Healing, Humor, and Hustle: A Real Talk on Mental Health & Entrepreneurship

In this episode of Nikki’s Lounge, author and mental health advocate Gina Cavalier joins Nikki for a heartfelt conversation on surviving suicidal ideation, building self-love, and staying focused through personal and business growth. Gina shares her grounding techniques, the power of energetic release, and how writing her workbook with Dr. Amelia Kelly became a turning point in her healing. Then Nikki shifts gears into practical advice for entrepreneurs: how to stay mission-aligned, grounded, and ethical during periods of change. Whether you're navigating a personal storm or scaling your business, this episode reminds you—you’re not alone.

IG: @gina_cavalier

www.theliberatedhealer.com

www.ginacavalier.com

[00:00:00] 

Hey, my name is Gina Cavalier and I'm super excited to be with you guys here today, with this awesome podcast. I am a mental health advocate and author and an illustrator and wrote two books last year on health and wellness in many different areas.

So we're excited to explore those with you today. And I'm gonna be interviewing, Nikki a little bit on her. Area of expertise, talking about business to help all of you guys, moving forward. And hopefully you'll enjoy our conversation and jump in. I think that's the best introduction we've had so far on my, yeah.

I've done this a little bit. Definitely tell, yeah. What topic are we doing today? Well, I always like to talk to people about some of my techniques that really helped me. I wrote a book about how to survive suicidal ideation. 'Cause it's something that I healed in [00:01:00] myself.

And so I think sometimes I start, my number one thing is about. Grounding, and why that's important. And it's just such a great tool no matter what you're going through. It puts you into the present time and, it helps you work out whatever energy is overflowing you, whether it's anger, jealousy, frustration, fear, or all those things that really stop us from moving forward in the day.

So, that's something that I'm, I am really always excited to show people or talk about. So I call it grounding. It could be called earthing. I think the woo woo people call it earthing. Oh, okay. Normal people call it grounding. Okay. Because I have some grounding techniques that I use. Okay. But I definitely wouldn't call it earthing.

Okay. 'cause that sounds oddly weird. Yeah, to me it doesn't, but. I see. I understand. I've just, I've practiced so much. I don't like to put labels on things, like saying that's this, [00:02:00] that's that. Because now you're putting, you're putting yourself almost in everyone else in a box and those things and adding judgment to it.

So I, whether it's woo woo or not, it helps people. Yeah. I. I know grounding techniques are very much helpful. I am not saying that. Oh yeah. I just, that one term just seems, sounds weird to me, but if other people use it and are comfortable with it, that is on them. Yeah, absolutely. And what kind of stuff are you gonna be talking about for business stuff for people today?

So how to stay focused, am myth when you're either growing or just things are changing in business. Okay. Yeah, that's a hard one sometimes just to kind of keep, I'm really good at that. And so I understand like why that's such a big topic, just staying on track and staying confident. So what are some of the things that you recommend then?

I do mind topic. Later after you're done [00:03:00] with yours. Oh, okay. It's a, it, we don't do them at the same time 'cause that would get awfully confusing. Oh, okay. I thought it was a back and forth. Okay. It's a back and forth, but like we converse on the mental health first. Okay. And then we go to the business second.

Okay. Just because I doing them separate helps me to make sure that you get your time to be able to talk and I get my time to be able to talk. Okay. And it's not this confusing mishmash. 'cause sometimes, even if they're. Topics are aligned real well. It can get confusing Sure. If you put them together. Okay.

So I'll just continue with the mental health stuff. Mm-hmm. Okay. So, um, you know. It during these times. And some of the things that I've learned that really helped me, 'cause I was a very sensitive person and I would get overwhelmed with, I actually, even though I, it seemed like I was sort of inside kind of like.

The grooving circle and the happening people. I kind of always felt on the outside, I just felt different. I felt, [00:04:00] I was very sensitive and I would take everything in. And, if you combine that with traumas, you know, we all have certain traumas. All of a sudden now you're kind of talking to yourself in a negative way.

You start to form. These thought patterns of, maybe it depends on what your trauma was, whether it was abuse, or, you know, we all have something right. That effectiveness or scared us and, in one way or another. And I almost put everybody in that category and just with varying degrees

so I just think that this is like really important to, understand that we're all the same in some way. We all come from a beautiful source of light. Through a motherly love. We've all gone through that old journey and it helps me to kind of, let go of the,

judgments towards other people and to recognize we're all here on this interesting, crazy journey together. Right. And on the wellness side, once you realize that you need to take, that you have so much [00:05:00] power within your self that you can change your existence, your day, your work, your anything, you can almost, pretty much manifest.

Really the exact life that you want, but it takes a lot of awareness, small steps towards those goals and, with yourself. So for me, what happened is, I always felt kind of on the outside and it led me to have. Suicidal ideation. 'cause I just felt like I didn't belong here. I felt I would, and it was something very quiet.

I never told anybody. And it didn't happen all the time. It was something that would come kind of ebb and flow and it could get to the point where I was out to dinner with people and I was just sitting there thinking about going home and unli myself, I mean. Nobody would ever noticed it.

I actually held like the same energy I hold now during those times, nobody would've ever known. But I just didn't feel like I wanted to be here. I was so sad. And then I had, I, my thing, I used to go into self pity and self [00:06:00] pity, man, that'll just take you down. Right? And I used to tell everybody, if you lived in my head, you would wanna kill yourself too.

I was talking to myself like. I was the worst person on the planet. So I finally decided, I'm tired of this hurts, this is painful. I'm suffering. I'm gonna figure out a way to fix this. And I went on a journey to fix my, anxiety and my fears and my suicidal ideation. And, oh my gosh, ups and downs.

Climbing a mountain, falling in a river, feeling like you're drowning, then feeling euphoric, it really was an absolute journey. And so. What the end of the journey was for me and where I was able to close that chapter or that book for me was I learned how to self-love. I did not know, I didn't love myself.

I loved my partner, I loved my friends, I loved my job. I loved so many other things. My animals, I didn't love me. And it honestly, the best thing you can do for. Even for the [00:07:00] planet, whatever you're passionate about is to love yourself. And I, a lot of people talk about it, self-love. Self-love, and I used to get like, Ugh, so tired of hearing it.

But the, it is kind of the truth. You really have to. Because once you love yourself, you don't wanna hurt yourself. You wanna make sure you surround yourself with kind people. You wanna make sure, you are eating, better quality food. It all changes because you understand that, all of this is just so special.

You don't wanna hurt it. And that's when, my suicidal ideation just went away. It went away permanently. Something I cannot even do. And that's why I wrote my book. The surviving suicidal ideation that came out in June. I wrote it with a trauma informed therapist, Dr. Amelia Kelly, and we created this workbook and I kind of wanted to like run up the mountain and tell everybody you can actually heal suicidal ideation.

I just, it was like, when you're [00:08:00] in love and you want, tell everybody I'm in love. Or you want them to be in love too, because love is such a great feeling. I kind of, that was actually what happened to me. I wanted to tell everybody, wait, don't suffer. I know it's a hard journey, but I got there.

You can too. And so that's sort of been my mission and, just to put light around it and bring levity towards it. So as you can see when people talk about this topic, they usually, it usually feels like it's gonna be a very negative conversation, but you can see in my voice and with my care and attention and authenticness about it, that it, it actually brings it into the light.

And if we can do that a little bit more, we can help people because people are suffering right now today. And in the thousands and in like a lot of people. And so the more we talk about it, it lets them relieve it for themselves and to maybe mimic my journey [00:09:00] so they can stay here and their family don't have to go through the.

The sorrow of losing them that way, which is a tragic, tragic way thing that, a family has to experience. And, so one of the things I do is grounding. Grounding is my number one tool. So what, what grounding techniques do you use? Or are they not the same ones and you do something different? Yeah, everybody does it slightly differently and it doesn't really matter.

Because the intention is what's important. So I'll teach you how I do it, but, it's if you have an intention and you have a imagination, what it does is, it just 'cause we're a big ball of energy. What it does is it helps us. Collect our energy and it settles it down with a, because we are in control of all this energy.

So what we usually do is we close our eyes and we sit into a seated position with our back straight. And there's a [00:10:00] reason for all of this, you know, our spinal cord. And the fluid in our spinal cord is really kind of our information highway for, spiritual alchemy or an energy alchemy that, that information going up and down the spine.

So when you sit straight up, it also puts you into a, powerful position. So just like yoga or anything else, when you put your back. Close up to the back of your seat, you pull your shoulder blades down, you put your heart out. Now you're sitting in a more senior position. And I call that having seniority and like I am moving with my heart first.

I am, I'm taking position of this environment, so it's first, having that correct posture, just like a ballerina might, don't cross your legs, sit if you in a chair, if you can. Or if you're laying down flat, that's fine too, because you want the energy to move fluidly. And then I imagine a grounding cord, like a tree or a tree trunk coming off my hips, two inches wider than [00:11:00] my hips.

And I imagine that tree growing all the way down into the earth and start to burl through the earth and let it go all the way to the center of the earth where the lava is. And then it's hollow on the inside, and I just connect to my higher self and I say, whatever's not serving me anymore, let it go down that grounding cord.

And it gives me permission to release the things that aren't serving me anymore. It gives me a, an awareness of saying, Hey, that comment someone made to you, that upset you, threw it down, that grounding cord, threw it away, that. That insecurity that keeps coming up when you have to go on camera or do a social media thing or do an interview, throw it down the grounding cord.

So literally that immediately grounds you into, and it brings you into present time today because, we're programmed, and this is more of a DNA thing, but we're programmed, to go into the past. And that is where a lot of people get [00:12:00] stuck, right? They got, and I have to work on it constantly. And you, I'll wake up and I'll be like, think about an ex-boyfriend or a bill that I have, or something like that.

And I start to panic and have anxiety and it's like, it's not helping me. Right? So. Bring back into the present time, say today's date if you want, whatever date it is, it brings you right into the now and like, okay, what do I have to work on today to move me towards my goals? What is something I have to work on?

If mental health is something you consciously have to work on and you know it, you're like, Hey, I'm a good person. I have been through some stuff, but I wanna, I, I'm passionate about changing my life, right? List it all out. Like what can I do? Should I talk to a therapist? Should I reach out to friends?

Should I get some books? Maybe do some yoga, do some stretches, go on a walk. Like, really find out what, you know, you gotta own your mental health. For, because even if you do go get seek help, they're only with you momentarily. You know, you [00:13:00] have so much power to control how your day unfolds, how your life unfolds, but you really have to do it with conscious awareness.

I'm making a choice to change my life. I don't wanna suffer anymore. And a lot of people are suffering and it's just, I hate seeing it. It hurts my heart, you know? And I just, you know, some people are suffering in silence all by themselves. It's so sad. And that's why I love these podcasts. So I thank you for the opportunity to connect with people or anyone who might need to hear that today.

I've never heard anybody ground like that with the tree thing. It's an interest. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Yeah, because I haven't heard everything. I might have been through multiple and multiple of years of therapy, but that doesn't mean even yet. I've heard everything. Some cases that's a good thing.

'cause some therapists are just not as good as they should be. Yeah. But, [00:14:00] so the grounding techniques I've always used are for when you are. Having an anxiety attack or a panic attack to try to bring you back to the present where it's a movement or thoughts that slow you down and make you come back to the present.

So the cherry picker thing. Love it. Yep. That's a great one. I use that one. Usually without thought at this point, like I'll start to get anxious and automatically my fingers start tapping it out and my friend will notice and she is okay, I know I have to do something now 'cause she's about to lose it.

I love it. That's amazing. School. The other one that I was always taught, and actually I was taught it two different ways and I prefer it one way over the other. So it's the five things. Okay. I didn't know that one. So for me, the way I [00:15:00] was taught to do it first, which is why I prefer it that way.

I don't like being taught by multiple people, multiple different ways to do something. Yeah. It usually makes me mad. I don't know. I'm weird like that. But like you find one thing you can see, one thing you can smell, one thing you can hear, one thing you can taste. And there's another one. What is it? Touch?

Yeah. One thing you can touch and that brings you back to the room you're in because now you have to look around the room for the thing. You can see, you have to try to listen real hard for the thing you can hear, if you're in like your bedroom or something. That just one on one could probably do most of the work to bring you back to the here and now.

If you're out in public, you may have to do it a couple times, but the thing you smell is probably gonna stay the same if you stay in the same spot. Right. Yeah. But there are other people who say it's [00:16:00] five things you can see, four things, you can hear three things you can touch, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.

I don't like doing it that way 'cause that just makes me have to do math. While I'm already not in a place where I want to do math. So I just do the 1 1 1 and then if I need to do it again, I do it again. That seems like a present time, practice, like to bring in a present time. So it's, it is slightly different than grounding.

The reason why I like that, the grounding that I teach and, even with a lot of different yogas, which I've tried many different kinds, there are wonderful, but you go into that meditative state and you. You start to work through some of the emotions and what happens is they kind of get stuck.

They kind of like you start to work 'em out and some of 'em are really deep and it starts to come out and then it's like, say, say you're working through, you know, a traumatic experience and it's starting to come out and then it's almost around you. [00:17:00] If you don't have a visual way of releasing that thing or that energy of that thing, then it kind of can get stuck in the ORIC field and you feel worse.

And that's why I kinda like the release because it's like a conscious release of like moving it outta your space. Yeah. One of my therapist ha her technique, after we're done talking, she'll go, okay, now put everything we've just talked about in a. Container. Container and I'll ship it off to China. And I'm like, yes, I love it.

I love it. Yeah, I love that. Oh my gosh. And that way you're like, because like usually, especially if you're talking to a therapist who is any good at their job, you're going through things. Therapy is not a place you should like going. It should be a place that you need to go. Like I, yeah. To go to therapy every week like it's a need, and because of that need, I'm going to be talking about things sometimes [00:18:00] or a lot of times that are not comfortable to be talked about.

And so putting them into a container and getting rid of them, that visualization of being able to get rid of it like you do with your tree is like the way I can walk out of that and not wanna punch a wall as soon as I get 10 feet from the therapist's office. Mm-hmm. A lot of my practice is done with Roses a Rose work.

Um, you know, there's a big origin. I was actually researching a lot of origin stories on the Rosa Secretions and all this interesting stuff, but Roses are such a dynamic, tool and we, I use it a lot in my practice. And we just, we do that with the roses. We put all the stuff that we've just processed into the rose and then we blow it up.

Like, just blow it up. Imagine blowing up the, so you just imagine a giant rose and throw all those images and thoughts and energy into there, and then you imagine it exploding. It's, and it's actually a term that they call blowing roses. [00:19:00] Oh. That's not suggestive at all, but, okay. Okay. So my container gets shipped off to China.

Nobody's blowing anything up. That does sound like a good idea. And I'm gonna have to tell her we're. Yeah, into this. See what her response to that is. It's just a great energetic, where I studied, we, you know, we had thousands of students. We all were doing it. It was, it was kind of interesting and fun.

And, some of the work that you do can be heavy. So when you can. Bring some levity again to it, or lightness to it, or expression. It really helps kinda lighten it a little bit. 'cause sometimes we're working through really heavy things. So even in my darkest moments, I never let go of my humor.

So, um, it's not anymore, it's not [00:20:00] as light and fluffy as some people's humor. But yeah, probably like mine. It is definitely humor. Definitely. But I've also learned, because that hu my humor has helped me get through a lot, right? Because, my life hasn't always been, , roses and puppies, and my roses unfortunately didn't blow themselves up.

But, going back and, and talking about it with my therapist, I will make smart alec comments and dark humor moments. You know, I just, my military brat whose dad then, whose stepdad then became a truck driver. So like. And then all the trauma I've been through, you add all that up together and I have a very dark humor that some 12-year-old boys will be making the same laughter as me at some things that people [00:21:00] say.

So yeah, it's just, well, good for you. I have a, my humor is got issues and it's fine. I'm so. But, being able to find that humor for a lot of people isn't easy. So anytime somebody finds their humor after traumatic events or seasons is a wonderful thing.

I'm just coughing. I actually, I clap a lot. And then my friend, my friend was telling me You clap a lot and she's a doctor and, she sent me this video that said that, cla being is actually a really good, way to move energy. Mm-hmm. And I thought that was kind of interesting. I am just glad you didn't do it really loud in front of the mic people.

No, I know, but I do, I do gently, I guess. I'm used to being on [00:22:00] podcasts. I'm trained, I guess, which is good because I've listened to things where people are clapping or snapping right next to the mic and it's like if you, I wear headphones all day long. Yeah. I have sensory issues, so I wear headphones no matter what I'm doing.

Prob to keep the noise, you know, just the house noises in bay, nevermind outside in public and wearing them to keep that at bay. But to have somebody snapping or screeching at the top of their lungs in a video, it just kind of like. I pull it, put my ears, the headphones away from my ears to try to like not have my eardrums ache for the next hour.

Wonderful. But if I didn't have that, I'd have a migraine and I would definitely be on the rampage. I don't like [00:23:00] being in pain, even though like added pain, like if my eyes hurt or my headache turns into a migraine. I have extra spinal fluid, so it makes it so that I always have a headache. Mm. Like once that turns into a migraine, I am like not okay with it.

And if you're making unnecessary noise, you are repo. You are a problem to be dealt with. Oh boy.

Not that I'm violent, I just make people stop talking.

Wonderful. So you said that you'd been on a lot of podcasts last year. Was that to, announce the book coming out? Correct. Yeah. I did a lot of co with my co-author, Dr. Amelia Kelly. Yeah, I did probably three a week, at least, for the whole year. So by the end of the year and the holidays came around, I just really wanted to [00:24:00] shut up.

But, you know, again, it's something from my heart and so it's always an honor to. Connect with anybody around the world. And that's the cool thing is, I've talked to probably every, somebody in every single country, every single one. Dubai. I just did one in Dubai last week, which was the first time I did one there.

And so I just, it helps me to really see that, you know, humans are just a universal interesting little being. And, we're. In this interesting time in the world where we can build connections so easily that we used to not really be able to do people like yourself who are, putting out podcasts, just wanting to have a voice and enjoy it.

That was something that just wasn't heard of, just. Only five, six years ago. So it's creating all these different media opportunities and voices, and to me, that's us elevating as a planet, as a community. We all, instead of giving it to just the few [00:25:00] now before how it was, you know, just the networks that we're allowed to have a podcast or media, you know, anybody who has some, a passion in their heart and to see people.

Do their passion is, I, it makes me so happy. Regardless if it's an actor on stage or someone on a, or a podcaster, it doesn't matter. And you can see it shine through, , because it's a lot of work. And so that's why I always, applaud people out there doing it because, you know, the editing, the, it's finance.

It takes financial resources, you know, and. It's a wonderful thing because you are contributing in a way that. It is mental. That is death does lead to mental health. Finding your passion and what makes you thrive and get up out of bed. It is a part of the journey.

This going back to the self-love first. When you really find yourself love, then you're, you will find your life's purpose and your passion. It'll just. It'll really fall in your lap. So if you're [00:26:00] struggling, focus on self-love, and then the purpose will come is what I always tell people.

It will come and you don't, it might not come in the way that you expected it or in the form that you expected it, but boom, all of a sudden, maybe you're writing a book or, like you're putting it into a creative work. It'll manifest into something and it really will take you on your path.

I've had, I've seen incredible people all of a sudden become, practitioners for, or acupuncturists or, they've gone in so many different directions when they've, really consciously worked on their stuff. So I think it's great. Okay. I think we can switch over to the business side.

Okay. I'll give you an opportunity at the end to, talk about your book again real quick. Okay. Thank you so much. So we are gonna talk about how to stay focused and grounded while you're change, while your business is changing, whether that's from growth or [00:27:00] just change because. There is that, everything changes, nothing stays the same.

You can go into change picking and screaming and it will just take longer for it to happen and it will be more painful. Or you can, go into the change knowing that it's happening and allowing it to do it so that it can happen faster and easier. If your business is staying still for too long, it is stagnant.

There's no room for anything to grow if you're stagnant and you're not moving. So, yes, I concur. So what are some of those techniques that you use to stay focused and grounded? So first you're going to clarify your mission and your, values. You want to be steadfast on your mission, what it is, so your mission, whatever it is, usually [00:28:00] is a plan to get from where you are to where you want to be.

That is your mission. Our mission is to grow, and create, I don't know, rocket ships into the new millennium. I don't know, whatever. But now you have to have your values and your core purpose. What is your purpose? Is it to build those rocket ships or is it to fight everybody in the world because they think you shouldn't build the rocket ships?

Because that really is two different things. If you have everybody focused on building the rocket ships, you're not gonna care about what anybody else is saying about you. No, I'm not talking about Elon Musk or anybody. I don't care. This is just a for instance, that's all I am. I am not aligned with anybody.

Sure. But, my, for instances get wild. This is just one of them. It's a good [00:29:00] one. So your core purpose is to build the rocket ships. So you put all your people and all your energy into building that rocket ship and doing those things, and you let the naysayers do their thing because who cares?

At the end of the day? Eventually, maybe you're gonna have a rocket ship. That does what you say it did, it was going to do, and then all those naysayers are eating the mud that is on their face.

Correct. You wanna make sure that in the process of that you don't let go of your value. You still want to be, honest, trustworthy people who pay their people good money. Whatever, but you want to, focus inward at your company and focus at making sure that your people have the resources they need to actually build that rocket ship instead of going out and [00:30:00] being on the news every night.

'cause you're trying to tell people, no, they're lying. That's not what we're doing, type deal. Right. Because if you're putting all your energy into doing that, then your people are not gonna be as focused and they're not gonna be able to do their jobs either. Good point. Yes, I agree. So making sure everybody is focused and steadfast and determined and all that good stuff on their goal on the company's goal.

With ethics and good standing and all that in place, then that's great. Now, if you have a whistleblower go out and say that, Hey, they've cut our pay in half because we're not done yet, maybe that was a bad decision and if that actually happened anywhere. Again, I'm not talking about anything specific.

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but, that would be a problem. That's where you stepped away from your core values. That's where you stepped away from your [00:31:00] purpose. You screwed up basically, and you need to fix it and make it right, and then keep going and building your rocket with all legal things all tied up in a bow.

What? I'm not gonna have somebody say that I said they could do something unethical. That is not what I'm saying. Like you want to, your company should have ethics. It should have, you know the want and the need to stay within the legal realms of every single piece of legal stuff that it needs to Correct.

There's never reason to go outside the law to do something for your business. Never. No, it's unnecessary and pretty much stupid. There's that's some good advice right there. Don't wanna get in trouble.

I talk about business tips, I talk about mental health tips. I'm not a therapist. I'm somebody who deals with mental health. Yeah. I am [00:32:00] in business for myself. Everything I do for my business is a hundred percent. On the legal side of things, I don't do anything sketchy because as soon as it starts getting sketchy, I'm like, yeah, that's not my, not me.

Yeah. Not for me, not my job. But, we wanna make sure that we are doing the right thing, even if it's the hard thing because it's the right thing. Yes. You. Mm-hmm. Sorry, I was just gonna agree with you there.

So you always wanna, you, well, you always wanna have goals, right? Yeah. Not just personal goals, but even if you don't work for yourself and you work for a company, you should have personal goals that attach to that company. Even if it's, I'm gonna leave this in a year and go on to another business because I'm done at this place.

Right? [00:33:00] But you should have goals in place that help you to figure out how you're gonna get promotions, how you're going to get raises, that type thing. But you also should have your personal goals so that you're not only focused on work. 'cause that makes people a very doll boy.

Absolutely. Wow. That's some good advice there. When, if you are the owner of the company, you not only have the responsibility of setting your goals, your personal goals, plus your goals for the company, but you have a responsibility to set goals for the company that are realistic and clear so that they can be achieved.

Yes. And work with your people to, set the small goals to make sure that those bigger goals get made. I. Yeah, it's really important. You don't wanna lose sight of what is happening with your customers, your [00:34:00] clients, whatever it is. When you're scaling, you want to make sure that if you are customer facing or if you're business facing, it doesn't matter which way you face that you are keeping those people.

In the loop as to what is changing, where it affects them and how it affects them. And also, making sure that people are, they're still happy, right? Because sometimes during a change, some, something can get lost in the weeds and you wanna make sure that you're reaching out to make sure people are still happy and content with what you're doing.

And then. The final thing is to strengthen your leadership. Give them the tools and the skills and the education that they need to be able to help the people under them grow and become more [00:35:00] capable. Because when you have a strong baseline people, when the little people down at the bottom of the company are working the best they can, and they've been educated the best you can do for them.

Then it just makes good things roll where they need to. Absolutely. I agree with you a hundred percent. They actually say that, in the future, going all the way up to 2030, they're anticipating that. So many more people are going to be working for themselves than ever before that we're absolutely going a hundred percent in that trend.

Just more and more like, it's just gonna get like that. So having these skills for the future, for yourself or someone in your family is amazing. Would you agree with that? Yes, totally. I have a sister who is in, the corporate world. I don't remember the name of her company.

Wouldn't share it if I did, [00:36:00] but I also think that's information I'm not supposed to have. Yeah, I don't know. Anyway, I don't have the information about what company or anything she works for, but I knew, I do know that, she is looking to go out on her own because of the culture at her job being what it is.

Where it's not conducive to growth, it's more conducive to tattletales and people getting cut and all that kind of thing. Yeah. Corporate life can be really hard. So, there are a lot of people who suffer from mental health problems. Who could. From the safety of their room, start working for themselves, drawing, doing anything it is that they do.

And that sense of accomplishment that you get when you finish a project for somebody and they're like, thank you so much. I couldn't have done it without you, [00:37:00] is amazing. Yeah, of course. Yeah. I had actually this week, a surprising thing happened. I am a part of a bunch of people who kind of work for the same type company.

Right. But they're all, it's a weird thing. I asked in their chat if anybody had, a story about something and one of the bigger guys who's involved. And who's well known throughout the company was like, I know something, I'll tell you, I'll talk about it on the call today. I was like, okay.

Then I go and listen to that call and he was like, Nikki's great. And I'm like, dude, I didn't even know you knew me.

So that was like, that has made my week. Because, Aw, like somebody I didn't even know was paying attention to what I was doing, [00:38:00] just told an entire call with over a hundred people on it that I am awesome. And so I was like, okay, I guess I am then, you know? Yeah. Because I have trouble, one of my things is I have trouble believing that any, anything I do is all that difficult and anybody could just do it.

But like most of the people I work with can't do some of the stuff I do. And they end up going, oh, but you did that so beautiful. I'm like, it took me 10 minutes, oh wow. I, you know that. I like that, that, you got to have that experience with your. Other person in your office and that seems like a really rewarding, place to work at, which is wonderful.

I work for myself in connection with some people. Yeah. Like my clients are connected to, it's like a spider web type thing. I'm out at the [00:39:00] fringes.

Yeah, awesome, awesome tools to keeping focused and ethical and, um, you know, just inspired, I think, you know, um, I, my, I'm a, you know, entrepreneur myself and I. I think that's the number one thing people will say that, you know, they get all inspired in the beginning and um, and then all of a sudden there's a big dip or something and they, they lose whatever hope or they get, they fall into fear and, you know, so just finding that inspiration, wouldn't you say, just to keep it going.

So, so for me, you know how people get married and at first everybody calls it the honeymoon period. And then, you know, at like the five year mark, that's when the divorces start happening because life becomes an actual thing again. And, you know, it's hard to say that you're in, you know, it, it's hard to show that you're in love every single [00:40:00] day to the same person, not because you don't love them, but because it kind of starts to feel monotonous.

Mm-hmm. And so. And life, right? Like who wants to be loved up on when they're sick? Mm-hmm. Go away. I'm going to, you know, have a grilled cheese sandwich, but, um. I, those technologies for me, the same thing happens with, with, um, entrepreneurs in business. And you'll see it mostly in those guys that like start business after business after business and keep giving it, you know, selling it because whatever.

Um, but it can happen with anybody. And it's where you're in that business for so long that you're not as inspired as you were at the beginning, but you haven't gotten to your goal yet. It's that trudge, you know, that middle section where you know you actually have to do the work that can [00:41:00] become not boring, but boring.

Right, because it's day after day of doing the same task so that you can get to the bigger goal and then all of a sudden you're like, I am so bored at doing this. This is so stupid. Why am I doing this again? And like being able to sit yourself down in that moment and go, because we're trying to get to this goal, and if we don't do what we're doing now, we're not gonna make it to that goal and we're gonna fail, or we're gonna fall apart.

And, um, being able to say that to yourself and motivate yourself to keep going, to keep doing is very important. Absolutely gotta keep inspired and the team inspired. And, uh, that's why, you know, I always say make sure you pick something that your heart really loves to do. Because, um, I used to have a lot of people that would say, oh, Gina, you're really good at this and this and this and sales or this and that.[00:42:00] 

Why don't we do this? And you get all excited for a minute because you're like, yeah, that's a really great idea. And you start to think about it and it's like, that's neat. That's great. But then I always go, can I see myself doing that in six months? Um, and sometimes I just say, no, I don't think I'll be that inspired.

And it's really helped me because I used to always get, say yes to a lot of different things. And now I really just try to make sure it's something that my heart is passionate about. So that helps me, like I love what I'm doing now. Um, so every day I just get up out of bed. I'm just like, you know, marching towards the end.

Um, and that feels a lot better than when I was like, working on projects that I was like, Ugh, can't wait for it to be over. You know? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Working for myself. And so my job is I work with my clients and I do all different kinds of things with them. Social media, video editing, whatever. So no two days of mine look similar.

Yeah, [00:43:00] which is how I don't end up in a situation where I'm like, this is the most boring thing on the planet. 'cause that's a dangerous thing for me to believe because my brain then goes, okay, well we're not doing this anymore. And then it becomes like a massive trial to get my brain to engage for two seconds to get things done.

Yeah, so I need the variety that I have, like my business is kind of a little confusing because I do so much, and most people are like, well do one thing and do it well. I'm like, no, no, no. Yes, I can do one thing and do it well, but I'd be bored, tears and ready to pull all my hair out, and my hair goes down to my waist out of the braids.

Uhhuh, we are out.

Don't pull your hair out. Well, what are, is there anything else that you'd like to highlight today, for entrepreneurs and, what some things you recommend? [00:44:00] Nope, I think I said it all. Well, it was a good topic, staying focused and ethical, I think, you know, is a really, and how to be inspired.

I think it's a, really. Good topic that you got through today. Maybe help some people out there. Thank you very much. So I said I would give you time at the end to plug your book again, so let's do. So, guys, thank you so much. Really sending you out like a warm hug if anybody needs it right now.

I know that life can be a little up and down. Thank you for your time today. I wrote a book called Surviving Suicidal Ideation. I actually did the illustrations as well, and I wrote it with a trauma therapist named Dr. Amelia Kelly. And it's a workbook to help people who are suffering through suicidal thoughts.

It's something they can do in their private area of their own home if they don't wanna talk to anybody. There's a reason why we put this out. It was published by the Sweden Board FO Foundation and is available on Amazon or anywhere that you [00:45:00] can find books. So thank you so much for this time today and wishing everybody, and well on their journey.

Thank you very much for coming.