Stacked Keys Podcast
The idea to talk to women who are out there living and making a difference is where the Stacked Keys Podcast was born. There are women who make a difference, but never make a wave while paddling through life. Immediately I can think of a dozen or more who impacted me, but I want more. I want to talk to those I don't know and I want to share with an audience that might need the inspiration to find their own beat. This podcast is to feature women who are impressive in the work world-- or in raising a family -- or who have hobbies that can make us all be encouraged. Want to hear what makes these women passionate and get up in the morning or what they wish they had known earlier in life? Grab your keys and STOMP to your own drum.
Stacked Keys Podcast
Episode 202 -- Gina Godeen -- Empowering Mothers to Pursue Their Dreams
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Balancing the demands of motherhood and a writing career is an art that Gina Godeen has mastered. She shares her transformative journey from a secure full-time job to the uncertainty of freelance content writing, and ultimately, the joy of being a self-published author. Gina opens up about the challenges of adapting to her family's needs and the invaluable support from both her local community and online networks. Through her story, listeners discover the power of embracing change and maintaining flexibility in a world that rarely stands still.
The episode takes a thoughtful look at the necessity of support groups and maintaining a positive mindset, especially for mothers. Social media, while a double-edged sword, is navigated with care to avoid the pitfalls of comparison. Our discussion delves into important aspects such as estate planning to prevent family disputes and the crucial role of communication. Personal anecdotes combined with well-researched advice aim to empower parents in making informed decisions about their family's future.
Gina's candid reflections on overcoming mom guilt and creative blocks provide a roadmap for others in similar positions. We touch on the importance of self-care, offering practical strategies to manage stress and maintain creative energy. Through themes of gratitude, resilience, and community support, this episode becomes a rallying cry for young women pursuing their dreams, encouraging them to stay true to their passions while navigating life's inevitable challenges. Join us as we explore these profound insights with Gina Godeen, and let her experiences inspire your own journey.
Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff
Balancing Work and Motherhood
Speaker 1I'm walking all alone down my yellow brick road and I stomp to the beat of my own drum . I got my pockets full of dreams and they're busting at the seams going boom , boom , boom .
Speaker 2Welcome to Stacked Keys Podcast . I'm your host , amy Stackhouse . This is a podcast to feature women who are impressive in the work world or in raising a family , or who have hobbies that make us all feel encouraged . Want to hear what makes these women passionate to get up in the morning , or what maybe they wish they'd known a little bit earlier in their lives .
Speaker 1Grab your keys and stomp to my own drum . Whatever you do , it ain't nothing on me , cause I'm doing my thing and I hold the key to all my wants and all my dreams Like an old song everything will be all right when I let myself go with the night .
Speaker 2Well , today I'm really excited Audience . You get to join me welcoming Gina Godin . Welcome , Gina , I'm so glad to have you today .
Speaker 3Thank you so much . I'm super excited to be here .
Speaker 2Well , let's get started with finding out who you are . Who do people know you , both your friends and others , and professionally . So how do people know you , both directions of your life ?
Speaker 3Yeah , sure . So I'll start kind of from the personal side of things . I live in Minnesota with my husband and three young children . So I'm a mom to a almost five-year-old boy and two girls . They're three in one . So we're very busy over here , kind of in the early stages of parenthood , but it's a lot of fun . So that's kind of who I am and where I live . From a professional standpoint , I am a self-published author and I'm starting to do more speaking engagements and in-person workshops and that sort of thing . But yes , I have been publishing books on Amazon for the last year or so . Prior to that I worked as a freelance content writer and so I've kind of always been interested in writing and publishing and that sort of thing . So that's , that's my background .
Speaker 2Wow . So you're busy and you have quite a juggle . So how do you set your day to where you can have that professional aspect and that parenting momming aspect ?
Speaker 3Yeah , absolutely , it's a great question and it's really fluctuated and changed over the years . You know , when my first was born , almost five years ago now , I was working at a full time job . I ended up leaving that shortly after he was born to stay home with him , and that's kind of when I started to pick up more of the freelancing work and just kind of develop my own schedule and work part-time and be able to be home more with him . But over the years that has definitely changed . You know , for the first few years after having kids , I was working , you know , three or four days a week . My kids were in daycare and that's kind of when I would do my freelance work and my writing work . More recently now , in the last year or so , I've kind of shifted more back to a full-time working status . So my oldest two they're in preschool and then the one-year-old she's in daycare and everybody is full-time .
Speaker 3So that was a bit of an adjustment for me about a year ago .
Speaker 3And you know kind of , especially talking with , you know , entrepreneurs and freelancers out there , I just think that you know there's a lot of stress that kind of goes into that and what I want to say to people is that it's okay if your schedule and your life and your work changes and evolves .
Speaker 3That's perfectly normal and perfectly acceptable . It was a bit of an adjustment when I had to go back more full time but you know everyone's adjusted really well and I think that you know where where my life has led me to today . Everyone's in a really good place and you know , certainly balancing the work and the family can be difficult at times but just really grateful to still be , you know , working for myself and working from home and still have somewhat of that flexibility with my schedule . You know , with the kids and sicknesses especially this time of year that sort of thing will always happen , being still being able to be present for school events and that sort of thing as well . So it's definitely evolved over the years and it certainly can be challenging at times , but certainly grateful to be where we are today .
Speaker 2Well , I like the fact that you say that it can evolve , because I think sometimes , moms , we get stuck in that , well , it's got to be this way and I'm making this decision forever , got to be this way and I'm making this decision forever . And so do you find that you are creating a group of your friends that may be changing , because you're changing and your kids are changing , and so do you find that your group of people that you try to surround you with sound your I am having trouble with the tongue that you try to surround your with sound your foot I am having trouble with the tongue that you try to surround yourself with also fluctuates .
Speaker 3You know , I would say actually , you know , I've been very fortunate to have a great support system . You know , here , locally , most of my family is , you know , within 30 minutes of where we live . Same with my friends group , Very fortunate to have had , you know , very strong core friends group since high school . Really , there's seven of us girls who still , you know , we have a group text message , we chat every day . We have kids around the same age . So very fortunate in that regard .
Speaker 3But I will say , you know , I've really started to immerse myself more in like Facebook groups and different communities online where there's other moms and especially other entrepreneurs and other writers , because you know the people that are in my present everyday life . You know my friends and family . None of them do the , you know , freelancing or online business or anything like that , so it can be difficult for them to understand some of the things that I'm going through professionally . So it's been really nice to really immerse myself more in online communities lately as well , because you do sort of find that sort of connection with different online communities too .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's true , and they're more and more prevalent than they have been in the past . And sometimes do you think maybe in those groups people are a little bit more honest .
Speaker 3Yeah , you know that's been .
Speaker 3The great thing is , I think , a lot of people in these groups you know , I guess I don't know the best way to say that , but I think a lot of people in these groups feel more open to sharing some of their challenges and their everyday experiences , because , at the end of the day , a lot of us are probably going through a lot of the same struggles and challenges when it comes to our online businesses , and you really do just have to have that network of people that you can turn to and get that support and just share ideas and even get feedback .
Speaker 3You know . So , when I was working on my latest book , you know , I did jump into those groups and I said , you know , I wanted to get feedback on hey , which cover do you like best for this boot for this next book , or does this resonate with you ? Or , you know , even doing market research for certain things . You know I really encourage people to take advantage of those online communities for support and you know market research and that sort of thing because there's so many people out there who are looking for support and you can give it and you can receive it if you immerse yourself in that world .
Speaker 2Yeah , I think that's true , and a lot of times , if you're doing market research , say , and you turn to your friend group or your closer peers , are they always going to tell you the truth or do they already think just like you do and so they're not able to give you that kind of sparring back and forth ?
Speaker 3Yeah , you can definitely get some really good perspectives and a lot of good information that you may not have gotten if you didn't turn to those online communities .
Speaker 2Yeah , Well , I also want to ask you know , as we kind of combine personal life and business life , I've seen lately that sometimes if you're not experiencing something , people aren't talking about it , and so , as a mom , there are so many things that you're having to figure out and navigate that are way different from when I was mothering , young especially .
Navigating Support Groups and Mindset
Speaker 2So do you , do you find that your friend group does talk and y'all are open ? I mean and I guess I'm kind of gearing towards some specific hard things of like , you're not just the what are you , and not that this isn't hard , but not just what you're going to feed your kid for the day but you know three things that kind of gut you that it's hard to even talk about . Do you find that you're in support groups and friend groups that are more open and honest , and do you , do you promote that ?
Speaker 3I do . I do find that and again , you know , everybody's situation is going to be different . I do recognize that I'm very fortunate to have such a great support system , you know , here locally and with the friends that I've had over the years locally and with the friends that I've had over the years , absolutely , whether your friends group is in person or online , I mean definitely turn to your people when you need them . And I think there's a lot of great Facebook groups out there for other moms . Even in certain social media platforms , I see that there's a lot of support going from moms to moms and I love that so much .
Speaker 3For me personally , yes , I have been fortunate to be able to have those difficult conversations with , you know , the friends that I have here locally with me and I honestly I don't know what I would do without them in a lot of situations .
Speaker 3So I definitely recognize , you know , that that is a privilege and I am grateful for that . And you know I do see other moms in Facebook groups , for example , who you know often come on there and say you know , I don't have anyone locally , I don't have any family nearby , I don't have a good support system here , and you know , I just feel so sad for somebody who's in that situation system here , and you know , I just feel so sad for somebody who's in that situation and at the same time , I'm I'm happy that they're able to have these online connections because , you know , if you think about it before the social media and the online communities and that sort of thing you know how isolated a person could feel without a sense of community . Again , whether it's online or in person . You know I , especially as moms , or in person , you know especially as moms , but really anybody you know who's feeling that they need support or that they're going through a specific challenge , whether it's personally or professionally . You know having somebody to turn to is is so , so important , yeah .
Speaker 2Yeah , I , I know that it's . It was been important for me throughout my life . But I also know that sometimes , until something happens to you , you don't realize that it's happening to other people , and so until we do talk . But also , women are kind of judgy and so moms are kind of judgy and we kind of judge ourselves against others and and the Pinterest perfect , and so social needs can can be helpful , but it can also kind of hurt .
Speaker 3Yeah , for sure . You do need to find that balance and you know , be able to recognize , you know , okay , is this healthy ? Is this helping me or is this not ? Because I have gotten into that before as well where it's . You know kind of that comparison attitude and thinking , oh , this person is , has it it's . You know kind of that comparison attitude and thinking , oh , this person is , has it all together .
Speaker 3You know , look at their clean , perfectly tidy house . You know making these , you know reels and TikTok videos and that sort of thing , and you know that's great for them . But also , at the same time , like , my house will never look like that with , you know , the three young children that I have right now and I'm okay with that . Like , I am in a very good like mental state where I recognize that I'm just in a busy season of life . And you know what , if my house does not look Pinterest worthy or , you know , instagram worthy , I'm okay with that Because this is reality . This is my real life , and messy is reality . This is my real life and messy is beautiful . And you know , I'm grateful that my children have toys to play with that I can later trip on throughout the day .
Speaker 3You know , you really just kind of have to shift that perspective . So I totally understand that you know there definitely has to be a balance , with you know recognizing whether social media is being healthy or whether it is causing you more stress and discomfort , and then you know really kind of pivoting and making that shift .
Speaker 2Well , you said something there about shifting perspective . So so much is in our control of of our mindset , of our perspective . How do you practice a positive mindset ?
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah , that's . That's great , and I think it comes back to you know who you surround yourself with and you know that that can go a long way in in your mindset and in your perspective . So you know , I've said it a few times now , but I'm grateful to have , you know , the family and the friends and the support system that I do have , um , but sometimes I think that you know that really is a key factor .
Speaker 2Well , yeah , it is , and so we have to be so conscious of that . Do you have a routine that you're sets your morning off ? I mean , I know you can be in some pretty serious weather places of like get to just grab the child , go out the door . You've got some layering you have to do if it's winter , snowy and all that . How do you juggle that ? How do you ? I've always thought I could not live in snow where I had to have mud room before I could get even out the door . How do you ?
Speaker 3do . Yes , yeah , you know . Well , you know I've I've lived here in Minnesota my whole life , so I'm definitely used to that adjustment and you know the snow and the weather and all the things that come with it . But certainly I have learned to give myself extra time in the mornings to get , you know , three pairs of boots on three jackets , all of that . So it's a learning curve and you just kind of have to . Definitely sometimes it's stressful and you know I don't always handle myself with grace in those moments , but really it's a learning curve and you know I've had to adjust my morning routine over the years .
Speaker 3You know , lately I discovered , for example , that my kids actually do better if I wake them up earlier . You know I used to have the mindset of , oh , let them sleep in as long as possible . They're young , they're tired , they need their sleep . But then it's like we're rushing out the door and when we're rushing out the door nobody's happy , right , and it doesn't always go so smoothly . So I've learned that actually , you know what , if I do wake them up 20 minutes earlier and give us a little bit more extra time in the morning , everyone's happier , it goes so much smoother . So it's just , it's a learning curve and you just have to make adjustments as you go . And you know I I try to see the beauty in that .
Speaker 2Yeah , Well , I had routines , like my kids were on the swim team and even as young , young kids , and I made it their responsibility and their routine , um , to have everything that they had to have , so that they weren't looking at me , you know , and I have this five-year-old or four-year-old looking at me going where's my swim cap ? I don't know If you didn't put it where it's supposed to be . I don't know . Do you institute some of those things ? I mean , I know your kids are young but to the extent that you can do , you try to do that to where they're responsible , to kind of help you out a little bit .
Speaker 3Yeah , absolutely , and they're definitely getting to that age at least the older two where I am able to implement some more of those kinds of strategies and and I do think it's good for them , you know , to start them off young and and , you know , starting to learn some of those responsibilities and that sort of thing . So certainly there's things that you know , sometimes I do the night before . I try to get their outfits picked out the night before so that , you know , that's one thing that I do now that saves me time in the morning . So we have their outfits picked out the night before and I get them involved in that . You know , I say , do you want to wear this shirt or this shirt ? You know , kind of give them an option and then that way they feel , you know , kind of give them an option and then that way they feel , you know , like they have a little bit more control or more say in the matter and it's a little bit more fun for them .
Speaker 3So we I try to do incorporate , you know , my children into the things that we're doing throughout the day . Same with , you know , meals should we ? Should we cook it like this , or should we cook it like that ? Or do you want , you know , green beans or asparagus tonight ? So we kind of try to incorporate the children in those kinds of decisions , as you know , within reason of course , because they are so young . But , yeah , certainly starting , you know , to incorporate some of that with my little ones , just because it does build some of that responsibility and help them . I think that they're so much more receptive and cooperative when they are involved in some of the decision making . So certainly there are things that I've learned over the years as well to help them do that .
Speaker 2Yeah , Jaina . What are your dreams for your kids ?
Speaker 3Oh , that's a good question . It's a deep question . I like that . Well , you know , at the end of the day , my dreams for my kids is I want to provide them with a stable , healthy , happy home , and you know that's really ultimately what .
Speaker 3What I strive for , you know , I want , I want my kids to be raised in a loving environment and a loving family and I want to set an example for them , for you know how to treat each other , how to treat their family and their friends and the people around them .
Speaker 3That was really one of the reasons why , even when I was working from home and doing freelance when my first son was born , I still wanted to have him be in daycare part-time because I wanted to help him foster those social skills from a young age . And I know there's pros and cons to all of that . And there's certainly other ways , if you know , if there's listeners out there who have young ones at home that aren't in daycare there's certainly other ways to help foster those social skills and to immerse them in different social settings , them , at the end of the day , to be , you know , like I said , healthy , happy , but also , you know , just be a good human to other people and to instill that sense of caring and compassion for those around them . And so really at the end of the day , that's what I strive for and the parenting techniques that I use that's really the goal at the end of the day .
Speaker 2Yeah , I like the be a good human , because how we all strive to make that a goal of anybody that we have any autonomy over or with , then we probably will wind up in a much better place . So that kind of leads me in a little bit to your professional world , because in your professional world of writing , one of the books that you just self-published is about taking care of the family and about estate planning , and so tell me how that parallels with that exact goal that you have personally .
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah , for sure , yeah .
Speaker 3So a lot of the books that I've self published in the last year or so have been on parenting topics . I've had a lot of , you know , like toddler activity books and that sort of thing , so a lot of like of the more fun activity books and family and parenting books . But the one that I published most recently is , yes , estate planning for parents , and that one's a little bit more of a serious topic and it's a little bit less fun than some of the other books that I've written and published recently , but it's so , so important and really a lot of people ask me well , why did you kind of pivot into this and where did this topic come from ? And so for me , estate planning is something that I've just learned so much about in the last several years . We did our first estate plan when my son was born . We're kind of in the process of updating it now , but it's just something that I've learned so much about over the years and I just feel like it's something that isn't talked about enough and I just wanted to share my message and to share what I've learned .
Estate Planning and Communication
Speaker 3And you know , unfortunately , both my husband's family and my family have seen recently what can happen to families if you don't have an estate plan in place , and there's just so much that goes into that . And you know , really , at the end of the day , when somebody passes away and they don't have an estate plan in place , really the family is left to kind of pick up the pieces and try to navigate that entire mess as best that they can . And sometimes , oftentimes , it is a very messy situation and you know , really it can be stressful in a difficult , what's already a difficult time . So , without wanting to add any burden or any additional stress onto my own children , you know , my husband and I talked early on and this was something that we decided to do for ourselves and we wanted to get educated on it and we wanted to make sure that we had a good , effective estate plan in place for our own children , because we never want to think about our own deaths . Right , it's just kind of a morbid topic and people tend to put it on the back burner because they think , oh , you know it's not going to happen anytime soon , or , you know , there's a lot of reasons why people tend to put it off , but when I think about the future that I want my children to have .
Speaker 3I never want to put them in a position where there's disagreements or arguments between siblings about , you know , things like an inheritance , or you know .
Speaker 3I just saw in a Facebook group this morning that there was somebody talking about seeking advice because their parent had passed away and they were set to receive a life insurance policy and there has been already disputes amongst their siblings and amongst their grandparents and it just can be a really messy situation . I never want to put my own children in that situation where there's arguments or disagreements or confusion in an already difficult time . So that's really where this book came to be , because I wanted to share that message and get more people on the track of educating themselves about it . And , like I said , both my husband and I have kind of experienced firsthand , you know , with our own families . You know what can happen in that sort of situation and it just can be really upsetting and stressful for everybody involved . And you know , at the end of the day , I really want to protect my children and set them up for success and this was just one small way that I'm able to do that now .
Speaker 2Well , you are so right , and not only the inner family disputes that can happen , but the state gets involved and so all of a sudden , when you have all these extenuating places , you have to show up and pay and you know , be involved in it can . It can add so much when it's not difficult . So I mean , it's a process , but you basically see an estate planning attorney and have these conversations . So it sounds like that you and your husband are pretty good at communicating . Has always been a good skill for you guys to communicate with one another , or is it something you've had to develop and work on in your marriage ?
Speaker 3Yeah , you know , I do think it's something we've always been able to do is have good communication between the two of us . But you know , we've been married for seven years now and certainly things evolve and change over time and you know you always have to work on communication and and your marriage , and so I think it's really important to have those conversations and make sure that you are on the same page , especially with something like this . You know those those really key critical conversations and key topics . But yeah , it's important to be on the same page and have those conversations early .
Speaker 3And everyone's family situation is different . I know there's a lot of single moms out there and I have some friends who are in that situation and they wonder , okay , what if something happened to me ? You know what would happen to my child and how would ? How would you know who would take care of them , how would they be provided for ? And there's there's so much that goes into it . You know whether you're in a stable , happy , healthy marriage or if you're not , if you're a single parent or you know if you're somewhere in between . So there's always things to consider and everybody's family situation is so different , and so that's why I do , you know , encourage people to sit down and put together a plan and talk with somebody who can help walk you through it .
Speaker 3You know , I'm certainly not an attorney . I'm not , you know , providing legal or financial advice to the people that I work with , but I always encourage them to talk to somebody who is . The book really came about because I wanted to share my experience and I wanted to share what I know . I've done a ton of research on this topic and I have met with several industry professionals and gotten their feedback and their input and really just wanted to put something together that gets people thinking and gets them started on the right path , because the more that we can educate ourselves , the more power we have to make those right decisions for ourselves and for our families .
Speaker 2Oh , I love that . I mean , the more you educate , the more you can make the decision . So the process in writing a book , that can be pretty daunting , and then , of course , you're talking about one that you know . When you're writing some of the kids' books , you know , you might feel a little more confident , a little more . Yeah , I got this , but what's that process ? What's the process of writing ? Yeah , yeah exactly ?
Speaker 3That's a great question . So for me , you know , with this book in particular , like I said , there's a lot of research involved . Some of it is sharing my own experiences , but others is , you know , I've asked a lot of people for their experiences as well it and putting all of that together , but also getting stories from other people who have gone through those situations , and you know it's really just making those connections . And you know the process of writing the book . A lot of it was the research and the writing was the most time consuming part , of course , but also it's just been really fulfilling to see that it's now in its published , completed stages and it's already serving people in the way that I intended , which is super fulfilling and I just love that . You know it's out there and it's done and it's living and it's serving and I'm just so grateful to have been able to provide this resource for people and so it's really rewarding .
Speaker 2It's a really rewarding process , so it takes an editor after you've written and after you've done all of your very hard tiring work . What's it like ? It was definitely a joint effort .
Speaker 3Yeah , I've worked with I worked with an editor , I worked with a graphic designer for the cover . You know I've worked with a few other freelancers as well to really kind of help bring this book to life . And again , that's where kind of those online communities come from , and networking with other people and and getting other people involved . And you know it's , it's definitely been a collaborative effort and , like I said , it's really exciting to see . You know how , how full circle it has come .
Speaker 2So I'm sure but do you ever get like your feelings hurt ? I mean , an editor goes no , cut that , cut that , cut that , cut that Do you ever ?
Speaker 3Well , you , know I have the advantage of , like I said , I've been freelance writing and and , and you know , doing this for quite some time . So definitely in the beginning it takes a little bit of getting used to , but yeah , it's , that's just kind of part of writing and part of the experience . But you know I trust the editor's comments and perspectives and certainly I'm . I've learned to be open to that feedback and you know that's just kind of part of the process .
Speaker 2Did you ever have one issue or one paragraph that you really fought for ?
Speaker 3You know , see , that's kind of the nice thing about being a self-published author is , you know , really , at the end of the day , you know , I am able to make the final say in those situations .
Speaker 3Um , you know , the editors that I worked with were were both super great and , um , you know , I I got a lot of good , constructive feedback from them , and so I've been able to take that , and you know , some of it . You know , I did have moments where I felt very strongly about certain sections of the book , like , no , this is important , people need to hear this . And I did have to fight for keeping certain sections because , you know , that's going to be a challenge too as a , as a writer , is making sure that you're condensing the book so that it's not too overwhelming or too long . So we did have to get to that point where we needed to trim some of it down , and so there did come a time where I , you know , I felt very strongly about keeping certain sections . But , you know , also , finding their balance and recognizing that , okay , people probably don't want to read a 300 page book on this topic , so how ?
Speaker 2can we ?
Speaker 3condense it and keep it short , but also , you know , at the same time , we want , we want to provide value and we want to , you know , give people enough information to get them started on this journey .
Speaker 2So yeah , so Gina was writing a part of you growing up . Was that a passion of yours ?
Speaker 3It was . Yeah , it really was you . You know , ever since I was a little kid , um , I used to journal as a small child . So , um , even you know , I remember it's funny because my mom and I talk about this like I I got my first journal probably when I was , I don't know , six or seven years old , early stages of learning how to you know , know , read and write and all of that . So I used to journal , I used to love writing essays in schools , so I've always been a writer .
Speaker 3I've always read books . You know , as a kid , I read books . So reading and writing has always been a part of my life . And , you know , I think it's been something that I'm so fortunate to have been able to turn that into a career now and do what I love . I know , not everybody's in a position where they're able to do that and take their passion and turn it into , you know , a career , but it's been something that I've always enjoyed doing , always enjoyed doing . And you know , like I said , when , once my son was born , I decided , you know , we're going to go freelance full time and we're going to , we're going to take this and turn it into something special and , yeah , really grateful to have been able to do that ?
Speaker 2Yeah , that's awesome . Have you had mentors along your path ?
Speaker 3Oh , yeah , yeah , for sure . Um , you know I've joined different freelance writing groups . I've taken courses over the years . You know I I've done a lot of professional development for it as well . So certainly I've met a lot of great people and , you know , had some good mentors and had , you know , that online community because , again , a lot of my friends and family , they , they just can't relate to that , they just can't relate to the freelance writing and , um , you know , a lot of them don't share that same passion . Um , but there's plenty of people in this world who who do , and so , you know , just finding that community has been , um really great for me in my career .
Speaker 2Yeah , is there a lot of competition within that community as well .
Speaker 3There can be . There can be , but you know , at the same time there's so many different . If somebody is interested in writing and turning that into a career , there's so many different ways that you can go about it . You know there's people . So I used to do content writing and copywriting and writing marketing content . And then you know , like I said , now I've recently pivoted into publishing books and so there's there's so many different markets , there's so many different ways that you can do it . I know people who are resume writers , grant writers , people work with businesses , people work with ghostwriters or they become editors or proofreaders , so there's there's so many different ways to explore that type of career and a writing opportunity . So I think there can be competition , but at the same time there's a lot of different directions that you can go if writing is something that you're interested in doing .
Speaker 2Yeah . So what would you tell younger Gina that was coming both professionally and personally .
Speaker 3Yeah , that's a great question , you know . I guess when I look back I would tell myself you know , to always just keep an open mind . You know , after high school I went to college , got my degree , went and got my master's degree , worked in industry for several years and I'm definitely grateful for that experience , and you know , having gone down the path that
Overcoming Indecision and Mom Guilt
Speaker 3I did . But at the same time I think it's important to keep an open mind , because where you think you might be in five years from now or 10 years from now might be completely different from where you actually end up . And that's not necessarily a bad thing , because I think a lot of times we have this vision , which is great .
Speaker 3It's great to have a vision , it's great to have goals and things that you're striving for . But if at some point you decide to pivot and go in a different direction , that's not necessarily a bad thing , right , it can be a very good thing . And I think sometimes that we get so caught up in the dreams that we've been chasing and the direction we think that our life should go or needs to go might be a little bit different from where it actually is going . So I think just being able to step back and recognize that and really just appreciate having the freedom and flexibility to make those decisions and not putting yourself in a box and not limiting yourself , because really , at the end of the day , you can really put your mind to anything that you want to do and I think that that is something that maybe not enough of us recognize or pursue and really just keeping an open mind can bring you to some really incredible places .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah , and being open . I like the idea of openness and you have no idea in motherhood what what is going to happen or what a child is going to need or how that kind of evolves . So if you have a career that you love but you can kind of work the two then , then you have a very good mix . What do you think you'll always need help with , though ?
Speaker 3sorry , can you say that last one again ?
Speaker 2what will you always need help with ?
Speaker 3yeah , what will I always need help with ? I will always need help with just having a sense of community and having somebody to turn to when times get tough . And for me , that's my family , that's my friends , and it's okay to ask for help and it's okay to admit when you're struggling and it's okay to turn to the people who love you and want to support you . And you're always going to need that sense of community or that sense of friendship or family , and it's good to recognize that and be able to admit to yourself and to others when you may need some help , because we all need help at some point , whether it's for something going on in our personal lives , whether it's something professionally . I think that a lot of us tend to not be able to .
Speaker 2I think that a lot of us tend to put the burden on our own shoulders and I think that sometimes it's important to turn to your support system , to the people who want to support you , who are there to support you and just ask for help , because we all need it at some point . Yeah , that asking sometimes can be the most difficult , so when's the last time ? Maybe you had to forgive yourself .
Speaker 3Hmm , I think the last time I had to forgive myself was it comes from that mom guilt that I know so many of us experience . And you know , for me I think it was going back to when I decided to go back to work full-time . You know I had a lot of conflicting emotions about that and I think that for me , you know , I had to just forgive myself for feeling like I was giving up on spending more time with my family and with my kids . And for me , like I said , I'm so grateful that I made that decision . And you know , everybody is doing great , everyone has adjusted really well .
Speaker 3But I think for me that was one of the most difficult decisions that I had to face in my career and family life was okay , do I want to go back to work full time or not ? And you know , do I need to go back to work full time or not ? And you know , do I need to go back to work full time or not ? And so really just kind of juggling that decision . You know I had to forgive myself for feeling so conflicted and for feeling those strong emotions , but at the end of the day I made the decision that was best for me and my family and , like I said , it's , it's paid off really well for us and I'm so grateful that we are where we are today . But I think that you know I had to forgive myself for feeling that mom guilt that often comes with those kinds of decisions .
Speaker 2Yeah , mom guilt can absolutely paralyze .
Speaker 3So what would you say is the biggest waste of time , both in your day , in your thought process ? What's a waste of time For me ? I guess I would say that the biggest waste of time is indecision . I can struggle with that both , I guess , personally and professionally . Is , you know , having those moments where I just feel indecisive and not sure which direction to go , where to put my time and effort , and instead sometimes I just freeze up and lock down and don't make a decision .
Speaker 3And then that indecision leads to , you know , wasted time and lost effort . And so you know , sometimes it's you just have to feel confident in the decisions that you make and move forward , and if you have to pivot or make adjustments , that's perfectly fine too . But I think for me , I sometimes I struggle with indecision , and I don't know if that comes from , you know , being a writer . Certainly there's times where writer's block comes into play , but indecision can certainly be a big , I guess , sort of what leads to wasted time for me as a writer .
Speaker 2So writer's block is real .
Finding Balance and Self-Care
Speaker 2Oh , it's very real . How do you ?
Speaker 3get out of it . Um , you know , sometimes it's just a matter of , okay , I need to get up , go stretch my legs , take a break , get away from the screen for a little while . Um , other times it's , you know , hopping . Know , hopping into online communities or hopping online and just kind of starting to do different research and get ideas from different places . And you know , sometimes it's easier to get over writer's block than others , but it's definitely a very real thing and sometimes it's just that's a clue that you need a mental break , that , okay , maybe you're working too hard right now . You need to go do something else , get your mind off it and come back feeling refreshed . And a lot of times that's that's what does it . For me is just taking that mental break and , you know , getting out of the room and stretching my legs and going to do something else , distract myself and give my brain a little bit of a break , and then I come back feeling refreshed .
Speaker 2Do you set your environment up ? I mean , do you have like a space and what in your space kind of makes you feel good yeah ?
Speaker 3I do , and that's something you know . Working from home and freelancing has evolved over the years as well . I do have a dedicated office space now , which I have found has been helpful for me . I do also still recognize that sometimes a change of environment can be a good thing . So there's times where I want to go work from the library for the day , or I want to go work from a coffee shop because I need that .
Speaker 3I need , you know , some of that hustle and bustle where I need some people around me , even if it's not people that I know or that I'm interacting with . You know , working from home and working remotely can be a bit isolating at times , and so sometimes that change of environment can be really good for myself and also , you know , it's inspiring and it's kind of motivates me and gives me that that healthy change of environment can be a good thing . So you know , just really recognizing what works for you is important and you know , developing those routines and setting up your work environment to . You know whatever is conducive for you can go a long way .
Speaker 2Yeah , that that is true . Sometimes just a Sometimes just a change of scenery can let some ideas flood . So I meant to ask this . So I'm going to kind of go back just a little bit . You journaled as a child . You still journal , and do you use your journaling to collect ideas for your future projects ?
Speaker 3to collect ideas for your future projects . You know I really don't journal a whole lot anymore . I do keep notes where if I have an idea or something , I do keep notes . I have an app in my phone that I use to kind of jot down brainstorm ideas and keep track of those things as they come to me , but I don't really have like a dedicated journal . I don't do that , you know , active journaling or anything like that anymore . You know , maybe something I would get back into , you know , and life gets busy as a mom , you know , especially as a mom of three little ones , and sometimes I don't take the time out of the day to really take care of my own needs , and that's something I'm working on . But yeah , I would love to get back into really journaling for myself , reading for myself , kind of spending time doing the things that really give me fuel and energy . So maybe it's something I'll get back to someday . But you know , I do keep . I do kind of keep a running list of ideas and come back to things as time permits .
Speaker 2Yeah Well , and it goes all back to time . A lot , a lot of the events of a day are not actually within your own time scheme . So you mentioned your own needs and maybe not taking care of your own needs . A lot of times that's seen as selfish , but then the swing has been no , no , no , no , it's not selfish , it's imperative . Where do you stand on that ? And what would take care of Gina ? What's it ?
Speaker 3Yeah , that's a that's a great point because , you know , I don't see it as selfish , taking the time out of the day to do what you need to do , to feel yourself and to , um , you know , give yourself energy and to do what inspires you , what makes you happy . I think self-care is really , really important and it's something that I'm trying to get better at and trying to make time for , because there are definitely days where I feel so burnt out after , you know , just motherhood and working , and working , and motherhood and working , and you know you need to take those times and those days and those opportunities to refresh and reset . And I think sometimes it's easier said than done . And you know , as moms we can often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and pretty soon we reach that point where we're just so exhausted and we're so mentally burnt out with everything going on . And really what I'm trying to do is be able to recognize those needs before it gets to that point .
Speaker 3And I do think that self-care is important . I don't think it's selfish at all . I think it's just comes down to really trying to even schedule that in , you know , and really setting aside those days or there's times where , where you can do the things that you love and the things that you want to spend more time doing . So I don't see it as selfish at all . I just think it's a matter of you know , trying to prioritize it and fit it in where you can and when you can .
Speaker 2Yeah , you know , it's kind of funny . One of the things I just thought about is my kids play a game called Skippo and they always played it at their grandparents' house and so they've started playing it . And the more people that they meet , the more people they teach to play it . And when we have a big family reunion , that's the game that gets played . And they were like , hey , mom , you want to play , and I'm like not really .
Speaker 2And it occurred to me that one of the things that I did when they played skipo at their grandparents' house , that was when I sat down and read my mother-in-law's magazines and it was like I mean , I have three kids , I didn't take the magazines and I didn't have time to read the magazines . So when I went to her house it was like this joyous little , give me five of them and I'll sit right here and they could play and they were happy . But it was like this joyous little , give me five of them and I'll sit right here and they could play and they were happy . But it was like it did not occur to me until 28 years later that that was part of my self-care , of like , yeah , I don't play , but this is why . So yeah , you know it's funny , sometimes we make self as well I need to go get a massage , or I need to go have a girl's night , or and that may not be it , it may be something completely different .
Speaker 3So , yeah , and sometimes that's all it is is just getting you know , five minutes of peace and quiet to do , to journal or to read some of your book or to do those things that you want to do , and you know it doesn't necessarily have to be , you know , like you said , a mom solo vacation .
Speaker 3you know it doesn't have to be anything extravagant like that , those can be great too . But yeah , you know , if you're just able to work in those moments , those little moments on a daily basis or , you know , do a girls weekend or something like that to feel refreshed . It's really everyone's so different in their needs . But , yeah , I think we could all do a better job of prioritizing it and making self-care a priority .
Speaker 2Well , hey , you've got those , that group of seven . I mean you can pull some girls together to go do something even for a minute . So what's your favorite family activity ? What do you like to do where everybody's included ?
Speaker 3Yeah , we really love the outdoors , we really love spending time together outside and all seasons , even though we're in Minnesota , all seasons , even though we're in Minnesota , we do love spending time outside as a family . So we , you know , we get outside . We go hunting and fishing together , we go ride trails , we go for walks . Really getting outside is such a treat for , you know , our entire family and the kids love it and we love it , and so finding those family activities is so , it's so fun and it's so rewarding . And you know , to find something like that that we all enjoy doing is great . And you know I'm excited to see , you know , my kids are still young but so far they love everything that we bring them to do . But it's , it's going to be fun to see over the years , you know , kind of the hobbies that they develop and the things that we develop over the years as a family . But we just love getting outside and , you know , exploring nature and being together as a family outside .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's a good reset A lot of times for young kids and then as you kind of grow up .
Navigating Challenges and Pursuing Dreams
Speaker 2So you have been involved in a successful career , a successful family , you're in the process of all of this . But there are so many times that sometimes people look at things and they go well , that's not fair , well , that's unfair . What do you think of when you hear the word unfair and I mean you may even hear it amongst your older children of that's not fair . So what crosses your mind when you hear unfair ?
Speaker 3Yeah , when I hear the word unfair , I guess what comes to mind is yeah , when I hear the word unfair , I guess what comes to mind is , you know it all comes back to communication . Well , why do you think that's unfair ? You know what's . What's your perspective on that . Why do you feel the way that you feel ? And then you know , really trying to figure out a way that we can . You know whether it's we figuring out a way that we can compromise or understand each other . Or , you know , with my kids it's often okay , well , we can take turns , or you know what's something you can go play with while you wait , or finding creative solutions . But I think that when I hear the word unfair , I mean we've all felt that at some point in our lives and you know it's perfectly acceptable and understandable . But I think really , at the end of the day , trying to figure out what causes that perception and what we can do about it , and working together to kind of come up with a solution , yeah , I like the shift perspective .
Speaker 2You said that a couple of times and so it is changing the way you might see something , or at least explaining it and understanding it . I guess that comes from your communication skills of kind of digging deeper . So if you could tell somebody thank you , a special thank you to someone , who would it be and why ?
Speaker 3if I could say thank you to somebody , it would be my husband . Um , he's always been so supportive of everything I've done over the years from my career and freelancing and , and , and , um , and then my publishing business , and he's been a great support system for our family and he's been a great support system for our family , so I'm always so grateful to have him . I'm so grateful for the relationship that we've built together over the years and for the family and the home that we have , and I'm truly blessed and I'm always going to be so grateful for the relationship that I have with him . But I would say thank you to my husband because he's been a great support system and he's always been so supportive of my dreams over the years and he's been a great father to our children and I'm so grateful to have him .
Speaker 2That's very nice and having that support kind of allows you to dream and to keep dreaming for those dreams . What kind of challenge would you maybe put out there for , for young women who are trying to make it , trying to balance it , what ? What challenge or advice would would you give to them or advice would you give to them ?
Speaker 3Yeah , you know , I would challenge young women out there to always to never give up on their dreams , no matter what it is . I think that we're always going to face challenges and obstacles in our lives , personally and professionally but if you can persevere and if you can figure out ways to overcome those challenges , then it can be a rewarding experience and you can keep moving in the direction that you want to go . And so I would challenge people to just never give up and always persevere . And sometimes you need to find creative solutions or you need to tap your network or you need to lean on your support system , but I would challenge people to always just keep pursuing their dreams .
Speaker 2Very good . When you talk about your publishing business and the books that you publish , are you also reaching out and helping others publish , or is this currently just a project that you are looking at for your own works ?
Speaker 3something that I'm doing , you know , for myself . I don't have students or , you know , coach others on publishing or anything like that . You know I have enrolled in different courses for career development and that sort of thing professional development to help me learn the publishing side of things . I'm not currently , you know , teaching or working with others on that , but I , you know , would be happy to have conversations with anyone who wants to reach out and , you know , point them in the right direction if this is something that they think they want to explore . But , yeah , I , I have really enjoyed the publishing experience .
Speaker 3You know , like I said , I've always enjoyed reading and writing and something that I've always done in some capacity , and this has been a great shift for me . This has been a great pivot because it is something I still enjoy doing , it's still a passion of mine , but it's something that's new and it can be really rewarding to have a new direction to go , because sometimes you just need a little bit of , sometimes that pivot can be helpful because you want to explore new careers or explore new opportunities or , you know , go in a slightly different direction , and so for me , this has been a really rewarding experience . I love learning , I love trying new things and you know I'm still reading , I'm still writing , I'm still , at the end of the day , doing the core things that I love to do and using my prior experience and my prior career experience to help me in this new adventure .
Speaker 2But it's been a great experience for me have you had any , just disasters , or those boulders where you've just gone like , oh man , what am I doing ?
Speaker 3You know I wouldn't say any major disasters , but absolutely there have been things that have come up where you know I could have decided in that moment to throw in the towel . Okay , this is too hard . You know , writing a book is so time consuming and there's so much research involved , and you know , going back and forth with the editors can be stressful . I could have thrown in the towel at any given point in time throughout those challenges , but I decided that I wanted to keep moving because , at the end of the day , I was still passionate about the work I was doing . And you're always going to face challenges like that , and whether you decide to be done or to work through it is a critical step . So there's always going to be challenges , there's always going to be obstacles , there's going to be things that you need to overcome in your career and in your life , and for me , I always just want to do everything I can to push forward and move forward and you know , like I said , I'm really grateful that I've been able to do that .
Speaker 2Do you set deadlines on yourself ? And , and I do I definitely , yeah , I do .
Speaker 3For me , I really need that sort of structure . I work best when I have , you know , certain milestones and deadlines and you know certain milestones and deadlines and you know certain dates and goals and things that I want to achieve . So that really helps me keep on track . You know , especially as an entrepreneur and somebody who's working for themselves , I think that can be difficult at times . If you don't set those sorts of milestones or goals or dates , it can be easy to get off track and for me , I've learned over the years that that's the structure that I need to help me move forward and succeed in my business .
Speaker 2Yeah Well , can you tell when you need an adventure and where you just step away for an adventure ? Can you tell when that's coming ?
Speaker 3step away for an adventure . Can you tell when that's coming ? Um , I can , in the sense of you know , like I said earlier , this is something I'm working on , trying to recognize that before it happens . But I think that you know , I I do recognize those moments where you know , for example , I just you , you know recently published this estate planning book in early october , and so I'm still kind of in the heavy promoting phases of that and there's still a lot of work to be done . Even though the book is done , it's written , it's published , the work does not end . But at the same time , I feel like I've worked so hard at this point I deserve a little bit of a break , and so , you know , setting aside some time to really just step away and , you know , recharge my batteries and reflect on how far I've come and the work that I've done to this point is important and that's , you know , one of those things that kind of leads into that self-care that we talked about earlier .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah . A lot of times in when you're working by yourself , you need to have a party of one . You , you need to to have those moments and and , of course , others will celebrate with you too . But but you need to allow yourself that , Gina . We've talked about so many things . Is there anything that we have not touched on that you want to make sure that we do ?
Speaker 3Yeah , I just I think the message that I want to share to people is , you know , really , just focus on your dreams and keep pursuing .
Speaker 3And for me , at the end of the day , like I said , my priorities are my family and the publishing business that I have going on now , and I'm so grateful to my support system and grateful to my husband and grateful to have had the confidence to chase my dreams and to step outside my comfort zone and try something new and work on a new business and do this publishing adventure .
Speaker 3Comfort zone and try something new and work on a new business and do this publishing adventure .
Speaker 3And it's been really rewarding and fulfilling to see that , at the end of the day , I have this finished product , this book that's already serving other families and helping other families the way it was intended , and I'm so grateful for that , because if I didn't have the confidence from the beginning or if I didn't have that desire to reach this point , then now I'm at that point where I think back . Well , you know the people who have been reading this book and have been starting to learn more about this topic and educating themselves on this topic . You know , if I didn't have the confidence at the beginning , or if I didn't make this decision to publish this book at the beginning , I wouldn't be serving those families like I am today . So you just never know where something might take you and the good that it can do for the world . So having that confidence in yourself to move forward can really lead to some incredible things yourself to move forward can really lead to some incredible things .
Author Promotion and Superpower Aspirations
Speaker 2Oh , absolutely . How do people get in touch with you ? How do they ?
Speaker 3follow and how do they order your books ? Yeah , sure , so I'm not really active on social media right now for my business , but I do have a website , northernlightsauthorscom , and if people want a free copy of the estate planning book , I'm happy to give that away . It's a free digital copy . So northernlightsauthorscom slash free book and they can download it there . I have a PDF or a Kindle version that they can access . It is for sale on Amazon If people prefer a paperback copy . The book is called Simplified Estate Planning for Parents and it's by Alison Bradford . That's my pen name . So if people are trying to search for me as an author , it's Alison Bradford on Amazon . But if you want a free copy of the book , a digital copy , you can get it on my website .
Speaker 2Awesome , that's great . So I have one more question for you . If you have 24 hours and you can have a superpower any superpower you choose and you can use it in any way you want to personally or professionally what would you choose , how would you use it and why would that be your choice ?
Speaker 3choose ? How would you use it and why would that be your choice ? Yeah , I've been asked this question recently , so it might be a little bit . I might be cheating a little bit , because I've had this question brought up in another group that I'm in and if I could have any superpower , it would be healing the sick or injured , and that's just because we all know somebody who is struggling , either mentally or physically , you know , with an illness , whether it be a terminal illness or something short term . That would be my superpower , because I never want to see other people struggle and I always want to help others . So that would be what I would choose .
Speaker 2I like it . It's not cheating . If you've already thought about something , I mean , you know it's . It's what you truly believe in your heart and and that that makes a difference . So , thank you , this has been fantastic , gina .
Speaker 1I really appreciate you being on thank you so much there's a great big world that I want to see and a whole lot of things that I want to be . Find Stat Keys Podcast on Spotify , soundcloud and iTunes or anywhere you get your favorite podcast listen .
Speaker 2You'll laugh out loud , you'll cry a little , you'll find out loud , you'll cry a little , you'll find yourself encouraged . Join us for casual conversation that leads itself , based on where we take it from family to philosophy , to work to meal prep , to beautifully surviving life . And hey , if I could ask a big favor of you , go to iTunes and give us a five rating . The more people who rate us , the more we get this podcast out there .
Speaker 1Thanks , I appreciate it the beat of my big drum . I got a big drum . Whatever you do , it ain't nothing on me , cause I'm doing my thing and I got the key To all my wants and all my dreams . Yeah , cause I Stomp to my own drum . Stomp to my own song . Stomp . Hey , gonna put on my boots and move . Stomp to my own drum . Stomp to my big drum Stop . Hey , gonna put on my boots and move fast . Stomp to my own drum . Stomp to my big drum . Stomp hey . Ooh . Yeah , got my pockets full of dreams . Yeah , they've been buzzing out the seams . Yeah , I may have been passing out the same thing .