Under Heaven Podcast: Ly Smith - The Choice to Create or React

Under Heaven Podcast host, Trish, talks with Ly Smith for a deeply honest conversation about God’s timing, mindset, and the stories we tell ourselves. Ly is a mindset coach, keynote speaker, and founder of Upcycle Coaching, 

Ly shares her remarkable journey from depression, burnout, and a life‑altering car accident to discovering her true calling as a speaker and coach. She opens up about how God redirected her path from engineering to public speaking, how she learned to listen to His voice, and how moving across the country became part of her spiritual assignment.

Together, Patricia and Ly explore how to handle life’s interruptions with faith
 and her C.A.N.D.Y. Method for clarity, affirmation, and emotional reset

If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of your next step, this episode will remind you that God can redirect your story at any moment and His timing is always perfect.

Ly: hello@upcyclecoaching.com                                                                                      www.rewriteyourselftalk.com

Trish: patricia@lookingup24.com                                                                  www.lookingup24.org

Christian Mindset, God’s Timing, Self‑Talk, Mindset Coach, Upcycle Coaching, CANDY Method, Emotional Healing, Depression to Purpose, Holy Spirit Guidance

Under Heaven Podcast, Faith, Trish Hodges, Testimony, Christian Women, Encouragement, Testimony

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Under Heaven, the podcast where we glorify God and celebrate the beautiful stories of women whose lives have been transformed by his goodness and grace. I'm your host, Trish, and each week we share real conversations about faith, hope, and purpose. This is a place for encouragement and truth, where every story matters and every listener is welcome. No matter where you are in your journey, let's grow together Under Heaven. Welcome to Under Heaven Podcasts. I'm your host, Trish, and today's guest is someone who knows how to take the stories of your life and fill them with fuel for bold, God-aligned action. Lee Smith is a mindset coach, founder of Upcycle Coaching. She has created the C-A-N-D Y candy method and much more. Today we're going to be talking about God's timing, his interruptions in our life, and his holy humor, because you know he loves to redirect our plans into something better. So if you've ever had your life flipped upside down and then you realize that God is flipping it right side up, this episode is for you. So get ready, get ready to be filled with hope, inspiration, and the reminder that sometimes the best thing you could do is laugh at yourself. She's going to teach us that that is good for us all. Welcome, Lee. I'm so glad to have you here today.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Thank you, Trish. I'm so happy to be here with you and with the audience.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

I um I talked with you briefly the other day. You are, it is eight o'clock in the morning your time. And um I I love that no matter what time of the day I speak with you, you've got that gorgeous smile. And we know where that comes from, don't we? Comes from now. Yes. Would you like to tell us a little bit about mindset self-talk and how you got into this?

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Yes, yes. I love all things. I could totally geek out about it in all things mindset and self-talk. And and mindset uh is uh it can be boiled down to attitude, right? That that you know, 90% uh you know, 10% of life is what happens to us, and then 90% is what do we do with that? What is our attitude with it? And and so we can we can we can laugh, we we we can cry, we we can paralyze ourselves, or we can see the good, see opportunity and adversity, and make the best of it, right? And uh funny enough, I I I've I've probably gained that attitude from my favorite uncle. And he uh he is younger, younger than my dad, and the younger brothers to my dad. And when I was a teenager, I I overheard him having a conversation with my dad. And it it was all about uh because I was I was a goodie two shoes. I was so so obedient. I did, I didn't uh you know fray the line in any way. And and my dad was sharing with my uncle of how uh he's like, I can't believe I'm so blessed. I have an amazing daughter because I'm the oldest of three kids. And he's like, I have such an amazing daughter, she's so good. And my dad would go on and on. And my uncle, my uncle said, Well, if she stays on that path, she's going to be the most boring person on the planet. But when I had when I had conversations with my uncle, he he always focused in it's all about attitude, you know. He's like, Life is too short to get angry because angry does not solve problems. And so I took all of those little tidbits to heart. And then my personal relationship with God, I thought, yeah, that's so true. Because at that time in my life, too, I was I was making money through babysitting, right? And I would have conversations with God. And when when things would line up, I'd say, Oh, I want to go on this retreat, God. I want to go on this retreat, but I I don't want to ask my mom and dad for the money. I want to have, I want to have enough money to make it happen myself. So if you could line up some babysitting jobs for me, and sometimes, Trish, it would come down right to the wire that I had that pay payment deadline to go on the retreat. And I'm I would be wondering and wondering, is it going to happen? Is it going to happen? And sure enough, God would make it happen. And I'd be right there, ha, babysitting, cash in hand. Okay, it's going directly to the church for the retreat. And it would make it happen. And it was all about that, that, that, that mindset and and that attitude. And so the conversations that I that I've had with myself, that I've had with God, that I've had with people that that I look up to uh in heart and mind, it it really plays a part. And so when you can do that for yourself, looking at yourself in the mirror, I do so much mirror work with my clients. When you can look at yourself in the mirror and you can see the God inside of you, maybe it's so much easier to see it in other people, but God is also inside of you. So when you can see that, you know that you have the strength and the resilience to overcome anything. And and and maybe that resource isn't just all in your mind and in your heart. It's who do you know, what do you know? And certainly collapsing into God's laps, lap and arms sometimes is what it takes to move through the next piece, but knowing that it's there. So when God's inside of you, anything is possible.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

I absolutely love the way you express that. So true for us as women and men, whether we um you know, whether we're in business or whether we're a homemaker or a mom or uh a single widow alone in her home, seeing the God in us and just knowing that is so awesome. Tell us a little bit about C-A-N-D-Y. That got my attention.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Yes, absolutely. This this foundation that I I lay out for for my clients, first I want to share that it came from my personal journey. And when I was standing, I was standing on a lava beach in in Hawaii with my family, and I I was so blessed. Uh it still blows my mind all these years later, um, that we had 23 days together, 23 days across four islands in Hawaii, which meant we had 22 sunsets. And if you have not experienced a Hawaiian sunset, a true Hawaiian sunset, it is a must do. Make it happen some way, somehow, if nothing else in life. I've experienced many great adventures in life, but having a Hawaiian sunset is truly glorious. So it was one particular sunset that I was there on this beach with my family, and my my husband was out in front of me because of his love for photography, and he was he had the camera up to his face, the the lens extending from his nose, like uh, yeah, from his face, like the nose of Pinocchio, and he's trying to capture that golden hour light just right. And my young teenage daughter was in my arms at my side, and we're having a sweet little conversation between us. And on the other side of me was my stepson, he was groaning out of the house, but he was on this holiday with us with his then girlfriend, and I'm thinking I'm I'm surrounded by people that I love. I'm thinking, I'm so blessed. 23 days on the four islands, and they're so beautiful. And I'm thinking, this this is an amazing sunset, and I'm thinking I'm getting to do something that not everybody gets to do once in a lifetime, and then I caught myself thinking, Thresh. I caught myself thinking of everything that I was observing, and that I was not feeling that moment. And then I was thinking, what is happening right now? Why am I not? Where's the emotion? Where where's the joy? Where's where's there there was a sense of awe, but there's it was still more thinking than it was a feeling. And I thought, why am I not feeling happy? Why, why am I not feeling excitement? And and there was there was, yes, a bit a sense of gratitude, but again, not a real feeling. And I thought, wait a minute, I don't, I don't like what's happening right now. Who who am I? And because I always believed myself to be someone who lives life to its fullest and and takes it all in and feels all the emotions, and and here I wasn't. And then my next thoughts were, well, if I'm asking you, I am, I feel like I'm a woman covered in just. Where if you if you imagine picking at your hair, like little dust particles that I felt like a I'm just a wife, I'm I'm just a mom, I'm just a a stepmom, I'm just a daughter, and I'm just a a sister, I'm just this shell of an empty woman who who has forgotten who she is. And I thought, I'm not happy with that, I'm not good with that. And that moved me to make a decision. And in that decision, I drew the line in the proverbial sand, and I said, We're we're at the end of a year, there's a new year right around the corner. I am going on a quest. I don't care how selfish it seems to anybody else. I've poured myself into my husband, into my daughter, into my stepson, into everyone else around me. I didn't pour anything into me. And so in losing who I was, I said, no, that's not good. I need to know. So I said, I'm going on a quest to remember who I am. And so when I got back home stateside, it took a lot of effort of moving from the bed to the corner of the couch, and I and I intentionally would do things that would make me laugh because I couldn't remember when was the last time I laughed. And in that self-reflection and that awareness, I realized I had been in a state of depression for somewhere between two and three years. But I this beautiful smile that you've complimented so well. Thank you, Trish. I wore it all the time, and it became my mask, even from myself. So, where I took the time to get honest with myself about that, then I could release the depression and start climbing out of that abyss and take the steps forward into okay, who is Lee? What makes her happy? What makes her come alive? And that started my C A N D Y process. C is for clarity, getting clear on, okay, when I look at the mirror, who do I see? Am I just looking at a you know, such and such aged woman with gray hairs coming in and fine lines coming through? No, that's not what's important. Who am I really looking at? What do I admire about her? What do I respect in her? And and what does that look like? And then it became a clarity around my dreams and my goals and putting that together. The A is affirmation, and that was really deep diving into the self-talk because I I I love my mom to pieces, but she's your classic tiger Asian mom. So from childhood even into adulthood, I still get this in conversations with her. You know, when are you going to be good enough? You know, why why can't you do this? Why can't you do that? Why can't you be like so and so? And and so that whole core of, you know, I'm not good enough. And it's like, okay, how do I quiet my mom's voice in my head and really take ownership of my voice that comes from the one true source that says, you are lovable, you are capable, you are a vessel of value, and I am pouring into you, and this is what you need to take out into the world, and looking at that affirmation, and then so so few women.

SPEAKER_00 13:17

I'm sorry to interrupt you, but yes, I'm hearing you. So few of us take that time to look at ourselves. That's amazing. Continue on, please.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

In the real truth, yes, and so as I moved from that depression and I got to a place of reclaiming my joy, I realized there's been a childhood dream of mine that I put on pause because I was in this chapter of being a stay-at-home mom. Nothing wrong with that, because that was a dream as well, convicted into my heart since the age of 14. And I was doing it all these years later. And so I was in that chapter, and while I was all in that chapter to the point that I lost myself, I forgot about that childhood dream. So when I found my joy, I was like, oh, I love public speaking, I love the feeling that I get, not from a center of attention perspective at all. That's not me whatsoever. It is when I have a story or an idea to share, and I see it landing for the audience, and I know I'm planting a seed that when it's allowed to grow, we will create those massive positive change and ripple effects of that for them. That's the feeling that that I get that I just love. And so knowing that, okay, oh yes, I have this dream that now that I'm becoming an empty nester, the next chapter is going and chasing that dream. So, what are the necessary steps then to transition from stay-at-home mom into entrepreneur and professional speaker? So I couldn't see the whole staircase, right? But that's not what matters. What matters is what is the what are the next best steps? Even if I couldn't see the whole track, I needed to treat it like the GPS. Anytime we use our GPS, we have to start with current location, right? We have to know where we are now and start with that. And then where do we want to go? And and it could be where do we want to go? What is it that we want to accomplish or who do we want to become? And seeing that, knowing this in a distance, and even in a GPS, we can't see all the minute turn by turns getting from point A to point B, but we trust where we're going, right? We trust the guidance of that, and so very much necessity um does that same for us internally. And then the D is discipline because you can have the can, you can have the clarity, affirmation, and the necessity, you can have the I can, but if you don't do anything with it, nothing changes. So we have to take action, even when we feel the fear, even when we feel like we're not ready, even if we still hear some little voice, maybe it's a big voice saying, You're not good enough. None of that matters. The truth is that you are, and when you take action, you're able to build that confidence and build the competence, and that becomes this ever-up spiraling loop, and it's a beautiful thing, and then also gives you more clarity on oh, oh, this opens up more opportunities, or oh, this is how I need to tweak this to be even better. And uh, you know, whether that's as a mom or an entrepreneur or a leadership role that you are fulfilling, and then the why, it's my favorite part because it's all about you and honoring who you are. Again, coming back to that mirror work. Who do you see in the mirror? You become a changed person in this process, and I honor what I call the three Gs. See, I was blessed during during the COVID years when we were in lockdown. I was mentored by Les Brown. If you don't know who he is, he is the godfather of motivational speaking, and he has impacted millions of lives, and he's a fantastic storyteller. And he says, You have something special within you, you have greatness within you. And I was personally mentored by him uh during this couple of years, and and and I thought, oh, that's so true, but I don't want to copy just what Les says, even though, yes, 100% I believe it's true. And the more that I thought of it, I'm like, oh, the message that I want to let you know is that you have three G's. You have genius, that's your brilliance, you have gifts, which is the way that you get to express your genius, and then you have greatness. It is that essence of God within you that gets to be expressed and taken out into the world. And and by the world, you know, if you're like, oh, you're sounding pretty scary. I don't want to be out in the world, but you are that world can be who are you to you? The world can be just you and your family, or you and your immediate inner circle, or it could be the community, whether it's a ministry that you step into, or your local neighborhood, um, whatever that happens to be, or an online community, or the world can be the work that I'm doing. Take me out into the whole world, wherever I can plant my seeds is where I want to go and grow. So don't let the word world scare you. It's what it means to you. And it can be small, it's still significant, or it can be the entire world around you. And so that's the candy, the clarity, affirmation, necessity, discipline, and you. And it's honoring the God-given genius gifts and greatness within you and how you shine in the world and what you do.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Oh, that is absolutely amazing. I love it. I love it. Um what are some uh you talk about um seeing ourselves, and I'm thinking about you speaking to women who um maybe don't see that joy in their life, that don't see that they're worth anything. Um how do you minister to them? What do you suggest they do first?

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Yes, yes. Well, um, I I this uh every time I hear this, it's like a funny statement, but it is also so true that you know, we hear the cliche one in a million. And and and really, yeah, yes, you're one in a million, but it's bigger than that. You're like one in three hundred million because it it was it was the one sperm out of potentially up to 300 million sperm that hit the egg that then formed you, and you exist. So that in and of itself, not to mention God pouring himself into you, right? It's not just a biologic, biological essence. If we look at your entire essence, that you are so worthy, it's so amazing, it's so miraculous, all the factors had to come into play for you to be right here, right now. So, can we take a moment of gratitude for that? If if life was weighing heavily on you, and I get it, like I said, I was there in depression with with a pretty face, right? And and it and I was in such an abysmal state of depression. I was even in a place where I I thought I was going to have an end to my marriage because I couldn't feel anything at all in that, and even in a heavy state like that, that we can find a place of gratitude. Of God, you made me and you you made me whole and complete, and I am a miracle, and taking a breath with that, that is a start. It was that kind of start that moved me from the bed to burying myself under the covers. I'm I'm not going to face today. I'm I'm just not. Moving from the bed to the corner of the couch, and friends, that was as far as I got at those early, those beginning days. And I, you know, where you can take that that place of gratitude and then find one thing outside of that to be grateful for again. Building upon that, it does it, it compounds it, and you don't see it right away. There, there, there is no overnight success with that. But when you do it every day, because for me, yes, it was it was one day, and then it was 30, and then it was 60, and then it was 90, and it was around the 90th day that I felt that joy. It came from my heart center, and and I'll never forget that day where I just felt that warmth and it came from my heart center, and it and it slid across my body and it moved up into my ear and it whispered, now that I'm here, what do you want to do with me? And I I want that experience for you that you know you can find that. And then when you when you see yourself in the mirror, if it's taking all your strength and might to do it, do it anyway and look at yourself and say, I am a miracle, and I am capable of love and joy and do that. And I put that together in a framework, Trish, that I love sharing with the world because this is my true assignment. If nothing else, this is the one thing I must do everywhere I go. And friends, if you are in a safe place, not not driving behind the wheel, where you can grab a writing utensil and a paper, I want you to write out one word. And that word is reactor. And when you when you write that down, think about what I am reacting to in life. For me, that day on the beach, I was reacting to, yes, my my chapter, my dream of being a stay-at-home mom, but I was reacting to the mundane of the everyday because I stopped being fully present. So I was reacting to the never-ending cycles of getting the kids up, out of bed, getting them ready for school, the no doing the laundry, the dishes, the carpooling, the meal planning, the the actual cooking, so on and so forth. And and while, yes, I was pouring into my kids wisdom and knowledge, and then I was taking from them the ways they were seeing the world, I was still reacting to mommy, I need this, need that, honey, I need this. Uh, you know, what society was putting on me, the expectations I had on myself. And so as a reactor, I felt like I was putting out fire after fire after fire. And I lost myself and quote, so I felt like the letter C in the word reactor. If you look at that letter C in the word that you wrote down, it's right smack dip dab in the middle of everything, and that's what a reactor feels like. So now cross out the letter C because that means you're taking a breath, you're taking a beat, you're taking a moment to see yourself for who you really are. That you are a miracle, you are amazing, you are brilliant, and you know, when you can honor the God that is within you and you see yourself first, it's not selfish. It is so essential to pour into your cup that way, so that in the overflow that you can pour yourself into others. When you do that, now write the letter C in front of the rest of the letters, everything else becomes aligned. You now see and seeing yourself first, you see what matters, what is most important, what is priority, and now you get to see that life is happening for you, not to you. And you instead of being a reactor to life when things happen and living by convenience and circumstance, you can now live by commitment to your truth and in congruency to what matters most to that. Like I committed to getting out of the depression by finding ways to laugh again and then being congruent with that laughter, living my daily life, chasing that laughter, then I was able to reclaim my joy, see my purpose, and now this is what I'm fulfilling out into the world. So I invite you to, even in the heaviest, find one moment of gratitude and ask yourself, am I being a reactor or am I being a creator of the best version or even let's let's go with better? You know, what's a better version of myself in this moment? And as you do that repeatedly, you start to find the joy again and see yourself for who you really are.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

I love the way you explain that. Thank you so much, Lee. And we are at the end of this recording, but I'd like to ask you back for a second one. Um because I know how God what I wanted to talk about. One of the things I wanted to talk about is how God takes our story and He can He can interrupt what we're doing, which is what He did when you were in that mundane world, and He can turn it around for something else. So we're gonna have Lee back because she is such a wealth of wisdom and encouragement. And it's something that she mentioned today about looking in ourselves, that C-A-N-D-Y, having clarity, be sure to connect with Lee and start rewriting that story that that you've been telling yourself and and become that creator. And and you'll be you'll be so blessed. Lee, how can they um how can they meet you? How can they talk with you?

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Yes, so my my my passion is all about rewriting your self-talk. So I actually bought that domain, rewrite yourself talk.com. And when you do that, I simply ask for your first name and your email. And in return, I want to give you a gift, and it's a five-minute reset that will take you through the candy process so that you can rewrite that narrative and and we can shush the inner critic and we can step into the that powerful wisdom and honoring the genius gifts and greatness inside of you, and then we can continue the conversation. So that is rewriteyourselftalk.com.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

Well, thank you so much, and thank you for being with us today on Under Heaven Podcast. And remember to keep speaking life, choosing hope, and that you are loved. And as Lee taught us today, you are so special. Thank you, Lee, and thank you, friends. Bye-bye. Thank you for being with us today on Under Heaven. I trust this conversation encouraged your heart and reminded you of God's faithfulness. If today's episode blessed you, please click like, subscribe, and share the hope with others. Until next time, blessings.