Strong Coffee, Stronger Mindset

Ever felt strangely uplifted right when life hands you a plot twist? That’s where we start: a snowy Sunday, a very full mug, and a heart that somehow feels lighter after a contract ends. We open up about choosing a calmer rhythm with caffeine, the comfort of small home refreshes, and why a tight job market can still be a good time to sharpen skills and standards.

From there, we get candid about momentum. I share how I pushed through and earned new certifications in under a month while parenting, and why that single win shifted my entire self-belief. We talk practical career strategy—building a portfolio of proof, tracking outcomes you can quantify, and setting clearer boundaries so the next opportunity meets you already prepared. Money talk is real here too: simple frugal habits that add margin, using what you have before you buy more, and designing a vision board that functions like a roadmap instead of a wish list.

We also step into faith and mindset. After years of drift, I’m rebuilding my relationship with God through tiny daily practices: short prayers, spoken affirmations for my family, and quiet gratitude that steadies the day. We explore what it means to release what you can’t control, protect your energy, and reframe setbacks as invitations to reset. By the end, the theme is clear: renewal isn’t a grand gesture. It’s a series of small, consistent choices—ten minutes of movement, one skill sprint, one honest ask—that compound into a life that fits.

If you’re navigating change, craving clarity, or ready to ask for your worth without a fight, press play and bring your notebook. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a mindset reset, and leave a review with one step you’re taking this week—we’ll cheer you on.

Thanks for listening coffee with a twist.

Email me at: coffeewitatwist@gmail.com

Note: I don’t own copyrights to any music you hear in any of my episodes. 

Transcript

Sunday Check-In & Coffee Talk

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey guys, welcome to Coffee with a Twist. Hope you guys had a great week and weekend. Today is Sunday when I'm recording this. Just wanted to jump on here and say hi and see how everyone's doing. Um, I am drinking some coffee. I've actually drunk a little too much coffee today, guys. Like, too much. I've been um really trying to I have scalped back. It's no try. I have today was like an off day as far as me drinking more coffee than I have in the past. So um, you know, you know, give myself a little grace, but I'm just kind of sitting at home today and um it's cold. Um I don't like hot chocolate as much as I used to. Um so with that being said, when I want something hot, especially on like rainy days, snowy days like today, um I tend to gravitate to coffee because it is hot. So um today is kind of a one-off. I'm pretty proud of myself. It's been some months that I haven't had like two plus cups a day. And I used to have two plus cups. Um lately I've been really good at like the one cup, no more than two cups. Um so something I really need to make sure I don't get used to this uh drinking three and four cups. Um I j I just love the taste of it. I don't drink coffee for um energy. I I just truly enjoy the taste of coffee, um, which is crazy because I used to never drink coffee. I was a tea drinker, and you know, I think I might have mentioned this before, but you know, working and going out and things with people, and hey, let's grab a cup of coffee. It's like sure, and I would get tea, and then you know, you'll have people, oh, try this, try that. If you don't drink coffee, you'll love this, and you know, that's kind of how I got introduced to it. And yeah, tea is like gone bye-bye, but now you're hearing all this stuff about tea, tea bags, and etc. I only use um, you know, the leaf if you can and things like that, which I typically do. Um I do have teas, have lots of teas, and um I typically do buy the leaves and things, and you have to steep them and um put it in that thing. I don't even know what it's called with the holes and you put the leaves in there and steep. For you get the name. Um, but yeah, so anyway, so yes, um drinking a little bit too much coffee today, but I don't care, it tastes so good. So I won't be drinking anymore. I'm finishing up this cup now, actually, as we are uh as I'm talking to you guys. But um, but yeah, so I go hope everyone's you know enjoying their weekend and enjoyed their week and looking forward to the week coming in. Um you know, I'm just in a very so I don't know if anyone else is like me. I would like to think so, but for me, whenever my life takes a change, good or bad, I have to make changes. Um it doesn't have to be anything big, but it it it makes me change up something, rather fits with myself, sometimes a little bit of both myself, my house, um, things I do, for instance. Um to give an example, so as you guys know, I've been, you know, my contract was up with my with my main job, my nine to five, and and I known for a while, so you know here or there. But you know, and then I, you know, switch gears kind of and like got a lot of my certs and things like that, um, that I you know been wanting to do for a while, but really kicked it into high gear. So with that, during that time and even including now, like it it kind of made me want to make certain changes. So, like I did little pops to my house, little things, you know, put up some different window treatments or new window treatments that I didn't have before, um, different artwork in my house, like just little, little, little, little changes, nothing very major. And and please, um, yes, it it sucks my contract, ended, but it's kind of like nature of the beast. Um, honestly, me, me personally, I can't speak for everyone, but me personally, I do enjoy being a contractor mainly because you do it this kind of force you forces you to take a break. Don't get me wrong. Meaning when you are working, you have to respect your money and and put you know things to the side for that rainy day. And don't get me wrong, the way the and again, you guys know I'm not getting into politics or anything like that with this statement, but with the economy, sometimes you know, under certain economies, certain decades, certain years, you know, the job market may be boom and it's easy to find the next job. Sometimes that's not always the case. Um, I do feel like we're kind of there right now. So, yes, even though I'm saying I love being a contractor, get you that, you know, um break, this may be a tough time when I do start back looking for work. Um, you know, because it seems like jobs are scarce, and even if you find something, like the pay may not be there. So even though I'm like okay right now, ask me in a couple of months I might be, you know. But so I say that to say I don't feel the change that I'm going through right now is something negative. Um, so for me, I feel like yeah, it does suck for anyone um when you know you lose work and things like that, you you lose an income. But look at it this way: not every time this happens, but I know for me personally, I've been on jobs or in situations where you're in it, you know it's not the right thing, you know you could be somewhere doing better, but life gets in the way in the sense of you are kind of complacent where you are, kind of like, oh it's just easier to stay. I'm getting the paycheck, good, you know, you kind of just be content even though you know you could be elsewhere. So that's kind of where I was at um with with my job, with my job anyway. I it it was time, and I'm not just saying that because you know it's over with, but it was time. If you would have asked me this a year or two ago with my same job, oh I would have been kind of devastated because be before their acquisition and merger, it it was an excellent company. Um really had good values and mission. Um, that changed with you know the new company. So it it was time, and I'm not gonna lie, even though I knew it was time, would I have left already? Probably not. You know, I probably would have stuck it out even longer and just been more miserable and miserable, and it would have came through with my attitude. But, anyways, um, so yeah, so I'm finding myself making little changes. Um, you know, i even when something's good, I I I feel like I do that. Like, I'm so happy I got my certifications. I'm like so proud of myself, especially for being a mom doing this. I've gotten certs, I've done my master's and many other things um before now, but this is my first time really um doing something that's for me and my career in seven or eight years, and I don't know, it's just a very proud moment for me because I have never done anything like this as a mom. I'm so proud of myself to have done something like this in in less than 30 days, being able to apply myself and be a mother and a wife and a person. I I don't know, I it's like so joyous to me. I I I couldn't it's just surreal. Being a parent is hard. Um, being a mother is very hard. And for me, like a lot of times, at least for me, you don't feel like you can take the time to do for yourself, if that makes sense. Um, especially when your kids are young. I don't have older kids yet, so I might make the same statement with them being older, but it's like I don't know, I just feel really proud of myself to be able to accomplish something like that and so huge with being a mother, you know. It is it's really hard to to accomplish some things that are for you, you know. Yeah, if it was something for my son or my husband, I'd do that all day long. I I can accomplish those things, I do those things, but it's with at least for me, I have done the thing that I have heard you're not supposed to do, and and it's you know, I put I put my child first before me. Um, you know, you always hear, you know, your mother, make sure you take care of yourself, don't lose yourself. I get it, but for me, my child is worth the sacrifice. I know, you know, you're no good to your child if you're not taking care of yourself. I get it, I understand. And so I I I'm taking baby steps where I can to do for myself and put myself first. That helps my child, of course. So, you know, the little things. And I'm just proud of myself for getting through these things and acknowledging it, and it's and it's bringing me so much joy, and it's making me do these little changes within myself and within my house again. I always do DIYs, but like, you know, I you know, I went out and brought some new artwork for the walls and different things like that. Like, I don't know, I just feel very, very grateful and and just really accomplished and proud of myself, you know, even though, you know, I'm you know jobless right now, I I still feel very accomplished. And it's it's a weird feeling. You know what I mean? Like it's weird to feel this happy when it's like, okay, you don't have a paycheck coming in, but you know, you always gotta look at the you know the glass, what is the glass half full or Schrdinger's cat, that type of attitude. And I'm and I've been trying to have that mindset in general. I've been, you know, working on that mindset for a while now, and it does. It it's it's if you can change your mindset, it does make things so different. Another thing that um I have been doing here recently, I don't think I've I may have, I don't think I've ever mentioned this to you guys in my years of podcasting, but um my spirituality and my relationship with God has been not good. It it hasn't been good for some years now. Um and last year I started uh reconnecting, trying to reconnect that relationship. Trust me, it's not full thrown, it's not full throttled yet. It is very, very, very tiny steps um that I'm building on. I'm trying to build that relationship back up. Um it yeah, I yeah, I I I don't I haven't prayed in a long time. I now I do here and there. Again, very little, but um before last year I I stopped praying. I don't pray, uh don't look to God. I didn't I didn't. Um like I said, it was a bad relationship. Um and I'm struggling a little, but I'm trying to get that that relationship back. Um and it it's hard because you know, we're we're getting older, life looks different, um having that understanding that God is not a genie in a bottle, you know, that grants wishes. Um life is gonna be life, outcomes are gonna be outcomes, you know. I I gotta, you know, realize he's not a genie. And um I'm realizing it, you know, I'm definitely realizing it and building that relationship. So uh, you know, the my my vision board uh has on there, you know, my relationship, restoring my relationship with God for this year, and and it's and it's looking good, it really is, and a lot of it is mindset. Um yeah, I've been looking at my vision board a lot lately, and it's only February, and I'm feeling really good about it. Um I put things on there for myself, my son, my household, and it's looking it's looking really good. Um we are like we we I feel like 2026 we came out guns blazing. Um but yeah, so I'm just I just wanted to get on here. I'm I'm just truly just hap happy and grateful, you know, of what I've accomplished thus far. And I feel so good making these small changes with myself, within my home, just little things, you know. You know, some people they have a breakup, they cut their hair off or change their look, things like that, or um, you know, had a great month and do some changes. I'm just you know, I'm I'm things are looking up. Not saying that they were ever really looking down, but I just I don't know, I just feel almost reborn almost, um, or renewed. That's the better answer. Not reborn, I feel renewed. Um, I feel renewed, I feel validated, and um I I'm just hoping and praying that the next opportunities and things that come my way that you know they they come correct, they come valuable, they come worthy of me and my family, and yeah, and you know, the other thing that I've been doing, I'm sure you guys have heard, you know, people, these mantras and things, these daily mantras and potentially daily prayers, things like that. Um yeah, I'm I've been doing that myself and my son. I speak over my son, uh, you know, things, you know, to that nature, and you know, hopefully these affirmations um, you know, continue to help us accomplish things and grow. So um, yeah, I I say mantras and and um you know affirmations day and night before bed in the morning. Um one of the things I want to start doing is uh reading like a daily prayer, things like that every morning or night with me and my son things to that nature. I pray over my husband always. I'm always, you know, my my husband does a lot. He's out on the roads and things, and um, you know, I'm just I am I'm very thankful, you know, that God looks over my household and my family. It's it's it means a lot. It really does. Um but yeah, I just wanted to get on here. I'm just feeling grateful this Sunday, and I hope others are feeling grateful and and humble to their life, and you know, please. There's always someone going through something worse than what you think you're going through. And not trying to say that anyone's you know, anything that someone's going through is, you know, what's the right word? I'm not trying to like diminish it or make it seem it's nothing. Trust me, it's something. But the best advice I can really give you that I hope may be helpful and has helped me in the past. And if you guys, you know, have been following me. I've had struggles, you know what I mean? Severe struggles. Um, but the best advice I can give is try your hardest to not stress over things that you cannot control. There are some things that sometimes we're going through things in our lives where it is going on. But by you staying up all night or by you losing sleep or letting something take your your energy and your and your and your um your being, your or or changing the way you are, your normal, like your baseline. That doesn't help solve the problem. You know? There are some things that have to just run its course. It's almost like being in a bad relationship or a breakup, the the significant other comes to you and says, Look, I don't want to be with you anymore for whatever reason. And you're chasing this man or woman down, you know, trying to change their mind. Their mind is set. It's nothing you can do about it. Yes, it hurts, yes, it sucks. What can you do about it? And a lot of times when you're doing that, it's because you're looking for some closure. But at the end of the day, no matter what he or she may tell you the reason why they're leaving you or the reason why they don't want to be with you, it won't give you that closure because for what they say, you're gonna always I didn't feel I did that, or okay, I did that. I'm sorry, how can we make it better? You know, so things that you can't uh change, uh it's easier said than done, but try not to stress over those things. Put those things in the Lord's hands or whatever your belief may be, put it there and focus on the things you can change. For instance, if finance is an issue, okay, that's most of the world here now in general. So, okay, you might can't change certain things right now, immediate, but what can you do in the now that helps you with having better financial freedom later? That could be something as simple as okay, I gotta go to school, or I gotta get out of this type of work, I gotta get into this. You know, what are the steps you do to do that? That's why I push vision board so much. The vision board is not for you to have this huge goal and think you just can accomplish in a month. No, write those steps down to get there. And then guess what? A year goes so fast. If you're doing those steps here in 2026, 2027 might be getting the dream job then. But 2026, you were on your grind hustling, going to school, getting training, whatever it is, you know, pertaining to your goal, the steps you needed to do, and then 2027, you're locking in, applying to those jobs or whatever it is that your goal was. So sometimes we just we live in the now, of course, and you're probably like, well, yeah, but my bills are due now. And that is very true. But you we can only do what we can. If you're in this cycle every year, every month, that means you have to change something you're doing. Rather, if that sacrificing of, okay, I'm not gonna buy a cup of coffee today, I'm not gonna buy any new clothes this year at all. We're gonna use, you know, what we already have. That's it. Little things like that. Toiletries. I know. I think I mentioned before I have a ton of toiletries, and I of course you still buy more. Instead of buying more, use what you have, you know. There it sounds so simple, so like whatever, as well, and cliche, but just try something different. Try something different. If what you've been doing is not working, then you need to try something different. So that's where I'm at right now in my life. I've been I've been in this space actually for a while, you know, at least the last year or two, but for some reason, uh this year, and it's only February, I don't know, it just really seemed to click. Really seemed to I really seem to understand it, renew. I'm just feel real renewed. But mindset is a is a big is a big deal. Mindset is huge. Mindset really helps you get through things, and you know, find whatever helps you get through things. As you guys know, I do this podcast because this helps me have like an outlet just to talk. I like I enjoy talking. Um, you know, find something you you like and enjoy, yoga, anything that's maybe for yourself that allows you time to think and reset. Not time to stress, not time to think about stress, but time to think, meditate, and you know, and reset, reevaluate, reset. That's what you need to find, whatever that may be for you. It could be gardening, it can be cooking, it could be anything, something even new, you know. Maybe if you've been like, oh, I've been wanting to try something new for a while. Let now be that time. Don't let those the life stress get to you, because trust me, it's gonna always be there. It ain't going nowhere. But our mindset can change the way we handle it to where we're still keeping our mental and ourselves under control and healthy, you know. It's a big deal. You can you can crash out. Um, you know, some people enjoy working out, you know. I want that joy, I want the joy of working out. I have started back working out, but I want the joy of working out. No one I want to be like, yes, I gotta, I gotta work out, and I'm doing it small, I'm just starting at home, doing little quick 10, 20 minute videos, things like that. There's a lot of things you can do, and it doesn't even have to cost. Um, but yeah, you know, just find something and be renewed, and you know, that's that's really where I'm at right now. I'm feeling really renewed, and that's pretty much what I'm doing in my life. I'm renewing and refreshing some things um in my life, and it and it feels good, and I and I just hope and pray that this continues and that my mantras and affirmations you know keep me keeping those up, and that I won't have to fight so hard to show my value and worth. Like I I really want it to where someone's coming to me and and automatically giving me my value and worth. You know, I feel like you have to fight for your value and worth. Oh, you know, you can be doing the job, and it's like, oh, well, we're not gonna pay you that because of this. Or, you know, you get tired of fighting for something you're doing or something you've been doing. I want someone to see me and be like, you know what, you're worth this. I want to be the one. You know, it'll be nice to have a time where you're not negotiating it back, like, nah, I want this, you know. You want it that they come to you and be like, Look, I know you're worth this, and then some you you pick the number, or this is the number, and it's something great, you know, where you wouldn't need to negotiate it back, you know. So that's that's you know, kind of where I'm at, you know, and you know, so far I'm enjoying my new mindset and my renewing. So again, just wanted to get on here and kind of share my gratefulness and share how I've been, you know, trying to get in a different mindset and um rebuild my relationships where you know there wasn't. I'm you know, trying to just get some things back going, you know. But um, yeah, I'm gonna end it there. Thank you for listening to Coffee with a Twist with Madame Ballou.