Embracing Diverse Thinking in Education and Workforce

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Please look okay, yes. Okay, everyone. So I think

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this is the sixth interview today, but I'm not

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even sure I can't count. Okay, transparency.

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I know Michelle Raz, Michelle's incredible, amazing

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guest on Dr. Joey's show. I still love that interview.

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Michelle, I want you to introduce yourself. I

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don't want to mess it up. And I don't want to

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cry, but you changing lives every day. So share

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with us everything. I want to hear everything.

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OK, well, so yeah, I am Michelle Raz, founder

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of Raz Coaching Services. You're like, OK, what

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the heck does that mean? So in a nutshell, I

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help neurodivergent individuals at every age

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with executive functioning challenges. It's like,

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wow, what is that? And so this is something that

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I've grown into. for many years. Actually, I

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could even debate. I did an interview recently

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and just talked about my own father who was undiagnosed,

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neurodivergent. And if I piece all the pieces

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today together and look at him, this brilliant,

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brilliant man, he was neurodivergent and absolutely

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extraordinary. very misunderstood and masked

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a lot throughout his life. Fast forward to my

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own children and it was apparent then, my oldest

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was diagnosed with ADHD at a time when there

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was not much out there on the internet and I

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was digging in as a parent trying to help her

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and it just, it opened up this world to me that

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has been my passion. since then. And honestly,

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I was groomed at a young age to understand the

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value that being neurodivergent brings, and yet

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the struggles that each people, person that has

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a different way of thinking, whether you are

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high functioning on the autism, ADHD, anxiety,

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depression, all these different things that affect

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your ability to operate at your highest level,

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your highest potential. And the umbrella of the

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challenges are executive functioning skills.

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And so I've dedicated my life to developing frameworks

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that help have people live to their fullest potential,

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whether you're in a corporate setting and you're

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showing up every day and masking going home and

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being exhausted because they knew what was really,

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you know, your struggle and how you show up.

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And I've had clients, you know, hiring assistants

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on the side just so they can get the hustle of

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what their faced forward with in their C -level

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roles in the company to people that never realized

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their potential because they struggled so much

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in high school. they dropped out, or they tried

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college and they dropped out. And then they didn't

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have the confidence in them to mine their strengths

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to be able to live to their fullest potential,

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which also got me to help write a book with the

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help of a dear, dear friend, Wilma Thelman, years

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ago called Happiness, Passion, and Purpose. And

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so my overarching mission in all of my subsidiaries,

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which I'm excited to talk about, is really about

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living a life that is your purpose. You are passion

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that creates happiness where you're able to give

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to the world your gifts despite whatever challenges

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that you have. And so this framework that I developed

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really helps out whether you are a young student,

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a adult going back to school, you're at corporate

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level, you're right out of school trying to figure

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out what the heck you want to do and you face

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these executive field function challenges. You

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know, I was, have you seen Lessons in Chemistry?

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Yeah. So it was the first time watching it that

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I said to myself, wow. First I was like, are

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they neurodivergent? Like right after the first

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episode. And then I Googled it, of course. I'm

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like, oh, oh my God, okay, okay, I'm getting

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this. After it was over, I realized, you know,

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I always felt, I always felt what my brother

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and my sister, that they were just so emotionally

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intelligent, right? They really, and I always

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just felt like such a dummy. And then after watching

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that, it kind of hit me, you know, Adrienne,

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you're not a dummy. You're just, you are, I'm

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neurodivergent too. And like how I think is a

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little different. And I don't understand the

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big things sometimes. So it made me realize I'm

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okay. And I almost wish I had that growing up

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that I could have understood. So I have a question

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for you. And you know, my daughter, Lana has

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learning disabilities and we had a neighbor.

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downstairs. And the neighbor was like, you know,

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why is your daughter not working? She's 18 years.

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She should be working. And it was like the way

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he was talking to her. And I'm like, so finally,

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I said to him, my daughter is a little neurodivergent.

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Do you not understand that? So how do you help

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the person that is going through it, the executive

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challenges and the functions, how do you help

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the people around them to know? And I'm actually

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talking personally, because my husband has a

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traumatic brain injury. It's similar and I never

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know how to handle it myself. So could you share

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that with us? Oh my goodness. Yes, I can. How

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much time do we have today? Right, you know,

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I developed a course and well, it's actually

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a training for trainers. That is beautiful way

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to help this. And I've actually just recently

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did a parent workshop for a group of parents

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that came and said, can you please sit with us

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for a couple hours and talk to us to help us

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with our children? And then I have corporations

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reaching out saying, OK, we want to retain our

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employees. We want to understand their strengths.

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We don't want people to quit. We really want

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these. services, we provide a great EAP, but

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they're not utilizing them because of, you know,

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they're they're the shame that comes up the fear

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that they're going to get exposed. And so it's

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a passion of mine to get out there and spread

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the word to everybody so they understand. And

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first of all, so this program that I developed

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is one you understanding what it is, what what

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are executive functioning challenges and what

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type of. challenge are they faced with. So neurodivergence

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is a broad term these days, and I hinted towards

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it earlier, whether you're on the autism spectrum,

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you have ADHD, you have, it's a whole umbrella

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of things. And so understand what it is, understand

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specifically how it presents itself in your home,

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in work, and at school. So knowledge is power.

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We all know that, right? And so start with that.

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Know what the diagnosis is. And even if they

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don't have a diagnosis, I go in and say, and

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I don't say, here's the diagnosis to look out

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for. It's... really the consequence of whatever

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challenge they have as far as a diagnosis, or

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maybe they're undiagnosed, but they really are

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struggling with executive functioning challenges.

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And so understanding what those are, time management,

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organization, short -term memory, emotional regulation,

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that's where I like to start with. And so by

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understanding what they are challenged with,

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Every single person has a different level of

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challenge within those executive functioning

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skills. Know that person, know what it is, write

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it down, journal it, you'll see a pattern. And

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I'd like to start with the emotional regulation

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piece of it, because if you can identify what

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is their triggers, where do they get overwhelmed

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and shut down, and then they appear disrespectful

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and rude, but really it's because... they don't

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know how to process, they don't have coping skills.

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Okay, so let's go back and look at some coping

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skills. And so and of course, a lot of our clients,

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most of them have a therapist or psychiatrist,

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psychiatrist, and those are great places to unpack

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those. And then you can come forward with those

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skills and try to introduce new skills to help

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that person manage whatever the challenges, emotional

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regulations is, you know, kind of a hallmark

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because if you are dysregulated, anything you

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do, you can't talk to that person, you can't

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reason with them. And that's what you'll hear

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therapists say, you know, go cool off, go for

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a walk, and then come back. Understand that in

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that person. That's my big, my biggest thing.

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And so like with your daughter going back to

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her, for whatever reasons, she's not working.

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You know, know those reasons, and know what the

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end goal is for her. What is her goal? What does

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she want? What is I should say, what is her potential?

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What does she feel her potential is? And if she

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doesn't see the potential, start to unravel where

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her strengths lie. So all of my programs are

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strength based. Like for you, Adrian, you are

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an amazing exuberant. Quick thinker, out of the

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box thinker, connector and promoter of people.

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You are human centric. And so whatever your challenges

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are behind that, you bring forward that strength

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and your weaknesses, you know, whatever. And

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we all have weaknesses, right? But you can help

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manage those weaknesses. And so as a caregiver

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or parent or a boss, we want to hone in on why

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if it's a boss, why did you hire them? What is

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their strengths? You know, if you're a student,

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what are they amazing at in the classroom, in

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academics, and at home, you know, for a child

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or a partner or husband, what is their strength?

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And really play to that. And then let's be a

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problem solver with the challenges and not focus

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on those. Like we just, yeah, okay, yeah. With

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today's society, there's so much help. There's

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so many great apps out there. There are so many

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workarounds. that you can really focus on what

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you do best and really soar. You're getting me

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down a rabbit hole here. This is what I do. This

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is my jam. Whatever their strength is in general,

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the clients that I work with, this is the beautiful

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part about being neurodivergent. Your highs,

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what you're good at is really, really good. And

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what you're bad at, is usually like, ah, OK,

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I really need help here. This is like we say

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neurotypical. Well, we all have our ups and downs

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are just smaller. Right. And you can manage the

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high the, you know, the strengths and the weaknesses

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better. But when you're neurodivergent, you're

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amazing. And these are the people that are brilliant,

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that are doing amazing things. And if we can

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look at what they do really great and harness

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that and then support them and the weaknesses,

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it's going to change our world. It's going to

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be these are the people that are the out of the

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box thinkers, the nonlinear thinkers that think

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it through their lens is so different. They what

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they're good at, what they're interested in,

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their perception. I can guarantee if you're sitting

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out there and you know somebody, whatever they're

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good at, they're amazing at and you're like,

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holy cow, wow, we need to package that. Well,

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do package it and don't worry about the weaknesses.

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You know, have a strategy and have support around

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that. And anyway, I could go on forever. I love

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this. I do think with shows like Lessons in Chemistry

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that it helps. After I realize it, I'm like,

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oh my god, we need more shows like this that

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actually kind of give you that perspective of

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the best. I have a question for you. So Elana

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has dyscalculia. I kind of wonder if I do too.

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Would that be considered? So that is like a math

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disorder, right? Yeah, dysgraphia, dyscalculia,

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yes, dyslexia. Those would all be falling under

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neurodifferences because out of that struggle,

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she has a different way of looking at things.

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And she had to develop a skill to survive what

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does work for her. And she's probably, I don't

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even know her, but she probably is really amazing.

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at whatever she had to develop to be able to

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work in a non -linear world for her dyscalculia.

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If you said thank you. Dyscalculia, right? Dyscalculia.

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Oh, maybe you're saying it right. I would go

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with what you're saying. But I never had her

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tested though, so I'm thinking, and I don't know

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how important it is to actually test, but what

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she's really good at is actually organization.

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But I do find I'm not sure why my husband is

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on the screen, but you're just waiting to him

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Yeah, you're right. I have to even that like

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how I told them today what I was doing, but it's

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okay. It's life. I So my daughter has a lot of

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anxiety My husband's turning on the fan because

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somehow he must think I'm hot. So I'm hot -looking

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Alan, but not hot like This is what I love about

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you He just comes in to turn the fan on. He loves

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me. But anyway, so so with a lot of so this comes

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with a lot of anxiety, right? This because so

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how do you work with that anxiety? Does it almost

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go hand in hand? Boy, I'm just sitting here like,

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oh yes, yes, yes. I would say that 90 % of the

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clients that I work with really struggle with

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anxiety. Depression is right there too. So anxiety

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is extremely important because when you are perceived

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as something as a challenge, you don't have the

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solution to it. You haven't had enough practice

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with it. There's a block, right? And so if you

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can peel back the layers and identify where that

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anxiety is, where do they feel it in them? What,

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is it real or perceived? And if they feel supported

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and they have a framework to be able to identify

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it and problem -solve it with an action, that

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will help with the, with that anxiety. And it's,

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it's not something you can just tell them to

00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:25.700
do. They need to be walked through the process.

00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:28.620
And this is why my coaching services over the,

00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:33.860
you know, since 2010, it was so effective because

00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:37.159
we have a framework to follow to help them. And

00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:40.100
so it takes time and practice and over time and

00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:42.279
practice of doing this, then they can get this

00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:44.539
feeling that anything they do, we're all going

00:14:44.539 --> 00:14:47.580
to have anxiety. You know, anxiety can also fuel

00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:49.679
us, right? It could be a positive to a certain

00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:53.779
extent. And so being able to identify that and

00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:56.320
see if it's a real, you know, what's the reality.

00:14:56.539 --> 00:15:00.120
of this anxiety, where is it coming from? Unpack

00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:02.559
that with somebody so that the next time they

00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:06.399
have that issue, they have tools to be able to

00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:09.639
work through it. And of course, you know, coaching

00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:12.960
really helps or a mentor or somebody that understands,

00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:14.919
you know, so it can be the parent. It can be

00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:16.840
an informed, educated parent that understands

00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:19.980
the process, the framework. It can be an employer

00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.460
that's trusted, where they know that they're

00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:26.019
not going to be judged. I mean, I can't tell

00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:28.320
you how many clients find me and they do not

00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.200
want to put a recommendation out there. They

00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:33.320
don't want to talk about it because of their

00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:35.460
level of professionalism, which is really sad.

00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:39.580
We all need help. But anyway, they need that

00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:41.360
safe place that somebody that understands them

00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.539
to unpack. And that's why it's so important for

00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:47.360
us as parents, as educators, as employers, to

00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:53.720
look at this group and our lens be changed. and

00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:56.120
how we view it. And it really starts by honing

00:15:56.120 --> 00:16:00.419
in on what they are really good at. Yeah, we

00:16:00.419 --> 00:16:01.899
all have anxiety of things that we don't think

00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:04.659
we're good at, right? And but yet you're forced

00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:08.600
to do it. What about, so, right, that's interesting.

00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:11.100
And then my daughter realized that she, her perfectionism

00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:14.039
was getting too much. But what, what, so what

00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:16.840
do you offer? So you have Thrive, sir, right?

00:16:16.940 --> 00:16:19.899
And then, and then grouping. Yeah, I want to

00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:22.980
hear. So we have, so here, here's what I'm, we

00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:26.220
have now, or I do in RAS coaching services, which

00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:29.899
you'll see right down there. And if you go, if

00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:32.039
you follow me on LinkedIn, that's really where

00:16:32.039 --> 00:16:35.659
you'll see a lot of my involvement in. But I

00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:39.220
have RAS coaching, which is my corporate career

00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:43.419
development. And then my flagship was actually

00:16:43.419 --> 00:16:49.240
is coaching academics. And then also two new

00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:51.659
ones coming online I'm really excited about,

00:16:52.059 --> 00:16:57.159
which is a Thrive Thriving Beyond Therapy. A

00:16:57.159 --> 00:16:59.559
lot of our clients come into us and they're either

00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:01.919
in therapy, they're in treatment, and they need

00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:05.059
a next step. How do I utilize these tools and

00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:07.799
stay accountable to the program? So they've already

00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.839
done all this work. Now they're back into their

00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:14.359
day to day lives. And how can they, you know,

00:17:14.569 --> 00:17:17.569
use those tools and be consistent and don't fall

00:17:17.569 --> 00:17:20.549
off that great momentum they already had. So

00:17:20.549 --> 00:17:22.269
there's that one. And then also Sprout Coach,

00:17:22.490 --> 00:17:26.069
which is my newest one that is for younger parents

00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:30.730
and children. Oh, that's interesting to me. Do

00:17:30.730 --> 00:17:34.569
you think that like in today's world, the internet,

00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:38.109
the phone, everything going on, the news, just

00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:43.390
like everything that more of us are dealing with

00:17:43.390 --> 00:17:47.930
this? Like, is it environmental, too? Good point.

00:17:47.990 --> 00:17:50.170
Or has it always been there and now people are

00:17:50.170 --> 00:17:52.789
coming forward because of social media? You know

00:17:52.789 --> 00:17:55.309
what happens, right? When somebody comes forward

00:17:55.309 --> 00:17:57.710
and they are a role model and they're saying,

00:17:57.769 --> 00:18:00.190
hey, you know what? This wasn't always easy for

00:18:00.190 --> 00:18:03.329
me. Or this was hard, but I made it a gift. And

00:18:03.329 --> 00:18:06.650
now I'm famous. I'm wealthy. I've broken through.

00:18:06.690 --> 00:18:08.329
And when we have leaders like that that come

00:18:08.329 --> 00:18:11.529
out and more and more, I think people are getting

00:18:11.529 --> 00:18:14.349
the confidence to say, Okay, I'm a little different,

00:18:14.369 --> 00:18:16.670
but that's cool. I can be different. And here's

00:18:16.670 --> 00:18:19.569
what I'm really good at. And yeah, I use this

00:18:19.569 --> 00:18:23.029
app for my banking because I have dyscalculia,

00:18:23.029 --> 00:18:25.210
you know, whatever it is that you have, you have

00:18:25.210 --> 00:18:27.769
a tool for it. So I do think that social media

00:18:27.769 --> 00:18:29.990
is a big part of it. And I think we're understanding

00:18:29.990 --> 00:18:33.109
it more. I mean, you peel back the layers of

00:18:33.109 --> 00:18:36.240
school way, way, way ago. those if you didn't

00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.519
fit that mold right traditional education right

00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:40.539
what was that for traditional education was for

00:18:40.539 --> 00:18:44.319
to create people that could follow rules and

00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:48.559
take directions in a economy that was factory

00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.329
workers. So we weren't wanting out of the box

00:18:51.329 --> 00:18:54.250
thinkers, right? We wanted people to be able

00:18:54.250 --> 00:18:57.430
to conform to the structure that was going to

00:18:57.430 --> 00:18:59.589
put them into the workforce, which was at the

00:18:59.589 --> 00:19:02.390
time manufacturing and whatnot. And so if you

00:19:02.390 --> 00:19:04.109
look at the history of education right now, that

00:19:04.109 --> 00:19:06.890
was kind of the history from way back when. And

00:19:06.890 --> 00:19:08.829
we don't we don't need that. We need out of the

00:19:08.829 --> 00:19:11.029
box thinkers. We need that nonlinear thinking.

00:19:11.490 --> 00:19:15.789
And so I think that if you didn't fit that mold

00:19:15.789 --> 00:19:20.140
back then as parents, parents were shamed. Well,

00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:21.859
it must be my bad parenting. They can't follow

00:19:21.859 --> 00:19:23.980
the rules or they don't understand. They can't

00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:27.039
fit in the box in society. And so we have to

00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:28.880
have all the support with them to get them to

00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:33.079
mold to the rules. And we now need we need problem

00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:36.259
solvers. We've got climate issues. We've got

00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:39.079
financial issues. We need people that can problem

00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:41.180
solve. We don't need people that need to follow

00:19:41.180 --> 00:19:45.109
behind the line anymore. And so I think it's

00:19:45.109 --> 00:19:48.549
an opportunity now to celebrate the diversity

00:19:48.549 --> 00:19:51.930
of thinking and to be able to find ways to help

00:19:51.930 --> 00:19:54.150
people that don't fit that traditional role.

00:19:54.349 --> 00:19:56.710
And then maybe they really do have some disabilities,

00:19:56.769 --> 00:19:59.710
but they're extremely valuable in other areas.

00:20:00.069 --> 00:20:03.809
And we can customize, individualize our workforce.

00:20:04.309 --> 00:20:07.950
And therefore, people, I think, have more tendency

00:20:07.950 --> 00:20:10.400
to come out. Now, I will tell you, I still get

00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:12.539
people, I've just got diagnosed, I knew it my

00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:15.059
whole life, but I'm, you know, I'm coming forward

00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:18.720
now. And it's, they still carry that, that shame,

00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:22.140
the baggage of, wow, that was so hard for me.

00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:25.279
And I, it really affected my self -esteem. I

00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:27.759
never thought I could be anything because all

00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:30.279
I ever told was I did it wrong or how could I

00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:32.660
change? I couldn't be different. They didn't,

00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:36.119
they, you know, whatever their gift was, it wasn't

00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:38.740
developed to their fullest potential because

00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:41.140
they spent so much time and energy trying to

00:20:41.140 --> 00:20:43.720
fit in. And I think it's, you know, I'm part

00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:45.319
of a global movement, by the way, I'm just gonna

00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:47.339
do a plug for the octopus movement. If you're

00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:49.099
neurodivergent out there, get involved. I'm a

00:20:49.099 --> 00:20:52.220
founding member. You can find it on LinkedIn.

00:20:52.460 --> 00:20:54.140
You can find me on LinkedIn. You can find that

00:20:54.140 --> 00:20:56.480
on LinkedIn, but get involved. There's some amazing

00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:58.400
people out there. They're absolutely brilliant

00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:00.519
and they have some sad stories and some really

00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:03.299
tough stories, but they also are ones that kind

00:21:03.299 --> 00:21:07.059
of broke the ceiling. So anyway, I hope I open

00:21:07.059 --> 00:21:10.660
answer that. Is it fake? No, there's even research

00:21:10.660 --> 00:21:13.339
trying to tie biological roots to it. If you're

00:21:13.339 --> 00:21:15.660
truly neurodivergent, you know you've struggled.

00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:18.940
and you know how hard it is, but you also know

00:21:18.940 --> 00:21:21.819
you're different and what you're good at, you're

00:21:21.819 --> 00:21:25.779
amazing at. And so a true person that's neurodivergent

00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:28.700
or ADHD, I hear it all the time, there's real

00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:31.819
challenges. You can have an ADHD moment. We use

00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:35.240
terms very loosely, right? I'm so OCD, I'm ADHD

00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:40.680
or ADD. we water that down. But that person that

00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:42.579
kind of does a disservice to that person that

00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:44.880
truly is challenged with it. And they've had

00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:47.799
a lifetime of trying to mask to fit into the

00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:50.380
world the way we've had it in the past. So anyway,

00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:53.440
I'm all about the future and really celebrating

00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:56.720
those differences. I can't even thank you enough.

00:21:56.859 --> 00:21:59.400
It's interesting. And my daughter is dating a

00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:03.519
young man who's so smart. And so he's on the

00:22:03.579 --> 00:22:06.640
spectrum very high, right? Like incredibly smart.

00:22:06.819 --> 00:22:08.519
I mean, I can ask him questions, but it's so

00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:10.940
funny because sometimes he'll look at something

00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:14.140
and then he'll walk away. And then I'm like,

00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:15.720
wait, don't you need that in front of you to

00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:17.900
like, like, he's like, no, I remember what it

00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:20.880
is. And I'm like, so like, like getting out of

00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.019
our own brain to see like what he's really good

00:22:23.019 --> 00:22:24.779
at. But he also said, well, we took him out to

00:22:24.779 --> 00:22:26.700
eat. He doesn't really like the restaurants because

00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:29.900
he can hear every conversation. And that's so

00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:31.839
interesting. And then when we were on our trip,

00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:33.799
my daughter and I at our four month road trip,

00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:36.299
we met a lovely young man who was telling us

00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:39.380
he can't. forget anything. So everything is a

00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:41.680
memory and that it's a good thing and that he

00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.539
shared a cute story of how it's not a great thing

00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:47.359
too. So. I hope that we do need more lessons

00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:50.500
on understanding this. Me too. In the group,

00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:52.779
I love, I think Alana would really enjoy that.

00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:55.240
She's not, she's young adult, just will be 18

00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:57.559
actually in another week and a half. And she's

00:22:57.559 --> 00:22:59.500
trying to find her own. I won't be with her for

00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:02.339
her 18th birthday because she wants that independence

00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:04.539
because I think I've always been kind of like

00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:07.240
helicoptering her and, you know, helping her

00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:09.839
to fix all the things. Yeah. So the transitions

00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:12.119
are, that's one of my favorite ages. I have a

00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:13.960
whole coaching program just for transitioning

00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:15.859
from say high school. to college or high school

00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:17.799
to vo -tech or just out of high school trying

00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:19.559
to find their journey. There's a lot of movements

00:23:19.559 --> 00:23:21.799
around here that end college movement as well.

00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:24.200
And it's just, you know, we're coming to a society

00:23:24.200 --> 00:23:26.420
that's individualized and customized and that's

00:23:26.420 --> 00:23:29.359
the way it should be. But that age group of,

00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:33.220
okay, what now? I mean, it's, you know, the oyster,

00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:35.279
you know, the world's our oyster, that cliche.

00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:38.380
It really is, if you can tap into their strengths.

00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:42.640
And so, you know, reach out to me for her. I'll

00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:45.059
give you some tips. I will. I will. We all need

00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:47.259
this is such important. You're doing great work,

00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:51.059
Michelle. It's my passion. I want everybody to

00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:54.599
be the best possible version of themselves. And

00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:58.339
I truly walk that talk it. And that's actually

00:23:58.339 --> 00:24:00.960
been how I even stumbled into this. Besides my

00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:04.019
own family background is I always looked at a

00:24:04.019 --> 00:24:06.259
person and say, wow. all the potential there

00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:08.240
if they just do this and then I would, I could

00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:10.079
just see the path for them. That's my gift. I

00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:13.349
can just take this person and say. here's your

00:24:13.349 --> 00:24:15.569
strengths, now go with it here. And I think that

00:24:15.569 --> 00:24:18.109
has to do with growing up with a neurodivergent

00:24:18.109 --> 00:24:22.470
father who was brilliant, but he lacked some

00:24:22.470 --> 00:24:24.430
social skills. And let's talk about that for

00:24:24.430 --> 00:24:26.789
just a second. That's very common for the clients

00:24:26.789 --> 00:24:30.029
that we work with is that the social miscues,

00:24:30.230 --> 00:24:32.150
raising self -awareness, and we have tools and

00:24:32.150 --> 00:24:34.130
tricks, and there's great programs out there.

00:24:34.130 --> 00:24:36.910
I have my own method in the framework that I

00:24:36.910 --> 00:24:39.049
do that helps them and gives them constant feedback.

00:24:39.470 --> 00:24:41.049
It's not something you can just say, hey, read

00:24:41.049 --> 00:24:44.279
this book and do it. you need to actually practice

00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:46.279
it. And that's why I say that my programs are

00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:49.619
all like boots on the ground and it takes time.

00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:51.920
I always, I say this a lot, you know, it takes

00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:57.140
67 point, 66 .7 days to form a habit, right?

00:24:57.559 --> 00:24:59.480
And so you can't just, this is why, you know,

00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:01.420
New Year's Eve goals and whatnot, they just go

00:25:01.420 --> 00:25:03.660
by the wayside, but with accountability, you

00:25:03.660 --> 00:25:05.859
can stick to that goal. And I always say it's

00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:07.599
a minimum of three months, you know, just right

00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:10.420
up to 90 days. So that when you have a routine,

00:25:10.569 --> 00:25:14.309
a structure with a routine, accountability, it

00:25:14.309 --> 00:25:17.230
can become a habit over that 90 days. And so

00:25:17.230 --> 00:25:19.470
you can take something that is a weakness, perceived,

00:25:20.309 --> 00:25:23.609
real or perceived, and that's a goal individually,

00:25:23.970 --> 00:25:27.029
and work on that over time, you can see change

00:25:27.029 --> 00:25:30.970
and... they will have a much easier time integrating

00:25:30.970 --> 00:25:33.569
into society, especially with interpersonal skills.

00:25:34.069 --> 00:25:36.789
So there's just a lot of work around that. And

00:25:36.789 --> 00:25:39.450
there's some amazing programs out there. And

00:25:39.450 --> 00:25:41.109
I'm talking about, you know, high functioning

00:25:41.109 --> 00:25:43.109
people in the workplace. They, you know, they

00:25:43.109 --> 00:25:45.269
know they're quirky and they've got some weaknesses

00:25:45.269 --> 00:25:47.609
around some of this, you know, social emotional

00:25:47.609 --> 00:25:50.490
stuff. And, you know, there's a lot that can

00:25:50.490 --> 00:25:55.779
be done. Amazing. Okay. So I want to... I want

00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:57.759
to just put a shout out to anyone, if you are

00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:00.980
a podcast host, book Michelle. Because to have

00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:04.319
her, no, seriously, because Michelle will share

00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:06.759
with your audience. The key is to get this out

00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:10.259
there to understand. And of course, it's important

00:26:10.259 --> 00:26:12.740
to me because of my daughter, my situation with

00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:15.660
my husband, but I want everyone, any host out

00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:18.339
there, podcast host, book Michelle. She's amazing

00:26:18.339 --> 00:26:19.960
speakers, you can tell. Michelle, you and I do

00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:26.390
have to have a conversation outside. 24 -7. Thank

00:26:26.390 --> 00:26:28.190
you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

00:26:28.190 --> 00:26:29.990
for just doing what you're doing. I love that

00:26:29.990 --> 00:26:31.650
you have to go on the show. We'll touch base

00:26:31.650 --> 00:26:33.730
and we actually have to have a next conversation.

00:26:34.329 --> 00:26:38.549
But thank you. I really appreciate it. Bye -bye.

00:26:38.809 --> 00:26:41.410
Bye. Thank you. Thanks, Michelle.