for later, sure will so I think for me, during the time of being down for two weeks, is just this shifting from again the resistance to being more resilient through these changes, because it's just required of us.
Speaker 1:You know, like I, I want to choose to grow through it and just take on these changes and and be up for the challenge of it all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and again, as you already stated, life is changing drastically, um in the political climate, in the actual climate, like the, the weather.
Speaker 1:Yeah, isn't that a trip?
Speaker 2:It's just impacting yeah everything. The weather is going bonkers all over the country right now, so it's, uh, just one of those things that we're we got to get used to and begin to compartmentalize in a whole different way. Jen, something just hit me and I gotta say it, but I want you to give the details. You're going to be on a podcast this coming Thursday.
Speaker 1:I am, so it's my first one, and there's more lined up that I'm looking forward to. This one is on dope confidence. That's the name of the podcast.
Speaker 2:Did you say dope, d O P E confidence Okay.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, yeah. Podcast. Did you say dope d-o-p-e confidence? Okay, right, yeah, yeah. And so that was so much fun being in the other seat not hosting but just being the guest and I was a lot because I was tired.
Speaker 1:Right, it was the end of the day and I thought, oh my goodness, it's too late to drink coffee. I won't do that, and just being on this podcast with Amanda just woke me the heck up and I don't know. I think I might have been a lot for her to keep up with. She did beautifully. She's an excellent host. I felt right at home. But if you want to check it out, it's being released this Thursday, which is like I don't know what, that, what. That date is 20th. That sounds about right 20th. And again, it's the dope confidence hosted by Amanda and um. Check it out, let me know what you think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the 20th the 20th.
Speaker 1:It's a whole nother perspective of me. For sure, being in that seat was interesting. I'm like, oh my gosh, like I'm talking about things about me that I don't talk about on the podcast. Being in the scene on take the elevator is a very humbling role. Um, it's very in support to the person that I'm talking to, including you you know, absolutely so I don't ever like, oh yeah, this and this for me. I mean I share some of my thoughts, but I don't unpack it all here, right yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's great, and if you need a link, then we'll be posting a link and posting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll put on my Instagram.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Instagram, Facebook, all that good stuff.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, before I forget, because this happens to me a lot, I just wanted to make sure to share this too, as we're clearly going into the end of this episode is one of the things that came to my mind in these last two weeks is that there's that saying that time heals all things, and I beg to differ on that. I think it's what you do with that time that heals all things, because time goes by. As we have stated multiple times, time is going by so rapidly and it's not that time that heals you, it's what you do during that time. So that just really laid an impression on me in such a powerful way. So, corey, today we worked on some stuff for Genco really laid an impression on me in such a powerful way. So, corey, like today we worked on some stuff for Genco and Mike, I have today to do this. What am I going to do with this time?
Speaker 1:And, by the way, we're building the website, so it's published. It's not completely done, but if y'all want to check it out, our website for genco is thegencocom. So genco is spelled g-e-n-k-o, because duh, jen, the builder, and cory together is genco. So check it out, let us know what you think. We're starting to build our little empire, trying to make some moves and roll with the change so that the that life flows through us and we're not or flow to us.
Speaker 1:I like that yeah yeah, so we were going to say something, though, about, so the podcast is on thursday and we're doing some links and posts on uh social medias that's right.
Speaker 1:Yes, and we're pushing our book because and yes, I'm addressing the ladies ladies, on mother's day, god willing, um, the next book for the fuzzy furry forest comes out and it's on kelly the kangaroo, and this one is gonna hit hard, I promise you. This is all about motherhood, our relationship with our children, who are growing up so quickly, and the concept of time and the song that goes with this. Like I'm so excited about this one, like I want to do a one day or half a day retreat with women and their and their kids women, you know, and I I can see it. I just don't have it pinned, but I think it it's gonna have to be something to that extent yeah, this is gonna be a really good read for moms and um.
Speaker 2:I enjoyed writing it with you, jen. It was one of those experiences like, um, writing a good song with someone, like writing a great number one hit song with someone and I've never done that, but I've written some good songs and this was that same feeling like, oh, we really hit the sweet spot with this one.
Speaker 1:I'm all in agreement on that one. Even to this day, when I read the book and I play the song after I cry, it's like that touching. But you know I'm a sentimental schmuck.
Speaker 2:You're a funny one too.
Speaker 1:I don't think there's any new announcements, Corey. The band's next gig is March 1st, so more to come on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, March 1st March 14th and then the 28th, and we're stacking up dates left and right and it's just a blast. Oh my goodness. I'm so excited about what's transpiring and going on with the band and I'm also happy with the books. It's a lot to be excited about, but it's a lot of work, guys. Um, but we welcome it and we welcome to share all of it with you so that you can understand how either to do it or it's being done.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I know the band plateaued for a minute there and so I love seeing the elevation, you know. And so if you all are out there and you're waiting for the thing to pick up to gain some traction, well it's don't give up.
Speaker 2:It's exactly what you said.
Speaker 1:It's what we did with the time to heal and then things begin to happen for you hey, well, you know's to take the elevator. We say look up, and let's elevate Every day, elevate Every day. Oh, happy belated hearts day, everyone, much love.
