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According to the website Business Leader, the percentage of self-employed women grew more than men during the pandemic.

The flexibility that comes with self-employed makes being your own boss an attractive proposition for many women.

Tonight we talk to 2019 Inspirational Woman of Chicago to find out how she balances entrepreneurship while being an inspiration to the masses.

I'm so happy you're joining us.

From Los Angeles.

This is KLCS PBS.

Welcome to Everybody with Angela Williamson, an innovation, Arts, education and public affairs program.

Everybody with Angela Williamson is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

And now your host, doctor Angela Williamson.

Jody Bell is here with us.

I'm so excited.

Thank you so much for being here.

You're this phenomenal entrepreneur.

You have just all of this mentorship when it comes to wellness.

But before we talk about all of that in your book, one of the reasons why you're here today, I would love just to get to know Jody so our audience knows how Jody transitioned in this journey to get to where she's writing this book today.

you know, just a lot of times people look at things in their life.

And a lot of times when you're in the storm, you allow the storm inside of you.

But if you can use that as your platform and let the storm be outside of you and lift you up like there's so much you can learn.

And obviously we are given lessons.

And if we don't learn our lesson, then we repeat it, right?

And then we're given those lessons.

And I feel that it's a gift that we've been given a lesson to share.

Does that make sense?

It does.

So you mentioned storms, but you you don't.

Because when you say storms, I mean a lot of people think that's negative.

But you're saying it's not really negative.

It's a lesson and it's a lesson for us to learn and move forward.

So how do we do that and use an example.

so every time something's going on right.

What can I learn from this?

How did I attract this into me?

Where can I show up differently?

And how can I teach someone else to learn from my experience?

So a lot of times, we'll do way more for somebody else than we'll do for ourself.

So if we step back and we look at it as where's my platform with this, who can I speak to?

Who can I help in?

One of my biggest goals in life is to reach the masses.

And you'll you will hear me say that.

I've been saying it not to say how old I am, but decades and.

And so every day when I'm like, what's my goal?

And it's to reach the masses.

But I don't do that by myself.

I do that with you.

You feel better by your action.

You're going to have an interaction.

I'm going to feel better with you.

And then we just spread that around the world.

And so no matter what is happening in their life, if we can sit back and be like, okay, where's my lesson in this?

And then it just changes everything.

But then also to you also give us another bit of wisdom as well.

It's when we are traveling on the journeys and we're facing the storms.

We do that alone, and it's not healthy for us because we can learn from others or not even learn from others.

We could probably end up being that person's inspiration.

So why do we do that?

Ego.

Think about it.

You know, a lot of times it's ego or it's a defense mechanism that we have.

If you a lot of times people have things that they've piled on through life.

Right.

And so it's a defense mechanism or a controlling thing.

Like I can take care of it.

I can do this.

I don't need anybody's help.

My God, there's so much beauty and vulnerability and asking for help.

I wouldn't have met you if we didn't have a platform asking for help.

You know, like, help us watch the show and then look at this like, I mean, I got goosebumps.

Everything that's been going on, you know, and it was just a simple ask.

It didn't have to be a big ask or a little ask.

You know, and you never know.

One of the most beautiful things is your strength is probably someone else's weakness, but their strength is probably your weakness.

So if we can combine those two together, look what we can build together.

Well, and we always think about if you're a strong person, you don't need anyone else.

But that seems like that's faulty thinking.

So as you inspire the masses, how can we work to change that thinking.

Work every day?

It is, you know, and I don't care how many layers you pull away, we're always going to have another layer.

And I don't say that in a bad way, you know, because okay, I evolved to here.

Now how can I evolve to here, you know, and the only person you should ever be in competition with is yourself to be the better person that you were than yesterday.

Because you don't know what you don't know, right?

So then you just keep growing and keep growing.

So when you have those thoughts running through your head, imposter syndrome.

I'm not good enough.

You know?

You know what?

What am I doing?

What you know, people fear holds them back so much.

And we all know what fear is.

Just false evidence appearing real.

You know?

So if you can just catch yourself in the middle of when you're not feeling enough or when you're you're questioning your worth or anything like that, and just stop.

I do this a lot, and it's to make myself stop so that I can't keep that thought.

If I'm clicking and hearing something in my ear, or if I'm teaching a class or, you know, on TV, if a lot of times I'll have a bracelet on or a thing and I'll be like, you know, so that makes me stop.

It brings you back to that moment and it adds clarity.

Yes.

Okay, so here's my question.

you you own several different businesses in Chicago on top of what you do as a motivational speaker or an international bestselling author.

I mean, that's girl.

Awesome.

Really.

You are, you are.

And not only that, you take like the best photos.

So let me show you some of our audience, some of those photos too.

But I mean, that's a lot to always keep yourself in check.

Oh, you mean so are you part.

We're human.

So.

And so what happens when Jody becomes human?

You have all of these, things in place to help bring you back to the world.

And that's okay.

Yes.

It's okay to.

I have dogs, my dogs go everywhere with me.

Minus here.

They didn't get on the flight because they're old.

So they're at my dad's.

Come to California.

They did?

Oh they did.

Sorry, dog.

But I have my dogs.

I have my friends.

I have my coffee.

You know, I have my favorite coffee mug.

So I look at my favorite coffee mug, which this, if I can take it home, will be one of them.

I we yeah.

We've we've been missing some mugs.

Yeah.

But I look at that coffee mug and just go into that moment and be like, yeah, something happened when I was there.

It was really great.

Like, I have little tokens laying around to remind me.

And we have this beautiful, beautiful file cabinet in our mind.

So why don't we just pull out things from our mental file cabinet and use them.

As we journey through life?

We have several different storms that we've hit and we've passed those storms, but psychologically they're still inside us.

So how do we change those with our mental file cabinets to get us to the next step so they don't end up triggering us and bring this backward?

Well, I thought you'd never has come.

Let's rewrite our.

Story.

It's as simple as that.

Yeah, it is.

And how do we rewrite our story?

So let's think about this.

And I'm not.

Please.

No one.

I'm not like being mean or bad in any way, shape or form.

But so many people blame their childhood for things, right?

Yeah.

Okay.

So let's think about it.

Regard not everybody's meant to be a parent, okay.

But that parent or whoever is biologically your parent got you here.

Okay.

So somebody loves you enough to put food on the table, give you a kiss, her a hug, make sure you had a clean diaper, you got to school, you got some clothes on.

So maybe they didn't show up in the way that you thought or wanted them to show up, but somebody showed up.

And if this person didn't show up, then somebody else showed up.

So let's look at that and pull away the layers.

Like I was really loved.

I had shelter, I had food, I have education.

If you were able to get an education.

And because I went on that journey, I am who I am now.

You're rewriting your story.

And so when you rewrite your story, then you actually did develop gratitude like levels of gratitude.

And then guess what?

You get to write the next page.

You get to change your story when you rewrite it.

Because, you know, so many times other people pour their truths on you as to who they think you are or what you're supposed to be.

But what's your truth?

To stand in your truth?

That's the most beautiful thing about confidence, right?

Is being able to stand in your truth.

I don't need permission.

I don't need ask for your approval.

I'm standing on my truth.

My truth is that I choose to live an amazing life.

Right?

Well, it's I mean, it's wonderful, but also to you talk about our truth.

And when we realize our truth, then there are certain things that may be inhibiting us.

Maybe we start going to school because we let that person say something in our mind and we just kept it there.

Or, I mean, we have different issues.

Maybe wait is part of it too, because I know a lot of people see you because they want to transition that, but we don't realize that we keep that impedes us.

So how do we switch that?

Because if you've been if your mind is already written your story for you and it's in your mind every time something triggers you, you're going to go back there.

So how do we not go back there and move forward?

So we're not having other these other areas that we struggle with.

You ask for help.

For one, I'm thank you for bringing up the story of the way.

I'm going to be very honest.

I am usually a size 2 or 4.

I am not a size 2 or 4 right now, and my weight as a protection mechanism around me right now my adrenals are saying some bad words to me right now over stress and things like that.

So I got help.

One of my great friends is a beautiful functional medicine doctor and I was like, something is going on.

And so, okay, let's look at all the areas of my life where they're stress.

I'm dealing with things.

We don't deal with things.

Yes, yes.

So then okay.

But one of the simple things is in the afternoon, I always have a cup of coffee at 3:00.

Well, my adrenals don't like that.

I didn't know my adrenals didn't like that.

So I don't have a cup of coffee.

I have a cup of tea instead.

Yeah.

That's just, I mean, for anybody who golfs, right?

Yes.

I don't know how to golf.

I've taken golf lessons so that I could.

Yeah, yeah.

And I still can't.

Oh, good.

Oh, yeah.

I took off less.

Well, that was kind of a waste for me.

I still want to learn, but it's okay.

It is.

But if you think about it, even if you're like, I love sports, so if you're playing baseball or something, all you have to do is move whatever instrument you're using, even a centimeter and everything's going to change.

Using that as an example.

Well, look, I can't see half the time.

So I got 120 fives on that.

Okay.

That's okay I understand that too.

But that's important too.

we are about to go to a break, but you mentioned something that I think is really important in that my audience could really learn a lot about, including the host.

I've been hearing about functional doctors and, I think when we come back, if you don't mind, and we get into your book, maybe you can educate us a little bit about that, because at some point in our life and we've all there.

So I'm there with you too, sister, where we if things aren't working and we need to get that help.

But sometimes it's not traditional.

It's like holistic.

Yeah.

So I love for you to talk about that when we come back from our break coming up.

Show us, do we?

I get today I want to take.

You to segment, okay.

But sometimes we do invite our guests back, as you've probably seen a number of them at least once or twice.

So as long as you don't mind coming.

Yes.

You always.

We always have friends on the show.

So.

So we don't finish it now.

You'll be coming back and we'll finish it.

Fascinating.

But hold on.

And we're going to take a little bit of a break, okay.

Do you find yourself feeling like there is more out there for you?

Well, come back and Jody will tell us how her book will help us find clarity on our journey, and she'll let us know what a functional doctor is.

So.

When I was in.

Foster care, I never knew when I would have to move, so I always had my suitcase ready to go.

Then one day I was adopted.

My new parents open their heart and home to me.

My parents cook my favorite breakfast for me every morning.

My parents took me and I never thought I was going through.

They gave me a home and an even better reason to use that suitcase.

So my parents aren't perfect, but they're perfect for me.

When a crisis hits close to home and across the globe, nonprofits are on the front lines, ready to serve healing, nurturing, rescuing, protecting, inspiring the work of philanthropic organizations has never been more important.

And its donors and volunteers like you who make all this possible, thank you.

The nonprofit Alliance.

Hey, guys.

Welcome back to another Empowerment Talk and what's right with Life with Jodi about how are you and your relationship.

I don't want to just talk about your romantic relationship.

What's your relationship with yourself that is so profound?

You guys, if you don't have a great relationship with yourself, you're not going to have a relationship at all.

Welcome back.

Jodi's book, Essence of Life 31 days to a New Perspective helps us get unstuck and move forward.

But before she talks about that, she is going to describe what a functional doctor is.

Tell us about that.

It looks at treating everything you know and the way she approaches things as beautiful, like the blood work that I just had done, all of the, you know, testing that we do.

Let's look at the whole picture.

Let's look at what's going on with you emotionally, what's going on with you physically, what's going on with you internally, but really listening to you and not just taking the 15 minutes, because that's the all the time slot that I'm allowed, but to really sit and listen and have that conversation with you.

And do I believe in Western medicine?

Absolutely.

But do I believe and there is another way.

I own wellness centers, you know.

So yes, exercises will have life.

You know, breathwork, meditation, there's so many modalities that we can use and that one works for everybody.

So why are we trying to put everybody in this when we have so many things that we can offer people?

Well, and during the pandemic, I mean, a lot of people had to find other ways to cope.

And and we loved our doctors, but they were poor.

Things are stretched so thin.

And so they helped us.

But only there's only so much that our doctors can do.

At some point, we can find other answers.

And so a lot of people have realized that making sure that you meditate and making sure that you do breathwork and things like that, how important is that as our body starts to change, to incorporate some of this into our life?

Oh, self-care is not selfish, my friends and I would love for every single person like them to cry.

Saying this give yourself permission to take care of you and it's only an hour, right?

You can take one hour a day.

And even if that means that you say, I'm going to the grocery store and you drive in the car for an hour and you breathe and you listen in beautiful podcast, or you pull off to the side of the road and you drink something that you like nonalcoholic while you're driving.

But, you know, just like beautiful things that you can do just to take care of you.

Because we can't pour from an empty cup.

And I know that it sounds so cliche to say that, but if you don't have the bandwidth, you don't.

What can you do?

Right?

Well, and I think by the time we came to the pandemic, a lot of people were pouring from an empty cup.

And so we all had to take some time.

And I say we, including myself, take some time and look at our life, but how can we continue that forward so that because we're not going to go back to the way it was before 2020, but how can we now move forward and know that our cups getting empty?

Let's take steps back.

Is this where your book comes into play?

You guys?

It's five minutes a day.

Honestly.

Five minutes, five minutes.

That's it.

Okay, let me ask you a couple questions.

I did this with your guy on camera or your camera guy a few minutes ago.

That's okay.

What are you grateful for besides family and friends?

Because that's always a first.

Yeah.

I'm grateful for this show.

I've made so many new friends, and I've learned so much to help me live an enriching life.

There you go.

What?

What's a goal that you have?

Oh, and that's been really hard because I've had so many wonderful guests.

But I'm thinking, oh, do I want to learn to play the tuba like Stan Freese?

Or have I already have a show?

But I have another Pat Patterson who does a wonderful Californian show, or in the case of, we had, you know, Jeannie Griffin, who brought in cards that helped us look at this so we can have a direction in our life.

There's so much that I learned that I wanted to do just because of people who have been on the show.

That's beautiful.

Yes.

This is the biggest question that people have the hardest time to answer.

What do you like about yourself?

That's hard.

That's hard.

am I ability to make new friends, right?

Yes.

So I intentionally and this was a lot of coaching that I had to learn is when you were talking about what I, when you did the introduction as a thanks girl, like I had to receive that.

I had to learn how to receive that and be proud of all of my accomplishments.

And really, I mean, I've always liked myself but really loved myself.

And so when I ask those questions at first it's hard.

It is.

And then after a while you're like, oh, well, what don't I like about myself?

And let me sit here and think.

And so that just changes the momentum and changes the energy.

Like when at first when you said it, you kind of went like that.

And then after it came out, you're like.

Yeah, oh yeah.

Because our society doesn't really work that way.

I mean.

Why not?

Why yes, why.

And that's and that's so wonderful.

It's if our society could change those things, then we could have every day could start with five minutes of part of that first minute is what the gratitude, what you what you're grateful for.

And that's so important.

And this is what this book that it does.

And then in here, I always find it very interesting that I just open the book and there's your answers, you know, right there.

Chicken Soup for the soul played a big, big journey and how my life has evolved.

And I'll tell you that.

Our show is lucky enough to interview him.

Yeah.

Yes.

So what are you grateful for?

That I'm resilient.

What goals do you have to stay true to myself?

And what do you like about yourself?

I found my strength.

Not just physically, but emotionally.

And then?

Then I give you actions to do for the day, every day.

And then your mantra, I like you, I love you.

I will treat you the best way I can.

I'm really proud of the person have become.

And you said your mantra isn't that like a daily affirmation?

In a way, yeah.

And so why don't we have that as a regular part of our lives?

daily affirmations?

Is it because we are afraid to look at how we are and and how great we are?

Or is it just something that's not taught to us?

I think a little bit of both.

I'm really finding that the schools are being way more open to this, which is beautiful, and teaching these kids coping skills at such a young age is incredible.

But if you think about it so many times, because of where we grew up or who is in our wheelhouse.

Yes.

Okay.

As we change, they try to remind us of who we used to be, if that makes sense.

Are those people healthy to still be in our wheelhouse if they do that, or do they keep us on us?

I mean.

I feel like we need some stronger boundaries around that because what happens is in a loyalty has an expiration date.

So we may have that best friend that we've always done everything with that still continues the same patterns all the time, but we are trying to go here.

Still love you still take my hat off, my shoes off.

Let's sit on the couch.

But I don't have to stay here.

I give my self permission to grow.

And if you want to come with me, great.

If you don't, I'm still and be your friend.

And I'm still going to be a part of your life.

But please don't remind me of who I used to be 20 years ago.

Because I learned my lesson.

So as I learned my lesson, let me share it with others so that they can grow too, if they so choose.

I'm not going to push my beliefs down.

Down on you like you have to be like this.

No.

Just here.

Here's some things for you if you would like to.

What tools to work with and if not, great.

I still love you.

I still love you.

You mentioned that in the first segment, because that journey is all a part of learning from you.

No mistakes or storms and then moving forward and when you've done that, then you never know how you will encourage the next person and and everything.

So my question to you is because of what you do in this workbook, and you really are challenging us to not only be grateful, but to move forward.

And by moving forward, we're making that impact on the universe.

It's different when you have a friend, but what happens?

I mean, you have family members, fortunately.

Got to keep them.

Yeah.

Yeah, because they're your family.

So so how do you do that.

So because family members can also be part of that even though they love you, but be part of that restriction that stops you from moving to the next step.

Have some difficult conversations, because a lot of times we interpret what they're saying one way.

So you can ask, I'm not sure what you were implying by that.

What was your intention behind saying that?

Oh, oh, well, this is what I heard.

And then normally we just assume because we have again grew up those layers around them.

But if you are to talk about who you are and who you become and where you're wanting to go in your life, then that's how you grow.

And you don't know what you don't know again.

So let's just have the difficult conversation, which usually turns out to be crying tears I love you.

Oh my gosh, I never realized that.

And our parents especially, they were probably raised a certain way, you know.

So let's let's talk about that love.

Yeah.

Let's talk about it.

So as we finish our conversation tonight and that's a perfect transition to let's talk about what Jodi is doing next.

So I would love for you to share with with me and our audience what's next for Jodi, because you have so many wonderful projects on the horizon, I, I would love for you to share that with us.

well, a couple more books are on their way.

Yes.

And there's, a few movie premieres with some friends.

Oh.

Yes.

Yes.

So you're transitioning to that as well?

Yes.

Good transition for you.

But I have really gotten into doing a lot of retreats and a lot of corporate things.

I have so many of my private clients that are, you know, when I say, oh, I need $5,000 today.

Well, one of my clients was like, oh, I can give that to you.

I need $3 million to cover payroll.

You know?

So we're all trying to help each other, you know?

But who do they go to?

Who do they get to talk to?

Right.

So I've been getting hired in by a lot of really big companies to just come in and teach them these same skills and to remind them that they're human beings.

And it's okay to ask for help and not feel like you have to take on everything and laugh a little and just be present and have fun, you know?

So it's been fun and fascinating, and I just keep getting hired out by all these people.

And I'm like, okay, sure, okay.

Yeah.

And I mean, you could help change the face of big companies now where they start to draw in that type of talent that comes in with a positive mindset.

And then whatever storms they face, they have these tools they can go after to help them weather those storms.

So I love that so much, Jodi.

Thank you so much for your time and talking about this, because I think it's so important.

And your book, definitely, when you get ready to come out with more of your books, please let us know.

Our audience will definitely be interested.

And last but not least, thank you for coming all the way from Chicago.

Appreciate you.

Oh yes.

Yes.

So nice.

I have the inspirational woman of the year.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

And thank you for joining us on everybody with Angela Williamson.

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Join us on social media to continue this conversation.

Good night and stay well.

Hi, I'm Angela Williamson, host of everybody with Angela Williamson.

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