Find Your Lady Tribe

Beyond the Filter: Embracing Body Positivity

• Brenda Billings Ridgley

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Have you ever felt a whisper of your childhood self, guiding you towards your true purpose? In a heart-to-heart with the indomitable Patrice MsSavvyPro Jackson, we discuss the transformative journey of midlife women as they begin to embrace their own body image and go after their next big thing. Patrice, the creator of Kurvitude, shares her empowering narrative on body positivity and the magic that unfolds when women unite in support of each other's mental health and quest for purpose. Together, we acknowledge the spaces where women can safely reveal their vulnerabilities and the strength that comes from a community that celebrates generosity, encouragement, and self-care.

Patrice shares how her youthful love of playing office and a cosmetology internship ignited her career as a virtual assistant, underscoring the importance of revisiting early interests for a fulfilling life path. We honor the profound connections between women that only deepen through adversity, forming a resilient tribe that triumphs over the challenges of aging with elegance and vigor. Patrice's wisdom illuminates every moment of our conversation, leaving us with a renewed understanding of friendship's capacity to build a powerful, supportive network.

About Patrice - a Self-Love and Body Positivity advocate, Patrice is the founder of Savvy Professionals a virtual and personal assisting company. Patrice uses her own experience and skills when speaking with individuals and groups about how they can use their purpose to change the world.  When not working on one of her many entrepreneurial activities, Jackson runs Kurvitude, a brand focusing on the importance of self-care and body positivity. Patrice believes identifying your purpose and following that purpose with passion is the key to success in both business and life.

https://www.patricejackson.com
https://www.instagram.com/mssavvypro

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back, beautiful souls, to another season of Find your Lady Tribe. My name is Brenda Ridgely, your host. You know there's a certain kind of magic that happens when women of a certain age come together. We've weathered some storms, discovered our strengths and are ready to tap into the wisdom we've accumulated to create our next big thing. This season we're diving deep into the Wall Spring of Longevity. We'll explore how to nurture our minds, bodies and spirits so we can not only live longer but live vibrantly, whether you're dreaming of traveling, starting a creative pursuit, building an empire or even saving the world Yep, that's right, saving the world. This season is your guide to building the foundation for a life filled with purpose, joy and an unstoppable sense of self. So grab your cup of tea, settle in and get ready to be inspired. But before we get started, I want to remind you to subscribe. Give us a thumbs up if you're enjoying the show and share it with your fellow midlife goddesses. Together, let's create a wave of empowered women who are redefining what it means to age gracefully, powerfully and with a whole lot of Lady Tribe spirit. Hi everyone, and welcome to Find your Lady Tribe, where we focus on female friendship and topics important to midlife women.

Speaker 1:

Today I am so excited to have a conversation on a topic that many women struggle with body image. For this conversation, I'm honored to have with me today our guest, patrice McSavvy Pro Jackson. She is the founder of Savvy Professionals, a virtual and personal assisting company, and Patrice uses her own experience and skills when speaking with individuals and groups about how they can use their purpose to change the world. I love that she's sharpened her skills working with Fortune 500 companies and numerous MLM companies. When not working on one of her many entrepreneurial activities, she runs Curvitude, a brand focusing on the importance of self-care and body positivity. Patrice believes identifying your purpose and following that purpose with passion is the key to success in both business and in life. So welcome, patrice.

Speaker 2:

Hi, hi, oh, my gosh. Okay. So first of all, thank you so much for having me on the show. I am so super, super excited to talk about, like purpose and longevity and just life, you know, living that second act, and so I'm happy to be on your show. Thank you for inviting me. And you got it right. So it's Ms Savvy Pro. You got that. And it's Curvitude, so you had it. You know, trust me, you got it Like you know. So, yep, it's Curvitude. Oh, thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

Like I said, we chatted before we ever got here today and I love how you are all about bringing people's passions into their life and making changes in the world that are positive and important. And I've noticed you mentioned our second act. We have so many acts, right. We have so many chapters in our life and you know, midlife I don't think it's a number, I think it's a state of mind and attitude, and it can be anywhere. Anyone who's lived some life and is ready to move on to what something? The next thing, that's something to get excited about, right.

Speaker 2:

Yes, exactly.

Speaker 1:

Yes, exactly. So tell us, patrice, why you do what you do and what you know, why you're so excited about body positivity.

Speaker 2:

I do what I do because I needed to meet. I needed to meet, you know, and I, like you said, we go through so many different things in life and I think it's, you know, I think it's, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's. We sometimes go through it alone because we feel like we're the only ones going through it, and then one day it just gets so overwhelming that you just break down or probably some stranger at the coffee shop, you know, and you realize that person may be going through, or they knew somebody who's going through the same thing. And then you're like, and you feel like this weight lifted off your shoulders, because you like, wow, okay, it's not just me, you know, I'm not going crazy, it's not me in this world alone, you know. And so that's where it came from.

Speaker 2:

You know, I was wondering, I was grieving both my, but two people that were really met really a lot to me.

Speaker 2:

My mother and my grandmother passed away different times, but and I a degree got so overwhelming that I was losing Days and years, you know.

Speaker 2:

And so, finally, when I finally reached out and, you know, started to work on my mental health and I got therapy, I realized, okay, I worked, I got this part down right.

Speaker 2:

But let's, what's the next step? And I realized I saw, went on Facebook, right, and I started a group and I'm like and I just reached out to like people I knew we just posted like, hey, I got this group is for women of all ages and we just want to sit in this group and we just want to support each other and love on each other and just talk about stuff that Nobody wants to talk about, in a safe place where you could feel vulnerable, you could feel supported and you could feel needed and love, because A lot of times women, you know we are just natural nurturers, right, that's just you know a thing. So we sometimes we form, we form, we point points, everybody that we touch and we go around, but then we forget who's pouring into us and, honestly, the most healthiest thing is for us to all out to be pouring from an overflowing cup Did as well, didn't from an empty cup, and so that's what that? That's where I came from. I needed to meet, I needed somebody to support me and I figured the best way to do, the best way to get, is to give.

Speaker 1:

Love it. I needed to meet. That's that is so good. Why do you think so many women Doesn't matter what they look like, what size they are? Why do we all have body image issues? What do you think that is?

Speaker 2:

because the status quo, the image that's put out there in the media is is Is not real. It's not real, right, like you see, you know, you know, recently, we, we seen who was it. Pamela Anderson, who was one of the beautiful, was known as one of the most beautiful women for a quite some time. Right, married a big superstar and everything, and she came out and she just wanted to be herself still a beautiful woman, right, still a beautiful woman, but because she didn't fit the industry standards of what they made her out to be, what she probably never was. That first it was funny makeup and all of this stuff. She got blasted for it, right, and I think that's the way we are held to this standard, this unrealistic.

Speaker 2:

Nobody is the person you know, and I Think that, and then to, because the social media not only that. We're surrounded by it, right, we're following people and we think they're everybody should be like the celebrities, we should have their money, we should have their looks, we should have their fame. And it's not everybody, everybody can't be that person, right, even they are that are perfect, they're acting, and they have a team of people to get them to that. So I think that's why we have that problem right and everybody's only posting the positive stuff.

Speaker 1:

They're not posting, yes, the negative stuff and right there they're airbrushed and polished and, and it's you know, we can all get those AI pictures of ourselves now, right, exactly.

Speaker 2:

Right, like if you see now, like the one thing I'm looking, like I'm like, don't get me wrong. I get why people do the AI pictures. I get it, but why are all the AI pictures? Very thin people right, they are beautiful. Plus-sized women, beautiful tall women, beautiful very thin women right, you know, it's just, these people have beauty within themselves, but they have one set of this. Who this is supposed to be? You know, we come in so many different shapes, sizes of colors and they don't catch that. That's not what you get on social media, they don't and that.

Speaker 1:

And I was talking with someone recently who had an AI Photo thing done, which is just fun, you know, it can just be fun to see what what comes up. But she said that my pictures all came back so thin. She was a little missed about it because she she was okay with just as she was it. You don't need to learn or trim me down for this right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, like, like that's not me, like you know you might want to, and this is like with anything. When you think about like makeup, it's okay to wear makeup, love it. People is artistic to me, but when it gets to the point where people feel like you have to put it on, you know, like, if, like, the society is making you put it on, that's not fair.

Speaker 1:

You use the beauty of what it really was meant to be, you know, yeah so you're all about body positivity through the work you've done for yourself and self-love and and just being comfortable and Confident in yourself. What were some of the steps that you took for yourself to get there?

Speaker 2:

Okay, well, okay. So first of all, let me say it was somewhat forced upon me. I had to kind of either deal with the inner, just right, because I've always been a bigger human, you know I'm in the skin that I'm in always been here, and so I had to, you know, say look, I can either say I'm gonna love myself and Don't care what society says, or I can secure what society says and hate myself and just go through the world With my hand hanging down, feeling miserable, and I didn't want to do that. So I started to, you know, course, work on. You know I go to therapy, very, I go to therapy at least once a month.

Speaker 2:

I hang around with people who pour into me and speak positivity over me. One of the things is, when we talk about social media, I follow people who either one look like me or Are positive about me. You know possible people who look like me, um, and that's really important, because so when I'm looking on my Instagram or I'm looking at people On Facebook, or whatever the case may be, I'm looking at people who Make me feel good about myself. You know and I'm not saying that I don't have things that I might not want to change, or, of course, everybody wants to live a healthy life, but it's there's, there's a way to do that and I don't feel like you can do that by shaming yourself or shaming other people. I'm not gonna hate myself to healthy or hate myself to beautiful. I'm not gonna do that. It's not option right now.

Speaker 1:

You're beautiful. That's the way you are, absolutely. Hey, lady, just wanted to take a moment and interrupt right now in the middle of the show to ask you to subscribe. Yes, press that button right now. This show is all about you, the midlife woman. Let's do this thing together, so join us, subscribe now. So how do you lead others down that path?

Speaker 2:

So I do it in a few different ways. So I always feel like when you encounter with someone, I always find something that I love about them. There's something here, this is here, there's now the outfit they're gonna, and I try to make sure you know, I say it, you know, and like, if I see someone you know outside, I see a woman and her hair is, you know, full of gray. I'm like I love, I love silver here, right, so I can. I would say I'm like, hey, I love your hair rocking, you know, and so you know, because that's something I like. Now there are some women who may not like the great, and that's fine, but for me I like it, so that's something I like. I'm going to say that to someone.

Speaker 2:

Another thing is like finding their purpose, right, because when you're doing something that you feel passionate about, you love, it wakes you up in the morning. That brings me so much joy. I actually just was actually talking to my doctor at the other day and she was like oh, you know, you know what are you doing. I was like you know business and you know I'm working and I'll do a work. She's like that's a lot. I was like, yeah, it is.

Speaker 2:

But when I'm working, and I'm working on these projects for my client, I am smiling, I feel joy, I feel energized and I've learned, you know. But that's one thing about learning you know through life and being in your man life, you learn that you know doing things that you love, having joy and knowing when to rest. It's good. And I've learned that you know like that's the one, that's that's what causes longevity, right, when you, you start to learn who you are, learn what you need, know how your body works. That's that's wisdom, right? You know we live these years. This is the wisdom, this is how you wise, this is the way we're season.

Speaker 1:

I'm so that's why I think that Having passion and purpose in life is longevity in and of itself. Many people do you ever have you heard of Maybe previous generations even that retired and then, just past, a few years after, just, and because they just weren't engaged anymore, exactly and bringing that passion out and finding out, because a lot of women that I work with Are like I don't know what I'm passionate about anymore. I don't really. They kind of turned their dreamers off.

Speaker 1:

Years back and haven't got that muscle working again, and so they don't have a big passion for anything, because they don't know why they're here anymore, beyond the roles that they have had Throughout life, that have they've been a mom and they've been a wife and all these things. But they've checked, check, check and now they're at point we're like, okay, it's just me again. Who am I right? And they have to figure out that purpose again. So tell us, how did you find your purpose?

Speaker 2:

Um, I thought, okay, so this is always been me, all right, I've always been a research nerd, a bookworm, and I was in love with stationery, right? So, you know, being a virtual assistant was just what it was supposed to be. As a kid, I did not play a house or school, I played office in church. So I'm a preacher's kid, oh, so you know. So that's what I played, that's what I love, that's what brings me passion and, honestly, that's even what I tell, like some of my clients, when they like, when they come to me and they say what do I do? You know, I really want to start a business, but I don't know.

Speaker 2:

My first question is what did you want to be when you were a kid? Right, and even if it's something, even if you say, okay, when I wanted to be a kid, I wanted to be I don't know Superwoman, right? Let's say that's who you wanted to be, right, you know? Even if that's the case, yeah, you can't be super woman. But what? Why did you want to be super woman, right? Was it because you like her fashion? So maybe that's your next act, you know, being a faction, and that's just for me. That's what I did.

Speaker 2:

I always had this need and I got away from it when I was in high school, actually with the school for cosmetology. But when I was going to school and I was doing my internship for cosmetology, I wanted to know about the business part. I wanted to be at the reception desk. I didn't want to do the hair. I'm like, I'm like, but can I take the appointments? Can I ask the phone? You know that's what I wanted to do. And so here I am. You know Different careers, later, college and I'm back at it. I'm virtual assistant, and that's what wakes me up in the morning.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love it. I totally agree. Go think back to before all the stuff that was piled on to you that took your life. What did you used to love to do? What Mm-hmm, what? What are the things that you did, maybe as a child, or in high school, or even college or whatever, before he's you, you know?

Speaker 1:

What you were supposed to be right all these bills they had to pay all the sudden? Yeah, exactly, and start exploring those things, because that's a great starting point, I totally agree, for finding what you're passionate about and what what you and I think when you really get excited about things, you you open yourself up to the universe or whomever you you know God, obviously, who just you open yourself up for the messages to receive them and hear that bite with a little idea that came out of nowhere, it's not from nowhere, that's from your inner being, your heart. Yeah, yeah, you're telling me.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I love that awesome, yeah so what I remember to passion does not have to be profitable, doesn't have to be profitable. Yeah, you know my grandmother. For many years I actually wrote a book called purpose matters and in that book I wrote one of the things that's what a story of my grandmother. And she Actually took care of foster kids for 30 years and that was her passion and actually she actually passed after the last Foster child graduated from high school. You know so, yes, we were saying so. It doesn't have to be profitable, it just has to bring you joy.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, and I love your, what you shared with me, that your purpose Can help you. You can use it to change the world.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you know that I love that because that's the next book that's coming out of me is the Dalai Lama said back in 2011 the Western woman will save the world. And People go. That's weird, coming from a man, first of all, but and why? But? Well, you know, the Western world has a lot of advantages. We have a lot of resources at our disposal and we, midlife women, have a lot of wisdom and a lot of life experience to share, and we are Naturally oh you know looking for win-win solutions, right, yes, yes, and out of the box ideas. So share with me a little bit, and our listeners here, a little bit, about why you are so excited about using your passion to change the world.

Speaker 2:

Um, so I'm excited about it because, you know, being a virtual assistant, you're behind the scenes, you're the number two, right? Nobody? People see what you do I, but they don't see how you do it and who really did it. And so, being that, that's who I am, I love being the number two, right, and then, like you know, seeing, like you know seeing people get credit for Some of the things that I may have, but I actually love it. So, and that's how I feel, like I have worked with certain celebrities and, um, you know, I see I go on their social media page and I'm looking like people like, oh yeah, I love that. That's really cool. You know, you did great.

Speaker 2:

Or seeing one of my clients go viral and I they're hyping them up and I'm like, and I know that, you know, don't get me wrong, it was them, it was their personality and their hard work, but it was my idea, right, and they, they jumped on it and man, that's that makes me got that, and I know that's how I should my own Part of the ripple effect to change the world, right, like that one thing.

Speaker 2:

So every people see that and you have, they have a bigger audience than I do right, and so that bigger audience season it is, and even if it's just one or two people that are inspired by that, those people are inspired and they go and they go on, and that's just that's what I love about it is that me doing the gift that was given to me, just me doing that Allows everybody else to do their gift right, and then they are it just it's just. It's just. It's just like the what was that long time ago was in the coke and they had the hands across the world or something. That's how I see it in my brain. Like I do what I do, the world is better.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm so glad you brought that up, that not everybody wants to be a leader, right. Right, not everybody wants to be the face or like the head of anything, but If you're not the head of it, you can be the neck, right and direct Head is looking or the message that's coming out. You can, behind the scenes, be that and and find that very empowering and gratifying, right.

Speaker 2:

Yep, I feel I love it. I, I like every. It brings me so much joy to Like my client called me earlier. She's like you know. I thought is this idea, can you work it out? I'm like yep, I got you. You were to the end of the day, I got you, and you know, being that person is amazing. Oh, that's fabulous.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely fabulous. So why don't you? If you had one or two tips of Things that people could take away from our conversation just today, of ways to Maybe have a better self-image, body image or Something longevity based, you know what would? What would what comes to mind for you, patrice?

Speaker 2:

um, always be an advocate for yourself. Um, in every area of your life. But you know you don't have to be selfish, but you do priority to prioritize yourself. Um. Another thing is surround yourself with positive people, regardless if that's online, in person. You know, don't let anyone be in your life that you wouldn't hire to. If you were considering yourself a business, would you hire them to run your business, whichever area it is? Um.

Speaker 2:

Be aware of who you are and what you like. You know so, like, even if it takes you to sit down in journal every day. You're not a person in journals, I completely understand, even if it's just a voice journal where you see yourself a note. Be aware, like if you had a day, man, you get to get in the bed and you feel like, oh, I can get a good life, sleep, because I had an amazing day. Write that down and say this is what I did in that day.

Speaker 2:

So when you have a hard day, you can go back to a say, okay, oh, I had a day because I had an apple and it was perfect, a perfect red apple. So now you know that you need to get a perfect red apple to bring your mood up. You know and even you be surprised, even though it must not, it might not have been an apple, it may be. The apple may be something that brought a memory back for you, or you know the color. You don't know what, you may not know what it is, but if you do it a couple of three, two or three times, you generally eventually you know exactly what it is and that's something you can add to the positive file yes, loving, living in gratitude.

Speaker 1:

What a yes way to live. It just is asking for more of what you, whatever you focus on whatever you focus on, you'll get more of. So why not a focus shift that focus on throughout the day, on the beauty, the what's working? Well, you know, and the little things? You're right, you know, the simple things. I love that every problem has a solution.

Speaker 2:

Yes, absolutely so how do? How do we?

Speaker 1:

find you? How do our listeners find you if they want to connect?

Speaker 2:

my shirt says miss savvy, pro patrice Jackson dot com, so you can just like that's where I am. I miss that report on every social media platform. I am mainly, though I have the most fun on Instagram and Facebook, sometimes tick tock, but yeah, patrice dex dot com will lead you to everywhere awesome.

Speaker 1:

I love it. So my final question, because I'm all about friendship tell us how do you try patrice?

Speaker 2:

um, I try by knowing one thing be my friends always say, is that don't get me wrong, I love to hang out, I love to go out the clubs and walk to dinner and stuff. But we are our best friend, we have our best friendships when we're there for each other when it's inconvenient. So that's what I make sure when my friends are there for me when I'm inconvenient, when I feel like I want to be there for them when it's inconvenient. That's my friendship, that's the fresh. If I want to keep.

Speaker 1:

I love that. That's when you know where you belong.

Speaker 2:

Right, because they are, they're loving, yet every every turn of my life, and I want to do the same thing for them the tough stuff.

Speaker 1:

So, oh gosh, thank you, patrice. I've really enjoyed our conversation today. Fabulous, and three or more gather we are a tribe. Yes, I love that. So thank you so much. Have a great afternoon. Thank you, bye everybody.

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Brenda Billings Ridgley

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