Episode 8: Ambition in This Season — A Conversation with Janessa Wirth

In this episode of Aligned Ambition: Authentically Kate, Kate sits down with her longtime friend Janessa for an honest conversation about ambition, motherhood, resilience, and redefining success through different seasons of life.

From network marketing days to entrepreneurship, postpartum healing, and raising young children, this conversation explores what it really looks like to pursue goals while navigating the realities of motherhood, exhaustion, identity shifts, and personal growth.

Together, Kate and Janessa discuss
 • Ambition and motherhood coexisting
 • Postpartum depression, anxiety, and healing
 • Learning to ask for help and receive support
 • Comparison, self image, and redefining success
 • Entrepreneurship versus corporate expectations
 • Building resilience through difficult seasons
 • Giving yourself grace while still moving forward
 • Staying aligned with your values in changing seasons of life

This episode is a reminder that ambition does not have to disappear when life changes. Sometimes it simply evolves.

Whether you are a mother, entrepreneur, caregiver, or someone navigating a major life transition, this conversation offers reassurance that you are not behind and you are not alone.

If this episode resonates with you, be sure to subscribe, follow, and share it with someone who may need this conversation today 🤍

💫 Connect with Kate Hanson
🌐 LinkedIn: Kate Hanson/Kate Hanson Co.
🌐 www.katehanson.co
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🎧 Listen to all episodes: katehanson.co/podcast
💌 Subscribe for insights on resilience, alignment, and ambition.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to a live authentication. And often a light on your turn. Today's conversation feels really special to me. I'm joined by Janessa, someone I've known for years, and it was such a full circle moment to sit down and talk about how much life and ambition have evolved for both of us. She's a mom of two, a social media manager and creator, and someone who is deeply passionate about connections. We talk about what ambition looks like in this season of life, the pressure to be everything to everyone, and how success starts to shift when your priorities change. Enjoy. All right. Hello, hello. So happy to be together today with one of my dear friends, Janessa. Um, Vanessa, this feels like a full circle moment from our network marketing days where we met and to now, where I feel like we both evolved so much in our own kind of crafts and in our own businesses and in every other aspect of life as well. Um I want to just begin by saying that one of the reasons I started this podcast was because I felt like I knew how to be ambitious when I was younger, but I didn't know what ambitious looked like once you had other life realities happen, like parenthood or caring for family members, or if something goes with your own health, you know, when life happens. And so I thought this is a conversation that should be had with ambitious individuals in every sector of life just to say, like, what are you doing? What has worked for you? Where have you found there to be obstacles so that we can kind of help other people realize that it's not them, they're not alone, and that it is difficult at times to feel aligned when you are very ambitious. Um, and especially the stage you're at uh with your little ones, I'm sure that you'll be able to relate with this. Um, but just to get this conversation started, one of the things that I wanted to ask you is what do you think ambition looks like in this season of your life?

SPEAKER_00 2:42

Oh, it's I mean, it's something because yeah, I obviously like I have an eight-week old and a toddler now, so life is very, very different. And it's funny that you say that because I was actually I follow someone who she also has two young kids, and she had posted something similar to ambition yesterday, and she was sharing how ambition doesn't have to be and like ambition or motherhood, it can be ambition and motherhood, and I really kind of resonated with that because you know, like I obviously am very focused on being a mom right now and being present in this season of life, but I also I do have goals and I want to get further ahead in what I'm doing, so I have to kind of mesh the two of them together. And in the last eight weeks, it's been something that I, you know, obviously I'm giving myself a lot of grace because I'm not sleeping and you know, things are very busy and a little bit chaotic and unpredictable, but I've kind of learned to, you know, like what we've done before, build those little habits and just kind of focus on that end goal, but using those habits to sort of keep going towards it and you know, taking the baby steps to get there. So I sort of keep my goals in the forefront of my mind, even though they might not be going as quickly as I want them to be going. But again, I am be trying to be a present mom, be a present wife, you know, keep our house under control. And just yeah, I think I've also been ambitious from a young age. And with my first postpartum experience, I took a maternity leave and I don't have a maternity leave this time. So that also looks a lot different for me trying to kind of build my work into the nooks and crannies of the day. And even like we said right now, just my little one napping and hoping that he stays napping for this whole time that we're chatting. Um, but yeah, it does look very different right now for me in this season of life, but I still think there's similarities where I'm still going after the goals that I want to go after. Um, I'm just taking a little bit longer to get there, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Do you feel like like any past experiences kind of helped you build your expectations or like where you were kind of prepared for the shift in like kind of your self-image, but also like when you're talking about you're still going after them, but you're acknowledging they might not go as quickly, maybe, um, depending on how things go, because life happens. Do you feel like experience taught you to kind of temper your expectations this time?

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Oh, like my 100%, because my postpartum experience, my first time versus this time, they are so different. And I'm only eight weeks in this time. So I mean, I can't say a whole lot, but even just looking at these past eight weeks versus my entire first year of my last postpartum experience, I am a totally different person this time. Like I, I mean, I'm more confident in a lot of things, and I'm better at, you know, asking for help or accepting help, which was a big thing I didn't do my first time around. So I feel like I tried to take on everything last time and I didn't want anyone's help. I I was like, no, I can do this. Like I signed up for this. I want to be a mom, like I want to do these things. And I think that really played a role, um, you know, in how I ended up with like postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, and those things just took over my life. I was so just like a shell of a human. Like I just remember feeling like emotional every single day and just kind of like wishing all the days away. And this time I'm like fully present. I'm soaking in all these moments, and it's still hard. It's not, it's still not easy, but I have like those tools this time where I can ask for help or I can reach out to people. I just again have that overall more confidence in what I'm doing and just giving myself more grace this time, not being so like upset or frustrated if things don't go the way they're supposed to go. Because obviously, with a newborn, you're really just flying by the seat of your pants some days. Like, yeah, they're supposed to nap so many hours a day, but then there's days where they're awake for five hours at a time and then they're completely overtired and you don't know what to do with yourself because they don't want to go to sleep. So I think it's crazy how different the experiences are, but I think my first experience definitely helped sort of keep me more like balanced and aligned this time around. And again, like I've still got a long way to go. We're only eight weeks in, but I just feel like we're off to a much better start and I have those tools like in my toolbox to just keep going. And it's it's so much better this time.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Yeah, like uh I think about that too. Even if you have an expectation of like you see people, it's a little bit of the sharing the highlight reel, but you see other people with babies and you watch them, you're like, oh, okay, now I know what to expect. But every baby is different, and like every mother's experience is different, like whether they sleep at night or not, or whether they um how often they feed, or like all of the things I think about with my first, um, as you know, you know her very well, but after she was six months and we started introducing solids, all of a sudden her health took a big dip, a big detour. And so I had an idea in my mind of what it looked like once you started to get that freedom for nursing a little bit of like uh what it meant for me. But then when she we found out later, four years later, that it was celiac, when she was like losing her hair and when like little things were happening, I thought I would be back to work and have tons of energy and everything would be so much more, but then life changed again and I had to readapt to having a sick baby. And then what does that life look like? So I think I I just think comparing yourself to anyone else's story is really dangerous because it's never gonna be identical. So giving yourself grace, even from one baby to the next, if you're owned of your own children. Um, I also read this article where a woman said, you know, um, sometimes in the workforce, women who are of the age to have children, it's kind of a deterrent because it's like, oh, well, you know, they're gonna take leave right away, so you don't want to hire them necessarily. And it's not even spoken out loud. And this woman wrote this fascinating article about when someone has a baby, their ability to multitask, to um compromise, they're really good at negotiations. Like she named about 10 skills that you like perfect as a new parent that are actually huge strengths in the workforce. So, like they should be considering that. I just thought that was such a great perspective, even for us as moms, to realize how much value we're getting out of all of that experience.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Oh, yeah, totally.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Yeah, especially with your little one because I know she knows how to negotiate. Uh yes. She's helping you. So, okay, so this is a question that I think lands with everyone a little different. But what does a full life look like for you at this stage?

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Full life. Um oh my goodness. I don't know. Like it's, you know, you speak about comparison, like I and I've definitely been stuck in that too before, where I look at people who are in similar positions to me, like new moms, or they're my age, or we live in the same area. We went to school together, and I look at like same thing, like, oh, look at their brand new house, or look at this new car they got, or oh my gosh, look, they look so good after having like three babies, and you kind of you get stuck in that comparison trap a little bit. And I think what I've really tried to focus on this time around to make sure that I'm, you know, not falling into those traps is like being again like grateful and just looking at what we have and the things that I have in life right now are things that in my 20s I like so badly wanted, like, you know, uh to be married to someone that I love, to have kids, to have a house. Like we have two awesome cars, you know, we have wonderful family and friends. And I think right now, for me, that's what's important for me. Like a couple of years ago, maybe 10 years ago, things looked a lot different when I was in my, you know, mid-20s and I was single and it didn't look this way. But now I think having, you know, our health is the biggest thing as well. And just being able to say, like, I've built this life with someone that I love and we're continuing to build it. And yeah, we don't have it all, but like it's we have the things that, you know, make life run. And I think I'm grateful for just the fact that we can, you know, get through those hard times together. Like right now, we're in a season that is not always, you know, flowers and sunshine every day. It's a lot of lack of sleep and a lot of sometimes me being more irritated about certain things. But um I think yeah, just having a full life, I think is just looking at the bigger picture and like what we want out of life together and just to work again, taking those baby steps right now in this stage of life to keep building towards, you know, where we want to eventually end up and but in the same time not always looking forward to the future, like really learning how to be present and live life in the moment that we're in right now, too.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

I feel like aging kind of teaches us, like even when you think about yourself as a teenager, I'm like, I wish I would have like savored those moments a little bit more of like the independence or like the freedom that comes with it, or even the the energy level you had, or like the resilience you had at that age physically and uh without sleep, you could function. Or even like I we've talked about this before, like if you've ever had whiplash or an injury, it's nice to like when you don't have that to really appreciate how good a healthy neck feels. Or even looking at my daughter oldest, Olivia, she's teaching learn to skate, and I see her out there with these little boo-boos, and I remember when she was the little boo-boo out there, but I was sleep deprived. I had Emma, and I think, did I actually sit and just save her that she was a cute little button on the ice? Because I'm watching all the parents watch their kids, and they I could see their wheels turning about how much attention they're getting, if they're getting better. And I think I wish I could go back and just see her from those eyes of appreciating how small that moment is.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

It's so fast. Like, even just looking now, like my oldest is almost four, and like she in swimming lessons in her most recent session swam by herself for the first time. Like normally it's parent and taught swimming, but this was her first time where she swam by herself. And I was always watching her thinking, like, how did we get here? Like, I mean, again, like I remember, you know, trying to be as present as possible when she was in her first couple years, but I think there was so much focus on like doing all the things and getting ahead and everything, and it's really put into perspective how more present I need to be this time around to really like soak in those moments and just be there. And like you said, like watching her and being like, wow, like look at her go. And then in you know, five years from now, where she'll be at the same time, like yeah, like just getting really present as often as possible.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Yeah, yeah. Even though you didn't you haven't achieved all your goals, you haven't hit the success you wanted, the beauty of what you have in front of you, how future you're just gonna miss that, like want that back. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so in your life right now, being an ambitious individual, like you talked, you're still only a couple weeks out, but between your professional self-image or goals and where you are right now, where do you feel the most like pulled or stretched for yourself?

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Oh, I think a little bit of everywhere, honestly. Like I, you know, the first couple weeks, I've really had to, again, just kind of take it day by day. But you know, as we're getting a little bit further into it and as we're heading into like our my busy work season, which is golf and wedding season, I'm really having to sit down and think, okay, how am I going to, you know, get this done with also being able to take care of my kids and, you know, cook dinner and take care of myself, like getting my showers in, my walks in, like things that make me feel good as well. Because I think that's a big thing this time too, is that I have been taking a lot better care of myself overall. Like last time, priority was baby. And so if I didn't shower for five days, I didn't shower for five days. I just wouldn't leave the house because then I couldn't see anybody. And then that, like, you know, it became a whole cycle, right? So this time it's like, no, like I'm telling my husband, I'm showering right now. Like he's home, he's got the kids, I'm going for a quick shower. Like, or I'm gonna go for a walk by myself for 10 minutes, just like little things like that. So I think I am being pulled in a lot of different directions for sure, because I'm trying to find that balance of like work, life, family, and you know, I know I'm not gonna be a hundred percent in every area right now, and that's okay, but I still need to make sure that I'm putting my best foot forward in each of those areas as much as I can.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yeah. You just reminded me of um I when I had my first, I had mastitis really bad.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

Because I thought every woman was in agony when they nursed. I thought that was just like people said it's painful. So I I like fainted. I collapsed on the floor. Kyle had to take me to the hospital, and that's when they're like, Are you in agony? I was like, Yeah, but isn't everybody? And they're like, Not that much. Oh no. And so I had to go get anyway, it was an awful treatment even to get better. But I remember the one doctor when I was feeling guilty on every side, like, I don't want to be away from my baby, but I feel like I'm with my baby all the time. And I remember them saying, It's so much healthier for a baby to look up at a happy mom than a sobbing, depressed, sad mom. And I thought that's why it's important to take care of yourself because those little eyes are watching you all the time. Yeah. And it's like that's why it's important. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for your baby to take so that they have a happy mom, a healthy mom.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

Well, and I think this time I have a toddler and a newborn watching me. So it's like I have double the set of eyes where I have to be. And I have like my oldest is a girl, and I really want to be like a good role model in the things that I say and how I'm taking care of myself so that she models that behavior as well, right? So that we're setting the best example that we can.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Yeah. Cause they are learning their life skills like now. How do you handle things? Yeah. So would you say I I know the answer to a lot of these? Like Janessa and I are very close, but I still want to ask them for everybody else. Do you see yourself as a resilient person?

SPEAKER_00 17:05

I would say so. I think that, you know, I, especially after my first postpartum experience, there was a period of time where I for sure was like 100% positive we would never have another kid because I was not sure how I would be able to go through the experience again. And if I have another kid, how if it looks the same, how am I going to, you know, deal with that? Is it gonna end worse than it did the first time? Like obviously the first time I made it through and I pushed through, but I was so isolated in how I did that. And I really regret, you know, like not asking for help, not reaching out, not like, you know, when people asked how I was feeling, I always just said I was fine, I'm good. Yeah, everything's good. And I lied to everybody. Like I just I didn't want people to know how bad it really was. And I think I don't like I started to go to therapy, and I think once I did that and I started to talk about how I was actually feeling, and then processing the birth trauma that I had gone through, I was like, okay, like now I feel like I can push forward and use that as strength to kind of keep going. And then, you know, the more we kind of worked through it, the better it got. And I finally like saw that light at the end of the tunnel. And I think I really wish I would have looked into that sooner than I did because I for so long just kind of suffered in silence with it. And it as soon as we started like diving through it and kind of like dissecting it, it became so much better. And I I remember after one therapy session, I like closed my laptop and I just like happy cried because I was like, oh my gosh, it is getting better, like it is better. And so this time around, I was like, Yeah, we have to like any like I said to my husband too, I said, if there's any signs of like me, you know, being sad or just like retreating or not like reaching out to friends and things like that, like say something and then get me to like say something as well because I don't want to have to go through that again and alone. Like, obviously, if you know, if we have to go through it, we go through it. But I think just again being, you know, really open with people this time and having those open lines of communication with everyone and people who have been checking in regularly, and you know, there's some days where I'm like, yeah, no, I'm losing my marbles, but like we're doing okay over here, and just being honest about how things are actually going versus just always saying, Yeah, it's fine, it's fine. But I think like that first postpartum experience really just made me like look at life a lot differently too, and just like in how I do things, and I would say like the resilience came from that experience for sure, and I've used that to kind of you know make this experience a much better one.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Yeah, that's like that's been my um perspective as well. Like the most challenging times in my life when I look back on them, I'm like, they really built my resilience. Like it, I learned from them. So then you don't do the same things in a lot of ways, but you're also more like aware of signs that something's off or that you're going back to a place you don't want to go. And I was gonna ask you, like, what are the signs that you've seen that remind you of your resilience? Where you're like, oh my God, but it's almost like you're saying the opposite by not having the things happen that have happened before, you're seeing your resilience because you're not repeating those things. Yeah. And I think are there other places that you've seen resilience where you're like, just look at me.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

And like we've gone to the grocery store and we've gone to a couple other little stores. Like, we're not going anywhere crazy yet, like the mall, or you know, even like I'm a little hesitant on taking them both for a walk because my toddler can run and I'm like, I don't know if I can run that fast yet. But I've taken them out and I don't even give it a second thought anymore. Like I, you know, get her to school drop off on time or I get to pick up on time, and like we're just we're flowing really well. And I think just having that confidence and knowing that I can do it and I have done it before and I will do it again. It's just that there's an extra person this time. But I mean, he goes where we go, like it's pretty easy in right now because it's, you know, I think when he gets older is when I'm gonna start finding it's more challenging to get the both of them kind of out and out and about. But right now, I think like I look at myself and I'm like, again, from three and a half years ago, mom postpartum to me now postpartum. I'm like, I am totally different this time around. Like, I just like like I wake up in the morning and I'm like, yesterday was a bad day, but we got it today. Like, we're gonna have a better day. I don't know what's gonna make it better, but like maybe a sweet treat, maybe a walk outside, maybe just like call a friend or something, but we're gonna turn things around. Like, so I kind of just have that perspective every day because not every day is great. Obviously, there's some days where you know. He's crying for four hours at a time, or my toddler's going crazy and just pushing all the buttons and things like that. But we, you know, kind of come together at the end of the day and like retreat to our calm. And then the next day we start over and we're like, yeah, we're gonna have a good day today. And we just go off those vibes.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

It's kind of like you're remind you're like giving me this clarity that it's like uh resilience is kind of a mindset that I'm okay, that I can survive this. Like to start a new day and be like, reset. Yeah, that's resilience. That's you telling you, I got this, like I can handle this. And I feel like those challenging times that teach us resilience, they teach you what you're made of. Yeah, like trying to avoid the challenges, you don't want to do that. You need those to realize how strong and capable you are. Totally. You just gotta pick yourself up. Yeah. So then I'm like, I'm going back to ambition again, just to think about like younger Janessa, looking at her future, looking at her profession and what she wants to create with her life. Have you ever felt pressure to be more or less ambitious based on your journey?

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Yeah, I think it and it's interesting because I graduated in 2014. And since I've graduated, I've done three different corporate jobs, but I've also kind of done a little bit of self-employment, kind of like on the side where I was doing a little bit of video work here and there or some photo work. And, you know, my parents both come from the corporate world. And so I always thought like I was gonna find this really good job and I was gonna maybe work there for a couple years and then get like a better job and then kind of keep climbing that ladder and keep on going. Because I know, you know, my parents and even a lot of people their age, they worked the same job for 35, 40 years. It's not gonna be the same for my generation. We are constantly kind of moving and changing. So I never really expected that I would stay in the same job, but my first two corporate jobs were just not, they weren't the best fit for me and for different reasons. And so when I had left both of them, I had gone back to work at the coffee shop that I was previously at. And I enjoyed that job so much more for various reasons, but mostly because I could just go to work and then I could leave work and I wasn't taking anything home with me. Like there was, you know, maybe sometimes a little bit of stress if you got a customer that wasn't the best, or if you like messed up someone's drink by accident, like that kind of stress, but you weren't taking everyone else's stress from the office or like you, you know, answering emails at eight, nine o'clock at night kind of thing. And when I had gone back to those jobs, you know, I would remember my dad saying, Okay, well, when are you gonna go look for like another job? And like as if the coffee shop wasn't a job, right? And I don't hold anything against my parents for saying that because I think they, you know, they wanted the best for me, of course, and they still always do, but they are very corporate mindset. Whereas I'm kind of, you know, I've always had that entrepreneur mindset where I'm like, what can I do to make money while I'm doing this? You know? So um when I had my third corporate job and then I went on Mat leave, I kind of had this feeling about halfway through MAT leave that I wasn't gonna go back, just mainly based on the fact that we were not getting any daycare leads because daycare in Manitoba, in Canada in general, but in Manitoba is very difficult to come across. And we still haven't gotten a lot of calls from a lot of our daycares. So if that goes to show you, she's almost four and we haven't gotten calls. So um, you know, I had an opportunity come up when I was about seven months into my Mat Leave to do some social media work, and it paid more than I was gonna make if I was gonna go back to work and I would be able to have my daughter home with me. So I knew it was gonna be a potentially long-term kind of agreement, and so I ended my Mat Leave and I started doing that, and I have been doing that since, and then I've kind of just you know kept going into that, and I have been working for myself since about I guess now it's been three years, which it seems like it's been not as long, but it's time has passed. It's flown by. But I think, you know, like I again, like my parents are like climb the corporate ladder, this is what you do, and I'm like, you know, I like change and I like, you know, I I I vibe a little differently for my parents, which I think is okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

But I have always So would you sorry, would you say then like your definition of ambition? Like, how do you see, like, um, do you think when you go to the coffee shop instead of corporate, do you think that that makes you like in your mind when you're trying to figure out who you are and like how you show up, do you see that as being less ambitious, maybe based on messaging you've gotten from other people, or do you think it's more ambitious? Like, how do you see ambition when it comes to you? Is it time? Is it effort? Is it like what is ambition to you?

SPEAKER_00 26:46

I think it's probably a bit of effort. I mean, like, I I don't see me going back to the coffee shop as less ambitious because in my mind I could have just, you know, not worked for a period of time while I figured things out. But for me, it's I was always like, no, I have to be doing something. Like, I want to constantly be making money and building that wealth while I'm figuring things out. And so even if it's not a typical job, like to me, a job pays you. Like it, whether you're working at a coffee shop or a restaurant or you know, Canada life or like whatever you're doing, right? I think when people say you don't have a real job, but you're working something that pays you an income, to me, that's a real job, I think. So I think the ambition side of it, I've always just, you know, even when I was at the coffee shop, like I was always looking for the next thing, right? Like, okay, yeah, I would like to get back into the corporate world at some point. But like I was always doing well there at the coffee shop. I feel like I was, you know, always putting in my best effort and, you know, not just treating it as like an in-between job. Like anywhere that I worked, I was always putting my best foot forward and trying to be the best I could, even if it was, you know, when I worked at the ballpark or when I worked at Sears, like all the jobs I had, I feel like there was some aspect of, yeah, like this is a temporary job. I won't be here forever. But in the meantime, I'm gonna like, I'm still gonna work hard and, you know, get to that next step in my life. And even though I don't think corporate is in my future, but I will never say never, I think that like being self-employed has really kind of amped up my ambition because I now have to, I'm responsible for how much income I bring in and the jobs that I take on and who I get to work with and everything. And so I'm always looking for, again, like another thing to do because that's just kind of how I've always done it, I think. Like I've never been complacent with just one income source.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

Yeah, so it's like uh ambition is kind of um the way you show up. It's like the effort you put in no matter what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

That's ambition. Which which I agree because you never know where opportunities lie. You never know what like next connection could change your life. But ambition is like, I always show up like it's important, like it's a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

Yeah. Like I've never treated anything less than, I think, because I know that some people that I did work with, whether it was in retail or in like the hospitality industry, would be like, oh, I'm just like working here till I get through school. And like, you know, you could tell that they just felt like the job was beneath them kind of thing. And I I don't feel like I've ever felt that in my life because every job that I've ever done has always given me something, whether it's life lessons, but always a paycheck, right? Like it's providing something and I'm learning skills at different types of jobs. So even though my first few corporate jobs didn't work out for me personally, like I learned a lot of stuff at these jobs. And yeah, I made connections that I still have today, even though I like in a different aspect. Like we I have friends from those jobs that I obviously still talk to and we connect with and everything. But I think that, you know, I was very much of the mindset, like I'm gonna try different types of jobs to see what works for me and not just stick with what I know. And I think that benefited me, even though in the long run it didn't work out. But I did learn a lot. And I think like me being ambitious in choosing like a career field, like that, like in the auto industry, for example, was one of my jobs. I knew nothing about that. And I was like, nope, I'm gonna like go into this job, I'm gonna learn all these things about cars, I'm gonna, you know, take these cool photos and videos, and I'm gonna like I always had that mindset of like how can I just be better, you know, overall.

SPEAKER_01 30:37

Yeah, I love that. And I know that to be true from having you in my life and the work that we've done together. I know um how you show up, and I've always admired that actually. Um, yeah, like I feel like, oh, that's a true professional, somebody who cares about the way they leave something. Like my grandpa always said, leave everyone and every place you find better than they were before. And I've I just thought that that's that's definitely how Genessa shows up for sure. Um, the one last question I have for you, or well, I have two more, but one is what, and you kind of touched on this already, but what does success feel like in this season? Like what would make you, when you put your head on your pillow at night, like, oh, I am killing it, like I am completely on the right path. What does that look like for you right now?

SPEAKER_00 31:24

Um I think just knowing that I like truly felt like I did my best at the end of the day. And I know not every day is gonna look the same, and not every day is gonna feel the same. But like you said before, where we can't compare to other people, because that's one thing, especially since becoming a mom, that I find that I do more often than I used to do. Um, and so I think, you know, just at the end of the day, knowing that like I did my absolute best and like I kept these kids alive, I kept myself like going, and like our house is still standing, you know, like kind of silly little things like that. But it really like there's sometimes not anything else that matters. Like you have to just again take it slow, take it day by day. Every day is gonna be different right now. And I think I'm not really, you know, I'm I'm really focusing on not comparing my journey this time to other moms because there are other moms I follow who are kind of around the same postpartum time as me. And I know that they have, you know, like personal assistance or they have nannies or they have like live-in family that can help them out. And, you know, we have that sometimes, and I'm very grateful for when we can have those things. But the reality is like I'm doing a lot of it on the daily basis, and I we only have part-time child care for my toddler right now, so it's a very busy season, especially as we head into the start of golf and wedding season where my husband and I are both working a lot more. So yeah, I think just uh like I feel successful when I know that I put my best foot forward every day, and even if I cried or if I got a little bit upset, like just at the end of the day, kind of like, you know, making sure we have a good kind of positive end to the day and then a positive start to the next day. That's that's what I think.

SPEAKER_01 33:17

I think that's beautiful. And um, just knowing your beautiful family, I would definitely say you are living a success. And I like uh it's morbid, but I always think about like if tomorrow was my last day, would I be proud of how I've showed up and like of what I've accomplished? And I would. And I think, oh, that's success. Like if you feel like you're you've been doing things based on your values and honoring yourself and trying to get better, I feel like that's success. Um, or at least it should feel like that.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

I think it feels like more to do too, is just focusing on like the values that we want out of life and not focusing so much on what other people are doing or what their success looks like and how I can get there. Like, I would like to know like, here's what I want to do, what am I gonna do to get there? kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Well, and you've probably seen this video a million times too, uh, since you kind of work in social media. But there's a video where the guy says, uh, if I gave you a million dollars, would you be happy? And the guy's like, Yeah, would you be grateful? Yeah, would you be pumped? Yeah. Would it be like the best day? Could anybody get your mood down? No. He's like, okay, what if I gave you$10 million, but you couldn't wake up tomorrow? Would you want it? And they're like, No. They're like, So you're saying waking up is worth more than$10 million? And he's like, Yeah. So they were like, we need to get our values straight about what matters and focus on that. I thought, I love that. I love that message so much. Okay, so now this is the actual last question. But if someone listening to this episode um is trying to figure out what ambition looks like to them in this season of their life, what would you want them to remember?

SPEAKER_00 34:58

Hmm.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

In this season of their life. They're trying to figure out like what does ambition look like right now? Because life's happened in any other way.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Yeah. I mean, like, well, kind of like you said, like it's different for everyone, and it really depends on where you're at, and like, you know, because again, like I look at myself in my mid-20s where I was going after, you know, the fancy cars, the handbags, the paychecks, like all those things, and now like those things don't matter to me anymore. And I think so it really depends on where you're at in life. But I would say, like, from what's worked for me is like, you know, constantly reevaluating my goals and my values and where I want to be in like one, three, and five years, and just again, like using whatever season of life you're in to keep working towards those goals, but knowing that you have to pivot sometimes or you have to maybe shift how you're working towards those goals. Because like a year and a half ago, I was waking up at 5 a.m. to go get my walking and my steps done before anyone else woke up. I read my book, and now like I can't get up before anyone else because my newboard is waking me up several times in the middle of the night, and so I have to get as much sleep as I can. So I think just yeah, like really trying to be true to yourself and not, you know, not like basing your goals on what people think you should be doing or on what other people like you are doing, because I think it's good to have people to motivate you and things to motivate you and stuff. But I also think that you have to do what you think is best for you and like your family, or again, like whatever season of life you're in. It has to, it's gonna look different for you. But I think if you write down those goals and you write down like how I'm gonna get there and the things that you are gonna consistently do to kind of like, you know, keep up with your ambition, I think that's what's most important is just like not, you know, try to be like everyone else. Like, don't try and be like everyone else, because that's where I think I lost myself a few times is like trying too hard to, oh, this person's doing this, and like look at how successful they are. So I'm gonna start doing that. But I think that that wasn't right for me because I was like, yeah, that person is a single 23-year-old. I'm like a mom of one at 32 years old. Like we live very different lives. So yeah, just yeah, like being focused on you and your season of life and your journey and build that for yourself.

SPEAKER_01 37:30

Yeah, I love that. It's like remember, you're the one who sets the bar. So you can change where the bar is. You can be kind to yourself uh when life happens. I am so grateful for your time, Janessa, especially with little boo-boo sleeping. And I think you've bit me in and it went perfect. So uh this couldn't have gone better. And um, as always, I'm so grateful for you. Please don't jump off just yet because I want to chat with you once we log off. But to everyone listening, uh I know you're gonna pull some nuggets from this conversation if you're in the same season of life that Janessa is, or if you have like different feelings or experiences like this, I hope by having this conversation you realize how normal it is and how you your journey is perfect and you're exactly where you're supposed to be. And uh yeah, there's always community around you. So I think another important message, Janessa, I just want to repeat is ask for help. If you feel like that's something that would help you right now, so that you can you don't lose yourself, you don't lose your ambition, ask for help. And I'm telling you, it's out there. There's people like us when you can relate, you want to help people when you can. So yeah, thank you for this conversation. Hope you enjoy this episode. If you do, give us some feedback. Uh, we'd love to hear from you. And otherwise, take care of yourselves, everyone. Bye. Thank you so much for being here and for sharing this podcast with those of you to hear it. It truly makes a world of difference in getting this message out there. I would love to connect with you. Go check out my website at the end of the day.