The Rachel Cruze Show - Going Through a Tough Season? Here’s How to Make It Through!

Episode Date: August 17, 2020

In this episode of The Rachel Cruze Show, you’ll learn:   Four tips you need to get through a tough season from pro surfer Bethany Hamilton What to do with your money when you’re going through divorce How the pandemic is impacting spending habits in America, and how to make this your best financial year ever anyway   Resources: Get 25% off Bethany’s Be Present course Tuft & Needle Zander Insurance     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I really was grateful to be alive and I was aware that I could have died that day. The legend, Bethany Hamilton. I started to embrace them just see the beauty and good that was coming out of what seemed like something so awful. Bringing other people in in your life and having them speak truth in is really good. A theme of mine lately has been surrounding yourself with people that are going to chew you on and help you adapt. Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Rachel Crewe Show podcast. So glad that you're here. This episode is full of some good stuff, so I cannot wait for you to hear.

We're first going to start out with my interview with Bethany Hamilton. Yeah, I don't know if you remember her, but I remember her really well from watching the news. She was the girl that was surfing in Hawaii and a shark bit off her arm. Do you remember that? Yeah, crazy. It made national news, but out of that complete tragedy, she has built an incredible brand and an incredible message. And she has such a beautiful story, so I can't wait for you to hear this interview today. She was just wonderful.

And then we're going to be talking about COVID and what to do with your finances as you're navigating this pandemic. And last but not least, I'm going to answer one of your questions. So let's get right to it. I can't wait for you to hear this interview with Bethany. So here it is. Well, guys, I am so excited because the legend, Bethany Hamilton, is here with me. And those of you that don't know her, I'm going to have her share her story in just a second. But she's an author.

She's a speaker. and she's just doing incredible things in the world. So Bethany, thanks for being here. Glad to be here, Rachel. Thank you. Okay, so those people that don't know you, if they're not familiar with you, give them a little bit of taste of your story.

Yeah, so I was born and raised in Hawaii. I'm still living there, and I love it. And growing up, the beach was my playground in the ocean, and I took a love for surfing at a young age. And my whole family, like, we're all ocean lovers. and they also raised me in a Christian home, so it's kind of like a really sweet upbringing. And at the age of 13, I lost my arm to a shark,

and that was kind of like life felt upside down for a bit. While surfing, right? Yeah, while surfing. Unbelievable. And then from there, I made a lot of different choices in my life that led me to kind of just share those choices and the things that empowered me along the way with others. and it's really fun.

And then also today I'm a mom of two boys and married to an amazing guy. And, yeah, just really thankful for the life I get to live. For sure. And the boys are adorable. They were trying to teach me this like spinner thing. I was like, when a five-year-old is better at a game than you are, you're just like, you go, you go. Yeah, he's like, I'll just show you how it's done.

That's funny thing. He's like, I'll show you. I'll show you. I was like, no, really. I don't know if I'm not that coordinated. Okay, so that all happened at 13. And I feel like for most people that know your name, that's like their knee-jerk reaction, right?

They know that part of your story. So what did life look like right after that? Like, what got you in to speaking and all that? Where people just like, hey, we want to hear your story. Will you come talk about it? Or like, where did all that stuff start happening? Yeah, it's really interesting when I think about my 13-year-old self and just how resilient I was.

Like, it's really like the only thing I can attribute that to is my faith in God. I'm kind of being like my rock and strength during that. And I really was grateful to be alive, and I was aware that I could have very well died that day. And so I had that moving forward with a sense of gratitude rather than pitting myself and my situation. But so I was like, well, maybe I'll be able to encourage people through my story, even at 13. And I think naturally that just started happening. And I started to embrace it more and more and just see the beauty and good that was coming out of. of what seemed like something so awful.

Oh, absolutely. And I can just imagine, I'm like, I even look back even on my story, and so many people could do this where you're like, wow, in the moment, you had no clue, that little light that God was giving you, right? And then you make a step, and then you make a step

and fast forward, you know, 10, 15 years later, you look back, like, oh, all that was built for like this moment. Like, this is like what I'm doing because of all these steps. But faithfully, you chose to continue to walk down. So you say something that I love. You say, life is full of hard times.

They're inevitable. So I want to know from you, what's the difference in people that overcome hard times and the ones that seem to just constantly struggle in them? I mean, so often it has to do with our choices and our mindset, and I kind of embraced having one arm. And with all my friends and family and people I knew, like, didn't change how I acted around them.

I was very open. I never, like, hid my stumpy. And so just kind of embracing the new me. and the new challenges, and it was like everyday challenges now, like, re-learning how to live life with one arm. That's I was going to ask you, like, what were the things that were, like, the hardest, right? Like, because you can't even imagine, like, tying your shoe or whatever the case may be. Well, thankfully, in Hawaii, we only wear slippers. Oh, there you go.

That's it. So, shoes wasn't a big thing. But, like, getting my swimsuits on, doing hair. Yes. Just doing things around the house. And were there moments of, like, breakdown for you in those? Or was it? Did you always kind of have a consistent, like, because you're so calm.

Like, I can even, like, feel you now. I'm like, your temperament really is. It's so great. It's so peaceful. I think I definitely had some down days and some times of discouragement. And, too, like, I started surfing less than a month later, but, and it felt amazing, but it was incredibly challenging every day. I mean, whether you have one arm or all limbs, like, in the ocean, it's no joke.

Like, it's such a challenging sport. And I think that also instilled a lot of, like, resilience and, like, push through those pain points in my life. Because surfing is some days you paddle out, and it's, like, feels like the ocean's just, like, pounding you back to the beach and, like, just can be so frustrating and aggravating. And so then to have to approach the ocean with one arm was like, oh, just such a game changer. And so it's so impressive. It is, though. I'm like, the resilience, it really, it's unbelievable. So what's your encouragement to people that, how do they get unstuck if they feel like they're just like,

I'm just in the rut of the day to day. Yeah, well, a theme of mine lately has been kind of approaching life with like, I call it my adopt method. And so kind of adopting through the different situations that come your way. You know, still holding true to your values and the things that are important to you, but like kind of adapting through it and like surrounding yourself with people that are going to cheer you. you want and help you adapt. And as a professional athlete, I'm still a professional surfer today. I always have been seeking out coaches or people older and wiser to, like, cheer me on or like push me in a direction or give me advice or finding other people to help you adapt

if you're like out of roadblock and can't figure which way to go. I love that too because bringing other people in in your life and having them speak truth in is so, so important. We talk about having community and people around you all the time on the show. But that's it. I'm like, if you're stuck in this rut day-to-day, find someone that's going to challenge you

and help push you out because you may not have it in the moment to do it yourself, but having someone put that on you, I think it's really good to do more than what you probably even think is possible, which is so, so great. All right, one of my favorite packages

to ever show up on my door is my tuft and needle mattress. I've got a couple now, and seriously, I love this mattress. You guys know exactly how it is. When you're juggling the demands of mom and wife and work and friend and so many other things, good sleep is a must. And I've never slept better. Tufton Needle is the best rated mattress on Amazon with over 100,000 five-star reviews.

So try it out. You can get a mattress starting as low as $3.99. Plus, it ships free. And you can keep it up to 100 nights risk-free. So if I'm wrong, just send it back. go to tn.com to get started that's tn.com okay so you have a calling on her life you know that is that is undeniable but i know some days it can be hard and for some people watching if they feel like okay i have this thing that i want to do but it just feels impossible what would you say to them

so i think just working towards setting little goals to kind of eventually get you towards the bigger goals so then you can kind of zero in on the little goal not feel so overwhelmed and and just keep putting away at the little things that will eventually lead you to the bigger goal. One thing I try to make an effort towards is just always, like, slowing myself down and finding, like, that downtime to, like, not have my phone. And I think today, and in our culture,

it's just everyone's such hustlers and getting stuff done all day long. But we really need that time to decompress and just be, like, normal. Don't you wish like everything pulling out us. Yeah, I was going to say, don't you wish like rest was celebrated as much as the hustle, right? For sure. There's an element of health to that.

Like you have to, you have to have seasons of rest or rest in crazy seasons, all of it. No, and that's like, I feel like I just hit 30. So I'm like finally realizing that like stress is real. It's a real thing that we have to combat. So like finding like continually working at that balance of like, working hard but also resting too. Yes, and I love the bite-sized goal, that whole mentality, because even when we teach people to get out of debt,

we always say to get out of debt at the smallest debts, and then work your way up, because once you get those quick wins, it starts to feel possible. Yeah, the impossible goal is like, oh gosh, I don't know if I could ever do that, but whatever you're doing in life, you know, yeah, taking it just that little step at a time because, oh, it does so much to your spirit to be like, no, I can do this. Like, I'm doing it.

And sometimes I think so many of us struggle with overwhelms. So when we're not having that time to decompress or not setting the little goals that kind of organize our bigger picture, then that's when the overwhelm comes and we're just like, oh. It seems like so much, so much. So you mentioned gratitude earlier, and I love it. I love the idea of living a life of gratitude. But that's something that's really, really important to you. So talk a little bit about that.

Well, as a Christian, I would say I'm always kind of just grateful to God for his grace on my life. and I see how that plays out now more than ever in my marriage and motherhood and friendships and family relationships. You know, lately with my five-year-old son, we'll go to bed and just talk about a highlight of the day, and then we've been incorporating more of, like, something I'm grateful for today,

and if I forget, he always remembers. So it's nice to kind of, like, make it a family thing and just remember that we have so much to be great. for and it's beautiful. And I love the idea of bringing kids into, because even like our five-year-old, we have, we both have five-year-olds. So we were bonding about that. But she's so funny now. The two-year-old's still like a little bit all over the place, right? But the five-year-old, like, we'll talk about that. Okay, let's talk about, yeah, we'll say that kind of thing. Like, okay, so what are you thankful for? Let's pray and just like, you know, thank God over the meal

and anything else you can think of. And the things coming out of their mouth is so hysterical. But it also, it's so funny because it's so simplistic. Like, it's like the smallest, most random things. but in their little perspective, like, they find gratitude, even in the smallest, most random things. I think it's beautiful. I love it. Whenever I hear her talk, I was like, oh, that's so good. Like, I wish I was as grateful for, like, the small little things. I know, like, bringing you back to Earth. Like, it's not about, like, the big money or, like, the super huge wins, but more, like, the little wins throughout the day. I'm like. I know. We were talking about, somehow we got off on Disney World at dinner the other night,

and we were talking, and I'm like, yeah, I do like Disney, but I'm so grateful. I found a little treasure in my room. And I was like, a little treasure. She's, like, obsessed with treasure. But it was, like, the tiniest little crumb piece of a toy. And she was like, this is what I'm grateful. I was like, good for you, Amelia, good for you. If I could just be as grateful for you for that little crumb of a toy as you are.

That's great. Okay, so tell me things that you're working on now. What are some things that you're really, really excited about? Because you're helping a lot of people and inspiring a lot. Yeah, no. So it's kind of been a dream in the works for years now. And I knew that at some point I wanted to do more than just be inspiring, but like to actually equip people and really encourage them on a deeper level.

So over the last few years, my husband and I had filmed a documentary called Unstoppable. And we had finished that project. And then we're like, okay, what's next? We have time. We have like motivation. What are we going to do now? So we started working on a project that eventually became, the unstoppable life. And it's like a, as of now, it's an online mentorship program where we talk

about different things that have been tools for myself to overcome so much adversity. And the course kind of starts with actually, like I was talking about earlier, but being present and slowing yourself down. So that's our very first subject that we talk about. So that kind of sets you up for the rest of the year. I could like continue talking about everything. But like we go into goal setting, a mindset, living a healthy life. Now we're going to get to talk with you. And it's just, yeah, it's really,

really fun. Yeah, I'm excited to be part of it. I'm so thankful you and ask. So everyone can find that at bethanyhamilton.com? Yes. Perfect. And social media, where else can people find you? I'm just at Bethany Hamilton.

Awesome. Well, Bethany, thank you so so much. You guys, make sure you check that out at bethanyhamilton.com. Such incredible content. Again, anything that just, I think, gives people the tools and the inspiration, both, the instruction and the inspiration with their lives, I think is just absolutely incredible. So the work you're doing is amazing. So thanks for that. Thanks for being on. My pleasure. Aloha. I mean, seriously, she is amazing. Absolutely incredible. She's one of the

kindest people because when I do these interviews, I get to hang out with the guests, you know, a little before, a little after. And she was seriously so genuine from the moment I met her to when the cameras were rolling, to when the cameras were off. I mean, she really is a fantastic person. And one of her passions in life is to be unstoppable and to overcome adversity. And for me, this message has been really encouraging, especially now, because I don't know about y'all, but for us, COVID has been hard, and I've felt it, and I've heard from so many of you that you felt it as well. So I wanted to share with you guys how to handle your money going forward so you can create unstoppable momentum in your life and your money. So take a listen. COVID-19, you're hearing it everywhere, aren't you? Quarantine,

It's just like these words are just constantly in our vocabulary. Now, when all of this started, we put out an event called Message of Hope, and we wanted to spread the idea of message of hope. Great event name, right? Because everyone was freaking out, and it was like a very uncertain time. No one really knew what to do with their money, how their jobs were going to be, how everything was going to pan out. But now that we're a few months kind of out of that initial, just shock, we're still in the middle of,

some states are still under quarantine. There's still, you know, things going on around COVID. of course. But people are asking now, okay, what do I do now? And I really believe that pain doesn't have to be your only teacher. It's a great teacher. It's a thorough teacher. But it doesn't have to be your only teacher. But for a lot of people during this season, during this time in our lives, it was very painful. It was very scary. They didn't know what to do. And so hopefully you guys are learning through watching these videos, really digging in and understanding how your money works. So one of the best ways to combat anything is to have control over your money as much as you can,

and that is a budget. And it's interesting because when it comes to budgeting, you know, there are spenders and savers. There are free spirits. There are nerds. But I personally, I'm a spender, and I love to spend money. And I found, though, during quarantine, people still fell in those two buckets of spenders and savers. And so when quarantine really first started happening, people paused, most people for about 30 days. And then the savers continued to save. And according to a research study that we found, 64% of people said that they saved more money while social distancing. And on average, we're saving $7,000. I mean, it's crazy. Everything from not going out to eat, not driving as much, vacations getting canceled. So much money, people were saving. And they found themselves saving out of the fear of the unknown.

I just kind of kept, in a sense, hoarding money and like, hey, we're going to keep everything because we don't know what's going to happen. Or some people were saving out of just, you know, or not spending out of necessity. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe you're furloughed and you didn't have that amount of money just to go and spend, but you were really keeping it close and saving. And then I found people in the other category where for, again, that first 30 days, most everyone kind of held and saved. But some spenders came out of the woodworks. Yes. including myself, I'll say that.

I was like, why is every store that I love having a sale right now? Like, that's what quarantine felt like. Every time I checked my email, it was like, sale, sale, sale, sale. And I was like, what, what, what? I didn't go to the point. It's so bad, but it's true. I just started filling up my shopping cart online

and just adding item, adding item, adding item. And then I'd delete it. And I'd go about my day. I wouldn't buy anything, but I'd go through the process of looking through stuff. And I was like, what? And good to know because I was not alone. Yes.

In fact, 58 million Americans said they actually spent more in quarantine. 43% said that they spent money out of comfort buying or because of stress. And I was like, yeah, I get you. Like, I totally get that. Because when you spend money, dopamine is released in your brain and everything feels good. It kind of numbs you out to what's going on. And in the moment, you get that high, you get that rush. And you're like, wow, that feels good.

But listen, that's not the way to live your life. No, no, no, no. Neither is just sitting there and hoarding money. But really, being diligent with where your money's going. And that always is going to bring us back to the budget, you guys. Always, always. And the zero-based budget, it's the way to go. So we talk about your income minus all of your expenses needs to equal zero. So every dollar coming in is assigned to a category. And your categories are everything you spend money on. So again, this is food, shelter, utilities, transportation, cell phone, insurance. You could even have clothing. Maybe every person in the family needs their own line item, especially you parents say, hey, there's a Rachel line item and a Winston line item in our budget that we have money to spend. One of the lines that I am okay spending money on

that actually gives me great reassurance is life insurance. And Winston and I, we use Zander insurance for our life insurance because they make it so easy. Okay, you know some companies, they're like, hey, go on our website, failure information. They'll just give you one quote. It's all I give you. Zander, they shop multiple companies to get you the best rate possible.

So you want 10 to 12 times your annual income. So go to zander.com, get a quote today. I promise. That's going to be the best money that you spend throughout the month because you're taking care of your family, that if something happens to you that they are taken care of. So if you have someone that is dependent upon your income, you need term life insurance and get it through Zander.

And add that in the budget. So the budget is the thing, you guys, that is going to bring you so far through all of this, because it's going to be able to tell you, hey, do we need to pull back on some expenses? Hey, do we need to get an extra job? Hey, do we need to sell something? Like, what do we need to do to bring in some extra money

to get those four walls, your food, shelter, utilities, transportation, covered. Those are so key. And that's the budget. And if you've never done a budget before, give yourself at least 90 days to let it work. Three months. Give yourself three months.

And that budget, it really does. It gives you this idea of control and not just the idea of control, but you are actually controlling your money. So whether you're a spender or a saver, you need a budget during this time. And it's interesting, there's a study that I usually quote sometimes when I'm out speaking. It talks about how the finish line always moves for people financially. So if you talk to someone that makes $50,000 a year and you're like, hey, are you rich? They're like, no, I'm not rich.

And some, the researcher asks, okay, how much do you have to make to be rich? And they would say $100,000. They'd go to someone making $100,000. Hey, how much do you need to make to be rich? $250,000. So they go, someone making $250,000. They would say $500,000. They would say $500,000.

They would say $2,000, $5 million. It kept going up. And it's like, yeah, no amount of income, or you could even insert there, no amount of stuff is going to make you happy. No amount of stuff is going to make you feel like, oh, I arrived, or a certain income is going to make you feel like, oh, yeah, I'm good. I'm satisfied because people, you're just wanting, we're wanting more. And that finish line always moves.

So that's always a picture I paint at my events. the story I usually tell, but as I was planning out, you know, thinking about this and the what now, like, what do we do now with our money? I thought, it's interesting because the starting line has started to move. The starting line, people are saying, oh, you know, I'll do a budget. I'll get my money under control when all this is over, when all COVID-19 is taken care of. Or I'll, I'll do a budget when my husband and I, like, feel like we have enough money to actually, like, do some stuff, you know, or we'll do a budget once the kids start school. We'll do a budget X, Y, and the excuses are galore. So don't.

let the starting line of starting your financial journey keep moving. Do it now. Do it today. If you're married, get your spouse on board. If you're single, find a friend you can talk to, but start your budget now. That's what you need to do right now and say never again, I'm going to feel out of control with my money. Never again if a pandemic, a natural disaster, something crazy happens to us. Never again am I going to feel out of control. And the budget is the way to do that. So do the budget, you guys. I promise it's going to help you so, so much during your financial journey. journey. I hope you felt just a little bit of relief because we can overcome hard things. And that ties in really well to my question for this podcast. Again, I'm getting your questions. I see them on social,

in my Facebook group, everywhere. And I love answering questions. So this question is, so, Rich, I'm going through a divorce. What should I do? Pay debt or save? I had so many repairs in my house this year. We'll probably need to sell, but no word on that yet. I have a ton of debt. student loans. I feel so lost. Lawyers, house repairs, car repairs, I don't know what to do. Oh, this is so hard. I feel like when people have really tough life transitions, it's just really difficult and the money stuff becomes really fuzzy. And so what I would tell you in that situation is just to give yourself grace. We just talked about giving yourself permission to give yourself grace. And that's exactly what I want you to do right now is just pause. Pause. You don't have to do

anything right now. You are going through one of the most difficult things that you can go through, and it's heartbreaking, and it's terrible, and it's all the emotions I know you're feeling. And so I want you to just pause. So just pause and save. Don't worry about the debt. Don't worry about anything. Just pause and save. And then I want you to make a list of what is priority. What needs to be paid right now? Do you need a great lawyer? Do you need to put some money towards that? Do you have house repairs that need to be fix in order for you to live is you're heating an air out. If that's the case, you need to get that fixed. And then debt will come after all of that. You have time to pay off debt in your life, but right now, save up some money and put it towards the things that are priority, but write it out.

When there's so many things in your head, I feel like it can be very overwhelming. So make a list, prioritize that list, put dollar amounts if you can, if you know any estimation on that, and that's just going to give you a handle and a control. And then find someone in your life that you trust, I don't know if this is a friend, a pastor, but someone needs to walk with you through this. This can be a very, very lonely time, and it's really hard to make really sound financial decisions, specifically financial decisions, when there is a lot of grief and mourning over the loss of your marriage. And so find someone that you really trust to walk with you through this. It's so, so important to have good community around you and seek that out for sure.

you guys man what a day like our life is just hard right even reading out that question i'm like there's just so much life going on and it can be very very difficult and that's why i don't want money to be a point of contention for you i want you to have a life that you have control over what you can control and be unstoppable like bethany said give yourself permission to do a couple of those things and and really say you know what money is not the end-all be-all but it is a tool to create a life that i want and that I love. All right, hope you enjoyed this episode of the Rachel Crews Show podcast. And if you've not subscribed to my channel, make sure you hit that subscribe button.

And if the spirit leads, you can leave a review. And as always, make sure you take control of your money and create a life you love. So if you guys enjoyed this podcast, we have more from the Ramsey Network, like the Entree Leadership Podcast. Hey, this is Daniel Tarty, host of the Entree Leadership podcast. We believe that small business is the backer. of the American economy. And we also know it can be really hard to win in business. So we're here to help.

On the Entree Leadership podcast, we talk about the practical ways that you can grow yourself, your team, and your profits. Join us every week as we talk to entrepreneurs, CEOs, thought leaders, bestselling authors, and more to help you on the journey of winning at business. You can learn more at Entreeleadership.com slash podcast and follow us on social media at Entreeleadership.

To hear full episodes, just search Entre Leadership wherever you listen to podcasts or go to Entre Leadership.com slash podcast.