June 24, 2024 • 20 mins
Ever wondered if a drastic lifestyle change could redefine your perspective on life? In this episode, we sit down with Penny Light, founder of Grit & Grace Clothing, Grit & Grace Adventures, and Grit & Grace Yoga.
Penny shares her inspiring story of transitioning from a successful travel business in Costa Rica to pioneering immersive retail experiences that redefine how women approach fashion and self-expression. Discover how she navigated uncertainty and embraced new challenges, offering valuable insights into stepping outside comfort zones both in business and in life.
Through candid conversations, Penny discusses the transformative power of pushing boundaries and the profound impact of immersive travel experiences on personal growth. Join us as we explore her journey, from corporate escape to entrepreneurial success, and uncover practical strategies for embracing change and cultivating confidence.
Learn more visit:
- Grit & Grace Clothing - www.gritandgraceclothing.com
- Grit & Grace Adventures - www.gritandgraceadventures.com
Follow :
@gritandgraceclothing
@gritandgraceadventures
@pennylight
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jen (00:00):
Joining us today is Penny Light, a successful visionary
and entrepreneur.
Penny (00:05):
The women are usually in some kind of transition in their
lives or they're just lookingout on their lives and it's not
reflecting back on them whatthey recognize and they're just
looking for a change.
So this is that kick.
It's that out of the comfortzone?
Jen (00:17):
Discover how stepping out of our comfort zone raises our
tolerance for uncertainty, howtravel can spark transformation
and the importance of leaning onmindfulness as we navigate the
unknown.
Let's dive in Penny.
Welcome to the show.
It's so wonderful having youhere.
Penny (00:36):
Thank you for having me.
I'm honored.
Jen (00:38):
Well, I have to tell people like we are not affiliated in
business.
Penny (00:41):
And I've been asked to.
Jen (00:42):
But what I love is that women entrepreneurs are just so
open to supporting one another,and so you've been so gracious
as I reached out to you, sothank you for being here.
Well, we have a lot to get to.
You're the founder of Grit andGrace Clothing, and Grit and
Grace Adventures, and now Gritand Grace Yoga.
And next one for you.
(01:03):
I wanted to just lay thebackdrop here.
So before the pandemic, you rana successful travel company out
of costa rica.
You had to make a difficultdecision and move back to canada
.
Yes, start us with the catalystof what inspired you to begin
your journey with grit and graceclothing well it was.
Penny (01:22):
it was in coming back to Toronto and going shopping.
I lived in Costa Rica for sixyears, so I had flip-flops and
sundresses and I needed someCanadian appropriate clothing,
and when I went to Costa RicaI'd left corporate, so whatever
I came back to was just suitswhich I wasn't wearing anymore.
So I went shopping and theexperience I had for now 49, I
(01:43):
was a few years younger thendidn't suit what I thought women
my age were looking for, whowere youthful and playful.
I went to some of the oldgo-tos that I used to go to and
the product wasn't there and theexperience wasn't there and the
service wasn't there.
So it really was an itch, ascratch, you know.
So I basically wanted to createmy own closet, but I wanted the
(02:04):
experience to be somethingdifferent and something special
for all women, but particularlywomen our age.
Jen (02:10):
And can you just talk about the vision of this immersive
experience as?
You saw, it in retail, and whatwas missing and what you
introduced.
Penny (02:16):
Yeah, I think feeling comfortable and, if I might use
the word, safe in this spacewhile we're trying on clothes.
I think we're bombarded so muchas women within, through the
media, through social media.
But this idea of how we'resupposed to look and how we're
supposed to be and you know theshopping experience in a lot of
large chains is, you know, thesebig open change rooms that are
(02:37):
open to the entire store andthere's no mirrors in the change
room.
So you have to come out and youknow that whole kind of it felt
cold and it felt very salesy.
Yeah, so I wanted to createsomething.
You know, there's nothing morefun than getting ready with your
girlfriends when you wereyounger, you know you all get
ready together in the bedroomthe clothes get sprung
everywhere, so creating thatkind of living room space.
So all the change rooms have acouch, all the change rooms are
(02:58):
big enough to spin in.
So, you can have like you can.
You don't have to come out, butyou have lots of room to try
things on and mirrors in thechange room so you can stay in
or you can come out.
But it's created so that youfeel comfortable coming out.
It's like the whole store isn'tstaring at you, kind of thing.
Jen (03:14):
What surprised you about what you had to learn and kind
of overcome through that leap,because that's a radically
different industry.
Penny (03:21):
Well, it is, but it's.
You know, so many skill setsare transferable and still to
this day, every day, I'mGoogling how do I do this, how
do I do this, how do I fix that?
So it's really just.
That's the grit, that's thelike.
You just got to figure it outand I I had to figure something
out when I came back to Canadaand I wanted a better experience
(03:42):
.
So thankfully, my partneractually is in retail.
He's 30 years in the secondhandclothing business, so still a
little quite different.
He had a lot to learn to helpme as well.
Jen (03:52):
When you developed this name, what?
What was the value set that youthought about?
Penny (03:56):
That we're all made of stories of grit and grace, and
if we've, when we share them, wediscover that and you know how
do we get through anything inlife?
It's with grit, yeah, andhopefully a little bit of grace,
sometimes, not always, but asmuch as we can.
Jen (04:10):
When it comes to confidence and watching kind of women walk
into the store.
Have that experience.
What have you learned aboutwomen and their bodies and
confidence just through thatimmersive experience?
Penny (04:23):
It's interesting.
Interesting because you dosadly see how women are so
influenced by what the media istelling us we're supposed to be
or look like, and I think, sadlymore so, this filtered world we
live in, I, you know, worryabout our young girls.
Yeah, so they do come in andhave this, this idea of what
they're supposed to look like inthe clothes that they put on,
(04:45):
or even how they're supposed tofit and sizing.
And you know, it's interestingwhen we explain to women there
was a time in fashion whereeverything was fit to you.
There wasn't sizing, there wasalways a seamstress.
And we offer tailoring for thatpurpose.
Yeah Right, but we've moved tothis world where they're trying
to, like, put all women into onesize and that's not a realistic
(05:07):
thing to do.
So you know, they come to thestore and it's interesting to
observe that and and kind ofteach them a different way of
looking at it.
And once they kind of have thataha moment, they're like oh,
and then they're more willing totry on things they might not
usually wear and sort of juststepping out of their comfort
zones a little bit.
Yeah, it's fun.
And then they get excited whenthey come to the change room
(05:28):
like super happy and excited andlike I never thought I could
wear this.
It's so rewarding.
Jen (05:33):
Well, that kind of segues me perfectly to this topic that
I really wanted to dig in withyou on, which is venturing into
the unknown and stepping outsideof our comfort zone raises our
tolerance for uncertainty, and Igrabbed that from your website.
As soon as I read that, I waslike, oh, this is amazing.
I'm imagining this is woventhrough several of your
(05:54):
businesses.
Can you just go into thatlesson for all of us a little
bit and what your experience hasbeen with it?
Penny (06:02):
we're in a comfort crisis .
There's a great book, new bookout I don't know if you've read
it called comfort crisis.
Actually, um, he delves reallydeep into it.
But we're not actually designedto live this perfect.
Our rooms are the perfecttemperature, our roads are
perfectly smooth.
For the most part, we we'renever uncomfortable.
We're not actually designed tobe that way and what happens is
we get into this like mindset ofrepeat.
(06:22):
We're kind of on this hamsterwheel and 95% actually this is a
stat of our life is spent onrepeat, which is shocking.
That means only 5% of our timeis spent in a conscious state.
So I am a huge believer that wehave to kick ourselves out of
that repetitive, because it willit.
It inspires creativity, itinspires mindfulness, for
(06:46):
example.
You know to be more in the inthe moment.
So when we step out of ourcomfort zones whether we're
going on a trip or just taking adifferent route somewhere and
noticing something different, orputting on an outfit you might
not normally wear, that inspiresus.
You know, you sort of sit up alittle bit taller and you get to
express yourself a little bitmore and you're more mindful and
(07:06):
more in the moment was that thecatalyst for the travel?
Jen (07:09):
like the grit and grace uh adventure experience, like when
did you start that?
Penny (07:15):
so?
So I had live life, flightadventures.
So I've been doing this for thetravel for 10 years.
So the rebrand, the relaunchwas to it just made sense.
I had this amazing database ofincredible women through grit
and grace clothing, so it madesense to rebrand it under that
name and bring it back to life.
And it's my true passion.
(07:35):
I mean, I love the stories andI love what it's providing to
women and the connections thatare being made.
But I think the real experienceof getting out of your comfort
zone and traveling and seeingthe world and connecting people
in those moments is is sopowerful and more my passion.
So it was actually more.
I was looking out at my lifeand what was reflecting back on
(07:57):
me.
I wasn't recognizing myself in,so it was my whole.
The change from living in CostaRica to coming back to Canada
was more than just just the move.
I did it not knowing it waspermanent.
We all thought the pandemicwould last a week or two or
three months, but you know threeyears.
Thought the pandemic would lasta week or two or three months,
(08:18):
but you know three years.
So I didn't.
It wasn't on my own terms, so Ileft my house full of
everything, and when you live asan expat, you create a family.
So, you know, I had a greatnetwork of female friends, um,
and I had my work and all ofthat.
And then I stepped into instantnew business, instant parenting
.
So my partner has two youngkids and I don't have children
of my own.
So that was a lot.
(08:39):
All you moms out there arekilling it, um, and instant
cohabitation.
I lived alone and loved it.
So you know, I was living alife that was very much me and
then had to step into all theseother roles that I was figuring
out partnering, figuring outstep parenting, figuring out
business figure.
I was just figuring things outfor so long that I yeah, I guess
(09:03):
it was a breakdown.
And so my therapist said to mewell, well, when was the last
time you looked out at your lifeand recognized yourself?
And I said, when I was sharingmy love of travel.
She's like okay, so do that, so, do that, so do that.
So Grit and Grace Adventureswas born in January.
I want to say now, and whathappens like?
Jen (09:24):
how many women join?
Like, give us a little peekinto this.
What is this experience?
Penny (09:30):
I cap it out at 10 women, just because I like to keep it
as super intimate as possible.
Yeah, I don't like to call themyoga retreats.
We move our bodies every day.
There really are more adventureretreats and kind of the
overland experience.
So we don't go to one place andstay in one place.
So Morocco, for example, is we.
We caravan through the countryand luxury SUVs and do two
nights, two nights, two nights,two nights.
(09:51):
So the women are usually, yeah,rh, yeah, they're in some kind
of transition in their lives,whether it's like nearing
retirement or just enteringretirement, divorce, soon to be
empty nesters, or they're justlooking out on their lives and
it's not what they reflectingback on them, what they
recognize, and they're justlooking for a change.
So this is that kick, it's thatout of the comfort zone moment
(10:15):
that helps people, I think, thenreflect and go home a changed
person in some shape or form.
Jen (10:20):
And is this?
Because, like we're just intravel, we're transported into
everything that does not lookfamiliar.
None of it looks familiar, andso you're kind of forced into
that state of mindfulness, dayafter day after day.
Penny (10:34):
Yeah, when you're traveling's unknown and and and
usually something will go wrong,a flight will get delayed, or
we we rolled into the saharadesert.
We were short one tent becausethe the camp had accidentally
rented it out to an airbnb thing, and so that was me that had to
(10:54):
like go to spend the night inanother tent, you know, but you
have to very quickly adjust.
So people are just like you'reforced into the moment, you're
forced into a mindfulness andyou're forced to pay attention
to what's around you, whereashere, when you're on that repeat
you don't, you miss so much.
Jen (11:11):
Do you find, when people return, are they able to hold
that skill?
It's tricky.
Penny (11:17):
I do get a lot of calls, I you know.
Sometimes it's immediatereflection, sometimes it's a
year down the road.
Someone will message me from aretreat and they'll be like hey,
penny, you know it's justhitting me now.
What shook me up then?
What needed to come out?
So sometimes it takes a littlewhile for it to like percolate
and you know they'll come homeand they'll look at their lives
(11:38):
around them and make minorchanges or slight changes,
sometimes big changes.
Jen (11:43):
Well, and I think in your website the thing that I loved,
it says exploring our hiddencapabilities within us.
Now, I love that idea for oureveryday living.
Obviously, it's heightenedduring travel.
Can you share a little bitabout maybe some of the stories
that you've encountered foryourself where that door has
opened for you and you didn'teven realize you?
(12:04):
Had that capability.
Penny (12:06):
I'll use my experience in Africa.
It's I mean, it wasn't a trip,I did go live there.
I was living in Botswana in themiddle of the bush, documenting
a pride of lions with a filmcrew for a year, and every time
I say that it seems ridiculous,but it's true.
It's such an incredibleopportunity.
But I came from a strongcorporate world, so I was
working for some Fortune 500companies where what you wore,
(12:28):
the purse you carried, the shoes, where you ate, like a lot,
mattered.
That didn't really matter, butmattered.
And I was 34 years old, I wasyoung.
Mm- to this world with noelectricity, no running water,
no mirrors Literally, the onlymirror was on the side of the
vehicle which I would catch aglimpse of.
There was no room for vanity,and I came from a world where I
(12:51):
believed beauty was external,and this experience taught me
that beauty was from within.
So it changed me literally on acellular level, that what was
inside of me was way morebeautiful than anything on the
outside.
It didn't matter what suit,shoes or purse I was carrying,
or car was driving, orrestaurant I was eating at, and
(13:15):
with whom it's so freeing wasthat your experience so freeing
when you get there?
yeah, it's incredibly'sincredibly freeing.
You know there was no phones.
Yeah, you know I wasn'tattached to this external
appendage we now have of ourcell phones, which was really
nice.
And then watching the animaland not being the top of the
(13:38):
food chain for the first time, Imean we walk around pretty safe
here, you know where you know.
So I had to listen veryintently for warning signals.
I had to look near and farconstantly.
My earring and my eyesight bothimproved just from being in
nature and and having to beaware and alert at all times,
which was pretty magical.
Being silent, when are we ever,when are we ever, quiet enough
(14:03):
to hear our own thoughts, whichis scary for some people.
And then can also be prettymagical because you can let the
shit go that you realize, if youstop to hear yourself, you
realize how much damage some ofthose thoughts might be doing or
how unimportant they actuallyare.
So you start to let it go andyou allow in what matters, what?
Jen (14:25):
practices do you do every day to kind of keep this potency
alive?
Penny (14:32):
It's so hard, I'm not going to lie it is so, so hard
and as an entrepreneur, it's I'mtoo busy to do this, I'm too
busy to do that.
And when I do step away fromeverything be it a walk in the
woods, yoga, solo yoga,meditation in the morning,
(14:54):
journaling it blows my mind.
And it shouldn't surprise me,but it always does remind me
that, wow, I have a whole otherset of creativity going on that
I can't access because I keepsaying I'm too busy or I keep on
this grind.
But when you step away from allof that, it's natural.
(15:19):
It just comes naturally it'snatural.
Jen (15:23):
It just comes naturally.
There was a lot on your websiteas I was doing my research for
this show and I just screamed atme, yearning for more than the
ordinary.
Yeah, I mean, you put thatright on your website.
Why is that such a value foryou?
Where do you see peoplestopping?
Penny (15:38):
It's fear-based, it's a sense of worthiness.
I so come from that.
I have no problem sharing avery personal story.
I don't come from a travelingfamily at all.
I didn't get on a plane until Iwas 18.
And then I didn't really traveluntil I was 21.
My first trip was to Italy.
Not a lot of money growing upand abusive.
I'm actually estranged from mybirth mother, so self-worth is
(16:00):
something I've struggled with myentire life.
I think like one of my earliestmemories was wanting more.
That I knew, not that I wasn'thappy with what I had, but I
knew that there was potentialout there.
Fortunately, I had a great setof friends at a young age, so
you know, who came from goodhomes and their parents were
great influences.
I spent a lot of time in thosehomes, so I was seeing this,
(16:22):
like you know, and one familywas British.
They had accents Like it wasthis foreign, like otherness, if
you will, and I wanted theotherness in my life.
So I always desired somethingmore, maybe to my detriment, to
be honest, it's you know what'saround that corner, what's over
that hill, but it's fed and the,the desire to see more of the
(16:45):
world is fed, the desire to domore and um, and I don't want to
say I don't have a fear offailure, I do.
I think.
You know, even with my stores,it's not a great time right now
in retail.
It's actually really difficultfor small business and I think
to myself if this doesn't work,what will people think?
Yeah, but then I have to remindmyself that, like I tried, yeah
(17:08):
.
The alternative would have beenstill working in corporate, you
know, having small talk around acooler, not sitting here with
you having this beautiful,meaningful conversation.
And if it doesn't work, I tried.
Yeah.
And I'd rather that than not.
Jen (17:23):
I just got chills when you said that, penny, because I know
there's a lot of womenentrepreneurs that listen to the
show.
That's the, the narrative weall have.
Like I hear that in my head too, you know.
But yeah, I tried at least Itried.
Penny (17:37):
I like to ask myself what's the alternative.
Jen (17:40):
Yeah.
Penny (17:41):
You know, and when you really reflect on that question,
you realize that this is whatI'd want to be doing stuff.
Jen (18:02):
It's not more things, it's not the next level.
What's this life that I canlead that's somewhat
unconventional, that gives mepermission to do things a little
differently?
Yeah, do you think that we areon the cusp of a revolution here
?
Penny (18:12):
I think we're on the cusp of a revolution.
I honestly and I fun fact,somebody just told me this and I
don't know where just told methis and I don't know where.
I can't quote where it camefrom that young women are
following us now.
So our followers are actuallyyoung girls.
They're tired of the filteredworld.
(18:34):
They're tired of the whateverit is they're seeing on their
instagrams.
They want to follow women ourage who are doing things like
this.
That's the cool factor, that'sthe inspiration, that's the and
there's a lot of us right nowand we're a very unspoken to
demographic who are finding ourvoices.
(18:54):
Look out, yeah, and we'respeaking up and we want to be
heard and we want.
We also want to be spoken tofrom a, a marketing perspective
too.
They're missing thisdemographic.
You're hearing all this stuffabout perimenopause and
menopause and we're not ourmother's 49-year-old.
When I look at a picture of mymom when she was 49, we are very
(19:16):
different looking.
We're more youthful, we're moreactive, we're taking better
care of ourselves, we'rehealthier and we want more than
the ordinary.
Yeah, I think it's amazing thatthese young girls are looking
to this now and not that.
Jen (19:32):
Well, Penny, if people want to come for a Grit and Grace
retail clothing experience, canyou just share where your stores
are located so people know?
Penny (19:39):
So we have a seasonal store.
The first store was SolvilleBeach.
That opens actually thisweekend.
Long weekend closesthanksgiving, so it's a summer
store fast and furious.
Uh guelph was the second store.
That's at 24 wilson uh streetin guelph downtown and then 170
ozington street in toronto.
Jen (19:56):
That's the newest and great , immersive experiences for
people to you know, gain, gainnew perspectives, push their
comfort zone, try on clothes andfeel the confidence.
Yeah, thank you for being here.
Penny (20:08):
Thank you for having me.
Yeah, amazing.
Jen (20:10):
It's been a joy.
Thank you for joining us.
Don't forget to follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn, where we
transform the wisdom from ourpodcast into practical tips,
tools and takeaways for yourleadership journey.
Find us at gritgracepodcast.
See you next week.
Joining us today is Penny Light, a successful visionary
and entrepreneur.
Penny (00:05):
The women are usually in some kind of transition in their
lives or they're just lookingout on their lives and it's not
reflecting back on them whatthey recognize and they're just
looking for a change.
So this is that kick.
It's that out of the comfortzone?
Jen (00:17):
Discover how stepping out of our comfort zone raises our
tolerance for uncertainty, howtravel can spark transformation
and the importance of leaning onmindfulness as we navigate the
unknown.
Let's dive in Penny.
Welcome to the show.
It's so wonderful having youhere.
Penny (00:36):
Thank you for having me.
I'm honored.
Jen (00:38):
Well, I have to tell people like we are not affiliated in
business.
Penny (00:41):
And I've been asked to.
Jen (00:42):
But what I love is that women entrepreneurs are just so
open to supporting one another,and so you've been so gracious
as I reached out to you, sothank you for being here.
Well, we have a lot to get to.
You're the founder of Grit andGrace Clothing, and Grit and
Grace Adventures, and now Gritand Grace Yoga.
And next one for you.
(01:03):
I wanted to just lay thebackdrop here.
So before the pandemic, you rana successful travel company out
of costa rica.
You had to make a difficultdecision and move back to canada
.
Yes, start us with the catalystof what inspired you to begin
your journey with grit and graceclothing well it was.
Penny (01:22):
it was in coming back to Toronto and going shopping.
I lived in Costa Rica for sixyears, so I had flip-flops and
sundresses and I needed someCanadian appropriate clothing,
and when I went to Costa RicaI'd left corporate, so whatever
I came back to was just suitswhich I wasn't wearing anymore.
So I went shopping and theexperience I had for now 49, I
(01:43):
was a few years younger thendidn't suit what I thought women
my age were looking for, whowere youthful and playful.
I went to some of the oldgo-tos that I used to go to and
the product wasn't there and theexperience wasn't there and the
service wasn't there.
So it really was an itch, ascratch, you know.
So I basically wanted to createmy own closet, but I wanted the
(02:04):
experience to be somethingdifferent and something special
for all women, but particularlywomen our age.
Jen (02:10):
And can you just talk about the vision of this immersive
experience as?
You saw, it in retail, and whatwas missing and what you
introduced.
Penny (02:16):
Yeah, I think feeling comfortable and, if I might use
the word, safe in this spacewhile we're trying on clothes.
I think we're bombarded so muchas women within, through the
media, through social media.
But this idea of how we'resupposed to look and how we're
supposed to be and you know theshopping experience in a lot of
large chains is, you know, thesebig open change rooms that are
(02:37):
open to the entire store andthere's no mirrors in the change
room.
So you have to come out and youknow that whole kind of it felt
cold and it felt very salesy.
Yeah, so I wanted to createsomething.
You know, there's nothing morefun than getting ready with your
girlfriends when you wereyounger, you know you all get
ready together in the bedroomthe clothes get sprung
everywhere, so creating thatkind of living room space.
So all the change rooms have acouch, all the change rooms are
(02:58):
big enough to spin in.
So, you can have like you can.
You don't have to come out, butyou have lots of room to try
things on and mirrors in thechange room so you can stay in
or you can come out.
But it's created so that youfeel comfortable coming out.
It's like the whole store isn'tstaring at you, kind of thing.
Jen (03:14):
What surprised you about what you had to learn and kind
of overcome through that leap,because that's a radically
different industry.
Penny (03:21):
Well, it is, but it's.
You know, so many skill setsare transferable and still to
this day, every day, I'mGoogling how do I do this, how
do I do this, how do I fix that?
So it's really just.
That's the grit, that's thelike.
You just got to figure it outand I I had to figure something
out when I came back to Canadaand I wanted a better experience
(03:42):
.
So thankfully, my partneractually is in retail.
He's 30 years in the secondhandclothing business, so still a
little quite different.
He had a lot to learn to helpme as well.
Jen (03:52):
When you developed this name, what?
What was the value set that youthought about?
Penny (03:56):
That we're all made of stories of grit and grace, and
if we've, when we share them, wediscover that and you know how
do we get through anything inlife?
It's with grit, yeah, andhopefully a little bit of grace,
sometimes, not always, but asmuch as we can.
Jen (04:10):
When it comes to confidence and watching kind of women walk
into the store.
Have that experience.
What have you learned aboutwomen and their bodies and
confidence just through thatimmersive experience?
Penny (04:23):
It's interesting.
Interesting because you dosadly see how women are so
influenced by what the media istelling us we're supposed to be
or look like, and I think, sadlymore so, this filtered world we
live in, I, you know, worryabout our young girls.
Yeah, so they do come in andhave this, this idea of what
they're supposed to look like inthe clothes that they put on,
(04:45):
or even how they're supposed tofit and sizing.
And you know, it's interestingwhen we explain to women there
was a time in fashion whereeverything was fit to you.
There wasn't sizing, there wasalways a seamstress.
And we offer tailoring for thatpurpose.
Yeah Right, but we've moved tothis world where they're trying
to, like, put all women into onesize and that's not a realistic
(05:07):
thing to do.
So you know, they come to thestore and it's interesting to
observe that and and kind ofteach them a different way of
looking at it.
And once they kind of have thataha moment, they're like oh,
and then they're more willing totry on things they might not
usually wear and sort of juststepping out of their comfort
zones a little bit.
Yeah, it's fun.
And then they get excited whenthey come to the change room
(05:28):
like super happy and excited andlike I never thought I could
wear this.
It's so rewarding.
Jen (05:33):
Well, that kind of segues me perfectly to this topic that
I really wanted to dig in withyou on, which is venturing into
the unknown and stepping outsideof our comfort zone raises our
tolerance for uncertainty, and Igrabbed that from your website.
As soon as I read that, I waslike, oh, this is amazing.
I'm imagining this is woventhrough several of your
(05:54):
businesses.
Can you just go into thatlesson for all of us a little
bit and what your experience hasbeen with it?
Penny (06:02):
we're in a comfort crisis .
There's a great book, new bookout I don't know if you've read
it called comfort crisis.
Actually, um, he delves reallydeep into it.
But we're not actually designedto live this perfect.
Our rooms are the perfecttemperature, our roads are
perfectly smooth.
For the most part, we we'renever uncomfortable.
We're not actually designed tobe that way and what happens is
we get into this like mindset ofrepeat.
(06:22):
We're kind of on this hamsterwheel and 95% actually this is a
stat of our life is spent onrepeat, which is shocking.
That means only 5% of our timeis spent in a conscious state.
So I am a huge believer that wehave to kick ourselves out of
that repetitive, because it willit.
It inspires creativity, itinspires mindfulness, for
(06:46):
example.
You know to be more in the inthe moment.
So when we step out of ourcomfort zones whether we're
going on a trip or just taking adifferent route somewhere and
noticing something different, orputting on an outfit you might
not normally wear, that inspiresus.
You know, you sort of sit up alittle bit taller and you get to
express yourself a little bitmore and you're more mindful and
(07:06):
more in the moment was that thecatalyst for the travel?
Jen (07:09):
like the grit and grace uh adventure experience, like when
did you start that?
Penny (07:15):
so?
So I had live life, flightadventures.
So I've been doing this for thetravel for 10 years.
So the rebrand, the relaunchwas to it just made sense.
I had this amazing database ofincredible women through grit
and grace clothing, so it madesense to rebrand it under that
name and bring it back to life.
And it's my true passion.
(07:35):
I mean, I love the stories andI love what it's providing to
women and the connections thatare being made.
But I think the real experienceof getting out of your comfort
zone and traveling and seeingthe world and connecting people
in those moments is is sopowerful and more my passion.
So it was actually more.
I was looking out at my lifeand what was reflecting back on
(07:57):
me.
I wasn't recognizing myself in,so it was my whole.
The change from living in CostaRica to coming back to Canada
was more than just just the move.
I did it not knowing it waspermanent.
We all thought the pandemicwould last a week or two or
three months, but you know threeyears.
Thought the pandemic would lasta week or two or three months,
(08:18):
but you know three years.
So I didn't.
It wasn't on my own terms, so Ileft my house full of
everything, and when you live asan expat, you create a family.
So, you know, I had a greatnetwork of female friends, um,
and I had my work and all ofthat.
And then I stepped into instantnew business, instant parenting
.
So my partner has two youngkids and I don't have children
of my own.
So that was a lot.
(08:39):
All you moms out there arekilling it, um, and instant
cohabitation.
I lived alone and loved it.
So you know, I was living alife that was very much me and
then had to step into all theseother roles that I was figuring
out partnering, figuring outstep parenting, figuring out
business figure.
I was just figuring things outfor so long that I yeah, I guess
(09:03):
it was a breakdown.
And so my therapist said to mewell, well, when was the last
time you looked out at your lifeand recognized yourself?
And I said, when I was sharingmy love of travel.
She's like okay, so do that, so, do that, so do that.
So Grit and Grace Adventureswas born in January.
I want to say now, and whathappens like?
Jen (09:24):
how many women join?
Like, give us a little peekinto this.
What is this experience?
Penny (09:30):
I cap it out at 10 women, just because I like to keep it
as super intimate as possible.
Yeah, I don't like to call themyoga retreats.
We move our bodies every day.
There really are more adventureretreats and kind of the
overland experience.
So we don't go to one place andstay in one place.
So Morocco, for example, is we.
We caravan through the countryand luxury SUVs and do two
nights, two nights, two nights,two nights.
(09:51):
So the women are usually, yeah,rh, yeah, they're in some kind
of transition in their lives,whether it's like nearing
retirement or just enteringretirement, divorce, soon to be
empty nesters, or they're justlooking out on their lives and
it's not what they reflectingback on them, what they
recognize, and they're justlooking for a change.
So this is that kick, it's thatout of the comfort zone moment
(10:15):
that helps people, I think, thenreflect and go home a changed
person in some shape or form.
Jen (10:20):
And is this?
Because, like we're just intravel, we're transported into
everything that does not lookfamiliar.
None of it looks familiar, andso you're kind of forced into
that state of mindfulness, dayafter day after day.
Penny (10:34):
Yeah, when you're traveling's unknown and and and
usually something will go wrong,a flight will get delayed, or
we we rolled into the saharadesert.
We were short one tent becausethe the camp had accidentally
rented it out to an airbnb thing, and so that was me that had to
(10:54):
like go to spend the night inanother tent, you know, but you
have to very quickly adjust.
So people are just like you'reforced into the moment, you're
forced into a mindfulness andyou're forced to pay attention
to what's around you, whereashere, when you're on that repeat
you don't, you miss so much.
Jen (11:11):
Do you find, when people return, are they able to hold
that skill?
It's tricky.
Penny (11:17):
I do get a lot of calls, I you know.
Sometimes it's immediatereflection, sometimes it's a
year down the road.
Someone will message me from aretreat and they'll be like hey,
penny, you know it's justhitting me now.
What shook me up then?
What needed to come out?
So sometimes it takes a littlewhile for it to like percolate
and you know they'll come homeand they'll look at their lives
(11:38):
around them and make minorchanges or slight changes,
sometimes big changes.
Jen (11:43):
Well, and I think in your website the thing that I loved,
it says exploring our hiddencapabilities within us.
Now, I love that idea for oureveryday living.
Obviously, it's heightenedduring travel.
Can you share a little bitabout maybe some of the stories
that you've encountered foryourself where that door has
opened for you and you didn'teven realize you?
(12:04):
Had that capability.
Penny (12:06):
I'll use my experience in Africa.
It's I mean, it wasn't a trip,I did go live there.
I was living in Botswana in themiddle of the bush, documenting
a pride of lions with a filmcrew for a year, and every time
I say that it seems ridiculous,but it's true.
It's such an incredibleopportunity.
But I came from a strongcorporate world, so I was
working for some Fortune 500companies where what you wore,
(12:28):
the purse you carried, the shoes, where you ate, like a lot,
mattered.
That didn't really matter, butmattered.
And I was 34 years old, I wasyoung.
Mm- to this world with noelectricity, no running water,
no mirrors Literally, the onlymirror was on the side of the
vehicle which I would catch aglimpse of.
There was no room for vanity,and I came from a world where I
(12:51):
believed beauty was external,and this experience taught me
that beauty was from within.
So it changed me literally on acellular level, that what was
inside of me was way morebeautiful than anything on the
outside.
It didn't matter what suit,shoes or purse I was carrying,
or car was driving, orrestaurant I was eating at, and
(13:15):
with whom it's so freeing wasthat your experience so freeing
when you get there?
yeah, it's incredibly'sincredibly freeing.
You know there was no phones.
Yeah, you know I wasn'tattached to this external
appendage we now have of ourcell phones, which was really
nice.
And then watching the animaland not being the top of the
(13:38):
food chain for the first time, Imean we walk around pretty safe
here, you know where you know.
So I had to listen veryintently for warning signals.
I had to look near and farconstantly.
My earring and my eyesight bothimproved just from being in
nature and and having to beaware and alert at all times,
which was pretty magical.
Being silent, when are we ever,when are we ever, quiet enough
(14:03):
to hear our own thoughts, whichis scary for some people.
And then can also be prettymagical because you can let the
shit go that you realize, if youstop to hear yourself, you
realize how much damage some ofthose thoughts might be doing or
how unimportant they actuallyare.
So you start to let it go andyou allow in what matters, what?
Jen (14:25):
practices do you do every day to kind of keep this potency
alive?
Penny (14:32):
It's so hard, I'm not going to lie it is so, so hard
and as an entrepreneur, it's I'mtoo busy to do this, I'm too
busy to do that.
And when I do step away fromeverything be it a walk in the
woods, yoga, solo yoga,meditation in the morning,
(14:54):
journaling it blows my mind.
And it shouldn't surprise me,but it always does remind me
that, wow, I have a whole otherset of creativity going on that
I can't access because I keepsaying I'm too busy or I keep on
this grind.
But when you step away from allof that, it's natural.
(15:19):
It just comes naturally it'snatural.
Jen (15:23):
It just comes naturally.
There was a lot on your websiteas I was doing my research for
this show and I just screamed atme, yearning for more than the
ordinary.
Yeah, I mean, you put thatright on your website.
Why is that such a value foryou?
Where do you see peoplestopping?
Penny (15:38):
It's fear-based, it's a sense of worthiness.
I so come from that.
I have no problem sharing avery personal story.
I don't come from a travelingfamily at all.
I didn't get on a plane until Iwas 18.
And then I didn't really traveluntil I was 21.
My first trip was to Italy.
Not a lot of money growing upand abusive.
I'm actually estranged from mybirth mother, so self-worth is
(16:00):
something I've struggled with myentire life.
I think like one of my earliestmemories was wanting more.
That I knew, not that I wasn'thappy with what I had, but I
knew that there was potentialout there.
Fortunately, I had a great setof friends at a young age, so
you know, who came from goodhomes and their parents were
great influences.
I spent a lot of time in thosehomes, so I was seeing this,
(16:22):
like you know, and one familywas British.
They had accents Like it wasthis foreign, like otherness, if
you will, and I wanted theotherness in my life.
So I always desired somethingmore, maybe to my detriment, to
be honest, it's you know what'saround that corner, what's over
that hill, but it's fed and the,the desire to see more of the
(16:45):
world is fed, the desire to domore and um, and I don't want to
say I don't have a fear offailure, I do.
I think.
You know, even with my stores,it's not a great time right now
in retail.
It's actually really difficultfor small business and I think
to myself if this doesn't work,what will people think?
Yeah, but then I have to remindmyself that, like I tried, yeah
(17:08):
.
The alternative would have beenstill working in corporate, you
know, having small talk around acooler, not sitting here with
you having this beautiful,meaningful conversation.
And if it doesn't work, I tried.
Yeah.
And I'd rather that than not.
Jen (17:23):
I just got chills when you said that, penny, because I know
there's a lot of womenentrepreneurs that listen to the
show.
That's the, the narrative weall have.
Like I hear that in my head too, you know.
But yeah, I tried at least Itried.
Penny (17:37):
I like to ask myself what's the alternative.
Jen (17:40):
Yeah.
Penny (17:41):
You know, and when you really reflect on that question,
you realize that this is whatI'd want to be doing stuff.
Jen (18:02):
It's not more things, it's not the next level.
What's this life that I canlead that's somewhat
unconventional, that gives mepermission to do things a little
differently?
Yeah, do you think that we areon the cusp of a revolution here
?
Penny (18:12):
I think we're on the cusp of a revolution.
I honestly and I fun fact,somebody just told me this and I
don't know where just told methis and I don't know where.
I can't quote where it camefrom that young women are
following us now.
So our followers are actuallyyoung girls.
They're tired of the filteredworld.
(18:34):
They're tired of the whateverit is they're seeing on their
instagrams.
They want to follow women ourage who are doing things like
this.
That's the cool factor, that'sthe inspiration, that's the and
there's a lot of us right nowand we're a very unspoken to
demographic who are finding ourvoices.
(18:54):
Look out, yeah, and we'respeaking up and we want to be
heard and we want.
We also want to be spoken tofrom a, a marketing perspective
too.
They're missing thisdemographic.
You're hearing all this stuffabout perimenopause and
menopause and we're not ourmother's 49-year-old.
When I look at a picture of mymom when she was 49, we are very
(19:16):
different looking.
We're more youthful, we're moreactive, we're taking better
care of ourselves, we'rehealthier and we want more than
the ordinary.
Yeah, I think it's amazing thatthese young girls are looking
to this now and not that.
Jen (19:32):
Well, Penny, if people want to come for a Grit and Grace
retail clothing experience, canyou just share where your stores
are located so people know?
Penny (19:39):
So we have a seasonal store.
The first store was SolvilleBeach.
That opens actually thisweekend.
Long weekend closesthanksgiving, so it's a summer
store fast and furious.
Uh guelph was the second store.
That's at 24 wilson uh streetin guelph downtown and then 170
ozington street in toronto.
Jen (19:56):
That's the newest and great , immersive experiences for
people to you know, gain, gainnew perspectives, push their
comfort zone, try on clothes andfeel the confidence.
Yeah, thank you for being here.
Penny (20:08):
Thank you for having me.
Yeah, amazing.
Jen (20:10):
It's been a joy.
Thank you for joining us.
Don't forget to follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn, where we
transform the wisdom from ourpodcast into practical tips,
tools and takeaways for yourleadership journey.
Find us at gritgracepodcast.
See you next week.
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