Blaze Your Own Trail - Episode 5: After Orange Slices With Bridget Case

Episode Date: January 27, 2020

Bridget Case is a former NCAA Cheerleader for the University Of Oregon & L.A. Chargers. After a number of years in the corporate journalism world, she now hosts a Podcast called After Orange Slices where she interviews current & former athletes, celebrity's and other people involved in the world of sports. In this episode with Bridget, we talk about: Sports Podcasting Mental Health And what has changed since starting her show Connect with Bridget on all of her social platforms here: shor.by/afterorangeslices Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, follow, download, share rate & review depending on the platform. Installing strategic sales systems & processes will stop the constant revenue rollercoaster you might be facing which is attainable through our 6 Week Blazing Business Revenue Coaching ProgramBook a discovery call with Jordan now to learn more! Are you an entrepreneur?Join my FREE Group Coaching Community where we have live calls, Q&A and more! Our Trailblazer Ecosystem also enables you to network with other entrepreneurs and creator hub eliminates multiple subscriptions and logins creating a one stop shop to take action!Use code: FOUNDING100 for 12 months access FREE and Founding pricing for life! (While Supplies Last)Join now! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we learn about Bridget's journey from NCAA cheerleader to the NFL, and then what inspired her to start her own show and where she feels like her show is going to go in the future. So I hope you really enjoy the episode, and I'll chat with you after for the feedback. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. I'm your host, Jordan Mendoza. And today I have a very special guest with me. Her name is Bridget Case. And I'm going to give her just a couple minutes to give you a quick intro and then we'll jump right into the conversation.

Well, Jordan, thanks so much for having me. I mean, you're really setting me up here. I got to apparently make myself sound better than I am. Well, yeah, so I'm obviously a fellow podcast host. I'm a journalist and I have been for quite a few years now. But started my own podcast because I just wanted to do some kind of the same thing as you. I want to share people's stories. So that's why I'm super excited to be here because I feel like we have very much in common. But yeah, so my journey's been a long one. I knew that I wanted to be in sports media as a really young kid. I always knew I wanted to be a journalist. I didn't know if it meant I wanted to be on camera or talk.

I just knew that I wanted to share stories. And so I started a newspaper, I think back in elementary school, where I would just write every single page out with colored pencil. and pass them out to the class. So sharing stories has been something that's super passionate. I've been super passionate about my entire life. And getting to college, you know, I knew I wanted to be a journalist, but my main focus, obviously, in college,

was being a cheerleader at the University of Oregon. And because it was such a high-profile environment, you know, that was my main focus for those four years. You know, I went to three BCS bowl games. I went to a national championship game my freshman year in the 2010 season, the 2011 championship. So of course, it didn't go our way, but, you know, just an unforgettable college experience. And then I went to cheer in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers at the time for a few years.

And then called it quits after I was just ready to move on and really focus on being a journalist. And after I made that decision, I hopped around media markets for a bit and got my start in Palm Springs as a high school football reporter. and then at the NBC station out there. And then, yeah, hopped around a little bit. And my last stop before here was in Eastern Washington at the CBS station out there as the weekend sports anchor and weekday reporter. So it's been quite the journey. It's been fun to meet so many different people. And now I'm doing my own thing, now have my own show.

And it's been good, you know. So I'm just kind of figuring out things as I go along. But it's very rewarding, I would have to say. That is awesome. That's an awesome intro. And definitely cool to hear a little bit about your journey. And I definitely want to jump into more of it here on the show. So one of the things I'm curious about is we were talking off air and I just said,

I really love the name of your podcast. So for those listeners that you're going to see it in the show notes, but the name that she came up with is after the orange slices. And if you're anybody like me that was super into sports, and like I actually didn't enjoy playing them when I was the kid, I was more interested in selling the candy. Do you like the candy bars and the jerky sticks? Just because, like, I just loved people and I love persuading people and doing that part of it. But I did enjoy the orange slices that I got when we played, even though I rode the bench most of the time. You'd get through the game for the team mom snack.

I feel you. That's exactly it. So what made you, you know, use that title? I know the reference, and I think sports fans out there, or if you played in any level, right, from T-ball and on and so forth, probably know. So what made you choose that? Well, I think exactly what you said, it's so relatable, right? Like, anybody can relate to it, whether you've been an elite athlete, an Olympian, a Super Bowl champion, or you played one year T-ball. You played one year of AYSO soccer when you were a four-year-old. I just think it's something that we all can understand because we've all been there

when you're in a game and it's either half-time or after the game, when it's done, you have a team mom snack. And usually it's orange slices. I know all growing up, you know, in the 90s, it was like gushers, fruit roll-ups, Capri-sun, and orange slices. So I just feel like that's something that everybody can relate to and have this really pleasant memory because so many times as elite athletes, there are so many, as much as we love the sport that we play, there are so many hard negativity that come with the game, right? So when you think

about a childhood memory and something as positive as thinking of eating orange slices and after orange slices, which is my title, it brings back all of the positive memory. So that's kind of how the correlation works in there. Yeah, yeah, it's very nostalgic to me. Right. So and like you said, nostalgia is relatable, you know, being in that environment, it kind of almost brings you back to those moments, right? And whether you win, lose, or draw, you were going to get something, you know? Exactly. Totally. No matter what it was, you know. So that is super awesome. So why Oregon? What made you go there? And, you know, I'm a massive duck fan. I grew up in Portland. And I became a massive ducks fan because of my mom. I told, you know, she was super into sports.

she hated the beavers and so I was like I'm a ducks man you know and then like as I grew up I started really loving the players and and and then you talk about that national title game where we both know that Dyer's wrist was down okay you don't even have to debate about that on the show because we know and you know that was really a time you know that that Oregon was on top so that was your freshman season yeah that was my freshman year yeah so I basically went to a school where I knew I could be in a winning environment. Like, I wanted to be at a football school. So for me, it was in between Oregon and Texas at the time.

You know, so at that time, I think Texas was coming off the 2009 season. I can't even remember when that was. But, you know, a couple of years before, they had just won the national championship and, you know, Mac Brown was there. It was such an exciting time to be in Austin. So for me, it was really in between Oregon and Texas. and it just honestly came down to weather, beauty of the school, the cheerleading team is so high caliber. And at the time, they'd just been named Best in the Country by Fox Sports.

So I just knew that that's where I wanted to be. And yeah, so that's what it came down to for me. Honestly, most people think it's like a much more romantic story than it really is. But it's just, hey, I wanted to be at a good, I wanted to be at a winning program. And we did not lose that. year, right? I mean, what an amazing season that was, you know, and I, you know, I can just remember the storyline, right? The storyline of that game, especially with the information that came out surrounding Cam Newton at the time. And I'm sure, I'm sure, you know, you probably saw some of the

the Ducks fans in the stands with some of the things that they were holding up and all that. So, so how was it being part of not only a historic season, like that, because Oregon, and, you know, this is the Chip Kelly era, so this is lightning fast football. We've got players like Darren Thomas and Michael James. I mean, you think about some of these amazing athletes. So how was it being a part of that program? Yeah, it was pretty incredible. I mean, really to honestly reinvent the wheel that is college football, right?

Like no one had ever really seen that offense before. It's the fast, hard finish, no huddle situation that, sure, college football is so much more of a faster game than the pro level, but Chip Kelly was doing something so revolutionary. And of course, like, I know so many people wish that he stayed to stick it out and keep things going there. But it was just such a magical time. I mean, there was nothing like it. And what was really, really incredible was that he did take, I feel like, two totally different, I would say, almost generations of football where he had that first generation on the end of the Mike Bellotti succession, you know, with those guys in the first years that he was

coaching in the 2009 season, 2010 season. And then the next couple of years, that's finally when Marcus Marriota came in. And, you know, then he made those next couple runs, took him to the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl. I think that it's really incredible that he was able to transform two different generations worth of players. And I think that so many people forget that, right? That's it. No. And you're absolutely right. I mean, it was really two very, very different players, right? I mean, again, now, Marioita can run with the best of them that we've seen as 40 times. And Darren Thomas was also fast.

But, yeah, I think you're right. Like, being able to take that, and especially, you know, for a number of years and then have that program continue to excel on a high level. You know, I think every duck fan, you know, wishes it were, you know, I mean, there was that time when, you know, there was an opportunity for him to come back. I know as a fan, there was a little bit of that nostalgia like, man, you know, what could the program be with, with Chip? Especially when you're a fan and you went through the, you know, the exit of Hellfridge.

And then we had the whole, you know, the Willie Taggart short-lived era. And now, like, so what are your thoughts on this year? I mean, to me, as a fan, it was a fantastic year to cap it off with a Rose Bowl victory by a point. I mean, you know, you couldn't ask for a better season. So what were your thoughts on this past season? Yeah, as much as the ASU loss was just gut-runching and shouldn't have happened, I honestly, truth be told, I did not think that this season would go as well as it did. I really am so impressed by Mario Cristobal's intensity and tenacity to really get in there with

those players. Like, he, I mean, you can totally tell that he is a total offensive lineman. Like he is just in the trenches with his guys. He doesn't just let everyone else do the work for him. And I just feel like that is such a testament to who he is as a person. And I feel like when Willie Taggart got there, you know, he totally gutted the entire system, gutted every person on the staff. And now Mario Cristobel's really working, I feel like, with the culture that is Oregon.

And they're finding that happy medium. And it doesn't feel like everybody who is a duck alumni feels like so much of a strength. I know that so much of us, and I was talking to former players, I remember when Willie Tagger was first hired and all of these changes were first happening, it just kind of felt like a slap in the face, you know, to everything that Oregon had accomplished and everything that these past guys had established. And now it feels like Mario Cristobal really is honoring the legacy that is Oregon. You know, he knows the success that is the past, that is having Marcus Marriott as a Heisman winner, that is the Chip Kelly era.

it's just, it feels like so much more of a respectful relationship. And I think, honestly, that all of that off the field really translated into their success on the field this year. And I'm going to be honest, I really, I did not, I had no idea that we were going to do this ball this year. So I'm just honestly so impressed with how he's got things running in Eugene right now. Yeah. And I think you hit hit it dead on. It's a culture shift, right? I mean, there was a massive culture of accountability. It was a culture of brotherhood. I mean, when you see Pinae Sewell's speech for the Outland Trophy, and if anyone has not seen it, get prepared to sweat some tears out of your eyes because, I mean, the things that he says about

Mario Cristobal was just so impactful. You know, hey, thank you for telling, like, told him not to wait, go get it this year. You know, like the first Polynesian player, the first offensive lineman in school history, and then for him to say that about his coach, that says a lot about. Right. Exactly. And that's what I mean. He is in there with him. Like he does not separate himself anymore from the young guys than even though he's the one getting paid. He's the one getting paid the big bucks. He is in there with them doing the work. I love that about him. Yeah. And it shows a lot. Obviously, last year's recruiting class best best in school history. And then the class that he signed this year with some of those late additions like Justin Flo.

I mean, like, the Oregon defense is looking very scary for not just a PAC 12, but like for the entire country, when you just look at the class that we got last year with Kvon-Tibodoh in the year that he had, and then you look at those four guys that decided to come back, you know, Jordan, Scott, Thomas Graham, Lenore, right? I mean, you look at those guys and it's like, this defense is going to be pretty scary next year. What your thoughts on where the defense is heading? Well, here's the problem. Well, not problem. Here's the thing. I just think that so many Pact 12 offenses or offenses are so weak right now that we're going to be so dominant anyway.

What I'm most excited about is to see what Herm Edwards can do, what Chip Kelly can do to kind of revive the Pact 12 South. And then that's really going to get me more excited about what our defense can do when it comes to playing in another Pact 12 championship, right? So I just I just feel like we are so ahead of the game right now. you know, all of a sudden, we used to have Stanford on our back constantly. We used to have UW on our back constantly. And for them to go through these transitions and these trials and tribulations that they've dealt with, it's kind of felt like we've just been out on our own little island. And that's hard because then you don't have anyone to keep pushing you, right?

So I'm excited to see what will happen to the rest of the conference, especially on the other side because we need some more competition when it comes to playing in these title games. I mean, especially because everyone hyped up the Utah event so much. And I just am so shocked by the fact that so many people thought that Utah was going to take the Pactual Championship this year. Shocked, honestly. And, yeah, so I'm more so interested in what everyone else is going to transform into this

year. And then we'll just kind of see how things go for Oregon because it just, just depends on whatever else comes with because we're not playing enough SEC teams. So if we can get to the playoffs again, then I think our defense will really come into key, right? That's it. Yeah. And our only hope to get in, you know, is strength of schedule. So I think you get it on there.

Like we like, hey guys. Yeah. It's getting better. It's gotten way, way, way better. I mean, when are we playing Ohio State? I can't even remember. I think that's coming up. And then we've got, you know, playing Georgia like in Atlanta.

Like that's coming. And I live in Atlanta, so I'm super pumped about that game coming here because I'll definitely be there. My son actually, my oldest son is 15. So he's a freshman in high school. And he plays safety. So, you know, he looks up to a lot of, he follows Oregon because I'm a big fan and a lot of those players. And I keep, you know, the hardest thing in it, this isn't just with kids. I think this is, you know, you're, you were around college and NFL athletes so that you could probably relate to this.

But a lot of times it's a mindset thing, right? It's like for him, if he would fail on a play, like that would carry for the next eight. You know, and I'm trying to get him to like shift your mindset. Like have amnesia almost because like that plays done with and you have to go on because, you know, what have you noticed about players that hold on to that? That's a really good question. You know, I would say a lot of it carries over from past games. So being at Oregon, when you have such a successful season and then all of a sudden you miss a field goal against Stanford, that just ruins your life, right? And then your kicker is getting death threats and calls. And it's the end of the world. But if you can't get over that, you're not going to be able to succeed in the postseason. Of course, like when I was there, it was still the BCS era. So I feel like it was so much, there was so much more on the line, right? Because one loss and you're done. There's no.

no shot at, you know, playing the national championship at that point. So obviously things are a little bit better now. But I feel like players then had a really, really hard time with coming out of a loss. I just remember being on campus after a loss and it just being dead. It's just being silent. And it's really hard for these guys to come out and just regroup, reframe, because when you come back out that next weekend, it's a new day. It is a new season almost. You have just got to stop thinking about what had already happened, even though you might have blown your whole chances at, I guess, now the playoffs. And yeah, I mean, I think guys are getting better at that, especially with how much more research has come out about the mental health approach, being more mentally tenacious when it

comes to being off the field and how that prepares you on the field. I've talked to so many mental performance coaches who work with professionals, who work with college athletes. And I just see the connection between figuring out how to prepare before a game, prepare after a game, and you're not going to die. Like if you lose, life isn't over. But how do you translate that to a guy who the game is life? Right. So I just think we've gotten a lot better with that as far as research has come with using the mental performance coaches.

And so many colleges have gotten really good about implementing that in their system. Absolutely. Yeah, and it's exciting to hear that, you know, in the media that, you know, NFL teams are starting to put, make it a priority, right? And starting to invest in people that they can go to to have those conversations. And it's not a weakness, right? It's just like you're a human being. Right. We all, we all go through. We all go through the struggles and the ups and the downs now. They're doing it at a higher scale that has millions of dollars and implications. So, but I think it's, it's been a super important thing to happen. And you applaud guys like, you know, Kevin Love for coming out and telling his story and, you know, putting that out there. And I think that's, you know, hopefully is good for the younger guys to see the ones that are still in high school and that are still in college to be able to see those people taking, you know, a stand and saying it's okay to talk about these things.

Exactly. No, I love it. And, I mean, I remember with Kevin Love, you know, I was covering the All-Star game, I think, I think he came out with his article in the Players Tribune right after the All-Star game. It was like maybe a month or two after, right? So I was covering the All-Star game and I remember doing a couple media interviews with him. And, you know, this is a guy who for so long, everybody just thought that he had his own issues going on or, you know, maybe it was anger management. You know, most people saw this guy who went into UCLA, wasn't very mature.

didn't know how to handle his ish and then all of a sudden jumps into the league um and it's kind of hidden behind his big body um so for him to come out and finally talk and give other athletes a voice who feel like they've never been able to be the person that they want everyone to see who has judged them in the media for so long i think is amazing because i know so many people judged him for so long for so many things that weren't him. And yeah, I just applaud all of those athletes. I mean, I know for me, it has been really hard to deal with mental health struggles my entire life.

But once I saw more people talking about it, I was like, transparency is all we need here. More people want to be real. I think we forget that because social media is so scary and it's this mask that we all wear. But for me, once I started getting more real, I was so much happier with. myself and I didn't have the same sort of struggles that I dealt with, you know, being a cheerleader and a dancer my whole life. Once I just started getting real and started talking about things, I felt so much more at peace and like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. And I think

that's what a lot of athletes are starting to realize now. Yeah. And that's, you know, almost a perfect metaphor for even for yourself, right? You went on this amazing journey of being at this high like elite college, like especially that era. And then you go on to the National Football League and then you get back into more, you know, into mainstream media, journalism, things like that. And now you're, you're blazing your own trail, right? That's what the show is all about. So, you know, what is it that made you, you know, take the shift and say, you know what? I kind of want to do, I kind of want to do my own thing. Like, what was it like, you know, like, you woke up one morning and you're like, you know what, like, why not create my own show and, and reach people that way?

Yeah. Okay. I guess I would say it was a little bit about, one, I was a little bit forced into it because after my last job ended in Eastern Washington at the CBS station up there, you know, it was a great gig. I learned a lot. I improved, but I wasn't getting better. I didn't have a mentor up there. You know, it was a small area. I'm running around covering a ton of games. I didn't have the time to really hone in on my journalism skills and I didn't have time to really learn how to get better. I was scrambling to get in more. It was the whole quantity over quality thing, right? So that was really frustrating to me and I was barely making anything. You know, as a journalist, most time in smaller markets, you're only making $20,000 a year. So it's barely anything. And to me,

I don't do it for the money at all. Like, no way. But I just felt like if I'm not going to get better, going to resign my contract and it was either sign another to your contract or leave and take a chance on myself that I would get another gig and I had a awesome agent I still have him um but I had signed with an agent quite a bit before my contract had ended and we were getting all of these um you know job requests coming in and and interviews and and I was you know getting told oh okay would you take this job for this amount of money here. And it was looking like things were good, but I just kept being that person right behind the other person who would get the job. Or I would just wait on something that I was told they really loved me and they wanted to hire me, but then all of a

saying, crickets, nothing would happen. So I just realized, you know what? I'm not going to just settle and stay here on my ass. I'm going to move home back to California with my parents, did not want to move back in with my parents, but I did it. And honestly, it's not that bad. if anyone out there stressing about it. And I threw myself a little bit of a pity party for a bit. I totally, totally did if I'm going to be honest. And I just saw myself as this failure. I saw myself as this person who had been at the top being as an Oregon cheerleader,

being an NFL cheerleader for the Chargers. I felt like I had all these things. And then I had all these jobs as a reporter. why wasn't I able to move up? And then I just had to realize, well, I'm a lucrative industry. I knew that going in. I've got to be tougher than this. You've got to have thick skin.

You know, the great thing that I really appreciate about myself is I do have pretty thick skin when it comes to critique because as a journalist, you get critiqued all the time. You'll get emails in from people all the time. And I realize, you know what? If I can deal with somebody calling me a hussy on air, I can totally deal with anything that comes my way in life. So I just realized, you know what, I've been missing out on the digital movement that is this, you know, YouTube, podcasts, whatever it may be. I just felt like being a cable news reporter, I really had missed out on what everyone else is doing in the world. And so I just made a

decision. I was like, okay, I can either sulk and keep waiting on somebody to come to me, or I can just put myself out there, create my own show. If it fails, it fails, but whatever failure drives me, every time I failed, I've been able to pick myself up and keep going and find a new way to succeed, right? So honestly, I just started the show. This was this past summer. I just decided to just launch it. I didn't even know what it was really going to be about.

I knew that it was going to be sports focused and more of the human interest side, but I didn't really know where it was going to go. And then all of a sudden it just blew up into this huge thing where people want to come on as guests and I'm getting all these requests. And I just realized, well, like, this is actually becoming a bigger platform for people than I realized. I was just doing this selfishly because I was out of a job. But it's been the most incredible, humbling journey because I'm doing all the work myself. You know, I was, I mean, I was doing all the work myself anyway. my last few jobs, but I just realized there's no perfect way to get to the top.

It doesn't mean that I'm going to fail and I'm not going to be where I always thought I would be as an eight-year-old future journalist, right? So I always thought like, well, I have to be, I have to be the highest of high at ESPN. You know, I always wanted to be on college game day. And I just realized there's no right way to do it. And our media is always changing. And right now, podcasting is hot. everyone's listening to podcasts it's kind of the future so yeah for me i just realized why why

give up on myself and why why why worry so much about what i'm doing right now and just do it just try like there is nothing that is going to be worse like what what could happen what's the worst that could happen i just honestly want more people to just take a chance on yourself and just try it because if you fail, great. You're going to learn something about yourself and you're going to learn what you can do better next time and why that didn't work. And all of a sudden, you find something that you love and you're starting to get into the groove of things.

And that's kind of what happened for me. And now I'm, you know, loving it. And I'm just getting all of these opportunities. And I'm excited to go to Super Bowl next week and cover things there. And I'm just pumped because I just took a chance on myself. and I was so scared to do that when I was younger. I wouldn't ever take chances. I was so scared because I felt like I had to do everything right and everything perfect

the way that I had my life set out as a young kid. And now that I realize there's no right way to get to the top, everybody has their own path. It's so much more exciting. And whenever people ask me, what is your goal? What is your main goal? And I just say, you know, I don't really have one. I know I want to be successful and I don't want to keep doing this.

but I don't know where it's going to take me. And I'm so okay with that because this has been the best opportunity that has come my way in my entire life. That's super awesome. That's an awesome story. And I love the journey, right? Because in life, it's all about the process. And I'm actually a firm believer that we are actually a sum total of all our failures, as long as we learn from them. Right?

As long we failed and we learned and we picked ourselves up. and I had a lot of those same thoughts when I was getting ready to start my show. I was like, well, like, who's going to listen? Yeah, who's going to want to come on? And you know what? Yeah, it might only be one person. It might only be one person. One person might listen to your first podcast episode.

One person might watch your first YouTube video. But you know what? You're going to get better every time. Your first stuff is going to suck. Let's be honest. My first stuff sucked. And then you get better. And it's amazing.

Yeah. And it's crazy. And, you know, I've never been afraid to never been the guy that's afraid to ask, right? So, you know, before I launched the show, I said, you know, I want to, I have these five people that I want to get on the show at some point. You know, obviously I put Gary V on there. It was like, at some point, I want to interview him.

Like, he's just, he's a legend. Amazing. Yeah. Digital marketing and media and everything. Heather Monaghan was on my list. And she was the second guest. I know. I saw that.

That's amazing. I love her. Yeah. She's awesome. so that was an awesome episode with her. I put David Meltzer on the list, CEO of Sports One Marketing. And now I'm interviewing him in February. I mean, so it's awesome.

I just said to myself, like, what do you have to lose? Like, I want to share people's journeys about where they started, what they're going through the good to bad and the ugly. And hopefully that inspires other people to take chances on themselves. Exactly. Like you said. And so it's been, like you said, your journey, It's been like, you're going to be at the Super Bowl?

Like, I want to be at the Super Bowl, right? So now I'm like, man, I need to put that on my list for next year that I'm going to go to the next, right? Do it. But if we're not striving for those things, you're not going to get them. You don't take a chance on yourself or, you know, decide to just say, you know what? Like, I'm going to do this. And I'm the same boat. I'm a one-man show.

I'm doing the interviews and the editing and the post-production and the audiograms and trying to market it, like, as best you can. And I love this journey in the process because it's mine. Right. Exactly. And no one can take that away from you. That's exactly it. And like you said, those opportunities. So what has changed since episode one for you? Oh my gosh, everything. So I mean, I'm going to be honest because I deal with mental health struggles. My whole life I've dealt with depression, very severe depression. And for me, I go through waves of being able to deal with my mental illness better than others. Better than other times, not better than other people.

And I just have realized the further I've gotten with this podcast, the better I've been able to handle what I'm going through on the outside in my real life, I've been able to handle it better. And it's just funny, like, I'm not going through anything very severe, but I, my thoughts can get very dark and I hate being alone with my thoughts. And I've just gotten so good at compartmentalizing, at calming myself, at positive self-talk. I've realized that me sharing my journey and inspiring other people has inspired me. So every time that I'm transparent and I talk and I get on Instagram, which I used to hate social media, by the way, I got off Instagram for two and a half years because it was so negative and it was such a depression trigger for me.

but ever since I started using it for my podcast and that was the main reason it has been so positive but I'll get on Instagram and I'll post a story and I'll be like hey guys you know just got out of therapy you know I go to therapy once a week blah blah blah like if anybody needs help you need resources blah blah blah I will share exactly what I'm going through and I've realized that someone needs to hear that because if I can just help one person who is dealing with similar things that I've dealt with in my life in the past, then I feel like a hero. So I feel so inspired knowing that I've inspired others because then they start to open up to me about things that they're going through or what they've overcome in their life or accomplished. And I'm like,

you've never shared that before. It's amazing. And that just makes me feel so good about myself and um yeah it's kind of like the gratitude that i have because i start my day every morning where i think of three things that i'm thankful for and that's how i keep away the negative thoughts and and that's the thing like people think so much oh depression you're sad no when you struggle with depression it doesn't mean you're sad about anything it's just it just happens and it can be debilitating. But for me, if I get up in the morning and I think about three things that I'm grateful for, whether it's writing them down, whether it's telling them to my dog, or whether it is recording them on my phone, I just start my day in such a better mood. And so for me, all of those

things have really translated to the podcast. And now I've just got things kind of rocking and Roland where now I don't even know what episode I'm on, but it's just such a positive space. The podcast is so fun. And it's gotten only overwhelming to the point that I have so many guests that want to come on and I have to like figure out how to, you know, reel everything in. And now I'm going to, I have to get more help because it's become so much work. Yeah. So it's just kind of all the pieces have have fallen together and it's been, it's been exciting.

And that's kind of the difference of where I've come from the first. episode because the first episode I literally recorded and I was like, now what? And I didn't even record a second episode until that second week. I was not prepared. Right. So now I'm just, you know, I've got a routine. I'm focused and I'm just, I'm loving it. And I'm so grateful to God that I was put on this journey and that I didn't get a job after my last job because I wouldn't have found this and I wouldn't have found really my passion. And what I'm, I am so happy to do every day. Yeah, and I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, right?

Big time. You didn't get that job because you were supposed to be doing this show. Exactly. You didn't know it at the time and you probably didn't know it after episode one, right? Totally. I still felt like a failure. Yeah, I look at mine the same way. I'm like, you know what?

I recorded the first episode like in November. And like I remember telling myself like, all right, we're going to launch in December. And then it was like, well, no, now we're going to launch. on January 1st. So once I started putting it out in the world that I was launching on January 1st, guess what? I needed to launch on January 1st. And I knew I wanted to have at least like an intro episode and then two other ones just to have content out there like that was my goal. And so, you know, the first person I interviewed, he's a CEO of a company called Voice Your vibe and it's as awesome as it sounds, right? He helps people tell their stories and in their journey

and, you know, that teaches people that talks really about his story of being born as a one and a half pound baby and then finding out he had Tourette's syndrome and dealing with that as a kid. And just like you said, sharing that journey with people, sharing how you're feeling, being your authentic self, that's actually where it's at. Because if you're transparent and you're vulnerable and you inspire and Brian Shulman, this is guy's name, you can look at. You can look him up on, you know, on LinkedIn. I definitely follow his content because he said that his goal was to inspire one person at day. Yep. Right. And I'm not very good at math, but if you can do one person a day, that's 365 people a year.

Yeah. And if you can multiply that, right? And just imagine if it's two people. You know, and what a positive way to look at life. And I'm glad that you've been able to take that same type of framework and it's actually helped you with your own struggle. And how amazing is, I mean, this is a blaze your own trail story. And that's really why I was excited.

I didn't even know all that, but I was just excited about the trail that you've blazed from, you know, being a cheerleader into journalism and then launching a podcast to me, that was great content. But I really, really appreciate you being vulnerable and telling that story because now you've inspired me. And so that goal of wanting to inspire somebody, you've done it. And I know that you're going to inspire a lot of other people. that are listening to this.

So I really, really appreciate that. Oh my gosh. Well, thank you. That was such a complimentary speech. You're amazing. And I mean, you're going to kill it with this podcast because I think you're doing the exact same thing

by having all of these amazing guests come on and share their stories. You're inspiring somebody else and you're able to kind of come out with your own story. So it's incredible. Yeah. And I'm going through the same journey. You know, I do part-time consulting.

So I'm on that journey of entrepreneurship, which is something that I've always wanted to do my whole life. And eventually I will go into that full time. So like for me, I'm learning every single day. I'm in the trenches. You know, I'm a practitioner. And so that's what I really love about the journey and the process. And I know you're going to be continuing to do amazing things.

You've already had some really awesome guests on your show. I just recently listened to an episode with one of the guys from ballers on it. That was super cool to hear his story about how he was casted on the show. So, you know, keep up the great work. I'm definitely going to be following your content on Instagram. I'll make sure that I put all of your social links, you know, in the show notes. But is there anywhere specifically that you want the audience to go to find Bridget? I mean, yeah, I think Instagram is a great source.

I've finally got that thing rocking and rolling. So, yeah, you can just find me at after orange slices or search. for the After Orange Slices podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts or wherever you're listening to Jordan's podcast right now. Awesome. Well, folks, there we have it. That was Bridget Case. I hope you all were inspired by her story.

I know that I was. Bridget, it was a pleasure having you on the show. Thank you so much for having me, Jordan. This is awesome. Well, I hope you enjoyed that episode as much as I did. It was so amazing, you know, learning more about Bridget and. and the fact that she's wanted to do this forever. And I'm so glad that she did.

I'm so glad that she started her show because it's providing a lot of value to other people. So do me a favor. If you haven't already subscribed to the podcast, make sure you subscribe and make sure to tell some friends about it if you enjoyed it. I would love to be able to share all of these messages and stories with more people. So thank you so much for listening,

and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon.