Blaze Your Own Trail - From Poverty to Purpose: Cindy Witteman’s Inspiring Journey of Resilience and Community Impact

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. My name is Jordan Mendoza. I'm your host, and I've got a very special guest with me today. Her name is Cindy Whiteman, and I'm going to have her tell you a little bit about who she is and what she does today. Well, thank you so much for having me on the show. I'm honored to be invited, and I'm grateful. My name is Cindy Whiteman, as you just said, and I'm from San Antonio, Texas. I am an author, a speaker.

Starting point is 00:00:25 I'm the host of Little Give TV show. I founded a nonprofit in 2017 called, called Driving Single Parents, where we give away cars to single parents in need. And I am the founder and CEO of Force Magazine. That's just a snippet of what I do, but there's quite a bit more. Excited to chat about it. Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that.

Starting point is 00:00:44 And my favorite part of the show for our regular listeners know it's really taking a rewind and getting to know our guests, getting some deeper context into who they are as humans. And so what I want to do is just take a rewind and let's focus on, you know, adolescent years, elementary, middle, and high school. So what kind of kid were you? What type of things did you get into? I'd love for you just to share a little bit more context. Yeah, well, I grew up super, super poor. So sometimes we went without running water or electricity. We had a lot of challenges growing up. My mom was very loving and she taught me what unconditional love is, but she was just terrible with money. So I dealt with a lot of that growing up.

Starting point is 00:01:22 I was always a chatty one, which will not shock you when you get to know me a little better. Actually, when I was young, they bought me a shirt that said, help, I'm talking about. and I can't shut up. In addition to that, I was the high school mascot because I have like a fear of public speaking and being in front of people, believe it or not, kind of a silly story based on the fact that I'm a TV show host. So being the bulldog and being in that costume was great because I got to be myself without anybody being able to look at me or judge me or feeling self-conscious. So that's a bit about me in high school. Awesome. Awesome. So as far as the mascot was concerned, And what was your outside of just no one was able to see you?

Starting point is 00:02:00 What were some other things that you enjoyed about that process? Because I'm sure it had to be uncomfortable sometimes. Maybe it was hot sometimes, especially if we're talking about some of the warmer times of the year. So I'd love for you just to kind of share some insights into what that was like, what the experience was like and some of your favorite parts. Well, I was in Texas. So it was really hot being in that bulldog costume. but really my favorite part was is like one of my nicknames is silly Cindy and I got to be that. You know, so often, you know, we go around, especially in our adolescent years, go around just

Starting point is 00:02:35 trying to like fit in and just be, say the right thing, be the right way, act the right way, wear the right thing. And when I put that costume on, I just got to be silly Cindy and it was just very freeing. That's awesome. And so what was it like for you like after high school? Did you take a traditional college route? Did you go a different direction, maybe start working? I love to get some context there.

Starting point is 00:03:01 Oh, I went to a totally different direction. I told you I grew up with really poor. And so I thought, wow, the way for me to solve this whole problem I have, you know, with my financial issues with my mom, I'll just get married. And I'll have my white picket fence and everything is going to be beautiful. So that's the first thing I did was I got married really young. And I ended up being in a domestic violence situation. And so then, of course, having almost been in that marriage for almost 10 years, I ended up escaping that situation with my daughters and became a single mom, which is something I never wanted to do because of my, you know, growing up in a single parent home and seeing how bad that could be. But I did it, and I worked two jobs and put myself through school.

Starting point is 00:03:41 That's how it went into the nursing field. And that's kind of how I got myself on the other side of success. Yeah, and that's not easy, right? I mean, you're raising kids and then you're trying to figure out, you know, how to put yourself through school and then working probably unconventional hours. But I'm pretty confident that that helped you develop some grit, you know, some mental toughness, some fortitude, some things that have probably helped you know, along the journey. So I'd love for you to share what were some, you know, because there had to be some days when you're like, man, I don't know, like how we're going to get to the end. of this week or the end of this day, you know, because maybe, you know, if a certain amount of income didn't come in or maybe the scheduling didn't work out and I don't know the ages of your

Starting point is 00:04:32 kids, but if there was daycare situations involved. So how did you navigate all that? There might be someone that's navigating that right now and you could potentially help them come out of that. Absolutely. So I kind of take you back a little bit. I had promised myself I would never become a single mom and I worked really hard to not do that and I just thought if I cooked better or cleaned better or talked less or did all these things that maybe then I could make him happy enough to where this abuse would stop and because it wasn't directed at my daughters I thought I was you know basically keeping the family together by staying and so one day I was actually folding laundry at home and I was watching Dr. Phil and Dr. Phil said you know it's better to come from a broken home than it is to grow up in

Starting point is 00:05:14 one and literally as soon as those words were spoke I stood up I got my about my about basket of clothes, a bag of diapers, my daughters, and we left. And my youngest daughter was five months old at the time. And I remember strapping her into her car seat thinking, what the, you know, what am I going to do here? You know, like, how am I going to do this? Because part of domestic abuse is not just the physical violence, it's also mental violence. And it was a lot of being told, you're stupid, you're no good. If you ever leave me, you're going to be just like your mom with no food and your male welfare, your food stamps, me nobody, you're going to me nothing, nobody wants you, your trash, all of these things. And so as I'm streping my daughter into that car seat,

Starting point is 00:05:51 I remember looking back at that moment and thinking, what am I doing to my kids? Like, is this really the right choice? But I decided, like, I'm going to do this and I'm going to teach my daughters how to be treated because it is better to come from a broken home than is to grow up in one. So we drove off that day and I put myself to work. I worked two jobs. I put myself through college. That wasn't enough. So I decided to sell plasma. So you asked me to share a story of some of the struggles and one of the ones was is, you know, despite the working two jobs and trying to go to school and trying to better yourself, that wasn't enough financially. And so to keep my head afloat, I sold plasma twice a week. And that gave me that little boost to where I could have everything

Starting point is 00:06:30 paid for. And we ended up getting, I got my own place right away very quickly and just really kind of work through it. But there was a lot of trial and tribulation and a lot of mistakes made and a lot of things that I had to, I like to say, you know, whatever you're going through, you're growing through. And I was really growing through a lot at that time. Not only being a young person myself trying to navigate, you know, never having that stable home, never having the stability that I had in the past and really to having this deep-seated desire to get that to my daughters, I put a lot of pressure on myself to, in the short term, work really hard so that I could, in the long-term, be a good mom to them and spend time with them. Yeah. And what a great example to show them.

Starting point is 00:07:13 And, you know, some, you know, they may not be old enough to remember some of the struggle, but, you know, you've got some stories to tell now. And I'm sure when you look back and if you talk to them about it, that's something that they can be proud of, you know, they're proud that their mom, you know, did whatever you could despite the circumstances or, you know, whether it's having to donate blood, right? Or, you know, try to work a couple jobs, you've figured it out, you know, despite all odds. And so that's definitely something to be proud of. and it's something that you can definitely, you've probably instilled in them to this point, which is great. Yeah, they're adults now. And to this, to this day, they will call and say,

Starting point is 00:07:53 Mom, I don't know how you did this. Like, I'm doing this with no kids and I'm struggling, you know, and whatever they're going through at the time. They're like, I don't even know how you did this. I'm like, to be honest with you, I don't know how I did it either. I just, like, put my big girl pants on and like went to work. And that's what I did. And it wasn't easy.

Starting point is 00:08:10 Yeah, absolutely. And so you talked about putting yourself through college and I believe you mentioned a nursing degree. So was that kind of the end goal? Was it, hey, I want to get this nursing degree? Was it a monetary thing? Was it that you, you know, liked helping people? And, you know, I come from a background where there's a lot of people that are of like my family's ancestry that are nurses and it's Filipinos. There's a lot of Filipino nurses and that's something that, you know, a lot of them a spy.

Starting point is 00:08:41 to be and I think it comes from wanting to serve and wanting to help people and being able to you know deliver that type of care so what was it for you that made you kind of go down that route how long did you stay in that field is it something that was you did for a while or was it short-lived and then you know what did you end up doing next so I actually was watching ER you know my favorite medical drama back then and I was already in my mind of like you know I don't want to be working two jobs forever I've got to do something and I really had this idea like I want to do something that's like you know I could show up to that kid's school and my daughter stand up in the day and say you know what career day you know like my mom is you know

Starting point is 00:09:20 whatever right so I was trying to think through what that whatever was going to be that could make them proud to say it like not my mom's a bartender or my mom works at you know a rental place you know it was I didn't want that I wanted them to stand up and say something you know admirable and so when I was watching ER one day I was like that's it you know I wonder how hard it would be to become a nurse so I looked it out of up and I was like okay they had like some year program or something or a little over a year and I was like okay I could do that I could make that happen so it was all really and my whole life my journey up until you know in the last 10 years has always been for other people you know it's like then my dad

Starting point is 00:09:55 would be proud of me then my daughters would be proud of me then I could have that job they could say it could say it could be proud of and happy for and so that career was very short-lived because immediately getting into that field being the caring kind person that I am I really did not like some of the care that happened and how, you know, it wasn't necessarily what I thought should be, like, like how people should be treated. And so I decided that wasn't for me. And so I ended up going back into sales and working that for quite a while. After working that for a while, I was working then with that job, I was making great money, but then I was working 60 hours a week, you know, 50 to 60 hours a week. And my dad actually sat me down one day and he said, you know, Cindy, if you keep up

Starting point is 00:10:38 on this path, you know, your daughters aren't even going to know you. And that's like struck to the core. It was like, you've got to find a job that has nights, holidays, and weekends off. You've got to find a job with retirement. You've got to find a, mind you at this time, I'm 26 years old. I might have been 25 at the time and I was about to be 26. And so my dad's like, you know, what do you come to the legal field? Why don't you try that? So I said, okay, so I saved up for a while. I took my income tax. I made a pile of money so that I could supplement my income because the new job was only paid $1,191 per month. And if you think about that much money trying to raise a family by yourself with no child support, I mean, it was just like, I told my dad, I cannot do this. There's just no way. And he was

Starting point is 00:11:18 like, you'll figure it out. You'll do it. You've got to do it. So I did. So now I've been working in the legal field for 17 years. I absolutely love it. I have nights, holidays, weekends off. I have retirement. I'm going to be eligible retire here in just a few years. And so it was a great choice. Awesome. Thank you for sharing that. And one of the things I was going to ask about the legal field So, you know, you hear this, I'm assuming your dad has been in the legal field for a while then if he's encouraging you to get in it. So what was it that made you take the risk, right? Because obviously it was a risk. It wasn't the money that you wanted to end up seeing in your bank account every month.

Starting point is 00:11:56 You know, so you had, you know, I'm sure there was a hesitancy to do it. But what was it about the field and then what type of law have you been practicing and has that changed over the year? So I decided to go ahead and go with it. My dad is one person who's never strayed me wrong. Like if my dad gives me advice on something, he tells me something, it's because he sees what's best for me. He would never send me in a direction that's not good. And I knew that with my girls, that that was going to be the case.

Starting point is 00:12:26 I'm going to have all these daughters, and that's what I had, daughters, all daughters. And I knew that they weren't going to know me. And I wanted to know them and I wanted them to know me. So I decided, you know what? Like, I'm just going to take the sleep of faith and I'll figure it out. Like I've always figured it out. I'll figure it out.

Starting point is 00:12:39 You know, I'll supplement my income for a while. And then, you know, if I can move up. And that's what my dad kept telling me was like, Cindy, you know what? You're really smart. You're going to be able to move up. And I didn't have that faith in myself at the time. And I think that was the big hesitancy in the beginning was like I still had some of those, you know, preconditioning from the abusive relationship and not wanting to fail and wanting to make

Starting point is 00:12:58 sure that I didn't let my girls down, my dad down. So I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself that I was smart enough and I was good enough. And it did work out because. within that first, you know, eight months, I got promoted three times and was able to stand my own two feet with that position. And then I did still sell plasma so me and the girls could do fun stuff, like go to Chili's, for instance, and have an appetizer and that kind of thing to give us a little bit of a wiggle room. And so as far as the legal field, I've been all over the map with the legal field. So I've been, I've done just about every kind of position you can imagine in 17 years there,

Starting point is 00:13:31 been in criminal, civil, mental health. I mean, I've been all over the place. Bookkeeping. even at one point, just kind of, because what I wanted was to really have experience on a broad spectrum so that I could really learn everything so that I could end up in a place that I'm at now. So yeah, so I hope that answers your question. Absolutely. Yep. So let's talk about the first eight months. You said three promotions in eight months.

Starting point is 00:13:59 I mean, I don't really care what job you're in. You know, that's a pretty fast promotion cycle. So obviously you were doing something right. So what role was the first role and then what was the second? Does that make sense? I'm trying to get a sense. What were these levels that you were increasing by? And then what did that look like from your bank account perspective?

Starting point is 00:14:22 Was there raises? Did you get higher commissions? And then based on that information, is that kind of what led you into the next type of law to practice? Yeah. So the first was I started off as a scanner, which to me, you know, you're working 50, 60 hours a week. You're on your feet all day long. You most times didn't even get a lunch because you're just going, going, going all the time. So I started off as a scanner.

Starting point is 00:14:45 And so like you just goes zz, and then people come to you and say, Cindy, it's break time. Why are you still here? And I'm like, because I'm trying to get direct deposit. What do you mean? Why am I still here? So it was just a total culture shock at first because the demand was so different, but I was also getting paid so different, then because I had that work ethic, because I had that desire to move up, because I had, like, I have to move up. I have to because I had that in me. Within three weeks,

Starting point is 00:15:12 they already moved me to a different department. And then five months later, I got moved to another one. And then at the eight month mark, which was three months after that, I ended up in a position to where it was like, okay, we can breathe now. Now I can, now I can afford to survive. And so that's kind of how it went. And as far as moving into now, I just kind of have. like a nice broad spectrum of everything that's kind of going on pretty much anybody can ask me anything I know a little bit about everything so it does help a lot in the knowledge base awesome awesome and so how what's the number now how many years have you been in the in that space 17 17 okay 17 years that's definitely a ton of knowledge a ton of information and I'm

Starting point is 00:15:56 sure there's going to be folks that tune in that might have a question so Be sure, guys, if you're thinking of questions during listening to the episode, send them over to Cindy. We're going to make sure she has her info in the show notes once again. So I'd like for you to share what are some tips for somebody out there that may, maybe they're interested in law, whether that's, you know, becoming a lawyer. And maybe they're just interested in knowing law so that if something happens to them, they understand what the law is. What are some tips that you would share kind of on both sides of the spectrum? I would say that if you have a question about law, there's so many lawyers out there that give great free legal advice for a consultation. So I would say certainly reach out to one of them.

Starting point is 00:16:39 If you want to know more about, if you're thinking about joining the law in any way, shape, or form, just do it. And just like Nike says, just do it. So oftentimes we get caught up in the how and the why and all of these things. It's like, just do it. If you feel a passion for it, you want to do it. Take that first step because not taking action is the worst action to take. Love it, love it, love that advice. And what would you say to somebody that is listening to the show that, you know, wants to actually work with you?

Starting point is 00:17:11 You know, maybe they say, hey, you know what, 17 years, you're just the type of person that I'm looking for. And I think you might be able to help. Is that an area that you still help with? Are you still serving clients in that area? And if you're not, what resources would you give to people? Because, again, they might be like, hey, she said she doesn't practice this, but she might know some people that could help. what would your advice be for them? Yeah, so no, I do not take on clients.

Starting point is 00:17:36 And definitely, I would say, whatever state you're in or city you're in, there's always like the Better Business Bureau you can look up, you can look up your local area. They usually have like a law section where you can kind of figure out what you might need if you have like custody issues or whatever, whatever the issue is. There's always some resources either online or in your local community. Perfect. Thank you so much for that.

Starting point is 00:17:59 And so let's transition into entrepreneurship because you were practicing law in that space for 17 years. And then you decided to stop, right? You decided to shift into something else. So I'd love for you to kind of share when did that shift happen? When did that pivot occur? And if you could give some context into all the stuff that you're up to now and kind of how it all got started, I'd love for you to give that context. Yes, of course.

Starting point is 00:18:27 So back in 2017, I had kind of gotten back on the other side or kind of gotten on the other side of success. Not really, like not like great success, but I was doing better. I was able to keep my head above water. We're able to go have a full mill at Chili's at this point. And so I was like, okay, I knew I wanted to get back. So I thought of what was my primary need as a single mom. And so after some stewing, I ended up deciding that that car that I had was the reason I was able to do that all I was able to do. I mean, there's no way I could have worked two jobs for myself through college, got myself to donate plasma, got my kids to and from school, all of that without that car.

Starting point is 00:19:02 So that's why I started driving single parents in 2017, where we give away cars to single parents. Because I feel like that's a tool that you would need to get to the next level. And so you could be the most ambitious person in the world, but here in San Antonio, Texas, without transportation, you know, it might take you two or three hours to get to work on the bus. Well, if you could get an extra six hours of your day back, that could put you at a sense. second job or that could put you, you know, studying for a graduate degree or something else. And so that's why I decided cars would be the way that I would go. So we've been given away cars for seven years now. I love that. I love that. And I'm sure the people, so how can somebody be a recipient? You know, let's say somebody listening in San Antonio and they say, wow, this is

Starting point is 00:19:47 me. I'm in that situation. I'm taking public transportation. I've got so much money invested in Uber. I should probably start buying stock in it, you know. They would be literally in that same boat. So what would you suggest they do if they have a need? Yeah, I would just say go to driving singleparents.org, and we have a short application process on there. You just fill out a few questions, and then we get back. We ask for a video explaining your need. We watch every single one of those videos, and then we make the determination on which recipient will be given the vehicle.

Starting point is 00:20:18 Again, what we try to do is give the vehicle to somebody who's already on a path to get to the next level. they just need that little help. So that's what we look for. Awesome. So you guys reviewed the applications. You determine kind of where they fit into the funnel or the system. And if they're not ready yet, then you resource them and you kind of help them get to where they're kind of at a readiness scale, it sounds like. And that's really the folks that you're picking is they're kind of at a level where they know, where you know it'll be able to be sustained, it sounds like.

Starting point is 00:20:50 Yes, yes, because you have to have the ability to do, you know, may have car insurance, you know, all the things that come along with having a vehicle. So you have to have that ability minimum, be able to, you know, have car insurance. That's not my law. That's the state law. So we want to make sure that we're setting somebody up for success and not failure. And the car is a tool and not a burden. And so we really put a lot of time into making sure that the vehicles want to be an asset.

Starting point is 00:21:13 I love it. I love the fact that you're giving back to the community. That definitely says a ton about your character. And I know that you give through some other aspects as well through, you know, you know, your TV show through your magazine. I'd love for you to share just a little bit about both of those. And then if there were folks that listen or they watch this episode and they want to, you know, say, you know what, I've got a story to tell.

Starting point is 00:21:37 I've got something to share with the world. How would they be able to become involved in those two endeavors as well? Absolutely, yes. So to kind of give you a little backstory, since you love backstories on the TV show, is I have a fear of public speaking, which I did not know about until I founded the nonprofit. They wanted me to do, you know, news and different things. And I was like, oh, I hate this. So back in 2022 in September, I made a commitment to myself that I was just going to start saying yes.

Starting point is 00:22:04 Like whatever opportunities came, I was just going to start saying yes because I had to get over this sphere. So right away, I mean, very short order. I'm talking very, very short order. I got my first book deal. And I was asked to be part of a book. So I did that book. And then I was asked to be part of another book. So I did that book.

Starting point is 00:22:18 And then I was asked to become a TV show host. And I was like, are you crazy? Are you absolutely out? of your mind there is no way I have a fear of public speaking I don't know anything about TV the last thing I'm gonna do is be in front of a camera like I can list you a million things why I cannot do this like you gotta find somebody else well they said well what if we remove all the obstacles like what if you get to pick your own TV show what if you get to pick the premise of the show

Starting point is 00:22:40 what if you get to pick your own guests what if you get to pick everything about the show when you report everything would you do it then and so I sat back and I thought oh they're making it hard for me to say no now so I actually went to dinner with my husband then at the time and we that that night and we chatted a lot and I thought, what would be worth it for me to get in front of the camera to do this TV show, to host the TV show? What would make it worth it? And I thought, ding, you know what? People always ask me, what is it about me that made me do this nonprofit? Like, like, I'm some special person and I've always told them, like, I'm not special. I just saw

Starting point is 00:23:13 a need and I found a way to meet it. And so I thought, geez, wouldn't that be cool if I could highlight nonprofits, highlight good news? You know, there's so much bad news out there. So that would be worth it if I could shine a light on all these amazing nonprofits or just ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help others that would make it worth it. So that's how the title, Little Give, and that's how the premise of the show came. And every sense, it's been over a year now that we've been doing that. And it's just been wonderful. I've really, really enjoyed it. Love it. And so what has that year been like? So first off, kudos to making it a year. I'm sure there's plenty of TV shows that don't make it past ideation. You know,

Starting point is 00:23:53 actually air an episode. So the fact that you've made it a year is, that's definitely huge. So what has the results been? And you know, you can measure that in, hey, you know,

Starting point is 00:24:04 I feel a sense of fulfillment. You could measure that in, it's gotten X amount of views and that maybe it could be success. Maybe it's the impact that it's made in people's lives. I'd love to know, like, how do you measure that success? And then in that one year,

Starting point is 00:24:19 do you feel like you've achieved some of the things that you wanted to get out of it? Yeah, so I actually got the 2023 Trailblazer Award for the TV show, which I was shocked by because I figured like I'm just doing good things. Like it's just good news. Like I didn't think it was that big of a thing, but the fact that I was honored that award was pretty amazing. I think that I definitely have gotten out of it what I wanted to get out of it because what I wanted was to spread good news. And I wanted to highlight people that are amazing because although our world is not perfect, there's a lot of incredible people out there who are doing wonderful things. just like yourself to help others. And so that I definitely, definitely really enjoyed.

Starting point is 00:24:59 And I feel like how I measure success is by a feeling I get that I'm in the right place. I'm in the right zone. And I believe that by at the end of every one of my episodes, regardless of the whole episode being about a nonprofit or a business, because sometimes we do both. At the end of every episode, we always highlight a nonprofit. And I always ask the audience to go and donate a dollar, $5. Every little give can make a big impact.

Starting point is 00:25:22 because I feel like a lot of us might think that, oh, I'm not in a place in my life where I can give back right now. But that's not the case because there's so many different ways that you can give. And so that request for a dollar or $5 from each audience member who's listening, even if just 1% of the 30 million plus potential viewership that we have were to give a dollar, that's a big difference to a nonprofit. So I feel like in that regard, I'm definitely in my purpose. I'm feeling really good about what I'm doing. and I have no doubt that the show will continue to, you know, help others as much as possible

Starting point is 00:25:56 and highlight ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help others. Yeah, I love it. And I definitely, when you were telling me about it, I was definitely excited to learn more. And I appreciate that you invited me to come on. I think that's scheduled pretty soon. So I'm looking forward to that conversation as well. And now let's talk magazine. So, you know, it's like, hey, you know, why not do law for 17 years?

Starting point is 00:26:19 and then I'm going to do a creative little TV show and have that for a year. And then, you know, magazine, why not? Why not just add to the pile of things and how many children total as well? We have six kids, three grandkids and one on the way. There we go. So why not just add more to the plate, right? So can you share a little bit about the magazine, you know, what's it meant for, who's it meant for? And then, you know, if people want to get involved, if they have an interest on it,

Starting point is 00:26:49 you know, where can they go? And we'll make sure to plug that stuff in as well. Yes. So the magazine's called Force Magazine. And it's really just to highlight people who are forced to be reckoned with, again, with the good news. So like I spoke about earlier, I've written four books now and the international bestselling books done really well. But I realized that that's only going to be able to help a small portion of people. So I really thought back to like, what's going to be next for Cindy? Like how else can I serve? How else can I help others? And what other ways can I do that? So I literally had a dream one night about Force magazine and that's how it came to be a thing. And it was like, oh, okay, wait a second. If I get, you know, I have 32 people or 40 people in

Starting point is 00:27:30 this magazine that are all positivity, all spreading good news, all doing amazing things in the world, then now I'm not only highlighting those awesome people, but then the reader's getting good news. And on a bigger scale that I can provide by writing one book myself. So then I thought, man, if I could do that that would be so cool and then on top of that if I can get it into you know doctor's offices and optometrists and you know spas or wherever I get the book at the magazine in the waiting room well now is there people reading about lip plumbers you know which there's nothing wrong with that at a cosmopolitan they could pick up force magazine and read good positive news that is useful that's helpful that can be inspiring and so that's really the the mission behind force magazine

Starting point is 00:28:12 and so far it's been going so great and I feel really really really, really good about all of the amazing people we've been out with a highlight. Love it, love it. So in closing, so one of the things I want to do is, first off, just have you share, you know, something that helps you get through your day. It could be a quote, could be a book, could be a process, something that you do. I'd love for you to just share that. And then second of all, you know, what is kind of one place or one thing that you want to talk

Starting point is 00:28:41 about with our audience that might be able to help them? It could be a resource. It could be your website to get more info on all the stuff you've talked about. So we'll let you share both of those things. Okay. I'd love to share two if that's okay with the quote. So one I use on my everyday life is whether you think you can or think you can't. You're right.

Starting point is 00:29:02 And I think that's so important because if you don't believe in yourself, then it's really hard to get to the next level. It's really hard to accomplish the goals that you set out for yourself because that self-belief is like the main thing that we all need to be able to propel. So that's one. And the other one, my phrase for the year is, are you willing to see it differently? And one of the things I did not mention is I'm also an action mastery coach. And so one of the things I always tell my clients is, are you willing to see it different? And that's so important because if you're not willing to see it differently, that's a whole other conversation. If you are willing to see it differently, then you can really move mountains because if you get a fixed mindset and you're just stuck in one way, then you can't see it differently, then you won't be able to propel yourself. to the next level or make those changes that are necessary to to make whatever goal met that you're trying to accomplish. So those are the two. And as far as where to find me, you can definitely find me at CFVews.com and all the information is there. You can also go to littlegiv.com, but ultimately CF views will take you to Little Give and Little Give will take you to CFU's. So you can certainly visit those websites. If you want to know more about the magazine, you can

Starting point is 00:30:09 also find them on the website. And I also host a podcast called Is Manifesting Bullshit. because I wrote an international bestselling book called Is Manifesting Bullshit. And in that, we just kind of talk to a lot of people that have different things. So you can also find out more about that on the website. Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing. And for the listeners out there, if you took anything away from Cindy's story, it's, you know, don't give up.

Starting point is 00:30:36 You know, keep moving, right? Put one foot in front of the other. You can do hard things. make sure you're collaborating, make sure you're giving back. And, you know, if you can kind of put all those ingredients together, then you, you too can share your story with the world and help impact people in a positive way. So, you know, kudos to you for everything that you've built and that you're, you know, continuing to build. I wish you, you know, all the success. You know, you were named a Trailblazer and then you now have been on the Trail, a Blazer own Trail podcast.

Starting point is 00:31:09 So I think those things tie in. to each other, which is pretty cool. And I appreciate your time today and hope you have an amazing rest of your week. All right. Thank you so much for having me on. I appreciate you. And I look forward to hearing from anybody who has any questions. Awesome.

Starting point is 00:31:25 Thanks so much.

Blaze Your Own Trail - From Poverty to Purpose: Cindy Witteman’s Inspiring Journey of Resilience and Community Impact

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