Ep #117 - Coming Off Mute with Dr Rita Renee

In this powerful conversation, I'm joined by Dr Rita Renee, speaker, author and voice strategist, whose work centres around helping women “come off mute” when trauma, fear or self-doubt has taught them to stay silent.

Together, we explore how silence can become a survival strategy, especially for women who have learnt to people-please, avoid conflict, keep the peace or make everyone else comfortable while abandoning themselves in the process.

Dr Rita shares her own experience of childhood trauma and the journey that led her to help other women reclaim their voice, lead with clarity and take up space without losing who they are.

This episode is a compassionate, honest and empowering conversation about trauma, identity, leadership, emotional safety and what it really means to be seen, heard and fully yourself.

A beautiful listen for any woman who knows she has more to say, but somewhere along the way learnt it was safer to stay quiet.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube with Captions - https://www.youtube.com/@TheWorkingWomensLifeCoach

If you'd like to have a chat about how I can help you further, please don't hesitate to click here & book a time with me, I'd love to meet you.

You can also follow me on IG @NickyBevan_LifeCoach

Transcript

Nicky Bevan:

Welcome, welcome, welcome everyone to this week's podcast. And I've just got to start by saying it is hot, hot, hot currently in the UK. So I have my fan on me. It's making my hair go all over the place. So if you are watching us on YouTube. It is a much more casual looking podcast today, but I'm really delighted to have Dr. Rita Rene joining me. Now. I actually, we've never met. I don't really know anything about Rita other than what I've seen on her website. So I'm really intrigued to see where this conversation takes us today. But you are the ultimate powerhouse coach. We've got so much in common already, the fact that that's your title. But Dr. Rita, do you want to tell us Introduce yourself and tell us about you.

Dr. Rita Renee:

I'm in the state of North Carolina, and so thank you so much, Nikki, for having me. And, um, I'm Dr. Rita Vernet, you can call me Rita, we're friends now, and my work is centered around helping women come off mute when their voice. is silenced by trauma, and help them lead with clarity without losing who they are in the process. So, I'm a speaker and an author, I'm a voice strategist, but more than just titles, I'm a mom of a woman, a wife, who understands what it feels like to be present, capable, and gifted, but not seen. So I help women to remove all that self-doubt in rooms so they can have conversations and be who they've been created to be.

Nicky Bevan:

Oh my gosh, so good. Okay, so I'm really curious to understand what got you to this point. in your life.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yes. From the age of 5 to 10, I was molested by my uncle, and I also was molested by a female cousin. And growing up with that trauma, I was muted, right? I didn't talk much. I kind of stayed silent. I didn't have a voice. Until I was the age of 19, that's when I shared it with my mom and my family members, and, you know, they supported me. And growing up, I just noticed that a lot of people, they are so talented, they have so many gifts, but they're silenced from their trauma. And so that's guided me on this journey on coming off mute, having a voice, and then helping other women to share their experiences without any shame and use that to empower them to not only help others, but to help themselves.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah, so powerful. And… Describe to me what you class is muted.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yeah, so for me, muted means that someone has actually… had a voice of someone else on their neck, just about. Silenced them, taking the air, taking the breath, taking the life out of them, based on their past experiences, their trauma, or their challenges in their lives, and causing them to no longer want to be a part of the conversation, or be a part of our community. And so many women, you know, they mute themselves because they are trying to be accepted to avoid conflict, to keep peace, and to prove themselves they're easy to work with. Over time, silence becomes a survival strategy.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah… And it's so… and no one ever really talks about this, do they? No one ever… like, most people know about the… the fight-or-flight response, but very rarely do… I mean, some… most people know about the freeze, but we don't really ever talk about the fawn, and that's the people-pleasing, isn't it? The making sure that.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Right.

Nicky Bevan:

I'll I'll be a good girl. I'll make sure that I'm. Acting and behaving so that everybody around me is.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Right. Yeah. Yeah, you want to make everybody in the room comfortable while you stay uncomfortable.

Nicky Bevan:

Is okay, like happy. Yeah… Sue, how do you… Do that with your clients. What do you actually teach them?

Dr. Rita Renee:

Well, first of all, we talk about what is the issue, because you can't move past, um, going forward, you can't really go forward comfortably, um, or you don't have to be comfortable, because we're never comfortable with everything, but we have to acknowledge the issue, the concern, the root cause of what's really going on. We have to deal with that struggle, because you can't be a good leader, a good mom, a good wife, a good anything, a sister, a partner with anyone, unless you deal with your personal pain and struggle. So we identified that. And then we say, what level do we need to start addressing it? Because a lot of women, they may need to transition to therapeutic resolutions, ways to help them unmask that. And then we deal with the mask. The mask that we have put on just please other people. So we identify all of those different masks, and then we find out those masks not only are covering our face, our true self, we identify, you know, how heavy it is. And do we want to continue to carry these masks?

Nicky Bevan:

Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And so we remove those masks, those things that are hindering the true value of who we are, because we're beautiful in the vessels that we have been created to be in. And so I want women to see how beautiful they are without comparing themselves. to other women, and that brings a lot of freedom, because that's why I share my story.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Because I want people to know that I had a hard past, nothing is perfect in my life, but look of what the, look what you can see, even from the outside, that has catapulted me to this point now. Because our trauma is our superpower.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, yes. I'm not, um… I don't have an expertise in trauma. It's not my area of, um… yeah, expertise. But it's… it is fascinating, isn't it, how… I wonder if… there's sort of different levels of trauma in the sense that sort of when I think about my upbringing my I. I was brought up in what would appear to be a very idyllic. scenario. You know, Mum and Dad were around.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Mm-hmm.

Nicky Bevan:

But the more I dive deeper into my current insecurities now, especially growing my business, receiving money is a huge one. Like, the blockages around all of that. I've realized through that kind of journey that actually, emotionally, um…

Dr. Rita Renee:

Mm-hmm.

Nicky Bevan:

I wasn't necessarily given what I needed as a child. I don't class that as necessarily traumatic in the sense that an obvious event happened like you experienced. And there will be people that will have had very obvious.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Right. Mm-hmm.

Nicky Bevan:

trauma experiences. But for those people that don't, and are still staying muted.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yes. Right.

Nicky Bevan:

What would you say to them?

Dr. Rita Renee:

Well, first of all, there's different levels of trauma. Because when people think about trauma, they think about the obvious, abuse, loss, crisis, or painful life events. But trauma can show up in different levels. One level is visible trauma.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Like, the kind that people may recognize because something clearly happened to them. But then there also can be, like, silent trauma. Like, the kind of women that they carry while they're still at work, raising kids, leading a team, smiling in meetings.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Showing up for everybody else, that's silent trauma. And then you have identity trauma. Where, you know, life teaches you to question your worth, your voice, your ability, your right to take up space.

Nicky Bevan:

Oh, interesting.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And then we have leadership trauma. Leadership trauma is where a woman has been overlooked, they've been dismissed, gaslighted, used, or punished for speaking up, so she learns how to mute herself in rooms. Where she should be contributing and then. Success can be a trauma, too. Success trauma where everything looks good on the outside, but inside, she's exhausted from performing, proving herself, and pretending she's okay. That's why, you know, coming off mute is not just about speaking louder. Sometimes it's about healing the places that taught you to silence.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

to be safe.

Nicky Bevan:

Ooh, I love that so much. And isn't it interesting with success how I hadn't realized quite how many people fear success. Like I actually have had to do work on allowing myself to feel successful. Like allowing myself to hold that kind of buoyancy and that that um. embrace that that feeling was alien and really unfamiliar to me, and I.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Mm-hmm.

Nicky Bevan:

I've had to do a lot of work around having the capacity to receive that. Because it's so unfamiliar to us.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yeah. Uh, you know what? That's coming up a lot. I think more and more women are being transparent, because sometimes women are not only afraid of failure, they're also afraid of success, right? Because success can change the room.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

It can change like relationships. It can change your expectations. It can reveal who celebrates you and who only tolerates you.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah. Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

When you were small, right?

Nicky Bevan:

Oh… Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And for many women, the fear is not, what if I fail, right? It's the deeper… it's deeper than that. It's what if I actually become everything that I prayed for, that people no longer know how to handle me. And I… I dealt with that.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And that is why some women mute themselves, not because they lack ability, but because they're trying to manage the emotional cost of being seen.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah. So tell me more about your success. I really want to hear it and celebrate it.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Oh, well, um, I just did my second TED Talk, so that was amazing. I will never do another one. The one again, but it was a great experience. I won't. It's a lot doing a TED Talk. I mean, you have to memorize, you have to stay within a certain moment. You have to make sure that you have an idea worth sharing. It's not about telling everything about you, although your story connects to the audience, it should connect in some way.

Nicky Bevan:

Oh, you won't? Oh my goodness!

Dr. Rita Renee:

But it's all about what you can give to the audience to take away that's a great idea that they can implement in their lives and change it.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep. Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

But, um, so that was a… that was a great experience. So I've done two TED talk… two TEDx talks. Um, but I'm… I'm a mom, I'm a wife, um, I have wonderful children, I'm blessed to have them, and a wonderful husband.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Um, I've written 14 books.

Nicky Bevan:

Fourteen!

Dr. Rita Renee:

14, I think it's 14. I have one that just came out. Um, so how to unmute your TED Talk. It could be TED Talk or conference speaker or whatever it is, presentations.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And, um, yeah, so I love to encourage and show people how they can use their experience to put in books and to be on platforms so they can help other people while they're helping themselves.

Nicky Bevan:

So good. I'm curious, what was your… out of the 14 books that you've written, which was your favourite?

Dr. Rita Renee:

The first one.

Nicky Bevan:

What? What? Tell us about the first one.

Dr. Rita Renee:

The first one is Stay in the Rain, Knocked Down, but Not Knocked Out. And I wrote that book because I wanted to share about my story, about the abuse that I went through, about the bad marriage that I went through. I had bleach put in my contact solution. I went through a whole lot of crazy things. But people were always judging me when I walked in the room. They felt like I had everything all together, and I wanted to share with them and be transparent, like, no.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

These are the things that… there were some issues that I had in my past, but it didn't define me, right? It helped mold me, it did help shape me in some way, in some form, but for a positive reason. And I wanted to share that, because I didn't want people to feel like they couldn't achieve the things in their lives. And every time I wrote a book, and every time I encouraged someone, it just empowered me even more, and that feeling that I had, I wanted to share with other women.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah, so good. So, how… How much work have you done on your relationship with yourself?

Dr. Rita Renee:

It's a daily thing.

Nicky Bevan:

Tell me.

Dr. Rita Renee:

It's a daily thing for me because we're emotional. We have feelings. Life can hit us unexpectedly at any time. And it's hard sometimes as a mom and I'm still working in corporate, I still manage people and live all over the United States. And so you have to be there for them. And so you have to work on yourself, that patience and all that. Um, and I would say I have done a lot of work on myself, but I'm still doing it. I'm still doing it, because healing was not just getting past what had happened to me, it's about understanding how those experiences shaped the way I show up, and how I lead, and the way I trust people.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's so fascinating because one of the common things I hear a lot from my clients, not just female, but my male clients as well, when I say to them about being kind to themselves, they'll be like, Nikki, I have no idea what that even means. How do I do that?

Dr. Rita Renee:

Mm-hmm.

Nicky Bevan:

And it fascinates me, and this is what I've had to learn, and I'm like, okay, so I always ask them, are you more into puppies, or are you more into, like, puppies or babies? And it's usually actually puppies. So I'm like, okay, so you imagine you've got this scared little pupp. how would you talk to that puppy? And they're like, well, I would be, you know, tender and soft and kind and gentle. And I'm like, Sue, you know how to do that. You just have never practiced doing it with your… or continue to practice doing it with yourself, and it's always a…

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yeah. Okay.

Nicky Bevan:

It's such an… I was going to say it's such an easy thing to do. But no one seems to realize that we can do it. I think that's what changed for me.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Well, we… Yeah. We really have to show grace to ourselves, right? Right? Many women, you know, they're gracious with everyone else, but harsh when it comes to themselves. And we, you know, we are our greatest critique, right? And they give others room to grow and make mistakes and learn.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes. Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

But when it comes to ourselves, we expect perfection.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes. Yep. Yeah. Which is why I purposely make this podcast not perfect. Because I'm like, life is not like that. I am not like that. Yeah. So, you know, I'm like, let's just go with it and hopefully it helps somebody, which is always the way, because we are not…

Dr. Rita Renee:

I love it. I love it.

Nicky Bevan:

We are all such perfectly imperfect creatures.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Love it.

Nicky Bevan:

And so, you know, what does perfect even mean? You know? It doesn't. It doesn't. Yeah, that's so good. So tell me about your most recent book. Go ahead.

Dr. Rita Renee:

My most recent book is the Unmute Your TED Talk.

Nicky Bevan:

Right.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And it's not just your TED Talk, it can be a presentation, workshop, anything. And the purpose of that book is to let people know that they have an idea, they have experiences that are worth talking about and sharing. That's how we grow as a community, a society, is why we share these experiences, and we have the expertise. We have expertise in our lives, right? In the jobs that we have, the communities that we create, and we need to share more of that. One thing I don't do is I don't gatekeep. So, if I know something that's going to help a person, a platform, a community, any organization, I share that. And people say, well, you can't make money. Well, I'm not worried about that right now. There's a time and a place for that, you know, and I have a structured system where.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

I can do that, right? But I believe that when you give, so much more is given back to you.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep. Yes, yes, that is so cute.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And that's what the book is all about. It's about sharing those ideas and helping people to get on those platforms so that other people can benefit. And because our voice, we should be stewarding it. It's a gift that's been given to us.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes, yes. So how, with your success, with your, um, with your corporate career as well as your books and your, your public speaking. How have… People around you dealt with that.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Oh, okay. Well, most. Most have been very supportive. Most have been very supportive. I… what I had to do when I… one of my practices that I do when I get around people is, I just want to know people, right? I build relationships. There's no need to be intimidated or feel some kind of way. Um, I think people… will accept you more, because people want to know that you care before they care about what you know. So I don't push myself on people. I don't try to sell them things. And I think this has been my secret sauce for me. I'm just building a relationship. Then people are intrigued, and they want to know more about me.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes. Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Um, I've had one or two people, and that's only because they didn't take the time to ask me questions or get to know me. They may have had something negative to say. And I say this to people who may have had that experience. It's a character-building thing. Sometimes it keeps you humble that people… everybody doesn't like you. It keeps you humble so you don't get the big head. And so I'm grateful for those experiences. I just want to pass the test when I go through this mess all.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah, that's so interesting, isn't it? Because I heard it say from my coach when I first My first round of certification, she described it as you could be the juiciest peach in the fruit bowl. Some people just don't like peaches.

Dr. Rita Renee:

I love that analysis.

Nicky Bevan:

And it's true, isn't it? Like, and I really believe, like, if you…

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yep.

Nicky Bevan:

So if you really have learnt and I think it and I use the word learnt very deliberately. If you have learned how to love yourself. Even the dark parts of us that we all have. then when someone, and I've experienced this, when someone says, oh my god, you're such a bitch, I'm more like, oh, interesting, why do you think that? And then they tell me all their thoughts. And I'm just, like, it… so… but it starts… It starts inward first, doesn't it? It starts with being able to receive. receive love from God, the universe, whatever, whatever terminology resonates. That's my biggest… Growth at the moment is being able to receive that love. Finding the love for yourself. Leading from that place of love. I just didn't think that. Go on.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yes, I… I agree with that. I agree, um, with… I look at people if they have anything negative to say. I don't look at the color of the person, I don't care about the outside, I look at the heart of the person.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Right. It's the heart of the person, because, you know, um, nastiness can come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. And I believe a lot of that, and I'm able to do that, is because of my faith in God, and because of my walk with Him, and because I want to.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Be the example. people look at how you respond. Sometimes people will test you and try you, say, oh, she's not who all she says she be, and so they'll throw these things at you. And so I look at those opportunities as opportunities for me to grow and to share who Christ is. to me and my beliefs and my faith and hopefully help them on their journey.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep. Yeah, yeah. It's really interesting, actually. I'll share this with you. I do a lot of business networking.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Mm-hmm.

Nicky Bevan:

And I've been very fortunate to be in rooms with really lovely men. And I've been in rooms where the… it's… it's that typical kind of male… Environment. No, and I'm not judging, but it's that kind of um. Bolshie isn't the right word, but I think my listeners will understand what I'm saying. Recently, I went to… I've had the absolute privilege of being able to attend. Um, a spring network, which is for Christians, Christian business owners. And it's… it is mostly men.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Okay.

Nicky Bevan:

And I walked into this room. And there was no ego in that room at all. There was no ego. And I came out and I said to my friend after, and I'm still figuring out my relationship with. Jesus. I've… I've got a… I've honed my relationship with God, so I'm still not quite… I'm not quite sure where I am from a religious perspective, from a terminal… Like articulation perspective. But I came out of that room and I said it was the most beautiful experience. There was no ego in the room. It was amazing. And my friend said to me, well, that's because they will be seeing you. Through God's eyes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Mm-hmm.

Nicky Bevan:

they're not seeing you through their eyes, like, their ego's taken out of it, because they have that higher faith, they have that higher belief, there's something bigger than they are. And it was such a lovely… Way to see the world. Because that's not what we usually see in business.

Dr. Rita Renee:

No, and again… And again, it's like, it's a heart issue.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Right? It's a hard issue. When people have been hurt, or when people are… even when they're in a desperate situation, when it comes to, like, finances. They don't have the faith sometimes. You know, or their faith is as little, or it may not be as strong as other people, to know that it's gonna be okay to just to continue to walk and continue to trust.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Trust in God and trust that He's ordering your steps. And so, as a Christian business owner, for me, that's where my strength lies in, that's where my trust lies in, because that's why I don't focus on money. That's why it's easy for me to connect with people and want to build that relationship, because I'm not concerned about the profit margin.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep. Yep.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And that's the difference, and that's how you can have that peace when you walk into a room like that.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah, yeah, it's interesting. And then it's like, okay, so how do we… Because when you're in business, there's so much about… Profit and making money and and and and. like, we do have to do that, because there are mortgages to pay, and bills to pay, and, you know, if you want to go on holiday, and you want lovely clothes, and all the rest of it, money is that value exchange. So, I'm curious, how do you…

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yes, we do.

Nicky Bevan:

How do you separate out between. like… receiving… what am I trying to say? Like, receiving the money and being grateful for the money, but not it being… in a kind of egotistical way. or unloving way more so.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Mm-hmm. Well, again, you said something that was profound and that is we do have to make money. I mean, there's a time and a space for charity giving.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And that's okay. Um, I believe that we can still make money and still be profitable in a business, but still be grounded in purpose. We have to align ourselves, and that's why those networks are so good, that because you are aligning yourself with other individuals who have other connections, because we can't do it alone, and that's.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep. Yep.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Why I feel like a lot of people get stuck because money is not the problem. Ego is the problem when money becomes the measure of our worth and our value and our importance. And for me, money is a tool. It allows me to serve better, create impact, provide for families.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Thrive my own family, hire help, expand, but when money comes, the main focus, we can start chasing numbers instead of serving people.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Serving people. People have the money, right? So we're serving the people so we can start performing instead of leading, and we don't want to do that. We can start measuring our identity with revenue and applause and followers and all this other stuff, so I believe in building a business where profit supports the purpose.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep.

Dr. Rita Renee:

But purpose still leads the business.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes. Yes. Oh, I love that. And as you raised your fingers, I noticed how amazing your nails looked. Let me see them again. Oh my gosh, they're gorgeous!

Dr. Rita Renee:

Marble. Thank you.

Nicky Bevan:

That's so… it's because I can't really see your hands that much, and I'm a Nell fan myself, and I was like, oh, they're so beautiful!

Dr. Rita Renee:

Thank you.

Nicky Bevan:

So beautiful. So, um… I'm sorry, I got slightly sidetracked. So I think that's… that's really important, isn't it? Because I think, as well as women, we tend to… well, I know I certainly have, and the communities that I've been a part of, there's this kind of… sense that we should work for free, or that we should want to care for nothing, or we should, you know, be the ones that are looking after everybody. And so then, when it comes to making money, it feels kind of… uncomfortable because that's not what society has perceived us to be or to have. So the fact that I love what you said there about money being like having a purpose.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yes.

Nicky Bevan:

Profit having a purpose.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yes. Mm-hmm. If you put your purpose out there first, this is what I want to do, and then you have your guideline on how much you want to make, okay, these are the services and this is what I need to charge. I mean, and you're putting yourself in there, you're putting your family in there, right? You're putting those vacations and holidays in there, right, too.

Nicky Bevan:

Yep.

Dr. Rita Renee:

So let the purpose guide you, not the dollar signs.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes.

Dr. Rita Renee:

And it keeps your heart… I think it… to me, I feel like it keeps your heart more pure.

Nicky Bevan:

Yeah, okay. Yeah. Oh, I love that. I love that so much. Just had tingles. So, I just want to shift things a little bit.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Sure.

Nicky Bevan:

And I wonder if you could describe to me your logo, because it looks like, is it the butterfly with the microphone?

Dr. Rita Renee:

It is.

Nicky Bevan:

That's so cute. Where did you come up with that?

Dr. Rita Renee:

Well, unmuting is coming out of that cocoon, right? That butterfly has been dormant, it's been going through changes, it's evolving. And so then finally coming out, but not just coming out to do nothing, coming out with something important to say. Coming out to… not to be seen for yourself, but to show others, hey, you can come out too.

Nicky Bevan:

Nice. I like it. I like it a lot. So tell me a little bit about, because it's so hot in the UK as the day that we're recording this, and it's so unusual for us to have this sort of weather, what is the weather like in, did you say South Carolina?

Dr. Rita Renee:

North Carolina.

Nicky Bevan:

Oh, North Carolina, I'm sorry.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Uh-uh, no. Well, we had bad thunderstorms yesterday, but we passed that. Um, our… we normally say that our weather here in North Carolina is bipolar, so today it's kind of muggy, humid, like a sauna a little bit. In the very high 80s, but it feels like it's in the 90s. But it's sunny.

Nicky Bevan:

Is it? Yeah. Yeah. Nice. And is it quite, do you have seasons in North Carolina or is it quite.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yes, we do have… yeah, we do have seasons in North Carolina. We have a winter, we have snow. We don't have as much… I'm in the central part of North Carolina, so we normally don't have a lot of snow. Our winters are not too long, but this past winter was kind of long.

Nicky Bevan:

You're ready for the sun then. Ready for the sun. Well, is there anything that, um, that I haven't asked you about that you feel needs to be voiced?

Dr. Rita Renee:

No, I just want to encourage, whether you're male, female, to just… unmute yourself. You are… you have something important. You were born for a purpose, and you're not supposed to keep your mouth closed and not share your wisdom and all the knowledge and expertise that you have. Our generation and our future generations, we definitely need it, and you can definitely make an impact. in our world and communities.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes. Thank you so much. I love that. And I agree 100%. I think each and every one of us has something to say in our own unique way.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Yes.

Nicky Bevan:

That not every… that isn't going to resonate with everybody, but the right people will need to hear it when they hear it.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Absolutely.

Nicky Bevan:

Yes, so lovely. Well, it's been absolutely gorgeous to meet you today. It's been absolutely delightful to speak with you. Was there anything else you wanted to say before we ended today's recording or do you feel that's complete?

Dr. Rita Renee:

I feel like we've done a great job.

Nicky Bevan:

Good! Good! Me too! I've enjoyed our conversation. I think it's very powerful.

Dr. Rita Renee:

Thank you so much for having me.

Nicky Bevan:

You're very welcome. Thank you very much for coming. And listeners, I will see you all again next week, maybe a little bit cooler with a bit of, well, I don't want to say with a bit of luck because I actually like the heat but you know a couple below 30 would be quite nice but. Bye everyone! Bleh!