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THE SJ CHILDS SHOW
🎙️ Welcome to The SJ Childs Show Podcast! 🎉
Join Sara Bradford—better known as SJ Childs—as she bridges understanding and advocacy for the neurodivergent community. This podcast shines a light on autism awareness, empowering stories, expert insights, and practical resources for parents, educators, and individuals alike.
Brought to you by The SJ Childs Global Network, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting autistic individuals and their families worldwide, this show is your weekly dose of inspiration and actionable ideas. Visit sjchilds.org to learn more about our mission, find resources, and connect with our growing community.
Catch us on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Goodpods—or tune in Fridays at 8:30 AM EDT on the Helium Radio Network’s Life Improvement Radio (Channel 1). Together, let’s foster a brighter, more inclusive world! 🌟
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THE SJ CHILDS SHOW
Episode 274-A Conversation about Generational Wisdom: Parenting, Leadership, and the Power of Community with Victoria Leech
Have you ever wondered how the stories of our grandparents can shape our approach to modern parenting? Join us on the SJ Child Show as we sit down with Victoria, the Chief of Staff at Phoenix Hydrogen, who brings her expertise in renewable energy and a heartfelt commitment to coaching others through life's significant changes. We share personal anecdotes about the profound impact of mentors and the necessity of a tiered support system, specifically for parents raising children with unique challenges like autism. Listen in as we reminisce about our grandparents, highlighting the value of preserving their life stories and using them to process grief and celebrate life.
Our conversation with Victoria also explores the evolving dynamics of leadership and parenting, emphasizing the importance of fostering autonomy and support. We delve into modern leadership styles that prioritize service and empathy, whether in the workplace or at home. Through relatable stories, we stress the value of allowing children the freedom to pursue their own interests and the vital role of modeling positive behavior. From my personal journey with my daughter Olive's type one diabetes diagnosis to the unique perspectives that neurodivergent individuals bring to the table, this episode is a heartfelt exploration of strength, resilience, and the power of community.
Welcome to the SJ Child Show, where a little bit of knowledge can turn fear into understanding. Enjoy the show. Hi, welcome to the SJ Child Show. Today I have a guest who I'm really looking forward to getting into this conversation Right away. I can tell she matches my energy, which is a fantastic conversation to be had, is my energy, which is a fantastic conversation to be had. And she is in one of my absolute favorite heartfelt places in the entire universe San Francisco. So thank you so much, victoria. And plus, I mean I think I named my dolls Victoria when I was little because that was my favorite name when I was little. So you just have everything going for you today, dear Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:I'm so happy to be here. You know, victoria, it's a great name, it's classic. I'm actually named after my great-grandmother, who was notorious for stealing silverware from restaurants.
Speaker 2:How funny, Now you haven't taken up that hobby now, have you?
Speaker 1:No, no, haven't stolen any silverware. I'm not going to keep that going, but it is a funny thing to think about my you know great grandmother wandering into restaurants and stealing the silver in her purse.
Speaker 2:Funny, my father-in-law used to take home glasses from casinos. After he would have a couple drinks he would put them in a bag and take home some glasses. So it's always like this hi, those look familiar. I think I've seen those at every casino I've ever been in.
Speaker 1:That's not a personal icon on there. Is there, yeah, is that the Hilton head?
Speaker 2:Oh, too funny. But isn't that funny when our grandparents or we hear those stories from the past and just helps bring them to life. So much more, isn't it.
Speaker 1:It really does, and I think you know we have such a limited time with our grandparents too, right, and so those stories that make them a little bit more human, you know they're not just the figureheads that we see, you know, sitting at the head of the table and big holidays, but instead they have these you know wild life stories that we can kind of connect to, and you know it's nice, it brings a more well-rounded view to your family.
Speaker 2:Isn't that so true? And my grandfather just passed away a month and two days ago, so in that thank you I was able. He had Alzheimer's, so like it's almost like he didn't have, he didn't, he didn't remember, the last of not remembering, and so I think that's almost like the most peaceful thing. But I was able to create his memorial video and I commemorated his life story in that and, wow, what a beautiful way to move through those emotions and be able to honor his life. You know, put together all of the other memories from other family members that sent in pictures and everything, and just put together this amazing video to celebrate him. I think that's one of the best things I've ever done.
Speaker 1:That sounds incredible. What a great way to like move through your own grief and to celebrate his life. You know all parts of it and everyone's perspectives too. I think that's really beautiful.
Speaker 2:I'm sure everybody appreciated that, thank you. Thank you so much, and it's so funny. That's not our topic today, folks. We're not talking about grief. We just led this into this discussion for some reason to move through that. But, yeah, to be grateful for those who have come before us and taught us to learn how to be our better selves today.
Speaker 1:For sure, definitely. Yeah there's so much we can learn from them.
Speaker 2:Oh man, tell us a little bit about yourself and what brings you here today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I am the chief of staff at Phoenix Hydrogen, so I work in the renewable energy industry. I've really loved the work that I do. But there's one thing that I love even more than that and that's coaching others, especially helping people through big life changes, career changes, changing jobs, things like that. I find I get the most energy from those kinds of conversations, providing that level of guidance, helping poke holes where others might not see them. And I've been really lucky in my career to have so many incredible mentors, coaches, et cetera. You know that have really helped me be, one, a fantastic mom. Two, a great employee, somebody who can get things done. And three, just like, really holding, you know, space for others is something that I've really learned how to do and I, you know, thank all my mentors for helping get me to where I am today, and it's such, a, such a special thing to be able to offer that to others as well.
Speaker 2:I absolutely agree. I know sometimes when I'm speaking to autistic families or parents, you know, and one thing I, I advice, I always give to them and I know I've said this in a lot of episodes but there's always new listeners. So, hopefully, hopefully, somebody to gain, you know another thing from. It is always so important to have that tiered process of people somebody, a mentor who you look up to, somebody who has older children who you can draw, you know, ask them, experience gain, but someone who's in your same boat so you can say, oh my gosh, I am in the throes of puberty, Help me, help me, help me. And then someone who you can be a mentor to and you not only gain um, experience and confidence in being a mentor to someone else, but you see them also then pass the torch and become those other things and those tears just keep, you know, waving and moving, and it's such a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1:It really is, and I think that you know really comes back to this idea of, like, how necessary a village is, especially in child rearing, you know. But having those tiered mentors, those people around you in all different stages, allows you to, you know, kind of cross-pollinate ideas and makes everybody better. You know, I'm really lucky to have an incredible community of parents around me, especially for my youngest daughter who is two and a half, and they are mostly parents of kids younger than mine and it's been really interesting to be the parent who's like, oh, in six months it'll all change. You know, because I remember when my oldest daughter was in the same stage, I was really leaning on every single word of those parents who had kids that were older. I was like, oh my gosh, tell me, this doesn't last forever, it never does. Everything changes all of the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and it's so important that we, as early as we, can, understand that so we can embrace those moments because, even though they might be that time where your child never let go of your leg and never let you go to the bathroom by yourself, when they get to a certain age and they don't want to talk to you and they want to shut themselves in their room and things, you are yearning and wishing for those days back and hope. And so take advantage of that, you know, don't take it for granted and really like embrace those moments you can have with them in every moment you can.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I would say embrace them the best that you can right, because there are days when you're like, no, I really do need to use the toilet, or let me have my coffee before.
Speaker 1:I run around or crawl on the floor with you Cause I'm going to be that much more fun. But yeah, I mean I miss those moments. The other day I was buying a booster seat. We got rid of the car seat, we bought the booster seat and I'm in target, just crying, just crying. I saw it because the whole stage has ended. You know, my kids are climbing into the car themselves, putting on their seatbelts. There's no more snuggling them in and getting them. You know things like that and, um, you know those. Those phases come and go. I will say, at least in my experience, I've had um so much fun looking forward to the next stage, though you know I haven't gotten to a point yet, although my kids aren't teenagers.
Speaker 2:Although my kids aren't teenagers.
Speaker 1:I joke that when my girls are teenagers, we're just going to send them away.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know everything when you're a teenager, right? I remember being a teenager who knew everything. I thought my parents were idiots. Yes, dad, if you're listening, I'm sorry, you know, maybe I should have just been in another country.
Speaker 2:I don't know. Yeah, it's so true, and it just gets to the point where you have to learn how to let autonomy start to begin. And you have to. And, believe me, you don't know this. I can tell you this. I have a 23-year-old.
Speaker 2:I have raised a whole human already and, believe me, I made so many mistakes in that raising of the human, um, and going in.
Speaker 2:I have three and now, in 13 and 11 year old, I learned so much what not to do, um, and I'm always trying new what to do, which is a fantastic thing.
Speaker 2:But I've really found this balance in allowing the autonomy of this youngest child to take its own life, to take its own identity, its own flight, everything. I think it's so important that when we can be mindful of following our child rather than controlling and guiding that child, we open up a whole different realm of opportunities and perceptions that we couldn't have had prior to that. We couldn't have had prior to that in. When we're first in line and we're guiding away, well, you can't see what's happening behind you if you're in front of everything, but if you're behind and you're watching, then it's so much easier to. Oh, let's veer this way, let's talk about this and open up this discussion. It's so much easier than to just learn how to follow. It's so much easier than to just learn how to follow, and it's a whole different rules of parenting, right. It's like this whole new concept that our parents didn't have the ability to do that because they were parented in the condition that they were.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely. I couldn't agree more with that, and I I find that's true also in the way you lead other adults. You know, it isn't just the way that we rear our children differently, but leadership in the workplace is so different. Now too, right, I mean, I really see my job as both a leader in my company and a leader at home, as in service to others. You know, it is my job to, like you said, open the doors that you might not see, to provide guidance for you to make the right decisions. But it's not for me to make those decisions.
Speaker 1:You know, it is you and your life, and you have the autonomy to live the life you want to live. And as much as I would love to see my girls, you know, follow my footsteps, and you know, become tree hugging hippies that live in San Francisco, and you know, you know, become professional swimmers, like I wanted to, but couldn't yeah, I'd love to see that. But at the end of the day, you know, my daughter really loves ballet, and so you know what she's at ballet camp this week, and that's what we're doing. I never saw myself as a dance mom, but the number of tutus and leotards that we own now are out of control.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. That's so cute. You said that too because you have this mindset when you're going into parenting that things are going to be one way. Believe me, you'll get knocked down quick. And I remember coming home from the hospital and we had I just have two biological, but we didn't find out the sex by either of them. So we had the grand surprise meeting them for the first time, which I think is the most beautiful present that the universe can give you. And so it was on the way home thinking here I have a girl, I this, I'm never going to own anything pink. Everything is just. You know, whatever, come home to a pile of pink Grandma had come over and there are pink blankets and pink dresses and pink bunnies and all of the things. And I was like here we go, here we go, here we go.
Speaker 1:You know, I grew up and I was kind of a tomboy. You know, I like to rough around, I like to wear my pants and, you know, my t-shirts, and that's how I was comfortable. But my oldest daughter and we did not do the pink toys, the dolls like, was very much a choose your own adventure. You know what she chose dance, pink, purple, glitter, unicorns. You know that's what she likes. Yeah, it's like. Okay, you know, we gave you the options, that's what that's what it is.
Speaker 1:So their room is pink and flowers and unicorns love it. You know the whole gambit.
Speaker 2:And you know that's how fun to be able to be a child today with a parent who wants to let you be free and let you enjoy your childhood. And you know I think that there's real excuse me, real value in, of course, teaching your kids discipline and how to do housework and things. I I don't love that every time my kiddo goes out to play, all of our kids are. All the kids are always doing chores and all of these like let your kids play. All the kids are always doing chores and all of these like let your kids play. You are the adult, I'm sorry. You are responsible for your housework. Like, maybe set up a once a week job for your kids, but every single day, expecting them to be adulting, it's insane and I don't agree with it. And a lot of parents are going to be like Sarah, that's bad, that's okay. I do everything different and I think that sometimes different is right, just as much as they're different is right.
Speaker 1:Totally. For me, it's not so much about having, like you, have to do your chores every single day. That is not what it is in our house at all. It's more like, hey, I'm going to model what a clean house looks like and sometimes you're going to follow suit. This morning is a great example of that.
Speaker 1:I left the girls in the kitchen this morning and I'm giving them a bunch of desecrated coconut and they were just munching on it. They love coconut, so they're munching on that and I hear the coconut spill. So imagine powdered coconut all over the kitchen island, all over the floor. I stay out of it. You know, hey, they're having a good time. Maybe they're making, you know, some kind of snowy mess. You know that's what childhood is and you know it should be celebrated. Who knows what kind of creative world they've made. But the next thing I heard was the vacuum. Yeah, the next thing I heard was the vacuum. It was my oldest daughter vacuuming up the coconut they had spilled. And you know, that's not because it is her job to keep the floors clean, it's because she's seen it modeled over and over again. But hey, when we spill, we make a mess.
Speaker 2:We don't have to be shameful or blaming or any of those types of things either. We can just model how to pick it up. And then how much easier will that be when they get into the real world and they make a mistake and they're not afraid to ask for help from the teacher, from a student, from anyone around them, and they're able to just learn that it's okay that they make mistakes.
Speaker 1:Oh, I couldn't agree more. You know, I think all animals are born with their most important skill set. You know horses they are born, they are able to run. You know same with deer fish you are born, you're able to swim right. Humans, we are born able to ask for help. It's our superpower, it's the fact that we can band together and help one another, we can ask for help when we need it. And taking that away from our kids, shaming them for needing help with things, I think is a real detriment, you know, to their ability to tap into what makes us all fantastic.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and what makes us all that fantastic is our abilities to grow from learning from ourselves, learning from one another. Creating that mentorship comes back to that right. And it also comes back to that leadership, that ideas that you can be a leader without having to be in a business suit or a jacket or standing in front of a conference table. You know any of these ideas in our heads that, like I can be a CEO, it doesn't mean that I make millions of dollars, Guess what. I barely make any, but I'm still the CEO of my company. Like it's still a thing. You know, I still get all the credit card things in the mail. I can't do that, no way. But it's these ideas that we have already put in place of people and their you know titles and things that are changing. Those things are changing and evolving so much in today's society they really are.
Speaker 1:I think the way that we look at leaders has changed a ton, and I think one of the best superpowers that a leader, in any space, can have is the ability to ask questions, ask for help on things that you don't know about. You know, I've been in a lot of different businesses and I've worked for, you know, ceos who might not have that ability. You know, who think they know everything about everything and it's their way or the highway, and they have not been as successful as those leaders who are able to say, hey, I don't know anything about this, you're the expert, you can make these decisions, you lead this part of this and I'm going to stay out of your way. You know, and I think that's so true in the house. You know, too, I'm really grateful for my partner. He's an incredible, you know, human being. He's got his own superpowers, the things that he's really good at.
Speaker 1:One of them is pretend play. I'm terrible at pretend play. I'm bad at it. When my kids want to pretend to be you know, superhero, unicorn, mermaids and I have a role to play, I'm asking like line, what am I supposed to say next? What line, what do I do? But you know, when he swoops in, he can just immerse himself in their world and they have the best time. And you know what I'm really good at? I'm really good at getting dinner on the table. It's a really great trade-off and you know, knowing that we each be as, let's not misogynistic- in any way or anything.
Speaker 2:But you shouldn't have to be your parent or your your partner's parent. You shouldn't have to have your child parenting you. You have to have clear boundaries. You have to have clear roles in your communities. That's how things move successfully.
Speaker 2:If you're constantly changing roles, there aren't any defined skills in those types of things. Just like you said, if you were expected to pretend play every day, maybe they wouldn't have as much fun anymore, because you know it'd be like this scripted thing, whether it wasn't. I completely get that too. I remember not not remembering how to play dolls, not remembering how to come up with those things on my own.
Speaker 2:Because, like you said, I'm worried about well, are the dogs all have water? Do what's for dinner? Do I have that in my grocery list? Oh, my gosh, where's did I leave the laundry in the washing machine? It's going to sink and I'm going to have to rewash it. You know all of these dumb things going on in your head that take space over that. And my husband, my husband, always says oh sorry, I have hubby vision. You know he never sees or hears these things that I'm constantly concerned with. And maybe your you know partner has the same thing that he's able to just like be separated and disconnected from all of these other things that really are kind of our role and our what we've chosen to take on.
Speaker 1:Totally. And you know what it's what I'm good at. I am good at the family planning. I am good at making sure that our trips are planned, our packing lists are made that we don't forget anything on our camping trip. I'm really good at seeing that the dishes need to be done, the laundry needs to be done and that light bulb is out, like these are things that I excel at. But my husband, he excels at being fully in the moment with our kids. He excels at calling us out when our spending's going a little bit crazy. You know he excels at making sure that I'm really taken care of. He sees when I have, like, not had enough water today. He excels at making space for me to go to the gym. You know we have these things that we do that support one another, that support our family and support our community. And you know my kids are really good at certain things too right. They bring a lot of humor and joy to awkward situations. You know they're really good at creating beautiful cards for our friends and family. They're really good at being thoughtful with our neighbors and helping clean up in our neighborhood.
Speaker 1:Like we all play our role and as long as that role is what we're good at. I think typically we're pretty happy. I think we really struggle as human beings when we find ourselves in a role where we don't succeed and don't find joy. You know, like, look at the end of the day, I don't enjoy doing the dishes. Right, I might see them before my husband does, but he knows that I love doing the dishes and so if I say, hey, the dishes, they really need to be done, could you help out? Yeah, he's like, of course, you know he jumps right into it and most of the time I don't have to ask. You know, at this point in our marriage, like, hey, I got the dishes, yeah, I see them. You know I'll take care of them in the morning or tonight or whatever, like yeah, and it's so important to the in.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's just everyone's relationships and with their partners, with their everyone in their family is so very different. Sounds like you and I are so lucky that we have really supportive, supportive family and spouses that take that, see that we have value, that they have different skills at, but know that we also need those people to take care of us. We need that, you know. Yeah, let me get dinner tonight. You've just been doing this all day. I can take care of that. Um, the special moments where they just everyone considers one another and it makes such a nice environment when that's happening.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, I have a son with uh son with autism, and he is profoundly gifted, in the same breath, very challenged and needs a lot of support. He's not going to be able to see that the dishes need to be done. He doesn't even know that he hasn't changed his clothes for three days, you know. But his role in the family is just as important, even if they can't provide like tangible work or things like that. He has taught us all how to look for communication beyond words. You know how to have patience for those around you or even have no judgment for yourself or others who who could live in a world like that. That would be such a beautiful place to be.
Speaker 1:If you were all a little bit more like your son, the world would be a better place.
Speaker 2:It's like this amazing journey that he's brought me along and I've just gained all of these beautiful skills.
Speaker 1:Sorry, oh no, I'm the crier.
Speaker 2:Crying is a really important way to feel our feelings, you know, except that he might not get up and vacuum someday. But you know what? He is helping me teach the world how to be better people. That, at the end of the day, is like the biggest job anyone could ever do. Yeah totally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, just that shift in perspective is so valuable. Yeah, just that shift in perspective is so valuable. You know I also. I have my oldest daughter was. She's not autistic, but earlier this year she was diagnosed with type one diabetes. It's really interesting. We had all gotten sick, you know, with the flu, for a couple of days and she got hit a little harder and we're like, oh man, this is really wiping her out. A week goes by with her being just lethargic and we were supposed to be gearing up for her fifth birthday party. We rented a, you know, a space at the zoo, all her friends, my family's flying out to come celebrate her, and we end up at the hospital that day instead with, you know, her type one diagnosis.
Speaker 1:And it's really changed a lot for all of us. You know I've taken on the new role of being kind of a full-time pancreas for her home nurse. Home nurse, you know we're dealing with insulin and shots and you know now we're on a pump, which has been great. But the whole new world for us, and I'm always so inspired by her because at five years old she's learned about concepts that most five-year-olds never have to understand. You know she has a new understanding about food and how your body works. And she is so brave. You know that bravery every single day is absolutely inspiring and I think it has really unlocked something for everyone in our family. You know, I think it's not only brought us all together, it's helped us all feel like we can go achieve anything, because Olive that's my oldest, you know she's out there, you know, living her best life, even though it's a little harder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, isn't that amazing to these special children that can guide us into the future with such a different perspective and how to be better people? They're just like such high vibrating souls. It's just incredible how much like light they bring to the world. Um, we can only, we can only be so grateful to be close to them as their parents. Right, I'll completely agree with that um.
Speaker 1:but I will say there's a flip side to that. Right like I'm so grateful for her and all the things she's taught me. But you know what? There are days when my patience is tested. It is tested, you know. The other morning we had to do a pump change process and she spent at least 30, 40 minutes telling me I was the worst mom in the world. She wished I wasn't her mom, she didn't love me anymore. You know just the gambit the worst feelings, right, yeah, and I recognize it as a test. You know, at the end of the day it's just a test.
Speaker 1:But oh yes it took every, every ounce of love that I have for her to remind her over and over again, as she was screaming and yelling at me, that I still loved her, no matter what she could say, whatever she wanted to me. But I was always going to love her, and you know that's one of the things that I think you learn very quickly when you go through something like this is your love truly is infinite, and the more you can lean on it in those hard times, the better off you all are. A thousand percent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree that that unconditional love that occurs when things are challenged, I guess in a way really gives you that insight to take things on a moment to moment basis, because you realize that you cannot plan future. There's no you know and no doctors know anything. They cannot predict the future for you in any way, and that goes for, I'm sure, all kinds of things. You know. I don't have as much experience with type one diabetes, but I know that I could take my son to five different psychologists and they could all predict the same or the different things, but none of them know what he's truly capable of. And only we as parents, right now, while they're in our homes, have the abilities to get them there, to take them to the best place that they can be and to really help them show you along the way what is best for me, how can you help me be the best person I can be? And I love that you said that, because I think that oftentimes people might.
Speaker 2:My husband just said this to me the other day. He was like we've been together for 20 years and he's like how did I marry like the happiest smiling person in the world. It drives me crazy. And I was like I know it's because, you know, I'm just like your opposite You're, he's not dark, and you know I don't mean that, but the darkness and the light and they were just so funny that way.
Speaker 2:Um, but it really is our daughters a lot like him and that she's more um, she has this like strength and confidence about herself that she carries, and it's like this air of of I don't know, I can't even I don't feel like I have it. I feel like I'm always like, you know, like I don't know what that is. Maybe it's insecurity, like I feel like I have way more insecurity in my life or my world than than she does. But and I know that's not true I mean she's still growing, she's going through all of these things, but she displays it in these just powerful ways that that it just inspires me all the time and she gets over things really quickly. She's, you know, just able to see through things. She sees through the things and I'm, you know, naive and all of these things. And this 11 year old is seeing through all of the crap and being like mom come on man man, you know.
Speaker 2:But, um, in that same breath, like teaching her how to be okay with showing her emotions. That's, you know, my something that she's not as comfortable with as I am, obviously, and knowing that it's okay for her to display the person she is, for who she is. You know, I this is kind of interesting. I just talked to a guy and we were talking about neurodivergent people and he said you know, finally we're zebras, not just funny looking horses. And I thought, oh, my gosh, that's the best thing I've ever heard, you know, and it just the cutest thing. And he said you know what a group of zebras is called? And he said, a dazzle, we're a dazzle of zebras. Could it be more like so true? And I thought it was just so beautiful because, yeah, no longer are we just weird looking horses.
Speaker 2:Okay, I always likened myself to a unicorn growing up, that I was always just like this sparkly unicorn thing. You know, everybody else had their mustang thing going on and there I was just tweeting about. But, um, yeah, it just. It just goes to show like how we can come together as different human beings, how we can, off each, offer each other respect and grace and dignity and learn from one another oh, totally and totally, and it's that, that power in the community that's.
Speaker 1:It's the power in the family unit that we are all unique and different and bring something else to the table, like you know, strength and the ability to see through things, but also the ability to show and feel our emotions and the ability to be really strong and maybe a realist and you know, the ability to see the silver lining, no matter what. That's also important for bringing your family together, but also like moving you forward in life to wherever it is you're all trying to go and there's so much power in that, I think. I mean, maybe this is just like a corporate rant, but I think corporate America especially has been like destroying the family unit and all the sense of community it has for like the past 80 years. Yeah, you know, but there's something so powerful to it and you know, the more we can come together as a family, as a community, the stronger we all are as a family, as a community, the stronger we all are, and you know I really hope that that's like.
Speaker 1:the thing that we all take away from this today is that you know there's strength in numbers, there's strength in all of us, and you know, the sooner we are to recognize and celebrate that and everybody, the happier we're all going to be too.
Speaker 2:I couldn't have said that better myself. So true, and when we show our children that we'll follow their strengths, they can become so much more than we could have ever imagined. So remember to do that. Look at your own strengths, give them grace. Give yourself grace. You know, a lady not too long ago said something that just has been ringing in my head ever since. I'm so glad she said it Find what gives you goosebumps. I love that. Just got goosebumps thinking about it. You know what gives you goosebumps.
Speaker 1:Victoria, oh my gosh, you know what. I could not agree with that more because I've always said follow your fear. You know, I was in tech for many, many years and when I was offered the opportunity to switch into climate change you know, into a climate change startup, renewable energy it was terrifying but thrilling. It was the goosebump moment because, here I was, I did not have experience in building hydrogen infrastructure Right, I do have experience building companies though I was like, okay, if, if, I can go do that, I can go do this, even though it's one of the most terrifying things I've ever done and it's easily been one of the most rewarding roles of my career. And you know that continues every single day, you know.
Speaker 1:You know my kids want to do dance. I'm terrified of being a dance mom. You know I don't know how to do this. You expect me to do a ballerina bun. Know, I don't know how to do this. You expect me to do a ballerina bun. You know videos late into the night. It scares me, but you know what. It is their joy and their, their grace and their excitement and their energy that allows me to say, okay, let's go, let's do this thing.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and you just follow that, follow their lead as much as you can, everybody because they'll take you to places that maybe you wish you could have gone to as a child. And then you can experience that with them along the way. And how magical is that Like the most magical. Last night.
Speaker 2:This is so off the wall, but last night we were walking home and I just went to get my daughter. She's been up the street playing and so I went to walk home because it was dark and her and her friend run fast, you know, in front of me, way in front of me, and I thought I should run across the street and run through that sprinkler. I bet they would think I was so crazy right now and I didn't do it. I didn't do it, I didn't do it and I was like gosh, I should have done that. Like I thought about it, I should have done it.
Speaker 2:So I ended up walking her friend home and on the way home, just by myself, there was another sprinkler and I ran through the sprinkler and I was so glad I did it and I was like gosh why didn't I, you know? But that urge and that instinct to just be a kid and just like they would have laughed and we would have been so funny. The neighbor guy would have been like what is this woman doing, you know? And maybe he would have joined you running Exactly so yeah, I'm here to say that.
Speaker 2:Yes, I had a great idea. I didn't follow through with it, but then I did later. So I mean it's okay that we kind of go on our bumps and journeys. Right, you had the opportunity again right, Exactly.
Speaker 1:It was like you have to do this. Following that inner voice has never led me astray yeah, never. In fact, it's always when I damper it, when I put a lid on it, when I say no, or I don't trust that instinct that things don't go the way they should have.
Speaker 1:You know we know far more than we give ourselves credit for, and I think this is especially true for the women that I know. You know, we, for generations, have been really stomped on and said no, you don't know you're, you know, you're a side piece to this whole thing. Like, don't trust your instincts. But the moment we do, the power that we have to make great decisions to impact the world in a really positive way, whether it's small things like bringing joy to others, running through the sprinklers or, you know, making, you know, some big investment somewhere, like following that inner voice, just is such an unlock for like and this is going to sound super hippie dippy but like toward reaching a higher power, reaching this kind of more confident version of ourselves that we know exists version of ourselves that we know exists.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we all have it in us. We just have to allow ourselves to go through that little bit of fear to get to the other side and then keep going. You know, don't just stop there where you've been a little afraid, but just keep reaching into it for sure. Oh my gosh, I think we could just keep talking for hours. I think, oh my gosh, sarah, we could, we totally could. It's been so great getting to know you and I'm just so honored and such a pleasure to have you on and I hope that I can invite you back to catch up in the future.
Speaker 1:Yes, definitely. I mean, we have probably hours more to talk about, agreed.
Speaker 2:Well, we'll side zoom on the side, just in case we need to do that too. But before we go, tell everyone where they can go to support you, to find you, get in touch with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can find me at victorialeachcom. Shoot me an email, reach out through there. I'm also releasing, you know, a bunch of new content and courses, so find out more there. You can follow me on Instagram, at VWSwims or on threads. I'm on threads. I'm surprisingly active there, so VWSwims so.
Speaker 2:I love that. Well, I will certainly make sure that we're following one another so that we can stay in touch and just really appreciate your time. And thank you for being such just a beautiful soul in our community and coming onto the show today to share.
Speaker 1:I'm just so grateful to have gotten to know you today, Sarah. It was really my pleasure. I'm looking forward to the next time already.
Speaker 2:Yay, good, I love to hear that. Okay, well, we'll definitely be in touch.
