Celebrating Christmas and Hanukah in a Life and Work of Joy

WEBVTT

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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 Cortez. In our

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

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

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working on Purpose. Now Here is
your host, Elise Cortez. I'm your

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host, Elise Cortez to an EULI
from Dallas, Texas, which is home

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base for me. I've been tuning
in for a while. You know.

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This program is all about helping people
create more meaningful and productive personal work lives

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and equipping leaders inside organizations to cultivate
meaning and purpose to elicit passion inspired contribution,

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innovation, and persevering performance. I
talk with my guests to draw out

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their experience and share my own experience
consulting, speaking and developing workforces across the

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globe. In these weekly conversations,
it is my intention that you derive value

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you can immediately apply to your personal
and work lives. So I invite you

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to listen in from that vantage point, and it is my fervent hope that

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you come alive with the possibility of
living with passion, working on purpose and

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seeing just how big and fulfilling your
life and work can be. And if

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you do catch fire, as I
like to say, I don't want to

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leave you hanging without a support line. Your call to action is to contact

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me via email. Might as well
write it down now, it's a lease

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at a lease coortz dot com.
Or use the contact me feature on my

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website at least coortes dot com to
message me and then tell me how I

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can help you. Whether you want
to join the attribution list to stay informed

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with these radio show topics, you
want to learn about joining a catch fire

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online inspiration, accountability or mastermind community, or you want information on my purpose

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driven leadership programs for individuals and companies
will get you taken care of. Back

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to the content with us this week
is Sherry Schwartz, co owner of the

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Carpetmaven in Woodbridge and Machuchen, New
Jersey with her husband Leon. Sherry is

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the author of Are You Love,
a Book now available in kindle and paperback

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formats on Amazon. In this special
holiday program, we'll be talking about her

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unique spin and celebration of Christmas and
Hanka her work as a decorator in window

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dressing and flooring and just what she
loves about it and her recently released book,

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Are You Love? She's today from
Woodbridge, New Jersey. Sherry,

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Welcome to Working on Purpose. Thank
you very much. I am so excited

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to be with you. Well,
I'm so glad that I was able to

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find you and that universe brought you
to me. Thanks thanks to Marissa.

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And you know, this show for
me, basically because it's airing on Christmas

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Day, is meant to be a
celebration of the holidays as well as still

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how does it connect with the rest
of our lives. So I think we

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have a lot to talk about here, and it's the season to be joy

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joyous and jolly, and I think
that's totally you, Sherry. You are

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a joyous and jolly person. So
let's start by talking about the holidays,

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how you celebrate them, what they
mean to you, and in your particular

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case, you have a very unique
take on holidays because of your unique filmo

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dynamic that anchors you into both holidays. Tell us what I mean by that.

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I know what it means, but
you tell us well, thank you.

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I'm married to a wonderful Jewish man
who on Sunday will be thirty four

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years. So you know, it's
not fair to just celebrate one holiday.

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We need to celebrate both holidays,
and we celebrate Hanka and we celebrate Christmas.

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I you know, I'm very very
much into decorating and for the holidays

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outside, inside everything else. And
I'm probably about twenty years ago, I

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went shopping and I bought a second
Christmas tree and my husband goes, you

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know, what is that and runaway. I had to think really quickly,

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and I said, it's a Hanika
trade. And I went and I started

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decorating with Christmas ornaments and he said, he goes, whoa, whoa who.

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I thought it was supposed to be
a Christmas tree. Well, I

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took the Christmas tree ornaments off and
I started to come up with some Honika's

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stuff, except twenty years ago,
I couldn't find Hanika ornaments. So I

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had to make things, and about
fifty things on the fifty percent of the

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things on the tree are homemade by
me, because you know, I said

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Hanaka trait, and I had to
come up with Ronica ornaments for him.

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Okay, now back up a little
bit here. This is such a great

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dynamic and it's a person who loves
diversity and inclusion. So you told me

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on the phone when we first spoke
that you're Catholic, your husband's Jewish.

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Do you each attend your own respective
services? Still? Uh, you know

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what I wish I could say,
we do? No, No, we

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we we are spiritually, but we
don't. We don't you know, practice

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the every week thing. We just
we're both happy with with living our life

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and treating everybody, you know,
just in the in the way that we

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are treated, and you know,
we learn to live our life. We

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thank you and which I think that
that, you know, that kind of

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we gave that that thought to our
daughter. Also, Oh, I think

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that's beautiful. I think that's gorgeous. What a great way to start this

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conversation, especially around the holidays.
Yeah, okay, so let's talk about

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both the holidays, Sherry. So
first, what does Christmas mean to you?

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Oh? My god, Christmas to
me is the lights, is the

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decorations. It's the preparation all year
for me. You know, Sherry's making

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callmade Christmas cards all throughout the year. Sherry's making decorations, reefs. I

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mean, you know, this is
this is what my life you know,

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revolves around. I like decorating.
I like to show it. I you

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know, before Thanksgiving, I'm preparing
so that my house is decorated for Thanksgiving,

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with the Christmas dishes, with the
trees up and everything else. It's

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just it's a super super time of
the year. Oh my gosh. So

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it's no surprise to me, as
I said in the beginning that you would

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be pretty much celebrating throughout the year
by making cards. Now for me.

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Funny you say cards, Sherry,
that's my thing. I'd say that's the

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one thing that anchors me in Christmas
is every year I write an annual ketchup

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a note letter, if you will, to everyone that's on my list,

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and include that with a card.
Now and then I write a little bit

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of handwritten something on that particular card
to that person. Now. The bad

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news is my handwriting is terrible,
and I'll usually get a few phone calls

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toward the end of the year saying, hey, Leys, thanks very much,

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I got your card. What did
it say? Well, I have

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to be honest with you. I
do the letters, and sometimes they think,

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like, really, who cares about
you know, what's going on in

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our life. But do you know
how many people throughout the years say that

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they wait to get that. And
I started getting my Christmas cards already and

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people are writing on there. I
can't wait to hear what's going on all

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year so I can catch up on
Morrisson and you and land in the business

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and you know, whatever else is
going on. So people do want to

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know what's going on. I think
it's great. I do too, And

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that's exactly what I hear too.
People say you write the best Christmas updates.

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I'm like, great, I'll keep
them coming. Okay, well,

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now it is fun. It's fun. It's a labor of love too,

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So think back on your whole year. I do absolutely. In fact,

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I make a note of what all
do I want to say and what do

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I want to share and all that
good stuff. So thatsolutely that's my focus

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for Christmas. Now what about Hanakah
for you? What does that mean to

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you? Well, for Haniko we
go. We have the Hanikah tree which

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is about five and a half feet
and you know it's all lit up.

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I have all white lights on the
tree and I have blue and silver balls.

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I have all homemade bows. I
have dradles that I've that I've actually

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am very talented with a glue gun
and I'm putting bows on the dradles that

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everything gets hung because you know,
they don't have things like this in the

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store. So you really have to
be creative when you want to do a

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Hanikah tree that's you know, over
five feet tall. I have found things

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that have been very creative. I
had my needle point ladies in the class

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about No. Twenty twenty years ago, nineteen years ago, where I said,

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I need help, how do I
make a Star David needle point?

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They came together, they wound up
coming out with patterns for me, and

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my tree is loaded with the the
Star David needle points. So you know,

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if there's a will, there's a
way Shari can get it done.

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I got that out to you,
my dear. I'm going to take just

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about a quarter of your energy and
add that to mine and I can do

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anything. Okay, just you know
you know what, to be honest with

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you, I just I'd like to
make people happy, you know, Hanka.

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We just went through the eight days, you know, the eight nights

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of celebrating I made sure I had
my Hanka plays my Hanka napkins. You

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know, we we licked the manure. We have Manny the manure, which

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which is a you know, cutesy
version Manura. It's just it's fun and

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every night there's a little different present. It's it's this is what life's about.

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Yes, let's let's talk really quick
about some of the things that you

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talked about it that might have some
significance. I know, I think what

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a draidl is, but I don't
understand its significance. It's actually to play

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a game with Okay, it's actually
it's it's actually to play a game that

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with the children, you know,
used to play a game. But I

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actually took the dradls and I and
I put bows on them and I actually

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put them on the tree and stuff. So anything you know that that signifies

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hanka, like they have guilt,
which is just coin. Usually it's a

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chocolate coin. You have ones that
are are you know, just little tin,

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ones that are blue mine or blue
you know. I've done that with

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the with the blue gun. Put
little bows on that. Got that on

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the tree also, So whatever you
know, anything that I could find and

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I will tell you back, like
twenty years ago, they didn't really have

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you know, teddy bears and little
cutesie things like they have now with little

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yamicas on. I used to use
caps from the milk containers and make little

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yamicas on, little teddy bears and
different things for the tree. So you

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know, crafty I had to be
over the years just to make my hoppy

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happy. Oh, I think that's
so beautiful. Well, okay, one

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more question about Hanka. Why silver
and blue? Why are those colors?

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What do they mean those? I
honestly, those are their colors. I

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don't really know you know it what
it signifies, But I just figured let

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me keep the tradition going. Every
time I post the pictures, I get

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all the lights, you know,
from from from the Jewish friends, from

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the Catholic friends. I'm okay,
I'm doing everything right. You know.

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I don't want to show anything that
it's Christmas. No reds, no greens.

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Were keeping the silver and the blue. Got that that's so gorgeous.

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I love that. Okay. I
want to talk a bit about how you

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celebrate the season. And I loved
the story and I want you to tell

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it again if you will, about
your husband hanging lights. But how do

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you all celebrate the season. Well, we we decorate a lot. We

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really do decorate a lot. You
have to understand when you marry somebody who

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never celebrated Christmas before, they get
very excited, you know, this Christmas

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tree of Christmas lights on the house
and stuff. And my poor husband,

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he didn't come from a family that
hung lights on the house, so he

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didn't really know how to do it. So he got the ladder, he

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got onto the roof, and then
he hung off the roof to put the

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lights on on the house. And
I got a call at the store saying,

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Shari, I think Land's going to
wind up killing himself because he's hanging

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off the roof trying to put the
Christmas lights on the house. And I

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just thought, well, I can't
close the store, so I hope he's

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going to be okay, and I
hope those lights light when I get home.

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You know, that's so great,
How great that you can each contributor

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to each there's lives like that in
a way that lights the other. I

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think that is as good as it
gets. Sherry. I think it's beautiful,

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absolutely, it really is. But
you know, you know what not

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only that, our daughter did attend
Catholic school believe it or not with the

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last named Schwartz. And my husband
was there to wrap Christmas gifts. I

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mean, so it was you name
it. He was always there to do

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things. So everything has been a
two way street in our relationship, which

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which you know. I think that's
why it works. And I think we

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can all learn so much from you
in that way. Sherry, thank you

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for that. Another reason I wanted
to have you on the show for this

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special program. So thank you.
Now in addition to what we've been talking

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about so far about decorating, I
think you told me that you decorate your

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window there at Carpet Carpet MABN and
that you've won awards. Yeah, you

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wont awards for this. We've won
awards. I don't even know how many

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years. We've done trains in the
windows. That was like the greatest thing

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where we would go into Pennsylvania,
go to Hershey pick up a new train

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each year. We've done so many
different displays, so we had for the

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most beautiful, the most creative.
We've won different different things, and it

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does, it becomes an obsession and
you you know, we're very where we

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were very competitive, I guess you'd
say, but we enjoy it. And

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it's it's always, you know,
for the community. They would come,

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they would see the train in the
window. So that was in our Woodward

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store. In the touching we went
and I actually started with a train in

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the touching as well. I just
think it's nice. You know, there's

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nothing more than seeing children with their
parents or children with their grandparents come to

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the window and look at the train
going around. I mean, look,

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could be better than that. Well, and I think it's beautiful that a

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big part of what you do is
to give that joy to others. Sherry.

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I just think that's just you.
Well, thank you, thank you.

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I I absolutely I love what I
do. And you know, I'm

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fifth generation in Woodbridge. I love
to give back to the community. I

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really honestly do. It's it's you
know, it's who I am. It's

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my town. Hm. I got
that now. Speaking of that, the

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last thing I wanted to talk about
with regard to the holidays is you told

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me that you and your husband Leon
have started a holiday stroll, fire and

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ice and you bring an ice ring
onto the street. I'd love to hear

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how in the world as idea came
about and what it's like to be part

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of. Well, this is going
to be the first year with the with

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the ice ring, and actually the
town now is taking over to do this.

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So it has grown to that,
you know, to that magnitude.

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But when we had first started,
it was something as a way to say

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thank you to our customers and thank
you to the community for patronizing. And

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it was you know, we had
mister and missus claws, and we had

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girl scouts and Brownie troops caroling up
and down and chair leaders, you know.

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And then then it took the next
step where the street got closed and

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it was a horse and buggy.
Then we had it was a game truck

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that came on and a photo booth, and it grew. It just kept

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growing and growing and growing. Now
twenty years later, the town is actually

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running the event at that my husband
and I we still go to and and

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you know, they have our input
and everything. But now it's becoming fire

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and ice. It's called this is
the first year where they're bringing an ice

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ring onto the street and they're going
to have the fire pits you can toast

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marshmallows. They'll still have the horse
and buggy mister and missus Clawe's Victorian style.

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But you know what pride we have. That's something that we started that

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where I used to bake for this
event, it turned into something, you

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know, so big, it's I
mean, it's just a fantastic thing.

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I love everything about that, Sherry, I love everything about that. Now,

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how many people do you think normally
show up? Any idea? I

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will tell you that there are so
many people that do come that. I

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know. My husband and I were
like, you can't stop the horse and

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buggy ride one year because there were
so many people in line, and they

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were like, you know, but
time running out, and we're like,

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just just keep it going, keep
it going. We get a lot of

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people for that, We really honestly
do. And it's a wonderful way to

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kick off the holiday season. It's
just, you know, it's again you're

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seeing all the generations, You're seeing
everybody, You're bringing them to the community.

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You know, it's just a wonderful
way. I usually get terry eyed

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with that event. So it's amazing
it really honestly is Isn't it wonderful when

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life moves us like that? Absolutely? And when you think that somebody.

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It doesn't matter to somebody. I
would bake year after year after year for

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the for the holiday stroll, and
one year I said to my husband,

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I said, no, I'm going
to take an easy way out. I'm

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just gonna buy everything. Really nobody
cares about my baking. And I had

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the brownie troops come in and I
overheard one of the little girls say,

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did the other little girl? You
know, this is the lady that always

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has homemade goodiesprush, she has cupcakes, blah blah blah. And I got

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like so upset. I'm thinking,
Oh, why did I go to take

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the easy way out? You know? That changed from then on, I

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continued baking. Oh that's so great. Now, what's the name of this

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of this event called the actually will
property. It's actually the Holiday Stroll.

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It's a holiday stroll inod Bridge,
in Woodbridge, and the share of the

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event is fire and ice. Okay. And what's the actual date? It's

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actually the rain date is this Saturday, the fifth teenth? Okay? So

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all right, okay, all right, well, let's grab our first break.

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Sherry. It's it just goes so
fast. I'm your host, Alice

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Cortez. We've been on the air
is Sherry Schwartz, co owner of The

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Carpet Maven in Woodbridge and Matuchen,
New Jersey with her husband Leon. Sherry

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is the author of Are You Love. She joined us today from Woodbridge,

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New Jersey. We've been talking a
bit about Christmas and Hanuka, what they

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mean to her and how she celebrates. After the break, we're going to

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talk about her joy of the work
that she does and how she's connected to

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it and brings everything she has into
that life as well. Stay with us,

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00:16:45.879 --> 00:17:03.320
We'll be right back. Elise Cortez
is a speaker and engagement and development

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catalyst. She designs and delivers professional
development, leadership and engagement workshops and can

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bring her expertise to your organization.
She will help ignite meaningful development within your

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00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:18.119
workforce that will increase employee engagement,
performance and retention. To learn more or

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00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:22.960
to invite Elise to speak to your
organization, please visit her at www dot

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00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:27.920
Elise Cortez dot com. She would
welcome the opportunity to help get your employees

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00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:40.440
working on purpose. This is working
on Purpose with Elise Cortez. To reach

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00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:45.480
our program today, send an email
to Elise ali Se at Elise Cortez dot

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00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:52.400
com. Now back to working on
purpose if you're just joining us. My

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guest is Sherry Schwartz, co owner
of the Carpetmaven and Woodbridge and the Chuchen,

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New Jersey with her husband Leon.
Sherry is the author of a book

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called Are You lovell we'll talk more
about a little bit later in the program.

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I'm your host, Alice Cortez.
So Sherry. Before the breaker,

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you know, we were talking about
Christmas and Hanukah and now I want to

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talk about work. This is a
show that's really anchored in how it is

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that we create meaning and connection to
our work. And you are just an

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embodiment of somebody who is in love
with your overall life, including its work.

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So you're the co owner of Carpet
MABN and who I don't know if

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Leon is the co owner or it's
somebody else, but we'll get to that.

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And you do window dressing, carpeting
and our decorator. So first,

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how did you get into this line
of work? What's the story there?

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Well, actually, my husband got
me into this line of work. I

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first went to college to become a
parallegal. I worked in a large corporation

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international corporation. I did all their
legal research, and I would come to

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the store, you know, half
the part time coming into this store.

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And finally got to the point where
the business became so successful that my husband

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said, I think it's time to
I'm on a board full time. It

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took me eight months to finally pull
the trigger, because you know, I

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thought I had what I wanted to
do in life. I came aboard and

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I have never looked back. I
am thrilled with what I do for a

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living. It's my life, and
honestly, sometimes I feel guilty because I

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am so happy doing it. Yeah, okay, so how many years have

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you been in that business? It's
almost thirty years. Doing this now?

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So great? And is it wonderful? Sherry. I meet so many people

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in my work and just about the
course of my life who when I asked

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them, how's it going, how
are you today, they say, is

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it Friday yet? And I just
think that it's such a waste of a

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precious life. And so the fact
that you literally are joyously dancing through your

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days and love your work. I
so applaud that. And it's another reason

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I wanted to have you on the
show because it's important for people to hear

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that people are out there, do
exist, and this is something that they

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too can have. So you are
a wonderful inspiring example. Well thank you.

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I actually really have a passion for
decorating. You know, if it's

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not my own home, you know, it's it's somebody else's. I mean,

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this is truly what I enjoy doing. My weekend was spent doing house

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tours for the holidays, and my
you know, I'm my wonderful husband and

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my wonderful daughter came with me,
and this is what I love to do.

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It's wonderful. And you can tell
see when somebody, when somebody's living

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a purposeful and fulfilled life, it
just emanates from them like it does you

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share. You're just a great example
of that. And I was so taken

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that when we spoke on the phone, you just said, very matter of

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factly that you only take one one
week of vacation a year because you don't

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you don't want to miss out and
seeing any customers who might come by in

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your absence. How delightful we take
the you know, from Christmas to New

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Years that's the only time we take
off. And you know, I think

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people think when you own your own
business, you can take off whenever you

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want. You can come in late, leave early. That's not how it

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goes. In fact, you work
a lot more the before, the after,

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you know, after the store hours
and stuff. But I love what

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I do. It doesn't feel like
work to me. Well, let's talk

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about that. I one of the
things that you said about what you love

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about your work, and I want
to see if you can presence as much

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as you can in any other factors. Is is this social connection it gives

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you? Okay, well, I
will be honest with you that I have

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met some of my best friends started
out as customers and they have become friends.

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This is also our social life.
So I mean this when I tell

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you this, this is our life. You know, my husband and I

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get the wonderful life of working together. We raised our daughter in our business.

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You know. I mean what could
be better? I mean, you

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make friends, you socialize, this
is this is your world, this is

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your life. Well, and I
think I think that's beautiful. And so

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what I've been at researcher in meaning
and work for quite so many years as

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well as identity, and so that
social connection is a big, big part

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of work for a lot of people. I'm not surprised, given just how

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I've met you and the energy that
you bring, that that would be an

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anchor for you. And I loved
it when you said, well, what

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if we were gone and somebody came
in and wanted to talk to us and

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we weren't there. That actually did
happen to us. One year we did

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close for vacation and there was somebody
that actually did say, well, I

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couldn't wait, and I went some
and I'm like, oh my gosh,

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you know we were coming back,
and I don't ever want to hear that

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again. So, you know,
we tell people you know, we're going

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to be going on vacation. If
you need anything, you know, I'll

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even if there's people that are thinking, well, maybe I'm going to want

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it in the next you know,
month or something, I'm already letting them

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know. You know, we will
be closed for this amount of time.

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If there's anything anything I can help
you with, that's just what we do.

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That's the advantage I think of dealing
with the owners, the mom and

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pop of the business well, and
to your point, I can I can

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also tell you that I have made
some beautiful friend trips from my clients as

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well. It's you get to know
them and you you do some important work

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together and you're connected. Absolutely absolutely. I mean if it's it's not just

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making the friends, even the business
contacts, you know, the socialization with

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the different events, if it's networking
events, if it's chamber events. You

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know, we just have this this
I don't know, this family that goes

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on because you know who you meet
in everything. We my husband and I

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we run a car show for twenty
three years now for Woodbridge. We've been

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doing that and what we do,
what our priority is with that, the

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proceeds go to a different charity or
different organization in the town. For the

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past six years, we've been giving
out six scholarships to the three local high

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schools. From that, you meet
other people you know, to have parents

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come up to you saying thank you, thank you for not only you know,

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running the show, but then to
turn around and give the scholarships.

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That's what it's all about. I
really get that charity, and I really

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what I appreciate too and wanted to
share about your story is it occurs to

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me that you have created, you've
threaded together all of these No one intended

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by the way you've threaded together all
of these elements in your life that just

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make for a beautiful fabric. It
all fits well. Thank you, And

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it's absolutely true. Sometimes I wonder
what I did so well in life to

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get blessed by the life that I
have. I'm very, very fortunate.

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I'm very happy. I do feel
bad when people have, you know,

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a job that they're not happy with, her career that they're not happy with,

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because honestly, we're very happy together
working, you know, raising our

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daughter. She has her business sense
because of you know, being raised in

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the business. I couldn't imagine having
a different life, to be honest with

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you, it's so great. And
speaking of that, I know that today

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00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:45.839
you were given a very important award, so tell us about it. We

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00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:53.680
were given a Chamber award for being
a Chamber Member of the Quarter and it

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00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:57.440
was at the holiday luncheon today.
And I have to tell you that as

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I was sitting there and I was
looking around this probably like three hundred guests

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there, you know, business owners, the mayor, you know, politicians,

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00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:07.720
everybody was there, and my eyes
did fill with a little bit of

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tears. As you can tell,
I'm very emotional They had the local high

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school choir commit and saying and I
just thought, wow, you know,

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00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:18.200
to have like my grandmother something you
know, she passed away a long time

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00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:22.599
ago, but to see to see
how this is giving back to the community,

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being acknowledged in the community you know
that I've that I lived in and

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00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:30.079
live in you know, I mean, what could be better? Honestly,

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it was just a beautiful, beautiful
day. And to have your peers,

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your peers, you know, stand
there and employed you as you're getting an

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00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:41.039
award is the one. It really
was a really, really wonderful luncheon today.

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00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:45.160
Well congratulations, well deserved, well
deserved. And I want to also

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00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:48.559
come a very quickly in the emotion
thing, Sherry, especially in the work

399
00:25:48.599 --> 00:25:52.720
that I do around passion, purpose, inspiration. What I know is that

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00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:57.079
the more you have access to your
array of emotions and you can you can

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00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:02.799
use them well. And why is
and with intelligence, the more fulfilled life

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00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:06.400
that you have, and oftentimes the
more inspiring you are to others. So

403
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:08.680
I applaud you for having access and
using your emotions the way that you do.

404
00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:11.759
Well, Thank you, And I
do wear my emotions on my sleeve,

405
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so believe me at least. I
mean, everybody knows. You know,

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00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:17.920
Sherry's gonna you want to know an
answer, Sherry's going to give it

407
00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:22.519
to you. You know, it's
straightforward answer. It's great and you know

408
00:26:23.160 --> 00:26:27.160
it works for me. It definitely
works for me. Well, as I

409
00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:30.160
said before, I love that East
Coast accent. I'm from Oregon. We

410
00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:33.039
don't have accents and ore again,
so I'm just going to live vicariously through

411
00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:37.359
you and everything that you're up to. All right, sounds good to me.

412
00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:38.839
And I don't hear an accent with
me. But okay, I know,

413
00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:41.119
I know we're gonna go with them. Just trust me on this one,

414
00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:45.920
Sherry. Okay. Also in our
earlier conversation, you said something that

415
00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:49.160
just tickled me. Pink. I'm
already pink, so I got pinker.

416
00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:52.880
So you said that when your daughter
was born, you were back in the

417
00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:56.680
store, as you say, throwing
samples, juggling a lot. I think

418
00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:59.000
you said a week later and you
said, my wife is my life is

419
00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:00.599
not just about working and being a
mom. I can do it all.

420
00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:07.799
Saying more about that, well,
my daughter was a surprise to be Actually,

421
00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:12.359
I was told that I wouldn't be
able to have any children and lawlands.

422
00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:15.920
Surprise, after ten years of marriage, I wound up becoming pregnant.

423
00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:21.079
Yay, so my daughter. You
know, there I am with the store

424
00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:23.920
and everything. It was the busy
time. It was October. I was

425
00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:29.160
back in work a week after she
was born, baby in arms, throwing

426
00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:33.359
samples down. You know, honestly, it was the greatest thing. Because

427
00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:37.079
she was raised in the store.
She everybody asks about her all the time.

428
00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:38.640
You know, what is Merca doing, how is she? Blah blah

429
00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:42.960
blah. It's it's the greatest thing. I think that's so wonderful. I

430
00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:48.160
love the dynamic element of that and
this notion of just living fully into your

431
00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:49.839
life and embracing your life. I
have a girlfriend, I'll just call her

432
00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:52.759
out. Name is Debbie Glenn.
She lives in Conro, Texas, just

433
00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:56.559
north of Houston. Similar things.
She has an insurance agency, and she

434
00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:00.920
was back in her insurance agency baby
in arm, a week out from having

435
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:03.039
the child, and a couple of
the other ones were into as she took

436
00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:07.200
care of her, of her of
her clients. You know, it's amazing

437
00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:11.359
what we can do when we just
lean into life absolutely. And I have

438
00:28:11.480 --> 00:28:15.000
to tell you a really cute story
when Morrissa was little, because you're saying

439
00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:18.920
about you know, Hank or Christmas. She she would went through a stage

440
00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:21.920
where she would run up to every
customer that would come in and she'd go,

441
00:28:22.279 --> 00:28:26.400
I'm Jewish and Catholic, and you
know, to watch the expression on

442
00:28:26.440 --> 00:28:30.599
the person's face. You know,
but but that's that's that's our family,

443
00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:33.240
and that who that's who she is, so you know, was it was

444
00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:38.279
actually very entertaining. I think it's
wonderful. It's so glad you came in.

445
00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:41.920
You agree to come on the show, Sherry and share your share yourself

446
00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:45.319
with us. Well, thank you. I'm having a lot of fun,

447
00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:48.720
I really am. I'm glad it
should be like that. Well, and

448
00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:51.680
to that end, one of the
other things we talked about it was that

449
00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:55.759
you said that you don't plan to
retire. Why not? But well,

450
00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:59.079
first of all, my daughter said, Mom, don't ever retire because I

451
00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:03.880
don't know what you would do with
all your time. I don't want to

452
00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:07.400
retire. I honestly enjoy what I
do and I couldn't imagine, you know,

453
00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:11.880
going to the store every day.
Like I said, this is my

454
00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:15.000
my social life, this is my
work, this is everything. You know,

455
00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:18.240
our whole week is planned, and
I'm so excited because I have all

456
00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:22.359
my outfits picked out. If it's
not something in Woodbridge, it's something from

457
00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:25.839
them, a touch and store,
you know, there's chamber events. We

458
00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:29.759
just keep going. And you could
tell I probably I'm hyper. I don't

459
00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:32.200
get a lot of sleep either.
Yeah, I got that. How much

460
00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:36.880
sleep do you get? I'm probably
averaging about five hours a night. Oh

461
00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:38.240
I wish I could do that.
Sure, I could get so much more

462
00:29:38.279 --> 00:29:41.640
done in a day. Okay,
Well, remember my lady, my laundry

463
00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:47.039
is done before I go into the
stores. Oh wow, wow, that

464
00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:51.839
sounds really really elegant to me and
like almost vacation. But okay, now,

465
00:29:51.880 --> 00:29:53.119
I will also tell you, as
we said, I have no plans

466
00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:57.440
to retire either. And it's my
thinking is if I'm able to impact and

467
00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:00.880
improve lives and help people live passion
and work on a purpose, that's my

468
00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:03.400
way of life too. Why would
I want to quit that? Someday?

469
00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:10.920
I just want to stop doing that. I quit. I can't imagine that.

470
00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:11.720
And when customers come in and they
say, like, you know,

471
00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:15.680
Scherry, I want to redo whatever
room and you know, fix the house

472
00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:18.599
up, because I want to retire. My first question is where are you

473
00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:22.200
going? Why are you going?
Really, you're you're gonna, You're gonna

474
00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:23.839
leave us around here? You know, I just I don't know. To

475
00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:26.920
me, that's not that's not what
I see in my life. There's just

476
00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:30.640
so much that I want to do
and so much that I want to,

477
00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:33.160
you know, to give to people. And you know, twenty three years

478
00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:36.759
running a car show, I can't
imagine stopping that, right, I got

479
00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:40.000
that. Now I'm gonna I'm speaking
of that. I'm gonna ask you.

480
00:30:40.119 --> 00:30:41.480
It's gonna be really tough, Sherry, because I'm going to ask you to

481
00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:45.960
be really hypothetical, hearing, very
abstract. So if you weren't working,

482
00:30:47.240 --> 00:30:49.519
what do you suppose you would do
with all that energy and zest? M

483
00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:53.480
If I wasn't working, that's that's
that's a good question. I don't know,

484
00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:59.359
probably driving my husband crazy, But
I do I do something that I

485
00:30:59.400 --> 00:31:03.519
started to do with the time that
I do have. I started to get

486
00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:08.559
back into my crafts more than ever, and my aunt and I actually started

487
00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:15.680
entering back into contest. So I
probably spend more time doing that. But

488
00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:19.440
okay, you know that's that one
in take up all my Now I'm now

489
00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:23.359
say I really can't even give you
a good answer. Well, I mean,

490
00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:27.559
I'm gonna focus just on working well. And here's I want to celebrate

491
00:31:27.559 --> 00:31:30.880
that. Speaking you celebrate in the
holidays, that's celebrate that. I come

492
00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:34.519
from a family that are very successful
entrepreneurs. They were a farmer's first and

493
00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:38.160
then restaurant tours, and work is
a way of life. They're now both

494
00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:41.359
retired, they don't actually work there
get they're much much older these days.

495
00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:45.880
But work was an important way of
life, not just something that you did

496
00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:49.440
to make a living. It's how
you move through life. And so I

497
00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:52.519
see it that way too, which
is why I want to make it more

498
00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:55.880
of a playground for people as many
as I can across the globe. For

499
00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:59.400
as long as I live, you
have a playground, I have a playground.

500
00:31:59.559 --> 00:32:02.759
It's a one full place to live. Yeah. Absolutely, And I

501
00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:07.640
admire anyone that is older. When
I'm seeing people, you know, in

502
00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:12.799
their eighties and late eighties that are
still working, they are a role model

503
00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:16.519
for me. They really are.
Because you don't plan on stopping exactly.

504
00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:20.119
Well, let me tell you really
quick before we catch our next break.

505
00:32:20.200 --> 00:32:23.640
Speaking of eighties. My dear beloved
boss who fired me when I was nineteen

506
00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:27.359
years old because he thought I should
have a better life into something more with

507
00:32:27.400 --> 00:32:30.480
myself. He's now eighty two.
I keep in touch with him. He's

508
00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:34.480
been my dear friend for years.
I go and see him each each year

509
00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:37.119
when I go through Portland, Oregon. He has just put on the market

510
00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:42.960
his newest invention. It's a traveling
folding chair. It's called the Interlude.

511
00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:46.119
I'm so proud of him, I
could bust. I'm sharing the video with

512
00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:51.000
with people. It's just it's just
the funnest little inventionist ninety nine dollars and

513
00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:53.200
it's just it's amazing. I'm so
proud of him. And he's he's like,

514
00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:58.799
I'm not working at least I'm playing, But he's doing something he loves

515
00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:01.880
and he's doing something useful and helpful
to others. So I'm very proud of

516
00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:06.759
him. So yes, for the
listeners that are thinking about retiring at fifty

517
00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:12.839
five sixty five, why rethink it? Absolutely all right, let's grab our

518
00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:15.480
last break here. I'm Elise Cortez, your host. We are on the

519
00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:19.000
Yarth Sherry Schwartz, co owner of
the Carpet Maven and Woodbridge in Machuchen,

520
00:33:19.200 --> 00:33:22.759
New Jersey, with her husband Leon. Sherry is the author of Our You

521
00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:24.680
Love. She joins us to day
from Woodbridge, New Jersey. After the

522
00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:29.000
break, We're going to get into
her book and the loves in her life.

523
00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:45.559
Stay with us. We'll be right
back. Elise Cortez is a speaker

524
00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:51.119
and engagement and development catalyst. She
designs and delivers professional development, leadership and

525
00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:55.160
engagement workshops and can bring her expertise
to your organization. She will help ignite

526
00:33:55.160 --> 00:34:00.720
meaningful development within your workforce that will
increase employee engage, performance and retention.

527
00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:05.960
To learn more or to invite Elise
to speak to your organization, please visit

528
00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:10.400
her at www dot Elise Cortez dot
com. She would welcome the opportunity to

529
00:34:10.440 --> 00:34:22.679
help get your employees working on purpose. This is working on Purpose with Elise

530
00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:28.679
Cortez. To reach our program today, send an email to Elise ali Se

531
00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:35.440
at Elise Cortez dot com. Now
back to working on purpose. If you're

532
00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:37.679
just tuning in, My guest is
Sherry Schwartz, co owner of the Carpetmaven

533
00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:42.079
and Woodbridge and the Chuchen, New
Jersey with her husband, Leon Sharry,

534
00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:45.320
is the author of Our You Love. I'm your host Elise Cortez. So

535
00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:50.400
for this last segment, here given
again that I like how you've throated your

536
00:34:50.440 --> 00:34:52.599
life together. Here it's the holidays. We're celebrating the holidays, we're solvating

537
00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:55.840
life and work. The last part
I want to talk about is your book

538
00:34:55.840 --> 00:35:00.039
that you've just recently written and released
and the p in your life. So

539
00:35:00.280 --> 00:35:05.239
first, the book, it's called
Are You Love? And the authors listed

540
00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:08.519
on Amazon are Bernie Schwartz, your
dog and you, Sherry Schwartz. So

541
00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:12.679
I love that. So first,
who's Bernie and how did you come into

542
00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:19.119
your life? Bernie is my little
adopted, little four legged son that we

543
00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:23.119
adopted on February twenty fourth, and
he's the sweetest little guy. And the

544
00:35:23.159 --> 00:35:28.000
book he had to be listed as
the first person on the book because the

545
00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:30.840
books about him and it's his story
of how he came from Texas to a

546
00:35:30.840 --> 00:35:37.519
New Jersey and he didn't know,
he didn't know what love was. He

547
00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:43.320
was petrified to be held and you
know, everything his journey along the way

548
00:35:43.360 --> 00:35:46.960
wood he had to learn. You
know, he was a rescue and let

549
00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:52.079
me tell you something. He brings
joy to this family like we've we've never

550
00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:57.039
felt before. And how was it
that you that you arranged to adopt him

551
00:35:57.079 --> 00:36:01.159
from Texas? That's my stay.
Well, it wound up being we first

552
00:36:01.280 --> 00:36:10.760
adopted Mo back in October and Mo
was actually from where was Mo was from

553
00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:15.400
Georgia and mar daughter then was buying
a house. She was moving out,

554
00:36:15.559 --> 00:36:19.679
and like that wasn't bad enough for
an only child like myself, for my

555
00:36:19.719 --> 00:36:22.159
one and only to tell me she
was moving out and buying a house.

556
00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:24.599
But when she said she was taking
Mo, it was like, you got

557
00:36:24.599 --> 00:36:28.519
to be kidding me. The tears
just you know, we're we're flowing like

558
00:36:28.519 --> 00:36:31.280
a river over here. And it
was actually my husband Land's idea. He

559
00:36:31.320 --> 00:36:35.039
said, I think you need a
new baby in the house. And the

560
00:36:35.079 --> 00:36:39.559
new baby was a four legged baby. And we contacted the rescue place where

561
00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:43.840
we can where we got Mo from, and they said to us, we

562
00:36:43.960 --> 00:36:47.400
have a little baby that's you know, from Texas, and you know he

563
00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:50.760
might be great with your family.
And I said, but here's the thing.

564
00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:53.599
He has to be little Mos five
pounds and they said, oh,

565
00:36:53.679 --> 00:36:57.360
he's gonna be great. And Bernie's
like double the size. The molt but

566
00:36:57.400 --> 00:37:04.159
they get along beautifully now as well. Sorry, go ahead, Marissa.

567
00:37:04.239 --> 00:37:07.679
Actually every day we bring Bernie to
Morrissa's how so he can spend the day

568
00:37:07.800 --> 00:37:12.039
with or send Bernie because Merza works
from home, and this way you know

569
00:37:12.119 --> 00:37:15.840
he's not alone. That is brilliant. Now, I think given everything we've

570
00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:17.960
talked about so far, what you're
up to in life, I think it's

571
00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:22.519
amazing that you managed to birth this
book this year. It sounds like,

572
00:37:22.280 --> 00:37:25.320
yes, okay, okay, woman, that's all there is. I'm going

573
00:37:25.400 --> 00:37:30.119
to take some of your energy and
put it in my pocket and go okay.

574
00:37:30.199 --> 00:37:31.480
So tell us a bit about the
book and why you wrote it it.

575
00:37:31.559 --> 00:37:37.039
So it's written from Bernie's vantage point, so because because you know from

576
00:37:37.360 --> 00:37:40.320
from here this little boy that you
know, my four legged boy. When

577
00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:45.039
I say my little boy, I
don't like using the word dog. You

578
00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:47.320
know, we saw one picture of
him. We had no idea what he

579
00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:50.639
was going to be like. But
no matter what he was going to be

580
00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:52.480
like, we were going to love
him just the same. And when they

581
00:37:52.559 --> 00:37:57.800
opened up the doors on the van
and we saw somebody howling and it was

582
00:37:57.800 --> 00:38:00.280
Bernie, And my first reaction was, oh, my God, he's bigger

583
00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:04.880
than Mo. I mean, you
know, I'm used to little, tiny

584
00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:07.000
ones, and you know here then
there's Bernie. He's he's he's bigger.

585
00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:13.000
He's a little gentle giant. He
doesn't realize he's bigger, and he just

586
00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:16.519
wants to be held and loved and
cuddled. And I just thought his story,

587
00:38:16.840 --> 00:38:21.639
how they told us how he traveled
from Texas to Jersey, and you

588
00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:23.480
know, it was two days straight
of him just howling the whole time.

589
00:38:24.119 --> 00:38:27.480
And he does talk. He doesn't
like to be left alone, so we

590
00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:30.159
never leave him alone. That's brilliant. I love that he spends the whole

591
00:38:30.199 --> 00:38:35.000
day with Marissa and Mo. I
think that's just what great parents you are.

592
00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:39.800
Oh absolutely so. Are there a
couple of lines at all from the

593
00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:45.159
book that you remember that are especially
fond for you? Yes, the fact

594
00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:49.000
that when they put him in my
arms and I said, I whispered to

595
00:38:49.079 --> 00:38:52.239
him and I didn't realize it actually
was captured on you know, on film.

596
00:38:52.280 --> 00:38:54.960
My husband actually was filming it that
I said, you never have to

597
00:38:55.000 --> 00:39:00.000
worry again. Your mommy has you
and you'll be safe because to you know,

598
00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:02.400
he didn't know, he didn't know
what it was like to have food

599
00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:05.760
when he when we first got him
here, and how he just you know,

600
00:39:05.880 --> 00:39:08.440
he eats the food so fast,
and stuff to how he is now

601
00:39:08.760 --> 00:39:12.079
and how lovable and how he couldn't
you know, go up and down the

602
00:39:12.119 --> 00:39:15.519
stairs. So you know, you
still such a transformation with him, you

603
00:39:15.559 --> 00:39:19.519
know, I can't. I just
he's a dog, he really honestly is.

604
00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:27.440
And why the name are you love? Because he was so uncertain of

605
00:39:27.559 --> 00:39:31.079
us, and I don't think he
really ever had human contact before, you

606
00:39:31.119 --> 00:39:34.599
know, from what they told us, you know, how they found him.

607
00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:37.320
And I think that now he knows
what love is. He knows this

608
00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:40.159
family is just you know, so
in all with him, and he doesn't

609
00:39:40.199 --> 00:39:45.360
have to worry about a thing.
He's spoiled. I think it's a gift

610
00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:47.559
for each of you all the way
around. I think that's just beautiful.

611
00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:52.039
I can't wait to read the book. Thank you well. It's an inspirational

612
00:39:52.039 --> 00:39:55.360
book, it really honestly is.
It's it's a it's a very uplifting,

613
00:39:55.679 --> 00:39:59.760
you know, inspirational book. And
if anybody ever thought about, you know,

614
00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:04.920
rescuing a puppy dog, you know, it's honestly it's the way to

615
00:40:04.920 --> 00:40:08.119
go. I mean, they just
seem like they appreciate you so much what

616
00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:10.719
you do for them. You know, how could you, how could you

617
00:40:10.760 --> 00:40:15.320
not give them a great life.
M that's so great, Sherry, that's

618
00:40:15.360 --> 00:40:17.960
so great. And we'll definitely mention
that when we're talking about this episode about

619
00:40:19.000 --> 00:40:22.360
the rescue part of it. Yeah, so so to that end along those

620
00:40:22.400 --> 00:40:25.519
lines, when I have me met
you and I'm so glad you came into

621
00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:28.880
my path, and I'm definitely looking
you up when I come into your neck

622
00:40:28.920 --> 00:40:31.519
of the woods and I'm coming to
your store. But you're a You're a

623
00:40:31.559 --> 00:40:35.760
woman who lives life large and fully. You love your life, your work,

624
00:40:35.800 --> 00:40:37.800
and the many people you have in
your life. And you seem to

625
00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:40.880
me to have beautifully connected, enriching
relationships with your husband, your daughter,

626
00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:45.559
your whole community. What's your secret
having such rich connections to so many.

627
00:40:47.679 --> 00:40:52.960
I think it's it's thinking about people, you know, listening to people and

628
00:40:53.039 --> 00:40:58.559
giving respect, you know, just
always thinking of other people. You know,

629
00:40:58.639 --> 00:41:01.119
you don't you don't need to be
the person that you know needs to

630
00:41:01.119 --> 00:41:07.679
get the attention, just just doing
for others. I realized a different emotion

631
00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:10.920
this year. I have a wonderful
installer who does a lot for us,

632
00:41:12.360 --> 00:41:15.400
and he hadn't mentioned last year I
had brought a train into them, a

633
00:41:15.480 --> 00:41:16.760
touching store, and he said,
oh, my children would love one of

634
00:41:16.760 --> 00:41:19.960
those. And I told him you
know where to get one, and he,

635
00:41:20.800 --> 00:41:22.199
I, guess time, you know, drifted by, and he didn't.

636
00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:25.719
And this year I bought him a
train set for his children. I

637
00:41:25.760 --> 00:41:31.159
never saw somebody so appreciative of something
that I was in tears and I wrote

638
00:41:31.239 --> 00:41:36.280
him a letter and he was just
so appreciative. So I think, you

639
00:41:36.320 --> 00:41:39.760
know, just realizing be nice to
one another, this is what it's all

640
00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:45.440
about. Yeah, And what I
take from that is it's not that hard,

641
00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:49.079
right. I just don't think it's
that hard, And I'm amazed.

642
00:41:49.079 --> 00:41:52.559
I love I have this saying that
I'd like to sprinkle pixie dust through the

643
00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:54.480
universe as I walk. And I
one of my favorite things to do is

644
00:41:54.519 --> 00:41:59.079
just as I'm going anywhere, is
I look for someone that I could recognize

645
00:41:59.079 --> 00:42:02.920
and acknowledge for some thing. And
invariably I'll find a woman and I'll say

646
00:42:04.119 --> 00:42:07.800
just something simple like you are beautiful, and she's completely taken aback by that,

647
00:42:07.880 --> 00:42:12.159
and if she lights up, it's
so easy. Sherry it's just so

648
00:42:12.199 --> 00:42:15.199
easy. But clearly people don't do
it very often, or else she wouldn't

649
00:42:15.199 --> 00:42:17.960
be taken aback so much, right, you know what, they don't.

650
00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:23.159
And unfortunately I think people maybe they
don't feel comfortable given compliments. It's funny

651
00:42:23.199 --> 00:42:27.760
you said that because at the lunch
in, the awards lunch in today,

652
00:42:27.960 --> 00:42:30.519
there was a waitress and she was
very, very very pretty, and she

653
00:42:30.639 --> 00:42:34.519
had her hair almost like in a
bun And while she was you know,

654
00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:36.880
putting stuff, you know, my
food and stuff in front of me,

655
00:42:36.920 --> 00:42:38.400
I said to her, I said, your hair is beautiful and she said,

656
00:42:38.440 --> 00:42:40.199
oh, she said, it's only
like, you know, in a

657
00:42:40.199 --> 00:42:43.880
ponytail thing. I said, no, it looks like a Bunnet's gorgeous.

658
00:42:44.360 --> 00:42:46.960
The woman lit up and went on
to details. And my husband goes,

659
00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:52.360
only you, you know, you
always seem to talk and say things.

660
00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:57.199
Who wouldn't want to compliment exactly,
want to hear something nice, exactly,

661
00:42:57.280 --> 00:43:00.599
completely agree, And it's just so
easy. Oh okay, love your pixie

662
00:43:00.679 --> 00:43:05.119
dusk comment. That is beautiful.
I really like that. Thank you.

663
00:43:05.199 --> 00:43:07.119
That is really how I roll.
And some people like it and some people

664
00:43:07.159 --> 00:43:13.440
don't, but I'm going with it. It's me. Well, speaking of

665
00:43:13.519 --> 00:43:20.320
Leon, what's your secret for being
married for thirty four years? I think

666
00:43:20.360 --> 00:43:25.239
respect, I respect, I really
honestly do. Thirty four years of marriage,

667
00:43:25.280 --> 00:43:29.159
you know, you just you wake
up one day and you go,

668
00:43:29.239 --> 00:43:31.000
really, it's it's that long.
I mean, I've had a crush on

669
00:43:31.039 --> 00:43:35.400
my husband since I was twelve years
old. I used to watch he didn't

670
00:43:35.400 --> 00:43:37.559
know I was alive. I wish
it was the other way, but you

671
00:43:37.599 --> 00:43:39.800
know, I used to watch him
walk by a tree in junior high and

672
00:43:39.800 --> 00:43:44.000
he was two years he was two
years older than me, didn't know I

673
00:43:44.039 --> 00:43:46.079
existed. He was out of college. I was in college. We met.

674
00:43:46.119 --> 00:43:49.000
I told him on the first date. I had a crush. I

675
00:43:49.079 --> 00:43:52.320
knew since I was a little girl. And here we worked together, married

676
00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:57.760
for thirty four years this Sunday.
Respect. Respect is it's all about the

677
00:43:57.840 --> 00:44:01.880
respect, you know, Cherry,
that is probably the most succinct response to

678
00:44:01.920 --> 00:44:05.880
that question I've probably ever received.
I'd ask a few people in my time,

679
00:44:06.440 --> 00:44:08.880
and I think that you've really boiled
it down to the to the core.

680
00:44:09.039 --> 00:44:13.519
I don't think I can agree disagree
with you at all with that.

681
00:44:14.559 --> 00:44:17.039
Well, thank you, it's you
know, it's it's it's tough. I

682
00:44:17.039 --> 00:44:20.760
mean both of us. You know
you're working in a business, you know

683
00:44:20.840 --> 00:44:24.559
your mom and pop, and you
know you're both dealing with customers and you

684
00:44:24.559 --> 00:44:28.840
know, fast paced, but you
need to have the respect and you know,

685
00:44:28.960 --> 00:44:32.239
think about the other one's feelings.
You know, there's it's long hours.

686
00:44:32.320 --> 00:44:36.360
Sometimes it's six days a week,
it's it's no vacations. But you

687
00:44:36.480 --> 00:44:38.800
just you go. We have we
we click, that's the thing. We

688
00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:43.559
click, We really do. What
was it about him, Scherry? Do

689
00:44:43.559 --> 00:44:46.679
you remember that why you had such
a crush on him? His confidence,

690
00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:52.360
He had confidence while he still has
confidence, his confidence, his his moxie,

691
00:44:52.440 --> 00:44:54.880
his attitude where I believe it or
not, I was very shy and

692
00:44:54.960 --> 00:45:04.000
quiet, but not named. He
just he had that confidence and there was

693
00:45:04.119 --> 00:45:07.599
something there was just something that I
was attracted to from you know, from

694
00:45:07.599 --> 00:45:10.039
being a little girl. And honestly, he brought me out of my shell.

695
00:45:10.119 --> 00:45:15.039
And I'm really happy he did.
What a beautiful partnership, What a

696
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:20.119
beautiful partnership. I really admire that. I was married for sixteen years and

697
00:45:20.679 --> 00:45:22.559
I've been divorced for two and a
half and so from me, it's always

698
00:45:22.559 --> 00:45:27.280
curious when I see couples who've been
together like you and how did you do

699
00:45:27.360 --> 00:45:30.599
it? And I think that your
right respect is a really huge thing.

700
00:45:30.679 --> 00:45:35.000
So going forward, I'll work on
that. Remember Sherry's words in my ears.

701
00:45:36.840 --> 00:45:39.039
But you know what I have to
say too. My husband loves me

702
00:45:39.159 --> 00:45:45.679
for me. You know, it's
not superficial. I've been up and down

703
00:45:45.800 --> 00:45:49.360
with the weight chart everything else,
and my husband loves me for me.

704
00:45:50.119 --> 00:45:53.119
First year marriage, I gained sixty
pounds. Didn't bother my husband. I

705
00:45:53.159 --> 00:45:58.480
think most men it might. It
might bother. Now I have an Now

706
00:45:58.480 --> 00:46:00.960
I'm down ninety pounds. I'm small
or now than I was in junior high.

707
00:46:00.760 --> 00:46:04.639
And my husband's okay with it.
But you know what, he would

708
00:46:04.679 --> 00:46:07.840
be okay if I was ninety pounds
every er two. I like this part

709
00:46:07.880 --> 00:46:10.320
of my life. I'm healthy.
But that's the thing. There's always been

710
00:46:10.400 --> 00:46:14.719
respect, It's never been you know, you should do this, you should

711
00:46:14.719 --> 00:46:16.800
do that. We both respect each
other. We truly love each other,

712
00:46:17.119 --> 00:46:22.320
you know, for who we are. I think that is just stunning,

713
00:46:22.400 --> 00:46:23.639
and that takes my breath away.
I thank you for that. It just

714
00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:28.119
it's wonderful. I think everybody wants
that right. We all want to be

715
00:46:28.159 --> 00:46:31.960
seen for who we are. And
so two last short questions if I can,

716
00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:36.960
since for darn almost out of time
already it since it's the holidays and

717
00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:39.760
we're talking about love and family,
what would you like to leave listeners with

718
00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:43.239
on that? And I'm gonna ask
you one more question after that about work,

719
00:46:43.360 --> 00:46:45.960
So maybe thirty seconds on this one. What would I'd like to leave

720
00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:50.360
your listeners with? You said,
with regard to the holidays and love,

721
00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:55.559
enjoy, remember to tell everybody,
you know, just just something nice to

722
00:46:55.639 --> 00:46:59.760
everybody. You know. I know
it's a hyper time of the year,

723
00:46:59.800 --> 00:47:01.360
but you know, just think,
just just calm down a little bit,

724
00:47:01.400 --> 00:47:04.800
because you know what this is.
This is a beautiful time of the year.

725
00:47:04.840 --> 00:47:07.239
This is what it's all about.
We wait all year for this time

726
00:47:07.239 --> 00:47:10.320
of the year. That's a great
perspective. We do wait all year for

727
00:47:10.320 --> 00:47:15.239
this, don't we absolutely absolutely?
You know people are getting hyper and stores

728
00:47:15.280 --> 00:47:17.519
and honking and you know, their
car horns and everything else. Just just

729
00:47:17.719 --> 00:47:22.119
enjoy drive by through the Christmas lights, you know, look at life through

730
00:47:22.119 --> 00:47:24.480
the kid's eyes right now too.
You know, you see the sand in

731
00:47:24.519 --> 00:47:30.239
the malls, everything else. Just
just enjoy take it all in, really

732
00:47:30.320 --> 00:47:34.719
quick. I remember years ago when
she's fifteen now my daughter, and when

733
00:47:34.760 --> 00:47:37.880
she was like two or three,
I took her to see sand in the

734
00:47:37.920 --> 00:47:40.559
mall and she actually ran up past
the line of all the people waiting in

735
00:47:40.599 --> 00:47:44.480
line and get a photograph and ran
up and put put her arms around him

736
00:47:44.480 --> 00:47:45.639
and said Santa. And I thought
there was going to be a revolt,

737
00:47:46.079 --> 00:47:50.920
but everybody laughed because they were like
they saw her. They saw the whole

738
00:47:51.119 --> 00:47:54.480
experience through her eyes, not through
theirs, and that was the magic in

739
00:47:54.519 --> 00:47:59.400
it. So wonderful, wonderful point. Last question then, since you know

740
00:47:59.480 --> 00:48:01.800
this show is all about helping people
across the globe more meaningfully and productively connect

741
00:48:01.800 --> 00:48:05.519
with their work, what would you
like to leave the listeners with on that

742
00:48:05.639 --> 00:48:10.280
topic, If you have an opportunity
to do something that you enjoy for a

743
00:48:10.320 --> 00:48:15.400
living, do it. Because if
you have thirty or forty years, or

744
00:48:15.639 --> 00:48:17.599
you know how many years it is
to do something, it's a long time

745
00:48:17.639 --> 00:48:22.400
to get up every day and not
be happy. You deserve to be happy.

746
00:48:22.719 --> 00:48:25.239
I think everybody deserves to be happy. Find things that make you happy

747
00:48:25.239 --> 00:48:30.599
and just keep that positive attitude going. A great way to finish the show,

748
00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:32.639
Sherry and I want to thank you
so much for sharing your beautiful soul

749
00:48:32.840 --> 00:48:37.159
and person with us. It has
been wonderful to have you here with this

750
00:48:37.239 --> 00:48:40.159
show airing on Christmas. Thank you, thank you very much for having me.

751
00:48:40.280 --> 00:48:45.239
I enjoyed this very very much.
Me too. If you want to

752
00:48:45.280 --> 00:48:47.440
learn more about Sherry, her book, or her work at Carbon Maven,

753
00:48:47.559 --> 00:48:54.199
visit her at Carponmaven dot com.
That's Carpet Maven maven dot com. Next

754
00:48:54.239 --> 00:48:58.599
week we'll be on the air with
Brandy Nice. She's an emerging speaker entering

755
00:48:58.639 --> 00:49:00.239
a new chapter of her life.
Now I want a path to help and

756
00:49:00.360 --> 00:49:05.719
encourage struggling individuals. At the age
of eighteen, she experienced a horrific and

757
00:49:05.760 --> 00:49:09.400
traumatic life altering event, spent the
next twenty years facing her fears, overcoming

758
00:49:09.440 --> 00:49:14.079
personal obstacles, and improving her self
image. As a result, she's now

759
00:49:14.199 --> 00:49:17.880
using her passionate experiences to help facilitate
healing and to empower others to overcome their

760
00:49:17.920 --> 00:49:22.000
own fears, shamed, doubt,
and daily trials. See you there.

761
00:49:22.039 --> 00:49:23.719
Remember that works at least one third
of our life, So let's work on

762
00:49:23.760 --> 00:49:30.199
purpose. Well, hope you've enjoyed
this week's program. Be sure to tune

763
00:49:30.239 --> 00:49:36.320
in to Working on Purpose featuring your
host Alice Cortez, each week on the

764
00:49:36.440 --> 00:49:40.960
Voice America Empowerment channel. This week, find your life's purpose at work,

765
00:50:00.039 --> 00:50:00.719
the nsaid,