Bonus Episode: Behind the Scenes on Why We're Making Reclaim + Advance

Hey, before we get started today, I just want to say thanks for tuning in and if you enjoy listening to the podcast, do me a favor and leave a review. First of all, I'd appreciate your feedback. And secondly, your input will allow us to connect with and inspire more people. And with that, let's get started. I haven't felt comfortable for years and this has been going on eight years. So again, I've been suffering in silence, unfortunately. And when I finally did open up about it, like there was like this cathartic release that came across me and I just realized I can't go back to the previous version of myself because I was hiding something.

This is Reclaim in Advance, a social impact project where we host vulnerable conversations with modern day high performers exploring the lowest points of their personal or professional life, how they recovered, and their life on the other side of hardship. My hope is that you'll realize you aren't the only one who goes through tough times and there is a way out. Through these conversations, you'll gain inspiration from the grit and honesty of our guests and you'll learn practical tools and science backed frameworks that empower you to take on new challenges, regardless of how difficult they may seem at first. So if you're ready to join in, let's get started. Hey. This episode is going to be a.

Little different from our usual episodes.

This conversation with Jessica Torque is about.

The origin behind Reclaim In Advance.

And by the way, there's a slight audio issue, but we want to share it with you anyway because we think the conversation is a powerful way to.

Share why we're making this podcast. So let's dive in.

I'm excited to do this and to dive into it. So when you first introduced the idea of this podcast, which is Reclaim in Advance, it was so interesting to hear you articulate what the idea was behind the show in a very condensed way because the way that you describe what the show is doing, I feel like you found a way to kind of blend in different interesting things that are happening in different pockets of conversations and just even the behind that we don't often get to see, but you're doing it in a way that feels very constructive and like something that we can take away and like implement in our own lives. And so I would love just to start very high level. But what, in your words, is the Reclaim in advance podcast?

I'll start by saying this.

I realize that a lot of people are suffering in silence and it's made worse by the fact that they feel like they're the Only ones suffering and just based on my own experiences, which you're familiar with, and I'll just kind of do a recap. I've suffered a lot of loss during the last eight years. I lost my son, I lost my father, I lost my brother. I lost my grandfather as well. So it's a lot. But I wasn't public about that. I was suffering in silence. And I was speaking in an event recently where I opened up about it publicly for the first time. And just the reception from the audience was something I was not used to. They were thankful for me being open and authentic and vulnerable. But they also felt comfortable sharing their challenges, too. And there was, like, this release they experienced by being able to share that. So really, the goal here is for people to realize, hey, you are not alone. I know you're going through something. We all are. But if we share this pain as well as how we got through it, then we can help other people along the way and then beyond that, be prepared for more challenges going forward. So it's not perfect the concept, it's not perfect the way I'm going to execute it, but I want to take messy action, make messy action towards just getting this message out to people because I just feel like it's needed so much more now than ever. And the term reclaim in advance, it's funny, I discovered this years ago through my college newspaper. The women's basketball team advanced to the second round in some kind of tournament. And the title of the article was Reclaim in Advance. And that just stood out to me. It was so powerful. Just reclaim in advance. I feel like if we can all use that as a mantra, doesn't matter what we've been through, we realize, look, there is a way out. We just have to reclaim in advance moving forward. So, again, a very sloppy way of describing this, but again, I don't want it to be too. Too manufactured to seem too prepared. I just want to have raw, authentic conversations with people who are willing to open up, share the darkest parts of their personal, professional life, how they got through it, and then encourage our listeners that, hey, again, there is a way out if you're going through something as well. So, again, messy answer to a simple question here.

Not at all. I don't think it is a simple question because it's, you know, hearing the. And, you know, I appreciate your. You being able to share the things that you experience because those are incredibly difficult things for anyone. But it's interesting because I think when, with my understanding of the show, you're going to be speaking with high performers and people who are on the outside, you know, quote, unquote successful or have achieved success. And when we often think of, you know, people's low points in their life, I think a lot of the times we think of those things aligned with their career or their work and not necessarily personal things that are happening behind the scenes. You know, whether it's just tension in a relationship or, you know, a loss. And I'm curious, as far as when you were going through and as you've been building your career, how was it that you were able to identify the things that were, you know, things that you needed to address and when were you ready to actually share that? Because I feel like there's two spots, right, where we're like, I'm potentially going through some things, but then also, how do I know when I'm ready to actually dig into it, to reclaim it, to.

Yeah, I never felt comfortable expressing any of these things, like the loss, even challenges of the drinking. I used to drink every night and I didn't feel comfortable sharing that because I was embarrassed. And it's interesting, I always said, oh, once I hit this level of success, I'll be more open about things, so on and so forth. But what I realized is that people give you opportunities because they feel connected to you. So the more you share those lows and how you navigate it through it, that's how you build those connections. So I haven't felt comfortable for years, and this has been going on eight years. So again, I've been suffering in silence, unfortunately. And when I finally did open up about it, there was this cathartic release that came across me and I just realized I can't go back to the previous version of myself because I was hiding something. And it's hard to have authentic relationships with people when you're hiding something like that because they can tell something's a little off. How come he acts this way sometimes? What's going on? Why can't I trust him? It's because of that. I was at this event for Convertkit, who we both know and love the platform. There was this mastermind where we were getting very open about some of our challenges with our business. And some people were crying there. They're crying, they're like, I have this huge brand. I have millions of followers on social media. I don't even know I'm going to pay my rent next week. So hearing those types of stories, I was like, okay, look, this is the right atmosphere to finally open up about this stuff. I did. And it felt good. I mean, it was painful to share these things, but it was nice just to finally get released because often we're trapped inside of the cell that we create for ourselves because they're not willing to share this information. So on the show, I mean, it gets deep because a lot of the challenges that my guests experienced, they weren't necessarily during the professional career. It goes back to childhood quite often. I mean, I have some guests where like the police came and like tore their family apart, like literally saying, which parent do you want to go with? That one or that one? Making an eight year old choose. Right. I've had other guests where unfortunately they were abused by family members and had to deal with the ramifications of that, where their parents committed suicide. So as an adult, they considered suicide. It gets deep. And Jess, I got to tell you, I can't record too many episodes in one day because it has an impact on me. You can't look at someone and have them share these deep stories and just keep on asking questions. So it's unlike any kind of content I've ever produced. It does take a toll on me. But I owe it to my guests to be present, to also share my struggles and to the audience to say, hey, look, I know you're going through something. You're not the only one. Look how open they are about this. And I just want you to again see that there is a way out. You're not stuck. I know it's challenging right now, but again, you can reclaim in advance to keep on using that line for sure.

Well, I think it's fitting and I think that to your point, it's a very difficult, these are very difficult conversations to have when they're done authentically. There's definitely a lot of fake vulnerability where there's certain topics. There's certain topics around mental health, there's certain topics around failures that are, I think, more socially, maybe not socially acceptable, but we feel more comfortable or people seem more comfortable discussing. And really though, there's still those conversations, like to hear you talk about drinking every night, those are things that they should have the exact same space, right. For people to feel comfortable sharing. Because there's no way that whatever you're going through, you're the only person. But I'm curious because of the level of depth that you get into and the seriousness of all of the topics that you discuss with. How do you navigate those conversations one with the guests? So that, I mean, it's like, you know, you're going into places that Maybe they haven't gone to recently. How do you navigate that conversation to then also find those takeaways or the light from those situations that the listeners can then take on for their own?

Yeah, it's challenging.

I'll say that. There are times I joked around at the beginning, like, oh, I wonder who's going to be the first person to cry in the show? It was me. It was me. There was one guest, a woman was sharing some very challenging experiences that she had as a child. And I mean, I have daughters. I wanted to end the conversation, go take my daughters out of school and just give them a hug, like it was that bad. But on the other end, like, you know, we say, okay, I understand you went through this horrible situation. So when did things finally turn around and how did you find that path towards a better future? So yes, it is acknowledging this deep pain, but then finding a way to authentically and just in a non jarring way, more or less pivot over to when they were able to find this breakthrough and move forward in a productive way. But Jess, I mean, I stumble through those conversations sometimes. Because you're having a deep conversation, you're not recording a podcast, it is for a podcast, but you're sitting down talking to someone about the deepest, darkest part of their personal professional life. It's hard to have a script for that. You have to go with it. There is some umming and ahhing, there is some awkward pauses. Because I don't want to just get through the conversation, I want to be in it in a meaningful way, knowing that our listeners need this information in order to just either overcome a setback or take on an opportunity that they may be afraid to do. So.

Absolutely. So I guess just to kind of, to take it from here, you know, you've done, you've done these, these conversations, you started these conversations. You're going through this. You know, yes, this is maybe potentially a quote unquote podcast, but I feel like, and I think you've put it this way, it's, it's a, it's a project. It's. You have a mission with this show. And I'm just so curious to know, like, where do you see this? Not just from like the first few episodes, but even from a year from now as far as what you're hoping to achieve with it.

Yeah. You know, it's funny, even ahead of the show launching, I made custom shirts that said Reclaim in advance on them. And one of my neighbors, who I've never talked to before, just came by like a Package got delivered here on accident and she saw my shirt, she's like, oh, what is that? She's like, is that like a social impact project? And I was like, oh, that sounds like a thing. So I googled social impact project to learn more about it and. And I decided that was a much better way to present this concept. Not just a podcast, but actually a movement. And one key takeaway. Actually, there's a few. One would be, if you're going through a tough time, just realize, hey, you're not the only one. And giving people the tools and tactics needed to move forward. Another is to front load the skills needed to thrive in challenging situations should they occur. So you'll be more willing to take on challenges going forward in the future. So those are two goals, but another is just, it's basic, just do one random act of kindness, start that ripple effect in your community online, whatever it is. And if we can get people to do that after every single episode, that alone will achieve the goal. Because again, you never know what people are going through. If you default to just kindness, just being cool, you'll turn their day around or at least not make it worse. So if we can just activate people to do something kind in their community, online, in their family, whatever it is, the goal of the podcast is already accomplished. So yeah, that's why I'm calling it a social impact project. And I've never been this excited about the content I'm producing. I feel like this is something like 30 years ago I'll be sharing with my family, my grandkids, my nieces, my nephews and all that stuff, and saying this is what I did with my time on this earth and it'll outlive me and the people that it helps as well.

Amazing. I'm so looking forward to listening to this and as far as how we can listen to it and when it's going to be coming out, what's the best way to stay connected with it?

Yeah, so I have websites, reclaimandadvance.com so you'll be able to go there to get all the show notes, all the tools that we're sharing as well. Because I have a few programs I'm giving away to listeners and you also find links to listen to it on Spotify as well as Apple Music. That's going to be the hub of everything that will expand. I'm going to start creating content just around this concept as well. I'll host more videos. Maybe some aren't going to be necessarily in the podcast, but I want that to be the central hub of this project and bring on other contributors as well, because I can't do this alone.

Amazing. Well Terry, I1 we appreciate what you are putting together. I cannot wait to listen to it.

And that's our show for today. And if you're looking for more tools and tactics to help you level up and overcome setbacks, head over to Terryrice co Reclaim, where you'll gain access to two free resources. The first is the High Performance Playbook, where I share my top performance techniques. You'll also gain access to the Forge system, a program that gives you the framework to create a powerful vision for your life and the daily habits needed to make it happen. And if you're interested in joining the Reclaim and Advance movement, here are a few ways to get involved. First, subscribe and leave a review. This is the best way for us to spread the word to new people. Second, if you have a favorite takeaway from this episode, please take a screenshot and share your takeaway on Social Tag me Terryrice so I can see it and share as well. And lastly, this one's pretty simple. Just do one random act of kindness. It doesn't matter how big or small, but this is your chance to start a ripple effect that can have a positive impact on those around you, including yourself. And remember, success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts. I hope you'll continue on this journey with me and I'll see you next time. Reclaim in advance is hosted by me, Terry Rice. Megan Dom is our Managing director, and our editor is Dan Lardy. Thanks for listening.