Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan - How To CREATE When You Aren’t Feeling Inspired With Jess Ekstrom, The Founder Of Headbands Of Hope Episode 269

Episode Date: November 15, 2022

In This Episode You Will Learn About:  The power of starting small   How to make your OWN path  Appreciating what you have  Defining your ambition  Resources: Website: jessekstrom.com & www.headbandsofhope.com  Pre Order: Create Your Bright Ideas  Join The Mic Drop Workshop  Listen to: Business on the Brightside Text HYPE to 704-228-9495  Email: [e-mail]  LinkedIn & Facebook: @Jess Ekstrom  Instagram & Twitter: @jess_ekstrom Instagram: @headbandsofhope Overcome Your Villains is Available NOW! Order here: https://overcomeyourvillains.com  If you haven't yet, get my first book Confidence Creator Show Notes:  Is there something you’ve always wanted to try, but have been too scared to go after? Well, why don’t you try it NOW! There is no better time than the present moment. Jess Ekstrom, the Founder of Headbands Of Hope, is here to inspire us to start going after our goals, EXACTLY where we are, with what we have! You don’t have to choose between making a positive difference and making a living! Tune in to discover the WHY behind your ambition.   About The Guest: Jess Ekstrom is BACK! She’s the founder of Headbands Of Hope, a company that donates headbands to kids with illnesses for every headband sold. They’ve donated over 1 million headbands! Jess is using the ups and downs she’s faced in life to inspire others to share their stories. As the author of Create Your Bright Ideas she is encouraging us all to connect with our ambition and create our own success.    If You Liked This Episode You Might Also Like These Episodes: Jess Ekstrom: Finding Purpose And Passion Choosing JOY With Heather!  Why Your Mindset Is The KEY To Success! With Sara Blakley & Jesse Itzler  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Prime Day, happening July 11th and 12th. You don't need to come first in a marathon, or beat the highest score at an arcade game to feel like a winner. You just need Prime Day. With two days of epic deals on everything from electronics to home goods exclusively for Prime members, you'll feel like a big deal. So mark your calendars. Prime Day is coming July 11th and 12th.

Learn more at amazon.com slash Prime Day. I really want create your right ideas to inspire like kids, teens and adults to just start where you are with what you have. You know, the idea of like go big or go home is like not something I subscribe to. I'm like, when you start small at home with what you have today and then see where it can bring you tomorrow. I'm on this journey with me. Each week when you join me,

we are going to chase down our goals. Overcome adversity and set you up for better tomorrow. That's your new seat, girl. I'm ready for my close time. Hi and welcome back. I'm so excited for you to meet or re-acquaint yourself with Jess X-Trump.

She's been on the show before. If you haven't checked out her episode, go back to 2019 and check it out. I will link it in the show notes. Jess is the founder of Headbands of Hope, a company that donates headbands to kids with illness with every headband sold. Headbands of Hope has been featured on the Today's Show.

Good morning, America. QVC, QBC, the View, and Wormed by Celebrities like Kelsey Ballerini. More importantly, headbands of Hope has donated over 1 million headbands, reaching every single children's hospital in America and 22 countries. After starting her own company, she wanted to use her ups and her downs to help others become valued as experts in their industry.

Jess is the author of Chasing the Bright Side, came out in 2019 and that's what our first episode is all about and create your bright ideas, 2022, her newest book, and creator of My Drop Workshop, an e-learning company that helps women tell and sell their stories as thought leaders. For three years, Jess lived and traveled full time and for air stream with her husband, Jay, and their 70 pound dog, Oli. Now finally, they are in a house in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jess, thanks so much for being here.

Thanks for having me back. I know, I think the last time we talked, one was pre-pandemic, and two, I was in an air stream trailer. So, lot has changed since then. We, let's get into that, because we were just offline talking a little bit about it, and to me, I know everybody's different.

I could never fathom, well, I mean, I'm a 15 year old, so I wouldn't be able to do it anyways, but even if I didn't, I can't fathom living in an air stream and driving and traveling around, give us an idea of what that's like. Oh my gosh. Well, first, let me set the scene for you. So I mean, it was 25 feet long, and my husband's a former football player.

And so he's like 65, like a really big guy. So anything he does in the air stream is like straight out of a scene from L. If you've seen that movie, we're like sitting in the chair, trying to make dinner. But you know, it didn't, it was not supposed to be three years. It started as an idea for a book tour for chasing the bright side.

We were like, oh, let's go to a couple different cities. It'll be great. And then the pandemic hit while we were still in the air, she and we were like, what are we going to do? Just sit at home. Like we're outside in nature, like kind of going around the country. Why not? But I think, you know, one of the things that I learned too is that just try it on. If there's something that you want to do or something that you want to like

achieve, you know, what we ended up doing is like, what if for one month we just shifted our mindset to say, okay, we're going to drop everything and go live in an air stream trailer. And then by the time that month is up, you know, you can either say, yeah, this feels good or like, no, this isn't what I want to do. And so like the air stream, it was great, but it also just taught me that like, you can shift and pivot all the time and things aren't permanent. Oh, that's so good. And now I love that you're appreciating just the normalness of living in a house. Yes, totally. I was just telling you before this, I'm like, you know, obviously in an air stream, it

was fun, but everything was a little like all the simple things were a little bit more complicated, you know, like doing laundry and finding, you know, like putting it the quarters in the quarter slot or like looking for spiders or frogs and like the random showers that you're taking. And so now I'm like, oh my gosh, I have a dishwasher. Like this is, I mean, I am living large here. And when we live in like a 1930s historic home, it's not large by any means. But it really does make you appreciate like the things that you didn't have before. And I know you were saying that with like being deprived of people from the pandemic, like now it just feels so good to be talking and

interacting and seeing people in person. It's so exciting and I as I mentioned to you, I just moved and I'm the same way just I lived in the same place for 17 years. So of course over 17 years, you kind of just take it for granted. I mean, this is where you live, right? I wasn't thinking consciously all the time about, wow, I love where I live. And now that I'm in a new place every day, I'm like, oh my, I'm so grateful for this view. I'm so grateful, you know, for the technology in my condo now that I didn't have before.

Like it's so, I don't know, you appreciate so much more when you get something that you haven't had. Yeah, and you know, I think that it's, that's a trained skill, you know, to appreciate what you have, because it's so easy, and I am incredibly guilty of this, of like constantly moving the goalpost, you know, you think, like, oh, once I live in this house, or once, you know, in the air stream, and I was like, well, once we get to the west coast, or, you know, once I can publish this book, or once I can get here, and then you get that thing and all the sudden, like, you haven't even celebrated it because you've moved the goalpost to like,

somewhere else that you don't have. And that can be so taxing and quite frankly, just like, not a fun way to live. And so I think that the air stream, the pandemic, business, it's like, how do we just appreciate what we have and take a breath before we set our sights on something else? Yeah, that is so good. But like you said, it's so hard for people like us, people that are listening that are overachievers and type A

and you know, want to push yourself. There is a fine line. I would say I'm definitely like for the most part, I've never been like this, but I'm trying to, to your point, like I'm trying to say, okay, take. The other day I was like, gosh, I'm being right in my third book right now. Why am I not doing that?

Cause I heard another author was and she was publishing on the same timeline I was, and it made me think like, oh, wake up call Heather, like you're asleep at the wee, you know, that was just immediately jumped into my mind and I had to say, I'm happy for her, but right now, I don't know that, you know, I'm in a space where I'm feeling like I wanna do that, you know, maybe I wanna take a few months

where I'm doing speaking and doing some different things that I'm enjoying right now and then see what happens next, but yeah, it is important to take that pressure off. I couldn't really even more, like I get such so trapped in these like comparison traps. I'm like, I should be doing this where I should be speaking on that stage or I should be, you know, whatever. But you know, I talked about I have two different types of ambition that might be helpful for

anyone listening that because sometimes we're ambitious towards things, but for like two completely different reasons. And so I like to classify it as anxious ambition and inspired ambition. And anxious ambition comes from wanting to work because you feel like you're behind. And then inspired ambition, I feel like comes from wanting to work because you feel like you're making something better.

And when we can distinguish between like, why do I want to write another book? Is it because I saw so and so, you know, come out with their next book and she's hitting the New York Times? Or is it because I really feel like I have an idea that's going to help someone? And I find that whenever I'm moving in a place of anxious ambition, like the work isn't really that good, you know, the things that I'm producing. I'm not having a good time. And I'm also like painting on someone else's canvas, like I'm creating things because someone else's not because I actually feel that way. And when I'm working from a place of inspired ambition, the work is fun, the work is good, because I know that the thing that I'm creating is like solving a problem scratching an edge or making something better. And so I a lot of times have to audit,

okay, if I'm like, for oh, just like working right now or wanting to do something, is it coming from a place of anxious ambition or inspired ambition? Well, you are the master of inspired ambition in my mind because of headbands of hope. Like, there's nothing that is more inspired and doing good and helping. For those who don't know you who haven't listened to your previous episode or didn't read your first book, can you share a little bit about headbands of hope because it's such a beautiful company story? It's all. Yeah. Oh, thank you. Yeah, I started headbands

hope when I was in college. I was interning for the Make a Wish foundation, and I was seeing a lot of kids that would come through Make a Wish. They would end up losing their hair if they're going through chemotherapy treatment. And a lot of them would be offered a wig or they'd be given a hat. And a lot of them weren't really concerned with something that would cover up their heads.

They weren't really trying to hide their experience. They wanted to just restore their self-confidence and feel good about themselves again. And so I would see so many of these kids opting to like buy their own headbands and wear headbands on their wish trips or into the office. And I just remembered seeing these photos and thinking like, oh, that is such a cool,

amazing gesture of confidence that these kids want to wear headbands. And then I remember like, oh, we should, you know, have a stash in our office or some headbands, there's probably an organization out there doing this. And so I looked up like headbands for kids with illnesses or kids with cancer and like nothing came up yet. And I call it like the dumbest, smartest moment of my life being like 19 years old and like, how hard could it be? Like I'll start a business. But I think like what's important about that like origin story is, you know, a lot of times we put so much fancy language and really like inaccessible goals around entrepreneurship.

Like, oh, you have to start the next Airbnb or Spotify, like in order to matter. But really, in my mind, entrepreneurship is about creating what you wish existed. And when there's moments of, like, I like to call it inspiration from frustration. Like, when you are frustrated about something or you think that something should be done better or something that should exist, what if you could be the one that's inspired to change it. And so by knowing that there was a need for headbands in kids with cancer, realizing that no one was doing that, it wasn't like, oh, I'm going to start this multi-million dollar company.

I'm going to solve this problem. And I think that that's where the best ideas come from is like scratching an itch. You know, what's the itch? That's the problem. And then you're scratches the solution. That could either be starting a business or it could not. It could be something else. But so I started headbands of hope in 2012 for every headband sold.

We donate one to a child with an illness. And it, I'll tell you, and I think I probably, you know, have talked to you about this before, but it was like not fire right out of the gate, because one of my biggest pet peeves is like hearing entrepreneurs, you know, successful people tell their story and they're like, one day I had this idea, and the next day, you know, we're sold out in Macy's, and we can't keep anything in stock, and you know, Chloe Kardashian's wearing her headbands, and the next day, we're sold out in Macy's and we can't keep anything in stock. And Chloe Kardashian's wearing her headbands and it's like, really?

That's how it happened. So I like to be real where I'm like, my first order was from my mom. Like my second order was for my grandpa after he called me to figure out how to the website. I mean, it was crickets for a bit, but it was like, I knew that if I could just keep throwing darts at opportunities, like reaching out to bloggers or like, you know, sending headbands

to people to wear, like if I could just keep throwing darts and out of all those nose of bound to get a yes, it was just, in my mind, it was just like math. It's like, well, if I can send, you know, 20 different things out, one thing has to come back. And eventually it did. I remember the first blog that ever, and this was, you know, around 2012, when blogging was like super popular. And the first blog that ever wrote about us, it was called Healthy Tipping Point. And I remember the day that that article came out, like, we got $500 worth of sales on the website, which to me at that point was like a million dollars in retirement money.

I was like $500. This is crazy. You know, there was just those little signs like in the beginning, even though it was slow to keep going with it. I'm so glad that I did because today, we've now donated over two million had dance and we actually just launched in coals this week.

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NetSuite.com slash monahan to get the visibility and control you need to weather any storm. NetSuite.com slash monahean to get the visibility and control you need to weather any storm. Netsuite.com slash monahean. You've been working on this since 2012? 2012, yeah. So 10 years later and you're still getting wins now. It just, it goes to show don't give up on your ideas and it's interesting because I just interviewed Candice Nelson from Sprinkles and her story is like what you were saying.

She literally launched the business, Tyra Banks producer, picked it up immediately and Oprah right after and she couldn't fulfill. To your point, it's one of those, like sometimes that happens, right? The universe just shows up and it offers all these opportunities and she couldn't handle the opportunity, you know, first world problem, but still,

not every business takes off that way. My business definitely did not, right? Like yours didn't, that's definitely the more normal path, although we always highlight those really special moments like those overmode. It doesn't have to go that way. Here you are still landing polls 10 years later. Yeah. Well, and it's like, I think that it's the little moments to me that stand out the most.

Like we've had some of the big moments, you know, like goals or we got, you know, our NBA and WMBA licensing this year. So we're now like a headband provider for all the teams. And we've had some really amazing moments, but I'll tell you the ones that like I think about the most fondly is like the first time I was ever to go into a children's hospital and be that person that came in and they could pick out their favorite color and spend time with them. Or the time I was in an airport a year or two after getting started and I saw a girl wearing a headband from headbands of hope and I went up to her and said, I love your headband and she started telling me all from headbands of Hope. And I went up to her and said, I love your headband. And she started telling me all about headbands of Hope and not knowing who I was. And so it was like, those are the moments that I think about the most. And I think that

kind of sums up for me, like, what success to me really is. A lot of times we think of success as like winning the Super Bowl, but when you really look at it, it's like the summation of all the first downs. It's like all the small moments that lead to where you are today. And so that could be, you know, again, in the form of the business or career or whatever, but it's like, don't breeze past the small moments because in the end, those are the things that add up and truly matter. I love that you're using the football analogies for your husband.

That was for fun. Yes. It's for him. It's for listening. That was for you, babe. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That's like, now, one thing I want to note from a business perspective, and there's a

lot of data, and I actually did an episode about this, that when you tie a charity component to your business, your business will accelerate. However, what I love about you is, you didn't do it from a business standpoint, you created the business to fulfill the need, and you're so passionate about helping people, and great examples of stories you're sharing with us right now. How much has that origin story

and the why behind your business impact of your business? One of the things that you said that I want to point out too is like, you know, there's almost two ways you can go about it. You can business to make money and then figure out how to donate it or figure out where the need is and then create a business around it. I definitely did the latter,

which is the way that I like to work. And it's really about like, how can you find that overlap? I think of it as like a venn diagram of like what are the things that you love to do that you're passionate about? And then where are some of the world's greatest needs and the problems? And so where can those things intersect and overlap? That could be your next big idea. And so I think in the beginning of headbands of Hope, like we were right around the era of like Tom Shoes and you know the like doing good and doing well, not being a nonprofit organization too was big

for us because growing up, it's like that's what you, you talk, okay, either you're, you know, doing something good and making no money or you're making money and not doing any good. And I think that, you know, consumerism and business has changed where like, you shouldn't have to choose between making a living and making a difference, like, be able to do both at once. In the beginning of headbands of hope, I think like making a difference was the thing that set us apart. But then as things went on, and a lot of brands were giving back, which is great, it's like no longer the only crutch that you can stand on. So we really had to focus on, yes, we want people to love our cause,

but we want people to love the product even more. And so that was kind of a wake-up call for me, like five years into business, was like, we can't just have this crutch of like, but look, what we do, it has to be something that people want to wear and not just wear, but buy again or buy for their friends. And so now I would say like our products are just, I mean, we have like over 400 different types of headbands on the site that are like, you know, people will say, oh, I can't wear a headband, they squeeze my head or they fall off, it's like, okay, well, then we'll

create a headband, they squeeze my head or they fall off, it's like, okay, well, then we'll create a headband, that solves that problem. So at the end of the day, you kind of see the trend of like, to me, you know, which is why I wrote Crayer Bright Ideas, like entrepreneurship isn't about all these big, fancy things. It's about seeing problems and creating solutions. And so that happened from cause, but it also started to happen with product,

which was really key to our success in lasting 10 years, which a lot of businesses don't. Well, and that's also your willingness to innovate and evolve. I was a part of a traditional business for so many years, having been in the radio business for 20 years. There was never that commitment to innovate,

the commitment to reinvest in the company, to want to test and try, to want to evolve the product. And that's so key in any business is to listen to your consumer, listen to their pain points, and then invest and test and try. And one thing that you also brought up that I love was you talked about growing up, we saw it, and I thought this too, I had to go out and make a lot of money. And then when I wasn't at work Go and give back and I was on a board of a charity for a decade and I remember it was like I worked so hard during a day to make wealthy people wealth

Here right there was no like give back component and then on the weekends and at night I would work so hard trying to build this charity up to do good so that I would feel good about myself Mm-hmm And then I was left with like no time in my life at all. Like literally like I was and I was pleased with the work I was doing the charity. I needed the paycheck, but I never saw beyond like to what you did. I never thought about is there a way I can merge these together and had I not been fired. I wouldn't have even tried to figure it out.

But it is so interesting today to be able to let everyone know it doesn't have to be this or that and is the actual word. It needs to be this and that and keep evolving and testing and trying until you find out that solution for you. Exactly. And I'll go a step further that it also doesn't have to mean like leaving your job and starting your own thing, you know. And like I think you know, we again, we hear that tale of like, oh, well, I want to change things up. So I'm going to quit my job and like move to a third world country and like try to save the world and solve hunger and it's like, or what are the things that I'm involved in that I'm doing today, whether it's my

work or my life that I can make more meaningful. So for example, there was a study at Yale that I really love and they interviewed hospital custodians. And they took one pool of custodians that were like really dissatisfied in their work that they didn't, they didn't like their jobs. And they asked them like, what is it that they did every day? And one of them, you know, said, oh, I change the sheets. Another said, I take out the trash, I sanitize the equipment. And then they asked them why they did it. And one person said that, you know, I need benefits or I need salary, you know, to support my

my life and my family. And then they asked like what their job titles were. And one person said, you know, janitor, another custodian, and then another said maintenance worker. But then they interviewed another pool of custodians that had the exact same jobs, you know, same title, same responsibilities, but they were like loving their jobs. And so they asked what they did every day. And one of them worked in hospice care and she would like shuffle around the artwork each week from room to room so that her patients would have something different to look at. And then another person like carried

around a notepad on his belt and would tally like which rooms got visitors that day, circle the ones that didn't and make it a point to spend more time in the rooms that didn't get any visitors that day. And then another example, they said, like someone took it upon himself to educate himself about the different chemicals used in the cleaning supply so he can make sure to not use any cleaning product that would irritate his patients. And when they asked these people who were really satisfied in their job,

what their job titles were, one person described himself as an ambassador for the hospital and another person described herself as a heal for the hospital and another person described herself as a healer. And so I think what's so interesting about the studies, like all of these people, the happy, the unhappy, the fulfilled, and the unfulfilled, had the same job. But it was the mindset that they had of like, this isn't a job. The people who were truly fulfilled chose not to look at their job as a job, but more as a service to humanity. Like, how am I, how can I use the, what I've been given to help others? And so I think

that that's another, like, it just the important part of this whole equation of going for it and solving problems that there's ways to do it potentially exactly where you are without any changes being made on the external, only being made on the internal. And so I think before we say, let's quit everything and start nonprofit and do this, it's like, well, what am I doing today that I could potentially make more meaningful and figure out how to provide that service and serve those people even better? Well, thank you so much. I had never heard of that study before

and that just maybe start tearing up. It was so beautiful, especially because of the stigma that people would put around a custodian or that's, oh, gosh, that sounds so hard or so basic, but to hear how they can flip it and make it so incredibly, and make such a difference in people's lives. Now, I know what everyone who is listening right now

is thinking, just they're thinking, okay, great for that study and great for those people that figured it out. And this is such a great segue to create your great ideas is that people are saying, but in my job, in my situation, that doesn't exist. So can you talk to us a little bit about how this book is gonna help them figure that out?

No, and I totally get it and everything's different and I think that the through line in all of this is like Okay, I'm gonna reference I'm gonna reference another study I've been nerding out on studies recently, but there was a study at UC Berkeley where this professor Told his class to write I am statements like I am blank and as many as they could is and with no instruction of what how. Powerful. Yes. And so he split the class in half and he had half the class write these I am statements

in the hallway just like looking at a blank wall and then the other half write them in the life sciences building which had a huge Taranosaurus like T. Rex skeleton. The people, the students who wrote their IAM statements, like in the Life Sciences building, wrote much like larger, grander, more meaningful IAM statements than the ones who were sitting in the hallway looking at the wall. Because sometimes we're in the presence of something that reminds us like what we do, who we are, how far we've come. It can help us remember like who we really are and what impact we want to have and what we want to do. And so I think about that sometimes too is like,

sometimes we lose the dinosaur and we forget to like remind ourselves that we're a part of something so much bigger. And so with Create Your Bright Ideas, this is my book that I wrote for kids and teens about how to solve problems and how to start businesses. We're finding a lot of adults are enjoying it too. But I think that really at the end of the day, even though this book might be classified

under starting a business or entrepreneurship, it's about how do I remind myself and believe that it can be me. Like, there's even in chapter one, there's a contract that you sign because it's an interactive book that says, like, before I continue reading this book, I believe that like, I can be the one to make a difference, that I can be the one to make a change. Because a lot of times, we don't need the what as much as we need the why. Of course, I can teach you the mechanics of starting a business and what to do and step one, step three.

But most of the time, it's a shift of belief that we actually need. Of like, yeah, I can be the one to start the business. Not like one day or someday, or maybe I'm not qualified, but it can be me. And so that's why I wrote Create Your Bright Ideas is because I want that belief to start younger. And when maybe you feel like you're not ready or that you have to have more experience, like start it today. If you're struggling with swelling in your legs, ankles or feet, you're going to want to listen up. Forget your compression socks and water pills. New research shows that swelling and inflammation can be resolved by upping your intake of omega-3 fatty

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New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Find the Millionaire University on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. But like you said, I mean, that goes for adults at any point in time, and this is gonna make you laugh. Every single day I have written down my I am statements because guys, literally, the I am is one of the most powerful things going back to the Bible that you can put in front of any word

and be really intentional and mindful about what you're saying and really be clear on that. I read the same ones over and over again every day. And I just have this, I have such a great feeling. when I do it, it starts my day with that strong intention. I'm really clear on that and it's so powerful and it works. And then to your point of the contract in chapter one, when my son was reaching the age, I think it was like eight or nine where they start not being like mommy's little boy. So much I remember people were telling me that was coming. I had him sign a contract, which I still have,

that says no matter how old I am, my mom can always hug me and give me a kiss goodbye and I had him sign up, right? It's so easy. Occasionally now I'll pull it out because he won't. He's 15. He's like, peace, mama, I'm out of here and he runs out the door. And I come running after him sometimes.

I'm like, look at your contract, don't forget, this is a commitment. But I'm a firm believer, like yet again, it's just about if we're gonna write something down or 90% more likely to actually act on it and make it happen. We're gonna share it with somebody else and let it be known, we're gonna hold ourselves accountable. These are basics and business and goal setting

and life that we need to be aware of. And that's one of the greatest things about this book, no matter what age you are. Yes, it's written for someone who might be eight or nine years old, but it's a real simple read for this 48 year old right here. And it's such a strong reminder of these basic steps and their tactical steps that everybody should be taking and making each day. Yeah, and first of all, I also wanna say, I think I told you I'm expecting my first, let's do it in a second way.

Yeah, so I'm like, I'm gonna make her sign a contract as soon as she can, as soon as she can scribble her handwriting. I'm like, you're gonna sign Mommy's contract that I can hug you and kiss you for as long as I want. But yeah, with, I mean, with create your bright ideas, like the way that I wanted to write it was, you know, obviously, you're hearing my story and what I've learned through starting headbands of hope, like the ups and the downs. But with each chapter, there's a challenge

that you take into the real world for that week. There's like a prompted journaling activity where you either fill in the blank or fill something out or start just start thinking about like, how can I apply this to my life? And then there's a tear out coloring page of like quote or mantra from the book because sometimes like we read books and it's like, I really want to remember that thing or that what they said or that one liner. And then there's no way to do it. And so the illustrator, Nadia Fisher, she's super talented, has created these black and white

coloring pages at the end of each chapter with the most powerful quote from it. So you can tear it out, color it, put on your wall. And so I want it to be not just hearing my story, but also simultaneously writing your own. It's so good. And to me, what it activates is that creative muscle that like me, like so many people listening right now, you have those days, you just don't feel creative. You don't feel inspired. And when you feel like that and you're in a grind job and there's a lot of pressure, it's easy to lose sight of it and just like, well, I'm just not a creative person. Well, that's just gonna not me. These types of exercises really stimulate that different side,

the other side of your brain, to, you know, stop just focusing on the numbers and the pressure for a moment to get away from that anxious side and lean into that creative side, which is missing for everybody and everybody has it, don't you think? Yeah, absolutely. And there was actually an article in the New York Times recently that was about kids and teens. But I also think this goes for adults too and how we are kind of blaming social media for depression or not feeling good about themselves or having negative self-image, which I think is like

totally can be valid. But what this article said is like the other side of the equation is that kids aren't feeling good about themselves or a positive self-image or identity because there's not enough time to create or pursue their passions or just like color. There's like no dead time. It's like on social media or I'm at talk a practice where I'm doing this or that. And so creativity in kids and teens was something that was really important that sometimes isn't being met. And so if you can do that in a way where you're not just being creative but being creative towards coming up with solutions to things, then I think that that's like such a great way to start training your

muscle to see like that. Because I know for me, like, it started when I was a kid and like I watched my dad start a business, which, you know, I was like, I don't know what that means, like good luck. And then I remember being on a camping trip with him in my family and like wanting to, I was taking out my headphones to like jam out to my walkman because that's how like long ago it was. I was like, and my headphones were getting tangled in this cord. And it was like getting tangled into nine. I was getting so frustrated. I was like, dad, headphone cords should just roll up like a slinky. So they never have to get tangled again.

Really? I'm just gonna invent that like easy. they never have to get tangled again. Brilliant. I'm just gonna invent that, like easy. And I remember him telling me, like, you know, Jess, that's already been invented, but I really want you to keep thinking that way. Like keep looking for inspiration from frustration.

And so I think because that was a muscle that I started to like use and get reps in when I was 10 years old, by the time I was at the Make Wish Off says and saw that, it was a muscle that was already activated. Like that should be better. Here's how I could fix it. And so if we can start helping like kids and teens or whoever like adapt that kind of muscle early on of what are the things that could be better and how can I be the one to make it better? Then that's just something that will carry with us for a lifetime.

And like I said, it doesn't have to be, like in the form of a business, it could be in your community, in your school, in your work, like picking up trash on the street, it could be anything, but just kind of adapting that problem-solver mindset should start as soon as, you know, as early as possible. What a blessing that your father activated that and you would have gift, I did not have that growing up, It should start as soon as, you know, as early as possible.

What a blessing that your father activated that and you would have gift. I did not have that growing up. But now, because of your book and the very specific exercises that you will allow for, yet my son won't read the book. I read the book and then at dinner, I bring up the point to stimulate that muscle for him because I'm not just naturally thinking that way, right? I could caught up in, Oh, how is basketball practice? Oh, do we have homework? And how, did you make up a Spanish? And what's going on with your friends for this weekend? Like just the day to day, but I was actually reading a good friend of mine just had a baby.

And so this is helpful for you. And it was all about the subconscious mind and how the older we get, you know, the further we are away from our subconscious mind and not connect to it, babies are all subconscious. Whatever you're speaking to them, they are, it's going right into their subconscious. And then those younger years, right, they're so, they're malleable, right? You can still impact them to get to think it, you know, that they are empowered to be created, that they can solve problems. The way that we talk to children is so important before they get stuck in this way or so that they don't end up like that. The tactics and tools provided here are empowering for any parent that's listening right now, regardless

of if your kid's going to read the book or not. When you do, you can apply it to your life. And then through the questions that you ask and challenges you give your child, you can impact them. Well, what I think is interesting too, that I was thinking about with Craig or Brad Ideas, is like kids, you know, with the school system, you're almost programmed to think like

that the next level is like where you need to be, that you'll know like, okay, I'm gonna go from first grade to second grade, second to third grade. And so you feel like you almost need to like wait until, I'll wait to read till I'm in this grade or I'll wait to do math till I'm in this grade. And then when you graduate and you're out of the school system, like you're almost still waiting for those levels,

you're like, when will someone tell me that I've made it? Or that I've done a good job? Or that, you know, I I have advanced to the next part because that's how you've been trained to kind of go through life is like knowing when you've, how you're doing what's next and like what to expect. And so I think that that's like, you know,

another part of why I wrote, Currie Your Bright Ideas for kids and adults is to feel like, you know, you don't need to keep moving the goalposts or you don't need to wait until you feel like you've achieved something to start doing the thing that you really want to do because I can be so guilty of that as well.

There's like the one side, then I, you know, it's phrase is kind of the thief of ambition because you're like, well, once I do this, then I, you know, like phrase is kind of the thief of ambition because you're like, well, once I do this, then I'll give myself permission to do the thing that I truly want to do. But I think that we learn in the action, like in the process and not in the planning, but we wait for like the planning and the learnings to happen before we do anything about it. And so if that's the phase that we're in, the waiting till we have everything perfect,

then we're just never gonna begin. I mean, headbands of Hope was such a messy story. It like it still is. I mean, I lost $10,000, which I write about and chasing the bright side. It was a loan from my dad that I wired to a fraudulent manufacturer. But it's like, I made it back,

but it was not like a linear story. And that's how it should be. And so I think I really want create your right ideas to inspire like kids, teens and adults to just start where you are with what you have. You know, the idea of like go big or go home is like not something I subscribe to. I'm like, when you start small at home with what you have today, and then see where it can bring you tomorrow. This episode is brought to you by Snapple. Want to taste the flavoriest flavors to ever flavor? Snapple is ridiculously flavorful,

and you can uncap a snapple real fat with every bottle, like, cows produce more milk when they listen to music. Come on, leave the ridiculousness to Snapple and grab one of your favorites that pack a punch. Explore all of the delicious flavors at snapple.com. Done will always be better than perfect and ready is always maybe a lie. I mean it's so so true. I have so many people that say to me there's three mistakes in your first book.

I know there is and I'm always going to be the woman on her death bed that said I'm so glad I'm not going down saying I had the greatest book within me but I couldn't get it perfect so it's going to die with me instead that imperfect book is impacting people in the world and doing good. And I'm leaving legacy behind. And I love that. Like I love the mistakes. I love that. I mean, people with zero typos have probably written zero books. So like I'm sure. I like, you know, I always say like if at first you don't succeed, you're still ahead

of everyone who never started. And so it's like even if you start something that doesn't work, I mean, I've started things that haven't worked. And like I now have more information than I did before. And so even if a kid or a teen like starts a company that you know, doesn't like do anything big or make a lot of money, then maybe they have a lot better understanding of like the things that they enjoy doing. Like, hey, I really loved doing the marketing. I hated doing like the finances. I want to find a career in marketing. So no matter what, like when you engage with the world, when you explore your ideas and when you give yourself permission to do them, you're learning more

and more about yourself and the role that you want to have in this world. And that's always good information, no matter the outcome of the business. So true. Give me your favorite quote from the book. Oh my gosh. I think like if I could write a headline for it, it would be ordinary people can do extraordinary things. And I think that with kids and teens, it's like they don't maybe don't feel like they're in this realm of possibility yet. But every expert was once a beginner, you know, every like podcast or like yourself wants Google to start a podcast, like every architect had to start with like Legos and Lincoln logs. So ordinary people can do extraordinary things. So true. Where can everyone find, create your bright ideas, and where can they find you? So you can go to createyourbrideides.com

and purchase it there or just find your local bookstore and see if they have a copy or order it through them. And you can find me on any social media, but I do have a hype text that I send out every Monday. So you can text me the word hype to 7042289495. And you'll get a little quote for me each Monday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Well, I'm gonna be signing up for that

because I need more brightness in my life. Just keep doing what you're doing. I'm so proud of you and the world so grateful for all of your work. Thank you Heather. The feeling is mutual. Thanks for having me back. You need to get the book, get the book for people you love, get the books for the holidays,

as a gift, and get the books for you and for your kids. I'm gonna put the link below in the show notes. Check it out. This couldn't be more excited for what you're getting here and start learning and growing. And inevitably something will happen. No one succeeds alone. You don't stop and look around once in a while. You can miss it. I'm on this journey with me.

I hope you're enjoying this episode so far. I'm Jennifer Cohen, host the top ranking business and entrepreneur podcast, Habits and Hustle, apart the YAP media network, the number one business and self-improvement podcast network. So, most people live the life they get and not the life they want, and I'm here to change all that. My goal with each episode is to give you the habit and hustle tips you need to show up to your life better, bigger, and bolder. Tune in now, and I'll not only help you answer the questions like what do you want most in life and why don't you have it,

but we'll also help you make it a reality. I also picked the brains of top thought leaders on how they've gone to the top and the advice they have to help you get there too. Head over to Happits and Hussle once you've done listening to this episode and get one step closer to boldness, one episode at a time. You're getting a diploma. You can't eat a diploma, but you can eat wings and charlis. Get 23% off any order of 30 or 50 piece wings when you use promo code 23grat at charlis.com. That's promo code 23grad at charlis.com.

Charlis has wings. at charles.com. Charlies as Weas.