Episode 40: How to Shift Your Mindset

Acquania Escarne 0:03

You are listening to The Purpose of Money Podcast, a podcast where we talk about ways to build wealth and create more freedom in your life today. I am your host Acquania Escarne.

Hey guys, welcome back to The Purpose of Money Podcast. Today I'm super excited we have LaShawn Gee, who teaches young women and female student athletes how to activate discipline using mindset strategies, so they can navigate academics, athletics and life after sports without overwhelm. As an author and mindset coach LaShawn enjoys teaching her strategies on how to ditch procrastination and frustration, and implement discipline to achieve the successes that her clients desire for their lives. She's helped hundreds of teens, young adults and women lose weight, gain confidence, win championships, break records, secure positions, and even take the leap into entrepreneurship. Hi, Lashawn, some so excited to have you on the podcast today. Thank you for joining us.

Lashawn Gee 1:10

Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited to get started today.

Acquania Escarne 1:15

So today, I want to focus our conversation on not only you as a mindset coach, but also the role that discipline plays in our lives, and especially when it comes to our finances. So that's why I invited you here to talk to my listeners. But before we get into that, can you give me a more insight into what is a mindset coach? And how would someone know they need one?

Lashawn Gee 1:37

Sure. I think that my own personal definition in calling myself a mindset coach is one who helps people shift their mindsets towards making progress on the goals that they have for themselves. It's really about shifting, people don't like the word change, because they have put a negative connotation on it. And so I decided to say, shifting. So we're mindset shifting. So rather than look at this, let's look at that. And that way, it opens people's minds up to possibility. They feel better and more comfortable about taking action.

Acquania Escarne 2:18

That's a great answer. And I think that's important because we always talk about perspective and mindset, and how you can take one situation, and when you think about it differently, it'll give you the positive steps to move forward. So even if it was a setback, financially, or emotionally or actually right, sometimes we do have setbacks, it doesn't mean you have to stop in your tracks. So what are some of the tips that you give your clients to help them push forward, when they may be feeling overwhelmed, or discouraged?

Lashawn Gee 2:51

Well one of the things that I do is, in addition to speaking to teams and organizations, I do workshops, and I facilitate these workshops based around a strategy that I created called Carpe Diem. And if you know that Latin term, it means seize the day. So every day that you wake up, you have an opportunity to be greater than the day you were before. When we think about things in a way that takes away the negative connotations that we have put on certain words and terms, it allows us to do the thing take action more freely. So when we're when I am speaking to my clients, I speak to them in a way of possibility. So if they're in a mind space where they can't, or they don't feel like they can do, or I hear a lot of times "Oh I could never do." I help them to then recalibrate that verbiage. And shift the way that they're actually thinking about their own possibilities. So for instance, I have a person that I have worked with who came to me about wanting to start a running and workout routine. She said,"I don't even know where to start. I've never run before I don't like running I don't like getting up in the morning," all of the negative connotations that came with the daunting task for her of running and working out. What I did was help her see that that goal was important to her. And so that's one thing that I teach people is that what you decide has to be important enough to you to take action. And then I had her to really just visualize herself in her perfect morning, getting up, starting her day, going out for a walk to start, because you don't want to throw the thing that scares them onto their backs. So she started walking and visualizing that every day and then it slowly progressed into her running every day. Then I had her come up with a plan of how often she wanted to do that. That's the execution part. And so rather than say, "I'm going to run every single day," she said, I said to her, why don't you run three days a week to start, after she started that she could progress into having this be a lifestyle for her of running every day. And then in order to do all of that, well, without overwhelm, and without thinking about all of the reasons why you couldn't do it, I have the last portion of my strategy, which is maintaining your life well, through gratitude, I think that is a pillar of discipline, it is a pillar of wellness and taking care of yourself, mindset shifting. And when you maintain your life wealth, through gratitude, you really do get to focus on the things that you have, and the things that you are able to do. So that's how I teach my students and my athletes.

Acquania Escarne 5:56

I love it. And you know, I kind of want to go back a bit, I should have asked this first, what led you to create a coaching business like this, you know? What's your personal story that led you to know that there was a need for this for women, for people who are either athletes pursuing life after sports, or just better discipline for themselves?

Lashawn Gee 6:20

So for me, I've been in the sports industry, most of my life, I have been a track athlete, since I was 13. From 13, until the age of 33/34, I actually competed in some way shape or form. I also picked up coaching right after college. So I started coaching track, that is when I learned, and based around my undergraduate degree in social sociology, working with groups of people, I realized that was something that I love to do. And while I am a very good coach, I am one who coaches well, and coaches my athletes and clients to progression and towards the goals that they have. What really, what really drives me is, when I see a person get a lightbulb moment of, "Oh, my gosh, this makes sense." So make something making sense, is really a mindset shift, because now they have understanding, and they've gained a level of wisdom that they haven't gained before. So for me, I became most passionate, I've gone through fitness coaching, and I still do fitness coaching on the side. I have done speaking and teaching. And so working with all of these different groups, has really pushed me into my purpose and my passion. At one time, I thought it was fitness. And I did that relentlessly, and to the exclusivity of a lot of things. But it wasn't really that that was the push and the passion. It was the actual mindset shifting all of the clients that I worked with. And when I when they got that mindset shift, they took action, and they were passionate about the action that they took. So that was why I decided when I started my business, I started off as a fitness and wellness business. I shifted in 2018 to discipline and mindset, focus and habit building, all of these things work in tandem right? And I never really let go of the fitness part. It's still a part of what I do. It's just not the main focus. And so all of this encompasses what I do, where I've come from as far as being an athlete and a coach, so I know both sides of it. And it allows me to work with my clients even deeper. I really enjoy going deeper with my clients.

Acquania Escarne 8:58

Hey guys, I hope you're enjoying this episode. I want to take a break tell you about this awesome virtual summit that LaShawn Gee is planning for March 29 through April 2 2021. Each day from 7pm to 8:30pm, we're going to talk about women's discipline and mindset and how you can incorporate both in your life today. We're going to talk about why it's been hard to activate discipline and how you can start to take charge of your day. And most importantly, we're going to empower you with tools and tips from experts who have practice discipline in mindset to accomplish amazing things. Check out the link in the show notes for full details. If you use my unique code, ThePurposeofMoney all one word, you'll get a special discount. So don't forget to check out the link in the show notes to get your ticket to the Women's Discipline and Mindset Summit happening March 29 to April 2 2021.

I love that and I like how you're able to combine all the things that you enjoy, so it's literally really fulfilling life for you, because you love coaching, you love sports, you love helping people. But that transformation is what drives you. And it has led to you helping more people specifically have that transformation, that mindset shift. I really like that. And I think that's key for a lot of my listeners who are either at the beginning of their financial journey, the middle of it, or somewhere in between, and they're still trying to push through. But now they realize it's not a physical thing that needs to happen. It could be the mindset that needs to happen, and then the discipline that follows. So the name of the podcast is called The Purpose of Money Podcast. So I asked all my guests this, this is my signature question, what is your purpose for money?

Lashawn Gee 10:50

My purpose for money is freedom. My purpose for money is to continue to be of service to others. When I am free in that financial area of my life, I am able to give more, not just more tangible resources, not just things that I can, you know, "throw towards an organization" and you know, through charitable giving, but I can actually give and share the gifts that God has blessed me with, with others more easily, more freely without the background noise of "Oh, my gosh, Do I have enough for this? Do I have enough for that?" I have experienced often throughout my life on and off times where it's put me in positions where I've had to think about, "Okay, am I gonna get gas today? Or am I gonna get groceries today, you know?" I'm sure a lot of people have had those moments, even if it's for a short amount of time. And that brings so much overwhelm, it brings so much stress. And you only focus on what you can do to solve that problem. And you forget about the things that you really want to do. So for me, money and having that having that financial freedom, again, is so important to me, because it allows me to give more of myself to others.

Acquania Escarne 12:21

I love that. And freedom is a great reason to use your money and to level up your finances. And so I'm hoping people not only take note of the tips you gave today for helping instill discipline and a mindset shift in their lives. But I hope they also take a little bit of wisdom and inspiration from your purpose for money to create freedom in your life. Now, I would love for my listeners to connect with you. So please take the time to share where can we find you on social media?

Lashawn Gee 12:51

You can find me mostly living on Instagram. I have social media with Twitter and Facebook and all of that, but I-in YouTube I live though, on Instagram. I have to revive my YouTube channel, but I am everywhere @TheElleGee_and it spelled out th e e Ll e. g, e underscore, my website is the app the exact same thing. So www.theellegee.com. You have access to blogs, resources, my speaking and coaching offerings. I wrote a book in 2019 called The Jump That Counts: Embracing Discipline So You Can Win at What Matters. You can get that there or on Amazon. And it's really a little nook in the internet where I have created to get to learn a little bit more about me, who I am, what I do, why that matters. And where I can additionally share my gifts of giving tips on discipline, wellness, focus, and habits.

Acquania Escarne 14:01

That is so awesome. So you just raised a question for me. I want to know more about your book. Tell me what motivated you to write it and who is it for?

Lashawn Gee 14:11

So I have in my mind wanted to write a book. I'll say right before I started writing it in 2019. The 10 years prior to that, I have wanted to write a book. I have a very rich story. I am a twin. We were adopted into our families and into our family. We were adopted into the same family. And it's the only family we know we were adopted before we were one year one year old. And just the stories that I have either been told or have lived myself. I realized there was so many points where either my my parents, people around me myself had to go through ups downs, ins and outs. And every at every moment, discipline was something that had to be activated in order to get that triumph or to get over a trial. And I really thought that someone could benefit from understanding that the way someone looks on the outside may not necessarily reflect what their experiences are. I tell people all the time, and you've heard the adage before, I am so thankful that I don't look like what I've been through. That's so true for me, is so true for me. And while I've had a, I've had a great life, you know, for all intents and purposes, but I've definitely experienced some great trials and and situations that people might not realize, might not understand, might not might ask,"I would have never would have never known you experienced that. How could you have gotten through that?" And when I wrote it, it was I realized a lot of the stories that I told were were in my college years. And right after college when I was I used to be married. So when I was dating, engaged, married for as long as I was, and I had to draw a lot of discipline, a lot of strength, a lot of resilience, refocusing, and recalibrating, I had to draw a lot of that into myself, much of that leaned on God. And I decided that it was time for me to share so that I could release. But again, also share that gift of, you're not the only one. And here's what I did, and hopefully it can help you as well. So my book really is for the female student athlete who, when you are an athlete, in college, there's so many experiences that are very different from the general population. And for females in particular, we have the stresses of the peer pressure and the dating and the "What happens when I finish school, and I can't compete in my sport anymore," that transition, it's a whole other story. And there's so much that I wish I had been told I wish was shared with me as a student athlete, that I could have taken along that that route of life and everyone's lifestyle and way of living this life is different. But having someone give me some little nuggets that I could pick up and tailor to my own lifestyle would have been grand. So I decided to become what I needed when I was in college. And when I was living my early adult life. It's also for women who have experienced or are experiencing unhealthy emotional relationships. We have unhealthy emotional relationships with money. We have unhealthy emotional relationships with peopl. We have healthy, unhealthy emotional relationships with a lot of different things in our life that we don't realize, and activating discipline, getting focused, and getting clear on what we actually want out of life. Those are things that any typical life, any person, any particular person living life, daily, is going to face. That you're going to face it, whether you're at the beginning of that stage, whether you're at the middle of that stage, whether you're coming out of that stage, you're going to face that that time. And for me experiencing unhealthy emotional relationships, while it wasn't something that I expected in my marriage, it happened. And I had to figure out a way to, to get through it. It affected my emotional state when it came to people it affected my emotional state when it came to money. It affected my emotional state when it came to my career, my the different jobs that I've had. And I believe that the things that I've experienced are testaments to, "Hey, you can get through, it's going to be okay, it might not look like it in the present. But promise, promise, promise that I'm a Christian. So leaning in to God, allowing him to use you for your purpose, obeying and surrendering, are all going to create a situation where you might think you're in a good situation, but you're going to be in a greater situation on the other side of that if you just follow those steps."

Acquania Escarne 19:47

That was so good.

Lashawn Gee 19:50

Thank you

Acquania Escarne 19:51

Man, I am a believer and following your purpose is a challenge at times. It requires discipline, focus and strength. And obedience is a constant. It's a constant thing that people have to kind of go back to and submit. So yeah, I really, really appreciate you sharing that today. And being a guest on the show. The Purpose of Money Podcast is all about empowering women discipline, just telling our stories and hoping that they inspire others to take the greater path, right? And so, you being on the show today is just a blessing. I really appreciate you being transparent about your story, your journey, and using this platform to help others. Thank you so much LaShawn for being on my show today. I hope to collaborate on something else in the future. But great job and good luck.

Lashawn Gee 20:51

Thank you so very much. And thank you so much again for having me. I am very, very grateful.

Acquania Escarne 21:00

Thank you for listening to the Purpose of Money Podcast. For more resources and information, check out my website, ThePurposeofMoney.com. And while you're there, please sign up for our newsletter so you have the latest information on new episodes and blog posts. Until next time, keep creating freedom in your life today.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai