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
381st Floor: Invite More Good
Feeling stretched thin by the news cycle? We took a breath together and mapped the moments that still shine.
If you’re craving a reset, you’ll find practical ideas here: micro‑gratitudes you can name today, ways to support water access advocacy, and simple rituals that bring joy back into the calendar. Listen, then tell us the one small thing you’re grateful for right now. Subscribe, share with someone who needs a lift, and leave a review to help more people find the show.
Look up, and let's elevate!
Every day. Elevate. Every day. Elevate. Every day.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, it's Jen the Builder. And the Corey. And welcome everyone. It takes the elevator. It's so good to have you here.
SPEAKER_00:And it's so good to be here.
SPEAKER_01:It is. And I love what we're already starting with because today, guys, we're just gonna kind of take a step back and just recognize there's a lot going on in the world today. And one of the ways that we can stay grounded and rooted and um just be here for all of it is to have moments of gratitude. And it's been a while since we've done that, Corey.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, well, I think it's an interesting time of the year as far as it being close to Thanksgiving and whether you celebrate that or not, or acknowledge that or not. I think it's important that we take time to to be grateful and have gratitude for many things, but just taking that moment is important.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I want to shout out a couple of things that I've seen. If you follow me on social media, you're gonna see that I've totally stepped back, and that was not on purpose. I just feel that intuitively, I just subconsciously said not right now, and for good reason. But when I did scroll a couple of times, um, I did see a person we know very well who set something up by way of community partners to give out food in Northern California. So just props to that, you know, as the government is on a shutdown, yeah, there are people who are suffering because of it. There's changes for them. So it's just been so good to see community coming together to make sure to take care of their own.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely. I agree a hundred percent. And uh as we get into this, Jen, you know, it's hard, you know, most of the time when you start feeling grateful, you start thinking about all the wonderful things, but it tends to bring you down a little bit because you have to acknowledge that there's some bad things happening. I'm not going there. Okay. I I'm I'm going to acknowledge some of the great things that are happening uh around the world, with my people, with my friends, with you and I, and um just taking that moment to really dig deep for the goodness of what's happening, because we're we're gonna hear the bad no matter what. And so why give it any more light? Let's just jump all the way in there.
SPEAKER_01:I really love that you said dig deep because sometimes that's what it takes when you're overtaken by the things going on around you. And I think that's why it's good that we're pausing together right now, right here. I don't know how long this episode's gonna be, but right now, together, we're gonna take time to reflect on the things that we're grateful for.
SPEAKER_00:Indeed.
SPEAKER_01:So over the week I got to spend I so let me just say like this I did my first official retreat.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. How was that? Oh my goodness. I was nervous because it's my first one uh in this team, and I met the most amazing people, and I don't want to put the organization's name out um because I didn't ask for permissions, but this is a an organization that does incredible things in the community from domestic violence, right, um human trafficking, sheltering, housing youth, transitioning foster kids into society, and the list goes on and on. And they were down to earth, good-hearted, whole-hearted, well-intended people who care for people, and they have a lot of their background and experience is the experience of being in the same situation. Yeah. So I was so honored to hear stories and just share that space with them. It was beautiful. I think it was like a six-hour and it felt like just an hour, and you know, that kind of way you just wish the day could go on because you're in such good company.
SPEAKER_00:Right, right. That's amazing, Jen. And I'm listening to that, and I'm hearing more people, more and more people uh working hard in that area of of helping kids with the uh sex trafficking and foster care and feeding people. And it's just it just feels really good to know that people are now really advocating for that and pushing hard, like never before.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And because funding is funky, uh, you're seeing a lot of these people getting really creative and just people coming together to ensure the work can continue. Yeah. Right. So it was wonderful to pour into them as they poured into themselves with such amazing wisdom and um camaraderie and teamwork, and just they they gave a sense of family, really, is what it was. So I was just honored and humbled for that to be my first experience.
SPEAKER_00:Nice. I'm gonna mention two people in in separate contexts, but and guys, what I want you to know is that um this is not a comparison type deal. So I'm not gonna talk about one person and then you get to judge how this person affected something, and then you hear another stream. Well, that story wasn't that. No, it's not about that. What this is about is that I'm just grateful there are people out here doing amazing, wonderful things. So the first person I want to talk about is a friend of mine, and her name is Laura Carlson, and Laura is a filmmaker, and she uh put out a movie called Beyond Barriers. And this this woman is one of the most tenacious one women I know. She's put out one film and she's working on another one. And if you can catch Beyond Barriers, please check it out and uh leave a comment. Uh, it's on PBS, and you can find it in various places. Uh, there's another channel, uh IDMB or something like that. Uh IMDB. Yeah, it's on there. And and it's in a few other places too, places where you can leave comments and talk about it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I believe that IMDB is more like a review.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_01:And when you go on there, it'll show the different um networks that carry that um film.
SPEAKER_00:But but the the film I really want to take a uh a pause on is her newest film, and it's she's working on it right now. I'm not gonna call it out until it's out and ready to go, but I'll give you a little bit of the background on it. She's really fighting hard to bring water, clean water, clean drinking water to Native Americans, the uh American Indian Native Americans. So um you don't know what you don't know, and and apparently there's a problem with clean drinking water for them. And so Laura is putting the word out there and and buckling down to make sure that uh they get what they need. And we need people like this to be able to stand in the gap for us that can't fight for ourselves. And thank God Jen and I have the ability to fight for ourselves, but if we couldn't, we have advocates out there. And so just giving a shout out and uh uh word out there for Laura and Laura, keep up the good work and I and I hope that you um continue your your fight with all your endeavors because I know you're gonna put out more projects in this.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I I know that this was not the intention, but I do have to say this because it's interesting that you brought that up. I was in a class this week and we were just talking about the different things that people go through, and it sounds like a very cold, heartless statement, and it's not meant to be, but it's that saying where someone has it tougher than you do right now. Yeah. And so when you think of that, like let's talk about gratitude. I can walk a few feet away and turn on a faucet and have clean water. Yeah. Right. And so when you that that's just things that we are grateful for that we overlook sometimes.
SPEAKER_00:Definitely overlook and definitely um forget how good it is in certain places. Uh, friend, uh another friend of mine, Jerry, uh, worked in a country where the people literally woke up in the morning, they got dressed, they walked miles away to get a bucket of water, and then walked miles back. And that was pretty much the whole day. Just to get a bucket of water that day. And and everyone had a turn to do this. So again, gotta be grateful for the simple things because everyone don't have simple simple things, right?
SPEAKER_01:Or where kids have to walk miles and tough terrain to get to school, right? Mm-hmm.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:My my second person, uh, not not on this level, but it is a layer of the onion that I definitely want to peel back. Uh, and it's a couple. Uh, Mike and Jessica, Jessica Pacheco, uh, just incredible people. Uh, Mike is a musician, producer, writer, arranger. Uh, he scored some movies, he's just done some of everything. Jessica is a a dancer, uh, Famiko dancer dancer, and she's amazing. She's an actor, she's a writer, actress, writer. Um it was cool to see her on Lifetime. Right.
SPEAKER_01:Was it Lifetime or Hallmark?
SPEAKER_00:One of those. A Lifetime movie, and then she was on um Master Chef. Master Chef. I mean, these people are so doing it, and I and I'm grateful to be in their lives and grateful to call them friend. And so uh just wanted to put that out there and uh not trying to you know ride the coattails, but just knowing that I I was around them before all this stuff jumped off, and and to watch them accelerate like this is truly a joy.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so I'm gonna detour a little bit because I have to say this. So, you guys, it's like right around um, no, it was before the end of October, I want to say. And I would, and if I share this on the podcast, I'm so sorry that I'm doing this again. I was on the phone with a friend, and we were having fun, and we were talking about, oh, I wish we could be at Disneyland and all this other stuff. And I said, well, maybe that's what I'll just wear to work um on the 31st. So I put ears on and we're in a very playful state. And of course, um, I go in to check on Corey, see how he's doing, he's in the studio.
SPEAKER_00:Now I know where you're going.
SPEAKER_01:And I walk in with these big old Mickey ears, like big, because they're the dessert ones. If you guys have seen it, it's the Mickey cookies, and one has a bite taken out of it. And I had no idea that Corey was on a call, so I'm just like very hyper. And Corey says, say hi to Mike. And I thought then Mike was on the phone and I was like, Oh, hey, Mike. And I look up at the screen, and Mary is.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that was a good one. And I knew she walked in thinking, like, oh, look at me with my ears on Corey. And then I'm like, okay, so now that you just busted in, say hi to Mike.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it was good to see him. So that's the Mike we're talking about.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And no judgment from him either. I think he was having a great time.
SPEAKER_00:He even said I miss Disneyland. So I mean, I think he joined into well, he's got Disney World. Yeah, he got he has the whole world. The whole world. The whole world. So yeah, I wanted to throw them out there. And Jen, I'm sure you have some some gratitude you want to talk about, and I want to let you have that opportunity, and then I'll come back to me and finish this up.
SPEAKER_01:So, one of my gratefuls, I have two. I hope we don't forget the second, but the first one is I'm back on the keyboards of the piano. Bump, bum, bum. And it feels good.
SPEAKER_00:It sounds good too.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And Corey, for those who know Corey, for him to say that, it's gotta be true.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, it's true.
SPEAKER_01:So let me just tell you like when I first started getting on there, and I was like, and I was timid, you know, I I just didn't see it happening again, and I knew that I was rusty, and I would get like sweaty a little with Corey because he's a musician, and so he's like, You're like encouraging me, but I knew that it was choppy, and so um, when we played over the weekend, we had to I I got lost in time. I don't even know how long it was for, but I was able to sing while playing, and that has something I don't even know how many years it's been.
SPEAKER_00:At a higher register?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, after a while, like after the vocal cords are warmed up. So I'm very grateful. I'm grateful for a few things, and I say this humbly. I'm grateful that I'm able to play. And then I think of the people that taught me along the way, because I did have this piano instructor, and he was kind of mean, not kind of a lot of mean. And um, my pinky would go up when playing, and he would tap it with a wooden pencil. And I'm saying tap, and it was it was no.
SPEAKER_00:It was more like a pop.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I told my mom she pulled me out, but there were a couple of people, and I don't even know if they listened to this podcast, but Janet and Nick, huge people in my life, um, teaching me to play and encouraging me to play, and just always uplifting that that gift. So I'm very grateful for that. Second, I'm grateful for my mom. My mom's doing some new things in her life. Um, it's exciting to hear her engaged and and just happy about where she's going and what she's doing. And I'm just so proud of her. And we're connecting at um a whole nother level, and not just because she's doing better in certain areas, but this has been a relationship that has been a lot of good work, and just you just realize wow, this relationship is exactly what I was hoping to have with my mom and more. So it that's not a small gratitude, that's a huge one. Actually, those two are pretty huge, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And so I'm gonna give my final gratitude, and it's gonna be a little bit of a shocker. And although I'm very grateful for us, Jen and myself. For Jenko. For Jenco. I'm more grateful for Jen. And I want to explain that just a little bit because people may be like, Well, why is he grateful for Jen?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, what is there to be grateful for?
SPEAKER_00:Let me tell you something. So Jen has, as she said, began to play the piano, but that's not all. When you're partners in all aspects of life, you know, we literally work together, we um run a business together, we write books together, we sing together, we uh play play together, we have fun together, we're just always together. So you would think that there was never an expectation, but au contraire, mon frère. Let me tell you, there are always expectations, expectations in relationships. And the reason why is because when I'm weak, she's strong. And when she's weak, I'm strong. And sometimes we know as the other half, I know I've been not so strong when she was not so strong, and it it really dampens on the relationship because you're like, man, I need you to be there for me right now. I'm not a hundred percent. And let me tell you something. Jen has been incredibly strong, very resilient, and very pliable in this whole process that we've been because we we we're really pushing hard for the fuzzy furry forest. Uh, there's a lot of moving parts happening, there's a lot of things in the background that a lot of people just don't know. And so to be able to depend on Jen like I have been and count on her and ask her, hey, can you can you do in other words, can you step it up a little bit more in this area because I'm I can't do it. And she's like, got it, done. I'm there. How you like me now, type of deal. So I'm like, man, I'm so grateful that I have this woman. And then I as I told her, I I hold her to the flame, I test her by fire because there's just so many people out there. And and this is why when when you know you're married and you're in this long haul and you're looking at other relationships, no, you're not comparing, but you're saying, thank God I have you. Thank God I don't have to deal with some of the other stuff that a lot of other people are going through. And that's no knock. I'm just saying what my heart truly is putting out there when I'm eyeballing everything else, you know, and and and not in jealousy, but in I'm getting exactly what I asked for and exactly what I feel like I deserve. So, Jen, thank you. I'm very grateful for you.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you, Buna. That was so sweet. Uh I'm almost speechless, if you can imagine that. Uh thing it's a wonderful feeling to be appreciated. And as far as the fire and the burn, that's something that I'm grateful for. Now, before it used to be a tough process. Now I see the benefits of the little bit of a push, but you're you're so compassionate with me and you realize when okay, she needs she needs some downtime. So for everyone listening, I'm wondering what comes to your mind when you think of things that you can be grateful for. And sometimes there are days where it's I get to wake up, or I got to have my favorite coffee with a friend, or I was able to extend my break for five minutes and take a walk outside, or play with my dog, talk to my kid, whatever that is. I think those are really important, right, Corey, to to spot those, to look for those, and um know that that's part of us grounding and balancing this thing that we call life.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely, Jen. Uh I find very special key moments and gratefulness when I'm able to, and it's shocking to think, you know, I play bass guitar, I'm a bassist, and I haven't played in two or three weeks because of I'm so busy doing other parts of the business and with the book. So when I'm able to pick up the bass and just go through a couple of you know transitions and things like that. And I didn't even play when we uh sang the uh the other day. But the cool part about it was I didn't have to, and so many times you have to do something, and when you don't have to, and you can kind of sit back and Jen was the musician and Jin carried everything, I'm like, right.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I wish we could have recorded it. I mean, number one, it was just such a good time. Um, and the funny part of it too was I think Corey, you were just so caught up in the rhapsody of everything, as was I. And so I'm playing, we're singing, I'm excited, and naturally, like I'm like heating up, my heart's beating a little faster because it's like amazing. And I have to scroll my iPad up to follow some of the music, and I'm looking at Corey, and you're just having a great old time, relaxing, enjoying.
SPEAKER_00:I'm like, can you help me out with looking at her iPad, looking at me, uh nodding her head up like scroll the and I'm like in my own world?
SPEAKER_01:It was so great. I'm excited. So, one of the things that we've done too is when we find that nugget of gratitude, we want to welcome it more. When you realize that it's giving you joy and it's a source of being together and connecting, whether it be with your talent with a person, we're inviting it into our space. So we've committed to do this once a week, yeah, at minimum, and just be open to what this looks like for Gen Co. Um, it has not included Corey and I playing and singing together. Um, but it looks like we could be going that way. It looks like it's gonna be a reunion.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah. Yeah. All good. Uh, quick shout outs to Caesar and Desiree. Another quick shout out to Justine, quick shout out to Auntie Mila and a few other people we could probably shout out, but those are the ones that are at the top of mind. So I just really wanted to say that. And uh man, it's a good show.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'm gonna elaborate just a little bit on Justine. This girl, this friend, she gives me feedback, us feedback on everything, and she's quick with like she's witty, right? She's very creative, and I just love having that space with her or um sending you positive thoughts and energy. I know she likes to see this on YouTube. We will get there. Um, but I just think right now we're just woo-sying a little bit.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I needed a little break. I was on burnout. Oh, Doreen. Um Doreen. Shirley. Uh Charlie.
SPEAKER_01:I'm just gonna echo you.
SPEAKER_00:Irma. Um man, it's just a bunch of people that are are, you know, on my mind, and so just one, and and I'm I can't remember everyone.
SPEAKER_01:Oh no.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. I believe that's yeah. Just gotta go with it when you when it hits you, you know. And there's other people, I I just can't remember the names right now off the top of my mind. But yeah, thank you guys. We're very grateful for all of you. We're grateful that you're in our lives and that you play a part. Um Courtney, yes, can't forget Courtney. Uh yes, Cubs Creative, yeah. That's our new video.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that's right. Yes, that is her um man. See, the pressure of names. Yeah, man. The pressure of names. Well, we hope that you enjoyed today and we'd love to hear from you anything that you're grateful for. And if you need or if you think of someone who could use a good elevating moment, please share this episode with them and let them know that Take the Elevator is alive and well, and we would love to spend time with them. And you know us at Take the Elevate. We say look up and let's elevate every day, elevate every day, elevate every day, elevate, every day.
