The Books That Help Me Decolonize and UnOppress My Spirit!

Oh, my God, I am so excited. I have news to share with you. I don't know if the notifications are on. I don't know. I don't even know if this microphone is working. I'm absolutely hoping it does. So. Hi, everyone. My name is Sandy Boucher. Indigenous Canadian reconciliation is my game, and everything is about to change. We're about to upgrade. So let's talk about it. Hi, everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario. And like I said in the opening, everything is about to change. For those who have followed my videos, thank you very much for that. If you're new here, by the way, stick around, subscribe. There's going to be some stuff you don't want to miss. If you have been following my channel for a while, you know that I put out a video every single day. And I have had. I don't know how many people ask me, how in the world do you do that? Because, yes, I shoot it and master it and schedule it and all that fun stuff. That's probably going to change in the future, too. But right now, that's the way it is. It's a lot. It's a lot. Especially because when. Especially when you consider that what I really want to be doing is being out there, whether it's virtually or live, helping people with the reconciliation plans, doing my consulting, doing my mentoring, whatever the case, may be, writing my new book, as I mentioned in another video. So what is that going to mean? Well, it's time for my business to scale up here. So first, the thing you're going to notice the most is starting this week when you watch this video. I am only putting out one video a week. I want to focus on quality, not quantity. Now, the video is going to be longer anywhere. I'm going to guess about 40 minutes to an hour long. But it's going to be quality content that is really going to help you understand whatever's happening in the news, what or whatever you want to do in your business, your nonprofit, your family, your community, whatever the case may be. So I am excited about that. So here's what's going to happen. And by the way, you're going to want to be on my email list. Just saying. I did mention I'm starting a new business. There's a church bell going in the background. I'm not sure if you can hear that. Don't know what's going on but okay. I don't know why the bell's ring. Don't focus, Sandy. Focus on Mondays. As promised, everyone on my email list is going to get the latest excerpt from my new book. And yes, you get to comment on it, you get to make suggestions. If you catch a typo, please tell me about it. You are literally going to help me write this book. And the title of the book is There is nothing wrong with you. I read that quote the other day. What was it? Tony Robinson. I want to say, I'm not sure if I'm remembering the name correctly, that if you can envision a book that you wish you could read, you should write that book. I am writing a book to the younger person I used to be. To any marginalized person who actually believes the BS of oppression and thinks they're less than that. I'm pouring all of my energy and time into that book and I'm bringing you along in the journey with me. That is Monday. On Tuesdays I've got notes that I'm looking at. On Tuesday it's going to be more of the email that the people on my list are used to. That's going to be the video for the week and on YouTube or on LinkedIn, that's when the video is going to come out. So every Tuesday, like right at midnight. So if you're one of those night owl people, you can watch it before anyone else. Even before I wake up, that's gonna happen on Tuesday. That allows me to focus on what I'm sharing on LinkedIn, on my seminars. And this is so exciting. Often I get someone emailing me, they don't say it publicly in a comment on a video they personally email me, which I love and which means I guess they're on my email list for them to be able to do that. But they want to know this is going to sound egotistical and I don't mean it that way at all. They don't mean it that way at all either is they want to know how I got to be me. Confident, self assured, able to share my opinion without attacking, able to meet someone in the middle of the bridge, able to work in reconciliation, able to be an indigenous woman with the voice even in the face of those that still believe the stereotypes. I want to help those people because I used to be that person too. So along with the book, they're separate, but same kind of idea in my membership course, which you can find out about on my website. And there's going to be a brand new course inside the Membership called the Reconciliation Warrior. And it's going to be updated almost weekly. I'm going to share in there everything, whether it's other trainers that I follow for motivation, books that I'm reading, handouts, everything I've used, everything I come across, teachings, everything is going to go into that course. So if you want to be able to do the work I do, even if you don't do it professionally and you just want to feel comfortable having a reconciliation conversation, well, that's in my membership. And I guess that is the final surprise by the time you see this. My website's been updated. A while ago, I really focused on B2B business to business sales because corporations and businesses and First Nation communities are the people that tend to hire me. And I removed the personal purchase option, the option of an individual buying a course or buying a membership. And that is now back on my website. So if you want to be part of the membership or you just want to buy one of the video courses, I'm trying to figure out, I think eventually Reconciliation Warrior will become a separate video course. Got to get some content into it first. That's why it's starting in the membership. But all of the individual offerings are once again back. I am so pumped now today, this week's gonna be a little bit different because it is the first week. I had actually already shot and recorded and mastered and scheduled and all that fun stuff. The video for today. So I'm going to include it next. And I know why the church bells were ringing. It's a funeral. Just going to take a second to honor the family that's grieving. That's sad. My heart goes out to them. As I was saying, following this little clip is going to be the video that I was originally sharing today. Just ignore at the end where I say see you tomorrow because it's actually see you next week. Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. Thank you for supporting me and encouraging me in the notes. Please feel free to share this video with anyone you think is going to benefit from the information. Get them to subscribe to my channel. Every little bit helps me reach the people I'm trying to reach because I got a country to bring together. And hopefully you'll become a reconciliation warrior too and help me do just that in whatever way you see fit. Until next week. I love you. Take care. Don't forget to watch the next part. Bye bye. Hello again, you amazing person, you, and welcome back to my YouTube channel. My name is Sandy Boucher and I am dedicated to Indigenous Canadian reconciliation. And the truth is, if you get good at the stuff I teach here and you're really good at reconciling between any two groups, maybe you could actually help them find the way. Now, one of the things I totally believe, whether you've realized this or not, like I'm Anishinaabe Quay. I grew up an Indigenous woman, as oppressed, whether it was external or internalized oppression, as any other. I didn't start out like this. It took a lot of work to get here. And I continue that work every single day. So I can be as strong and as informed as I can be for my audience members. So today I wanted to share some of the things I've been consuming and tell you what I thought of them and how they helped me. So maybe, just maybe, you can use them on your journey. Let's talk about it. Bonjour, Mishko Paganan, Queen Nidhishnikas Mang Dodem. Hi, everybody. As I mentioned in the opening, my name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Moon Clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario, and one of my, I guess you could call it a New Year's resolution. Even though I don't do those, I do set goals. I'm in business, of course. I have goals and targets hit and whatever. But one of the things I've been trying to do for a lot of years now is up my reading game. I love books. As you can tell, I'm an author, so of course I love books and I buy amazing books on a regular basis. But the reality is, if all they do is sit on my shelf and that knowledge is wasted along with the money I spent to buy it. So this year I committed to reading a book a month, which I know there's people out there that read a book every two days that's not going to fit into my schedule. I'm just a little too busy running a company. But I can say that it's March and I've already read four books, so I'm ahead of the game. And today I wanted to talk to you about those books. Would I recommend them? What. What I got out of them? And then you can decide if it's something you should read. So I started out the year with Relentless by Tim Grover. So a very high end, very top shelf professional coach. So Kobe Bryant is one of them that he worked with. And this is Relentless. From good to great to unstoppable. This is not a book if you're the meek mild type. I am not meek mild. I want to be amazing at what I do. I am trying to unify a country. You can't do that passively. Well, I don't believe so. Not like I'm going out and attacking people. But I am committed to my work and to my training. So as you can see, you can tell when I love a book. It looks like it needs a haircut, but I pulled out four different quotes I wanted to share with you. That is really going to give you an idea of what this book is about and you can decide if it's something you want to read. Do I know how much this book is? Books are expensive nowadays in Canada. This one was $37. It used to be like 24 bucks anyway. Page five. Decide, commit, act, succeed, repeat. Decide, commit, act, succeed, repeat. If that doesn't give you an idea of the tone of this book, I don't know what would. One is next here. The right side by side. Now this quote I love because you know, I'm all about the back to back teaching. I'm all about. I'm anti assimilation. I want everyone to have the right to walk their path and we can learn to walk together without demanding that people do it the way we do it. The quote is, I'm not going to tell you how to change. People don't change. I want you to trust who you already are and get to that zone where you can shut out all the noise and all the negativity and fear and distractions and lies and achieve whatever you want in whatever you do. That's why I grabbed this book. Now next. You know what's, what's he talking about? You're. Oh. From this point on, your strategy is to make everyone else get on your level. You're not going down to theirs. You're not competing with anyone else ever again. They're going to have to compete with you. From now on, the end result is all that matters. By the way, I absolutely love this book. And yes, it lit a fire under my butt, got me to achieve some things business wise was definitely worth the investment. So he, in the second quote I just shared, he referred to the zone. So now Tim goes on to expand on what the zone is. The zone, that deeply personal space where you can quiet your mind until you have no thoughts. It's just you and your instincts focused and unemotional, where you feel no external pressure, just the internal pressure to prove yourself over and over because you want it for yourself, not anyone else. This one gets a 10 out of 10. This was a great way for me to start my year. I absolutely love that book. Now, the next book, I will put an image up because I don't have it physically in my hand because I lent it to my daughter to read. And I think both of us read it in the same day. It did not take a full day. The book is called Pretty Boys or Poisonous and it's by Megan Fox. Powerful, definitely relatable and the biggest trigger warning I can get. If you have ever been abused by a partner, you're gonna relate to the book. But it's gonna take you back to some times. It was like the words on the page were my most personal thoughts. It was hard to read, but an incredibly authentic read. So do I recommend it? If you believe you can read it? Absolutely. And if you have a loved one that's been through an abusive relationship and you want to understand more of what it was like for them, then maybe you should read this book. Don't argue it. Don't question them about it. This would be that. Practicing the silence. Acceptance. Right? But powerful power. Way to go, Megan. Great book. The next book, I think you saw me ranting about this one in a couple videos. We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rogers. I'll tell you right off the bat, this is like a 15 out of 10. What? From my personal perspective. Why? Because Rachel Rogers is a black woman. So she is talking about building success as a marginalized person and as an indigenous woman. Holy moly's. Because I could. I relate. She's not dismissing the barriers. She's just not allowing them to hold her back either, which is my kind of person. Okay, first quote. Give you an idea of what this book is like. I realize that the fears in my head are just stories that I tell myself. They are a prison that I have created to keep me from experiencing the disappointment of failure. They aren't true unless I continue to believe in them and then act on them and make them true. I can choose to believe something entirely different. I can choose to believe in my ability to make money and provide financial security for my family. I can choose to believe in my ability to make smart financial decisions. I can choose to believe that even if I make a money mistake or some outside force causes me to lose everything that I have the skill and ability to make it all back faster than I've ever made it before. Yes, yes and yes. Right. You will forever be limited by the barriers you choose to defend. The quote from my first book. If you Keep telling me why you can't. Those are the things that are going to stop you. Quit believing in them. Believe in you. The second quote. This is going to resonate with any marginalized person. Because of racism, I must build wealth. My people are systemically discriminated against and racist practices are built into our banking and other economic policies. Therefore, I will make it a priority to get ahead and build wealth so I can show my people that it's possible for them too. Yes, yes and yes. And I did mention that one before. I'm not sure the difference. I love this. She identified what a million dollar decision looks like and what a broke ass decision looks like. The things you shouldn't do if you want to get ahead. Right? How to make better decisions. Now this one, this section was called Shatter the Shame Wall because we know how much shame holds back people, especially marginal. So for example, my credit score is practically -200 abysmal. Thinking something like that is not going to help you. Whether it's factually true or not, it's not going to help you. So she gives you examples of how to reframe it. My credit score isn't great. That's the truth. But I can improve. If I keep taking actions, things will shift in the right direction. Notice how she didn't lie about her situation. She just didn't make it a final this is my identity kind of thing. It's just a fact. Next one. I'll give you another example. I have $5 in my checking account. I'm a clown, a joke. That's not a positive mental thought. So instead I. I don't have much in my checking account yet, but I'm determined to expand my income. This year I will learn more than ever before. Remember the power of the word yet? I did a video on it. Probably got that from Rachel. 15 out of 10. Highly recommend. If you're a marginalized female, you need to get this book. I don't care if you're in business or not. If you want a different future, you need to get that book. The next one I read Master of Me by Kiki Palmer, another amazing powerhouse black woman. I just finished this one. Now what did I think of this one? I'm gonna say an 8 out of 10. That definitely was worth reading. Definitely got things from it. I got my tags, but it was more Kiki's story. Like she was a child actor and, and new fame quite young. So I, I didn't find her story as relatable as Rachel's. Still an amazing book. So let's give you some examples. One of the earliest lessons I learned from my mother was to find a way to incorporate all my skills, even if the people on the other side of the table were only looking for one. It's something indigenous people do naturally. I warn my non indigenous counterparts all the time. We bring all of us to a meeting. I thought I turned off my notifications. Sorry. We bring all of us to the table. So you want to talk about housing? We're going to talk about housing. And like homelessness and poverty and addictions because it's all interrelated. We don't divide into compartments and pretend they're not related. So that's a thing. With we're all capable of opening doors. But how are you walking through them? Are you rushing through them so fast that you end up getting a cramp? Are you waltzing through them and admiring the architecture of the rooms? And more importantly, are you opening up them up wide enough for those who will come in after? You love that concept. Always, always, always on page 45. So not far into the book. The true currency is time and how you spend it. As I'm approaching my 61st birthday, I can tell you that's 100% true. Page 50 when you believe that what did or didn't happen doesn't matter, what does does focus on what does matter. Not all the piddly little stuff I learned to build on this one. Aha. Page 66. I learned to build from where I was going and not where I was that you're going to hear that in any kind of decision course make decisions that will help you become the person you want to be. Don't. Don't focus on where you are, but where you want to be be. Now the next book I didn't read I started reading to this post it note off she Builds by Jader Seller I believe I might have mentioned this in a video the anti Hustle guide to grow your business and nourish your life. And I just put a little sticky note on it this morning. Don't know if you can read that but it says not for me. This would be an amazing book for those more earlier on in their healing journey. So if you're still caught up in the people pleasing, you're exhausting yourself and burning out because you don't know how to say no. You're tying your worth to you have to be productive to have value. All of that kind of stuff. If that's where you are, this is the book for you. I wish I had Read this book like 15 years ago, but for where I am now. No, that's not the book for me. And the one I am reading now is Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy. Train your mind for extraordinary performance and the best possible life. For those of you who might be wondering, do I read just for fun? No. Fantasy doesn't fascinate me. Life does. Success does. People do seeing what I can achieve. Because there were so many people that could told me or implied that I couldn't do what I've already done. So that's what interests me and that's the reading I do every single day. I read a chapter a day and obviously it's worked because I'm four books in and it's March. While I'm shooting this on March 13, what are you watching it? March 16. I think you get the point. Have you read any of those books? What did they. What did. Did they resonate with you? What did you think? What's the score? I didn't give a score to she Builds because that's an N. A doesn't apply. Right. Inner Excellence is already got me doing some stuff. When I have to put down the book and go do something or go change something I was doing then, I know it's resonating with me. And all of those books except for she Builds had me doing just that. I hope this helped. I've never done this kind of video before. Let me know if you'd like to see more. Maybe when I've read another four books. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.