Reigniting Life after 40: Bertina Power's Blueprint for Women's Empowerment and Resilience

Ever feel like hitting the refresh button on your life after 40? That's exactly what Bertina Power, an inspiring author and motivational speaker, shows is possible in our latest podcast episode. With a focus on women's empowerment through fitness and a positive mindset, Bertina sheds light on how to ignite a personal transformation that begins with a compelling 'why'. She walks us through the steps to exercise for joy, not obligation, and how to embrace well-being without guilt - a message that hits home for anyone looking to reclaim their health and happiness.

As we unpack the journey of self-growth, Bertina and I discuss the bricks that pave the road to resilience: self-forgiveness and consistent positive thinking. Hear how these elements can shape your life's blueprint, preventing it from sinking into quicksand when challenges arise. The conversation also takes a practical turn with strategies to weave healthy habits into even the busiest of schedules, like sneaking in squats between chores or learning on the go with audiobooks. So tune in for an episode brimming with motivation, as Bertina brings not only her wisdom for women over 40 but also her passion for youth empowerment through her work in social-emotional development.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:13

This is D-Trick with Get Fit Methods. Our slogan is Lessons More to Get Fit Fast. You guys are in for a treat. Today I have Bertina Power Don't say powers, it's power, right, she is an author and motivational speaker. Welcome, bertina, and you are on set. Let's roll.

Speaker 2: 0:36

Hi D-Trick, how are you?

Speaker 1: 0:39

Good, good, good. So a whole method behind Get Fit Methods, as you know, is basically trying to help 40-plus women empower themselves, feel good about themselves without guilt, and all that kind of stuff. So, based on your experience I know you have some experience with women like that too so, based on your experience as far as living your message to women, all kinds of stuff releasing the power and strength what inspired you to start this whole journey.

Speaker 2: 1:08

Well, d-trick, the power of you and how no one is you and that's your power, which is the title of the book was a process after my storm. Women, I think, especially. My book is for everybody, but we're going to talk to our women specifically over 40 right now. So I will make my message that and at the time I was over, I was about to approach 40 when a storm came in my way and to get over that storm I realized there were a set of power tools that I used, and putting the book together allowed me to organize it, make a message that I can then share to the masses.

Speaker 2: 1:50

And it starts with, to me, probably the same thing that you have in your message, in your delivery and training, and that is the power of the mindset.

Speaker 2: 2:05

So I sort of put in my mind that I was going to put it out of book and that I was going to start doing what seemed to come so natural to me, which is speaking and motivating people. And so with doing that it all, just sort of I tell people I'm aligned now. I'm aligned with my purpose, my passion, and I'm stepping into my power, and I think anybody can do it with a set of tools, just like you could build a bookcase with a set of tools and a proper instructions on how to do it. That's what I come with and that's where my message and how I ended up here. I think more people kept telling me I should do it than I probably really originally planned to do, but then I realized that that message was the energy in the world and bringing it and saying, hey, this is what you've been looking for and here it is Nice nice, very nice.

Speaker 1: 2:57

So, in terms of the midlife women and all the struggle with losing weight, gaining weight, feeling good about your body or kind of stuff, what would be some of the things you can help, I guess, ignite them and get them on the right path for motivation. What would you say to those women?

Speaker 2: 3:15

Well, first they have to get their mind right, right and in that make this assessment on why they are doing it. If the why is not, I think, personal, if it's for anybody else or something else, then the reason and the motivation that you're going to need to get up every day is because you're going to be on beating. So my motivational speaking I always tell people if your wife doesn't make you cry, it's not big enough.

Speaker 1: 3:44

The wife will keep crying.

Speaker 2: 3:46

If they keep crying, it's not big enough. So we hear always your why and people will give a very simple why, but when I talk about my why, literally even today, it still can make me cry. Every time I talk about it, it can make me cry. So the mindset is really the foundation. I've sold houses and been in real estate for 25 years as well, and the reality is is you wouldn't want me to sell your house on quicksand.

Speaker 1: 4:12

Right, right, so too.

Speaker 2: 4:14

And my mind is not solid like a foundation on my decision to make it. Well, guess what? I'm gonna tilt it, I'm gonna sink it, I'm gonna fall, and that's okay too, because it just it does that and it happens. Don't punish yourself for it. Get up, make today a new day. You will bless the habit. So here it is start over today. So I think what happens is is when we fall off and we ate the bag of chips, or you know, we didn't go to the workout, or whatever, in case we wanna punish ourselves by saying well, I see I can't do it and just keep on, keep on down that rabbit hole. Well, pull yourself back out the rabbit hole. But the why is the reason why.

Speaker 1: 4:53

You're able to do that. Yeah, my father used to say, you know, and for life I couldn't understand why he was, you know, so kind of just straightforward. He would always say, you know, like I said, oh, Papa got this issue, this problem. He goes, his son just dusts himself off and tried again, Get back on the horse, kind of they're like what Right, that's it.

Speaker 2: 5:14

We stay in that space so much that we become, become the reality that we live in, and then we don't understand. We think that way, we act that way, we speak words into that same space. But if we start with the foundation, which, like building a house, is solid on the positive, on the why, and that I can do it. Now we talk about old school, think about that little blue engine story where, like, oh, I can't do that, I can't, oh, yes, you can, oh, yes, you can. I thought I couldn't, you know.

Speaker 2: 5:49

And while I was done, Right, you were done right and those stories that we have learned all throughout our lives. Little people don't even realize that they were telling us all along that whatever you think you can do, whatever you wanna do, you can do it. And just like Dorothy, she had it with her all along to get home.

Speaker 1: 6:10

Right, you know.

Speaker 2: 6:12

I throw these stories in here because I try to help and bring real to people. Like you know, you tell your children all the time that they can.

Speaker 1: 6:21

Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 2: 6:22

You come along to yourself and you tell me what you can I go. Well, can you? Because if your day is really busy and I get that because I am one of those people right my days I don't have any. Two days of life, so I don't have a life. It's like if any two days nothing looks alike. I don't get up at the same time, nothing. But how do I do it, like I did today Get up earlier than my day is supposed to start, go out to the track, run around a couple of times, get on the treadmill, feel good and very energized about the day and then just plan my day from there. You know, for me personally, the earlier that I do it the better, and I don't know how everybody else's day works out, but to try to squeeze it in at the end of the day, just as usually, a lot harder.

Speaker 1: 7:12

So it is a question of kind of off the beaten path a bit, but still the same thing. So what are some of the? I guess like if you had this pinpoint, one particular thing, if you had people I know it's probably a lot of things the one particular thing that gets you going that you think can help other people kind of get themselves? I knew you mentioned before. When I met you, you talked about putting the calendar right.

Speaker 2: 7:37

Yes, calendaring is making it an appointment. See, you know I don't usually just miss appointments just to miss them. I've been running my whole life for the last 25 years on appointments right An appointment to meet a client, appointment to show house, an appointment. You know, if you were corporate, you have a meeting. If it's on your calendar, you're going, unless something really tragic happens. And what also happens with your calendar if, for some reason, something emergency comes up, you reschedule that appointment. So then if I couldn't make it because of something that happened now, I just put it on my schedule for another time later that day and redo it. But calendar during it is obviously the first key to it. And looking at your day and sometimes people think like if I can't do it seven o'clock every day, then I can't do it. No, it's seven o'clock today, but I put it on my calendar and I look at my schedule. Oh well, you know what I don't have to do until nine tomorrow because of the way my schedule works right. So it is putting it on there as a big rock.

Speaker 2: 8:39

I don't know if you've ever heard that story.

Speaker 2: 8:40

How do you get rocks, sand and water all in a jar and if you order you won't get all three of them in the big rocks that are most important to me is what it should be, because, as women, it would want to like to care, give us for everybody else and then leave ourselves for like a no-go.

Speaker 2: 9:00

All together or absolutely last, Right, right, oh, in doing so, I put the big rock of taking care of me, simply because I have my big wives, these two young men hanging over my shoulder, and one who is an independent, you know, 16 year old and great, and can do things for himself, but obviously he still wants his mother around. And then the youngest one who I have to do, or have others help me do everything for him. Well, because that's my why it makes me cry. Then I say to myself if I don't put my air mask on first, which we hear all the time on the plane, then how can I help somebody else? And to pull me out of my state of depression through my storm, those were the words that got in there. And then, all of a sudden, I got to the point where it was.

Speaker 2: 9:51

I have got to go back to what makes Bertina happy so that I can fill the cup up with me and then give away from the excess that rose over Excess, absolutely it from the I give from the cup or the plate, like make sure it's what falls off of the plate, that you, somebody else, that you have enough to give, because if not an empty cup can't give anything.

Speaker 1: 10:15

Yeah, you know. So you're telling that that rocks in the jar. So when I was a Jehovah Witness they would have. This analogy is part of taking making religion first. They would say say you got, you know, seven or 10 golf balls. That's going to go in that jar. Whatever is most important, put that in there first and you still get all this stuff done. But put the most important thing first.

Speaker 2: 10:38

Put it in first, right, and because first is most important, and then it's done, right, I don't have to think about exercising anymore today. Right, like it's done. It's all my schedule. I moved on at 12 o'clock in the day. You know it's like who I don't even know how to time fly Right. Appointments and appointments and appointments. That's what's on my schedule. It was on my schedule Move, move, move. And the big rock scenario is because the other things can get filled in.

Speaker 2: 11:04

You know exercise, you know I know I love your macho for it, because it's like get it done. And you know it doesn't take a lot of time to make it happen. We get so programmed. We just got to take a lot. No, you take down an elephant, small bites at a time, small bites at a time. You know a little bit here and we are in a world of instantaneousness, right, oh, I want to work out today and tomorrow I want to be done with five pounds. Like, come on, now, you can't do that, right? Oh, sooner, could I plant a seed and have my flowers and my roses be here tomorrow? They're not. It takes time, right, it also takes water and sunlight. So I have to keep giving to it. So you know I have to keep at it and you know, really, once it's like, once it becomes like a habit or part of your day and your schedule, you won't even think about it anymore. And then you just look up and you've met goals that you may have said or some that you didn't even say.

Speaker 1: 12:04

Yeah, especially that whole journaling thing too. So or and I think we're just gonna talk about journaling into a calendar, but sometimes you put in that in that journal or calendar that you got to stay to do Something. Just forget about it. I always, on my behalf, was gonna see your subconscious mind. You don't really know you get even conscious that go over.

Speaker 2: 12:24

You can't see it, but before my wall I keep these big white papers and I'm writing notes and thoughts and ideas and I put it down so they do believe in. In my mind said, dropping it on to something in writing, but speaking to it and then having you know action, you got to get up and do it. So in doing so, I'll look up and I go oh, I accomplished that done. You know it is like done. Oh, I got the book done. You know I did the audio done. Right, like you just start doing things.

Speaker 2: 12:54

And one of the things that when you were talking about what do I do is I start with my day that I woke up with gratitude and gratitude for the day. Gratitude, my attitude and Affirmations to me are just so key. I realized that when I, for whatever reason, fall off track because, like I said, you're gonna fall off, it happens oh, just prepared for it, pull yourself back out. So when I fall off for a couple of days, I realized up, my energy is off. Why is it all? Because I didn't wake up today with it, attitude, attitude, speaking into existence the things that I want. So let's just say you've got a client that wants to be a size six again, right, so she should wake up every day with the word I am so grateful.

Speaker 1: 13:38

Right, it's something that's kind of hokey pokey kind of thing. You know I mean do that.

Speaker 2: 13:42

But you start thinking about that grateful attitude and then, when you, ready to go and devour this, have gallon of ice cream, you go. But I'm thankful for being a.

Speaker 1: 14:00

Right.

Speaker 2: 14:04

You know, and, and then it's in your mind, it's in your thoughts, and then it becomes a part of your action.

Speaker 1: 14:10

Now see, now I like talking because you got a lot of energy and stuff, so I go anywhere with you. I just you just probably a long. You just keep on going.

Speaker 2: 14:19

Yeah, people go. Where do you get that energy from? I go, hey, I don't know. I just like the son, I go down, I go to sleep, I wake up. I got it.

Speaker 1: 14:29

So tell me, tell me a quick story about how do you get on the Steve Harper show. How's that happen? Did you, you know, get that whole hokey thing going, or just how you get on that?

Speaker 2: 14:43

So when I talk about to, when I speak to people, I tell them watch Back over your life. The things that sort of have happened that you found ease to do or you were drawn to, or people Recommended you or suggested you to do it. I was the president of my sorority at the time, my chapter and One of the members in the office had been going on the show you know, and then and going on the great shows, the ones we get all these prizes and stuff, and I go I don't want to know this, put my name down, kind of a thing. Well, what she did was reach out to somebody that she knew and they go. Well, we looking for somebody to do the ass, steve, and they go.

Speaker 2: 15:25

Bertini, you want to do that? Oh, hey, sure, whatever, right? No, thought that I'm only on camera in front of millions of people. I just I didn't care because I had been on TV before. I've been in front of people. I do this. I had no issue there. I didn't think all for that one little video In my world at the time. So they asked you for three questions. You sort of want to ask Steve. They pick one they formulated to show up and In my case, you show out, right no, how it was going to go. There was no script. I was going to ask the one question. He was going to say something, but he had no idea how. We were going to just play off of each other. And right here, who I?

Speaker 1: 16:12

am showed up nice, very nice Wow.

Speaker 2: 16:17

In 2017.

Speaker 1: 16:20

Wow, yeah, pandemic or something around that time no 2017.

Speaker 2: 16:26

I was so and it just keeps showing up and playing and pops up and literally, I think this past Tuesday was February 20th was the day it aired like wow, full circle, full circle, wow.

Speaker 1: 16:41

So when you're skeptical and you're about getting the big results, all that kind of stuff, and how would you help them to achieve that? Especially getting older you you know what I mean. Like for us, you gotta be skeptical about being the bigger person right, achieving those bigger goals, whatever they may be, especially when it comes to, like, feeling better, looking better, the whole thing. How would you say approach that? How do you achieve that?

Speaker 2: 17:06

Well, again, I'm always gonna say start with the mindset, because if I feel like I am doing this for self-care and for betterment of me, then it shouldn't be that hard, but then it is right. So how do I put it into my busy schedule? There's a couple of hacks, right, we know, putting it on the schedule is great, but then what if I just want to do a couple of like, say, I got some two pounders or five pounders around and I want to do some lifts? Well, you might be, you know, watching a Zoom or on a meeting, and you could just sort of like, do these.

Speaker 2: 17:38

You know, while you're there, I have you give a bath to a kid. You just sort of want to make sure they're not drowning, but they're, you know, they're picking up all of this. Well, sit there and, you know, keep the weights right there in the bathroom and that way, when you're doing the baths, you know you can do some arm lifts and some raises. I'm always like two for one, right, like, find a way to put the two together. You know, maybe you've got this call you need to make or listen to and, you know, walk around the house while being on the phone.

Speaker 1: 18:14

Right.

Speaker 2: 18:15

You know, like so many ways that you can find a way to do it. When I used to watch my dishes, I would just like squat, and you know, just squat down and wash dishes and wash dishes and you know, next thing, you know it's over. You know I'm like do 50 squats? Do 50 squats? Wash dishes both happening at the same time? I'm done with the dishes, I'm done with my squats.

Speaker 1: 18:38

Nice, yeah, cool. I'm just gonna say this, so it's like I'm gonna come to you and get some you know exercises. Come on over, come on over, get some so. So when it comes to I know you got a book, right, you got a book and you got, do you have a couple of books? You have one book, I have one book but I the audio for the book.

Speaker 2: 19:00

Of course everybody. You know some people like to listen to books and listen to here. Here's a two for one driving to work in traffic, listen to a book.

Speaker 2: 19:11

Yes, absolutely, I do it all the time, all the time, right, people do it all the time. Or, while I'm walking, listen to a book, right, you know, like these kinds of things, while I'm washing dishes, listen to a book. So you know, people like to listen to books. And, of course, after having been on Steve Harvey, we're talking about my voice. Everybody's like I know you doing the audio for the book, right, and I was just like, well, like that's like I've been talking about the book, so I did. I've launched the book one year and then by the next year around it was by the one year anniversary. Then the audio book was ready, so I did the audio book. You can see here I have a T-shirt, I have candles. The candles are part of my what I call the power of self-care sense right.

Speaker 2: 19:58

So, you know, sometimes we don't even understand what the smells put you into a place of like oh I feel good, it smells good, you know. So that's a part of that, and soon to come is the electronic book for those who like to read, you know on Sure, yeah, like on Kindle stuff like that right.

Speaker 2: 20:17

Yeah, that's coming up and you know everything is really on BertinoPowercom but of course Amazon has the book and the audio book there, and so you know I'm actually growing some things with the website because I'm doing a lot more speaking now and people can, you know, call and reach out to me to hire me to speak at a church event, a keynote for the graduation children you know I'm starting with sixth grade through, you know, high school as well in their social-emotional space, because you know the power of you really says everything that needs to be said about why these kids sometimes feel like, oh, I'm not this person or I'm not doing what they're doing and I go. Well, why try to be them? Well, who gonna be you?

Speaker 1: 21:05

Right.

Speaker 2: 21:07

Right, who gonna be you Trying to be like Bertino, right, right? So so I speak to them about all of that. You know and and I enjoy it. That's what I tell people. You know. You know you hit your niche when you could, just I could get up and go out. I could do it all day, every day, 10 times a day you know, like no, I never really get tired of it.

Speaker 1: 21:29

Nice, nice.

Speaker 2: 21:31

I mean, I need to have my people come up to me and tell me that you know to hear me speak, move them to tears, and they, or I, raised my hand and they said I want to go get some help now and go to therapy, because I was feeling under pressed. And you know, like it's, you just begin to realize that this is beyond you, Like this is just not you anymore. That's the calling right. Yes, it's about the people, and so that's what Nice.

Speaker 1: 21:56

Yes, so you said uh Bratina, uh dot comcom, yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's.

Speaker 2: 22:04

It's website is going to be, uh, in the next month gonna be revamped and then that way they could get everything right there, right, you know, some things are still like here and there, but I'm going to bring all of it home to my home base, but nice, very nice. And connect to me on social media. Everything is at Virginia powercom.

Speaker 1: 22:25

Now, so you? So you have a social media thing there too. So your Facebook and Instagram, correct.

Speaker 2: 22:31

Look Instagram, LinkedIn. Okay, and I just hung up from a call where a young lady is probably gonna be helping me work to get a TikTok.

Speaker 1: 22:43

Okay, boy, you're not gonna dance to her, you're not dancing. No, no, no, no, no, no. I'm doing a motivation y'all, we're gonna make the pop, pop, pop, pop pop.

Speaker 2: 22:54

And, as I told her, as long as she's responsible for doing it, then I will give her all the content she wants. But, like I, just the power of resources, which happens to be a chapter in the book. It's quite like this, right, Like you do what you do and I do what I do, what's my ministry? And so social media I understand it for its marketing purposes and how it helps us, right, but do I have to do it? No, no, I don't have to do it, and someone else does it very, very well, and they can do it in five minutes, which would take me five months. Just do one little post, right? So it's just, it's a mindset to let it go. Control is another one, right? So if I can't seem to stay on track with my health and wellness, then I elicit resources and people who do it and do it well, to help me be accountable and get my goals.

Speaker 1: 23:51

That's it. Yeah, that's the big one right there To let that control go to allocate someone else for stuff. You, it's not that important for you or you don't really understand as well, and so let's do it for you or help you do it that way that takes it off your plate right and lay more space.

Speaker 2: 24:09

Right, exactly, and it leads you to do what you do best. Right? This is one thing I definitely want to leave anybody with. Success is a decision, right Period, period. Nothing else left to be said about the fact that success is a decision. You can ask any successful person. They made up their mind to do something, yep, and they began to focus, follow up and follow through on what it takes to get what they were trying to do. But it's the key you, you, you, right, right. You know it's like you can't get done without you. We can.

Speaker 2: 24:53

We're going to have in the book I talk about the five distractors. So you've got the community and society as a large, who keeps telling you what you can and cannot do, what size you need to be, and all these things. Then you've got your friends. Maybe you've got a group of friends that are very fit and healthy, but you just can't be that way. Then you've got your family members that don't live in your house. Then you might have your members that live in your house or maybe even lay their heads right next to you every night, that are deterrents to your success. You know I'm trying to get this right. You keep bringing me fried fish, like why are you doing this? All right, like just unconsciously but subconsciously deterring you and the number one person or, you know, issue for your success is you. So that's why it's the power of you put in everything that I discussed and talk about and that's how come you're getting fit fits right into that, because it takes them it does Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 25:52

Yeah, wow, that was a little more than I asked for, but I thank you, I appreciate you, I told you this is what I do.

Speaker 2: 26:01

D D, this is what I do. Ok, and I am not ashamed to say it, this is what I do. And you know, it's lovely to be prepared for stuff, but I usually don't like to be prepared, because whatever is coming out of me is what somebody needs to hear, and I just say it. So success.

Speaker 2: 26:18

I appreciate it. Wow, and if anybody over 40, they can do anything. They can go to school because people have done it. They can become president of these United States because they do it Like you can do anything you want to do.

Speaker 1: 26:33

If you make a decision, make a decision, just make a decision, that's it. If I'm going to do it, I'm not going to do it and the book gives you some more power tools on how to do it.

Speaker 2: 26:41

You got to get the book for Tina Power. You go to Amazon Power. It's in a whole bunch of titles, so just put in Bertina Power and you'll get all of my stuff right there.

Speaker 1: 26:49

There you go. Y'all heard it first. Yep, you got Bertina Power. I really appreciate you being here and we will shall do this again, because I'm sure it's going to get a lot of likes Just your energy alone on our podcast. So we definitely have to revisit this, and maybe a different topic, or even the same topic, right For those who missed it. But yeah, so Whatever they send in you know what.

Speaker 2: 27:11

Tell them. Make a comment. What do you want to hear Bertina and Dietrich talk about? Tell us, you know, do you like? Put it in the comments below Word Talk about it, and we'll come back and we'll do another one, that's awesome.

Speaker 1: 27:22

Wow, yeah, thank you very much. So. Yeah, so have a great weekend Everyone. This is Dietrich Hortz. We'll get fit methods, lessons, more to get fit fast. You guys have a great weekend and, bertina, thank you again.

Speaker 2: 27:34

Thank you. Thank you for having me. Bye, let's get ready for the chat stage.