S2 Ep9. A Heart for Making a Difference with Thea Furbert

In this inspiring episode, Aderonke Bademosi Wilson sits down with Thea Furbert, a passionate and driven individual dedicated to creating spaces of love, acceptance, and opportunity within her community. Thea offers valuable insights into the intersection of advocacy, learning, and the importance of family, giving listeners a glimpse into the heart of a true change-maker.

The conversation begins with an introduction to Thea, who describes herself as passionate, driven, and fun. Her enthusiasm for learning and making a positive impact shines through as she shares the driving forces behind her work and personal life. A key focus of Thea's passions is her son, who has autism. She explains how her commitment to surrounding herself with positive influences has shaped her approach to life and work, particularly her dedication to improving the lives of those with special needs in Bermuda.

Thea’s drive is rooted in her deep commitment to creating opportunities, not only for her son but for others with special needs. Her vision led to the co-founding of Tomorrow’s Voices, an autism early intervention center in Bermuda. This center plays a crucial role in providing the support and resources needed for children and families navigating autism and developmental disabilities. Thea shares how Tomorrow’s Voices fosters an environment of belonging and acceptance, empowering individuals and families to thrive.

The conversation also touches on Thea’s personal traditions, such as her beloved Soul Food Friday, where family, laughter, and connection take center stage. These moments of togetherness underscore the importance of family in Thea’s life and work. Her dedication to creating spaces of love and connection is central to her mission, which extends far beyond the walls of Tomorrow’s Voices.

As the discussion delves deeper into Tomorrow’s Voices, Thea elaborates on its mission and impact, highlighting the diverse range of programs offered. From in-house services and adult programs to social skills support, the center provides invaluable resources to individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. Thea’s personal connection to autism also shapes her approach to parenting, and she shares heartfelt anecdotes about her son, Cire. His presence in her life has deepened her commitment to promoting acceptance, love, and support for all individuals with autism.

Beyond her work with Tomorrow’s Voices, Thea reveals some interesting facets of her personality. She shares her passion for learning about stocks, bonds, and investing, and her dedication to advocacy. Additionally, Thea discusses her love for reading, particularly mystery and romance novels, and how books provide a means of relaxation and stress relief.

A major milestone in Thea’s journey is her recent recognition with the World Change Award from the Wealth Builders Community. This honor reflects her ongoing efforts to share financial knowledge and empower her community. In the episode, Thea offers valuable advice on investing, stressing that anyone can start with as little as $5, and she emphasizes the importance of consistency in building wealth.

The conversation also explores Thea’s approach to investing, including her strategy for analyzing the market and investing in companies she believes in. Using Amazon as an example, she explains how her careful research and belief in certain companies guide her investment choices.

In the final moments of the conversation, Thea discusses her key strengths, emphasizing the determination needed to overcome barriers and advocate for children.

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Transcript

Aderonke (00:03.756)

Welcome to another edition of ABWilson's Heart of the Matter, a podcast that uses overwhelmingly positive questions to learn about our guests, where every episode uncovers extraordinary stories of triumph, growth and empowerment. Hi, I'm Aderonke Bademosi Wilson. My guest on today's show is Thea Furbert. Thea is passionate, driven, fun. Thea, welcome to ABWilson's Heart of the Matter.

Thea (00:34.255)

Hi, Aderonke, it's great to be here.

Aderonke (00:37.952)

And so Thea, you describe yourself as passionate. What does that look like? What are you passionate about?

Thea (00:44.783)

I'm passionate about learning new things. I'm passionate about my son who has autism and creating opportunities for him in this world so that he can thrive. And I'm passionate about being around people that make me happy, that I care about and that I love and that will bring positive things into my life.

Aderonke (01:13.516)

And being driven, how does that fit in with your passions?

Thea (01:17.647)

Wow, woo, I tell you. It makes me get to the other side. So the things that I am driven about, I create, I am a part of, and that I wanna see completed. So I'm driven about the things that are important for my son. He has autism.

Aderonke (01:20.439)

I'm

Thea (01:44.751)

He will always need someone to support his life. And so I'm driven to ensure that he has opportunities, that there are spaces that he can go in. And Tomorrow's Ways is, I'm the co-founder of Tomorrow's Ways is the Autism Early Intervention Center. And it was created due to my passion and being driven to ensure that he had access to a space that loved him. So.

Those are the types of things that drive me in order to ensure that Bermuda as a whole has opportunities for people with special needs, but also that we leave things so that our community has spaces of love and acceptance.

Aderonke (02:30.76)

And I'm gonna come back to tomorrow's voices, but I want to finish with your descriptors. Tell me about being and having fun.

Thea (02:39.723)

Wow, I love to laugh. Every Friday at my house, we have Soil Food Friday. And my sisters, my father, and my extended family, we all come together. We have soup, or we have the barbecue on. And we are always laughing. At the littlest thing, at the biggest thing, it doesn't matter. keeps you young.

And so I re-ensured that we come together on a weekly basis to show love, give love, have laughter and fun, and ensure that family is nurtured. So love my family and we always are having a laugh and having fun together.

Aderonke (03:27.726)

Thank you. Thank you for sharing your three descriptors. And I said, we'll get back to Tomorrow's Voices. Let's talk about your organization right now. What is Tomorrow's Voices and what is your focus?

Thea (03:44.121)

Well, I am one of the co-founders of Tomorrow's Voices. It is an autism early intervention center that provides services to people from the age of two and up. So it was created out of an abundance of lack in our community, lack of spaces for people who had autism or other developmental disabilities. so...

Saray when he was 10 years old, tomorrow's Wastes opened. It took pretty much a year for us to develop a plan, go and get funding. And within a year in 2007, we opened it from support from the community. We raised about $550,000.

within nine months and we was able to open it up. It started with four children, five staff, and now we are so, so, so large. We cater to in-house clients around 17 a year. We have an adult program that has about four to five clients. We have a staff of 14.

have programs for summer, we have programs for social skills. Every second and fourth Saturday, we get about 20 to 25 clients coming in to get social skills support. And so the space that was there to help my son as a dream has turned into a lifelong passion of ensuring that every child that

is on the spectrum or has a developmental disability has access to the people who love them, to the people who want to see them grow, to the people that will not look at them differently, that they are accepted for who they are, and for also their families to know that there are spaces that they can walk into and not be looked at differently, but be embraced and know that they can leave their...

Thea (06:03.559)

sorrow at the door because there are people that are passionate about seeing them have a wonderful family that is supportive.

Aderonke (06:12.94)

It sounds as though Tamara's voice is a space of belonging. Would that be accurate?

Thea (06:18.187)

It is completely that, yes, completely. We've seen everything and it's a non-judgmental space. So a lot of our parents, including myself, have things that others would look at and say, how could you deal with that? Aren't you struggling? And for me, is, autism is a part of my life because my son has autism.

he is like any other child in this world, know, thrives from love and acceptance and support. so embracing those things to ensure that they become just a part of our fabric in our community is important. So I look at Saray like any other child in our community. You know, he does not talk. He lost language at two and a half.

but he is the funniest person I know. And that's because he makes me work as a mama. He makes me, he is just so funny. His actions, he's sneaky, he gets what he wants. He'll make me go one way and then he'll switch back and run the other so that he can get what he wants. So he just brings light to my life. so because of him.

I bring light to other people's lives.

Aderonke (07:48.558)

So I'm sure we'll touch on tomorrow's voices and the amazing work that you do in that space. I wanna get to our first question. Please share three interesting things about yourself that our listeners may not know and friends will be surprised to learn.

Thea (08:10.543)

Okay, one, I am an avid learner. So about two and a half years ago, I went on a journey to learn about stocks and bonds and investing. in the last, in 2020, 2023, joined, well, in two and a half years ago, I joined an organization called the Wealth Builders Community and.

During that, I was able to invest and create a safe space for myself in the future. And the company in 2023 actually awarded me with a life changes award because I took a lot of the courses, was giving back to their organization. Another thing is I spoke about it, I'm an avid advocate.

love to change the fabric of our world. My footsteps change the fabric of our world. So, Tamara's Voices is one of those things. That's the second. And the third, let's see. I'm an avid reader. I rarely look at TV. I love learning about advocacy. I love wonderful books that change the fabric of how I

put myself in the world. And I love smarty books. I love to read mystery and love and all of those things. So those are my three things.

Aderonke (09:52.866)

Well, Thea, I don't know if you know this about me. I too am an avid reader and I don't think you and I have ever discussed this, but I read everything or I like to think I read everything. the thing that, and this was the secret for, and I didn't tell people this for many years, well, maybe one or two people. I read a lot of Smart in my time. I've read all...

I think they call them smexy, smexy books now. I mean, they've got really contemporary romance for women. They've got some really cool names these days for the kind of love, sex, adventure. It may not even be advantage. It may just be an excuse to have more sex in the books.

Thea (10:38.656)

You

Aderonke (10:43.918)

I think I've read way too many of them, but I do enjoy them.

Thea (10:47.523)

Yeah.

Yes, me and you probably are in the same category. enjoy it. It actually gives me the space to just log off. And so if those are the things that make me not think about work, you know, relax and just chill, then I'll just read this muddy book and, you know, move on.

Aderonke (10:58.797)

Yes.

Aderonke (11:10.126)

And there was a time in my career where I had an extremely stressful job. And that's all I read because it really cleared my mind. It got me to de-stress and not think about work in a way that I felt was good and relaxing. But it gave me something else to focus on other than my job or what I...

what I needed to be able to do the next day. So I totally identify with that.

Thea (11:40.643)

Yes.

Aderonke (11:44.6)

Thea, can you tell us about a recent accomplishment or success that you're particularly proud of?

Thea (11:51.887)

let's see.

Empfy and receiving the World Change Award as a part of the wealth builder community, I was truly proud of in 2023. I went to their three day conference with my sisters as we all are part of this organization. learning about investing in the stock market and because a lot of these things were not taught.

in our youth. It was a part of my fabric of education, even in university. And so it opened up a door for me that I was able to take a hold of, but also provide other people in my community with this education. And so we went to their three-day conference and they had a bowl at the end of it. The third day was a bowl and award ceremony.

And they called my name for the World Change Award. And it was because I had taken all their courses and passed all their courses. I was reaching out to other community members and providing them with all of this knowledge that helped me to grow as an individual. And it also, I was able, they had me as one of the speakers at the conference with regards to why I was investing because

I wanted to change my life and my son's life and leave him a legacy. And so when they called my name for the award, I was so just shocked because one, I'm from Bermuda. I'm not from the US. I'm from a little island and I'm doing my thing, getting involved in learning and to think that I myself am a life changer, international life changer.

Thea (13:50.519)

Yeah, it was amazing and I was thankful for them seeing me beyond how I see myself. So that was one of those great things. I appreciate it.

Aderonke (14:01.92)

If you had to give a piece of advice around investing, what would it be?

Thea (14:07.407)

that you can invest $5 and become an investor, that you do not have to have an abundance of money to become an investor. You just have to have the ability to be consistent. So you can change your life by investing $5 a week, $10 a week. You do not have to be rich to invest. Investing makes you rich by doing it consistently.

Aderonke (14:35.902)

And I don't know if this is an appropriate question. Do you have stock tips? Like, how does that work? Do you analyze the market? you, like, how do you, you, and I'm not saying this as guidance for others, but how do you, right, right.

Thea (14:51.895)

Yes, I'm not a financial coach, so there you go. But for me is ensuring that one, I analyze the market. So I look at the things that I spend money on. I spend money in Amazon. Is that a solid company? So I go into the research, you know, what is their market cap? They are a billion dollar company. So they have their teeth on the ground. So I'm looking at their yearly statements. Have they increased their profit?

has they brought up new and amazing themes in Amazon. And so if they have a trend of increasing their profit each year, are they ensuring that they are creating new things for their shareholders? And so that's the reason why I bought Amazon. And from when I purchased Amazon, it was $93. And now it's $230 a share.

I have profit. haven't sold my Amazon. So I haven't taken advantage of that profit as yet. But you as an investor have to be able to do your research. And it's easy once you understand what you're doing, what you're looking for. But we buy so many things as retailers. You walk into a store or you buy something on Amazon and you're

putting in the investor pocket or you're putting into that company pocket, but you also can be a company owner. You can be a shareholder. And so I want people to understand that they can go and buy from that back store, but they also can own it.

Aderonke (16:34.958)

Thank you. And so please tell us about a time when you made a difference in another's life. What were the circumstances? Paint a picture for me.

Thea (16:45.033)

Ooh, well, the big story is about Tomorrow's Ways. You know, that's true to my heart. And I am just a volunteer at Tomorrow's Ways, meaning I don't get paid for anything. I am the co-founder and I'm the board chair. But the space gives me life. Like, it is not work when I walk into it. am. And...

changing people's lives, it changed my son's life. It gave him the space to be himself, but also it gave him the tools to enhance his life. know, one, when he was younger, he was so into himself. He was in his own little bubble. The rest of the world was not, he was not aware of. Now he is so pokey.

He looks at everything, he hears everything, he investigates everything. And it's because now we've connected his world to his body. You know, there's a world outside of yourself that I want you to be interested in, to want to investigate. so that happens on a daily basis to families that come into Tamara's Waces.

And I've had many parents that call me and they're on the phone crying, know, how am I going to give my child the support that they need? What do they need? I'm scared as a parent. I'm so afraid because now my child has this label and this label has something attached to it that will make their life harder in the future, harder now, harder in the future. And

Some of our parents, a year later, even a week later after their child gets accepted into tomorrow's places, they're like, what in the world are you doing? Why is my child nonstop talking now? It's so funny because they come in, the children come in and they have language barriers. They don't know how to use language. They don't know how to sit down. They don't know how to speak by

Thea (19:05.593)

talking or communicating, but they're speaking by screaming or yelling and because that's the way they've learned how to communicate. But teaching them to be able to take that and use language either by signs or giving me a picture or, you know, replacing that behavior that was not so appropriate with the appropriate thing opens up doors to them. And so we've had many parents that their children come in and they have

aggressive behaviors and you know, they're tantruming is what we call it. But they're looking for language. And so we're able to give them that language. And now parents, I've had a few calls where their parents like, how do I get them to shut up? Like what, what happened? What did you do? What did you turn on that? No, he won't stop talking. And I'm like, yes, that's what we want. They want to be able to tell you.

what their needs are, what their wants are, and to be able to give a child that is amazing. yeah, being a part of being able to open doors for children and parents gives me the heebie-jeebies. It gives me the things that make me want to continue to give to my community.

Aderonke (20:29.612)

What were the key strengths and qualities you relied on to make a difference in this instance for parents and children?

Thea (20:37.487)

Key strengths, determination, because Bermuda has barriers. There's no special education laws in Bermuda. So the things that you need for your children are not just going to be given to you in our community. And it's sad to say that my son is 27 and the things that I was going through when he was

four in the public school system are literally still continuing 27 years later. me having to be determined, being able to walk into spaces that I am scared of, like so scared of because they're intimidating, but being able to walk through it because I know that it's not just about me that I'm supporting or changing the life of.

It is about changing the space for parents to be able to access so much more. So, you know, those spaces made me scared and intimidated, but now as an advocate, I just walk into those spaces and do what I have to do because on the other end, I have seen the successes. And walking into donor spaces and sharing my story and...

sharing stories of other parents that their ability to give changes lives specifically, like it literally from there to there, your funds actually change lives. And it's about being able to give them access to those funds to change lives. So yeah, yeah, that's the things.

Aderonke (22:31.128)

Thank you, Thea. It makes us realize that we have strengths that we don't recognize until we're called on to tap into them because it's gonna make a difference in somebody else's life. And that's what I'm hearing from you.

Thea (22:45.667)

Completely, completely, yes. You have to walk through the door in order to get to the other side. And so even though the environments might frighten me, I know that walking through that will get me to where I need to go in order to support who I want to support.

Aderonke (23:07.15)

Can you recall a situation where you overcame a challenge that led to personal growth? What did you learn from that experience?

Thea (23:16.567)

Ooh, you know, I am so multifaceted. You know, I'm a graphic designer by trade, but literally no one knows it, like, unless I work for you, you know what I mean? But I do that in my everyday life. Like, as a graphic designer, you are taking somebody else's vision and putting it into real world scenarios. because at the end of it,

the other person has to love it and they have to want to take it and use it as their own. And so for me, every day I come up against, I make the correct artistic decision to ensure that that person accepts what I give them? And so I guess that's the world of being a graphic designer. You you're taking people's visions and putting them into action, reality.

and that's, find sometimes are the barriers where I have to say to, to a client. It's not working today. Like my one is not. So I have to take a step back and relax and then try again. And I recently had to do that with one of my clients. all the other projects were moving forward.

but this one, I was just had a wall. It was like, it's not coming, it's not coming. And I was able, cause sometimes you're afraid to tell a client that, but for me is I want to be upfront with them to say, my vision is not coming for your project at this moment. And it might be time sensitive and so forth, but I'm not going to just.

keep going on, going on, going on. I'm not doing it. I'm not talking to anybody. The communication's not there. They're on the other end like, is anything coming? And all of that. I'd rather not do that. I'd rather communicate to my clients that I need a break to ensure that I am gonna provide you with what you want. And right now it's not coming. So either you can find someone else or I can just take a step back, reanalyze, re-jig, and then try again.

Thea (25:38.095)

And those are the summer times of the roadblocks that I come up against as a graphic designer. But most of the time I'll be able to step back and then push through.

Aderonke (25:51.692)

And it's tough as a creative, right? There was a time in my career when I had to do a lot of writing and the idea had to come. Like the person is waiting for this piece of information, whether it's a speech or a press release or something. And what I would find is if I'm working late at night, I would just hit a wall where I would say I can't. And especially if it was taking me a long time to write one sentence.

Thea (26:21.529)

Yeah.

Aderonke (26:21.646)

or a paragraph and I'll say, okay, I have to stop because I'm not getting anywhere. And I will wake up early the next morning, but I will get some sleep. I will force myself to step back. No matter how critical it was for the person to have it the next day, sometimes you can't produce. So I would just say, okay, I'm going to sleep and I'll wake up tomorrow and start writing. And nine times out of 10, that's what I was able to do. rest my brain.

Thea (26:35.661)

Yeah, yeah.

Thea (26:48.099)

Yes,

Aderonke (26:50.894)

And, and because sometimes you get too close to things, right?

Thea (26:54.927)

Yep, yep. have to recognize that you have to do something different to get to the end result. And if you continue to say, well, keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing, and it's not coming, you have to do something different. You have to change the way in which you're approaching it. And so stepping back sometimes is the best way that you can push forward.

Aderonke (27:24.662)

Yeah, and I was working in the days before chat GPT. so I

Aderonke (27:35.054)

If I had that tool, if I had that tool 20 years ago, 10 years ago.

Thea (27:43.887)

I think the generations of today have it so much easier.

I'm sorry.

Aderonke (27:53.749)

my goodness. You are listening to A.B. Wilson's Heart of the Matter.

Welcome back to AB Rosen's Heart of the Matter. My guest today is Thea Ferbet. Thea, we've talked about tomorrow's voices. We've talked about the creative process. We've talked, you've shared about your investing and how you are securing a future for yourself and your son. What self-care practices or strategies help you to sustain your energy and motivation while navigating your journey?

Thea (28:32.015)

Well, I must say I've just finished reading The Let Them Theory by Mal Robbins. This is an amazing book about being intentional about who you choose to spend time with or what do you put back in the world. And so.

I have learned that sometimes I have to let people do them and let me do something else. And I think it is important for us as people to be able to recognize that you have to let other people travel their world on their own or figure out the problem on their own because they may not be able to already to take your support in hand.

I find, and just because I'm always in the spaces that sometimes some parents are not able or ready to accept that their child has a disability. And it doesn't matter how much time that I say, well, maybe get them support or maybe do this. It is not until that parent is ready to accept it that they will then take the steps necessary to do what they need. And so,

it is important for me to be able to step away and say that person's not ready or my friend can do whatever they want because I'm going to let them do them. But I make the decision that I'm not going to be in those spaces. I'm not going to put myself through it. And I think it's important for us to be able to do that with anything, with family, with friends. And so I think it's just important for people to take away that.

they cannot control everything in the world. You can't control other people. The only person that you can control is yourself. And you have to make decisions for yourself that are going to either enhance your life or make it miserable. And so for me, self-help is about being able to say, I'm gonna step away from something because it is in the best interest of me.

Thea (30:52.693)

I have to be selfish for me. And that's the kind of journey I'm on now is recognizing when or when not to put myself within those things to ensure that I am happy, I am healthy, I am supported. So that book was amazing and I encourage any and everybody to read it because it will put in perspective what

benefits you as an individual. And also for self-health, it is important to get rest, like drink water, the things that are going to re-analyze your body, know, eat healthy. And I don't always eat healthy.

But I always try to ensure that I am drinking water, that I'm trying to go sleep at the appropriate time. Those things regenerate me to ensure that I can give myself to tomorrow's voices or graphic design or wealth building, you know, so that I am a well-rounded person. And I also think that self-help needs to involve love, loving yourself.

having people who love you around you and knowing that you are, that you are.

that you are able to get love, that you are important enough that love should be a part of your life. And so, yeah, there's the other kind of self.

Thea (32:38.151)

love driven things that support me as an individual so that I can thrive in my community.

Aderonke (32:46.806)

And so how might sharing your experiences of success and growth create a positive ripple effect in your family, community, the world?

Thea (32:57.057)

Well, tomorrow's voice is as a building. You know, it's going 18 years in October. So out of my passion and love, that space is there. But also the relationships that I've also been had my own company for, I think it's like 20 years now.

It is because of what I've given to it that it has given me. And being an entrepreneur in Bermuda, or in any space, is not easy. You have to be able to get up in the morning and say, I'm going to do this. Like, no one is patting you on the back. No one is waking you up. No one's putting you in front of the computer. You have to be driven to do it yourself in order to get what you want out of it.

and I have been able to sustain my business for 20 years. And I'm so proud of that accomplishment, being able to get feedback from clients that they love what I've provided them or having continuous clients who say, Thea, you are a game changer. Thea, you, you know, you're the only one I call. Like those things have.

ensured that I stayed in business for the last 20 years. And it had to do with me doing what I needed to do for my clients and then them appreciating it so much that they sustained my business. you know, it is important to be passionate about what you do and, you know, it then...

sustains and gives you back what you need. And then also a large part of what I do on a daily basis is give of myself, give up my time, give up my money, give up my talent. Not everything is about money. Not everything is about how it's paying for.

Thea (35:23.883)

If you are giving of yourself, will get in return. And so I live by that. I live by giving of myself. And I've seen those returns. so that's why I'm so passionate about Tamara's Voices, because every second of my time that I have given, it has given me millions in return.

Aderonke (35:54.322)

And I just want to speak to your talent, your incredible talent as a graphic designer. And I don't know if you remember me telling you this all the time, that you're one of my favorite graphic designers. I enjoy working with you. I love what you've produced on the various projects that we've worked on over the years. And sometimes it's with mutual clients that we have worked together, but then...

You've worked with me on a few of my personal projects, I've loved. So I always turn to you when I need that little extra. And I truly appreciate what you give in return because you have a true talent that is evident in the work that you do.

Thea (36:42.031)

Thank you, thank you so much, I appreciate that.

Aderonke (36:45.678)

What exciting opportunities do you see on the horizon? How do these opportunities align with your passions and aspirations?

Thea (36:57.391)

Opportunities. I see them all the time. And I think because I am so driven that I create opportunities for myself, guess. Avid, lifelong learner. So the opportunity to continue learning. I've just opened up my little magnet business, creating magnets for our community.

And so I make magnets around each of our different holidays. just don't Valentine's magnets where people can have their own photos and then they have Valentine's thing. And so I've just created this business like December. And so I sold about 15 packages of magnets up until December 24th.

And then I've done my Valentine magnets. So creating spaces for myself because in the future, I want to have a job that is less stressful. Graphic design is very...

time sensitive, deadline oriented. And so I'm trying to create spaces now in my life that are creative, but also that people love. So I created this magnet business. And for me is I just like to do creative stuff and then people benefit from it. So I think in my future is I...

I think the future is endless for me of learning, of creating things for myself, of creating spaces for myself. I'm open to learning and other opportunities like I'm doing AI design, trying to change myself with the times that we are in right now. But it all also just has to do with being able to be open to learning. On the other side of learning is endless opportunities.

Thea (39:02.639)

You just have to put yourself, you know, put yourself forward to do those things. So opportunities, I think there are so many to come, so many things that are in my future, in tomorrow's voices future. I dream it, it comes. I build it, it comes. I think it, comes. And so I think there's just...

endless possibilities and I'm so open to them.

Aderonke (39:37.134)

Tell me more about your magnet business. This is the first I'm hearing of it. Well, do you have a selection of magnets and you design them? Like, how does that work?

Thea (39:46.069)

Yes, so it started with, I just love watching entrepreneurs on Instagram. And so I looked at a lot of different entrepreneurs. so the Magnet business is about, they have the opportunity of choosing 12 customized of their personal images. And I make them into magnets, and then they can cherish them by taking them out of their phones.

and putting them on any magnetized space, so on the fridges and so forth. And so during Christmas, I done Christmas magnets where the backgrounds and the borders were Christmas images. And you could send either 12 different photos or one photo and that can be used to give as a gift to a family member. So one of my customers had the same photo with the Christmas border and was the...

Christmas card that they gave to each of the family members. And then another of my customers had photos of her with each of their friends. And then when they came over during Christmas, each of their friends, she put them in front of her fridge and they were able to take the photo of them and the friend home with them as their gift. So I do gift boxes of magnets customized.

of your personal photos that you, like I've done wedding where it's just a wedding couple photos or bathing photos and it's 12 photos that they can select. And then I just make them into magnets and they can have them and gift them to family members or they can just put them on the fridge and they are lifelong images of love that they've taken out of their computers, taken out of those foods and put them into a space that they can cherish and look at.

Aderonke (41:39.813)

What is your website for this?

Thea (41:44.247)

I don't have a website, but I have an Instapage. It is Teff2000.

Thea (41:53.495)

Okay, Roblox. One second. No, you're putting me on a spiral.

Thea (42:03.383)

So funny!

Aderonke (42:06.84)

Take your time.

Thea (42:07.567)

Absolutely hilarious. Sorry. It's TAC Designs 2020. So that's my Instagram handle, T-A-F-D-E-S-I-G-N-S 2020. And there you can see my magnets. That was definitely a...

Aderonke (42:20.918)

Okay, I'll put that on.

Aderonke (42:26.862)

I'm gonna look for it.

Thea (42:32.055)

A blockage movement.

Aderonke (42:33.486)

And no, as we get older, they come a little bit more, I'll speak for myself. As I get older, they come a little bit more frequently.

Thea (42:42.303)

No, I completely agree with you, they do. They do. I'm like, why did I walk into the kitchen? What was I coming in here for? What?

Aderonke (42:53.646)

What I'm doing right now is I'm training myself that if I remember it, I have to go and do it because I know I won't remember it for three more days. So if it's important and I need to take it out of the house with me, I go and go get it and put it right at the kitchen door. So I have to trip over it on my way out. it's staying at home.

Thea (43:13.237)

Yes, yes, I am very famous for doing that. Yes, I compete with you there.

I can't do that. I put things in front of my door so that I don't forget to take them. And if I do not write it down, if it's not in my calendar, it just didn't happen in the world.

Aderonke (43:33.654)

No, I agree. I totally agree. And I'm trying to find new tricks for myself so that I stay on top of things. mean, and this is quick story. I've been, I play pickleball all the time. I've walked out of the house without my pickleball paddle. So it's been like, how do you do that? So I have a bag that has my paddle in it now. And so when I play, I take it out. When I finished playing, I put it back in.

Thea (43:41.327)

Yeah.

Thea (43:59.917)

Yeah.

Aderonke (44:01.95)

and everybody's happy.

The little things!

Thea (44:10.297)

It's early, it's just adapting.

Aderonke (44:11.266)

Yes, adapting to our environments and our current reality.

Thea (44:17.58)

Yes, exactly.

Aderonke (44:20.35)

Thea, so you've already mentioned one and I'm assuming that's going to be in your list. What book recommendations do you have? It can be a book that you've read recently or something that has stayed with you over the years.

Thea (44:33.997)

Yes, so my two books are The Let Them Theory by Mal Robbins, which was just an amazing book and I think everyone should read it. But the second book is The 12 Week Year by Brian Morin. I love that book. It makes me intentional about the things that I do. It makes me do things.

and end them, like not just start them, but end them in a shorter period of time. As a part of my wealth builder program, we read the book and then we implemented things. And I live by it. Every quarter I am doing something intentional. And so that's why I was able to do the Magnet business in the last quarter of 2024, because I strategized it, I created a plan.

And then I implemented it in the first week of December. And then I had the 12 buys with regards to that. And so I do it every quarter on things that I want to accomplish. And I've been able to accomplish them. the water drinking was another thing. Starting from one bottle to two bottles, I'm at two bottles. It's a part of my this quarter girls. And I'm trying to get to three large bottles of water per day.

It helps me, that book is great for being intentional about your time, but also for taking a project from the beginning to end, or creating that space where you are intentional about doing the things that you say you're gonna do.

Aderonke (46:15.598)

Thank you. I read that book probably about three years ago, I would say, and you talking about it reminded me of a lot of the steps. So I'm going to go back in and look for it and remind myself what that looks like. Is there anything else? I've come to the end of our...

Thea (46:27.566)

Yes.

Thea (46:36.515)

Yeah.

Aderonke (46:41.268)

a wonderful conversation. Is there anything else? Do you have any final thoughts?

Thea (46:46.703)

My final thought was it's important to laugh. It's important to have fun in your life. It's important to value having fun and being around people that make you have fun. And so I encourage people to put yourself in spaces that are going to help you laugh, enjoy life and love.

Aderonke (47:18.702)

Thank you, Thea. Thank you so much for your time today. The appreciation nuggets that I'm taking away from our talk today are, and you said this, my footprint, my footsteps changed the fabric of our world.

changing people's lives, changing my son's life. You said that. And the third nugget, if you are giving off yourself, you will get it in return.

Thea (47:53.355)

Amen, exactly.

Aderonke (47:54.648)

Thea Ferbitt, thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate you being here with me on A.B. Wilson's Heart of the Matter, a podcast dedicated to asking overwhelmingly positive questions as we uncover incredible stories of people you may know. Thea Ferbitt, thank you so much.

Thea (48:16.409)

Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure. It's been a pleasure laughing with you.

Aderonke (48:21.294)

Thank you, Thea.

Thea (48:25.231)

Yeah, cool.