The Whinypaluza Podcast with Rebecca Greene Episode 084 JOYrney To Purpose

No need to whine, it's Whiny Palooza! Have some wine and join us on the Whiny Palooza Podcast with Rebecca Green.

Welcome to the Whiny Palooza Podcast. I'm your host, Rebecca Green. I'm a wife, mother of 3, and licensed clinical social worker. I also have 3 fur babies at home too. My passion has always been to help children and their families. I always dreamed of being a wife and a mother. Parents are always learning through their struggles, failures, and successes and joys. I am no stranger to this wild ride of parenting, and I know behind every great parent lies a team of supportive friends and family. I want to be part of your support system. I want you to know that you are not alone. We are in this parenting world together. Join me every week for insightful discussions with experts on parenting and marriage, as well as other parents who have found the secret to successes in parenthood. You'll learn tips and tricks to make life with your family better than ever. I hope you will follow along with me while we dive into what it takes to achieve a happy family.

Hello, this is Rebecca Green for the Whiny Palooza podcast, and I am so excited to have our guest, Erika Lassagne, with us today. Erika, thank you so much for being here with me today.

Thank you so much for having me, Rebecca. It is my absolute joy to be here. I can't wait to get into this conversation.

You already know I'm so excited to talk to you, and I want to tell everyone a little bit about you. Um, she's— Erica is your personal joy jockey. Like, how amazing does that sound? Uh, life's transitional phases can be outright weird, which we all know. Leaving high school, Graduating college to enter the workforce, shifting into parenthood, easing into retirement. With each of these moments, there's a question of what's next? The simple answer is whatever you want. My mission is to transform— oh, Erica's mission, not mine. Erica's mission is to transform the world through radical joy, creating a world where everyone is able to access joy through purpose, open conversation, and healing experiences. The hope is that this will create true healing and real change for this generation and generations to come. What moves me: there's no such thing as a coincidence. Oh, I— this— just reading this makes me so excited. I love the work that you're doing. I love the word joy. And before we jump into this, I want you to know that my cat's name is Joy. Stop it. I swear to God. I swear to God. I should have— she's wandering around. I should have brought a picture to show you. I have Faith and Joy, my cats, and I swear to God, my cat, that's what my cat that's deceased was, Hope. And I really feel like naming them. I'm naming them words that I want to say all day to like put it into my subconscious.

Like, I've never heard anybody name their cats my thing. Like, I say them like they're only mine, but they're not. But that is amazing and such a wonderful way to, like, I want to say, engage the words in your life on a regular basis so that you're like just putting them into your atmosphere. Because words are such a powerful, powerful manifesting tool, and everybody has access to it, but not everyone recognizes the power of using your words intentionally. So I love that. What a hack.

Well, and I will, I will jump into my questions for you, but I want to tell you that Hope came into my life at a time where I was losing hope. I was in a really bad relationship, and I knew that I, I knew that I needed to name her Hope, and I knew that it was going to help me keep hope. Like keep the hope in my life. And it really worked. It really, really worked. It was— she was an angel in my life and I miss her every day. And yeah, so I'm totally digressing. So let's go.

No, but that's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that because I think every bit of everybody's story matters. Like, I get so inspired, like hearing things like this because you just never know how what you're saying that you think is just like a, I don't know, an alley-oop of a part of a conversation or like, eh, like a toss away, how that could actually impact somebody's life where it's like exactly what they were needing at the moment that you said it, but they didn't even know that they need it sometimes, you know?

Yeah, you're so right. And when I saw that like joy is your word, I knew I needed to talk to you. I was like, hook me up with this lady today. So excited.

I'm so excited.

So start with telling us, what does a joy strategist do? Because I don't know at all.

Ooh. Okay. I wanna hear. All right. Um, so as a joy strategist, I'm also a creative consultant cuz I do a whole lot of things. I'm a multi-passionate creative, but what I do is that I help women and entrepreneurs who are overwhelmed, overworked, and simply over it, uh, develop creative solutions and, um, systems to find more joy, purpose, and healing in what's next. And my goal here is really to help women rediscover, reconnect, and recommit to their purpose and identity and joy. Because I believe that the moment you are clear on who you are, not based on what everyone else tells you you should be or how you should be or what you should be doing, but you're actually able to connect with the joy inside you, that is what puts you on path for your purpose, because life should be engaged with, um, in, in with play, you know. And while we're here, we're really meant to be enjoying the lives that we have. Our lives were initially meant to be fulfilling, but society, culture, tradition, the times have really, um, led people astray from what their main mission in life should be, which is to live joyfully while also living purposefully in service to others. But understanding that your service to others really then fuels your joy. So it becomes a really beautiful cycle of like giving, but also receiving.

I'm— yes, I'm wrapping my mind around everything you're saying. I am trying to instill in my children— I have 3— that I want them to be true to themselves and find a career that makes them feel like they're playing every day. Yeah, that's what I want for them.

Yes.

So tell us how you got into this area of work. How did this happen?

Oh my gosh. It's such a story and it's been such a journey, but it started off, um, well, okay. So I work with women in transitional phases and you've named some of the stages that I work with. And it's because I personally encountered those transitions myself. And I found that they were really hard times for me, like coming out of college was hard because I thought that, oh, you know, I've done all the things, I'm set, I'm ready to go. I'm going to find this job of my dreams and marry the man of my dreams and make a crud ton of money. And everything's going to be good because I've been a good girl and I've done all this stuff. And then I graduated in 2009 at the top of the recession and no one was hiring. And the, the, depression, like it, and I didn't even recognize it as like depression. And it wasn't like the worst case. It was probably a mild case in the grand scheme of things. Cause I was able to get through things, but like, I did not feel good. I found myself crying a lot. I found myself, um, feeling very uninspired. And at one point I was still working at a marketing agency that I had as an internship while I was in college, but they weren't fully utilizing me. So I felt very, um, unfulfilled. Just generally unfulfilled. Like, what did I— what was the point of going to school if this is what it was going to be like anyway? Um, and I remember calling my boyfriend, who's now my husband, and this is part of the reason why, because he showed his cards early. Like, he— I would call him every day on my lunch break and crying. And at one point, I don't know if he was just tired of me, like, calling him every day crying. At one point, he asked this simple question, and it, like, kind of, like, It was like an aha moment for me where he was like, all right, Erica, well, what do you want to do? What do you want to do? What do you want to do? And it was like, well, I mean, I want to do, I want to do all the things. I want to do everything. He was like, all right, well, pick one and then start doing it. And it was like, at that moment, I got so much clarity around like, oh yeah, like, well, at this point I'm young. The things that I think that I have to do, like get a job at an office. I don't necessarily have to do any of that stuff. I can, I can afford to do the stuff that I want to do now because I am young. And if everything else fails, I can always just go back to looking for a corporate job later. So I quit the job that I was working, which was in corporate, but, um, it had started off as an internship. So, you know, they weren't really taking me as seriously as I think they could have. Cause when I asked for a promotion, when I asked for a raise, like they just weren't seeing me as like the employee that I could be. And eventually I was like, well, that's your loss. You know, I'm I'm creative. I'm amazing. I'm awesome. And so I like left and I went back into retail, like a college degree. I told my parents this and they were like, what are you doing? But it was in that space. And in that frame of time that I found so much freedom and I really connected to who I was again, like so many parts of myself that I'd put on a shelf or like place in a closet because I thought I had to grow up and do adulty things. Um, I began to reengage with at that time, cuz it was also in New York City, the boutique that I started working at. And it allowed me to rediscover my creative side. I started making jewelry again because I had a jewelry business when I was 13. At that same place, I started selling my jewelry. Like, people liked it and they wanted to buy it. Then I put it in a couple of boutiques in the city. I started writing a lot more, which is something I'd always done. I'd done poetry when I was younger. I'd done songwriting. I started doing open mics. And then it just like— it was like one thing led to another. I started meeting some really great people. That opened up some amazing opportunities for working with magazines like Ebony magazine, doing New York Fashion Week, all these things that I thought that I'd wanted to do at some point but were unattainable to me. I really then began to claim it, state out loud what it was that I wanted. And what I didn't know then was that I was casting a vision for myself and what I actually desired my life to be. And I realized, oh, like when I say stuff, I can make those things happen. And, um, so that was like one transitional phase. And then I just realized that anytime I would go through another hard phase, like motherhood, like coming into motherhood and then that whole phase of like, all right, like, who am I now? Because now I have to take care of this little person. Um, and that kind of really threw me for a loop too. But I went back to that same process of like really sitting with myself and asking myself, okay, Erica, what is it that you want now? You have this new role, you have these new responsibilities, but that doesn't mean that you can't be who you want to be. Because for a really long time, I was going down a path of motherhood that was not working for me. It was leaving me super unfulfilled. But, you know, thank God for wisdom and knowledge and the ability to create the life that we want, you know. Well, so now I help women do the same thing.

I love that so much. We— every woman needs you. You know that transitions can be so hard. I mean, I'm just thinking about you know, the friends are going through my mind as you're talking. And I know that some of them are not experiencing the joy that I want them to experience for many reasons. I mean, I could give you a list of reasons, but I think one of the things, one of the things is that they're not prioritizing it. They think that they don't have time for joy, which you have talked about. So can you give them, can you talk to that about people saying that they don't have time for joy?

Oh my gosh, I love this question because it's like one of the top questions I get. Like, how do I— how do I begin to— you start, you start with where you are. And I always say that you should start with one feel-good thing at a time, because the moment you begin to engage with joy at any point in your day, you feel so good that you want to do it. You want to make time for it more all the time. And so then it becomes a habit. One of the things that I think One of the common misconceptions that I think is aligned with my work is that joy is something that comes easy. And it should come easy. Joy should be our default. When we come into this world, we come in with no anxiety. We come in with no worries. You come in with no problems. So when you are a child, joy is your default.

Yeah.

The thing that makes it hard for us as adults now is that we have to do a lot of reprogramming and unlearning so that we can get back to that, that evil— not evil, even. We don't want to be definitely not evil. Okay, that even state of joy, our default of joy. And it takes, um, learning how to understand how to just be rather than striving to do all of these things that we think we have to do on any given day. Um, so my first The first thing that I would say is that you really have to want to prioritize it, but start up making joy a habit with just doing one feel-good thing at a time, you know, figuring out that joy-led thing and then committing to doing that at least once a day. And it doesn't have to be a whole lot of time, but just making the habit of joy is what's most important.

Okay, so makes total sense to me. I mean, I'm thinking about the fact that, you know, when we're done, I'm going to go walk my dog and I get so much joy from taking long walks with him. But I also get so much joy from doing this with you. I was excited to do this. So I guess my question is, can we find joy in all the things we're doing all day? Does that make sense to you?

Oh, yes. That is a good question. And I say yes. Of course the answer is going to be yes, right? Um, it does take some practice and it does take some learning though, because there are moments where, you know, you have to do some things, right? And I, I always like to think of life as a, you don't have to, but you get to because you're living. And a lot of times when I find that, um, I've come into a place where I have to do something that I'm like not the most excited about, like let's say wiping my kid's butt, you know, because he's at that stage. He's been potty trained, but like he doesn't wipe very well. So then we have all these like streaks and stuff. So like I, I, I'm, I'm doing that at this point. But when I think about things like that, I always tap into gratitude. And I think that that really sets joy in place. Like I think about this scripture from 1 Thessalonians 5:16 and it's like a command and it's such a short verse. But it says, be joyful always. Like, it's literally what we are put here to do. Be joyful always. And you can find joy in everything when you're able to tap into gratitude and thanks. The fact that you are here is a gift. The fact that you can move is a gift. The fact that you have the breath of life is a gift. The fact that you are able to speak is a gift. Walk is a gift. Even if you don't love all your family members, the fact that you have them, a gift, you know, even though I have to wipe my kid's butt, the fact that his digestive system works correctly so that he is able to release waste in the way that's necessary. I know this is probably TMI, you know, all a gift. And at some point he will grow up and he'll be able to do it for himself. So just like really taking the time to give thanks and be joyful always for the life that you have, because it is not something that is guaranteed to everyone, and anything can change at any time. So really just like being thankful. It's like, it really does set the whole joy cycle on fire. That and just really then understanding that the things that you do are an act of service, and you can do them like begrudgingly, but then it really isn't the same, or you could just do it with a smile on your face and actually mean it. You know, it makes the people that you're working with happy, and it, it then also brings you happiness.

You know, I'm giggling, I'm giggling because I'm thinking about, you know, the topic that you brought up. I'm thinking about, I don't have to do that anymore. My kids, my youngest is turning 9, but I do have a puppy. Well, 3 is not— he's turning 3, so he's not a puppy. But I have to clean up the backyard.

I'm the one who wanted him.

I'm the one, I'm the one who pushed for him. And I'm the one who said I would obviously clean up the backyard. And when I'm back there cleaning, I'm not like, I can't believe I have to do this. This sucks. This is gross. I'm like, I get to have this dog. And this is like something that I get to do because I have a dog that I always wanted. So I just, you know, you're talking about attitude and you're talking about thankfulness and I think that we forget that it can go into anything that we're doing all day. So you're, you're 100% right. None of us wanted to wipe our kids or change diapers or anything, but we get, we get to do it. And yeah, I mean, well, and you're talking about, I think you're talking to how someone can get started on their journey to, on their journey. And let's help people. You talk about the journey to purpose, the joining. How do you say it?

Tell me. It's such a tongue twister.

Journey. I can't.

I know.

I love it so much, but I can't say it. But can you, can you help people start their joy? Can't say it. Say it again. Your purpose.

Yes.

Can you help people begin that? Because I think that even knowing what our purpose is, it's a hard thing to find. So can you help people start that? Where do they start?

Oh my gosh, I love this question because I say you should start by going on a joy quest.

And I'm totally taking notes while you're writing. Forgive me because I won't remember.

It is absolutely all good. Um, I say that you should start with a joy quest. If you want to get started on your journey to purpose, you should go on a joy quest. And a joy quest is an actual thing. It's on my site. It's a resource that I've created. Um, and it takes 45 minutes to an hour, but it's something that helps you uncover and rediscover— it's the rediscovery phase of the journey to purpose. So it helps you rediscover what brings you joy. But not only that, it helps you understand why it brings you joy, what brings you joy, and then how to begin to implement that joy into your life on a regular basis. So that habit of joy that I was talking about, you can literally have a whole roadmap to help fuel your joy within 45 minutes to an hour by the end of this program. And it's like amazing because the moment you get clear on that and that life becomes a world of play. And I feel like that's really how you should engage with life. And the moment you begin to play more in your joy, that is what really then sets you up for understanding what your purpose is. Um, step 2 of the Journey to Purpose and the reconnecting phase, which is my vision casting, um, well, dream workshop, the Journey to Purpose Dream Academy. And it's a 6-week workshop.

Oh my gosh. We'll talk about this because you have so many tools and resources. Tell everyone what tools and resources you have and what you suggest that people go do.

Oh my gosh.

There's so many good ones.

Oh, thank you so much. I've worked really hard on them. Like, it's been such a high making all the things. So the Journey to Purpose starts with— it's a 3-part process. And it starts with that joy quest, which is the rediscovery phase. Because remember, it's about rediscovering, reconnecting, and recommitting. To your purpose and identity and joy. So with the Joy Quest, you rediscover. With the Journey to Purpose Dream Academy, and DREAM is an acronym, uh, you are then able to propel your purpose by now kind of like sifting through all the things that bring you joy to understand what that one thing is that is actually aligned with your purpose. Or it could be many things because a lot of times the things that we do work in tandem, you know, it's just a matter of understanding how the pieces of the puzzle come together. And so this workshop is a 6-week experience, and it was formerly called a vision casting workshop because that's really what it is. But I don't think a lot of people understand the power of first crafting a vision. Um, but it's really about living the life of your dreams because your vision is your dream, right? What is your dream? How have you forgotten your dreams? How can you reconnect with your dream? And also more importantly, understanding why it's imperative that you pursue your dream even against all odds, even if you think that things aren't going to line up and work out, because with faith all things are possible. But more importantly, like, you see, I'm getting so excited about this.

I am too.

It is like, it's connected to what we've been put here to do. It's, it's our God-given gift and right to live a life of purpose. Like, we have been given gifts, we have been given authority, we've been given power. All of these things are tied to our purpose, but so many people have lost sight of that and lost their way in understanding their, their not only desire to do that, but why, why we need to do that. It's our job. Joy is our job. Living in purpose is our job. So this workshop helps you figure out how to strategize a plan to get back on path for living your life, the life of your dreams. But it also helps you create this wonderful vision board. So that's part of why it was a vision casting workshop, because we create a beautiful vision board that's strategic. So it's not just about pretty pictures.

I love it.

I love it. I know, right? Thank you. It gets me so excited to think about how I wish I would have brought my vision board so I could show it to you. It's outside, but I do have one in here. I don't know if you'd want to see it later. Let me know.

Absolutely.

Oh yeah. Okay. You want me to get it now?

Yes.

Okay.

If it's easily accessible, go for it.

Okay. I'm going to go grab it really quick because I like, I kind of hoard my vision boards because like they tell a story, a story of your life. I won't move it.

That is so awesome. I cannot wait to see it. I have one that I started that I really need to finish.

Oh really? Oh, come on through to the vision forecasting workshop. We have another one opening up in October. We'll make sure that it gets done. We will. We got a whole plan for you, Rebecca.

Oh my gosh, I love this so much. Show us. Oh my gosh.

Okay, so this is my 2019 vision board, um, and this is actually the first one that I did around the time that I started Journey to Purpose, my company. Um, because at this point I'd been doing a lot of things, but this business is really like a full culmination of who I am and the things that I've done the past 20 years. Um, but my daughter scribbled all over it. It was once a pretty picture of a woman by the ocean and the theme for that year was surrender. Thank you.

So, so, oh my goodness. So it opens up.

Oh, does it? Look. Yes, it opens up.

Oh my God. This is the most— see, now some of you are going to listen to this and you're not going to see it, but you can go see it on YouTube because we're going to put the video on YouTube. But Erica has this huge vision board with stuff about family and stuff about dream and give back and Oh, that's gorgeous! About being healthy and beautiful and wellness.

Wow.

Oh my God, this is— this is the most gorgeous vision board I have ever seen. So go, go find it because they're not going to see it if they're listening to us. That's the problem. So, but they can go see it on YouTube.

Yeah, I love it. Or hopefully even on the site because it's there as well. So there are, there are a bunch of things that are there around just vision boards because I love them. I love them so much.

Okay. So it's on your site. They can go see your vision board on your, on your website.

Yeah. Especially if they're signing up for the course. Oh my gosh.

We're gonna, so we're gonna wrap up with you telling everyone where to find you, cuz I think that's so important. So at the end, I will make sure that you talk about that. Yeah. Let's jump into the benefits to finding joy. Tell everyone listening why it's so beneficial to find their joy?

Mm, it's such a good question because the moment you're able to find your joy, you're actually able to find your freedom. Um, you're here, life becomes this amazing substance-free high. So a lot of people, I think, are trying to numb themselves to things or drown themselves in like not really having to feel, you know, or just trying to escape, you know, because that's a— that's something else that I know at my one point in my journey, that's what I was doing. Um, I was engaging in some things that I probably typically wouldn't on a more frequent basis just because I was like over it. Like, I wanted to not have to deal with anything. I just figured if I just sit here and do this stuff, um, I'll feel better because like I don't— I I really won't have to feel anything. I'm just here, you know. And what I found was that at that point, I had to get really honest with myself and really clear about myself about, well, why are you doing this? Like, and is this actually even giving you the feeling that you want? And the moment I got clear on that, I realized that it— that wasn't it and that I just needed more joy. I needed to figure out what it was that I wanted to do that would actually fulfill me. But the, the best part about going on this journey and really like anchoring myself in my joy was that I found that when I felt good, it made other people feel good. So it wasn't that the things that I was doing before, because I thought that taking care of myself, like engaging in self-care or prioritizing my purpose and like finding a job that I wanted versus one that I felt I had to have simply because I wanted to make money so that I could support my family, you know, but my happiness actually mattered. And it also then affected how I treated the other people in my life. So at one point when I was doing all the things where I wasn't engaging in my joy and I was being a good wife, a good mom, doing all the things I thought I had to do, I was like miserably— like, not— well, I wasn't miserable, but I wasn't as happy as I could have been internally. But then I would also take that out on my husband, you know, like I would, I would act not as nicely to him as I know I could have, or I wasn't engaging with my children with as much patience and love. You know, I, I, I was very short in terms of like temper and like, I felt drained all the time, even though I was doing all this stuff. And you would think that, you know, everything is in order and you should feel good, but I didn't. Like, I felt tired a lot of the time. I felt just not like the best version of myself. But the moment I let all that stuff go and stopped trying to be perfect for everyone else, but I focused on being perfect for me and my joy and living in alignment with God's calling over my life, it was like everything changed. The dynamics in our, in our home changed. My, our, my husband, my relationship with my husband got a lot sexier, you know, like Time with my kids became a lot more present. I brought them into the, the work that I was doing. And so it created this really wonderful bond and relationship where not now, not only do my children get to know all of who I am, they also get to experience the work that I'm doing and like the way in which it's helping other people. So I'm not putting any parts of myself on a shelf the way that I had to before. And it's just been such a freeing feeling, like even engaging in conversation with my siblings, you know, now it's created an opportunity for us to work together. So the things that bring me joy, like inspiring people or motivating them to pursue their joy, I get to do anywhere at any time and with everyone. So it's like, I get to be the person that I've always been meant to be unapologetically. And that's what finding your joy allows you to do. Once you have clarity on what it is and once you make it a habit, but then when you're also clear on how it aligns with your purpose, you create the most fulfilling life for yourself and everyone else.

Oh, you got me all emotional over here. I'm like fighting the tears for some reason. I was en route to school today. I drive my kids to school. School. And my daughter said, you're such a good mom. And I— it was like, you know, you know those aha moments that you talk about? It was this switch in my head that went off where I was like, all I ever wanted since I was tiny was to have children. So we talk about what our purpose is, what it— what are we called to do? I can't even explain to you. All I ever wanted was children. I mean, it's all I ever dreamed of, you know, a wonderful husband and children. And here I was, I'm living my, I'm living it. I'm living what I have dreamed of and what brings me joy. And we lose sight of it in the chaos. We can let the chaos ruin it. And my daughter just saying that simple comment, I said to her, you know how you dream of being on Broadway? Like all she wants since she was tiny, she has talked about being on Broadway. I said, it's all you've ever talked about. It's all you dream of. It's what brings you the most joy. Joy. I'm like, all I ever dreamed of was being a mom. And I was like, oh, like it was just such a moment in the car where I was like, I am getting to do what I've always dreamed of. And stop letting your joy in it be ruined with your perspective on what you're doing every day.

Yes. Oh my gosh, Rebecca, can I tell you because, all right, the same way your vision or your dream was always to be a mom, I'm not gonna lie, mine was just to be about— like, I didn't, I didn't know. I don't know that I, I didn't not want children at one point really early in my teens, or maybe in my, yeah, my, my mid to early teens. I thought that maybe I wouldn't want children, but I feel like it was more of a, like, a naïveté, naïveté, like I was naive, right? I didn't I don't think that I could see myself being with someone long enough or with someone that I like enough to want to have children. But then I met my husband and like, I was like, oh, I can do this with you, you know? But it wasn't something that I'd really aspired to. Um, and then at some point we had children, right? But in my mind, what I always wanted to do was just like live a life that I love, where one, one where I didn't feel restricted and For me, that didn't come in the form of working at corporate America. I always felt like I wanted to own a business that made me feel good, but where I could really impact people and there were no limitations on the work that could be done. Um, so when I became a mom and at the time when I became a mom, um, I was still on my Joy Plus and I had become an on-air host. Like I was doing video production, I was doing street interviews. Um, I had just got in this like really huge opportunity with NBCUniversal for their first ever hosting workshop, like television hosting workshops. I was like, oh my goodness, it's happening. I'm going to be on E! I'm going to be hosting red carpets, you know, like my life is happening now. And then a week later, I found out that I was pregnant. And when I tell you, I was like crushed. I was like, my life is over. I— and I cried for 3 days straight. And I felt like, who's going to want to hire me now? Like, what? Like, I, I just remember feeling so bad and I felt bad because my husband's here. So he's my fiancé then, but like, he was there like trying to console me. And I didn't want him thinking that I was blaming him because I wasn't. And even now, as we talk about it, like, and it's 5 years later, he was like, yeah, that was like really traumatic. And I was like, it's not about you. It was never about you. It was me thinking that I had to do motherhood. Motherhood a certain type of way. Yeah, but the moment I got free of that perception of what motherhood had to look like, it's like motherhood became a whole different ball game. And it's— I'm so grateful for the fact that I've become a mom and that I did at the time that I did, because it was really a catalyst for me having to really get clear on what my purpose was. Because before that, I thought that the things that I was doing were a part of my calling and they're a part of my journey, but they were not my purpose, you know? So, um, motherhood really helped me birth my purpose, like in these wonderful children that we have, but also in like giving birth to myself again and understanding who I am meant to be, but more importantly, who God has called me to be.

Well, and you, and you say nothing is a coincidence. Is that what you said? Yeah, there's no such thing as a coincidence. It all happens how it's supposed to happen. I'm a firm believer in that. So you do such wonderful work. I mean, tell us what you love most about it.

Ah, what I love most about it— there's so many things, but I think it's really just that the experiencing the transformations and like the light bulb for my clients, like, as they're going through things. And like, also understanding that while I may be the one that's kind of like taking them through this process and this journey, it's not me doing anything, but it's God working through me. Like, I really just want to be a vessel. And the moment I really began to surrender my understanding to him, and not only my life, because I've grown up in the church, like I grew up going to church every Sunday. But about 3 years ago was when I really had like a shift where I was like, I don't know what to do, Lord. I just, I'm tired of thinking about everything. Like, you take control here. Like, I'm tired. Take the wheel, Jesus. Take the wheel, literally. And it really just like then transformed my faith journey to the point where it was no longer about religion and trying to adhere to all of these like rules and laws and regulations and trying to be like a good Christian, but really then opening me up to having a relationship with God that allowed me to understand that I don't have to do anything but show up as the person he's called me to be. So then it, it really then does allow you to relax in the freedom. Yeah, and the goodness of his presence and understanding that everything that you do when you're, when you're seeking to please him and not in like a self-righteous way. No, it gives him the glory. Everything comes back to giving him the glory. So these transformations that people are experiencing is they're like, thank you. I'm like, no, thank you for one showing up to do the work. But more importantly, like, thank God for putting you in my path and me in your path so that we're connected and that we're able to do this work so that you're not only feeling better, but you, you have the potential to change the world. Like, you're— by changing your mindset, your perspective on things, if you are a mom, that then helps you teach your children differently so that they now come to everything with a more healed perspective. So we're no longer passing down hurt, we're no longer passing down trauma, we're no longer passing down these like stories and ideals that have been presented to us, but we're now making conscious efforts and, and, and thoughts and choices that will benefit not only us, but the people that come after us. And so even if you're not a mom, just understanding that you get to engage with work differently so that your relationship with your coworkers is one of healing and then joy. So then your workplace becomes a more enjoyable environment, you know? Or you do your work with more joy so that the clients or the people who are receiving whatever it is that you have to offer are then like, are feeling the residue of your joy. You know, I just really believe that the moment we begin to do this work internally, it then creates this wonderful ripple effect. And I really believe that it's going to transform the world. And I know I say that and it sounds like such a big thing, but I believe that if you're able to change one mind, you're really able to transform the world and the way that people engage with it for generations to come. So to answer your question, I know that this is a really long answer and I'm sorry, but it's just seeing, seeing the transformation and seeing the, the changes that are happening, but also knowing that it's not as a result of me doing anything, but just being willing to receive the very joy that God has had in mind for me this entire time. Very liberating.

I mean, you have said so much, so much goodness in your answers. Like, there's just so much to what you said. And the— I think the line that kept going off in my head, it's like you read my mind and said it, is the ripple effect that we have on the world. And we start with ourselves and we work on ourselves and we work on our perspective, and then we see how it ripples to everyone around us. It just has such an effect. And even the most, the most with the mom. The mom is like the heart of the home, and, and dads too. I'm not putting down dads, but I feel like the moms are setting the tone. And if I'm in a bad mood, it ripples to my family. And if I'm in a good mood, I mean, I said this morning, I slept So well, and I feel so good. And you could see that everyone was like, I picked everybody's mood up and we can have such an effect on even just our family.

Yes. Yes. And then your family goes out and then they just become a reflection of what's in the home. So, yes, it's, it's like so imperative, moms, like women, everybody.

Yes.

You know that you really prioritize your joy first. Take the time to do the self-work. Self-work, self-care right now is a bit of a buzzword, but it is not selfish. It is actually one of the most selfless things that you can do because it allows you to come, come to the world with all the fruits of the spirit, like gentleness, kindness, patience, uh, love, joy, uh, self-discipline, like a whole lot of things, you know, so many things. It's a wonderful feeling.

Well, and you have so, so many things to offer to women. And I mean, I should say anyone. I love how I keep saying women, but—

Well, because really the work is for everyone. And I wanted to work with men, but they just were not giving me the joy. Like, it was like trying to pull teeth. It's like, but you know that that's not actually the thing, right? And it was just, it was too much work. So I was like, you know what, Erica, take your own advice. Focus on the people that bring you joy. And it was the women and entrepreneurs.

So I totally agree. I'm on the same page. Totally agree. But tell them, tell our listeners about your program that you have coming up that you told me about. You have a, right? You have a fall program coming up and you have coaching services. So tell everyone.

Yes. Oh my gosh. Thank you. I think we started on this track and then I got distracted with all the things. So thank you.

Of course.

The, um, Journey to Purpose Dream Academy is a 6-week program that will take you through the process of getting clarity in your joy, making that joy a habit, and creating a routine around your joy. Um, then kind of sifting through those things to figure out what your joy actually says about your purpose and how it connects to your purpose. And then, um, also then setting you up for accountability so you can continue to recommit to this vision that you have of living a life in joy. And the thing about this is it's a vision board workshop. It's a 6-week process, but it's also something that's done super strategically. So I think a lot of times when people come up with like, I want to do a vision board, it's always at the top of the year. Then by like 4 weeks later, they've forgotten about the vision board. It's like sitting somewhere in the corner collecting dust. But with this process, we're not just going to focus on creating the vision, but we're also going to work on the strategy behind it so that it's more than something that's nice to look at, but it actually becomes a tool that you use on a regular basis to keep you aligned and focused on what your vision is, and then breaking them down into goals so that you can actually hit them throughout the year and understanding why it's important that you hit them, but then also understanding the way in which it like touches the world in a really great way. Um, the other part about this is that it helps you like work on your wellness and your career goals as well as your relationship goals, because I think that all of those things are really important. Um, and that's the same thing for the coaching services that I offer. So I do offer one-on-one coaching services, um, where we kind of go through the same thing, But that's the recommitting phase. And for people who may be a little clearer on their purpose, but they just need help creating the solutions and the systems to help them stay on track for what those goals are. Um, so for the entrepreneur that's like, I have this business, but, um, I'm all over the place, I need help getting my life together and staying on track. That's what those coaching services are for. Um, but the vision casting workshop does open up in Oh my gosh, in less than a month. Wait, no, a little over a month, October 20th. And, um, we're starting off, we're kicking it off with a masterclass, a Dream Masterclass, and helping women, um, teaching them how to rediscover and connect with their dreams. D-R-E-A-M, it's an acronym, but you gotta come to the workshop to figure out what it is. I love it.

I love the tease.

I love the name.

Can you tell everyone where do they find you? Tell everyone where to go.

Oh my gosh, yes, thank you, Rebecca. Um, you can find me online at my site ericalasson.com. That is E-R-I-C-A-L-A-S-S-O-N dot com. And I'm also online at Erica Lasson as well on Instagram. It's at Erica Lasson. Uh, what else do we have as far as social media? Like, I feel like everywhere. Um, LinkedIn, Erica Lasson. Facebook is a little weird. It's Que Rica by Erika Lassagne. I should probably change that soon. And TikTok, but I'm not really on TikTok as much. And same thing with Twitter. So everywhere you can find me online at Erika Lassagne. There you go.

Well, well, I am definitely going to go find all the things, and I can't tell you how much I have just loved talking to you today.

Thank you so much, Rebecca. I feel the exact same way. This is such a wonderful conversation. And thank you again for allowing me to share this space with you and rant about joy. I love joy.

You have— I want you to know that what a fabulous way to spend time in my day. I mean, you've just brought so much joy into my day that will carry over and will ripple to my family and everyone I encounter today. So this has been wonderful.

Thank you. It is my absolute joy and pleasure to be here. So thank you again for having me.

This is Rebecca Green reminding everyone to spend every day laughing, loving, and learning.

Thank you for tuning in to the Winey Palooza podcast. If you like what you heard, please be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. While you are there, leave a review. I love to hear your feedback. Thank you so much for listening. Until next time.

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