Ep. 9 | Venezuela’s Fight for Freedom & an Everyday Runner Unifying America

📖 Episode 9 Summary 

In this episode of Game Changer, Amanda Escobedo shares two stories of individuals who turned frustration into action instead of waiting for someone else to fix what was broken.

The first comes from Venezuela, where a nation’s slow slide into corruption and collapse pushed María Corina Machado—an engineer, a mother, an everyday citizen—to step forward in a moment when most people stepped back. Her courage didn’t come from holding power. It came from refusing to accept what she was seeing.

The second story unfolds in the streets of America, where Teag McCoy (@PureJoyMcCoy) runs every day with an American flag as a simple, powerful act of unity. No speeches. No platform. Just one person choosing to be the solution in a time of division.

Both stories reveal the same truth: Game Changers aren’t defined by titles or roles. They’re defined by the moment they decide to act—when frustration becomes purpose, when hardship becomes clarity, and when one person’s choice becomes a spark for others.

This episode invites listeners to reflect on the places where they feel that same pull, and what might be possible if they stepped forward too.

Referenced Resources:
🔗 The All-In Podcast interview with María Corina Machado
🔗 Instagram: @PureJoyMcCoy (Teag McCoy)

Transcript

Amanda Escobedo (00:06)
Welcome to the Game Changer by Empower House Coaching, your podcast to master the mental game, elevate your brilliance and build a legacy of progress and impact. My name is Amanda Escobedo. I'm your host, inner game coach and here to help you change the game. Welcome to episode nine. my gosh, I've already been doing this for nine weeks. It's a long time. It feels like I just started this process.

and it's been nine weeks already. Wow. You know I love to kick off these episodes with just some little personal updates and they all tend to seem to be related to exercise and being active. This past weekend I attended a friend's, guess, birthday shenanigans is what I'll call it. This guy that goes to my gym, he was celebrating his 40th birthday in what I consider a very unique way.

40 by 40, so he did an ultra marathon 40 miles for his 40th birthday. And when I say joined, I did not do the full 40. I am new to running. Well, I'm not new to running, but I'm newer to these longer miles, if you will. And was not ready and had no desire to do a full 40. But what I loved about his 40 by 40 is he invited people to join whenever they wanted.

And so you could join kind of like at every 10 mile mark. He had eight stations food stations, etc And so he started I think from Seal Beach and ran all the way to where did we end Dana point and so me and my friends met him a couple of other people from the gym actually met him at Laguna Beach and then we ran from Laguna to Dana point to Santa Santa, Clemente

We ended at which one is first? I think we ended at San Clemente. So he went from Seal Beach to San Clemente. I went from Laguna Beach to Dana Point to San Clemente. And that was for me, my first time running in a group long distance is what I'll consider. I have never run like 10 miles. We actually intended to run 10 miles, ended up running 11.

And I decided last minute to join this. I've known about this event for a while, but my critter brain was like, I don't know if this is something we want to do because I know how my critter brain shows up very loud in a group setting. The critter brain gets just very intimidated by other runners, especially these type of runners that are more athletes. They have a very fast average pace from my perspective in comparison to me.

And so whenever I'm running with other people, especially other people that are faster than me, then the critter brain wants to run faster to keep up. It doesn't want to be behind. And then because it's doing all that, it's putting me out of my normal pace, which has me out of breath. And then the other part too is when you're running with people, they always want to talk to you. I'm like, why do you want to talk to me right now? I am trying to save my breath for oxygen. So.

There's all these different things that show up. And then the other piece too, from a long distance perspective, I've only really done flat terrain. So for example, when I do my long miles on the weekend, which really range from let's say 6 to 10, 6 to 11 miles, it's generally along PCH. And so along PCH in Huntington Beach, which is fairly flat.

And running through Laguna to Dana Point and to San Clemente, we were kind of along PCH, but we were kind of not. We were kind of in the streets just depending on how the path kind of formed. And so there were uphills, downhills, nothing extreme, but everything took me out of my element is what I'm really trying to explain. going back to running a long distance with a group and then also having the terrain of like hills, if you will.

And then also this is my first time running without headphones. So I had no headphones in, I'll say in a long distance setting, in a group setting. And generally I need the headphones. The headphones are a part of my power because the headphones, they actually help me in two different ways. One is the headphones are so loud that I can't hear myself breathe, which is good. When I hear myself breathe, have exercise induced asthma, which is getting worse as my legs are getting stronger. My lungs haven't developed as fast yet.

So I'm hearing myself wheeze. When I hear myself wheeze, it takes me more out of breath. It's like a whole cycle. And so when I cover my breath with that, the music, it makes it feel better. So one, it quiets the sound of my hyperventilation. And then the other part too, is just having that music, motivational songs come on and like, it feels like the perfect time that I need it.

There's so many times where I'm like talking to God. like, how did you know this is the song I needed in this moment? And it almost feels like a booster that just helps me like run a little faster. So without having like that sound, which is critical, surprisingly with all of the circumstances that were at play, I had a really good run. And when I say really good run, number one, the critter brain didn't show up once, which is absolutely

crazy to me to be in that group setting the critter brain did not show up once. And because the critter brain wasn't present, I was enjoying the run the entire time and part of me enjoying the run and the entire time and not having the critter brain there. I was just going at my own pace. didn't care if people were faster than me or whatever. And because when you're going a long distance, you know, some people are faster than you and then they slow down and then you're faster.

and everybody's kind of moving tempos, you're not really consistent. What also really helped me is because I was joining the last 10 miles, there were other people that were doing the full 40. And so they were running at my pace because it's like they really had to sustain those mileage, right? And then at some point, I will say when we were getting closer to San Clemente,

I was like the last one. I was like far behind everybody. But then the other people that were running the ultra started to slow down and then I was passing them. And I think maybe at some points they walked a bit. But either way, then I was kind of, again, my motto and the mantra in my head is just don't stop. It doesn't matter how slow you're going, you're lapping everyone on the couch and your only goal is to not stop. And so just maintaining my personal pace.

allowed me to enjoy the run, take in the scenery. it was like, part of this too, I actually had the ability to have some conversations. At some point, one of my friends was really trying to be like, what's up? I haven't talked to you in while. In my mind, I was like, I don't want to talk right now. I can talk to you when we're done. luckily he did most of the talking. But anyway, I thought it was such a unique way to celebrate a birthday 40 by 40, 40 miles.

40 distant mile for your 40th makes me think of what I want to do for my birthday that could be something like that That's active and then again just a celebration to myself to I had the courage this really took courage because it was Initially my critter brain was like you don't want to do that long distance even though I knew my friends were On the last minute I decided to show up for myself and I really enjoyed it. And so it makes me want to do more of these

And every time I have the courage to show up for myself, listen to my wisdom, listen to the desires that are at play, that are speaking to my soul. Like I knew it was something I wanted to do, but it was just intimidating. Managing the intimidation, which is really driven by the critter brain, I always reap the benefits. Every single time I'm like, it wasn't that bad. I actually had a great time. And so I want to encourage you, I want to invite you, if you're having these little moments within your life,

that you feel nervous, intimidated, the critter brain is showing up, it's something you wanna do, just have the courage, just choose to do it scared. That's also my motto, do it scared. And I've actually had to reframe my relationship with fear. One of the things that I have had to reframe and what that looks like, I remember when I was first venturing off into this coaching journey, I won't go into the details of my mindset, but what I will say is I got clarity that this was the path I was supposed to take.

Fear and clarity, this is what's funny. Wisdom comes through, that intuition, you got the clarity you're looking for and for me, this was the path I was supposed to take next. And then in parallel came fear and fear was like, you can't start a new career, you can't start over, you can't do this or that, you don't have the resources, you don't know to build a business. All the critter narratives that start to shoot out in parallel to that wisdom, I had to reframe and tell myself, you know what?

What if fear is actually the signal that I am dreaming big enough? What if fear is what I need to know that I'm actually on the right path, that I'm stretching myself out of my comfort zone into that discomfort zone so I can get into that transformational zone of myself. And so with that mindset and with that perspective, I remember in the moment of choosing this path of coaching where I was like, you know what?

If fear is gonna be the signal that I'm finally dreaming big enough, that means fear isn't going away. So what I'm gonna do is hold hands, walk hand in hand in the path of uncertainty with fear, and we're gonna become best friends. And we're gonna walk through uncertainty together. And part of this is me choosing faith over fear, but not discrediting fear, not putting fear down, saying you can be a part of this journey. And again, over and over and over, I reap.

the fruits, the benefits of taking action leading with courage. So, it's a little update on my weekend. Today, we are actually going to talk about a story. A story that's really, I'd like to say a foundation of what it means to be, or an example of what it means to be a game changer. That's what this podcast is called, right? Game changer by Empower House Coaching.

And every week I kind of wanna mix it up. I know before I've talked about and highlighted one of the reasons I started this podcast is I wanna help increase the narratives that are being pushed on us and that are contributing to the divide of this country. And I wanna use this podcast as a platform to one, not only help unify the people, but two, to help surface.

really issues in the world that you're passionate about solving and encourage you to lead the change, to be the change, to be the game changer. And so this story that I'm actually going to share with you, I came across this story while I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, the All In Podcast. And if you know me well, you know I'm a huge fan of this podcast. I went to their like three day summit, which was like $7,000. Totally worth it to be around just,

that type of people, just the minds, the thinking, how they see the world, how they challenge different perspectives, the innovation. It was very inspiring to be around. And in this podcast, just so you know, it's one of the rare spaces I feel where politics and business and innovation and real issues collide. And it's where you see what it means to think differently, to debate out perspectives.

and then continue to be besties. And I say continue to be besties because the hosts of this podcast, have different perspectives and they get into debates and they invite other kind of leaders, world leaders, politicians, tech leads, whoever, and they challenge their ideas. And the group of ⁓ individuals that lead this podcast, the All In Podcast, they consider themselves besties. They call each other besties.

And so I love that because it's reinforcing what I'm trying to bring back as well, which is the healthy debate, having critical thought, having different perspective and still being besties. We don't have to turn this into a separation of relationships, honestly. Now, in one of the episodes that I was listening to recently, they interviewed a Venezuelan leader, Maria Corina Machado, a recent Nobel Peace.

winner. And her story just really sparked my attention because her story is not just a political story. It feels more of a human story. It's a real-life example of what I again would consider what it means to be a game changer. Someone who transforms frustration into purpose, into courage, into action. And if you don't know who Maria is and what her story is,

Well, she did not plan to be in politics. Her background, actually, she was an engineering mom. She was an engineer. She was a mom. She was also someone who loved her country and started noticing that things just weren't adding up. And when she saw that, not only what she considered was broken and not working in her country, but really speeding down to the track of doom.

⁓ She didn't just complain about what was happening in politics. She became a part of the solution. So before I go too deep into Maria's story and why I consider her a game changer and the key attributes of her leadership, which I believe are key attributes to cultivating creativity and activating human potential, I want us to first understand what was happening in Venezuela when she made the pivot from an engineer into politics.

Now for those that don't know, Venezuela was one of the wealthiest nations in Latin America. It was the fourth richest per capita in the world back in the 50s thanks to oil. And then by the 80s and the 90s that prosperity began to crack a bit. So oil prices dropped, corruption rose, unemployment grew, and poverty became more visible.

And by the late 90s, their unemployment rate hovered around 14%. And for a point of reference, the US unemployment rate right now is 4.3%. If you can imagine, people were frustrated. They felt forgotten and the people of Venezuela wanted change.

Now with that desire of frustration or with that feeling of frustration and the desire for change in comes Hugo Chavez and he was the promise of change. So in 1998 he was a very charismatic ex-military officer that came into power promising exactly the change that the people were asking for. He told the poor you have been invisible for way too long.

He promised to end corruption, reduce inequality, and give the country back to its people. And for a while, what he was doing worked. It actually worked. Oil money was flowing through, social programs expanded, and then millions, millions of people of the country started to feel seen. But here's where good intentions meet a bit of limitations.

The solutions from my perspective lacked sustainability, long-term success. The more control the government took, the less freedom the people actually started to have. So by 2013, oil made up 98 % of Venezuela's exports, 98%, meaning when oil prices dropped, the entire system, the country, collapsed. Now businesses were nationalized as well.

inflation exploded, corruption surged, over 300 billion dollars was lost to graft and mismanagement by the government. Now by the mid 2010s, Venezuela faced one of the worst economic collapses in modern history. Hyperinflation. Hyperinflation hit millions of percent. You heard that correctly. Millions of percents.

That means their currency was basically worthless and grocery shelves completely emptied. So like one dollar would be one million dollars, right? Worth of something and so more because of all of this more than seven million people of the country a quarter of the population fled the country in search of safety and stability. Now in comes Maria Corina Machado the game changer.

So in the midst of the collapse, she was one woman that decided to act. Maria wasn't a politician, as I mentioned. She was an industrial engineer, a mother and a business leader. But when she saw her country's democracy crumbling, she felt an inner pool, a voice she couldn't ignore. She literally references this voice in the pod in her interview and the all in interview.

Within this, she co-founded a civic engineer called Sumate, focusing on defending democracy and monitoring elections. Now, when that wasn't enough, she decided to run for office and she won a seat in Venezuela's National Assembly with more votes than any other candidate in 2010. Then came the moment that really defined her sense of courage.

So in 2004, during a nationally televised session, Maria stood before President Hugo Chavez and asked, how can you talk about respecting poverty when you're dedicated to expropriation, is stealing? Now, it's a question like that echoed across Venezuela, one of many questions that citizens quietly shared.

And by then Chavez's government had already began to take control of private businesses, farms, industries under the banner of social justice, promising to level the playing field and redistribute wealth. But for thousands of Venezuelans, it didn't feel like justice. It felt like losing everything they had worked for. Their homes, their businesses, their sense of independence were now starting to feel like they were being owned by the government.

ownership was no longer a right. It was something the government could take away in the name of equality." So when Machado spoke those words, the words of how can you talk about respecting private property when you're dedicated to exprop- exp- why can I not say this word? Exprop-propriation, which she considers stealing, right? She was given the voice to what many people felt when she said this and many

people were afraid to ask and say this out loud. And they were afraid because in a country of Venezuela, if you were to say something like this, especially in public against Hugo, it could cost you your job, it could cost you your freedom, your safety. And that one sentence again, just wasn't bold. It was really an act of defiance and courage. And years later, her defiance would be tested or her act of courage would be further.

So in 2012 while serving in Venezuela's National Assembly Machado was physically attacked by pro-government lawmakers. Physically attacked by the government, by pro-government lawmakers after denouncing the regime's corruption and their abuse of power. And this assault that happened to her was actually caught on camera.

and left her bloody and bruised. So all of this physical violence that happened to her was caught on camera. Now, rather than seeing herself as a victim, she actually made a different choice on how to think about this publicized ⁓ physical abuse that really occurred. She chose to see it as a confirmation that the regime's weakness and moral decay

that the government forced to use violence had already lost its integrity. So she actually saw, what I'm trying to say is she actually saw her physical violence on herself by pro-government lawmakers. Well, it is very scary. That can naturally trigger a lot of fear in somebody and encourage you to maybe not speak up, to not lead change, right? To stay small. She actually, and my guess is with these pro-government lawmakers that

did do this physical attack to her. Their goal was to keep her silent. But she actually saw all of this, not as a negative, but as an opportunity. And the opportunity, because it was caught on camera and publicized, she thought it really reinforced the regime's weakness and their moral decay. So it was actually a negative look on the government rather than a fear boast on her. So again, as most

would have retreated from fear or resentment. turned the moment into resolve. Proof that conviction can't be beaten out of you when your purpose is bigger than your comfort. It's a mindset. It's a mindset that life is working for you and not happening to you. And that mindset is a choice. That mindset is really challenge accepted rather than experiencing that challenge or circumstance as a threat to you, your life.

That mindset again is a decision to turn fear into fuel. And this is what makes her a game changer. Now, you know I have to pause here and pull out some coaching notes, because that's a big part of here is I want to actually pull out key attributes here that makes someone a game changer. And part of game changer is also one that cultivates their creativity, is one that leads with purpose.

I'd like to say that Maria's kind of story as a whole is almost like a master class in leadership purpose and cultivating creativity. So let's break down some of these points, if you will. So for Maria Corina, she did not wait for permission. So let's start off with leading with purpose. She did not wait for permission. She saw a system breaking down, a country losing its freedom, and she decided to do something

about it. Now that's what it means to live with purpose, to listen to that inner pool, that inner whisper, this matters, you're meant to be a part of the solution. She felt like she had a pool of responsibility. Now for some, the call is very clear. So for Maria as an example, the call, the pool, the sense of responsibility was very clear for her. It's that deep sense

to show up to lead and to create change. That's the game changer that we are speaking of. The one who steps forward when they feel called to make things right. And then for others, purpose really unfolds, can unfold a little more quietly. So hers was a strong loud pool. For others, your purpose can actually unfold a little more quietly. It's not always so loud. It's not always so obvious. And sometimes it's something that you actually have the opportunity to

create. Purpose isn't just about what you do. It's really about who you're being, how you show up when you do things. And for me, my purpose is to, I believe, help others discover who they are, to reconnect them with their inner gifts, their innate gifts to unlock clarity and confidence. And for me, that's what fuels me as a coach. But

This sense of purpose, because I also have this feeling, this sense of responsibility, I can actually live this sense of purpose out as a mother. I can be curious with my son, with my daughter. I can help them find their voices. I can live this sense of purpose as a wife and help enable my husband. I can show up with empathy, curiosity, and care. I can show up in my sense of purpose with these same gifts, with the same intentions.

as a customer at Starbucks, taking the moment to connect with the barista, smile, show appreciation, ask curious questions. And it's really about who I'm being in every moment, in every interaction, and everything I'm doing that reflects my sense of purpose. Because purpose isn't a position, it's really a sense of posture. Again, how you show up. So in the coaching world, how we really define purpose is it's not about what you're doing, it's about who you're being.

And think of what you're doing is just, you're just driving different vehicles. Like your sense of purpose, you can drive a bunch of different vehicles. I can drive my purpose in, let's say, a mom car, the minivan. I can drive my purpose as a coach. I can drive my purpose as an HR professional. And if you don't like any of the cars that are out there, then you can just create a new car, a new way of transportation. And this is where your creativity gets to show up.

But your purpose, what I wanna reinstill is not a job title. It's something that is really an essence of who you are being. All the job titles in the world in this workforce, somebody made up. So if you're out on your own track searching for this sense of purpose, like it's this perfect job title, it's not a job title. It matters on who you're being.

And one example I want to expand on here, when I talk about who you're being, I remember I came across the security guard. I was working on my laptop by the performing arts center next to my house and the security guard came and talked to me. He was like, what do you do for a living? And I said, I'm a coach. And he gave me a face. And I was like, what's that face? I was like, what do you think a coach does? And he said,

Well, how about you tell me what you do and then we'll go from there. And I started sharing a bit of how I got into this field, what I like about it, how it connects with my innate gifts, what I'm trying to do, how I'm trying to help people. And then his face shifted and he was like, okay, you're different. I said, what does that mean? He said, well, I met this other coach and he only led with how much money he was making, this boat he had, all these things. And he was saying, you should be a coach like me. Look at all this money you can be making.

That's the difference of who you're being and how you show up. Another example is if someone is coming through my funnel, right, and wants to work with me in my coaching services, generally if someone wants to work with me, I might take them through a free coaching session. And at the end of that coaching session, then I'm also sharing with them some services that I offer to see if they align with them. Now, if the entire time of me sharing my services, my mindset is how do I close that person?

It's now all about me. This is all about me and what I can get from the other person. Your purpose is not an inward game, it's an outward game. How you get to impact other people around you. With that same coaching hat on, right, and a different shift of mindset, a different being on how I show up, a different thinking process, leading in that exact same free coaching session with a quote unquote prospect.

The mindset of leading with purpose would be more about, hey, you've come to me with a problem, I actually have a solution. My goal is not to close you, my goal is to help you get to clarity to see if one, my solution matches your problem, and two, if I'm the right solution for you, maybe there's a better solution that might be out there for you. And so it's really about the intent of my goal and my intention every time I'm interacting with people that come and wanna work with me.

It's not about what I can get from you. It's not about how much money I get to get. I will say no if I do not believe that this is a right fit. I have told people you do not need to pay for coaching. You can get that way cheaper doing this and something else, right? And so that is the difference when we talk about leading with purpose. And bringing this back to Maria, her whole essence, her whole sense of being, your purpose is almost the why behind your actions, your big why, your big motivational factor.

What are you doing that is behind your actions? And part of the why does come with that sense of pool. You will feel a sense of alignment. And this is what we call it, answering the call. And for some people, what I want to reinforce, they might have a sharp pool. I get anxiety, literally. I don't really get anxiety, but the anxiety I personally get is when it's a whole thing related to my purpose.

There is something that's nudging at me if it knows that I should be migrating toward a direction and the only thing stopping me from going in that direction is fear. And that little tick of anxiety doesn't go away until I answer the call. And so a lot of the anxiety we feel is because there's something that is not in alignment with us. so.

Coming back to the story of Maria, bringing this back, because I want to break down her story of why I believe she's the game changer. One of the game changers is leading with a sense of purpose. It's not a job title. It's about who you're being. And it's about understanding the why behind your actions. And it was really about impacting and helping others, helping the country of Venezuela. Now, number two, the other piece that I really believe this story, Maria's story,

is all about game changers. It's an example. She has key attributes about cultivating creativity. And to me, this is about when frustration meets your sense of flow state. if purpose, purpose is the why behind your actions, then creativity is the how. So creativity is born from frustration. It's what happens when things don't go as planned, right? When the path you expected disappears,

and or you're forced to find a new path. And so if you bring this mindset or this perspective into business, think about business. When budget cuts happen, teams shrink down, a goal shifts. The question isn't can we still do this? It's how do we do this differently? So if finance comes to me and I've got a team and they're like, your budget just got cut in half, I'm like, shoot, my goalpost hasn't changed. Now I have to say, how do I figure out how to do more with less?

And this is where my creativity starts to show up in these constraint moments, right? It's where it feels like we're being constrained, there's limitation. It's our willingness in these moments to adapt. And this is Maria's story where I feel like she is the masterclass of this. When she's banned from running for office, there's literally a moment that she's completely banned from running from office. When there's censorship on media and she is stripped from her platform, she doesn't stop leading.

she found new ways to lead. She got very creative in how she reached her people, how she continued to build trust, how she influenced the movement from the ground up. This is creativity in service with her purpose. And that same creativity applies to all of us. If your purpose isn't fully clear right now, it's not a failure.

It's just an invitation for you to get curious. Creativity starts with curiosity. You get to create your sense of purpose. You get to experiment with what gives life meaning for you. How can you bring in more purpose into your work, into your marriage, into your relationships, into your family household, into your daily routines. Purpose doesn't have to arrive fully formed.

It can be something that is shaped, crafted through creativity and through your willingness to explore, to pivot, to design a life that reflects what truly matters. And for me, I think, you know, I'd like to say even for my own purpose, it's interesting. It's been, it's been both where I've had this pool, I've had this call, this sense of responsibility, like bringing me into this coaching field. And then on the other side, I've been on this journey of creating, ⁓

curiosity where it hasn't been so clear, where I've had to experiment, I'm still experimenting to get to more and more clarity. I have a vision, a North Star, but there's still pieces of clarity that have to happen in between me and achieving that. And that's the journey of curiosity. That's the journey of creativity. That's the journey of where we get to experiment and figure out how do we want to achieve this. So even though you may have a sense of

purpose, like a pool and a call, the creativity, the lack of clarity comes from that experimentation. Now the other key attribute that I wanna highlight from Maria and her game changer story is her courage, answering the call. Her courage is related to, well one, answering the call. So living with your purpose and creativity will always demand courage.

Because once you know what you're being called to do, even if it's a sense where life is like kind of lightly nudging at you, fear will always show up right beside it, which is what I shared earlier, right? The call to make a difference is not comfortable. So if you're expecting comfortability in the journey of clarity, purpose, right? Creativity, it's not coming to you.

It's asking you to leave what is safe, to be seen, to take a risk. This is the invitation of purpose, to trust the inner voice more than the noise around you, more than the critter brain. In the coaching world, we talk about this pool as really a compass to your purpose. And when I say a pool, it's these little desires that show up for you that don't go away.

When you try to ignore these little desires, this is where anxiety starts to build up and you're not honoring your sense of authenticity. You're not honoring your sense of desires, the soul's desires. Not because you're not doing something wrong, that you're not honoring it, but because maybe your soul just knows you're meant for more. And I felt that with this podcast, literally with this podcast for months.

I had been sitting with this idea and this podcast and I was afraid to create it because I was afraid of how people might respond to this type of content where you're talking about politics and you're trying to be objective. Because in today's world, if you talk about politics, even in an objective sense, people wanna know what side you're on. And I was afraid to be misunderstood on this podcast.

But the anxiety of not answering the call became louder and louder for me, louder than the fear I was holding, the fear of judgment from people I knew, from friends, from family, from whoever. But I had to trust the pool, the call that was being asked of me. The sense of responsibility to create something meaningful, to bring perspective, required me to lead with courage. so Maria, she was also called

greater and a far riskier situation. Answering hers really meant physical danger, imprisonment, even exile. But that's what makes her courage extraordinary from my perspective. That she acted not just because it was safe, but because it was the right thing to do. And courage is the decision to move even when fear hasn't left the room. It's choosing faith in your calling over comfort in

your circumstances. And then the last kind of key attribute that I want to highlight for Maria's story and what makes her a game changer is mindset and resilience. And I'm putting these together. And again, it's going back to a statement that I said earlier, which is seeing life is working for you. At the core of every game changer is their mindset, how they see the world.

It's so easy to see life as something that is just happening to you, right? Every obstacle, every failure, every rejection is proof that things are not working out in your favor. But what if life was working for you? There goes a powerful question. That's the mindset that starts to transform challenges into opportunities. It's the difference between asking

Why is this happening to me versus what is this trying to teach me? Maria embodied these questions. Maria embodied this mindset. Maria embodied this resilience. When she was physically attacked inside the National Assembly, beaten and bloodied on live television, she did not see that moment as defeat. She saw it as a confirmation of the regime's weakness and moral decay.

She saw that incident as actually working for her. That a government had forced violence on her, but they had already lost their integrity. And most people would again, would retreat in fear and anger and resentment, but she chose to see this experience, this circumstance as an opportunity, as an opportunity to really reveal the truth and then rally courage and strength to help resolve. That is resilience.

Resilience isn't about being untouched from hardship. It's really about what you make of that hardship. It's the discipline of the training your mind. You're training your mind to see the storm, to find the meaning in the mess, and to believe that everything is preparing you for something greater. That's how you build faith. Not by blind optimism, but by grounded belief that life is guiding you towards growth.

towards purpose, towards impact. So when things don't go as planned in your business, in your relationships, your leadership journey, I want you to remember, it's not if challenges are coming your way, it's how you respond them, respond to them that will shape you. And they will shape you in your sense of growing you, transforming you, propelling you more to your sense of purpose, or how you respond can keep you small.

Now some closing reflections on this overall story. I'm going to be including the link to this episode in the All In podcast because again, I thought it was a really great episode of her story and Venezuela as a country. You know, I always love to leave you with some closing reflections and what I want to leave you with today is not necessarily just inspiration, but reflection for yourself and reflection for yourself might look like where in your life are you recognizing that something isn't

working? Is it your workplace? Is it the industry you're in? Your community? Is it your family dynamic? Is it your finances? And then how are you hoping to have it fixed? Are you expecting somebody else to fix it? What would it look like if you stepped in forward instead of waiting for someone on a white horse to solve this problem for you? What inner voice have you been ignoring because it feels inconvenient

or scary and what might change if you actually trusted that inner voice. And finally, if you were to turn your biggest frustration into your next purpose, what movement could you start? Because the game changers aren't born. They're everyday people who decide to listen to that inner voice, to act on that inner voice, to lead with courage, even when the odds

are stacked against them. Maria Gorina Machado's story reminds us that sometimes leadership finds us in the moments we least expect. It asks when the system feels too big to change, will you shrink or will you rise? Because to change the world, needs might just begin with you.

So that's one story for you. And my second story I've got is a super short story. It's actually an Instagram story. It's another game changer story, a simplified one, not as big as like impacting the country of Venezuela and the politics and having like a lot of fear based to it. But I love this story because it's a simple story on how to be a game changer. And that's what we're here to do, try and inspire you to be the next game changer.

And this story, I'd say the tagline of the story is, if not us, then who? What a great question. Now, as we wrap today's episode, again, I want to close by with this simple story that I found on Instagram, and it really captures what it means to lead with joy, purpose, and intention. Now, there's an Instagram account that I recently came across called Pure Joy McCoy. It's run by a man named Teague McCoy and his mission.

is so simple. His mission of this account to unify the American people one step at a time. One step, hold on to that thought, one step at a time. Now what does this account do and how does he unify the American people one step at a time? Well every single day, literally every single day, he goes for a run carrying the American flag and smiling while doing it. That's it. That's his whole

Instagram account. It's literally just him on a shirtless running with the American flag. There's no agenda. He's not doing a speech. He's just a man on a daily run with a flag in hand and running with a smile on his face with pure joy. And when people stop and ask him, bro, what are you doing? People will stop and be like, what is happening? What are you doing? He says, and he smiles. I'm here to unify the American people.

And he means it. He literally means it. He's not trying to have viral noise just for noise. He's simply showing up every single day with a love for his country and a belief of what's possible when we come together. His slogan, his slogan is, if not us, then who? And that line is super simple, but it's the truth. It says it all of being a game changer.

because that's what leadership looks like. That's the game changer mindset, right? It's not about waiting for someone else to fix it. It's about taking responsibility, choosing to show up with purpose, and bringing light where it's needed most. And I wanna pause on this for a second. We went and I talked through what is purpose. It's not about what you're doing. It's about who you're being. How many people go on a run? So many people go on a run. Why is his run different? Because his run has purpose.

His run has a why behind it. If not us, then who? His goal is to unify the American people. He has turned an action, a thing he is doing, to have a sense of purpose behind it. You can do this in any activity, in any activity, and he's not saying anything. He's literally running and not saying anything. He's just holding the American flag. And what unlocks his sense of purpose is the curiosity of others.

He waits for curiosity to meet his purpose. This is the community aspect of it all. T-Gruns are a reminder that you don't have to change the whole world to make a difference. You can change the world just one small step at a time in your circle, in your home, in your community. You can be that light through the presence, through your kindness, through your consistency, through your joy, because joy is contagious, right? Joy builds.

Bridges, enjoy is what it takes to keep faith alive, even when things feel divided and uncertain. So I'll leave you with his words, the ones that I think we all need to hear right now. If not us, then who? That's it. That's the call. That's the mindset that literally changes everything. So wherever you are, whatever your flag looks like, whatever your run might be,

Remember this, purpose is your why, creativity is your how, courage is your choice, and your mindset is your practice. When you lead with purpose, create through challenge, act with courage, and see life as working for you, you become the difference. Because the game doesn't change on its own. The game changes when you do. That's all I've got for you folks.

Alright, my name is Amanda Escobedo and you've been listening to the Game Changer. If today sparked insights, ah-has, or new perspectives, I'd be oh-so grateful if you subscribed, left a review, shared this episode with at least three people in your network who are ready to master the inner game and unlock their potential. Your support helps others discover this resource and invites them to be the next Game Changer.

Join me next time for another conversation on leadership, culture, and creating impact that lasts. Thanks for listening.