December 10, 2024 • 24 mins
🎧 Episode 147: Rock Bottom to Record Breaker | A Journey of Resilience with Tia Banks
In this powerful episode, we explore the transformative journey of Tia Banks, an award-winning motivational speaker, certified resilience expert, and mountaineer. From scoring a devastating 5 on her first college test to becoming one of the second Black women to summit Pico de Orizaba, Tia shares how she transformed her moments of profound failure into catalysts for extraordinary change.
We dive deep into:
- The evolution of identity beyond athletics
- Navigating depression and finding purpose after career-ending injuries
- The power of asking for help and building supportive communities
- The relationship between mental and physical resilience
- Breaking cultural barriers in mountaineering
- Transforming personal struggles into tools for helping others
🔑 Key takeaways:
- Success often requires letting go of the fear of looking unknowledgeable
- Valley moments are natural parts of any journey - there's no straight path to the peak
- Grief and acceptance are crucial steps in personal transformation
- Your mind can expand beyond what you believe you're physically capable of
- Resilience isn't about never failing - it's about keeping your original decision despite setbacks
- True growth often comes from exploring spaces outside your normal perspective
💡 Quotes to remember: "On any mountain, there's always a valley. You never just go straight to the top." - Tia Banks
"How can you be yourself if you've never known who you were?" - Tia Banks
"Just because I reached adversity, does that mean the decision changes? Or do we try to figure out, let's get some air, let's do some self-affirmations, let's hype yourself up?" - Tia Banks
📚 Resources:
https://www.tiabanks.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thetiabanks/?hl=en
🏔️ Milestone Achievement: Tia became one of the second Black women to summit Pico de Orizaba, the highest volcano in North America, demonstrating that setbacks are often setups for comebacks.
A rising tide raises all ships, and I invite you along on this journey to Evoke Greatness!
Check out my website: www.evokegreatness.com
Follow me on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonnie-linebarger-899b9a52/
https://www.instagram.com/evoke.greatness/
https://www.tiktok.com/@evoke.greatness
http://www.youtube.com/@evokegreatness
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to Evoke Greatness.
We are officially entering yearthree of this podcast and I am
filled with so much gratitudefor each and every one of you
who've joined me on thisincredible journey of growth and
self-discovery.
I'm Sunny, your host and fellowtraveler on this path of
personal evolution.
This podcast is a sanctuary forthe curious, the ambitious and
(00:28):
the introspective.
It's for those of you who, likeme, are captivated by the
champion mindset and driven byan insatiable hunger for growth
and knowledge.
Whether you're just beginningyour journey or you're well
along your path, you're going tofind stories here that resonate
with your experiences andaspirations.
Over the last two years, we'veshared countless stories of
triumph and challenge, ofresilience and transformation.
(00:51):
We've laughed, we've reflectedand we've grown together.
And as we've evolved, so toohas this podcast.
Remember, no matter whatchapter you're on in your own
story, you belong here.
This community we've builttogether is a place of support,
inspiration and shared growth.
Where intention goes, energyflows, and the energy you bring
(01:13):
to this space elevates us all.
So, whether you're listeningwhile commuting, working out or
enjoying your morning coffee,perhaps from one of those
motivational mugs I'm so fond of, know that you're a part of
something special.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for your curiosity,your openness and your
commitment to personal growth.
As we embark on year three, Iinvite you to lean in, to listen
(01:36):
deeply and to let these storiesresonate with your soul.
I believe that a rising tideraises all ships, and I invite
you along in this journey toevoke greatness.
(01:57):
Welcome back to another episodeof Evoke Greatness.
Imagine failing your firstcollege test with a score of 5.
Not 50, but 5, and thentransforming that moment into a
catalyst for extraordinarychange.
My guest today did exactly that, and it's just one chapter in
her remarkable story.
She has climbed some of theworld's most challenging peaks,
(02:18):
played professional flagfootball for 13 years and turned
her own battles with depressionand anxiety into a mission
that's impacting thousands ofstudents and educators across
the country.
Get ready to meet Tia Banks, anaward-winning motivational
speaker, certified resilienceexpert and mountaineer who's
currently on a mission toconquer all seven volcanic
summits across the globe.
But what makes Tia's storytruly extraordinary isn't just
(02:41):
where she's been.
It's how she got there.
From being redshirted incollege due to poor grades to
earning both her bachelor's andmaster's degrees.
From facing a career-endingknee injury to discovering her
true calling, tia knowsfirsthand what it means to
navigate life's valleys andemerge stronger on the other
side.
Today, we're going to explorehow those experiences shaped her
into a leading voice inresilience and mental health,
(03:04):
and why her message is morerelevant than ever in our
current landscape of risinganxiety and depression rates
among students.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Tia, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much, sunny, forhaving me.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Man glad to have you on Glad for your grace.
We had a little bit of achallenge and man Tia has showed
up with some grace today.
That's I will share.
That it's all today.
That's I will tell you thatit's all good.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
It's all about adapting.
We can adapt to change, andthat's exactly what we were able
to do.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Well, I want to dig into your story, but even before
we do that, like, let's get alittle bit of the backstory.
What is it that led to you know, along the way, we all have
these journeys and theseevolutions and we kind of become
new iterations of ourself whatled you to the current version
of Tia that you are today?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah.
So, growing up, I grew up inLincoln, nebraska, and started
out family two parent home.
And you look at me, you're likeLincoln.
Yes, there are Black people inLincoln, nebraska.
Granted, I was one of like 500in my elementary school.
But no, kids, kids don't careabout race, they're just like
(04:14):
are we going to play like socceror what?
But growing up in a two-parenthousehold, and then my parents
got divorced and when theydivorced, my mom moved me and my
siblings to Fort Worth, texas,and at that time that was
probably the first time Iactually experienced racism or
colorism, because the way that Ispoke people would say, oh, you
(04:39):
sound like an Oreo, so an Oreo.
You sound like an Oreo, so anOreo black on the outside, white
on the inside.
And so, making that move, Irealized maybe I need to change
who I am to fit in, and I feellike I've always kind of had
that mentality change who youare so that you can fit in.
And meanwhile I'm notdiscovering who the true person,
(05:03):
the true Tia Banks, is.
And then, growing up, my fatherwe have this thing like it's
the Banks thing, suck it up Ifyou're an athlete, like
everything is.
Suck it up, like I'm sorry, dad, my nose is bleeding Like you
just threw the ball at my face.
But everything was suck it up.
And so I took that mentality,that Banks mentality of sucking
(05:25):
everything up.
As a college athlete, mycoaches would say you got to be
mentally tough.
And so I married those twothings together and I'm like
suck it up, be mentally tough.
Maybe it just means I don'tshare my emotions.
So here I am not sharing how Itruly feel, sweeping everything
under the rug, not being able tobe who I truly am, not
(05:48):
understanding my own identity.
And so I led into a pit I callit the valley of depression as a
young adult.
And as a young adult Iexperienced bankruptcy
financially, spiritually,emotionally, not knowing my
purpose, financially,spiritually, emotionally, not
(06:09):
knowing my purpose.
And from there I'm just likewho am I?
I played, as you mentioned, Iplayed professional flag
football and I've always knownmyself.
My only identity is an athlete.
But when I experienced amassive knee injury that took me
out of the game at the peak ofmy career, now I'm really like
who am I?
Who am I without this sport?
(06:29):
Who am I without sports?
And so I had to do someself-discovery and I used some
holistic strategies, sunny, somejournaling outside meditation,
and I was like, let me tryhiking and that's something that
you don't see a lot of peopleof color doing, in to the
(06:50):
capacity.
So I started to hike and I'mgetting out in nature and then
I'm like let me climb thehighest freestanding mountain in
the world.
Where does that come from?
Cause I had hiking.
But I'm going to show yousomething really cool.
On the side of my face I have abirthmark and people say it
(07:12):
looks like Africa, it's in theshape of Africa, it's my African
birthmark, and who would havethought that the highest
freestanding mountain in theworld is in Tanzania, africa?
So it was like always in me todo something more.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
And that probably paved the way for a number of
things right.
To get through a lot of thingsis just that the grittiness, the
unwillingness to give up orunwillingness to push boundaries
, yeah absolutely it's that.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
It's that resilience factor is is bouncing back from
difficult times.
So the difficult time wasdepression, and then the
difficult time was well, who amI?
I don't know my identity andkids struggle with this all the
time, like trying to discoverwho they are, and they're being
told by people like me andteachers and educators you just
got to be yourself.
(08:04):
But how can you be yourself ifyou've never known who you were?
So, being resilient to say I'mgoing to try something different
, I'm going to explore somethingnew, hiking, journaling,
actually expressing how I feelbecause before I'm not able to
do that, Acknowledging myemotions.
Now I'm becoming emotionallyintelligent.
(08:24):
Yeah, it is definitely thatresilience factor and that's
what took me from being in thevalley to getting to some of the
toppest peaks, the highestpeaks in the world.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
There's a powerful moment in your story earlier on,
in your story of getting a fiveon that college test, and I
think there are probably a lotof people listening who they're
facing their own moments of whatthey feel like in the moment,
which is profound failure.
Right, how am I going tosurvive this?
Psychologically, emotionally,socially, all of those things?
(08:56):
Can you take us to what yourmind was going through during
that time, what shifted insideof you to turn that crushing
moment into like the start of atransformation?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
So you couldn't tell me that Iwasn't going to be an athlete
forever.
I just knew I was going to bean athlete forever.
But when I went from highschool into college, my coach
said Tia, you're going to haveto be a red shirt freshman
because your grades aren't goodenough in math.
And my grades weren't goodenough in math because in high
(09:28):
school I was always believingthat I'm not good at this.
My parents.
I would ask them for help.
Mom, can you help me?
I'd call my dad on the phoneDad, can you help me?
I'm not good at math.
My mom's like I'm not good atmath.
Their parents weren't good atmath.
So I'm like, how am I supposedto be good at math?
But it takes being willing toask for help.
(09:51):
So I read one of my teammates.
She was amazing at math.
She majored in mathematics.
I said, hey, her name's Val.
I'm like Val, can you tutor me?
Can you tutor me after practicein study hall, would you help
me?
And she was like, yeah, sheloves math.
(10:13):
And I think if you're in a spacewhere maybe there's a goal that
you're after and you don't knowwhere to start, ask, ask, ask
the people around you, ask acommunity that you're a part of
and if you're not a part of acommunity, get a part of a
community, meet up groups, getinto spaces that are outside of
(10:34):
your normal perspective.
And that's what I was able todo, and Val helped me.
She helped me after class.
She helped me late nights afterpractice we're doing two days
of practice but I grinded it outand my confidence got bigger
because she was helping me and Istarted to understand these
problems Algebra Okay.
(10:55):
I'm starting to understand thisand as my confidence is growing,
I'm like hey, give me any mathproblem and I can do it.
I get to.
After I made that five notashamed to say it after I made
that five because I wasresilient enough to get help and
ask for help and get acommunity I ended up making a B
in the class.
Now it's not an A, but it wasbetter than a failure.
(11:20):
So I think sometimes peopledon't want to ask because
they're afraid to look like theydon't know it all.
But we're not supposed to knowit all and if you do want to
improve, you got to startsomewhere.
So getting a community was thebest thing that I can do to help
me climb higher in the mathdepartment.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Well, and it's like being confident in knowing what
you know, but in knowing whatyou don't know, and I think
oftentimes it's the fear piece,right?
Fear of looking dumb, fear ofwhatever, of why we don't ask or
we don't say I don't know this.
I need to get some help on this.
And if we let that stay in theway, then that becomes our own
self-imposed limitation.
(12:03):
Yeah, yeah, you've talked aboutyour.
You talked about them earlier.
Those valley moments, right,those dark periods where there's
depression, where there'sanxiety, there's that weight of
all of the things that thosefeelings create in us.
So for folks who are listening,who might be in their own
valley, of whatever sort,they're feeling stuck, they're
(12:25):
feeling hopeless, what truth doyou wish somebody shared with
you during those times?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Well, the truth is, on any mountain there's always a
valley, like you never just gostraight to the top.
There's always like a dippingperiod.
It can go up and down.
There's even what they callfalse summits, where you think
you're at the top but you'rereally not.
You have to go down again to goup.
So I think if there's somebodyon this call that is in a valley
(12:52):
moment, depression, maybethey're struggling with a
financial hardship.
Maybe they're struggling withtheir teenage kids, like once
upon a time they used to love meand now it feels like they hate
me.
That low part that's reallyyour indicator to know that it's
not going to stay that way.
My mom, she used to always saythe sun is still shining on the
(13:12):
other side, and so I think youjust have to stay in the pocket
like a quarterback and wait forthe situation to change, but
also re-strategize.
Are there different ways for meto connect with my kid, with my
teen, or are there differentpeople financial advisors that I
(13:33):
need to help me with my budget?
If you're in a valley, it'sreally about not giving up,
because you'll never get out ofit if you don't try to find
different ways to press forwardand keep climbing.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah, and nothing is forever.
Nothing is forever.
Like it's that old saying right, this too shall pass.
It doesn't feel like it in themoment, it feels like it's
swallowing you up in the moment,but this too shall pass.
The darkness does come to anend.
You know, it may not be abright light, but it's like a
little bit more light than youhad before, a little bit more of
(14:08):
a view.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
One thing that fascinates meabout your journey is how you've
repeatedly redefined yourself,from athlete to scholar to
mountaineer to speaker.
When your knee injury endedyour football career something
many would see as an ending likeyou flip that around, you flip
that on its head and you're likethis is the beginning.
(14:29):
How do we, we listeners, how dowe learn to see those apparent
dead ends as like it's justanother doorway?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
I think the first thing is to understand that it's
okay to feel the feeling thatyou're feeling.
In that moment I was verydepressed.
I was sad because I wasactually about to make the most
money I could make playing flagfootball.
I've dedicated years and yearsinto this sport, sometimes on my
own dime, and now I'm actuallyable to represent the United
(15:02):
States and travel the world.
So I'm not gonna just say, ohwell, let me try to find
something different, like no,I'm going to acknowledge the
fact that hurt, this hurts, thismoment hurts.
But I think when you do allowyourself to feel the feels, then
find a way maybe to get extracounseling, maybe to talk to
(15:24):
somebody, somebody that youtrust to help you get to a whole
different step and say, allright, what else can I do?
I was able to get to a placewhere I said, okay, my knees
hurt, I got to accept this, Ican't change it.
I can't change that.
I had a grade five cartilagetear.
But what else can I do?
(15:44):
Who else am I besides anathlete?
So sometimes we have to feelthe feelings before we can
actually start to thinklogically.
The goal is to try to thinklogically and then evolve.
And so, yeah, I was able tofeel the feelings, then get to a
space where I accepted what washappening.
It's like grief.
(16:04):
You know the stages of grief.
I accepted it, finally got toacceptance.
Now, how can I move forward?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Was part of that ever like football was such a part
of your identity that then notdoing that felt like did you,
did it feel like confusing toyour identity Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
It really felt like an experience of grief.
I grieved the person that I was, my teammates.
I literally had a job at thetime.
It was just a job, but mypassion was sports.
After work we'd go playfootball, we'd practice football
.
I'd go to my teammates' house,we'd watch football on TV and
(16:48):
play in the pool and just chalkit up, laugh it up.
So I lost a sense of myidentity.
I can't say I talk to thosepeople anymore because I'm not
at the football field and I'mnot at practice.
So I grieved.
I grieved the loss offriendships.
I grieved the loss of alifestyle.
So it was difficult to createthat change and continue to
(17:11):
persevere past that change.
But you just find newcommunities and you just embrace
the newness.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
And I think that's such an important part of your
story is the part of youacknowledging the grief, because
I think sometimes we want toskip past that, like that part
sucks if we're honest, right,and you didn't.
You went through it, like yousaid, like you felt the feels,
like you felt what you werefeeling in the moment and it
didn't make it any easier orlike less painful, but you
(17:42):
acknowledge the grief and Ithink when people skip past the
grief there's a lot of value,though hard in the moment, when
we're going through the grief,absolutely 100%.
You've stood at the bottom ofacademic failure.
You've topped the peaks ofmountains.
What have those extremes inbetween taught you about human
(18:03):
potential that most of us maynot get to learn?
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Yeah, it taught me that our minds can expand beyond
our physical capability.
Your mind can expand beyondwhat you think you're physically
capable of.
In climbing the first mountainI ever climbed, which was the
highest freestanding mountain inthe world.
Why I did that?
We have a saying in Texas gobig or go home.
I want to go big, I'm going allthe way.
(18:30):
But when I climbed that mountain, before I even got to the top,
I got extremely sick.
So I'm experiencing a highlevel of sickness, covid-like
symptoms, sweating bullets, coldand freezing.
At the same time, meanwhile I'mcoughing and then, on a
mountain, you're at 50% lessoxygen.
So they had to administeroxygen to me on day one on a
(18:55):
seven-day hike, and there were.
So I wanted to give up on dayone.
But I made a decision yearsbefore I made a decision to
train.
I made a decision to invest mymoney and I made a decision
years before I made a decisionto train.
I made a decision to invest mymoney and I made a decision to
take the flight, go throughcustoms.
I made a decision to show up onthis mountain and so just
(19:17):
because I reached adversity,does that mean the decision
changes or do we try to figureout.
Let's get some air.
Let's do some self-affirmations, let's hype yourself up.
Tia, you didn't come this farto come this far.
You know how to persevere.
You're an athlete.
Go ahead and activate that.
And so I think when people saylike don't give up, it means
(19:39):
that just keep deciding theoriginal decision that you made
to reach the goal.
Keep deciding to do that, nomatter what.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Yeah Well, and resilience, you know, is as much
of a buzzword as that is likethe real.
That's the real gritty truththat you have walked through.
And so when you're, when you'reon the mountains, I imagine,
like you shared on day one, youhad to do that and the most
important part to getting to daytwo is like you got to get
(20:08):
yourself in check.
You got to get your mind incheck to be able to face that.
Have you ever been on amountain where you're like I
don't know if I can get my mindright?
Speaker 2 (20:19):
That's such a good question.
Yes, two years ago I climbed amountain, two mountains.
The first mountain was calledLa Malinche in Mexico, and I
took a group of other indigenouswomen of color and we climbed
La Malinche and this is about a14,000 foot mountain in Mexico.
(20:41):
And then days later, two dayslater, we were supposed to climb
Pico de Orizaba.
This is the highest volcano inNorth America.
And after climbing La Malinche,it took a lot out of us and
mentally like I'm thinking thisother mountain is 18,000 feet,
(21:02):
it's a lot higher, and we'retalking you have to have ice axe
.
We're talking about you needthe harnesses.
So it takes a lot more physicaland mental energy.
So when we woke up at twoo'clock in the morning and it's
freezing and we're bundled upand we're in pitch blackness
getting ready to climb thismountain, the highest volcano in
(21:24):
North America, I was mentallylike I'm like I don't know if we
can do this.
And I think, as I started tosee my teammates disappear, some
of them turned back around.
One of them turned aroundwithin the first two hours.
So now it's three of us.
We're still hiking.
Now, a few hours go by theother one.
(21:46):
Now it's just two of us.
We get to the base of almostthe peak of the mountain it's
called High Camp and this is thehardest part of the mountain,
where it's seven o'clock in themorning, it's freezing cold.
Our guide turns around and saysto us we're not going to make
it to the top in time becausethere's a certain time that you
(22:06):
have to get to the peak forsafety purposes.
And, as I saw my teammates falloff throughout the night, like
my confidence went down.
My belief system went down.
I'm like, if they're not makingit, like I don't know if I can
make it.
And I remember, if I'm thinkingthis the entire time, my body
is following everything that I'mthinking.
(22:28):
We didn't make it, sonny, butI'm excited to share with you.
I didn't give up.
I took a year, traineddifferently, I ate differently,
(22:53):
I looked at different routes totake.
I re-strategized my wholestrategy of climbing this
mountain.
I ended up going with thehighest volcano in North America
.
And I'm excited, not because Imade it to the top, because now,
as I'm down, I know how to getpeople up that mountain.
I know exactly what route totake.
I know what mindset you need tohave.
I know how to get you there.
(23:14):
So when I climb mountains, Idon't just do it for me.
It's like, okay, I can get tothe summit of this and now I can
help others climb up.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Okay, this is where we hit the pause button.
I hope you enjoyed part onewith my guest Tia Banks.
Make sure we check back nextweek for part two, where we dive
deep into the importance ofself-awareness and burnout
prevention how to transformchallenging behaviors into
leadership opportunities andbuilding sustainable habits for
long-term success.
(23:43):
I hope to see you then.
Thank you so much for listeningand for being here on this
journey with me.
I hope you'll stick around Ifyou liked this episode.
(24:06):
It would mean the world for meif you would rate and review the
podcast or share it withsomeone you know Many need to
hear this message.
I love to hear from you all andwant you to know that you can
leave me a voicemail directly.
If you go to my website,evokegreatnesscom, and go to the
Contact Me tab, you'll just hitthe big old orange button and
record your message.
I love the feedback andcomments that I've been getting,
so please keep them coming.
(24:27):
I'll leave you with the wisewords of author Robin Sharma
Greatness comes by doing a fewsmall and smart things each and
every day.
It comes from taking littlesteps consistently.
It comes from making a fewsmall chips against everything
in your professional andpersonal life that is ordinary,
(24:48):
so that a day eventually arriveswhen all that's left is the
extraordinary.
Welcome to Evoke Greatness.
We are officially entering yearthree of this podcast and I am
filled with so much gratitudefor each and every one of you
who've joined me on thisincredible journey of growth and
self-discovery.
I'm Sunny, your host and fellowtraveler on this path of
personal evolution.
This podcast is a sanctuary forthe curious, the ambitious and
(00:28):
the introspective.
It's for those of you who, likeme, are captivated by the
champion mindset and driven byan insatiable hunger for growth
and knowledge.
Whether you're just beginningyour journey or you're well
along your path, you're going tofind stories here that resonate
with your experiences andaspirations.
Over the last two years, we'veshared countless stories of
triumph and challenge, ofresilience and transformation.
(00:51):
We've laughed, we've reflectedand we've grown together.
And as we've evolved, so toohas this podcast.
Remember, no matter whatchapter you're on in your own
story, you belong here.
This community we've builttogether is a place of support,
inspiration and shared growth.
Where intention goes, energyflows, and the energy you bring
(01:13):
to this space elevates us all.
So, whether you're listeningwhile commuting, working out or
enjoying your morning coffee,perhaps from one of those
motivational mugs I'm so fond of, know that you're a part of
something special.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for your curiosity,your openness and your
commitment to personal growth.
As we embark on year three, Iinvite you to lean in, to listen
(01:36):
deeply and to let these storiesresonate with your soul.
I believe that a rising tideraises all ships, and I invite
you along in this journey toevoke greatness.
(01:57):
Welcome back to another episodeof Evoke Greatness.
Imagine failing your firstcollege test with a score of 5.
Not 50, but 5, and thentransforming that moment into a
catalyst for extraordinarychange.
My guest today did exactly that, and it's just one chapter in
her remarkable story.
She has climbed some of theworld's most challenging peaks,
(02:18):
played professional flagfootball for 13 years and turned
her own battles with depressionand anxiety into a mission
that's impacting thousands ofstudents and educators across
the country.
Get ready to meet Tia Banks, anaward-winning motivational
speaker, certified resilienceexpert and mountaineer who's
currently on a mission toconquer all seven volcanic
summits across the globe.
But what makes Tia's storytruly extraordinary isn't just
(02:41):
where she's been.
It's how she got there.
From being redshirted incollege due to poor grades to
earning both her bachelor's andmaster's degrees.
From facing a career-endingknee injury to discovering her
true calling, tia knowsfirsthand what it means to
navigate life's valleys andemerge stronger on the other
side.
Today, we're going to explorehow those experiences shaped her
into a leading voice inresilience and mental health,
(03:04):
and why her message is morerelevant than ever in our
current landscape of risinganxiety and depression rates
among students.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Tia, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much, sunny, forhaving me.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Man glad to have you on Glad for your grace.
We had a little bit of achallenge and man Tia has showed
up with some grace today.
That's I will share.
That it's all today.
That's I will tell you thatit's all good.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
It's all about adapting.
We can adapt to change, andthat's exactly what we were able
to do.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Well, I want to dig into your story, but even before
we do that, like, let's get alittle bit of the backstory.
What is it that led to you know, along the way, we all have
these journeys and theseevolutions and we kind of become
new iterations of ourself whatled you to the current version
of Tia that you are today?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah.
So, growing up, I grew up inLincoln, nebraska, and started
out family two parent home.
And you look at me, you're likeLincoln.
Yes, there are Black people inLincoln, nebraska.
Granted, I was one of like 500in my elementary school.
But no, kids, kids don't careabout race, they're just like
(04:14):
are we going to play like socceror what?
But growing up in a two-parenthousehold, and then my parents
got divorced and when theydivorced, my mom moved me and my
siblings to Fort Worth, texas,and at that time that was
probably the first time Iactually experienced racism or
colorism, because the way that Ispoke people would say, oh, you
(04:39):
sound like an Oreo, so an Oreo.
You sound like an Oreo, so anOreo black on the outside, white
on the inside.
And so, making that move, Irealized maybe I need to change
who I am to fit in, and I feellike I've always kind of had
that mentality change who youare so that you can fit in.
And meanwhile I'm notdiscovering who the true person,
(05:03):
the true Tia Banks, is.
And then, growing up, my fatherwe have this thing like it's
the Banks thing, suck it up Ifyou're an athlete, like
everything is.
Suck it up, like I'm sorry, dad, my nose is bleeding Like you
just threw the ball at my face.
But everything was suck it up.
And so I took that mentality,that Banks mentality of sucking
(05:25):
everything up.
As a college athlete, mycoaches would say you got to be
mentally tough.
And so I married those twothings together and I'm like
suck it up, be mentally tough.
Maybe it just means I don'tshare my emotions.
So here I am not sharing how Itruly feel, sweeping everything
under the rug, not being able tobe who I truly am, not
(05:48):
understanding my own identity.
And so I led into a pit I callit the valley of depression as a
young adult.
And as a young adult Iexperienced bankruptcy
financially, spiritually,emotionally, not knowing my
purpose, financially,spiritually, emotionally, not
(06:09):
knowing my purpose.
And from there I'm just likewho am I?
I played, as you mentioned, Iplayed professional flag
football and I've always knownmyself.
My only identity is an athlete.
But when I experienced amassive knee injury that took me
out of the game at the peak ofmy career, now I'm really like
who am I?
Who am I without this sport?
(06:29):
Who am I without sports?
And so I had to do someself-discovery and I used some
holistic strategies, sunny, somejournaling outside meditation,
and I was like, let me tryhiking and that's something that
you don't see a lot of peopleof color doing, in to the
(06:50):
capacity.
So I started to hike and I'mgetting out in nature and then
I'm like let me climb thehighest freestanding mountain in
the world.
Where does that come from?
Cause I had hiking.
But I'm going to show yousomething really cool.
On the side of my face I have abirthmark and people say it
(07:12):
looks like Africa, it's in theshape of Africa, it's my African
birthmark, and who would havethought that the highest
freestanding mountain in theworld is in Tanzania, africa?
So it was like always in me todo something more.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
And that probably paved the way for a number of
things right.
To get through a lot of thingsis just that the grittiness, the
unwillingness to give up orunwillingness to push boundaries
, yeah absolutely it's that.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
It's that resilience factor is is bouncing back from
difficult times.
So the difficult time wasdepression, and then the
difficult time was well, who amI?
I don't know my identity andkids struggle with this all the
time, like trying to discoverwho they are, and they're being
told by people like me andteachers and educators you just
got to be yourself.
(08:04):
But how can you be yourself ifyou've never known who you were?
So, being resilient to say I'mgoing to try something different
, I'm going to explore somethingnew, hiking, journaling,
actually expressing how I feelbecause before I'm not able to
do that, Acknowledging myemotions.
Now I'm becoming emotionallyintelligent.
(08:24):
Yeah, it is definitely thatresilience factor and that's
what took me from being in thevalley to getting to some of the
toppest peaks, the highestpeaks in the world.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
There's a powerful moment in your story earlier on,
in your story of getting a fiveon that college test, and I
think there are probably a lotof people listening who they're
facing their own moments of whatthey feel like in the moment,
which is profound failure.
Right, how am I going tosurvive this?
Psychologically, emotionally,socially, all of those things?
(08:56):
Can you take us to what yourmind was going through during
that time, what shifted insideof you to turn that crushing
moment into like the start of atransformation?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
So you couldn't tell me that Iwasn't going to be an athlete
forever.
I just knew I was going to bean athlete forever.
But when I went from highschool into college, my coach
said Tia, you're going to haveto be a red shirt freshman
because your grades aren't goodenough in math.
And my grades weren't goodenough in math because in high
(09:28):
school I was always believingthat I'm not good at this.
My parents.
I would ask them for help.
Mom, can you help me?
I'd call my dad on the phoneDad, can you help me?
I'm not good at math.
My mom's like I'm not good atmath.
Their parents weren't good atmath.
So I'm like, how am I supposedto be good at math?
But it takes being willing toask for help.
(09:51):
So I read one of my teammates.
She was amazing at math.
She majored in mathematics.
I said, hey, her name's Val.
I'm like Val, can you tutor me?
Can you tutor me after practicein study hall, would you help
me?
And she was like, yeah, sheloves math.
(10:13):
And I think if you're in a spacewhere maybe there's a goal that
you're after and you don't knowwhere to start, ask, ask, ask
the people around you, ask acommunity that you're a part of
and if you're not a part of acommunity, get a part of a
community, meet up groups, getinto spaces that are outside of
(10:34):
your normal perspective.
And that's what I was able todo, and Val helped me.
She helped me after class.
She helped me late nights afterpractice we're doing two days
of practice but I grinded it outand my confidence got bigger
because she was helping me and Istarted to understand these
problems Algebra Okay.
(10:55):
I'm starting to understand thisand as my confidence is growing,
I'm like hey, give me any mathproblem and I can do it.
I get to.
After I made that five notashamed to say it after I made
that five because I wasresilient enough to get help and
ask for help and get acommunity I ended up making a B
in the class.
Now it's not an A, but it wasbetter than a failure.
(11:20):
So I think sometimes peopledon't want to ask because
they're afraid to look like theydon't know it all.
But we're not supposed to knowit all and if you do want to
improve, you got to startsomewhere.
So getting a community was thebest thing that I can do to help
me climb higher in the mathdepartment.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Well, and it's like being confident in knowing what
you know, but in knowing whatyou don't know, and I think
oftentimes it's the fear piece,right?
Fear of looking dumb, fear ofwhatever, of why we don't ask or
we don't say I don't know this.
I need to get some help on this.
And if we let that stay in theway, then that becomes our own
self-imposed limitation.
(12:03):
Yeah, yeah, you've talked aboutyour.
You talked about them earlier.
Those valley moments, right,those dark periods where there's
depression, where there'sanxiety, there's that weight of
all of the things that thosefeelings create in us.
So for folks who are listening,who might be in their own
valley, of whatever sort,they're feeling stuck, they're
(12:25):
feeling hopeless, what truth doyou wish somebody shared with
you during those times?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Well, the truth is, on any mountain there's always a
valley, like you never just gostraight to the top.
There's always like a dippingperiod.
It can go up and down.
There's even what they callfalse summits, where you think
you're at the top but you'rereally not.
You have to go down again to goup.
So I think if there's somebodyon this call that is in a valley
(12:52):
moment, depression, maybethey're struggling with a
financial hardship.
Maybe they're struggling withtheir teenage kids, like once
upon a time they used to love meand now it feels like they hate
me.
That low part that's reallyyour indicator to know that it's
not going to stay that way.
My mom, she used to always saythe sun is still shining on the
(13:12):
other side, and so I think youjust have to stay in the pocket
like a quarterback and wait forthe situation to change, but
also re-strategize.
Are there different ways for meto connect with my kid, with my
teen, or are there differentpeople financial advisors that I
(13:33):
need to help me with my budget?
If you're in a valley, it'sreally about not giving up,
because you'll never get out ofit if you don't try to find
different ways to press forwardand keep climbing.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah, and nothing is forever.
Nothing is forever.
Like it's that old saying right, this too shall pass.
It doesn't feel like it in themoment, it feels like it's
swallowing you up in the moment,but this too shall pass.
The darkness does come to anend.
You know, it may not be abright light, but it's like a
little bit more light than youhad before, a little bit more of
(14:08):
a view.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
One thing that fascinates meabout your journey is how you've
repeatedly redefined yourself,from athlete to scholar to
mountaineer to speaker.
When your knee injury endedyour football career something
many would see as an ending likeyou flip that around, you flip
that on its head and you're likethis is the beginning.
(14:29):
How do we, we listeners, how dowe learn to see those apparent
dead ends as like it's justanother doorway?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
I think the first thing is to understand that it's
okay to feel the feeling thatyou're feeling.
In that moment I was verydepressed.
I was sad because I wasactually about to make the most
money I could make playing flagfootball.
I've dedicated years and yearsinto this sport, sometimes on my
own dime, and now I'm actuallyable to represent the United
(15:02):
States and travel the world.
So I'm not gonna just say, ohwell, let me try to find
something different, like no,I'm going to acknowledge the
fact that hurt, this hurts, thismoment hurts.
But I think when you do allowyourself to feel the feels, then
find a way maybe to get extracounseling, maybe to talk to
(15:24):
somebody, somebody that youtrust to help you get to a whole
different step and say, allright, what else can I do?
I was able to get to a placewhere I said, okay, my knees
hurt, I got to accept this, Ican't change it.
I can't change that.
I had a grade five cartilagetear.
But what else can I do?
(15:44):
Who else am I besides anathlete?
So sometimes we have to feelthe feelings before we can
actually start to thinklogically.
The goal is to try to thinklogically and then evolve.
And so, yeah, I was able tofeel the feelings, then get to a
space where I accepted what washappening.
It's like grief.
(16:04):
You know the stages of grief.
I accepted it, finally got toacceptance.
Now, how can I move forward?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Was part of that ever like football was such a part
of your identity that then notdoing that felt like did you,
did it feel like confusing toyour identity Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
It really felt like an experience of grief.
I grieved the person that I was, my teammates.
I literally had a job at thetime.
It was just a job, but mypassion was sports.
After work we'd go playfootball, we'd practice football
.
I'd go to my teammates' house,we'd watch football on TV and
(16:48):
play in the pool and just chalkit up, laugh it up.
So I lost a sense of myidentity.
I can't say I talk to thosepeople anymore because I'm not
at the football field and I'mnot at practice.
So I grieved.
I grieved the loss offriendships.
I grieved the loss of alifestyle.
So it was difficult to createthat change and continue to
(17:11):
persevere past that change.
But you just find newcommunities and you just embrace
the newness.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
And I think that's such an important part of your
story is the part of youacknowledging the grief, because
I think sometimes we want toskip past that, like that part
sucks if we're honest, right,and you didn't.
You went through it, like yousaid, like you felt the feels,
like you felt what you werefeeling in the moment and it
didn't make it any easier orlike less painful, but you
(17:42):
acknowledge the grief and Ithink when people skip past the
grief there's a lot of value,though hard in the moment, when
we're going through the grief,absolutely 100%.
You've stood at the bottom ofacademic failure.
You've topped the peaks ofmountains.
What have those extremes inbetween taught you about human
(18:03):
potential that most of us maynot get to learn?
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Yeah, it taught me that our minds can expand beyond
our physical capability.
Your mind can expand beyondwhat you think you're physically
capable of.
In climbing the first mountainI ever climbed, which was the
highest freestanding mountain inthe world.
Why I did that?
We have a saying in Texas gobig or go home.
I want to go big, I'm going allthe way.
(18:30):
But when I climbed that mountain, before I even got to the top,
I got extremely sick.
So I'm experiencing a highlevel of sickness, covid-like
symptoms, sweating bullets, coldand freezing.
At the same time, meanwhile I'mcoughing and then, on a
mountain, you're at 50% lessoxygen.
So they had to administeroxygen to me on day one on a
(18:55):
seven-day hike, and there were.
So I wanted to give up on dayone.
But I made a decision yearsbefore I made a decision to
train.
I made a decision to invest mymoney and I made a decision
years before I made a decisionto train.
I made a decision to invest mymoney and I made a decision to
take the flight, go throughcustoms.
I made a decision to show up onthis mountain and so just
(19:17):
because I reached adversity,does that mean the decision
changes or do we try to figureout.
Let's get some air.
Let's do some self-affirmations, let's hype yourself up.
Tia, you didn't come this farto come this far.
You know how to persevere.
You're an athlete.
Go ahead and activate that.
And so I think when people saylike don't give up, it means
(19:39):
that just keep deciding theoriginal decision that you made
to reach the goal.
Keep deciding to do that, nomatter what.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Yeah Well, and resilience, you know, is as much
of a buzzword as that is likethe real.
That's the real gritty truththat you have walked through.
And so when you're, when you'reon the mountains, I imagine,
like you shared on day one, youhad to do that and the most
important part to getting to daytwo is like you got to get
(20:08):
yourself in check.
You got to get your mind incheck to be able to face that.
Have you ever been on amountain where you're like I
don't know if I can get my mindright?
Speaker 2 (20:19):
That's such a good question.
Yes, two years ago I climbed amountain, two mountains.
The first mountain was calledLa Malinche in Mexico, and I
took a group of other indigenouswomen of color and we climbed
La Malinche and this is about a14,000 foot mountain in Mexico.
(20:41):
And then days later, two dayslater, we were supposed to climb
Pico de Orizaba.
This is the highest volcano inNorth America.
And after climbing La Malinche,it took a lot out of us and
mentally like I'm thinking thisother mountain is 18,000 feet,
(21:02):
it's a lot higher, and we'retalking you have to have ice axe
.
We're talking about you needthe harnesses.
So it takes a lot more physicaland mental energy.
So when we woke up at twoo'clock in the morning and it's
freezing and we're bundled upand we're in pitch blackness
getting ready to climb thismountain, the highest volcano in
(21:24):
North America, I was mentallylike I'm like I don't know if we
can do this.
And I think, as I started tosee my teammates disappear, some
of them turned back around.
One of them turned aroundwithin the first two hours.
So now it's three of us.
We're still hiking.
Now, a few hours go by theother one.
(21:46):
Now it's just two of us.
We get to the base of almostthe peak of the mountain it's
called High Camp and this is thehardest part of the mountain,
where it's seven o'clock in themorning, it's freezing cold.
Our guide turns around and saysto us we're not going to make
it to the top in time becausethere's a certain time that you
(22:06):
have to get to the peak forsafety purposes.
And, as I saw my teammates falloff throughout the night, like
my confidence went down.
My belief system went down.
I'm like, if they're not makingit, like I don't know if I can
make it.
And I remember, if I'm thinkingthis the entire time, my body
is following everything that I'mthinking.
(22:28):
We didn't make it, sonny, butI'm excited to share with you.
I didn't give up.
I took a year, traineddifferently, I ate differently,
(22:53):
I looked at different routes totake.
I re-strategized my wholestrategy of climbing this
mountain.
I ended up going with thehighest volcano in North America
.
And I'm excited, not because Imade it to the top, because now,
as I'm down, I know how to getpeople up that mountain.
I know exactly what route totake.
I know what mindset you need tohave.
I know how to get you there.
(23:14):
So when I climb mountains, Idon't just do it for me.
It's like, okay, I can get tothe summit of this and now I can
help others climb up.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Okay, this is where we hit the pause button.
I hope you enjoyed part onewith my guest Tia Banks.
Make sure we check back nextweek for part two, where we dive
deep into the importance ofself-awareness and burnout
prevention how to transformchallenging behaviors into
leadership opportunities andbuilding sustainable habits for
long-term success.
(23:43):
I hope to see you then.
Thank you so much for listeningand for being here on this
journey with me.
I hope you'll stick around Ifyou liked this episode.
(24:06):
It would mean the world for meif you would rate and review the
podcast or share it withsomeone you know Many need to
hear this message.
I love to hear from you all andwant you to know that you can
leave me a voicemail directly.
If you go to my website,evokegreatnesscom, and go to the
Contact Me tab, you'll just hitthe big old orange button and
record your message.
I love the feedback andcomments that I've been getting,
so please keep them coming.
(24:27):
I'll leave you with the wisewords of author Robin Sharma
Greatness comes by doing a fewsmall and smart things each and
every day.
It comes from taking littlesteps consistently.
It comes from making a fewsmall chips against everything
in your professional andpersonal life that is ordinary,
(24:48):
so that a day eventually arriveswhen all that's left is the
extraordinary.
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