The 300th Episode: A Podcast Milestone of Endurance, Love, and Celebration

Can you imagine how many life lessons we've learned and shared in 300 podcast episodes? As we hit this milestone, we're thrilled to welcome some genuinely inspiring guests for this special episode. Today, we're joined by a powerful duo, Erin and Brent, who share their stories about personal growth and the transformative power of love and support.

Get ready as Erin takes us on a journey through her year of incredible growth, where she bravely stepped into a new role as a Growth and Development Advisor. Hear Brent's perspective on his wife's transformation, and how his unwavering support has been instrumental in her success. But that's not all. We're also in conversation with Genevieve, who took a leap of faith in her career and turned to patience and endurance to keep her going. Her story is a testament to the power of resilience and the courage to keep going, no matter how tough the journey. 

As we wrap up this landmark episode, we dive into the most potent force of all – love. We discuss the importance of nurturing love and staying focused on our goals. Get ready to be inspired by these incredible tales of growth, endurance, and love. Don’t miss this monumental episode filled with wisdom, growth, and, yes, some serious celebration!

Look up, and let's elevate!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Every day, elevate, every day, elevate, every day, elevate. Hey, it's Jen the Builder and Cory, and it is our 300th freaking episode. Yes, oh my god, 300. Cory, I don't, I don't, I can't even fathom that. I know we talk a lot, but just to have it recorded and documented forever and ever, 300 episodes, and have it be held to us and against us, for us, whatever that looks like, it's just intense to know that it's 300.

Speaker 3: 0:46

Absolutely, and it's on the worldwide web, so it's never going anywhere.

Speaker 1: 0:50

No. Do you have any regrets? Yes, Lots.

Speaker 3: 0:55

I've listened to some episodes and said what the heck was I saying, and it just didn't make any sense to me. Other people said, oh man, that was so impactful.

Speaker 1: 1:04

And we'll talk about that more, but I have to tell you we had announced a special thing that we were doing today. Actually, we're recording on 1111 and our little intimate event started at 11 o'clock, and so all that was done on purpose, and I couldn't have planned this any better. It was not on purpose that this was our 300th episode, it's just kind of how it fell. So we have two amazing people at the Elevate table Wait, wait, wait.

Speaker 3: 1:31

Can we just address the thing in the room like all these things.

Speaker 1: 1:34

Yeah, the thing Okay what's the thing?

Speaker 3: 1:36

All the people in the room that are here to help and support and be a part of Better just staring at us.

Speaker 1: 1:41

Yeah, those things, yes, okay, yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 3: 1:46

Well, we have lots of guests today and we're going to enjoy them one by one and sometimes two by two, and I just wanted to give a shout out to everybody in the room. So if you guys could say hello and give a round of applause, I greatly appreciate it. Yeah, that sounds good.

Speaker 1: 2:05

Yeah, and that's a live audience. It's not like one of those hit the button applause type thing.

Speaker 3: 2:11

Absolutely no never that.

Speaker 1: 2:13

So we are going to get to meet them all. Hopefully we have a whole strategy and how this is going to work. So today's episode, I think, is amazing. We're going to talk about life lessons and I want to introduce the two beautiful people that are at the Elevate table. I just keep smiling because this was such a surprise, right, and that's the thing today. I was telling Corey, I just want to be open to what's going to happen organically, like no pressure, no push, no pull. It's just supposed to be what it's going to be. So at the table we have a beautiful couple, aaron and Brent. You stay, shin at the table.

Speaker 2: 2:55

Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 4: 2:56

Yes, hello, hi Aaron, hi Genevieve, hi Corey.

Speaker 1: 3:03

So, Aaron, you know you saw the menu or the itinerary of today. What made you want to choose life lessons as the episode you want to talk on?

Speaker 4: 3:13

Well, first I saw that hors d'oeuvres was the first one, I thought oh, that's a great topic, but that's not a topic of discussion. No, I think I wanted I was extra interested in life lessons because I've experienced a lot of them recently, especially this year. It's been a huge year of growth and change and acceptance and challenge, and I just I'm really passionate about this subject at this time in my life, right now. So that's why I chose life lessons.

Speaker 1: 3:42

Nice Thanks for that overview. Are you going to let us in a little bit on the details of what you just explained? Sure, I'm happy to Nice. Looking forward to it, so go ahead and introduce this beautiful person next to you Hunkah, hunkah, burning love, Hunkah hunkah burning love. Love, that's right.

Speaker 4: 4:01

This hunkah, hunkah, burning love, it's my husband.

Speaker 3: 4:03

There you go.

Speaker 4: 4:04

And Brent, I'm so excited that you decided to jump on to the podcast because this whole time I was like you don't have to be on, like don't worry about, you know, getting in front of a microphone or being in a group of people that you are just meeting today. But I'm just so impressed and I'm so proud of you for taking the leap and doing that. So welcome to the Elevate table.

Speaker 2: 4:23

Thank you, I'm happy to be here, I'm glad to be a participant, and we'll see where it goes. Well see.

Speaker 3: 4:29

I have a secret. Okay, I wasn't going to be the only man on this show, so I was going to do whatever I needed to do to get Brent on this microphone but he volunteered.

Speaker 2: 4:39

You didn't have to do much, I worked out.

Speaker 1: 4:42

Yeah, you two are the only men right now, and so I think it's great that, brent, you decided to jump on. I'm all smiles right now because I know Aaron said he probably won't be on, and I said that's fine, because we really want to meet him. The team has heard such amazing things about you. We got to meet you for the first time on a team's meeting where you attended Aaron doing a presentation so she can get her master's certification as a trainer, and so I just remember thinking, wow, you can feel his energy, you can see the love he has for Aaron, and it was just such a great thing to see where you are supporting your wife at work, even though you don't work with her.

Speaker 2: 5:25

Yeah, I think that was really the reason why I volunteered to do this as well. I wanted to meet her co-workers, as she talked so much about, in a positive light, and I also wanted to volunteer to do life lessons, because I looked around the room and everybody was kind of not really, but Erin was very into it. So I was like, if she's into it, I'm going to go in there with her and see what happens. There you go.

Speaker 1: 5:46

I like it. That's what I'm saying. So let's talk about 2023, because it is November, and when you think of this year, erin, where do you want to start Challenges? Good, like you, go ahead and tell us where you want to go, yeah.

Speaker 4: 6:02

Oh man, this year has been just something else for me in the best way, and I'll just start at the top of the year. I started this year very hopeful and very much in tune with my intuition about something amazing happening in my life. Something really fantastic is going to come and I believed in that so much and I believe that was meant for me so much that it did happen in my life and that was getting my position as growth and development advisor.

Speaker 2: 6:38

We didn't get married in 2020.

Speaker 3: 6:41

I just knew that was coming. We got married and okay.

Speaker 4: 6:50

When we got married it was 2020 and that was a whole other chapter oh my gosh, yeah, totally different.

Speaker 4: 6:56

But we're talking about 2023 and this was a year of personal development. I feel just so different about who I am, how I show up, the way that I think, how I react to things, and I'm just really proud of myself for making those changes and accepting that because it was important. It was really important because I don't think I was going the right way, and so when I did decide to take the plunge and make the leap to try something new, especially in my job and where I was career-wise, it was the best decision that I could have made, because this role has allowed me to venture into areas of learning and knowledge and practice and experience and oh, what's the word? Like, oh my gosh, it's Experiment. There we go, experiment on things that I just didn't think were possible in my job, like I'm getting paid to do this. And all of those dreams essentially came true when I was able to open myself up to growth and development advisor and every single day, I just can feel level up level up little by little, change experience.

Speaker 4: 8:20

Things didn't go according to plan, but that's okay and having a new experience about that. So, and I do have to give it up to my husband because he's been such a great positive support for me. He's always this type of guy who has a positive attitude and I really appreciate that, especially during times of struggle, because he just keeps reminding me of the light and I just I love that about him, yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:51

So, brent, I was telling Aaron like how excited we were to see the chemistry between you two Because, knowing Aaron, let me tell you she's one of the newer ones to the team.

Speaker 1: 9:03

Her and Vanya were came at the same time and, even though I get to lead Aaron in some of the things that she does, she's always teaching me life lessons where I have one way of looking at things and then she brings in another perspective and it's usually the more positive one, and so I really appreciate that about her. And I don't know if she really brags and tells you what she does, where we work, when I tell you that she's revamped customer experience, where she just takes on every challenge where she's like how can I help? And then she does it like immediately, I mean, and ever. And she shared a story at our big company meeting. It's just amazing, like how fast, aaron, you're growing and I believe it that every day type of growth because of the work we do and because you're so open to it and this is something that you wanted, so it's very inspirational. It's so amazing to work alongside you and I feel like the team is a better place because of you. Oh my.

Speaker 1: 10:14

God, no, I'm, and yeah, gloria is sitting right here, and Gloria and we have many conversations about the team and just what a blessing you are.

Speaker 3: 10:23

And that was a shocking statement to hear from. From me, no about anyone. You know I'm being a better place because of someone, but I definitely I believe it because I know how incredible you are. But I would love to get Brent's perspective on the whole transition and how this is impacted you as an individual.

Speaker 2: 10:46

You know, aaron, aaron I think anybody knows this when they meet Aaron is he's such as this pure energy of goodness that you, just, you just want to do everything right by her.

Speaker 2: 10:56

And you know, we both went into this year trying to get new jobs and we both did, and it was we. I think we both manifested it in the in the beginning, or like hey, we're both going to be back In new positions and in total, and in the last positions we were in, I don't think either of us were very happy. And so to go into the positions that we are now and to see the growth that are tapping for both of us, but especially her because she's in a growth position, it's, it's rewarding for me because I love seeing her come home in a happy mood, talking about everything that's going on, all the different things that she's doing, and it's her ideas. You know I might throw a little idea in there that she doesn't give me credit for, but you know it's just so rewarding for me to see that and I can be more happy for her than I am right now.

Speaker 1: 11:40

Nice, so tell us about that. Speaking of life lessons 2023, open up doors to careers that are very fulfilling. It sounds like. What is it like when you're in that waiting period and there's this angst of wanting to get to another place, but you can't or you aren't?

Speaker 3: 11:58

So I want to hear about that, and then I want to hear about once you arrive there.

Speaker 2: 12:02

So either one of you decide on who wants to answer what I'll do the first one, if you don't mind, because I was in my position for 10 to 11 years, just kind of feeling stuck Like I was. I got into it, I was working, I was, I liked what I did and I was good at what I did. But after I advanced to a certain stage maybe within the first two years I was, I couldn't go anywhere. I would try and it just wasn't working. It wasn't working and you get these bad feelings like am I doing the right thing? Should I move somewhere else? I love the company that I work for, but is this really the right company for me? Should I look for more opportunities somewhere else? And eventually I stuck with it.

Speaker 2: 12:39

I did a leadership program and I think that got the ball rolling where I got my name out there a little bit more. So I think the general idea of what I'm talking about is you just you can do both. Right, you can go somewhere else in the grass might be greener, but if you really love where you're working at, even though you might not like the job, there's other opportunities that you can take to open your horizons into something new. And that's exactly what happened.

Speaker 4: 13:04

Yeah, that's awesome baby. And I just want to point out to this man is very patient. He was very patient throughout all of each endeavor that he expressed interest in, right into different positions as he was expressing his desire for moving into another role with his managers and things like that. He just had so much patience for himself, for the process, for the universe to do the things that they were going to do, for God to play his role in this, and it was just beautiful to watch him just be patient and it really, really paid off because at the beginning of this year, right around, he started his job first, but I mean gosh one. Right after the next he started his job and I can just see this beautiful bloom of like relief over him, you know he started working from home, and he's now practicing his own routines and his different rituals that he has.

Speaker 4: 14:01

He has a beautiful garden in our backyard, one that I get to benefit from. Because, that food is so good, and I can just tell that he is such an enlightened person because of this experience and he deserves it. And that kind of takes us to the next question that you had, corey, about what is it like when we finally arrived to that spot of when we made it, and it just feels like, if you can envision with me, we're walking up a steep hill, it's rocky, it's muddy.

Speaker 2: 14:33

Who paint that picture?

Speaker 4: 14:34

It is. Thanks, babe, it is, and you can envision it right. It's rocky, it's muddy. You might not even have all the right tools right now to get to the top, but you're working really hard and along the way you gain strength, you have momentum, you're just making it your way all the way up and then finally, when you do reach the top of that hill or that mountain or whatever you were climbing, it is the most beautiful view, it is the strongest strength that you have in your body and it's the most pride I think I've ever felt in a personal achievement way, when I landed this position and it just felt like a new plateau, a new beginning, because it wasn't the tip of the mountain that I arrived at. It was a whole new level, like it was a completely new landscape.

Speaker 4: 15:23

And everything up there was brand new and everything before me was just behind me, and that's the way I would wanna describe how I felt when I made it to Genevieve's team. It just felt like a clean slate, brand new start. And it still feels like that sometimes.

Speaker 3: 15:40

So it sounds to me as if they have a new understanding on patience and endurance. And when you get to that point, I'm gonna ask you, Gene, then what?

Speaker 1: 15:52

Oh, my gosh, why are you asking me? Cause I'm older, Okay, so the question is is, once you get to that spot that they're in and patience and endurance has then kicked in, then what, like? What's next? Yeah, what's your next man?

Speaker 1: 16:09

The thing that I love about life lessons and things that you two have gone through and that Corey and I continue to go through, cause I don't think life has any difference towards age. It's just gonna happen, right, no matter what age. It's just a different experience, I think. Then you start to build up your muscles. Then it's like I've climbed this hill one time before. I didn't quite get to where I wanted to get, when I thought I should get there, but here's what I've learned along the way. So the next hill and you know it's gonna be a sad day when Erin does progress in life and she becomes, you know, sky's the limit for Erin. So I'm enjoying every day that I have with her, every moment, until then, when she gets to see what's next. She's then gonna take all that experience, the patience and endurance, and that's what's gonna keep her going and it's gonna make her stronger and stronger, and that's what I love about life and the lessons that we have, even when it ends in a negative way, right Cause you said that you had some challenging experiences this year and I can't wait to hear about those too and those actually add to the life lessons.

Speaker 1: 17:15

Those actually add to our ability to endure, our ability to be consistent, our ability to have faith and keep going. Yeah, I mean, that's it. For me, it's just this evolving, this elevation in life, and you just take these experiences and then what I think is absolute, the utmost, is what you two are doing now, and that's sharing it with other people. I think that's huge in life is that we have these experiences that have brought us to where we are, where we're gonna go, and we meet people along the way that need those stories, that are going through something that we don't know and when we don't share what it is like if someone something tells, you talk to them, share this and you don't listen to that, I wonder what did I miss out on? What did that person miss out on?

Speaker 3: 18:06

Absolutely so maybe you guys can share with us something that you thought was just about to break you, one of these challenges that you were going through, and you just had that moment of I can't do this anymore. I don't know what I'm gonna do or how I'm gonna get this done. I'd love to hear a portion of that or all of it, if you can get it out.

Speaker 1: 18:25

Yeah, I want you're comfortable with it. And we've got Kleenex on purpose because we've learned that people at this table like end up crying and I'm like we don't have Kleenex and I'm not gonna give you a roll of toilet paper, because I think you're much more special than that. Well, I appreciate that You're welcome.

Speaker 2: 18:43

If you wanna take it, go ahead. It looks like you have something to say, Thank you.

Speaker 4: 18:47

Yeah, oh gosh. Yeah, the question that you posed, Corey, is very interesting because I think the challenge that I went through did break me. Yeah, yeah, I kind of pursued a personal project this year and it was challenging because I partnered with someone who is so beautiful in their own right and at the end of the day it just wasn't working. And I tried so hard to make it work and it actually turned out to be more of a personal issue than it was with the other person. It really didn't have anything to do with them. It was more about what I was dealing with and I learned a lot about how you know the idea of when you want to do something and you want it done a certain way, you have to be the one to do it.

Speaker 4: 19:52

You know what I learned through that was I found myself leaning on people that I felt like understood my vision, but they took it a different way and I then became unhappy, but that wasn't their fault. That was my kind of that. Responsibility fell on my lap to A communicate a little bit better, a little bit more clearly about what I was expecting and B taking the responsibility to do it myself so that it comes out the way that I had envisioned it. And through this whole challenge and that endeavor of that personal project, I ended up losing a friendship and it was really challenging to go through that experience and I learned a lot about just like the things I wish I could do differently. I think I would, but at the same time I knew that the direction that that friendship was going it did need to end.

Speaker 4: 20:51

There were other things that were happening outside of that personal project that I just felt like weren't really right in my life. And, yeah, that was a really tough time. I was very. I think I broke from that, but what came of the brokenness was a new foundation. Under that I learned a lot about who I was and what I want in my life and the relationships that I want to cultivate in my life and the people who I want to keep here. And so, even though that was a very challenging relationship, I became a new. And that is such an important aspect of challenges, because when we don't challenge ourselves, when we don't challenge the way we think or the way we're cultivating relationships or how we're doing things, we are not growing. We are not becoming a new when there is no challenge.

Speaker 3: 21:43

So, even though that was a very difficult time in my life and something I'm still healing from, to be honest, I was wanting to jump in because it's tough to hear you tell a story, because I know the angst and the pain and the emotion that you're going through, as you're giving it to me, as you're giving it to us, and so I'm watching and I'm like, oh, I don't know if I want to hear all this, because it might be a little too personal, it might be a little, and so it's just really hard to see someone going through that and knowing that that much emotion was involved in there.

Speaker 4: 22:15

Yeah, thank you for that.

Speaker 3: 22:17

Absolutely.

Speaker 4: 22:19

Yeah, it's still something that I feel like I'm healing from. Actually, this is like the first time I've talked about it without crying, so I think that's a.

Speaker 2: 22:25

Hey progress.

Speaker 1: 22:26

Yeah, I was going to say so, I'm not going to say too much here. And I know Brent, you experienced her to during this time.

Speaker 2: 22:34

I was going through it the same.

Speaker 4: 22:36

I leaned on him a lot Leave it.

Speaker 1: 22:39

And, man, what is that like being with that person that you love so much and just seeing them struggle.

Speaker 2: 22:48

It's hard. It's hard, but the way I tried to look at it is I'm going to be as supportive as I can with whatever decisions. The thing with Aaron a lot is it's not a bad thing. It can be sometimes.

Speaker 2: 23:01

What was going on with this situation was there was some some miscommunication going on between her and the other person and there were scenarios being made up in their heads and then decisions being made off of those made up scenarios, and so what I tried to do is like bring her back down to what is known and try to get him to talk and communicate about what the issue is, to see if they could work it out Right, because there's no decision. You should make a decision off of something that's not known, right? So the more communication you can give somebody, the more knowledge you're going to have to make the decisions that you want to make or that you need to make, and eventually, in the end, I think she made the best decision for her. It might not have been the best way to make that decision, but she made a decision that was true to herself and that's the best thing that you can do in the end.

Speaker 1: 23:48

Yeah, so many life lessons in that story, and I'm just going to say that we were there at work with Erin during that time and every day I just thought she's going to get through this, yeah, and I just really admired Erin, how you honored your emotions during that time and the struggle was real and you went through it, and we make mistakes on the way we handle things at times, but I'm with Brent on this. The outcome is what it should have been and what do we take? Moving on into the next experience, where it's something, a passion project you want to do, what does that look like now? It sounds like you've identified people that you want to stay in relationships with, so I think that's beautiful. And so there's so much here.

Speaker 1: 24:30

Communication, yeah, not assuming, getting the facts before you make a decision Like these are huge life lessons and I'm going to tell you this, mr and Mrs U station you have to come back to this table because there's so much more here to unpack. I really, really would love to see you here in 2024 and just take us through life and what needs to be shared with other people.

Speaker 2: 24:59

Is that okay? I mean, if you have the same spread that you have out here, I'll come. I'll come every weekend, if that's what you're doing.

Speaker 1: 25:05

That's the hors d'oeuvres part on the itinerary, absolutely, and we see the live being something different, where it's actually live and with an audience in a big space, conference room style. This is something that we've envisioned, that's been given tests and I'm excited about it. So this is just the beginning.

Speaker 2: 25:27

It's very cool. I will say it's very cool setup you have here.

Speaker 1: 25:30

Yeah, how did it feel to be here, brent?

Speaker 2: 25:33

I mean it's just talking right, like for me. I'm just talking about what questions were asked and how I feel. So it's very easy, at least for me. I know some people might have some issues, but I'm okay with it.

Speaker 4: 25:44

Well, and I think he's a great talker, I mean, he's a great conversationalist.

Speaker 3: 25:48

What's a great voice?

Speaker 1: 25:50

Yeah, that voice is something else Great voice.

Speaker 4: 25:53

yeah, oh man, it takes me back to my first date with this guy.

Speaker 1: 25:57

Oh, wow.

Speaker 2: 25:58

I don't know, Corey, do we have a spare room? That's another episode. That's another episode. Yeah, that's good yeah.

Speaker 1: 26:04

I love the energy of you too. I love the love, and every time we're with a couple that exudes this kind of love, I know it has an impact on Corey and I. We've been married for some years, so anytime we can get around people who inspire us and give us the little tickles and all this stuff. I'm waiting for Corey to play footsies with me, because the energy's so strong over there.

Speaker 3: 26:27

Well, I reached across to her. You did, you did and she snatched my dress. I saw that she snatched your hair.

Speaker 2: 26:32

I was like I'm kind of focused. There's no love there.

Speaker 1: 26:37

Anyways, we can't wait for you to come back. Thank you so much for being here today and sharing your life lessons with us and with everyone listening. And you know us at Take the Elevator, we say look up and let's elevate. Elevate Every day, elevate Every day, elevate, every day, elevate.