October 10, 2024 • 28 mins
Ever felt like your voice was just an echo lost in the bustling world around you? Join me, broadcasting from the energetic streets of Nantes, France, as I share my personal journey of chaos transformed into joy, underpinned by the empowering mantra, "I am important and my voice matters." This mantra, a cornerstone of my self-love first aid kit, has guided me in living with intention and confidence. It serves as a powerful reminder that the key to self-worth lies within us. Together, we'll explore the heart of a vibrant city while grounding ourselves in the essential belief of our own significance. The only person who can decide your importance is you, so let's reclaim our seats at the table and shine with unyielding self-worth.
As we navigate the challenges of language barriers and cultural differences, you'll hear how these experiences impacted my ability to communicate and the internal battle between politeness and self-assertion. These stories underscore the necessity of establishing personal boundaries and earning respect in our relationships. We'll delve into the trials of not being heard and their effect on self-esteem, emphasizing why it's crucial to reclaim and value our voices. This episode is an invitation to discover the power of your voice, encouraging authentic connections and genuine self-expression as we unlock the potential within us to live life on our own terms.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to Pocketful of Mojo, where you're, you and
I'm Steph, and we tune in hereto tap it to some Mojo.
Well, what do you mean?
What's Mojo?
Mojo is that unshakableconfidence, that booming
self-worth.
Like you're an unstoppableforce of nature.
You know that feeling you getthat makes you want to strut
(00:32):
down the street like a 90ssupermodel.
Well, I'm here to show you howyou can have that feeling every
single day.
You see, I think I've crackedthe code to being happy.
I'm happy all the freaking time, every day, at least most of
the day.
You see, I think I've crackedthe code to being happy.
I'm happy all the freaking time, every day, at least most of
the day, possibly to an annoyingdegree, but hey, I was not
(00:54):
always this way.
And not to flex, but I've hadbreakdowns in multiple
continents and in two languages.
Three years ago, my whole lifewas a dumpster fire and today
I'm better than I've ever been.
But how Well, by payingattention and living with more
intention, I've created thisself-love first aid kit, and
(01:16):
it's full of amazing tools thathelp me level up and navigate
life with that main characterenergy everyone's talking about.
And I'm not here to gatekeep.
In fact, I'm on a mission tohelp you tap into your best
stuff and remember that you haveeverything you need to live
your life on your own terms.
(01:37):
So settle in.
We're here for some positivechange, so let's dig in to where
your mojo meets the road.
In today's episode, I'm goingto review our mantra for the
week for some positive change.
So let's dig in to where yourmojo meets the road.
In today's episode, I'm gonnareview our mantra for the week
and then we're gonna dig intotoday's main topic, and that
topic is finding your voice andknowing how to use it.
But, plot twist, we're not onlytaking it on the road, but we
(02:01):
are taking this podcast overseasand shaking things up once
again.
That's right.
Today's episode is coming to youin between bites of croissants
and cheese, and I'm back in myformer hometown of Nantes,
france.
I can't wait to tell you allabout it.
So you stick around, and I'mgoing to make sure that you're
glad that you did.
(02:21):
Let's get started with today'smantra and get tuned in, tapped
in and turned on.
Hello and welcome to the 38thepisode of Pocketful of Mojo.
(02:42):
Once again, I'm Steph.
I'm your Mojo Maven, I'm youremotional Sherpa and I'm so glad
you're here.
Am I a therapist?
No, do I have a degree inpsychology?
No, I am a flawed human justlike you, who has figured out
how to tap into our best stuff,and I'm here to reflect your
(03:02):
awesomeness and your potentialright back to you.
It's already there, so let'ssettle in.
Let's start by digging intotoday's mantra.
Today's mantra is I amimportant and my voice matters.
Yeah, you are and yeah it is.
Let's get into it.
Let's get into it.
(03:29):
I am important and my voicematters.
Now, I love a good I am mantra,and this one is no exception.
When we anchor ourselves in theI am important, we recalibrate
the scales and put ourselvesright back in that rightful
position of top spot in our ownlives, reminding ourselves of
our inherent importance.
It's not arrogant oregotistical.
It's essential whenconstructing or even nurturing
(03:52):
your self-esteem and yourself-image In a world where we
are constantly pulled in amillion directions, with
deadlines and schedules andtaking care of other people's
needs.
The top of this mantra keeps usrooted in that truth that the
relationship we have withourselves is the most important
relationship there is.
(04:13):
Period.
I am important and my voicematters.
The world can be a noisy placeand sometimes, between diplomacy
and office politics and justtrying to keep the peace, we shy
away from letting our voices beheard.
This mantra is a gentlereminder and a little tap on the
(04:36):
shoulder and a little nudgewith the elbow that sometimes we
need and deserve to put ourvoices out there and join the
noisy mix.
I am important and my voicematters.
And I don't know about you, butI grew up in a house where we
wait for our turn to talk and weraised our hands in class
(04:58):
before we could speak.
And in the day-to-day junglethat we live in now, things are
a little less organized.
And in the day-to-day junglethat we live in now, things are
a little less organized.
You can find yourself beinginterrupted, cut off, talked
over or just plain misunderstoodbecause someone didn't take the
proper time to stop and listen.
This can be incrediblydeflating and if it happens
(05:20):
often enough, it can cause us tojust stop trying, get small, be
passive.
This mantra is here to say fuckthat.
And politely kick down the doorbetween you and the power of
your voice so you can getreacquainted.
I am important and my voicematters.
You deserve the seat at thetable.
(05:42):
Your voice deserves its time onthe mic, and don't let anyone
tell you differently.
Right or wrong, all of ourexperiences, thoughts, ideas
they're all worthy of airtime,right or wrong.
Sharing your voice with theworld is what makes the world a
better place.
Makes the world a better place.
(06:07):
How will anyone know how bright, thoughtful and strong you are
if you never tap into that voiceand truly shine?
When you ground yourself inthis mantra, you remember that
the only person to decide yourimportance is you.
The world will rise to meet you.
The only thing keeping yourvoice quiet is you.
So it's your turn to step up tothe mic and own the amazing,
(06:28):
powerful creature that you are.
I am important and my voicematters.
Hoo-wee.
I love that mantra and I lovethe irony that my voice is all
affected by my cold right nowwhile I'm doing this podcast,
(06:50):
sounding ever so gravelly butseriously.
This one is actually extrapersonal for me today, as
clearly my voice is my favoriteinstrument and I can tell you
from personal experience that,having spent so much time
unheard, unhealthy and shrinkingby the day, this mantra is a
(07:11):
game changer.
It's like a turbo boost forself-esteem and self-worth and
self-confidence.
So if you're looking for waysto give your voice power, may I
suggest a karaoke night,toastmasters leading the next
meeting at work.
Maybe you can take steps inyour day-to-day life that will
(07:32):
not only help you take up morespace that's rightfully yours,
by the way but tune into whatreally matters to you and share
your genius with the world.
Only you can speak for you.
So, for more on this juicy topic, we're going to take it to the
streets.
Yep, that's right, I'm going tomic up and walk around the
streets of France and we'regoing to take on this topic on a
(07:54):
little walkabout in my oldneighborhood.
So, without further ado, herewe go with some Mojo on the road
4, 3, 2, 1.
(08:22):
We are rolling, we are rolling,we are rolling.
So, confession, this is mojo onthe road.
But it's kind of not on the road, because I've been here for a
week and it's literally rainedevery day, and normally the rain
is like it'll rain really hardand then it'll just kind of be
(08:43):
soggy for the rest of the day.
But today, man, oh man, I wantto get this podcast to you, but
I am not going out in that rain.
It is torrential, so I got thewindows open so maybe you can
hear the rain and it'll soundlike I'm outside, because
there'll be cars driving by andI think school gets out soon,
(09:03):
but it's all about the voice.
It's not about the but it's allabout the voice.
It's not about the outside,it's about the voice, and that's
what we're going to talk abouttoday, because I heard this.
I keep seeing this quote overand over again and I think it's
really a mirror, likesomething's being mirrored back
to me in my own journey.
No-transcript.
(09:40):
Our voice is so.
It's such an important tool.
And one of the times I gotmarried now, listen, hold the
phone.
I had three weddings.
The first wedding was when Iwas in Montreal.
We were Canadian citizens, sowe needed to be legally married
(10:01):
in Canada.
Now my in-laws lived in Franceand they were about 100 years
old, so they weren't able tomake the big trip and do
everything all in one place.
So we took the idea of adestination wedding and kind of
flipped it on its head.
Where we went to, where ourguests were.
So we were living in Montreal,so we went to the notary and we
(10:23):
got officially married in thistiny little office in Montreal
and then 21 days later I wasmarried in the oldest church in
Paris.
That's right.
My life is a little bit of afairy tale, and it's not lost on
me how crazy that sounds.
So when you're talking about aplace like Paris, one of the
(10:45):
oldest cities in the world, theoldest church is going to be
real old, and so forgive me whenI say that this church was
creeping on a thousand years old.
So one of the time-honoredtraditions was that there was no
organ.
There were no speakers.
As the saying goes, the onlyinstrument allowed in God's
(11:13):
house is the instrument that Godgave you.
When I tell you that the choirthat sang was eight people and
it sounded like 30, it reallymagnifies how powerful the voice
is and how it can reallytranscend a moment, and the same
goes for your voice and thesame goes for my voice.
The voice is one of the reallykey tools in our toolbox, and
(11:39):
sometimes it gets lost andsometimes we stray away from
really understanding what itsvalue is.
So we're going to unpack alittle bit of that today, so
that we can walk away from thisconversation with a little bit
more clarity, a little bit moreinsight and awareness around our
voice and what it means to usand how it carries us through
(12:00):
our day to day.
How it carries us through ourday to day and maybe uncover a
couple of opportunities of wherewe can tune into our voice and
let it resonate from maybe adifferent place than it did
before.
Now, for me, one of the biggestsymptoms that showed up that
reminded me that I was livingout of alignment with myself was
(12:22):
that I wasn't being heard.
Now it's a little bit different, because I was in a different
country at the time while I washere, but when I was feeling
small and out of alignment, Iwas here in France and so, being
an Anglophone in a Francophonecountry, there's already going
(12:42):
to be a little bit of dissonancewhen communicating with my
voice.
I'm going to have an accent,people I may or may not use the
right words, people may notunderstand the full gist of what
I'm trying to say, and that canreally impact relationships and
how people respond to you andhow they don't respond to you,
(13:05):
based on you know what we'reused to, and this is what I'm
referring to when I talk aboutin the intro how I had two
breakdowns on two differentcontinents and two different
languages.
This was like four years agothat I was really incapable of
ignoring how bad things hadreally gotten.
(13:26):
I'd found myself in a culturewhere interrupting people and
talking over people was normal,and boy, that was a huge culture
shock.
And so what I observed, once Iactually started observing my
own behavior, was I observedthat I just shut the fuck up, I
just let people talk and Ismiled and I kind of knew what
(13:48):
to say if someone asked me adirect question.
But trust me when I tell you itdidn't happen as often as you
think, and if we're not careful,that's going to impact our
self-esteem, our self-worth, andthat is a slippery slope, trust
me.
So a few things happen when wedon't use our voice, when we
just shut the fuck up and wekeep the peace and we don't feel
(14:10):
like being the person whointerrupts somebody else.
Because I didn't feel like thatwas who I was.
My self-image was someone whowas polite and friendly, didn't
interrupt and didn't speak overother people, and friendly,
didn't interrupt and didn'tspeak over other people.
And when I tried, it reallydidn't feel comfortable.
So I became a really goodlistener, which is also a super
(14:33):
important skill.
But again, believe me when Itell you, it's not a skill that
everybody has and at best theyuse it selectively.
So I really had to figure outwhat was preventing me from
using my voice.
So it was a few things.
It was the kind of valuedisconnect that came with having
(14:54):
to interrupt other people inorder to be heard.
I didn't want to be that person.
The other thing was the languagebarrier.
When I'm speaking in a secondlanguage, my confidence may not
be off the charts in that momentbecause I'm having to work a
little harder to get my pointacross.
So it was the language at all.
Or would hear me and then dowhatever they wanted to anyway.
(15:18):
And in my marriage that becamea real problem to feel like your
words don't matter, to feellike your words don't weigh
(15:39):
anything, or to feel like you'renot even taking up enough space
that you're worthy of beingunderstood, even if you don't
agree.
That's always been my thing.
I don't care if you disagreewith me, but respect me enough
to at least hear what I have tosay and take the time to
understand.
Ask whatever questions you needto ask.
(16:01):
But that was a real aha momentfor me to be able to say this is
my boundary in my relationshipwith my husband.
This is my boundary when we'retalking about something.
If you don't understand, ask aquestion Because one of us,
whenever we were speaking, wouldalways be speaking their second
(16:22):
language.
We could both speak bothlanguages, but both of us were
stronger in a different languageand maybe you've got less
obvious examples of that.
Whether it's at work and you'rekind of forced to work with
someone closely and you justfeel like you're not speaking
the same language or share thesame value system, it can feel
(16:44):
like you're going crazy becausethey just aren't able to see
things from your point of view,no matter how many words you use
, at whatever volume.
So when I got tired of thefighting, I would just kind of
surrender.
I would just not talk, I wouldjust wouldn't.
To me it wasn't worth my breathto explain something that
(17:08):
wasn't going to be respected,heard or understood, and I had
plenty of examples to lean on tomake me think that maybe that
was going to be the case.
So I got small, I got passive.
I didn't say anything.
I didn't speak up for myself,got passive, I didn't say
anything, I didn't speak up formyself, I didn't ask for more
(17:34):
Because I hadn't defined thatself-worth and my self-esteem
had been so eroded that I didn'thave the balls to stand up,
draw the line in the sand andsay this is what I need.
Are you in or are you out?
That had to come much later,but it was in the discovery of
my voice being what I had lostthat I realized that I had to
stop knocking on that door.
So when the straw finally brokethe camel's back, with my
(17:57):
relationship and my marriagesimultaneously grieving the very
sudden death of my mom, I kindof put a pin in it with this
discovery of mine that my voicewas really failing me.
So when I came back to Canadaand I was taking care of my dad
(18:19):
and I wanted to find somethingthat I could do for income,
where I could work from home andstill make, you know, some
decent money, which is where Igot into voice acting.
So I was using my voice withother people's words and, as fun
as that was, man, there was notwo days the same.
(18:41):
I put out hundreds and hundredsof auditions and only got a
handful of jobs.
But it meant that I was workingwith and on my voice.
But it didn't fire me upentirely.
It got a little demotivatingand I wasn't really finding my
groove.
It was a really lonely kind ofwork, but I knew I was onto
(19:04):
something.
I mean, I had all this greatsound equipment so I mean I was
just trying to make my moneyback, so to speak.
Oh, there's my kitty kittySnack time.
Snack time for kitty kitty.
Hey, meow, meow.
Okay, when was I Voice acting?
So, yeah, it wasn't firing me up, it didn't really help me.
(19:27):
I mean it did help me because Iwas tuning into my voice and I
was able to find my voice withinall of the other like affected
voices that you would need to doif I wanted to be a game show
host, or if I was doing acommercial where I had to be a
mom, or if I had to be a gameshow host, or if I was doing a
commercial where I had to be amom, or if I had to be a wicked
(19:47):
witch.
You know, it allowed me to kindof get to know my voice again
and reintroduce myself and findout all the cool things that I
could do in all the differentaccents that I needed to do them
in, and it was super, super fun, which reminded me that we're
here to play.
And once again, that toolserved another function.
(20:10):
And then, when Moja was bornand I really did the work of
putting together all of theinsights and research and
journaling and you knowawareness walks that I'd been on
.
I collated and curated all thatinformation together and asked
(20:33):
myself what am I here to do?
What does the world need thatonly I can do?
And that's when Mojo was born,because I'm so committed to this
idea that we are all born withsuperpowers that we just need to
tap into to have lives thatbring us more joy and happiness
(20:55):
and fulfillment and experienceand service.
I knew this was how I was meantto serve and I knew that I
needed a great relationship withmy voice in order to be able to
do that.
And that's when Pocketful ofMojo was born.
I thought what a great way tostart sharing this message.
(21:15):
And I want to get on stages andI want to write books, and it's
using your voice.
If this isn't your path whichI'm assuming it's not you get to
use your voice, however youwant, whether it's saying
something when someone cuts infront of you in line, or having
(21:36):
the confidence to speak up atthe board meeting or ace the
next presentation.
Those are all amazing ways totake up space and shine a little
bit.
It's not about being famous orthe center of attention.
It's about owning your glow.
You don't get up every day andsay I'm going to have a mediocre
(21:56):
day.
No, you want to do good, feelgood and share that, and our
voice is one of the greatestways that we can do that.
And I even took it one stepfurther.
I signed up for somethingcalled a voice lab and you've
got to check out Kim Fisher.
I'm going to put her in thenotes.
(22:16):
She's an amazing, reallyholistic approach to vocal
coaching and, no matter whereyou are in your life, if you
want to like be better atToastmasters or just be able to
hold a stronger conversation atthe dinner table, it doesn't
have to be a professionalendeavor, it could just be you
(22:37):
getting to know yourself better.
Knowing your voice is socritical and it opens up so many
more portals of awareness ofwho you are.
What do you stand for, what areyou passionate about?
There's some fun homework foryou.
Make a list of things that youcould talk passionately about
(22:58):
for 30 minutes or like even 10.
And if you're looking for newfriends or new hobbies, that's
probably a good place to startThings that you could talk about
forever.
So, yeah, I'm taking this vocalcourse with Kim Fisher the
amazing Kim Fisher and mybiggest takeaway and I learned
(23:24):
so many things from Kim.
But as much as it's about themessage, it's also about how you
want the other person to feelwhen they hear your message,
whatever that is, whether that'sat the dinner table or the
boardroom reflecting on thatbefore you say something, or
(23:45):
before you give that speech, orbefore you give that
presentation at work, or beforeyou pitch that idea to your
client.
How do you want them to feelwhen they hear you say it?
And that's just mind-blowinglyfun to think about.
And it's when we get out of ourhead and start speaking from
(24:06):
the heart that this channel,this powerful instrument called
the voice, really kicks in.
So what I hope you take awayfrom today's little chit chat,
as I've been puttering around myapartment listening to the rain
, is the power of the voice andtuning into it as one of your
(24:30):
superpowers.
You've got many, so do I, butwhen I did this, when I really
tuned into my voice and startedconsidering it as one of my
superpowers, it's what allowedme to go from misunderstood and
unheard and a quiet little mouseand a shell of a human to a
(24:50):
voice actor who now hosts herown podcast and has a mission
that she wants to share with theworld, and I'm just getting
started.
So, wherever you're at in yourrelationship with your voice,
it's always a good idea torefresh that relationship.
So I hope you take thisopportunity to take a beat and
just start thinking differentlyabout you and your voice and its
(25:13):
relationship to you and yourmojo.
And I could talk for hoursabout this.
So good thing I've got podcasts, am I right?
Fabulous?
Well, I'm going to shoot itback to the studio.
Hopefully, when I come to younext week it'll be a little bit
brighter days.
Ooh, maybe I'll go to myfavorite park and walk around
there.
Oh yeah, and the peoplewatching is really good there
(25:35):
too.
Anyway, that's it for me.
For now I'm going to shoot itback to the studio.
Have yourself a gorgeous day.
And that was pocket full ofmojo.
(26:10):
Road trip editionune in nextweek for a very special episode
where we keep it international.
We're going to be gearing upfor Thanksgiving in the North
American region, so we're goingto be stuffing turkeys and
stuffing faces, and doing so inthe spirit of gratitude.
Yep, gratitude is our topicnext week and we'll be unpacking
(26:33):
what it is, what it isn't andhow it can change the game, no
matter where you're from.
That's right.
I'll be coming to you againdirect from France and shaking
things up one more time with you, if I can find a spare moment
between chugging my face withcroissants and cheese.
My kitchen here is far toosmall for a turkey, so you know
(26:54):
what's a girl to do.
But seriously, thanks for tuningin and I hope that this has
helped you tune into some ofthat mojo of yours, because,
dang, it looks good on you.
In the meantime, if you feellike your mojo could use a
little tune-up, I've come upwith a few ways that we can do
this again sometime.
Make sure you take a couple ofminutes to subscribe to this
(27:15):
podcast, catch up on oldepisodes and, for some extra
good juju, be sure to leave areview.
You can follow me on Instagramat moststefinately, where you'll
find some daily affirmations,mantras and other beautiful ways
to lift your spirits and staytuned into that mojo.
I've got so much great stuff toshare with you guys, so be sure
(27:38):
to tune in next week and untilthen, stay classy, stay kind and
put love in everything you do.
Ciao for now, au revoir, thankyou.
Welcome to Pocketful of Mojo, where you're, you and
I'm Steph, and we tune in hereto tap it to some Mojo.
Well, what do you mean?
What's Mojo?
Mojo is that unshakableconfidence, that booming
self-worth.
Like you're an unstoppableforce of nature.
You know that feeling you getthat makes you want to strut
(00:32):
down the street like a 90ssupermodel.
Well, I'm here to show you howyou can have that feeling every
single day.
You see, I think I've crackedthe code to being happy.
I'm happy all the freaking time, every day, at least most of
the day.
You see, I think I've crackedthe code to being happy.
I'm happy all the freaking time, every day, at least most of
the day, possibly to an annoyingdegree, but hey, I was not
(00:54):
always this way.
And not to flex, but I've hadbreakdowns in multiple
continents and in two languages.
Three years ago, my whole lifewas a dumpster fire and today
I'm better than I've ever been.
But how Well, by payingattention and living with more
intention, I've created thisself-love first aid kit, and
(01:16):
it's full of amazing tools thathelp me level up and navigate
life with that main characterenergy everyone's talking about.
And I'm not here to gatekeep.
In fact, I'm on a mission tohelp you tap into your best
stuff and remember that you haveeverything you need to live
your life on your own terms.
(01:37):
So settle in.
We're here for some positivechange, so let's dig in to where
your mojo meets the road.
In today's episode, I'm goingto review our mantra for the
week for some positive change.
So let's dig in to where yourmojo meets the road.
In today's episode, I'm gonnareview our mantra for the week
and then we're gonna dig intotoday's main topic, and that
topic is finding your voice andknowing how to use it.
But, plot twist, we're not onlytaking it on the road, but we
(02:01):
are taking this podcast overseasand shaking things up once
again.
That's right.
Today's episode is coming to youin between bites of croissants
and cheese, and I'm back in myformer hometown of Nantes,
france.
I can't wait to tell you allabout it.
So you stick around, and I'mgoing to make sure that you're
glad that you did.
(02:21):
Let's get started with today'smantra and get tuned in, tapped
in and turned on.
Hello and welcome to the 38thepisode of Pocketful of Mojo.
(02:42):
Once again, I'm Steph.
I'm your Mojo Maven, I'm youremotional Sherpa and I'm so glad
you're here.
Am I a therapist?
No, do I have a degree inpsychology?
No, I am a flawed human justlike you, who has figured out
how to tap into our best stuff,and I'm here to reflect your
(03:02):
awesomeness and your potentialright back to you.
It's already there, so let'ssettle in.
Let's start by digging intotoday's mantra.
Today's mantra is I amimportant and my voice matters.
Yeah, you are and yeah it is.
Let's get into it.
Let's get into it.
(03:29):
I am important and my voicematters.
Now, I love a good I am mantra,and this one is no exception.
When we anchor ourselves in theI am important, we recalibrate
the scales and put ourselvesright back in that rightful
position of top spot in our ownlives, reminding ourselves of
our inherent importance.
It's not arrogant oregotistical.
It's essential whenconstructing or even nurturing
(03:52):
your self-esteem and yourself-image In a world where we
are constantly pulled in amillion directions, with
deadlines and schedules andtaking care of other people's
needs.
The top of this mantra keeps usrooted in that truth that the
relationship we have withourselves is the most important
relationship there is.
(04:13):
Period.
I am important and my voicematters.
The world can be a noisy placeand sometimes, between diplomacy
and office politics and justtrying to keep the peace, we shy
away from letting our voices beheard.
This mantra is a gentlereminder and a little tap on the
(04:36):
shoulder and a little nudgewith the elbow that sometimes we
need and deserve to put ourvoices out there and join the
noisy mix.
I am important and my voicematters.
And I don't know about you, butI grew up in a house where we
wait for our turn to talk and weraised our hands in class
(04:58):
before we could speak.
And in the day-to-day junglethat we live in now, things are
a little less organized.
And in the day-to-day junglethat we live in now, things are
a little less organized.
You can find yourself beinginterrupted, cut off, talked
over or just plain misunderstoodbecause someone didn't take the
proper time to stop and listen.
This can be incrediblydeflating and if it happens
(05:20):
often enough, it can cause us tojust stop trying, get small, be
passive.
This mantra is here to say fuckthat.
And politely kick down the doorbetween you and the power of
your voice so you can getreacquainted.
I am important and my voicematters.
You deserve the seat at thetable.
(05:42):
Your voice deserves its time onthe mic, and don't let anyone
tell you differently.
Right or wrong, all of ourexperiences, thoughts, ideas
they're all worthy of airtime,right or wrong.
Sharing your voice with theworld is what makes the world a
better place.
Makes the world a better place.
(06:07):
How will anyone know how bright, thoughtful and strong you are
if you never tap into that voiceand truly shine?
When you ground yourself inthis mantra, you remember that
the only person to decide yourimportance is you.
The world will rise to meet you.
The only thing keeping yourvoice quiet is you.
So it's your turn to step up tothe mic and own the amazing,
(06:28):
powerful creature that you are.
I am important and my voicematters.
Hoo-wee.
I love that mantra and I lovethe irony that my voice is all
affected by my cold right nowwhile I'm doing this podcast,
(06:50):
sounding ever so gravelly butseriously.
This one is actually extrapersonal for me today, as
clearly my voice is my favoriteinstrument and I can tell you
from personal experience that,having spent so much time
unheard, unhealthy and shrinkingby the day, this mantra is a
(07:11):
game changer.
It's like a turbo boost forself-esteem and self-worth and
self-confidence.
So if you're looking for waysto give your voice power, may I
suggest a karaoke night,toastmasters leading the next
meeting at work.
Maybe you can take steps inyour day-to-day life that will
(07:32):
not only help you take up morespace that's rightfully yours,
by the way but tune into whatreally matters to you and share
your genius with the world.
Only you can speak for you.
So, for more on this juicy topic, we're going to take it to the
streets.
Yep, that's right, I'm going tomic up and walk around the
streets of France and we'regoing to take on this topic on a
(07:54):
little walkabout in my oldneighborhood.
So, without further ado, herewe go with some Mojo on the road
4, 3, 2, 1.
(08:22):
We are rolling, we are rolling,we are rolling.
So, confession, this is mojo onthe road.
But it's kind of not on the road, because I've been here for a
week and it's literally rainedevery day, and normally the rain
is like it'll rain really hardand then it'll just kind of be
(08:43):
soggy for the rest of the day.
But today, man, oh man, I wantto get this podcast to you, but
I am not going out in that rain.
It is torrential, so I got thewindows open so maybe you can
hear the rain and it'll soundlike I'm outside, because
there'll be cars driving by andI think school gets out soon,
(09:03):
but it's all about the voice.
It's not about the but it's allabout the voice.
It's not about the outside,it's about the voice, and that's
what we're going to talk abouttoday, because I heard this.
I keep seeing this quote overand over again and I think it's
really a mirror, likesomething's being mirrored back
to me in my own journey.
No-transcript.
(09:40):
Our voice is so.
It's such an important tool.
And one of the times I gotmarried now, listen, hold the
phone.
I had three weddings.
The first wedding was when Iwas in Montreal.
We were Canadian citizens, sowe needed to be legally married
(10:01):
in Canada.
Now my in-laws lived in Franceand they were about 100 years
old, so they weren't able tomake the big trip and do
everything all in one place.
So we took the idea of adestination wedding and kind of
flipped it on its head.
Where we went to, where ourguests were.
So we were living in Montreal,so we went to the notary and we
(10:23):
got officially married in thistiny little office in Montreal
and then 21 days later I wasmarried in the oldest church in
Paris.
That's right.
My life is a little bit of afairy tale, and it's not lost on
me how crazy that sounds.
So when you're talking about aplace like Paris, one of the
(10:45):
oldest cities in the world, theoldest church is going to be
real old, and so forgive me whenI say that this church was
creeping on a thousand years old.
So one of the time-honoredtraditions was that there was no
organ.
There were no speakers.
As the saying goes, the onlyinstrument allowed in God's
(11:13):
house is the instrument that Godgave you.
When I tell you that the choirthat sang was eight people and
it sounded like 30, it reallymagnifies how powerful the voice
is and how it can reallytranscend a moment, and the same
goes for your voice and thesame goes for my voice.
The voice is one of the reallykey tools in our toolbox, and
(11:39):
sometimes it gets lost andsometimes we stray away from
really understanding what itsvalue is.
So we're going to unpack alittle bit of that today, so
that we can walk away from thisconversation with a little bit
more clarity, a little bit moreinsight and awareness around our
voice and what it means to usand how it carries us through
(12:00):
our day to day.
How it carries us through ourday to day and maybe uncover a
couple of opportunities of wherewe can tune into our voice and
let it resonate from maybe adifferent place than it did
before.
Now, for me, one of the biggestsymptoms that showed up that
reminded me that I was livingout of alignment with myself was
(12:22):
that I wasn't being heard.
Now it's a little bit different, because I was in a different
country at the time while I washere, but when I was feeling
small and out of alignment, Iwas here in France and so, being
an Anglophone in a Francophonecountry, there's already going
(12:42):
to be a little bit of dissonancewhen communicating with my
voice.
I'm going to have an accent,people I may or may not use the
right words, people may notunderstand the full gist of what
I'm trying to say, and that canreally impact relationships and
how people respond to you andhow they don't respond to you,
(13:05):
based on you know what we'reused to, and this is what I'm
referring to when I talk aboutin the intro how I had two
breakdowns on two differentcontinents and two different
languages.
This was like four years agothat I was really incapable of
ignoring how bad things hadreally gotten.
(13:26):
I'd found myself in a culturewhere interrupting people and
talking over people was normal,and boy, that was a huge culture
shock.
And so what I observed, once Iactually started observing my
own behavior, was I observedthat I just shut the fuck up, I
just let people talk and Ismiled and I kind of knew what
(13:48):
to say if someone asked me adirect question.
But trust me when I tell you itdidn't happen as often as you
think, and if we're not careful,that's going to impact our
self-esteem, our self-worth, andthat is a slippery slope, trust
me.
So a few things happen when wedon't use our voice, when we
just shut the fuck up and wekeep the peace and we don't feel
(14:10):
like being the person whointerrupts somebody else.
Because I didn't feel like thatwas who I was.
My self-image was someone whowas polite and friendly, didn't
interrupt and didn't speak overother people, and friendly,
didn't interrupt and didn'tspeak over other people.
And when I tried, it reallydidn't feel comfortable.
So I became a really goodlistener, which is also a super
(14:33):
important skill.
But again, believe me when Itell you, it's not a skill that
everybody has and at best theyuse it selectively.
So I really had to figure outwhat was preventing me from
using my voice.
So it was a few things.
It was the kind of valuedisconnect that came with having
(14:54):
to interrupt other people inorder to be heard.
I didn't want to be that person.
The other thing was the languagebarrier.
When I'm speaking in a secondlanguage, my confidence may not
be off the charts in that momentbecause I'm having to work a
little harder to get my pointacross.
So it was the language at all.
Or would hear me and then dowhatever they wanted to anyway.
(15:18):
And in my marriage that becamea real problem to feel like your
words don't matter, to feellike your words don't weigh
(15:39):
anything, or to feel like you'renot even taking up enough space
that you're worthy of beingunderstood, even if you don't
agree.
That's always been my thing.
I don't care if you disagreewith me, but respect me enough
to at least hear what I have tosay and take the time to
understand.
Ask whatever questions you needto ask.
(16:01):
But that was a real aha momentfor me to be able to say this is
my boundary in my relationshipwith my husband.
This is my boundary when we'retalking about something.
If you don't understand, ask aquestion Because one of us,
whenever we were speaking, wouldalways be speaking their second
(16:22):
language.
We could both speak bothlanguages, but both of us were
stronger in a different languageand maybe you've got less
obvious examples of that.
Whether it's at work and you'rekind of forced to work with
someone closely and you justfeel like you're not speaking
the same language or share thesame value system, it can feel
(16:44):
like you're going crazy becausethey just aren't able to see
things from your point of view,no matter how many words you use
, at whatever volume.
So when I got tired of thefighting, I would just kind of
surrender.
I would just not talk, I wouldjust wouldn't.
To me it wasn't worth my breathto explain something that
(17:08):
wasn't going to be respected,heard or understood, and I had
plenty of examples to lean on tomake me think that maybe that
was going to be the case.
So I got small, I got passive.
I didn't say anything.
I didn't speak up for myself,got passive, I didn't say
anything, I didn't speak up formyself, I didn't ask for more
(17:34):
Because I hadn't defined thatself-worth and my self-esteem
had been so eroded that I didn'thave the balls to stand up,
draw the line in the sand andsay this is what I need.
Are you in or are you out?
That had to come much later,but it was in the discovery of
my voice being what I had lostthat I realized that I had to
stop knocking on that door.
So when the straw finally brokethe camel's back, with my
(17:57):
relationship and my marriagesimultaneously grieving the very
sudden death of my mom, I kindof put a pin in it with this
discovery of mine that my voicewas really failing me.
So when I came back to Canadaand I was taking care of my dad
(18:19):
and I wanted to find somethingthat I could do for income,
where I could work from home andstill make, you know, some
decent money, which is where Igot into voice acting.
So I was using my voice withother people's words and, as fun
as that was, man, there was notwo days the same.
(18:41):
I put out hundreds and hundredsof auditions and only got a
handful of jobs.
But it meant that I was workingwith and on my voice.
But it didn't fire me upentirely.
It got a little demotivatingand I wasn't really finding my
groove.
It was a really lonely kind ofwork, but I knew I was onto
(19:04):
something.
I mean, I had all this greatsound equipment so I mean I was
just trying to make my moneyback, so to speak.
Oh, there's my kitty kittySnack time.
Snack time for kitty kitty.
Hey, meow, meow.
Okay, when was I Voice acting?
So, yeah, it wasn't firing me up, it didn't really help me.
(19:27):
I mean it did help me because Iwas tuning into my voice and I
was able to find my voice withinall of the other like affected
voices that you would need to doif I wanted to be a game show
host, or if I was doing acommercial where I had to be a
mom, or if I had to be a gameshow host, or if I was doing a
commercial where I had to be amom, or if I had to be a wicked
(19:47):
witch.
You know, it allowed me to kindof get to know my voice again
and reintroduce myself and findout all the cool things that I
could do in all the differentaccents that I needed to do them
in, and it was super, super fun, which reminded me that we're
here to play.
And once again, that toolserved another function.
(20:10):
And then, when Moja was bornand I really did the work of
putting together all of theinsights and research and
journaling and you knowawareness walks that I'd been on
.
I collated and curated all thatinformation together and asked
(20:33):
myself what am I here to do?
What does the world need thatonly I can do?
And that's when Mojo was born,because I'm so committed to this
idea that we are all born withsuperpowers that we just need to
tap into to have lives thatbring us more joy and happiness
(20:55):
and fulfillment and experienceand service.
I knew this was how I was meantto serve and I knew that I
needed a great relationship withmy voice in order to be able to
do that.
And that's when Pocketful ofMojo was born.
I thought what a great way tostart sharing this message.
(21:15):
And I want to get on stages andI want to write books, and it's
using your voice.
If this isn't your path whichI'm assuming it's not you get to
use your voice, however youwant, whether it's saying
something when someone cuts infront of you in line, or having
(21:36):
the confidence to speak up atthe board meeting or ace the
next presentation.
Those are all amazing ways totake up space and shine a little
bit.
It's not about being famous orthe center of attention.
It's about owning your glow.
You don't get up every day andsay I'm going to have a mediocre
(21:56):
day.
No, you want to do good, feelgood and share that, and our
voice is one of the greatestways that we can do that.
And I even took it one stepfurther.
I signed up for somethingcalled a voice lab and you've
got to check out Kim Fisher.
I'm going to put her in thenotes.
(22:16):
She's an amazing, reallyholistic approach to vocal
coaching and, no matter whereyou are in your life, if you
want to like be better atToastmasters or just be able to
hold a stronger conversation atthe dinner table, it doesn't
have to be a professionalendeavor, it could just be you
(22:37):
getting to know yourself better.
Knowing your voice is socritical and it opens up so many
more portals of awareness ofwho you are.
What do you stand for, what areyou passionate about?
There's some fun homework foryou.
Make a list of things that youcould talk passionately about
(22:58):
for 30 minutes or like even 10.
And if you're looking for newfriends or new hobbies, that's
probably a good place to startThings that you could talk about
forever.
So, yeah, I'm taking this vocalcourse with Kim Fisher the
amazing Kim Fisher and mybiggest takeaway and I learned
(23:24):
so many things from Kim.
But as much as it's about themessage, it's also about how you
want the other person to feelwhen they hear your message,
whatever that is, whether that'sat the dinner table or the
boardroom reflecting on thatbefore you say something, or
(23:45):
before you give that speech, orbefore you give that
presentation at work, or beforeyou pitch that idea to your
client.
How do you want them to feelwhen they hear you say it?
And that's just mind-blowinglyfun to think about.
And it's when we get out of ourhead and start speaking from
(24:06):
the heart that this channel,this powerful instrument called
the voice, really kicks in.
So what I hope you take awayfrom today's little chit chat,
as I've been puttering around myapartment listening to the rain
, is the power of the voice andtuning into it as one of your
(24:30):
superpowers.
You've got many, so do I, butwhen I did this, when I really
tuned into my voice and startedconsidering it as one of my
superpowers, it's what allowedme to go from misunderstood and
unheard and a quiet little mouseand a shell of a human to a
(24:50):
voice actor who now hosts herown podcast and has a mission
that she wants to share with theworld, and I'm just getting
started.
So, wherever you're at in yourrelationship with your voice,
it's always a good idea torefresh that relationship.
So I hope you take thisopportunity to take a beat and
just start thinking differentlyabout you and your voice and its
(25:13):
relationship to you and yourmojo.
And I could talk for hoursabout this.
So good thing I've got podcasts, am I right?
Fabulous?
Well, I'm going to shoot itback to the studio.
Hopefully, when I come to younext week it'll be a little bit
brighter days.
Ooh, maybe I'll go to myfavorite park and walk around
there.
Oh yeah, and the peoplewatching is really good there
(25:35):
too.
Anyway, that's it for me.
For now I'm going to shoot itback to the studio.
Have yourself a gorgeous day.
And that was pocket full ofmojo.
(26:10):
Road trip editionune in nextweek for a very special episode
where we keep it international.
We're going to be gearing upfor Thanksgiving in the North
American region, so we're goingto be stuffing turkeys and
stuffing faces, and doing so inthe spirit of gratitude.
Yep, gratitude is our topicnext week and we'll be unpacking
(26:33):
what it is, what it isn't andhow it can change the game, no
matter where you're from.
That's right.
I'll be coming to you againdirect from France and shaking
things up one more time with you, if I can find a spare moment
between chugging my face withcroissants and cheese.
My kitchen here is far toosmall for a turkey, so you know
(26:54):
what's a girl to do.
But seriously, thanks for tuningin and I hope that this has
helped you tune into some ofthat mojo of yours, because,
dang, it looks good on you.
In the meantime, if you feellike your mojo could use a
little tune-up, I've come upwith a few ways that we can do
this again sometime.
Make sure you take a couple ofminutes to subscribe to this
(27:15):
podcast, catch up on oldepisodes and, for some extra
good juju, be sure to leave areview.
You can follow me on Instagramat moststefinately, where you'll
find some daily affirmations,mantras and other beautiful ways
to lift your spirits and staytuned into that mojo.
I've got so much great stuff toshare with you guys, so be sure
(27:38):
to tune in next week and untilthen, stay classy, stay kind and
put love in everything you do.
Ciao for now, au revoir, thankyou.
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