Breaking Free to Chase Your Dreams

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There are some people that make their
work just another thing they have to do,

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and there are those that make their
work something that they want to do.

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Welcome to Working on Purpose with your
host Elise Cortes. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration from those
people who have found deeper meaning and

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personal connection to their work life.
It's beyond nine to five. It's working

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on Purpose. Now Here is your
host, Elise Cortes. Welcome back to

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the Working on Purpose Show. Thanks
for tuning in again this week. I'm

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your host, Alise Cortez, joining
you live this week from Hermiston, Oregon,

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where I'm visiting family. If you've
been tuning in for a while,

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you know this program is all about
helping people create more meaningful and productive personal

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and work lives, and equipping leaders
inside organizations to cultivate meaning and purpose that

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elicits passion inspired contribution, innovation,
and persevering performance. So I talk with

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my guests to draw on their expertise
and share my own experience consulting speaking developing

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workforces across the globe. Every week. In these conversations, it is my

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intention that you drive value you can
immediately apply to your personal and work lives.

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So I invite you to listen in
from that vantage point, and it

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is my fervent hope that you come
alive with the possibility of living with passion,

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working on purpose, and are inspired
to discover for yourself just how big

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and fulfilling your life and work can
be. And if you do catch fire

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from anything you hear, reach out
and tell me about it I want to

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hear. You can email me at
a least at a least Coortes dot com

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or use the contactbe feature on my
website at Leastcortes dot com to message me.

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When you do reach out, tell
me how I can help. Whether

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you want to join the distribution list
to stay informed about these radio shows,

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you want to learn about joining a
catch fire online inspiration, accountability or mastermind

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community, or you want information on
my purpose driven leadership programs for individuals or

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companies. Happy to talk with you
about anything you need. Glad we're connected.

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Now back to the program with us
this week is Brandy Nice, an

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emerging speaker entering a new chapter of
her life, having recently begun her journey

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in helping and encouraging struggling individuals.
Brandy spent the next twenty years facing fears,

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overcoming personal obstacles, and improving her
self image. She has navigated a

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successful career in the finance industry.
Anne has discovered a bigger calling for herself

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in service of her one precious life
and all she's lived through so far.

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She is now utilizing her passion and
experiences to help facilitate healing and empower others

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to overcome their own fears, shame, doubt, and daily trials. She

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knows us today from Mason, Texas. Brandy, Welcome to Working on Purpose.

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Hello there, it is so great
to have you with us, Brandy.

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I can't wait to share you and
what you're up to with our listeners.

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You have a very very unique story
with the intention of sharing it to

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really help your audience's access, hope, courage, and inspiration to pursue their

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happiness and really chase their dreams.
Of course I'm in for that, right.

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How can I say no to that? So let's talk about how we

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actually met. So I was out
I always like to tell our listeners how

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it is that my guests come into
our lives and ours. In our case,

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I think was really pretty magical.
So I was out speaking in Southern

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Texas on November two. I was
talking about passion, inspiration, purpose,

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purposetry, and leadership. And you
were in the audience that day. So

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first, let's just talk about for
you what happened for you. What was

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it about what we talked about that
seemed to grab you well? The Leadership

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launch. I was there that day, and I was actually hesitant to attend

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when a co worker asked me if
I'd like to go. At first,

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I thought no, I associated it
with management, which was not something that

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I wanted to pursue. But I
went and I was sitting in the audience

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that day, and you were the
first speaker, and I remember being drawn

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in by your enthusiasm, and I
just loved your perspective and your outlook on

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life. And I was just on
the edge of my seat listening to you

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talk. But I remember the moment
when the light bulb came on for me,

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and it was when you began to
differentiate between leaders and managers. And

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you asked, what if we lead
by looking for what's right and strong in

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someone, by looking for what lights
someone up, by empowering people and helping

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them find their purpose. And I
thought, this is it. I want

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to do this. I want to
live with this passion and I want to

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help others, and I just remember
being so excited. Oh you know,

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And I remember afterwards when I opened
the conversation up to the floor of I

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think it was like eighty five women
and said, so, you know,

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weigh in, when'd you get from
the conversation? You did say that you

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know you had gotten something from it, which I thought was beautiful. And

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I came up afterwards and asked you
if I could hug you because I just

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knew there was a connection there.
And I'll tell you, Brandy, when

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you then followed up with your communication
through LinkedIn and you told me what had

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transpired in your life, I like, I am not letting this woman go.

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She's up to something. And I
just was so blown away and moved

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by what you wrote. And we'll
talk a little bit about that here in

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just a second, but I just
really want to acknowledge you for being willing

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to come into that space be so
real, so so powerful, so authentic

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and frankly vulnerable. Well it's difficult, but having someone as encouraging and inspiring

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as yourself makes it that much easier. Well, I'll tell you you know

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you and I have talked about this
before. I want you. I want

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to I want you and any of
our listeners to understand that our interaction really

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is what inspired me to start my
nonprofit called Purpose on Fire, Because what

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I really understood, Brandy, is
that you were up to something. You

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were going to go out there on
a whole new journey and a limb of

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your life. And I was so
worried, Brandy, that you were so

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excited, and I so got that, and I was so afraid that if

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you went back into life without help, that that flame would get snuffed out,

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and that you wouldn't be able to
really make your dream come to fruition.

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And that's what Purpose on Fire does. It helps people who've who figured

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out their purpose to help them bring
it into the world and make it productive

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and meaningful and stick. And so
I want you to, I want you

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to always understand how much I appreciate
you for coming into my life. Well,

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thank you, It means a lot. Well, you're welcome, You're

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very welcome. It's a great relationship
that we've come in. It's just because

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the two of us were willing to
open our mouths and share right absolutely,

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and you know, I think we've
technically known each other just a little over

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two months, is that right?
That's right, And this relationship has become

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one, it has developed tremendously and
it's become one that I cherish because just

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in the short time that we've begun
to talk, I'm maintain focus. I'm

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able to chase those life goals and
it helps me put aside the normal self

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sabotage or any negative thoughts that tend
to sneak in. Yeah, and you

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know, we all need help.
And to that end, you know,

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when you think about what we go
through in a life, and I like

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to be able to position that those
difficulties, whether it's just difficulty focusing or

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whatever it might be, or actually
real adversity that happens to us. One

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of the things that I really appreciate. One of my guests that came before

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sometime last year, Steve Govatorta.
He talks about the importance of embracing adversity

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because it helps us become the people
were meant to become. And I really

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think there's something to that. And
you have gone through some atrocious adversity,

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and I really believe, Brandy that
the way you have navigated that the way

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that you have responded to that is
what has made you become who you are

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able you to be able to stand
in the space that you're in. So

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I want to be able to give
you the chance to be able to tell

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your story what happened to you about
eighteen nineteen years ago when you were about

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eighteen years old. And listeners,
when she does tell her story, please

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understand what she's about to share is
pretty tough to hear. So what it's

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important that she shares her story.
So Brandy, tell us what happened to

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you some eighteen nineteen years ago.
As you mentioned, I was eighteen years

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old. I had moved away from
home after high school for college. Growing

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up, I was a small town
girl. I grew up in a place

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where you didn't have to lock your
front doors. You left your keys in

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the ignition of your car. I'm
not saying it's smart, but I basically

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lived a sheltered life. And I
moved to the city for school and I

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was working at a bank. One
evening, I leaving work and I called

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my boyfriend who was at my apartment. He was making dinner for me that

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evening, and so I called to
let him know that I was wrapping up

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at work and I would be headed
his way. And so I walked out

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of the building and I got in
my truck and drove out of the parking

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garage and I made it about three
blocks. When I stopped at a red

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light, there was what I thought
to be nobody around, so you can

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imagine I was startled when there was
a knock on my window and two men

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were there. In a matter of
seconds, they were in my vehicle with

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me, and they had a gun. I will never forget the moment that

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the gun was put to my head
and the hammer was pulled back, and

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my body just went into shock.
My mind started ray. I started thinking

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what should I do? What can
I do? I saw no way out,

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and so I began to pray.
This moment is very It's one of

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those things that if you don't feel
it and you don't witness it, it's

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very hard to describe. But it's
remarkable to me, so I want to

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share this. When I prayed,
this warm sensation took over my body.

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It was like a warm bath,
and I felt it truly like a fire.

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It started at the top of my
head and it went down to my

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toes, and believe it or not, with that moment, there was this

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sense of clarity, and I knew
that I may see some very, very

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horrible things, but I believed at
that moment that I was going to come

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out alive, and so the tears
started flowing, no doubt, but mentally,

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I just began to prepare for the
fight of my life. The evening

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I spent the majority of it.
One would be driving, the other would

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have the gun, and he would
rate me. That's very harsh word,

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and it's a very harsh way to
put it. I understand that I just

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don't know how to sugarcoat what I
went through or what I saw. In

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addition to the assault, they showed
me gang initiation papers. In those papers,

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it detailed what they were supposed to
do, which was kidnapped, right

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rob and murder me period. I
took it in stride. I mean,

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what can you do? So I
just stayed focused, hoping that it would

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come to an end sooner than later. For the most part, they fulfilled

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that checklist. They took me to
a target in a Walmart where I was

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forced to purchase television's. One brother
would stay out in the truck with the

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gun while I would go inside and
the one outside would wait and make sure

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that we came out in a timely
manner, because if we didn't, he

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was prepared to kill my boyfriend.
It was nineteen ninety nine, so cell

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phones weren't all that common. I
had one, but I didn't carry it.

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So what I did have in my
vehicle was an address book. In

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there was family members and friends,
their names, their addresses, phone numbers,

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and they had access to that.
So anything that I did that evening,

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I did it willingly, not because
it was something that I wanted to

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do, but I did not want
anyone else to be harmed because of something

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I did or did not do.
So many things happened that evening. We

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were pulled over by a police officer. The guys I was told, obviously

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not to indicate anything was wrong or
the police officer myself would end up dead.

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So I sat and waited. As
they didn't provide driver's license, they

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gave conflicting information, and the police
officer honestly had no reason to let us

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go. I mean, you could
see this skepticism in his eyes as he

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was looking at the three of us, And I remember the passenger his hand

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going for the gun as the police
officer paused. But by the grace of

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God, he let us go because
little did he know, had he not,

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neither he nor I would be alive
to tell this story today. So

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this went on for hours. I
can't honestly tell you an exact time.

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I think I got off work about
eight that evening and I got home about

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two thirty in the morning. I
have no clue why they decided to let

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me go, other than I had
begged and pleaded for my life for a

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considerable amount of time. But when
they did finally release me, they drove

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south of town and pulled over on
a highway. They told me I was

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to not go to the cops.
I was to not change my routine because

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they would be watching me. They
ripped out pages of my address book to

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solidify this threat to the sphere.
They jumped out, and I drove home

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in shock, but I was relieved
it was over. Oh my gosh,

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Brandy, I don't even know how
you can actually just say all of those

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words that comprise that story. It's
just beyond anything anybody can imagine going through.

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You know, I suppose other people
have been through similar things. Or

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maybe even worse. I don't know, but wow, Brandy, I just

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really want to say thank you for
sharing it. So I mean the way

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that you just shared, I almost
felt like I was in the truck with

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you. So I know you did
press charges and I'll talk about that in

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just a second here, but first
I want to get to what did you

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learn about yourself in that one horrific
day. Well, for someone to truly

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comprehend what I learned about myself,
I think it is best to understand a

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little of who I was before.
Growing up. I was extremely shy.

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I was a very timid child who
literally cried at the drop of a hat.

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It didn't matter happy, mad,
sad, the tears fell, I

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walked with my head and shoulders down, not in shame, but genuinely in

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fear of rejection and disappointment, disbelief, all of those things. So I

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believed that my tears and my emotions
controlled me, and I lived with those

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self imposed restraints for as long as
I can remember. So on that horrible

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day, sure, my tears fell
just like they always did, but I

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realized it did not interfere with my
ability to fight. It became clear to

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me that my emotions did not hinder
me. My thoughts, my emotions,

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my reactions. Everything I did that
day saved me. I realized I'm not

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weak, I'm a survivor. And
how is it great? There's no way

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to describe that feeling. It was
amazing. That is just so worth the

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price of admission what you just said
there, And we'll talk more about that

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here in just a second, but
let's grab our first break. Brandy.

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I'm your host, Alie Cortes.
We run the air with Brandy Nice,

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an emerging speaker entering a new chapter
for life, having recently begun her journey

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and helping and encouraging struggling individuals.
She joined it today from Mason, Texas.

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We've been talking about her history and
what she's gone through here. After

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the break, we're going to talk
about her emotional journey and her ongoing development

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that's gotten or where she is today. Stay with us, We'll be right

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back. Alice Cortez is a speaker
and engagement and development catalyst. She designs

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00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:57.640
and delivers professional development, leadership and
engagement workshops and can bring her expertise to

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00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:03.839
your organization will help ignite meaningful development
within your workforce that will increase employee engagement,

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00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:07.920
performance and retention. To learn more
or to invite Elise to speak to

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00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:14.680
your organization, please visit her at
www dot Elisecortes dot com. She would

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00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:25.880
welcome the opportunity to help get your
employees working on purpose. This is working

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00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:30.720
on Purpose with elease Cortes. To
reach our program today, send an email

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00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:37.279
to a lease Alise at Aleasecortes dot
com. Now back to working on purpose.

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Thanks for staying with us, and
welcome back to working on purpose if

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you're just joining us. My guest
is Brandy Nice. She's an emerging speaker

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entering a new chapter of her life, having recently begun her journey and helping

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and encouraging struggling individuals. Brandy spent
the next twenty years facing fears, overcoming

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personal obstacles, and improving herself image
after an astrocious event in her late teens,

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she has navigated a successful career in
the finance industry has discovered a bigger

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calling for herself in service of her
one precious life and all she's lived through.

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She's now utilizing her passion and experiences
to help facilitate healing and empower others

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to overcome their own fears, shamed
out in daily trials. I'm your host

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atlist Fortez, So Brandy before the
break, you were sharing with us just

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really what you went through and what
you discovered about yourself, which is phenomenal

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to be able to stand in that
kind of power and understanding of just how

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amazing you as an individual can have
been your whole life and just didn't really

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know until that moment. For this
next segment, I want to focus on

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your emotional journey and the ongoing development
that you've been through since that event.

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Before we get into that, I
do want to surface that you did press

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charges against those two men, and
one of the things the detective handling your

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case told you was that your ability
to humanize yourself to these two men actually

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helped save your life. Can you
say a little bit more about that.

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Yes. Throughout the course of the
evening, everything that went on, no

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matter what it was, I attempted
to communicate with them. I told them

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about my parents and how much I
loved them and that I wanted to go

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home to see them. I told
them about my boyfriend, like I said,

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that was cooking dinner. I told
him how he was probably missing for

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missing me or even looking for me, even though it was a lie.

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I told them that I had no
hard feelings. I understood they had a

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job to do, but that if
they would let me go, I would

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forget this ever happened. I guess
I just wanted them to see me for

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who I was, which based was
a scared little girl who wanted to run

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home to mommy and daddy. And
I didn't want them to just see me

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as another check mark on their list. That is phenomenal, Brandy, that

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you had the presence one to draw
from frankly, your intellect, to be

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able to rationalize telling something like that
in such an even tone, and to

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bring yourself into an intimate space with
them where they could hear that from you.

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I just I think, if that's
not human, if that's not emotional

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intelligence on steroids, I just don't
know what is. And what's funny is

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if you would have asked me twenty
years ago, I would have thought that

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was me being weak, But like
you're saying, it's whatever emotions were in

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me. They just told me,
this is what you need to do well.

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And this is where we go back
to what you've been saying to me.

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That you really want to help your
audience is understand is the importance of

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mindset, right. It's just so
important how it is we situate things in

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our life. Who we are,
the events in our life. We and

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this is one of the things we
talked about in the conversation or the talk

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that I shared was we are the
ultimate creators of every part of meaning in

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our lives. We manufacture meaning and
everything that we do, so we get

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to decide what's what meaning a situation, a person or encounter is for us.

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Now, you have a different take
on your emotions than you did growing

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up. So you've said to me
that you were a very emotional child and

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that people just didn't know how to
take you or respond to your emotions when

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you're growing up. Will you say
a little bit about that. I mean,

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you've shared a couple of stories with
me, but tell us what you

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mean by that. Well, my
childhood was an emotional rollercoaster, no doubt,

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not because I went any through anything
horrendous or terrible, or because people

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weren't necessarily mean, but it's just
who I was. I remember at the

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age of four, when my cousin
used to come visit for the summer,

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he figured out that if he wanted
to make me cry, literally, all

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he had to do was point his
finger at me and I would burst into

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tears. And he thought that was
hilarious. That became the game that he

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played while he was there, and
that was just the standard. When I

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was at a young age. It
was funny to everybody. We got a

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good laugh out of it. But
then as I got older, it seemed

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to become more of an annoyance.
When I would cry. People would roll

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their eyes, not because they were
bullies or they just weren't emotional and they

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didn't understand me fully, which I
accept now. But it has taken a

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lot to get to this place.
I can only imagine, but I do

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want to surface some of that because
I really applaud of course, I'm a

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person. What do I do for
a living is I do help people discover

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their passion and purpose and I help
them really develop further into who they can

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and are meant to become. So
ongoing development is important for me. It's

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everything for me. And so after
that awful encounter of yours at the age

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of eighteen, tender age of eighteen, by the way, you set out

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to really put yourself on a path
to develop your confidence and self image and

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continue your journey of emotional development.
Can you share a little bit about what

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that path entailed. Yes, it
most definitely was not an overnight process.

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It was lengthy. It was catapulted
by the detective that we've talked about.

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We've talked about me pressing charges.
I went through with that, and I

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could not have asked for a more
amazing woman to assist me. It was

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during that time that she told me
how strong I was, and I thought,

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Okay, here's this woman who has
no idea who I was. She

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didn't know how emotional I was growing
up, or she just saw the demons

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that I faced, and she believed
me. She believed in me, and

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she stood by my side and battled
with me to fight these guys. And

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so it was in that moment that
I realized, Okay, here's this woman.

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She saw me as strong, and
I wanted to live up to that.

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I wanted other people to see me
as strong. So it led to

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me getting counseling where I received tips
for coping with anxiety, which I still

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have and I still use those techniques. Demolate rooms and warm baths. I

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had this unfamiliar sense of confidence,
and it required a daily focus to maintain

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it. These two men had had
control over a short period in my life,

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and I was determined that they were
not going to get a second more,

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and which I know, obviously I
can't maintain one hundred percent control of

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my life, but that was what
I wanted to aim for going forward,

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and so I went step by step. I started setting small goals which I

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adjusted as I achieved. I stayed
focused with the encouragement of my family and

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those around me, and basically,
through baby steps, I was able to

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define the person that I've become today. You're reminding me so much, Brandy,

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of my fascination with resilience an inquiry
around human development and well being certainly,

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and what I've always been fascinated with
with the idea of resilience in your

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showcasing it beautifully, is that where
you see young people develop resiliences, they

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might have really an atrocious upbringing or
have awful things happen and them like have

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happened to you. But if one
adult believes and sees that person as being

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worthy and seeing them for as strong, it makes all the difference in the

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world, and they can then in
that instance develop resilience. And it seems

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like that's what's happened for you.
Absolutely, I could not have fined it

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better. What a difference it makes. Well, So when I think about

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really all you've gone through, mean
what you your journey has, I think

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really produced a tremendous amount of insight
and wisdom in you, And I think

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that's going to be a very very
powerful contribution to your audiences as you continue

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speaking. You know, we all
go through awful, atrocious things. I

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hope that none of they're not on
the level that you've described for us.

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But it's how we respond to those
things. You and I talked about this,

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it's how we respond to these things
that really makes the difference. So

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when you're out speaking or even writing, I know you're writing articles as well,

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what is it that you're really trying
to impart to your audiences? What

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do you want them to get from
your story? Life is a beautiful thing,

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but it may not always be filled
with what we see as beauty.

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We all encounter hardships, struggles,
or difficulties quite often, and thankfully not

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everyone is going to see what I
have seen. But unfortunately there are people

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who have seen worse, much worse. I believe what it all boils down

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to is we're different individuals facing different
battles, but we have at least one

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thing in common. We have the
ability to choose how we react and how

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we move forward. Many people,
and including myself, especially myself, we

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have a tendency to become prisoners and
what is actually a prison that we have

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created all on our own. Did
I ask those men to do what they

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did to me? Absolutely not.
Do I believe that I deserve to be

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happy and to take advantage of my
one precious life. Yes I do,

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and so does everyone else. Well, that is incredible. And what I

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know about the world and why I'm
doing the work that I'm doing, Brandy,

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is I don't care where you are
in the world. You need inspiration,

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You need something to help you in
your journey to get where you want

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00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:49.880
to go next. And I think
that you are that guiding light for a

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lot of people. Unfortunately, a
lot of people in the world who desperately

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need to hear your message. Add
to think about the number of people out

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there that have been through something similar. But I truly hope that whether it

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be sharing or listening or whatever it
may be. I just hope they can

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find a piece of happiness and a
piece of hope. Oh. I think

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that they can. If when you're
in front of them, or whether you're

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speaking or writing to them, I
think they can. And on that note,

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let's grab our our last break.
I'm ELISEE Cortez, your host Moving

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00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:34.359
in the Air with Brandy Nice.
She's an emerging speaker entering a new chapter

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00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:38.440
of her life, having recently begun
her journey and helping and encouraging struggling individuals

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00:30:40.039 --> 00:30:41.960
today from Mason, Texas. After
the break, we're going to hear more

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00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:45.079
about her writing and speaking platform.
Stay with us, we'll be right back.

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00:30:56.279 --> 00:31:02.000
Alis Cortez is a speaker and engagement
and development catalyst. She designs and

370
00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:07.599
delivers professional development, leadership and engagement
workshops and can bring her expertise to your

371
00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:12.039
organization. She will help ignite meaningful
development within your workforce that will increase employee

372
00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:17.559
engagement, performance and retention. To
learn more or to invite Elise to speak

373
00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:22.119
to your organization, please visit her
at www dot Elisecortes dot com. She

374
00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:33.119
would welcome the opportunity to help get
your employees working on purpose. This is

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00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:38.119
Working on Purpose with Elise Cortes.
To reach our program today, send an

376
00:31:38.119 --> 00:31:45.519
email to a lease Alic at Aleasecortes
dot com. Now back to working on

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00:31:45.599 --> 00:32:00.079
Purpose. Thanks for steeing with us, and welcome back to working on Purpose.

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00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:02.640
If you're just tuning in. My
guest is Brandy Niece. She's an

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00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:07.279
emerging speaker entering a new chapter of
her life, having recently begun her journey

380
00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:12.079
and helping and encouraging struggling individuals.
Brandy spent the next twenty years of her

381
00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:15.680
life after an atrocious event, facing
fears, overcoming personal obstacles, and improving

382
00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:20.480
her self image. She has navigated
a successful career in the finance industry and

383
00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:23.400
has discovered a bigger calling for herself
in service of her one precious life and

384
00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:28.759
all she's lived through. She's now
utilizing her passionate experiences to help facilitate healing

385
00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:31.640
and empower others to overcome their own
fears, shame, doubt, and daily

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00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:36.880
trials. I'm your host, Alice
Cortes, So, Brandy, for this

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next segment here, I wanted to
really showcase how you've really stepped out into

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a new place in your life,
and I just so applaud this, and

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you said when we began speaking that
you just you wanted to not to stop

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being shamed, ashamed of your own
life and your story and share it because

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you recognize that when you did share
it, not only did it help yourself,

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but it would help others. I
maybe have gone through something similar,

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and I just think that is such
a gift, and it really is standing

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in purpose. So can you help
us understand what's it like to be working

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from a place of purpose? Well, for so long I took pride in

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what I consider to be achievements,
and yes, I've come leaps and bounds

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from where I was. But then
just in the short couple of months that

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where we've been visiting, it's unbelievable
how much my mood has changed and my

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00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:37.799
outlook on life is altered in a
great way. And I know it may

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00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:42.240
sound corny, but I feel like
my body is on fire in a good

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00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:45.839
way. I wake up in the
morning and I'm ready to get out of

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00:33:45.880 --> 00:33:50.039
bed, and I'm energized, and
I'm motivated and I'm excited and I'm just

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00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:54.480
ready to chase my dreams and help
others. How beautiful is that? Right?

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00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:59.880
I mean That's why I think it's
so important Brandia to go after It's

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00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:02.960
worth digging for our purpose. It's
worth going to go look for it and

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00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:08.079
growing it because it does give us
that fire and that zest and that passion,

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00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:13.400
and it also gives us this crazy
confidence to do things that we wouldn't

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00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:17.079
otherwise think we should be doing,
like sharing our story and right, it's

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00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:24.960
amazing the power of purpose. Absolutely, I'm on top of making me a

410
00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:30.559
happier person. And I've been told
by friends, you know, they can

411
00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:34.400
see this renewed sense of passion on
my face. So not only does it

412
00:34:34.440 --> 00:34:37.760
make me happy, but it makes
those around me happy well. And that's

413
00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:39.880
one of the things that I say, and I've even got on my website,

414
00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:45.280
Brandy, is that this whole thing
about purpose is one it makes us

415
00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:50.440
a much more fulfilled person an individual, But then it just cascades to everybody

416
00:34:50.480 --> 00:34:54.000
we touched, and so our immediate
loved ones, our families, our significant

417
00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:59.039
others, and then into our communities, certainly our employers, whoever else we

418
00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:01.760
serve in terms of our client as
the community at large, and really the

419
00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:06.039
ripple effect can go into the state
in the nation. I mean, it's

420
00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:12.440
incredible. What happens when we work
from purpose? Absolutely, So what about

421
00:35:12.440 --> 00:35:15.280
that immediate family for you? What
about your kids? Are you showing up

422
00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:21.320
differently for your kids? Then what
do they see? Well? Until now,

423
00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:28.119
I guess I didn't realize how volatile
my mood was. I was so

424
00:35:28.239 --> 00:35:32.880
driven and focused on this self improvement, making myself a better person. I

425
00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:38.480
wanted to heal, but my highs
were really high and my lows were really

426
00:35:38.519 --> 00:35:44.320
low, even just a few months
ago. But now when setbacks happen,

427
00:35:44.679 --> 00:35:50.519
they don't rattle me like they did
before. And my kids have certainly noticed.

428
00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:54.519
Something will happen, milk will spill, or a mishap will happen,

429
00:35:54.679 --> 00:35:59.800
and they'll look at me and I'll
just smile and they think, who is

430
00:35:59.880 --> 00:36:04.559
this lady? And I mean,
I've always felt confident as a mother,

431
00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:08.119
not perfect by any means, but
confident. I worked really hard to keep

432
00:36:08.159 --> 00:36:13.800
my healing process separate. But I
guess I just didn't realize how transparent I

433
00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:19.000
was with them. And so it's
a good feeling for them to see the

434
00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:22.559
happiness and it to rub off on
them. That is so great. What

435
00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:25.239
I'm hearing and what you're saying,
brand is it just seems like things are

436
00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:29.960
just more of an even keel,
still high, but more of an even

437
00:36:30.079 --> 00:36:32.960
keel. Is that what you're saying, Yes exactly, Yeah, yeah,

438
00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:37.239
that is so great. What a
gift. You know, this this purpose

439
00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:38.800
thing, and you know, it's
funny everyone and when want to go out

440
00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:43.519
and talk about what it is that
I do and people sometimes, in fact,

441
00:36:43.519 --> 00:36:45.880
I've had people say I just don't
get it. I don't get it.

442
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:47.760
I'm like, I understand it's not
for everybody, but if you get

443
00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:52.960
it, it really can make all
the difference in your life. Absolutely,

444
00:36:52.519 --> 00:36:59.920
you're just you feel like you can
do anything when you're filled with this excite

445
00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:04.559
and this passion. Yeah, and
you know, that's where we start to

446
00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:07.480
make a difference. And so that's
where when you know, I don't remember

447
00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:09.320
members talking about this in the talk
that I gave to your group, but

448
00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:14.960
that's when we really become pretty irresistible. It's really hard to resist somebody who's

449
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:17.760
passionate about what they're what they're doing
and what they're saying. It's hard to

450
00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:21.920
go, yeah, not really any
one to opt out of that, right,

451
00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:25.719
It's just hard to resist that.
So absolutely, and you think about

452
00:37:27.199 --> 00:37:30.159
somebody gave me this analogy. Okay, so there's a bowl of fruit,

453
00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:34.199
and when you have that one piece
of fruit that's not good, it tends

454
00:37:34.239 --> 00:37:37.960
to rub off. But I mean
it's the same thing with happiness, though,

455
00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:42.119
like let's put a positive spin on
it. If you're happy and you're

456
00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:47.199
doing something good, that rubs off
too, no doubt, And to that,

457
00:37:47.559 --> 00:37:50.880
absolutely, that's why I do the
work that I do for sure.

458
00:37:52.039 --> 00:37:54.199
In fact, I'll just say really
quickly, and we talk about one precious

459
00:37:54.239 --> 00:38:00.559
life. You know, I just
literally a few days ago my past and

460
00:38:00.599 --> 00:38:04.199
it was good, she was ready. But it also really brings into bear

461
00:38:04.840 --> 00:38:07.440
that we really do just have one
precious life. And I got to do

462
00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:13.199
the eulogy, Brandy, and to
be able to bear witness to the magnificence

463
00:38:13.199 --> 00:38:16.480
of my mother's seventy three years was
fantastic. But that it goes back to

464
00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:21.079
what's the lens you want to put
on this, right, And a eulogy

465
00:38:21.159 --> 00:38:24.679
is, by its definition, a
good story, and I think everybody benefits

466
00:38:24.719 --> 00:38:30.679
from a good story. Absolutely.
That makes me think about one of your

467
00:38:30.679 --> 00:38:34.480
guests on your show, The Green
Burial. Forgive me, I can't remember

468
00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:37.400
her name, I do. It's
Elizabeth Fournier. I talked to her when

469
00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:39.199
I was when I was up here
in Oregon. She's I told her what

470
00:38:39.239 --> 00:38:44.519
was going on. Yes, she's
magnificent. Yes, and she encouraged the

471
00:38:44.599 --> 00:38:50.199
listeners to write their own eulogy.
And what have you done to this point?

472
00:38:50.280 --> 00:38:52.920
And it just makes you want to
do more so you have more to

473
00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:57.320
tell? Well, And that's right. And to that end, I want

474
00:38:57.360 --> 00:39:00.280
to get to what it is that
you're conveying to your writing to And we

475
00:39:00.320 --> 00:39:04.760
talked about you say that this is
not easy, that life is not easy,

476
00:39:04.880 --> 00:39:08.079
you will encounter hardships and obstacles.
But there's no part of your message

477
00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:12.199
that I think is really important and
I'd love for you to expand just a

478
00:39:12.239 --> 00:39:15.559
little bit on it. But it's
the notion of healing from trauma and the

479
00:39:15.599 --> 00:39:19.519
hope that comes along with that.
Will you say more about about that and

480
00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:24.519
why it's so important for you to
share that message? Yes. As you

481
00:39:24.559 --> 00:39:30.239
said, I don't want anyone to
feel like I believe it's a simple concept.

482
00:39:30.519 --> 00:39:35.280
I don't, by any means think
that someone is going to hear this

483
00:39:35.440 --> 00:39:38.719
story and they're going to immediately just
turn over a new leaf and be happy.

484
00:39:38.800 --> 00:39:44.360
Forever. I mean, I can
hope that that's their happiness. Is

485
00:39:44.400 --> 00:39:50.079
that simple, But I'm realistic,
so I know from experience that there's nothing

486
00:39:50.119 --> 00:39:55.440
easy about it. It involves learning
to love yourself, believing in who you

487
00:39:55.480 --> 00:40:01.039
are and who you can be.
It involves retraining the way you think in

488
00:40:01.159 --> 00:40:07.800
terms of accepting and responding to adversity. And it includes surrounding yourself with encouragers

489
00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:15.000
and uplifters. And finally, it
means maintaining focus, which is difficult to

490
00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:20.760
do as we've mentioned. And as
much as I would love to be a

491
00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:23.760
mentor or volunteer, I can't do
that for every single person that I encounter.

492
00:40:24.239 --> 00:40:30.800
But I really hope that in sharing
my story, individuals will find commonalities

493
00:40:30.880 --> 00:40:36.039
that give them a needed reassurance that
they can do the same, even if

494
00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:39.199
their situation isn't exactly the same.
I hope they can take that core concept.

495
00:40:40.320 --> 00:40:45.800
Most importantly, I just want anyone
and everyone who is struggling to know

496
00:40:45.920 --> 00:40:51.880
there is hope out there. I
got so present to something as you were

497
00:40:51.920 --> 00:40:54.880
speaking, Brandy, and that was
that you know, when somebody hears maybe

498
00:40:54.880 --> 00:40:59.760
a message just slightly differently than they
had before, like maybe you heard when

499
00:40:59.800 --> 00:41:04.239
I was speaking about there was between
management and leadership. It just was an

500
00:41:04.280 --> 00:41:07.840
opening, right. I got the
idea that you standing when you're out speaking

501
00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:12.480
to new audiences as you do,
and when they are reading your articles and

502
00:41:12.519 --> 00:41:15.880
they realize that here's someone who's gone
through something really atrocious like maybe I have.

503
00:41:16.039 --> 00:41:19.599
Like they might be thinking this is
kind of like what I went through.

504
00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:23.800
And she's standing in front of me
and she's helping me up. It's

505
00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:28.440
like there's a thread of connection.
Now they're connected to you. It's like

506
00:41:28.480 --> 00:41:30.679
you're giving them a bolt of energy
and saying, look, I'm giving you

507
00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:34.079
a hand up, just like the
detective did for you. That's what I'm

508
00:41:34.119 --> 00:41:37.679
getting. Want to hear you talk, That's all I could hope for that.

509
00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:44.360
That would be a dream come true. Wow, well, you're already

510
00:41:44.360 --> 00:41:47.719
out there doing it. You're already
starting to share your message, and you've

511
00:41:47.760 --> 00:41:54.000
got articles you've submitted out for admission, and so you know, we talked

512
00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:57.760
before about Yeah, you could be
a volunteer, you could be a mentor,

513
00:41:57.800 --> 00:42:00.639
and that will certainly help. But
why do you think this work as

514
00:42:00.639 --> 00:42:04.360
a speaker and a writer is so
important in the world for you? From

515
00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:10.719
your vantage point well, from a
personal standpoint, it has been and continues

516
00:42:10.760 --> 00:42:17.639
to be a very vital part of
my healing and learning process. As for

517
00:42:17.920 --> 00:42:24.320
the impact or importance to the rest
of the world, no one will ever

518
00:42:24.440 --> 00:42:30.760
truly know just how a message will
be received, whether it's speaking or writing,

519
00:42:30.480 --> 00:42:36.199
until it's shared, and until you
see that reaction, and as you

520
00:42:36.280 --> 00:42:38.039
and I have talked about that message
you share, it may not be for

521
00:42:38.119 --> 00:42:45.719
everyone. However, I believe when
you share your message, in my case,

522
00:42:45.760 --> 00:42:50.480
it's a message of happiness or hope, a message of healing or even

523
00:42:50.639 --> 00:42:57.079
just improving self image or giving yourself
the confidence needed to chase your dreams.

524
00:42:57.639 --> 00:43:02.480
Well, it then gives even just
a handful of people of voice, and

525
00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:07.920
that's that's so worth the effort,
and that's exactly what I hope to do.

526
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.800
So I have two thoughts to that, two reactions. One is more

527
00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:19.639
seriously, one is much more lighthearted. So first I'll say that in my

528
00:43:20.239 --> 00:43:23.920
work, I'm constantly reading and devouring
and literature around my world around purpose,

529
00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:30.880
well being, inspiration, passion,
purpose and Aaron Hurst is well known for

530
00:43:30.960 --> 00:43:34.920
his work in the purpose space,
and he says that for something to qualify

531
00:43:34.960 --> 00:43:37.000
as a purpose, it has to
have three components to it. One,

532
00:43:37.360 --> 00:43:43.880
whatever you're doing has to be in
service of someone or some ones much bigger

533
00:43:43.960 --> 00:43:45.880
than you, and you're certainly doing
that when you go out and speak.

534
00:43:46.480 --> 00:43:52.000
Two, in the in the act
of providing your or being in step with

535
00:43:52.039 --> 00:43:55.800
your purpose, you are personally growing
yourself, which you said just before.

536
00:43:57.599 --> 00:44:02.760
And three in so doing, you
are creating a community. And I think

537
00:44:02.800 --> 00:44:06.400
that if you look at what you're
up to here, Brandy, then you're

538
00:44:06.440 --> 00:44:08.639
according to Aaron Hurst, and I
would agree with him, you are absolutely

539
00:44:08.679 --> 00:44:15.400
living and working from purpose. That
the word community that's so important to me

540
00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:22.840
because I think I just want to
provide an environment where these struggling individuals feel

541
00:44:22.880 --> 00:44:30.639
comfortable to come together and heal and
grow and live on purpose. As we've

542
00:44:30.679 --> 00:44:34.360
been talking about. Well, the
second thing that I was going to say

543
00:44:34.400 --> 00:44:37.679
that came to mind, that's a
little bit more and more jovial, if

544
00:44:37.679 --> 00:44:40.679
you will is It reminds me too
of a joke that one of my favorite

545
00:44:40.679 --> 00:44:45.360
authors likes to talk about, and
he talks about how this gentleman hops in

546
00:44:45.400 --> 00:44:47.960
this cab and he tells the cab
driver, hurry up, step on it,

547
00:44:49.000 --> 00:44:52.079
go as fast as you can and
the cap driver says, where are

548
00:44:52.079 --> 00:44:55.920
you going? He goes, it
doesn't matter. I needed everywhere. Isn't

549
00:44:55.960 --> 00:45:01.960
that great? Unfortunately, Brandy,
you're needed everywhere. You know you are,

550
00:45:02.079 --> 00:45:07.000
You're needed everywhere. Right, you
get in the cabin and you tell

551
00:45:07.039 --> 00:45:12.719
them to step on it because you've
got places to go. So I'm going

552
00:45:12.760 --> 00:45:15.559
to use that. Isn't that great? I mean, it's just it's important

553
00:45:15.599 --> 00:45:19.800
that as we talk about such a
serious topic that we can also recognize that

554
00:45:19.840 --> 00:45:25.719
there's still room for humor in this
space. So as we come to a

555
00:45:25.760 --> 00:45:29.360
close of the show, Brandy,
I don't you you know, because we've

556
00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:30.320
talked about it, and you've heard
some of my other episodes, but I

557
00:45:30.360 --> 00:45:34.519
always like to give my guests the
last word. And you've already shared so

558
00:45:34.719 --> 00:45:37.000
much with us. But what else
would you like to leave with our listeners

559
00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:43.840
as a parting thought? Well,
I'm one of those that likes to scroll

560
00:45:43.880 --> 00:45:47.440
through the internet and I find inspirational
quotes that keep me going, and I

561
00:45:47.519 --> 00:45:52.119
found one that was perfect to share. I'm not taking credit for it by

562
00:45:52.119 --> 00:45:57.679
any means, but I thought it
was just great. So miracles start to

563
00:45:57.800 --> 00:46:01.639
happen when you give as much inner
to your dreams as you do to your

564
00:46:01.679 --> 00:46:07.840
fears. Isn't that awesome? I
mean, if you think about everything that

565
00:46:07.880 --> 00:46:13.000
you do, every task, every
emotion, everything that you do has it

566
00:46:13.079 --> 00:46:15.920
involves energy, and so why not
use that energy to do something great?

567
00:46:17.039 --> 00:46:22.280
That is a fantastic way to finish. Brandy, Thank you so much,

568
00:46:22.320 --> 00:46:25.360
wow, and thank you again for
coming into my life, letting me be

569
00:46:25.400 --> 00:46:30.000
part of yours, and for going
out and doing the work that you're doing

570
00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:35.880
to share your story with audiences and
readers who desperately need to hear your story

571
00:46:35.920 --> 00:46:39.559
and be uplifted by hope and the
possibility to really chase their dreams. Thank

572
00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:43.960
you for joining us and sharing as
you have. Thank you, Thank you

573
00:46:44.039 --> 00:46:47.199
for the spark that you've created in
my life and for continuing to support me.

574
00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:52.840
It's an honor and a privilege,
Brandy. If you want to contact

575
00:46:52.840 --> 00:46:55.360
Brandy needs to invite her to speak
to your group, reach her via email.

576
00:46:55.400 --> 00:47:00.480
What's the best way to email you, Brandy, I'll spell it out.

577
00:47:00.960 --> 00:47:07.880
It's b r a n d y
dot n dot n e e ce

578
00:47:08.719 --> 00:47:15.679
at gmail dot com. One more
time, Brandy, b r A n

579
00:47:15.880 --> 00:47:22.639
d y dot n dot n e
e ce at gmail dot Com awesome great

580
00:47:22.679 --> 00:47:25.320
listeners. If you want to reach
her, to engage her in conversation to

581
00:47:25.360 --> 00:47:29.840
our inviter to speak, that's the
best way to find her. As to

582
00:47:30.039 --> 00:47:31.719
programs last week, if you missed
the show, you can always catch a

583
00:47:31.880 --> 00:47:35.639
re record a podcast. We were
on the air with Sean Anderson. He

584
00:47:35.719 --> 00:47:38.840
is a number one ranked motivational author, unlimited thinker, and lifetime entrepreneur with

585
00:47:38.880 --> 00:47:43.840
a history of inspiring others. We
kicked off twenty nineteen by talking about the

586
00:47:43.880 --> 00:47:46.920
importance and glee of pursuing your next
the next thing in your life that has

587
00:47:46.960 --> 00:47:50.920
you bolting out of bed in the
morning, running strong after your dream.

588
00:47:51.239 --> 00:47:53.599
What you can do to make sure
that next actually comes to fruition. Next

589
00:47:53.639 --> 00:47:58.639
week, we'll be on the air
with Rachel Klizold talking about her ability to

590
00:47:58.960 --> 00:48:04.079
take something from our lives from trauma
and bring it into the space of healing

591
00:48:04.440 --> 00:48:07.400
and the magic that comes with that. Remember that work is a one third

592
00:48:07.440 --> 00:48:15.440
of our life, So let's work
on purpose. We hope you've enjoyed this

593
00:48:15.519 --> 00:48:20.400
week's program. Be sure to tune
in to Working on Purpose featuring your host

594
00:48:20.440 --> 00:48:25.480
Alis Cortes each week on the Voice
America Empowerment channel this week. Find your

595
00:48:25.559 --> 00:48:46.800
life's purpose at work.