The Week Everything Changed

It’s 12am and your girl is back, fresh off a six hour nap on the couch like life didn’t just try to spin me around again. Stillness really does save me every time. I took an impromptu pause, but I’m here now, grounded, grateful, and ready to close this season out strong.

This episode is a real time recap of my last week: filing for disability, having my role eliminated after five years, and navigating what it feels like to be without a job for the first time in my adult life. I’m talking about shifting the energy in my space, redecorating my living room, keeping my body moving, and choosing faith over fear even when the plot twists hit back to back.

And listen, God showed up and showed out for me, and by faith He’ll do it again. This season might’ve shaken me, but it didn’t break me. Let’s get into it.

This Is Where I Landed with Shayla
I’m in my bold, soft, God‑led becoming era — and I hope this episode reminded you that you’re allowed to take up space too. Step into your power, step into your softness, and choose the version of you that feels aligned, peaceful, and undeniable.

I want to hear from you, email me landedpod@gmail.com

Let’s connect on IG, TikTok and FB: @landedpod

Remember, you are that guy, you are that girl, you are whomever you choose to be. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hello, hello. This is where I landed with Shaylin. I'm so happy to have you here. If this is your first time landing with me, well, hello, hi, welcome. I hope that something drops, something lands, that something just, you know, you just pick up the vibes and you want to come back again. And if you are a return lander and have been rocking with your girl for a hot little minute, as always, hello babe. Did you miss me? I took an impromptu vacation because I'm the boss and I do what I want to do. Look at that. Thank you, Jesus. Okay. Honestly, I needed a break. I really did. I really, really did. The last episode was released on April 6th, which was my brother's birthday. Um, and yeah, your girl just needed a break. It was a lot going on with just life in general, to be honest. Um, a lot of work stuff going on. And then, as you guys know, you know, have the certain days that were coming up, and I just really just wanted to give myself the opportunity to just have a moment to be, like, just be and not have to worry about anything. And yeah, I was on well, I was supposed to be. I was I was supposed to be on vacation last week, um, from the 6th to the 10th, because I always take basically like that week with my brother's birthday and the anniversary of my dad passing away. I take that time so that way I can just, you know, be settled, ground, be at peace with myself, all of the things. Um however, yeah, I have some life updates for you guys, and that was also something that I wanted to kind of just sit with myself and understand like what I wanted to share and how much of it I wanted to share. Um, so where do we start? Well, last week, your as of last week, really, your girl uh no longer has a job. Uh what? I know. Thank you, Jesus, for it, to be honest, because my job was really stressing me out. Um, and like I told you guys, I was in this in-between place of just really trying to understand what I wanted to do when it came to my career. If I wanted to stay in the same field, which I was in uh customer operations, um, and I, you know, was a corporate baddie. And I was very corporate, actually. Um, I held a supervisor position for one of the top shoe brands in the country, and I'm very grateful for everything that I learned, for all the opportunities, for all of the experiences that I had to be able to grow and learn and lead as well. I've led multiple teams, um, I've led multiple initiatives, programs, projects, kick started, launched a lot of different, um, a lot of different things. Oversaw, um, you know, huge, you know, high volume dollar projects. Um, and I'm very grateful. You know, I did not go to college. I started working very young. Um, my first job was at McDonald's, which I think I told you guys about. And I was almost a manager at McDonald's when I was 17 years old, and then I ended up having to move from Jersey to New York, and that kind of threw a wrench in some things. But since I was, you know, 16, 17, I had a pretty good show like head on my shoulders, and I was able to kind of maneuver into a field that allowed me the opportunity to learn and grow within it. And I started out in customer service, um, and then I moved to call center and then account management, and then in leadership, um, and supervisory and manager roles, and then vendor compliance and logistics. Um, and so I have a very nice background that has taught me a lot about business, and for that I'm grateful. And you know, I've said on the pod before, I am a businesswoman. That is that is one thing that is very true. No one can take that away from me. I'm very smart, um, I yeah, and I have a lot to offer. The thing about last week and you know, with my job is that I actually initiated to um to go on disability uh because my PTSD was I was being triggered, and I really just needed the opportunity, uh, what I was looking for, um to give myself the time to truly heal and go inward that I felt like I could not do with my job, and ultimately it was impacting my job and my performance and my output because I was just I mean overwhelmed with thoughts and life and all the things, and it was in a lot of ways crippling me um and holding me back. I I just felt like I couldn't move forward, like I couldn't it was just very hard to manage and maneuver at such a high um high volume, fast paced, high demand, you know, job um and career that I chose and so I actually um yeah I filed um on Wednesday. Now let me tell you the series of events because God um I filed on Wednesday and then on Thursday my uh role was actually eliminated due to restructuring as well as some others. Um and then on Friday I was approved for the short term. That's nothing but God to be honest. Um and that, you know, me initiating was me taking a leap of faith and just knowing that God would work it out for me. However he was going to work it out, he was gonna work it out for me, but it was going to give me the opportunity to be able to heal. And I've been telling you guys that I was waiting, I was waiting to hear from God, I was waiting to know what to do next. And in that season of being unsure what I was gonna do with my career, was I gonna stay, was I gonna go, was I gonna go into something else? I knew that I was supposed to be still. And if you recall a few months back, I said that I was ultimately like working to be still to be able to hear from God because I wasn't sure if I was hearing from myself or if I was hearing from him, and you know, I think that is so important to give yourself the opportunity to be still. I've said that so many times on this podcast, but for me to have had this experience and really see that through stillness comes clarity and the opportunity to hear clearly from God to know what you should do and when you should do it, you know, it's kind of crazy, right? Because when we talk about the timing of what I just shared, if I had not heard from and I heard God tell me to do it. It was like it was kind of like a it's time because I was already contemplating it. Um and I just heard like it was like, okay, like it's time, like, and if I would not have submitted on that Wednesday, obviously my role was eliminated on Thursday, therefore, you know, I I was no longer employed, but you know, short term goes through your insurance, and that was God looking out for me for sure. For sure, and now it gives me the opportunity to be still and really gives me the opportunity to heal more. Uh I mean, I wanted to say fully, which is why I kind of uh paused. But you know, I I think it gives me the opportunity to do something that I've never done before, and that's have uh an opportunity to really just be not on, you know, a week or excuse me, two-week vacation, right? But more time to sit with God, to sit with myself, to just understand what in this next season, once I am past this moment in time that I'll have, right? It's like, what do I want to do next? And that's what I was praying for and really seeking clarity on. And you know, today is Sunday, but it is actually 1217 Monday morning. Um, yeah, your girl had a packed weekend, babe. And I wanted to start off by sharing that news, okay, because I felt like it was important to share. I was also undecided if I was going to share that, but I mean, it's a part of the testimony, and it's a part of me being able to come back here and look at the goodness of God and all that he's done for me, and he really made a way out of no way, and he really provided for me in a way that I'm extremely thankful for that I could not have, you know. He he d exceeded my expectations, and I always tell you guys, ask and you shall receive, knock and the door shall be open, right? Like you have to pray and then pray again and again and again and again and again, and like keep praying until God answers your prayers. And I was praying and asking God to give me the opportunity to be. I was praying and asking God to give me the opportunity to have stillness to understand what I wanted to do next and where I wanted to go, but to continue to heal and to continue to grow. And I think sometimes it's very hard to be able to continue to do those things when you have to keep going and it's non-stop. And I'm thankful that God gave me the opportunity to be able to reset ultimately, you know, like that. Not a lot of people get the opportunity to do that, and I'm very thankful, and I know that that is solely God that you know did that for me in that way, even with my role being eliminated and just not having the job anymore. Like, I don't think that I was gonna leave the job, you know, like I it's like I I was waiting though, and I think that's the thing. It's not that I wasn't going to, but I was waiting to know what I was supposed to do next because it's kind of crazy, but like I wasn't I wasn't job searching, I wasn't updating my resume. I knew that God was going to do something. I knew that He had a plan for me that was much greater than what I could have imagined it to be, and He, I mean, clearly He showed me through you know speaking to me, but also through my clarity, and so it's like okay, thanks God. Like again, and it's kind of like what I was saying in the last episode, but I wasn't really saying because I felt I didn't know what I wanted to say yet, but it's like God showed out, He showed up and he showed out as always, and for that I'm thankful. So now I have I have some time to lock in with myself, and I'm excited about that, I really am, and I know that God is going to do something absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to see what he's going to do in this season of my life. I know that it is going to blow my mind. I'm very excited about it, I can feel it, I can sense it, and you know, when your girl has those feelings, it's only a matter of time. It's only a matter of time. So, yeah. Uh this weekend, let me tell you about it, okay, because we have not talked in a little minute. Let me just give you a little recap, okay, since we talked last. So my brother's inner uh birthday was on Monday. And yes, my guy, I love him, I miss him, all of the things. His birthday was on Monday. Um, and then what did I do? I really just relaxed a lot last week. It was my vacation week, so I told myself that I would, you know, it was originally planned to be my vacation week, so I was still gonna be on vacation. Um, and yeah, I just relaxed a lot. I hung out with my friends, I ran a lot of errands, I did a lot of I did a lot of shopping. Um, I also did a lot of grocery shopping because one, need groceries, but two, your girl's also trying to, you know, gain a little weight, a little muscle. Um, and now since I won't be working, I have the opportunity to, you know, like kind of create my own schedule, which I'm really excited about. I'm excited about just having the flexibility to do what I want when I want, and that's basically what I was doing last week. So I'm excited to continue that, and also I'm excited to see through that what habits I like create for myself, which will obviously be positive, but you know, like increasing my walking, going to the gym that I pay for that I don't, you know, uh necessarily go to as often as I would like. Um, you know, like just being more active. Um, I'm really excited about that, but then also like just really having the freedom to do whatever I want when I want to do it, and I've never had that before. I this is my first time not having a job, which is insane. Like, disability aside, like the fact that I literally like don't actually have a job is nuts. Like, I've never not had a job, so it's like, oh my gosh, but because I'm on disability, I cannot work. Um, but yeah, so we shall see. It's going to be interesting. I got my nails done. Um, yeah, you know, your girls was out here. Uh Asia and I went hiking on Saturday, which was the anniversary of my dad passing away, and I hung out with Asia, and uh we hiked 5.1 miles, gained like a thousand feet in elevation. It was literally an uphill battle. Uh, it was windy also that day, and uh yeah, we hiked Black Mountain in Vegas, which has beautiful views by the way. Um and uh yeah, yeah, wild. I also did a lot of walking just in that week around my neighborhood. I went to wetlands and walked about three miles there. Um saw some oh I saw a coyote. Oh my gosh, I saw a coyote and it was really crazy the coyote story because I was walking and this lady was uh she was just like coming down the little pathway and she was pushing her son in the stroller and just like in a movie, the coyote just like goes past her. Um what is it? Vertically, horizontally, no, horizontally behind her. She's coming vertical. Oh my lord, it was like so like obviously I live in the desert, so coyotes are not something that's like, oh my gosh, you saw a coyote, but also at the same time, it's like oh my god, I saw a coyote, what the heck? But it didn't bother us, thank the Lord, and it just kept going on its way, so we're thankful for that. Um, and then today is Sunday. Oh, also, what did I do yesterday? So before the hike, okay, because why not? I redecorated my living room. I love that for me. I do that every so often, really like once a quarter. I try to switch it up because it just I just need new vibes, and I feel like I really needed a new change of everything because I had my desk in my living room in the corner, and like it was cute the way that I had it set up, but like that desk needed to get the heck out, okay. Um, and I just needed just like a reset, like I was looking for a change, and you know, I also really do love interior design, so anytime that I switch my living room up, it's fun for me to just like you know get creative, see what ideas come to me, and I really love my living room, and it's just very peaceful and zen, and just all of my vibes, which I love. Um, and uh yeah, and then what else did I do? What else did I do? Yeah, I feel like that's really it. It was just been a lot of like resting, errands, out and about, walking, reading. Oh, I finished my book. I finished um Can't Let You Go. It was really, really great. I oh sorry, not you can't let you go. That's the other one. This could be us. Oh my goodness, it was really, really good. Really good. One thing I love about Kennedy Ryan is that she believes, not she believes, but it is true. Um all of her books end with a happy ending because she believes that black women deserve happy endings, and period. I agree, babe. And so it ended with a happy ending, and I love that, and yeah, it was really, really good. So now I have completed the series, yay me, and I have moved on to another book. The book that I am reading now, I'm trying to find it, what the heck? Um, but it is The Ride of a Lifetime, Lessons Learned from 15 years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. So I'm excited to read that. Surprisingly, I started reading it and I was like, ooh, and I was just turning the pages. So we love that because his story, whoever wrote this book, like obviously like he was telling his story because he says that it's not like a memoir or anything like that. Um it's just like his philosophy basically on leadership, and I'm pretty sure he's gonna drop some gems on business, and if I can get some gems on business, then yeah, like teach me. Um and yeah, I love to learn new things. Uh, and so I'm sure I will learn a lot from this book. So I'm excited about that. And then yeah, so that was my Saturday. And then today, Sunday, obviously my favorite day of the week, um, woke up this morning, had breakfast, um, went to church with Asia. Church was great. We started a new series called By Faith. Um, and yeah, if the past few months have not shown me anything other than the fact that faith is it all you need. I don't know, I mean literally, and I feel like all of these sermon series, like we just finished the war, uh winning the war within, which was great, and now we're doing by faith. It's like God is literally like, okay, Pastor Javen, speak directly to Shayla because yeah, one of the key points from today was faith is acting like and living like God is telling us the truth. And yes, I could not agree more. That is how I've been able to continue to push through with all of the things that I have been going through in these past few months, is just believing that God told me what it was gonna be, He showed me what it was going to be, and I believe Him, and I am walking in that because that is what God said, and I have. Faith that what God said would be, will be, and it will be, and it is. And I'm living in answered prayers in this very moment, which means that if he's done it before, he will do it again. And for that, I am grateful. Without God, we cannot, without faith, God will not. And whoo! When He's I saw that, I said, yep, that's true. Because without God, we cannot, without faith, God will not. God will not do anything if you do not have faith. You have to have faith and believe that God will do what God will do. Very simple, right? Like, but I have talked about faith so many different times that it's like, could I give you a recap on what the sermon was about? Yes. But I've also talked about faith so much that at this point I've given you a sermon series. And that's basically hearing him talk about it, it's like, okay, yeah, I'm on the right track. Because yes, yes, like literally. And yeah, yeah. I mean, it's just been a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot going on. Uh, between just processing, grieving, um, and then also just like processing, like, again, like not having a job is new. Um, but also processing how God worked all of that out in my favor, how God spoke to me, how God showed up for me, how God provided me for me, how he protected me, how he just, I mean, uplifted me, showed me that my faith, all of the work that I've been putting into myself, that he rewarded me. I'm very thankful. I'm very thankful. And I'm again excited for this opportunity to be still to learn more about myself, to grow, to I'm excited for what is to come. And I'm I know that my best is yet to come. This is just the beginning, and you know, by faith, hmm, come on now. Anything is possible, and I truly believe that. So, yeah. Then after church, uh Asia and I went down to Town Square, which is like this cute little shopping center, to Sephora, because that's where she gets her eyebrows done, honey. And while I was waiting for her, of course, of course, I perused the aisles. Now, why would I be perusing anything? I don't know. But I got mascara, I got some eye patches, and um, or yeah, like eye mask and a blush because I wanted more of like a orangey, peachy terracotta-ish blush. Um, I just feel like it looks really good on my skin. And now that I'm so dark, because of course, all your girl does is go to the pool, go for walks, and stays in the sun. I already look like it's like summertime, and it's only April, so stick with me. But um, yeah, and I needed a new mascara, so we love that. Um, and then after that, what do we do? Oh, we were gonna walk around, but it was so windy here today, and neither of us like the wind. If it's not, we just don't like the wind, honestly, and it was just too windy. Um, so yeah, after that we stopped. I got a Thai tea, Asia got a salad, um, and then there's this little like uh Vegas brand. I don't know how to explain it, but she basically does like warehouse sales, so we went there. It was like five dollar shirts, ten dollar jeans, like I know, we didn't need to go, but we did. Um, and uh yeah, I picked up some shirts from there, spent like sixteen dollars, go me, okay, because I only got three shirts, and yeah, then I came home. I've been watching loot, by the way. So if you're looking for a good show that's a comedy, something just like you know, that you can throw on and get a little ha ha out of. Uh loot with Maya Randolph, the one, the lady that um she was in Bridesmaids, and also she plays like the she like the skits of her being like Kamala Harris on SNL. She's really funny. Um, but yeah, you can go and check that out. Basically, long story short, she was married to a billionaire. He cheated on her. She is now uh they did not have a prenup. So now she is a sole billionaire. She ends up having like $86 billion, starts working with the charity, and she's so out of touch, but the charity is getting her in touch, but it's really funny. Um, and so yeah, if you're looking for a show, it has three seasons. I just started season two today. Um, and then yeah, made some lunch when I got back and laid on the couch. Now the position of my couch and my living room now. I thought my living room before was very like peaceful zen, good vibes, but now I really did something in there, honey, because I fell asleep. My goal was to take a nap today. Like, I kept telling Asia that. I'm like, I'm going to take a nap. Like, I'm I need to take a nap. Like, and I was really tired anyway. And yeah, I fell asleep at like four after 4 30 for sure. Because I wrapped my hair up, okay. Um, and I just knew it was time. Yeah, I didn't wake up. I kept waking up like sporadically, and then also one thing, two, is I was playing sermons in the back, so every time I woke up, I would hear something in a sermon. And fun fact or pro tip, I don't know, but it's something that I personally enjoy is playing sermons when I'm asleep. Because when you wake up, at least I do because I'm napping, um, and you wake up and you just like hear that and it puts you back to sleep, like hearing positive things. I mean, hey, you can't go wrong. So that's a little pro tip for you. Um, but yeah, I started off with Sarah Drakes, fell asleep, then it was um uh Pastor Mike from Rock City Church, and then it was like three separate sermons because I saw him, I saw him, his brother, and then I saw him in two different outfits. So yeah, those were just like playing in the background. Then I ended up turning the TV off because I'm like, okay, well, I'm tired of like hearing like stuff. I don't sleep with the TV on. I don't even have a TV in my bedroom on purpose. Um, I like to sleep in silence. So I ended up turning the TV off, going back to sleep. I was on the couch, obviously. So Oliver is like running around at some points with the zoomies as the night was getting later. He was meowing, literally sitting next to me, trying to get me to wake up. None of that was working. Um and then next thing you know, when I finally wake up, what time is it? 11:37. I said, girl, do you not know how to take a nap? And no, I don't. I don't, clearly, because that's not a nap, girl. I went to sleep. I went to sleep, and now here I am at 12:30 talking to you. It's like a bestie reunion though, because hello, did you miss me? I'm back. And now we are down to the final five episodes of this season. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe that this well, after this, we'll have four, but technically five. Five more episodes to come, which is nuts. I will be taking a break at the end of this season. Um, coming back on the 13th, that will land me with a season finale of April 22nd, which is my best friend Lorena's birthday. How awesome is that? Um, and that is the night of our women's conference at church, which I'm super stoked about, let me tell you. Um, so yeah, I think the 22nd is going to be great. And then after that, I'm going on vacation. I'm going to Denver, which I'm excited about. I've been there for work several times, uh, but never for personal. I'm gonna hang out with my sister, so that's gonna be great. And plus, I need to change the scenery. Originally I was supposed to go somewhere last week on my vacation time, but life was really crazy, even like leading up to that week, and I didn't have time to plan, so I'm happy that I'm still having the opportunity to get out of here, go somewhere else. So I'm excited about that. Um, and uh yeah, yeah. Now I'm like, will I go back to sleep? And that's the thing about me. Once I get in that bed, I'm going to be knocked out, which is crazy because I just slept what like six hours, six and a half hours. Yeah, I'll be ready to go back to bed for sure. Yep, there's the uh huh. Yep, there's the on. I want you to know that God is real. I want you to know that if you ask, God will hear you. He may not do it on your time, okay? And that's the thing. God's timing, not ours, but man, I mean, his timing is impeccable. And for that, I'm grateful. You want to hear a little bit more about the faith journey? Go back and not just the journey, but just the importance of it and the atmosphere of it. Go back to season three, episode 16, Atmosphere of Faith. That will be um a really great episode for you to listen to and to be able to reflect upon. That is a 10 out of 10 episode to me. For sure. It's important. You can also go back and listen to season two, episode 25. Remember, he's done it before. And I will also suggest before I go, I'm also going to suggest season two, episode two, let go and let God. So, if you listen to any of those, reach out to me and let me know what you think. Also, I will be posting more on the landed pod page on Instagram and TikTok. More like day in the life type of stuff now that I have more time to just do and be. Um, so wish me luck, fingers crossed. Um, but yeah, you can follow me at landed pod l-a-n-d-p. Wait, what? Girl. Actually, guys, my brain is not working. It's almost one o'clock in the morning. Follow me at landed pod l-a-n-d. Can I L-A-N-D-E-D-P-O-D. Lord. I'm never recording a podcast at this time of the night because my brain don't work. Um, on Instagram and TikTok. And you can also email me, same thing, L-A-N-D-E-D-P-O-D at gmail.com because hello, I want to hear from you. Um, but yeah, I need to go back to bed, okay? But I wanted to make sure that I had a podcast locked and loaded for you guys Monday morning because I know that I just left without saying that I was going on vacation, but hey, your girl needed a moment, and when you need those breaks, what I always tell you, you take the break, okay? You don't have to explain nothing to nobody, you do what is best for you, and that is what I did. I needed a moment, I needed to just be, and so I took the break. Why? Because I'm the boss, and you know what? You're the boss of your own life, and you do what is best for you, you make the decisions that are best for you. And yes, it may come with some uncertainty, it may come with, oh, what the heck did I just do? But hey, when you take that step of faith, and you take that step of faith with God, but on yourself and you bet on yourself, every time you're gonna win. And for that, I am thankful. Remember, you are that guy, you are that girl, you are whomever you choose to be. And I love you.