EPISODE 327: When Imposter Syndrome Looks Like Strategy (And Why Your Partnerships Might Be Hiding Your Genius) with Andrea Janzen

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:33:12
Lisa
You built success that looks damn good on the outside, but inside it's costing you your health, your relationships, your energy. And no matter how much you do, it never feels like enough. Welcome to Congruent. I'm Lisa Carpenter, the coach. High performers call when they can afford to burn it all down, but they can't keep living like this either.

00:00:33:14 - 00:00:58:24
Lisa
Here we rip off the mask of success and expose what's real. The patterns that you keep running, the price that you've paid, and how to build success that fuels you instead of empties you. Real success is agency. It's powerful self leadership to run your life instead of being run by it. To let your drive and your well-being finally work together.

00:00:58:27 - 00:01:11:04
Lisa
Because the real win is success. That actually feels good.

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Lisa
you, but if you're being honest, I bet there's a story running underneath all that success. A story that says you're not quite enough. Not credentialed enough, not experienced enough, and definitely not legitimate enough to do this thing that you're doing.

00:01:26:17 - 00:01:57:08
Lisa
Welcome to congruence. I'm Lisa Carpenter and this podcast is about the truth beneath success, the costs you've carried. The wake up calls you couldn't ignore, and what it really takes to build success that actually feels good. I want to be honest with you. Today's conversation with Andrea Jansen hit me hard, because I've lived this pattern to that place where you tell yourself you need someone else more credentials, more proof before you can really step into what you're building, where imposter syndrome dresses itself up as strategic thinking.

00:01:57:10 - 00:02:12:14
Lisa
Andrea is a certified executive coach, MBA, Forbes contributor and founder of Ambition Theory, a leadership development company that's coached over a thousand construction professionals. She has built a thriving practice in construction, one of the most male

00:02:12:14 - 00:02:27:02
Lisa
dominated industries without an H.R. background or construction experience. But early on, she kept looking for business partners, not because the business required it, but because she didn't believe she was enough on her own.

00:02:27:05 - 00:03:02:23
Lisa
She had a business partner at one point, and when they went their separate ways, something shifted. A client told her, Andrea. We just want to work with you. And she realized she'd been hiding behind the idea of needing someone else. This conversation today is about the not enough story. So many of us carry how it shows up as seeking validation, looking for others to legitimize what we're creating and exhausting ourselves, trying to prove our worth and what it takes to finally trust that who you are is more than enough.

00:03:02:26 - 00:03:10:27
Lisa
If you've ever told yourself you need more before, you can really go for it, this episode is for you. Let's dive in.

00:03:10:27 - 00:03:32:25
Lisa
Hey, hey, good morning and welcome to congruent. This is actually my new. You are one of my newer guests. One of my first guests on my recently rebranded podcast, congruent. Andrea. So welcome. I'm here today with Andrew Johnson. Andrew, can you tell everybody a little bit about who you are, what you do? And then we're going to dive into the real stuff.

00:03:32:27 - 00:03:54:13
Andrea
Okay. So I'm Andrea, I own a company called Ambition Theory. It's a leadership development company that focuses on the construction industry. And we started getting really in a niche of advancing women in this industry. And this year, we've expanded to offer leadership programs for everybody, but really focus on the engineering and construction sector. I'm also a mom.

00:03:54:13 - 00:04:04:07
Andrea
I have three kids. I live in Colorado, just outside of Denver, and I'm originally from the Toronto area in Canada.

00:04:04:10 - 00:04:25:05
Lisa
So you're Canadian like me, which I like. Yes, originally. And now you've crossed the border. So we're going to be talking more about less about what you do and more about your journey into success. So what I wanted to start with is, you know, I know you a little bit. You and I've gotten to get, gotten the opportunity to chat on a call.

00:04:25:05 - 00:04:49:01
Lisa
And I just think you're such a baller and a badass because you just went out into the world and said, I'm going to grow this coaching practice and you've grown it. And what's more, considered a male dominated industry. Not a lot of of women in that. But so I'm assuming that a lot of people must look at you and think that you've totally made it, that you have, that you've created this dream life for yourself.

00:04:49:03 - 00:04:53:06
Lisa
But I want to know what people don't see around this journey.

00:04:53:08 - 00:05:11:18
Andrea
Yeah, it's funny that you brought that topic up because as someone literally, I was at a like a networking thing this morning and someone said they're like, Andrew, that you're just killing it in your business. And my response was like, right now I feel like the best things are happening to me. Things that I dreamed about years ago.

00:05:11:20 - 00:05:36:17
Andrea
I literally I'm in the middle of it. It's happening. But then also the worst thing is the worst things are happening at the exact same time. So I can be celebrating. I can be enjoying, I can be looking like I'm killing it. But then also like with success comes challenge and bigger challenges than I've ever faced before are literally happening at the exact same time.

00:05:36:20 - 00:05:37:00
Andrea
And you know.

00:05:37:00 - 00:06:08:07
Lisa
That's something that's so challenging for a lot of people to understand that multiple things can be true at the same time, that we can be balancing like amazing success. And also, you know, being face down, having a tantrum maybe just is me, right? But I'd love to hear about some of these challenges that you're some of these challenges that you've faced, even in getting your business off the ground, on the road to success and even what you thought, like how you used to define success before you became successful.

00:06:08:07 - 00:06:12:21
Lisa
So what you thought it was going to be versus what it's actually turned out to be.

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Andrea
And what's interesting is I actually and this is probably some mindset, self-doubt, maybe work that I need to do. I actually a lot of the times I don't think I'm being successful and it's one of those like struggles that like you, it's easier for you to to see it in other people than it is to see it in yourself.

00:06:31:20 - 00:06:51:17
Andrea
And so like this, like, like I know the things that are happening right now are things that I dreamed about, things that I journaled about years ago, but I don't think I thought it would feel this way. I think I thought it would feel easier and like it. It is an easy like, you.

00:06:51:17 - 00:07:15:20
Lisa
Know, that is ultimately why I started this podcast. Because you are so like most of my clients, they think success is going to feel a certain way, it doesn't feel that way, and they never actually feel successful because it doesn't matter. Even though you've like, ticked the boxes on, you know, all the things you wanted to create in your life, it it still doesn't.

00:07:15:22 - 00:07:31:07
Lisa
My clients just go out and they create more things that they want for themselves, but they never actually allow them to start. They never actually allow themselves to stop. And have success. So I'm really curious, like, what do you actually think needs to happen for you to allow yourself to feel successful? Like what needs to shift?

00:07:31:10 - 00:07:47:12
Andrea
I think what it is, is like, and this is really I was listening to, like I listened to lots of books, coach get coaching all of those things. I think it's just like going back and looking at where I was before. And that's the thing. Like, I coach my own clients to do this, right? It's you versus you.

00:07:47:12 - 00:08:08:23
Andrea
Where were you five years ago and where are you today? So I think sitting in that and recognizing like some of the clients that we work with, like so when I drive around Denver, we work with construction companies. I see their I see their, their signs on these big, cool, massive projects. And I think it's just sitting with it and be like, hey, I'm driving.

00:08:08:23 - 00:08:32:25
Andrea
But that's my client. They are building that road or that is my client. They are building that foundation over there and just recognizing that space in that thing that like, oh, I created this thing and I work with these types of companies and actually seeing it and being it real and like allowing myself to sit in that moment because in our culture we don't allow that.

00:08:32:25 - 00:08:46:14
Andrea
And that's why I appreciate you, Lisa, because you're like a mirror. You're like, okay, and I'm going to tell you the things that you actually need to be telling yourself. But, I'm not clearly I'm not saying it enough to myself.

00:08:46:21 - 00:09:07:27
Lisa
I have a theory that success actually is never a destination. It's a thing that we can choose to step into, but we have to choose it. We have to choose to embody, to feel that way. And it really has nothing to do with our circumstances. So I think we've been programed to believe that success is like after you do x, Y, and z, then you get to, you know, then you'll be successful.

00:09:07:29 - 00:09:31:05
Lisa
But if you don't actually allow yourself to embody that feeling, it doesn't matter how many people you work with, how much you accomplish, you'll never actually feel like you are successful. So then you rob yourself of the fulfillment. You rob yourself of the ease. You rob yourself of having these amazing experiences and celebrating yourself. So I this is these are the conversations that I love because I think that this is what is missing.

00:09:31:07 - 00:09:49:15
Lisa
There's so many of us high achievers going out there. We want to do all the things, and we're celebrated for doing all the things, but we're not really embodying or embracing what success means to us and how we want to redefine it so that we get to feel good about it.

00:09:49:17 - 00:09:50:27
Andrea
Yep.

00:09:50:29 - 00:10:14:15
Lisa
Like yes. All right. So let's go back to so we've established that you are actually successful. So you're going to jump. Yeah. Podcast. You're going to look at all your things. You're going to. Yeah with like a total high five. What are some of the major challenges that you had to walk through like mindset things, identity pieces that had to shift for you as you were growing your business?

00:10:14:15 - 00:10:21:25
Lisa
Because, you know, when you're a new coach starting out, you know, you have to build that confidence.

00:10:21:26 - 00:10:22:22
Andrea
Yes.

00:10:22:25 - 00:10:32:21
Lisa
And you literally walked into places that you probably shouldn't have been able to walk into. And you just said that, I'm going to do this, I'm going to I'm going to capture this niche. So talk to me about that.

00:10:32:23 - 00:10:54:17
Andrea
Yeah. So it's interesting. So way back when I got into coaching. So I did not have an HR background. I actually don't have a construction or an engineering background. So it's just I like I literally created this space for myself in my company. I went in it and, and kind of I'm, I'm owning it. And so I think when I started so I kind of got into coaching, I started career coaching.

00:10:54:17 - 00:11:14:00
Andrea
So helping people with their resumes. And I used to work in corporate marketing before that, I was like, oh, I don't have a HR background, I don't have a recruiting background. I need some legitimacy in order to make this my job. That was my goal. And so I went to I was like, I need some type of program to take.

00:11:14:00 - 00:11:35:24
Andrea
And so I discovered executive coaching. So I just I didn't I had never actually gotten coaching before. I didn't even really know what it was. But I signed up for this executive coaching program. I went there and everybody else in my class was either from the HR profession or they were a retired executive. They're like second career giving back.

00:11:35:24 - 00:12:04:19
Andrea
So there was nobody really like me with a similar background in the class. So I always felt a little out of place and like, I'm certain about, did I have the background in order to to deliver, to be a coach and have a business like that? So that was the first, I think, barrier in the reframe. But I was so curious and I'm like, well, I got to actually just like I'm in this class, I'm going to go all in, I'm going to learn the stuff and the thing about coaching, it's very innovative.

00:12:04:19 - 00:12:34:02
Andrea
It's new. This was 2017 when I went to coaching, though. 2015. It was when I went to coaching school and it was new. Right. And so this idea that I wasn't bringing the old school or the old school leadership practices to this program, I think really allowed me to go all in on this new, relatively new, unknown kind of bird like blossoming profession and a way to develop leaders.

00:12:34:02 - 00:12:50:21
Andrea
So I just came in, I'm like, oh, this is how you do it. This is all I know. And so that was the perspective I brought, and I think it was refreshing. So I did feel imposter syndrome a lot, but I had already made that decision. So I had to follow through. So I just kept going.

00:12:50:24 - 00:12:58:18
Lisa
So how did the imposter syndrome show up? Like what? What were the challenges specifically around that? Like, how would it how would it manifest in your day to day?

00:12:58:20 - 00:13:23:19
Andrea
Yeah. So interestingly, I have this this pattern until I broke the pattern, was that like I was not enough because I don't have a H.R H.R background I didn't have I hadn't facilitated a corporate workshop before, and so I would look for other people to fill that gap. So I would try to find partners to work on. I wasn't confident to pitch something myself, pitch and deliver it myself.

00:13:23:21 - 00:13:44:22
Andrea
And I went through these iterations of trying to find other people to to do it with me, to, to fill that gap. But they never did. And so it was kind of like, and I actually had a business partner at one point, and I remember we were pitching this manufacturing company, and then we kind of decided it was like a very happy breakup.

00:13:44:22 - 00:14:03:24
Andrea
We're like, this is not going to work. We're going to go our separate ways. And, you know, I'm like a hustler, right? So I followed up with that manufacturing company and landed them as a client. And what the owner said to me was like, Andrea, like, I don't know why you were working with those other people, and we just want to work with you.

00:14:03:24 - 00:14:26:28
Andrea
And so people often have, like, shone my light back on me over the years, really at the beginning. So I think that was, key to me realizing that, you know what, I can I can do this. I can figure this out. I got to just lean and and so having people that could see my potential, but then remind me that I'm capable.

00:14:26:28 - 00:14:48:02
Andrea
Because when you're building a business on your own, it's it's really hard because you don't have that manager. You don't have that. This is this is your job. You don't have a set job description. And so I just think having those people see me and giving me that little boost of encouragement, it's like, yeah, Andrea, step up, keep going.

00:14:48:04 - 00:15:10:09
Andrea
You're already doing a great job. Don't stop. That was, I think, really helpful in me getting over it and just recognizing those when it's like, well, you know, my first client was like this huge manufacturing company. They had hundreds of employees. And like, I worked with them and someone took a chance on me and gave me that opportunity, which really I delivered on it.

00:15:10:09 - 00:15:12:22
Andrea
And then that gave me the confidence to pursue more.

00:15:12:25 - 00:15:28:29
Lisa
I love that there's so many things that you said in there and this shows up for a lot of people, right? When we're in. That imposter syndrome is like finding people to partner with, which we tell ourselves the story of like, oh, well, I want to collaborate with people. I want to do things with people. But really, it's now seeing this story of like, I'm not good enough on my own.

00:15:29:04 - 00:15:45:11
Lisa
So if I surround myself with other people that maybe I'll be okay. And I love that people started reflecting back to you that what you were doing was enough with just you. But I'm curious, have you ever made the switch to no longer needing that from other people and giving that to yourself?

00:15:45:13 - 00:16:07:23
Andrea
I think so, I think it's an ongoing like mindset to mindset, like, I don't know, game. It's an ongoing mindset game because I always look at it like new level, new definition, right? It's like, okay, like I got I got that manufacturing company the first time I was like, oh, could I get a multinational company? Could I work with a company in South America?

00:16:07:23 - 00:16:26:07
Andrea
And then, oh, we don't speak the same language. So there's all these new levels that bring up this, these new levels of do I need a partner? And I think now when I look at partnerships, I think when I first started looking at partnership, it was from a place of lack, right? I don't know how to do this.

00:16:26:07 - 00:16:44:24
Andrea
I'm not good enough. So I need you to like close that gap for me. But I think now when I look at partnerships, I look at it from an abundance perspective. Right. This is a really cool opportunity. Like I would love to work with this. I love to work with companies, with companies in other countries that don't. Their employees don't all speak English.

00:16:44:24 - 00:17:14:09
Andrea
That's amazing. My content is resonating with them. But but how do we figure this out? Right. So instead of looking at it from a place of lack, it's like, well, it's it's already good, right? So now it's someone who can join in my vision and actually make it happen, who's also, like inspired by what ambition theory stands for and what we're trying to achieve and bringing people in from that perspective versus a scarcity perspective, because the working relationship is completely different.

00:17:14:12 - 00:17:36:03
Lisa
I love that that's so amazing. And I mean, now, even with so much AI available, you can even translate yourself in her language. You need to be in real time. Like, it's so amazing. But that is so powerful to say. You know, when I was working from that not enough story, it was about lack and scarcity. And now it really is about collaboration from a place of abundance.

00:17:36:03 - 00:17:59:26
Lisa
And there's more than enough for all of us. And you get to be good, and I get to be good, and you're not masking anything. I'm curious, does that not enough story show up in any other places in your life that you've noticed? Because this is, I believe it's an underlying story that most of us carry, and it sucks to admit it like, no, nobody's successful and ambitious, wants to admit that we're running a not good enough story under the surface.

00:17:59:28 - 00:18:12:09
Lisa
But for many of us, that has been the driving force behind the ambition, behind the drive, behind the wanting to accomplish things. So there's that saying, you've probably heard it. How we do one thing is how we do all things.

00:18:12:09 - 00:18:12:22
Andrea
Yep.

00:18:12:22 - 00:18:31:27
Lisa
So I always like to look at, well, where else does it show up in your life? Has it shown up as a parent? Has it shown up as a partner like? Because when you're building a company and your focus is over here, I know for me my not enough story would really show up around my parenting with my kids.

00:18:31:29 - 00:18:35:18
Lisa
So I'd love to hear how it shows up in your life, or if it does.

00:18:35:21 - 00:18:53:23
Andrea
Honestly, I haven't thought about that, but I think for me, it might show up in my house like I'm not good at cleaning my house and part of it is like I go to other people's houses and it's like, oh, there's no clutter. Like it looks like it's perfectly designed. And my house often does not look like that.

00:18:53:25 - 00:19:19:20
Andrea
And like, I would love it if it does. Like, and I do have a cleaner because I'm, I'm not good at cleaning, but I think it's like that, like keeping up with the Joneses type of thing. But I've kind of I got to the point where I'm like, I actually don't care because, a long years ago, years ago, I heard, like, I was at church and they gave a sermon about community and how we go through the motions of, like, clean the house, make the perfect food, have the perfect wine pairing.

00:19:19:22 - 00:19:46:18
Andrea
And you, when you have that barrier, you don't actually ever get to the point where you can have community like host people in your house, like have your neighbor over literally like have a party or whatever. And I think I, I got to I let go of that. I said, you know, what's more important is actually relationships. And if my house is messy or I don't have the latest tech for trends, like it actually doesn't matter because the relationships are more important.

00:19:46:18 - 00:20:06:05
Andrea
And if people are not going to want to be my friend because my house is messy, I was like, great, that's a great like, what do you call it? Like a barrier? I love that, and is that in process? So for me, it was really just letting that go. I think for me it's been easier to let that go in my personal life than it has been in my professional life.

00:20:06:12 - 00:20:07:03
Andrea
Oh yeah.

00:20:07:05 - 00:20:09:20
Lisa
Okay. Tell me more about that.

00:20:09:22 - 00:20:19:07
Andrea
Well, when you asked me, how does this show up in your professional life? I had like, five examples, right? I couldn't even think of it in my personal life because I think so.

00:20:19:10 - 00:20:19:28
Lisa
Yeah.

00:20:20:01 - 00:20:21:15
Andrea
I've been able to let it go.

00:20:21:17 - 00:20:45:24
Lisa
I love that. Well, the people who have the ultra clean houses, you know, I've worked with them enough men and women around the globe that usually that is their mask of perfectionism. Right. They're working from perfectionism, which is actually I'm not good enough story. So if my house looks perfect and my kids look perfect and everything is put together, nobody will see behind the scenes that I'm actually a hot mess.

00:20:45:27 - 00:20:49:12
Andrea
Yeah. And I think perfectionism is not something that I struggle with.

00:20:49:15 - 00:20:51:17
Lisa
It's not that it's not. And that, you.

00:20:51:17 - 00:20:53:29
Andrea
Know, that it's benefits. Interesting.

00:20:54:00 - 00:21:15:12
Lisa
Because that's what's literally allowed you to go out and build the business that you have because you're like, I'm not worried about getting it perfect. I'm just going to do it messy and get out there. And that's such a gift because so many people are working from that perfectionism model. Right? Like if everything just if my PDFs are perfect, if my pitch is perfect, then I'll get the job, then I'll feel good enough.

00:21:15:12 - 00:21:34:21
Lisa
And they often don't know that that's the story running behind the scenes, whereas you're just like, you just get in there. Like, that's why I fell in love. Are you? I'm like, man, this woman is just such a baller that she can go do these things. Because I really struggled with that early in my career. Like, I could show you videos of me back in the day, Andrew, and you'd be like, who is this person?

00:21:34:24 - 00:21:44:01
Lisa
Because I just really wanted to get things right, that nobody could judge me if things were right, and if they were perfect enough, I wouldn't be judged.

00:21:44:03 - 00:22:03:03
Andrea
So, okay, the judgment piece. Can I share something? Yeah. So I have, like, I have we have a method. I have a method. There's an ambition theory methodology. And we have ground rules. One of the ground rules. And I put this like in every presentation, every coaching call, I say this, my clients are like, I've heard these all the time.

00:22:03:03 - 00:22:23:05
Andrea
I'm like, but it's important. One of our rules is no judgment. Don't judge yourself. Don't judge the other people in this, you know, room in this coaching call. And don't judge yourself. And I always say, if I notice you're judging, I'm going to call you out. If you notice other people in this space judging themselves, you call them up too.

00:22:23:08 - 00:22:44:04
Andrea
And it is so powerful. And it's a slide. It's like every time I click through that slide, because that judgment is the thing. The self-judgment is like the destroyer of all action, dreams, opportunities. And if we let that go so much as possible, I agree.

00:22:44:06 - 00:23:05:22
Lisa
You know, people spend so much time judging others. Humans are humans, judge. That's what we do. It or not, humans judge. But I always say that the the most toxic judgment is the judgments that we hold over ourselves. And a really great reframe is, you know, judgment and curiosity actually can't coexist. You can't be curious and judgmental at the same time.

00:23:05:25 - 00:23:26:18
Lisa
So you have to pick one or the other. So any time I catch myself judging myself now, I just ask questions that are based more on curiosity and that love that opens up the gate. So you can like you can take that to your people. So success, let's go back to success. Yeah. On your way to building your business, there's always potholes.

00:23:26:18 - 00:23:31:01
Lisa
And, you know, unexpected twists and turns.

00:23:31:08 - 00:23:32:05
Andrea
Yes.

00:23:32:07 - 00:23:48:07
Lisa
Yes. If you look back over your journey, what are some of the biggest, prices, prices that you had to pay for success with your health, maybe, or in your family, with your relationships. What were the biggest costs to you as you grow your business?

00:23:48:09 - 00:24:03:12
Andrea
I think what's interesting, and so I think at the beginning, like when I first met you, you said, Andre, did you grow up in a family of entrepreneurs? Right. Like you would assume that was built this way. Right. And I was not like I was really grew up in a place where, like, you get a job, like that's what you do.

00:24:03:13 - 00:24:25:23
Andrea
Like entrepreneurship was not really positioned as like an option for me. And I look back on my LinkedIn, I'm like, oh, I was so meant to be an entrepreneur. And so I grew up in like the suburbs of Toronto. I lived in Toronto for most of my adult life, and Toronto has a lot of good jobs. And so I, you know, graduated university, got an amazing job.

00:24:25:25 - 00:24:42:13
Andrea
Then three, I got bored, I think, or that job maybe I didn't like my manager. So I, you know, I just I'm like I'm done. I'm going to go find another job. I would get bored, then I would find another job. And I always had these amazing jobs. Like literally one time I went on a training to Paris and we got to go in a helicopter.

00:24:42:15 - 00:25:02:09
Andrea
So like that was some of the perks of my jobs. Like I had really good jobs and I just, I had this burning desire to be an entrepreneur that clearly has been within me for probably my entire life, but I was not pursuing it. And I think one of the I guess the process was I was really good at getting jobs is really good at interviewing.

00:25:02:09 - 00:25:26:28
Andrea
And so that kind of kept me from pursuing this dream to be an entrepreneur. And the only thing that actually got me to do it was so my husband, had this opportunity to get a transfer with his company out to Halifax, Nova Scotia, like a small city on the east coast of Canada. And it was like, okay, we'll go, we'll move the family.

00:25:27:04 - 00:25:46:13
Andrea
But this is my moment. I'm going to move there, and I'm not going to look for a job because I knew if I started looking, I would find one, right? I would find a job. And so I think that that was an opportunity that like it was a risk as a family. But we took it and then I started being an entrepreneur there.

00:25:46:13 - 00:26:06:01
Andrea
So I think that, having like another path, like staying in corporate was kind of something that I like. Is it bad is a good idea. I learned a lot from that. Like, you know, you can't really go back in time. But I think I was really in this mindset of like, look for another job, don't take the risk and play it safe.

00:26:06:01 - 00:26:14:21
Andrea
And there was there had to be that physical movement for me to actually take the risk. And so that was interesting.

00:26:14:21 - 00:26:20:08
Lisa
So how has this impacted your family? Because you've got three, three kids, three boys, right.

00:26:20:11 - 00:26:21:22
Andrea
Two boys and one girl Watson.

00:26:21:22 - 00:26:24:24
Lisa
One girl. And they're still young, aren't they?

00:26:24:27 - 00:26:47:19
Andrea
Yeah. The oldest is 13, so yeah, they've moved twice. None of them were in school when we first moved. So they, they don't actually really remember living in Toronto. So most of their childhood memories are in Halifax. But, like, we are, like, embrace adventure. Like, I love being adventurous. I love trying new things. Like that's one of my core values is adventure.

00:26:47:21 - 00:27:03:18
Andrea
So like whenever I go on a business trip, it's like, oh, there's this place, I have a bikeshare program because I'm waking up early and I do an a bike tour by myself, like on the bike share. Like, I love exploring. That is like the core of who I am. So it's like it's a family adventure. Here we go.

00:27:03:18 - 00:27:22:25
Andrea
Right? Because there's another mindset that like, oh my gosh, I can't have my kids change school. Like, I made my kids change school in the middle of the year when we moved to Colorado and it was fine. So yeah, we have that. That's baked into my values is that sense of adventure. So I feel like the kids, they were fine.

00:27:22:28 - 00:27:42:22
Lisa
And have you in growing your business, how is that impacted your role as a mom? Like how do you juggle both? Because I know for a lot of the women that I work with, having kids and growing a company or being a CEO, it puts a lot of demands on your time and your energy. So I'm just curious how you navigate them.

00:27:42:25 - 00:28:02:17
Andrea
Like I think at the beginning, like it was a slow growth, like it wasn't this exponential growth overnight success. It was just putting in a little bit of time. Like I do remember when my third was a baby, I, I just would have a babysitter come for like four hours a week.

00:28:02:19 - 00:28:03:11
Lisa
I love that.

00:28:03:16 - 00:28:22:07
Andrea
And I worked on the business for hours a week. And, you know, like the kids would take a nap or whatever. They'd be like doing an activity. I would work in my business. And so I wasn't I wasn't investing a lot of time at the beginning. It was like, let's just kind of explore, let's be curious, let's like, try these things.

00:28:22:07 - 00:28:40:09
Andrea
And that was when I went and spoke at the construction conference, when I knew nothing about construction. It was like, here's an opportunity, and okay, I'm just going to go and figure it out. And like, I actually did not have a lot of time to prepare. And that's where I think that, like you call it baller move. It's like, well, I gotta I want to grow my business.

00:28:40:09 - 00:28:59:16
Andrea
I have this opportunity. I have to do it. I just have to do it. And I only have this much time and like, that's all I can commit. And I think something that people have said to me now and in my coaching program, we have like a leadership brand assessment. And I remember I did this, someone did it on me when I was in coaching school.

00:28:59:18 - 00:29:31:01
Andrea
And I remember the thing that came back was energy. I like energy is energy and I remember there was like a spot in this assessment for negative feedback or like growth opportunities. And all of the feedback was Andrea doesn't know what she has. She's not leaning into her strengths. She's holding back. And like, I kind of almost cried when I heard that because people literally these people that responded to my survey were like, we see your strengths and we see you not using that.

00:29:31:01 - 00:29:50:25
Andrea
We see you hiding. And it was just a powerful moment for me. And so then I realized, like, actually, my personal brand is really about putting positive energy into the world. And now I know that I have that awareness and even yesterday I was on a call with someone about doing a keynote for them next year. And it just to feel I love your energy.

00:29:50:28 - 00:30:08:11
Andrea
And and someone even asked like, are you going to deliver the keynote or is it someone from your team? And I'm like, no, no, it's me. They're like, we need this energy. And so recognizing that this energy is the most important thing, and me being able to connect with an audience, that is where I am in my genius.

00:30:08:11 - 00:30:26:03
Andrea
So that's where I'm of service to people in that connection. Because if I can connect with them, I can ask them some hard questions, I can share some information with them, and it's going to land with them. But if I'm worried about the slide being perfect, we're not going to get that connection and they're not going to be inspired to take any action.

00:30:26:03 - 00:30:46:29
Andrea
So I just think for me, it's about when I realized, is it actually that simple? I just need to show up as my authentic self. And that's that's really the most important thing that allowed me to be like, okay, I don't have a lot of time. We just have to get it done and I'm just going to be myself and so what are they?

00:30:47:01 - 00:30:51:07
Lisa
So what do you do to take care of your energy?

00:30:51:09 - 00:30:57:28
Andrea
That's a great. So I guess what I like to do is so it's funny how you say, like, how you do anything is how you do it.

00:30:58:00 - 00:31:02:09
Lisa
What do you do? And what do you not do that you know, you shouldn't be doing or you need to.

00:31:02:13 - 00:31:31:00
Andrea
Okay energy. So I work out consistently. So I have worked out consistently for my entire life. So really like recognizing that. And working for my mindset. Like yes, I work out from my body so my body is strong, but recognizing that for me, working out is my mindset. So putting on the right playlist, how you like, you know how you said how you do anything is how you do everything.

00:31:31:00 - 00:31:59:20
Andrea
Like Jesse Sims is one of my go to peloton instructors and she says that same all the time. So for me, having those right workout sounds big. That does it for my mindset. So working out, recognizing that if I have something really important, it's actually the most important thing is for me to protect my energy. So if it's a keynote or something like that, I'm not actually practicing the slides.

00:31:59:23 - 00:32:23:16
Andrea
I'm actually usually getting a workout in. I am like going for a run to a certain playlist so that I know my energy can be ready to serve people. And I think looking back and you, you asked me before about like, what did I give up? How is this affected my kids? I think like when the kids were really little, I would be working all the time and I didn't really have boundaries.

00:32:23:16 - 00:32:48:04
Andrea
So I would try to be working, but like the kids would be there and they were young and I'm like, not a good worker and not a good mom in that moment. And I realized that, you know what? The kids are actually really important. And so really setting a boundary. And so what I do now is like when I pick my kids up from school.

00:32:48:04 - 00:33:11:09
Andrea
So it's like, you know, the workday starts at three and I have a shutdown ritual, and I have Nora who who is kind of helps me with the operations of the business. She actually really helps me to prioritize what are the most important things that I need to do for work, so that I can feel at the end, that I can actually turn off the computer and be like, no, we're done working.

00:33:11:15 - 00:33:30:15
Andrea
I don't actually, I rarely turn my computer on in the evening or do work on the evening and the weekends, because what we actually call it, like my CEO brief. And so what, Nora will do, she'll look at my calendar, what's happening, she'll look at the projects that we have, and she'll give me 2 to 3 things that I need to do that day.

00:33:30:17 - 00:33:47:15
Andrea
And so literally it's like, okay, these are the three most important things. And at the end of the day, if I haven't done it, there's like I tell her I didn't do this. So this is either going to maybe it wasn't that important, right. Maybe we thought it was important, maybe it wasn't. But like it's got to go to the next day.

00:33:47:15 - 00:34:08:03
Andrea
So that makes me feel confident that I'm like, I everything's spare a ball is not going to get dropped. I think that's this. That was the struggle for me. It was this like, what ball? I'm I'm juggling all these balls. One's going to drop. So I always need to be on my email. I always need to be like doing this fake.

00:34:08:05 - 00:34:29:26
Andrea
It's like, you know, when you're sitting half working, it's like it's takes you five hours to do something that if you focus, it would have taken you 15 minutes. That was kind of my life for a while. And I think recognizing that that is not healthy and that's a cost. Right. So and so just realizing, you know what, it's not going to be that way anymore.

00:34:29:26 - 00:34:43:21
Andrea
And I think as a leader that has since I put in those boundaries, my growth as a leader has gone up exponentially. Then when I when I was trying to do it all myself before and not having boundaries, I.

00:34:43:23 - 00:35:08:05
Lisa
I appreciate your honesty about that because I think that this is a big price that many of us pay on our way to growth. Right? We're trying to juggle a family, the business, and I personally didn't know what a boundary was. They were not arbitrary. I just thought we had to do all the things all the time. And when you really start to understand what boundaries are, they give you so much more freedom and they help you maintain your energy.

00:35:08:05 - 00:35:28:09
Lisa
So I love that you have a cutoff. At the end of the day, I love that you have your weekends. I love that you have someone giving you your tasks. I still remember when I hired somebody because I was a do it all, all the time, like, and then I had like super crazy expectations of what I thought I could get done in a day, like completely unrealistic.

00:35:28:12 - 00:35:54:05
Lisa
And I hired somebody and she would give me my daily tasks and I would say, where's the where's the rest of it? And she's like, Lisa, this is more than enough. Like, if you get through this, you've done a great job. And that was my first wake up call around how unrealistic I was being with myself about what I thought I could accomplish, and it was costing me my relationship with my kids because I worked round the clock.

00:35:54:08 - 00:35:58:24
Lisa
And, you know, I don't live with a lot of regrets because there's no point, right? If things.

00:35:58:24 - 00:35:59:14
Andrea
Get.

00:35:59:16 - 00:36:19:03
Lisa
They would have been different. But I can tell you my two older boys who are now 25 and 23, which is so wild to me that I have adult children, I look back and I don't remember them being little because I was so busy working to create the life for them that I wanted, that I missed being present in the life that I had.

00:36:19:05 - 00:36:31:15
Lisa
And it wasn't until I learned how to set boundaries and put some, you know, put boundaries around my business that things started to really change. So I really appreciate you. I really appreciate you sharing that.

00:36:31:17 - 00:36:53:18
Andrea
So I have one more thing. Can I say one more thing? Because this is I think the setting boundaries is actually like, really allowed me to be a better role model for my kids, too. So, you know, in really recognizing like what is actually the priority here. So I'm married and like myself and my husband, we are like, prioritize our marriage because marriage is like, you got to prioritize it or else it's not going to be great.

00:36:53:20 - 00:37:19:03
Andrea
So we kind of made that a party a couple years ago. And, I don't think my kids will hear this, but like two years ago at Christmas, like Santa wrote a letter to the family that said, Dear Jansen family, Santa is going to put $100 a month into your parents bank account. He'll do a bank transfer to your parents and each of the three kids that we gave Santa, Santa gave them a job.

00:37:19:03 - 00:37:41:23
Andrea
And so it was like, tag, who's our oldest one? Like once a month. I want your parents to go on a date night tag. Your job is to babysit your younger brother and sister, Kayla. Your job is to remind your parents that they need to do this. And Lincoln, you need to help kind of figure out where they're going to go and what they're going to do on this date night.

00:37:41:26 - 00:38:00:07
Andrea
And it was. And I was like, I kind of did it because I'm like, I need to invest in my marriage. This is important. And like, everything gets in the way. Like my kids play hockey, sports, all the things. Right. And what's really cool is like some months we don't do it. But our oldest son with no mom, dad, you have to do the date night.

00:38:00:07 - 00:38:22:29
Andrea
And so they've recognized that we've made this our relationship a priority. And they are like reinforcing that it needs to happen. And then there was this women's conference that's happening. And it was really interesting. Like I told my daughter about it, she's like actually the one in Vancouver that I'm coming to. She's like, mom, you should go. And I know you asked me about this before.

00:38:22:29 - 00:38:50:07
Andrea
I was like, oh my God, who's going to drive the kid to soccer and hockey? Too much going on. Like I'm overwhelmed even with the idea of figuring out the logistics of this. But when my kids said, mom, you should do this, I think having my kids recognize that like, actually, I need some time to invest in myself and I need to be out in community and I need to have positive role models around me.

00:38:50:10 - 00:39:04:22
Andrea
And so it was just really wonderful to have that encouragement from a child, recognizing that investing in yourself and having boundaries and not giving it all to everybody else is a thing.

00:39:04:24 - 00:39:11:06
Lisa
Yeah. And how amazing is it going to be when you just start giving that to yourself, instead of waiting for your kids to give you permission to do it?

00:39:11:11 - 00:39:12:28
Andrea
Yeah, right.

00:39:13:00 - 00:39:32:25
Lisa
Because that's the work, right? That is when we take full ownership of saying like, I don't, this is how I want to lead me. And by leading me, I'm leading my kids instead of your kids having to say, mommy, you need to go do this. But like what you said about with Santa and your I love that. I've never heard something like that before.

00:39:33:02 - 00:39:52:25
Lisa
I think that that is amazing because if we go back to my story around, I worked all the time because I wanted to give myself. I wanted to give my kids all these things right, and ultimately ended up not being present in what mattered most at the time. What I tell my clients now is that everything you're doing, your kids are watching you.

00:39:52:27 - 00:40:15:13
Lisa
You are modeling behavior to them, and it does not matter what words come out of your mouth, they don't care. They're not hearing it. Because if your words and your actions don't match, they will take your actions as true. And if you're working round the clock, if you're not setting boundaries, if you're not prioritizing your relationship, those are the things that your kids are learning.

00:40:15:13 - 00:40:43:22
Lisa
And that becomes part of their identity that they now go out into the world, right? Our relationship with our money, our partners, all of these things play a role and we have such a huge responsibility in stepping into what we can change in ourselves that will literally flip these patterns in our kids, right? So the more you start to give yourself permission to do the things you want to do in life, your daughter won't be asking or waiting for someone else to tell her to go do the thing.

00:40:43:22 - 00:40:50:26
Lisa
She'll just go do the things, which is amazing. And I'm super excited you're coming to Vancouver because I get to stomp you around my hometown.

00:40:50:29 - 00:40:52:11
Andrea
Yes, I cannot wait.

00:40:52:18 - 00:41:13:27
Lisa
No. Good. So that was really good. So, it's amazing, right? When you start to actually, when I have these conversations, most people, they skip over some of the things that really happened because we don't want to talk about the stuff that went on with our families or with our kids, or where we're not really showing up for ourselves.

00:41:13:29 - 00:41:34:17
Lisa
And it's so interesting to watch how it just kind of unfolds in conversation, because these are these are actually the conversations that need to be had because so many men and women are feeling like they're failing, even though they're successful, because these things are happening in their lives. And we can we can change that. Okay. So now I'm going to ask you about rest.

00:41:34:19 - 00:41:35:08
Andrea
What is okay.

00:41:35:11 - 00:41:53:21
Lisa
What is rest look like for you? I think I feel like you've got a good sense of play, but yeah, no. When it's time to rest, how do you know when it's time to say, Andrea, today? We're not going to do that work out because we need more sleep. How good are you at that?

00:41:53:24 - 00:42:14:15
Andrea
So that's a great that is a great question. I will say so. I am a work in progress and a masterpiece at the same time, which is another one of my, all time just says one liners that she repeats over that all the time. So I think for me where like, I was going through a stressful situation a couple of months ago and I wasn't sleeping well.

00:42:14:15 - 00:42:43:23
Andrea
And so usually I'm like, you know, the 5:00 am wake up like, that is my jam. And I was just like, you know what? I'm going to push snooze. But it wasn't just a snooze. I'm like, actually, in this moment, I'm like, resetting the alarm. So when I was up at like 330 with anxiety because I'm stressed out, I'm like, actually the alarms going off at five, I'm going to actually change that to six so that I'm like, okay, whatever for like I need my sleep right now.

00:42:43:26 - 00:43:04:06
Andrea
Another thing for me is like connection with nature is like, I know it's my play, but I prioritize like 20. I think when I joined like Eleanor's program, that that's how we met, I was like, what do I need to do? So I live in Colorado and we have mountains, right? I don't live in the mountains. I live kind of in the suburbs of Denver, but the mountains are relatively close.

00:43:04:06 - 00:43:26:16
Andrea
So for me, I said one weekday a month, I am in the mountains, so in the winter that means I'm snowboarding by myself for the day and that's my rest. Like that connection with nature is, for me, more restful than like a day off at home or a day at the spa. Like I don't love spa like massage, manicure.

00:43:26:16 - 00:43:51:05
Andrea
That is not my thing. But being in nature. So that's either snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, being able to do that alone. I think for me, that's where the rest part, because I am an extrovert, I love people, I love my energy. But like that alone time in nature is that is my rest. That's my reset. The other one is, crime novels.

00:43:51:12 - 00:44:09:24
Andrea
So I really need to take a break. I'm like, I will go to the I love the library. I just, I love the community aspect of libraries. So I will go to the library and a crime novel and I will plow. I will literally wake up on a Saturday morning, not work out and like, read a book for like three hours straight.

00:44:09:27 - 00:44:29:21
Lisa
I love that, I love that so much. Yeah, rest is something so many of us struggle with. And you know, when you're a committed person, which clearly you are a very committed person, like when you're in, you're in. I can tell that about you. Yeah. But the problem with being super committed is we often really struggle to break commitments.

00:44:29:23 - 00:44:51:11
Lisa
So the you know, I've had people say to me, well, Lisa, like if you say you're going to work out, you should go work out. And I said, yes. But my first priority, my first commitment is to my overall well-being. And if I didn't sleep last night, then going to work out is actually not going to be the best thing for my overall well-being, which is where my number one commitment needs to be.

00:44:51:11 - 00:45:10:26
Lisa
So I love that you can get to that place where you can say, not today, because we do have to balance out the stressful things going on in our lives. If we've got something that's going on that is creating a lot of anxiety, that's stress on our physical body. So although exercise helps with that stress, it actually just creates more stress for the body.

00:45:10:29 - 00:45:29:08
Lisa
So being able to say no to working out every now and then because other things are going on is super powerful. I love the getting out in nature. I think more of us would be served if we just like, closed the screens and got more like real blue light from the sky and being in nature. So I think that that's really great.

00:45:29:08 - 00:45:39:03
Lisa
And then I love that you just tuck yourself into the library. I like go for like, where are there no people? That's where I'm going to go. I love that you're like, where are the people? And I'm going to.

00:45:39:03 - 00:45:40:02
Andrea
Go, yes, I see.

00:45:40:02 - 00:45:50:17
Lisa
Quiet within that. Right? Everybody needs different things to maintain their energy and I just love that so much. Who's your favorite crumb? Crumb crime novel writer. I used to read these.

00:45:50:19 - 00:46:10:08
Andrea
Oh, I have, I honestly don't have one. I like Lisa Jewel. I'm reading like, a Lynwood Berkeley. Now. I am very, like, not plan. I will like, go to the library. And at our library they have this like four leaf clover sticker where it's like, oh, it's like a new one that you can't put on hold. So usually though, like the bestsellers that the whole list has like 50 people on it.

00:46:10:14 - 00:46:31:24
Andrea
So I look for those four leaf clovers. Honestly, I don't think about it too much. I'm like, oh, it's a four leaf clover book. So that means it's probably good because it they have certain ones that you can't put on hold and they're just there randomly. And so I just I go for it. I know some people like have their favorite authors, but I just, I just kind of pick something up and see what happens.

00:46:31:24 - 00:46:42:04
Lisa
Love it, I love it, I like audiobooks, I have a hard time. I have a hard time sitting still reading books, but I like moving and listening to audiobooks. Isn't that interesting?

00:46:42:06 - 00:46:51:11
Andrea
Yeah, I like to listen to audio books that are nonfiction. But fiction. I have trouble. Like, I like the the physical city and relaxing.

00:46:51:17 - 00:46:52:09
Lisa
I love that whole.

00:46:52:09 - 00:46:53:29
Andrea
Thing to read.

00:46:54:02 - 00:47:17:07
Lisa
Okay, so the podcast is called congruent, right? Because I am really here to support people living a life that feels as good on the inside as it presents on the outside. And I don't ever believe that we are fully congruent all the time. It's just not possible, right? Like, I believe that we're always trying to bring ourself back into congruence, but what would be a massive red flag for you?

00:47:17:07 - 00:47:27:22
Lisa
That you are completely out of alignment or out of congruence with your values and the things that are most important to you? What does it look like if you are out of congruence in your life?

00:47:27:24 - 00:47:54:15
Andrea
I think it's I'm complaining. Oh, I'm complaining and I'm overcompensating for other people. That is kind of a lesson I've learned is that, like, I'm complaining. I'm complaining, I'm complaining. And then it's like, okay, something's out of alignment here. Or if, like, I'm doing all of the work and other people are not, and I'm mad or angry and I'm just, I'm because I'm like, when I commit to something, I'll commit to it.

00:47:54:15 - 00:48:17:00
Andrea
Right? So part of it is like your greatest strength is your greatest weakness situation, right? Like I am highly committed. I like to deliver amazing results. So red flags for me like is when we're working towards something and I feel like I'm carrying all of the weight. That is a red flag for me. But then also if I'm like complaining and I'm like, what?

00:48:17:00 - 00:48:32:24
Andrea
What's going on here? Like, do we need to have a difficult conversation or do we need a different plan? Or do we need to really like, take a step back and reassess? Because it could be that like literally like I think this is a good idea and nobody else thinks it's a good idea, and that's fine. No one's helping me.

00:48:32:24 - 00:48:41:25
Andrea
And so it's not always that, like, I'm right, the other person's wrong. It's like, take a step back and really assess the situation to see what's going on.

00:48:41:27 - 00:49:03:11
Lisa
So I always say that resentment is a new problem. Whenever we get into resentment or frustration, it's always like it's always a new problem. But what I'm also hearing is that you are highly functioning and probably over functioning person. You probably over function for other people. That's one of your patterns you must get into. And then when you feel the resentment, you're like, wait a minute, doing too much?

00:49:03:13 - 00:49:03:25
Andrea
Yeah.

00:49:04:01 - 00:49:16:21
Lisa
Back the responsibility. And this is a trap for people who are really committed and really responsible. We fall into that role so, so naturally. And because we are capable of so much, it's so easy to just like pick up all the pieces.

00:49:16:21 - 00:49:17:10
Andrea
Not.

00:49:17:12 - 00:49:21:23
Lisa
Only to realize now that we've robbed everybody else of doing their jobs.

00:49:22:01 - 00:49:22:12
Andrea
Yeah.

00:49:22:17 - 00:49:26:20
Lisa
We're in. The worst part is we teach other people to under function.

00:49:26:23 - 00:49:29:10
Andrea
Yeah, totally. Yes, yes. So I.

00:49:29:10 - 00:49:41:09
Lisa
Love that. That's a huge one. And it comes up for so many successful people like I'll just I'm just going to do it all. But the resentment, the red flags of resentment is really good that you notice that in yourself that you.

00:49:41:09 - 00:49:42:09
Andrea
Oh yeah.

00:49:42:11 - 00:49:56:24
Lisa
So that's cool. All right. So. What advice would the you of today give the you of the past about success.

00:49:56:27 - 00:50:03:03
Andrea
I think and this is like actually an Eleanor quote keep going Queen. That's what I would say.

00:50:03:03 - 00:50:03:16
Lisa
Eleanor.

00:50:03:23 - 00:50:05:03
Andrea
Is like keep going Queen.

00:50:05:07 - 00:50:17:26
Lisa
Like what what pitfalls would you what pitfalls would you warn her to watch out for? What would you, would you advise her to maybe do differently? Like what are some of your biggest lessons learned?

00:50:17:28 - 00:50:24:29
Andrea
I think for me is really the vision. Don't don't give up on your own vision.

00:50:25:01 - 00:50:26:00
Lisa
I love that.

00:50:26:03 - 00:50:28:26
Andrea
Yeah. It's your vision. And like, go for it.

00:50:28:29 - 00:50:36:25
Lisa
I love it. So how do you define success now what is Andrea standing in her success in another five years from now look like?

00:50:36:27 - 00:50:45:20
Andrea
Well, I think what's interesting as like as I have having this conversation with you, I'm like actually sitting in the fact that, like, my life is actually pretty amazing right now. So, like.

00:50:45:20 - 00:50:49:16
Lisa
You know what, if you walk away from this podcast and that's what you've gained from it.

00:50:49:16 - 00:50:50:01
Andrea
Yeah.

00:50:50:01 - 00:51:01:25
Lisa
Like that's that's one of the goals of this podcast is to, yeah, see and celebrate their success and recognize you can have all the drive and ambition you can have the biggest goal. I am here for big audacious goals.

00:51:01:25 - 00:51:02:20
Andrea
Yeah.

00:51:02:22 - 00:51:09:11
Lisa
And we can feel amazing in the lives that we've created right now, today, if nothing else changed.

00:51:09:17 - 00:51:25:17
Andrea
Yeah, like I think what to me and it's interesting, when I look back, it's like when I moved to Denver, it was like this man, I've always lived in 100 year old houses where you always have these projects going on roof leaks, whatever. And like when we moved to Denver, we're like, no, we're going to live in a nice house.

00:51:25:17 - 00:51:47:14
Andrea
So I live in a brand new house. And like that was a manifestation that I wrote down. I'm like, I'm going to move. I'm going to have a brand new house. I have a brand new house. I have an amazing community of neighbors that have my back, literally, like other entrepreneurs in my neighborhood, in the coaching program that we're in, like, I have this amazing community, which I didn't have before, and I always felt like I was alone.

00:51:47:14 - 00:52:08:28
Andrea
I didn't have people who were going through what I was going through as an entrepreneur, so I have that now. I didn't have that before. I have flexibility. I could pick up my kids every day from school and even this one is really cool. So, and this is like letting go of society's expectations. So my kids works are French immersion tourism and are in French immersion.

00:52:08:28 - 00:52:27:02
Andrea
But in the US, like it's not as popular. So the middle school, didn't have advanced enough French. So last year my son went to the high school for French. It did not go well, right. But part of me is like the right thing to do. He's already been in French. Don't lose the French like he's got. We got to figure this out.

00:52:27:04 - 00:52:54:16
Andrea
And instead I'm like, you're not going to take French this year. It's like you're just not. And what's interesting, I did not get involved in his course selection. And he picked speech as his an elective and audio video. And what's really cool. So in the speech class they're making podcasts. I make a podcast and they actually ask for parent volunteers to come in and talk about how public speaking has helped their careers.

00:52:54:19 - 00:53:14:10
Andrea
And it was just this full circle moment. Like you said, your kids watch you and I'm like, oh my gosh, my kid wants to go take a speech class at middle school, and he wants me to come and talk about public speaking as part of your career. I'm like, it was this full circle moment that like, actually, I do have a pretty amazing life.

00:53:14:12 - 00:53:33:28
Andrea
And there's just we don't celebrate that. We're always on to the next bigger thing. So I think in five years it's like this kid will be in college and like, I want him doing something that's he's excited about. My other kids will be in high school. I want to keep going on these date nights of Santa Fe.

00:53:34:01 - 00:53:34:16
Lisa
Right.

00:53:34:19 - 00:53:47:01
Andrea
Every month. And I like I want to still be in community. I think it's just more of what I have, like right now. Just like, yeah, more of what I have right now and like keeping it, keeping it going.

00:53:47:04 - 00:54:05:07
Lisa
I love that, I love, I really love too, that you took your hands off of your kids course selections. I don't know how much you do that, but you know, we can over function for our kids too. And it's amazing the direction that they will find for themselves. They'll be fine. They want to have a good, happy life too.

00:54:05:07 - 00:54:22:20
Lisa
And look at he showed you that he's paying attention. I think that that's so amazing. I'm so glad you came on today, Andrea. I'm really glad we had this conversation. It was really just me wanting to get to know you better as well. So, you know, podcast platform is always an awesome way to get to know people better.

00:54:22:22 - 00:54:31:00
Lisa
What do you the. For our final question, what do you want people to understand about success that nobody talks about?

00:54:31:03 - 00:54:56:16
Andrea
I think that like no matter how like the more successful you are, things, challenges that you never imagined are going to come up. And I think that's the thing. It's like more success comes bigger challenges. And they they go hand in hand and there's learning from it. And what's interesting, I look back at some challenges that I thought were huge, like a few years ago.

00:54:56:18 - 00:55:16:18
Andrea
And I can see I'm like, wow, if I didn't go through that, I don't think I would be at the point where I am today. So it's one of those things that's like, you hate it when you're in it, but it's it's part of the journey and it doesn't go away. It's just being open to that. Learning that life.

00:55:16:20 - 00:55:37:26
Andrea
There's highs and lows, especially in entrepreneurship. And there's this really great quote that I would love to share. And it's it came from the book, Launch by Jeff Walker. So I read it a long time ago, but there was a last motivational chapter for entrepreneurs, and he's actually from Colorado. Jeff Walker, and he said, life is like a mountain range, right?

00:55:37:26 - 00:55:50:17
Andrea
There's there's peaks and there's valleys. But when you're an entrepreneur, it's like you're in the Himalayas. The peaks are higher, the families are lower. And that's the life of an entrepreneur.

00:55:50:20 - 00:56:10:22
Lisa
I agree, I have always believed that, you know, we think we're here to grow our businesses just like we think we're here to grow our kids. But the actual opposite is true. They are here to grow us and, you know, it doesn't matter how successful you are, you'll never escape being human and having a human experience. And that's just that's just part of it.

00:56:10:22 - 00:56:27:27
Lisa
So, like, I said, I think success we, we've created as this like unicorn destination to get to, but ultimately it's available to everybody every single day because it really is how you feel. So I'm so glad you shared your story. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Andrea. It's been an absolute pleasure chatting with you.

00:56:27:29 - 00:56:29:26
Andrea
Thank you so much for having me, Lisa.

00:56:29:29 - 00:56:35:15
Lisa
So fun. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, and we will catch you on the next episode.