July 16, 2025 • 42 mins
I would love to hear from you!
Kalina Powell, known as the Deaf Queen Boss, shares her powerful journey from becoming deaf at age four to becoming an international speaker, coach, and author who empowers young adults with disabilities.
• Became deaf at age four due to an ear infection, creating a significant transition for her family
• Attended both deaf and hearing schools, learning to navigate different communication styles
• Developed anxiety and depression from constant self-advocacy and experiencing bullying
• Struggled to find deaf role models or counselors, inspiring her to become what she needed
• Created a coaching business to support young people with disabilities in building confidence
• Uses manifestation and mindset work to help clients overcome limiting beliefs
• Recommends curating social media feeds to maintain positive mental health
• Emphasizes the importance of asking yourself difficult questions to grow beyond comfort zones
• Encourages people to learn basic sign language and educate themselves about disabilities
• Believes God gives us challenges because we have the strength to handle them
Find Kalina at kalinainpowerme.com or on Instagram @DeafQueenBoss and LinkedIn as Kalina Powell.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hey everyone, I'm Nate Shear and this is Mindforce
, a podcast where we explorelove, life and learning, because
your mind shapes everything.
Today, we'll be talking aboutmental health and disabilities.
We're going to start with theeasy stuff, the background, so
let's start with a quickintroduction.
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Who are you, what do you do andwhat brings you here today.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, thank you so much, nate, for having me here.
Hi everybody, my name is KalinaPowell, aka the Deaf Queen Vow.
I am an international speaker,a coach for young adults with
disabilities and, lastly, I amI'm so many hot on it.
So you guys, sometimes I can'tkeep up, and I'm also an author
as well.
So I do have three books outalready and 2025, I'm going to
(01:05):
have my fourth book coming outas well.
So that's a little bit about meand I'm here to talk about my
story.
I'm here to talk about mydisability, especially how I
cope with mental health.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Perfect.
And just to set the scene,where in the world are you
calling from?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I'm calling from Canada Toronto.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Nice Worldwide viewers.
We'll start with the warm-up.
What's something people mightnot know about you that has
shaped you who you are today?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
A lot of people don't know that I am very confident
in myself and my disability, anda lot of people didn't know
that it took me years to developthe type of confidence I have
today.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Okay, Were you born with your disability or do you
slowly?
I was reading through yourstuff.
It sounded like it happenedover the course of years, or
what was that timeframe for yougrowing up?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So it all started when I became deaf at the age of
four due to an ear infection.
So, unfortunately, I had an earinfection when I was four years
old an ear infection so,unfortunately, I had an ear
infection when I was four yearsold.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Okay, next question how did your journey of personal
growth lead you to where youare now?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
It really.
That's a good question.
There's a lot, I would say,towards that question.
To be honest, everyone but manypeople show it, so it really
leads me to where I am today iswhen I had that breaking point
when I was younger so I think Iwas in middle school I was
looking for a counselor that waseither deaf or had a disability
(02:30):
and I was looking for a book toread based off a deaf author
and I realized that there wasnothing for me, unfortunately,
and I knew right there.
I wanted to make a change in theworld and it made me realize
and shape me.
Who I am today is that I wantto make an impact to the younger
generation to let them knowthat they're not alone, because
I felt alone and that's reallyshaped who I am today,
(02:53):
especially being able toadvocate for myself and build
that confidence in me.
And because, honestly, if youguys were to tell me when I was
younger that I'm going to bethis this far in my life, I
would probably laugh at you andbe like there's no way I am here
.
Literally, I would just laughat you.
So that's really how my hairand locks shape who I am today.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
That's awesome.
Yeah, I love that.
I think that was one of thecore reasons I started the show
for losing my grandma when I wasa kid, with mental health
issues and things like that.
But I think one of the cores ofthe show as it's gone on, you
know, through 50 episodes now isletting people know that we are
all human, we all go throughstuff and there's someone else
(03:33):
that has gone through it as well.
All the people, all the gueststhat have been on the show.
It's interesting how many timesit's come up that I thought I
was the only one.
I self-isolated, I downwardspiraled and things like that.
So awesome reminder.
I'm so glad you mentioned thatPeople that are listening to
these stories.
You are not the only one to gothrough.
It's like impossible there'stoo many of us out there to you
(03:55):
know, not go through it, so findsomebody.
It's awesome.
I like the idea that you hadwhere you didn't see the thing
that you needed, so you built it, and I think that's pretty
amazing.
Next question If you coulddescribe your mission in one
sentence, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
One sentence oh gosh Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
That's too hard.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
One sentence, okay.
Well, sorry, I would say mymission is to create more impact
to the youth, especially mentalhealth industry.
That is my one sentence.
I hope that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
That's perfect.
Okay, before we start on yourmain pillars, I wanted to see if
you had a question for me.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, my question for you is what is the one tip or
advice would you give men inthis generation who are
struggling with their mentalhealth?
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Yeah, I think the biggest thing is trying to open
up and obviously that's easiersaid than done, but I think
that's one thing.
Another reason, you know, acore part of the show here is
sharing stories and, you know,allowing people to know that
everyone goes through things andthings like that.
So I think it's really openingup and being a little vulnerable
, which I mean that's difficultas the men you're supposed to be
(05:08):
dominant, you're supposed to bestrong and you're not supposed
to have any difficulties, but weknow that's not true and I
think, as we have theseconversations, it's getting
better and better.
But I think that's the mostimportant thing is to open up,
and not open up to everyone.
I think my core piece of advicewould probably be find the safe
space.
So, if that's your significantother, is that a close friend?
(05:30):
I mean, maybe it could even bea dog, I don't know but finding
a spot where you can process,say things out loud, vent, get
through those things.
But I think finding that placewhere you meet someone, you get
some coffee, you process somethings, place where you know you
meet someone, you get somecoffee, you process some things.
Because I think you know, withthe rise in mental health and
(05:51):
not having enough providers totake care of us.
We really have to do our bestjob of solving things at that
lowest level.
There are going to be timesyou're going to need higher
levels of care, times where youmight need medication, things
like that.
But if we can solve a lot ofthings by having that safe space
with another person andoffloading things as they come
up, I think that's reallyimportant.
I think a lot of times on themen's side, you carry the
(06:11):
baggage, it's on your shoulders,you're trying to be strong and
then you just get weighed downso you need to offload the stuff
as you go.
So that would be my main thingFind a safe space and offload as
you go.
Don't get to the worst day ofyour life before you're getting
counseling and things like that.
I think hopefully through theshow and conversations we
(06:34):
realize mental fitness.
Key part of the title of theshow is you're doing things
ongoing.
You're not waiting for theworst day.
You go and do cardio three daysa week, you weight lift two
days a week or whatever.
You're not just going to mentalhealth on the worst day.
So let's move into your threemain pillars.
Your first main pillar isliving with a hearing disability
, so can you share your story?
You talked about the infection.
Do you have anything else tokind of expand on becoming deaf
(06:56):
at the age of four?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yes.
So honestly, I remember like itwas yesterday, to be honest.
So I remember, after we weredone daycare, I was walking from
home.
I was normal, he was normal.
Until that I went to go watchTV and my mom called me.
I couldn't hear my mom at alland she tapped me on my shoulder
and that's when I freaked out,and that's when I realized my
(07:18):
hair just dropped and so Ilooked at my mom.
You know I said I can't hearyou.
Oh my God, like what'shappening.
My mom freaked out and mygrandmother thankfully she was a
nurse, actually, Thank God.
So she rushed home from thehospital, she did a assessment
on me and she realized thatsomething was wrong and she's
like okay, this is not normal.
And especially me, like I knowmy grandmother's voice off the
(07:41):
top of my head.
I really did, I really did.
Like I can hear my grandmotherlike walking up the steps,
knowing she did not have to moveher foot, like that's how crazy
I am.
And so my grandmother calls myfamily doctor to figure out when
can we come in.
My family doctor saidunfortunately, we're fully
booked.
You have to come in with Kalinatomorrow.
The next day came in.
Unfortunately, there's nothingwe could do.
(08:03):
My doctor broke the news to myfamily and said unfortunately
there's nothing we can do.
Kalina is completely deaf inboth ears, so I don't know if
the staff in the daycare didn'tput the eardrop in the right
time or they put too much in myears.
I'm not too sure.
Unfortunately, I don't knowwhat happened.
And that moment on movingforward, obviously my
(08:24):
communication style changed as afour-year-old.
Right.
How can you explain to afour-year-old she cannot hear
for the rest of her life?
And so that was something myfamily had to figure out.
They had to figure out are wegoing to learn sign language for
Kalina, or Kalina's going tocontinue to speak, because I
already know how to speak?
And so that was a very harddecision for my family to make,
(08:47):
because they didn't know what isthe best for me as a
four-year-old, and I'm actuallycurrently the first person in my
family who is deaf, so that isdefinitely a very huge
transition for my family.
However, when I was growing up,I went to two schools.
Actually, I went to a deafschool and a hearing school, so
that actually helped me a lot tolearn how to communicate to
different communities,especially for me when I get
(09:08):
older, so I don't have to relyon my family to come with me
everywhere I go and obviously Iface a lot of bullying.
However, being deaf at the ageof four was a lot of confusion
and obviously it did affect mymental health, because there are
some days where I would lie tomy parents.
I don't feel well, I don't wantto go to school because I was
tired wearing my hearing aid somuch and I wanted to just
(09:30):
completely just like not go toschool, not to go anywhere.
Because, for those who are notaware, a lot of deaf and hard of
hearing individual, we rely onlip reading a lot of times.
So for me, it's lip reading,it's like it's my eyes, so I
need to see a lip 24 7.
So for me, lip reading is likeit's my eyes, so I need to see a
lip 24-7 in order for me tohave that complete communication
.
Even though I wear hearing aidsfull time, however, I use both.
(09:55):
I use my lip reading andhearing aids at the same time to
hear.
So it was very exhausting for a4-year-old who tries to
navigate two different ways tocommunicate.
So that is literally my life asa 4-year-old.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Wow, that's rough.
So you said your family wasthinking about American Sign
Language, ASL, and things likethat.
What changes did your familymake to kind of take care of you
?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
sign language in the deaf school.
It was amazing.
However, my family reallydidn't have the time and effort
to learn sign languagethemselves because they were so
busy with work and school.
My mom had me when she wasyoung, so she couldn't know what
(10:42):
to do because she was incollege at the time, but she did
try to learn our basic signlanguage and same thing with my
grandmother, but that was theonly way that could help me.
But they did have a goodcommunication with me in terms
of letting me know that they aregoing to be vocal with me.
But they had their reason.
They had their own reason why?
Because they were thinkingabout my future, right?
(11:03):
They were thinking like hey,you know, when Kalina gets older
, everybody's going to learnsign language.
Sign language is going to beconsidered a second language.
So my family thought a lotabout my future in that way.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
That's interesting.
How has your experience shapedyour perspective on resilience
and overcoming obstacles?
Speaker 2 (11:20):
So it really just taught me a lot about being
patient with myself and becauseI noticed that with resilience,
you do need to be vulnerablewith yourself on what is really
going on with yourself.
I feel like a lot of us,especially people who have a
disability, we don't take ourtime to learn our disability and
learn how to embrace it, andthat was something I struggled a
(11:41):
lot when I was getting olderembracing my deafness.
It's okay to be deaf, it's okayto be deaf, it's okay to have
different accommodationscompared to anybody else in the
room.
And that's where the resiliencecame in, and what I realized
was that it's okay to bedifferent, and that's something
I didn't get a lot of credit forfor myself when I was growing
(12:02):
up and again, because I didn'thave any role models that I
could talk to.
And that's what the hardestthing I had to do was embrace my
deafness, to really think tomyself and say it's okay to be
deaf, even though you may not beliked by everybody, and that's
something I had to learn thehard way.
And I feel like the rejillingcame in when I was in middle
(12:22):
school and high school because Ihad to learn how to fight for
myself yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
So, as you were coming up, you mentioned
bullying and even now I'm surethere's people that give you a
hard time or don't understand,like what's the number one way,
or maybe it's like, depending onthe situation, but is there
like a technique you found tohelp people connect with you?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
The easiest way for people to connect with me,
especially in person.
I would say always face me allthe time, just face me so I can
read your lips.
However, because of technologynow it improves the margins.
I was younger, so it helps alot, especially with the closed
caption now on different apps,different software.
So it's very cool to see how alot of inclusivity has been
(13:09):
improved.
A lot on software, so it's beenamazing, so that's how it's
easier.
Lot on software, so it's beenamazing, so that's how it is for
me now.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So, thankfully, yeah, it's interesting.
I just saw the other day.
I totally didn't think about it, but I saw you can put a thing
in your cup holder at the movietheater and I guess it'll show
words.
I don't know if they all dothat, but I saw that randomly.
I thought that was interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I didn't know if they all do that, but I saw that
randomly.
I thought that was interesting.
I didn't know that existed.
Yeah, yeah, so the movietheaters are starting to come up
with different ways for closedcaptioning now for people who
need it Not everybody needs it,not just us, but anybody in
general.
They're making like a stickwith the closed caption and
sometimes now I heard they'recreating like sunglasses with
(13:52):
glasses that show captions.
So technology really ischanging a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
That's awesome.
I think one thing that's alwaysimportant for people is
education right, they don't know, they don't understand.
What do you think is thebiggest misconception about the
deaf community?
Speaker 2 (14:07):
A lot of people think that the deaf community cannot
communicate and a lot of peoplethink that deaf Deaf community
cannot communicate.
And a lot of people think thatDeaf people cannot be, cannot do
what they can in their life.
Right, I know when people meetme and they're like, wow, you
overcome so much or wow, you'resuper successful, and I was like
what is that supposed to mean?
You know, it doesn't matterwhat disability you have, Like
(14:31):
you can be anything you want.
You know it doesn't matter whatdisability you have, you can be
anything you want.
So I would say that's one ofthe biggest deceptions about the
deaf community that a lot ofpeople also think that the deaf
community cannot speak.
A lot of people think that deafpeople can only do sign
language.
Until they meet me, they'relike oh, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
I thought you didn't know how to talk.
You can definitely communicate.
We are sitting herecommunicating right now.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Yeah, exactly, so I feel like that is a huge stuff.
Uh, that's one of the hugemisconceptions a lot with the
deaf community that they can'ttalk, so and people think that
they only can do sign language,and I was like, no, there's some
deaf people that actually talkme, so that's one of the biggest
problems.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
yeah, Do you ever find people like walk on
eggshells or they feel like theydon't know what to do?
Do you kind of help themthrough if they feel
uncomfortable, or what's theinteraction look like?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Oh yeah, all the time , all the time, all the time,
like I can't.
If you give me $10 on it, youguys, I'll probably be a million
dollars right now.
Okay, I will say honestly, yes,all the time.
I remember this one person Iwas at a networking event,
actually, and so you know me, myhair's everywhere, I don't care
.
You see my hearing aids, yousee my hearing aids, I don't
(15:45):
care.
This lady came up to me andshe's like like she was just
frozen and I'm like, can I helpyou?
And she's like you can help,like she was in her head, it's
like I can hear you.
How can I help you?
But again, it was just lack ofeducation.
She was not aware.
And so I said, oh my God, yeah,what are you talking about?
And then she's like how do Icommunicate with you?
(16:06):
Like, do you sign language?
So that is one of the examplesI face a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
That's pretty funny.
So on the education piece, tocontinue with that, what do you
wish more people understoodabout accessibility and
inclusion?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I just wish that people understood that
everybody's accommodation andneeds are different.
It doesn't mean it's going towork for that one particular
person.
Everybody's unique in their ownunique ways.
I feel like a lot of time whenpeople get into inclusion they
think that it's for everybody.
It's not for everybody.
So when you're really takingyour time to learn about an
(16:42):
individual person, please takeyour time and ask them questions
.
So I feel like people you knowoverlook a lot about inclusive
because they don't know how toapproach it or they're ashamed
of being embarrassed.
Right, and I tell people it'sokay to be embarrassed,
especially when you don't knowthe particular topic.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
It's interesting.
I feel like we do that a lotfor some reason.
We want cookie-cutter thingswhere, like, the answer works
for everybody, the answer worksfor everybody.
And that it's just bizarre tome, because we know we have all
sorts of different people,different backgrounds, how they
were raised, how they were, youknow, fill in the blank, we're
all just magnificently differentand diverse and beautiful.
(17:24):
But then, like, when we come tosolutions for things, it's like
let's just make one.
It's like how do you think thatwould work when we're all just
that's.
That's really interesting.
I'm glad you brought that up.
How do you navigate challengesin communication, both
personally and professionally?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
I communicate in the exact same way.
I don't really communicate inany different ways.
I communicate always vocal, soI don't really do a lot of sign
language because not noteverybody knows sign language.
So I am forced to learn to talkand I always tell people
straight up like hey, can youplease face me when you're
speaking and please let me knowif you need closed captions?
(17:59):
Do you need to upgrade yoursoftware?
Do I need to put my closedcaption on so that way I can
communicate through digital?
So that's the perfect way forme how I communicate.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Do you gravitate more towards digital stuff?
Do you prefer more in-person?
Speaker 2 (18:13):
I prefer digital stuff just because it's so much
convenient and so much easier.
So that way I'm not missingcertain words or like having to
ask someone to repeat themselves, versus in person, and so that
way I can just see on the screenthat okay, yeah, just what the
person asked.
Now I can answer the questionwithout having to ask them.
(18:33):
Can you please repeat thatagain?
Before, when I was younger, Iwas so shy to ask people to
repeat themselves, because a lotof times when I was growing up,
a lot of people would getannoyed of me asking them that
question and they're like, okay,whatever, forget it what I said
.
And I'm like, okay, well, I'msorry, I'm trying to listen, I
never asked for this.
Okay, well, I'm sorry, I'mtrying to listen, I never asked
(18:55):
for this.
So, yeah, just know it's 100%for me.
Okay, that makes sense.
Your next pillar is mentalhealth and personal growth.
What role has mental healthplayed in your personal journey?
(19:16):
So much in my life I would sayeveryone, honestly and truly,
especially the bullying I facedwhen I was growing up.
Right, it did affect me somehow, to be honest, because back in
my mind I'm always thinking like, oh my God, what, if, what, if?
Right, because of theexperience I've been through in
my past and I did come acrosswith anxiety where I used to be
nervous to talk to hearingpeople, especially when you're
trying to make friends outsideof school and that's going to
(19:41):
lead to workspace, right, whenyou're working and you don't
know how to talk to customersand you're getting anxiety and
you're like, oh my God, are theygoing to hear me correctly?
Are they going to make fun ofmy speech I realized that you're
not alone in this world interms of that.
You never know what the otherperson's thinking, you're not a
mind reader, and that'ssomething I had to learn a lot,
(20:03):
especially through my mentalhealth phase, especially when I
was going through depression,because there's some days where
I didn't want to leave my house,because I didn't want to
interact with people and Ididn't want to have to lift
weight all the time and havingto focus on someone face-to-face
, having to tell them, having toadvocate for myself, and
eventually I got exhausted andto the point where it leads to
(20:24):
depression.
So, long story short, what Idid was to overcome everything
and just really think to myselfthat there's always going to be
someone out there that's goingthrough the exact same thing
you're going through, but maybesomething similar.
And when I started watching,you know, youtube, when I
started reading a lot of mindsetbooks, that's when I realized a
lot that mental health isactually a serious thing, and no
(20:47):
one really talked about mentalhealth before.
So that's really how mentalhealth really shaped how I am
today.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Do you find now where you havea platform, you have people that
follow you and now you're ableto help people?
Do you find helping people tobe therapeutic?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yeah, time to birth that, because I'm more vocal now
about it and I would tellpeople like sort of like oh my
god, I'm getting so much anxietyright now.
Like, help me here.
Like I will make my followersor my audience to feel heard, to
let them know that like itdoesn't mean I'm a caution
creator.
It doesn't mean I'm successfulperson.
It doesn't mean I don't have myhealth problem and so I love
(21:26):
the connection I have and that Icreated with my community to
let them know that I'm alsopreaching it too.
We're all people that I createdwith my community to let them
know that I'm also preaching ittoo.
Who am I?
He alone.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
We're all people.
How do you help people withtheir personal growth?
Through coaching.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Yeah, so through my coaching.
So what we do is I meet up withclients once a month, once a
week, sorry, and what we do iswe just talk about what is it
that they're looking for?
Right?
I mean, clients are verydifferent and what I do is we go
through homework.
Clients is very different andwhat I do is we go through a
homework.
I go give them homework.
So the very first thing is webreak down what is it that
really?
For example, for clients, thatI need to learn how to love
(21:58):
myself, my mindset.
So what I do is I honestly givethem activities while we're
doing a call like this and we goover something that is
bothering them why, what is thebottom line that's causing this?
Where did it come from?
Is it from your childhood?
Is it from when you were datingsomebody?
Was it because of workexperience?
(22:18):
And then we go through it, breakit down together and then from
there we uh, do a lot of likerole play, where I give them
activities while on the session,and then from there, we do a
lot of manifesting in terms ofI'll make them draw a piece of
paper right and I would makethem put Stockholm Center of
themselves, put me and Stockholmthemselves and I ask them what
(22:41):
does your mindset, do you wantit to look like?
What kind of mindset do youwant it to look like?
So we work, I work with themfrom A to B and B to C to help
them to get through that processthat's good stuff.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
I like how you get to the root cause.
I always find it funny we talkabout, like you know,
relationships with our spouse orsomething like that, and like
you're fighting over the dishesor something.
I always find this funny thefight over the dishes is not
actually about the dishes, it'sabout something else, and so I
think that's always important,you know, going back to, like
(23:13):
you said, the incident thathappened, or school or whatever,
because I think you can fix alot of like the smaller things,
but if you're not fixing the bigthing that actually generated
it, then you're kind of in thesame spot.
So it's awesome that you arediving deep enough to be able to
get in there and get to thecore of that.
I was wondering, you know, withthe bullying and things like
that, what advice do you havefor someone struggling with
(23:40):
self-confidence due to adisability?
How do you kind of push throughthat?
I mean, it seems easy to belike I don't care what other
people think, but how do youactually get there?
Speaker 2 (23:47):
So what I did was I honestly I the bullying didn't
stop until I was in grade four.
So I was being bullied for likealmost three years straight and
I had a great support system.
It's really about having a verystrong support system.
So for those of you who do nothave a strong support system, I
highly advise you to find acommunity that you feel safe
(24:07):
Rather it's Facebook groups,rather it's you know, a
community full of women in yourtown, or you know a networking
event or something.
And it's very important to finda support system in order for
you to break that bullying andbecause if you don't have that
safe space to talk about it, youwon't be able to face the
bullying on yourself.
(24:28):
And, number two, I had acounselor that I trusted.
I went to somebody I trusted.
So if you are currently nervousto meet someone or talk with
them, with your counselor, Ihighly advise you to find
someone that you feel safe, andit helped me a lot to really
learn different tools.
How do I face the bullying?
How do I communicate with thebullying?
(24:50):
Because even though you tellthe bullying to stop, it's never
going to stop and it never didFor me.
It took me four years to comeout of that, and so it took time
over time, over time.
It's very important that peopleto be patient with themselves,
especially when you're trying tofind the right support system,
the therapist, your friends andyour circle.
(25:10):
It's going to take some time tofind the right person, so
that's really how I built mybullying.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Yeah, I think that's super important to remember.
I think some people you knowhave checked in and done some
counseling and maybe they didn'twork, they didn't feel that
connection and maybe they kindof went away from it.
But I think you do have to findthat connection and find the
right person and then build thatrapport and relationship as you
go.
So it might not be the firstperson, or first or second or
third, or you know, maybe youhave to go through male or
(25:38):
female or what their backgroundis or whatever that connection
brings you together Absolutely.
Do you have any specificstrategies or tools that helped
you stay motivated and focused?
Speaker 2 (25:51):
So cell phone?
Of course, we're always on ourcell phone, okay, everyone?
I know people are like what I'mlike no, listen, listen.
So we're on our phone 24-7,right?
So what I learned was that Icleaned my social media.
What I mean by that is that Iunfollow people that does a lot
of flashy things, does weirdthings.
(26:11):
That doesn't resonate with mygoals.
And, number two, I follow a lotof motivational people.
I follow a lot of Instagramthemes and I stick with that.
And because right now, everytime I go on my phone, it's
inspiring me to move forward,keep me motivated.
Because the very first thing wewake up, where do we go?
The bathroom, and then our cellphone, and then the iPad.
(26:32):
Right, right, am I not lying?
so that's it so I make sure Iclick everything on my social
media.
What do I see?
And I make sure that I'mfeeding my brain healthy, even
though it's very hard and makingit very, very hard.
So what I did was I make surethat I read a good book to help
me entertain and that helps meto reach my goal.
(26:54):
So I make sure I read a bookbefore I go to bed, or even in
the morning sometimes.
Sometimes I wake up early.
I don't know why, but that'swhat I usually do to keep
motivated by having that andalso, too, having a very strong
why.
It's very important to havethat strong.
Why?
Because if you don't have thatstrong, why you're not going to
keep moving forward.
Keep yourself motivated.
So that's really how I keepmoving forward.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah, that's a really good reminder.
I know there's a lot of commonphrases and sometimes we use the
phrases like maybe too much andthey kind of lose their appeal.
But you know, we've heard likeiron sharpens iron, you want to
have that good stuff around you.
We've heard you are the fivepeople that you surround
yourself with, or somethingsimilar to that.
So it really is like what'saround you and what you're
(27:38):
intaking.
So I think it's a greatreminder to you know, focus in
on that and if you know peopleare negative, pulling energy
from you, they're not gettingyou where you want to go.
Maybe it seems kind of cold,but maybe you got to separate
and kind of hit that unfollowand stay focused on your goals.
Try to move forward Absolutely.
What's one key mindset shiftthat can help someone push past
(28:01):
their limitations?
Speaker 2 (28:03):
I would say it's coming out of your comfort zone.
That mindset is definitely ahuge shift because if you are
stuck in that comfort zone andyou're not coming out of it,
you're not going to be able togrow.
And I feel like, in order tocome out of that comfort zone
and be able to grow, it's beingable to be honest with yourself,
(28:24):
To ask yourself why am Ifeeling like this?
What is it that I'm stuck on?
Who can help me?
Why am I feeling this way?
What is it that I need to do toimprove my life?
You have to ask yourself thesehonest questions, because if you
don't ask yourself these honestquestions, you're not going to
grow.
And I had clients in the pastwho were super nervous to ask
themselves deep, hardcorequestions.
(28:45):
And I said why are you nervousto ask yourself that?
And they said it's because noone ever sits down with them.
And it's important to sit downwith yourself and ask those
hardcore questions.
If you cannot answer thesehardcore questions, you're not
going to come out of yourcomfort zone, you're not going
to be able to grow and you'renot going to know what's out
there for you and you'll besurprised what's really truly
out there for you Literallystart from asking yourself your
(29:08):
questions, your stuff, questionsIf you don't know what.
To ask yourself deep, hardcorequestions to come out.
I highly look online to type indeep questions to come out of
your conference notes and lookat these questions that comes up
with and you can answer thisquestion on your own and then
you can finally look at it andsay, hmm, maybe this is
something I really struggle withand this is something I need to
(29:29):
get help with.
And do not be afraid to gethelp.
And that's number two, and Iknow a lot of people feel
intimidated by getting help andthey're like, oh, I'm being told
not to get help becauseconsider yourself as a weak
person.
There's nothing that's called aweak person, Like, get that out
of your head.
You're never called orconsidered weak.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Do you have any examples of stories where
someone was stuck and then theywere able to ask themselves some
tough questions and thenaccomplish something they never
thought possible?
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Yeah, I remember someone in my community asked me
a question regarding getting adriver's license.
He or she was deaf.
So I had my driver's licensewhen I was 16 years old.
So I'm young, you guys.
So I'm 27.
So I'm not that old.
And so he asked me the question.
He said I don't know if I candrive.
And I said why I can drive,what's wrong?
(30:19):
And he was just like no, likeI'm scared, and and that
confidence wasn't there.
So I said where's theconfidence?
Confidence?
And like what happened?
He's like well, you know, I Inever had friends that drive a
car, so I didn't know.
And I said well, let me ask yousomething.
And he's like well, what if Itold you you can actually get
your license within a year?
(30:39):
He's like there's nowhere I canget my license.
I said because you have tomanifest that, you have to have
that mindset saying I'm going toget it.
You need to have that mindset.
So what I did was I told them,before you go to bed, tell
yourself you will get thatdriver's license.
The more you manifest yourself,the more you program your brain
that you're going to dosomething, it will happen.
(31:00):
And so I would say maybe fivemonths later he got his driver's
license, and so it's reallyabout why?
Where did that come from?
Why are you not?
Why do you think you're notcapable of driving?
And so I feel like you have toask yourself why do you think
you're not capable?
Speaker 1 (31:20):
So that's pretty much one of the examples I have.
That's so interesting too,because I think a lot of people
think it's cheesy or hippie orwhatever to have that self talk
and things like that.
But they've done studies wherethey scan your brain.
I saw one where they were doingresearch and they had someone
think of an argument they weregoing to have in the future and
(31:41):
then they recorded them or, youknow, search their brain while
they were actually having theargument and the exact same
parts of the brain lit up.
So if you're thinking aboutsomething, it's the same thing
as if it occurring.
So in reality, if you were tothink and manifest like I can do
this, then you should be ableto.
I mean not like fly off abuilding or something like you
(32:02):
can't become a bird, but youknow that positive talk on the
inside is super important.
So I think people kind of wantthat to be oh, that's like fake
or cheesy, that's, that's somereal stuff.
He didn't think he could get itin a year.
He gets it in under half a year.
Totally can do it.
That's awesome, great story.
The last pillar you have isentrepreneurship and coaching.
(32:23):
So what inspired you to startyour own coaching business?
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Like I said before, when I was growing up, I was
looking for a coach, a counselorthat was deaf, that looked like
me, and so I realized that, youknow, I wanted to make the
change for the youth, to letthem know that they're not alone
, and that's why I wanted tostart my coaching business to
really help more youth who Ineed.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
That's awesome.
What do you think the biggestchallenge has been starting up
the business, or even you know,throughout the time you've had
the business, what's thedifficult thing and how'd you
push through?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
I would say being able to get myself out there.
I would say the biggestchallenge, what I mean by it
networking.
So being able to network andbeing able to get clients.
I feel like that's what a lotof first-time business struggles
with how do I find these people?
First-time business struggleswith how do I find these people?
And so, thankfully, because Idid podcasts prior, before I
(33:19):
started my coaching business,and so I used to be on a lot of
disability podcasts.
I was being on a lot of parentpodcasts.
So, because I forgot, I used tohave an email list and I sent
out an email letting them knowhey, I'm starting my coaching
business.
And that's when a lot of peoplereached out to me and said, oh
my God, congratulations.
So I would say one is findingthe right client.
(33:42):
Two, creating so manystrategies to find the right
client, Because being inentrepreneurship is all about
being creative, right, it's allabout having so many different
strategies.
If it's not working, then it'snot working.
So that was definitely one ofmy struggles when I started my
company.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Getting going, but you got to be creative.
How do you incorporatepsychology into your coaching
approach?
Speaker 2 (34:04):
Yeah, so we do a lot of workshops in terms of SDBT
workshop.
I mean worksheet, sideworksheet and, as well, I do a
lot of brain thinking when itcomes to clients.
So I know a lot of clients.
I educate clients about themindset especially.
How does our brain operate?
How can we learn your brainwithout having to be too super
(34:26):
crazy towards your brain?
What is it that we can do?
So I teach clients about themindset.
I teach them about psychology alittle bit in terms of
motivation, what it causes.
I don't focus on negativepsychology.
I basically focus on positivepsychology because I know a lot
of clients don't feelcomfortable talking about the
trauma.
But I probably go a little bit,but not too deep.
(34:49):
So I'm basically focused on alot about the positive
psychology.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Yes, that's good stuff.
What advice do you have foraspiring entrepreneurs who feel
held back by their circumstances?
Speaker 2 (35:01):
That's a good question.
I would say that you just neverknow who's going to need your
voice or your business.
For me personally, when I firstcame out of my business, I
pinched to a school actually tobecome a speaker and I had no
idea they're going to say yes.
They're like, oh my God, weneed you.
Where were you this whole year?
You'd be surprised who needsyour service and who needs you
(35:23):
and who needs your voice.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Yeah, I definitely had that on the show.
A couple times I've reached outto guests and guests are like,
well, I don't know if my storyis good enough or I don't know
if I have enough like advice topass.
And I would try to say like youhave no idea, I have no idea,
none of us do, like your storymight be the thing that connects
or help somebody, so just comeon, we'll record it.
I mean you take an hour of yourday and maybe you help somebody
(35:48):
.
I mean, worst case, you know itdoesn't but maybe it does down
the road or something like that.
But you know you use up an hourof your time and you
potentially help somebody.
I think that's a good use of anhour.
But yeah, I think it's a reallygood reminder and sometimes I
think we'll never know.
Like sometimes you get the thankyou note or the follow up, but
I know there's probably beenpeople that have been impacted
(36:09):
and you know they feel good forthe day and you never hear
anything.
They go about their thing, theydo something else and whatnot.
We're all overly busy rushingaround doing a bunch of things.
So you probably positivelyimpacted somebody, but you might
not never know.
Another question I had I kindof touched on this, but maybe
you have another one Can youshare another success story of
(36:31):
someone you've helped transformtheir life?
I love the driver's license,but is there another one of your
coaches, without giving awaydetails and names and things
like that?
but, another transformation thatreally helped.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Oh my God, I actually spoke to a school, a school.
I spoke to a school, I won't besaying the name.
So I spoke to a school and theyordered like 500 of my books
and it was a deaf school.
A high school student, a bunchof high school students, came up
to me.
They read my book prior if Icame in, and they read it so
(37:07):
quick because my book was a poembook.
And so all these studentslights up their eyes when they
saw me.
They're like Kal Kalina, yourbook was everything, it's what I
needed.
And I was like, oh my god, whatthe students said you know, yeah
, I've been struggling so muchin the hair school and I
completely relate to what you'resaying like it was hard.
(37:28):
And I was like, oh my god, Iunderstand.
And we were just having a greatsmall conversation and and then
the students done, becauseyou're here and you're super
successful, uh, and you give mehope to say that I can actually
do anything I want to do.
And I said, of course,nothing's wrong with you, you
can be whatever you want to be,you can be, you can own a
(37:49):
business.
And you're like, yeah, I didn'tthink I would own a business.
Yeah, that really sticks withyou, doesn't it?
it does own a business, and sohe read my book, yeah that
really sticks with you, doesn'tit?
it does, it really does.
I was like, oh my god, I'mbeing so in awe right now.
And he, like, the students werelike, and another student came
up to me.
They wanted to write a book aswell.
They weren't sure, and Iprovided them resources,
(38:10):
actually on the spot, how towrite a book and and yeah, it
was just so sweet.
It was very, very sweet.
So I was able to empathize witha lot of people, especially
through my book, not just mycoaching, but also through my
book.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
That's amazing.
I mean, I can't think ofanything that's too much more
powerful than hope.
You gave someone hope.
That's pretty amazing.
The last thing I want to try tobring all this wonderful
goodness together how can peoplesupport the deaf community and
promote inclusivity?
Wow, it's a hard word.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
I know, stay honest, you truly educate yourself about
the disability community andthe deaf community.
And number two, if you can justlearn the basic sign language
Hi, how are you?
You're welcome, the basic, itdoesn't hurt.
And number three, I would sayfollow people on Instagram or
TikTok, support them.
You know comments, repostyourself and just the little
(39:02):
things that matter the most isthe kindness, being able to
share, being able to like andcomment.
That's really what matters andthat's really important way to
support the deaf community.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
That's awesome.
Well, today, if listeners couldtake one lesson from your
journey, what do you hope it is?
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Oh God, there's so many, I would say.
My hope, I would say, is forthe listeners, is that you have
life.
You have one life to live,right?
God gave you a gift.
For a reason God gave you thisthing.
What is this thing you arestruggling with?
He gave it to you for a reason.
God gives you this thing.
Whatever this thing you arestruggling with, he gave it to
you for a reason, rather thanmental health, rather than
disability.
He gave it to you for a reasonbecause he knows you are strong
(39:43):
and you are capable of carryingit with you.
So let's say, for example,tonight you go to bed, god comes
in your dream and he said youhave X, y and Z amount of time
to live.
And you open your eyes and yourealize that you have a timeline
and you are you going to takeadvantage of your timeline.
Of course we will takeadvantage of our timeline.
So use that strength, that giftthat God gives you.
(40:07):
Use it because you'll besurprised how many people in the
world is going to need you morethan anything.
And literally, that's how Iwant people to look at my story
and realize that God gave me,surprised how many people in the
world are going to need youmore than anything, and
literally, that's how I wantpeople to look at my story and
realize that God gave me a gift,which is my deafness to educate
people and to be inspired byother people and let people know
they're not alone.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
You are not alone.
There's way too many people onthis earth to be alone.
There's someone like you outthere that can help you and
connect with you.
Well, kalina, thank you forcoming out.
I want to ask you where canpeople connect with you and
learn more about you?
Speaker 2 (40:39):
Yeah, for sure, everybody can find me on my
website, kalinainpowermerchcom,or you guys can find me on
social media, which is Instagram, def Queen Boss.
Linkedin Kalina Powell.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Perfect.
Well, that's a wrap.
Thank you for tuning in.
Don't forget to keep theconversation going.
Find us on Instagram, Facebook,TikTok, YouTube and Buzzsprout
and share your thoughts, Please,if you can drop a review.
I love you all.
See, ya, Thank you.
Hey everyone, I'm Nate Shear and this is Mindforce
, a podcast where we explorelove, life and learning, because
your mind shapes everything.
Today, we'll be talking aboutmental health and disabilities.
We're going to start with theeasy stuff, the background, so
let's start with a quickintroduction.
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Who are you, what do you do andwhat brings you here today.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, thank you so much, nate, for having me here.
Hi everybody, my name is KalinaPowell, aka the Deaf Queen Vow.
I am an international speaker,a coach for young adults with
disabilities and, lastly, I amI'm so many hot on it.
So you guys, sometimes I can'tkeep up, and I'm also an author
as well.
So I do have three books outalready and 2025, I'm going to
(01:05):
have my fourth book coming outas well.
So that's a little bit about meand I'm here to talk about my
story.
I'm here to talk about mydisability, especially how I
cope with mental health.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Perfect.
And just to set the scene,where in the world are you
calling from?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I'm calling from Canada Toronto.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Nice Worldwide viewers.
We'll start with the warm-up.
What's something people mightnot know about you that has
shaped you who you are today?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
A lot of people don't know that I am very confident
in myself and my disability, anda lot of people didn't know
that it took me years to developthe type of confidence I have
today.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Okay, Were you born with your disability or do you
slowly?
I was reading through yourstuff.
It sounded like it happenedover the course of years, or
what was that timeframe for yougrowing up?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So it all started when I became deaf at the age of
four due to an ear infection.
So, unfortunately, I had an earinfection when I was four years
old an ear infection so,unfortunately, I had an ear
infection when I was four yearsold.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Okay, next question how did your journey of personal
growth lead you to where youare now?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
It really.
That's a good question.
There's a lot, I would say,towards that question.
To be honest, everyone but manypeople show it, so it really
leads me to where I am today iswhen I had that breaking point
when I was younger so I think Iwas in middle school I was
looking for a counselor that waseither deaf or had a disability
(02:30):
and I was looking for a book toread based off a deaf author
and I realized that there wasnothing for me, unfortunately,
and I knew right there.
I wanted to make a change in theworld and it made me realize
and shape me.
Who I am today is that I wantto make an impact to the younger
generation to let them knowthat they're not alone, because
I felt alone and that's reallyshaped who I am today,
(02:53):
especially being able toadvocate for myself and build
that confidence in me.
And because, honestly, if youguys were to tell me when I was
younger that I'm going to bethis this far in my life, I
would probably laugh at you andbe like there's no way I am here
.
Literally, I would just laughat you.
So that's really how my hairand locks shape who I am today.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
That's awesome.
Yeah, I love that.
I think that was one of thecore reasons I started the show
for losing my grandma when I wasa kid, with mental health
issues and things like that.
But I think one of the cores ofthe show as it's gone on, you
know, through 50 episodes now isletting people know that we are
all human, we all go throughstuff and there's someone else
(03:33):
that has gone through it as well.
All the people, all the gueststhat have been on the show.
It's interesting how many timesit's come up that I thought I
was the only one.
I self-isolated, I downwardspiraled and things like that.
So awesome reminder.
I'm so glad you mentioned thatPeople that are listening to
these stories.
You are not the only one to gothrough.
It's like impossible there'stoo many of us out there to you
(03:55):
know, not go through it, so findsomebody.
It's awesome.
I like the idea that you hadwhere you didn't see the thing
that you needed, so you built it, and I think that's pretty
amazing.
Next question If you coulddescribe your mission in one
sentence, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
One sentence oh gosh Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
That's too hard.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
One sentence, okay.
Well, sorry, I would say mymission is to create more impact
to the youth, especially mentalhealth industry.
That is my one sentence.
I hope that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
That's perfect.
Okay, before we start on yourmain pillars, I wanted to see if
you had a question for me.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, my question for you is what is the one tip or
advice would you give men inthis generation who are
struggling with their mentalhealth?
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Yeah, I think the biggest thing is trying to open
up and obviously that's easiersaid than done, but I think
that's one thing.
Another reason, you know, acore part of the show here is
sharing stories and, you know,allowing people to know that
everyone goes through things andthings like that.
So I think it's really openingup and being a little vulnerable
, which I mean that's difficultas the men you're supposed to be
(05:08):
dominant, you're supposed to bestrong and you're not supposed
to have any difficulties, but weknow that's not true and I
think, as we have theseconversations, it's getting
better and better.
But I think that's the mostimportant thing is to open up,
and not open up to everyone.
I think my core piece of advicewould probably be find the safe
space.
So, if that's your significantother, is that a close friend?
(05:30):
I mean, maybe it could even bea dog, I don't know but finding
a spot where you can process,say things out loud, vent, get
through those things.
But I think finding that placewhere you meet someone, you get
some coffee, you process somethings, place where you know you
meet someone, you get somecoffee, you process some things.
Because I think you know, withthe rise in mental health and
(05:51):
not having enough providers totake care of us.
We really have to do our bestjob of solving things at that
lowest level.
There are going to be timesyou're going to need higher
levels of care, times where youmight need medication, things
like that.
But if we can solve a lot ofthings by having that safe space
with another person andoffloading things as they come
up, I think that's reallyimportant.
I think a lot of times on themen's side, you carry the
(06:11):
baggage, it's on your shoulders,you're trying to be strong and
then you just get weighed downso you need to offload the stuff
as you go.
So that would be my main thingFind a safe space and offload as
you go.
Don't get to the worst day ofyour life before you're getting
counseling and things like that.
I think hopefully through theshow and conversations we
(06:34):
realize mental fitness.
Key part of the title of theshow is you're doing things
ongoing.
You're not waiting for theworst day.
You go and do cardio three daysa week, you weight lift two
days a week or whatever.
You're not just going to mentalhealth on the worst day.
So let's move into your threemain pillars.
Your first main pillar isliving with a hearing disability
, so can you share your story?
You talked about the infection.
Do you have anything else tokind of expand on becoming deaf
(06:56):
at the age of four?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yes.
So honestly, I remember like itwas yesterday, to be honest.
So I remember, after we weredone daycare, I was walking from
home.
I was normal, he was normal.
Until that I went to go watchTV and my mom called me.
I couldn't hear my mom at alland she tapped me on my shoulder
and that's when I freaked out,and that's when I realized my
(07:18):
hair just dropped and so Ilooked at my mom.
You know I said I can't hearyou.
Oh my God, like what'shappening.
My mom freaked out and mygrandmother thankfully she was a
nurse, actually, Thank God.
So she rushed home from thehospital, she did a assessment
on me and she realized thatsomething was wrong and she's
like okay, this is not normal.
And especially me, like I knowmy grandmother's voice off the
(07:41):
top of my head.
I really did, I really did.
Like I can hear my grandmotherlike walking up the steps,
knowing she did not have to moveher foot, like that's how crazy
I am.
And so my grandmother calls myfamily doctor to figure out when
can we come in.
My family doctor saidunfortunately, we're fully
booked.
You have to come in with Kalinatomorrow.
The next day came in.
Unfortunately, there's nothingwe could do.
(08:03):
My doctor broke the news to myfamily and said unfortunately
there's nothing we can do.
Kalina is completely deaf inboth ears, so I don't know if
the staff in the daycare didn'tput the eardrop in the right
time or they put too much in myears.
I'm not too sure.
Unfortunately, I don't knowwhat happened.
And that moment on movingforward, obviously my
(08:24):
communication style changed as afour-year-old.
Right.
How can you explain to afour-year-old she cannot hear
for the rest of her life?
And so that was something myfamily had to figure out.
They had to figure out are wegoing to learn sign language for
Kalina, or Kalina's going tocontinue to speak, because I
already know how to speak?
And so that was a very harddecision for my family to make,
(08:47):
because they didn't know what isthe best for me as a
four-year-old, and I'm actuallycurrently the first person in my
family who is deaf, so that isdefinitely a very huge
transition for my family.
However, when I was growing up,I went to two schools.
Actually, I went to a deafschool and a hearing school, so
that actually helped me a lot tolearn how to communicate to
different communities,especially for me when I get
(09:08):
older, so I don't have to relyon my family to come with me
everywhere I go and obviously Iface a lot of bullying.
However, being deaf at the ageof four was a lot of confusion
and obviously it did affect mymental health, because there are
some days where I would lie tomy parents.
I don't feel well, I don't wantto go to school because I was
tired wearing my hearing aid somuch and I wanted to just
(09:30):
completely just like not go toschool, not to go anywhere.
Because, for those who are notaware, a lot of deaf and hard of
hearing individual, we rely onlip reading a lot of times.
So for me, it's lip reading,it's like it's my eyes, so I
need to see a lip 24 7.
So for me, lip reading is likeit's my eyes, so I need to see a
lip 24-7 in order for me tohave that complete communication
.
Even though I wear hearing aidsfull time, however, I use both.
(09:55):
I use my lip reading andhearing aids at the same time to
hear.
So it was very exhausting for a4-year-old who tries to
navigate two different ways tocommunicate.
So that is literally my life asa 4-year-old.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Wow, that's rough.
So you said your family wasthinking about American Sign
Language, ASL, and things likethat.
What changes did your familymake to kind of take care of you
?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
sign language in the deaf school.
It was amazing.
However, my family reallydidn't have the time and effort
to learn sign languagethemselves because they were so
busy with work and school.
My mom had me when she wasyoung, so she couldn't know what
(10:42):
to do because she was incollege at the time, but she did
try to learn our basic signlanguage and same thing with my
grandmother, but that was theonly way that could help me.
But they did have a goodcommunication with me in terms
of letting me know that they aregoing to be vocal with me.
But they had their reason.
They had their own reason why?
Because they were thinkingabout my future, right?
(11:03):
They were thinking like hey,you know, when Kalina gets older
, everybody's going to learnsign language.
Sign language is going to beconsidered a second language.
So my family thought a lotabout my future in that way.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
That's interesting.
How has your experience shapedyour perspective on resilience
and overcoming obstacles?
Speaker 2 (11:20):
So it really just taught me a lot about being
patient with myself and becauseI noticed that with resilience,
you do need to be vulnerablewith yourself on what is really
going on with yourself.
I feel like a lot of us,especially people who have a
disability, we don't take ourtime to learn our disability and
learn how to embrace it, andthat was something I struggled a
(11:41):
lot when I was getting olderembracing my deafness.
It's okay to be deaf, it's okayto be deaf, it's okay to have
different accommodationscompared to anybody else in the
room.
And that's where the resiliencecame in, and what I realized
was that it's okay to bedifferent, and that's something
I didn't get a lot of credit forfor myself when I was growing
(12:02):
up and again, because I didn'thave any role models that I
could talk to.
And that's what the hardestthing I had to do was embrace my
deafness, to really think tomyself and say it's okay to be
deaf, even though you may not beliked by everybody, and that's
something I had to learn thehard way.
And I feel like the rejillingcame in when I was in middle
(12:22):
school and high school because Ihad to learn how to fight for
myself yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
So, as you were coming up, you mentioned
bullying and even now I'm surethere's people that give you a
hard time or don't understand,like what's the number one way,
or maybe it's like, depending onthe situation, but is there
like a technique you found tohelp people connect with you?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
The easiest way for people to connect with me,
especially in person.
I would say always face me allthe time, just face me so I can
read your lips.
However, because of technologynow it improves the margins.
I was younger, so it helps alot, especially with the closed
caption now on different apps,different software.
So it's very cool to see how alot of inclusivity has been
(13:09):
improved.
A lot on software, so it's beenamazing, so that's how it's
easier.
Lot on software, so it's beenamazing, so that's how it is for
me now.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So, thankfully, yeah, it's interesting.
I just saw the other day.
I totally didn't think about it, but I saw you can put a thing
in your cup holder at the movietheater and I guess it'll show
words.
I don't know if they all dothat, but I saw that randomly.
I thought that was interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I didn't know if they all do that, but I saw that
randomly.
I thought that was interesting.
I didn't know that existed.
Yeah, yeah, so the movietheaters are starting to come up
with different ways for closedcaptioning now for people who
need it Not everybody needs it,not just us, but anybody in
general.
They're making like a stickwith the closed caption and
sometimes now I heard they'recreating like sunglasses with
(13:52):
glasses that show captions.
So technology really ischanging a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
That's awesome.
I think one thing that's alwaysimportant for people is
education right, they don't know, they don't understand.
What do you think is thebiggest misconception about the
deaf community?
Speaker 2 (14:07):
A lot of people think that the deaf community cannot
communicate and a lot of peoplethink that deaf Deaf community
cannot communicate.
And a lot of people think thatDeaf people cannot be, cannot do
what they can in their life.
Right, I know when people meetme and they're like, wow, you
overcome so much or wow, you'resuper successful, and I was like
what is that supposed to mean?
You know, it doesn't matterwhat disability you have, Like
(14:31):
you can be anything you want.
You know it doesn't matter whatdisability you have, you can be
anything you want.
So I would say that's one ofthe biggest deceptions about the
deaf community that a lot ofpeople also think that the deaf
community cannot speak.
A lot of people think that deafpeople can only do sign
language.
Until they meet me, they'relike oh, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
I thought you didn't know how to talk.
You can definitely communicate.
We are sitting herecommunicating right now.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Yeah, exactly, so I feel like that is a huge stuff.
Uh, that's one of the hugemisconceptions a lot with the
deaf community that they can'ttalk, so and people think that
they only can do sign language,and I was like, no, there's some
deaf people that actually talkme, so that's one of the biggest
problems.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
yeah, Do you ever find people like walk on
eggshells or they feel like theydon't know what to do?
Do you kind of help themthrough if they feel
uncomfortable, or what's theinteraction look like?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Oh yeah, all the time , all the time, all the time,
like I can't.
If you give me $10 on it, youguys, I'll probably be a million
dollars right now.
Okay, I will say honestly, yes,all the time.
I remember this one person Iwas at a networking event,
actually, and so you know me, myhair's everywhere, I don't care
.
You see my hearing aids, yousee my hearing aids, I don't
(15:45):
care.
This lady came up to me andshe's like like she was just
frozen and I'm like, can I helpyou?
And she's like you can help,like she was in her head, it's
like I can hear you.
How can I help you?
But again, it was just lack ofeducation.
She was not aware.
And so I said, oh my God, yeah,what are you talking about?
And then she's like how do Icommunicate with you?
(16:06):
Like, do you sign language?
So that is one of the examplesI face a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
That's pretty funny.
So on the education piece, tocontinue with that, what do you
wish more people understoodabout accessibility and
inclusion?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I just wish that people understood that
everybody's accommodation andneeds are different.
It doesn't mean it's going towork for that one particular
person.
Everybody's unique in their ownunique ways.
I feel like a lot of time whenpeople get into inclusion they
think that it's for everybody.
It's not for everybody.
So when you're really takingyour time to learn about an
(16:42):
individual person, please takeyour time and ask them questions
.
So I feel like people you knowoverlook a lot about inclusive
because they don't know how toapproach it or they're ashamed
of being embarrassed.
Right, and I tell people it'sokay to be embarrassed,
especially when you don't knowthe particular topic.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
It's interesting.
I feel like we do that a lotfor some reason.
We want cookie-cutter thingswhere, like, the answer works
for everybody, the answer worksfor everybody.
And that it's just bizarre tome, because we know we have all
sorts of different people,different backgrounds, how they
were raised, how they were, youknow, fill in the blank, we're
all just magnificently differentand diverse and beautiful.
(17:24):
But then, like, when we come tosolutions for things, it's like
let's just make one.
It's like how do you think thatwould work when we're all just
that's.
That's really interesting.
I'm glad you brought that up.
How do you navigate challengesin communication, both
personally and professionally?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
I communicate in the exact same way.
I don't really communicate inany different ways.
I communicate always vocal, soI don't really do a lot of sign
language because not noteverybody knows sign language.
So I am forced to learn to talkand I always tell people
straight up like hey, can youplease face me when you're
speaking and please let me knowif you need closed captions?
(17:59):
Do you need to upgrade yoursoftware?
Do I need to put my closedcaption on so that way I can
communicate through digital?
So that's the perfect way forme how I communicate.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Do you gravitate more towards digital stuff?
Do you prefer more in-person?
Speaker 2 (18:13):
I prefer digital stuff just because it's so much
convenient and so much easier.
So that way I'm not missingcertain words or like having to
ask someone to repeat themselves, versus in person, and so that
way I can just see on the screenthat okay, yeah, just what the
person asked.
Now I can answer the questionwithout having to ask them.
(18:33):
Can you please repeat thatagain?
Before, when I was younger, Iwas so shy to ask people to
repeat themselves, because a lotof times when I was growing up,
a lot of people would getannoyed of me asking them that
question and they're like, okay,whatever, forget it what I said
.
And I'm like, okay, well, I'msorry, I'm trying to listen, I
never asked for this.
Okay, well, I'm sorry, I'mtrying to listen, I never asked
(18:55):
for this.
So, yeah, just know it's 100%for me.
Okay, that makes sense.
Your next pillar is mentalhealth and personal growth.
What role has mental healthplayed in your personal journey?
(19:16):
So much in my life I would sayeveryone, honestly and truly,
especially the bullying I facedwhen I was growing up.
Right, it did affect me somehow, to be honest, because back in
my mind I'm always thinking like, oh my God, what, if, what, if?
Right, because of theexperience I've been through in
my past and I did come acrosswith anxiety where I used to be
nervous to talk to hearingpeople, especially when you're
trying to make friends outsideof school and that's going to
(19:41):
lead to workspace, right, whenyou're working and you don't
know how to talk to customersand you're getting anxiety and
you're like, oh my God, are theygoing to hear me correctly?
Are they going to make fun ofmy speech I realized that you're
not alone in this world interms of that.
You never know what the otherperson's thinking, you're not a
mind reader, and that'ssomething I had to learn a lot,
(20:03):
especially through my mentalhealth phase, especially when I
was going through depression,because there's some days where
I didn't want to leave my house,because I didn't want to
interact with people and Ididn't want to have to lift
weight all the time and havingto focus on someone face-to-face
, having to tell them, having toadvocate for myself, and
eventually I got exhausted andto the point where it leads to
(20:24):
depression.
So, long story short, what Idid was to overcome everything
and just really think to myselfthat there's always going to be
someone out there that's goingthrough the exact same thing
you're going through, but maybesomething similar.
And when I started watching,you know, youtube, when I
started reading a lot of mindsetbooks, that's when I realized a
lot that mental health isactually a serious thing, and no
(20:47):
one really talked about mentalhealth before.
So that's really how mentalhealth really shaped how I am
today.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Do you find now where you havea platform, you have people that
follow you and now you're ableto help people?
Do you find helping people tobe therapeutic?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yeah, time to birth that, because I'm more vocal now
about it and I would tellpeople like sort of like oh my
god, I'm getting so much anxietyright now.
Like, help me here.
Like I will make my followersor my audience to feel heard, to
let them know that like itdoesn't mean I'm a caution
creator.
It doesn't mean I'm successfulperson.
It doesn't mean I don't have myhealth problem and so I love
(21:26):
the connection I have and that Icreated with my community to
let them know that I'm alsopreaching it too.
We're all people that I createdwith my community to let them
know that I'm also preaching ittoo.
Who am I?
He alone.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
We're all people.
How do you help people withtheir personal growth?
Through coaching.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Yeah, so through my coaching.
So what we do is I meet up withclients once a month, once a
week, sorry, and what we do iswe just talk about what is it
that they're looking for?
Right?
I mean, clients are verydifferent and what I do is we go
through homework.
Clients is very different andwhat I do is we go through a
homework.
I go give them homework.
So the very first thing is webreak down what is it that
really?
For example, for clients, thatI need to learn how to love
(21:58):
myself, my mindset.
So what I do is I honestly givethem activities while we're
doing a call like this and we goover something that is
bothering them why, what is thebottom line that's causing this?
Where did it come from?
Is it from your childhood?
Is it from when you were datingsomebody?
Was it because of workexperience?
(22:18):
And then we go through it, breakit down together and then from
there we uh, do a lot of likerole play, where I give them
activities while on the session,and then from there, we do a
lot of manifesting in terms ofI'll make them draw a piece of
paper right and I would makethem put Stockholm Center of
themselves, put me and Stockholmthemselves and I ask them what
(22:41):
does your mindset, do you wantit to look like?
What kind of mindset do youwant it to look like?
So we work, I work with themfrom A to B and B to C to help
them to get through that processthat's good stuff.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
I like how you get to the root cause.
I always find it funny we talkabout, like you know,
relationships with our spouse orsomething like that, and like
you're fighting over the dishesor something.
I always find this funny thefight over the dishes is not
actually about the dishes, it'sabout something else, and so I
think that's always important,you know, going back to, like
(23:13):
you said, the incident thathappened, or school or whatever,
because I think you can fix alot of like the smaller things,
but if you're not fixing the bigthing that actually generated
it, then you're kind of in thesame spot.
So it's awesome that you arediving deep enough to be able to
get in there and get to thecore of that.
I was wondering, you know, withthe bullying and things like
that, what advice do you havefor someone struggling with
(23:40):
self-confidence due to adisability?
How do you kind of push throughthat?
I mean, it seems easy to belike I don't care what other
people think, but how do youactually get there?
Speaker 2 (23:47):
So what I did was I honestly I the bullying didn't
stop until I was in grade four.
So I was being bullied for likealmost three years straight and
I had a great support system.
It's really about having a verystrong support system.
So for those of you who do nothave a strong support system, I
highly advise you to find acommunity that you feel safe
(24:07):
Rather it's Facebook groups,rather it's you know, a
community full of women in yourtown, or you know a networking
event or something.
And it's very important to finda support system in order for
you to break that bullying andbecause if you don't have that
safe space to talk about it, youwon't be able to face the
bullying on yourself.
(24:28):
And, number two, I had acounselor that I trusted.
I went to somebody I trusted.
So if you are currently nervousto meet someone or talk with
them, with your counselor, Ihighly advise you to find
someone that you feel safe, andit helped me a lot to really
learn different tools.
How do I face the bullying?
How do I communicate with thebullying?
(24:50):
Because even though you tellthe bullying to stop, it's never
going to stop and it never didFor me.
It took me four years to comeout of that, and so it took time
over time, over time.
It's very important that peopleto be patient with themselves,
especially when you're trying tofind the right support system,
the therapist, your friends andyour circle.
(25:10):
It's going to take some time tofind the right person, so
that's really how I built mybullying.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Yeah, I think that's super important to remember.
I think some people you knowhave checked in and done some
counseling and maybe they didn'twork, they didn't feel that
connection and maybe they kindof went away from it.
But I think you do have to findthat connection and find the
right person and then build thatrapport and relationship as you
go.
So it might not be the firstperson, or first or second or
third, or you know, maybe youhave to go through male or
(25:38):
female or what their backgroundis or whatever that connection
brings you together Absolutely.
Do you have any specificstrategies or tools that helped
you stay motivated and focused?
Speaker 2 (25:51):
So cell phone?
Of course, we're always on ourcell phone, okay, everyone?
I know people are like what I'mlike no, listen, listen.
So we're on our phone 24-7,right?
So what I learned was that Icleaned my social media.
What I mean by that is that Iunfollow people that does a lot
of flashy things, does weirdthings.
(26:11):
That doesn't resonate with mygoals.
And, number two, I follow a lotof motivational people.
I follow a lot of Instagramthemes and I stick with that.
And because right now, everytime I go on my phone, it's
inspiring me to move forward,keep me motivated.
Because the very first thing wewake up, where do we go?
The bathroom, and then our cellphone, and then the iPad.
(26:32):
Right, right, am I not lying?
so that's it so I make sure Iclick everything on my social
media.
What do I see?
And I make sure that I'mfeeding my brain healthy, even
though it's very hard and makingit very, very hard.
So what I did was I make surethat I read a good book to help
me entertain and that helps meto reach my goal.
(26:54):
So I make sure I read a bookbefore I go to bed, or even in
the morning sometimes.
Sometimes I wake up early.
I don't know why, but that'swhat I usually do to keep
motivated by having that andalso, too, having a very strong
why.
It's very important to havethat strong.
Why?
Because if you don't have thatstrong, why you're not going to
keep moving forward.
Keep yourself motivated.
So that's really how I keepmoving forward.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah, that's a really good reminder.
I know there's a lot of commonphrases and sometimes we use the
phrases like maybe too much andthey kind of lose their appeal.
But you know, we've heard likeiron sharpens iron, you want to
have that good stuff around you.
We've heard you are the fivepeople that you surround
yourself with, or somethingsimilar to that.
So it really is like what'saround you and what you're
(27:38):
intaking.
So I think it's a greatreminder to you know, focus in
on that and if you know peopleare negative, pulling energy
from you, they're not gettingyou where you want to go.
Maybe it seems kind of cold,but maybe you got to separate
and kind of hit that unfollowand stay focused on your goals.
Try to move forward Absolutely.
What's one key mindset shiftthat can help someone push past
(28:01):
their limitations?
Speaker 2 (28:03):
I would say it's coming out of your comfort zone.
That mindset is definitely ahuge shift because if you are
stuck in that comfort zone andyou're not coming out of it,
you're not going to be able togrow.
And I feel like, in order tocome out of that comfort zone
and be able to grow, it's beingable to be honest with yourself,
(28:24):
To ask yourself why am Ifeeling like this?
What is it that I'm stuck on?
Who can help me?
Why am I feeling this way?
What is it that I need to do toimprove my life?
You have to ask yourself thesehonest questions, because if you
don't ask yourself these honestquestions, you're not going to
grow.
And I had clients in the pastwho were super nervous to ask
themselves deep, hardcorequestions.
(28:45):
And I said why are you nervousto ask yourself that?
And they said it's because noone ever sits down with them.
And it's important to sit downwith yourself and ask those
hardcore questions.
If you cannot answer thesehardcore questions, you're not
going to come out of yourcomfort zone, you're not going
to be able to grow and you'renot going to know what's out
there for you and you'll besurprised what's really truly
out there for you Literallystart from asking yourself your
(29:08):
questions, your stuff, questionsIf you don't know what.
To ask yourself deep, hardcorequestions to come out.
I highly look online to type indeep questions to come out of
your conference notes and lookat these questions that comes up
with and you can answer thisquestion on your own and then
you can finally look at it andsay, hmm, maybe this is
something I really struggle withand this is something I need to
(29:29):
get help with.
And do not be afraid to gethelp.
And that's number two, and Iknow a lot of people feel
intimidated by getting help andthey're like, oh, I'm being told
not to get help becauseconsider yourself as a weak
person.
There's nothing that's called aweak person, Like, get that out
of your head.
You're never called orconsidered weak.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Do you have any examples of stories where
someone was stuck and then theywere able to ask themselves some
tough questions and thenaccomplish something they never
thought possible?
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Yeah, I remember someone in my community asked me
a question regarding getting adriver's license.
He or she was deaf.
So I had my driver's licensewhen I was 16 years old.
So I'm young, you guys.
So I'm 27.
So I'm not that old.
And so he asked me the question.
He said I don't know if I candrive.
And I said why I can drive,what's wrong?
(30:19):
And he was just like no, likeI'm scared, and and that
confidence wasn't there.
So I said where's theconfidence?
Confidence?
And like what happened?
He's like well, you know, I Inever had friends that drive a
car, so I didn't know.
And I said well, let me ask yousomething.
And he's like well, what if Itold you you can actually get
your license within a year?
(30:39):
He's like there's nowhere I canget my license.
I said because you have tomanifest that, you have to have
that mindset saying I'm going toget it.
You need to have that mindset.
So what I did was I told them,before you go to bed, tell
yourself you will get thatdriver's license.
The more you manifest yourself,the more you program your brain
that you're going to dosomething, it will happen.
(31:00):
And so I would say maybe fivemonths later he got his driver's
license, and so it's reallyabout why?
Where did that come from?
Why are you not?
Why do you think you're notcapable of driving?
And so I feel like you have toask yourself why do you think
you're not capable?
Speaker 1 (31:20):
So that's pretty much one of the examples I have.
That's so interesting too,because I think a lot of people
think it's cheesy or hippie orwhatever to have that self talk
and things like that.
But they've done studies wherethey scan your brain.
I saw one where they were doingresearch and they had someone
think of an argument they weregoing to have in the future and
(31:41):
then they recorded them or, youknow, search their brain while
they were actually having theargument and the exact same
parts of the brain lit up.
So if you're thinking aboutsomething, it's the same thing
as if it occurring.
So in reality, if you were tothink and manifest like I can do
this, then you should be ableto.
I mean not like fly off abuilding or something like you
(32:02):
can't become a bird, but youknow that positive talk on the
inside is super important.
So I think people kind of wantthat to be oh, that's like fake
or cheesy, that's, that's somereal stuff.
He didn't think he could get itin a year.
He gets it in under half a year.
Totally can do it.
That's awesome, great story.
The last pillar you have isentrepreneurship and coaching.
(32:23):
So what inspired you to startyour own coaching business?
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Like I said before, when I was growing up, I was
looking for a coach, a counselorthat was deaf, that looked like
me, and so I realized that, youknow, I wanted to make the
change for the youth, to letthem know that they're not alone
, and that's why I wanted tostart my coaching business to
really help more youth who Ineed.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
That's awesome.
What do you think the biggestchallenge has been starting up
the business, or even you know,throughout the time you've had
the business, what's thedifficult thing and how'd you
push through?
Speaker 2 (32:57):
I would say being able to get myself out there.
I would say the biggestchallenge, what I mean by it
networking.
So being able to network andbeing able to get clients.
I feel like that's what a lotof first-time business struggles
with how do I find these people?
First-time business struggleswith how do I find these people?
And so, thankfully, because Idid podcasts prior, before I
(33:19):
started my coaching business,and so I used to be on a lot of
disability podcasts.
I was being on a lot of parentpodcasts.
So, because I forgot, I used tohave an email list and I sent
out an email letting them knowhey, I'm starting my coaching
business.
And that's when a lot of peoplereached out to me and said, oh
my God, congratulations.
So I would say one is findingthe right client.
(33:42):
Two, creating so manystrategies to find the right
client, Because being inentrepreneurship is all about
being creative, right, it's allabout having so many different
strategies.
If it's not working, then it'snot working.
So that was definitely one ofmy struggles when I started my
company.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Getting going, but you got to be creative.
How do you incorporatepsychology into your coaching
approach?
Speaker 2 (34:04):
Yeah, so we do a lot of workshops in terms of SDBT
workshop.
I mean worksheet, sideworksheet and, as well, I do a
lot of brain thinking when itcomes to clients.
So I know a lot of clients.
I educate clients about themindset especially.
How does our brain operate?
How can we learn your brainwithout having to be too super
(34:26):
crazy towards your brain?
What is it that we can do?
So I teach clients about themindset.
I teach them about psychology alittle bit in terms of
motivation, what it causes.
I don't focus on negativepsychology.
I basically focus on positivepsychology because I know a lot
of clients don't feelcomfortable talking about the
trauma.
But I probably go a little bit,but not too deep.
(34:49):
So I'm basically focused on alot about the positive
psychology.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Yes, that's good stuff.
What advice do you have foraspiring entrepreneurs who feel
held back by their circumstances?
Speaker 2 (35:01):
That's a good question.
I would say that you just neverknow who's going to need your
voice or your business.
For me personally, when I firstcame out of my business, I
pinched to a school actually tobecome a speaker and I had no
idea they're going to say yes.
They're like, oh my God, weneed you.
Where were you this whole year?
You'd be surprised who needsyour service and who needs you
(35:23):
and who needs your voice.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Yeah, I definitely had that on the show.
A couple times I've reached outto guests and guests are like,
well, I don't know if my storyis good enough or I don't know
if I have enough like advice topass.
And I would try to say like youhave no idea, I have no idea,
none of us do, like your storymight be the thing that connects
or help somebody, so just comeon, we'll record it.
I mean you take an hour of yourday and maybe you help somebody
(35:48):
.
I mean, worst case, you know itdoesn't but maybe it does down
the road or something like that.
But you know you use up an hourof your time and you
potentially help somebody.
I think that's a good use of anhour.
But yeah, I think it's a reallygood reminder and sometimes I
think we'll never know.
Like sometimes you get the thankyou note or the follow up, but
I know there's probably beenpeople that have been impacted
(36:09):
and you know they feel good forthe day and you never hear
anything.
They go about their thing, theydo something else and whatnot.
We're all overly busy rushingaround doing a bunch of things.
So you probably positivelyimpacted somebody, but you might
not never know.
Another question I had I kindof touched on this, but maybe
you have another one Can youshare another success story of
(36:31):
someone you've helped transformtheir life?
I love the driver's license,but is there another one of your
coaches, without giving awaydetails and names and things
like that?
but, another transformation thatreally helped.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Oh my God, I actually spoke to a school, a school.
I spoke to a school, I won't besaying the name.
So I spoke to a school and theyordered like 500 of my books
and it was a deaf school.
A high school student, a bunchof high school students, came up
to me.
They read my book prior if Icame in, and they read it so
(37:07):
quick because my book was a poembook.
And so all these studentslights up their eyes when they
saw me.
They're like Kal Kalina, yourbook was everything, it's what I
needed.
And I was like, oh my god, whatthe students said you know, yeah
, I've been struggling so muchin the hair school and I
completely relate to what you'resaying like it was hard.
(37:28):
And I was like, oh my god, Iunderstand.
And we were just having a greatsmall conversation and and then
the students done, becauseyou're here and you're super
successful, uh, and you give mehope to say that I can actually
do anything I want to do.
And I said, of course,nothing's wrong with you, you
can be whatever you want to be,you can be, you can own a
(37:49):
business.
And you're like, yeah, I didn'tthink I would own a business.
Yeah, that really sticks withyou, doesn't it?
it does own a business, and sohe read my book, yeah that
really sticks with you, doesn'tit?
it does, it really does.
I was like, oh my god, I'mbeing so in awe right now.
And he, like, the students werelike, and another student came
up to me.
They wanted to write a book aswell.
They weren't sure, and Iprovided them resources,
(38:10):
actually on the spot, how towrite a book and and yeah, it
was just so sweet.
It was very, very sweet.
So I was able to empathize witha lot of people, especially
through my book, not just mycoaching, but also through my
book.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
That's amazing.
I mean, I can't think ofanything that's too much more
powerful than hope.
You gave someone hope.
That's pretty amazing.
The last thing I want to try tobring all this wonderful
goodness together how can peoplesupport the deaf community and
promote inclusivity?
Wow, it's a hard word.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
I know, stay honest, you truly educate yourself about
the disability community andthe deaf community.
And number two, if you can justlearn the basic sign language
Hi, how are you?
You're welcome, the basic, itdoesn't hurt.
And number three, I would sayfollow people on Instagram or
TikTok, support them.
You know comments, repostyourself and just the little
(39:02):
things that matter the most isthe kindness, being able to
share, being able to like andcomment.
That's really what matters andthat's really important way to
support the deaf community.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
That's awesome.
Well, today, if listeners couldtake one lesson from your
journey, what do you hope it is?
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Oh God, there's so many, I would say.
My hope, I would say, is forthe listeners, is that you have
life.
You have one life to live,right?
God gave you a gift.
For a reason God gave you thisthing.
What is this thing you arestruggling with?
He gave it to you for a reason.
God gives you this thing.
Whatever this thing you arestruggling with, he gave it to
you for a reason, rather thanmental health, rather than
disability.
He gave it to you for a reasonbecause he knows you are strong
(39:43):
and you are capable of carryingit with you.
So let's say, for example,tonight you go to bed, god comes
in your dream and he said youhave X, y and Z amount of time
to live.
And you open your eyes and yourealize that you have a timeline
and you are you going to takeadvantage of your timeline.
Of course we will takeadvantage of our timeline.
So use that strength, that giftthat God gives you.
(40:07):
Use it because you'll besurprised how many people in the
world is going to need you morethan anything.
And literally, that's how Iwant people to look at my story
and realize that God gave me,surprised how many people in the
world are going to need youmore than anything, and
literally, that's how I wantpeople to look at my story and
realize that God gave me a gift,which is my deafness to educate
people and to be inspired byother people and let people know
they're not alone.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
You are not alone.
There's way too many people onthis earth to be alone.
There's someone like you outthere that can help you and
connect with you.
Well, kalina, thank you forcoming out.
I want to ask you where canpeople connect with you and
learn more about you?
Speaker 2 (40:39):
Yeah, for sure, everybody can find me on my
website, kalinainpowermerchcom,or you guys can find me on
social media, which is Instagram, def Queen Boss.
Linkedin Kalina Powell.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Perfect.
Well, that's a wrap.
Thank you for tuning in.
Don't forget to keep theconversation going.
Find us on Instagram, Facebook,TikTok, YouTube and Buzzsprout
and share your thoughts, Please,if you can drop a review.
I love you all.
See, ya, Thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!